Dragonball Super Z
http://hometown.aol.com/juuhachigouda/dbszfic.html
By: Juuhachi-gou <juuhachigouda@aol.com> and MiraiBulma
Dragonball Z

Chapter Twenty-Six: Human Behavior -


If you ever get close to a human 
and human behavior 
be ready 
be ready to get confused 
oh, me and my head after... 

~*~

	It was a brilliantly beautiful, bright sunny day. Not a cloud 
marred the bottomless perfection of the blue sky overhead; the sun 
shone with a steady radiance that warmed the skin at a touch. Birdsong 
chittered from the nearby treeline, and a soft, easy breeze was 
blowing. 
	Juunana-gou sat on a rock and surveyed the blissfully pastoral 
scene, wishing with all his virtual heart for just one chance to blast 
every particle of it into smoking oblivion. 
	He reached one slim-fingered hand up to touch his throat. Yep, 
still there--the collar that kept his energies in check, preventing him 
from generating power blasts, keeping his strength and senses down to 
normal human levels--which, for him, was the next best thing to being 
buried ten miles underground. With the damned thing on, he couldn't 
even summon up enough energy to fly. He couldn't get a good grip on the 
band, and trying to take off the silver disk felt like trying to tear 
out his own throat. It had to be hardwired into his synthetic nervous 
system. Stupid Gajetto for being too clever. 
	Not that Juunana was totally "humanized". He still didn't need to 
eat or sleep. He didn't get tired. He didn't feel heat or cold. He 
couldn't be hurt by anything that would maim or kill an ordinary 
human--not even bullets or fire could pierce or mar his flawless skin. 
He was superior to what he had once been in every way. He could easily 
kill a normal human simply by beating them to death with his fists, or 
kicking them until their bones crumbled and their blood flowed beneath 
his feet. 
	But he would have to kill them one at a time, with his bare 
hands, and if he started in on one, a dozen or more would no doubt rush 
to his victim's aid. He was tougher than any of them, but sheer numbers 
might be able to overwhelm him. There was also the consideration that 
if he chose to draw that sort of attention to himself, word would get 
out--and back to his enemies. The fighters he'd once so effortlessly 
destroyed had become unaccountably more powerful. And even his own 
sister, his twin... 
	He broke that thought off even as the familiar painful twisting 
feeling began deep in his chest. That was something else he hated about 
being revived. Feelings. He hadn't had them for the longest time. Rage 
and anger, yes, those he knew and embraced. He remembered laughing as 
he drove one of the human's aircars to run his victims down, laughing 
without a smile on his face, laughing that was almost screaming. But 
feeling anything else--fear, grief, loneliness, pain...those weren't 
exactly welcome. He didn't know what it felt like to be happy, but he 
dreaded feeling happiness because he knew full well that whatever it 
was, it wouldn't last. 
	He couldn't remember being anything else but what he was. Gero 
had made them what they were, his sister and himself, and they had 
hated him for it most of all. Gero had stolen their identities, their 
humanity, their memories, giving them in return numbers and fantastic 
power and a burning desire to destroy everything that resisted them. It 
had been easy to kill. Easy. 
	And it had been fun. A bitter smile twisted his full mouth as he 
remembered how much fun the killing had been. He had hated humans with 
the entirety of his artificial soul, hated them far more than his 
sister ever had, hated them without knowing or wondering or caring why. 
He hated them; he killed them; they died. That had been enough for him. 
	Easy. 
	They'd had no fear of destruction, for there was no force that 
could stand before them. One by one the world's defenders had fallen, 
and then the world itself lay at their feet. For twenty years it had 
been their playground, their killing field. Then the purple-haired brat 
had reappeared, after a long absence, and carelessly destroyed them 
both. Just like that. 
	After long years in the ground, they'd revived, and chosen their 
sides. Juuhachi-gou had chosen a life of peace, becoming the friend of 
their former foes. Juunana-gou had made his choice, too, and he'd died 
for it. Again. 
	And now, here he was. Captive, enslaved, useless. Alone. 
	Except for-- 
	"Good morning, Juu-kun!" Chiara called, her voice as bright as 
the birdsong in the air. He didn't bother looking around as she 
approached. "I'm going into town to pick up some supplies. Would you 
like to come?" 
	He pretended he hadn't heard, hoping she'd take the hint and go 
away. When she didn't, he looked around at her. The breeze tossed her 
flame-red curls carelessly into her wide blue eyes. She looked at him 
with the same quiet, hopeful adoration he'd seen the first time he'd 
opened his eyes in the regeneration tank and gotten his first look at 
her face. 
	He opened his mouth to cut her down with a sharp rebuff. "Why 
not? Grocery shopping has to be more exciting than sitting here 
watching the grass grow." He blinked, mildly surprised at the words 
he'd spoken. It hadn't been what he'd intended to say at all. 
	She beamed. "Okay, let's go!" Her tiny hand caught at his and 
pulled him towards the patchworked but serviceable airjeep Gajetto had 
built to replace the ruined truck. Unable to resist her enhanced 
strength, Juunana could only follow. 
	
