Morning After

"Man I wish I could hear what your mom is saying to Vegeta." Goten said, curiously peering out the second floor window of Trunks' makeshift room. He could just see the two arguing, and though his sensitive hearing could catch words through the thick glass when they raised their voices, it was not nearly enough to piece together the actual conversation. "I bet she's letting him have it." He added, finding a small smile on his face at that idea.

"I wouldn't be so sure Goten. My dad's learned how to be quite the diplomat with her. And I mean... he talked us down."

"Yea I guess, didn't stop us from beating him down though." Goten said with an accomplished smirk, pulling himself away from the window and taking a seat on the nearby couch.

"Heh, I don't think we're much better off than him Goten." Trunks said rubbing a somewhat swollen lump on the side of his head from where Vegeta had smashed the two boy's heads together. "I gotta ask though Goten. What the hell is your head made of? Feels like I'm going to have a headache for the rest of my life."

Goten started laughing, but the laugh quickly turned into a groaning as he keeled over from the sharp pain laughing had caused in his sides. Trunks smirked, rolling his eyes slightly at Goten. As he continued to watch Goten groan, he noticed that blood was still trickling out of Goten's nose, exasperated by his earlier laughing and his current forward leaning. Trunks stood up from where he was sitting and walked towards his friend.

Goten narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Trunks approach him. "What are you doing Trunks?" Goten inquired, suspicious of Trunks' actions. Goten found his right hand instinctively rise to his face, covering his nose, personifying that suspicion.

Trunks leaned down towards Goten from where he stood. "Come on Goten." Trunks said irritably, brushing aside the hand Goten was using to guard his nose. "I need to set that. That is, unless you'd rather have a deformed nose to go with the rest of your face." Trunks said, smirking slightly, hoping to break some of Goten's apprehension with a jest.

Goten frowned at Trunks, but allowed Trunks' hand to push his guarding hand aside. Goten was not looking forward to this. He tensed up slightly from the pain Trunks caused as Trunks grasped ahold of his nose lightly.

"You know what you're doing… right Trunks?" Goten said slowly. Trunks wasn't exactly the most gentle person around, and the few times Goten had had his nose set before (by his father or Gohan) it had hurt like hell.

"Yea, don't worry Goten. I've done this plenty of times." Trunks began, feeling Goten untense slightly. "Just hold still." With that, Trunks yanked hard on Goten's nose, pushing the cartilage and bone back into their proper place with a slight grinding noise. Doing so drew out a yelp of pain from Goten.

"Kame that hurts Trunks!" Goten said.

"Oh quiet you big baby." Trunk said, backing away from Goten with a slight roll of his eyes. "You're fine now."

Goten's nose was congested with blood for a few brief moments following Trunks' setting of his nose, once it had cleared, Goten found he could breathe correctly out of his nose again. Each inhalation through his nose caused a slight reverberation of pain, but nothing too significant. Goten raised a hand up to his face, grazing his nose slightly.

"Hey thanks Trunks…" Goten said somewhat impressed that Trunks knew how to do that correctly. Though he guessed it shouldn't have been that surprising. Trunks was probably constantly punched in the face by Vegeta.

"Yea no problem. I'm gonna go shower. Mom said the one downstairs is working again." Trunks narrowed his eyes at Goten. It was Goten who broke it last time after all. "Try not to break anything."

Goten merely grinned the Son grin, a hand moving to the back of his head to try and shrug off the look Trunks was giving him.

Trunks and Goten were sitting on the couch of the B dormitory living room. The two had cleaned themselves up, tending to any major injury and washing off the dirt and grit from the night's early fight. They were still covered in bruises, marks and cuts, but those would be completely healed in a few days.

Goten looked towards Trunks before asking "We're not really going to go to bed already are we Trunks?"

"Nah, I'm still way to wired from that fight." Trunks replied. He was a little surprised the Goten was actually asking him if they were going to bed. When they were little, Trunks had always been the leader and would usually make decisions for the both of them. Now though, there wasn't a clear leader of the duo.

