I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.
Chapter 2: Reinforcements
I was surprised, Brenda managed to withstand the puppy dog eyes longer than most, a full minute longer. Once Goten got to his "I'm a poor starving boy" routine, it was all over.
"Okay kids, I suppose you can have one!" she said happily. Doh, clueless idiot.
"Don't you mean one thousand?" I said in a pitiful tone.
"A thousand? Really?" Goten asked as he shook in anticipation. Trunks looked hopeful as well.
"One thousand? What do you want these poor dears sick now, you are a terrible child!" Brenda said, probably out of instinct. There's phase one already, turning the sitter against the enforcer.
"If only they got sick after that then I would be happy!" I shouted after her as she took the two boys' hands and proceeded down the hall. I didn't want to get up and go after them, but I would have to anyway. I jumped off the couch and slowly walked towards the kitchen, the brats already had a good lead on me. I arrived to see Brenda had made the critical mistake of pulling out the entire package and eating one herself. In a blink of an eye the cookie packages contents were gone, leaving the girl thinking it only had three cookies left in the first place. Damn. I walked in to see Goten and Trunks whispering their plan in the corner in a slight huddle.
"Boys! It's time to train!" I shouted at them, Vegeta had taught me how to startle them and make them do what I wanted. I figured she would last longer if I burned them up now.
"But Vertooooo, why now? Our Dad's only have us train during the day, and we already did today!" Trunks whined.
"That was before you had thirty-one cookies a piece, now I need to work that sugar out of you!"
"They didn't eat thirty-one cookies! I only gave them one, plus the one I had makes three!" Brenda decided to back them up.
"Learn to count before you expose the package girl. Let me guess, those taste a little rich don't they? That's because they are the latest brand that Vegeta happens to like when he first wakes up in the morning. I know exactly how many were in there before you opened it because he opened it earlier today and gave me one. Sixty-five come in the pack and he and I both had one. You had one, and they each had just had thirty-one, add it up girl," I scowled before turning to them again.
"Gravity room now!" I shouted and pointed to the hall. They didn't have to wait long before a hand smacked me on the ass, barely missing my wrapped up tail. I didn't yelp, it frankly didn't hurt me like it would her, but did turn with a deathly look in my eye.
"Do you mind keeping your hands off my rear, I tend to have a nasty temper," I asked in a cool voice.
"Now you listen hear young man! I don't know why you and your parents think this is so difficult, you're the only problem! I suggest that you march your fuzzy butt up to bed right now and don't come down for the rest of the night, got it!" she barked, holding her now slightly red hand. Fuzzy butt is hitting a little to close to home, and Phase 1 is complete already, SHIT!
I cringed slightly, "Fine, but you really asked for it. I hope you live to regret it!" I snarled at her and marched down the hallway towards the stairs. I climbed them slowly to the tune of laughter coming from all three, but ignored it and retreated to my room. I headed for my nightstand and kicked on my music player, a gift from Future Trunks. He had downloaded all the songs off my old computer to it and brought it here to me from my timeline. He was supposed to give it too me when I first got to this world, but having to send me ahead in his time machine to keep me away from Frieza kind of fouled things up. It was a good thing to have on nights like this. I turned on the most raging music I could think of at the time, Korn. I hopped on my overly large bed and kicked back, waiting for the screaming to start even though the music was too loud to hear it.
"Wow, tough girl," I muttered while the song "Dead bodies everywhere" played on. It was the fifteenth song I had played and still no sign of the demon disasters yet, but I knew it wouldn't be long, it never was. On cue the door swung open to reveal an almost nerve stricken girl with half pink hair and half blue, only it was a messy swirl. I turned down my music and stared her down. She shook a little bit before coming in and sitting beside me on my bed.
"Look, sweetie, I didn't mean what I said earlier. You can come out now, in fact, I beg you to come out now!" Brenda said in a shaky voice. That's when I noticed some of her clothes were torn, and melted in spots. Not to mention all the small cuts that were visible all over her.
"Cops and robbers eh?" I asked.
She looked shocked, "How did you know?"
I smirked and shifted slightly, "They like to shoot the robbers."
"Sorry I didn't listen to you. Just look at me, they dyed my hair pink AND blue. What the hell are those monsters?"
"Half Saiyan," I answered without thinking.
"Half what?"
"Forget that, what are they doing now?" I asked cautiously.
"Sleeping in the room across the hall, oh what will I do now?" she wailed, pulling at her hair.
"Well I'll give you credit, you lasted two hours so far, not too many last past that. We've got some hair dye in the bathroom. Just apply it after a good shower and it'll be just like new in the morning," I said, showing her the stuff in the cabinet.
