Come With Me Now – A Dragonball Fanfic
Chapter Three
Shortly after scheduling the shopping trip for the next day, Mrs. Briefs left our company to do... something. I didn't catch what it was she was heading to go do. Either way she left Bulma and myself to our own devises. Bulma showed me up to the loft where her bed, wardrobe, TV, and the like were. We wound up watching TV for quiet some time. The teen had it tuned to some network airing romantic drama movies and daytime soap operas.
I must admit that I'm not the biggest fan of these genres, I'd much rather watch a comedy. However I kept my complaints to myself seeing how enthralled Bulma was while watching. As time passed, I found it increasingly difficult to keep my smart-ass remarks unvoiced. I have watched too many "reviews" of movies to refrain myself from mentally pointing out every single stupid thing that happened on screen. By some miracle, I held my tongue until dinner was ready.
Dinner with the Briefs was awkward, especially at first. I got to finally meet Dr. Briefs and while we dined he and his wife asked me lots of questions about myself. I answered as best as I could, most of them being simple questions that Bulma had already asked me earlier that day. So it was just a matter of answering them without letting my emotions charge up and get the better of me.
Bulma eventually started to answer the questions for me, as well as shift the conversation topic to her father's work. I mumbled a thank you to her and she smiled back. The Briefs were nice people, I'm extremely grateful that they took me in. But all those questions, I already hate being the focus of attention, couple that with a bunch of inquiries about my life and that happened and I'm surprised I didn't burst into tears right then and there.
Once dinner was over, this time managing to fill my stomach without anyone noticing how much I ate, Bulma escorted me back to her room. She watched more cheesy soap operas and this time I asked to look through her book collection. She shot me a questioning look and I claimed to be mostly interested in the covers and pictures in the case of a textbook. She waved me off saying it was okay before going back to the TV.
Of all the various titles and authors of the novels, and few textbooks, a couple stood out to me. The author of some of the novels on Bulma's shelf was a Miss Tights Briefs, her older sister. Bulma even had Chako the Space Policeman the novel based on Jaco. I never read much on Tights or Jaco back when information on them could be found on a wiki page. Maybe I should ask to borrow this to read over the next few days, Lord knows I got time to kill before we can head out to hunt dragonballs.
"Hey Bulma?" I say grabbing the book off the shelf, "Can I borrow this?"
She turned from the television to look at me and I showed her the book in question. "Huh? Oh hey, that's one of the books my sister wrote," Bulma casually stated, "Sure, you can borrow it. Weird that you picked that one though."
"Why's that?" I ask examining the book's cover. It had a little alien-android looking thing on the cover. A sleek look, large solid colored eyes, a weird symbol on his chest plate, yep that seemed to match what I can recall of Jaco, or in this case Chako.
"It's the first novel my sister got published. It also didn't do too well, most people don't like it," Bulma stated turning back to the TV. I let Bulma enjoy her shows at that point. To pass the time I shimmed through the books looking through them for pictures of diagrams to study and put them back neatly when done.
When it was finally time to go to sleep I retired to a guest bedroom a few doors down from Bulma. I was giving the choice to stay in Bulma's room for the night, but I didn't want to be a bother to her. Almost the instant I was left alone in the guest bedroom I regretted my decision. I stayed there though. I stayed in that bed by myself for hours trying to fall asleep.
Sleep wasn't easily obtained, unfortunately. My mind was plagued by negative thoughts. My family is gone, or rather I'm the one that's gone, and I don't know my way around this house let alone this other earth. I quietly wept, balled under the sheets. In the silence of night, after my tears ran out my paranoia set in. I heard creaks and rustles both outside and inside my room.
I tried my damnedest to convince myself that it was just a harmless robot or Bulma getting up to get something. Then I remembered that monsters are real here, Baba's fighters, a vampire, a mummy, and invisible man. I was shaking like a leaf under the covers praying for the relief of sleep to come.
I have no clue around what time I finally fell asleep, but I woke up the next morning to nails lightly combing through the hair clinging to my head. Rubbing away the sleep from my eyes, I note the tears hanging onto my lashes. I must have had a bad dream, but I don't recall anything about it. My eyes flutter open and a I see a worried smile gracing Mrs. Briefs' face. She sat on the edge of the bed combing through my hair. When she spoke her tone was kind and comforting, "You alright, sweetie? It seemed like you were having a nightmare."
"I'm fine," I groggily mutter whipping away the last of my tears, "I just had a hard time trying to sleep last night."
She gave me a sympathetic nod and smile. She also suggested that I get washed up and dressed, saying that she'll make me a big breakfast for when I come down. Saiyan or Human, food has always been a great motivator for me. I agree and before Mrs. Briefs left she pointed out the outfit she left for me to change into.
