Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any of its characters, and nor do I want to. =)
Momo-kun-chan: Hey everybody. Yup, I decided to change my user name... AGAIN! Haha. Sorry it took so long to update, but I haven't had my angst or DBZ muse in such a long time. . But I finally got a little bit back, so here you go. Enjoy! XD
Sorry if it seems rushed. (I change my writing style a bit) Don't kill me! TT (Knives fly)
WAH! XP Kawarimi! (A log is impaled) Mwahahaha! X3
This chapter's theme: "So Cold" by Breaking Benjamin
Drops splashed on the black hood of the limo, one after another in a dull, repetitive fashion. Rolling over the small bumps in the road, the rain was the only thing that could be heard. The sky was still a dark grey, a shade or two darker than that afternoon. It was night now, and since it was later in the year, night came a lot faster than normal. The streetlights began to flicker on as they road by, giving the ugly dull street some type of glow.
New thoughts stung again from the fresh brand of her mind, thinking, watching mindlessly the fast highway.
"Are you okay?" Goten asked in the solemn room. The machines beeped as Bra had folded herself up in the seat next to Trunks's bed. She sighed deeply as her puffy blue eyes traveled to her brother then to the navy enamel floor.
"I... don't know."
Goten winced at her grave expression. 'Well, at least she wasn't crying anymore.' Goten sighed inwardly at the thought. It was harder than he'd imaged to keep a raging preteen from going off the deep end while keeping his own out bursts in check. He finally calmed her down enough to plant her in the chair where she was still sitting now. From there, the two just watched Trunks's immobile body silently.
What else was there to do but wait? It would be indeed a long night.
Goten noticed Bra shiver in the corner of his dark eyes as he turned. She hadn't looked with fragile and worn since Bulma's funeral. That day had many tears too.
With a sigh, he pulled off his coat and placed it over her petite body. He wasn't that cold anyway.
"Thanks.", was all Bra murmured without even casting him a glance. She buried her cheek into the fabric of his jacket, deep enough so that even the tip of her nose was covered.
Goten shrugged and sat heavily in the chair closest to the door, opposite of where Bra was sitting. He hated having this feeling of anxiety and nervousness. The fear, the sadness, was something he wished would go away right now, but they stayed like an unwelcome guest.
'Soon, everything will be okay.' He told himself with a slight nod. Hopefully at least.
"Goten, Bra, I see you two have found the room." Chichi and Goku came in the doorway as both teenagers stirred in their chairs. "How is Trunks doing?"
"They say he'll be okay, once he recovers, but he's not supposed to wake up until tomorrow though." Goten sigh and crammed his hands in his pockets. He suddenly didn't have the energy to go into further detail than the basics.
Chichi nodded, as she seemed to understand.
"Hey, did Vegeta come through yet? I mean, does he even know?" Goku asked from behind Chichi.
Bra's eyes grew big as she turned her head. "I don't think he would come anyway..."
"Huh? What do you mean, Bra?"
"He just wouldn't okay!" Bra snapped and narrowed her eyes to keep the few pricks of tears down.
Goku was genuinely confused as Goten frowned curiously.
'What the hell's going on here?'
"It's okay to be upset sweetie." Chichi walked over to Bra and patted her shoulder. A bitter expression marred her face. She was never truly fond of Vegeta. "Would you like anything? I could go get you something. Goten?"
"No thank you." Bra replied in one breath and averted her gaze again.
"Oh, I do Chichi. I think I saw some hot cocoa in the there earlier." Goku nodded happily. Finally, he had a chance to mention it without the large risk of Chichi yelling at him. The situation was already bad, no use of being hungry if it could be helped.
Chichi sighed but agreed. She'd better get some food too. Dinner had been officially missed. She wondered what they had healthy. In a hospital, probably nothing.
Goten shook his head in his parent's direction for his vote, and watched them until they exited the room. The door shut softly again, leaving the room in that familiar, suffocating stillness once more. Goten then focused his attention back to Bra with a deep frown which carved into his brows, and ran down to the corners of his mouth.
"Bra, what's actually going on here?" His expression showed that he was serious, but Bra just played mute. "Answer me Bra."
Still mute.
Goten wasn't going to asked again. He was already tired, and his aggravation quickly replaced his sorrow. Goten snorted and pushed himself out of the chair. He suddenly needed to get out of this damn room. The stank of foul play spilled from a secret place that had been closed off from an outsider.
Without a single word, he left the dismal room with no particular destination in mind. Anywhere but there was fine, yet, it was a fruitless escape no matter what his efforts. Goten knew this, but, he wasn't forced to be with Trunks around the clock, or rather, the other company he had.
