Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Holding On ❯ 15 ( Chapter 15 )

Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it! Well, I the last one Mirai finally woke up, stay tuned to find out what mayhem will occur next!

**

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it." -Helen Keller

**

************************************

About the same time that Bra left for her flying lesson with Goten, her friend across town woke up from a nap. Pan sat up slowly, chasing away the last fleeting moments of her dream before checking the clock hanging above the fireplace mantle. It was time.

She climbed the stairs while setting her hair in a ponytail, only a few defiant strand falling in front of her face. Laid neatly on her bed were the clothes she would need. Once dressed she examined her image in the bathroom mirror. The black ensemble she wore was easy to move in, and helped make her stealthier. Her cheeks still had tearstains, and she cursed before splashing water across her face.

She had that dream again. It was of the night she met Jeremy, she was leaving a party and about to fly home when he drove by and offered her a ride. They weren't exactly friends at the time, but she recognized him from some of their classes together and knew they had mutual friends.

She accepted the ride, not even considering that she didn't really know him, something about his eyes told her to trust him. And besides, it's not like he could hurt her.

The two talked in the car and he behaved like a perfect gentlemen. He was a perfect driver, she remembered, and even offered to teach her when she told him she hadn't learned yet.

When they stopped in front of her house she opened the door and put one foot on the pavement before turning to offer him her phone number. It was that moment that he leaned over to ask for her number and their lips met. Though the kiss was short and sweet they both blushed furiously before laughing. The next day they went on their first date.

Pan looked back in the mirror and sighed, 'I wonder if this feeling of having absolutely no control over life is ever going to end.'

She went back to her room and looked around out of habit before retrieving a key from an old coat's pocket in the back of her closet. She spun the key in her hands and admired the small light reflection patterns it cast on her closet door.

Snapping out of the trance she pulled a small box out from behind her CD player and sat on her bed.

Her fingers fumbled but despite her shakiness she managed to unlock the box and flip the lid open.

Inside were several personal items: A photo album, a small diary, and a strange looking bracelet.

One hand drifted to the small silver item and stroked it softly. Boy did this thing bring back memories. She pulled it out and snapped it on her wrist, instantly feeling her Ki diminish.

It was the beginning of the year but she could still remember it vividly. Bulma had created it in her lab, and foolishly left it out in the open. Pan had only meant to borrow it for one day, but she never got around to returning it. It was one of the biggest parties of the year, but her father refused to let her go since it started past curfew.

Pan disobeyed him and snuck out of the house, using the bracelet to conceal her Ki so she wouldn't be detected. When she got home she felt so guilty that she locked it up, afraid that returning it to Capsule Corps would somehow alert her father that she snuck out.

Pan locked the box and put everything back in their hiding places, trying to ignore the other memory that came with the Ki bracelet. The party that she snuck to that night was where she first met Jeremy.

*****************************

Bra and Goten finally landed on the ground to relax. They had spent the last hour in the air just gliding, and flipping and laughing together. It was as if they had both completely forgotten about the flying lesson. Completely forgotten, or chosen to ignore?

Bra lay back in the soft grass and sighed, her eyelids were so heavy that she didn't even bother trying to hold them open.

Goten chuckled but lay down next to her and stared at the passing clouds. "Sleepy?" he asked.

She murmured something inaudible and groaned causing Goten to laugh. He put his hands behind his head as a pillow, "I don't think I heard you princess..."

Bra sighed and relaxed as the clouds covered the sun. "I said I didn't get much sleep last night on that God-for-saken chair."

When she didn't hear a reply she opened one eye out of curiosity. A smile spread across her face as she beheld the site of Goten lying sprawled across the grass asleep, a small butterfly landing on the tip of her nose. Deciding that he had the right idea she too drifted off into dreamland.

Bra's Dream:

It was obviously fall because the leaves were tinted orange and red. There were a few tents a mile away but she wasn't there. Instead she was running past a small lake, giggling the whole time.

In front of her was the object of her chase, a 12-year-old Goten. Their feet scampered through the layer of leaves that covered the valley's floor. Bending her small legs she launched herself forward and tackled Goten, both falling to the ground where she pinned him.

"I caught you," A 5-year-old Bra claimed, exhibiting a large grin with 1 missing tooth.

