Chapter 7
Brought to you by Gue22
...
Two fires in two nights…
He wasn't exactly prone to harboring anger for long periods of time, but this morning he just couldn't help it. Last night had been yet another disastrous ending to what had been a brilliant day. And thanks to his parents, the situation was even worse this morning.
"That's it then, there's nothing we can do until he regains consciousness," he concluded his discussion with the Mt. Frypan Inspector.
"Unfortunately," said the Inspector. "I've stationed two men by the hospital, I'll inform you right away when he comes to. Hopefully it will be soon."
The Inspector was a thin dried out man with a stoic expression. His uniform seemed to hang off of him more than anything else. From appearances alone, the Inspector didn't inspire much confidence, but Gohan trusted his judgment. The thin man had proved quite knowledgeable about fire investigating protocols.
"I would really appreciate that Inspector. Thank you for everything you've done for us. I'll wait for your call," said Gohan
"Good day to you and your family." The Inspector pulled down his hat, revealing a head full of red wilting hair. He bowed politely and made his exit.
Gohan rubbed his temples and sighed as he made his way down the corridors of his grandpa's house. They'd had no choice but to move in with him last night, which was fine since there was more than enough room for all of them and then some.
His grandpa's house was much larger than their destroyed home. It made sense, he supposed, for his grandpa to have such a big house. It was supposed to carry the title of "palace" like its two predecessors.
He smiled faintly, recalling that once upon a time, a wizard had surrounded his grandpa's palace with a wealth of wild blazing fire. From the stories he'd been told, Master Roshi had tried to put it out with a Kamehameha only, but the attempt had ended in disaster, much like his dad's attempt last night. Like master, like student.
Ah well, he supposed it was part of his heritage, this business of destruction. From crackling fires that consumed palaces and mountains alike, to Ki-blasts that obliterated whole planets.
A boisterous laugh filled his ears as he came upon the dining room. His grandpa was sitting at the head of the large table happily laughing with luster at something Goten was saying.
Settled to his grandpa's left was his father. And he was typically inhaling all the food spread out before him.
To his father's left sat his mom and she was…well, she was just sitting there glaring at him with that same angry expression she'd been wearing since last night.
"Well?" She turned furious eyes on him.
Gohan shrugged, pulling out his own chair. He settled in and began to serve himself some food.
"Tell me everything Gohan. What did that low-life have to say during questioning?"
"He hasn't said anything mom, he's still unconscious. Did you really have to beat him up that much?"
"He set our house on fire!"
"I know, but," he rubbed at his temples. "Since Dad destroyed everything, including any trace of fire debris, the police can't even send an Inspector to investigate."
"Who cares about an investigation? We already have the culprit."
"I know Mom, but the charges won't stick. There is no evidence to prosecute him with."
"Of course he'll be prosecuted, then he'll be tossed into the palace dungeons down below." Chichi made a down movement with her thumb. "We'll add a healthy dose of daily flogging to his sentence, right Dad?"
Ox King coughed, beating on his chest with his large fist. "Now Chichi, you know the Kingdom doesn't use those dungeons anymore. There is a perfectly modern and humane prison in Frypan now." He blushed. "You can't go around saying that we flog our prisoners."
Chichi merely huffed. "That prison is too good for the likes of him. The dungeons can always be re-opened. I say we stuff him down below after his trial."
"Really Chichi," Ox King shook his head.
Gohan sighed, his mom was always like this. "You don't understand Mom. There will be no trial. There is no physical evidence left to corroborate the allegations that a fire ever existed. Not even a spec of fire debris remains; I double checked the scene myself this morning."
"So what? There are three eyewitnesses at this very table that saw the fire with their very own eyes."
"That's not going to hold in a court of law Mom, not unless you want Dad to give them a demonstration of the destructive power of his Kamehameha."
"Nonsense, this is Frypan and Dad's word is law. That man will go to prison one way or another. If not through the courts then definitely by King's edict, right Dad?"
