Author's Note: Thanks to Godzilla2, TorankusuGohan, Garowyn, Thomas Drovin, and InuSaiyan007… The reviews are always so inspiring!
Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with anything associated with DBZ. I also don't own Vogue.
Chapter 12: An Uncanny Reunion
"Bra!" Bulma stood at the foot of the steps, glancing irritably at her diamond-studded watch. Tapping her foot impatiently against the soft carpeting of the floor, she directed her glare upwards, hoping to at least catch a small glimpse of her daughter. When it never appeared, she grew aggravated. "I thought you were ready thirty minutes ago! Is it honestly that hard to pick something to wear?"
It didn't take a minute for Bra to respond. Having taken out all of her best designer clothes from her huge walk-in closet and laying them down on her bed, it was apparent that she was planning on taking her own sweet time. Now narrowing her eyes critically at the numerous selections that lay before her on the bed, she replied, "I'm not in a rush... I didn't ask to ruin my week by babysitting some boy and his dad." She finally selected a red miniskirt and matching midriff and slipped them on casually.
Hearing (and not appreciating) that tone of voice she knew so well, Bulma frowned slightly. "It's not babysitting; it's just nursing." Clutching her purse tightly within her hands, she suddenly added, "And it's not just any boy, either. It's Goten. Don't you remember him?"
"Who?"
"Mom," Trunks suddenly came into the hallway in which Bulma irritably stood, an amused smirk displayed on his face. He waved a glossy, high-quality fashion magazine in the air with a hand covered in calluses, grinning. "You'll never guess what I saw while I was taking a short fly around the city today."
Not even moving her eyes to view him, Bulma was too distracted at the present moment to wonder what exactly was up, or why her son possessed a fashion magazine, for that matter... "What's that, dear?"
"Apparently, there's a new fad out there. A one-shoe-wearing craze."
"A what?" It sounded so ridiculous to Bulma that she just had to snap out of her unnecessary anger. She inquisitively gazed at the cover of the magazine, which had very attractive models with only one shoe in their possessions on it... "What kind of trend is that?" And how was it that she hadn't heard about it before her own son, who usually didn't read fashion magazines?
Trunks tried not to laugh as he watched his mother's shocked expression. "I'm not done. When I stopped to ask a few girls where their other shoes went, one of them handed me her magazine, and you'll never guess who was in it..." Without another word, he handed the magazine to Bulma, who began furiously flipping through the pages to find the culprit. "I guess shoemakers are going to be making only half their profit now."
"Hello? Mom?" Bra was finally ready, now holding her own red purse in her hands. Was it possible that her mother had left her behind? She hopefully wished so as she descended gracefully down the stairs in a careful manner. What she saw on her amused family members' faces gave her a rather uncomfortable surprise when she finally met them, however. "Why are you two looking at me that way?"
"I always knew my sister had a knack for starting new trends," Trunks said cunningly before leaving.
Bra stared after him agitatedly before turning back to her mother, who wordlessly handed her the magazine, allowing the flustered girl to take it all in.
What came out of her mouth surprised her mother when she finally stuffed the magazine back into Bulma's hands, a look of disgust on her face. "Why am I in this trashy magazine?"
"Don't you care that you were actually in it to begin with?"
"No; I want to know why they put me in some 2.99 magazine instead of in Vogue... It's not even a good picture of me, anyway." Bra had been staring at a picture of herself sauntering out of the West City Library, books and boot in hand.
"It also says here that you inspired a load of girls to begin checking out books at the library," Bulma continued, still looking at the article in mild interest. Placing a finger on the sentence as to not lose track of her reading, she added, "The library hasn't seen this many enthusiastic readers in years."
Bra rolled her eyes and handed her mother a small, green capsule from her skirt pocket. "You can drive. I'm not in the mood." There was no way on Earth that her mother could find out about the incident. She had been surprised that there hadn't been any local paparazzi buzzing around the accident to begin with...
