(The very next day)
It was the end of second period and, like with every other day, the classes were heading out to have a spot of lunch. Normally around this time Gohan and his group would amble over to their usual spot under the tree, eat and share stories with one another as a unit. But on this particular occasion, the group had split up a little in order to tackle certain chores that they needed to address first before going outside to get some good Vitamin D and whatever else came with eating under the sun.
Sharpener had headed off to meet up with his fellow rugby club members for a meeting in their room and was going to have lunch with them. Lime also had some paperwork to fill in for her previous class, so this meant she wouldn't be seeing them today either. This left Gohan, Videl, Erasa and Touya as the only available members of the troop, the latter of whom had taken the liberty to lead the group down to his girlfriend's classroom to meet up with her. On the way there, the demi-Saiyan and his crime fighting partner had found themselves locked in a rather interesting discussion about what sounded like something from the science fiction genre.
In reality though, the spiky haired male in the black turtleneck top, the yellow CC vest and black pants was actually passing on his knowledge of what he learned about the Planet Trade Organization from Kana to his girlfriend. It was a conversation that easily bit and held the raven haired girl's attention, while simultaneously inviting the other two teenagers walking alongside them to listen in as well.
"So Frieza was an Emperor of only one part of space and not the entire universe?" Videl asked, looking up at her boyfriend curiously as they exited the classroom as a pair, with Touya and Erasa in front of them. "Didn't you say that he wouldn't stop bragging about how he was the most powerful and feared being in existence?"
The demi-Saiyan sighed and nodded his head in a sad manner. "Yeah, but if we're being completely honest here, his strength isn't exactly such a big milestone anymore. It was at one stage… but after all the crap we had to go through over the years… we've taken that bar and raised it several steps higher." He then looked up thoughtfully for a moment. "Make that several flights higher."
Videl smiled at her boyfriend's statement. "That just goes to show that any race, no matter how small and insignificant, has the potential to exceed their limits and become something great. Even us humans," the tomboy replied while smiling warmly in the teen's direction. "Anyway, so he was an evil galactic emperor, but not as big a one as he claimed he was?"
"It's actually a really complicated arrangement to explain," Gohan murmured, scratching the back of his head while holding his books tightly under his arm. "While it is true Frieza was an emperor and a leader in the Planet Trade Organization, he commanded only a small part of it, representing the destruction branch of the company and was a ruler of only one portion of space."
Videl chuckled at the boy's emphasis on small, "And we both know how big and terrifying space actually is."
Grinning, the spiky haired warrior then continued to speak, "Kana said it worked out like this. There are two main factions making up the Planet Trade Organization; the destruction branch and the construction branch. The organization as a whole encompasses a significant portion of the universe across the four main quadrants, the North, South, East and West, with the headquarters of the company residing somewhere in the core systems. In each quadrant there are regions of space ruled by representatives of the corporation, most of whom proclaim themselves as leaders within their respective areas. Frieza was one of these representatives and so was his brother, Cooler. Both of them proclaimed themselves as emperors of their portions of space, which was befitting their primary occupations."
"So… that kind of makes them like warlords?" the tomboy said while raising a finger in realization.
The demi-Saiyan grinned brightly, "Exactly. A lot of the representatives of the destruction branch of the organization are tyrants, even though the entire chain of command is run like a business. Some of them can be real monsters like Frieza and his family, but a lot of them can be open to reason."
"And what's Kana's deal? You said she was only a part-timer, right?" Videl asked, stepping a little closer to her boyfriend.
Gohan nodded in response, "She's a freelancer representing the faction of the construction branch, hired to help in the preservation of rare planets. The leaders of the corporation value her greatly due to her ability to transport planets digitally and safely from one part of space to another."
A giggle left Videl's lips as she gazed up at her boyfriend, "It's amazing the kinds of physics you can bend when you come from a race of light people from the center of the universe."
"Kind of reminds me of that sweet movie I watched last weekend with my girlfriend about this down-on-his-luck high school boy that meets a beautiful girl who turns out to be an alien from a far off world," Touya suddenly spoke up, slowly down to walk in step with the couple to trade pleasantries with them. "I recommend you guys watch it. It's called Falling from Orion."
After sharing a look with Videl, Gohan then raised an eyebrow towards the brown haired sportsman. "That's a pretty apt title."
"It also sounds like a pretty good movie too," the hybrid exclaimed, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend's waist to smile down at her. "We should check it out at my place this Saturday… just the two of us."
"Oh. Is that an invite I hear?" the raven haired beauty asked slyly, laying her head against the boy's chest. "That's awfully forward of you, Mr. Son."
"Well, I figured since we've been so busy with work and everything, I'd bring you over to my place so that we can spend some quality time together. Do you have a problem with that?" the young Saiyan asked with a grin.
