The Silver Sea

            Hiya, I've been getting, a bunch of … or rather … I should say, a LOT of great feedback from all you guys, and all of them are positive comments, it's really great to hear all this excellent comment about this story, which, I do think is one of my best, because although Trunks and Pan may be a bit OOC, I think that the fact that I was able to capture a bit of their personalities and include them as easily as it comes to me is pretty wonderful. And if you've been wondering, why all these chapters are so long, it's because this story is probably, one of the most fun, and the easiest to write.

             Okay, now, there hasn't been any T/P action, just a beginning of a friendly relationship, I do not intend to throw in a dramatic T/P moment anytime soon, but who knows? Maybe I'll have the perfect place for it … and unlike my other stories, this won't be a hard-core romance, I will include some of Goten's adventures hunting for the Blood Sword, further conflicts between the three countries separated by the Silver Sea, and who knows? If I'm feeling generous, I might even throw in a G/B! ^ ~

              As for another thing … grammatical errors are pretty hard to exile completely from this fic … so, please excuse any spelling errors and grammar mistakes …

Minor T/P moments in this chappie … note –Minor– and no, I am not taking the T/P too quickly, think about how long these chappies are.

              ^ ~ Was that a clue of some sort? … I have no clue … heh … little pun there … get it? Clue? Clue?

              Vegeta: Shut the hell up and get on with the story!

              Poodle: For once, I agree with the freaky moron

              Okay, Okay … jeez … can't the author throwing a little pun once in a while? 

              So, again, thanks for all the inspiring feedback, enjoy this chappie, in which things get a LOT more complicated …

 

                                                 Chapter 3: Of hermaphrodites and piggyback rides

            The morning sun shone brightly through the roof of Pan's bedroom chambers, the ebony-haired girl tossed over on her bed, clutching her black satin pillow with two hands, a smile was imprinted on the girl's cheery lips as the warm sunrays fell upon her room, lightening even the darkest of corners, as she opened one eye, something told her that it was going to be a great day, the Son Kingdom was usually a bright and sunny place, but today was especially beautiful and full of Sun, maybe it was because of the lack of atmosphere? Pan giggled as she slowly sat up and pulled on a magenta tunic embroidered with black and gold dragons, she reached for a black-handled brush and gently stroked her hair, as she was about to pull it back to tie it in a high ponytail, she decided not to, today was a day to do something different, the teenage girl yawned and shook her hair, allowing the silky strands to fall loosely on her back.

            Somehow, she was even looking forward to her schooling that morning, it was that kind of day. Even the mean and groggy old tutor might have been tolerated, as Pan stepped out of her room and walked into the grand hall, she smiled cheerfully at her father, attending his daily work, "Morning, dad!"

            "Oh, good morning, Pan, have you a good night's rest?" Gohan smiled, stopping his work to look up at his daughter.

            "Mm-hmm, really great." Pan laughed.

            At that moment, her sister stepped into the hall, a silver ribbon tied her hair at the top of her head, a dazzling white gown swaying against the ground, "Good morning, father, good morning, Pan."

            "Morning, Seiya, by the way, have you seen Mr. Whatshisface? Our lesson begins in fifteen minutes, and I really want to go swimming after our lesson."

            "I have not seen Mr. Waijubi this morning, although I do have a vague collection of him mentioning something about a meeting last week." Seiya looked at her father, who slapped his forehead in disbelief.

            "Oh, I have forgotten, he had to attend a meeting in Logozar this week, I've a lot of paperwork lately, and have forgotten to find you a replacement tutor for the week."

            "Oh well, I guess I can't do my schooling today." Pan tried to look depressed, but a bright smile was seen on her face.

            "Perhaps you can tutor her for the day, Seiya." Gohan looked at his second eldest daughter expectantly.

            "I did have another arrangement with Prince Trunks today, but I'm sure that he wouldn't mind helping me."

            Pan smiled, awesome, her big bro would be helping her sister with her schooling, it would be a blast, she'd gotten a bunch of new jokes.

            Gohan must've noticed, since he grinned at his daughter, "Too bad you couldn't always be so excited regarding your studies."

            Pan blushed and started jogging out of the room, "C'mon, Seiya, we have to be quick, 'cause I think I should go check on Trunks soon …" As a second thought, she added, "The eagle, I mean."