Goten laughed with what little breath he had left. The whole group had been playing tag, but when Bra was 'it' she ran after Goten and chased him around the whole river valley for 2 hours. He stared up at his best friends little sister; she was a cute little kid. "You caught me. I guess I'm 'it' now"

Bra shook her head enthusiastically. "Nope!"

Goten quirked an eyebrow, giving off a completely clueless face. She just sat there staring at him with a huge smirk on her face. The very look made him question what she was planning in that little head of hers.

"Bra? What are you planning?" he asked, getting enough courage to ask why her eyes were suddenly flashing with mischief.

"Nothing much...just wondering what I'm going to do with my prisoner that's all." she explained, her eyes wide an innocent as if she wasn't hiding something.

"You're prisoner. I'm not your prisoner am I?"

"Of course you are Goten!"

Goten frowned and tried to sit up only to be pushed back down by her hands. "Nope, you're not allowed up till I tell you that you are."

Goten laughed, he could easily push her off and get up but he didn't want her to be mad at him the rest of the day. Besides, he wanted to know what she was planning.

"Well what do I have to do?"

"For starters...as my slave..." Bra pondered, lifting a chubby finger to her chin and tilting her head to the side in thought.

"Slave? I thought I was just your prisoner"

"It's the same thing silly. You have to do what I say! Now for starters you have to clean my room, and then take me out for ice-cream, and then tell Trunks to stop picking on me, and then..."

Goten groaned "Braaaaa, that's a lot of work. Can't you just choose one thing for me to do? Then let me go?" he asked hopefully, not liking the idea of picking up her room, although the ice-cream plan wasn't half bad.

Bra frowned and then her eyes lit up. "Ok, I have the perfect thing for you to do! But you have to promise to do it!"

Against his better judgment Goten agreed, what horrible thing could a 5 year old think of?

"You promise? Good! You have to marry me!"

Goten was in shock and immediately sat straight up, causing the young girl to slide onto his knees where she gave him a look of pure terror. Was he going to laugh at her? Tell her no? Crush her dreams?

Although his first instinct was to laugh because he thought it was a joke he saw her face and controlled himself. "Uh...heh...Bra? Why would you want to marry me?" he asked, not quite sure how to handle the situation. Here was a little girl who he knew since she was born, his best friends little sister, talking about sharing a life with him, sharing an eternity. 'She doesn't know what she's talking about' he told himself.

Bra frowned, not sure of if he was going to agree or not. "Well you're nice to me, you always protect me from Trunks when he tries to make fun of me, you're the closest guy I know that I'm not related to."

Goten smiled at her enthusiasm. "Well Bra, I don't know if we can get married now, we're both too young. So let's make a compromise."

"A comompize? What's that?

"A compromise. It's we're we take part of your idea and part of my idea and make a new one."

Bra narrowed her eyes 'Is he trying to get out of this?' She slowly nodded her head, indicating that she wanted to hear more.

"Why don't we agree that when we're both older, if we haven't found someone else we'll give a relationship a try. I'm sure that you'll grow up to be a very beautiful woman and will no doubt make me fall in love with you if you still want me to."

Bra tilted her head and sighed. It was better then nothing. "Ok Goten, but just to let you know, I will make you love me." With that she jumped up and ran back towards camp leaving a bewildered Goten sitting in the middle of the field.

*********************************

Bra sat up immediately, the remnants of the dream still floating in her mind. Was it a dream? Or was it a memory? It was in the same place they were now, so could it be possible?

Her face showed utter confusion and she glanced at the sleeping demi-saiyan next to her. 'If it was a memory then it would explain why this place seems so familiar but why did I forget it?'

Bra jumped to her feet and lifted off the ground. 'I need to go home to think' she thought before blasting off in the air and flying home. She was completely oblivious to the pair of eyes that watched her departure, a small smile spread across the persons face.

*********************************

AN) Ok, so I didn't exactly get into the whole Mirai explanation, I promise that will come with the next chapter. I don't have school tomorrow due to a teacher in-service day, so I'll probably finish the next chapter then. Go ahead and review! Don't let me think I'm writing this for nothing.

Oh and I'd like to thank AngelDust and Jami for reminding me that I needed to write more. Thank you both for inspiring me to write more.

My webpage!