Welcome back, everyone! I'm very happy with the reception this story has gotten so far. You guys are amazing as always. And if this is your first time here, then welcome! You're in for a real treat. Now, last we left off, Gohan and Chiyo had finished their respective days and were heading off to bed. What awaits them next? Find out now.
The Divergent Paths Ch.2
Gohan groaned as he turned on his side and woke from his sleep. The sunlight from outside broke through the blinds and directly onto his eyes. As he sat up, he stretched his arms up over his head, trying to get out every last ounce of sleep that made him sluggish and tired. Morning already? He thought as he threw his legs over the side of the bed. I'm surprised how well I slept. And I think I beat my alarm clock.
Glancing at the side-table right next to his bed, Gohan looked to see what time it was. His first class was at 9 o'clock. The digital clock read 9:30. It took Gohan a moment to register what he saw and when he finally did, it hit him like a ton of bricks: "I'M LATE!"
Jumping out of bed, Gohan checked to see what he could wear for work on such short notice. His alarm should've woken him at 7:30; that way, he could get in a morning shower, some breakfast, and have time to pick out something nice to wear to class. How could his alarm clock not have gone off? He had no time to do any of his morning routine.
Deciding to throw on a slightly wrinkled polo shirt, Gohan rushed to find some khaki pants and then a belt. He practically fumbled down the stairs in a panic as he went to look for shoes. He ran past the kitchen, where Videl was sitting and chatting on the phone with a friend from high school. Gohan didn't even have time to acknowledge his wife as he raced to grab some loafers to wear. "I'm so late!" He repeated as he rushed to put his shoes on. "Videl, why didn't you wake me up?! My alarm didn't go off, and now I'm late for class! The head of department is gonna kill me!"
"Gohan, what on Earth are you talking about?" Videl asked her husband as he finally slipped into his shoes. She came out to the foyer and saw her husband frantically trying to get himself out the door while looking as disheveled as he could.
"Work, Videl! I'm late for work!" Gohan shouted at his wife as he fiddled to open the front door. "I have to get started on the papers for the conference for next month on top of the class material for the students! I already missed my first class, but if I catch the bus, I might be only a few minutes late for the 10am one."
Before he could get it open all the way, Videl put her hand on the door and closed it, stopping Gohan in his tracks. He turned to his wife and saw that she was giving him one of those looks that made him feel like he was being an idiot or something.
"What?" Gohan asked when he saw that look on Videl's face.
Videl smiled and shook her head at her husband's quickly thrown-together attire. "Gohan, first of all, you look like a mess," Videl said as politely as she could while trying not to laugh. "Your shirt is wrinkled; your belt isn't in all the loops; your socks are dangling at your ankles; your shoes don't match, and you don't even have your glasses on. On top of that, it's Saturday, dear."
Gohan face-palmed himself in the face when he realized his mistake. That's why his alarm hadn't been set or had gone off. He thought it was odd that Videl didn't wake him up. At the very least, if his alarm had failed to wake him, his wife would've done so, even if she had done it at 8:00 instead of 7:30. After realizing where he went wrong, Gohan laughed. "I'm such a mess," He said to himself.
"No, you're not, Gohan," Videl insisted, kissing his cheek to assure him. "You're just passionate about your job. Now go get an actual outfit on. We can take Pan out to the park today and grab a bite to eat at a café."
"That sounds nice, actually," Gohan smiled at Videl. He then turned to head back upstairs and actually get ready for the day.
Chiyo woke up just as the Sun swept over West City, bathing it in a beautiful orange hue while most of its other residents were asleep. She squinted her eyes tightly and debated staying in bed for the rest of the day. Her muscles were still sore from her training with Piccolo from the previous day. However, Chiyo knew if she didn't get up now, she wouldn't get up at all. Come on, Chi. Get up, Chiyo thought to herself as she opened her eyes and stretched herself in bed.
Climbing out of bed, Chiyo made her way to the kitchen-dining room area and saw that a batch of freshly made blueberry muffins were on the counter, along with a note. As she got out some orange juice, Chiyo read the handwritten note: Hope you like the muffins. –Chinku.
"She didn't have to that," Chiyo mumbled to herself as she poured out a glass of OJ. She then went over and stuck one of the muffins in her mouth before carrying the orange juice with her to the living room. Before heading out, Chiyo wanted to check the weather for the day. Grabbing the remote, she flicked the TV to life and the Saturday morning report came on.
"Good morning, West City!" the weather woman happily proclaimed to her TV audience. "I hope you're ready for today: the Sun will be shining, and there won't be a cloud in the sky. It's the perfect day for some fun outdoors."
