Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Kaioshin Saga: Story 3: A Truth Untold II: Blue Moon ❯ Chapter 7: Time Passage ( Chapter 7 )

A Truth Untold II:

Blue Moon

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 original characters (if any) and the fic all of this is in. That is all.

Chapter Seven: Time Passage

Shin stayed somewhat close to Akira as the two travelers walked quickly through the small town the had just entered. It had seemed like it had taken only minutes to get there, but already the sun seemed to dip into the midday sky above. It bore down onto the crowded streets of this town, who laughed and moved about their daily chores like they had no care in the world or the universe. I wish I had that same outlook today, but I have more important things to do then to feel happy, Shin thought to himself as he glanced up at his traveling companion.

"So, where do we go from here?" The deity asked, straying towards a booth for a moment before Akira pulled him back to his side. The God glared up at him, his eyes narrowing just a bit as the other let him go with a sideways glance.

"Despite the fact that this place may look all mushy and happy, there are darker sides to things," He told him, moving his eyes around a bit. "Just like the place where we are going to get what we are looking for."

"Where's that?"

"On the other side of this town. Just remember this," Akira said, raising a single finger, "you are with me and not Kibito. I am a hell of a lot harsher then he probably is and I know these people better then he does. Once this is all over with, I'll leave you be."

"I'm surprised you are still here," Shin replied, turning his eyes forwards.

"When there is something that you want personally, you get it at all cost. Even if you kill someone for it."

"Would you care if I died while on this journey?"

"Honestly?"

"If you can."

"No," Akira answered blandly, not even looking down at the purple deity as he stopped walking. The other walked into the crowd a few more steps before he stopped and turned around halfway to see why he had stopped. He noticed that the deity had a expressionless face, his hands balling into fists as he tried to control his anger. "You said to be honest, and I was. No, I wouldn't give a damn if you or Kibito died. I just want to be on Kaioshin-Kai again even if it is for two minutes."

"Now you've got one minute on it now," Shin growled, walking forwards as he passed Akira, who had a surprised look on his face.

"Wait a minute, you can't go back on your promise!" He cried out as he started to walk in step with the Kaioshin.

"I'm not going back on my promise. I'm simply reducing the time that you have on my planet," Shin replied, glaring up at the other. "I'd be careful if I were you. I am not in the mood to listen how the Kaioshin of the past wronged you so much. You may only have two seconds on it when this is all over with."

"You still can't do it. I....I'll just stop helping you then."

"You do that and you won't ever see Kaioshin-Kai again. Be thankful I am even allowing you to come to it again."

"You are using blackmail on me to get what you want," Akira stammered out as the two pushed their way through the crowd of people. Shin smirked up at him, a joyous look glazing over his eyes.

"So, how does it feel to be on the other end of it? I'm sure that you probably used this poison as a way to get back at the Kaioshins, namely the East one," The deity said hotly. Akira grabbed him by the arm and pulled the Kaioshin closer to him as they stopped in the middle of the dirt street. Shin looked up at him, the smirk fading slightly from his lips. "You really want to be on Kaioshin-Kai, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. I'd do anything to go on it one last time."

"Then stop laying games and lead me to the rightful place where this cure is. A life hangs in the balance."

"Playing games?" Akira demanded, putting his face closer to his companion. "What makes you think that I am playing games?"

"I've been on many planets like this before and had no trouble flying to a certain place on it. There was really no reason why we shouldn't have flown to this town. It would have probably taken half as much time as it did to walk here," Shin snapped, pulling his arm out of Akira's grasp. "I am not going to waste any more time on this matter, Akira. Either take me to where we have to go or you won't see Kaioshin-Kai but in your dreams."

Akira took in a deep breath, dropping his eyes to the ground for a moment before he looked around at the crow of people around them. A glazed look came over his face has if he was either thinking about what to do or a realization hit him that, if he didn't start doing what he had to do he might never get to the lace he so desperately wanted to go. Shin rolled his eyes, becoming fed up with this as he started to move towards wherever he had to before Akira grabbed him by the back of the neck. The deity glared behind him at the other, a pissed off look coming onto his face as he tried to get of the other's grasp but failed.

"Let me go, damn it! I have every right to leave you behind!" Shin growled, fuming in anger.

"And I have every right to stop stalling." Akira took in a deep breath as he let the Kaioshin go, slightly pushing him forwards. Shin stumbled a bit, catching himself before he bumped into someone else. "I just don't want to face Kibito. He'd have my neck and yours if he knew that I helped you."

