Chapter 11: A Chance Encounter
Disclaimer: I don't own dbz
A/N: To the anonymous reviewer who asked when the next chapter will be out. The answer is: now. When you ask me a question anonymously, I cannot send you a pm. Therefore, I cannot answer your question until the next chapter comes out. Kind of defeats the point of asking when the next chapter comes out, huh?
Gohan walked down a busy street in South city. He was taking a day off from training and studying.
"Much needed time off," The recently turned fifteen year old thought. Training with both Master Roshi and Piccolo, while also keeping up with his studies was difficult. He was tempted to use the time chamber as his bedroom, so he could get some time to rest. Of course, he occasionally had a day like this for relaxation. After remembering his dad's emphasis on proper rest, he had insisted upon it. He looked around, trying to find the all-you-can-eat buffet Oolong had been raving about.
"Man, just thinking about it is making me hungry," he whined, rubbing his stomach. About a year ago his body had finished adapting to his new power, resulting in some interesting changes. His appetite had nearly doubled; meaning he had to hunt for himself occasionally. Chichi couldn't afford to feed the equivalent of three Saiyans.
He saw a large building that lots of people were entering, "Maybe it's in there?" he muttered. The inside was grand. Well, Gohan thought so; he had never really explored a city before so everything seemed grand to him. It was a large open space with lots of little stores all lined up next to each other.
"This place is amazing!" he thought, "Look at all the stuff you can buy here!" He stopped at a sporting goods store, eyeing a baseball bat, "I think Yamcha had one of these things," he mused, trying to recall. He decided to ask the employee about it.
"Uh, excuse me, sir?" he said, gaining the teenage employee's attention,
"Yes? How can I help you?" The employee asked politely. Gohan presented the bat he was holding,
"Could you tell me what this is?" He asked. The employee seemed confused at the question, but answered helpfully,
"Well… that's a baseball bat. You use it to play baseball," he said, still confused, "If you want to try it out, we've got batting cages in the back. I'll waive the fee since you're a first-time customer." He offered magnanimously. Gohan's eyes widened,
"Oh wow! That's really nice of you, thanks!" he exclaimed in gratitude. He followed the employee through a door in the back, leading to a hallway full of cages. Many of them were already occupied. One batter in particular was incredible, every ball hit the target on the same spot. As Gohan walked past, he looked in to see who it was. The person happened to look back at him at the same time.
"Gohan!", "Eighteen!" They both exclaimed in surprise.
Eighteen had been having a bad day. Seventeen had taken up demolition derby as a hobby and dragged her to one of his shows. Three hours of watching cars smack into each other was not her idea of fun. She had gone to the batting cages to let off some steam, completely unaware of who she would encounter.
"Running into one of that group in a city is unexpected," She thought as she lead Gohan to a coffee shop she frequented. She had invited him to catch up. They took a seat facing each other. She observed the nervous boy in front of her.
"He's grown up," She noticed, "though, the only real difference is his height. He seems otherwise unchanged." His hair was a little shorter than before, but still in the same messy style. His clothes were simple: t-shirt, jeans, sneakers; no sign of any fashion sense, just utility.
"I should thank you, you know?" She said, recalling the events of four years ago, "You released me from… that thing," she shuddered. Even just the memory was horrifying. "I never did say it, so… thank you," She lowered her head in gratitude. Gohan began sputtering and waving his hands,
"No, no! There's really nothing to thank me for!" He yelped. His tone fell, "After I transformed, I really wasn't trying to save anyone," He admitted, somberly. "I just wanted to hurt Cell, that's all," He fiddled with his hands in front of him.
"Hmm, I guess even the strongest guy in the world has problems," She thought. "Maybe I should cheer him up. He did save me after all," She thought about what she could say,
"It doesn't matter how or why, the fact is you saved me. If you're not proud of that, then I guess my life doesn't mean much to you," She said brusquely, crossing her arms and leaning back in her seat. "That didn't quite come out how I meant it!" She thought.
"NO, wait! That's not what I meant at all," he said frantically, trying to clear up the misunderstanding, "You're really important, in fact saving you is one of the best things I did with that transformation!" Eighteen smiled and blushed a little.
"You really know what to say to a girl," She teased. Gohan's head tilted in confusion. Eighteen sighed, "Still so naive," She shook her head.
"So, Gohan, how have things been for you?" She asked, trying to move the conversation along. Gohan leaned back and stared upwards,
"Well, I'd say things have been good. A lot of interesting things have happened." He answered, looking back at her. He grinned, "I have a little brother, now!" he gushed, "He's like a ball of energy, always running around playing games he made up! He can already walk and talk, you know! And he's really smart, and… ," Gohan continued rambling about his amazing little brother. Eighteen watched the play of emotions on his face as he described his brother's latest amazing accomplishment.
"He acts more like a proud father than a big brother," She thought, resting her head on her palm as she listened. "It's kind of cute," She smirked. Gohan finally seemed to run out of breath, so Eighteen could get a word in,
"I love hearing about your little brother… ," She drawled, "But I recall asking about you," She reminded him. Realization and embarrassment crossed his face,
"Ah! You did, didn't you?" He scratched his nose, "Well, I've… been training and studying," he said, "Then there was that incident with Vegeta… OH WAIT! I just remembered, but I saw you on tv!" He exclaimed, suddenly slapping his hands on the table. Eighteen's eyes widened at his sudden outburst. She smiled,
"I should hope so! I am pretty famous nowadays, what with the movies I've been in," She laughed. Gohan's eyebrow's shot up,
"Movies! I just saw you in a commercial! I had no idea you were so famous!" he exclaimed in awe. He was sitting and talking to a famous movie star! Nevermind that he talked with Bulma all the time, and she was arguably more famous.
