Dinner was delicious, though his mother had not done all of the cooking. It was funny how she insisted on putting on an apron and acting like she was doing a whole lot of work when all she did was heat up what one the maids had made earlier. Trunks was used to this sort of thing by now, but still found it rather humorous to see his mother accepting compliments over the meal. He sat across the table from her, shoveling the delicious food into his mouth and examining his company. Tayhei looked much better after a bath: her skin was still tinged pink from the hot water and her hair still slightly damp and falling over her shoulders, well past her waist. His mother had loaned her a few of her clothes: a tank top and a pair of loose fitting pants, but they were way too big on her as well. She was holding them up by the waistline when she walked, but he figured she would grow into them once she began eating again. Food was scarce anywhere these days, but to those living outside the comfort and shelter of the city, it was sure to be hard to find suitable food. As he thought of it, Trunks eyed the girl from across the table and noted how she ate ravenously, almost consuming the amount that he normally ate.
She paused for a moment, while devouring her soup and blushed slightly, noticing his staring. "I’m sorry. I just haven't had real food in a long time." She confessed.
Trunks smiled comfortingly at her and popped a rice ball into his mouth. "Don't apologize. I eat like that all the time."
"….When he's not hungry." Bulma stated, deadpan. She stared at him, holding a mouthful up to her lips as she smirked. "It's genetics. I swear if father were alive, the food for the entire city wouldn't be able to feed them both."
Tayhei raised her eyebrows in curiosity and he looked away. He could tell that she wanted to know more about his father. His mother had mentioned something to her while she was getting the bath ready for and now she was probably curious. He didn't feel like explaining the eating habits of Saiya-jin to her. Especially if it involved telling her about his father --- someone that he had barely even known. He wouldn’t even know what to say about her. The only father he had ever spent time with was the Vejiita from the other timeline. For the most part, he had not been pleasant and it was not easy to get to know him. It was kind of sad to say that he didn’t know anything about his father, but he really didn’t. Sure, his mother told him stories once and awhile, but he could never be sure if they had any truth to them or not. She tended to exaggerate. Luckily, Tayhei said nothing about the matter, somehow sensing his discomfort about the subject, and the remainder of dinner was spent in a comfortable silence.
When the last of the meal had been finished, and the dishes had been taken away, he rose out of his chair and stretched in exaggerated manner. He wanted to talk to the girl, but he wanted to do it alone. His mother could be very nosy sometimes and he was afraid that she would press Tayhei too much and scare her off again. And he certainly didn’t want that; he wanted to know more about her. So, his plan was to take her around the Underground City and casually ask her about fighting and the jinzouningen and what her life had been like. "Would you like me to show you the city?"
She nodded 'yes' calmly and stood up from the table, grabbing the waistline of her baggy pants. "Thank you for dinner Bulma-san. It was delicious."
Trunks raised an eyebrow as his mother smiled and waved a hand as if to say ‘it was no trouble at all’. He crossed his arms and looked over at Tayhei, who didn’t seem to realize that all Bulma had done was simply shove an already made meal into the oven to heat it up.
"You don't have to say that." He informed her in a stage whisper. "The maid was actually the one that made the dinner. Okaasan isn't known for her cooking talent."
Bulma smacked him playfully with the back of her hand, then crossed her arms and stared him down. "Watch your mouth young man. One day, I will just decide not to cook for you at all."
He laughed good-naturedly and walked silently through the kitchen and towards the front door. Tayhei obediently followed him and he thought he detected the beginnings of a smile on her mouth. She had obviously been amused by the verbal exchange that had just taken place. He didn’t blame her. He and his mother had a very interesting and close relationship. Because everyone else had died, they were the only ones left and because of this they depended on each other a lot. There was often a role-reversal and he found himself taking care of her instead of her taking care of him. Though she was a good parent, she would often do things that made him worry --- such as staying up too late and working too hard. She was like a friend to him as well, which was why he could tease her in such a manner without actually getting smacked. She was lenient and kind and was always there to help him when he needed her. He loved her, plain and simple. His mother was an amazing woman. Briefly, he wondered about Tayhei’s parents, and whether or not she had that kind of relationship with her own mother. She seemed very independent, so he guessed that her parents had probably died a long while ago.
He held the door open for her, and she simply nodded for a thank you and slipped out into the air. They walked side by side down the sidewalk leading into the main street, and he thought about how he was going to ask her about the fighting without making her defensive. She seemed like a very protective person. She was the kind of person that kept things to herself and fiercely kept her heart and feelings hidden. It was frustrating trying to talk to her because he didn’t quite know where he to begin. If he simply asked her the question, she would probably clam up. But if he went about it in a sly way, she would probably get suspicious and clam up again. He just wasn’t sure what to do. So, instead of asking her questions that he intended to ask, he did in fact give her a tour.
