Chapter Five

Serena grinned to herself as she walked to the school at 6:30 in the morning, dressed in designer jeans and a pale blue top with a matching blue jacket tied around her waist and a violet knapsack, which she held onto in her right hand.

'I'm a calculus professor, I get to stay for free at a hotel, I know what my dad's like, and no one cares about who I am here. Could life get any better?'

She was halfway up the school walkway when she heard someone shout, "Look out!"

On instinct from all her years of fighting demons, Serena sidestepped, dropping her backpack, and spun around just in time to avoid a speeding baseball. The ball struck the wall and she sighed in relief as she heard the loud thud. It might have broken a bone if it had hit her.

Picking up the ball, she tossed it up once, testing to see if it had cracked. "Whose ball is this?" she called, watching boys run toward her.

A muscular guy with long blond hair waved his hand high in the air, and she whipped it back at him, surprising him so much that he almost didn't catch it. "You should watch where you throw things," she suggested, smiling as she turned.

Many boys stared after her, drooling as she entered the school building. A few of the girls smacked their boyfriends and the rest stared after her jealously.

"I wonder who that is," Videl whispered to Gohan.

He shrugged. "Well, whoever she is, she has quick reflexes."

Videl grinned, glad that her boyfriend wasn't like the other guys. He didn't even know the meaning of the word 'flirt'.

The clock soon reached 7:25 and everyone stampeded inside to prepare for their classes.

Smiling slightly, she and Gohan entered their first period class together, Calculus AP. That was one of the few classes they had with each other. The only other times they met in school were physical education, lunch, and if they met each other during passing period.

When they entered the room, they found that everyone was whispering excitedly.

"Hey, what's going on?" Videl asked a friend of hers curiously.

"Oh, didn't you hear? There's a new professor and she's supposed to be really young, too!"

Videl shrugged, sliding into the seat beside her friend. "What's the big deal? And where's our old professor?"

At that, Gohan looked up from his book. "Oh, you mean Professor Tsui? He retired last week."

"Oh."

The last morning bell rang at promptly 7:35 and everyone looked up expectantly as the door clicked shut.

"Oh, she must be a new student," Videl's friend whispered as the beautiful young woman from before turned and walked to the front of the room.

Everyone quieted down and looked at her curiously as she stood in front of the desk, smiling calmly at their stares. She acted very strangely for a new student.

She got everyone's attention when she began to speak in a musical voice with a mysteriously serene and positive lilt to it. "Contrary to belief, I am not a new student. My name is Professor Tsukino, and I will be teaching you all. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Everyone's mouths dropped and they stared at her in disbelief. She was their professor? Unbelievable! She couldn't possibly be any older then they were!

"Are you really our new professor?" a male student with spiky brown hair asked.

Professor Tsukino nodded calmly. "Yes, I am your new calculus professor. And I can assure you that I am well certified to do this. Now, the first thing we will do today is take attendance. Then I can begin torturing you, as my job description states."

Everyone groaned and let their heads drop as the professor smiled and began to read off the list.

She suddenly paused and looked up. "Son, Gohan?" she asked, her voice trembling just slightly.

"Here," the scholar replied, glancing at her strangely.

Videl looked up as well when she heard the professor stop. Did she know Gohan?

"Are you all right, Miss Tsukino?" Gohan asked her.

After a moment, Professor Tsukino nodded and then a smile crossed her porcelain features again. "Yes, I'm fine," she replied softly. Then she looked down again and continued on, the peaceful smile remaining on her face.

Videl and Gohan exchanged glances but said nothing. There wasn't really much left to do but wait until after class to talk about it. Gohan finished the calculus problems fairly easily and then sat silently, lost in his thoughts until Videl asked for a little help and when class was dismissed.

Videl and Gohan talked as they did bench presses. It was strength training, a class they had together during 4th period.

"Do you think she's a bad guy?" Videl asked Gohan curiously as she lifted 125 pounds without much effort.

Gohan shook his head after a moment, his eyes thoughtful, meanwhile lifting 200 pounds without even breathing hard. "No, I don't think so. I don't sense any bad vibes from her. In fact, I don't sense anything strange about her at all. Maybe she was surprised to have me first thing in the morning because I'm the top student. She might've seen me at the tournament, too."

"That could be right," Videl agreed. "I hope it is."

"So do I," Gohan replied softly. "So do I."

