A group of soldiers ran by, boots and weapons clanking against the frozen cobblestone of the city center. Snow swirled around them, hiding them partly from any observers. As they passed by a two foot-wide crevice between two buildings of the complex, they didn’t even slow to look. They ran past in a hurry running from the smoke and destruction of the city, leaving only a trail of snow and a hint of voices behind them. Stuffed inside the crevice, facing each other, Tayhei and Trunks held their breath until they could no longer hear them anymore. They were pressed up against one another because of the small space, and Trunks swore he could feel nearly every part of her body against his own. He could feel her every heartbeat.

Tayhei sighed with relief, and looked up at Trunks. He was suddenly struck by how large and shining her green eyes were, and how her eyebrows drew together when she was nervous. Her long blond hair was pulled back as usual, but several pieces had fallen out of the tie and were framing her tiny, heart shaped face just perfectly. His breath caught in his throat, looking down at her like that.

Since she had appeared in his life, there had been several moments. Several moments when he suddenly realized that this was no ordinary girl. And although he would never ask, never could bring himself to even form the words, he knew that there was something in her eyes. Moments when she shed that bitchy attitude and showed who she really was inside. Theirs was no ordinary relationship. Complicated as it was, there was something absolutely amazing between them.

“Can we move now?” She whispered, looking wearily to the side.

She was nothing but warmth and love inside, he could tell. Buried beneath all of that expensive French perfume, glorious golden strands and soft, peachy skin, there was an incredible, irresistible heart. In those sharp green eyes, there was a certain sense of right and strength, hidden by bitterness and wrath. He just couldn’t figure out why she chose to hide it away so deep inside of her, why she built those walls around her true self. The real Tayhei, who could be vulnerable and scared, selfless and caring, was a thousand times more beautiful than any other girl he had ever seen in his life. He just wished she’d show it more often. A warm, calm feeling began to settle in his heart, and he could hear a rushing sound in his ears. He blinked several times, swallowing hard. He felt the next breath she took. He suddenly felt hot everywhere, and dizzier than he would have like to admit. “Not yet.”

“Why not?” She demanded quietly. “I can barely breathe in here like this.”

“Not yet.” He said breathlessly, looking into her eyes.

She looked as though she were about to protest, then gave up and peered into his eyes. “Trunks-kun, do you think we’re going to make it off of this---“

He interrupted her by dropping his head and suddenly pressing his lips against hers. Too shocked to return the kiss, she simply blinked her eyes, staring at him as though he had grown a second head. He smiled slowly at her, looking sleepy and dizzy all at the same time. He counted off the seconds, knowing full well what was about to happen, eager to see the false anger, the pretend shock. She blinked her large green eyes again, then suddenly exploded.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” She howled, shoving against him angrily. “You can’t just kiss me like that!”

He grinned inwardly. “Why not?”

She faltered slightly, growing indignant. “Are you on drugs?! You just can’t do that! It’s disgusting! What in Kami’s name made you think I actually wanted you to kiss me?! You really have no right to just kiss me like that! I’m not a whore.”

“Hard to tell….” He mumbled under his breath, hiding a smile in the shadows.

“Nani?!” She shrieked, pushing against him furiously. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

He had to admit, he loved the games that they played. What it really was, he wasn’t sure, but he knew that he had never felt this way about anyone before. He actually looked forward to having her explode on him, actually looked forward to seeing that indignant glare and those green eyes flash in anger. It would be interesting to see what actually developed later on….

“Not a thing.” He said, then peeled himself away from her and stepped out of the crevice. “We better get going. It looks like a storm is coming, and we don’t want to be caught out there in the middle of it, eh?”

“Why should I follow you?!” She demanded, stepping from the shadows and folding her arms across her chest.

He grinned. “Well, if you do, I just might give you another kiss.”

She snorted. “Is that supposed to be tempting?”

He looked ahead, squinting into the distance. The Saiya-jin soldiers were long gone, and no one appeared to be in the city at all. Beyond its boundaries, a large snowy field lay before them, snow swirling, blue winds flashing. The ship was that way, he knew. If they wanted to get back, they’d have to cross that large field, just like they had on the way in here. He checked his Capsule Corporation watch, allotting them a certain amount of time to get back to the ship, then angled his head to look at Tayhei.

“We need to leave now, Tayhei.” He informed her, suddenly serious. He grabbed her around the waist, intending to pick her up and fly her there, but she swatted his hands away angrily.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She snarled. “I thought we just went through this. Hands off, baka! I am not your little plaything. Maybe other girls will let you get away with those kinds of displays, but I am not one of them. Maybe when you get back home, you can fondle one of your many admirers, but until then, don’t touch me!”

“We have to fly back to the ship!” Trunks exclaimed. “I was trying to help, baka!”

“I don’t need your help!” She retorted, then stomped off in the direction of the snow fields. “I can find my own way back, probably quicker than you. If we hadn’t relied on your sense of direction, we wouldn’t be lost from the others in the first place!”

She continued walking away, and Trunks sighed. As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn’t just leave her out there. With a dejected groan, he ran after her, his footsteps echoing through the empty city.

“Okay, are we going to send someone out to look for them? Is that safe?” Gohan asked the group, scanning his eyes over their faces. “Vejiita, Bulma, Trunks and Tayhei were last seen in the city; Okaasan is somewhere in the tunnel. And Otousan has been lost since the very beginning….Should one of us go and search for them?”

