Notes:
The following story contains Japanese phrasese. Please look to the end of each
chapter for definitions.
You may have noticed the strange, black haired woman who talks to Bulma in Tsuzuki
(Part Two). She makes many more appearances in this part. I borrowed her from
the comic The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. Click
here for a pic. -aks
FNSTZ: Shouyuu - Chapter ONE
Crickets chirpped in the
shadow of early evening in the yard outside the new Capsule Corporation dome
structure. Polian and Zen'i walked up the path to the main entrance. New employees
had stopped giving the six-foot-five alien strange looks a few weeks ago. Zen'i
smiled.
"I guess they're used to you."
"Huh?"
She nodded hello to a man in a labcoat who smiled and said good afternoon to
them.
"Oh, yeah. You too, ne?"
"Mm," she agreed and tossed her head to the side. Her long, blond
locks fell back into place behind her. Polian opened the door for her and they
both entered the house.
Bulma, Gohan and Koneko
were busy in the kitchen, making cold, gazpacho soup and sandwitches.
"Konnichiwa!" Zen'i called and accepted a hug from Koneko. "Smells
good, Bulma-san."
Gohan grinned. "Yeah, she's a regular Chef Boyardee."
Koneko smiled. 'Finally,' she thought. 'They're being completely civil, and
they don't even realize their doing it!'
Koneko had worked very hard in the last few months since the Cell Game to bring
the members of her extended family together, and it seemed to finally be paying
off. The all sat down to a friendly dinner and chatted into the evening.
As coffee and tea were
brought in to the living room, Koneko seated herself next to Zen'i on the couch.
"So, how's your brother doing?" she asked quietly so as not to disturb
Gohan and Bulma who were busy showing Polian pictures from peacetime.
Zen'i put her cup down. "I don't know. He won't talk to me."
Koneko pouted.
The Jinzoningen raised a brow. "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious."
Zen'i folded her arms. "I'm a little worried about him, actually."
"Oh?" she pried.
Zen'i gave her another strange look before continuing. "Well, he's hasn't
said two words to me since I came back to life. He lives in this little, abandoned
shack in the woods and mopes around all day. It can't be healthy."
"Mmm... Where is this shack exactly?" Koneko mused.
"You mind telling me what you're planning, Koneko-chan?"
She simply grinned.
*
Later that week, Gohan and Bulma were busy resurecting the Capsule Corporation
and Polian and Zen'i were off to another community, helping to reestablish its
infrastructure.
The town of Tsedona had been heavily hit by the Jinzoningen early on and had
served as a refugee camp of sorts for many years. There was no plumbing or electricity,
but within the month, the two Z fighters would change all that.
"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu!" a small, fox-person chimed as he jogged
up to the pair. "Once we have plumbing, so many of our worries will be
over! You will save many, many lives!"
"Save lives?" Polian asked.
"Yes," the man indicated to the puddle-ridden gutters along the street
and a large rain barrel that a woman was dipping a canteen into. "We suffer
so much from cholera, influenza, encephilitus and malaria here because of the
stagnent water. Many members of this community have died from these aflictions."
"Don't you have medicine?" Zen'i put down a 40 foot section of pipe
and dusted off her hands.
"A little, but it's hard to come by. Our hospital also needs plumbing and
electric."
"Hospital..." she whispered. "May I see it?"
Polian put a hand on her shoulder. "You won't like what you see."
She ignored him and they followed the man to the hospital.
The smell of sickness:
a stale, bodily stench which lingered in the building despite its many broken
windows, was almost overwhelming. Zen'i touched an aging carbon scar of a blast
mark just below a sign which read 'emergency room'.
"Damn it," she whispered.
"You don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do."
On cots and on the floor in the rooms and in the hallway of the in-patient ward,
were hundreds of the sick and dying. Zen'i examined each face as she walked
through. None of them recognized her for the weapon she had been. With her long
hair and dirty clothes, she now looked like one of them. However, they did gawk
a bit at her Namekjin companion.
As the fox-man pointed out various aspects of the building's decay to Polian,
Zen'i walked in to one of the rooms, lured there by the soft whimpering of a
child.
There were about ten people crowded in the room, all unattended, sick and waiting
to die. Zen'i looked for the source of the crying.
A short, pale woman wearing clean, black clothes squatted down next to a todler
with curly, black hair. The little girl hiccuped as the woman said something
to her.
"No, I'm sorry. You can't come with us," she soothed the girl. A woman
with the same, curly hair lay slumped against the wall in front of them.
She sobbed and pet the woman's hand, entreating her to wake up
Zen'i approached tentatively. Her mouth opened. The pale woman emitted no ki
whatsoever. "What... What are you?" she stuttered.
The strange woman stood and faced her, smiling pleasantly. "I'm endless."
Zen'i backed up a step.
"It's ok, I'm not here for you again." What little light filtered
into the room glinted off of the silver ahnk around her neck.
