Chapter 038 - The Terrifying Return
Having to come to terms with the sudden change in her daily regiment, Corset found herself amongst a small swarm of children the same age as her all trying to pack themselves into one room. She was thankful she'd been one of the first to enter her classroom as now the doorway was become congested with excited, loud children swarming around the room like flies! Trying her best not to get into too much of a conversation with Kana who'd thankfully now started talking to other people, Corset glanced out the window watching the city outside.
She wondered if Piccolo would scold her for having to go to school. Her training would definitely suffer for this!
It turned out that the woman who'd approached Corset in the playground was in fact her homeroom teacher. The lady strolled into the classroom, almost indifferent to the energetic children chatting loudly and running around.
"Well good morning to you all!" Her voice was loud, clear and amazingly cut through the muffled chatter of the other children, who'd almost instantly quietened down. Corset was impressed!
"I am Miss Abacus and I shall be the homeroom teacher of class 1-B," the lady smiled, spelling her name out on the board in front of the class. "Now in order to get to know one another, we're going to go around the class. Each one of you will stand up, tell us your name and a little bit about yourself. We'll start from the front of the row closest to the door."
Corset watched as one by one, each child stood up and introduced themselves. Slowly the turn moved across the classroom.
"Hi, my name is Kana!" Kana smiled standing up. "I have one older sister who is in the sixth grade and my mummy and daddy work as doctors. I hope to make as many friends as possible!" She sat back down again and grinned at Corset. "That was fun!" She whispered.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Miss Abacus cut in with a smile, though her voice commanded authority rather than encouragement. The comment left Kana with her hands across her mouth and a reddening face, the rest of the class not sure whether or not to giggle or remain dead silent.
It wasn't long until it was Corset's turn. She stood up, heart pounding as all eyes fell on her. "Um... My name is Corset Brief. I don't have any brothers or sisters and my mama and grandpa run Capsule Corporation..." With that she hurriedly sat down.
The class had gone silent, much to her discomfort. What was going on? Had she said something strange?
"... I didn't realise we had such a prestigious person here!" Miss Abacus exclaimed. "... Well, thank you very much Miss Brief. Next student please."
Corset didn't look up; she could feel her cheeks reddening. She had no idea what prestigious meant but she had a feeling a lot of the children were now talking about her!
"I didn't know your mama worked at Capsule Corp!" Kana cried in awe once homeroom had ended, the children waiting for their teacher to arrive so their next lesson could start. "So you live in that huge yellow building? Wow... your house is big! It's the biggest I've ever seen!"
Corset nodded, not really wanting to say much about her home or her family. Was it that much of a shock to people?
"Wow... I know someone famous!" Kana squealed.
Corset looked up for the first time surprised. "Famous?" She knew her grandpa's company was very big in the world but she'd never considered that her family were famous people.
"Yeah, of course!" Kana nodded enthusiastically. "Everyone I know knows about Capsule Corporation! People say that your grandpa made a really huge monster thing recently! What was it? It was huge and green! The sky went dark when it appeared; it scared my mummy and my sister but I thought it was cool!"
Corset gasped horrified realising Kana was referring to Porunga! She had to think of something to say.
"Um... well... Uh... It was just an experiment my grandpa did... I think... I don't know what he does." She spluttered quietly.
"Wow... I wish I could become an inventor and make big scary monster-things!" Kana grinned. "Wow..."
"Alright class," Another teacher had walked into the room. "I know it's all exciting with it being your first day at school but we have a task for you all today! During this time you will be doing what we call maths. I am Mrs. Metric."
Break time soon came and all the children were sent outside. The playground was quickly invaded by a large crowd of energetic, excitable children, around one-hundred-and-fifty children now occupying the concrete site.
Kana had decided to drag Corset to meet her other friends, quickly spotting them. "Everyone, this is Corset Brief; she's in my class and is now gonna be our new friend."
"Um... Hello..." Corset waved awkwardly, two sets of eyes now looking at her.
"This is Pen," Kana pointed to the blonde girl, "and this is Keisu," she then pointed to the dark-haired girl. "They're the friends I was talking about earlier."
