A/N: I hope this chapter provides much more entertainment than the previous one. Though this one is slow, it does explain what has happened during the years after Cell's defeat.
Changes
A white and golden striped boot came crashing down into the grassy earth soil, tearing into it as a teenaged half Saiyan evaded the attack with a backflip, landing on one hand before he sprung into the sky. Charging up a yellow ki ball, he threw it at his grounded opponent, who swiftly snatched and snuffed it out. Performing an afterimage, the younger half Saiyan appeared behind his opponent, aiming for a surprise attack, but was stunned when the older half Saiyan dropped down, successfully avoiding his strike. His foe then did a full circle leg sweep, a splash of aquarium paint tickling his nose, filling it with the odd yet comforting scent of cherry blossom and the faint woodsy outdoors.
Gohan didn't like how those scents affected him so much. Well, the woodsy one he can handle, as it was obviously his father's. However the other belonged to the one who almost broke his family apart, Bra Briefs. He had no ill will towards her any longer, so that wasn't the issue here. Heck he even went out of his way to spend time with not just her, but her son, who had been born about four years ago. It had shocked him at first, however considering all the time her and his dad spent in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber…yeah not so surprising. He might've been a child, but he knew how things worked and though he never truly got it back then, he most definitely got it now.
Which brought him to his current problem.
Jumping above her leg sweep, Bra acted quickly and caught Gohan with an uppercut, sending him rushing high into the air, where he was stopped by a blue dome of energy that mimicked a force field. The Saiyan Princess was on him before he could properly recover, Gohan crossing his forearms to try to protect himself from her peppering assault. At times, he'd deliver a well-timed counter, but that was short lived as Bra would evade his next move and continue her assault. He shouted mentally in excitement when he finally landed a hard hit, stunning her and leaving her wide open. He grinned when she went into defense at first, but frowned when she started to dodge his kicks and punches, quickly picking up on his fighting pattern. Though it was all a blur to the average person, for both of the half Saiyans, it seemed normal paced.
Focusing on Bra so that he could find a weakness in her defense, he soon realized that he might have focused a tad bit too much because his black pupils became dilated, time slowing down as his eyes traced the pretty features of her face, which was wrinkled cutely in concentration. His poor confused heart pumped rapidly, his body shaking in frustration as he eyeballed a single trail of sweat, which secreted from the side of her temple. Rolling and rolling it went until it disappeared within her black tank-top gi and possibly touching the very garment that she was named aft-
Gohan lost it.
"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"
Releasing a swirl of yellow-gold energy, Bra blinked to see a pair of turquoise orbs burning into her angrily, gasping as the owner of them delivered a hard curved fist to her left cheek, pushing her back dozens of feet.
Within a flash he was behind her, landing hit after hit with ease, wanting to return the amount of damage she had done to him. Connecting a fist against her left before giving her one on the right, he brought his hands together and brought them down, successfully colliding with the top of her skull.
Or so he thought.
His mouth dropped when he saw Bra's form just fade away like a puff of smoke.
"Super Saiyan Fist!"
Gohan's orbs popped out when a fist surrounded by shining gold ki slammed into his head, sending him crashing into the grassy ground with a resounding thud back first. Standing up, he grimaced at the throbbing pain in his head as he recalled the Saiyan's Princess's new technique, the Super Saiyan Fist.
It wasn't exactly new, as she had used it in the fight with Junior, but she claimed that it was because back then, it was just in its prototype stage; now she had perfected it, working out all the kinks. For example, one of the major flaws was that the Super Saiyan power that she had distributed to her arms and legs made it feel like she was wearing extremely heavy weights, which if used for a lengthy amount of time, could tire her out and just overall make her attacks sloppy. This never happened with the fight with Junior as the battle wasn't long, but it did during one of their training session. Another drawback was distributing too much energy to her arms and legs and not keeping some for the rest of her body; she had to somehow maintain the strength within her body to have that much better of a defense as well as offense.
She hopped around like a little girl when she mastered the technique. She was proud of herself as it was the first fighting technique she had ever created. This meant that she no longer had to rely on that weird Goku, Vegeta and Tien style of fighting (she tended to use her father's the most). When he reminded her that she had energy blast moves such as Final Shine, Shining Justifier and Atomic Blast, she waved her hand, telling him that none of those attacks are original. She went on to say that Final Shine was a rip off her father's Final Flash and Atomic Blast was a rip-off Big Bang Attack. Shining Justifier, though cool looking and sort of original, she couldn't utilize anymore because it exclusively worked with the sword she gave to her time traveling brother.
Having become proficient at Super Saiyan Fist, she began to think outside the box and well it wasn't long until she got creative, combining techniques that were rather on the wild side. Wanting to demonstrate with a strong partner, the female half Saiyan had pretty much kidnapped him on his way to one of his classes in school, where his mother had enrolled him in.
Calming down from her exhilaration, Bra starting to explain and show Gohan what she can do:
Upon activating Super Saiyan Fist, they did a little training. He had no trouble keeping up with her, not even when she erupted in power, crying out times two. With their limbs colliding with each other in rapid succession, she shouted times three and then everything changed.
He felt punches and kicks from all sides, felt her ki rise as she shifted from Super Saiyan and its ascended stage. Opening his eyes, which he hadn't known he had shut, he found himself laying on his back with Bra crouching down with her fingers pressed against the ground, her aqua orbs laughing at him playful from above.
