Brought to you by Gue22 and Son Goshen

Chapter 4

"Twenty-seven," the master counted as he swung back, "You are no one, I could wrap this whip around your neck and end your life here, and the world wouldn't even feel it. Always remember, you are insignificant, your own parents threw you away. You are plain and unimportant. You are no one and you need to accept it."

"This," the pastry chef fumed, "is NOT a cake. This…is a rock!" He yelled in Chichi's face as he slammed the cake hard on the counter.

The solid mass of cooked batter didn't even tremble at the force, it was that hard.

"Cakes are meant to be soft. Cakes are meant to be moist. Cakes are meant to be sweet. Cakes are meant to be EDIBLE!" He yelled.

It was peak hour, and any minute now he would be expecting a flood of high-school students to come bustling through his doors for their after-school treats. The new girl had already messed up one batch of ice-cream earlier in the day, and now he comes to check on the Tuesday special, only to find that she'd botched that up as well!

His face dimpling in anger, he reached into the pocket of his apron and pulled out his asthma pump.

Chichi stood behind the counter with a white apron and a white square hat on her head, completely perplexed by the man's anger. "All I did was follow your recipe, it's not my fault if it's flawed." She stated blankly.

The pastry chef pulled hard at his pump and stared at the girl in disbelief. He was a patient man, a good culinary instructor, and a good and fair boss, but this girl…she was…she was…worse than a child! She was stubborn, short with her words and stiff like a cutting board. She didn't smile or ask questions. She just stared and nodded as if she's understood you, and then…BAM botched ice-cream, botched cake!

Slipping the blue pump back into his pocket, he narrowed his eyes challengingly. "Taste some," he spat at her, "Taste it, and tell me again that you followed the recipe I showed you yesterday."

Chichi stared at her cakes, mentally comparing them to the ones he'd shown her how to make a few days before. Sure, they didn't look the same, but hey, it wasn't her fault. With a cake cutter she made a small slice by pushing extra long and hard in order to get the blade through the burnt and tough texture. She shoved the whole piece into her mouth and cringed.

There were no words to describe how horrible it was.

She spat it out onto a serviette immediately, folding it and chucking it into the trash-can. She would take the bland and tasteless food of The Clan over this any day. The chef was right, it was inedible.

Satisfied with her reaction, the pastry chef went on with his lecture. "If you had followed my recipe, then these…" He pointed at the array of the botched cakes, "would not have eggshells sticking out of them."

"The recipe should have specified that only the insides of an egg should be used, and that the shells should be discarded." Chichi defended herself.

"It doesn't have to! It's only logical!" He screamed, unable to take much more of this girl. "Are you gonna stand there and say that the recipe didn't specify to use sugar instead of salt?" He stared her down.

Chichi shrugged, "The containers were not labeled, I saw white grains and thought it was sugar."

"What kind of fool doesn't know the difference between salt and sugar grains?" The more he talked with this girl, the more he suspected he was going to need to reach into his pocket to pull out his pump for a second time.

"Look, I followed the recipe." She said stubbornly. "I put all the ingredients in their correct measurements in the big mixer, and put it on maximum to make things move faster. Then I put the sticky batter into greased tins and baked them. Simple."

Not for the first time, the pastry chef stared at the girl in absolute shock. She did what? "Y-you….y-you put everything in the mixer, all at once?" He stammered.

"Yes, to save time. That whole 'one at a time' thing seemed rather inefficient. If I save half an hour on each recipe, we could make twice the number of cakes." She said logically.

"To…save…time..." He repeated her words in disbelief. "To save time?" He raised his voice, "Are you crazy? You don't rush a cake. You mix the butter and sugar thoroughly until the mixture is light and creamy like I showed you. Otherwise your cake will be dry! You don't mix flour in with a mixer, you fold it in slowly, otherwise the molecules bind too tightly and you end up with a rock, not a cake. You don't just mix everything in all at the same time, especially NOT at maximum." he spat in disgust.

This girl had just raped his perfect recipe, busted his expensive mixer, and she didn't even show any remorse.

"Are you going to fire me now?" She asked evenly, hardly betraying her concern over the matter.

She didn't really care for this job, she didn't exactly need the paycheck. What she did need was her guardian's approval. She needed to show Ox King that she was capable of standing on her own two feet, capable of keeping a job, capable of interacting within the norms of society.