Bra looked at the exit as the sturdy wooden door closed back on its own. In another second, her eyes where watching her sibling again. Waiting, hoping, searching for some things she didn't even know or was sure about. She wished she could say what happened at home to Goten, but it really wasn't her place at all. Trunks would tell him when he wakes up. Bra was sure of that. He told Goten of things he didn't even start to bring up around her. She always found out thought, through eavesdropping while hiding under beds or listening in on the other end of the phone.
Bra nodded to herself and grabbed her brother's hand. It was chilly and stiff.
Dead.
Bra could have sworn Trunks was if it wasn't for the heart monitor that he was hooked up to. She sniffed an up coming tear and tightened her grip unconsciously. She was trembling lightly as she swallowed down the thick lump in her throat. The thump grew stronger with each passing moment like a strangling hand constricting.
"Sorry.... I... I'm so sorry Trunks..." She choked on a small cry that wouldn't stay in. "I'm so sorry..."
"...For... what...?"
Thin lips barely moved. The voice was raspy and horribly deadpan. He had to take a breath before each word for his lungs to keep working. It was too much a strain to talk as normal.
Bra's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as she muffled a gasp. "Trunks! Y-you're awake!"
"...I said... for what..."
His eyes were narrow as the lights invaded them like millions of attacking soldiers. The iris slowly moved over to the young girl who was now standing over him. Bra was at a lost for words. She was more than a little shocked, and frightened. His eyes were glassy and dark; they almost looked gray instead of the vibrate blue as always. They were filled with emptiness like she'd never seen. No, she had seen. Like the dead. It was as if light didn't dare reflect in those eternal pools, or they would be swallowed into its endless deep.
His chest heaved up and down steadily before Trunks spoke again.
"Don't tell me... you feel... guilty now..."
His grip tightened around Bra's hand; her fingertips began to turn red as the knuckle above whitened considerably. She gasped as she nearly panicked. His strength was more than she thought, for him to be as injured as he was.
"Tr-Trunks, I-I came to see you. I heard about the accident... and... I wanted to come!"
The boy gritted his teeth to the point his pearly white canines showed dangerously. His breath could be heard more audibly in the ominously quiet room. It sounded ragged, as if his lungs were filled with thick phlegm. "...Why...?"
"Why?! I'm your sister!" Her voice filled with accusing shock.
"No you're not! You never were!" Trunks yelled, causing Bra to jump. He gritted his teeth to the point they could have mashed themselves with spiteful rage.
Then he began to cough. The ragged sound had become louder as his monitor increased. Lungs sounded flooded as if deluged in water. A thin line of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, leaving a crimson trail on his unnaturally pale cheek.
"Oh my God Trunks! Don't move! I'll-"
"Shut up." He hissed quickly between his clenched teeth. "You think... you can just show up... and act like... family...? Don't use me... to make... yourself... feel better... I've told you before... how it was... and you... thought I... was lying..."
"I know! I know! I'm sorry!"
"Save it... Just get out... I don't want to... see you any more Bra..."
"Trunks..." Bra felt her heart wrench as she took a step forward. It was as if the muscle was lodged in a large vice, squeezing it just enough to make it hurt without crushing it completely. Trunks's eyes narrowed as he titled his head to face the ceiling.
"...Don't make me... repeat myself..."
"...Fine..." Bra grabbed her coat from the chair, and made a hasty retreat to the door. As soon as she hit the hallway, she burst into tears, but she never stopped walking or slowed her place.
Just then, Goten was circling the corner. He had soon felt guilty of his previous behavior. If it was something bad, he didn't think he would want to talk about it either, so he couldn't really blame Bra for her actions. He sighed, holding two hot teas in his hands. Goten had looked up just before he collided with the rushing blue-nette, the drinks nearly spilling his hands.
"Bra? Bra! Hold on. Where are you going?! Hey, wait up! What's going on? What happened?"
Did he miss something?
"I'm going home Goten." She roughly brushed her eyes with the back of her hand.
Bra didn't even both to wait for the older boy's reply. Instead, she continued down the hall, not turning around to give Goten a further reason to follow. But even if he wanted to, Goten was too confused to do so anyhow.
Bra knew it was a sudden thing to just up and leave without an explanation, but it was apparent she wasn't wanted there. All of that waiting and sorrow for nothing; Trunks didn't even care what she did.
Yet, could she really blame him?
She then reached out to the control upon the door and pushed one of its many array of buttons. The window between the front and the back of the car rolled down as the driver looked at her through his rear view mirror.
