Chapter 9: Definitely Friends

Sunday 4th March Age 792

Pan and Noca were sitting together at Pan's desk again. They were carrying on with their homework and were just finishing up on their maths, which Pan had previously stated was her toughest subject. Noca thought that if they combined on it together they would probably be able to solve the problems quickly. This was the case and they had finished all their homework by about 11am.

Noca was a little annoyed about one thing this morning and that was Pan waking him up at 9am so that they could finish their homework and have the whole of the Sunday to do something else. Noca was hoping he would get a chance for more training, but that wasn't to be.

Videl had received a call from a friend of hers the night before asking if Videl wanted to go shopping with them. That friend happened to be Erasa and Videl wouldn't deny her best friend. Kiera was going to be tagging along as well so Videl had promised that she would get Noca and Pan to come along.

Videl didn't say anything to Noca and Pan until right after they finished their homework. Pan was disappointed because she didn't particularly enjoy the whole shopping experience, whilst Noca was annoyed because he had to forget about training that day. He didn't show it though. Kiera was probably a little worried considering they hadn't seen each other since Thursday.

Pan and Noca were sitting in the living room waiting until it was time to leave. Pan didn't have a very excited expression on her face. Honestly, she looked quite depressed. Noca was curious as to why she was like that.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked, wondering why she seemed so down.

"Huh? Oh…nothing…" She answered with a weak smile.

"You sure?" He asked, not feeling convinced by her response. He tried to lean in closer and wanted to get her to try and smile. "Come on, you look like you've gotta spend the entire week with Hercule."

Pan giggled at Noca's statement.

"Shopping can't be that bad…" Noca wondered, but he was happy to see that Pan did have a smile on her face.

"It isn't as bad as spending the whole week with my grandfather, but it is pretty bad…and with Erasa…things just get that much worse," Pan explained to the boy.

"Well, we'll survive it," Noca said trying to reassure her, "I'll be there."

Pan smiled at Noca. She really was starting to appreciate his company now. When she was at her own house she felt lonely a lot of the time, but ever since Noca had moved in she knew she was happier.

Videl came in and told them it was time to leave. Noca glanced at his watch and saw the time was 12 o'clock. It had been an hour since Noca and Pan finished their homework, but he felt like more time had passed. The day was just dragging. He really wanted to be training, but unfortunately he was too nice to turn Videl down and he didn't want Pan to have to endure it all alone.

They had to take one of the jets to get to Satan city and it took them about half an hour to get there. Once they arrived at a landing bay the three of them exited the vehicle and immediately saw Erasa and Kiera waiting for them.

"Hey guys, so let's get shopping!" Erasa exclaimed very enthusiastically.

Noca was shocked by the enthusiasm that she was showing and it really worried. He knew Videl wasn't like that, so he just had to wonder why she had agreed to this. Pan had said that Kiera was a very enthusiastic shopper as well, but that wasn't apparent to the male quarter-Saiyan. Mainly because she seemed more enthusiastic about seeing Noca was ok.

Erasa and Videl were walking though the shopping centre while Kiera, Pan and Noca stuck to the back of the group so they could chat.

"So, how are you two such good friends now?" Kiera asked, not understanding the situation at all.

"Trust us, it's a long story," Noca answered, not really wanting to tell it, mainly because they didn't want anyone else to know about their emotional connection.

"I'm sure we have time," Kiera responded with a smile.

"It really is quite long Kiera and we're not that good of friends," Pan told the blonde.

"It might be, but I'm sure we can forget about the whole Saiyan thing and his journey to get here," Kiera explained and Noca soon realised that she was right.

"Oh yeah, you already know all of that," Noca replied.

He and Pan quickly explained things whilst trying to make sure that Videl and Erasa couldn't hear them.

"Wow, so two days later you agreed to come shopping together?" The blonde questioned, not understanding how they became friends so quickly.

"Yeah…I guess so…not that we wanted to come…" Noca said as he looked to Pan with an amused smile. It was true, neither of them actually wanted to be there.

"Well it's good Noca, you finally have the chance to choose your own wardrobe and you'll have our help," Kiera suggested with an excited smile starting to form on her face. Noca sighed. He wasn't sure what he should expect on this day.

"What's wrong with what I wear?" Noca asked, not thinking there was anything wrong with how he dressed.

