Disclaimer: see Part One.
Mini author's rant: Okay, I know the recent trouble Psycho Ann had with anonymous reviewers. Still, I must address this, and I will do so only once. I received a review from an anonymous person who wrote their name as 'Confused'. As I read this review, I kind of wondered if I did leave a few things out. That is, until I read it over again, and realized this: this person didn't even read the chapter correctly. And for this reason, I can't be bothered with it. This is trivial and really stupid on the part of the reviewer. Now, if this person had signed in with a proper name, or at least left an e-mail, I would have gladly gotten to them and explained the story to them nicely. Unfortunately, they didn't.
I'd like to apologize to my readers right now though for being as rude as I am. I am not a rude person. In fact, I am rather nice by other people's accounts. As I said though, I cannot be bothered by such a trivial matter. Either leave me an e-mail address if you have a question, concern, or criticism, or don't bother at all.
Now that this is over with, I present to you the second part of Chapter Zero. Enjoy.
* * *
Parallel and Perpendicular
A romance fiction/story by ShaggyDiz
Chapter Zero: Parallel
Part Two: Lines in the Mall
* * *
Goten looked out to the side of the cloud, watching the rolling hills and treetops pass by. He let out some cheers and giggles as they flew. He looked out in front of him and saw a small flock of ducks flying ahead of them.
"Hey Gohan, look at that," he said. He looked in front of Goten to see what he was talking about.
"Ducks?" he asked.
"Yeah. Let's catch up to them."
"Sure. Nimbus, go faster," he said, and the cloud followed his command. Soon they were flying just beneath the ducks, which were quacking as they flew. One of them looked down to see the boys on the flying cloud. The duck momentarily lost his balance before regaining it and moving down to fly next to them.
"Hello Mr. Duck," Goten said. He got a quack for a response. "Nice day, huh?" Another quack. "Flying back north, huh? Well that's where we flying now, though it's not for moving back to where we live. We're going to the mall. Do you know what a mall is Mr. Duck?" Another quack, which strangely sounded like a 'no'. "Well, you should sometime."
"Goten, he's falling behind the rest of the ducks." The child looked up and indeed saw the flock of ducks pulling away from the solitary bird flying next to them.
"Oh no! You should go and catch up to them Mr. Duck. I'll talk to you later!" he said, waving to him. The duck quacked before pulling up and flying off, catching up to the flock.
The boys sat in silence for a little while, relaxing on the cloud. "Hey Gohan," Goten said, "how far away are we?" He looked out to the side, trying to determine where they were by the location of the hills, valleys and mountain roads. He looked ahead and saw out in the horizon the first glimpses of city civilization.
"Not much longer now Goten. I'd say we're about five minutes away from the city. It'll take a bit longer to find the mall since I haven't been here in a long time."
"Okay Gohan." Soon enough, they were outside the city, and they lucked out greatly, as the mall was only a few blocks from the southern part of the city. They hopped off of the nimbus cloud, landing gently on the ground, albeit for Goten, it was a clumsy landing. The older boy landed behind him, steadying Goten out. They looked around; making sure no one witnessed their landings. Shortly after scanning, they began to trek towards the mall.
They made good timing in coming up to the east side of the mall, reaching it at around noon. Goten looked up, awed at the sheer size of the entrance. "Gohan… it's huge!" he said.
"I know Goten. Still, it's small compared to other buildings. I got to take you Central Capitol sometime. It has the three largest buildings in the world."
"Really?" Goten asked. He nodded. "Cool! How do you know all of this?"
"Oh… I just look at the magazines that Mom usually gets when she goes shopping. I look in them for an odd statistical fact, and one of them happened to be that little tidbit about Central Capitol." He looked down at his brother, who looked like a curious puppy at the moment: head titled to the side slightly with a lost look in his eye.
"Gohan… what did you just say?"
"Nothing, Goten," Gohan laughed, rubbing the child's head. "Now let's go in."
* * *
Kagero looked out the side of the jet-copter, taking in the view of the rolling hills and treetops. She made small comments here and there as they flew. They soon came upon a flock of ducks flying to their east.
