Hi everyone!
Just a little reminder for this series, because I know it gets a little complicated...
For ease of reading, 'Tora' is Future Trunks and is the name she used to present herself back in her first encounter with the gang (after killing Freeza). It's the kanji for tiger, but it's also the first two katakana of her name (to-ra-n-ku-su for Trunks).
Future Bulma is 'usurping' the identity of her sister, Tights.
Adults (+ Gohan, who is biologically almost 17) all know and think of them as "Trunks and Bulma, but from the future", and have been instructed to use "Tora and Tights" as to not confuse the children.
And most importantly, Future Trunks and Future Bulma think of themselves as 'Trunks and Bulma'.
Even under Piccolo, Vegeta and co's pov, where they do think about them with their actual names, I will retain Tora and Tights in the narration for ease of understanding. Gohan, however, never stopped using "Tora-san". New characters such as (Main Timeline) Trunks, Goten, and other young characters (Videl, classmates...) will perhaps find out the truth... Maybe. :p
The only confirmed (named/plot relevant/living) people who know Tora is a girl are: Syowa and Mika (the two Earthlings who helped her with binding), Seventeen and Eighteen (because Sixteen told them, although they may have more or less believed Trunks was a transgender man, the jury is still out :p ), Future Bulma and Future Gohan (from her world) and Future Trunks (from 787, fandom calls him dead!Trunks, since he was the one killed by Cell).
There are other people who know she is a girl, but they're still unconfirmed, place your bets ;)
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I've also been suspended from twitter for some reason, but feel free to check my tumblr if you want to chat ^^ My discord is also open.
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Thank you for reading, reviewing and enjoying this story!
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Tora asked 'where?', added she was on the way, then hung up. She told Goten and Trunks to stay put, and ran to her room to grab her sword and leave through the window. Only when she secured it on her back and went super to fly faster did she wonder why she even took the sword to begin with, but she didn't bother to go back. A reflex of sorts, whenever she was called to help or when she heard something on the radio, she always took her sword. She didn't even bother warning anyone else in the household.
It didn't take long for Tora to reach Central City, even if she had to be careful with the planes. Population (and traffic) had grown so much over the past seven years, it had been jarring for Tora to see the change in a little under five months from her perspective. Finding the building was easy, as she could see the smoke from afar and hear the sirens. She saw a helicopter circling around, but clearly it was unable to get any closer to the rooftop due to the smoke and heat.
Tora frowned. The helicopter was a problem, but as she got closer, it started lifting higher for safety after someone jumped off from it. That was good news, more or less. The office windows started cracking under the pressure of the fire. She assessed the situation, counting about half a dozen people on the rooftop, two of which were trying to do something with the water tank. The steel was starting to melt, the hoses didn't reach the higher levels of the tall building. The floors cracked dangerously, the rooftop unable to maintain its integrity for long as the fire progressed.
"The building will collapse!" Tora heard someone shout. She agreed. With such a large fire, there was certainly a lot of structural damage that, even if the fire disappeared, wouldn't save the building nor the people on the roof.
Then she felt a familiar ki spike. Gohan, or rather the Great Saiyaman, was one of the people near the water tank, and as it started tipping over, he held it in place and punched it so the water would give them reprieve.
As the smoke cleared a little, Tora approached the rooftop without landing, dropping her aura but not her super Saiyan transformation and had a quick look to assess the situation further and decide what to do next.
Eleven civilians, one of which being an aged Mika wearing a white coat, gathered together on a corner of the roof, as it kept cracking, and Gohan and Videl, Videl who had been threatened by the water tank falling over her. She was the one who jumped off the helicopter and had reached the water tank in hopes of opening it. The helicopter approached again as it became safer to do so. Other buildings were nearby.
Mika recognized her, her low ponytail, the golden aura that faded, the cold green eyes that had no pupils, but was bright enough to not use her name.
"Golden Defender!"
Tora couldn't help an embarrassed smile appear on her face. And addressing Gohan with his superhero name was even worse, but one had to do what one had to do to make things work. Videl eeked when she noticed someone else appear, and Tora ignored her.
"Great Saiyaman, take that girl out of here and make sure everyone evacuates. I'll take care of these people."
"Understood! Let's go Videl-san."
Tora then quickly got closer to Mika, hovering. She put an arm around his waist to maintain him by her right side, then did the same with a woman with a suit, the closest of the other Earthlings. There was resistance until Mika said it was ok and to not panic.
