Disclaimer: I do not own any characters displayed in this fan fiction. They
are the sole property of Akira Toriyama.
~Chapter One~
It was a quiet night. Calm, peaceful, full moon; a typical picture for a serene, normal night. The leaves of the trees swayed in the gentle breeze, small drops of water still dripping from the previous storm. A lone owl softly hooted, perching its sharp talons on the roof of an elaborate looking mansion.
Suddenly, the night bird screeched in panic and flapped away frantically as a dark shadow swiftly raced across the roof, crouched on all fours like a primitive animal. Dark spikes of hair wavered, a small sash billowing behind the creature as it continued its climb down the roof, to an open window on the top floor. It's curtains fluttered outward into the night, catching the creature in the face.
With a quick leap, the being was in the house, crouching. Dark, ebony eyes flickered constantly like a restless bee, buzzing to find a satisfactory flower. Finally, they settled upon a small purse set on a nightstand next to the oblivious sleeping lady.
In a blink, the figure was gone. . .nothing disturbed, nothing changed.
Except for the now empty nightstand, it's glazed surface glistening innocently in the dull moonlight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!" A piercing shriek nearly rocked the mansion off its foundation, which is quite an incredible feat.
Young Satan Videl stormed around angrily, not in the best of moods. She was already late to meeting her friends at the movies, and her frenzied temper wasn't helping either. Clothes flew, blankets swept aside as the teenager continued her frantic search for her missing accessory.
"What is it, sweetpea?! Is someone abducting you?! Are you in trouble? Are you hu-" Poomf. World Champion Satan Hercule, Master of Martial Arts, fell flat on his tushie and tumbled down the stairs from which he came, the thrown pillow still on his goofy face.
"Where is my purse?!? I'm going to be late! Daddy, did you take it?" Videl screamed angrily, too caught up in her search to realize her father was unconscious at the bottom of the stairs. "Aaaargh!!! My money was in there! I need money for the movie!! Goddammit, if I lost that purse, I just lost 50 dollars, just like that out the window!"
Apparently giving up her search, she raced down the stairs, narrowly avoiding her father and barely giving him a glance as she hurried away. "I'm borrowing money daddy, love ya, bye!" And she was gone.
~~Not too far away~~
"Niichan, niichan, look look look!!!" An excited squeal bubbled out from a hyper little boy as he bounced up and down, only stopping when the sash tied around his waist brushed into his eye.
"Whoa, whoa, slow down there little guy. What's got you so worked up?" A young man, still in his teens actually, smiled fondly down at his little brother.
A cute scowl replaced the excited expression. "I'm not little! Anyway, guess what I got?" Without waiting for an answer, he held up the object in his hands, a proud expression gracing his babyish features. He waited eagerly for his brother's response to his seemingly wonderful display.
Instead, a small frown crossed the older one's face. "Where did you get that?" The younger faltered, bright, cheerful ebony eyes beginning to dull.
"Well, I uh. . .I found it!"
"Goten, you stole again didn't you?" The teen asked softly, a grievous look crossing his face.
A sad sniffle was his only reply.
The older sighed. "Goten, you know that's wrong. I know we may need crucial things that we don't have or can't afford, but that never means resorting to stealing. We've been through this. . ."
Tears slipped down pale cheeks, sparkling in the bright morning sun. "But Gohan-niichan. . .I'm so hungry. . .and I know you don't have food. And dinosaur tastes bad. And I wanna eat REAL food."
Gohan sighed again. It nearly tore his heart to see his usually cheerful brother like this. . .which meant his heart was torn quite a lot these days. As much as he loathed to use stolen money, Gohan knew he had to do something to get food. His growling belly reminded him of the absence of food for nearly five whole days, and dinosaur *was* getting old. Besides, his body demanded more than just meat.
"Hey, squirt. Don't cry, just don't do it again, okay? I'll. . ." Gohan bit his lip, deeply troubled by the action he was about to do. "I'll use the money just this once to get us some food. Dry those tears now, Goten."
Goten sniffled, and slowly held up the small black purse to his brother. "I was just hungry. . ." He repeated.
"Yeah I know." Gohan smiled, but inwardly he was wincing at how low he was stooping. Ah well, he could sacrifice his pride once in a while to help his brother. . .besides, now that the opportunity was available, Gohan simply couldn't wait to get *real* food, as Goten put it, into his protesting stomach. Amazingly, his brother's digesting organ was louder than his.