Goten nodded in agreement. Despite how tired and sore his body was, he was still very much awake. As he casually placed a hand on his leg, he felt a small object in one of his pockets. He shifted in his seat slightly as he fished a hand into his pocket to uncover the item's identity. It was the Senzu bean Gohan had given him earlier. For a moment, Goten considered eating it, but the thought quickly dissolved as he recalled that he had gotten it for Bra. Bra…

"I really hope Bra's going to be alright…" Goten said, more thinking aloud then talking to Trunks.

"She'll be fine Goten." Trunks said, forcing confidence into his voice. It's not that he didn't believe what he was saying, but he didn't want to convey his worry to Goten.

"I hope so." Goten replied flatly, exhaling deeply.

In an attempt to find a diversion from this topic, an idea suddenly crossed Trunks' mind. He said he was going to do this earlier, and this seemed like an opportune time. Goten would have a lot of difficulty running away or instant transmitting himself away from Trunks right now. And he was already softened up, which, if it came to it, would make Trunks job of beating him till he talked all the easier.

"So Goten…" Trunks began leadingly, looking to Goten with a serious look.

"Yea Trunks?" Goten asked, returning Trunks' serious look with one of curiosity.

"How was the date with Valese?"

Trunks saw Goten look away from him, breaking eye contact. Trunks knew what that meant – Goten was going to try and lie.

"It was…" Goten paused thinking about the correct way to phrase it. He didn't really feel like talking about Valese right now, especially when he'd had a hard time getting his mind of Bra, but he had a sneaking suspicion Trunks wasn't going to be happy with that. "Okay I guess." He concluded.

Goten's mind quickly looked for an exit, a way to get the attention off himself. But no sooner had he opened to mouth to ask Trunks how his date was, then Trunks was bearing down on him, a hand reaching for Goten's face. Goten was shocked for a moment at Trunk's actions, and before Goten had a chance to try and defend himself, Trunk's hand was under Goten's nose, palm facing up, applying just a slight amount of pressure to Goten's still tender nose. Goten attempted to wrestle himself out from under Trunks, but between Trunk's hand on his fragile nose and Trunk's other hands resisting any attempt Goten made to try and move away from Trunks, Goten realized Trunks had him caught. With his energy so low, and Trunks keeping his hands down, he had no chance to try and tune in an energy signal to instant transmit too. After Goten had stopped struggling beneath Trunks' hold, and their eyes had once more locked, both with serious looks, Trunks spoke.

"I swear to Kame Goten. You're going to tell me what's going on with you and Valese, or I'm breaking your nose again. And trust me, it won't be so easy to fix next time."

Goten's eyes burned back into Trunks' fiercely. Goten was furious that Trunks was going to this length to force him to talk. As their eyes continued battling though, Goten saw something. It was a look of resentment and hurt in the back of Trunks' eyes. Maybe Goten did owe him an explanation – Trunks was supposed to be his best friend after all. They didn't share everything, but they always shared the important things. Him breaking up with Valese – that was kind of a big deal. Kame knows Goten got mad at Trunks when Trunks kept important stuff from him.

Using what strength he could muster, Goten shoved Trunks off of him, knowing he would be unlikely to be able to do so again. As Trunks moved to reengage Goten, Goten spoke.

"Fine Trunks."

At those words, Trunks stopped he advance, considering Goten carefully. After a moment, Trunks backed away, and retook his original seat.

"We've been having a lot of problems – trust issues mainly… she thinks I'm keeping secrets from her."

"Well you kinda are." Trunks interrupted, but was quickly silenced by the look Goten gave him. He gestured for Goten to continue.

"Anyways, she seemed to get this crazy notion a while ago that I was cheating on her, which is fucking ridiculous. But I let it slide, as I have to admit I wasn't exactly the perfect boyfriend, and yea I was keeping other stuff from her. But that was about a month ago. Things seemed to be getting better, but tonight…" Goten shook his head.

"What happened tonight?" Trunks asked, having followed Goten's words with intense interest. Especially after hearing Goten swear. Goten hadn't taken on Trunks' relatively filthy mouth which made Goten's use of swear words much more impactful.

"I broke up with her."

"Really? Shit man… what did she do?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Trunks asked, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head slightly.

"Yea. And that was the problem. I kept feeling like I had to force things, fake them almost." Goten shrugged. "The weird thing is I'm okay with it. I mean I still feel bad because she got pretty upset. But the fact that we're over, it really isn't bothering me like I thought it would."

