This World I Wander
PG 13 Rating, but there's an intense and possibly controversial kiss in this
chapter--use your own judgement.  *shrugs*
Side note: there were some italics in the html version.
First time posting!  Comments & constructive criticism welcome.  ^__^



Awakenings


I remember the buzzing noises that damnable machine made, the one that
failed to preserve my beloved mother, and the rotted remains of her poor
body beneath the glass of her coffin-like stasis chamber. When I had awoken,
in that brief, silent moment between consciousness and nothingness, my first
thought was: What now? As I sensed a familiar ki, my heart was torn with
conflicting emotions. I was glad that someone I loved was alive, but equally
sad the other was dead. My mind raced. As my eyes came into focus, I saw my
sister, still sleeping, thank Dende, in angelic peace. I was tempted not to
awaken her, as to preserve the person I loved most in this world from this
horrid nightmare turned reality. Bra didn't deserve to suffer for the sins
of humanity, or to mourn for both our dead parents and lost friends.

But, I was lonely.

Parting with Bra had been hard. She was my only living connection to the way
things were. I promised I would not be gone for long. We both agreed that we
could not forever hide in our shelter. Perhaps, we wondered, some of the
others might have survived? With my father and Goku dead, I was a bit less
than optimistic, though, to see the light of hope in Bra's eyes again, made
my heart a little lighter. We would make the best of this. Perhaps there was
a chance of salvaging the future of humanity and us. This is why I wander
now, leaving my sister behind and praying for my safe return.



Baka


Bra began to, uncharacteristically, practice the fighting skills she had
been taught by her late father, hoping to elevate the dampness and chill the
lonely autumn evening had left in her bones. Jump, lift left leg and snap in
the enemy's face. follow with right fist jab. Bra grinned. She would not be
helpless, here, on her own, awaiting her brother's return.

Trunks had been gone for several days. He had told her he would be gone for
at least that long, so not to worry if he did not come home too soon. Bra
swore to herself that she was not afraid. She wasn't. Bra kept busy, as best
she could, repairing the now ancient contraptions within the ruins of
Capsule Corporation.

Ruins-heh, now that was an understatement. At least the rubble that was
Ancient Rome and Greece in her time had resembled their original structures.
Capsule Corporation, like the rest of the Western Capsule, had crumbled to
almost nothing, and what was left had been reclaimed ages ago by the
surrounding wilderness. Sure, the underground levels had been created to
last, and they still owned working house hoi poi capsules, but Trunks would
probably have a long journey to whatever passed for civilization in these
archaic times. Bra missed the modern world. Shopping, boys, fashion. her
papa.

Bra stopped her practice. She did not want to cry now. Clenching her fists,
hot tears defiantly streaked her cheeks as she sobbed. I'm not going to cry.
I am Vegeta's daughter-I don't need to cry. I-- Bra wiped her eyes. Oh,
Papa!!

Bra left to find some gadget to work on. It didn't matter which one, since
she might not fix it properly in this particular state of mind. She just
needed to calm herself. There were plenty of things she could do to keep
busy. Or-maybe she could watch TV. Bra smiled. A good romantic comedy would
be nice. she could pop some popcorn and drink cola. yeah. that's it. As she
passed down the hall, she could have sworn she had heard something crash.
Bra stopped there, her saiyajin ears listening intently for any sound.
Silence. She felt her body relax. Bra hadn't realized she'd been clenching
her fists or holding her breath. Secretly, she had hoped it was Trunks
returned home, though she knew it was too early for that. Something must
have fallen. She wasn't too surprised, the way the ground shifted from time
to time. Even thousands of years later, the foundation of the lab was still
setting into the earth.

Wait-the room that sound came from. that was her living quarters. What could
have possibly toppled over?? No. She stayed calm, still listening. Bra
suppressed her ki as low as she could get it to go. She was going to sneak
in and surprise this thief. Bra wished she had a baseball bat. Silly, ne?
Here she is, trained to fight, saiyajin elite blood coursing through her
veins. and she wanted a baseball bat to make her feel safe. Bra grinned at
the irony, losing all fear.

