I had a hard time placing Mirai Trunks' age during the Zamasu saga so I had to do some serious research. Most proclaim he's about 19-20 years old during Zamasu so I went with that option. And since he is my favorite character, of course he's gonna play a role in this insanity. (Grin) What that role is, well, you'll just have to find out (grin widens). There's a clue in this chapter if you wish to try and discover the secret. (winks).
Disclaimer: The Dragonball Franchise and Bleach, their characters, settings, etc., belong to their respective creators. All original characters, settings, etc., belong to ME.
Chapter 17: Time Traveler
After the baseball game incident, Kira had let goâShe let go of all of the pent up grief and anger towards her grandfather. She had a feeling Hitsugaya-San had purposefully left her up there on that fence in ice to give her a moment in time. The next they met, she thanked him profusely. He just stared and raised his sword.
"No more breaks." He stated and she had raised her own.
"Hai." Was all she said before another day of training began.
Kira's training had intensified the day she had received the black sheathed katana. Rukia told her it was a training device for all future shinigami.
"The Zanpakutou is crucial for a shinigami." Rukia had stated to Kira. "This one is a trainer, it will help you get used to fighting with a sword. Until the day your Zanpakutou reveals itself, you will use this trainer."
That day, as usual, Goku was in the background, wondering what was so special with a sword but he dared not ask. The last time he tried talking to Rukia she had used some kind of spell or something and sent his butt flying. Nowadays he would just show up and watch with Piccolo, who had been there since day one.
Rukia had said nothing else about a Zanpakutou that day and never spoke the word again. Kira figured it out herself as she was forced to battle Hitsugaya-San; the Zanpakutou is what, she assumed, shinigami used for powerâLike when Gohan turned yellow. That was all Kira could come up with.
"Kira-Chan? Hey, Kira-Chan!" Kira blinked her eyes, her thoughts had wandered. Gohan was in front of her, worried.
"Sorry. My mind drifted off again." She sighed and he chuckled.
"It's alright." He said. "You've been working really hard these days."
That day had been a normal school day, as normal as could be anyway. Gohan picked up Kira from school and the two were on their way home. As they ventured inside, Videl said there was company over. That's when Mr. Satan, Videl's father, made himself known. Kira had only seen the guy on television and he was just as...weird in person.
There was someone else there that day, someone that made Gohan gasp.
He was about a head taller than Kira, this unknown person with blue eyes and blue hair. He was wearing a jean jacket and a red bandana that had seen better days. He was a little out of place, this guy. His gaze was only on Gohan, ignoring everyone else in the room.
"Trunks?" Gohan went to the guy, grinning up a storm. "Oh my gosh it really is you! Wow!"
Trunks? Wait a a minute...Kira blinked in confusion. The only Trunks she knew was a little kid no more than ten. Maybe 'Trunks' was a popular name?
Gohan and this Trunks guy went out into the garden to talk, Kira silently following. There was something very odd about this blue haired guy. She just couldn't put her finger on it. It felt as if he didn't belong here...Yeah...That's it. The guy didn't belong here. It unnerved her very being.
She heard them talking; it sounded like Trunks was wanting some advice from Gohan who happily gave it. Whatever Gohan said seemed to make Trunks relax a bit, his eyes now calmer than before.
"Oh! You've yet to meet her!" Gohan said. "Hey! Kira-Chan!" He called, knowing she was hiding in the doorway. "Come on out and meet Trunks! He's a family friend!"
As soon as she was revealed, Trunks rose from his seat, his eyes wide as he stepped away cautiously.
"Trunks?" Gohan was confused then he paused. "Wait, you know her."
Kira frowned. How could the guy know her? They just met! She had never seen him before in her life!
"Sorry." Trunks stared at Kira though not for long. He seemed to be struggling mentally. His fists clenched as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You, uh, just remind me of someone I've seen before, but briefly."
Kira cocked an eyebrow while Gohan just stared.
Quickly coming out of the haze, Gohan said, "Trunks, this is Kira." He explained the situation to the guy who just gapped.
"Goku's a godparent?" He was shocked by this revelation. "Wow!"
"You know Goku?" Kira asked him and Trunks refused to look at her as he spoke.
"He's...Friends with my father." Was all Trunks said about it.
They enjoyed a vast dinner with Mr. Satan's boisterous voice filling the whole household. Throughout the diner Kira couldn't shake the feeling that Trunks was side eyeing her. Every so often he would be glancing her way, tensing everytime she so much as breathed. What was his problem anyway?
After dinner, Kira made herself comfortable on the couch and started drawing, something she still loved to do on the minimal off time she got these days. Yet, now, her focus was sharedâsome with the paper and pencil, and some for the world around her. Thus, she knew the moment he walked in, knew when someone was standing over her. Mr. Satan was gone and it certainly wasn't Gohan; that left Trunks.
"What's your beef with me anyway?" She asked as she continued to draw. Oddly enough, she found herself drawing his portrait. These days she learned her instincts were what led her hand on the paper, and right now they were screaming this guy's name.
"You are a shinigami, aren't you?" His words made her stop dead. She rose to her feet and found him glaring at her. "Why are you here?"
"How do you know about shinigami?" She asked him, glaring back. "By your look, I'd say you aren't fond of them." A small part of her wasn't either, but she wasn't saying that out loud.
