Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Becoming Trunks ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter 12

You looked so beautiful tonight

Reminds me how you laid us down

And gently smiled

Before you destroyed my heart

Would you find it in your heart

To make this go away

And let me rest in pieces

(Rest in Pieces-Saliva)

Vegeta trained intensely while Miyuki's promotion was announced on the corner video screen. He stopped abruptly, sensing that something was amiss. He attempted to contact his son telepathically, but Trunks did not want to be bothered.

Trunks drank about half the bottle of what turned out to be rum. He believed that he was going to spend the rest of his life with Miyuki. The painful thought that he would not be able to have her near was something he could not fathom. Slowly, the rum was starting to work its magic and he started to become numb.

Miyuki was excited about her new job. Immediately following the announcement, she, Bulma, and other staff from the North American branch all had a conference call regarding the timeframe for upcoming the transition to the new management. Since the current CEO would be leaving in a month, Miyuki had only two weeks in which to pack up and move and then two weeks in her new home with the current management to ease into her new position. Unfortunately, that also meant that she only had two more weeks to spend with the lavender haired son of her boss. That part of the equation made her uneasy and sad. She could not imagine life without him, but it was better to end the relationship when they were on good terms, because all relationships inevitably ended. She wanted this one to end positively.

A concerned Vegeta made his way into the house and found his son in his bed with an empty bottle of rum dangling from his hand. At first he was taken aback to see his son in this condition, but shock quickly turned into annoyance. "What the hell do you think your doing, boy?" he demanded irritably.

Trunks slowly turned his head to face his father and just stared back at him with contempt. Thanks to the effects of the booze, he was unable to come up with any coherent words to say, so instead he threw the empty bottle at Vegeta.

Vegeta merely leaned to the side a little and easily caught the bottle before it could smash into the wall behind him. He sniffed once at the emptied bottle and glanced down at the label to see what his son had been drinking. "Where did you get this?" he asked, much calmer this time.

As Vegeta watched, Trunks gradually managed to position his uncooperative legs over the side of the bed and prop himself into a sitting position. Then he stood up slowly and swayed a little before coming face-to-face with his father. "First of all, Father," he slurred, "my name is Trunks. It has always been Trunks, not `boy.' And secondly," he stopped for a moment struggling to piece the right words together to tell his father what had just happened. "I am done with women!" His arms flew open dramatically. "All women! Women are nothing but trouble! And you!" he shouted, weaving where he stood and pointing his finger towards Vegeta, "You should have told me that! You should have told me what it was like to be hurt badly by a woman. What kind of father are you?"

Vegeta's eyes opened wide at the accusation before glaring back at his firstborn. "I suggest that you get your facts straight. Until a short while ago, you never bothered to approach me about women. Hell, I didn't even know you were seeing that girl until your mother read about your little escapade in the paper. This behavior of yours is completely irrational! You want to blame me for everything that goes wrong in your life? Feh!" he snorted. "You can just forget it! I will not take responsibility for you getting hurt by this girl!"

Trunks turned away from his father as hate filled his being and his hands clenched to form fists. In and instant, he turned and punched his father in the stomach, sending him flying through the wall.

Vegeta landed, stunned for a moment, then got up and brushed himself off. He looked at his son and slowly moved toward him. Trunks was already in a fighting stance and breathing heavy. "If you dare start a fight with me, you'd best be prepared to get hurt much worse than you are feeling right now," growled Vegeta in a most menacing tone.

An enraged Trunks, lunged at his father, but Vegeta was ready this time. He struck Trunks with such force that it sent him flying backwards, through his bedroom window, shattering upon impact. Vegeta followed him outside and quickly took a fighting stance.

Once he stopped his spinning from his father's punch, Trunks shook his head hard so that he might rid himself of the fuzziness. The moment he faced his father, his fury returned with a vengeance. Without warning, Trunks turned into a Super Saiyan. Vegeta followed suit, also transforming into a Super Saiyan.