Failure to integrate and blend in was a one way ticket back to The Clan, and that thought…chilled her.

"Look Chichi," The pastry chef said as he took a deep replenishing breath. "I'm sure you're not a bad girl, but you've already cost me a lot of money today. First you botched up the first batch of ice-cream, then you overexerted the mixer and broke its motor. You've completely ruined the Tuesday special," he took in another deep breath, "I'll have very little sales today." He gritted his teeth at the thought.

Ox King was his friend, but someone had to pay for all this wastage. "I have no choice but to fir-"

"Hey Mr. Kuks! Is this today's special? It looks yummy!" A chirpy voice cut him short.

Chichi and the pastry chef turned their necks and spied a cheerful face from under a mess of wild and spiky dark hair.

Chichi's eyes widened, it was…him. The boy from the bus!

She didn't know what it was, but her palms suddenly felt muggy and moist. There was something about seeing him again that made her heart beat irregularly. He wasn't even doing anything extraordinary; he was merely peeking at them with an air of elevated enthusiasm from the other side of the counter.

Mr Kuku eyed his regulars. This group of kids had been coming in everyday after school for a few weeks now. He noted with dismay that the ever cheerful Goku's companions did not seem to share his enthusiasm while peering at the egg-shells protruding out of the 'special'. He could hardly blame them, it was a huge disappointment for him too. They were the same group as always: Bulma, the ever flirtatious blue-eyed, blue-haired beauty and the rather short and grumpy Krilin.

He cursed Ox King for bringing such a useless, stubborn girl. He cursed the new girl for bringing out the cakes to the front; now his regular customers had laid eyes on the abominations. Lastly, he cursed himself for being so involved in this reprimand that he hadn't even heard the group of teens enter. He should have taken Chichi out back to the kitchen for this reprimand for now the teens had witnessed the angry side of him.

"Hey kids, good to see you guys."

"Hey Mr Kuks!" They greeted, Goku leading with an exaggerated air of excitement around him.

"Sorry about these. Don't even give them a second look." He pulled out a white cloth and began to cover the cakes. "Why don't you get a table, I'll have a waitress attend to you as soon as I've dealt with something." He cast dark eyes at the new girl. He wanted her out of his shop and now.

Goku saw the look. Oh boy.

Upon entering the Delish, he'd tripped on Krilin's leg and fallen over from shock from what his eyes had spied - the girl from the bus!

The girl he had been dying to see for the last three weeks - Chichi!

He had hardly believed his eyes. He'd felt a strange sensation in his stomach as Krilin pulled him up from the floor, and for a full minute, he didn't really see or hear anything else. He was transfixed by the sight of her. Three weeks overdue, but he'd found her.

It was only after Bulma had made a comment about how she hated walking in on confrontations, that he'd picked up on the tone of the conversation between her and Mr. Kuku. Listening in, he'd immediately realized that the girl from the bus was on the verge of getting fired. He'd also sensed her emotions; and even though she didn't display them on her face, she definitely didn't want that to happen.

"So whaddaya say Mr. Kuks, how about that special?"

"Sadly, the Tuesday special is off the menu today." The pastry chef went to say.

"Aw, but we just saw it. Why did you cover it up? You know that's why we came, come on Mr Kuks, let us try some." He pouted, his eyes lingering on the cloth that had just covered up the cakes.

"Err…those aren't the typical Tuesday specials, sorry Goku, there's always next week though." The chef pastry straightened the cloth to fully conceal the cakes. He wondered how many of his regulars were going to be disappointed today.

"But I've already seen them, they looked so good, I must try some!" he insisted.

"Seriously, Goku, I-"

Mr Kuku started to say, but Goku pulled a whole cake from underneath the cloth. He didn't bother with the formalities of slicing through it; he simply fisted a handful of the stuff and shoved it into his mouth.

Chichi and her boss immediately cringed; they both knew how horrible the taste was.

"Mnn…" Goku chewed through the horrible taste, shocking the duo by shoving another fist full into his mouth. "Here Krilin, try some," he shoved some into the unsuspecting Krilin's mouth.

Krilin gagged, but Goku kept his hand over his mouth, forcing him to swallow. "So tasty, right buddy?"