"It will be quick," Tora added to try and reassure the woman.
She wasn't very patient with Earthlings, and could just force them or knock them out if needed, but Mika going first and trusting the teen he knew so long ago was enough to at least make it work for the first trip. The half-breed was already hovering when she took the two of them, and quickly flew to another building's rooftop. To keep them safe from her speed, she flared her warm aura. The hold was perhaps a little too firm and might leave bruises, but at least it felt secure enough. The woman held on to her blue button up shirt like her life depended on it, but who could blame her, it actually did.
Tora landed and released the hold to let them off. She didn't wait for gratitude before going back to the initial building and grabbing two other people without waiting for consent or permission. Perhaps they wanted to fight her off or go in a different order, but she just didn't give them the time to do anything about it. She couldn't afford to waste time with people panicking.
Coming back from her second trip, with seven people remaining, what she feared came to fruition. Little by little, the rooftop started cracking more and more, the structural damage created by the fire slowly eating away at the building which started to tilt little by little. The helicopter couldn't land and had started to hover lower, dropping the ladder.
Tora got two of the remaining men's attention to order them to go to the helicopter. They looked more fit and hadn't thrown themselves on the ground when the helicopter approached, the gush of wind not being as much of a problem to them as it had been to the others.
"You two, with the glasses and with the blue sweater. Go. Now."
She then took off with two older women, ignoring the surprise shrieks and the nails digging in, and not bothering to check on whether she had been listened to.
Tora had the hardest time being released when she arrived at the safer rooftop, Mika had to help out, thankfully the older man knew how urgent the situation was and did his best to keep everyone calm, sending people down the stairs as they were dropped off by Tora. Tora had to hurry, but she also knew how people couldn't always control their fears, so she bit her tongue and tried her best not to snap at them. Mika was a true godsent, and now the time traveler wondered what his job actually was, beyond the shop he once had.
By the time she was back at the office building after the third trip, screams reached her ears. The building was seriously falling apart. The helicopter tried taking off, but the last three Earthlings weren't keen on letting it go with just the two men Tora had ordered to go to the ladder. The Great Saiyaman returned, and was about to try and talk sense into the three others when Tora decided to go a little more heavy handed and phased in to knock them out.
"Videl-san's evacuating the surroundings with the fire department," Gohan informed Tora, not that pleased with the direct action, but taking the unconscious bodies under his arms as the helicopter took off. Tora helped put the third person on Gohan's shoulder.
"Anyone in the building?"
"No one. Videl-san and the police are evacuating the perimeter"
"That's good." Tora was reassured, she trusted Gohan's keener senses. "You can't display as much strength as you are now, right? Take them to safety, I will take care of the building."
Gohan knew the other was speaking from experience, from the Cyborgs. Seven years prior, Tora had mentioned how they used to evacuate Earthlings and since the Cyborgs liked to damage buildings and see how they'd fall. Clearly the time traveler had a little experience. The roles were reversed now, Gohan was in charge of taking care of people, and Tora was in charge of the actual danger.
"Stay safe," Gohan wished for his friend.
The Great Saiyaman promptly secured the unconscious bodies to go to the other rooftop, and Tora flew down to the side of the building to hold it in place, just where the fire seemingly started. On her way, she called upon Ascended super Saiyan so she could display enough controlled force and enough speed, the tension that came with the form snapping her elastic, releasing the golden locks. She couldn't stop the building from falling apart, but she could mitigate the damage, buy everyone down there some time, and make sure it fell straight down.
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She was only about six or seven storeys high, her aura sparkling and growing as she balanced what she could, but some people still remained in the vicinity despite the police and firefighters trying to push everyone away. Her temper got the best of her so she turned around and ordered people to 'get the fuck out of there'. A few pieces of concrete following through helped with the message, and she disintegrated some of them that would have damaged the other buildings, or worse, hurt people down there. Hopefully the danger felt more real and people scattered, finally cooperating with the firefighters and their megaphone orders.
Tora knew she'd have to go inside and take it down herself from within, which she did hoping to win enough time for proper evacuation to finish. And then the building collapsed on her.
The sudden energy surge that came with super Saiyan, then with Ascended super Saiyan, didn't go unnoticed by those who were attuned to such things.
