A strand of ebony hair brushed away from my left eye, welcomed by the others that flew back from my face. The wind was rushing past me faster than I intended, but it couldn’t be helped. I was feeling down, feeling low, feeling powerless in the middle of my own life. My life, where I was always the most powerful being and could handle any situation that was thrown my way. Now, all of a sudden, things were out of my control. I was hated by Trunks for unknown reasons, disrespected by my father, and viewed by the rest of the world as the girl in love with that bah-zillionare from Capsule Corp. This wasn’t what I wanted when I started the stupid little game. Not at all…
My apartment was just up ahead, balcony calling me to it. I considered jumping off of it, but thinking of my heritage, I was forced to dismiss that plan. Plan! No plans were ever to enter my mind again, I decided. Nothing concerning people’s reactions or secret motives for anything would be considered. It wasn’t worth the horror or trauma or guilt I had to deal with afterward.
“Trunks…” I growled bitterly. And I thought I was in love with him. What did he think he was doing, suddenly treating me like…Someone who was just using him, I realized. He hadn’t overheard anything, had he? Panic seized me. What if he had? What if he knew? I could never look him in the face again.
He had treated me with anger and bitterness. I didn’t know why; I couldn’t. It hadn’t occurred to me until just now. Maybe he knew that I knew his plan…Maybe he found out that Bra and I had been snooping through his room, reading the things about using me. He was guilty of the same crime, so what right did he have to hate me for it but expect me to instantly forgive him? That was the difference, though. He knew and I supposedly didn’t. But just what did he know? Perhaps he’d eavesdropped on Bra’s and my conversation…or listened in on the phone while I fought with my father. But he would have hated me before this afternoon, right? If he found out at ten last night, he wouldn’t have even considered getting me well-rested and healthy today.
Maybe he didn’t find out about it. He might have just had a very recent bad experience and needed to vent some anger at me. He came from the direction of his office…so maybe something happened at work. What was he doing there, though? I thought his mother let him spend the day with me. Maybe after I fell asleep, she didn’t see the harm in putting him to work, just for a little while. But he had said that she didn’t make him go back…
I sighed, dropping down onto my little balcony. I could think some more after I fixed myself something to eat, I decided, my stomach erupting into a low roar. I heard a bit of laughter rise from my couch. Startled, I stepped in through the doors. “Hello?”
“Panny, what haven’t you eaten all day?” my mother laughed, looking up at me from behind a magazine. She was seated on one side of the couch, her legs crossed at the knee and spread across the rest of my lovely furniture. A loving, motherly smile spread onto her face as she saw my surprised reaction to her presence. “You sound like you could eat a dinosaur!”
“I probably could,” I said, smiling slightly. I was somewhat relieved that my mother was here. I made my way across the living room and kissed her gently on the forehead. “What brings you here? Where’s Dad?”
“Your father’s in the kitchen, since you haven’t cleaned it since Sunday,” she said pointedly. I looked to the carpet, ashamed of my sloppy habits. Mom laughed at me, reaching over and mildly touching my hand. “Take a seat, he’ll be out as soon as he notices your ki.”
I laughed quietly, still not entirely focused on the current happenings. “Well, thank you for the offer of a seat in my own living room,” I said in a fake disdainful tone. She smiled and moved over a bit, making room for me, which I gladly accepted.
Her eyes glimmered with concern, but she kept it well concealed with a caring, motherly exterior. “Would you like me to fix something for you to drink?” she offered, her tone cautious, but trying to hide it.
My lips curved into a soft smile. “No, I’m okay, Mom,” I assured her. She knew something was wrong. I didn’t know how, but my mother always could tell with things like that. “Dad isn’t mad at me, is he? He still…”
“You father could never be upset with you,” she said, looking surprised that I could think such a thing. “He was just…hoping things would turn out differently, that’s all.”
Right, I thought bitterly. He was hoping that Trunks would break my heart so that I wouldn’t care about him anymore. That’s it, Dad, isn’t it? But outwardly, I closed my eyes for a brief second and nodded slightly. I heard my father’s footsteps in the kitchen drawing nearer, and before long, he appeared in the doorway. His face was emotionless, with the exception of his eyes. They were filled with worry and anger. I cringed, thinking of the possible explanations for that half-glare.
“Panny,” he said, his voice rigid and cold. My heart sank at the disappointment and surprise that was suppressed in his tone. “Where were you today?” This took me by surprise. What was he trying to get at here? He sighed, realizing I didn’t comprehend. “You weren’t at work today. They said some woman called and said you were ill.”
“Oh,” I breathed. “I was at Trunks’ house.” Alarm registered on his face, and I inwardly laughed at him. “See, I didn’t sleep at all last night, mainly because I was pissed at you. Trunks, Bra, and I were going to go out to breakfast, but I offered to spar with Vegeta and they went without me. But I had so little energy left from not sleeping and everything, and I burnt the rest of it in the spar, so I just kind of passed out in their kitchen. Trunks had Bra call Z TV and he took the day off to get me better. Wasn’t that sweet of him?”
“It was,” Mom interjected, then silenced herself when my father shot her a death glare. She turned her cheerful, approving smile into a stony scowl at him. “Well, I thought it was kind and considerate of him. You can hold your little grudge against him and insist it was rude, but not just anyone would have kept her home and made sure she was well again.”
