Finding Inspiration

By: LLy

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball GT. I also do not own Pocky.

AN: Yes, I am finally back. I am so sorry for all the readers I left hanging…SORRY!! The reason for my hiatus is that the time for sending in college applications is coming up and as a junior, I need to make a good impression. Plainly put, this year was devoted to maintaining an acceptable GPA, taking SATs/APs, volunteering and participating in extracurricular activities. That leaves little time for writing. -- I have good news though: the end of FI is in site! So please review for encouragement!

-Past-

Pan huffed, pulling the traps on the nearly bursting backpack that rivaled her in size. The action lifted the burden higher on her back and caused the shift of balance she was looking for. Just several paces behind, loud joking voices rang in the quiet forest. The harmony shattered; birds took flight, deers sprinted into hiding, and curious rabbits stopped their game of hide and seek to watch the intruders.

Scowling, the 15 year old entertained the thought of ditching her 3 noisy friends. This was a supposed to be a meditative trip into her inner psyche, not a day at the beach!

'Better not do it,' she thought to herself. 'They'll probably find me in less than 5 minutes and then that'll be a waste of 5 minutes spent hiding.'

At that same instant, the first of the unwanted traveler came within view. Lavender hair floated closer and Pan remembered how the one person trip grew to a four person party. It began like any other day…

One gorgeous (not to mention hot) spring day, the bored teen decided that it was the perfect time for an outdoor getaway. The weather report that morning had announced clear skies for the entire week and this persuaded her that a little time out of the house was good. Her father was currently working on a scholarly thesis while her mother was visiting Grandpa Satan, so that left only her who would be interested. Or so she thought. Perhaps, it was in the middle of the decision of which tank top to throw in the pack when the sly CEO snuck into the room. Then he had the audacity to munch on her secret stash of Pocky (hidden behind the thick volumes of English grammar textbooks), while sitting on her plush velvety office chair and spying on her activity

"Whatcha doin?" Trunks managed to mouth out through the delicious snack. Pan nearly jumped out of her skin at the uninvited presence, but appeared unruffled when she turned to address him.

"Going on a weeklong mountain trip." More packing, more munching.

"Cool, I'll come along." Pocky finished, he threw the box onto the already towering trashbin.

Distracted by the threat of collapsing trash, she tried to come up with a coherent refusal. "C'mon, don't you have work and important..uh…business stuff to do?"

"Not really…"

"But why would you want to? I mean, you have an air conditioned house, and the latest surround sound system…"

He turned wide blue eyes on her. Not the puppy look, not the puppy look…

He did. She could feel her resolve splintering, just like the wood she used for morning practice. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"No, I just want to know why you want to go out in this sweltering heat."

He looked pensive for a moment, then tugged on her hair. "Do I need a reason to want to spend time with my favorite girl?" Not expecting that response, her mouth fell open (anime style) and she twitched uncontrollably.

'Is he for real?' Still continued with the twitching.

This was the perfect time to make a graceful exit. "Well, look at the time. I better get to work. Bye!" Said suave man with the Armani suit exited the room with the same mysterious air he entered with.

When Goten heard that his best friend and niece were leaving him for a week to go on an ADEVENTURE, he naturally invited himself along. Then Bra decided that it was not cool to be the only left behind, so she joined the party as well (Never mind that when Pan first told her about the trip, Bra declared that she would never choose the mall over the outdoors.).

Presently, Pan found herself sitting on their designated campground. They had been walking for hours and the afternoon sun was beginning to wane.  Plus, everyone was complaining how they have been walking for hours without a break and had begun comparing her to a slave driver. She snorted and carried on with the hike. She finally conceded stopping for the night with the realization that the birds have stopped chirping, the deers have set up their nightly resting place, and that the rabbits have bounded off to find green foliage for dinner. So they set up their black (Pan), pink (B), green (Goten), and blue (Trunks) tents and prepared for the long night.

Though the heat was nearly unbearable in the morning and afternoon, the evening coolness was already setting in and Pan predicted that the temperature would drop several more degrees throughout the night. Someone would have to build a campfire…

She sighed exasperatingly. Trunks was complimenting his shabbily made up tent, Bra was complaining about her tired ankle, and Goten was whining for food. It looked like she would have to be the responsible one again and set a fire, lest they all freeze to death.

"Goten, unless you want to have sunflower seeds for dinner go catch us a fish or something, okay?" Talking in a condescending tone, Pan began collected twigs, leaves, and rocks for the construction. For a moment her clueless uncle looked as if he was about to protest, but the words 'dinner, sunflower, and fish' registered in his mind.

"Yes, dinner is mine!" Understanding dawned and everyone watched amusedly as he scrambled up in a flash. "Don't worry guys, we'll eat tonight." Bra jumped from the ground and latched onto Goten's side. "I'll go with you…you'll need someone to help you carry the fishes, right?"

A grin spread across Pan's face. 'And I thought she was dead tired.'

"I'll stay with Pan then." Trunks said. Was it just her or did Goten tensed briefly?

