Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z/GT or their characters.

Author's Note: I finally did it! Yoo hoo! After my computer dying on me, I thought I'd never get it done, but it's fixed and I finished my editing. So... uh... read... o_o

Chapter One: Change of Plans

"Oh!" Paresu squealed when she answered the phone, her brown eyes shining in delight. "Goten-kun! I'm so happy you called! In fact, I was just thinking of calling you because I'm at the mall all by myself and I need someone to talk to."

"Uh... yeah." Goten responded, not sounding quite as ecstatic as his girlfriend. "Um, Paresu..."

"Oh, I just can't wait for our date tomorrow!" Paresu continued. "Can we see that new movie? The one about... oh... Oh, I can't believe I forgot already!" She giggled nervously, looking around the mall. "I know I just saw a poster for it..."

"Uh, Paresu, I have some bad news..."

"...Bad news?" Paresu said softly.

"Well, I guess it's not that bad. I suppose it's in the way you look at it."

"Oh, no..." Paresu murmured into the receiver as she sat down on a nearby bench.

"Oh... no...?"

"You're breaking up with me, aren't you?" Paresu couldn't believe it. They'd been dating for two years now, and they'd rarely had any problems with each other. She and Goten had stuck together through the good times and the bad times, and recently everything seemed like it was going just fine. She hadn't seen any signs that Goten was unhappy with her. In fact, she was so sure that they'd been getting closer to each other. How could this happen?

"Huh?" was Goten's reply.

"Oh, I just knew it!" Paresu cried, slamming a pale fist on the arm of the bench. "I knew it was too good to be true! I think I find the greatest, sweetest guy in the world, go out with him for two years, fall in love with him and turn to putty in his hands, and then he breaks it off!"

"Er... Paresu?"

"It just figures! You men! All alike!" She glanced with teary eyes at two young men who'd stopped in their tracks at her remark, staring at her curiously. "What are you two looking at?!"

"But, Paresu, I-"

"Don't patronize me, Goten!" Paresu interrupted. "You think you can just toss me away and I'll be okay with it? I can't believe that you, YOU, Goten, would be such a player!" Paresu let out a short sob, and she rifled around in her purse for a tissue. "And then you say it's not THAT bad if I LOOK at it the RIGHT way-"

"PARESU!"

"Oh, now you're yelling at me!"

"I don't wanna break up with you!"

"Oh, now you... oh..." Paresu put her hand behind her head and laughed nervously. "I knew that! I was just joking!" She hunched over, realizing how much attention she'd been getting from the other shoppers.

"Right..."

"So, what IS the news?"

"Well, we can't go out tomorrow."

"Oh..." Paresu looked at the scratched tile floor sadly, twirling a few strands of her chestnut hair around her index finger.

"But that's because my mom wants you to come with us when we have dinner with the Briefs family at Capsule Corporations."

"OH! Well, that sounds good.... CAPSULE CORPORATIONS??" Paresu screamed, jumping up from her seat. A few mall goers were so startled by the outburst that they dropped their bags and stared at her, blinking their eyes in intrigued confusion.

Goten jerked the phone away from his ear. "Jeez! I don't think they heard you in America!" he said when he pulled the receiver back to his ear. "What's the big deal about the CC anyway?"

"That's... that's all the way in Western Capital!"

"So... it's kind of far away..."

"Kind of?" Paresu paced back and forth in front of the bench, gesturing with her free hand as she spoke. "Goten, it takes you five hours to drive to Satan City from your house. To get to Western Capital from there will take more than ten times as long! We'll have to drive for more than two days straight-"

"Um... Okaasan says we're taking a plane."

Paresu stopped pacing. "Oh..."

"You knew that too?"

"Oh, shush!" Paresu frowned into the phone, but then her expression lightened into confusion. "You mean we're taking a plane all the way across the continent to have dinner?"

"Um, actually, we'll get there by dinner time, and Bulma-san wants us to stay for a couple more days..."

"Thanks for telling me straight off," Paresu said sarcastically. "So... you really want me to come with you guys?"

