Hey so sorry this update took so long. I said I might take a break, but that break was certainly longer than I expected. I can't promise getting back to weekly updates, but I'll try to at least keep to every other week.
Also, I find it rather funny how about half or so of reviews figured what was up with the "oh no" and the other half were confused or concerned
thewittywhy: Thanks ^.^ Goten's reaction was what I was most confident with in that chapter lol
flevantein: I made it quite clear before even the Cell saga that there would be no bio kids. Plus, without Videl, there is no Pan. Even if SIGohan were to have a bio kid, it would not be Pan.
Also I don't know much about the manga only chapters of DBS. I'll definietly have to look more into them once I get into Super, but there's still plenty of time before I have to be too concerned
Phreak91: Yeah, Pan was never gonna exist regardless. Also ! Someone actually remembers that foreshadowing I had forever ago. I made a joke about it a few chapters ago and no one even questioned it lol
Qinlongfei: Pregnancy is a horror I doth no yearn for nor would I wish it on my poor SI
And yeah, I don't think that'd be the cleanest way to get a soul, and Seventeen definitely wouldn't want to risk losing his buddy
ArguableReader (Guest): I'll be getting a new coverart for the fic soon, so there'll be a visual reference of how she looks then
Also, I'm pretty sure it's confirmed that while Sayain's do age slower, that's only to a point, eventually they do age, at which point they age much more rapidly, catching up to how a human would look at that age
And I'm pretty sure Lapis=17 and Lazuli=18 is confirmed, but I'm not as certain on that
And while I do like 21's design, I don't know much about her so I'm not sure what I'd do with her
Whitest Manta: *innocent whistling*
Seruvius: Thanks for the multiple reviews ^.^ and yes, dread indeed
MiharuTousaka: Ah, what indeed
Skullkingvon: That is fair and valid and you are the only person to ever actually call me out on that
I narrowly ducked down in time to dodge a kick.
It, of course, was both before, and after a series of blows that I could just barely keep up with.
As the torrent continued I could swear they sped up and I started to feel overwhelmed. Frustrating crept in as I forced my energy outward, feeling a spark as I finally had enough speed to get in a proper counterstrike.
Goku still managed to bring his guard up, if only barely. The greater force of it still sent him flying back however. Though he managed to catch himself quickly. Far quicker than I could have.
"Hey, you're the one that didn't want to use Super Sayain," Goku said with what I would have called a pout for anyone under 40.
I bent over slightly with my hands on my hips, visibly out of breath. "Yeah well..I needed a handicap."
Goku walked back over, and by the time he got here, I was able to at least pretend like I wasn't severely out of breath.
"Well, I don't think you're any worse off than you were before. But you should definitely train more, you're not as strong as you were seven years ago. You should always be getting stronger."
I waved it off, "Yeah well, I'm still the strongest person on the planet."
"Are you sure?"
I frowned at him, and he continued, "You haven't tested The Ultimate again yet have you? You said it wasn't working right before."
"It still worked fine," I defended, "it just messed with my head a bit. Not like, violent or anything, just distant. No emotions, negative or positive."
Goku frowned, but didn't push.
To be honest, I've never really been sure about how he felt about The Ultimate. He wasn't really the type to let things bother him, but I couldn't imagine him not feeling at least a little weird about it.
But, technically speaking, Gohan would have no way of knowing how Goku's grandfather died, and even if I did have means of knowing, it's not like I'd be expected to breach the topic.
Goku's not one to let things like that bother him. I'm probably just the one being weird about it.
Well, regardless, he led us back inside for breakfast.
Things were still a bit, awkward around Chichi. I mean, it's not like I was ever the most chatty with her, but now there was an aura of, off around it. It wasn't malicious or anything, just, awkward.
Goku and Goten had no such issue. Goku carried on as if nothing had changed, and if anything Goten was more excited than anything else, almost making a point to call me his sister whenever possible.
It was, amusing, if nothing else. Kinda embarrassing too, but nothing bad really.
And, I was kinda surprised as to how quickly the blockers were wearing off. It was hardly a total transformer or anything, but I was visibly more feminine than I was before.
