"USAGI! HURRY UP AND GET READY!" Chi-Chi had been trying all day to get her daughter ready. They had a meeting that they had to be at in the afternoon. They were going to be meeting with Mrs. Willings, Usagi's school principal, about Usagi's re-entrance to school the next day.
"Just a minute mommy." Usagi scrambled to get herself ready in time. She had waken up later than usual which threw her whole day off. She was just now getting herself dressed. She had been told by her mother not to wear her training cloths. Her mother didn't want her to look like a thug in front of the principal, so she decided to wear her favorite "normal" outfit. The Gohan looking thing again from the 5th part She ran out of her room and into her father. She pulled herself back and looked up at him. "Sorry daddy."
Goku slightly laughed at his daughter. "Slow down Usagi. We have plenty of time to get there. Don't listen to your mother. She always thinks she's going to be late."
Usagi appreciated her father's words. "Ok."
Goku walked with his daughter out to the family room. He looked down at her. She was tense. "Don't be nervous, Usagi. You have nothing to worry about."
Usagi looked up at her father. "I can't help it daddy."
Goku fully understood. Her anxiety had the better half of her. "It's all right. The best thing we can do now is just go and get it over with as soon as possible."
Chi-Chi was standing against the wall with her arms crossed. She couldn't wait to get to the school and give this Mrs. Willings a piece of her mind. She still couldn't grasp the fact that they suspended her daughter just for getting herself beaten up by two kids who were five years older than her. She was still outraged by the policies of the school. Chi-Chi noticed her husband and daughter walking up the hallway of her home. "It's about time you two. I have been waiting forever. We are going to be late."
Goku walked to the door that led outside and opened it. He watched as Chi-Chi and Usagi walked out. "It will be fine Chi-Chi. Don't worry, we don't have to be there for a couple of hours."
Chi-Chi hated it when Goku tried talked back to her. She walked to the car and opened up the front passenger side. "Goku, it takes a long time to get to her school. Don't forget that we live somewhat far away. It's not like we are going to be flying there or anything."
Goku rolled his eyes at his wife as he opened up his door and got in the car. He pulled his seatbelt over his shoulder and fastened it in its holder. "Chi-Chi, I have everything under control. We won't be late."
Chi-Chi crossed her arms. "You had better not be thinking about speeding." She looked at her husband who was grinning. "You will not speed with your daughter in the car!" Chi-Chi was now frowning at her husband.
Goku knew he was pushing it with her. "Chi-Chi, I know how to drive. I know how to handle this car at high speeds."
Chi-Chi could have slapped him after that little remark. "I don't care. If you plan on speeding, then I'm getting out of this car right now and Usagi and I can walk." She looked into the back of the car and didn't see Usagi. "Where is that girl? She walked out here with us."
Goku quickly forgot about the argument and turned his head. "I don't know. She probably forgot something and went back to get it."
Chi-Chi sat back into her chair and crossed her arms again. "Well I wish she would hurry up."
"She's coming." Goku turned back around and pulled a set of keys out of his pocket.
Usagi ran to the car. She knew that when she got in that her mother would yell her at. She had forgotten her jacket though. It was either get yelled at for not having her jacket, or get yelled at for wasting time. Usagi chose to get yelled at for wasting time. She prepared herself to be yelled at as she climbed into the car. "Mommy, before you say anything I'm sorry but I forgot my jacket." She sat down in her seat and buckled herself in.
"I hope you are happy. You just wasted 10 minutes of our valuable time." Chi-Chi looked forward.
Goku snorted. "No she didn't. We were arguing. You just now realized that she wasn't in the car." Goku put the key in the ignition and turned it forward. The car began to rumble softly as it was turned on.
Chi-Chi hit her husband's arm with the back of her hand. "You aren't supposed to tell her that. She has to learn some responsibility."
Goku turned his head and started to back out of the driveway. "I don't want you to punish her for something she didn't do. It wasn't her fault that WE wasted ten minutes."
Chi-Chi was shocked at her husband's behavior. So shocked that she didn't have anything to say. He had been getting more aggressive with her lately. She just sat there and kept quiet.
Usagi giggled to herself as she looked at her father. For once he had put her mother in her place. She looked at her father who winked at her. She smiled. He was always on her side. That's one of the things that she liked about him the most. Usagi knew not to be too loud with her laughing. If she were to be loud, her mother would have conniption like she always did.
She turned and looked out the window as her father drove. She watched all the trees and animals go by. They looked as if they had no worries in the world. She sighed as she watched a mother dear groom its baby. 'I hope I can make it through this day alive.'
Chi-Chi looked at the speedometer. "Goku! The speed limit is 55 mph, you're going 65 mph."
Goku looked at his wife. "So what's your point?"
Chi-Chi frowned. Goku was challenging her and she didn't like it one bit. "SLOW DOWN OR LET US OUT!"
Goku laughed. "Alright, alright. I'll slow down." Goku let up on the gas a little and decreased his speed to the speed limit.
Chi-Chi looked back out her window. "Honestly Goku, I don't know why you have to be so difficult."
~*~*~
Goku turned into the parking lot about five minutes before the meeting was scheduled. He carefully parked the car in an open space and turned off the car. "Well, here we are." He turned back to look at his daughter. She was pale from being nervous. Almost as pale as she was when she was suspended two weeks before.
Chi-Chi opened her door. "It's about time." She looked at her watch. "Look. We only have five minutes to get in. I told you we were going to be late. Come on. I need to have a few words with this Mrs. Willings."
