397Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Naruto
"So THAT's why your voice sounded so weird when you were that Gotenks-guy!"
The Konoha contingent of shinobi and now purged two enigmatic boys had successfully made it to Tazuna's house, much to the overjoyed relief of his daughter who practically bear-hugged the lives out of the Saiyan boys when her father informed her that it was due to their timely intervention of why they ultimately arrived all in one piece. The walk was entirely unperturbed from any and all disturbances looking to make an attempt at Tazuna's life, just tense.
Very, very tense.
After all it wasn't everyday one had the fortune of witnessing a merged technique like the one the boys unintentionally revealed with their fusion expiring. They did their best to assure them they really were two different people who had the luxury of becoming one mighty entity a hundred times stronger than their normal selves. Well, more like Trunks did all the work summarizing fusion.
Goten just blithely acclimated to the unfamiliar wildlife they strolled by, somehow convincing a butterfly to land delicately on the tip of his finger. Tazuna and Sakura thought he looked absolutely adorable being so attuned with nature. Anyone of the Konoha team and even Tazuna could tell the boy spent much time playing carefree jungle boy in the woods.
"Pretty much." Trunks shrugged, tying his arms behind his head, sitting on the right side of Naruto, his best friend on the other. Naruto and Goten had hit it off right away, chatting animatedly on the way to Tazuna's village as though they had known each other for years. It was as though they were kindled spirits destined to meet.
"There's one thing I still don't get though," Trunks groaned, already knowing what was coming next. He had come to expect either some form of mockery or measure of scepticism after he introduced himself to new people.
It was just his curse of being born into a family who had the quirky tradition of naming their children after clothes' products.
"For the last time, Naruto, yes!"
"You don't even know what I want to ask!"
"Does it have anything to do with my name?" Trunks deadpanned, lowering his brows suspiciously at the Super Saiyan look alike, causing the blond to break out in a cold sweat.
"Uh…" Trunks could easily tell Naruto was going to be a terrible liar. The cat faced boy couldn't keep a straight face under his relatively nonchalant scrutiny to save his life, "No…" Ah, and there it was, a fumbled, poorly given lie complete with flailing of the palms as though he was trying to illustrate a point.
"You have to admit it's a pretty strange name," Sasuke chimed in, surprisingly defending Naruto considering the two had been mostly at the other's throat for their short time together as a team, and when Sasuke, the resident pretty boy of his class, agreed on anything, Sakura, one of his decidedly unwanted groupie members, was sure to voice her agreement as a way to get in his good graces.
"Yeah, now that you mention it, it is weird," She pointed out, happily sitting next to her crush in between him and their sensei on the dinner table, lofting a single finger in the air in reasoning. Trunks sighed, suddenly wishing he could be anywhere but there, "What parents names their kid after underwear?"
"Mine..." Trunks deadpanned.
Naruto basically exploded, soaring to his feet in his overzealous relief of being backed in his insistence of Trunks' odd name, "That's what I'm saying!" He yelled, unsettling the butterfly on Goten's finger, though the boy was luckily able to calm it before it flew. Naruto, however, never noticed Goten's pacifying of his new friend, instead gesturing his arms widely in Sakura's direction, "It's totally weird!"
Trunks frowned, mimicked by Sakura's, though hers was for another reason.
"Idiot! Keep your hands out of my face!" She demanded, slamming a fist down on the surface of their borrowed table, spooking Naruto and unfortunately for Goten, his new companion too as it flapped its wings and flew off his finger.
"Aah! Sorry!"
"No! Come back, Rai!" With the exception of Trunks, everyone turned to stare bizarrely at Goten who had his arms outstretched in the flying butterfly's direction as though he had grown a second head. Even the normally stoic Uchiha cocked a questioning eyebrow at the eccentric porcupine hair-styled boy. Catching sights of the strange looks he was receiving because of his dramatics, Goten settled down instantly, caressing the back of his head and once more embellishing his adorable features with that contagious, distinguishing grin of his, "Hehe. Woops. Guess I got a little carried away there, huh?"
"Righttttt," Kakashi intoned, a hint of sarcasm laced in his otherwise calm tone, receiving a dirty look from the other boy on the other side of his blond-haired charge. It was very obvious the lavender-haired child didn't take kindly to anyone talking smack about his buddy, "Well I think that's enough questioning, for now," He shut a little orange book he had been reading audibly, assuaging Trunks' ire, "We should discuss training you three in the event we encounter Zabuza again."
"But sensei," Sakura perked up, emerald-green eyes drifting curiously to the masked Jounin, "I thought Gotenk-. Gote-. Trun-. UGH!" She grunted, tilting her head back to messily claw through her pink locks in irritation, the two Saiyan boys giving her varying reactions. Trunks was blinking oddly at her dramatics and Goten was just smiling widely, like always, "They," She grumped, gesturing to the two, "-Took care of Zabuza."
"Oh yeah!" Naruto entered the conversation, arms folding over his chest and head lobbing up cluelessly to the ceiling, "Didn't that hunter girl or whatever come in and finish off that Zabuza-jerk?"
Before Kakashi could explain the general basics of misdirection and deception of a ninja, Trunks provided an answer he never expected, but coincided with his theory all the same nonchalantly, folding his hands behind his head, "Oh, you mean that Zabuza-guy Goten and I creamed? Yeah, he's still kicking." It went without saying his absolute definitive answer of Zabuza's status earned him several raised eyebrows from those around him. Only, obviously, Goten was the only one at the table not giving him a questioning look.
"How do you know that?" Sasuke played spokesman for the lingering question on the minds of his comrades, his thirst for rapid improvement to achieve his goal wanting to obtain all he could knowledge-wise from a super strong kid no older than him. If these two could take on a Jounin-ranked shinobi, even merged with their unique fusion jutsu, then why couldn't he?
This was Sasuke's mentality as he discreetly probed Trunks for information on his abilities, onyx eyes sharpening over his bridged hands covering his nose.
Trunks tapped his temple, deadpanning at him, "I sensed him and that hunter girl together," He tossed up a shrug at Sasuke's increasing look of disbelief, "Turns out they're working together. Go figure." Though Trunks misinterpreted Sasuke's scepticism. It wasn't the fact that Zabuza had essentially duped them all into escaping uncaptured or even killed, it was the ability Trunks mentioned using to ascertain that possibility.
"You sensed him?!" Sasuke repeated, arms falling, eyes widening and body lurching forward. Beside him, Sakura held a shocked expression on her face also, complete with a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek.