"Of course, Paresu-chan. 'Kaasan really wants you to come, and Bulma said it was okay."

"Well, I guess I'll come then!" Paresu chirped, doing a little hop.

"Great!" Goten exclaimed. "The plane leaves Satan City Airport at two tomorrow. Will you meet us there?"

"Sure!" Paresu replied. "Oh, Goten-kun, do you think the Briefses will like me?"

"Well, Trunks said he likes you, and you have met them all once before..."

"Yeah, but I haven't really talked to Trunks that much, and I didn't say anything at all to the rest of the family at the funeral! I mean, it's the Briefs family! Owners of the Capsule Corporation! They're such high class..."

"What does that make me?"

"Gomen!" Paresu apologized. "I didn't mean that!"

"Nah, it's okay. Besides, you're a model, doesn't that make you high class too?"

"I guess..." Paresu picked up her purse, slinging it over her shoulder, and continued her shopping, "but they're smart too, and not just smart! Genius smart..."

"Oh, don't feel intimidated. Trust me. They're great people."

"Oh, I know... I guess I'm just nervous..." Paresu studied an elegant black dress in one of the display windows. "They aren't going to the opera or anything while we're there, are they?"

"Opera?" Goten laughed. "Are you kidding me?"

"Um... yes?" Paresu said, quickly moving on to the next store.

Goten chuckled, but after a moment stopped. "Um... about Vejita..."

"That's Trunks' papa, right? What about him?" Paresu studied a pair of leather sandals through the window of a shoe store, then went inside.

"Um... just don't let him scare you..."

"Scare me? Why would he scare me?" Paresu asked, pointing out the shoes she wanted to a clerk and flashing him her shoe size using her fingers.

"Well, it's not like he tries... or maybe he does... Look, he's just not the sunniest person..."

"Well, okay," Paresu replied, not quite understanding what Goten meant. "I'm sure I can deal with him."

"I think you and Bra will get along fine though," Goten assured her. "I think you guys are alike in some ways. She definitely loves shopping."

"Oh, yes, Bra! How old is she now?"

"She's sixteen."

"Sixteen... Oh, I wish I could be sixteen again..." Paresu sighed in a brief moment of reverie. "Hey, maybe Bra and I can go shopping together, huh?"

"That's a good idea. I think she'll really like you."

"Are your brother and his family going?" Paresu asked. The clerk returned with her shoes, and she nodded towards the cash register.

"Nah, they're on vacation in America. They won't be back home for a couple of weeks... So it's just us, Mom, and the Briefs."

"Okies..." Paresu handed the clerk her credit card and caught a glimpse of her watch as she did so. "Oh, Goten-kun! I have to go so I can pack!"

"'Kay. I'll see you at the airport tomorrow, then?"

"Uh huh!

"Ja ne, Paresu-chan!"

"Ja, Goten-kun!" Paresu hit the "end" button on her cell phone and slid it into her purse. She took back her credit card with one hand and grasped the plastic bag that held her new shoes in the other. "Arigatou!" she chirped, putting her card in her purse and turning from the counter.

Paresu smiled as she left the store. If she couldn't spend time alone with Goten, she would settle for being with him when others were around. Besides, it was good for their relationship if she got to know his friends better. She might even learn a little more about Goten. Maybe she would learn a bit more about what had happened that day...

On their first date Paresu and Goten had gone out for ice cream. It was also the first time she'd ever tried it, and although she'd been unsure how to eat it at first, she enjoyed it very much. She'd been having fun the whole time actually, until that guy showed up...

Amazed and bewildered, she had watched as Goten fought the strange man. It wasn't just normal hand to hand combat, though. She'd seen bright, colorful energy balls shoot from Goten's hands as he fought. She'd seen him use massive strength, more than she seen Mr. Satan exhibit. Then Trunks had shown up and done the same thing. Paresu had been shocked and confused by all that was going on around her, and she hadn't known what to think of the extraordinary display.

