In The Eyes of a Hunter
Written by Jennifer and Mandy
Chapter 17 -Not My Place
Disclaimer - We do not own any of the DBZ characters. Yet, any new characters that we have made to fit the story are ours, and part of In the Eyes of a Hunter. Thank you!
Trunks landed on the ground near Goku and Goten. His eyes were fixed on the ground as he slowly walked over to them, his expression tense.
"Hey Trunks." Goten greeted. "What's up?"
He looked up at his friend with a half-hearted smile. "Hey Goten." He then looked over Goku, the smile fading. "Goku, I need to talk to you."
"Oh. All right." Goku replied and glanced around. "You want to go over there to talk?" he asked, pointing over towards the woods.
Trunks looked over in the direction he was pointing and nodded. "Sure." He followed Goku as he took off into the air to go to the clearing in the woods.
Goku stopped in a large clearing and turned around to face Trunks with a serious expression. "So, what's the matter Trunks?"
Trunks still stared at the ground around Goku's feet, wanting to avoid his eyes, and paused for a minute. "It's about my father.." He trailed off.
Goku had a feeling her knew where this might be going. "I know what's been going on with Bra, Trunks," he said sympathetically. "And as much as I've wanted to help, I just haven't felt it was my place to interfere. Everything in this fight seems to be very personal with Vegeta."
Trunks looked up at Goku, suddenly distressed. "That's just it, Goku!" He exclaimed. "He needs your help and he knows it! He's just too stubborn to ask you for it. As much as he wants to do this alone, we need your help to get Bra back. It's going to take more than just me and my father to bring Altair down, whether Dad wants to believe that or not."
Goku listened to Trunks' pleas patiently and turned his head to the side, looking at the ground. He was fighting with himself between what he wanted to do and what he felt was right. Finally he closed his eyes with a quiet sigh. "I can't." he hesitated. "I'm sorry, Trunks, but I just feel like I should respect Vegeta's wishes on this one." He opened his eyes a little, still looking down at the ground with regret, unable to make direct eye contact with the boy. "I can't come into this fight."
Trunks' face fell as he heard Goku say this. He lowered his eyes to the ground, his expression mixed with surprise, and dejection. After staying silent for a moment, having not known quite how to respond to such an answer, he whispered with a hurt voice, "I see." He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Well, I hope that maybe you'll change your mind after a while." He stammered quietly.
Goku's eyes flinched at the sound of the pain he heard in him and muttered once again with a guilt-filled voice, "I'm sorry, Trunks."
Trunks simply nodded once and turned around, taking off into the sky.
Goten turned suddenly and looked up as Trunks rocketed out of the forest and flew away from their house. As he watched his best friend fly off into the distance, he whispered "Trunks.."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trunks sat on the edge of a high cliff out in the middle of nowhere, watching the sun set in the distance. The wind blew gently against his face as he let his mind wander to thoughts of his sister, Altair, their last encounter, and how horribly he had been beaten despite his best efforts.
Goten suddenly landed quietly on the rocky ground behind Trunks. He paused before walking up to his friend and sat down next to him, without saying anything.
Trunks didn't turn to look at him, but kept staring off into the setting sun, the brilliant golden light piercing through the thin, patchy clouds on the horizon. The dark, streaky shadows that were cast played across their faces, intertwining themselves in the bold, bright light. They sat there for a few minutes in silence, a soft breeze still blowing around them, before Trunks began to speak in a distant, quiet voice. "I don't know what to do, Goten. He's so powerful. Everything I try... it just all seems so worthless." He choked on his words and continued in a whisper. "I have to save her... but I don't know what I can do."
Goten turned to look at him sympathetically and put a hand on his shoulder, hoping to be able to bring some comfort to his friend. "We'll get her back, Trunks. I promise you that, but you have to keep it together. You have to stay strong for her. She's counting on you, and I know you can still do it." He leaned down slightly to see Trunks' face better and gave him a reassuring smile.
