Dragon Ball SS: Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 

Bulma looked up as Trunks, Goten, Pan and Bra walked into the room. “Oh, good timing, kids!” she said. “I was just saying-” Her voice cut off short as she noticed Goten leaning heavily on Trunks and Bra. “Oh, no!” she exclaimed. “What's happened?”

 

“Long story,” Trunks said. “Goten's earned himself some cracked ribs, is all.”

 

“Oh, I told you kids not to get yourselves into trouble!” Bulma said. “Why didn't you let your father handle it?”

 

“Actually, Goten picked a fight with Grandpa,” Pan spoke up. “That other Saiyan never set a hand on us.”

 

Bulma pursed her lips. “Well, I'll get some bandages to at least wrap those ribs with until we can do something about it,” she said. “In the meantime, a couple of your friends are here, Bra. They stopped by just a few minutes ago looking for you.” She gestured toward the sofa, where two girls were sitting, watching them with interest.

 

Bra's eyes widened. “Oh, Ylva! Connor!” she said. “I totally forgot that I asked you two to come over today! I'm so sorry!” She hurried over and sat down in the chair across from them, and the other three followed. Goten perched himself carefully on the arm of Bra's chair, and Pan and Trunks each claimed other chairs.

 

The two girls on the sofa looked the four over curiously. “Is this a bad time?” one of them asked. She tilted her head to the side and brushed her thick, red bangs out of her eyes. “We can always come back later.”

 

“It's okay, Ylva. It's probably better now,” Bra said. She pinched the arch of her nose as she thought. “Daddy's not back yet, and I have a feeling that he's not going to be in that good of a mood when he does get back. I'd just as soon not deal with him right away...” She frowned in thought.

 

“Why don't we go hang out somewhere?” Connor asked. “We could always hit the mall or something.”

 

“Actually, that sounds like a great idea,” Trunks said. He stood and helped Pan to her feet. “That is, if you don't mind us tagging along, Bra. There was a store I wanted to stop at today anyway.”

 

“It's fine with me,” Bra said. She turned to Goten. “Goten-”

 

“Eh, your mom will have a fit if I go anywhere before my ribs are taped up,” he said. He chuckled ruefully, then winced and put his hand to his side. “It's what I get for being careless. You go on ahead; if I don't catch up later, I'll be here. There's nowhere else I'm going for a while.”

 

“All right,” Bra said. She leaned over and planted a kiss on his forehead, then stood up to join her brother and Pan. “We'll see you later, then.”

 

“So, Bra,” Ylva began. “I don't want to sound too nosy, but...Pan said something earlier about a Saiyan when your Mom asked about Goten's injuries. Isn't that what those experts were talking about on TV recently? I know your company is all up on technology, but are you also involved with this alien research?”

 

“And speaking of Goten,” Connor continued, “you looked awfully cozy with him. Is there something going on there we should know about? Isn't he like the same age as your brother?”

 

Ylva sighed and looked sideways at her. "Always the important questions first, right, Connor?" she asked.

 

Connor stuck out her tongue. "It is an important question," she said. "If Bra's off the market, that means the guys will have to quit swooning over her and look for other options."

 

Ylva rolled her eyes. "Bra's been off the market," she said. "Have you met a guy yet who could get past her dad?" She giggled suddenly. "Remember that biker jerk, Marten, from a couple years ago?"

 

Bra turned red suddenly. "He just decided to be an ass at the wrong time," she said. "My dad doesn't bend flagpoles around every man I meet."

 

Connor laughed. "Maybe not, but it was great watching all of Marten's tough-guy buddies take off on their bikes and leave him whimpering there until the fire department was able to pry him out," she said. She turned back to Bra. "So?"

 

"Yeah, yeah," Bra replied nonchalantly. "He and I are...seeing each other."

Connor squealed in delight. "Lucky!" she said. "And your dad's totally okay with it? I mean, even with how much older he is?"

 

Bra shrugged. "He's not thrilled," she said truthfully, "but Goten is Trunks's best friend, and he's always around. My family's known him for his whole life, so they know he's not just some creep. And it's not like he's after the Corporation's money or anything."

