by Jamie L. Word
"From Sorrow Comes Hope"
Kato was first to arrive at the battlefield and see his father's limp form on what was left of one of the islands. Having not even noticed the unbelievable devastation left in the wake of the battle, the bitterly grieving boy rushed to his father's side. He lifted up and cradled his father's head in his arms, rocking back and forth while weeping uncontrollably.
"Daddy!" the grieving lad screamed out into the heavens at the top of his lungs. "Why did you have to do it? I could have helped you! You didn't have to do it! Why, Daddy? Why?"
With that Kato lowered his head onto his father's face and lost himself in the torrent of tears, the emptying release of emotions. He dropped out of the Super Saiyan form and back into his normal form as everyone else arrived on the battlefield at the same time. The others were first taken a-back by the sight of the horrible devastation they witnessed all around them. Finally, they saw Kato and Koji. They all landed on the ground around the mourning child and his motionless father.
Yuko almost fainted away, and Yoshio caught her and lowered her to her knees on his own trembling legs before he succumbed to the grief, which threatened to explode in his throat. Both he and Yuko fell into grieving next to the sobbing, hurting now-nine-year-old boy. Sumio, Sumie, and Jontu began to grieve as well as tears began streaming down their faces, and Sumie almost collapsed into her brother's arms. Kien looked down upon the body of the fallen warrior he had grown to know, and he felt his eyes as they began to water. He wiped the tears from his eyes, and only Shun noticed this. Shun also seemed to be in the depths of sorrow after witnessing the family's reaction to Koji's passing.
He walked past Jontu and the Zodorians, putting a hand on Kien's shoulder as he passed by him as well. The two Nameks made eye contact for a brief moment, as if to share each other's moment of grief and console each other in that ever-so-brief instant. Shun then made his way over to the grieving family. He placed a hand on the shoulders of Yoshio and Yuko as he knelt alongside them.
"I am deeply sorry for your loss, my friends," the elderly Namek said solemnly and soothingly as he comforted the family. "He was a great man, a true hero. We will all remember his honorable sacrifice with great admiration and respect, but all is not lost."
Everyone looked at the old Namek in amazement and confusion, but his gentle smile seemed to reassure them. Then he placed his hand upon Koji's limp form, and Koji disappeared.
"Hey! Whadidja do to my Dad?!?" Kato inquired angrily as he jumped to his feet and immediately went to Super Saiyan with electricity crackling around his aura as he poised himself for a fight.
"Calm yourself, my child," Shun said softly and soothingly as he stood to his feet once more. "I have sent your father ahead so that he can go train in the Other World while he waits."
"Waits?" Kato inquired, a bit perplexed and still not calmed down. "Waits for what? What are you talking about?"
"Be patient, child," Shun said as he went over and retrieved his staff from Jontu's hands before turning his attention back to the boy. "A year after the dragon balls are used to make a wish, they become active again. All you have to do to bring him back to us is wait one year, find the dragon balls, and make a wish."
"That's right!" Yuko exclaimed excitedly as she and Yoshio jumped back up to their feet and Sumie also found the strength to stand. "All we have to do is wait one year, and I have a dragon radar I developed for track and locate dragon balls with! Hey, just one question: How long is a year on this planet anyway?"
"One hundred eighty days," Shun answered with a smile. "And two of them have already passed since we used them to bring you here, so you only have to wait one hundred seventy-eight more days. You're welcome to remain here with us until then. We would be honored to have you stay at the lookout."
"That doesn't sound like a bad deal to me!" Yuko declared enthusiastically. "What about you, Yoshio?"
"I'm in!" the excited bald warrior jovially exclaimed with a big smile on his teat-stained face. "The we'll all be reunited again!"
"If it means that we can wish Dad back, I'm staying right here!" the young Super Saiyan replied, powering down to normal once again.
"I don't have any other plans, so I guess I'll stick around too," Kien declared with a smile. "Besides, it'll be good to see Koji again, plus I want to train in the Chamber of Spirit and Time a bit myself!"
"Then it's settled," Shun proclaimed with a broad smile on his face. "We'll all stay at the lookout until time to search for the dragon balls!"
The day turned out to be bittersweet. Although the greatest of their heroes had passed from their midst, the reunion was only one hundred seventy-eight days away. Meanwhile, Koji found training in the Other World to be quite satisfying and exhilarating.