Invade her room? Steal her stuff? This thief would pay.

She could sense his ki. Thinking for a moment, she figured he must be in the
far corner of her room, standing by her dresser. Oh great. Some of her most
personal effects were kept there. What business did this thief have there?!
Bra pushed back her sleeves and charged into the room.

What happened in the next few moments was the result of pure instinct.
Without flinching, she gave him a knockout punch to the jaw, and the thief
fell to the ground. Just like that.

Bra couldn't believe what she had done.

Conflicting emotions of pride and regret rose to her heart as she looked
upon the unconscious body of the thief, as he lay crumpled on the floor. He
was just a kid, after all. A scrawny, little, dirty kid dressed in baggy
brown rags of poorly woven cloth. Her heart went out to him.

Bra knelt down beside the boy on her bedroom floor to take a better look at
him. The lighting was dim in her room, as the boy had only turned on the
light by her nightstand as he had foraged her room. He had landed on his
side, so she needed to gently roll him over onto his back to take a better
look at his face. And what she saw-it amazed her beyond words.

This boy, he was the spitting image of her papa!

Bra found herself lightly tracing the lines of his cheek with the tips of
her fingers as she gazed at her unconscious thief. Little baka. He had the
same face. Well, not as hard or thin as her father's. Papa, due to his
traumatic past, had a mean, stoic look to his face. The boy before her still
appeared somewhat angelic as he laid there, his cheeks still full and smooth
with youth. His face was not forever doomed to scowl. As she peered ever
closer, she noticed the boy had a few faint freckles marring his
near-perfect complexion.

As she began to relax a bit, almost forgetting the circumstances that had
brought the boy into her room, Bra began to run her fingers through his
black, flame-tapered style hair. His wispy bangs were so cute! She wondered
what to do with him. Bra had never knocked anyone out before. She wasn't
quite sure how long he'd sleep for. Should she move him?

Bra leaned over the boy's body preparing herself to lift him from the
ground. She placed one hand under his legs, shifting to cradle his head in
the crook of her other arm. His chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm as he
slept. Gathering her saiyajin strength, she easily lifted him from the
ground just high enough to place him on her bed. She set him down carefully;
leaning over him to make sure the pillow was under his head and wondered
just what it would feel like to kiss him. She felt a warm wetness pressed
against her lips, and she closed her eyes, leaning into the hard lip lock.
His arms wrapped her as she closed her eyes, savoring the kiss.

Ohmikami, the baka was awake!!!

Bra pulled back, surprised at what she had just done. The boy sat up on her
bed, smirking at her. She wasn't sure whether or not to be mad at him. The
baka's smile reached his eyes-they twinkled from beneath his black wispy
bangs. "You dropped something." He said. Nani? He kept his eyes even with
her own as he answered in all seriousness. "My jaw," Bra reached her arm
back and smacked his freckled face with her hand.

"You."

"You wanted to kiss me, Bra, you know you did!" Turning to face her again,
his eyebrows lifted up and down, before he gave her a hard wink and snapped
his lips as if blowing her a kiss. Then the dirty young baka pushed quickly
with his arms, springing off Bra's bed and dashed out the door. Bra stood
there in awe, not believing that he was real.

How'd he know my name?! Bra stretched out her ki sense, searching for the
boy. He must have read her diary? Or, worse. She chased after him. The baka
wasn't too far off. He was traveling quite fast, but Bra could move even
faster. It was obvious the boy had never learned to suppress his ki; it
stood out like a sore thumb. She knew he was headed outdoors, back into the
wilds from which he had come.

