Just rest? Yeah…like that’s actually gonna help anything. I lay back in my little hospital bed that had been laid out for me. My arms crossed behind my head, I rest aching neck in the slight grip of my unusually cold hands. My body snuggled almost fully under the thin sheets trying to prevent the shivers that come and go at random. I still wear only my under clothes, long sleeve spandex crop top and spandex shorts, slightly embarrassing for everyone to see me in only them but it is definitely better than being fully exposed.

The T.V. has been flipped on to some random channel, probably the news or something like that. The plain tone of the same voice had been playing in the background for at least the past ten minutes now. Before that was some talk show, before that I’m not even sure. I just know that I’ve been lying in the same place, in the same position, for more than a few hours. I’m going to die of boredom.

“Please don’t. I will not be trapped in that bracelet again.” Yuma says, her spirit coming out of the bracelet and sitting on the bed next to me. I turn to face Yuma, a look of extreme boredom painting onto my tired features.

She looks almost the same as I do right now. Her multicolored hair lies lazily just above her shoulders. The black training top she wears fits her figure perfectly, as well as the shorts. However there were distinct signs of fatigue and exhaustion both from my physical condition and her own. The half moons under her eyes were dark; her shoulders slightly slouched forward and her overall expression just did not look right for her. Yuma’s normally bright eyes have dulled, “Nor do I ever want to be separated from you again.”

I shiver slightly, not from my exhausted state but from the quick flashes of memories from the warehouse that enter my brain, “Never again…never again will we be pulled apart like that.” I tell her. I can honestly say that my fear and hostility towards Sebastian has reached a whole new level; one that I did not even know was possible. Its as though, when the two of us just started to have problems, I was placed on this hamster wheel. Strange sounding, I know, but this is the best way to make sense of the whole thing. The wheel just started turning and slowly it got faster and faster. Now the wheel is spinning out of control; and I’m helpless to make it stop.

That is what my life feels like; I can’t get a grip on it. Every time I think I can start to live a normal life, something ruins it all. First it was just small things, most of when I was very young and no one thought anything of it. I would have dreams; every night it was something different but they were always with the same people and in the same place.

This place was hot, very few plants that actually grew out of the ground, and sand was everywhere. It was a dessert, no doubt about it, and more specifically this desert was in Egypt; the pyramids and sphinx were a dead give away. When these dreams first began it was another girl, who bore a striking resemblance to me, and myself; we were wandering the dessert. Soon after we had found this bustling village. The people were all of eastern descent and wore ancient clothing. But that was as far as I would get. I would not be able to recall any specific faces, but in the dreams I would recognize them. But then when I would go out into the real world, I would see some of these faces; it has gotten worse since I had first met Yugi. It’s bizarre to say the least.

But it doesn’t stop there. I was always a tad strong for my age; so my mother put me in martial arts. But as I got better in martial arts, I just became stronger and stronger, far beyond the normal human. I went to the Martial Art Championships- an international competition for skilled Martials artists- and won the whole thing. I was only 13, but my teacher was afraid that soon I would grow to strong and hurt someone. I was pulled from competitions and retired as a professional fighter. I had always known that I was not like everyone else, my mother told me this specifically, but I was never ready to hear that I was part alien. But even with that, being a Saiyan has not effect me to such an extreme state socially, but physically it has effected me greatly.

“I just don’t know what to do Yuma;” I say, this time out loud. I bring myself to a seated position and cross my legs, making it easier to stay upright. I run my hands over my face, entangling my fingers in-between my slightly knotted hair, “My life is spiraling out of control. It’s like my life is a hurricane and right now I’m in the eye of the storm.”

Yuma adjusted herself on the bed so that she was sitting cross-legged as well. She put herself right in front of me and took a hold of my slightly shaky hands, bringing them away from my head and lessening the chance that I rip out any of my hair, “I will admit, however, that I agree with you on the hurricane metaphor. But your life is not spiraling out of control; it is simply a little messy. Messes can always be cleaned up.”

“Yes but this mess is a little out of the ordinary.” I state matter-of-factly, hanging my head.

“You’re a little out of the ordinary.” Yuma says. I look up through my bangs to see a small smirk plastered on her face. Normally I would have at least chuckled at the sly comment, but I could not bring myself out of this saddened state.