Suddenly, the face was familiar. Zen'i looked to the woman on the floor. She
was dead. The girl was still sobbing but had given up on the corpse.
Death squatted back down. "Shhh, it's ok, Sweatheart. Someone's come to
take care of you." She motioned for Zen'i to come closer. Zen'i's eyes
widend. She was about to refuse such an absurd idea when the child looked up
at her.
Her eyes were grey and huge, filled with tears. She pouted and rubbed the back
of her hand across her grubby face.
Death stood back up and waved good-bye to Zen'i. "Ganbatte kudasai."
"Demo..." the Jinzoningen protested.
The little girl ran to the android and grabbed on to her legs. She hugged her,
hard.
When Zen'i looked up, Death was gone. "Wait! Chotto matte kudasai!"
The little girl looked up at her with those huge, watery, grey eyes and began
to cry again.
"Ie, Ie, don't cry, please." Zen'i crouched down and took the girl
by the shoulders. "I guess... you're with me."
She blinked, sniffled and lunged at the Jinzoningen. The hug she gave her was
unlike anything Zen'i had ever felt. Warmth coursed through her and her heart
swelled. She picked her up and carried her away from the decay.
"Oh, there you are,"
the fox-man said as he saw Zen'i emerge from the room. Polian did a double take.
Zen'i put her finger to her lips. The girl had fallen asleep against her shoulder.
"Who's kid is she?" he asked quietly.
"She's mine, now." Zen'i walked back out of the festering building
into the sunshine and blinked back tears before anyone could see them.
*
A fir tree groaned as it fell to the forest floor. The young man with the pony
tail picked up a pair of enourmous, steel tongs and clasped the trunk. He dragged
the one-hundred-foot-tall tree behind him, back to the clearing. Then he chopped
off the limbs with a sizable axe and piled the branches according to size. He
then took a two-person saw and cut the trunk into long, thin planks. After he
was done, he sat on a nearby stump and wiped his brow with his sleave. He took
a drink from a bottle of water and pouted.
"How long do you plan on watching me work?"
Koneko was not surprised that he knew she was there, only that he hadn't said
anything earlier. "Well, you're done now." She stepped out from behind
the shrubs in which she had been hiding. It was a hot, late summer day and she
was wearing shorts, a blue tank top and her hair up in two pig tails that still
fell past her waist. "So this is what you've been up to?"
Juunanago didn't answer. She bit her lip, but kept trying.
"Must be lonely. It's so quiet!"
"I LIKE quiet."
"Oh." She walked over, dusted off another stump and seated herself
across from him. Koneko cocked her head to the side and stared.
He stared back with a blank, slightly annoyed look on his face "What?"
"I'm trying to figure you out," she announced and continued to stare.
"Why?"
"Why?" she asked back. "I don't know, cause no one else dares
to. Cause your sister misses you and wonders why you don't talk to her..."
He winced at the mention of her. 'What's her name again?' he thought, 'Goodness
or something...?'
"Why don't you come over tonight? It's a Wednesday. We usually play cards
on Wednesdays at her house. Bulma and Gohan will be busy with Capsule affairs
all this week, so they won't be there. It'll just be Polian, Zen'i, me and you.
Sound good?"
"That's right, Zen'i," he chuckled. "Goodwill. How ironic."
Koneko pouted. "You don't like it?"
"Did I say I didn't?" he asked without any genuine nastiness in his
voice.
"I gave it to her." Koneko hopped off the stump and brushed some wood
chips out of the ends of her hair with her fingers. "I could give you one
too, if you want, Juunanago."
As she expected, he didn't answer. She regarded him for a moment before taking
to the air. "Tonight after dark. Be there, or be lonely. It's up to you."
He waited untill she was almost out of sight before watching her leave. Juunanago pouted, sighed and got back to work.
*
"Here." Polian put the pile of children's clothes on the counter in
the bathroom. "These should fit."
"Arigatou." Zen'i smiled and selected a cute, denim jumper with a
bright, red flower on it. "Here ya go, kiddo," she helped the little
orphan get dressed and began brushing her still wet, shoulder-length, curly,
black locks. "There. What do you think?"
They both looked in the mirror at her reflection. She was rosey cheeked and
clean, but her eyes were still red from crying and echoed a deep sadness. Zen'i
picked her up and took her into the living room.
"Are you hungry, sweetie?" she asked. The girl nodded and put her
fingers in her mouth. "Well, let's see what we got, hm?"
In the refridgerator there was a bin full of apples, some questionable eggs
and butter and not much else. "Wow, looks like I'm going to have to go
shopping. Between the two of us, Polian and I really don't eat that much,"
she explained. The girl gnawed on her fingers nervously.
"Oh, Sweetie, you shouldn't chew on your fingers! Here." She gave
her an apple and looked to Polian. "Wanna come shopping with us?"
The look he gave her told her he thought she had a screw loose.
