Author's Note: HIIIIIII! Sorry I took so long! I had to deal with summer vacation, then summer school, then summer vacation again, then school again... busy busy busy! But now... I'm BACK! And I've got a new chapter for everyone! ::basks in the cheers and applause::
Disclaimer: DBZ is not mine. ...Are you listening to me, readers? Or are you looking at the woman in the red dress? (lol, just a little Matrix joke I punned.)
Broken
by Supaa Saiyajin Trinity
Chapter 6
"... ...n... ...an... ...Pan..."
"Pan!"
Pan snapped her head up, blinked. "Huh?"
Bulma smiled at her, continuing to push the shopping cart. "You seem a little out of it. Are you all right?"
"Oh! Sure, I'm fine," she smiled.
"Well, what were you so lost in thought about?"
"Um... just, you know, teenage stuff."
"I see." The older woman stopped at a produce shelf to pick up a few select pieces of fruit. "And I don't suppose it has ANYTHING to do with what transpired between you and Trunks, right?"
Pan paled. "You... know about that?"
Bulma stopped and looked at her, a half smile on her face. "Pan... everybody knows about that. Not only were you the last person to see him before he was found, but it was also made rather obvious by the fact that engagement ring you're no longer wearing," --she pointed to Pan's left hand-- "was found next to him."
"Oh." Pan felt her face flush and she looked down in embarrassment. Suddenly she felt like a child all over again. She wondered if she should tell Bulma about everything.
As if reading her thoughts, Bulma peered down at her and asked, "Pan? Do you want to talk to me about it?"
"No," came a mumbled reply. No. Bulma wasn't the person to tell. It would be just too difficult. She wouldn't understand.
Bulma sighed. "All right," she answered, placing a hand on her companion's shoulder. "But, I think I know of something that might help..."
***
Pan punched Trunks in the face. Hard.
Okay, so she was actually punching the punching bag in the Gravity Room at Capsule Corp. But she could imagine it was Trunks's face.
She punched it again and again, the attacks much slower than they would have been normally. She was struggling against the gravity, having set it at 300Gs. The entire room was bathed in red light, casting eerie shadows onto the floor.
As she attacked the bag, she could almost imagine that nose on his handsome face breaking, the cartilage and blood dripping down to the floor; his eyes black and bruised; and that irritating, arrogant smile of his filled with cracked teeth. It was much easier to imagine in these settings, since the lighting matched the scarlet color of blood almost perfectly.
An evil grin crossed her face as she pummeled her imaginary tormentor, her eyes beginning to cloud over with rage. Oh yes, this was what she wanted. Her rage arose within her, as though some sleeping demon had been suddenly awakened. Losing control it felt good.
As she worked herself up into a frenzy, the hits came faster and faster, more precise. They were followed by a series of kicks, body slams, screams and curses. "You son of a bitch!" she shouted, punching it so hard that the bag nearly separated from the chain it was suspended from. "Why did you do this to me!" Another punch. "I loved you!" Another. "But I was nothing to you!" A kick. "NOTHING!" She prepared herself for a body slam. "I hope you burn in hell, you heartless BASTARD!"
WHAM.
The bag fell to the floor, making a tremendous sound that echoed throughout the Gravity Chamber. Pan was momentarily stunned, but once again her wrath over, and she made a dash for his, heaving it up and throwing it down again. Curses exploded from her again, and she found herself straddling the bag, punching it over and over with such force that that it began to collapse in on itself and become horribly misshapen.
But all she saw through her white-hot fury was the face of her betrayer.
She was still in the process of beating the inanimate object into oblivion when she heard a loud banging on the door. "Who the hell is in there?"
Pan froze, the anger cooling rapidly. "V-Vegeta?"
"Yes, it's me, now open the blasted door!"
She got up slowly, more than a little wobbly. By the time she pulled herself together and opened the door, she was a sight. The Saiyajin prince raised his eyebrow critically as he studied Pan's appearance. Her hair was mussed and wild, her skin covered with beads of sweat, and she was still shaking all over. Her noted the slight stutter in her speech. "I-I'm sorry, V-Vegeta, but Bulma s-said I should work o-off some stress, so sh-she let me in here..."
Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her. "What's the matter with you?"
She blinked. "Wh-what?"
"There's something amiss about you," he said, looking down his nose at her. "Tell me."
Pan hesitated. Could she trust Vegeta? The father of the man who had betrayed her?
"Look, I'm actually giving a damn about what you think. Do you honestly believe that I would ask if I wasn't curious?"
"Well... all right..."
***
"That sniveling brat," he snarled when Pan had finished.
Pan looked down at her hands and kept silent. She had been careful to leave out everything about Juunana-gou, but telling the story had brought back the pain she had felt that day, and she was trying desperately to keep from crying. She bit her lip.
"He disgraces my bloodline and the honor of the entire Saiyajin race," Vegeta growled, looking off into the distance. "I should make him pay for what he's done."
Pan grabbed his arm. "Oh, no, please don't," she pleaded. "Just let it be."
"Why?" he snapped.
"Because if you punish him for this, he won't learn anything. He's got to figure out for himself what he did wrong."
"Hmph," he grunted. "I'm just glad that the Senzu aren't in season right now. If he can't suffer by my hand, at least he'll continue to suffer by yours."
"...What do you mean?"
"He's still in the medical wing, recovering."
"Oh..." She looked down, self-consciously brushing her hair behind one ear. She had had no clue as to the extent of the damage she'd inflicted. " I... I didn't realize--"
Vegeta cut her off. "Don't feel sorry for him, he deserves it."
"Oh, no, it's not that."
"Then what is it?"
"It's just..." She sighed and covered her face with her hands. "I don't know..."
***
Lying in bed that night, Pan thought back on her conversation with Vegeta. That last statement had been a lie. She did know. Despite everything that had happened to her, everything that Trunks had done... she still loved him.
Ah, how bittersweet love is.
Sighing mournfully, she turned onto her side, pulling the covers up over her shoulder. Her eyes drifted over to the mini-couch in the corner where Juunana-gou slept. She had snuck him back into the house that afternoon when she was sure the coast was clear. She had hidden him in the closet just in time to hear her father call her from downstairs.
The room had been almost completely dark, but now the bright moonlight streamed in from the adjacent window, highlighting Juunana's sleeping face.
He was gorgeous, utterly flawless. His skin was pale and unblemished; his hair dark and glossy; and those delicate eyelids hid eyes of the palest blue imaginable. And from what she had seen of his character, he had the potential to turn into a really nice person. He obviously liked her. She suddenly flashed on the kiss he's given her in the woods, how soft it was, how it had made her blush.
Maybe, she thought, maybe she could try and get on with her life, without Trunks.
And with Juu-kun.
This final thought caused a wave of emotion to wash over her. Knowing she couldn't hold it in this time, she turned her head into the pillow, and, softly, began to sob.
******
Yep, that's all for now. I know this is kinda short, but I have more planned. Thank Kami I finally thought of something to fill in the gaps. Don't worry, I'll be working more from now on! Until next time, ja ne!