Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Doubts ❯ The Air We Breathe ( Chapter 4 )

Doubts: Chapter 4

The accursed day that had produced the call from Bulma passed quickly for the most recent branch of the Son family, slipping away into night. Pan dreaded the moment she would step foot on Capsule Corp. property, but she knew it was inevitable. She barely got a wink of sleep, tossing and turning into the early hours. It wasn't long before Videl, who was busily rushing to and fro, called the young girl from her comfortable bed.

"Come on, Pan! You have everything packed, right?" Her mom's worried, disembodied voice came whisking down the hallway to her ears. Pan was still a bit groggy from the lack of sleep she received, and sound seemed to reach her as if listening down a long tube.

"Yeah, mom." She spoke half-heartedly, not really caring at all if Videl heard her or not. As she struggled to get changed, she recapped the events of yesterday morning. A week spent with Bra. How did this happen to her? Why couldn't she just stay over at her Grandpa's with Trunks and Goten? At least then she would be around cool people, not to mention the way she looked up to Trunks. She had a big respect for him, even more so than her uncle Goten. If she were over there, he would no doubt help her work on her fighting techniques. But alas, fate had dealt a cruel hand indeed. She would have to settle for his obnoxious little sister instead.

A gentle, repetitive knock reverberated on the bedroom door, just as she was adjusting her bandanna into place. Hefting up a simple duffel bag crammed with a few clothing items and other necessary accessories, Pan reached the doorknob and was greeted with the sight of her father on the other side. "Ready?"

"Ready," she affirmed dryly, turning to get a last look at her room before joining Gohan out in the hall. "Dad, do I have to do this? Can't I just go with you an' mom?"

Gohan sighed; he really hated to put Pan into a situation she would rather not be in at all. "Sorry, Pan. You heard your mom. Besides, you..."

"...wouldn't like to go anyways. I know, I know. You and mom have only said it like a million times." Her voice was coated with sarcasm, and accompanied by a heavenward roll of her dark eyes, it was almost too much for someone of her height and age. Still, she did a pretty good job of pulling it off. It even surprised Gohan to some extent.

Rubbing the nape of his neck with one hand uncertainly, which in fact was a mirror image of his father's exact gesture, the demi-Saiyan stared down at his daughter quizzically. There was no time to analyze just how she had picked up this behavior so fast, so he easily deferred back to his original mission. "Uh, yeah. Your mom is ready and waiting outside. Let's go."

Pan only grumbled more at the mention of leaving the house behind. "Lead the way."

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Capsule Corp.- That same morning...

Bulma hummed to herself as she took a moment to spare herself a little free time. One thing that Vegeta had been right about... she needed to relax, and kick back a bit. She had been spending a little too much time in the lab as of late, and it had begun to show. Even if it was only a faint shadow in the eye, or a tightness to the mouth. Her temper hadn't been faring too well either, but now as she let the cushions of the den sofa to envelop the counters of her shape, she felt at peace. Well, until Bra came zipping by, her hair trailing in the breeze she created.

Bra huffed with the rapid expenditure of energy, all smiles as she came to a temporary stop right in front of her mother's rented movie. "Mommy, guess what!?"

Bulma groaned and tried in vain to look over the blue crown of her daughter's bobbing head. She was missing a particularly good scene in the movie, the one right before the pinnacle. No matter where she would move her head, or at which angle she would turn her body, Bra was right there, constantly in front of her. At last, she threw up her hands in defeat. "What, Bra?"

The young child barely drew enough breath for what she was going to say next, her cheeks puffing out into a red swell as she exhaled with every word. "Pan and Pan's mommy and daddy are here and then I'm going to take Pan to my room and show her all my new dolls and my new dollhouse and then we can go shopping at the mall and..."

The human that had previously been relaxing in the couch could do nothing but smirk and push herself to her feet. She reached around the chattering youth, deftly catching up the remote from the coffee table. With a flick of a switch, she turned the television set off and then hit power on the VCR. "Ok, ok. Wanna go meet them with me?" She extended her hand out to Bra in an invitation.

Bra beamed. "Of course, mommy!" She readily accepted the larger hand in her smaller one.

The pair headed off to the spacious entryway that opened up into the mansion's many rooms. Bulma opened one of the double doors, swinging it aside. Gohan, Videl and Pan were busy coming up the walkway, after having just left a copter that had come with Videl's inheritance when she married Gohan. Bra must have sighted them coming from her bedroom window; ever since she heard that Pan was coming for a visit, she could hardly contain herself. She had been up at the crack of dawn, arranging her toys to best suit the way in which she imagined herself and Pan playing with them.

Videl was smiling, her ebony hair stirring slightly in the artificial breeze created by the slow circling of the copter's blades. "Bulma! It's nice to see you again. Where's Vegeta?" The young woman glanced about, as if expecting a scowling man to appear at any given second. She couldn't exactly admit to missing it if he hadn't.

Bulma smiled graciously at Pan's parents, before a sharp tug at her hand told her to release a suddenly over exuberant girl. "Hey, guys! I -"

She was cut off by a high-pitched squeal that caused them all to wince. Bra raced up to a frowning Pan, as if she was being reunited with a long lost friend. Two small arms wrapped themselves snugly around Pan's neck, being the two girls where nearly the same height. Pan disdainfully raised her arms, but made a point to not to return the embrace. Instead, she held them above Bra's shoulders, as if afraid to touch something loathsome. In truth, that held some merit.