I smiled a silent ‘thank you,’ and then redirected my attention back to my father. He was seething, and I inwardly laughed again. “By the way, Vegeta accepted me as part of the family,” I mentioned casually, a subconscious smirk forming on my face. “You wouldn’t believe it, even if you were there. He said he could overlook my being related to ‘Kakarot.’ Isn’t that great?” Mom smirked along with me, only much more discreetly. We both watched Dad for his reaction.
“Just because Vegeta says it’s okay doesn’t mean it is,” he said icily through clenched teeth. “I’m your father…and if I say I don’t like something, you have to accept it…”
“Well, I…” My words trailed off as my thoughts returned to the harsh way Trunks had been treating me. Did I really want to say this? No, I decided. It wasn’t worth it. Even if Trunks did crush my heart to tiny little bits, I still had to live with my father. And he would never let me live it down if I said what was on my mind at that moment. I sighed, defeated, casting my eyes to the ground. “You were right, Daddy. He doesn’t love me anyway.”
Both my parents’ faces fell. “What do you mean?” my mom asked, slight panic rising in her tone.
“Yeah, I thought you had your heart set on him?” Dad added, equally confused, but not so fearful as the former parent.
I smiled sadly, fighting back the single tear that formed in my eye. “He…just doesn’t care about me. This afternoon, after I woke up…he was just really cold to me. He didn’t seem to care at all, so I’m assuming it means he doesn’t care. Like he’d have been happier if I would have just gone to work and probably fell asleep on the job. Then they’d definitely not hire me down the road.”
“Pan…” my father started, hurt forming on his features. He was struggling to get the words out of his mouth, looking regretful as he said them. “I…I’m sorry. I may not have approved of this, but…but that didn’t mean I wanted you unhappy.”
I didn’t even bother trying to hold back my tear anymore. It escaped my eye, rolling slowly down my cheek. I looked up again, meeting the gaze of my concerned father. “I should have known it would happen,” I said softly. “I mean, I knew I was only in this to get my heart broken, anyway. I should have figured…but we didn’t even end up at Goten’s place yet…and I thought…I thought I had at least until then.”
My mother reached across the plush couch and pulled me to her, wrapping me in a tight embrace from behind. “It’s okay, honey,” she whispered into the back of my head, while stroking my hair at the same time. “He just doesn’t appreciate you like he should…like any intelligent man would. Hell, even Goten would love you.”
“Mother,” I said resentfully, but I couldn’t help smiling. “Trunks is just…confused. I haven’t had the chance to talk to him since then…I should have stayed and found out exactly what was wrong…but I guess all’s good, right? I mean, I can call him tomorrow or maybe later tonight. Find out what went wrong…I’m afraid I slipped and he heard about the plan. The one against him, I mean.”
My phone rang, softly and subtly. The three of us turned to stare at it, dislike and surprise in all our expressions. I glanced to my father, who happened to be closest. Mom didn’t seem all too keen on letting me go anytime soon. So, just as I silently requested, Dad picked up the phone and put it to his ear. “Yes? …Bra? What’s wrong…? Calm down, I can’t understand you…what about him? He wants WHAT!!?” my father screeched, his eyes growing wider than I thought possible. I promptly bit my lip and dug my teeth into it.
“Something’s wrong,” Mom whispered, still into my hair. She pulled me a bit closer, trying her best to make me feel protected in her arms. But I was just as vulnerable as ever.
“No! I’ll never…! Of course I love you like my own daughter, Bra, but…NO!! Forget it!! …Well…I guess…I’ll ask her, okay? But that doesn’t mean it’s a yes! I never said— H-hello? Hello!?” Dad pulled the phone away from his face and stared at it, eyes showing disbelief. “She can’t just ask…that of me and then just hang up!”
“What did she say?” I inquired, gripping my mother’s arm like it was the last hope I had in the world.
“She said Vegeta wants you…to…and Trunks…ugh, I can’t think about this right now. I need some coffee,” he grumbled, gripping his head with one hand and waving me off with the other. He abruptly turned and reentered the kitchen.
My mother and I stared after him, in complete incredulity. “What kind of an explanation was that?” I mumbled, bitterly and resentfully. I wondered what had been said between the two, and what was so horrifying that my father couldn’t even talk about it. I genuinely hoped and silently prayed that Vegeta hadn’t used the word ‘mate’ in whatever speech he’d relayed through Bra. That would definitely eliminate my chances of my father accepting this.
My eyes drifted to the phone, seriously considering calling back and demanding to know what was discussed. I wanted to know, even more than I wanted Trunks to forgive me, at the moment. What could have gotten my dad so worked up?
Mom tilted my head backward so that I was looking at her out of the corner of my eye. “Talk to him?” she asked, eyebrow lifted in curiosity. I nodded slowly. We stayed on the couch for a moment, suspense building to its maximum, before we both shot up and ran to the kitchen at once. We cornered Dad between us at the coffee maker, both of us placing our hands arrogantly on our hips. “Gohan, you’d better tell us what she said,” she growled quietly, a fierce glare in her eyes.
Dad turned to her, his expression that of surprise. “Please, Videl, don’t make me think about it right now,” he begged, all the while preparing his coffee.
“No, Dad, we want to know what it was,” I pressed, imitating my mother’s glare perfectly. “Vegeta said that he wanted me to…what?”
He looked at me, eyes full of pain and remorse. “He…wants…you and Trunks…to…not be upset with each other anymore, to put it simply,” he said in a low voice. He gently pushed me aside and seated himself at the now-sparkling-clean kitchen table. “I would appreciate it if we didn’t go into detail, although Bra didn’t seem to have a problem with it,” he added as an afterthought.
