~*~*~*~
Usagi went to bed earlier than usual that evening. The day had been way too much for her to handle. With being attacked in the morning and having an outburst with Tatsuo, she had already been pretty worn out. Add the encounter with Mamoru and Tatsuo and her day was feeling pretty complete. All she had wanted to do after that was relax on her own without interruptions, but then she was attacked, her broach being stolen in the process. Had it not been for her tail she didn't know WHAT would have happened. Luckily, when her father hit the creature with his energy attack, the broach flew out of its hand and made its way under her bed.
Things seemed to calm down after that, or had they? Her father knew something was up with that broach, she could hear it in his voice when he spoke to her, not to mention see it in his eyes. She could always tell when he knew when she was lying, just as he had always known when he was lying. And the one thing about him that she had always loved was if she told him she wasn't lying when he asked, he wouldn't persist in asking. He wouldn't in anyway insist that she tell him the truth, unless he thought it was imperative that he be told. But, even knowing that he knew made her feel guilty. She knew that every time she lied he lost trust in her, which only added to her guilt. She hated having to lie, it wasn't something she really did anymore unless it was truly important, like her Broach. She wished she could tell everyone, but it was against the rules, something she didn't intend on breaking.
The night had been hectic, yes, but at least she could sleep in her own bed without worrying about another attack. The creature who had attacked her obviously knew he wasn't a match for her father otherwise it wouldn't have left so quickly.
~*~*~
~Later that Night~
Chi-Chi lay, restless, in her bed that night in a ball of pain. Though not Physical pain, it still ached deep in her heart. It was a pain that she had been unconsciously been building up since the days of her past. Her daughter's attack had only added to it, making it so unbearable that she couldn't stand it.
As she lay there, she wondered about so many things. Mostly about days of peace, would they ever come? Things seemed to calm down after Buu had been beaten, starting up only after Usagi had turned seven with the arrival of Kiro. Not that she could blame them, after all, their home planet had been originally destroyed by the Saiyans. But not long after Cell had been sent to kill their daughter... then Beryl wanted her dead... and now this guy... Thinking more and more, she began to realize a distinct trend with these attacks. In the past, most of them had been caused because Freiza wanted Goku dead, as well as Dr. Gero, but now it was Usagi. What was so special about her? She let out a long sigh as she turned over to her side and looked at her husband. She was surprised to see him staring directly back at her.
She smiled at him. For once, she was happy with him even in a time of "war". He had actually taken the time out to comfort him, instead of being his usual assholish-self and not care about her feelings. "Can't sleep?"
Goku gave a slight nod. He too couldn't sleep that night, but not exactly for the same reasons. He was in a troubled state of mind. Not only over the night's attack, but because Usagi lied to him, blatantly, when he asked her straight up. She had no reason to do so, yet she chose to. He thought that she had been past the lying age, but he must have been wrong. "No, you?"
Chi-Chi nodded back as she moved in closer. "No. I haven't been able to sleep at all. This whole day's just been, well..."
Goku wrapped his arms around his wife and closed his eyes. "I know. It's been rough for both you and Usagi."
Chi-Chi relaxed into husband's soft embrace. She could have cried right there and then, but she figured she had done enough of that. After the small blue thing had left, she had run directly into her room and cried, only to be followed by Goku. Even if she wanted to cry now, she didn't think that she would have enough moisture left in her tear ducts to do so. "Goku, have you ever wondered why all three of the past enemies, which includes the latest, has gone for Usagi?"
Goku frowned. He had in fact thought of that. "Strange, isn't it?"
Chi-Chi nodded as she snuggled even further into his chest. "I don't like it one bit."
Goku could definitely agree with that, no problem. "I don't know why Beryl went after her other than her power, but I know why this knew guy is attack her. It's because of that broach she's got. When I went into her room he was holding it in his hands. It wasn't until I hit the damned thing that I realized he was holding something because the thing went flying out of its hand under Usagi's bed."
Chi-Chi thought about her husband's words for a moment and remembered back to the immediate response of Goku after the creature left. She distinctly remembered Usagi telling him that she knew nothing. "Are you saying she lied?"
Goku nodded his head rather softly. He didn't want to alarm his wife that Usagi may be hiding something yet again, but it was the truth. Any other time he would have kept quiet and kept it away from her, but she had a right to know, it wasn't right to keep her in the dark in situations like this. It was her family too, not only his. "I am. I could tell she was nervous when I asked her about it tonight."
Chi-Chi rolled her eyes, half in relief. "She was just frightened from the attack."
"I don't think so. I can usually tell when she's lying to me, and I think she is. She's not telling us something, something important that may play an important role in this entire situation."
Chi-Chi frowned. She hadn't thought Usagi was acting any different that night, just scared, something for which she didn't blame her. She had been scared too. "If you believe that, then why didn't you tell her to come out with it?"
Goku sighed. That was something he didn't know. He was hoping before the night ended Usagi would have told him to clear her guilt, but she had chosen otherwise. "I may have to, but I'd rather she comes out with it on her own."
Chi-Chi frowned harder. That wasn't the way to handle children. Learned from her own experience, Chi-Chi came to realize that once you let a child go off on their own and they do something wrong, or tell a lie, without some SORT of guidance, no matter how much or little, they will never learn to do right, for they believe their behavior is acceptable. "If what you say is true, she lied to your face, even upon questioning. She isn't going to come clean, I know how kids are, Goku. Believe me."
Goku sighed. He in fact was very angry with his daughter for lying to him, but he still believed that she would be good enough to come out and say whatever was on her mind, or in this case, what she knew. "I'll give her until tomorrow night to come out with it, otherwise I'll ask her again. This is too serious to be playing games like this."
Chi-Chi smiled as she closed her eyes. "Thank you, Goku, for everything. For putting up with me all these years and now, I'm even worse. I can't even keep my eyes dry these days."
Goku chuckled as he held his wife closer. He could sense her tormented feelings quite easily now, whereas earlier, he had to guess on instinct. But either way, it didn't really matter. All he knew was that she needed comforting, something she wouldn't normally get from him in cases like this because he was the one causing it by being away.
Chi-Chi smiled as she felt herself. She was becoming tired for the first time since she had gone to bed that night. "Tell me you won't leave me again, please."
Inside, Goku knew that he couldn't make that promise, still. But, he knew how much it meant to his wife to hear those words. He know knew how secure she would feel if he said what she wanted to hear. "I won't leave you, Chi-Chi."
Chi-Chi's smile turned into a proud grin. She loved to hear those words, more so than Goku would ever know. When they were younger, she had never been able to get the man to say them to her. It was as if he was afraid to or something. But it filled her heart to be able to hear him say such a thing so openly without hesitation. Maybe wisdom did come with age. Although Goku was no where close to being wise, he was at least acting like a normal husband. Having her feelings appeased, Chi-Chi soon drifted off to sleep, leaving Goku to himself and his thoughts.
Goku slowly unwrapped his arms from around his wife and moved her back onto her side of the bed. Although she had been calmed enough to sleep, he hadn't. He was still worried that Usagi knew something valuable, something which could change the entire idea of how to go up against this guy. He was positive it had something to do with that broach of hers. That wasn't even a question. The real question was, what exactly is its importance? She had told them that it was a gift from a friend, but not an exact person. It could have been the key to this guy. He wouldn't know until he got a hold of it. Then, he would have to take it to Bulma so she could check it out. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to impose force upon his daughter, and she would willingly, of her own accord, bring it fourth to him in the morning. She had until the next night to make her decision, otherwise he would move in.
