Disclaimer: see part one.
Note: I will be skipping next week's posting. I got slammed with forty hours of work, and writing time has been severely limited. Also, the launch of my new story, Amour Foncé, is going to be delayed a week as well.
GD: I'll try and get a review in for you by the end of the week.
Pre-read was done by PsYChO, who was surprised to all heck when he saw that I only had two noticeable mistakes. Of course, he still ripped on me, even for that.
* * *
Parallel and Perpendicular
A romance/fiction by ShaggyDiz
Chapter One: You May Think You Hate Me
Part Ten: Fallout
* * *
Begin Part Ten
* * *
Seven minutes.
That was how long it was between Gohan entering the bathroom and leaving it. Although it was somewhat long for a particular , he could have easily convinced (with no words, for his benefit) his peers that he had a problem with his bladder. It would be safe to use this escape to fight crime for now until the teachers had enough of his frequent bathroom visits and either inform him that he needs to use it at his house, or see a specialist.
Twice a week was more than enough for this particular problem.
Getting back to school and into it was easy: the window to the bathroom was still open, and there had been no one in there upon his return. He switched out of his costume (and reminded himself to talk with Bulma later about replacing the lost articles of disguise) back into his civilian clothes, making his way out of the bathroom and back to his class. Given the half-minute walk to and from it, his total time away from class had been eight minutes.
Mr. Son so glad of you to return, Mr. Lou said to him upon his return. His voice held no seriousness to it though. I was afraid you got lost for a minute. The class broke out into small laughter at the comment, leaving a somewhat flustered Gohan at the bottom of the class.
I'm still getting used to this school, sir, he lied.
Not a problem. Now, take your seat, and make sure you get notes from a classmate that you missed from your little expedition. Again, there was a fit of laughter from the students.
It makes me wonder why does Videl hate him so much? Everyone else seems to like him
He took his seat, quickly asking Erasa if he could take her notes later on in the day. All the while, his thoughts kept on going back to the bank robbery. He had wished to maybe do a little more there, but time prevented him from doing so. And seeing the chief like that it hurt that he could do nothing about it.
Gohan settled on the worst part of the incident though: his revealing of his true identity to Videl.
I won't run
Eventually, he would have to answer her questions. He knew they would come as soon as he showed her.
Damn
The only question was: when would that eventuality come?
I really, really fucked up
* * *
Chaos.
That was what was occurring at the bank at the current moment. As soon as Gohan disappeared, everything went into fast forward. Nearly all of the officers at the scene quickly rushed in, taking control of the parking lot before running into the bank. Those who remained had made several frantic calls to several hospitals, telling them to send as many ambulances as possible. More police officers had arrived on the scene as well, supporting the current batch there.
Within two minutes, the lot had been filled with a S.W.A.T. team, EMT units, three full precincts, and ex-hostages.
The most attention went to the most critically wounded, which turned out to be the mob leader and the chief. The leader, for most obvious reasons, would have to be handcuffed to whatever bed unit that could support his massive size. The doctors and cops around him were shocked to find how serious the damage on his arms was: neither of them could be properly cuffed.
The chief was a different story. Videl had informed them of what had happened, and the doctors had a difficult time working around the chief's broken body to lift him on the stretcher. They eventually got a flat sled beneath him and lifted him up like that onto the stretcher.
Videl had opted to stay with him, ignoring several orders to get her ear looked at. She took a towel from one of the doctors and used that to slow down the bleeding, though by the time she reached the ambulance, it was down to nearly nothing. Her free hand found its way into the chief's, silently praying that he would get better.
She knew it would never be the case though.
It was the chief that brought Videl into the police force several years back while he himself was still a lieutenant in the department. He found out that she was rejected by several of the city's precincts, and he took it upon himself to train her and turn her someday into a full-fledged police officer.
Videl was brought into the police force two months before her sixteenth birthday, and a year later, with their dynamic combination, brought crime down in several districts by nearly fifty percent. On her seventeenth birthday, Lieutenant Mustard of the Thirteenth Precinct of the Satan City Police had become the chief of all of the police within city limits.
She smiled at that memory, now nearly eleven months old. She stood by his side that day at the press conference; never answering a single question directed her way. It was his day, she remembered. It was all about what he did, and the other fortunate circumstances that allowed him to step up as chief.