"How do those boys lift things like paper, they were throwing around a recliner for goodness sakes!"
"Details too complicated to know. Let's just say all that sugar didn't help your case," I hushed her and left hastily. I shut off the music and headed downstairs, knowing I'd need to stand guard for a little bit. Parking in the living room, I assumed a meditative state that Piccolo had taught me to use when I needed to be aware of my surroundings while under suspended animation, so that I could wake up in an instant. A few minutes later I felt the ki shift in the house slightly, meaning someone was up. I fully expected this however, and awaited the owner. Over about ten minutes I listened to the air until reaching out and catching the arm that was waving in my face.
"I'm not asleep yet," I growled at Trunks without opening my eyes.
"How do you do that?" he asked, "I was fully masking my ki!"
"You're too predictable, and you're not that good at it yet. You always try and sneak food a few minutes after you supposedly go to sleep. Vegeta does the same thing, why do you think you can never pull it off when he's around?"
"So that's why, was always wondering why Dad was up that late?" Trunks shook his head and left the room. Heh, its not the only reason. I quickly put that thought aside. When he and Mom were up late, I never could get any decent sleep and often left the house for a night time flight.
"WRONG WAY BRAT!" I yelled after him, causing a quick change in direction. While just as physically young as Trunks, maybe younger, my mind was a full twenty-two years of age, making me able to use it fully even as a child. This proved useful in battle several times when the opponents underestimated me severely, and very useful when it came to watching the boys. I had learned to mimic Vegeta's hard attitude pretty well, and implemented his undoubtedly scary tactics. I heard running water shortly after Trunks left the room, oh boy. Brenda had turned the shower on before Trunks had gone back to bed, big mistake. Sure enough there was a scream right in tune with a snicker of laughter. But she stopped screaming soon, apparently putting up with the cold water.
Ten minutes later, Goten decided he needed to take a stab at the kitchen. I waited in the dark hallway, masking my ki so low that he would only sense the air. It worked to, sure enough a dark figure with little ki coming from it was creeping down. I blended into the walls and walked towards the kitchen without a sound, getting a good lead on him and waiting at the doorway. He took a bit longer, stopping and checking behind him a lot in the black hallway. When he finally got to the door, I was almost smirking at his attempt as I leaned against the wall.
"Oh shoot, what did Trunks say that code was?" he whispered to the air, giving me the go ahead.
"What code?" I asked loudly while sparking a ki ball, adding to the startle effect.
"Aw, darn it Verto. Why do you sneak up on me like Mr. Vegeta does?"
"I'm preventing a disaster before is starts, go back to bed!" I ordered. He held his head low and whimpered slightly as I followed him back.
"You don't have to be so mean!" he dared speak.
"You'll have to try harder then that kid!" I snarled at him. He reached the stairs and gave me one last sad look before going up, almost crying all the way. Little activity followed, except for the sounds of Brenda bitching about her hair color.
-
I went back to the living room and resumed meditation. I didn't figure I'd get much sleep tonight so meditation would make up for some of it. Brenda finally got done and came back in, fussing with her once again brown hair. I opened one eye and saw that she had at least three or four band-aids on each arm, and probably on each leg as well. It was rather obvious that she still hadn't completely warmed up either.
"Maybe you shouldn't wear such a thin shirt, the boys might be frightened by anything that pokes out," I suggested.
"Why, you little pervert!" Brenda exclaimed as she covered herself.
I merely shrugged, "Sorry, but it was a little obvious."
"Well at least they're sleeping now," she muttered, examining her torn clothes she had changed out of.
"What's the clock say?" I asked without looking myself.
"Nine-fifty, why?"
"We're not out of the woods yet," I said, stiffening up a little bit as she sat down next to me. I never was one to get close to anyone strange, no matter what age, the fact that I was now a Saiyan increased that little issue.
"Hey, I thought I'd better let you know. Miss Bulma said it was okay if I wanted to invite my boyfriend over and use the hot tub over by the kitchen. He'll be here soon," she said, a little calmer.
"Does he have life insurance?" I asked.
"Hey, they're not that horrible, just a bit rowdy for me that's all!"
"We haven't even started yet," I said, getting up and waiting patiently. Phase two should be coming around the corner any second. Almost at Ten o'clock sharp the two energy sources could be easily detected and making they're way down toward us.
"Miss Brenda, were really sorry, can we pwuese have a glass of water before we sleep?" Goten shot his best at her. And typical of the sitters, she gave in.
"Yeah we're really sorry, we we're just nervous of you!" Trunks backed up his buddy, no doubt crossing fingers in the back of his head.