"Huh.." Trunks replied. "You don't have some other girl lined up do you Goten?"

Goten exhaled in exasperation. "That's exactly what she said too." He frowned. "Why does everyone think that!"

"I was just kidding dude. Relax."

Goten rolled his eyes at Trunks. "Whatever. How was your date?"

"Good. Kendra's a fun girl. But I don't really see us getting serious"

"Why not?"

Trunks shrugged, though Goten had a good idea why not. It started with an "M" and ended with an "arron".

"Since you and Valese are over, what are you going to do now?" Trunks asked.

"I dunno. Honestly, I think it might be a good idea if I take a break from girls for a while." Goten sighed, leaning back against the couch as a smirk drew across his face. "You know, my dad is convinced girls are the reason I'm not a Super Saiyan 3 yet."

"Heh, my dad said pretty much the same thing. Well… he also added school, tv, video games, you, and basically anything that doesn't involve me training in a room for 12 plus hours a day."

"Typical Vegeta." Goten said with an amused grin. Trunks mirrored that look as he nodded in agreement. Vegeta needed to learn to relax a little more.

"Yea that's for sure. But I really need to make sure I heard you right. Are you really off girls Goten?"

"I guess. I just need a break for a while I think."

"Goten Son, swearing off girls. I never thought I'd hear that" Trunks snickered at Goten. That idea did seem pretty outlandish to Trunks. Since Goten was about 13 years old, Trunks had trouble recalling anytime Goten didn't have a girl or girls around him. Truth was Trunks had been much the same way. Girls seemed drawn to them; whether it was the powerful vibe they gave off, the constant need for secrecy, their nearly flawless physiques, Goten's goofiness or Trunks' intelligence, or any other number of qualities, they generally had an easy time attracting girls. Their mothers had constantly cautioned them though. Letting others get too close to them was always a dangerous thing.

"Yea well it's only temporarily. Maybe that'll give you an actual shot with girls." Goten jabbed back at Trunks. He was tempted to bring up the fact that Trunks still hadn't gotten anywhere with Marron, while Goten had, albeit years ago. But he knew that'd be crossing the line so he kept the comment under wraps. Goten knew Trunks had a thing for Marron, but Trunks got really testy anytime she was brought up, which made it difficult for Goten to gauge exactly how much Trunks liked her. He also knew Marron was one of Bra's best friends, which undoubtedly made things complicated for Trunks.

"Yea yea Goten." Trunks said with a sneer.

"Are you going to see Kendra again?"

"Yea. Next week. Anyways Goten, let's go play a game or something. I still feel like blowing stuff up."

Bra's eyes opened allowing them to be filled with the dark blues and purple of her room, illuminated by the morning sun that fell through her window. She closed her eyes – the bright light was irritating to her eyes. She opened her eyes again, slower this time, allowing them to adjust to the light. She attempted to sit up, but felt a powerful surge of pain from her abdomen quickly flooded her senses and she fell back down onto her bed, taking a few deep breaths to normalize her breathing

For a moment, she couldn't recall what had caused her to feel such pain when she sat up, but the previous night's events quickly flooded back into her mind. She found herself frowning, but she was not nearly as tense or upset as she had been last night. She tried to sit up again; between clenched teeth and anticipation of the pain, she was able to do so. Once she was sitting upright, she continued to run through the previous night's events, frowning once more when Goten came into focus. However, before she had a chance to go on a mental tirade against him and herself, she caught sight of her father. He was in her desk chair, his head firmly laid against the back of her chair, fast asleep.

She couldn't restrain a smile as she looked at him, wondering if he'd been there the whole night, worrying about her. She had a suspicion he had been, but it was unlikely she'd ever know for sure. He'd undoubtedly deny it if she asked him. Still, she couldn't help smiling. He looked surprisingly peaceful as he slept, not able to make the required conscious effort to look permanently annoyed and displeased. A closer inspection revealed that he was covered in the marks of a fight beyond the one they had engaged in. Bra paused for a second before realizing who must have given them to him. A smile pulled across her lips as she sighed. With how she and Trunks had been drifting lately, she was somewhat surprised Trunks had stood up to their father on her behalf.

