The summer air was warm and pleasant; the breeze was a comfort against his skin, and he had long since removed his jacket and placed it on the blue and white checkered blanket beside him. They were near the Son House, next to the cool, clear stream that Goten and his father often fished in. He smiled, remembering Bra’s excitement when he told her that they were going to go out and have a picnic lunch with Goten and Tayhei. For being the richest little girl in the world, it sure was a surprise that she could get so thrilled over the littlest things. She had ran ahead of them all in excitement, her curly turquoise ponytail swinging behind her as she lugged the humongous picnic basket at her side. And when she dug through the picnic basket discovered the chocolate cake that Tayhei had made yesterday? He didn’t think he’d ever seen a smile on her face that large before. It made him happy for the moment to know that she was at least content. He had been going through a lot of extra effort lately to cheer her up and keep her happy. Mostly he did these things because she was his sister and he loved her, but there was a very small part of him knew that he was merely distracting himself from the real problem.

The real problem, as he well knew, was that he didn’t want to be alone either. He certainly didn’t like the idea of living without a mother and father any more than his sister did. The only reason he was able to put on a brave face and soldier it was because he knew that he had to take care of her. They had no one else but each other now, and if he didn’t take care of her, then no one else would. If he wasn’t there to protect her and help her, then she would certainly be lost. It was kind of a bleak way of looking at the situation, but these were dark times and they called for dark observations.

For the moment though, his heart could be at peace. They had since finished their picnic, and the four of them were spread out on the huge blanket, relaxing. He laid reclined back on his elbows and his long legs were stretched out before him, crossed at the ankles. His sky blue eyes closed softly, and he allowed his mind to drift off into nowhere, enjoying the way that the warm summer air moved across his face. He lived for warm, lazy summer days like these when there was no work, no responsibilities, and no stress. Far too often he got caught up in the pressures of his life, especially lately, with the added responsibility of caring for Bra. Not that he resented her for it, of course. It was not her fault at all. Besides, he had to admit that it was nice being able to spend time with her. The love of his little sister was something that he once might have rejected, but he was beginning to rather enjoy it now. For once she was spending more time with him, and less time within the evil clutches of Tayhei.

He would never be able to understand why his little sister was so fond of that girl. He knew that Bra was smart --- she was already showing signs that she would one day join the ranks of the great geniuses of the family. She was smart and she was perceptive, so he didn’t understand why she couldn’t see through Tayhei’s façade. Maybe it was because she was young and innocent, and because she wanted to believe in the good in people. Or maybe it was simply because Tayhei was a girl; an older, beautiful girl who showed a little bit of interest in her. Nothing seemed to make his sister happier than winning Tayhei’s approval. Actually, anything that Tayhei did was practically worthy of worship in Bra’s eyes.

As reading his mind, Bra suddenly spoke up, her little voice rising from the far corner of the checkered blanket where she sat next to Tayhei. “It was a wonderful picnic. Thank you for the cake, Tayhei.”

“Yes, thank you!” Goten heartily agreed. He was sitting next to Trunks with his arms stretched back, palms facing the ground. “It was delicious! My only complaint is that there wasn’t more of it. You are an amazing cook, really. I really believe that your cooking skills just might rival Okaasan’s, but don’t tell her that I said that.”

As silly as it was, Trunks suddenly felt very unappreciated. “Hey! I helped too! Tayhei barely did anything.”

Tayhei, seated gracefully next to Goten, looked over at him. He couldn’t read what he saw there in her eyes; he was never really able to, but he thought he saw just an ounce of hurt in their emerald depths. He knew that he had probably insulted her; after all, she had indeed made the cake. But he was not about to lose the spotlight. The cake had been his idea in the first place. It did make him feel slightly guilty however, to take the credit away from her. After the incident in the kitchen yesterday, he was beginning to feel more affable towards her. She had actually shown him a lot of kindness, and probably more about herself than she cared to give away.