Brenda sighed, "Oh okay, I suppose since you said you were sorry," she got up and took their hands down to the kitchen. Airhead. They came back a few minutes later, each holding a small glass with water in them. Trunks handed me one, which I took in my hands, but didn't drink right away. I allowed my eyes to narrow, getting a good look at his two eyes, which were definitely hiding something.
"We figured we'd get you one to big brother!" Trunks played innocent. I wasn't buying it and took a good sniff of the glass, and I caught a whiff of something other than water.
"Yes, they wanted to say sorry to you too kido," Brenda added, completely under their spell.
"Nice try Trunks, but the drugging trick isn't going to work again," I said, heating the glass with my ki, boiling the water into nothing. Trunks was struggling not to attack me on the spot, but kept playing innocent along with Goten.
"Why would Trunks do such a thing?" Brenda asked.
"Isn't that obvious, put me to sleep and they run wild tonight, they've done it before," I explained.
"I think you're just jealous that Trunks is a good boy and you're not!" Brenda said, ensuring my belief.
"Like I care if I'm seen as a good boy or not. Suit yourself though, but I suggest you don't let them pour your water," I said, walking out of the room and towards the lobby. Phase two is done, the initial apology followed by the drug attempt. The boyfriend should be here any second.
A few seconds later the doorbell rang. Funny how I could just smell that one coming. I decided to answer it just to be sure he didn't fall apart on the first step. I opened the door to see a tall and slightly built blond guy standing there in a tank top and jeans. And as if Dende was having fun tonight, I recognized him as well.
"Hi, is Brenda here? I heard she was babysitting for a few, DAYS!" the blond asked before having a heart attack when he saw me.
I shook my head in dismay, "Why Sharpner, I didn't know you cared." Great, what else could go wrong tonight?
"What, what the hell are you doing here?"
"I live here moron, did you forget that already? You know the brain is the most powerful muscle in the body. Yours sure doesn't get much exercise does it?" I sneered at him.
"Ugh, no wonder I've heard rumors about this place," Sharpner muttered as I let him in.
"Hold on a sec, do you have a football helmet in your car, or some kind of armored protection?" I asked.
"No, why? That's my sports car, I'm not gonna haul my stuff in there!" He pointed as a very sweet looking red car parked outside. That car is gonna have a bad night if he sticks around, but then I suppose a few hits in the head would be good for Sharpner.
"So who are we sitting?" he asked as if interested.
"Technically it is me, my brother Trunks and his friend Goten, but it's those two you need to watch out for. If you didn't know, Goten is Gohan's hyperactive little brother, you'll see soon why he didn't bring him to school that one day," I explained.
"Awe that's okay, I'm good with kids. Brenda, I'm here!" he yelled the last part, wondering around aimlessly.
"She's that way," I pointed, following him. We came to the living room where everyone had finished their water glasses. Brenda perked up and jumped into the jock's arms.
"Sharpie! Hey they got a hot tub here, wanna go for a dip?" Trunks and Goten looked disgusted now, mostly when the two lovebirds started playing tonsil hockey. I probably didn't help that case either, I had been all scowls for the evening.
"Sure babe, hey you kids should be getting to bed right?" Sharpner asked. Trunks grunted slightly, Goten looked confused, and I merely resumed my place on the couch.
"Yeah, so just go on up to bed now, we have things to do!" Brenda said in a daze. Sharpner walked out and down towards the sauna area, Trunks came over to me.
"You can't expect us to put up with that do ya?" he asked.
"There's one guy you can get rid of. Tell you what, his car is parked outside, the red one, give him the works!" I said, grinning inside and out. Trunks' eyes shot open like a birthday had just swung by.
"C'mon Goten, Verto gave us an order!" Even though they tended to be the source of my stress, I really didn't want Sharpner around here.
"Hey guys, no fatal injuries, just humiliation!" I called back to them. Figuring this would be a good time, I decided to take a little nap for real this time. I had just given the twin terrors the go ahead anyway.
-
I woke up an hour or so later, and jumped off the couch to witness the chaos. I searched out everyone in the house, finding everyone around the hot tub area. I wondered down there and found the boys in the control room for the hot tub and sauna, an invisible window shown over the tub.
"Shhh, Goten, I'm trying to adjust the temperature," Trunks was saying.
"So little demons, what did you cook up?" I asked, having to chuckle a bit at the phrase I just used.
"We don't know what to do, just raising it higher will make them just get out and won't be any fun!" Trunks whined.
"I have an idea, has Sharpner gotten out to get drinks yet?"
