ChiChi spotted them as soon as they came through the trees and smiled fondly. The sun was setting now and it was just the perfect time of day when the warm light from the sun seemed to wash everything in red. They strode out of the tall pines with brisk steps, smiles on both of their faces, their eyes shining in the dim red glow of the sunset. She titled her head to the side, looking at them. They were both so handsome. Goten had grown up to be exactly like Gokuu, just as she had known that he would when he was still just a baby. He didn’t have the wild hair of course, and his head wasn’t nearly so empty, but their hearts were both as pure as gold. They had the same spirit, the same soul, and she was very proud of both of them. Matching grins were on their faces as they approached the Son house, and ChiChi knew that they could already smell the dinner that she had cooked for them. Humming softly, she looked back at the table she had just set, steaming with mounds of food --- all of Gokuu’s favorites, and then lit the two candles that were in the center. She stood back to look at it for a moment, then headed out to meet them. She wiped her hands on her cooking apron while walking to the open front door, instantly catching the scent of flowers from the blooming garden and the fresh smell of pine. Summer was just beginning and it was the perfect temperature outside, with spring time breezes mixing with summer heat. In the distance over the mountains, the sun was sinking slowly, turning the sky into a rich palate of gold and red. She took it all in with one deep breath, letting out a sigh as she watched her husband and her son walk towards their home.

She had taken extra time to make herself look pretty tonight and it was noticeable. She had left her long black hair loose and shining, and there were traces of light makeup on her face, just enough to highlight her beauty. Instead of the usual purple dress that she wore, she had on a dress the color of ripe peaches with delicate stitching. An elaborate dragon swam it’s way up from the hem of the dress to mid thigh, stitched with golds and reds. She looked beautiful. With her more youthful features and body, she would even be comparable to the sunset that evening.

“Ah! ChiChi! You already made dinner!” Gokuu exclaimed and he grinned playfully at her. “Good thing, because we were both about to starve from hunger! It smells great!”

“Better than great! Wonderful! I’m so hungry I could eat my own arm!” Goten said, pushing past them both into the house.

Gokuu paused for a moment longer, looking at ChiChi with a soft look on his handsome face. He looked down and took her hand, making her heart flutter. He took in everything, the dress, her hair and then lastly looked at her face and into her dark eyes.

“You look pretty, ChiChi.” He said decisively with a nod. “Very pretty.”

“Arigatou.” She said quietly and beamed at him. Her heart swelled with love. Ever since their return to Earth from Sukuashi, Gokuu had been a different man. His was as absent-minded and cheerful as ever, but he never seemed to forget about her anymore. He seemed to love her more now than ever, and she knew it wasn’t because she looked as though she were twenty years old again. It was because of her heart, and because he loved who she was inside. It was as if they were just married again, discovering all sorts of new and exciting things about each other. And she loved that he was spending more time with Goten now, telling him all of the wild and crazy stories from when they were kids. He was an amazing father and she knew that he always would be. He would do more than just give up his life for his children; he would do absolutely anything, give up absolutely anything. That’s what made him so special: he never lived his life for himself. He was the most unselfish person that she had ever known.

Still holding his hand, she led him inside and smiled as he exclaimed over the elaborate table setting and the enormous amount of food. Goten was already sitting in his seat, all but drooling as he held out his utensils like weapons. His bright eyes looked over at the empty chair where Koronu, Gokuu’s mother usually sat for dinner.

“Do we have to wait for Koronu-san before we eat?” He asked almost painfully, eyeing all of the food before him.

ChiChi laughed. “Iie, Goten. Koronu left with Piccolo this morning and judging by the ferocity the sparring sessions usually have, she probably won’t be back for quite some time.”

Koronu had joined the family easily, adapting to life on earth with ease. Already ChiChi had noticed a change in her, especially in the past month. Although she never said anything to ChiChi about the changes and never gave any indication that she knew she had changed at all, ChiChi could still see it. From the very first day in fact, it was as though a huge weight had been lifted from the older woman’s shoulders. When she stepped off of the ship, looked around at forests and mountains, and saw the sun shining bright and strong in the blue sky, ChiChi could almost see the darkness fleeing from her. The shadows would always be there of course, but they would no longer have the same effect on her. There was no more Sukuashi to haunt her, and no more cold winds to bear. She was finally free, and even though her pride would never let her show it, ChiChi could see the happiness there.

