Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Shadow in the Twilight ❯ Chapter 23 ( Chapter 23 )

Chapter 23

Bardock's self-imposed silence was making Lluvia anxious. The Saiya-jin had not offered word one to her since they had taken their leave of the group in the infirmary. The warmth and secure feel of his arms as he held her was telling her one thing, but his lack of verbal communication was making her a trifle edgy. Could it be that he had changed his mind about her? Did he still want her? She certainly hadn't changed her mind about him.

During the short flight back to her room, Lluvia had closed her eyes tightly against the forced airflow around them and buried her face into the warmth of his muscular neck. The Saiya-jin felt the satin touch of her skin against his own and steeled himself not to look down at her. If he did, then he would totally lose the last vestiges of his wavering self-control. Every infinitesimally small thing this female had done touched him like nothing else ever had. As he flew, his thoughts kept replaying in an endless loop of the past days' events. Freeze frames of her tenderly holding her friends' newborn babe in her hands and crooning a song; standing warrior-proud with the katana gripped in her small fist; prancing about the arena floor and commanding everyone's attention; emerging soaking wet from the lotus pond; and, with one simple, uncomplicated look, capturing his heart.

Lluvia spoke into the room's access chip and the door slid open in response to her voiced command. Bardock gently deposited her on her feet and walked in continued silence towards the two-way window to peer out at the capitol city's illuminated skyline outlined by the star-flecked night.

She hesitatingly walked up to him, unpinning her fluffy locks from the confining hairdo she'd worn earlier. Hope and apprehension were reflected equally in her eyes as she looked at his distracted face. Her concern was increased by the far-off look he wore as he gazed out the window.

In his head, he'd been formulating the words he needed to say to her, important words that he could no longer hold back. "Lluvia…"

"Is something wrong, Bardock? You've been so quiet all this time. I…" Before she could finish, the warrior took her by the hand and guided her to take a seat on the edge of the bed. She started to lean forward, but he backed away from her bewildered look to again face the curtained window and extended one arm to lean his weight against the wall. The Saiya-jin commander began to speak aloud, as if talking to himself:

"I was born and bred to be a warrior. From my earliest age, I was destined to be an exceptionally efficient and obedient soldier. By excelling in these attributes, I secured my place in this world. My closest friend, Toma, is also a fellow soldier and is my brother in all but shared parental blood."

Bardock paused to consider his next words. Lluvia dared not breathe, fearing even the smallest intake would be too loud in the brief silent interval.

"Our world is very structured, and its laws are enforced by our royal leadership. In particular, the ordinances pertaining to mating, while not written in stone, are understood to be non-negotiable. These decrees were established centuries ago to ensure the continuation of our race due to the disparate ratio of available females to males. On Vegeta-sei, Saiya-jin males outnumber females nearly twenty to one. The birth rate of Saiya-jin males has always been disproportionately higher for as long as Vegeta-sei has kept records of this anomaly. The females of our species, as you might not already know, are slated to be either soldiers or courtesans, based upon their measured power levels and their birth rank. Either way, they are openly encouraged to entertain as many mating partners as they want throughout their lifetimes and to become impregnated as many times as possible, until they are no longer fecund.

I, myself, have fathered two males with two separate females. Raditz, whom you have already met, is my firstborn, and has recently reached adulthood. When he was born his place as a soldier was guaranteed by his high power level, as was mine before him. My second son, Kakarott, was born with a very low power level and, once he attained a viable infant stage, was sent out in cryo-sleep to a distant planet called Chikyuu. The last I saw of my second-born was when they placed him into a space pod and he rocketed off into the far reaches of space to affect his first assigned planet-purge.

I am telling you all of this so that you will understand what you may be getting involved with." He turned his head slightly to meet her wondering gaze.

For the time being, he chose to keep the additional visions he'd had of his second son growing up under the distant world's influence to himself. With a mind-set so far removed from that of native-born Saiya-jins, he knew that Kakarott would never be able to fit into his home world again. Despite all that, Bardock was inwardly comforted by the knowledge that his youngest offspring would safely grow to manhood on Chikyuu, away from Vegeta-sei and its doomed inhabitants.

Lluvia's rampant pulse was hammering in her veins as she listened intently. Raditz was Bardock's son? She could scarcely believe it, since Bardock didn't look that old, but…now that she thought about it, they did look a little alike.

"Please, go on, Bardock," she quietly prompted. He took another quick inhalation and squared his shoulders, facing away from her once more.