"No, I overheard something about Champaign, but they haven't gotten any yet."
"When he does get out, go in there instantly and ask Brenda for some help with something, I don't care what it is. Then when she gets out, crank the temperature. When Sharpner jumps back in he'll get a surprise," I suggested, almost as the jock was starting to climb out. I can't believe I'm helping them out.
"All right, there he goes to, good call bro!" Trunks said, rushing at the door to get Brenda out. I turned the knob on the control up to about one hundred seventy degrees from where it was at ninety.
"This will give him something to think about," I said, laughing evilly. Sharpner was gone for a few minutes, I sensed Trunks take Brenda upstairs. Sharpner came back looking for his date, only to find she wasn't present. Unfortunately he didn't jump right back in, only he went over to the mirror and started admiring himself.
"C'mon you idiot, just jump in!" I rasped loudly, prompting Goten to put a finger to his lips. Trunks and Brenda came back down, Brenda first as she reappeared in the sauna.
"Oh this could be good," I said, looking up hopefully. Instead the couple engaged in a lip lock and then some grabbing motions, ones that I really didn't want to see no matter how attractive Brenda actually was.
"Gross!" Trunks shouted.
"No joke, what all did you guys set up anyway?" I asked as I turned away.
"We trashed his car, dug a hole in the ground right in front of it and filled it with red paint!" Trunks said.
I raised my eyebrows slightly, "Impressive, that'll be a good show."
"YEOW!" we heard a loud scream. We jumped up to see Sharpner jumping around and holding his rear mostly, but his legs were no doubt hot to, not to mention his other lower area. I was suddenly thankful that he was wearing swimwear. He wasted no time in running out into the halls and towards the door. I heard a crash of thunder outside, the whole reason he was going out, for the cool rain. Brenda followed him, giving us the chance to go out unnoticed.
"Hmmm, hey Trunks, get ready to come back here and guide Sharpner in. I have a gut feeling about this one," I ordered. We all rushed to the front lobby, where the jock had just gotten a good glimpse at his car.
"Oh no, someone has dumped yellow paint on my car! And wrecked it!" Sharpner declared, running out into the rain. He got to about ten feet away from the car when he kept ranting.
"Man, now I gotta get a new paintjob!" He didn't step two feet more before he slipped through the ground and made a nice red splash. He jumped back out right away, but he was covered in red paint.
"Ask and you shall receive," I said loudly, despite a glaring Brenda. Sharpner had lost it now, and ran back inside.
"No, my hunky body is ruined, give me a bath! Give me a bath to wash this off!"
"There's a bath down this way!" Trunks said and pointed as he raced ahead to hold the door for the blond idiot. I ran down just in time to hear another yelp of burning pain and the idiot run back down the halls, cleaned off but covered in steaming water.
"Forget this babe, you're on your own!" he shouted as he ran out the door.
"Mission, complete!" Goten and Trunks stood at attention and gave me a salute.
"Dismissed," I said out of instinct as we all started laughing. Brenda came stomping down the hallway shortly after she shut the front door, both eyes glued on us.
"Okay, all three of you up to bed right now!" she screamed. The boys looked a little down, but headed up anyway, no doubt in my mind that they were going to bed for real this time. I walked slowly to the stairs while I chuckled, satisfied to be rid of the jock. Before any of us got to the stairs however, a hand reached forward and grabbed me by the tail. Since it was still wrapped around my waist, the owner of the hand obviously thought it was a belt. Brenda held me about a foot or two in the air with one arm, not a real surprise for an average human, I was pretty light. However I didn't let anyone grab my tail, especially not strange people.
"Let go of me right now," I started with a standard threat tone.
"Not until you say you're sorry to me! I know you're the one who trashed his car, and I fully intend to make your mother pay for it! Now say your sorry!" she demanded. Trunks and Goten watched with grins on their faces, probably glad I was getting the blame for it. She squeezed tightly on my tail, causing me to yelp in pain.
"And while you're at it, allow me to get this stupid looking fur belt off of you. Probably skinned a poor little doggy didn't you?" she said, pulling on my tail more now. Dog belt? I didn't elaborate on the suggestion though. The pain was nasty, almost paralyzing, and now I didn't care what the twin terrors did to her. There seemed to be strange bump on her hands that was digging right in, like she had a knot in her palm or something. I looked up and saw Trunks and Goten had stopped smiling and were walking towards her now.
"Miss Brenda, let go right now! Otherwise we won't be responsible for what happens," Trunks said, imitating his father very well.
