Disclaimer: See part one.

I don't think I have nothing new to add now.  This particular part took a little bit longer than expected, but it was primarily because of the lack of time I had to work.  I would have also wanted to add more, but this section of the story was long enough to post as the next part.  Part five will continue on with the rest of the day (you'll see as the part progresses).

A quick reminder that I haven't gotten around to telling yet: I've set up a mailing list of sorts for people who wants to know when I'm going to update.  Go to my profile page for instructions.

Thanks to PsYChO and Psycho Ann for the early reads and some helpful suggestions.  They were very much appreciated.

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Parallel and Perpendicular

A romance fiction/story by ShaggyDiz

Chapter Zero: Parallel

Part Four: School's Back From Summer

* * *

                He stood outside of his house, taking in the fresh mountain air.  It was four days since he confronted his mother with his erotic dream.  Since then, the dream had withered away into a mere fantasy, and he hasn't woken up in a cold sweat.  He seemed thankful, although he had liked the dream.  "It seemed so realistic," he wondered aloud at one point.  For now though, he could only say one thing about it: that it was only a dream.

                But now, he stood outside his house, contemplating his agenda.  He had promised his mom that they would head over to Satan City today to register for the upcoming semester at Orange Star High School.  He had guessed correctly when she confronted him two days before about going to high school.  He was ecstatic with the idea all along, and now it refocused his efforts.

                His agenda for the day didn't end with going to Orange Star High.  He promised Goten a lengthy sparring session when he got back to make up on recent times where the boys didn't get a chance to spar.  Goten, of course, happily agreed.  Behind him, he heard the door open, and then close a moment later.

                "Are you ready Gohan?" Chichi asked, coming up from behind him.

                "Yeah," he replied, pointing to the yellow clod he called moments before.

                "Okay."  They moved onto the cloud and took off.  They reached a fairly high cruising altitude before leveling out.  The flight, because of Chichi, would take several hours.  For that reason, they had made sure to leave early.  They departed at exactly eight o'clock, and the registration/testing was scheduled to start at twelve-thirty, giving them plenty of time.

                "By the way Gohan," Chichi said after several minutes of silence, "from what I know, today is apparently an open house of sorts for parents and students."

                "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

                "The principal, when I last talked to him, told me that today was the first day for students to register for their classes."

                "Why now?" he asked, confusion evident.

                "Beats me.  Supposedly, it's all state of the art stuff they use.  That, and it's regulated pretty nicely.  The seniors go today, and the rest of the students go tomorrow."

                "I see.  Would I be considered a senior when I get there?"  He was curious to know where he would get placed.  His mom's strict teaching methods had made him quite smart – too smart for most in fact.  He prided himself on his knowledge, yet didn't go boasting about it.  It was a tool to use, to teach others with.  That's what he wanted, or rather, what was given to him.  There was nothing else to do with this knowledge besides going into a career of education.

                "It depends on how you do on these tests," Chichi said, bringing him out of his thoughts.  "I would guess that they would place you in the junior level at least.  Hell, with the way I taught you, they should graduate you on the spot!"

                "Oh great," he muttered under his breath, "Mom cursing and Mom ranting is two things that never go well together."

                "What was that?"

                "Nothing."  He sighed in relief.  He was glad to be sitting in front so that Chichi wouldn't here him when he didn't want her to.  That, and because he was acting as her wind guard.  "You win some, you lose some" – that's how the quote goes he assumed.

                The ride went in relative silence for most of the time.  The two had made occasional chatter about life in general.  Chichi brought up the possibility of making another shopping trip, to which he would consider doing.  He had asked his mother at one point about whether or not he could take a part time job over at Capsule Corp.  His argument was simple: he would gain hands on experience on trades, technology and communications that his mother couldn't provide.  Chichi said that she would think over the idea as well.  He had already consulted with Bulma about the prospect of working there, and she had agreed to talk with Chichi if she had refused.  Essentially, he planned ahead and had his contingency in place.

                The pair soon came upon a mountain range that, beyond its low-lying peaks, was Satan City.  It was a rather wide mountain range, close to eighty miles across.

                "Mom, what time is it?" he asked, turning his head to the side.  Chichi pulled out her watch to look.

                "Ten forty-five," she said.

                "We made good time," he said, a hint of shock in his voice.

                "Four hundred miles in under three hours, huh?  That's really good timing.  I suspected that it would take longer because of me, but I've barely felt anything back here," Chichi quipped, stifling a giggle.

