Trunks disliked school with a passion. He had to humor his mom and grandparents and attend, sometimes, or at least during tests, because he wanted to make them proud and show just how smart he was, but kids and teachers? All dumb. Curriculum being studied for entire days when just reading them once was enough? Boring. Annoying. A waste of time.

So when he promised he'd go, it was out of wanting to show how much beneath him all of them were, showing off some of his purchases and generously sharing toys during the first recess. Sure they were beneath, but they were still interesting, if only they recognized it… By the time second recess ended, he had had enough and ended up causing a ruckus. His patience had run thin, and despite his teachers trying their best to curb the behavior, they ended up having to send him to admin, who called his home and so he would be picked up early. 'Suspension', they called it.

Except they weren't available. His grandparents had left on a business trip the day prior and weren't going to be back for a little while, and Bulma was busy with meetings she couldn't really skip. 'Auntie' Tights was absent as well, and his father never put a foot in school, ever, so Bulma didn't consider asking him to do such a thing, out of (legitimate) fear of him blowing up the school.

"Hang in there until lunch, Trunksie, I'll send someone to get you, alright? Then we'll talk about your behavior."

"Ok, Mama."

As lunch time started, Tora received a phone call from Bulma asking her to please pick up Trunks from school as he was causing issues and they didn't want to end up with damages. She added she had carte blanche to deal with the situation as she saw fit as the kid's 'guardian'. Tora thought about it for an instant, but ended up easily accepting, she was only really happy going to school because Gohan was there and because her mother wanted her to, so skipping the afternoon wasn't that much of a problem. It's not like she wanted to get into further education or get good recommendations from the teachers. The earlier rumors about a new superhero in town, 'the Great Saiyaman', had circulated, and it took exactly two seconds for Tora to link those events to Gohan's new costume.

She excused herself from Gohan, Erasa, Sharpner and Videl, put her school badge away and popped her car out to get going, after briefly explaining she had a little 'family emergency' to take care of.

.

There was something profoundly uncanny as Tora recognized the school she once attended as a child herself. The circumstances had been quite different, but West City had been relatively untouched until she turned eight, so it was.. eerie.

She announced her presence to retrieve the troublesome child, and was allowed on school grounds once her identity was checked, to have a talk with admin about Trunks' behavior. That's how they were both sitting in the principal's office.

"Mrs Bulma Brief has extended parental authority to you. Tora Brief, right?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"I can see the resemblance."

"Mhm."

"Are you his father? No name is registered for him in our paperwork. Should we add you as such?"

Tora couldn't help a stiff chuckle, the situation partially reminding her of one she has been in. Trunks grinned. His father in school would be quite a sight to behold, and clearly they both imagined Vegeta in here and decided to have a good laugh about it later. Tora glanced at Trunks, then gave him a knowing smile before turning her attention back to the principal, more severe.

"There are plenty of reasons for that information to have been kept from the school. For all intents and purposes, I am his father today."

Tora repeated the words her own mother had told a similar admin personnel (perhaps was it even the same person? She did not remember). Of course, in her case it had been because Vegeta was dead, but she still found the admin's behavior inappropriate and since she had been given full parental rights in relation to the school, she could very much allow herself to be a little.. assertive. The intended effect was successful, between the stern, intense look and the realization that the comment might have addressed something that was none of the school's business.

".. Right. Well, Mr Brief. Trunks has been doing quite a lot of mischief in class, disruptive, talking back and acting up."

"Is anyone dead or injured?"

"Why no, of course not!"

"Then calling for trivial things like these is a waste of everyone's time." Tora was cutthroat, and Trunks hid his smile under the collar of his tee, which he pulled over his nose to play.

"But— his behavior has been disruptive enough that his teacher felt the need to have him removed from class." The man behind the desk was destabilized. Did the Briefs only care if there was an injury in school? Were they so little involved with their child?

"What got you expelled, Trunks?" she plain asked her counterpart instead.

"I finished my project before everyone else, and the other kids kept dragging things and making stupid slow mistakes. So I went to them to finish faster, to go to the next step."

"I take it that everyone needed to complete before moving on to the next activity?" Trunks confirmed Tora's assumption, so she continued, turning back to the principal. "So Trunks was bored and wanted to help. Next time, give him a longer challenge or have him be a teacher's assistant to other children."

"Oh that sounds sick, Uncle Tora! Like, I could show them how it's done and get to the fun parts faster?" Trunks was seemingly excited at the idea. Leadership was in his blood.

