Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Mystery Within ❯ The Final Conflict, The First Goodbye ( Chapter 10 )

The Mystery Within

Part I - Prelude to Terror

Written by Namek Kaia

Disclaimer: If I owned it… you wouldn't be reading this.

Chapter Ten

The Final Conflict, The First Goodbye

At dusk, Piccolo and Gohan traveled casually back to Niko's home. Both had admitted that sparring again after such a long time felt more invigorating than they could have ever imagined. With their hearts content and full of relief over their reunion, they flew in silence.

Piccolo was both amazed and proud, as he had been so many times before, of the young adult whom he still considered the son he never had, and most likely never would have. He thought that with Gohan's father in another dimension and the responsibilities of raising Goten, training would be the last thing on his former student's agenda… especially since Chi-Chi had become the main influence in his life. But through their spar, Piccolo could see that the demi-Saiyan's skills and instincts while fighting had greatly improved, as had his strength. But spars between him and Gohan had always been more focused upon form and mental ability rather than strength.

Gohan was equally surprised at his mentor. Never had he seen Piccolo so mentally and physically in sync. He thought that perhaps this new female in his life had in some way brought about such major improvement. But how did he do it? Some new training technique? Or… with her even? Could a human, much less a human female, be strong enough to actually improve Piccolo's fighting? Maybe it was that she only looked human. After all, Saiyans did look human enough. Nonetheless, whatever brought on his sensei's new abilities, he could hardly contain his excitement about seeing its limits.

Student and mentor landed outside the small home and slowly made their way inside. Upon opening the door, Piccolo was stopped in his tracks at the sight before him. Niko hovered inches off the ground in lotus position, eyes closed and a soundly sleeping Goten curled comfortably in her lap.

"Shhh. Quiet. He's just now gone to sleep. I'd hate to wake him," Niko murmured loud enough to be barely heard. Gohan made his way around Piccolo and smiled at what he saw. He approached the scene quietly, being careful as to not disrupt its serenity.  

"Thanks for watching him… um…" Her eyes slowly opened, revealing the warmness they held.

"Niko."

"Niko… right, now I remember," he quickly replied and laughed nervously, but softly.

"The pleasure was mine, Gohan. Goten's a good kid… very sweet. Very energetic too. He almost tired me out," she finished with a smirk.

"Yes… he's something all right. I've never seen him take to someone like he has with you. He really likes you," Gohan admitted.

She smiled. "He has a very free spirit, and can sense one's aura. It's quite amazing," she said, looking down at his sleeping form. 'He's powerful… yet so small… so innocent.'

Gohan didn't respond. His eyes were locked on Niko's face, and things momentarily froze in the tiny room. Niko gazing down at Goten, Gohan studying her face and Piccolo looking at them both from the door as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. When he could take the silence no longer, he cleared his throat audibly.

"Oh… right," Gohan started. He quickly looked away as Niko's eyes drifted up to him. "I guess I should be going. Mom's gonna have a fit…"

"Here," she responded, offering him the sleeping bundle. Gohan gently took him and slowly walked toward the door.

"Thanks again, Niko." He nodded toward Piccolo in a farewell. "It was great seeing you again, Piccolo." The Namek silently agreed with his usual nod and moved to open the door for Gohan.

"Just don't be that much of a stranger this time," he replied.

"Yeah," Niko piped in. "You and Goten are more than welcome here anytime you'd like."

"Thank you. See ya later then, for sure. Bye!" Gohan said excitedly, but not so loud as to wake his brother, and journeyed home. As soon as they had gone, Niko sighed and relaxed face down on the couch, her head resting in her crossed arms.

"You would like to have children of your own, wouldn't you?" Piccolo questioned, his smooth baritone reaching her from his position at the door.

Her face snuggled down lower into the warmth of her arms as she gazed at the fire. "I don't see much point in it," she replied unhappily, though her answer had a stiffness about it, one that Piccolo immediately picked up on.

"Don't you start with that. I do not want a repeat of last night. Under-"

"Which part? Me jumping off the ledge or us rolling in the sheets naked?" she broke in smartly. That instantly received a heated growl and a feral glare from the annoyed Namek.

She glanced in his direction with her bad disposition getting the better of her. "Don't give me that look. You have no place telling me what I can and cannot do. You don't own me. You don't even know me," she stated in a hard tone. But as soon as the latter of her retort escaped her mouth, she knew what she was about to have to face. She couldn't help but wonder why she let her mind run on autopilot sometimes.

"And why do you think that is, Niko? I've tried to get to know you, and you refuse to communicate!" he yelled.