Videl chuckled as she turned in his arm to wrap hers around his waist and hold her body close to him, "Not at all."
While the pair flirted away, walking a couple of paces in front of them Erasa was looking back at the duo with her books held close to her chest and a downturn in her expression. Upon seeing the raven haired girl lean up to peck the demi-Saiyan on the lips, the blonde teen felt a ping in her chest that caused her to look away and continue staring ahead of her. This allowed the journalist in training to hide the pained expression that came across her face and tighten her knuckles around her binder.
A minute of walking later and the group eventually arrived at another classroom, where the familiar, blue haired form of Touya's girlfriend could be seen waiting just outside the door. The teen was wearing a very trendy pair of jean, blue vans and a red top that exposed her midriff, and also had with her a packed lunch held securely under her arm. What was also noticeable, aside from the fact that she was tall, around the same height as her boyfriend, and cute, was that she was also an anthropomorphic doe, with light brown fur and green eyes. When she saw the group approaching her from her left, the girl smiled and waved.
"Yukie-chan," Touya exclaimed, jogging towards the girl to meet her half way.
The tomboyish looking female greeted her boyfriend with a hug, stepping away from him with a beaming look on her face, "I've got some awesome treats to share with you today. I made them last night."
"Same here," the boy replied, holding up his neatly packed bento for her to see. "Wanna split em' up like we did last time… or just pinch it from each other's boxes while trading small talk?"
Yukie giggled at his enthusiasm, "Whenever we do that I always end up stealing everything from you… and you end up going hungry."
The boy then playfully poked her in the nose, "That's because you're cheat… and you're scary tough. I can never beat you at anything." The girl responded by jabbing him in the chest, earning a playful laugh from him.
"Dick," she giggled, knowing full well that she didn't mean it.
Gohan, Videl and Erasa hung back and watched the lovey-dovey couple make plans on how they were going to swap meals with one another. As sweet as it was to observe their interactions from the other pair's point of view, for the blonde standing next to them, all it did was bring a sadder frown to her face and an even more unpleasant feeling to her stomach. Sparing a glance across at the demi-Saiyan standing next to her and seeing him bring his girlfriend closer only caused Erasa's mood to plummet even more.
It was only when she watched the boy pinch Videl teasingly in the side and saw her slap him in the shoulder in kind, the tube-top wearing teen decided she'd had enough.
Sensing their friend beginning to walk away, Gohan and Videl quickly turned to stare after her, with the former speaking up out of worry. "Hey, Erasa. Are you okay?"
The blonde stopped, breathing out a sigh at the sound of the boy's voice. "He's so sweet." Turning to look back at the two couples, the girl in the green shirt threw them a weak smile and ran a hand through her golden locks. "I uhh… I actually just remembered… I need to go see my media teacher about that intern position over at the news station up town." She then pointed in the direction of said classroom and backed away anxiously. "I'll meet up with you guys in the next lesson, alright?" Upon seeing the nods of acknowledgement from a couple of her companions, Erasa then wasted no time in hitting the road and quickly marching off to her next destination.
Watching the girl leave prompted Touya and Yukie to share a confused look with one another and wonder what had gotten into her all of a sudden. After Gohan and Videl also traded expressions of concern and uncertainty, the spiky haired warrior then fixed his attention on the corridor his friend had retreated down and clenched his free hand into a fist.
OOO
Managing to get away from the group brought a small sense of relief back to the blonde haired beauty. She didn't know how much longer she would've been able to stand there alongside her classmates before her chest decided to split open. That was pretty much how fiercely her heart had been ramming away at her ribcage. It was unbearable.
That being said, even though she'd been able to clear out of there before something did end up breaking, Erasa still had to contend with an upset stomach and a mind filled with turbulent thoughts as she strolled down the corridors of the school to a meeting with a teacher that was purely fictional.
The reason why she'd left the area so suddenly was obvious. She just couldn't take being in the presence of her friends, all of whom had found themselves soul mates amongst one another; especially the one whom she herself had incredibly strong feelings for. Seeing Gohan and Videl fraternizing with each other in such a manner caused her stomach to tense up and her heart to beat heavily against the inside of her chest. Hell, even the boy alone was more than enough to send her head into a downward spin.
She wanted to be with him, to share affections with him like he did with Videl, and to let him know that he meant more to her than anyone else in the world, and him in kind. She wanted to experience the exact same things her friends were feeling, only she wanted them with a boy who was already shackled up with somebody else, and that person just happened to be her childhood friend.
As much as she loved Gohan, she didn't want to interfere with his and Videl's relationship. She loved them too much to ruin what they had with each other, all because she was selfishly pining after the raven haired girl's guy.
"But he's the kindest, gentlest, most handsome guy I've ever met," Erasa thought. At that exact same time, the face of said demi-Saiyan appeared in her head and caused her arms to tighten further around the books she was holding to her chest.
