Chapter 2

Okay, first off, I want to thank the people who reviewed, Katiiey and Pandora-the-Wicked (coughnickycough). Well, here's chapter two of Tainted Image, hope you enjoy, and i can't think of anything else to say...

Gohan and Michelle waited patiently as their elders gathered food for themselves, then settled down at the table in the next room. Michelle looked around to see if she could find Trunks, but he was already sitting in the next room, conversing with the other adults. She could feel his embarrassment as Bulma most likely said something about him being 'so handsome', or the like. She laughed at her older brother's misfortune, Gohan looking at her in wonderment.

"What's so funny?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing. Just thinking about something. And don't even ask, for that, my friend, is also classified information." She replied. He chuckled slightly and Michelle picked up a plate. She was still laughing as she heard Trunks moan in embarrassment, but stopped suddenly when she felt a presence staring at her, from behind, once again. She then realized that Gohan, who was now standing next to her, was no longer smiling but had a scowl plastered on his face, and had his fists clenched at his sides.

"Gohan, what's wrong?" Michelle asked, concerned. He didn't answer and remained silent for some time. Then he opened his mouth to speak. He shut his mouth quickly as Michelle spun around and yelled,

"IF YOU DON'T STOP STARING AT ME, I SWEAR THAT I WILL GOUGE YOUR EYES OUT, THEN BLAST YOUR SORRY ASS TO KINGDOM COME!" She finished her little outburst, and then realized that it was the other boy, Derek, who had been staring. Gohan unclenched his fists and stared at Michelle in surprise and shock. Derek did the same.

"What?" Michelle asked, clueless as to what she had said or done to make them stare... then again, that outburst was sure to draw anyone's attention. She then realized that her thinking was correct, for everyone in the next room had quieted down and some were now even crowding around the doorway, also staring at her. 'Uh-oh. What did I do now?' she thought, slightly panicked.

She looked to Trunks, who was pointing to his own hair and lower back. She simply raised an eyebrow in confusion. After about 3 minutes of silence-the longest three minutes of Michelle's life- Gohan stuttered out, "y-you... you're a super Saiyan. And you have a t-tail."

"Huh? Um..." She looked around at everyone else. All of them were nodding their heads in agreement. "Uh. Heheh... oops." She powered down, then turned and ran through the kitchen, then out the door. She flew off to the same cliff where she had spent the previous night.

"Crap. Stupid power. Why couldn't I control myself? Well, there goes my story of being only human... damn. Why me?" she landed on the cliff, and let her feet dangle. She watched as squirrels scampered by, searching fruitlessly for food among the mounds of snow. She looked at her watch: 11:30. She sighed, and then fell back onto the hard surface. She began thinking about what had brought her to this point. Mostly about Gohan's death- six years ago that day- and how it was so strange to see him, alive. Granted he definitely looked different, but he was still... well, Gohan. It was almost painful. She fell asleep in about 30 minutes, every thought making her more distressed.

Michelle woke up about six hours later when she heard what she thought was a cough. She opened her eyes and sat up quickly, feeling dizzy from the sudden movement. Her eyes darted around her, searching for any signs of life, but all that was there were the animals of the forest. She then sensed someone approaching her from the west. She turned around only to be met by Derek, who somehow snuck up on her. She gasped in surprise and glared at him when she realized who stood in front of her.

"What are you doing here? How did you find me?" Michelle asked in frustration.

"Lucky guess." Derek replied smoothly.

"Yeah, sure." She said as she turned and sat back on the edge of the cliff. As soon as she sat, Derek was standing next to her, looking down at her.

"Mind if I sit? Or would you prefer to be alone." he questioned. Michelle sighed and replied,

"No, it's okay. Sit if you want. Just don't start staring at me again. Or I will hold true to my threat. I'm more than just bark, you know."

"Really? Well, um...heh, I'm sorry about the staring..." He laughed nervously. Michelle just glared at him.

"What's so funny?" she asked, still glaring.

