A/N: I changed the cover for this story to a picture I drew of Ivory in a casual outfit.
Ivory could count the number of missions she went on by herself on one hand.
Not to say that she couldn't handle herself on missions, because she was more than capable of doing the work the soldiers did. But why would she go through all that effort? After all, she didn't have to lift a finger to do anything when she had men to do just that, men who were more than happy to do that kind of work. The only time she really went on missions was when she felt that her soldiers were too incompetent to handle the task. That rarely happened though; after she took command, she made numerous recruitment reforms in order to weed out the weak from the strong. That led to her soldiers performing better, which in turn led to missions being completed with better efficiency. If her soldiers did the work with little problem and many of them came back alive and without injury, why would she bother going out? She could focus on training and pulling the strings of the empire thanks to properly trained soldiers.
Despite these things, Ivory couldn't run the risk of sending any soldier out for her, not even Biamuh. As competent and skilled as they were, her personal faction wasn't expendable and she didn't want to lose any of the men she recruited. They had talents and power she didn't want to risk losing and the empire was expanding faster than ever. If she lost men, she'd be losing valuable resources.
This was also a personal mission.
It was her vendetta, her empire, and her family's name that had been disrespected. Had she decided she wanted to send her soldiers out, there was the off-chance that their encounters could turn violent. As strong as they were, Ivory doubted they would be able to take on a Saiyan. Even sending Biamuh would've been a risk because while he was stellar at information gathering and going undercover, his combat skills and power level were pitiful. That would only put him at a great disadvantage if it ever came to blows. Not only that, but these were Saiyans she was dealing with, and every time they were underestimated, it ended in tragedy for their family.
There was a point in time where she considered sending her mother on this mission but she disregarded that idea almost as soon as she had it. Kirsi wasn't…tactful at much of anything and only cared about herself and her beauty. She'd spend most of her time trying out local cuisines, pampering herself, or coercing poor earthlings into bed with her. That would be a complete waste of time and it was likely that Kirsi would blow their cover regardless and end up getting killed.
No, Ivory had to do this herself. She had to give the Saiyans what they deserved and she wanted the satisfaction of their blood on her hands. There were risks involved and she was prepared for them, but she wouldn't make the same mistakes as those who came before her. She had prepared for this, had been groomed for this. She had power from all the years she spent training, all the places she visited and all the people she learned techniques from. She had her teachings from Sorbet, who had been at her right for years. Day in and day out he taught her how to be like her father, pushing her to live up to the expectations set before her, and helping her expand her father's empire to outstanding proportions. She was intelligent and cunning thanks to him, and all his teachings would definitely come in handy.
And of course, she had Biamuh, who she had been observing ever since he was assigned to her so many years ago. She picked up on many things from watching him for so long, including how to lie her way out of situations, how to pick up on body language and to judge a person's character. He taught her how to see a person for more than they are, and to make herself seem like something else entirely.
This wasn't the normal type of preparation that soldiers went through, but it was all necessary for what she was about to do. But beyond her vendetta, she wasn't going to deny that the prospect of getting out and learning more about this planet excited her. Her fingers itched for battle and hadn't stopped itching since that encounter with Gohan, but her curious nature overrode all of that, pushing it to the back of her mind until the time was right. She wanted to know more about earthlings, about how they lived and interacted.
It's what set her apart from the rest of her family: her constant need to explore a species before she decided what to do with them. Her father never understood why she had that tendency and always assumed that it was just childish things. But when she told him valuable information she had learned from the species, he began to take her more seriously. Sorbet didn't approve of her exploration either, but he did admit that all of the discoveries Ivory made about a species was important. She wanted to do it all over again, maybe explore a bigger area than the one they were in.
She didn't have too much time for that at the moment. She still walked among the species as Biamuh's teachings required her too. They constantly took trips out into the city so she could observe how people acted and dressed, then spent countless hours teaching her and correcting her on how to behave like one of them. He devoted all of his time to training her to behave like an earthling female, to laugh and smile convincingly, to talk casually and not give commands, to respond to her name without a title attached to it, to pretend to be interested in conversation even when she wasn't. Some things didn't come easily, as they were ingrained in her as a child and habits she had grown up with, but she merely had to adjust to certain things rather than change them right out. Certain things, like adjusting to a different wardrobe, was easy because those were just the superficial things, things that didn't matter in the long run. But old habits were hard for her to get rid of and it was her old habits that would get her into the most trouble.
Those things would just have to be corrected at a later date. It was time for everything to come together, for her to go out into the planet and actually be one of them. No more observing them, no more practicing their habits but actually blending in with them, walking among them like she had lived here her entire life.
