The Little Orphan Girl
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or any of its characters.
Thank you everyone for reviewing the previous chapter.
Sunday afternoon was too sunny and hot, and Susie was really uncomfortable being cramped between Trunks and Bulla on the backseat of the car. Well, not exactly cramped, but she kept shifting her eyes from the brother to the sister and again to the brother. Since the previous evening the two had not interacted at all. They had obviously had an argument and Susie just hoped it was not because of her.
The family was heading to Goku's house. Bulma always talked about him so fondly that she felt that this Goku was her brother. "So who are these Sons?" she asked. And Bulma answered her question by telling her that the Sons were dear friends of her family and Goku was indeed like her little brother. She told Susie that she and his wife, Chi Chi had had their differences in the past but they got along fine now. Goku had two sons, Gohan and Goten. Gohan was like her nephew and they had bonded because of the adventures the two had had. She, however, did not elaborate on her adventures. She told Susie that Goten was like a son to her, she had watched him grow up since he was a baby and he was Trunks' best friend. Then she told her about Videl, who was Gohan's wife, and their daughter, Pan.
"She's twelve years old and I think she will be in your class," Bulma said.
"Pan is a tomboy, you know," Bulla said, "I think you and her will get along well; you have a lot in common." With that she smirked at Susie, who raised her brow.
"Well, I will not consider myself to be a very girly girl," Susie admitted. "Susie, you are beautiful just the way you are. You don't need to change," Trunks said and smiled at her. Bulla frowned at her brother who glared back at her and then turned to Susie again. Susie, on her part, was stunned by Trunks' words. He'd called her beautiful⦠he told her not to change⦠she found it really hard to believe. Well, she was beautiful in a natural way, with strawberry blond hair cut very short, hazel green eyes, her skin the colour of porcelain, long Roman nose, full lips and really long eyelashes.
"Yes Susie, dear, you are very pretty," Bulma said.
"Get over with your woman talk already," Vegeta muttered and looked in the rear-view mirror, where his eyes met Susie's. She did not avert them.
Susie still found it unbelievable and astounding that Vegeta was not a human but the thing was that she did believe he was not a human. Besides, he even had a tail, which she had noticed later that day.
Vegeta had been very reluctant to come along. Bulma had actually threatened him that she would not repair the Gravity Room, and that was how he had agreed. Trunks told Susie that Vegeta and Goku were rivals. Vegeta wanted to be better than Goku and that was the reason he trained day and night.
Goku lived in the countryside in a nice, quiet, peaceful house. When they reached there, Susie was surprised to see that there was no other building anywhere in sight. Susie was relieved to see that at least this house wasn't as big as an entire town, though she knew in the back of her mind that she was probably exaggerating about Bulma's house.
Bulma knocked on the door and called out to Chi Chi. A black haired woman opened the door and beamed at them. She hugged Bulma dearly and embraced Trunks and Bulla too.
"Hello Vegeta!" she said. Vegeta did not reply, just narrowed his eyes at her.
"Oh and who is this?!" Chi Chi exclaimed as she looked at Susie.
"She," Trunks said, wrapping an arm around her which Susie was tempted to push away, "Is my sister, Susie."
"His new sister," Bulla said quickly.
Chi Chi already noticed the tension between the girls and it became even clearer when Bulla emphasised 'new' and how she said that Susie was Trunks' sister, and not hers.
"Nice to meet you Susie," Chi Chi said warmly, "I am Chi Chi. How old are you, dear?"
"Thirteen."
"Such a lovely girl. Come in, dear, come in."
They entered the cosy living room where two men, a woman and girl were present. The men looked like they were brothers, which Susie was sure they were. One of them wore glasses; Trunks had said that he would be Gohan. So the other man would be Goten and the woman must be Videl. Susie looked at the girl, whom she was sure was Pan.
The girl was young, not more than twelve, with dark hair tied in an orange bandana. She had dark eyes, resembling her mother. She wore a red shirt and blue pants. The girl was pretty and she managed to look friendly and mischievous at the same time.
"Hello!" she said and then winked at Vegeta. "How are you doing, Uncle Veggie?"
"Don't you dare call me 'Vegie', you puny little git!" Vegeta said. Bulla laughed.
Bulma introduced Susie to the others and that was when another man came there.
"HELLO!" he said, louder than it was necessary, and Bulla and Trunks started laughing. "Kakarott, you make our mighty Saiyan race look stupid," Vegeta said. Goku spread his arms as if he wanted a group hug. Vegeta stepped back.
So this was Goku. He did not look impressive, just an absent minded person with a childish nature. But Susie knew that looks could be deceiving and she did not doubt for a second that his entire demeanour could change if the need ever arose.
The Son family were nice to her. Gohan kept asking her questions about her hobbies and favourite colour and things like that but nobody said 'Tell us about yourself' and Susie was really grateful for it. She did not want to be questioned like that. These people only talked about things that were not too touchy. She told Gohan that she liked reading, and she liked the colours black and blue but she did not answer any of his other questions and just ignored him. Pan asked her abruptly, "You don't like dresses too, right?" Susie shook her head. Pan sighed in relief. "At least someone agrees with me! It'll be fun studying together. You're in my class. You have missed around ten days of school. Don't worry, I'll help you cover up! I think I should just give you the timetable for tomorrow."
And with that the girl went to write down the timetable for Susie. She returned with the paper and gave it to her. "There you are!" she said. Susie took it without a word. Pan's eyes glinted with slight fury for just a second then she smiled again and asked, "Do you play football?"
"I don't play anything."
"Nothing? Then how are you so fit?"
"I practice yoga and I exercise," Susie replied.
Trunks walked up to them at that moment. "Hey Panny!" he grinned. "Hello Trunks! What's up?"
Trunks winked in reply and said, "Panny, look out for my sister, okay? Take care of her."
"I don't need anyone to take care of me, Trunks," Susie interjected in a cold voice.
"Oh, but you do."
"I don't."
"You do."
"I don't."
"You do."
"I don't."
"You do."
"I DON'T!" Susie yelled at him at last. He raised his hands in surrender and then, after exactly three seconds he lowered his hands and said, "You do."
Susie glared at him and then walked away whereas Trunks chuckled. "Seriously Trunks?" Pan asked.
"I am right. She does need someone to look out for her."
"You annoyed her."
"What are elder brothers there for?" Trunks asked innocently and Pan rolled her eyes at him.
After Vegeta's family had left, the Son family settled down to have a talk.
"I think the girl is a piece of work," Goten said, "So fiery."
"Yeah, but I liked her," Gohan and Videl said together. The two looked at each other and grinned.
"She's been through a lot," Chi Chi said.
"It will take time for her to open up," Goku added.
"She doesn't have the etiquette t even say 'thank you'," Pan said, "But I think, I think she is nice. Short-tempered, I'd say, and reserved, but bad? No."
"She needs a friend," Gohan said, "And from what I saw, she and Bulla don't get along."
Pan smiled widely and said, standing up and walking to the centre, "I will be her friend."