"Nothing, I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"Oh, well, it's not working. Why were you staring at me?" she questioned. She then looked over at him. He looked exactly like Yamcha except for the fact that he had blonde hair, a trait he must have inherited from his mother. "So?" she pressed.

He continued to stare ahead and answered, "I think you're beautiful, Michelle. I couldn't help but stare. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."

"Really?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, sure." He answered quickly, "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

"Well, thanks, I guess." She said, still shocked at his confession. They both sat in silence for some time, both staring ahead. After about fifteen minutes, a rustling sound nearby alerted Michelle to attention. She was about to ask Derek if he had heard it too, but he spoke first.

"Michelle, I want to ask you something..." Derek said, not even noticing her tenseness.

"What? What do you want to ask me?" she replied, her gaze fixed on a nearby tree, but her head still facing towards Derek's.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me on Saturday. There's this great club downtown just for teenagers. It should be fun." Derek asked, smooth as a baby's bottom.

"Well, what do you think? You want to?" She redirected her gaze to meet Derek's eyes. She couldn't read them like she could with so many others. His true motives were hidden, if he had any other motives than just liking her, that is.

"Sure. I guess. I love dancing." Michelle then stood up and Derek followed soon after.

"Great. So, I'll pick you up at 6, okay?"

"Yeah. That'd be great." She smiled. He smiled back, 'oh, god. He is so gorgeous.' She thought.

"Okay, well, I'll see you then." He whispered as he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead. He then flew off back towards Capsule Corp.

When she knew that Derek was out of yelling distance, she turned to the tree she had set her gaze on earlier and called out, "Whoever you are, you can quit eavesdropping now!"

She was expecting the person that stepped out onto the branch to be her brother, but she was wrong. Michelle's eyes widened in surprise when she saw whom it was.

"Gohan?! What are you doing? Why are you here?" she asked angrily.

"I...uhm...I thought that maybe I could talk to you about what happened back at Capsule Corp., you know, the whole super Saiyan thing and..." he sounded hurt and confused. He was lying, Michelle deduced.

"Gohan, what's wrong? You seem upset about something." She said concerned. He stepped off of the branch and jumped to the cliff edge, landing in front of Michelle.

"I'm sorry, I just saw Derek following you when the party ended, and I wanted to make sure he didn't do anything to you. I didn't want him to hurt you like he has hurt so many other girls he's liked."

"That's sweet, Gohan, but you don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself. I am thirteen years old, after all. I know how to deal with things." She stated matter-of-factly. She smirked. He smiled back at her, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. He was still bothered by something.

"Yeah, I guess so. So, you're thirteen? You look more like you're my age." Gohan said. He sat down away from the edge, Indian style.

"Really? Well, I guess that's what comes from being short. So how old are you?" Michelle asked. She sat down in front of him. They were close enough so that their knees were touching. Gohan looked down at his knee and blushed.

"Gohan, what's wrong? Why are you blushing?" Michelle asked. She then followed his eyes to where he was looking. She then backed up a couple of inches. "You know what, you're really pretty cute when you blush." The last comment caused him to blush even more. Michelle simply smiled. "Oh, sorry about that. But it's true, you know."

"That's okay." Gohan said shyly, his face returning to its normal color. "Oh, and I'm ten years old. Or at least I'll be turning ten this year. But you knew that, didn't you?" he said smiling.

"Well, not to toot my own horn, but yes. I already knew. I'm just trying to get you to talk a bit more." She smirked.

"Wow, you look a lot like Vegeta when you smirk, Michelle." He said. "You aren't related to him are you?" he inquired.

"Yes, you have figured out my secret, I'm related to Vegeta. I am his niece... You know too much, for that you must now be killed." Gohan's eyes widened in fear as she lunged at him and pinned him to the ground. He raised his arms to block an attack to his face.

"Please don't hurt me," he pleaded. She started laughing, still holding him to the ground. He lowered his arms as she fell forward. She landed with her head resting on his shoulder, her body jerking with fits of laughter. She rolled off of him and onto her back, still laughing.

"What's so funny?" Gohan asked, sitting up. He still had a scared expression on his face.