Ivory knew that she was looking at herself in the mirror, but the image reflected back at her looked so strange.
She wasn't like her mother, preferring silky fabric adorned with jewels or anything, nor did she care for swooping necklines or slits in the fabric, but the dress she had one was so…casual. It wasn't a bad dress and it didn't make her look childish, but it wasn't what she was used to. She liked just a bit of class to her ensemble but this was odd to her. The dress was nice but just that: nice. There wasn't anything that stood out about it; it was just a stretch of fabric, nothing more than that. Even her shoes were simple white things with no ribbons or gems or pearls that were slightly uncomfortable to wear. She wore no accessories save for her necklace from the other day, and she didn't do anything to her hair, but even with all those little changes, they still served to make her look different.
'An earthling,' she realized. 'I look like an earthling.'
Without her usual wardrobe and adornments, she only looked out of place to herself. But in a large crowd? She'd look exactly like them. If a wardrobe change had this effect, she wondered if she really needed to adjust her manner of speaking or if that really needed to be corrected.
"Princess? Are you almost ready?"
Ivory shook her head. Despite how she looked and how she felt, this was what she needed to do. If she spent time over-analyzing every little detail that was different, she'd never get anything done today. "I'm ready Biamuh. You may enter."
Biamuh entered and bowed, a black bag clutched in his right hand. Ivory noted that he again changed his appearance, going for someone strong-jawed and muscular looking with long hair. She would never get over how he would flawlessly change from one identity to the next, or how he kept up with all the identities he had without repeating them. It was no wonder he was their best reconnaissance soldier: no one would ever suspect him when he always changed faces. "It's almost time for you to leave, but I wanted to give you a few things before you left for school."
After a few days of following him, Biamuh gathered that Gohan spent the majority of his day at some sort of institution (a school he called it), and if she wanted to know more about him, Ivory would have to attend as well. She'd never been to school before and honestly, she didn't know what they consisted of; all her life, she had tutors and instructors who taught her the basic subjects she needed to learn and everything else she learned through doing. Actually going to school seemed…strange. But that was where Gohan was almost all day, so that's where she needed to be. "Very well. What are they?"
He handed her a small badge and something that resembled a button. "They are merely things for school. You have to wear the badge for people to identify you as a student that attends."
Ivory eyed the badge with distaste. It was absolutely garish to look at. "They couldn't have designed it with better colors in mind?"
Biamuh chuckled, handing her the button object. "This is merely to contact us. If you ever feel that you are in trouble or need our assistance, simply activate the device and we will all rush to assist you."
"And 'all' refers to…"
"My team and some of our strongest warriors, of course, will respond first. But all soldiers stationed here will receive the alert. Everyone except your mother. We would hate for her to blow your cover."
"That would be unfortunate, yes." It would be bothersome if she had to…dispose of her mother this early on. She knew Kirsi would inevitably become an issue but she hoped that Kirsi would hold off for a couple of weeks. She had already proven to be a nuisance thus far, but she was content at the moment and Ivory wanted that to last. "How will you entertain her while I'm away?"
Biamuh frowned. "We have the funds to buy her whatever she may need, but your mother tends to entertain herself in…erm, other ways among the soldiers."
Ivory made a face. She had picked up on her mother's habits a long time ago, but she never did or said anything about it as her mother wasn't harming anyone and she hadn't been getting in anyone's way. It was her mother's body and how she chose to ruin it was on her; Ivory just wished her mother would be a lot more subtle about it. "I thought as much. I have no issue with them keeping her occupied for the time being, but if the soldiers aren't enough to entertain her, allow her to feel important. Have a few soldiers make up fake reports from our bases so she can think the empire will collapse without her guidance. They should be long and arduous and fill them with complicated problems that require delicate solutions. If that bores her, allow her to buy what she wants until she's happy. I don't care about the semantics, just keep an eye on her for me."
"Of course Princess."
The walk to school was uneventful.
Biamuh was dutiful as always and didn't talk much, keeping a keen eye out for anyone who might pose a threat. He didn't need to be on guard at all, considering there wasn't a threat in any low-level earthlings, but it was his obligation and he remained dutiful even after Ivory was able to take care of herself. She didn't mind his presence though; she was used to him following in her shadow no matter where she went. It was stranger when they were apart than when they were together; it had been like this ever since he was assigned to watch her.
"Something has occurred to me Biamuh. Are you going to station yourself somewhere inside the school?" Would he pretend to be some sort of official in the school to better monitor her? She wouldn't mind if he was but that might require extra tact on his part.