“I’m being serious Yuma!” I say in a high-pitch, signaling that I’m about to have a full on panic attack, “Every time I get my life some-what in order; some crazy shit pops up and ruins it all!” I get up off the bed with haste and begin to pace back and forth.

Yuma scoots to the edge of the bed closest to me, “Yumi, you need to be in-”

“Whether it’s Sebastian, or this crazy-ass princess talk, or even someone bringing up the fact that I’m part alien,” I begin, going into full on panic-attack/rant mode, “I just begin to lose it!” My hands come up to my head again, my fingers intertwining with the knots in my already misshaped hair. My pacing grows faster and more sporadic.

“Yumi calm down.” Yuma says, coming off the bed and walking over to me, she tries to put a hand on my shoulder but her ghostly hand goes right through my tangible body, “Your going to worry everyone if they see you like this.”

“Haven’t I worried them enough!” I say almost in a yell, “I mean, not only did I come in here practically half-dead; but soon there are gonna be a whole lot of half dead, maybe even dead, people if I don’t figure out what Sebastian plans on doing with the spirit energy he stole from me.”

“I understand that!” Yuma begins, raising her voice, “But-”

“BUT NOTHING!!” I could feel a huge spike in my energy when I yelled, my hair flared upward for only a second and I think I saw my eyes turn blue in the mirror hanging from the bathroom door, “You don’t understand! Nobody Understands! IT’S BECAUSE I’M DIFFERENT THAT PEOPLE ALWAYS LEAVE OR THAT SOMEONE GETS HURT!” My eyes began to well up with tears, as the realization of why I am so upset finally hits me like an oncoming train, “That’s why Yugi will never except me again.”

I chose my words carefully for that last sentence. Yuma already knew the truth, but I had no clue if anyone was standing outside the door. And it was true, every last word in my little ranting session. It seemed that every time my life was beginning to go smoothly, something happened. Every time Sebastian comes into my life, something gets worse. Every time I got close to someone, and they found out that I truly was not human, they ultimately left. Nobody really understood what I was going through because they were not me.

That’s when my knees buckled under me, that energy flare was enough to knock every last bit of energy I had left in me, among with a little bit of my consciousness. I fell to the floor on all fours. Yuma called out my name, but her voice was drowned out by my silent sobs, “I just want answers; for myself and you, Yuma.”

The door flew open, I did not look up to se whom it was, “Yuma? What happened?” Judging by the fact that whoever came through the door could see Yuma, and the voice, I came to the conclusion that it must have been Yugi who busted through the doors. Great…just what I need right now.

I felt Yuma’s heavy stare into the back of my head, “Yumi had gotten up to get some different clothes, but she’s still weak so she fell down.” She lied; saving me from the embarrassment of admitting my temper got the best of me.

“I’ll get her to bed.” Yugi says, coming up to me with light steps. I could still sense a bit of hostility coming from Yugi, but most of his negative feelings towards me seem to have dissipated from time.

Yugi took my arm and wrapped it around his shoulders; he held my wrist to keep my arm in place. He wrapped his other arm around my waist and slowly began to stand up, being mindful that I could fall back down very easily. Once on my feet, and slightly dizzy from the change in position, Yugi walked me over to the bed. I lay down almost immediately, placing myself in this awfully askew position, “Geez Yumi, you’re not making this easy.”

With a groggy voice, I couldn’t help but reply, “Never said I was trying.”

I could practically hear Yugi roll his eyes as he sat down on the bed next to me, “I realize your still ‘sick’, but you need to help yourself a little.” He said, referring to my awkward position that I had flopped into. Even with all that has happened lately, Yugi was still able to keep a light attitude around me; at least, that’s what it seems

I looked over to Yugi with a slight smile; he looked to me and immediately turned his head the other way, “I…I have to go.” He got up and started for the door.

I don’t know what came over me that moment, but almost automatically I sat up on the bed and reached for Yugi’s hand “I’m sorry!” My voice came out fierce, but at the same time it was so quiet. Yugi jumped at the suddenness of my outburst.

“Excuse me?” He said, turning to face me. The moment he looked me in the eyes, I saw that look; the look of hostility that one receives if they have betrayed or hurt another. It seems that I have committed both transgressions. I felt a large pang in my chest when he looked at me.

I hung my head, knowing that I were to keep eye contact I would not be able to get through this without crying, “I’m…I’m sorry Yugi. For everything; for keeping secrets from you, for hurting you, for getting you and your friends caught up in my crazy life, for anything that I did to make your life harder than it needs to be.” As I stared into my lap, I couldn’t help but notice this great weight on my shoulders. The heavy situation I have placed myself in was getting to me.