I sighed, glancing out the window at the sunset. Though there was still a lot of daylight available, the sky had begun to glow in an orange aura, leaving a wisp of blue in the eastern corners. A smile somehow found my face, despite the anger and regret I was feeling. It was beautiful, and not even at its prime yet. There were still at least thirty minutes of lovely sunset I could enjoy…
But then again, I had no one to enjoy it with. I wished desperately for Trunks to overcome this little hatred he seemed to have acquired for me. Then I’d probably still be at his house, and probably be looking out at the sunset with him. And my father would still be tirelessly cleaning my house, and Bra could have said whatever she’d relayed through him to me directly. I would have known what it was by now if Trunks just wouldn’t hate me…
“Gohan. Darling,” my mother said, her voice dripping with such obviously fake sugar. “Please tell us what Bra said to you…”
“Or you’ll never see your coffee again,” I finished, swiftly taking the cup from his hand. Mom instantly darted to the coffee maker and hovered over it protectively. Dad eyed the two of us sadly, undoubtedly wondering why we resorted to such childish acts of ransom when presented with a situation such as this. “Now, spill it! Or say goodbye to the coffee.”
My father looked up at me with pitiful eyes, silently asking where all my common sense had gone. I smiled brightly, earning an exaggerated roll of the eyes from him. “If you must know,” he said, voice full of sarcasm with that first part, but growing more serious as her went on, “Vegeta has informed Bra that he wanted you to become the ‘mate’ of his son. Now, don’t—”
“He said WHAT!?” I cried, blood draining from my face. I instantly paled several shades. Vegeta how COULD you?!? Then I processed the words through my mind once more, allowing a small smile to make its way to my lips. He said that…he wants Trunks and me together, after all…
“Oh, Kami, she’s elated,” my father groaned, his head sinking into his hands and the rest of his form slumping onto the table. “Please tell me she’s not as happy as she looks…”
I smiled our family’s trademark grin, having picked it up from Grandpa and fine-tuned it alongside Goten over the years. “Don’t worry, Daddy,” I said, as reassuringly as I could. “I’m sure Trunks hates me. Maybe he won’t feel the same way and we don’t end up mating after all.”
Dad groaned again, sinking farther into the table. I snickered, earning a glare from my mother. She shot me a don’t-do-this-to-your-father look, then hugged him from behind and started mumbling to him about how everything was going to be okay.
Taking advantage of the attention being drawn from me, I smiled to myself and got lost in a dreamlike state, thinking about everything that had gone on in the past five days, temporarily forgetting the small ordeal of the early evening. Life would be so perfect…I could quit my job if I wanted to, being married to the richest…
“AAH, Kami!” I cried, disrupting my moment of peace. “My application! I have to fill that out!!”
My parents both looked at me, confusion laced through their faces. “Application?” my father repeated, lifting an eyebrow. “What for?”
“Z TV! My internship…the…oh, I have to go. They’re still open to the public, right? The night shift hasn’t locked themselves in there…”
I hastily fled from the room and ran to my bedroom, pausing upon entering. Trunks slept here last night, I reminded myself, a scowl unintentionally appearing on my face. No wonder the room was a mess. But there was no way he could have brought enough junk to clutter up my whole room…we came back here on a whim, for crying out loud. All of this is mine…hey, who gave him the right to go through my shit like that!? My thoughts were quickly changed to those of anger. Nothing important was out of place…just some junk that I’d already had laying out. I informed myself that it wasn’t his fault, it was mine for being such a moron and leaving my stuff out.
I shook my head, slowly trying to clear it from any thought other than those directed toward the task at hand. I needed…to go to Z TV. What was I doing in my room for that, anyway? Sure, my clothes were a little worn and torn, but I could still make it. People might stare a little, and keep their distance from me, but I didn’t care. I needed that application. The internship was over sometime next week…I had to get it done immediately.
I turned and went back to the living room, just as my parents were coming from the kitchen. “Panny, what are—”
“Sorry Mom, sorry Dad,” I said hurriedly, crossing the room and grabbing a jacket. “I have to go apply to keep my job. You can stay here, I’ll be back soon. Okay?”
“But Panny—”
“No time, Dad!” I cried, rushing over to kiss him on the cheek. I did the same to my mother, then paused to smile at them both. “See you in a while. Thanks for cleaning the kitchen, Dad!”
I didn’t wait for an answer; I couldn’t. No time for that. I threw the door open and nearly flew down the stairs, anxious to get into my car and drive. I felt I needed to drive, for some reason. Probably to clear my head from this whole…situation.
I ran out the door of the apartment complex and pulled the car capsule from my pocket. At least, I would have, provided there was a pocket for me to pull it from. I froze in mid-parking lot, horror registering on my face. “SHIT!” I screamed, louder than I meant to. “My car, damn it! It’s still at Capsule!” Defeated, I turned around and trudged back into the building, beginning to climb the all-too-many stairs to my room. I realized I could have just flown, but low moods make you want to trudge the whole way up.
How could I have been so stupid? My car was in my pocket, which was still in Bra’s room. To get there, I’d have to go through Trunks. Which I really didn’t want to do at the time. I silently begged Dende to tell me why I had let myself forget about that. My car, my precious black convertible with the blazing orange flame painted on the side…the plush, off-white leather interior…the tinted windshield…all still at Capsule. How, how could I let myself forget?
My father and mother were still slightly dazed in my living room, confused about my hasty retreat and sudden reappearance. I looked from one to the other, my face filled with sadness. “I left the car…at Capsule Corp.”