"Well, come on Goten. Let's have a look at what we have."
Gohan took the purse from his brother's hands and drew out its contents. He nearly dropped it in surprise at what he found.
"WHOA!! *50* DOLLARS!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Erasa, wait up!" Videl huffed, waving back to the blonde in the distance. She sped up a bit so as to hopefully curb any feelings of impatience that were most likely present.
"Damn, Videl! What took ya so long?" A snotty voice drawled, and a long haired blond boy approached.
"Shut up Sharpener, I couldn't find my purse." Videl snapped, dearly wishing she could sock him in the nose. Sure he was a friend, a rather perverted one at that, but he *so* got on her nerves sometimes!
"Did you find it?" Erasa asked quite innocently, while Videl restrained herself from gawping. Even after several years, Videl still wasn't quite used to. . .ahem. . .the stupidity, to put it mildly of her good but ditzy friend.
"Um, *no* Erasa, I just said I couldn't."
"Damn, that really sucks, Videl! Knowing you, there was probably a whole bunch of money in there!" Sharpener chortled as the three made their way to the ticket booth.
"At least I *have* my own money, unlike *somebody* who has to beg his parents every time he wants so much as a pencil!" Videl yelled back, quite pissed. Being her friend wouldn't protect that loudmouth from a good kick in the guts from her, oh no!
"Hey, come on you guys! Stop bickering and pick a movie already!" Erasa whined.
"Hmph. Fine. Let's see that one." Videl said grumpily, pointing at some random movie name on the board.
~~After the movie~~
"Wow, Videl, for once you actually picked a good one!" Erasa squealed. "Wasn't that such a good romance? All those moments, the atmosphere. . ." The dreamy ditz rambled on.
"Augh, I can't believe a picked *that* one. . ."Videl grumbled, appalled at her choice. Maybe she should have paid more attention to what she pointed to.
"Now, on to the mall!" Erasa latched her arms onto her two friends, dragging them with amazing speed and energy to the car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Uh. . .niichan? Are you okay?" Goten asked, watching in amusement at his goggling brother.
"Wh-where. . .did. . .you steal this from, Goten?" Gohan asked weakly.
"Umm. . .I dunno exactly, I just went to the first house I saw. It was really really really big."
'Oh damn. That must have been the Satan Mansion. Oh Kami, please let them not have seen Goten!' Gohan prayed. He knew rich people were the less sympathetic ones to those they considered inferior, and if Goten was seen, he would probably be arrested and punished severely or something. . .despite his age. Rich people were just like that, simple and plain as fact. Gohan watched his clueless brother picking at the dirty edges of his gi. 'I hope no one saw him. . .'
"Cummon, Goten. Let's get some food."
"YAY!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Tell me why we're here again?" Videl growled. She did *not* like shopping. Not one tad little bit.
"Oh come *on* Videl! Loosen up, this is just for fun!" Erasa whined.
"Ergh. . .I hate shopping." Videl mumbled. "Let's eat. . .it's almost noon and I'm hungry."
"Well, off to the food court!" Sharpener crowed, prancing forward eagerly with Erasa's many shopping bags dangling from his arms. Videl slightly smiled. 'What an idiot.'
"Oooh, Videl! Look over there! Isn't that guy such a hottie?" Erasa squealed.
"Erasa, I'm not even going to bother looking because the last time you said something like that, he nearly soaked my face in greasy hair."
"Cummon, Videl! I'm serious this time! Although he *does* look a little dirty. . ."
Sighing, the black-haired girl turned and eyed the object of her friend's affections. She had to admit, he *was* pretty filthy looking. He wore a torn, well-used orange fighting gi with blue boots, undershirt, and sash. He seemed to be waiting for something.
"Videl, Videl! Cummon! Let's go talk to him!"
Before either she or Sharpener could protest, Videl found herself being dragged in her friend's grip. Sharpener just trailed along, not really having anything else to do. Also because Videl and Erasa had all the money.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Geez, how long does it take that little brat to pick a food court, already?" Gohan mumbled, glancing at the clock hung up on the wall. 'And I feel so uncomfortable carrying so much money. . .stolen money at that. . .' he added silently.
"Hello there!" A cheerful voice nearly made him jump. Hey, you couldn't blame him, it was rare for someone *else* to start a conversation with *him*. Gohan realized dimly it had been several years since he'd had a *real*, long, friendly conversation with anyone except his brother.