Finding some momentary comfort in the thought of actually sharing a moment with the hybrid in her mind, the blonde continued her autopilot stroll through the institute. She was then about to come up with some place to have her lunch in peace, but was suddenly interrupted from her train of thought when a familiar presence nearby caught her attention. Looking to her right, she suddenly spotted Gohan walking towards her from the nearby stairwell with a concerned look on his face and a hasty step characterizing each of his strides.
The appearance of her classmate and crush had the blonde stop, stare, and, after seeing the half-Saiyan coast to halt beside her, smile sadly in return. "It must be cool being able to teleport wherever you want. Out of all the super powers I would have, that one would definitely be in my top ten."
The demi-Saiyan tilted his head and beamed at the girl, "What would some of the other ten be?"
Giggling, the girl turned to her friend and began counting on her fingers. "The ability to shape shift and super strength." She then made a twisting gesture with her hands. "You wouldn't believe how tough it is to open jars with these fingers. Trust m; it's painful and annoying."
Sharing a chuckle with the blonde following her little impressionist performance, the raven haired boy allowed a moment of silence to pass between them. When his expression softened, the hybrid then spoke to the girl in the most sincere voice he had, "Listen Erasa… ever since I started out at this school, I've noticed you haven't been… acting your usual self. Every time I want to try and talk to you or hang out, you always either run off or turn your back on me like I'm going to hurt you or something. It's really upsetting seeing you like that. I'm really worried about you."
Stiffening a little, the teen quickly averted her gaze. "I… I don't know what…"
"Please, Erasa," the demi-Saiyan spoke while taking a step closer, watching the girl rub her arms timidly. "I want to be able to talk to you again like we were able to before. I want to try and make things right between us. Just… please… tell me what's wrong."
Gritting her teeth as she felt the concerned eyes of her crush boring into the side of her head, the chirpy blonde then took a deep breath of air. After trying her best to fend off his honest advances and prying stare, she then shook her head and looked up at the demi-Saiyan with a hard gaze. "I thought I'd be able to handle it… this warm feeling burning deep inside my chest that would act up whenever I saw you. I figured that it was just a phase that would pass after only a couple of days and leave me in peace. But I can't take it anymore." She then fixed the confused young man with an honest stare, one that had him balk a little at how intense it was. "For the last year I've had feelings for you, Gohan. I don't know how or when it started, but all I know is that after hanging out with you, getting to know you and your family, and seeing the kind and gentle person that you really are, I suddenly found myself falling for you… and there's nothing I could do about it."
Expression reflecting a small sense of surprise, the young Saiyan then slowly relaxed and gave the blonde teen a troubled look. "So it is true… you really do like me." And he literally had to have it shoved into his face from two different people for him to finally realize it.
Erasa's eyes shimmered as she looked into the charcoal ones of her friend. "I love you so much that my heart hurts every time I see you and Videl together. But as much as I want to be with you and have you all to myself, you two are my best friends. The last thing I want to do is get in the way of your relationship." When she spoke, her voice trembled and cracked. It was a good thing that the two of them were alone in this corner of the school otherwise they would be receiving quite a lot of questionable looks from the other students.
At first Gohan didn't know what to say. However, after standing there frozen in place and looking into the now tear strung eyes of the blonde in front of him, the demi-Saiyan bit his lip and moved forward to speak. "Erasa… I-"
"I think it would be better for all of us if we didn't talk for a while… at least… not until this thing between us has passed," Erasa said, closing her eyes and looking away from the demi-Saiyan, cutting him off from whatever he was going to say next. "I don't know how long it'll take… but I don't think we'll be able to see each other again. I'm… I'm sorry… Gohan."
"Wait… Erasa…" Before the shocked Saiyan could stop her, he suddenly saw the girl turn heel and run, dashing around the corner and out of sight. This left the spiky haired young male standing there with his hand outstretched and a dismayed look pulled across his face.
When he felt her presence fade, the hybrid then allowed his arm to drop and, in the midst of the moment, contemplated whether or not he should go after her. But after some careful thinking, he quickly opted against it. He didn't want to make the situation any worse than it already was.
Meanwhile, as the boy's eyes fell to the ground and his shoulders slumped in defeat, hiding at the end of lockers in the corridor Erasa had retreated down, Videl could be seen standing there with one hand at her side and the other held firmly over her chest. Her eyes staring ahead of her, the tomboy was unable to say a word thanks to the information she was able to take away from the pair's emotional conversation. After then seeing her blonde haired friend rush past her with tears streaming from her cheeks, the tomboy couldn't help but feel her own chest tighten up as she sensed her boyfriend kick at the floor before slugging his way back to where they'd left Touya and Yukie behind.
Even after he left, Videl remained exactly where she was, leaning against the side of the locker with her own head hung low.
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