Inochi no Mijikaku By Son Pan Discliamer: Do I look like Akira Toriyama? Then I don't own DB/Z/GT. Author's Note: I've had this idea for a while now, and finally figured out how to turn it into a fic after reading Silver Galaxy's fic, Before and Beyond, which I highly recommend reading. The title translates (I think) to 'A life cut short'. Oh, and I have no clue when Pan's birthday is, so I made it up. Also, I have no clue if she ever went SSJ, so I've decided she has. If you know for sure, please let me know. Oh, yeah, there's a little T/P and B/G. Inochi no Mijikaku *Trunks POV* It was always just our little group. The five of us. Me, Goten, Marron, Bra...and Pan. It didn't matter to us that myself, Goten and Marron were so much older than Pan and Bra. They were still our best friends. The five of us thought we were indestructable. But that was all proven wrong about a year ago. When Pan died. How could something so trivial kill a Saiyajin? Most things that humans die of, such as car accidents, diseases, etc. don't affect us. But remember that heart disease that Goku caught? A long time ago, when I was only about a year old and the others weren't even born yet? Well, somehow Pan had caught it. No one knew she was sick until it was too late. Nobody knows how she got it. The only thing we can think of is that Gohan caught it from Goku, and somehow passed it to her, not even affecting him. And even though my mom still had the antidote, by the time we found out Pan was sick, it was too late. The Dragonballs are unable to wish back anyone who died a natural death. Personally, I think the only way you can die a natural death is from old age. Dende tried his hardest to talk Shenlong into making an exception. Shenlong wished he could, but it was out of his power. Even my father was trying to make Shenlong grant the wish. My father had always liked Pan. Maybe because she was a true fighter, even though she wasn't as strong as some of us, and loved fighting as much as he and Goku did. Pan was fifteen when the disease came to life and killed her. It was a real shock to all of us. One day, we were training with her, and the next we were at the hospital being told that she was dead. I will never forget that day, the last we saw her. It was hot, in the middle of July. July 15, to be exact. Pan's birthday. This one was extra special, because it was her golden birthday. We were sitting around at Capsule Corporation. Pan was trying to talk me or Goten into sparring with her, but we refused because it was too hot out. Bra and Marron were inside, wrapping Pan's present, which for some reason they didn't give her the night before at her party. "Pan!" Bra called, as she hung out her window. "What?" Pan replied. "Come here a sec." "Yeah, okay, but make it fast, I want to go swimming." Pan called, flying up to Bra's window and in it. What those three did up there is beyond me. All I know is that Goten and I heard lots of giggling. "What are they doing? They sure are loud." Goten commented. "I don't know. Maybe trying to tickle Pan to death." I replied. "Sounds like it." Pan, Bra and Marron came outside again about fifteen minutes later. They were all wearing bathing suits. "What were you guys doing?" I asked. "Oh, they just gave me my birthday present." Pan replied. "What was it?" Goten asked. Pan took off a necklace that she wasn't wearing before, and showed us. It was a heart locket. On the inside, it had a picture of the five of us, and an inscription that read 'Best Friends Forever. T, G, M, B and P'. I glared at Marron and Bra. "Why didn't you tell us you were getting her something like this?" I asked them. "We wanted it to be a surprise, and didn't trust you two to keep your mouths shut." Bra answered. "Like you should talk." I replied. Kami, my sister can be a brat sometimes. "Come on, let's swim." Pan said. She had put the necklace back on, and jumped in the pool. "Hello, is anyone coming?" She asked. "Yeah, sure." Marron said, diving in off the side. Bra just climbed in. "Well?" Bra said, looking at me and Goten. "Hold on just a sec, let us go change into our swim suits." Goten said. We went inside and changed, and were back outside by the pool in about two minutes. "GANG WAY!!!" Goten shouted, as he ran and jumped, doing a cannonball. Everybody was absolutely soaked by flying water. Bra looked slightly miffed as she shook her turquoise hair out of her face. Marron and Pan just laughed. I flew up about ten feet, and dropped like a rock into the middle of the pool. I resurfaced a few feet from Pan. "Show off." she said, splashing water in my face. Pan was like my little sister, and she knew she could get away with it. Little did I know that would be one of the last times she ever made fun of me. *Bra POV* Pan was my best friend in the world, there was no doubt about it. She was the only person to know all of my secrets, and I was the only person who knew all of hers. Only she could tease me about my secret crush on Goten and get away with it. Come to think of it, she was the only one who knew that I was really in love with him, and it wasn't some stupid joke. Likewise, I was the only one to ever know about her crush on Trunks. And