Chapter 103 – Earth in Peacetime

Age 776, May 22nd – Two years after the defeat of Majin Buu...

The blazing late spring sun beamed down on the busy road, traffic travelling at a slow pace as frustrated people made their ways to their destination. The sun's rays were caught on the metallic bodies of the vehicles using the road as they slowly crept over the landscape. Up above them, a couple of sky-cars travelled through the air; clearly the better choice to travel considering the sheer volume of traffic on the ground!

Amongst the herd of traffic was a nineteen-year-old boy impatiently waiting inside his hot car, silently thanking himself for getting a car with air conditioning and an air cooling system, though at this rate he'd need to refuel on his way home. At this rate he was going to be late for work... again! His boss had warned him more than once about his long running-streak of late arrivals. It wasn't the boy's fault he wasn't the only one trying to get into West City and he couldn't afford the rent prices in such a jam-packed metropolis. He had little choice but to commute from his home half an hour from the outskirts of the city. The journey was along one of the main roads heading in and out of the city taking city-bound commuters straight through the financial district. The other way would take them towards the coast where it would then curve to the north and follow the coastal curves until it hit another major town and branched off into a north-east direction, almost doing a semi-circle around the north of West City's boundaries.

"At this rate I'm gonna get fired..." He muttered through gritted teeth, hands clenching the steering wheel tightly. He knew getting angry would not help things but the heat was already getting to him, as it was many other drivers. Eyes momentarily diverted up to the top right corner of his windscreen; his eyes fell upon a trail of white slowly making its way out of the city, not too high up in the air and too small to belong to an air-car. He paid little mind to its peculiar properties as the traffic before him moved forward slightly...

The young adult man rushed through the entrance to the office, breathing hard from running up three flights of stairs. Today had to be the day the elevator was out of action. His office was on the sixth floor of the ten-storey building and he was not as fit as he used to be. Either his boss would make a comment about his tardiness or the odour that was sure to be coming from him.

"Shirataki!"

The boy flinched and glanced to the right; his boss was sitting at his desk, her arms folded and a stern glare on her face. He was in for it.

"See me in my office," The lady spoke with a commanding tone which just grated on his nerves.

The boy followed the woman into her office, closing the door behind them. She perched herself in her own chair and ushered him to sit on the other side of her desk. Reluctantly and knowing this would not end well, the young man sat down.

"So what was it this time? You were supposed to have been here an hour ago!" The power-dressed lady barked. "Was it traffic again, or do you have another reason?"

"It was traffic," The boy responded knowing how this was going to end. It wasn't fair, he was stuck in a harsh routine which barely ever saw him eat properly or get a decent night's sleep. "Sorry, I set off half-an-hour earlier than I usually do!"

"Soba, I've suggested time-and-time again for you to just rent a place in the city, yet you refuse to do so!"

"That's because the rental rates are more than I can afford. I have no one to move in with to help me with costs. Maybe if you could give me a pay-rise-"

"How can I give you a pay rise when you can't even show me you can be punctual and show up for work on time?" The woman snapped. Her normally short temper was being eaten away extra quick by the added heat of the sun. The boy clenched his fists, biting his tongue and swallowing down the answer he would have loved to have given. He couldn't shout, as much as he wanted to right now, he couldn't. His boss' treatment and empathy was clearly warped even without the overbearing temperature and he was already treading on thin ice.

He started calmly, "... If I could have my contract changed and have my hours shifted back then I could get to work on time. There would be no rush hour traffic."

The lady sighed, pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear before opening her eyes again. "I'm going to make this really easy for you, Shirataki. You don't need to come into work starting next week."

The words had continued to ring in his ears for quite some time. Even on the journey home it still quite hadn't sunk in that he was now being fired.

What would his sister and brother say about all this? What would his father say?

Soba Shirataki sighed as he found himself once again stuck in rush-hour traffic, this time the traffic found at the end of the working day. The sun was still blazing down, heat radiating off the tarmac of the road adding to the sweltering temperature of the car. He glanced out of his front windscreen up to the sky and exhaled in an attempt to keep calm, watching the few clouds slowly drift across the blue veil above, contemplating where his life was heading. Nineteen years old, still unable to support himself and still living at home with his sister and father. His father was hardly ever home; that had always been the way, so his sister was more-or-less the boss of the house. His mother had passed away giving birth to him, something Soba had always felt guilty over yet none of his family seemed to hold it against him. His brother, twelve years his senior, had long since moved out. He wasn't married but had a long-term girlfriend. His sister, four years his senior, was single no thanks to the demands of her job and her family...