Chichi stared at him in disbelief, abandoning the serviette she was reaching to give to him for the inevitable moment of when he would spit it out. But the boy from the bus showed no signs of it, he devoured the full cake in minutes. What was he up to?

"A bit on the salty side, but it's pretty good. We'll take the rest, won't we guys?"

Goku wiped his mouth and rested his arms on Bulma and Krilin's shoulders, a huge grin plastered on his face.

Poor Krilin was still trying to stop himself from emptying the contents of his stomach on to the floor. He was in no condition to argue.

"Err…I don't know Goku, they look kinda-" Bulma began with a frown, but Goku immediately interrupted her.

"They look great! They taste even better. Please pack all ten cakes for us Mr. Kuks." He chirped.

"You're joking, right?" The chef stared at him in disbelief.

"Nope. No joke. My friend Bulma Briefs here is buying." He pushed Bulma to the front.

It was a shot in the dark mentioning her surname, but Master Roshi had often said that Bulma's family name always impressed people because her father had lots of money. Personally he didn't get it since Dr Briefs had a real low Ki; but the look on Mr Kuku's face as he'd said 'Briefs' was a testament to Master Roshi's claims.

The Pastry Chef looked impressed and afraid all at once.

Great! Her surname was working!

"B-Bulma…B-Bulma Briefs." Mr Kuku almost shook when he whispered her name.

Sure, his Delish was on Roan Ave, and so his clientele was mostly from the wealthy folks of West City, but even so, to think that a girl from one of the wealthiest families in the world, had been coming here for the last three weeks, with him never being the wiser…goodness! He could almost feel an asthma attack of coming on.

"Say, Bulma," Goku proceeded to ride the wave. "That cocktail thing your Mom is throwing this weekend, I say you order food from this place, it will help her out a lot."

"Err…Goku, I really don't think-"

"Aw come on Bulma, didn't you tell us that she's always complaining about how you don't take any interest in these things, and how you never help her organize and all that. She's expecting five hundred guests right?"

"Goku, over here, now!" Bulma dragged him away. "Have you gone mad?" She scolded him in a hushed whisper. "I didn't even taste that stuff but it looked horrible, Krilin looks like he's about to die from eating it, so what's gotten into you?"

"That's her, that's Chichi!" He whispered back.

"Huh?" Bulma blinked. "The girl from the bus?" Bulma turned her head to stare at the stiff looking girl with the square hat. That was the girl Goku'd been talking non-stop about for the last three weeks? She didn't look all that to her.

"Yes! That's her. Can you believe it? I found her!"

Being the daughter of a genius, not to mention a genius herself, Bulma didn't need any further explanation. She knew the girl was on the verge of getting fired, so she knew what Goku was up to."Fine, I'll bite. But you owe me big time for this Goku, any favor I ask, promise?" She glared, her purse clutched under her arm, her hands on her hips.

"I promise, I promise!" Goku practically hopped up and down.

"I mean it Goku, any favor, no excuses. Give me your word."

"You have my word Bulma, any favor at all, and it's yours." He said hurriedly.

"Good." Bulma smiled, she knew exactly what favor she was going to ask of him too. She knew that her bodyguard would never, ever go back on his word, so Vegeta was pretty much hers.

Smiling, she pulled out her wallet, turned around, clanking her heels noisily back in the direction of the chef and his botched up cakes.

She placed her platinum card on the table, "We'll take all the cakes, and make a deposit for an order of enough croquembouches for five-hundred guests." She slid the card forward with a straight face. "The cocktail party is this Friday night. You reckon you have enough time to fulfil that order?" She gave the chef her business face.

"Absolutely Miss Briefs! It would be my pleasure." Mr Kuku clasped his hands excitedly. He would make the most elaborate croquembouche ever. Their guests would never forget it, or his name.

This was going to be great! His Delish was going to be the talk of the rich and snooty for eons to come. The orders would start piling in, he couldn't wait!

"Great then," Bulma beamed. "Mom will be excited too. Once I tell her that our good friend Chichi is working here at the Delish, you'll be getting sick of filling orders for her in no time at all. Mom just loves doing business with friends." She delivered the punch line.

Mr Kuku immediately paled. Good…friend…Chichi?

"Okay, we'll take a table in the corner and order some ice-creams then." Bulma smiled, "Say, Chichi, when you get a break from work, come sit with us for a minute and catch up will ya?" She winked at the girl and steered Goku and Krilin to their regular table at the corner.