"Nothing, but you didn't choose those clothes did you?" Kiera asked, knowing that he didn't actually have a choice with the clothing that he owned.

"I choose what to wear each day, but no I didn't choose the clothes I have…" Noca answered.

"Well, let's get you something good then!" She exclaimed as she took a hold of Noca's hand and rushed him along to a men's clothing store.

Pan just sighed and followed after them. Noca was made to try on all kinds of clothes and things that he just found uncomfortable. In fact he hadn't really been comfortable wearing any of the clothes he did. He preferred it back in his village when he could just wear any old thing and when he was training with Gohan he wore a training Gi which was loose fitting and had the perfect comfort.

Pan tried to give Noca positive input, but it seemed like Kiera was taking control of that. She had definitely inherited Erasa's knowledge of what looks good on people. Well, that and her bright blonde hair.

Every time Noca walked out of the changing room to show Kiera something he shot a look at Pan which screamed, "help me." She couldn't help but laugh. Mainly because she was glad that it wasn't her for once.

Once their whole escapade at Satan City Mall was over, the group went to grab something to eat in the restaurant which just drew a new question into Pan's mind. She would make sure to ask later when no one else was around.

After the meal, everyone went their separate ways. Erasa and Kiera back to their home and Videl went back home in the plane on her own as Pan and Noca decided to fly home themselves. On the way there Pan decided to ask her question. It wasn't really important, it was just that she was curious to know something.

"Hey, how do you control your appetite?" She brought up, pretty much as soon as they took off from the mall.

"Huh?" Noca didn't actually understand Pan's question, but mainly because he had forgotten about one of the big Saiyan traits.

"You know, Saiyan appetites?" She questioned, pushing him to remember.

"Yeah, I know about Saiyan appetites," He responded.

"Why don't you have one?" Pan asked again. It was something that she really needed an answer to because she had seen the way all her male relatives acted around food.

Noca just shrugged his shoulders whilst he continued to fly.

"I do…kinda…it's just we had very little food in our village and it was all about sharing it back then…so I think I kept that trait…" Noca explained to Pan, earning an understanding nod. Noca then realised that Pan and Bra never had appetites close to their fathers'. "What about you?"

"I guess it doesn't affect female Saiyan like it does the male," Pan suggested not really having an explanation. Noca just shrugged his shoulders in response.

The rest of their journey was silent as the two didn't really know what to talk about. Pan so desperately wanted to strike up a conversation, but just couldn't find the right topic. Noca was in the same boat. He wanted to keep talking, but again didn't have a clue. He considered asking about what Goku was like, but he wouldn't like it if Pan was constantly asking questions about his mother.

There was nothing. It was lucky that their home was coming into sight. What wasn't lucky was that they had school the next day and Videl had already told Noca that he had to go in. The two of them went to bed at about 9. Mainly because of getting up early as well as the whole tiring day out in Satan City.


Noca was disturbed by something during the night though. It wasn't an ordinary dream, but it wasn't quite a nightmare. Noca wasn't scared. He was confused…

Noca was standing in an open field. Similar to the ones he trained in. The only difference was the strong mist that hovered around. He could barely see ahead of him, but for some reason, he knew he was in a field. He took a few steps forward, but felt the ground crack a little. He didn't understand why that was. Had something happened to make this ground unstable? If so, what?

He tried calling out to see if anyone would respond, but there was nothing.

Noca was concerned that something about his mother would happen, but it really did just seem like it was him standing alone. That was until he heard footsteps behind him, but when he turned around…there was nothing there…

Suddenly a crackle of lightning cut through the mist and it seemed to dissipate. Noca could see clearly, but now he wasn't in a field…he was standing in the middle of the World's Martial Arts Stage, but once again…he was alone. There wasn't a single person in the crowd. But someone was watching him…he could feel them. He done a whole 360 spin, but nothing sparked his attention.

Why was this happening? He took another step forward, half expecting the ground to crack again, but…nothing…except…

Noca stepped in something slippery. He knew this because as his foot touched the ground it just wanted to keep going forward. Noca stopped and looked down to see blood…and lots of it. The thing is, that wasn't the strangest part. No, the strangest part was that it spelled the word revenge.

And just then, he heard a deep, threatening voice say the same word.

That was enough to snap Noca out of it and wake him up. And by the looks of it, just in time to get ready for school.


