Chapter 10: Blind Date
"Katie, you need to get out more. Have you ever had a boyfriend?"
"I don't need a boyfriend right now, Bulma. I have to prepare for future battles. Is this really necessary? Do I have to?" Bulma was prettying me up for a date with Brian, the English guy from earlier. She decided I needed to get out of the lab and away from training and away from Trunks for the night. She explained that she was the adult and I needed to get social.
"Katie, you need to, trust me. There, I told you if you would wear make-up you'd be a man killer." I looked over to the mirror, and I had to admit, if it wasn't for the fuss and my daily training I might have decided to wear make-up more often. "Brian is a nice guy, and he's only a few years older than you are. Besides, who else are you interested in?"
"No one, but I still don't see why I have to go on this date."
"You are interested in someone! Tell all!"
"Its silly, no one."
"Katie!" she slapped my arm.
"I've seen this guy in my dreams, okay? Now stop, its silly."
"Ooh, come on, tell me about him!"
You know, for an adult Bulma sure does act like a teenager. She kept working on my hair as I decided how to tell her about this dream guy of mine.
"Well, he's really cute. He's been in my dreams a lot lately. But for some reason I can never remember what he looks like. But I know that he's a fighter and he's smart and funny and nice."
"How do you know he's cute if you can't remember what he looks like?"
"I just know. He's really strong, and he seems familiar. I don't know, I just feel like he's real and that we're meant to be together."
"Too bad he's only a dream, right?"
"Yeah, too bad." I sighed.
I was sitting across from Brian at a French restaurant whose name I couldn't pronounce and didn't remember; frankly I didn't care. We had just ordered, and Brian was sort of looking at me funny.
I was dressed in a nice, flattering lavender dress and low-heel dress shoes. Make-up and hair all tight, I felt ridiculous. Brian was dressed in a nice tuxedo, and he kept playing around with his glasses.
"It's a good thing Capsule Corp. has this meal paid for, right?" I gave a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood. Remember that I am a Sayjin, so the amount of food I ordered was enough to feed a small army of humans. He smiled, but he still looked nervous.
I knew this was a bad idea. Neither of us is interested in the other and we're totally clueless on what to do next. I think I'd rather face Kooler again right now. Brian might, too.
"So Katie, I remember that you told me English is your native language. How is that?"
Good thing Bulma and I came up with a story for questions Brian might ask.
"I was born and raised in a country that spoke English. About three years ago my parents died and I was sent to live with my older cousin. He died about a year ago, and his wife, son, and I moved in with Bulma. She was a close friend with my cousin."
"And you also know some Japanese? How many languages can you speak?" he asked, amazed.
"Well, I had to learn Japanese living here, but in school I did well in Spanish, though I wouldn't say I fluent."
"I hope this won't bother you, but why do you have a tail?"
"I knew that was coming. It's a genetic trait in my family. My cousin and his son both had tails as well."
Bulma was able to hide Trunks' tail from the employees and anyone who didn't know of his father, so Brian didn't know, either.
"I've been asking a lot of questions, why don't you take a whack at it now?"
"Well, where are you from?"
"A small English community in the north. I relocated here for my job, and it's been rough. The language and the people, I mean. What's the obsession with fighting?"
"I can't really answer that, but I have to admit that I do fight, too. My cousin taught me very well."
"So you do martial arts?" he asked.
"Sort of. I mean, I don't really follow any particular form. I have my own style. I call it the 'do what you can to win without cheating' style."
Hey, I made a joke. …cricket…cricket well, I didn't say it was a good one. But Brian did laugh. But that could have been nerves, too.
"Anyway, my cousin was in a few tournaments, and he always placed well, even as a child."
"You mean Son Goku? You're that Son?"
"You've heard of him?""Yes, he was a legend, but then he just disappeared."
"Yeah, well, he's gone now. I miss him."
"I'm sorry, Katie. I didn't mean to bring up something that would upset you."
"I thought I could get over him by now. I know I'll always miss him, but I didn't think it would still hurt." I took a sip of the champagne and took in a deep breath.
"Aw, our food is here."
That scene was embarrassing. It took two large carts of food just for me.
We were still kind of nervous around each other, so we ate in silence.
We got done eating and Brian handed over the Capsule Corp. business card. Once done we went out to his car and we started to drive back to Capsule Corp.
This was a bust. I'm only sorry Brian had to go through with this too.
We got close to Capsule Corp. and then Brian turned the other way.
"Where are we going?"
"I want to show you something. I doubt you've seen much of the city, right? You seem like a mountain girl."
"I don't know if I should be flattered or not."
"Please, do be flattered. It gives you more character than these inner-city girls."
I laughed. Someone actually agreed with my idea of city girls. I'm don't mean all city girls are weaklings and would rather shop than do anything else, but that seems to be the way I see it.
We got to the West City Park and he stopped.
"Follow me." He said. I did, and he led me to the middle of the park. There was the fountain, and at night it was beautiful.
"Oh wow, it's so pretty here. It reminds me of the waterfall that ran near my old home."
"And the air pollution isn't as thick here, so you can actually see a few stars."
That was funny, and we both laughed this time.
"I'm actually having a good time, Brian."
"I am, too."
"And I will as soon as you hand over all your money!"
"What the-" suddenly a large man came into view and knocked Brian down.
"Brian!"
"You heard me girly! Hand over the money!"
I looked him over closely and knew I could take him no problem, and that was without powering up.
"Yeah right!" I snorted.
"Katie, what are you doing!" Brian asked. He couldn't get up. But with as hard as that guy had hit him I didn't blame him.
"Look lady, just hand over the money and nobody's gonna get hurt." It was then that he pulled out his gun.
"Like I'm scared of that pea-shooter. Listen, pal, I've fought tougher guys than you with bigger guns and that was on an off day, so buzz off." I kept my voice calm and monotone, but he wasn't phased.
"So the little girl can talk big. If you don't give me the money I'll blow your frikin' head off!"
I decided to play it safe and I powered up. Not too much, but enough that I could take him safely.
"How about we play a little game, big guy? If you win, you get the money and me, but if I win I'll break something of yours, and I don't mean your pea-shooter."
"Sounds fun, what have I got to lose? What are we gonna play?" he dropped his guard. He actually dropped his guard!
"It's called, What Do I Have in my Hand. The object of the game is to guess what's in my hand. First, I'll put my hands behind my back. Ready? Three guesses."
"You got nothing! Nothing!" he began to laugh.
"That's two guesses, and they're both wrong."
"What!"
"One more guess." I sneered.
"Um, you got… uh… you got a…a fist?"
"Ooh, you're kind smart, but you're wrong again. You went in the right direction, though. Here!" I threw a Ki ball at his gun and then another one at him, breaking his nose. "I had two Ki balls, and now I've got my prize."
He was lying on the ground and whining about his nose.
"Katie…?" I helped Brian up.
"Come on Brian, let's go."
Well, things didn't work with Brian. We decided to stay friends, but he still kind of avoids me. I think I freaked him out, but when you're this good at what you do you have to show off every now and then, right? Who knows, maybe that's just the Sayjin in me.
