The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
--It's the End of the World As We Know It--
Fan-freakin'-tastic. Goten hadn't even shown up for their study session yet. What was up with him lately? Bra didn't like this one bit. Especially after she'd seen him with those girls during lunch. DURING LUNCH. Nothing could stop Goten from getting a meal in. And there were four of them. Sure, she knew a lot of women were interested in him. And sure, she'd sent him off to another woman. But there was no excuse for THAT kind of behavior. Outright flirting. Silly little show-offs. She hated girls like them.
Stupid, lovable Goten. He was the MAIN one at fault.
So what was he up to now? Had he found those peppy little prep girls and started flirting with them again? She would question him thoroughly...if he ever showed up.
Bra sat in the library lobby in Goten's usual seat and waited...............
After about 15 minutes, Bra was boiling. Goten hadn't arrived yet. Very unlike him. Well, as of late, it kinda WAS like him. So what were her alternatives? She could 1) sit there and continue to wait patiently until she heard from him, 2) hunt him down and question him, or 3) go home and pretend none of this ever happened. Under any normal circumstance, she would have chosen to kill him and be done with it, but recently, her judgment had been a bit off. Her mode of thinking had become...calmer...in a way.
So she decided to go with an altogether different option. She would find out where he was, surprise him, and then remind him of why you don't mess with the daughter of a Saiyan prince.
Bra gathered up her books and headed out of the library. The fun part of it all was that she had decided to remain calm, no matter what happened. Now, unless he was intentionally hiding from her, she would be able to determine his locale via ki signature. If only she'd concentrated on searching for powers when the person wasn't in a fight, this would have been a piece of cake. Oh, well.
She took off flying, not really caring if anyone saw her or not. Once in the air, she stopped and scanned the city. Nope. Looking for him this way wasn't the answer. She'd have to feel for his life energy. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Everything around her gave off a little of the energy she was searching for. It was like being bombarded with an onslaught of warm cotton balls all over her body. She was sure that if she reached through those cotton balls, she would find the stones that represented her family and friends.
Of course, the first distinguishable energy she detected was her father's. He was most likely training. Then she picked up energies that were very near each other. They were probably together. Now, who were they? One was...Pan. And she was accompanied by three others. Yep! She'd found him. There was Goten.
Bra opened her eyes and set out in the direction in which she had felt his energy. At sound-breaking speed, she jetted across the sky. So Pan was with Goten. And two others. She hadn't paid attention long enough to tell who they were, but she didn't care about that at the time. She just wanted to find Goten and see if she could break a few bones once she reached him.
She soon found herself floating above the local hospital and immediately regretted threatening to do Goten harm. What were he and Pan doing at the hospital? A feeling of dread filled her all of a sudden. What if Goten was hurt? She couldn't bare the thought of him being in pain, or worse (yet she was about to cause him physical pain when she found him).
Bra rushed up to the front desk. "Where?!! Just tell me where he is!!" She was in a panic. She couldn't even focus anymore.
The lady at the front desk looked at her strangely. "Young lady, please just stay calm."
"I AM CALM! NOW WHERE IS HE?!?!?!" Bra shouted.
The hustle and bustle that surrounded her, which she hadn't even noticed when she first enters, ceased.
"I don't know who you're talking about, Miss," the poor woman behind the desk told her.
"Don't try to hide the truth! I know he's in one of these rooms!" Bra hissed from between her teeth. Before she knew it, she had cleared the counter and was hurriedly typing on the computer. "How do you work this thing?" she whined.
"Bra, is that you?" a voice called to her.
Bra looked up and saw Gohan. So that was one of the other powers she'd felt. Tears came to her eyes.
"What are you doing behind the desk?" Gohan asked, looking confused.
Bra ran over to Gohan and clung to him. It was strange. She never really clung to anyone. Except Goten. "Gohan, what happened? Please tell me. I was so worried."
"It's alright. Mom's gonna be fine," Gohan informed her. "Dad just panicked and called all of us. She just got a slight concussion. Nothing serious."
Bra looked up at him, wide-eyed. "Mom? You mean ChiChi?" She let him go and dried her tears.
"Yeah. I didn't think you knew about it. And I didn't want to worry anyone," Gohan said.