"Humor me, Polian. Her mother died, right there in front of me. What else
was I supposed to do, just walk away?" she whispered.
"Well, no. But are you sure this is something you can do?"
"I don't know," she said and watched the girl devour the apple down
to the core. Still hungry, she began to eat this too.
"Oh, sweetie, you don't have to eat that yuckie part! Here, have another!"
she chimed and got her another piece of fruit. Zen'i's heart skipped a beat
when the little one looked up, took the apple from her and smiled for the first
time.
"Come on, family," she grinned at Polian. "Let's go shopping."
*
When they came home, they were surprised to see that the lights were on, but
quickly remembered that it was Wednesday.
"Konban wa!" Koneko chimed as they came in. Polian put several bags
of groceries on the table.
"Hi, Koneko!" Zen'i looked radient. "There's someone I'd like
you to meet!"
The young woman blinked a few times before looking down where Zen'i pointed.
"Say hello, Sweetie-pie!"
The black haired girl blushed and burried her face in Zen'i's skirt.
"Awwwww.. kawaii!" Koneko crouched down and investigated. "And
where did you come from?"
"She was orphaned," Polian remarked. "We're, uh... taking care
of her."
"Ara?" Koneko bolted back up and looked from the Jinzoningen to the
Namekjin and back a few times. "You guys are... parents?"
"I supposed so!" Zen'i blushed.
"Sugoi!" She hugged them both. "Well, isn't this the perfect
time! The whole fan damily's here!"
Zen'i blinked as she put down the bags of groceries she had gotten. "Nani?"
"You can come out now!" Koneko called.
The group stood motionless,
waiting. A large sweat drop appeared above Koneko's head.
"Please, come out...?" she hissed.
Slowly, Juunanago shuffled into the room with his hands stuffed in his pockets,
rolling his eyes much like a true teenager.
"Juunana!" Zen'i gasped.
"Konban wa, Imoto. Nice rug-rat." He mumbled and tilted his head towards
the little girl.
Zen'i smiled. 'At least he hasn't lost his knack of putting things so suscintly,'
she thought.
After the groceries were put away, the strange group settled down to a game
of cards.
"Ha!" Juunanago
shouted. "Gin!"
Polian threw down his remaining cards in disgust.
"Finally!" Koneko gathered the cards while Zen'i tabulated the score.
"Someone who can beat the Great Namekian Card-shark!"
Zen'i giggled. Her little girl crawled under the table and emerged on the other
side in Juunanago's lap. Koneko chuckled at the surprised look on his face.
The girl turned around in her uncle's lap and faced the other players. Her little
hands reached out for cards.
Polian grinned. "I think she wants to play."
"I think you're right," Juunanago replied. "And she wants to
sit where the winning happens, right Chibi-chan?" he asked her. She turned
her head around and smiled broadly at him. They all laughed.
As they taught her how to play, Juunana leaned over and whipsered to his sister.
"She doesn't talk much, ne?"
"She doesn't talk at all. I think it's psychological."
"Oh." He looked down at her and couldn't beging to imagine the rough
times this poor baby had seen.
A dark shadow came across his face. He sighed and picked her up. "Shitsureshimasu,"
Juunanago excused himself and went to the door.
"But Juunana, it's only eight o'clock," Koneko pointed out.
"I'm sorry, I have to go." He made the mistake of looking at the girl
he called Chibi-chan before ducking out the door. Her smile was gone and those
big, grey eyes were filling with tears. Juunana left quickly and flew off into
the night.
After he left, Chibi-chan
was inconsolable.
"I think it's time she went to bed," Zen'i decided.
"Yeah, I guess that's the way with little kids." Koneko cleaned up
and bade them good night.
As she walked back to Capsule Corp., a thousand thoughts played in Koneko's
mind. There was so much to think about now. Their lives were all changing. She
only hoped she could help make everything all right.
*
A few brightly colored leaves blew around the eastern side of the new community
center in Atarashii Hope. The morning light filtered through the saplings which
had been planted only three months ago. Children of every age entered the halls,
chatting excitedly amongst themselves. The Namek and the Jinzoningen walked
slowly beside their little girl, who was wide-eyed and nervous. They came at
last to her classroom.
"Hey there!" Gohan called. "I was wondering when you'd show!"
He greeted his friends and patted the little girl on the head. "Ready to
learn, Chibi?"
She hid behind Zen'i and Gohan laughed. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt you
to learn!"
Zen'i crouched down and made sure that everything was in place. "Ok now
Chibi-chan, we'll be back at noon. Have fun and be nice to Mr. Son. This is
his first day too!"
"Gohan," Polian asked aside. "Will it be a problem, her not talking?"
"No, Polian. Many of these children are at disadvantages and different
levels of learing. It will take time to bring every one of them up to speed."
Gohan smiled at Chibi and took her to her seat.
Her 'parents' waved good-bye and went to work.