"Hey Videl, look at that," she said. She looked passed Kagero to see what she was talking about.
"Ducks?" she asked.
"Yeah. Let's fly over to them."
"I wish we could. I'm running low on fuel right now and I can't make a diversionary track from where we're going," she said, double-checking to see if the copter's autopilot was still operational. Confirming that, she moved closer to her sister and looked out the window with her.
"You know Videl," Kagero said. "It would be nice to fly like them."
"I know. It would be nice to sprout wings someday and just be in the clouds without this hunk of junk," she said, the last part a bit snidely. Kagero giggled.
"Well, I don't exactly mean with wings. Just… fly without them. Do you remember what you told me about the Cell Games?" She nodded. "I want to do that."
"I know. Dad said that it isn't possible though," she said solemnly.
"Videl, can I tell you something?" She nodded. "I don't think Dad is telling us the truth. I may only be eight years old, but I've noticed… some oddities in what Dad usually tells us about the Cell Games."
"How so?"
"He constantly changes a part of the story every time someone comes along to make a different point about it. I don't like it."
"I don't like it either, Kagero," she said, "I don't like it either." A long beeping sound brought them out of their discussion. She looked over to the copter's console and saw a flashing red light.
"What is it, Videl?" Kagero asked.
"The damn fuel is going quicker than I though. I should have had this checked last time it was in the shop."
"That's not good," Kagero said, oblivious to her sister's cursing. It wasn't like she hadn't heard her mouth before anyway. Most of it came from after a long and stupid conversation with her father or talking endlessly about how the boys at school constantly tried to hit on her. "How far away are we from Northern Capitol anyway?" She looked up ahead, noticing the city limits only a few minutes away.
"Not far. There should be enough to get to the closest fuel pad and refill this."
"We're not going to die, right?" Kagero asked. She looked over to the child, who looked like a curious puppy at the moment. She laughed.
"Not on my watch Kagero," Videl laughed, rubbing her younger sister's head. "Now let's go in."
* * *
They were in the back of the store, casually looking for a pair of pants to try on. He had already selected a few pairs of shirts, all of which he liked. Goten also was in favor of the clothing, albeit that he didn't understand why his older brother needed to buy clothes when he had all the gi's he wanted at home. He had, of course, to explain to Goten thoroughly that people usually don't walk around in public in their karate uniforms.
After that explanation, he had made his selections of shirts. As they moved forward, he saw a rack full of casual vests. He walked to it and slowly walked around it.
"What are you looking at?" Goten asked.
"Vests," he replied.
"What are vests?" He paused for a moment, glancing down at the child.
"Vests are kind of like your gi tops. The main difference is that they connect at the middle of your body with buttons or a zipper, like a coat. Here," he said, pulling a red one off of the rack. He took it off of the hanger, handing the piece of plastic to Goten, before taking the vest and putting it on. It had a zipper, and thus, he zipped it up. "See? It is sleeveless, and has enough room for movement. I wouldn't use it for fighting though. It is more used for a casual dressing, or even a formal dressing, if you want to look nice in going somewhere. Understand Goten?"
"Yeah," the child said.
"Good."
From there, they went to the pants. He had decided to take that vest, seeing that it fit him well and was relatively inexpensive, something that he could purchase with the lowering amount of cash currently within the family's budget. Most of their money had come from the Ox King after Goku died, seeing as that the enormous man had an even larger estate to his name. He had long since retired and cashed in most of his former holdings, becoming a rather rich person – none in the likes of Bulma, but rich enough to feed himself and his daughter and grandchildren for years to come.
"How about this?" he asked Goten, pulling down a black pair of khaki pants.
"Is this more of that 'casual' thing you were talking about?"
"Yeah."
"Well… I think it'll look good if you try it on."
"Okay. Stay put, and don't chase any mice around, okay?" With that, he made his way to the men's dressing room, a mere five feet away from the pants' rack. He went in, and a few minutes later, came out wearing them. He looked over to Goten, who for once was obedient and stayed put.