"Uh, yeah?" Trunks confirmed, admittedly awkwardly. He made a face to the looks of awe he was getting from the newbie trio of ninja, "Why's that such a big deal? It's easy!"
"Sensory ninja aren't very common," Kakashi explained, cracking open his book, 'So I was right, one of them at least is a sensory type.'
Trunks scowled, "Seriously?"
"Seriously," Kakashi quipped back casually, turning a page of his book, "And they definitely aren't as strong as either of you guys potentially are. Sensory ninjas usually fall into the support-type role."
Trunks' expression soured further, small, muscular arms folding impatiently over his chest, "Well, we aren't ninjas, so?"
"I see that." Kakashi assured casually.
"Wait." Naruto requested, earning the full blunt of Trunks' frosty, dangerous frown. The boy seriously wasn't in the mood for any more questioning of either of his or Goten's abilities, "You're not ninjas, like us?"
"Duh." Trunks deadpanned.
"Wow," Naruto breathed out in a longing whisper, well, a whisper for him, awestruck eyes drifting off to the ceiling, "I've never met a real-life ninja outside the Elemental Nations before!" He quickly realized his mistake, however, "Oh, wait," He grinned sheepishly at Trunks' dry stare, "Heh-heh. My bad, fella."
"Numbskull."
"So then-," Sakura peered over to the two enigmas, eyes devoid of the hardened questioning a veteran shinobi like Kakashi would've when enquiring of the whereabouts of two insanely powerful preteen boys, "Where did you guys come from?" An innocent enough question, but still one Trunks hoped they could avoid until he could speak with the most experienced-looking member and only adult of the team, Kakashi.
Sadly, Goten didn't share that same foresight as him inherited from his super genius mother, "Oh!~" He readied blithely, "We came from anoth-." The tan-skinned palm of his best friend hastily pressing his face atop the surface of the dinner table faster than anyone could even so much as blink ended his admittance, leaving the trio of newbies staring in abject amazement of the instantaneous-like speed while their sensei's lone eye narrowed.
"Heh-heh. Sorry about this, he forgets stuff!" He excused, both hastily and flimsily, and he knew it as he gave the Konoha contingent his most forced sheepish smile ever, mentally cringing. Said smile vanished a moment later, however, eyes sharpening and arm draping tightly around Goten's neck, "Idiot! Don't say that! Do you want them to think we're weird?" He whispered harshly into his ear.
"Oh… okay, sorry Trunks. I wasn't thinking," Goten timidly whispered back, uncomfortably under the pressure of his best friend's mighty near choke-like hold.
"Darn right you wasn't!" Trunks reprimanded, just for good measure, harshly mock-throwing Goten's head from his arm, glowering in annoyance. A look he may or may not have intentionally glared at team seven with, eliciting varying degrees of fear from the rookie trio.
Naruto yelped, leaning so far back he almost fell out of his chair as he put his arms up in a silly pose.
Sakura gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.
And Sasuke… Well, he was the most reserved in his fear of Trunks' foreboding anger, masquerading it under a mask of annoyance.
"Sorry," Trunks acknowledged, running his hand tiredly through his purple locks.
"What was that all about?" Kakashi asked, single eye narrowing in warning.
Trunks shook his head, sighing in irritation, "It's a long story," He stated, shooting his best friend a harsh glare which elicited a whimper from him as the slightly younger boy clamped his arms over his head protectively, "But it's not a secret though, I swear!" He hurried, flailing his held-up hands in protest, earning a raised eyebrow from the masked Jounin. He sighed again, berating himself for losing his composure before pocketing his hands, "It's just…" He made a face, "Kinda hard to swallow," He grumped mentally, 'More like totally unbelievable.' He mused, "I can tell you later."
Once again Kakashi had his excellent experience in the world of oddity to thank for the implications the emphasis on the word you gave off, "Fair enough." He accepted, refocusing on the content of his little book of perversity once more, 'He's obviously the smart one of the two.' Kakashi had to give the boy credit for the foresight. He had the presence of mind to keep his friend from blurting out their place of origins knowing it would have been difficult – if not impossible – to comprehend how they ended up in their land.
That left the question hanging of what kind of mystical land practically off limits by normal methods could the two have come from for them to not just simply say where they came from? Kakashi had a theory pertaining to an earlier spectacle his team found right before their encounter with Zabuza.
'I wonder,' He mused, recalling a peculiar tear in the sky earlier in the day, almost as if the very sky was being curtained open, 'Does their arrival have anything to do with that?' It would certainly fit with Trunks' clear reluctance to part with their whereabouts and it was wholly implausible as he implied. It also had the potential to be used as a convenient cover story to get them a pass in their good graces, but since Kakashi honestly didn't think they were ninjas based on his interactions with them he dismissed it.
That left the entirely idealistic and fantastical possibility of them actually being from an alternate reality or another world. As unbelievable of that being the case Kakashi was open-minded to new occurrences. He had the feeling he would need to be when he had his eventual discussion with Trunks.
He peered over to the two boys from the top of his book as Trunks seated himself once more, tension still thick from his previous outburst, 'Just what are you two exactly?'
"Oh yeah," The lavender-haired demi Saiyan realized, glancing over to Kakashi with an questioning gaze, "If you had a hunch that hunter girl was in cahoots with that Zabuza-guy why didn't you try and stop them?"
"Oh?" Kakashi evaded expertly, switching to another page of his series, "I was under the impression that was your job, Mister Hero of Justice."
Trunks cringed. That lightened the mood instantly, smiles emerging on the faces of Kakashi's young charges. Even Sasuke cracked a small smirk at his sensei's snark, "Man, that's the last time I fuse with Goten!" Trunks assured, dragging his palms over his face and lurching his head up, feeling terribly embarrassed, "I hate saying lame stuff!"
"What's the big deal?" Naruto insisted perkily, propping his arms happily over his head, "I thought it was pretty cool."
"You would say that, you dork!" Trunks retorted, getting Naruto to stick his tongue out at him before he bumped knuckles with Goten with cheesy grins etched on their faces in a warm-hearted show of solidarity, earning a soft smile from the pink-haired kunoichi, "Yeah, yeah."
Trunks' mood stood zero chance of lasting when the magical word all Saiyans loved more than even getting a good fight regardless of their personality echoed throughout the room. They could be the most passive, non-aggressive Saiyan alive like Goten's brother and they would still love of what was heading toward the dinner table by way of trays.
"Dinner time!" The cheery, warm voice of Tazuna's daughter rang out followed by the two entering the room carrying two full trays of delicious nutriments.