            "Goodbye father, have a pleasant morning." The beautiful elder princess curtsied.

            "Yeah, see ya, dad!" Pan waved and stomped her foot impatiently at her sister, "C'mon! We don't have all day!"

            As her sister followed her out of the room, Gohan sighed and stared down at his paperwork …

            Something just doesn't feel right …

                                                                         ~*~

            "So, when King Gokou, your grandfather, decided to free the thousand prisoners who were in jail for treason, everybody opposed of his decision."

            "Why would he want to do that?" Asked Pan.

            Seiya smiled at her younger sister, "Your grandfather was a kind man, it is a shame that you were not able to meet him. He always knew what needed to be done, and he always did it."

            "But why did he free the prisoners?"

            "They would've been executed the very next day, your grandfather could not bear to see them die."

            "But they tried to kill him, didn't they?"

            "Yes, they did try to kill him, but they failed, and that's how they were captured."

            "He sounds like an idiot to me."

            "Pan!"

            Prince Trunks, who was standing nearby, chuckled softly, she really did have a way of words, didn't she?

            Seiya sighed softly, "Your grandfather had such a kind heart, he couldn't bear to harm a fly."

            Pan raised an eyebrow, "How could he run a country, then?"

            Seiya smiled mysteriously, "He had his ways, because of his kindness to all the citizens, they were all very loyal and would sacrifice their lives for him."

            "But, I don't get it, if they all were loyal, why would some people wanna kill him?" Pan asked baffled.

            Seiya rose from her chair, "If I recall correctly, father has a few books in the library regarding the prisoners, wait here, I shall return."

            Pan watched her sister leave the room, she smiled and leaned back in her chair, resting her feet on the table, "My grandfather was weird."

            "How so?" Asked Prince Trunks.

            "Oh, gimme a break, if someone tried to kill you and were put in prison, would you set them free?" Pan rolled her eyes and twirled a strand of ebony hair with her fingers.

            "They wouldn't have the chance in the first place." Smirked the prince, "There are no rebellions in my country."

            "Says you, why else would there be so much wars, then?"

            "Frieza started all the wars."

            "So, she's a rebellion, isn't she?"

            Trunks frowned, "I am not sure if Frieza was a female."

            "Okay, so, he's a rebellion, isn't he?" Asked the princess with no apparent interest in what sex Frieza was.

            "I am not sure if Frieza was a male, either." Trunks frowned again.

            Pan giggled, "So … it's hermaphroditic?" 

            The prince smiled, he was surprised that the girl even had a word like that within her vocabulary, "I'm supposing so."

            Pan laughed and fell further back in her chair, "What about it's troops? Are they male or female?"

            "Who knows, they are quite revolting to look at, I usually just kill all of them before I get a chance to look at them."

            "Wow! Really? How awesome!" Squealed the princess, still laughing at Frieza being bi-sexual, "You must be an awesome fighter! It'd be so cool, just ripping through Frieza's army like opening a birthday present. "

            Prince Trunks mused silently to himself, while grinning at the princess who was doubling over with giggles, she's quite perculiar, a naïve child who is full of curiosity and admiration during the daytime, and a mysterious young woman whom has a dangerous, yet intriguing side at night, perhaps a witch had cast a spell on her … but, which is the real her? And what if she was the witch?

As Prince Trunks wondered about whether Pan was a witch, and while Pan was still laughing like crazy at Frieza being a hermaphrodite, Princess Seiya had re-entered the room, walking gracefully along the mosaic tiled floor with three thin books in hand. Pan stopped giggling for a second to tell her sister what was so funny, "S-Seiya, did you know that Frieza was a hermaphrodite?"
            "No, I was not aware of that fact." Seiya sat down in the large throne-like chair and flipped open the cover of the first book, all the meanwhile, asking her younger sister with no particular interest, "Where did you learn that from?"

"Trunks, of course." Pan smiled, "No, not the eagle, the person."

"I am well aware of the fact that eagles are not able to speak, Pan." Commented Seiya while shooting the prince a 'Why the hell did you go and get Pan so hyper? Now she probably won't stop laughing during the whole lesson, causing my efforts to educate her about my nation's history to be in vain' look.

