Cosmic Crisis 2 - The Return of Orion
Written by Erin Miller - nekochan016@aol.com
 

Chapter 14 - Kira

	
	The small girl felt the weight of everyone's eyes pressing on her. 
Not knowing what else to do, she nonchalantly put her hand on the back
of her head and looked around the room.  Maybe revealing her origins
wasn't the best thing to do.  However there was nothing more she could
do at the moment.  Natalie and Trunks were obviously to shocked to say
anything, and Bulma looked at her with curiosity and resentment
combined.  The girl desperately wanted to run away, to get out of there
as fast as she could.  If it were up to her, she would have never had to
come back here in the first place.  But then, if she hadn't, there would
have been nothing left in the future but a cold, desolate place with
almost no traces of life.  She knew that if it weren't for her, the
future would be grim.  But all this weight on her shoulders had the
potential to crash down on her.  She had taken on so much responsibility
for her young age, after all.
	"What is your name?" Goten asked, breaking the little girl's
concentration and startling her.  It suddenly occurred to her that she
hadn't even introduced herself.  So, she swallowed her nervousness and
forced herself to look up into the boy's eyes.
	"My name is Kira." She replied, trying to keep her voice steady. 
Hundreds of thoughts and ideas raced through her head at light speed. 
She began to wonder if this was an effect of her travel through time or
if it was her own body betraying her.  
	"Kira..." Bulma whispered.  She had a distant look in her eyes. 
Finally, Natalie gathered enough nerve to speak up.
	"I always did like that name." She said softly, a slight smile
forming on her lips.  Kira's eyes lighted up as she heard her future
mother speak.  Her voice was comforting.  She then realized that she
shouldn't be nervous or afraid anymore.  After all, this was the family
she loved and knew, just years younger.  This thought made Kira loosen
up.  "Well what are we all sitting around for?" Natalie asked, looking
at everyone, even Trunks.  She and Kira swished their tails casually.  
	"You're right.  We're all exhausted.  After all, we've gone a while
without a decent night's rest." Trunks spoke, forcing his sore, beaten
body off of the floor.  Unlike Natalie and Kira, he, as well as Goten,
hadn't been healed in a rejuvenation tank after the battle.  He knew,
though, that there was bound to be a stash of senzu beans around
somewhere.  Everyone else got the idea and stood up as well, trying to
gather their senses.  Bulma led the way out of the medical wing and back
to the living quarters, where everyone immediately headed for his or her
respective rooms.  Goten decided to return home as not to worry Chi-Chi.
 Natalie and Trunks bid their friend goodbye and headed upstairs,
mumbling their "good-night's" to each other before departing for their
warm, comforting sanctuaries of sleep.  Not knowing where else to go,
Kira followed Natalie into her room, sitting on the edge of the bed
quietly.  Natalie was intrigued by the girl, but didn't know what to say
to her.  The fact that this was her own daughter was strange enough. 
She wondered what was going to happen between her and Trunks now. 
Surely they would still be together.  Finally, Natalie sat on the
opposite side of the bed from Kira and looked at her curiously.  
	"Kira?" Natalie spoke.  Even muttering the name seemed strange.  The
little girl looked up from fiddling with the drawstrings on her pants,
her large green eyes sparkling.  "Tell me..." Natalie started, looking
down at the floor and playing with a section of her brown hair.  "What
happened?  In the future, I mean." She asked.  Kira looked back down at
the floor, strands of purple hair falling over her eyes.  Natalie saw a
single tear fall and splash onto Kira's hand.  "If you don't want to
talk about it -" Natalie broke off.
	"No.  It's okay." The girl replied and looked back up at Natalie
again.  "Orion never died that day." She started.  "He had managed to
teleport away before he was killed, and then came back many years later,
only to wreak vengeance."  Natalie was surprised at how much this young
girl knew.  "He appeared out of nowhere, and took us all by surprise. 
He-he killed my family right before my eyes.  Mom died that day trying
to save me.  And with her last breath she told me to leave that place
and go back in time.  Then, before I could even say goodbye, Orion
killed her.  He killed her right in front of me!" The little girl cried.
 She was now hysterical.  Natalie regretted asking her about the future.
