Chapter 7: The Missing Boy
Noca and Pan couldn't stay in the same place anymore. That much was clear after the confrontation. The young boy decided to shut off and completely draw within himself, choosing not to say anything about what had happened and why. Probably a bad choice to make but from the adult perspective, Noca looked guilty. In actual fact, both teens had to harbour some of the guilt. They both overstepped some boundaries and both of them clearly had opinions about the other.
Videl, who knew of Noca's emotional state and parts of why he acted the way he did, tried to reason with him and talk to him. Noca became stubborn and there was a suggestion made. He should probably go and stay in the Capsule Corp. compound with the Brief family, mainly because that's where the space was. Due to this decision, Gohan said he had decided to put a halt on Noca's training for just a little bit. Noca didn't argue this point but in his mind, he knew it was a huge negative. The whole reason he had even travelled to this part of the world and now it seemed like his life was continuing to spiral out of control.
At the ripe old age of thirteen, and Noca was feeling like he couldn't go on any longer. He was at a crossroads in his life. He just agreed with Gohan and Videl, and that same night, he went to Capsule Corp., where he would stay for the foreseeable future. It wasn't certain when things would settle but it definitely seemed like Pan never wanted anything to do with Noca, while the boy just knew he wasn't supposed to be a part of their lives anyway.
Bra found it hard to talk to Noca once he started staying with them. He had already become increasingly distant in the past few weeks but by this point it seemed like there wasn't much point in trying anymore. Bra didn't want to accept that and attempted to talk to him over that weekend. She tried to apologise for the decision she and Kiera had made to force Pan and Noca to talk to each other, but Noca brushed it off with a less than half-hearted acceptance.
He didn't want to say it outright, but he definitely didn't really care. Kiera had sent him many a text message, which he did reply to, eventually. It was similar to what was happening with Bra. Any bridges that had been built were starting to lose their integrity.
Noca didn't know what had come over him but he ignored everything that weekend. His homework for school was left in his bag, unseen for the whole weekend, and Noca even brushed off his training. He didn't care. He remained isolated all that time. He didn't leave the room, which was easy enough when any meals could be brought right to the bedroom door at the push of a button, and there was a capsule-fridge full of drinks in the room. Noca didn't need to leave the room, and no one was forcing him to.
When Monday rolled around, it was time for school, and Noca was awoken that morning by Bra. Even though Noca had hardly any sleep. He washed and dressed but told Bra he would journey to school on his own. That's something he didn't do. Bra was keeping an eye out for Noca at school, as was Pan, although more anxiously, but he was a no show. Kiera asked where he was but received no response.
That was the norm for that whole school week. The school did contact Gohan and Videl early on in the week, as they were still registered as his guardians, and they even sent Pan home with a message. It was an odd situation but Gohan dealt with it, lying to the school and saying that Noca wouldn't be attending for some time due to some issues. Noca didn't know they had left any message with the school, no one told him, but he was never spoken to about it.
Noca had started to emerge from the bedroom, but only so he could travel somewhere privately to try and get himself back into training. He managed to improve his Ki control, learning more blasts and perfecting his technique, a little. He no longer had a sparring partner so that training was lacking, and due to some lacking instruction, he had paid no attention to emotional training. Meditation was ignored. It was all about Ki.
After the second week at Capsule Corp. Noca was beginning to feel very confident in his abilities. That Sunday night, he ventured out of the compound, and out of West City.
Monday 5th March Age 792
Bra and Pan had just walked out of their lessons at the end of the day and were at the lockers when they were approached by Kiera. The blonde practically rushed over when she saw the two girls and instantly caught their attention.
"Hey! Bra, Pan, I was looking for you at lunch," She said as she stopped in front of them.
"Oh, hi, what's up?" Bra asked, slightly taken aback by Kiera's urgency. "Is everything ok?"
Pan stepped up next to Bra to see what Kiera had to say. Kiera quickly glanced her way but drew her attention back to Bra.
"It's about Noca," Kiera said, managing to calm herself, and then glanced Pan's way again. The raven-haired girl cleared her throat lightly and stepped off a little bit, pretending she forgot something in her locker.
"What is it?" Bra asked, starting to feel a bit concerned.
