Through the snowy fields, amid mounds and mounds of blank, empty whiteness, Koronu and Gokuu walked side by side, wading through the snow with slow footsteps. They faced straight ahead, their heads held high, two great Super Saiya-jins, with enough power to destroy world upon world, and enough integrity and dignity not to. They were strong and in many ways alike, little similarities in their features suddenly becoming very apparent as they walked through the fields, their footsteps completely in tune. Behind them was a destroyed city, and a destroyed enemy, and what was left of a very corrupt and devious society. And they left it all behind with slow and assured footsteps, never looking back on the mess that was at their back, only facing towards the future, wanting only to find their family. It was discussed that Gokuu would go and look for ChiChi, for he could sense that something had happened. He didn’t mention it to Koronu because he wasn’t sure that she would understand, but he knew in his heart that Yamucha’s life was gone, and it was causing a great sadness, something that he wasn’t prepared for. The two of them had ended on very bad terms, and guilt was leaking into Gokuu’s mind, blocking out almost everything else. However, now was not the time for grief or guilt. All he cared about was the fact that ChiChi was out there alone now, and it worried him. He wanted her to be safe in his arms, and back in their home, no matter what it took.

Next to him, Koronu’s face was strained, and her eyebrows were drawn close together in confusion, in anger and bitterness, thinking of the battle that she had just went through. “I’d waited so long for that, and yet….I don’t think it brought me any peace at all. I wanted to have justice for what he did to your father, and our life together, wanted it so badly that it just consumed my mind. I had this insationable drive to end Sukuashi’s life, to take away all of the pain that I felt. And now that I got what I wanted, I should be happy, but all I’m left with is this great emptiness where all of that drive used to be.”

Gokuu knew the feeling well, it was something he felt after almost every battle, and every fight. He had been born and bred to fight, it was in his blood and alive in his soul, but he knew that it wasn’t what kept kept his heart beating. With fighting, all it gained you was a severe emptiness, and if you didn’t have love, family or friends to fill that gap, it would eventually drive you insane. There had to be something, some sort of positive anchor in your life. For him, it was ChiChi, and his family. Fighting was no longer just fighting, it was fighting to protect the people that he loved, and that made it all worthwhile.

“You can’t bring peace into your life by killing.” He explained his thoughts to her. “Killing Sukuashi would never have brought your old life back, or given you everything you had before. It’s just another death. He took away your life, you took away his, but nothing was gained back at all.”

“What am I going to do now, though?” She nodded her head back towards the city sharply. “I have nothing left.”

He thought for a moment. “You have Potuto. And you have me.”

She smiled softly. “Your mate extended an invitation to Earth for me, did you know that?”

He didn’t, but it sounded like something that ChiChi would do, always taking care of others around her and trying to keep everyone happy. If she hadn’t of suggested it, he would have anyway. Now that he had found his mother, someone that he had never even dreamed of finding, he wasn’t about to let her go. “I think that is great idea. You don’t want to stay here, anyway. You and Potuto can both come back and live with us. You’d have a family again.”

“Surely it won’t be the same as the family that I had before.” She paused, then smiled faintly. “But I believe I can learn to deal with the change.” She looked off into the distance and sighed. “Kakarroto, I know this might sound strange coming from me, seeing as though I am still a perfect stranger, but take care of your mate. Appreciate what you have while you still can, because you never know when it’s going to be taken away from you. And losing your other half….I couldn’t even explain it to you. It’s as though someone has taken your heart and literally ripped it in half. Saiya-jins might live and drink the world of fighting, but the one thing that holds them together is their relationships with each other; that’s stronger than even the most powerful of all Saiya-jins.”

He halted his footsteps and looked down. “Hai. I know that. I don’t plan on ever letting anything happen to ChiChi again. I need to go and find her.”

“I understand.” Koronu nodded. “I will find my own family, and we will leave this awful place together, for all time, never looking back.” She stared out at the snow. “We need to leave before it captures us, like it did me. The snow might be beautiful, but there is a lifetime of pain out in these fields, and that is something that I never want to have to experience again.”

When Kuririn and the others arrived at the ship, he was so grateful to see the familiar Capsule Corporation logo that he could have cried. It seemed like they had been flying through the snow for hours, trying to find the ship in the middle of the snowy field. The ship was empty and harmless, yet it looked so warm and inviting. He longed for a nice, warm cup of tea and a wooly blanket.

Juuhachi-gou, standing beside him, looked as though she could use a warm blanket as well. Though her face conveyed no emotion at all, her teeth would occasionally chatter, and her cheeks were scarlet with cold. Her arms were wrapped around Marron, who looked slightly warmer, bundled up in Juuhachi-gou’s scarf and and outer jacket. The two of them looked exhausted, and he wanted nothing more than to tuck them both into bed and take care of them right at that moment.

“I thought we’d never get back.” Juunana-gou said in a deep voice, making a beeline for the doors of the ship. Everyone else followed after him, looking tired and sad.

None of the Capsule Corporation executives were there, so it took a few minutes for them to pry the doors open. One by one, they filed inside, each giving a sigh as the warm air of the ship surrounded them. Videl immediately left the room, saying something about searching for blankets. Kuririn shut the doors tightly behind him, making sure that no cold air was seeping in from the outside.

Not quite sure where to go, they assembled in the sitting room, everyone looking out of the large plate glass window at the snowy scape before them. Outside it looked so furiously cold that they couldn’t help but shiver, but Kuririn was fascinated by the way the snow flew through the air, taking bits of colored wind along with it. It was beautiful to look at, but he definitely wouldn’t want to go out there again. Esepcially since it looked as though a storm was coming on. On the flight over, everyone had noticed the wind getting increasingly stronger. They were in for a very ferocious blizzard, and he hoped that they would be able to get off of the planet before it hit. Of course, they couldn’t really go anywhere without the other members of the group, most importantly, their pilot.

