Dragonball Alternate Dimension
Chapter Six
Note:
(-*-) indicates a change in setting from one dimension to another.
(*) indicates a change of scene or great lapse of time in the same dimension.
Dialog which appears within means that the speaker is being heard telepathically.
(***) idicates that the scene within them is a flash back.
Akiko shut the lab door and folded her arms.
"Ok, tell me what happened. Why is my Grandada dead?"
"Huh?" Bulma blinked at her. "You mean, he's alive in your..." She had to sit down. "Oh, you are so lucky! I miss Son-kun so much sometimes. He was my best friend. But you probably know that." She looked up at Akiko. The girl looked lost.
"Please tell me."
"Well," Bulma began to recount a very long story to her. "A few years ago this guy named Pilaf got a hold of the Dragon Balls..."
"Pilaf? Little, short, blue guy?"
"The same. Well, fortunately he botched his wish, but he turned Goku into a kid again. When the wish was completed we realized that the Dragon Balls he had used were ancient, tainted, black-star Dragon Balls. They scattered across the universe and wreaked havoc for us."
Akiko looked more and more skeptical as the story unfolded.
"To make it short, everyone turned evil, the world exploded and Goku was finally killed while bringing everything back to normal again."
"But he's Goku!" she protested. "He always wins! He always comes back!"
"Vegeta told me afterwards that Goku was absorbed into Shenlong before the Dragon left this world. The good Dragon Balls left with him."
"That's terrible!"
"Well, we're doing all right without them so far, but then again, we haven't had any real confrontations with huge, evil powers since then... not yet anyway..."
The women emerged from the lab via the walk-through and entered the living room. Trunks sat watching the afternoon market report. Vegeta came down the front stairs and headed for the gravity room. He eyed the new girl suspiciously. He eyed his son eyeing the new girl even more suspiciously. Akiko had been avoiding him all week. 'Bulma must have warned her to steer clear,' he thought. He smirked inwardly and went out to the gravity chamber.
Akiko sighed as the short, yet intimidating man stopped staring at her and left the room. She slumped down into a chair and wrinkled her nose. 'Oh god, is that me?' she wondered at the faint smell of sweaty Saiyan. She picked at her tank-top.
"Trunks?" his mother asked him. "Can you do me a favor?"
"Uh?" he mumbled and pretended to be staring at the TV.
"Can you make a run to the mall for me, I have a million things backed up I gotta do."
"I, uh.. the mall?" he cringed. If there was one thing he hated doing, it was shopping. Living with two born-and-bred shop-a-holics had scarred him. The word 'mall' sent shivers down his spine. What a waste of time! Just sitting there, waiting and waiting for the women to buy heaping piles of clothes and accessories, it drove him NUTS!
"Akiko's luggage has been lost," she explained.
He looked at the girl and noticed that her clothes were a bit dirty and wrinkled.
"And she's not familiar with this area, I thought maybe you could..."
"Sure."
Bulma batted her eyes at him, not believing what she heard. "Um.. good!"
Akiko held her hands behind her back and bowed her head. "Thanks."
"No Problem."
'No Problem!?' Bulma thought. 'This is great! He MUST like her!' She beamed. Had her son finally found a decent girl?
Trunks lead Akiko into his sister's favorite store. The sales women recognized him and flocked around him. He ordered them to take care of Akiko. They shooed out all other customers and began a rather Disney-like dance around her, falling short of singing. Trunks smiled, sat in a chair and sipped a lemonade he got at the pretzel booth. Akiko disappeared into the changing room.
He watched the people passing by the windows, looking in, wondering what all the fuss was about. The black-haired Akiko emerged wearing a pair of bike-kneed khakis and a pale, green, turtle-neck sweater. He raised an eyebrow.
"What do you think?" she smiled innocently.
"Nice." He was taken aback. She was beautiful.
A sales girl pulled her hair back and put it up in a pony tail. Akiko examined herself in the mirror. "I like it too."
"NEXT!" shouted the head sales girl and ushered her back into the changing room.
Trunks mused on the possibilities and turned back to people watching. He met the rather angry eyes of a young woman with long, yellow, corn-row braids and 10 centimeter long, blue fingernails.
"Ah! Shieler!" He bolted out of his chair and ran out into the promenade.
"What are you doin' at the mall!?" she demanded.
"I uh.. that is.. I was just..."