A cringe and another uncomfortable cough was his grandpa's only response as he continued to busy himself with his food.
Gohan almost laughed as he felt sorry for his grandpa. He knew how hard he'd been trying to change the formidable imagine the world had of him. The poor man was doing his best to move his little Kingdom into a true constitutional monarchy.
"I still remember how you used to pass swift judgment to all offenders Papa. That's why everyone respected you."
"You mean feared Chichi, not respected. There's a difference," said the Ox King with a frown. "That's not how I do things today. We have a good judiciary system in place that handles these matters now."
"Humph! It's clearly deficient if what Gohan says is true. If they don't prosecute him, I'll personally make that edict."
"Chichi…"
"I mean it Dad! I want that man locked away in a dark, cold place for a long time for daring to destroy our home."
"Aww, don't sweat it Chi, I'm sure he feels pretty bad," Goku piped in. "You didn't exactly take it easy on the guy. It was wrong of him to burn the house, but I'll build you a new one no sweat."
"Stay out of this Goku, I'm not in a forgiving mood this morning."
"Aww, but Chi-"
"Son Goku-"
Gohan closed his eyes as his parents went at it. He could feel a headache coming on and it had everything to do with these damn fires.
It was bad enough that his name was probably gracing the suspect's list in the on-going investigation of the hotel fire, but even worse, it was his fault they'd lost their home along with all their meager possessions. Poor Goten had been distraught about his games and comic collection.
No, that's not why he was coming down with a headache. It was just that at the hotel, he'd lost a lot of original documents pertaining to the collapsed bridge case. Luckily, after the grueling sessions with the contesting team of experts from the implicated company, the prosecutor had taken copies of everything with him, but…since Gohan had inspected the scene of the bridge himself, some of the pertinent evidence he had personally photographed and bagged for analysis, the very same evidence he had used to put together his reports with, had been in his house…
He'd meant to forward them on to the prosecutor's offices on Monday, but now…
Then there was the small matter of his current case. He'd been diligent enough to take some geos with him for the weekend, wanting to look over them during the weekend. Technically, all employees were forbidden from leaving the premises with any such documents, but it was one of those rules that everyone broke all the time. Only this time…
Damn it! He narrowed his eyes at his food, rubbing the inner corners of his eyes as he tried to shut out the sounds of slurping coming from his father, snickers from his brother, and the non-stop banter about the King's edict still going on between his mother and grandpa.
If only he could go back to last night, back to Satan Hotel heaven where he'd held the lovely Kata in his arms.
…
It was hot out.
Too hot for such an early hour, but without a cloud in the sky to hinder it, the sun daringly blared down on all it could reach beneath it. And lounging away lazily on a fully reclined pool-chair was one Videl Satan, who just happened to be deliberately within its blazing reach.
She squirmed uncomfortably for a few minutes before she shot up to rub more sun-screen on the exposed flesh of her arms and legs. The intensity of the heat was beginning to make her skin bake.
Satisfied she'd covered all the spots, she pulled her sunglasses up and motioned with her hands for the pool attendant.
"Yes Ms Satan?" The attendant was at her side in an instant.
Videl didn't know him that well since she didn't spend nearly as much time in the pool as her father and his groupies, but according to Erasa, he was a cute little hottie with the perfect build. Regarding him beneath her sunglasses, she supposed he was handsome enough, well built as well. But the word "perfect" didn't spring to mind.
It just so happened that "perfect" was quickly beginning to associate itself with a certain someone.
"Please open up the shade for me."
"Right away Ms Satan." He bowed, pulling out a remote from his uniform pocket. A press of a button later and a colorful hexagonal canopy began to unfold and spread like the wings of a bat above her. It spread itself wide and large, killing the bright reflection of the pool water where it had been dancing on her skin.
The shade brought a much needed reprieve from the sun and Videl was able to lie back again. She rested restlessly under the shade for a few minutes before she was up again.
She checked her watch for the tenth time and sighed. Time was moving way too slowly for her this morning.
