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:*: Deception :*:
New Years day was bitterly cold, not that it bothered Bulma Briefs much since she spent the majority of her time within the confines of her home office, swiveling in her plush leather chair. She had spent the last week plotting and making a few phone calls, arranging a couple secret meetings. With Vegeta out of the house for work, she awaited her next appointment.
Noon sharp, she told them. She glanced up at her wall clock. 12:04. Finally the doorbell rang.
She briskly walked through the hallway and to the foyer, opening the door motioning the females in.
"If I can't even count on you to be on time, how am I going to count on you to carry this out with me?" She inquired in a prude manner as the girls followed her from behind.
"Sorry, Mrs. Briefs. It won't happen again."
"I'll hold you to that, Valese. Tundra, get the door please."
Tundra obediently acted, closing the office door behind them before they took their seats in front of her desk.
"Give me a briefing. Did last night go as planned?"
"It went perfect." Valese grinned. She had to admit, getting a call from Bulma a few days ago was completely unexpected. Upon meeting her in her home as asked, Bulma informed her of all the mean things Goten had said about her behind her back while they were dating and that he was only using her because her dad was the district head of the architcectural department.
When Bulma laid out a plan that would get Goten kicked out of Nagoya, Valese was all ears. It seemed too steep for just simple revenge, but Bulma took care of that by offering a generous monetary reward once the plan was carried out.
Since Valese was no longer in Goten's immediate friend loop, she reached out to Tundra to assist her.
"Why would I want to get him kicked out?" Tundra asked, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Think about it," Valese went on. "We carry this out, spread the rumor that Bra's the one that reported him, they get a restraining order so that he can't even contact her to clear his name, and he won't be able to see her since he'd have to go to a school outside the district, if any would even accept him after this. I get my revenge for that bastard using me, Mrs. Briefs gets him away from her daughter, and you can swoop in and be the shoulder he has to cry on. Everybody wins. Oh, did I mention she's paying us 20k each to do this?"
This definitely caught Tundra's attention. "Make it 25 and I'm in."
"Do you have the photos?" Bulma asked.
"Yes ma'am." Valese held up a manilla envelope. "Do you want to see them?"
"Kami, no. I'd rather not see explicit photos of my own daughter. They're believable though, right?"
Valese giggled. "Trust me, Mrs. Briefs, after we saw them, even we were convinced that Goten had sexually assaulted Bra and I."
"Good." Bulma relaxed into her chair, tapping her fingers together as she explored the next step in her mind. "Before school starts next week, you," She gestured towards Tundra. "Go to his house, and somehow stash the pictures and the pills under his mattress. Put the pills towards the foot of the bed, that way there's less of a chance of him feeling the bottle when he lays on it. Once you do that, come back here and I'll give you your first cut."
Tundra and Valese's eyes glimmered with greed. "Yes, Mrs. Briefs. We will contact you as soon as it's done."
"Valese, remember you're a woman grieving after being sexually assaulted. Try not to do anything too... promiscuous over the next few weeks." Bulma reminded her.
Valese was too dazzled by Bulma's nearing monetary reward to take offense. "Of course!"
Bulma rested into her chair as the girls left the room. "Gohan Son. You think you can take everything from me?" She lit a cigar, took a few puffs until she inhaled deeply. The smoke exhaled slowly through her nares and lips as she savored the taste. "I'm about to destroy your family image and rock your fucking world."
xXxXxXx
Bra wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she slowly rose to her feet. She couldn't go back in that room and face him. He had said he had no recollection of last night, but if he sent her the pictures, they were still in his phone. He would come across them eventually. She immediately went out the front door, too stunned and humiliated to even speak. She sent a text to Marron:
I'm waiting by your car. Let's go, it's cold! :)
She shivered heavily, being in a small dress and barefoot. It didn't take long for Marron to jog out of the house.
On the drive home, Bra turned up the radio and kept her reddened eyes focused out her window.