"Just what I wanted to hear," Chiyo said to herself after seeing the weather report. Beautiful weather like that was perfect for just walking around the city. Not only that, but it could be the perfect occasion to bring out her sketchbook to get some ideas about her next painting.
Once she had downed her drink, Chiyo went back to her bedroom to get dressed and fix her hair up. Going through her closet, Chiyo decided on a simple blue t-shirt and some jean shorts to wear with her tennis shoes. Chiyo went to her bathroom with her outfit ready and spent about five minutes getting her hair in a lovely braid. It had grown long in the past few years, and this morning reminded her of just how long it actually was when she noticed that the end of the braid landed on her chest instead of just above her shoulder. "Maybe it's time for a haircut," Chiyo said to her reflection before shaking her head. "As long as I can manage it, I should be fine."
After getting herself ready, Chiyo went to her dresser and opened the top draw. Inside was not socks or underwear like one would expect, but instead, art supplies and notebooks neatly organized in the little drawer. Looking over what was inside, Chiyo searched until she decided on her favorite sketchbook- a small purple one with stars on the cover- and then picked out some pencils and an artist eraser to use for later. She then picked out a small satchel to put all of that into before heading to the front door to get on her sneakers.
"The best place to go would probably be the park," Chiyo mumbled aloud as she tied up her shoe. "No one's ever there this early except some joggers, so I can get in a good view of everything before other people show up for picnics and such."
She then turned her attention to her other shoe. As she tied that one up, she thought about grabbing something at a café once she was done in the park. Maybe just a small snack or something while there and, if the park wasn't successful in giving her the inspiration she needed, she could stay at the café for a while and see if that brought about anything.
Once her shoe situation was all set, Chiyo put her satchel over her shoulder and headed out the door. This time, instead of waiting for the elevator, she took the stairs to the lobby to get in a bit of a workout in before going to look for a muse to inspire her creativity.
Jogging through the park was a lot nicer than Gohan thought it would be. He stayed at Videl's pace as they went over a second bridge to get into the park's inner portion. Gohan thought he was at a slight disadvantage to Videl, considering he had to carry Pan in a baby sling as they jogged, but he didn't tell her that. He also wasn't about to tell her how winded he was getting.
"Keep up the pace, Gohan," Videl told her husband as she picked up a little steam and started to sprint ahead.
Gohan sighed and looked down at Pan, looking around at everything as her Dad trotted along. "Okay, Panny, let's keep up with your Mom, okay?" Gohan told his little girl, who replied with a toothy grin and incomprehensible cheer.
Doing the best that he could, Gohan picked up speed and caught up to his wife as they rounded a bend that led them past the playground and a duck pond. They passed a mother pushing her baby in a stroller and an old man sleeping on a bench before stopping at an open section of the park where food vendors and chalk artists usually squatted for the day.
"H-H-How was that?" Gohan asked, bent over his knees as he tried to catch his breath. It felt like his lungs were on overdrive or something. He hadn't realized just how out of shape he was if he had a hard time jogging through the park. He was starting to rethink that offer his Father-in-law had given him the previous night about working out with him at the gym.
"Not bad, Gohan," Videl commented, wiping some sweat from her face. She had her hands on her knees as she slowly stood back upright. "That was a good half-mile warm-up. Only two and half more miles to go."
Gohan thought he'd fall over after hearing that. He looked down at Pan and saw how excited she was to hear they were gonna do more of what they just did. She was more enthusiastic about it than her Father was. A part of him wished he had class today instead of this. "You know what? Why don't you go on ahead, dear? I'm gonna…sit here with Pan and catch my breath for a minute. I'll catch up," Gohan suggested to Videl as he finally stood upright.
"You sure, Gohan?"
"Positive."
Videl shrugged. More running for her then. "All right. I'll be back in a little while. Pan, make sure your Father remembers to breathe." And with that, Videl jogged off down the path and over the bridge to get in that extra two and a half miles like she wanted to.
Heading over to a nearby bench, Gohan slumped onto the bench and threw his head back over the top of it. He didn't think that would actually work. Maybe his wife was just being extra nice or something. Or perhaps it was pity. That was always a possibility. It could be that she was saving him the embarrassment of onlookers wondering if he needed an ambulance or something if he continued to run at the rate he was going.
He closed his eyes for a moment, and just as he did, there was a tap on his shoulder. Gohan sat up and looked to his left to find a shorter gentleman in a police uniform standing next to him with a pair of black aviator sunglasses on his face. He was dawned in a patrol officer's uniform and, despite his small stature, looked like he could take down any unruly offender. "Sir, you are aware that sleeping on park benches could fine you a ticket, right?" The cop told the young man with the baby strapped to his chest. He was trying to pass off an accent like one of those old-school cops from a black-and-white movie.
