Dawn.

The sun barely peeking its glorious head over the horizon. The vibrant colors shimmered in multi-colored streaks above. The dew collected on the leaves of trees and animals had their morning thirst quenched by the cool, rippling pools the rain had left the night before. It was this very same day that the silence in the home of Goten, was broken by his mother, Chi-Chi, calling him to get ready for that agonizing, torture prison known as....High School!

Goten tossed and turned in his bed, tangling himself up more in his sheets than he

already had. He turned over on his back and stared at his ceiling contrarily, studying the

crevices and design up above. Suddenly, there was a loud banging on his door.

"Goten! You Get Up Right This Minute And Get Ready For School!" Chi-Chi's voice yelled from the other side of the door.

He annoyingly groaned and sat up in his bed. "I’m Up Already Mom! Sheesh!" Goten hissed.

He untangled his legs out of the sheets and hopped out of his bed. He then slumfully scooted across his room to the dresser. He slid on his ‘Top Dawg’ shirt and put on some baggy jeans over his silky dragon covered boxers. He then went to his bathroom and brushed his teeth and did his business. Then he took out a brush and fixed up his hair. He looked remarkably like Goku, hair and everything. Right down to that fuzzy tail he had. (Or at least, used to have.)

"I don’t see why school is necessary anyway as long as I got Trunks as a friend. He tells me the answers to almost everything I don’t know!" Goten complained. He put on some socks and tennis shoes, grabbed his book bag, and walked out of his room.

As he walked downstairs, he could see the figure of his best friend sitting at the table with his back to him. Goten was filled with the excitement that he finally had the opportunity to outwit his friend. His heart raced faster as he got closer and closer to his target. Right when he was behind Trunks, he balled up his fist and pulled it back. Then he swung with incredible speed and force, but his fist stopped at its halfway point. There was maybe an inch or two distance away from his fist and Trunks’ head.

The reason he stopped so abruptly was because, maybe a fourth of a second after he swung, Trunks’ left arm shot up and clutched Goten’s nose! Goten’s eyes went cross-eyed and he had this dumb look on his face. He tried to get free but Trunks’ grip just got tighter and more painful. He lifted his glass of orange juice and drank it down slowly.

"Awe, C’mon Trunks! Let go of my nose! It’s really starting to hurt now!" Goten pleaded.

Trunks set down his glass of orange juice and eyed Goten, full of micheif. "Well ya should’ve thought about that before trying to attack me from behind."

Goten gave a gruff of annoyance. "C’mon now Trunks! You knew I was just playin’!"

Trunks shrugged and let go of Goten’s nose. He rubbed it gently and felt his nose get burning hot. "Now look what you’ve done! My nose is probably as red as a cherry!"

Trunks chuckled. "Would ya settle for a tomato?" he asked mockingly.

Trunks laughed but Goten gave a sarcastic ‘Ha-Ha’ and felt his nose lose its heat. After he was satisfied with his nose temperature he had an idea. He grinned to himself. He leaped out of his chair and pointed at his nose. "Mom! Look At What Trunks Did To My Nose!" Goten yelled out. Trunks looked in the direction Goten was looking in.

Perfect! Just as I planned! he thought triumphantly.

Goten gathered a little energy rapidly and slammed his fist into Trunks’ stomach, making him fall backwards out of his chair. He opened the door that led outside and a burst of cool morning air filled his lungs letting him feel lucky he was alive. A burst of blue Ki energy flamed around his body. He turned around to see Trunks scrambling off the floor. Goten did a salute wave and smiled. "I’ll race ya to school Trunks!"

With that he zoomed out the door. Trunks rose and a burst of green Ki surrounded his entire body. He smirked. "I’m right behind ya Goten, I’m right behind ya!" Then Trunks flew quickly out the door, right on Goten’s trail.

* * * * * *

They arrived at the High School and landed in the parking lot. Goten and Trunks had no problem avoiding the crowd of people stumbling inside that prison chamber. Goten and Trunks smiled at one another and suddenly they disappeared from view to the untrained eye. They were really running but they were going at speed too vast and well trained for the primitive sight of some humans. They then reappeared in Mrs. Suko’s Trigonometry class, sitting patiently at their desks, which were (of course) right next to each other. The other students streamed in about 15 minutes later, exhausted and rather annoyed with the fact that they were in school and had to wait a complete 8 hours before they could leave. They slowly staggered in their desks and went about their normal routine of gossip and meaningless chatter until the bell rang.