Marron turned the music down so Bra could hear her. "What happened at the hospital?" She waited patiently for an answer.
Bra sniffled. "Marron, tell me everything you remember from last night, everything that relates to Me and... Goten..." She even had trouble saying his name.
Marron could tell she was upset about something, she wiped her eyes again. "Well, me, you, Takashi, Renji, Nori, and Goten were talking, Tundra and her friend... Maddy?"
"Mattis." Bra corrected.
"Yeah, Mattis, joined us. Valese showed up out of nowhere, Goten got weirded out, lost his balance, you took him inside, and that's it. As the countdown got closer, Renji went looking for you guys. I went to look too, but that Mattis girl said you guys were still in the bathroom. She said you were throwing up and Goten was helping you. We tried to go inside but she said that Goten said to not let anybody in. Bra, did something happen?"Clearly her friend was upset as she continued to sniffle and wipe her eyes.
This doesn't make sense... yet it does... Why would he do something like that? But the doctor... she said there were no signs of rape... Unless he did other things...
A small sob escaped her lips as the lewd images clouded her mind.
"Bra..." Marron didn't know what to do. She continued driving but placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, we'll get you to my house and you can take a long, hot bath. We can talk when you feel like it." Something happened, that Marron was certain of.
xXxXxXx
Goten's thoughts were restless. He had to find out what Nori knew. He called Renji, hoping she was still with him. She wasn't, so he gave him her number after he briefly filled him in on the roofies story.
"Bra was drugged? You were with her the entire night though, so whoever did it obviously didn't get what they wanted." Renji responded, assuming it was another male that wanted to take advantage of her. "Oh, before you hang up, Valese left pretty upset last night. She was crying and stumbling through the hall. I asked her if she was okay, she mentioned your name but didn't finish what she was saying, she just left. Do you remember anything that happened with her?"
Goten thought on this. "The only time I remember seeing her is when she first approached us in the garage and I lost my balance. After that I blacked out. What time did you see her leaving?"
"Hmmm it was after the countdown. Maybe 12:30?"
This isn't making sense. Goten growled in frustration. He and Bra had disappeared before the countdown, what could have happened in that hour?
"Thanks for the info, Renji. If you remember anything else, let me know."
After a quick call to Nori, she agreed to talk with him in person at her place.
"It's so cold outside." She closed the door behind them, then gestured for him to sit at her kitchen table. "Do you want tea or anything?"
"No, thanks." He shrugged his jacket off as she poured herself a cup and sat across from him.
"Sorry, I don't have much to tell you, but here it goes. Tundra came over yesterday, made small talk, and she asked if Bra was coming to the party last night. I told her I didn't know. So, she told me to find out." She laughed lightly, Tundra was so pushy towards her at times. "I texted Bra, she said she was coming, so I let Tundra know. The look she had on her face, Goten, it was like she was up to something. Bra doesn't like Tundra, I'm not sure exactly why, maybe you know better than I do."
Goten shrugged his shoulders. He had never even seen the two of them really talk. They were in two different grades, he couldn't think about why they would dislike each other.
"Oh, well anyways, she said that I owed Bra for introducing me to Renji and that I should show her a good time and make sure she has plenty to drink. That was it."
Goten sighed, ruffling his hair with his hand as he tapped his fingers on the tabletop.
"Sorry, I couldn't be of much help. I texted Bra earlier, she said she was fine. Everything went well at the hospital I assume?"
Goten filled her in on the story, causing her jaw to drop.
"Oh, well Tundra wouldn't do anything like that, what reasoning would she have?"
They both dwelled on the question for a moment.
"Since you blacked out last night, did you go through your phone? Maybe you have messages or pictures that would help jog your memory a bit."
"You're right. Why didn't I think of that?" He pulled out his phone, going through the texts, recent calls, then images. There were a few messages from Marron and Renji asking where he was, other than that nothing new. The messages were marked as read, he didn't even remember reading them last night, then again he didn't remember much from last night period.