"Yes, Ms. Briefs?"
"Go faster."
"But Miss… we're doing the speed limit…" The chauffer sweated; he didn't want to get pulled over, nor lose his job.
"I don't care. Just hurry up." Bra said quickly, deadly, and rolled her window back up.
"Yes ma'am."
Bra sighed irritably, and let her arm drop back into her lap. She wasn't mad at the driver, but with her brother now.
Some nerve he had. On the brink of death and still bitter, like an old man that's angry with the world before the end. Bra frowned, no longer crying or having the need to for that matter. It was late, and she was more tired than she needed to be. She just wanted to get back to the mansion. Not her home, that house. The house of lies… and unfortunately, not the little white ones either.
Yet, a few miles away, Goten was not ready to go, even though he was equally as drained. He convinced his parents, more so of Chichi, to wait in the waiting room while he stayed with Trunks. He didn't want to leave until he knew his best friend was okay. The last time he didn't, this what happened.
He'd been sitting on the chair Bra was in before she left, -he still didn't know why she did in such a hurry-, his leg thrown over one of its tattered arms, his back resting on the other, and his coat draped over him as a makeshift blanket, at least until a nurse or something came around with a real one.
Pondering on it, Goten would rather not see anyone right about now. He wondered if his mom, or dad, called the others.
Maybe, maybe not. They were all close, but the Sons and the Briefs were the closest.
And where is Vegeta anyway? Why isn't he here yet? Another thing Goten speculated.
He knew Trunks was upset with his father about something, but Trunks was constantly upset with Vegeta. Either angry or admiring. An alternating twist that forever left Trunks twice as mad but never enough to hate. It was funny really. The two were amazingly alike, and still completely opposite.
However, this time, felt frighteningly different. Trunks was more and more worried about their relationship, negatively. Goten wasn't even sure if he'd still held his father up high.
What changed so much from yesterday? Over the last few months?
Goten sighed, looking over to Trunks again. He couldn't wait for Trunks to wake up. It would be nice to hear his friend's voice, even though they'd just spoken a little less than a day ago. Maybe he could finally get some answers to the buzzing questions of his mind. It reminded him a lot of an irritated bee that had been caught behind a closed window.
Suddenly, his eye caught a trail from the corner of his friend's mouth. Throwing the coat off him, Goten dashed over to get a further look.
He gasped as he reached out, the tip of his index finger wiping the strip of crimson from Trunks's cheek.
'Where the hell did that come from?' Goten wondered, but soon thought, 'What the hell did Bra do?'
Wincing, the light invaded my eyes again. Moments ago, I escaped a strange plain of unconsciousness; it was as if I was asleep but not truly. I'm not dead, I know. I've been there before. That's a completely different experience.
My body feels as if it was emerged in water, like a puppet on strings with no puppeteer. I have no control, and no pain. How much morphine was I on? Maybe something stronger.
The tubes ran like an endless highway from my nose all the way to my lungs. They weren't working by themselves. I know I'm not breathing on my own. The dull beeping in my ear stayed the same as if I wasn't conscious. The heart monitor's low and steady too.
Suddenly, the stampede of memories trampled my weak state of mind.
The doctor, my father, my mother, the car, the truck, Bra… That was the last thing I can recall.
I'm glad I told her to leave. I didn't want to see her makeup stained face, hear her damn little voice, smell her over priced perfume. I didn't want Bra at all, it was too much like another. Seeing anyone else would have been fine… Well, almost anyone.
I didn't bother to sit up just yet. I knew I was at least in a hospital, I only hoped I wasn't at Capsule Corp. But by the white tiles above me, I knew better. The ceiling at CC was blue.
Blue, such a delightfully sad color.
But I wasn't sad, or mad at all, just… I don't know. Empty.
No love, no hate, I don't care—I don't want to. Nothing mattered. My life was in complete disarray, and I simply didn't care.
Haha. Lovely. Sweet. Beautiful. Perfect.
Have I gone crazy? No, I'm just awaking up. It felt oddly… good. Haha, I don't care.
I try to swallow, my mouth partly open. I can't, there's a tube here too.
Hm? How bad was I messed up?
My eyes squint with amusement, lips dry. I can feel it. Well Goten, I went to the doctor's. Hehheh. I'm too weak to really laugh at myself.
Is this how I'll feel once the medicine wears off?
My fingers—they're cold, lack of use, tight. I didn't have the strength to move them. How did I manage to squeeze Bra's hand before. Well, anger is a nice key point to being a saiyan.