*
Koneko picked up another log and hefted it over her head. She marched this back
to the clearing and dropped it down with a tremendous thud next to the others.
She took off her flanel shirt and tied it around her waist.
The sky was shockingly blue and the air was clear and smelled like the falling
leaves. The temperature had reached nearly 75 degrees already and it was only
noon.
"If it weren't for the trees, it'd be hard to believe it's October!"
she shouted to her companion.
"Ee," Juunanago replied.
That was about all she could get out of him most days, but it was better than
silence. She couldn't understand why he liked it so much. She had wanted to
bring a radio out with her the first few days she had started working with him,
but knew that it would just upset him. She wanted him to feel comfortable around
her.
Every day it got a little better. He didn't stand quite so far away from her
and had more patience with her often silly ways.
Koneko watched him whip the axe around and remove the branches from the trunk
of a tree with ease and smiled. Maybe it would work. Maybe she'd ask him to
Capsule for dinner sometime soon.
*
Chibi's head went down at her desk for the third time one Thursday afternoon.
Gohan had woken her up twice all ready, and as he saw this, he was both frustrated
and worried.
"Chibi-chan, wake up sweetheat," he advised.
She didn't stirr.
"Yoshito, could you nudge her awake please?" he asked the boy who
sat next to her in the middle of the classroom.
The boy nodded and did as he was told. He nudged her a little too hard and the
girl fell out of her chair.
The class made a collective gasp and everyone got to their feet. Gohan rushed
in to the middle of the desks and picked the girl up. Her face was bright red
and she was covered in sweat. No matter how much he tried, Gohan could not wake
her.
The class filed out of the room and he jogged her down to the nurses' office.
Polian and Zen'i held up
either end of an I-beam as a team of rivoters secured it in place, high above
the city streets. The pair dusted off their hands and got ready to get another
800 pound beam when they both froze in midair.
"Polian! Zen'i!" Gohan's voice echoed through the streets. Their extra-sensitive
hearing picked it up and they quickly excused themselves from their task.
"WHAT HAPPENED!?"
Zen'i demanded and stroked Chibi's damp hair.
"She has malaria. It's been going around the children recently. If they
run around at night, they get bitten by mosquitos and contract the disease,"
a nurse coldly informed her.
"Are you accusing me of being neglectful!? She loves to run around and
chase fireflies..." her voice trailed off. "My God, it is my fault..."
Polian tried to comfort her, but she was too angry.
"Well, give her medicine! Make her better!"
"We have. It doesn't seem to be working."
Zen'i looked to Polian quickly. "Please!" She clutched at his shirt.
"Heal her, Polian!"
"I can't..."
"YES! Yes you can, I believe in you!"
"It's not that simple. Even if I had become a healer like I was supposed
to, I wouldn't be able to save her. We can heal abrasions, broken bones, that
sort of thing. This is a natural disease."
"Then maybe Dende!?.."
He shook his head.
"The Dragon Balls!?!"
Again he shook his head.
"Shimatta! This isn't fair!!" Zen'i squeezed the unconscious girl
to her chest.
"Ma'am, I wouldn't get too close, she could be contageous."
Zen'i laughed darkly at this. "I can't get sick..." She glared at
the unfeeling nurse. "I'm a Jinzoningen."
The woman stepped back a few paces.
"A Jinzoningen..." she repeated and looked down at the helpless little
thing in her arms. "If only...."
"Zen'i?" Polian asked when she went silent.
"Come on!" she cried suddenly. "We're going to Capsule!"
Koneko led an unsure Juunanago
through the halls of the house. She called out to her family, but no one answered.
She shrugged to her companion and offered him a glass of water and a seat.
"I'm sure they'll be home soon."
Juunanago observed his surroundings. Bulma had decorated the room with framed
photographs and old newspaper articles about Capsule's success from before the
holocaust. He tapped his foot nervously. "Well, I really don't think..."
Juunana's excuse was cut off as Gohan entered the room. The Jinzoningen stood
up, politely.
"Oh, Gohan-san, you're home..." Koneko began but saw the weary look
on his face and immediatly began appologizing for the Jinzoningen's appearance.
"He's my guest, Gohan-san..."
"It's not that," he stopped her. "How are you, Juunanago?"
He blinked at him. "Genki desu, Anata wa?"
"I'm all right, but I'm afraid your neice is not."
"Chibi-chan?" he asked, a little alarmed. Gohan had them both sit
down and explained the strange situation.
Bulma flicked on the lights
to the lower lab. Zen'i's skin crawled, but she followed, desperate to find
a way. Chibi shivered in her arms as the seizures brought on by her malaria
began.
"It was down here." Bulma led the way around the back of the super-computer
which lay dormant in the middle of the room. Cell's empty test-tube was to their
left. They both let their gaze linger on this for a moment, remembering their
deaths.