"Bye Chi!" Goku grinned, "Happy baking! We'll save an ice-cream for you on your break." He waved happily, following behind Bulma and Krilin to a table.

Chichi was still just…staring.

She still couldn't believe it. That boy from the bus had something seriously wrong with him. How could he have eaten that disgusting cake? How could he have bought all those disgusting cakes? Was he missing something in the head?

"Well Chichi, looks like your friend just saved you from getting fired." The pastry chef turned to her sternly. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"My w-what?" she stammered. She knew what a boyfriend was, she had read all about human social and romantic interaction. But that sort of thing was strictly forbidden in The Clan. They were allowed to engage in casual bouts of sex to release tension if they so desired, or to use it to accomplish a kill, but …any long-term or emotional attachments were taboo.

She was no one, not worthy to ever have a boyfriend. Her boss was sorely mistaken in his assumption.

"I'll take that as a no then." Mr Kuku grabbed Bulma's credit-card from the table. He was eager to get the deposit for the large order in before the young girl changed her mind. "Either way, you get to keep your job so…you owe him one." He smoothed his hands down his apron. "Right, then. Let's pack these cakes up in boxes and get to work." He instructed.

Chichi didn't move though, her mind was still hung on her boss' words. I owe him one? As in I'm indebted to him?

So that's what he was doing then, saving her job by pretending to enjoy her horrible cakes? Sure, she was glad that she didn't get fired, not so much for her own sake as for that of the Ox King's. She would hate to see the familiar look of disappointment and discouragement on his face when she announced yet another failed job. Still, she had no room in her life to 'owe people one'.

Ignoring her boss's orders, she simply turned around and followed the teenagers to the table.

She wanted to have a word with that boy. She had to get out of his debt immediately.

"Goku," she called after him.

The dark haired teen turned around to find ChiChi standing right behind him. Instead of gratitude or happiness, she wore a smooth mask of nonchalance. It was her eyes that betrayed the panicked emotion that lay underneath.

"Hiya! How's your job going?" He replied cheerfully.

Chichi scowled in response. "I can't be in your debt," she said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Huh? Goku tilted his head in confusion. "What are you talking about? What debt?"

Her scowl deepened as she jabbed a finger at his chest. "What other? The entire you-saving-me-from-getting-fired-from-another-job debt." She exclaimed.

"Ohhh, that." His big goofy grin returned. Of course he remembered that. He would never forget chewing through and swallowing that disgusting piece of… what exactly was it supposed to be? "That was nothing." He waved it off. "Wait, another job? You got fired before?"

Chi-Chi bit her lip; her failures were none of his business. "Don't change the subject." She snipped and straightened her shoulders. "And no, saving my job is not nothing. It's a really big something."

"Nuh, it's not," he said, shaking his head.

"Yes it is!" She insisted, "It's a big deal!"

"Nuh." He simply dismissed her vehement insistence.

"YES IT IS!" She yelled, "I will NOT be indebted to you. There has to be a way for me to repay!"

Goku took a step backwards with a nervous chuckle. "Hey, now, don't get angry, okay?" He held up his hands. "We're all friends here," he played it light, laughing nervously.

The strangely furious expression on her face was still in place as she took a threatening step towards him. "Friends? Says who?"

"Says me," he said, as he stuck out his tongue impishly.

Normally, Chichi would've slapped a fellow 'orphan' if they did that. It was playful and disrespectful; those kind of jibes had no place in the strict environment cultivated by The Clan.

Her hand was practically twitching with the need to connect with his cheek.

However, something stopped her from doing so. A very confused thought crossed her mind. This boy, he looked very… attractive.

"When you come of age, should the body desire it, you may take a lover and release the stress. However, all sexual interactions are to be one time encounters only. Your loyalty lies only with The Clan, relationships are strictly forbidden.

No! She did not just think that. This boy in front of her was certainly not attractive, he was just someone who'd helped her. He was just another nobody.

Goku watched her watch him with a seemingly curious and disapproving look. Maybe he shouldn't have done that thing with his tongue; she didn't seem to like it.

"Ummmm…" He didn't really know what to say. He wanted them to be friends, but everything he said or did, just seemed to rub her the wrong way.