 

Before either of the other two girls could reply, Trunks and Pan walked up to the table. Bra glanced up at them skeptically. "And where did you two disappear to so suddenly?" she asked. "We only turned around for a second and you were gone."

 

Pan glanced sideways at Trunks, who nodded slightly and nudged her toward the other girls. "Go ahead," he said. "They'll see it before long anyway."

 

Pan smiled and held up her hand; a shining ring, encrusted on the top with diamonds, sparkled on her third finger. "Trunks bought me an engagement ring today," she said, matter-of-factly.

 

Bra sighed, even as the other two girls cried out in surprise.

 

"Wha-at?" Connor asked. "Bra, you didn't tell us about this! This is news! The world's most eligible bachelor is getting married?"

 

Bra glared at her brother. "I didn't say anything about it, because he didn't say anything about it. I take it you also haven't told Mama and Daddy you were planning to do this?"

 

Trunks shrugged. "I figured they would have guessed," he said. "The ring just makes it more official, is all."

 

"More official indeed," Bra replied. "I know what you're up to - you're getting back at Goten for the prank he pulled earlier on you. You know he won't be able to stand it, and he'll want to run out and get a ring for my hand." She waved her fingers in her brother's face to illustrate the point.

 

"Wait, what?" Ylva asked. "Does that mean that you're also planning to get married, Bra? Isn't it a little sudden?"

 

"Ooooh!" Connor squirmed in her seat. "I need details! Hang on, I'm going to go get a soda - and then I want the full scoop!" She quickly leaped up from the bench and dashed toward a nearby food stand.

 

Trunks and Pan settled themselves on the bench across from Bra and her friends. "It's actually not that big of a deal," Trunks said. "I've never understood what the fuss in the media was about anyway - it's not like I've been out to intentionally create a stir with who I date."

 

"No, but whenever you're reported to be single, it gives girls something to be all gaga about," Ylva pointed out. "Handsome, rich, smart, strong...what girl wouldn't be?" She sighed. "Not that I would know about that drama personally, but being surrounded by it daily gets old."

 

"Eh?" Bra asked. She arched an eyebrow mischievously. "You mean you don't look for those qualities in a girl?"

 

Ylva smiled. "I settle for nice tits and ass on someone who's not an airhead," she replied.

 

Trunks snorted. "Good luck with that," he said. Then he flinched and glanced at Pan and Bra, who had him fixed with narrow-eyed stares. "Eh heh...well, present company is all spoken for, right?" he asked. He nervously scratched the back of his head.

 

Ylva laughed. "Good save," she remarked.

 

Trunks's reply was cut off when Connor suddenly flopped down on the bench next to Ylva. She set her soda down heavily in front of her, then tossed a newspaper onto the table. "It looks like we weren't the only ones curious about the Saiyan thing," she said, "but the kind of things some reporters make up these days...you'd think they'd actually ask famous people before making up stuff about them."

 

The others glanced down at the newspaper and saw a bold headline proclaiming, "Capsule Corp President Married to Killer Alien." A substantial article followed it, including a large, front-page photo of a younger Vegeta in armor. Trunks quickly grabbed the paper and flipped through it; he was shocked to see additional photos that pointed to their Saiyan heritage, including a snapshot of Vegeta and an unfamiliar Saiyan standing in what seemed to be East Capitol prior to its destruction. He frowned and handed the paper to Bra and Pan.

 

The two girls looked over the article in surprise. "Where did they get these photos?" Bra wondered out loud. "It's unimaginable that they could have come from Capsule Corp - Daddy doesn't normally like photos of himself being spread around."

 

Trunks shook his head. "This one taken in East Capitol was before he and Mom ever met - or before he met anyone else here, by the looks of it; this crater in the street must be where their space pods landed." He folded the paper and stuffed it into an inside pocket on his jacket. "We'll take it back home; Mom and Dad should probably see this."

 

"Wait a minute," Ylva said suddenly. "Then that is your dad in the photo?"

 

Bra nodded reluctantly. "Though much younger," she said. "None of those photos are particularly recent...Daddy hasn't worn his armor in ages, for one thing."

 

"Then...you're Saiyan too, aren't you?" Connor asked.

 

"Half-Saiyan," Bra replied. "Trunks and I both are. Our mom is fully human."