Now she no longer had that dark, guarded look in her eyes, or insisted on wearing the heavy Saiya-jin armor that she had come with. Instead she dressed every day in a gi the same style as Gokuu’s and although she looked uncomfortable in it at first, it now seemed like a second skin to her. In the beginning, ChiChi had tried heavily to convince the woman to wear a dress, but the prospects of that were highly unlikely. According to Koronu, a dress just wasn’t a practical article of clothing. She woke up every morning, dressed in her gi, then set out to explore the world. It may sound strange, but she was completely new to the planet and was curious to see the sights of the world. For someone that had been around only mountains and fields of snow for most of her life, it was pretty understandable. According to her, even the great planet of Vejiita that she had lived on previously was a cruel and very plain place. She was fascinated by the forests and the jungles, and the ocean by far had managed to captivate her more than anything else. Her first visit to the Kame house had been almost magical, and ChiChi would never forget the way she bent down to touch the waves with her hand as they washed up onto the beach. She went on small excursions into the world nearly every day now. If she planned to be gone for more than a day, she was always considerate to warn the Son family, so they would not worry about her. Long ago ChiChi may have longed to accompany her on these small journeys, but after all that she had been through now, she couldn’t imagine it. All she wanted to do was be at home, safe with her family. She had enough excitement to last a lifetime.

On the days that Koronu stayed close to home, she usually sought out a sparring partner. Gokuu was always willing of course, but on the days when he was not available, Koronu often sparred with Piccolo. A strange friendship had grown there that none of them had expected. It actually seemed as though they enjoyed each other’s company, and even when Koronu came back with bruises and scratches all over the place, she was happy.

And ChiChi was glad, because Koronu had not experienced much happiness in her life. It was about time she felt as though she belonged, and knew that she was loved. She knew that the Saiya-jin woman had been through much more than she cared to imagine, but she never once let it show that her world had been destroyed. She admired that about Koronu; she never gave up, always fought for what she believed in. For a long time, ChiChi had wondered where Gokuu’s amazing inner strength had come from. And now she knew without a doubt that it had come from Koronu.

She thought about Gokuu, about their life together over the years, about his heart and his smile, and then thought about their sons as well. Both Gohan and Goten were special, very special. Not just because they happened to be among the strongest fighters in the world, but because their hearts were pure and true. It had carried right along down the line, this strength and heart that Koronu had. And she hoped that it would keep continuing.

She looked down for a moment, touched her stomach gently, resting a hand on the peachy silk fabric of her dress and smiled.

Marron looked up at her uncle with a smile, her chin resting lightly on her hands. Her soft blond hair was longer than she had ever kept it, and her mother had curled it into ringlets today on impulse. It was tied into two sections as usual, adorned with light blue ribbons that matched her sweater. Her feet were clad with navy blue maryjanes, which she was swinging back and forth under beneath the table as she grinned up at Juunana-gou expectantly. He was looking down at the table with pure concentration, his hand in the air not quite touching his forehead. A single bead of sweat was trailing down his forehead, and his other hand was wavering over the game board with uncertainty. Finally, he reached down and moved his ivory chess piece, then sat back with a satisfied smile on his handsome face. He folded his hands behind his head and looked back at her, smirking.

Marron met his smirk then moved her own piece. “Check.”

Startled, he sat up and looked at the board. “Shit.” He regarded her with suspicion, then looked at Juuhachi-gou, who sat perched on the counter behind him. “I thought you said she didn’t know how to play this game.”

“I lied.” She said, then lifted a delicate eyebrow in an effort to look devious. Marron and Juunana-gou laughed and Juuhachi-gou jumped down from the counter to get a closer look at the chess board. As she bent over, her hair fell out from behind her ear and created a shimmering curtain of blond. She was growing her hair out again, and it already fell just past her chin, nearly brushing her slim shoulders. Even though she was only wearing a casual long sleeved tee shirt and jeans, Marron thought that she looked extraordinary. For perhaps the millionth time in her life, she wished that she was just like her mother.

Juunana-gou let out another loud laugh, then sat up from his chair. “I guess I must have underestimated the two of you. I thought you’d at least take pity on me and be honest, but I guess that’s just too much to expect.” He opened the refrigerator and took out a beer, which he quickly opened and took a drink of. “I think I need a little break before I continue this. You’ve stumped me.”

Marron agreed and leaned back in her chair, surveying her uncle’s home. It was a small, one room cabin, which hardly had any furniture, but was almost always kept immaculately clean. She often felt sorry for him, sorry that he had to live out here all by himself. It must be lonely, and she knew for a fact that he sometimes turned on the old fashioned radio just to be able to hear human voices. His fireplace was always warm and burning though, and her favorite thing to do there was to lie on the floor next to it and read a book. Whenever her mother told her that they were going to visit Juunana-gou, she was always happy. He always seemed so surprised and happy to see them, though he wasn’t a very good host. They’d been there for over an hour, and he still hadn’t offered them anything to drink.