Turning, Gohan found himself looking at a smiling blonde, a scowling black, and a snotty looking jock.
"Um. . .hi." Was all Gohan said. Unsure of what else to do, since Gohan's socialization skills went down the drain ever since he and Goten were homeless, he stayed silent while fidgetting nervously.
The black-haired one only frowned deeper and the jock snorted scornfully. "Erasa, we're wasting our time here with filth like him. Just a common beggar hoping for an extra cent on the floor." Sharpener sneered.
Long used to such insults, Gohan only ignored the cruel remark and continued to wait for his brother. He didn't have much longer to wait.
"Niiiichaaan!!" A small blur bowled into Gohan, knocking him down. Goten stared up curiously from his position on Gohan's chest. "Who're they, niichan?"
Standing up, Gohan dusted himself off and held his brother in the crook of his arm. "No one, Goten. They're just. . ."'Oh SHIT. That girl. . .is Satan Videl! Kuso kuso kuso. . .'
"Uh, Goten, let's get something to eat somewhere else." Gohan sputtered hurriedly, ignoring the questioning looks of the other three and his own charge in his arms.
"But who are they?"
Gohan gave a small glare directed straight at Videl. "They're rich." he murmured softly.
Goten grimaced. He knew how much is brother hated those kind of people.
The two quickly left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What's *his* problem?" Sharpener scoffed in the direction the stranger had left. "He didn't seem to like you too much, Videl."
After getting over the small spark of anger that had inflamed after receiving his look, Videl pondered over why he would hate her. She was the daughter of the World Champion and a pretty good fighter herself, but the look he sent her didn't really look like jealousy. More like intense hatred and even a teeny tiny bit of fear.
'Fear, eh?'
"Hey, Videl, did you see what he was holding? Seemed like a lot of money for someone as poor-looking as him."
A sudden thought occurred to the shorter girl. "Erasa, Sharpener. How much was he holding?"
"Umm. . ." Erasa tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I think it was a few. . .no, two 20s, and a 10. Geez, that's 50 dollars!"
The flame of anger came back full force, crackling with a vengeance in the mind of Videl.
'Oh, you're gonna pay you thief. No none steals from me and gets away with it.'
~Chapter One~
It was a quiet night. Calm, peaceful, full moon; a typical picture for a serene, normal night. The leaves of the trees swayed in the gentle breeze, small drops of water still dripping from the previous storm. A lone owl softly hooted, perching its sharp talons on the roof of an elaborate looking mansion.
Suddenly, the night bird screeched in panic and flapped away frantically as a dark shadow swiftly raced across the roof, crouched on all fours like a primitive animal. Dark spikes of hair wavered, a small sash billowing behind the creature as it continued its climb down the roof, to an open window on the top floor. It's curtains fluttered outward into the night, catching the creature in the face.
With a quick leap, the being was in the house, crouching. Dark, ebony eyes flickered constantly like a restless bee, buzzing to find a satisfactory flower. Finally, they settled upon a small purse set on a nightstand next to the oblivious sleeping lady.
In a blink, the figure was gone. . .nothing disturbed, nothing changed.
Except for the now empty nightstand, it's glazed surface glistening innocently in the dull moonlight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!" A piercing shriek nearly rocked the mansion off its foundation, which is quite an incredible feat.
Young Satan Videl stormed around angrily, not in the best of moods. She was already late to meeting her friends at the movies, and her frenzied temper wasn't helping either. Clothes flew, blankets swept aside as the teenager continued her frantic search for her missing accessory.
"What is it, sweetpea?! Is someone abducting you?! Are you in trouble? Are you hu-" Poomf. World Champion Satan Hercule, Master of Martial Arts, fell flat on his tushie and tumbled down the stairs from which he came, the thrown pillow still on his goofy face.
"Where is my purse?!? I'm going to be late! Daddy, did you take it?" Videl screamed angrily, too caught up in her search to realize her father was unconscious at the bottom of the stairs. "Aaaargh!!! My money was in there! I need money for the movie!! Goddammit, if I lost that purse, I just lost 50 dollars, just like that out the window!"
Apparently giving up her search, she raced down the stairs, narrowly avoiding her father and barely giving him a glance as she hurried away. "I'm borrowing money daddy, love ya, bye!" And she was gone.
