Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Where Angels Fear to Tread ❯ The Assignment ( Chapter 1 )

Where Angels Fear to Tread

Part 1

The Assignment

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z or X-Men Evolution. If I was, well, I'd probably be a guy. And, since I'm not…I'm sure you can figure it out.

Gohan looked at the clock and grinned. It was Friday and his final college class was almost over. Skills for Living. He and Videl had signed up for the class when they learned that the two people with the highest score in the class got a full scholarship to the college. The two were partners in the class, that involved cooking, sewing, and other miscellaneous things involved in caring for a home. Gohan gave a short yawn and glanced at his wife of six months, Videl. She was grinning. Some of this stuff she already knew and some she just found amusing. Like punishment for keeping your children in line, that also usually worked for husbands as well, but she wasn't paying attention. She was taking a leaf from Chichi's book instead and using the trusty frying pan.

The teacher looked at the group and smiled. "I hope you remember your projects!" She told them cheerfully. "You and your partner have six months in which you will act as a family. And this year, the Satan City Orphanage has graciously offered us the loan of it's children so you get the same experience as you do with a REAL family!"

Gohan sighed and banged his head down on the desk. There were only a few married couples in the room, him and Videl included. The blonde girl next to him gave a squeak of delight. "Oh, I can't wait! Isn't this EXCITING, Sharpie?"

The so called Sharpie gave her a strange look. "Grand Erasa." He muttered sarcastically. "It's wonderful. And my name is Sharpner."

"Like she's actually going to call you that." Videl snorted. The four of them had been friends since high school.

"Hey, I might get lucky!" He protested, flipping his blonde hair over his shoulder.

"Yeah, right." Gohan laughed. Erasa and Sharpner were going out, and had been for almost a year, although Sharpner had recently asked Erasa to marry him.

"Are you four listening?" The teacher broke in. "I was telling the class that Dr. Briefs has donated buildings for each of you to stay in. It will be like living in apartments. Each one takes up one floor of the building. A bedroom for each of you and one for the child you'll be taking care of, a den, a kitchen, and a dining room. You will have tomorrow and Sunday to move in and you'll have Monday and Tuesday off of school to pick out your child and get them moved in."

The students cheered. "And if you don't pick a child, you'll automatically fail. Once a week, someone will drop by to see how you're doing. We won't expect it to be perfect, but pretty close." The teacher added as an after thought. "Here are you're apartment numbers, the budget you'll get to spend each month, which doesn't include extra jobs you may have, and the address to the orphanage."

The bell rang and the teacher smiled. "Class dismissed. I'll see you Wednesday."

Gohan, Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner raced from the stuffy classroom and grinned. "This is going to be fun. And you two will already be good at it!" Erasa sounded like a very squeaky clarinet in her happiness.

Gohan winced at her voice and nodded. "Well, at least we'll have plenty of money." He pointed out. Gohan was currently working at Capsule Corporation and Videl had a job at her Father's gym.

"True. That's good seeing how you eat." She grinned.

"But I can fish." He protested, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Gohan, someone is going to notice you flying over the city with a twenty foot flounder flung over your shoulder." Videl rolled her eyes.

"Okay, so I can't fish." He gave a sheepish laugh. Let's check out this place we'll be staying in."

"Sounds good to me." She agreed. "Let's do it!" The two crossed the campus and found the buildings quite easily. They entered the first, as that's' where their apartment was located and slowly began to wander up floors.

"What do you want to bet it's the last one?" Gohan asked with a laugh.

"Not much. I already know it is." She rolled her eyes.

"What do you mean?" He gave her a blank look.

"It says so right here." She pointed to the sign that told where each apartment was at in the building.

"So it does!" He rubbed the back of his head as all Son men are wont to do when embarrassed. Videl rolled her eyes.

"I like our little house in the boonies better. No one but your parents and brother to bother us. Unless Trunks is there." She kicked the door to the apartment open.

"Then it's a little pile of splinters in the boonies." Gohan added, following his wife into the apartment.

"True. Hey, look! They gave a way onto the roof!" She grinned. "Now we've got a patio!"

"Dear, it says they did that for your jet copter." He pointed to a little note at the bottom of the paper that had been covered by her thumb.

"Why didn't we see that before? It would have made out lives so much easier." She sighed. "My luck."

They began to explore the apartment (which was only slightly smaller than their entire house) and gaped in awe. The rooms were all white, of course, but they were allowed to paint them as desired. The carpet was a soft shag carpet, in a beige except the kitchen which was tiled. The laundry room was just a washer and dryer in a closet off of the main room.