"Not until he's sorry, it's obvious he doesn't get much discipline around here, well it's time for him to get some!" she said, giving my rear a few whacks. That didn't bother me as much as the tail grabbing, she was just hurting her own hand. I was edging on furious now, and angry thoughts gave way to ki increase in a big hurry. I looked up at Trunks and gave him a slight nod in her direction. An instant later Brenda was out cold on the ground, her limp hands let go of my tail easily.
"Damn that hurt!" I said, holding my tail to see a slight red hue under the fur. I noticed that I felt slightly drained as well. Granted holding back my power when I'm mad is not easy, but I shouldn't be drained from it this much.
"Wow, what a witch! You sure we can't just off her right now?" Trunks asked me. Well I was the one supposed to protect her from all of this.
"Nah, just take her up to bed, waking up in the guest bed will convince her it was just a dream. The robots can take care of the red mess around here as well as the hole in the ground," I ordered, Goten hoisted her up and took Brenda to her room.
"I thought you were gonna lose it for a minute there," Trunks said, holding my tail limply and checking it over.
I yanked it back quickly, "I almost did, go to bed now. We train in the morning after breakfast," I said, heading my own room. I couldn't go to bed just yet, my tail hurt too much to sleep, so I laid awake and listened for possible sounds of the boys up for sugar. They obeyed this time and went to sleep themselves, giving me the go ahead.
-
I woke up the next morning with the still slightly sore tail. I sensed that Brenda was still in the guestroom where Goten put her. She probably just lost it after that Sharpner incident, suppose I can't blame her there. I'll make like nothing happened, no need to start anything up again. I headed downstairs to find the boys scarfing away at a breakfast the robots were still bringing to the table.
"Hi Verto! We saved ya some!" Goten pointed to some food that had been piled on my plate.
"How thoughtful," I muttered, grabbing a seat and began gobbling. Just as I gulped down a large bowl of soup, I saw Trunks and Goten grinning evilly. When I looked again the grins were gone. Just as I pondered the significance of that, Brenda made her way in, holding her head.
"Man what a headache, when did I pass out anyway guys? I don't remember," she moaned.
"Right after Sharpner left you went upstairs saying you had a headache. I told you to take some meds but you went straight to bed," I said quickly in between bites.
"Good lord, how much food do you boys need?" Brenda was now wide eyed. I finished up quickly and went back to dress in my training gi. On the way I noticed my head felt a little funny, but didn't really pay any heed to it. I walked down to the living room and plopped down on the couch, waiting for the boys to hurry up and eat. They ate a little slower today, but I didn't pay any heed, soon they finished as well and went to dress. My head started to spin a little bit, and I felt dizzy. What the hell?
"Hey bro, what's the training plan today?" Trunks asked as he came in.
"We'll start at seventy-five and work our way up to two hundred time gravity. That'll be a good run, throw in a few sparring contests," I said, getting off the couch slowly. My head was spinning a lot more now, and my eyelids started to droop.
"Oh, can we do a fusion this time?" Goten asked. I didn't answer, instead my body quit responding and I dropped to the floor.
"Look at that Goten, ten minutes puts you to sleep guaranteed. Good thing we gave him a few doses!" Trunks snickered along with his counterpart.
"Why you little bastards.." I whispered as blackness overcame me.
-
A hand tapped me face slightly. Trunks? No, too soft. Goten? No, too careful. The babysitter? No, too clueless. Why is the room spinning so much?
"Verto, wake up!" A girl's voice said. I struggled to find my eyes, she repeated herself. I opened slowly to see a very familiar girl above me, and then I realized I was on the ground.
"Hey, there you are cutie, about time you came around. Looks like you were right Gohan, they had to have drugged him!" Videl said, pulling away to a sitting position.
"Huh?" was all I could ask as I tried to get up.
"Your head still isn't clear yet, give it a minute," Videl ordered, pressing a hand to my chest to hold me down.
"What happened?" I asked.
"The little twerps drugged you and then drove the babysitter mad. We came over to check on you guys and arrived just when she ran out the door in panic. Her clothes were all ruined, her body bloody, and a load full of other things happened," Gohan explained, holding up the two culprits by the scruff of their training gi's.
"Hey, we were just doing what shoulda been done! Babysitters should be illegal!" Trunks argued, chuckling.
"Yeah, plus she was mean and squeezed Verto's tail! Really hard too, we heard him crying!" Goten backed him up, but seemed to be holding laughter back.
"Is that true?" Videl asked.
