Dragon Ball © Akira Toriyama, Shuheisha, Inc.
Chapter 24: Home Seventeen Years Ago
After regaining consciousness, the warriors gathered to discuss their next move. However, getting beaten by a woman was something someone like Vegeta couldn't accept. The wave of his anger was thick that no one decided to say anything regarding the battle until he left. Trunks was about to follow but Piccolo told Trunks to leave him be.
"Just leave him alone, Trunks," Tenten said.
"But what if—"
"Do you like me to follow you around when you're pissed off?" Tenten slightly pressed her tone while glaring at him, which earned a deep sigh from the boy. Though he still glanced in the direction his father was leaving, he stayed with them.
Trunks told them that the androids in that timeline were much stronger than the ones they were facing in the future. He at least managed to put up a fight while he stood no chance against the one in the present timeline.
"Stronger, and there are three of them…" Piccolo muttered.
"Tenten, that wound on your right arm…" Trunks suddenly said.
"Oh, yeah. I… forgot about it."
Trunks furrowed his brows, sighing when she started to be like that again. He held her arm and stared right into her eyes. "Do it now." Tenten tightened her lips in response. When it came to this situation, he knew that most of the time, he was lacking authority over her because they were at the same level even though he was older than her.
"Heal it now, Tenten," Krillin insisted. Tenten blinked at how Krillin was looking at her as if he was going to keep watching until she healed her wound, so she did.
Seeing how she used her ability, Piccolo said, "The Dragon Clans…" The two teenagers shifted their gaze to him. "Your ability is similar to that of the Dragon Clans. They're Namekian like me, but not the fighter type. They're the people that are able to create the Dragon Balls too."
"T-the Namekian creates the Dragon Balls?!" the two said at the same time.
"Then, do you know somebody who can teach me how to improve my ability?" Tenten asked.
"I'm more interested in why you have a Namekian ability," Krillin said with flat eyes.
"It's similar but I won't say it's the same," Piccolo said. "I know someone who might…" He looked far into the sky.
"What are you going to do, Piccolo?" Krillin asked him.
"Who knows?"
"What's that look on your face? Do you have a plan!? Come on, tell us. We're your friends!" Krillin pressed.
"Friends!? Don't press your luck! When do you think I became your friend? I'm a demon! Don't you forget that! I'm merely using you to take over the world!" Piccolo replied as he gritted his teeth. He shifted his gaze at Tenten again, "I will tell you about it later. After your father's recovery, look for me in God's palace. Your father knows where it is."
"Okay, I'll do that."
Piccolo gave her a curt nod before leaving the place. Krillin told them that Piccolo was heading straight to the God's Palace, where he would do his last resort to merge with him to become a Namekian warrior.
"I want to go to my father's place," Tenten told them. "I need to check his condition. Also, to move him somewhere the androids can't find him."
"I'm coming with you. Bulma has lent me her plane just in case and I want to check him as well," Krillin said.
"Then I'll go with you too," Trunks said, following her steps.
Thus, they departed to her house seventeen years ago.
She never knew that going home could be a thrilling experience. Her heart was pummelling against her rib cage all the way to the East Village. Some things were the same but some weren't. The high Peacock Mountain was the same as seventeen years later. The ocean was glimmering under the sun. When Tenten touched the water, dolphins jumped out one by one as if they were greeting her.
While she enjoyed the scenery along the way, Krillin asked about how long it would take until Goku's recovery, which unfortunately would take ten days. Krillin sighed, pondering if they were able to stay out of the androids' sight that long.
"Tenten." She turned her eyes to Krillin. "You've said that the androids in this timeline have different personalities than the one in your timeline. How is that possible?"
"Does Mr. Scientist have a plausible explanation?" She turned her eyes to Trunks.
"Uh…" Trunks frowned deeper while swaying his head to the left and to the right. "Possible. Seeing how Goku-san's sickness timing is straying far from what we know. There should be a certain change in the timeline that affects it. Even the slightest change could be a small ripple that affects everything. Especially, considering the androids are partly humans."
"How so?" Krillin asked again.
