Life is Too Short
Chapter One: It Feels Familiar
The chilly autumn wind had never felt so invigorating. It whipped at her face, rustled her clothes and swept her fringe across her forehead as she soared through the night sky. A perpetual smile seemed to be glued on her lips while her eyes darted everywhere around, blue orbs taking in everything they could, from the changing scenery below to the thousands of stars twinkling brightly from above.
She used to hate the shudder that came whenever a cool breeze would touch her skin. Like most people, she would rather snuggle up in a warm blanket than go out and face the cold. Right now however, she was truly enjoying herself and even welcomed the goosebumps gathering under her sleeves. Old sensations that she'd long forgotten rushed through her, reminding her of when she was a kid. She would run as fast as she could until she would feel the wind pricking her eyes and whistling in her ears; yet it clashed with the new found experience of flying through the clouds.
She felt light as a feather, defying the laws of gravity as she summoned more energy to speed up above the grassy fields. The city wasn't much farther now, she could tell. The girl was still getting used to this new ability of sensing people's life force, but even with her inexperience the mass of ki's coming from the distance was unmistakable.
The grin plastered across her face was starting to hurt her cheeks, but the raven-haired teen was simply too happy to care. She couldn't wait to get home and see her father again.
Home. After all this time, she was actually going back home. She missed everyone so much...! her dad, her closest friends, her whole life. While the past months had been quite instructive and interesting, to say the least, she couldn't be more excited to be back and see everyone again. She chuckled to herself, picturing the looks they'd have when they see her. It was going to be priceless!
City lights appeared from afar: yellow, red, orange and white shone from the distance, much like the way the stars were sparkling above her. As she got closer, buildings began to take form and the street noises were getting louder and louder, the familiar hum bringing her a sense of security. Her grin widened, if possible, when she caught sight of the big 'welcome' signboard, her father's image greeting her with his trademark peace sign. She couldn't wait to actually see him again!
Slowing down, the young female fighter soon landed in front of the big sign, smiling up at her old man's picture. Her eyes clouded with nostalgia in that moment, watching his proud pose some more. She really did miss him. As annoying as he could be at times, and even after finding out the questionable things he'd done, he was her father and she loved him with all of her heart. She was aware that she would have a lot of explaining to do when she saw him, too... The prospect wasn't one she looked forwards to, and as she started walking into the city, the girl was getting more and more nervous about what she would have to tell him. Her eyes wandered around the familiar streets, distractedly observing the people going about their lives, the shops, the restaurants, the cars on the road, the buildings... But her mind wasn't much into it anymore.
She had no idea where to begin. Would he even believe her at all? Even she was still trying to come to terms with everything that had happened the past months... She couldn't tell if she would have believed the story if someone else were to tell her, really. Letting out a sigh, she dug her hands in her pockets as she strolled quietly through a narrow street, taking her usual route home; her earlier euphoria had slowly faded down, leaving the girl to deal with the reality of her situation.
What she disliked most about it all would be lying about it to her closest friends. She'd always detested lies and dishonesty, but she understood now that it was necessary to keep quiet about some truths.
It was kind of ironic, her having to keep secrets from her friends, when she'd always been more or less suspicious ofone of her closest friends because of that very same reason. The corners of her lips tugged upward in an amused smile as she thought about the spiky haired boy in question. His reaction to seeing her was definitely one that she looked forward to the most. At least to him, she wouldn't need to lie. She was glad for that.
An enormous mansion came into view, and the petite girl stopped walking as she reached the gates. She took a few moments to gaze upon the luxurious manor she called home, taking in the impressive sight of it. Reaching behind her skull, she tightened her ponytail, then arranged her fringe, straightened her clothes, and took a deep breath, readying herself for what was to come.
She pressed the button on the intercom and waited. Unsurprisingly, a butler answered the call almost immediately. She knew that there was a security camera filming her so she purposely looked at it, giving a nervous smile as she waved.
She was met with stunned silence, which was not unexpected. Sighing softly, she leaned over to speak into the microphone.
"Um, this is Videl. Is my father home?"
An invite to yet another charity event, some requests for dumb commercials, gift tickets for some sport event to the VIP lounge... Hercule heaved a deep sigh. He was getting tired of all this crap. What was the point of it now, anyway? His fame, his glory, his wealth, his fans even... It was all meaningless. He'd already lost what he treasured most; nothing would ever fill the void it left behind.
His throat tightened when he glanced at the photograph on his desk. Reaching over with a trembling hand, he grabbed the wooden frame while he leaned back against his leather chair, tears welling up in his eyes as he gazed upon the family he no longer had.
He remembered that day, when this photo was taken. His daughter had just turned six and had insisted that she was old enough to do martial arts. He recalled that his wife had been quite reluctant to oblige, as she would rather play tea party and dolls with their little girl; Videl had always been a tomboy however, and his wife eventually agreed to let her do martial arts. He had felt so proud of his little Videl then, as she put on a traditional white kimono for the first time. Someone in the dojo had taken the photo: Videl was grinning happily while he and his wife crouched down behind her, smiling up at the camera. They were happy back then. He was happy back then, when he had them.
A knock on his office door brought him out of his melancholic thoughts. The champ brushed his fingers over his wet eyes, set the frame back on his desk, and took a deep breath, composing himself.
"Come in."
A maid shyly opened the door and bowed respectfully.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, but, um..." the young woman seemed to hesitate, and Hercule sighed in impatience.
