Sweat fell down over his temple and even managed to soak his hair a bit. With steady hands, he shoved the lavender strands out of his face and back off of his forehead. Normally it wouldn’t have mattered, but she had a tendency to grab at his hair when she was getting desperate to win the sparring match. Moving behind her, he raised his fist to hit her in the back. Too quick, she anticipated the attack before he could even move and phased, reappearing over his head. Showing no mercy as a fighter, she drew back her leg and let loose with a brutal kick in the same arm that she had injured earlier that day. Trunks bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out in pain. She wasn’t that strong of a fighter, but she was very good at hitting specific, very sensitive and tender areas. It had hurt more than he expected and as a natural reaction, he raised a hand and blasted her with a large ki attack. Her eyes widened when she saw it and she tried to move out of the way, but it caught her in the side, spinning her around with the blow. She let out a cry, then fell quickly to the ground in a tumble. Before she could hit, she spread out her arms and landed in push up position. She rose again on shaking arms and faced him with a scowl on her face.
"You aren't playing fair Trunks; no ki attacks allowed." Tayhei reminded him, wiping blood from above her eyebrow. Her eyes flashed angrily, and her entire body seemed to be tensed with the anticipation of battle. It was strange. The girl was normally quite nice, but it seemed like as soon as they got into a sparring match, she changed. Instead of it being the friendly, training session that it planned for it to be, it quickly turned into something much more serious. She was learning eagerly, drawing in all of the information and skills that he was giving her and soaking it all up like a sponge. It was as if she were planning to use these fighting techniques and skills for something much bigger than just a friendly spar with him. This made him more nervous that he cared to admit. She was a nice girl, but she was interminably stubborn. That meant that he had to all that he could to discourage her from reading more into these lessons than she should. He was teaching her how to defend herself, not how to kill the jinzouningen. To prove his point, he crossed his arms and stared down at her in a cool, aloof manner.
"And do you think the jinzouningen are going to be fair, Tayhei?" He inquired, while descending to the ground beside her. If she didn’t understand how ruthless and horrible the jinzouningen could be now, she would soon. He would simply have to keep pounding it into her head until she gave up on the idea of fighting them altogether.
"Of course not!" She snapped. "I just thought maybe you could put off killing me for another day, eh?"
Trunks watched her struggle to her feet with amusement on his face. The girl had improved vastly since the beginning of their training that night, but didn't seem to realize it yet. Most of it was because he had been pushing her so hard, but at the same time, desperately trying to hold her back so that she wouldn’t realize her full potential. He wanted her to be strong, but she was so damn stubborn that he was certain she would go after the jinzouningen the first chance that she got. Even though he actually did enjoy her company, he got a sick, twisted pleasure out of making her angry. And thought it didn’t happen often, she was quick to anger too. She rarely acted on it, but he could see it flash in those bright green eyes suddenly, just as if someone had lit a flame inside of her. He assumed it must be because of her lack of human contact. She didn't quite know how to act around people, he could tell by the way her eyes clouded over when he asked her questions that one might consider more personal. But when she was fighting, she was vibrant with energy; it was as if it were the only element she was comfortable in. And it was the only time that she ever let that anger show.
Perhaps it was because she had spent almost her entire life watching nothing but the jinzouningen, who really did nothing but cause destruction and fight. The jinzouningen were vicious to everyone, including each other when they fought. It would make sense that when she fought herself, she would give it every once of strength and determination that she had. Even the light sparring matches he had initiated were surprisingly brutal. He was never afraid for his life; he was certain that Tayhei did not posses the kind of power that would be able to kill him, but it was still surprising to fight with someone other than the jinzouningen and have them be that vicious. He was used to people, especially if they were just learning, to be almost timid when they were sparring. But, to quote the girl, 'Why even bother to fight if you are only going to do it half way?'. If she was going to put forth the effort to learn these attacks, she wanted to learn them well and be able to use them to her full capabilities.