A scandal had rocked the police department several weeks before, and the chief of police then received most of the blame. He was reluctant to step down though, since his position kept him well within the power structure of the city. With the enormous popularity of the duo from the thirteenth precinct though, and the continuing pressures of the scandal, he was forced to step down just one day before Mustard received the promotion.
It wasn't a rush promotion either. Everyone in the precinct knew that it was coming, though it was only a matter of when it would happen. The scandal that occurred was the perfect jumping on point for them, and they used that with great success.
In six months, Mustard reformed nearly half of the precincts within the city. He instituted a new training regiment that helped reduce crime within his precinct by another twenty-five percent, and several other precincts by as much as twenty percent. He wasn't a desk-sitting chief though, and it was the one thing he had hoped to completely remove from his position. He continued to go out on the streets and fight crime alongside Videl, stopping crime after crime again and again.
Three months ago though, everything slowly started to change. Several transfers from the outer lying districts to his department turned out to be rather clichéd individuals: donuts, coffee, and hardly ever getting up to take care of anything. With other transfers like that occurring in and around the city, crime slowly began climbing up again. Several new gangs formed in the time, though none with the severity of the Blue Bloodhound gang.
It took them one day to destroy what couldn't be done from within for several months.
Hang in there please
* * *
what's the prognosis? Videl asked, her voice cracking beneath her well-built shell. The ride to the hospital took only six minutes, and within three, the medics had taken the chief into the emergency room, quickly getting to work on his broken body. She was forced to remain outside of the operating area, sitting on a bench right outside of the restricted doors.
During the wait, she continually refused any medical treatment to her ear. She was set on waiting for word on the chief, never leaving the bench once. Her bleeding had long since ended, and the platelets in her bloodstream had begun its repairing process. Videl would eventually get it cleaned up and properly stitched, and the white t-shirt that she wore would have to be trashed, as blood from the wound covered a large portion of her shoulder. She would need a haircut too, as she noticed while sitting outside of the operating area that the bullet shredded a large chunk of her banded pigtail.
She would, of course, worry about all of that later on.
It was twelve past ten – two full hours after the attempted robbery – when the doctor came out. His hands were clean; contrasting the blood splotched white uniform he wore. He gave her a solemn look that spoke volumes to the situation.
We put him right to surgery, Ms. Satan. He had severe damage to his rib cage, where we had to screw five of them back together, and he also suffered a pierced lung. He paused a moment, looking away from the teen's eyes and back towards the restricted doors.
What about his back? Videl asked, killing the uncomfortable silence. She looked at his face for an answer, waiting in morbid anticipation for whatever was coming.
Slowly, the doctor turned his head back, unfortunately coming to the girl's eyes again. He suffered damage to the seventh through tenth vertebrate. While those two and the ninth were reparable, the eighth vertebrate was reduced to shards. They're still fixing it now.
His spinal cord though it was snapped in three different locations beneath his backbone. I'm sorry Videl, he paused, collecting his breath for the unfortunate kill shot. He will never be able to use his legs again.
There were very few things that could push Videl over the edge. Most of those things resulted in pulse pounding anger, which would result in several broken bones for the offending suspect. Sometimes, her dad would push her too far, and she would end up yelling at him for hours on end. She would never hit him though. She was still wary of his supposed super strength, and dared not to try her luck with that.
Only once has crying been justified. Every other time – the few that they were – had been for meaningless scrapes and bruises, and by nine, she had toughed up enough that they hadn't bothered her again. It was when she turned ten did everything go to hell.
That was the last time she had cried.
When can I see him? she said, her voice shaking slightly. Her head had long since turned down, as her eyes were fixated on her lap.
They should be done in about sixty to ninety minutes. I'm going to head back in and make sure the other doctor on hand has everything running smoothly. He should be in post op sometime after that.
She nodded. Can you get me then?
I will. In the mean time, you really should stop rejecting help for that ear of yours. It can get infected if you leave it like that.
I know. Videl stood up, keeping her eyes on the floor. I need to use the bathroom first. I'll find a nurse then.
Whatever you want, the doctor said, and with that, he went back into the operating area.
Slowly, Videl made her way down the hall, avoiding eye contact with everyone that she passed. She was somewhat glad that the closest bathroom wasn't too far away, though she had to pass the main desk along the way. She told them without looking what she was planning on doing, and had nearly shouted at them when they pressed again.
She needed to get to a bathroom.