Noca made sure not to mention anything about that dream to anyone. That became a hugely difficult task however. Noca's entire week was plagued by bizarre, mystifying dreams. Each night, he had the same dream, but something new was added each time.

After the blood and voice saying revenge on the Sunday night, Monday had a new addition. He was still at the tournament, standing on the stage with no one around, but this time there was someone watching. It was Pan, but before anything else happened, Noca woke up.

On the Tuesday night there were more audience members. They were Gohan, Videl, Bra, Kiera and Holline, but he wasn't sure why she was there.

Wednesday brought about the rest of the audience, but not a soul was making a noise. He was standing in a quiet stadium with an audience of people standing as statues. Again, he woke up before anything else happened.

Thursday held one change that just spelled some sort of danger. The entire stage was surrounded by fire and Noca couldn't leave, but again the dream just ended shortly before anything big happened.

He was anticipating the Friday night, half expecting something big was on the horizon for his dreams.

Friday 9th March Age 792

That Friday evening was basically the same as the previous Friday. Noca and Pan would be home alone because Gohan and Videl would be out again. The big difference from the week before was that Noca and Pan wouldn't be having a big conversation about Noca's past, they would be able to spend some decent time as friends.

Pan had suggested that the two of them watch a couple of films and just relax. Noca was open to that. As soon as he got home from school though, he did a bit of light solo training. Mainly fight technique and a little bit of Ki training.

He and Gohan had been doing regular training session during the week every day after school so Noca was starting to get a better idea about how to use technique and Ki in battle. He had also started to let Pan watch and Gohan was sure that she wanted to get involved and he had promised her a training session.

This was the reason Noca was training alone today. Gohan said he would give Pan a two hour session before he went out at 6pm. She felt like she was having the hardest training session of her life. It had been a long time since her last one after all. Gohan was mainly getting her to spar with him, but the way she managed to maintain her concentration got Noca interested.

Gohan was obviously going easy on her, but she was going all out on him. Noca sat down on the grass and watched as Father and Daughter fought each other. He couldn't help but smile as he watched Pan, he was sort of mesmerized by how elegant she looked when fighting. She sort of had a style that she had developed and she would move around in way that Noca could admit was…beautiful.

When she eventually stopped and landed on her feet, breathing heavily and glistening with a little sweat, Noca couldn't help but stare. He had to admit to himself that she looked attractive when wearing her training Gi.

She wore an orange Gi top that was similar to a dress. She had a black belt around her waist and black wristbands. She had her hair tied back to keep it out of her eyes. She was also wearing black leggings to go with the orange Gi top and a black undershirt.

Pan dropped to the ground in exhaustion and Gohan told her she had done well. Noca walked over to her once she got her breath back.

"Hey, you were great," He said in a very genuine tone. She noticed the way he was looking at her and she had to try and hide the fact she was blushing. That wasn't too hard because she was already quite red from how tired she was.

"Th…thanks…I…I haven't had a…session…like that in…years…" She said, really struggling to catch her breath.

"I can tell, you sound awfully out of breath," Noca said with a slight chuckle.

"Ha…thanks," She smiled at her and returned the gesture with her own smile. Noca helped her up off of the floor and the two headed back into the house. Gohan was just getting ready and then he and Videl would be leaving.

Pan realised she would definitely be in need of a shower after her session, plus she didn't want to have that stench of sweat while sitting with Noca all night.

Once Gohan and Videl had left Pan and Noca cooked themselves something for dinner and ate in the dining room together. At first the two of them felt a bit weird this was basically the first time they had been home alone together and been able to spend it as friends, but they didn't know what to say to each other.

They lived together after all and then when at school they spent that time together as well. Once finished dinner Pan was about to clean the dishes up, but Noca had to help her. He didn't want to sit by and watch her do the work. She was going to protest, but Noca didn't give her a chance.

When they eventually sat down and got to watch a film they were finally relaxed. They just stuck on some recent blockbuster film and while Pan was quite interested in watching it, Noca was only just getting into films and wasn't really sure what to make of them. It didn't really matter to him if it was interesting, he liked sitting with Pan as her friend.

Near to the end of the film, Noca had actually managed to fall asleep and it didn't take long for Pan to turn to her side and notice this. She just giggled at the sight and turned back to the film. Meanwhile, something was happening in Noca's mind.

He was back there again. He was standing in the arena. He was surrounded by a huge crowd of people. They were sitting up in the stands and Noca clearly noticed that they were standing still and weren't making a sound. This was exactly the same as every other one.