Nevertheless, she exemplified traits of a warrior. While her ki attacks weren't particularly practiced, her hits packed an amazing amount of power behind them, which was surprising for a girl her size. Sometimes the way she moved and attacked reminded him of the female jinzouningen Juuhachi-gou, which would make sense because she had learned to fight by watching the evil twins. Juuhachi-gou though, was an entirely different story than Tayhei. Even though Tayhei attacked with the same style, she didn't grin like a psychotic while doing it. And as far as strength was concerned, Juuhachi-gou, or even Juunana-gou for that matter, could snap his arm in half as if it were a twig. The sheer power that they had was absolutely staggering. She might have picked up a bit of style from the jinzouningen, but there was nothing in the world that could give her their strength. That’s what made him so scared to let her loose, knowing that she would try to attack the jinzouningen at the first chance that she got. She wasn’t the sort of person that said she was going to do something and then not follow through with it. If she swore that she was going to fight the jinzouningen, she was going to fight the jinzouningen.
He brought his eyes to her and smirked. "Hai, we will put that off for today." He chuckled. "If you’d like, I could take you outside and show you a few ki attacks."
Trunks strode to the door, wiping sweat from his brow casually. Tayhei followed, limping slightly on her left leg. He had kicked her particularly hard earlier and it looked as though she would be feeling it for quite awhile. Her light green eyes found his and she nodded, looking interested.
"It sounds like a good idea to me." She agreed and took a moment to stretch, turning her neck to the side. “Maybe then I’ll have an opportunity to win at least one of these sparring matches.”
He searched her face for a moment. She was bleeding and bruised and tired, but she was still so beautiful. Maybe it was the intensity of the spar or maybe it was the fact that he was getting to know her better, but he was finding himself more and more attracted to her --- something that he didn’t want. She was a friend, someone that she was just trying to help along, and someone that could help him with the jinzouningen as well. It was silly to even consider anything romantic with her. But still, when they were together sometimes, it was hard to think of her as merely a friend. Especially when she looked so beautiful. He watched her pick up her sweatshirt from the ground, sweeping her long, golden locks to the side and bending down. She stood up and turned towards him with those soulful green eyes and half a smile on her gorgeous face. Moving past him, she headed out the door of the gravity chamber, her sweatshirt slung over one slim shoulder. He paused for a moment, watching her until he could not see her anymore. She really was beautiful.
Life inside the underground city is comforting. I no longer have to worry about the jinzouningen finding me and I no longer have to worry about when my next meal will be or where I will be sleeping at night. It is comfortable here and calm here; somehow it is exactly the way I pictured a peaceful world to be. I know however, that this peace and comfort is not real. The people are not free here, they are hiding. The jinzouningen are still out there and they are still a threat to the people of the world --- underground or not. It is because of this that I am restless with anticipation. I promised Yakosoku long ago that I would kill the jinzouningen for her. I swore that I would do this for my little sister, that I would avenge her death. And there is no possible way for me to do it while I am hiding in this underground world. I need to escape, and soon. But it doesn't help that Trunks and Bulma both are so kind to me. I spoke to Bulma tonight and she confided in me about Vejiita and how much she had loved him. Love is still a mystery to me, and I think of the day when I will finally know as much about it as ChiChi and Bulma.....
----Tayhei’s journal; Vol 2: Page 6
Tayhei quietly eased out of the door and into the dark cavern that served as the underground city. It was well past midnight, and the entire city seemed silent and peaceful; shadows bathed in the soft yellow glow of the streetlights and in the distance, a cricket could be heard, chirping insistently in the quiet city. She was awake and restless. She had known long before her head even met with her pillow that she would not be able to fall asleep. Instead, she had stayed up most of the night writing in her journal and simply thinking about what she was going to do. Her heart was torn in two --- should she stay here in this quiet, peaceful city; a place where she was accepted and comfortable? Or should she fulfill the promise that she had worked for all of these years and continue to chase the jinzouningen. It was a decision that she would eventually have to make, but at the moment, it hurt her too much to even think about it. She gazed around her at the tall buildings and streetlights lining the perfectly paved streets. It was almost as if the real world had been capsulized and held in this small cave, away from the wrath of the artificial humans, unknowing of the pain they had caused. There was one difference however.
There were no stars.