"I thought you didn't DO shopping?!" She was irate.
"I don't! Ya see, my Mom..."
"Oh, so your MOM is in there..." Shieler did not sound like she believed him.
"No! I mean..."
An oblivious Akiko came out of the dressing room and into the mall.
"Whaddaya think of THIS?" she struck a pose in a long, green evening gown. "I think it goes really well with my hair..."
Trunks hunkered down and clenched his teeth.
Shieler's jaw dropped. "WHO is THAT?!" she demanded some more.
"I'm Akiko," she replied and extended her hand.
Shieler threw her own claw-like hand up in the air, her palm facing the other girl. "Uh-uh! No! I don't think so. You cannot be serious. You are a dog! I can't even believe this!"
Trunks tried to calm her down, waving his hands wildly. She pushed past him and got up in Akiko's face. "You think you're hot chit, huh, Miss Thang?"
"Hot what?" Akiko stood her ground.
"You better recognize!"
"Actually," she laughed, "you do look kinda familiar!" She realized where she knew her from; T was dating the same girl!
"Oh, that's it, biatch, I'm gonna mess you up!" Shieler pushed her with her chest and flung her nails around her face. Akiko quickly reached up and grabbed her hands.
"Look, I don't really like making scenes, but if you keep this up, I'll be happy to accommodate you." She squeezed the woman's wrists hard enough to show her some power. "Settle down. You're a nice young woman. Quit acting like a little girl." She released her and Sheiler shrank away, scared and ashamed.
Trunks stared, slack-jawed at the scene that Akiko had in fact made. They went back into the store. "Thanks," he sighed as Shieler dropped out of earshot.
"But, I thought two you were.."
"I've been trying to dump her for months. She's a psycho."
Akiko laughed to herself "I know!"
-*-
"Mira..." Atsuko repeated her sister's name for the millionth time. "Please, where are you?" She hadn't eaten or slept very well for the last week. Sleep pulled her down, now, threatening to end this attempt at contacting the sorceress. "Mira..."
"Atsuko?"
She sat up straight in her chair and gasped. "MIRA! Oh Kami, we've been looking for you for days! Where are you! We need your help!" she thought to her frantically.
"I have been in deep mediation, I am sorry. What is wrong!?"
"Akiko's gone!"
"What?!"
-*-
Akiko was getting a little nervous because she hadn't been wished back yet. She was beginning to share Bulma's enthusiasm about finding a scientific explanation, but after hours of discussion and research, she needed a break. They had been working on her little problem all morning. After deliberating the cause and effect of her dimensional crossing, the two women were no closer to a solution. She wandered out into the sunshine. Akiko put her hands on her hips and looked to the gravity chamber. The sounds of training rattled through the complex. Unbeknownst to her, Vegeta was currently tackling 600 Gs. Akiko sighed. It had been a week since she had had a decent workout.
Almost as if on cue, Trunks walked out of the house wearing a capsule tank top and a pair of sweat pants. She watched him stride across the lawn in his bare feet and smiled as an idea crossed her mind. Maybe she'd ask him if he'd spar with her. She'd have to go easy on him, of course. He was only human.
"Hey, wait up!" called a familiar voice. Goten burst out of the door and flew after Trunks. Akiko darted behind a shrubbery. She stared at them in disbelief as Trunks grinned, turned and blurred. Goten did the same and their clashes reverberated throughout the courtyard.
"What the..?" She followed their movements easily. "Trunks IS a fighter!" she smiled wildly. "Oh, wow! He's good, too!"
"Hey, guys!" Bulma hollered from a window, "Take it out of here, ok? I just re-planted the garden!"
"K, Mom!"
"Trunks!" Akiko pretended to come out of the building. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"
"Uh, sure. Akiko, this is Goten."
She jogged over to them and bowed to her uncle. She beamed. The weirdness of having to meet her own relatives had subsided, and now she was just glad to see that her best friend was also Trunks's.
"We're gonna go spar. See ya later."
"Oh, wait, can I come with?"
The men looked at each other. "Uh.. I dunno if that's a good idea."
She was feeling cocky. She spread her feet and bowed again. "Try me."
Goten shrugged and looked to Trunks for permission. He bowed to the girl.
Vegeta emerged from the chamber and was lured around the corner by the sound of blows. He didn't expect to see what he saw. Goten was matched fairly well as Akiko threw punches at him. She seemed to know what moves he would make. Even though he was holding back, Goten was impressed.
