Dragonball: Unforgotten

Chapter 10

Dragonball: Unforgotten  
Chapter Ten

Goku was way too quiet. It actually worried you. Even when you and he weren't talking he was never so quiet. And you knew it was your fault. Once the snow had melted and he fished the dragonball out of his pants, he hadn't said a word. At one point you couldn't have even been sure it was breathing.

The guilt only increased during his silence. You knew without having to ask or be told that he was angry and hurt by what you'd done. You really had no idea how to broach the subject either. Just because you had more information didn't mean you had all the right answers. Regardless of everything that was going on you were still only a seventeen and a half years old. You'd never done anything like all of the situations you faced with Goku, much less your current one.

It was that same helpless feeling and guilt of abusing his trust which almost had you on the verge of tears. Mostly you were just so very frustrated at yourself and the situation that you could feel your lip and jaw start to quiver. When you got back to the village to see what some of the more proactive advocates had done, well that had very nearly been the tipping point.

There were words like Slut and Whore painted across the half dome dwelling. Great. Lovely. That was going to take so much time to scrub off. At the very least because of the weather it didn't look like it had completely dried yet. So that was in your favor. Still it hurt to know that there were others nearby that dislike you so much that they took time out of their day to publicly shame you. And for something you didn't even do nonetheless.

You didn't say a word to Goku as you went inside to get stuff to clean off the outside with. You just hoped that it came off. Otherwise you weren't sure what you were going to tell Bulma. You weren't sure you could get the exact same factory shade this model was built with to go over the offensive words. Even if you did, because of how paints changed in the sun over time, it would probably still look like a bad patch job. And you couldn't exactly paint a dome building by yourself. You'd never be able to reach the top evenly. Not to mention all that high quality paint and sealer would cost quite a bit.

As you tried your best to scrub the paint off with shaking hands, you knew that you were crying. Everything was going so quickly in your head that it hurt to breathe. You squeezed your eyes hard hoping that when you opened them next it would be easier to see. It wasn't, everything was just as blurry.

You hid your face as you scrubbed, your chest constricting and your lungs burning painfully, when you saw a fuzzy orange and black figure get closer.

Goku tried to stop you from over exerting yourself after the trekking you did in the snow. You stubbornly continued to try. He actually had to fight the brush out of your hand. The poor thing nearly snapped from all the force applied to it. Still you couldn't bring yourself to look at him so you just stared unseeingly at the wall.

"Why did they do this?" Goku asked in a quiet tone as though you would break if he spoke any louder.

And that frustrated you even more. You felt like you were breaking up inside but you didn't want to. Something like the silent treatment and some shaming should not bring you to that point. But it did because of how attached you'd gotten. And the fact that the relationship felt so fragile was what made you cry the most. You were afraid of what was going to happen next. Particularly with Goku standing right there.

"Because we slept in the same bed last night and we're always together," you answered in a shaking voice.

Just because you were afraid didn't mean that you would stop answering his questions. You'd promised yourself and him at the start of the whole journey that it was the least you could do to be helpful. He was taking all of his time, energy, and potentially risking his life to find the dragonballs with you. It seemed only fair that you answered all of the questions he had about the world. As best you could of course.