“Um, Pan, honey,” my mom said slowly, “you have work tomorrow, too. You can always fill out an application then.”
A thoughtful frown took over my lips. “Oh, yeah,” I said sheepishly, rubbing my head in true Son style. Dad sighed and smacked himself in the forehead, probably ashamed at what a ditz I was being these days.
“I’ll tell you what, sweetie,” Mom said soothingly, leaving Dad’s side and coming to comfort the distraught me, “your father will go to Capsule and get it back for you, and I’ll stay right here and cook you something for dinner. How does that sound, hmm?”
I smiled. “Sounds great, Mom. Thanks.”
“What!?” my father cried. “Don’t I get a say in this? Can’t I just stay here? I don’t want to go to Capsule!”
“Think of it this way, Dad,” I said in a silky and slightly evil tone. “If you see, hear, or sense Trunks anywhere near, you can go out of your way to scare him and maybe even threaten him a little.”
Dad lifted an eyebrow. “You won’t get mad?” he asked, like I was trying to trick him into something.
I laughed lightly. “Of course not! You heard how he treated me. He deserves to at least be shaken up a little. Now go, and let your evil Trunks-torturing instincts take over your mind!”
He laughed along with me. “Okay, Panny. See you when I find your car!” He gave a small wave, then turned to fly off of the balcony.
My mom smiled softly. “That wave,” she said quietly. “He’ll never, ever quit using it.” She snapped out of her memory-engrossed state and smiled at me. “So, do you have any requests for dinner? By chance?”
“Rice,” I said right away. “Bulma cooked something…strange…for lunch, and I can’t say I recognized it, but it was good. But there was no rice, and I’ve been craving it all day.”
She laughed. “Most of which, you’ve been asleep.” I shrugged and blushed lightly, embarrassed smile gracing my lips. She pulled me into a hug, ruffling my hair just a bit. “Come on, Panny. It’s time to play three-year-old again. You gonna help Mommy cook tonight?”
I smiled and hugged her back. I missed the days when life was simple and all I had to worry about was how much seasoning to give my mother. “Yep. Let’s do it, Mum.”
* * * * *
My mother and I cooked a lot that night. Dad didn’t come back until late, informing me that he’d forgotten to grab the capsule. But he told me that the expression on Trunks’ face was priceless each and every time he encountered him. He told me that the first time they met that evening, Trunks ran away in terror before Dad even said a word to him. It made me laugh, just imagining it. I couldn’t help but feel bad for Trunks. But hey, he deserved it for treating me like a liar earlier in the day. Sure, I was lying to him, but not as hugely as he lied to me. I was at least pretending it was a normal relationship, while he had his own strange motives for everything that happened. After I thought about it for a while, I realized that he actually could have hurt me pretty badly, had I not known about it beforehand. There could have been a lot of resentment drawn from whatever amount of time he planned for this to span over.
But no, another part of my brain kept reassuring me. He was just afraid of getting hurt again. He doesn’t have any diabolical plot he’s trying to carry through. He only wants to be able to fall in love and not fear heartbreak in the end. I doubted that Marron had sunk herself to cheating on Trunks (and with Goten, at that…), but it was always possible. And either way, she did leave him. Which hurt him more than I probably could imagine. If she had been cheating on him, it left every right for him to be afraid of losing me, because supposedly she’d broken up with him the Friday before I met him in the supermarket. I could have actually acted as a rebound for him…and maybe he was recovered now, and didn’t want to have to deal with me anymore. Maybe that temporary rudeness was actually his way of telling me to leave him alone. I prayed that it wasn’t that at all…but still, there was a chance. Anything left to chance, I’d discovered, wasn’t worth taking risks over.
Mom insisted that she and Dad stay at my place at least until I fell asleep. I guess she felt the need to play ‘guardian’ again, like when I’d been heartbroken when I was younger. She would always stay up with me, though she didn’t make a scene over it. She knew how much I didn’t want her to interfere. But now that we were both a little older, I didn’t mind so much. I let her stay up with me, sitting in my room and telling me strange stories about when she and Dad first met and things like that.
I found myself unwilling to sleep in my own bed. No one asked for an explanation or anything. They just moved me to the guestroom, where Bra had slept. It made me feel more secure, for some reason. I don’t know…I just got a strange feeling that I didn’t like when I was in my room.
Mom told me about the day she and Dad met, even though I’d heard it a billion times. I appreciated her willingness to help me out with this. Dad stayed in the kitchen, unsatisfied with his prior cleansing of the room. My mother told me about how Dad was obsessive over the stupidest things, and at that point he showed up to defend himself. We told each other dumb things about the other, things that bothered us about them…it was just really relaxing, for a change. I thought maybe I should move back home, to get to do this more often. It turned out to be more distracting than I thought. I fell asleep by ten thirty, my parents still ready to comfort me or do whatever I needed them to do. It was reassuring.
In the morning, I was surprised to find my father still there. He had fallen asleep on the couch, so I didn’t disturb him at first. Then I thought back to his job, and maybe he should wake up if he intended to go. So I woke him, and he panicked upon finding his wife not next to him, but he quickly regained his composure. He told me that Mom had insisted he stay, just in case I were to wake up in the middle of the night and need some comforting. I smiled and thanked him, and with that, he left to get to work.
I wished desperately that he didn’t leave. I needed someone to talk to that morning. So what wonderful idea did I formulate? How did I display my genius in handling this newest situation? I’ll get to that in a minute. First, I showered, dressed, and flew off of my balcony to get to work, since my car was still in Capsule Corporation’s VP’s bedroom. I hoped she didn’t do anything to my precious car.