Sixteen was one of the firsts to notice. He informed Seventeen, who promptly asked for coordinates. Sixteen gave the information and stayed behind to continue working while Seventeen took off in a hurry. Central City wasn't next door, after all.
From the mountains, Tenshinhan and Chaozu noticed, but the former felt no battle and carried on the classes he was giving.
Krillin, already on his way to help out the firefighters, quickly joined Videl to order people to leave the premises right there and then. He even saw the last ki blasts to take care of dangerous debris. He'd have to tell Eighteen about it, but focused on getting people to cooperate first.
Yamcha was about to bat in North City's baseball match, but the sudden distraction had him miss the upcoming ball. He'd have to ask questions later…
Piccolo and Dende, on the Lookout, were already aware of Tora's return, but the display of force surprised them both. With peaceful times, they had almost forgotten the amount of power Gohan had displayed against Cell.
And at Capsule Corp, Trunks and Goten had stopped playing in the bedroom and went to watch TV when Tora abandoned them. They were whining about how their cartoon was interrupted with the news, but the spark of super Saiyan was caught on camera, and while they knew from Vegeta and Gohan what it felt like, that clearly wasn't Gohan.
"OHHH Tora-san can go super?!" Goten jumped on the couch. "Like my big bro!"
Trunks was white and shaking, both in shock and excited, just who was this guy? He kept quiet and instead of staying, he ran outside to the Gravity Room. Vegeta was out, hovering, looking east, towards Central City.
"Papa, you felt it? That's Tora, I saw it on TV! How come he can become a super Saiyan?" Trunks needed answers.
"Showing Kakarot's brat the meaning of true power and keeping it sharp," Vegeta even had that proud smirk on his face, but Trunks saw it was different than when Vegeta was proud of himself. That was something else entirely.
"But how?!"
"Don't worry boy. You'll even get even stronger. You've inherited it after all."
Mika saw the building go down and screamed Tora's name. He had remained on the roof with the Great Saiyaman who had just put down the unconscious office workers for him to check on. They were fine, although they would probably wake up with a bruise and a serious headache.
Gohan had to keep quiet when he realized this middle-aged man with reddish-brown hair with a serious receding hairline seemed to know his friend, and had given his name. Thankfully nobody else heard, but when the man's gasp and covering of his mouth meant he knew he should not have said the name.
"He's alright, I can still feel his life energy safe and sound," he reassured. "The Golden Defender is tough!" Gohan added and flexed to illustrate.
Mika side-eyed the strange superhero, but the guy could fly and Tora had trusted him so.. Perhaps he was one of those martial artists friends?
"Ok, I trust you, Grand Saibaman."
"Great Saiyaman," Gohan corrected with a huff.
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It wouldn't be the first time a building collapsed on Tora, but thankfully it was the first time it did so when she hadn't been beaten to a pulp or exhausted prior. She took a moment to distinguish up from down when things came down, she had lifted her sword above her to shield herself when things collapsed, and used the flat of the blade as a threshold over which things fell either in front of her, or behind her. Once things calmed down a little, she pushed upwards, flared her aura some more to push the debris, and slowly took off as the debris made way. She let Ascended super Saiyan drop, it had been a strain on her patience and blood thirst, but kept her aura and golden form. Once she saw light, she rushed further up. The helicopter had left to land on another rooftop further away, but others were on their way.
Once out of the debris and above, she sheathed the weapon and took a moment to try and see if everyone had evacuated and nobody was trapped. She tried listening in to noises, but the other buildings, sirens and people further away, as well as the helicopter sounds didn't help. Her world was just that much quieter.
The Great Saiyaman saw her and after wishing a good and safe day to Mika, he flew to Tora.
"We better disappear, Golden Defender," Gohan warned and indicated the TV helicopters approaching.
Tora had to agree, she wanted to be sure nobody was trapped under any debris still, but she had to trust Gohan that all was well. They parted ways quickly, the Great Saiyaman disappearing behind buildings to rejoin Angela and hope she didn't find his absence too suspicious and the Golden Defender using the clouds to her advantage to leave the city at high speed and disappear from sight.
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However, someone followed her, someone she couldn't sense.
"Hey there," the voice called, playful.
Tora, who had dropped super Saiyan somewhere between Central and East City, turned around when she heard the voice that had haunted her for the better part of her life. Her weapon was drawn and she was ready to attack, a reflex. Her eyes turned teal, ready to transform and pounce on the Cyborg, but he raised his hands in a sign of peace.