~*~*~
The next morning, Usagi awoke with a body full of pain. The beatings from the day before were finally starting to set in. As soon as she rolled over and out of her bed, she immediately knew that being beaten into concrete by her tail had done more damage than she originally calculated. She could barely move she was so stiff. Even a little thing such as standing up was a chore. "Uhh..." She groaned as she stood tall to crack her back. Not even that helped. Every muscle in her body ached.
To the best of her ability, she slowly wobbled to her desk where she had put her Broach into a box for safe keeping. She couldn't wear it on the front of her cloths anymore, or at least, until this entire ordeal blew over. Not only were Tatsuo and the blue guy, who were presumably the same people, after it, but her father was now suspicious, and most likely knew there was something special about it.
Realizing she was already five minutes behind, Usagi threw the compact onto her bed and pulled out a clean School Uniform. She proceeded to get dressed, though not very fast. Every movement was accompanied by a wail of pain from the young Saiyan.
~*~*~
Once done with the painful job of preparing herself for school, Usagi raced, or as well as she could, to the kitchen, where she would have to face her parents, or more overall, her father. She knew he would give her the "I Know you're lying so just tell me" look, but not actually say anything. That was the worst look he could ever give her. It made her feel horrible when she knew that he knew that she was lying. She knew exactly what would happen when she would walk in to greet her parents. Her mother would smile happily and her father would just eat ever so slowly while glaring at her. She wondered how long it would be before he just came out and called her on her lie and demanded the truth. Even when he did, she still couldn't tell him.
She wobbled into the kitchen VERY stiffly, almost as if she had been starched the night before. Just as she predicted, her mother smiled cheerfully as she served her father his second helping, while her father ate slower and watched her every move while giving her his patented look that sent her into a Universe of Guilt, but she refused to show it. This was one mental battle he wouldn't win.
Chi-Chi turned around to her daughter and watched her sit down with a moan of pain. "You look awful."
Sitting uncomfortably on the hard chair, Usagi groaned. "Great. That's just what I need, to look awful." She looked at the plate of food before her and wondered how in the world she was going to eat it without hurting herself. Even more importantly, she wondered how she was going to survive in school. She knew very well that she could heal herself at any moment, but that went against her rules. Much like the use of the Senzu beans, using her healing power which she had learned from Hotaru was strictly for emergencies, nothing else.
Goku grinned down at his food as he took a huge bite. Usagi noticed that, and wondered why in the world he would think something this tragic was so funny. "You find it funny?"
Goku shook his head, still with a grin. "No, nothing funny about it ... gimpy..."
Usagi frowned as she hit her head against he table. She couldn't believe he would take such a low hit when she was in so much pain. "Daddy!" She whined.
On her way to her own seat, Chi-Chi hit her husband in the back of he head with her hand. "Goku! Your daughter is in pain, show some respect!"
Goku tried to keep his chuckles from boiling to the surface. He knew this was neither the time nor the place to play like this. "Alright, alright. Sorry, kiddo."
Usagi picked up her head and leaned back in her chair. Instead of eating her food, she waved her eating utensils around in it. She didn't have much of an appetite. There was far too much on her mind to want to eat. "Mom, do I have to go to school? I hurt!"
Chi-Chi nodded as she put down her glass of orange juice from taking a drink. "Yes ma'am, you do. Just take it easy today. Your teachers will understand. Maybe your dad will take you there so you don't have to use any power and hurt yourself even more."
Usagi sighed as she looked up to her father, whom she had been trying to avoid making any eye contact with so far. That didn't sound like a half bad idea. She wanted to conserve all the energy she could in order to recover sooner, and just in case she was attacked again, which she didn't think would happen. So far she had proven to hold her own against whatever was attacking. It even seemed disgruntled the night before.
Goku nodded as he finished off his plate, which was only his second. He really had slowed down his eating. A slow pattern in his eating habits was always a sure sign of being upset over something, and Usagi knew exactly what. He stood up from the table and looked down at his wife, who stared back up at him in pure confusion.
"Aren't you going to eat anymore?"
Rubbing his hands together, he shook his head. He wasn't in the mood for eating at the moment. He had too many other things on his mind. "Maybe later."
Usagi slid further into her chair. He didn't sound too happy. Maybe having him take her wasn't such a good idea after all. He would probably ask her about her broach the first chance he got. "I...think I should get going." She said, looking up to her father.
Chi-Chi turned her attention to her daughter. "Usagi, you haven't eaten a single bite of your food yet."
Usagi looked at her mother. She hadn't meant to not eat anything, but her stomach was doing flips inside her. She couldn't eat when she had no idea what the day had in store for her. "I'm not really hungry."
Chi-Chi frowned as she looked down at her food. She couldn't believe that neither of them of them wanted to eat. Of course, with the chemistry they had going on between the two of them, who would. She could sense from both sides, the tension building. It was at that moment when she realized Usagi really WAS hiding something from them, it was so obvious. Goku had been working on making her feel guilty with his "guilt" looks all morning, and they were actually working. "I'll never understand the Saiyan stomach..." She said, not wanting to add to either side.
Usagi slowly pushed herself up and walked to her mother to give her a hug. "Bye mom."
Chi-Chi smiled. It wasn't every day that she got a hug in the morning. Usagi was usually too busy running out the door for school so she wouldn't be late that she rarely received one. "Bye dear. Don't get into any trouble."
Usagi grinned. She couldn't guarantee anything with Tatsuo, but she would try. Hopefully she would be able to uphold her promise. "Ok." She slowly made her way to her father without making any eye contact. She wouldn't allow him the satisfactory of giving her even more guilt than she already held.
Goku gripped his daughter's shoulder and prepared for a quick teleportation. Under any other circumstances he would have been happy to fly her out there without using any real special power, but he didn't want to risk anything happening while he was away from the house. But not only that, he had a few words to share with Usagi.
~*~*~
Tatsuo whistled happily as he walked through the empty hallways of his school on his way to class. He was in an unusually jolly mood that morning, for a reason that didn't go unjustified. In his possession he held the key to his true happiness, his hopes and dreams. He only had one last obstacle in his way before they would be fulfilled and he was sure to surpass it that very day before class. Yes, this was the day he would obtain the final piece of the puzzle.
Just as he was about to turn the corner from the flight of stairs he had just gone up into the hall that would lead him to his class, he began to hear an echo of voices; familiar voices. A young girl, and an adult man. A wide smile spread across his face. 'Great, she's handed herself to me.' He poked his head around the corner, keeping his original position before the corner. From here, he would wait and watch.
~*~*~
Goku arrived with Usagi in front of her classroom. Goku hadn't wanted her to have to walk up a flight of stairs just to get to class. He could tell that she was hurting badly. By teleporting in front of her room, she would be right there. All that would be left to do was walk in and sit down. He peered into the room with a curious eye. He had never seen an actual classroom at work with students inside. There were the many times that Chi-Chi had dragged him into teacher-parent conferences, but this was something else. In the back of the room he spotted Minako, Ami, Makoto, and Rei.