"Sorry I couldn't be of much help, Goten."
"No, Nori, I came to hear the conversation between you and Tundra, you told me everything. Thanks, sorry for the sudden call."
She waved farewell from her front door as he zoomed off down the street. He's such a sweetheart, and so polite. She thought to herself as she retreated back into her cozy apartment.
xXxXxXx
The next few days passed like molasses for Bra. She kept her discovery to herself. As much as Marron tried to open her up, Bra insisted she was fine. She felt so trapped. She couldn't go back to the dormitory hall since it was closed until the last couple days of Christmas Break. She couldn't go home since her mother had basically disowned her. She was stuck floating from house to house, never having her own personal space to just breathe in the comfort of her own room. Goten had texted her a couple of times a day, asking how she was and what she was doing, she ignored him. She didn't even want to touch her phone since that day. She only checked it before bedtime, just to make sure she didn't miss a call from her dad or brother. Goten called a couple times as well, but he never heard back from her.
Marron assured him that Bra was still alive, just 'stuck in a funk'.
Goten mentioned his concern to Trunks as they were getting ready to go to the gym later that week.
"She's been ignoring you? She returns my calls and texts but at the end of the day. She does sound kind of out of it. Maybe she's still bothered by the idea of somebody drugging her." Goten waited in the living room while Trunks hunted for his keys so they could head to the gym. A knock came from the door, which was odd since they rarely got unexpected visitors. The last time they did it was the lovely Vegeta.
Goten actually felt himself growing nervous as he swung the door open. "Oh, hey, what're you guys doing here?" Mattis and Tundra shivered at the doorstep.
"Sorry, we were driving through and Tundra reeeeally has to use the restroom. Can we come in for a minute?" Mattis asked, being ushered in by him.
"Yeah, there's a bathroom in my room, Tundra."
"Thank you so much, Goten."
While she hurried off, Mattis kept him company in the foyer. She and Goten were both an architectural major and shared many classes together, conversation came easy between the two.
Meanwhile, after Trunks had finally found his keys, he headed down the hall, his eyes catching an odd scene from Goten's room. He stopped in front of his doorway, causing her brown hair to whip in the air as she glanced up at him.
Tundra was kneeling at the foot of the bed, adjusting the blankets before she rose to her feet. "Hi, Trunks." She smiled nervously. "I- I had to use the restroom and sat on his bed for a second. Just... Just making sure I didn't get any period blood on his blanket." She lied, cursing to herself that that was the best she could come up with.
Trunks cringed, walking away without even responding. "Ready?" He asked, waving at Mattis who was also in the house.
"Trunks, this is Mattis, Mattis this is Trunks. Tundra and her stopped by so she could use the restroom."
Trunks cringed again.
"All done!" Tundra joined them at the front door. "Thanks again, Goten." The two males walked them out as they departed to the gym, neither of them expecting what was to happen in the next level of Bulma's plot.
xXxXxXx
It was the day before school started back up after a confusing and startling Christmas break. Bra and Marron lugged their bags back into their dorm room. Bra felt so relieved to be back. At least she had her own assigned space here in the dorm. She fell back onto her bed, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. You have to confront him, Bra. You can't keep avoiding him like this.
Bra winced as the images surfaced in her mind once again. Her eyes shot open as she released a deep gasp at the sensation of someone touching her hand that was on her stomach.
"Whoooa cool it Jodi Foster. Two weeks without seeing me and this is how you react?!"
Bra's pained eyes met his for a brief moment before she pulled him into her arms, nuzzling her face into his shoulder.
Ryo was taken aback by that look in her eyes, but embraced her as she did him. "Bra... Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?"
Marron watched from the restroom as she restocked her toiletries.
"I'm fine. It's just so good to be back, and to see you again."
"That's what I want to hear, because I'm sure we both have stories to tell. First off, I-" He was cut off by the sound of Bra's phone ringing.
She glanced down.
