Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Second Chance ❯ Over the Edge ( Chapter 6 )

Six

~Goku~

I’ll admit, when Ellery asked me to sleep with her, it startled me. I had assumed that she had one thing in mind, but I was wrong. I had no idea what she’d gone through.

As I had run in that night, while Vegeta had already restrained her, I could hear her begging for something. I couldn’t make it out, but Vegeta had and he seemed extremely upset by whatever she was saying. He was tense, and his jaw was clenched, something he never did while exerting effort, only when he was angry.

As I worked to wake her, I could hear her murmuring, saying it wasn’t fair. She was telling some invisible force that she would never forgive it. Something that made her shake and cry.

It wasn’t hard for me to put the pieces together, but it became much easier when Vegeta started to pace, saying that he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t seen it before. He was cursing Frieza, which wasn’t unusual, but he started to tell him that she couldn’t have been more than a child. She must have given him names, because he started cursing in his mother tongue, saying the names of warriors that had inhabited Frieza’s ship with him.

No one should have to go through what she did. For Vegeta to be so angry, it tells me that she told him much more in those few moments than she’d told me the entire time she was here. It was strange. I didn’t like to know things before someone told me, especially when it was this serious.

Vegeta had no issue venting about it before his daughter woke.

“She could have only been a teenager, Kakarot, a child. She was a child and they used her, violated her. It makes me sick. What kind of warrior does that to a little girl? Cowards!” Vegeta looked like he was about to put his fist through a wall, but fought back the urge.

“It’s over, Vegeta. No one here is going to hurt her, don’t worry. She’ll heal.” I assured him, but I couldn’t even convince myself that. I was almost shaking with anger, but I chose to swallow it back and focus on her for now. She needed support, not a couple of angry Saiyans trying to tear apart men who were already dead.

“What kind of leader let’s his men do this? How could they keep an ounce of their honor?” This time, Vegeta’s ki jumped a little, his eyes flashing the brilliant teal I was so used to.

I moved the ice for a moment, hoping she wouldn’t wake to our argument. Her eyes hadn’t even opened yet, so I knew it would still be at least a few minutes. “You have to calm down. She doesn’t need this right now.” I was pulling off my shirt, pressing it gently to her forehead to dab away the sweat that had collected there. I hadn’t paid my shoulder much mind, especially since I barely noticed it. My attention was elsewhere.

Vegeta worked to cool his temper, and I continued to tend to his battered daughter. My opinion of this woman suddenly softened as I started to understand her more and more. She was probably hardened from her experiences, and couldn’t let her vulnerability consciously show.

I thought through all of this as I laid in bed the next morning, the female Saiyan curled up next to me. She hadn’t woken since the terror of the night. She was comfortable, something I hadn’t seen on her face since she had come to this time.

I looked over at her, telling myself that I wouldn’t get up yet. I wanted her to continue to feel whatever security she felt when I was beside her. For some reason, this helped, and I wouldn’t take it away from her.

A little after sunrise, she started to stir. I acted like I didn’t notice, and allowed her to sleep as long as her body allowed it. She deserved it.

I decided to meditate for a while before she woke. It was a habitual thing since Chi died. It helped me keep myself centered. I focused on the sound of the breeze against the house, and the smell of the bedroom. Something sparked my interest about it. It was a sense of femininity, a soft floral scent mixed with a touch of sweat from Ellery’s constant training. She was just like her father when it came to that. I guess it may have been a Saiyan thing in general.

I heard a light sigh come from the figure beside me, so I opened my eyes and looked at my bedmate. She was awake now, looking around, suddenly alert. She rarely let her guard down, and even when she did, it was always a reflex if necessary.

“Good morning.” I said, softly, stretching my arms above my head, wincing only slightly as my shoulder protested. I sat up, rotating it slowly to relax the tense muscles.

Ellery didn’t sit up and continued to lay in the exact same position. “How angry was my father last night?”

