“Hey man, fighting is different! Running off with some woman to have kids, if I can’t afford a place to keep them then how will we even live! I’d like to have a pile of money before I even think about having some kids, I don’t even know if I should train them to fight or to cook…” Choi and Kai had only known two occupations in life and having to choose between either fighting or cooking was a little difficult. Choi didn’t even know if he liked fighting or cooking as much as he might like something else, but he wasn’t going to go out hobby searching anytime soon. He would follow his brother, even though Kai mostly followed him around and did what he did in return. Choi was pretty confused over what Kabocha was trying to say, maybe he just wasn’t well taught in the ways of coupling but it wasn’t as if Kabocha was going to tell him much else as he gave up on the subject. Oh well, it probably wasn’t that interesting to him right now anyway. “Heyyyy no! It’s different when you’re a twin, it’s nothing to do with hanging out with other guys otherwise you’d be disinterested too!” Choi spoke quickly, “And I guess! I mean, she never really seemed to care much until after all that crazy stuff started happening to him when you think about it. Don’t even know what she sees in that guy other than knowing him”.

Once they were finally at the restaurant Kai appeared to be pretty content with the state of it, not even caring about the presence of kids or the noise. They had both been here a good few times and every time it was just as busy, but it was just the place for them. As both Choi and Kai looked to Kabocha Choi gave him the thumbs up before snickering. “So you miss our food? You know, you could just ask if you ever wanted us to cook something for you!” he spoke quickly, pointing into the restaurant, “Besides, you’ve not even tried the place! Don’t you like eating with your hands and getting real messy? Just try some! It’s so good! Unless you’re scared of a little mess and noise…”

--

Viral wasn’t going to stop Yumi from going off on her own if she wanted to, defaulting as he let her make her own decisions. He didn’t understand why she was suddenly getting mad at him though, she made it clear that she was fine with being by herself and appeared to want to go off and do just that. Opening his eyes again he stared at her, narrowing his gaze before he folded his arms. “I’m not under authority to tell you what you can and cannot do. I’m not your commander”. He wasn’t one to tell her what she could and couldn’t do when it came to whether she wanted to be around him or not, it just wasn’t him. He couldn’t stop her from standing near him and to tell her to go away was just as rude. With her getting all annoyed at him he couldn’t do or say much that would prevent that further, staring at her as she seemed to only grow even more annoyed at him for letting her do her own thing. “It shouldn’t matter if you were teasing or not! You don’t have to be around me if you don’t want to, nor do you have to tell me you want to go do something other than what I am going to do! If you want us to go to see June…then fine, we’ll do that”, he spoke, moving around her and walking off, “You should know I don’t give order to you…”

--

“N-No I-I mean-…I-I’m not in charge of anything yet! I just-…I mean-…” T’charrl was starting to feel a little flustered, he was fair struggling to find a way of explaining what he meant and while his father did have good intentions it wasn’t making him feel particularly better. Frowning, he lowered his gaze as he continued to fiddle with his claws, scratching them together. “I mean…I guess so…probably. I guess that is why we’re here…” He did want to relax but it was awfully hard to do so, seeing how much pressure was on him to succeed. He really wanted to get all this under control, but he was scared he wasn’t going to be able to do it or find any answers at all. He just wanted his parents to be happy, he didn’t care about his happiness so much as theirs and them not having to be worried that he was suffering. Looking back to his father he stared at him as he made some suggestions, smiling a little. “We could go do both…? Look at the museum and then get food. I’m really trying to cut down on my eating…”

"Afford a place? Dude, we're SAIYANS, take a place!" Kabocha shot back with a roll of his eyes, "Or jeez I don't know, we're pretty much given a place here on Uuonoe. And we could probably find a place on Earth too if you wanted, or Kortal after that jerkwad of a King is taken down. Point is why're you buying a place? We don't have to buy anything." Choi was thinking too small as always like they were still some lower class losers or something. Not only was he and Kai no longer bound to be cooks but they had him and the Princes too, they had way better status than they had before. Wanting to buy crap, not interested in girls, still obsessed with food, they really couldn't give up on their old lousy lives could they? Kabocha chuckled when he took a jab at the twins always being together and nodded in agreement when Choi couldn't figure Yumi out either. "Right? She seemed genuinely happy with you and then she ditches you for some grumpy Beastman. They can't even do anything, Beastmen are sterile aren't they? The hell's the point then? He's grumpy, sterile, not to mention dangerous, I don't get it." Was it wrong that he was just slightly annoyed that Viral had a woman and he didn't? How come Yumi hadn't stuck with Choi, or picked him? He was a noble!

This barbecue place was going to be the death of him. The food was a mess, it was way too crowded and to top it off so many annoying kids! What did the twins want to come here of all places for? Why couldn't they just pick a normal place for once... Sighing in exasperation Kabocha reluctantly fell in line, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently as they waited. "You idiot, don't be so eager to cook for me! Why do you want to spend your whole life as a cook huh?" he asked as he looked back at the twins, putting his hands up in disbelief, "We're not on Kortal, you're not cooks anymore. I have a reason to stick to my roots because I have something but you two had nothing back there, get me? And for the record no, I don't miss your cooking," Kabocha lied quickly as he turned back to the line with a frown, "And it's not the mess or noise I care about... Much, though they'll ruin my dining experience. I don't like food that's drowning in sauce."

-----------

It was not about authority or whether or not Viral was her commander or not. All Yumi wanted to know was whether or not Viral actually wanted to do anything with her today, now that they'd come home and had time to spare. Sure there was the ulterior motive of keeping him from picking a fight with Aito but she'd wanted to enjoy their free time with him today. He defaulted to whatever she wanted to do and somehow came to the conclusion she wanted to see June, and while not a terrible idea she'd hoped they could just keep to themselves for a little and enjoy some rare privacy. Watching him turn and leave Yumi let out a sigh and followed after him, her arms kept crossed as she stared at the ground. "I'm not asking you to give me an order, Viral. I was asking if you want me to be here or not," Yumi explained, looking up at her friend and smiling slightly, "And I know you won't give me orders so I'm sorry for asking. Just... We have time to do whatever we want and I was hoping to spend it with you today. Everything's been so crazy lately and I'm just glad we finally have time to do whatever we want to. But it's not fair for me to force you to do what I want either, is it?" Lowering her arms she exhaled and rubbed at her arm, looking around for a moment before back to Viral. "If we see Aito can you promise me you won't try picking a fight with him or anything? I know you're angry but that won't help."

------

"That sounds like a great idea. A visit to the museum and then food, why not?" Hopefully one of those would help T'charrl calm down a little, it was obvious he was very much a bunch of nerves still. Haku was all for whatever he had in mind so that was the plan then, and luckily the museum wasn't terribly far away from the hanging gardens. Awfully quick if they could fly but most people walked up here, and the sights were too beautiful to just pass on by. Down along another bridge and then up a path that circled a large tree, and once up another story they could see the museum, propped up in the cusp of another tree and nestled between its massive limbs. "I've been thinking to ask your mother about getting a museum like this. Now that we're done fighting each other we can build some nice things, don't you agree?" Yusef asked as he looked around them, "We'll have a whole new generation before we know it and its only right we leave them a better place than we had when we were here." Realizing he was getting a bit depressive with his thoughts the General let out a laugh that probably sounded very odd to Haku, waving a claw dismissively, "Sorry, ramblings of an old man. But we really should get a museum shouldn't we? It'd be nice to have something for everyone to enjoy."

"I th-think it would be great! I can't wait to see what's in h-here." Haku didn't know the first thing about art or Kaesstra's culture really but that didn't curb his enthusiasm any. The museum itself was something wonderful to look at in of itself, unlike the usual blocky buildings on every other world it was curved and bulbous, almost resembling more of an onion in shape if he had to give it a name. It was large with several windows letting natural light in and it seemed the top was left open as people were flying in and out of it. Immediately upon entering Haku was awestruck by the pieces presented before them. Right inside the entrance there were large tapestries hanging from the walls, intricate patterns of various, vibrant colors around them. Some seemed to just be patterns and designs while others still had figures, probably telling some kind of story. A little further in and he could see figures woven from some kind of long grass or something, statues of what he guessed were famous people for this place. They too were dressed in all kinds of colorful fabric which seemed to be a common theme for the city now that he thought about it. "This is really n-nice... Kortal doesn't have a-anything like this..." Haku said as he walked closer to a fabric, reaching out and touching it only to get a disapproving click from one of the staff. Smiling apologetically he looked at it curiously, wondering just how long it took to make something like that. "It's r-r-really pretty..."

“But…that would be dishonest…” Choi muttered, hardly impressed with the thought of taking, “What I want, I don’t know if Kai also wants but, what I want is a place out in the countryside surrounded by forests and a little river nearby! A village or something, and I’ll be a chef who owns a little place where the whole village spends their nights! All local ingredients! Maybe a little farm on the side too…” Giving Kai a quick glance he soon sighed, rubbing his hands together as he daydreamed briefly on his ideal place. “A small family business in a little village surrounded by people who love you, defending it from monsters…man, that’ll be the most ideal outcome when we’re older…then that’s when I would like kids!” While they were both pure-blooded Saiyans they didn’t have the same killer instinct Kabocha had, they were just low class Saiyans who never had that warrior’s start in life. “Uhh I mean…yeah it’s true he’s sterile…and I guess maybe she’ll end up ditching him when she wants kids…but, uhh…I don’t know. Maybe you ask her some time! Or maybe ask Takeshi whenever you see him, I mean, I don’t want to make Yumi mad at me and you have nothing to lose!”

Kai let out a sigh, wondering why he was even bothering to pay attention to their little discussion. He understood where they were both coming from, but they were certainly going around in circles about it. Hearing Kabocha basically insult their cooking he folded his arms, letting out a sigh. “What’s wrong with cooking? What’s wrong with our cooking?” he questioned him, shaking his head, “We grew up as cooks so of course we’d develop some sort of feeling towards it. We’ve only been soldiers for a few years and it’s been filled with death, suffering and fear. Unless you can find us a new hobby I don’t think we can shake off our enjoyment for cooking very easily. But whatabout you? Got plans for the future? You also know you don’t need to order the sauce, right? It’s like you’ve never been to a place like this before…”

--

Viral didn’t know what Yumi was asking for, he could do anything she wanted to whether it was stay with him or find someone else who might provide her with better company. He didn’t trust himself to make his own decisions and her asking him to make one had him doubting whether he would ever be able to make an action that wouldn’t cause trouble. Even him simply agreeing with her decisions had him in trouble it seemed as Yumi only appeared to grow annoyed at him. Stopping in his path he looked over his shoulder at her, frowning when she simply appeared to be unsatisfied with his decision to go with her own spontaneous decision. She really didn’t understand him if she expected him to come up with something for them to do, sounding more disappointed that he wouldn’t make one for them. Staring at her for a moment he soon folded his arms, looking away off in the direction he was moving in. “…Fine, I won’t pick a fight with him, but maybe you should try coming to an understanding yourself”, he spoke, sighing, “You should know better than to ask me what to do, though. I’ve not had a free day in my life and if I had when June and Aito were alive on Earth I don’t remember any of it. You keep forgetting: I’ve never had the freedom you or anyone else you know, so don’t get angry at me for something I can’t change”.