Gohan blinked in confusion, not sure what to think of this before he started laughing. "Hi to you too, Krillin," Gohan chuckled as Pan reached up to try and grab Krillin's glasses.
Krillin laughed and pushed the shades up onto his freshly shaved forehead. "Hey, Gohan," Krillin greeted after fixing his shades. "You look like a mess. You training for a marathon or something?"
"I wish," Gohan chuckled as he sat upright. He sat up and decided to take Pan out of her baby sling while he talked to Krillin. He placed her on his knee and began bouncing her up and down while the two adults caught up with each other. "Videl invited me out on her morning jog with Pan, and I agreed to come along. I only did half a mile, and I'm already winded."
"Sounds like that wife of yours is whipping you into shape," Krillin chuckled before coming to sit down next to Gohan. He noticed Pan reaching for his sunglasses and decided to give them to her. Krillin reached up and put the aviators on Pan, and they almost fell off her tiny nose. She laughed as she wore them. "I tell ya, kid, as someone who has been married for ten years now, I'll give you this handy piece of advice: A happy wife is a happy life. Follow that rule, and you're golden."
"Good to know," Gohan stated, shifting a bit to turn towards Krillin. "How is Lazuli, anyway? I haven't seen her and Marron since that big potluck at Capsule Corp."
"She's good. She keeps bugging me about taking her on a tropical vacation for a week, and I have to remind her that stuff like that costs money." He leaned back on the bench and let out a winded sigh. "Who knows: if I save up enough money, I could take her and Marron on a trip next year or something. I don't know…I could always accept that TV interview thing."
"Interview? What interview?"
"Uh, well…" Upon realizing what he had said, Krillin went a little pale in the face. He scratched at the back of his head a bit and didn't dare look Gohan in the eyes. He felt ashamed about what someone had approached him for. However, he felt obligated to admit to Gohan what was on his mind: "Some news station contacted me and wants to do an interview about the ops mission on getting Cell. They offered me a ton of money if I did it."
For some reason, Gohan felt a tinge of anger burning inside him after hearing that. He couldn't believe that someone would want to milk what happened to his Dad. He wasn't so much mad at Krillin as he was at the news organization looking to bring in more viewers and profiting off of a tragedy.
"But I told them no." Krillin leaned forward a bit and put his arms on his knees as he seemed to reminisce on a memory. "I respect your Dad too much to let his memory be reduced to some one-hour special on TV. He did too much to deserve something like that. As his best friend, I'm sure he wouldn't mind, but I couldn't do it to him, even after all the sticky situations he got me into."
"Oh, I've heard the stories from Mom," Gohan commented, his anger subsiding after getting confirmation from Krillin he wasn't going through with the interview. Of course, Gohan wouldn't blame him if he did. "…Listen, Krillin, if it's not too much trouble to ask you about…could you tell me what happened? I only know so much from what Mom told me and what happened on TV. You don't have to if you don't want to, though."
Krillin hissed a bit after hearing that question. He knew Chi-Chi wouldn't know too much about the ops mission, so it wasn't surprising that Gohan would want to learn more. Still, relieving the trauma of losing one's best friend was a heavy topic to talk about for sure.
Just as Krillin was about to talk, the little radio on his belt buzzed to life. "Attention all units: we have a 586 on the outside of Satan City park. Repeat, 586 outside of Satan City park," the voice on the radio reported on the other end.
"A 586? Is that bad?" Gohan questioned as Krillin stood up and stretched.
"Someone's just parked illegally, probably next to a fire hydrant or something," Krillin replied, seeming drained by having to go deal with the situation. "But I'm the closest, so I'll deal with it. Good luck with your jog, Gohan."
"Thanks," Gohan replied as he waved to his Dad's old friend as he rushed off to the scene of the "crime." "Take care, Krillin."
"Ba, ba," Pan babbled as Krillin went off, opening and closing her tiny hand as her own form of waving. She was still wearing the sunglasses on her face.
Once Krillin was out of sight, Gohan picked Pan up out of his lap and put her back in the sling. She didn't like to be put back into it, but she succumbed to her fate and allowed herself to be put inside. He wished they hadn't been interrupted by the call, but talking in the park about something like that seemed to be inappropriate. Another day, another time. "Okay, sweetie, let's go find your Mom."