~~Not too far away~~
"Niichan, niichan, look look look!!!" An excited squeal bubbled out from a hyper little boy as he bounced up and down, only stopping when the sash tied around his waist brushed into his eye.
"Whoa, whoa, slow down there little guy. What's got you so worked up?" A young man, still in his teens actually, smiled fondly down at his little brother.
A cute scowl replaced the excited expression. "I'm not little! Anyway, guess what I got?" Without waiting for an answer, he held up the object in his hands, a proud expression gracing his babyish features. He waited eagerly for his brother's response to his seemingly wonderful display.
Instead, a small frown crossed the older one's face. "Where did you get that?" The younger faltered, bright, cheerful ebony eyes beginning to dull.
"Well, I uh. . .I found it!"
"Goten, you stole again didn't you?" The teen asked softly, a grievous look crossing his face.
A sad sniffle was his only reply.
The older sighed. "Goten, you know that's wrong. I know we may need crucial things that we don't have or can't afford, but that never means resorting to stealing. We've been through this. . ."
Tears slipped down pale cheeks, sparkling in the bright morning sun. "But Gohan-niichan. . .I'm so hungry. . .and I know you don't have food. And dinosaur tastes bad. And I wanna eat REAL food."
Gohan sighed again. It nearly tore his heart to see his usually cheerful brother like this. . .which meant his heart was torn quite a lot these days. As much as he loathed to use stolen money, Gohan knew he had to do something to get food. His growling belly reminded him of the absence of food for nearly five whole days, and dinosaur *was* getting old. Besides, his body demanded more than just meat.
"Hey, squirt. Don't cry, just don't do it again, okay? I'll. . ." Gohan bit his lip, deeply troubled by the action he was about to do. "I'll use the money just this once to get us some food. Dry those tears now, Goten."
Goten sniffled, and slowly held up the small black purse to his brother. "I was just hungry. . ." He repeated.
"Yeah I know." Gohan smiled, but inwardly he was wincing at how low he was stooping. Ah well, he could sacrifice his pride once in a while to help his brother. . .besides, now that the opportunity was available, Gohan simply couldn't wait to get *real* food, as Goten put it, into his protesting stomach. Amazingly, his brother's digesting organ was louder than his.
"Well, come on Goten. Let's have a look at what we have."
Gohan took the purse from his brother's hands and drew out its contents. He nearly dropped it in surprise at what he found.
"WHOA!! *50* DOLLARS!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Erasa, wait up!" Videl huffed, waving back to the blonde in the distance. She sped up a bit so as to hopefully curb any feelings of impatience that were most likely present.
"Damn, Videl! What took ya so long?" A snotty voice drawled, and a long haired blond boy approached.
"Shut up Sharpener, I couldn't find my purse." Videl snapped, dearly wishing she could sock him in the nose. Sure he was a friend, a rather perverted one at that, but he *so* got on her nerves sometimes!
"Did you find it?" Erasa asked quite innocently, while Videl restrained herself from gawping. Even after several years, Videl still wasn't quite used to. . .ahem. . .the stupidity, to put it mildly of her good but ditzy friend.
"Um, *no* Erasa, I just said I couldn't."
"Damn, that really sucks, Videl! Knowing you, there was probably a whole bunch of money in there!" Sharpener chortled as the three made their way to the ticket booth.
"At least I *have* my own money, unlike *somebody* who has to beg his parents every time he wants so much as a pencil!" Videl yelled back, quite pissed. Being her friend wouldn't protect that loudmouth from a good kick in the guts from her, oh no!
"Hey, come on you guys! Stop bickering and pick a movie already!" Erasa whined.
"Hmph. Fine. Let's see that one." Videl said grumpily, pointing at some random movie name on the board.
~~After the movie~~
"Wow, Videl, for once you actually picked a good one!" Erasa squealed. "Wasn't that such a good romance? All those moments, the atmosphere. . ." The dreamy ditz rambled on.
"Augh, I can't believe a picked *that* one. . ."Videl grumbled, appalled at her choice. Maybe she should have paid more attention to what she pointed to.
"Now, on to the mall!" Erasa latched her arms onto her two friends, dragging them with amazing speed and energy to the car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Uh. . .niichan? Are you okay?" Goten asked, watching in amusement at his goggling brother.
"Wh-where. . .did. . .you steal this from, Goten?" Gohan asked weakly.
"Umm. . .I dunno exactly, I just went to the first house I saw. It was really really really big."