"That isn't your role in school, Trunks-kun. You're only seven," the principal protested.

"I'm almost eight," Trunks huffed. Tora put her hand on his hair, gently, to calm him down. It then slid down the side of his face, bringing him under her arm when he leaned in and found comfort, not unlike his mother's.

"There's this issue of him wanting to boss other pupils, and even teachers."

"You do?" Tora looked down, and Trunks nodded, a little red with embarrassment. "Why?"

"Because they need a prince, since they're so disorganized and stupid, I want to lead them. Move faster. Get better."

"Trunks needs to learn how to work in a team, even if he thinks the other children are 'beneath'," the principal made a gesture to show he was quoting the boy. "He comes to school punctually, only to boss and stress other kids. It is becoming a problem."

"That we can work on," Tora conceded, gently rubbing the kid's shoulder through his tee. "Bulma-san and myself also had a hard time dealing with being held back."

"And there are the lies, about calling himself an elite warrior or retelling all sorts of other ludicrous events."

"They're not lies! You Earthlings can't understand," the boy protested, and Tora squeezed him gently. The principal wasn't impressed and raised an eyebrow, expecting Tora to correct.

"Trunks, would you mind waiting for me just outside?" Tora asked her alternate self. Trunks felt a slight ki spike, looked up and saw his father's and his mother's glare in those blue eyes, the kind that meant imminent danger. He agreed, gave a little bow of the head to the principal, grabbed his bag and went out.

Once the door closed, Tora looked back at the principal.

"You heard him call himself a prince.."

Tora couldn't help a smirk, the boy was truly Vegeta's kid. And Bulma's. Ego as big as a city.

"I am afraid we won't be able to correct such statements as they are factual."

"Come again?"

"You are free to decide whether all of it is the expression of a vivid imagination, and is ultimately harmless, or it is something you will regret prying into, considering our family, Mr Principal."

That sounded like a threat. Or a promise. The principal gulped. Tora nodded, the message was clear enough.

"I see."

"Good. You must also understand Trunks is an only child, raised surrounded by the greatest minds of this era. Challenge him, with older children perhaps, and he will be a driving force. Frustrate him, and his excess energy will become a much bigger problem than simple disruption. No amount of parenting can solve this."

"Mhm I suppose you're right. He is already in the talented and gifted programs, but it seems it is still not enough. We will see what we can do. If you manage to curb the worst of his contempt for fellow students..."

"I will let Bulma-san know and see if we can get him to be less abrasive to his peers than we were, but you ought to keep your domestication expectations low."

The conversation was over, Tora stood to leave, her patience done for. She left the office without giving the man any sort of farewell, met Trunks' eyes, a silent 'let's get out of here' which the boy promptly followed. He stood from his bench, put his backpack on and ran after Tora to leave school.

"Shall we grab lunch?" Tora offered, extending a hand to the boy as they made their way through the corridors, ignoring children and adults who had finished eating going about their break. Trunks didn't hesitate to agree, he was getting hungry and school food was far from filling, and he accepted the offered hand.

.

Soon they were out of school grounds and Tora walked straight to the bakery, letting Trunks order whatever he wanted. She got herself some bread-based pastries and cake, and they went to eat it in the park, the park where she went with Gohan many times prior. Sitting under the same tree, eating, and strangely, not smoking, even if she wanted a good dose of nicotine right there and then.

"Tora, you'll tell Mama about all of this? I'm going to be so grounded."

"I will not. I know how Mama can be, and how her expectations can be a little hard to understand, especially when we need to blend in with normal people."

"We?" Trunks asked, curious, half a mouthful of his third desert still being swallowed.

"I am a Saiyan, too."

"Oooh that's why you're strong! I thought it was only Papa, big bro Gohan, Goten and me."

"On Earth, that would be correct. But I don't live on this planet," she smiled as she ate. Technically correct, the best kind of correct.

"Well it's cool I'm not the only one with weird hair."

"Who are you calling weird, kid?" Tora ruffled Trunks' hair with a grin.

"Ok ok, sorry, sorry!" Trunks protested and grumbled, he wanted to fix his hair but his hands were still creamy. Tora gave him her handkerchief to clean up a little.

"Thought so. So we need to plan a little what you're going to do to hide amongst the other pupils and teachers, alright?"

"I dunno if I wanna. They're boring. School's a drag."