"I haven't heard from him all weekend. We were speaking throughout the week every now and then, he always replied eventually, even if it was late," Kiera explained, starting to show a little bit of worry and shakiness in her voice, but she contained her composure. "But nothing, all weekend, at all. Have you spoken to him?"
"I didn't see him at the weekend, I was out with Kareshi on Saturday and homework on Sunday," Bra explained, taking a moment to think. "I tried to see if he was around on Saturday, but I guess he was out training again."
Kiera seemed disappointed at that response and leaned against the locker. Pan was still looking in her locker, but she was definitely listening. She could tell there was genuine concern from Kiera, and it was uneasy to hear.
"Don't worry, Kiera. I'm sure he's just gone training somewhere else, maybe…" Bra said, trying to assure Kiera but not doing a great job at sounding convincing. "I'll ask my parents when I get home, ok?" Bra suggested.
"That would be great. Thanks, Bra," Kiera said, smiling and backing away a little. "I'll try calling him again later. Good luck!" Kiera said, waving and rushing off back to the friend she was with previously. Bra stood still for a moment, thinking. Worrying. But she was brought back to reality when Pan closed her locker and patted her on the shoulder.
"Come on, let's head home," Pan said, smiling at her friend. Bra returned a weak smile and followed her friend.
Pan went off back to her house while Bra returned to her home at the compound in West City. She immediately went to Noca's bedroom and knocked a few times. She waited for a few minutes and even tried speaking through the door. Perhaps he was just shutting himself off from people completely, but surely, he would respond if he was in there.
Bra decided she wouldn't just stand by and wait for something to happen and entered the room. She was embraced by darkness. The curtains closed. The lights off. The room was tidy. Almost untouched. Bra walked in and explored the whole room to find something. His capsule-fridge was practically empty. That was certainly something to be concerned about.
Bra rushed down to see her mother immediately. Bulma had not seen him but assured her daughter she would keep an eye out and let her know as soon as she knew. Bra even attempted to involve her father. However, he wasn't going to be drawn into those worries. He didn't care about the child he knew nothing about. It wasn't worth his time.
Kiera deserved an update, so Bra called her. Neither girl had made any progress. It was a worrying situation but both of them had enough faith in Noca to show up, and Kiera tried to come to terms with the fact that Noca maybe knew how to take care of himself. It was a restless night for the blonde and her blue-haired friend.
Tuesday 6th March Age 792
The first thing Bra did after she had got dressed and ready for school was rush down the hall to the guest room that Noca had been using and she checked to see if he was there. Disregarding the knock, she entered without warning. Yet again, the room was in the exact same state. Nothing had changed. No Noca.
She asked both her parents, receiving a negative from both. This wasn't great for her mindset going into the school day. She hadn't received any messages or calls from Kiera so there didn't seem to be any update on that front.
When Bra finally arrived at school and had a chance to speak to Kiera, she still didn't receive any new updates. Both of those girls were starting to feel a little down because of it, and Pan was taking notice. She didn't involve herself, but her attention was being drawn. She just wanted to go about her day without any big distractions or surprises.
By the end of the day, there were no new developments.
Wednesday 7th March Age 792
Once again, that Wednesday started with no sign of good news. Nothing. Not a single hint as to where Noca might be and when he might return. At this point, it had been five days since anyone actually spoke to him. The girls were discussing it again at the start of the day, and once more during their lunch break.
Pan was getting a little tired of hearing it.
"Maybe he decided this life wasn't for him and returned to his home, or wherever he came from," Pan suggested, "Is that really out of the realm of possibility."
Bra looked to Pan and then to Kiera. She started to consider that possibility, but the blonde didn't want to entertain that idea. She shook her head, defiantly.
"I'm sorry, but I don't believe he would do that," Kiera says, adamantly. Pan raised her hands to show that she tried to have her say. Unfortunately, Kiera knew a detail that the other two girls did not know, and that was what led to her belief that Noca wouldn't run back to his home, at least not yet.
"I don't know then, I guess I'll talk to my mom again," Bra suggested, not sounding entirely convinced on the idea. Kiera was starting to feel a little depressed because of Noca not being around. "Don't worry too much, Kiera. You'll stress yourself out."