Later, she'd asked Goten what exactly it was she'd seen. Goten had stared at her for moment, as if contemplating, and than a grin spread over his lips and he had told her to forget about it. He'd said it wasn't important.

So, she never brought it up again. Other girls might have been frightened of a guy who obviously had a secret, but Paresu just didn't care. Granted, she was not a sharp girl, but Paresu knew that she liked Goten a lot. Secret or no secret, if he thought it was best for her not to know about whatever it was he was hiding, then she would trust him.

Paresu walked towards the rotating doors that led to the parking lot and thought about the various things she would have to pack for the trip. There was the obvious: shirts, jeans, socks, underwear, and sneakers. She should probably pack a few sundresses and heels too. Then of course hairspray, a curling iron, her make-up, a razor, her hairbrush... She hoped she wouldn't forget anything. Last year when she and Goten went to the shore for the weekend she forgot to pack a bathing suit! Her swimsuit, of all things! She had felt like a total fool even though Goten had said he found her cute when she was absentminded.

"Oh, well," Paresu sighed to herself as she pushed through the revolving doors and outside. "If I do forget anything I suppose I could just buy something in the capital." Shopping reminded her of Goten's comment about Bra, and Bra reminded her of the Briefs family. She bit her lip worriedly. "Oh, I hope they like me..."

"He's bringing WHO?" Bra shouted, letting her fork drop on her plate.

Her brother, Trunks, who sat beside her, and her father, Vejita, who sat across from her next to her mother, did not seem as shocked by the information Bulma had slipped into the conversation. They simply continued to greedily shovel their meal into their eager mouths. Bulma, however, sat with her fork poised above her plate and staring at her daughter curiously.

"He's bringing his girlfriend, Paresu, with him," Bulma repeated. "Is something wrong, Bra?"

Bra looked down at her plate and tried to hide her affection for the boyfriend of the girl in question. "It's just that... that you didn't mention it before."

"Well, Chi-Chi only called me about it today."

Bra glanced up from her food, as she sensed an opportunity to show any sort of superiority over this girl. "Well, that certainly is rude of Paresu asking to tag along, and on such short notice, in fact!"

"Actually," Bulma said, pausing to take a sip of her water, "Chi-Chi is the one who asked Paresu to come along. She says that she and Goten have gotten real close over these last two years, and she thinks that this is a good opportunity to see how she would get along with the Son family and their friends."

Trunks paused in his rapid consumption of food and raised an eyebrow. "She needs to see if Paresu can get along with others well? I've only seen her a few times, but she's a perfectly nice girl."

"Nobody is perfect," Bra quickly tossed in.

Bulma looked at her daughter closely. "Honey... are you jealous of Paresu?"

Bra felt the blush creep up her neck and blossom on her cheeks. "Jealous? Of course not! Why would I be jealous of her?"

"Yes, why would you?" a deep voice spoke up.

Bra's gaze slowly moved to her father, who was staring at her critically. Oh, no... He can't know about Goten! He'll literally kill him! Bra took a deep breath, forced away the redness from her cheeks, and picked up her fork calmly. "Honestly, 'Tousan," she began, "are you insinuating that I like Goten in more of a friend-like way?"

"Sounded like you were the one who insinuated it with all this envious blabber," Vejita replied, still glaring at her accusingly.

"I only like him as friend, 'Tousan! Honest! It's just that Goten is one of my very good friends, and if he and this Paresu girl are getting as close as Chi-Chi-san says I want to make sure she deserves him."

Vejita continued to stare at her for a moment, then begrudgingly accepted her answer and went on with eating his rice.

"It's nice of you to look out for Goten, Bra, but you have nothing to worry about," Trunks said. "She's a very nice girl. Plus, she already seems to have Chi-Chi-san's approval, so there can't be much to worry about."

"She's a model, Bra," Bulma said to her daughter. "Didn't you say you were considering getting into that after you graduate?"

Bra picked at her chicken. "I was thinking about it, but I don't really think that's what I want to do."

Bulma sighed and gave Bra stern look. "I really don't want to put pressure on you, honey, but you're seventeen and you still have no idea about what you want to do with your life. You don't expect to just live off the family wealth, do you?"