My head snapped to the woman. She looked upset, and not angry, but saddened. “What? He wasn’t angry.”

“He was. I know he was.”

I sighed. “He just put a few pieces together. The anger wasn’t at you, don’t worry.” I smiled at her slightly.

Her eyes widened and she sat up quickly. Looking away from me and playing with the braid that flopped over her shoulder, she spoke quietly. “What did he find out?”

I couldn’t look at her sad, innocent face anymore. “He came in and you were talking during the dream. There were names, and you were begging them to stop. Your father is extremely perceptive.”

“You’re beating around the bush.”

“He found out that you were more than physically abused, Ellery.” I begged that she wouldn’t make me be more specific because I would just become even more angry, and I didn’t want her to think it was her fault.

After a few seconds of silence, I allowed myself to look at her again. She was sitting up still, her eyes directed at me, but they were hazed over. I couldn’t tell if it was shock, or what else was hidden in them.

“Are you okay?” I asked tentatively. I didn’t want to push her too hard. The woman barely knew me as it was. Now, I knew something that she’d tried to hard to keep from all of us.

She swallowed, life coming back to her eyes, and she looked down to her hands. “Why wouldn’t I be?” She didn’t even look at me before she stood up, pulling her training clothing down from the hanger. “I have to train, so if you’d like to join me, you best get ready.”

It wasn’t shock. It had been shame. She was ashamed that we knew about what she went through. It pained me to believe that she could be so hard on herself, because it was clear where it was that she placed the blame.

I stood up, grabbing my discarded shirt from the floor. “I’ll be ready in a couple minutes.” I told her, walking over to my own room.

I changed quickly and checked my suitcase. Gohan had brought it with him yesterday so I had extra clothes for my stay.

I couldn’t possibly understand why Ellery would blame herself for something like this. It wasn’t her fault that the warriors she’d worked with had no restraint, or decency. She was a child. Vegeta had said that she had been sixteen. I don’t know where he got it. It may have been from one of the names, as he worked on the same ship, and knew when the others were disposed of.

I put on my boots and opened my door to find Ellery standing outside of it. She had her usual steeled over expression, and emotionless black eyes. She wore one of Bulma’s sport’s bras and a pair of tight black shorts.

We walked out to the gravity chamber, where we slowly climbed in intensity. She was less careful than usual. I could tell that she was trying to exert whatever terrible feelings she had. I hadn’t realized that I was going easy on her, but she sure did.

“Grow a pair and fight me, Kakarot!” She threw the ki blast that had been building in her hand as she shouted. I dodged it and went after her. I was careful that I didn’t get carried away, and soon after, Vegeta had made his way into the chamber as well. He was only watching at the moment, but I knew he’d jump in at any point now.

The prince didn’t disappoint. He came after me in Super Saiyan form, forcing me to power up quickly to match.

All three of us continued for a few hours. By then, Vegeta and Ellery were the only ones still going. I had decided to watch for a few minutes, trying to study both of them. Maybe I’d learn something.

Both father and daughter were Super Saiyans, and each blow was potentially deadly. They were both so angry. He was angry at the men who destroyed his daughter’s young innocence, and his daughter was only angry at herself.

Then, I realized, she had started to allow blows to hit her. She’d stopped dodging, and fought back half-heartedly.

I growled in alarm. She wasn’t playing Vegeta. She wanted him to hurt her. Self-punishment was something she’d felt was fit for her situation.

“Vegeta!” I shouted, trying to catch his attention before he launched the gallic gun that he’d been building. I managed to at least get him to look at me. “You need to stop! She isn’t fighting back!”

Vegeta looked to his daughter, who was floating absentmindedly in front of him. The energy he had been working with slowly disappeared. His arms crossed over his chest. “What is the meaning of this, woman?” Vegeta asked, his voice sharp in the now quiet room.