That was when it happened.
Whoa…beautiful…
Shaking his head from such foreign thoughts, Gohan flipped back onto his feet, asking the Saiyan Princess to demonstrate what she just did.
Asking if he was ready, he nodded and well, though he was met with the same results, he actually saw what she did.
Before he could even attack, Bra cried out 'Super Saiyan Fist' and crouched and slid forwards, giving him two hard jabs to his chest, making it hard to breathe. Regulating his breathing, Gohan threw a fist of his own, but the female half Saiyan grasped his arm and reeled him in, slamming her knee into his stomach, making him groan in pain. Pushing her off, he made for a grab, but again she managed to duck and step to the left before connecting her elbow to the back of his head. Biting back the need to nurture his injured skull, he gave her a sideways chop, only to miss as she crouched again. Grasping his prolonged arm, she kneed him on the side of his rib, moved to his front and pulled him in for one and then a second knee against his stomach. Smirking at the younger Saiyan's astonished expression; Bra shouted 'Times two', increasing her power as she then did a series of attacks that made his body feel numb.
Gohan's head snapped back as an uppercut sent him upwards, her Super Saiyan power suddenly evident while she gripped him by the shirt, crying out 'Times three', ascending to Super Saiyan 2 and finishing him with an over the shoulder toss towards the ground.
Lowering herself to land in her base, Gohan couldn't stop admiring just how amazing Bra looked. How had he never noticed before? Sure he knew she was pretty, but now it was…no it felt somehow different.
Giving him a hand to help him back onto his feet, which Gohan gladly took, Bra thanked him for being her test out dummy and told him to go home or school or wherever…he didn't really remember because he was trying so hard to keep his eyes level with hers and not let them wander to where his mother wouldn't approve of.
Gohan kept that experience to himself, especially from Videl.
"Hey Gohan!"
Videl's voice pulled him down to Earth.
"Quit staring and start kicking her ass."
Giving a nod to Videl, he flared up his aura again, but yet again, when he saw how Bra looked all "angelic' in the air, he froze.
Erasa and Sharpner, who were a safe distance away from the two battlers, couldn't help but hold in their laughter as they knew what was wrong with poor Gohan.
"Oh man! If Videl gets wind of what's wrong with Gohan she's gonna murder him!" Sharpner whispered, eyeing Videl to make sure she's not listening.
"And Bra for that matter for stealing him."
"Oh come on, she doesn't even know she's doing it. Besides, we both know that when she does recognize the affect she having on him, which I'm sure it will be soon, she's gonna put a stop to it."
Sharpner did a low whistle as he yet again admired the Saiyan Princess.
"But man, she's seriously hot."
"Hmmmmm…" Erasa agreed, also enjoying the sight. "You know, it's the legs I think."
"Nah they are nice, but I'd say it undoubtedly has to be her-"
Erasa's hand flew to Sharpner's mouth when Videl turned to face them, her icy blue eyes narrowing in suspicion as her so-called friends gave her a comical laugh.
Back with Gohan he felt like he was going insane. As he looked between Videl and then Bra, he was beginning to see that he was much more attracted to the half Saiyan than his 'sort of girlfriend'. No, he wasn't beginning, heck no, he already knew he felt that way. He had just been trying to deny it, hoping that by ignoring it, it would go back to where ever those thoughts came from. But they didn't and what's worse was that there was a part of him that didn't want them to. Those forbidden thoughts left him light headed, made him want to hug her, hold her just a little longer than he ought to while he took in her scent.
These thoughts made him feel incredibly guilty and good. This is what they call guilty pleasure…
Turning back to Videl, he felt like scum as he just had realized that she was wearing her hair up in a ponytail instead of her usual pigtails. A tight red shirt was now in place of her normal overly baggy white shirts, showing more of her blossoming body. With those bright icy blue eyes observing him intensely, she was most definitely beautiful. He smiled when she blushed and turned away.
He then faced the 'Goddess', as his brain had spontaneously dubbed her, and took in her elegant features. He gawked at the manner in which her blue-green spiked hair fluttered back and forth like the grass did on breezy spring days. He knew that if she were to regress to her base form, her vivacious hair would sprinkle down, just about touching her smooth shoulders. Looking at the soft skin of her heart-shaped face, his eyes locked with hers; this disappointed him because he really liked her nature blue ones, which had so much history and stories to tell.
His breathing became erratic again.
Scanning her body down quickly, he focused on her upper body again.
You know, if you squint, you might be able to see through-
"I can't…" Gohan whispered, dropping to his base form.
Bra's expression fell, feeling even more confused than before as her eyes and hair turning back to normal. She watched Gohan mumbled to her mother for her to switch off the force field and proceeded to disappear into the Capsule Corp. home with a dejected look without another word.
Looking at her mother questionably, she frowned when she saw that she had a hand covering her lips, trying hard not to laugh.
"Okay, what's so funny?" Bra asked, her hands on her hips.
Bulma chuckled. "Oh Honey, you sure that Saiyan Soul hasn't rubbed some of Goku on you?"
"What the hell does that mean?!"
Her mother shook her head with a tiny smile. "So unlike last time, the force field held, however, because of Gohan's…problem we couldn't fully test it out."
"Problem?"
From the sidelines, she heard a handful of snickering and giggles.