Or maybe I just noticed because I was looking for changes. I don't know.
At the very least, the constant adjustment made it much easier to ignore the, revelation of nights previous.
Which was being very, very much ignored. While before the distance was somewhat disappointing, it was now quite the good thing.
It's fine.
It'll fade quickly enough.
It didn't really matter anyway. It, really didn't.
Anyway.
The Dragon Radar had been left with me to return. There were exactly two reactions to my visible physical changes.
One was Nappa frowning and handing money off to Bulma. Which was, interesting to decipher the implications of.
Bulma later said she'd have a new suit and the sword sheath done in the next few days. Having no other real reaction to any changes.
And the other-
"NO! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO RUIN EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME?!"
Was Trunks.
Technically Clover also had a reaction of smug glances at Trunks but that was quite easily overshadowed.
From what I can tell there wasn't even a bet over it. Just bragging rights on her winning the argument.
It was, the most entertaining reaction thus far.
And, considering that was the closest thing I've gotten to a negative reaction, I'd say things went well, all things considered.
I mean sure, it's not like everyone knew, but it wasn't like I was about to go on some announcement tour either. At this point, people would just find out when they did, if at all.
The biggest concern left was school. At this point, all it would take is someone looking at me for more than two seconds for the difference to be noticed.
But, that wasn't really something that could be avoided either.
So, I simply went.
I walked through the halls as though nothing had changed. Most random passersby didn't even glance twice, the ones that did I just assumed were the lingering glances from Bibidi's shenanigans, most of which had already dispersed due to Sharpener and Erasa's efforts.
It was only as I actually neared the classroom that the glances became more noticeable, and still, I did not miss a step.
Nothing has changed.
Maybe if I act like that, the still rather minor, even if ever more noticeable, changes will not be noticed.
So, I walked in as if nothing had changed.
Getting to my seat, it was almost surprising how well it worked. There were a few second glances but nothing that went past vague confusion.
It was almost comical, the double take Chico took.
She physically covered her mouth, as if to prevent herself from shouting.
She instead immediately whipped out her phone and rapidly started texting. Not two seconds later I started receiving them. A jumbled mess of exclamations, riddled with typos that she didn't bother to correct.
Even had I wanted to reply in that moment, I couldn't, as they came too quickly to even begin.
I suppose, I probably should have sent a heads up beforehand. Whoops.
Before I could even begin any sort of explanation, Sharpener and Erasa came in. Which, I should probably wait anyway so I don't have to repeat myself a whole bunch.
Sharpener paused upon seeing me and blinked.
"Oh. You look like a girl." Erasa then punched him in the arm. "Ow! Uh- I mean-"
I waved it off. As far as reactions went, it was one. I don't know. I was somehow both tired from the attention it'd been getting but also, expected more? I mean, I'm glad there wasn't but- I don't know really.
At least the class was still empty enough that there wasn't anyone really close enough to overhear.
Not that there was much of a point in the long run but- whatever.
The two sat, turning in their chairs to still be able to talk.
"So like, can we use girl words now?" Sharpener asked.
"I mean, I guess? Yeah," I shrugged, "it's not like it'll be hideable for long.
"Cool, cool," he nodded turning back forward as he and Erasa started talking to themselves.
I raised an eyebrow to Chico who managed to look up long enough to shrug. Checking my phone I was many many more texts behind. Dozens, easily.
Videl entered as the classroom was starting to fill in more. She paused as she saw me, nodded, then sat.
Ok then.
Most didn't really glance twice as they filed in. I was hardly the most social after all, and it's not like I changed the way I dressed or anything. A few of the people who sat close by glanced twice, but most shook it off without comment. Either not really caring, or just uncertain of what specifically had changed.
Most. That is.
Booker, the kid who'd questioned me before about the Babidi thing, decided it was a perfectly fine thing to question.
"Hey, did you get a haircut or something? You look different."
"Uh, no. I didn't get a haircut."
"Oh really? 'Cause you definitely look different."
"Who cares man? Maybe Gohan just got a jacket or something," Sharpener interrupted.