Something caught his eye snapping Soba out from his thoughts. Again that strange white line moving across the sky... Soba could tell it wasn't a jet-car or an aircraft of any kind which baffled him. If it wasn't any kind of machine then what was it?

"What? They're firing you!"

"Yeah," Soba nodded glumly, removing his suit blazer and slouching himself down on the sofa, loosening his tie. "The traffic into West City keeps making me late for work and my bitch-of-a-boss has had enough of it."

"That woman!" Soba's older sister Ramen huffed, folding her arms. "What's so hard to understand? You're commuting into West City; of course you're going to get stuck in the rush hour! Plus your working hours are ridiculous considering the pay you got was crap! She has no sense of empathy, that woman!"

Soba let his sister blow off some steam; he couldn't blame her. Now there was only her wages and their father's wages coming into the house, not that their father sent much home to begin with. Soba needed to contribute if his family were to stay living in Shore City. The rent for their home wasn't as bad as it would have been had they lived in West City but living near the sea had its price – and it was not a cheap one at that.

"Never mind," Ramen sighed, massaging her forehead, "At least this way you're free from that woman and that dead-end job. You'll find something soon."

"I'm gonna have to," Soba nodded. "I can't have you paying all the bills and the food! You can barely afford what you're paying now! Just don't tell Dad about this, ok? You know what he'll say..."

"Yeah," Ramen rolled her eyes and sighed. "He'll offer you a job at one of his restaurants and laugh about how it's your destiny to work in a noodle bar."

"I refuse to work in a noodle bar," Soba shuddered. "That's a last resort! Tomorrow I start job-hunting!"

"Look around Shore City but don't count out West City just because of the traffic," Ramen replied. "You never know, there could be someone decent who will employ you there."

"Yeah right," Soba snorted.

The search for a job had begun. Soba reluctantly agreed to travel to West City, listening to his sister's recommendations. He was unsure about getting a job in the city considering the issues he'd had with getting to work on time in his previous job. He hadn't mentioned his other reason for heading back to the city. There were tonnes of jewellery stores and it was coming up to his sister's birthday. At least this way he could kill two birds with one stone and buy her a present.

What was to occur in his chosen jewellery shop was an experience to say the least.

"Get down on the ground! Everyone, down now! Now!"

Soba spun around feeling the breath hitch in his throat as several staff and customers shrieked. A couple of men covering their faces with cloth had barged into the shop wielding guns barking orders at everyone. One of the bulky men snatched hold of a young woman with dark hair, holding a gun to her head.

"You, lady! Don't you dare press the panic button or I'll fill this girl with lead!" The man shouted at one of the employees who was attempting to discretely shuffle over towards one of the glass display boxes.

Forced onto the ground by another of the gunmen, Soba glanced up at the man who held the woman captive, he seemed to be the ring-leader of the group and looked incredibly strong at that. The woman didn't seem distressed at all, much to his confusion. Either she had no clue what was going on or she dealt with nerves at an incredible inhuman level! Though he admired how she seemed to be keeping calm, Soba feared she wouldn't meet a pleasant end at this rate. None of them would.

"Give us your money and all the jewellery! Now!" One man yelled, laughing as he began to smash the glass displays and snatch the sparkly objects from their cases-

The man holding the hostage suddenly fell, collapsing onto his back. The gun-wielding men collapsed to the floor one-by-one almost at the same time as the first. For a while no one moved, not even the fallen gunmen. Confusion gripped the room, people murmuring cautiously before finally one of the staff had the sense to press the panic button. No one understood what had forced the robbers to suddenly collapse.

Soba got to his feet slowly, taking a quick glance over to where the hostage stood. She turned and exited the shop without as much as a word. His feet started to move before his brain realised he was running. Soba burst through the doors, frantically looking for the girl to make sure she was alright. There could be no way she had emerged from that ordeal unscathed and not emotionally disturbed.

No sign of her. There was no sign of the girl who'd been held hostage.

"... Where'd she go?" He scratched his head baffled.