Goku looked down to his aching daughter and gently placed his hand upon her shoulder, careful not to be too forceful. "Usagi," He began with a small sigh, "I want you to know that you can always tell me anything, no matter what. You can always trust me, you know that, right?"
Usagi groaned as she looked up at her father. She made to be careful not to look directly into his eyes. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold up her lie any longer if she had. "I know, daddy. I know I can trust you, I've always been able to trust you..." She knew these words were true. She HAD always been able to count on him, but this time she was forbidden to tell. There was no way she could break that promise.
Goku smiled. "Right. So don't be afraid to tell me anything that's on your mind..."
Usagi gulped. He was testing her, trying to sound like the good guy. Why couldn't he just understand that she wouldn't tell him no matter what? It was out of the question. "Ok."
Goku frowned that hadn't been the answer he was looking for. He had just given her an open opportunity to come clean, to come out with her lie and relieve herself of her self-made guilt. And yet she refused. He would have to force it out of her later that night if she hadn't decided to tell him by the time she was to go to bed. This wasn't a time to be keeping secrets from him. He needed to know the whole story, Dende and Piccolo needed to know the whole story.
He decided not to dwell on it right now. The important thing was to get her through the day without any more attacks. "Take it easy today, kiddo. Don't go off by yourself if that thing calls for you. I don't think it'll come around with so many others in the area."
Usagi nodded with a sigh of relief. At least he hadn't tried to keep on going with trying to make her feel guilty. He had been smart enough to change the subject. "That's what I was thinking."
Goku smiled as he took away his hand and patted her on the arm. "Don't overwork yourself." He prepared himself for another teleportion. "See ya."
Usagi smiled to herself. At least he would be leaving on a good note. "Bye daddy!" She gave a quick wave, but he was gone before it was noticed.
~*~*~
From the other end of the hall, Tatsuo emerged. "Odango!" He hollered down the hall to get Usagi's attention.
Usagi frowned with a growl as she stopped herself from turning to enter her classroom. She dropped her arms to her side in slight pain. Her body still ached, but she was beginning to get used to the pain, but she would surely feel it again the next morning. "What?!" She demanded as she looked up to the annoyance. Before even seeing who it was she knew who had called for her. It was the one person whom she never really wanted to see again. "Where do you get off calling me that?!"
Tatsuo smirked as he reached into his pocket while he approached the Saiyan. "That's what that other guy called you. I think it rather fits you, Odango."
Usagi clenched her fists. Why was he trying to anger her? He had seemed like such a nice kid from the beginning, then when she had taken her to meet her father things just seemed to kind of fall apart. He just kept getting weirder and ruder with each coming day. "Only Mamoru can call me that!"
Tatsuo stopped in front of Usagi, still with a smirk of arrogance. It was the same smirk that Mamoru had worn in his earlier childhood. A smirk still known to the face, though not worn nearly as often. "Oh? And is this Mamoru your boyfriend?"
Usagi frowned even harder as she overcame her pain just long enough to violently shake her head from side to side. She was immediately reminded of her destiny to marry him, and was utterly sickened by the thought, though she did blush slightly. "No way! Mamoru's my rival, so he's the only one who can make fun of me! It's funny like that."
Tatsuo's smirk dropped and was replaced with a deep scowl of hatred. "Oh... well then, I'd like you to give your rival something. You see, he hurt me yesterday, and now I want my payback." Without letting the girl respond, he pulled his out hand and ran it down her arm from her shoulder to elbow with rapid motion, causing the cloth of her uniform to rip open. All the way down, her skin, too, was cut open as well, revealing a trail of blood down her arm. She now had two long cuts on one arm trailing from her shoulder to her elbow. And then her elbow to her wrist.
Tatsuo pulled back his hand from the stunned Usagi and revealed a sharp piece of glass with blood on the very tip. He laughed aloud as he pulled out a plastic baggy from his other hand and dropped the glass in it. He proceeded to stare back up at the girl, whose face was growing red with each passing second. He just smiled on. "That was for Mamoru."
Usagi looked down at her stinging arm with a twitching eye. The anger built up inside to the point of bursting. How dare this boy come to her and harm her just because of something Mamoru had done. She looked back up to the blonde with rage burning in her eyes. "This is from Mamoru!" She said as she formed a fist and punched the boy square between the eyes.
A loud slap could be heard echoing through the halls on contact. Tatsuo was thrown to the ground, which was followed by yet another clank.
Usagi gasped slightly at the spectacle. She hadn't meant to hit him that hard, but after thinking about it for a couple of seconds, she found her actions easily justified. He had attacked her first, in a way. He drew the first blood. Her father had never warned against hitting civilians so hard that they were knocked out after they hurt you first. All he had ever taught her was that, if they hit first, then you can hit back.
She looked back at her arm, which now hurt more than any other place on her body. Blood ran down from where her arm had been slashed open. Now her entire arm would be raw. What would she tell her parents? This time she had been attacked by some body at school, Tatsuo, the same boy they had specifically told her to stay away from. But that didn't really matter. She knew they wouldn't be angry with her for conversing with him. What would set her mother off, however, was the fact that she had gotten another shirt ruined. That would be two uniforms they would have to buy instead of just one.
She glared down at Tatsuo as she placed her hand on the door handle. She thought about helping him up, but why should she? He had only caused her trouble. He would probably try something again. Shrugging to herself, she opened the door and proceeded to go through, leaving the knocked out Tatsuo to be left in the hall by himself.
Once Usagi had entered the classroom there was no one left in the hallway. Class would be starting soon, and Tatsuo was lying on the floor unconscious. Not a single footstep echoed in the hall, not a single sound resided.
Tatsuo's eyes popped open rather energetically. Soon, he was jumping up to his feet with a sly little smirk on his face. Usagi had been fooled, again. His plan was full in motion. He had successfully become informed of Earth and its fighters without being found out. He had successfully retrieved a means of conquering Goku, who was stronger than him. He had figured out a way to get rid of Usagi. And now, with her blood, her DNA at her disposal, he would be unstoppable. It wouldn't be long before he had the ultimate power of the universe in his hands. Moon power added to his power would make him the strongest being in the world. Before class started, he scampered off, never to be seen in the halls of that building again.
~*~*~
Goku didn't return home directly after dropping Usagi off at school. He still had a few things he needed to do. He ended up teleporting himself to Kami's lookout, hoping that Dende was there to speak with. He wanted to know if he had seen any strange occurrences since they last talked.
He arrived in the main garden, where he found Dende with Mr. Popo. He was relieved that he wouldn't have to go through that big long wait that he had the day before. Dende was just out there in the open to talk to. "Dende!"
Dende jumped in surprise as he turned his head to the Saiyan. "Goku...I didn't see you come in..."
Goku chuckled. Dende had always been easily frightened ever since Buu. "Just came to check up on everything. Anything strange us guys on earth should know about?"
Dende, with pride, shook his head. He had stayed up the entire night just to watch for something strange to happen. "Nothing."
Goku liked the sound of that. At least no one else was in danger while this thing was around. "Good. Actually, I came here to ask you something else too."
Dende smiled. "Shoot."