As predicted, Trunks' mood dissipated instantly by the mere smell of tasty food, eyes luminescing like the sun itself and drool beginning to trail from his lip, mimicked by Goten's own outlandish expression of overzealous happy delight, "Food!" The demi Saiyans exclaimed simultaneously, shooting up to their feet. Across from them, Sasuke and Sakura were eyeing the two strangely, wondering if the two had ever seen a real meal in their lives from their vast overreaction.
"Yeah!" Naruto joined in, absolutely ignorant of the elevated levels of obsessed the two had for food, just wanting to bond with his new buddy in orange as he pumped a fist, "Food!"
A beautiful woman with long, flowing midnight blue hair reaching her back appeared over the boys, placing a tray with two large bowls of tasty white rice and a smaller one containing a lengthy loaf of bread, smiling down at the excessively delighted expressions of the two saviours of her father, "Hungry, boys?" She giggled at their frantic nods.
"Uh-huh!" Goten answered peppily, eyes homing in on the other tray landing by the one Tsunami placed by Tazuna's calloused hands, containing delicious numerous fish the size of chicken nuggets and a small bowl of sauce, "Yay!"
Tazuna chuckled warmly, "Eat to your hearts contents, boys," He allowed, blissfully unaware of the horror he was giving the green light to, ignorantly passing a normal-sized bowl over to his daughter before picking one up himself, the two serving the boys a helping each, "It's the least this old man can do for ya!" They handed them their bowls equipped with a pair of chopsticks, assuming their gleams of opportunity to be quirks of charming adorableness, "Dig in."
"We will!" They chorused.
Tsunami giggled, "They're so adorable."
Tazuna's eyes softened behind his lenses, "Yeah." He looked down to pick up another bowl, "So, who's-." Only for two familiar bowls to swiftly appear in his view, empty of the contents that filled them mere seconds ago save for a few grains of rice and folded up chopsticks indicating that they had even been filled in the first place, "Huh?" He glanced up at the grinning Saiyan boys offering him their bowls.
"Seconds please!"
"What!?" Naruto went bug-eyed, followed by his teammates, "You finished already? How? I didn't even see you take a bite!"
"We eat fast." Trunks shrugged. Goten nodded frantically, pleading orbs never leaving Tazuna's, "Now fill them up, pops! You said we could eat to our hearts content!"
Goten nodded in agreement, giving the two the puppy dog eyed look, "Yeah, you promised," It worked to great effect as Tazuna relented, serving the apparently "growing" boys an extra serving each.
All eyes remained honed on the apparent big eaters this time, eyes widening when they shoved the bowls right up to their mouths, basically covering their faces, and devoured, fingers moving blurs as they consumed every last portion within their bowls within mere seconds, silencing everyone.
"How…?" Sasuke muttered, perhaps for the one hundredth time that day alone contemplating what in the hell were these kids.
The boys, of course, paid no heed to the stupors evoked from their worldly demonstration of eating prowess, once more holding out their now empty bowls with wide grins, "Thirds please!"
"Hold on." Kakashi requested because as entertaining as it might have been to see two boys outmatching him in speed eating the rest of them still needed to eat too. Trunks, however, didn't agree, shooting the masked silver-haired man an annoyed glare.
"What now?!" He asked impatiently.
Kakashi pitied the boy's impatience for food with a condescending smile of the eye, "You're not the only ones who need to eat too, you know?" Goten deflated, ears falling like an adorable puppy when he turned to see Naruto's pleading expression of 'Please don't eat it all, I'm hungry too!'
Trunks conceded to the point, knowing it would've been a pretty jerkish, selfish thing to do for their Saiyan appetites to consume the whole gourmet feast before them, grumpily turning his head away and folding his arms, "Fine! You win!" Didn't mean he was happy about it, though.
Let it be known one should never come between a Saiyan and HIS food without expecting to lose an arm in the process.
Kakashi sighed, expression dropping to a dull, sweat ridden face of a sudden aged demeanour as though he had been dealing with them for years already, 'Those two are going to be a bigger handful than Naruto,' And that said something, because Naruto was a handful all on his own, 'I can already see it.'
"You boys really eat a lot," Tsunami noted. Pitying Trunks' pout displaying his early age and immaturity, she began serving a bowl for one of the Konoha members.
Tazuna grinned bashfully to the pouting boy, once again helping his daughter serve their other guests, "They're growing boys honey!"
"Uh-huh…" Goten whimpered miserably, mumbling through the chopsticks propped in his mouth with his chin flattened atop the table. When he felt a delicate hand land on his wild, spiky hair, he perked up, looking up with his eyes to find the comforting emerald eyed look of Sakura.
"Don't worry, Goten. I'll share some of mine with you if you want." No sooner than the word "share" implying give left her mouth were her soft hands cupped by the energetic boy, starry-eyed glow embellishing his happy expression.
"Really? You'd do that for me?"
"Uh…" Sakura said unsurely, an awkward bead of sweat racing down her cheek, "Sure."
"Yay!" He beamed, and suddenly, to movements invisible to everyone but Trunks, appeared beside the girl embracing her in joy, "You're so nice, Miss Sakura!"
"Uh… thanks," She accepted, patting the overjoyed boy on the arm, "You don't have to be so formal, though, Goten. We're about the same age."
"Heh-heh."
"Hey," Naruto noticed, stopping Goten's innocent caressing of his crush, a finger pointed to the two's blank expressions, "How come he gets to hug you and I can smacked upside the head whenever I even try to so much as touch you?"
"Because he's not annoying like you, idiot!"
"Aw…"
Kakashi chuckled, a natural, instinctive, unrestricted titter from the heart. Despite the relatively secretive nature of the mysterious powerhouse boys, he was finding the task of remaining on guard too much of a chore to do. Their childishness had a natural charming charisma about it that kept him relaxed, 'I'm almost starting to believe they won't be so bad,' He mused, looking up when a bowl of food was placed in front of him.
"Bon appetit." Tsunami smiled playfully.
Kakashi eye smiled, "Why, thank you Tsunami." He embraced his dish with all the advanced delicate skill of a knitter and rose, bringing it over to his masked mouth while making no indication he was going to make room in the veil to eat.
"Wait. How are you going to eat with a mask on?" Trunks questioned, raising an eyebrow, instantly capturing the attention of Kakashi's students. They realized, just then, with that simple acknowledgement of Kakashi's predicament that they had never actually seen what he really looked like beneath his signature mask. Their minds, especially Naruto's, were flooded with all sorts of wacky ideas pertaining to their sensei's face, and their eyes sharpened, peering over to him with intense focus.