--

T’charrl smiled a little, nodding before they would head towards the museum. It was going to be a lot of hard work and having a short time to try and relax certainly felt pretty essential, especially when he was supposed to try and find balance and control. He wasn’t going to find either of those if he was close to fainting just at the mere thought of training. Despite training a million times before, this training was going to be very different with a new person and under different circumstances. He wasn’t looking forward to it, almost as if he knew it was going to cause him great pain to experience. With his eyes looking for a distraction for his mind he gazed around at all the sights around him, humming a little to himself as he walked along before looking to his father once they finally arrived. “Huh? Oh uhh, a museum for our city? That would be nice…do we even have artefacts and preserved art?”

It was certainly some idea but he had no idea what his people even had that was worth showing off. Once they were inside the large building T’charrl definitely began to doubt immediately whether they had such things to show off as this museum had loads of old goods and displays that would make a nation proud of their history. Staring at the initial collection he slowly started to follow after Haku, looking around slowly before gasping when he realised Haku had stopped to admire some of the fabrics, giving it a staring at before he let out a sigh, rubbing his claws together, “Oh. I do miss wearing clothes”, he spoke, looking down at himself, “I must look like such a bum…” Looking around again he soon spotted what looked like a most historic section of the museum, fluttering over briefly before landing in front of some of the weapons on display. They looked pretty ancient, sitting along with some old bits of pottery made from a mineral he didn’t recognise. Not really caring about the pottery he stared at the weapons, frowning a little in realisation. “These aren’t much different from what we used during the war…”

"Seriously, THAT'S what you want to do? Just settle down somewhere quiet and cook for people?" Kabocha was incredulous that Choi suggested such a thing and even the slightest bit offended. "How can I ever hope to become a leader and gain respect if the people I fought with are nothing more than backwater chefs? Come on, dream big man! Now that you're not part of Yamate's mess you can be whatever you want and you're still going to stay a cook?" He didn't understand it, he really didn't understand it. How could anybody be so content with living such a normal, unassuming life? They needed to find themselves some good women and have kids and actually do something with themselves, not settle for whatever was easy or came their way. Choi had somebody in Yumi and yet he'd let her go and for what, some sterile, mad Beastman? If she ever hoped to have a family that would be completely impossible and yet she stuck to him like glue, so what gives? Why was she so drawn to a guy like that? "Ask her why? Yeah, why don't I just skewer myself while I'm at it. I'm not fricken asking her that!" Kabocha answered quickly, rolling his eyes at the idea of asking Takeshi, "Like that idiot knows anything. If the guy was any more oblivious he'd be walking into doors, you think he has that answer? And it's better you ask her anyways, she likes you. She'll kill me if I ask."

"Nothing's wrong with your cooking, just... Don't do it for a living!" Kabocha explained as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Why would you spend your entire life serving other people? Cook for your family or for your friends, whatever, but screw cooking for everyone else. Is that really what you want to spend your lives doing?" It just seemed so strange that Kai and Choi were content with doing what they had been all along. Why didn't they want more? "I'm not saying you've got to be soldiers either, once the war's over I know I won't be. And me? Obviously after Yamate is gone I'm going to take up my position as a noble again. My family should be holding power and I plan to once he's gone. Or I'll find something on Earth, or here. There's no way I'm going to spend my life working some job like you two, I deserve way more than that." Finally their turn to order the food even if Kabocha wasn't so certain he wanted any of it. Every plate he'd seen thus far was swimming in sauce and he hated having too much in any dish, it ruined it completely. Looking over the menu his face turned pink when Kai questioned him, scoffing and looking back at the cook, "O-Of course I have! I love places like this!" he shot back indignantly, smiling as he approached the counter. He figured he'd try to ask for anything without sauce but apparently the entire menu had it one way or another, and when he pressed for something light on the sauce he was told most of the food was "marinated", whatever that meant. Groaning inwardly he ordered the first thing off the menu and stepped aside, narrowing his eyes at the twins. "Hurry up and order..."

----------

"You're right... I'm sorry Viral, I was being insensitive demanding something of you like that. I shouldn't do that to you, I know better." She often forgot that when around Viral, just how isolated he really was. Even growing up with him and Vegeta it always seemed like Viral was made to be left out, only to come in whenever they needed a caretaker or someone to babysit them. That must have been awful, being relegated to someone whose only job was to take care of someone even if they were technically the same age. Feeling a bit saddened by the thought Yumi rubbed at her face before looking up at Viral and smiling, folding her hands behind the back and looking at him curiously. "Okay, so how about we do this: Let's go see June and maybe you can talk to her first? She's a lot more understanding than Aito is, but she probably can't answer any questions you have. Still... Getting a chance to vent a little is healthy, right? And after that we can see if you still want to go and talk to Aito." June would hopefully get him calm enough to speak to the doctor and maybe they could even have a meal together, something they hadn't done in years. Viral's meeting may have to wait a little while longer too if Aito was busy with Shu, though he and Takeshi might be off with that creep Krom training too. "Come on, I bet she'll be happy to see us! We haven't spoken to her since before we left," Yumi urged, smiling as she started along once more, "She's probably worried about us!"

----------

"Uh... Of course we do! I'm sure we do... Somewhere..." Yusef couldn't be nearly as certain as he'd like to be about that. Aside from some family heirlooms and some pieces they'd commissioned from artisans there really wasn't an awful lot that'd be considered art in their own home. "W-Well... We could always find someone to make some pieces for it! It can't be that hard... Right? Though we need artifacts too..." Would they have anything that might qualify? Stroking one of his antennae in thought Yusef watched his son move to another display, frowning at the weapons strewn out before them. "Well... They are part of our people's culture... A dark part of it..." the General mumbled, stepping closer to the display and peering into the glass. This was probably most of the kind of thing they'd put on display at their museums but then they wanted everyone to forget about the wars and move on from them. It was good to remember where they had been, this was true, but if that was all they could display then maybe they shouldn't bother with a museum. "Maybe Renthal would be interested in searching for artifacts. L'esta probably would be too, they're both... Eccentric," Yusef mused aloud, smiling at his son as he clasped him on the shoulder, "Or maybe you could bring things from other worlds? We'd have a museum unlike anything else on this planet, people would love to see what you've gathered from your travels too."

Kai simply gave Kabocha a long neutral staring at, not really having a comment on the matter. There was nothing wrong with wanting a simple life, but that didn’t appear to be what Kabocha wanted. It was none of his business, he was welcome to visit if he wanted to but of course he was too full of pride to see anything other than a Saiyan life. It was rather silly, especially to get so invested in what kind of life they wanted to live. Letting out a sigh when he seemed to get off their back about their dream he shrugged slightly, looking away. “You know, it might be a little hard for you to understand, but once you’re free to make whatever you want then what you do becomes fun and pleasant. After being told all the time what you had to make or get punished for mistakes, it’s nice to be able to make nice things and make people happy. I’m not even sure what you’re so offended over. What do you want us to do?”

“Yeah it feels like you’re kind of taking this a bit personally”, Choi laughed a little, sighing, “Your dream is a little strange to us too, you know. I mean, what do nobles do? Sit around all day? What’s your schedule? Wake up, get food served to you, sit around, more food…then sleep? Sounds kind of boring to me”. Just what was the appeal in sitting around with some random title, anyway? It didn’t really seem logical to him. Somebody like Kabocha simply wanting a title seemed a little silly but whatever, he wanted his food. “Oh yeah? You seem a little uncomfortable in this place for some reason”. Smiling at him he turned to the counter he looked up at the menu, giving it a quick look over as Kabocha made his order only to demand impatiently for them to make theirs. “Oh I’m sorry, your majesty”, Choi smirked before pointing briefly at the menu, “Can we get two of today’s specials? Thanks!”

--

Viral frowned slightly, closing his eyes for a moment. It was always embarrassing to be reminded of such a lifestyle, his whole past being filled with memories of always being watched and restricted. He didn’t have a great life even if it was for his own good, he was pretty dangerous when left to his own devices and had to be kept away from the RRA. Vegeta nearly selling him off to them when he properly took over the business still hurt him, but he could see why they were so desperate to buy him off the company and why Vegeta was prepared to send him off to the army. Having a genetic experiment who was fully capable of combat and considered too dangerous to be trusted around Humans was probably a lot of stress for Vegeta to take care of, especially as his own interest in him wavered pretty rapidly. It was pretty pathetic, nothing could change his past though. “Okay fine. I doubt she’ll appreciate any of it”. Moving after her he kept his gaze away from her, his mind not in a particularly good place. “It’s hard to tell what that woman is ever thinking…”

--

T’charrl looked to his father quickly before back to the weapons, not really knowing what to think of calling it ‘dark’. He didn’t know if he would call it dark when he was still a part of it. “But…I still need to learn how to use these kinds of weapons too…” he frowned, “That’s like calling what I do and my past ‘dark’…” It certainly seemed like this nation had long gotten over their need for fighting and was now quite happy to have what would now be considered ‘relics’ on display, only those with authority being given such weapons that were definitely not as primitive as these ones. Nearly everyone in the underground had a weapon of some sort to defend themselves with and their whole army was trained in it, they were even seen pretty often around the place all ready to defend the city from attackers. He hadn’t seen one soldier since arriving in this place, just a few people carrying bats at most and they were more like security personnel. Sighing, he scratched at his chest as he thought about it, his eyes soon turning to his father when he placed his claws on his shoulders in an attempt to change subject. “Oh, artefacts and…stuff from other planets…? I-I mean, that sounds like an idea! I mean, I have a lot of stuff and maybe…maybe some off-world plants too? There was a lot of tasty food on other planets! Not as good as some of the fruit here, but still really very good! Some of them were so strange in shape…but very tasty…”

"It's not hard to figure out, Kai. If I'm going to end up ruling something then I'll need people to help me with that, people I can trust, understand? Wouldn't you two rather be able to live like royalty instead of flipping burgers for people all day? Come on guys, think about it! Money, food, whatever you wanted and its all yours." Nobility had those kinds of perks and Kabocha couldn't well imagine life without them. He wasn't looking for handouts, he'd earn what he got, but he needed that status. If you weren't high up in society then you were wasting your time with whatever you were doing. His parents' parents had been of noble birth and his parents, and now him, nobility was in his blood! "Think about it, I'm offering you guys a way out of doing that for the rest of your lives. Cook in your free time if you want but wouldn't you rather be in charge of a planet? Or even a country? Anything?" Anything had to be better than spending their lives working for other people like a servant. Who wanted that?

