“Would you mind telling me why we’re bothering Mirai Trunks again?” Trunks asked Goten skeptically as he watched his friend knock on the future warrior’s door. It was late in the afternoon, and the two of them had finally decided that they had starved long enough and were looking for someone to make them some food. Trunks didn’t really mind that much --- he could probably go hungry for a few more hours, but Goten was quite a different case. He had insisted that they find someone to make them dinner, even if it meant knocking on Mirai Trunks’s door and demanding that the future warrior cook for them. Trunks didn’t know why had he gone along with it, but he had been bored and hungry, and wasn’t really in the mood to wait around for Tayhei to get her ass home. If she wasn’t going to be around to cook for them, then someone else would. He just wasn’t too certain that asking Mirai Trunks was such a good idea. He leaned against the wall of the hallway and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. “Why do I feel the need to remind you that the guy hates me? What makes you think he’s going to make dinner for us?”

Goten shrugged and knocked on the door again. “Well, Mirai Bulma-san said he could cook.”

“She said he sometimes ‘made food suitable enough to eat’.” Trunks corrected. He lifted his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side, crossing his arms as he stared at his friend. “How does that equate into him making us a meal?”

“I don’t know, Trunks.” Goten replied, shaking his head sadly. He motioned down to his stomach, which was rumbling so loudly that it was actually echoing down the hallway. He actually managed to look pale and sickly, as though he were on the verge of starvation, when actuality, Trunks knew that the boy had just eaten three monstrous sandwiches and practically an entire bucketful of rice. His appetite was absolutely insane sometimes --- much more than Trunks’s. There was no doubt in Trunks’s mind that Goten would win an eating contest between them, hands down. To further prove Trunks’s idea, Goten’s stomach growled again and the boy looked up at him sheepishly, his dark eyes desperate. “We’ve run out of options. Either we get Mirai Trunks to make something for us, or I’m going home. I’m starving and I am not about to let another meal go by.”

And with those final words, Goten pushed open Mirai Trunks’s door and bounded into the room. The window was open and the bed was neatly made, but Mirai Trunks was nowhere to be seen. Trunks titled his head in curiosity. The future warrior had told them earlier that he was going to be up in his room, but he had obviously gone somewhere else. From the looks of things also, it looked as though he had left in a hurry. A few of the drawers were pulled out and open, and his sword was still propped up against the wall. Trunks thought that was perhaps the most surprising thing of all --- it seemed as though Mirai Trunks never went anywhere without his sword. It was like a permanent feature of his. He couldn’t even imagine what the future warrior looked like without that sword strapped to his back.

Trunks bent down and ran his fingers over the hilt of it, frowning deeply. Seeing this sword made him think of his own sword --- the one that he had locked up. He intended to never use it, to never let anyone use it. A sword was nothing but an instrument of death, and in the case of the sword he had locked up, it had been his mother’s death. It had been Pi’s only weapon, the weapon she had used to take away the one person that had ever understood him. He didn’t like the way that Mirai Trunks flaunted this sword; it reminded him of Pi. And he didn’t want to ever be reminded of that horrible moment in the snowy fields again. He wondered vaguely how many lives this sword had taken away, how many sons it had left motherless. His mind reeling, he suddenly pushed away from the sword, and drew his hand back up to chest as if it were poisoned.

“It doesn’t look like he’s here.” Goten said in a defeated tone, raising his hands up and placing them on his rumbling stomach.

“Where would he have gone?” Trunks wondered aloud, idly gazing around the familiar guestroom. Like him, Mirai Trunks seemed to like to keep his things in order. He had only brought one small bag, but the contents had been taken out and neatly folded away into the drawers. Also, the bed was made even a bit nicer than what the cleaning staff usually did; someone had obviously put a bit more effort into than usual. He wondered what other traits he and the future warrior shared. So far, it seemed as though they didn’t have anything in common at all. So far, it seemed as though they were more enemies than timeline counterparts.

Goten stepped forward a bit and looked down at the floor, where a small piece of paper was laying facedown in the carpet. “What’s that?”

Mildly curious, Trunks picked it up and turned it over, quickly reading the words that were written. There was nothing really that spectacular about it; it was written on Capsule Corporation memo paper, with the logo up in the corner and the familiar foot line along the bottom. There was nothing particularly alarming about what was written, either. But the fact that it was a note from Tayhei to Mirai Trunks made his stomach churn instantly. Without even knowing why, anger swept up through him like a hurricane and he frowned with a sour expression, fighting the urge to crumple the note up in his hands and chuck it out the window. “It’s a note from Tayhei.”