Unbeknownst to him the girl had headed home, landing outside the large yellow building she called home and wandering up the lane to the entrance nonchalantly. Too bad her little tip into town hadn't gone to plan, she'd been hoping to find something for her mother's birthday but all the jewellery in that store was already owned by her mother. The robbery had made her day a little less mundane but there was no fun in beating up criminals who hid behind weapons. She passed an elderly man on his bike, a cigarette poking out his mouth as he rose past her.

"Ah, glad to see you back Corset. Did you get anything in town?" He greeted his granddaughter and she stopped to respond.

"Nope, got held up as a hostage at the jewellers though," Corset replied. "Was fun putting the scum in their place, the losers! Too bad there's no fun in beating up wimps... Is Mama still in her lab?"

"Yes, I believe she's expecting you," Dr Brief nodded. "I think she wanted to run through a couple more procedures with you; you are the next heir to Capsule Corp after your mother, after all."

Age 776, May 23rd

Corset marched through the corridors of the large domed building. It had been two years since the defeat of the evil Buu and the world had been at peace since. According to her date of birth, Corset was now nineteen. However spending nine months in Room of Spirit and Time during the battles with the androids and Cell, then another six months when training to beat Majin Buu meant that biologically, Corset was twenty years old.

Her mother had been introducing her daughter to the family business. Capsule Corp was easily the most successful and famous of all corporations across the planet, and as the first born it was Corset's job to take over the company once her mother retired. As it stood, her mother had been the president of Capsule Corp for almost five years now after Corset's grandfather had stepped back, considering his daughter more mobile and perfectly capable of running the company. Soon it would be Corset's turn to run the large company. The only problem was Corset wasn't sure if she was interested. Sure it was best to keep the company in the family and yes when it came to mechanics Corset wasn't too shabby. Yet she had other interests which conflicted with work. Her training still continued, albeit not as often as it had done before the whole Buu fiasco. She enjoyed the exercise and getting to spend time with her father but she also knew her mother would be disappointed if she turned away from Capsule Corp. It was a dilemma she was going to have to face. Corset had graduated from Orange Star High School alongside Gohan and Videl during the spring of this year; now it was time for her to make a living and earn her independence through work...

She walked through the opening doors and into the lab, searching her mother out via her ki signal. No doubt she'd be worked hard like a dog again, stuck in the office or stuck in the lab fixing things or getting equipment. On the bright side, it was two days to her birthday so surely her mother would let her off the hook!

May 25th

She was stuck in the office on her own birthday. Inside Corset was fuming; the one day she wanted to have off from work and she couldn't get it because her mother insisted she needed to get used to her role. Sighing Corset swivelled on her chair and glanced out the window melancholy. It wasn't fair. She was an adult now, why did she still have to listen to her mother?

'Because she's your boss,' Corset reminded herself.

"Good morning, Miss Brief," the receptionist wandered through the door, a notepad in her hand alongside a pen. "I have a couple of meetings lined up by your mother for you today which you are required to sit through. I'll leave the list here on your desk but just to make sure you're aware I'll read out your appointments for today..." The lady droned off, reciting the list of names, times, and locations. It was a long and daunting list of jobs for her to do and eventually she came to the end. "... And on a final note, happy birthday." With that she left the room.

Corset sighed and slouched in her chair. She wasn't going to let this ruin her day. No, it was her birthday; this was insane! She would not have a terrible day filled with boring meetings where all she had to do was sit and not speak. She wasn't allowed to participate yet, only observe her mother's actions and wordings as she'd strike a deal with whoever the other individual or company was. There was no fun in just being there and listening, she felt like she may as well be a cardboard cut-out!

Corset glanced at the list. Her first meeting was at half one this afternoon. That meant she still had two hours before the meeting.

A smile came to her face as a plan formed in her mind. Corset snatched the list off her desk and opened the window; the pile of papers on her desk scattering as the wind blew through the office. Cautiously she snuck through the gap, closing the window behind her. Corset grinned and flew off, determined to have a little bit of fun.

The traffic was busy as usual yet Soba was relieved to be inside West City as opposed to stuck in traffic outside of the metropolis! So far his search hadn't taken him to many places and it was getting close to lunch. Feeling the need to buy some food and to stretch his legs, Soba found a safe place in which to pull over and got out of his car. He pressed the small button on the side; the car vanished in a puff of smoke as it returned to its original capsule case. This would save him having to pay for a parking ticket. Soba glanced around at his surroundings, spotting a park over the street. At the very least he could find some food here and chill out under the sun before continuing his search...

