A very angry Tayhei resided in the kitchen of Capsule Corporation, a place that she had grown to know well over the past months. She was usually at home in any kitchen, but the kitchen here was so perfectly organized and set up that it made cooking an absolute joy. She never had to worry about ingredients; the pantry and refrigerator were constantly being restocked with food items, and the array of different foods was both astounding and delightful. The countertops were always sparkling and clean, and the floor was always neatly swept --- products of having a full time staff of maids and eager, young assistants. The only thing she had to worry about in this wonderful kitchen was the person that she was cooking for. Before, when she had been making dinner for the whole family, she had enjoyed it. Bulma and Bra both praised her cooking talents constantly, and it made her feel useful to be able to place a heaping plate of delicious food in front of them.

But when she was cooking for an unappreciative bastard, it made things a bit more difficult for her. Wearily, she cast a glance back towards the kitchen table. Vejiita was already glaring at her. Koronu and Piccolo were at the table as well, both sitting back in relaxed positions; Koronu looked hungry, but Piccolo had been indifferent towards the cooking. He had merely asked for a glass of water. The only person at the table who even looked somewhat happy was Goten, and that was simply because the boy’s entire life revolved around the prospect of eating. She didn’t know where Gokuu had run off to, but missed his happy, eager face at the table. It would have helped to ease her discomfort over Vejiita’s penetrating glare. She glared back at the Saiya-jin prince, then turned back towards her cooking.

Vejiita was someone that she didn’t often understand. Just when she thought that she was beginning to get a grasp on his personality, he did something that caught her off guard. He had saved her life earlier; that couldn’t have possibly been more shocking to her. Given Vejiita’s normal attitude around her, it seemed he would have been more likely to shoot the Capsule Car himself than to toss it out of the way of the blast. She and Vejiita obviously did not like each other --- that was evident enough. Despite that fact though, he had still saved her. Truthfully, he had probably done what he did to save Mirai Bulma more than her, but he had still done it. She didn’t want to think about Vejiita with any kind of warm, fuzzy feelings, so she pushed those awkward thoughts out of her mind. She didn’t want to think of him as anything but the cruel, angry Saiya-jin man that hated her. It just made things less complicated that way. She wanted to be angry with him now, and she wasn’t about to let any other things interfere with that.

If Vejiita honestly thought that he was just going to be able to come back home, waltz in through the door and have everything go back to normal, he was wrong. Things had changed while he was away; they had changed more than she was even willing to admit. Bra had grown up almost instantly, so full of grief and frustration that her child’s mind could no longer handle it. It broke Tayhei’s heart to have to see the little girl’s childhood ripped away from her. The same thing had happened to her, when she had been about that age. That was when she finally realized that no matter what she did, she wasn’t going to win the attention or affection of her parents. She knew in her heart then that there was no such thing as a happy family. And from that moment on, her childhood disappeared. Fairy tales no longer held the same kind of magic, toys and coloring books no longer appealed to her, and the entire world seemed to lose every bit of the wonder and brilliance that she had once seen in it. Losing a childhood, losing innocence, was not something that should be taken lightly. It was awful. And she could see that same, terrible struggle in Bra’s beautiful blue eyes. Bulma’s death had had a lot to do with it, but Vejiita’s actions had certainly pushed the little girl over the edge.

Tayhei slammed a pot of water on the stove, reaching down to violently twist the heat of the burner on high. After it started to boil, she might consider pouring it on Vejiita’s head.

Also, on top of everything that Vejiita had done to Bra, he had managed to mess up Trunks’s mind as well. Because of Vejiita’s selfishness, it seemed as though Trunks was on the brink of some kind of a breakdown. Tormenting him just wasn’t fun anymore. Saying something mean to him now had about the same appeal as kicking a furry little bunny into a paper shredder. Even when he attacked her with insults, it still just seemed wrong to slap all of those cruel words back towards him. Besides, she had promised Goten that she would back off for a while and give Trunks some time to heal. And she valued her friendship with Goten too much to break that promise to him. She didn’t doubt that Goten’s usually sunny demeanor would be flushed with anger if she broke that particular promise. He might be a good friend to her, but Trunks was practically a brother to him.