Eagerly, Goten ripped the note out of his hands and read the lines over, his eyes growing wide. When he was finished, he let out a low whistle and turned back to Trunks with an excited and playful expression. Trunks briefly entertained the idea of punching his friend in the face. He didn’t see what was so damn entertaining about this. But Goten was oblivious to any kind of anger coming from Trunks. He simply placed a hand behind his head and let out a mischievous chuckle. “Tayhei and Mirai Trunks, eh? That’s interesting. Maybe your wish will finally come true: Mirai Trunks will steal her and they’ll go back to the future world together.”

“How is that my wish come true?!” Trunks howled, his sky blue eyes blazing.

Goten was a bit startled and took a step back, nearly cowering in the corner. He held his hands up in front of him innocently. “Well, you always said you wanted to get rid of Tayhei.”

“I do want to get rid of her!” Trunks snapped back automatically.

The girl had done nothing but make his life miserable from the very first day that she had shoved her way into it. She had done her best to make him look like an idiot, to make him look like a criminal, and she had made him furious with her almost every day that he had known her. Living with her was like living with a hungry lion --- He was just almost waiting for her to pounce on him and sink her teeth or claws right into his jugular. Getting rid of her would probably make things a little easier for him. He wouldn’t feel like he had to watch his back anymore or like he had to defend himself all the time. But the idea of her running off to the future with Mirai Trunks made him want to kill someone. Before he had thought that Tayhei’s interest in Goten was bad, but this was horrible. Seeing Tayhei spread her evil influence to anyone was terrible, but a mutated, future version of himself? It was just….wrong. Besides, Mirai Trunks had just gotten here. He had barely even been here for two days and he was already moving in on Tayhei? What kind of a man did that? He glared at the small piece of paper in Goten’s hands.

The same mischievous look appeared on Goten’s face again. He looked over at him with his eyebrows raised and an evil grin. “Well, if you’re so eager to get rid of her, then why are you so upset over the note?”

When the afternoon started to dip into evening, the park grew miraculously quieter. The birthday party had been long since finished, and the playground sat empty and unused, the merry-go-round still circling slowly with the breeze. Tayhei and Mirai Trunks walked slowly through the winding paths of the park, chatting back and forth as they strolled. For some reason, she found it easier to talk to him now. After they had finally gotten everything important out in the open, it felt as though they were a little more comfortable with each other. It was still slightly unnerving to think about the underlying feelings and unavoidable decision that would have to be made, but she tried her hardest to push all of that away. For the moment, Mirai Trunks was just another boy, and she was just trying to get to know him. And she certainly didn’t mind getting to know him. He was a good person --- a person unlike any other that she had ever met.

She liked the way that he walked, with his head angled straight ahead, his eyes surveying the surroundings of the park. Though he was so impossibly handsome that he couldn’t help but stand out, he still managed to look as though he belonged there, comfortable with the children and the nature and the happy atmosphere of the park. He walked with sure, athletic strides, never stopping and never slowing. She liked his voice too; a softer, gentler version of the voice that she had grown to know so well. He told her stories of the future world with great detail, smiling when he was amused and frowning deeply when he was upset. The expressions on his face were so easy to read and so open that she sometimes found it hard to look at him. She wasn’t used to people displaying that kind of emotion, and certainly wasn’t used to displaying it herself.

There were also things that she didn’t like, though….things that made it hard to concentrate. Mostly, it was the fact that this sullen man walking beside her was Trunks. It felt thrilling and comforting and delightful, and yet at the same time, it felt amazingly wrong. So wrong that it made her head spin. She could tell that there were a lot of things deeper and more complicated than what lay on the surface here. But she wasn’t going to let herself agonize over those things now. There would be time for that later, when she was alone and in peace. She was a very private, very prideful person, and that was just the way that she worked.

Perhaps though, the future version of herself had been different. Perhaps she hadn’t felt so chained down, and hadn’t hidden every part of her humanity away. That was interesting for Tayhei to think about --- she simply couldn’t imagine herself acting any differently than what she was now. But the two different versions of Trunks were so different; other than looks, she could barely find any similarities between the two of them. If the jinzouningen had changed Mirai Trunks’s life so much, then they had surely changed her own life as well. She couldn’t imagine herself ever being as open and sullen as Mirai Trunks, but she supposed there was a bit of room for change.