Ellery looked down at me, anger burning in her eyes. Turning back to her father, she chuckled. “It wouldn’t have been fair if I had just completely beat you to a pulp, would it?”

Now, she was playing with him. She knew exactly what buttons to push in order to anger her father.

Vegeta saw through her facade, thankfully. “You can’t possibly think I’m that dense, woman.”

She shook her head, drifting lower until she was standing on the floor of the chamber. Refusing to answer her father’s questions, she began to walk from the chamber, but Vegeta moved quickly. He blocked her exit, standing in the doorway. He didn’t look angry, but his face was still hard. The concern that flashed in his eyes told a whole different story. He knew exactly what she’d been trying to do.

“You think getting yourself killed would get rid of those memories?” Vegeta accused. His voice never wavered.

Ellery glared at me as I walked to stand beside her father. “I wasn’t going to get myself killed.”

Vegeta’s forehead pinched in the center as he closed his eyes and shook his head. “You weren’t thinking. You don’t know me well enough to know that I wouldn’t have been able to keep myself from hurting you if you didn’t tell me. I get lost in battle.”

“I wouldn’t have let it go that far.” Ellery defended angrily.

“You’re a fool if you think you would have had any control over how far it went.” Vegeta spoke sharply now. It was hard for him to not get annoyed when someone hadn’t been thinking during something so dangerous. “I know you’re stronger than me, and if I had injured you and not known, and then dished out an attack stronger than necessary, you wouldn’t have gotten back up.”

Ellery’s eyes darted between her father and I. For once, Vegeta was completely right. This was too close.

“What do you want me to do?” Ellery asked, her tense body relaxing a bit. “Do you want me to tell you that I’m sorry?”

“I want to know that it’s never going to happen again.”

The girl shook her head, walking over to the control panel and shutting off the excessive gravity, allowing herself to power down to her base form. I watched her closely, hoping she wouldn’t do something stupid.

“Ellery.” Vegeta said, his voice softening significantly. I watched as he walked over to her. “Come and sit with me for a little while.” He walked over to the bench of the gravity chamber. I was going to leave them be, but Vegeta shouted as me to get over there. I followed his instructions, sitting on the other side of Ellery.

“What is this, some kind of stupid intervention?” Ellery said, crossing her arms over her chest again. It was obvious that she was bothered.

“No.” Vegeta looked down at his hands, and then up to his daughter’s face. “What makes you think that hurting yourself will help you?”

Ellery pulled her eyebrows together, not answering.

“Why do you blame yourself?” I asked, not really thinking. I looked up to Ellery, then over to Vegeta, who suddenly understood. I could see it.

Ellery seemed shocked, and looked up to me with wide eyes. “What in the hell are you blubbering about?”

“You were the one who was abused, and you blame yourself to the point that you just almost got yourself killed, Ellery! That’s what I’m ‘blubbering about!’ Why aren’t you angry with someone else? Why is it only yourself?” I found myself saying everything before I even got a hold of my point, myself.

Ellery snarled at me. “How dare you!” She went to stand and run out.

Vegeta gave her a warning growl, and she sat back down. She looked over to her father. “You told him!”

“He figured it out himself, he’s not as stupid as he looks!” Vegeta told her sternly. “Answer his question!”

She looked over at me reluctantly. “I could have fought them off and I didn’t! Are you happy now, Kakarot?” She was shouting at me. I nearly cringed away from her.

“You couldn’t have. You said it yourself, you were restrained!” I was trying not to get frustrated with her, but she was driving me mad. She had to think about things, and she wasn’t. I couldn’t tell her outright, but she was being irrational.

“And how exactly can you know that for sure, Kakarot?” Ellery snapped at me. “How can you be such a fool to think that everything someone tells you is true?” Her expression was different than any other one that I’d ever seen on her face. It was a look that Chi had given me more than once. It was one to show that she was hurting, and she didn’t want to show it. She was trying so hard to hide behind this persona that she’d given herself.