Usagi could feel her stomach turning. She just knew that something bad was going to happen in that meeting. She could feel it. She didn't want to get out of the car. She just wanted to stay in there while her parents went in. What she really wanted to do, though, was go back in time and stop this mess from ever happening. She knew that that was in no way possible. She would just have to live with her mistake.
Slowly, she began to open her door and come out of the car. She walked to her parents, who had been waiting for her. She grabbed her father's hand and squeezed it as they proceeded to the door that led inside. With each step that they took closer, she felt her heart beat faster.
Goku sensed Usagi's agony. He wished that she didn't have to go through this. He hated to see her in such pain. He hated the fact that Chi-Chi was coming even more. He didn't want her to come and find out what really happened the day of the fight. He didn't want her to find out that it was their own daughter who, in fact, started the fight.
When the trio reached the front door, Goku opened it and let his wife and daughter in. They were greeted by the smiling face of Mrs. Willings.
Seeing Mrs. Willings pretty much did it for Usagi. As soon as she laid eyes on her she felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. Her nightmare had finally become reality. Her mother would soon know the truth. She squeezed her father's hand harder.
Goku didn't mind. He knew that she was having a hard time at the moment. He pulled her in front of him and held onto her shoulder with his free hand.
Mrs. Willings held out her hand to Chi-Chi. "Hi. You must be Usagi's mother. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Chi-Chi grabbed her hand and shook. She faked a smile. "It's nice to finally meet you too."
Mrs. Willings then held out her hand to Goku. "Good afternoon Mr. Son. It's nice to see you again."
Goku took his hand off of his daughter's shoulder and grabbed the woman's hand. "It's nice to see you again too." He immediately pulled his hand back and put it back on Usagi's shoulder.
Mrs. Willings face grew somewhat cold as she looked down at Usagi. "Hello Usagi."
Usagi noticed the dirty look that her principal had just given her. She kind of frowned in return. "Hello."
Chi-Chi saw Usagi's face. She put her hands on her waist. "Usagi! Who do you think you are? She is your principal! You don't be disrespectful! Do you understand me? You weren't brought up to be rude."
Usagi held her head low. "Sorry mommy."
Mrs. Willings looked back up to Usagi's parents. "Well, I guess we should get started then." She turned around. "If you will just follow me, my office is right this way." She began walking into the main office.
Chi-Chi looked away from her daughter and followed Mrs. Willings. Goku nudged his daughter to move forward. As they were walking, he leaned down and put his face by her ear. "I saw that look she gave you. You had a right to do that."
Usagi smiled to herself as she walked. "Thank you daddy." The three of them walked into Mrs. Willings' office and shut the door behind them.
~*~*~
There were three chairs set up in front of Mrs. Willings' desk. Usagi sat in the chair that sat in the middle. Her parents sat in the two outside chairs. Usagi kept her attention on her principal as she sat down in front of her. Being in this room brought back horrible memories. Memories that she wanted to put behind her. At least this time, her father was on her side.
Mrs. Willings picked up the same Manila folder from the top of her desk as she did the day that she suspended Usagi. She pulled some papers out of it. She began to look through them, reading every word that was on each paper. She sighed as she put the papers back down on her desk. She looked down at Usagi. "Have you learned anything in the past two weeks."
Usagi thought for a moment. She could have been smart and told her that 'yes' she had in fact learned more than she would ever learn at school. But, she decided to leave her learning to fight out of this meeting. It would just reinforce the distrust that her principal had in her. "Yes."
Mrs. Willings put her arms together out on her desk. "What exactly have you learned young lady?" She leaned forward and looked Usagi straight in the eyes.
Goku slammed his hand on the table. "Excuse me, what does this have to do with letting Usagi back into school?" Goku was getting somewhat angry with the way she was treating his daughter. She didn't deserve this treatment and they both knew it.
Mrs. Willings blinked at Goku. "I want to make sure that she will never do this again." She looked back into Usagi's eyes.
Chi-Chi didn't quite understand what she meant by that last statement. "Never do what again?" She looked down at Usagi who was now slouching in her chair. Chi-Chi knew that she was hiding something.
Mrs. Willings smiled. "Oh," She looked at Goku. "You mean, you never told her?" She was beginning to take pleasure in this situation. Here she would see a troublemaker brought to justice right before her very eyes.
Chi-Chi looked back up to the principal. "Never told me what?" Chi-Chi was beginning to get upset. She wanted answers and she wanted them now.
Mrs. Willings put her hands behind her head and leaned back into her chair. "Well your daughter started the fight."
Chi-Chi could feel her face reden as her anger increased. She looked down at Usagi and slapped her as hard as she could. "YOU STARTED THE FIGHT? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? I KNOW YOU WERE NOT RAISED LIKE THAT! AND TO THINK I LET YOU LEARN HOW TO FIGHT THE LAST TWO WEEKS. DID YOU WANT TO LEARN SO YOU COULD START MORE FIGHTS? ANSWER ME!!"
Usagi grabbed her face where her mother had just hit her. She could feel tears beginning to stream down her face. She didn't know what to say. Her mother had never hit her before. Out of all the times her mother had gotten mad at her, this was the worst. The pain in her face increased as she looked up at her mother. "I'm sorry mommy." Usagi coward away from her mother. She was afraid of her. More than she had ever been before.
Chi-Chi frowned. "YOU'RE SORRY? YOU AREN'T GETTING OUT OF THIS ONE THAT EASILY YOUNG LADY!" She began to raise her hand again.