She'd been up at the crack of dawn feeling light and sprightly, only to feel disappointed that it was still so damn early. So to kill time she'd hit the training room and pushed her limits until she'd had no energy left. Coming out to the pool was just another way to kill time, but she had long since grown bored and restless.
She wanted to leave the house already, but she still had to wait two more hours before it was time to head out and meet Nimbz for brunch.
Two hours was too damn long!
She wanted to see him now. She wanted to see him so badly it was embarrassing. She'd barely slept as it was, tossing and turning instead. She'd obsessed about him, recalling all kinds of ridiculous things: the sound of his voice, the shape of his hands, the way his face transformed when he smiled. She liked everything about him, from the lonesome coil of hair that curved like a half-smile down his forehead to his habit of scratching at his scalp when he was shy or embarrassed.
Counting from the time of their first on-line conversation, she realized that she'd only known him for little over a week and yet...she really felt like she knew him. But it wasn't enough, she wanted to know so much more, everything...
She wanted so badly to kiss him again that at the very thought of it, her stomach immediately tightened.
She fell back on the recliner, dark hair sprawling like the elongated leaves of a willow tree in the wind. She tried to think about her research paper on the Judiciary System, about the refinements she proposed to make in the training of new officers, but the more she tried to focus, the more it ran away from her. She hadn't been able to have one solid thought that didn't steer to him since she'd left the hotel. Neither school nor work nor anything else for that matter was able to hold her attention.
"I hope he's thinking about me," she confided to the shade. "I hope he also tossed and turned in his bed all night and all morning, consumed with thoughts of nothing but me." She sighed just before she laughed at herself, shaking her head.
"Keep dreaming Videl, not everyone has it as bad as you."
Giving up on playing the patient game, she sprang to her feet and decided not to wait for brunch at all. She wanted to see him now and not a second later.
…
"What do you mean he checked out?" she frowned down at the receptionist.
"Uh," the receptionist gulped, turning back to her monitor. She punched in a few keys and looked back at her apologetically. "It…last night Ms Satan, the guest checked out and left the hotel last night."
"Are you sure you're looking at the records for the Champ's suite?"
"I-I'm sure Ms Satan, but let me verify just in case." She said nervously, picking up the receiver. "Hi Pi, sorry to disturb you at home, uh I have Ms Satan here." She looked up at Videl nervously. "No, no. No crisis err…we just wanted to verify that the guest in the Champ's suite checked out? You were on duty last night." A pause, "Uh-huh, ´kay, yes I understand," she nodded her head a few times. "Hold on let me ask," she looked up at Videl again. "Would you like to speak with him?" she asked hesitantly.
Videl shook her head. What was the point? It's not as if he was bound to change his story, or the facts just because they displeased her. And displeased she was.
"Okay, sorry again Pi. Bon' weekend, bye." She hung up. "Um...he says the guest checked out shortly after you left the hotel Ms Satan, I'm sorry."
"I see," she said flatly, though she didn't see at all. How could he just up and leave in the middle of the night? Where did he go? They had a date damn it! How could he just bail on her without so much as a word?
"Is there perhaps a message?" she asked hopefully.
The receptionist shook her head. "No Ms Satan, I'm sorry."
"Well, thank you for your time." she forced herself to smile politely.
"It was an honor to be of service Ms Satan."
She left the hotel wondering when she'd swallowed this prickling stone in her throat.
…
"Gohan hung up, glad to switch off his phone. Reaching into a drawer, he pulled out a charger and connected one end of the cord to the phone and the other to the wall socket. Tiredly, he watched the blue light as it steadily flashed, reflecting his mood.
This was truly a miserable morning.
He'd had no choice but to call up his boss after breakfast to break the news about the arson. After a lengthily conversation, they'd come to the conclusion that the two incidents had to be related somehow. They also suspected they were related to the bridge.
Unfortunately, he'd had to confess to the loss of some key evidence for the bridge case, not to mention those dubiously acquired geos for his other case. Boy, that hadn't ended well, not at all.