Trunks glanced over at him and smiled gratefully after a moment. He nodded once and looked forward again as the wind blew once more, sending his hair flying softly back away from his face and lifting his spirits again. "Thanks, Goten."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trunks walked into the house late that night. As he passed through the living room, he saw Bulma lying on the couch asleep, obviously having been waiting for him to come back. He walked over to her, feeling guilty for making her worry about him again. After watching her for a minute as she slept, he grabbed a blanket and gently put it over her. He brushed the hair out of her face and turned, going upstairs to his room. Trunks closed the bedroom door quietly and walked to the middle of the room. He groaned a little as he kicked off his shoes, also pulling his shirt off over his head and changing out of his pants, all of which he left in a pile in the middle of the floor. Now only in his boxers, Trunks fell onto his bed, and lay there for a minute, casting glances around his room. He looked over at the clock on his wall, his sheathed sword propped up by his dresser, a picture of him and Goten when they were little, and his window. "We'll get her back, Trunks. I promise you that.." Goten's words echoed back through his mind. He let out a long, deep breath and smiled very faintly. He'd always been able to count on Goten to help him feel better, no matter what was going on. After another minute of thinking on this, he let out a quiet sigh, and rose up a little, grabbing the covers, and pulled them partway over his body as he lay back down. He knew he needed to rest, but it was so hard to ignore all the images and flashbacks that were continuously flying through his head. The wind blew through the trees outside his partially open window, and he focused his attention on the quiet rustling of the leaves. The feeling of the cool sheets against his almost naked body felt quite refreshing, he had to admit, and he welcomed this comfort with great pleasure. Trunks thought to himself and, finally, for the first time in a while, really started to relax. He slowly pulled the sheet up farther around himself and felt his eyelids begin to grow heavy. At last, as he stared out the window at what he could see of the star-filled night sky, Trunks closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vegeta came in from a little late-night training in the gravity room and went though the kitchen, finishing up what was left in his water bottle and placed it on the counter. As he walked up the stairs, the sight of Bulma asleep on the couch caught his eye and he stopped, looking across the room at her. He walked back down the stairs and crossed the room, stopping in front of her at the couch. She must have been waiting for Trunks to come home.." He thought absently. After another moment, he bent down and gently picked her up, moving the blanket off first, and carried her back up to their bedroom.
Bulma stirred slightly in his arm and muttered, "Bra..."
Vegeta glanced down at her as he walked into the room, shutting the door behind him with his foot. He figured Trunks must be home by now since he saw his door was closed when he passed it in the hallway. He walked over to the side of the bed and carefully laid her down, pulling the covers up around her. As he walked around to the other side of the bed, he stopped at the balcony doors and looked outside at the moon in the cloudless night sky. After staring up into the sky for another minute, he let out a quiet half sigh, half growl and went over to his side of the bed. He climbed into bed, rubbing the back of his neck, and sighed again, tiredly.
Bulma suddenly turned slightly and muttered, "You have...to get her back...please."
Vegeta stopped moving and looked over at her. He whispered, "I will, Bulma. I promise." Then, he reached over and turned off the light, lying down to get some much-needed rest.
Written by Jennifer and Mandy
Chapter 17 -Not My Place
Disclaimer - We do not own any of the DBZ characters. Yet, any new characters that we have made to fit the story are ours, and part of In the Eyes of a Hunter. Thank you!
Trunks landed on the ground near Goku and Goten. His eyes were fixed on the ground as he slowly walked over to them, his expression tense.
"Hey Trunks." Goten greeted. "What's up?"
He looked up at his friend with a half-hearted smile. "Hey Goten." He then looked over Goku, the smile fading. "Goku, I need to talk to you."
"Oh. All right." Goku replied and glanced around. "You want to go over there to talk?" he asked, pointing over towards the woods.
Trunks looked over in the direction he was pointing and nodded. "Sure." He followed Goku as he took off into the air to go to the clearing in the woods.
Goku stopped in a large clearing and turned around to face Trunks with a serious expression. "So, what's the matter Trunks?"
Trunks still stared at the ground around Goku's feet, wanting to avoid his eyes, and paused for a minute. "It's about my father.." He trailed off.
Goku had a feeling her knew where this might be going. "I know what's been going on with Bra, Trunks," he said sympathetically. "And as much as I've wanted to help, I just haven't felt it was my place to interfere. Everything in this fight seems to be very personal with Vegeta."
Trunks looked up at Goku, suddenly distressed. "That's just it, Goku!" He exclaimed. "He needs your help and he knows it! He's just too stubborn to ask you for it. As much as he wants to do this alone, we need your help to get Bra back. It's going to take more than just me and my father to bring Altair down, whether Dad wants to believe that or not."
Goku listened to Trunks' pleas patiently and turned his head to the side, looking at the ground. He was fighting with himself between what he wanted to do and what he felt was right. Finally he closed his eyes with a quiet sigh. "I can't." he hesitated. "I'm sorry, Trunks, but I just feel like I should respect Vegeta's wishes on this one." He opened his eyes a little, still looking down at the ground with regret, unable to make direct eye contact with the boy. "I can't come into this fight."
Trunks' face fell as he heard Goku say this. He lowered his eyes to the ground, his expression mixed with surprise, and dejection. After staying silent for a moment, having not known quite how to respond to such an answer, he whispered with a hurt voice, "I see." He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Well, I hope that maybe you'll change your mind after a while." He stammered quietly.