Vegeta looked around, obviously confused. “Are you saying this is just an act?”

I shook my head. “It’s not, Vegeta, but she doesn’t want us to know what is going on in her head.” My gaze met Ellery’s again. “Who was the one telling me not to acknowledge and accept my feelings?”

She swallowed, breaking the stare. “Don’t do this, Kakarot.”

“I’m going to do it. You know it’s only going to make things worse. I guarantee that you’ve never actually acknowledged what happened, and you sure as hell never told anyone about it.” I knew I was digging a little hard into her, and I knew I was going to upset her, but inside, I was okay with upsetting her if it helped her in the end.

“You don’t know anything about me, you imbecile!” Her voice had become angry screams of rage. “I did tell someone, and I only had it thrown back in my face. I was mocked and laughed at for being so weak that I let it happen.” She stood, standing over me as she spoke to me. Her fists were clenched, like she was going to hit me.

I sat up straighter, looking her in her eyes, waiting for her to get angry enough to break down her own walls. “And you listened to them?”

Her fist came up and collided with the wall beside my head. I could see that her teeth were clenched, her jaw was so tense that the muscles in the sides of her face were quivering. She was looking down at me with such hot intensity, I could literally feel the anger. At least now she was going to address it.

“Don’t you understand anything?” She spit at me. Venom was dripping from her vicious words. “I was told time and time again that if I was strong, I would have stopped them. Either I was weak, or I liked it. There was no in-between. I was stupid for having emotions, and being a woman, and expecting not to be stripped of everything. I was stripped of my rights, my clothing, my dignity, my heritage, and my family. I wasn’t allowed to intermingle with my own people, because it was a liability. I was chained and beaten and raped almost every day of my life from the time I was sixteen years old, for nearly five years. I was too weak to do anything about it until I was an adult, and I refuse to be that weak again. I don’t know who you think you are to say anything about how I deal with it. You’re a sheltered earthling, and you know nothing. I have to punish myself, or I will continue to let myself be pushed around by my stupid, futile emotions. If you have a problem with it, go ahead, try to stop me.”

The look in her eyes was that of a dare. I knew she was serious. She believed that she had to hide all of that just because she had been accused of allowing it to happen. She would beat it into herself if she had to. That’s the only way she’d ever seen to handle emotions.

I stood up and she stepped back only slightly to give me room to stand, but my chest was pressed to her’s as I stood. She never broke the stone-cold gaze that held mine.

“How would you like me to stop you?” I asked her, keeping my voice soft, careful. She didn’t step away, and I refused to move until she talked to me. “I won’t hurt you. I refuse to be what everyone else has been. I’m going to help you feel better, somehow. I will stop you.”

Her face softened immediately. “What? Why?”

I didn't break her gaze. “Because, as much as you hate to hear it, I’m sure, I care about the people I’m around every day. I care about you, and I will not let you go on like this.”

Her eyes shifted for a moment, stepping away from me. I grabbed her arm to keep her close. She looked at me, a little startled.

“What do I have to do?” I asked the question plainly. I didn’t want to push her.

I didn’t expect her expression to completely contort and tears trail down her cheeks. I wasn’t exactly sure what to do, but I knew I couldn’t let her walk away. She was trying to hide her face, to run away. I pulled her back to me, just so she was right in front of me, but then she stumbled, burying her face into my chest. She steadied herself by wrapping her arms around me. I wasn’t sure exactly what to do, but she didn’t step away from me, and cried into my chest. I put my arms around her, trying to comfort her.

I looked over to Vegeta, who nodded his congratulations. I could tell that he was satisfied with my methods. He watched for a moment, before I urged her to sit down. She sat next to me, but never released my hand from her’s.

No one said anything for a while. Vegeta let Ellery get whatever tears out that she had to, and gently patted her thigh with his fingers when he wanted to get her attention. She looked over at him. Her entire demeanor had changed. She had a childish look to her face, and for the first time, I was seeing the roundness of her cheeks.