Mom
She stared at it for a long moment. She hadn't spoken to her mother in months. What could she possibly want now? She reluctantly lifted it to her ear. "Hello?" She could hear sobbing from the other side. "Mom?"
"B-Bra? Bra, honey, I... I know we've had our differences, but I'm so so sorry I wasn't there for you..."
Bra's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Mom, what are you talking about?"
"Bra, I need you to come to Nagoya police station."
Bra's heart began to beat heavily in her chest.
"Bra? Are you there?"
"Y-yeah. I'm here. What's this about?"
"Honey, we'll talk about it when you get here. Hurry."
The line went dead.
Her eyes were fixed forward, all she could hear was her heart pounding against her chest cage.
"Bra? Bra, what happened?" Ryo shook her shoulders.
"I... I have to meet my mom somewhere. I'll call you when I come back." Ignoring his and Marron's questions, she grabbed her phone and purse and darted from the room.
xXxXxXx
Trunks, Pan, and Goten lounged around for their Sunday afternoon. They were able to knock out their gym time in the morning and came home to Pan finishing up a large breakfast.
"Someone's in a good mood today." Goten teased.
"It's the day before hell begins! School starts tomorrow, this might be your last meal from me all semester." She pointed her fork at him.
As they settled on a channel to watch, a series of pounding knocks came from the front door. Trunks just hoped it wasn't another bleeding female.
"Don't everybody jump at once." Goten said sarcastically as he was the only one who finally stood up to answer it.
"Good afternoon." There were about five men in police uniforms crowded at the front door. "Does Goten Son live at this residence?"
Goten swallowed hard. "Yeah, I'm Goten."
"Mister Son, we have a warrant to search the premises. Can you start us out by pointing us to your room?"
Goten had no other choice. He did as told, then waited in the living room with Pan, Trunks, and another officer as instructed.
"Goten, what's going on?" Pan asked worriedly.
Goten shrugged. "I honestly have no idea." The search went on for about thirty minutes. They could hear things being tossed around in his room, the kitchen, bathrooms, the living room, and Trunks' room.
Goten saw a couple of items being carried from his room to the head officer. The officer shuffled through what seemed to be a stack of photos and a small orange container with something inside of it.
Goten, Pan , and Trunks exchanged equally fearful expressions, their hearts sinking as the officers ended their search and approached the three.
xXxXxXx
Bra ran to the front desk of Nagoya's police station. "My name is Bra Briefs, I'm supposed to meet my mother here, Bulma Briefs."
The receptionist jumped to her feet. "Yes, right this way, ma'am." She led her through a secured door and down a quiet hall. "Right through here, ma'am."
Bra opened the door to a meeting-like room with a long table surrounded by eight chairs. At the head of the table were two men wearing suits. Alongside them were two women, one was her sobbing mother. The other was a sobbing Valese.
"Oh, Bra." Bulma cried, standing to hug her daughter. "It's okay, it's okay."
Bra didn't hug her back, she was too busy trying to piece this together. "What's going on?"
"Ms. Briefs," One of the suited men stood to shake her hand, then gestured for her to take a seat. "Are you familiar with a Mr. Goten Son?"
Bra's hands began to tremble. "Y-yes..."
"Bra, did Mr. Son take advantage of you New Years night?"
Bra didn't answer. She stared down at her hands, fidgeting her thumbs on the table top.
"Bra, it's okay." Valese cried out, wiping her eyes with a tissue. "He took advantage of me too. You were passed out. It was like, my mind was in a haze. I couldn't fight him away from us."
She stared back down at her hands, fighting the images in her head.
Goten wouldn't do that.
This isn't like him.
None of this makes sense.
"Bra, honey..."
Goten would never do this...
"Bra." The male at the head of the table spoke.
Something's not right here.
"Bra?" Valese asked with a worried expression.
"Goten would never do that!" Bra jumped to her feet, yelling it for all to hear. "You don't know him like I do! Goten is sweet, gentle, polite, and always puts others before himself. He would never do something like this!"