They strolled leisurely down the main street and he pointed out buildings and homes to her, explaining everything that he knew about them. He told her about the history of the city and how it was connected with all of the other cities through tunnels. He did not mention the fact that they were locked in here and that no one was allowed outside. He knew that would frighten her, so he studiously avoided it. So far, no one had raised any objections about being locked in the Underground City. He didn’t see why they should. His mother had locked the city for their own good, and he believed that it was the right thing to do. Going into the outside world presented clear danger. The jinzouningen were restless and often flew overhead just looking for stray victims. Going outside the city was never a good idea --- not for anything. The only reason his mother even let him out was because she had faith that he could defeat the evil twins. And if there was any chance at all that they could be defeated, she wanted to take it. The Underground City was nice, but wanted the people of Earth to be able to dwell on the outside instead of having to live in fear within this cavern.
As they were nearing the end of the street, he stopped for a moment, sensing some kind of impending danger. It was strange how he could feel such things coming, but he supposed it was from years of running from the jinzouningen and trying to keep himself alive. He wasn’t sure, but right now he knew that something was about to happen. He steeled himself and looked around, trying to figure out what was happening.
Then, from up above them, he heard a loud warning shout, and looked up to see a steal beam suddenly falling down towards them. More specifically towards Tayhei.
As if in slow motion, she glanced up and moved so quickly out of the way that he could not follow her with his eyes. The beam crashed to the ground with a loud bang and cracked the pavement, sending rocks and dust flying up into the air.
As the construction workers came running at him, he nervously looked around for Tayhei. He knew that she had not been hit, but she had moved out of the way so quickly that he hadn't had a chance to see where she had gone.
"Tayhei....?" He wondered aloud. She definitely wasn’t anywhere in sight. He spun around, looking in the other direction, completely confused. Then, though he had no idea what compelled him to do so, he found his eyes lifting towards the air. There she was, standing in mid air with her arms stretched out wide, watching the construction workers run back to their work. Without hesitation, he launched himself into the air and met her face to face, glaring.
She gave him a startled look. "You can fly too! How did yo--"
He grabbed her roughly by the collar of her shirt, interrupting her and ignoring the shocked and scared look on her face. Forget all of the thought about being cautious and trying not to scare her earlier! He already had his answer. She had obviously learned the jinzouningen’s techniques, or at least a few of them. And he didn’t know why, exactly, but this made him really angry. Most likely because she had hidden something so important from him and also because he was afraid that she would try to use those techniques and end up getting hurt. Why would she need to know those kinds of skills unless she has something in mind --- Unless she was planning on fighting the jinzouningen herself? And he knew for certain that if that happened, she would die. The jinzouningen did not take fights lightly and did not show mercy. They would rip this small, simple girl into pieces.
"Where did you learn how to fly?" He demanded.
Recovering from the shock him yelling at her, she pushed him away from her and glared. A stubborn look appeared on her face. "I taught myself by watching the jinzouningen's fights with...." She trailed off, then the suspicious look in her eye appeared again. "Wait, How did you learn how to fly?"
Again he was struck by the feeling that he didn’t want her to die, much like what he had felt when he found her after his fight with the jinzouningen. For some reason, this small girl made him feel more protective than he had ever felt in his life. Perhaps it was her eyes, so open, so innocent or the way that she had looked around at the Underground City with unguarded wonder. In a world that was so corrupt and unjust, she seemed to remain pure, as if she had remained untouched by it all. Just the thought of the jinzouningen hurting her was enough to make him want to rage into Super Saiya-jin. His insides started churning with a mixture of fear and anger. He was going to make sure that she did not get hurt, even if he had to chain her to the ground and never let her out of the underground city again.
"Never mind that." Trunks snapped. He grabbed her arm and starting to fly away with her, back towards Capsule Corporation. "You are staying here. Permanently."
With a shout, Tayhei shook his arm off of her and looked at him with eyes that were half frantic and half furious. "I gave my word to someone that I would kill the jinzouningen! I am not staying underground and hiding!"
“If you go out there and fight them, you will die. You have no idea how powerful they are! You might think you have what it takes to be able to battle them, but I can assure you, you don’t. No one does --- Especially not a small girl with little or no fighting experiences. Learning attacks by watching and practicing them in your own time does not make you an expert. Trust me, you don’t know what you’re doing. If it were not for me, you would have died today! I can't have your death on my conscience." Trunks growled.
"I am not your concern." She snapped and flew down towards to the ground.