Goten sat patiently at his desk and decided to let the time go by while he doodled on his desk. He looked at Trunks, who had just pulled out a weaponry catalog out of his bag and started looking through it speedily. Goten put down his pencil and leaned to the side toward Trunks.

"Hey, you gettin’ another weapon?" he asked curiously. Trunks looked up at him from the catalog and nodded. Goten gave a loud grunt. "But that’s gonna make this your 5th weapon this week! Don’t you ever get enough?"

Trunks turned the catalog around and showed Goten a gleaming silver saber with a gold and blue handle. "I want this new sword they just put out in the catalog. They call it Dragon’s Claw. Doesn’t it look awesome?!" he asked excitedly.

Goten looked at the price and his eyes bugged out like a melon. "This thing is 500 bucks! Where you gonna get that kinda money?"

Trunks grinned proudly. "Not me, but my Father. He thinks the idea of collecting and using weapons is a great idea and he supports me 100%!"

Goten crossed his arms and gave a jealous huff. "Man you’re lucky! You’re rich and get anything you want, but not me! Mom is always making me study and crap like that. Good thing Gohan is my brother, otherwise I would never get my sparring practice in. She’s not as overprotective of me as she was with Gohan. It’s a good thing too. He told me that Mom made him study so much, that when he was 13, he had the mind of a senior in high school! Then when he was 16, he had a college intelligence, but Mom made him go anyway. Then when he was in college he had the brain of a 9 year M.D. and professor!"

"At least you gotta a sibling who has something on the brain besides shopping for a new outfit!" Trunks defended.

Suddenly the bell rang with its ear-piercing jingle that signaled the beginning of school. Mrs. Suko got up and walked to the door. "Students, I’m going to go get your new student today. She’ll look forward to seeing you, so be nice. I’ll be with you shortly." she then walked out the door.

Trunks put away his catalog and thought who the girl was going to be. I wonder what she did that was so bad as to send her here. It must’ve been really bad! he thought, feeling sympathetic for the unfortunate girl.

Goten kicked Trunks in the leg playfully. Trunks came out of his deep, interior thoughts and faced in Goten’s direction. "Do you think the new girl is gonna be ugly? We haven’t had a good looking girl waltz into any of our classes yet!"

Trunks shrugged. "If she’s in this class, she’s gotta be smart. Most girls who are smart, wear baggy clothes and pull their hair in a ponytail and where glasses. Or none. 9 times outta 10 she’s gonna be ugly somewhere!"

They laughed and quickly stopped when they felt a surge of power smack them in the face. They quickly glanced at the door but no one was there.

"Whoever this girl is, she’s got a huge power level! We had better not upset her!" Goten advised.

Trunks nodded in agreement. "Her power is almost as strong as ours is! If she’s not too shy, I’d think she’d make a good sparring partner!"

Goten's eyes narrowed. "Oh, so you’re tired of me already?! After all these years?!" he griped.

Trunks shook his head. "No, I’m just saying that it would be great to have another sparring partner besides you and my Dad for a change. That’s all." he stated.

Just as Goten was about to say something he saw Mrs. Suko walk in. "Class, say hello to Nina Shintaro. Nina do come inside." Mrs. Suko said as she gestured for the new student to come inside.

A girl with long, brown, curly (more like wavy) hair stepped inside. Trunks and Goten’s jaw dropped in astonishment. So did every other guy in that class. She had on a blue skirt with a white blouse. But she wore an odd brown belt around the loops of the skirt. It had no buckle and it seemed to have no end at all. She wore a white ribbon in her hair and wore 0 make-up. (Quite a surprise at this school cause every girl wore a little make-up, even the nerds.) Her skin was a light tan color and her legs seemed almost perfect and probably were as smooth as silk and soft as nylon. But they had a muscular side to them. She had a blue purse and wore white, thick heeled toe shoes.

"Nina, tell the class where you’ve come from and how old you are, if you don’t mind?" Mrs. Suko requested.