Prince Trunks smirked for no particular reason, he folded his arms across his chest, which he does quite often, and watched with mile amusement as Seiya tried to teach Pan about King Gokou and his ways. Unfortunately, the teenager was not in a mood for history lessons, she kept stating non-pertinent comments, and non-pertinent questions, such as

Did Grandpa really used to have bigger hair than dad?

Did Grandpa take bathes often?

Did Grandpa have pets?

What were Grandpa's views on eagles?

Did Grandpa like me?

Did Grandpa like you?

Did Grandpa …

And so on, while the older Princess tried as hard as she could to answer all of her younger sibling's questioning, the little girl proved to be to much for her and Seiya declared that the lesson was over. While the teen jumped from joy at being able to finally attend to her swimming, the prince had a grin imprinted on his face.

                                                            ~*~

It will be autumn soon … the golden hues of the leaves were evident, even the Silver Sea was surprisingly calm, the lone Saiya-jin stood on the edge of the shore, staring out at the beyond … it was his duty to sneak in to Beijita and find out if Prince Theseus really did steal the sword, and if he did, he were to retrieve it … somehow …

The boy sighed, and how the hell was he supposed to do that? Everyone expected so much out of him … he hated it … absolutely hated it … but who was he to talk? At least he was the ambassador … but then again, ambassadors don't usually go on suicidal missions … and why wasn't he the prince? Or the captain of the royal army? The Son Kingdom may be a great country, but when it came to the royal bloodline, there were some weird rules.

            He should be the captain of the royal army.

He should be a prince.

He should be the king.

He loved his brother more than he loved himself, but as the second-born, there are many forbidden thoughts that often venture into his head, his brother wasn't fit for taking care of an entire country … he couldn't even handle his family.

Take Prince Vinge, rather a greedy little thing, he did not care for anything but fortune, and his niece, Zeyi, cold enough as she was, needed a husband who could care for her, who could set a place beside his heart for her, who could love her.

And then, there is Prince Trunks, he hasn't really met him yet, but from what he's heard from travelers and so, he was a ruthless man who cared only for power, he despised women of any kind, the kind hearted Seiya would be going to waste marrying him, harsh as it seems, it was the truth.

And now, his brother even dared to engage his very favourite niece, Pan, to a womanizer like Theseus, what was wrong with Gohan? Theseus would never appreciate Pan, not even for her light-hearted laugh and her large, bright eyes. Pairing her up with Theseus was like pairing a dolphin and a hyena together, the two just didn't mix.

Goten looked up into the sky, the only way to become king is to have Gohan killed, something he could never do, something he would never do, unfortunately, it was too late for Zeyi, she was already married, but he would break the remaining engagements, even if it killed him.

People just weren't destined to be together …

Which is why he would never get married …

And it was his destiny to find the sword …

Wherever it was …

                                                             ~*~

King Vegeta paced back and forth around the room, fists clenched, teeth gritted, his only son was in his mortal enemy's country, trying to marry that bastard Gohan's daughter in hopes of a country alliance. Which sure as hell, wasn't going to happen now, Gohan would side with Logozar in a second, marriage or no marriage, although Beijita proved to be quite a force to be reckoned with in the past, the Son kingdom had ancient strategies, and Logozar had sources and technology… if only he could kill King Gohan somehow, but the king had tight security, the only way is if someone under his nose would do it.

But it would be impossible to get men to sneak into the castle.

Although he wouldn't need that much, two, three would do for a formidable undercover team, two or three elites.

And then, they could retreat back to Beijita, what happens to the rest of the palace was no matter, Kakarotto's second son would take over the throne soon enough, but there would be enough chaos and confusion for a while to avoid war, in the meantime, he could tackle Logozar with concentrated forces, without the Son Kingdom's aid, the country would most likely crumble.

But then again, it would be impossible to kill King Gohan, even if he had men, Gohan's fighting abilities has already surpassed his father's, but he was young, lack of experience. King Vegeta frowned, he needed to get men in the castle. That seemed like the only logical solution here.

Someone needed to assassinate King Gohan.

But if not done properly, they could be discovered, thus, war would be rushed, he couldn't have that.

He needed someone powerful, full of experience, someone that he knows who wouldn't betray him, someone that King Gohan trusts.

And then it came to him.

His son.

His only son.

His only son who would assassinate King Gohan.