“If I ever see you pull a stunt like that again, I’ll see to it that you learn your lesson. You’re off the hook for now.” Vegeta flashed her a smile. It wasn’t his typical cocky smirk, but it was a toothy, happy smile. It vanished when Ellery pulled her arms over his shoulders, hugging him to her. He looked startled and confused, but relaxed as she thanked him. He chuckled, patting her back gently. Even with Bra, he’d never had to be sentimental like this. Bulma handled those things, but I had to admit it was a little weird to see a loving side of Vegeta.

Even if he only knew her for a short time, they’d accepted each other as father and daughter. It was rather heartwarming, actually.

After she released Vegeta, she grasped my hand again, leaning her head against my shoulder for a moment.

“You made me cry, Kakarot. If it was any other situation, I would have saw to it that you never saw the light of day again.” She tilted her chin up to meet my gaze. I saw a playful tint in her expression. “I think I’ll let it slide this time.”

I chuckled. “Well, thanks. I appreciate that.”

We all made our way back into the house. We were all beaten and bloody to an extent, so it was almost a given that we’d shower before we did anything else.

It didn’t quite go that smoothly.

Bulma came sprinting up the stairs. “You guys aren’t going to believe this!” She shouted, grabbing Ellery by her arm and pulling her toward the stairs roughly. Vegeta and I exchanged a concerned look before we followed the two women to the genius’ lab.

What we came downstairs to almost floored both Vegeta and myself.

Trunks was standing in the center of the room, touching his brown tail against his cheek. His entire ki had changed, and his eyes went from the blue hue that he’d shared with Bulma, to the dark, obis of his father’s. His scent had shifted, from his normal, human, earthy scent, to something far more feral.

I looked over to Vegeta, who was clearly shaking. It was overwhelming, especially since Trunks was completely changed in less than a day.

“Tr—Trunks?” Vegeta’s speech was broken, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, smelling, sensing.

“You did it!” Ellery shouted, hugging Bulma.

“Luckily, Trunks offered to be the guinea pig.” Bulma said, chuckling and returning the uncharacteristic gesture to her step-daughter.

“It’s pretty cool, huh?” Trunks said, tensing each individual muscle, feeling his new strength. “It hurt like a bitch for a second, but it’s so worth it!”

Vegeta was still frozen, staring at his son. “Are,” he started before pausing. “Are you sure it actually changed the genetics?” He turned to look at Bulma, still very skeptical.

Bulma nodded. “I checked it four different ways.” She walked over to her son, showing Vegeta his bandaged arm. “I drew blood and collected skin cells to test, along with hair, and saliva. He’s purebred now.” She patted her son on the back, and his cheeks filled deep crimson.

Vegeta’s body relaxed and I could basically smell his excitement. “So, how long until we can try it on a human?” They both watched Ellery closely examine their son, sniffing him, pinching his tail, anything she could.

“As soon as possible. Once I looked into Saiyan genetics, I realized that you are simply modified humans to begin with. Within the DNA, there’s a couple additives, but nothing is removed, which is why it’s possible without killing the human it’s being used on. It doesn’t take anything, only puts on a little extra.” Bulma explained, smiling at her husband excitedly.

“Okay, so who is the first human you’re going to test it on?” Vegeta asked, becoming impatient.

“I wanted that to be a surprise, Vegeta!” Bulma squealed at him.

Vegeta growled low in his chest. “No, woman. Under no circumstances are you going to try this on yourself first.”

Bulma made a face at him. “Excuse me, but you don’t own me, Vegeta. You didn’t seem to care when it was your son!”

“I would have cared if I had known! You didn’t even ask! I just came down to see that my son is a Saiyan now!” The prince was getting unnecessarily angry.

“Oh, shut up. I’m going to test it before I subject anyone else to it. If it messes anything up, just wish me back with the dragon balls. Easy enough.”