Videl bit her lip, and wrapped the wool blanket tighter around her. She knew that if no one else volunteered, Gohan would be the out the door within seconds. “I don’t think that’s very safe. Sending someone out entirely alone would only cause trouble. We should just wait a little while longer.”

“Feel their ki.” Juuhachi-gou suggested, shrugging her slim shoulders. “If you really want to know where they are. If we continued to do that, we should have a good idea on how much closer they are getting to the ship, and how much time we have until they get here.”

“We should have never separated.” Marron said, tugging at one of her pigtails. There was a dejected, sad look on her face, and Videl couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. The girl had already seen way too much bloodshed for someone her age, and Videl was sure that she would probably have nightmares when they returned. She reminded her a little of Pan, actually. So willing to prove herself, but not actually ready to become her own person yet.

“We didn’t really have a choice.” Gohan replied. “It was kind of chaotic back there. I wish there were something we could have done, of course, but there really wasn’t. Potuto did enough for us all. He probably saved every one of our lives. Yamucha too, in some way. After Pi killed him, she took off in an entirely different direction.”

A sadness fell over the room, and everyone, especially Goten, looked disturbed. “I don’t understand why Pi had to kill either one of them.”

Gohan put an arm around his shoulders. “Sometimes people don’t have a reason for killing, Goten. There are some people out there who just have evil hearts. There is nothing we can do to change that. Pi probably had no reason for killing Yamucha, or even Potuto. And I bet she’d kill anyone else, too. The same goes for Sukuashi. He’s a very ruthless, very hurtful being.”

“Not anymore.”

The new voice startled everyone, and they all turned to see a female Saiya-jin standing in the doorway. Videl was frightened at first, then her heart calmed, seeming to realize that this new Saiya-jin was not a threat. She was leaning against the frame, snow in her dark hair, a scouter perched on her ear. Her hair was longer than Pi’s, and her face was far more beautiful. She stepped into the room, and looked directly at Gohan.

“Gohan, I assume?” She asked him, taking off her scouter and placing it in a pouch at her side. “Kakarroto sent me to give you news about what’s happening and where he is.”

“What happened with Otousan?” Goten asked eagerly. “What’s going on?”

“When the rest of you were captured, I took Kakarroto into hiding. I knew that if Sukuashi found him, he would surely be killed instantly. Though I’d want to save the rest of you as well, I could only afford to take Kakarroto with me.” She paused momentarily. “Did Potuto mention me to any of you? I’m Koronu.”

“Obaasan!” Goten exclaimed, stepping up to look at her face. Videl looked at him strangely, wondering what was going on. Everyone else was looking at him just as strangely. He peered into Koronu’s unblinking dark eyes and a grinned excitedly. “Gohan, this is our grandmother!” He explained. “Potuto-san told me that she was. That’s why Sukuashi kidnapped Okaasan! This is Sukuashi’s wife.”

“My son and I took care of ChiChi.” Koronu explained further. “We were working on a plan to assassinate Sukuashi when all of you showed up on the planet. Through talking to her, I realized that Kakarroto, or Gokuu, as you refer to him, was my second son. Anyway, that is of no important matter---”

“No important matter?!” Gohan exclaimed. “You’re my grandmother! This is amazing! You’ll have to tell us all about the family history later. This is great!”

Videl summed up Pan’s great-grandmother. Though she must have been older than Videl could possibly imagine, Koronu looked no older than forty. There were no wrinkles on her pale skin, and her eyes were bright and sharp. Her muscles stood out in high relief through her armor, and she moved fluidly. Snow, however, was all over her, and melting into freezing water on her skin.

“You must be cold.” Videl suddenly said, surprising herself. She unwrapped the blanket from around her shoulders and handed it to Koronu, who looked at it with an odd expression on her face. She accepted it awkwardly and held it in her hands, looking as though she didn’t quite know what to do with it. Finally, she dropped it to the ground and stood on it, letting the cold water puddle on the blanket instead of the floor.

“I killed Sukuashi, so he no longer poses a threat to you. After the battle, Kakarroto has left to search for his mate.” She informed them. “He will return here as soon as he finds her, and then we will leave..”

“We?” Gohan wondered out loud.

“Hai. Kakarroto and ChiChi have both extended an invitation for me to join you on Earth, and I accepted. There is nothing left for me on this planet.” She paused for a moment. “Which reminds me, I would like to know what happened to Potuto at the tunnel. He was my son as well, and I would like to know why was he killed.”

Everyone faltered, not quite knowing what to say. Finally, Piccolo spoke up from the shadows, his deep voice surprising nearly everyone. “Pi killed him.”

Koronu nodded. “I thought so. Mark my words, she is not finished with her killing. There is no end to the evil in that girl’s heart. Her biggest threat as been erased, but the thirst for blood is still there. I wouldn’t let your guard down until you knew that everyone was safe and sound. ”

“We have several people missing.” Kuririn ventured. “Are they in danger?”

“It depends on who is missing. If they have pose no ultimate threat to Pi, then no. But she is unpredictable and angry at the moment. She mainly goes after her own personal enemies, to hurt and destroy. However, the only one of you that she might possibly hold against would be the Saiya-jin no Ouji, who I’m sure is perfectly capable of taking care of himself.” She looked around the room. “Is Vejiita-san here?”

“Iie. He and Bulma disappeared together earlier.” Gohan said thoughtfully.

Koronu pursed her lips in thought, and didn’t say anything, but the action spoke volumes. Everyone in the room was suddenly uneasy. Videl looked out through the snow-covered window, at the vast whiteness before her, and desperately hoped that everyone else would make it back to the ship alive.

Chapter 70
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