They walked home in silence, and entered the Capsule Corporation kitchen. Flicking on the light switch, Bulma reached up and grabbed the familiar green teapot that her mother had given her so long ago. She filled it with water and set it on the stove, turning up the heat with intentions to make tea. It was a required skill: the making of tea. For the longest time, she just couldn't get the tea to turn out right; it either turned out too strong, or too mild. But now, after so many sleepless nights spent thinking of Vejiita, the art of tea making had become less complicated, and quite easy. She only wished that with time, her life would become easier for her as well. The odds of that happening were slim to none with the jinzouningen still out there. As she searched for the tea, she snuck a glance at the small girl, who had taken a seat at the table. For a girl her age, she really was quite tiny. She was so thin and delicate that it seemed like she would snap in two at the slightest hit from the jinzouningen. Trunks may be a little over-protective of the girl, but now Bulma was beginning to see where that came from. Tayhei was strong, but she was also stubborn; if she wanted to fight the jinzouningen, there was really nothing they could do to stop her.
She took the teapot off of the stove and poured the hot water into two cups, placing tea bags in each. With steady hands, she dropped the cups down on the table and moved to take a seat next to the girl.
"It is cold out there. Much colder than outside the city." Tayhei remarked with a shiver. "And I don’t even have a coat --- on the outside, there isn’t much use for one."
Bulma paused for a moment, pondering her words. A smile suddenly brightened her face and she quickly left the room, leaving a very puzzled Tayhei behind at the table. Bulma moved to the storage room out in the hall, to the place where they kept all of the Capsule Corporation merchandise. The girl hadn't received any thanks for being her shoulder to cry on earlier, and she knew just the gift to give her. She was proud of her accomplishments for Capsule Corporation. What began as a hobby, helping her dad out in the lab, had become her job, her passion, her life. She couldn't imagine a place where there was no technology, nothing to invent. A world without progress and creation was definitely not a world that she wanted to live in. She opened the door of the storage room and scanned her eyes over the shelves. The merchandising was her idea, to make Capsule Corporation lunch boxes, Capsule Corporation tee shirts and hats and of course, the infamous jacket. Modeled by her own son and many of the other younger kids in the city, it was available in three colors, dark blue, denim, and a light turquoise color. Without a second thought, she selected the latter of the choices, and headed back to the kitchen.
Ever since the death of Vejiita, she had wondered what it would be like to have a daughter. It was a fantasy that she often entertained but knew that she would never get a chance to see it through. Vejiita was gone and could offer her no more children, especially not a daughter. It was just something that could never happen, no matter how much she wanted it. Having a daughter was just another one of her many dreams that would never be fulfilled. She could try to dress up Trunks, but she didn't think that would go off too well. He didn't seem like the type of boy that wanted to play dress up with his mother. And there was no one else around to be her little girl; she didn’t know any of the younger girls in the city. She didn’t have anyone. Until now.
She returned to the kitchen a moment later, clutching a small Capsule Corporation jacket in her hands. With a proud smile, she presented it to Tayhei. "There. Just like Trunks." She proclaimed.
Bulma watched as she stared down at the jacket, then for the second time that night, Tayhei smiled.
Trunks-kun has been training me very well. I am impressed with his skills as a teacher, and the patience that he has with me. He has a true talent in teaching and I often find myself wishing that he were able to use that talent in a more healthy way. Perhaps someday when this is all over with and the jinzouningen are long gone, he can use his patience and his skills to teach children. He has such a gentle heart and such a kind soul. I know that he would be able to teach them more than just martial arts and show them more than just how to use his strength. Unfortunately, patience is not a virtue of mine. I have been in this city a lot longer than I wanted to, and the tension is beginning to get to me. If I do not leave and continue my watch on the jinzouningen, I am afraid I will suddenly snap and start getting angry with people for no reason....
----Tayhei’s journal; Vol 2: Page 25
For almost two weeks, Trunks trained Tayhei as best as he could. Using Gohan as his example of what a sensei should be, he showed her how to become a true warrior, inside and out. Gohan had been so patient with him when he was learning to fight and he was determined to pass the kindness along. More importantly though, he wanted to show the girl that there was more to fighting than just muscles and power. It was about pride and heart and courage, how much you were willing to sacrifice and what you were willing to fight for. She soaked up all of his words and took them straight into her heart; he could see in her eyes that she was becoming more and more peaceful, as if her soul was beginning to get lighter as she learned and sparred. It was beneficial for him, too. It had been so long since he had fought with someone besides the jinzouningen and conversed with someone other than his mother. And Tayhei was someone that he could get used to being around. She could light up his day, just by appearing in his doorway, eager to train. In a world where everyone depended on him so entirely much, it was nice to know that someone out there just wanted to be his friend.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door and Engin stuck his head. The boy smirked at Trunks condescendingly and spoke in a smooth voice. “Is Tayhei up yet?”
Immediately, Trunks’s happy mood twisted into anger. Unfortunately, Tayhei wanted to be his friend too. He had chosen not to tell the girl about what kind of person Engin really was. It wasn’t up to him to make judgments for her and he had no right to tell her how to live her life. But the fact that she couldn’t see through Engin’s façade really bothered him. Especially since Engin seemed to be deliberately pursuing her. Ever since the day that he had met her, he had not left her alone. Actually, the whole thing was really beginning to piss Trunks off. Tayhei was far too innocent and far too sweet to get tangled up with a man like Engin. The boy was simply taking advantage of her kindness and her naivety, which made Trunks feel slamming his fist into a wall. Not only did Engin have a reputation for having a problem with commitment, but he was also an egotistical ass.
“How should I know?” Trunks muttered darkly in reply, his sky blue eyes narrowing into slits.