"Nobles do much more than that! You commoners just think that's all we do!" Kabocha answered indignantly, growing red in the face as he grew embarrassed, "We make decisions about how to run things, we decide on what projects we should take to try and make things better for people! We decide when to go to war, and we promote people if they've earned it, and..." And the twins weren't listening to him anymore were they? Kai was placing his order and Choi was busy staring at the menu trying to decide himself. Groaning inwardly and rolling his eyes Kabocha stepped aside and waited for the twins to finish, his foot impatiently tapping against the ground. A sever beside him offered out his meal to him and he didn't realize at first as he nearly swat the dish away, realizing only after it was meant for him. Accepting it from the perturbed cook he looked at his dish and wrinkled his nose, sloshing the sauce on the meat around uneasily. "You two talked me into getting this stuff... Remember that when I'm on the toilet all night because of you..."

-----------

Yumi opened her mouth to try and correct Viral before thinking better of it. Why say anything when June herself could debunk that? She was for all purposes Viral's mothers, heck she was practically Yumi's at this point, and if anyone was going to heap praise and love onto Viral it would be her. He could be pessimistic as he'd like but Yumi was confident that June would brighten his day up. Or fluster him, more likely fluster him than help anything. Trying to keep from bounding ahead out of excitement she kept pace with Viral and somehow remained silent while they walked. Upon reaching their house Yumi took a moment and sniffed at the air, confirming that Aito was not present, nor were Shu or Takeshi. She guessed they were most likely off for Shu's sessions or some kind of training which was good, no Aito meant no angry Viral. June was however present and from the smells she was catching she was in the middle of cooking too. Beaming at Viral she hurried up the steps and into the building, sighing happily at the food in the air. "Hey June, we're home!"

When everyone got back June had every intention of sitting people down to have a proper meal together. Since she and Aito had come back they hadn't had a chance to and while some of their friends were off she'd take what she could get. They were a family darn it and they'd have at least one meal together like one. Humming to herself as she placed a large roasted bird in the oven she smiled broadly at Yumi's voice, closing the oven door before hurrying to the living room. There they were, Viral and Yumi back from their job finally! "Oh I missed you two, welcome home!" Hurrying across the room she threw her arms around Yumi in a hug and laughed as she was picked up off of her feet, smiling as she then walked over to Viral and gave him a hug as well. "The food's cooking if you're here to eat, so you're a little early. I hope you two don't mind waiting. I'm glad you're both home!" June continued, pausing as she looked up at Viral. Frowning she licked the pad of her thumb before reaching up and rubbing his cheek clean, nodding in approval once the speck of dirt was gone. "Come in, sit down, can I get you two something to drink? A snack while we wait for the food?"

----------

"Its a necessary evil but it is dark, wouldn't you agree? Or is war good?" Yusef didn't expect an answer nor was he asking for one, it was purely rhetorical in nature. "You're right, you need to know how to use these. As long as there's conflict there's a need for weapons, it's why people like me have spent our entire lives training. And don't get the wrong idea, a weapon in of itself is neither good nor evil," he continued as he reached into the display case and ran a hand over the glass, eyeing a decorative sword thoughtfully, "It's how the weapon is used that decides that. And you'll use your weapons for good, I know you will. So your past is never dark, remember that. Men like Garesh have dark pasts, but you don't." Those who fought for greed, for jealous or simply for fun were evil and their weapons equally so, and those kinds of things were very clearly dark. But T'charrl? The warriors celebrated in fables and stories? Those were hereoes and deserved their weaponry and belongings to be put in a museum. "I... Don't know if food would be a good idea. I don't know how well it would keep. Or if anyone wouldn't try to eat it," Yusef added with a laugh, smiling at T'charrl amused, "Plants may work, and other items might too! I'm not saying you have to go out of your way to gather things, but if you find something interesting then maybe bring it back with you? I'm sure everyone would love to see what other worlds have."

It was rather funny having Kabocha freak out all over the place about nobility and what Saiyans were apparently supposed to do in his eyes, it was rather archaic to say the least. All his thoughts and assumptions over what nobles did was probably built up from his parents and made a lot grander than he thought. “Why would we ever want to be responsible for a planet or whatever? Isn’t that a bit too much like a conquerer?” Kai commented over his shoulder at Kabocha, growing a little bored of him trying to convince the pair of them that being a dictator was a good thing, “Besides, we’d own something…you know, the restaurant”. It wasn’t their fault that the idea Saiyan lifestyle wasn’t for them, especially when they had been raised as servants. The thought of freedom and doing something for others without being forced to was particularly enticing, none of this constantly showing off and trying to conquer everything for sure.

Once all the food was ordered up and received Choi was very quick to grab what looked to be assorted ribs-like structures of meat of various colours and some grilled legs from some kind of small animal, Kai the same. As Kai made the payment Choi turned quickly to Kabocha, having a bit of a laugh when he was somewhat spooked by his food arriving. It was rather funny, seeing how freaked out he was over a little bit of homely food. This guy certainly had it too good with his snobby attitude, but maybe the flavours will change his mind quite quickly. “Hey c’mon now! The only one at fault would be you for having a sensitive stomach”, he chuckled, shrugging slightly, “I doubt this’ll set you off, I mean…you’re a Saiyan! Maybe just try to not act like ordered food is your one weakness?”

--

Viral was not as happy as Yumi was to be heading to see June, not by a long shot. He knew how significant she was to his creation and that he did indeed have some sort of bond before the incident, but he just didn’t feel he could connect to her for several reasons. Aito was the same, but he had more reasons behind his feelings for the man that he did want to express. That whole fight and everything leading up to it had left him with more questions than answers and it frustrated him, especially how Aito was all happily going about doing other things. He hadn’t seen much of Vegeta either, everybody was just here or there minding their own business after that one minor problem of his had been fixed. He was rather frustrated, but not quite to the point of wanting to rage at June for being on the side of all this.

Upon arriving at the house the smell of food just made him regret coming along, even if Yumi would definitely be wanting food right now. He felt like he couldn’t stomach it, especially after his organs were nearly all but destroyed. He hadn’t felt any sort of hunger since the battle, the food at the hospital only making him feel rather sick especially when it was near forced on him to make sure he was recovering. Walking up the steps after Yumi he kept his eyes to the ground, feeling almost embarrassed to come here. June was probably going to be her usual excitable self from what he had seen of her, but it still felt strange to him for various reasons. Upon seeing her everything definitely got even stranger to him as Yumi was suddenly embraced by June like they had a long relationship with each other like she was immediate family, the moment they shared making him feel incredibly alienated and awkward watching. Turning briefly as if to walk away he gasped when June hugged him briefly, his eyes turning to her before she felt it necessary to rub saliva on his face via her thumb. Growling briefly he waved her off, wiping his cheek as if she smeared mud all over him. “I’d rather not have food or a drink…” he spoke, slowly making his way to the table and sitting down slowly, masking his pain by taking his time, “Where’s Aito? Is he ever in one place…”

--

T’charrl frowned, not really knowing the answer. He hadn’t lived long enough to know fully what life without war was like, he always knew war and grew up learning how to fight in it. “Umm…is it…no…?” He did wonder what he was going to do now that the war was over and when he’ll finally be able to control the power within him, even his mother and father had hobbies. He definitely felt a little alone again, he had nothing else other than fighting and war in him. “I uhh…I guess so, even if people are scared of me…” He didn’t know if having a power that was considered evil by a lot of people meant he was also dark, but his father reassured him it wasn’t so maybe it really was just his imagination playing up. He couldn’t help but feel paranoid, he had spent his entire life feeling that way though. Looking at a few other displays he looked to his father and tilted his head a little, his antennae twitching a little before he smiled. “That would be nice! I have a bunch of things in my room from when I was in Space! Maybe people will like to see them too”, he spoke, looking away briefly as he thought about it, “I-I could…I could grow some plants from seeds too…”

Why didn't the twins aspire to have more? Weren't they sick of being in everyone else's shadows? Didn't they want some kind of power? Kabocha couldn't understand them or their willingness to just be cooks for the rest of their lives. To busy to continue arguing as he was trying not to lose his lunch over his lunch Kabocha tentatively prodded the meet with his fork, grimacing as it sloshed about and the meat peeled apart. "Sensitive stomach nothing, this looks like food you'd feed prisoners. It's slop..." the noble grumbled, turning over the meat and furrowing his brow at the pink ring around the meat. Was that normal? Didn't pink mean it wasn't good to eat? "Sure, but if this kills me I'm haunting your asses for all eternity, that's on you." Well worst case scenario he'd probably be propped up on the toilet all day while this mess worked its way through his system. Sighing to himself Kabocha made a face and pulled a piece of the meat off of the plate, studying it before throwing it into his mouth. "Huh... That's not bad..." It was sweet and spicy and the meat was quite tender, the sauce was a bit heavy but at least it was tasty. Eyebrows rose in surprise as he looked at his plate, smiling despite himself and quickly peeling away another slice, throwing it back with a contented sigh. This would do just fine.

----------

"You don't want anything at all? I'm cooking and I figured you might be hungry after your mission," June asked as she watched Viral slowly sit himself down. Immediately something didn't seem right and she was determined to find out what had happened and why he was in pain. She knew they had gone off on a mission but she didn't know any of the details of it. "He's very busy, I think he's working with Shu right now. I'm sure he'll be by soon to eat though, if you want to wait here. Yumi, would you like a drink dear?" Smiling she went to the refrigerator and took out a jug of water, filling a glass before handing it over to Yumi. Now then what was wrong with Viral? Looking at him carefully for a moment June grabbed herself a chair and placed it in front of Viral's, frowning and reaching out as she grabbed one of his paws. "Honey, you're not hiding your pain from me, I can tell you're sore. Where does it hurt? Let me help." Wanting to make it absolutely clear she wasn't taking no for an answer June tightened her grip on Viral's paw slightly, both hands wrapped around it as she inched her chair closer and smiled at him. "And please don't give the the 'it doesn't matter' piece because it does matter Viral. Now tell me where it hurts and if there's anything I can do."

