A/N: I wanted to get this chapter out tonight since I have to work all day tomorrow and will be much too exhausted to write or edit this chapter. I hope I'm not too delirious right now and that it sounds decent. Thank you so much for the feedback and suggestions, it really helps and is very motivating. Hope you enjoy!

:*: Change in the Winds :*:

Nagoya University's campus was officially open for all students. It was Monday, August seventeenth, or as they called it, moving day. The residential area was crowded with fresh, eager faces, except for one flustered blue haired woman. Bra rolled her two large suit cases behind her with two large totes atop each case and one barring down on her shoulder. She found herself swearing under her breath every time she made a turn causing the bags to slip off the cases and her shoulder. She wondered why Monday mornings always seemed to be terrible, and school hasn't even started yet.

"Need a hand?"

"No, I got it, these damn people have all their shit in the middle of the walk way so I have to swerve and-" Her angry voice silenced once her blue eyes met a pair of hazel orbs gazing down at her. The male looked to be an adequate height, not tall like Goten but taller than her. He had medium length shaggy, light brown hair that she wanted nothing more than to blow away to get a better view of his hazel eyes.

He squatted down in front of her and extended his hand. "Ryo Shima, freshman."

Bra released her grip on her fallen tote to meet his hand. "Bra Briefs, freshman."

With his free hand, Ryo gathered her bag's straps into his palm and stood up, helping her to her feet.

"Thanks but, really, I can get it myself-"

Ryo and Bra whirled their attention to the sound of more bags crashing to the floor this time belonging to another freshman with her long black hair tied back in a high ponytail.

"Pan!" Bra called excitedly, her mood taking a one-eighty.

With her bags fallen to her feet, Pan stared at her friend with an expression of despair.

Bra giggled. "She might need some help."

After a brief introduction, the girls allowed the male to assist them with their bags and to help them find their new dorm building.

"There it is, ladies. The Emerald building." It resembled the others with its pale stucco exterior, only there was a green emerald on the building's four walls. The three entered through the large glass entrance and looked about the wide open floor. There was a kitchen area on the far back wall, and to the right was a large television with a conjoined couch that could fit at least eight people. The neighboring room was filled with chairs, tables, computers, and book shelves. The three assumed this was the study area.

"You're a freshman too, aren't you?" Bra asked as Ryo led the way up the stairs to the dorm rooms. "How did you know where this building was?"

"Campus opened up at 7am for us to move in. I've been here since then. I live in this building too. This is the female side. Across the common room downstairs is the male side. There's no rules or curfews that anyone's heard of yet so if you get lonesome feel free to come by."

Bra scoffed. 'Typical college guys. Haven't even moved in yet and already being hit on.'

"I'll leave your things here. Peek around, it's only ten am so I'm pretty sure there's still quite a few rooms left to choose from."

They followed his advice and looked around. Both sides of the hall had doors to different rooms. Each room had four twin beds except for one. Since the last room on the left was the smallest room, it only had three beds. The girls threw a bag on each bed, saving one for Marron who was at her first cheer meet.

The room was small, but cozy. Upon entering there was the bathroom to the left, and a bed to the right, followed by another bed. The third bed was opposite from the door, somewhat isolated since it was at the distal end of the room. Since Bra tossed her belongings to the middle bed, Pan jumped at the chance of having the furthest bed.

"Huh. Imagine that." Pan exhaled with relief, dropping to her new bare mattress.

"I know, right? I'm just glad we don't have to live with some stranger. This room was meant for us." She smiled into their bathroom mirror, tying her hair back into a ponytail like Pan's. "Time to unpack!" She slid her bags to the floor, searching for her bed sheets. Pan followed, but with much less enthusiasm. "Everything okay, Pan?" She noticed her friend's lack of excitement for what she thought was an exciting event. She still kept in mind what her mother had said about Gohan having financial trouble but never brought it up point blank.

"Yeah, just tired. My mom was up most of the night baking. She's starting her new treatment today and she's nervous about it. She bakes when she's nervous." She explained with a small laugh. "I stayed up with her most of the time til I passed out on the kitchen table."

Bra watched her friend unravel her dark green bed sheets as she told her story so nonchalantly. She was worried about her. She didn't talk about her mother's troubles much. This was actually the most she had heard about her all summer. "Pan..."

"Mhm?" She wrapped the fitted sheet around each corner of the bed.