"Okay... How come you don't want to use your convertible?" Bulma quizzed, staring suspiciously at her. That red car was Bra's baby; she took it everywhere she went. She probably cared about it more than she cared about her clothes and jewelry. Now she wanted to use her other car, a small green car that she usually paid no mind to?
"Got sick of the color," Bra lied, opening the front door.
Bulma took one look at the girl in her red headband, red top, red gloves, red skirt, red boots, red everything, and chose to say nothing. Walking briskly out of the door ahead of her, she told her shortly, "I never thought red was your color anyway."
"Hey!"
Later...
The ride to the Son house was a pretty uneventful one. At present, Bulma had her hands firmly attached to the steering wheel of the car, giving her rapt attention toward the road. Bra sat beside her, twirling a loose strand of blue hair around her finger and secretly envying her driving skills.
She suddenly leaned forward to change the radio station. "I just hate this song-"
"Bra, put on your seatbelt," Bulma suddenly instructed. "You know it's safer."
Caught in the act, Bra sullenly did as she was told, mumbling a few words quite rudely under her breath.
Bulma overheard her, and without moving her eyes off the road, quickly advanced her right hand to change the radio station back. "Just because you have Saiyan blood in your veins doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be completely unharmed if the car crashes. And I'm the driver, so I call the shots here."
'But whose car is it?' Bra rolled her eyes disinterestedly and moved her view out the car window, taking in the many, er... wonderful sights. The only things she could see for miles without end were solitary fruit trees, grassy plains, and round hills. "We're out in the boondocks... They'd better have indoor plumbing-"
Her mother disregarded her ignorance, and immediately let out an excited shriek as they caught sight of a small, lone house in the distance. As the pair neared the site, she exclaimed, "I just can't wait to see them again! Aren't you excited?"
"Nope. I'm still stuck on the fact that you wanted me to help them."
"For the last time, Bra, Goten has some kind of food poisoning, and Chi-Chi, his mother, asked me if I could help. Of course, being the nice person that I am-" A stifled, derisive snort of laughter was heard from Bra- "I said yes. But I got a call from one of the executives, saying that we may have made a breakthrough in the cell phone capsules. So rather than missing the opportunity of a lifetime, I volunteered you for the helping-out!" Bulma explained, exasperated. She moved her eyes quickly to glower at her daughter. Why was she so hard to cope with sometimes?
"Funny, I didn't know Saiyans could have food poisoning," Bra scowled, having ignored the majority of her mother's monologue. "I've never been sick in my life." A few seconds passed before, "You know, it's not too late to turn back. I never really wanted to go to that boy's house, anyway-"
"We're here!" Bulma finally pulled up towards the front of the small house, turning off the ignition. She sucked her teeth almost wistfully as she and her daughter both emerged from the car. "I sort of wish Trunks could've come, but you know how your dad is with the training."
"How do you know that I didn't have anything planned today?"
Bulma rolled her eyes and walked up the front steps. Maybe it was a bad idea to have actually considered Bra as a possible 'Saiyan-sitter' for Goten and Goku. Now at the front door, she pressed the bell and waited patiently for someone to answer. Putting her hands into her jacket pockets, she glanced over to Bra, who was still (purposely) lagging behind.
Chi-Chi flung the door open within seconds of the first alert of a visitor. "Bulma! It's been a really long time!" She enveloped the Briefs woman within a very tight hug, in which she emerged panting heavily. "Thanks for bringing Bra... Oh, my gosh! Is that really you, Bra?" She allowed her guests to enter her seemingly quiet abode.
Bra took a quick glance to fully take in her surroundings before opening her own mouth. The house was quite small and quaint in nature; of course, it was nothing compared to her own. From what she could see, there was a tiny kitchen (probably meant for one or two people to be in it at a time), a sitting room with a television set, and a dining room. There was also a small flight of stairs in the hallway in which the women stood, leading presumably up to the bedrooms, Bra figured. "Nice to meet you, um, Chi-Chi," she finally spoke, self-consciously pulling up her red gloves.
