Week four on Monday at 1:22 p.m. found Pine bent over her desk finishing up a dimensional analysis problem for her Chemistry Test. Sitting back, Pine checked her answers over for significant figures one last time.

Interestingly enough, Gohan had finished his test over ten minutes ago and from the glances up at the clock that she had noted from most of the students, she figured some were only half way done, with only eight minutes remaining till end of the class period.

Sighing as she finished checking her answers, Pine flipped the paper over and leaned back in her chair, wasting away the time till the bell would ring.

And promptly claped her hands over her ears as the suddenly loud sound of a trumpet reached her.

[Why, God, did this class room have to be so damn close to that infernal racket room?!]

[Sorry, Piccolo-san, but you know as well as I that I can’t change it.]

[…]

[What?]

[Dende, do you listen to all thoughts that some one thinks with the word God in it?]

[Of course, Piccolo-san. I am God now to this planet. How else am I supposed to know what I need to do?]

[Do you reply to everyone that asks God a question?]

[Of course!]

[Ah. So that’s why there’s so many humans believing they’re prophets now.]

[Did I do something wrong?]

[I’ll explain things later, Dende. Right now I have to get back to class.]

[Ok, Piccolo-san! See ya later, man!]

“I swear,” Pine said under her breath as she felt the telepathic connection break off. “That boy’s acting like these earthling teenagers more every day.”

Pine’s eyes trained on Gohan as he saw the boy jump a little in his seat. [Damn my mouth. Being a human for so long has been making me to relaxed. He definitely heard that. Question is, what will he make of it?]

Pine winced as the sound of the peroid bell shrieked and threatened to burst her eardrums. No matter how long she had been doing this routine, she still hadn’t gotten comfortable with that damned bell.

And she wouldn’t, as far as her Namekian ears were concerned. It hurt just as much as Gohan whistling.

*---*---*---*---*

Gohan sighed as he swung his legs back and forth. He was dressed as the Great Saiyaman, sitting on the top of the roof of one of Satan City’s many skyscrapers. Completely bored. So, of course his mind started wandering. Of course it went straight to what it had been thinking about most recently.

Pine.

Or more specificlly, his mixed emotions towards Pine and the whole weird connection he felt towards the young weird girl.

[Fact one: Pine is not human. Humans do NOT have pointed ears, nor fangs.]

[Fact two: Man, is she strong! She can keep her own with Vejita-san when he’s at the level beyond that of a Super Saiya-jin! More reason to say she isn’t a human. The most advanced human fighter can’t even take on a Super Saiya-jin.]

[Fact Three: I feel so…at peace when she’s around. Even when we’re just fighting or talking or just her very prescence in the same room makes me feel calmer. And weirdly enough, sleepy. As if I feel nothing can harm me when she’s there. And happy, and carefree, more so than I’ve been in the last seven years, since papa died.]

[Fact Four: There’s something she’s keeping a secret from me. I know there is, I just feel it. But what?]

[Fact Five: She says she’s Bulma’s niece, but Bulma never mentioned her before. And as far as my research in the public birth records went in West Capital last week, Bulma’s an only child. So how can Pine be Bulma’s niece?]

[Hypothesis: Perhaps…perhaps she’s an alien but she has mental powers like Chaotsu and is menipulating us.]

Gohan blinked. [But then why are my instincts telling me to trust her? And wouldn’t Dende have warned us about her? After all, Piccolo told me once that Nameks had a strong natural defence against mental manipulation. If she is doing that, then Dende would have seen right through it.]

[Plus, the only aggressive moves she’s made so far has been against criminals and that bully at school.]

[Conclusion: I need more facts.]

Gohan sighed, then jerked his head up sharply as he felt a tingle run through his body, making his mind snap to attention. A sense of forboding spread throughout his soul as he felt himself being pulled almost instinctuly, yet faintly in a certain direction.

