Kayu had made plans to go over to Oreo’s house after school, so instead of Goten picking her up, she flew home. She flew close to the ground so that it wouldn’t be AS obvious, but she was going fast anyway. She dropped off in front of their house, and ran inside.
“Kaasan! Tousan!” Kayu called. She wanted to tell them about the dance the next night. They didn’t like to learn things last minute, but she’d just learned about it herself. She found them in the den, with Goten watching some show and Paresu talking on the phone.
“Oh! Kayu! Kayu’s home now mom, I’ll tell her about it. Ok bye!” Paresu hung up the phone and smiled at Kayu. Goten turned around on the couch so he was facing them both.
“What’s going on?” Kayu asked, confused as to why they were acting so strange.
“Well, your grandma Chichi and grandpa Gokou invited us to go camping! Well, Goten and I. Videl and Gohan are going too. It’s kind of like a family thing..”
“With no kids, yeah I get it.” Kayu said, not meaning to sound spiteful. The only outings they ever went on involved only the ‘grown ups’. She didn’t mind that though, because it meant she could stay home alone.
“Well, yes. But this is starting tomorrow morning and we’ll be back on Sunday.” Paresu finished.
Kayu’s mouth dropped. Tomorrow? It couldn’t be tomorrow! Tomorrow was Friday! Friday was the Valentine’s Dance!
“But…Kaasan! You don’t let me fly at 7 o’clock at night!” Kayu stammered.
“Why would you want to fly at 7 o’clock, Kayu?” Goten asked, a puzzled look on his face.
“There’s this…dance. A Valentine’s dance. And it’s THIS Friday! I just CAN’T miss it!” Kayu explained.
“Now Kayu, you know your mother and I have strict rules about flying at night…” Goten started.
“But Tousan! I HAVE to go!” Kayu insisted. “Can’t I stay with Grandpa Vejita and Grandma Bulma?”
Paresu winced. Kayu had gotten so attached to the two that she referred to them as ‘grandma’ and ‘grandpa’. It didn’t bother her as much anymore, but it wouldn’t ever become natural.
“I’m sure Bulma and Vejita won’t mind. They always enjoy having you over to visit.” Goten said, a big grin on his face.
“So…I can go to the dance?! OH thank you!!” Kayu gave her parents a hug, and went to call Oreo. She packed up a backpack full of things, and after Paresu had confirmed it with Bulma, they headed over to drop her off.
“Bye kaasan! Bye tousan! Have fun!” Kayu yelled, and disappeared into the building. Vejita was nowhere in sight, but Bulma was waiting for her in the kitchen. She looked very worn out, so much older than the last time Kayu had visited.
Paresu’s parents had died 5 years back, but nobody else in her family had, except for some of her aunt Videl’s family.
Kayu gave Bulma a warm smile and a big hug. She meant a lot to her, and it would hurt a lot to see her go.
Vejita chose this moment to walk into the kitchen. He too, was looking older.
Amazingly, there was barely a hint of gray in his hair. His face had lost its’ once youthful look. He still looked great for his age, but tired. Despite his protests, Kayu gave him a big hug too. He grunted, grabbed a plate of sandwiches and walked out of the room.
Bulma helped Kayu get set up in Trunks’ room. Trunks was away on business, and wasn’t due back until Saturday.
“So I guess you’ll be going to sleep now? Well, good night Kayu.” Bulma said to her, smiling happily.
“’Night Bulma!” Kayu called, unpacking her pajamas. Bulma closed the door, and walked to her own room.
The next morning, Kayu woke up to the smell of cooking. Just like it used to be, Kayu thought to herself. She had a quick shower, got dressed, and arrived at the table just as it was finished.
“Your timing is still down to the minute Kayu!” Bulma laughed. Vejita was already sitting at the table, waiting for his breakfast. They all ate quickly, and Kayu decided to fly to school. She didn’t want to be more of a hassle for Bulma and Vejita.
The day went by rather slowly, Oreo greeted Kayu with a big smile and lots of gossip. Sets gave her a big hug, then gave one to Oreo. Rony hugged her too, and Ginaya was seen steaming nearby. At the end of the day, everyone seemed excited about the Valentine’s Dance.
Kayu was trying not to get caught up in the rush, and succeeded. Well, sort of.
Kayu flew back to Capsule, and was greeted by Vejita. He was wandering around outside. Kayu talked with him for a while, and then went inside.
After supper, Kayu was growing even more anxious. She didn’t mean to, and didn’t know why she was. When 6:45 p.m. rolled around, she was ready to go. Unfortunately, Bulma was currently putting a load of clothes in the washer.
“Oh Kayu! I’ll be there in about 10 minutes, I just have to put these in the wash…” Bulma started.