"Pfft. You say you don't want to, but that's because you aren't smart enough to pull it off." Tora had learnt to know her own buttons, and by extension, Trunks'. And absolutely used the tools her own mother had used on her.

"Hey what did you say! You think I can't do it? You think I'm a dumb kid?"

It worked like a charm, and Tora couldn't be any more proud. They started devising a plan to 'present' as a normal Earthling and put on a fake persona. Trunks the student was not the real Trunks, the real Trunks was only for worthy people. The challenge was to think like them, then, if he felt unchallenged, slide in help without them noticing. So they think the solution comes from them, not from someone else. Tora promised to talk to Bulma to get him much harder activities for when he got bored and frustrated with his peers, but that otherwise, he needed to let kids figure it out themselves and sneak in some clues under their noses sometimes.

When all food was eaten and their improvised picnic cleaned, Tora got a phone call from Syowa, inquiring about her absence.

"I had a family situation. I could come in for the last couple of classes, but it won't be ideal."

"You go to school?" Trunks asked, curious. Tora acquiesced with a nod and continued her conversation.

"Somewhat. Yes.. With Trunks.. Almost eight… Alright. Trunks, would you like to attend chemistry class with me? To practice our little 'plan'."

"Bet."

"He says he wants to come. Ok. We will come by when we arrive."

As they agreed upon, with the high school admin's blessing, the two of them drove back to Orange Star. Trunks asked her watch to tell Bulma she had Trunks with her and to not worry, they would come back later during the day. With its pairing to the telephone, it sent her a text.

The pair stopped by Syowa's to get a temporary badge, and rushed to class. Syowa couldn't help but comment on how cute Trunks was and how big he had gotten, and Trunks huffed a little. 'They really do look alike. It's not surprising,' Syowa thought as they walked away.

.

Chemistry was uneventful even if the teacher wasn't impressed with having a little kid forced on him, but he dealt with it. Trunks absolutely loathed being treated like a little kid. The girls calling him cute and handsome, though, he liked. That was nice.

He remained close to Tora for the experiments and observed up close everything, promising to keep his hands to himself and putting on his 'good pupil' role. How chemicals mixed and reacted was fascinating for the boy who paid a lot of attention and even wrote down some notes of what the teenagers and young adults were doing as pairwork. Tora was right when she said the boy needed challenges, altho she was herself a little lost about Chemistry due to her own lack of methodology and school experience, she mostly followed the lead of whomever she was paired with.

Midway through, however, Videl's beeper went off and the girl, after carefully putting away what she was doing, ran off. Something about a building on fire. Tora didn't miss Gohan's worries, and claiming he needed to go to the bathroom, he abandoned Angela and their experiment. Erasa thankfully stepped in to help keep everything secure, since she was paired off with Videl.

Trunks wondered what was that all about, and Tora just whispered she'd explain it later, focusing on the experiment so as to not cause an accident.

The day's medical exams had been shorter than anticipated, being a Brief had its advantages and Tights had to think about a way to apologize to her actual sister, the woman whom she was impersonating, for using her identity like that.

Her tests all came back alright, 'for her age', with the occasional comment about her smoking. She groaned, grumbled, but accepted that she may have to quit. Surprisingly, her biological age matched her sister's actual age, so it came in handy. She'd have to make sure Tights, the real one, would be informed of the shenanigans so she would not have issues when she came back to Earth. That or get someone to wipe out those files. Tights, the real one, had left to explore the universe when she was a teenager, as young as Bulma was when she embarked on her own adventure to find the Dragon Balls. That felt like forever ago.

When she came back she was surprised to see everyone but Vegeta was absent. It had been seventeen years since his death, and he was there, in the kitchen.

"Woman," he called after her, and she stiffened.

"Can't work the microwave?" she tried playing it off.

Vegeta had to roll his eyes, he was perfectly capable of working the kitchen on his own.

"I'm making food. Do you want some?"

"Uh sure. You can cook?"

"Tssk, of course I can."

Tights sat at the kitchen table and observed a copy of her lover cook, quite well too, even if he was doing something simple. It wasn't close to diner time, but it was well past lunch. Saiyans were just always hungry, and it seemed Vegeta had chosen to take more meals instead of eating absurd portions when eating with everyone else. At least compared to what Goku could eat, at dinner Vegeta ate a lot but not inhumanely so.

So he fixed two plates of eggs, lard and peas and put them both on the table with some toasted bread, and placed hers in front of her, then his own and sat to eat.