After a quick shower, I dressed in the clothes laid out for me. I was give a sundress, a cute one too. The skirt was tiered and fell an inch short of my knees. It was mostly a light yellow with pink butterflies on the waist and skirt and pink polka dot ribbon shoulder straps tied into bows at the end. The dress was defiantly girly, it even had light green legging to wear with it. As long as it allowed my to hide my tail, I'm fine with it.
None the less I grab my boots out of Bulma's room, before getting one of the bots to escort me down to the kitchen. Once I got to the same floor as the kitchen I let my nose lead the way. It was like a mini buffet in the kitchen, and Mrs. Briefs apologized for going a bit overboard with the food. "I used to cook like this all the time for Tights and Bulma when they were just little girls," the mother confessed.
I said it wasn't a problem in the slightest as well as thanked her for making this meal. She smiled and handed me an empty plate which I promptly piled food onto. I sat at the little table in the kitchen, complimenting the food as I scarfed it down. While putting the cook wear into the dishwasher she giggled, "Thank you, dear. You excited to go traveling with Bulma once she's out of school?"
I nod, managing to voice, "Uh-huh."
"Do you know any of the stories about the dragonballs?" She asked. I repeat my last response, slower this time, curious as to where she was going with this. "Bulma always loved to hear those stories before bed. You can imagine her surprise when she found the one I had down in the basement."
I nearly choked on my food. After a small ordeal to get my breathing back on track, I wheeze out, "You told Bulma about the dragonballs?" She hummed her yes as she closed the dishwasher door. I never thought much about how Bulma came to know so much about the dragonball. I guess I just assumed she did a bunch of research after finding the two-star ball in her basement.
A few minutes later I finished off the last of my breakfast. We were out the door ready to go shopping soon after. Now, I wish I could say that the excursion was a short and inexpensive one, but then I'd be a liar. Mrs. Brief had me try on so many different clothes in each store we went to, I'm almost certain that I tried on some of the same things at different locations. Thank goodness a chunk of the population here is anthropomorphic animals, because it allowed me to grab pants with tail holes when Mrs. Briefs wasn't looking. Any time she made me try on an outfit that showed my waist I passed off my tail as a fuzzy belt. We went from store to store, accumulating more clothes each time we left one. We also never had to carry any bags since Mrs. Briefs brought along a few storage capsules that all our purchases went into.
I couldn't begin to recall every article of clothing the woman got for me, but it was a heck of a lot and all different kinds of clothes too. Numerous sundresses, several rainbows worth of leggings and camisoles, jeans, shoes, bathing suits. Plural. More than one swimsuit! Who needs more than one swimsuit!? Not me, but Mrs. Briefs won't lesson. I really wish she would stop buying so much for me, I'm not going to need it. I plan on wishing myself home in less than a month.
After hours of clothes shopping with browsing designer purse stores and cook wear shops sprinkled in between, we take a break for lunch at one of the restaurants at the outdoor mall. I was ecstatic that we got to sit down, not to mention eat. I ordered some platter thing that was meant to be shared, but... I ate it all by myself. Mrs. Briefs didn't seem as surprised by my appetite as Bulma was the other day. She even joked saying that I was just filling up my hollow legs so I can grow up healthy. I tried not to cry when she said that, it was something my grandmother always said to me around dinner time.
When the plates where clean and the meals paid for Mrs. Briefs lead me back out into the bright sunlight. She pointed out a playground built in the center of the shopping area and suggested that I go play while she browsed a few more shops. Weighing my options I chose to dink around the playground, seeing that it was mostly empty save for two kids running around. Plus the swings were free.
I got myself situated on one of the swings and started to kick. As much as I hated heights, I loved swings and roller coasters. I guess it was more of just being afraid of falling than being up high. Moving fast through the air, no longer tied to the ground, I loved it. I'm actually jealous that a bunch of people here will eventually learn to fly, if not already doing so in Tien and Chiaotzu's case.
I kick my legs back when I felt something on my ankles. The next thing I knew I was face down in the plastic grass padding the playground. I heard cackling come from behind me as I push myself out of the artificial grass. Growling in irritation, I get to my feet and turn around, seeing two little devils laughing their asses off.
"What the heck was that for!?" I snapped. I was using every ounce of restraint I had to not punch their faces in. My nose hurt some and was beginning to run. Whipping it away with one of my fists I spot red smeared from my white knuckles to my wrist. Great, now I'm going to ruin this dress thanks to the bloody nose these to gave me.
The larger of the two bullies stepped closer, so to leer over me. His intimidation tactic wasn't going to work, I'm more pissed off than scared at the moment. "I own this playground, and I don't want your sissy girl cooties getting on everything," The larger brunette viciously stated with a smirk pulling on his lips.
I felt my eyelid twitch when he said that. My simmering irritation boiled to an anger, "So you knock me off the swing!? Boy, I've got half a mind to rat you out to-" The boys cut off my rant with another eruption of laughter. I demanded to know what the thought to be so hilarious, that they interrupted me.
