Disclaimer

Disclaimer : I don't own Sailor Moon, or Dragon Ball Z, or any other major Japanese animation storyline or characters. OK??!! Don't make me cry! I don't feel like talking about it!

Chapter 8 – Kind Accusations

Usagi sat silently nestled in the corner of the window. She glanced up to the night sky for a moment, before returning to her apparent study of the wood grain in the window frame. In truth, she was mulling over the conversation she had overheard just that night.

::::::Flashback::::::

Usagi paused just outside her room. She had excused herself right after the older girls had left the table, and followed. Usagi was just setting herself up for a prime eavesdropping position when Chi-Chi had come down the hall. The blond immediately stood up and raced into her room, praying her mother wouldn't notice, and luckily, the black haired woman had gone straight past. Darn! And right when Minako was about to say something important, too! Of course, when she was faced with the questioning faces of the girls, she immediately pasted on a happy smile and asked something about dessert. She had to give them a chance to finish their conversation. Excusing herself from her room, she literally flew down the hallway into the kitchen, grabbed a box of something that caught her eye, not even glancing at what it was. Speeding back, she came to a silent halt in front of her door and hovered there, waiting for the conversation to pick up. She had hardly missed anything, being gone only a few seconds, and it seemed the conversation had picked up where it left off.

:::::::End Flashback:::::::::

I knew that they were the source of those powers. I knew it.

"But what am I supposed to do about that?" Usagi spoke out loud, addressing the stars in a quiet voice. "It wouldn't hurt if someone found out. In fact, it wouldn't hurt at all. I doubt anyone would harm the girls – after all, it isn't as if their power is evil. But still, I would feel guilty if I told someone. I know that they mean to keep it a secret, but what harm can it do if only the gang knows?" Usagi turned over the concept in her head for a few moments, and then shook her head, discarding the idea. "I know what to do. I'll ask Trunks. He can give me advice."

Usagi nodded her head sagely, agreeing with her statement. Of course, that also means I get to see him again… Tomorrow is Saturday, so that means we can hang out!

"I'm hopeless, I really am," Usagi said, grinning. And with that, she silently rose from the window, and in a flash, stood in her room.

"Instant transmission rocks!" She murmured to herself, picking up a red jacket laying across her chair. Slipping it on, she glanced out her window in the direction of Trunks' house. "Midnight rendezvous, here I come!"

He sat in front of dying fire, slowly swirling the wine in his glass. Leaning back in the chair, he shook his head at his disgraceful behavior – with those new powers, no one could say for sure that a new enemy hadn't formed. I should be out training, not inside relaxing, getting soft. Standing up, he carefully placed the glass on the coffee table, and picked up his white cape from the adjacent chair. I must train. There's no telling when they will reveal to everyone their powers, and I'm not sure what side they will be on. Knowing who was the keeper of the powers made no difference – they had a system which allowed them to totally cloak their power, and when there were no power readings, there was no way to find out the details of their energy.

Those four girls… Of course they just happened to be in the neighborhood of the Black Forest, right around the area where the powers emitted. And isn't it strange that they all paled when mention of the powers were made. Smirking at how obvious the girls were, he opened the door and headed out into the night air. And that conversation they had in Usagi's room… I know they couldn't have known that I have superb hearing, bit really, did they have to be so loud? Even a pathetic sayjin like Vegeta should have heard them, but apparently he was too interested in talking about the situation, instead of paying attention to his surroundings.

I know Usagi heard them – she was right outside her door the whole time. She probably knew from the start – smart girl for her age, he thought, a rare smile lighting up his features at the thought of his star pupil. It was interesting that she didn't say anything to anyone else, though. Covering for them, I'm guessing. Loyalty runs deep with that kid, even with people she just met. Sighing, he began to detach his mind from the issue with Usagi's guests. Clearing his head of any stray thoughts, he began to float in midair, his cloak swaying gently in a sudden wind. As he sank into meditation, he felt himself become in tune with the energies of the earth, feeling a tiny spark ignite as someone used power for something unidentifiable.