That was just the way that Tayhei worked, though. She could be so horrible sometimes, so mean and manipulative that he swore she was an evil entity. And then, out of nowhere, with no reason or warning, she would do some incredibly kind thing. It was terribly confusing, especially to someone of the male sex who hadn’t even begun to try and understand women yet. The girl was truly an enigma to him. It seemed as though every word she spoke, and every action she went through was carefully crafted to confuse and defeat him. It was all like one big show, from the chocolate cake to the remarks she made, even the way that she pranced around Capsule Corporation wearing outfits that he swore were designed solely for purpose of making him blush. She was completely perplexing. For instance, the way that she looked to him now: she was gorgeous, wearing a dress that was daringly short, and perhaps even more revealing; a dress that one might assume was something of an invitation, a dress that said she was interested. And yet, the scowl that was on her beautiful face was nowhere near inviting or interested….in fact, it was downright frightening.

She reached up a hand to straighten the wide-brimmed hat on her head, and peered down at him with sharp green eyes. “Please, Trunks. All you did was stand in the middle of the kitchen and snivel like a girl.”

And to further prove his point, she had to turn around and say something like that. Making a remark like that to him in private was one thing, but to say it in front of his best friend and his little sister like that was quite another. He hated how she always seemed to take advantage of situations, using them against him in the worst possible ways. Even worse, he had been thinking somewhat kindly thoughts about her up until then, which made him feel like a complete fool. He glared at her. “I was not sniveling!”

She crossed her arms and smirked. “Fine, but even you have to admit that you looked like a girl.”

Next to her on the blanket, Bra giggled wildly. Even Goten began to smile, and Trunks glared at his traitorous companion in anger. Goten had a real interesting way of showing his friendship sometimes. Ever since she had first appeared here, Tayhei had made it her mission to trap Goten and place him under her power. It was true, more often than not, that Trunks found his friend completely under the spell of the green eyed beauty before them. He had to admit it was hard not to be tempted by legs like hers, but men were supposed to stick together in situations like these.

“That was the only apron I could find!” He defended himself. “What was I supposed to do? I was not about to get flour and chocolate cake batter all over my clothes. Those were designer jeans.”

Tayhei smiled. “Which further proves my point….”

“What is that supposed to mean?!” He demanded. By now he was sitting up completely straight, his hands curled into fists at his sides. He was pretty pissed that she had disrupted his peaceful, relaxing reverie. Up until she started talking, he had forgotten completely about all of the horrible stress that had been placed upon him. Now it was all creeping back up on him like a nightmare, and giving him a migraine as well.

“What do you think it means?” She asked him calmly, narrowing her bright green eyes and giving him that trademark smirk.

Next to her, Bra continued to giggle. She raised her little hand up and pointed a finger at him, still laughing. “I think it means you act like a girl!”

Trunks managed to silence her with one threatening stare. “I think you should stay out of the conversation! This argument doesn’t involve you, Bra!”

Until that point, he wasn’t sure if Tayhei had actually been mad or if she had just been playing around with him --- but as soon as he admonished Bra, he could actually see the anger starting to fill her veins. He knew that he had hit a sensitive point, and although that was exactly what he had been aiming for, he felt a little guilty. He hadn’t meant to use Bra, and as his little sister’s face crumpled up in tears, he looked away from her, inwardly ashamed. As for Tayhei, she faced him with a glare that could melt the snow right off of a mountain. If there was one thing he knew about the girl, it was that she was fiercely protective of his little sister. He could never really be sure why; she had never shown that much interest in anyone else, but he assumed it had something to do with the fact that they both liked to peck away at him.

“You don’t have to yell at her, Trunks. She was just teasing you.” Tayhei said in a tight, unrecognizable voice.

He may have struck a sensitive point with her before, but she did the same with him just now. Telling how to cook and how to dress was bad enough, but he was not about to let her tell him how he should treat his little sister. She just plain did not have a right to venture into that subject at all. Not only because he was rude, but because she didn’t even know what the hell she was talking about. She didn’t have a sister of her own, so how would she know what to do? It made him furious to see her staring at him disapprovingly like that. “Oh, so now you’re telling me how to raise my sister?”

“No, I’m not telling you how to raise her.” She replied, her eyes flashing. “I’m saying you shouldn’t yell at her like that. You aren’t mad at her, you’re mad me. There is no need to take your anger out on Bra. She’s done nothing wrong.”