It took Tora a moment to spot the differences in Seventeen's demeanor and eyes to fully realize this wasn't the Seventeen she killed a couple of months prior. This Seventeen was wearing fitted jeans, a white and green shirt with an orange armband. It looked like a uniform. His black hair was the same as the Seventeen she knew, but he wore it in a lazy medium ponytail and that allowed her to spot different earrings than the silver ones he had given her. They were thicker, and a different color: black little hoops.
She sheathed her weapon and her eyes returned to their normal blue, even if she remained tense.
"Seventeen," she acknowledged with a guarded expression.
No helicopters, no planes, she had been fast enough to leave the premises.
"Trunks," the Cyborg smirked. "You're exactly the same."
"You haven't changed either. Call me Tora. Trunks doesn't.. know, yet."
"Seems I won't age much with the whole Cyborg-thing. How long has it been for you?"
"About five months—"
"Did you get to kill other-us?"
"Yes, I gave them a quick death. Look, I have to go."
"Wait, Tora!" Seventeen called for her before she left, and she stopped.
She appreciated how the Cyborg changed her name whenever she asked, he followed her wishes and it was refreshing. She let him approach, and when he extended both hands palms up, she accepted taking them, even if she was hesitant.
"I hope you didn't wait for me," she raised an eyebrow, somewhat teasing at the possibility.
"Been living my best single life and having fun," the Cyborg laughed, squeezed her fingers, then let go.
"Good, because nothing has changed. I came because of Mother, but I will not be staying."
"And here I thought you came back for me," he dramatized, and Tora shook her head in disbelief, then pushed her hair back. When not using super Saiyan, when her hair was free, it was a little of a bother.
Seventeen did spot his one-time interest crack a smile at his exaggerated approach. As far as he was concerned, they could have fun as long as she was there, the two of them aware that Tora would have to leave at some point.
"Syo-chan gave me your and Eighteen's phone numbers. Once I am ready.. I will call you."
"You saw her before me?" Seventeen acted especially offended, hand on chest, gasp and wide-eyes.
"Not by choice," Tora checked her watch, not falling for the Cyborg's antics, then moved back. "Until later, Seventeen."
"Lapis," Seventeen corrected with a wink. "When it's just us, it's Lapis."
Tora nodded, understanding the request, then darted away to return to Capsule Corp. She had ditched the boys for too long.
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Thankfully the Capsule Corporation compound was still standing, and Tora did her best to slide down some buildings and return by foot to the house. She hoped nobody had seen her leave, her room facing the gardens, but she still worried about unwanted attention.
Once back, the two boys jumped her and spoke over each other about how they didn't know she could go super, how it was cool and how they didn't know about the Golden Defender at all. They'd since deduced the Golden Warrior was Gohan, and because of his new outfit, he changed to Great Saiyaman.
"And big bro is so, so so so so cool with his cape and helmet!" Goten was excited, to say the least, and Tora had to agree with the excited little boy.
"Golden Defender is cooler," Trunks fought his friend.
"I am not cool," Tora chuckled, the praise from her alternate self feeling off.
"Gohan's a dork and he does weird poses. You got in, did the thing and left, stoic."
"The Great Saiyaman is super cool and people love him!" Goten had to protest and punch his friend's arm. "And his identity is super-duper secret! Tora-san should get a costume too. He can be the Grand Saiyaman!"
"Grand is lower than Great! Nah, he needs to be the Super Saiyaman, cuz Tora's stronger than Gohan."
"Nu-uh! He's not!"
"Yeah he is! But Papa is the strongest of them both."
"That's not true, Trunks-kun!"
The two boys bickered as they went back inside, but Tora caught Vegeta's eyes, and let the children go to join him as his demeanor indicated he wanted something from her.
"Fight me, tonight."
".. No. I fight to destroy my enemies. I will spar with you, in base, if you'd like."
Vegeta grumbled, but accepted the compromise.
Despite it being a Sunday, Tights had some medical exams done that day, and saw things go down in the waiting room's TV. She was proud of her daughter for intervening to save people, and wasn't worried when she disappeared in the building. The few images made it hard to recognize her, but despite the blurs, she knew her daughter in and out. And the sword helped.