With a great deal of labored effort – sharp gasps for air from the pain moving caused – she was able to move herself over to the edge of the bed. Her legs in particular felt like they were on fire as her sheets dragged across her still raw and aching skin. She moved her feet over the edge of her bed, slowly sliding from the support of her bed onto her shaky and untrustworthy legs. She had to grab ahold of the end post of her bed to avoid falling over. After a few minutes of slowly relaxing weight off the endpost and onto her legs, her footing became sure and she let go of her bedpost, being careful to keep her balance. Now that she was standing upright, and not having to worry about her legs failing her, she was finally able to see the extent of the injuries on her legs. A deeply recessed and crimson red crevice ran along her right leg from her knee, past her thigh and almost up to her hips. It just missed slipping underneath her red underwear. The skin looked almost as though it had been singed right off causing her to cringe at the sight of it. Her left leg, while more bruised and marked up, didn't have any major injuries and felt significantly more steady and less painful then her right leg. After having stood on her legs for a minute or two – the time it took her to look herself over and to return her breathing to normal – the deep pulsating waves of pain from her legs had receded to a dull but continuous ache. Cautiously, she took a step. And then another. Though each step aggravated her already painful body, each step became easier; the pain more bearable.

Once she felt confident walking, Bra made her way over to her father. As she approached, she heard his deep rhythmic breathing more clearly. Though she couldn't say for sure, she thought she heard the slightest inkling of a snore amidst his breathing. "How unbecoming for a prince" she thought with a smirk.

Bra was actually surprised her movements hadn't woken her father. He was usually extremely sensitive to changes in his environment and energy even while asleep. He had called it a "necessity of survival" to be aware of your environment at all times, even while asleep. She recalled numerous instances where she had attempted to sneak out of the house once she was sure everyone was asleep, only to be greeted to her father blocking her path with a less than impressed frown on his face before he'd point her back to her room. That's not to say he didn't ever allow her to leave or anything silly like that, just that he always seemed to have a high level of awareness of what was going on around him, especially when it related to Bra. He was pretty protective over her.

She bent down so she was at his level. Curious, she waved a hand in front of his face, coming dangerously close to touching him. Still no reaction. He must have been pretty damn exhausted if he still wasn't reacting. She grinned slightly, realizing this would be an opportune time to hug her father, if only for the sake of embarrassing him. Vegeta very rarely let anyone hug him, even Bra, so the opportunity to do so without him putting up any sort of resistance was far too enticing to the Saiyan princess. She knew it'd be physically painful to do so (and it was) but she forced herself to do it anyways. She half tackled-half hugged him, nearly knocking them both out of her chair as she wrapped her arms around him tight, leaning against his steel-solid chest. For a moment she was left in silence before she heard a grumbling and felt him stirring in her arms as he woke. She shifted her face so she was looking up at him.

"Bra?" he began unsurely as his eyes focused in on his location. He was slightly confused at his surroundings before he recalled he had told Bulma he would look over Bra for the night, and he must therefore have been in Bra's room. He looked down to see his daughter hugging him tightly. Though it sent a mix of pain and uncomfortable tension through him, the look she was giving him quickly flushed away his hard stare, forcing him to exhale deeply to avoid smiling.

Bra could hear the irritation in his sigh, but she could also hear how forced it was. In fact, for a moment, she could have sworn he was about to return the gesture before his usual self got the better of him.

"Bra get off me." He stated firmly, but made no motion to remove himself from the hug. It took Bra several moments before she felt comfortable letting go of him. As she stepped back from him, he saw his eyes quickly looking her over, focus going to her injuries – the deep gash in her right leg in particular made him frown.

"I take it you're better." He stated. Not as a question, but more as a fact. Bra sighed, rolling her eyes slightly. Sometimes she really wished her father would just ask her things instead of trying to use leading statements to draw out information. But of course he had to maintain his façade of indifference towards everyone. Truth was, Bra knew he wanted to ask her if she was okay, and all the usual fatherly stuff, but for reasons Vegeta and Bulma would only elude to, Vegeta had difficulty expressing emotions more complicated than "I'm hungry", "I'm right, you're wrong", or "I'm going to beat the shit out of you.". It seemed he was often unsure if or how to express them. And from what her mother said, he was softer now than when she'd first met him. It was hard for Bra to imagine him being that much less emotional – at that point he might as well have been a wall with an emotional range like that.