"What do you think?" he asked the child. Goten moved forward a bit, looking at the khakis his bother had on. He slowly circled around him, making sure to catch every detail of them. This earned him a chuckled from the older boy. Goten soon returned to the front of his brother and looked up.
"I like them Gohan. You going to get them?"
"Yes. I believe I will." He returned to the room to take them off. He came out, carrying everything that he was going to purchase in his arms. Before he went up front though, he went back to the racks and picked out a dark blue pair of khakis, intent on getting two pairs.
They made their way up front, being right at the desk, and thus, able to make a quick purchase. The total of everything – three pairs of shirts, a vest, two pairs of pants, and some other random oddities – was close to one hundred twenty zenni. He had more than enough though to make the purchase, and when he was done, told Goten that he was going to take him to the toy store to buy him a new toy. Ecstatic, he took his brother's hand and begun dragging the older boy around, intent on getting to the toy store as quickly as they could.
As they got outside, Goten turned left, figuring that the toy store was in that general direction. Still caught in his younger siblings fierce grip, he turned his head right, and saw a girl, about his age, with raven black hair. He caught her eyes for all of a brief second. His head, for that brief second, screamed "beauty". As quickly as he saw her though – and the younger girl by her side – his head was whipped around, forcing to keep itself with the rest of his body – and with Goten.
Gohan smiled though, in spite of his current situation.
* * *
They arrived at the mall safely, although later than they had originally thought. It was close to twelve thirty when they entered Northern Capitol Mall. She had just enough gas to reach the closest fueling station, but as she went to descend, it suddenly went dead, and the jet-copter ungracefully crash ten feet to the concrete surface. The girls hopped out okay, figuring that they had made ungraceful landings before. She went to check on the damage though and wasn't pleased. Some of the support rods were bent out of shape, and there were some minor paint scrapes along the landing fins. The station manager ran out though and, immediately recognizing her as the daughter of Hercule, promised her that he can get her up and running again by the end of the business day. Satisfied, she set off with Kagero to the mall to begin their shopping day.
They entered the mall and moved along the lower level shops to find a clothes store that she always goes to. She knew what it was because the prices were relatively low for many of the items, and that the items were made of a high-grade material. Plus, she also forced them not to give her the items she wanted for free simply because of who she was. For quick auto repairs, being famous was a godsend. For clothes shopping, she wanted a normal life and setting.
She found the clothes store quick enough. As she reached it though, a young child came storming out. He looked to be dragging someone because of the overtly ecstatic nature of the boys face. Kagero noticed as well.
"Someone must have told him that he was going toy shopping." The body being drug out of the clothing store quickly answered her statement. She saw the boy, about her age, with jet-black hair. She caught his eyes for all of a brief second though. Her head, for that brief second, screamed "beauty". As quickly as she saw him, his head was quickly whipped around to catch up with the rest of his body and the younger boy, assumed his brother. He was dragged along, resembling a fish on a hook and rod. She looked down to Kagero, a thoughtful look on her face. One, she would add, looked dangerous.
"You do that, I'm beating you," Videl said, a smile on her face. They entered the store, beginning their clothes-shopping day.
* * *
"Yeah! Food!" Goten cried out, happy to be getting some food in his system. This was a different sort of happiness though. For the first time in his young life, he would get to experience the joys of "junk" food: the local burger place. He was promised by his older brother not to speak of this incident to his mom in fear of what vein popping rant she would spew out upon him. In return, they would travel to another toy store in the mall and buy a smaller item than the one currently in Goten's possession.
That such possession had caused a sizable dent in his current budget. It wasn't as expensive as his purchases had been – a mere thirty zenni – but the thing had come in a large box. And inside that box was a half assembled remote control robot, somewhat reminiscent of a Red Ribbon Army toy from back when they were in business. He looked over the box, seeing the various instructions on the outside of it, which led to what the inside contents had.
"Mom's going to be having kittens when she sees this," he mumbled.
