"Okay, is this everyone?" Mrs Johnson shouted as she counted heads. "Right!
I know times getting on, we're heading for our youth hostel now. It's just
up that hill-" The young teacher was interrupted by the students groans.
"What? We have to walk all the way up there?!" The only other girl besides
Pan and Bra looked close to a faint. The guys were looking pretty beat,
too. "Look, I know you're all tired. I am too. But complaining about it
won't bring ours beds any closer. So lets go!" With this final piece of
encouragement (bribery?) Mrs Johnson turned and started to defiantly lead
the way, checking the map quite frequently. Bra and Pan dropped to the back
of the group, trying to escape the male-dominated conversation featuring
their favorite topic - cars. Neither of the demi-saiyans had eaten nearly
enough since the trip began, and it was taking its toll again. As they
climbed higher, they started to get giggly. They started singing like they
had in Kyoto. After a silly, high-pitched round of the Sailormoon theme
song, Pan started a solo of a song she'd heard from some guys at school.
Its tune was flexible, and Pan made up the lyrics as she went while Bra
supported.
I was gonna clean up my room - but then I got high. Yea, I was gonna do it real soon - but then I got high. Ba bap da, Now it is still a mess, and I know why! Because I got high, because I got high, because I got hi-gh.
Bra, in her tipsy-like state, thought she had heard nothing funnier, and they rounded it off with the theme song from Pokemon. Luckily for them, they had dropped about five meters behind the group, and everyone was too engrossed in their personal conversations to notice them. Bra got a slightly insane grin and, taking a deep breath sang "Earth! Fire!" Pan quickly joined in, "Wind! Water! Heart! GO PLANET!" Pan mimicked speaking into a microphone as she said in a deep, husky voice, "By five powers combined, I am CAPTAIN PLANET!" Both girls stifled laughs as they continued. "Captain Planet. He's our hero. Gonna take pollution" (A/N you get the idea.)
Luckily, as they were finishing off Captain Planet, the youth hostel came into sight. The girls had enough time to scream "The power is YOURS!" before stepping up to the vending machine beside the door and getting Grape Fanta's. Ahh. Nothing like sugar on an empty stomach! Before the group all piled inside, Mrs Johnson Snapped a photo of the group huddled outside the door. As they entered, they exchanged their shoes for the soft slippers before toting their stuff to their rooms. Mrs Johnson stood in the hall, directing students either past her or up the stairs. Bra and Pan followed the only other girl Melissa down the hall to their room. The tatami floored room was almost six meters by three, and one wall was lined with five rolled up futons. Relieved they weren't stuck with the teacher this time, the girls dropped their stuff and collapsed on the futons, using them like cushions, and started a deep girl-talk session. They were interrupted by the boys bursting into their room a few minutes later. Trunks, unsurprisingly, was leading them. "Hey ladies," he greeted them, casually taking the futon third from the door, right next to Pan. "Hey yourself." Pan retorted, rising from her sleeping position to find herself a foot away from the purple-haired wonder. "Ouch!" Bra said, grinning at her brother. "Are you gonna take that, Trunks?" raising his eyebrows at her, he calmly raised the pillow that adorned the futon and brought it crashing down on Pan's head. Never one to give up with out a fight, Pan responded with her own pillow, catching Trunks off guard. This went on for sometime, with a normal conversation carrying on around them. After a few minutes, Trunks caught the pillow hurled his way. Pan still gripped it tightly, and he pulled it towards him, dragging Pan closer. "You know you can't beat me, don't you Pan?" he said, enjoying her rising anger. "I know," she said remorsefully, "but I'll die trying!" While he was distracted, Pan had snatched his pillow, and whacked him with it while he still held hers. "Damn cheating females." Trunks mumbled while straightening his hair. "What say we call it even?" Trunks heard the proposition and emerged from the pile of bedding to see a hand extended. Taking it, he pulled himself out and threw the pillow back at her, following it with the quilt and the whole futon. Pan screamed with laughter as Trunks held everything on top of her. They were both oblivious to everyone else, who had chosen to ignore them and carry on talking. Pan finally managed to fight her way out of the bedding and choked out between breaths "That's - cheating!! No - fair!" "Just say I'm the winner and I'll let you up." Trunks reasoned. Pan considered the finer points of him not letting her up - he had her pinned beneath him on a pile of bedding. But then she remembered the others, Bra in particular, and agreed. "Fine, you win! I bow down to the Master." Trunks sat back, dragging the futon with him. "That's what I like to hear." Pan suddenly blushed, remembering what he had last told her he liked. Fortunately, just then one of the guys came in to say dinner was ready, so everyone rose to find the dining room. Bra hung back to walk out with Pan. "So, what was that?" Pan panicked, then swallowed her fear and innocently asked "What was what?" Bra just shook her head and propelled her friend towards the door. "Never mind. Let's go eat!"