"Yea daddy… still really sore. What happened to you though?" she said, gesturing towards his injuries. "Did Trunks finally get the better of you?" She grinned.

Vegeta scoffed at her implication. "He had Goku's youngest brat to help him." He spoke gruffly.

"Goten?" Bra said curiously, looking to her father. Goten usually went out of his way to avoid Vegeta, even more so to avoid confrontation with Vegeta, so it did seem slightly surprising. "Really?"

Bra paused as Vegeta's eyes focused on her intensely, narrowing slightly. She met his glare with one of her own, entering into a standoff with him. However, she was well aware that she wasn't going to win this, so after a few moments she dutifully broke eye contact before speaking.

"What?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips to convey her seriousness, but wincing from the pain as she did so. Vegeta said nothing, standing up from her chair exhaling deeply. He shook his head before he made to exit her room.

As Bra saw him leaving, a thought bore its way into her mind. The thought was a desire to train with Vegeta again. She wasn't sure why the desire was resurfacing – Usually any need to train vanished after a single round with her father, and Kame knows her body was screaming at her about what a terrible idea it was – but she couldn't ignore it. She hurried over to him as he passed through her doorframe, placing a hand on his shoulder as a way of asking him to stop.

"Dad… can we train again soon?" She asked. She immediately felt him tense beneath her hand as he stopped dead in his tracks. Conflicting emotions crossed Vegeta's face as he kept his back to her. Vegeta was surprised at how well she seemed to be dealing with her injuries. He was shocked she still wanted to train after last night. Vegeta wasn't even sure how much he believed his own reasoning about what had happened last night. He hoped she was finally embracing her Saiyan side – it'd been something he'd been dyeing to see since she was a child – but he wasn't foolish enough to believe it was that simple. Something was motivating her to do this beyond a simple ancestral desire. But he decided that whatever her motives were though, they were hers to keep and reveal as she saw fit. If she wanted to train, he felt little desire to deny her – aside from the fear of hurting her. He'd be sure to go a little easier on her next time. Vegeta nodded, still keeping his back to her before speaking. "You know where to find me when you're ready." And with that he left her, a content smile on her face.

Once her father was gone, Bra returned her look back into her room, her eyes catching a glimpse of the glaring red digits of the alarm clock by her bed.

8:12

She'd need to hurry to get ready for school.

Bra pulled a red tank top down over her head, careful to avoid dragging it across her forearms. She faltered a few times, causing a slight flare up of pain. At this point her body's pain had become more an annoyance then a debilitation. She nearly lost her balance as she finished slipping her top on – she still felt a little off centered. A cursory glance behind her showed the time once more

8:36

Close. She'd have to hurry if she didn't want to risk missing the bus. With her speed clearly impaired, running to school wasn't a viable option if she wished to avoid being seen. That pretty much just left Trunks to drive her if she missed the bus. That didn't seem like a very appealing option at the moment, as he no doubt would grill her about last night. So she moved swiftly, sweeping up her backpack from the floor. She'd grab some fruit from the kitchen for breakfast. As she was picking up her backpack however, there was a knock from the door. Bra knew who it was – honestly she was surprised it taken this long for this person to come to her room. Bra took a deep breath before turning around to face her mother.

"Bra hunny, how are you feeling?" Bulma asked once Bra had acknowledged her. Bra felt a slight rise of irritation as her mother entered her room without asking, but after what her mother did last night, Bra had little recourse to complain about her irritation. Bra pushed a few wrinkles in her tank top out, allowing her hands to drape lightly across the small amount of midriff her top didn't cover.

"I'm fine mom." Bra stated firmly, meeting her mother's concerned look with a smile.

"Are you sure? You know you don't need to go to school…" Bulma began moving closer to her daughter to get a better look at her injuries. Bulma was surprised her daughter was up and moving around pretty much like a normal morning. Her injuries certainly looked better than last night, but they still looked painful. After what Vegeta said last night however, Bulma guessed she shouldn't have been surprised. Saiyans made it a point to shrug off near fatal injuries as minor annoyances, and as Vegeta had firmly reminded her, Bra was half Saiyan. Even so, Bra was still her little girl, and she couldn't shake the image of frailty that had developed over the years.