Bra found him without much trouble. He'd actually made it outside, beyond
the ruins of Capsule Corporation, before she caught up with him. Childishly,
he had hidden himself behind a large bush, his fury brown tail wiggling up
and down, as he silently laughed. What a baka! Bra had not noticed the tail
before now. The baka, she wondered, he must be saiyajin, like me. Bra
smirked. Under ordinary circumstances, she would never even consider pulling
another saiyajin's tail, yet.

>From floating up in the air above the unsuspecting boy, using as little ki
as possible, Bra leaned down and snagged his tail with both hands. Saiyajin
or not--he would pay for reading her diary! She knew full well what it meant
to pull a saiyajin's tail. Any strength the boy may have would be lost, and
the pain would be excruciating.

"Hey! Lemme go!!" The boy squirmed beneath her as Bra straddled his body,
using one free hand to restrain him from hindering her search. She wanted to
know what he had stolen from her room. "I.. I," The baka stopped struggling
beneath her. "Bra, I swear, I did not read your diary. It's still in your
room. Please, let go of my tail."

Bra lightened her grip on the boy's tail, but did not let go. "Oh? Why
should I believe you? How do you know my name? It's not like I have it on
display in my room! And no one told you-because all my friends have been
dead for thousands of years!"

"I swear!"

"Oh, how did you even know I keep a diary?"

"I. Bra, I can read your thoughts."

Bra let go of his tail and stood up. "Then, tell me what I'm thinking right
now."

The boy sucked in a deep breath and pulled himself up slowly into a sitting
position on the ground. "It's true, Bra." He brushed some of the dirt and
grass from his chest, not caring that his brown shirt was unbuttoned and his
flesh exposed. He was handsome, though he looked like her papa. Her heart
ached just to look at him. The baka rose on his haunches and stood up. "But
I can only read 'em when I touch you."

"Oh?" Bra looked at him with stern eyes. She was not to be toyed with like
that. Bra placed one hand on her hip and took a step forward towards the
boy.

"Bra, what's a saiyajin?"

"What's your name?"

The boy looked her in the eyes and grinned evilly. "Well, to you, it seems,
I'm the Baka. But, I prefer to be called Yurei." He looked off into the
distance, as if he may begin to run again. Though, she knew she could catch
him. He wasn't getting away from her that easy. Perhaps he knew this, too.
"So, Bra, what's a saiyajin?"



Goten



I was hesitant to leave my sister alone. Kami knows what kind of trouble she
could get into on her own. She can't cook, and I don't know if she'll be
able to last long enough without human contact. Bra really needs a shoulder
to cry on. I don't think she'd ever take her own life. but I worry about her
all the same. I will come back to her soon.

This world I wander, it's so strange. Sometimes, I'm thinking, this is what
it must have been like, before man. The forest is thick and teaming with
life. I haven't found a road yet, or any other signs of civilization. The
Western Capital and all its surrounding suburbs have vanished, leaving
behind naught a trace. My childhood home is gone.

The sky now has a purple tinge to it, almost like the color of my hair. I
shudder at the implications of this, though Bra thinks its pretty. Neither
of us feels comfortable gazing at it for too long, though. Besides, the air
is a bit too thin for my tastes. Sometimes I feel as if I only have one lung
working within my chest, instead of two. This cannot be good.

Bra, ever so fashion conscious, dressed me for this trip. Heh. The black
tank top, gold boots and black breezer pants are all right, very functional,
and I don't mind the Capsule Corp jacket, either. Though, I feel like a
rebel of sorts in this particular getup. Especially with my sword strapped
to my back.

These days, the sword Tapion Oniisan gave me is more than just a mere
fashion accessory. Papa had made sure of that. Though, he still believed it
best to enter battle bare fisted, you would swear he had been a sword's man
all his life. For months we trained rigorously in the art, and I've grown to
really love to wield my sword.

Sometimes, when we sparred, Goten would get a bit jealous. He wanted to
learn to use a weapon too, though he did not have the commitment and
discipline, or a weapon's expert to teach him. So, generally, I did not use
it when we practiced. Bare fist worked well enough. Those were some of the
best times of my life.