This was more than Niko could stand. She quickly rose from the couch and stood rigidly to its side. "Bullshit," she stated coldly, and continued before he could respond. "It's all bullshit. You haven't tried to get to know me. And you care nothing about communication. All you want is information, about my past, about where I've come from, and about what I've done to have these people after me. That's the onlything you care about. You don't really care about me at all, apart from the way you made me feel when you made love to me last night!" she screamed back with her chest rising and falling in angry huffs and tiny pools of unshed tears standing in her eyes.

"I don't care about you?! I risked my life and my pride to save your ass last night!"

"To hell with your pride! You'd lose the precious answers to your questions if you lost me," she snapped. Her arms crossed over her chest stubbornly. She took advantage of the silence to attempt to calm herself down. Surprisingly, it did help her temper a little. She was mostly thankful that the tears had been blinked away. "Listen, I don't ask you about your life. So why…"

"My life is none of your business!" his voice boomed over hers.

"My life isn't any business of yours either!" she countered, her suppressed anger flaring again. 

"It is when my life is in danger because of you!" he accused, advancing on her. "I've done nothing to deserve this!"

"I haven't done anything either!" she shrieked, her eyes flashing red before they welled with tears. It took her a minute to compose herself and blink them away before they fell. When she finally spoke, her voice was more calm, but still hot with anger. "I've never even fought someone… anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. They make it necessary. I don't have a choice."

She paused again and Piccolo managed to relax somewhat and stepped closer to her, though not in a provoking manner. He didn't press her on for fear that she would stop. "I've done nothing to be hunted by them. They want me dead simply because I was born… because I'm not like them. That makes them afraid of me," she explained.

"What do you mean by you're not like them?" he asked softly, trying to finally get this out of her.

Tears stung at her eyes, burning to be let free from their barriers. Her head hung with shame and her back greeted him with slumped shoulders. She couldn't ignore the pain that rushed her heart and persistent tears finally spilled slowly down her reddened cheeks. Her arms soon crossed around her in a lonely hug.

There were no shakes or even small sniffles, but he knew she was crying. He disliked her crying, but didn't know exactly why. Possibly because he knew that she had great inner strength and that it took deep pain or emotional stress for her to show such a weakness. For some reason, it was like he could feel her emotions as if there were radiating from her… as if they were his own. Her sorrow wrenched at his heart and her shame made his blood run hot. All of it left him breathless and confused, flooring him with emotion his own soul didn't produce. It was all her. But because of this, he could nearly understand her pain. "Niko… you don't have to be afraid to tell me. I know more than most about what it's like to be different," he explained in a voice that was softer than his usual harsh tone.

Against her better judgment and initial protest, her body seemed to act on its own. Her arms wrapped themselves around his waist and her face buried in his chest. "I know you are different, Piccolo…" came her muffled voice. 'That's what makes this so damned difficult…' her thought to herself.

Piccolo was nearly frozen in shock, his arms out to the side of her as he contemplated whether or not to return her affection. His body was tense and he knew she could probably hear his heart quicken its pace. He didn't really want to give into what he was feeling, especially when he wasn't sure of what it was himself. Though, in any case, he knew she couldn't think about him in the same way he thought about her. It just wasn't possible…

Over the past several months, Piccolo had been trying to identify these strange feelings within him. When he first met Niko, he was driven by the search for her secret. Though now, after so much time, he felt different somehow. She felt different somehow. He knew most of what he wanted to know, so was he using protecting her and finding out more about what she kept from him as somewhat an excuse not to leave? He lied in no way by saying he wanted to know why they were being chased. His mind was fixed on knowing more about her, and finding out why these people could want a person such as Niko dead. But was there something else that made him stay? That made him care just a fraction more than he should?

Once, as he thought about leaving, he noticed how lonely he was… and why. He had always had his training to occupy himself, but until now, he had trained alone. Gohan, one of the only lights in the Namek's life, was fading… drawing away from him; he would be left with practically no one. His whole life, Piccolo had been alone. But since living nearly a year with Niko, he finally knew what it was like having another person constantly in his life. Strangely enough, he didn't know for sure if he wanted to go back to his so-called normal life of solitude. Niko had shown him what he thought he would never have, what he thought he could never have… a purpose. A real purpose. He was her protector, her trainer, her -dare he say it- friend.

Before he could contemplate whether or not it was the right thing to do, his arms circled her and he felt the silent gasp of surprise in her chest. His muscles relaxed slightly and his hands roamed over her back soothingly, chin resting on the top of her head. He held her a short while, not fully thinking about what he was doing, before he finally spoke. "Why is it so hard for you to tell me? Do you not trust me?" he asked, almost sounding hurt.

Niko was silent for a few moments before speaking, thinking about the right way to respond. "It's not that I don't trust you, Piccolo…"

"Then what?" he questioned in her pausing, lifting her chin with a single finger so that he could look into her eyes. His thumb brushed away the wetness at her cheek as he cupped her face with his hand. Their eyes stayed locked for a long while and Piccolo was almost pained by the saddened conflict he saw in her. She broke the silence as she sniffled and looked away.