She loved the stars; could spend her entire life with her back lying on the ground, gazing up at the velvety black sky, sprinkled with pure white bits of light. The Earth was so destroyed, so ruined and polluted. But they sky would always remain the same. The stars would sparkle brightly each night, whether the jinzouningen killed off the population or not. And likewise, the sun would rise each morning, regardless of the cyborgs’ wants and terrorizing. As powerful and omnipresent as they were, they could not control the sky, and that was just about the only comfort that Tayhei had. Often in her travels, before she fell asleep, she would simply lay there for hours, looking up into the sky. In response, the stars would blink and sparkle as if to reassure her that there was always hope.
But there were no stars here to stare at and reassure her. There was no beautiful night sky to tell her that someday everything would return to its rightful place on Earth. Here in this Underground City, there was no hope --- they had hidden it away, just like they had hidden themselves away, under layers and layers of earth and rock. That was the problem with this peaceful city: they had given up. They had let the jinzouningen win. Instead of facing the evil twins and proving their worth and their power as human beings, they ran and they hid. She paused for a moment, lifting her head up to stare at the cavern ceiling, but instead of hopeful stars and the soulful moon, she only darkness. The people of the Underground City had hid from the jinzouningen and ran away from the danger, but that wasn’t her. She didn’t run. She didn’t hide. She faced problems and accepted her destiny, whether it seemed logical or not.
Tayhei frowned. She couldn’t stay here. She wanted to, but her heart just would not let her. She was a fighter, and her destiny was to rid the world of the jinzouningen. There was nothing that she could do to change that. Her fate had been decided long ago. In a moment of emotion and anger, she had made a promise to her little sister. Yakosoku was gone now, but the promise still lived on. And somehow, Tayhei knew that she would fulfill that promise before she died. The jinzouningen would die; if not by her own hand, then she would stand by and watch it.
She sighed heavily. It was just too bad that she had to forsake her own happiness in order to keep that promise. For the first time in a long time, she was truly beginning to enjoy herself. She had a lovely home to stay in, and Bulma and Trunks had been nothing but kind to her since she came. Trunks, especially, had been a good friend to her. Sparring with him was the greatest and most exhilarating thing she had done in years. Bulma and ChiChi had become so loving and protective of her that it was almost as if they were her very own mothers. And Engin too, though he left her a little confused, was always so kind and treated her so wonderfully. He had surprised her with flowers again that very afternoon and she had eaten lunch with him in town. Her brow furrowed when she thought about it. She had come back home to find Trunks in the darkest mood she had ever seen him in, and even Bulma was acting a little indifferent towards her.
A small cough behind her caused Tayhei to whirl around, startled. She hadn't known that anyone was there.
Trunks's mother stood behind her, with a mournful look on her beautiful face. A soft pink bathrobe was wrapped around her full figure and there were matching pink slippers on her feet. A cigarette dangled gracefully from the woman's fingers, and smoke swirled upwards from it, reaching for the cavern ceiling. She lifted her hand, and took a smooth drag, holding it in a few seconds before letting the smoke out.
"You aren't supposed to be out here." Bulma finally stated with an expressionless face. She lifted the cigarette to her lips once more and stared at her with watery deep blue eyes.
Tayhei nodded her head in understanding, then began walking back to the door of Capsule Corporation. She was a guest here and didn’t want to step outside of her boundaries by disobeying the woman. Bulma had been very kind to her and deserved respect, even if it were something as simple as this.
"Not that I care or anything." Bulma continued, taking another drag on the cigarette. "I just know that Trunks doesn't want you running off and getting yourself killed."
Tayhei halted and stared back at the older woman, puzzled. Bulma had never acted like this before. For one thing, she never would have guessed that the older woman had such a bad habit. And for another, she rarely ever let herself be seen in such an unpolished, relaxed state. Even her long turquoise hair was tangled and loose, spilling down the back of the pink bathrobe. Bulma usually took such care in building her appearance and making herself look perfect. True, it was night and there wasn’t even anyone around in the city, but the Bulma that she knew would never have taken that chance. Something was obviously bothering her. And by the way that Bulma was hinting, Tayhei was certain that she probably needed to talk about whatever it was that was bothering her. Tayhei didn’t mind at all. It was better than going back to sleep; plus, the woman had done so much for her --- she wanted to repay the favor, even if it was only to listen.
