--Note: This takes place between the first and second episodes of Versus.
Versus 4: Temporal Distortion
--Part 12: Living In the Past--
During the summer right before school began, Bulma had a small gathering and all the Z Warriors and their families were invited. Surprisingly enough, a lot of them showed up.
Bra looked over at Goten and her brother.
"Psst! Bra!" Goten whispered. He did the 'come here' signal.
Bra folded her arms across her chest and walked over to them. She caught Trunks in the act of rolling his eyes.
"Hi," Goten said. "Look at you. It's been such a long time. What's up?"
There he was. The guy she'd had a crush on all her life stood before her now. The man it took her at least 4 years to get over, now having the same effect he had on her all those years ago. "Nothing really. Just school and training. What about you?" Bra said, trying to sound at least slightly disinterested.
"Well, I've got a bit of funny news for you," Goten said. "I'm going to be teaching at your school. History. You're in one of my classes. Wild, huh?"
And Bra's world shattered. All within a breath Bra went from a carefree teenager to a panicky crush-ridden adolescent. "Y-yeah, that's pretty wild..."
She couldn't think straight. How was she supposed to think straight when the person she'd promised herself she would stop loving was back for good and teaching at her school? It was a calamity. It was a comedy in its truest form.
"I'm really excited about it," Goten stated. He looked at her for a while. "You know, it's really amazing how much you've changed these past couple of years."
Before she could even stop herself, she said, "Six. It's been six years." She looked away. "I don't think I've changed that much."
"Sure you have. Look at those muscles," Goten pointed out. He poked one of her arms playfully.
Bra just looked at his hand and blushed a little. She couldn't believe he was touching her. Make no mistake, he'd touched her in the past, but that was when she was much younger. She was older now and her hormones were almost completely out of control. She wasn't sure what to think, really.
Trunks just watched them for a while, then laughed to himself. "I'm gonna go see what Gohan and Videl are up to." He wandered off.
Bra frowned at her brother as he walked away. When he got to his destination, Pan showed up as well. Her brother seemed to be the center of attention with that family...
"--can't say that I'm surprised you're as short as you are," Goten was saying. "I mean, your mom's not all that tall and on the right day, I'd swear that your dad's shorter than her." He put his hands on his hips and smiled at her.
She knew he meant no harm. He never meant any harm. Not 6 years ago and surely not today. But that wouldn't stop her from saying something about his comment. "You're not that much taller than me, you know." And as she looked up at him, she realized it was the wrong thing to say. She only stood 5'1" and he was somewhere between 5'10" and 6'0". Yet, for some reason, she stood by her statement.
Goten laughed a little. "You're funny."
Was that sarcasm or was he serious?
She noticed that he was just looking at her for a while. Was he really that surprised that she had gotten a little taller and a more muscular? She'd told him that she'd been training, after all. He'd changed some as well, little did he know. She'd noticed his expansive shoulders and less childish-looking face, though his expressions remained so.
She almost wanted to kick him in the teeth for not visiting her for a whole six years. She thought that they were closer than that. Then he just left one day and never came back. It took her almost a year to come to grips with the fact that he was really gone. How could he do this to her? He had to know that she'd looked up to him for so long. She'd been training under him for the longest time. Whenever she wasn't training with her father, she was training with him. Had he even taken into account what kind of effect his absence would have on her fighting?
"You know, I was a little surprised when I saw that you would be in my class. It seemed kinda weird, but in a way, it seemed kinda right," Goten continued. "I mean, I've been teaching you about fighting, but nothing else, really. Now I can teach you something besides fighting."
Yeah, something she hated. How would she be able to make it through the school year denying her feelings for this guy when he would be standing in front of her daily?
But before she was able to let all of this fully sink in, she felt someone behind her tap her on the shoulder. When she turned to see who it was, she saw her mother and Yamcha standing there.
"Wow, Bulma. You said she looked just like you, but I thought you were exaggerating," Yamcha said.