"I'll say." Yamcha agreed. He was holding a child in his lap with lavender hair similar to Gohan when he was his age. His eyes were as blue as his mothers, though they seemed to be darkening as he grew older. "He seemed to be having a hard time focusing."
"Oh knock it off you guys." Krillin scolded, sighing in content as he felt a soft slender hand rub his bald head. Opening one eye, he studied the concentrated expression on the female Android, who now wore her hair like her brother, above shoulder length and blonde. She had said she wanted to try something new and insisted that her brother's hairstyle would look better on her…oh yeah it does…
He suddenly fell into deep thought and started recalling how they got to where they were now.
Around three years back, when the Shenron was summoned, they utilized two wishes to revive everybody who had died by the hands of Cell; if you exclude Goku, for obvious reasons, that wish was undoubtedly successful. With one final wish remaining, Bra suggested that instead of erasing the whole Cell incident from the memories of everybody on Earth, they should alter them, influencing everybody that wasn't part of their group to continue to believe Mr. Satan's claims that ki based techniques are all light shows tricks and mirrors; that all that hocus pocus was bogus, despite all of them having witnessed the champ get blown to bits on live TV. Oddly enough, when the wish was made, those new friends of Gohan retained ALL their memories, meaning Shenron deemed them to be part of the Z-Gang.
Krillin had asked why not just go with the original plan and simply erase their memories of those events. Bra explained that then people would always get the feeling that something was missing in their lives, Piccolo adding that this could cause dramatic mental instability for some, especially for those who have gone through other types of emotional trauma.
With that over and done with, everything had returned more or less back to normal, though there had to be changes to some degree because life is always about change.
Things that stayed the same for example were Piccolo spending most of his days meditating on the Lookout, keeping an eye out for anything out of the usual. Though that part of his life remained the same, he had given himself another responsibly; Dende. Though at this point the Namek had the whole Guardian thing down, Piccolo wanted to remain close by so he could protect him in case someone were to attack him. Krillin had pointed out that Mr. Popo could handle that job just fine, but the Namekian insisted that because he was much stronger than him, he'd be better suited or at least be back up. The former monk merely shrugged and gave up trying to convince him. He figured that because Piccolo is merged with Nail, he felt the need to protect him, just as Nail and Dende did with Grand Elder Guru.
Tien is and most likely will always be a loner…that is if one were not to count Chiaotzu, who would follow him since they were the closest of friends. Krillin hasn't seen them ever since that all out 'Who's the Strongest Human' brawl last year. Thinking back to the winner of that battle…
He lazy rolled his head towards Yamcha and couldn't help but grin as he watched him struggle to remove Bra's son's hands off his hair. Decked out in the green and orange gi he wore when they first met, the former bandit was one of the ones that had changed the most. The returning of his long hair added more to his features and tying it into a loose ponytail gave him the appearance of a true warrior. On his back, rested a sword which looked similar to the time traveling siblings, but was a bit thinner, weaker and less heavy as both of those swords were created with metal that either didn't exist yet on Earth or just weren't even part of the planet.
Krillin was a little shocked that Yamcha had actually taken it serious when he had asked Bra to train him. So serious in fact, that he had been told by Bulma that the former bandit had been in the backyard at eight am sharp, patiently waiting for Bra so they could begin. Yamcha had said Goku's death, followed by her pregnancy, had taken its toll on her, making her not want to do anything. He had to at times go upstairs and bang at her door to get her to come out. She'd groan, swear and cry out that'd she'd be out in a minute. The training was slow at first, since she had been pregnant, but once she gave birth, the true training had begun.
Once the brutal training had been over and done with, Yamcha now proudly wore the kanji symbol for 'hope' across his chest and back. A sword which bears a resemblance to Trunks and Bra's was also imprinted on the gi, shadowing the kanji symbol in somewhat of a protective matter it seemed; at least, that's the way Krillin interpreted it.
His thoughts backtracking to the 'Strongest Human Battle', he and Tien couldn't believe that Yamcha had mopped the floor with them. He had taken them out so easily, that they had to question themselves as martial artist because well, this was Yamcha, the man who was known for being a lazy, weak, and a sleazy asshole. What's worse was that he even challenged Eighteen, who wasn't a part of the battle since she had enhanced cybernetic parts, after he kicked their asses. The final nail on their poor pride was that if Eighteen hadn't been an Android, Yamcha might have defeated her too. Krillin had to keep reminding himself that it wasn't a life or death battle, so all of them had to hold back their full power.
Anyways, upon his victory, Bra had jumped up and down with joy, running up to Yamcha and giving him literally a bruising hug, shouting that she was super proud of him and that now she actually had faith in herself to open up a dojo in the near future. Krillin remembered that he had smiled at the friendly scene, but then frowned when he saw Yamcha's weak smile, gentling trying to push the excited half Saiyan off. When he saw a blush flood his cheeks, the former monk eye's widened, before he gave his friend a sympathetic smile.
While passing him to head inside the building to freshen up, Yamcha had mumbled that her heart will always belong to Goku and that he'll get over it.
That was the day he learned that Yamcha's playful lust for Bra had bloomed into love, a love that he knew would never be returned.
A particular powerful tug made Yamcha yelp, giving the little lavender haired Saiyan enough room to wiggle out of his lap, giggling happily as he walked towards his mother, who smiled and beckoned him to leap into her arms. The little Saiyan thrust himself high, levitating briefly as his mother had managed to catch him before he took a fall.