"Would you like to take a walk with me?" Bulma inquired politely. She tucked the stray strands of turquoise hair behind her delicate ears, and raised her eyebrows in question.
They walked in silence through the dark city, passing several shops with closed signs in the windows. The entire city seemed to be asleep and dreaming; even the air was still and warm, unmoving as they walked through the streets. Nothing stirred in the entire area but the two women, one in a pink bathrobe and the other in a simple tee shirt and jeans. Had anyone spotted them, they might look twice, but they would never be able to see what they were hiding behind their eyes that night. Both Bulma and Tayhei walked along with heavy hearts, unknown sadness and memories plaguing their souls. That night as they walked through the empty city streets though, Tayhei began to feel more connected to the older woman. This was another side of Bulma, another layer that she had never seen before. And the fact that Bulma wanted to share it with her was nice. It made Tayhei feel as though she were needed and cared for. And it was nice to care about someone else again as well.
Bulma ceased walking when they reached a tiny park; the park that the children of the city often played in. A rickety set of swings and a slide had been donated for the kids, as well as a sand box and a small jungle gym. This park was perhaps the only luxury in the life of a child in the Underground City. Bulma sat down on a bench that faced Capsule Corporation. The huge dome building loomed before them in the distance. Tayhei sat beside her, and stretched her sore legs out in front of her. Bulma was right next to her, with her elbows perched precariously on her knees, holding her chin in her hands. For a long time, the two of them just sat there, and Tayhei studied the cavern ceiling. Again, she wished with all of her heart that stars would somehow magically appear.
"Do you know what it's like to have a taste of heaven, and lose it before you could even realize what you had?" Bulma questioned, not meeting her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest, still holding on to the cigarette between two fingers.
Tayhei thought about the question for a moment, then answered truthfully. "Yes."
She watched as Bulma brought the cigarette to her lips again, her hands shaking with the effort. There were tears in her deep blue eyes, but the rest of her face was showing no emotion. The woman suddenly looked very old to her; very old and tired. More than wrinkles or gray hair could ever change a person, sadness took its toll. Sadness could make even a child look ancient. That was the way it was with Bulma. In reality, she wasn’t that old, but after a lifetime of sadness and trials, she had begun to age from the inside out. The woman closed her deep blue eyes for a moment, then looked back at Tayhei, her chin trembling.
"I loved him." She admitted. "I always did. I just never said it or wanted to believe it. And now it's too late. He's gone. Forever. And I'll never get a chance to tell him." She mused.
Tayhei assumed she was speaking of Trunks's father, Vejiita. From what she gathered, Vejiita was a stubborn, egotistical man, who would never admit that he loved anyone, let alone his wife. Why was it such a great deal to Bulma? A man like that couldn’t possibly have treated her with the respect that she deserved. Perhaps there was more to this Saiya-jin warrior than she had ever been told. Maybe there was a side to him that only Bulma had known; a side that Vejiita had chosen to share only with his wife. Tayhei could understand that. She knew what it was like to have to guard your heart and your mind from people who might hurt you.
Bulma turned to face the younger girl, and held out the cigarette as an offering. The end of it glowed bright orange in the dark, almost overshadowing the awful smell of it. Smoking was one thing that Tayhei never wanted to do at all. Her grandmother --- or was it aunt? --- used to smoke and blow the stuff right in her face when she and her family would come over for dinners at her house. It was a long time ago, but she could still remember the sharp smell of it that seemed to seep inside of her and burn her lungs. She used to think it was disgusting.
Tayhei shook her head negatively and waved the smoke away. "No thank you. I don't smoke. And you shouldn't either. It isn't healthy." She pointed out.
She stared down at the cigarette. "I know. It's a bad habit. I always do it when I'm upset. Some people eat, some people cry, some people yell. I smoke." She smiled faintly. "Vejiita thought it was horrible. I would always have to hide the evidence. And even though he’s gone now, I still hide it."
"Another bad habit?"
Bulma frowned intensely. "Hai. There are a lot of things that I keep doing, even though he is gone. I always glance up at the gravity chamber, even though I know he isn't in there...." She sighed, then smiled at Tayhei. "You know, Trunks wouldn't set foot in that gravity machine until you came here. Every time I would mention it, he would just brush it off. I think he was a little intimidated by the fact that his father trained there."
