Finding Hope

Chapter 50: Where there's a Will, There's a Way!

Trunks's pov

Everything that could possibly go wrong, went wrong on this mission. I couldn't believe how wrong the mission went in just a matter of an hour, and it all started early the next morning. We decided to head to the cave later in the day since we were having a chat with the chief only to have something else to go wrong, I knew it was a bad idea to follow through with getting the gem.

"So this gem is causing a problem?" Tsubaki asked the Chief as she took her spot next to me on the couch, "Yes. We have so many people wanting that gem that others have taken matters into their own hands. Tourist have kidnapped locals to take them into the cave so they can get through there to the gem. It's becoming a big problem and our local police force can't keep up with all of it, it's driving the locals in this town nuts." Chief explained, "Is there a specific one that has been taking villagers?" Chief shook his head, "No, that's the problem. More than one has done this but we do know that there is someone in charge of this whole operation. Please find the gem and find the person responsible for this operation." Chief stated and Tsubaki stood up, "Don't worry about that, Chief! We'll stop whoever is in charge of this stupid operation and we will get that gem for you." She stated assertively and I smiled seeing her take charge. "Hunter, come here please!" Chief shouted and a young man came running into the room. He had red hair and big red eyes and held a small cat in his arms, "This young man is my grandson. He is next in line to take over the Village and he currently is our expert on the gem and the cave itself, he knows it like the back of his hand." Chief explained and I could see him eyeing Tsubaki, he had a light blush on his face and I got the feeling he liked her.

"Well, if he knows the cave so well... Why can't he go get the gem?" Videl questioned Chief, crossing her arms as she sat forward. "I'm not fully equipped to get it. Besides every time I go, I'm either almost killed or robbed. I need you four to help me make sure nobody can take the gem." Hunter explained, "Well, alright then." Tsubaki and Gohan stated in unison, which was a little creepy. "He will be your guide and in return you protect him from harm. Do we have a deal?" Chief asked and Tsubaki looked to me, before I nodded my head at her. "Yeah, we'll protect him." Videl spoke up, breaking the silence in the room. "Great. Well guys will head out tomorrow morning. It's gonna be a lot easier to get there early before others start up with the booby traps." Hunter explained, "Well for now, Hunter can take you around the village and we have a place for you to stay for tonight." I stood up and shook the Chief's hand, "Thank you, Chief." He smiled, giving me a strong hand shake and we walked out of the room.

We went around the village seeing all the different places they had and it was interesting, this village wasn't big with technology. Everything seemed a lot more into nature except for the houses that were built, "Everything seems-" Videl started, "Outdated? Yeah, most of the village didn't adapt very well to technology when we did try to introduce it. So Grandpa and I thought it was better that everyone had little technology, they could get used too. So everyone has a big disconnect from technology here. It's not like the other village on the island." Hunter kept eyeing Tsubaki and I knew she was completely oblivious to it, but I wasn't.

After going around the village, we were able to set up in a small place to eat and get ready for bed. When we got to the house, I realized that this was where Hunter and his grandfather lived. They gave us two rooms so we had to pick who was sleeping in the same room together. Tsubaki didn't want to sleep with Videl since she wasn't too comfortable, but I couldn't sleep in their room and Videl wouldn't sleep in the same room as Gohan. So Gohan and I shared a room, while Tsubaki and Videl shared a room together. Our room was connected to theirs and we were adjacent to Hunter's room. "I'm gonna talk to Hunter about something important. I'll be back." Gohan left the room leaving me to myself, until I had a knock at the door. "Come in," I forgot that I wasn't wearing a shirt, but instantly relaxed when Tsubaki poked her head in. "Hey, I was just coming to say goodnight. It feels weird not being in the same room with you." I gave her a small smile as she came walking over to me and sat on my lap. I was sitting on the bed near the door. "Where's Gohan?" She asked, I guess she noticed him not being here. "He went to talk to Huter about something." I explained, while Tsubaki nodded. "Why are you smiling like that?" I asked, "Because I can do this--" She grabbed my face and kissed me on the lips which took me by surprise, but I gave into the kiss and kissed her back. Our kiss got a lot more passionate in a mere five seconds, but it was all taken away when Tsubaki pulled back from me.

"Goodnight Trunks, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow!" She pulled away and bounded out of the room leaving me in shock, I didn't realize Gohan had walked in. "Trunks, why do you look like that?" I shook my head at the question, not wanting to tell him what just happened between his sister and I. "It's nothing. I'm going to sleep."

The next day.....

We headed out early around 5 o'clock, Tsubaki was still half asleep but managing to keep up as we trekked out way through the forest to get to the cave. "How much further?" Videl called out to Hunter, who was ahead of us by a few feet. "Almost there, I can see the cave from here." I was getting a bad feeling in the back of my mind, so I kept my eyes peeled making sure there wasn't any immediate danger. When we finally it to the cave, alarms started ringing in my head and I knew something bad was going to happen.

"Be careful, there are booby traps everywhere. So watch where you step, if you misstep it could either set off a trap or collapse part of the cave." Hunter warned, as we headed deeper into the cave.

"Hunter, why did you want to-" Videl stepped forward and the cave started shaking roughly, causing panic among the five of us. "What's happening?" Gohan shouted over the rumbling, "What did you do?!! I told you to watch where you step!!" Hunter shouted, as pebbles started coming down. "Look out!!" I shoved Tsubaki and Hunter out of the way and the boulders caved in. When the dust settled down, I looked around to see that I had been separated from Tsubaki and saw that Videl and Gohan were with me. The opening of the cave probably gave way, meaning we were trapped in here.

"Where is Tsubaki and Hunter?" Videl coughed.

"We must have been separated from them. Tsubaki must have ended up with Hunter." Gohan placed a hand on the rock in front of us. "Tsu, Hunter!! Can you hear us?!!" Videl yelled through the rock, "Yeah, are you guys alright?" Tsubaki's voice sounded a bit muffled, but we could understand what she was saying. "Yeah, what about you?" Gohan called out, "We're fine. Hunter says we should head towards the center of the cave! That's where the gem is." Tsubaki shouted, "Alright then, be careful!" Gohan called out and I sighed.

"What do we do now?" Videl turned to face Gohan and I. "I guess, we should head to the center of the cave. I think it's a better idea." Gohan suggested and I nodded, "Alright then, let's find our way there." Videl stated, so we started walking towards the opening of the cave into a deeper part.