Goku did just that. He tried to think of his daughter's broach that she wore everyday. He had seen it, noticed it, but never really took the time to memorize what it looked like. "What do you know about a pink broach with a yellow star on it?"
Dende shrugged. "Gee, Goku, I don't know. I've never really had one before, doesn't your daughter where one? You should ask her about it."
Goku frowned. "I can't. You see, I think that's a missing piece of the puzzle, but she won't tell me. Last night, that creature attacked HER again, in her room. It seemed to be after that broach. She's reluctant to even make eye contact with me anymore. She knows I know, but she isn't saying anything."
Dende sighed. Children could be so difficult sometimes. "I'm sure she has a good reason, Goku."
Goku didn't know what to say to that. There was never a good reason to lie with things like this. This could solve the entire problem that this guy has, yet she won't tell him anything. "She knows better..."
Dende nodded. "True. Do you think you could bring it here? I want to look at it."
Goku; "Sure, but I'm not sure how I'm going to get it from her. I don't want to go through her things, and I don't want to just have to take it from her."
Dende frowned. Sometimes even Goku was too soft. "You may have to if you really think it's that important."
Goku nodded. He couldn't disagree with that. Even he had thought he may have to do that. "I might. I'll think about it. I'm hoping she'll just come out with it." He hated the thought of forcing his daughter to do something she didn't want to, but sometimes you just had to do things you don't want to do, and it was about time she learned that lesson.
~*~*~
Tatsuo hadn't stepped foot into the school after he left, though he still hung around the quad. He still had one thing left to do before he could go "home".
Usagi had wondered why Tatsuo hadn't shown up to class, though her friends hadn't. Usagi hadn't told them of her strange encounter with him that morning, so they figured he was just hurt from his "fight" with Mamoru. But Usagi knew otherwise. At lunch break, he hadn't been in the hall, meaning he must've wakened up and left. But where could he have gone? And why hadn't he come to class if he was feeling better? Maybe she had hit him so hard that someone had to carry him out, but then, wouldn't they wonder who did it?
In anyway, Usagi didn't really care. He was just a nuisance in her life. She had tried to be nice to her and how did he repay her? He engraved a deep scratch into her arm for no reason other than that he was a jerk.
After school, she and the girls walked through the quad, as they had done for the past week, to get to the front of the school campus. It was the shortest way from the building to the parking lot, where they usually departed.
The group of five stopped halfway on the way to the parking lot by cause of Usagi, who wasn't ready to go home. She wasn't ready to go home to face her father. It wasn't that she was mad at him, and it wasn't that she didn't love him, she just wasn't in the mood for more guilt. In fact, she was sure she was as full of guilt as one could possibly be. Anymore and she would burst, but she would have to return sooner or later.
Ami, being the most compassionate in this case, turned to her friend in worry. It was too dangerous for Goku to be so suspicious of the broach. Usagi should have been smart and lied to him and made up some bizarre reason for having the broach, but then again, Goku could see through almost any big lie, and this was a doozy. "Cheer up, Usagi."
Usagi said nothing, but just stared blankly into the blue sky. "He's gonna pry it outta me sooner or later."
Makoto frowned. "Come on, Usagi. It can't be that bad."
Usagi's eyes widened as she furiously nodded. "Yeah he is. If I don't tell him and he gets mad about it, he'll yell at me and MAKE me tell him otherwise I'll be in trouble. But this time, I still can't tell him so I'll be in trouble forever."
Minako sighed. She knew what it was like to have a father like that. Her parents hated it when she was lying, although, she didn't have it so rough. Her parents couldn't see through lies as easily as Usagi's could. "It's probably too late to tell him it's nothing?"
Usagi nodded. "He knows that I know."
Minako frowned. "Great. Just great. Why don't you tell him that you can't tell him?"
Usagi played around with the though in her head, but it was no use. If her father thought that it could be something important, and in this case it was, he would make her tell, and probably not even threaten to punish her if she didn't. Knowing her father, he would just tell her that she would be letting thousands of people down if she didn't, she had seen lots of T.V. fathers tell their children that. "I don't think that would..."
Usagi was stopped mid sentence. In a split second she felt two arms wrapping around her and lifting her up into the air. All that was heard from her was a low squeal of fear and she was gone without a trace.
Her friends were left behind in a fit of confusion. Each of their eyes darted around the area in search of Usagi, but she was no where in sight. They all glared at each other in shock, as well as fear, and within seconds, Minako, Makoto, and Rei were turning to Ami for answers.
Ami; "What just happened?"
Rei shook her head, unknowing of the proper answer, if there even was one. "We were hoping you knew. Can your computer tell us anything?"
Ami shrugged. "I have no idea. Let's get outta here and check it out!"
All of the girls nodded. They feared for their friend's safety. Something must have come and grabbed her from above, but who? They felt no one but for a split second, right after Usagi had vanished, and then it was gone with Usagi.
~*~*~
Usagi was dropped from the air into a deserted back alley in the city. Her heart raced with genuine fear. This was just too much for her. Too many attacks in two days. Was this her life as a Sailor Senshi? Was this what she would have to put up with for the rest of her life? Maybe she would just come out and tell her parents, at least then she wouldn't have to go through this alone. Not that she was alone with her friends by her side, but it would have been nice to have her parents on her side, instead of mad at her for lying to them. She tried to sit up, but found her body too heavy with pain to move an inch. Being thrown into the hard concrete topped off everything. "Owe..."
All this seemed not to matter when she rolled over on her back and saw who had taken her. She gave out a loud shriek of a gasp as she stared into his eyes. She wasn't given any time to let it register in her mind any further before her abductor picked her up and punched her in the neck, causing her to fall unconscious with excruciating pain.
The figure who had taken her from her friends bent over her and examined the broach placed ever so neatly upon her chest. He smirked arrogantly as he reached out and picked it from her Uniform. "Yes, my little child, I told you I was a patience being. I now have you trapped in my puzzle." He stood up and pulled out a small, plastic bag from his pocket. Inside the bag was a small needle, which contained a sample of her blood. "And you thought I was just a weakling. Silly girl. You should never trust anyone you don't know. Your biggest mistake, telling me everything about your heritage. It will be your downfall."
He proceeded to pull out the needed and roll up his sleeve with the broach in his hand. "It is time for me to become Usagi, instead of being stuck in this stupid weakling's form." He then stuck the needle into his arm and injected the sample of Usagi's DNA into his body.
As soon as the needle was empty, his form immediately began to change. With the DNA from her blood, he has been able to mold himself into a perfect shape of Usagi. He now held every likeness of Usagi from her long blonde hair to her golden brown tail, including her power, though it still wasn't strong enough. But, it would do the job. Even the bruises that had been on her body had appeared on his. He smiled as he picked the real Usagi up and threw her into a trash bin. "This is where trash belongs..." He looked down at the broach in his hand happily placed it onto the bow of his brand new Uniform. "Now I, Tatsuo, am closer than ever to achieving the power that will turn me into the strongest being in the universe! The power I felt one year ago will now be mine!"