The scenario suddenly felt far more familiar.
"No, that can't be right. There's definitely something different about him."
Erasa's head turned sharply towards him. "Excuse me?" She sounded incredulous.
"What?"
"What did you just say?"
"I- I just said that he looks different..?"
"Oh. So just because Gohan isn't super feminine it's ok to call her a guy?"
"Wha-"
"What the hell man? Messed up," Sharpener agreed.
"What? I don't- what?" Booker looked back at me, and I guess my raised eyebrows over the entire conversation only proved to confuse him more.
He almost looked panicked as he searched for a response. "But- but- last week! You called Gohan a dude and-"
"Yeah? So? Do you actually know anyone who doesn't use that for anyone? What, do you expect me to say "dudette"?" The confusion on Sharpener's face looked so genuine it was almost concerning.
"Wait but- no- wait-"
"If you're going to insult someone, at least you have the decency to do so to their face," Videl stated, not even glancing over. She had the same stern tone she so often did at school.
Sharpener's mask almost faltered, apparently not expecting Videl to join in on their scheme. He quickly fixed it back, though not quite as seamless as before.
"I wasn't insulting anybody! I just-" he glanced around. By now several people were listening in on the interaction.
He looked rather distressed actually. I probably should have said something sooner.
"It, really doesn't matter," is all I could think to say. Booker had already fallen silent, likely since any response only really made the situation worse.
Class soon started and the situation faded as and high school conversation would. Albeit, likely more embarrassing in Booker's perspective.
"Should I be concerned about how good you guys are at that?" I asked after class, as we were walking up the stairs.
"Good at what?" Sharpener asked.
"Very funny."
"I don't know what you're talking about," he insisted and I blinked, dully.
"Ok."
We continued up the stairs until I felt the need to speak on it again. "Don't you think it went a bit far though?"
"Booker's got a loud mouth. He could have stopped when you first tried to dismiss him. Even gave him a second chance. He didn't, so it's his own fault." Sharpener raised his chin dismissively as he spoke.
"Besides!" Erasa added, "Now no one else is gonna question it because everyone thinks everyone else always knew you were a girl and that they were just the ones who got it mixed up!" It was, kinda definitely concerning how gleeful her tone was about it.
Yeah…they were definitely going to use this power for evil one day. But like, in a world where Vegeta was just allowed to, exist, without consequence, who was I to say anything.
And like, what was I supposed to say to that? Should I thank them? It definitely wasn't a good thing to have done. Like, pretty bad actually. But, it was beneficial to me, I guess. And the only real consequence was a bit of embarrassment for a teenager which is hardly the worst thing to happen.
The entire situation just felt kinda uncomfortable.
Before I could decide on a response, the moment passed and we were on the roof.
"So, like, being done with the whole wrong pronouns thing is great and all, but what even happened? Doesn't that kind of change take like, time?" Sharpener asked.
"Dragon Balls," I said. At the same time, I heard Chico say the same thing, just adding a "probably" at the end.
"What?"
"Dragon Balls. You collect seven and a dragon grants your wish."
"…what?"
"How do you think so many people were brought back to life after Buu?"
"..I've been trying not to think about that whole thing actually," Sharpener stated.
"Oh. Right, Yeah that's fair." It's not like I've let my mind linger on it for too long either.
"How does that work?" Videl asked.
"You, collect all seven and Shenron grants your wish," I reiterated.
"Ok. But, how?"
"I don't know, magic?"
Videl frowned. "Well, what about rules then. Or is any wish you want?"
"No, there are rules. Like, you can't bring someone back to life more than once or if they died of natural causes. Or if they died more than a year ago. ..actually, I'm not certain that that's a set rule or if that one's situational."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, technically the one-year rule was only mentioned when a very large group of people needed to be brought back. So, I'm not sure if the same rule would apply if you were just bringing one or a few people back. I guess it doesn't really matter, at least not right now."
"That's a pretty important distinction to make," Videl stated.
"Important? I mean, it'd be interesting to note for future reference, but I don't think it's all that important at the moment."
Videl frowned, narrowing her eyes.