Back in the shadows, in a pile of boxes and parts, was a oval shaped pod. Bulma
took the sick little girl from Zen'i and instructed her to bring the pod up.
Eagerly, she jogged it up the stairs and put it down. She wiped a thick layer
of dust from its surface.
In the same, bold font
as her and her brother's pods, the number 15 was written with an overscore.
Below this was a note, handwritten by the Madman himself.
'15: Chibi Prototype Juugogo'
Inside the short pod was a Jinzoningen whom Zen'i had never seen before. It
had dark, green hair and alabaster skin and appeared to be an artifice of a
human no more than five or six years of age.
"Kamisama, what was he planning to do?" Zen'i stared at the little
android.
"According to his journals, he wanted something that had the appearance
of pure innocence. He made 20 child-Jinzoningen. Fifiteen was the only one that
wasn't a total failure in one way or another. Gero was a perfectionist, I'll
give him that much."
"Can we do it?" Zen'i turned and took Chibi-chan from Bulma. "Can
we really save her like this, or would we be condemning her to an eternity as
a child?"
"If we succeed, I can take my time in figuring out how to upgrade her."
"Really?" she asked, still not taking her eyes from the two children.
"You're her mother, Zen'i," Bulma advised. "It's up to you."
"So they're at the
lab now?" Koneko asked after Gohan finished telling them what Bulma and
Zen'i were doing at that moment.
"Yes. Your Okaasan said that she would call when she knew more, but it
may take a while."
"Is that really possible?" she asked. "Do you think they can
really make Chibi-chan into an android?"
"If Gero took my sister and I and made us what we are, then I suppose so,
but," Juunanago furrowed his brows. "If Chibi-chan is dying..."
Gohan stood and looked out a window at the setting sun. "It's a race against
time."
"But we're also talking about the most brilliant woman on the planet and
a Jinzoningen whom I happen to know never accepts defeat. My sister loves that
little girl. She'll do anything to help her."
Gohan met Juunana's eyes and nodded.
Koneko sighed inwardly. 'Nothing like crisis to bring people together,' she
thought. "Where's Polian in all this?"
Gohan sat down across from Juunanago. "He went to speak to Dende."
"Who's Dende?"
"Our friend, Kamisama."
"You're friends with God?" Juunana asked, skeptically.
Both Gohan and Koneko couldn't help but smile a little at the comment.
"Then I guess praying is out of the question."
"It never hurts." Gohan pursed his lips.
Koneko took the silence as an oppertunity. "So, Juunanago. Since your house
will be empty tonight, would you like to stay for dinner?"
"I don't eat very often, but thank you very much all the same."
"Douitashimashite."
"Could you do me a favor, though, Koneko?"
Her eyes brightened at this. "Sure! Anything!"
"Keep me informed, if anything happens?"
"Of course."
As the sun set, Juunanago walked back to his sister's house.
*
Sometime around three AM, Koneko tossed and turned in her bed. The sheets were
strewn all over. She groaned, unable to catch a wink of sleep, put her hands
behind her head and stared up at the ceiling. A slight breeze picked up and
blew across her body from the open window. She closed her eyes, relaxed and
smiled.
In a few moments, the smile fell from her face. Her brows came together and
she groaned again; this time, more uncomfortably. Koneko writhed on the bed
and brought her hands down to touch her skin.
"What the hell's wrong with me?.." she complained. Desire was pulsing
through her for no reason. She had never felt it that intensly before. Sure,
she'd been hungry for it, but never insatiable like this. Her brain squirmed
and made her think strange things.
She needed satisfaction. But with whom? Gohan? No, her mother would kill her.
Polian was most probably not equipped for the task...
'No,' she thought as she sat up suddenly. 'No no no no... Not him. I couldn't..
He WOULDN'T...' She blinked.
"Maybe I could.. Maybe he WOULD!"
Koneko crept around the
side of the small house on the outskirts of town. It was pitch dark, but her
well trained eyes made use of the starlight. 'Now, which one is HIS window..?'
"Koneko?" asked a surprised voice from behind.
"OH! Hi Juunanago.."
"What are you doing out here?" He sounded half cross and half bewildered.
"I was actually..." Her tone fell into a sultry one. "I was looking
for you..."
"Nan.. nani?" He stepped back a pace as she slinked towards him.
"Juunanago, I don't know what's overcome me, but," she couldn't belive
she was doing this! "I need you."
"Are you on drugs? You DO know who you're talking to, don't you?"
She giggled a little. "Yes! Isn't that crazy!" She reached out and
touched his chest, but he batted her hand away gently.
"You're obviously sleep walking or... maybe you ate something halucinagenic..
or.."
"...Or maybe I know you can do the job right."
"NANI!? You ARE on drugs! Hello! I used to force myself on you, remember!?"
She licked her lips and nodded. "Uh huh. I think it's you who've forgotten.
After that first time, how many times did I say 'no' to you?"
"Well I..." Juunanago thought back.
