A/N: Thanks for all the recent reviews/favorites; as a writer, it spurs me to write faster/better when I get them, so it's appreciated. Also, I was looking at my Live Preview and I realized none of my formatting has been working, so I apologize if you were having a hard time reading the story; thanks for sticking with it anyways. This one will be better!
It was Tuesday night and Goten and Bra were supposed to be having another meeting but neither one of them were going. Goten was walking around downtown, blowing off steam. Bra was at home, locked up in her room.
"Bra, open this door!" Trunks yelled. "I need to move your car and your spare keys are gone." Bra opened the door and said seriously, "If I give you my car keys, will you teach me how to be a super Saiyan?"
"What?" He asked dumbfounded. "Where did that come from?"
"I want to…beat someone up," she said firmly. Trunks laughed.
"Oh yeah? And you need to be a super Saiyan to do it? Hmm, we wouldn't be talking about Goten would we?"
"Not at all," she said with a straight face.
"Well if you aren't going to tell the truth, I'll move your car with my bare hands and I promise you, it won't be pretty."
"Fine! I want to beat up Goten . What's it to you," she said, throwing the keys at him.
"Whatever, see you later," he said, turning and going down the stairs. When he got to the bottom, he shouted, as an afterthought, "The answer is still no."
"What? I gave you the keys!" Bra said indignantly.
"But I never agreed. Look, Goten and me aren't exactly best pals anymore but I'm not teaching you to be a super Saiyan just so you can beat him up."
"It's not really all about that. I've always wanted to do it," she made up quickly. Trunks seemed to read right through that.
"No," and then he disappeared out the front door.
Meanwhile downtown, Goten was wandering around aimlessly. He'd taken off when Gohan had arrived with Videl and Pan. He just didn't think he could stand being in a room when Pan was rambling on about how awesome Bra was. So, he'd taken to the street. There weren't many people out, not since there had been recent gang activity in these parts.
He didn't really know where he was going but subconsciously he knew he wanted to see Amy. She always came downtown Tuesday nights to shop since it was bargain day. He knew she wouldn't be around but he didn't feel like calling her either. He kind of just wanted to bump into her. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been shopping with her. They'd used to go together every week. Lately, he'd been too stressed to care much about his look and had just been strolling around in his torn old jeans. Anyways, Amy always made him feel better.
Amy's favorite store was down on Third Street but he found his feet around knew the way there without his mind, as it was replaying his conversation that morning with Todd, trying to figure out if he'd been telling the truth. Todd certainly didn't look like a guy who'd lie.
As he got closer to Third Street, he started to notice there were a lot more people down this street and not just people, thugs. He'd just walked into a gang.
"What're you doing down here punk?" One guy asked him with a huge metal bar pierced into his lower lip.
"Just walking," Goten said politely, sidestepping him, and continuing on.
"Well, you ain't just walking down here. Get lost."
"All right, I'll just get lost down this way," he said, walking past the guy again.
"Why you little-" The guy lunged for Goten but Goten avoided him easily and punched him in the back of the head. The guy fell limply to the ground.
"Any other takers?" He asked to a few others lounging the shadows, but there did seem to be a lot of takers as about twenty other guys were stirring and surrounding him. Goten smiled. A fight would be much better to blow off steam than just walking around.
"Say your prayers," said one, while another chided, "Don't cry for your mommy or we'll kill her too."
"Bring it on," Goten yelled, thumbing his nose.
"Wait a second!" Yelled a voice. It was Amy. She was running over, looking confused.
"What's going on here?" She demanded.
"Amy? Don't get involved, just get behind me," he said protectively.
"What? Why? They'll play nice, won't you boys?" She said, stepping forward toward them and laughing. The thugs immediately took a step back from her. What was going on?
"Amy, you - we should get out of here. I don't want you down here with all these gangs hanging around down here." But Goten had a feeling they weren't going to let him and Amy just leave peacefully.
"Weren't you listening?" Amy snapped. "I can take care of myself."
"Let's just go," he said, taking her hand and trying to pull her out of the alley. The thugs were still looking at Amy like they were afraid.
"You go," she said, "I've got some stuff to do."
"What?" he asked, outraged. "I'm not leaving you down an alley full of thugs!"
"You're starting to annoy me," she said and then she turned to the thugs, "Do whatever you want with him."
They converged on Goten but the twenty of them were no match. He laughed, cracked his neck, and started. He took the guy in front of him out with one punch to the face. He could feel another sneaking up from behind him but dealt with him using a swift elbow to the nose. Two more had run up to get him from the front but he was too fast, dropping the first with an elbow to the neck and the second with a shuto to the neck. He continued so quickly like this, it had barely been ten seconds since the first punch but as the last man fell, it left Goten and Amy standing quietly amidst the unconscious bodies of the gang. Goten hadn't even broke a sweat.
"Goten, let's go," she said sweetly.
"I don't think so. Tell me the truth. You were a part of this gang, weren't you?"
"A part of...are you kidding me? Don't tell me you are that stupid. I would never be part of a gang!" She said but as she said it, one of the men in the alleyway sat up, dazed and confused, blood leaking from his nose and said audibly, "Lady A, we got that kid from Orange Star! Sent him to the hospital with broken ribs and all and -" But before he could finish, Goten kicked him hard in the mouth and he fell backwards.
"Lady A, huh? You're the head of that gang who's been stealing from these stores?"
"Goten, this isn't what it looks like!"
"Then what is it? And you had Todd beaten up? What kind of game are you playing Amy? You know what - spare me you're stories. I'm taking you to the police."
"But Goten, I'm your girlfriend!"
"Not anymore."