Down in the area behind him stood Pan, Kiera, Bra, Holline, Gohan and Videl. Noca walked around the stage taking a look at all the people in the Crowd. He could've sworn that he recognised a group of people there. The thing is, he did. They were the rest of the Z-fighters. Well, the non-fighting ones that is.

He was still trying to figure out how he could put faces to the rest of the people in the crowd considering he had never seen any of them before.

Suddenly, a huge wall of flame circled the stage and blocked him from everyone else. This had happened numerous times before so Noca wasn't shocked by this at all. He knew that something new would happen though. He took a step towards the fire just to see what would happen. The things is, nothing happened. He just stood by the fire and held his hand up to feel the heat.

He then heard a voice. It was the same voice that had said the word revenge in his first dream. He turned to try and see where the voice had come from, but there was no one.

Back in real time, Pan was still sitting watching the film, but because she was sitting very close to Noca on the sofa, she could feel his body giving off a huge amount of heat. He was also starting to sweat a little, but this just confused Pan because she felt a little cold. She moved her hand to Noca's head to feel his temperature and it was very high. She tried to ignore it for now as it seemed to drop a little.

Noca walked back to the centre of the arena and still no one emerged. He heard the voice once again. It seemed to come from behind, but when he turned, no one was there. He turned around in a circle to see if he was moving, but again no one was there. That was when something strange started to happen.

The massive wall of flame started to swirl together in a large ball and suddenly it looked very threatening as it bolted towards Noca. The Young Saiyan narrowly avoided it by jumping into the air, but then it somehow formed into a flame being and flew up to attack Noca by slamming him back into the ground.

When Noca crashed into the stage the atmosphere and the stadium seemed to arrive. People in the crowd were now talking or cheering and Noca could hear the voices of his friends standing out.

Noca stood up and looked up to see the fire fighter dropping down to try and attack him. Noca jumped back to avoid the attack, but before he could even compose himself the fire fighter shot towards him and punched Noca again knocking him back a couple of feet. Noca could barely stand up before being hit by the fighter. The teen wasn't going to win this fight and he knew it.

Pan was surprised that Noca started to shake a little bit in his sleep. It seemed like he was in some sort of pain and Pan was beginning to worry a little bit. He seemed to wince a couple of times as if someone was attacking him. Pan wanted to wake him. She turned in her seat and tried rocking him to wake him up. After touching him Pan could feel the heat of his body continue to rise far too high. She was seriously getting scared now.

In the dream it seemed as if Pan's voice was breaking through. He could hear her saying something, but as he turned he saw the voice was coming from the dream version of Pan. She started to move towards him, but she seemed to be very eager to get to him. She was visibly worried and that was apparent from her voice.

She hopped onto the stage and made her way towards Noca, but the young Saiyan was shocked to see the huge fire being change targets and shoot straight for the black haired Saiyan girl. Noca was unable to stop it and felt like he could hardly move.

It was all in slow-motion as he saw the fighter about to attack Pan. He couldn't do anything to stop it and he was starting to feel guilty. The fighter stopped right in front of Pan and used his left hand to back-hand her into one of the stadium walls. Noca cried out in anger.

Surprisingly for Pan, this also happened in real time. Pan jumped up as Noca shouted out. She didn't understand what was going on and she downright terrified now.

Back in his dream Noca's anger was boiling up so much now. He couldn't bear to see Pan get hurt. Another shocking part of his dream was that Gohan jumped forward to attack the fighter just as he probably would have had the same thing happened in real life. The most unbearable thing was that it all felt too real and he was genuinely scared for the safety of everyone he knew. Gohan was easily knocked back by the fighter as well. Noca's anger was still building up.

Pan noticed that Noca's shaking was getting that much worse and she could feel his anger reaching levels unlike anything she had felt in her lifetime. Along with his anger, she could also feel his power level raise really high and she would've bet that he was stronger than Goten or Trunks at that point.

In the dream Kiera and Holline had started to shout abuse at the fighter and this was getting the flame being angered and he sure as hell knew the best way to settle it. He turned to face the area they were standing and he knew what he was going to do. He rapidly shot towards the two girls and with two simple movements he managed to knock the two of them into the wall and this caused Noca to shout again.

"ENOUGH!"