Goku couldn't take this anymore. "Chi-Chi stop." He pushed her hand away from his daughter. He glared at his wife. He never thought he would have to do that. Of course he never thought he'd see the day that Chi-Chi hit one of her children. It was his fault. He had lied to her. She shouldn't have taken her anger out on Usagi. She should have been hitting him if she felt the need to hit someone. He looked down at Usagi. He hated to see her cry.
Chi-Chi looked up at her husband and pointed her finger at him. "You. You are the worst of all. You lied to me. You taught your little girl that it was all right to lie. Well I've got some news for you mister… IT'S NOT! I can't believe you Goku. You just don't know when to stop." She looked back down at Usagi who was crying even harder. "And you young lady, you should be happy that you only got suspended. And only for two weeks. If it were up to me, I would have made it longer, and then I would have given you detention." She crossed her arms. "But I guess this school is rather lenient. There will be further punishment from us though."
Goku didn't want to see Usagi suffer anymore. He hated that Chi-Chi was putting her through this. It was bad enough that she had to endure it from the kids at school and the principal, but now she had to hear it from her own mother. Goku was going to put his foot down. "No. She has been through enough already. Just leave the girl alone." He knew that he was going to pay for that but he didn't care. She HAD been through so much in just one short day. Actually, in just two short weeks she had been through more then Gohan or Goten had been through the whole time that they were at school.
Chi-Chi shot a deadly look at her husband. If looks could kill Goku would have died on the spot. When he was brought back to life he would have died again. Chi-Chi was too outraged to say anything in reply. She looked back at the principal.
Mrs. Willings had no idea that Chi-Chi would react in such a way. If she would have known, she wouldn't have said anything. Although she likes to see troublemakers get what they deserve, Usagi definitely did not deserve that. No child did. "Please Mrs. Son, refrain from hitting your child in this school. We do not promote it." She now felt sorry for Usagi. She was sorry that she had to call this meeting, but it was school procedure. She had already met with the other three girls. She looked at Goku. "I have decided to allow little Usagi here to come back to school." She smiled at Usagi.
Goku stood up from his chair and once again shook hands with her. "Thank you. We appreciate this very much." He looked down at Usagi. She was still crying and still holding her face. He remembered about the Dragon Ball and turned back around. "There is a little situation between Haruka, Michiru, and Usagi. It seems as though they have stolen something very special to Usagi and will not give it back."
"There's not much that I can do except ask for it back. Would you like me to try that?"
Goku nodded. Usagi's face still stung. 'It won't work,' she thought to herself, 'they lied before and they will lie again. I have to take things into my own hands if I want it back.' She was afraid to look over at her mother.
Goku turned around and picked Usagi up out of the chair. She wrapped her tail around his arm as he poked Chi-Chi in the arm. "We should be leaving." He turned back around to Mrs. Willings, "Good bye."
She waved at him. "Good bye. Have a good evening." She watched Usagi and her parents leave. She would hate to be in Usagi's shoes right about now. She would hate to be in Usagi's shoes anytime with the mother that she had. Luckily she had a sensible father. She hoped that Usagi would be all right. She felt partly responsible for Chi-Chi's outburst of anger. Partly? Try totally lady
~*~*~
Chi-Chi followed Goku out to the car. She kept her distance. She was still too furious to talk to him. She couldn't believe that her daughter started the fight. She couldn't believe that the two of them had lied to her to cover it up. She got a look at Usagi's face where she had hit her. It was as red as an apple. She felt horrible and wished that she could have taken that moment back. But it was too late and there was nothing she could do now. Even if she told her that she was sorry, Usagi would not have believed her.
Usagi cried into her father's shoulder. She just wanted to get home as soon as possible. She never wanted to feel the way she was right now, ever again. She didn't once looked at her mother on the way back to the car. She was afraid that if she did, she would just end up getting yelled at again.
Goku opened Usagi's door and set her in her seat, once he got to the car. "Don't worry Usagi. Like I said before, give your mother a couple of days to get over it. Just try to stay out of her way until then. Take it from an old pro." He looked at her cheek. It was still quite red. "We'll put something on your face when we get home."
Usagi was grateful that her father was so understanding. It would have been twice as hard to endure without him. She watched her mother climb into the car and then her father. She leaned against the door and closed her eyes as they pulled out onto the road. She softly began to cry again. She had let her life go as low as it could in just two short weeks. She just wanted it to all end. She wanted to relax. She wanted her old life back. Her carefree life.
~*~*~
The three returned home at 6:45 P.M. that night. Chi-Chi was the first one out of the car. She needed time alone to think about how she was going to fix her current situation. On her way past the car, she noticed that Usagi had fallen asleep. Her face had gone down to a pale pink color. She put her hand on the window. "I'm sorry Usagi."
Goku walked up from behind his wife and put his arms around her. He leaned himself on her back. "Are you truly sorry?"
Chi-Chi was startled a little bit. She hadn't expected Goku to talk to her after what had happened. She relaxed and leaned into his warm body. She let out a small giggle. 'My Goku. Always full of love.' "Yes, Goku, I am truly sorry."
Goku rested his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes. "Then why don't you tell her?"
Chi-Chi thought about it for a moment. She really had wanted to tell her. "I don't know if she will accept an apology from me."
"I disagree. It would really make her day if you apologized to her. Believe me. She wasn't crying because of the pain that was brought with that slap today. She was crying because of the reason. She thinks you hate her now. That was the first time that you have ever laid a hand on her like that." Goku nuzzled his nose into his wife's hair and then kissed her on her check.