She gritted her teeth. The desire to go all out was all-consuming. Her Saiyan hunger for dominance bit her deeply. 'Come on Kiko, settle down.' She did so and was knocked down by a blow to her abdomen.
"Oh my god! I'm sorry, are you ok!?" Goten exclaimed.
Akiko recovered quickly. "Yeah, just a little rusty I guess." She smiled at him.
Trunks was amazed. He opened his mouth to invite her along.
"I think I'm gonna get back to work, though." She stood up. "I'm assisting Bulma." Akiko backed away. "You guys have fun." As she turned her back on them her smile fell. She wanted to join them so badly, but it would give away her secret and she was certain no good could come of their knowing it. Her decision was confirmed as she saw the nasty look on Trunks's father's face. He turned and went into the house, as if to say 'I'm keeping an eye on you, girl.'
-*-
Goten leaned back against the trunk of the tree and rested his right arm on his right knee. He looked up into the branches at the dappled light filtering thought the foliage. He was trying very hard to think of something else, but each moment he thought of his niece and punched himself inwardly. Somehow he felt that this was his fault. He was her guardian. Every time she'd gotten herself into hot water, he was there to bail her out. He had failed her. He closed his eyes.
***
A teenage Goten chased Akiko through the woods. She giggled as she dodged her uncle, weaving through the bamboo trees with the grace only an innate ability to fly can produce. The sky was over-cast. In the small house next to Goku's, Atsuko was feeding her babies. Gosan babbled cluelessly while Go-Chan repeated the word 'no' in an humorous tone. She laughed and prevented her mother from putting a green, glop-laden spoon in her mouth. Atsuko was just as smarmy, repeating 'yes' in a baby voice. Akiko whizzed by the window with Goten hot on her heels.
"Akiko, Goten, be careful, there's a storm coming," Atsuko called out without looking away from her task.
They were out of earshot before the warning reached them.
"Ok mama!"
"Ok Suko!"
They zipped away from the house in the direction of the looming clouds.
They stopped when they reached the shore. Akiko faced her uncle and took a fighting stance.
"Ok, Goten, I'm warmed up now! Let's go!"
"All right, remember what I taught you yesterday."
She bowed and they began. Goten spread his feet apart and began to chant. "Kamekame.." Akiko stood in place, ready to take the blast.
"Ha!" His attack bloomed out from the boy's hands and hurtled at Akiko. She threw up her hands and blocked the beam. It diffused in a hemisphere in front of the girl. The dust cleared and she opened her eyes.
"Yay!" Akiko clapped her hands together. Goten crossed his arms and glared at her with a cockeyed smile.
"What?"
"What did you forget to do?"
"Huh? Umm..." She tried to think.
He closed his eyes and pointed his left index finger at them.
"Crud."
"You do that against someone who really wants to blast you, you're not going to see his next move."
"But Goten," she whined, "I can FEEL his next move!" she pointed to her star.
"You have eyes too! Use them! Ka me ka me.."
He continued to launch a barrage of attacks at the eight-year old, which she batted away from all angles, not matter how quickly Goten shot them off. The sky grew darker and a loud crack drew their attention.
"Uh-oh." Akiko looked up and dodged another blast with a tilt of her head.
Goten straightened and took to the air. "Let's get back." He looked to her as he lead her home. She smiled, shrugged and opened her mouth to say something, but was cut short as she was struck by a thick bolt of lightning.
"AKIKO!!" he shouted and flew to her. She fell out of the sky, semi-conscious, but recovered before she hit the ground. She landed on her feet. Goten landed in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. They were hot and smoking.
"Whoa..." she breathed out a puff of smoke; her eyes were wide, her hair was a puff-ball.
Goten laughed nervously. "You ok?"
She nodded and looked at her palms. She balled her hands into fists and turned away from him. Forcing her arms out from her body, she released a blast of electric energy three times that of the blast which struck her.
Goten stared in amazement. "Holy crap!!"
"Yummy," she smirked. "That felt like about 30 thousand amps. Wow," she shivered and smiled at him.
***
Her smile stuck in his mind even after he opened his eyes. Goten stood up and left his seat under the tree. There was a commotion in the house. He went in to see what he could do for his family.