Upon entering the building, there were (as expected) practically a hundred people, dying to know who the mysterious voice on the phone was. The voice that had called off sick the day before. “Oh,” I stammered, “that was my friend Bra. I passed out in her kitchen so she thought it was a good idea for me to stay there and get better.” No, it wasn’t a complete lie. I made sure I was at least mostly truthful.
And with that, I pushed through the crowd of disappointed ‘Trunks Briefs Fan Club’ members and to the main desk, and scheduled myself to have the afternoon off. The woman there told me it would be fine. Usually, one had to go through a lot of paperwork and talking to bosses and stuff to get a day off—even part of a day. But since I was so famous recently, she passed me through with no problem.
Just as I said, I worked the morning, impatiently ignoring any questions I received about Trunks. I didn’t have time to deal with them, for one thing, and for another, I was trying not to think about him. I’d have plenty of time for that later. I filled out and turned in the application, and discovered that it was the last possible day for that, anyway. If I had waited until next week, I’d have missed my chance at a job at Z TV. It was amazing, really. It was Friday already. I wasn’t ready for it to be so late in the week. Oh well; a weekend was tomorrow, and I was free to sleep for as long as I wanted, given I didn’t forget to shut off the alarm again. I had a strong feeling that I wouldn’t.
By the time noon rolled around, I was not only starving, but I was free. I left the station promptly at noon, the exact moment my morning of work was considered over. I had to walk the distance to somewhere safe to fly, but it didn’t take me too long. I’d chosen a destination for myself already. It was only a matter of getting there.
I took to the sky on the outskirts of the city, flying toward Grandma’s house. I knew I had to keep a low ki reading around there, or Grandma would sense my presence. And I didn’t want her to find out about all this. Knowing her, she’d probably let her eyes glaze over and start ranting about how she needs a great grandchild soon and for me to…that was definitely not something I wanted to hear at the moment.
There it was. Just about a mile away from Grandma Chichi’s house, it sat, looking nice and cozy. Far from what it actually was, I’m sure. There was a small field around it, with huge chunks burnt out of the ground. The grass was in patches, mostly surrounding the house and nothing more. It was obvious to anyone who knew him: Goten lived here.
I saw him, from all the way up here. His house was relatively large, being as he’d built it himself. He wanted a big house, so that’s what he made. I chuckled softly, remembering the hours of evening construction classes that had taken. There had been at least twelve failed attempts before I finally helped him build the one that stood there now. He was leaning against one of the five trees on the property, looking content on the ground. Marron was there, as well, but she was near the house and sipping some kind of beverage. She at least had the decency to sit at a table and use a chair. My uncle was sprawled in the shade of the tree, and he had undoubtedly been sleeping. I saw him, and I knew he saw me. Marron saw me, as well, before long.
I dropped from the sky and landed between the two of them. Marron got up from her table and slowly made her way across the large yard and to me. “Hey, Pan,” she said, peeking at me from over her sunglasses. “What brings you here?”
I smiled partway. “Well, I’m in a sort of mess and I wanted to get some perspective from my uncle. I guess I could use your help, too.”
She laughed and began leading the way to where Goten was peacefully watching us. “I’m sure he’d be glad to. He’s done nothing but sleep all day, anyway.” We approached my uncle, Marron taking the lead in the conversation. “Goten, baby, honey, darling…um…Pan’s here and she wants your help. So be a dear and get your butt off the ground and help your niece with her romantic crisis.”
He grinned up at her, and she rolled her eyes and walked away. She was smiling, though, so I guessed it was normal in their relationship. He then turned to me. “Yes, Panny? Have you come to the Advice Sensei?”
I rolled my eyes, much in the fashion that Marron had moments earlier. “No, I came to my lazy bum uncle to get his input on my life,” I said flatly. Goten chuckled and struggled to his feet, then came over and pushed me in a gently and playful manner. This was normally the signal (between us, at least) to spill your problems and let the other fix it all up for you. “Well, you know of my little situation with Trunks and everything, right?”
“Right,” he said, crossing his arms and looking impatient. I laughed at him and pushed him to the ground. He just smiled and waited for me to continue, making no move to get up from his new perch.
“Okay, well, yesterday he was treating me really weird. Like he hated me or something. But then after I was about to the point of tears, he apologized and expected everything to be okay again. I don’t know what the problem is…but I think it’s that he’s either gotten wind of our plot against him or he suspects something. So I was thinking…maybe I should tell him.”
“Pan!” he shouted, eyes widening. “You can’t do that! The plan—it’s not carried out yet! Don’t screw the whole thing up!”
“I have to!” I shouted back, sinking down to sit across from him. I lowered my voice after I got his attention. “I don’t know what’s going on with him, but I’ve already messed up the whole situation for myself. I fell for him, just like Bra said. And I thought he loved me, but…yesterday…I don’t know. I guess he was just using me, after all.”
“No, Panny,” Goten insisted, expression softening. “He does! Just give him another chance, okay?”
I smiled partially, still saddened by my bringing up the pain again, but I couldn’t help laughing at his sudden change of attitude. “What makes you say that, dear Uncle?”
“Well…I don’t know. Just looking out for my friend, I guess,” he admitted, smiling and sheepishly rubbing his head. “I mean, I wouldn’t want you or him getting hurt in the end, but one or the other will, so just go along with this until you’re sure it’s not real. Because I don’t want you hurting him.”
I was slightly surprised at his willingness to support Trunks. “But you don’t mind if he hurts me?”
