Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Riverwood Military Academy ❯ Arrival ( Chapter 1 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: thelovebuggy 
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.14.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.4K | Visits: 198 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.14.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.4K | Visits: 198 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or any of its characters. All credit goes to Bird Studio/Shueisha, Toei Animation, FUNimation Productions, Ltd., and Akira Toriyama.
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Many thanks to my wonderful beta,MemberTree,who's helped me greatly with this whole chapter and story!
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She broke up from the confining belt with a strangled gasp. Had she succumbed to sleep again? The last thing she remembered was closing her weary eyes with intentions of giving them a fleeting break, then waking up in cold sweat. And that dream. That dreadful nightmare that's been haunting her ever since her father informed her of the news. Of his plans.
When he told her, he said it with the sort of firm kindness, for her a meddling command, the sort she despised. He made her feel pitied and she would not tolerate it. And so, from the moment her father informed her that she would be shipped off to that atrocious place, Bulma was deprived of peaceful slumber.
”That Place”, otherwise known as the Riverwood Military Academy, was as awful as they came. It was a harsh place, renowned for forcing discipline onto “straying young adults” as her father so kindly put it. There were, of course, those who came there to get the best military training, to be readied for a ruthless future in the army, a future that Bulma in no way desired.
For her, anyone who willingly stepped into that horrendous black hole—the one she readily made the academy out to be—was dreadfully but definitely out of their right wits.
But, Bulma reasoned, she did have justification for thinking such negativity towards the academy. Even in this state of bitterness, Bulma could not fail to notice the root of her negative bias. In a way, it came as no surprise, what with the stories she have heard—not just about Riverwood but about military academies in general. Who was to blame her after all the horrible rumors she heard about them? In her high school, or now former high school, she corrected bitterly, slanders were heard about these places on an almost a daily basis.
Logically thinking, that was only because students from the supposedly superior Wilmer High were sent to various military academies almost monthly. One month you heard some student was being enrolled at Bennington for drug abuse, then barely a month later, you've been informed that your best friend was currently residing at the other edge of the world in Conner.
For the posh crowd Bulma hung with, this was acceptable. Almost expected. Why, seeing as Bulma was logically thinking, a rare action for her nowadays, a group of pot smoking, property vandalizing, shop-lifting teens were bound to end up in some sort of facility, camp, or academy one way or another. Well, now it was her turn.
“Your game's over, Bulma. Now it's the game of life. I've asked you over and over again, given you countless possibilities to shape up and start following life's rules. I have tried every possible means to help you, but you refuse. Now you will have to learn: you refuse, you lose. And if sending you to this academy is the only way to teach you, then so be it.” She heard her father's words playing over and over again in her mind.
But, at the current time, Bulma was getting sick of being logical. She was getting sick of hearing the truth in her father's words. And she definitely was already sick of this stupid academy. Seeing as she's never even been there, that was saying something.
Slowly getting up from the warm jet seat she had lost her battle with sleep in, Bulma yawned and stretched her sore limbs. She's been sitting in the same spot for 5 hours like an obedient puppy, but enough was enough. But, just a couple of minutes after she started pacing back and forth the aisle, the girl rolled her sky blue eyes at the hopeless situation and sat back down in her now uncomfortable seat. This is what she hated about being stuck in a plane, especially when it's ultimately for 16 hours. There was absolutely no place to move. The fact that it was her mother's private jet only made the situation worse. Since her mother almost never traveled out of state, she never desired a large plane, hence the miniscule jet Bulma was currently trapped in.
Directing her tired eyes outside the window, Bulma heaved out a sorrowful sigh. She was currently gliding over some unknown ocean out of U.S territory. One thing was for sure however. She was away from her dear home back in Miami, from her mother, father, school, friends… her boyfriend…
Just thinking about Yamucha brought another sigh to her lips. Sure, he wasn't exactly what you'd call the ideal boyfriend, and their relationships had been a swirling roller-coaster of emotions, but in the end, it was the little things he did that would count for her. How he never forgot Valentines Day, her birthday, her little sister's graduation.
Bulma's little sister, Amelia Rose Briefs, or better known as Ami, was 5 years her junior. When Ami graduated from elementary school last summer, Yamucha surprised both sisters by arriving to the ceremony with a bouquet of roses for the three ladies of the Briefs family. Needless to say, Bulma as well as her sister were both shocked but touched he would remember such a date. The week, however, did not end all smiles. At least for Bulma that is. A mere day later, the blue haired girl found Yamucha in bed with her now former best friend, Tara. She, of course, broke up with him and the two did not get back together for three months. A record time for the couple. As for Tara, well, she was enrolled at Conner for some reason or another before the two even had a chance to speak.