At the end of that day, the girls went their separate ways, and when Pan returned to her home, she made an impulse decision when she walked in and greeted her parents. She walked into her dad's office, where he was on a stepladder taking some books out of his shelf. She sat down at his computer but didn't do anything.
"Dad," She said, attempting to get his attention.
"What is it?" Gohan asked, still preoccupied with his books, trying to find the right one.
"Have you heard from Noca?" She asked. Gohan stopped, halfway from pulling a book out of the shelf. He pushed it back in and stepped down off the ladder, setting the books on a table and walking over to Pan.
"Why do you ask?" He questioned. Pan shook it off and stood up.
"It's nothing, I was just wondering, you know. You were training him before," She said, thinking that she had explained herself out of it.
"No. I haven't heard anything," Gohan said, just as Pan stepped out of the room. She didn't respond, heading straight upstairs.
She reached the landing and turned to walk towards her room, passing by the guest bedroom. His bedroom. She stopped and turned back, walking to the door and slowly opening it. She was anxious as she did so, half expecting to see Noca sitting in there or something. But, much like the room at Capsule Corp. it was clean, but not as dark. Videl had obviously been in there to clean it recently and left the curtains open.
Pan looked around, noticing the Capsules that were used for Noca's wardrobe and clothes were sitting on the bedside table, which was still damaged from her fight with him. She touched the table, feeling the dents. She turned to looked around some more and dropped down on the bed, sitting there, silently, thinking.
She wasn't there long when Videl walked upstairs and headed down the hall towards Pan's room but noticed her daughter was sitting in the guest room.
"Hey kiddo, what are you doing in here?" Videl asked, walking in. Pan was looking down at her feet.
"Is it my fault that he's gone?" Pan asked, some hint of concern in her voice. Videl sighed and walked over to her daughter, sitting down on the bed beside her.
"Neither of you made life easy for each other," Videl said, placing her hand on her daughter's leg. "Maybe you could have been nicer to him from the start, but then you shouldn't blame yourself."
"I didn't want to be nice…" Pan said, almost questioning it in her head. "I can't explain it but…" Pan stopped, not knowing what the next words would be out of her mouth, or whether she should even say them to her mother. "I don't know, I just wasn't comfortable around him."
Videl tried to think of what she could say to help Pan understand her own thoughts and feelings better.
"Listen, I'm sure he'll show up soon," Videl suggested, taking her hand away and putting her arm around Pan. "Don't worry."
With that, Videl got up, smiled to Pan, and headed back downstairs, leaving the teen alone in the room. Pan sighed and decided not to waste time in there any longer. She got up and went to go downstairs again, but she stopped a few steps down when she heard her parents in the kitchen.
"It's strange that Pan's asking about it now," Gohan said. Pan could just about hear it from her position on the stairs, they were talking intentionally quietly, but she picked up on a little bit. "I don't get it. But I haven't been able to sense him all week."
Pan froze up a little bit upon hearing that. Maybe the reason they couldn't find him was more serious than previously estimated. Pan didn't like being the one with that side of the information. Would it be wrong to keep it from the other girls?
"Isn't it possible he's suppressing his Ki?" Videl asked.
"Maybe," Gohan replied. Hearing that helped put Pan's mind at ease a little and she was about to stand up to head to her room but then she heard the follow-up. "But to suppress his Ki for five days straight without slipping up takes some incredibly serious concentration. And it's not something you can do while sleeping."
Pan froze again and her mind continued to dwell on the negative ideas. This was becoming quite serious.
Thursday 8th March Age 792
Back to school again and once more there wasn't a single update on the Noca front. At least not from Kiera and Bra. The big difference this time was that Pan had something in her locker. She knew something that the other two didn't, and it was difficult for her to decide whether or not she should enlighten her two friends and let them know the less than great news. Kiera and Bra were talking at the lockers again, while Pan was sitting there listening and waiting for her time to drop in and say something.
"I just don't know what to do at this point," Kiera was saying, feeling rather dejected and tired. "I know I shouldn't worry too much, he's probably more than capable of taking care of himself but I can't help but worry."