"I didn't mean to Goku. I was just mad. It was a reaction." Chi-Chi didn't want her daughter to think that she hated her. She didn't want them to fall farther apart then they already were. She peered down at her sleeping daughter. She was so peaceful. "I guess I should be going." She pulled away from Goku's grasp and walked inside. She felt horrible. She needed to rest before she could think anymore of the day's activities.
Goku watched his wife and then looked back down at his daughter and sighed. "What a mess." He opened the car door slowly so Usagi would not fall out. She had been leaning on it. He unbuckled her seatbelt and delicately picked her up. He walked to the house with her curled up in her arms. He needed to get some medical cream on her face.
He began to shake his arms as he walked towards the house. "Usagi, wake up."
Usagi slightly opened her eyes to see her father's orange GI. "Huh?"
"We're home. Come on, its time to wake up and get something on that face of yours."
Usagi groaned when he mentioned her face. She had hoped that it was all just a sick dream that she had just waken up from. "Daddy? Is mommy still mad at me?"
Goku didn't know what to tell her. He wanted Chi-Chi to talk to her. Not him to talk to her in his wife's place. He hesitated to tell her. He set her down once they got inside the house.
Usagi curiously looked up at her father. "Is she mad at me?"
Goku looked down at her. Reluctantly, he decided to answer her. "Well, you see, you are going to have to ask her yourself. I don't want to get in between your quarrels. I'm sorry."
Usagi disappointedly looked down to the ground. "I understand daddy."
Goku hated to disappoint her like that. But sometimes, it just had to be done in order to keep some kind of peace around the house. He grabbed her hand. "Come on. Let's go fix your face and get you into a bath. Then you have to go to bed. You have school in the morning."
Usagi nodded. "Ok."
~*~*~
Usagi let herself soak in the bathtub. She scooted down as far as she could without letting her chin go under the water. She let her hair freely flow behind her. Normally she would keep it up in a cap until she was ready to wash it, but this night she didn't particularly care. She was in too bad of a mood to care.
She replayed the day back in her mind. She kept seeing her mother's hand coming at her face and then making contact with it. She grabbed the wash cloth that was in the tub with her. She began to pull it with her hands. She was making herself upset just thinking about it. She hadn't meant to hurt her mother like she had. She just didn't want her to freak out. She wished that she hadn't had her father lie for her. Not only had she gotten herself in trouble, but she had gotten her father involved too. That alone made her feel worse. She leaned her head against the wall. 'I screw everything up. I don't know why mommy and daddy even let me stay here. I don't know why daddy ever bothers to let me be around him.'
She stopped thinking about the day and started thinking about the past two weeks. She had had so much fun, yet, so many painful moments. She stared at the bar of soap that sat on the edge of the tub. She picked it up. "This is what I think of you Haruka." She squeezed it as hard as she could. It smashed apart in her hands. She laughed to herself and then quickly stopped. She abruptly opened her hands and let the pieces of soap fall into the water. 'What have I become?! I can't do this. Is it normal to feel this way?! I'm so confused.' Usagi put her face in her hand and closed her eyes. 'I have to control my anger. Daddy says I can't let it get the better of me.' She lifted her head and opened her eyes and looked around the bathroom. 'What will I do if someone makes fun of me tomorrow?' Usagi thought to herself for a while. 'I can't beat them up. Can I? Daddy wouldn't like that.'
Usagi's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Usagi, are you ok in there? You have been in there for a long time."
Usagi shot her attention to the door. "Yes daddy, I'm fine."
"Ok, well, it's getting late. You should start thinking about getting yourself ready for bed." Goku was worried about Usagi. She hadn't said much since they returned home that evening. Also, she had never taken that long in the bath before. She had been in there for about forty-five minutes.
Usagi stood up and let the water drip off of her body back into the tub of water beneath her. "Ok." Goku was satisfied with his daughter's answer and left. Usagi wrapped herself in her pink towel that she had gotten for her last birthday from Goten. She loved the towel and always used it. She wrapped her hair in another towel so it would not drip water all over the floor when she walked to her room.
~*~*~
She got into her pajamas as fast as possible. She looked at her door. Her mother would not be coming through that door tonight to tuck her in like she usually did. Usagi sighed. She walked out of her room. Her father was sitting on the sofa. She walked passed him without saying a word to him.
Goku turned his head and watched her walk into his room. "She's up to something." He smiled.
~*~*~
Usagi slowly opened the door to her parents' room to reveal her mother sitting on her bed reading a book in a softly lit environment.
Chi-Chi had her face hidden behind her book to notice that her daughter had entered the room.
Usagi watched her mother read for a couple of minutes. She hoped that she wasn't going to regret what she was about to do. She knew that her father knew what he was talking about when he told her to give her mother a few days to come around, but Usagi couldn't wait that long. She needed to know. She quietly tiptoed her way to the bed where her mother was. She softly climbed onto the bed.
Chi-Chi didn't turn her head. She just kept reading.
Usagi crawled up onto the bed and towards her mother. She didn't want to fight with her anymore. She wanted things to go back to the way they were. When she reached her, she snuggled into her.
Chi-Chi looked down at her daughter. She was smiling. "Can I help you little miss?"
Usagi looked up to her mother. "Can you tuck me in?"
Chi-Chi could have cried when she heard her daughter's words. For once she wasn't the one who had patch things up between them. This meant more to her than anything. She smiled a smile that only a mother could. "Of course I can Usagi. I love you."