"Mama!"
"Good job Kibō! You're getting better and better aren't you?" Bra cooed happily as she spun in a circle, causing her son to giggle cutely, his blue eyes sealed and curving in delight.
Kibō, the almost now three-year old was the sun that illuminated Bra's darkness these days Krillin mused. The child was the only thing left of Goku in Bra's mind. Yes, there was Gohan, but the teen wasn't her son…their son. He was birthed by another woman and quite frankly, Bra only saw the teen as somewhat of a little brother. Thinking back on what just occurred, Krillin was pretty sure Gohan didn't feel the same way.
At this point, it was very well known that in order to help distract herself from thinking too much about Goku, she had thrown herself into intense training until she had tired herself out. On her worse days, when she wanted to feel more pain than usual just to stop obsessing over her deceased soulmate, she'd get into a spar mostly with Gohan, on his days off school, and Vegeta, who is currently off planet doing Kami knows what. Bulma obviously wasn't too happy about that, even if he had reassured her that he'd be back in a couple of weeks. Considering Gohan's kind nature, Krillin had a hunch that Bra got the most pain filled-enjoying fights with her father, as he had stopped by Capsule Corp at times and witnessed the disturbing bloodlust look smeared on her face while trying to beat the living tar out of Vegeta; The Saiyan Prince these days was at the same scale of power as Bra, so he didn't have any problems keeping her on her toes. Out of curiosity, Krillin had once asked why she didn't use that blue-haired form. Her response was that it was because she believes that can't.
He didn't know what to make of that.
Slowly, Bra's personally started to change. If her son wasn't around, she was a straight up bitch (Yamcha's words, not his). In fact, the former bandit's harsh words had nearly gotten him killed, when he had decided to get on her bad side on the anniversary of Goku's death. When she wasn't Vegeta-like violent, she was Goku dense.
Again, back to Gohan, Bra couldn't seem to put together that Gohan's teenage hormones were impairing his ability to focus on the battle. She was drop dead gorgeous and she knew that, so instead of doing the normal Bra thing to do and tease him, she looks lost and confused. It's quite a scary sight and if his best friend were to be alive to see it, it would destroy him.
It was almost as if the Saiyan Princess had locked her heart, her soul, the very things that made her who she was to protect herself from any further harm. Was she secretly waiting for Goku to return, enter her soul and free her from her misery? What if he never does return? What if he is truly forever gone? Does that mean that they have also lost Bra?
Krillin sighed, ignoring the list of questions that were obviously not going to be answered anytime soon. He didn't know how or when, but it seemed like he had truly accepted the Saiyan Princess as a part of the gang. He grew to care too much and it hurt him that he wasn't able to do anything to help.
Determined to stop his worrisome train of thoughts, the former monk rolled his head back face up and was met with a pair of curious jaded orbs.
And just like that Krillin was once more thrown into a sea of memories, memories he holds most dearly as they revolved more around his own life and not his friends.
Despite having been absorbed by Ivory Cell, Krillin was surprised that both Seventeen and Sixteen were resurrected by the Dragon Balls as he had thought that they would forever be one with Cell. Considering the wish that they made, Krillin figured that Shenron must have recognized that the Androids that Cell held hostage were good, so he separated them from the Bio-Android and brought them back to life. His lips split into a grin at the vision of Cell in hell rotting in a cell, crying about the loss of his perfect form.
Anyways, Eighteen had been thrilled, ecstatic that she had them back, however it was short-lived when her brother Seventeen told her that he was not going to remain here; Krillin, unfortunately, was present for that conversation, having been on a sort of date with her.
Inside of a local diner in West City, all the customers were startled when the sound of smashing cup ware and cluttering of silverware echoed through the usually tranquil restaurant.
"W-what do you mean you're leaving?!" Eighteen questioned with disbelief, the mug that contained the hot beverage slipping from her hands and spilling all over the table.
Seventeen, who stood beside Sixteen, rolled his eyes at his sister's dramatic reaction, sat next to Krillin, rudely pushing him back enough so that he was opposite his sister.
A waitress that had witnessed the scene had hurriedly gone to retrieve a table cloth to clean the spill, but when she returned and came close to the brunette, she flinched and stopped, the glare she was getting from the Android frightening her.
She was going to ask the Android if she wanted another cup of coffee but decided against it when Eighteen's glare hadn't diminished. Mumbling that she'd come back later with the bill, she left.
"My, my sis, what did that poor girl do to you? She was only doing her job." Seeing said waitress glance their way, the blonde Android winked at her, making her blush and turn to serve her next consumer.
"Where are you planning to go?" Eighteen asked, going back to the subject at hand.
Looking down, Seventeen saw a freshly baked slice of apple pie and then looked at Krillin. "You don't mind if I have this baldy do ya?"
"Not at all, knock yourself out." He said sarcastically, his arms crossed. He had been trying to get Eighteen to go on a date with him for weeks and now that he finally got her to agree, her jerk brother had to come and screw everything up.
"Awesome!" Grabbing the fork that was wedged into the middle of the pie, he stuffed a piece of the treat into his mouth, his eyes curving at the wonderful flavor. "It's like an orgasm in my mouth!"
Eighteen face twisted with disgust. "Seventeen, where-"
"Hmmhh!"
"Where-"
"Hmmm, so good."