As they crossed over the small bridge that hung over the creek trickling through the park, she smiled over at her companion. “Can you tell me about what I was like in the future world?”

“Well, I have to admit….There are a lot of differences.” Trunks replied thoughtfully. He didn’t stop walking, but slowed a little bit, gesturing as he spoke. “The Tayhei that I knew was much quieter, much more withdrawn. She was sweet and helpful, and a bit naïve at times. She had lived most of her life on her own, away from any other kind of human influences. She was almost scared to be around people, scared to be in a city full of so many different faces --- but at the same time, you could see how excited she was just to be there. Her eyes were so expressive, so full of life….Sometimes it was like you could see everything that was in her heart just by looking into her eyes. She was innocent and yet very strong at the same time; she had come a long way and worked very hard just to survive on her own. She said that destroying the jinzouningen and ridding the world of their cruelty was the thing that she wanted the most, but I don’t think that was ever true.”

Tayhei had to blink a few times before all of his words sunk in. The other Tayhei sounded so completely different from her that it was startling. For some reason, she felt bad about that. She couldn’t help but feel ashamed as she looked into Mirai Trunks’s saddened eyes. The other Tayhei had been so nice, so….perfect. How could she ever replace someone like that? She certainly wasn’t innocent or naïve, and she definitely wasn’t kind. At the same time though, it made her heart soar to hear Mirai Trunks talk about her like that. Even though she knew that they weren’t the same person, it was still nice to know that someone could feel that strongly about her, could care for her so much. The love in his voice had been more than evident. If she didn’t understand why Mirai Trunks had come here before, she definitely did now. If she had loved someone that much, then she would probably fight through time and space just to find them again, as well.

“What did she want the most, then?” Tayhei asked quietly.

Mirai Trunks finally stopped walking and paused, looking over the railing of the bridge and down into the creek. It was crystal clear, and the small stones and bright orange fish were perfectly visible in its depths. He flicked a small leaf off of the bridge and Tayhei watched it float down to the water and sail away on the current. Trunks turned towards her with a sad look on his handsome face. “I think she just wanted to love, and to be loved. Whatever she might have said, I think she needed that more than any kind of revenge or justification. After the jinzouningen killed Yakosoku, she didn’t have anyone. And though it would have brought her gratification to kill the jinzouningen in her sister’s honor, I think she would never have been happy unless she had found love the way she did.”

None of the words in Mirai Trunks’s speech registered in Tayhei’s brain at all except for one:

“Yakosoku?” She whispered. She stared at him, her green eyes wide and her heart beating wildly in her chest. Her sister? All this time while he had been talking to her, all this time that she had known about the future world, she hadn’t even thought about Yakosoku and what had happened to her. It hurt her to know that Yakosoku had died in the future world as well; hurt her so badly that she almost doubled over in physical pain. It was almost as if Yakosoku had been destined to not live. She had died in both timelines --- at a young age, obviously. For some reason, hearing those words was almost like reliving her sister’s death over again, and Tayhei felt her eyes unwillingly well up with tears.

“Hai.” Mirai Trunks looked down, seeming almost embarrassed as he gripped his hands on the railing of the bridge. He took a deep breath, then turned to her, taking her hands in his. His hands were rough and warm, but more comforting than she expected. The tears that had threatened to fall were dashed away. Trunks straightened his head and met her gaze steadily, clearing his throat as if he were about to say something extremely important. “This may seem like a strange request….I wasn’t going to ask you this until later on, but I would be honored to meet her. Tayhei loved her so much and held her memory so dear. I think it would make her happier than anything if I were able to meet her.”

The tears came back again, and Tayhei slowly eased her hands out of his grip and turned away. She could only imagine how much it would have meant to Trunks to meet her, to be able to hold the most important thing in his loved one’s life. But he couldn’t. She couldn’t. Yakosoku was gone, and there was really nothing that anyone could to do change that. Not quite sure what to say to him, she faltered for a moment, trying to gather herself. Mirai Trunks might be kind and caring, but she still didn’t want to cry in front of him --- certainly not over something that had happened so long ago. After a short minute, Tayhei turned back to him slightly, avoiding his eyes. “You….can’t. She died.”

“When?”

She shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant when she still felt like dying. “Almost a year ago now.”