Nina shook her head. "No I don’t mind. I moved from Koga, Japan and now I live here in Satan City. I’m 18 years old and... I’m glad to be here!" she said cheerfully.

All the girls looked at Nina smugly while the guys simply groveled and licked their lips in anticipation. Mrs. Suko handed Nina a Trigonometry book and pointed towards Trunks and Goten. "There’s an empty desk there in front of Trunks. Why don’t you take your seat and open your book to page 245? That goes for the rest of you. Go on, turn to page 245."

Nina walked to her desk and sat down. Goten and Trunks’ brain cells were dropping like flies because she looked so great. She slipped the ribbon out of her hair and pulled it into a ponytail and tied the bow. She took out the pencil in her purse and opened her book to the page she was told to. As she looked down at her book, many strands of hair fell in her face but she didn’t care.

Nina felt something slide under her elbow. She looked down at a folded sheet of paper. Nina picked it up and opened it. The following was what it contained:

Hi. My name is Trunks and welcome to the class of boring Trigonometry. (And boring it is! Not to sound cocky or anything but I got my Mom’s genius brain cells so that’s why I’m a straight A student.) My best friend is Goten. He’s the one behind the desk sitting next to you.

Nina looked over and saw Goten staring at her. He smiled and she returned the gesture. She went back to reading the letter.

Nina, if you’re not doin’ anything, well I was wondering, if you’d like to come over my house and study with me. Would you like to? Write Back.

She picked up her pencil and began to write. She looked to see if Mrs. Suko was looking then she pretended like she was stretching and dropped the note on Trunks’ desk. He hurriedly opened it up. This is what she wrote:

Hey Trunks. As you know, My name is Nina Shintaro. Yes, I’d love to come over and study with you. Is your friend Goten coming? I mean I don’t really care or anything like that it’s just I’d think ya’ll would be good sparring I mean studying partners. I don’t know why I wrote sparring! Sometimes I write one thing and think a whole different word all together. But any-hoo, where do you live? I’ll go on my way after school.

Trunks jotted down something and handed back to her. The whole time Goten watched in wonder and confusion.

What are they talking about? Goten thought to himself.

After what seemed like an endless pattern of writing and passing, Nina finally put the letter in her purse and went back to reading page 245. She turned and faced Goten and waved. "Hi there!"

Goten looked around and then pointed to himself. "Who me?" he asked, full of bewilderment.

She giggled and nodded her head. "Yes you silly!" Nina answered while laughing.

He felt stupid and then he started to blush red brightly and he waved back. "Uh, hi...my name is Goten."

"I know." she said.

"Oh." Goten felt really stupid now.

Nina started giggling again. "You’re so crazy Goten!"

She turned back to her book and continued to read. Goten simply sighed and propped one hand against his desk and held his head up with it.

I think I’m in love! Wow! Whatta wonderful feeling! he thought dreamily to himself.

Goten sighed deeply again, continuing to look dreamily at Nina for the rest of the

period.

* * * * * *

After school, Trunks and Goten waited for Nina to come out from the gym. While they waited, Goten sank down on the steps. He gave a slow sigh in anticipation. He looks up at Trunks who propped himself against the stair railing, arms folded across his chest. A sudden gust of wind blew his lightly tinted purple hair in the breeze. He gazed out into the parking lot, with that look of curiosity and seriousness on his face. Goten decided to help the time pass by.

"So, uh, Trunks?"

He turned from the parking lot and looked at Goten with his eyebrows raised up. "Huh? What Goten?"

"What do ya think about Nina?" Goten asked.

Trunks shrugged. "I donno, she seems okay. Why do you ask?"

Goten's cheeks grew slightly red. "Trunks, this might sound a little bit crazy, but I think I’m in love with her." he murmered.

Trunks looked at him with uncertainty and then laughed. Goten frowned and was quite confused at the fact his best friend was laughing at him. "And what, may I ask, is so funny Trunks?" Goten demanded.

Trunks squeezed his sides and managed to catch his breath, sweat and tears flowing from his head and eyes. He took a deep breath and wiped the water streaming from his eyes. "Well, it’s just that you’ve said that to me about every pretty face you’ve seen! How many people are you in love with? First it was Mina, then Minoko, then Paye-Ling, May Tung, need I go on?"

