Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Rainbow For Her ❯ A Rainbow For Her ( Chapter 1 )

A Rainbow for Her

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or any of the Dragon Ball Z characters. They are owned by those who own them. I do, however, own the fic all of this is in. That is all.

Italics = Flashbacks

The sun sat in it's lonely position in the blue sky above, gazing longingly down at planet's sphere with sadden eyes. The Heavens that surrounded it did not seem so sad in the wake of the day, watching intently like a guardian that protected the life of a single soul. The moon often rose up in place of the weeping sun, smiling brightly among the shining stars that sparkled around it. Those that lived upon the planet did not heed the changing of the moods of the two planetoids that revolved around their home like they used to. The splendid colors, ranging from yellows to oranges to even reds, lit up the night and morning sky so brightly that it seemed like no one could miss the exchange between day and night.

Yet, this particular day seemed different in a way as the water lapped upon a sandy beach somewhere far away, revealing the hidden multicolored sea shells that were awaiting the sunlight from above. The seagulls cawed in the distance that separated the ocean and the land, sometimes circling high above the cliffs that watched over the silent shores that remained seemingly unchanged and untouched. The swift moving fish's, their slimly scales reflecting off of the rays of light, swim across the coral was deafened by the tumbling roar of the blue sea waves against the rocks that lined underneath the yellow sand. The light blue sky shimmered with light above the wakes in a cloudless wonder, allowing the sun to shine in all of her lonely glory. In the distant horizon, Earth met the Heavens in a glorious wonder, creating a two-tone look of blue upon blue.

As she walked down the endless beach of this unknown island, Android 18 did not care what went on around her as she continued to stare ahead. Her blue eyes were unemotional as the sea wind blew her blonde hair to sides of her head and sometimes across her seemingly perfect face. From inside her immortal mind, everything was a blur that mixed together into one big pile that could not tell anything apart any more. Nothing was beautiful to her anymore that she once admired even if sometimes it was in secret. Nothing seemed to matter to her anymore, not even watching the sunsets that she used to watch many years before. Nothing was worth living for despite things that she knew would make her happy no matter way. All the things she had known had either died of the limit of age or tried to protect the fragile minds of each walk of life that was there on the planet. 18 desperately wanted to go with them into the Worlds beyond that of Earth, but her own infinite life prevented her from doing so.

It had been only two long years since Krillin, her one and only love, had died from an unknown diseased that had raged on inside of his body for more years then she knew. Even he, as he stood next to her so many times, didn't even know it until it was too late to do anything more about it. Her daughter, Marron, had grown up quickly enough that it seemed that it seemed like only yesterday she had been that she was the small girl that her mother had held in her arms so tightly. All of the original Z-Fighters had died in fights as they saved the Earth and many other planets like they had done so many times before or they were now so close to death that they cold taste it. The newer ones to step in their place were strong as they were but they lacked what the first set had inside in their hearts. They now did not face the same kind of enemies that their mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters had faced in the past as many gave up the pursuit to do any harm to them or had already been wiped out from the universe entirely. Those who actually did dare to disrupt the peace were now weaker then they had been before, less likely to even put up a decent fight like the ones before them could.

18 sighed as stared straight ahead with no emotion on her face nor her eyes, her body still swaying to the hissing wind. Krillin, where are you? I miss you, She thought to herself sadly, attempting to keep her eyes from misting with tears. There were so many memories that flooded her mind when she was on this beach.....

****

It was a day unlike the ones that had been before, which had been filled with rain and hindered by the storm clouds that passed through. Winds had moved the rain against the shore, allowing the waves of the sea to raise up against the once sparkling sand as the water washed it away into the depths below. Even the seagulls had taken refuge from the beating rain, hiding in the cracks and holes of the cliffs surrounding the beach. They were glad, however, as soon as the storm cleared up during the night, allowing the sun to shine through the dark clouds that once lined the sky.

"Okay, okay! I give!" Krillin's laughing voice echoed all over the beach as 18 pushed him into the cool water of the ocean. He nearly fell into the water itself, a wave of foam splashing onto his back as it drenched him with seawater. Farther up on the beach, far enough away from the splashing waves, Marron gurgled happily as she patted a mound of wet sand together with a yellow shovel. A red bucket wasn't far away from her, overflowing with sand, seashells, seaweed, and other assorted trinkets from the ocean and beach. Her parents gave the small child quick glances every now and then as they played their own game in the water itself, the child paying no heed to her parents frantic sprints along the waves.