"You are my concern now. I can't let you go out there knowing that you could die." He grumbled, then grabbed her arm again, pulling her back up. She was being frustratingly unreasonable.
"You don't understand! I gave my word!" she yelled and pulled back into a defensive fighting position, ready to attack and defend her right to leave. He could see in her eyes that she meant it; that she really would attack him in order to fulfill this promise that she had made. He could see that she obviously had very strong feelings about the issue and that she was not going to give up. Whatever promise she had made, she was bound and determined to keep it. And he definitely would have fought her if it meant that he could keep her safe, but he didn’t want to fight here. And he didn’t want to hurt her anymore than he wanted the jinzouningen to hurt her. His power and his abilities were used only to defend the people of the Underground City from the jinzouningen, not to fight stubborn girls into submission. Besides, he could feel the eyes of several of the city’s inhabitants on him at this very moment. Those people of the city already had enough troubles. They didn’t need to see their protector beating up what appeared to be an innocent girl. He would simply have to try and scare her into doing what he wanted her to do.
His eyes narrowed. It was the cool, threatening glare that he had often seen his father give in pictures, and he was well aware of the power that it had. She halted and motion and stared back at him as he spoke. "You don't want to start anything with me. I am not as weak as I seem."
Defeat was written all over her face at his words, and he knew that she could sense his power. The girl dropped her hands back to her sides and looked like she was fighting back tears. She turned her head away from him and looked positively heartbroken, as if her entire purpose in life had just been taken away from her. Trunks blinked in shock, then felt rather ashamed of himself. Here he was threatening her when she was obviously upset about something; this promise must have meant a lot to her. Really she had done nothing wrong. She only wanted to be able to keep her promise, and whatever it took to do so, she would do. Even though she knew she wasn’t strong enough, she was going to try anyway.
Whatever propelled her on this journey must have been terrible for her to hate the jinzouningen this much. He felt bad that she couldn’t keep her promise, and he certainly didn’t want to see her cry. Trunks held his hands up as if he were surrendering. He didn’t want to be mean to the girl.
"Look, just stay here for at least a few months. After that, if you want to stay, stay. If you want to leave, leave." He offered. Of course, he fully intended to convince her to stay, even if it meant bribing her with food and money. There was no way he was going to let her go back out there and live on her own again, knowing that she was going to try and fight the jinzouningen.
She thought for a moment, weighing out the possibilities. Her green eyes searched his for a moment, as if looking for signs of honesty, and then she nodded. "It's a deal Trunks-kun."
I discovered a little bit more about Trunks and his family tonight. More specifically about Vejiita. I have been curious about him ever since Bulma mentioned him, because little remarks that they kept making made him seem like an extraordinarily different kind of man. And I was right. It seems that Vejiita was not a man at all, but something called a Saiya-jin, which supposedly is another race of beings from a planet called Vejiita-sei. Apparently, Bulma’s husband was actually the leader of this planet and the last remaining person of that race. While I found the idea quite entertaining and unrealistic, I highly doubt that these people would lie to me. Also on a much different subject, Trunks has agreed to do me a large favor....
----Tayhei's journal; Volume 2: Page 4
Later that night, Bulma showed Tayhei to the guestroom in which she would be staying and gave her clothes to wear to bed. The room was painted pale yellow and reminded Tayhei of the sunny days when she would practice and write in the forest. The tall green trees had provided her shelter from being seen from the androids, but they also let in shimmering pools of pale yellow light that seemed to make everything glow. She had loved those days and enjoyed the way that the sun had been so warm on her face. She thought of this as she admired some of the pictures and paintings that were hung on the yellow walls in soft oak frames. Bulma was very helpful as she brought in all of her belongings and even pulled down the covers on the bed for her. Her mother used to do this for her as well, she remembered. And her mother used to sing to her too; her mother used to do a lot of things. Tayhei sat on the bed, slowly brushing her long, golden hair, and tried not to remember the past. It only made it harder for her to live life in the present when she dwelled on all of the things that had happened to her before. Unconscious of the mental battle that was going on in her head, Bulma sat down next to her and sighed.
Tayhei raised an eyebrow and turned to meet Bulma's gaze, tearing herself out of her thoughts. The older woman was staring at a picture on the wall of much younger version of herself, a baby, and a man with wild black hair. No one looked happy in the picture. The baby was crying, Bulma was yelling and the man was glaring fiercely at the camera, as if he wanted to demolish the person that was taking the picture. It was actually quite a humorous photograph, but the look on Bulma’s face told her that the simple picture held a large volume of pain and heartbreak.
"That’s my husband, Vejiita, and Trunks as a baby." She explained softly. "Vejiita was killed years and years ago. Jinzouningen."