"Unfortunately, I will not. You will not need me during the day and my attention would be split between making sure you are okay and trying to assess potential threats. I'll be of better use to you by monitoring you from your home. I would be more of a distraction to you if anything."
She highly doubted that but Biamuh must've had his reasons.
Eventually, when Biamuh felt there was no threat to either of them, they practiced talking. Biamuh gave her little corrections when she made faces or said something out of turn, or simply shook his head when her tone began to drift towards the condescending side. He didn't have to correct much, which showed just how much she had learned in such a short amount of time. She slipped every now and then, making a face when she shouldn't have, but that was all she needed guidance on. The control of her expressions was the most critical thing, and the thing that would give her away; Biamuh told her that someone's expressions would tell everything.
"People will always try to hide their intentions behind their eyes. Some people you will encounter are exceptional at hiding behind their eyes, but they will always slip. You need to be someone who doesn't show anything; you must really believe that you're an earthling if you'd like to fool them."
Ivory understood that but it wasn't easy to just banish those thoughts from her mind. She simply couldn't get into the mindset with so much riding on this plan. The more she tried to stop thinking about it, the more glaringly obvious it was that she wasn't one of them. "That won't be as easy as you say. There's a lot I have to think about, including staying conscious about how I behave around them."
"Trust me, Ivory. It'll come with time."
Sooner rather than later I hope. "How long did it take you?"
Biamuh shrugged. "You could say it was…instilled in me since birth. From what I remember of my family, all they ever did was lie and deceive, even to their own children. It's how they made their living and how they raised us. If I didn't know how to lie, my family would've disowned me. The skills I have are those I was born with and perfected as I grew older." He seemed to realize that he had gone off on a tangent because he coughed into his hand and composed himself. "You are catching on quicker than I had imagined. Soon, you'll be able to deceive even someone such as me."
"Hmm. If you say so." She supposed she had done it before when she went to planets and sat among the locals to glean as much information as she could from them. No one paid her any extra attention and assumed she was just a curious child, so it was easy for her to sit in with them and listen to all the details they chose to tell. But that was simply listening in to a conversation, not actually interacting with anyone. Now she had to actually talk to people and pretend that she cared about what she had to say and that she was interested in them. That was going to be the challenge for her, remembering that these people were on equal ground with her and not below her.
Engrossed in their conversation as they were, Ivory didn't notice the person who had turned the corner her until they had collided. The impact, and the fact that she was off guard, caused her to stumble back. Biamuh was at her side in an instant, grabbing her elbow to stabilize her before she could stumble too far. To her credit though, Ivory didn't immediately lash out at the person who bumped her, even though that's what she would've done in any other situation.
"Oh! I'm so sorry about that. Are you okay?"
That voice. Ivory knew that voice. She had only heard it a few times but it was already so ingrained in her memory that she'd never forget it. A voice she wanted to hear screaming in agony, begging her for mercy. "It's you."
"Oh! You're that girl from before." Gohan chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. He looked just as he did the day before, friendly and warm, and even his smile was the same stupid one from their last encounter. "I'm sorry, I forgot your name."
"It's Ivory. And you're Gohan, right? I don't think I could forget the name of my savior."
Gohan flushed a dull red and smiled, though it was much shyer than before. Oddly enough, she liked his dumb smile better. It fit his dumb looking face more. "Where are you headed right now?"
"It's my first day of school. We were on our way there actually." She showed him the badge Biamuh had given her earlier this morning, a badge she noticed was attached to his clothes. In Ivory's opinion, the badge was horrendous in color and she didn't want to carry it around, but apparently, people in the city recognized the design and wouldn't question her. She wished a touch more care had gone into the design but she could grin and bear it.
"It looks like we're going to be classmates then."
Why would something as simple as that make a person so happy? He smiled as if Ivory told him something amazing when she just told him that they'd be going to the same place. It threw Ivory for a loop once again: despite all the time she had to mull over it, she still couldn't figure him out in the little time she was around him. She had assumptions of course, but they had yet to be proven true. She hated admitting it, but he was good. So far, he was defying every aspect of a Saiyan she had been exposed to.
She shook herself out of her thoughts. He was waiting for some kind of response from her and it would be odd if she just kept staring at him. "Really? I'm glad then. I don't know anyone, so it would nice to have at least a familiar face."
"Then, do you want to walk to school together? I could tell you all about it. I-If you wanted to that is."