Bulma smiled. "Yeah. Isn't she a little beauty?"
Bra blushed and looked away. How embarrassing this was for her. To have her mother's old boyfriend look her over like she's some car he used to drive. Besides that, she hated for someone to even bring up her looks. It was one of the things she hated, really. She prided herself on intelligence and strength. To even mention her looks was something she didn't take well to.
"It's true. Seeing her makes me think back to when you and I were dating--" Yamcha began.
Out of nowhere Vegeta showed up beside Bulma. Anger was written on his face as he eyed Yamcha.
"Hey, Vegeta, I was just telling Yamcha what a lovely daughter we have," Bulma commented with a smile.
Bra looked a little surprised. Her mother seems unaware of the fact that her father was jealous. It would have been pretty obvious to anyone else, but for some reason, her mother just couldn't seem to pick up on it today. It was funny that her father would become so openly jealous anyway. Bra had seen them interact in similar ways, but Vegeta usually keep his cool. He knew that if his wife were to see him react in jealousy, she would have the power. And he would never hear the end of it. And she would get a big head about it. That was definitely something Vegeta didn't want.
For some reason things were different today. Vegeta was openly jealous and Bulma hadn't noticed. Bra supposed that was the situation's way of neutralizing itself.
Nevertheless, Yamcha backed off a little. "Don't worry, I'm not after your daughter."
What? Oh. Maybe that was why the whole jealousy thing with her mother and father had been so strange. Yuck with a capital Y-U-C-K! He was her mother's age.
So she wandered off to let them sort out the rest of that ridiculousness. And of course, she didn't have to wander far before she realized that Goten was standing right in front of her. Well, behind her actually.
"Oh!" Bra almost shouted.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you," Goten said with a smile.
Had he been there to hear the conversation? Of course he had. They were both still close enough now to hear what the group was saying even without their Saiyan ears. Bra just decided to block it out.
"Where are you going?" Goten asked.
What was his damage? She was trying to get over him, yet here he was still. She couldn't blame him for not knowing that she wished to forget the feelings she'd once had for him. But wasn't it enough that she would have to see him everyday at school?
"I just thought I'd visit your mom and dad," Bra told him.
Great. She was going over to see HIS parents. This was no way to get over him.
"Really? Mind if I join?" Goten asked. He walked up beside her as she made her way over to Goku and ChiChi.
"Um, Goten. They're your parents. I'm sure you see them all the time," Bra commented. Why wouldn't he just go away? She was trying her best to lose him. She was convinced that she could get over him if she tried hard enough.
Goten looked at her with those eyes of his. Those dark dark eyes that could snatch the soul straight out of your body if you let them. "I don't see them as often as you'd think. Come on. They might not recognize you, so I'd probably better re-introduce you to them."
He was being so nice to her. She couldn't help giving in to his offer. So she followed him over to Goku and ChiChi. Goku was eating everything in sight, as always. And ChiChi was scolding him for being so rude, as always.
"Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad. Do you remember this little lady?" Goten asked his parents once he reached them. He presented Bra.
Both of Goten's parents turned around to see who he was talking about.
"My goodness. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were Bulma," ChiChi said to Bra. She smiled warmly at her.
It was nice to see ChiChi in such a good mood. Even after shouting at Goku.
"Yeah, except you're shorter. And you're built more like a fighter," Goku added with a mouth full of food.
"Goku!" ChiChi said a little louder than she should have.
Bra couldn't be sure which part ChiChi was scolding him for this time. The fact that he was talking with his mouth full, or the fact that he was talking about Bra's body structure. Knowing ChiChi, it was probably both.
She smiled at them. "It's good seeing you both. I just thought I should come over and say hi. I haven't seen you two in a while."
"It's good seeing you too, dear. I think the last time we saw you was a few years ago. You've really grown. You're a young lady now," ChiChi said.
Bra blushed. Growing up was such a big deal to everyone. There was no way they expected for her to remain a child forever.
