[Author's Note] I would like to apologize for the extremely late update, but I've been very busy with school! Don't worry, I'm almost over with school, so I will have more time to work on this and eventually finish this fic in the near future. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter... and please review!

* - The quote is from one of the many Star Wars books, although I don't remember which one, and I also don't remember if it was Mara Jade Skywalker who said it, or Jaina Solo. I'm really sorry for that. *sheepish grin*

Hikari No Will Power

Act Two, Chapter One
Dilemnas, Revelations and Decisions! The Never-Ending Cycle of Trials and Tribulations!

"It's all your fault, you... you... senseless, egotistical moron!" Yumi screamed, slamming the door shut right on Trunks' face.

Intimidation was evident in the demi-saiyajin's features, especially the way his cerulean orbs sparkled as he glared at the locked door. "You're in my room!" he snapped, clenching his fists in anger. He had tolerated the way Yumi blamed him for her father's death, but upon locking him out of his own room she had crossed the line. "And I'm not a senseless, egotistical moron!"

Clang!

In an instant, his face paled evidently. He had the bad feeling that Yumi had just trashed his computer, which was by far the most important thing in his bedroom. Practically screaming a curse, he decided that very instant to break the door down, regardless of the consequences. I swear, if anything happened to my computer, I am so going to kill her!

His room was a mess the moment he got in. There were pieces of china everywhere, as the young woman practically used the figurines and antique vases --- which were part of the demi-saiyajin's precious collection --- for target practice on Trunks' picture, which was pinned messily to the wall. She, too, had ripped the curtains off, and left them in a messy puddle on the floor right next to the young man's bed.

"Yumi Kaname, stop this... insanity... this very instant!" Trunks bellowed, glaring at her as if she was his mortal enemy.

She straightened up, turned to face him, and put her hands on her hips. She was mad; in fact, she was looking murderously at the demi-saiyajin. "Trunks Briefs-Vegeta, you have no right to tell me what to do! You deserve this, oh hell you do, and this isn't even enough to make you pay for being such a fool!" she yelled back, her face brimming with fury. "If you focused on the situation at hand instead of your stupid fantasies, we could have saved him! But no, you wanted fluffy and sappy moments instead! How shallow can you get?!"

His face was swelling with anger. "First you call me a senseless, egotistical moron, and now you're saying that I'm shallow?! What's next, sweetheart?" he shot back, moving forward and taking her by the shoulders forecefully. "Let me take a peek inside that vision-loaded gray matter trapped inside that stupid head of yours, alright? Let's see... I just caught a thought bubble! A perverted murderer?! Wonderful thought, m'lady... oooh, this one's good! A homosexual psychopath, that's a nice one!"

"Get your hands off me!"

"I will if you'd shut up!"

Enraged even more than Trunks could imagine, she pushed him away, her strength in a surprisingly high level at that development. "Look, numskull," Yumi spat as she grabbed another figurine from the demi-saiyajin's study table. "I appreciate what you've done for me and all, rescuing me from those idiots who barged into my apartment uninvited, but you've crossed the line way too many times! First off, you kidnapped me, and carried me around the countryside like a sack of potatoes. Then you promised me that you were going to help me get my father back in return for sharing you what I see, but you ended up being the cause of his death! I don't need an imbecile such as you, do you hear me?! If there's anyone who won't be able to survive this struggle, especially against a certain female assassin, it's you, not me!"

Trunks was about to throw a counter-attack of his own, filled with insults that would put them on even ground, but Yumi's last statement struck him hard. He looked at her with wide blue eyes, disbelief planted on his features as he processed what that certain remark meant. "Kasumi's alive?! You're not serious, are you?!"

Silence dominated the room for a few moments as they plainly stared into each other's eyes, their argument flying away as if it had never taken place. The demi-saiyajin's face had gone noticeably paler than it was a few moments back, and he was not moving an inch, for he did not want to miss whatever Yumi had to say, and whatever gesture came with it. The young woman, on the other hand, only looked at him with a glum expression, her verdant eyes relaying that she was utterly serious.

"I'm the one who can see the future; I'm telling you."

He caressed her hand gently, awed to see another side --- another form --- of the person who brought him into the world. Smiling, he rose up and turned towards the door. "I'm sorry, Okaasan," Goten whispered, his back turned against Chichi who was still unconscious from the bombing of her home out of the authorities' attempt to capture Trunks, "but I must not let you see me. Knowing that I exist will only cause you a greater pain. I'm sorry."