Any bathroom. Anything room at all; she just needed to get away.
She found her bathroom. It's empty, she muttered. Slowly, as if under some sort of mental control, she went to a stall and locked herself in.
As she sat down, she shook. It wasn't noticeable at first, but as she slowly started to mumble inconsistent thoughts, her shaking became more violent.
She suddenly gave a startled yelp, and for the first time in seven years, Videl's tears consumed her.
She sat there for nearly fifteen minutes, letting seven years of pain and anguish that she built up within herself pour out. And even after that fifteen minutes, her body still shook, even as her tears went dry.
Why?
Why did this happen?
Videl looked at herself in the mirror, thankful that she never needed any sort of makeup for her face. Her eyes were puffy though, and she looked as if she hadn't slept for days with the developing light brown spots beneath her bottom eyelid. She didn't care though.
I needed that, she said lightly. Maybe I can
Her voice trailed off. There was no need to finish that line of thought.
She hardened up once again, needing someone or something to blame for today. She didn't know why she had to though. I should have killed that fucker
Gohan
he let him live.
How could he?
Why would he?
He doesn't deserve to die he gets to live the rest of his life behind bars knowing what he did
He deserved to die.
He nearly killed me he nearly killed the chief
He deserved to die!
Drip.
Drip.
She looked down, seeing the blood from her shredded hand slowly drop into the sink. It made hollow dripping sounds as it hit the bottom of the porcelain appliance.
Videl cursed loudly, pulling her hand from the broken remains of the flat mirror. By then, a nurse had come into the bathroom, pulling back in shock when she saw the mess that was around the teen.
Are you all right? she asked, fear filling her voice.
I'm not. She put her arm to her side, ignoring the pain of the shards stuck in her fist. I'm far from it. I nearly got killed today, and one of the few people that I look up to in my life can never walk again.
The nurse wisely said nothing to answer that. She shivered at how cold the girl's voice had become. She was glad for now that she didn't have to see the look on Videl's face.
when-whenever you're re-ready, Videl we'll fix you up.
I'm far from being fixed up.
I need to have a little talk with Gohan as soon as I leave here.
Slowly, she followed the nurse out, not caring that her hand was still dripping blood, not caring that the nurses were going ballistic over that – and her ear slightly reopening because of her recent exertion – and definitely not caring why she placed all of the blame on Gohan.
* * *
End Part Ten
* * *
Note: I will be skipping next week's posting. I got slammed with forty hours of work, and writing time has been severely limited. Also, the launch of my new story, Amour Foncé, is going to be delayed a week as well.
GD: I'll try and get a review in for you by the end of the week.
Pre-read was done by PsYChO, who was surprised to all heck when he saw that I only had two noticeable mistakes. Of course, he still ripped on me, even for that.
Parallel and Perpendicular
A romance/fiction by ShaggyDiz
Chapter One: You May Think You Hate Me
Part Ten: Fallout
* * *
Begin Part Ten
* * *
That was how long it was between Gohan entering the bathroom and leaving it. Although it was somewhat long for a particular , he could have easily convinced (with no words, for his benefit) his peers that he had a problem with his bladder. It would be safe to use this escape to fight crime for now until the teachers had enough of his frequent bathroom visits and either inform him that he needs to use it at his house, or see a specialist.
Twice a week was more than enough for this particular problem.
Getting back to school and into it was easy: the window to the bathroom was still open, and there had been no one in there upon his return. He switched out of his costume (and reminded himself to talk with Bulma later about replacing the lost articles of disguise) back into his civilian clothes, making his way out of the bathroom and back to his class. Given the half-minute walk to and from it, his total time away from class had been eight minutes.
Mr. Son so glad of you to return, Mr. Lou said to him upon his return. His voice held no seriousness to it though. I was afraid you got lost for a minute. The class broke out into small laughter at the comment, leaving a somewhat flustered Gohan at the bottom of the class.
I'm still getting used to this school, sir, he lied.
Not a problem. Now, take your seat, and make sure you get notes from a classmate that you missed from your little expedition. Again, there was a fit of laughter from the students.
It makes me wonder why does Videl hate him so much? Everyone else seems to like him
He took his seat, quickly asking Erasa if he could take her notes later on in the day. All the while, his thoughts kept on going back to the bank robbery. He had wished to maybe do a little more there, but time prevented him from doing so. And seeing the chief like that it hurt that he could do nothing about it.