"Finally," She mused, the water bubbling to her bare ankles as she took in several deep breaths. "Got you into the water this time."

"It sounds like you have been trying for a long time," Krillin observed playfully.

"It seems like I have."

"Oh, really?" The human asked, raising an eyebrow at those words. The other stared back as she tried to hold back a smile that was inching it's way onto her lips, emotions flaring up in her body that she sometimes wished would go away. Krillin took her hand into his, a small caressing his own lips. At first, 18 did not return it for she was afraid of that smile that he held on his lips. Afraid of the feelings that she had towards her husband even though they had been married for several years. It was all still new to her, the memories of her past flaring up every so often to remind her of who she was and why she was there. Yet, that was then and this was now, time changing for the better. After a few moments, a soft changed turned her pink lips into a hint of a smile, gently lighting up her face. "Ah, see? I got you to smile again."

"So it seems like you have."

"Soon, it will be bigger then it is now."

"Don't push it," 18 snapped, giving him a look that had mixed emotions on it. Mixed emotions that she wished would make up their mind as to what they really wanted her to feel. Krillin didn't back up like he normally did when someone became a bit hostile, but his smile did fade some. However, the warm look on his face didn't as the mists of the depths swelled onto the shallow shore.

****

There were so many memories that this beach held, good and bad yet the good outweighed the bad anytime she set foot onto the sand. 18 sighed, moving her body onto the flat rocks that were grouped together on the far edge of the beach, away from those that did not want to journey that far. Sea grass grew in the cracks that were in between them while deep puddles of salt water held groups of sea life inside. There were few birds on the rocks around her, some barely noticing the android that stood upon the rocks. Others flew away, not knowing what to do with the strange being that had seemingly come out of nowhere.

Sitting down upon the rock, she pulled her knees up to her chest as she placed her arms around them. She ignored everything that went around her, including the angry calls from the soaring seagulls. She stared up into the sky so that she wouldn't have to look into the ocean, the tears not being able to be held back for much longer as she remembered the past......

****

The day had gone by without anything interfering, the winds dying down as the waves slowly began to retreat into the ocean itself. The seagulls had stopped their calling to each other, flying over towards their nests that were parched up upon the cliffs. If there had been any other being around, searching the beach for seashells or lost treasure, they had long since gone home to their own nests for the day. There were only a few people left as they climbed upon several rocks by the oceanfront.

"Hold on for one more moment, 18. Almost there," Krillin gently whispered as he slowly lead her up on the flat rocks. 18 had a blindfold on her blue eyes, blindly walking forwards into something she did not know as she placed all of her trust into Krillin.

"Can you please hurry up? We've been at the beach all day, which was more time then I originally wanted to stay," She said irritably, putting all the anger that she had inside her into her voice. That was harder to do since most of her anger had already spilled out much earlier then she wanted to come out. "I'm tired and I really don't want to leave Marron all by herself."

"I know you don't, but I really want to show you this," He pleaded in a guilty tone.

"Fine. Do what you want. Just tell me when you are ready to show me what it is that you want."

"Almost ready," He said softly, taking both of her hands as he continued to lead her to where he wanted to take her. As the moments swept by, 18 started to become more impatient then she had been before. Although she wanted to go home and lie down into a soft bed, she went along with whatever the other was planning to do. "Okay, this is the spot. I hope you like it. When I take this blindfold, just look straight ahead."

"Finally," 18 muttered again as she felt her body being stopped and turned around in a direction she didn't know she was facing in. After a few seconds of waiting even longer, she felt the blindfold come off from around her upper face The android rubbed her eyes to get used to the light again then looked straight ahead at whatever she was instructed to look at. At that very moment, the sun was seeping into the watery horizon, half of it still visible to those that were watching it. What was left of the sun was reflected off of the glassy, almost calm water that towed unseen fish into the distance. The now disappearing blue tint held different shades of oranges, yellows, and reds along the line of the remaining two-tone sky as night took over the sky. The remaining light reflected off of 18's face as she placed her hands at her side and moved her gaze along with unseen wonder. "Krillin, this is beautiful. I saw a sunset once from Gero's lab before he had shut me down, but this is....nothing like what I saw then. It's perfect....."

"No, it isn't," Krillin said in a bitter tone, placing his hands into his pockets. 18 took one last glance at the sunset before she looked over at her husband, who was looking down at the rocks. He had a disappointed look on his face as he moved a foot along a single crack on the rock that he was standing on.

"Don't say that. It is perfect in every way. I am glad that you took me to see this."