He had evaded his sister on several other occasions and had his way with the
half-Saiyan, but now that he thought about it, she HAD never said no! He stopped
backing away, but held her straying hands to prevent her from going any further.
"Koneko, This isn't right."
"Why not? Who says?" she pouted seductively.
'Strength 17, strength!' "Well, your mother for one!"
"What she doesn't know can't hurt her.." Koneko continued to fight
his grip, but stopped after a few moments. "Juunanago, do YOU say? Don't
you want me?"
'STRENGTH!' "Well.. that is.. I..."
She looked like she was going to cry all of a sudden. Juunanago gritted his
teeth.
'SO, I'M A WEAKLING!' He pulled her to him and kissed her neck. She cried out
with joy.
Koneko panted next to the
Jinzoningen. Both of them were covered in sweat. She climbed back on top of
him and lay down, staring into his icy-blue eyes. He blinked at her and wondered
at her smile.
"It's a lot more fun when you're not making me do it!" she purred.
He smiled a bit at this, but the awe would not leave him. He had never been
able to appreciate her subtler aspects in the past. Her petit form was toned
and her skin was tan. Every limb bore a scare or two, attesting to her difficult
life. Despite this, she was so soft, and her hair was so long and silky against
his skin.
She had come to him. She, who's life he had threatend for months. She who's
world he had destroyed; who's father he had killed. Juunanago closed his eyes.
She was too bright to look at. Koneko sighed and snuggled in.
He gingerly pushed her off of his chest and sat up in bed. Koneko leaned back
on her elbows and observed him in the light of a solitary candle. His skin was
glistening and perfect. He was beautiful; a perpetual teenager. His soft, jet
black hair covered most of his face from this angle.
"Are you ok?" she asked.
"I don't deserve this."
Koneko gasped. Pity overwhelmed her. "Everyone deservers a second chance."
"Not me!" He sounded lost.
"Especialy you!" She wanted to look him in the eye to furthur convince
him, but gave him his space. "You didn't have a choice."
"How can you be like this!? How can you forgive me for what I've done!?"
"I don't need to forgive you for something you had no conrol over doing.
You need to forgive yourself... in order to heal."
"Oh? And how do I do that?!" he asked, frustrated.
"You need to care about yourself."
"Well I can't!"
"If I can..." she put her hand on top of his. "You can."
There was a brief silence. Koneko prayed that he was geering up to turn around
and smile and everything would be alright. He hung his head down.
"I don't deserve to be happy." Juunanago's voice cracked up a bit
and he fell silent. Koneko stared at his naked form. He may have been impervious
to all harm, but at that moment, he was completly vunarable. With his back to
her he mumbled. "I think you should go home."
She stayed where she was and tried to think of something to say, but the right
words wouldn't come. Actions spoke louder than anything she could have said.
Koneko put her hand on his shoulder. When he didn't resist, she inched close
to him and enfolded him in her embrace. She squeezed his chest, nuzzled the
back of his neck and waited for a reaction.
The Jinzoningen shuddered.
He closed his surprised eyes tightly and struggled as he involuntarily tried
to escape her grip. His discomfort was then magnified as a myriad images played
against the back of his lids.
A million victims, their fear slashed across their horrified faces; lovers in
each other's arms, cowering in terror before being snuffed out like a pair wooden
matches, paraded through his brain.
Juunanago gritted his teeth and began to moan as the memories flooded him. He
could no longer feel the girl's arms around him. He couldn't hear her soothing
words and soft shushing. Pitiful, pained cries escaped his lips as he was tortured
by the images and sounds in his head.
Then he saw her, younger and helpless on the ground, clutching her shredded
clothing to herself, crying. He screamed, still unable to stop the barrage.
"Nnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaaaaa......!!!!"
Koneko only held him tighter. She squeezed her own eyes shut and held him down,
preventing the android from flying away from her.
Suddenly his shouting stopped. His chest heaved with the exertion. At last,
as if he had surfaced from the pool of his waking nightmares, Juunanago regained
his senses and opened his eyes. She was still wrapped around him and her warmth
flooded him straight to his core.
It was a few momentst before Koneko realized that he was crying. He folded his arms over hers and hugged her back, tightly, sobbing heavily. She rocked him in her arms and kissed the meeting of his neck and shoulder. "I'm going to MAKE you happy, whether you want me to or not," she whispered.
*
Sometime around dawn, Bulma's exhaustion began to catch up with her. They had
managed so far to get a life-support facility up and running and it was already
prolonging the little girl's inevidable death. The adroid body was opened up
and waiting for the transplant. Bulma finished accessing all the raw data Zen'i
would need to complete the process. She downloaded it straight into Zen'i's
brain and unplugged the interface.
"Got it?"
Zen'i nodded, wide eyed with the clarity of the plans. "It's amazing,"
she wispered. "He really was a genius."
Bulma nodded sleepily.