Chiyo sat at the café, sipping her cappuccino and staring at her blank sketchbook page. She lightly tapped at her table with her pencil as she tried to figure out what to draw. She hoped she wasn't bugging anyone by doing this, but she was completely stumped on what to do for her art piece. The park was a bust; nothing struck her as the inspiration she thought would answer her art block.
Flipping back to some previous pages in the book, Chiyo noted the little scribbles and doodles that dotted the sheets of paper: dragons balls here; a super saiyan there; maybe a flower or two there; nothing that could be used for an art exhibit. I want to draw, but I don't want to at the same time, Chiyo thought to herself. (Any artist will attest to this mindset, I'm sure).
Just as she was about to give up on her art career, she leaned back in her chair and decided to take a peek around the café. Maybe someone or something there would give her the inspiration she needed. Looking around the café, she saw the usual crowd that you'd expect there: couples meeting up for a date; young girls giggling while looking at magazines with cute boys in it; business professionals on their coffee break; just the same old same old. Nothing grabbed Chiyo's attention one bit.
As she went to sitting right, the front door jingled open, and Chiyo glanced back to see who it was walking in now. She slightly gasped when she saw Bulma, who had Trunks tailing in behind her, carrying several shopping bags in his arms. The pair walked in and up to the counter, where Bulma proceeded to look over the drink options while Trunks tried to figure out how to deal with all the bags he had been given. "Let's see," Bulma said as she looked over the menu. She was dressed more casually than usual, being dawned in a simple sweatshirt and some blue pants while also growing out her hair into a small ponytail. "I think I'll just get a black coffee, please."
"Don't forget the sugar cookies, Mom," Trunks reminded Bulma. He was dressed in his new usual attire, showing off his yellow hoodie and blue jeans. Ever since the whole situation with Buu, he didn't really wear his gi that much anymore. (I mean, neither did most of Chiyo's other siblings, but that's beside the point).
"I won't," Bulma told her son before turning back to the cashier. "And two sugar cookies, please."
"Of course, ma'am. We'll call you when your order is ready," The cashier politely stated. He then rang her up for her order and gave Bulma a receipt to keep.
Seeing that she was no longer busy, Chiyo waved over to Bulma and Trunks to grab their attention at her table for four. "Hey," She called out over the slight roar of the café.
Trunks' eyes immediately lit up when he saw Chiyo. He excitedly looked to his Mom right after noticing the young woman. "Hey, Mom, it's Chiyo," Trunks said to his mother.
"Well, what a surprise," Bulma remarked, a small smile coming to her face. She and Trunks walked over to where Chiyo was sitting and sat themselves down at the table as Chiyo closed up her sketchbook. "Good to see you, Chiyo."
"Same to you, Bulma, Trunks," Chiyo greeted back, looking between the two as she did. "I see you guys were busy."
"Well, Trunks needs clothes since school is coming up," Bulma explained to Chiyo. "He's starting public school this year."
"Oh, really?" Chiyo questioned, slightly surprised to hear this. Trunks had always been taught by a private tutor, so it was a slight shock to hear that he was going to start public school. "You must be excited, huh, Trunks?"
"If by excited you mean bored out of my mind, then yes," Trunks huffed, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. He was trying to go for the too-cool-for-school attitude already. "I'll probably be already way ahead of everyone else in my grade, so what's the point?"
"You might like it, Trunks," Chiyo told the young boy before taking a sip of her cappuccino. "My Mom taught me at home for years before I did public school. I was definitely ahead of most of my classmates, but I enjoyed meeting other people around my age. I bet if you ask Daichi, Chibi, and Goten, they'd probably go to school with you."
"You think so?" Trunks asked, slightly dropping the whole "tough guy" routine.
"I'm sure they would. I can tell you right now that they probably want to be out of the house just as much as you do."
"Bulma, your order is ready," One of the workers behind the counter called out, holding up the freshly made cookies and drink.
"Trunks, can you go grab that for me, honey?" Bulma requested of her son.
"Sure," Trunks shrugged and slid off the chair.
Bulma sighed as she watched her young son walked away. "He's growing up so fast these days," Bulma muttered to Chiyo.
"I know," Chiyo stated as she watched Trunks walk away. "I wonder if he'll be like his future self or if he'll be different from him. He doesn't seem as hardened as Future Trunks was, you know?"
"He's definitely different from that Trunks, that's for sure. He acts more and more like his Dad in a lot of ways."