"She lost it last night after we drove Sharpner out of the house. She grabbed it and squeezed a bit too hard thinking it was a belt and even threatened to remove it. I wasn't crying, fuming would be the correct word," I said, my head clearing up a bit more. Damn what time is it? I looked over to see nearly five in the afternoon on the clock, and a fresh smoking hole in the wall. I checked my tail over as I sat up, it was still a bit red but not like it was, didn't hurt now at all.
"Gohan do me a favor?" I asked.
"Sure kid, what?" he asked.
"Wear them out," I said, getting an immediate approval as Gohan left with the two kids in his arms and straight to the gravity room.
"So what all happened around here, I wasn't exactly aware of it," I said as Videl helped me up, not that I needed it.
"I think that's the only hole in the walls, but I don't know for sure. The floors in the hallway are slightly cracked from some impacts. There are a lot of empty packages of cookies and soda bottles on the kitchen floor, that's not a good sign. We found her car, or what was left of it in the backyard, they took apart the engine, and I do mean the whole thing, it's scattered around with fluids in the grass. Her clothes were all torn apart, and she was hobbling a bit on the way out, stuttering about a blond kid with long hair and no eyebrows," Videl gave me a slight smile as she racked up the damage.
"Good thing Dr. Briefs kept up this older building for mostly the family and that this was a weekend, otherwise I'm sure Mom would have a few missing employees."
"I wasn't done, they did run amuck outside too. They turned some stoplights upside down and twisted around some of the lights, mostly switching the timers between green and yellow. That was one of the more entertaining traffic jams I've ever seen," Videl giggled a bit.
"Ugh, I could just about kill them," I muttered.
"But then you wouldn't have anyone to play with!" Videl elbowed my shoulder.
"Anything else?" I asked, holding my head.
"Yeah, strange though, I thought I saw a piece of metal sticking out of the side of her head, any ideas?"
"Sounds like Trunks was trying to make a human antenna again. Argh, my head is still spinning," I moaned and sat down on the couch.
"Gohan found several empty packages of super sleep pills over by the soup bowls, he said it may take awhile to wear off," she said, jumping onto the couch next to me.
"Considering what happened, you're certainly in a lively mood," I noticed.
"I just enjoy seeing you in agony, you're so cute when you're moaning and groaning, just like Gohan is!"
I slapped my head slightly, "Right, well I better go find that replacement babysitter list."
"It wasn't that piece of paper on the fridge was it?"
"Yeah it was why?"
"They fried that too, now it's just burnt and unreadable." I hit my head against the sofa in mental agony, SHIT!
"Well, I'll make you a deal then Verto, I will step in and help you watch the runts," Videl declared.
I instantly jumped up as if the drugs had done nothing, "You will?"
"Yeah sure, I can handle those little brats!"
"Oh thank you Videl!" I jumped up and hugged her.
"But! You have to do something for me," she shook her finger.
"ANYTHING!"
"Anything, you're sure?"
I thought that one back over, "Okay, ALMOST anything, what's your price?"
"You have to go out on a date with me," she said calmly like she planned it out.
"What?" I stared blankly.
"Do I have to repeat it?"
"But you're Gohan's girl. I'm not going to do that, he's my best friend!" I argued.
"Hey, I thought I was your best friend! Oh now I'm hurt. Me and Gohan aren't 18 yet, and we both agreed we wouldn't do anything steady until then. So I'm free, it's not like a real date anyway right, you're too young right? Heh, and you could always watch the runts yourself..." she said, though she already had me hooked and nearly whipped. But then that was my fault, the day after we beat Buu she managed to learn about my past as an adult and had looking at me in a different way ever since.
"Oh, fine, when?" I looked down; my brain betrayed me in desperation.
"Oh it doesn't need to be anytime really soon, I'll let you know!" She giggled again, an at once nearly forcing habit for her.
"This has bad idea written all over it," I said, crossing my arms and dropping to a seat again.
"What's a bad idea?" Gohan's voice came from behind me.
"Nothing!" I snapped out, realizing I hadn't been paying attention to ki levels lately.
"Oh he's just flustered cause I hooked him into having dinner with me sometime!" she said. I've been betrayed already, I wanted to cry.
"What's wrong with that Verto?" he asked.
"Nothing!" I snapped again.
"I think the drugs are still flowing in there kid, if the monsters hadn't done it I would swear you were an addict!" Gohan laughed at my dismay.
"I thought you were training them?"
"I don't have any workout clothes here right now. So I need to go home and get some. Say Videl, would you mind watching them while I'm gone?"
"Actually Gohan, I already agreed to watch them for the rest of the time Bulma and Vegeta are gone. Since it's a weekend I won't miss any school. Could you go to my place and ask Hilda to pack some clothes for me, and extra ones too," She winked at me as Gohan left the room.