"You'd better go home. No offense, Bulma-san, but the more tired you get
the more human error can factor into the equation. Besides, it's not going to
be pretty from here on in."
"None taken." The woman got to her feet and fished the Capsule car
out of her pocket. "I'll tell Polian it'll take a few days."
"Don't let him come here."
"Huh?" she asked, a little shocked.
"I'm probably not going to be reachable once I get into this. I may go
a little mad myself for a while."
Bulma nodded. "Gotcha. Good luck, Zen'i."
"Thanks, Bulma-san. For everything."
*
It was the wee hours of the morning when Bulma came back to her home. Her daughter's
room was dark, and Gohan was snoring lightly in a chair in the living room;
a copy of Mary Shelly's Frankenstien open on his lap.
She picked the up book, dog-eared and closed it. "Science fiction,"
she whispered. Gohan stirred.
His big, brown eyes fluttered open and he stretched. "Hey, how'd it go?"
"Don't know yet." She stood in front of him, exhausted.
Gohan took his hands out of his lap and pulled her down into it. She snuggled
in and gave up her fight to stay awake as he picked her up and took her to bed.
*
Only a day remained until the end of the month. With the turbulent last few
days, everyone had forgotten about All Souls Eve: the night when ghosts, spirits
and demons were said to roam the Earth freely.
Koneko had been told that before the holocaust, people had celebrated this day
in fun and intersting ways, dressing up in scary costumes in order to frighten
the oni away. Those who did not dress up and who stayed at home were said to
be visited by the spirits and in order to keep themselves from harm, offered
them treats.
As soon as she realized that this un-holy holiday was going to be revived, Koneko
decided that this would be a good way to help her shake the anxiety she felt
about Chibi-chan.
"Still no word," Bulma sighed as she finished checking the messages
on the answering machine.
Koneko bit her lip as she finished hanging up another bit of false cob-webs.
"I'm sure everything will be all right."
"Koneko-chan, what ARE you doing?"
She gave her mother a silly grin. "Making the house SPOOKY!" she extended
her arms and wiggled her fingers at Bulma as she said this.
"Don't you think you're a little old for All Souls Eve?" she asked.
"You're never too old, blah, blah!" Gohan shouted in a funny accent
as he jumped out from around the corner, wrapped in a long black cape. Both
women screamed near identical screams.
Gohan grabbed Bulma and pretened to bite her neck. "Ze count ees a thousand
years olt unt he still likes to pahty! Blah blah!"
"God, you two!" Koneko covered her eyes and giggled.
*
As night fell on the evening of the 31st, Zen'i was still hard at work. The
little girl's body was pale, but machines breathed for her and an electrical
current forced her heart back in rhythem when it faltered.
The Jinzoningen hadn't uttered a word in three days. Her fingers flew as she
fought against time, re-working the empty shell of the prototype. She seemed
to always be just one step away when another hurdle would present itself. Configuring
the intricacies of Chibi-chan's brain into binary code had been the easy part.
Forecing her into her new host was beinging to look impossible.
A flicker of light from the left caught Zen'i's eye, but she detected no movement.
"What do you want?" she asked roughly.
"You know what I want."
Zen'i gasped and swung her head around to see. Many color-coded wires which
sprouted from an exposed port on the right side of her head just above her ear
swished with the movement. Her hands, programmed by the information Bulma had
given her kept up their monotonous task as she spoke. "You can't have her!"
The thin, pale woman pouted. "If you keep this up, you may be right."
Zen'i gawked. "You mean... it's going to work!?"
She folded her arms. "I don't approve, but I can't stop you from trying.
Just like I couldn't stop Gero."
Zen'i's fingers ceased their tireless work. "How DARE you liken me to him!"
she belowed, deeply ofended. "He was a madman!!"
"That's true," she admitted. "But when he made you an android,
that madman saved your life."
"You.. you know about my life?..." she whispered.
"I know about everyone, Zen'i..."
Zen'i wanted to beg Death to tell her what she knew, but a light, pinging sound
alerted her that her girl was slipping away again.
"Kuso..." she hissed and turned her back on the woman. "I don't
care!! I don't care about anyting but my daughter! I WILL save her!!!"
Death took a seat on a lab table and waited.
*
"...And so he went to the graveyard the old woman told them to go to, and
they looked around for her name," Gohan's eyes moved over his audience.
Bulma looked relaxed enough, but her eyes were wide with anticipation. Koneko
sat with her feet tucked under her, clutching the arms of the chair. Juunanago
blinked, beginging to wonder if this story was made up or not.
"They couldn't find it. But just as they were about to leave, his buddy
Saturo tapped him on the shoulder." Gohan reached over and tapped 17 on
the shoulder and whispered to him, bringing him further in to the story. "Hey,
dude... Isn't that your jacket?"
"Sure enough, Yasuhara's jacket: the one he had given the girl called Maki
at the dance the night before because she was so cold, was draped over one of
the stones.