"I know mom. But I don't really feel like hanging around her all day by myself. Really, I'm fine. Just sore." Bra replied back, running a hand through her hair, making sure it was firmly being held back by her headband. Bra looked away from her mother for a moment – hoping her mother's look would soften. When it didn't, Bra sighed.

"What mom?"

"You sure you're alright?"

"Yes." Bra said, growing irritated at having to repeat herself. She moved past her mother towards her doorway. "I'm fine. But I gotta go"

As Bra was moving past however, she felt her mother place a hand on her shoulder. Bra stopped and turned to her mother curiously.

"Before you go, Goten said he wanted to talk to you."

"Goten…" Bra repeated with a frown. "He's up already? What does he want?" she asked, trying to keep the apprehension his name had caused her from entering her voice and tipping off her mother. She saw her mother's eyes narrow slightly.

"Yes…" Bulma said slowly and suspiciously. "He didn't say what it was about, just that it was important."

"Oh."

"Bra, what's going on? Does Goten have something to do with what happened last night?"

"No mom, don't be silly." Bra said with a forced laugh, mentally cursing her mother at putting this together. "But I really can't talk to him right now, or I'll be late."

"He did say it was important Bra. He can drive you to school if you're late."

"But mom –"

"I really think you need to talk to him Bra." Bulma stated firmly. Bra merely rolled her eyes before grudgingly making her way out of her room.

As Bra neared the kitchen, she strongly considered whether she should actually listen to her mother. If she did dodge Goten, he would know – his energy sense would make sure of that – which would only make things more awkward. She couldn't shake the paranoia that Goten already knew what had set her off last night.

Her stomach grumbled slightly, clearly conveying its opinion on what she should do. She sighed. "Let's just get this over with" She thought, mentally psyching herself up, and ensuring her breathing was under control. With the uncertainty her new found feelings for Goten were giving her, she decided the best option would be to just try and act normal around Goten. She was good at acting as she knew how far acting around others could get you and what it helped you hide from others - things she'd learned from her mother – but acting around Goten would be difficult.

She stepped into the kitchen to see Goten was indeed there, hunkered over a massive bowl of milk, cereal and fruit. He looked up to her, quickly finishing his current mouthful before flashing a smile at her. Bra wasn't sure if she just imagined it or if he really did shift awkwardly in his seat when he saw her.

Against her better judgment, she returned the smile as she took a few more steps into the kitchen.

"Hey B-Chan!" he said happily. Though she cringed internally at the name, she kept her smile up.

"Hey Goten…" as she got closer to him, her smile faltered. His injuries were much clearer now as she looked him over. Though not as bad as her or her father, he looked in pretty rough shape. Her concentration was broken when he spoke again.

"Something wrong?"

"Huh?" Bra stalled, realizing she might have been looking at him a bit too intensely. "Are you alright Goten?"

"What? Yea I'm fine" he said dismissively. "I was a lot more worried about you… especially after how you were last night…" his smile faded, and she realized that he had been looking over her injuries since he first saw her. That must have been the source of his awkward shift in his chair. He must have been somewhat unnerved seeing her injuries more fully now then last night.

Bra scoffed. She found herself agitated that he was worrying so much about her - though she wasn't entirely sure if that irritation was her pride, or an attempt to distance herself from him and her feelings for him.

"I'm fine. Mom said you wanted to talk to me about something?" she asked, finally taking a seat across from him at the dining table. She wanted to end this conversation promptly before things got overly awkward. She could still catch the bus…

"Oh.. oh yea!" Goten said, his face reforming into a smile. She detected a hint of accomplishment in his face as he removed a hand from the table, plunging it into one of his pant pockets. Bra frowned slightly. Something in his pocket? That's what was soooo important?

A moment later, Goten's hand return onto the table as he reached that hand across the table, slowly opening his palm. Bra leaned in to see the object. It was small, dull and green.

"What is it?" she demanded, her irritation growing. What was so important about this?