"I kinda of like it…in a cozy sort of way. But the woods is still my home." Gohan shrugged. "We also need furniture." It was, of course, unfurnished.

"Well, the paper says that you can provide you own or rent it for the project. It's like starting out and buying stuff."

"We'll use our own. And if we run out of that, Bulma has plenty." Gohan gave a small laugh.

"Gohan, Bulma has a house so big she's never even SEEN half of it!" Videl cracked up. "I doubt SHE even knows what she has!"

"True. So true. Let's get this done. I have homework I need to do." He rolled his eyes. And if we've got to get a kid, we won't have time to do it Monday or Tuesday."

"Right." The two took off towards their home, twenty minutes away.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~

It took the two the rest of Friday and most of Saturday to get everything done and moved in. Including painting. The spare room was turned into a workroom so they would have a place to study. The whole apartment looked pretty nice, they could get things as needed from home, such as cloths, so they didn't even have to pack, really. The only room left undecorated was the room that the child staying with them would sleep in. They'd let him do that.

"Hey, Gohan?" Videl was cooking Saturday evening for supper when something occurred to her. "How old are we going to get this kid?"

"Not a baby." He said immediately. "I refuse to take care of a baby."

"Well, I was thinking, what if we got a kid about your brother's age? Then he'd have someone to play with when we visited your home." She suggested. "And they would be passed that annoying little brat stage."

"I like that idea. All right, sure. Let's do that." He grinned. "We've got to enroll them in school, then as well."

"I know, but that's okay. We can send him or her to school with Trunks and Goten and then Bulma could watch them afterwards. No baby-sitter." She grinned.

"That idea I like." Gohan agreed. "Can we eat now? I'm starved."

"No. It's not quite done and you need to wash up." She eyed him with a look of disgust. He'd finished painting and moving everything while she'd changed out of the grimy paint-splattered sweat pants and tee shirt she'd been wearing. Gohan was in something similar, Black sweat pants and a loose black muscle shirt. And both were covered in paint. Smudges of it were covering his hands and face as well. His tail was curled around his waist, the thing had returned one day to all the Saiya-Jins and Demi Siaya-Jins and because there was no moon they decided to keep them, and it too was covered in paint. His black hair, which fell a hand-span past his shoulders was tied back in a pony-tail and also bore paint-splatters.

"Now, go clean up. Or I'll get IT." She threatened.

Gohan winced. "Frying pan threats. Sheesh. I didn't think I was THAT messy!"

"Have you seen yourself?!" Videl almost yelled. "Go get cleaned up!" Gohan dashed from the room as though his tail was on fire.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~

When Monday rolled around, the two felt it only came for their doom. How could they go pick a child out and be like, "Hey, you're going to live with six months. Hope you don't mind!" And what if they messed up and scared the kid for life or something? Gohan wondered if this was how his mother always felt. He hoped not. When the alarm went off he buried his head in his pillow, a very unusual gesture for the Demi Saiya-Jin. He was actually a very energetic morning person. He was a very energetic person in general. Unless it was two am and he hadn't had sleep in three days and skipped food for two. Then he was just really cranky.

Videl woke up when he shifted to blast the alarm clock. That alone told her something was wrong. He hated leaving scorch marks on the walls. "Gohan?" She said, not moving. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to blast the alarm clock. What do you think?" He asked, voice muffled by the pillow.

"Leaving scorch marks on the walls. What's wrong?" She scowled at him, seeming to dare him to actually blast the clock.

When he realized he was fighting a loosing battle with his wife to go back to sleep, he slowly rolled over to face her. "What if we mess up, huh? Then what are we going to do? This kid may be scared for life with us! And how are we going to explain my tail? And my appetite?"

"We'll burn that bridge when we get there." She replied, then blinked. She sounded like Vegita; oh the horror!

"Right." The two got up and got ready to go. They had opted to wear nicer clothes than normal, Videl in a pair of black jeans and a baby blue tee-shirt, Gohan in Khaki pants and a black tee-shirt.

"Breakfast, first?" Gohan begged. Videl laughed.

"Sure, love. Why not? I'll make a quick breakfast. We get cereal this morning." She grinned and he laughed.

"Can we at least have toast?" He whined mockingly. "Or do you not know how to cook it?"

"I can, but you can't." she chuckled.

"I can and I'll prove it!" He said proudly. Then he paused. "That a ruse to get me to make my own wasn't it."

"Of course." She raised an eyebrow. "What else would it have been?" Gohan made a face and went to get breakfast. He was hungry and hungry Saiya-Jins shouldn't be kept from food.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~

"All right." The snotty caretaker looked at the two haughtily. "How old do you want it?"