Ivory glanced at Biamuh. She could tell that he didn't account for this nor did he look like he wanted this to happen, but he shrugged his shoulders the tiniest bit as if to say it was her choice. She wasn't sure she wanted to leave Biamuh as she knew he would pick up on the things she didn't, but this wasn't the environment for him.
It was time for her to go on her own.
"That sounds lovely."
Things were awkward between them in the beginning, with Ivory not knowing what kinds of subjects to breach with a Saiyan and Gohan seemingly embarrassed to talk to her about…anything really. Maybe he just didn't know what things to talk about with her either or he was just bad at conversation in general. That didn't make sense though as he had been the one who extended the invitation to her. Not only that, but he'd been talking to her fine the day he had saved her; the only thing that had made things awkward was the mishap with her dress. What had changed between then and now?
"Tell me about school. What is it like?"
That seemed to finally get him talking. She let him do most of the talking about the school environment was like and what would be taught. As much as she should've paid attention, she only listened with half an ear in the because none of that trivial nonsense really interested her. She didn't care about teachers or classes to anything like that but she had to pretend that she was.
"What kinds of subjects do you like?"
Ivory paused. Subjects she liked? She wasn't really sure what kinds of subjects he was talking about, but if he meant the things she really liked learning, she had to be honest and admit she preferred mathematics over anything else. Which in turn led him to admit that physics and science fascinated him more, and suddenly they were having a full-blown conversation. Ivory had never conversed with someone who saw her points and didn't immediately agree with them, but rather had his own opinions and own counter-points.
It was…a refreshing to talk to someone who didn't just agree with her because they felt like they had to. Sometimes she wished for someone intelligent to talk to, just for a battle of wits every now and then. Of course, Sorbet and Biamuh were good linguists and fairly intelligent in their own right but they tended to agree blindly whenever she talked about something and didn't run the risk of saying anything that might upset her even if they didn't agree to it. She grew bored whenever the conversation became one-sided and they let her talk. Gohan was different, acknowledging and understanding her points without seeming like he was just trying to please her. And while he disagreed on some things, he didn't put her down for having an opinion or blindly agree with her. He took everything in turn and fired back at her.
"…and that's the fascinating part that people seem to miss: numbers are everywhere. Numerical values are assigned to all things and that gives them a different meaning, which I find completely interesting. Patterns tend to emerge but they're always different depending on how the value is evaluated. A higher number can mean something is more valuable, but it also means something is worthless. Being ranked number 1 and being ranked number 100 is different than something worth one…whatever currency you choose versus 100. In one instance, 100 might be a good number, but in the other, 100 is a bad number."
"I understand that, but the same can be said about energy, which is why science fascinates me. I'm not saying that numbers aren't everywhere, because they are, but people underestimate just how much energy is in the world. And there's a lot of it out there, most people just can't pick up on it. It can tell a lot about people, but it's one of those things that's so hard to study that there's almost no research on it. It's one of those things that has a lot of mystery to it, but it could solve so much. There's this really fascinating dichotomy around energy that can really tell you things about a person."
She had a feeling that his talk of energy came from something different than the things he learned in school. He sounded so…invested in it, in a way that most people probably couldn't understand. Being able to use and sense something like energy to that kind of extent would make him adept at it and fascinated with it, but she wondered how much more there was to learn, and how much more he was willing to pursue.
"Truly?" They stopped at a light and Ivory turned to face him, letting a slow smile play over her lips. She knew exactly what he meant when he talked about energy, and probably knew more than him, but she did like hearing him talk. "So if you can tell so much about someone by their energy, then what does my energy say about me?"
It was very risky for her to ask him something like this. What if he could feel her energy and knew something was off? She was hiding her power well enough but she was taking a risk here. But what was a risk without a little reward?
His face flushed a brilliant red and he looked away, shoulders hunched around his ears. She giggled softly; this game they were playing was rather fun. "W-Well…I'm not too well-versed in energy reading. B-But, you seem…uh…you seem like a decent person."
That was a lie and she knew it, but she wouldn't call him out on it. He wasn't reading too much into her yet and that was perfectly fine. As long as she could keep this up for a while longer, things would be alright. "I'm curious to hear more about your theories on energy. You seem very well-read."
The blush on his face seemed to fade and he finally let his shoulders drop. "I just study a lot and have a lot of questions. And since no one really has the answers, I go looking for them myself."
"Well, now you've piqued my interest. It doesn't take away my interest in mathematics or anything, but I will admit that there's some merit in this science. Perhaps we could talk about it in greater detail sometime?" She was surprised they'd been able to hold a conversation for this long. Ivory was sure that she would've slipped somewhere to said something inappropriate, but they hadn't broken stride nor had there been another lull in their conversation after earlier. Biamuh would be proud if he could see her. Maybe this deception stuff was easier than she thought.