"Hey, Goten. Didn't you say something about being Bra's teacher?" Goku asked.
"Yep. She's in one of my classes," Goten replied, smiling that big air-headed smile of his.
And now it was time for the many interruptions that were bound to occur at a gathering of this magnitude.
Pan and Trunks walked over to them.
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeey!" Pan said to Bra.
Bra rolled her eyes. This quarter Saiyan was greeting her like she hadn't seen her in years, when in fact, they had only recently pulled off the caper of the summer. Pan had decided that they should impress their parents by showing them how responsible they could be. That they could make their own money if they wanted. So they held a car wash. It had turned out relatively well, but Pan had decided to turn her water hose on Bra. So, of course, Bra demanded satisfaction and did the same to Pan. But not before Pan had snapped a few pictures.
"Hi, Pan," Bra sighed. Pan had a nasty habit of getting people into trouble no matter what the situation.
"Wow. Pan's taller than you," Goku pointed out to Bra.
"So, she is," Trunks said.
Goten chuckled.
Oh, so now it was time to make fun of little Bra? If she wouldn't have been reprimand for it, she would have powered up and knocked all these clowns out.
Pan looked at Goten and frowned. "YOU!" She ran over to him and punched him in his arm, though she put no effort into it at all.
"Whaaaaaaaat?" Goten whined like the blow really hurt.
"You've been gone for years and I didn't even hear from you," Pan said. She put her hands on her hips and looked at him with playful anger all over her face. "Don't you at least know how to pick up a phone?"
So, he had gone missing from her life for a while too? At least she wasn't the only one.
"I bet you kept in touch with Trunks and Bra," Pan continued to complain.
Bra's only response was "Hmph."
"Well, he kept in touch with us," Goku said.
ChiChi nudged her husband and smiled at Pan. "We probably should have let you know on those FEW occasions he came home. We're sorry, honey."
So, Goten HAD come back from time to time. How very disappointing it was to hear something like that. He hadn't even bothered to come over and see her. Of course, he hadn't even seen his own niece...
Again with the interruptions. Bra saw Marron coming from a mile away. Bright and flamboyant. It was a sign that she should disappear.
And Bra did just that. She quietly crept out of the house while no one was paying attention. Everyone there seemed to be right at home in that environment anyway. She was the only one who didn't belong. Well, except her father.
But her discomfort during this social gathering was not her primary concern. She would have Goten as a teacher if she didn't do something fast. Her first plan for tomorrow would be to get to school early and get a new history teacher. It would be easy. That way, she could work on getting her mind off of Goten enough to rid herself of the emotions she could feel were quickly trying to come back.
--End Part 12: Living In the Past--
--Boy, that just kinda went along like a freight train and then ended, didn't it? I hope you enjoyed this strange episode of Versus 4. I know it kinda came out of nowhere and it kinda went nowhere, but I just felt the urge to do something...strange. Why go back and do this point in time? I don't know. I was writing and that's what it turned into. There may be inaccuracies. I don't know. I tried not to, but sh-- happens, you know.
--As always, thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read this and thanks to those of you who took time out of your busy day to write a review.
--Eventually I'll read other people's stories and review them. I know some folks asked me a while WHILE back to do that. And now that I've got a little free time, I think I'll see what I can find. But the strange thing about that is that I'm a huge fan of comedies. I'm just not very good at writing them myself. I mean, personally, if I saw this story while going around trying to find something to read, I'd skip it. It's romance and drama. While I do like romances, I'm not the biggest fan of dramas. And that's exactly what this quadrilogy is. The other funny thing about this is that Bra and Goten aren't my favorite couple. I mean, they're a close second, but ChiChi and Goku are my favorite couple. I never read any of their stuff, though. Actually I don't read much because I'm always writing or working or schooling. But that's all about to change.
--Kinda chatty today, aren't I? Am I still talking? I guess I'm still writing...