King Vegeta laughed out loud, he would protect his kingdom, however high the price, and now, he's got a pawn right under the king's nose. Only one problem, his son didn't necessarily know what he was to do, how could he contact him?

Another answer came out of nowhere, all of the royal blood should be able to just think their thoughts, King Vegeta remembered his father telling him about it, it did work with his wife, and Trunks' blood was half Bulma's, he couldn't lose anything by trying, could he?

King Vegeta sat down in his throne, what had his father taught him? Oh yeah, concentrate, and focus on the person's psyche. Sounds easy enough.

He felt his own psyche searching for his son's, and as he sat there in his throne, trying his hardest to concentrate, time passed.

Two minutes.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Fifteen minutes.

Twenty-Five minutes later, just as the king was about to lose concentration and give up, he felt a faint pull at his psyche, his lips rose into a smirk as he felt his son's confused psyche ponder why he could sense his own father.

"Trunks." Vegeta muttered.

He felt his son twitch in surprise, yet no reply came as his son frantically searched around for where the voice came from.

"Son." Vegeta muttered once more.

This time, his son stumbled back, the king could tell, his son's psyche seemed to flicker, yet it was still there, but to the king's frustration, still no reply came.

"BOY! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!" Barked Vegeta.

His son jumped this time, yet he could hear, or rather … feel his son's feeble voice, "F-Father?"

"Yes, boy, it is I." Sighed Vegeta, finally, the dolt had the sense to reply, "I have a mission for you."

"Er … what is it?" Came his son's uncertain voice again.

"First of all, how close have you gotten to that princess?" Asked Vegeta, his plan wouldn't really work if his son was in love, oh, how he hoped that it wasn't the case.

"Which one?" His son had the nerve to ask.

"What the hell are you talking about, boy? How many princesses are you marrying?" Demanded the king, his son must be even more of a dolt than he had expected.

:"Oh … I see … er …" Vegeta felt his son pause to think about the correct response to his question, "Fairly well?"

"Are you in love?"

Another pause came, followed by his son muttering to himself, "I'm going crazy, imagining talking to my father about my fiancée."

"BOY!" Yelled Vegeta, "I don't have all day!"

"No, at least, I don't think so …" Came the reply.

"Alright, that's good, now, I want you to get King Gohan to trust you."

"Erm … sure …"

Vegeta sighed, here comes the hard part, "Then I want you to kill him."

"WHAT?"

"You heard me, kill him, however way you want, just make sure no one will know that it's you."

There was no reply for a while, and then when one did come, it was no more than a squeak, "You … want … me … to … kill …"

"Yes," Hissed Vegeta with impatience.

Another lengthy pause came … finally Trunks asked, "How come I can hear you in my head?"

Vegeta growled, he did not want to explain, but he felt that he might as well if he wanted to get anywhere, "It is something that the ancients left us, the royals are all able to communicate with each other by their psyches, given that they have a psyche, it runs in the blood. Now boy, do you understand what I'm asking to do? "

Trunks managed to chuckle nervously, "I'm sorry, father, I keep on thinking that you are asking me to kill …"

"I am."

"Oh … I see …"

"No, you don't, you dolt." Vegeta clutched his hair in frustration, how'd this idiot turn out to be his son? "War is going to be declared soon … by us … and we couldn't possibly win it since more than half of our troops were wiped out by Frieza, and to prevent this, we, or rather, you have to assassinate King Gohan, thus, his country shall be in chaos, and war can be prevented."

"But father, I do not understand, we're the ones declaring war, but we don't want war?" The prince puzzled baffledly, "Just how does that work out? And I still do not understand why I can hear you in my head."

"You idiot, our ancient treasure is now in the hands of our enemy country? What do we do? We fight, that's what!" Vegeta sighed regretfully, "Even if we cannot win, we have to still fight, it is our custom, it is our way. Even if thousands of people die, we must retain our pride, but when you kill King Gohan, we wouldn't have to declare war, and even if we did, we would win the war. The sword alone is no matter, it is the prevention from King Solourius from gaining satisfaction, do you understand?"

"No … not really."

Vegeta stomped his foot just then, how he wished to strangle his son at that second, "You don't have to understand, just wait for a perfect chance to assassinate King Gohan, and make sure that no one knows that it was you."