"Don't be hard on yourself, Kiera. Look, you're allowed to be worried, I'm worried, it's rough when we don't know anything," Bra said, not doing much to assure her friend, but letting her know she wasn't being too unreasonable with her feelings. Pan couldn't help feeling a little guilty about letting them carry on assuming what was going on. She cleared her throat and moved a little closer to try and say something.
"My mom thinks he'll show up, she was pretty confident about that," Pan informed them. Bra seemed to offer a soft glance at Pan, happy that she was taking an interest, but Kiera wasn't feeling the same.
"So, suddenly you care now?" Kiera questioned, sounding pretty frustrated with Pan's input. "It's a little bit late for that, isn't it?"
Pan was taken aback but tried to keep a lid on her emotions and address it neutrally, but she couldn't deny how she was feeling about that.
"I guess I feel guilty," Pan said, looking at her friends. "And if anything were to happen to him…"
"You should feel that way," Kiera said, maybe sounding a bit angry with the Saiyan. Pan glared at her and stepped forward to argue back.
"We don't even know him that well, why should we be so caught up on what's happening in his life when he wasn't even a part of ours for that long?" Pan questioned, getting slightly riled up and annoyed with the constant support for Noca.
"Six months ago, you didn't even know me that well, I started at this school, we met, spent a little bit of time together, but you consider us good friends," Kiera said, making a very good point and looking to Bra for support. The blue-haired girl gave Kiera a look to say that she understood but offered no supportive words. "You two embraced me as part of your group, but Pan, you never gave Noca even the slightest chance."
"I know…" Pan said, looking away. She certainly looked unhappy with herself, but there was a conflict of feelings in there. She didn't want to admit she was wrong, and she still felt justified for being against Noca. It was strange but she was learning to empathise with Noca even a little bit. "I'm sorry."
The girls didn't quite believe that Pan was getting closer to actually owning up to her mistake. Bra could certainly see the growth going on within Pan, she was a little pleased with the progress she was witnessing. Kiera was still not having it.
"We're not the ones you should apologise to," Kiera said, looking from Pan to Bra. "I'll see you later," she said before walking away. Pan stood with Bra in silence for a moment. Bra wanted desperately to say something but also wanted to avoid saying the wrong thing. It just remained an awkward silence as both girls headed off to their lessons for the day.
Pan didn't stop thinking about what Kiera had said all day. She initially believed it had been too harsh but was slowly coming to terms with what both Kiera and Videl had said. Pan was partially to blame, just as Noca was, but that didn't mean she should continuously be angry at him or throw the blame on him. She needed to accept her part.
That night, Pan was restless. She couldn't sleep very well and spent most of the night staring into the darkness. She was running over the last month or so that Noca had been a part of their lives, replaying those events in her head. Before things had become hostile between the two Noca wasn't trying to do anything bad, he was just existing. Pan was starting to be very disappointed with herself and that only added to the difficulty she already had trying to sleep.
In the end she decided to get up and do some exercise to try and tire herself out. She started working out a little bit and found that was only waking her up a little more. She was getting very annoyed with herself and stifled her attempts to curse out loud. She stopped working out and sat still on the ground, her arms resting on her knees. She dropped back, laying on the ground staring up at the ceiling.
"What should I do?" She asked herself, bringing her hands to her face and groaning. With the silence and emptiness of the night, the effect of the darkness, Pan's senses were heightened and something spiked. She took her hands from her eyes and sat up, trying to grip onto that spike. She stood up and tried to feel it out.
It was a familiar energy. It was something she had only felt once in the last few months. It was… close. Pan rushed to her window, pulled the curtains open and looked out, knowing the direction of the energy. She could feel where it was coming from. She knew that energy, she didn't know who it belonged to, but now she was committed to finding out.
"Where have you been?" She asked, speaking to no one in particular. She half-chuckled and shook her head. "I have a fix on you now. I will find you… soon!"
Friday 9th March Age 792
Pan was eager to get to school that morning. Her restless night meant she had hardly any sleep, she was up bright and early, and decided there was nothing better to do than just get ready for school. She was even the first downstairs and, for once on a school day, she prepared her own breakfast, surprising both her parents when they arrived downstairs. Of course, she didn't think about her parents, but she was far too preoccupied with her thoughts. Not like that was an appropriate response to that, but Pan didn't see any problems.