(My god, I can't believe I just wrote that. See what happens when you try to write a story when you're listening to classical music? Actually, now that I look at it, I think this part turned out all right. What do you think? Is it Good or bad? Please review and tell me. The next part is what you have all been waiting for. Thank you. ^_^)
"Just a minute mommy." Usagi scrambled to get herself ready in time. She had waken up later than usual which threw her whole day off. She was just now getting herself dressed. She had been told by her mother not to wear her training cloths. Her mother didn't want her to look like a thug in front of the principal, so she decided to wear her favorite "normal" outfit. The Gohan looking thing again from the 5th part She ran out of her room and into her father. She pulled herself back and looked up at him. "Sorry daddy."
Goku slightly laughed at his daughter. "Slow down Usagi. We have plenty of time to get there. Don't listen to your mother. She always thinks she's going to be late."
Usagi appreciated her father's words. "Ok."
Goku walked with his daughter out to the family room. He looked down at her. She was tense. "Don't be nervous, Usagi. You have nothing to worry about."
Usagi looked up at her father. "I can't help it daddy."
Goku fully understood. Her anxiety had the better half of her. "It's all right. The best thing we can do now is just go and get it over with as soon as possible."
Chi-Chi was standing against the wall with her arms crossed. She couldn't wait to get to the school and give this Mrs. Willings a piece of her mind. She still couldn't grasp the fact that they suspended her daughter just for getting herself beaten up by two kids who were five years older than her. She was still outraged by the policies of the school. Chi-Chi noticed her husband and daughter walking up the hallway of her home. "It's about time you two. I have been waiting forever. We are going to be late."
Goku walked to the door that led outside and opened it. He watched as Chi-Chi and Usagi walked out. "It will be fine Chi-Chi. Don't worry, we don't have to be there for a couple of hours."
Chi-Chi hated it when Goku tried talked back to her. She walked to the car and opened up the front passenger side. "Goku, it takes a long time to get to her school. Don't forget that we live somewhat far away. It's not like we are going to be flying there or anything."
Goku rolled his eyes at his wife as he opened up his door and got in the car. He pulled his seatbelt over his shoulder and fastened it in its holder. "Chi-Chi, I have everything under control. We won't be late."
Chi-Chi crossed her arms. "You had better not be thinking about speeding." She looked at her husband who was grinning. "You will not speed with your daughter in the car!" Chi-Chi was now frowning at her husband.
Goku knew he was pushing it with her. "Chi-Chi, I know how to drive. I know how to handle this car at high speeds."
Chi-Chi could have slapped him after that little remark. "I don't care. If you plan on speeding, then I'm getting out of this car right now and Usagi and I can walk." She looked into the back of the car and didn't see Usagi. "Where is that girl? She walked out here with us."
Goku quickly forgot about the argument and turned his head. "I don't know. She probably forgot something and went back to get it."
Chi-Chi sat back into her chair and crossed her arms again. "Well I wish she would hurry up."
"She's coming." Goku turned back around and pulled a set of keys out of his pocket.
Usagi ran to the car. She knew that when she got in that her mother would yell her at. She had forgotten her jacket though. It was either get yelled at for not having her jacket, or get yelled at for wasting time. Usagi chose to get yelled at for wasting time. She prepared herself to be yelled at as she climbed into the car. "Mommy, before you say anything I'm sorry but I forgot my jacket." She sat down in her seat and buckled herself in.
"I hope you are happy. You just wasted 10 minutes of our valuable time." Chi-Chi looked forward.
Goku snorted. "No she didn't. We were arguing. You just now realized that she wasn't in the car." Goku put the key in the ignition and turned it forward. The car began to rumble softly as it was turned on.
Chi-Chi hit her husband's arm with the back of her hand. "You aren't supposed to tell her that. She has to learn some responsibility."
Goku turned his head and started to back out of the driveway. "I don't want you to punish her for something she didn't do. It wasn't her fault that WE wasted ten minutes."
Chi-Chi was shocked at her husband's behavior. So shocked that she didn't have anything to say. He had been getting more aggressive with her lately. She just sat there and kept quiet.
Usagi giggled to herself as she looked at her father. For once he had put her mother in her place. She looked at her father who winked at her. She smiled. He was always on her side. That's one of the things that she liked about him the most. Usagi knew not to be too loud with her laughing. If she were to be loud, her mother would have conniption like she always did.
She turned and looked out the window as her father drove. She watched all the trees and animals go by. They looked as if they had no worries in the world. She sighed as she watched a mother dear groom its baby. 'I hope I can make it through this day alive.'
Chi-Chi looked at the speedometer. "Goku! The speed limit is 55 mph, you're going 65 mph."
Goku looked at his wife. "So what's your point?"
Chi-Chi frowned. Goku was challenging her and she didn't like it one bit. "SLOW DOWN OR LET US OUT!"
Goku laughed. "Alright, alright. I'll slow down." Goku let up on the gas a little and decreased his speed to the speed limit.
Chi-Chi looked back out her window. "Honestly Goku, I don't know why you have to be so difficult."
~*~*~
Goku turned into the parking lot about five minutes before the meeting was scheduled. He carefully parked the car in an open space and turned off the car. "Well, here we are." He turned back to look at his daughter. She was pale from being nervous. Almost as pale as she was when she was suspended two weeks before.
Chi-Chi opened her door. "It's about time." She looked at her watch. "Look. We only have five minutes to get in. I told you we were going to be late. Come on. I need to have a few words with this Mrs. Willings."
Usagi could feel her stomach turning. She just knew that something bad was going to happen in that meeting. She could feel it. She didn't want to get out of the car. She just wanted to stay in there while her parents went in. What she really wanted to do, though, was go back in time and stop this mess from ever happening. She knew that that was in no way possible. She would just have to live with her mistake.