now that she's gone, I'll be the only person to ever know. Maybe one day I'll tell Trunks. But not now. It would be too painful. It's only been a year since she died, but it seems like an eternity. I've known Pan since I was about three days old. We have been best friends since we were old enough to understand that concept. We were as close as Trunks and Goten are. Before, if I wasn't at her house, she was at mine. We had sleepovers weekly. During the summer, they were nightly. One of our favorite things to do when we were little was to try and piss off my father. With the two of us, it was a lot harder to do then if my brother or Goten tried. So we came up with lots of schemes to make him angry. Like the time Pan wondered what he would look like with blue hair, so we filled the shampoo bottle with hair-dye. But that's another story. I am fifteen now. The same age Pan was when she died... "You...!" Trunks yelled at her as he got a faceful of water. We were all at Capsule Corporation, and were swimming in the pool. 'We' was myself, Pan, Marron, Trunks and Goten. Pan laughed. "Oh, you won't do anything, Trunks Briefs, and you know it!" "Try me." Trunks said. He lunged at her to try and dunk her. But she was too fast, and was out of the way before he could catch her. The result was that he hit the surface of the water hard. "Oww...that hurt." He complained. "You can be such a baka, Trunks-kun." Marron said. "And that's why you love me." Trunks replied. "Yeah, right. You just keep telling yourself that." Pan replied, winking at me. That just caused me to laugh harder. Making fun of Trunks was always one of her favorite past times. Probably because she knew he'd let her get away with it. We didn't do much else that day but sit around in the pool. Trunks and Goten decided to have a contest to see who could splash the most. I think Goten won that one, all I know is that when it was over I was surprised there was any water left. Then me and Trunks had a race to see who could swim faster, and Pan jumped on Trunks' back so I'd win. That's how she was. She'd do anything for a friend. "So, what do you guys wanna do?" she asked, floating on her back. "I don't know." Trunks said, sneaking up to her. "How about...this?" He said, pushing down on her and causing her to go under water. When she resurfaced, she shot him her trademark glare. "You are going to pay for that, Trunks Briefs." she said in a low whisper. "I think that was a bad idea, Trunks." Marron said. "Yeah, now she's gonna kick your ass." Goten added. I just laughed. This was gonna be good. Pan immediately dove at Trunks, and managed to push him underwater. She held his head underwater, while we watched, laughing. When he finally managed to get himself free, his face was bright red. As soon as he came up, Pan punched him in the stomach. "Ow! Geez, Panny!" Trunks said. "That hurt!" "Good." Pan replied. We were laughing at him. It was always fun to watch her beat up Trunks. "You gotta admit Trunks, that was pretty funny." I said. All he did was glare at me. We continued to swim around in the pool until it got dark. Trunks kept glaring at us, because we kept laughing at how Pan kicked his ass. If only we had known that was the last time she'd ever beat up my brother. *Marron POV* I was never really close to Pan. For a long time, I thought she was nothing but a little kid. Maybe because I was eight years older than her. But last summer, after she had returned from searching for the black dragonballs with Goku and Trunks, I didn't think that anymore. Because I had heard about all the fights she had been in, the number of times she and the others had faced death. Like how she was turned into a doll and sacrificed to some monster. Or when Chii Shenlong took control of her body. Now, I resent that I never really got to know her that well. Bra, Trunks, and Goten knew everything about her. Me? I knew almost nothing. Sure, I knew she was a fighter, Goten's niece, Bra's best friend, and Gohan and Videl's daughter. But everyone knows that stuff. It's common knowledge. Now that she's gone, though, I wish that I would have taken the time to get to know her a bit better. The last day I saw her alive was one I'd never forget. After it got dark out, we got out of the pool and changed back into our normal clothes. We sat around out on the patio for a while, just talking about stuff. Everything, nothing, whatever we could think of. At that particular moment, we were talking about our favorite ice cream flavor. "Mint chocolate chip is the best." Pan said, in that tone of hers, daring anyone to disagree. So of course, we all did. "Strawberry is better." Bra said. "Nah, I like French vanilla." I put in. "Chocolate." Goten said. "No, I like chocolate chip cookie dough." Trunks said. "Yeah, those are all good. But I like mint chocolate chip better." Pan said. "This is boring. Goten, wanna spar?" "Yeah, I guess." Goten replied. "What made you agree so quickly?" Pan asked, surprised. Usually it took her a while to talk him into it. "I figured if I didn't, you would just bug me until I gave in." he answered. "Got that right." she said, smiling. They moved out to the center of the yard, and we