Pan did remember to ask her parents if there was any update on the Noca front, but the answers were the same as before. Nothing new. Pan managed to brush it off and rushed off to meet Bra at Capsule Corp. before school. Gohan and Videl mentioned to one another that Pan seemed to be feeling a little bit more upbeat than before.
As Pan was landing down in the compound Bra was already emerging from inside, ready to meet her friend. Pan set down in front of the blue-haired teen and was ready to start talking but Bra beat her to it.
"Any updates?" Bra asked.
"I felt that energy again!" Pan said, almost the exact moment that Bra finished speaking. Bra was speechless for a moment, trying to find the relevance.
"Great, but I meant if there was any progress on the Noca front?" Bra clarified, "You had asked your parents so I assumed they would try to find some trace."
"No, I asked before I left, there was nothing new," Pan said, a little disappointed that Bra pushed past the fact that Pan had connected with the energy again. Surely, she remembered how prevalent it had been before and how important it had become to Pan. "You realise it has been a while since I properly felt that energy, and now it pops up again…" Pan trailed off, realising that Bra wasn't really listening as she threw down the capsule for her jet. "You're not listening."
"I am," Bra said, turning to face Pan. "You sensed that anonymous energy again, it doesn't help us with Noca does it?" Bra said, seemingly frustrated with Pan.
"What's wrong? I just thought… because you seemed to care before," Pan suggested as she boarded the jet with Bra.
"I just think it's weird that you care so much about this energy and you have no idea where it came from, but you didn't give Noca a chance when he showed up," Bra said, making a very good point. Pan was silent, giving Bra more space to speak. "I am interested in this as well, but you have to see how contradictory it is of you. Or hypocritical."
Pan remained silent for a moment and looked out of the window.
"Yeah, well, I just made progress with it, that was all," Pan continued.
"What do you mean?" Bra asked.
"I locked on to it. I think I can find it," Pan said, looking up to Bra again. The blue-haired teen seemed to tense up at that information. "I think it might be in Satan City. I'm going to look for the source."
"Is that really a good idea?" Bra asked, "It might be dangerous. Shouldn't you tell your parents?"
"I don't think it will be dangerous, and if I get close and there's a sense of danger, I can always leave it," Pan said. She certainly seemed to have her heart set on doing this. Bra was thinking it through and tried to find the correct thing to say to her friend to avoid her acting unreasonable.
"Just, take the school day to think about it," Bra suggested, "It might not be safe."
Pan nodded in agreement but as far as she was concerned, she had her heart set on finding it. She needed to know who or what it belonged to and she had waited long enough.
The raven-haired Saiyan had nothing else but that energy on her mind, and not once did the thought that the owner of that energy would be a danger to her cross her mind. Pan felt comfort when she connected with that power. She never once felt like she would be put at risk for searching for it. She disregarded Bra's warnings and wasn't going to change her mind.
Once the school day ended, she walked out with Bra, and the blue-haired girl was still wary of her friend's plans. Kiera joined them as they walked out together as she was going back to Capsule Corp. with Bra. Both of them hoped that after almost a week Noca would return of his own volition.
"Pan, please promise me you're not going after that energy, please!" Bra pleaded, hoping that her friend could stay out of trouble.
"Bra, you have no reason to worry," Pan said, shaking off her friend's worries. She looked ahead and tried to remain composed. "I was just planning to go right home," She lied. Bra couldn't tell if Pan was telling the truth or not.
"Well, good, I think it would be really silly to go after this energy with no back-up, or without telling your parents," Bra said, trying to push the argument into Pan's head, hoping she would take to it and think a little more. On the other hand, she knew how stubborn Pan was and how interesting she found that power. Pan probably wouldn't change her mind, and Bra accepted it was something she probably had to come to terms with. That being said, she could always tell her mother and father, that way someone will know that Pan needs to be kept an eye on.
"It's fine," Pan assured her, "I'm pretty wiped out. See you girls on Monday."
"Yeah, seeya," Kiera said, sending Pan a quick smile. She was still a little upset with Pan, but she wasn't about to hold a grudge forever, she was just a tiny bit worried about Noca.