Slowly, she began to open her door and come out of the car. She walked to her parents, who had been waiting for her. She grabbed her father's hand and squeezed it as they proceeded to the door that led inside. With each step that they took closer, she felt her heart beat faster.
Goku sensed Usagi's agony. He wished that she didn't have to go through this. He hated to see her in such pain. He hated the fact that Chi-Chi was coming even more. He didn't want her to come and find out what really happened the day of the fight. He didn't want her to find out that it was their own daughter who, in fact, started the fight.
When the trio reached the front door, Goku opened it and let his wife and daughter in. They were greeted by the smiling face of Mrs. Willings.
Seeing Mrs. Willings pretty much did it for Usagi. As soon as she laid eyes on her she felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. Her nightmare had finally become reality. Her mother would soon know the truth. She squeezed her father's hand harder.
Goku didn't mind. He knew that she was having a hard time at the moment. He pulled her in front of him and held onto her shoulder with his free hand.
Mrs. Willings held out her hand to Chi-Chi. "Hi. You must be Usagi's mother. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Chi-Chi grabbed her hand and shook. She faked a smile. "It's nice to finally meet you too."
Mrs. Willings then held out her hand to Goku. "Good afternoon Mr. Son. It's nice to see you again."
Goku took his hand off of his daughter's shoulder and grabbed the woman's hand. "It's nice to see you again too." He immediately pulled his hand back and put it back on Usagi's shoulder.
Mrs. Willings face grew somewhat cold as she looked down at Usagi. "Hello Usagi."
Usagi noticed the dirty look that her principal had just given her. She kind of frowned in return. "Hello."
Chi-Chi saw Usagi's face. She put her hands on her waist. "Usagi! Who do you think you are? She is your principal! You don't be disrespectful! Do you understand me? You weren't brought up to be rude."
Usagi held her head low. "Sorry mommy."
Mrs. Willings looked back up to Usagi's parents. "Well, I guess we should get started then." She turned around. "If you will just follow me, my office is right this way." She began walking into the main office.
Chi-Chi looked away from her daughter and followed Mrs. Willings. Goku nudged his daughter to move forward. As they were walking, he leaned down and put his face by her ear. "I saw that look she gave you. You had a right to do that."
Usagi smiled to herself as she walked. "Thank you daddy." The three of them walked into Mrs. Willings' office and shut the door behind them.
~*~*~
There were three chairs set up in front of Mrs. Willings' desk. Usagi sat in the chair that sat in the middle. Her parents sat in the two outside chairs. Usagi kept her attention on her principal as she sat down in front of her. Being in this room brought back horrible memories. Memories that she wanted to put behind her. At least this time, her father was on her side.
Mrs. Willings picked up the same Manila folder from the top of her desk as she did the day that she suspended Usagi. She pulled some papers out of it. She began to look through them, reading every word that was on each paper. She sighed as she put the papers back down on her desk. She looked down at Usagi. "Have you learned anything in the past two weeks."
Usagi thought for a moment. She could have been smart and told her that 'yes' she had in fact learned more than she would ever learn at school. But, she decided to leave her learning to fight out of this meeting. It would just reinforce the distrust that her principal had in her. "Yes."
Mrs. Willings put her arms together out on her desk. "What exactly have you learned young lady?" She leaned forward and looked Usagi straight in the eyes.
Goku slammed his hand on the table. "Excuse me, what does this have to do with letting Usagi back into school?" Goku was getting somewhat angry with the way she was treating his daughter. She didn't deserve this treatment and they both knew it.
Mrs. Willings blinked at Goku. "I want to make sure that she will never do this again." She looked back into Usagi's eyes.
Chi-Chi didn't quite understand what she meant by that last statement. "Never do what again?" She looked down at Usagi who was now slouching in her chair. Chi-Chi knew that she was hiding something.
Mrs. Willings smiled. "Oh," She looked at Goku. "You mean, you never told her?" She was beginning to take pleasure in this situation. Here she would see a troublemaker brought to justice right before her very eyes.
Chi-Chi looked back up to the principal. "Never told me what?" Chi-Chi was beginning to get upset. She wanted answers and she wanted them now.
Mrs. Willings put her hands behind her head and leaned back into her chair. "Well your daughter started the fight."
Chi-Chi could feel her face reden as her anger increased. She looked down at Usagi and slapped her as hard as she could. "YOU STARTED THE FIGHT? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? I KNOW YOU WERE NOT RAISED LIKE THAT! AND TO THINK I LET YOU LEARN HOW TO FIGHT THE LAST TWO WEEKS. DID YOU WANT TO LEARN SO YOU COULD START MORE FIGHTS? ANSWER ME!!"
Usagi grabbed her face where her mother had just hit her. She could feel tears beginning to stream down her face. She didn't know what to say. Her mother had never hit her before. Out of all the times her mother had gotten mad at her, this was the worst. The pain in her face increased as she looked up at her mother. "I'm sorry mommy." Usagi coward away from her mother. She was afraid of her. More than she had ever been before.
Chi-Chi frowned. "YOU'RE SORRY? YOU AREN'T GETTING OUT OF THIS ONE THAT EASILY YOUNG LADY!" She began to raise her hand again.