"It looks great, thanks, Vegeta."

Vegeta just hmphed and ate his plate, even if his eyes never left the strange but similar woman.

".. Stop staring like that."

"You're my mate, but you're also not. Can't help it."

"Imagine where my mind is," she chuckled a little dry, but understood what he meant. "Trunks- My Trunks explained to me the talk you two had in the strange dimension. Bulma- your Bulma and I compared some things, it seems my version of you and I got.. mated a little later."

Saying so, she showed her right hand. Vegeta squinted his eyes, and nodded, understanding what she was showing.

"'Tora' was born later because your 'me' obtained super Saiyan later. Your invention and warning were fruitful."

"And it changed the future for the better," Tights was proud of herself. Sure Tora had been the messenger and acting one in the situation, but it was Tights' hard work which allowed it to happen. And Vegeta recognized it as such.

They ate, and Tights actually had to compliment Vegeta's cooking skills as better than her own. Not that it was a high bar to begin with, but still, and Vegeta grumbled at the compliments and attempts at conversation. He was still a quiet man who disliked company and socialization, but Tights saw the effort.

Eventually they got to talking about Gohan growing up and going to school, and Goku's passing.

"His brat isn't training seriously, that lineage is a waste of blood. Good on you for raising my heir not to mate with such a waste of blood."

Tights almost choked on her food. Did she hear it right?

"Well, I raised my baby right, thanks to your absence," she pulled her tongue at him, trying to redirect away from the uncomfortable talk about her daughter eventually going off to basically marry and have children of her own. She obeyed her and went to school with Gohan, but clearly she didn't want to learn the social skills necessary to go on into adulthood. She couldn't imagine it, even if for her she was still seventeen, truth is the girl was almost nineteen. She had no childhood. Chichi and Goku already had Gohan at that point in their life, after all.

"Are you saying I'm a bad influence on the boy?" He eventually grumbled, after finishing his plate.

"A terrible one," Tights confirmed, without believing a word of it, with a knowing, taunting smile, which soon turned serious. ".. Thank you, Vegeta."

"Why are you thanking me, woman?"

"You stuck around. Could've left for space, without Son-kun around to keep you challenged." Tights couldn't help but lament, after all the whole goal of her hard work had been for Goku to survive. Vegeta was ticked by that memory, he huffed a little.

"I promised her I'd stay for the brats. Even if Gohan has been slacking off. As for you, come with me."

Vegeta left the robots to clean up the table and walked to the greenhouse. He ordered Tights to sit while he disappeared for a few minutes, and came back with a tiny basket.

"I am not him, but my heir told me this is how to apologize to you," he extended the basket.

Tights looked bewildered at the token offered, while Vegeta looked away, visibly unwilling to face this version of the woman he had chosen as his life partner. She took the basket, and saw its contents. Strawberries. Some were still a little too green.

"My favorite," she breathed out, holding back her tears.

".. I went and fought for you both, but I died. You and the brat felt abandoned. I see who I was then and I will not repeat those mistakes. You avenged me with your Bulma-fucking-Brief brains, as a true Saiyan mate would have. I.. saw it, with the drone you sent."

Tights nodded and cried quietly, while Vegeta stood in front of her, not really knowing how to react. And yet something in him forced him to stay.

Class was dismissed before either two missing students came back, so Tora offered to take Gohan's bag and wait for him with Trunks, due to them being family friends, while Sharpner and Erasa took Videl's belongings to the boxing club.

While waiting on the roof for Gohan to come back, Tora briefly confirmed to Trunks that Videl worked with the police on occasion and that Gohan being Gohan couldn't let a normal human get involved in dangerous situations. Trunks admitted it was almost cool, but berated the name and outfit, and Tora couldn't help but chuckle.

"It isn't wrong for him to have fun and help people, even if he is a dork," she added.

"So you knew him when he was a kid?"

"Mhm, I met him for the first time when he was six. He was almost as cute as you," she added playfully.

Trunks pondered the information and was about to ask something else when the Great Saiyaman landed on the roof and after his costume disappeared, the three walked back inside in a hurry.

"Videl-san is onto me, she's coming back soon with her helicopter," he lamented. "Let's hurry and go to the library, ok? And if she asks, I had a bad case of stomach ache."