Gohan settled on the worst part of the incident though: his revealing of his true identity to Videl.
I won't run
Eventually, he would have to answer her questions. He knew they would come as soon as he showed her.
Damn
The only question was: when would that eventuality come?
I really, really fucked up
That was what was occurring at the bank at the current moment. As soon as Gohan disappeared, everything went into fast forward. Nearly all of the officers at the scene quickly rushed in, taking control of the parking lot before running into the bank. Those who remained had made several frantic calls to several hospitals, telling them to send as many ambulances as possible. More police officers had arrived on the scene as well, supporting the current batch there.
Within two minutes, the lot had been filled with a S.W.A.T. team, EMT units, three full precincts, and ex-hostages.
The most attention went to the most critically wounded, which turned out to be the mob leader and the chief. The leader, for most obvious reasons, would have to be handcuffed to whatever bed unit that could support his massive size. The doctors and cops around him were shocked to find how serious the damage on his arms was: neither of them could be properly cuffed.
The chief was a different story. Videl had informed them of what had happened, and the doctors had a difficult time working around the chief's broken body to lift him on the stretcher. They eventually got a flat sled beneath him and lifted him up like that onto the stretcher.
Videl had opted to stay with him, ignoring several orders to get her ear looked at. She took a towel from one of the doctors and used that to slow down the bleeding, though by the time she reached the ambulance, it was down to nearly nothing. Her free hand found its way into the chief's, silently praying that he would get better.
She knew it would never be the case though.
It was the chief that brought Videl into the police force several years back while he himself was still a lieutenant in the department. He found out that she was rejected by several of the city's precincts, and he took it upon himself to train her and turn her someday into a full-fledged police officer.
Videl was brought into the police force two months before her sixteenth birthday, and a year later, with their dynamic combination, brought crime down in several districts by nearly fifty percent. On her seventeenth birthday, Lieutenant Mustard of the Thirteenth Precinct of the Satan City Police had become the chief of all of the police within city limits.
She smiled at that memory, now nearly eleven months old. She stood by his side that day at the press conference; never answering a single question directed her way. It was his day, she remembered. It was all about what he did, and the other fortunate circumstances that allowed him to step up as chief.
A scandal had rocked the police department several weeks before, and the chief of police then received most of the blame. He was reluctant to step down though, since his position kept him well within the power structure of the city. With the enormous popularity of the duo from the thirteenth precinct though, and the continuing pressures of the scandal, he was forced to step down just one day before Mustard received the promotion.
It wasn't a rush promotion either. Everyone in the precinct knew that it was coming, though it was only a matter of when it would happen. The scandal that occurred was the perfect jumping on point for them, and they used that with great success.
In six months, Mustard reformed nearly half of the precincts within the city. He instituted a new training regiment that helped reduce crime within his precinct by another twenty-five percent, and several other precincts by as much as twenty percent. He wasn't a desk-sitting chief though, and it was the one thing he had hoped to completely remove from his position. He continued to go out on the streets and fight crime alongside Videl, stopping crime after crime again and again.
Three months ago though, everything slowly started to change. Several transfers from the outer lying districts to his department turned out to be rather clichéd individuals: donuts, coffee, and hardly ever getting up to take care of anything. With other transfers like that occurring in and around the city, crime slowly began climbing up again. Several new gangs formed in the time, though none with the severity of the Blue Bloodhound gang.
It took them one day to destroy what couldn't be done from within for several months.
Hang in there please
During the wait, she continually refused any medical treatment to her ear. She was set on waiting for word on the chief, never leaving the bench once. Her bleeding had long since ended, and the platelets in her bloodstream had begun its repairing process. Videl would eventually get it cleaned up and properly stitched, and the white t-shirt that she wore would have to be trashed, as blood from the wound covered a large portion of her shoulder. She would need a haircut too, as she noticed while sitting outside of the operating area that the bullet shredded a large chunk of her banded pigtail.
She would, of course, worry about all of that later on.
It was twelve past ten – two full hours after the attempted robbery – when the doctor came out. His hands were clean; contrasting the blood splotched white uniform he wore. He gave her a solemn look that spoke volumes to the situation.
We put him right to surgery, Ms. Satan. He had severe damage to his rib cage, where we had to screw five of them back together, and he also suffered a pierced lung. He paused a moment, looking away from the teen's eyes and back towards the restricted doors.
