Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Majin Leeli's Story ❯ Questions in the Night ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter 4 part b

Questions in the Night

In the darkness it was difficult to see Leeli's form flying through the air, and impossible to see her tear streaked face. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what she'd done. Trunks had accused her of cheating on Goten and she had gone blank. Then suddenly Kim was crying, Elijah was looking horrified, the living room and Trunks were in a shambles, and she was holding the table menacingly over her head with the intent of hitting Trunks again.

All that she could have dealt with, somehow. But when Goten came in looking at her with those sad, sad eyes she couldn't take it. Not after what she had done to him. Not after what she had said. Not after she'd told him the truth about her past, about the majins.

So she ran.

She was embarrassed, humiliated, mortified by her actions. She was a warrior, a majin, a mother and she'd run from everything. Goten was probably shaking his head in disgust at her lack of courage to face him. Trunks was probably laughing at her cowardice. Even the children were probably disappointed in her. And the majins… well, they didn't know.

At least she had that.

---

"Koshi-sama!"

Koshi and Mameko turned from where they'd been talking as Ka landed, running toward them. "Report," Koshi ordered as soon as Ka was close.

"It looks as if Leeli told them about being a majin and about fifteen minutes ago she kicked the crap out of Trunks and then took flight," Ka reported, "she was flying south. I don't believe she had an actual destination." Ka frowned. "I think she was crying."

Both Koshi and Mameko raised an eyebrow as Tsuko moved forward looking concerned. "Fucker," Tsuko growled, punching her hand.

"I said that I think she was crying," Ka said, looking at Tsuko. "It's dark and I could have been mistaken."

"Must have been," Mameko snorted as she turned to Koshi. "Is it time to implement your plan? Leeli has been separated from her," she let out a cough, "family."

"And it appears as if she's turned on them," Koshi mused, her eyes narrowing in thought. "Though it was probably only her temper flaring." Her fingers brushed the M on Mameko's forehead. "This brand comes with an anger stronger than the temper of any saiya-jin."

"A good bargain for the strength though," Kristel said, looking up from the small mechanism she was fiddling with. "Tempers can be controlled."

"Indeed," Koshi nodded in agreement, looking over her shoulder at Kristel before turning back to Mameko and Ka. "We will begin with the plan as we discussed." She looked at Ka and pointed over her shoulder, "Muzai can fill you in as to your part Ka. You said south, correct?"

"Yes, Koshi-sama," Ka nodded.

"Alright then, let's go."

---

Leeli thudded her head against the tree, the rough bark scraping her forehead even through the cloth of the bandana. She let out a loud sigh and slumped to the ground. She didn't know what she was going to do. Every option she could think of just seemed… wrong.

She couldn't go back home. The children were terrified, Trunks was probably pissed, and Goten… well, she wasn't sure what Goten was feeling, but she knew she couldn't face those eyes. She couldn't go back to the other dimension with the majins either. Not with the way things were. She couldn't just leave everyone. She had a daughter after all.

"Why did I have to lose my temper?" she moaned, banging her head against the tree. "Dammit!" she screeched, slamming her fist into the tree. The trunk splintered as the hundred-year-old tree toppled to the ground, taking two or three other trees with it.

"Shit!" she cursed when she realized what she had done, jumping to her feet and glaring at the fallen tree as if it were somehow its own fault that it had fallen.

"You always did have a penchant for deforestation."

Leeli whirled around, forming a ki blast in her hand even though, or perhaps because, she knew who it was.

Koshi gave her a smirk from where she was leaning. "Hello Leeli," she said, pushing always and walking toward the green haired warrior. "We've been looking for you. Ka told us you were headed this direction."

"How did Ka know?" Leeli asked, her eyebrows lowering suspiciously, but halting the gathering of ki in her hand. She was glad she was no longer crying. Of all the people to see her cry Koshi was the last on the list.

Koshi shrugged. "She was worried about you. We all are," she replied taking a seat on a random bolder that had rolled down from the mountain. "You belong to us Leeli." She tapped the M on her forehead. "This isn't some stupid tattoo you get when you're out drunk and regret later. This is a lifetime commitment."

Leeli made no reply.

Koshi sighed. "Look, Leeli. Come home with us. It's better for you there. No one will ever question you; and if they do you have no reason not to destroy them. Remember how good it felt to be free enough that you didn't have to conform to laws and moral judgments."

Leeli tilted her head to this side and looked away as she let the last of the ki she'd been gathering dissipate. "But… I have a family here…" she said quietly. "Kim and… Goten."

"But he doesn't understand you, Leeli," Koshi said, her voice almost sympathetic. "He can't accept the facts of what you've done in your past."

