Intertwined Destinies
DISCLAIMER: I don't own DBZ or Elfen Lied.
CHAPTER 3: Harsh Words
Yuka had led Kouta and Gohan to one of the dining rooms. The place was rather beautifully arranged with old-fashioned wooden walls, a few knickknacks scattered about, and a low-slung, scrubbed wooden table situated in the center of the small but picturesque room. As Gohan and Kouta sat down next to the table, Yuka reached in her bag and pulled out some kind of rice ball for them all. Gohan just stared at the simple treat — it definitely looked tasty, all right, but, well...
Is that all she has? Gohan thought with disappointment. That's not even an appetizer for me. He mentally shook himself. Then again, it's not all that surprising. She and Kouta-san are only normal humans.
"Well, dig in!" Yuka declared, and offered the rice balls to Gohan and Kouta as she took her own seat.
In spite of his worries, Gohan accepted the rice ball without any hesitation.
"Thank you," he murmured politely to the brunette.
He winced a bit as he reached forward to grab the rice ball, and Yuka couldn't hide the concern on her face.
"As soon as we're done, I'm getting the first-aid kit," Yuka said. "You're gonna have to take it easy for the next couple of days. And I mean it, Gohan-san!" she said, suddenly fierce. "No overworking or any physical activity. It may be too strenuous with all your injuries."
"Yes, Yuka-san," Gohan said respectfully.
Wow, she really is a lot like Mom, Gohan thought wistfully.
As all three munched on the rice balls, conversation regarding their mysterious "guests" inevitably sprung up from Yuka and Kouta.
"So, where do you come from, Gohan-san?" Yuka asked.
Gohan almost choked on his own rice ball. What should I tell them? How much do I tell them? he thought. I can't tell them the truth, but I don't know anything about this new world's geography. Should I just make up something? But Gohan hated to lie, even if he had reason to — finally, he came to a decision. I'll just tell them as much of the truth as I can and wing it from there. After all, it can't be that hard, can it?
"Well, I come from an area you probably haven't heard of," Gohan said. "We lived over near Mt. Paozu."
Yuka and Kouta just stared at Gohan, both thinking the same thing, that the name he'd given them certainly sounded like an area in Japan but, as far as they could tell, there wasn't any place nearby like it. In fact, despite living in Japan most of their lives, they hadn't ever heard of it, even once, and their curiosity was afire with this new mystery.
"You're right, I haven't heard of any place like that," Kouta said. "Is it near Mt. Fuji?"
"Not really," Gohan muttered. "It's pretty far away."
"How did you end up here then?" Yuka asked, now growing very curious about these strangers herself.
"Well, when Dad died, Mom moved us all here, but... Mom was killed recently, and we didn't have anywhere else to go," Gohan said.
Yuka and Kouta both exchanged a look. It was as close to the literal truth as he could make it without going into any great detail. However, it didn't escape their notice that Gohan wasn't volunteering any more than the basic information, and he didn't seem eager to share as much as they had hoped. Yuka was beginning to suspect that this boy had a troubled past, some reason that he was like this now. He seemed... so lost, as if he was carrying a great weight on his shoulders, something secret about himself.
"Why don't you just go to the authorities?" Kouta wondered. "If you have nowhere else to go, I'm sure they could find you a place."
Gohan just muttered indistinctly, too afraid of being discovered to say anything more. Yuka, however, had a sudden thought.
"Is it because of your tails?" she said.
Both Gohan and Kouta turned to look at the brown-haired woman.
"What do you mean?" Kouta asked, blinking in confusion.
"Well, those tails are unusual," Yuka noted. "I mean... people haven't picked on you in the past for having them, have they?"
"Um, actually, yes," Gohan said honestly, his thoughts immediately turning to Frieza and his utter hatred for the Saiyan race, a hate which had only grown the more it looked like they were going to beat him.
"Oh, you know, you really shouldn't let people like that get you down, man," Kouta said bracingly.
"I know," Gohan said, reaching for another rice ball, very slowly, so that the pain in his body wouldn't bother him again.
"How old are you, anyway?" Yuka inquired.
"I'm eighteen," Gohan told her. "Goten-chan is seven."
"I see," Yuka said. "Maybe we should have called the police when we found you three."
Gohan flinched noticeably. That would have been disastrous. The police would have interrogated him on his past, his former home, and their parents. With absolutely no background information to track in their computers, they would have quickly realized that something was wrong, and if the wrong people found it out... Gohan honestly didn't know what would happen. He certainly couldn't fight and maybe even kill innocent people who were doing their jobs and following orders.