 "So I became angry.  I was so angry and I felt like I could blow up the
whole world with one flick of the wrist.  But I was still no match for
Orion.  So I left.  I left before he could touch me.  Mom came to me in
my dreams, and she told me what to do.  She said that I was brave and
that I could do anything because I was her little princess." The girl
said in between sobs.  Natalie did just what her instincts told her and
scooped up the girl into her arms and held her.  
	"Everything is going to be fine." Natalie spoke.  Surely she would
travel back to the future to find everything just right.  She held the
girl in her arms until they both fell asleep.


	Later that night, Natalie woke with a start.  She had been having a
nightmare and woke up breathing heavily.  She immediately looked around
for Kira, and saw her sleeping soundly next to her.  Natalie looked down
at the girl and brushed a few strands of hair out of her face.  She
looked at the clock and saw that it was about 6:30.  Everyone had been
sleeping since early that morning when they finally got a chance to
rest.  Natalie knew that they would be sleeping until the next morning,
easily.  She sighed, knowing that she wouldn't be able to get back to
sleep after what she had just been through, and stood up.  She stretched
her sore body, wincing in pain.  She then noticed that she was still
wearing her shredded clothing, and changed into something almost
identical, but clean, and walked towards the bathroom to brush her hair.
 She noted that her ki was higher as a result of the recent battle and
getting some rest.  Now if only she could find a senzu bean...
	"Natalie?" a voice whispered.  Natalie jumped and opened her mouth
to scream but someone put a hand over her mouth.  Since it was dark and
she had no idea of who was attacking her, she did what any normal,
frightened female would do.  She elbowed the person right in the
stomach.  She then heard someone gasp for air and double over.  Then,
much to her dismay, she realized that it was Trunks.  
	"Oh my gosh!  Trunks!" Natalie whispered, trying not to wake Kira. 
"I'm sorry, I didn't know who you were!" she said, helping him up.  
	"Heh, it's okay." Trunks whispered back.  "After what has happened
lately, I'm not surprised." He laughed sarcastically.  
	"What are you doing here?" she asked him.  
	"I couldn't sleep, and I heard you moving around, so I decided to
see if you wanted to train with me." Trunks offered.  
	"Wow!  Really?" Natalie exclaimed.  Her eyes would have lit up if it
weren't for the impending darkness.  "Sure.  Come on, before we wake..."
she trailed off.  She hoped that the recent discovery wouldn't change
things between her and Trunks.  They stepped down the stairs carefully,
making sure not to wake Bulma and Kira.  Finally, they reached the
gravity chambers.  Since they were in another part of the building, it
was safe for them to speak normally and turn on some lights.  
	"So why were you awake then?" Trunks asked Natalie.
	"Oh.  I was having a nightmare." She replied.  Though, she couldn't
remember what it was about.  "You?"
	"Hmm.  Just couldn't sleep." He replied, fiddling with the controls
to the gravity machine.  Natalie pulled her hair up into a messy
ponytail and stretched her muscles to warm them up.  She heard the
gravity machine power up and then recede to a steady hum.  "Ready?"
asked Trunks, who had finished stretching himself.  
	"Yeah." Natalie said, breathing in deeply and then exhaling
forcefully.  She had to be careful not to overwork herself, since her
body wasn't completely finished healing quite yet.  First, she and
Trunks just sparred lightly, not aiming to physically strike the other,
but more to practice dodging.  After ten minutes of that, they picked up
the pace.  Natalie managed to get a few hits in but she could see that
Trunks was holding back.
	"What." She said in between breaths.  "You don't think I can take
it?" she continued, smirking at her opponent. Trunks recognized that
look in her eyes and decided to give her a little...jolt.  Out of
nowhere, he powered up and lunged forward, nearly catching the girl off
guard.  She let out a cry of surprise and narrowed her eyes, looking at
Trunks with determination.  She dodged his attack and swooped around to
his back, bringing her fists towards his midsection.  He blurred out of
sight and reappeared above her, ready to pounce.  She sensed it and
narrowly missed his attack.  She turned around and crouched down,
preparing for whatever he had to offer.  She could see a lot of Vegita
in him, especially when he was fighting.  Trunks smirked and continued. 
He managed to get some hits in, much to Natalie's distaste.  She was
already beginning to tire as a result of her earlier exertions during
battle.  