Saiyan. What the hell was that? I don't care about that anymore.
Still smiling, my heart ached.
Father, I'm not mad at you. Now, I don't blame you. I was so stupid. So many years of trying for nothing. Nothing. I no longer need your approval or want it. I am your son and you are my father. That is all.
I laugh once more, silently in my head; my body trembles from it.
And mother. Bulma, your new name to me, I would rather spend life dead for an eternity down here than deathly life in pain with you.
My entire body feels stiff as I finally get that spark to sit up, But soon I discover I can't do that either. Instead giving up, I grunt with effort, pain more apparent, as I rip from my invisible binds. My heart monitor danced to a crazy unheard tune as I rise.
Much strain for me.
I can taste metal in my mouth, but I find a way to choke it down. My throat burns from my own blood, like acid, sizzling, cutting all the way down to my stomach.
At last, I'm upright, slouched over like a zombie, a drop of saliva soaked into my starchy sheets. It was pink of course, not clear. I wheeze quietly to myself, hand to my chest as my lungs rattled. I can barely tell, but it still hurts somehow.
Suddenly, I spot Goten. I didn't notice him before. He doesn't see me. He's asleep, but not peacefully.
The room was bare besides him though. It's cold and still… like home. Goten wasn't the only one not at peace; out of thin air, neither was I.
I cared again. Just like that.
Guilty.
"Goten." I spoke aloud, odd and old.
I wasn't making an effort to call him, just trying to tell myself, like I forgot his name or something.
I tried to make my legs shift around, up, down, any direction, but they were heavy like they were molded into solid concrete, unmovable.
Maybe if I try my arms first…
The same thing, numb and weighty. It was then I noticed the long, provoking needles burrowed underneath my pinched flesh. Another roadway from my body, but this one forcing an entrance from the outside in. I can clearly see all of my veins through paper-like skin, fragile and blanched, counting about four of the machine's pines in the bigger ones.
The tubes had different colors, mainly variations of clear and red. The clear must be medicine and the red was most likely blood.
Hm, where did they get my blood type from? I know mine is pretty unique. Negative OS something or other. Oh well…
Looking up, I see the blank white walls. There isn't a clock in sight. Damn, I would like to know how long I've been here. My inner clock tells me, it has been some hours.
And just as that thought passed, like some kind of convenient sign, the early morning rays of orange and scarlet pierced through a window by my side. It was just tipping up the horizon, driving out the cold evening night…
Or not.
Dammit, it was just a car's headlights. Headlights…?
I remember it was getting nighttime when I left the house, and it started raining really bad. That was very foolish of me… to drive so fast in an ice storm I mean. To leave? That's probably the best thing I could have done, maybe the only thing.
Then my head started to spin, an out of control carousel. I fall back heavily, back down into my pillow, which wasn't so soft to cushion my landing. It hurt actually.
I cough out loud, enough to wake my snoozing comrade. He's flustered at first, then with over flowing relief and joy, he smiled.
"Trunks! You're awake! Oh man, the doctor said you'd be out until sometime tomorrow…" He trails off when he notices I'm still coughing.
I hack something terrible, my hand clamped over my mouth, as Goten leaps to his feet. "Stay still! I'll get some help for you!"
Yeah, like I'm going anywhere...
I force myself to breath in fast enough so that I can move. My unoccupied hand shot up and grabbed his just before he made his dash for a doc.
"No. Wait… Goten… I'm fine…" I'm lying, my lungs burn in spite of myself to prove it, and my voice continues to be feeble.
He pauses, looking concerned like a protective animal, wild and unsure of itself. "But-"
"Goten… I'm okay. Please sit down a minute…"
I must have looked pretty pathetic, he didn't put much of a fight after my small coaxing. I dared not mention or let him see the blood that painted the inside of my palm when I moved it away from my face. Instead, I balled that particular fist and keep it quickly out of sight.
I use this slight moment to calm myself a little more, steadying my breathing, my trusty monitor relaxing too. I close my eyes for only as second then look back up to Goten. He's waiting both patiently and eagerly for me to speak; I know he's looking for an explanation—it's inevitable. His black eyes basically screaming to me, "Well, say something already!"
"How long have I been here…?" Was the first thing I ask, to be on the safe side, buying time for myself to figure out exactly what would I say. Goten's visibly taken off guard; he wanted something else.
"…Well, it's…" He looks to his arm watch, all shiny and gently ticking. "3:46 AM…Right now…"
"Hm…"
He frowns away from me, thinking. "Trunks…"
"I know, Goten. I have a lot of explaining to do…"
"Yeah! You do!"