"They killed a lot of people. It always seems that the most horrible deaths were that of the ones you loved, eh?" Tayhei said calmly. She resumed brushing her hair, but slower now, thinking about the people that the jinzouningen had stolen away from her.
"Where are you parents, Tayhei?" Bulma wondered, standing up from the bed. Tayhei paused, then lowered the brush.
Again, the pain came at her like fire, and the guilt swept through her mind.
"My Otousan and Okaasan were murdered by the jinzouningen when I was seven. At least, I assume that they were killed by the jinzouningen. They left for work one morning and never came back." She stated bluntly and then closed her mouth tight.
She didn't want to give anymore details to the woman; that would only lead to a sleepless night. She hated to dwell on these things. Sometimes the memories seemed so sharp and vivid that it frightened her. She hated remembering how she had felt when they didn’t return that night or the next day or the day after that. And she remembered how her little sister started asking her questions about where they had gone. She had just felt sick and alone and helpless. They had no phone, no television, and no transportation. She and her little sister were on their own after that. Completely on their own. And being only a young girl, it had devastated her. It was too much responsibility, too much grief. If she didn’t have Yakosoku to take care of, she surely would have ended her own life. But these were not things that she wanted to think about anymore. That part of her life was over. She was independent and strong now and she didn’t need her parents or anyone else to take care of her.
Bulma frowned. "I’m sorry. I didn't know. You've grown up well. I'm sure they would be proud of you. Trunks tells me you have been trying to find out information about the jinzouningen."
"Hai. With that and the help of the warrior that I have seen over the years...." She trailed off, thinking of him again. She wondered what had become of him after the battle that she had seen. She knew that the jinzouningen liked to keep him around to play with, but she felt that after awhile they would tire of him. They were easily bored by such things and she had heard arguments between them about the golden haired warrior’s fate. Sometimes they wanted to keep him around for entertainment and other times they just wanted to get rid of him because he was annoying. She hoped that they had not killed him in the last battle. It had been pretty rough, and she couldn’t imagine anyone surviving something like that.
Bulma had a confused look on her face. "You mean Trunks?"
Tayhei suppressed a round of laughter; she hadn't laughed in years. Trunks did not seem to be the warrior type at all, even though she knew that he was strong. He was appeared to be too kind-hearted and protective to be the boy that was constantly chasing the jinzouningen and challenging them to fights. Trying desperately not to smile, she shook her head quickly. "No, the boy that I am talking about is definitely not Trunks....Where did Trunks get that purple hair anyway?"
The older woman burst out laughing and put a hand on Tayhei's shoulder. "I haven’t the slightest idea. The poor boy. I'm just glad he doesn't have a tail. That would probably have turned out purple too."
Bulma stood up from the bed, still laughing. Tayhei fought the impulse to smile as well, but something about what Bulma said had caught her attention and sparked her curiosity.
A tail?
Bulma said goodnight to her and explained that she would be attempting to make breakfast in the morning, which made Tayhei want to laugh as well. The woman walked out the door, shaking her head with laughter and turning the light out on the way.
Tayhei sat in the darkness a long while before getting into bed and pulling the covers up to her chin. She studied the ceiling fan, moving lazily in a circle, then gazed at the picture of Bulma and her family again. She stared at the baby Trunks, taking in his large, blue eyes and the tiny lock of lavender hair that escaped from the bottom edge of his hat.
"A....tail?"
Curiosity completely overcame her and she could no longer lay there not knowing what Bulma had been talking about. She threw the covers off of her, and jumped out of bed, her feet moving quietly over the soft carpet. She took off her pajamas and pulled on a pair of loose and a Capsule Corporation tee shirt that Bulma had given her. Barefoot, she padded down the hallway, holding the waistline to keep her pants up. She had no money at all to buy clothes that fit her better, but she was an excellent seamstress and she would have to ask Bulma if she minded her taking in the pants so that they actually fit her. She didn’t know what she was going to do about shoes. As walked down the hallway, she nearly got lost. The building was so large that she feared never finding the exit; she had never seen so many doors. She knew the kitchen was somewhere in the area, but didn't remember exactly where it had been. Plus, the hallway was completely dark and she could barely see her own hand in front of her face.
A window further down the hallway let in a soft glow of light from outside, and she paused to peer out. The large light that she had seen on the ceiling of the cavern was turned on with a dim glow, obviously trying to represent moonlight. Bulma had really thought of every single thing to make the people of the city comfortable. Even down to the fake pads of grass that lined the sidewalks and covered front yards, she had done everything she possibly could. She couldn’t even begin to image the kindness that the woman must have in her heart. To go through all of this work for people that she didn’t even know was truly an amazing thing. The city was empty now and she couldn’t see anyone out on the streets at all, though there were a few lights on in the distance. Even though she knew it probably wasn’t possibly, she swore she could hear a cricket chirping in the silence.