	"Ready to quit?" Trunks asked, coming to a sudden halt.  
	"Hah!" Natalie scoffed.  "You think I'm that weak, do you?  Well
just for that..." she trailed off and jumped up into the air, powering
up a ki blast.  
	"So you want to play THAT way, do you?" Trunks said, and clenched
his fist, gathering energy for a counter-attack.  Natalie continued to
draw in more energy until she had reached the critical point.  Trunks
braced himself and was about to throw his attack forward, when all of
the sudden, the energy disappeared from Natalie's hands.  She looked
down at herself in surprise and confusion.  
	"Huh?" she said, looking up at Trunks.  
	"Heh.  You lost it." Trunks sneered.  He then proceeded to blast
Natalie.  Unfortunately she dodged, fading out of sight and reappearing
inches away from Trunks.  
	"Gotcha." She said, narrowing her eyes.  No more than a split second
later, Trunks was knocked back by a tremendous blast, which sent him
flying into the wall, stunned.  
	"What the-?" Trunks cried, rubbing the back of his head in total
confusion.  "You hid your power!"  Natalie just smirked and put her
hands on her hips proudly.  Trunks laughed to himself.  
	"Dad would be proud of her." He thought as he stood on his feet
again.  "Where did you learn to do that?" Trunks asked.  
	"There's a lot you don't know about me, Trunks." Natalie said,
placing her hand on his chest and pushing him back a few feet playfully.
 
	"I guess so." Trunks said, running his hand though his hair. 
Suddenly, he leapt into the air and came crashing down on Natalie,
pinning her to the ground by her arms.  "But there's a lot you don't
know about me either." He said, looking at her expression of surprise
and laughing to himself.  Natalie powered up her ki and forced Trunks
off of her.  She just "hmph-ed" and walked over to the other side of the
gravity chamber.  "Hah, must have hurt her Saiyan pride." Trunks thought
as he walked over to where she was sitting.  "Do you still wanna spar?"
he asked.  She wiped some sweat off her forehead with her shirt and
helped herself up.
	"Yeah.  But this time, no surprises." She replied, getting into
stance.
	"Fine with me!" Trunks said.  "You're the one who started it."
	"You sound like your sister." Natalie said, sneering at him.  She
then lunged forward towards Trunks.  He dodged, just as she had
anticipated.  As he reappeared next to her, she brought her leg around
to trip him.  He just jumped into the air and threw his fists in her
direction.  She dodged every one and threw her own fury of kicks and
punches his way.  They were both moving insanely fast; too fast to be
seen by normal humans.  But Natalie and Trunks were relying more on
their other senses rather than their eyesight, for Vegita had always
taught them that your eyes can fool you and therefore, rendering you
weak.  They could feel each other's ki's burning like intense fires
against the cold background of the gravity chamber.  Soon, they decided
to call it quits for the evening, and headed out.  As Natalie was wiping
her face off with a towel, she glanced at the control panel.  
	"Wow, we were under 20 times gravity in there?" she said, looking at
the screen with amazement.  "I barely noticed it."
	"That's because you have grown stronger from the battles with Orion.
 Saiyans tend to do that, you know." He said, slapping her on the back.
	"Well if I have any questions about my heritage, I sure know where
to look." She said sarcastically.  She knew that he got the whole
"Saiyan Pride" idea from his father.  It made her sad to think about
Vegita dying right in front of her face.  A horrible image of his limp
body lying in front of her continued to stick in her head.
	"Is there something wrong, Nat?" Trunks asked, looking at her. 
Natalie could sense that she had let her guard down, revealing her
emotions at the wrong time, and proceeded to bury them and put on a
happy face.
	"Oh, no!  What makes you think so?" she said, smiling.  
	"Hmm, just a hunch, I guess." Trunks said, and turned around to shut
down the gravity machine.  Natalie went inside and headed for the
kitchen, followed by her purple-haired sparring partner.  She had
recently remembered that she hadn't eaten in a while, which she was
constantly reminded by her growling stomach.
	"Man, Nat.  You'd better get some food in there before you wake
someone up." Trunks joked, slapping Natalie in the stomach.  Natalie
winced in pain and proceeded to elbow Trunks in the ribs.  "Ow, I was
kidding!" Trunks cried in protest.  As soon as Natalie was within range
of the refrigerator, she disappeared into a blur and began to dig
through the contents until she came to something she liked.  