(Hungry! Must stop here! Need food! ... Ok, it's ten pages long, I think I'm done for now. Sorry it took so long to get out, a day later than usual, but I decided to add some stuff to it so I didn't post it yesterday. Anyway, here it is. Wha'd you think ? See ya later then! )
Usagi went to bed earlier than usual that evening. The day had been way too much for her to handle. With being attacked in the morning and having an outburst with Tatsuo, she had already been pretty worn out. Add the encounter with Mamoru and Tatsuo and her day was feeling pretty complete. All she had wanted to do after that was relax on her own without interruptions, but then she was attacked, her broach being stolen in the process. Had it not been for her tail she didn't know WHAT would have happened. Luckily, when her father hit the creature with his energy attack, the broach flew out of its hand and made its way under her bed.
Things seemed to calm down after that, or had they? Her father knew something was up with that broach, she could hear it in his voice when he spoke to her, not to mention see it in his eyes. She could always tell when he knew when she was lying, just as he had always known when he was lying. And the one thing about him that she had always loved was if she told him she wasn't lying when he asked, he wouldn't persist in asking. He wouldn't in anyway insist that she tell him the truth, unless he thought it was imperative that he be told. But, even knowing that he knew made her feel guilty. She knew that every time she lied he lost trust in her, which only added to her guilt. She hated having to lie, it wasn't something she really did anymore unless it was truly important, like her Broach. She wished she could tell everyone, but it was against the rules, something she didn't intend on breaking.
The night had been hectic, yes, but at least she could sleep in her own bed without worrying about another attack. The creature who had attacked her obviously knew he wasn't a match for her father otherwise it wouldn't have left so quickly.
~*~*~
~Later that Night~
Chi-Chi lay, restless, in her bed that night in a ball of pain. Though not Physical pain, it still ached deep in her heart. It was a pain that she had been unconsciously been building up since the days of her past. Her daughter's attack had only added to it, making it so unbearable that she couldn't stand it.
As she lay there, she wondered about so many things. Mostly about days of peace, would they ever come? Things seemed to calm down after Buu had been beaten, starting up only after Usagi had turned seven with the arrival of Kiro. Not that she could blame them, after all, their home planet had been originally destroyed by the Saiyans. But not long after Cell had been sent to kill their daughter... then Beryl wanted her dead... and now this guy... Thinking more and more, she began to realize a distinct trend with these attacks. In the past, most of them had been caused because Freiza wanted Goku dead, as well as Dr. Gero, but now it was Usagi. What was so special about her? She let out a long sigh as she turned over to her side and looked at her husband. She was surprised to see him staring directly back at her.
She smiled at him. For once, she was happy with him even in a time of "war". He had actually taken the time out to comfort him, instead of being his usual assholish-self and not care about her feelings. "Can't sleep?"
Goku gave a slight nod. He too couldn't sleep that night, but not exactly for the same reasons. He was in a troubled state of mind. Not only over the night's attack, but because Usagi lied to him, blatantly, when he asked her straight up. She had no reason to do so, yet she chose to. He thought that she had been past the lying age, but he must have been wrong. "No, you?"
Chi-Chi nodded back as she moved in closer. "No. I haven't been able to sleep at all. This whole day's just been, well..."
Goku wrapped his arms around his wife and closed his eyes. "I know. It's been rough for both you and Usagi."
Chi-Chi relaxed into husband's soft embrace. She could have cried right there and then, but she figured she had done enough of that. After the small blue thing had left, she had run directly into her room and cried, only to be followed by Goku. Even if she wanted to cry now, she didn't think that she would have enough moisture left in her tear ducts to do so. "Goku, have you ever wondered why all three of the past enemies, which includes the latest, has gone for Usagi?"
Goku frowned. He had in fact thought of that. "Strange, isn't it?"
Chi-Chi nodded as she snuggled even further into his chest. "I don't like it one bit."
Goku could definitely agree with that, no problem. "I don't know why Beryl went after her other than her power, but I know why this knew guy is attack her. It's because of that broach she's got. When I went into her room he was holding it in his hands. It wasn't until I hit the damned thing that I realized he was holding something because the thing went flying out of its hand under Usagi's bed."
Chi-Chi thought about her husband's words for a moment and remembered back to the immediate response of Goku after the creature left. She distinctly remembered Usagi telling him that she knew nothing. "Are you saying she lied?"
Goku nodded his head rather softly. He didn't want to alarm his wife that Usagi may be hiding something yet again, but it was the truth. Any other time he would have kept quiet and kept it away from her, but she had a right to know, it wasn't right to keep her in the dark in situations like this. It was her family too, not only his. "I am. I could tell she was nervous when I asked her about it tonight."
Chi-Chi rolled her eyes, half in relief. "She was just frightened from the attack."
"I don't think so. I can usually tell when she's lying to me, and I think she is. She's not telling us something, something important that may play an important role in this entire situation."
Chi-Chi frowned. She hadn't thought Usagi was acting any different that night, just scared, something for which she didn't blame her. She had been scared too. "If you believe that, then why didn't you tell her to come out with it?"
Goku sighed. That was something he didn't know. He was hoping before the night ended Usagi would have told him to clear her guilt, but she had chosen otherwise. "I may have to, but I'd rather she comes out with it on her own."
Chi-Chi frowned harder. That wasn't the way to handle children. Learned from her own experience, Chi-Chi came to realize that once you let a child go off on their own and they do something wrong, or tell a lie, without some SORT of guidance, no matter how much or little, they will never learn to do right, for they believe their behavior is acceptable. "If what you say is true, she lied to your face, even upon questioning. She isn't going to come clean, I know how kids are, Goku. Believe me."
Goku sighed. He in fact was very angry with his daughter for lying to him, but he still believed that she would be good enough to come out and say whatever was on her mind, or in this case, what she knew. "I'll give her until tomorrow night to come out with it, otherwise I'll ask her again. This is too serious to be playing games like this."
Chi-Chi smiled as she closed her eyes. "Thank you, Goku, for everything. For putting up with me all these years and now, I'm even worse. I can't even keep my eyes dry these days."
Goku chuckled as he held his wife closer. He could sense her tormented feelings quite easily now, whereas earlier, he had to guess on instinct. But either way, it didn't really matter. All he knew was that she needed comforting, something she wouldn't normally get from him in cases like this because he was the one causing it by being away.
Chi-Chi smiled as she felt herself. She was becoming tired for the first time since she had gone to bed that night. "Tell me you won't leave me again, please."
Inside, Goku knew that he couldn't make that promise, still. But, he knew how much it meant to his wife to hear those words. He know knew how secure she would feel if he said what she wanted to hear. "I won't leave you, Chi-Chi."
Chi-Chi's smile turned into a proud grin. She loved to hear those words, more so than Goku would ever know. When they were younger, she had never been able to get the man to say them to her. It was as if he was afraid to or something. But it filled her heart to be able to hear him say such a thing so openly without hesitation. Maybe wisdom did come with age. Although Goku was no where close to being wise, he was at least acting like a normal husband. Having her feelings appeased, Chi-Chi soon drifted off to sleep, leaving Goku to himself and his thoughts.
Goku slowly unwrapped his arms from around his wife and moved her back onto her side of the bed. Although she had been calmed enough to sleep, he hadn't. He was still worried that Usagi knew something valuable, something which could change the entire idea of how to go up against this guy. He was positive it had something to do with that broach of hers. That wasn't even a question. The real question was, what exactly is its importance? She had told them that it was a gift from a friend, but not an exact person. It could have been the key to this guy. He wouldn't know until he got a hold of it. Then, he would have to take it to Bulma so she could check it out. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to impose force upon his daughter, and she would willingly, of her own accord, bring it fourth to him in the morning. She had until the next night to make her decision, otherwise he would move in.