"Well, what's it?"
His snappy tone made her jump slightly, but he was in no mood to be compassionate. He was busy enough as it was.
"It's, um... it's Ms. Satan. Your daughter is downstairs, sir, she wishes to see you."
His eyes narrowed dangerously as he scowled at the maid, who recoiled slightly in fear.
"What... did you... say?"
His tone was menacingly low, almost growling at the poor woman. His blood was boiling in outrage. What kind of sick joke was this? Who would be so cruel as to play such a dirty trick on him?
"I-I-It's really her, sir," stuttered the maid, taking a few steps back as her boss' scowl hardened, his eyes blazing in fury. "There can be no mistake about it━"
SLAM!
The maid froze when Hercule almost crushed his desk with his iron first. Slowly, he stood up, walked past her frightened form, and went out of his office. Whoever this person was, Hercule knew it couldn't possibly be his daughter. And they were going to regret playing such a sick joke on the strongest man on Earth.
Gohan paused, setting his pen on the kitchen table, and turned his head to look out of the window, a thoughtful frown etched across his features.
While he had been doing on his homework, or, rather, trying to focus on it, he started sensing a rather strong ki━in human standard, at least━moving towards the East. It felt really familiar, somehow, yet for the life of him he couldn't pinpoint who it belonged to. He'd been racking his brain to try and remember why it felt so familiar, which had kept him distracted from his math exercises.
But now, the familiar, yet still unknown energy signature stopped moving and dropped completely. Like the person had purposely concealed it.
He hadn't worried about the strong ki since he didn't feel anything bad from it; it was quite the opposite, in fact. It belonged to someone good, that much he knew; but he hadn't expected the person to be able to control their energy. Who was it? Why did it feel so familiar? Did he know that person? There was only a handful of people on earth who were able to hide their ki's at will, and Gohan was pretty sure he personally knew each of them.
But then, who was it?
It was really unsettling. He wished he could still focus on that ki and keep trying to remember who it belonged to. He felt like he was forgetting something important; it was on the tip of his tongue, he was so close to figuring it out. He knew that ki, he was positive, and yet he just couldn't remember who it was no matter how hard he tried.
"Is something the matter, Gohan?"
The young man turned away from the window and looked at his mother, who was drying her hands from washing the dishes. Concern reflected in her dark eyes, and Gohan smiled to reassure her.
"It's nothing. I guess I'm just a little distracted," he said with a shrug.
"You don't have to finish all your work right away, you know. The school's on a break after all."
"You're right," he decided, closing his notebook; he couldn't focus right now anyway. He stood up, "I'll go join Goten in the living room then."
Chichi smiled, watching her eldest son leave the kitchen before gathering his school stuff on the table to put them away in the boys' shared bedroom. She was so proud of her Gohan. He'd been through so much, but he had always been so helpful and responsible. He helped her around the house as much as he could, was serious about his studies and always brought home perfect marks, and he was such a wonderful older brother to Goten. Sometimes, she felt as though she had to remind him to take a break every once in awhile.
As she returned from the boys' room, she heard her youngest son's excited chatter, talking animatedly to his beloved big brother. Chichi felt so lucky to have them; she didn't ever want to imagine what she'd do if she ever lost her dearest children.
That imposter was going to get it. He was going to give that bastard a piece of his mind, as well as a taste of his fist! Hercule couldn't believe someone would pull something so despicable. He was still grieving the loss of his daughter; who would do something so vile and disrespectful as to pass themselves for his little girl and dare to present themselves before him in his own house? He'd be damned if he was going to let that fraud leave unpunished. They were going to regret to have ever set a foot on his property.
Stomping down the spiraling staircase, the world champion hurried to the parlor where the imposter was kept waiting. His scowl hardened as he neared his destination, ready to literally kick the unwanted guest out of his home. His fists tightly closed, Hercule barged in the room, almost breaking the door off its hinge as he swung it open harshly.
He barely caught sight of a girl waiting with her back turned, that he already started yelling.
"Look here you little brat, I don't know who you are but you better get the hell out of here before I kick y━"
And then she turned around━and his whole world shattered to pieces. All air left his lungs and his vision blurred, while at the same time, he tried to focus on every detail of her face. It was the most beautiful sight, her face... her bright eyes, her smile.
His daughter.
Hercule let out a muffled sob, tears gathering in his blue orbs. Videl. It was Videl. It was really her, it was really his little girl. His precious, adored child. She was there, right in front of him, smiling... Another sob escaped him.
How he'd missed her smile.
She walked over to him, stopping when she reached him, and wrapped her slender arms around his bulky, trembling body, resting her head comfortably against his chest. Right against his heart.
"I missed you so much, Daddy."
That did it. Hercule held onto his daughter tightly as he cried his sorrow away, tears flowing down his face uncontrollably. His little girl... his little girl was back. How, why, when, he couldn't care less in that moment. Videl was in his arms, alive and well. It was all that mattered.
I've been working on this fic for a good while, and although it's not completely written yet, my muse seems to direct me towards it lately so I decided to start publishing it. There are four complete chapters done as of now, and the fifth is halfway done. Like with Innocent Feelings, I'm going to take my time updating the chapters, because I usually take a while to update, unfortunately. I'm sorry in advance for the wait, but I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and that you'll also like what's coming next. Reviews are welcome. =)
Beta'd by gue22. Special thanks to Boboleta for her great help while I was writing.