She knew that it was wrong, but she was suddenly hit with a terrible feeling of anger towards Bulma. If she hadn’t been killed, none of this would ever have happened. Bra would get to keep her childhood, Trunks would get to keep his sanity, and Vejiita would still be Vejiita. More importantly, Bulma would be here now, smiling and encouraging them. She would sit at the table with her elbows propped up on the smooth wood, her head held high and her deep blue eyes sparkling. She would assure them that what was happening with the jinzouningen was reversible, and they would believe her. If Bulma were here now, things just wouldn’t be as bad. She had the kind of strength that was enough to carry them all, and they needed that strength right now. Mirai Bulma was doing her best to fill that position, but she simply didn’t have the determination and confidence to make them all feel assured.

Suddenly feeling ashamed of herself for being angry with Bulma, she snapped her head back around, glaring at Vejiita again. It was much more logical to direct her anger and frustration towards someone who actually deserved it.

Vejiita watched the young girl carefully as she cooked, making sure to give her the most lethal of glares when ever she turned back to look at him. He could sense that she was angry with him. It was kind of hard not to see that, considering the fact that she was slamming around pots and pans like she was trying to wake up the dead. Normally she was quiet and proficient in the kitchen, but today she was making enough of a racket to bring several of the staff in, checking to make sure that the kitchen wasn’t being vandalized. And through it all, Tayhei kept shooting furious glances back towards him, her bright green eyes narrowing. When she was finally ready to serve them all, he noticed that she took extra care to serve him last --- a measly little plate that didn’t even have half the food the that anyone else’s did. She slammed it down on the table before him, and chucked the beer he had asked for straight into chest. Neither of her silly actions of anger bothered him, but he didn’t like the fact that everyone else had started smiling in amusement. He didn’t like being the center of attention, and more importantly, he didn’t like being made to look like a fool.

“What the hell is your problem?” He demanded finally, after she went back to banging around her pots and pans.

She whirled around from the stove and faced him, her eyes dark and furious. “Parents who abandon their children should be shot.”

He had expected something like that. It seemed as though everyone wanted to lecture him and tell him that running off had been wrong. Normally the statement wouldn’t have ruffled him at all, but he had been hassled too much that day already. This was just one more lecture that he could handle. Besides, he didn’t like the idea that they had to have an audience for this discussion. Koronu, Piccolo and Goten were all staring at him with wide, unblinking eyes, the food suddenly forgotten. More so than anything else, pride was important to Vejiita. And having the Saiya-jin women, the Namek, and Kakarroto’s brat all watch him get yelled at by a weakling human girl was just a little more than humiliating. He didn’t look up at her, merely picked up his beer and took a drink, ignoring her completely. Finally, when he felt that his voice wouldn’t come out in a roar of anger, he spoke:

“No one asked for your opinion.”

Tayhei placed her hands on her hips and stared down at him. He noticed that even though she was physically weak, the girl could still manage to look intimidating at times. Her glare was enough to make an ordinary man cringe, and her jaw tensed up just enough to give an air of a dangerous threat. He stared back at her evenly, refusing to let her think that she had unnerved him in the slightest. She met the even glare and lifted a hand to point at him, her body leaning forward slightly. “Well, I wouldn’t feel the need to give my opinion if you would do your job as a father.”

“It’s none of your damn business, brat.” Vejiita informed her simply.

“I live here. I’m a part of your life, whether you like it or not. And anything you do to Bra or Trunks is my business.” Tayhei spoke the words proudly, as if she thought it was some great accomplishment to stand up for the two of them. With hands that were shaking with anger, she picked up a pot of boiling water from the heated burner and set it on a cool one, dropping in a handful of small, shelled pasta. She looked down at Vejiita condescendingly, her brow furrowing in disgust. “You left them when they needed you the most --- just walked away from them and left them on their own.”

“They’re old enough to handle themselves.”

“You just better not walk out on them again.” She said evenly, letting her bright green eyes fall on his with a look of complete seriousness. Piccolo and Koronu shared an amused look at the threat, and Goten just looked concerned. Vejiita nearly boiled over with anger.

Normally he would have felt like smirking at a threat like that, but he was too furious at the moment to smirk. She had made him look like a fool in front of all of the people in the kitchen, and she had also managed to pinpoint the one thing that had been nudging him towards the edge of insanity lately: his children. He wished that just once he could scream at all of them and let them know everything that was in his heart. He wished that he were able to tell them all of the fears and insecurities that had been plaguing his soul, wished that he could shout it out to everyone in the world --- if only so that no one would ever badger him about it again. But because he was a true Saiya-jin and because his heart was too full of pride, he could only just sit there and stare back at the girl, seething with anger.