Serena's hands trembled as her eyes skimmed Gohan's calculus assignment. There wasn't a single wrong answer in the lot.

'I can't believe I just met my brother. The vibes coming off him were so strong and pure! It was like having my own vibes reflected at myself. I didn't realize we were so alike! I still don't know how I'm going to handle everything. How do I get to know my father and my brother? It'll be even harder because if I try to get close to Gohan, everyone'll either think he's a teacher's pet or that I have a crush on him! That'd be gross! Dad is even a harder problem. I don't know if we'll ever meet again. A conference would be good but why would I call a conference? Gohan's a perfect student. Oh, what have I gotten myself into?'

With a groan, Serena set down the paper and simply wrote 100 on the top. That was the last paper so she could leave for the day. It was only 4:30 but almost all of the other teachers were gone already.

She became so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice when a man crept up behind her as she left the school building. She didn't even remember locking her classroom door. It was mostly an automatic thing that took no thought whatsoever.

Her eyes widened in surprise when someone placed a hand on her shoulder.

"How much for the night?" the bald-headed man asked.

"What?" she asked, her brows furrowing in confusion. "How much what for the night?"

The old man rolled his eyes. "How much money for the night, babe?"

"What?" Serena shrieked, slapping his hand away. "I am not a prostitute! Leave me alone!"

"Oh, playing hard to get, are we?" he teased. "How about ten thousand yen?"

"I said NO! Go away, you creep!" Serena screamed in his face.

Just as he was about to reach for her again, a fist hit him so hard he skidded about 10 feet and then fell over, unconscious.

"Are you all right, honey?" a kindly voice asked.

She turned toward her savior and smiled gratefully at the older woman. "I am now. Thank you, ma'am."

"What's a girl like you doing walking around where there are no people? It's not safe. By the way, my name is Chi-Chi," the woman added.

Serena smiled at the black-haired woman with her hair tied back in a bun. She looked exactly like a mother should. 'Wait a minute! Chi-Chi! That's the name of my mother! This has got to be a coincidence!'

"It's nice to meet you, Chi-Chi. My name's Serena, I was just leaving the school. I'm a new professor."

"You're a professor?" the woman asked in disbelief. "But you're so young! You must be a genius!"

Serena looked down blushing. "Well, not exactly. I just had a lot of free time on my hands."

"Well, why don't you come over tomorrow night to meet my son? He does need a tutor. You are qualified to teach children, right?"

Serena nodded. "I can teach anyone, but I'm not sure I'd be a very good teacher.

"Of course you would!" Chi-Chi exclaimed. "If you can teach high school students, you can teach anyone!"

She smiled, blushing again. "Thank you. I don't have anything to do for the rest of the day, how about I come see the little boy with you right now?"

Normally, she wouldn't have gone with the woman without checking up on her background but the woman gave her a sense of security that she hadn't felt in such a long time.

"That would be wonderful!" Chi-Chi exclaimed, picking up her forgotten groceries. She had dropped them as she went to hit the man.

Purposely stepping on the man's hand as they walked passed him, Chi-Chi smiled again at Serena. "That man deserved it. He obviously had no morals."

The silvery golden haired girl smiled back. "Thank you again, Chi-Chi. But where did you learn to hit so hard?"

"Oh," a smile crossed the older woman's lips again as she reminisced in old memories. "I was a fighter a long time ago."

"Wow," Serena whispered. "That's amazing!"

Chi-Chi nodded. "I wish our house were closer to the city but my husband likes the country too much."

"Oh, how inconsiderate of me!" Serena exclaimed, smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Chi-Chi, can I help you with your groceries?"

The woman smiled. "Thank you. You are a very kind young woman."

"Thank you." Serena blushed again as she took one of the two paper bags filled to the top with groceries. "How far away is your home?"

"Uhhhh..." At that, Chi-Chi stopped. "Well, actually, it might take a few hours."

Serena almost fell over. "Your house really is in the countryside, isn't it?"

"Well, yes," she admitted truthfully.

"Do you think we would get there quicker if we jogged?" Serena suggested helpfully.

"Do you think you can jog that far?" Chi-Chi asked in reply.

The silvery blonde grinned and nodded. "Sure! I'm used to running a lot. I've never run long distance before though."

"That's all right, if you're used to running then I'm sure we can make it there in no time."

After much running and then pausing to catch their breaths, they finally reached the house an hour and a half later.

"Whew!" Serena exclaimed as she waited for Chi-Chi to open the door. "Now that was a workout!"