"I know," Leeli nodded as she remembered something and her anger flared. "Why did you have to tell him about my past anyway?" she yelled, glaring at Koshi and trying to keep her power level down. "Why couldn't you have just left it alone?!"

"Because," Koshi began, all traces of possible sympathy gone. "We are your friends. We could hardly let some ingrate have you if he wasn't worthy. What did he say to you when he returned home? Did he have an open mind? Or was he so in denial that even if you told him the truth he wouldn't believe you? Did he say he'd accept you no matter what? What did he say, Leeli?" Koshi raised an eyebrow. "Better yet, what did you say?"

"He… I said…" Leeli tried to speak but she couldn't form the words she wanted. She didn't even know if there were words for what she wanted to say. She didn't even know if she knew what she wanted to say.

"Leeli you're a majin. You're one of us for now and forever. This mark," she tapped the M on her forehead again, "is not something that will wash off. It, like your past, will be with you forever. We accept and understand that. These people, no matter how much you adore them, cannot."

Leeli looked away.

"Think about. Come back with us. Your friends."

By the time Leeli turned to speak Koshi was already in the air and once again Leeli was left alone with her thoughts.

---

"Now no one will ask me to the prom," Trunks deadpanned as Goten pulled the last of the glass out of his cheek. "I'm not the prettiest girl in school any more."

"Trunks, you're not a girl and you're not in school, let alone going to the prom," Goten said, worrying that Leeli had hit him too many times. Apparently he was delusional.

Elijah and Kim were curled up on the couch. Kim had finally stopped crying and was now just sniffling and wondering where her mother had gone. Elijah, on the other hand, was still wide-eyed watching intently as Goten took care of Trunks' cuts and bruises. He hadn't made a single comment, let alone a smartass remark, since Leeli dove out the window. And that worried both Goten and Trunks.

"Trunks, what happened?" Goten asked softly, trying to cushion any bad memories asking might bring up. He got up off the loveseat and sat down next to Elijah and Kim, managing to pull Kim out of the blond boy's grasp.

Trunks winced as he scratched the side of his face that Goten had bandaged up. He hated bleeding from the face. It wasn't a vanity issue either. Girls seemed to like scars. Bleeding from the face just always seemed to remind him of his father. Leeli had reminded him of his father for a moment…

"Trunks?"

"Huh?" Trunks looked up, realizing he'd spaced off. "Sorry, what?"

Goten bit his lip. Maybe Leeli had given him brain damage. "I asked what happened?" he reiterated.

"Oh," Trunks said, as his mind raced for something to say. On the off chance Goten was so out of it he hadn't heard about the other dimension Goten, Trunks decided he didn't want to bring up that subject at the moment. "Well, I said something and she didn't like what I said and I kind of picked on her and she went nuts and beat the shit out of me," Trunks said, marveling at his own ability to skirt around the subject.

"I see," Goten said, deciding Leeli had hit Trunks hard enough or enough times that he didn't remember what exactly he'd said. Kim nuzzled up to him, butting her head under his chin in an attempt to get closer. Goten let out a sigh, stroking her hair and whispering it would be all right. At least he hoped it would be.

"Are... you okay… Dad?"

Both Goten and Trunks blinked and looked at Elijah as the blond boy spoke. His voice was shaky and held none of the usual dispassionate about the world tone that was his trademark. "Uh… yeah," Trunks said, not exactly sure what he was supposed to say to a question like that. The boy had never asked him something like that before. It seemed like it should have been a trick of some kind.

"That's good," Elijah said, looking down, his tone still shaky.

"Can I have a glass of wat… Billy come look! Someone made a mess in the living room!"

Goten twitched as Chris ran in the room. "Don't touch the broken glass," he warned as Billy came into the room as well.

"What happened?" Billy asked as Chris mumbled that someone was in big trouble. "Why does Dad have bandaids on his face?" Chris stopped bouncing around and jumped up on the back of the loveseat looking worried.

"Um… daddy got in a fight," Trunks said, trying to smile, but decided it hurt way too much for the trouble. "Nothing to worry about, kiddo."

Chris furrowed his eyebrows but said nothing as he stopped bouncing and quietly walked around the couch to sit by his father. Billy frowned and looked confused. "Where did Mom go?" he asked, tilting his head.

Trunks watched as Goten physically winced and barely kept himself from touching the injuries she'd given him. Elijah was staring horrified at him and waiting to see what he would say. "Uh, Leeli went out for a bit," he said finally, picking Billy up as he walked closer, "she needed some fresh night air."

"We're not supposed to go out at night," Chris said from where he was sitting and Billy nodded.

"But Leeli's a big girl," Trunks assured them both.

"Mom'll be fine," Elijah said almost hostilely, looking away when Chris and Billy looked over at him. "She's probably out with her friends."

Goten suddenly looked ill.

[It Doesn't Matter]