My One True Love, Trunks Briefs

Chapter Forty Seven

Right away, I could tell Tarble was in trouble. Though I knew the saiyan's power level far out ranked Lilith's, he couldn't seem to land a single hit on her. And the weirdest part was because she was asking him not to.

From where I stood, I could hear Lilith's words perfectly. She kept repeating the same phrases over and over again: "You don't want to hit a pretty girl like me", "You know that you don't want to hurt me", "You would be so upset if you touched me", and so a few others.

"Why the hell is Uncle Tarble falling for this?!" Bulla demanded, exasperated. I knew how she felt. "He's married for God's sake!"

"There has to be some kind of explanation," Mar huffed, "Maybe he's tricking her? Pretending to do as she says so she lowers her guard?"

"I wish that were the case," Ares says, sighing. I looked over at him.

"What do you mean?" Gaea asked.

Ares didn't take his eyes off the two fighters as he answered. "That girl out there is a Succubus. A power - a curse, mostly - that a woman possess, allowing her the ability of mastery over men. A succubus can make anyone of the opposite sex do just about whatever she wants. In this case, Lilith is telling Tarble not to harm her."

"But he'll lose the fight!" Krillin protests. Then, louder for Tarble to here, "C'mon, man! Don't listen to her! Hit her! You can do it!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Vegeta scowled deeply.

"He should be able to fight it," the Prince says, his arms folded across his chest. "A Succubus' power doesn't work on those of us who've found our mates."

"Clearly she didn't get the memo," Piccolo chimes in from somewhere behind me.

"I guess that means either Gure isn't really Tarble's mate, or Lilith just has a stronger influence," Trunks suggests, watching his uncle intently.

"I'm gonna go with the second option," Dad says, scratching his head. "I mean, this generation seems to have powers that go far beyond what I ever thought possible!"

"She's not a saiyan, Kakarot. That doesn't apply to her," Vegeta says, rolling his eyes.

"Well, why shouldn't it?" Dad asked defensively. "I mean look at Marron, Uub and Nate! None of them are saiyan, and they're all extremely strong! I'm telling you, all these kids are gonna grow up and take our place as Earth's protectors!"

"You're being ridiculous. Sure they're stronger than the average human, but that doesn't mean they could even begin to hold their own against the type of adversaries we face." Vegeta turned, gesturing to Nate and 18. "Look at these two, for example. He couldn't even win against an android, a threat that's way below the one your daughter defeated not long ago."

"You say that as if you were there to help," Dad mumbles, "instead of having left us during a time of need."

I was slightly taken aback by Dad's words. He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed (none of us were) but he never usually said something so crass. And, if I remembered correctly from the phone conversation Mar and I listened in on the first day of my freshman year, it was something Dad had said to Vegeta that caused the Prince to uproot himself and Bulma and move to Waynesboro.

I could tell that the others were surprised as well. I saw Gohan trying his hardest not to laugh as he looked between Dad and Vegeta. He was used to the petty fights between the two saiyans, which I'm assuming is what made Vegeta leave.

The flame-haired saiyan looked at my father with a mix of different emotions. Finally, he settled on a mix of irritation and anger. Walking up to the taller man, he poked him hard in the chest.