Kouta, thankfully, just assumed that the flinch had come from his injuries, and Yuka took Gohan's hand in her own. Gohan just looked at her, startled, a bit taken aback by her friendly gesture — the teenage Saiyan noted with a hint of surprise that her hand felt very warm in his grip, too, and her honey brown eyes bore into worried charcoal ones.
"Don't worry, Gohan-san," Yuka said reassuringly, low enough so Kouta couldn't overhear her. "We won't call them now. We promised to keep you here as long as we can, and we're going to keep our word."
Gohan stared at her. How in the world could she have known he was wary of the police?
"Thank you," Gohan said, bowing his head with sincere gratitude.
"I know!" Kouta cried, sounding like he had just puzzled out the answer to a million-dollar question. "I bet you've had run-ins with the Yakuza, haven't you? That's how you received all of those injuries."
"Oh, Gohan-san, is that true?" Yuka asked with horror.
"Yakuza" must be a local term for lawbreakers, Gohan deduced. He knew he had to lie to them and say "yes;" not only would it explain his injuries, but it would divert further personal questions away from him, but he really didn't want to keep lying, especially since Kouta and Yuka had already gone way out of their way for him and his brother, and he hoped after he answered this, then the questions about him and Goten would cease altogether.
"Yeah, and they were tough, let me tell you," he lied. "They all had swords and daggers and chains and stuff. I managed to hold them off for a while, but their reinforcements arrived, and it was only by the skin of my teeth that we managed to get away."
"Was it..." Yuka hesitated. She'd wanted to ask him if it was the Yakuza who had killed their mother, but she knew that was way too personal for her to be asking now. Patience, she reminded herself. He'll tell us as much as he can, when enough time has passed. First Gohan-san has to trust us and he hardly has reason to when we're asking him all these questions!
Gohan just glanced at her in confusion. "Was it what?"
"Nothing, never mind," Yuka said. "I was just curious, that's all."
Gohan was glad Yuka seemed to have picked up that he didn't want to be asked any questions, and he sighed in relief.
Just then, Nyuu and Goten burst into the room, Nyuu still chasing Goten. However, Goten's Saiyan appetite kicked in full force when he caught sight of the rice balls they were having and he stopped cold, his tail going stiff along with him.
"Goten-chan, what is it?" Yuka asked, correctly guessing something was bothering the tailed little boy.
"Food! You're having food!" Goten cried. "Can I have some? Oh, please, Nii-chan! I'm so hungry!"
"Well, we have more than enough to share," Yuka said with a smile. "Take a seat and have a rice ball."
"Yay!" Goten said, running up and sitting down next to his brother. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Onee-chan!"
Yuka's eyes went wide at the innocent proclamation. Had... had he really just called her "big sister?" After having known her for just a few hours? And yet... there was something oddly compelling and loveable about the happy, sweet child and the knowledge that Goten apparently saw her, the strong, sometimes domineering tomboy as his big sister touched her emotions in a way she had never felt before but she most definitely enjoyed it, and tender tears started welling up in her eyes.
Gohan noticed Yuka's emotional state and smiled. Looks like Goten's innocent charm is enough to win anybody's heart to his side. His smile grew a tad more melancholy as he stared a hole in the wall. Just like Father.
Nyuu approached the table, gazing down at the rice balls with a hungry gleam in her eyes.
"Nyuu!" she declared, grabbing one of the rice balls and smooshing it up against her face.
Kouta sighed and picked up the remains.
"You've never had rice balls before, have you?" he said. "You hold them like this, and..." he instructed, but Nyuu stared at his hand and opened up her mouth, looking up at him with innocent round eyes, silently pleading with him to help her.
"You're hopeless," Kouta said, sighing again as he could see the direction this was heading. Kouta carefully reached over and helped Nyuu clean up her mouth. She smiled brightly at him, and Kouta, now resigned, picked up another rice ball as he prepared to help Nyuu eat the treat. However, she still didn't seem that adept at eating very well, and the rice ended up going everywhere on her face, coating her chin and her cheeks like a white beard.
"Look," Kouta said. "You got it all over your face."
Truth be told, helping Nyuu eat wasn't that bad. In fact, he kind of enjoyed it. Yuka stared away, tapping her finger on the table, feigning ignorance at the situation even as a part of her recoiled in jealousy.