-*-
Trunks dropped a clear liquid from an eye-dropper into a tall glass of milk and gulped it down. He smacked his lips and sighed. Akiko strolled in, singing loudly to herself.
"'Kinokiita, otoko no ko, koko shibaraku deawani. Yasashikute kawaikute okanemochi no otoko no...' Oh! Didn't see you there!" she laughed nervously. "How was your spar?"
"Pretty good," he blushed slightly and replied. He was sweaty and his clothes were in tatters. Akiko either didn't seem to notice or care. He made for the back stairs for a quick exit, but stopped himself. "Akiko, what are you doing tonight?"
She was amazed. He had kept his distance from her all week for some reason and now he was interested in what she was doing? "Same as every night, not a damn thing."
He snorted a little laugh. "You wanna... go to dinner?"
"Dinner?" she asked as if this was a new concept.
"Yeah, like, out."
"Out."
"Yeah, out. To dinner." He was just as awkward as she was.
"Ok."
"Ok!"
"Ok.." she laughed a little and he put his glass down and backed out of the kitchen.
"About seven?"
Akiko forced her stomach to keep from grumbling. "..Uh, ok."
"Ok.." Trunks smiled and went up to take a shower.
She rolled her eyes at her naivite and continued to sing. "Honto ni Kamisama anata wa fukouhei..!"
-*-
"It will take some time, but I think I can do it." Mira's words fed in Atsuko's head. She pursed her lips and tears rolled down her face.
"Thank you, Mira! Thank you!"
Her family waited anxiously to be told the news.
"She's going to look for her. She thinks that Akiko may have been transported somewhere. Somewhere far away..."
"Another planet?" Goten asked.
"Another galaxy?" Gohan fretted.
"Another dimension."
-*-
The China Rose was packed, but there was a perfect table reserved for Mr. Oujisama. Akiko ordered 3 appetizers, 2 soups, 5 entrees and drank 6 pots of tea by herself. Trunks stared at her healthy, almost Saiyan-like appetite. His suspicions seemed to have some validity. She was tough enough to pop back up after Goten's left hook and now the food... Could she really be the Blue Haired Saiyan? Why was she hiding herself? What sinister purpose did she have in store for them? Looking at her daintily stuff her face, he could think of no reason. Her eyes were such a perfect shade of grey-blue...
Music played in the background: slow dance music, but there was no dance floor. Trunks cursed his choice of restaurant. He signed at the rather steep check. As they made their way out, a large, open window caught his attention. He smiled.
"Before we go, you have to see this." He lead her out to the balcony. The stars were out in profusion. Music and the din of diners floated in on the cool evening breeze. Akiko's green dress ruffled. The river below shimmered with the myriad lights from the city on the western bank.
"Oh! It's so pretty!" Akiko sighed and looked to him. "I must seem like such a county girl to you. All of this is so new. I've been to the city before, but only a few times..." She stopped short of saying she mostly stayed within the bounds of the Capsule Complex.
He put his hand over hers on the railing and smiled back. "Nah, I think it's pretty too."
She blushed in the darkness and panicked. "Too bad there's no moon..."
He arched a lavender eyebrow. "Yeah, I would have liked to have seen it."
'Uh-oh,' she thought. 'What's he talking about?! Oh my God! There's no moon! What happened to it?' she started to hyper-ventilate. Trunks squeezed her hand and gave her a concerned look. 'What am I doing here? With HIM! I must be insane to think that I could fit in here! I want to go home!!!'
"Akiko, are you all right?"
She sighed finally. "I guess I'm just.. homesick. Very, very homesick."
He turned to her and took her by the shoulders. "If you feel so bad, why don't you go back home?" Trunks pouted so sympathetically it made her want to cry.
She looked down at her feet. "I can't."
"If you ever need to talk about it, you can trust me, Akiko."
"Thanks," she whispered and fell silent. After five minutes of silence, Trunks took Akiko back to Capsule.
*
Trunks turned off the 11 o'clock news and started getting ready for bed. The phone rang and he answered it in his boxers. "Yeah?"
"You still awake?"
"It's only 11:30, Pan," he grumbled.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"WELL WHAT!?! Trunks! Did she do anything weird or Saiyan-like!?"
Trunks sighed and set his alarm clock, resting the handset between his chin and shoulder. "Not really.."
"No?"
"Nope."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Pan. I'm sure," he lied. "She's just a sweet, sad girl."