Much to Pan's relief, Trunks wasn't at her table, and she felt back in control again. After dinner, the two girls decided to explore a little. They couldn't decide where to go (outside or scout the boys room) so a quick round of scissors-paper-rock and the triumphant Pan was leading the beaten Bra to the front door. After climbing back into their shoes, the demi-saiyans started off down the now darkened street. They started singing again, and found a nice spot several blocks down from the hostel to sit and sing in peace. After finishing yet another duet, Pan looked up at the sky and sighed wistfully. "Ya know what, Bra? I love it here!" Bra looked at her defiantly nodding friend. Pan laughed at the look she was giving her. "Don't look like that, I mean it! This place is great." "It is nice here." Bra agreed. "But don't you miss your parents?" "Nah. Haven't been gone long enough yet. You?" Pan turned the question back on her friend. "Nope, you're right. It's only been a couple of days." Thinking back, Pan realized that was right. It was only their second night away from home. Some much had happened that it seemed they had been away for longer. Pan voiced these thoughts to Bra, who agreed. Deciding the mood was getting far too serious; they rose and started back to the hostel. From the road, they notice that their room on the ground floor had a veranda, and it was half a meter from the ground outside. Climbing through the wooden beams criss-crossing its length, they settled back to talk and listen to the frogs.
Thinking back to that night, Pan remembered those frogs, and the crickets, and the cats. The night had been so alive there, with the animal kingdom making their presence known. It had been beautiful; even inspired Pan to meditate. But she was to hyped to stay still for long.
Rising from where she had sat on the concrete below the veranda, Pan called to her friend. "K, enough time spent bonding with nature. Let's go for another walk!" Bra grinned, jumping down from her perch on the railing above. As they started off towards they road, a shout from the other end of the house halted them. "Hey! Where are you guys going?" They both recognized Trunks' voice. "We're going for a walk!" Pan called over her shoulder as they both resumed walking. They could hear murmuring, but even their saiyan hearing couldn't make out what they were saying. "Are you sure that's safe?" Pan and Bra both laughed, and Bra waited at the corner while Pan took a few steps back. Peering into the darkness, she could just make out Trunks leaning over the second floor railing presumably their room's veranda. "Why Trunks, are you worried about us?" Pan said teasingly as she swung from the light-post next to her. Trunks didn't answer her question, just growled, "Be careful. If you're not back soon we'll come looking for you." Pan couldn't resist teasing him some more. "Okay, Trunks. We won't go far and we'll be back soon so you won't worry." Pan's voice was filled with mock obedience as she jumped down to the road and, linking arms with Bra, they laughed together as they walked back to the spot they had found earlier. Sitting back down in their spots, they talked about everything and anything. After a while, they thought about finding Melissa. She must have been bored, with just the boys for company. So the pair headed back for the hostel. As they rounded the corner, they noticed the guys had gone back inside. "So much for worrying about us," grumbled Pan. "Guess the only ones who'll look out for us is ourselves, kiddo." Replied Bra. Walking up the short path to the front door, they caught sight of Melissa inside. "Hey, Melissa!" Pan called as she stuck her head inside. "Wanna giggle n gab?" Melissa nodded happily and joined them on the step. After a while, being that close to the house with everything they were discussing was making them nervous, so they asked Melissa if she wanted to go for a walk. The three girls then headed back to the spot down the road. Pan and Bra showed Melissa their wonderful (?) duets, although she declined the invitation to join in, and otherwise had a really cool time. After another half hour or so, Melissa started getting bitten by mosquitoes, so they decided to head back to the room, maybe spy on the boys. Their conversation topic became less centered on boys as they neared the house. Which was lucky, considering as they rounded the corner they spotted the guys approaching from the other end of the house just meters away. "Hey, Trunks. I