I know I shouldn't be feeling this way, but I can't help it! she fumed inside. He's paying more attention to her than me! And I'm his cousin! What happened to the promise he made me, eight years ago? Did all those happy years mean nothing to him?
Gohan, meanwhile, was observing the whole thing with a very thoughtful stare. She really does seem like a baby, yet she's got to be near my age. I wonder what could have happened to her? Maybe some sort of trauma, or perhaps she has amnesia. Or maybe, she's an alien and this is what members of her species are normally like?
Suddenly, Goten reached up and pulled on Gohan's torn and ragged shirt. He glanced down at his brother.
"What's the matter, Goten-chan?" he asked.
"Nii-chan, I'm still hungry," he whined.
Gohan sighed and offered him the rest of his rice balls.
"I'm afraid this is all we have right now," he said in a low voice. "We can't eat any more or they'll discover who we are."
"Hm, okay!" Goten stated cheerfully, not really paying attention to what Gohan said, and he bit into more rice balls.
Gohan smiled at his little brother, and glanced out over the horizon, staring at the ocean in the distance, with the waves breaking against the shoreline and little, fluffy white clouds soaring high above in the breathtaking cerulean-hued skies. This really was a gorgeous place to live, nestled up right against the ocean, with a serene, peaceful feel.
Maybe living here won't be so bad after all.
In a computer-enhanced simulation area with laser sighting, four lightning-fast and very precise shots swiftly took down four armed and desperate-looking targets in the shooter's field of vision and skillfully avoiding the one civilian in his sights. In a control center adjoining the targeting arena, uniformed men at the controls could be seen poring over statistical data on the monitors, observing the shooter's progress.
"That's incredible," an SAT officer commented. "He locked on to all four targets simultaneously."
"It would take a monster to beat Bando one-on-one," the simulation operator muttered.
"A monster, huh?" the officer said.
"I could do without his personality quirks," the operator sighed.
Down in the arena, as Bando turned the corner, more targets came into his line of sight, and like before, he shot them all and managed to miss the lone civilian that had turned around the corner with them, a testament to this man's extreme marksmanship skills. Still decked out in full black body armor and helmet, the soldier named Bando moved around another corner as still more targets entered his range of vision. This time, however, he shot recklessly at both hostages and enemies without slowing down to check who he was shooting.
Up above, the SAT operator and officer reacted with horror.
"Bando, stop screwing around!" the operator admonished the man.
Bando removed his helmet and dropped it to the floor. He shifted position so that he was facing the control room above.
"Shit!" Bando cussed. "What the hell is the point of shooting stuff that doesn't scream or bleed? It's getting old. I'm ready for real people."
"You bastard!" the operator yelled, losing his cool with the hotheaded psychopathic soldier glaring up at them.
"I understand," the officer replied, regarding the situation in a very detached manner.
As he walked into the control room, Bando shrugged dismissively as he leaned against a railing.
"This is stupid," he said. "I'm done with this shit."
"A murderer escaped from the detainment facility this morning," the officer informed Bando.
"Huh?" Bando said, glancing at the officer.
"I want you to find her immediately and shoot her on sight," the officer told Bando.
"Kill her," Bando translated. "And I don't have to give her any warning?"
The SAT officer just stared at Bando. A happy look stole across his face and he began laughing loudly.
"Just go out and cap her, huh?" he cackled gleefully.
Behind him, an assistant approached him with a clipboard showing the results from his latest exercise.
"Mr. Bando?" she said.
As though acting on reflex, Bando savagely backhanded the young woman, who fell like a sack of potatoes. For a few seconds, the girl lay stunned and bloodied on the floor, just gazing up at Bando in horror, not entirely grasping the reason she was now hurting in an undignified heap at his feet. Bando glared down at the poor girl without remorse.
"Don't stand behind me, you stupid bitch!" he yelled.
"He's perfect," the SAT officer announced.
Judging by the expression on the face of everyone around him, the rest of the officer's staff didn't share his opinion. Bando could care less what they thought, however — finally, a new mission and a chance to put his finely honed hunting skills to the test and kill someone. And he didn't even have to play by the damn rules and give them a warning first either!
And Bando walked out of the control room, laughing his ass off in anticipation of the coming bloodshed. One of the controllers who had witnessed this stunt shook his head as he let only one thought pass through his mind.
I feel sorry for the one who has to take him on.