Pan cringed but her intrest was piqued. "Sad?"
"Yeah, she's homesick."
"Really...?" Pan cooed.
"Yes, Pan. I have a corporation to run in the morning and I believe you have school. Does your Mom know you're up this late on a Thursday?"
"NO! And she's not gonna find out!" she threatened him.
"Goodnight, Pan."
"Night." Click.
Click. "Finally." He flopped down on his bed. "Off," he commanded and the lights dimmed to black.
*
Akiko moped into the kitchen late the following morning and found Bulma making tea as usual. The girl got out a box of cereal, a gallon of milk and a large mixing bowl. Bulma stared at her and smiled to suppress laughter.
"You don't have to do that, you know."
"What, eat?"
Bulma took a bottle out of the cupboard marked SDSM3. "Saiyan Dietary Supplement Mark 3," she explained. "A couple of drops in liquid and one bowl will be enough to fulfill you."
Akiko raised her brows.
"If I hadn't come up with that little number I'd be a pauper by now."
"Why, what Saiyans do you have to feed?"
Bulma's eyes bugged out of her head. "Um... You don't know that... Vegeta's a Saiyan?"
"WHAT!?!" Akiko shouted. The older woman quickly covered her mouth. The name finally clicked. "Omm mmyh mmmahhh.." She pulled her hand away. "I remember! Vegeta, the Prince. Oujisama, I get it now! But, I thought he was.."
"Evil? Yes, he is.. sort of.." Bulma smirked.
"Well, that and.. Oh, you're not gonna like this." She motioned for her to take a seat. "Stop me when I lose you. When Vegeta and the big guy came to Earth they fought the Z warriors..."
Bulma nodded.
"Tien, Yamcha, Chaozu and Piccolo were killed by the big guy. My grandfather was killed by Vegeta before my father, Krillin and Yajerobi finished him off."
Bulma swallowed hard. She was shocked. "That explains why he's not in my life over there..." She shook herself and thought about the strangeness of destiny.
Akiko fidgeted and scrutinized the dropper bottle.
"It's tasteless, try it. It's just too bad I can't get it to work for humans."
"So, Trunks and Bra are half-Saiyans?"
She nodded.
Akiko dropped the supplement in her milk and frowned.
"What's wrong? You haven't even tried it yet."
"That's not it, Bulma! This just makes it worse!"
"What makes what worse!?"
"That Trunks is a Saiyan, too! He's all the more perfect!"
Bulma fell over but recovered quickly. "NO WAY! You DO like him! And he said the date went horribly!"
"IT DID!" Akiko bawled. "I'm in love with him, but I'm not me! I'm a walking lie! How can anyone fall in love with a lie!? And even if he does, I may disappear at any moment!" she burst into tears.
Bulma patted her back and tried to comfort her. "There, there! You can't live your life in fear of disappearing. You might as well enjoy yourself while you're here. Even if you can only be together for a short time, I'd much rather see him with you that his usual choice of female companion! Do you think if he found out he'd hate you or something?"
"I don't know," she sniffed.
"Maybe you should just tell him the truth."
"I'm scared to," she admitted.
"Well, he's scared to tell you too," Bulma smiled slyly as she hatched a plot.
"Tell me what?"
"That he's falling in love with you."
"Are you sure!?!" Akiko beamed.
"He went to the mall with you didn't he? He can't take his eyes off you whenever you're together and he's been dropping weird hints for days. Yeah, I'm sure."
Akiko's heart went pin-balling around in her chest. She levitated out of her seat. "Ow, wow!" she sighed and her eyes became hearts.
"Where are you going?!"
"To get dressed!" she flew to the stairs. "I gotta find an outfit that goes with blue!"
*
Trunks doodled on his Capsule pad with his Capsule pen wearing a Capsule tie in the monthly Capsule board meeting. He drew stick figures with blue monkey tails and wild blue hair. Occasionally he nodded absently to what he was supposed to being paying attention to. He'd become a very good CEO after profits took a dive a couple of years ago. He never thought his Mother would forgive him! The way Trunks saw it, if he could save the world he could run a company so he busted his ass and took control. Everyone in the room knew he was a capable chief. They also knew he was a very peculiar, young man.