"But …"

"Besides," Came the final shot, "You are not to return to Beijita until you do."

That got Trunks panicking … he was striving to return to his kingdom, and here he is, forbidden from his motherland until he is to kill his soon to be father-in-law, for such an impertinent reason … pride, yet he had to decide quickly, what was more important to him? To return to his country and become king, or to kill a King for no reason at all, therefore sending a peaceful country into chaos, and destroying his fiancée's heart?

"All right, father, I am still not sure what you're talking about, but I'll try to kill the king."

"Try?" Questioned the high king.

"I will kill the king." Stated Trunks simply, it wasn't going to be any harder than any other kills he had done before.

Vegeta smirked, maybe the boy wasn't such a dolt after all, "I'll be waiting for you, my son."

Having said all that was necessary, the King stood up from his throne and left to find his beloved wife, leaving a highly baffled prince wondering what just happened? Or if he was delirious from something …

                                                            ~*~

Pan kicked the stone wall with her foot, oh, how she hated her father, she should be allowed to go and visit her friends, it wasn't fun swimming without them, but when she suggested inviting them up to the castle, he all but exploded. The teen scowled slightly but then was reminded that her older brother could possibly come swimming with her, since Seiya had refused to swim because she thought that proper ladies should not be engaged in such avid activities.

As the girl wandered slowly to where her older brother was silently pondering about his sanity, she realized that he was off in another world and did not notice her approaching him at all, instead, his eyes were intently fixed on the grass squished beneath his feet.

Pan's rosy lips curved into a devious smile as she slowly tiptoed towards the conceiving prince until she was about three feet away from him, the girl then broke into a mad dash and as the prince looked up, she leapt on his back, her weight causing him to topple on to the ground.

"Gee … that wasn't fun … you're not supposed to fall …" Pan frowned, as she stared innocently at the heavily cursing prince.

"What are you? An infant or a princess?" Trunks spat out a mouthful of grass mixed with dirt, "Do you not know that bodily contact with elders is extremely impolite and unladylike?"

"Yeah, I know that." Smiled the princess, still sitting on the annoyed prince's back, "But I'm bored, so, how 'bout you giving me a piggyback ride?"

"I beg your pardon?" Asked the prince who was still muttering low swears at his supposedly little sister.

"You know … a piggyback ride … haven't you ever heard of one?" Pan asked curiously.

"No, I have not."

"Oh … you poor deprived person …" Sniffed the girl, "Well … see, you hafta kinda stand up to give me a piggyback ride … it's quite simple, I sit on your back while you carry me around!"

"And what purpose would come out of this activity?"

"None for you, 'cept maybe a sore back, but it'll be fun for me." Pan grinned, "C'mon, please?"

"No, it is quite alright, get off of me now." Growled the man.

"Please?"

"No. Please get off of me."

"Pretty please?" Pleaded the teenage girl.

"No."

"Pretty, pretty, pretty please?" Pan begged.

"I do not wish to repeat myself once again," Trunks lifted his head to look at the princess, "Get off of me."

Pan sighed and loosened her grip, she blinked a few times and muttered, "You're so mean … can't you just do this one little thing for me?"

            Trunks growled and was just about to repeat himself once again, until he noticed the girl's sad expression, and he felt himself frown without her constant smiling, she did have the brightest smile … and he was possibly going to kill her father soon … "Oh, alright, but just this once."

            Pan grinned and gave the prince a huge hug, "Yay! Thanks so much!"

            Trunks was just about to comment how ladies should not involve in inappropriate bodily contact with males, when he decided that he should stop sounding like her father for once. 
           

And besides, he didn't mind all that much.

"Where do you wish to go, princess?" Trunks asked, while standing up so suddenly that Pan almost fell over.

The princess thought for a brief second before answering, "To the lake!"

"Where is this lake?"

Pan pointed to beyond a dense area of forests, and even further beyond those, were mountains, "There."

"I am supposedly going to carry you all the way beyond those forests to reach a lake for no apparent reason at all?"

"You supposed right." Nodded the girl.

Trunks awkwardly tried to move while supporting the girl on his back, but to do so without her falling on the ground meant he would have to crouch over, and he always walked as straight as a pole, eyes not cast straight ahead, but rather upwards since his head was always held up high. He always walked as steady as a rock, and prince-like, no, rather king-like, and he was not about to demean himself merely for a girl's enjoyment. However, he had agreed to give the princess -whatever it was called – ride, and he was not going to back out on his word.