"What was that Gohan?" Goten asked, hearing that low tone of voice from his brother.
"Nothing Goten. Just each your burger." And so he did, completely forgetting about the uttered mumble.
"Gohan," Goten said, finishing a bite of his burger, "why does Mom want to send you to school?"
"I don't know. My guess, though, is that there has to be something going on inside her head. You see Goten; she has this vision for me. She wants me to become a scholar. I don't mind it actually, since I find the teaching of students appealing in a sense. Heck, it's easy teaching you things. You catch onto many things rather quickly." The child smiled brightly at his brother's comment. "I just think that, if it's easy teaching you things, that I should be able to teach others. Just watch out, cause Mom might have you on that same route, even though you still haven't learned as many things now than I was at your age."
"Mom was that bad, huh?" He nodded.
"There were days, Goten, that I would be studying formulas and equations for nearly fifteen hours at a time. I would wake up and study till I went to sleep. Mom had always brought me my food, but she also would reinforce my study habits, and made sure that I wasn't slacking at all. Of course, she got me that dreaded tutor after the trip to Namek." He shuddered at the memory of those days. "Just be glad that Mom has mellowed out a lot over the years."
"That can't be much then. She is tough a lot you know."
"She has changed. Trust me. If she's allowing me to go to school, then there has to be a reason for it, besides to study. I know advanced college material, and I'm only seventeen. It wouldn't do me good to just send me to school, unless she decided that a diploma would do better than just sending me to college on her on intuition."
"I think it's more Gohan," Goten said, a rare look of brightness and knowledge on his face.
"What do you think?"
"I think she is trying to have you make friends," he said. "The way I see it, me and Trunks –"
"Trunks and I," he corrected.
" – Are the best of friends. Sure, it may just be one person, but I have a friend. And I do know you have friends too." He nodded. His brother hit the spot.
"I see where you are getting at. You believe that Mom is sending me to school to allow me to make friends my age, instead of the ones that are around, like Krillin and Vegeta."
"I wouldn't call Vegeta a friend, you know… more like a pain in the 'you know what'," Goten said. Both of them laughed out loud because of it. Vegeta, in the term "friend", would be more closely defined as either "nemesis" or "archenemy".
Knowing this strange little fact, Gohan laughed harder. And he smiled again.
* * *
"Okay Videl… how bout this?" Kagero asked, holding up a blue t-shirt. She walked over to her younger sister, taking the piece of cloth from her hands. She held it up and studied its features momentarily.
"I'll hang on to it. I don't think I have anything blue anyway." She handed it back to Kagero, laying it on her one arm with several other articles of clothing that were already there.
"I'm not your personal clothes rack, Videl," she said of her discomfort. It was the third time she said it as well.
"I'm almost done… hold your horses," she replied. It was the third time she replied to that as well. She made her way over to the short's rack, trying to find something to buy for her lower body. She moved beyond them and came upon a small rack of biker shorts.
"Videl… you have ten pairs of them already. You don't need an eleventh."
"Oh hush. I just like how they fit. Don't blame me if they make up most of my clothing collection."
"I also won't blame you when a guy tries to come along and pinch your ass," Kagero said, earning a surprised look from her older sister.
"Now where did you learn that word Kagero?"
"You," she said, pointing her finger – her free finger – at her sister's chest.
"Me and my damn mouth," she mumbled to herself. "Well, you shouldn't have to worry about me. Anyone who dares touch my ass will receive a swift ass kicking that'll leave them incapacitated for two weeks."
"And you wonder why I have a dirty mouth myself," Kagero mumbled to herself. Luckily, the older girl didn't hear it. She had picked up a pair of shorts and held them up, then placed them on her hips, trying to gauge a fit.
"There. I'm getting these. End of discussion." With that, the girls walked up to the front of the store, preparing to make her purchases. Kagero let off a silent cheer; finally happy to get out of the hellhole she called the local clothing store.
Upon making her purchases, she exited the store. Kagero stood by her side, looking around various points of the mall. "Where to next?" she asked the child.
