(DBZ) Two of a Kind Ch. 03

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z/Gt and I am not profiting from this work of fiction.

Dear Miss Son

We regret to inform you that, after much deliberation, it is the finding of this board of enquiry that your husband is to be declared deceased. After reviewing the evidence, we believe his death was the result of an animal attack and therefore a result of accidental and natural causes.

In respect of his many great services to our community, an annual fee of 30,000 Zeni a year will be issued to you at the start of each calendar year. We hope it will assist you through this difficult time. Once again, we offer you our deepest sympathies for this tragedy.

Yours sincerely

J. Buckley

Secretary of the Mount Paozu region Council

Rereading the handwritten letter, Chichi couldn't resist letting out a snort of derision as she took a long sip from her still smoking mug of coffee while wondering if she had ever seen such pretty words used so loosely. Her husband's so called demise had been anything but tragic.

It had been little more than a month since that incident with Super Android 17 and the Shadow Dragons, and already the world had returned to its grey shade of twisted normality. The crops had been sowed, homes and cities rebuilt, and the citizens of earth were once again enjoying their lives; once more blissfully ignorant of the dangers that plague their galaxy. Only the Z fighters, earth's greatest warriors, knew what that peace had cost the world.

A great light had vanished from the universe. Goku, her husband and once dearest love, was gone; taken by the immortal dragon Shenron to train in other dimensions. He had left them again and this time, Chichi knew in her heart he would never return.

And yet she was not sad. The world seemed darker, but her heart was not burdened by the loss. On the contrary, she felt almost liberated; as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She had loved Goku, but she knew know that she had not been in love with him for many years. She had loved Goku the way she had loved a lifelong friend, cared for him like he were a brother but their relationship had never been the same as it was. Not since those years long ago, when he and Gohan had been preparing for the androids. Despite the imminent danger, there had been a simple joy in those dark days when they had been a family that she had never felt since. Her romantic love for Goku had died with him in Cell's game, and later on Kami's lockout when he had announced he had decided not to return. No, her heart was in pain, and longing, for another...

Setting her coffee mug on the kitchen table, she looked over the letter once more. An annual fee of 30,000 Zeni, she more than suspected the hand of Hurcule in that. An utter buffoon he might, but never could it be said that the world champ didn't care for his family; even his in-laws.

As was so often the way with Goku; the relatively simple matter of reporting his death had been anything but simple. Telling people the truth had of course been out of the question. Trying to explain her husband's constant disappearances and trips between life and death would have been reason enough to have her committed; she shouldered to think what they might do when she confessed that he was an alien and had recently been turned into a child. No, that wouldn't do at all. So she had done what she always did in times of a crisis and after a long conversation with the girls, she believed she'd found the answer.

In retrospect, missionary work might not have been his prime vocation or the most promising carrier path for a man who his ideal day consisted of just fighting, eating and fishing, but it suited her purpose quite nicely and didn't invite a lot of questions. And it had worked, for the most part. Unfortunately, while it might have solved the issue of explaining his disappearances, it made proving his demise difficult without proper documentation or a body and the board of enquiry had refused to declare her husband dead until they had adequate proof he had been missing for seven years. So Videl had gone to her father and three days later, she received the letter, accompanied by a death certificate.

It wasn't really a lie, by her count it had been about seven years since the adult Goku vanished during the middle of the world's martial arts tournament and although he wasn't exactly dead, he would never return. Declaring him dead was just the logical thing to do, otherwise a part of her would always be longing for his return.

She had spent over half her life waiting for him to return to her, it was time she moved on with her life and buried the past.

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

Trunks tried to remain calm as he sipped his wine. It was the house's best, a fine Italian vintage, well-aged and blossoming with flavour and he wanted nothing more than to lose himself in its dark depths. He wanted it so much that he drained the goblet to the dregs with one sip. Setting the empty crystal down beside his almost finished plate of Fillet Steak, he quickly silenced an overripe belch before turning his gaze up to look at his companion. Only part of the way through her roasted duck, she was totally focused on eating her meal and seemed not to have noticed his slip.

