Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Akki no Onna ❯ Vegeta and his tree (Grandpa Part 2) ( Chapter 6 )

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When Akki had seen the man called Gokou appear with the pint sized man beside him, she had felt her heart stop beating in her chest. There was no reason for her to be alarmed by this sudden appearance. After all he had done this countless times before…Hadn't he?

But…something wasn't right. His sense felt….wrong. Vegeta calling out to Pan to get away from this renowned man only confirmed her suspicions. He had lost all of his good nature. He was…for lack of a better term- evil. She wished this first hypotheses hadn't been the worst thing she could possibly imagine.

She had recently come to a new revelation in her fighting strategy and was waiting for the right time to reveal it- but…this wasn't exactly what she had in mind. She didn't want to use it on her mentor, though she doubted that she would even have the advantage, since he always managed to remain two or three steps ahead of her.

There was still hope that she had Vegeta could be proven wrong and for the moment she would have to cling to it with all her might…at least until the truth was revealed. And then a few minutes later it was.

Gokou stared down at the granddaughter he adored, his eyes bottomless pits, before asking- or rather announcing, "My master wishes for your death. How would you like to die?"

Pan's eyes grew wide, her surprise evident in all of her features. Akki, a few hundred feet away copied the girl's expression but for a different reason. In that moment- if someone had been paying close enough attention, this individual could prove that the two girls were actually one in the same. Pan. One from the future, one from now.

But no one was paying attention to either girl at the moment- too shocked at what they had just heard to do much else but stare at the man, jaws dropped. Akki stared at her mentor…no her grandfather. In that brief flash of an instant after he said those words- memories that had long since been forgotten had been let loose- tearing apart her insides in their fiery rage.

Everything came back- all the deaths, all the tragedy, all the fear. Everything.

And the one memory that struck out in particular was the reason behind her shame and living hell during those days. Her grandfather…couldn't kill her. It was unexplained, an ever troublesome fact that gnawed slowly at her heart during those days…especially after he killed her parents.

Especially when she and her mom…no Aunty B were the only ones left.

"For the last time. Pan. Get the fucking hell away from him!" Vegeta screamed, his voice mobilizing the girl into automatic reaction, while making Akki's- no was it Pan now?- head reel. This scene…so familiar, yet so different. She was the one by Vegeta last time. She was the one he was protecting when he died…

That thought alone jolted her into temporary action, though he mind was still numb. He was going to die if she didn't stop her sensei. Her father was going to die if she didn't do something! "GOKOU!" The man…Grandpa? Mentor? Sensei? Gokou?…turned to Akki, his onyx eyes focusing on her form, waiting for her to continue. She smirked at him challengingly, "You trained me before, but I've grown at least ten times stronger since we've last fought. Care for a challenge?"

Gokou paused, seeming to weigh his options out, and then to everyone's surprise but Akki's he turned to the form behind him, "What shall I do my master?"

"The runts the one who's controlling you Kakkarrot?" Vegeta asked in derision. Clearly this was too much of an insult then what he could withstand- even if it was on a fellow Saiyan. Akki froze. No. She knew that what he was about to do would make the situation many times worse. She turned to glare at him, opening her mouth to make him understand before it was too late.

But he wasn't looking at her. And he was too far away for her voice to catch his attention- don't get her wrong, he had more then average hearing, but she knew how focused he could get on a goal, ignoring everything and everyone else until it was settled. And she couldn't stop him this time. She was too far away…too…weak, only she was stronger then perhaps anyone and everybody in the universe.

Still…she had to try, "FATHER! Don't! He'll still be evil!"

Pan's head snapped towards me, her eyes widening, understanding perhaps more then anyone could what this meant. And she was too caught up in her hatred for this idea, to realize that even something that she saw as cruel fate could have its uses sometimes. She was too caught up in her own world to realize that she had had the power- if only for a few seconds to stop Vegeta and therefore perhaps make a better future for this world.

Vegeta's ki blast flew true to its mark, hitting Pilaf squarely in his chest, and sending the petit man to the next dimension. He frowned at how easily he was able to kill this being that controlled Kakkorat. After a moment he snarled at the lifeless body and turned to Gokou, whose body had been silently raked with laughter.

Akki sighed inwardly, but held a firm mask of aloofness on her face. She could turn this around yet, "So. Now that your master's out of the way, care for a spar?"

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Vegeta stared at the man who had, after only a brief clash in battle, planted a seed in him that grew into a tree (…at least a small one). If it weren't for Kakkarrot then he would either be dead many times over or still serving Frieza. To say he owed Kakkarot his life was an understatement. And he hated that fact.

Life could easily be repaid…but what Kakkarot had done to him… well that deserved both condemnation and praise at the same time. He would have liked to still be the heartless, cold-blooded Saiyan he had been when he first landed on this blasted planet, but that wasn't the case. And could never be the case again.

But there was no way to hate Kakkarrot for what he did, or condemn him, as much as he could thank the taller man. So he had therefore been stuck in an odd spot for many years- unable to find a way to uphold his honor when it came to this man, which dictated him to give back what he owed. But there was no way he could do that. He wouldn't know where to even start.

This recent entanglement, however, he had jumped to the conclusion that he had found the opportunity he had been waiting for. But when after killing Pilaf Kakkarrot was not turned back to normal- only now freer to use his ingenuity to hurt the people he loved…well to say that his plan backfired was another understatement.

But his daughter was giving him a chance to redeem himself and his actions. From the pleading glances she kept on throwing his way and then nodding to Kami's Lookout…well he understood what the course of action she had chosen was to say the least. She thought that she could buy them the time they sorely needed. If it had happened to anyone but Kakkarrot, Vegeta might be a bit more optimistic about their current…situation, but he was Kakkarrot. And if Vegeta had yet to best this man ever, then how could anyone defeat him?

It didn't take him long to find that he agreed with his daughter- it was best if they went to Kami's Lookout. "Pan." She turned, interested in what he had to say. "Go get the two brats. We're leaving."

For a moment she opened her mouth and it looked like she would protest, but then she pressed it firmly shut and bowed stiffly, "As you wish Vegeta-sensei."

Vegeta rolled his eyes at the retreating form, wondering if the hint of sarcasm he had detected in her voice was meant for him to hear or not. But then…what did he care about a six year old and her quirks? If Pan and Akki were in truth the same person then she may be the best hope this world has, but if not…well let's just say she better be.

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