Disclaimer: Don't own. As if you thought I did.
Chapter 2: You Do That.
Meanwhile, in the offices of the Red Ribbon Record Company, a certain top producer was having a little bit of a tantrum.
"That is precisely what ticks me off about you, Lunch!" Mai growled, slamming her hands onto the gleaming mahogany table-top and scowling at the fidgeting bluette across from her.
"You actually thought it was a good idea to renew the Ginyu's contract? Dammit, we're set to lose millions over this! The novelty wore off right back when they released their second single!"
The furious woman narrowed her eyes. "No one wants to see a bunch of idiots parading around and miming to a backing track anymore." she spat. "After Rock, Paper, Scissors, I thought we agreed there'd be no more albums."
"I...I'm sorry." Lunch fumbled, looking anywhere but at Mai. "I...just - I felt sorry for them."
"Sorry?" Mai's eyes flashed dangerously, and she opened her mouth to continue her tirade. Fortunately for Lunch, the ebony haired woman was interrupted smoothly by the other occupant of the room, Juunana-gou.
"It seems that we have a problem then." he stated coolly, rising from his chair and walking over to the window. "However, I have a solution."
"Is that so?"
"Just last week you were discussing plans to begin a new project, am I right?" his question was answered with two nods of Mai's head. Lunch sank down into the plush lounge chair, saying nothing.
"Then maybe it's time to begin that new project. It is, after all, the best way to make up for the losses a second Ginyu album will inflict." A reproachful glance at Lunch was enough to make her sink further into the chair.
"Maybe you're right, Juunanna-gou. But we'll have to think this through carefully. What type of image are we looking for? Where's the hole in the market that needs to be filled?"
The bluette perked up a little, opening her mouth to speak.
"Do we have any demos that sound suitable?" Mai cut her off.
"Nothing that really stands out." Juunana replied, shrugging offhandedly. "Perhaps we need to look elsewhere."
"But where do you suggest?"
Lunch opened her mouth again, but this time, Juunana-gou was the one to talk over her.
"I'm not entirely sure."
Why do they always have to do that? Lunch thought irritably, ignoring the familiar tingling feeling in her nose. The dust in this room was driving her crazy.
"Perhaps we need to sleep on it?" Mai suggested.
No, I have an idea, if only you'd give me a chance to speak! the seated girl thought.
The tingling sensation continued, and she inhaled in an attempt to suppress it, Unfortunately, the conference room was indeed quite dusty, so her attempts had the opposite effect to what she was hoping for. Just as her two companions were on their way out of the room, Lunch let out a huge sneeze.
Mai winced, putting a hand to her forehead. She really didn't have time for this.
"Well, hello Kushami." Juunana murmured silkily. "Do you have any suggestions, by any chance?"
The now very blonde, very angry woman leapt up from her seat, glaring at her colleagues, fists clenched at her sides.
"Damned right I have a suggestion!" she snapped. "And if you two assholes would stop being so rude, maybe I'd have chance to make it!"
"Go on."
"Patronise me again and you'll regret it." Kushami growled. "You say you're looking for something different, eh? Well, it's pretty obvious that you're not gonna find it sitting on your asses and listening to wishy-washy demos." She sat down again, and propped her feet up on the coffee table with a scowl.
"You want something new, you're gonna find it in a person who'd never consider becoming a recording artist. Unless they had some kind of incentive."
"Is there a point to this?" Mai asked, sounding a little bored. "And get your feet off the table, please."
The blonde made a point of ignoring her friend's demands.
"Of course there's a bloody point! Put an ad out. T.V, paper, magazines, wherever. Sure you'll get ninety six percent no hopers, but the other four percent, they're the ones you're looking for."
Junnana-gou arched a brow. "Perhaps you're right."
"There's no damned 'perhaps' about it! Of course I'm right. Now are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna actually do something resembling work for once in your life?"
The raven haired man just smiled. "Kushami, dear, that's what my PA is for."
~~~~
"Honestly, Dad, I'm gonna be fine."
Marron rested her chin on her fist, rolling her eyes as her father continued his speech about how she could always come home and he and her mother would look after her. She'd foolishly called home and told him about what had happened earlier, after looking in the newspaper and finding nothing of interest, she'd had time to think about everything she owed and how embarrassing it had been to drench the Cafe Francais regulars in tomato soup. Feeling more than a little miserable and in need of hearing a friendly voice, she'd dialled Kame House's number.
"But Marron, you know your mother and I wouldn't mind!" Krillin told her indignantly.