After dinner, where Tora did her best to redirect the conversation to anything else than her afternoon escapade, the two boys were allowed to see Vegeta and Tora spar in the Gravity Room, through Bulma's monitors, alongside Tights who watched intensely. Her girl had accepted Vegeta as her father, even if she had kept everyone else at arm's length, and she wanted to see for herself exactly what it meant. And it meant 'stupid Saiyan bonding time', no doubt about it.
Vegeta was silent, they both focused on trying to best the other, and in base, Tora was just a little faster. Vegeta was more imaginative and there was still a gap in skill and tactics that favored the more experienced fighter. And yet, Tora wasn't the kind to give up or to hold back, even if she didn't transform, she wanted to show how much she had grown in the last few months of studies and the kind of ruthlessness and fight-to-kill attitude she could have.
Tora still lost, but Vegeta was far from unscatted from the spar due to Tora's endurance.
Goten mentioned how their technique was so different from the one he knew, and how they didn't look 'balanced', but he couldn't explain what he meant. Trunks was somewhat surprised to see his father treat their visitor with a level of respect he hadn't seen before, even if they had just begun actually training, the two of them.
Gohan managed to finish his 'date' with Angela with little hiccups, and was deemed uninteresting by the popular girl who promptly went to find someone else the next day.
The week at school was uneventful, but they had a few exams already and Gohan aced them all. Tora was only really good at Math and applied engineering or IT classes, where she did better than Gohan, but she more or less got in the bottom fifteen of students for everything else. Considering she didn't care for homework or academic results overall, it wasn't that much of a problem for her, but she still paid attention and did her best to correct her mistakes and understand what was wrong.
Music was a nice escapade for Tora while at school, where she found a sense of peace with the piano and didn't pay attention to anything else, even if she had to play for the choir and follow the sheets given by the club leader for their future recitals. She wasn't the only one playing the piano, and she was pretty sure the other guy was better than she was due to having had more formal training. She didn't care that much for extracurriculars or earning points or recommendations since she didn't intend on pursuing further education. Hell, she didn't even intend on finishing the academic year (let alone the season if she had a choice).
The Golden Defender didn't appear where the Great Saiyaman could handle things, but the cat and mouse game with Videl was persistent. Tora kept an eye on Gohan's interest and innocence, as well as on his temperature.
With her alternative father, Tights took a moment to test the compass Kaio-sama gave Tora. After checking with what she tried searching on her own in the coordinates she had, through his calculations, there was no doubt in Tights' mind that New Namek disappeared or was in another location in their universe. The compass showing nowhere in her world, but properly pointing out to the planet in this world was a mystery from the gods, but they had no one to ask. That door definitely closed on their world, but their world was safe and healthy, so perhaps, as the gods had forsaken them, they could return the favor, so to speak, and carry on their lives happily and rebuild with their own strength.
However, on an occasion stopping robbers from leaving, Videl finally found out Gohan was the Great Saiyaman, and blackmailed him: she wanted to learn how to fly in exchange for keeping his secret.
Tora couldn't help but laugh when she found out, Devil was persistent and perhaps it was fate that she and Gohan would end up bonding in such a way. She took note of it and decided she had to be the one to give Gohan 'the Talk', as his temperature would soon reach 'fever' levels for normal Earthlings. She wasn't looking forward to it, but she was looking forward to seeing whether they could end up finding happiness where their alternate selves couldn't.
Bulma seemed to think it was better for 'a guy' to tell him about such things, and Vegeta was clearly unwilling to get anywhere close to Gohan. He had been avoiding the boy since he turned fifteen for that exact reason, and there was no changing his mind.
Soon, the private flying lessons for Videl started, and Gohan also taught Goten. They had a long week-end coming up for more intensive lessons, but Videl was a strong fighter and as soon as she would understand ki and how to control it, she would be quick to catch up on the technique.
Of course, Gohan being Gohan eventually said something about him and Tora being childhood friends and knowing about his flying abilities, let it slip that Tora could fly, too. So Videl coerced Gohan and Tora so that Tora would come for that long week-end to teach her as well. Gohan expected Tora to flat out refuse, but that wasn't the case. That time was as good as any to sit down and have that Talk.
That early May week-end came, and that meant Videl would be over at the Son household from sunrise to sunset, basically. Tora was offered to sleep over by Chichi who wouldn't take no for an answer. Something about not letting her precious son alone with harpies.
