Saiyamoon Dynasty: Chapter 2

Bunny

Trunks skulked into the room, his head hanging low and shoulders slumped. A woman sat at the seat of a computer, keys click-clacking with every tap of a key. Trunks gaped at the back of her head, waiting to see if she would notice his presence. When she didn't react, he gave an exasperated moan. She twirled around with a gasp, bringing her hands to her lips.

"Trunks, sweetie," She rose with haste and approached, falling to her knees before him. "Oh, I didn't even hear you come in!"

Trunks sighed once more. She frowned, tenderly cupping his small face in her hands.

"What happened? You look upset."

"Mama…" Trunks murmured. His eyes were glassy though he refused to cry.

"Is it Daddy again?" she asked. When he didn't answer, she pulled him in close and hugged him. "I don't understand that man, honestly. I can understand with me—but his own son…"

"Mama, does Papa not want me?" Trunks asked. His lower lip quivered. "Is he ashamed of me?"

His mother pulled away from him. She gripped him firmly by the shoulders, her expression stern. "He's not. Your father doesn't know how to express his feelings. Saiyans are…well…"she trailed off uncertain how to put her thoughts into words.

"Why does he ignore me?" Trunks could no longer stop the tears from falling. His mother gave him a pained look, wiping gently at his cheek with the back of her hand.

"Trunks, no matter what your father does or what anyone says, never ever think for a moment that you aren't wanted or loved. Understand?"

Trunks remained silent, staring at his feet through misted eyes. He gave a slight nod.

There came the abrupt swoosh of a sliding door.

"Lady Bulma," an armour-clad woman appeared. "The conference will begin any minute now."

Trunks' mother nodded affirmably, allowing the woman to excuse herself. Bulma gave Trunks a little pat on the head before she stood to gather some things. She gave herself a look in the mirror as she fussed with her hair which extended just past her shoulders into blue-green waves.

"Well, I best get going. What do you think, Trunks— does your mom look pretty?"

Trunks gave a tiny smile, extending his arm out to give her a "thumbs up".

Feeling finally satisfied she bent over, pecking him on the cheek (though she didn't see him screw up his face and wipe it away) and proceeded to the door.

"Take care and don't get into trouble."

Trunks waved at her, but he didn't respond.

Finally free from the guarded eyes around him, Trunks decided he wanted an escape. He discarded his princely armour on the ground, settling for the comfort of his favourite sea green gi. Once the way was clear, he tiptoed through desolate corridors, and escaped the confines of the fortress. He stalked the grounds in search of his only friend. The boy's family lived in separate quarters of the grand compound, an area reserved squarely for the lower-class warriors. As Trunks happened upon the familiar row of rock-carved dwellings, he recognized the tall elder son of the household, Daikon. He knew that Daikon, like his friend, often went by an Earth name—Gohan. It was rarely spoken about, as it was a shame to disclose inter-marriage; that either son was a half-Earthling. What made the boys so willing to be different from other mixed Saiyans was their courageous father, Kakarot, who refused to be ashamed.

Trunks' own mother was an Earthling too. Thanks to her, he inherited pale purple hair unlike the usual black of a full-blooded Saiyan. It was the kingdom's scandalous non-secret secret that their own king was engaged in hypocrisy at its finest by marrying an Earthling. But none dare question it. Trunks was young and never understood. What he did know all too well was the feeling of judging eyes wherever he went as both his father's pride and shame. The only one who seemed to see Trunks as he was was his best friend. To most, the boy was known as "Taro"; to him he was simply "Goten".

"I'm back!" There came the cheerful, high-pitched voice of the young boy, a massive pile of lumber over his shoulder. He stopped at the door where Daikon stood, and dropped the pile to the ground. Daikon smiled, greeting him. He rubbed a hand through his little brother's hair teasingly before walking off.

"Where are you going?" Goten shouted after him.

"I have to report to the base camp for active duty. See you tonight." He waved and Goten waved back, and then he was gone.

Trunks grinned.

"Goten!"

Goten looked around. "Trunks? Is that you? Where are you?"

"Over here!" Trunks said in a loud whisper. He hid among some ferns, trying to avoid attention from others that may pass. Once Goten finally saw, he ran forth and ducked, crawling to his side.

"Oh, hi. I was helping Mom gather firewood."

Trunks smirked, "Are you done? Let's go play."

Goten nodded eagerly. "Okay."

Instantly, the two boys took off, soaring high into the air. They found themselves a lonely field behind the cement ruins of old Tuffle buildings. They busied themselves with mild chatter and several rounds of play fighting. As usual, Trunks won (often by using his cleverness to trick the naïve and good-natured Goten). Though these activities were fun, the pair quickly grew bored. They sat with their faces buried in their hands, cross-legged, brainstorming with little success new activities. At last, a grin came to Trunks' face.

"Hey! Let's go to Earth!"

Goten frowned. "Earth? Oh, I don't know, Trunks..."