The Son woman laughed, making sure to let both ladies view her one slipper on her left foot (apparently, she heard about fashion trends faster than Bulma). "Silly, we've known each other for a long time!" She grabbed Bra into a big bear hug designed especially for her, which the half-Saiyan girl could stand, unlike her mother.
'Well, aren't we exuberant today?' Bra thought blandly, but held her tongue all the same. According to her mother, after all, the two families hadn't seen each other for years. She laughed nervously, but said, "Funny, I don't remember-" A juvenile voice from the kitchen cut her off. Scowling, she glanced over to the abovementioned place.
Chi-Chi, having heard the sound just as well as Bulma and Bra had, began to twiddle her thumbs uneasily. The truth was about to be unfolded... Oh, why had she trusted him to 'stay in the bedroom,' like she'd commanded (or rather begged) him to? She let out a small sigh. If anything, he had probably heeded her pleads, most likely biding his time peacefully and quietly within the bedroom, when his stomach had begun to rumble...
"Is that Bulma, Chi-Chi?" Goku asked. A loud, rude slurping sound could be heard from the kitchen. Placing his soup bowl into the sink, he continued, "Did she bring Bra?"
Chi-Chi sighed, allowing defeat. "Come out here and greet them, dear."
The trio of women waited patiently, and within a few minutes, a boy dressed in blue pajamas finally emerged from the kitchen. He grinned widely, moving the back of his left hand up almost methodically to wipe his mouth from his lunch.
Bra couldn't hold in her gasp. "Whoa. You had another child, Chi-Chi?" she wondered, not noticing the woman suddenly move her eyes down to study the floor. "I always thought you had two..."
Bulma, on the other hand, had known Chi-Chi for years, and was greatly accustomed to the fact that if Chi-Chi was pregnant, she'd want the whole world to know and rejoice with her. She squinted her blue eyes critically at the boy, studying his familiar features. "That's not another child... Goku?"
"No way..." Bra breathed, squatting down beside Goku to better see him eye-to-eye. "Wait 'til Dad gets a load of this-"
Bulma still stood in her spot, positively seething. "This is being ill?" she demanded, staring at Chi-Chi's ashamed form. "You could've told me..."
Much abashed (and growing red besides), Chi-Chi muttered, "Isn't it time for your meeting?"
Bulma checked her watch, an adamant red flush still lighting up her own cheeks. "As a matter of fact, it is. But that doesn't mean you're off the hook yet, you know. I want to know every little detail about what happened." Turning to view her daughter, she added, "I'll pick you up at six or seven. Chi-Chi'll take care of you, okay?"
Bra began to blush herself as she finally rose to her feet, trying not to add a scowl to a face brimming of rapidly changing emotions. "I'm not a baby, Mom... 'Bye." Nevertheless, she kissed her mother on the cheek as soon as she exited the door, leaving herself, Chi-Chi and Goku by themselves in the hallway.
After she was certain that Bulma had long been gone, Bra turned to Chi-Chi, who had grown significantly more assertive within the past few minutes. "Now where's that son of yours? I want to get this over with as soon as possible-"
Goku chuckled, moving towards the staircase. "Eager, huh?"
"Not really."
Noticing the displeased look on Bra's face, Goku shrugged lightly and headed upstairs. "Follow me." The two ladies did as he said, soon entering into an even smaller, more cramped hallway than the last. Bra looked up at the walls, noticing the many family pictures of a teenage boy and his little brother, along with Chi-Chi and Goku.
When the three arrived at a door at the right side of the hallway, the two Sons left Bra. "We'll see you later, okay?" Chi-Chi told her. "Goten should be awake now, so I guess you can keep him company." She began to herd her husband into another room, and left Bra to stand in the hall by herself, eyes fixated at the door that stood in front of her, not at all savoring the uncomfortable silence.
She took in a sharp intake of breath and quickly opened the door. What she saw - or rather who she saw - cleared her memory blocks immediately.
She directed a vicious scowl at the figure sitting upright on the bed. "Oh, it's just you."
"Hey, what kind of greeting is that?" Goten asked. "It's nice to see you, too-" He stopped and took a good look at her.