The quietness in the room made the situation that much more tense. I found the courage to look up and face Yugi. When I met his gaze, his expression was hard to read. His face told me he was surprised and his posture told me he was irritated; his eyes, however, told me that he was questioning my motivies. His mouth was open, ready to speak, but he seemed to have trouble finding the right words. I couldn’t help but notice my heart was pounding out of my chest, by blood rushing at a nervous pace, and body slightly jittery from nerves.

Then Yugi opens his mouth to speak, “I want to accept your apology,” Just with the beginning statement I knew that my chances of making amends were slim. I felt my heart drop out of my chest, “But I want to know one thing before I do;” he spoke in a soft voice, trying to tell me that he is not doing this to scare me, “Is there anything else your hiding from me?”

Then I felt my face and the tips of my ears get warm. Butterflies began to rage in my stomach once again and a nervous rush ran through my whole body. I need to tell him, but there’s no way I can do it now! I’ve never have admitted feelings for someone nor has anyone ever admitted feeling for me. For most of my life I strayed away from any ideas of romance. Never really read any teen romance or gotten into any of those dramas they show on television. I could never really get passed the fact that I had trust issues, mostly with those of the opposite gender. I just focused on getting through the day and surviving my hellish life caused by Sebastian.

As Yugi stared down at me waiting for an answer, I stayed quiet. As much as I wanted to admit my feelings for Yugi, I just couldn’t. “Well, Anything?” Yugi asks, becoming impatient.

My brain urges me to say it, my heart wants me to scream it, but my mouth can’t form the words. Those three words put together sound so foreign in my head, “I-I…uh…” Yugi shakes his head in disappointment and turns for the door, twisting his wrist out of my shaky grip.

No…With each step, the echo in the room seems to grow louder. Don’t leave. I know that from here he will grow more distant. I know because this has happened before. I know that friends come and go all the time, but with me it’s different. Please don’t leave… Because I’m not human…because I’m different, people become hostile. The ones that find out on accident become scared. The people I tell feel betrayed. The people that find out both ways end up feeling both scared and betrayed. I have done both to Yugi, I know that he will leave for good if I don’t do something.

No…don’t go…Yugi…please don’t leave.

It was as if something inside me snapped, and the words just came flying out, “I like you!”

The world seemed to stop for a minute. The words echoed in the room and at the same time did not even register in my ears, but I know Yugi heard them. I slapped my hands over my mouth, suddenly realizing that there is definitely no turning back now. Yugi turned to me slowly, a startled expression plastered on his face.  The butterflies raged like a storm in my stomach; my heart was pounding out of my chest. I really can’t believe I just did that.

Yugi finally broke the deadly silence that hung in the air, “W-what did you just say?” His voice was drawn tight like a wire, every word, every syllable, was forced from his mouth.

I felt my whole body shaking from nerves; I couldn’t get a grip on it. I hung my head to escape Yugi’s sharp gaze. I hugged my knees close trying to make myself feel invisible; I definitely just made things a lot more complicated.

I can hear Yugi’s footsteps draw closer; they were slow in interval and light. I should not have said that. As he draws closer I can’t help but draw me knees in farther, trying to make myself as small as possible. I know he said he would leave, but I think I just made this worse. His footsteps stopped, and I felt my eyes begin to water a little I am so stupid.

“Yumi-”

“I really like you, Yugi.” I say almost automatically, my words muffled from my head being tucked into my knees, Why am I still talking like this!? “I’m sorry if this complicates things, but you asked if I was hiding anything.” I force myself to pick up my head and look Yugi in the eyes. I have no way to describe how I feel right now; nervous, hurt, scared, but at the same time I’m happy I told him. I let out a small laugh, finally realizing that whatever happens now is out of my power, “Now you know everything about me.” I crack a small smile, feeling defeated.

Yugi looks down at me, not exactly sure what to do. I have a feeling that that I really threw him off with this one. Yugi opens his mouth to speak, but then he cracks a small smile and shakes out his head, “You’re a piece of work Yumi.”

I unwrap my arms from around my knees and let my legs fall over the side of the hospital bed, “So…are you still mad?” I ask cautiously, throwing in a head tilt and some puppy dog eyes.