Of course Videl was starting to get suspicious, considering she's the local vigilante and since the Golden Warrior, and now the Great Saiyaman have appeared, hiding their identity… Tora couldn't help but find the situation as fate, considering the Devil she knew and the relation she and her version of Gohan had had. She would have to keep her mother updated and the information hidden, all while considering finding the right time to give him the talk. Just in case.

"Tora-san, you're not paying attention," Gohan lightly scolded, she had been thinking about all of that instead of properly studying chemistry in the library and going over the material Gohan had skipped.

"Mhm my apologies. Trunks understood the class better than me, though," she admitted sheepishly, although she knew it was because Trunks was far more invested in the experiment than she was, even if she had been the one doing it with Sharpner. Trunks was proud of himself and 'taught' the two older half-breeds with his notes.

Videl promptly joined them, ready to catch Gohan doing something weird or look suspicious. Both Tora and Trunks were quick to see how Gohan was a terrible, terrible actor, but she dropped it since they both said he was back after going to the toilet and they were now studying the experiment they did in class. Trunks was even bold enough to invite her to study with them, but she declined as she needed to get to her extracurriculars.

By the time Tora and Trunks made it back home, it was almost dinner time. Tora took Bulma aside to brief her on the meeting with the principal, and told her she plain took Trunks to high school where he was doing alright. She explained how she had convinced the boy to blend in a little more and challenged him to role-play 'normal student' in order to get his socialization skills to become better than her own.

She also let it slide that Gohan might need 'the talk' sometime sooner rather than later, as there was a girl chasing him, and while she doubted he was anywhere near 'interested', his temperature clearly gave signals that it was happening. Then again, she wasn't interested at all either, but Gohan, unlike her, had plenty of similar aged people around him, and dating was seemingly an important thing in school.

"After all, Gohan-san is almost seventeen, biologically, and there are plenty of.. options in Orange Star."

"What do you mean, he's turning sixteen— Oh fuck me sideways, I forgot about that weird room you guys were in back then," Bulma threw her arms up.

"Mhm. When was the last time Father saw him?"

"Oh…" Bulma played with her pearls, thinking about it. She saw Gohan on a few occasions, when he dropped off Goten, and when he requested the superhero watch. But when did Vegeta see him last? ".. A few months, I think? Don't tell me he has that scent-thing you wrote about in the notebook."

Tora got red-faced and quietly hissed. "I only noticed his temperature being higher. Almost as high as mine when I was in there," she sighed. Her first heat, locked away with Vegeta, had not been a great memory.

They were interrupted by Trunks wanting to eat already, so the whole family and spare parts sat for dinner. Vegeta took Trunks to spar and train before sleep, while Bulma, Tights and Tora enjoyed some coffee and a cigarette.

.

Once more, Tora spent the night with her mother, after having reviewed some of her courses. Tights reassured her there were still no worrying results, but that she would try and quit smoking. The one with coffee was still unavoidable, but with so much time spent doing various exams in non-smoking areas meant she had already cut down quite a lot.

The next day, Tora went with her mother for some exams for herself, mostly when it came to being a girl and verifying everything was functional. In their world, Tora had more or less self-medicated contraception to avoid menstrual cycles, but seeing an actual specialist and having them have a proper look was something Tights needed, to know her daughter was alright. And she, too, was long overdue for a similar check up.

Of course the doctor was a little taken aback seeing a young man in her office, but that was quickly corrected. Tora refused to let her mother be asked to leave when the doctor asked her some intimate questions during the examination, she needed her to be there, and while she hadn't told her everything, it was fine if she knew now better than never.

Tora answered truthfully, and Tights was happy her daughter had matured in that way. Yes, she had had sex, without protection for the first time, 'but he was a virgin as well'. She didn't bleed, it didn't hurt, and it was fine, she had been taught well and didn't jump in driven by lust, with him or anyone else. Tights was surprised, clearly her trips had made her daughter mature, even if she clinged back to her since they were reunited, but she had a solid head on her shoulders and with the whole mating business, there were few reasons for her to not have fun. After all, she brought her back to this era, and enrolled her in school, for such things. Tora needed to learn how to bond and be happy with people, not just with her mother.

Tora wanted to continue the patches, or something similar, so she wouldn't menstruate as it was a hindrance. They went for a solution that would last her a year and wouldn't require a patch anymore. She didn't want hormones to 'transition to become male' and was fine with doing what she was doing right now.

The doctor checked the damage on her ribs for binding for so long, but Tora was perfectly healthy. Probably due to her Saiyan endurance, but that information was kept from the doctor, obviously. Otherwise she was given an ok to practice any sports. No questions were asked as to why her papers said she was male either.