But perhaps they could have a compromise.

Pan suddenly was jerked forward as the prince's strong arms reached around her waist and positioned her in his arms rather than in that strange position on his back. "What are you doing?" Protested the princess.

"This is much easier, I would not have to lower my back." Explained Trunks, "And besides, this is how proper ladies are carried."

"Proper?" Pan quirked an eyebrow, "You mean … like … damsels in distress, don't you?"

"Yes, I do." Trunks nodded, "Ladies who are captured by enemies and locked up and then saved by a handsome and charming prince." He paused to let the full affect of his words sink in.

"Surely you are not implying that you are handsome and charming … are you?" The teen asked puzzledly.

"Why not?"

"Would you like me to name all your faults?" Pan smiled angelically.

"No thank you, I have a feeling that your opinions aren't very relevant."

"What do you mean?" Asked the princess.

"Never mind." Trunks shook his head and decided that he did not want to be involved in a debate with the princess. Instead, he started to rise in the air until he was well off the ground with the surprised girl in his arms.

"What are you doing?" Asked Pan as she realized how far they were off the ground, she clung on to his neck and screamed, "I'm gonna fall!"

"It is simply easier to fly to our destination than to walk, don't you think, princess?" Trunks smirked at the terrified girl, "And you can fly also, remember?"

"Oh … right." Pan's cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she stopped choking the prince, "I forgot."

"Of course you did. It's quite all right, I'm quite used to women flustering over me." Another smirk was plastered over the prince's flawless face. "You are quite lucky to be my little sister, aren't you?"

Pan narrowed her eyes, "You mean you're lucky to be my big bro, it you were anyone else, I'd probably have beat you up by now."

"Oh my, how horribly terrifying of you, princess." The prince rolled his eyes and spat with sarcasm, before the girl could protest, he raised the girl closer to him, "Perhaps you should hold on to my neck once more, we will be flying quite quickly, and if you were hurt in anyway, your father would probably behead me."

The girl growled, "Fine, just no more damsels in distress talks."

"Agreed."

Pan sighed and loosely wrapped her arms around the prince's neck, "How'd I get from a piggyback ride to being carried?" She quietly asked herself.

"Do not worry, princess, even if you don't intend it, you are just a girl, and girls do find me irresistible, so it's probably not your fault if you are lusting over me." The prince said with a smirk.

"I guess you're right." Pan sighed once more, "There is something about you that makes me want to strangle you and throw you to the dogs to feed on, now, if you don't shut up and fly right, I'm gonna have to choke you to death."

"Like you ever could."

"Or …" Pan added with a small smile, "I could always tell my daddy that you were being mean to me and touching me."

"I am not!" Protested the prince.

"What are you doing now, eh?" Pan grinned and snuggled up to the prince, "Now, fly properly."

Trunks muttered something about unladylike behaviour but complied obediently and took off towards the forests while wondering how he could basically be in control with a whole country of women but so helpless with a single child. But then he corrected himself, is she really a child? She did have a childlike sense of  curiosity, but there was also something about her that he didn't understand, like, she was all one big secret. Like a book that he was only observing the cover to. And a magical spell was cast on the book that didn't allow him to flip to the ending of the book, but simply enjoy each page at a time. The problem now was getting to the first page …

The wind blew from the northeast, and while the girl's face was buried within the depths of his chest, and the prince just noticed that Pan's hair wasn't in her usual ponytail, but rather was floating up in different directions from the wind. Somehow Trunks had the image of the Greek Goddess Artemis appear in his head, the goddess of wild things and the moon. A strand of hair flew up and whipped him across the face, and Trunks had the strangest idea that Pan somehow meant to do that, he grinned in spite of himself, the crazy girl probably meant to cut him or something. And then another strange thought trailed up to that head of hers.

Her hair smells extremely nice … like summer.