~*~

there's definitely no logic 
to human behavior 
but yet 
but yet so irresistible 
and me and myself can't... 

and there is no map... 
so uncertain... 

~*~

	Chiara drove. She didn't offer to let Juunana take the wheel, and 
he wasn't about to ask. He leaned back in the passenger seat, kicked 
his boots up on the dash, folded his hands behind his head and let the 
wind wash over him. The current of their travel plucked at his shirt 
and blew his ha ir back in waving strands of black silk. 
	"I actually like this car better than the truck," Chiara said. 
"It wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway, and Papa needed an excuse 
to build a new one. He says he might paint the jeep all one color 
eventually, b ut I don't think he will. He's always too busy in his lab 
to care much about the appearance of things. He's lucky I'm good at 
keeping house or who knows what the place would look like..." 
	Juunana leaned over a bit to watch the ground pass by beneath the 
m. There were still noticeable scars from the old battles, from the 
long rampage, but the land was slowly healing itself even as the humans 
rebuilt their cities and increased their numbers. How long had it been? 
Almost five years now? Barely a blink in a jinzouningen's lifespan, but 
already new buildings and towers rose up along the horizon, showing 
pockets of burgeoning civilization where once there had been barren 
wasteland and blasted rubble. 
	"...actually forgot to eat anything the other day, and I told 
him, 'Papa! Jinzouningen don't have to eat, but humans do! Do you 
actually want me to walk in here and find you passed out on the floor 
from starvation?' So finally he agreed to set up a timer that would 
chime at lunchtime so he could at least have one decent meal a day, 
and..." 
	He wondered idly whether any of the humans in the village would 
recognize him. He didn't remember leaving enough survivors behind that 
could actually identify him, but during his brief reappearance there 
were those who managed to see him on television broadcasts, or from a 
very safe distance. Perhaps they would scream and flee in terror, 
perhaps they would attack him, or perhaps they would simply refuse to 
believe the evidence of their eyes. Self-delusion. Humans were good at 
that. 
	"...sometimes actually feel sorry for normal humans. I mean, they 
get sick, they get cold and hungry and tired, too. It must feel awful 
to feel that way. Still..." Soft sigh. "Just once, I'd like to know 
what it's like to be hungry. I can eat, I mean, and I like the way some 
things taste and don't like others. Asparagus, for instance--yuck. But 
to actually need to eat, and to have it hurt not to have anything to 
eat...I wonder what that's like? I wonder if..." 
	If all else failed, Juunana mused, he could always point Chiara 
at his attackers and let her talk them to death. 
	
~*~

they're terribly moody 
oh, human behavior 
then all of a sudden turn happy 
and turning my head after... 