"You're evil," I said.
"You take that back! I'm not evil, I'm sweet and strong!"
"I beg your pardon, Evilly Sweet and Strong," I chuckled.
"Just for that buster, I'm gonna make sure to humiliate you at every chance!"
"Bring it on girl!" I dared.
"Well, I'll I have to do then is tell you to go look in a mirror, there is something we didn't mention," she put on an innocent face.
I narrowed my eyes, "What is it?"
"Just look in the mirror." I got up and walked towards the sauna room, seeing several doors with holes in them. I reached it and headed over to the mirror before stopping and staring. My hair had been dyed pink, and considering they had a still target, they did a very good job, not an ounce of black remained. My breath came out short as a fire lit in my eyes, and Videl backed up when the ki lightning started around my legs. I walked out before allowing my fury to completely overcome me. I stood in the hall, which had been coated deathly silent now.
"BRATS!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. At once two blurs went by and cowered behind Videl, who had been struggling to hold laughter.
"Uh oh Trunks, he doesn't look too happy!" Goten pointed out the obvious as I bared my teeth at them.
"No kidding Goten! Looks like he's ready to explode!"
"I'm going to take my time tearing you to pieces!" I snarled. I wanted so badly to rip them into shreds, but Videl's warning face managed to hold my temper down to an eruption. Wait a sec; I have a solution to this! I calmed myself but allowed my ki level to keep rising.
"I have an answer to this one boys," I cackled. Instantly I shot up into Super Saiyan, turning my hair gold, catching a gasp of fear from them. I literally felt the ki burning the hair dye off within a few seconds. I waited a few seconds, then powered down, dropping the extra power back into the depths.
"Dude! He turned it back to normal!" Trunks gasped.
"Awe, I wanted to see a Super Saiyan with pink hair!" Goten whined.
"Too bad you won't get the chance," I laughed and admired their now angry faces. Angry that part of their plan backfired.
"Hey Trunks, let's just get him in the tail again next time," Goten suggested a little to loudly.
My grin vanished, "Don't even think about it, I'll kill you both!"
"Okay kids, enough bickering! I'm going to have the robots fix dinner now, so get your bony butts upstairs and cleaned up on the double!" Videl drilled out orders. To my great surprise, Trunks and Goten complied, without retaliation. My jaw was still touching the floor when Videl cleared her throat and gave me a death glare.
"Oh right," I whispered, jetting upstairs in a hurry.
Interlude 2.1
"Yay, Auntie Videl is watching us!" Goten jumped up and down on the living room furniture. Videl had just bathed them both and told them to wait there while dinner was cooking.
"The question is Goten, how do we get rid of her without making Gohan mad at us?"
The answer came to both of them pretty quickly, "Blame it on Verto!" they both stated at once.
"But Trunks, Videl and Gohan like him a lot. How can we make them not like him no more?" Goten asked.
"Darn, I don't know other than the usual stuff, maybe this one is case where we have to (gulp), put up with her. I mean we can try to drive her out, but then Gohan will throw us in the gravity room, and sometimes he's worse than Dad!"
"Too bad that Brenda girl isn't here, she was easy to get rid of, a bit scary, but easy!" Goten whined.
"That's it Goten, we drag her back and Verto will fry her. Then he's in trouble for sure, oh you're a genius Goten!"
"Huh, but how? Verto never kills anyone, your daddy does! How are you going to get Verto to do it?"
"Just follow my lead okay, I have a plan. I just hope we can find her again. I think Mom has her phone number somewhere," Trunks said, sneaking out and down the halls towards the phone. Goten followed, wondering at first why not just look for her, but that hadn't worked earlier.
"Hey Trunks, why can't we feel her energy?"
-
I relaxed in the bathtub in the rather pleasant warm water. The tub had been full of random toys the boys had left behind, but Saiyan speed blessed me with the quick second to remove them all without breaking a sweat. I had especially drenched my tail in the water, seeing it needed some soothing after that bitch Brenda had squeezed it rather hard. It had been hurt more than this before, but not many times. The only time it hurt the most was during the fights with Buu, when I was forced to ignore it. Just as I was dunking my head in the water, the door opened. I looked around the corner, shooting an annoyed look at whoever had entered.
"Do you mind? Just because I'm younger doesn't mean I don't like my privacy," I growled.
"Well, you do need cleaned up!" Videl sighed at my stare.
"I can bathe myself," I said.
"Oh hush, let me pamper you while I can, I guarantee you're going to get it until at least age ten. You let Bulma do it after all!"