"Bye, Pan," Bra said. She smiled weakly and boarded her plane and flew up, heading towards West City with Kiera. Pan made it look like she was walking towards the outskirts of the city, preparing to fly home, but once she was sure Bra would be a good distance away, the Saiyan turned around and walked back towards the city. Gripping onto that energy. She was going to follow it and finally find it.
She didn't really know where she was walking at first, the energy wasn't too easy to track, but every now and then it felt like she could sense something coming from a certain direction and she would head that way. Once that sense started to dissipate another one would rise from a new direction and Pan would head that way. This happened a few times as Pan began to narrow down the distance. It was getting stronger the closer she was getting to the location, she knew that.
She rounded a corner a spotted a burned out building. In the moment, she couldn't place where she had seen it before, but there was a strong familiarity. She thought about it as she headed closer, realising the energy was coming from inside. The building looked dangerous, it was blackened from the fire-damage, sort of damp from recent rainfall, and the whole structural integrity looked terrible. Judging by the look of it, it was amazing that it was even still standing.
Pan headed closer towards it, finding an open space, a way to get in. She looked around to make sure no one was watching as she stepped inside, gingerly. As she entered, the building looked no better on the inside. There was debris everywhere, stuff had clearly fallen from the upper floors and pipes had burst, leaving jagged metal sticking out in places. Pan had to be careful to avoid that.
She moved forward, just dodging a pipe but when she stepped down her left foot plunged right into a puddle. Pan groaned as she pulled her foot out and shook it. It was soaked right through. Pan sighed and moved past it. She placed her hand on a fallen wooden beam as she rounded into a hallway, she assumed, and that beam creaked causing some more creaking a little further up. Pan gasped and pulled her hand away, hoping that nothing fell.
There was more danger in standing still, Pan knew that, and she knew she should just keep going. Moving further down the hall she saw another open doorway at the end, all the others were blocked by debris from fallen walls, or bits of the ceiling, so Pan had to assume that wherever the energy was coming from, it must be the next room.
She stopped about halfway down the hallway and thought against just walking in and greeting a stranger. She cleared her throat.
"Hello…" She said, quite softly, nervously. She was starting to tremble a little bit, with the small hairs on her arms standing up. She swallowed and took a breath, cleared her throat again and said, "Hello!" Louder that time.
There was another creaking sound and movement from the room up ahead. Something fell over in there and Pan jumped a little bit, gasping in shock. She shuddered a little bit, trying her best to keep completely still. As she steadied herself and tried to get ready for the next thing that happened a drop of water fell from above and right down the back of her shirt.
Pan let out a little bit of a muted squeal as she moved forward quickly, turning around to see what had happened, but she tripped, falling backwards into a wall, causing the entire place to shake again. She panicked and rushed up the hall, practically diving into the next room as a bit of the ceiling fell down. It was as much as she expected but it had been dangerous either way.
She breathed a sigh of relief and stood up straight, turning around to face the room. She took in as much as she could, despite how dark it was. There was a sleeping bag on the floor, on top of what looked like a rug, that remarkably wasn't wet. The ceiling in that room had not fallen through, and there was a small capsule heater beside the sleeping bag, although it had been knocked over.
Pan's nerves had not subsided.
"I'm not a threat. Please, come out," Pan said, moving into a defensive stance. Planting her feet and keeping her hands up, but not clenched into fists. She meant that. She wasn't a threat. She heard some movement again behind her and turned around quickly, clenching her fists out of instinct but she immediately relaxed when she saw them. "Noca?"
She stared at him, her arms dropping to her sides, although Noca looked like he was ready to defend himself.
"Why are you bothering me?" He asked, taking a step back, but realised something from the tone of Pan's voice. "Wait… you weren't expecting me?"
Pan shook her head slowly.
"I was tracking something else… at least, I think I was," Pan said, thinking to herself and looking away. She was confused. She had felt that energy a few times, this wasn't the first time, but it couldn't have belonged to Noca. Surely, she would have known the moment she met him, right? "I don't understand."
"Yeah, me neither," Noca said, putting his arms down and walking over to his stuff on the floor. "I was hoping this private enough." He slumped down onto the ground and sighed.