"Bra, I know how upsetting this must be for you. We've conducted a search in his house this morning. We confiscated these." He slid a manila envelope and a bottle of pills onto the table within her reach. Bra refused to touch them. "There are some explicit photos in there of you and Miss Karuben. This is a bottle of Rohypnol pills. These items were found under his mattress."
Bra felt tears escaping down her cheeks.
Valese began to sob once more while Bulma placed a reassuring hand behind her back.
"I went to the hospital the day after... They told me there was no evidence of... rape... He didn't do anything to me..."
"You went to the hospital?" Bulma asked, her and Valese exchanging a brief glance.
"Yes. I'll go to the hospital and get the report myself. He didn't do anything." She remembered their brief conversation they had in the living room. He apologized to her, she responded It's not like it's your fault. He didn't say anything in response.
"Bra, did he send you anything to your cell phone?" The detective inquired, receiving his answer in her alarmed eyes.
"It's okay, Bra." Valese reassured her. "He sent me some awful things too."
"Bra, what did you go to the hospital for?" Bulma interfered.
"They weren't able to wake me up. Goten took me to the hospital. They found a high level of Rohypnol in my system and had to flush it out. If he drugged us, why would he take me to the hospital?"
"Fear." The detective answered without hesitation. "Perhaps he gave you too much, was afraid that he might have sent you into a coma or impending death. Taking you himself makes him look more innocent."
"But..." Bra racked her memory for anything else that could save him. She remembered leading him down the hall shortly after he staggered in the garage. They were being led by someone. He had collapsed first. "He passed out before I did." She whispered to herself.
"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" The other man asked.
"I remember... We were all in the garage, you showed up." She directed her eyes towards Valese. "He lost his balance, said he needed to sit down. He had a hard time walking. Before I knew it, we were being led down the hall by someone, I don't know who. He passed out before I did. It couldn't have been him."
The detective shrugged. "Perhaps he had an accomplice. Maybe what you're remembering didn't actually happen. Bra, I know this is all so sudden for you. I want you to take some time to think it over, but we do have a trial to prepare for."
Bra felt lightheaded. "A trial?"
"Yes. We had a victim come forward," he gestured towards Valese. "and we found incriminating evidence." He pointed at the items on the table. "Mr. Son is being charged for sexual assault and assault in the second degree for administering a sedative to nonconsenting persons. He could be looking at fifteen years minimum in prison."
Bra shook her head side to side repeatedly. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"
"Bra, honey, please." Bulma placed a hand on her back, trying to calm her, only to have her swatted away.
"This can't be happening... Where is he?"
The detective looked from the lawyer and back to Bra. "He was arrested just a short time ago. He's on his way to a prison cell at the moment. No visitors until further notice. Please, Miss Briefs, consider everything we have discussed today." He slid his card over to her, watched her fumble it in her hands.
She rose to her feet and stormed from the room, tears streaming down her face. Goten's image was about to be destroyed, not to mention his education and career, possibly even fifteen years of his future. Goten as she knew it was already gone. All at the hands of... of whom? Is he actually capable of something like this? Or is this just the nasty work of some horrendous being? Goten... I know something was definitely wrong with you last night. I saw it, I remember it... I'll get to the bottom of this... I hope...
xXxXxXx
Vegeta rubbed his temples as he relaxed his elbows on his desk. He just returned from breaking up a fight at their level two unit. Unfortunately for them, these new guys had never met the warden before, and they hoped they never would again.
"Warden! We've got fresh meat incoming." The sergeant tossed him the file.
Vegeta caught it effortlessly and slid the papers out from the envelope. "Great. More fresh meat." His eyes began to skim the paperwork, not even getting past the name of the inmate. He flipped to the second page to compare the name to the picture. "No fucking way."
He stared into the all too familiar dark orbs of the new male. Dark orbs that resembled fear, dark orbs that tied a knot in Vegeta's throat. "Brat, what did you get yourself into now..."