"Of course not!" Bra replied, a bit angry. "I'm not some moocher!"

"Then you're going to have to decide what profession you'll be going into."

"'Kaasan, there's still this year and the next to think about that!"

"Not if you want to get into a college! You have to send in your applications to the ones you're thinking about entering early, not that you've thought about college at all. They're going to want to know what you plan to major in and your grade point average. Speaking of which, your grades have been slipping recently. I've told you that I'm willing to help you if you're having trouble in any of your classes. You're going to have to keep those grades up if you want-"

"Do you even know what I want?" Bra shouted jumped up from her chair and tossed her fork onto the table. "Do you even have any idea? Have you even asked? You would think that an okaasan would ask her own daughter what she wants, but no! You just have all these expectations of what I should be doing and you don't even care! I'm not you, Okaasan! I'm not a genius, and I don't care about going to college! I don't want to go to college! Is that okay with you?"

Trunks, mouth open (and thankfully not full of chewed-up fish) stared at his sister, shocked at her outburst. He had never seen her so angry or outspoken before, and it was quite a new experience for him, not to mention the rest of the family. Even Vejita was looking at his daughter with wide, surprised eyes. Bulma also looked just as shocked as her husband and son, but after a moment of silence in the dining room her expression and attitude became more serious.

"I think you need to spend some time in your bedroom," Bulma said to Bra with a calm expression.

Bra bit her lip and began feeling regret over her fit. "Okaasan, I just-"

"Your room. Perhaps when you've calmed down we can speak calmly and rationally like adults."

Bra sighed. "Gomenasai, Okaasan," she whispered before turning and leaving the dining room.

Bulma rubbed her temples. "I just don't know what's gotten into that girl."

"She probably feels a lot of pressure," Trunks spoke up. "I mean, you do have a lot of expectations for that she probably doesn't think she can-"

"Oh, please, Trunks!" Bulma exclaimed with a wave of her hand. "She knows she can be successful like the rest of the family. Well," Bulma took a glance at Vejita," like the two of us anyway. I mean, you were nervous about making it into the world, and look at you now!"

"But Bra is not me, 'Kaasan," Trunks pointed out. "I think the last thing she wants is to be anything like me."

"I'm sure it's just a phase," Bulma said. "She'll be back to her normal bubbly self in no time. Just watch."

Trunks gave up and picked up his fork, going over her words in his head. Guess that's where Bra got her obliviousness when she was younger... His eyes fell on the empty seat next to his mother and he blinked. "Um... where'd 'Tousan go?"

"Huh?" Bulma saw that her husband had vanished. "What the hell...?"

Bra flopped into the swing lazily letting her feet trace faint lines into the soft dirt below. The swing set sat in the middle of a small playground was a ways from the house across the Capsule Corporation compound. Back when she was little, Bra used to scream until her father took her and pushed her on this swing, but she soon outgrew that part of her routine when she began attending school. Nowadays, though, she often came here to be alone with her thoughts so she could think without disruption.

She closed her eyes and hung her head, listening to the crickets chirping in the twilight as she slightly swung back and forth. She though about a lot of things when she was here: school, her family, her future... Goten...

A couple years ago she had been sure that Goten was hers, despite the age difference. So what if he was more than twice her age? She just knew that they were perfect for each other! He was so cute, so sweet! Sure, he wasn't bright like his brother, but his personality was better in Bra's opinion. Back then, she just knew that one day they'd be together.

Not that she'd ever gotten the courage to confess her affection. At first she'd been very shy around him. She barely said a word and answered his questions with nods and shakes of her head while trying to hide her blushes. As time went on and she matured, she'd become more confident and outgoing. She'd been able to have actual conversations with Goten and sometimes tagged along when he, her brother, and Marron went on their excursions. Talking more and spending more time with Goten increased her infatuation with him, even though Trunks was usually around whenever she saw Goten.

