Chapter 11: Out in The Open

A/N: Sorry for the delay, crazy world means less time for me to do this sadly. Hopefully this takes your mind away from it even for a little bit.

Gohan arrived back home after a bit of a chaotic day, Goten thoroughly exhausted and almost slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes having used up all of his energy in an effort to fly and greatly outdo Videl in the process. So Goten was comfortably asleep, his small arms dangling over the back of Gohan's shoulders, a pronounced nose bubble flaring up and down with his small breaths.

With some dutiful - if not well deserved - downtime, Gohan figured that it might be good for him to start doing some light training again. He was actually feeling a little winded after helping Videl and working his little brother. Nothing crazy, but he was thinking about doing a type of sparring to keep his skills sharp.

Unlocking the front door, Gohan was immediately assailed by an unwelcome smell. One part stinged his nose the other boiled his blood. He didn't know what the first part of the smell was, but he certainly understood the second.

'Paris…' With a growl, Gohan had hoped that she'd be gone - in just three days she'd be out of his life forever, and not a moment too soon, all things considered for the demi saiyan. Gohan didn't acknowledge her, seeing the back of her head as she was on the couch. He went quickly to his little brother's room and laid him up in his bed. Taking just a few extra seconds to tuck him in and seal the door so that no excess noise would be heard.

He didn't care about the caretaker, more so he didn't want his little brother having any memories of this event, should he happen to wake up.

With a controlled glare, Gohan marched out to confront the negligent woman. Hands tightly balled up in fists, Coming around the side of her, the teen was still angry that she didn't even have the decency to realize the time and the fact that he was home. A meek, goodbye or I'll leave right away, could've lessened his growing disdain for her for the moment.

Yet his black eyes noticed something slightly alarming. Paris' breath was faint, not that she was having trouble breathing, but the fact was, she was hardly breathing.

The cause wasn't hard for him to decipher. Unrolled in front of him was all of the evidence at hand, a syringe, a spoon, and a small butane torch. Beside that was a shoelace, unbound by a small female purse that had several aluminum gum wrappers unfolded by her.

HIs acute saiyan eyes could see clearly several small puncture marks along the vein of her wrist. He was sure there had to probably be more as well. 'I can't believe this-! Seriously do you not have anything else that you could waste your life over?' Gohan knew narcotics and he knew more than enough having browsed television and been subject to more than his fair share of drug awareness programs in school. Gohan couldn't imagine the need for anyone to require drugs, but he also had put himself in the position of a near demi god-like figure by comparison to regular people.

But knowing what it was, anyone who had seen enough police shows to have a good idea what heroin was. Yet that didn't stop from just outright pissing Gohan off even more. Was this not enough-! She made a good living, her job wasn't that hard, and yet here she was doing something that was just killing herself.

'All the pain I put myself through to save the Earth, the sacrifices and taking more than a few bullets for all humans and this is what you use with that gift?'

It was bringing out his cynical side, and thoughts that weren't there had been festering deeper within his mind. Like a kind of dark poison was coursing through his veins, the more he felt less and less like his young naive self. This was the real world, even if people weren't Frieza, Vegeta, Garlic Jr. and Cell, they all had evil in them. Something that was disgusting, "Just rotting filth. That you had the nerve to nearly kill my brother, scare the hell out me and my mother?" The veins in his forearms began to pulse spreading up his shoulders and to his face.

Paris' drug induced state didn't register Gohan's hand slowly raising up towards her. Who would it hurt? Surely getting rid of her would be appropriate wouldn't it? 'Just one junkie that nearly killed a member of your dear family… there's nothing wrong with that is there?'

He sucked his hand back into his chest, his palm wrapped around his wrist as if it wasn't completely under his control. The teen sucked in a sharp breath as a cold shiver ran down his back. "What the hell is wrong with me? Why would I even think that?"

The cruel delight that was once coursing through his veins had been replaced by revulsion and contempt for his actions. Gohan had only thought like that before in regards to Cell; 'And look what good that had brought you?'

The idea of killing, no murdering, someone had never ever crossed his mind. No matter her many, many faults. Gohan could not be the person to just outright end someone's life. 'But she did you wrong, she nearly killed your little brother?'

"Shut up." Gohan growled, grabbing the sides of his face. Where were these thoughts coming from, he didn't think like this, he didn't act like this! 'You can't let her live after that, you went half-way with Cell and it only cost you the man you idolized and ruined your family. Are you going to make that same mistake again?'

Gohan's fingers rolled over his face, digging red welts as his nails pulled causing him minor pain. This was wrong, it wasn't his choice. She was just human, there was no comparison between Paris a junkie and a murderous android from the future!