'We can find out what Kakashi-sensei looks like without a mask!" Naruto realized, heart rate steadily increasing to the point he could hear it drum against his chest in his ears, and his breathing deepened, 'C'mon, c'mon! Face reveal already!'
"Oh?" Kakashi wondered, once more feigning perfect ignorance like he didn't know what the boy was going on about, "That? Well, let's just say you two aren't the only ones who have mastered the intricate art of speed eating." His hand blurred for all of seemingly a second to his students, and then he was finished, lightly seating his bowl down to clap his hands together in a short pray, "Ah! Tasty."
The expressions of utter gobsmacked defeat of his students were priceless.
"What?" Naruto said, voicing his disappointment aloud.
Sasuke clicked his teeth, "He duped us."
"Ah!" Sakura moaned loudly, "We didn't even see a thing!"
"Tch. We didn't," The raven haired Uchiha acknowledged bitterly, gesturing over to the amazed duo on either side of a saddened blond, "But they did." Sakura and Naruto blinked, eyes dilating wide at the slack-jawed expressions of sheer amazement evident on the faces of the young bottomless pit eaters.
"No way!" Naruto realized, "They're totally taken aback! That means we missed something totally awesome!"
"Idiot! Don't remind me!" Sasuke demanded harshly.
"Wow," Goten uttered, practically starry-eyed at an owlish blinking Kakashi, "You're handsome, Mr Kakashi."
Kakashi eye smiled, "Why, thank you Goten."
"You're all going to die." A young monotone voice attempted to dampen the jovial mood set by the Saiyan boys, drawing their attention to the exit of the living room area they sat in to find a small child decked out in green dungarees over a short sleeved white t shirt complementing his white shoes and white fisherman hat sat upon his mane of shaggy, chocolate-brown coloured hair.
"Inari!" Tsunami chirped, trying to lighten the distinctly moody little boy's spirits, "Why don't you come and join us? We have some lovely guests."
"What's the point?" Inari asked miserably, and for some unknown reason the whiskered-cheeked Genin was still trying to crack his woeful, emo-like attitude grated irritably on his nerves, "They're all going to die, Mom!"
"What!?" Naruto demanded, vocally microphoning Trunks' ire as well.
"Relax!" Goten, however, remained unfazed by the boy's underestimation of their strength, folding his arms behind his head, "Me and Trunks are super-duper strong!" He grinned infectiously, "We'll be fine!" Although Goten's kind words of humble assurance were free of mockery, sarcasm and even arrogance, Inari wasn't taken in by his charisma, instead seeing it more of a cheap salesman-like pitch to lead him into a false sense of security.
"Be serious!" He demanded, earning himself a curious blink of the eyes from the young demi Saiyan.
Naruto glared dangerously at the boy, evoking a flinch from him under the intensity of his icy-blue cold stare. Curiously, Naruto peered over to his fellow prepubescent teen in brash, pleased to find a similarly heated glower plated on his own face, "Hey, Trunks. This kid's really starting to tick me off."
"You and me both," He agreed, darkened glare making Inari squirm nervously under its repression. Although the boys shared the same outlet of their current fury, the reasons for each initiation varied. For Naruto, he had spent much of his early adolescence and even current days enduring adversity, so instinctively, he developed a deep seeded hatred for soakers; the kind of people who expected anyone to pity their "woe was me" act. As far as he was concerned, everyone had their own baggage of problems they were burdened with. It wasn't right for them to bawl their eyes out trying to bring people down to their level of emo-misery.
For Trunks, much like how he had inherited his Father's natural superhuman strength, speed, enhanced hearing and smell, and heightened healing, he also inherited Vegeta's immense pride. For someone to tell him he was going to die without even knowing him and what he could do first… well, it triggered him to no end.
"Listen kid, I don't know who has your panties in a bunch," Trunks quipped, fisting a hip and eliciting a heated flinch from Inari. A snort erupted from his nose, "And really, I don't care. Goten and I aren't gonna die to some lameos so just drop it!"
"Yeah!" Naruto was quick to agree, "And neither are me and my team! We'll protect the old man no sweat, so you better believe it!"
Inari's eyes widened in sudden recognition. It seemed the small child had completely overlooked why the presence of superhuman hired ninjas would even be around his grandfather, considering the slayer of men he was preaching would kill them was also after his grandfather. He turned his head, looking pleadingly into Tazuna's softening eyes of comfort.
"It's true, Inari," He insisted, gesturing to Trunks and Goten. "These two," He began, shaking his head, "They're not like us. They're something else. They have abilities, strength and speed that far exceed that of normal folks, like us," He dipped his head, chuckling a little sheepishly before raising his head, smiling gratefully at his saviours with glistening eyes of unshed tears. "If it weren't for them I wouldn't be here. I owe them my life, Inari."
Inari looked floored, all for intents and purposes, like the wind was taken out of his sails, extended dilated eyes of wavering doubt. He breathed deeply, body wobbling shakily back a step like a drunkard, drawing a roll of the eyes from Sasuke at the dramatics, "How…?" He asked, tear-streaked voice barely above a whisper, tiny hands balling into fists, upper shoulders trembling in his grief, "…How can that-?" Only Sakura and Goten looked at him in sympathy, feeding into his hands as their hearts bled out for him.
The decided "bad boy" trio of Trunks, Naruto, and Sasuke couldn't care less. Trunks, because he was raised – or influenced - by a hardass manly-man of a father he greatly respected. He would've done anything to earn Vegeta's affection like that last and only hug he gave him before his demise, including never showing weakness in such a contemptible manner. For Naruto and Sasuke, well, they've endured so much already even at Inari's age.
If they could move forward without complaint, then so could he.
"To heck with it!" Trunks insisted, throwing his head back in frustration, drawing another timid flinch from the boy. His eyes held intent as he looked over to Tazuna, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at Inari, "Pops, who has him like that?"
Tazuna could tell the boy wasn't just willing to wait for their tormentor to roll up on their doorstep and spring to action at the very last second from the mere look in his eyes. He held the look of someone willing to be proactive and make miracles happen rather than miracles happening themselves. Considering the superhuman strength he and his friend had shown already, it was with great curiosity, anticipation and eagerness that he told him of the man who had been terrorizing his country for years.
"It's Gato," The mere name of the cruel man was enough to cause Inari to cringe, "He's the evil businessman who's had my country under his thumb for years," He bowed suddenly, head touching the surface of the table, teeth a grit and eyes clenched, "Please, young man! If you can rid us of that monster I implore you," He looked up, surprising everyone with the tears in his eyes, "Save us!"