"Um, I was thinking somewhere between seven and nine." Videl replied, stepping closer to Gohan. She was nervous talking to this woman. Mostly because the woman was rather rude.

"Of course. Third room on the left." The woman replied in her rather nasal voice.

"Right...Thank you." The two bowed and walked out. The woman made a face.

"I hope they don't see that kid…" She murmured as they left. The two teens having other things on their minds did not hear her. What were these children going to be like? Would any of them like the duo? We're they going to make a serious mistake? The halted in front of the door and both took a deep breath.

"Let's do this." Gohan bit his lip and Videl nodded. He put his hand on the knob and swung the heavy door open.

The children inside the room began to show off, except for one in the back that lay curled up on his bed. Videl and Gohan glanced at each other and slowly made their way through the room, towards the lone child. Because of his Saiya-Jin senses, Gohan could see the boy was crying and telepathically pointed it out to Videl through the bond the two shared.

One of the other children stopped in front of the two. "You don't want to see him. He's a demon." They told the two adults.

"What do you mean?"

"He looks weird and he talks funny and he's evil!" The child shouted. Gohan raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind when I talk to him." He replied sidestepping past the child. The child made a face and walked away. Gohan approached the kid's bed and heard, as he thought he would, sniffing noises. The boy was crying.

"Hey, kid. What's the matter?" He asked, sitting down. The boy turned around to face him and Gohan's eyes widened in surprise. The kid had short indigo fur covering his body, blue-black hair, and yellow cat-like eyes. Odd three fingered hands and a feet combined with the devil looking tail finished the ensemble, making him look very demon-like.

The boy recoiled at Gohan's look of surprise and turned back around. "So, kid, what's wrong?" He asked again. He wasn't scared but he was surprised. It was little wonder the kids teased him.

"Are you talking to me?" The boy stuttered out. He had a hint of an accent leading Gohan to believe he wasn't originally from around there.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" He raised an eyebrow and called Videl over telepathically.

"No one ever talks to me. Because I look funny." The boy told him. Gohan and Videl exchanged looks. It looked like they found the kid they were going to take home. He needed friends and a family and they could help with that.

"What's your name, kid? And how old are you?" Videl sat down by Gohan.

"I'm called Kurt and I'm seven." He looked at them. "Why?"

"Well, you know the class project that's happening?" Gohan asked. At Kurt's nod, he continued, "Well, we'd be honored if you would stay with us."

"Really? I would love to! No one ever asked me before…but no one talked to me either." His tone was sad.

"Well, let's get out of this place, then!" Gohan grinned. "We need to get you home. I'm Gohan, by the way, and that's Videl, my wife."

"Hello Gohan-san, Videl-san." He smiled as they walked from the room.

"You don't have to call us that." Gohan laughed.

"Well, what do you want me to call you?" He asked.

"Whatever you want." Gohan said.

"Can I call you Tousan?" He asked very hesitantly.

"You bet. And Videl's your new Kassan." Gohan picked up Kurt and put the boy on his shoulders. "And it looks like I have a new musuko." Kurt giggled and nodded.

"Yup!"
~*~ ~*~ ~*~

It was late when they finally collapsed into bed that night, all three of them very tired form the long day. Gohan and Videl fell asleep almost instantly, but Kurt did not. He was thinking about how wonderful it had been to be around the two. Gohan's naïveté was kind of funny and Videl had been really silly that day. But when someone had called him a demon child at the hardware store they stopped at to get paint that day, they had defended him, even called him their son. He liked feeling as though he were loved and appreciated. Gohan had even let Kurt help him paint.

It was with those thoughts that the small boy drifted off to sleep.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~

"Kuso!" Gohan woke to the sun realizing how late it was. He and Videl were running very late. They were supposed to enroll Kurt in Orange Star elementary school today.

"Son Gohan!" Videl snapped. "Don't you dare that kind of language when Kurt is around!"

"Gomen, Videl, but did you see the time? Kurt is supposed to be at school in thirty minutes!" He replied sheepishly. "We overslept."

"Oh dear. Kurt? Get up honey!" Videl went to the door of his room.

"I'm awake. Are you upset you are going to be late because of me?" He winced.

"Of course not." Gohan peered in over Videl's shoulder.

"I was just surprised it was so late. But we do need to hurry." He replied, giving the boy a quick smile before running back to his own room to get dressed, Videl following close behind.

