Zatari's Story
"It's not right, I tell you!" screamed a short, black haired girl at her adoptive brother. "People don't just go around picking up dinosaurs and taking them home!"
Her brother looked at her. "But, Tari, some people do..."
Tari heaved a sigh. "Goten; even when they do, they don't take them to pet shows! That is what you did wrong!" She turned around to look at the boy behind her. He stepped back and said, "Whoa, it's not my fault! Don't look at me that way!"
"Maybe not, But you didn't stop him!" Tari stormed. She was getting angrier and angrier every time the two boys opened their mouths. Goten peered behind his sister at the boy. "Yeah, Trunks! This is all your fault!"
Trunks snorted. "Don't get your hopes up; anyone with half a brain could tell that you were the one who brought home the beast, not me," he turned back to Tari, who was now practically steaming with rage. "Tari, I'm sorry I didn't stop him, there was nothign I could do, just leave it," Tari laughed. "Leave it? How can I just "leave it" when, thanks to Goten, the whole auditorium is wrecked, and I was the one who was supposed to be watching him?!"
Goten giggled. "Yeah, you're right, Mama's gonna kill you!"
Gohan poked his head through the door. "Okay, I heard screaming in here, and mom told me to check to make sure that no one was being dismembered; which I'm happy to see is not happening."
Tari turned to her older brother. "GOTEN BROUGHT A DINOSAUR TO A PET SHOW AND NOW THE WHOLE PLACE IT TOTALLED!" She started to breathe heavily. "And now, due to his sheer stupidity, I'll be punished."
Gohan just stared open mouthed.
"Well, aren't you going to do something about this?!" Tari said in an exasperated voice.
Gohan continued to stare. "Wow, Tari, you're going to be in huge trouble!"
Tari gaped at him, then turned around in a rage. "Why am I going to be in trouble?! It wasn't MY dinosaur! Why doesn't Goten ever get in trouble?!"
Goten looked at the ground, afraid to look her in the eye. "Because I'm the youngest?"
Trunks did the same. "Perhaps...."
Tari rolled her eyes. "Puh-LEASE," She said. "You can't stick with that excuse forever; it's going to die off sometime."
Goten grinned. "That's what's great about Mama, she doesn't like to face that we're growing up," Trunks laughed.
Tari stomped her foot and turned towards the door. "I can't stay near you two any longer; your stupidity might rub off on me." With that she left.
Gohan stared after her. "Such a friendly, sweet-tempered girl," he said.
Trunks smirked. "Y'know, Goten," he said. "You could tell your mom about how she insulted us, and get her into even more trouble!"
Goten's eyes brightened. "Hey- Yeah!"
Gohan turned his attention back to the two boys. "Don't even try it. That's unfair and you both know it."
Trunks frowned. "But she DID...."
"Gohan's right," Goten sighed. "That's nto really the issue; the problem is that I wrecked the Satan City Auditorium, and now Tari's gonna get in trouble for it..."
Trunks sighed also. "I hate it when you get started on all that pure-of-heart crap; it sucks the fun out of everything."
Tari stormed through the kitchen where her mother was cooking dinner. "Mama, where's Dad?" she asked; maybe her father would take the news better then her mother would.
Chichi looked away from the food she was cutting, "I don't know, dear, last I saw him he was out in the back."
"Kay mama, thanks," Tari said, then turned her heel to the door.
Chichi smiled, "You're welcome, dear," Then turned back to her dinner.
Tari opened the back door and the smell of fresh air met her senses. She always loved the outdoors; more space to do her own thing then inside. She took in a whiff of the air then stepped outside.
"Daddy?" She called into the yard. She turned the corner of the house, only to see that her father wasn't there. "Hmm," she murmured. Then looked into the forest. She couldn't see any signs of her father; usually whenever he went through the forest he flew so fast the tree's branches would be bent.
Tari gave an exasperated sigh. He was never around when you needed to talk to him. In the distance, she heard her fathers voice. "Whoa! Settle down!" he said. Tari shook her head, "Finally!" and then flew over the forest.
Tari loved flying, it was one of her favourite things to do when she was outside. In her opinion, there was nothing better then being above everything. She loved the feeling of the wind through her hair, which was short, black and sort of spikey. Her eyes were a dark green-brown, and she was confused by the fact that no one else in her family had her eyes.
Come to think of it, she thought, I don't look anything like anyone in my family! Oh well, I suppose I'd be cursed if I looked like Goten.
She stopped in mind-air to see her father trying to calm a wild animal. By the looks of it, he didn't know why the animal was acting furious; though Tari did. Dad, you're so brainless sometimes, she thought.
She flew down a bit lower. "Hey- Dad!" She called. Her father looked up. "Tari, not a good time..." He yelled back.
She crossed her arms. "Having a bit of trouble?" she called. He shook his head, "I don't have the faintest idea why he's acting so strange!"
She shook her head and flew down a bit lower. "It's a she," she yelled to him. He looked up, puzzled. "How d'you know?"
Tari pointed behind him. "You're standing between her and her nest." His face fell and he looked behind him. "Oh, damn it." He stepped a few paces sideways and away from the mother's nest. "There," he said gently, "A bit better, now?"