“Was that your pathetic human attempt at threatening me?” He asked calmly.

“You’re damn right I’m threatening you. You walked out this time --- fine. They’ll probably forgive you.” She told him, and he thought he caught a glimmer of emotion in her eyes. But it disappeared within moments as took the remaining portions of food and slammed them down onto the table with unsteady hands. The rage in her was clear and her voice was strong and frighteningly harsh. “But if you run away again, you better not ever come back. You won’t be forgiven so easily the second time around.”

And with those final words, she stalked out of the kitchen.

Koronu turned towards him, placing her chin in her hands demurely. She smirked. “I don’t think she likes you very much, Vejiita.”

“I couldn’t care less.” He replied with a glare. He nodded toward the kitchen doorway in the direction that Tayhei had disappeared in. “That little wench has been hanging around and bothering me for almost a year now. If I get her angry enough, she just might leave.”

Goten frowned and shrugged, his eyes looking towards the doorway a well. “She’s just really protective of Bra. It’s nothing personal.”

Piccolo, who until that point had been sitting back with an amused smirk, leaned forward with interest. “Where is the girl now? Is she okay?”

Vejiita had wanted to ask the same questions himself, but hadn’t said anything. He figured that Trunks would have taken care of her, would have done the right things to calm the little girl down. After years of being a big brother, Trunks knew his job well. And after years of being a father, Vejiita was comfortable with his own duties as well; he knew that he had been recently lacking in that area. He wasn’t about to admit that to anyone though, and he wasn’t about to let anyone realize that he felt more the little girl than they had originally thought. He didn’t think that he was ready to see her yet, but he felt that she needed him now, and that was enough. Bra was special to him though, and he didn’t want her to suffer from his pride. Careful not to let anyone see it, he listened with interest, waiting for Goten’s reply.

“She’s upstairs in her room, asleep.” The boy told them all simply. Vejiita noted that there wasn’t any kind of concern in the boy’s eyes, and this lightened the heaviness around his heart slightly. If there was something seriously wrong with Bra, Kakarroto’s brat would have at least shown a bit of compassion when talking about her. He listened eagerly, secretly soaking up the assurance in Goten’s voice. “Trunks made her go to bed --- he figured the incident with Juunana-gou had probably put her into a bit of shock and she needed to rest. She’s okay, though. Bra’s a fighter.”

For the first time in months, Bra didn’t have any kind of bad dreams. She slept peacefully, lightly, feeling as though her heart was free from any kind of sadness or frustration. She drifted in and out of dreams, the kind of dreams that were shining and beautiful and full of love and hope. Flashes of her childhood went by her, happy moments when she was together with her mother. Instead of feeling sadness at seeing her this time though, she felt nothing but love. Her mother’s face was not a face of death, cold and pale and unseeing, but it was full of warmth. There was a wide smile on her face that seemed almost as bright as the stars, and her eyes were happy and sharp, just like they had always been before. In these dreams, Trunks didn’t yell at her or bury his head in his hands and mumble nasty words. He smiled and played with her, picking her up and spinning her around in his arms until she was consumed by giggles. And her father was there too. He stood in the background of everything, strong and silent, watching over them like he always did. There was no more pain in his heart and no more anger in his eyes. He merely watched them. And when she ran to him and wrapped her arms around his leg, he let her, reaching down to tousle her turquoise tresses. Bra clung to these dreams, reveling in the sweetness of them, buried in the mound of soft purple covers.

There was a slight sound, something that momentarily stirred her out of those wonderfully pleasant dreams. Sleepily, she cracked her eyes open, looking around her darkening room with a blurry, unseeing gaze. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Her stuffed animals were still there, set up all around her, guarding her. Her night light was on, washing the room in a soft yellow glow. She was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open, but she sat up slightly, propping herself up on her elbow and looking around her room.

There, in the corner, where the yellow glow of her night light could not reach, a figure stood, watching over her. She couldn’t make out his features or even see the full outline of his body in the shadows, but she still knew who it was. Her little heart jumped at the sight of him, and she felt her body relax into complete comfort and peace. Just like in the dreams, he was there, watching over her, keeping her safe. Though extremely tired, she allowed a small smile to creep its way onto her lips, staring at him with half-open deep blue eyes.

“Otousan?”

His voice was deep and rough, but not harsh. Just familiar. “Go back to sleep.”