Her name was Madison Winter. She worked as an accountant at Capsule Corp in a department not otherwise incorporated with his own. At just twenty-four, she had risen fast along the corporate ladder and now had an office on the top floor with a splendid view of the city. Trunks had heard of her only twice before their meeting, and both had painted the image of a nerdish bookworm with her hair in pigtails wearing a pair of oversized round-rim glasses. There were few words then that could describe his surprise when a goddess with flowing locks of auburn hair and perfect olive skin appeared in his office-doorway, carrying a stack of folders and claiming that she needed to speak with him about his expense account.

They'd had dinner together that very night.

She was a very lovely creature, with a nature as sweat as sugar and a laugh that could brighten even the darkest day. Despite this, she was also ambitious and wasn't afraid to express her thoughts; a fact which lead to him learning that she had a sexual appetite veracious enough to match even his Saiyan lusts. In almost every sense, they were perfect for one another. That was why he had to do this...

"Is something bothering you darling? You have hardly touched your food." Madison asked while using her napkin to dab away some of the sauce from her pouting lips, her duck now just a pile of tiny bones. "Is your steak ok?"

With a heavy sigh, Trunks met her gaze and said dryly "Yea its fine. Listen Madison, we need to talk."

"Oh, what's wrong Trunks?"

"Well... Madison, I've been giving this a lot of thought and I just don't think I'm ready for a serious relationship yet. I'm sorry. I care for you a lot but if we stay together I'm just going to end up causing you pain. It's not you, you're a great girl and any guy would be lucky to have you. This is my problem..."

"You self-righteous arsehole!" She suddenly roared, her sweetly serine features twisting with unmasked rage. Without waiting for him to finish, she snatched up her half-emptied wine goblet and splashed the house's best in his face before getting up from her seat and storming off. Trunks just watched her go, red droplets rolling down his skin and beneath the collar of his tailored silk shirt. He made no move to wipe them away; it was the least of what he deserved.

Not caring that just about every pair of eyes was watching him, he waited a moment before signalling for the cheque which was brought to him by the all too pompous Maître D. Ignoring the man's disapproving sneer, he quickly paid for the meals before rising up and leaving his unfinished steak to the waiters. He exited the restaurant with as much dignity as man with wine dripping down his face and neck could muster.

On a Saturday night, the West city strip was quite possibly the busiest Avenue in the world. Lined with top class restaurants and glamorous nightclubs, it teemed with traffic and glowed so brightly that from an elevated point it appeared to carve the city in two. Nodding his thanks to the doorman, Trunks took one step onto the side walk and almost lost himself in the bustling tide of pedestrians. Too lost in his own thoughts to care however, he ignored the hails of several taxi drivers as he let his legs carry him away from the restaurant. After going several blocks, he stepped off the main avenue and into a smaller side street before lurching up into the air and taking flight. He might have intended to go home but a few moments later he was flying high over the tall domed building of the Capsule Corporation and yet made no attempt to land. Instead, he flew towards the star spangled horizon at a steady pace.

Something was wrong. For reasons he couldn't explain, his stomach felt twisted and there was a heavy weight in his chest that he knew had nothing to do with what he'd done to Madison. No matter how she might have reacted, they'd both known it wouldn't have lasted. It might have happened in a week, a month or perhaps a decade; but in the end their relationship was doomed to end. He was sure she she'd feel better when she went into work on Monday and found a generous pay raise and a promotion waiting for her, courtesy of Mrs Briefs herself. His mother had always been good at smoothing over department quarrels.

No, there was something else that was bothering him. Something he couldn't place. It had nagged at him for weeks but was always just out of reach, always just beyond his sight. In desperation he'd hoped it might have been his feelings about playing Madison false, but he could still feel it tearing mercilessly at his heart.