"Seventeen, stop-"
"Ohhhhhh! I think I'm gonn-"
Having enough, Eighteen extended her hand and gave him a hard slap upside his head, earning her a satisfying 'ouch' from her brother. Though she was annoyed, she still couldn't help but find his ridiculous behavior amusing; that and the fact that she swore that she saw Sixteen's lips twitch a tiny bit.
Sighing as he placed the fork adjacent to the half-eaten pie, he spoke seriously. "Listen sis after being in this city for a few weeks, I'm bored as hell. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of fun things to do and it honestly doesn't seem like a bad place to settle in…that is settle in as in for the common person get me? There is so much out there in the world and I want to go out there, travel it to learn as much as possible from other cultures and all that shit. Doctor Ass-Monkey had not only erased our treasured memories, but also integrated a chip within our brains which programmed us to mainly kill and destroy. For instance-"
Looking across the table, Seventeen pointed to an old gentleman. He wore a brown suit and was drinking a cup of coffee while gazing out the window in deep thought.
Eighteen and Krillin turned around as the blond Android continued. "I can think of fifty-two ways to kill that man and twenty of those can involve manipulating several people in this diner to do it for me. Let's see... I'd say I can easily get the couple drinking a single shake on the far left side to slaughter him."
Having similar thought patterns, Eighteen nodded. "Right, but I think it's better to go with the two couple to his right side, because I'm 96.99% sure they can get the job done the fast-"
She paused.
Seventeen gave a bittersweet smile while his sister's mouth went agape with shock. "I know sis…"
Eighteen's avoidance of Krillin's look of pity and disappointment didn't stop her stomach from turning in shame.
"That…that- you did that on purpose!"
"Duh, to prove my point!" Seventeen snapped, however when he saw how shaken up she was his features softened. "Face it sis, we don't know how to live in society. I mean look, I was fired at that clothing store job within the first week;and you already know what I had to do with that lady who interviewed me to get the job."
Eighteen rolled her jaded orbs, not wanted to know the details of what he had done to the shameless woman. "Bro, that's just you. I'm pretty sure I can work, go to school and all that stuff."
"You sure about that? We're twins. Sure we are different in many ways, but I'll tell you one thing that you know I'm right about. You have horrible anger issues just like me….actually, you are much worse when you are constantly pushed and told what to do and let me tell ya, there is a lot of that shit in jobs. If you can't get ahold of your emotions, I know you'll either end up in the streets poor or start stealing and live a life filled with luxury mixed with guilt. You're too prideful to ask baldly over here, who would have probably lived in some monk temple if it weren't for his perverted old master letting him crash in his crib, for help, much less that billionaire heiress Bulma Briefs."
While Seventeen grinned playfully at Krillin's frown, Eighteen said nothing, choosing instead to stare at her lap.
"Well sis, I hate to leave like this-"
"You're an asshole…"
"Sure am- but we want to get going-"
"We?"
Sliding off the seat, he walked beside Sixteen and gave him a friendly slap on the back, which he could only do by floating into the air; it was quick, so nobody caught his flight capability. "Sixteen is comin' with. His whole protecting nature shit has gotten my interest! I guess I'm adding that to my bucket list."
"When will you be back?"
Seventeen shrugged. "When I know what the fuck my name is."
Seventeen eyes widened when Eighteen suddenly leaped towards him and wrapped her arms around him in a death grip. "I'm going with you."
"Uhhhhh…" The blond Android was at lost for words until he saw the panicked look plastered on Krillin's face. "No."
"Why the hell not?"
"I just don't think that that's what's best for you."
"How the fuck do you know what's best for me?" Eighteen spat, thrusting her brother backwards, but not hard enough to send him hurling across the diner. The customers chose to ignore the commotion.
Observing her brother's line of sight, without bothering to turn, she said, "I don't care about him! I want to go with you!"
Gauging his sister for any type of hesitation, he nodded. "Alright sis…" Plucking out a pen from his pants pocket, he dragged one of the napkins on the table and scribbled on it. "That's the motel Sixteen and I are staying at. We were going right now but, I guess we can wait until tomorrow. If you choose to come with us, meet us there at 8am."
Eighteen cocked her head in confusion. "Why can't we leave now?"
"Because I want you to really think about it sis."
"But-"
"Just do this for me sis-"
"Fiinnnneee!" She agreed reluctantly, her hand snatching the napkin with the written address.
Seventeen smiled. "Glad it's all settled! Baldy, sis, enjoy the rest of your date!"
Telling Sixteen to wait outside, Seventeen walked towards the waitress with confidence. Not even a moment later, the waitress slapped him on the face and walked away, her face red with anger. Looking at Krillin and Eighteen disbelief expression, the blond Android shrugged and jogged out of the diner.
"Listen Eighteen-"
"I gotta go…" She cut in, looking at her feet while she clutched her fists.
"It's ok-"
"I'm sorry…Krillin…"
"Wait!"
Eighteen darted off, leaving Krillin the bill and even worse his heart broken.
He hadn't seen or heard of Eighteen for weeks until one night, while he was asleep in his room at Master Roshi's, he heard his window open, followed by rustling of clothes, his sheets and finally the feeling of a warm and soft body pressed to his back. From the waves of brunette hair that coiled pass his bald head and caressed his face, he was most certain that it was Eighteen…which is why he had thought it was all a wonderful dream. In the morning he sighed, not surprised that he had been right.