----------

"People are afraid of new things, once they get used to it you won't be scary anymore. And King Nema is going to help us, remember? If all goes well you won't be like that for much longer." They could only hope that the King had made progress with his research and his people had found something that would help them. To keep his mind off of the problem at hand Yusef suggested they make their own museum back home and share things from other worlds with everyone. It would be something entirely unique to their planet and would bring in people from the kingdoms over, and to his delight T'charrl seemed to be on board with the idea. "That would be splendid! Keep some for yourself too of course, I'm sure some were gifts, but if you don't mind sharing them then I know everyone would love it." Yusef himself was extremely intrigued and wanted to know what lay beyond their own world, he was several seasons older than his son and yet his son had vastly more knowledge on that than he ever likely would.

"We could probably g-g-get an awful lot on Uuonoe t-too, T'charrl," Haku suggested eagerly, "They have l-lots of different p-people there, so there's got to be a lot of d-different things for us to b-bring back!" There were Saiyans, the Uuonians themselves and then countless other races, every one of which had their own culture and goods they brought with them. Heck, Uuonoe itself was kind of like a museum if you thought about it, all those different people coming together and sharing what they had with each other. "We would h-have to probably buy m-most of it, but the rebels could do th-that for us! And that g-gives us another reason to c-come back here again later. I want to see more of K-Kaesstra." Yusef had mentioned those to the north and naturally Haku's curiosity had been piqued.

Choi was pretty excited for his food, he was fair hungry with the food they had to be careful about how much they ate when away. This food was cheap but it was good and he certainly liked it a whole lot, something to be inspired by. Maybe one of these days they could cook up a barbeque and have everyone over, cooking good food and having a generally good time together. His little dreams and fantasies was probably seen as childish and pathetic for Saiyan standards, but that was hardly his fault when he grew up with a sense of comradery with the other cooks and kept in slave-like conditions for most of his life. While fighting was still in his blood and all that he still liked to have fun and have friends. The whole freedom aspect is what got to him and at least his brother supported the idea too, even though Kai was a bit more reserved. Sitting here with his brother and Kabocha was pretty close to enjoying himself with friends, even though they had been together for over a year with very little moments like this. It was waiting to see if Kabocha was at least liking his food and not going to hate it that Choi was waiting for, holding a drumstick as he watched him pick at his food. It was almost in anticipation that he was waiting to see if he’d eat it and sure enough he eventually tried some, Choi smiling a little when the results were positive. “Oh great! You see? I said you wouldn’t be repulsed by it!” he laughed, eating his food finally, “This planet’s great for food…”

--

Viral moved to rest his head on his paw, looking away from June. “I’m not hungry. Just concentrate on feeding Yumi and the rest of them…” he muttered, staring out the window. He didn’t much care to explain the reason why he wasn’t hungry, but he hadn’t been eating right for a while now anyway. Groaning when his suspicions were confirmed he slowly sat up. “As usual, I suppose. No point in assuming otherwise…” He hadn’t seen Aito for a while now, at least not for fair lengths of time like everybody else seemed to be receiving from him. He was starting to believe he was beginning to be forgotten about again, now that his own genetic breakdown had been solved. Like father, like son with Vegeta and Aito with probably the rest of Aito’s time being with his prodigy of a son and helping him with all his work. Continuing his staring out the window he was caught off-guard by June sitting right near him, staring at her cautiously as she took hold of his paw. Just as he thought, she was trying to nosey in on his condition that she had picked apart from his body language. Feeling pretty annoyed already he narrowed his gaze, groaning when she told him off before he could even talk. He couldn’t lie, but he also didn’t want her to try anything when there was obviously nothing she could do. “There’s nothing you can do meaning it doesn’t matter. I’d rather not talk to you about where it’s hurting either”, he spoke, knowing it was futile to even tell her about it, “I’m probably going to be fine tomorrow, so who cares”.

--

T’charrl gave a little nod, sighing slightly. “It has been a long time in history…I mean, not many know about it so I guess I am kind of very scary just now”. He didn’t know how long it was going to take for people to get used to him either, especially when he was just on the scene as somebody who actually existed. Even his own people probably forgot they had a Prince, but that was his own fault for being such an outcast when he was young. Smiling when his father seemed pleased with the idea he gave a quick nod, knowing not to give away too many of his things. “Yes! I mean, umm, I would need somewhere to keep my stuff and maybe that would be a good place”, he nodded, feeling confident he was going to be able to find enough for the possibility of a museum. Rubbing his claws together in half anxiety and excitement he looked to Haku when he spoke up, nodding quickly. “Yeah! That would be good! Ohhh, it would also be good to get stuff from other planets and not just there…maybe we’ll all be able to go exploring and fighting and umm…well, maybe not fighting, but maybe also fighting if they need fights fought for them…oh, I hope I’m good at fighting by then…I mean, I know I shouldn’t be thinking about that stuff, but there’s a lot of conflict still out in the universe…”

The food wasn't nearly as bad as Kabocha had expected it to be. Sure the sauce was a bit much and maybe the spice could be toned back but he couldn't say he hated what he was eating right now. "It's certainly not the worst thing I've ever eaten. Those grubs we had back on that other world earned that," Kabocha recalled as he grimaced, taking a bite of his meal as if to satiate and wash away the disgusting memory, "Mmph... It is. I guess that's what happens when you got all kinds of people here, all their foods end up here too. There's way more variety here than there is on Kortal. Food's good but its always the same crap, over and over." The twins could do a pretty decent job cooking but even they could only make whatever they were given for ingredients; nobles got to enjoy better food than commoners for sure but only royalty and really high rank nobility got anything of value from off-world. Uuonoe was like a buffet of all kinds of foods, much more than anything Kortal could ever offer. "Hm... You know, maybe there's a point to cooking after all. Maybe when I take over for one of the idiot Saiyan governors I can have you two cook for me then too!" Kabocha laughed as he stuffed another bite into his mouth, "Or... Mmm... You know, maybe I can just do something on Earth. They probably could use a real leader, and since you two will probably settle there I may as well too. I should go where the good food is after all!"

----------

"Nothing I can do so it doesn't matter... Really? Is that what you're going with, Viral?" June asked crossly, sighing as she shook her head. Getting up from her seat she went to the refrigerator and fetched a pitcher of water, getting a glass and setting it before Viral, "I can't save the world like you can, but since I can't do it it doesn't matter. Or I can't perform surgery like Aito can, but again since I can't do it means it doesn't matter." Pouring Viral a glass of water she slid it towards him before frowning and setting the pitcher down on the table. "Just because I might not be able to help doesn't mean you can't tell me honey, or that I don't care. And if I know what's wrong then I can talk to Aito for you and straighten things out. But I can't help if you don't talk to me." Yumi seconded the sentiment and June was surprised Viral hadn't at least opened up to her. Of all the people Viral was around she figured Yumi was absolutely the closest and could be confided in, apparently not however. Returning to her seat June smiled sadly and folded her hands in her lap, looking at Viral hopefully as she pressed further. "So please, whatever it is you can tell me, I'll gladly listen. Anything at all just get it off your chest."

----------

Haku was thrilled that T'charrl was becoming so excited over this idea. He hadn't seen his friend smile in... Well really in ever, there always seemed to be something bringing his friend down and any smiles were half-hearted at best. It was maybe a bit of a long shot to go and collect things from other worlds with everything going on but it was something to work towards, and if it made T'charrl happy even better. "The fighting h-has to end some time, and when it d-does we can make the museum! I'll help f-find things for it, if you'll l-l-let me!" He already loved traveling to other worlds and getting to experience what it had to offer, any world aside from Kortal was brilliant. If they got to collect items and bring it back to share with T'charrl's people then all the better. "I b-bet people would be happy to give us stuff, especially p-people you've helped. And if your w-world gets space travel then other p-people could come to see it too!"

"That would be interesting, having more off-worlders visiting us. I'm excited and a little uneasy about the idea." They had never truly been visited by anyone aside from a handful of times, the majority of which now belonged to T'charrl and his friends. So to open their world entirely to outsiders would be a drastic change. And not only would it pose risks, as naturally Yusef worried about security, but it would take the agreement of every single kingdom to allow such a thing to happen. "We can talk to your mother about it when we get back, I don't imagine she'll hate the idea. She's the one that's been pushing so much for more arts for our city. We'd just have to find the space to put the museum, or renovate an old building..." One way or another they would make it happen, now that it had been brought up Yusef was determined to see it come to fruition; T'charrl was positively enthralled with the idea and there was no way the general could let his son's optimism and excitement go to waste. "Let's look around a little more before we go eat, hm? I hear they have some old instruments on the second floor, it might be nice to see those. I'm curious what we used to use."

“Hah! Not even our cooking could save those things!” Choi snorted, quite amused by their experience. He didn’t know how the other creatures on that planet ate those things so much, maybe they didn’t have any taste buds or something. Speaking of food, he did wonder what there would be in other places on this planet that wasn’t this city. He would think that the natives were a bit more traditional since there was no space ports nearby, like traditional little towns and villages that welcomed visitors as tourists rather than residents or maybe even shunned them. It was certainly an interest to him, probably not to Kai who was more interested in eating his food. “I heard a lot of their traditional food is fish-based too. All the fish on Kortal was reserved for the higher ups so we never got any fish in our meals”. While he wasn’t completely settled on where the pair of them were going to go to have their dream home the thought that Kabocha was starting to get on board with the idea somewhat amused him. “Heh! Really? You’d be quite happy to settle on Earth? I heard they had giant lizards, man. Is that not the coolest thing? Earth sounds like a crazy place with loads of variety, it’s cool”.