Goku couldn't take this anymore. "Chi-Chi stop." He pushed her hand away from his daughter. He glared at his wife. He never thought he would have to do that. Of course he never thought he'd see the day that Chi-Chi hit one of her children. It was his fault. He had lied to her. She shouldn't have taken her anger out on Usagi. She should have been hitting him if she felt the need to hit someone. He looked down at Usagi. He hated to see her cry.
Chi-Chi looked up at her husband and pointed her finger at him. "You. You are the worst of all. You lied to me. You taught your little girl that it was all right to lie. Well I've got some news for you mister… IT'S NOT! I can't believe you Goku. You just don't know when to stop." She looked back down at Usagi who was crying even harder. "And you young lady, you should be happy that you only got suspended. And only for two weeks. If it were up to me, I would have made it longer, and then I would have given you detention." She crossed her arms. "But I guess this school is rather lenient. There will be further punishment from us though."
Goku didn't want to see Usagi suffer anymore. He hated that Chi-Chi was putting her through this. It was bad enough that she had to endure it from the kids at school and the principal, but now she had to hear it from her own mother. Goku was going to put his foot down. "No. She has been through enough already. Just leave the girl alone." He knew that he was going to pay for that but he didn't care. She HAD been through so much in just one short day. Actually, in just two short weeks she had been through more then Gohan or Goten had been through the whole time that they were at school.
Chi-Chi shot a deadly look at her husband. If looks could kill Goku would have died on the spot. When he was brought back to life he would have died again. Chi-Chi was too outraged to say anything in reply. She looked back at the principal.
Mrs. Willings had no idea that Chi-Chi would react in such a way. If she would have known, she wouldn't have said anything. Although she likes to see troublemakers get what they deserve, Usagi definitely did not deserve that. No child did. "Please Mrs. Son, refrain from hitting your child in this school. We do not promote it." She now felt sorry for Usagi. She was sorry that she had to call this meeting, but it was school procedure. She had already met with the other three girls. She looked at Goku. "I have decided to allow little Usagi here to come back to school." She smiled at Usagi.
Goku stood up from his chair and once again shook hands with her. "Thank you. We appreciate this very much." He looked down at Usagi. She was still crying and still holding her face. He remembered about the Dragon Ball and turned back around. "There is a little situation between Haruka, Michiru, and Usagi. It seems as though they have stolen something very special to Usagi and will not give it back."
"There's not much that I can do except ask for it back. Would you like me to try that?"
Goku nodded. Usagi's face still stung. 'It won't work,' she thought to herself, 'they lied before and they will lie again. I have to take things into my own hands if I want it back.' She was afraid to look over at her mother.
Goku turned around and picked Usagi up out of the chair. She wrapped her tail around his arm as he poked Chi-Chi in the arm. "We should be leaving." He turned back around to Mrs. Willings, "Good bye."
She waved at him. "Good bye. Have a good evening." She watched Usagi and her parents leave. She would hate to be in Usagi's shoes right about now. She would hate to be in Usagi's shoes anytime with the mother that she had. Luckily she had a sensible father. She hoped that Usagi would be all right. She felt partly responsible for Chi-Chi's outburst of anger. Partly? Try totally lady
~*~*~
Chi-Chi followed Goku out to the car. She kept her distance. She was still too furious to talk to him. She couldn't believe that her daughter started the fight. She couldn't believe that the two of them had lied to her to cover it up. She got a look at Usagi's face where she had hit her. It was as red as an apple. She felt horrible and wished that she could have taken that moment back. But it was too late and there was nothing she could do now. Even if she told her that she was sorry, Usagi would not have believed her.
Usagi cried into her father's shoulder. She just wanted to get home as soon as possible. She never wanted to feel the way she was right now, ever again. She didn't once looked at her mother on the way back to the car. She was afraid that if she did, she would just end up getting yelled at again.
Goku opened Usagi's door and set her in her seat, once he got to the car. "Don't worry Usagi. Like I said before, give your mother a couple of days to get over it. Just try to stay out of her way until then. Take it from an old pro." He looked at her cheek. It was still quite red. "We'll put something on your face when we get home."
Usagi was grateful that her father was so understanding. It would have been twice as hard to endure without him. She watched her mother climb into the car and then her father. She leaned against the door and closed her eyes as they pulled out onto the road. She softly began to cry again. She had let her life go as low as it could in just two short weeks. She just wanted it to all end. She wanted to relax. She wanted her old life back. Her carefree life.
~*~*~
The three returned home at 6:45 P.M. that night. Chi-Chi was the first one out of the car. She needed time alone to think about how she was going to fix her current situation. On her way past the car, she noticed that Usagi had fallen asleep. Her face had gone down to a pale pink color. She put her hand on the window. "I'm sorry Usagi."
Goku walked up from behind his wife and put his arms around her. He leaned himself on her back. "Are you truly sorry?"
Chi-Chi was startled a little bit. She hadn't expected Goku to talk to her after what had happened. She relaxed and leaned into his warm body. She let out a small giggle. 'My Goku. Always full of love.' "Yes, Goku, I am truly sorry."
Goku rested his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes. "Then why don't you tell her?"
Chi-Chi thought about it for a moment. She really had wanted to tell her. "I don't know if she will accept an apology from me."
"I disagree. It would really make her day if you apologized to her. Believe me. She wasn't crying because of the pain that was brought with that slap today. She was crying because of the reason. She thinks you hate her now. That was the first time that you have ever laid a hand on her like that." Goku nuzzled his nose into his wife's hair and then kissed her on her check.