The days went on, Tora more or less kept an eye on Gohan and sometimes babysat Goten and Trunks, the latter of which had begun 'training to be a regular Earthling' by going to school a little more often. Tights waited for other results, and worked on some projects with Bulma. Vegeta trained Trunks more diligently, sparring and forcing him into a rage to get the best results. The Great Saiyaman grew in popularity and rumors, and Videl had tried catching him more than once. Gohan more or less managed to avoid her, flee, or hide her helicopter away so he could go back to school before her. It was ridiculously glorious.

Eventually, Tora became the de-facto second guardian for Trunks at school. There were a couple of instances of him not fully playing his role, after all he had the patience of a seven year old boy, but more often than not, as their hours matched, Tora often picked up her alternate self from school on her way back to Capsule Corp, stopping for a secret pastry. Some parents gossiped about this strange man suddenly showing up out of nowhere, and there was little doubt the kid was the spitting image of the long-haired young adult.

Trunks wasn't having it easy with Vegeta, but Tora saw her father cared for his son in ways he hadn't with her. He pushed him, but he was less.. blunt and harsh than he had been with her. He was by no means a loving 'human' father, and would probably never be, but she saw him. On occasion, when she slept alone for shorter periods, she crossed his path in the kitchen, and they'd share a silent cup of coffee.

She joined the music club, just to be allowed to practice piano at school during free periods instead of being forced to socialize with other students. She sometimes had an audience, younger and older students and even Syowa and the principal came to listen to practice sometimes. Gohan refused to join any clubs, focusing on pure academics (and his side hustle as the Great Saiyaman).

The following week, Mr Satan came to the school, and that was an event. Videl died of embarrassment. She loved her father very much, knew he was the strongest man on the planet, but he was a showman and loved attention.

The inauguration of the new gym was a feat, and he demonstrated his strength by breaking bricks and boards. For a 'normal' Earthling, Mr Satan was quite impressive, and Tora and Gohan agreed as much while attending the mandatory ceremony. As she had explained to Syowa and Mika before leaving, in 767, Gohan appreciated someone else taking the 'fame' for defeating Cell, even if it was perhaps a little too much even for him.

What they hadn't expected was that Mr Satan had also taken a hold of the school's auditorium, for a special screening of his movie. That, nobody knew about except the principal, so all classes that afternoon were canceled and everyone was welcome to come see the premiere. Everyone came, of course, everyone admired their hero, and seeing a movie / reenactment about everything that came down seven years prior?

While the teachers did their best to contain their students' enthusiasm and get them to sit, Syowa got closer to Tora.

"You know, after it all happened, the live footage disappeared."

"As expected. Some of the things the camera caught…"

"Are you sure you're alright seeing this propaganda? You know, they've changed the story quite a lot, about you, about your friends…"

"Mh.." she had to admit she needed to think about it, as her eyes focused on Gohan who was forced to sit with the rest of their classmates. She brought a hand to her neck, to touch the necklace Vegeta had gifted her, then to her chest. "I guess it's good for me— for us to know how the world perceives what happened."

"Us? You mean.."

"That day, there was a child with us, do you remember?"

"Yes, a little before the cameras went off... Blonde, purple outfit, white cape, he was said to be the lunch delivery boy?"

Tora confirmed Syowa remembered well, even if she didn't know anything about lunch break. Lunch, as in rice. Gohan's name. She chuckled as Mr Satan gave a speech about the movie being a hundred percent factual recollection of all the events, since he was there, and the cameraman and journalist had witnessed it all.

".. There was no lunch," Syowa realized. She had managed Gohan's admission and the strange spelling of his name, she knew Tora and him had been close in class, and she realized the connection. "Son Gohan," she breathed quietly.

"I count on your secrecy once more," Tora gave her a quick smile and went to sit with her classmates as Mr Algi called for her once more to stop messing around and come sit already.

Syowa knew about Tora's transformation, so the blonde kid wasn't 'blonde', he had the same alien genetics as Tora did. Seventeen and Eighteen had told her Tora was part alien, after all, and that the whole 'going blonde with flames' was something of their alien heritage. This explained the other two blondes… And perhaps the Golden Warrior too. Was it Gohan, or Tora? Or someone else entirely?