Chichi dismissed all the conflicting thoughts about her possible attraction to him and shook her head like a dog shaking off water after a bath. She glared at him, preparing to tell him off in no uncertain terms when Bulma decided to butt in.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Bulma threw up her hands in exasperation. Goku was getting nowhere fast. "If you really want to pay Goku back for saving your job, then…you'll be his date this weekend for the cocktail party!"

"Bulma! I didn't do it for repayment. She doesn't owe me anything!" Goku insisted. He had never helped anyone with an ulterior motive, even the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. He'd just wanted to help her, that's all.

"She owes you big time Goku, and she knows it." Bulma insisted, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Then I accept. I will be his date for this cocktail party." Chichi said matter of factly. She knew what a 'date' was. She had had to study about the rituals of human courtship. She could do this 'date' thing. It would be quick and harmless; then she would be out of his debt and never have to think about him again.

"Great!" Bulma beamed

"Umm…" Goku scratched his head. He didn't know about all that dating stuff. He just wanted to spend some time with Chichi, that's all.

"Goku, you can have my home number." Chichi reached into the giant pocket of her apron and pulled out a pen. "You can call me with the details." She scribbled on one of the serviettes from their table.

Goku perked up, Yamcha always said that getting a girl's number was pretty hard. Chichi had to like him for sure if she was giving him hers! Now they could be friends!

"Thanks!" He exclaimed. "I'll call you for sure, we have a phone at Master…um…I mean at Grandpa Roshi's!"

Bulma rolled her eyes at her bodyguard's childish antics, sometime she wondered if the boy was fully there in the head.

"Well, I have work to do." Chichi said stoically, and promptly turned around to get back to the kitchen.

"You think we can order now," Krilin said irritably. He had been sitting down on the table waiting for the whole spectacle to be over.

"Let's!" Goku grabbed the serviette with Chichi's number and pocketed it as he happily slid into his seat.

"Now that that's out of the way," Bulma slid into her seat next to Krilin, "I guess it's time for me to call in the favour you owe me for buying all those disgusting specials Goku." She grinned at the spiky haired teen.

"Yes?" Goku eyed her nervously, he hoped she wouldn't drag him along on a shopping trip or something.

"I want you and Chichi to help me sneak off with Vegeta at the party."

"WHAAAAAAAAT?" His yell attracted the attention of all other customers at the Delish. "I mean, you know I can't do that Bulma," he said a bit more quietly.

Bulma shrugged, casting her eyes to a menu. "Sure, I understand, even dad always goes back on his promises, It was silly of me to think that you'd keep your word."

She held back a smile as she waited for it…

"I never go back on my word! Come on Bulma, that's not a very fair request. There's a crazy guy out there who wants to hurt you, I can't help you sneak away from your home security guys. I don't want anything bad to happen to you." Goku pouted.

"That's why you'll be there Goku, obviously you'll be in the vicinity should anything go wrong. Or are you saying that protecting me away from my security guys is too much of a challenge for you?"

"Hey! I can protect you anywhere, just…don't wanna take any unnecessary chances."

"Fine, go back on your word; I'll just go back on mine. I'll cancel my payment for the specials and the order for the party." She moved to slip out of her chair.

"Hey! That's called blackmailing!" He pouted and pulled the puppy eyes.

Bulma giggled. "Sorry, but you owe me one Goku."

"Fine, fine," he sighed, "just as long as the two of us don't get into any trouble."

"Yay!" she squealed happily. And more people turned to stare at them.

"You dare to lose your temper in this Temple? Let me remind you one last time. Your opinion doesn't matter; your feelings don't matter. You are no one and you will not be ruled by your temper," the master chastised as the long whip hissed in the air.

Chichi sighed, closing her eyes as the cold water splashed on her face. How? How could she have forgotten that lesson so quickly? Just a small disagreement with the boy from the bus and she'd…she'd reverted back to voicing her opinions, her preferences, her…temper.

Tentatively, she ran her hand along her back, tracing the remnants of the old wounds – she shivered, closing her eyes.

This boy was trouble. She'd lost her temper momentarily whilst arguing with him out there and she'd raised her voice!

"That can never happen again." She warned the girl in the mirror. With wet hands she grabbed her square hat and plopped it on her head. "That must not happen again."

With that, she walked out of the bathroom and headed back to the kitchen.

That's the chapter. Let us know how the story is coming along.