Goten picked up flying far faster than Gohan (and Videl) had anticipated, and he had gotten a little training prior with his brother, so after the first day, he was asked to wait around for Videl to catch up before they could continue. Goten spent the first afternoon with Tora, who was quite happy to keep the boy busy, even if they both kept an eye on the teenagers.
"I think she got the fuzzy feelings for my big brother," Goten complained while they started sorting, peeling, cutting and cleaning vegetables on the garden table of the Son estate.
"She came here before to get him to teach her, didn't she?"
"Yeah, she's very stubborn and he's just too nice."
"Do you think he.. got the 'fuzzy feelings' for her too?"
"I dunno," Goten had thought about it for a moment before answering. "I think he's happier now she knows he's the cool Great Saiyaman."
"He is cool," Tora confirmed the belief. "If he's happy, that's what we need to root for, don't we?"
"Bet," Goten agreed. "But I'm not giving him up to the first girl!"
"You're jealous?" Tora had to wink.
"Nah-ah, I'll always be number one!"
"You're right," the other nodded and passed along the carrots.
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On the second day, Goten was allowed to fly to Capsule Corp on his own for his playdate with Trunks. After entrusting Gohan and Tora with the house, Chichi followed him with the Flying Nimbus, just in case, but the boy was endurant and mastered flying quickly enough. She had prepared lunch for the three teenagers and said she would be out for the rest of the afternoon and eat without her.
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Trunks had noticed something strange. His mother and 'Auntie Tights' often spent time together looking at a strange album Bulma kept in her room. When Goten came over for that playdate, they decided to have a look at said album that was left on the master bedroom's desk. Tora was with Gohan, Vegeta was training, this was the perfect opportunity.
After lunch, Goten was to guard and warn Trunks if someone came upstairs unexpectedly, while Trunks rummaged through what he could and tried making sense of this strange feeling he had been having since Tora and the Auntie appeared (again, apparently) in their lives.
As he browsed the picture book, he saw some stolen photographs and some posed ones. The stolen ones were obviously stills of the Gravity Room, with September 764 as a date; Vegeta and Tora about to fight. Tora was in super Saiyan form (while Vegeta was not), and from the pictures, Trunks could tell he looked a little different, if only for the shorter hair. This confirmed that Tora was indeed older than he looked, but also that Tora had been truthful. Gohan was born in 758, so when Tora told Trunks he met Gohan when Gohan was six years old, the math was fair. Trunks wasn't great at judging people's ages, but he somewhat guessed Tora looked 'almost adult or actually adult' in those stolen shots. Only because he was taller than Vegeta.
The posed shots were all from May 767. Some with shorter hair, some with long hair (his hair grew in only a couple of days, according to the dates). What baffled Trunks was seeing so many pictures of him as a baby with Tora, either sleeping or playing together. Trunks couldn't help the sudden déjà-vu as he saw a picture of him pulling Tora's long hair, exactly like he did when he met him a few weeks prior. He knew he'd done it before. There were even a few pictures with his mother, and while Tora was somewhat distant, the three looked happy.
Trunks noted how Tora looked genuinely happy while playing with him as a baby, those were stolen pictures. He looked more stiff and restrained in the posed pictures, including the ones with his young mother who wanted to be close. Closer than he had ever seen her be with anyone else, including the likes of long-time family friends who visited once in a blue moon.
Trunks was a bright kid, and while there were a few stolen pictures of Vegeta, including one in front of his room, his father just wasn't a family man (nor a man who liked pictures, obviously). But Tora was. And those pictures, with himself as a baby, Tora and Bulma.. looked like family.
Goten warned there was noise before he could finish flipping through all pages, so they quickly rushed back to Trunks' bedroom and went back to playing with toys, hoping to not have been spotted snooping in. Panchy came upstairs to ask the boys whether they wanted to come down for a snack, and their stomachs answered for them.
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"So.. I think Papa is not my actual papa," Trunks eventually confided in his friend when they returned playing in his bedroom.
"Uh? You think?"
"Yeah, I mean I love Papa but he's not like other papas, right? And he doesn't act like a papa with me."
"I'm not sure," Goten shrugged. He couldn't compare, his father died before he was born.
"Yeah, I mean, Tora looks like me, and he's an older uncle. I know they said he's seventeen, but we know that's a lie, you saw the picture with your brother right?"
"Mhhh yes. It's true you look a lot like him."
"He can turn super Saiyan too."