I miss him. Goten, I mean. He was my best friend and constant companion, my
entire life, until he died. I-I'm not ready to talk about that yet. I
still.. Well, I cry every time I think about, about. oh Kami. Goten. Why. He
didn't have to die for me. I didn't want that. I.

I had been thinking too intently to notice someone was there, lurking in the
shadows. I wasn't even really paying much attention to the path ahead of me
to really know that I was heading out of the woods, towards a large field
filled with flowers. As I looked ahead, out at the purple-tinged sky above,
I thought I could sense him. Goten.

Of course, it could not have been. And yet. I felt that way, all the same.
Maybe.

Do you believe in ghosts? No, not the spirits up in heaven, or the things
that go bump in the night, but wandering souls Enma-sama must've somehow
lost track of. Sometimes, I wonder. could they exist? I used to think about
this, a lot, in the days that followed the death of the modern world. A lot
of people died. Actually, almost the entire population. So. what if he
couldn't keep track of them all? That's what I wonder, when I sense the
phantoms of those I've loved.

When I first awoke, I thought I could sense Papa. Though. I had thought he
died, with Goten. Even if he didn't. we didn't put him in cryostasis.
there's no way possible he... Saiyajins don't live that long. Not for
thousands of years. So.

I heard something out there, rustling in the trees. Still, I sensed no one,
but my late friend's ghost. "Goten?" I called into the forest. As I stopped
to listen, I reached backwards and gripped the hilt of my sword. Goten, if
you're out there. please watch over me. I can't leave Bra alone in this
world.

Nothing. Of course nothing. Whatever is out there, it must be powerful
enough to mask its ki so well. Even my father could never completely
suppress his own ki. I stood ready, but nothing could have prepared me for
the shock I was soon to experience there, in the woods.

I felt a sharp shooting pain in my right leg. Someone had shot me with an
arrow. Not just any arrow, but one charged with an incredible amount of ki,
backed by a tremendous force, similar to the technique I use with my sword
to demolish my enemies. I did not have time to ponder the implications of
this, or the rising suspicions that clouded my mind. Using the blade of my
sword, I deflected the next one and looked up into the face of my enemy.

He's alive! I thought to myself, as another arrow came, piercing my chest,
just above my heart. Goten? My best friend's face peered back at me, a wide
grin upon his face. At that moment, I lost my battle mentality and dropped
my guard. It was him!! I could not have done anything to stop him from what
he was about to do next, just stand there and grin back, tears streaking
down my cheeks. While still in super saiyajin form, he clenched his fist,
then punched me in the face.

He had knocked me out. While I slept, he took me captive and had brought me
back to a hidden camp, deeper within the forest. I'm not really sure how
long I had slept, but it was long enough for me to have dreams.

I dreamed of our last moments together. Goten and I-we. I smile at this
thought. He covered my lips with his own, mouth slightly open. I leaned into
the kiss as my heart raced, my mind opened to a world of new opportunities.
I knew he loved me! Our noses brushed, and he reached one hand down behind
me, grabbing my buttocks. I clenched him tight, squeezing his muscled chest
against mine, not knowing what else to do. It did not feel awkward in the
least to touch him, though we were both guys. I moved my face away from his
lips, tracing his jaw with my teeth. Then he kissed my ear as I stroked his
neck, twirling short locks of his thick hair between my fingers.

This was our first and only kiss. Before that moment, he and I had never
expressed our feelings for each other in such an intimate manner. We stood
together like that, enjoying our time together. If I had known he was to
die, I would have never let him go! Then he left, death parting our ways,
for what felt like an eternity.

To be continued.... ain't I evil?

~*Jari*~

Jari Son 2001
DBZ copyright to BIRD STUDIO/SHUEISHA, TOEI ANIMATION
and licensed by FUNImation Productions, Inc.



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