 

"Man!" Connor exclaimed. She turned to look at Pan. "Pan, did you know? Does Goten know?"

 

Pan smiled ruefully and scratched the back of her head. "Yeah...I know," she said. "Goten's half-Saiyan too, and I'm quarter-Saiyan."

 

"Oooh, no one ever tells me anything!" Connor griped. She picked up her soda and sucked strongly on the straw in irritation for a moment, before returning it to the table.

 

Ylva stretched her arms behind her and yawned. "What's it matter?" she asked. "The media's hyping over nothing again. The world's still here, and obviously Saiyans are normal people, just like everyone else."

 

"Well...I wouldn't say normal," Bra said. "Saiyans tend to be stronger than most Earthlings, which is why none of us participate in the Tenkaichi Budokai anymore. But it's not the big deal that reporters are making it out to be." She started to continue, but was cut off when Trunks put his hand out to silence her.

 

"Speaking of whom," he said, "it seems like this would be a good time to take the discussion elsewhere." He nodded toward a small group of individuals carrying cameras and notebooks, who were hurrying toward their table.

 

One of the men in the cluster of reporters called out to the five teens as they stood up to leave. "Please, wait just a moment!" he called. "You're the Briefs children, aren't you? We'd like to get a comment on your family's connection to the Saiyans."

 

"We have no comment," Trunks said bluntly. "And we'd prefer that you leave our family and friends alone; Capsule Corp has a media contact specifically for media inquiries." He nodded to the girls, who quickly moved behind him toward the door.

 

A second reporter hurriedly held out a small, rectangular card. "Can we leave contact information with you, in case you change your mind?"

 

Trunks waved him off. "Any press releases will be sent out to all news agencies at the same time," he said, a bit more sharply than was necessary. "If you want to hear from us, I suggest you go back to your offices and watch your inboxes." He quickly moved between the girls and the reporters and herded the girls outside.

 

Pan and Bra glanced around quickly as they stepped through the door to the mall. Trunks noticed that they seemed to have the same thing on their mind as he did.

 

"This way," he said. He nodded to the side. "There's a back alley over here. We can lose them and take off from there without anyone seeing us."

 

Trunks and the girls sprinted down the sidewalk and ducked into the alley. Empty shipping crates stood alongside tall dumpsters and made a convenient screen to the people and traffic milling in the parking lot.

 

Ylva looked around in confusion. "But...this is a dead-end alley..." she began. "We'll have to go back out the way we came in."

 

Trunks shook his head. He watched and listened carefully for a moment, but didn't hear any indication that the reporters had seen where they'd gone. "Looks like we're clear," he said. "We'll go high enough that no one can see us and come down by the house - no one should be milling around there who hasn't seen it before."

 

Pan and Bra nodded. They each took one of the other girls around the waist and lifted them up. "Hold on," Bra said. "We're getting out of here."

 

"What-" Connor began. Before she could finish her sentence, however, Bra and Pan blasted into the air carrying the girls, with Trunks right behind them. It only took them seconds to make it the short distance to Capsule Corp, where they dropped down from directly above the Briefs' home.

 

Bulma was waiting for them on the front step when they landed. She frowned and folded her arms across her chest. "Goten said he thought you were on your way back," she said. She looked pointedly at Trunks and Bra. "I was watching for the car; what have I said about flying around town like that?" She eyed up Ylva and Connor as Bra and Pan set them carefully on the ground. "And hauling your friends around with you no less."

 

"Sorry, Mama," Bra said apologetically. "There were these reporters..."

 

"Reporters?" Bulma asked sharply.

 

"We ditched them before we took to the air," Trunks interjected quickly. He withdrew the folded newspaper from his jacket and handed it to Bulma. "They were trying to corner us for comments - probably in relation to this."

 

Bulma unfolded the newspaper and frowned at the front page, then sighed. "If it's not one thing, it's another," she said. "I guess I'm going to have to keep the television on all the time now to watch for updates." She stepped aside and motioned for them to go in. "You kids go on and settle in; your father is not home yet, but he's not going to be happy about this latest development when he does get home. You can use the entertainment room to hang out with your friends. There are ice packs in the freezer, and you can have whatever food you find in the fridge."