As Kouta set to the task of cleaning up the house, Yuka sat Gohan down in what could be called the living room, now with the first-aid kit, which included bandages, a bottle of disinfectant, and some ointment. A pile of clothes lay to the side that looked as though they belonged to Kouta, but would still be able to fit over Gohan, even if only barely.
Gohan stared at her in expectation, awaiting her decision.
"First, I need you to take off that shirt," she said.
Gohan nodded and pulled his ripped gi off his upper torso, revealing layers of hardened muscles and beautiful, gleaming bare flesh, despite the wounds. Yuka gawked a little at the sheer dimensions of this boy, marveling at how absolutely dreamy he was.
Gohan-san must have worked out for hundreds of hours to look like this! she thought, amazed. He's any girl's dream come true.
She blushed. She couldn't be thinking this way — Gohan was hurt, for Kami's sake! Besides, Kouta was the one for her.
Still looking a bit red, Yuka picked up a few towels and set to work.
A half an hour later, Yuka had dried Gohan's wounds, disinfected them, and then wrapped bandages around them, applying ointment wherever Gohan said it felt a bit sore, and she had to say, he was looking considerably better than he had before.
"All done!" she announced, relieved that she was finished.
For a while she didn't know if she could make it through. Gohan had the most amazing, solidly built sexy body Yuka had ever seen before in her life, and just touching that mountain of bare, sinewy taut muscles and attempting to conceal her true feelings from him was very difficult. She could swear that by the end of it she was blushing as deeply as a tomato. Oh, what would her mother think of her for behaving like this? One thing was certain, however; any girl would be more than lucky to be with Son Gohan. Those dark, soulful quivering black eyes, his finely shaped body, the way his muscles just rippled underneath that broad, handsome torso...
Yuka shook her head. No, no, stop it! Don't be thinking such things, Yuka! You're saving yourself for Kouta! So what if Gohan is the most beautiful man I've ever — no! No! Stop thinking that! Bad girl!
Gohan stared at the brown-haired girl, both embarrassed and confused. It had been nice to be treated by her; she had a kind and gentle touch and Gohan found himself just enjoying the feel of her hands working across him, caressing his hurt body so tenderly. Yet it seemed she hadn't like it as much, because at the end of it she was shaking and looking very angry.
"Uh, I'm sorry if this was a chore, Yuka-san," Gohan said, rubbing the back of his head. "Thank you for your kindness, though."
Yuka felt a bit guilty upon realizing that some of her anxiety must've showed on her face. She couldn't let Gohan go on thinking this despite how utterly embarrassing it was for her to be thinking in... that way.
"I'm okay, you idiot!" she snapped at him, her raging hormones making her voice came out a bit harsher than usual. "I was just a little distracted, that's all! It wasn't a chore, and I didn't mind doing that."
Gohan's eyes brightened, and Yuka felt a bit flustered by just how utterly cute and boyish Gohan looked, how this mysterious tailed boy was touching her emotions in a way that Yuka hadn't expected from such a complete stranger. It seemed every time that she expected to connect with the idealized image of Kouta that Yuka had built up in her mind, her valiant knight in shining armor riding in on his trusty steed, he kept disappointing her, and Gohan more closely fit that description!
Why am I thinking like this? Yuka wondered. I shouldn't be thinking this way! Kouta is the one I want to marry and have a family with! It's just longing to be with him. Once he gets his act together, I know we can reconnect again. We shared such a close bond as children. I know we can share that same bond again as adults. I know it in my heart.
"Yuka-san? Yuka-san?" Gohan's voice intruded on her train of thought. "Hey, um, are you okay?"
"Huh?" she said. "Oh yes, I'm fine."
She mentally shook herself. She shouldn't be daydreaming like this. She was a mature, responsible adult, or at least she was supposed to be, and grown-ups didn't totally space out and daydream this way!
"Anyway," Yuka said, standing up. "You'd better change clothes. I know I said I'd go buy you and Nyuu-san new clothes, but it's kind of late right now. How about we go do that the first thing tomorrow?"
"Super!" Gohan said cheerfully. "Thank you, Yuka-san."
Yuka blushed a bit. "Yes, well, I'll leave you to get dressed now."
Once she was gone, Gohan began stripping out of his old, ragged clothes and into Kouta's garments, reflecting on all that had happened. Despite how totally raw the pain of losing his old life was, Gohan was surprised to find just how optimistic he felt. There was just something about this place that seemed... quiet. At ease. Peaceful. Maybe here he could just forget all about fighting and saving the planet and live a normal life, like he had always wanted, despite his immense power.