He sighed, taking his eyes from mine and directing them toward the sky. “I doubt I can find the right words for this…Okay. Well, you love Trunks, and it’s my theory that he loves you too…” He paused to cringe at the realization that his best friend and niece were being discussed as a couple, but went on without too much alteration of opinion. “And you don’t want to hurt him, and he’s trying not to hurt you. So just go along with it. Push the plan out of your mind and just be normal.”
I ran my fingers through my hair, blowing a strand of it from my eyes. “I’ve tried that, Uncle,” I said simply. “It’s too hard to be normal. People keep treating me like I’m about to slip up or have my heart broken. But I think I’ve guilted my dad into accepting us as ‘together.’”
Goten laughed. “I never thought I’d see the day,” he remarked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “So if this does work out, Trunks has more of a chance in surviving?”
“Exactly,” I smiled. “Hey, guess what. Vegeta accepts me!” He gaped at me, so I elaborated. “He says it’s okay that I’m related to Kakarot. I’m officially accepted into the family, should I choose to become part of it.”
My uncle seemed to have lost his voice. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. “Pan, do you realize what you’re talking about here?” he managed to get out after a moment. “You know…he was talking about…like marriage and stuff? Only in his ‘Saiyan-speak,’ I guess he would have said ‘you can freely mate with my brat.’”
I nodded. “Yeah, in fact, that’s exactly how he said it.”
He gaped again. “And Gohan heard that!? And he still doesn’t mind you being with Trunks!?”
I shook my head, getting a relieved sigh from him. “He didn’t say he doesn’t mind, he just doesn’t get as upset about it anymore. I think he still has his concerns.” Goten’s mouth hung open, amazed that my father would do such a thing. I reached the opinion that this was harder on my uncle than it was on Dad. “I didn’t say ‘yes,’ you know. I mean, it’s not like we’re engaged or anything, by human or Saiyan terms. Wow, Goten, you truly are the easy target when it comes to me and Trunks. No wonder this was such a brilliant plan.”
Goten scowled at me. “I wouldn’t get upset about it while Trunks was around,” he grumbled. I smiled sweetly and he sighed, shaking his head in despair. “You’re too good for him, Panny. But if it makes you happy…”
“It does,” I said brightly. He winced at the words. Even I was enjoying this, as depressed as I currently was. It was fun to make Goten worry. I could see how much Trunks would have enjoyed this if the plan would have worked out. “Anyway, I’m telling him. So if there’s a plan, it’ll be destroyed, and if there’s not then I’ll be honest with him like I should have in the first place. Sound like a good idea?”
He simply shrugged. “I guess so. If that’s really what you’re gonna do.”
“Who’s doing what?” Marron called, approaching from behind again. Her sunglasses were dangling from her face, edged to the tip of her nose so that she could see over the tinted red lenses. She straightened her rose dress and knelt on the ground, careful not to rub the material on the grass for fear of a stain. “Come on, ‘fess up. I know at least what the subject of your discussion is. So just tell me the rest.”
“She’s confessing to Trunks,” Goten told her, sliding across the ground to sit next to his girlfriend. I smiled partway at this small act of affection. “She says he has a ‘right to know the truth’ or something like that.”
Marron’s face fell. She pushed her sunglasses up her face with her index finger and closed her gaping mouth. “Pan, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said cautiously. “I mean…think about this, now…what is he gonna say? How’s he gonna react to knowing that you know the plan?”
“He’s either gonna confess or deny it, and then my suspicions will finally be cleared. There will be too much evidence against him for him to deny it falsely, so it’ll have to be true. Simple as that.” It sounded convincing in my mind, but I didn’t know if I could actually pull it off. “In fact, I’m going right now. Thanks for talking me into it, you guys.”
That was a lie. A complete lie. I had no idea what I was going to say to him, and they had anything but talked me into it. I needed to formulate some type of plan before I left…but there was no time. I guessed I’d have to come up with the right words for it on the spot. I began to lift into the air, but Goten shot out and grabbed my arm before I really got anywhere.
He tried to smile, but it came off twisted in sadness and regret. “Please, Pan…I don’t think…” He sighed, knowing that he couldn’t talk me out of it. “Will you at least stay here for lunch?”
“Okay,” I said almost immediately. I’d forgotten about lunch, but now that I thought about it, I was hungry. “What are we eating?”
“Umm…” Goten cast a glance at Marron, who looked equally baffled. He looked back at me, smiling genuinely this time. “We’re not sure yet. In fact, I can’t cook, so you and Marron get to make food.”
I laughed. “That was sweet of you, Uncle,” I snickered. “You invite me to lunch, then tell me I have to prepare it. Thank you, thank you.”
He grinned. “No problem. Now, off to the kitchen, ladies.”
Marron and I both smacked him on the head, then we did go to fix something to eat. Neither of us had any idea what we were supposed to cook; we didn’t even know what Goten kept there. Apparently, all he had was cereal, milk, and various other breakfast foods. “I guess he goes out a lot,” I reasoned, uneasily eyeing what we had to work with.
“Guess so,” Marron agreed. “I know this might be weird, but even though I’ve been with him for a week, I’ve never eaten with him at home. We always go to Chichi’s place.”
I cringed. “I really don’t want to go over Grandma’s about now,” I confessed. “My situation just wouldn’t fly the right way with her.”
Marron lifted an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” she inquired, closing a cabinet that we were looking in.