~*~*~
The next morning, Usagi awoke with a body full of pain. The beatings from the day before were finally starting to set in. As soon as she rolled over and out of her bed, she immediately knew that being beaten into concrete by her tail had done more damage than she originally calculated. She could barely move she was so stiff. Even a little thing such as standing up was a chore. "Uhh..." She groaned as she stood tall to crack her back. Not even that helped. Every muscle in her body ached.
To the best of her ability, she slowly wobbled to her desk where she had put her Broach into a box for safe keeping. She couldn't wear it on the front of her cloths anymore, or at least, until this entire ordeal blew over. Not only were Tatsuo and the blue guy, who were presumably the same people, after it, but her father was now suspicious, and most likely knew there was something special about it.
Realizing she was already five minutes behind, Usagi threw the compact onto her bed and pulled out a clean School Uniform. She proceeded to get dressed, though not very fast. Every movement was accompanied by a wail of pain from the young Saiyan.
~*~*~
Once done with the painful job of preparing herself for school, Usagi raced, or as well as she could, to the kitchen, where she would have to face her parents, or more overall, her father. She knew he would give her the "I Know you're lying so just tell me" look, but not actually say anything. That was the worst look he could ever give her. It made her feel horrible when she knew that he knew that she was lying. She knew exactly what would happen when she would walk in to greet her parents. Her mother would smile happily and her father would just eat ever so slowly while glaring at her. She wondered how long it would be before he just came out and called her on her lie and demanded the truth. Even when he did, she still couldn't tell him.
She wobbled into the kitchen VERY stiffly, almost as if she had been starched the night before. Just as she predicted, her mother smiled cheerfully as she served her father his second helping, while her father ate slower and watched her every move while giving her his patented look that sent her into a Universe of Guilt, but she refused to show it. This was one mental battle he wouldn't win.
Chi-Chi turned around to her daughter and watched her sit down with a moan of pain. "You look awful."
Sitting uncomfortably on the hard chair, Usagi groaned. "Great. That's just what I need, to look awful." She looked at the plate of food before her and wondered how in the world she was going to eat it without hurting herself. Even more importantly, she wondered how she was going to survive in school. She knew very well that she could heal herself at any moment, but that went against her rules. Much like the use of the Senzu beans, using her healing power which she had learned from Hotaru was strictly for emergencies, nothing else.
Goku grinned down at his food as he took a huge bite. Usagi noticed that, and wondered why in the world he would think something this tragic was so funny. "You find it funny?"
Goku shook his head, still with a grin. "No, nothing funny about it ... gimpy..."
Usagi frowned as she hit her head against he table. She couldn't believe he would take such a low hit when she was in so much pain. "Daddy!" She whined.
On her way to her own seat, Chi-Chi hit her husband in the back of he head with her hand. "Goku! Your daughter is in pain, show some respect!"
Goku tried to keep his chuckles from boiling to the surface. He knew this was neither the time nor the place to play like this. "Alright, alright. Sorry, kiddo."
Usagi picked up her head and leaned back in her chair. Instead of eating her food, she waved her eating utensils around in it. She didn't have much of an appetite. There was far too much on her mind to want to eat. "Mom, do I have to go to school? I hurt!"
Chi-Chi nodded as she put down her glass of orange juice from taking a drink. "Yes ma'am, you do. Just take it easy today. Your teachers will understand. Maybe your dad will take you there so you don't have to use any power and hurt yourself even more."
Usagi sighed as she looked up to her father, whom she had been trying to avoid making any eye contact with so far. That didn't sound like a half bad idea. She wanted to conserve all the energy she could in order to recover sooner, and just in case she was attacked again, which she didn't think would happen. So far she had proven to hold her own against whatever was attacking. It even seemed disgruntled the night before.
Goku nodded as he finished off his plate, which was only his second. He really had slowed down his eating. A slow pattern in his eating habits was always a sure sign of being upset over something, and Usagi knew exactly what. He stood up from the table and looked down at his wife, who stared back up at him in pure confusion.
"Aren't you going to eat anymore?"
Rubbing his hands together, he shook his head. He wasn't in the mood for eating at the moment. He had too many other things on his mind. "Maybe later."
Usagi slid further into her chair. He didn't sound too happy. Maybe having him take her wasn't such a good idea after all. He would probably ask her about her broach the first chance he got. "I...think I should get going." She said, looking up to her father.
Chi-Chi turned her attention to her daughter. "Usagi, you haven't eaten a single bite of your food yet."
Usagi looked at her mother. She hadn't meant to not eat anything, but her stomach was doing flips inside her. She couldn't eat when she had no idea what the day had in store for her. "I'm not really hungry."
Chi-Chi frowned as she looked down at her food. She couldn't believe that neither of them of them wanted to eat. Of course, with the chemistry they had going on between the two of them, who would. She could sense from both sides, the tension building. It was at that moment when she realized Usagi really WAS hiding something from them, it was so obvious. Goku had been working on making her feel guilty with his "guilt" looks all morning, and they were actually working. "I'll never understand the Saiyan stomach..." She said, not wanting to add to either side.
Usagi slowly pushed herself up and walked to her mother to give her a hug. "Bye mom."
Chi-Chi smiled. It wasn't every day that she got a hug in the morning. Usagi was usually too busy running out the door for school so she wouldn't be late that she rarely received one. "Bye dear. Don't get into any trouble."
Usagi grinned. She couldn't guarantee anything with Tatsuo, but she would try. Hopefully she would be able to uphold her promise. "Ok." She slowly made her way to her father without making any eye contact. She wouldn't allow him the satisfactory of giving her even more guilt than she already held.
Goku gripped his daughter's shoulder and prepared for a quick teleportation. Under any other circumstances he would have been happy to fly her out there without using any real special power, but he didn't want to risk anything happening while he was away from the house. But not only that, he had a few words to share with Usagi.
~*~*~
Tatsuo whistled happily as he walked through the empty hallways of his school on his way to class. He was in an unusually jolly mood that morning, for a reason that didn't go unjustified. In his possession he held the key to his true happiness, his hopes and dreams. He only had one last obstacle in his way before they would be fulfilled and he was sure to surpass it that very day before class. Yes, this was the day he would obtain the final piece of the puzzle.
Just as he was about to turn the corner from the flight of stairs he had just gone up into the hall that would lead him to his class, he began to hear an echo of voices; familiar voices. A young girl, and an adult man. A wide smile spread across his face. 'Great, she's handed herself to me.' He poked his head around the corner, keeping his original position before the corner. From here, he would wait and watch.
~*~*~
Goku arrived with Usagi in front of her classroom. Goku hadn't wanted her to have to walk up a flight of stairs just to get to class. He could tell that she was hurting badly. By teleporting in front of her room, she would be right there. All that would be left to do was walk in and sit down. He peered into the room with a curious eye. He had never seen an actual classroom at work with students inside. There were the many times that Chi-Chi had dragged him into teacher-parent conferences, but this was something else. In the back of the room he spotted Minako, Ami, Makoto, and Rei.