"No, I wanted to give you a rainbow along with it. The rains stopped a few days ago, and....."

"Shh, Krillin," 18 whispered, turning her body towards him. She leaned forwards as she gently placed a hand underneath the other's chin. She gently lifted it up so that she could move Krillin's gaze to meet her sparkling blue eyes. "I do not need a rainbow right now. I can wait for the moment to see one even if it takes forever to do so."

"Then, I will find you a rainbow. A rainbow for your love," He said in a drooping tone. The android smiled at him even more so then she had done many hours ago, the feeling that she had felt a long time ago flowed into her body like water in a river. At that point in the sands of time, a kiss was shared in the ending light of day.

****

Everything at the beach reminded her about the things that had happened in the past and of the promise that Krillin had given her such a long time ago as 18 took in a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm. Why did I come here? She asked herself, trying to shake the thoughts out of her head with no such luck. I did not need to feel anymore pain that will bring me tears.

She closed her eyes, burying her face in her knees as the waves lapped up against the shore.

****

"Don't leave me, please," She whispered softly as she kneeled down by the bed that she and her love had shared for the latter part of their lives that they were together. In the center of it, covered in a light blanket while his head was propped up in pillows, Krillin laid motionlessly. His face was a shade of pale that looked more deathly then it should as his eyes, which had nearly whitened as they could get, watched her tear stained face fill up with even more sorrow and pain then it had been before. They were the only thing that had not lost their sparkle in the now near-death human.

"I'm sorry, 18. I tried to fight this for you. I really did, but I couldn't," He whispered so low that it took a few seconds for it to register in the android's pained mind. "It took everything out me. I can't fight it anymore."

"It didn't take everything out of you. You still had, and will continue to have, the love for me and your daughter," She said, blinking her eyes so that the tears would fade away, yet that did not stop the crystal drops from falling still.

"That is true," Krillin coughed, the life leaving him with every word that he tried to tell her. 18 placed a delicate hand upon his lips, telling him to be quiet for a change and not speak.

"Don't speak. You need to save what breath you have left."

"You.....know....what....?" He coughed out still, ignoring her attempt for him to remain quiet. The android tilted her head at him, stroking his own head gently with the back of her hand, now knowing full well that she could not silence him even at his death bed.

"What is it?" She purred, the blue tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I have only one regret about our life together?"

"What is that?" 18 wondered, a look of pure wonder and horror appearing on her face. What could there possibly be that he would regret now?

"That I have never gave a rainbow to you after all this time. I wanted to give you it....."

"You still remember that promise after all this time?" She interrupted, surprise setting in.

"Yes, I do. I.....never did.......find.....one......" Krillin mused, closing his eyes as his chest heaved up and down with his last breaths. 18 continued to stroke his head, a final tear rolling down her cheek.

"You didn't need to give me a rainbow because our love is one. We are that rainbow, Krillin. I love you even if you didn't find one in the sky," She choked out. After a few moments, when her husband did not respond to her words, 18 looked down upon him with painful eyes. He was laying even more perfectly still now, his chest now totally motionless. The android stopped moving her hand along the top of his head as she watched him dream in a eternal sleep, forever in a bliss that she would never know of. There were no more tears going down her face at that moment for there were no more tears to shed then, a stream of pure light glistening through the open window......

****

A gust of cold wind swirled around her, making 18 shudder in it as she raised her head from where she had it on her knees. She moved her eyes to each side of her, her defenses telling her something or someone was around her that she didn't like. Something that had been watching her probably the whole time that she had been sitting there or longer perhaps. Something that was probably a threat to her as she stood up and spun around to make sure that there was nothing there. Instead of finding a foreign being behind her, there was nothing to see. Nothing except for the rocks that she had been sitting on.

"I need to get away from this place," 18 muttered to herself as she took one last glance over shoulder at the ocean that brought back so many memories. As she started to leave for the last time in her life, her eyes went wide as she stopped walking, snapping her body back around to face the clear water. There, in a prism of light that remained, a single ray of a rainbow shot over the dying water. All colors were present in a spectrum of multicolored light that hovered over the sea. Its own reflection went back up to the Heavens as it sparkled in the sunlight. 18 sat back down onto the rocks, memorized by the awe of the creation. She got into the same position like she had been in before, however she did not bury her head back down into her knees. Instead, she watched the rainbow in its beautifulness, a small smile coming upon her lips.

Now she knew that Krillin had kept his promise, knowing that he would always be with her. Forever in spirit and perhaps even more so in love.......

~*~EL FIN~*~