"Hello," Keisu smiled.
"Nice to meet you," Pen nodded. "Your name's weird! I've never heard it before... Cassette?"
"Corset," Corset corrected her.
"Hey guess what?" Kana grinned. "Her mummy and grandpa run Capsule Corp!"
"What? Really?" Keisu gasped. "My papa works there too!"
"Wow, your family must have lots of money!" Pen cried. "Do you have a lot of toys? How many rooms does your house have?"
"Um... I guess I do," Corset slowly nodded, once again feeling awkward, "I don't know how many rooms we have; there are lots!"
"Wow, I wish I was you!" Pen sighed. "Hey, we should come around your house! That way we can see how big it is inside!"
Corset frowned feeling herself blushing again. Everyone seemed to be so interested in what her family did. Why was it so important? No one else's families seemed to be getting the same attention!
Thankfully after lunchtime, the children were free to go home, although there were club activities recruiting. Corset managed to escape without being spotted and ran all the way home, albeit slow enough to look like she was an average child running rather than at the speed she knew she was capable of. Her mother had repeatedly told her last night not to show anyone what she was able to do and to try and blend in.
Finally the large yellow building lay in front of her, separated from her only by the large green lawn. Corset felt so relieved to be able to relax for the afternoon after the eventful morning she'd just had. Perhaps she should go and find Piccolo and train with him...?
Something caught her ear.
Corset looked up into the sky; she could hear something high-pitched...
The ground suddenly shuddered violently, knocking her off her feet as something crashed. Frantically she dashed around the side of the house anxious to find out what had happened.
She was surprised to see what had landed.
It was one of her grandpa's ships!
"Hey, don't get too close to that!"
Corset jerked like a cat and looked to see who'd shouted out. Yamcha rushed past her and stopped between her and the ship, putting his guard up. Corset did the same and watched as the ship door opened. She noticed in the corner of her eye that her nana and mama had also appeared.
Out stepped Vegeta. He took a couple of steps down the ramp before turning around to look at the small group that had gathered.
"Vegeta, what do you want?" Yamcha demanded, Puar latching onto his shoulder. Although he was acting all tough Corset could tell he was a little nervous standing off against her dad. He couldn't really blame him for that.
"... I see Kakarrot hasn't returned..." Vegeta muttered.
"What? You didn't find him in space?" Yamcha seemed taken back; guard suddenly back up as Vegeta leapt off the ship, landing inches from him.
"Don't remind me, I'm angry enough to hurt someone and pounding you might just be the therapy I need!" Vegeta spat.
Corset could feel the tension between the two men and gulped, a little worried for Yamcha's safety.
"Hey guys, what's that awful smell?" Bulma walked forwards much to Corset's surprise, poking her dad in the chest with a finger. "Oh, it's you! When was the last time you bathed? You need a bath."
What was her mother doing? Corset had never seen her act like this before and grew worried; she hoped her father wouldn't try to hurt her!
"Please, this way," Bulma pointed turning on her heels and starting to walk towards the building.
To Corset's awe, Vegeta hadn't gone to attack her; instead he just stared through her. She felt just as surprised as Yamcha!
Bulma glanced back over her shoulder. "Well, what? Do you want me to roll out the red carpet or something? It's rude to keep a lady waiting!"
"What?" Vegeta snapped. Now Corset could sense his bloodlust! Again to her amazement it vanished as soon as it had appeared and with a little grunt, Vegeta began to follow her mother.
"... Unreal..." Yamcha mumbled stunned.
"Bulma's got him at her mercy..." Puar added.
"Would anyone like any tea?" Mrs Brief asked, not realising her cups were overflowing!
Corset slowly walked in after her parents, disappearing into her own room to drop her school bag off. By the time she'd come back out, she found Krillin, Yamcha and Puar sitting out on the balcony outside of the living room, her mother hovering between the living room and hallway.
"Here I thought it was Goku getting back," Krillin mumbled sitting back in his seat. "So it was Vegeta instead? Wow, he's so unpredictable, it's hard to tell what his motive is." One eye noticed the small girl appear and he gave a small smile and nod, Corset returning the smile.