“You think I want you dead for a year before the balls reactivate?”

Ellery stood between the two. “Both of you, shut up.” She looked to her father. “Let her test it however she wants. As she said before, it didn’t hurt a half-Saiyan, would it have a crazy adverse affect on a purebred human?”

“His body was already exposed to the different genetic make-up.” Vegeta said, suddenly seeming much more educated about the process than I’d expected. “She’s never come into contact with it, and it could reject. If that happens, it will kill her, and I can’t say that it will be painless.”

“She’s had two children with Saiyan DNA.” Ellery countered. “Even if it isn’t her own DNA, she didn’t die from the pregnancy. If it works quickly enough, it won’t have time to reject.”

Vegeta still looked uncomfortable with the process. “I won’t watch my wife kill herself over this.” He stalked back up the stairs.

I shrugged. “If you’re willing to risk it, Bulma, I say do it.”

Ellery nodded her agreement.

Bulma smiled, looking over at Trunks. “Do you think you can do it?” Her tone was serious. I knew she didn’t want to put Trunks into a situation that he wasn’t comfortable with.

Her lavender-haired heir nodded to her. “As long as you trust me.”

Bulma sat down in the chair, taking deep breaths to prepare herself. Her son knelt in front of her, meeting her eyes with his. “You have to be ready, though, Mom. You saw me. It doesn’t feel good. It hurts a lot.”

The genius nodded. “I gave birth, twice. I think I’ll be okay, sweetie.”

I just worried because Bulma was getting older. Would this really be worth all the work?

Trunks took a surprisingly small portion of the serum into a syringe. I watched as my heart jumped into my throat. I didn’t know how anyone could be so casual about needles. I didn’t even know what it was about them, but they just gave me the willies.

Ellery walked over to Bulma, taking her hand and whispering soothing things to her. Trunks reached up to grab the tubing of an IV bag, attaching a needle after sanitizing the connecting tubing. He’d sat the serum syringe aside.

I watched in both angst and excitement as the brand-new Saiyan pushed a needle into his mother’s vein. I swallowed as he started the drip, waiting a few seconds, getting down into his mother’s eyes again.

“I just started the saline, but you have to be one hundred percent sure, Mom.” It was just like Trunks to double check things a few times before proceeding.

“Trunks, if you don’t give me that drug, I will treat you like your father treated you for the first year of your life.” Bulma’s threat was empty, we all knew it, but she was still very stern about it.

“Okay, okay. Yikes.” Trunks said, grabbing the capped syringe and plunging the needle into a port of the connection tubing. He depressed the plunger, immediately looking down to Bulma, who was still as relaxed as she could be.

I just realized that I was witnessing history being made.

Bulma winced as the dark liquid made it’s way through the tubing and into her body. She clenched her teeth, drawing in slow, steady breaths over and over again. Trunks was knelt in front of her, watching her closely. Ellery was still beside her, telling her that she was doing great, and how amazing Bulma was for figuring this out.

Then the screaming started.

I never thought Bulma’s little body could create something so heavy and frightening. She didn’t thrash, and clenched her teeth tightly to keep from making any noise. I could feel Vegeta’s ki spike upstairs, hearing his wife’s cries.

The real show had begun. I could smell as things began to change. Her ribcage widened by an inch while her hips migrated inward, slighting her body. Her scent was changing as well. Her feminine, light scent changed to something wild and exotic. Her ki shifted, and it became more powerful, and more open, like there was so much room for improvement and progression.

Her face changed next. Nothing too drastic, but the small lines beside the woman’s eyes and the wrinkles on her cheeks disappeared. She looked younger, and everything about her gave off a younger vibe. Knowing Saiyans age slower than humans, it wasn’t surprising, but it was magnificent.

Her hair seemed to thicken, not only in volume, but the strands seemed to thicken before my eyes as well.

Lastly, I saw the muscle jut through the back of her dress, tearing the garment. Her tail waved franticly as it seemed to come from nowhere.