Maybe I can return one day and wish them back to life, he thought. Perhaps we could move here. No more genocidal aliens, no more killer androids, no more space pirates or homicidal maniacs, but a normal, simple life. Yeah, I could live with that.
He just had to keep thinking positively. No, he was not in denial. He just had to wait and pretty soon, everything would be back to the way it was before, only better than before. As he finished pulling Kouta's dark green shirt over his head, Gohan nodded with conviction. Yes, he just had to be patient for everything to turn out all right. It would, in time.
Now dressed in new clothes and feeling much cleaner than he had several hours ago, Gohan wandered into the next room to find Goten sitting in front of the television set, watching the local TV channels.
"Nii-chan, look! Look at some of the shows they have!" Goten said. "I've never seen anything like this before!"
Gohan glanced at the screen and saw some kind of weird yellow rodent thing running at a giant blue turtle thing, gathering electrical sparks all around it as it picked up speed, slamming into the blue tortoise's stomach with a cry of, "PIKA!"
"That's great, Goten-chan," Gohan said, happy for him.
He sat down next to his baby brother and decided spending some time with him didn't sound so bad.
"What is this show called?" Gohan asked curiously.
"Onee-chan said it's called Pokémon, but I've never seen it before!" Goten said. "It's so cool, Nii-chan. They have to capture these magical animals called Pokémon in these little tiny balls called Poké Balls and some of those Pokémon attacks look like the ki techniques you taught me!"
"Coincidence," Gohan said. "But I'm glad to see you're getting along with Yuka-san so well."
"Oh yeah, she's great!" Goten chirped.
Gohan just smiled. Maybe now was the time to broach the subject with Goten. "Hey, Goten-chan, do you want to talk?"
Goten stared up at him.
"Huh?" he said. "Talk about what?"
"You know, what happened before we got here," Gohan said as gently as he could.
The boy gasped. "Oh no! I-I forgot about that! How could I forget Mommy so easily? No, Mommy! Trunks-kun!"
And Goten broke down sobbing right there. Now cursing himself for bringing this up now, even though he figured Goten might want to talk about it, Gohan drew the little half-Saiyan into a very tight embrace, wrapping his arms around his little brother protectively.
"That's right, cry," Gohan said. "Just let it all out, little buddy. I know you'll feel better once you do."
For a while, Goten just lay there in his arms, crying brokenly.
"Why? Why did it have to happen, Nii-chan?" Goten sobbed. "Now they're dead and we're not with them. Mommy's gone... Trunks-kun is gone! We're all alone! Why did they have to die on us? And why did I forget them? They'd never forget me as quickly as I forgot them! I'm a horrible son and horrible friend for doing something so bad to them!"
"No, don't say that!" Gohan insisted, moving Goten so that he was staring his older brother in the face.
"I know it's tough, but you have to remember, we WILL return to Earth someday and we WILL wish them back," Gohan said with steely determination coloring his voice. "I swear, we won't just leave them that way, Goten-chan."
Goten looked up at his older brother through teary eyes, the renewed light of hope sparkling in them. "You really mean that, Nii-chan?"
"Of course I do," Gohan said, reaching forward and ruffling his brother's hair. Goten smiled blearily at his beloved brother, even as Gohan wiped his tears away. He loved it when his Nii-chan made a big fuss over him. "We're going to do everything we can for them, okay?"
Goten nodded. "Okay!"
"As to the reason you forgot them... you're still young, Goten-chan, and that was a painful thing that happened to us," Gohan said to him. "You forgot about it because you didn't want to suffer when it was so simple to move on to something else. Besides, it's very easy for young children to get distracted by something else. Just don't worry, okay?"
"You mean you don't think less of me?" Goten asked fearfully.
"Aw, come on, you know I could never do something like that, Goten-chan," he reassured him.
"Thanks!" Goten cried, hugging him even tighter. "You're the bestest big brother ever!"
Gohan chuckled a little at Goten's enthusiasm. Then he glanced up, adopting a very confused expression on his face.
"But, Nii-chan... if we're not on Earth, then where are we?" he asked him.
"Another Earth in a parallel dimension," Gohan informed him.
"What? There's another Earth?" Goten asked. "But how can there be two Earths exactly the same as one another?"
"Different dimensional states, occupying the same time and place, but totally different from each other," Gohan said simply.
"But... what? Huh?" Goten whined, scratching his head with his tail. "I'm... I'm completely lost."