“Well, I have a feeling she’d only see the…um, the reproductive benefits of the situation, if you know what I mean. She wouldn’t see it in a normal grandmotherly light.”
Marron paled. “Oh,” she said quietly, turning to look somewhere else for any oven-compatible food. “That’s, um…probably true.”
I smiled to myself, having sufficiently explained Grandma’s probable reaction without the chance of any further questions being asked. “How are we supposed to cook if there’s no food to cook with?” I mumbled, switching the conversation back to the original topic. “I mean, he can’t be that impaired when it comes to the oven…”
“I agree. He grew up with a woman who cooks every waking moment,” Marron pointed out. “He should be at least semi-knowledgeable about his kitchen.”
“Ah! Here we go,” I grinned, revealing a stash of almost every food imaginable. “We can whip something up with this, don’t you think?”
Marron came over to see what I was talking about. A smile immediately spread on her lips when she saw what I’d discovered. “Oh, yes,” she agreed. “We can definitely come up with something, and I’m pretty sure it should be edible.”
“Or at least, not poisonous,” I reasoned, grabbing whatever was nearest the front. I signaled Marron to do the same, and we began our cooking adventure.
* * * * *
We ended up nearly killing ourselves with our sorry excuse for lunch. After that little experience, I decided going without food for a little over a day wouldn’t kill me. Maybe even two days might serve me nicely. Marron didn’t eat as much of it as Goten and I did, and she promised him that she’d never leave his side until he was better because she felt so guilty. She was sick, too, but like I said, she didn’t eat as much. She wasn’t quite as inclined to throw up as we were.
After that, and after Goten and I were stable and could stand without our legs collapsing from beneath us, we talked and relived a lot of past experiences involving bad luck and food. There was one that we talked about, my personal favorite, where it was Grandpa’s birthday and Grandma had the ‘brilliant’ idea of taking him to dinner at one of those all-you-can-eat places. It was a relatively nice one, and Grandma needed to ask Bulma to help with the bill, so we were all waiting for the day with high expectations. And finally, the birthday celebration came. The party consisted of our family and Bra’s family, which totaled ten people. Seven of those ten had Saiyan blood running through their veins. We ate a ton, and resulted being banned from the entire chain of restaurants. But we had fun, and the food was good. It wasn’t all that great of a story, but it was one of my few peaceful memories with Grandpa, so it was nice. I was only three or four at the time, but somehow I remembered it like it had happened the week before.
We talked a lot, about stupid things. It was nice to forget my situation for a moment and just relax with people who could laugh about the dumbest things. And we did. We even found humor in the number of times Marron’s father had been killed, though it was a far from pleasant experience for him. We laughed about my father’s ‘Great Saiyaman’ guise, which was embarrassing for me. And we really laughed at Goten, mostly because of his luck with women and the like. He just turned red and claimed it was their faults and not his.
But eventually, when the sun was starting to fade into the western part of the sky, I decided it was time for me to go. Time to face the music and sack up and confess. See where it took me. For some reason, though, I didn’t see much of a problem with it after talking to my uncle and friend for so long. Even if this whole thing blew up in my face, I knew they would still be there when I needed them.
It was only four thirty, but I was already starting to feel chilled as I flew toward Capsule Corp. I wanted my car back, as my father had conveniently forgotten it the night before, and I kind of needed it to carry on with my life. I was doing fine without the mess with Trunks, and I’d be okay after he decided he hated me and never wanted to see me again. I could have lived without seeing him…ever again…
I sighed during my flight. No I couldn’t. I was just trying to fool myself into not being crushed. Of course it would break my heart if he hated me for this. It wasn’t my idea…I was just going along with what I thought was a plan…and what I thought was intended to hurt not only me, but my family, as well. Plus, Trunks had to have some logic behind his actions. Of course he would have figured that my father would hear about this and tear him apart.
Thinking back, I realized that at the supermarket, he had referred to my father as though he were Death. "…if that’s okay with you and your dad." Why would he be afraid unless he had some kind of interest in me? Only if he was planning to use me. He canceled his previous plans that afternoon to come to my apartment. Maybe it occurred to him that he could use me after I left him in the store. Maybe it was a trap after all.
I growled to myself. No, I didn’t care. I’d clear it all up tonight. There was Capsule, just up ahead. Vegeta apparently was expecting me, as he was training himself in the yard instead of the gravity room. He probably sensed me coming and decided to…say something that would make me feel awkward or something. Or maybe he wanted to apologize for being so rude to me. I laughed quietly as I descended. Yeah, right. That’d be the day.
The prince stopped his aimless punching at the air when I landed, and turned to acknowledge my presence. “Pan.”
I nearly died right there. He used my name! “Vegeta,” I responded, struggling to not look shocked. He scoffed at my expression, so I guess I did look a little surprised. “Might I ask where Bra is?”
“Inside,” he said, pointing toward the door. “Aren’t you here for the brat?”
“Yes,” I replied, making my way toward the house. “But I have to ask Bra about it first. Can I just go in?” He shrugged, then returned to beating the sky senseless. I opened the door and saw Bra, absorbed in some drama film. She was crying her eyes out, too distracted to notice me come in.
“No! Wait, he loves you!” she wailed at the TV. “Stupid bitch! Now you haven’t got a chance!!”
I smiled faintly, looking at the all-too-familiar mascara lines that marked where her tears had run. She dabbed at her face with a tissue again. “Bra, I hope you know she couldn’t hear you. It’s not that she thinks your advice was bad.”