--

Viral glanced to June, staring at her with a narrowed gaze as she started to turn the conversation on him instead. She was the one who asked, there definitely wasn’t anything she could do to help ease his pain even if she wanted to. He didn’t know why she was turning it on him, he didn’t get why both Yumi and June did that all the time. Just what was she supposed to do to help? There was nothing and that was how it was going to be. He put himself in this state by being careless, it was his burden to bear. Staring down at the water before looking to June, feeling the pressure really being laid on him. Just what was she expecting him to say? It was really starting to frustrate him, he didn’t even know how she was supposed to react to what he had to say other than vocalising how she didn’t know what to do. Growling lowly as he was only starting to get mad he soon closed his eyes, sighing in annoyance as he pushed the glass away from him. “I say there’s nothing you can do because there is really nothing. Of course I’m sore after battle! Unless I’m not supposed to be, but of course I would have flaws in my design! I’m an imperfect lifeform, after all. It’s just a little pain, but that’s okay; it’s not like I have my digestive track splayed out in front of me wondering how it is even possible to live through this! It doesn’t matter, it’s nothing. I’ll live and keep on functioning so it doesn’t matter if I’m feeling a little bit of pain…”

--

T’charrl did wonder who would come to visit the collection, whether other clans wanting to see what theirs had to offer, maybe even royals from afar that were interested in sparking a relationship with his family, or maybe he’ll even find friends who were the same species as him. Or maybe not, he doubted he’d get any honest friendships from other Kaesstrians at his age. He grew up a nobody and the only way people would want to be his friend was if they wanted something in return, so he figured. “Oh, umm, maybe…or maybe have it being made even if there’s conflict! I mean, my people have endured so much so it would be nice if they could see interesting things like I have”, he spoke, smiling as he thought of their reactions. Maybe they would love it all, maybe they wouldn’t, but either way he was going to be pleased with his work. Blinking at the thought of people from other planets coming he looked to his father, frowning a little. It was probably a little too hazardous to have people from other planets around, seeing how delicate his planet was. Thinking about the idea briefly his father was quick to change the subject, his thoughts going towards some other ancient displays that they had in the place. “Instruments? I always wanted to learn how to play something…I-I mean, umm, as a way to fix my clumsiness”, he spoke, slowly raising his shoulders, “I would probably be bad, but it’s something that could be seen as a hobby, I guess…”

"We didn't even get fish. The bastards above us got plenty but we only got stuff from the countryside. And they weren't even warriors, isn't that screwed up? We're noble fighters and they weren't even soldiers, they were just fat nobles with some influence. I mean who has ever heard of a Saiyan noble that couldn't fight?" Especially when their people were known pretty much for being warriors and nothing else it made absolutely no sense. Maybe his father wasn't the best person to use as an example, he was way past his prime, but his mother still had taken on regular missions until they had all left Kortal. Come to think of it too he should go and see his folks, not because he missed them but because he was curious about what was going on back on Kortal. The King had probably long since revoked their status but he was wondering how other noble families were getting on. "It depends on what I can do on Earth. I'm not settling into some mediocre job like you two, I'm destined for a lot more than that. Maybe I'll get a government position, or I can join their military. Humans really aren't all that powerful so I'm sure they'd give me a spot in a heartbeat. Then again their fighting is so boring..." Aside from the whole finding a decent position on Earth there were certainly worse planets one could settle on. Kabocha had of course considered too returning to Kortal and taking up a seat somewhere once Yamate was gone. But there wasn't an awful lot to rule on Kortal and the world itself was largely unremarkable, not inhospitable but nothing special either. Earth it was then.

----------

June was frustrated that there wasn't anything she could do to help Viral. He was so visibly in distress and yet for all her desire to help Viral was right, she was all but useless to him. "It does matter... People are supposed to help one another with their pain, even if they can't fix it. No one should be made to suffer alone Viral." Sharing the pain helped even if the people you shared it with couldn't necessarily make it better. Wasn't knowing that someone cared enough to listen to you and at least empathize worth something in of itself? Seeing that she wasn't going to get anywhere with her insistence June smiled sadly and gave a slight nod as she got to her feet, returning to the food to see how it was coming along. "Well we'll be having dinner shortly, even if you're not hungry you're both more than welcome to stay of course. I know Shu's been asking after you Yumi." The poor little boy wanted someone to play with and not to be doing all the tests that Aito was conducting. They were necessary but her husband was forgetting Shu was really just a child and needed to be given time to have fun and relax, not be cooped up and drilled with tests. As she began stirring a pot of vegetables June heard the front door open and set down the spoon, going to the family room and smiling at Aito who was making his way in. "Welcome home, you finished early."

"Yeah... The doctors insisted we let Shu and Takeshi go for the day so we did, which means my entire day just opened up," Aito answered in disappointment, sighing as he closed the door and removed his jacket, "What am I supposed to do for an entire afternoon? I don't have a lab here to work with, the rebels won't let me use theirs and our ship isn't stocked well enough. I suppose I could go train..." But with who? Training on one's own was certainly an option but it was dreadfully boring, and it was impossible to measure your own strength without a partner. Oblivious to the nervous look on his wife's face he went directly to the kitchen and past the table, not noticing anyone else was even in the room until he grabbed a drink and began to sip at it. Staring at Yumi and Viral over the rim of the cup he silently finished before smiling, giving a half wave as he set his cup in the sink. "Welcome home you two, I didn't know you'd come back today," Aito said casually, "How are things? How did the mission go?"

----------

"You'd like to learn an instrument? Well... There are plenty of people back at the palace who could teach you. Or I'm sure one of your friends might know something. I never knew you wanted to learn an instrument though, you should have said something. And everyone is bad when they start something new, you'll get better the more you do it. You weren't exactly an excellent warrior when we started training years ago but now I couldn't be prouder," Yusef added with a short laugh, "If you want to learn an instrument I'm sure you'll do fine. But no playing the ones here, I don't imagine they'd be too happy if you tried." Ushering the children up stairs Yusef was pleased to find the displays up here nowhere near as crowded, making access to the spots they wanted far easier. The instruments were clearly labeled and there was an entire wall dedicated to their display, multiple types hung up and others placed carefully around the museum floor, roped off from wandering hands. Stringed instruments, refined bones and skulls, drums, ridged sticks and things Yusef couldn't even begin to guess how they worked, it was quite interesting to see. Music played a large role in their many festivals but anything their musicians used was much more modern and refined, he'd never seen where many had originated from. "I imagine other worlds have different instruments still. Imagine trying to learn so many..." The Kaesstrian mused, folding his hands behind his back as he read some inscriptions, "You could spend your entire life trying and maybe never learn them all there's so many."

Haku couldn't imagine ever trying to learn an instrument, it seemed like it would take so long to even become remotely good at it. Especially looking at some of Kaesstra's instruments it was pretty obvious none were designed for people like him with only two arms, he couldn't even figure out how he'd hold some of them save maybe the drums. "I bet there's s-someone on Uuonoe who could teach you. There's all kids of p-p-people there, so there's got to be at least one m-musician, right?" Maybe he should pick up some kind of hobby for himself too, but what would he be any good at? Should he learn an instrument alongside T'charrl? He'd never really had the luxury of free time so he'd never gotten a hobby but Haku would love to be able to do something fun for himself. "O-Or... There's other stuff you can do t-too... Like making things, there's l-l-lots of craftsmen on Uuonoe too! O-Or uh..." he mumbled as he trailed off, brow furrowing as he tried to think of what else he'd seen. Cooking? What else did people do for fun? He'd seen the Princes run around playing tag but he'd hardly call that a hobby.

Choi shrugged, not really all that knowledgeable on the subject since he just made the food. “Maybe they were hybrid Saiyans. Pure blooded Saiyans certainly did get treated a little differently, like…well, most of us were slaves. I guess if you weren’t a born Elite with a high power reading they just didn’t care where they put you”, he spoke as he slowly scratched the side of his face with a napkin, trying to think on how many they used to serve in the past. It was a fair great deal that was for sure, but mostly because they ate a lot. “I wonder if a lot of them weren’t Saiyans, but ambassadors we were serving. The King certainly did have a fair great deal of friends around so I guess maybe that was the case? Pff! In the kitchen the most we got was soups and stews from leftovers and old meat…was still pretty good though, I mean, we tried to make it good at least”. He certainly didn’t miss it, probably why even places like this was so appealing to him and his brother. It was great here, the meat was just perfect and Kai had a real taste for a lot of sauce. “I don’t know what kind of conflicts they have on Earth since they don’t even go into Space…I mean, you sure you even want to work in the government? Sounds kinda boring to me! What would you even do in an army? Just conquer a country? Viral would probably kill you for causing trouble on his turf, you know”.

--

Viral didn’t know what else he was supposed to say that wouldn’t just upset her, something he was pretty good at doing. Even when he tried to express all that bothered him he was terrible at doing so properly, it went against his own nature to weaken himself on purpose by expressing everything that bothered him. It was just too difficult to do, even to people he knew wouldn’t use it against him. He had spent too long keeping everything to himself, they just wouldn’t understand. There wasn’t much he could say anyway, even if he said some of the stuff that was bothering him he was just going to make someone upset and then there would be no conclusion. He was supposed to be strong, but his ability to cause problems for the people he knew had him feeling weak burdening; besides, it was his suffering, it didn’t need to be theirs too.

Knowing Yumi was wanting to stick around he was going to stick around too, but hearing the door had him wishing he was somewhere else already. Even though he wanted to confront Aito on some issues he didn’t think in the kitchen was quite the place for it. He really wanted to punch him, but then June would probably get frightened and Aito would stop him anyway. He was suddenly feeling a little intimidated to act, even though he wanted to for the longest time. Clenching his fists pretty tight he listened to what was being said in the other room, hearing it fine despite being in the other room. It simply sounded like Aito was helping Shu because he had nothing else to do and was bored which was just typical. Watching as he just went straight into the kitchen without even so much of a glance at either of them he soon glared, feeling somewhat insulted that Aito was just too lazy to make a short glance to his side only to stare at them like he forgot their names. He barely seemed to give a care, not even a proper welcome or any concern that they might had not come back alive. Growling lowly he pushed his chair out and stood up pretty quickly, his fist still on the table. “The mission was completed. It was just a couple of Elites! Elites you would had easily killed…but instead you were here. I’m sure all those that died would’ve been happy to know that…” he spoke rather coldly, yet still willing to give an actual answer, “Yumi received a head injury, but she says she is getting better…so isn’t that just great?”