"Of course it is. What if, say someone wanted to wish Cell Back to life. The distinction would be pretty important then."
"Well, I mean, if someone wanted to bring Cell back to life, he wouldn't exactly be much more difficult to deal with now than he was before."
"That's not the point. What do you do to prevent someone from making such a wish?"
"Uh, I mean, my dad usually keeps the four star dragon ball, but like, we don't actively try to stop anyone from gathering them."
"Why not? That seems like a rather obvious problem to prevent."
"I'm not in charge of the Dragon Balls, Videl. I can't control who does or doesn't use them," I grimaced and consciously lowered my tone back down, "Technically, if anyone's in charge of them, it'd be Dende, but he's pretty hands-off about it too."
"Dende? That kid you guys called guardian? Why would he be in charge of them?"
"Well, he's the one currently tied to them, so to speak. After he, inherited is probably the closest word for it, the dragon balls from the guy who made them. The dragon balls are unusable if the guy who's tied to them dies, and while Kami didn't really die, necessarily, kinda- it's complicated. Dende's in charge of 'em. If you really want I could take you up to the lookout and he can just give an entire lecture on the topic. It's like, a minimum of eight hours."
"Ok."
I blinked. Videl did not.
"I was joking."
"I wasn't."
"Videl. It is not that serious I promise."
"There are magical orbs that grant wishes out for anyone to use. That sounds pretty serious."
"They're scattered. Across the earth. Seven small orbs. Across the entire earth. Not to mention, I just used them, they can neither be used, or found, for the next year."
"Why's that?"
"That's just how they are. They're inert for a year after being used. They just look like normal round stones. Even if I wanted to find them, I literally could not."
"Ok. But that doesn't change the fact that once they are able to be collected, it's an obvious risk if they're just free to take. Or what if you were to need them but someone else already found one? That'd be pretty inconvenient."
I suppressed a groan as I rubbed my palms into my eyes.
"Ok! This is clearly a circular argument! Let's not!" Erasa decided, shutting down any attempts of continuing. To the point where she would interrupt anything related to the dragon balls at that point, especially if Videl was the one bringing it up.
…
The chief of police was utterly flummoxed.
He was skeptical of the rather short man from the moment he saw him. Even with Miss Videl's recommendation.
At first, he decided to go a bit easier on the tests due to said recommendation. But he had run through the basic training course without issue. It was a course that no one passed the first time, it was only supposed to be a test run to show newcomers what they'd have to eventually overcome.
He had broken the record time.
He wasn't even winded.
Any weight test was passed- getting far past what would normally be considered dangerous for any recruit. At that point, he was trying to find something that would slow the man down, but they ran out of weights.
The man barely looked sheepish as they did. The chief wasn't even sure if he fully realized the implications of the situation.
He recoiled from the taser test, but only so much as one would recoil away from a gum shock toy.
And the goddamn pepper spray test. The man acted as though the greatest inconvenience about it was that he couldn't see. He's had men on their knees during and in pain hours after such a test.
And after all that, the man still looked just as earnest as he started. Like he still wasn't certain if he was capable for the job.
Which, there were obviously nonphysical tests he'd have to do, but, he simply could not let this man get away. He would personally drill the lessons into his head if that's what it took to get him on the team.
Just how did Miss Videl even find this guy? Was she even aware of his abilities? If he didn't know any better, which he did of course, he'd even say this man had more capability than even Miss Videl's father. Which was ridiculous, of course, but he simply was that shocked over this strange, short man who came from seemingly nowhere. The only thing that came up in any background checks was a few world tournaments, none of which he won, and being a possible suspect of being one of the folks on the sidelines of the Cell Games. But that was hardly illegal and was no reason to disqualify him from consideration.
Frankly, he probably would have overlooked a few things even if he had a record if it meant adding him to the team.
As the man was changing back into his streetwear, the Chief couldn't help but notice a massive scar on both his chest and his back.
How does one get a scar like that? Let alone survive whatever caused it?
He wasn't quite sure he wanted the answer to that question.
…
Videl frowned as she walked. She had so been looking forward to the end of the day. Krillin had said he'd be in the area so he figured it'd be a good day to set a baseline of where her current skills are at.