"Oh. Of course! I mean, if you had any theories, I'd love to hear them."
"Not any theories at the moment per se, but I have a couple of ideas. I'd much rather hear more about you and how you came up with your theories."
This time around, she let him talk and tell her all his newly formed theories about energy and his own thoughts. He spoke as if he was explaining an entirely new concept to her, and while she knew more about energy than she was letting on, she listened with a careful ear and only asked basic questions so he didn't feel like she wasn't understanding him. In all honesty, no one had ever talked about energy in this manner and while she didn't exactly care one way or another about it, hearing it explained so differently was simulating.
They'd been so engrossed in their conversation that Ivory didn't realize they had arrived at their destination until they had gotten inside the building. He seemed to realize it too late as well, apologizing profusely for taking up so much of her time. "I didn't even ask you about your classes. I would hate for you to be late on your first day."
Ivory had honestly forgotten about her classes too, and almost panicked thinking that she had no clue what she was supposed to do. But then she remembered that Biamuh had taken care of that for her, giving her a schedule of sorts for her day. Somehow, Biamuh had managed to get her into the same classes as the Saiyan. She didn't ask him how he did, how he found that information, or how he did it without being caught and he didn't elaborate for her but if it worked, she had no problems with it. "I believe these are my classes."
"It looks like we have the same classes, so you can follow me today." Gohan smiled at her again, another odd boyish smile and Ivory felt her lips twitch in return, her chest doing a little flutter. That was happening too often for her liking; she wondered if she was getting sick again.
"There he is!"
Ivory and Gohan turned to the sound, where two females and a male were approaching them. The blonde female had her arms locked tightly around the arm of a dark-haired female, who looked annoyed but never told the blonde to let her go. Slightly behind them was a larger male with blonde hair, trailing behind them like some kind of pathetic puppy.
"We were waiting for you Gohan, but you never showed up. What took you so long?" The blonde finally let go of her friend to confront Gohan, lightly jabbing him in the chest. "You're usually here before anyone."
"Sorry. I met someone earlier who goes here and we started talking. I guess we lost track of time on the way."
The blonde looked past Gohan to Ivory and smiled, running over to her almost immediately and taking her hand. "Oh wow! Is she new? It's really rare that we get new students here."
Ivory did her best to smile without looking too annoyed. The blonde was far too energetic for Ivory's tastes. She was also a little annoyed that their conversation had been interrupted; she'd been enjoying herself when she'd been talking to the Saiyan.
That's something I never thought I would experience. Conversing with a Saiyan and enjoying it? Something must be in the air here.
"It's nice to meet you. My name is Ivory."
"I'm Erasa." The girl was a blonde, slightly taller than her (then again, a lot of people were) with bright blue eyes. She exhumed cheerfulness and openness and it was obvious that she had little to no knowledge of personal boundaries, if the way that she was still clutching Ivory's hand meant anything. "And this is my bestie Videl!"
Videl wasn't as energetic or outgoing as Erasa was, but she still managed to be polite and greet her. She wasn't as tall as Erasa, maybe an inch or two shorter, but she was still taller than Ivory. She was the complete opposite of Erasa now that Ivory thought about it.
"The guy behind us is Sharpner. He means well, but if he hits on you, just ignore him." Erasa shrugged and laughed as if something was funny, but Ivory didn't see the joke. Sharpner, the tall blonde, flushed an even brighter shade of cherry and stuttered out a half-baked greeting.
"It's nice to meet you all," she said in return. She wasn't very fond of any of them at the moment, but if they were close with Gohan, she would have to tolerate their presence, at least for a little while.
Erasa switched her grip from her hand to her arm, tugging her forward. For the second time in the day, Ivory was knocked off balance and stumbled to regain her footing. Erasa immediately started to chatter, too fast for Ivory to keep track of.
"I know we have to get to class but I want to know so much about you! Where you're from, where you got your clothes from, they're super cute by the way, and…"
Ivory let Erasa pull her along, figuring that it was better to go along with things rather than fighting her. Everyone else seemed like they were used to Erasa's actions, so Ivory complied if only because it seemed like the norm. However, Ivory would make sure this didn't become a common occurrence if only to save her own sanity.
As they turned the corner, Ivory couldn't help but look back to Gohan. No one else seemed to notice, but he looked a bit…disappointed if she was being honest. Was he as upset with their interruption as she was? Or was it something else?