"I'd imagine so." Chiyo slightly glanced away at the mention of Vegeta. A part of her felt guilty for what happened to Vegeta. She didn't single-handedly cause what happened to Vegeta to occur, but she also thought that her actions contributed to him sacrificing himself against Buu. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't able to be brought back like everyone else due to his deeds while under Babidi's control, resulting in his soul being sent down to Hell and so forth. There was nothing the eternal dragon could do to reverse the reincarnation process that Vegeta's soul was going through. "Bulma…I-"
"Have I shown you this ring I got?" Bulma interrupted Chiyo, holding up her right hand to show off the ring in question. It was a simple wedding band, nothing elaborate or flashy. It had an inscription on it; it simply said, My heart will always belong to my prince.
Chiyo smiled as she read the inscription. Even if Vegeta was gone, Bulma still loved him, and a part of Chiyo believed he loved her just as much. "It's beautiful, Bulma."
"I just got it out while I was shopping with Trunks today. I thought it would be something nice for myself, you know?"
"I get what you mean."
That's when Trunks came back with his mom's drink and the cookies. He sat back down and happily munched on his cookie while Bulma took a sip of her coffee. "Oh my gosh; here I am blabbing about myself, and I haven't even asked you how you've been, Chiyo. What have you been up to?"
"Well, right now, I'm trying to get over this artist block." The young woman reached over and revealed the blank page in her sketchbook. "I want to get started on this painting soon, but I have no idea what to even do."
Finishing up his cookie, Trunks smirked and looked over to Chiyo. "You know, you could always do a painting of me. After all, Mom says I would make a great model," Trunks boldly proclaimed.
"Oh hush, Trunks," Bulma playfully told her son. "This is an important piece for an art exhibit."
"I'm not sure, Trunks," Chiyo admitted, scratching the back of her head. "It's not that I don't appreciate the offer, but I want the piece to stand out, you know?"
"I can stand out!" Trunks insisted, almost jumping out of his seat. "Trust me, I'd be a great model. Besides, I'm usually the one who's more in charge of stuff, especially with something like fusion. Gotenks is more me than Goten."
"Uh-huh," Bulma replied, rolling her eyes at her son's cocky attitude.
Suddenly, it hit Chiyo like a falling building. It was so clear to her now. Why hadn't she thought of it before?! "Trunks, you're a genius!" She proclaimed a little too loudly, garnering the attention of most of the other café patrons. A light tint of red dusted Chiyo's cheeks as she turned her attention over to Trunks. "You know, I think I might take you up on that offer of being a muse for me."
"Wait, really?" Trunks asked.
"Yep. But not just you. I'll set up an appointment with you sometime soon, and I'll have you pose for me with Goten, Daichi, and Chibi, but with you guys as different fusions! Of course, that's if you want to."
"I do! I do!"
"Sounds like he's hooked," Bulma chuckled, glad to see her so excited about this whole thing.
"Perfect. We can set something up for it, and you guys can be muses for the art exhibit. You have no idea how much I appreciate this."
Sitting at the café with his wife and daughter, Gohan took a sip of his cappuccino. It was bold with a hint of sugar and a mix of caramel, one of his favorite flavors. He liked having the sweetness not being so overpowering compared to other drinks. For some reason, it reminded him a lot of home.
"Well, I think that jog in the park was a rousing success," Videl remarked as she fed Pan some applesauce.
"I agree," Gohan nodded, sipping a bit more from his drink. "So, what do you want to do for the rest of the day? I can start work on the conference stuff tomorrow, so I'm free for the rest of the day to spend time with you and Pan."
"Well, in that case, we could always go by the mall and do some shopping," Videl suggested, giving her husband a playful smirk. "I mean, there have been a few stores I've been meaning to check out for a while now."
Gohan chuckled. Videl didn't use to be much of a shopper when they were younger, but it seemed his wife had been bitten by the "mall bug" after they had gotten married. Though, he had to admit that he wouldn't mind a trip to the mall. After all, there was a good bookstore there that had a plethora of titles to choose from. Besides, as Krillin said, A happy wife is a happy life. "Sounds good to me, Videl."
Just then, a bunch of police cars passed by the café in a hurry, and through the front glass window, Gohan could see Krillin speed on down the road on a motorbike. From what Gohan could gather in the brief glimpse at what was happening, the cops seemed to be in hot pursuit of a speeding vehicle. …You should help them, A small voice whispered in the back of Gohan's head. It was like an instinct was telling him to step in. But what could he do? He didn't have any extraordinary skills to stop a speeding car. It's best to leave that stuff to the professionals.
That's it for now, guys. This chapter and the previous one are basically set up for how things work here. There's definitely more than meets the eyes here, especially on the surface level. But yeah, what do you guys think? Are you enjoying the story so far? What are your thoughts on these lives that Gohan and Chiyo are living? Let me know in the reviews. Have a good day, everyone, and remember to wash your hands.