"Morning, Sumi. Everything okay? You seem a bit unhappy this morning," Yuko asked as Sumi walked into the back room before opening the next morning.

"I guess. I have to go with Seiji's family to dinner tonight with some other family I don't even know," Sumi tossed her purse into her locker and put on her name tag.

"Yeah, that kinda sucks," Yuko agreed as they walked out of the back room together. "I bet they'll be the kind of adults who think teenage relationships are 'cute' for some reason."

"God, I hate that. We're seventeen, not twelve, why is that so cute? Adults would hate it if we called their relationships 'cute'."

"I know, right? Every time my mom's friends call mine cute I make a point to call their wedding anniversaries cute. They never get it, though."

"Go figure," said Sumi. Yuko turned on the cash registers as Sumi unlocked the doors, and Bourgeois' officially opened for the day. On this day Sumi's buns were in the shape of hearts, something that many female customers eyed enviously as they came in.

Sumi had hoped that her shift would drag on forever, but unfortunately, like most people who dread something, it only seemed like a few hours had passed when Sumi timed out for the day.

I must be out of my goddamned mind, agreeing to do this, Sumi thought as she walked out of Bourgeois'. At least it's my weekend starting tomorrow. Gotta focus on the fun things, like my date, and everything I can buy with my ten million Zeni.

Seiji wasn't waiting outside the entrance, so Sumi walked to the alley and ducked behind the dumpster by herself. This time Sumi changed into a mockingbird before taking flight. She flew fairly low, flying down familiar streets before reaching a familiar mansion. Sumi landed on the porch, behind a large planter facing away from the street. She transformed back in a ducking position, stood up, and rang the doorbell.

A couple of minutes passed before the door opened. The man who opened it wore a suit and smiled when he saw Sumi.

"Hello, Sumi. I see you came over straight from work."

"Hi, Shojiro. I hope there's enough time to change," Sumi stepped into the foyer of the mansion.

"Of course there's time. Nishi isn't quite ready yet either so don't feel too rushed."

"Okay, thanks," she said and walked to the nearest first floor bathroom. Once inside Sumi shut the door and looked in the mirror. Seconds later her hair turned from bright pink to a golden blond.

Seiji wants me to look formal, so I'd better lose the buns, Sumi thought to herself and her buns became undone, turning into shoulder-length twin ponytails. Hmm…I dunno if this is the right look for this, either, she thought as she made style adjustments to the ponytails. Maybe something a bit plainer is better. The twin ponytails vanished into simply shoulder-length blond hair. Better, but a bit short. Sumi's hair slowly lengthened until it reached halfway down her back.

There we go. Now for my clothes. Let's see…better play it safe and go with a dress. Sumi's shirt and skirt merged into a dress. The sleeves disappeared and were replaced with shoulder straps a couple inches wide. The front changed shape slightly until only a little cleavage showed.

Then Sumi looked down and the length of the dress adjusted until it was halfway down her thighs. Then the bottom split on both sides of her legs and turned into slits that went up the rest of the length of her thighs. Now for the color. She looked back into the mirror. The dress rapidly started shifting between colors before settling on a rich red.

Almost there, just need the finishing touches. Sumi leaned in close to the mirror. First her eyes changed, from purple with pink flecks to green with gold flecks. Then she added a touch of grey-green eyeshadow. Her pink cheeks became more subdued and her lips went from pink to the same red as her dress. On her neck a plain golden necklace appeared, followed by matching bracelets on both wrists.

"There!" Sumi stepped back and smiled. "Now I'm-oops," she looked down again. Her high heels turned into an open-toed design and became the same red as her dress. Her purse became the same red as well, and changed shape into the most expensive purse sold at Bourgeois'.

"Okay! Now I'm perfect for real this time," Sumi admired herself briefly before she stepped back out of the bathroom. She walked back into the foyer just as Nishi arrived; Shojiro was still there and had been joined by Seiji.

"What a lovely dress, Sumi," Nishi said. "And the purse, is that one of Bourgeois' exclusives?"

"The purse is, but I picked the dress out of a magazine," she explained as they all filed out the door. "The hair is something I came up with myself, since Seiji said something more normal would be more appropriate tonight."

"And I like it much more than the buns that are so popular now. I wouldn't mind seeing your natural hair every now and then, either."

"Yeah no, that's not happening ever again," said Sumi got in the backseat of Shojiro's car with Seiji. "You've forgotten how bad my natural hair is."

"Oh, I don't think it is," Nishi said. "I don't think the buns are that bad, either."

