After a few days moping around Capsule Corps and refusing another spa day with Bulma, Val eventually felt ready to get out of her room after cooping up in there. She cleaned herself up and had something to eat before she flew off into the sky, just wanting to get outside and away from others.
She flew off, high enough to feel the chill of the colder air in the atmosphere above the clouds. She looked down towards the ground, seeing how small, green, and insignificantly peaceful the scenery was. The tiny house and the even tinier people seemed so oblivious of everything. She felt a flare of annoyance at how privileged they were to know nothing and no one of everything outside of this tiny little planet. She crossed her arms over her chest, hand fiddling with her necklace. She looked around where she was, flying away from the area.
She flew to the Lookout, not cluing in that was where she was going until she saw it in sight. She paused in the sky, hesitating to go up there. She sensed to check who was up there. She sensed Kami, Mr. Popo, and Piccolo up there as well. She bite her lip, not sure if she should go up there or not. She shook her head and then huffed, deciding to fly up there and see them sooner rather than later.
She flew up to the Lookout, landing there. She walked over to the building, taking her time to linger around the trees in the garden up here. She went over to one of evergreen trees, running her hands through the needles of one of them. She went and took off a few dry brown ones.
"Val, you are still here?" she heard a voice call over to her.
She pulled her hands away from tree, clutching the dry needles in her hand. She could smell their almost minty scent in the air. She saw Mr. Popo approach her. "Oh, hello," she said. She nodded, saying, "I decided to stay."
He nodded up at her. "Lord Kami will be happy to hear that," he responded. "He and Piccolo are inside talking if you want to go speak with them."
She nodded. "Thank you," she said, walking towards the building. "Uh..." she held the pine needles in her hand.
"Here, I'll take them," he offered out his hand.
"Thank you," she said pleasantly.
She entered, looking around and found them in the area where she would normally train. She saw both of them standing there, going hushed quiet and noticing her almost immediately. She reached up and took her necklace in hand as she stood before them. It weird to see them and realize that they were, with her, the last of the Demon Clan. It felt odd, considering none of them were purely from that clan. It was like looking at them as distant cousins.
Kami gave her a knowing smile, "so you decided to stay?" he asked.
She nodded, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I changed my mind at the last second. On the promise to come help on New Namek if need be," she explained vaguely. "And to help protect the Earth since I decide to stay here after all," she added. She looked down at the bracelets on her wrists. "Oh, the spare bracelets. Do you want them back? I can bring them back next time I come up here," she offered.
He shook his head. "Keep them. You may need them at some point in time."
"Oh, okay," she said, nodding again.
"You're planning to protect the Earth since you are staying?" Kami asked. She nodded once more. "Probably best to add physical training in as well up here then. The others have before you. Even Goku," he added.
She felt herself perk up at the idea, thinking how she was missing out on training now that Freight, Hull, and Loader were gone. "If you wouldn't mind," she said on bated breath. She felt her palms almost start to itch at the very idea.
He nodded. "Not a problem at all," he said confidently.
She smiled broadly at the idea, but her smile cut off when Piccolo spoke. "What was your reason for staying exactly?"
She looked up at him and frowned. "It's personal," she responded as vague as she could.
"What did you tell the Great Elder?" he pressed.
"That I wanted to stay more than I wanted to go," she said back.
"Who did you stay for?" he pressed.
She furrowed her brow and shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she replied. "It wasn't you anyway, so why do you care?"
"That's not what you told the Great Elder," he countered.
She gave him a bewildered look. "I never gave him a name," she replied. "I decided to stay, so I stayed." She hummed, but did noticed both of them were waiting on an answer. "He would be so lonely if I left," she gave in.
"Who?" It was not Piccolo who asked, but Kami.
She blinked up at him. "Vegeta," she answered.
"Vegeta?" Piccolo cut it, sounding thrown off by the name.
"Is there anything romantic going on between the two of you?" Kami asked.
She recoiled at the idea. "No," she said, shaking her head.
"Then why stay for him then?" Piccolo asked her.
"He knows what it was like, for me even, to practically be enslaved by Frieza. He's protected me even. Freed me on Namek when I was recaptured," she told them. "He'll never be like what you two are now, kinsmen by the way of adoption. Considering the three of us are what remains of the Demon Clan." She felt her own thrill of protectiveness go through her.
"Prove it," he challenged.
She frowned up at him, swallowing. She took a few moments, thinking it over before sharing. "Where I grew up, on Aviary, Aviarians only had one given name. However, Anthromorphs were given two. An Aviarian name that they were known and called by by everyone they came in contact with. That's Val for me." She paused, seeing both of them watching and listening intently. The way they looked at her almost mirrored the other. "Anthromorph names were to be kept private though, only for kin or those like kin. My mother only used mine in private, wouldn't even use it around my father. He refused to use it at all, saying I was also Aviarian like him, so he would only use Val for me. Very stubborn about it, but my mother said it was not an issue. I had no siblings growing up, since my elder brother died before I was born. Yet when Aviary was destroyed, and I was taken captive by Raditz and put under Frieza's authority, my guardian, Asa, an Aviarian daughter of an Anthromorph, knew my other name as well. And, um, the Namekian Nail, before he died..." she finished, wrapping her arm around her waist. "I don't want Vegeta to know it though. He's asked after it before, not knowing what it is. He thinks it's a name the Namekian gave me, but I," she shook her head, "I don't want him to know it." She looked up at both of them. "You won't tell him?" she asked.
"I won't," Kami said first.
She looked over at Piccolo expectantly. He shook his head. She nodded, thinking it over. "It's Kiri," she breathed out, feeling relieved to have another two people know it, since before only those who were dead knew it. She also felt a thrill of fear that maybe telling them was a mistake. "You can use it, but privately, only around me with two or three of together only. I don't want anyone but the two of you to know it."
"It will be kept private, Kiri," Kami answered.
She felt a wave relief wash over her. She felt a connection form between the three of them, an odd sort of kinship in the balance. Made her consider staying on Earth was not such a regrettable decision after all.