"Father," Tsunami breathed, hands over her heart.
"So he's a bad guy?" Trunks asked rhetorically, getting a nod from Tazuna regardless. He smirked, swiping the bridge of his nose with his thumb, "Cool! That settles it then!" He slid from his chair, hands shoved in his pockets as he rounded to the exit in a confident swagger that would've made Vegeta proud.
Kakashi peered over his little orange book, "What are you planning to do?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Trunks returned, and then, a blazing azure shroud of intense flames erupted around him, leaving everyone but Goten breathless. Clothes rustling, hair swaying, in the fabricated winds of his immense power, Trunks coolly turned his head over his shoulder, looking very much like the merged warrior team seven had met first. It was clear his personality was most predominant when he and Goten were fused.
"Amazing…" Tsunami breathed, countenance lit by the luminescence of Trunks' aura.
"I'm going to kick this Gato-guy's butt."
Kakashi stared at him flatly, "As all well and good as that is, do you even have a plan of locating him?"
"Not a clue!" Trunks admitted, almost causing everyone to face-fault, "But I'm sure that Zabuza-guy does. This seems too coincidental for them to have no connection."
"Oh yeah!" Naruto nodded, crossing his arms, "That Zabuza-jerk was hired by Gato to kill Tazuna."
"Well that's that!" Trunks' smirk widened, "I'll track down Zabuza, rough him up, and get him to spill the beans on Gato," He faced the doorway, sauntering forward in absolute insouciance that conveyed a clear message to anyone who didn't know of his power.
No one could beat him.
Inari looked up, hardly believing his eyes reflecting the brilliance of the light being emitted by the scary boy before him. He realized he may have been every wrong in his assumption that he would just die when encountering Gato. The divine light he emitted gave him a heavenly feel that just made him look like a god, "Are you-?" He stopped, voice small but full of awe, "A superhero?"
Trunks cringed but quickly shook it off to grab Inari's arm, "Nah. Just a guy who hates being underestimated, now come on! You're coming with me. I'm gonna show ya this Gato-guy isn't crap."
"Wait… I don't-." His protests were futile as the taller, stronger boy pulled him out of the living room, the door sliding open and shut signalling their departure.
A silence lingered over the area.
"Huh?" Sakura let out blankly, pointing to the exit, "Shouldn't you have stopped them Sensei?"
"Probably," Kakashi compromised, unreasonably relaxed as he fingered a page of his favourite orange book, "But he's about to finish the mission for us, which means less work for me ensuring all of you survive so I can't complain."
Sakura pouted at Kakashi's innate laziness, "Gee. Way to set your priorities, Sensei."
"Oh, I sure hope Inari comes back safely," Tsunami stated, hands clasped over her heart.
Goten waved off her concern, "Aw, he'll be A-okay, Miss Tsunami. He has Trunks with him!~ He's a hundred times stronger than anyone around here." He was blissfully ignorant to the looks of either awe, disbelief or suspicion he was getting from Naruto, Sakura, Tsunami, Tazuna, Sasuke and Kakashi respectively, instead holding out his empty bowl having finished Sakura's half a while ago, bright, cheery polite smile stretching across his lips, "Thirds please!"
XxX
New Kids on the Block
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TWO
The Bridge of Eternal Pride
Half an hour.
Approximately thirty minutes would pass before a strangely greasy, but content Trunks would saunter back into the house with a bona-fide transformed in character Inari saddled on his shoulders, the boy having undergone a complete metamorphosis of a character, from the snivelling, depressed child he was last seen to his mother's eyes, to a bright-eyed bundle of jovial exuberance, from the time span of a mere thirty minutes.
"Yo!" The demi Saiyan called, catching everyone's attention.
"Yay, Trunks is back!" Goten cheered, leaning an arm over the back of his chair, smiling widely at his smirking best buddy and the practically beaming boy of pure happiness seated on his shoulders.
"Inari!" Motherly instincts taking over, Tsunami shot up with all the speed and grace of a trained ninja, racing over to her son so frantically Kakashi's students were left bug-eyed in the wake of her speedy departure. She halted mere inches from her son's makeshift rider, however, the vast change in expression on his face keeping her from sweeping him up into her arms, 'Inari…' She mouthed.
She had been fretting ceaselessly since allowing the warrior-child to take her son on what was essentially a liberation mission to rid their country of a malevolent businessman despite Goten's numerous assurances that his friend was the strongest person in the country. It just sounded so idealistically, the thought of a pubescent young boy being that strong, but seeing her son's now brightly expressive eyes of brimming vibrancy, she now realized Goten wasn't being entirely optimistic with his claims of Trunks' status of the country's strongest warrior.
He had to have been that strong to restore the light in her son's eyes, the eyes of someone who had just won a lifetime supply of ryo.
"You should've seen him, Mom!" Inari smiled, eyes glowing so brightly Tsunami feared she would need to look away, "Trunks was awesome! Gato didn't stand a chance!" He mimicked Trunks' blows, playfully shadow boxing the air, "He knocked out his goon with one punch! Then blocked another's sword with his arm!" He threw his arms up, giggling mischievously to his mother's befuddled expression, "It was amazing!"
Tsunami balked, taking a tiny step back as if strung. She opened her mouth, steadily lifting a finger to reply, but then closed it. She looked from her son's brimming smile of vibrant energy to Trunks' self-satisfied closed-eyed expression of contentment. Inari had clearly stroked his ego well.
"Is this true?" She asked softly.
"Sure is," Trunks clarified, "No sweat really. Would've been back sooner, but we made a pit stop so I could grab a bite to eat."
The 'grab a bite to eat' part Inari spurred into recalling another one of Trunks' insane feats of superhuman achievements, "Oh, then Trunks beat up a bear!"
Needlessly to say, that bizarre declaration earned Trunks several funny, odd looks from most other than Goten and Kakashi, though the latter was eyeing him in incredulity, "You fought a bear?" Sasuke asked incredulously.
"Yeah."
"Why?" Based on the manner of which Inari phrased Trunks' pounding of a bear, implying it was after he had already dealt with Gato and his wannabe goons, there was no conceivable reason to hunt down bears since Gato was already out of the picture.
Trunks' answer was simple in stark contrast to Sasuke's intricate thought process, but yet still absolutely shocking all the same.
"I was hungry."
"Wait!" Sasuke asserted, "You ate a bear!?"
"Yeah!" Goten cheered, pumping an fist in the air, supporting Trunks' decision to eat bears, "Bears are yummy."