"School's not gonna be easy. And I know things at home aren't easy for you right now either. So, just talk to me, when you need to..." It was rare that the two of them engaged in serious conversation, and sometimes Bra felt like it was her own fault. She felt that maybe Pan didn't trust her enough, or maybe wasn't comfortable coming to her. Maybe she thought she didn't care.

"I know, Bra." She continued to ignore Bra's stare, now adjusting the black pillowcase onto her pillow.

Bra wasn't convinced, but decided to leave it at that for now. "Did you make the waterpolo team?" She asked after a couple minutes of silence, adjusting the white comforter on her fully made bed.

"Fuck! I forgot to check!" Before she knew it, Pan was out the door.

"Wait, I'll go with you!" Since softball season didn't start up until Spring, Bra decided to go out for tennis. She had a thing for hitting balls, and as Marron joked, she was very good at it. "Why are we running?" Bra asked after catching up to her outside.

"First waterpolo meet was at ten this morning. I can't believe I forgot!"

"It's our first day on campus, I'm sure they'll understand. Don't beat yourself up about it."

The girls ignored the crazed stares from the various people they sprinted by and finally made it to the gymnasium wall where the lists were posted. Pan scanned the waterpolo list. "Damn it." She whined.

Bra's eyes thwarted to her list. "You didn't make it?"

"I made it, I'm fucking late!" She sprinted off again while Bra read the memo underneath the names.

"Meet at 10 am Monday, August 17th at the indoor pool. Hm. She's only a half hour late..." She glanced back to the tennis list and smiled. "Bra Briefs." She read proudly and scanned the list for any other familiar names. "Ryo Shima?" She double checked the list to make sure it was for tennis. "Hm. Doesn't seem the-"

"Type to play tennis?"

She whirled around, startled at the sound of the familiar voice. "Ryo, sorry didn't know you were standing there..."

"I saw you and your friend running like maniacs, figured there was a fire or something. Had to come check it out. Meet's in thirty minutes, got your racket?"

"Yes, well, in my room."

"Mine too. Come on." She was amazed at how comfortable and easy to talk to he was. As they walked back to the dorm, she learned he had been playing tennis all his life. He had won many tournaments growing up and put his high school on the map with the gold he brought them every year.

"Crazy to think this thing's paying for half my tuition." He said, spinning the racket handle against his palm while Bra retrieved hers.

"Oh, um, do you mind? I just need to change real quick." She pulled out a sports bra, tank top, and black windbreaker shorts.

"Not at all. Go ahead." He sat on the first bed, facing away from her.

Bra narrowed her eyes at the back of his head. She meant for him to get out, but clearly he didn't get the message. "Ryo. Out?"

"Oh." He sighed, stepping out of the room.

xXxXxXx

As expected, Pan was late and her new coach was not very forgiving. The team members had already tried on their swimsuits and were now breaking them in in the pool.

The coach crossed her arms in disapproval in front of Pan. She was in her older thirties with short brown hair that waved just above her ears. "Son, I don't want to hear anymore excuses from here on out. What size do you want?" She held up a small and a medium sized swimsuit, Pan chose the latter.

After changing in the locker room, she joined her new teammates in the pool, only to be instructed to get back out five minutes into their laps.

The ten females lined up on one side of the pool while the ten males lined up on the opposite side. Since the school colors were black and green, the girls' swimsuit was a black one-piece. The males wore black swim briefs.

"Men. Women. This is your team for this season. The twenty of you will fight, cry, and celebrate together, but what it all comes down to is we are here to play water polo. You may win, you may lose, but we are a team and we will do it together." The group spent the next two hours introducing themselves, then the coach mixed two co ed teams to devise a match.

Since only seven people could play on a team at one time, three people on each team would be left out. Pan, as well as the others, knew this was the coaches way of weeding out her weaker players, although she had already chosen the top twenty from the tryouts during the conditioning camp.

Ten minutes into the game, Pan felt exhausted. Normally she didn't feel anything close to this until after the game, after she had won a match for her team.

"Son, you look tired." The coach shouted, her arms seemingly glued in their crossed position.

Pan shook it off as much as she could, kicking her feet underneath her to keep her going. 'Ball's passing...' She eyed the yellow ball carefully as it passed from player to player.

She darted toward the center of the pool for an interception.