The veins in his arms and face were pulsing, the anger was there, writhing and roiling inside of his body like a churning sea in a storm. But Gohan felt inside of him, the happier and kinder pieces that had made him the man he was today pulling himself out from those raging waters.

Just as suddenly as those thoughts and emotions boiled up inside of him, they were quickly stunted before fading, like they were never there to begin with.

Sweat was beginning to form on his brow, Gohan knew that he had to remove this situation, but not in whatever twisted way he had been thinking about earlier. Taking a few deep breaths, the saiyan calmly looked to the still out cold Paris and decided to wake her up…

The woman felt something zip through her body lightening her up like she never had before. It erased her high and snapped her back to the present.

Brown eyes blinked and then she looked up into the neutral placid face of Son Gohan. Her mouth was dry and she could still feel the rolling ebbs of her high fading just like her ability to speak. "I don't need to ask or tell you what you're doing right now, I think you know well enough that it's a horrible thing to do drugs. Especially these."

Gohan drew back, controlling his anger. His finger pointing down at the mess she had on the table. "I would like to know why?" He really wanted to hear her excuse. "You're paid well, you have nothing terrible happening to you, so why are you doing something like this?"

Paris' head dropped in complete shame and embarrassment. It would've been easier if he was yelling and screaming at her to handle, but that disappointed tone from someone younger looking down as she struggled with her problem wasn't something that she liked facing.

She gathered some parts of her courage and will to speak after a minute, her fingers coming together as she tried to act like a grown woman but was shaking like a caught teen in front of her parents. "Does it matter? You're not going to see me in a few days anyway, and it's not like you really care."

"What you do to yourself I can't control, but why? Why would you do this to yourself, is this the life you want to live after Cell nearly took it from everyone a few years ago?" Gohan got a little harsher. "You're practically killing yourself… it also doesn't mean I want to watch someone just throw their life away like that, I've already had more than enough people dying pointlessly for one lifetime."

"Please don't preach to me Gohan, you have everything so much better off than I ever did. I didn't ask to start getting addicted to this crap, it's not like you know how hard it is to handle your little brother all the time!" Her little temper quickly faltered when Gohan shot her a death glare. "It's not easy… Goten is sweet but he's, he's just hard to handle."

He gave her an incredulous look, he couldn't understand her rationale and jump to that logic. "How about you start telling me, you've always said Goten was great and he never gave you problems."

She found the words that she wished to say for another minute. "I said those things because I didn't want to give this job up… the money and prestige who could turn that down?"

"That's just a self serving excuse. That doesn't explain all of this-" gesturing to her drug to go back that was laid out on the table.

"No one pays the rent but me Gohan, I have to live close or buy a car both of which are expensive and I know that you and your brother aren't normal so you don't have any real idea of what it is to be just like a regular person. I can't fly, have super strength or an appetite of an entire army."

"So why drugs? Why not find a new job or say something?"

She looked up at Gohan from behind her bangs. "You don't tell someone like your mother that her precious boys aren't always the incredible super beings that you always appear to be. It was also something in my contract, I was only allowed to tell her concerns and not my personal gripes. The latter had to go directly to my boss and they wouldn't listen to them. Mrs. Chi-Chi would get her way no matter what and I had to sit there and just put up with it."

Her head dropped again, "I found your mother's powerful painkillers. Goten played too roughly one day and he nearly broke my hand, I just thought… I'd just take one and I'd be fine and it worked. They numbed the pain and I felt better. The next day I thought just one more for some lingering pain… then before I knew it, I was taking them when it didn't hurt, they made me feel so good I just lost control…"

Both of her hands grabbed the side of her face, "But those pills just weren't enough and I knew someone who could help me get better ones and then." She let her words fall off. "I don't need to get into the specifics. I just wanted to feel good, it helped take the edge off when I was around the two of you and your demanding mother. I didn't intend to become a junkie but now I can't stop."

"So just stop, go find help!" Gohan said in disbelief. "There's plenty of places that could give you some type of help."

"And lose my job? Be labelled an addict, give up everything? Gohan I can't just do that, I'd lose everything if I did."

He pressed his lips into a scowl, "What about your life?"

[***]

The teen didn't bring up his incident with Paris to his mother, the girl would be making her own choices and told him that she wouldn't be returning the following day which would be her last anyway. It was just inside of him, he wasn't exactly sure what that was telling him to just look away, to not tell his mother what he saw.

'And for the life of me I can't understand why? I would have proved all of my mother's disregards of my concerns correct. It would've ended everything and yet I just couldn't do it. Maybe it's because I had those thoughts and I still have no idea where they had come from.'