A blur of motion caught her eye and she stepped closer to the window to get a better look. Trunks was walking quickly to the small building on the outside of Capsule Corporation that she had noticed earlier. Tayhei pressed her hands up against the glass and watched him walk into the distance. He looked as though he were on some kind of mission; his face was serious and determined. Again, curiosity crept into her mind. There were so many things that she wanted to know, so many things that she needed to find out about him. She especially wanted some more information on the whole ‘tail’ issue. Carefully, she felt around the edge of the window for a latch of some sort. Her fingers found one, and she flicked the latch up, unlocking the window with a muted click.
She could have gone out the front door of course, but the code panel that she had seen before worried her. A window was a much simpler alternative anyway. She climbed up onto the window ledge and dangled her leg out, climbing out. After she was completely out, she pushed off from the ledge and flew out into the dark cavern. Remembering that she needed to come back to the house eventually, she only closed the window part way, allowing room to get back in. She flew silently through the air, following Trunks towards the strange building.
"Trunks-kun!" She called softly. He whirled around and caught sight of her flying through the air behind him, still holding up the waistband of her pants. He smiled.
"Tayhei, what are you doing out here?” He asked happily. “I thought you had gone to bed."
"I wasn't tired. I wanted company. I haven't talked to anyone in such a long time that I am afraid I've forgotten how it works." She admitted.
Trunks gave her a warm smile, and she descended from the air and fell into step next to him. She didn’t understand why he always had to look so happy. He smiled entirely too much, as if he thought everything was amusing. It didn’t annoy her; she actually found it mildly charming, but she still thought that he gave her too many smiles.
"I don't talk much either." He confessed. “Around here I’m kind of known as the quiet, shy one. Okaasan is really the one that it outgoing and talkative. I think she kind of talks for me most of the time.
She walked by his side, swinging her arms casually like a child. Remembering what Bulma said earlier, she paused suddenly. As he walked on ahead of her, she took a glance at his backside. She didn’t see any signs of anything unusual there and definitely nothing remotely tail-like. "Where is your tail, Trunks-kun?"
He gave her a surprised look. "My tail? Who told you about all that?" He inquired tensely.
"Bulma-san told me about it. She told me a little about your father too. Vejiita." She paused. "It seems like she loved him very much. She loves you an awful lot too you know."
"Most mothers do love their kids. I think it's a law." He muttered. "Okaasan is very lonely these days. All of her friends have died except for ChiChi-san. And they don't talk very much. Okaasan said it is hard for ChiChi to see me because it makes her think of her son, Gohan." Trunks murmured, brushing the lavender locks away from his face self-consciously.
"Gohan?"
Trunks looked down at his hands. "He was like my big brother. He was like a father in some ways as well, because my own father had died shortly after I was born. My mother's friend, Son Gokuu was Gohan’s father. Gokuu died of a heart disease before I was born, before the jinzouningen ever came, but he was a great fighter. After my father and all the others died fighting the jinzouningen, Gohan-san and I were the only ones left. He trained me and taught me how to fight."
Tayhei frowned slightly. "Did he also die fighting the jinzouningen?"
"Hai. I....found his body." He murmured. It looked as if it had been a terrible memory to him. His sky blue eyes clouded over instantly and his mouth drew into a deep, dark frown. It sounded as though they had been very close, and she knew what it was like to lose someone that was close to you. It was one of the most painful things in the world, more painful than anything she could think of.
"I’m sorry. That shouldn't have to happen to anyone." She said softly. He nodded and put on a brave face, smiling at her with a forced smile. It was interesting to think that Trunks had been trained by someone and that he knew how to fight. She could tell that he was very strong, stronger than her, and it intrigued her. She could learn a lot from him, especially if she had to be here for a few months. It wasn’t just that he seemed to be a strong fighter; she could tell that there was a very strong and courageous heart inside of him as well. And that was probably the most important thing that you could ever take to battle with you. She didn’t know if it was appropriate of her to ask him or not, but she thought she at least owed it to herself to try.
As they continued walking and she looked over at him again, hesitantly. "He taught you to fight?"
He nodded. "He and his father were two of the greatest warriors that ever lived. You can credit them to saving the world more times than you can count. I was honored to be trained by such a wonderful person." Trunks informed her.
Tayhei smiled for the first time since she had met him. "I would be honored if you would train me Trunks-kun."
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