"Right, I guess you've never seen one." Goten paused, shaking his palm slightly to move the object around. "It's a senzu bean." He said proudly.

"Senzu Bean…" she repeated, giving her mind the opportunity to tell her what a senzu bean was. She recalled her father and brother having talked about them. They were supposed to be able to be able to heal someone of almost any injury, and had been an essential part of the Z fighter's armory over the years. She also remembered the disgust her father displayed for them. He considered them a crutch – if you couldn't handle your injuries without some magical beans, then you weren't worth your weight as a fighter/warrior. He believed they bred reliance on them, and a weakness to pain and injury. As she recalled this, she found her own feelings to mirror those of her father. Why she couldn't exactly say, but it caused her to frown at the bean and at Goten for intending to use it to nurse himself back to health.

"So you thought it was important to show me some bean before you ate it?" she said rolling her eyes and crossing her arms to show her firmness.

"No…" Goten said, a look of confusion pulling across his usually relaxed features. "I got it for you."

"Me…" she said slowly, uncrossing her arms.

"Well yea… I was so worried and felt so bad after I saw what you were like last night, I went to my brother and managed to get one from him." Goten washed off his confusion and returned her dismissive look with a smile, hoping to see her mirror it. She didn't. He paused for a moment as he realized she actually looked insulted. He quickly ran over the last few minutes, attempting to see if he had infact done something to insult her. He drew a blank.

"So what," she began "You don't think I can handle my injuries and I need your help?"

"Well no, it's just – "

"I don't need or want your help Goten. I can fucking take care of myself." She stood up from the table quickly, knocking her chair to the ground as she did so. Her eyes bore down on him, burning into him. Part of her recoiled in horror at what she was doing, while part of her continued to push her through the tirade she had begun, relishing in the look of horror that was rapidly embracing his features.

"But I got it for you…" he said meekly.

"And I said I don't need it. You take it."

"Trust me bra, it'll help you feel better!" He said, likewise standing up from the table as his voice raised in volume. Though there was no anger in his tone and actions, there was force.

"Maybe I don't fucking want to feel better Goten. Did you ever think of that? Leave me the fuck alone." she stated before storming out of the kitchen, leaving a dumbfounded Goten in silence with his mouth agape.

Bra was sitting in her usual bus seat, avoiding any of the numerous conversations going on around her as she kept her stare out the bus window. Her eyes were twitching slightly, and it was only with incredible mental and physical effort she was able to avoid letting tears come. She had brushed off the few questions that had come her way about her injuries as being "accidents". It didn't take long for those around her to get the message that she didn't want to talk to them.

She was mentally cursing herself and her actions this morning. Goten was only trying to help, and she'd just exploded on him. She was sure Goten had some strong words for her after that scene, even if his personality wouldn't let him convey them. She wouldn't have been surprised if she'd fucked their friendship up royally with that scene – Goten had looked after her, made sure she was alright last night, and this morning had procured something extremely rare to try and make her feel better, and how did she say thanks? By basically telling him to fuck off and stop trying to be her friend. Maybe she was just a terrible person.

"Hey Bra.." someone said, loudly, drawing her attention (and her glare) towards them.

"What?" she said irritably.

"What's that on the back of your shirt?"

"Huh…" she said curiously, reaching a hand behind her and skimming across the back of her tank top. Her hand found something and she quickly pulled it off. It was a piece of rolled up piece paper that had been pinned to her back. She rolled her eyes as she unfolded it, figuring it was some dipshit on the bus who'd stuck it to her. As she unrolled the piece of paper though, a small green object dropped out of the paper and into her hand. The senzu bean.

"How did he…" she began, momentarily shocked. He must have somehow pinned it to her while she'd been waiting that minute for the bus. She turned to the piece of paper to see a small note had been quickly scribbled on it.

"Hey B-Chan,

If I did something to upset you, I'm really sorry. Just tell me what it is and I'll try to make it better okay?

P.S. I know you said you didn't need it, but I attached the senzu bean. Just in case you change your mind."

Bra smiled.

A/N: I know nothing major has really happened in this story yet, but it will, I assure you. I just want to get the setup out of the way :)

Please R/R - Any constructive comments are appreciated