The half-Saiyan girl was standing by the doorway, arms crossed. Her bright blue eyes darkened visibly; her pale pink lips were presently curved upwards in a nasty scowl. Was this the same Bra who thought it amusing to chase after him and Trunks when they were younger? How could someone like her turn into someone like this? She seemed so confident now - she hardly looked like she was going to run to her father and tell on him.
"Whatever," Bra told him shortly. She scowled uneasily before moving forward and taking a seat near the foot of the bed. Why was he staring at her like that? She picked up a small bowl of soup on the nightstand next to his bed. "Is this what I'm supposed to be feeding you?"
Goten nodded, but immediately changed his mind. He'd always thought (since he was a young kid) that a little servitude would do Little Miss Bra right, but this wasn't exactly the right time... "On second thought, maybe you-" he started, but Bra abruptly forced a hot, steaming spoonful of chicken noodle soup into his mouth.
He spluttered violently and gasped for air. "Hot! Hot!" He glared at her, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Still as spiteful as she was when they were younger, huh? "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Bra rolled her blue eyes. "Yeah, right," she said, placing the bowl back on the small table. "I wouldn't do that to anyone." She sighed almost wistfully. "Just think, tons of guys would die to have me feed them, and you're getting my services for free! What a waste of time."
He closed his eyes silently and began counting the minutes it would take for her to leave the house.
"I just couldn't believe my mother made me come here... Like Trunks had anything better to do," Bra was still rambling an hour or two later (it seemed like three years to Goten), mainly to herself. "And don't you have a girlfriend? Why can't she take care of you?"
'Does she ever stop talking?' Feeling a bit obliged to explain to her, however, he confessed, "Well, Valese doesn't know about my sickness. To tell you the truth, I don't think my mom likes her very much."
"Your mom's probably right. Valese has got to be crazy, or just plain stupid."
"Why?" he questioned suspiciously.
"Isn't it obvious? Who would want to go out with you?" she asked, smirking. It was more of a veneer of disdain than anything else, Goten noticed. It also bore a frightening resemblance to Vegeta's sardonic, triumphant visage...
"I don't see you with a boyfriend," he shot back.
Bra turned red (a little too red for her own liking, at that). "For your information, lots of guys like me. I'm just waiting for one who's good enough," she sniffed.
He laughed, but immediately tried to cover it up with a few 'coughs.' "Tell me when you find him, but I doubt you'll find anyone in the near future with that kind of attitude."
It took all of Bra's willpower (and some she wasn't even aware of) to restrain herself from wrapping her arms in a strong vice grip around Goten's neck. Instead, she turned away from him, crossing her arms in an attempt to give him her best 'attitude' ever...
A few hours later...
The drive home was very silent. Bulma couldn't take it after a full fifteen minutes of noticing Bra's glare through the corner of her eye. "What's wrong now?"
"He's wrong," Bra spat. "I can't believe you made me spend a whole day with him." She angrily checked her still-blotchy face in the rearview mirror, and tucked a wild strand of turquoise-colored hair behind her ear. He wasn't worth her stressing out, she reminded herself.
"Oh, Bra, how is volunteering to help a sick boy so bad?"
'Volunteering? Last time I checked, I was forced into this...' "For a sick boy, he sure talked a lot of smack."
"Bra..."
Aforesaid girl was about to add another thing to her list of complaints, but suddenly stopped herself. She watched as the car slowly neared Capsule Corp. Before the vehicle made a complete stop, however, she opened the door and stepped out. "I'll be in my room," she said, walking towards the entrance. "Don't bother me. And you can keep my car capsule until tomorrow, okay?"
Bulma didn't say anything as she got out of the car herself. 'I'm pretty sure it couldn't have been that bad...'
Once inside the comfort of her room, Bra sighed softly. What a disgusting day... and what better way to erase the horrible memories than by reading a book?
Picking up one of the books from underneath her bed, she began to read.
Author's Note: The end to another chapter! So, what did you think? Please review, of course! It warms my heart and soul! Also, stay tuned for the next exciting installment!
Ladii-Chocolate