But, with Yamucha, Bulma learned that she would have to forget all his mistakes if she didn't want to be left alone… to have no one to care for her. `I'm not thinking about this right now…'
The ringing sound of the jet phone pierced through Bulma's ears like an alarm, abruptly cutting off her train of thought.
“H-Hello?” She picked up hesitantly, not sure who would be calling her over 30 thousand feet in the air.
“Bulma? Is that you?” She heard the gentle voice on the other line say.
“Oh, hello, Mother.” Bulma said coldly as soon as she recognized Mrs. Brief's voice.
“Hello to you too, Bulma dear. And please don't speak to me that way; you know that your father and I only want what's best for you.”
“Hmph,” the girl snorted, “it sure doesn't look that way to me. Why'd you call me?”
“Well, I just wanted to see if you were okay… you know, since neither your father nor I had the best parting with you. We figured you might be a little upset--”
“A little?”
There was a little pause in which Bulma could hear her mother sigh. Changing the topic, the older woman continued.
“I spoke to the captain just now; he said you should be arriving at Tokyo in about 11 hours. You will then have transportation to the Kawaraki village. The academy is two miles away from there. The transportation will be taking you there as well.”
“Wonderful, I can't wait!” Bulma said, sarcastically. “Is that all mother?”
“About that, yes. But what happened to mom? Bulma honey, please, you have to understand. This hurts me as much as it does you. How do you think I feel, only getting to see my eldest daughter on her winter break and some weekends? Just please try to make the most out of this. I promise you the second you get better and we discover you finally quit your habits, I will send a jet for you to come straight home.”
Chewing on her bottom lip for a few guilt ridden moments, Bulma lowered her rebellious act for the time being.
“Ok, mom, I'll try.”
“Thank you sweetie,” Bulma could almost see her mother visibly relax, “this will mean so much to both your father and I.”
“Alright. Bye mom.”
“Goodbye darling, call me the second you get there!”
Agreeing, Bulma hung up and placed the phone back on the wall.
O0O
12 hours later
In the middle of a busy village, while the sun was at its peak, a petite blue haired girl, still in her adolescent years, stepped out of a polished black limousine. Placing her brand name sunglasses over her bright blue eyes, the girl grabbed her matching brand name purse and turned around to face her driver.
“Are you sure you don't want me to drive you straight to the academy?” He asked in a hesitant voice.
“Yes, I'll be fine. Just don't tell my parents you let me off here. If they ask, I've arrived at the academy gates safe and secure.”
With a doubtful nod, the man turned back to face the steering wheel and started driving away.
When the limousine was finally out of sight, Bulma grabbed her belongings, two white trolleys with a matching white duffle bag, and looked at her surroundings. One side of the village that she found herself in looked as if it was plucked right out of medieval Japan and placed in the 21st century; the other looked like a miniature version of high-tech Tokyo.
On her right, there were cattle farms and men plowing the land while women tended the gardens and carried bags of rice from one cottage to the other. Children were running around barefoot, rolling in the mud or splashing in the crystal lake waters that bordered the right side of the village.
In a total change of scenario, the village's left side was occupied by various buildings and shops. Flying capsule cars were roaming the highways and streets, getting lost between the towering buildings. A few miles ahead, she saw a mall centered in the middle of the village square. Truthfully, Bulma felt as if she were in two different worlds at once.
As she looked even further on, between these two juxtaposing features and a few miles ahead, she could see a looming building.
`More like a castle,' she corrected herself. From what she could observe, it was covered in an unidentifiable white stone. Maybe some sort of marble. She couldn't see that clearly from her position. Moving closer, Bulma started walking along the village's dirt road until she reached its and the village's end. Ahead of her were plains of lush green grass that stretched out and surrounded the now clear and beautiful structure. By now she figured out this was it. This was the Riverwood Military Academy.
Mentally scolding herself for her `treacherous' thoughts, she reminded herself, `It might not be hell in looks, but just wait `till you get inside. Your nightmare will be heaven compared!'
But even as determined as she was to hate the academy, Bulma couldn't help but admire its looks. The castle was made of pure white stone which shined under the blazing sun, the sparkling lake surrounding it only adding to its radiant look. Tall crystal windows adorned its walls and reflected the miles of shimmering grass surrounding the academy. At the center of its front wall, a lofty pair of rectangular oak doors was strategically placed, completing the structure's majestic appearance. Contemplating this building, Bulma surmised that the White House paled in comparison to its grandeur.
Shaking her head at the reality of her situation, the girl clutched her trolleys and started walking ahead towards her new life beneath the sweltering sun.