"He did say that he didn't use it much." Tayhei mentioned quietly.
"He didn't use it at all. The boy might be a warrior, not afraid of anything, not even those tin cans out there terrorizing the planet, but he was afraid of that gravity chamber." She chuckled softly. "He kind of holds his father in high regards, even though he never really knew him. I'm not much of a help, I always portrayed him as a great man that he really wasn't." She admitted.
She took inhaled a deep breath of smoke before continuing. Her face lit up for a moment, as if recalling some fond memory. Her deep blue eyes softened and she met Tayhei’s eyes again, smiling wryly. "He was always such an asshole...." She muttered under her breath.
Though her words were harsh, Tayhei saw something else hidden beneath the insult. Again, she became intensely aware that there were more layers to Bulma than she had originally thought. More layers to the Saiya-jin prince as well, if Tayhei was guessing correctly. Bulma had been in love with him, that much was evident. From the way that Bulma was shaking right now and the way that her chin was trembling dangerously, it looked as though she had loved him very much indeed.
"You know, sometimes it’s hard to even live without him. Sometimes it’s hard just to breathe without him." Bulma continued, shoving the cigarette into the fake grass, and grounding it out with her heel. “I always thought I was so strong, that I didn’t need to depend on anyone but myself. But every since he died, I just haven’t been the same. I think he made me who I was --- even before I knew him.” She declared, her voice cracking with emotion.
Before Tayhei could even offer a word of sympathy, Bulma was in her arms, sobbing quietly into her shoulder. Her green eyes widened, her heart aching silently in her chest. Besides her little sister, no one had ever cried to her or let her listen to their problems. For these past few years, she had had no one at all to console. She missed that, missed being able to show someone that she cared and being able to take care of someone. She missed everything about her former life, but most of all, she missed not having someone be there for her when she felt like crying. But somehow, as she held onto Bulma, she knew that this woman would be here for her no matter what the circumstances were. Bulma was a woman who cared about people; she took care of her son, she took care of her friends, she even took care of all the people that lived in this city. Much like Tayhei needed someone to take care of, so did Bulma. She felt a certain degree of protectiveness over this woman, and held her tighter as she cried even harder into her shoulder.
She knew what it was like to lose a parent. She knew what it was like to lose a sibling. But she had no earthly idea what it was like to lose the love of your life; the only person who understood your every need and thought perfectly. It must be like losing a part of yourself; the part of you that was happy all the time. That was the worst part to lose too, because the other half of you never taught itself how to be truly happy, it only found a way to act happy at the appropriate times. Bulma had lost Vejiita; the one thing that had held her together and made her whole. And when he died, everything that he had given her had been ripped away as well, things that she could never get back.
She gently patted Bulma’s back, and she thought of Engin. He was wonderfully charming, and treated her like she was the most perfect girl in the world. He would give her compliments and act the part of a gentleman, giving her flowers and holding doors open for her as she walked. Tayhei had been confused about this at first, but right then she came to an understanding. She always felt beautiful and special around Engin, but she knew that it wasn’t love. It couldn’t possibly be. She cared about Engin, but if the boy died tomorrow, she would not die with him. He did not complete her, didn’t offer anything to her. What she felt when she was with Engin was not love. She could very well fool herself into thinking that it was, but that wouldn’t be fair to either of them. Tayhei wanted to wait for the person that truly was the love of her life, the person that completed her. She wanted to be able to stare into his eyes and know that it was right, know that she was catching a glimpse of heaven somewhere in their depths. That just wasn’t the case with Engin. When she looked into his eyes, she didn’t see that special glint of heaven --- she saw nothing.
Between sobs, Bulma looked up and stared at Tayhei with a tear-streaked face. "If you love someone, tell them. It may not seem like the right thing to do at the moment, but knowing that you never did can leave you in agony for the rest of your life." She murmured softly, brushing Tayhei's golden hair away from her face.
"I will Bulma-san. I will." Tayhei promised, and smiled.
"I think that is the first time I've seen you smile since you came here." Bulma observed, pulling away from her. She stood from the bench, and grabbed Tayhei's hand while wiping tears away with the other. "Let's go home, eh? It's getting cold out here."
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