He stared at the glass of water in front of him and blinked vacantly. He was almost thirty and so far he hadn't found a girl he'd be willing to put up with forever, until he met Akiko. She had potential. She could cook, fight, sing, laugh and she was beautiful to boot. If only she would just trust him! She had to be the Blue-Haired Saiyan, nothing else explained her strange ways. His doodles took up the entire sheet and he was about to tear it off but stopped and lifted his head up suddenly. The breeze coming in from the open, long, rectangular windows picked up his stray hairs and made them dance across his face. He sniffed the air twice and concentrated. The man who had been speaking stopped and blushed. Trunks sniffed again. "Do you smell that?!"
More board members blushed and shook their heads. Trunks stood and planted his hands on the table. Sniff sniff. "What IS that!?!"
They sniffed and shrugged. "What does it smell like, Mr. Oujisama?"
"Like.. I don't know! I can't explain it.. it smells (sniiiifff) WONDERFUL!!" He went to the third story window and inhaled deeply. "AH! What IS that!?! I have to find it!" He leapt from the sill and followed his nose.
The board members simply rolled their eyes.
*
Akiko flung clothes left and right as she searched for the perfect outfit. Many of the colors she had bought clashed terribly with her now very visible blue hair and tail. She finally settled on a dark purple tank-top and a pair of khaki shorts. She ripped a two-centimeter hole in the seat of these, pulled her tail through them and was buttoning them up when the door flew open. She spun and gasped.
"Vegeta!?"
He was sniffing the air rapidly, but stopped once his eyes came to rest on the tail. She made a dash for the window, but the older man was in front of her before she could blink.
"Going somewhere?"
She growled instinctively in the face of her foe, but pleaded with him. "I don't mean you any harm."
"Pity. If you wanted to hide out in my house, you shouldn't have fallen in love with my son, It's given you away," he smirked.
"What are you talking about?" she clenched her teeth.
"You stink to high heaven!" The look of total confusion on her face wiped the smirk off his. "You're serious aren't you? You DON'T know! Your Saiyan pheromones! Any Saiyan male can smell your raging hormones for miles! And apparently," he sniffed deeply, "you're as ripe as a peach!"
"What!?" she blushed.
"Now tell me what you're doing here and where you came from or I'll beat it out of you!!"
"BACK OFF!" Trunks growled from the window.
"Trunks!" Akiko shouted.
Vegeta smirked again and flew out at his son. "Make me!"
Father and son blurred as they exchanged blows. Akiko stared, mouth agape, unable to comprehend what was going on. "Stop.." she whispered.
"Are you crazy, boy? Can't you see what she is!?"
"Of course I can! It doesn't matter what she is!"
"You're not thinking with your brain! Snap out of it!"
Trunks took a few blows. "Dad, I'm warning you!"
Vegeta was shocked. This was the first time his son had ever dared defy him.
"I said..." Trunks brought his fists down on his father's head, dropping him out of the sky and burying him several feet into the ground. "BACK OFF!!" He swooped into the window and grabbed Akiko. She didn't resist. He threw her over his shoulder and flew back down to his father.
"I'll find out what you want to know. Don't follow me."
They were miles away before Vegeta emerged from the hole. Bulma ran over to see what the matter was.
"Vegeta!?! What happened?"
"Your idiot son managed to stand up for himself for once, that's what." He dusted himself off and walked away without meeting her eyes.
She folded her arms and huffed. "Men."
*
"Uh, Trunks?" Akiko mumbled after a few minutes of silent flight. "Where are we going?"
His head cleared and he blinked at the perfect hind end and nervously twitching tail draped over his shoulder. "Oh!" He made an embarrassed face and released her. "Sorry." He stopped and was a little surprised when she levitated in front of him. "I don't know, just away from him."
"Did you mean what you said? That it doesn't matter?" She grasped her tail and stroked it.
"Of course. I kind of already knew it was you. Pan tipped me off."
"You did!? Even before last night!?"
He nodded. They hung awkwardly in the air.
"Trunks. There's more to it than this..."
He smiled, got closer and put his fingers to her lips. "Could it make me think any less of you?"
"Well, no..." she admitted.
"Then it can wait." He ran his thumb over the star on her forehead curiously, held her face in his hands and drew her closer. She released her tail and put her arms around him. They sank slowly out of the sky. He kissed her like she was a cold glass of water in a record-breaking heat wave.
*
"She's from another dimension, she's not related to you and she's NOT an enemy. It's an accident that she's even here. She just happened on Capsule and befriended me when you guys were in England. We've been working on a way to get her back home to her.. Saiyans."