That was the most troubling aspect of everything to have those dark emotions rolling up inside of him, it made him feel disgusted that he might actually entertain the idea of killing someone. And it wasn't justifiable. Sure he could make petty arguments with himself, but to actually go and kill anyone because of a feeling was terribly wrong. That's what weak people did.

The growing man inside of him could never find a reason for doing anything so lowly and unbecoming of the person he thought he was.

An exhausted mental sigh escaped his mind, currently as he was on a double date, though the double part was a bit excessive. Managing the hyperactive Goten while with Erasa was not the most simple of tasks.

But as the small demi Saiyan had taken a liking to Erasa - more so due to the foods she gave him - than her looks or personality, Gohan's little brother was currently held in said girlfriend's arms. If Goten was getting spoiled then he didn't care.

The two of them were on what would consider a minor romantic evening, Gohan had no Paris to harp over his shoulder and no mom so it was his evening to do with… as Erasa dictated.

They were walking one of the piers together. Looking more like a couple than they ever had before. Like a young mother and father. The low rolling sun was settling down in the evening, the lights were beginning to turn on, just as the vendor's bright signs and large ferris wheel that adorned the large pier sparked and then turned into a brilliant mixture of blues, yellows, and reds.

The strobing effect bouncing off the water and lighting up the surrounding area as the sun dropped lower and lower.

"How about a ride Gohan?" Erasa asked, her gaze directing them to what she was referring to. "It's been awhile since I was in one of those."

Gohan looked up at the ferris wheel, "Ehh, why not?" He gave her a smile, though he looked like he'd been following along enjoying himself. Truth be told his mind was still distant and away from the present world.

"Fantastic," Erasa chirped, hoisting up Goten, "See that Goten we're going to go on a ride!"

"Yayy!" Goten cheered, though probably he'd be less excited considering he was learning how to fly, going up and round in circles, just didn't feel like it was all that exhilarating. But as the pair got in the small line of people, Erasa looked to him.

"You've been kind of quiet Gohan, everything okay?" Even the blonde was able to smell him out, "You can talk with me about it you know. I promise what we say stays between us."

"It's just internal things, I just haven't really felt like myself." Gohan did trust her, he had to if he was going to be okay with her being his girlfriend. But the human alien hybrid 'thing' would probably have to remain a secret for much longer.

She pulled Goten up onto her shoulder, letting him look over and stare at the lights behind them as they waited. "You've had a crazy time for sure this year. I mean your little brother being admitted to the hospital like that must've been scary, then you always tell me how your mom is never around and with your maid being put out and you having to look after this lil' guy," she gestured with her head. "I can't imagine that you are feeling more than a little bit strained."

That was all the right parts to the outside, of course Gohan couldn't reflect that he was okay with dealing with most of that. He'd done it when he was younger and for much longer. Yet explaining that he was mostly out of it because he'd almost murdered Paris. That seemed like a bit much to perhaps get off his chest than he'd give Erasa or hell even his own mother that explanation.

"Well, how do you handle it?" Gohan deflected the question off of him. They approached their opening of the ferris wheel and were let on, the public attraction wasn't packed enough and the three had their own carriage.

As the machine lightly jostled Erasa set Goten down in the seat next to her and across from Gohan. "Gohan, I can imagine how stressful it was, I saw all of that when my parents went through a divorce and then shortly after that I lost my brother." Running her hand through blonde locks she looked down at the floor of the carriage.

"I thought you said your brother was gone? Did you mean that he was?" Gohan hadn't expected that reply. He just assumed that he wasn't home or with his father.

She nodded, "Yeah it was the reason why mom and dad split, they couldn't handle their pain and just grew to hate each other… kind of funny considering their profession they worked together in." Erasa said ironically, her mother was an adult film star and her dad was much the same. She and her brother were just 'happy accidents'. "My brother was a few years older than me and he died on May 12th in a mysterious explosion in Eastern City."

Gohan's eyes widened, 'Eastern City? May 12th… that was the day we were supposed to be attacked by the androids that Mirai warned us about.'

Goten perked up and looked over the open window at the area, his dark brown eyes glossing over all of the many pretty sights, smells, and environment.

Erasa continued, "It can't be easy dealing with so much drama. I thought that everything would be okay if I just kept slogging through everything and just burying so much of my pain and just acting like a zombie that going through the motions would make everything okay again." Her teeth lightly bit into her bottom lip, "But it wasn't, I missed all of the signs around me that my world was collapsing. I didn't notice that my mom and dad weren't eating meals together with me anymore. It was either one or the other until one day I realized that all of Dad's stuff was gone. I was so zoned out of it that I had missed all of the fights, all of the family break up until it was really out of my hands to do anything."