                His eye twitched.  "I thought of that earlier, didn't I?" he muttered under his breath.

                "What was that?" Chichi asked.

                "Nothing."  He paused for a moment.  "I'm going to take a guess and say that we'll be outside of Satan City by eleven-thirty.  From what I saw, it should only be a fifteen minute walk once we arrive at the city outskirts."

                "Hmm… since we'll have a little extra time, do you want to stop for some food?" she asked him.

                "Sure.  I can use a quick bite right now though," he said, pulling open the bag that he had slung over his shoulder.  He took out an apple.  "Want one?" he offered.

                She declined it.  "I would like a pear or plum if you have any."  He rummaged through his bag some more.

                "Always come prepared," he said matter-of-factly, pulling out a pear and a plum.

                "Why thank you.  I'll take the plum," she said, and they both ate in silence.  Along the way, he had opted to eat the pear after the apple, just to get a little bit more food into his system.  He kept his silence, taking in the mountain air.

                "It feels… different," he said quietly.  His comparison came from the air around the mountains in his house, and the air that he's taking in now.  He realized that it was probably because of the air coming out of Satan City.  Sure enough, as they got closer to the city, the air created from there began to overpower the air in the surrounding mountains.  It wasn't the worst that he has smelled, but it certainly wasn't the best either.

                It was eleven twenty-five when they took their first steps into Satan City.  They decided to stop at any type of food shop they saw along the way to the school, which they started seeing after a few minutes.  The school was tall enough to stand out among the smaller residential houses – the closest one being several hundred yards away from the main parking lot.  They made a stop about five minutes away from the school, which turned out to be an ice cream parlor.  Agreeing on the choice of food, they entered.

                They left the parlor at ten of twelve, thankful that the place wasn't completely full.  They had bought sundaes and ate them at one of the benches inside the parlor.  People passing by wondered why a skinny teen had three sundaes sitting in front of him, but just acknowledged it as an attempt to get some meat on his bones.

                "You have to cut back on your eating habits here Gohan," Chichi said when they left.

                "It's not bad, you know.  I've been eating like a regular person most of my life.  I only binge eat once or twice a week anyway."

                "That's true."

                "Besides," he stated, his finger rose in the air, "Dad was really the only big eater in the family.  Goten has filled that role nicely."

                "At times, it feels as if he eats more than your father," she said, laughing slightly.

                "He's a growing boy Mom.  Don't forget that."

                "How can I?  He's my baby!"

                "But I thought I was your baby," he said, a bit of a pout on his face, though his voice had sarcasm all over it.

                "You still are Gohan," Chichi replied, matching him in sarcastic tones, "you've just gotten too big to put on my lap nowadays."  A little cheek tug finished off his embarrassment.

                "When will it end?" he muttered under his breath.  He realized too late that he spoke too soon.

                "We're here!" his mom stated.  They were standing at the end of the sidewalk that led to the main entrance.  Several people snickered as they passed, adding to the teen's embarrassed state.

                He was clearly agitated with the current situation.  "Can we go in now?" he asked.

                "I don't see why not.  I can see I've embarrassed you enough as it is."  It was clear that she knew what she was doing, adding to her son's rising anger.

                "Fine.  Let's go," he said, a bit more bite than necessary, but it didn't faze Chichi.  He walked off ahead of her and entered the building; the first thing catching his eye was the large amount of students and parents already walking in the lobby.  He couldn't find where to go though.

                His mom came up beside him, taking in the large amount of students as well.  "This was kind of like that time your father and I tried to enroll you into an elementary school.  These people seem more fanatical though."

                "It seems like it."  He went silent for a second, allowing himself to listen to the conversations happening all around him.  His focus was on the students, and most of the discussions sounded alike to him.  "Most of these people are catching up with each other."

                She nodded.  "Shall we get to the main office now?"

                "Sure."  They started forward, but stopped after three steps.  He looked down to Chichi, who in turn looked up to her son.

                "Where's the office at?" they asked simultaneously.

                "It's the first door on the right to the left of the lobby," a random student told them, overhearing their comment.

                "Thank you," he said to the student.  He looked him over briefly: long blonde hair, large, bulky arms and an attitude that clearly said 'jock'.  "My name's Gohan.  I'm taking the placement exam today."

                "Really now?  You transfer here?" the boy asked.

                He thought it over for a second.  "You could say that."