Her father never accompanied them when they came to visit him, though she was never sure why. She knew that her father didn’t know Juunana-gou well, but they didn’t seem to not like each other. If her father had come, she was sure he would enjoy himself. There was much more to do here than there was at home. She loved tromping through the forest, seeing the birds and deer and other animals that lived there. She considered herself to have a real connection with nature and found almost anything out in the forest fascinating and captivating. Down the path from the cabin, there was a certain rock that she liked to sit on and just enjoy her surroundings. If she caught the right time of day, the light would come through the trees in shafts, reaching down to the soft forest floor like fingers. She would sit very still as she watched the butterflies weaves in and out through the sunlight and wait for nature to come to her. She had seen many things sitting here. Once, when she had sat still like this for hours, she heart a soft noise. And then like a dream, a fawn came wandering out of the trees, spots still all along its furry back, and it looked at her as if it understood her. She was growing older now, exploring and testing, trying to find things that she enjoyed, things that she was skillful at. Though she wasn’t even old enough to vote yet, she already knew that she always wanted nature to be a part of her life. She had discovered that simply by sitting there on that rock in the forest. All in all, staying with her uncle at his cabin was a peaceful, pleasant experience. Though she knew her father did not have the same connection with nature that she did, she couldn’t understand why he never wanted to come along.

She had an idea, though she never asked about it. She knew that her father was somewhat still uncomfortable about her mother’s past. He would never say anything and neither would Juuhachi-gou, but they both knew that there was a tension between them because of that. Her mother had told her everything about what happened, about Dr. Gero and how she had killed people, and once Marron got over the initial shock of it, she was okay. She knew that her mother would never want to do all of those horrible things on her own. It was all Dr. Gero’s influence; he had made the jinzouningen into what they were. Still though, she didn’t like the looks that people gave her mother while they were out shopping in town. Although she was willing to forget, she knew that a lot of people weren’t. To them, Juuhachi-gou was and always would be a threat to them.

She knew that her father was not one of those people. He loved Juuhachi-gou more than any husband could ever love his wife. But he didn’t like what had happened in the past. And even though Juunana-gou was harmless now, he was nothing more than a reminder to Kuririn about what Juuhachi-gou used to be. To see the two of them together was unsettling for him. Marron thought this might be why her father never came with them to Juunana-gou’s cabin, and why he always smiled with tight lips when he said goodbye, but she would never ask. There were just some things that you didn’t talk about, and that was definitely one of them.

So she merely sighed and yawned, looking towards the fireplace. “Actually, I’m pretty tired. Maybe we can finish the game tomorrow? That should give you some time to think about the predicament that you’re in.”

She turned to smile at them and froze, feeling her heart drop to her feet.

Both Juuhachi-gou and Juunana-gou stood completely still, side by side like dolls or mannequins, with their faces drawn in the same exact expression. Their mouths were hanging open and their eyes were drooping, their heads lowered onto their chests. They looked as though they were dead, their eyes completely unmoving and their faces waxy. It was as if someone had come along and turned them both off, just located the off switch and shut them down. It was such a startlingly creepy image that Marron let out a small shriek and covered her mouth with her hand.

Their twin blue eyes were staring straight forward, unmoving and glassy. Neither one was breathing; their chests remained still, and Marron imagined that their hearts had probably stopped as well. Drool was forming a small puddle in Juunana-gou’s lip, the only evidence that he was still alive.

She was so scared that she swore her own heart had stopped as well. There was a feeling of dread and warning in her mind, but love for her family overpowered it. Timidly, she stood up and looked at them. “Okaasan? Ojisan?”

They did not reply.

“Okaasan?” Marron said again, feeling panic creep into her heart once more. She stepped slowly and cautiously to her mother’s side and shook her arm gently.

Juuhachi-gou’s eyes snapped awake instantly at her touch, and she lifted her head up looking as though she were confused. They stared at each other for a moment, and it seemed like her mother didn’t even recognize her. She kept squinting and glaring and shaking her head, confused as to what was happening. Finally, she seemed to get be somewhat stable and lifted a hand to her head, her fingers shaking. Almost in the same motion, she reached out with her other hand and shook Juunana-gou awake as well. His eyes snapped open and he immediately put a hand to his head as if it hurt, his eyes troubled. The two jinzouningen looked at each other wordlessly. Marron could tell that there was some sort of silent dialogue going on between them, but she couldn’t tell what they were saying or what was happening.

“What’s going on?” She asked, her eyes welling with tears. For a long time neither one of them said anything.

“We’re fine.” Juuhachi-gou finally said, and smiled at her almost convincingly. “Too much to drink.”

“Hai.” Juunana-gou agreed. “Just a little dizzy spell.”

Her mother turned around and walked towards the fireplace as if nothing had happened, but Marron could see the worry in her light blue eyes.

Chapter 4
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