"I think he just wants to find Goku," Yamcha replied as she sat herself down on an empty chair. "The poor guy, he's obsessed!"
"He's used to getting what he wants; that's all," Bulma mused, appearing through the opened door. "He's like a spoilt little kid!"
"Sounds like you!" Yamcha joked.
Corset looked at him annoyed; that wasn't a nice thing for him to have said!
"I don't suppose he's ever worn clothes like ours..." Bulma mumbled.
"Oi, servant-woman!"
Corset turned her angry look down the hallway through the living room. She didn't like how he was talking to her mother – it was bad manners to address someone with 'oi'! He was a guest here; he should be polite!
"Bring me a drying cloth at once!"
Bulma didn't move; Corset could see her glaring angrily down the hall and recoiled away slightly. She knew that look. That look meant it was time to stop doing whatever it was she shouldn't be doing and listen to her mother.
"... Woman! Can you hear me?"
"I hear you but my name is Bulma and I am not your servant so say please!" Bulma snapped.
An annoyed grunt came from the other end of the bathroom door. "Forget the stupid drying cloth then!"
"Suit yourself, drip dry you jerk!" Bulma turned back around finally noticing her daughter was present. "Oh, Corset! How did your first day at school go?"
"Huh? You started school today?" Krillin asked.
"Yeah. It was alright..." Corset mumbled. "A lot of the kids were asking me about Capsule Corp."
"Yeah, you'll get a lot of that," Bulma nodded. "Still, I told you it would be fun!"
"Woman! What have you done with my clothes?!"
Bulma glared back over her shoulder. "They were dirty so I put them in the wash! There's a spare set of clothes in there for you."
"... You expect me, the Prince, to wear clothes like these? They're pink!" Vegeta spat from the other side of the door.
"Well then, how about coming out naked?" Bulma answered with a playful smirk. "Besides, it's the style here!" She winked.
Apparently this comment made Krillin and Yamcha laugh. Corset found it embarrassing for her mother to even suggest such a thing and flinched away mortified. She hoped her father would put some clothes on, for her sake.
"This is ridiculous!"
Corset looked around, spotting her father, pleased to see she didn't immediately regret turning as he had donned the clothes left for him. The sight made her struggle not to laugh; at the same time she feared for her mother's life.
"I'm a warrior, not a variety of flower!" Vegeta spat, fists shaking. He'd been given a pink shirt and yellow pants; Corset'd never seen him wearing colours like that... heck, she'd never seen him wearing human clothes!
"Well you smell good and those clothes..." Bulma smirked. "... They suit you better than I thought!" She burst out laughing. Corset couldn't contain it anymore; she burst into fits of laughter along with Krillin and Yamcha.
"Don't laugh!" Vegeta bellowed. "If you value your lives, don't laugh!"
Everyone stopped; Corset putting her hands over her mouth in a bid to stop herself.
"... Until Goku gets here, why not stay here?" Bulma suggested.
Corset's eyes darted over to her mother, was she serious? Her hopes skyrocketed up; she hoped desperately that he'd say yes!
Vegeta grunted and looked away.
"That's a very brave front but I bet you don't have any money to stay in a hotel," Bulma smiled. "If you stay here you'll be one of the first to know when Goku gets back."
This seemed to interest her dad.
"... I'll go get you a room set up, follow me," Bulma walked past the Saiyan and into the house, Vegeta seemed to reluctantly follow.
No one spoke for a while.
"... Am I missing something here?" Krillin asked.
Another month passed by. Corset had grown used to being at school during the mornings and training during the afternoons.
Her last lesson of the day had just ended and lunch was about to start. She, Kana and a boy called Soba were talking in their classroom.
"I don't like maths, it's boring!" Kana groaned. "Why'd we have to do it?"
"It's important," Corset replied.
"My dad said maths is a really important; he uses it lots in his job." Soba added. "I like maths!"
"Really? You're weird, Soba!" Kana giggled.
"No I'm not..." Soba pouted.
Corset giggled alongside Kana, though abruptly stopped. The conversation was then lost on her as she'd stopped listening. Something alarmingly dangerous had caught her attention.