Bulma watched her husband closely, translating his reaction to her half-truths from the minute shifting in the shape and character of his eyes. He wasn't happy, but satisfied. She sighed quietly. "Besides, she's a good kid and your son loves her."
"Fine." He turned his back on her. "But I don't care if she's the second coming, one wrong move and she's fair game."
"Fine."
He stalked off. She folded her arms again and made a face. 'It's almost like he's being respectful, in his own weird way...' she thought and smiled.
-*-
The orb between Mira's hands grew until it was about as big as
her head. Cool colors swirled inside of it. The outside shone like glass.
This solidified into a hard shell and it glowed brightly as she took her hands
away. The orb floated in her lap and she scrutinized it carefully. "Almost..."
-*-
Akiko's homesickness faded considerably after she "came out".
Everyone had learned about her secret, and after a brutal sparring session,
even Pan accepted her presence (albeit grudgingly). Vegeta warmed to her finally
when she cooked the Oujisamas and Goten dinner one night. Although Vegeta
didn't complement her excellent job, he ate everything on his plate.
She finished washing the dishes and laughed at one of Bulma's jokes. Vegeta sat down in the living room and turned on Whose Line Is It Anyway. Even he was laughing that night. He cackled out loud for everyone to hear as the comics presented the world's worst occupations.
"Wow, Akiko," Goten patted his stomach, "I didn't think anybody could cook like my Mom, but you're great! Where'd you learn to make food like that?"
Trunks grinned from ear to ear and kissed her on the cheek. "A meal fit for a Saiyan Prince," he purred into her ear.
She smiled weakly and gripped his arm. "Can we go somewhere and talk?"
*
"What's up, Sweet?"
"I need to tell you the whole story."
He frowned and shook his head, but she protested.
"Don't freak and don't tell anyone, especially not Vegeta. The only person who knows is Bulma." She took a deep breath and went for it. "My name is Akiko… Son."
Trunks went white. His jaw dropped and he started to laugh. "Oh my god, ha ha.. wha.. what, which..?"
"I'm Gohan's daughter."
"HA HA! That was IT!?!" he laughed, relieved.
She nodded and began to laugh as well. "You expected something worse?"
"I thought you were gonna say you were related to me or something!!"
They laughed and kissed and turned in for the night.
*
Trunks woke up in the middle of the night and looked over at the clock. 3:34 AM. He moaned and wondered what he was doing awake. Even after a few weeks, it was still a pleasant shock to him to realize he was in bed with a female Saiyan. He spooned her and nuzzled the back of her neck.
"What?" she murmured.
"Just snootchin'" he murmured back.
"I'm trying to sleep.."
"Well, soorrryy.."
"Mira..."
"Huh?" he stopped snuzzling and listened carefully. "Mira?"
"Whaddaya want?" she moaned.
"What's goin' on, Kiko?" he urged her, knowing she was talking in her sleep.
"I'm happy here.."
"Kiko, wake up," he nudged her gently.
"Mira, Mira.." she called out and woke up confused. "MIRA!?!"
Trunks stared at her in the dim light.
"AKIKO! can you hear me?"
"Yes, yes! Where are you!?"
"I'm only miles from you, but dimensions away."
"Are you going to wish me home!?"
"Well, we are prepared to do that, but I think there is something you should know first. When I was searching for you, I found something. Something horrible in store for the people of that Earth."
"Horrible?" she sobered. "What is it?"
"I searched for Rasha, knowing you would stand out like a sore thumb and I was disturbed to find many thousands of Rasha.."
"What are you saying, Mira..?"
"They're headed for Earth. I think they mean to colonize the planet."
"What?.."
Trunks grasped her shoulders. "What's wrong? Akiko, who are you talking to?"
"You're going to need help. We're coming."
End Chapter Six
Notes:
I've given Vegeta, Trunks and Bra a sur-name (Oujisama). If this is confusing, see Popping The Question. -aks
Glossary:
"Kinokiita, otoko no ko, koko shibaraku deawanai.
Yasashikute kawaikute okanemochi no otoko no ko."
"Honto ni Kamisama anata wa fukouhei."
"Good boys, I don't really find them lately.
A sweet, cute, rich boy."
God, you are really unfair."
-from 'La Depression' by Pizzicato Five off the Play-Boy Play Girl LP.