That was until it happened again the next night…and then the next and well, eventually Krillin could no longer contain his curiosity. After the third day, he already put together that the brunette was actually in his room… pantless since he felt her smooth long legs woven with his. What made this situation harder for him was that while she wore a thin fabric on her upper body, he could tell that she was braless and with her practically fused against his back, Krillin growled, threw caution to the wind and yeah…
It was mind-blowing night…
Later on, while tangled with Eighteen and wearing a blissful smile, he learned that the address Seventeen had written for her had been fake. He and Sixteen had taken off as soon as they left that diner and from the look on Eighteen's face, he realized that she wasn't mad. She was livid! She swore, in the sweetest of voices, if she ever saw him again, she was going to strangle him to death, making the former monk shiver.
Not long after those events, Krillin encouraged Eighteen to go search for a job, school or hell anything that she might like to do. She reluctantly agreed and unfortunately soon found out that her brother was right; she nearly killed someone on her first day of work at a clothing shop at the West City Mall, within the first hour. Needless to say, she got fired and with even further encouragement, Krillin threw out there that some anger management courses ain't such a bad idea. The downside was that those courses cost money…
After even MORE encouragement (and evading Destructo Discs that almost severed his boys on multiple occasions) Eighteen was standing at Capsule Corp. doors, meekly asking Bulma if she could help her.
Bulma had no problem paying for the Android's anger management classes. After finding out that Eighteen had helped the others beat Cell, she considered her a friend in her book.
A year later, once she completed the program, though not perfect, she was able to maintain a job at a local clothing store called 'Strawberry' without her anger getting too much in the way. Any residual stress after work, well Krillin can easily handle.
A hand skimmed across his forehead, caressing it lightly, bringing emerald greens back to his line of sight.
"Where have you been?"
"Uhhh here?"
She gave him a deadpan look.
"Wondering how I got such a beautiful girlfriend like you?" he tried.
She snorted. "Humph, who said I'm your girlfriend?"
Shoving him off her lap, the Android stood upright and made her way inside Capsule Corp, leaving the former monk on the ground, flapping his mouth open and closed like a fish out of water.
"E-Eighteen? You're joking right?"
As she pushed pass the double doors, unbeknownst to Krillin, she gave a secretive smile. You're so cute sometimes Krillin…
"Right?!"
Erasa and Sharpner laughed, taking great joy in hearing Krillin cry out the Android's name out, only to receive a playful giggle, followed by a sigh of relief.
"Hey, do you guys think I should go check on Gohan?" Videl asked, her voice low so that only those nearby heard.
Grinning, Sharpner rose to his feet. "Na Videl, I think you should leave it to his good ol pal Sharpner!"
Videl frowned. "But I'm his-" she trailed off, realizing what she was going to say.
"Girlfriend?" Erasa waved her hand. "You would be if you'd stop being a wimp and just ask him out."
"B-but it's the guy who-"
"And as I've said, like a million times, Stereotypes Videl!" Erasa exclaimed. "He'll say yes if you ask him!" Cause I know I would she mentally added. She was still attracted to her, but not enough that she'd try to steal her friend from Gohan, who she had grown to care about. Besides, as far as she knew, Videl was straight... right now… that last thought slipped out…
With a look of determination now gracing her face, Videl stood up. "Okay, I'll go ask!"
Getting a panicked look, her two blonde friends blocked her path, startling Videl mid-step.
"Just not this instant!" Sharpner said without hesitation
"Yeah, you saw he's in a bad mood!" Grabbing the blond male by his shoulders, she shoved him towards Capsule Corp. "Let Sharpner talk to him first!"
"Actually, let me have a crack at him first." A new voice interjected. "I willing to bet that it has something to do with me."
Seeing everyone staring at her strangely, she sighed. "I guess it does."
Placing her son on the ground, she urged him to go play with Yamcha again and headed inside Capsule Corp.
Eyeing at the manner in which the Saiyan Princess's hips swayed, Sharpner word vomited. "Mann, look at that booty tho!"
Erasa, Videl and Yamcha, who was glad that he had gotten over the random outbursts he had for years, slapped their foreheads, feeling embarrassment for him as well as praying for his life since well-
"Hey blond-boy, did ya forget who was here also?"
Sharpner froze, slowly turning to the half Saiyan's mother, whose brow was twitching with anger and annoyance.
"Oops."
DBZDBZDBZDBZxxxxxSPECIALxxxxDBZDBZDBZDBZ
Having dressed up after showering and drying off, Gohan threw himself onto the guest room bed, landing flat on his back, but not before snatching the four-star Dragon Ball from the counter. Staring at it intensely, he admired the manner in which the evening sun shone from the window and onto the ball's rounded surface, giving it a glaring effect. His stare sharpened as always, silently willing it to grant him his desired wish.
And as always his wish was not granted. But he never really believed it would. He just merely found and carried the Dragon Ball as a reminder and a promise to his father that he'd always do his best to protect this planet. That was the last thing he had asked of him from Otherworld after all, which also happened to be the last time he had heard of him. He hadn't gone into much details, but he did explain that when he nearly broke the barrier between the living and dead, upon attempting to aid them in the final bout with Cell, that he had been punished and wasn't allowed to communicate with the world of the living...ever; the only reason why his father could even contact him now was because he was able to 'twist' King Kai's arm enough to speak with him, his mother and finally Bra one last time. Now Gohan knew that that is how it should be, that his father shouldn't even have the special privilege to communicate with them, but that was the special thing about his dad wasn't it? He always found ways to do the impossible, which goes as far as getting on the higher Kais' good side to bend the rules for him.