The unusual surge in power immediately caught the attention of the other Saiyans. Goten stopped working and snuck out of the warehouse without Kwang's seeing him. Goku and Gohan both dropped what they were doing to follow the power signals. Even Bra stopped in the middle of her playing to run outside and see what was going on. Bulma was almost done with her conference call, when she got a feeling something was horribly wrong. Looking out of her office window, she could see lights flashing in the distance and knew instantly what was going on. She ended the call abruptly, and with Miyuki following close behind, they ran in the direction of the commotion.

Goten and Bra were the first to arrive, but neither of them had any idea what to do. Bulma and Miyuki showed up next. They were all startled and frightened by the angry intensity of the fight, for this was no friendly sparring match. "Stop it! You are going to kill each other!" screamed Bulma as she watched the two men go after each other. She continued to cry out at them until Goku showed up. "Do something!" she yelled, grabbing the front of his shirt and shaking him.

"Gosh, Bulma. What do you want me to do?" replied Goku scratching the back of his head.

"Break it up!" shrieked Bulma with tears in her eyes. "Vegeta is going to kill him!"

"He wouldn't do that," Goku stated with childlike simplicity.

Bulma groaned and pounded her fists on Goku's chest and then looked up helplessly as the two men she loved more than life itself continued to beat the hell out of each other.

Miyuki just stood there and watched feeling powerless to help. She had already figured the fact that the announcement of her new job and this fight were occurring so close together couldn't possibly be a mere coincidence. Her stomach turned to knots as she watched.

With one swift punch, a flying Vegeta drove his son into the ground only a few feet away from where the group had gathered. With Gohan's help, Goku seized upon the moment. The two of them quickly flew up and managed to subdue Vegeta, bringing him back down to the ground. Bulma ran over to where Trunks had landed and shook him, trying to wake him up. The force of the impact had caused him to involuntarily power down from Super Saiyan form. He opened his eyes slowly to look at his mother, but his expression was far from grateful. He sat up roughly and pushed her helping arms off of him. A tearful Bulma moved back a few steps as Goten stepped in and tried to help him stand. Miyuki hurried over and observed his condition with a shocked look. Trunks pulled away from Goten's grasp to stand on his own and came face-to-face with Miyuki. She reached up to touch his cheek, but he purposely leaned away from her hand. He didn't want to feel her deceitful touch ever again. He turned his head to spit some blood on the ground and looked at Miyuki again with loathing in his eyes. With Goten following, he turned and walked into the house.

Goku and Gohan did not release Vegeta until he had also powered down. Once they let him go, he followed Trunks into the house, not looking back at his mate. Miyuki felt frozen in the wake of Trunks' anger. His last look told her it was over between them and he wanted nothing more to do with her. She felt Bulma's hand on her shoulder and tears began to well up in her eyes. "Go home Miyuki," said Bulma softly. "They will be okay."

Miyuki shook her head and abruptly turned away from Bulma's consoling words. She didn't want her boss to see her crying. As she walked back to her office to retrieve her things and go home, the look on Trunks' face flashed across her thoughts repeatedly. She had never seen such hate in his eyes. In that one awful moment, he looked just like his father, and it truly scared her.

Trunks slowly stumbled up the stairs to his room with Goten right on his heels. When he got there he lumbered into the bathroom and peered into the mirror to survey the damage to his face. He had several cuts that were bleeding, but nothing that he hadn't experienced before. He took his tattered shirt and the rest of his clothes off and got in the shower.

Goten was waiting for Trunks to emerge from his shower when Bulma waltzed into her son's room. "What the hell?" she exclaimed as soon as she saw the huge hole in the drywall on one side and what remained of the shattered window on the other side. "Why do they have to act like such children?" she asked, looking at Goten.

Goten shrugged his shoulders and didn't say a word. The last thing he wanted was to get in the middle of a Briefs' family argument.

Bulma pulled her phone out of her pocket and speed-dialed her favorite contractor. The contractor had done a lot of work for the Briefs since Vegeta had come to live with them. As she explained the damage, she walked out of the room, leaving Goten alone.

Trunks finished his shower, stepped out of the stall and grabbed a towel to dry off. He stared into the steam-fogged mirror at the fresh bruises and cuts, while at the same time tried to push thoughts of Miyuki out of his mind. Still woozy from all of the alcohol he had consumed, he suddenly felt a wave of nausea come over him. He reached his hand out to clutch whatever was within his grasp to steady himself and sat down. Tears started to well up in his eyes again and he struggled to keep them from flowing.