"Great catch, Son!" She passed the ball off to another teammate to make a goal. She smiled inwardly, that move reminding herself that she still had it in her.

xXxXxXx

The tennis meet was similar to the various other meets occurring on campus. They received their uniforms, warmed up with basics, and played a couple matches one on one. For the final match, Bra was matched against Ryo, only to be beaten mercilessly.

She sat at the bench while the teammates congratulated him on four consecutive wins. Bra on the other hand sat silently wiping the sweat from her face, trying to comprehend the fact that she had just been beaten without scoring one single point.

She followed as everyone gathered around the coach for their briefing, then headed back to the dorms or wherever they stayed at. As the crowd thinned, Bra could see his light brown hair bouncing with every step he took.

"Hey!" She jogged to his side. "Um, wow! That was... amazing."

He chuckled at her bewilderment. "I told you I was good, didn't I?"

"Well, yeah, but I couldn't get one ball in! That's unfathomable for me!" She joined in as he laughed harder this time. She couldn't get over how perfect the wind felt today. It breezed through her hair, carrying her laughter with it.

xXxXxXx

"Oy, that's Trunks' sister isn't it?" The red haired Renji Abarai sat next to his friend, the two of them chugging their water from dehydration.

Goten wiped his mouth and looked the direction Renji pointed to see a familiar blue haired female with some strange guy, both of them laughing and talking. "Yeah, that's her. I didn't know she went out for tennis." He noted the rackets in their hands. He watched the two until they disappeared behind another building.

"You okay?" Renji asked, wiping the sweat from his face and neck with a towel.

"Wha- yeah, I'm fine." Goten did the same. The wind felt good on their sweat moistened skin. They had both been in football practice since eight am, it was finally one o'clock and they were free. "I'm ready for a cold ass shower. You wanna grab something to eat in a bit?"

"Yeah. Let's meet up in an hour."

xXxXxXx

Ryo and his new blue haired friend split ways after returning to the emerald building. "Looks like Marron got my text." Bra said as she eyed a freshly showered Marron asleep on her bed. Since she was at cheer practice all morning, she texted her what room they had claimed.

"Sorry, Bra. I was too tired to make my bed." Marron spoke into the pillow.

"No problem. I'm going to take a shower, then a friend and I are going to go eat, do you want to come with us?"

"Yes, I'm starved." Since Bra was taking a shower, Marron figured she could catch a good thirty minute nap. She didn't know who Bra's friend was, nor did she care at the moment. All she wanted was rest.

Once the shower kicked on, another body came dragging through the door. Pan peeled off the top of her swimsuit and pulled a t-shirt over before removing the rest of the one-piece and sliding on a pair of underwear and shorts.

By the time Bra stepped out from the steam filled bathroom, her two friends were knocked out cold. She tiptoed to her bag for under garments, a pair of denim shorts, and a white button up that remained open towards the bottom and top, giving it that casual flirty look.

Feeling as if he'd show up any minute, she quickly ran the blow dryer through her hair and styled it as best as she could. After still not hearing a knock, she slowed her pace to take her time on her hair until she was satisfied with it. "Maybe he fell asleep..." She told herself, wondering what was taking him so long. She would go to his dorm room, but she didn't know which one was his. Fed up, she browsed through the hallway, searching for his familiar face through the people still moving into the dormitory.

"There you are! Thought you fell asleep on me!"

He approached her clad in tan shorts and a white v-neck. "Sorry, took me forever to get ready."

She laughed at his response. "Yeah, and I thought I took forever."

xXxXxXx

As planned, Goten and Renji headed to Ban's Bistro for some much needed grub.

"Good afternoon, gentleman. Table for two?" The young, attractive hostess greeted them.

"Yes pl-"

"Hang on, Renji." Goten held up a palm. His eyes set on Bra sitting at a booth by herself, browsing through a menu. "Actually, we're meeting someone here." He told the hostess, leading the way to the booth. "Boo." He slid onto the cushioned seat, sitting opposite Bra. Renji followed.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Hi! What're you two doing here?" She couldn't stop the grin that pulled on both sides of her lips. She had seen Goten throughout the conditioning camp but they hadn't engaged socially since his party.

"Came to eat. Football kicked our ass this morning. Where's the girls?" He had assumed Pan and Marron came to eat with her.

"They're asleep in the dorm. Their meets kicked their ass too."