She could feel something was approaching Earth.
She had no idea how close or far it was from the planet but the power she sensed... It was gigantic... What was worst was she felt she recognised it.
It couldn't be!
"Hey, what's your favourite lesson, Corset?" Kana asked.
"... I've gotta go home..." Corset mumbled, rising off her seat and rushing out towards the door.
"Hey, you're not allowed to go home yet! It's lunchtime." Kana called, though it fell on deaf ears.
Corset rushed down the corridors and out the front doors into the playground. She looked up; there were two other energy signals moving near to her. Her eyes quickly spotted them; her dad and Yamcha were flying overhead.
"H-Hey, wait up!" She cried, taking off into the sky after the two grown-ups, paying little concern to anyone who may have spotted her. There were far more important matters at hand. She flew as fast as she could yet she could barely keep up with them. "H-Hey! Guys!"
Thankfully Yamcha turned around and realised she was behind them, slowing down enough for Corset to catch up to him. "Hey, I thought you were supposed to be in school?" He mumbled. "You sensed it too, huh?"
"Yeah, it's Freeza!" Corset nodded, slightly breathless.
"Vegeta said the same thing," Yamcha frowned. "... Well he's closing in fast and I think he's got company!"
Corset could sense Freeza's power but she hadn't noticed the other one until Yamcha'd pointed it out! It felt like her entire body went cold – the other person's power level was just as strong, maybe stronger! This was terrible. No one on Earth stood a chance against one of these ki, let alone both of them!
It wasn't long before Vegeta descended down towards the ground; Yamcha and Corset following him.
Corset took in the scenery. The area was very dusty and rocky, there was little greenery around save a couple of trees. It reminded her a little of the place Goku and Vegeta had fought almost two years ago. It would be difficult for a ship to land safely because of how uneven and craggy the ground was.
"They should be landing around here soon," Vegeta muttered.
"How do you know?" Yamcha asked sounding a little suspicious; Corset was guessing he didn't really trust her father and she couldn't blame him. Yamcha'd never had to battle alongside Vegeta and Corset felt that her experiences on Namek had given her a little more security knowing when her father was right – and he was usually right!
"I make it my business to know!" Vegeta spat annoyed.
Corset looked back and forth between the adults sensing the annoyance; the sound of jet engines caught her ear and she looked over into the noise's general direction. She could see what looked like a small hover-vehicle heading for them. She almost double took when she realised who it was! Was she crazy?
"Hello!" Bulma waved peering out of her hover-jet, "Hey Vegeta, Yamcha, Corset; I'm coming into land!"
"Bulma?" Yamcha stammered startled; he looked a little cross. "That idiot!"
"My mama's not an idiot..." Corset growled under breath to herself; she wasn't going to argue with the adults. Her mother wasn't exactly being smart right now.
The hover-jet landed and Puar floated out towards Yamcha, Bulma jumping out of the jet.
"What are you guys doing here?" Yamcha demanded loudly. "Don't you know how dangerous it is?"
"We came to see Freeza," Bulma answered confidently, placing her fists on her hips. "I spent all that time on Namek and I didn't even get to see him!"
"You wanted to see him?" Corset repeated.
Bulma looked down seemingly surprised, "Weren't you meant to be in school? I hope you didn't skip out on any lessons!"
"No, it was lunchtime..." Corset frowned, "I'm sorry! Am I in trouble?"
"Bulma! You came here just to see Freeza?!" Yamcha changed the subject back, looking even angrier with her than before. "This place is too dangerous for you! You should have stayed somewhere safe!"
"Oh so what if I came?" Bulma snorted, "This is Freeza we're talking about – he could just blow up the entire planet with barely any effort; there are no safe places on Earth anymore! It wouldn't matter where I am... So I figured I might as well know what my death looks like."
"Mama..." Corset didn't like hearing her mama say such things but she had to admit she did admire her calmness about the whole situation.
"Besides, I'd rather be with my daughter if the world's gonna end," Bulma added.
"... You're nuts as always," Yamcha sighed with a smile.