Usagi. I would know her energy anywhere. I do wonder what she is doing, though. Shrugging off the thought as unimportant; Usagi wouldn't be doing anything bad. Feeling himself begin to float higher into the air, he let himself go into the welcoming arms of the earth's energy.

Usagi appeared in a flash of silver light, briefly illuminating Trunks room. As her eyes cleared, she looked over to the lump under a bunch of rumpled blankets. Spying a lock of purple hair under the corner of one blanket, she smiled and walked over to his bed, perching on a corner. Of course, she would have to be quiet – there was another sayjin in the house, and if he had hearing anything like Usagi or Trunks did, he would hear the tiniest movement. But at the moment, she didn't care – it wasn't like she was about the kidnap him or anything.

"Trunks…" she whispered, letting the sound float across the air between them. Leaning over, she pulled down the blanket, revealing very sleepy Trunks rubbing his eyes and trying to wake up.

"Usa? That you?" he croaked, his voice reminding Usagi of a frog that had just lost its voice. Putting a finger to her lips, she silenced him with a wink and point in the direction of his parent's room.

"Don't worry, my father went out drinking with Goku and the others, he won't be back for a while. Even if he does come home, he won't be in any condition to hear anything that we say. And mom… I doubt she would wake up if you yelled into her ear."

"Good," Usagi said, visibly relaxing. "I came here to ask you something – you felt that power today, right?"

"Yea, yea. Why, you know anything about it?"

"I guess you could say that. You know how the energy cut out after only a minute or two?"

"Yea…"

"Well, I know who the powers belong to."

"How could you? I checked out that area right after I got out of detention – don't ask – and I couldn't feel anything. No signatures, no left over residue, nothing!"

"Yea, well, apparently they have very good cloaking systems or something like that, cause even when I found four girls in the area that the power came from-"

"Girls?!"

"Yea Trunks, don't be so chauvinist, you remind me of your dad."

"Chauvinist? Jeez, you read too much or something."

"Anyway, back to the original subject," Usagi glared at Trunks for a moment before continuing, "when I found four girls in the area that the power came from, I still couldn't feel anything at all from them. I mean, they had less energy than Bulma, I swear! But I had this feeling… To make a long story short-"

"That's a first," Trunks muttered to himself, cringing again under the assault of Usagi's glare.

"I brought them home, introduced them at dinner, then eavesdropped on a conversation that pretty much told me that they were the ones with the power, and then I came here to ask you what I should do. But anymore wisecracks from you and I think I will be leaving," she finished, giving him a look that dared him to say something else.

"Gomen, gomen," he apologized, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Blame it on you waking me up at – what time is it?" he stopped, pausing to look at the clock. "2:48 in the morning. You know I won't be able to get back to sleep now." Fixing the blond in a stare of his own, she blushed but held her ground, never dropping her eyes.

"Still… I did come here to ask your advice. Should I tell the others about the girl's identity? I think that Piccolo already suspects, but you know how clueless the others can be at times. But… it wouldn't hurt for the others to know – I doubt that they would hurt the girls – but I still…" pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ears, she sighed and shook her head.

"I think that you should keep it to yourself. Let Piccolo be the one to let the cat out of the bag – I know that you hate the concept of telling on them, even if it isn't a bad thing to do. You could tell your friends that you know that they are the owners of those powers. It would clear up a lot of questions, and knowing you, you always have a lot of those," Trunks smiled at the small blush that appeared on Usagi's face, and reached over to put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry so much, 'k?"

"Yea, yea, don't worry about me…" she hesitated, and glancing out his window toward her house, realized she should be going. "Well, Trunks… I gotta go. I don't want my mom to find out I'm gone, though I doubt she will check on me at this hour." Getting up from Trunks bed, she looked to the lavender haired boy, and suddenly, jumped onto the bed to grab him in a tight hug. Backing away quickly, she walked over to the window, and with a last glance at the blushing boy, she flickered once, and was gone.

Trunks, a goofy grin on his face, still gazed at the place she had stood. "Yea, well, you know…" Laying back on his bed, he put his hands behind his head, and silently wondered how he was going to get back to sleep.