--

T’charrl very quickly felt embarrassed, scratching at his sides as he looked away from his father. Maybe his father didn’t need to know that, he was soon feeling a little alienated now that there was back to having nothing in common with what his father liked. “I-I-umm…it’s just the whole training to fight…it’s more important…” he mumbled before he sighed, giving his chest a quick rub, “I wouldn’t try to play the old ones here…I’m not that silly…” Following along after his father he rubbed his claws together, looking around elsewhere to see what else there was around in the museum. It was pretty interesting stuff that was in the museum for sure, he didn’t expect to see so many strange things around him. He didn’t know what a lot of these instruments were, they had all evolved into new things and these old designs had long gone extinct. He wondered what he would like if he was to take up one, his father being pretty correct in his words. Sighing a little, he looked to Haku when he made some suggestions on what he might be able to do to solve his little problem of having no actual hobby. “Uhh, Uuonoe? Everyone there has so many fingers…” he spoke, looking to his claws briefly. There was a lot he couldn’t do that they all could because of his anatomy not being the same, even if he tried using all his claws at the same time. He was particularly clumsy, even trying to hold several things in several arms had him stumbling around with great difficulty. “Making things? I might injure myself if I tried. That probably wouldn’t be too good. I can’t even work with others because they don’t like touching me and I moult all over the place…”

"Right, we're not as good as hybrids or whatever. I never got that, how the heck do hybrids beat pures, huh? Some stupid stuff about emotion or whatever I think, doesn't make any sense." Come to think of it there were some hybrids who got better treatment than even he did, and he was nobility! Yamate had some messed up ideas if he was pushing the Saiyan race but treated mixed blood Saiyans better than his own people. Sure they had the potential to be stronger but that didn't mean much, you didn't just wake up and be powerful, it took training and hard work. Tch, whatever, they weren't on Kortal anymore and wherever they did end up Kabocha was going to be sure to land himself a decent place. "The way I see it Earth's been attacked loads before yeah? So I'll get in that way, be a soldier or a commander for their armies. With how weak most humans are it should be easy rising up in the ranks, and after that I can relax and have the easy life!" That was the whole point of getting up there in rank, so he wouldn't be made to do this kind of nonsense again. Sure maybe the military wasn't the best way to avoid fighting, in fact it was probably the worst, but he'd be fighting humans, that was easy. "Why? It's not like I'm going to be burning down cities or anything, I'll be helping people. Unless he gets mad I'm taking work from him then he can just sulk, I really don't care," Kabocha admitted with a shrug, grinning as he bit into his meal, "Besides I could totally kick his butt..."

-----------

"Ah... So there were Elites there... That's troublesome." Back to sipping at his glass Aito listened closely to what Viral had to say as his eyes shifted to Yumi. So a concussion then? What of the others? And what of Viral? Refilling his glass again the doctor smiled slightly and leaned against the counter, taking a silent moment to appraise Viral and Yumi both. "Both of you are alive and well enough, I'm glad to see that. I don't imagine it was smooth sailing with Elites running about though. Is there anything you'd like me to take a look at?" Not that he was doubting the doctors on whatever world they went to... Okay, he might be doubting them a little. But no one else really understood Viral's anatomy, and now that she had been altered Yumi's was different as well.

"Viral's in pain but he hasn't told me where no matter how many times I asked." It was June offering up a response in their stead, worry etched on her face as she looked at their son, "And he's still refusing to eat, I was hoping the food would make him hungry." It was a big betrayal of trust regardless of how little Viral had said but Aito needed to know. He'd been right in that she couldn't help, but he certainly could. Though why hadn't he already?

"If you two were injured you should come see me, I can at least make sure everything is healing right," Aito offered with a sigh, smiling exasperatedly, "As for the eating I suppose we never did completely look into that, did we Viral? Though I suppose that's a lapse on my part, apologies..." Chuckling under his breath Aito rubbed at his neck awkwardly, taking a moment to sip from his water and try and figure out where to go from there. He had completely forgotten about Viral's issue in the midst of everything else going on, perhaps a wee bit too much stimulation after being dead for so long. "If you'd like to talk about any of that I believe I'm through with Shu and Takeshi for the morning. I may actually have something in mind that can help you, if you'd like to give it a try." Of course that was little more than an idea he'd had before that hadn't reoccurred to him until now, he probably should have developed it a bit more. If nothing else it was a start.

Viral did have one or two things that could be worked out, most everyone knew this by now, but was that how he wanted to spend his day? Yumi wanted him to feel better but not if it meant he was being forced around and told what to do all day. But then that was how things always were with him, wasn't it? "If you'd like me to I can help too Viral. I'm not sure how but I'm sure there's something I can do," Yumi offered before cutting across the kitchen, "And as for you," she resumed as she prodded Aito in the chest, "How could you forget? Are you just going to forget with Shu too? What kind of doctor doesn't remember something so important, huh?" He tried to defend it but she cut him off abruptly as she refused to hear any excuses. She liked Aito but he really was messing up a lot with this one. "Whether Viral wants your help or not isn't important, you have to actually go through with it if he does ask, even more if you offer."

----------

T'charrl had a point about the instruments on Uuonoe, there really weren't any suited for people like him were there? Not that Haku could know for certain but he didn't know any other people who had four arms like Kaesstrians did, so could he only play Kaesstrian instruments? "W-Well then you just have to learn here! And like your d-dad said, there's probably p-p-plenty of people who could teach you! Maybe you can even learn wh-while we're here, getting you help. It would make things l-less boring, right?"

"If nothing else it will help the time pass faster while we're here," Yusef offered as well with a hopeful smile, "Perhaps we could both learn? I've never tried either but it could be fun. Of course your mother would probably kill us for practicing in the palace..." Bless her heart but Eslaria could be a proper frightening woman when she wanted to be. And like anything new they would be terrible at best when they began which meant subjecting his wife to some awful music. "Maybe we should practice elsewhere... I mean your mother wouldn't want the surprise spoiled, would she?" the general added with a nervous chuckle, "Yes... Maybe we'll wait to show her until we're actually talented..."

Haku laughed at that because he knew exactly how scary T'charrl's mother could be. She was a nice enough lady but she definitely could get mad and put you in your place, not unlike many Saiyan mothers or nurses. That would be neat though to learn an instrument and it'd be interesting to see father and son play together. Or, try to, seeing as neither knew how. "M-Maybe I will try to learn after all! Th-though I don't think I can p-play these instruments..." he muttered, trailing off as he reached into a display and plucked a string only to promptly jump as one of the museum attendants yelled at him. Hastily apologizing he gave T'charrl an excited smile and pointed to the instrument, "You could play th-that one! I bet you'd be good at it!"

“Uhh, I don’t think hybrids beat pures, I mean…if you felt more emotion maybe you should be pretty powerful too”, Choi shrugged, smirking at Kabocha briefly, “Yamate just has the idea that hybrids are better, I guess! Seeing how he made two kids and took Viral all while he dumps Saiyans like me and my brother into slave work because hey, we’re just some pure bred Saiyans who cares, right?” He wasn’t sour over his start in life, even though Kai was a bit. He just didn’t see why Yamate was fine with making his own race into slaves and letting hybrids take over the hierarchy as if they were automatically better. He felt plenty of emotion, probably more than some of those hybrids so he didn’t see why he didn’t have the same potential. He and his brother were fairly unique so surely that was interesting to Yamate, not only as soldiers they were recruited into. “I dunno how many times Earth’s been attacked, but if you say so! Although, you know I heard money isn’t really something they give to heroes…more like uhh…parties and stuff. Maybe you can become a celebrity or something”, he spoke before he laughed a little, “And you? Beat Viral? Heh! I’d like to see you try! That’d be fun to watch”.

--

Viral growled lowly as Aito gave very little care as he was very casual about his words, just caring that they were still around. It was probably simply a case of convenience with him, he didn’t have to revive them or anything if they died. Not wanting to give him an answer he was instead spoken for by June who was quick to give a response as if proud to tell him everything he didn’t want to tell Aito. He shouldn’t need to know that he was still in pain or wanting food, it was none of his business. Giving June an angry glare before looking back to Aito he felt completely trapped, like he was being forced to their wills through forced check-ups. He didn’t know whether to feel insulted or neutral about it when it was supposed to be relieving for him but it was also removing a lot of trust he had. He really didn’t care about his pain, eating was also too much mental torture for him that Aito never really showed much concern for. He was always too busy doing something else, even though he probably had a lot of free time when not one person could eat away someone’s entire day.

Aito expressing how they should’ve taken responsibility and gone to him first to be healed was certainly one reason to be mad, but the fact that Aito had completely forgotten that he had trouble with food just tore into him. The fact he struggled to do something that was required for living made it even more insulting when his life was mostly injections and struggled sleep, the sun’s energy only sustaining about a quarter of his full potential. He had so many problems he thought would get sorted by bringing June and Aito back to life, but so far only his genetic instability had received any attention as if it existing was more of an insult to Aito’s portfolio of work. Nothing else had been fixed, mostly because it was all underlining issues that couldn’t be seen.

Dropping his expression slightly he ignored Aito’s offer, instead looking to Yumi who offered to help him. She couldn’t help, she already had all sorts of problems herself that needed fixing before his could even be a concern. Watching as Yumi decided to fight his battle for him he was beginning to regret saying anything, seeing how he was probably just upsetting Yumi and June while Aito probably thought it was a funny and silly moment of forgetfulness. Frowning briefly he looked down at the table before up to Yumi and Aito, eventually sighing before turning to the doorway of the kitchen. “It’s fine. I don’t need help. If it’s not a concern to a doctor then it shouldn’t be a concern to you either”, he spoke before he moved to the door, only glancing at Aito briefly, “I’ll go get your son so you can have a family dinner together…”

--

T’charrl didn’t know how far that idea would go, especially when there was so much to do in so little time. He would need to return to his friends eventually to help them out and show that he had indeed managed to accomplish what he set out to do and he did have enough time to go back again once there was another calm. “Ohh umm, but things weren’t boring anyway…” he muttered, feeling a little embarrassed that he even wanted to have a hobby like making music. He felt he was just putting pressure on the others to make him happy. Looking to his father when he made the suggestion that he might learn too he couldn’t help but go to thinking about his mother too. She would probably grow annoyed that he was a bad influence on his father once he left and his father was still playing music. He would never hear the end of it from her when he returned again. “She would want me to be a prince first over a musician, I think. I don’t know how happy she would be if I took up such a loud hobby instead…”

Well Haku definitely found their situation funny, but who knows what he would think of it if he ever ended up in his mother’s way. She was a scary lady, that was for sure. He would really like to have a hobby like music though, maybe he would even get more friends that way too which would be lovely. While he was happy with his friends like Haku and the others, he still would like some Kaesstrian friends. Smiling a little at the thought of it he gasped when Haku decided to touch the display even after being told not to previously, giving him a brief annoyed look before looking to the instrument in question. “You think so? Maybe…I-I mean! Umm! I would like to try to! I think I’m pretty good at using my fingers…” he spoke, giving his claws a quick flexing, “I could play it away from mother outside…and she’ll be happy that I’m not inside. Maybe I could take it on the ship too! Maybe it will help calm down things too…that would be nice…ah! I would have a hobby then! Where do I get one? Where do normal people get their things…?”