"I didn't mean to Goku. I was just mad. It was a reaction." Chi-Chi didn't want her daughter to think that she hated her. She didn't want them to fall farther apart then they already were. She peered down at her sleeping daughter. She was so peaceful. "I guess I should be going." She pulled away from Goku's grasp and walked inside. She felt horrible. She needed to rest before she could think anymore of the day's activities.
Goku watched his wife and then looked back down at his daughter and sighed. "What a mess." He opened the car door slowly so Usagi would not fall out. She had been leaning on it. He unbuckled her seatbelt and delicately picked her up. He walked to the house with her curled up in her arms. He needed to get some medical cream on her face.
He began to shake his arms as he walked towards the house. "Usagi, wake up."
Usagi slightly opened her eyes to see her father's orange GI. "Huh?"
"We're home. Come on, its time to wake up and get something on that face of yours."
Usagi groaned when he mentioned her face. She had hoped that it was all just a sick dream that she had just waken up from. "Daddy? Is mommy still mad at me?"
Goku didn't know what to tell her. He wanted Chi-Chi to talk to her. Not him to talk to her in his wife's place. He hesitated to tell her. He set her down once they got inside the house.
Usagi curiously looked up at her father. "Is she mad at me?"
Goku looked down at her. Reluctantly, he decided to answer her. "Well, you see, you are going to have to ask her yourself. I don't want to get in between your quarrels. I'm sorry."
Usagi disappointedly looked down to the ground. "I understand daddy."
Goku hated to disappoint her like that. But sometimes, it just had to be done in order to keep some kind of peace around the house. He grabbed her hand. "Come on. Let's go fix your face and get you into a bath. Then you have to go to bed. You have school in the morning."
Usagi nodded. "Ok."
~*~*~
Usagi let herself soak in the bathtub. She scooted down as far as she could without letting her chin go under the water. She let her hair freely flow behind her. Normally she would keep it up in a cap until she was ready to wash it, but this night she didn't particularly care. She was in too bad of a mood to care.
She replayed the day back in her mind. She kept seeing her mother's hand coming at her face and then making contact with it. She grabbed the wash cloth that was in the tub with her. She began to pull it with her hands. She was making herself upset just thinking about it. She hadn't meant to hurt her mother like she had. She just didn't want her to freak out. She wished that she hadn't had her father lie for her. Not only had she gotten herself in trouble, but she had gotten her father involved too. That alone made her feel worse. She leaned her head against the wall. 'I screw everything up. I don't know why mommy and daddy even let me stay here. I don't know why daddy ever bothers to let me be around him.'
She stopped thinking about the day and started thinking about the past two weeks. She had had so much fun, yet, so many painful moments. She stared at the bar of soap that sat on the edge of the tub. She picked it up. "This is what I think of you Haruka." She squeezed it as hard as she could. It smashed apart in her hands. She laughed to herself and then quickly stopped. She abruptly opened her hands and let the pieces of soap fall into the water. 'What have I become?! I can't do this. Is it normal to feel this way?! I'm so confused.' Usagi put her face in her hand and closed her eyes. 'I have to control my anger. Daddy says I can't let it get the better of me.' She lifted her head and opened her eyes and looked around the bathroom. 'What will I do if someone makes fun of me tomorrow?' Usagi thought to herself for a while. 'I can't beat them up. Can I? Daddy wouldn't like that.'
Usagi's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Usagi, are you ok in there? You have been in there for a long time."
Usagi shot her attention to the door. "Yes daddy, I'm fine."
"Ok, well, it's getting late. You should start thinking about getting yourself ready for bed." Goku was worried about Usagi. She hadn't said much since they returned home that evening. Also, she had never taken that long in the bath before. She had been in there for about forty-five minutes.
Usagi stood up and let the water drip off of her body back into the tub of water beneath her. "Ok." Goku was satisfied with his daughter's answer and left. Usagi wrapped herself in her pink towel that she had gotten for her last birthday from Goten. She loved the towel and always used it. She wrapped her hair in another towel so it would not drip water all over the floor when she walked to her room.
~*~*~
She got into her pajamas as fast as possible. She looked at her door. Her mother would not be coming through that door tonight to tuck her in like she usually did. Usagi sighed. She walked out of her room. Her father was sitting on the sofa. She walked passed him without saying a word to him.
Goku turned his head and watched her walk into his room. "She's up to something." He smiled.
~*~*~
Usagi slowly opened the door to her parents' room to reveal her mother sitting on her bed reading a book in a softly lit environment.
Chi-Chi had her face hidden behind her book to notice that her daughter had entered the room.
Usagi watched her mother read for a couple of minutes. She hoped that she wasn't going to regret what she was about to do. She knew that her father knew what he was talking about when he told her to give her mother a few days to come around, but Usagi couldn't wait that long. She needed to know. She quietly tiptoed her way to the bed where her mother was. She softly climbed onto the bed.
Chi-Chi didn't turn her head. She just kept reading.
Usagi crawled up onto the bed and towards her mother. She didn't want to fight with her anymore. She wanted things to go back to the way they were. When she reached her, she snuggled into her.
Chi-Chi looked down at her daughter. She was smiling. "Can I help you little miss?"
Usagi looked up to her mother. "Can you tuck me in?"
Chi-Chi could have cried when she heard her daughter's words. For once she wasn't the one who had patch things up between them. This meant more to her than anything. She smiled a smile that only a mother could. "Of course I can Usagi. I love you."
(My god, I can't believe I just wrote that. See what happens when you try to write a story when you're listening to classical music? Actually, now that I look at it, I think this part turned out all right. What do you think? Is it Good or bad? Please review and tell me. The next part is what you have all been waiting for. Thank you. ^_^)