was wondering when you'd get worried and come find us. It's only been about two hours." Pan smiled when Trunks stepped into the light. Wearing only a light grey sweat shirt and white trousers, he was looking damn fine. Trunks just smiled back. "Yeah, I know,' he said in reference to her earlier comment. "I mentioned that fact to Mrs J, but she seemed content to leave you guys out here." He smirked in amusement at the anger beginning to cloud Pan's face. "So you see," he continued, baiting her, "I would have come look for you, but I thought Miss could do with a break." Goten and Finch (real name David, cruelly nick-named Finch) were high-fiving Trunks. "Fine." Pan said. "Come on, girls. They obviously don't miss us. Let's just head back to our room." Melissa and Bra followed their friend's lead and, sniffing disdainfully at the guys, they gracefully as was possible, climbed onto their veranda. Trunks' resolve crumbled almost immediately. "Okay, I'm sorry! Come back out?" Trunks sounded sincere at first, but was playful as he tried to coax the girls back out. Laughing, Pan came back out onto the veranda. "Sure. It's too hot in there anyway." Pan swung up onto the railing and sat down with her elbows resting on her knees. Melissa excused herself, saying she needed to talk to the teacher about something. Bra climbed onto the railing like Pan had, only instead of swinging her legs over the side, she rested them along the rail, leaning back against the post. Goten hovered near to her, never moving to far away. Pan almost laughed at this behavior, until Trunks sat on the edge of the veranda, directly below her. Pan felt distinctly uncomfortable, more so from the accusing stare she was getting from Bra then the situation with Trunks. Pan was relived when Goten got Bra's attention, leaving her unable to focus on Trunks and Pan. Sighing her relief, Pan saw Trunks take out a cigarette and prepare to light it. Pan waited until he took his hands away before she snatched it from his lips and stubbed it out on the wooden beam beside her. Trunks stood and spun to face her. Out of the corner of her eye, Pan saw Bra cast a nervous, almost scared look their way. Pan just stared at him levelly. "What? I told you before I don't want you to die and I wasn't joking. Stop smoking. It really is bad for you." Pan stressed the stop smoking and returned his cold stare. Bra looked distinctly worried now, but before Pan had a chance to question her actions, Trunks broke into a grin. Bra breathed a sigh of relief and mentally, Pan relaxed: he wasn't going to kill her. Trunks cocked his head to one side and told her, "You are the first person brave enough to tell me to quit, let alone physically stop me from smoking. Thank you. For caring." Pan just smiled at him. What was there to say? As Trunks sat back down and started talking to Finch, drawing Goten into the conversation, Pan deliberately avoided catching Bra's eye. Bra gave up: what ever was going on with her big brother and best friend she was obviously going to have to work out on her own. Suddenly smiling, she turned to Pan. "Hey! Wanna go walkies?" she said, gesturing the opposite direction to where they had walked before. Bra knew her friend couldn't resist a new adventure, wary of her or not. As she had expected, Pan brightened and nodded energetically. "K." she said, swinging her legs up so she could stand. Bra jumped to the road below, and stepped back as Pan did the same. "Where do you think you're going?" Goten asked curiously as he came over to them. "Oh, you know. Exploring." Bra said nonchalantly, turning to wink at Pan, who winked back. You go, Bra. You've almost got him hooked! Pan thought ecstatically. It would be great to see him with a girl who truly deserved him, and that was Bra all over. The talk attracted Trunks, who caught Bra's remark. The eyebrows went up. "Exploring huh? Well Goten, guess we've no choice but to escort these lovely ladies in their expeditions." Trunks sounded perfectly posh, and Pan matched his tone to throw back her response. "Oh, please don't put yourself to any trouble. We shan't be long." Pan hoped that Trunks would ignore this comment and come with them. She really wanted him along. "No trouble." He shot back in his normal voice, smiling down at her. Bra's voice startled them both back to reality. "Okay. Glad that's sorted. Finch! You coming?" "Nah. I might head in. See you guys!" He called to them as they waved and walked off, this time going up the hill.