"Unbelievable." Sasuke sunk in his seat in submission, 'They're total freaks.'
"How do you two get fed?" Sakura asked rhetorically.
"Yeah," Naruto agreed, thoughtfully staring off to the ceiling with his arms crossed, "If you lived with me I don't think I would have enough to feed myself, heh-heh-heh!" He chuckled, lips breaking off into a foxy grin.
"Well my family's rich, so?" Trunks shrugged.
"And I just eat bears!" Goten chirped, drawing awkward smiles.
"So then," Tazuna stood, fumbling for words, drawing the lavender-haired demi Saiyan's attention. Trunks could tell he was still reeling from the unexpected liberation from his country's tyrant's evil mitts, palms shaking, mouth agape and eyes wide, filled with incredulous disbelief, "Gato, he's really gone? You really rid us of that vile man?"
"That's what he said, didn't he?" Trunks shot back impatiently, pointing to Inari, "Sheesh, didn't you hear him go on, Pops? Yes, the bad guy's no more. I chased him out of town."
The clarification was all the old bridge builder needed for his heart to allow the wave of raw emotion to wash through. Abruptly, his trembling eyes settled, lowered, softened, and filled with glistening tears, "Yeah kid," He sniffed, quickly tilting up his glasses to stubbornly stub at his eyes, earning soft smiles from Naruto, Sakura and Goten as he flashed Trunks a wide, euphoric smile, coupled with closed eyes to hide his red-rimmed eyes, "Yeah I did."
A pair of slender, delicate arms emotionally draped themselves around a shell-shocked Trunks' neck, a larger, yet much softer and fragile body being pressed up against his chest. He gasped breathlessly, unintentionally smelling the strangely relaxing fragrance of perfume as strands of midnight blue locks tickled the side of his widened-eyed face, "W-What?"
"Thank you," She said, a heartfelt murmur into his ear, arms tightly around his muscled frame, chin resting atop his shoulder, "Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
For a few moments, the shock of a mother embracing him a second time but so passionately lightly knocked Trunks into an all mesmerizing glowing cloud-white realm of daydream, an equally slender, curvy woman but with lighter and shorter blue hair hugging him in place of the woman who was on the outside world, 'Mom…' He mouthed silently. Subtly, as to not disturb Tsunami, he clenched his little fist, lowering his head so his chin was touching dream-Bulma's shoulder, the bangs of his light lavender hair shadowing his solemn eyes, 'I'll find a way home, soon, Mom,' His fist tightened, 'I swear.'
Tsunami pushed a little away from her country's saviour, holding him within arm's reach, her teary-eyed smile softening comfortingly to his guarded look of resolve, "It's okay to smile, you know?" She insisted, smile lightening cheerily, "You're a hero!"
"Yeah man!" Naruto said, loud voice carrying over to him containing a twinge of annoyance, eyes squinted as he crossed his arms, "Quit being such a soaker!"
"It's not that, it's just," Trunks balked, shoulders tightening and teeth gritting in self-loath of being unable to put into words in regard to his lack of desire to bask in his heroics, drawing looks of concern from Sakura and Tsunami, the latter straightening from her crouched posture taken to hug him.
Inari, now a bundle of absolute cuteness being free of his burden of seemingly perpetual sadness, tilted his head upside down to look into his saviour's eyes curiously, "What is it bro?"
Trunks sighed, lifting the younger boy from his shoulders, placing him on his feet, holding his questioning look with a stern gaze, "Listen Inari, you really ticked me off earlier."
Inari winced, ducking his head, ashamed, "I'm sorry. I just-." Now tension tightened in his own shoulders, little hands curling into reluctant fists of self-frustration.
"I know, but still!" Trunks was much the same, unable to express himself.
Fortunately, for the two struggling youngsters, they had an available expert psychologist-like Jounin who happened to specialize in reading people and the barriers they instinctively build in front of their emotions in Kakashi, "Trunks is a prideful fellow, Inari," He explained, drawing his attention, "Your intentions to warn us away, well-meaning I'm sure, was actually taken as a huge insult to his pride as a warrior, so he set out to prove you wrong," He shrugged, continuing his breakdown of Trunks' psyche insouciantly, "Now that you're hailing him as a hero he feels guilty knowing his motivations were inherently selfish."
"Woooow," Goten drawled, eyes shining in awe, "You're smart, Mr Kakashi."
Kakashi eye smiled. He was loving this boy. He fed his own controllable ego well, making him feel good about himself which was always nice. Not to mention his conversations with Naruto kept the blond in line. Bonus points, "Why, thank you, Goten."
Inari looked back at Trunks as the latter stared at him grimly, "Is that it?"
"Yeah." Trunks murmured, "So you don't need to thank me or anything!" He insisted strongly, trying to ignore the contemplative expression on the young boy's face as he shoved his hands into his pockets, "I was just blowing off steam." A grin, confident and assure in nature, tugged at the edges of Inari's lips. No, that wasn't any ordinary smile of confidence, Trunks realized, having had the same smug smile plastered on his face plenty of times.
It was a smirk. A self-satisfied hardened grin Inari bared in full, fully confident in his belief that he perfectly understood Trunks' clear reluctance for sentimentalities, "You got it, big bro!" He teased, drawing the desired reaction from his self-proclaimed older brother, an awkward cringe.
"Numbskull! I told ya you didn't have to be mushy!"
Inari snickered.
Oh yeah. He definitely understood Trunks' reluctance for touchy feelings.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Naruto bellowed with laughter, receiving the full blunt of Trunks' dangerous glare but paying it no mind as he jabbed an ridiculing index finger at him, "You're so lame when it comes to feelings, Trunks!"
"Shut it, dork! Unless you want me to kick your butt!"
"Bring it!"
While the two dissolved into a tangle of arms of a playful grappling match, being goaded and cheered on by Inari and Goten, the others dryly shook their heads, though smiled warmly at the display of brotherly-like manly affection. Well, all except Sasuke who was just too anti-social and distant from his emotions to really see the joys in the simple things like a playful scrape between friends. With a scoff, he looked away, hoping they would end soon.
Kakashi didn't notice his most talented Genin's discomfort, however, too engrossed in both his book and the mock grappling match put on by his other charge and Trunks, chuckling kindly, 'Those two,' One eye shifted to Goten cheerleading Naruto, because Inari was on Trunks' side, then over to Trunks, who had Naruto firmly held in a tight headlock.
"Say Uncle, Naruto! I don't wanna hurt you."
"No, never-. GAH!"