"If it is worth saving his life."

"Yes. Let's go, quickly. You need to get this cure back to him before it is too late. It is uncertain how fast this poison might work in him," Akira informed him as he made his way past the deity and towards wherever they had to go. Shin shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck as he followed the other like he was on a leash.

He just hoped that they were in time to save a life that was worth saving.

****

It felt like hell to him, but if Kibito had lived through it once before, he could live through it again. Shooting pain from his arms and legs made him wake with fiery, his attempts to suppress his cries of pain went somewhat unnoticed as the shaman rushed in to see what was wrong. It only took another half hour of intense pain from his joints for it to subside to almost nothing after the shaman had given him too many herbs to account for. It is not so bad, death, Kibito thought to himself as he now watched the shaman move about the small hut, chanting something under his breath. I can still watch over Kaioshin-sama as I have always done so in the past if this things claims my own life.

He sighed, closing his eyes as he slowly put a hand overtop his stomach, half afraid that any movement would cause the pain to come back into him. That was the least of his worries at the moment. Shin was the only thing that he was the most concerned about since he had traveled to a planet that Kibito had tried to protect him from since he had known the deity. It wasn't his place to know of something that held little importance to the Kaioshin, hoping that there would be no reason for either of them to go to that place. He hoped that Shin was okay and not in any trouble to find what he was searching for.

"You are too worried about him," The shaman told the other, making Kibito open his eyes halfway and turn his head towards his voice. He noticed that the shaman had finished whatever he was doing and was now standing near the entrance to the hut. "You should rest. He will be okay."

"I still worry even if everyone in the universe tells me that he is alright," Kibito whispered, his eyes darting away from the shaman. "Only when he is back in may care will I know that he is alright."

"I understand. He will be back soon. There should be no reason why he would be gone for more then a few days."

"When it concerns my past, it would take a long time to get through it."

"Have faith in him. This allows his mind, body, and heart to become stronger when he has something to fight for," The shaman told him, nodding his head as he disappeared out of the hut before Kibito could say anything to him. The other wanted to retort to those words, but there was a certain truth to them. He knew that Shin wouldn't always be on Kaioshin-Kai for the remainder of his life or would have Kibito to be there to protect him at all cost.

Kibito closed his eyes fully once again, his mind full of things that he wished he could just get rid of. There was no use going back to sleep for he wasn't tired like he should be and the fear of waking back up in pain was just a little too great at the moment. Besides, there wasn't any use of attempting to fall back into a dreamless sleep if Shin was off, by himself, on another planet. He was too worried about his Shin to go to sleep now. It wasn't worth having nightmares over.

He just hoped that he was alive when the Kaioshin came back.

****

"Is this the place?" Shin asked as he and Akira stood in front of a single shop somewhere in the small town. Vines went up the dark wood that made up the outside, no outlets to the outside world except for a royal blue doorway that looked like it hadn't been opened in many years. The doorknob looked busted, like it wasn't able to turn anymore. Things, the deity knew, always weren't what they seem. He had learned that that hard way a year ago.

"Unfortunately, yes," Akira replied, taking a step towards what was thought to be a shop or a home. However, the two had taken many roads to actually find it as this place was in an ally far away from the hustle of the town. Trash of all sorts littered the back ally with bones poking up every so often from their final resting place. Shin wondered if this was the right place and hoped that it wasn't.

"You aren't serious about this place, are you?" The Kaioshin hissed out as Akira knocked on the door and took a step back. "We don't know what is on the other side of this door. It could be a trap."

"If it is, then be on your guard or just read the person's mind," He replied, taking a step back as he glanced over his shoulder a the small God. "If you are that worried about what is on the other side, we can always try the other way."

"And what is that?"

"Taking about a ten mile hike to the north then going past a marsh where you would sink to the bottom if you got caught in the murky water from the given path. After that, there is getting past the creatures that guard the cave with their life. Only an experienced warrior can defeat them."
"That's it?" Shin demanded, not amused by what his traveling companion told him.

"Oh, it gets better, my friend," Akira said, turning around to face the Kaioshin with hands clasped in front of him. "If you managed to get past these blood-thirsty creatures with your body in tact, you have at least two miles of safe cavern to travel and rest before it becomes just as bad as before. There is no light that can penetrate the darkness of the pit that lies just a while from the entrance. The only way to get past the pit of no return is to throw something into it as you make your way around it. And, how that ledge is so narrow that you think that you will fall off the edge.