"No kidding? Then what's the idiot going and pushing hybrids for? If pure blooded Saiyans like us are stronger then isn't he just shooting himself in the foot doing this crap?" Okay now he was really confused if that was true, so what gives? Did Yamate just really not want to give any of his own, pure-blooded kin any real power? "Man this crap doesn't make sense does it? It's like the King is trying to screw his own people over which makes absolutely ZERO sense!" All the more reason to wait until that nuisance was out of power so that someone with a bit more brains could take over. Or even more reason to go somewhere other than Kortal, it'd be amazing to have power back home but then there wasn't much he wanted on Kortal either. Maybe this was all a bit too much to be thinking of right now anyways, they had a hot plate of tasty food demanding their attention. Taking a mouthful of his meal Kabocha nearly dropped it as he stuffed his mouth far too full, covering it with his hand as he chomped away to make his bite fit. "Mmphh... Whatever, I don't need cash anyways! I'd be a hero!" he muttered before grinning at the twins' surprise of his claim. "Yeah, what about it? He doesn't have Ki, that's already a huge disadvantage. If I train a bit more I could beat him handily, and so could you guys. Saiyans are just naturally stronger like that."

-----------

Yumi was absolutely right and he knew it. Aito hadn't entirely abandoned Viral or ignored his plight and had been working on a solution yet perhaps a little communication could have gone a long way. He'd gotten so preoccupied with everything else going on that'd he'd in large ignored the major reason he and June had even been brought back to life. If Viral was cross with him then it was deservedly so and he'd take whatever harsh comments or lashing out that the Beastman had to give. It would have been easier to deal with being screamed at or swung at than it was to hear the comments Viral had to make. There was a pain he certainly didn't miss in the slightest.

"Viral, don't go anywhere. I've neglected you for long enough," Aito said firmly though his voice held nowhere near the command he'd hoped. Looking at the Beastman's he smiled sadly before letting out a somber sigh and running his hand through his hair. "I owe you an apology, but more than that I owe you the help you so rightfully deserve. I don't expect you to forgive me for my negligence, but give me a chance to help. I do have a way we can make everything right." The PTSD, the difficulty with eating, the genetic instability which had been tempered but still remained, there was so much that Viral needed. Aito couldn't even argue he'd been spending time researching methods because he'd had the solution staring him in the face all the while and had failed to recognize it sooner. "Once you're cured if you want nothing to do with me that is fine, but at least allow me to do my job and help you. You've suffered with these issues long enough." It was a lot to ask for to be forgiven after so blatantly lapsing on what he should be doing. But he had solutions now, he had a means of curing Viral and his troubling thoughts and restoring him to some semblance of normalcy.

"We have three options, the way I see it, and for the most part they would be non-invasive. Foremost perhaps is group therapy, discussing your trials with others who share similar experiences. It does wonders for putting matters into perspective and helping to minimize the anxiety and distress that comes with traumatic memories. An alternative could be exposure therapy, which as the name suggests we would simply discuss the topic repeatedly, exposing you to it, and over time you would become less disturbed by the events... Ideally. We could also try cognitive behavioral therapy if neither of those appeal to you. I can explain each more in detail in private, I just want you to know there are plenty of options for you."

-----------

T'charrl wasn't wrong, Eslaria likely wanted him to be a Prince first above all else. Of course that was before they began to completely change how their cities were run. Royal families had always overseen the cities before but after seeing what Garesh would do, a single person with power, it had been decided power would be shared. So there would still be royalty but they would not hold all of the power any longer, just as the general would only command the military. It made far more sense to have a group of people running the city than a single person, experts would make far more informed decisions than any single person ever could. "It's good to look forward to taking your post some day but remember that isn't all you'll ever be. Even your mother has hobbies you know," Yusef pointed out with an amused smile, "She loves painting, not that she'll ever admit it. And she had a soft spot for poetry a while back. I can't be sure if she still does, tough last time I tried to have her recite some..." The general trailed off and rubbed his head reminiscently which probably said enough. "Being royalty isn't only just being royalty, remember that. Even Kings and Queens are more than just their title."

Haku apologized profusely to the cross museum worker, his face flushed red in embarrassment. He'd just been curious to check it and hadn't thought touching it would be so bad! "Having music on the sh-ship would make our trips a l-lot less boring! And I could l-learn with you too, it would be really f-fun!" Most of his days consisted of lounging around in the sparse library or speaking to whoever in the crew would talk to him. T'charrl was still really the only person in the group who he'd consider a friend and he was a bit too intimidated to even try befriending the Princes. "Uh... I d-don't know where you'd get an i-instrument from... Do you sir?"

"We could buy one in town when we get home, there's a few people I know of that make instruments. Or we could even buy one here before we go home," Yusef said thoughtfully while tapping his chin with a claw, "Or I suppose we could commission one for you if you'd like! Though instruments seem like weapons, if you don't know how to use one then having one made might be a waste. We'll look into it my son." Admittedly he knew nothing of instruments and could only hope at least one soul in the palace had some semblance of an idea. "What do you say to getting some food? The museum will be here tomorrow and we can certainly come back before we leave. Nema wanted to see us as soon as possible and it would be rude to make him wait too long. Have you seen your fill boys?" Haku seemed contented though the Saiyan continued to wander over to other cases and inspect their contents. What of the young Prince?

“I think he just got inspired from the stories but forget the most powerful Saiyan that existed was a pure Saiyan”, Choi smirked, finding some level of amusement from it. He probably denied the fact that the greatest legend in Saiyan history was a pretty good guy who didn’t like guys like him or aggressive Saiyans in general, almost like he hated him. It was rather amusing in a way, he was just ignoring the past legends and trying to create his own while not tainting the Saiyan race just enough for them to survive with forced breeding included. Overall he was a little amused by the little strange superiority complex, it certainly made the King look even crazier in the eyes of the lesser class. Just about finished with his meal he let out a long sigh, feeling pretty satisfied. Giving a quick look to his brother he soon glanced to Kabocha, smirking a little. “Oh yeah? Then you do that and maybe challenge him then? I’d love to see how ‘naturally stronger’ you are compared to a guy who was engineered to fight. Can you even beat one of the Princes? Or maybe just Takeshi, I mean…Shu will probably trigger Takeshi so hard he’d blast you away!”

--

Viral didn’t think he could be around Aito anymore, he sacrificed a lot to bring him back and yet once his life wasn’t in any danger Aito promptly forgot about him. It was just like what everyone else eventually did, it seemed to be contagious. Once he was out of sight it was as if people’s memories of him were shoved into a little box and put away carelessly, as if he was just a fleeting memory. Nobody should be forced to do things for him just because he wasn’t having a great time, he shouldn’t be relying on everyone remembering him so much anyway. Moving to head out he was stopped by Aito’s words, his gaze only briefly going to him before he slowly folded his arms and closed his eyes. His first thought was to whether Aito would even be able to remember the next day that thought of his, all he had to do was leave for a bit and then he was suddenly gone from everyone’s minds. Maybe that’s why Yumi kept following him around, probably to remind people his name. It certainly made him wonder whether it was because he was easily forgotten or if it was some sort of Human thing where Humans only recognise and remember their own species, whether they’re halfbreeds or not.

Slowly looking over his shoulder he stared at him with a sharp gaze, not showing any trust for his words. He was still not trusting the man, who knew when he would end up forgetting once again after all. Letting out a sigh as he decided to list off some possible treatments he kept fairly quiet after that even after Aito stopped talking. Barely giving any other reaction he soon growled under his breath, eventually unfolding his arms as he slowly turned around, giving him a sharp staring at before speaking. “It’s funny how you have it all planned out in your head as if you knew what to do, but simply didn’t care enough to execute it. It’s certainly funny how easily forgotten something is when it’s not you who is considered ‘volatile…” he spoke lowly, looking down at himself for a moment before lifting up his shirt. His body was still majorly bandaged up, his showing it was a lot thinner than usual too without the looseness of his clothing to hide it. It didn’t look like he had any open wounds underneath the bandages, yet he was still well wrapped in them. “I faced two Elites days ago, almost had my body destroyed and I still haven’t healed completely. My organs were almost completely destroyed and you think exposing me to events like this and more would grant me any relief? Such a thought somehow amuses me…”

--

T’charrl certainly loved his mother very much, but he didn’t know what path he was supposed to take to become the Prince she wanted him to be. He did try to study how she worked and how his father worked, but they were fair opposites which left him not knowing what path to take. He admired his mother very much and did want to have the level of respect she had, but his father was his role model and everything he did he wanted to aspire to do as well. He knew where he was supposed to go in life, but getting there was proving to be a little more difficult than he thought. He didn’t know what was going to change in the future either, his family had been at war for as long as he could remember and their hierarchy system never changed. Ultimately, T’charrl was afraid he was going to be left out in the cold unable to find any work and being a bloodsucker for the rest of his life because of rules regarding the royal family changing. “…Oh, mother likes to paint…? I didn’t have any influence in her not wanting to do poetry, right? I mean with you two wanting a kid…” he spoke, not knowing his mother to like that kind of thing.

Looking to Haku when he inquired about the instrument some more he looked back to his father expecting an answer. Smiling a little when he mentioned knowing some people he sighed lightly, feeling a little less anxious knowing he didn’t have to go to a shop or something to find one. He had a lot of anxiety when it came to doing normal things because he wasn’t used to them, meaning he was definitely glad that he didn’t have to do any of that. Nodding quickly in response he thought about what kind he might want before the thought of food came up, his eyes quickly going to his father. “Okay! I’ve seen enough for now! I would really like some food now, thank you…”

That's right, Goku was probably the strongest Saiyan wasn't he? Of course being dead now that went to somebody else, probably Yamate of all people, but the strongest had been pure-bred. That wasn't to say though there wasn't some validity to crossbreeding and trying to bring more genes into the mix. There had to be something behind it if the King was so obsessive about it right? Or maybe the man really was just insane. "Are you saying that Saiyans aren't made to fight too? Hellooooo, that's what our entire people are all about," Kabocha retorted as he rolled his eyes. Biting into his meal again he forced the rest of it in his mouth, wiping his chin free of sauce as he did so. Okay so the food had been much better than he'd imagined but it was far heavier than he was used to, too much would probably make him sick. "I'd rather fight Takeshi than Shu, at least Takeshi isn't going to transform on me," Kabocha laughed as he turned and chucked his dish into a garbage bin, "What about you guys though? Brothers versus brothers, you and Kai against Takeshi and Shu. Think you two could take them?" The twins definitely had much better synergy when they fought together, with the Princes it looked more like they tried staying out of each other's way. "I bet you could take them easy, and if you beat them I'm sure Yumi would reconsider going out with you," he added with a playful jab to Choi's side.