"That's incredible! What's it like being in a movie?"
Eighteen smiled at the compliment, "It's pretty fun. I meet interesting people, and I get to try on lots of clothes. I have my own makeup artist, so I don't have to worry about doing it myself. Best of all, I get paid very well!" Her job was one of the few subjects she was enthusiastic about. Gohan chuckled at her sudden liveliness,
"It seems you really like it, huh?" He grinned, leaning his elbows, arms crossed, against the table. Eighteen blushed, agitated at his good humor. She suddenly felt obstinate,
"Yeah, I like it! Something wrong with that?" She challenged. Gohan shook his head good-naturedly,
"Not at all! I'm glad you found something you enjoy!" He smiled brightly. Eighteen couldn't help but smile back.
Their conversation had continued with Eighteen describing her experience as an actress until Gohan noticed the sun lowering,
"Sorry Eighteen, I have to go now. Don't want to be late for supper," he apologized. Eighteen nodded. They both stood,
"Man, this has actually been a lot of fun! I wish I didn't have to leave." He thought, sad that their time was ending. "I know, maybe we're heading the same way! We could fly together!" He faced Eighteen and spoke,
"Uh… um, Eighteen! I was wondering… I mean… if we're going the same way… ," He stumbled over his words. Eighteen seemed to realize what he was trying to say,
"Sure, let's fly together. It could be fun," She smiled gently. Gohan suddenly felt very hot, inexplicably. As they left the mall, Gohan's eyes were repeatedly drawn to Eighteen.
"Augh! What is going on with me!" He thought, frustrated with his own actions. Eighteen giggled at the expression he was making. They left the mall and found a secluded alley to take off in. Eighteen took to the air,
"Let's see if you can keep up!" She challenged blasting away at high speed. Gohan smiled and followed.
"Oh? Not even going to transform? You think you can beat me in base form?" Eighteen thought, brow raised as Gohan kept pace with her. Unlike Eighteen, Gohan had a white aura flaring around him and trailing behind. He flipped over, crossing his legs and placing his arms behind his head leisurely. "Oh, it's so on!" Eighteen grated. She shot off, creating a sonic boom. Gohan laughed and copied her.
"He's actually keeping up with me! How much faster would he be transformed!" She thought, brows raised in shock at Gohan's easy display of power. Gohan pulled closer and closer, eventually passing her. He turned his head back, grinning at her,
"That arrogant little prick!" She fumed, though she kept smiling. Then the shock hit, "He just beat my top speed without transforming! How could he have gotten so strong in just four years?!" She bit her lip in frustration.
"Come on Eighteen, let's get serious! Show me how fast you really are!" Gohan shouted, insensitively. Eighteen's frustration burst,
"Shut it! I'm going as fast as I can!" She yelled. Despite her efforts, tears welled in the corners of her eyes. "You may have gotten stronger, but I haven't!" They had both stopped in mid-air. Gohan was tensed up, taken off guard by her outburst. Eighteen clenched her fists,
"My power is artificial! I won't grow stronger, no matter how I train!" She exclaimed, voice cracking. She shut her eyes, willing the tears to go away. "Damn, I can't believe I let this get me so worked up! It's just so frustrating!" She felt strong hands grasp her shoulders. Wet blue eyes looked up into black eyes.
"That's not true, Eighteen! There is always a way!" He said, sincerely. "You might not know what it is yet, but as long as you keep trying, you'll find it!" He grinned, "That's something Piccolo taught me. Though he said it with fists instead of words!" He laughed.
Eighteen smiled through her tears at his encouragement. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Gohan let go and gave her some space.
"Thanks, Gohan. That really helps." She smiled warmly. "You're right, I won't give up!" She determined. She played with a strand of hair and looked up at him, "Hey… Gohan?" Gohan felt that warm feeling again, though this time it was more acute. It felt like a hot ball twisting in his gut. It wasn't entirely unpleasant. "Yeah, Eighteen?" He gulped.
"Do you think we could meet again?" she asked quietly, "Just to talk!" she added quickly, blushing. Gohan felt the hot ball turn faster,
"Uh… Yeah, sure! I'd like that!" He said, somewhat breathlessly. "I have another free day in a week… we could meet at West City," He offered. Eighteen nodded,
"Alright, a week from now, West City!" she smiled, "See you then," She waved, and flew off. Gohan stood there a while, trying to figure out what was happening. He snapped out of it when he realized he needed to be home for supper, and headed off.
Eighteen flew towards her apartment, face in her hands.
"I can't believe that just happened! Did I really just ask him on a date?" She shook her head, "No! It's not a date! Just two friends meeting up; nothing wrong with that!" She convinced herself. She thought back to his encouraging words and blushed, "Dammit! Why did that make me so happy?! He was just being nice!" She berated herself. Still, his words really had made her feel much better.
"Maybe I was too hasty when I gave up. Gohan believes in me, so maybe I can find my own way to become stronger!" She smiled. She started looking forward to their next meeting.
A/N: Could this be? The stirrings of romance? ...maybe. Ok, Definitely. So, Eighteen is our heroine, how many of you figured it out before this chapter? I did leave subtle hints (well, I tried to be subtle. Maybe it was actually obvious.) for you to find.
I have to admit, I had a lot of trouble deciding how to write 18. She isn't very well fleshed out in the anime, so it took me a while to decide how she would behave. I have to say I like how she turned out; she may be a bit out-of-character but seeing as she spent the last four years much differently than in canon, I think it's excusable.
What did you guys think of my attempt at romance. This is the first story I've ever written, so it's obviously my first attempt at romance as well. I'm worried that I'll mess it up, since I've never actually been in a relationship. Feedback is appreciated!