"I know, dad. But I'll be fine, promise. I'll get another job, it's no big deal."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." She gave a sigh of resignation, eyes scanning the newspaper a second time just in case she'd missed something.
"In fact," she muttered, wincing as her eyes fell on an advertisement for a potwasher in Nova Cafe, "there's some really great jobs on offer right now."
"Well, alright." Krillin told her. "Listen, firecracker, I have to go now. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"
"Right."
With another sigh, the blonde dropped the phone back into the cradle and slammed the newspaper shut. She could wash pots. She just didn't want to, but she could. But what she wanted to do wasn't the issue any more. It hadn't been for a long time.
~~~~
"Trunks, wanna play with me and Pan?" Bra asked, peeking around the bedroom door at her older brother, who was currently lying on his bed with his arms folded behind his head, staring into space. He turned onto his side, propping himself up on his elbows and scowled at her.
"How about no?" he told the little girl, and she stepped further into the room, followed by her dark haired friend.
"You never do anything." Pan commented, picking up a photo frame from the nightstand and running her fingers over the glass.
"And?" Trunks asked in bored tones, rising into a sitting position and snatching the photo frame from Pan's hands. He slammed it face down and pointed at the open door.
"Go play with your dolls or something."
"Dolls? Yeah, right. Actually," Pan told him, folding her arms, "we're gonna get your dad to teach us how to fight."
"Good for you. And exactly why would I care?"
Bra stamped her foot, her fists clenching at her side, and took Pan's hand.
"Come on Pan, let's go." She growled, flouncing out of the room. "I'm telling dad." She snapped on her way down the hall.
Trunks sighed, irritated. He had no patience for annoying little sisters and their annoying little friends.
"Hey, Trunks." Goten smiled from the doorway.
"'Ten? What's up?"
"Thought I'd come see what you were up to. I couldn't get hold of your mom with the intercom so I just let myself in anyway."
He crossed the room, sinking down into a chair and leaning forward.
"What's wrong with your sister? She stamped on my foot when I said hi."
"I dunno. She's probably just in a mood." Trunks replied.
"She's not the only one." Goten muttered darkly, running a hand through his black spikes. "You know, sometimes I wonder why I don't just quit college and have done with it."
"Results not good?" Trunks asked sympathetically, sitting up again. His friend nodded.
"Yep, and even though I thought it'd be impossible, I did worse than last time."
"So quit. Then we can both hang out doing nothing all day."
"Sounds like fun. Maybe I will."
Trunks's eyes widened, and he tilted his head to the side questioningly.
"Seriously?"
Goten sighed. "Well I can't carry on like I am doing!" he said bitterly. "My best bet is to try and get a job. Maybe I'll have more luck getting something full time rather than afternoon work."
"'Ten, Chi-Chi'd go ballistic." Trunks said warningly, but upon seeing the look on his friend's face, he sighed.
"Just think about this a little bit, Goten, alright?"
"I've thought about it, Trunks. There's no point in trying to do something I'm no good at. Gohan may be a uni graduate, but that doesn't mean I'll ever be."
"You sure about that? You always did fine in high school."
Goten nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. High school was different."
"But 'Ten....."
"I'd better be getting home."
Trunks shrugged, getting up from the bed and looking out of the window at the darkening sky.
"Well, good luck telling Chi-Chi. I'll call you later to make sure you're still alive."
"You do that, Trunks." Goten replied good-naturedly. "Talk to you later."
~~~~
A/N: Wow, an actual update? Yes, the plot of this story is a tad obvious, so sue me. I've been watching too much Gravitation. Mmm, Yuki. Mmm...Hiro...
And yep, the game was indeed Tekken, and was Xiaoyu vs. Jin. You're all geniuses! Thanks so much for reviewing, and hopefully you'll tell me what you thought of this chapter, ya? I'm so proud that I managed to include Lunch, I love her and no one ever writes about her! She was the original tough chica of DB, even before Juu came along. Anyway, see you next update, in which Marron marries and murders a man for his money, Goten joins Mensa, and Trunks becomes a mime. Maybe.
The next update may take a while, seeing as I'm addicted to FFX right now. I completed it a bit ago but I decided to play it through again to get all the secrets and stuff. *cuddles Tidus and Wakka* Bah, after browsing around, I've discovered no one loves my two fave Blitzball stars. Hmph. Just 'cause they're not dark and tortured like Vincent, or badass like Auron, or in possession of the social skills of a cactus *pointed glance at Squall*
P.S: Marie, about the blackcurrant juice, art imitating life, perhaps? ;)
Meanwhile, in the offices of the Red Ribbon Record Company, a certain top producer was having a little bit of a tantrum.