"Hey, I wasn't exactly trying to find you," Pan said, sounding a little disappointed that the energy didn't belong to anyone else. "I was following a power I've been feeling since back in like September and I stumble upon you. This was an accident."
Noca just raised his eyebrows and nodded. Pan quickly realised the tone she was taking with him, realising it was maybe a little unfair. Change the subject.
"Why are you hiding in here? What was wrong with Capsule Corp.?" Pan asked, moving closer to Noca. A part of him wanted to ignore her, wanted her to run away and leave him, but… she was actually talking to him, like a human being.
"The same thing that was wrong with your house…" Noca said, looking away. "It wasn't my home."
Pan didn't know what to make of that, and quickly glanced at his sleeping bag and heater. She scoffed.
"And this is?"
"It's in the same condition as my home, may as well be," Noca said, looking to the ground. Pan was about to say something else but Noca cut her off. "Please leave me alone. I left you alone like you wanted. Please, do me that favour."
A part of Pan wanted to leave him there, but she was starting to feel sympathy for him, but then again, he was putting a lot of this on himself.
"You're always cryptic and then you wonder why people are different with you. You're not letting anyone in," Pan said, finally finding how to put into words how he was making her feel. "I just realised something, and I don't know what it means but it's a big deal, if you let me explain it."
Noca said nothing, giving Pan the space to speak, if she so wanted to.
"If I have been sensing this power since September or whenever, but no one else could, then I think we're linked somehow," Pan said, it sounded terrible as she said it and she almost wanted to cringe for even thinking it but she stood by it. "Not one other person could sense you when I did, and my dad couldn't even find you this week when he tried."
Noca was taking it in but he wasn't sure how to take it. September. When he left home. When his mother died. What did that have to do with it?
"We thought the worst had happened," Pan said, sombrely. Noca looked up but didn't dare look at Pan.
"We?" He questioned.
"I'm sorry," Pan said, tensing up as she said it. She was so anxious, and she couldn't explain it. "About everything. I'm sorry."
Noca looked up at her and could see how genuine she was being. He didn't know her well, at all, but for the first time, he felt like he caught a glimpse of the real Pan. He stood up, still looking at her. He took the apology onboard, but his mind was drawn to Pan's senses and what had happened in September. Maybe they wouldn't get to the bottom of it, but it could possibly help if they spoke about the events that maybe caused it.
"I want to tell you…" Noca started, catching himself as the emotions swelled just from thinking about what would be yet another tough conversation. "You deserve to know the truth. My truth."
The teen stood there staring at each other in silence, aside from the little creaks and the dripping water.
"Not now," Noca confirmed, Pan seemed a little disappointed by that, but he was ready with a response to assure her. "Once I've had proper rest."
"So, you're coming back?" She asked. Noca nodded and Pan seemed relieved. "Kiera and Bra will be so happy to see you… and maybe a little mad."
Noca chuckled softly as he turned to grab up his stuff. Pan watched as he did and then looked around at the place again.
"Why did you come here?" Pan asked, "Isn't this that apartment building that caught fire?"
"Yeah, it is," Noca confirmed as he turned around. "I'm kinda linked to this place now, and it reminded me of my home. I already said that."
Pan thought back on it, but she couldn't quite make sense of it. Maybe that was something that would become clear once they finally had a chance to talk properly. Pan started to head back out of the building, hoping that nothing else would break or fall. Noca watched her go, and followed, gingerly.
They stepped out of the building and Pan threw down a capsule for her jet, assuming that Noca wouldn't want to fly back after living in rough conditions for a week. They boarded and the jet slowly rose into the air, blasting towards West City. On the journey there Noca called back to a mental note he made earlier. Remembering something that Pan had said. He turned to face her.
"Pan," he said, drawing her attention. She looked to him. Their eyes connected for a moment and there was some form of understanding, it was odd, for both of them. Noca cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, too." He then looked forward, trying to move past the new awkwardness. Pan also looked forward and couldn't deny to herself how uncomfortable the situation was, but there really was a sense of relief too.
Characters Seen/Mentioned in this Chapter:
Noca (OC)
Pan
Videl
Son Gohan
Bra
Kiera (OC)
Kareshi (OC) – Mentioned
Bulma – Mentioned
Vegeta – Mentioned
Emna (OC) – Mentioned