Ooooo! Their going for a walk! Hehe. (My brother's staring at me. I think he thinks I'm crazy.)
I was gonna clean up my room - but then I got high. Yea, I was gonna do it real soon - but then I got high. Ba bap da, Now it is still a mess, and I know why! Because I got high, because I got high, because I got hi-gh.
Bra, in her tipsy-like state, thought she had heard nothing funnier, and they rounded it off with the theme song from Pokemon. Luckily for them, they had dropped about five meters behind the group, and everyone was too engrossed in their personal conversations to notice them. Bra got a slightly insane grin and, taking a deep breath sang "Earth! Fire!" Pan quickly joined in, "Wind! Water! Heart! GO PLANET!" Pan mimicked speaking into a microphone as she said in a deep, husky voice, "By five powers combined, I am CAPTAIN PLANET!" Both girls stifled laughs as they continued. "Captain Planet. He's our hero. Gonna take pollution" (A/N you get the idea.)
Luckily, as they were finishing off Captain Planet, the youth hostel came into sight. The girls had enough time to scream "The power is YOURS!" before stepping up to the vending machine beside the door and getting Grape Fanta's. Ahh. Nothing like sugar on an empty stomach! Before the group all piled inside, Mrs Johnson Snapped a photo of the group huddled outside the door. As they entered, they exchanged their shoes for the soft slippers before toting their stuff to their rooms. Mrs Johnson stood in the hall, directing students either past her or up the stairs. Bra and Pan followed the only other girl Melissa down the hall to their room. The tatami floored room was almost six meters by three, and one wall was lined with five rolled up futons. Relieved they weren't stuck with the teacher this time, the girls dropped their stuff and collapsed on the futons, using them like cushions, and started a deep girl-talk session. They were interrupted by the boys bursting into their room a few minutes later. Trunks, unsurprisingly, was leading them. "Hey ladies," he greeted them, casually taking the futon third from the door, right next to Pan. "Hey yourself." Pan retorted, rising from her sleeping position to find herself a foot away from the purple-haired wonder. "Ouch!" Bra said, grinning at her brother. "Are you gonna take that, Trunks?" raising his eyebrows at her, he calmly raised the pillow that adorned the futon and brought it crashing down on Pan's head. Never one to give up with out a fight, Pan responded with her own pillow, catching Trunks off guard. This went on for sometime, with a normal conversation carrying on around them. After a few minutes, Trunks caught the pillow hurled his way. Pan still gripped it tightly, and he pulled it towards him, dragging Pan closer. "You know you can't beat me, don't you Pan?" he said, enjoying her rising anger. "I know," she said remorsefully, "but I'll die trying!" While he was distracted, Pan had snatched his pillow, and whacked him with it while he still held hers. "Damn cheating females." Trunks mumbled while straightening his hair. "What say we call it even?" Trunks heard the proposition and emerged from the pile of bedding to see a hand extended. Taking it, he pulled himself out and threw the pillow back at her, following it with the quilt and the whole futon. Pan screamed with laughter as Trunks held everything on top of her. They were both oblivious to everyone else, who had chosen to ignore them and carry on talking. Pan finally managed to fight her way out of the bedding and choked out between breaths "That's - cheating!! No - fair!" "Just say I'm the winner and I'll let you up." Trunks reasoned. Pan considered the finer points of him not letting her up - he had her pinned beneath him on a pile of bedding. But then she remembered the others, Bra in particular, and agreed. "Fine, you win! I bow down to the Master." Trunks sat back, dragging the futon with him. "That's what I like to hear." Pan suddenly blushed, remembering what he had last told her he liked. Fortunately, just then one of the guys came in to say dinner was ready, so everyone rose to find the dining room. Bra hung back to walk out with Pan. "So, what was that?" Pan panicked, then swallowed her fear and innocently asked "What was what?" Bra just shook her head and propelled her friend towards the door. "Never mind. Let's go eat!"