Uninvited, Engin stepped into the house, dusting off his jacket. He strolled over to the kitchen table and smoothly took the seat directly across from Trunks. A handful of bright red flowers was dropped onto the clean, white surface of the table --- obviously a gift for Tayhei. Trunks frowned. The fact that Engin thought he could buy the girl off with flowers pissed him off too. He highly doubted that Tayhei would actually be swayed by a bouquet of flowers. Besides, flowers didn’t last forever. And neither would Engin, if he kept pursing Tayhei.
Still glaring, Trunks looked up from his breakfast to see the object of their conversation enter the kitchen. Her green eyes sparkled happily when she saw him sitting at the table, then widened in surprise when she saw Engin. Tayhei’s long golden hair was still damp from her shower and it hung down past her waist, looking much darker than usual. Bulma had given her a Capsule Corporation jacket, much like his own, as a gift a few days ago and she had barely taken it off since. She wore it proudly, along with a tee shirt and a skirt that his mother had coerced her into trying on. That was another reason that Trunks enjoyed Tayhei being around here. His mother seemed to love having a girl around to brush her hair and fix her outfits. Even though she was not your typical girl, and didn't appear to enjoy it much, Tayhei was willing to be Bulma's dress up doll. He knew that his mother had often wished for a little girl, a little sister for him to play with and for her to dress in cute little outfits. His father had died before it was possible, and he had always wondered what it would have been like if the jinzouningen had never appeared. So many things in his world would be different. Including him.
Tayhei and Engin exchanged greetings, and she accepted the flowers, putting them in a glass vase near the sink. Trunks smiled a secret smile of victory. At least she hadn’t hauled the hideous red blooms back to her room --- she barely ever went into the kitchen, which meant that she would probably never even see the flowers again. Like he assumed, she stepped back to admire them for a moment, and then continued on with getting her breakfast. Receiving flowers wasn’t really that much of an event for her.
He watched her as she opened the refrigerator and began pulling out items. Two weeks was a long time for someone like her to be contained in a place like this. He could tell she was anticipating the day when she would leave and looking forward to it. He felt a bit hurt by this, though he knew that her reasons for leaving had nothing to do with him. She was looking forward to getting back on track with her ‘mission’ again. He, however, wasn't looking forward to it at all. It was only a recipe for danger, and he knew that if she attacked the jinzouningen by herself that she would never survive. The jinzouningen were vicious and did not leave survivors. They only chose to leave him alive because they liked to play with him. Trunks knew that if they fought Tayhei, they would only want to kill her; and they would do it within seconds too. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to block the image of the jinzouningen ripping the girl apart.
As sad as it was, he would rather see that happen then see her end up with Engin. Every time he envisioned his friend’s egotistical smile and dark, un-emotional eyes, he just wanted to kick him. He knew that Engin was deliberately trying to manipulate Tayhei and it just plain made him furious. Maybe I could give him to the jinzouningen….He thought mischievously, while darting a glance at the boy.
"Trunks?" Tayhei ventured, tearing him out of his thoughts.
He looked up, afraid that he might have been thinking out loud. "I’m sorry, what?"
“I asked if we were going outside to train today.” She repeated patiently.
"Hai. I was thought we could practice ki attacks again, since you haven’t had as much practice with them. I think we’ve been concentrating a little too much on the sword and hand to hand combat lately.” He replied.
Though he didn’t mention it, he also had other reasons as well. They had been cooped up inside for far too long now and he knew that Tayhei was beginning to get restless. Perhaps if he took her out and let her spend a little bit of time in the sun, she wouldn’t feel the need to escape so quickly. He understood how she was feeling. Sometimes he needed to be in the outside world as well, even if it was just to see the sky or feel the wind on his face. All of the simple things that he had taken for granted before felt like tiny treasures when he went out into the world now. They would practice ki attacks of course, but he would allow a little bit of time for fun and relaxation as well. He thought that Tayhei at least deserved that much.
Engin snorted and ran a hand through his blond hair. “I don’t see why you two have to run out and save the day. We are perfectly safe here, and as long as they stay out of the city, I’m happy.”
Tayhei looked at him in surprise. “You don’t miss the outside world?”
“I don’t miss anything, honey.” He winked at her and turned to Trunks with a smug look on his face. “And I don’t understand why you haven’t killed them yet. How long have you been trying now? Ten, fifteen years? Why don’t you just knock one of them good and hard in the head? It couldn’t possibly be that hard.”
Trunks fought the urge to knock him good and hard in the head. They had this discussion before and it almost resulted in a fight. If Engin really wanted to start something right here in the Capsule Corporation kitchen, he was crazy. Trunks chose to ignore the stab at his pride and answer the question reasonably.
He frowned slightly. "It isn't that easy. They can move very fast and withstand an incredible amount of power....They are incredibly strong. The hits that would kill a normal man do absolutely nothing to them. Their bodies can take an unbelievable amount of damage and they don’t require any kind of rest. They are machines --- the perfect killing machines. They were built to be indestructible. Believe me, if a good knock on the head was all it took to kill those monsters, they would have been dead long ago."
Engin snorted again, but he ignored him. They both knew better than to start a fight in Tayhei’s presence. It would ruin Engin’s gentlemanly image and Trunks did not want to scare her. It just wouldn’t be rational. Together, they both stared at the beautiful girl sitting at the table with them. A smile crept onto Trunks’s face as he watched Tayhei idly sweep the syrup from her pancakes onto the plate and swish it around creating drawings in the thick liquid. Smiling faintly, she drew a stick figure that he could only estimate was one of the jinzouningen, then she smirked proudly, covering it with a pancake and watching the excess syrup ooze out from beneath it.
"If all it took was determination, they would be dead several times over." She intoned quietly. She stared out of the window at the city, watching as several children rode by on bicycles, giggling as they raced one another down the street.
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