The animal sniffed the air for a moment, then rushed behind Goku to her nest. Goku heaved a sigh of relief. "Good thing you were here, Tari, or else I would have been standing there for ages trying to figure out why she was so angry with me!"
Tari rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "Where would you be without me, father-dearest," she said in a sarcastic voice. He looked at her with a surprised expression, "I already told you," he said, "I'd still be down there..."
"Oh forget it," Tari laughed. Suddenly she remembered why she had sought out her father, and she felt as though someone had dropped a block of lead in her stomach. "Uh, dad?" she said quietly.
Goku put her on his shoulders. "What?" He said, lifting off the ground into the sky.
Tari hesitated. "You remember how mama told me and Trunks and Goten to go out and play this afternoon?"
Goku looked behind him. "No, but go on."
She drew in a breath. "Well it wasn't my fault you see we were in the forest and Goten made friends with this huge dinosaur and me and Trunks didn't want to wait for him any longer so we told him to meet us at the Satan City Auditorium and so we left and when we got there there was this big pet show and then Goten showed up with this HUGE dinosaur and the great brute wrecked the whole building and now mama's gonna blame it on me because it's my responsibility to watch him and he broke something and I don't want to get in trouble!" She gasped for air.
Goku looked at her with a look of uttmost bewilderment on his face. "There's not much I can do about that...You were supposed to watch him, after all..."
Tari couldn't believe her ears. "So you agree it was my fault?" She demanded.
Goku suddenly looked nervous; Tari was known to have an explosive temper. "Well, not entirely; but you shouldn't have left him alone in the forest to begin with, right?"
Tari let out a large groan and jmped off her father's shoulders. "I'm sick of everythign being my fault; how about Goten just grows up a little and takes care of himself?" Tari then turned her heel and flew at top speed back to the house.
Goku just stared. "Aw damn it, what did I do now?"
Why is it always my fault? Tari thought. Why can't Goten be responsible for himself and just...Not get me into trouble all the time!
She remembered the time that Goten broke Bulma's newest invention. Bulma was a family friend, and was very rich. She was married to Vegeta and was Trunks's mother. Tari had never had a problem with her, in fact, she sometimes wished that she lived with Bulma instead of her mom and dad.
But that day her, Goten and Trunks had been playing in the basement. They had been playing tag, and when Tari had touched Goten, she turned around and shot a Kii blast at her; only to have it fly past her and into Bulma's invention. Of course, when her mother heard about it it was Tari's fault for touching Goten.
Typical Mom, she thought. Always sticking up for the baby.
She saw he house getting bigger, and swooped down to fly in her open bedroom window. She landed on the white carpet, careful nto to make any noise as she didn't want anyone to know she was home.
She walked over to her closet and grabbed her bag. She took out the random objects in it and threw them to the ground.
"Tari?" She heard her mothers voice.
Shit, Tari thought. "Yeah?" She called down the stairs.
Her mothers voice answered her call. "Can you come down here for a minute?"
Assuring herself that she would execute her plan afterwards, she opened her door and started down the stairs.
As she entered the living room, she saw Goten sitting in the chair opposite her mother, who was sitting cross-legged and was looking extremely impatient.
"Sit," she said, staring into Tari's eyes.
Tari nodded, walked over to the couch and sat. Goten was looking at hise feet, tears brimming his eyes. Tari suddenly knew what she was in for, and she groaned inwardly.
"I'm not going to waste time by explaining what you did; you know very well," Chichi said, looking at her children. "All I need to know is what on earth drove you to do such a stupid thing?"
Tari glared at Goten, who now had tears rolling down his cheeks. He looked up at her with shiny eyes, then turned to Chichi and said, "I'm sorry mama. I didn't think that Kenny would destroy the auditorium...."
Chichi snorted. "You don't think very often, Son Goten. You're just like your father; you act, and then reflect when it's too late."
Tari shifted in her seat. She knew she'd be getting the full blast of this any minute now.
And sure enough, her mother turned to her and said, "And what on earth did you think you were doing leaving your little brother in the forest all alone? Are you crazy? You know that he doesn't recognize danger!"
Tari didn't dare look her mother in the eye. "I...I didn't even consider that he would be so stupid.."
Chichi's eyes flashed. "Don't you talk about your brother like that!"
Tari stood up. "Well I'm sorry I'm just not good enough for you! I'm also sorry that I thought Goten could be mature enough to stay out of trouble for at least 15 minutes! Most of all I'm sorry I even entered your life; I've obviously just made it miserable!" Tari whirled around and ran up the stairs.
Blinded by her rage, she tripped over the first step. She looked down at her knee, which, she could see, was already turning a red-ish purple. She got up and flew up the staircase, crying due to the pain in her leg.
When she got into her room, she grabbed her empty bag and packed it with things she'd need. A flashlight, a sleeping bag, a book, her gameboy and other various objects. She was about to leap out the window when she remembered something. She ran over to her bed and picked up a worn-out stuffed lion. She hugged it tightly and said, "We're leaving, Ceasar. There's no need to stay here anymore if all we do is cause misery. We're running away."