"After you make it past the pit, then you will face jagged rocks that could pierce even the toughest of armor. There is only two safe ways to get around these rocks and none of them require flight or knowledge. If you can make it past all of this, you will have to go through one more challenge to get the herbs needed for this cure."

"And that is to take it out of the same way one would have come," Shin replied easily. "It is the same thing with every peril-filled journey to get something. You go through a bunch of trials, you get the thing that you are looking for, you go back through it, and you've got it."

"Wrong," Akira barked out, coming closer to the deity then he would have liked. "The last stretch of this is to face your worst fear. The thing that is above all other fears that you might have. It is the darkest thing that you carry with you even if you think that you have defeated it way back when. This is where most men and women have run from, screaming things that you only hear the mad ramble about. Their minds are so afraid of facing this fear that they don't realize where they are and kill themselves on the rocks or the pit if they are lucky. Not many have returned from this journey and, if they did, they become secluded, hiding from the world because of what they have seen."

"You lie," Shin hissed out, taking a step back. "You are only telling me this so that we don't go that way."

"The truth, he speaks," A voice said from behind Akira. Shin looked around the other as Akira turned around, both of their eyes falling onto a old woman. She wore a long yellow dress with a green shawl draped over her shoulders as she held onto the now-open doorway of the same place that they were going into. "My husband went there to get the sacred herb that is said to cure any and all illnesses and poisons. He came back several weeks, later, the herb at hand but lost all traces of sanity. After the journey, he changed from the caring person that he was to a babbling fool. I don't know what happened to him in that cave, but they say it affects the mind so."

"Agreed," Akira said, bowing down slightly. "My name is Akira and this is Shin. We are traveling to...."

"Yes, I know," The aged woman said, moving her pink face towards Shin. "You want to know if I have any herb left to cure someone that has an untreatable illness or poison in them."

"Yes, we are. How did...." Shin started before the old woman cut him off.

"That is what everyone wants from me. They want to go the easy way instead of suffering like my husband did," She growled, waving a hand at them. "I won't give it to you. Go away."

"But...." Shin cried out as the woman turned around and was about to go inside when the deity called out, "I need it for Kibito!"

The woman stopped just before she closed the door, her back going rigged as she flung the door open and spun to turn to him. Her mouth nearly dropped open as she started at the deity in shock, her body trembling slightly.

"Kibito, you say?" She inquired, taking a step forwards.

"Y....yes...." Shin stammered, now realizing the mistake that he had just did.

"Interesting," She said, motioning for the two to come inside. "Come on. Don't be shy. I won't bite. I'll explain over tea."

Shin and Akira looked at each other in confusion before they walked forwards with a shrug. The woman laughed at this confusion as she turned around and walked into the house, the two travelers following her inside. The door closed behind them, leaving the ally dark and empty as it was before.

****

"I didn't know who exactly Kibito was when my mothers told me about the wars that started when this planet was still being developed for settlement," The woman said, pouring hot liquid into a chipped cup in front of Shin. The companions were now sitting at a old table that had it's own share of cracks and chips on it. "I figured he was always one of the first settlers here but it was only after my mother's death did I know who he was"

"Exactly how do you know about him?" Akira asked once the old woman had filled his own cup. She set down the battered pot, a expression of joy going onto her face.

"Old family books that survived the years. He was one of my great-great-great-great grandfathers that was able to leave this planet during the wars."

"WHAT!?!?!" Shin shrieked out, nearly dropping the cup that he held in his lands. "I thought that all of his family died in the wars! At least, that is what he told me."

"As did I," Akira put in, looking weirdly at the old woman.

"That is an understatement. One of his family members did survive somehow, but barely. He was eventually captured and forced to work until he couldn't any more. When he was liberated a few years later, he was sent off planet to a place where he met one of grandmothers of that period. What happened after that is what everyone should know. They get married, have kids, grow old, die. The same story." She sighed as she sat down at one of the empty chairs, her eyes back towards Shin. "I'd like to know how Kibito has survived these many years. It has been a very long time since the wars have ended."

"Well, see, the planet that he was taken to has a different cycle of years," Shin attempt to explain without giving anything extra away. "You could say that a year on my planet is like a bunch of years somewhere else. The aging process there is a lot slower then, say here. And this goes for any species that wanders onto it. I can't really explain it."

"Ah, yes. A planet where it seems like one has immortality," The woman said, her eyes going cold as she looked towards Akira. "And what's your story? Not many of our species travels with outsiders."