So ChiChi was the one who had been admitted into the hospital. She looked toward the waiting area. There was Videl, Pan, and the one she had been searching for, Goten.
"How did you find out she was here?" Gohan asked.
She had to think fast. What could she tell him that would make sense? "Well, I had tutoring today and Goten never showed up...." She may as well leave it at that. No need to go into details. Half-truth was her middle name these days.
Gohan smiled a strange kind of smile. "I still can't believe you're being tutored. You're so smart; I never would have guessed in a million years that you'd need help with anything."
"Everybody needs a little help every now and then," Bra told him.
Gohan nodded. He was about to say something when Goten came over and put his hand on Gohan's shoulder.
Goten smiled his oh-so-adorable smile. "Hey, Bra. Sorry about tutoring today. False alarm." He looked at his older brother. "You think it'd be okay for me to split? We've still got studying to do."
Gohan raised an eyebrow. "Studying. Right."
Bra's face instantly turned pink. Does he know something?
"What's that supposed to mean?" Goten asked.
Gohan smiled. "You two better go hit the books." With that, he strolled back to the waiting area.
Both she and Goten had shocked looks on their faces.
"Um...Goten..., what was he talking about?" Bra asked. "Did you say something to him?"
Goten shook his head, still looking a bit surprised. "He just likes to tease me sometimes...." He thought for a minute. "But he and Pan were really chatty with each other today. Even more so than usual."
Bra looked into the waiting area. Gohan and Videl were both looking at her and Goten while Pan looked at a magazine. "I don't like the looks of this," she whispered to Goten. "We'd better go."
Goten nodded.
Just as the two were about to make their exit, Goku came out of one of the hospital rooms. "Hey, you two love birds!" he called to them. He waved vigorously.
Both Goten and Bra cringed. What had just happened?
--End It's the End of the World As We Know It--
--Welcome once again. I said I'd try to start getting these chapters out faster. And I'm doing the best I can. So tell me what you think. And please take it easy on me. I still consider myself a rookie. Very much so a rookie.
--Thank you all for the reviews. Like I've said before, you folks are the fuel that keeps this fire going. I hope you enjoyed this little episode of The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret. Please stay tuned. You never know what's gonna happen next.
--It's the End of the World As We Know It--
Fan-freakin'-tastic. Goten hadn't even shown up for their study session yet. What was up with him lately? Bra didn't like this one bit. Especially after she'd seen him with those girls during lunch. DURING LUNCH. Nothing could stop Goten from getting a meal in. And there were four of them. Sure, she knew a lot of women were interested in him. And sure, she'd sent him off to another woman. But there was no excuse for THAT kind of behavior. Outright flirting. Silly little show-offs. She hated girls like them.
Stupid, lovable Goten. He was the MAIN one at fault.
So what was he up to now? Had he found those peppy little prep girls and started flirting with them again? She would question him thoroughly...if he ever showed up.
Bra sat in the library lobby in Goten's usual seat and waited...............
After about 15 minutes, Bra was boiling. Goten hadn't arrived yet. Very unlike him. Well, as of late, it kinda WAS like him. So what were her alternatives? She could 1) sit there and continue to wait patiently until she heard from him, 2) hunt him down and question him, or 3) go home and pretend none of this ever happened. Under any normal circumstance, she would have chosen to kill him and be done with it, but recently, her judgment had been a bit off. Her mode of thinking had become...calmer...in a way.
So she decided to go with an altogether different option. She would find out where he was, surprise him, and then remind him of why you don't mess with the daughter of a Saiyan prince.
Bra gathered up her books and headed out of the library. The fun part of it all was that she had decided to remain calm, no matter what happened. Now, unless he was intentionally hiding from her, she would be able to determine his locale via ki signature. If only she'd concentrated on searching for powers when the person wasn't in a fight, this would have been a piece of cake. Oh, well.
She took off flying, not really caring if anyone saw her or not. Once in the air, she stopped and scanned the city. Nope. Looking for him this way wasn't the answer. She'd have to feel for his life energy. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Everything around her gave off a little of the energy she was searching for. It was like being bombarded with an onslaught of warm cotton balls all over her body. She was sure that if she reached through those cotton balls, she would find the stones that represented her family and friends.