"A human could drastically change into good or evil depending on a certain event in their life. We've seen many who turn into psychopaths at the loss of their loved ones in the future," Tenten said. "We've seen the other way around too. Sometimes, it only takes a little kindness to change them completely."
"That is if something is indeed affecting the current flow of the present timeline…" Trunks lowered his head. "Was it because of our first arrival, I wonder…"
"S-say, these androids… they're definitely bad guys, right?"
Tenten blinked at him before recalling his recent occurrence. His Ki was disrupted and his body temperature was rising. "At least the one in our time do."
"Why are you asking that, Krillin-san?" Trunks asked.
"W-well, I'm just hoping maybe they aren't bad."
"There's no point in hoping for the absurd, Krillin-san," Trunks replied, completely oblivious to Krillin's dilemma.
"I know, I know! It just crossed my mind! That's all!" he defended.
Tenten bit her bottom lip when she caught what was going on. It was going to be a hard battle for Krillin.
"I'm sorry to say this but… it's best," Tenten muttered as she craned her head towards Krillin, "…to never involve your feelings when you fight, Krillin-san. You'd end up hurt."
Krilin gazed at her for a long time before she broke eye contact and flew past him. Holding herself, Tenten took a deep breath to suppress the uncomfortable feeling in her chest.
"Look, Tenten! It's the Dragon Tear's Lake!" Trunks excitedly shouted.
The air that hit their face was carrying the scent of peach and citrus—the very scent belonged to her village because the trees were growing around that season. The lake itself perfectly mirrored the majestic view of the Fire Mountain where the Ox King's Castle stood on top of it. A turquoise-blue stream wound its merry way through the forest. The malachite-green fields covered in bright sheen surrounded their little house, so vast that their house looked like a small golf ball from above.
"Welcome home, I guess?" Krillin smiled at her when her family house came to her view.
The very same semicircle-shaped house she lived in with her family all those years. The birds were chirping peacefully, completely oblivious of the threat the world currently faced. Crisp breeze was whipping her face, carrying the mixture of evergreen forest and fresh water's scent that had always been her village's distinctive smell. They landed on the ground and the moment she sighted the house closer; she felt her heart thudding – several steps away and she would be meeting her family.
"So it was like this seventeen years ago…" The moment her feet touched the ground she felt something giddy around her body.
Krillin knocked on the door while smiling towards her. "We're going to see your family now. I bet your mother will be very happy to see—"
"Is that you, Gohan?!" Chichi opened the door with too much excitement and hit Krillin, causing a large bump to grow on his head. "Oh, it's you Krillin…" A hint of disappointment was visible in her voice.
"N-nice to meet you," Trunks said as he bowed to her. He quickly glanced at Tenten who froze on her spot. Her lips were trembling and she had to rub her eyes several times to convince herself that she wasn't dreaming. She looked exactly like the way she was back in her family's photograph, wearing her usual purple-coloured Chinese attire and tied her hair up in her trademarked bun with several strands framing her face.
"Huh? Who are you?" Chichi was glancing at Trunks, up and down before following his eyes to the girl beside him. Her mouth slightly gaped and it took her a moment before she clamped her mouth to stifle her gasp when everything came down to her. She was slightly below her height but Chichi felt like she was staring into her own reflection.
"You are…"
"Okā-san…" Tenten slowly mouthed as she grabbed the lavender bracelet her mother gave her when she turned eleven. She never wore the bracelet until last year because her hands were too small back then and the bracelets kept slipping away.
Chichi slowly took a step forward. Though it was a small detail, she recognised the bracelets the girl was wearing were made of the purple jade that passed down from generation to generation in her family. That girl couldn't be anyone else but…
"You're my baby, Tenten…" Chichi caressed her daughter's cheek with a loving gaze. "There's no mistaking it." Tenten touched her mother's hand and nodded in response. Chichi didn't waste any more seconds pulling her daughter into her embrace. "Your father told me what you've been through. It must be hard for you, Sweetie…"
The scent of fresh lotus and peach…
It was the very same scent her mother had. It took her a moment before she truly grasped that she was holding her mother. Tenten rested her face on her shoulder, hands clutching tight on her mother's clothes.
