Trunks V. Hope--Who Will Win??!!!

Hope sunk her hands into her newfound pants pockets as she walked with Trunks down the hall. "These clothes, Trunks-kun-were they yours?" Trunks blushed, yet again, but Hope wasn't watching. She was still examining the strange garments she wore. "You are the only one here I know of that is about my size, that you are."

"You know, I was thinking those looked awfully familiar."

Hope smiled. "Your mother already cut a hole in the back of your pants for my tail. I hope this was not one of your favorites." Trunks turned his head to look at her extra appendage and chuckled to himself. He doubted he'd ever get used to that fury, brown tail of hers. "Were you not born with a tail?"

"Well, actually…" Hope's eyebrows shot up. Trunks took in a short breath, and looked into her eyes. "I was born with one." He could tell she was horrified by the idea of him losing that strange furry limb. Trunks spared Hope the trouble of asking what happened to it. "My mother had it surgically removed. I still have a slight brown lump at the base of my spine that could easily be mistaken for either a birthmark or a large fuzzy mole."

"Oh." She looked saddened by this information. Her tail swished in the air from side to side, then fell limp, only slightly curled as she stopped and stood. Trunks looked a bit uncomfortable, guessing what she was about to do, but he stopped walking, allowing her to peer at his backside and touch the base of his spine. As she did so, he felt pleasurable chills course through him. Thankfully, she only touched him briefly. "Why?"

He shrugged. "Humans don't have tails. I guess she wanted me to fit in with everyone else." He resumed walking towards the gravity room and Hope followed. "I hear my father wasn't entirely happy about it, but what's done is done."

"Do you mind not having your tail, Trunks-kun?"

Trunks reached back behind him and felt the small, almost insubstantial, nub with the pads of his fingertips, letting the chills run up his spine. "Ano… Sometimes, I can feel it, though its not really there. It'd be interesting to know what it'd be like to have one, but I like being able to walk around in public without the whole world staring at me." He smiled. "Then again, I bet I would have enjoyed that. Well, at least to some degree, anyway."

"Hai. I think understand what you mean." Hope let her tail swing some more, looking happy to let it hang free. "Well, it would change the way you fight. Fighters with tails have to balance differently, that they do." She raised her arms long enough to let her tail curl around her waist. "Let us make a deal before we spar. Though I cannot promise not to kick your butt-I will not touch your nub if you do not grab my tail."

Trunks chuckled at her choice of words. "It's a deal," he said, relieved that she, one of the few who knew of his nub that did not have one themselves, would not be kicking such a sensitive spot. Even his father rarely ever went after it, and then only to help his son build up a tolerance so that others could not discover and exploit such a weakness. He stopped in front of the gravity room door. "We're here. Let's go spar."

"Hai." Hope brushed back a stray strand of her wild, black hair with her fingers, looking into the odd room ahead of them. "This is going to be fun, that it will. I am eager to test your technique."

"Shall we start?"

"Stand ready, Trunks-kun. I fight hard, that I do." Hope shifted her stance and lifted her arms, prepared to attack. "One more thing-no ki attacks, no buku-jutsu. Let us test our skills, not our power."

"Hai-for now." Trunks sensed her ki grow in strength, while she stood ready to make her first move. Unsure as to whether he should take the opportunity to attack, or let her begin the match, he remained still. Trunks watched as Hope's slitted pupils began to widen and grow rounder, as if to take in more light. Her nose scrunched up a bit while she took in a few short breaths, taking in his scent. He knew she was assessing him with care, judging how much ki to exert, for her ki stopped rising when it was near even with his own.

He was impressed already. Perhaps he should attack… Trunks did not have time to finish his thoughts. Hope slammed into his chest hard, knocking the wind from his lungs, then jumped midway into the air, legs sweeping out in a controlled arch, connecting with his rump. Hope chuckled as he fell to the floor. "My grandmother's specialty."

She stood still as Trunks picked himself off the floor, her posture ready to defend. He was mollified. How did she manage to knock him down? At least she did not go after his nub. Hope stayed true to her word, that she did. "Your grandmother must've been a remarkable fighter."

"She was."

Trunks swung his elbow towards Hopes ribcage, but she deflected his attempt with a simple roundhouse kick to his front leg, knocking him off balance again. He spun on his heal, using his hind leg to strike her side. She jumped clear away, using the momentum to spin into a hard jab, catching his sternum, pushing him backwards towards the floor. He almost fell, yet again.

Hope's relentless assault continually caused Trunks to remain on the defensive. She began hitting him with a series of low thrusts and sweeping kicks, which he expected, yet was not quick enough to overcome. Trunks could not maintain even footing for long and found himself teetering about, trying to back away quickly-anything he could do to remain on even footing. Her movements were clever and swift, all intend on maneuvering him backwards and to the floor.

Kuso. Trunks was getting angry. He did not like losing. It was one thing to lose to his father, one of the greatest warriors in the galaxy, but an entirely different situation to lose to a frail-looking, wiry girl who looked to be at least a year or two younger than he was. He decided it was time to stop holding back. If he needed it, he would unleash his full power and win.

Hope lunged to the left, careful to avoid Trunks' oncoming attack. He looked a bit perturbed, as if lost in thought. Hope began to wonder if maybe she should stop the match. He did not look all that happy. Still, he met her every move, neither landing any serious blows for a time. She wondered what he was thinking, that she did. His ki was beginning to smell of frustration and disappointment.

"Trunks-kun? What is wrong? You look disturbed, that you do."

Trunks did not answer for a moment, he just kept punching and jumping, dodging and blocking. His ki scent was growing increasingly stronger. Hope decided it was time to turn things up a notch, before the match grew out of hand. If he was this bothered by her technique, perhaps it was time for her to end the fight.

Hope leapt into the air, rolling into a tight flip that arched just above Trunks' head. He spun to meet her face-to-face, arms up and ready to block. She pulled her fist back, miraculously landing an upper cut punch that connected with his jaw. His head swooned back and his eyes grew cold. His scent began to shift... Hope stepped away with fear as his eyes changed color and his hair grew bright.

"Oh, no." Hope shook her head. "Not you, too, Trunks… Zera, she got you too…"

Bulma's Lab

When Bulma felt a light tap on her shoulder, her first thought was that Vegeta had finally come home. She whirled around, to come face to face with Goku, who was just standing there, shouldering Hope's massive space pod. "Hiya, Bulma-san!" Bulma lowered her hand, realizing then that she was about to slap him.

"Yahh!!! Goku! You startled me!" Goku rubbed the back of his head with his free hand and smiled broadly.

"Where'do ya want it Bulma-san?"

"Ano…" Bulma gazed around the lab room, trying to ascertain the best spot to have Son-kun place Hope's pod. Bulma was not sure what kind of equipment they would need yet, to make the necessary repairs. "Ano… I guess any spot is as good as another. I can just ask Vegeta or Trunks to move it for me, if need be."

Goku set the pod down in the far right corner of the lab, next to a large machine covered by a black tarp. As he stepped away from the pod, a perplexed expression crossed his face. "Bulma? You said Trunks and Hope were sparring, right?"

"Hai. I did."

"She's not a trouble-maker, ne?"

"Hai. I like her."

"Then, why is Trunks' ki so angry? And Hope-I think she's scared."

"Could you go check on them?"

Goku touched two fingers to his forehead and vanished.