Trunks must've been blind not to notice the look in his sister's eyes whenever she spotted his best friend. Of course, these days he had his own relationship to focus on, so there was less chance of him discovering now. Bra smiled to herself. Who would've thought that Trunks and Marron would have wound up together? They fit well, anyway. Marron was a strong-willed, sweet girl who balanced out Trunks' tendency to become stressed with his job. Marron used to stay at home with her parents and barely went out as she fended off the eager hands of Muten Roshi, but when she and Trunks began dating she got out more. Trunks took her out on the town now and then and Marron was always his date at the Capsule Corporation business gatherings. They hadn't been able to go out much at first, what with the distance that separated them, but when Marron left Roshi's island to make it on her own she had moved to an apartment in West Capital that was right across town from the compound! Now Trunks and Marron saw each other nearly every day when Trunks wasn't busy with his role as the president of Capsule Corporations and Marron wasn't working as the hostess of a popular restaurant. Bra had been worried that Goten would feel left out, but, of course, he was also in his own relationship.

Bra frowned. Things had sure changed in the last two years, the years after Goku had died, or so they assumed after he had flown off on Shenron's back. A couple weeks after he had disappeared there had been a funeral at the Son house. Well, it had been more like a wake-like ceremonial gathering actually. That was the only way Bra could describe it. She and her family had come, as did Gohan, Videl, and Pan from their home in Satan City; Gyuu Mao, Chi-Chi's father; Krillin, Juuhachigou, and Marron; Yamcha and Puar; Tenshinhan and Chaozu; Piccolo; and Muten Roshi and Oolong. They had all sat together outside the Son house and related tales of their past adventures with Goku. Bulma, laughing as she spoke, even told of how Goku had discovered how different boys and girls really were, and, of course, Vejita hadn't found it as amusing. When the subject of his and Nappa's arrival on Earth came up, however, Bulma was able to use her expert nagging to goad him to tell nearly every detail his and "Kakarot's" first battle. When he came to the point in his narration where the fight stopped going his way, however, he let out a little huff and refused to go on, and Krillin picked up where he left off.

There had been someone missing from the circle of friends, though. Goten had been more broken up over his father's death than anyone else, even his mother. Goten had not known his father for half his childhood or the many years Goku had been away training Uubu, the reincarnation of Majin Buu, and Goten had become depressed when he realized that he would never get a chance to get to know his father better. As the others had recited their stories Goten had sat on the other side of the house and silently stared at the sky, as if he were wishing for his father to glide down from the clouds on white-feathered wings. Bra had wanted to go sit with him but her mother had stopped her and assured her that Goten would be fine.

"After all, Paresu is with him."

They had only been on one date, but when Paresu had heard of Goku's passing she'd insisted on sticking with Goten as he mourned. Throughout the months after Goku's death, wherever Goten was so was Paresu, although it wasn't as if Goten had gone anywhere. He had taken to a habit of staying inside and moping about the house, and he barely said a word to anyone. Paresu came over each day, trying to coax Goten out of his melancholy. Soon Chi-Chi insisted that since Paresu was over so much that she should just spend the night, and Paresu did so, often for weeks at a time. After a couple of months Paresu's effort began to show progress; she was able to encourage Goten to get out of the house and took him to the mall, the movie theatre, and restaurants. Bit by bit Goten became more his usual, more optimistic self, and after he had fully recovered he and Paresu were closer than ever.

Bra had already known that her chances with him would be obliterated during the beginning of Goten's depression, however. On the day of the wake, she had been able to sneak away from the chattering group for a few minutes, thinking hopefully that perhaps Paresu would be inside using the bathroom or getting a drink of water. She had no luck, however, for when she peeked around the corner she saw Goten and Paresu sitting together on the grass on the front lawn. Goten's face was buried in Paresu's shoulder and his arms were around her waist. Paresu's arms were braced tightly around his back as the brunette, humming to him softly, held Goten close and rested her cheek in his spiky black hair.