Kurt gave a small frown. Maybe this school would be different. Maybe he'd get some friends here, people who didn't mind that he looked different than they did. Maybe. With those happy thoughts, Kurt quickly got ready to go. They walked out the door fifteen minutes later.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~

"How old is he?" The woman at the front desk asked, after being told he was a child not a demon there to terrorize or hurt anyone. Gohan had rolled his eyes at her fear, he could have blasted them to H.F.I.L. and back and they'd never have thought it was him. Videl was also having the same thoughts, but in a more violent manner. Only more violent because the deaths would have been a little more drawn out and painful.

"He's seven. In the second grade." Videl snapped.

"It's third, Kassan. I studied because no one ever wanted to do anything with me." He blushed. Gohan grinned.

"You'll be in the same grade as my younger brother, then. Can you put him into Setsuna-sensei's class?" Gohan grinned.

"I suppose." The secretary shrugged. "I don't see why not. Follow me, then, Kurt."

Reluctantly Kurt parted with Gohan and Videl, who gave an encouraging smile, and followed the teacher down the hallway to his classroom. The woman he was with knocked on the door before entering and the teacher gave a surprised look. It was almost lunch and she had ended the morning's lesson.

"Hello, Setsuna-san." The secretary smiled. The young woman smiled in reply.

"How may I help you, Akai-san?" She asked. She was fairly pretty, with long black hair and smiling brown eyes.

"I have a new student for you." Akai replied. "He's new to this school system, and a grade above what he ought to be. He's one of the kids used in the college's program."

"Ah. Well, all right, then. You can leave him, I don't mind a bit. I just need to introduce him to the kids." Setsuna nodded, gesturing to the door.

"Well, I'll see you later then." Akai smiled, leaving Kurt and walking away.

Setsuna turned to Kurt. "I'll be your teacher this year. What's your name, huh?"

"I'm Kurt, Setsuna-sensei. It's nice to meet you." He bowed.

"And it's nice to meet you. Let me get the attention of the class and I'll introduce you, okay?" She had the dignity not to show that she was appalled by his looks. In fact, he seemed like a nice child. She got the classes attention and pulled Kurt to the front of the room.

"Class, this is Kurt. He's going to be in our class for the rest of the year." She smiled.

"He doesn't look like any human I've ever seen!" One boy with spiky black hair called.

"Son Goten! You be nice to him!" Setsuna admonished.

Goten giggled. "I didn't mean anything by it! I just thought he looked different! It's not bad different, just different!" Setsuna blinked. Typical Goten. Never made any sense.

"Well, I think it's a bad different!" A boy drawled from the back of the room.

"Well, you a jerk and we don't care what you think!" Goten shouted in reply. "Hey, Kurt! Come sit by me, kay? You can eat lunch with me too! And meet Trunks! He's in the fourth grade, but he has our lunch and recess! Both of them!" Goten was at the front of the room now and dragging Kurt back towards his seat.

Kurt blinked at the boy's sudden mood swing. First it had seemed like he didn't like him, then he stuck up for him and NOW he was acting like Kurt's best friend. Something had to be up.

"I'm not going to let you copy me just because you're nice to me." Kurt informed him.

"I don't wanna copy your stuff. That's what Trunks is for." Goten laughed.

"Well, then, why are you being nice?" Kurt gave the energetic boy a confused look.

"Because you looked lonely and my Otousan and my Oniisan say that I need to be nice to people." Goten smiled. "So, are you going to sit by me or not?"

"Sure. Who's your Otousan and Oniisan? They sound nice!" Kurt finally asked.

"My Otousan is Son Goku and my Oniisan is Son Gohan." Goten told the boy. Kurt blinked in surprise.

"Really? I'm staying with a Son Gohan and his wife Videl. Is that your brother?" Kurt said.

"Uh huh. I guess you're the kid staying with him for the project? That's sooo cool! You know, I'm technically your Ojisan? Isn't that weird?" Goten tended to babble as Kurt soon discovered. "Did you know that…oops…he said not to tell. He wants to do it himself if he hasn't already. Gomen."

"Right…" Kurt gave the boy a weird look. The bell rang and Goten grinned.

"LUNCH TIME SENSEI!!!" He shouted, racing to the classroom door. The teacher sighed. That kid had WAY to much energy.

Kurt gulped. He hoped this Trunks kid was as nice as Goten.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~

(A/N) Oookay…I forgot the disclaimer earlier. O_o;;; How did I manage that one? Doesn't matter…anyway, I hope you liked and PLEASE Review!!!!! PLEASE!!! I like feed-back. It helps me write and fix stuff. So, feedback, please! And, flames will be used for s'mores. Thanks bunches!

Ja ne!
~*~ Lady Foeseeker ~*~