Pan sat at the table eating breakfast with her parents. Gohan and Videl were discussing meaningless subjects of work and future plans as Pan just ate quietly not bothering to listen. That was what it was like to be an only child. Her parents would talk to each other and would only address her with boring questions of "how did you sleep?" and "what are you doing today." She was nervous, however, about telling them about her recent deal with Vegeta. She could just imagine her father's face when, or if, he found out. She could hear her mother screaming, threatening, beating on furniture, you name it. Videl was known for her temper and mouth. Pan could feel the blood drain from her face. She understood it when parents say "I brought you into this world, I can take you out."
"So, Pan, what are your plans for today?" Videl's voice broke through her nervous silence.
"Ohh…" She stalled, "I may go work out with Bra." That was the best answer she could come up with. It was as close to the truth as she could get without telling them what she was really up to. All she could do now was hold her breath.
"Well that's good, honey. You need to have a girl influence in your life." Gohan answered, after staring at his daughter in utter confusion. Pan kept the air inside of her, fearing that if she let it go they would know. She could feel the stiffness of the awkward silence between her and her parents. Her heart began to beat louder as her lungs begged for relaxation. She had to break the silence somehow. She opened her mouth, but all she could do was make a small squeak, which was enough for her parents to turn their attention to her.
"Is something wrong, honey?" her mother's face matched the question. All that Pan could do was chuckle nervously.
"Uh, no! I just better get going. S'later!" With that said she hurried from the table, scurried out of the house, and finally released her breath.
How could this be so hard? This was her life, her passion! It was the only thing that made sense to her, the very first thing that she learned. Was it not right to learn more? To expand her body and mind? They would be angry with her, but how come?
Pan's throat tingled, wanting her to say something to anyone about this. These words had to come out.
Be strong, become stronger.
These words defined her life and her heritage.
That was all she wanted, to become stronger, to keep the energy alive, to prove that she was a sayian and that she deserved to be.
"Hey! I'm here!" Pan announced as she entered the living quarters of Capsule Corp., a place that she knew all too well. Bulma was sitting in front of the table smoking a small cigarette, as radiant as she has ever been. She made people stop in their tracks and wonder if she was really as old as she was. She was beautiful, but that was not all she was. She was smart. Oh yes, she was smart.
"Oh, good. You're here." Bulma stood from the table.
"Yep! And I'm ready to start my training! Did you finish my gi?" Pan asked, with a big grin on her face. Bulma smothered her cigarette into a small dish on the side of her blue-prints.
"Of course!" She said. She seemed almost a little too proud of herself for Pan's tastes. Bulma led her through the hall way, with a skip to her step, into one of her smaller workshops. She grabbed a hanger that supported what seemed like a loose fitting, red tank-top that styled Capsule Corp's Logo on the left of the chest, with a dark navy blue undershirt. Pan stared, almost unsure of what to say. This was not what she had in mind. "I know this isn't as traditional as you were hoping, but I had to add flare!" Bulma's face held a goofy grin. She was, indeed, too proud of herself. "I used Goku's original gi's color scheme. I thought you'd appreciate that, but you're using my property for training so I threw my logo on there! It'll be great advertisement for business, so you can wear it anywhere!" She laughed, ignoring the astonished look on the younger girl's face
"Is…that it?" was all Pan could say.
"Of course not!" Bulma held up black tights and a pair of training boots similar to those of Goku's. "Now, hurry up and try it on." She said, still not erasing that proud smile, and she exited from the room. Pan awkwardly held the outfit in her hands, took a deep breath, and began to change.
She had to admit the outfit felt nice, secure. The tops were not too tight and the tights felt like nothing, she could move almost as freely as she wanted. She turned to the mirror that Bulma kept in the room to see how weird she thought that she would look, but to her surprise she could not find anything distasteful. The shirt was not baggy; even though it was loose it still formed around her curves, reaching just below her thighs. The tights shaped around her legs' muscles. And the boots, the boots did resemble the ones that her grandfather had originally worn when her father was a kid. She could not lie. She liked what she saw. The outfit was her; it even went well with her signature bandana.
"This feels really light…" Pan said, walking out of the room, as she challenged her new wardrobe.
"It's a new fabric I've been working on. I'd say it's perfect for you. It's incredibly durable so you can be as rough as you want. It will come in handy when you're real training begins." Bulma stated, still in her giddy mood. She too, liked what she saw. Pan stopped and turned to Bulma.
"What do you mean when my 'real training begins'?"
"Well, it's best that you get stronger before you and Vegeta can have one-on-one sessions." Bulma said, switching her mood to a more serious tone. She turned around and waved her hand, instructing Pan to follow her to the gravity room. Once Pan had entered the chamber, she had found that it was empty, which was unusual because that was where Vegeta was found 80 percent of the day.
"Go through your basic forms and exercises. We are going to easily increase your power level while increasing gravity. Do you understand?" Bulma had instructed through the screen that connected the gravity room and the control room. Pan just kept stretching in a nonchalant manner. Bulma took that as an answer and turned the machine on. The second that the machine started Pan could feel her body move downward, instantly stuck to the floor. She tried to move her arm, but the only movement she seemed to be able to do was lightly twitch it. Her arm did not move an inch. It was like she was heavily glued to the floor. "I'm sorry, Pan! I'm guessing Vegeta was in here earlier. He trains with the gravity increased one hundred and fifty times." Bulma touched the screen on the control panel and lowered the level.
Pan felt her body be instantly released from the ground. She slowly sat up. It was not too difficult for her, but it did make it a bit harder to move. "Try this, Pan. You shouldn't over exert yourself, so I put you at 35 times gravity. This way you can get back into the routine without powering up."
Pan slammed her fists to the ground and stretched her legs behind her and began doing push-ups. In order for her to be a stronger fighter she would have to get her body stronger, and in order to get her body stronger she would have to challenge it slowly.
She began to repeat a little mantra in her head while she counted.
Be strong. One. Become stronger. Two.
Be strong. One. Become stronger. Two.
Be strong. One. Become stronger. Two
She had probably repeated this 400 times, before she began to feel fatigued, but she kept going. This did not prove to be good. With gravity at its normal level she could do 4000 push-ups without wearing out, but now she was over 800 and she was slowly getting more and more tired. It did not add up. Vegeta was at level 150, while she was only at 35. Doing the math in her head, she growled in frustration. Thirty-five was not even a quarter of 150, meaning that she was not as strong as her blood allowed her to be. She had actually become weaker in these peaceful times.
Author's Note: Hello guys! I just wanted to give you my thanks for taking interest in the story! I tried to improve my writing in this chapter and I only hope to get better. Please review and critique, but kindly. The more reviews this story gets, the more people will be interested in it. Thank you so much!
