“What the HELL are you doing here?!” Trunks screeched, staring at Tayhei in shock. “How did you get on this ship?! HOW?!”
He thought it was a nightmare at first. The last thing he had expected Piccolo to show him down in the cargo hold would be Tayhei, sitting on one of the food crates as casually as if she were sitting in a living room chair. He would have been more prepared for a two-headed monster, or an army of Saiya-jins, or even his father dressed in drag. But not her. Not her.
She stared at him with bored green eyes, and turned away with a sigh. “Why does it matter? It isn’t any of your business. Why should I discuss my travel plans with you?”
His mouth dropped open. “Travel plans?! This isn’t an airline, Tayhei! You can’t just come on a mission like this….uninvited and expect to have everything be fine!”
He absolutely loathed her. He hated her for being so calm in the face of an argument, and for being so stubborn and mischievous. He hated her for the way that she could slither out of any sign of trouble without so much as a scratch, while he was stuck paying for everything. He hated her for the fact that no matter how cunning and deceptive he was, she was always one step ahead of him. Most of all though, he thought while staring at her, I hate her for looking so amazingly gorgeous right now. Did that dress have to fit her so well? I mean, really. It’s kind of hard to yell at someone when they look like a supermodel.
“I was not uninvited.” Tayhei insisted, rolling her eyes. “There was a miscommunication. A simple problem that I have to clear up with Vejiita, and everything will be fine. And quit yelling irrationally Trunks, I already have a headache. I don’t need you to increase it to a full-blown migraine. Calm down before your head explodes.”
She paused, then grinned. “Not that I wouldn’t mind your head exploding.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t.” He said darkly, crossing his arms. “In fact, I’d wager that you became a stowaway on this ship just so that Otousan would get mad at me. You probably didn’t have enough excitement in your own boring, mindless life, so you had to try and ruin mine. Is that it?”
Tayhei snorted. “I don’t give a damn about you, or your life. I just wanted to have some fun.”
“That isn’t an excuse!” Trunks exploded. “You have absolutely no right to be here! You probably just put everyone’s life in danger! Do you have any idea how selfish you are?!”
She winced and put her hands over her ears. “Do you have any idea how loud you are? There is no need to scream like a banshee. I am right here.”
He was about to smack her. He really was. He didn’t care if she was a girl, he didn’t care if it would probably alienate him from his mother and his little sister for damaging their “precious Tayhei”. His hand was aching from the desire to hit her in the face, to wipe off that indignant smirk and make those conceited eyes fill up with tears.
“You know,” He began, his hand twitching at his side. “You are the most insensitive, terrible human being I have ever known. No wonder your parents hate you.”
Just for second, he swore he saw hurt flash in her beautiful eyes. It was only for a second though, and it was quickly replaced by a look that was so devilishly hateful that he blinked in fear. Her calm demeanor gone, she spoke through clenched teeth, pointing a delicate finger in Trunks’s face.
“Baka!” She snarled. “You have no right to say things like that to me!”
“Guys?” A voice ventured, interrupting her. Goten, Piccolo, and Marron were standing off to the side. Goten and Marron were staring at them in disbelief, and Piccolo was merely staring at them with his usual scowl.
“You guys, maybe we should head back up now, eh?” Goten said. “It’s kind of creepy down here. You can talk things out when we get back into the main part of the ship. Maybe Tayhei can make us some food or something and explain why she’s here.”
Tayhei smiled up at him, her anger instantly gone --- or at least hidden for the moment. Trunks was amazed at how fast she could do that. One moment, she was the witch that Trunks had been yelling at, and the next, she was an angel. He shook his head as he watched her stand up from the crate she had been sitting on and dust her strappy white dress off.
“That’s a great idea, Goten.” She said. “I’d feel much better talking about it upstairs where it’s quieter. And I have been hungry for hours.” She smiled sweetly at Marron. “Marron and I ate up all of the food we had early on. I had no idea that she was such a sweet girl either. The two of us became friends real fast didn’t we, Marron?”
Marron blinked. “What?”
Marron and Tayhei friends? That’s just….wrong. Trunks thought. They are complete opposites. Somehow I doubt she’s telling the truth.
Trunks felt bad for Marron. Not only did she have to spend hours locked up in some room with Tayhei (he shuddered at the thought), but now she was about to get into trouble as well. She appeared as though she wanted to shrink back and disappear into the big, fluffy sweatshirt she had on. Trunks was absolutely shocked that she had snuck onto the ship. He had always assumed that she was the kind of girl that followed the rules. She had never once gotten in trouble in all the years that he knew her, and he knew for a fact that she loved her parents deeply. The fact that she had snuck on the ship was amazing. He thought that she might look different after rebelling like this, but she still looked like the same old Marron, if not a little bit more frightened than usual. She was a pretty girl, of course, he and Goten had always thought so. After all, being Juuhachi-gou’s daughter, she would have to inherit some of the beauty. Marron was like a dulled Juuhachi-gou though. Her wide eyes were more quizzical and soft than dangerous and sexy, and her pigtailed blond hair was more cute than sleek and refined like her mothers. Now, wearing that huge sweatshirt, her face tinged pink with embarrassment, she looked a lot younger than her age.
She timidly raised her hand as if asking for permission to speak, and then spoke in a soft voice, tugging on one of her pigtails.
“What is going to happen? Are you going to have to bring us back?” She asked.
Piccolo stared at her. “At this point in time, it would be impossible. I highly doubt that Bulma or anyone else would find it reasonable to return to Earth. Do you have any idea how far we have come already? We would be putting ChiChi’s life in jeopardy.”
“Then we have to stay!” Tayhei cried in delight. “Wonderful! I managed to hide a suitcase in one of these crates.…” She trailed off and looked around the cargo hold. “I bought a ton of designer winter clothing for this! Sukuashi is supposed to be cold, right? I brought along other things too just in case it isn't as cold as predicted, but I thought that maybe---”
“We don’t have time for that.” Piccolo interrupted her, and he began walking up the stairs. “We need to make everyone aware of the problem as soon as possible.
Make everyone aware….Trunks thought. An image of Vejiita’s angry face flashed in his mind. As soon as Vejiita found out that Tayhei was on board, he was going to kill her. He heart started beating faster and he became short of breath. He put a shaking hand on his chest, and felt his heart pounding against his ribs. What am I going to do? He wouldn’t really kill his son, would he?
Piccolo continued talking, his gruff voice growing quieter as he disappeared up the stairs, further away from them. “Trunks, you can go notify your mother about this immediately, and as soon as she knows, she can organize a meeting of some sort about it. Goten, why don’t you help Tayhei find her clothes and then take them up to the kitchen. We’ll all meet there.”
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