 No, not the usual flowery scent that girls had in their hair, but rather, a clean and refreshing smell, one that didn't make him want to choke, it was rather, sort of … like a natural smell, the clean air that one would receive while walking through a pine forest, or in a meadow of dandelions and rabbits, or in a meadow during the amidst of summer, or something delightful of the sort. The scent somehow allured him and he, without realizing it, had lowered his head so that it was positioned directly on top of hers. And the smell strengthened, a strong scent of cleanliness. Somehow, Trunks had never thought of Pan as the clean type, but he guessed he was wrong.

Or perhaps the cover of the book was finally lifted …

"What are you doing?" Pan asked the prince, mildly startled.

"What?" Trunks snapped back to reality and stared at the girl with a dumbfolded expression on his face, "I … huh?"

"You better not drop me." Pan growled, "And anyways, we're pretty close to the lake, you can land and we can probably walk the rest of the way."

"Oh … right …" Trunks shook his head and slowly descended upon a small hill, and loosened his grip on a grumbling Pan.

"That was the worst piggyback ride I've ever had."

Trunks shook his head a few times and tried to focus on the grass beneath his feet, what exactly was he doing?

"Are you alright?" Asked the girl with concern in her voice.

"Yes, of course, just fine, never been better." Stuttered the prince, "Let's get going to this lake, shall we?"

"What a weirdo." Pan muttered as she started to walk down the slope. "You gonna come to the lake or just stand there staring at your toes?"

Awkwardly, the prince followed the princess down the hill, looking around and observing his surroundings, wondering if this was one of Pan's many tricks, she did seem to love pushing him into bodies of water. He needed to be on his guard, he had no intentions of soaking his hair that day. Slowly, he approached the glistening body of water, wondering how many lakes there actually were in the Son Kingdom. Perhaps he should brush up on his geography soon.

"Hey, you know how to swim?" Pan asked as she tugged on her tunic, pulling it roughly over her head.

"Of course I know how to swim, I am the prince of - what are you doing?" Trunks stopped abruptly as he watched Pan throw her tunic on the ground, he watched how her bare arms untied her boots and realized that she was wearing a very tight and very small top made out of some sort of elastic material.

"I'm going swimming, surely you don't suggest that I go swimming with my clothes on, do you?" Pan asked as she tossed her shoes on the grass beside her tunic, "Or is that what people in your country do?"

"No, no, of course not." Trunks couldn't help but notice that Pan had a very finely toned stomach, guess all her training paid off, after all.

"You just gonna stare at me change or are you gonna turn around?" Pan asked with what Trunks believed to be a playful tone in her voice.

            His cheeks turned crimson as he realized that he had been staring at her, "Oh, of course." He turned around and instead, fastened his gaze on the clouds drifting lazily by. She was one of the few people that could make him embarrassed at all, and in fact, she seemed to insult him quite often. But then again, she was often the one putting a smile on his face, so he didn't really understand her at all. How could a girl whom threatens to squash him like a bug make him smile so often? But then again, she was a girl of extreme nature, she never just did anything for the sake of doing it and getting it over with, for her, it's either do it with flare, or don't do it at all.

            "Hey, Trunks." Pan called out, "You gonna come swim also?"

            "No thank you, I'm quite content being dry." Replied the prince matter-of-factly.

            "Suit yourself." Pan wadded into the water until she was about shoulder-deep, she turned around and asked again, "Water's great, you know."

            Trunks glanced enviously at the sparkling aquamarine water and realized that he did want to be in the lake at that moment. Not necessarily swimming, but just the concept of being in the water right now intrigued him. Of course, he wasn't about to admit that he had changed in his mind, so instead, he cocked his head sideways and tried to imagine something other than the refreshingly cool water.

            "Oh, don't be a bore! I wanna race you!" Pan folded her arms across her chest, "I bet I can swim faster than you!"

            "Since you're probably going to end up using some kind of force to make me go into the water, I might as well comply now to save myself from further annoyance." Trunks glanced down at his attire and decided that he wanted to return to King Gohan slightly presentable, and started by taking off his heavy boots.

            "Wow, you've got small feet, you know." Pan watched with curiosity as the prince threw his boots near Pan's pile of clothing.

            "I do not." Trunks glanced at his feet and added, "You only say that because you have large feet."

            "No, I don't!" Pan argued and raised a foot out of the water, "See? I don't have bigger feet than you."

            "Well, I do not have small feet, I have manly feet." Trunks corrected as he started to unbutton his own tunic.