After she'd hung up with the contractor, Bulma marched into the bedroom she shared with the Saiyan Prince and found him in their bathroom surveying the damage his son had inflicted. "What the hell was that all about?" she demanded.

Vegeta turned away from the mirror to face his mate. "I am not sure, exactly, but it has to do with that girl. Perhaps it is you who should furnish me with an explanation," he answered, a calmness in his voice that Bulma rarely heard from him.

Bulma apprised Vegeta of the day's events. Upon hearing the news of Miyuki's promotion and move to the other side of the planet, Vegeta understood the anger his son was feeling. "I guess our son hates both of us now," sighed Bulma to her mate. She picked up a dampened washcloth and began wiping the dried blood from Vegeta's face. She was always amazed at the beating his face could take and never scar.

Vegeta closed his eyes relishing the caring touch his mate was providing him. This was the side of Vegeta that only Bulma saw.

Back in Trunks' bedroom, Goten was on the phone to Sayuri, letting her know what had gone on that afternoon. Trunks pulled himself together, wrapped a towel around his waist, and exited the bathroom. The moment Trunks emerged, Goten quickly wrapped up his conversation with Sayuri, not wanting to put any more salt in his friend's wounds. "Dude, what's up?" he asked, watching as Trunks walked over to his dresser and opened a drawer. "I have never seen you like this."

Trunks took a deep breath as he pulled on a pair of shorts and threw his towel on the floor. "Just smash my head against the wall and kill me. Could you do that for a friend?" replied Trunks with a hint of sarcasm.

Goten shook his head. "No way. I couldn't do that. Talk to me!"

"I don't want to talk about it. Thanks for looking out for me, but I just want to be alone." He moved over to his bed and laid down, shutting his eyes. When Goten was sure that his friend was sleeping, he slipped out of the room and flew home.

For the next week and a half, Miyuki avoided all contact with the lavender-haired boy who she adored. It was difficult, but she chalked it up to choices. She told herself repeatedly that she had already chosen her path when they had begun their relationship, and if he couldn't accept that, then that was his problem. A week before her moving date she started packing up her belongings. A lot of her stuff she gave to Sayuri and some things were sold to friends from work. She knew at some point she was going to have to contact Trunks to return his television and video game system. Dreading the inevitable, she put it off as long as possible. She continued to busy herself with packing, recovery meetings, finding a replacement to teach aerobics, and work. There were quite a few loose ends she needed to tie up at the lab and this kept her mind occupied to the best of her ability. She felt a deep sorrow that her relationship with Trunks had ended so abruptly and with such hatred on his part.

With only a few days left, she finally mustered up the courage to call him. She had already figured he wouldn't answer her call so she was prepared to leave a very generic message for him. It would go something like, "Hi Trunks, this is Miyuki. I am leaving in a few days and wanted to return your television and game system. If you leave me a message, I will put them on my front porch so that you can come and get them when it's convenient."

Miyuki dialed the number that had become so familiar to her and waited. After a few rings the answering machine took over. The sound of his voice on his message made her heart skip a beat. After a moment of silence, she quickly mumbled her message and with shaking hands, hung up. It reminded her that the last week and a half had been the loneliest she had felt in a long time.

Later that same evening as she was sitting on the floor of her apartment, smoking a cigarette and working on her laptop her doorbell rang. She shook herself out of the trance she was in and walked to the door. Figuring it was Sayuri coming over to try for the hundredth time to talk her out of leaving, she opened the door. To her surprise, it was not her neighbor, but Trunks. He leaned against the doorframe and looked at her with a cold expression. At the sight of him, Miyuki's first instinct was to smile and fall into his arms, but the look on his face advised her against doing that. "Hi," was all she could say.

Trunks took a deep breath. He looked at her and his face softened a little. He wanted to hold her, but the hurt he felt wouldn't let him. "I'm here for the TV and game," he stated flatly.