Goten gave an exasperated sigh. "Okay, okay I get your point! But I think I really feel something for Nina, Trunks. I really do."

Trunks simply waved his hand back and forth smiling. "Okay Goten. Whatever you say." he replied, not believing his friend's words at all.

They heard the doors open and Nina walked out with her gym shorts on and wore a blue windbreaker. She pulled her purse over her shoulder and waved at them with a smile. She started to jog toward them. Nina stopped when she reached the top of the short flight of steps. "Who are you guys waiting for?" she asked while looking around.

Goten was too shy to answer so Trunks did it for him. "We’re waiting for you. Have you forgotten our study session together?"

She shook her head. "Oh no. I haven’t forgotten. It’s just I thought you were gonna just tell me where you lived Trunks, that way I’d find you on my own. Well, where do you live anyway?" Nina half explained, half asked.

"I live at Capsule Corp. C’mon, I’m starving and really anxious to get home! Oh, Nina, there’s something you should know about me and Goten." Trunks warned.

Nina cocked an eyebrow. "Oh really? What is it?" she asked.

She looked at Goten. He tried to find the right words and scratched the back of his neck. "Well Nina, ya see, well we can fly. That’s why we’re practically the only seniors without a car cause we don’t need one."

Nina looked at them strangely, then frowned. She put her hands on her hips. "Hmph! Yeah right! You guys are lyin’ to me! Is this some sort of trick?! What is this?! Play a prank on the new girl ritual or something?! Well I find you guys very cruel to play such a dumb trick!"

She stomped down the steps only to have Trunks grab her wrist. She glared at him. He didn’t even give a hint of letting go. Nina raised her free hand and tried to slap him, but he simply blocked it and grabbed that wrist too. Now she tried to get free but his grip just got tighter. She finally stopped and stared coldly in his face. "Let, go, of, me, now!" Nina hissed. Trunks didn’t move. "I SAID LET GO OF ME!" Nina yelled.

Instead he bent his knees slightly and propelled himself in the air, still holding on to Nina. Green ki surrounded them both and it rolled off slowly like sweat. Nina looked down to see they were quite high, but Trunks never kept his eyes off of her. She then looked back up at Trunks and he started to loosen his grip upon her wrists.

Finally, when they were so high that they could barely see the city he stopped. Nina wasn’t paying attention so the stop was a bit rough for her and her hands slipped out of Trunks'. But she managed to cling on to his neck, resting her head on his chest while she looked down in horror.

He slowly put one arm around her waist and smiled at how she held on for dear life. She started to tremble, hoping that Trunks wouldn’t let her fall. Nina looked up at him still trembling. "Now do you believe us?" he asked.

Nina gave a quick nod. "I’ll believe anything you want me to as long as you don’t let me fall!" she pleaded.

He smiled and they slowly floated back down. Goten stood up and smiled. "So how was the ride?"

Trunks put Nina down. She straightened out her windbreaker. "Stimulating. So are we ready to go?" she answered flatly.

Trunks floated down slowly and he landed, his feet making a slight pat noise on the ground. "Do you want to walk?"

Nina gave a 'Yeah Right!' look. "And miss the excitement flowing through my body? I don’t think so! That really felt great once I got used to the idea of being up so many miles!"

With that Trunks picked her up again (This time, his arms supported her back and legs.) and Nina wrapped her arms about his neck and with a streak of green ki surrounding them, they were off with Goten close behind them.

They hovered over the city, trying their best not to be seen. The flight to Capsule

Corp. was very quiet. You could only here the wisp of the ki as they soared through the sky. Goten was up ahead, while Trunks and Nina were behind. Nina looked at Trunks and saw his serious eyes concentrating on the sky. She decided not to bother him. He seemed to have alot on his mind. She continued to look at the city.

Trunks looked down at Nina and knew she wanted to say something. He had some sort of connection with her. She had a huge power-level, and yet she didn’t have any knowledge about her power. Maybe she was like Gohan and only her emotions triggered her inner strength. He shook his head.

No, she would have known about it by now. So, there’s only one alternative. She had to be hiding it, for her own protection. he decided that had to be the only option.

