Her Return
Chapter Twelve
Areiko and Vegeta entered the Time Chamber together. They both gathered saiyan armor to change into to start their training. Vegeta was finished before Areiko. He was walking passed the room where Areiko was changing when he heard her singing.
"Hush my love, now don't you cry."
Vegeta raised an eyebrow; the tune of the song that she was singing caught his attention. He pressed his back against the wall and crossed his arms continuing to listen to her sing.
"Everything will be all right. Close you eyes and drift in dream, rest in peaceful sleep."
Vegeta closed his eyes. The tune of the song and the sound of her singing voice some how started to calm him.
"If there's one thing I hope I showed you. Hope I showed you." Her voice drifted off a little as if she was trying to remember the words of the song. "Just give love to all. Oh my love… in my arms tight. Every day you give me life, as I drift off into your world, I will rest in a peaceful sleep.
"I know there's one thing that you showed me. That you showed me… just give love to all… just give love to all… Let's just… give love to all…"
Areiko opened the door. Vegeta opened his eyes and the two made eye contact, something that lasted for more then five seconds. Areiko removed her hand from the door handle lowering her arm by her side.
"How long were you standing there?" She asked him. Vegeta shrugged his shoulder turning his head.
"Not long." He replied, even though he was lying. He was there long enough to hear the entire song that she sung. Areiko nodded her head believing in his lie. She turned and began to walk down the hallway.
"Let's go tr—"
"That song," Vegeta started before Areiko could get her sentence out. "Who wrote it?"
Areiko turned her head looking over her shoulder realizing that Vegeta was there long enough to hear the entire song. She turned her head away from him.
"Me and a friend of mine wrote it together." Areiko replied to him. "It's kind of like a duet."
"When did you get into singing?" Vegeta then questioned.
"When I first heard a friend of mine perform." Areiko replied again. She reached within her chest armor and pulled out the picture that Goku had found on the ground. She turned around approaching Vegeta holding the picture out to him. Vegeta looked at her hand pushing himself off of the wall and taking the picture from her looking at it.
"The boy is Pyro and the girl is Trigger."
"Pyro? Trigger?" Vegeta repeated raising his eyebrow looking up at Areiko. Areiko shrugged her shoulders.
"I thought it was kinda weird too when they introduced themselves to me, but in yet the name I gave them was weird to them too." Areiko answered taking the picture back from Vegeta putting it back into her chest armor.
Vegeta nodded.
"Let's get to the training." Areiko stated turning back around walking down the hall. "We should be able to get some in before Aya and Goku return."
Vegeta and Areiko stepped out into the whiteness of the Time Chamber. Areiko glanced around a bit. This was her first time ever in the Time Chamber. Goku had always told her that it wasn't used unless it was an emergency.
Areiko looked at Vegeta and instantly got into her stance, and so did Vegeta. The two of them took a little bit before lunging at each other. It was the first time in a while since they have trained together. The last training session that Vegeta had with Areiko; he wasn't alone. He was with Aya. It was the night after he had caught them in that dance club a few years back. Aya and Areiko had fallen asleep standing up on their feet during the middle of training.
But now, Vegeta knew that Areiko was serious when it came to fighting. She really always was, sometimes she would goof off like it was no big deal. But now Vegeta could tell that Areiko was going to take this seriously.
Areiko lunged at him at a blinding speed. Vegeta just barely dodged her knee. He turned his eyes to the corner hearing Areiko move across the floor of the Time Chamber. He turned crossing his arms over his face blocking Areiko's knee once more. He flung his arms downward swiping them through the air causing Areiko to spin. She then landed on her right hand flipping herself a few times before fully landing on her feet.
"You got better," Vegeta complimented.
Areiko placed a small smirk onto her face, "did you think that I was going to become weak once I left?"
"You want me to be honest?"
Areiko thought for a minute, she then shrugged, "why not?"
"Yes I did actually." Vegeta replied truthfully lunging at her. Areiko sidestepped, but she was then caught by Vegeta's leg tossing her to the right. Areiko rolled across the ground getting to her knees afterwards. She then leapt backwards dodging Vegeta's fist that came straight for her, but hit the ground.
Areiko spun and kicked him in the jaw throwing him. Vegeta put his hands out stopping himself, but there was a sudden sharp pain going through his back causing him to stumble forward a bit. Vegeta suddenly whipped himself around blasting at Areiko.
The beam hit her midsection. Areiko was tossed backwards, as this happened; Vegeta grabbed a hold onto her ankle spinning her. He then let her go throwing her into the whiteness of the chamber.
Vegeta stood there by himself for a minute glancing around. Areiko then appeared in front of him with a smirk on her face. She backhanded him to the side then blasted a beam at him. Vegeta jumped to his feet in time to flick the attack away, but his face then met up with Areiko's knuckles. Vegeta stumbled back.
After that punch, the two of them were engaged in a long and fierce training session with each other. Something that they haven't done in a while. But for some reason, even during the training session and actually getting a long with her… Vegeta still had something within him that despised Areiko's very being. But he got over it, and just trained with her anyway.
After about a few hours, Areiko and Vegeta decided to stop and wait for Aya and Goku to return. Vegeta was standing off to the side of the house in the time chamber, and Areiko was sitting on the steps with her chin cupped in her hands with her eyes closed. Vegeta knew that Areiko was thinking about something, and he was going to be nosy and ask her what it was.