"That's because she'll have Vegeta beat the shit out of me first if I don't, then she'll do it anyway," I explained as she walked over and stood over the tub.
"And what makes you think I won't have Gohan beat you senseless?" she dared.
"I can communicate telepathically with Gohan at any time, what shouldn't I tell him?"
"Oh you little rat, how do you know how to do that?" Videl asked sternly while reaching for the shampoo. Well, I guess I can put up with her.
"A certain Namekian teacher that helped train me as well," I said, figuring she would understand the rest. She dumped some suds into my hair and started scrubbing.
"So Piccolo taught you both how to do that, you guys use this often?"
"No, usually only in battle, we haven't used it since the Buu fights if you must know," I said, bending my head slightly for her. She grabbed a plastic glass and filled it with water, then dumped it over my head to rinse.
"Out of all your Saiyan hairstyles, yours is just about the weirdest to figure out. It is neat how it flows into itself and to the other side without gel. Goku's and Goten's are the wildest though. I had a hell of a time getting a tangle out the little squirt's head!" She loaded up her hands with soap and scrubbed on my shoulders back and chest next.
"I hope you realize what you're getting into with watching the rats, it won't be pretty as you saw earlier. Sure they're nice now, but it always starts that way, and they try to turn you against the enforcer, that being me. Then it gets bad," I explained, closing my eyes when she ran soap onto my face.
"Ah, I can handle it. If not I can count on you for support right?" She asked right as she held my shoulders firmly.
"Right," I said in a pitiful tone.
"Okay, now for the tail," She reached down and grabbed it.
"Don't do what you did last time," I said, bending forward slightly.
"Now would I do that?"
"Yes!"
"But you said it felt good, I'm only here to make you feel good," she cooed slightly at the end.
"It felt too good, and probably would get me killed by Gohan or Vegeta if someone were to do that when I'm older. If you catch my drift," I muttered as she soaked it down and scrubbed it very gently.
"Sounds like a plan if things don't work out between me and Gohan," She giggled again.
I winced at that, "You're cruel."
"I know, you know I never thought that someone like you and Gohan could show me how I can be the nice and loving person again. Too bad you're probably the only two guys that will know about it," Videl admitted. That explains where the hardcore Videl ran off to. She finished scrubbing my tail and set it back into the water to rinse.
"Okay, stand up so I can do the rest," she said with a cheerful tone in her voice.
"I'd rather do it myself," I said, slightly embarrassed at the whole situation.
"Except I know you really won't. Your just a kid, I'm not expecting anything in particular," she snickered slightly. I stood up, closed my eyes and crossed the arms, then spun around. She got to work, not saying a word thankfully, then turned me around again and did the rear.
"See, that wasn't that bad was it?" Hard to tell, my cheeks are still red.
"Thank Dende I'm still a kid," I whispered, hoping he actually heard me so he would stop the cruelty.
"Hey Verto, she did that herself. I can't twist everyone's arm you know, just the weakest humans. And Gohan would kill me if I messed with her mind anyway, I can't even touch Mr. Satan," came Dende's voice.
"Well at least your being honest about it today. Thanks anyway," I replied. She grabbed a towel and dried me off before I could react.
"Man, it's gonna take awhile to get this water out of your hair and tail," She said as she was rubbing the hair furiously.
"Want me to show you a trick to do that?" I offered.
"What?" I took the towel from here and wrapped it around my waist and then powered up slightly, causing a breeze to go off in the room. This heated up my skin enough to dry the water and evaporate it, even in my tail. My hair shifted back to it's normal state when dry, sticking up on one side and bending over and down the other side, two thick bangs in my face on the downward side.
"That is handy, wish Gohan would teach me that," she pouted.
"You would need to build up your ki some more, but it wouldn't take much, about as difficult as shooting a weak ki ball," I said, suddenly realizing that she was going to ask me to train her.
But she didn't, instead she drew back her hand, "Like this?" Then she shot a weak ki ball that hit me square in the chest. The ball didn't do anything except a small blemish that I rubbed off easily; it was the shock that she could throw one.
"I've been doing a little training myself, and I figured that out on my own. Still haven't figured out how to powerup yet," she said, sending me a smirk.
"That's easy, just spread your ki out all over and use it to strengthen your body. It's no problem," I said, opening the door and going across the hall to my room.
"Dinner should be ready in a few minutes, hurry up before the little rats eat it all," she called over her shoulder. Damn, that was a little embarrassing, but maybe I should just open up a little more. It's just Videl, she's like a big sister to me anyway, not like I'm an adult right now. I sure am thinking like one though. I slipped on a t-shirt and training pants before heading downstairs.