Sparing one last look at her, he pushed the door open and quietly slid out. He then began to make his way out of the hospital, but he could not stop himself from stopping once in a while to do something that would conceal his true motive --- to listen at what was being talked about --- by tying his shoelace or looking around as if in search for a certain room. He did not intend to do it at first, but when he heard Briefs-Vegeta and Kaname in the same sentence, he changed his mind.

"Only Briefs-Vegeta could have done that to Kaname," an elderly woman blurted out as she fixed up her eyeglasses. "He was brilliant enough to use a virus to murder thirteen of his employees; killing our Prime Minister would've been a piece of cake for him."

"Problem is, he's dead. That leaves him totally out of the suspect list," another woman pitched in, pausing to cough. "I don't know what you'll think of me for saying this, but I don't think Briefs-Vegeta murdered his employees in the first place. For some reason, I believe it's some sort of inside conspiracy."

"That doesn't matter now. What we know for sure is that Japan will surely collapse, without Kaname's leadership! He has been the best political leader this nation has ever had; the only one who can probably fill his shoes would be his daughter, Yumi. However, she's still nowhere to be found."

Yeah, but Yumi's unfortunately not interested in politics. Besides, if she shows up, Trunks is surely gonna get busted, Goten thought, biting his lip. At that, he shrugged, straightened up and went on his way. Upon stepping out of the hospital, however, which was right across Capitol Hall, he came to a halt. "Oh no..." he whispered as his eyes caught the scene that was taking place.

Honoo Shidoosha, the new Prime Minister of Japan who was put into the position at Kaname's death, was being held hostage by a bunch of gruff-looking men --- foreigners, the demi-saiyajin noticed. They possessed a bunch of large guns and other weapons of the superior kind, and they were yelling at the police officers who were stationed in front of the said establishment, unable to do anything but to watch and listen.

Goten knew that he had to help, but he didn't know how. He was confident that he would be able to drive the terrorists away without breaking a sweat, but the thought of barging into the scene withouth concealing his identity disturbed him greatly. I shouldn't really worry about this, he thought to himself, as I practically don't exist in this timeline... but somehow... that's holding me back. I think I've had too much of Oniichan's Saiyamanic nature.

He blinked. Saiyaman...

He shook his head vigorously. "No, no, no. There is no way I'm going to parade through the streets of Japan in a stupid costume, even if this is the Mirai timeline," the demi-saiyajin told himself firmly, clamping his hand into a fist. However, the situation at the other side of the street was getting worst by the minute --- the Special Defense Unit and the Police Force unable to do anything --- and he was beginning to buy the idea, lousy as it may seem.

The next thing Goten knew, he was heading towards a children's shop just a few blocks away from the hospital. "Great, just great," he grumbled, a strange expression on his face, for he was still debating whether or not he should go for the Saiyaman idea. "I practically swore to Trunks that I will never take up the silly Saiyaman role, and here I am, walking towards the path of the Great Saiya-Idiot because I'm concerned about other people's safety. Sometimes I wish I was just as cold and uncaring as Vegeta towards these... pathetic humans," he finished, although he never meant his last two words. After all, he himself was part human.

The shop was full of toys, and other merchandise that had something to do with kids. On one side of the cozy store, he found what he was looking for: a suitable costume that could conceal his identity, but would still make him appear cool, unlike the Saiyaman in his own timeline. He was about to take it to the counter when a thought crossed his mind. If he was aiming to hide his identity, why would he personally pay for the said outfit? The cashier would recognize him without question the moment she would realize that the new hero of Japan wore a costume they sold! And... who knows, what if they have hidden cameras in the area?

"Okay, now to find someone to pay for this thing..." he whispered to himself, and he looked around, careful not to make himself look too obvious. And a few seconds later, he found the person he was looking for --- a little boy around six years of age, who was eating ice cream at a corner of the store. Taking a deep breath, he walked towards the child, squatted beside him, and smiled. "Hey, kiddo... would you mind doing me a favor? I'll buy you a whole gallon of ice cream, if you like..."

When persuasion fails, bribery prevails*, he thought with a smirk.

Immediately, the child looked at him. "Really, mister?"

He took out a paper bill. "Yes, and all you have to do is buy me that costume over there," Goten told the boy, pointing to the sleek black outfit he had chosen from the set the store offered. He then gave the child a handful of bills. "That's for the costume. Once you're done paying for it, come back here and I'll take you out for that gallon of ice cream I promised."

The boy could not believe how much money he had in his hands... and in a second, he changed his mind. Why want a gallon of ice cream, when he already has enough to buy more? He stood up, smirked at the demi-saiyajin, then ran off as fast as his legs would allow him to.