"Well, it's like going underwater," Gohan explained patiently. "You know how when you swim underwater, you can't see anything above you in the air? You are only able to see the barrier where the water and the air separate, two different physical states that we feel. That's how we can be in a completely separate Earth we never would have seen or interacted with normally."
"I sort of get what you're saying," Goten said. "We're in a different place we can't see, but it's similar to our home?"
"Kinda," Gohan said.
"Then does that mean we'll find copies of ourselves here?" Goten said excitedly. "Because that would be so cool!"
Gohan laughed at Goten's innocence. "I dunno, it could be possible, but from what it seems like, that's not likely. For one thing, we would have sensed their ki if there were any really strong warriors here on this planet."
"Darn!" Goten complained. "I was hoping I could find another friend to play with, like Trunks-kun."
For a while, Gohan just chuckled, amused and happy to find that Goten was settling in to this world so well, before something occurred to him, and he knew he had to tell Goten, so he would be prepared.
"But Goten," Gohan now told him, very seriously, "it's absolutely important that you don't tell anyone in this new world just who we are or where we come from or about any of our abilities, do you get it?"
He was just lucky Goten hadn't accidentally revealed it already before he'd talked with him, but to be fair, he had been dealing with a lot.
"What?" Goten yelped. "But why, Nii-chan? They seem like nice people! Don't they deserve to know?"
"Even nice people can have bad reactions, Goten-chan," Gohan explained. It was critical that Goten understand this. "Remember how Mother told us never to tell anybody that we have Saiyan blood?"
"Uh-huh," Goten said, sounding confused.
Gohan sighed. "Well, it's because we're different. They don't understand us, and people are afraid of what they don't understand. Sometimes, when you're really afraid, you find yourself acting in ways you never would normally, doing things that you'd usually condemn. Even the most kind person can do the most hateful, evil things for the right reasons, or what they believe the right reasons to be. And I get the feeling this world isn't as accustomed or as capable of dealing with the unknown as our world is. We're going to have to play it very safe from now on. Do you understand?"
Goten nodded solemnly. "I do, Nii-chan. You're just trying to protect me."
Gohan smiled. "Yes, I am. Just please be careful, all right, Goten-chan?"
"Okay, I promise, Nii-chan, I won't tell anyone where we come from!" Goten vowed with all the energy of youth.
"Good," Gohan said, looking at the TV. "But that's enough talking, because I think we're missing the program."
"Oh no!" Goten cried. "And Satoshi's Pikachu was just about to beat the Blastoise too!"
And Goten turned back to the television, already engrossed in this animated TV show called Pokémon. Wrapping a brotherly arm around Goten's shoulder, Gohan settled himself down and began watching it with his little brother.
In the other room, Yuka walked in on Kouta, who was rifling through his knapsack for something.
"Did you clean up already?" she asked him.
"Yeah, and that's no easy feat, let me tell you," Kouta informed her, still looking through his backpack.
Yuka's attention turned to Nyuu, who was in that same room, bent over glancing up at Kouta in a very suggestive position, but everything about the pink-haired girl, her eyes, her expression, and her posture, spoke of pure innocence, that it was nothing sexual about the way she was holding herself; she just didn't know any better.
"Nyuu," the horned girl said simply.
"Once Gohan-san and Goten find their own place, what do we do with her?" Kouta asked. "She can't stay here, you know."
"I know," Yuka sighed wearily. "Perhaps we are better off calling the authorities."
"Yeah," Kouta agreed as a tiny pink seashell fell out of his bag.
Yuka noticed it and moved closer to it.
"Is that from the time we went to the beach?" she asked, recognizing it as the seashell that once belonged to Kanae.
"Uh-huh," Kouta said as he grabbed the small seashell in his hands, holding it as if it were the most precious treasure on the entire planet, and his vision clouded as the memories started intruding upon him...
"Look, Onii-chan!" Kanae declared.
Kanae came running up and stuck her hand out, revealing the pink seashell that she had found on the shore to her two cousins. Yuka and Kouta learned forward, mesmerized by the seashell and its sparkling beauty as sunlight glinted off the perfectly carved edges.
"It's pretty," Yuka breathed.
"It really is. I'm surprised you found something like this," Kouta admitted.
"And?" Kanae said expectantly, awaiting her reward.
Kouta reached down and lovingly patted her head, tussling her hair a bit. Kanae smiled happily at the affection of her older brother.
"Fine," Kouta said. "You did a good job."
"Okay, then," Kanae said excitedly. "I'll give this to you, Onii-chan!"
