The bell rang, irritating and long. Jackie grinned, excited to get away—if she was lucky, Gohan wouldn't even notice her leave.
She scrambled for her bag, shoving her books into it, and she ran out of the classroom. Gohan had gotten in trouble with the teacher, forced to carry some buckets of water—it was his own fault, of course, for coming back so late.
"Suckers!" Jackie cheered, grinning as she saw the exit to the school coming closer and closer.
She ran a little bit faster, delighted to have her first taste of freedom. Maybe she'd go dye her hair, get them to return it to a shade more her speed—perhaps purple, this time? Anything was better than this dull shade of black—it made her feel like everyone else, boring and plain.
With her blonde hair, she could be different. She could be as popular and pretty as a Barbie Doll, as dreamy as Luna Lovegood, or as scary as every classic science fiction character with bright white hair. Anything was possible.
But with black, she felt limited. Constricted and forced into a tiny box, without any option to choose her identity.
Jackie reached the door, pushing on it, only to feel something pulling her back. She whimpered slightly, seeing her freedom rapidly escape her, as the door slammed closed. It didn't even matter who had grabbed her—it could have been Gohan or Videl. It was all the same.
She was trapped, in a life she couldn't love.
"Jada!" Gohan exclaimed, grinning slightly. "You're sure fast for…you know."
Jackie raised an eyebrow slightly. "What, a weak little human girl? Hmph. No wonder Videl calls you a jerk."
Gohan sighed, starting to get used to Jackie's sense of humor. "Look, I know you're not happy about this…I get it."
"No, you don't," Jackie seethed. "I'm not a Son! I'm not Son Jada!"
She glanced around quickly, seeing that the hall was thankfully vacant. Everyone else had already escaped the prison that was Orange Star High, vanishing into happier places. It was only her and Gohan.
"I hate this!" she whispered furiously, a few tears escaping from her eyes. She pretended not to notice, yet Gohan couldn't help but stare guiltily towards her.
"When I was young, Piccolo took me away from my family," Gohan said, staring at his younger sister. "My dad was dead and…It wasn't easy."
Jackie nodded a bit—she knew all about the stories. She'd pulled it out of them all one way or another, and she could remember everything she had said to them. Only now, it was all gone. Not even Gohan remembered that she had spoken to Cell and Frieza—it never happened.
Somehow, that was more upsetting than the death of her parents.
"This isn't my life!" Jackie protested. "I'm supposed to be famous, interviewing great people and turning them into a mockery!"
Gohan chuckled sadly. "That doesn't sound like much of a life to me, you know. Profiting off of other people's suffering…Did it really make you happy?"
Jackie glared at Gohan a bit, bottling up her feelings inside of her. "Of course! Everyone loved me."
"There you two are!" Videl's voice called out, as she ran down the hallway towards them.
Gohan and Jackie both jumped a bit, looking at her in surprise. Videl was smirking triumphantly, still dressed in her school clothes. Her backpack had been haphazardly slung over her shoulder.
"You two should have left already, if you really have such a long commute!" Videl accused, pointing her finger at the two of them. "I knew you two were lying!"
Jackie and Gohan exchanged a look. Gohan's eyes were filled with fear and Jackie's mind was racing, coming up with an excuse. It was only when she spotted Videl's capsule, sticking out of her pocket slightly, that she got an idea.
"We actually just got a helicopter from Capsule Corp," Jackie explained. "Cuts down on travel time a lot."
"Wha-Oh!" Gohan stammered, looking more nervous by the minute. "Yeah! Jada isn't in boarding school anymore, so we had a bit of extra money lying around, decided to invest it on our education again…"
Videl snorted a bit. "Then I suppose you won't mind if I come home with you two, then?"
Jackie didn't miss a beat. "Why on Earth would you want to come home with us? Don't tell me you have a crush on my brother!"
A blush instantly appeared across Videl's face and she huffed, clenching her fists. She tried a few times to start a sentence, but she seemed incapable of speech.
"Wow, you must have it bad," Jackie said sympathetically. "Come on, Gohan. You're going to help me with a lesson, aren't you?"
Gohan looked surprised—happy, but surprised. He caught on quickly this time and nodded, opening the door for his adoptive sister to exit.
"It was nice seeing you, Videl!" he said, waving goodbye to the frustrated raven-haired girl.