"Thank you for surviving this far and coming to save us, Tenten…"
"I miss you, Okā-san… I miss you so much…" She whispered loud enough for her mother to hear. The sensation was too much that she fell on her knees with her mother who was still embracing her. "I really want to see you…"
"I've been looking forward to this meeting as well," Chichi said as she held Tenten's face with her palm to take a better look at her. "You've grown into such a beautiful lady, Sweetie. Come on, now. Let's meet your father." Chichi held both of her hands as she led her into the house where she met a giant man she only heard from her mother's story.
"Chichi, who's com—" Ox King dropped the teacup in his hand when Chichi pushed Tenten in front of her. Tenten didn't have any recollection of her grandfather because he was gone when she was still a baby. "Are my eyes tricking me?" he said as he rubbed his eyes.
"Ojii-sama…" Tenten knelt in front of him and held both of her hands in front of her face in a saluting way. "I'm your granddaughter from the future, Son Tenten. It's an honour to meet you in person." Before Tenten could kowtow to him, Ox King quickly approached her and pulled her to her feet.
"Now, now! What are you doing?! I'm only a farmer and a grandpa! Don't do that!" he blared.
"O-okay. My deepest apologies, Ojii-sama…" Tenten bowed slightly with a shy smile.
Ox King groaned while shaking his head. "Don't be formal with me… Tenten." The moment he spelt her name, he looked up to the ceiling and rubbed his eyes. "I can't believe I can see your growing up version!" He blew his nose with his handkerchief. "I'm not ready to see you walking down the aisle!" The Fire Mountain ruler bent to hold her. "You're really beautiful as a baby and a teen but I really wish you'd stay a baby forever!"
"Uh, I'm still seventeen and will not be getting married any soon, Ojii-sama. I can assure you that," she sheepishly said as she rubbed his arm.
"I got married when I was nineteen, Tenten. But surely the time has changed. No kids want to get married that soon anymore," Chichi blurted. Tenten rolled her eyes, only at that moment recalling that her mother was indeed that young when she got married.
"Yeah, I won't," Tenten sheepishly said before staring back at her grandfather who was holding her hands. "I… never got to know you in my time, Ojii-sama. I'm beyond happy with this meeting."
"Then let's go to a picnic and go fishing together when you have time." Ox King laughed and patted her on her back. "Now, go on and check your father. He might not be conscious but he must be thrilled to see you here!"
Tenten nodded and followed her mother upstairs. Ox King shifted his gaze to Trunks who bowed deeply at him. "Greetings, Sir." Trunks was a little nervous knowing how the man standing before him was a legend in Tenten's place and was a well-respected 'king' in their village. He only saw him as a statue that stood in the heart of the village, surrounded by seven-coloured flowers, since then commemorated as a hero.
"Oh! You're her male companion, right?" Ox King gruffly asked.
"Yes. My name is Trunks. It's nice to meet you, Sir." Trunks was torn between bowing to him or shaking his hands, and ended up doing both simultaneously, making Ox King laugh his guts out.
"I don't know what they were telling you two about me but please treat me like a normal old man!" Ox King patted his shoulder. "Thank you for taking care of my granddaughter. But may I ask you if you're her potential suitor?"
The question triggered his blood to rush up to his face. "I… err… ehmm…" he stammered while lowering his head.
"Not yet but will, I see…" Ox King said with a grin.
"W-we don't know what will happen in the future but…" Trunks raised his head and looked straight at Ox King, "…one thing for sure is that I will always fight by her side."
Ox King widened his eyes with his mouth opened wide in 'O' shape. "I didn't expect that but you exceeded my expectations, young man!" He laughed while clapping his hands. "I like you! I really, really like you! Come here and have a coffee with me!" Ox King pulled a normal-size chair across him and ushered Trunks to sit there. "Now—" Trunks looked up as Ox King poured coffee into his cup, "—would you be so kind and tell me more about what was going on in the future? Especially about my family."
"I'd be glad to do so, Sir." Trunks sipped his coffee before starting to tell everything.
AN: The thing that I changed slightly in this version is Krillin being attentive to Goku's children. I think it's natural for him, being Goku's best friend through the ups and downs, to see Goku's children as his own as he already did with Gohan. XD
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