"That is precisely what ticks me off about you, Lunch!" Mai growled, slamming her hands onto the gleaming mahogany table-top and scowling at the fidgeting bluette across from her.
"You actually thought it was a good idea to renew the Ginyu's contract? Dammit, we're set to lose millions over this! The novelty wore off right back when they released their second single!"
The furious woman narrowed her eyes. "No one wants to see a bunch of idiots parading around and miming to a backing track anymore." she spat. "After Rock, Paper, Scissors, I thought we agreed there'd be no more albums."
"I...I'm sorry." Lunch fumbled, looking anywhere but at Mai. "I...just - I felt sorry for them."
"Sorry?" Mai's eyes flashed dangerously, and she opened her mouth to continue her tirade. Fortunately for Lunch, the ebony haired woman was interrupted smoothly by the other occupant of the room, Juunana-gou.
"It seems that we have a problem then." he stated coolly, rising from his chair and walking over to the window. "However, I have a solution."
"Is that so?"
"Just last week you were discussing plans to begin a new project, am I right?" his question was answered with two nods of Mai's head. Lunch sank down into the plush lounge chair, saying nothing.
"Then maybe it's time to begin that new project. It is, after all, the best way to make up for the losses a second Ginyu album will inflict." A reproachful glance at Lunch was enough to make her sink further into the chair.
"Maybe you're right, Juunanna-gou. But we'll have to think this through carefully. What type of image are we looking for? Where's the hole in the market that needs to be filled?"
The bluette perked up a little, opening her mouth to speak.
"Do we have any demos that sound suitable?" Mai cut her off.
"Nothing that really stands out." Juunana replied, shrugging offhandedly. "Perhaps we need to look elsewhere."
"But where do you suggest?"
Lunch opened her mouth again, but this time, Juunana-gou was the one to talk over her.
"I'm not entirely sure."
Why do they always have to do that? Lunch thought irritably, ignoring the familiar tingling feeling in her nose. The dust in this room was driving her crazy.
"Perhaps we need to sleep on it?" Mai suggested.
No, I have an idea, if only you'd give me a chance to speak! the seated girl thought.
The tingling sensation continued, and she inhaled in an attempt to suppress it, Unfortunately, the conference room was indeed quite dusty, so her attempts had the opposite effect to what she was hoping for. Just as her two companions were on their way out of the room, Lunch let out a huge sneeze.
Mai winced, putting a hand to her forehead. She really didn't have time for this.
"Well, hello Kushami." Juunana murmured silkily. "Do you have any suggestions, by any chance?"
The now very blonde, very angry woman leapt up from her seat, glaring at her colleagues, fists clenched at her sides.
"Damned right I have a suggestion!" she snapped. "And if you two assholes would stop being so rude, maybe I'd have chance to make it!"
"Go on."
"Patronise me again and you'll regret it." Kushami growled. "You say you're looking for something different, eh? Well, it's pretty obvious that you're not gonna find it sitting on your asses and listening to wishy-washy demos." She sat down again, and propped her feet up on the coffee table with a scowl.
"You want something new, you're gonna find it in a person who'd never consider becoming a recording artist. Unless they had some kind of incentive."
"Is there a point to this?" Mai asked, sounding a little bored. "And get your feet off the table, please."
The blonde made a point of ignoring her friend's demands.
"Of course there's a bloody point! Put an ad out. T.V, paper, magazines, wherever. Sure you'll get ninety six percent no hopers, but the other four percent, they're the ones you're looking for."
Junnana-gou arched a brow. "Perhaps you're right."
"There's no damned 'perhaps' about it! Of course I'm right. Now are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna actually do something resembling work for once in your life?"
The raven haired man just smiled. "Kushami, dear, that's what my PA is for."
"Honestly, Dad, I'm gonna be fine."
Marron rested her chin on her fist, rolling her eyes as her father continued his speech about how she could always come home and he and her mother would look after her. She'd foolishly called home and told him about what had happened earlier, after looking in the newspaper and finding nothing of interest, she'd had time to think about everything she owed and how embarrassing it had been to drench the Cafe Francais regulars in tomato soup. Feeling more than a little miserable and in need of hearing a friendly voice, she'd dialled Kame House's number.
"But Marron, you know your mother and I wouldn't mind!" Krillin told her indignantly.