"Piccolo… I can't," she explained. "I'm sorry. I just can't tell you now. Not now. Please…" His face instantly fell with disappointment.

"Just tell me why. Why won't you tell me? Why do you have to keep this from me?!" he asked heatedly.

"Because I'm ashamed!" she yelled back, breaking away from his hold. "But I'm also proud. You don't understand… It changes everything if I tell you, and I'm not willing to risk that. You can't know what it's like to harbor something inside of you like it's some sort of disease. And more than that, to have someone trying to pry it out of you constantly. Why can't you just leave it alone? Why can't you treat me with the same respect that I do to you and leave my past in the past?!" 

"I am not the one in question here!"

"You hold secrets just as I do! How is that any different?"

"You are not in danger because of something I'm keeping from you, Niko!" he shouted.

"Oh, would you just stop it? You act like this is easy for me. Well it's not. Do you not think I want to tell you? I do. You don't understand…"

           &nbs p;            & nbsp;           &nbs p;            & nbsp;           &nbs p;            & nbsp;           &nbs p;            & nbsp;           &nbs p;            & nbsp;           &nbs p;            & nbsp;           &nbs p;            & nbsp;           &nbs p;    

"You keep saying that! Then make me understand," he interrupted heatedly, bringing their faces closer. "Just tell me."

"I can't! Don't you get it?! I can't tell you."

"If you cared anything about what happened to me or quite possibly the entire planet, you would at least have the decency to just tell me why they are trying to kill us!" he roared at her.

"I can't tell you because I care about you!" she screamed back, tears welling in her eyes again. "Every person I have ever told has ended up dead because of it. Do you know what it's like to see every single person that you've ever loved be ripped away from you right before your eyes and know it was your fault?! Do you know what it feels like to see your family die while you were forced to watch? Do you?!"

"No! I don't know what that's like… because I've never had a family. Not a mother… not siblings (**)… nothing. I've had no one my entire life. Just a life that wasn't even my own. I was born with hate for someone I had never met, but knew all too well. Memories that weren't my own plagued my mind. I had no choice but to raise myself since the day I was born simply in order to survive. Is this what you wanted to hear? Are you satisfied? Are you?!" he ground out. His eyes looked as if there were a dark fire blazing behind them, leaving Niko speechless. He was out the door before she could blink.

I know Piccolo, I know... "and I'm sorry…" she whispered into the empty room.

********************

"Piccolo..."

"No. Just shut it, Gohan. I'm not going back. I never want to see her again unless she's dead," he spat out, disgusted with mere thoughts of her, thoughts of Niko. "Let her go and destroy the whole damned planet, but she'll do it without using me as her pawn."

"You're being irrational, Piccolo," Gohan responded calmly to his mentor's angered rant.

"I know damn well what I'm talking about, Gohan! She's hiding something that could very well destroy us all! Are you going to let her annihilate what we all fought Cell so fiercely to protect?"

"Niko is as much a victim as we are. And she's been through a lot… just like we have. She has no family left, Piccolo. We're all she has now," Gohan appealed softly.

"Correction. You're all she has now," Piccolo countered. "And how do you know that she's been through a lot?"

"She told me," Gohan replied. "I came to visit a few hours ago, and she told me about the fight you two had, and why."

"It wasn't a fight. It was a big reminder of why I should have dropped her on her ass a long time ago," he remarked tersely.

"Oh, come on. She'll die if we abandon her and you know it. And you don't want that to happen, no matter how much you try to hide it," Gohan finished with a small, smug smirk to which the young Saiyan was given a grunt in response. 

"Seriously… she needs you more than anyone right now, Piccolo. I don't know the exact nature of her trust in you, but I do understand that it has been placed in the right person, Namek or otherwise. I've trusted you since I was barely six years old, and you have yet to let me down. And I know that you won't let her down either. Once you overcome your anger, you'll figure out where it is that you belong," he finished in the same soft tone with which he had started and slowly lifted to the air in the direction of Niko's house. The demi-Saiyan caught wind of muttered curses and grumbled rants from the man he considered a father, causing a knowing smile to cross his lips. He'll make the right choice… I know he will. He always does….

~ To Be Continued… ~

(**) I know Piccolo Diamou created three other children; Cymbal, Tambourine, and Drum, but since they all were born and died before Piccolo was born, he didn't technically have siblings. At least not ones that were alive long enough to be around after Piccie was born.

***

Well that concludes another chapter of Mystery Within. What'd ya think? Hmm? Leave a review and tell me! We all know by now how much I love feedback. ^^ Part II will be along shortly. I recently decided to split this chapter in two so everyone won't have to take so much in at one time. It would have been a lot of reading. Hope you're enjoying so far. See ya next time! Ciao! ~ NaK