Ten minutes later, Trunks had fallen asleep, the silly grin still fixed on his face.

********

Next Morning…

"Breakfast is ready, Usagi!" A still snoring Usagi suddenly awoke, and jumped out of bed, the tantalizing smell of eggs and bacon greeting her nose. Rushing to the door, she almost tripped over the still snoozing form of Ami.

"Oh yea, almost forgot they were here!" Usagi said to herself, and kneeling down next to the blue haired girl, she gently shook her awoke.

"Ummmm… go away…" Ami gave a halfhearted swipe at the space near Usagi's head, and promptly began snoring.

Giggling, Usagi shook Ami again, this time saying her name. "Ami… Ami…"

"Wha… Who…?" A very confused Ami sat up, looking around the room. "Where am I again?" Ami tensed as she saw Usagi. "Who… Oh yes, I remember! Usagi! And flying… And Gohan…" Blushing, she turned her head, surveying the room. "There they are," she said, spying the forms of the other girls under their respective blankets. "And… ooooh, what's that smell?"

"Breakfast," Usagi stated, a grin spreading onto her features. "Come on, help me wake up the others."

"So guys, what do you want to do? Go outside, go visit Trunks, go get some more breakfast, go see Trunks – did I already say that?"

"Well, since we already ate," Rei began, quirking an eyebrow at Usagi, "I think we should go outside and visit Trunks from there." Throwing a wink at Usagi, who was now blushing furiously, she turned to the other girls and asked for their approval. Needless to say, everyone gave consent, and in no time at all the girls were walking down a twisting pathway in the direction of Trunks' house.

"I would do instant transmission, but the walk is really nice, and I think you guys will like it," Usagi explained, her face taking on an almost apologetic look.

"Don't worry about it," Minako said, smiling at the younger girl. "I'm sure we will like it too."

"Yea, but the thing is…" Usagi began, only to be cut off by the teenager once more.

"Shush, don't say another thing," Minako flipped her hair out of her face, and with a determined look on her face, concentrated on the plant life surrounding them.

"Don't say I didn't try to warn you…" Usagi muttered, and walked on with her friends.

After a few minutes of walking, the group was chattering like they were old friends. Which, in fact, was halfway true – I mean, look at whom we are talking about! After a little bit of boy talk mixed with an equal amount of girl talk, the subject of the 'Black Forest Powers' and they had now been named by Usagi, was brought up. The group of girls, who had been totally at ease with everything around them, suddenly fell silent as Usagi talked about it.

"Really and truly, I don't think that the owners of those powers had anything to be afraid of. Their readings were really high, and I really didn't sense any evil coming from them. Who knows, they might have even been a good addition to our fighters," Usagi paused, sending a glance at each of the girls, now conspicuously silent.

It was Rei who tried to break the ensuing silence by putting a hand behind her head, and nervously laughing. "Well, I can't say that we would know anything much about that, now, would we girls? But now that I think about it, it really was a coincidence that we were in the same area as those powers. Boy am I glad that – "

"Its ok, Rei. I know," Usagi said quietly, gauging the reactions to her words. Seeing the frightened faces of the girls, Usagi shook her head and spoke again. "Don't be scared of me – I mean, I'm only nine, and I wouldn't… couldn't hurt you anyway. I could never hurt my friends. But I do know that you are the keepers of those powers. I promise I won't tell anyone, and I doubt Trunks will either."

"Trunks – Trunks knows??!" Makoto nervously swallowed, and began wringing her hands. "How do you know that he won't tell anyone?"

"He won't. I promise you that. I told him last night, and I made him swear to keep it a secret."

"Oh…" Ami whispered, half to herself, half addressing the others. "So you knew… all this time?"

"Yup!" Usagi said, grinning. At the sweatdrops that greeted her, she laughed and put a hand on her head. "Actually, no. But I did guess, and I knew by dinner. So, for most of the time, I knew."