~*~

	The airjeep cruised smoothly into a parking space and alighted 
with a grace that belied its clumsy outline. Chiara hopped out without 
bothering to open the door, grabbed a carry-basket from the back, and 
smiled at Juunana-gou. "Are you coming into the shop with me?" 
	"No." 
	"All right then." Her sunny mood undimmed, Chiara walked into the 
market with a sprightly bounce to her step. 
	As soon as she was gone, Juunana unfolded himself from the seat 
and jumped out. The town was really little more than a village, the 
buildings too shiny and new to be of long standing, but there was a 
surprising number of people. Even more astonishing was the fact that 
most of them had lost that haunted, hunted, furtive look that had 
dominated the species for so many years. There were no cautious glances 
overhead, no running for cover if a shadow passed over the sun, no 
screams of Jinzouningen!! cutting through the air. 
	Juunana leaned against the side of the airjeep, folded his arms 
and watched the crowds for a while. They were young people, mostly, 
young adults and teens, and quite a few children. None seemed 
neglected, however; those he saw were obviously clean, well-fed and 
cared for. The observation should have meant nothing to him, but it 
made him feel both good and bad in ways he couldn't justify. 
	A scream brought his truncated senses alert. He couldn't be sure, 
but--yes. There, again, a shrill female cry. He glanced over his 
shoulder at the marketplace, but there was no sign of Chiara, and the 
sound was coming from much farther down the street. Normal human ears 
wouldn't have been able to hear it, but obviously his senses were still 
somewhat sharper than that. 
	He strolled through the crowd and turned a couple of corners, 
finding himself standing at the mouth of a narrow brick-walled 
alleyway. A girl of no more than fourteen stood cowering against the 
back wall, her longish wheat-blonde hair falling across the right half 
of her face. Her thin arms were crossed over her small breasts; her 
blouse had been ripped open, no doubt by one of the three leather-
jacketed youths who stood around her, cutting off her escape and 
taunting her. 
	"C'mon, don't be shy," crooned the biggest boy--probably sixteen 
or so, already showing a stubble of beard-growth on his face. "We're 
not gonna hurtcha, we just wanna show you a good time." 
	"You'll like it," the skinny one assured, sniggering. "All girls 
like it once they get a taste of us." 
	"Please," the girl sobbed, "please just leave me alone. I promise 
I won't tell anybody, just please go away..." 
	"Aw, wassamadda, honey?" The fat one, a head shorter than the 
biggest, reached out to pat her shoulder with a pudgy palm. She shrank 
against the gritted bricks, whimpering. "Are ya virgin? Well, are ya?" 
	She sniffled and nodded. 
	"Woo HOO! Fresh meat!" The tall one rubbed his hands together. 
"Stand back, boys, I'm about to give our little flower a lesson in--" 
	"HEYEEE!!! " The skinny tough yowled as he found himself slammed 
face-first into the brick wall. The girl screamed and fell to her 
knees, still covering herself with her arms. The boy dropped to the 
ground beside her, bleeding copiously from the nose and mouth. 
	"What the...?" The other two looked around. 
	Juunana stood with his arms folded, his head bowed, his pale eyes 
glittering in the half-light from the street. He said not a word. 
	The obvious leader sneered. "Wait your turn, prettyboy. When 
we're done, you can have what's left of her. Unless...unless you want 
us to give you a workover?" 
	Juunana chuckled at them. The fools. 
	"Lemme take 'im, boss!" the fat one said. 
	"Yeah, sure. He looks more like your type anyway." The tall one 
reached down and caught the girl who'd been trying to crawl past him to 
freedom. "Now, don't you run off, pretty-pretty. It ain't nice to walk 
out on your date." 
	The fat boy cracked his knuckles and threw a punch squarely at 
Juunana's jaw. He didn't even budge. 
	"Owowowowow my hand I broke my haaaand! " The fat one fell over, 
cradling his smashed fingers. "He's like a steel wall or somethin'!" 
	The gang leader sighed and shoved the girl into a corner. "Don't 
move," he warned her, "or it'll be worse for you when I catch you." He 
flicked out a long-bladed knife and took a stance. "Okay, prettyboy, 
let's dance." 
	Juunana-gou just stood there. He didn't even blink. 
	"Hey, you don't think I'll cut you? I'll mess up your pretty face 
so bad your own mother will run screaming. Come on, let's go!" 
	No response. 
	"Okay, you asked for it--" The blade flashed out, glinting dull 
silver, and arced toward Juunana's face. It sliced through air where 
he'd been standing an instant before the swing. 
	"Huh?" Before the gangboy realized his foe was now behind him, a 
strong hand closed over his wrist and doubled his left arm up painfully 
behind his back. He screamed as the ligaments strained, and waved his 
knife wildly. Another hand took hold of that wrist and began to draw 
the blade closer...closer to his own face. He saw the knife gleam, its 
edge deadly-sharp as it inched towards his throat. He couldn't hold it 
back, couldn't fight the strength in the hands that held him prisoner. 
"No...aw, man, no, please..." The knife pricked the tender flesh under 
his chin, and he began sobbing brokenly. He felt his bladder let go, 
and he wet himself. 
	The grip on his knife-wrist closed tighter, crunching the fragile 
bones. His hand dropped the blade, and suddenly he was released and 
sailing forward, thrown against the wall. He cowered against the rough 
brick, bleeding and stinking of his own urine, looking at the untouched 
stranger who stood over the three fallen toughs. 
	The stranger spoke, then. One word. "Go. " 
	Somehow the tall leader and the fat lackey managed to find their 
feet. Without a word they hauled their half-conscious skinny comrade to 
his feet, and they fled into the harsh light of midday without risking 
a look back. 
	The girl had her head down, crying softly, and she cringed when 
the shadow fell over her. When she wasn't seized and violated at once, 
she risked a look up. She swallowed, hard, and swiped at the lank hair 
obscuring her vision. "Wh...who...?" she gulped. "Why...?" 
	Juunana had no answer to give her. With her hair out of her eyes, 
she didn't look so much like-- 