Yugi’s lips curve into the first genuine smile I’ve seen from him in a long time, “I was never really mad,” He explains, “I was more…confused I guess.” Yugi sits down next to me, hip to hip. Leaving no room for anything to get between us. I felt my heart skip a beat; do I have a condition or something?

“C-confused?” I say, my voice cracking a bit. I clear my throat, staring up at the ceiling, and continue, “Well, I guess I can see that. I never really did tell you the whole truth; only bits and pieces.” I put my hands behind me and lean back. I turn my head to face Yugi, “I’m also sorry about that. But I want you to know that I never intended to hurt anyone-”

“You just wanted to keep your secret safe.” Yugi finishes for me, my eyes widen a bit from surprise, “I get that now, I just didn’t understand at the time.” There was this thick silence that hung in the air. It made the atmosphere seem tense, awkward; something I’m not good at dealing with.  “And Yumi,” I feel Yugi take my right hand up in light grip, “I…I like you too.”

~Gohan’s P.O.V.~

“Bulma, I really don’t think it’s safe to let Yumi back out.” I hear Harley say as she stands by the doorway of the kitchen.

Bulma had moved us all out of Yumi’s room a while ago, she never really gave us a reason, just said to move out. Probably because Yumi needed some time alone and with all that happened to her I can understand.

“Why do you say that Harley?” Bulma says, her head still in the fridge. Bulma stands up from behind the fridge door to speak, “She will be perfectly fine in the morning. She won’t be able to fight at full strength, but she can function.”

“That’s my point Bulma!” Harley Exclaims, walking up to Bulma. She puts her hands on the bluenette’s shoulders and gives Bulma a hard glare, “If Yumi can’t fight, she can’t defend herself! Sebastian will be after her and she needs to be able to fight.”

I pick my head up off of the kitchen counter and stand up straight, “I’ll go with her.” I say. Bulma and Harley turn to me suddenly, a bit confused at my proposal, “Well, I am a family friend. If her grandmother allows, I’m sure I can stay with her for however long is necessary.”

Bulma shrugs her shoulders, “I guess that’s not a bad idea. Yugi will probably also need to be put under close watch along with the rest of their friend group.”

Harley steps up to the counter by where I stand, “I may as well come with you. Sebastian is after me as well.”

I nod, “I’m sure Yumi would not mind.”

Bulma then comes up to the counter as well with three bottles of water, she hands each of us one while speaking, “It might almost be better that you all stay here in Capsule Corp.” She begins, “You all can fly, so getting to school isn’t a problem.”

“Actually, Yumi can Instant Transmission now. She can get us all there faster.” I interject.

“Faster transportation means more sleep, I’m in!” Harley says throwing a fist in the air. Suddenly Harley’s face grows sour, “But then I have to transfer schools again…great…”

I stand up straight from my place at the kitchen counter, suddenly getting this twitchy feeling in my limbs. What’s this all about? I mentally shake it off and begin to head out of the kitchen, “I’m going to take a walk; I’ll tell you if I decide to go outside.”

I did not see Bulma and Harley’s expressions, as I was already half out into the hallway, but I think they were a bit confused of my abrupt exit. I do not even know why I suddenly got up and left, maybe its just residual nerves from last night. My steps were fast and slightly heavy sounding, like I if I were running. I walk out into the main lobby of the building, as it is not far away fro the first set of living spaces.

I pause, looking around the building. It was mostly empty except for Bulma, her parents, Yugi, Yumi, Harley, and myself. It’s strange too, having such a large building for a usual occupancy of around four people. The building is quite large; large enough to hold the surviving peoples of the Namekian races after Frieza had destroyed their planet (DBZ reference).

The building itself is a large dome and has three floors to it as well as a basement.  The first floor, were I currently am, has many different rooms; one bing Dr. Briefs’, Bulma’s father’s, Lab and another is this large atrium were there are many different types of animals. The second floor is were the normal residence of the house and guests have their private rooms. The third floor holds the east and west towers, however I am not totally sure of what’s up there, probably storage.

The Atrium is behind the receptionist desk, were I stand. I look into the Atrium and see all the different animals in there. Many species of birds fly in the air, dogs and cats chase each other around the vicinity, and even dinosaur walks around the man-made habitat. And yes, I did say dinosaur. As I look farther into the atrium, however, I see a short girl in her mid-teens kicking and punching the air.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!” I groan, walking with haste around the desk and through the sliding doors of the atrium. She did not even notice my presence, she kept punching and kicking the air with great force; her moves a bit uncoordinated from her weakened state. I roll my eyes, I should stop her before she goes and collapses again.