Pan heard what Noca had said clearly. Well, he shouted it right next to her after all. She was scared and had her hands held close. She didn't want to move near to Noca because she wasn't sure what he would do in this state. From the way he shouted she would've guessed that someone was getting hurt.

Noca tried standing up, but as he reached his feet he fell to his knees straight away. Everyone in the audience had fallen silent again and Noca felt lonely and isolated. He tried to get to his feet again, but then the fighter shot a flame Ki blast to him and it knocked Noca onto his back. Noca could hardly move now and he was sure he would be beaten.

"Noca!" It was Pan's voice and it was trying to get through to him, but not just in the dream.

"Noca, please wake up…please!" Pan was saying frantically, trying to shake him awake.

Noca heard Pan's voice and he lifted his head to try and see where she was. She was now standing on the stage and was about to attack the fighter.

"No…"

"Stop it…he's too strong…Pan," Noca yelled out in his sleep.

Pan was shocked to hear that Noca was talking to her, but she was more intrigued by what he had said to the dream version of her. What was she doing? What was she about to do that clearly had Noca all worried and angered? Noca was still shaking with rage and he was sweating violently. His eyes still closed.

Pan jumped up and flew straight for the fighter, but she was grabbed by the throat and stopped immediately.

"Please…don't do it…"

"Leave her…alone…" Noca's words barely came out in a whisper.

Noca tried to stand again. This time he was more successful though and managed to get to one foot with the other knee on the floor. He could see that Pan wasn't going to escape the fighter this time, but he wasn't going to allow it. That was when he felt the heat of the entire dream-world rise to impossible levels. He saw that Pan was in intense pain and he was sure that she was being burned.

"Stop it…leave her…"

The fighter turned his head and a face soon started to form. It was still covered in flame, but he had deep black eyes and a black mouth. He smiled at Noca and when he said his next words, Noca knew the voice too well.

"REVENGE!" It was Omega's voice. Why was it Omega's voice? What did he mean by revenge?

Noca didn't have to wait long to find out as Pan's body completely turned to ash and he heard her shriek in pain at the same time. Noca couldn't bear to see that and he was pushed over the edge.

"I told you…" Noca muttered.

The flame fighter turned around to face Noca.

"I said…" The Saiyan continued.

The fighter took a step forward.

"Leave her…"

The fighter was right in front of him.

"ALONE!"

Noca's voice echoed through the entire stadium and his energy exploded out of him and shone brighter than the sun. It was a brilliant gold colour that had not only taken his aura, but had changed the colour of his hair as well.

This happened in the presence of Pan as well. She clearly noticed that his energy was exploding out of him and it had completely blinded her. She couldn't look until the energy began to die down a little. When she did get a look, she saw that Noca was hovering above his spot on the sofa with his gold aura shining around him. His hair was standing on edge, but without the gold colour. Pan knew what she was witnessing. Well, she thought she knew.

He looked like a Super Saiyan minus the one feature and that was the gold hair. That was until she noticed his eyes. His apparent cold, empty, lifeless eyes. They were blank. Nothing. She felt like she was looking into a dead man's eyes.

Noca's energy soon died down and he sunk back into the sofa. His body settled and he was calm. After witnessing that, Pan was shaking with fear. All she wanted was for Noca to wake up and be ok. That didn't seem to be likely though as he wasn't breathing. Pan moved closer and noticed that his eyes were still open, but as lifeless as before and she clearly saw his chest wasn't moving at all. He definitely wasn't breathing and Pan couldn't help what she felt next.

Tears started to well up in her eyes and she felt like she had lost something dear to her. She had known Noca for little over a month, but she felt like she was finally getting to know someone who could be a great friend.

She couldn't help to stop her tears as they finally started to roll down her cheeks. Was Noca really dead? She didn't want to believe that a dream could be the thing that killed him, but what she just witnessed couldn't be put down to anything else. Pan got back onto the sofa and was right by Noca. She tried shaking him to wake him up, but that didn't do any good. She was crying properly now.

It was just as she was beginning to believe that he was in fact dead that Noca suddenly inhaled a very deep breath. Her head shot up and she noticed that Noca was in fact waking up.

He was coughing heavily after taking in that breath and the colour had returned to his skin and to his eyes. He could remember every moment of the dream, but he would never be able to explain it to himself, let alone anyone else. Pan clearly understood that Noca was awake again and she threw her arms around him into a deep hug and Noca returned the hug knowing full well that Pan would have witnessed all of that.