Once he'd grabbed a bite to eat, Soba sat himself under a fairly leafy tree, watching as the grass the other side of the path swayed in the breeze. Nearby were a couple of children playing with a ball and bat; a couple sat a little to the right whilst families and those on their lunch break from work strolled down the path. Soba paid particular attention to those clearly on their lunch break, reminded of the fact he no longer had a job. Today was his scheduled day off but even so, he had four working days left before he was screwed. There had to be something he could do in this city or at home...

Corset glanced down at the park below her, flying down towards a place where no one was looking and landing on the grass. "Time to get an ice cream," She smiled to herself pleased to be out of the office on such a nice day.

"WAAAAAAH!"

The loud scream that came from immediately behind her startled Corset, panic rushing through her body. There was no doubt in her mind she'd just been careless and had been spotted landing by a random human, though she couldn't tell whether it was a man with a high pitched scream or a woman! Hesitantly she glanced over her shoulder.

Soba was staring wide-eyed, gawking at her. His memory was quick to jog, Soba's shocked expression dropping a little when he saw her face and hair. "H-Hey! You're the girl from the robbery the other day! The one at the Rin jeweller's shop!"

Outwardly Corset expressed no emotion; inside she began to panic further. Not only had this man seen her land, he'd also seen her in the raid the other day. Of course he'd recognise her; she was the hostage! There was no way he'd known what had really happened to those robbers; her strikes and kiai blasts had been way too fast for the normal human eye to detect. She had to keep calm.

The man did not seem too concerned with finding out her identity but more concerned with her wellbeing. "How are you? I tried to follow you out to make sure you were alright. That must have been terrifying," Soba frowned sympathetically.

Corset didn't speak. She couldn't afford to speak to him. He knew too much; he recognised her but didn't seem to know her name or who she actually was. That was how she wanted to keep it. It was rude but she had no intention on speaking to him. She was a fairly well known girl because she was the daughter of the president of Capsule Corp; she didn't need any rumours about herself floating around in the media or anything, especially with such damaging rumours as superhuman powers.

"... Um..." Soba interrupted her trail of thought. "... You seem familiar... Have we met before? I feel like I know you."

Without a word Corset turned and began to walk away.

"H-Hey! Don't be rude, I was asking you a question!" Soba started to follow her-

She was gone.

Soba double-took, confused and baffled. One moment she was in front of him, the next she'd gone! What the hell had just happened?

Corset watched amongst the leaves, hiding in a nearby tree. She breathed a small sigh of relief as a bewildered Soba slowly wandered away mumbling to himself. Cautiously she climbed down from the tree and snuck away in the opposite direction. Thoughts clouded her mind. She hadn't paid attention to any of the other hostages during the jewellery raid but seeing this man up close stuck a point in her mind. She had the feeling he wasn't far wrong with his inquiries; she had the feeling she'd met him before. His mannerisms seemed familiar, as did his face but she couldn't place where he'd known him from.

In any case, Corset was confident she wouldn't bump into him again. Cautious and nervous she'd be found, she once again took to the skies heading back for home.

"Happy Birthday!" Videl's voice came down the phone.

"Thank you," Corset replied, shifting some of her paper work back into a pile, one hand keeping her wireless phone by her ear. She hadn't quite got the knack of keeping it in place between her shoulder and face without dropping it at some point. "Can't say I'm enjoying it right now!"

"How come?"

"Mama's making me work today," Corset sighed. "I snuck out of the office for a little while but ran into a bit of trouble along the way. I'll tell you more about it tonight."

"Sounds like your mama's really getting you into the swing of things. In any case it's probably for the best. I'm still instructing the students at dad's dojo; there's some real promise with some of them, not that they'd ever compare to you guys!"

"Yeah, sounds good. How are you and Gohan getting along?" Corset smirked; sure enough Videl sounded a little flustered down the phone!

"Y-Yeah, things are going well. Gohan's working towards his PhD and has a place secured at Satan City University. Naturally Chichi's very proud of him!"

"You're avoiding the question," Corset giggled. "Glad he's got a place though. Chichi will be ecstatic!"

"Ahem!" Corset glanced up, jumping when she realised her mother was standing at the doorway of her office.

"Hold on Videl, I've gotta go, Mama's just caught me talking to you. I'll see you later!"