“What are we going to do?” Kuririn asked everyone, rubbing his hands together for warmth.

“Wait.” Piccolo answered from the shadows. He was leaning against the wall, his heavy cape wrapped around him like a blanket. Kuririn almost smiled. He looked like a big green bat.

Videl appeared in the doorway, carrying a large stack of gray wool blankets in her arms. She handed them out, and everyone, including Piccolo took one. Kuririn wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and shuddered at the new feeling of warmth. He snuggled up against Juuhachi-gou, and she placed a cool hand on his head, one of her only signs of affection.

“Hai.” Gohan said, nodding at Piccolo. “At least until we’re substantially warmer. After we warm up a little, then maybe we can discuss our options. Remember, Okaasan is out there, most likely completely by herself. Vejiita and Bulma are probably together, same with Trunks and Tayhei, but Okaasan doesn’t have anyone.”

“Otousan will find her.” Goten assured everyone with his eyes wide. He brought the blanket tighter around his body and shivered, his teeth chattering together. “I know he will.”

“What about Yamucha?” Kuririn asked timidly. “Are we going to find his body or anything?”

Everyone paused at the suggestion. They had all felt Yamucha’s ki extinguish of course, on their walk back, after what they assumed was a heavy fight with Pi. Although the first suggestion had been to turn back and find ChiChi, knowing that she was alone now, they didn’t feel a threat in that department. Pi’s ki appeared to be moving further and further away from them, into the deepness of the snowy fields.

Gohan shook his head, frowning. “I don’t think we would be able to find it. Those tunnels were pretty intricate. We would never be able to see it in all that darkness, with all of those twists and turns. It could be anywhere. I just hope Okaasan knows how to get out of there, or finds a new way out.”

“So we wait?” Videl clarified. Her lips were tinted blue from the cold. Kuririn shivered, and moved himself closer to Juuhachi-gou, loving the feeling of her body, cool as it may be, next to his own. Her perfect face was flushed with cold, and her eyes were glazed over and empty.

“Hai, we wait.”

ChiChi let out a small sob, clutching the collar of her dress as she stumbled through the tunnel. Her legs were unsteady and shaking on the ice floor, and her hands ran along the side, as if guiding her through. After the explosion and the cave in, the waves of ice falling chasing her through the tunnel, she was thouroughly exhuasted, and the crying wasn’t helping any. There were tiny crystals of light shining on her face, and the entire scene before her was breathtakingly beautiful, but she couldn’t make herself pay any attention to it. She ambled along at a very slow pace, trying to slow her tears and quiet her sniffling.

Yamucha….

She didn’t know if Pi was following her, or if she was in danger, but she didn’t care. She knew that Pi would not be behind her, the tunnel was completely blocked off there, which meant that there was absolutely no turning back now. She had to make it through this tunnel on her own, even though she could barely see through her teary eyes. It felt like she was dying inside, like part of her had been extinguished right when Yamucha had taken his last breath. She had seen it in hiding, watched until she couldn’t watch anywhere, as ice and snow came crushing down on top of them. She wished she could have done something, she wished she could have wrenched the sword out of Pi’s hands, killed her on the spot. But instead, she ran, just like Yamucha told her to.

She could see his eyes, the fullness of love that lay within their depths, as he grabbed her hand and told her to go. There had been no uncertainty there, no indecision. He had known what would happen and he hadn’t been scared at all. If death was what it meant to keep her safe, then he was gladly going to do it. It had always been like that with her and Yamucha. He had always done what was best for her, regardless of how he felt insdie. He had sacrified himself for her every day, she just hadn’t noticed it until he had made the ultimate sacrifice. He had told her to run, knowing he would die. Her chin trembled and more tears rolled down her cheeks. Her soul was wracked with guilt.

He loved me. She thought. He truly loved me.

She wished that she could have been able to return that love. There had been so many times during that seven year period of Gokuu’s absense when she ached to feel for Yamucha. He had been so good to her, so caring and kind that she would have given her right arm to find a love for him deep in her heart. She could see the hurt in his eyes, the pain in his soul. She knew that he must have been hurting, that he must have been feeling so lonely that he almost couldn’t take it. She had felt that herself, missing Gokuu. The time she spent with Yamucha had been pushed to the back of her mind, a memory that she never wanted to relive. It was too painful to dig it up, to see the hurt on his handsome face time again. She wished with every part of her that she could have made Yamucha happy, that he wouldn’t have had to die alone.

But there was only one man for her, and it would always be that way.

Gokuu would always be the one she dreamt about, and the one she ached to kiss. He was the only one that could make her heart feel lighter, skipping along between a thousand smiles and tears. Looking into Yamucha’s eyes, she had seen love, but looking into Gokuu’s eyes, she had felt love. Gokuu was love to her. Before him, she had no real concept of it, maybe a teenage ideal that made her swoon at a handsome face or giggle at a well rehearsed line. But now that she had grown up, and after being married to Gokuu for so many years, she finally knew what it was to love. Love was the patience that Gokuu showed her, time and time again, argument after agrument. And it was the kindness that he had in his heart, for her and every other person he had ever met. It was the way he touched her, so gently, as if she would break apart and shatter like glass. It was how her heart fluttered every time she saw his face, and how she could feel so safe and so content, lying in his arms.

I have to find him. She thought, wiping the tears away from her eyes. She took a deep breath, calming her sobs and her heart, and she walked with a new assurance, determined to find her husband. Somehow, someway, I have to get my life back.

Chapter 68
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