Noca couldn't react at all. He just held his arms around Pan and the two of them felt comfort in each other's arms. Noca's breathing didn't slow down at all and it was as if he was in some sort of anxiety attack.

Pan noticed his breathing was still rapid and he was still shaking. She thought that the embrace would have calmed him, but that didn't seem to do anything. She pulled out of the embrace and looked him in the eyes. They were back to their normal black, but he looked as if something had really scared him.

Pan's tears were still rolling down her cheeks, but she knew that she was acting that much more hysterical than what Noca should be. He wasn't though. His face stayed the same and Pan was sure that he was somewhere else.

"Are you ok?" Pan rushed her words frantically and Noca just turned to look right at her. He didn't know what to say, but he knew that he had to say something to settle Pan down. He could tell she was really upset.

"I guess…I'm…I'm ok…" He managed to mutter, "But…what was that?"

"You…you unleashed pretty much all of your power…" Pan replied in between a couple of sobs as she tried to calm down.

"Really? That's what happened in my dream…" Noca went on to explain everything that had happened in his dream. He wanted Pan to fully understand and she could honestly say that she didn't really understand it all, but she did accept that he was telling the truth.

After all no one would lie about something that huge. Pan was getting more and more upset after hearing the truth about Noca's experience and she knew that it must've been unbearable. She moved closer to him and kissed him on his right cheek.

"I'm so glad you're ok," She said, helplessly trying to stop herself from crying some more. She then kissed him on his left cheek. "I can't believe that had to happen to you…I'm so sorry for you."

She then quickly kissed him on both cheeks again before planting a quick one on his lips. Noca didn't seem to even notice it though, but Pan was completely aware of it and she instantly knew that she had meant it.

"Its fine Pan…I'm ok…I…" Noca then stopped and he realised what had just happened. Pan pulled away a little after noticing that he realised. "Wait…you…did you just kiss me?"

Pan was speechless, but she didn't once look away from Noca. The teen Saiyan didn't know what else to do, but could see that whilst Pan was embarrassed about what she had done, she was well aware of it. Noca didn't know what to do, but he had to admit that he did indeed like the feeling of the kiss and wanted it again.

He quickly leant towards Pan and kissed her on the lips. She didn't dare pull away, but her eyes widened in shock.

Did this mean that Noca might feel the same way that she did? Pan was sure that Noca would be interested in someone else. She was sure that Noca would end up going out with Kiera, but after what Pan had discovered the week before, she had started to form feelings for the quarter-Saiyan.

Noca pulled away from the kiss and looked into Pan's eyes. They stayed in that same position for about 5 minutes before one of them decided to speak up.

"Uh…so…" Pan started, as a small smile formed on her face.

"Yeah…so…" Noca replied as he too had his own amused two of them just laughed at each other before they caught a glimpse of the time. "Hey it's 11…I think I'm gonna try and get some proper sleep…uh…unless you wanna stay up…"

Pan could tell that he didn't actually want to leave her and go to bed, but he didn't know what to do in this scenario, neither did she to be perfectly honest.

"Yeah…I'm gonna go to bed anyway," Pan replied, feeling a bit disappointed that their night had to end and Pan both stood up and walked upstairs together. They both stopped outside their bedroom doors and turned to face each other.

"Well…goodnight…" Noca said as he looked across to her with a smile.

"Yeah…night…" Pan responded with a smile of her own and then they both headed inside their bedrooms.

Noca dropped onto the bed and looked up to the ceiling whilst Pan just leant against her door. She was thinking over everything that had happened just then, but she wasn't sure what to make of it. She wasn't sure what this meant for her relationship with Noca.

Pan only assumed that she had a crush on Noca like a week ago, but right now it seemed like what she felt was different. She didn't understand her feelings. Noca always seemed to care about Pan and was always trying to be a friend to her. Maybe it was his commitment to trying to be a friend that made her feel attracted to him.

She remained leant against her door and she started running over a couple of things that had happened in her life since Noca joined it. She was specifically thinking about what Noca had said to Chloe at the end of his first day at school.

"Natural Beauty." She always remembered that and now she started to believe that he genuinely thought that about the quarter-Saiyan girl. She was really starting to believe that Noca liked her, but she knew that she was starting to have feelings for him.