What about his back? Videl asked, killing the uncomfortable silence. She looked at his face for an answer, waiting in morbid anticipation for whatever was coming.
Slowly, the doctor turned his head back, unfortunately coming to the girl's eyes again. He suffered damage to the seventh through tenth vertebrate. While those two and the ninth were reparable, the eighth vertebrate was reduced to shards. They're still fixing it now.
His spinal cord though it was snapped in three different locations beneath his backbone. I'm sorry Videl, he paused, collecting his breath for the unfortunate kill shot. He will never be able to use his legs again.
There were very few things that could push Videl over the edge. Most of those things resulted in pulse pounding anger, which would result in several broken bones for the offending suspect. Sometimes, her dad would push her too far, and she would end up yelling at him for hours on end. She would never hit him though. She was still wary of his supposed super strength, and dared not to try her luck with that.
Only once has crying been justified. Every other time – the few that they were – had been for meaningless scrapes and bruises, and by nine, she had toughed up enough that they hadn't bothered her again. It was when she turned ten did everything go to hell.
That was the last time she had cried.
When can I see him? she said, her voice shaking slightly. Her head had long since turned down, as her eyes were fixated on her lap.
They should be done in about sixty to ninety minutes. I'm going to head back in and make sure the other doctor on hand has everything running smoothly. He should be in post op sometime after that.
She nodded. Can you get me then?
I will. In the mean time, you really should stop rejecting help for that ear of yours. It can get infected if you leave it like that.
I know. Videl stood up, keeping her eyes on the floor. I need to use the bathroom first. I'll find a nurse then.
Whatever you want, the doctor said, and with that, he went back into the operating area.
Slowly, Videl made her way down the hall, avoiding eye contact with everyone that she passed. She was somewhat glad that the closest bathroom wasn't too far away, though she had to pass the main desk along the way. She told them without looking what she was planning on doing, and had nearly shouted at them when they pressed again.
She needed to get to a bathroom.
Any bathroom. Anything room at all; she just needed to get away.
She found her bathroom. It's empty, she muttered. Slowly, as if under some sort of mental control, she went to a stall and locked herself in.
As she sat down, she shook. It wasn't noticeable at first, but as she slowly started to mumble inconsistent thoughts, her shaking became more violent.
She suddenly gave a startled yelp, and for the first time in seven years, Videl's tears consumed her.
She sat there for nearly fifteen minutes, letting seven years of pain and anguish that she built up within herself pour out. And even after that fifteen minutes, her body still shook, even as her tears went dry.
Why?
Why did this happen?
Videl looked at herself in the mirror, thankful that she never needed any sort of makeup for her face. Her eyes were puffy though, and she looked as if she hadn't slept for days with the developing light brown spots beneath her bottom eyelid. She didn't care though.
I needed that, she said lightly. Maybe I can
Her voice trailed off. There was no need to finish that line of thought.
She hardened up once again, needing someone or something to blame for today. She didn't know why she had to though. I should have killed that fucker
Gohan
he let him live.
How could he?
Why would he?
He doesn't deserve to die he gets to live the rest of his life behind bars knowing what he did
He deserved to die.
He nearly killed me he nearly killed the chief
He deserved to die!
Drip.
Drip.
She looked down, seeing the blood from her shredded hand slowly drop into the sink. It made hollow dripping sounds as it hit the bottom of the porcelain appliance.
Videl cursed loudly, pulling her hand from the broken remains of the flat mirror. By then, a nurse had come into the bathroom, pulling back in shock when she saw the mess that was around the teen.
Are you all right? she asked, fear filling her voice.
I'm not. She put her arm to her side, ignoring the pain of the shards stuck in her fist. I'm far from it. I nearly got killed today, and one of the few people that I look up to in my life can never walk again.
The nurse wisely said nothing to answer that. She shivered at how cold the girl's voice had become. She was glad for now that she didn't have to see the look on Videl's face.
when-whenever you're re-ready, Videl we'll fix you up.
I'm far from being fixed up.
I need to have a little talk with Gohan as soon as I leave here.
Slowly, she followed the nurse out, not caring that her hand was still dripping blood, not caring that the nurses were going ballistic over that – and her ear slightly reopening because of her recent exertion – and definitely not caring why she placed all of the blame on Gohan.
End Part Ten
* * *