all stood up to watch. This ought to be good. They both began powering up. Goten went Super Saiyajin, but Pan didn't yet. I knew she was up to something. She always did have a plan when she was fighting someone she knew was stronger than her. "Ready?" she asked, an insane smile forming on her face. Yup, she was definitely up to something. "You bet." Goten replied. Pan lunged at him to throw a punch, and he jumped out of the way. She zanzoukened, and was soon at his other side. "What the...?" he said, just before she punched him hard. Before he could react, she was on his other side, and kicked him hard in the side. He turned to where she was, but she wasn't there. Instead, she was in the air, right behind his head. She kicked him hard in the back of the head. Goten turned to face her. She began floating down until she was about two feet above the ground. "Okay. You wanna play that way?" Goten said. He jumped forward and grabbed her feet, dragging her to the ground. Pan managed to wiggle her way out from under him. She took her bandanna off and threw it to where we were. Bra caught it. "Now you're asking for it." Pan said. She went SSJ, and her normally black hair stood up, turning blond. She punched him hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. As he tried to catch his breath, she flew up about fifteen feet. "KA...ME..." she said. "Pan?" Goten asked. She was putting a lot of ki into this attack; even I could tell. "HA...ME...HA!!!" she shouted, sending the blast at him. Goten put his arms up, to try and block the blast. However, when it hit him, it quickly dissipated. "What the hell?" he asked confused. "I put hardly any power into that attack. I just powered up really high as I was doing it. Do you really think I would use an attack that powerful on you?" Pan replied. "No." Goten said. "Oh, don't lie to me, Son Goten. You were worried there for a moment, and don't deny it, because you are a terrible liar." she said. "Fine, then I won't say anything at all." he replied. "You just did." Pan pointed out. "Damn." Goten said. "You did it again!" she said. Goten didn't reply, he just looked angry at himself. "Okay, I'm not even going to *ask* what you guys are up to." a voice said from behind us. It was Bulma. "Panny, your dad just called. He wants you home soon." "Okay. Thanks, Bulma." Pan said, as Bulma went back in the house. Vegita was scowling at us through the back door, but followed Bulma when she went in. "Well, I guess I see ya guys later." Pan said, as she picked up her bag with her bathing suit in it and tied her bandanna back on. "Call me tomorrow, 'kay?" Bra asked. "Sure." Pan replied. "Bye, Panny." Trunks said. "Yeah, see ya tomorrow." Goten added, and then shut up, with an angry look on his face, which caused us all to burst out laughing again. "Bye. And happy birthday!" I told her. "Thanks! And bye!" she called, flying off towards her house. And that was the last time I saw her alive... *Goten POV* Pan was my niece. But she had always seemed more like my little sister. Maybe because she was only thirteen years younger than me, which wasn't much far off from mine and Gohan's age difference. He was only eleven years older than me. I guess I had always wanted a little sister, but I knew that would never happen. When Pan was born, though, she filled that place. I still can't believe she died. And that was a year ago. I still can't think of her without feeling an aching deep in my heart. You see, none of us had ever lost anyone for real. Sure, everyone I know has died at least once. I didn't even know my own father until I was seven because he was dead. But we'd always been able to wish them back before. But not with Pan, because she had died of a 'natural death'. When she died, I had not only lost my niece, I had lost my little sister, or as close as I'd ever get to one. That morning, I left early to go to Gohan's and see if Pan wanted to go over to Capsule Corporation and hang out with Trunks, Bra and Marron. When I knocked on the door, Gohan answered. "Hey, niichan, what's Pan up to?" I asked. "She's still in bed." he replied. "Really?" I asked. Pan hardly ever slept in. "It's already eleven." "She said she doesn't feel well. She probably has a cold or the flu or something like that." he said. That should have clued me in that something was wrong. Pan had never gotten sick before. "Oh. That sucks. Tell her we'll be at Capsule Corp., and to call us if she feels well later." I said. "Yeah, okay." Gohan said as I flew off. When I arrived at Capsule Corp., Trunks, Marron and Bra were waiting for me. "Hey." Trunks said. "Where's Pan?" Bra asked, narrowing her eyes. "Gohan says she's sick. She's got a cold or something. He said he'd tell her to call us if she feels better later." I told them. "Okay." Marron said. I honestly cannot remember what we did all day. All I can remember is that later, around six, we were watching a movie (Scary Movie, Bra picked it out), when I realized that I could barely sense Pan's ki. "Trunks? Can you sense Pan?" I asked. "Yeah, but her ki's really weak." Trunks replied a moment later. "I had to search to find it, and I usually don't have to." "I wonder if something's