"You thought I was actually going to kill you? Oh man, you should have seen your face, it was great!" she continued to laugh, "You could have beaten me or at least protected yourself and escaped. Why were you so scared?"

"I don't like to fight." Gohan said, calming down now.

"Oh," Michelle became serious once again. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean for you to think that I was actually going to kill you. I was only kidding around. I won't do it again, I promise." She apologized. "So, you don't even like to fight when you have to?"

"Not really. I don't see a point to it."

"Well, you weren't exactly a pacifist in the time that I came from. You were always out fighting the androids, and teaching Trunks and I how to fight." She explained.

"You know me in the future? So that's how you know so much about me, I presume." He replied, eyebrow rising in curiosity.

"Yes. Or, well, I knew you. You died six years ago to the day actually. And yes, that is how I know so much about you. You were my mentor. Taught me everything I know." She stated proudly but sadly.

"Oh. Sorry to hear that." They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then Gohan said, "So, who are your parents? And how did you end up here with Trunks?"

"Uhm... you really want to know?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Uhh. Okay." She said, stalling. She needed to remember the story she had come up with, and she needed it now. The story about not being Saiyan was out of the question now. 'Hmm. What to say, what to say?' she thought as she tried to come up with her excuse. Thinking frantically, she looked at Gohan, who was waiting patiently.

"Umm. Well, let's see. Where to begin? Uhm. I-I..." She ran different strategies through her head. "I was adopted by Bulma and was raised in the Briefs family." She blurted out.

Gohan raised an eyebrow in confusion.

" Yeah, m-my mom was a close friend of Bulma's." she explained. 'Well, that's not so far from the truth.' She thought, trying to reassure herself.

"Really?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah, uhh, really." She said, smiling nervously.

"And so you decided to come with Trunks to help fight the androids. And I'm guessing that your father was a Saiyan."

"Uh, yeah. Sure." She agreed quickly.

"Michelle."

"Yeah?" She looked up and met his gaze; his eyes were full of compassion.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about your past. You don't have to make up stories. I won't be offended or mad." He smiled at her, sympathy and understanding radiating from him.

Michelle cast her eyes downward and said quietly, "thank you."

"Anytime." He replied. He gathered all of his courage and placed his hand over hers. She looked back up at him, tears streaming down her face. Gohan wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back. She buried her head in his shoulder, still sobbing. They sat there, Gohan holding Michelle tightly until the sun went down and the stars began to pop out in the deep blue expanse of space. Gohan unwrapped his arms from around Michelle and she sat up straight. He wiped the few tears that remained on her face away gently and smiled at her. She smiled back at him, and then looked up at the sky.

"Wow. There're so many stars. I haven't been out in this part of the country in at least six years. Well, except for last night. But I didn't take the time to notice then." Michelle said letting herself fall backward, and she lie on her back, staring at the gleaming lights above. Gohan did the same, lying next to her. She turned her head to him. "Gohan?"

He too turned his head. "Hm?" he answered.

"Thank you again."

"No problem. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here for you. Even If I did just meet you." He grinned and turned his gaze back to the stars.

Michelle continued to watch him for a moment more, and then began watching the sky again. Suddenly, a shooting star came and went, streaking past them overhead.

"Hey! Let's make a wish." Gohan said excitedly.

"Okay." Michelle agreed, matching his excitement.

"What should we wish for?" "Um. How about, no matter what happens, we'll always be friends, and no matter how far away we may go, we'll always find each other again." Gohan suggested.

"Sounds great." Michelle said. She then took his hand in hers and closed her eyes. Gohan closed his eyes also. Gohan opened his eyes and looked over at Michelle.

"Michelle. You awake?" he asked her quietly. She grunted in reply and rolled over, moving closer to him.

"I'll take that as a no." he said to himself, smiling. He rolled over to face her and as he did a breeze drifted by. Michelle shivered and moved even closer to Gohan for warmth. He wrapped his arm around her and fell asleep shortly after.

