Chapter 8

Hachimitsu slowly woke up feeling nothing but pain. She went to sit up when Yuta placed his hand on her shoulder, “Lay down,” he said, “You took quite a beating.”

“What happened…?” She asked softly,

“Nana beat you,”

“Where am I…?”

“We’re in the hospital,” he said, “Or...at least the medical room on your dad’s ship.”

“Oh…” She said as tears began to swell in her eyes, “I’m sorry Yuta….I’m so sorry I lost…!”

“No, you’re fine.” He said gently, grabbing her hand, “You did your best. I don’t blame you for anything. Sometimes there’s just someone stronger than you.”

“My head hurts….”

“Yeah, you’ve got a bad concussion, and a few broken and fractured bones. Just stay here and get better.”

“Is Hayase okay….?”

“She’s fine, your dad took her home before he then wiped her memory. She was there because we were just hanging out.” He said, “As friends! I wasn’t cheating on you or anything!”

She gave him a soft giggle and weak smile, “I know…” She then looked to the ceiling and closed her eyes.

“I love you…” Yuta said softly before he stood up and walked into the hall. Yuta sighed as he leaned against the wall and ran his fingers through his hair.

“How is she?” Kaizou asked as he came down the hall,

“She’s awake….she’s really banged up. I’m sure she’ll survive.”

“She’s a fighter, of course she will.”

“Um….Kai-“ he paused, “No...sir, um, Nana told us about your planet's destruction. She also said how her parents didn’t come back.”

“Nana?” He said rubbing his chin, “That’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.”

“So you do know her.”

“Yes, she was only a baby when I met her.” He sighed, “I knew her father, he was my sworn brother.”

“She said you weren’t specific with your wish. As such her parents didn’t come back.”

“That is entirely likely.” He said with a sigh, “They didn’t get off the planet before I destroyed it. And I did say bring all the planets back, and restore them the way they were, at least I thought it. That’s what he told me seeing how he’s all knowing. I just assumed Bumbu and Lisha had gotten off the planet.” He sighed and sat down across the hall on a bench,

“Do you know how we can stop Nana?!”

“I could do it myself,” he said, “But that would be overkill. Hachimitsu will have to recover-“

“What?! No way! You can’t send her out there again!! She’ll be killed!!!”

“There’s nothing else we can do Yuta. I would send you but you haven’t-“

“I haven’t what?!”

Kaizou sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “Follow me.” He took Yuta through the ship before they came to the computer room, “I’ve been watching this, over and over and over again. I can’t make any sense of it and neither can my wife.” He turned the computer on and showed the fight between Minori and Hachimitsu. “You see you right here?”

“Yeah,” Yuta said looking at the screen,

“Watch this,” Kaizou pressed play. Minori fires his beam and Yuta quickly moved between Hachimitsu and the beam. Yuta walked through the beam until he reached his left hand out and grabbed onto Minori’s hand, cancelling the beam. And then the video stopped. Kaizou then turned to Yuta, “Do you remember this?”

“I….I don’t know, I remember grabbing his hand, but I am pretty sure a beam wasn’t fired…”

“Do you know how much energy and force was in that beam Yuta?”

“Um...no.”

“760.516 Tenatons.”

“And that’s…?”

“That’s enough power to destroy a Star or Large Star Yuta.”

“Um….” he paused, “Are you saying I’m an alien…?”

“It’s likely, all I know is that to survive that is something not even human.”

“But...I am human! I have a human blood type and I have human parents and-“

“It’s strange,” he said, “But it’s likely.”

Yuta swallowed heavily before he looked at the video, “I Uh….” his throat began to run dry as he started to step back and his knees started to shake.

“Yuta, are you-“

“No!!!” Said trying to move away from him before Yuta then passed out. Yuta laid one the dark for what felt like an eternity. Soon he began to hear a muffled sound, “Honey….” He slowly began to open his eyes before he went to air up. He groaned as he hit his head.

“Just lay down Yuta,” Kaizou’s voice came, Yuta then laid back,

“Where am I….? Where’s Hachimitsu….?”

“She’s fine, just hold still for a bit.”

“Okay…” Yuta said. It didn’t take long before Yuta began to move before he came into a bright room. He shut his eyes quickly before he heard a door open. Kaizou came into the room and helped Yuta sit up.

“You took a nasty fall after you passed out.”

“Yeah...I feel it in my head…” Yuta said as he rubbed the back of his head, “Sorry I freaked out…”

“You’re fine, I put a lot on you.” He said as he stood up and took Yuta to the other room.

“Um….can I ask you something?” Yuta asked as Kaizou sat him down in a chair,

“Of course, anything.” He said as he went to a cabinet and pulled out some snacks and water and brought it to Yuta.

“Thanks,” Yuta said, taking the snacks from him, “Well...um,” Yuta then blushed, “Well….it’s about Hachimitsu….”

“What about her?”

“Well…” He then looked him in the eyes before he cleared his throat and said, “Um...why do you think she lost?”

“I see, that’s a good question.” He said leaning back, “It’s probably because Hachimitsu has never once trained a day in her life, she was born rather unnaturally strong, especially for a Mid-Class baby. As she grew up she only grew into her strength making her stronger and stronger, until she was eventually the strongest naturally born Planet Buster in history.” He then rubbed his chin, “Knowing Nana’s motivation, she probably trained her entire life to get to this point.”

“I see….well, maybe if you trained Hachimitsu she might be able to beat Nana.”

“That’s a possibility,” he said, “She’s still injured though.”