"I know, dad. But I'll be fine, promise. I'll get another job, it's no big deal."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." She gave a sigh of resignation, eyes scanning the newspaper a second time just in case she'd missed something.
"In fact," she muttered, wincing as her eyes fell on an advertisement for a potwasher in Nova Cafe, "there's some really great jobs on offer right now."
"Well, alright." Krillin told her. "Listen, firecracker, I have to go now. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"
"Right."
With another sigh, the blonde dropped the phone back into the cradle and slammed the newspaper shut. She could wash pots. She just didn't want to, but she could. But what she wanted to do wasn't the issue any more. It hadn't been for a long time.
"Trunks, wanna play with me and Pan?" Bra asked, peeking around the bedroom door at her older brother, who was currently lying on his bed with his arms folded behind his head, staring into space. He turned onto his side, propping himself up on his elbows and scowled at her.
"How about no?" he told the little girl, and she stepped further into the room, followed by her dark haired friend.
"You never do anything." Pan commented, picking up a photo frame from the nightstand and running her fingers over the glass.
"And?" Trunks asked in bored tones, rising into a sitting position and snatching the photo frame from Pan's hands. He slammed it face down and pointed at the open door.
"Go play with your dolls or something."
"Dolls? Yeah, right. Actually," Pan told him, folding her arms, "we're gonna get your dad to teach us how to fight."
"Good for you. And exactly why would I care?"
Bra stamped her foot, her fists clenching at her side, and took Pan's hand.
"Come on Pan, let's go." She growled, flouncing out of the room. "I'm telling dad." She snapped on her way down the hall.
Trunks sighed, irritated. He had no patience for annoying little sisters and their annoying little friends.
"Hey, Trunks." Goten smiled from the doorway.
"'Ten? What's up?"
"Thought I'd come see what you were up to. I couldn't get hold of your mom with the intercom so I just let myself in anyway."
He crossed the room, sinking down into a chair and leaning forward.
"What's wrong with your sister? She stamped on my foot when I said hi."
"I dunno. She's probably just in a mood." Trunks replied.
"She's not the only one." Goten muttered darkly, running a hand through his black spikes. "You know, sometimes I wonder why I don't just quit college and have done with it."
"Results not good?" Trunks asked sympathetically, sitting up again. His friend nodded.
"Yep, and even though I thought it'd be impossible, I did worse than last time."
"So quit. Then we can both hang out doing nothing all day."
"Sounds like fun. Maybe I will."
Trunks's eyes widened, and he tilted his head to the side questioningly.
"Seriously?"
Goten sighed. "Well I can't carry on like I am doing!" he said bitterly. "My best bet is to try and get a job. Maybe I'll have more luck getting something full time rather than afternoon work."
"'Ten, Chi-Chi'd go ballistic." Trunks said warningly, but upon seeing the look on his friend's face, he sighed.
"Just think about this a little bit, Goten, alright?"
"I've thought about it, Trunks. There's no point in trying to do something I'm no good at. Gohan may be a uni graduate, but that doesn't mean I'll ever be."
"You sure about that? You always did fine in high school."
Goten nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. High school was different."
"But 'Ten....."
"I'd better be getting home."
Trunks shrugged, getting up from the bed and looking out of the window at the darkening sky.
"Well, good luck telling Chi-Chi. I'll call you later to make sure you're still alive."
"You do that, Trunks." Goten replied good-naturedly. "Talk to you later."
A/N: Wow, an actual update? Yes, the plot of this story is a tad obvious, so sue me. I've been watching too much Gravitation. Mmm, Yuki. Mmm...Hiro...
And yep, the game was indeed Tekken, and was Xiaoyu vs. Jin. You're all geniuses! Thanks so much for reviewing, and hopefully you'll tell me what you thought of this chapter, ya? I'm so proud that I managed to include Lunch, I love her and no one ever writes about her! She was the original tough chica of DB, even before Juu came along. Anyway, see you next update, in which Marron marries and murders a man for his money, Goten joins Mensa, and Trunks becomes a mime. Maybe.
The next update may take a while, seeing as I'm addicted to FFX right now. I completed it a bit ago but I decided to play it through again to get all the secrets and stuff. *cuddles Tidus and Wakka* Bah, after browsing around, I've discovered no one loves my two fave Blitzball stars. Hmph. Just 'cause they're not dark and tortured like Vincent, or badass like Auron, or in possession of the social skills of a cactus *pointed glance at Squall*
P.S: Marie, about the blackcurrant juice, art imitating life, perhaps? ;)