The next morning, Michelle woke up suddenly when she felt someone or something touching her tail, which had during the night unwrapped itself from around her waist. She also noticed that she was facing Gohan, her face mere inches from his, and that his arm was wrapped around her midriff area. So it wasn't him... or was it? She shook him slightly.

"Gohan... Gohan, wake up." She ordered.

"Huh? What, what's wrong? Where am I? Sleepy..." Gohan replied groggily.

"Are you touching my tail?"

"Oh, hi, Michelle. No, why would I ... AAAAHHH!" He backed away quickly and jumped to his feet. He looked down at his lower back area.

"Gohan, what's wrong?" Michelle asked, sitting up. She looked at him in shock. "What?! Gohan, you have a tail too? I thought it was cut off."

"I did too, but... whoa..." he fell forward and landed face-first on the ground.

"Are you okay?" she said worriedly as she crawled over to where he had fallen.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said sitting up. "I just lost my balance." He rubbed his forehead and his nose twitched.

Michelle chuckled slightly. "You're not used to having a tail again. It'll take some time to get used to it. Unless of course you cut it off that is." Michelle stated.

"Yeah, great. Well, I think that's what was playing with your tail. It was my tail. Sorry. It must have grown back in the night and just well, uhh, got bored or something." He said a blush creeping into his cheeks as he said the last part.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault. I mean, my tail has a mind of it's own. It hardly ever listens to me... Just don't let me catch you doing that again. No touching my tail." She said as she wrapped her tail back around her waist.

"Heh. You have a leaf in your hair."

"I do? Where?" Gohan inquired.

"Yes, you do," she replied. She then reached forward to remove the leaf. At the same time, Gohan reached up to try and find the leaf. His hand brushed hers and he blushed, (man does he blush a lot) putting his hand back down.

"I'll get it out." Michelle said softly.

"Okay." Gohan said. She pulled the dying brown leaf from his hair and held it between her thumb and pointer finger, studying it closely.

"So cool. It really is amazing how in nature, even when something is dying it can be so beautiful." Michelle said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Gohan agreed, staring beyond the leaf and into Michelle's black eyes. He noticed that they had specks of blue throughout them. "Your eyes..." He began but stopped.

"What about my eyes?" Michelle asked confused.

"They're not just black. They have some blue in them. The same blue as some of your hair." He explained, reaching forward to smooth out a strand of her hair. "Your eyes are really beautiful. And they seem so familiar."

Michelle shifted nervously then said, "Thanks. Uhm, I think that I should get back home before Trunks wakes up and gets worried about me." She said quickly. "I'll see you later, Gohan." She said while standing up. She then helped him up and flew off towards Capsule Corp. waving goodbye as she flew.

Gohan stood on the cliff for a few moments, watching Michelle's departing figure until she was only a speck on the horizon. He then plopped down onto the ground and sighed. By his hand lie the leaf that Michelle had been examining earlier; he picked it up and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Why did Derek have to get here before me? Why?" He thought out loud. "All he'll do is hurt her." He then stood once again and flew off in the direction of his house.

When Gohan arrived back home his mother was pacing in the kitchen worriedly. Goku sat at the table, following Chi-Chi's every movement, his head resting on his arms.

"Chi-Chi, calm down. I'm sure he's fine. He can take care of..."

"Goku! He's only 10 years old! He's just... oh no. What if he was kidnapped?" Goku held back laughter at the thought of it. Anyone who was stupid enough to kidnap Gohan would be in for a big surprise.

"I mean, there are so many crazy people out there, Goku!" Chi-Chi continued to pace, even more frantically now.

Gohan entered the kitchen quietly, his head bowed, eyes downcast. "Hi mom, hi dad." He said quietly, bracing himself for the onslaught he knew was about to come.

"Gohan!" Chi-Chi rushed over to him and locked him in a tight hug so that he couldn't move... at all. "Oh Gohan, where were you? We were so worried!"
Gohan glanced over to Goku who just watched curiously.

"I'm okay, mom. I stayed in the woods with Michelle." Chi-Chi's eyes narrowed and Gohan immediately regretted saying where he had been, and especially who with.