"Where I come from, death is everywhere." He said, every word was like a knife. "And it gets rather annoying when powerful beings refuse to help."
"Shinigami do not harm the living." She said the mantra.
"You're not supposed to interact with the living either." He got right into her face. "You just watch the suffering, waiting for people to die. Tell me, how can you be so heartless when there is suffering everywhere around you?"
She frowned. "What's gotten up your butt anyway?" She put a hand on his chest. "And I'd back away from me. This shinigami could probably kick your butt."
He actually snorted. "I'd like to see you try."
"Hey! Hey!" Gohan pulled them apart. "Trunks?" He stared at his guest.
"A shinigami watched my mother die." Trunks eyed Kira. "She was standing right behind her, waiting. So excuse me if I don't really care for beings that wait for people to die." Then he stormed out of the room.
"Whoa." Kira breathed out. "That guy's beyond mad." She looked at Gohan. He wasn't saying anything. "Did you tell him about shinigami? About me?"
"No." Gohan's reply was short. "I'll go talk to him." Then went after Trunks.
Gohan caught up with Mirai Trunks outside. "Trunks! Wait!"
"You need to get that woman out of your house NOW!" Trunks shouted at him. "She's going to-"
"Calm down, breathe." Gohan held up his hands. "Kira-Chan just found out she's a shinigami a few months ago. And she's just a kid, sixteen years old."
Trunks balked. "What!? Sixteen!?" Shaking his head he said. "That doesn't matter! She shouldn't be anywhere near your family, Gohan!"
Gohan frowned. "I guess that shinigami run rampant in your time. How are you able to see them?"
"They starting appearing when Black went on his rampage." Trunks huffed. "At first they were attacking him but then they just backed off."
A pause. "What? The shinigami wereâfighting this Black guy?"
Nodding Trunks replied, "Yeah, and they were WINNING. But, something made them stop and let him do what he pleased. I tried asking but they would just disappear when I got close to them." He squelched his eyes, slammed a fist into the wall, creating a small crater in the process. "When I saw that one standing behind my mother...It was her, Gohan! That girl Kira! She was behind my mother when Black-" He took a deep breath.
"Hey, easy." Gohan said. "You said my dad and Vegeta were planning on going and dealing with Black. You can trust them to take him out."
"I'm more worried about what that shinigami will do to your family, Gohan." Trunks shook his head. "Anyone that just stands idly by while people are being killed is untrustworthy in my book. If they had kept on fighting him we would have stood a chance!"
"You're that time traveling boy, aren't you?"
The two turned around. Gohan instantly recognized Rukia standing there, her arms crossed.
"Rukia-San...How...Did you?" Gohan gapped but she ignored him.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you what you are doing is forbidden?" She eyed Trunks.
"Uh Trunks, this is Rukia-San, she's-" Gohan started, Rukia finished.
"That is my granddaughter you threatened in that house, boy." Rukia glared at Trunks. "Whatever is going on in your timeline has nothing to do with Kira. But, I will give you a piece of advice." She pointed at Trunks. "We shinigami have a high sense of honor and abide by a strict code, one that has been active since the dawn of time. If your time's shinigami stopped initiating contact with this 'Black' person, it is because their interaction with him did not abide by the code, it is as simple as that."
"Code?" It made sense to Gohan the shinigami would have some kind of rules they lived by.
"Do not go blaming shinigami for your world's mistakes." Rukia continued at Trunks. "Most likely, this 'Black' person is punishment for time traveling in the first place. Fate tends to be cruel to those who break her laws. We shinigami do not stop fate from her wheels, boy."
Gohan pulled Trunks away, knowing the guy was about to pummel Rukia. She was harsh to everyone except the Son family, mostly because they were Kira's current guardians. Still though, she didn't know Trunks' life.
"Be thankful you have not been eradicated by this universe's destruction kami." Rukia said to Trunks.
"What are you doing here so late, Rukia-san?" Gohan thought it would be a good idea to change the atmosphere.
She placed her hands on her hips. "A young man near my teenage granddaughter? You must be out of your mind! Like hell I'm about to NOT watch him like a hawk!" She eyed Trunks. "You'd do best to stay away from my granddaughter's room, which WILL be fortified by the way. I don't care where you come from, no boy is coming near my grandchild!"
Gohan actually laughed at her statement. To think Rukia was here merely to watch Trunks, though he suspected she had ulterior motives he really didn't care. At least the mood had lightened slightly.
"I promise Trunks will stay out of Kira-chan's room." Gohan told her but she wasn't having it.
"Like I trust an idiot who time traveled twice!" Rukia huffed. "I'm staying over and there is NOTHING you can do about it!" With that said she walked right past them.
Trunks said nothing, just stared incredulously. The conversation had gone from serious to, to what exactly?
Gohan shook his head. "You can stay with us, Trunks, in fact I insist." Gohan smiled. "Only to prove Rukia's worries wrong."
Confused Trunks just followed Gohan into the home. Once inside, Gohan had to explain exactly why Rukia was there and the young man blushed crimson and glared.
"Like hell I would want to be anywhere NEAR a shinigami! She's a kid anyway!" He shouted angrily while Gohan just chuckled through Trunks' embarrassment.
Next Time: Collective Sorrow