A low rumble from her stomach, coupled a few seconds later with what appeared to be a child yelling the word "food" answered her question. She looked down at Kagero, a slight blush appearing on her face.
"Let me guess: you're hungry yet again?"
"Hey!" she yelled, "it's not my fault!"
"Oh yes it is."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah!" the teen quipped back.
"How so?" Kagero asked. This caused the older girl to double take. She brought her hand to her chin, looking thoughtful for a few seconds.
"I have to think that one over Kagero," she finally responded. She began walking away, causing the younger girl to catch up to her.
"Where to Videl?" she asked.
"To get something for that well of yours that you call a stomach!" She looked around, spotting a small pretzel stand off to the right, near the food court. "Over there… we'll have some pretzels. How does that sound?" she asked.
"Sounds good. I haven't had a good pretzel in a while. Not since…"
"Not since the last time you were at a mall?"
"Yeah," Kagero said, scratching her head slightly. Her sister laughed, and then moved in line for some pretzels.
"Videl?"
"Yeah, Kagero?"
"Why does father have to leave all the time for something stupid?" the child asked.
"You mean all those publicity stunts that he flies overseas for?"
"Yeah." She thought it over for a moment, trying to figure out the reason why.
"I think, nowadays, that all these events is where he gets most of his money nowadays."
"He gets money for showing up in public?" Kagero asked, curious.
"I would think so." She stopped talking to the child for a moment, getting up to the front of the line. She ordered three pretzels: one for herself and two for Kagero. She also bought a couple of sodas and proceeded to pay. Leading the way, they found a small, unused bench to sit on. Kagero began munching on her pretzels, keeping a close ear on what her sister was saying.
"I don't understand him though," she started again. "He doesn't train anymore, and with each passing month, he gets more exposure than I could really care for. It's like he doesn't care for anyone but himself. Still, nowadays, it looks like he doesn't care for himself."
"Why would father do this?" Kagero asked.
"I don't know. There has to be an underlying reason. It might have to do with what happened back at the Cell Games, cause that was when things started going poorly."
"I know. Hey Videl, have you ever asked him about the Cell Games?"
"Not recently. Hell, I don't think I've asked him about it for a few years now at least. That was also probably when we had held our last decent conversation," she said glumly.
"I asked him Videl," Kagero started, "not too long ago, if I remember. He told me what had happened at the games, and how he won over a weakling like him."
"Your point?"
"I asked him that same question a year before. The story he told me most recently was so different from what he told me then that I think he was making all of this up." She stopped for a moment, seeing if her sister would say anything. She did.
"I remember that… well, not what you did. I had also asked him a couple times as well about the games. Every time, the version of events he gave were just so skewered that I don't know which is right anymore. I wish that I could meet someone that was there. Someone that knows the full truth of what happened." Unbeknownst to her, someone sneezed rather loudly not very far away.
"Videl… there is something else you should know. Something that I have been keeping a secret from you." This intrigued the teen.
"A secret? Is it bad?"
"Yes," Kagero said. Strangely, she displayed no emotion. "I only told Faye-Faye this, and she nearly quit on the spot when I told her." She looked up at her sister, who nodded, telling her to go on. "I told you that when I asked father about the Cell Games recently… I had left out something important though. As I turned around to walk away, he stopped me and held out a picture.
"I wondered as to why father would give me a picture, of himself no less? It was then that I noticed a scribble on the bottom. I held it up closely and saw that I was his signature. Then I heard him mumble something before walking away." She paused, collecting her thoughts – and breath. "He said, 'Here you go kid. Now get lost, the Champ has business to attend to.'"
She was in shock. Her father – the one that she had for so long aspired to reach in strength and skill – had done this, to his youngest daughter of all people. Anger quickly swelled within herself, and she reached out for something to crush to quell her rising steam. The armrest became her unfortunate target.
All the while though, she kept a loose eye on Kagero. She had finally noticed though the look on the child's face.
"Kagero… you're not crying. Why?" she asked.