"Wasn't long after that she got sick and died," Kouta said sadly.
Yuka looked at Kouta, concerned.
"She was sick?" Yuka asked. "Is that what you said?"
"This is like a memento," Kouta said, an expression of deepest mourning on his face. Nyuu watched him very closely, a puzzled look adorning her features. "Since I came back here I thought I'd take it with me."
Yuka tried to say something, but then she trailed off, unable to approach what was obviously a very tender and sensitive subject for her cousin. Finally, gathering up enough courage, she tried again.
"Kouta..." she said.
"Huh?" he replied. "What is it?"
Nyuu grabbed the shell, as though trying to figure something out, something she couldn't understand or didn't even like, but which was really, really important to her, her innocent mind trying fervently to connect the dots.
"What are you...?" Kouta began.
He never got a chance to finish the sentence, however, because at that moment Nyuu snapped the seashell between her two fingers like it was a twig, grinning broadly at what she'd done. A look of mounting rage appeared on Kouta's countenance while Yuka just stared in utter and complete shock at what Nyuu had just done. Kouta flew to his feet and roughly seized Nyuu by the shoulders, getting right up in her face and screaming at her.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" he yelled. "I SAID IT WAS A MEMENTO OF MY SISTER, DIDN'T I?!"
"Kouta, no!" Yuka cried as she tried to restrain him, but Kouta's fury was not to be denied.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" he roared.
"Kouta, stop it!" Yuka pressed, more urgently than before.
"YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT YOU WERE KIDDING!"
As he kept yelling at her, a tearful expression began growing on Nyuu's features. Yuka, meanwhile, was totally shocked; she had never seen Kouta lose his cool this badly; the loss of his family must really hurt even more than she had initially suspected.
"Stop it, Kouta!" Yuka said. "Calm down! Nyuu must have thought the shell —"
"YOU!" Kouta said, still raging out of control. "GET OUT!"
"Wait a minute..." Yuka said, trying her best to resolve the situation and comfort her cousin, but it was just no use.
"GET OUT!"
"What are you saying?" Yuka demanded.
"I SAID GET OUT!" Kouta repeated.
"You have to calm down!" Yuka insisted.
Now looking more confused than ever, Nyuu hopped down off of the table and ran as fast as she could out of the room, tears spilling down her cheeks as she cried wildly. Gohan, obviously having heard all the shouting, hesitantly entered the room, a look of concern etched on his face. Goten trailed near his leg, looking frightened and clutching to it like his life depended on it.
"Is everything all right?" he asked. "I-I heard a lot of yelling. Is everyone okay?"
This, at least, seemed to calm Kouta down. He grabbed the broken seashell in his hands as he cursed under his breath. Yuka sighed, now greatly relieved that Kouta's rage appeared to have dissipated. Yuka wouldn't admit it out loud, but seeing her beloved cousin, the boy that she had idolized and admired for eight years, break down screaming and shouting like a madman was very disturbing.
"Well, we had an accident," Yuka said, knowing that Kouta was too distraught to talk about the subject. "Nyuu broke Kouta's seashell. It was a present his little sister, Kanae, gave to him before she died."
"Oh my," Gohan said sympathetically. "I'm so sorry, Kouta-san."
Kouta snorted bitterly and shook his head. "No, that wasn't an accident. She knew exactly what she was doing! She deliberately broke my shell! On purpose! What in the hell was she thinking?"
"I think she understood," Yuka put forth. "She knew the seashell made you sad."
"Huh?" Kouta said, glancing over at his cousin.
"Wherever Kanae is I don't think she'd be happy to see you like this. Her memory ought to be worth more to you than bitterness. There was nothing bitter about how she lived," Yuka said, very wisely. "If you're sad every time you remember Kanae, Kanae will be sad too."
Gohan had a sudden thought, one that gave him a sudden surge of hope, but he had to put it away for later...
"Yeah, you shouldn't have yelled at her that way, Kouta-san," Gohan said, frowning a bit.
"But... she..." Kouta said.
"Haven't you looked into her eyes?" Gohan said. "They're innocent. She's like a baby. Something must have happened to her, something very traumatizing to set her back like this, but I... I think Nyuu-san has regressed into an infant-like personality. She wasn't trying to hurt you, Kouta-san. Nyuu-san just didn't know any better, the same way that a little girl wouldn't know better."