Goten was weary of the idea. Earth had once been under the rule of Goten's late grandfather, the Ox King. His mother, a princess and daughter of the Ox King, was exiled for her Saiyan marriage. As such, Goten was prohibited from being there himself. Nonetheless, the boys, set on adventure, would visit Earth in secret; they liked to show off their supernatural athleticism to the Earthlings, flying, throwing ki blasts and moving at high speeds. To the children it was hilarious to see Earthlings' terrified reactions and they would marvel at their relative frailty. But the last time they had dared to visit, they created too much of a disturbance. As such, the boys were scolded by their families.

"Aw, come on. If we're careful, no one will even notice." Trunks said insistently.

Goten didn't respond, but he still seemed uncertain.

"Ok, fine." Trunks sighed. "If anything happens I'll take full responsibility."

Goten beamed, "Promise?"

Trunks gave a definite nod. With that the boys were off again, nearing one of the many Saiyan base camps. Knowing the precise ins and outs of the guards on duty, they were quietly able to find a row of abandoned space pods. They pushed it through the dirt until they found an empty clearing. They hopped in with Trunks at the controls. In a flash, they boys were hurdling through space until they neared the planet, a ball of brilliant blues and green. They zoomed straight forward twirling through Earth's atmosphere.

"Ack!"

The pod came to land with an awkward slump. Trunks apologized for his shaky landing with Goten shaking his head stumbling out dizzily. With both feet on the ground, they noticed they were in a wooded area. They admired the lush grass, fluttering butterflies, leaping squirrels and deer, all complimented by the vast blue sky.

"Wah! Amazing!" Goten breathed.

"Yeah, it's nothing like home." Trunks said, recalling the enduring red haze of their planet's atmosphere. "Why would our mothers ever leave a place like this?"

Once over their amazement, they continued to play. First was a game of tag through the forest. Then they played around the lake, skidding stones across its shallow waters and chasing ducks. Soon they found themselves on the ground, laughing until tears fell.

"Hey, Goten," Trunks said after catching his breath, sitting up. "Why don't we play Hide-And-Seek?"

Goten pouted. "Only if you hide this time. When I hide you always look."

Trunks shook his head adamantly, "Do not! You just pick bad hiding places."

"I saw you! You had your fingers open—like this," Goten preceded to demonstrate with his hands over his eyes, imitating Trunks looking through his fingers.

"Okay, fine. I won't look. See, I'll even turn around," Trunks turned his back to Goten. "And I'll count to ten."

Goten leaped to his feet, set to run. "Fifteen! And promise you won't peek!"

"Promise," Trunks shouted, waving his hand dismissively. "So I'm counting now! 1…2…"

"Okay—Hiding."

Trunks sighed, not even bothering to count past 8 when he opened his eyes. He spun around, scanning the area for his friend. He hovered into the air, trying to get a larger view. Still he saw nothing. He decided to look on foot, scurrying between trees, and parting blades of grass. Short of giving up, Trunks happened upon a particularly dense strip of forest.

"Wow. This is such a good spot. I wonder if he's here."

He marched through the thicket, parting more grass, revealing a hedge of stone covered in moss and an overgrowth of leaves, twigs and fallen branches. The limbs of the trees, donned an overhang of foliage like a canopy of green, gold and brown. It was the perfect place.

But there was no sign of Goten.

"Ugh, where is he?" Trunks folded his arms, despairingly collapsing onto a mound of dirt. "Well, I guess I could hide here after. He'd never find me for sure."

"Cha-la, head-cha-la…nana-na la-la-la-laaa,"

Trunks' ears peaked, hearing a voice emanating through the bushes. He wondered if it was Goten, though the voice sounded softer. He bounded towards it, his hands pulling at the branches. In the distance was an open meadow. Trunks craned his neck slightly. The singing was clearer than ever.

"Fighting evil by moonlight…winning love by daylight …"

The person skipped into full view. It was a girl like none he had ever known on his planet, girls with hair that was a rich black, simple and wild. No. Unlike them, hers were intricately-styled pigtails of cotton candy pink, delicately suspended by two cone-shaped buns. She was small and graceful, her arms and legs slender as opposed to stocky and robust. As she strolled on, taking in the scenery, she smiled with an air that was mild rather than aggressive. She bent over and picked at a single flower, adding them to the cluster already in her hand. She pressed them against her nose and sniffed. Trunks felt a mild blush creep to his face. She was like nothing…nothing he had ever witnessed.

The girl leapt to her feet and circled around suddenly. She seemed to be making her way towards the bushes, towards him. Trunks scrambled nervously. His back against a large tree, he ducked, trying with great effort to disguise himself between the leaves and branches. He held his breath, shutting his eyes tightly as he waited. Minutes seemed to pass. There was a deafening silence, save for the occasional call of a bird. Trunks opened his eyes, cocking his head forward to peer about. He gave a small sigh, feeling relieved—until he heard the rustling of grass. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as out of the blue, a branch snapped. Tumbling to the ground in front of him was the girl. A shower of flowers, the ones she had been holding, danced around them.

"Ow! I tripped," she whined agitatedly. The girl rubbed her head tenderly as she lifted herself to her knees. Trunks stared confusedly. Seeming to feel his eyes on her, she turned and stared back, recoiling with surprise. She gasped. "Someone's here? How embarrassing."

