Versus 3: Eclipse

--Everyone You Fight--

"I still can't believe you almost got a perfect score on that test," Pan said as they exited the school building. "That's a real improvement over the last grade you got. Your mom's gonna be so happy that she'll MAKE you go out this weekend."

Bra frowned. She looked forward to being given permission to go out again, but it really wasn't worth it if she couldn't have Goten. She sighed.

Pan looked at her friend. "What's going on with you? This should be the happiest day of your life, and you're moping... It's about Goten, isn't it?"

Stupid Pan. Thinking she knew everything. Bra would show her. "That's not why I'm 'moping'. It's just that I'll have a whole free weekend now, but there's only one Eroder concert," Bra lied.

"Bra, you're so full of it. I can see right through you," Pan told her. "You must have forgotten who you were talking to."

Oh, great. Now she really thought she knew everything. And her stupid rhyme talk wasn't helping the matter.

"You can believe what you want," Bra said. "I'm going home so I can get my 'pardon'." Before Pan could say anything else, she took off toward Capsule Corp.

A good thing had come of the day. She had made a near-perfect score on her history test. That would result in the restoration of her freedom. But what of her relationship with Goten? Would she be cursed with remaining only friends with him? Or was there a way for them to become more?

She landed at Capsule Corp. and sighed. In a way, this little victory brought nothing for her. Well, except being able to spar with Goten again. But there was no sense in mourning her loss now. She had caused this little break-up by being too young. If she were older, this tragedy would never have befallen her.

Ha! That was even sillier thinking than before. She couldn't do anything about how old she was. Well, she could, but it wouldn't matter much in the end. Because as Goten said, while age was a factor in all of this, it was her lack of life experience that mattered most.

Bra threw her bookbag by the door and folded her arms across her chest. So, how could she attain this prerequisite of life experience he so wanted her to have in order for them to be together?

"Bra, honey, are you okay?" Bulma asked.

Her mother had been sitting on the sofa when she came in, yet Bra hadn't even noticed her until she spoke just now.

"I'm fine," Bra lied. She wasn't fine. If she were she would be in a better mood today, especially considering the recent passing of her history test. She would just have to fake it. So she smiled and held up the paper that had been in her hand since she left school. "Here it is. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised." She walked over to Bulma and handed the folded piece of paper to her.

"Is that your history test?" Bulma asked before opening it.

Bra gave no answer.

When Bulma unfolded the papers, her eyes grew wide and she gasped. "Oh, Bra. This is wonderful." She sprang to her feet and gave Bra a hug.

Bra just looked at the ceiling.

"A 97. I knew you could do it. You'll have an A average in that class before you know it," Bulma prattled on. "I'm gonna hang this on the fridge." She was about to trot into the kitchen.

"Wait," Bra called to her mother.

Bulma turned to her.

"Does this mean I'm no longer under house arrest?" Bra questioned.

Bulma smiled. "Of course, honey. But I still expect you to continue with your studies. One test grade isn't gonna let you completely off the hook, you know. So, yes, until further notice, your punishment is off." She headed to the kitchen.

Bra was satisfied. That was really all she needed to know. She could deal with her studies. All she really needed was her freedom. Well, that wasn't all she really needed, but it was a start...

--soon--

She would be able to fight again soon. It was about time too, for she wanted to see if her training had paid off. And as soon as she tested her new strength, she would be able to tell how far she needed to push herself before she challenged her father to a rematch.

Why would she want a rematch against her father? She knew he was one of the strongest fighters in the universe. Maybe it was because she knew he hadn't taken her seriously during their last spat. She wanted to be taken seriously as a fighter. And even though she had proven herself in many sparring matches, it was her father she wanted to impress most of all.

Of course, impressing Goten was definitely a good thing.

Bra knocked on the door of Trunks and Goten's apartment.

Surprisingly, Trunks answered the door. "Ah, little sister. It's you. I should have known," he said, standing in the doorway.

Bra gave her brother a smug look. "Big brother. I haven't seen you in a while. Outta my way." She pushed past him. "Why are you home so early on a Friday?"

"What? Were you expecting to be home alone with Goten?" Trunks asked, closing the door.

"No," Bra said, blushing a little.

"Oh, that's right," Trunks said. "You two aren't an item anymore. Sorry."

Bra rolled her eyes. "We haven't been together for two weeks, you lug nut!"

Trunks shrugged. "I'm not gonna waste my time trying to figure out what goes on in your life from day to day." He laughed to himself.

She should have blasted him right out of the stratosphere. Her brother was the biggest jerk on the face of the entire planet. Aside from Pan, of course. Pan held the record for being the biggest jerk on the face of the entire planet.

As soon as Bra was about to make a snide remark to her brother, Goten came out of his bedroom. "Oh, hey Bra," he said.

Bra squinted her eyes at Trunks, then looked at Goten with a smile.

"I see your mom set you free," Goten commented.

"That's right. And now I've come to show you the results of my training," Bra warned.

"Yeah, right," Trunks interrupted. "You might be a little stronger than you used to be, but I doubt you've improved that much."

Her brother was really killing her coolness here.

"You're free to take me on, if you think you can," Bra told him. Maybe that was enough of a recovery.

"Wow, you're really agressive today," Goten said, smiling wider. "Fiery."

She loved to hear him make those kinds of statements about her. She didn't looked at Goten. She only smirked confidently at her brother. "We should get started," she said to Goten, never taking her eyes off her brother.

She couldn't tell whether Trunks was intimidated by the statement or not. She didn't really care either.

Goten quickly changed into his usual training gear and came back into the living room. "Hey, Trunks. I remember you saying that you wanted to train with us some time. How about now? It would probably take two of us to take Bra on."

"Not after only one week of gravity training," Trunks commented. He shook his head. "I don't think so. I'll pass this time. I've got a busy weekend ahead. I've gotta work Saturday AND Sunday. That's why I went ahead and left at a sane time today." He frowned. "You guys have fun, though."

"You're never gonna have a chance to spar with us if they keep working you like that," Goten said. He opened the door for Bra. "See ya later," he called back to Trunks.

Bra waved to her brother. She did kinda feel bad for him. He worked all the time. She was always so involved in her own problems that she never really acknowledged the fact that her brother was well on his way to working himself to death. Which had to mean that he didn't have much of a life outside of work. Poor Trunks.

--wasteland--

Bra silently watched Goten stretch and he watched her the same way. It was a little awkward how they openly watched each other like this. Now how would they be able to fight with this kind of tension between them? Well, she wasn't too sure about the tension on his end, but she sure was under a lot of pressure from just being with him.

In any case, she would have to put her feelings aside for this one. This was a serious sparring match. So if he would not get things started, then she would. She powered up to Super Saiyan 2 and smirked at Goten.

Goten powered up as well. "It's time to see how far you've come."

She compared their powers. His was still a little higher than hers somehow. Had he been training as well? Or had he been holding back during all their other sparring matches? Just entertaining such a thought made her angry. She remembered how far their powers were apart when they fought the other times. His was always pretty much equal to hers. She'd always asked him not to hold back and now it seemed that he always had. Who knows? He was probably holding back even now. Bra ground her teeth. She would have to give him a reason to go all out.

She began to see red...

--End Everyone You Fight--

--Here I am again. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's a little weird. Well, I just don't know quite what to think anymore. So tell me what YOU think. Please review.

--Thanks again for your interest in this story. We've still got a ways to go before we reach the end of this baby.