"I cried then. I cried and I cried, but I made sure not to cry in front of you. I told Faye-Faye, and she was angry. I told her not to go, cause then all I would have left was you. She decided to stay, and I also told her to keep this secret from you. I told her that I wanted to tell you myself.
"The reason I'm not crying right now is simple, Videl: I can't cry, not after what father had done." She stopped, leaning back in the chair, finishing off the remnants of her pretzel. She looked up to her sister, who had now visibly calmed down. There was now pity coming over her face though.
"Explain," she simply said.
"I may cry again, Videl. It might be over a boy when I get older, or for some odd reason. Just now… I haven't cried since then. It hurt too much. Now… now it is deadweight on my back. It's holding me down, and it's forcing me not to cry."
"Father…" she said, a bit too much venom in her voice.
"Videl, what are you going to do?" Kagero asked.
"Simple: kick his ass." She laughed a bit, trying to raise the spirits of her sister. Fortunately, it was working, but not for very long.
"Videl, when was the last time you cried?" she asked, taking the older girl by surprise with the blunt question. As hard hitting as it was, she knew the answer right away. The memory was etched in her mind.
"Not since the day Mom died. I haven't cried since."
"Okay… that's all I wanted to know." An uneasy silence fell over the two for a minute or so.
"Kagero, let's go get you a toy now. We got to start smiling again. How does that sound?"
"That sounds great Videl!" Kagero said, a large smile forming on her face.
Videl smiled, and they left the bench. The discussion remained heavy on their minds though.
Slowly enough, the parallels between them drew closer.
* * *
"So boys, how did your day go?" Chichi asked upon the return of her two sons.
"It was great Mom!" Goten said happily. "Gohan got me this cool robot toy, and he said he was going to help me with putting it together later!"
"Really now Gohan?" she asked him. He simply nodded.
"Don't worry about tripping over it Mom. The thing is almost as tall as him."
"That's good. It's much better than having to trip on his other toys that lie in the hallways at night," she said with a laugh. "Now I want you two to wash up. Dinner is almost ready."
"Yes Mom," they both replied. They made their way to the bathroom, Goten hopping onto a small stool to reach the sink while his brother stood behind him. Both washed their hands.
"Hey Gohan?" Goten asked.
"Yeah squirt?"
"Are you going to help me after dinner?"
"Sure. I planned on doing so anyway. I don't think you would have been able to decipher some of the stuff that was there."
"Okay. Thanks Gohan!" he said, hopping down from his stool. That left the teen in the bathroom to himself for a few moments.
"That girl… she was pretty good looking for all of the two seconds that I saw her," he said, keeping his voice down and to himself. "Of course, I doubt I will see her again, so I guess I should keep her off of my head. Still, how can such beauty exist? Why am I wondering about this though? Hell, she could be a bitch for all I know. But then, she had that younger girl there with her. She might be her sister, and they did look happy being there." The shouting of his mom interrupted his monologue.
"Gohan! Your noodles are getting cold!"
"Coming Mom!" he shouted back, drying off his hands and moving his way into the kitchen. The three of them ate dinner in a calm silence. Chichi and her oldest son were eating at their usual slow pace, and Goten, known to have a huge appetite, slowed down his speed a bit, despite his new robot toy awaiting him in the toy room. Dinner ended quickly for all three of them. Goten bounded off into the toy room, ready to rip off the packaging. The teen was ready to follow, but paused for a second. He had that nagging feeling on the back of his mind that he needed to quell.
"Goten, I'll join you in a moment," he said, turning back towards the kitchen to where his mom was, wiping off the last of the dishes. "Mom… can I ask you something?"
"Sure Gohan. What is it?"
"Do you… believe in love at first sight?" he asked.
"I do. If I didn't, then I wouldn't have fallen in love with your dad the first time I saw him."
"Okay. Thank you." He turned around, satisfied with his answer. Chichi, however, wasn't.
"Gohan," she called out, "why do you ask?" He stopped in his tracks, a small bead of sweat forming on his forehead. He turned around and told her of what happened earlier in the day. He had only mentioned that part too, for he figured that the rest of his escapades with Goten weren't worth noting completely unless she asked.