“Don’t you have like a magic bean or magic milk or something that instantly heals all wounds.”

“As much as I wish there was there isn’t. This is real life and not science fiction.”

“Oh...I see…”

“However, Planet Buster’s do have a massively faster healing rate than humans. Meaning she could be better in a couple of days.”

“I see,” Yuta said, “You should train her after those couple of days. I’m sure she can win!”

“That’s true,” he said, “Plus, after each fight we Planet Buster’s always get a little stronger. It’s not a pain inflicted thing, it’s just that once we exercise our powers it gives us more strength. Similar to how humans work out. Their muscles rip and tear and soon new muscle forms making them stronger.”

“So….not like Zenkai Boosts then…????”

“Zenkai what….?”

“Nothing, just thinking out loud.” Yuta sighed as he leaned back and rested his head against the wall.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing I just…” He gave a soft sigh before he ran his fingers through his hair, “I nearly lost Hachimitsu today….I never once thought about how scary that thought is. When we first met I was terrified of her, but over time as I fell in love...I realized how much I don’t want to have a life without her.”

“I see,” he said, “Are you thinking about marriage then?”

“HUH?!?!?!!!” Yuta said as he sat up, “WHAT IS IT WITH YOU ADULTS AND YOUNG MARRIAGE?!??!?!!!!!”

“It’s not uncommon,” he said, “Besides, don’t you want to marry my daughter?”

“I DO, JUST NOT WHILE THERE’S A MASSIVE THREAT OUT THERE THAT COULD DESTROY THE WORLD, ARE YOU INSANE?!?!?!?!!!!”

“I understand,” he responded with a smile, “But, even if you did ask me, I’d give you my permission to marry her.”

“YOU-“ He then paused, “Wait...wha…?”

“You heard me,” he said standing up, “Never once did I think I’d ever see Hachimitsu this happy.” He said as he came over to a computer, “I mean, when you two first started dating she came straight here and told me how she had just gone on her first date with the guy of her dreams.”

“Guy of her dreams…?” Yuta said softly, “She...really said that?”

“She did, she wouldn’t stop talking about how handsome you were and how funny you were as well. Of course I insisted I meet you, but only after you two had a steady relationship.”

“....you wanted to meet me?”

“Of course,” he said turning around, “Because of her inhuman height she always has felt like a bit of a loner, especially since we live on Earth. She didn’t have many friends, if any. I know that from the moment you two started going to school together that she really liked you, and all she wanted was your attention. Truthfully Hachimitsu was quite lonely.”

“She was lonely…?” Yuta said, “So….she’s a bit like me then….”

“What do you mean?”

Yuta looked down and hid his face with his bangs. He slowly clenched his fists gripping the fabric of his pants as tears started to stream down his face, “My whole life….I grew up not knowing my dad….I try not to let it bother me, and I make shit up like saying he’s a hero of some kind like an Astronaut but really he’s not...he’s probably dead for all I know...my mom...she’s not native to Japan...she’s from Mexico, she’s Hispanic, so she’s part of the immigration population and so am I...so she has to work day and not endless hours to work towards a citizenship since my dad’s gone…” Yuta grit his teeth as he started to shake a bit, “I really didn’t make many friends….! All I had was anime as that’s what I watched as a kid when my mom would be at work….! I grew up knowing characters like Luffy, Conan from the future, Asta, Dai….!!! They were all my friends because no matter what time of the day it was they were always there for me…!!!!”

Yuta sniffled before he continued on, “Sometimes I barely had a mom…she’d always come home super tired and I wouldn’t spend much time with her outside of lunch and maybe dinner….!!!! I had my babysitters but they didn’t stay for long and it was always someone new…! I would always ask my mom why I was so lonely….I’d also ask her why she’s always sad….!” Yuta hunched over as he continued to cry, “I just can’t….! I can’t go back to that life….!!! Hachimitsu needs to recover….! She has too…!!!! I try not to let the fact that my father is gone bother me….!!! But truthfully it causes me and my mother so much pain…!!! Today I was terrified! I thought I’d be all alone again!!”

Kaizou walked over to him and knelt down as he placed his hand on Yuta’s shoulder. Yuta’s eyes widened slightly as he looked up to Kaizou, “I know how you feel, so does Hachimitsu. With her size and raw strength she didn’t have any friends...even when she was in elementary school, except for this one time…” he sighed, “She had a best friend when she was a child, her name was Marie and the two were inseparable. The two were rough housing and Hachimitsu’s strength came out and she ended up killing her best friend. She doesn’t talk about it much, but it’s why she’s shy. It’s why she sees herself as a freak, but you changed her. She learned to love herself again for who she really is, and that’s a special gift only you have and it makes me jealous of you Yuta. I thought she would be shy and depressed the rest of her life, which is a shame because my daughter is the most loving and gentle person I know.”

Yuta looked down as he began to wipe his eyes, “I’m sorry I fell apart….”

“You’re fine,” he said, “I take it you’ve had that pent up for a-“ Yuta then leaned forward and wrapped his arms around him. “While…”

“Thank you….” Yuta said, “You’re the closest thing I’ve had to a dad…”

“You’re very welcome,” Kaizou said, giving Yuta a gentle hug before the two pulled away from each other, “Now, if you’d like, I can take you home. Hachimitsu will need to rest here, in the atmosphere of her home planet, for the night.”

“I understand….” Yuta said, wiping his face more, “Can I just…go tell her I love her really fast?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks…” Yuta stood up and then walked down the hall to Hachimitsu’s room.