            Pan turned around and swam further in the lake, enjoying the water splashing against her legs, when she realized that Trunks was going to be swimming with her, she decided that she might want to put some clothing on, after all, but when she heart a splashing sound behind her, she knew that it was a bit too late to request that he hand her her clothes. There was something about swimming naked that made her feel uncomfortable.

            Well, technically, the whole concept was awkward.

            "I guess I'll race you." Pan said casually as she turned back around.

            "Yeah, I guess so." Trunks didn't look anymore comfortable than she did as he wadded slowly deeper in the lake, the upper half of his torso was still visible, and the sunlight reflecting from the water's surface just made him look very finely tanned.

            And very finely built. Pan added quietly to herself, the only person that she had seen with as much muscle as him was her father, and he trained quite a fair bit each day. Perhaps she shouldn't be so hasty in challenging him to a spar. He looks like he could do some heavy damage.

            "Okay, well, then, I'll count. Ready! Set!" Pan paused, watching as the prince lowered his body entirely into the water, she giggled as she took off for the opposite shore, yelling only when she was a well fifteen feet behind her, "Go!"

            She had expected him to complain about him cheating, but surprisingly, all she heard were quiet splashes of water as she moved quickly through the water. When she looked behind her again, she was surprised to see his body almost on par with her own. His powerful arms and legs stroking through the water in slow yet well-consistent strokes. Pan looked in front of her to see that they were nearing the opposite shore, she couldn't let him beat her! She would never hear the end of it! As she tried desperately to regain her edge in the race, fate had it that his hand reached the shore a split second before her own.

            "No fair! You cheated!" Pan yelled as soon as she realized that she had lost.

            "Actually, you started ahead of me, so technically, you were the one who cheated." Trunks pointed out as he tried hard not to gasp for breath. He had to actually try to beat her. He used up quite a fair amount of his strength trying to catch up to her in the water, but even then, her swimming abilities were not something to be ashamed of. Even though she didn't have nearly as much muscle as he did, she did have quite a bit of flexibility that allowed those arms and legs to move however they pleased. Not that he would tell her that, though.

            "You cheated!" Pan screamed angrily, not quite paying attention to his previous words.

            "I most certainly did not!" Protested the prince, surprise evident in his eyes.

            "Did too!"

            "Did not!"

            "Did too!"

            "Not! Not! Not!"

            "Too-too-too!" Pan yelled.
            "You sound either like a locomotive or a - " Trunks stopped in mid sentence, "You know, I have the strangest feeling that we have had this conversation before."

            "We did? When?" Asked the princess.

            "I am not sure, I just felt like we have said the same things before." Trunks splashed around a bit in the water before stopping to look at Pan again.

            "Oh, like déjà vu?"

            "Possibly." Trunks shrugged as he could not remember when they had this conversation and smiled at the puzzled princess, "Race you back."

            "You're on!"

            "Well, I will count this time." Trunks smirked to himself as he lowered his body into the water, "On your mark! Get set!"           

            Without saying the final word, the prince raced away, his arms and legs hitting the water with powerful strokes as he sailed swiftly across the water. He only stopped for a second to grin when he heard his companion yell angrily.

            "Hey! Come back here, you cheater!"

            Perhaps his time spent in the Son Kingdom wouldn't be so horrible after all …

                                                                  End of Chapter 3

              Well … er … guess I lied a bit saying that there was going to be no T/P there, Trunks had a bit of an accident carrying Pan, eh? ^ ~ Okay, well, how was that chappie? Complicated? Confusing? Long? Well, at least it wasn't as long as the last chapter, but long all the same. But figuring that you have all been waiting so long for this chappie, it really doesn't mean too much for this to be so long.

               Erm … I'd appreciate any comments that you have regarding this chappie, sorry I took so long getting it out, I was ¾ done two weeks ago, I just didn't know how I'd finish it up, so I got sorta stuck. There will be even more T/P moments in the next chappie ^^ *hears cheering* but even more action and twists. I'm sure you're all wondering what Goten is going to do about the sword. And whether Trunks will kill King Gohan.

            Vegeta: No they're not … what are you talking about, you moron?

             Shush, Veggie, well, whatever, you'll find out soon enough, won't you?

             Remember, all comments are greatly appreciated!

                                                                        -Juunanagou4ever