Gohan and Jackie touched down in the 439 mountain range. Jackie shrugged off his touch, looking at the quaint little house that she still couldn't call home. No matter how long she lived there, she still felt distant to it all.
She thought of her tiny flat in London whenever someone asked her where home was—not this place.
"So…" Gohan began sheepishly. "Do you want me to train you?"
Jackie looked away from him, trying to appear tough by hiding her face. Truthfully, she wished that she could have talents like the rest of her newfound family—but the effort continued to put her off.
"Sure," she said nonchalantly. "I don't want to be like you, though—obsessed with training all of the time."
Gohan chuckled a bit, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to hide your emotions from me, you know."
"I'm not doing anything of the sort!" Jackie protested, hearing Goten happily run out of the house.
"Jada! Gohan!" Goten squealed, jumping onto Jackie. It was like having a cannonball cuddle up to her, and she fell to the ground easily, groaning a bit as her head was slammed into the ground.
"Woah, guy!" Gohan cautioned, picking Goten up. "She isn't built like us—you got to go easy on her, okay?"
Jackie winced, picking herself up from the ground gingerly. Perhaps training would be best for her safety—Goten still didn't remember to hold back when roughhousing with her. The idea of what would happen to her if both Goten and Trunks tried something terrified her.
"Sorry!" Goten giggled, wiggling his way out of Gohan's arms. "I've just never had a sister before! I forget she's breakable."
Jackie glared at him sharply. "Well, Gohan is going to train me! And then I'll be able to school you properly, kid!"
Goten laughed, grinning widely. "Wait…Are you really?" His eyes were wide and his laughter trailed away. He looked up at her and Gohan with confusion, before shrugging a bit, and wandering off to play with the dinosaurs.
Laughing a bit, Gohan looked over at Jackie. "Might as well get started, then. Do you know any martial arts, Jada?"
Jackie paused for a moment, racking her memories for any fighting experience. Most of what she knew came from watching the Z fighters—she didn't pay too close attention, however.
"Nope," she admitted, her cheeks going a bit red. She hated not knowing things—she had to know everything. It was her calling.
"That's okay," Gohan offered kindly. "You'll pick it up in no time, I'm sure of it."
You say that to everyone, don't you…
"Great," Jackie said, smiling forcedly. "I'll just go get changed into something proper for exercising, then?"
Gohan had taken Jackie away from the house, in order to save her from being embarrassed by ChiChi. Her technique wasn't going to be the greatest, and having the Ox Princess breathe down her neck wouldn't help at all.
"The first thing you're going to need to know are the basic types of kicks," Gohan instructed. "There are front kicks, sidekicks, and round kicks. You could include twist kicks in with this, but honestly, that one is a little more advanced."
Jackie stared at him blankly.
"Right…" Gohan paused, uncertain as to what to do. "The key to each kick is the chamber. If you don't chamber is properly, you don't get any power. It makes a front kick different than a soccer kick."
"You mean a football kick," Jackie interjected.
Gohan nodded. "Here, I'll do one, and then you do one. Alright?"
He picked up his left leg, folding his knee tightly against his chest. His balance was perfect, and then he kicked his leg out, like he was stomping the air.
"You can also snap a front kick up," Gohan added. "It doesn't matter, really, as long as you use the ball of your feet to kick with—you don't want to kick with your heel."
Jackie bit her lip while frowning, bringing her foot up in the way Gohan showed her. Wobbling a bit, she brought her knee in, and then she kicked out, more aiming upward than pushing like Gohan had. The material of her pants seemed to crackle as she did it, whipping with the wind.
"That's good!" Gohan praised. "Now, do that again on each leg, ninety nine times."
"You've got to be kidding me…." Jackie sighed, before starting the grueling challenge.
Jackie got to work, doing kicks as fast as she could. Quickly, she began to break into a sweat, feeling strained with each kick. Gohan didn't even seem to be paying attention to her, practicing a form a few feet away.
They make this look so easy… Jackie thought bitterly. It seemed like hours had passed before she had completed her kicks for one leg, and she was panting profusely. Luckily, Gohan had left a water bottle out for her, and she gulped it all down rapidly.
"Don't give up!" Gohan cautioned, grunting as he did a reverse three sixty sidekick effortlessly.
"Yeah, yeah…" Jackie grumbled, returning to work.
It was a little easier to get into the mentality of the work, but her legs were wobbling from fatigue. She could feel her muscles burning as she repeated the drill, kicking the air over and over again.