"That's true! But Uncle Vegeta can do that too right?"
"Yeah and he's super strong when he does it. But he's still.. his hair and eyes are all black, but mine aren't. Mama says we look alike but when I look at Tora, it's almost like a mirror."
"That's because you both have that pretty hair," Goten chuckled. He couldn't deny the resemblance.
"And in the pictures, he was playing with me when I was a baby. And he's nice to me."
"He's nice to me too," Goten shrugged. "I think Tora-san's just nice."
"He's not nice to adults, Mama tried to hug him a few times and he always refused. And he gets very, very cold with other parents when he picks me up from school."
"Then he's just nice to children?"
"Maybe."
Trunks was conflicted. Did he somehow find out something he shouldn't have? He had never seen his parents act like other parents acted together, Vegeta wasn't interested in his education, in his grades, in his drawings. He almost never told him any stories, didn't take him to bed, never held his hand or gave him any affection some dads gave their children. He had noticed Vegeta didn't do any parenting. Tora did all those things without hesitating, but didn't boss him around like Bulma. And there were other signs: Bulma had given Tora parental rights for school, let him sleep in the private quarters with Auntie Tights instead of the guest rooms, Vegeta accepted his presence, his grandparents treated him like family...
And yet, something felt incredibly wrong. He loved his Papa, but was Tora his actual father? How to be sure?
Sadly snooping in Tora's room was impossible, as he always locked it in his absence.
When they sat to enjoy Chichi's delicious lunch, Videl, Gohan and Tora paid some sort of intense attention to each other.
"So.. you're a martial artist too?"
"It is best not to pry about me, Videl-san," Tora warned gently.
"But you can fly."
"Videl-san, Tora-san is very private," Gohan tried easing the conversation away. He knew how little Tora wanted to open up, even with people that were already in the know.
"You're weird," Videl squinted her eyes, and gestured she was going to watch them both. Tora was far too lean to be the Golden Defender, and far too short to be the Golden Warrior...
Tora couldn't help but chuckle, and offered to serve more rice to the two of them before serving herself seconds.
"In due time," she offered a compromise to the stubborn Satan daughter.
.
After lunch, they started training again, Videl slowly getting through the concept of ki and trying to manipulate it for herself, slowly hovering. It took a lot of effort from the Earthling. She grumbled about how quickly a six year old picked it up, when she, with lots of experience, just couldn't. Gohan tried waving it off, but Videl took it as it was because she was a girl, and berated Gohan for it. Tora quietly snorted, stood near Videl, and put a hand on her back.
"It is because your life energy isn't malleable nor strong enough, yet."
Videl tensed at the sudden intrusion, but then she felt a lot of energy. Tora was transferring ki through her body, and the exercise became a little easier now it was less exhausting to do so. The girl hovered a little higher.
"You're doing it, Videl-san!" Gohan saw progress and enthusiastically supported it.
"Now keep using your own energy," Tora warned, then removed her hand slowly.
Videl still had a little of Tora's energy to use, but she more or less stabilized. It all became a matter of practice, and Videl was the kind that never gave up and would practice until she made perfect.
Goten was allowed to spend the night at the Briefs, and while Chichi wasn't opposed to Tora using Goten's room, or Gohan using Goten's so Tora could use Gohan's room, they decided to do as they did seven years prior: a futon in Gohan's bedroom. And as she did seven years prior, Tora had come with her wardrobe capsule.
After dinner, Tora called her mother to ask about any news from the doctors, but there was no news, or only negative tests. She wished her mother a good night and joined Gohan in his bedroom for the night.
As he had grown hotter, Gohan slept in his boxers and light sheets. Tora decided to keep her fabric binder under her pajamas, as Gohan wasn't a child anymore, proper usage of the item be damned, she had to be careful.
"When I turned nine, I remember you were warm like this, too, Tora-san," Gohan eventually remarked when they held hands across the beds like they used to. "You've been checking my temperature, something is going on, isn't it? You said it was a biological cycle, back then…"
"Yes. It's.. something I had asked Bulma-san to educate you about, since I left her notes, but.." Tora sighed, squeezed the fingers. There was something incredibly nice about Gohan being this warm. "I guess I can tell you directly. Tell me, Father has been avoiding you hasn't he?"
"Now that you mention it, I've not seen him in a few months.. wait, over a year actually. It hasn't been the first time so I didn't worry, Vegeta-san still isn't very sociable. We fought a few times per his request... Is it related to my temperature? Please, Tora-san."
