Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Just This Morning ❯ Just This Morning ( Chapter 1 )

Just this morning, he had her in his arms.

Warm and soft and giddy with excitement.

Excitement at the prospect of a reunion with her best friend.

If only for a day.

Her dearest friend.

His most detested enemy.

Just this morning, he had her in his arms…

But now he stands on a barren wasteland, facing a monster he cannot defeat.

There’s only one way, and he knows it.

Only one way.

The torrid breeze surrounds him, filling in his exhausted lungs.

An advance warning of what’s still to come.

A one-way invite to the Gates of Hell.

He knows it.

He always knew.

They always knew.

So be it.

His dry tongue murmurs.

So be it.

Just this morning, he had her in his arms.

Their naked bodies tangled as she’d shyly whispered her biggest fear in his ear.

That, after all these years, her ever-ageless friend would find her much too old.

He’d said nothing then.

Merely scoffed at her as he’d brought her closer.

Using his body to express what words never could.

Reassurance.

The one thing she’d always needed the most.

The one thing he’d never been able to offer.

He’d been a fool, now he knew.

She’d always tried to rescue him.

A fruitless quest of love and devotion.

Of everlasting patience and unwavering trust.

A fruitless quest perpetually crashing against a wall.

That solid, impenetrable wall which he’d always thought his most prized possession.

He’d been a fool, now he knew.

Just this morning, he had her in his arms.

His woman.

His mate.

His greatest treasure.

And now, as he stares Death in the eye, he feels not fear but regret.

And as the Saiyan God of Hades smirks at him with disdain.

He thinks of nothing but tainted pieces and broken promises.

Of all that could have been…

So be it.

His enraged lips whisper.

So be it.

Just instants ago, he’d driven him into unconsciousness.

His boy.

His son.

His greatest pride.

He’d hugged him then.

His body, small but immeasurably strong, pressed against his broken one.

He’d confessed his paternal emotions to him.

The look of shock in the young child’s face piercing his heart with a savage fury.

No boy should ever go through life oblivious to their father’s pride.

No boy.

He knew.

He knew this far too well…

And now, as he clenches his fists and awakens the remnants of his finite energy.

He feels not wrath but hope.

Hope that they’ll know that he tried.

That in his own distant, maddening, prideful way, he tried.

That he tried…

So be it.

His dark heart cries.

So be it.

Just this morning, he had her in his arms.

Announcing himself victor of an imminent battle.

And, with nothing more than a kiss and a smile, she’d proclaimed her faith in him.

She believed.

The woman who once meant nothing.

The woman who now meant everything…

He is tainted, now he knows.

The Namekian tells him that he will forget.

All these years of harmony and comfort, of happiness and peace of mind.

Things which were never meant for him.

Things he’s done nothing to deserve.

He is tainted, now he knows.

Gone.

Fading.

Everything.

So be it.

His empty soul clamors.

‘So be it!’

And now, as the final curtain gets ready to drop, and he looks Destiny right in the face.

He feels not anguish but a secret wish.

A shameful, forbidden request.

Her forgiveness.

She should have run, now he knows.

She should have run far away from him, saving her heart for someone who’d earnt it.

He’s given her nothing but endless times of grief and despair.

Of sullen words and fragmented truths.

She should have run, now he knows.

She’s given him everything in return.

A life, a home and a son.

A boy with her gentleness and his power.

A piece of him that shall live on.

Long after his body and soul have departed this world.

Long after no one cares anymore…

She won’t forget him, now he knows.

If only it were her memory the one which will soon fade away.

He’d gladly carry the burden for her.

Those sad, wasted dreams for a far better man.

She won’t forget him, now he knows.

After his absence she’ll cry and wonder.

On all that could have been…

Just this morning, he had her in his arms.

But now, as his worn-out body bursts into flames.

Becoming nothing but fire and thunder.

And he boldly embraces his fate.

He looks at the sky and roars like an animal.

One secret, final request.

Just this morning, he had her in his arms.

And now, as sizzling lights engulf him, and his self slowly evaporates.

He prays that his loss won’t ever touch her.

And that, as the dust that once were his bones, wildly scatters into the wind.

His scorching ashes will not once burn her lips.

So be it.

His consciousness vanishes.

So be it…