To his dismay, a long lecture about company protocol and rules and violations and disciplinary action and all kinds of things directly responsible for exacerbating his headache had ensued. Luckily his battery had started running out, beeping noisily as it demanded to be charged. And that had given him the perfect excuse to cut the conversation short, sparing him from the rest of the lecture.
He was grateful to leave his phone over there by the wall, quietly charging.
He glanced at his watch, there was still a little more than an hour before he was due to meet up with Kata.
He smiled, at least one aspect of his day would be good.
"Yo! Gohan, you coming?" His father's head floated in the crack of the door like a pineapple. "Your grandpa's taking us into the village." he announced.
"Can't Dad, I have to sort out some stuff for work, then I'm going to Satan City to meet up Videl for brunch."
"Videeeel huh?" Goku flashed him a knowing grin. "That's the girl you snuck out to see when that other fire started right?"
"It wasn't sneaking, but yeah…her."
"Uh-huh, is she the same girl you took to that fancy Satan hotel yesterday, or is that another girl?" he grinned.
"Of course it's the same girl Dad, what are you saying?"
"Heheh, just checking. Just checking."
"How did you even know about the hotel?"
"Bulma, she called your mom."
"Jeez," he shook his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"So, you 'gonna marry her or what?"
"M-Marry her? I just met her!" he blurted.
"Oh okay," said Goku nonchalantly. "so it's just a sex thing? Like with Yamcha and his Lady friends?" he asked innocently.
Gohan turned green. "Dad, you should go. Mom and grandpa are waiting remember?"
"Oh yeah!" his eyes lit up. "Gotta go Son! Good luck sealing the deal." He made a thumbs-up and disappeared.
"I'm surrounded by perverts," Gohan muttered.
He closed the door and settled down on a swivel chair behind the pedestal desk at the corner of the study. He picked up the package that Trunks had flown in from West City to deliver earlier – a new CC laptop that he was much in-need off.
Trunks had also reiterated his mom's invitation to move the whole family to Capsule, but his mom wouldn't hear of it. Gohan was extremely thankful for that, there was never any peace at Capsule Corp. And besides, he already spent way too much time in a city cooped up in his cubicle for work. He had no desire to live in one too.
Luckily Mt. Frypan had all the feels of home. Just across the palace grounds was a lush forest with a flourishing wildlife population. The villages were all flushed with greenery, fresh air and shimmering lakes and rivers. He was quite content to be here.
Quickly he unwrapped and set up his new machine. He configured his emails and re-downloaded essential applications. The majority of his work programs would have to wait until tomorrow though, since they had to be downloaded directly from the main server at the office with special permission from the IT department.
Once he had the basics, he typed in the credentials for his COMET. He wanted to pull out a few essential files since it would surely be a circus tomorrow and he needed to prepare.
To his shock, he couldn't log in.
Access denied.
What the hell? He tried again.
Access denied.
"Urgh! Come on!" he yelled at his computer. What in the world was going on?
Access Denied.
"Damn it!" he cursed, shutting down the application.
What was he supposed to do now? Even his back-up discs had been destroyed in that damn fire. All he had to work with was the information in the server.
"Honestly, of all the times," he sulked pitifully.
He really didn't know what to do with himself now, he couldn't work, and it was still too early to meet up with Kata. Man, why had they decided on brunch of all things? Why not breakfast? Breakfast was good, plus it had the added advantage of coming before brunch. If it were breakfast, he would have been with Kata by now, laughing, talking, kissing…
He flushed. Okay so maybe he couldn't see her yet, but there was no rule that said he couldn't talk to her right?
"Heheh," he grinned happily, pushing out his chair to reach for his phone, until he remembered...
"Great Gohan, you never even took the time to ask for her number. Great going," he muttered unhappily. "Plan B then," he settled back in the chair and opened his internet browser. He began to type:
He logged into his account, praying that by some stroke of light, Kata'd be on.