Bunching his legs beneath him, Gohan pushed off, going towards the place he felt he was drawn to. He didn’t know what was happening, but he was determined to find out.

*---*---*---*---*

Pine swore mentally in Namekian as two boys jumped her, surprising her long enough to pin her to the ground and get in a few good punches to her face. Of course, they being as weak as they were, it didn’t hurt a lot, not like having your arm blasted off, but it was really annoying.

[Not to mention it will leave a lovely red spot on my human skin for about an hour.]

[Why the hell did I think that?!]

Pissed at herself, Piccolo powered up slightly, using her ki like a wall to push her attackers off of her. When she felt they were a safe distance away, she dropped the wall, allowing the boys that had been leaning against it to fall flat on their faces.

[…I really shouldn’t fight them. They’re no challenge to me at all. I’d be wasting my time beating them bloody.]

So Piccolo started to do something he’d only done one other time in his life.

He turned away from an impending fight.

Now there’s a very good saying that our Vejita-sama would say. Never turn your back on a living enemy, no mater how close to death or unconciousness they may seem. For a determind semi-disabled person can kill just as surely as a determind healthy person can.

And these boys weren’t even disabled.

*---*---*---*---*

The Great Saiyaman looked down at the sceene that had just played out before him. Gohan had gotten there in time to watch a boy in ripped blue jeans land a final punch to Pine’s right cheek, causing Gohan to explode with rage and start going down towards the three to pull the blue and black jeaned muscled boys off of Pine.

Gohan had stopped in mid-air however when he had felt her raise her ki. He knew she wouldn’t want him to interfere. She was kind of like Piccolo-san that way.

As Gohan watched Pine turn away, he was about to leave himself when a motion caught his eye. Turning around he watched in shock as the boy in black jeans jumped up off the ground, pulled a piece of cloth out of his pocket, and grabbed Pine from behind, placing the cloth over her mouth and nose.

At first Pine went rigid, looking as if she was as shocked as Gohan felt. Apparently she took in a big breath of whatever fumes were on the cloth because just as fast as she went rigid, she went slack.

Finally shaking off the shock, Gohan acted.

If Pine had thought the boys didn’t stand a chance against her, there was almost no hope for them surviving one pissed off Great Saiyaman.

*---*---*---*---*

Piccolo struggled to keep her eyes open. What had that asshole done to her? She felt so tired…

Trying to stay awake for as long as possible, Piccolo cast her mind out, trying to find something interesting for her mind to focuss on and keep a hold on.

Not very amazingly, at least to the readers, it focused on a raising ki that felt very familiar.

Piccolo’s fuzzy mind registered with shock who the fighter was even as she felt her body released jerkingly by the boy and she fell forward onto the ground.

And finally not being able to put it off any longer, she went to sleep.

*---*---*---*---*

The Great Saiyaman tied the moderately bloody assulteers together quickly and didn’t even bother to be nice as he added the pressure of the rope to the blue jeaned boy’s broken arm.

The Great Saiyaman phased out then back in right next to where Pine was lying face down on the grass. Gohan thanked his lucky stars that she had been attacked while taking a short cut through a park instead of out on a street. He was almost positive that if she had fallen forward on to cement she would have fractured her skull.

Panic almost gripped him as he turned her over and lightly shook her and she didn’t respond. The way she looked reminded him of that day way back when he was five and Piccolo had slowly died in front of his very eyes as he could only watch on helplessly. The only sign that Pine was still alive was the slight rise and fall of her chest.

Shaking her harder, Gohan almost cried out in joy as she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him with unfocused glassy eyes. He watched, holding his breath, fearing the worst as she seemed completely dazed for a few seconds.

Then Pine’s eyes focused sharply and stared at Gohan with a penetrating gaze that would rival Piccolo’s looks.

“Gohan,” Pine said in a whisper, “that is the stupidest outfit I’ve ever seen.” With that statement Pine closed her eyes and her breathing steadied to that of the sleeper.

--To be Continued.