"I knew Kibito long ago and stumbled upon Shin when he arrived. I said I'd help him in return for something else," Akira replied, ignoring the apparent coldness that was directed towards him as he sipped his drink.

"The herb. I don't know if I should part with it or keep it safe," The old woman said, looking off into space. "My husband worked hard to get it even if it cost him his life."

"We don't have a lot of time to bring it to Kibito," She said seriously, putting the cup down onto the table as he looked at the elder woman. "I don't know how fast this poison in him has worked it's way through his veins, but it I don't have a lot of time left. He could already be dead or close to it by now."

The woman sighed, looking down at the pot that she had used to pour her guests drinks. Both travelers could tell that she was thinking about this as they also knew that it was hard to give something to two complete strangers. They wouldn't blame her if she didn't give them what Shin wanted so desperately as there was another way to get the herb. A deadly way, but something that could be done.

"What will you give in return?" The woman asked, moving her eyes up just a bit. "You know that nothing around here is free."

"Look lady. We didn't travel all this way just to barter with you!" Akira yelled, standing up quickly. "We want the damn herb now or....."

"Calm down, Akira," Shin said calmly, glaring at him as he held up one of the few bags that the two still had left. "Inside these bags are supplies that we do not need. I can trade what we have for the herb and all of it I might add."

"What kind of supplies?" The lady inquired, giving the Kaioshin a sideways look.

"Food, water, and some clothing. Enough to last a small band of travelers for several days, more if you use it wisely and only you use it. There might be some medicine for small cuts in there as well, but I am not sure."

"What's the field price on these supplies?"

"Listen, you old hag. We...." Akira started but was silenced by Shin as he waved a hand towards him.

"I don't know. I was given these items as a gift from a shaman."

"Understood," The old woman said, standing up. She moved away from the table and towards a doorway that lead into another part of the home. Shin and Akira watched her go, each wondering what she was doing. A few moments later, she returned carrying a small brass chest. Standing near Akira, she opened the top to reveal a pack of leaves laying on a velvet cushion as a bottle, half filled with liquid, sat next to it.

"What's that?" Shin asked as the woman closed the chest, moving a hand overtop the latch as she locked it.

"This is the herb that you must use in order to save your friend. The liquid in the bottle must be used with it in order for it to work," She told them as she handed the chest to Akira, who in turn gave it to the deity next to him. "It should take a day or so for the herb to fully work. Now, go. Leave the bags here."

"Thank you," Akira said, bowing slightly. He then grabbed Shin by the arm and pulled him towards the door way before the old woman called out to them.

"On more thing!" She said as the two stopped walking at the doorway. Shin was the only one that turned around as Akira opened the door and stepped out.

"Hai?" He asked, confused as the elder woman took the shawl off of her shoulders and threw it to the God. It landed onto the chest, some of it draping off of it.

"Take it. It is a reminder of what the past has given you and your friend," She told them, bowing slightly as Akira grabbed Shin by the arm once again, pulling back onto the ally before slamming the door shut behind him. He gave a glare to the Kaioshin as he stomped towards the town.

"I can't believe you gave up the last of the supplies," He roared, not even bothering to look back at the one that he had been traveling with. "Now what are we going to do?"

"Go back to the planet where I left Kibito," Shin replied, hurrying up to Akira as he rushed in front of him. The other stopped as he rolled his eyes, not amused by this.

"And how exactly are we going to get there without any money or food?" Akira snapped, attempting to go around the God but was cut off by the Kaioshin. "Look, I did my part, now you have to figure out how to do yours. And it had better be good."

"Okay, hold onto my arm."

"What?"

"Hold onto my arm. I'll transport us there myself."

"What do you.....oh, I get it," Akira said slyly, nodding his head. "It's the whole teleportation thing, isn't it? I thought the Dai would forbid that to be taught to anyone after I left."

"What, you think that he'd do something like that because of you?" Shin laughed as Akira took his arm again for what it seemed like the tenth time since they had met the day before. "Hold on. Don't want to lose you."

Suddenly, a light engulfed the two as Shin took in a deep breath. He hadn't transported anyone except himself before, but he figured it was just like transporting himself. He had nothing to worry about now as he held the chest close to him, allowing the light to move around him as he felt it penetrate his body to take him back to Kibito.

Not a moment later, the light fizzled out and there was nothing there except for the ally and everything that was left.

To Be Continued.....