I speed over to Yumi, disappearing from sight and reappearing behind her. I grab Yumi by the waist, snaring up her right arm in my grip, with one arm and restrain her left arm by simply grabbing her wrist. Yumi goes to throw another punch, but her arm stops because of my grip. When she tried to throw that punch, it took minimal effort to restrain her. I did not realize how weak Yumi really is right now. I normally have to be a Super Saiyan for her attacks to not affect me.

When Yumi’s brain finally registers that she is being held, she turns her head slowly, “Gohan! Let me go!” Yumi tries to escape my hold, but her weak thrashing was not getting her anywhere.

I sigh, slightly loosening my grip around Yumi, “I’m not letting you go unless we are back upstairs and you are in bed!”

“I am fine Gohan, I don’t need to be in bed.”

“You realize that you’re making your condition worse.”

“I don’t have a condition!”

“Yumi that’s not what I meant.”

“Well you know what I mean!” She says, her voice drawn tight and brittle sounding “I’m fine so just leave me alone!” That rung a bell in my head. I know Yumi well enough to know that when she claims to be fine, she is really upset over something

“I know you’re not.” I say, my voice flat. Yumi stops trashing in my arms and her body goes still. She takes a hold of my arm, the one around her waist. I expected her to try and throw me off her or something, but instead she just held my arm.

Yumi hung her head, her eyes now out of my line of vision, “If I were to explain, you would get the same rant that Yuma got.”

“Go for it.” I say, “I’m not going to leave or let go until I know you’re alright.”

I hear Yumi sigh; she never really liked to dump her problems on anyone let alone me. She always wanted to appear strong around me as well as my father when he was still around. I know that she wants to come off as strong, but there are times when you have to let your guard down and become vulnerable. It’s natural for both humans and Saiyan; and Yumi’s both.

“It’s just that…” Yumi stops, not sure of how to put her thoughts into words, “Well now the situation is actually different than it was an hour ago.” That second part she whispers, as though I were to not hear it.

“What’s different?” I ask her. I feel Yumi stiffen up in my grip, “Did something happen?”

“U-uh.” I could see, through the side of Yumi’s bangs, that her face was beginning to turn red, “I-uh…well you see…”

“Spit it out women!”

“I told him!” Yumi blurts out, and immediately I know what she’s talking about. I can’t say that I’m overly surprised, it was bound to happen at some point. But now, too, I can see where things might go horribly wrong.

“So now you’re worried about Yugi’s well being with Sebastian still on the loose?” I ask.

 “I’m just not sure…how I can keep him safe.” Yumi turns her face towards me, her eyes pleading for advice on what to do.

I release my grip on Yumi’s wrist and from around her waist. Her feet contact with the ground with a light pat. She turns back around to face me, careful that she does not sway, “Well, it would be best if you could keep watch of him every second of the day. But that is unrealistic.”

“But not impossible.” She says lightly.

“But very unrealistic.” I say a second time, “You already go to the same school and, if I’m not mistaken, live within a two minute walking distance of each other. You do already see him almost every second of the day.”

“Yes but what about at night!?” Yumi brings up, “Sebastian will strike whenever he wishes; he does not wait for opportunities.”

I lace my finger together behind my head and stare up towards the ceiling, “If it makes you feel any better, I could come and stay with you and your grandmother for the time being.”

I feel a pair of arms wraps themselves around my midsection and pull me close to them, “Thanks Gohan.”

I unlace my hands and look down to Yumi, her face pressed against my shoulder. I can’t help but crack a smile looking down at her and I return the embrace. I guess Mom was right. Once Yumi came, she was part of the family.

________________________________________________________________________________

SR: I promise you all this is the last filler chapter before we get back to the story line!

Yumi: that's what you thought like 2 chapters ago

SR: I'M NOT PERFECT!

Yuma: You two need to chill

Gohan: Seriously. I don't need a psychotic roommate

Yumi: WHO YOU CALLING PSYCHOTIC!?!?

SR: that escilated quickly

Yuma: *sighs* Vote, Comment, and Fan. (Preferably before Yumi kills Gohan)

Gohan: *being chased by Yumi* HHEEELLPPP!!