I'm sure he doesn't mean to yell, but he did, nearly jumping up for the second time.
"Calm down. We're in a hospital you know." I state coolly, eyes on the ceiling.
"Calm down?!" He almost explodes again, but I step in.
"Yeah, I'm the one in a hospital bed after all."
With this, he simmers down considerably. Then he stops altogether, his head titled down. "Please tell me Trunks…"
"You mean how I got here or what…?"
"From after you left my house."
"I see." I breath in as he waits. "Well, I went to the doctor just like you asked-"
"What did they say?" I glare at him for cutting in. "Sorry."
"Its okay… Anyway, no. I didn't hear from them yet. They told me to call back tomorrow if I didn't hear anything by that evening… well I guess later today now, huh…?"
Goten nodded along thoughtfully. He wants to tell me something.
"What?" I asked. He looks so nervous.
"Trunks… It was Bra… She was here too…" I already knew that but I continued to listen. "…and she was acting really strange… She said that you might have… tried to kill yourself…" Then he looked at me and I looked at him, locking eyes. "Is that true…?"
"No."
I heard him sigh, relieved, under his breath.
"Then why would she say something like that? Is there something… you're not telling me?"
"I can only tell you what I know. I didn't even find out until yesterday." I smile bitterly, almost smelling Goten's confusion. "My friend, you may need to sit back for this one."
Upon opening the front door, Bra trekked wearily into the pitch black house; that was the fifth time she'd come home like that this week. She started to wonder who was paying the light bill around there. Shrugging the darkness off, she lazily threw her jacket on one of the hooks, that missed and landed on the floor, and took off her shoes in the little hallway without bothering to see if they were lined up with the others.
'Oh well, I'm the only one here anyway…' Bra mused, but much to her surprise to see a light on in the den.
In slight fear that it could be an intruder, then wondering how they managed to get past the security system, Bra tipped across the cool wooden floor, trying her best not make any noise; she had an umbrella in hand too, just incase she had to beam someone and run. Who knew? It could work.
"Huh? Daddy?" She gaped, shocked to see him home and with his nose inside a book. "What are you doing here?"
"I thought I lived here." Vegeta answered, still not looking up from the text filled pages.
Bra glared, mad again. "Daddy? You know what I meant. How could you say something like that to Trunks, and not do anything?"
"And what exactly would I do?" He looked up, scowling a little. "The boy needed to know sooner or later."
"I'm sure." She gave him a look that made her resemble a lot like Bulma. "Well, did you know Trunks is in the hospital right now?"
Vegeta appeared un-phased as he turned back around, flipping a page. "He can handle it."
"Oh yeah?" Her voice notably trembled. "He got into a terrible accident after he left. I just saw him myself… He's messed up pretty bad…" Before she could cry, she forced her herself firm again. "You need to go see him daddy."
"And what makes you think he would want to see me?"
"Because… I know how he is. He probably still loves you a lot… and you know it don't you…?"
There was a pause between them, until Vegeta let out a laughable snort.
With nostrils flared, Bra threw her hands in the air, inwardly seething. "Alright fine. God! You both are so stubborn!"
She swiftly turned on her heels and stormed upstairs, slamming her door, but not before adding, "Don't talk to me until you do then, daddy!"
Vegeta, on the other hand, wasn't paying his daughter much attention. He knew from many years of experience woman liked to scream a lot, so it was best to let them do that until they calmed down. All he needed to do was block them out with his personal sound proof wall.
But he did pick the part when Trunks was in the hospital. He didn't know about that at all, although he had realized he didn't feel his son's ki for a long time. It didn't worry him too much, but his still was concerned, somewhere deep inside though. Vegeta still believed his presence wouldn't make Trunks's situation any better, so he stuck with his decision to leave him alone for a while. A good while.
Focusing back on the book in front of him, he got himself back on track with what he was originally doing. Vegeta meant to find out what that old man was talking about on the phone.
What the hell was leukemia anyway?
Momo-kun-chan: Bleh! I said it. Yeah that's what Trunks has. XP I know some of you are going like "OMG! Not a cliché!?" I know everyone and their mama's wants to use that type of cancer, but I been had this planned out six years ago. This fic is actually based on a TV show I used to watch in the late 90's. XP A little slow on the draw ne?
Anyway, I may update sooner or later. My newest poison is Naruto (yes, that anime ownz over all. X3), and not the crappy one in the Shonen Jump that comes out every month in the USA, I'm talking straight from Japan baby! Yeah! XD Well, back to writing that! XP Laterz all! =)