Kouta grew very pensive after hearing what Gohan said, mingled together with an expression of horror. Gohan turned around and made to head away. Yuka, still looking a bit concerned, moved after him.
"Where are you going, Gohan-san?" she asked.
"I'm going out to look for Nyuu-san," he said simply. "It's horrible weather out. She shouldn't be alone."
"But you're wounded," Yuka protested. "You should stay here until you recover. I can go out and look for her."
"I can't just sit around doing nothing, knowing she's out there, sad and vulnerable," Gohan said passionately. "I know I'm hurt, but I am going to do the right thing no matter what happens to me." He looked at her and smiled. "I'll be okay, Yuka-san. Honest. You don't have to worry about me."
Yuka blinked. He's so noble, she thought. Where on Earth did he pick up such a chivalrous spirit?
"Then I'm going with you," Yuka said, sounding determined.
Gohan nodded. "Let's get going."
With Goten following them like a lost puppy, Yuka and Gohan left the room to begin their search, leaving Kouta behind who, still pathetically holding onto the destroyed seashell in his hand, wept over how badly things had turned out, crying for all of the time that had been lost, for everything that had happened as Nyuu's sad, confused face filled his vision...
Through the darkened, stormy skies of Kamakura flew a helicopter, running lights piercing through the heavy rain with bright intensity as it soared closer and closer to the town itself; the sound of twin rotor blades and the roaring engine filled the night sky, interspersed every so often with the crack of thunder, and the flash of lightning. In the open bay sat a dozen or so soldiers, all of them wearing body armor and equipped with all of the latest gear.
"All right, men," one of the officers told the others. "Our target is eighteen years old, with pink hair and horns. When we locate her, do not hesitate. The target killed twenty-three men and women in less than five minutes. She's vicious, and it seems that she has some sort of a new experimental weapon. We don't know enough about it, but the limited range is two meters."
"Pink hair and horns?" one of the soldiers repeated. He clenched his assault rifle until it creaked in his grip and felt like his hands had gone numb. "So, it's one of those freaks again. After that last one, I thought I'd never get another chance to make them pay for all they've done to me."
Visions of his wife and his daughter flashed before his mind. Sayaka... I won't stop until you are avenged, and all of your killers lie dead.
The commander turned to regard him with interest.
"Name and rank, soldier?" he asked.
The man straightened up. "Private Mizuru Takenouchi, sir!"
The commander nodded. "So, you know something about our target?"
"Yes sir," Takenouchi spat harshly. "They're soulless, heartless monsters who turn on their own parents and murder them. I've been hunting them for a while now and I know how dangerous they are."
"Very well," the commander said. "You'll be invaluable in our operation."
A low chuckle could be heard, and most of the team glanced over as full-scale laughter came from Bando.
"Never thought I'd see the day when this country would let me terminate a minor," he said happily, imagining the various ways he would kill their target. "Hey, things are looking up in the world."
"You have no fucking clue," Takenouchi snapped. "You just don't know how dangerous they are."
"Yes, just stop talking, jerk," the soldier right next to him growled. "We happen to take our mission seriously."
Bando whipped out a gun and held it right up to the poor man's face, almost shoving it into his nose.
The compartment erupted into noise.
"What are you doing?"
"Stop it!"
"What are you thinking?"
"What are we training for every day?" Bando said, waving the gun in the other man's face. "Killing, right? Do you get that?"
Bando cocked the gun, even as the other soldier wondered whether Bando would finally cross the line he knew the monster longed to cross and kill one of their own men, but, just as quickly, he pulled it away, laughing as he did so.
"That serious enough for ya?" he asked.
"Remember, we want no civilian casualties," the chief said firmly.
"What the hell?!" Bando complained. "No civilians? Goddamn it! That's just no fun at all!"
"How the hell did this psychopath end up with us?" one of the others asked.
"He's just as bloodthirsty as those monsters," Takenouchi said.
"Completely insane..." another soldier mumbled.
Bando didn't care what anyone else said about him; he was back at work doing what he loved most, killing people. He hoped that this girl would present at least something of a challenge for him — it was so satisfying when he brought down someone he could fight back.
Either way, I'm getting to have fun tonight, he thought as the chopper flew closer to Kamakura.
Well, there it is. The latest chapter is out. Expect work to resume on Justice League United in a week, and an update will be forthcoming within weeks or months. Maybe. I don't exactly have a timetable set.
Anyway, here are the power levels as I see them.
Gohan (after treatment): 1,200,000
Goten: 1,000,000
Bando: 60
Please review!