Not knowing what he should do or where he should go, Trunks kept flying ever onward until he happened upon a place he recognised. Maybe it was fate that had brought him here; or perhaps it was just a coincidence. To be frank, he didn't give a shit.

He'd been flying for three hours and the scent of rain was in the air. Storm clouds were gathering and to a man dressed in only a near ruined but nonetheless expensive suit, the sight of the Son's house with its pale

grey wisp of smoke rising from the chimney was more welcoming than a spitted boar roasting over a fire. He began to descend just as a streak of lightning split the heavens to a booming drum of thunder.

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

Chichi couldn't remember the last time she had been drunk. Or for that matter, why she had been so adverse to it prior to tonight.

The wine was one of the bottles her father had bought for her wedding to Goku, he had said that if it weren't for his axe he would have had to sell the entire Ox Kingdom and her mother's jewels to pay for them. This last one had never been opened however, so she had kept it in storage as a memento of the day. She had thought the bottle lost years ago but had found it whilst scouring the cellar and in a moment of uncharacteristic melancholy, had decided to toast her epiphany with a glass. Only that one glass had quickly become four. Now the bottle was half empty and she was feeling quite warm down in the pit of her stomach.

It had been so long since she last had a drink of anything stronger than Coffee that when she heard the knock at her door she was sure it was because the alcohol. It was only when she heard the fourth booming tumble that she was certain she wasn't dreaming. "Who the hell could that be at this hour?"

Setting her glass down beside the not so empty wine bottle, she rose up from the sofa and walked from the living room into the reverse 'L' shaped hall to the oaken front door. Both annoyed and surprised by her unexpected visitor, she threw open the door to find herself face to face with "Trunks..."

"Hey Chichi." He said; managing to maintain remarkably composed despite the evident look of surprise that was twisting across her face. "...I'm sorry, is this a bad time? I can come back tomorrow if that would be better."

She knew it would be wiser to let him leave. Just the sight of the strapping youth was enough to start a hot stirring in her nethers and she was sure she'd do something regrettable if he stayed too long. However before she could concoct a plausible excuse, a clap of thunder bellowed down from the heavens and trapped her good and proper. Having spent her whole life living in the mountains, Chichi could always tell when a storm was coming and now good manners demanded that she invite him in before he got soaked and in the face of such opposition; wisdom and her own personal feelings could go hang. No matter what, Chichi would always be well mannered to a fault. "Oh...no...no please come in." She said before hurriedly stepping aside and holding the door open for him. "Can I get you anything? Tea...coffee...wine?"

"Tea please." Smiling broadly, he steeped through the threshold; coming so close that Chichi could actually taste the scent of his cologne. Feeling her knees turning to jelly, she took a hasty step back and closed the door before motioning for him to follower her as she walked back down the hall, past the stairs leading up to what had once been their secret love nest, and into the living room.

"Make yourself at home; I'll just go put the kettle on." Certain she could feel the heat of his gaze on her derrière; she excused herself without a backwards look and instead made straight for the door to the kitchen on the opposite wall, her legs threatening to give way with every step. Flicking the light on, no sooner had she let the door slam swing shut behind her than she had to grab one of the counters before she collapsed. What was she doing? If Goten found out about this, he would kill them both.

It had been well over a year since she had last seen Trunks Briefs. Oh they had seen each other, in the company of friends and family at Bulma's yearly gatherings or amongst the masses at the World Martial Arts

tournament. In truth they had seen each other aplenty, but it had been almost two years since that day. The day their affair had been brought to an abrupt end. The day her youngest son came home unexpectedly and caught them fucking against a counter.

It had been a turbulent moment, Goten jumped to the wrong conclusion and thought that she was being raped and Trunks had barely had time to pull his trousers up before the boy had attacked him. The fight had been bloody and Chichi had been forced to quite literally pour a bucket of water over the both of them to break them apart, after she'd gotten dressed of course. It had taken more than an hour to calm Goten down and get him to see that Trunks hadn't forced himself upon her. The usual questions followed and she could remember her heart breaking at the look of betrayal that had darkened her son's handsome face. She had feared she'd lost him then, but in the end he'd agreed to keep their secret on the condition that they ended the affair and never spoke of it again.