And as it turns out, luck was with him.
With a foolish grin planted on his face, he was about to start typing when:
Katagirl says: -_- You have no shame!
He blinked, huh?
NimbusRider says: I don't understand. What did I do?
Katagirl says: I can't believe you would ask that. You checked out and left the hotel without saying anything.
Gohan cringed, she wasn't supposed to know that!
NimbusRider says: You went to the hotel already? I thought we were meeting for brunch?
Katagirl says: I wanted to see you, I didn't want to wait.
He would have soared at that confession at any other time, except that…well, her wanting to see him had put him in a bit of a situation.
Still, he couldn't help feeling just a little light hearted. Teh heh…she'd wanted to see him just as badly as he'd wanted to see her.
Fires be damned, this was a good morning after all.
NimbusRider says: I'm sorry, something came up and I had to go home.
Katagirl says: Why didn't you leave a message for me at the hotel? You knew I was going to meet you there at the agreed time. I can't believe you stood me up!
Gohan stared at the accusation, completely dumbfounded. What the hell? What was she saying? The entire planet could take a blast from Buu and he'd still not stand her up.
NimbusRider says: I'm not standing you up!
Katagirl says: Oh really? Then how do you plan to get from Mt. Frypan to Satan City in half an hour? Teleport?
Gohan froze in horror.
Mt. Frypan? Did she just say Mt. Frypan? How on earth does she know?
He paled, remembering…this was Ms 'I traced your IP to a remote location in Mt. Paozu.'
Kami! This girl, just who the hell was she? Normal people didn't just randomly sit around surrounded by tracing equipment!
Kami, what a mess.
If he'd only been patient, if he'd only curbed his immediate desire to talk to her and not logged-in, she wouldn't have known where he'd been. He would have flown leisurely to Satan City and arrived right on time to dispel whatever doubts she'd had about his showing-up.
Now he really looked bad.
There was no reasonable explanation he could give to account for travelling from Mt. Frypan to Satan City in half an hour.
None.
Unless he was ready to make the whole "I'm a half-alien with super-powers speech." Which he wasn't.
But, there had to be a way to get out of this.
Think!
Katagirl says: Nothing to say? I guess I misjudged you. Have a nice life Gohan.
His fingers were gliding over the keyboard before he'd even had the chance to think about what he wanted to say.
NimbusRider says: WAIT! Please wait.
Damn it! Think, think stupid brain.
NimbusRider says: I promise I would never stand you up. Just hear me out. Please?
He waited.
NimbusRider says: Please?
This was ridiculous! Just ridiculous, things couldn't end abruptly like this when he hadn't even done anything wrong. They couldn't!
NimbusRider says: Kata? Are you still there?
His heart was thumping so hard he was scared it might just jump out of his mouth.
What would he do if she didn't let him explain? If she just logged out of his life without a trace? He coudn't even go chasing after her. He didn't even know where to find her.
NimbusRider say: Please
Katagirl says: I'm listening.
His relief was paramount, he hadn't even realized he'd been holding his breath.
NimbusRider says: I didn't have your phone number, otherwise I would have called.
NimbusRider says: So I asked my friend, well a friend of my Dad's to stand in my place.
He was typing so fast, the computer had trouble keeping up with his speed.
NimbusRider says: He was going to call me and let me speak to you personally on the phone so I could explain and apologise.
NimbusRider says: I would never just not show up. I wouldn't do that, especially not to you. I really like you.
Katagirl says: You expect me to believe that?
He cringed as he typed the bold faced lie.
NimbusRider says: It's the truth.
Katagirl says: Fine. I'll just go back to the hotel and wait for your friend to show up and call you. They should be on their way right? Since it's T minus 15 right now.
Katagirl says: Lucky for you I don't live far.
In the ensuing silence of his grandpa's private study, the sound of dread filled Gohan's eardrums. Wha…
She couldn't be serious right?
Katagirl is off-line.
"No!" he yelled to the green cursor blinking all by its lonesome on the screen.
