Weeks passed uneventfully, Gohan, Goten, and Yamcha making full recoveries as Takira gradually become more comfortable with her new way of life. She developed a keen interest in Capsule Corp.'s gravity room, sometimes spending a full day inside, pressing her body to the limits of its strength and endurance. She was unable to transform again, but it had given her hope that she could build her strength beyond what were previously thought to be the limits of the human body. Frequent sparring matches sharpened her skills. She found herself most frequently pitted against Trunks or Goten, though Gohan occasionally stepped in, and Pan even tried her hand a couple of times.

Generally friendly and personable, Takira nevertheless had a real need for solitude from time to time, most often disappearing at night, though sometimes she would go missing in the morning only to return in late afternoon with vague excuses for her absence. No one knew where she went except Trunks(who had followed her once), but out of deference to her privacy, he told no one. He rarely came near her at such times, and when he did, she would suddenly cloak her ki, her signal that she wished to be left in peace. One warm afternoon, however, she made no such sign and as he cautiously approached, invited him inside the dilapidated building that had once served as her office.

"Have a seat," she joked, gesturing to the empty floor. She sat leaning back against the wall; he sat next to her. "Normally I don't allow visitors, but I'm willing to make an isolated exception."

"My persistence paid off?"

"No, it's nothing like that. I just decided that I could stand the company of one person today. Usually, this place is reserved for strict isolation, but it's just large groups of people that I'm trying to escape right now."

"I know what you mean," he sighed. "It's good to have people around you, but sometimes it can get too--noisy, too confining." Takira gave him a questioning look.

"You sound like you know what you're talking about, yet I never see you disappearing."

"I usually end up timing it with your absences, as it turns out. They probably think we run off together or something." Takira chuckled.

"I don't care much what they think I do, but if it's damaging your reputation, I can try to stick around when you're gone, just to prove you run off by yourself."

"Not necessary. Nobody really gives me a hard time about it, though Pan's made a few sarcastic comments."

"Feminine jealousy," Takira grinned. "We girls can't help it." Trunks looked confused, and decided to change the subject.

"I'll admit I've followed you here a few times; I couldn't help but wonder where you disappeared to. I checked my usual spot, but I guess you prefer places with more, ah, ambiance," he said uncertainly, looking at the grimy room coated in dust and cobwebs.

"It's not ambiance," Takira replied, "It's habit. I happen to know that nobody bothers with this building, so it's an ideal location for getting away from it all."

"Away from it all? With the city blaring just outside your door?" He shook his head.

"All right, then, where do you go?"

"There's a forest not too far from here, close enough to get to but far enough from civilization to be quite peaceful. I like to sit and watch the wildlife." He paused. "I could show you." Takira thought for a moment.

"Give up the company of rats for the company of squirrels? Well, at least it'll be a change of scene. Okay, Trunks, since you've found my secret lair, let's see yours." Walking to the edge of town, they took to the air, Trunks leading the way.

He looked back at Takira to be sure she was keeping up. Her freshly cleaned scabbard shone blackly in the sunlight. It matched her outfit. At Bulma's insistence that she couldn't wear her same battered outfit day after day, Takira had foraged through the drawers and closet of her room and dug up some of Vegeta's old clothes. She wore a black bodysuit and white boots which were, admittedly, a little loose. The gloves had been far too big for her, but she preferred her hands free anyhow, claiming she lost too much feel for the swords with gloves. She still occasionally wore the torn sweatshirt at her waist out of habit, but apparently Bulma had caught her before she left today. Her hair was loose, though she tied it back if she were going to fight. It was an overall appearance which drew strange looks on the rare occasions when she went to town, but she'd always held comfort and freedom of movement above style.

They arrived at the edge of the woods, landing to continue on foot. Old leaves and twigs shuffled and snapped beneath their feet as Trunks led them deeper, until they came to a small, still pond, dotted with lilies, bathed in sunlight that poured in through a break in the canopy of trees. Animals scattered as the two approached. They sat on a large rock near the pond, watching as one by one, the wildlife returned to eat and drink. Takira drew an appreciative breath of fresh air.

"Well, I suppose this place does have a more pleasant ambiance. I've never been much for communing with nature, but it is rather nice."

"It's quiet," Trunks said softly. "I come here often and I've never seen anyone but the resident animals."

"Well, then maybe you shouldn't have shown me," murmured Takira. "If that building ever gets torn down, this would be the next place I'd go."

"You're welcome to visit whenever you feel the need. That's why I showed you. I know how important it can be, sometimes, to get away from people."

"You've just made it harder for you to do that, Trunks."

"I don't mind your company; you're not like the others. You're more withdrawn. It's possible to be with you and still feel alone. I don't mean you're cold or anything, you're just--I don't know how to put it."

"Then don't," she advised. "The harder you try, the worse it will sound." He nodded and fell silent. When he spoke again, he stared out over the pond as though he were truly alone, and talking to himself.

"Takira?" he asked quietly. "Are you happy here? I know you feel as though you have no choice in staying, but is there any chance of you feeling good about your life here?"

"Of course, I like it here. I wouldn't stay if I though I could be happier anywhere else. Why?" He shrugged uncomfortably.

"You just seem--distant, like you still feel like a stranger. I know Vegeta's death has been hard on you, and I just thought maybe it made you even more upset to be staying with his family." Takira frowned.

"I don't think I'll ever be completely 'over' Vegeta, but if anything, staying with you guys makes it a little easier to bear, knowing that he did accomplish some of his dreams in time. I do feel a bit like a stranger, but that's my fault entirely. There's a part of me that doesn't want to get this domestic, it could only tie me down. Family, friends--they all add complications to your life, add on commitments, constraints--but on the other hand, they can give you something to live for if you have nothing else. Vegeta was a case in point. I woke up in badly injured, inconceivably weak human body, with the knowledge that my son was dead and my body destroyed. It would have been pitifully easy to let myself die, but something convinced me that Vegeta was alive, and that someday I would see him again. That was the only thing that kept me alive."

"What sustains you now?"

"Curiosity. I want to see how far I can go with this body. I want to learn the kamehameha. I want to, someday, beat you at a sword fight." She smiled. "Frivolous reasons, of course, but they manage to outweigh what reasons I'd have for dying, so for now I'm content to live."

"So the moment you win a fight with me, you lose your will to live?"

"Not necessarily. Perhaps by then I'll have other goals as well."

"You've never lived just for the sake of it?"

"For much of my life, life itself has not been a real driving force. I don't expect you to understand my perspective. You have much more profound reasons to live."

"I don't need reasons. To me, life is its own justification."

"Very deep," Takira said, "but I'm far too cynical for that to work. I need to justify my existence with something I can quantify." Trunks sighed.

"Well, you're right; I don't quite understand your perspective. Doesn't matter, so long as it keeps you alive, I guess." Takira shrugged. She didn't see why he'd care if she were alive or not, but decided to let it go.