Chi-Chi smiled at her affectionately and then beckoned her to enter. "I'm surprised you could actually run with me! Most people would be left behind the way we ran!"

Serena grinned back at her. "I've always been told that I'm good at running," she replied. Her eyes saddened as she thought about the person that had teased her about that. 'I miss you, Raye.'

Chi-Chi, noticing the sudden change in her new friend's mood, cheered her up by announcing that she would cook them up a snack as a reward for running so well.

Serena grinned. "I would help you, but I don't know how to cook. I'm sure you wouldn't enjoy food poisoning."

Chi-Chi laughed and then went into the kitchen, telling her to make herself comfortable in the living room. Her husband and both of her sons were out with their friends. Apparently, her husband was at a place called Capsule Corps to spar with a friend of his. Her oldest son was on a date and her youngest son was with his father.

Serena smiled as a rich aroma filled her nostrils. The smell was making her mouth water and her hands tapped out a rhythm on her lap idly.

She stood up and spun around in disbelief as a familiar baritone rang through the air. "Chi-Chi! We're home!"

"Goku!" she whispered. 'I was right! She is my mom! I've been lucky so many times this week!'

The man looked up and his brows furrowed in confusion. "Uh, hi, what are you doing here?"

"Uh... I-I-I came with Chi-Chi!" she exclaimed. It really didn't matter that she had answered the question a second later when the wall collapsed inward.

Chi-Chi ran out of the kitchen at the loud boom and blinked rapidly as plaster dust flew in her face. Serena, who had been closest to the explosion, had dust thrown in her face, blinding her and filling her lungs. Tears streaming down her face, she began to cough uncontrollably and ran toward where the Sons stood.

"Serena!" Chi-Chi exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

Serena tried to nod but only coughed again. "What's going on?" she managed to gasp, wiping her face on the sleeves of her jacket.

Goku stepped in front of them protectively and shouted out, "Who are you? Show yourself!"

A heinous laugh filled the air and a shadow formed in the clearing dust. "I am Malkaya. I serve my master, Chaos! I was sent here to relieve you of your energy, and that's exactly what I'll do now!"

Serena groaned as she was thrown back against a wall, a vine-like tentacle strangling her. The same was happening to Chi-Chi. The tentacle crackled with some type of electric energy and began to zap their power.

Goten and Goku had managed to dodge the things and they ran to help out Serena and Chi-Chi. The moment they touched the tentacles though, more sprouted out exactly where they touched it and began to drain their energy. Then more tentacles shot out from the monster and wrapped around their ankles and their wrists as well.

Goku tried to fight back and normally the monster would be a pulp now but almost all of his energy was gone already.

'Damn! This thing works fast!' Serena thought frantically, wrapping her hands around the vines with a determined thought. 'By the power of Mars!'

The monster screamed and recoiled from her as the emblem of Mars lit up in red on the back of her hand and a fireball appeared between her palms, singing the demon from the inside.

Goku stopped struggling and stared in disbelief. He was the only one still conscious besides Serena.

"You've gotten yourself a death wish!" Serena growled angrily at the shocked monster.

She threw out her right hand and shouted, "Mars Power!"

The symbol of Mars burned on her hand again and a fireball appeared in front of her palm. Lifting her hand up in front of her agilely, she pulled it back, and Goku was surprised to see a bow and arrow of fire appear before her. Aiming effortlessly, she let the arrow fly into the heart of the monster. Goku lost consciousness as she let go of the arrow.

"You may have defeated me, but, in the end, Chaos will win!" the monster shrieked as it alighted and then burned to a pile of ashes. Four different balls of energy floated above its ashes, and Serena reached out to them. The one burning the brightest flew into her chest and she closed her eyes as a comforting warmth filled her being.

She then took the one that she guessed belonged to Chi-Chi and eased it into the woman's body, laying her out on the floor. She then did the same to Goten and then Goku, in order of who seemed to be in danger the most.

After she set Goten on the couch and brought out blankets and pillows for Chi-Chi and Goku because they were too heavy for her to lift, she surveyed the damage.

"Look what I've done to their house," she whispered sadly. "And I haven't even been here for two days. I bet they'll hate me forever now. Why does everything always have to go wrong?" she choked on the last few words and fell silent.

'My family will hate me forever.'

She sat down against a piece of the wall that was still standing with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head resting on them, and she began to cry.