"That fad will pass soon enough, Seiji," Shojiro reassured him. "Besides, it could be worse. Big, fluffy perms were big years before either one of you were born."

"Some women would even fluff them up into afros," Nishi added.

"Could they pull off the look?" Seiji asked.

"No, I thought it mostly looked ridiculous," Shojiro answered. "Very few women can successfully make it work, and the majority of women then couldn't. Usually the ones who wear it these days are the few that can."

"If it's been so long since it's been popular maybe I ought to try and make that a trend again," said Sumi.

"Please don't," Seiji shuddered. "That would look bad on you in any color."

"Then stop complaining about the buns."

"I can't help it. I don't like the way it looks when anyone takes all their hair and concentrates it in one or two spots. Short hair is a million times better."

"Really? I thought you didn't like short hair."

"Sometimes I do. It depends on the style. Same with any length, really. But buns are just universally bad."

"I get it; I'll change them out soon. But the pink hair stays. People will notice if it changes color too often."

"Just ditching the buns will be a huge improvement," Seiji insisted.

"Sorry to end this thrilling conversation," Shojiro interrupted, "but we're there."

Sumi blinked in surprise; she hadn't realized they'd even passed to that side of town. She hesitated as everyone else got out of the car. Why did such a coward like me think that I can do something like this?

"Don't worry, Sumi. If the worst case scenario happens, you won't ruin dinner by fleeing," Shojiro reassured Sumi.

"Why? Did you-" Sumi nervously started to ask as she reluctantly climbed out of the car.

"No, no. We're still the only ones aware that you're the girl from the incident," Shojiro whispered. "But if he reappears now, you fleeing wouldn't be the thing to ruin dinner."

"If you say so," Seiji took Sumi's hand while they started towards the massive dome's closest door. Inside was a small waiting room with doors on the left and right. A receptionist at a desk watched them enter.

"Shojiro Yamamoto and family here for dinner with President Briefs," Shojiro told her.

"Yes, we've been expecting you. Just a moment," the secretary said as she typed on a tablet. Sumi thought they'd have to wait, but seconds later the door on the right opened, and Bulma Briefs herself was standing there.

"Mr. Yamamoto, thank you for coming here tonight," she said as she shook Shojiro's hand.

"Thank you for inviting us tonight," Shojiro led his family through the door; Seiji almost had to drag Sumi in.

"This is my husband, Vegeta," Bulma said as she gestured to him. Vegeta, who had been talked into wearing a suit for the occasion, grunted. "And our children, Trunks and Bra." Trunks smiled, but Bra grinned eagerly, revealing a couple of missing teeth.

"This is my wife, Nishi," Shojiro shook hands with everyone except Vegeta, who refused to offer his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you," Nishi, like Shojiro, shook hands with all except Vegeta.

"And our son, Seiji."

"Thank you for inviting us tonight. This is my girlfriend, Sumi," Seiji proudly said as he introduced her.

"Sumi? Is that short for something?" Bulma asked.

"Natsumi," Sumi smiled as she shook everyone's hands. Unlike the others she snatched Vegeta's hand and forced him to shake hands with her.

"Well now, I know this is just a little unusual, but we'll be eating right away. Our dining room is just through here," Bulma said and led the Yamamoto's plus Sumi through a door into the dining room. On the table was the largest roast Sumi had ever seen. Sumi's mouth started to water instantly.

The two families sat themselves on opposite sides of the table, with the parents at one end and the children at the other. Sumi sat next to Seiji, and across from Trunks. She had barely sat down when she was handed a plate with a large slice of roast on it and, unlike the adults, a glass of water. Sumi piled some vegetables on there to go with the meat before digging in.

"So I see you two are still underaged, huh?" Trunks commented as he eyed the two water glasses Sumi and Seiji had.

"We're both seventeen, yeah," Seiji answered. "We'll be graduating this spring."

"Thank God," Sumi added while shaking a copious amount of pepper onto her food.

"I only turned twenty myself just a few months ago. Are you guys going to go onto college?"

"Yeah. My dad said I'll need as many degrees in business as possible if I want to run the company someday, so I don't really feel like I have much choice in the matter," Seiji said.

"I know exactly how you feel," Trunks agreed. "What about you, Natsumi?"

"Well, I have no idea what I want to do, actually," Sumi said. "Seiji's dad says that means I ought to get my own business degrees and do everything to avoid getting stuck as just an office lady, since he says that's not really a step up from my current retail job."

"Oh, you work? Just for summer break or all year?" asked Trunks.