	**Please Jet are they gone now can we go now Jet ** 

	"Wait...!" the girl called after him as he turned away, but in 
moments he was out of her hearing. 

~*~

but oh, to get involved in the exchange 
of human emotion 
is ever so satisfying 
and turning my head, oh 

and there is no map... 
uncharted... 

human behavior... 

~*~

	He walked out of town in a totally random direction. He didn't 
want to know which way he was going. He just wanted to go, to get away, 
to escape--what? 
	He'd saved that girl from violation or worse, he knew that, but 
he didn't know why he'd done it. Was it just for the chance to rough up 
a few ordinary humans without being punished for it? Why hadn't he just 
killed those idiots? No one would have cared. Three fewer street kids 
more or less, what was the difference? For that matter, why hadn't he 
simply killed the girl, too? 
	The girl. She'd had hair like-- 
	No. 
	He kept walking, keeping his legs moving at a mechanical pace. 
	It didn't mean a thing. He was no hero, no savior of the 
helpless. He'd wanted an excuse to fight something, to take out his 
frustrations, and the gangboys had provided an outlet. The only part 
the girl had played was drawing his attention by her screams-- 
	Screams like-- 
	Screaming. A shrill, high, piping scream that echoed over and 
over. 
	
Don't look, Crys, don't look at her, don't-- 
	**--I'm scared, Jet-- 
--we can't stay here-- 
	**--so cold, I can't breathe-- **

*--will save your sister, you'll get what you want, and I'll get what I 
want... *

	It was the last--a voice too well known and too much hated--that 
broke his silence. "Shut up, Gero, shut up!! " Juunana screamed 
savagely at the empty landscape. "When I want your opinion, I'll dig up 
your dead body and beat it out of you!" 
	*But you did get what you wanted, didn't you?* The memory of 
Gero's words was like acid, burning and rotting away at him. *You'll 
live forever, boy, and you'll never go hungry or be cold or frightened 
again. Nothing can hurt you, nothing can stop you. *
	"Leave me alone!" 
	*You owe me your life. Your existence. I could have let your 
sister die. *
	"Don't you touch my sister! " 
	"Juu-kun!" 
	He spun around, kicking up dust at his feet, ready to kill or be 
torn apart in the attempt-- 
	Chiara stood in front of him, pure concern on her face. "Who are 
you talking to?" 
	With a roar of outrage, Juunana picked up a rock and threw it 
dead-center at that sweet, loving face. 
	She avoided it without effort, dodging around it almost 
unconsciously. "Juu-kun, I only want to help--" 
	"I don't need your help!" he screamed, loud enough to hurt his 
throat. "I don't need anyone! I never have! I should have let my sister 
die in that stinking warehouse--she'd've been better off! And so would 
I!" 
	"Juu-kun..." 
	"It's not like anybody cared when we were human --no, we were 
just two more homeless kids nobody had time or room for. And you know 
who took care of us? Who kept us fed, and sheltered, and out of 
trouble? Me, that's who! I'm the one who got the scars, and I'm the one 
who took the hits and the risks and the chances, because she couldn't! 
I wanted to protect her!" He laughed, a thin mocking sound. "Well, I 
sure did a good job, didn't I? I couldn't stop her from getting sick, 
so I took her to the one man in the world who could turn her, and me, 
into monsters! We became machines who could kill and destroy and not 
ever feel anything! Oh, it was just supposed to be me, but he took her 
into the bargain! He made her into the same thing he made me, and he 
didn't even ask her first! And I couldn't stop him! How's that for 
protecting somebody?" 
	Chiara stood there looking at him with wide, hurt eyes. Hurting 
for him, not for herself. 
	Juunana's chest hitched. He didn't need to breathe, but he found 
himself gulping in air in hard, ragged gasps. "Trunks destroyed her, 
and I couldn't stop him, so I just stood there and let him destroy me 
too. And now? Where is she? Where's my sister, the one I went through 
all this for? She's with him!" He turned his back on Chiara, fists at 
his sides, trembling. "I don't care. I don't need her anyway. I don't 
need you, either. I don't need anybody!" He kicked off into the air--
and fell headlong to the ground, face-first in the dirt. He'd forgotten 
he couldn't fly. 
	"Juu-kun!" Chiara ran towards him to help him up. 
	He scrambled to his feet and glared at her. The hate in his eyes 
stopped the jinzouningen girl in her tracks. "Stay away from me," he 
hissed. "Don't come near me. I don't want anything to do with you. I'd 
kill you and your precious 'Papa' both if I could!" At that moment, he 
meant every word. 
	Chiara stood there and watched him as he turned on his heel and 
ran towards the eastern hills. She didn't call after him or try to 
follow. He launched into a broken run to escape that hellishly 
compassionate gaze all the sooner, seeking refuge among the barren, 
rocky cliffs. 