He had a dreadful feeling that that would be him in the next fifteen minutes.
…
She was a fool to be doing this, but she was doing it anyway because her heart was repulsed by the idea of ending things so unceremoniously. This way she could prove it to herself that he was openly lying; at least then she wouldn't look back on her decision with regret.
She had no intention of pursuing any kind of relationship with an untrustworthy liar who was prone to sneaking out of hotels at night to go only Kami knew where. Just thinking of the humiliation she would have felt, arriving at the hotel to pick him out all starry eyed only to wait, and wait, and wait with no word…
Just thinking about it made her want to kick something.
So she sat patiently in the lobby instead, periodically glancing at the large clock behind the reception area, and waited. And not for the first time that day, Videl felt as though time itself was moving at a snail's pace to deliberately torture her.
T minus five.
She picked up one of the travel magazines on display and began to flip through it absent mindedly.
"Are you Videl?"
Her heart jumped. She looked up to find herself staring into bored blue eyes of a rather good-looking blonde lady in a comfortable pair of jeans and blouse.
"Uh…yes?"
"18," said the blonde.
"Excuse me?"
"My name, it's 18."
Videl blinked.
"My father was a dull man, don't ask." the woman offered impassively.
Videl just stared.
"You are Videl no? You're waiting for Gohan?"
"Um…yes." she said hoarsely, there was something rather unsettling about those cold blue eyes.
"He's not coming," she said bluntly. "Unfortunately my husband is acquainted with Gohan's family, and since he couldn't get here fast enough, I had to pick up the slack."
"Oh," said Videl, a little shamefaced.
"You're quite the insensitive one aren't you?"
"Excuse me?"
"His home burns down in the middle of the night, and you don't even ask after him," she said dispassionately.
"His home w-what?" she stammered.
"Here," the blonde passed her a piece of paper. "That's his number. Use it, don't use it. I don't really care."
Videl grabbed the piece of paper and stared down on neatly written numbers. The handwriting was so clear and uniform, it almost looked mechanical. She stared at it, trying to resolve her feelings on the matter.
So he wasn't lying. He had been telling the truth. Fifteen minutes was too short a time to scam her with an imposter, not that she thought she was important enough in his eyes to go to all the trouble of scamming her, but...at least he wasn't lying.
She breathed out a sigh of relief.
She looked up from the paper to offer her thanks to the rather rude woman, but…she was already gone.
…
"You didn't have to come all the way out here," Gohan wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug.
"Are you kidding me?" she pulled back. "I wouldn't miss this chance to strut my stuff in the royal palace."
Gohan chuckled. "And here I was thinking you'd come here to offer me moral support."
"Sure I did," she waved him off. "I hugged you, didn't I? Now, stop being such a wuss and show me where your grandpa's stuffed all that legendary treasure," she grinned.
"Very funny Lime."
"Just trying to cheer you up homeless-boy," she stood on tip-toes and pinched his cheeks.
"Sure, rub it in."
"That's what best-friends are for."
"Yeah right," he said. Plopping himself down on his bed. It wasn't exactly like his old bedroom, but it did have a number of personal things he'd left behind on his many visits as a child. It was comforting to have some familiar personal items in the face of the loss.
Lime settled herself comfortably on the corner of a small desk laden with many of his old study notes. With her legs dangling a few feet from the floor, she regarded him keenly. "Now," she said, "What's really going on around here? I know it must have been one hell of a blow, but the Son Gohan I know wouldn't be moping around just because his house burnt down. Now Spill, I'm all ears."
Gohan sat up from the bed, scooting close to her. "Hmm, you're right. With your hair pulled up that tightly, you're definitely all ears elf-girl." He pulled at the tip of both ears.
Lime slapped off his hands. "I've told you a hundred times Gohan, my ears are not pointy!" she pouted, folding her arms across her chest in a childish huff.
He laughed. "Sure they are, and I'll bet Stan will agree if you make the mistake of showing them off on Saturday night." He threw himself back on the bed, arms scissored behind his head. "Still have that date?"