"I've been working there year round for a while now, but only full time during the summer," Sumi explained.

"Where at?"

"Bourgeois'."

"Really?" Bra piped up. "Do you know the really pretty lady with the pink hair and fancy buns?"

"Actually-" Seiji started to say before Sumi swiftly kicked him under the table. Seiji started coughing. "Sorry. Actually, they don't really know each other at all."

"A lot of people ask, but we work different shifts and days. I don't even know her name," Sumi, Seiji, and the Briefs' children got seconds of everything.

"If you work there, why do you wanna be in a office instead of fashion?" Bra asked.

"Well, it's okay, but fashion isn't really my thing," Sumi admitted. "But I don't really have any hobbies I can turn into a job, either. That's why Seiji's dad advised I go into office work."

"Whatcha like to do?"

"I like meditating, reading, and uh, video games are pretty cool, too," Sumi blushed slightly.

"Oh, don't deny it. Sumi is a huge nerd for games," Seiji said, and Sumi blushed even harder.

"Man, me and my best friend were really into games when we were young. Pretty much every time he came over we'd take over the living room TV and play all day. Used to drive Dad crazy when we'd fight over controllers and what to play next. About once a week he'd threaten to break all my game stuff to shut us up once and for all," Trunks told them.

"What console did you have?"

"Nintendo Famicom, but I have a Sega Genesis and a Super Famicom we'd play sometimes, too."

"Yeah, I know those," Sumi said, deciding not to mention how extensive her collection was. "How good were you?"

"Good enough to beat Super Mario Bros."

"What's a 'Famicom'?" Bra asked.

"You mean you've never seen any of my old game stuff?"

"Nope!"

"Well we're going to change that. C'mon, I really doubt they're going to notice we're gone," Trunks said. After he and Bra loaded their plates with more food the four of them went back out to the living room. "Alright, give me a few minutes to find it. Bra, don't you dare touch my food," he said as he set his plate down and left through a different door.

"Fine," Bra wolfed down only the food on her plate. Sumi and Seiji sat on the couch holding hands. When Bra wasn't looking they shared a quick, silent kiss.

"Found it!" Trunks announced as he came back carrying a large box. Trunks plopped down with the box and started pulling out a jumble of wires.

"See, this is why I have all my consoles ready to go at all times," said Sumi.

"How many do you have?" Trunks asked.

"More than you."

"Doesn't that take up lots of space?" Bra asked.

"I guess. But the rest of my space is pretty much taken up by my games. I live in a small apartment," Sumi explained.

"But you'll be upgrading soon," Seiji reminded her.

"Yup!"

"There we go!" Trunks announced and slapped a cartridge into the Famicom. The classic title screen of Super Mario Bros. lit up the TV, and Trunks and Sumi grabbed the first player controller at the same time.

"My house," Trunks said.

"I'm the guest," Sumi replied.

"And this is why my Dad always threatened to destroy the Famicom," he laughed. "Okay, Natsumi. You can be Mario," Trunks let go of the controller.

As Sumi selected a 2-player game her eyes glowed a very delicate shade of blue, one that only Seiji could notice, and only because they knew each other so well. Her mind gently touched that of the game console, making sense of the data, and Sumi began to play her side of the game almost perfectly; she knew from experience that too perfect was suspicious.

But Trunks wasn't exaggerating his own ability and was able to play well himself despite having not played in years. Both of them skillfully made their way through the levels, taking Warp Zones and utilizing short cuts. Sumi cleared the last castle first, but only because she had the advantage of being Player 1.

"And that's the way to do it," she said as Princess Peach thanked Mario on the TV. "But you played okay for someone who hadn't played in years."

"And you play pretty good for a girl. Most chicks don't usually play non-casual games."

"I warned you that Sumi's a huge nerd for this sort of thing," Seiji smiled. "Most guys are pretty surprised the first time when she hands out serious ass-whippings in games like Street Fighter."

"That's always satisfying, but I generally prefer platformers. Super Mario Bros. is a real classic, but I've always preferred Super Mario Bros. 3. It's a much better game, that I'm much better at," said Sumi.

"That sounds like a challenge," Trunks said. "And you're assuming that I even have that one."

"I would be assuming if you grew up poor and had a grand total of three or four games. But the wealthiest families in the world, with a box of Famicom games that big? I refuse to believe you don't have something as famous as Super Mario Bros. 3."

"How do you know there aren't any Genesis or Super Famicom games in this box?"

"Because the only thing written on that box is 'Famicom'."