“Nonsense! I’ll drive her.” Vejita said. Bulma and Kayu were a little surprised, but they agreed to it. It was only until after they’d left that Bulma realized Vejita didn’t have a license.
“You know,” Vejita started, when they were driving for about two minutes. “I’m almost disappointed in you.”
Kayuko was shocked. What had she done to make him disappointed in her?
“What did I do?”
“It’s not what you’ve done. It’s what you’ve become. It’s really true then,” Vejita continued, a hint of sadness in his voice. “The Saiyajin race ends with Kakarotto and I. His niece, Pan is it? Well, she isn’t a full, or even a half Saiyajin. But at least she has the spirit. You’ve lost that Kayuko. Whether you meant to lose it or not, it’s gone. Just because you have a tail doesn’t mean you have the spirit. The last bit of the Saiyajin race dies with you, and you aren’t a Saiyajin anymore.”
“Oh Vejita-sama…” Kayu thought about what he’d said. She realized that it was partially true. She wasn’t into her training as much anymore. Gone were the days where she’d spend her nights training under the stars. Now she was getting anxious about a silly dance.
“I want to change. I want to start up my training again.” Kayu stated. Vejita nodded, but stayed silent. He dropped her off at the school, and told her Bulma would pick her up when it ended.
“Hey! Sets!” Kayu called, spotting her blond friend. They joined up with Oreo and Rony, and walked into the dance.
The dance went by fast, Kayu was kind of preoccupied thinking about her training, but still managed to dance. Oreo noticed the most, and called her on it.
"Sorry, Vejita gave me a little pep talk before the dance," Kayu grinned, and tried to enjoy herself more.
When the dance was over, everyone gathered outside. Kayu scanned the parking lot for the Capsule car, and found it after a minute. To her surprise, Vejita was in the driver’s seat. She waved to him, and he nodded in response.
“Kayu-chan! Is that VEJITA?” Sets asked. Kayu nodded. Oreo cocked her head to the side.
“Isn’t he going to come up and embarrass you like all the other grownups?” she asked, and Kayu laughed.
“He isn’t very sociable.” What Kayu had said was an understatement, but nobody noticed. Rony however, seemed anxious to meet him.
“Well? Are you going to bring him up here or do I have to go down there?” Rony asked.
“…What? Who?” Kayu asked, a little stunned. Rony laughed and pointed at Vejita.
“Eeeehhh…”
“Alright, we’ll go down there then.” Rony grinned, grabbed Kayu’s hand and motioned for Oreo and Sets to follow. Kayu pouted.
“Rony! Maybe you could meet him some other time, he doesn’t look like he’s in a very good mood…” Kayu attempted to reason with him, but it didn’t seem to get her anywhere. Soon they were at the car, and Rony tapped on the window. Kayu slapped herself in the forehead.
Vejita stared at Rony, and Rony stared back. He finally pushed the button that opened the window.
“The hell do you want?” Vejita spat. Rony however, found this hilarious. He chuckled and introduced himself.
“Hey I’m Rony. I was Kayu’s date for the dance….” Rony started. He stopped however, when he heard another smack. “Kayu-chan, if you keep hitting yourself you’re gonna end up with a bruise or something!”
Kayu responded with a groan that sounded a bit like a whine. She muttered a quick “Gotta go”, said bye to the three, and climbed in the other side of the car. She waved as Vejita pulled out of the parking lot, knocking over a garbage can.
“That boy is an idiot.” Vejita remarked. The tone in his voice caused Kayu to laugh uncontrollably. Vejita seemed to be confused as to why she was laughing, but she eventually settled down. They pulled into Capsule’s parking lot and Kayu bounded inside.
“Heeeeey Bulma-san!” Kayu hollered when she got into the house part of the building. Bulma looked up at her and smiled.
“Kayu-chan, how was your dance?”
“Great! It was fun…except for the ending when Rony wanted to meet Vejita…And you KNOW how sociable HE is!”
Bulma laughed. She knew all too well about Vejita’s habits when it came to other people. Vejita walked in, and nodded to Bulma. He walked through the room and into the bedrooms.
“Is something wrong with him, Bulma?” Kayu inquired.
“No..” Bulma was still watching where Vejita had disappeared. She wasn’t about to tell Kayu what was wrong. No use putting a child through that.
“Oh.. all right then. Hey tomorrow’s Saturday! Sweet! G’night Bulma!” Kayu bounded off to her room.
The next day, Kayuko trained with Vejita, having him watch more than train. Every once in awhile he’d be there though, right alongside her. By the end of the day, Kayu was ready to drop.
Trunks showed up later, and Kayu had a long conversation about his trip, Capsule Corp., and even his past as a warrior. It was finally time for both of them to go to bed, and they did. Trunks, again, on the couch.
The next day, Paresu and Goten were back early. They went to Capsule, waited for Kayu to say her good-byes, and went home.