'Won't be so bad to have around.'
Better than Konoha getting them than some other village outside the Land of Fire because any Hidden Village landing two potentially Kage-level warriors equalled a massive boost in power for them.
XxX
Later that day, when the sun had drifted around the clock to another far away region of the land to be replaced by an eerie crimson Sharingan-coloured moon, Trunks stepped out. It wasn't like he could sleep anyway. Being lost in an entirely other world with different sets of rules and regulations played endlessly on his mind, keeping him alive. And he still needed to set things straight with Kakashi with his earlier outburst. Really, he had all the incentive in the world to remain restless. He wasn't so carefree like Goten that he could just drop asleep with so much on his mind.
Luckily for him, the Jounin was also awake, perched outside on the dock insouciantly kicking a leg lightly out while keeping the other folded over his knee.
"Yo," Trunks greeted.
Kakashi didn't look up from his book. It wasn't like Trunks was suppressing his Ki from the man, but still kudos to him for sensing his approach, "Yo yourself," He turned a page, "Need something? Or are you just out for a midnight stroll?"
"Huh?" Trunks cocked an eyebrow, "Thought you'd still be harping on that."
This time Kakashi did look up, gracing him with a puzzled expression, "Harping on what?"
Trunks deadpanned.
Kakashi just stared dully back at him, never wavering in his charade.
A cool, strand of air passed by, souring Trunks' expression further.
"I hate you, you know that?" Trunks glared.
Kakashi eye smiled, returning to his book, "I know."
"Seriously, though."
"Yeah," Kakashi accepted, deciding to stop the purposeful misleading of trolling, "I had a feeling you would be out here expecting to find me to hash out that 'talk' you promised we'd have," He flashed an encouraging thumbs-up by way of green light approval, "So shoot."
"Alright," Although Trunks implied he was ready to come clean in regards to his whereabouts, his intense, deep pensive expression spoke the contrary, muscular arms wrapped over his chest, "Man, how can I sum this up in a way that doesn't make me sound crazy?"
Kakashi decided to throw the kid a bone, "Like you came from another world?"
That caught him off guard, his arms dropping and eyes shooting the older man a startled look before narrowing suspiciously, "You knew?"
"I had a theory," Kakashi returned, eliciting a roll of the eyes from Trunks at the casual, cool ease of which he evaded being grilled, "Right before our encounter with Zabuza, there was a tear in the sky. Almost like the fabric of reality was tearing itself apart at the scenes," He lowered his book, single eye homing in on Trunks solemnly, "Just what were you two doing that could've potentially scarred the fabric of reality?"
"We were fighting a monster."
"Tell me."
And so, he did. There was no reason not too given that Kakashi could've been of assistance in helping them find their way, ideally back home but realistically to set up somewhere safe where they could get by. This was a strange, new, unfamiliar world to them, even inhabited by ninjas they could beat in their sleep. He had no desire of being left out there in the cold where the possibility of getting a bed was within arm's reach. They just had to act and reach out while praying they didn't get bitten for it.
After he finished a story of what Kakashi could only describe was an epic horror novel of deities and devils taken humanoid forms, the Jounin was understandably in disbelief. The whole ordeal with Majin Buu unfortunately wasn't grounded in reality where essentially normal humans with minor abilities would believe at face value. It also just made for an absolutely terrifying horror film, as Kakashi could verify. His lone eye had been left spooked numerous times throughout Trunks' tale, almost trembling in trepidation when he spoke of the bubble-gum skinned monstrosity that possessed a horrifyingly unavoidable beam move that turned anyone it touches into candy to be eaten.
"That is," He paused to articulate himself, insouciance now used to masquerade his incredulity instead of to troll his associates, "How can I put this?" He held his chin, tilting his head up, "It's 'hard to swallow'."
Trunks snorted at being quoted, "Tell me about it."
Kakashi gave him a sidelong look, eye solemn, "Did this Majin Buu creature happen to follow you?"
"Can't sense him, so no," Trunks offered a shrug, "After the jerk destroyed the Time chamber, we all fell through our own separate voids, and then Goten and I ended up here, as Gotenks."
"Well that's relief."
"Tell me about it. Goten and I have to fuse to even stand a chance against the thing, but the problem with that is-."
"You became too arrogant when merged, correct?" Kakashi predicted, earning a nod from the boy, "Well," He breathed, caressing the side of his neck, "I believe the best course of action now would be is to join my team and I when we return home after Tazuna finishes the bridge," He looked at him sidelong, catching the hopeful gaze in his eyes, "Our Third Hokage is a benevolent man. If we explain your circumstances, I'm sure he'll allow your stay in the village."
"Thank heck for that!" Kakashi chuckled at the Saiyan's exclamation of relief, "Was gonna ask ya if we could tag along anyway."
"I'm sure," Kakashi assured in his typical know-it-all manner, "To tell you the truth, I was going to extend the invitation almost regardless if you had told me your story or not."
This got Trunks' attention, "Really?"
"Really," Kakashi quipped, turning a page of his book, "I won't lie to you Trunks. Your power's most likely greater than mine if you were able to frighten Zabuza away as easily as you relayed," He turned to him, holding his gaze grimly, "And if the specifics of the Fusion Jutsu are to be believed Goten shouldn't be far off from your power either," He glanced up, eyeing the moon as the tension in the air thickened, "That kind of power at the fingertips of another village would put Konoha at a severe disadvantage. I just couldn't in good conscious allow that to come to pass."
"Well I'm glad you didn't," Trunks assured, hastily rounding before he got too sentimental. You know, because he inherited his father's macho tendency to dislike touchy feelings, "You guys are pretty cool."
Kakashi humoured his tryhard attempt to remain all tough while slightly touching on his softer side with an eye smile, "Why thank you, Trunks. We think you kids are pretty cool too."
Trunks nodded, tossing a hand over his shoulder, "Off to get some shuteye. Thanks for the talk," He didn't turn to see Kakashi's nod, instead sauntering forward and stopping by the entrance of Tazuna's family home. He grabbed the doorknob, grip tightening as the shadows of the night masqueraded his pensive expression of expertly concealed worry, "Hey, Kakashi."
"Yeah."
"This place is pretty nuts, huh?"
The silence reigning supreme was the only answer he needed, eyes steeling with resolve.
"G'night." Once he disappeared Kakashi returned to his book.