The day carried on in a monotonous fashion, to the point that Ivory was bored and frustrated. Bored because none of the instructors she had taught anything that interested her in the slightest; the subjects didn't hold her attention for very long, and she couldn't read anything in their language. Throughout the day, all the instructors wrote in the language, but Ivory couldn't read a word of what was being written. The only grace afforded to her was that Erasa hadn't been paying attention in any of their classes and had to have Gohan explain everything to her afterward, which Ivory listened in on since she was as lost as Erasa. It didn't help cure her boredom or her frustration, but it was nice to know that someone else was lost, even if Erasa might've just been an airhead.
On their way to their last class provided some entertainment though. Before it could even start, Erasa quickly shouted out some excuse for herself, Ivory, and Videl and whisked them off to the bathroom.
"Erasa, you're gonna get us in trouble!" Videl complained as Erasa checked to make sure all the stalls were empty
Erasa waved her off. "No, I won't! We do this all the time and we haven't gotten caught yet. Besides, we play baseball all the time. Missing one game won't make a difference."
When she deemed the bathroom clear, Erasa leaned up against a wall and smiled at Ivory. "Besides, I wanted to get to know Ivory a little better."
That surprised her. Erasa had talked her ear off all day; what more could she possibly want to know? "May I ask why?"
"I dunno, you just seem interesting. And not gonna lie, but everyone basically knows everyone already so a new student will be the talk of the school for a while, so I wanna talk a little. I mean, why did you choose this school? Not that it isn't great or anything, but there are plenty of other good schools around here. So why this one? Unless of course, you're here because of Hercule."
"Who?" The name sounded familiar but Ivory couldn't remember where from.
To her surprise, Videl rolled her eyes while Erasa looked shocked, offended almost. "How could you not know who Hercule is?! He's Videl's father and the World Champion. He's like the strongest man alive. You must've heard of him somewhere."
Ah, now it was all coming together. This was the man Biamuh was telling her about, though Ivory highly doubted that he was the strongest man alive. The Saiyans must've stayed hidden very well if this Hercule man was the strongest man alive; Saiyan flaunted their strength constantly and according to her father, had prided themselves on being the strongest. If this Hercule man was supposedly strong, then the Saiyans weren't active.
Unless…
It was illogical but…could Hercule have been a Saiyan? Or at least allied with them? Biamuh had said that he had a great deal of influence on the public, and if he did, he could protect their identities if he wanted to. That would explain why he claimed he was the strongest man alive.
No. She was jumping to conclusions without any concrete facts. She would ask Biamuh to investigate this matter later. Besides, Erasa was still waiting for a response. "Someone chose this school for me. Whether or not it was with Hercule in mind, I don't know."
"It probably was Hercule then. After all, everyone likes coming here because of its namesake, so maybe that's why they told you to come here." Erasa shrugged. "Anyways, enough about that. So, where do you live?"
Ivory didn't even know the address and it wasn't something Biamuh really told her either. She didn't think it really even mattered. It was only a temporary place for the mission, nothing more and nothing less. "Not very far from here. It's a short walk."
Erasa nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer. "Okay. Now let's get into the really juicy stuff. We saw you with Gohan earlier and you two seemed pretty close. Gohan's kinda cute, isn't he?"
Whatever Ivory was going to say came to a screeching halt. The Saiyan? Cute? "Wha-"
"Erasa!" Videl's face was a dark shade of red. "You shouldn't ask her about stuff like that!"
"I'm just curious! They almost walked right past the classrooms and Gohan didn't even hear us calling him."
Ivory shook her head. Where had any of this come from? Why would she ask about that? "We were simply discussing subjects we were fond of, nothing more and nothing less." She didn't know why she felt the need to defend herself, but Erasa's words struck a nerve. "I assure you, I wasn't paying much attention to his physical appearance." And it doesn't even matter.
"Not even a little?"
Erasa's questions were really starting to tick her off. "No. I paid more attention to his intellect above anything else. His physical looks mean nothing to me."
Whether Erasa was actually calming down or if Ivory's answers just didn't satisfy her remained to be seen. Whatever the case, Erasa shrugged her shoulders and sat on the edge of the sink. "Alright alright. I'll drop it."
"Can we please go back now?" Videl's face had cooled a bit, but she was still fairly red in the face.
"Yeah, I guess." Erasa seemed upset but Ivory was glad for the change. She'd much rather be in a boring class than forced to answer Erasa's invasive questions.
They gathered their things to leave, Erasa talking about how she liked not being sweaty for once and how much better talking with friends was than playing sports and whatnot, while Ivory was slow to follow. Erasa had been quite clingy all day and Ivory would like to have her arm for a little longer before it was taken captive again.