Trunks immediately stood up from the picnic blanket and placed his hands on his hips, scooping up his jacket along the way. “Do you have any other words of wisdom for me? Can you find anything else that I’m doing wrong? All you ever do is criticize me! In fact, I am sick and tired of hearing you criticize everything that I do. Nothing is ever good enough for you. Do you honestly think you’re so perfect that you have a right to belittle everyone else? Well, I have news for you: you’re not perfect. In fact, I would have to say that you are the most conceited, evil, manipulative person that I know. And I will not have you telling me what to do or how to treat my little sister.”

“In fact,” He continued, “you probably shouldn’t be around Bra at all --- you’re a horrible, horrible influence on her. You should just be glad that she is so fond of you, otherwise I would kick you out of this house faster than you could blink.”

He knew that those words would hurt her --- they were the kind of words that would wound anyone. He knew that he had made her mad as well, because girls like Tayhei did not appreciate being yelled at in such a manner. He knew that he had affected her, could practically feel the anger and hurt that was bubbling in her heart. He expected her to blow up at him, to hurl insults at him like rocks and possibly try to harm in physically. He expected her to shout and fight with all the power of a raging Saiya-jin. Instead though, she merely stared at him. She stared at him for a very long time, with her green eyes focused and unblinking. She stared at him for so long that it made him uncomfortable, and he shifted from one foot to the other.

“Well?” He asked, expecting an argument in reply.

She smiled suddenly, her whole face lighting up. “You’re so cute when you get angry.” She pointed at him. “You have a little vein on your forehead that pops out when your temper rises, just like Vejiita.”

Both Bra and Goten burst out laughing.

Enraged, Trunks narrowed his eyes at her and pointed in the direction of the Son House. “Tayhei, I’m going to give you ten seconds to get the hell out of my sight. If you’re still here after ten seconds, I swear I’m going to kill you.”

She held up her hands in surrender. “Fine, fine. Don’t get your panties in a twist. I was only pointing out the fact that you look rather attractive when you’re angry. I don’t see what’s so wrong about that. And considering all of the nasty things you’ve just said about me, you should be glad that I chose to graciously forgive you.”

“You didn’t graciously forgive me. You can’t sit there and try to tell me that you aren’t plotting some sick, evil revenge. I know how you are.” He accused her.

“Please, Trunks. Revenge is so immature.”

He snarled at her wordlessly. The sad and pathetic thing was that she was right. Revenge was immature. And more than that --- he shouldn’t have yelled at Bra. He knew that what he did was wrong. It would have been easier for him to simply apologize to the little girl and go on with his life, but no. Tayhei had to point out his mistake in front of everyone and let it be known that he was an insensitive older brother who had nothing better to do with this time than yell at his sister.

“Quit trying to make me look like an asshole!” Trunks demanded of her.

“I wasn’t trying to make you look like anything. It’s not my fault that you’re an asshole, Trunks.” She countered, and she calmly took the wide-brimmed, white hat off of her head and placed it at her side, smoothing her golden hair down. “Maybe if you worked on your interpersonal skills a little bit, I wouldn’t have to point out your discrepancies.”

“Guys, let’s not fight.” Goten said softly, as the voice of reason. “This was supposed to be a nice day for all of us, especially Bra. I’m sure she doesn’t want to see her two favorite people fighting.”

Suddenly mindful of the way that he was acting around his little sister, he looked down and found her looking tearful and scared. He didn’t even have to ask her what she was thinking, because he already knew. Her two favorite people….her two only people, were fighting with each other. And she assumed that it was her fault. He followed her unspoken reasoning easily, and knew that she was afraid that they were both going to leave her. He didn’t want her to feel that way. He didn’t want her to ever have to be afraid that she was going to lose him. She was too young to have those kinds of worries; too young to have any kinds of worries, but life was sometimes full of surprises, and lately, it had not been kind to Bra. She had already been through too much for a young little girl to handle, and he didn’t want to add any other kind of stress to her already burdened little shoulders. Whatever anger he was feeling towards Tayhei right now would just have to wait until a later point in time. His pride was important to him, but his sister was more important.

“You’re right, Goten. This really isn’t the right place or time to fight.” He agreed, and he smiled down at Bra. “I’m sorry, Bra-chan. I didn’t mean to upset you at all. I was just angry, okay?”