Only then did he tell her, in a voice so sour she thought he might have turned into phial of vinegar; that her husband had returned from the lookout. And he was a kid.

Things had been easy after that. Goten had been too distraught to see her other than when their presence had been required and Trunks, well he had blasted off into space to save the world. It would have been romantic if only it had been scripted in some pulp fiction novel, but in her world, romance was a foreign world and she had been left by herself to contemplate the strange turn her life had taken. Goku was back, but he had been turned into a boy little more than eight years old and it seemed he had had no mind to turn back into an adult. What did this mean? Were they still married, could they even be married if he wasn't yet past puberty? Love was wonderful, but it could only take you so far when your husband was as young as your granddaughter. Should she wait for him, she might not have been old but she would certainly be in her sixties before Goku reached twenty.

There were so many questions; it had almost been a relief to be taken over by that parasite Baby, psychotic anti-Saiyan tendencies aside.

In the weeks that followed Baby's defeat and earth's destruction and rebirth; she spent much of her time pondering the answer, her only answer. Divorce was something Chichi had always resisted, like her mother before her she had strived to ignore her husband's faults whatever they might be and spend her life with only the one man she'd loved. But this was different; Goku seemed to no longer care about their marriage and thought of only how his new state could improve his training. Even reaching an entirely new and unthinkable height in his Super Saiyan powers had not stated his thirst for greater abilities and it had seemed Divorce was her only way of getting her husband back, or else freeing herself from the power hungry monster he had become.

She had intended to voice the issue the day Hades had opened and the evil dead had spilled onto earth. By that evening she had been a widow and now she stood, with the man she'd once had an affair with waiting in the next room. Why should she feel guilty, she was, by every definition, a free woman now.

She was free to speak to whomever she wished, yet just the thought of the young man sitting in her living room sent a hot shiver down her spine, as though he were a forbidden treat she was considering devouring. 'Well, he defiantly warrants the hot description.' He had grown up considerably in the year since she had last seen him as close up as she had in the door way, his months in space had melted away much of the boyishness from him and given him a hardened look that in no small way made him resemble his father when he had first come to earth. Though it had been many years, Chichi could still remember the first time she had seen Vegeta, and the fear the image had stirred within her despite the blurriness of Master Roshi's television. Yet what had appeared terrifying on the father, seemed sexy on the son; especially when coupled

with outgrown locks of lavender hair running down too his shoulders and the silken shirt that fit just tight enough to hint at the sinewy muscle that bulged beneath.

Filling the Kettle with water, Chichi couldn't deny she was tempted, and that she felt a warmth gathering inside her that had nothing to do with the wine.

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

'What the hell are you doing Trunks?' He wondered as he desperately sought for something to do with his hands. For eighteen months he'd stayed away. For eighteen months, two weeks and one day on this morning he'd avoided coming within a hundred miles of this place. But now he was here again, perhaps he should have his head examined. What madness had brought him here?

Just the sight of her standing in that doorway had stolen his breath away. Madison had been a lovely creature, but Son Chichi was...exquisite. Her raven hair had been out of its usual bun and tumbling down her shoulders with a few stray curls framing her soft features. Far away from her usual array of disgustingly unrevealing coverall dresses, she wore a deep crimson pullover and a doeskin jerkin that seemed barely able to contain her ample bosom; her leggings consisted of nothing more than a pair of tight fitting white shorts that ended just beneath the curves of her magnificent buttocks. She was utterly gorgeous; he'd wanted to take her right then and there.

It was maddening. He'd hoped his feelings for her might have diminished during his time in space or his lust stated by the succulent bounty of young flesh he'd feasted on ceaselessly at every opportunity. Yet just the mere sight of her again had fanned the flames of his desire, and something else that Trunks couldn't quite place. Feelings that poets might call love...