Destiny (tentative title)
a story by Dot
***
	Trunks wiped the sweat from his brow as he 
dumped another load of rubble into the truck that would
head to the Capsule Corporation Headquarters for 
reprocessing.  Now that he finally destroyed the 
Jinzoningen, people could begin rebuilding their lives. 
The severe shortage of supplies, however, had seriously 
slowed progress; most cities, like the one he 
was currently living in, was forced to make temporary 
shelter to house the few people still left.

	As Trunks paused for breath, sitting down to 
relieve his sore muscles, his ears picked up a 
strange noise.

	"What was that?" He exclaimed, alarmed.

	"What was what?" A co-worker asked, puzzled.  
"I didn't hear anything."

	Trunks sighed, remembering that his Saiyajin 
heritage meant that he had more acute senses than the 
others.  "Sorry, I must be too nervous," he said 
apologetically, which was partly true.  Even though he 
had made sure the Jinzouningen were completely 
eradicated, he still kept a sharp lookout for any signs 
of danger.  Or, in his mother's joking words, he was 
'being paranoid'.  Still, all kidding aside, it was 
always better to be safe than sorry.

	He heard the noise again.  This time, he 
excused himself from the others and followed the source 
of the sound to an old building.

	A baby, swathed in dirty rags, lay wailing on 
the ground inside.

	Trunks very gingerly picked up the fragile 
bundle.  In a dying world where people could hardly 
take care of themselves, abandoning newborns was a 
common practice, but Trunks had never personally 
stumbled upon a child before.  Holding the now quieting 
baby in his arms, he wondered how any parent could bear 
to part with their own flesh and blood.

	'It's so tiny...' he thought.  A distant memory 
of a peaceful summer night suddenly came to him, and he 
suddenly knew what to call this child.

	"Your name is Hotaru," he told the baby.  
"Because you are like a firefly that shines in the 
darkness."
---
*Sigh* I always seem to get these wonderful ideas that 
never go anywhere...

In this story, Hotaru is (understandably) very bitter 
about being hunted down and killed repeatedly.  She 
doesn't think that life in the Post-Jinzouningen Dragon 
World is worth living, and is more than eager to 
activate the Silence.  Trunks, who has literally gone 
to hell and back for his world, doesn't agree.  A 
beginning to a wonderful relationship, ne? :)

A lot of heady discussions, depressing stuff, WAFFY 
moments, not to mention the obligatory cool-looking 
fighting scene.  The other Senshi may or may not appear 
in this 'fic, and the ending hasn't been finalized yet, 
but this story is even further back on the backburner 
than "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" anyways...
---
-"Dot"
http://westwood.fortunecity.com/italian/70

Bringing to you Dragon Ball fanfics with -gasp- plot! ^_^


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