Of course, the first distinguishable energy she detected was her father's. He was most likely training. Then she picked up energies that were very near each other. They were probably together. Now, who were they? One was...Pan. And she was accompanied by three others. Yep! She'd found him. There was Goten.
Bra opened her eyes and set out in the direction in which she had felt his energy. At sound-breaking speed, she jetted across the sky. So Pan was with Goten. And two others. She hadn't paid attention long enough to tell who they were, but she didn't care about that at the time. She just wanted to find Goten and see if she could break a few bones once she reached him.
She soon found herself floating above the local hospital and immediately regretted threatening to do Goten harm. What were he and Pan doing at the hospital? A feeling of dread filled her all of a sudden. What if Goten was hurt? She couldn't bare the thought of him being in pain, or worse (yet she was about to cause him physical pain when she found him).
Bra rushed up to the front desk. "Where?!! Just tell me where he is!!" She was in a panic. She couldn't even focus anymore.
The lady at the front desk looked at her strangely. "Young lady, please just stay calm."
"I AM CALM! NOW WHERE IS HE?!?!?!" Bra shouted.
The hustle and bustle that surrounded her, which she hadn't even noticed when she first enters, ceased.
"I don't know who you're talking about, Miss," the poor woman behind the desk told her.
"Don't try to hide the truth! I know he's in one of these rooms!" Bra hissed from between her teeth. Before she knew it, she had cleared the counter and was hurriedly typing on the computer. "How do you work this thing?" she whined.
"Bra, is that you?" a voice called to her.
Bra looked up and saw Gohan. So that was one of the other powers she'd felt. Tears came to her eyes.
"What are you doing behind the desk?" Gohan asked, looking confused.
Bra ran over to Gohan and clung to him. It was strange. She never really clung to anyone. Except Goten. "Gohan, what happened? Please tell me. I was so worried."
"It's alright. Mom's gonna be fine," Gohan informed her. "Dad just panicked and called all of us. She just got a slight concussion. Nothing serious."
Bra looked up at him, wide-eyed. "Mom? You mean ChiChi?" She let him go and dried her tears.
"Yeah. I didn't think you knew about it. And I didn't want to worry anyone," Gohan said.
So ChiChi was the one who had been admitted into the hospital. She looked toward the waiting area. There was Videl, Pan, and the one she had been searching for, Goten.
"How did you find out she was here?" Gohan asked.
She had to think fast. What could she tell him that would make sense? "Well, I had tutoring today and Goten never showed up...." She may as well leave it at that. No need to go into details. Half-truth was her middle name these days.
Gohan smiled a strange kind of smile. "I still can't believe you're being tutored. You're so smart; I never would have guessed in a million years that you'd need help with anything."
"Everybody needs a little help every now and then," Bra told him.
Gohan nodded. He was about to say something when Goten came over and put his hand on Gohan's shoulder.
Goten smiled his oh-so-adorable smile. "Hey, Bra. Sorry about tutoring today. False alarm." He looked at his older brother. "You think it'd be okay for me to split? We've still got studying to do."
Gohan raised an eyebrow. "Studying. Right."
Bra's face instantly turned pink. Does he know something?
"What's that supposed to mean?" Goten asked.
Gohan smiled. "You two better go hit the books." With that, he strolled back to the waiting area.
Both she and Goten had shocked looks on their faces.
"Um...Goten..., what was he talking about?" Bra asked. "Did you say something to him?"
Goten shook his head, still looking a bit surprised. "He just likes to tease me sometimes...." He thought for a minute. "But he and Pan were really chatty with each other today. Even more so than usual."
Bra looked into the waiting area. Gohan and Videl were both looking at her and Goten while Pan looked at a magazine. "I don't like the looks of this," she whispered to Goten. "We'd better go."
Goten nodded.
Just as the two were about to make their exit, Goku came out of one of the hospital rooms. "Hey, you two love birds!" he called to them. He waved vigorously.
Both Goten and Bra cringed. What had just happened?
--End It's the End of the World As We Know It--
--Welcome once again. I said I'd try to start getting these chapters out faster. And I'm doing the best I can. So tell me what you think. And please take it easy on me. I still consider myself a rookie. Very much so a rookie.
--Thank you all for the reviews. Like I've said before, you folks are the fuel that keeps this fire going. I hope you enjoyed this little episode of The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret. Please stay tuned. You never know what's gonna happen next.