Her head snapped back from the TV, eyes filled with surprise. “Oh, Pan,” she breathed, switching off the movie and getting up from her comfortable position on the floor. Her area was set up complete with sleeping bag, pillow, and mountain of popcorn. “You scared me. And yes, I’m aware that she can’t hear me. But I think the louder I yell, the better chance I have at getting through to the dumbass blonde.”
I laughed for a moment, then forced myself to calm down and get serious again. “Bra, I had an idea today,” I said quietly. “I think I should tell Trunks what we know.”
Her face also grew solemn. “Pan…”
“I know, Marron thought it was dumb, too. But I think I should just accuse him and get it over with. Yesterday, he was treating me really strange, and I think it has something to do with the plan.”
“Pan, I think…”
“Hey, girls,” we heard Bulma’s cheerful voice ring from the doorway. We stopped our conversation and turned to smile at her. “Pan, Vegeta told me you wanted to talk to Trunks. Should I get him for you?”
“Um…” I looked at Bra, whose eyes filled with worry. “Yes. Please,” I finished. Bra let out a small squeak from her throat, but kept the smile on her face.
Bulma smiled. “Okay, he’ll be here in a while. Nice to see everyone getting together again, after so long being apart.”
She turned and left the room again, and immediately after she was out of earshot Bra grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard. “You IDIOT!” she hissed. “How could you do that!? Now you’re gonna have to tell him!!”
“No, we’re gonna have to tell him,” I corrected. Her face fell. “I can’t do this by myself. Besides, it was your stupid idea that made me go along with it in the first place.”
Bra thought quickly. “Today’s Friday, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is,” I said, not really following what she was getting at.
She sighed. “I can’t…I mean…oh, Kami, I can’t back out of this today.”
My brow furrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“My horoscope,” she explained. I groaned in exasperation, but she went on to explain. “It said that I can’t run from my fears today, that I have to stand up and face them like the Saiyan princess I am. It didn’t say that exactly, but something similar. Horoscopes speak in code, I think.”
I gave her a pitiful stare. “You mean to tell me you worship horoscopes like they have all the answers to the ‘puzzle of life?’”
“Yes, I do,” she said proudly. I sighed. Whatever. She could believe in whatever she wanted. I didn’t have time to yell at her about it, because Trunks came in all too quickly. He looked so cheerful and happy to see me…and I felt horrible at what I was about to do. Bra and I exchanged nervous glances. “Trunks, sit down please,” she said quietly, motioning to the couch.
His face fell. “You’re not…um, gonna ruin my life or anything, are you?”
I felt like crying. “No, Trunks, we’re gonna try not to,” I said wryly. He looked worried now. “Um, I have a small…confession to make…”
“We have a confession to make,” Bra reminded me, jabbing me in the ribs. “My horoscope,” she reminded me quietly.
Trunks’ eyes filled with suspicion. “This isn’t your weird and twisted way of telling me you two are getting married, is it?”
“WHAT!?” we cried in unison. “No way!”
He laughed and settled back into the chair. “Good. You were starting to scare me.”
“We were just…involved…in something…um, that you might want to know about…” I started nervously. “See…um, we were talking…on Sunday…and Bra said…um…”
“Hey!” she interrupted, glaring at me. “Don’t make this look like it’s all my fault!”
“Why not? It was your idea!”
“Blame Goten! He told you to come here!”
“No he didn’t! He tried to talk me out of it!”
“You said Marron did!”
“So did Goten!”
“But you—”
“SHUT UP!”
Bra and I both turned to Trunks, startled by this sudden outburst. “Um, what?” Bra asked quietly.
“First of all, you two are confusing me,” Trunks stated, looking slightly nervous. “And secondly…about Goten…um…Pan…?”
Bra and I exchanged a glance. “Yes?” I asked cautiously.
“Um, you love me, right?”
This was making me even more apprehensive. “Um, yes…”
“And you’d do anything I asked you to do? Even if it seemed stupid?”
“If it was important to you…”
“Good,” he breathed, looking a little less afraid. “Um, then, in that case, I was thinking…maybe we could…um, go pay Goten a visit tomorrow. Would you?”
I froze. What? WHAT!? He couldn’t be saying this! It was the plan, after all! Bra shot me a glare that said, See, I told you! He’s trying to trick you into it. Look at what he just said. That’s what I told you would happen all along. I was right.
How could this be? I hadn’t anticipated this happening. I was about to confess this to him, for Dende’s sake! How could this be happening!?
But no, I should have figured. Bra was right. I was being used. And now was the moment of truth, the moment we’d been waiting for since Sunday night. The moment we started our vengeance against the bad guy, who in this case was Trunks.
“Pan? You okay?”
“You’re saying that you and me…go, as a couple, to my uncle’s house?” I said quietly, my voice steady and even. He could probably tell I was slightly peeved right then. But I tried my best not to give myself away.
“Yeah,” he said uneasily, casting a glance at Bra. She shrugged helplessly and glanced back at me. Trunks took a breath and looked back at me, his expression wavering between frightened and hopeful. “Will you?”
I swallowed hard. This was it. Bra was right. And now it was time for me to take my revenge. “Sure. I’d love to.”
Bra elbowed me discreetly. She wanted to know what was going through my head, but I couldn’t tell her. All I could do was smile and pretend everything was going according to plan. When, in reality, my head was spinning and I felt like dying. My heart was crushed. He was using me. Just like she said. And I had to play into it, just like I said.
I came here to find out the truth. And now I knew.
And now I knew…I had to fix this.
He’d be sorry he messed with me.
Chapter 9
One Simple Little Wish
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