A hand on her shoulder made her pause, and it took her more control than she possessed to fight down an impulsive reaction. She had to remember where she was and what she was doing. I'm not allowed to kill anyone. Not yet. You are one of them.
She turned slowly, forcing a smile as she faced Videl. The girl had been quiet the entire day and hadn't spoken much to Ivory, which even Erasa pointed out was out of character for her. Ivory had a few clues as to why Videl could be acting like this, and all of them pointed to Ivory's inclusion in the group. "Yes? May I help you?"
The bathroom was eerily quiet as Videl stared at Ivory, searching Ivory's face for something. Ivory wasn't sure what Videl was trying to gain, but she refused to back down, even if she was an inch or two shorter than the other girl. Her mood waned with every passing second until annoyance bubbled up inside of her. "Is something the matter? We should go before someone comes looking for us."
Whatever Videl was looking for, she found because she shook her head and sighed. "Nothing. Sorry. It's just…"
"Just what?"
"I…just wanted to apologize for Erasa. She means well, but sometimes she goes a bit overboard. I hope what she said didn't bother you."
Next time I won't be holding my tongue. "It's alright. She meant no harm by any of it."
"Yeah but…"
She thought that would be the end of things, but Videl didn't let her go. She kept staring, her fingers tightening on her shoulder as if to keep Ivory from moving. Ivory just stared back, her false smile dropping from her face. She could sense the apprehension rolling off of Videl in waves, her stare unwavering. Ivory just stared back, waiting for her to break her hold.
"But what?"
No answer.
'Fine then.' If Videl wasn't going to make a move, then Ivory was just going to have to. She had to force her most genuine smile and grabbed the hand on her shoulder, nowhere near the amount of pressure to break a bone.
But maybe she squeezed just a little tighter than necessary. "I assure you, what Erasa did was a bit invasive but there was no harm. I'm simply not used to people taking an interest in me."
Videl flinched slightly. "O-Oh. Okay then."
That should've been the end of things, yet neither one of them moved though. Ivory didn't move simply because she wanted to see how far this would go. What would Videl say? What would she do? And did she understand exactly what she had gotten into? Was she trying to be brave? So many questions and so few answers.
The bathroom door suddenly swung open and Ivory and Videl quickly separated from one another as Erasa walked in. "There you two are! I thought we were going back to class!"
Ivory was quick to smile, grabbing Videl's arm in imitation of what Erasa had been doing all day. "Sorry. We stayed behind to try and get closer. Didn't we?"
Videl huffed under her breath but smiled all the same, not moving to tug free her arm. "Y-Yeah."
Erasa rolled her eyes. "Talk about a double standard. What, you two get to stay behind and talk while I have to go back? No fair!"
Ivory chuckled, following Erasa back out the door. She saw Videl through the bathroom mirror, once again staring at Ivory without speaking. There was something in her eyes that Ivory wasn't sure she liked, but she wasn't going to dwell on that. However brief their confrontation was, something had occurred between them. All Ivory knew was that Videl was now on her radar.
She turned back to the girl and smiled. "We should be going. Shall we?"
The day finally ended and Ivory was looking forward to leaving. They made it back to their last class without much fight and Ivory merely watched as everyone played some game. She got a pass for not participating as she was in a dress, and evaluated the class while she watched. Most of the males tried to impress her but ended up making fools of themselves, which provided a good deal of entertainment but time seemed to move so slowly after her encounter in the bathroom. Now everyone was leaving and Ivory could try to work off some of the tension that had built up.
"Who's that guy over there? He's kinda cute."
Ivory looked at the man Erasa was pointing at and did a double-take She was talking about Biamuh, who looked less than comfortable in this new environment and with all the attention he was garnering with his new look. It wasn't too different from his look this morning, but his jawline and hair length had changed slightly. Countless females were surrounding him, hearts in their eyes as they cooed over him and his features, running their fingers down his shirt and touching his hair. She felt bad for him; he hated being the center of attention but he obviously didn't think his new appearance would attract such a big crowd.
"I know him. He works for me."
"Works for you?" Erasa repeated. "Like, he's your bodyguard?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes." She didn't really need any protection and she wasn't about to tell them that he was her right-hand-man; that would just cause another set of questions and she really didn't want to talk to Erasa anymore. Even after they left the bathroom, Erasa kept talking and her cheerful disposition wore Ivory's patience thin.
"You must be super rich or something. Why else would you have a bodyguard following you to school?"