"Not long after the time that Kakarott was sent away, I was on an assigned planet-purge mission with my team to a world far away from Vegeta-sei. There I suffered a severe blow to the base of my skull. My injury was inflicted by a creature called a Kanassa-jin and with it he cursed me with the ability to have visions of the future; Vegeta-sei's future, in particular. My 'spells' are unpredictable and can either take hold of me for mere seconds or for excruciatingly longer periods of time. Regardless, the one vision that haunts me repeatedly is of Vegeta-sei's destruction at the hands of Frieza. I have tried, on numerous occasions and without success, to relay this portent to someone, anyone, but my warnings have been sloughed off as mad ramblings." His tone became abruptly colored with a bitter edge.

"'We Saiya-jins are invincible,' I am told repeatedly in response. 'Frieza will always need us to do his dirty work', they keep spouting back to me.

The truth is Frieza hates us. The truth is that he fears our inborn Saiya-jin ability to become physically stronger after every battle, whether through sparring or from actual combat. Unfortunately, I cannot convince my fellow Saiya-jins of this, try as I might."

Lluvia remained sitting quietly, her hands clutched tightly together on her lap. Her eyes were closed, as her concentration hung onto Bardock's every word.

"My planet's fate is doomed; of this I am dead certain. The only uncertainty that exists at present is when this will all happen.

"What I am about to ask of you flies in the face of my lifelong indoctrination and my structured obedience to Saiya-jin values and traditions. Outside of the royal family, monogamous couplings are not openly encouraged, by the self-same reasons I mentioned earlier. But there have been instances of permanent pairings, which involve an ancient ritual called life-bonding. It occurs when a male and female pledge themselves exclusively to each other for life. As part of the ritual, they place a visible mark upon each other…here." Bardock raised his right index finger and pointed to the left side of his neck.

"For as long as the two live, the bond is unbreakable. Saiya-jin law recognizes this and once two have become declared, marked lifemates, all other Saiya-jins must honor and respect their pact. Bondings with non-Saiya-jins are not unheard of, but carry the risk of censure or banishment by other Saiya-jins. We were always taught that 'ningens are for practice' and as such, are believed to be beneath our consideration as bonded lifemates."

Lluvia's thoughts were darting about in her mind like a terrified bird blindly thrashing about the confines of its cage. Don't panic, said her heart. Hear him out.

He turned his head slightly, looking over his shoulder at her worried face and his voice softened its timbre. "I never questioned my loyalty to these unshakable tenets, until I met you.

"When I first saw you on Theta Seven, something indescribable happened to me. You witnessed me having one of my spells, but strangely enough, that particular vision had nothing to do with Vegeta-sei's destruction. I became cognizant of an overwhelming sense of surfacing recognition. In that vision, I saw only you. Through it, I knew you, I felt you, I smelled you, I tasted you, and I was suffused by a feeling so alien that it almost frightened me, but it exhilarated me beyond reason at the same time. I returned to Vegeta-sei, hoping that the imposed distance would eventually remove you from my thoughts.

Then I saw you emerging from the transport and setting foot onto the surface of my world. And in the space of just a few days, you have created a profound change in me. For the first time in my life, I realize and understand the need to bond with another, to create a melding of two souls into one. Lluvia…my lotus blossom…I want…I need to bond with you."

Bardock listened to the sound of the softly rustling material gently disturbing the air behind him as she walked across the floor. He felt the side of her face pressing against his back, followed by her gentle embrace as her arms slid around his ribcage to pull his body into hers. He looked down at the two pale, slender hands crossing on his breastplate and brought his own larger hands up to warmly cover them. The two of them stood this way for a few moments with their breathing the only sound in the quiet room. "Ah, sweet Saiya-jin mine. I, too, must confess that I couldn't get you out of my mind. After that first night on Theta Seven, I lost many a subsequent night's sleep, tossing and turning, because all I could see was your face before me. In my restless dreams, my arms would reach out to embrace you, my lips yearned for the taste of your mouth on mine, and my body ached for your touch." She felt her cheeks grow warm, blushing into a deeper lilac with the spoken admittance.

He slowly turned in her embrace until they were facing each other. His hand came up to brush back a loosened white-gold strand from her cheek. Her soft, bright eyes captured his with a look so full of promise and desire that he knew in his heart, and beyond any doubt, that he was gazing straight into the face of his own future. "Bardock, your words are far more beautiful to me than any florid, empty declarations, for they are born within the soul of a warrior. They are without artifice, and are simple, honest, and heartfelt. Please, tell me, show me what you require from me and I will gladly give to you whatever I have to offer!"