'Oh damn. That must have been the Satan Mansion. Oh Kami, please let them not have seen Goten!' Gohan prayed. He knew rich people were the less sympathetic ones to those they considered inferior, and if Goten was seen, he would probably be arrested and punished severely or something. . .despite his age. Rich people were just like that, simple and plain as fact. Gohan watched his clueless brother picking at the dirty edges of his gi. 'I hope no one saw him. . .'
"Cummon, Goten. Let's get some food."
"YAY!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Tell me why we're here again?" Videl growled. She did *not* like shopping. Not one tad little bit.
"Oh come *on* Videl! Loosen up, this is just for fun!" Erasa whined.
"Ergh. . .I hate shopping." Videl mumbled. "Let's eat. . .it's almost noon and I'm hungry."
"Well, off to the food court!" Sharpener crowed, prancing forward eagerly with Erasa's many shopping bags dangling from his arms. Videl slightly smiled. 'What an idiot.'
"Oooh, Videl! Look over there! Isn't that guy such a hottie?" Erasa squealed.
"Erasa, I'm not even going to bother looking because the last time you said something like that, he nearly soaked my face in greasy hair."
"Cummon, Videl! I'm serious this time! Although he *does* look a little dirty. . ."
Sighing, the black-haired girl turned and eyed the object of her friend's affections. She had to admit, he *was* pretty filthy looking. He wore a torn, well-used orange fighting gi with blue boots, undershirt, and sash. He seemed to be waiting for something.
"Videl, Videl! Cummon! Let's go talk to him!"
Before either she or Sharpener could protest, Videl found herself being dragged in her friend's grip. Sharpener just trailed along, not really having anything else to do. Also because Videl and Erasa had all the money.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Geez, how long does it take that little brat to pick a food court, already?" Gohan mumbled, glancing at the clock hung up on the wall. 'And I feel so uncomfortable carrying so much money. . .stolen money at that. . .' he added silently.
"Hello there!" A cheerful voice nearly made him jump. Hey, you couldn't blame him, it was rare for someone *else* to start a conversation with *him*. Gohan realized dimly it had been several years since he'd had a *real*, long, friendly conversation with anyone except his brother.
Turning, Gohan found himself looking at a smiling blonde, a scowling black, and a snotty looking jock.
"Um. . .hi." Was all Gohan said. Unsure of what else to do, since Gohan's socialization skills went down the drain ever since he and Goten were homeless, he stayed silent while fidgetting nervously.
The black-haired one only frowned deeper and the jock snorted scornfully. "Erasa, we're wasting our time here with filth like him. Just a common beggar hoping for an extra cent on the floor." Sharpener sneered.
Long used to such insults, Gohan only ignored the cruel remark and continued to wait for his brother. He didn't have much longer to wait.
"Niiiichaaan!!" A small blur bowled into Gohan, knocking him down. Goten stared up curiously from his position on Gohan's chest. "Who're they, niichan?"
Standing up, Gohan dusted himself off and held his brother in the crook of his arm. "No one, Goten. They're just. . ."'Oh SHIT. That girl. . .is Satan Videl! Kuso kuso kuso. . .'
"Uh, Goten, let's get something to eat somewhere else." Gohan sputtered hurriedly, ignoring the questioning looks of the other three and his own charge in his arms.
"But who are they?"
Gohan gave a small glare directed straight at Videl. "They're rich." he murmured softly.
Goten grimaced. He knew how much is brother hated those kind of people.
The two quickly left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What's *his* problem?" Sharpener scoffed in the direction the stranger had left. "He didn't seem to like you too much, Videl."
After getting over the small spark of anger that had inflamed after receiving his look, Videl pondered over why he would hate her. She was the daughter of the World Champion and a pretty good fighter herself, but the look he sent her didn't really look like jealousy. More like intense hatred and even a teeny tiny bit of fear.
'Fear, eh?'
"Hey, Videl, did you see what he was holding? Seemed like a lot of money for someone as poor-looking as him."
A sudden thought occurred to the shorter girl. "Erasa, Sharpener. How much was he holding?"
"Umm. . ." Erasa tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I think it was a few. . .no, two 20s, and a 10. Geez, that's 50 dollars!"
The flame of anger came back full force, crackling with a vengeance in the mind of Videl.
'Oh, you're gonna pay you thief. No none steals from me and gets away with it.'