Letting loose a breath, he tossed the four-star ball up, playing catch with it while he let his mind drift elsewhere, far from his deceased father and much much further from that sea-green haired goddess-
Gohan growled, somehow managing to not chuck the Dragon Ball straight into the ceiling.
What was it with him? He wasn't stupid; he knew and understood what he was going through. This day was going to happen. His body was maturing, so urges that he has never felt before were starting to manifest to the surface. But before that, he made certain that he read and studied all subjects on sex education, going well beyond the material covered in school. As Sharpner says, 'he went in' and that he did because he raided the entire library and read it all in less than a week, not that there was much to it… all the books said the same thing, just differently written.
"Penis inside vagina eques sex." There, you wasted days reading crap that I just explained to you in one small sentence."
"There's more to it than that! What about urges and-"
"Simple, control yourself, practice safe sex by using condoms or shit even jerk off. Gohan, you freakin' read the books! All that should be explained there right? Now stop being such a worrywart and let's go to the arcade!"
Sharpner thought he was being ridiculous and maybe he was right, but the blond teen hasn't known him long so he doesn't know how serious Gohan was with his studies. However, eventually, he did drop the subject and let whatever happens happen. Surely he was prepared enough to tackle maturity right?
Nope, he couldn't have been more wrong. He better than anyone should have known that reading something and experiencing it was two different things.
An imaginary silver of green hair tickled his face, making him tremble and almost drop the ball.
His sparing sessions with Bra were tons of fun and kept him in shape. He was resolved to help defend the Earth from any threats and no one was going to stop him from doing that. In the beginning, his mother had tried, no, begged him to forget about all the fighting and leave it to the others so that he could focus on his studies; with the likes of Vegeta and Bra around, everyone could rest assure that the planet was in good hands. She was right yeah, but what if one of these days, they weren't enough? What if one day, the worse happens and he was the only one left and also lost, knowing that if he had just kept on training he could have saved them all.
And so he went on sparing with his fellow half Saiyan, who he slowly began to actually like spending time with. Don't get him wrong, he did enjoy his time with Videl too, which includes sparing, but with Bra…it was different…
Why does it sound like I'm reassuring myself? I mean I'm not… right? Bra is in fact stronger than Videl and can give me a better work out…ugh why does it sound so dirty…freaking Sharpner!
He had briefly thought of asking Vegeta of Saiyan biology, thinking that maybe being a half Saiyan made his maturing experience worse, but quickly dismissed it, believing that the Saiyan Prince would probably laugh at him, telling him that he'd never aid a 'spawn of Kakarot's'. Bulma had been his next choice, but had chickened out of that too, not wanting to talk to a girl of such a sensitive subject.
Man…this sucks…
A familiar voice followed by a couple of knocks took Gohan by surprise, so much that he forgot to catch the Dragon Ball that gravity had so graciously pulled down. Gohan saw dozens' of golden stars dancing in front of him when the ball collided with his forehead.
Hearing Gohan's howl of pain on the other side of the door, Bra twisted the doorknob and walked inside the room to check if he was alright.
Thankfully he was, but the Saiyan Princess wasn't able to stop herself from giving a terse laugh when she saw the bulbous bruise on Gohan's forehead. Looking down to the far corner, she probably found the culprit for the assault. Quickly picking it up, she tossed the Dragon Ball to the half Saiyan, who caught it and placed it on the left side of the bed.
Gohan was secretly glad she was wearing loose sweatpants instead of those tight ones she had on earlier. That didn't stop him from looking though.
Seeing Bra staring at him questionably, he sighed. "I don't know what you want me to say."
"Why don't you start with why you walked out on me out there?" Bra said, flopping next to him.
"I was tired."
"Bullshit, we had just begun. Try again."
"I didn't feel like training."
"It wasn't about training. It was about testing out mom's new force field. She wanted to see how many hits it could take before it fell apart. That way, we can train anywhere without having to worry about damaging the environment so much." Bra explained. "She also told me that she could probably add gravity changing features like the ones in the Gravity Room later on once the technology was perfected."
"It's you."
"It's me?"
Gohan turned his head. "I can't focus on our training because of you…" His face reddening, he forced himself to continue. "You can be very distracting ya know."
Bra blinked in confusion at first, but then, when her brain caught on, she broke into fits of giggles that resembled the ones she released before Goku's death.
"S-stop laughing! It's not funny!" Gohan snapped, his blush turning brighter.
"So that's why I felt a pair of eyes on my ass when I went to go pick the Dragon Ball off the floor."
"H-how'd you know I was looking?"
Bra grinned while Gohan groaned, knowing that he walked into that one.
"Okay, so you've been eye-raping me for-"
"I'm not eye-raping you!"
"-for how long?"
"About two years…" Bra's playful grin caused his cheeks to turn red again. "Th-that is admiring-"
"-My body."
"Will you stop that!"
Bra threw her hands in the air in surrender. "Okay! Okay! I'm done! I promise! Talk to me Gohan."
Having gone far into the conversation, he decided to ask the questions that were troubling him.
"Well it's just, w-why don't I feel this way about Videl?"