Much to Pan's relief, Trunks wasn't at her table, and she felt back in control again. After dinner, the two girls decided to explore a little. They couldn't decide where to go (outside or scout the boys room) so a quick round of scissors-paper-rock and the triumphant Pan was leading the beaten Bra to the front door. After climbing back into their shoes, the demi-saiyans started off down the now darkened street. They started singing again, and found a nice spot several blocks down from the hostel to sit and sing in peace. After finishing yet another duet, Pan looked up at the sky and sighed wistfully. "Ya know what, Bra? I love it here!" Bra looked at her defiantly nodding friend. Pan laughed at the look she was giving her. "Don't look like that, I mean it! This place is great." "It is nice here." Bra agreed. "But don't you miss your parents?" "Nah. Haven't been gone long enough yet. You?" Pan turned the question back on her friend. "Nope, you're right. It's only been a couple of days." Thinking back, Pan realized that was right. It was only their second night away from home. Some much had happened that it seemed they had been away for longer. Pan voiced these thoughts to Bra, who agreed. Deciding the mood was getting far too serious; they rose and started back to the hostel. From the road, they notice that their room on the ground floor had a veranda, and it was half a meter from the ground outside. Climbing through the wooden beams criss-crossing its length, they settled back to talk and listen to the frogs.
Thinking back to that night, Pan remembered those frogs, and the crickets, and the cats. The night had been so alive there, with the animal kingdom making their presence known. It had been beautiful; even inspired Pan to meditate. But she was to hyped to stay still for long.
Rising from where she had sat on the concrete below the veranda, Pan called to her friend. "K, enough time spent bonding with nature. Let's go for another walk!" Bra grinned, jumping down from her perch on the railing above. As they started off towards they road, a shout from the other end of the house halted them. "Hey! Where are you guys going?" They both recognized Trunks' voice. "We're going for a walk!" Pan called over her shoulder as they both resumed walking. They could hear murmuring, but even their saiyan hearing couldn't make out what they were saying. "Are you sure that's safe?" Pan and Bra both laughed, and Bra waited at the corner while Pan took a few steps back. Peering into the darkness, she could just make out Trunks leaning over the second floor railing presumably their room's veranda. "Why Trunks, are you worried about us?" Pan said teasingly as she swung from the light-post next to her. Trunks didn't answer her question, just growled, "Be careful. If you're not back soon we'll come looking for you." Pan couldn't resist teasing him some more. "Okay, Trunks. We won't go far and we'll be back soon so you won't worry." Pan's voice was filled with mock obedience as she jumped down to the road and, linking arms with Bra, they laughed together as they walked back to the spot they had found earlier. Sitting back down in their spots, they talked about everything and anything. After a while, they thought about finding Melissa. She must have been bored, with just the boys for company. So the pair headed back for the hostel. As they rounded the corner, they noticed the guys had gone back inside. "So much for worrying about us," grumbled Pan. "Guess the only ones who'll look out for us is ourselves, kiddo." Replied Bra. Walking up the short path to the front door, they caught sight of Melissa inside. "Hey, Melissa!" Pan called as she stuck her head inside. "Wanna giggle n gab?" Melissa nodded happily and joined them on the step. After a while, being that close to the house with everything they were discussing was making them nervous, so they asked Melissa if she wanted to go for a walk. The three girls then headed back to the spot down the road. Pan and Bra showed Melissa their wonderful (?) duets, although she declined the invitation to join in, and otherwise had a really cool time. After another half hour or so, Melissa started getting bitten by mosquitoes, so they decided to head back to the room, maybe spy on the boys. Their conversation topic became less centered on boys as they neared the house. Which was lucky, considering as they rounded the corner they spotted the guys approaching from the other end of the house just meters away. "Hey, Trunks. I was wondering when you'd get worried and