"They both walked up and Saturo got a stick and lifted the jacket off the
marker," Gohan leaned in and whispered.
"'Here lies Fujitsu Maki, who loved to dance.'"
Koneko made a short, whimpering sort of sound.
"They dropped the stick and the jacket and high-tailed it out of the county
as fast as they could and never returned again."
"Waaa! I'm never gonna SLEEP again!!!" Koneko wailed.
Bulma shuddered. "Wow, that was great! And speaking of sleep, I think it's
getting a little late."
Juunanago blinked a few times and repressed a shudder. "Yeah, I should
be heading home. Maybe there's a message from my sister or Polian."
Bulma and Koneko bid him good night, and everyone retired for the evening.
About a half an hour passed
and the light in Bulma and Gohan's window went out. Koneko grinned and opened
hers.
"I thought they'd NEVER turn in!" she complained as Juunanago stepped
through the tall, french-style doors.
"Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, if they catch me here I don't
think I'll be invited over for social calls ever again."
Koneko smirked and pulled her nightshirt over her head.
"Ok, that shut me up."
"Besides," she whispered as she pulled his belt off and began unzipping
his pants. "I need someone to keep away the things that go bump in the
night."
Somewhere around four AM,
Juunanago nudged the sleeping half-Saiyan awake. She groaned, but smiled when
she remembered who was doing the nudging.
"Mmmm... what, again?" she asked seductively.
"Nah, I have to go."
She pouted and grabbed a hold of his lithe body. "Noooo..." she whined.
"Yesssss," he smiled and gently took her hands in his. He kissed them
and got out of bed. "I stay any longer and they may realize what we're
up to. It's a little early to tell them yet, da yo ne?"
"I guess," she sulked.
Juunanago bent and stroked her hair. Koneko gave up her childish actions and
sat up in bed. She put her arms around him and squeezed, emmitting a soft humming
sound as she did so.
"Koneko," he said as he took her chin in his hand. "You've done
it."
"Nani ikimashita?"
"I'm happy." He smiled and kissed her on the forehead.
She melted. He waved as he buttoned his shirt and left through the window. The
cold, night air washed into the room for a moment before the window closed behind
him.
Koneko shivered herself
awake a few hours after her lover left her. She wrapped the comforter tighter
around her naked body and tried to go back to sleep. It wasn't enough. Still
cold, she got up and put on her nightshirt.
"Shimatta, Juunana," she thought and wandered drowsily to the window.
"What do you live in? A barn?" When she got to it, she realized the
window was closed.
"Hrmph." Rubbing her arms, she went to the room's thermostat. It was
set at 70 degrees. She turned it down and back up, heard the familiar distant
hum of the heating system turn on, but felt none of the end product.
"Damn it." Koneko frowned. "Screw it, I'll sleep in the guest
room."
She tapped the virtual door nob, and expecting the moden thing to slide open
for her, she stepped forward and slammed her nose into it.
"Owww! Kuso tare..." she hissed and got mad. "Sometimes, I really
hate technology!" She grabbed hold of the manual lever and pulled, but
it wouldn't budge.
"Perfect," she grumbled. "Welp, I ain't staying in this cold-ass
room!" Koneko leaned back and threw her shoulder to the door. A normal
human would not have done any damage, but a half-Saiyan should have blown the
thing off its hinges. Instead, she bounced back.
The tiredness and frustration built up and she raised her palm. "Ok, door.
You asked for it! HA!" she screamed and fired a smallish ki blast off at
it. Again, the door remained, but even more disturbing, the blast didn't leave
a mark.
"Ok..." She backed off and looked around in the dark. She groped for
the light switch but it was dead. At that point, fear finally overtook her.
"Heh heh heh heh heh..." a soft chuckling seemed to emmanate from
the ceiling.
The temperature dropped another ten degrees. Koneko's brows came together. "Juunana?
Gohan? This isn't funny! Let me out!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha..."
"Guys!? Stop it! Come on..."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!"
The sound bounced off the walls. She couldn't tell where it was coming from.
Koneko backed herself into a corner and stared out with all of her senses, but
could determine nothing.
"What's going on!?" she cried, but the laughter persisted. It was
so cold in the room that her breath was now visible. Suddenly, every ghost story
she had ever been told came back to her all at once. "Ghost!!!" she
screamed. "Tasukete kudasai!!! Help!!"
"AHHHH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
Koneko screamed and covered her head with her arms. She felt invisible hands
pull her arms back. She opened her eyes, but saw nothing. The laughter was closer,
echoing in her ears. She shook her head. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Please!
No! Leave me alone!" her voice was choked. What little she could see went
black and Koneko went limp.
The room was dead silent. The door slid quietly open.
Koneko's body shook lightly.
"Heh heh heh heh..."
Her head came up. She grinned evilly.
"Hahahahahahaha..."