The movie was a very narrow retelling of the events. Tora, sitting behind Gohan with other classmates in the dark, almost snorted seeing herself represented as having charged, then having been slapped away and declared having lost due to ring out by Cell. There was a certain irony that it was exactly how Mr Satan had been defeated.

Thankfully, the costumes were so ridiculous that despite the accurate hair, there was no way they could be recognized as being the same person. The pants and top were normal-looking, but the voice was clearly far more female than Tora's own. The character walked swaying the hips, to indicate it was a girl (or a feminine boy?), and even had a tiara, since Cell called the fighter a 'princess'.

Tora leaned forward to talk to Gohan, who had turned to look at her, apologetic, feeling the extent of second-hand cringe. The sound was loud, but they whispered to each other safely.

"Tora-san, are you ok?"

"I guess I am a cute girl after all?" she couldn't help it, it was hilarious. She should be mortified about the idea of it being a way to be outed as a girl, but the situation was far too comical to set up her fears. "Oh Kami— is that Father? Ohhh he better never find out about this."

"Oh heavens, Vegeta-san!" Gohan mumbled, contained his laughter, the mini version of Vegeta was even more gremlin than the original, and both teens dreaded his reaction about being mocked like this.

Then came Goku's loss against Cell, showing all the 'tricks' about flying and bombs everywhere, with smoke and mirrors. Then everyone had been defeated and begging for Mr Satan's help. He defeated the monster effortlessly and the martial artists thanked him, disappearing into oblivion in hopes of one day being worthy of calling themselves fighters again and perhaps enter Mr Satan's dojo. Even Yamcha, the great baseball player, was there to support Mr Satan, and not as a fighter of his own.

Despite some stings to their pride, Gohan and Tora mostly focused on containing their laughter to themselves. They also whispered something about warning Krillin, Yamcha and the others before it went live, because it might… affect them, somehow.

When the movie ended, there was an impromptu meet and greet. Erasa and Inx berated Tora for laughing (even if quietly) during the movie, but excused it as clearly 'being off world meant that Tora-kun didn't know what we all risked'. Still, Tora had been rude, hadn't she?

"Oh I must shake his hand," Tora smirked. It had only been a few months since she caught the man from Cell's attack, and she wanted to see if he'd recognize her.

Gohan declined, he couldn't look the man in the eyes and not react to how angry he felt at how his father, his friends, and Tora had been humiliated, but Tora was feeling brave and vindictive.

There were less than two hundred people in the auditorium, so it was manageable and Tora was happy to wait and be last. And the reaction on Mr Satan's face when Tora approached, hair down, a knowing smile on her face, was absolutely worth the humiliation she went through on screen. She was last, and everyone was already leaving to talk about the amazing privilege they had. Gohan was waiting for Tora near the doors, alongside Mr Algi and Syowa.

"You.. look like…"

"A fan," she smiled, extending her hand.

Mr Satan was brave, and shook the hand, firm and strong, but Tora wasn't even fazed, and just matched his strength with no effort. The Champion turned white, but still pulled Tora a little closer to whisper so his agents couldn't hear. Mr Satan did not forget the face nor the voice of the person who saved his life, seven years prior.

"I only signed the rights to my image for this movie, I just discovered the movie now, they deformed my words and I'm so so sososo sorry— What's your price to keep it quiet?"

"You needn't worry. I am glad you are this world's Champion."

"You.. sure?"

"You gave hope and purpose to the world, and you raised your daughter well, Mr Satan." Tora gave the hand she was shaking a gentle pat. "That's all that matters to me."

When Gohan dropped off Goten for a day to play with Trunks, he did so in a full suit. He had been more or less coerced into a 'date', because he owed Angela an apology for ditching her during chemistry class, so his Sunday would be spent with the girl.

When the two boys were at the Briefs', it was usually video games, cards and studies, and when at the Sons', it was play-fighting and hiking. Tora loved playing with the boys on both estates, she learnt a lot from comics and cartoons with them, which card games were popular, who to root for in the different movies, what villain is the coolest and so on. Staying with them whenever possible was something she genuinely enjoyed, and that Sunday was no exception. Panchy and Dr Brief appreciated the help and Trunks seemed to be happy to have a younger 'adult' that somewhat acted as a big brother to him, which had been something he envied Goten for.

That Sunday, however, Tora's phone went off. Syowa had not called Tora often, and even more rarely outside of school hours, but this time when Tora picked up, she sounded panicked.

"Tora-kun, there's a fire! The building! Dad.. Dad is trapped on the roof!"