	"Leftover curry chicken." She exclaimed.  
	"Hey, I was saving that!" Trunks said, reaching for the container.
	"I found it first." Natalie teased, jerking the food away from
Trunks and throwing it in the microwave.
	"Oh, come on.  Can't you at least share?" Trunks begged.  Natalie
thought for a few minutes while the food cooked.
	"Nope." She replied.  Trunks facefaulted and slapped himself over
the head for being beaten by this, this...girl.  His dad wouldn't have
put up with it, so why should he?  Suddenly, his train of thought was
broken when the microwave beeped, signaling that the food was ready to
be eaten.  Natalie removed the container and emptied it's contents onto
a plate, much to Trunks' displeasure.  The aroma of the food wrapped
around his entire face, causing his mouth to water like crazy as he
watched Natalie take a bite.  Seeing this, she cut off half of her
chicken and tossed it to Trunks.  "Here, take it before you drool all
over the floor." She said.  The half Saiyan boy hungrily accepted it and
the two of them dug in.
	"You know..." Trunks started, pausing to take another bite.  "I
think this stuff is better when you re-heat it."
	"I know." Natalie said.  When the two had finished their dinner and
cleaned up, Natalie gave Trunks a deceiving look.
	"Hey...wait a minute.  I know that look!" Trunks cried, but Natalie
had already taken off.  "The shower's mine!  You always get it first!"
he called after her.  Natalie just laughed and sped up the stairs,
almost forgetting that there was anyone else in the house.  When she
reached the doorway to her room, Trunks grabbed her wrist and pulled her
away before she could shut the door.
	"Stop!" Natalie cried, trying to break free.  She was breathing hard
and laughing at the same time.
	"I don't think so!  It's my turn to get the shower first." Trunks
said, holding steady to the struggling girl's wrist.  All of the sudden,
a figure appeared in the doorway, causing Natalie and Trunks to jump
back.	
	"Kira, my god you scared us." Natalie said, releasing her grip on
Trunks' neck and jumping off of his back, much to his relief.
	"I'm hungry." The girl whined rubbing her eyes sleepily.  Trunks and
Natalie looked at each other with dread written all over their faces. 
Here they were, getting a taste of parenthood, when they weren't even
parents!  Yet...
	"What would you like to eat?" Natalie asked the girl, plastering on
a smile and crouching down so their faces were on the same level.
	"Ice Cream!" The girl said, her face brightening with hope.  Natalie
sighed and turned to Trunks.
	"Got any?" she asked.  Trunks just nodded, not even taking his eyes
off of Kira as the girl trotted down the stairs followed by Natalie, and
soon enough, himself.  When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he made
his way into the kitchen to see Kira already taking a bite of a
relatively large bowl of mint chip ice cream.
	"How did you know this was my favorite?" Kira said in between bites.
 She had "delight" written all over her face.
	"It's my favorite, too." Natalie said, sitting down next to the
girl.  
	"I know." Kira said plainly, shoveling another bite into her mouth. 

	"Of course you do." Natalie said, laughing nervously and producing a
sweat drop.
	"Then you must know that she also loves strawberry milkshakes."
Trunks commented, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed
Vegita-style.
	"No she doesn't." Kira said, looking up from her bowl.  
	"Heh.  I know." Trunks said, a smile forming on his lips.  "I just
wanted to test you."
	"So, Kira." Natalie said.  "Tell us about ourselves in the future."
	"I can't." Kira muttered, looking back at her ice cream again. 
Natalie produced a look of question on her face.
	"Why not?" Natalie asked.
	"I-I just can't.  I don't want to prevent anything from happening
the way it should"
	"But you already told us where you came from." Trunks said, bringing
his hands back down to his sides.
	"That's because you and mom are already in love..." Kira trailed
off, looking back and forth between the two.  "Aren't you?"
	"Y-yes." Natalie said, looking up at Trunks for reassurance.
	"Uh, I have to go." Trunks said quickly and ran up the stairs.  When
Kira saw the pained look on Natalie's face, she did the only thing she
knew to do.  She cried.