"So you're eating alone?" Renji took the words from Goten's mouth.

Bra hesitantly nodded. "No... I'm here with-"

"Damn, guess that's what I get for using the bathroom." The seated students peered up at the boy with shaggy light brown hair. "It takes two guys to replace me eh?"

Bra chuckled and slid over. "Here, you can sit with me." She patted the open space next to her. He took her advice and followed through.

"So, you two play tennis?" Renji initiated the conversation.

"Yeah, actually. She's pretty good."

Bra scoffed. "Oh, please, you wouldn't let me score one point. This guy swings a mean racket. I'm pretty sure I have a bruise on my thigh from that damn ball."

"I'm pretty sure any one of us would be willing to check that out for you." Ryo stuck his tongue between his teeth, earning more laughter from her.

"Tennis, huh." Goten interrupted, obviously not amused. "Why tennis?" His question directed towards Ryo. "There are plenty of other sports this season. Football, water polo, cross country, football?"

"You said football twi-" Goten held a palm up to silence Renji once again.

Bra adjusted in her seat while Ryo cleared his throat, both of them noticing the agitated tone in Goten's voice. "Why not Tennis? We're all good at something, right? Why make a pianist play the flute if he's good at the piano?"

Bra nodded in agreement with Ryo. "Is something wrong with tennis, Goten? Ryo and I both play, do you have something against it?"

Goten's eyes flickered between the two. "No. Of course not. Where'd you two meet anyways?"

"Funny story," Ryo began. "This one's dragging her luggage behind her, bags falling all over the place. Long story short, I helped her and her friend, Pan, carry their stuff up to their room."

"Turns out we're in the same dormitory." Bra added.

Once the waitress departed the table for their food and drink orders, the silence ensued.

"So, I take it you play football." Ryo directed to Goten. "And you?" He gestured toward Renji.

"Football. Senior year."

Ryo nodded with admiration. "And you're a senior too?" Back to Goten.

He shook his head side to side. "No, I'm a junior." Silence. "So, how have you been, Bra?" He asked with more cheer in his voice.

Bra thought for a moment. "Pretty good. Excited for school to start. Pan, Marron, and I got a three-bed room together. I'm just relieved that we don't have to adjust to living with some stranger. How are your roommates by the way?" She redirected her attention to the man beside her.

Ryo thought for a moment. "Well, one's on the football team so I haven't seen much of him today. You might know him," He told Goten. "Takashi Komuro?"

Goten and Renji thought for a moment. "Eh, we don't spend much time on freshman."

Ryo simply nodded in response and went on to tell Bra about his experiences that morning.

After lunch, the four made their way out of the restaurant. "How'd you guys get here?" Goten asked.

"We walked. It's only a couple blocks. Everything's so conveniently located around here. We passed by a whole bunch of cute shops and eateries, I'd like to spend an entire day just walking around and see what else is around here."

"Do you want a ride back?" Goten offered.

"Na, thanks though. See you later, Goten. Nice seeing you again, Renji."

"Huh." Was all Goten managed to say as they watched the two walk away. The wind seemed to blow colder around him as he watched them disappear behind traffic.

"I'm gonna throw this out there; that was one of the most awkward lunches I have ever been present at in my life, Goten, in my life. What the hell was that all about?"

"What do you mean?"

"Hmmm how can I put this nicely, you were acting like a dick."

Goten jeered. "Just getting to know the guy. He's in the same dorm building as my best friend's little sister, and they seem to be getting along pretty well. Just keeping an eye out."

"Last I checked, big brother's on vacation so let's give the girl a break. Bra seems like a good girl. Nobody's getting knocked up anytime soon, so cut the guy some slack."

"If anybody gets knocked up I'm breaking some dicks."

xXxXxXx

"Sorry about my friend back there." Bra apologized as her and Ryo neared their dormitory.

"No sweat. He seems like a good guy, just lookin out for you, I suppose. I'd be worried too if a girl I liked was hanging around a guy like me." His hazel eyes met hers with that charming smile on his lips.

"Wait, what do you mean 'a girl I liked'? Goten doesn't like me, he-"

"Fine, fine, just testing to see where you two stood." He waited for her to laugh again, but her red lips relaxed into a flat line. He made a mental note that that particular guy was probably a touchy subject for her. The two split ways in the common room of their dormitory, both heading to their rooms for some much needed rest after an exhausting day.