As quickly as it had begun, it was over. Bulma slumped over, unconscious.

“Bulma!” I gasped, running toward her.

“Goku, don’t.” Trunks snapped. “It happened to me too. Her body needs to finish adjusting. The saline will keep her hydration up. We didn’t want to risk it draining the body, so it’s a nutrition saline drip. She’ll be fine in a few minutes.”

We all watched as her body finished changing. Her muscles bulked up just a touch, and she started to twitch a little, her body waking.

Vegeta walked down the stairs, looking alarmed. I could tell that he was concerned, and he wasn’t expecting to walk down and see a totally different Bulma sitting in the chair.

“Bulma?” Vegeta asked, running over to her.

“Vegeta?” Bulma asked softly, opening her eyes slowly. “I thought you didn’t want to be here.”

“Well, I’m here. It worked, Bulma.” he said, chuckling excitedly. “You did it.”

She looked around and moved her tail into her view. She grabbed the appendage and jumped up, squealing. “I have a tail! I did it! I’m a Saiyan!” The IV was long forgotten, ripped out when she jumped up.

Vegeta wrapped his arms around his wife, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. I never thought I’d see the day, but Vegeta kissed Bulma hard on her mouth. “I never thought I’d be this happy.” Vegeta cooed to his wife. Bulma giggled against his lips, kissing him one more time before he put her down.

Ellery looked over to me with a huge smile on her face. “I can’t believe it.”

I smiled, nodding to her. I was excited for her, since this was one of her main goals coming here. It was incredible to see her so happy and excited. I’d never expected her to look so childish and giddy.

That night, I settled Ellery into bed, waiting to see how she reacted. She’d been talking up a storm, so excited, telling me that the Saiyans would reign again.

“Can you imagine, Kakarot? All of our people will be back! My father will rule over them, and we’ll finally have a home again.” Ellery was saying as she crawled into the bed. We’d both already showered and she was in a t-shirt and pajama pants that Vegeta had lent her.

“Yeah, that will be nice. No one will be able to touch the planet.” I said, smiling at her.

“Aren’t you going to lay down, Kakarot?” she asked, tapping the mattress beside him.

“If you want me to, I hadn’t gotten to ask yet.” I said, sitting on the mattress beside her. I watched as she continued to talk to me, inching closer and closer to my lap. Once her head was there, she laid down and talked to me while her head rested on my thighs. I hadn’t thought much of it, but hearing her talk really made me think.

Maybe, I could end up falling for this girl if this was who she really was on the inside.

I eventually laid down, listening to her ramble. It was nice. I hadn’t been this comfortable for a long time.

“I really do appreciate you doing what you did today.” Ellery said to me with a sweet smile on her face. She was beginning to look even more beautiful than she had before. This Saiyan, the way she smiled and giggled, and acted like a child now, it was exhilarating. She was adorable and so amazingly strong. I would never find someone like her if I even tried.

“Don’t mention it, Elle.” I said, smiling at her.

“I just finally feel like I can be happy.”

She looked at me for a moment before she moved closer to me, brushing her soft lips against mine. It took me by surprise, but my eyes closed and I found myself getting lost in the kiss. I felt the softness of skin moving on mine, and the heat from her body moving to mine.

I hadn’t liked a kiss this much in years.

She pulled away and looked into my eyes, gauging my reaction. I didn’t exactly know what to do, so I just smiled at her, which she returned.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Kakarot.” Her whisper was light and careful as it danced from her lips.

I chuckled. “You didn’t. It’s just been a while.”

She nodded, moving so her head rested against my chest, and she fell asleep. I took the time to calm myself down. I wasn’t even sure what to do. I was attracted to this woman, and I found myself liking her more and more each day.

On the other hand, Chi hadn’t been gone all that long, and I still loved her very much. I couldn’t even decide exactly what I was going to do.

I’m sorry, Chi Chi.