Goku looked down to his aching daughter and gently placed his hand upon her shoulder, careful not to be too forceful. "Usagi," He began with a small sigh, "I want you to know that you can always tell me anything, no matter what. You can always trust me, you know that, right?"
Usagi groaned as she looked up at her father. She made to be careful not to look directly into his eyes. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold up her lie any longer if she had. "I know, daddy. I know I can trust you, I've always been able to trust you..." She knew these words were true. She HAD always been able to count on him, but this time she was forbidden to tell. There was no way she could break that promise.
Goku smiled. "Right. So don't be afraid to tell me anything that's on your mind..."
Usagi gulped. He was testing her, trying to sound like the good guy. Why couldn't he just understand that she wouldn't tell him no matter what? It was out of the question. "Ok."
Goku frowned that hadn't been the answer he was looking for. He had just given her an open opportunity to come clean, to come out with her lie and relieve herself of her self-made guilt. And yet she refused. He would have to force it out of her later that night if she hadn't decided to tell him by the time she was to go to bed. This wasn't a time to be keeping secrets from him. He needed to know the whole story, Dende and Piccolo needed to know the whole story.
He decided not to dwell on it right now. The important thing was to get her through the day without any more attacks. "Take it easy today, kiddo. Don't go off by yourself if that thing calls for you. I don't think it'll come around with so many others in the area."
Usagi nodded with a sigh of relief. At least he hadn't tried to keep on going with trying to make her feel guilty. He had been smart enough to change the subject. "That's what I was thinking."
Goku smiled as he took away his hand and patted her on the arm. "Don't overwork yourself." He prepared himself for another teleportion. "See ya."
Usagi smiled to herself. At least he would be leaving on a good note. "Bye daddy!" She gave a quick wave, but he was gone before it was noticed.
~*~*~
From the other end of the hall, Tatsuo emerged. "Odango!" He hollered down the hall to get Usagi's attention.
Usagi frowned with a growl as she stopped herself from turning to enter her classroom. She dropped her arms to her side in slight pain. Her body still ached, but she was beginning to get used to the pain, but she would surely feel it again the next morning. "What?!" She demanded as she looked up to the annoyance. Before even seeing who it was she knew who had called for her. It was the one person whom she never really wanted to see again. "Where do you get off calling me that?!"
Tatsuo smirked as he reached into his pocket while he approached the Saiyan. "That's what that other guy called you. I think it rather fits you, Odango."
Usagi clenched her fists. Why was he trying to anger her? He had seemed like such a nice kid from the beginning, then when she had taken her to meet her father things just seemed to kind of fall apart. He just kept getting weirder and ruder with each coming day. "Only Mamoru can call me that!"
Tatsuo stopped in front of Usagi, still with a smirk of arrogance. It was the same smirk that Mamoru had worn in his earlier childhood. A smirk still known to the face, though not worn nearly as often. "Oh? And is this Mamoru your boyfriend?"
Usagi frowned even harder as she overcame her pain just long enough to violently shake her head from side to side. She was immediately reminded of her destiny to marry him, and was utterly sickened by the thought, though she did blush slightly. "No way! Mamoru's my rival, so he's the only one who can make fun of me! It's funny like that."
Tatsuo's smirk dropped and was replaced with a deep scowl of hatred. "Oh... well then, I'd like you to give your rival something. You see, he hurt me yesterday, and now I want my payback." Without letting the girl respond, he pulled his out hand and ran it down her arm from her shoulder to elbow with rapid motion, causing the cloth of her uniform to rip open. All the way down, her skin, too, was cut open as well, revealing a trail of blood down her arm. She now had two long cuts on one arm trailing from her shoulder to her elbow. And then her elbow to her wrist.
Tatsuo pulled back his hand from the stunned Usagi and revealed a sharp piece of glass with blood on the very tip. He laughed aloud as he pulled out a plastic baggy from his other hand and dropped the glass in it. He proceeded to stare back up at the girl, whose face was growing red with each passing second. He just smiled on. "That was for Mamoru."
Usagi looked down at her stinging arm with a twitching eye. The anger built up inside to the point of bursting. How dare this boy come to her and harm her just because of something Mamoru had done. She looked back up to the blonde with rage burning in her eyes. "This is from Mamoru!" She said as she formed a fist and punched the boy square between the eyes.
A loud slap could be heard echoing through the halls on contact. Tatsuo was thrown to the ground, which was followed by yet another clank.
Usagi gasped slightly at the spectacle. She hadn't meant to hit him that hard, but after thinking about it for a couple of seconds, she found her actions easily justified. He had attacked her first, in a way. He drew the first blood. Her father had never warned against hitting civilians so hard that they were knocked out after they hurt you first. All he had ever taught her was that, if they hit first, then you can hit back.
She looked back at her arm, which now hurt more than any other place on her body. Blood ran down from where her arm had been slashed open. Now her entire arm would be raw. What would she tell her parents? This time she had been attacked by some body at school, Tatsuo, the same boy they had specifically told her to stay away from. But that didn't really matter. She knew they wouldn't be angry with her for conversing with him. What would set her mother off, however, was the fact that she had gotten another shirt ruined. That would be two uniforms they would have to buy instead of just one.
She glared down at Tatsuo as she placed her hand on the door handle. She thought about helping him up, but why should she? He had only caused her trouble. He would probably try something again. Shrugging to herself, she opened the door and proceeded to go through, leaving the knocked out Tatsuo to be left in the hall by himself.
Once Usagi had entered the classroom there was no one left in the hallway. Class would be starting soon, and Tatsuo was lying on the floor unconscious. Not a single footstep echoed in the hall, not a single sound resided.
Tatsuo's eyes popped open rather energetically. Soon, he was jumping up to his feet with a sly little smirk on his face. Usagi had been fooled, again. His plan was full in motion. He had successfully become informed of Earth and its fighters without being found out. He had successfully retrieved a means of conquering Goku, who was stronger than him. He had figured out a way to get rid of Usagi. And now, with her blood, her DNA at her disposal, he would be unstoppable. It wouldn't be long before he had the ultimate power of the universe in his hands. Moon power added to his power would make him the strongest being in the world. Before class started, he scampered off, never to be seen in the halls of that building again.
~*~*~
Goku didn't return home directly after dropping Usagi off at school. He still had a few things he needed to do. He ended up teleporting himself to Kami's lookout, hoping that Dende was there to speak with. He wanted to know if he had seen any strange occurrences since they last talked.
He arrived in the main garden, where he found Dende with Mr. Popo. He was relieved that he wouldn't have to go through that big long wait that he had the day before. Dende was just out there in the open to talk to. "Dende!"
Dende jumped in surprise as he turned his head to the Saiyan. "Goku...I didn't see you come in..."
Goku chuckled. Dende had always been easily frightened ever since Buu. "Just came to check up on everything. Anything strange us guys on earth should know about?"
Dende, with pride, shook his head. He had stayed up the entire night just to watch for something strange to happen. "Nothing."
Goku liked the sound of that. At least no one else was in danger while this thing was around. "Good. Actually, I came here to ask you something else too."
Dende smiled. "Shoot."