"I don't know what to say Gohan," she said after a few moments of silence. "Do you think that you'll never see this person again?" she asked him.
"I doubt that I'll see her again," he responded, wiping his head with his sleeve.
"Okay. Then don't worry about it then. If you don't think that you'll see her again, then it's nothing to get hot and bothered over."
"Okay Mom."
"Good, now go off and help your brother before he decides to wreck that new thing you got him before he ever gets the chance to show it off to Trunks."
"Okay Mom," Gohan said smiling, turning back towards the toy room and to Goten's assistance.
* * *
"So girls, how did your day go?" Faye asked upon the return of the two girls.
"It was great Faye-Faye!" Kagero said happily. "Videl got me this cool stuffed monkey, and now I got something new to put in bed with me when I got to sleep!"
"Really now Videl?" she asked her. She simply nodded.
"Don't worry about having to stumble upon it anyway. The thing is almost as tall as her."
"That's good. It's much better than having to trip on her other toys and stuffed animals that lie in the hallways at night," she said with a laugh. "Now I want you two to wash up. Dinner is almost ready."
"Yes Faye-Faye," they both replied. They made their way to the bathroom, Kagero hopping onto a small stool to reach the sink while her sister stood behind her. Both washed their hands.
"Hey Videl?" Kagero asked.
"Yeah squirt?"
"Are you going to help me with naming the monkey after dinner?"
"Sure. I planned on doing so anyway. I assumed that you had wanted me to help you in naming it since I've pretty much helped you with naming just about everything else that's stuffed in your room." "Okay. Thanks Videl!" she said, hopping down from her stool. That left the teen in the bathroom to herself for a few moments.
"That boy… he was pretty good looking for all of the two seconds that I saw him," she said, keeping her voice down and to herself. "Of course, I doubt I will see him again, so I guess I should keep him off of my head. Still, how can such a handsome guy exist? Why am I wondering about this though? Hell, he could be a bastard for all I know. But then, he had that younger boy there with him. I would figure that he was his younger brother, and they did look happy together. Well, at least the little kid was, dragging the guy with him." The shouting of the maid interrupted her monologue.
"Videl! Your noodles are getting cold!"
"Coming Faye!" she shouted back, drying off her hands and moving her way into the kitchen. The three of them ate dinner in a calm silence. Faye and she were eating at their usual slow pace, and Kagero, known to have a huge appetite, slowed down her speed a bit, despite her new stuffed monkey awaiting her in the girl's bedroom. Dinner ended quickly for all three of them. Kagero bounded off into the bedroom; ready to take out her girl's name book for the monkey. The teen was ready to follow, but paused for a second. She had that nagging feeling on the back of her mind that she needed to quell.
"Kagero, I'll join you in a moment," she said, turning back towards the kitchen to where the maid was, wiping off the last of the dishes. "Faye… can I ask you something?"
"Sure Videl. What is it?"
"Do you… believe in love at first sight?" she asked.
"I do. If I didn't, then I wouldn't have fallen in love with my late husband the first time I saw him."
"Okay. Thank you." She turned around, satisfied with her answer. Faye, however, wasn't.
"Videl," she called out, "why do you ask?" She stopped in her tracks, a small bead of sweat forming on her forehead. She turned around and told her of what happened earlier in the day. She had only mentioned that part too, for she figured that the rest of her escapades with Kagero weren't worth noting completely unless she asked.
"I don't know what to say Videl," she said after a few moments of silence. "Do you think that you'll never see this person again?" she asked her.
"I doubt that I'll see him again," she responded, wiping her head with her shirt.
"Okay. Then don't worry about it then. If you don't think that you'll see him again, then it's nothing to get hot and bothered over."
"Okay Faye."
"Good, now go off and help your sister before she decides to wreck that new thing you got her before she ever gets the chance to show it off to Lily."
"Okay Faye," Videl said smiling, turning back towards the bedroom and to Kagero's assistance.
* * *
End Part Two
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