Living Without You

By: Firefly

A cool breeze swept through the tree he was sitting in, feathering the fourteen year old's hot face and arms. Making his short crop of hair unwillingly wave in the wind. He tried shutting his blue-black eyes against a long ago memory that would not fade, but to no avail.

It had happened again, the dream where all the Z warriors died over and over again. The dream where Piccolo was hurt and dying in his arms, looking up at him with a deep fondness. And him, a small boy, standing to the side hating himself because he had this amazing power, but couldn't control it.

He blinked against the sting of tears, but they slid down his face anyway. How much he missed them, even that arrogant Vegeta, but his thoughts lingered most of all on his father and his best friend. His father, Son Gokou, was a great warrior, and Gohan often thought about how easy it would have been to beat those stupid robots if his father had only lived. "If".........that word ran through Gohan's mind often. If only he'd not been afraid to fight. If only he had the confidence in himself that Piccolo seemed to have in him. "If"..........How much that word hurt sometimes. Remembering Piccolo made him smile, weakly. How much he admired him. Piccolo taught him confidence and the art of fighting. In return, Gohan taught Piccolo love and trust.

A noise through the open window of Capsule Corporation made him float out of the tree and back into the room where, under a pile of blankets, a violet haired boy with round blue eyes was sitting up watching him.

"What ya doin' Gohan-san?" Trunks said in a voice that was still very much asleep. After closing the window, Gohan sat down next to Trunks on his own side of the bed. "Nothing, Trunks-kun. Go back to sleep." Reaching up, Gohan brushed at the stubborn lock of violet hair that fell on Trunks' forehead. But, as soon as the little boy moved to lay back down, it fell right back into place. Pulling back the blankets, Gohan slipped under them and laid on his back, arms behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. Soon he heard light snoring coming from the other side of the bed and smiled. *That's right, sleep little Trunks. Keep your innocents as long as you can. There's a lot of people in this world that want to take it from you. When you're ready, I will train you. Till then...sleep.* Turning on his side away from Trunks, he hugged himself tight, as if it were the only thing that could save him. He shut his eyes tightly against his next thought. *I'm so sorry every one! I wish I could have stopped this! I wish I hadn't been afraid! Oh Tou-san! Piccolo-san! I miss you both so much! But, I have to fight now. To protect Mom and Bulma-san and Trunks-kun I am not so afraid anymore. I have to live even though I feel dead inside, knowing that I'll always be...........living without you.