His eyes closed for a second or two before he spoke the next words. "There is a caveat in all of this. You see, when we bond, we will be sharing our memories, all of them. I would spare you of this, but it is unavoidable."

"I don't understand…"

"My memories are those belonging a warrior, little baka. They are a compilation of many battles fought on several fronts on behalf of Vegeta-sei and Frieza, consisting of the massive destruction of many lives and the enjoyment of the bloodlust that infused my senses each time I participated. You will be a witness to all of my memories and the feelings that accompanied them. I need to warn you that the bonding will transport you to a place to which you may not be prepared to go. This is why it has been less complicated for Saiya-jins to bond with one another. We do not fear the knowledge of our base natures and the acceptance of this reality exists on an instinctively subconscious level. This is just the way we are. Only non-Saiya-jins who were very strong psychologically have survived bonding with us. It is rumored that some potential ningen bondmates were driven beyond the brink of madness because they could not accept or endure the mental anguish that accompanied bonding with a Saiya-jin."

Lluvia gave him a strange look and detached herself from him. It was her turn to go silent and stare out of the window. Her left foot began tapping its familiar agitated tattoo onto the floor. Tilting her head slightly to the side, she looked at him past her shoulder. "After all we've been through, I cannot believe that you are actually trying to talk me out of this! Don't you believe I'm strong enough to withstand whatever this bonding process will show me about you? And what about my memories? Just for the record, my life hasn't been all sweetness and light! How can you be so damned certain that it won't be my memories and not yours that will be more dreadful to behold?" In truth, she knew that his were more than likely the worse of the two, but she refused to believe she couldn't handle them.

"A good point. I never thought of that."

Lluvia expelled a heavy sigh as her voice softened, dropping its annoyed tinge.

"Bardock, I am not afraid of what has happened in the past, for it has made us what we are. We've been granted a rare Kami-given chance to create a new future together and if we miss it, we will both be the poorer for it! A future without you in my life would be…unbearable!" Bardock smiled gently at her declaration, for it was a feeling he also shared. He could no longer foresee a life for himself without her by his side.

"And what I told you about Vegeta-sei? Are you not certain that you'll be casting your lot with that of a madman, as my fellow Saiya-jins call me behind my back?"

Lluvia returned to stand before him and frowned up into his face. "You are no madman, Bardock! You've told me nothing that any rational person would think to dispute! In the grand scheme of this universe, there are always those who deem themselves as the supreme masters. Eventually, they come to realize that as invulnerable as they believe themselves to be, there will always exist other beings who are even more ruthless and powerful, and who will stop at absolutely nothing to divest themselves of the competition. From the rumors I've heard of late circulating around this quadrant, it is Frieza's sanity that's questionable, not yours!"

Bardock couldn't help but grin down at Lluvia's adamant expression. "By the way, there is just one more thing."

Groan. She rolled her weary eyes, leaning forward until just her forehead rested against his shoulder. "My poor little brainpan's already on overload! Now what, Saiya-jin?"

"You stink." She looked up at him with such an incredulously comical look that he nearly burst out laughing.

"I…WHAT?"

"You heard me the first time, baka."

"I DO NOT STINK!" she yelled, bristling with indignation. "Why, I didn't even dab on that much perfume!"

"Yes, you reek considerably. That garment you're wearing has absorbed a large number of odors. In fact, I can detect the musk of any number of males upon you, including your friends' and especially Zarbon's." He frowned for a moment at the mention of Zarbon's name, for he couldn't tolerate the blue-skinned man's loathsome smell anywhere on his Lluvia.

"Fine, Mr. Hypersensitive Nose! I'm always up for some good clean fun anyway, so why don't we two just slide into the shower room and…"

"That will not be sufficient to eradicate the smell off of you."

"Not sufficient…alright then, what do you suggest…YEOW!" All of a sudden, Lluvia found herself draped facedown over Bardock's broad right shoulder. He landed a light, playful smack onto her backside as he began to tote her through the doorway which led to the shower.

"OW, Bardock! What the hell do you…" She tried to brace herself against the bounce from his strides and ducked just in time to avoid banging the back of her head against the top of the door frame. Lluvia watched the door to the bedroom recede behind them as he carried her past the shower towards another doorway situated at the far end of the narrow corridor. During her visit, she'd wondered to where this particular doorway led, but her tight schedule hadn't allowed for random wanderings near her quarters.

"Do be quiet for once, little baka. I have this situation totally under control!" Bardock said with a knowing grin.