                "Come on Gohan.  We have to go sign in," Chichi said.

                "Right."  He stuck out his hand to shake.  "It was nice to meet you, um…"

                "Sharpener," he said, shaking his hand.

                "It was nice to meet you Sharpener.  See you around."  They walked past him, following Sharpener's directions towards the main office.  He turned the corner and didn't bother to look back behind him, never seeing the look of possible recognition on one girl's face.

                They came upon a door that read, at the top, "Principal's Office".  They went inside, finding a couple people in there.  "Good," he said.  "This is going to be a short wait."

                "Let's get in line then.  I think that's the sign up sheet up there."

                "All right."  He got in line, patiently waiting for the people to move up.  It wasn't long before he reached the desk and signed in.  But as he did, he got a strange feeling within himself – a feeling of familiarity.  He stood up straight and turned to look at the door.

                "Mom… I'll be back in a second," he said.

                She looked up from the magazine that she found.  "Okay Gohan.  Don't be too long. I think they're planning on moving the students to the test room soon."

                "Okay."  He walked over to the door, opening it and stepping into the hallway.  Standing in the middle of it, he started looking around, first to his left, where the lobby was only a few feet away.  Then he turned to his right.  For a brief second, he saw a braided lock of black hair.  "The hair… it looks oddly familiar."  He walked down the hallway, casually trying to avoid people as he reached the end of it.  As he reached it, he looked down the hallway where he saw the hair go down.  There were too many people, and he couldn't see anyone that had that braided lock of black hair.

                "Strange," he mumbled.  He was slow going back to the principal's office, thinking about whom that lock of hair belonged to.  He couldn't place his finger on it, but he had thought of just one person.  "I doubt it was her… though I didn't get a good look at her hair before.  If I had only saw her face…"

                He left that sentence open, going back into the office, seeing his mom standing up.  "Gohan, they're starting to move people down to the room where the test is going to be administered.  I'll go down there with you, and then I'm going to take a walk around the neighborhood."

                "Are you going to be all right?" he asked her.

                She laughed a little.  "Gohan, you forget that I'm able to defend myself as much as you, minus the energy.  Besides, I don't want to be bunched up here for three hours while you take the test."

                "Three hours?" he said, shocked, and a little too loudly for some.  A few odd stares went his way, all of them he ignored.  "Three hours?" he repeated, this time a harsh whisper.

                "I forgot to tell you, huh?" she said, scratching her chin in mock thought.

                "Forget it.  I'm going.  I'll see you in three hours."  He bent down and gave his mom a kiss on the cheek.

                "What?  You don't want me coming with you?" she asked.

                "Mom, you've embarrassed me enough today.  One more time and I might lose a bit of my sanity."

                "You're not serious," she said, a bit worried.

                A goofy smile slowly formed on his face.  "Of course not.  You're my Mom.  You're supposed to embarrass me every moment you get in public, remember?"  He gave her one last hug.  "I love you Mom.  Wish me luck."

                "Good luck Gohan!" she said to his retreating form.

                Gohan smiled as he walked.  It was a good day.

* * *

                She stood outside of her house, taking in the late morning air.  It was four days since she confronted her maid with her erotic dream.  Since then, the dream had withered away into a mere fantasy, and she hasn't woken up in a cold sweat.  She seemed thankful, although she had liked the dream.  "It seemed so realistic," she wondered aloud at one point.  For now though, she could only say one thing about it: that it was only a dream.

                But now, she stood outside her house, contemplating her agenda.  She had to head over to Orange Star High School to register for the classes she would be taking in her last year there.  She had to get her friend Erasa though, which was why she was leaving now.  Erasa lived close to the outer edge of town opposite that of the high school, and that was the same distance from the two teens house.  An equilateral triangle – if it were to be used – would fit at an exact point somewhere in each of those three places.

                Her agenda for the day didn't end with going to Orange Star High.  She promised Kagero a lengthy sparring session when she got back to make up on recent times where the girls didn't get a chance to spar.  Kagero, of course, happily agreed.  Behind her, she heard the door open, but she didn't hear it shut, prompting her to turn around.

                It was Faye.  "You have everything you need?" she asked the teen.

                "I think so.  There really isn't much to do today anyway," she said, waving it off with her hand.  "We just go in, sign up for each teacher, and then leave.  Simple."

                "You forgot to mention your ever jubilant friend Erasa."