Goku's eyes flinched at the sound of the pain he heard in him and muttered once again with a guilt-filled voice, "I'm sorry, Trunks."
Trunks simply nodded once and turned around, taking off into the sky.
Goten turned suddenly and looked up as Trunks rocketed out of the forest and flew away from their house. As he watched his best friend fly off into the distance, he whispered "Trunks.."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trunks sat on the edge of a high cliff out in the middle of nowhere, watching the sun set in the distance. The wind blew gently against his face as he let his mind wander to thoughts of his sister, Altair, their last encounter, and how horribly he had been beaten despite his best efforts.
Goten suddenly landed quietly on the rocky ground behind Trunks. He paused before walking up to his friend and sat down next to him, without saying anything.
Trunks didn't turn to look at him, but kept staring off into the setting sun, the brilliant golden light piercing through the thin, patchy clouds on the horizon. The dark, streaky shadows that were cast played across their faces, intertwining themselves in the bold, bright light. They sat there for a few minutes in silence, a soft breeze still blowing around them, before Trunks began to speak in a distant, quiet voice. "I don't know what to do, Goten. He's so powerful. Everything I try... it just all seems so worthless." He choked on his words and continued in a whisper. "I have to save her... but I don't know what I can do."
Goten turned to look at him sympathetically and put a hand on his shoulder, hoping to be able to bring some comfort to his friend. "We'll get her back, Trunks. I promise you that, but you have to keep it together. You have to stay strong for her. She's counting on you, and I know you can still do it." He leaned down slightly to see Trunks' face better and gave him a reassuring smile.
Trunks glanced over at him and smiled gratefully after a moment. He nodded once and looked forward again as the wind blew once more, sending his hair flying softly back away from his face and lifting his spirits again. "Thanks, Goten."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trunks walked into the house late that night. As he passed through the living room, he saw Bulma lying on the couch asleep, obviously having been waiting for him to come back. He walked over to her, feeling guilty for making her worry about him again. After watching her for a minute as she slept, he grabbed a blanket and gently put it over her. He brushed the hair out of her face and turned, going upstairs to his room. Trunks closed the bedroom door quietly and walked to the middle of the room. He groaned a little as he kicked off his shoes, also pulling his shirt off over his head and changing out of his pants, all of which he left in a pile in the middle of the floor. Now only in his boxers, Trunks fell onto his bed, and lay there for a minute, casting glances around his room. He looked over at the clock on his wall, his sheathed sword propped up by his dresser, a picture of him and Goten when they were little, and his window. "We'll get her back, Trunks. I promise you that.." Goten's words echoed back through his mind. He let out a long, deep breath and smiled very faintly. He'd always been able to count on Goten to help him feel better, no matter what was going on. After another minute of thinking on this, he let out a quiet sigh, and rose up a little, grabbing the covers, and pulled them partway over his body as he lay back down. He knew he needed to rest, but it was so hard to ignore all the images and flashbacks that were continuously flying through his head. The wind blew through the trees outside his partially open window, and he focused his attention on the quiet rustling of the leaves. The feeling of the cool sheets against his almost naked body felt quite refreshing, he had to admit, and he welcomed this comfort with great pleasure. Trunks thought to himself and, finally, for the first time in a while, really started to relax. He slowly pulled the sheet up farther around himself and felt his eyelids begin to grow heavy. At last, as he stared out the window at what he could see of the star-filled night sky, Trunks closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vegeta came in from a little late-night training in the gravity room and went though the kitchen, finishing up what was left in his water bottle and placed it on the counter. As he walked up the stairs, the sight of Bulma asleep on the couch caught his eye and he stopped, looking across the room at her. He walked back down the stairs and crossed the room, stopping in front of her at the couch. She must have been waiting for Trunks to come home.." He thought absently. After another moment, he bent down and gently picked her up, moving the blanket off first, and carried her back up to their bedroom.
Bulma stirred slightly in his arm and muttered, "Bra..."
Vegeta glanced down at her as he walked into the room, shutting the door behind him with his foot. He figured Trunks must be home by now since he saw his door was closed when he passed it in the hallway. He walked over to the side of the bed and carefully laid her down, pulling the covers up around her. As he walked around to the other side of the bed, he stopped at the balcony doors and looked outside at the moon in the cloudless night sky. After staring up into the sky for another minute, he let out a quiet half sigh, half growl and went over to his side of the bed. He climbed into bed, rubbing the back of his neck, and sighed again, tiredly.
Bulma suddenly turned slightly and muttered, "You have...to get her back...please."
Vegeta stopped moving and looked over at her. He whispered, "I will, Bulma. I promise." Then, he reached over and turned off the light, lying down to get some much-needed rest.