“And you couldn’t wish her back? If she died under a year ago, you still have time to wish her back to life.” He told her softly. He reached out for her shoulder and gently turned her around again, tilting his head as he looked into her eyes. She didn’t really feel like being touched right now, but didn’t attempt to shake him off. He was probably more comfortable reaching out for her and touching her --- after all, he had been in love with future counterpart. She, on the other hand, was not used to being touched. But he was just trying to help, and she understood that; there was no need to snap at him. He looked at her thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing with something that could be taken as anger. “Didn’t anyone tell you about the dragonballs?”

Tayhei shrugged again. “Bulma-san mentioned them briefly. I wasn’t quite sure if they were real or not. I didn’t think that they would actually work.”

“I’m living proof that they work.” He quipped, and then smiled what was possibly the first true smile she had seen on him all day. In that moment, Mirai Trunks managed to look exactly like his younger counterpart. That trademark Vejiita smirk was unmistakable. Even the sad blue eyes twinkled a bit and made him look younger than he actually was. He seemed to be very intent on convincing her to do this, but she had her reasons for staying away from the dragonballs. When Bulma had told her about them before, there had been a brief stint of interest, but it had quickly passed away. Mostly for her own personal reasons: she didn’t want to be disappointed again. But there was really no need to reveal all of that to Mirai Trunks. She didn’t want to give away any kind of vulnerability, even though she felt that she could trust him. A simple, nonchalant explanation would suffice.

She leaned her elbows on the railing of the bridge and stared down into the water, watching a fish work its way back up the creek. Absentmindedly, she began tapping the tip of her toe against the wooden planks beneath her feet. “It seems as though life and death are not things that we should play around with. If death decides to take someone away, then we shouldn’t try to steal them back. And, if what Bulma-san said about the dragonballs is true, then you have all played around with the balance of life and death too much already.”

“I understand. It’s your decision, of course.”

Not knowing what else to say, and definitely not in the mood for anymore idle chatter, Tayhei pushed away from the bridge and placed a hand on her stomach. “Perhaps we should start heading back home now. I’m sure everyone is practically starving, especially if Trunks and Goten attempted to make breakfast and lunch. Neither one of those boys has what it takes to make a meal. You should have seen what Trunks did to a chocolate cake the other day. It was absolutely horrifying.”

Honestly, she just wanted to get back home so that she could have some alone time to think about all of the problems and decisions that had been set out before her today. It was all beginning to sound like too much, and she just wanted to have a few quiet hours where she could sit down with a cup of tea and ponder. And though the idea of making dinner wasn’t incredibly appealing at the moment, it would be for the best. She knew Trunks wouldn’t leave her alone until she cooked something, anyway. Persistence was one of his more charming attributes. And if Vejiita got hungry enough and angry enough, he would probably hunt her down, tie her up, and toss her on the grill for the evening meal. They might be big, tough warriors, but they couldn’t survive a day without a well-made meal.

“I’m pretty hungry myself.” Mirai Trunks agreed with a nod.

He seemed to understand that she didn’t want to talk anymore, and didn’t press her at all. He simply led them over the bridge and through the emptying paths of the park, only speaking to point out the antics of squirrels and the darkening sky over their heads. It looked as though a storm were rolling in from the North. There were clouds so dark that they were almost black, and Tayhei could smell rain in the air. She just hoped that they would make it back before it started to fall. She wasn’t too fond of getting wet in the first place, but the fact that she was wearing a white tee shirt made rain sound even more unpleasant. The rain would help tonight though; a summer storm would be a comforting end to a day like this, and it would fit her mood.

When they finally exited the park and reached the street, she fished in the pocket of her cutoffs and pulled out a Capsule. If it was going to rain, she certainly wasn’t going to walk home. She tossed it lightly to the ground and waited with her arms crossed as the smoke cleared and the Car appeared --- Capsule Corporation’s newest model. As she crossed over the driver’s side of the car, she cast a look back at her companion. He was staring up at the darkening sky with a sad look on his face, and she could feel that he was hurting inside. She had made him dig up a lot of the most private, painful memories in his heart, and she didn’t blame him for being a little depressed. It had taken a lot for him to share those memories and feelings with her.

“Mirai Trunks?” She said timidly, smiling at him over the roof of the car. “I just wanted to thank you, for telling me all of these things. I know it probably isn’t easy for you tell me all of that.”

He smiled back at her, a nice, warm smile that made her feel comforted and safe, despite the oncoming storm rumbling in the background. “Thank you for listening. It probably wasn’t easy for you to hear it, either.”

“That’s true, but I’m glad that I know.” She replied.