"Yes. It's.. It's basically puberty, but for Saiyans. Your temperature is a symptom of it, and Father has been avoiding you because the scent annoys him."
"I smell?" Gohan released the hand to turn around and sniff himself, while Tora laughed, she had done the same thing. And Trunks, too.
"Only to him, I guess. I cannot smell it. Trunks— the one we met in 787, was going through his second cycle, and hadn't noticed. Do you remember when he attacked Father, and Father told him his scent was unbearable?"
Gohan took a moment to remember the circumstances, and with the lightbulb lighting up, he let out a 'ah!'.
"Yes, I remember! I remember he was warmer than you, and you had become cold again…"
"That is the biological cycle. You were a little young back then for that sort of information, which is why I had written down everything Father told me in the Room of Spirit and Time. It seems Saiyans have this.. mating situation going on, and being in heat, which is what you are having right now, is to signal availability to other Saiyans."
"Mating, like animals?" Gohan sounded disgusted, Tora squeezed his fingers with a smile.
"Somewhat. Vegeta uses 'Mating', but for us it's more like marriage and having children."
"I am not ready for any of that! Even dating feels..." Gohan gasped.
Despite the low light given by the stars, Tora could see Gohan's panicked face as he turned around to hide his shame. She sat up from the futon and kneeled in front of him, reaching to touch his hair, gently.
"I know. I said the same thing to Father when he told me about it. Gohan-san, you aren't.. bound by any of this. Neither am I. My first seemingly stopped a little after I turned eighteen. It's nothing to worry about as only Father can sense it now, and Father is strictly monogamous."
Gohan turned a little to look at Tora over him, appreciating the cold touch over his warm forehead.
"So I will keep getting warmer for a year?"
"You should reach 37°C, based on our extremely accurate and trustworthy sample of two half-breeds," Tora smiled. She knew presenting it with sciency facts would help Gohan.
"Two… Oh, yourself and Trunks-san."
"Mhm."
Tora wasn't certain 37°C had been Trunks' highest, since hers was 36.5°C, but considering she gained two whole degrees in the Room of Spirit and Time before dropping, and Trunks' data indicated his natural state was 35°C (to her 34.5°C), she was pretty confident her difference was due to gender. Burdening Gohan with such trivial details was a waste of time.
"Father said it was just a 'hey, marry me someone?' signal, but didn't relate to fertility, but there is still so much to find out, because we aren't full-blooded Saiyans."
"Right, we're half-breeds," Gohan finally fully turned around in his bed to see Tora sitting on the futon, offering back a hand to hold. The 'marry me someone' comment made him laugh.
"I am certain with three live samples and the data I collected about myself and Trunks, you will be able to conduct valuable research once you become a scholar," Tora happily offered.
"So Vegeta-san told you all of this?"
"Angrily and with a lot of frustration. He said he would never speak of it again, which is why I left my notes to Bulma-san."
"That's Vegeta-san alright.."
"We will study this a little further and I will give you the details, but you needn't be worried about your temperature. It will be alright."
Videl's next day teaching had Gohan far more observant of himself, Tora and Videl. As much as he loved being by Tora's side, touching and hugging his long time friend, his heart was calm and at peace. Tora's was, too. All those years ago, when Gohan had confessed his love, he realized that Tora had physically touched his chest and face to sense a different reaction. His heart didn't beat faster, he wasn't flustered.
Yes, they loved each other dearly, because they went through so much together, across universes and different iterations of themselves, but they weren't 'in love'. As Tora had said, they considered each other family. After all, Tora and Gohan were the only half-breeds that could understand and relate through what they each went through, and that bond was special. And thanks to their pain and suffering, Goten and Trunks wouldn't suffer, they could grow and thrive. Gohan wasn't lonely, he had mourned and heeded the wish Tora had for him when he left: 'live and thrive'.
But with Videl chasing him, finding out his identity eventually, Gohan was.. excited. Eager, even. School was fun, she was fun, and fighting crime was fun and rewarding, and doing it with Videl was even more fun. And he was thankful for it all.
.
The last day of training, however, something caught Tora's sense, a sense of dread and familiarity. Something she had felt before that had her think a thousand thoughts at once. She barely excused herself from Videl and Gohan before she took off and rushed back to West City.