"Hmph! Say whatever you want, but come Saturday night and Stan will be all over this. I'll even get him to start on my ears, they're super sensitive to the right kind of nibble you know?" she winked.
"Lime, don't start," he flushed.
"You brought him up," she pointed. "Now, stop trying to steer the conversation away from the matter at hand. Tell Auntie Lime what's bugging her favorite ape-boy. And don't say nothing, because I'll bug you until your ears bleed."
"Don't I know it," he muttered under his breath. "Fine," he relented. "I took your advice and registered for on-line dating."
"You're shitting me!"
"Language Lime, and no I'm not. I did it, and I met someone. As in met on-line and twice in person."
A fly could have done hoops in her mouth, the way her jaw dropped. "Say what? I turn my back for one week and you're already romancing some internet chick?"
"It was your idea, why do you look so shocked?"
"I don't know, I thought the horror of internet dating would man you up enough to finally ask the lovely Kirsty out."
Gohan shot up into a sitting position. "What? Lime! I thought you were giving me sincere advice, so I took it!"
A sheepish and not so apologetic grin spread across her face. "Come on, you needed a nudge, so I gave you one."
Gohan shook his head. "I can't believe you, but still I'm grateful 'cause it worked out."
"Worked out?" she frowned. "Listen my adorably clueless friend, that internet girl is clearly suspicious. How come she agreed to meet with you so suddenly? She has an angle, I'm sure of it. She could be a criminal or a gold digger or-"
"Hang on," he cut her off, standing up to reach into his pocket. "My phone's vibrating," he pulled it out. "Please Kami, let this be her."
Lime rolled her eyes.
"Hello?" he picked up, his voice hesitant and hopeful.
"Uh, Hi," came the familiar voice.
Yes! He shot up his arm in triumph. He'd been waiting for this call for so long that…urgh, he was just so relieved.
"It's me. I got your number from 18."
"18?" he blurted in horror.
"Yeah, she said her husband couldn't make it so she came in his place?"
Damn that Yamcha! If he couldn't make it he should have said so, not send 18 of all people! That woman didn't even know the definition of delicate. She'd probably done more harm than good.
"Are you there?"
"Yeah, I'm here." His hand threaded through his hair as he paced the small space of his room. "I'm glad you called. I was worried I'd never hear from you again, you logged off so suddenly."
"I just jumped to all the wrong conclusions. Sorry."
"It's okay, I'm just happy you called me."
"You said that already, what a mushy guy!" Lime blurted, shaking her head at him in disapproval.
Gohan stared at her in horror. He'd already forgotten about her. He covered the phone with his hand.
"Shush Lime!" he whispered rather harshly.
The brunette only stuck out her tongue at him.
"What was that?"
"Sorry, my brother was looking for something. He's gone now." He spoke with his eyes glaring meaningfully at his best friend.
She merely shrugged, picking up a stray magazine before she plopped herself on his spot on the bed.
Gohan growled at her, but of course, she ignored him.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, just a noise." He glanced at his bed, but Lime was busily feigning interest in some scrap of paper she'd picked off his desk.
"Oh okay, um…18 said something about your house burning down?"
"Uh yeah, that's why I had to leave in such a hurry last night," he lied yet again, walking across to the window. He spoke with his eyes focused on a spot of trimmed bushes in the garden. "I got home too late. We couldn't salvage anything though, it's all gone."
"I'm so sorry. Did everyone come out okay? Your family?"
"We're all fine. Luckily there was no one in the house at the time."
"Jeez, that's just awful. I'm so sorry about your home, is there anything I can do? Is there anything you need?"
You. To see you.
But he couldn't exactly say that now could he? Just thinking about all the ways he'd have to fake the logistics was enough to give him a headache.
He turned from the window, leaning his weight against the wall. A spot on his shoe was suddenly so interesting. "It will be tough for a while, but we'll rebuild. We're staying with my grandpa for the moment and he has lots of room for all of us."