                "Ah yes, Erasa.  I could never forget about her."  Her voice had a hint of mock anger and sarcasm in it.

                "Videl, Erasa is a fun girl.  I'm surprised you didn't call her at all!"

                "Well that's because she always called me!  And besides, you know how I hate using that damn phone!  I prefer talking to people on the computer anyway.  It's so much easier."

                Faye sighed after hearing this.  "You kids and your technology today: it makes things so much easier.  I remember back in the day, we never had computers.  Everything was done by horse and buggy."

                "Um… Faye… you're not that old," she said, a bead of sweat forming on the back of her head.

                "Oh, I know," she said, giving off a stupid smile.

                "Why do I have to put up with this sometimes?" the teen asked under her breath.

                "What was that?"

                "Nothing.  I have to get going now."  With that, she popped out her jet-copter and proceeded to get onboard.

                "What time are you getting home?" Faye asked.

                "Around three I think.  Like I said: it shouldn't take me long.  Tell Kagero to start warming up at around two forty-five, okay?  Bye Faye!"  She closed the door, turning on the copter and lifting off, leaving a waving Faye on the front lawn.

                It was eleven forty when she left for Erasa's house.  She would have left sooner, if it weren't for the fact that she had overslept.  There was an afternoon party the day before, which included her, Erasa, and a bunch of people that she tolerated from time to time.  She was glad though, if only for a little while.  While most of the teens there didn't know about her home life, they didn't become her friend simply because of the fame she radiated.  It was pleasing to her that she would have people to talk to without having to gag on the "greatness" of her father.  Still, she kept up her stubborn façade, mostly because it worked, and also because she was stubborn as all hell.  It grew on her though, mostly due to Erasa and Sharpener: the former because of her (more often than not) air headedness, and the latter because of his (more often than not) exulting cockiness and constant flirtations with her.  She didn't know whether or not it was Sharpener who made her not date in general, as she had a (occasional) close-minded feeling on guys in general.

                Well, that and because of the "suitors" that her dad constantly introduced to her.

                "Next time, I'm killing the bastard that tries to sweet talk his way into my pants.  Except for Sharpener of course, since she would threaten to beat me up."  She smirked, as "threatened" was the operative word in her statement.  It was part of the reason why she had overslept.  Erasa had spent the better part of the night – or early morning, depending on how people saw the time – going over the fabulous day she had.  It took three hours of constant babbling about Sharpener for the blonde to get to the point: Sharpener had finally asked her to be his girlfriend.

                "Took three fucking years to do it too.  Now he can leave me alone."  She yawned, evidence of her long night.  "I'm going to kick her ass though.  Yeah… I'll do that, then spar with Kagero, then go to sleep.  Perfect."

                She arrived at Erasa's house at eleven forty-nine, slowly descending onto the street – effectively blocking traffic on that street – while Erasa stood at the sidewalk, anxious for her ride to school.  She landed and opened the door for the blonde, and from there, she went on as if yesterday didn't end.

                "Videl!  He called me today!  He called me today!  He called, and I was like, 'My hero'!  I told him that I dreamt about him all last night and that he is such a great guy, and… and… um," she paused, clearly out of thoughts after five seconds.  But then, "oh yeah!  Where the hell were you this morning?"

                She cringed.  She had always expected this from Erasa: turning on all ten cylinders in forward before making a complete one-eighty in something else.  She sighed, and then, as calmly as she could – a miracle in itself – she turned to the girl and said: "I overslept because of you.  I want to get to school now.  Close the damn door."  She didn't wait for the door to get completely closed, for when she lifted off, a quick scream was heard, followed by the passenger door slamming shut.  That was followed three seconds later by a fuming Erasa turning to look at her friend.

                "What the hell was that for?  I could have fallen out of this thing!" the blonde screamed, mere inches from her friends face, a vein comically throbbing on the fist waving to the side of her head.

                She had a hard time trying to keep a straight face.  "Erasa… you know I would never let that happen.  You just have to realize when I'm in the mood for things and when I'm not in the mood for things."

                "And let me guess," Erasa started, still red faced and fuming, "you weren't in the mood?"

                "Exactly.  Now, you know I am very happy for you.  I didn't get to sleep till three in the morning though!  And you knew we had to go to school today to register!"

                "But Videl!"