When he told her, he said it with the sort of firm kindness, for her a meddling command, the sort she despised. He made her feel pitied and she would not tolerate it. And so, from the moment her father informed her that she would be shipped off to that atrocious place, Bulma was deprived of peaceful slumber.
”That Place”, otherwise known as the Riverwood Military Academy, was as awful as they came. It was a harsh place, renowned for forcing discipline onto “straying young adults” as her father so kindly put it. There were, of course, those who came there to get the best military training, to be readied for a ruthless future in the army, a future that Bulma in no way desired.
For her, anyone who willingly stepped into that horrendous black hole—the one she readily made the academy out to be—was dreadfully but definitely out of their right wits.
But, Bulma reasoned, she did have justification for thinking such negativity towards the academy. Even in this state of bitterness, Bulma could not fail to notice the root of her negative bias. In a way, it came as no surprise, what with the stories she have heard—not just about Riverwood but about military academies in general. Who was to blame her after all the horrible rumors she heard about them? In her high school, or now former high school, she corrected bitterly, slanders were heard about these places on an almost a daily basis.
Logically thinking, that was only because students from the supposedly superior Wilmer High were sent to various military academies almost monthly. One month you heard some student was being enrolled at Bennington for drug abuse, then barely a month later, you've been informed that your best friend was currently residing at the other edge of the world in Conner.
For the posh crowd Bulma hung with, this was acceptable. Almost expected. Why, seeing as Bulma was logically thinking, a rare action for her nowadays, a group of pot smoking, property vandalizing, shop-lifting teens were bound to end up in some sort of facility, camp, or academy one way or another. Well, now it was her turn.
“Your game's over, Bulma. Now it's the game of life. I've asked you over and over again, given you countless possibilities to shape up and start following life's rules. I have tried every possible means to help you, but you refuse. Now you will have to learn: you refuse, you lose. And if sending you to this academy is the only way to teach you, then so be it.” She heard her father's words playing over and over again in her mind.
But, at the current time, Bulma was getting sick of being logical. She was getting sick of hearing the truth in her father's words. And she definitely was already sick of this stupid academy. Seeing as she's never even been there, that was saying something.
Slowly getting up from the warm jet seat she had lost her battle with sleep in, Bulma yawned and stretched her sore limbs. She's been sitting in the same spot for 5 hours like an obedient puppy, but enough was enough. But, just a couple of minutes after she started pacing back and forth the aisle, the girl rolled her sky blue eyes at the hopeless situation and sat back down in her now uncomfortable seat. This is what she hated about being stuck in a plane, especially when it's ultimately for 16 hours. There was absolutely no place to move. The fact that it was her mother's private jet only made the situation worse. Since her mother almost never traveled out of state, she never desired a large plane, hence the miniscule jet Bulma was currently trapped in.
Directing her tired eyes outside the window, Bulma heaved out a sorrowful sigh. She was currently gliding over some unknown ocean out of U.S territory. One thing was for sure however. She was away from her dear home back in Miami, from her mother, father, school, friends… her boyfriend…
Just thinking about Yamucha brought another sigh to her lips. Sure, he wasn't exactly what you'd call the ideal boyfriend, and their relationships had been a swirling roller-coaster of emotions, but in the end, it was the little things he did that would count for her. How he never forgot Valentines Day, her birthday, her little sister's graduation.
Bulma's little sister, Amelia Rose Briefs, or better known as Ami, was 5 years her junior. When Ami graduated from elementary school last summer, Yamucha surprised both sisters by arriving to the ceremony with a bouquet of roses for the three ladies of the Briefs family. Needless to say, Bulma as well as her sister were both shocked but touched he would remember such a date. The week, however, did not end all smiles. At least for Bulma that is. A mere day later, the blue haired girl found Yamucha in bed with her now former best friend, Tara. She, of course, broke up with him and the two did not get back together for three months. A record time for the couple. As for Tara, well, she was enrolled at Conner for some reason or another before the two even had a chance to speak.
But, with Yamucha, Bulma learned that she would have to forget all his mistakes if she didn't want to be left alone… to have no one to care for her. `I'm not thinking about this right now…'
The ringing sound of the jet phone pierced through Bulma's ears like an alarm, abruptly cutting off her train of thought.
“H-Hello?” She picked up hesitantly, not sure who would be calling her over 30 thousand feet in the air.
“Bulma? Is that you?” She heard the gentle voice on the other line say.
“Oh, hello, Mother.” Bulma said coldly as soon as she recognized Mrs. Brief's voice.