wrong." Bra said. She had lived with Trunks and Vegita long enough to know that if you can't sense someone's ki, that it means something bad. Before anyone could reply, my dad appeared in the room. He looked upset, which was not a good thing. "Dad? What's going on?" I asked. I was getting worried. "Come on." was all he said. We took his free hand, and the next thing I knew, we were in a hospital waiting room. I saw Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha, Krillin and Juuhachigou. Mom, Gohan, Videl and Pan were no where to be found. "Dad?" I asked. But he was gone. He reappeared a moment later with a worried looking Bulma and Vegita. "What's going on? What's wrong with Pan? Why are we here?" I asked. I was freaking out. "Come on, Goten." Dad said. I silently followed him through a couple sets of doors, until we entered a room. Gohan, Videl and Mom were there. Mom and Videl were crying. I looked to see who was lying in the bed. To my shock, it was Pan. "Panny?" I forced myself to say. She was pale, and had all sorts of tubes stuck in her arms. She looked so fragile, so unlike the Pan I knew. "Goten-kun..." she said, barely above a whisper. She held out her hand, and I took it. It was ice cold. "Do me a favor, will ya, ojichan?" "Anything." I told her. "Tell them I love them, and will miss you all." she said. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Just do it." she said, trying to give me her death glare. "You know, you were always more like a brother." And that was the last thing she said. After she told me that, she managed to smile, and then it was all over. Pan died right there, as I was holding her hand. I stood there, shocked with grief for a few minutes before I was able to turn around. Tears were slowly leaking down Gohan's face, and Dad looked extremely upset. "What happened?" I asked. "Somehow she got that heart disease." Dad said. After that sunk in, I left the room. I wandered through the hallways until I made my way back to the waiting room where everyone else was. "What happened?" Trunks asked. He was frantic. "I can't feel her ki anymore at all." "Pan died. Not five minutes ago." I managed to make myself say. Bra, Marron and Bulma immediately burst out in tears. The others looked shocked. "How?" Juuhachigou asked, trying to comfort her daughter. "That damned heart disease." I replied. I pushed passed everyone to a group of chairs over in the corner. A moment later, I felt three very distinct kis I knew very well approach. Trunks, Bra and Marron. I was glad for them. I needed them. "How could she die?" I asked myself, ignoring the tears that were falling. "How could Panny, of all people, die?" Nobody answered me. Nobody could. The four of us just sat in that corner, the only sound coming from any of us sniffling. After about an hour, we thought everyone had left, until someone tapped on Bra's shoulder. It was Vegita. "Daddy?" she asked. "Kakarott told me...Pan wanted you to keep this." he said, handing Bra something. It was Pan's orange bandanna. I don't think any of us had ever seen her not wearing it. When Bra realized what it was Vegita was giving her, she burst out in a fresh wave of tears. "Oh, Daddy...Panny was my best friend. How will I be able to live without her?" Bra asked. To the shock of all of us, Vegita looked as though he was crying. "I don't know...I'd never lost anyone close to me permanently. But let's go home." he replied. The funeral was four days later. It was nice, or at least what I remember. I remember it was a sunny day, and warm. But I don't remember too much else. Except for when I saw Pan. That's when I knew for sure that this was not all just a bad dream. She was wearing the blue dress she had gotten for her eighth grade graduation, and that necklace Bra and Marron had given her for her birthday five days earlier. The one that had a picture of the five of us, and read 'Best Friends Forever. T, G, M, B and P.' The four of us were depressed for a long time after that. Everyone tried their hardest to be really nice to us. Even Vegita was. They all knew that we had lost someone really close to us. And now, a year later, the four of us stood in front of Pan's grave. Today should be her sixteenth birthday. Bra still had Pan's bandanna. It has joined her collection of stuff on top of her dresser. Along with many pictures of us. Including one of the time Trunks and I buried Vegita in the sand when he fell asleep at the beach when we were little (I have no idea how she got ahold of that picture), and one where Bra and Pan were laughing at an angry blue haired Vegita. Even now, when I think of Pan, I can't without feeling a hollow ache in my heart. When she died, I lost a part of myself. We all did. But we managed to live. And I like to believe that she's an angel in heaven, and looks down on us. ***~~~*** Well, that's it! What did you think? I had to keep myself from crying as I wrote the end. I've already started a sequel based on Goten's last line in this fic. It's call 'Tenshi no Mihari'. If I get enough good reviews for this one, I'll post that one. Oh, yes, the blue-haired Vegita. That was just something I made up, but if you want, I'll turn it into a fic.