come find us. It's only been about two hours." Pan smiled when Trunks stepped into the light. Wearing only a light grey sweat shirt and white trousers, he was looking damn fine. Trunks just smiled back. "Yeah, I know,' he said in reference to her earlier comment. "I mentioned that fact to Mrs J, but she seemed content to leave you guys out here." He smirked in amusement at the anger beginning to cloud Pan's face. "So you see," he continued, baiting her, "I would have come look for you, but I thought Miss could do with a break." Goten and Finch (real name David, cruelly nick-named Finch) were high-fiving Trunks. "Fine." Pan said. "Come on, girls. They obviously don't miss us. Let's just head back to our room." Melissa and Bra followed their friend's lead and, sniffing disdainfully at the guys, they gracefully as was possible, climbed onto their veranda. Trunks' resolve crumbled almost immediately. "Okay, I'm sorry! Come back out?" Trunks sounded sincere at first, but was playful as he tried to coax the girls back out. Laughing, Pan came back out onto the veranda. "Sure. It's too hot in there anyway." Pan swung up onto the railing and sat down with her elbows resting on her knees. Melissa excused herself, saying she needed to talk to the teacher about something. Bra climbed onto the railing like Pan had, only instead of swinging her legs over the side, she rested them along the rail, leaning back against the post. Goten hovered near to her, never moving to far away. Pan almost laughed at this behavior, until Trunks sat on the edge of the veranda, directly below her. Pan felt distinctly uncomfortable, more so from the accusing stare she was getting from Bra then the situation with Trunks. Pan was relived when Goten got Bra's attention, leaving her unable to focus on Trunks and Pan. Sighing her relief, Pan saw Trunks take out a cigarette and prepare to light it. Pan waited until he took his hands away before she snatched it from his lips and stubbed it out on the wooden beam beside her. Trunks stood and spun to face her. Out of the corner of her eye, Pan saw Bra cast a nervous, almost scared look their way. Pan just stared at him levelly. "What? I told you before I don't want you to die and I wasn't joking. Stop smoking. It really is bad for you." Pan stressed the stop smoking and returned his cold stare. Bra looked distinctly worried now, but before Pan had a chance to question her actions, Trunks broke into a grin. Bra breathed a sigh of relief and mentally, Pan relaxed: he wasn't going to kill her. Trunks cocked his head to one side and told her, "You are the first person brave enough to tell me to quit, let alone physically stop me from smoking. Thank you. For caring." Pan just smiled at him. What was there to say? As Trunks sat back down and started talking to Finch, drawing Goten into the conversation, Pan deliberately avoided catching Bra's eye. Bra gave up: what ever was going on with her big brother and best friend she was obviously going to have to work out on her own. Suddenly smiling, she turned to Pan. "Hey! Wanna go walkies?" she said, gesturing the opposite direction to where they had walked before. Bra knew her friend couldn't resist a new adventure, wary of her or not. As she had expected, Pan brightened and nodded energetically. "K." she said, swinging her legs up so she could stand. Bra jumped to the road below, and stepped back as Pan did the same. "Where do you think you're going?" Goten asked curiously as he came over to them. "Oh, you know. Exploring." Bra said nonchalantly, turning to wink at Pan, who winked back. You go, Bra. You've almost got him hooked! Pan thought ecstatically. It would be great to see him with a girl who truly deserved him, and that was Bra all over. The talk attracted Trunks, who caught Bra's remark. The eyebrows went up. "Exploring huh? Well Goten, guess we've no choice but to escort these lovely ladies in their expeditions." Trunks sounded perfectly posh, and Pan matched his tone to throw back her response. "Oh, please don't put yourself to any trouble. We shan't be long." Pan hoped that Trunks would ignore this comment and come with them. She really wanted him along. "No trouble." He shot back in his normal voice, smiling down at her. Bra's voice startled them both back to reality. "Okay. Glad that's sorted. Finch! You coming?" "Nah. I might head in. See you guys!" He called to them as they waved and walked off, this time going up the hill.
Ooooo! Their going for a walk! Hehe. (My brother's staring at me. I think he thinks I'm crazy.)