"Like you wouldn't even believe, kid."
xXx
xXx
(One Week Later)
XXx
No more than a week was needed for Tazuna to complete his bridge of dreams, officially signalling his country's liberation from the cruelty of subjugation and poverty. It took a couple of days after Gato's forced eviction for the other citizens of Tazuna's small village to truly believe he was gone for good, but after his main factory was raided for his abandoned goods their cheers could've been heard across the globe as they partied like the village that just never slept, praising Trunks as their lord and saviour, thoroughly embarrassing the boy which Naruto used as ammunition for teasing, which only resulted in headlocks each time.
Thankfully Kakashi came to his rescue, setting his team the task of learning to walk up trees, and Goten and Trunks busied themselves in helping Tazuna finish off his dream bridge. They were the main reason he even got the marvellous countries-connecting structure built in such a short time span, which sadly shortened the remaining duration Inari had with his self-proclaimed older brother Trunks.
He had taken a great, bright shine to the demi Saiyan, so watching him standing by the bridge with his practically groped orange-clad buddy and the Konoha ninja was enough to arouse tears in his eyes, though he did his best to try and hold them in, his mother's comforting hand nestling on his head.
"So I guess this is it?" Tazuna asked longingly, feeling as though he knew them for years watching them about to depart to new adventures beyond, Naruto's arm happily draped over Goten's shoulder.
"Afraid so," Kakashi answered, smiling regretfully, "We have to get back and report to Lord Hokage."
Tazuna winced, "Sorry for lying about the mission specifics Sensei."
"It's alright," Kakashi comforted. Tazuna loved him. Seriously, if Kakashi were to return to the Land of Waves and purpose to his daughter, he would receive Tazuna's blessings wholeheartedly without restraint. He was such a kind understanding man with an amusing sarcastic personality that never failed to arouse a smile from him, "We actually learned a lot and gained critical combat experience you can't achieve running stimulations." So kind, trying to reassure Tazuna he didn't need to feel guilty about essentially tricking Konoha into believing he only needed minor protection, "Also," His eye slid side to side to Trunks and Goten, "We gained invaluable comrades."
"Yeah!" Naruto beamed, passionately hugging a sheepishly smiling Goten. He had essentially spazzed out in overzealous joy when Kakashi informed them Trunks, and more importantly, Goten, would be returning with them to Konoha to potentially join their ranks, clinging to the boy whenever he so much as got the chance to. It was actually kind of annoying if anyone asked Trunks, who started contemplating whether the Super Saiyan look alike had ever even had a real friend before, and then it hit him.
He most likely never had a real friend to bond with before. That was arguably why he was so attached to Goten who shared much of the same qualities as him with the two being dopey, happy-go-lucky bubbleheads of endless positivity. It was only natural for a lonely, friends-deprived guy to become drunk off friendship when the hand was finally offered, but then why was Naruto so lonely?
He could be annoying for sure, but he had his good points.
Trunks resolved himself with asking Kakashi about Naruto's explicit lack of social skills when they got to Konoha.
"Yeah." Tazuna agreed, locking eyes with their saviour, "Thank you again young man."
"No sweat Pops, remember?" Trunks returned, hinting to their week's earlier conversation of Trunk's innately self-centred incentives for freeing them from Gato's control, born solely of that selfish desire to prove a smack talking kid wrong.
Tazuna's eyes softened, sympathizing with his reluctance, "I know, but even still, you saved us, even if your motivations weren't distinctly pure, you still did," That was what mattered to Tazuna and his family most. It didn't matter if he didn't plan to rescue them heroically, like a true hero, he still was one. They understood bona-fide legitimate heroes of unsullied purity were few and far between, because people at their very core of their beings were just inherently selfish creatures. That was why pure-hearted sweet hearts like Goten and Naruto were as rare as diamonds themselves.
"I got ya, Pops."
He smiled, grin as wide as the bridge itself, "Don't be a stranger now! You're welcome back anytime!"
"I'll take it under consideration." The lavender-haired anti-hero assured coolly.
"You better come visit!" Inari mock threatened, voice tear-streaked with droplets of tears sprinkling from his eyes.
Trunks smirked, "I'll take it under consideration."
"Jerk." Inari sniffed.
"You're not gonna start crying, are ya?" Trunks teased, fisting his hips, "You're such a girl pants."
"No!" Inari denied, breaking voice saying otherwise. He offered the boy he had come to view as a sort of older brother figure a tear-streaked smirk, "You can cry, though." Trunks allowed his actions to speak for him, coolly turning his back on the boy and beginning his stroll from the country via the great link in between, tossing a hand over his shoulder in bidding.
"Smell ya later."
"Bun bye big bro!" He frantically waved him off, arms hoisted above his head as he completed several heartfelt half-moon gestures of the arms to give his reluctant hero the send-off he felt he was due, the rest of the team receiving the same grand gesture by way of extension when they gave their own farewells and sauntered off to catch up with Trunks.
Tazuna watched them go, eyes lingering on Trunks, "There goes a reluctant hero." That said, the realization of his close friend's departure from his home broke the dam keeping Inari's tears at bay, streaks of them rapidly pouring from his eyes and snot emerging from his nostrils.
Tsunami bent down to his level, removing a handkerchief from her person over to her son's nostrils before giving him an encouraging pat on the back, "Are you going to miss your big brother, sweetie?" She asked, smiling kindly. Inari inhaled deeply, blowing mightily into the folded handkerchief on his nose, releasing all the slimy mucus clogging up his nostrils.
"Uh-huh!"
She giggled until a thought occurred to her, "Oh! That's right. You haven't named the bridge yet Father."
Tazuna lingered on the decision for all of a few moments before the perfect name in honour of Trunks and the pride he held hit him like a flash of inspired lightning. It was his hope and belief that the name he would bestow upon the bridge would inspire others to fight to maintain their dignity even when the odds were stacked against them, and to remind their saviour acting on selfish whims really wasn't such a bad thing when it resulted in good deeds.
"I'll call it the Bridge of Eternal Pride."
That's it people. We are out of the Wave arc, and it only took two chapters. I really hope this wasn't rushed, or at least didn't feel too rushed, I just wanted to power through an arc that has been, admittedly, worn the fuck out in the cleanest most believable way manageable. I hope Trunks' talk with Kakashi didn't feel too cringey. I know when characters reveal they're from another world in other fics it usually feels pretty cringe, at least to me since authors just have the crossed over character instantly revealed everything about themselves from the chapter one. I tried to soften the blow and make that scene as plausible as humanly possible. I do try, honest!
No action, but yh. This arc's been played to death so I just wanted to smoothly brush past it. I hope I kept you entertained with Goten and Trunks' interactions with Team 7, though. Until next time take care.