But now she had her thoughts split between that and the new information she'd received.
The Dragon Balls.
She wasn't quite sure what was worse, the fact that such powerful items existed and were free for misuse, or the fact that she hadn't actively questioned how they'd all returned to life.
She recognized that it had been a chaotic time, and some details were bound to slip through the cracks, but that was quite the detail to overlook.
Why was that? Why had she missed such an obvious fact? Why had she accepted it so easily?
What else has she accepted at face value? Would she even recognize something as strange if it was so normalized to her? She did the same by simply accepting that her father had killed Cell, even though such a thing made no sense in hindsight.
Why did no one seem to care? Gohan acted as though the existence of the dragon balls was just a normal and casual thing. Why did no one else question when hundreds, if not thousands of people sprung back to life? How many times had this happened?
How many times have countless people been wiped from existence, only to pop back in as though it didn't matter?
When did human life become a commodity that was so easily replaced and repaired?
She shook the thoughts from her head, especially as she neared the park where she'd agreed to meet Krillin at.
There would be a time and a place for further questioning, and that moment was not it.
She met up with the shorter man and they went to a less populated, but still public place to begin.
Krillin was impressed with what she could do, stating that she was far stronger than he was at her age and seemed to have to think about where they could begin.
"I'll be honest Videl, when I got to around your level, my first teacher set me loose to learn on my own. But this was supposed to be more about techniques than training anyway so that should be fine. If you'd been in my position, I'm sure you'd get to be just as strong, if not stronger than I ever was. But, some of the opportunities I've had would be difficult to recreate…but that's probably for the best anyway."
"Why would me not having the opportunity to be stronger be a good thing?"
The man's hand brushed over his chest before smiling, " Well, there have just been some unpleasant things I wouldn't want others going through."
Videl didn't push for an explanation, but she was getting tired of vague answers.
Did he know anything about the dragon balls? Gohan acted as though it was common knowledge among their group, so he must, right?
"You seem distracted. What's up?" He asked.
Videl glanced over. Well, she'd been handed the perfect opportunity to ask, now hasn't she?
"It's just someone that Gohan said. Do you know anything about the dragon balls?"
Krillin blinked before smiling, "Of course! One of my earliest adventures with Goku was looking for them. Ah, but you're probably not interested in old stories like that. Why do you ask?"
She was interested. She did want to know. Every new detail she learned about their group threw in more loops than she could have thought possible. She wanted to know every detail she could.
But she could ask another day.
"It's just, isn't that dangerous? Shouldn't you do something to protect them from people who'd misuse them?"
Krillin blinked. Then tilted his head as if he hadn't even considered it before.
"Well, that'd seem pretty hypocritical to me. I mean, the only reason I'm alive right now is because of them, so if someone else needs them and manages to find them, who am I to stop them?"
Videl frowned, "You mean because of Buu killing us?"
Krillin glanced over, before half laughing, "Oh, no. That wasn't the first time I died. The first time I died, I was a little younger than you are. A couple years, if I were to guess. I don't remember much of it really, but I know it was one of the Demon King's underlings who did it. And well, I was dead, so I'm afraid I can't add much more detail."
Videl frowned, "but I thought Gohan said you can only be brought back once with the Dragon Balls?"
"Oh, yeah that's correct. They used Namek's Dragon Balls to bring us back this last time. That's why Gohan was able to use Earth's without them needing to recharge."
And, there goes another loop. Namek? She's pretty sure Gohan's mentioned that before. But why would one be called Namek's and the other Earth's? That makes it sound like it was a different planet or something.
"There's more than one set?"
"Oh yeah, Namek's were the originals really. They're also more powerful than ours. They can make three wishes instead of just one, and can bring people back more than once. They used to have the downside of only being able to bring one person back, but apparently, they changed that. Also apparently you can change their capabilities. Which was, news to me."
Videl's mind spun, a million questions running through it. But she'd have to prioritize the point for now, Krillin probably had better things to do than answer questions all day.