"Is that why you're in Frypan? Is that where your grandfather lives?"
"Yeah,"
"Wow. You're really a mountain person aren't you? Mt. Paozu and now Mt. Frypan?"
Gohan chuckled, even though he couldn't see her face, he could very well hear the smile in her voice. "Guilty, on both counts of Mountain Ma'am."
She laughed, "Don't be too quick to confess. I just might be tempted to come over there and arrest you. The guilty should be put away you know."
"I agree. Which is why I promise not to resist arrest," he grinned.
"Oh? Even if my cuffs are made out of silver?"
"What a cruel woman," he smiled slyly. "If you leave the stake behind, I promise to surrender myself to you peacefully."
Out of nowhere, Lime made a gagging sound on the bed, and Gohan decided he'd had just about enough of his friend's interruptions.
Tucking the phone between his cheek and ear, Gohan slipped an arm under Lime's waist and hoisted her up.
"Hey! Put me down you monkey!"
Half a second later he deposited her out the room, swiftly locking the door behind him.
"Did I hear something?"
"Nope!"
"Good. 'Cause I'm looking forward to your reformation therapy. I`ll rehabilitate at least one count of mountain out of you."
Gohan laughed, "Spoken like a true Criminalist. I have to warn you though, we mountain dwellers are known to be heavily embedded in our ways."
"Doubting me?"
"No," he chuckled. "Just a heads-up, so you'll be prepared."
"I'll consider myself forewarned then. Oh, and since we're on the subject of mountains, what are you going to do about work?"
Gohan blinked. "About work?"
"Yes. I'm looking at the map right now, thought I'd check out how far Mt. Frypan is. It's far. It's a four hour commute each way from Mt. Frypan to Blue City. Have you found a place to live yet?"
Gohan cringed. Damn it! Why was she so nosy? Why was she always thinking ahead? Making calculations and outrageous conclusions? Why was she always putting him on the spot?
Now he'd have to lie again and he was so tired of lying.
"I don't know. With everything going on, I hadn't really thought about it." That much wasn't a lie, at least.
"Of course you haven't, you've been through a lot. Maybe one of your colleagues would be willing to put you up for a few nights, while you looked for something of your own."
"That sounds like a good idea. It'll help me out a lot."
"I'm glad, I hate feeling useless like this. You're so far away that I can't even be there for you. I wish there was something more I could do to help."
"Please don't worry yourself Kata, I'm okay. Really."
"If you say so…oh wait! I have a great idea!"
He tensed up, somehow he had a bad feeling about whatever it is she was scheming. "Uh…"
"Blue City is not that far from me. And since I'm not really busy tomorrow, how about I drive down to meet you during your lunch break or something? That way I can help you look for an apartment!"
Dread.
"I…uh…"
"My dad has a great estate agent, don't worry you won't even have to pay him. He can poke around and arrange for a few places we can visit."
"Um,"
"Is that…not good?"
"No, it's just that…I…uh,"
"Oh, sorry. I guess I got a little carried away, poking my nose into your business like some nagging wife."
"No! That's not it at all. If you really don't mind coming all the way to Blue City, then I…l'd love to check out some apartments."
What am I saying? I don't even need an apartment!
"Are you sure?" she sounded skeptical, that suspicious streak he was growing accustomed to back in full swing.
"I'm positive. Please, come. It won't be the same thing but this will also give us a chance to make up for brunch."
"Okay, if you're sure."
"I'm sure."
"Great then. I'll contact the agent and start poking around then," she laughed.
"Please do. I'm an avid fan of all kinds of poking. Poke as much as you want."
She burst out laughing, "I'll just bet you are. Well then, I'll let you know about tomorrow when I have the details. This is good-bye mountain-dweller."
"Oh boy, I really set myself up for that one didn't I?" he couldn't help his grin.
"And I won't let you forget it."
…
That's the chapter guys. Please leave a comment and let the team know your thoughts so far.