"That's an easy one. One, she's constantly covered up with those overly baggy clothes and two, she's hasn't completely matured yet." She answered with a smile. "Come on Gohan, you already know this, considering how much you love to learn."
"Okay, but how come I constantly-" Gohan choked when he took note on how pretty she looked sitting next to him, listening to him attentively.
"Thinking about you! You're so darn beautiful, gorgeous and like Sharpner says, hot! It's like all of a sudden, I'm truly seeing you for the first time! And your smell… cherry blossoms! It's amazing!"
Bra didn't know how, but she was able to hold in her laughter. Never in her wildest dreams would she had believed much less thought that Gohan could sound confused, love-struck and lustful all at once.
"Feel better?"
Though Gohan was blushing horribly from having admitted all of that, he nodded because he did feel better getting some of those thoughts off his chest. Of course he had more, but he'd rather revive and fight both the Cells they defeated at once than reveal to her his dirtier thoughts and fantasies of her.
"Look at me Gohan."
He obeyed and when he saw her smile, his nervousness reduced.
"Everything except the hot comment, which I'll get that little prick friend of yours for, is probably something that Videl would love to hear coming from you. Just not right this moment. Take it easy with her. She's a tough girl, so I'm sure it'll take a while for her to warm up to you."
Gohan's eyes lit up. "You think she already likes me?"
Bra shrugged. "Why don't you put on your big boy pants and find out?"
"But I don't know how…I always feel uncomfortable around her, like she's watching my every move you know?"
"Listen Gohan, ask her out to the tournament tomorrow. You're going to watch with the rest of the audience since underage fighters aren't allowed to participate." Bra suggested. "Not like it matters! You'd mop the floor with all of them!"
"Uhhhhmmm I don't know…"
Gohan lurched forward when Bra slapped his back in what was supposed to be a friendly manner.
"I'm throwing you a bone here Gohan. Take it."
"R-right."
"And Gohan…sometimes lust takes over our minds. For Saiyan's it's far worse, but if you direct it to someone you perhaps like or even love, you can easily manage it. It's clear to me that you really like Videl and before you ask, for the hundredth time, it really doesn't matter if it's the girl you ended up with in my reality. What matters is who your current interest is and that's Videl. Got it?"
Nodding with new found confidence, he asked one last question
"What about your smell? Why is it so strong?"
"Oh that, every living being has a natural scent. Unlike humans, a Saiyan's nose, along with our other senses, is much stronger. What do you smell when you are close to Videl?"
"Uhmmm always vanilla, but lately it's mixed with coconut."
"So that vanilla-like scent is obviously her true scent. I say vanilla-like because she doesn't actually smell like vanilla, it's just that it's the closest thing to compare it to since you probably might have never smelled anything more similar to it. Anyways, even though you are only half Saiyan, you still have a Saiyan nose. Thus, your Saiyan nose will pick up her 'true' scent, which is something that pure humans can't smell. They would only be able to sniff out the artificial scent, which is the coconut scented shampoo and conditioner." She said, standing from the bed, figuring that they were wrapping up their heart to heart talk.
"Vegeta told you all this huh?"
"Ah-huh."
"I was thinking of asking him to educate me on this, but I'm sure he'd say-"
"'I got to give it to you boy, for having the balls to ask that of me. You already know I despise Kakarot, so if you think I'll help his spawn in any way, you better think again. Now get lost!'" Bra said in her best Saiyan Prince imitation.
Gohan eyes widened, and then he laughed. "Yup, that's exactly why I didn't bother to ask. Man, you're really good at that!"
Bra grinned, feeling proud of herself for brightening the half Saiyan's gloomy mood. "You know, father might have answered your questions…"
"Why do you say that?" Gohan asked, tilting his head.
"Well, as hard as it is to believe, he does change for the better eventually. Surprisingly, he's already showing changes."
"Whoa! Really!?"
Bra bobbled her head. "Really. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta help mom with something." She said, heading towards the door.
"By the way Gohan, since you aren't a little kid anymore, if I catch you staring at my butt again, I will break your arm…or worse I'll tell Videl and you'll have to deal with her."
The half Saiyan's mouth dropped as Bra swung the door shut on her way out.
A/N:
1. I was this close...this close *uses index & thumb for emphasis* to just name this chapter part 2! I really don't like the title =/
2. lol at poor Gohan's hormonal struggles.
3. Does having Yamcha kicking every one asses' make you feel some type of way? =P Good! And no, he isn't stronger than Eighteen. If Eighteen was out to kill, he would have been dead.
4. Kibō (Japanese) translates to Hope (English). Whether it's a rough translation or the name isn't normally said in that way when addressing him/her, I do not care. That's how his name will be said in this story. The symbol on Yamcha's clothes is no exception.
5. Putting it out there that Vegeta most likely won't be apart of this battle. It's not that I don't like him (sounds like I'm trying to convince myself), it's just that I don't have any ideas as to where to put him. I will, however, probably give some reason why he went to space in the first place. But as it stands, he will be gone. Honestly doubt I want to change that anyways.
6. Super Saiyan Fist? WTF lol Totally rip off of King Kai Fist.
7. It was fun writing Android Seventeen again ^_^
8. Guess I lied about not posting more chapters until I finished the mini saga cause uhhh it ain't done yet.
Alright, that will be all! Thanks for reading my latest chapter!
Later!
(Finished: 5/2/18)
~Gater~