"Michelle?" Chi-chi's voice was dangerously calm. "You mean that girl from the future?" Chi-chi released her hold on Gohan and held him at arms length.

It was too late to turn back now. "Uhm, yes ma'am."

Chi-chi was silent, which scared Gohan, and Goku more than her yelling. When she was quiet, she was plotting, thinking of the worst possible way to torture you...

Gohan then blurted out, "Mom, it wasn't her fault! I... She's my friend mom, please don't take her away from me." Gohan pleaded.

Chi-Chi's expression softened and she smiled slightly. "Okay, I won't take her away from you. Just don't let this happen again." She said the last part sternly.

"Yes ma'am." Gohan and Goku both relaxed.

"Now you go into your room and do your work okay?"

"Okay mom." She let go of him completely and he left the kitchen and walked to his room. Gohan entered his room and sat down on the bed. He unwrapped his new tail from around his waist and held it in his hands gently.

"Good thing she didn't see you, Mr. Tail..."

Back at Capsule Corp. Michelle landed softly on the grass in the backyard. She walked across the yard and to the back door. 'Please let it be open.' She closed her eyes and turned the knob; but before she could turn it completely someone jerked open the door from the inside, dragging her through the doorway. She lost her balance and fell forward onto the tile floor, the coldness of it shocking.

"Ah! Cold!" She yelped and sat up quickly only to find herself caught in a bear hug. She closed her eyes in shock then opened them again when the person said worriedly,

"Arilena, where have you been?"

"Huh? How do you...?" then it came to her. "Oh, hey Trunks." She said calmly, as if nothing had happened.

He let her go and remained kneeling on the floor in front of her. He pointed an accusing finger at her. "Don't 'Hey Trunks' me! Where the hell were you?"

"The cliff... If you don't want me to call you Trunks, then what should I call you?" she asked, playing dumb.

"What?" Trunks glared at her with that 'I'm not joking around so you better not either' look then brought out the big guns. "Arilena Michelle Briefs."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... Wow, wait. Your name's Arilena Michelle Briefs too? COOL!" she said overly excited.

"Arilena..." Trunks said exasperated.

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Will do!" She mock-saluted him. "Mission accepted!" She stood up and turned to shut the door but stopped mid-reach when Trunks spoke.

"And failed. You spoke after you said 'will do' so, therefore, you failed your mission."

"Nuh-uh." She shook her head. "I didn't say that I had accepted the mission yet so, therefore, since I had not accepted yet, it had not begun." She shut the door. Trunks opened his mouth to say something, but shut it again, rethinking his argument.

"Damn, you're not in the game today, bro. You could've used the whole little speech I just gave as one of your arguments as to why I had failed my mission. What's up?" Michelle asked.

Trunks just looked at her so she then said, "Oh, and remember, my name is Michelle now, not Arilena." She winked then walked past him nearly walking into Vegeta on her way out of the kitchen.

"Watch it, kid." Vegeta said angrily as Michelle swerved out of the way.

"Take your own advice, Veggie-Troll." She mumbled as she continued walking. Vegeta stopped and spun around to yell at her, but she was already gone. Trunks held back laughter.

"Where did she...?" Vegeta wondered aloud.

Trunks got off of the floor and walked to the doorway. He stopped next to Vgetea and looked down at him. He then said, "It's okay, she does that a lot. And you're not a Veggie-Troll..." Vegeta looked up at him, glaring and trunks continued walking out of the room. He then said under his breath, "You're a monkey troll..."

"What did you say?" Vegeta asked angrily.

"Uh, nothing, gotta go, Bye!" Trunks said over his shoulder as he ran away from the enraged Veggie Monkey Troll Man, before Vegeta could hurt him, or at least attempt to, laughing all the way.

"Insolent brats." He scowled, as usual. "Especially the girl..."

Well, that was chapter 2. I'll put up chapter 3 once I finish typing it. -.- goody, goody more typing! YAY! No, really, I do love writing these stories and as long as people are willing to read them, I'm happy to do the work. n.n