A Forgotten Life

Chapter Eighteen

"Cousin?!" Goten and I exclaimed at the same time. "We have a cousin?!"

"You bet!" Daddy replied.

I shifted my gaze from him to Aki. I could see a resemblance, but that didn't mean I wasn't confused.

"But how?" Goten questioned. Then, no sooner did the words leave his mouth that I figured it out. I answered his question.

"Uncle Raditz."

"I didn't know he had kids?" Goten looked at me, and I shrugged.

"Kid." I once more looked over at Daddy, but this time I wasn't giving my attention to him. It was to Aki.

"Kid, singular. Not plural. It's just me." The way she spoke made her sound older than the eight years she appeared to be.

I couldn't help myself. "How old are you?"

Aki looked at me with her yellow-gold eyes. I couldn't quite decipher the look on her face.

"Eight," she replied. "'Bout the same as you, I suppose."

"How old should you be?" I clarified, even though I knew she was aware of what I meant.

Aki paused, her brow scrunched as she thought about my question. I could see her doing the math in her head.

"Twenty three," she finally replied. She seemed surprised by her own answer.

"Aki was killed during our fight against Raditz," Daddy asked. "When I died shortly after, I brought her with me to King Kai's planet. I told her that we'd bring her back with the Dragon Balls after we defeated Nappa and Vegeta." At the mention of the Saiyan Prince, I felt a fresh stab of pain. From the sudden tension around me, I could tell the others had the same experience.

Daddy laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"But, uh, with everything else that followed, I kinda forgot!"

Aki smiled up at Daddy. "But you made it up."

My father nodded, grinning. "Two years ago, when King Kai told me he needed my help, it was to train Aki here so she could take place in a special Kai tournament in Other World! I owed them both a favor - King Kai for killing him during the Cell Games, and Aki for not bringing her back sooner!"

"But how does that explain how she's here?" Momma asked. Daddy continued to smile.

"I was getting there. Aki won the tournament, so King Kai said he'd give her one free day on Earth. When all this happened with Buu, he graciously agreed to bend the rules slightly, giving Aki more time on Earth to help us out!"

"And then after that will we use the Dragonballs to wish her back?" Bulla asked.

Aki's smile - which she'd had almost the entire time - faltered slightly.

"Unfortunately, I've been dead too long for your dragon to bring me back. Only King Kai or someone of the sort could grant me life at this point."

"Do you think King Kai would bring her back?" Bulma asked. Daddy and Aki shared a look.

"Though I don't think he would mind, he's already breaking the rules by allowing me to stay longer than a day," Aki tells us. "I don't think it would be wise for him to break them further."

There were nods all around as we took in what she said. Moments ago, when Daddy had explained why he had left us two years ago, I had felt a sense of betrayal. My father - mine, not her's - had disappeared from my life for someone else? But now I felt a twinge of regret. Who was I to think that? This girl - my cousin mind you - had probably watched her own father die. Yes, my uncle was an evil man, but no child deserves to see that. And what's worse was that directly after she was promised a new chance at life, but never recived it. I knew my father well enough to know that he meant to harm when he left us to help Aki. He only wanted to make it up, just like he said.