“Hello to you too, Bulma dear. And please don't speak to me that way; you know that your father and I only want what's best for you.”
“Hmph,” the girl snorted, “it sure doesn't look that way to me. Why'd you call me?”
“Well, I just wanted to see if you were okay… you know, since neither your father nor I had the best parting with you. We figured you might be a little upset--”
“A little?”
There was a little pause in which Bulma could hear her mother sigh. Changing the topic, the older woman continued.
“I spoke to the captain just now; he said you should be arriving at Tokyo in about 11 hours. You will then have transportation to the Kawaraki village. The academy is two miles away from there. The transportation will be taking you there as well.”
“Wonderful, I can't wait!” Bulma said, sarcastically. “Is that all mother?”
“About that, yes. But what happened to mom? Bulma honey, please, you have to understand. This hurts me as much as it does you. How do you think I feel, only getting to see my eldest daughter on her winter break and some weekends? Just please try to make the most out of this. I promise you the second you get better and we discover you finally quit your habits, I will send a jet for you to come straight home.”
Chewing on her bottom lip for a few guilt ridden moments, Bulma lowered her rebellious act for the time being.
“Ok, mom, I'll try.”
“Thank you sweetie,” Bulma could almost see her mother visibly relax, “this will mean so much to both your father and I.”
“Alright. Bye mom.”
“Goodbye darling, call me the second you get there!”
Agreeing, Bulma hung up and placed the phone back on the wall.
O0O
12 hours later
In the middle of a busy village, while the sun was at its peak, a petite blue haired girl, still in her adolescent years, stepped out of a polished black limousine. Placing her brand name sunglasses over her bright blue eyes, the girl grabbed her matching brand name purse and turned around to face her driver.
“Are you sure you don't want me to drive you straight to the academy?” He asked in a hesitant voice.
“Yes, I'll be fine. Just don't tell my parents you let me off here. If they ask, I've arrived at the academy gates safe and secure.”
With a doubtful nod, the man turned back to face the steering wheel and started driving away.
When the limousine was finally out of sight, Bulma grabbed her belongings, two white trolleys with a matching white duffle bag, and looked at her surroundings. One side of the village that she found herself in looked as if it was plucked right out of medieval Japan and placed in the 21st century; the other looked like a miniature version of high-tech Tokyo.
On her right, there were cattle farms and men plowing the land while women tended the gardens and carried bags of rice from one cottage to the other. Children were running around barefoot, rolling in the mud or splashing in the crystal lake waters that bordered the right side of the village.
In a total change of scenario, the village's left side was occupied by various buildings and shops. Flying capsule cars were roaming the highways and streets, getting lost between the towering buildings. A few miles ahead, she saw a mall centered in the middle of the village square. Truthfully, Bulma felt as if she were in two different worlds at once.
As she looked even further on, between these two juxtaposing features and a few miles ahead, she could see a looming building.
`More like a castle,' she corrected herself. From what she could observe, it was covered in an unidentifiable white stone. Maybe some sort of marble. She couldn't see that clearly from her position. Moving closer, Bulma started walking along the village's dirt road until she reached its and the village's end. Ahead of her were plains of lush green grass that stretched out and surrounded the now clear and beautiful structure. By now she figured out this was it. This was the Riverwood Military Academy.
Mentally scolding herself for her `treacherous' thoughts, she reminded herself, `It might not be hell in looks, but just wait `till you get inside. Your nightmare will be heaven compared!'
But even as determined as she was to hate the academy, Bulma couldn't help but admire its looks. The castle was made of pure white stone which shined under the blazing sun, the sparkling lake surrounding it only adding to its radiant look. Tall crystal windows adorned its walls and reflected the miles of shimmering grass surrounding the academy. At the center of its front wall, a lofty pair of rectangular oak doors was strategically placed, completing the structure's majestic appearance. Contemplating this building, Bulma surmised that the White House paled in comparison to its grandeur.
Shaking her head at the reality of her situation, the girl clutched her trolleys and started walking ahead towards her new life beneath the sweltering sun.
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And finally, the second chapter of RMA! Sorry for the long wait guys, but I really want to try and make the best out of this story. And if that means spending a month on each chapter, then so be it. I tried explaining as many things as I could in this chapter, but some things just needed to be kept in the dark until the next and following chapters =) This chapter might have been boring for some of you because of all of the contemplation Bulma had to do in it, but don't give up on me yet! It'll get better, I promise!*insert toothy grin* Aham, right, back to topic o_O Thanks a bunch for reading and remember-any reviews will be greatly appreciated. And who knows, they just might make me write faster XD
Until next time,
Thelovebugy <3