For a moment, Trunks was silent. The seemingly graceful girl was a total klutz. As she sat looking flustered, her face was speckled with dirt and her once perfect tresses were now tangled with leaves and twigs. After finally realising what happened, he snickered. She didn't seem so amused.

"It's not funny, I could be hurt!" she cried, giving him a reproachful glare.

"But you're not." Trunks sneered bemusedly. She rolled her eyes at him.

"What are you doing anyway? Are you lost or something?" She asked. They were in a very secluded part of the woods. "Where's your mom? Or dad?"

Trunks thought for a moment. He was just a little kid, and so was she. But he was no average kid. He was a prince — a Saiyan prince.

"I ran away," he answered smugly, crossing his arms.

"Really?" The girl looked amazed. Not taking care about dirtying her clothes in the grass and soil, she shuffled closer.

Trunks gave a single nod.

"Well, I'm hiding." She then pressed a finger to her lips, making a "shushing" motion.

Trunks looked around strangely, wondering who she could be hiding from. He then guiltily remembered Goten. He gulped, but decided not to pay the thought any mind.

"Oh, I'm hiding too," Trunks lied quickly. "No one will find you here. This is the best spot."

The girl bobbed her head in agreement, fiddling with the folds in her skirt. "How old are you anyway?" she asked, her voice dropping to a low whisper.

"I'm eight," Trunks whispered proudly, gesturing with all fingers on his left hand and three fingers on his right.

"Me too!" the girl exclaimed, eyes shining with excitement. The two seemed to fall into a prolonged staring session, both examining the other as two children who were curious, nothing more than strangers yet desperately eager for familiarity. Trunks' eyes grew large as she leaned in closer, her face inches from his. Her eyes were a dazzling ruby-brown. Everyone he knew had eyes of black or violet. The only exceptions were his blue eyes, like his Earthling mother. He felt the blush return.

"Er, what's your name?" Trunks stammered, pulling back slightly. "I'm Trunks."

The girl looked suddenly shy. "Um, I…my real name is a little embarrassing but…you can call me Chibiusa,"

"Chee-be-oo-sa," Trunks knitted his brow confusedly. "Wha?"

Her cheeks tinged pink. "My mom's nickname is Usagi. I'm Chibi Usagi. So Chibi-usa."

Trunks finally understood, blushing deeper in response. He watched her tiny hands as they reached out to grab his. They were soft. She rose to a standing position, gently tugging him upwards. Trunks stood shakily. She truly was little, as the tip top of her head met only at the end of his nose. She really did resemble a small bunny.

"Hey, you're all alone, right? Let's play!" Chibiusa chorused.

Play? Trunks never played with girls. In fact, he rarely played with anyone other than Goten. He grinned eagerly at the thought. Suddenly, Chibiusa's face paled and she dropped his hands violently like burning hot coals.

"You have a tail!" she shrieked, leaping back in horror.

Trunks was confused, whirling around in vain to regard his own backside. "Uh, yeah?"

"Is it real?"

"Of course it is."

"Why do you have a tail?" Chibiusa squealed, her stare reflecting a mixed combination of intrigue and disgust.

"Why don't you have one?" he quipped, hands on his hips. "My tail is awesome!"

"People don't have tails!" Chibiusa's brows created a deep furrow at the centre of her face; eyes squinted as though taking offence to the question. "Ordinary boys shouldn't have tails."

Trunks smirked. "Well, I'm no ordinary boy." He then turned, tilting his head towards an ashen log of a fallen tree that lay near to them. Chibiusa followed his line of sights, and saw it as well. She watched in a stupor as he lifted the enormous log without effort, its weight and girth enough to shame a great elephant. With a smile larger than ever, Trunks pushed through the brush, positioning himself towards an empty field.

He gathered his strength…

"Hyah!"

He threw it.

Chibiusa gasped, her mouth lulling open as the chunk of wood disappeared into the sky and landed somewhere in the distance, a faraway "thump" sound sending birds scattering and clouds of dust flying.

"Whoa! You're really, really strong!"

"Yup," Trunks dusted his hands off onto his clothes before planting them on his hips once more. His eyes were closed, but when he opened them he faltered slightly noting the look of admiration in her eyes. He felt a weird lurch in his chest.

"Hey!"

Trunks averted his gaze and Chibiusa spun on her heels. Goten's head was poking through the other side of the bushes.

"G-Goten," Trunks stammered weakly.

"You were taking forever to find me so I came to find you. Why the heck are you throwing trees?"

Trunks didn't respond as Goten noticed Chibiusa. They stared confusedly at each other.

"Small Lady! Where are you?" a girl's faraway voice could be heard screaming. A look of panic crossed the pink-haired girl's face.

"Uh oh—I have to go," she swerved around, breaking into a run. Throwing a glance over her shoulder, she smiled at Trunks. "Come back and play with me again, okay?"

Trunks didn't speak, watching with astonishment as Chibiusa climbed through the bushes and darted out of sight.

Goten scratched his forehead. "What kind of person is that?"

Trunks was quiet for a moment, awestruck. He gave a wide grin.

"A rabbit."