----------

"It was wrong of me to put things off knowing the condition you're in, I'm sorry for that. I'd like you to give me the chance to make it right though, let me work with you and you can overcome these hurdles. As I said you've dealt with it for long enough, it's about time you beat this problem." No apologies were going to undo what he'd done and Aito knew as much, and surely Viral would never accept anything as such. Their only option was to move forward and begin treatment in earnest in hopes one of the therapies might stick and his mentality improve. It was the least that could be done after he'd insultingly dismissed the urgency of Viral's treatment.

Viral revealing himself made Aito grimace reflexively and he could only imagine the injuries that the Beastman must have. The good news was that they were successful in repelling whatever Elites had been present, unfortunately it had come at great cost. It was evident Yumi had suffered some head injury and Viral's near-mummified state told him all he needed to know. "We could utilize one of the healing tanks to hasten the physical recovery if you'd like, or we could use some of the gel solution to help. But you would be amazed what a good state of mind can do for one physically, you'll recover faster," Aito explained as he moved a bit closer to examine the bandages, "Please Viral, I'm asking you both as a doctor and as your creator, let me correct my mistakes and help you like I should. My negligence has been inexcusable and I will openly admit that, but we shouldn't refuse treatment when there's progress to be made. Allow me to help you and I swear to you I'll see it through." Come hell or high water he would see that Viral was helped in the way he deserved. Shu would not take up the entire day or even the entire morning, any other obligations could wait, Viral came first. Yumi appeared to want to say something to the matter but Aito held a hand up to halt her, smiling slightly as he looked at the Beastman. "This is your decision and yours alone, but know I have enough in line and ready to help you. You only need to accept it."

---------

"Your mother has painted as long as I've known her, I think it was her mother that pushed it on her. She just ended up too busy to really do it once she took the throne, your birth didn't change that at all," Yusef said thoughtfully as he stroked one of his antennae. Clicking his claws together he smiled at T'charrl and pointed behind him to a painting of a landscape upon a nearby wall. "She would create pieces like that, though maybe not so... Elegant. Not that she was bad but her work wouldn't end up in a place like this." Chuckling meekly Yusef placed his hands together and partly bowed to T'charrl, lowering his head as he gave his son a pleading look. "Please don't repeat that to your mother. She doesn't take critique of her paintings well, the last time I said anything I was locked out of the palace for a week!" And it had been a very innocuous, innocent suggestion too: use less vibrant colors. An artist he was not but even the general knew using too many bright colors made the image overwhelming. Bless his wife but goodness she was a frightful woman when she wanted to be. "Excellent, let's get some food in us, hm? Maybe that will calm our nerves a little," Yusef laughed, ushering the two boys ahead of himself. Thanking the staff for their time and the museum itself they stepped back out into the bright city, having to move aside as a group of younglings and an adult hurried inside after them. "What are we in the mood for? I bet they have a bit of everything here."

Whatever was going on was simply just a load of stupidity with poor research or some strange plan to try and create some sort of perfect hybrid that could command the race they were partially from. Who knew what his plan was unless they asked and there was no way any of them was going to be able to do that anytime soon. “It’s a bit dumb to think the purpose of our race is only to fight! That’d make us no better than engineered robots or something”. Saiyans had more of a purpose to them than simply fighting things then moving on, that was all under poor guidance. Maybe if they wanted to be they could be great builders or something, or maybe if they wanted to stick to the whole fighting thing they could be protectors or adventurers moving from place to place and helping people. They could transform and turn into essentially world destroying monsters, sure, but they didn’t have to be and it was always something that could be avoided. Finishing up on his meal his brother had just a bit more left, near enough ready to get going in a few minutes. Looking to Kabocha when he decided he wanted to ask about them going up against the brothers Choi frowned, grunting when he was jabbed only to smirk back. “You kidding? She wouldn’t take me back for beating up her friends! Especially beating up Shu, she’d kill me for that”, he spoke quickly, shaking his head, “Besides, she’ll make her choice and I’d rather not force anything or else I’ll get in trouble…”

--

Viral was still in a lot of pain and he didn’t know how much had been healed, but hearing Aito offer up the healing tank he simply glared at him and looked away. He was not taking the easy way out with this, plus he was hardly under good terms with the rebels to use their equipment. Growling lowly as he dropped his shirt back in place he slowly folded his arms, looking elsewhere as Aito started to prattle on about making it up to him. He didn’t know if he should believe him, it had been too many times already so his trust levels were pretty low, even if he was his creator. He had been absent for most of his life and completely absent from his memory because of his trust in others, it was easy to have little trust in him despite all these things. Not knowing what he was supposed to tell him he kept his arms folded, his gaze turned away from him before he finally sighed. “…You would have to prove you can do something and stick to it. I’m tired of being left behind and forgotten about by everyone”, he spoke, looking back to Aito, “All the mistakes that have been made are on you. I don’t have anymore room in my memories to be disappointed and left behind again…”

--

T’charrl was a little worried that he might’ve influenced the change in his mother’s hobbies, he didn’t want her to be unable to do things because she had to have a child to continue the family line. It was always a worry with him, whether he was going to be seen as a disappointment or if he was completely unable to live up to the potential of a Prince. Gazing up at the painting he stared at it for a moment before looking back to his father, not really able to imagine what kind of paintings she would do. It was hard when he had never seen it and all the paintings in the palace were old treasures or commissioned. “Oh, I-I won’t! I won’t say that to her”, he spoke, looking down again, “Maybe if I…maybe see if I can paint too…” He wondered if painting would bring him closer to his mother or just make her mad at his father for telling him all these things behind her back. While it was certainly something to quiz over he was offered food, quickly nodding and heading on out with his father and Haku. Maybe they could find something that wasn’t going to make him feel too drained, he knew he needed a lot of energy to keep his power under control but he had been working on controlling that too. Once they were out he let out a sigh, looking up to the canopies before back to his father. “Uhhh, everything? I-I mean umm, I can eat anything! Anything and everything! Uhh, meat gives me the most energy, but I don’t know if that’s within their culture here either. It’s really gotten difficult for me…”

In the middle of a warm afternoon the city was abuzz with activity. Parents and their children hurried along the many walkways to and from meetings and construction on many new buildings and paths filled the air with the drone of hammers and other tools at work. Compared to the bustling outside world, within Nema's palace was almost dead silent. Occasionally people would pass by the throne room and the indistinct sound of their conversation would fill the room only to fade seconds later, leaving those in the room with nothing but their own voices to fill the silence. A table had been set up for the group and it sat nestled between two large pillars supporting the arched ceiling, rays of sunlight flooding down through stained glass above and coating the room's walls in a dazzling rainbow. Most of the room in fact was stained glass save for the support pillars and the ceiling itself, and the rounded off, open cap above them made the already spacious area seem even larger than it already was.

"I hope you've enjoyed you stay here so far. I'm terribly sorry there's so much work going on, we're trying to update parts of the city. After seeing yours I was inspired to try and fashion ours in the same way." Nema smiled as he accepted a tall glass of honeyed juice from one of his servants, lifting it in cheers to the others before drinking a healthy amount. "Its not an easy feat though, let me tell you! You live on the ground and we in the trees, many of your buildings would never be able to sit this high up! But my workers are some of the best and they're finding ways, I do hope you'll come to see it once its done."

"But of course, King Nema. We would be honored to come back and see your city again," Yusef replied politely, smiling as he took a drink from his glass, "Ah... But if I could be a little forward... Can we discuss why we're here? Namely my son..."

"Ah yes, yes! Forgive me, I've been so excited about all of this I forget myself sometimes. T'charrl, we have been very busy since we last spoke, pouring through old books, speaking with the elders of the city, searching ancient sites for clues. I am very happy to say that we have found an answer to your problem." Reaching under his chair Nema struggled as he produced a rather sizable book, dropping it on the table with a resounding thud that shook everything on it. Smiling amused at Haku and Yusef's stunned expressions he waved a hand dismissively before tapping the cover with his claw. "This is just one of the many books we read through to find an answer, I'm not giving it to you to read yourself!" he laughed, "No, and you'll be rather pleased to find that the answer to your problem is quite simple, my young T'charrl."

"What you need is balance, balance of the body and the soul. Its what our ancestors did when they housed spirits like yourself, and what I did years and years ago." In theory it sounded simple enough yes? Just balance the mind and the body and you could house the spirit successfully. "It takes some training though and that's the part we wanted to discuss with you today. We have decided that your father would be best suited to train your body and I and my people will help train your mind through meditation. It will take time, this isn't an immediate solution-"

"But it's the best chance we have of helping you," Yusef concluded with a smile, "So we may stay here a bit longer if you don't have any complaints, its easier than you traveling between the cities. If we're optimistic... This could be accomplished in perhaps two... Maybe three weeks time. Of course that depends on where you are now and how much progress we have to make."

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If they were back on Earth surely whatever board oversaw therapy would have a fit with Aito's practice. Was it bad he couldn't remember who led that kind of thing anymore? In his defense it had been going on two decades now so it wasn't wholly his fault he'd forgotten, though he remembered enough to know this was not an ideal setup. Instead of the comfortable rooms that therapy was generally practiced in they had to settle for one of the rooms on the rebel base, hardly fit for the kind of practice he was carrying out. After much complaining he had managed to afford them some comfortable furniture to sit on and, for the duration of the therapy, they would keep things relatively quiet nearby. That said the room was hardly all that warm, clearly it was meant as some kind of meeting room and not one to practice therapy in. The lone saving grace perhaps was the single window in the back of the room that they left open, letting in some much needed sunlight and fresh air into the stuffy space.

"I'm very glad that you're here today Viral and that you're giving this a chance. I know you had plenty of reason not to come today, so it's great that you did." Just him and Viral alone in this room together, was it just Aito or was there a bit of tension? Considering his blunder he supposed it was only natural. "As I said before there's a handful of therapies we can try to work with but I think we'll begin with CPT. Its 'Cognitive Processing Therapy', if you're wondering, and in short we will be looking at the PTSD, the events around it and how we can manage them. I've plenty of time for this so don't feel rushed to make progress, we'll move as quickly or as slowly as is comfortable for you. I'll answer any and all questions you have about the treatment as we go, so feel free to ask anything that comes to mind. Now then..." Aito smiled and eased himself back into his seat, his smile twitching slightly as his rear and back uncomfortably pressed against the hard furniture. With luck Viral's seat was more ideal than his own. "Do you know what PTSD is? Can you describe it to me?"