"You got me there; I do have separate boxes for Genesis and Super Famicom. But this time, I get to be Mario."

"Fair enough," Sumi said and sat back with Seiji while Trunks dug through the box of games. The game was located soon enough, and once it'd been swapped in Trunks and Sumi traded controllers. Like before as soon as Sumi was holding the controller she created a mental connection to the Famicom.

Both of them started playing, this time without using any warps to skip ahead. Once again they played skillfully, knowing the locations of invisible blocks and secret areas within stages. This time by chance it was Trunks who made it to the final level first and won.

"Oh dear, leave it to Sumi to be playing bideo games," Shojiro said from behind and laughed. Sumi and the others turned and saw both sets of parents watching them.

"Is there a problem?" Seiji nervously asked.

"No, it's just time to leave now," Nishi said.

"Already?" asked Bra.

"They've been here nearly four hours now," Bulma said. "You don't want them to stay much longer, do you?"

"Yes, it's fun!"

"Thank you for having us over," Seiji said as he shook Bulma's hand a second time.

"It was no problem at all. We'd love to have you again some time."

"Yes! Come back and play with us again!" Bra called out.

"Well see," Sumi shook Bulma's hand again. Fat chance.

"I knew I heard fighting over that damned video console thing earlier. I swear I should have blown that shit up years ago," Vegeta was heard saying as the Yamamoto's and Sumi walked out. Sumi had to resist the urge to sprint to the car.

"So Sumi, do you want me to drop you off at your apartment?" Shojiro asked once everyone was in the car.

"No thanks. Seiji and I are going to do homework together for a bit," Sumi said.

"That's fine. Would you like something to eat while you work?"

"I don't know, maybe later."

Once back at the Yamamoto's mansion, Sumi and Seiji bid goodnight to his parents and went up to his room. As soon as Seiji shut the door Sumi flopped over backwards onto Seiji's bed.

"Phew, I am absolutely exhausted. All that stress really wore me out!"

"Yeah, but you made it and nothing bad happened. And I'm super proud of you for doing it," Seiji told Sumi.

"Ahem."

"Oh, right, hold on," Seiji pulled out his phone. "There, ten million Zeni transferred to your bank account."

"Awesome," Sumi said as she pulled out her phone and watched the amount jump up ten million. "This is really gonna let me round out my collection."

"Yeah, so, I know I'm not supposed to ask again, but-"

"No."

"Not even to contact your family?"

"I can't do it," she said softly as she sat up.

"But you managed it just now, and with strangers," Seiji pointed out.

"You don't understand," Sumi stood up and walked out onto Seiji's balcony; Seiji followed her. "This just now was so hard to do. But trying to go home? I just can't do it."

"Is everything okay?" Seiji asked as he felt a deep, powerful sadness coming from Sumi. "What's wrong?"

"It's just…I already tried to visit my family once a few years ago."

"What? You never told me about this."

"That's because I thought it would be safer that way. I went after sunset as a bird. I took a roundabout way, too, in case he was watching.

"Anyways, I found my way back and perched on the living room windowsill. And when I looked it I…I saw I had been replaced."

"No!"

"Not only that, they were loving her and treating her nice like they never did me, because she was what they had wanted out of me, feminine, and beautiful-"

"You're beautiful," Seiji told her.

"No, I'm not."

"I mean it," Seiji insisted.

"You only say that because you haven't seen the real me in so many years. The truth is that I look like my dad, and my dad is not a handsome man," Sumi leaned on the railing as she spoke.

"I don't care. But, why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because I didn't want you to know I'm unloved and unwanted."

"You're wanted. And I love you," Seiji put an arm around Sumi as she looked out over the twinkling city lights.

"Yeah, I know," she said and leaned into him.

In the vast, freezing, desolate vacuum of space, a man floated there, protected by the vacuum by a transparent blue bubble with a delicate glow. He had light blue skin, deep blue-black hair, and very long, pointy ears. His clothes were plain and blue-green in color. A perfectly round sapphire hung from a golden chain around his neck.

He appeared to be asleep, but in reality his mind was not only alert, but probing planets in distant galaxies. He could sense every lifeform on these distant planets, from the smallest bacteria to the most powerful inhabitants, but only certain types of individuals interested him, and of those only the ones with the highest potential.

"What's this?" he muttered as his mind moved onto Earth, one of the many planets he would recheck occasionally. "An exact signature I've sensed before…how interesting. Nobody has ever evaded me before. I might have to play with this one first," he whispered as his eyes opened and bared his teeth in a cold smile.