Goku did just that. He tried to think of his daughter's broach that she wore everyday. He had seen it, noticed it, but never really took the time to memorize what it looked like. "What do you know about a pink broach with a yellow star on it?"
Dende shrugged. "Gee, Goku, I don't know. I've never really had one before, doesn't your daughter where one? You should ask her about it."
Goku frowned. "I can't. You see, I think that's a missing piece of the puzzle, but she won't tell me. Last night, that creature attacked HER again, in her room. It seemed to be after that broach. She's reluctant to even make eye contact with me anymore. She knows I know, but she isn't saying anything."
Dende sighed. Children could be so difficult sometimes. "I'm sure she has a good reason, Goku."
Goku didn't know what to say to that. There was never a good reason to lie with things like this. This could solve the entire problem that this guy has, yet she won't tell him anything. "She knows better..."
Dende nodded. "True. Do you think you could bring it here? I want to look at it."
Goku; "Sure, but I'm not sure how I'm going to get it from her. I don't want to go through her things, and I don't want to just have to take it from her."
Dende frowned. Sometimes even Goku was too soft. "You may have to if you really think it's that important."
Goku nodded. He couldn't disagree with that. Even he had thought he may have to do that. "I might. I'll think about it. I'm hoping she'll just come out with it." He hated the thought of forcing his daughter to do something she didn't want to, but sometimes you just had to do things you don't want to do, and it was about time she learned that lesson.
~*~*~
Tatsuo hadn't stepped foot into the school after he left, though he still hung around the quad. He still had one thing left to do before he could go "home".
Usagi had wondered why Tatsuo hadn't shown up to class, though her friends hadn't. Usagi hadn't told them of her strange encounter with him that morning, so they figured he was just hurt from his "fight" with Mamoru. But Usagi knew otherwise. At lunch break, he hadn't been in the hall, meaning he must've wakened up and left. But where could he have gone? And why hadn't he come to class if he was feeling better? Maybe she had hit him so hard that someone had to carry him out, but then, wouldn't they wonder who did it?
In anyway, Usagi didn't really care. He was just a nuisance in her life. She had tried to be nice to her and how did he repay her? He engraved a deep scratch into her arm for no reason other than that he was a jerk.
After school, she and the girls walked through the quad, as they had done for the past week, to get to the front of the school campus. It was the shortest way from the building to the parking lot, where they usually departed.
The group of five stopped halfway on the way to the parking lot by cause of Usagi, who wasn't ready to go home. She wasn't ready to go home to face her father. It wasn't that she was mad at him, and it wasn't that she didn't love him, she just wasn't in the mood for more guilt. In fact, she was sure she was as full of guilt as one could possibly be. Anymore and she would burst, but she would have to return sooner or later.
Ami, being the most compassionate in this case, turned to her friend in worry. It was too dangerous for Goku to be so suspicious of the broach. Usagi should have been smart and lied to him and made up some bizarre reason for having the broach, but then again, Goku could see through almost any big lie, and this was a doozy. "Cheer up, Usagi."
Usagi said nothing, but just stared blankly into the blue sky. "He's gonna pry it outta me sooner or later."
Makoto frowned. "Come on, Usagi. It can't be that bad."
Usagi's eyes widened as she furiously nodded. "Yeah he is. If I don't tell him and he gets mad about it, he'll yell at me and MAKE me tell him otherwise I'll be in trouble. But this time, I still can't tell him so I'll be in trouble forever."
Minako sighed. She knew what it was like to have a father like that. Her parents hated it when she was lying, although, she didn't have it so rough. Her parents couldn't see through lies as easily as Usagi's could. "It's probably too late to tell him it's nothing?"
Usagi nodded. "He knows that I know."
Minako frowned. "Great. Just great. Why don't you tell him that you can't tell him?"
Usagi played around with the though in her head, but it was no use. If her father thought that it could be something important, and in this case it was, he would make her tell, and probably not even threaten to punish her if she didn't. Knowing her father, he would just tell her that she would be letting thousands of people down if she didn't, she had seen lots of T.V. fathers tell their children that. "I don't think that would..."
Usagi was stopped mid sentence. In a split second she felt two arms wrapping around her and lifting her up into the air. All that was heard from her was a low squeal of fear and she was gone without a trace.
Her friends were left behind in a fit of confusion. Each of their eyes darted around the area in search of Usagi, but she was no where in sight. They all glared at each other in shock, as well as fear, and within seconds, Minako, Makoto, and Rei were turning to Ami for answers.
Ami; "What just happened?"
Rei shook her head, unknowing of the proper answer, if there even was one. "We were hoping you knew. Can your computer tell us anything?"
Ami shrugged. "I have no idea. Let's get outta here and check it out!"
All of the girls nodded. They feared for their friend's safety. Something must have come and grabbed her from above, but who? They felt no one but for a split second, right after Usagi had vanished, and then it was gone with Usagi.
~*~*~
Usagi was dropped from the air into a deserted back alley in the city. Her heart raced with genuine fear. This was just too much for her. Too many attacks in two days. Was this her life as a Sailor Senshi? Was this what she would have to put up with for the rest of her life? Maybe she would just come out and tell her parents, at least then she wouldn't have to go through this alone. Not that she was alone with her friends by her side, but it would have been nice to have her parents on her side, instead of mad at her for lying to them. She tried to sit up, but found her body too heavy with pain to move an inch. Being thrown into the hard concrete topped off everything. "Owe..."
All this seemed not to matter when she rolled over on her back and saw who had taken her. She gave out a loud shriek of a gasp as she stared into his eyes. She wasn't given any time to let it register in her mind any further before her abductor picked her up and punched her in the neck, causing her to fall unconscious with excruciating pain.
The figure who had taken her from her friends bent over her and examined the broach placed ever so neatly upon her chest. He smirked arrogantly as he reached out and picked it from her Uniform. "Yes, my little child, I told you I was a patience being. I now have you trapped in my puzzle." He stood up and pulled out a small, plastic bag from his pocket. Inside the bag was a small needle, which contained a sample of her blood. "And you thought I was just a weakling. Silly girl. You should never trust anyone you don't know. Your biggest mistake, telling me everything about your heritage. It will be your downfall."
He proceeded to pull out the needed and roll up his sleeve with the broach in his hand. "It is time for me to become Usagi, instead of being stuck in this stupid weakling's form." He then stuck the needle into his arm and injected the sample of Usagi's DNA into his body.
As soon as the needle was empty, his form immediately began to change. With the DNA from her blood, he has been able to mold himself into a perfect shape of Usagi. He now held every likeness of Usagi from her long blonde hair to her golden brown tail, including her power, though it still wasn't strong enough. But, it would do the job. Even the bruises that had been on her body had appeared on his. He smiled as he picked the real Usagi up and threw her into a trash bin. "This is where trash belongs..." He looked down at the broach in his hand happily placed it onto the bow of his brand new Uniform. "Now I, Tatsuo, am closer than ever to achieving the power that will turn me into the strongest being in the universe! The power I felt one year ago will now be mine!"
(Hungry! Must stop here! Need food! ... Ok, it's ten pages long, I think I'm done for now. Sorry it took so long to get out, a day later than usual, but I decided to add some stuff to it so I didn't post it yesterday. Anyway, here it is. Wha'd you think ? See ya later then! )