~*~

and there is no map 
and a compass wouldn't help at all 
I can't entirely... 

~*~

	When the narrow path came to a sudden dead end, Juunana laid 
hands on the rock-face before him and climbed. He dragged his body 
upwards, ignoring the rips torn in his clothing by the jagged stone. He 
pulled himself up to stand on the summit and looked towards the west. 
He couldn't see the hateful yellow dome of Capsule Corporation from his 
perch, but he could glimpse the tree-tops of the nearby forest. 
	His vision blurred. He blinked, and felt hot tears run down his 
cheeks. He swiped his torn sleeve angrily across his face to wipe them 
away, but more welled up to take their place. 
	"KUSOTTAREEEEEEEEEEEEE!! " he howled, his voice rebounding off 
the surrounding peaks and throwing his own epithet back at him. As if 
in response, the stony brink under his feet chose that moment to 
collapse under his weight. 
	Juunana slid tumbling down the cliffside, helpless to stop his 
fall. Small rocks and larger stones accompanied him in his swift and 
uncontrolled descent, and by the time he landed on the bare sandy 
ground at the foo t of the hill his clothes were filthy and almost in 
tatters. His synthetic bones didn't break, his artificial flesh didn't 
bruise or bleed, but the real damage was deep inside his soul, where 
neither bandages nor technology could heal him. 
	He fought up to his knees, but hadn't the strength of will to 
stand. He buried his smudged face in his dirty hands and wept. 
	
~*~

there is definitely no logic 
to human... 

--Björk, "Human Behavior" 

~*~

	Chiara jumped off the hood of the airjeep and landed on her feet 
when Juunana-gou reappeared. He looked terrible--hair disheveled, 
clothes ripped and dirty, face almost dead white, eyes dull and only 
half-focused. She wanted to run to him, to take him in her arms and 
give him the hug he looked like he needed, but she fought the urge down 
and stood her ground as he approached. 
	He stopped about an armlength away from her, looking down at her. 
"You waited." 
	She nodded. 
	"Why? I wasn't going to come back." 
	Chiara shrugged a bit. "You might have. As it turned out, you 
did." 
	His pale eyes burned into her. "What makes you so idiotically 
cheerful?" 
	That was a question with an easy answer. "It doesn't take any 
more effort to be nice to people than it does to be nasty. And the 
results you get are usually a lot better." 
	Juunana-gou blinked. "You don't really believe that." 
	"I do." 
	He snorted with something like his habitual scorn. "You're not 
even human. You've never been human. How would you know what people are 
really like?" 
	"Papa tells me some things. Other things I learn myself. As for 
the rest...well, I'm just me. Just like you're just you." She smiled up 
at him. "But I like you anyway." 
	He rolled his eyes at her, making her giggle softly. 
	"Are you ready to come home now?" 
	"It's not my home," he corrected her, dusting himself off as best 
he could. "But I'll come, if only to make you go back where you belong. 
Besides, I need some new clothes." 
	Chiara heaved a huge inward sigh of relief as Juunana-gou climbed 
into the passenger seat. She got behind the wheel and they took off, 
heading towards the Gajetto compound. She knew that Juunana's troubles 
were far from over, and that he still had a great many obstacles to 
overcome--a lot of them of his own construction--but at least, for 
tonight, he'd be safe. He'd be home. 
	
End Chapter Twenty-Six