The other teen remained quiet, "I have an idea how it would be for you, I guess it's why I feel more comfortable around you. You know what it's like to go home to one parent or none… you just don't' have nearly as much of the stigma as my family does, cause well, you know." 'That when your mom is a porn star everyone who has the internent has seen your mother more than you have.' "It's no secret why there's quite a few boys who want to 'hook up' with me rather than just date."

"Sharpner wasn't?" Gohan was mildly curious how she felt about the blond jock who had seemingly taken everything well, though the recent events at school were having him questioning whether he actually believed that himself.

She shook her head, "I don't think he was like them, but I always felt that Sharpner saw me more as a trophy than a girlfriend most of the time." She then looked up and gave him a smile, "Which is why you're my boyfriend." She fidgeted with her fingers in her lap, "I know my situation and yours are close but I can't imagine how you do it and with everything you do to still help me."

"You were the first person to be nice to me, Erasa, and you never cared how I was always different." Gohan admitted to her, "I'm not always… the most perceptive of modern things, but you never really seemed bothered by that or even annoyed at how I was mostly clueless about things that everyone else knew and was actually impressed by how smart I was."

"Well you are sweet, Gohan, and I sort of felt that you were a semi outcast like I was, just that me being Videl's friend saves me from a lot of scrutiny you mostly saw me for me… and perhaps just a little of this." Being a little bold she pulled down one part of her tube top exposing just a hint of pink peak to Gohan who flushed red and looked away embarrassed.

"Twunks!" Goten proclaimed interrupting the two as he pointed. Gohan's mental focus shifted as he had been so distracted that he had clearly missed something quite obvious.

The ki's of both Trunks, Bulma and even more shocking Vegeta were not that far away.

"Aww, do you see someone Goten?" Erasa, feeling the mood broken, looked back to Goten who was pointing down at a pair that was off to the side of the pier. Erasa could make out that and some black flame that defied all logic as a person's hair.

Perching himself up Goten tucked his feet and before Gohan had even the inkling of what his little brother was going to do- Leapt!

Erasa paused as the ferris wheel was about a little more than two-thirds of the way done with its rotation but the jump was a little over thirty feet. A strangled gasp was all that escaped her voice as watched in horror as the little boy threw himself out of the carriage.

Gohan wasn't able to come up with a proper reaction either as he knew his little brother would be fine. Goten could jump from a small mountain and be fine, his problem would be just explaining it to someone. If it was Videl he'd probably get away with it, but he hadn't opened that much to Erasa, not that Videl had been a choice.

Yet like a flying squirrel Goten sailed towards his friend where he was snatched out of the air before anyone could realize it by a grumpy saiyan prince. Holding his brother up from the back of his suspenders just an arm's reach away from Trunks and Bulma.

Said prince looked towards Gohan with a none too pleased glare. 'Does this belong to you half-spawn?' The prince's voice echoing inside of his head.

It made Gohan blink for a moment, 'Did you just-' managing to only raise the prince's ire further.

'Yes you idiot, telepathy now are you going to get the midget clone of your father or not?' Though he sounded pissed Vegeta set Goten down at Bulma's feet, the heiress was more equipped to handle saiyan babies who handed off her own son which immediately caused the two to begin rough housing with one another. "You are just like your dad, Mister… and you too Goten." Gohan's acute hearing picked up the comment earning a sneer from her prince.

"Wow… how did your brother do that? I mean he just-" Erasa was stunned, she watched Goten jump, disappear and reappear fifty feet away.

"Just some Capsule Corp tech, a safety feature mostly." Gohan quickly explained.

The blonde released a sigh of relief, feeling like she almost had a heart attack as she saw that Goten was now playing with another baby. Apparently the one he knew, she didn't figure it was too bad as the ride came to a stop and no one else had noticed the act. Gohan and Erasa got off of the ferris wheel and made their way towards the incognito Bulma. Her hair tied up in a high bun and wearing a more casual designer jacket and white jeans. Vegeta wore a dark blue workout shirt with short black jeans. His physique on full display much to Bulma's approval.

"Well about damn time boy, I am not your father nor is your father's spawn my responsibility." Vegeta's gruff attitude made Erasa a bit apprehensive about speaking up and thanking him even if it wasn't her brother.

"Sorry Vegeta, I didn't realize that you were even here and I've been working on Goten about that." He apologized, bowing his head slightly out of respect but the prince just gave an irritated grunt before turning back towards his woman.

"Boy returned, now let's get moving, Woman, the agreement was for one hour." He'd been suckered into coming out, well tricked by his damn minx of a female who had been figuring out his buttons and using them to damn fine effect. 'If her tongue and fingers weren't so skilled I'd be happily training.' Though in the moment he was unable to object.