Pan immediately believed that she had to find out how he really felt. She pulled herself way from the door and turned to face it and opened it. She was soon in the hallway and it took her seconds to arrive outside Noca's bedroom. She was about to knock, but she didn't know how she was actually going to talk to him about this, especially after what had happened in their living room.

She knocked once and then entered immediately, but it seemed as if she acted on instinct rather than her own control. When she entered the room she saw that Noca was lying on his bed.

"Pan…what's up?" He asked as he looked up feeling pretty worried. She never usually barged into his room.

"I just wanted to ask you, do you remember what you said to Chloe on your first day at school?" Pan asked, feeling very hopeful that he would immediately remember.

"I said a lot that day…what are you referring to exactly?" He questioned and Pan sighed, but realised that he probably wouldn't be able to know what Pan would pick up on.

"You said about me and Bra not wearing a lot of make-up because of our…as you put it…natural beauty," Pan explained.

Noca had remained in the same position on his bed the whole time, but when Pan finished the last bit he sat up and looked right at her.

"I did say that, didn't I? So what are you getting at?" He asked, not really sure of why she would bring it up after this much time.

"I was just wondering if you…did you mean it?" The teen girl asked, feeling very hopeful.

Noca was silent for a bit as he noticed the genuine hope in her eyes. He didn't know whether or not he did mean what he said. He was kind of hoping that she hadn't noticed that. He was pretty much saying it as a way to defend her and Bra, but now that he was getting to look a Pan a lot more he was really starting to believe that he did mean what he said. Pan was wearing no make-up right now and Noca couldn't see a single flaw. He was definitely attracted to her.

"Yes, I did mean it," He replied as a smile started to crawl across his face.

Pan visibly lightened up at Noca's confirmation. She smiled at him and walked over and sat on the bed right next to him.

"Did you really?" She asked as she bit her lip.

"Of course. It's not something that I would lie about..." Noca answered and Pan had to look down to hide the huge smile.

"I was sure that you liked Kiera?" She asked, hoping that Noca would have an answer to that.

"No…we agreed that what we had was a purely friendly relationship…there's nothing like that going on. In fact she came to me about advice on whether she should ask some boy named Andrew," Noca explained to her, wanting to reassure her that he was only just realising that he may in fact have feelings for her.

"Really?" Pan asked.

"Yeah, but I didn't know what to say…I don't really know anything about that kinda thing," Noca replied, but realised that their topic had completely changed.

The two of them fell silent and were still sitting on the bed together. Pan had never felt this way about any boy that she had known before and based on Noca's life she was sure that he was in the same boat. Noca moved onto the bed properly and lay his head on the pillow.

Pan could tell he was very tired, but she wanted to stay in with him. She moved as well and lay down next to him. Noca didn't protest at all. Instead he moved over and let Pan have her space. Noca did have a double bed, but he would normally sleep in the middle. Moving over had given Pan enough space to lay down on a side to herself. The only thing was Pan didn't use the whole space.

In fact, she decided to curl up closer to Noca, which he accepted with comfort. He put his arm around Pan and she put hers around him. She then lay her head on his chest. She had never acted like this around anyone before and she really felt like she was growing up ever since Noca had come into her life.

At the moment it seemed that the two of them were acting like this in a way to comfort each other. Noca had been through a lot with that dream and Pan had witnessed it from the other side. They had both had things happen to them that had honestly scared the two Saiyans and they felt that this connection between them was helpful

The two of them stayed together like that for about 2 minutes before they both fell asleep.

When the two of them eventually woke up it took them both a few minutes to realise that they had fallen asleep together, but once they did finally recognise the situation they smiled at each other and remained in the position.

They were both genuinely comfortable until Pan saw that the time was 9am and realised that her mother and father would be returning home soon. Pan got up out of the bed quite reluctantly and explained to Noca that she didn't really want her parents to know about them, which led to Noca saying that he didn't really want anyone to know until the two of them could agree that they knew what was going on.

Pan realised that they would need to have another talk soon to figure out what steps their friendship was about to take. They were only 13-years-old after all. Pan was about to leave the room, but sent Noca a subtle smile and then left the room and quickly went to hers. When she got in there she sunk onto her bed and felt happier than she had ever felt in her entire life, but there were still some thoughts in her mind.

"What do I feel? Why do I feel this way?"

Even with those thoughts, she still lay on the bed with an ecstatic smile on her face.