"You only got half a brain," the rust haired lackey snorted out, "I bet that's why you don't wear shoes with laces!" The boy sported a shit-eating grin as his friend nearly doubled over from laughing. I no doubt looked like a fuming tomato to the hyenas, which I'm sure added to their fit of laughter. I ground my teeth, snarling at them. They were trying my already short patience, and if I don't get away soon I might just end up on a wanted poster. I didn't care if their kids and I'm mentally supposed to be an adult. All I see are two devil children in desperate need of an ass kicking.
With my last iota of composure I gave the monsters a warning, "Just leave me alone. I've got enough to deal with, without you two imbeciles harassing me."
"Awe, is the little baby going to cry?" the brunette mocked. I finally retaliated, I didn't punch him like I wanted to, but I did push the larger boy onto his ass reiterating to leave me alone. I didn't even turn around before I too was pushed down. I looked up, brows furrowed in anger only to see a fist come straight at me.
That scrawny little! I'm going to wring his neck for that cheap shot. I got back to my feet, dizzy and unable to see straight, but ready to fight. I pull back my fist, ready to beat the tar out of the brat that gave me a shiner, but something stopped me. I heard my name being cried and I look to see the panicked blonde woman shouting for me. I wish I didn't look her way, cause it allowed the other boy a chance to land a blow to my gut. "Don't think you can just walk away cause your mom's here!" the child, who I am now convened is a literal devil, screamed.
"That's it!" I snapped back. I was tired of being a punching bag. My shout seemed to catch the two off guard, and you can bet I exploited that. I landed one swift punch to the larger devil child's gut, knocking the wind out of him. The other scrawnier one got a kick to the dick, also paralyzing him for a moment. I took that time to run back to Mrs. Briefs. She scooped me up making sure I was alright.
I managed to see out of my right eye that Mrs. Briefs was examining the other. The left half of my face felt so swollen I didn't even want to try and open my left eye. I sniffle and whip my nose with my already bloodied hand. While I looked like crap on the outside, I felt even worse on the inside. How could I let myself resort to violence? I felt so ashamed, I should have been the bigger person and walked away. My anger had dissipated, and I started to shake from holding back sobs. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt them back," I hiccuped, "I just wanted them to leave me alone-"
Mrs. Briefs gently shushed me, "Don't worry, sweetheart. The only thing you've done is stand up for yourself." I tried to cut in again, which was unsuccessful, "But you, what? Fought back against to little boys that were willing to fight a little girl in front of her own mother? Sweetie, you've done nothing wrong in fighting back."
The boys in question where hauled over to us by a man in uniform. "Ma'am, I sincerely apologize for what these two little hooligans did to your daughter, if I could just get her side of the story for my report," the officer asked. I nodded and told them exactly what happened from leaving the restaurant to now. He nodded and started to drag the boys away, but I quickly asked if I was in any trouble before he got too far away. His answer was a simple, "No."
We headed back home after that. Though not before Mrs. Briefs stopped to buy me an ice cream in an attempt to cheer me up. And I gotta admit, the ice cream did help a bit. Once we got back I ended up taking a nap on one of the couches with ice over my eye. I didn't even see Dr. Briefs or Bulma until dinner, and boy were they surprised. Black eye, spots of blood on my dress, I most certainly looked like I had been in a fight.
At first my shame of what happened prevented me from responding much to anything. Still ashamed that I resorted to violence and that I got a black eye. But how Mrs. Briefs retold it to her husband and daughter, saying how brave I was for standing up to the little monsters, and even when I got hurt how I didn't cry. It made me feel a bit proud. My black eye was no longer a humiliating bruise on my face, but a battle scar for standing up for myself. That felt... right.
After dinner, things played out almost exactly the same as the previous night. I watched TV with Bulma, as best I could anyway. This time she let me pick what we watched. I tuned it to the first cartoon I saw. The show, as far as I can tell, was about some owl that went on all kinds of adventures with it's friends, and on each mini adventure one of the friends went bat-shit crazy and screwed something up that they all had to fix. I stopped paying attention to it two episodes in and just talked with Bulma.
When it finally was time to go to bed, I retired to back to the guest room down the hall. I changed back to the gray shirt, keeping the green leggings on, and climb under the covers. I am positive I didn't make the bed earlier, I guess one of the maid bot things here made the bed after I left. Shrugging it off I turn my back to the end table lamp I left on, hoping that the dull light would ease my worries. And you know what, it did. I fell asleep much more peacefully, though I still had my anticipation of the following days keep me awake longer than I liked.
A/N: Holy crap! I this is a record right here! Another chapter in just a week? This is unheard of. Any way... this chapter... particularly the scene with the bullies, I wrote three different drafts of how it played out. The first two where more manipulative which, I didn't like too much. I still don't know about this one, as I started to debate if I should even keep it in there. Tell me your thoughts on it, I really like hearing what you guys have to say. It brightens up my day when I can read a review.
Dragonball © Akira Toriyama