Bulma just patted the two boys who were happily wrestling, Trunks slightly overpowering the other saiyan on the dock grounds. The mother wasn't worried about them getting hurt, more so the structural support of the pier. Designing a saiyan proof play area had taken her a week and required updating as the boys' strength grew monthly.

"Relax Vegeta, fresh air does you so much better than your gravity chamber." Dismissing his gripes she turned to Gohan. "Surprised to see you here, much less with more company Gohan." Bulma gave him a smile coming over and hugging her best friend's son. "You really keep growing more and more each time I see you. Though with that long hair it's easy to see how much you resemble your other family." Apparently long black hair with spikes ran in Goku's family tree as if it wasn't obvious with Raditz.

"Yeah I know, it's good to see you too Bulma." His hand patting her on the back before pulling back and getting on with introductions. "Oh Bulma this is my girlfriend, Erasa," He looked back at her, "Erasa, this is a family friend Bulma." He smiled, "Yes that Bulma."

"Oh my gawd..." She covered her mouth in shock. "You're-" Bulma nodded her head.

"Before you freak out too much, just keep it low key alright. I am having a wonderful evening with my family."

"Pfft, says you, Woman." Vegeta quipped but was ignored.

Erasa almost panicked, it wasn't everyday she met a billionaire genius. Being friends with the world champ's daughter was one thing but meeting the single smartest person, if not the most wealthiest woman in the world. Plus she was stunningly beautiful, which was probably why she was with an equally stunning looking man. The elusive baby daddy of Bulma, the recluse who no one knew. But Gohan clearly did.

"Oh, s-sure I understand Mrs. Briefs." She said, shaking the older woman's hand.

"Mrs. Briefs… Has a nice ring to it, don't you think Vegeta?" Bulma said, casting a coy grin towards him who turned his back away from them. "Well nice to meet you Erasa. You look a little familiar, have I ever met you before."

Erasa blushed from embarrassment shaking her head. "No-No just a good resemblance to my mother I'm sure."

"Ah, that is probably it." Somewhat satisfied with that answer. "Well I won't hold you two up on your date… although." Bulma had a bit more clout about a young man and woman enjoying their time together. "Gohan let me watch Goten for the evening," The prince's face snapped in her direction. "You should go enjoy yourself, just come pick him up later once you head home."

"Really Bulma?" "Woman-!"

"Yes, you go have fun this evening. It's not like Trunks doesn't need to wear himself out." Her head turned towards Vegeta, her evening and later plans hatched. "Don't you think?"

Growling irritated, he cussed in his native tongue under his breath before reaching down and grabbing the two boys.

"Bulma always wins." She snickered, more than pleased with herself. Trunks got tired and was less of a handful when put to bed meaning he'd sleep more than four hours giving her plenty of private training time with her own saiyan. On top of all that she got family time with her one day - hopefully soon - husband.

More than satisfied with herself, Bulma bid the couple adieu and followed behind her prince, keeping a tight leash on two rambunctious saiyans who kept wrestling with one another.

"Wow, you just get more and more impressive Gohan." Erasa admonished her hands behind her back as she looked at Gohan who shrugged. "Famous mom, good friends with the Briefs. Have you met Kami too perhaps?"

"Probably." He said jokingly, avoiding the truth.

"Oh you," She playfully slapped his shoulder. "Come on there's one more place I want to go see." Her hands wrapping around his arm pulling him towards one more important location.

Gohan let himself be pulled around, "What do you want to do?" Not sure what else there was to enjoy, unless there was food or something.

"It's amazing, this new shop opened up just a week ago and they say there's a honest fortune teller inside. A lot of kids have come here and said that everything they were told came true!" Sure the occasional rumor was one thing, but quite a few students after hearing it came out to see if it was real.

Several more came back proclaiming it was true so Erasa figured why not check it out herself. "Plus I have a few questions I'd like to ask this person."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow, "What did you plan on asking them."

She turned back and gave him a grin, "Oh you'll see!" Erasa giggled as they were led to a small seemingly nondescript tent. There were a few others waiting in line, but the small little blue tent was decorated with strange markings, misshapen letters and a crude looking M hanging just above the entrance.

Despite the atmosphere around everything, something about it made Gohan's hairs rise up on the back of his neck. The aura of this place just felt… off and when a pale skinned man wearing black clothing adorning the same weird branding on his forehead didn't help assuage the demi saiyan's instincts as he led one group after another every couple minutes into the small tent.

It looked like harmless fun, but inside was something much worse.

R&R