Miyuki took a few steps backward and opened the door wider so that he could come in. She pointed to where she had moved his things by the door. "They are right here," she said and cleared her throat. It was too hard for her look at him so she walked to the other side of the room and picked up her cigarette.

Trunks looked down at the pile of electronics and clothes, and then over at Miyuki, who had her back to him. He practiced over and over in his head all the cruel things he was going to say when they came face to face, but being this close to her made some of his anger dissipate.

Miyuki had not heard the door close, so she turned around to see what Trunks was doing. Trunks looked at her and their eyes met for a moment before Miyuki pulled hers away. "Is there something else?" she inquired.

Trunks stood silently for a moment before saying to her, "Don't do this."

Miyuki caught his gaze again and replied, "Do what?"

"Don't go."

"Trunks, I told you from the beginning that this was my plan. We talked about this and-"

"No, Miyuki, we did not talk about this!" interrupted Trunks. "We never talked about this because every time I tried to bring it up you stopped me from talking about it! I never got to tell you how I felt about your accepting this job. You just assumed I would go on with my life and forget that we ever happened. I can't do that!" Trunks had moved closer to where Miyuki was standing as he shouted at her.

"I never wanted you to fall in love with me. I never wanted any of this. You kept calling and … bothering me until I went out with you."

"Oh, I get it now," he sneered. "The only reason you went out with me out of some sort of obligation or pity, is that it? Or was I just another notch on your bedpost?"

Miyuki stormed over to where Trunks was standing and smacked him across the face. "That was so low," she said softly. Her whole body was shaking as she struggled to hold back tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes.

Trunks head was turned away from her from her slap to his face. He slowly turned back to face her, his eyes cold as he stared at her, but his thoughts were jumbled. He was angry, but also regretted the cruel remark he had just made. After a few moments of stony silence passed between them, Trunks abruptly turned away from her, wordlessly gathered up his things and exited her apartment.

Miyuki collapsed on the floor and sobbed as she pounded her fists into the carpet. She deeply regretted what she had said to him, but now it was too late to take any of it back. All the hard work, all she had gone through to become self-sufficient had just walked out her door as if the last two years of recovery had never happened. At that moment, the only thing that mattered was numbing the pain she was feeling, and there was only one way to do that. Once her mind became clear, she sat up and wiped the tears from her face, knowing exactly what she had to do.

The next morning, Trunks cell phone rang at 8:00. He was sitting at the breakfast table eating in silence, as he had done every morning for the last week and a half. He looked at the displayed number and didn't recognize it, but decided to answer it nonetheless. "Hello."

"Trunks, it's Sayuri. Is Miyuki with you?" she asked anxiously.

"Why would she be with me?" replied Trunks annoyed at her assumption.

"Because she isn't home, and hasn't been here all night. I'm calling you from her apartment and I'm concerned because she didn't take her cell phone with her. It's sitting right here on her table," Sayuri's voice caught a little. "I know you aren't seeing her anymore, but do you have any idea where she might be?"

Trunks felt a wave of panic overtake him. He went over in his mind the events from the prior evening. "We had a fight yesterday. That was the last time I saw her."

"I am worried. It isn't like her to not take her phone and not be here in the morning getting ready for work."

Sayuri was right about that. Trunks knew that Miyuki prided herself on being prompt for her job. It was an important part of her recovery. "I'll be over in a minute to figure out what to do. Call me if she shows up or you hear anything."

"Okay, thanks."

Trunks hung up the phone and placed it back in his pocket. He stood up and noticed that both his parents were looking at him inquisitively. "That was Sayuri. Miyuki isn't at her apartment and hasn't been there all night. I am going out to look for her. Will you let my boss know, mom?"

Bulma nodded and smiled at her son. Those were the first words he had said to her since Miyuki's promotion was announced. "Sure honey. Is there anything I or your father can do?"

Vegeta stood up from the table.

Trunks took a deep breath in and slowly let the air out of his lungs. He couldn't shake off the disquieting feeling he was getting about what he might discover once he did find her. "I shouldn't have said what I said to her yesterday," he said, hanging his head dejectedly.

Vegeta walked over to him and put his hand on his son's shoulder. "Let's go find her."