"Agh!" she screamed, falling to the ground. Gohan glanced over at her, laughing, but didn't cease his own training. As far as Jackie could tell, he hadn't even broken a sweat.
"Don't laugh at me!" she exclaimed, returning to the drill with even more determination to be perfect. She could see everyone's faces—everyone who had ever hurt her—as she kicked. It was as if she was breaking all of them, and a rush of endorphins went straight to her head.
Perhaps this was why they obsess over this…
"Finished!" Jackie cheered, panting as she collapsed onto the ground. Her entire body felt like it was throbbing from the pain, and she couldn't have moved if she wanted to. If she did, she figured she would lose what little food was left in her stomach.
"Great!" Gohan exclaimed. "Let's move onto the sidekick now. It's very similar."
She didn't even have the energy to groan, watching Gohan wordlessly as he pivoted his foot and brought his knee in, similar to before, but sideways this time. He pushed out, forming a ninety degree angle, and then brought his foot back in before setting it down.
Grabbing the water bottle with the remaining strength she had, Jackie guzzled it, not caring when some of it got all over her. Her hair was already sticky with sweat, molded into awkward clumps.
"Jada?" Gohan asked, peering down at her. "You're not tired yet, are you?"
"No," she muttered sarcastically. "I'm just peachy."
"Great!" Gohan exclaimed, missing her tone completely. "After you master the round kick, then we'll be done with training today."
Groaning, Jackie let her head hit the ground, causing her to cry a bit feebly. Gohan either didn't hear or he pretended not to, as he returned to his own work on his form. Pulling herself to her feet on trembling legs, Jackie quickly recalled the instructions he had given her, and she shakily tried a sidekick.
Eventually, she got the hang of it. She felt sick most of the time, hardly able to stand, and drenched in sweat. Yet she could feel herself getting better at it, the kick slowly becoming stronger and stronger. The more she pushed herself, the more that she had to gain. Pivoting her foot became second nature by the time she was on her other leg, slowly pummeling the air into oblivion.
"That's it!" Gohan encouraged, glancing over at her. He had finally started to sweat slightly, though nowhere near as much as Jackie. She muttered something mocking under her breath, not ceasing with the motion. It was harder for her to start again than it was to stop.
Gohan stopped his form, walking over to watch her last few kicks. They were decent for someone of her skill level—fantastic, even, as she was kicking about a foot above her waist. He grinned, seeing the talent come out of her that apparently even an adoptive member of the Son family possessed.
"I'm so tired," Jackie whimpered, finishing her last kick. "Can I be done yet?"
"Not yet," Gohan said, smiling kindly. "I know it's hard—but you're going to get back what you put into it."
Jackie frowned sharply, but consented to watching Gohan demonstrate the round kick. It looked a lot like a sidekick to her, only he didn't push his foot out. Instead, he snapped it across.
"It's also called a roundhouse kick," Gohan added, putting his foot back down. "So, just do those on each leg, and we'll call it quits."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Jackie sighed, starting her round kicks. She had gotten used to being sore out of her mind, as well as panting and feeling near puking. Honestly, I'm pretty sure there's some sort of principle against this… Yet she continued on, wobbling slightly and falling onto the ground a few times.
Gohan watched over her, critiquing her form, and giving her motivation to finish strong. When she finished her last kick, he started to clap, as she fell to the ground, heaving.
"Gohan!" she groaned. "Never do this to me again!"
He chuckled nervously, holding the back of his head. "Well, you see, you're going to get so much better…"
"Not if I'm puking!" she protested, coughing and spluttering. "I swear, if I throw up, I'm telling Mom!"
Gohan brushed it off, pretending not to notice her slip of the tongue. Jackie, for her part, immediately turned red—yet not from exertion. She tried to think up of some sort of explanation for the slip—perhaps, she could convince Gohan she had been sarcastic.
But there was no use—Gohan wouldn't buy it. He knew that she hadn't been pulling anything when she said "Mom" instead of "ChiChi."
"She'll just tell you that you need to do your homework," Gohan pointed out. "Tomorrow, anyways, we'll be working on hand techniques—are you sure you haven't done martial arts before? You're getting the hang of this quickly."
He grinned, helping her up and half carrying her back to the house. Every part of her body was aching, yet Jackie was strangely content. She didn't even mind so much that she felt like puking and dying. She was happy, oddly enough.
Perhaps being a Son wasn't so bad after all.