As Videl, Gohan and Bulma watched Pan's expression become scandalized, the adults couldn't help but to chuckle, albeit nervously. Gohan was the first to step first to step forward, grinning widely at Bulma. "How's it going, Bulma?"

She returned the smile, folding her arms across her chest. "Just great. As for Vegeta..." In response to Videl's earlier query, she narrowed her eyes slightly and glanced fervently around. "I don't know, really," She rolled her eyes before continuing, "Probably in the Gravity Room or the kitchen. Either or seems to suit him just fine."

Videl's smile faltered, as she had received a brief summarization of Bulma's troubles with Vegeta the morning she had called. "Oh, I see.." She left it at that. There was no need to go picking at scabs, especially with the limited time frame they were experiencing.

Meanwhile, Pan was busying herself with prying Bra's fingers off the back of her neck. She had to drop her duffel bag to the side to fully concentrate on the task. It wasn't easy, for those two short arms held all the strength of a steel vice, and they were steadily tightening with each effort Pan put into removing them. "Ug.. can't.. breathe.. Bra!"

The younger girl was simply enjoying hugging the one she deemed a friend, although it couldn't really be applied that way from Pan's viewpoint. When Bra finally let go, it was on her own terms, not Pan's. Making a swift grab for one of Pan's hands, her tiny digits encompassed the other girl's as she jerked her forward. Bra's freehand picked up Pan's duffel bag, bringing that in tow as well. "Come see my new dolls, Pan!" She was now all but dragging poor Pan into the mansion.

Pan was shocked at the strength the smaller girl possessed. She couldn't recall Bra ever exhibiting this much potential before, but it was that same potential that nearly choked the life from her body. Dazed, she threw a glance back over her shoulder to her parents, silently pleading for them to release her from this compromising situation.

Thankfully, it was Gohan who interceded first. Stepping up between the open doorway to the mansion and Bra's route of entry with his amazing speed, he stooped down to smile meaningfully at Bra. "Mind if Videl and I say goodbye to Pan first, Bra?"

Bra seemed to consider it a moment, her cerulean eyes darting back and forth between Gohan and an angst-ridden Pan. "Oh, ok." A bit disappointed but still unthwarted, she released Pan long enough for father and daughter to give each other a quick hug.

Pan saw her chance and leaned into her father, wrapping her arms around his sturdy neck and whispering fiercely into his ear, "Send backup. Now."

Gohan pulled away, fixing Pan with a look mixed with amusement and horror. It didn't last long as Videl stepped up to claim her rights to embrace Pan next. "See you soon."

"Bye, mom." Pan forced a smile for her mother's sake before switching a gaze full of desperation to Gohan as Videl drew away from the hug she and Pan had shared a moment before. Gohan chuckled, ducking his head and glancing pointedly at the copter parked over on the front lawn.

"Ready, Videl?"

"Ready!"

"See you two!" Bulma waved as the couple gave a few last looks of encouragement to their daughter, who at the moment was back in Bra's clutches. The younger child was dragging a miserable Pan up the stairs to her bedroom, all the while rambling on about what fun the two would have with her new 'Malibu Babe' dolls. After all, Bulma had purchased nearly twenty of them for her. By the time Pan and Bra were on the second floor of the mansion, Videl and Gohan had already taken off, leaving Bulma standing alone in her front yard. As her hair whipped against her face like separate lashes against her skin, Bulma pondered the decision in its entirety.

"This was either a very big mistake that I'm going to regret later, or the best idea I've had yet." The woman shook her head ruefully, and then gave another sweeping gaze out over the length of the property in hopes of catching a glimpse of a certain foul-tempered Saiyan. No such luck. With this in mind, she reentered her large abode. Bulma's mumbled utterance was for herself alone, but it was not missed out on by a pair of sharp ears.

Vegeta was sitting above the mansion, laying casually out on the rooftop as he had watched the entire scene unfold below. His smirk never dwindled as he saw his 'princess' drag Kakkorot's brat's spawn into their abode. For nearly two nights he had spent all his time carefully avoiding Bulma, so it was with much interest that he observed the activity that had just transpired. Why Pan was now under their roof he did not know, but he supposed he would find out sooner or later. It did not matter much, for he had more pressing problems at the moment. The two days he had spent sleeping in the GR had seemed an eternity. After all those years of cushion and pomp, sleeping on a cold, hard floor did something to bring him to a conclusion. He needed to make things right between himself and the woman again, as much as he hated to admit it. Deep down, it wasn't just the effect the floor was having on his sore body... he actually despised the fight and distance between them. He'd be dead and gone before he'd ever come to admit it aloud, however.

Shaking his head, Vegeta mused over a couple of other facets of his relationship with Bulma. Over the course of that time his smirk faded to a deep frown, although he failed to realize it. In the end, all of that thinking gave him a hunger that he needed to go satiate. In two ways.

-AN: Chapter 4 completed. Ch. 5 next. R&R!