"Well, no harm done, right?" Minako said. "I mean, Usagi, you said you wouldn't tell, and I believe you, and only Trunks knows, and since you probably have him wrapped around your little finger, he won't say a word either. And since you are the only two people that know, and you won't say anything… I guess its ok… yea…"

"Well… I'm not so sure if Trunks and me are the only ones who know…" Usagi hesitated, the apologetic look evident on her face again.

"But I thought you said that you only told Trunks!" Ami protested.

"Yea, I did only tell him. It's just that I think Piccolo knows."

"You mean the green one?" Minako asked, a curious half smile on her face. "You know, he was kinda cute… If it hadn't been for the green… and the antennas…"

"This is no time for that, Minako," Rei said sharply. "Usagi, how would he know that we…"

"He is a Namek. He has very acute hearing, and he is quite in tune with his natural surroundings. Namek, in case your wondering, is a planet in the… its located… well, its far away," Usagi finished, becoming embarrassed as the fact became evident that she had no clue where the planet was located. "And if anyone could figure you guys out, he could. And I think he did. But its ok – I don't think Piccolo will tell anyone unless he sees fit. And I can't see why he would want to. Personally, I think he like leaving people in the dark," Usagi finished with a smile. The girls had taken it in stride that Piccolo was from another planet, but still couldn't get over the fact that someone else had found out their true identities.

"Are you sure he won't tell anyone, Usagi?" Makoto question, a troubled look on her face.

"Nope! But still… he's a good guy. Now cheer up!"

"Were we that obvious?" Rei murmured.

"Errr… To tell you the truth, guys, though you ate dinner with some of the greatest fighters in the universe, sometimes they can be really dense. Especially when it comes to figuring something out that is right under their nose. Just… if the subject of the powers is brought up again by them, try not to act so scared."

The girls absorbed what she had said, and, after a few moments of silence, Ami spoke up. "So, Minako, if you think that Piccolo was cute, does it mean that you don't like Gohan anymore?"

"Ami!!" Minako blushed and stuttered her way through and explanation. A few minutes afterward the conversation had drifted to another subject, the chatter becoming sparse as each girl thought about what Usagi had told them.

"I just realized," Minako said, still walking down the winding path. "We have been on this path for a while. Are we close yet?"

"Well, I tried to tell you… but, you kinda wouldn't let me… this path is about 7 miles long…"

"What?!" Minako yelled. "How many miles have we walked!??!!?"

"Approximately two point three miles, so far. If we keep up this pace, we should reach Trunks house in… two and a half hours," Ami said, typing in some commands on her personal computer that she seemed to conjure up from no where.

"I tried to warn you, Minako. Never say I didn't warn you," Usagi said, hiding a smile.

^^^^^^^^

There now! That wasn't much of a cliffhanger, huh? I have some announcements. Well, not really announcements, but I do have to explain some stuff. Alrighty… Yes, bacon and eggs. I'm sorry! I have no clue what Usagi usually eats for breakfast, or any anime characters, for that matter. I always forget… And yes, Usagi visited Trunks' house. Trunks room. Trunks boxers… ::Slaps self as I start to drool, visions of an OLDER Trunks..... and Gohan...... and Hotohori..... and Kenshin..... and Demando..... (NOT ALL OLDER! JUST TRUNKS! 18! YEA!!!) visiting my room… Mwahahahahahaha!!!!:: But they didn't do ANYTHING!! Jeez, the Usagi is only nine, and Trunks is eleven! Not YET!!! NO! But I'm not saying anything about later… Oh, and Ami is not out of character. I swear! Well, maybe a little bit, but was it ever down in writing how Ami wakes in the morning? (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) Well, I think that's it for now…

Spirit of cosmos

P.S. Oh yea, almost forgot!! Can anyone guess who the mystery man was? You know, he was brooding about Usagi and the girls? I think you can… I didn't make it that hard… Actually, nevermind. I have to go anyway. The men in the white coats are coming for me. Damn! Well, till next time! AND REMEMBER, REVIEW! OR I WILL MAKE TRUNKS HURT YOU! (But some of you might like that, wouldn't you? Sick bastards… ~_^)

P.S.S. 'THE SICK BASTARDS' THING WAS A JOKE! Jeez…People these days…