                "No buts Erasa!  I'm cranky and I've heard enough of your chatter about Sharpener already!"  She stopped talking after that, calming her anger down to keep control over the copter.  Erasa was far from done, or rather, had more material to move onto: the girl that was flying the aircraft.  She started giggling, but soon fell into an uncontrollable laughter.  "What's wrong now?" she asked the blonde.  She only sounded irritated now, as her anger had subsided enough.

                "I know why you're so cranky," Erasa giggled out.

                She gave her a sideways look.  "Enlighten me."

                "You don't have a boyfriend."

                "That doesn't enlighten me."

                "I'm not finished."  She paused for dramatic effect.  "You're just not getting any."

                "Same with you.  What's your point?" she responded, on a roll right now.  Erasa was befuddled.

                "I'm going to be getting some soon you know," she said, adding a point to her scoreboard.  Strangely, it came up beside her in the form of a white board and marker.

                "If you turn into a slut, I won't talk to you again," she responded seriously.  One point removed.

                "You wouldn't dare do that?  You know that!  Sure, I may look like one, but I'm still a virgin.  Why do you think I waited three years for Sharpener?" Erasa shouted out.  One point added.

                "Ah, so you knew he's been waiting for three years.  Do me a favor and stay together for more than three years."  One point removed.

                "Videl!  Why are you so rude?"

                "I'm not rude.  I'm blunt.  The two go very well together.  Besides, I'm looking into your best interests.  I've seen you hurt by a bunch of guys before."

                "But Sharpener is different!"

                She sighed.  "I might have to agree.  I may not like him all too much.  Besides you though, he's been a good friend to me.  Just… be careful.  And please stay with him."

                "I will!  Oh thank you Videl!" Erasa cried out, reaching over to hug her friend.  She held up a finger though.

                "I'm flying.  Hug later."

                The remainder of the flight – all three minutes of it – went in silence.  It was about noon when they landed in the high school parking lot.  They entered the school lobby, glancing around momentarily, seeing if they could find anyone to talk to.

                But then she saw a tall figure turning down the left hall.  It was a brief glance, but she had seen wild black hair on the person's head.  "It can't be…"

                She started moving down through the lobby, effortlessly weaving through the crowd of students and parents.  She was halted by a screech behind her, and a very recognizable name.

                "Sharpener!" the voice cried out.  "How have you been?  I haven't talked to you in like, thirty minutes!"  Erasa ran the short distance to Sharpener, jumping into his arms a good five feet away, and ended up hugging each other ferociously in the lobby.

                She was tempted to shout, "Get a fucking hotel room" to the two blondes, but she had decided otherwise.  The large amount of people in the hall – faculty and parents included – would pretty much embarrass her more than what the couple were doing now.  She opted for the more mellow approach: she walked up to them – disgusted with every closer step – and whispered harshly: "Either stop now, or I will kick your asses repeatedly.  This isn't the place for this."  The blondes stopped what they were doing to look at their friend, slightly hurt.

                "Oh come on Videl.  We haven't seen each other since last night!" they said in near perfect unison.  She turned, shouting an inaudible curse and throwing her hands up.  She went down the lobby and turned to the left hallway, hoping to see what she thought she saw.

                Nothing.

                "Damn.  Too many people."  She started down the hall again.  Erasa and Sharpener came up from behind her, talking quietly amongst themselves.

                "What's up with her?" Erasa asked.

                "No idea.  It's like she's on a hunt or something."

                "Strange.  Oh hey, any new people come through?"

                "Actually, I met one already.  His name was Gohan, if I remember correctly.  He seemed like a real nice kid."

                "That's cool.  Oh look.  There she is.  We might as well grab her and head off to the second floor.  We have to make sure all of us get into the same classroom together."  She grabbed his hand, dragging him along.  They spotted their friend looking off to the right, where their hallway ended and a new one began.

                "Hey Videl!" Erasa shouted.  "We're heading upstairs now.  We'll meet you up there if you stop whatever little thing you're doing."  With that, they were off.  She looked off to where her two blonde friends were going to, and decided to give up there.

                "Strange," she mumbled.  She walked off to the left, down the hallway that led to the main stairwell to that side of the building.  She didn't bother turning around, or looking down back to the lobby, missing the look of possible recognition on one boy's face.  Still, she couldn't place her finger on it, but she had thought of just one person.  "I doubt it was him… though I didn't get a good look at his hair before.  If I had only saw his face…"

                Videl shrugged, then smiled.  No need to worry about anything, just what the day had in store for her.

* * *

End Part Four

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I hope you enjoyed.  Please review.