"What are you thinking about?" Vegeta blurted out. Areiko opened one eye looking at him.
"Hm?"
"What are you thinking?" Vegeta repeated crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the pillar. Areiko looked away from him. She sighed pulling her chin out of her hands.
"Why do you wanna know?" Areiko asked standing up.
"I'm curious." Vegeta answered sounding as cold as Areiko is right at the moment. Areiko looked at him.
"It's gotta be more then curiosity."
"And if it isn't?"
Areiko shrugged.
"I'm curious alright Areiko?"
Areiko shrugged again turning around walking into the housing area of the chamber. "I'm just thinking, and trust me; you don't wanna know what it is."
"I think I do wanna know." Vegeta said looking up causing Areiko to stop. She turned her head looking over her shoulder. "So tell me."
"What if I don't want too?"
"Do you want too?" Vegeta countered.
Areiko hated this, she did want to tell him, but she wasn't sure how to start explaining her thoughts. Even though her thoughts were fairly easy for anyone to understand. But Vegeta was the last person for her to turn to too vent.
"Just… thinking about what happened."
"When?" Vegeta questioned.
"About what happened three years ago." She turned back around approaching the step she once sat at. She seated herself down resting her chin back into her hands. Vegeta just looked down at her allowing her to continue. "Thinking about how I was created, and why I was created. Thinking of the pain that I caused to you and other people."
"You're not just thinking about this because we're in here by ourselves are you?" Vegeta question turning his eyes away from her.
"Meh… kinda." She replied with a sigh. "It never really hit me about how much you disliked me till we did that training session."
Vegeta stayed silent.
"You kind of like… treated me as an enemy."
"You were doing the same," Vegeta blurted. Areiko nodded turning her head to look at him.
"I realized that." She turned away, "but I'm sorry."
Vegeta turned looking at her. "I'm sorry that I even came back, I bet it's hard for you to look at Aya everyday and realize that she's died right in front of you because of me. It's probably REALLY difficult, I know. I can't face myself in the mirror without thinking about that. Even right now, I bet it's difficult for you to just hear me talk, or for you to allow me to sit here next to you and talk about this kind of shit.
"But I guess all I really wanted to say was that I'm sorry for what I did, and I'm sorry about Aya's death. If I could go back in time and stop it I would."
Areiko stood up. She walked away leaving Vegeta against that pillar. He listened to her footprints disappear down the hallway humming that tune to that song that she was singing earlier.
Aya and Goku landed on the lookout. Goku untied the bag of senzu beans from his sash tossing them over to Aya. Aya caught the bag looking at it weirdly then up at Goku. "I gotta talk to Dende before I start training."
Aya nodded, "alright, I guess I'll see you there?"
Goku nodded. He watched as the short eighteen-year-old hurried off in the direction of the Time Chamber. Goku entered the building coming to the main room where Dende, Bulla, Pan, Trunks, and Goten were still playing around. Goku smiled at them all running around and screaming like idiots, something that he and Areiko used to do when they would hang out.
Goku turned spotting his wife. She didn't even realize that he was in the room, which he thought was a good thing because he just needed to talk to Dende. When Goku and Dende's eyes met with each other; Dende instantly knew that the saiyan needed to talk to him.
Dende rushed off away from the game in which they were playing and approached Goku. When Chichi actually did notice Goku, he and Dende were walking down the hallway.
"Goku didn't even say hi." Bulma said blinking a few times looking in the direction of the hallway. Videl was looking over too, but she stayed silent. Chichi shrugged her shoulders looking away watching the kids play again.
"It's probably something important," Chichi said, "Goku would've said something to us if he didn't have something important on his mind or anything."
Right now, Chichi didn't know how right she was.
Dende and Goku stood on the platform of the lookout, the sun starting to set. Dende looked up at the saiyan blinking a few times seeing how serious he was. "Something wrong Goku?"
"I have a question for you Dende," Goku started lowering his arms to his sides. "Have you heard of something called… the Purification Ritual?"
Dende took a few seconds to think. He then nodded his head, "yeah, it's a ritual of purifying a soul that's partly tainted."
"Do you know how to conduct it?"
Dende nodded, "yeah… why?"
"I was wondering if you could conduct it on Reiko." Goku replied.
Dende's mouth nearly dropped open, "on Reiko?" Goku nodded, "Goku do you even know what could happen?"
Goku nodded again, "yeah I do. Master Korin told me about it." Goku replied. "I know what could go wrong, that's why I wanted to ask you first before I threw the ritual into your face and said: 'DO IT'!"
Dende made a funny look, "thanks Goku," he said to him. "But I don't know. Why do you wanna conduct it on Areiko?"
"I want to help her," Goku answered, "I want to get rid of that side of her, her killer form or wild side… whatever she calls it."
"It's not going to be that easy Goku," Dende said bluntly. "You know this right?"
Goku nodded, "I'm aware."
"And you could be putting Areiko's life in danger, a long with anyone else who's in the room."
Goku nodded. "I know that Dende… but please, for Reiko?"
Dende looked at the saiyan. He could see that he really wanted to help Areiko. Why wouldn't he? Areiko was his daughter, sister if you think of it logically since she's basically a clone of Bardock. So no matter how he looked at Areiko, she was still family in some way shape or form.
Dende sighed nodding, "alright Goku, I'll do it. But only if Areiko wants to do it."
Goku placed a smile onto his face, "thanks Dende!"