"Fine, but try not to burn the forest to the ground, Trunksie." The dark haired girl laughed; she was imagining things.

With the two away, Pan and Trunks constructed a campfire quickly. With that done, they sat close by each other, feeding the center with twigs to keep the flames from dying. She was amazed to find that Trunks was actually very handy with his hands. Guess there are lots of things she had yet to find out about her best friend.

"Hey Trunks?"

"Yeah?" He was looking at the fire with such intensity that she almost forgot what she was going to say just looking at him.

"Don't you think…Goten and Bra would make a cute couple?"

He swiveled his head to give her his full attention. "Why do you say that?"

She ducked her head, shy all of a sudden. Why did she bring this subject up? She could have started a conversation with other easier topics, but she chose this one.

Well, back to Trunks's question…Lately, Pan had been noticing strange behavior on her best friend's part. She gets all flustered when Goten compliments her, blushes at seeing his goofy face, was ecstatic whenever he gave her a call, and refuses to tell Pan who her latest crush is. The last part worried her the most; Bra never withholds any information from her.

"No reason." She gave a noncommittal shrug along with her reply.

Her handsome companion chuckled and punched her in the shoulder softly. "You're so weird."

"So are you." She stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry. Flames leapt up and she threw some minty leaves in. "Why did you want to come along anyway? It's certainly no fancy ball..."

His eyes deepened in earnest. "To be with you."  The sincerity in his voice told her that this was no lie. Sparks within the flame crackled.

Was it suddenly a lot warmer? The distance between them was closing- was her imagination running away with her again?

Three inches…two inches…one inch until their lips touched.

"Hey, guys…look at how big the fishes are!" The moment was utterly ruined, as the two dinner hunters returned. Glancing over at Trunks, she saw that he looked just as composed as he always was. In fact, he was bragging to his sister about the roaring fire they had due to his might and skills. Annoyed, Bra smacked him and Goten began laughing hysterically at his friend's pain. Her heart sank; nothing was out of touch. Were there even a 'moment'?

-Present-

Like a hunter stalking her prey, she snuck up from behind using the stealth and agility of one ready for the kill. Her hand shot out…and wrapped around his eyes. His body immediately went rigid, alerting her to the fact that he was ready to attack. Ah, what would his response be, she wondered.

After several seconds, he loosened, upon recognizing her hands and its familiarity. "Pan, what are you doing in my office?"

She stepped forward to face him. The fact that he allowed her to play such a silly trick told her that he was already thawing. "Nothing," she said, giving him a radiant smile. "Just reminding you not to be late for our date."

Trunks ran his fingers through his hair and sighed despairingly. "If I could finish in time. Look at this mountain of paperwork." He pointed to…the mountain of paperwork on the desk. He was not kidding when he said mountain. She gasped; this was a ridiculous amount of work. She also noticed how frazzled he looked; his collared shirt was wrinkled, his tie was loosened, and his perfect locks were in disarray. Pity flooded her heart; no wonder he hated his career. If she had to do this thankless job everyday, she'll have to be on Prozac to get up in the morning.

An idea popped into her head. If she did half of them, then the chore would be done in half the time, right?

Realizing just what a genius she is, she sat in the chair opposite of the unhappy boss and started on the paperwork.

"Panny, what are you doing?" Seeing his confused expression, she explained her brilliant idea and continued working. Except that his hand was covering her view of the words.

"You can't do this."

"Why not?"

"Because you need a major understanding of the business world."

"How about graduating among the top ten percent of the Tokyo University School of Business?"

Stunned silence. He was amazed at the accomplishment, but he still was not convinced. "But you don't have the experience dealing with these paperwork."

"I work for the most nitpicky insurance company in the world. I eat paperwork like these for breakfast."

This woman could do anything, Trunks remembered for the millionth time. "Fine, go assign yourself work. I don't mind."

She stuck her tongue out and the two set out working, smiling alongside each other. The mountain eventually downsize into a hill, then into a molehill. Finally they were completely done and in less of the time she had originally predicted. Ah, freedom.

"Shall we go?" Pan offered her milky pale hand to him. Surprise was written all over his face and for an instant, he had thought that Pan was an angel taking his chains off. Pushing the image out of his head, he took her hand and stood up.

"Um, Trunks….I was thinking." She started hesitantly, but steeled herself. "That wasn't a hard task for me and since you're in need of help, I was wondering if maybe I could stop in for a few minutes everyday and lend a hand." Her large doe-like eyes were watching and gauging his reaction.

He felt his heart swell with a foreign emotion. "I can't take away your precious time for such a tedious task. It's not your obligation," he said delicately, while wondering what this exact sensation he was feeling towards her was.

"I know…." She ducked her head then lifted it slowly, causing a waterfall of black hair. "But I honestly want to…for you."

Trunks's breath caught in his throat; then bit by bit, his hand edged upwards to stop at his angel's right cheek. She leaned into his touch and shut her eyes.

The distance between them closed to three inches…two inches….one inch…

Years later, the grown up girl received her moment.

TBC

Review please!