"But isn't it still too dangerous? Wouldn't it be better to prevent the risk altogether?"
Krillin considered her question. "There's always going to be bad people, Videl. "There's always going to be people with bad intentions who want to use the dragon balls for evil. But there are good people too. And it's not fair to them if we always only prepaid for the worst case. And if someone uses them for evil, then we'll deal with it. Like we always do," his eyes suddenly looked far more tired.
"Videl, believe me when I say that I am afraid. I'm, always afraid. Of the next threat. What that could be. I'm well aware that I'm not the strongest, and that I never will be. I'm aware that if the threats continue to rise in strength, then I'll only fall further behind, but I'll still be there. It's not, it's barely something I'd have control over. I'd be there, because I always am. And, that scares me.
"But I'm also glad. I am so, so happy with where I am. I have great friends, a wonderful wife who is far better than I ever could have hoped for, and a beautiful daughter. Hey, I'm even being considered for a really cool job." Krillin play-punched her in the shoulder. Right, the recommendation.
"And, if the price to all that is having to fight a few times every few years. I'm, ok with that. Even if I get hurt, or worse. I'm still ok with that."
He looked over with a more lighthearted expression, "I'm still going to maintain that I'm retired though. I don't need to be anyone's first choice as a recruit. Not that I think I would be, but no need to take the risk."
Videl wasn't quite sure how to respond, but she wasn't given the opportunity either.
"Anyway!" Krillin suddenly stood up, "I'm gonna need a few days to figure out a plan for how I'm gonna teach you, I'll let you know when?"
She agreed. Who was she to argue with whatever schedule he wanted. He was doing her a massive favor after all.
And she, had to decide what she thought of his words too.
…
Chico sighed as she returned home.
Home.
Even after a few years, it was still nice to think.
It wasn't like Pigero was ever really allowed to officially adopt them or anything, the age gap wasn't quite wide enough to justify it. But since he was well trusted by the establishment, and she and Rom were already teenagers, he was allowed to be their "legal guardian" until they turned 18, with the occasional check-in to make sure everything was running smoothly.
So long as he was able to keep the roof up and the fridge filled, and they kept the place at least presentably clean, there wasn't much that they'd have an issue with. Unless she or Rom mentioned any issues, but obviously that'd never happen.
"Goh's out now. Don't need to hide her pronouns anymore," she explained. And didn't disagree when Rom said she should have told them herself.
Pigero said that she was probably dealing with a lot at the moment. It was probably a stressful time for her.
She didn't disagree with that either.
The two didn't exclude each other. She still could have told them. They could have helped her.
But it was hardly a new revelation. Goh didn't talk about things. She's always been like that. That was the entire joke about the lore board. Them having to piece together information from random offhand statements.
It was even worse with personal stuff. For that, they didn't even get anything off-hand. Goh was more likely to shut down than answer anything personal.
If anything they were lucky Goh knew she was a girl so young, or else they might not have even been told that.
Not for the first time she wondered why she did tell them. She clearly knew enough to keep it from her parents after all.
And not for the first time she dismissed it. She'd long since accepted it was probably because she probably expected to never see them again after their first meeting.
They were lucky she was wrong then, if that were the case.
It was no wonder why she didn't really talk about stuff. From what she could tell none of the adults in her life really did either. The bald guy, Krillin, might be the closest thing to an exception.
They'd hardly been told anything during the Buu thing. All they knew were bits and pieces they were able to pick up as information trickled around.
Goh died.
They all died. But Goh died first. And she couldn't have pried that information out of Piccolo directly if she tried. It took dying herself for the implications to actually set in.
Something about that still bothered her, but she wasn't sure what.
Goh was like, Piccolo's favorite person, or something. And she was definitely closest to him too. So if something so serious could happen and he couldn't even say so-
It must be different when you're in the group. A lot of the time they seem to know what each other mean even if they don't say it.
But some things need to be said. And Goh doesn't seem to know how.
Goh doesn't talk about things.
And Chico couldn't help but think that that was going to cause some serious problems eventually.
In my mind Sharpener and Chico are eating popcorn as Videl and SIGohan argue about the Dragon balls