They arrived at Capsule Corp. and landed softly in the backyard. Trunks put Nina down and went inside to get his mother Bulma. Goten sat down on a nearby rock and breathed in slowly, as if he hadn’t had the opportunity to breathe oxygen in days. Then let it go even slower than he brought it in. Nina saw a tree and sat under its shady branches.

Trunks came out with Bulma and his little sister Bra. They both had the same aqua blue hair and foamy blue eyes. They walked towards Goten and Nina with big smiles on their faces. Nina stood up and leapt into the tree. Goten looked up into the tree with a confused look on his face. He walked over underneath the tree. "Nina! What are you doing? There’s no reason to act like a monkey now! They’re gonna think you’re weird!"

She hung on a branch with her legs and fell over upside down to look at Goten. Her long braid falling down like a tail. "What if they don’t like me Goten? What if Trunks’ mom doesn’t like young new girls hanging around her son?"

He laughed and gently tugged on her braid as if to ring a bell. "Hel-lo! What’s there not to like about you? Bulma is gonna love you! See, it’s my mother you have to worry about! Not Bulma!"

Nina nodded hesitantly, but matter-of-factly. "Okay, I guess I’ll trust your judgment."

She stood on the branch and did a back flip off of it. Nina dusted off her bark covered gym shorts and let down her hair. She took a brush out of her purse and brushed her hair. Nina then took out a mirror and looked at herself. She unzipped her windbreaker and tied it around her waist. Bulma and Bra stepped up to Nina and nodded. Bulma extended her hand. "Hi there. I’m Bulma, Trunks’ mother."

Nina took her hand. "And I’m Nina Shintaro. Your son has been very hospitable."

Bulma laughed. "Well I certainly hope so!"

They released hands and Bra extended her arm. "Hi. I’m Bra, Trunks’ younger sister."

"It’s nice to meet you." Nina replied.

Their hands seperated and Bra started to gleam with excitement. "Hey, do you wanna go to the mall with Pan and me? It’ll be great! Pan would love to meet you!"

"Well, I do have a study session with your brother and Goten. Maybe later on okay

Bra?" Nina declined.

Bra nodded, a little disappointed, but you couldn't really tell. "Okay. Well, I gotta be goin'. Pan’s waitin for me to pick her up."

She ran to the car with Bulma and left waving. They went to the study hall and took out their books. Nina opened her books only to have Trunks shut them. She looked at him. "What is up with you today?! First you grab my wrists and start propellin’ us up into the sky! Now you’re shuttin’ my books! What’s wrong?!"

Trunks glared at her. "You and I both know that you knew I could fly! You also know who we are!"

Goten stood up. "Whoa Trunks. What’re you gettin’ at? You sayin’ she could be foolin’ us?!" he asked, not totally sure of what was goin' on.

"You remember that burst of energy that hit us when she was comin’?! Her ki was enormous! Yet, she has no clue, or does she?" Trunks explained.

"She could just be like Gohan was and only her emotions make her know." Goten defended.

Trunks shook his head. "She would’ve figured it out by now! Now," Trunks looked at Nina. "Tell us who you really are Nina. If that’s your real name!" he demanded.

Nina stood up with a grin on her face. "So you think you’ve gotten me figured out do you?! Well, yes I am a fighter. I’ll tell you everything I know if you defeat me in sparring." she then sneered. "And NO transforming, Saiyans!"

Goten looked surprised that she knew but Trunks only returned the sneer. "Fine! Let’s go!"

Goten stepped in between them, arms apart. "No Trunks! I won’t let you hurt her!" he said, trying to be valiant.

Nina shoved him out of the way. "Move Goten! I can take care of myself! I don’t need your help!" she snapped at him.

Goten looked at her, hoping she wouldn't go through with this. "You don’t know how strong Trunks can get without transforming! You’d get hurt and you don’t know Trunks!"

Nina glared at how he looked down on her. "You don’t know me either Goten! I can handle this myself! Shall we Trunks?"

Trunks bowed at the doorway. "After you!"

Trunks and Nina stepped outside followed by Goten with a worried look. She pulled her windbreaker off and dropped it next to her. Trunks went on the opposite end. He went into a fighting stance. Nina snickered and got into her fighting position. She balled up her fist and red ki energy formed around her.

This is gonna be fun! she thought anxiously. Trunks’ green ki energy bursted around him as he began to power up.