"Hey, wait!" Goten called out, realizing that he had been cheated on by a child. Desperate to get back the money he had given to the said boy, he sprinted after the other, and thanks to his saiyajin genes, he overtook the little boy in no time. In fact, the kid was not looking at where he was going that he practically crashed into the teenager, who had his arms crossed in front of him with a stern look on his features. "Give me that money," he growled in a low voice that made the other tremble in fear.

However, that was when a hand rested on his shoulder. He recognized that the owner was female, but her grip was sure strong. "I'd leave that kid alone if I were you. Because if you won't, you'll answer to me," she said in a threatening tone that Goten was so familiar with. They stood still for a few seconds, not saying a word, and when the demi-saiyajin felt that he was going to explode from his curiousity, he spun around to see who it was.

His ebony orbs flew wide open.

Blood was all over the area, staining nearly ever square inch of the place she was standing on, although it was not the kind of blood that she was used of seeing. The fluid was in a frightening jet-black shade, and it gleamed like polished metal under the glaring bluish-white sun of Ryuusei. And lying in the sheet of blood were tails, tails which continued to wiggle and squiggle despite of the fact that they had been completely amputated from the rest of their owners' bodies.

Giving uup so soon? I thouught youu werre the one everryone was suupposed to fearr, Ten-Thirrteen... after all, youu werre the champion at the Academy. The warrrriorr nobody couuld defeat, not even those who had been champions forr so many yearrs. Youu beat them, youu beat them all. Buut what happened to youu? Lost youurr touuch? Orr have youu simply gone soft?

"SHUT UP!" she screamed, her eyes flashing dangerously as another wave of energy radiated from her body, eliminating the Ryuujins who were closing in on her at that moment, leaving them only of their tails. The part of the Ryuujin body that could not be eliminated. "Stop being a damn coward, Ryuurai, and show filthy yourself!"

That was when the ground parted, and a figure emerged from the pool of blood, a sardonic smile on his alien features. "I'm herre."

The young woman spun around, then dropped into a defensive fighting stance shortly after, despite of the fact that she was chained at that very moment. "I don't know what the hell you want with me," she began, wiping off the blood that was trickling down her bleeding lip, "but you whatever that is, you won't get it. Let me go if you don't want me to do something drastic that you'll surely regret for the rest of your life!"

"And what wouuld that be, Ten-Thirrteen? Youu seem to have forrgotten that youu arre in my terrrritorry. Even if I will let youu go, youu will cerrtainly not make it ouut of herre alive," the Ryuujin ruler hissed in reply. "Wouuld youu like to give it a trry? Orr wouuld youu prreferr dying by my hand? I shall grrant youu youurr desirre, whateverr that wouuld be."

In response, she spat at him.

"Ah, so that is youurr choice, then," Ryuurai blurted out, smirking in a reptilian way. "Verry well, then. I shall give youu youurr desirre. Afterr all, youu have serrved youurr masterr well, and thuus, youu deserrve something in rreturrn forr the serrvice youu wholehearrtedly gave him." He paused to address his minions, who were standing behind him, ready to do whatever he would ask them to. "Rrelease herr."

The Most High's servants, who stood like statues a moment before, sprung to life. They bowed down to their master, their tails whipping behind them in a seemingly enthusiastic manner as they chorused, "We hearr and obey, Lorrd Rryuuuurrai." Without further thought, they walked towards the female warrior, and set her free.

Before she could do anything, however, a strange sensation ran down her spine, and she fell to the ground on all fours, feeling weaker than ever before. Her sight began to fail her, the world disappearing into a mere blur, and shortly after, her other senses followed, until the feeling of helplessness and dread returned. No, I must fight this... I must... fight... she told herself sternly. I still have to avenge Master Kanryu's death by killing Goten Son... Goten Son... Goten Son...

At that, her eyes snapped open, gleaming in a dangerous emerald hue. The energy she had lost came surging back in full force, evident in her aura that blazed like a magnificent supernova that had just exploded. The sight of the new Ten-Thirteen made the Most High's lackeys back off with fear in their eyes, surprised at the transformation that took place.

The Most High, however, was as calm as ever. In fact, he looked rather pleased at the change that the young woman went through. "That's what I've been waiting forr, Ten-Thirrteen! What took youu so long to get that ouut of youu?" he sneered, then he turned around and raised his right hand. In an instant, the walls sunk into the seemingly pitch-black trenches in the area, revealing a crowd that immediately grew wild upon seeing the competitors for the next event. They were at the grandstand of the Ryuujin Academy, and they were going to engage in a deadly battle once again, after ten long years.

But this time, Ryuurai thought with a smirk, I'm going to win.