God, when Bra had glimpsed the loving scene the couple presented and realized that she had lost Goten forever, she felt her heart break in two. Oh, she knew it was wrong to feel that way, to be so selfish during such a time, but she couldn't help it. And as she stared at Paresu, as she glared with envy upon the pretty, dark-haired girl whose eyes looked upon Goten with such love and devotion, Bra couldn't help but feel such hate within herself.

Sometimes it swelled up so strongly that Bra was afraid that some day she might act on it.

Bra started when she felt her lazy swing suddenly jolt when two strong, callused hands gripped the chains on either side of her. She whirled around and let out an "oh" when she recognized the intruder.

"You scared me, 'Tousan," Bra said softly as she turned back to look up at the tiny lanterns in the sky. It was darker than when she had arrived. The sky was now painted in a thick coat of near-black navy blue and flickering rhinestones were scattered across the canvas.

Vejita did not reply, and when his daughter turned back to look at him she recalled how he had changed in the past years too. He had let his hair grow back and it was once again a flaming ebony torch, but as for facial hair, he hadn't attempted growing a mustache again. As she had been noticing for a while, he wasn't as muscular as he had been two years ago. His training habits had lessened, although only slightly ever since Goku's death. Vejita hadn't given up on fighting- such would be impossible for him- but ever since everyone realized that Goku was definitely gone for good this time, that Goku would not return in five, ten, fifteen years, Vejita did not have the same fire about him when he trained. True, he still thoroughly enjoyed sparring with Trunks, but Trunks was no where near the level Vejita was. The younger man simply did not have time to train and increase his strength; he rarely had time to fight with his father at all since his job was so demanding. There was simply no one Vejita could have a decent workout with.

Sometimes Bra wished she could have been more of a fighter than a shopper. Who knows? She could have become the first female Super Saiyajin if she had trained long and hard enough. Even Pan hadn't done that yet, but that was only because no one had time to train the girl. Bra wondered how things would have worked out had Pan been born a Briefs and she a Son. Vejita could have trained Pan and Pan most definitely would have reached the Super Saiyajin in no time. Vejita could have a daughter, a fighter, to be proud of. Then Gohan and Videl would have a daughter without fighting abilities or interest to go to waste and everyone would be happy.

"So you sneaked out, eh?" Vejita asked, and Bra blinked, realizing that she'd been staring at him.

"Hai," was her reply.

Vejita didn't continue and tilted his neck to look up at the stars.

"Papa..."

Vejita looked back down at her, one dark eyebrow slightly quirked up. Bra rarely called him "papa" anymore, only when she felt the need to be comforted.

"Do you... Do you hate it that I'm not a fighter?" There. She'd asked the question she'd wanted to ask for nearly a year now.

"Why?"

Bra glared at her father. She hated it when he avoided answering a question by asking another. "'Tousan! Just tell me!" She stared at him for nearly a minute, him looking right back, and she gave in with a sigh. "I just feel like a big disappointment. I'm not a smart as 'Kaasan wants me to be, and I just know that you were wishing for a daughter like Pan."

"How could I compare you to Kakarot's bloodline?"

"You know what I mean."

Vejita was silent for a moment, then spoke. "I was disappointed when I figured out that you would have no interest in fighting."

Bra stared at him, waiting for him to go on, but he didn't. Her mouth worked for a few moments as she tried to figure out what she could possibly say in return. Finally, she worked up a voice. "Is that all you have to say?" she exclaimed.

"You asked me a question, and I answered."

"So you aren't proud of me at all?" Bra's voice shook a bit as she fought back tears.

"I didn't say that."

"So what are you saying?!"

"You're not a fighter, but you will definitely succeed."

"Oh... but in what?"

"Last time I checked, you weren't so sure either."

Bra stared at him, then finally rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh. "'Tousan, why do you have to make everything you say so confusing?"

"You only say it's confusing because it makes you think too much," Vejita retorted with a smirk. He let out a sudden yelp when his daughter reached back and grabbed the front of his shirt with her delicate hands. With a grunt she threw him up and over the swing set and he landed with a thud, flat on his back. He blinked once, looking at an upside-down smirking Bra.

"Punk," she said, sticking out her tongue.