"That's not it." She didn't think much of their finances or where Biamuh got their money from but it wasn't something she really concerned herself with. They had it and that was all she really cared about. "We don't dwell on finances. We have what we have."
"That's exactly what a rich person would say." Erasa nudged her lightly. "Think you could introduce me to him?"
"It won't matter if I did. My well-being is his only concern; he considers all else an unnecessary distraction." It was a much kinder way of saying that he'd likely forget her name the moment they walked away. And despite Biamuh being a patient man, even he might do something rash in Erasa's presence. She was doing Erasa a favor by not introducing them. "I would hate for him to somehow offend you or come off as rude, but he is very dedicated to his job."
Erasa pouted. "Why are the cute ones always taken? It's not fair."
Ivory wasn't sure who she defined as "cute" (and from their conversation earlier, she knew that Erasa's tastes were strange) but she didn't care to ask about that either. "It's time for me to leave." She offered the group a smile despite how tense she felt. "My first day was enjoyable. Thank you."
"See you tomorrow!"
Biamuh didn't seem to notice her arrival at first, but as he looked for an escape he locked eyes with her. Many of the women turned to see where his stare was directed and a few of them flinched at seeing Ivory. "We're leaving."
"Of course." The look of relief on Biamuh's face almost made Ivory laugh out loud. She kept her composure neutral enough to spare Biamuh's dignity, knowing that he really hated all of the attention he was getting. There was an audible whine from the female crowd, and more than a few of them shot glares Ivory's way, but she ignored all of them. It wasn't her fault that Biamuh paid more attention to his duties than to the attention of his female pursuers.
Biamuh waited until they were a decent distance away before sighing in relief. "Thank you, Princess."
Ivory let out a small chuckle. "I'm surprised at you. How did you let them corner you like that?"
"It wasn't my intention for that to happen. I was simply waiting for you to exit the building when someone approached and asked me a question. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by an entire horde. No matter how many times I tried to get away, they wouldn't let me go."
"I'm sorry to laugh at your expense but the situation is humorous. You've gone on countless missions and into dangerous territory, you've risked your life numerous times, and yet a simple crowd of females is your weakness."
"I didn't want to draw attention to myself, so any escape maneuvers I thought of, I couldn't execute. It was best to just…accept my fate."
Ivory snorted. "Well, you'll be happy to know that I learned a few things today."
"Oh? Like what?"
"I still can't read this planet's language which makes it hard to focus. However, I managed to "make friends" with the Saiyan and some others." Erasa lacked any knowledge of personal space and her voice was annoying, but she liked to talk and Ivory figured that she could be a good well of information on Gohan (or anyone really) if she was prompted. Sharpner was…well, she didn't really pay attention to him and he didn't talk much, so she didn't have an opinion of him yet. Videl was likely suspicious of her: why else would she stall her in the bathroom for so long?
And Gohan…
Gohan…
His mere presence infuriated her but beyond that, he just kept throwing her off. They talked on and off throughout the day and she hated how he smiled at her. She hated his voice and that dumb look he gave her when they talked. She hated how kind he was to her and everyone around him, how he rushed to help others in need even if it was something simple. She hated him and everything about him, yet she wanted to know more. She wanted to break him down and expose him for what he really was: a Saiyan. He was a Saiyan above all else: a prideful, stubborn, selfish Saiyan and no matter how hard he tried to hide it, his base instincts were going to surface and she would be right there to expose him.
"It will take time for them to trust me, but I'm sure I convinced them well enough. However, there was a slight incident that occurred. Nothing for you to worry about, but I'll have to be more careful."
"Do you need me to take care of it Princess?"
Ivory pondered that for a moment. It would make things easier for her…but it was too soon to tell whether or not Videl was up to something.
"Let me think about it. For now, there is something else that I need you to do."
"Anything for you Princess."
"Good. Listen closely…"
A/N: Ivory just finished her first day of school and it wasn't easy for her. Much like her father, Ivory needs to work on keeping her composure in check; she can't just go around killing all of her problems. She's got some good guidance from Biamuh in keeping control, but just like Frieza, she can be a little quick to the trigger. She's done well to keep it hidden, but Videl might be on to her. How will Ivory navigate through this?
So, one of the things I realized that was completely illogical was the fact that I made Ivory and Videl enemies right off that bat in the last version, which wasn't right for either of them. Videl had no reason to immediately hate Videl and Ivory had no reason to toy with Videl because they had literally only met for like two seconds. I realized that their dislike for each other needs to build. So that's why they had a little spat in the bathroom.
Next chapter will feature Ivory getting to sate her craving for blood and attempting to get closer to Gohan.
