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To Live Again Chapter 1 - The New Girl by Fair Drea Ages: Gohan: 23 Aiden: 20 Trunks: 16 Goten: 15 Everyone else: How ever old you want them to be. "Gohan. Hey! Earth to Gohan!" "Huh?" Slowly coming out of his dazed state, Gohan shook his head and looked down at the perky blonde standing beside him. She narrowed her eyes and gave him a knowing smile. "I bet you were thinking about Videl, weren't you?" Erasa teased. "Uh.sure," Gohan mumbled distractedly. Actually his mind was not on Videl at all. All day he had been sensing an unfamiliar Ki signature. It was weak, almost as if the owner of it were dying. But at the same time it was unique. So unique that he couldn't stop thinking about it. He wanted to find the person, help them if they needed it. It was distinctively Sayian. There was no doubt about that. A fact, which excited him, yet worried him at the same time. Hopefully whoever it was didn't pose a threat at all. He didn't think they would, or even could for that matter. The Ki was so weak. "She'll be back soon Gohan, don't worry. She's only at her mom's until Sunday." Erasa chirped, her hand alighting upon his arm. Gohan opened his moth to reply when something caught his attention. Through the mass of students crowding the halls of SCU, he caught a flash of dusty lavender. Trunks? What was he doing here? He was supposed to be in class at the high school. At second glance he could tell it wasn't Trunks, but a girl. She moved through the crowd, head bent, and lavender hair a few shades darker then Trunks' cascading down her back. Half of it had been pulled back and a light feathering of bangs brushed her forehead, hiding her eyes from view. She wore a simple, navy blue sweatshirt with the sleeves pushed up and a pair of faded flare blue jeans. Gohan couldn't manage to tear his eyes away from her. He watched her stop in front of a locker. She lifted a hand to the combination lock, and then paused in the action, her head lifting. She turned her head and her crystal blue gaze met his. Light pink stained her cheeks and a tiny smile pulled at her lips. Gohan's breath caught. Wow, she was beautiful! He shyly returned her smile and the adorable pink lighting her cheeks darkened slightly. "Gohan? Gohan!!" The startled demi Sayian turned back to Erasa. "Huh? What?" Erasa tossed her short blond hair and gave him a disgruntled look. "What is your deal today? You've been acting like a zombie all morning!" "Maybe his mommy didn't leave him a note in his lunch bag," a snide voice called out. Sharpner. Gohan ignored him and glanced back at the girl, but she was gone. Disappointment filled him as he stared at the spot she had once been. 'Who was she?' he wondered. "Gohan, you have to snap out of it. We're going to be late for class." "Sorry Erasa." Gohan said with an apologetic smile. He turned his full attention to her. "I guess I'm just really out of it today." The blonde nodded in understanding. She probably thought he was still thinking about Videl. 'Not even close' Gohan though. He cast a final glance down the hallway, wishing he could at least catch one last look at the mysterious girl, but she was nowhere in sight. With a sigh he followed Erasa to their next class. The bell for class rang; it's shrill toll echoing down the emptying hallways. "This is wonderful. First day of class and I'm late. Why did I not see this coming?" Aiden muttered under her breath. She looked down at her schedule. Room 201. Where in gods name was room 201? She moved to the next door and breathed a sigh of relief. Room 201. Feeling a little nervous, Aiden opened the door and slid inside. Heat immediately infused her face as each set of eyes focused on her. "Miss Aiden I presume?" The professor, a kind looking man in his mid thirties asked. Aiden offered a half smile and swallowed her apprehension. "Yes sir. I'm sorry I'm late. I had trouble finding the class," she murmured. She self-consciously tucked her hair behind her ear. The professor smiled. "That's fine. I got lost on my first day too. Please, have a seat. I believe there is one left next to Mr. Son." He pointed to a row in back and Aiden followed the gesture. Immediately the shyness returned. It was him, the man from the hallway that had been staring at her. Aiden nodded her thanks and slowly made her way up the steps thinking over and over in her mind 'Please don't trip, please don't trip, please don't trip.' Journey successful, she wordlessly sat down in the empty seat. Was he looking at her? Should she see if he was? Aiden folded her shaking hands in front of her and stared straight ahead. "Okay, now that everyone is present and accounted for why don't you all take out your books and turn to page 58." Aiden groaned softly, resisting the urge to pound her head in frustration on the desktop. She had been too busy the entire week, finding a cheap but suitable, furnished apartment, a job, buying everything but schoolbooks. How could she forget? "You can share mine," a voice said softly beside her. She turned and for the second time that day found herself lost in deep pools of ebony. Was it even legal to look that good? "Th-thank you," she managed, with a light smile. The man smiled back and pushed his book closer to her. "My name is Gohan, by the way." "Aiden," she murmured, looking down at the book and following along as the professor read. Minutes into the reading, Aiden forgot that she was sharing the book with the incredibly handsome Gohan. She went to turn the page at the same time as Gohan and their fingers brushed. Something passed between them, something deep and exhilarating. Aiden's breath caught. She raised her eyes, not at all surprised to see Gohan staring intently back at her. A trace of a smile crossed his features, shy and uncertain. Slowly, his fingers brushed hers again, moving up over her knuckles in a soft caress. Aiden sighed, refusing to give in to the sudden urge to lean closer to Gohan. What was he doing? A better question, why was she reacting so strongly to his touch? She didn't even know who he was! "Mr. Son. This is English/Lit. Not palm reading 101," the professor warned in an amused voice. Many students snickered and Gohan and Aiden jumped apart, swiftly looking down to hide their embarrassment. After her face had cooled considerably, Aiden risked a curious, sideways glance at Gohan. He looked just about as confused by his actions as she was. His brows were drawn low over his stunning, dark eyes. His lips were turned down in a small frown of concentration. 'What are you thinking Gohan?' she wondered. The bell rang, interrupting her thoughts. She quickly gathered her things and pushed her chair back. It would be wise to get out of there now before she did anything stupid. She couldn't think straight. It was him. Something about Gohan caused her to feel things she had never felt before. It was a little frightening. She stood. "Thank you for letting me share your book with you Gohan," she said with a kind smile. She turned away and quickly made her way down the steps. "Aiden, wait!" Gohan called, but she ignored him and practically ran out into the hallway. Maybe college had been a bad idea. She wasn't used to so many people. The school she had gone to had been small and only a few students had gone there. Like Aiden, they had mostly kept to themselves. But here, there were so many people. Too many. Aiden decided right then to take the rest of the day off and return to her apartment. She didn't have any of her books anyway. What was the point of staying? She reminded herself to look up while walking and saw two teenage boys walking toward her. One had spiky black hair and eyes of the same color. He looked familiar. The other was slightly taller. His lengthy lavender hair hung down over penetrating blue eyes. They both looked very trouble about something. Aiden passed them. Her arm brushed against the taller teenagers arm and she came to a complete stop, whipping around. The boy did the same. Time seemed to stand still as the two stared at each other. His eyes narrowed as he studied her, then went wide in disbelief. "Trunks! Are you coming or not?" his friend asked in a near shout. The lavender haired teen turned away. Far beyond confused, Aiden started down the hallway in the direction of she had been going, away from the two teenagers, away from Gohan, away from her classes. She pressed a hand to her forehead. Who was that boy? Why did she feel as if she knew him? Could she possibly asked herself any more questions today?! Too immersed in her own thoughts, Aiden didn't notice the group of guys standing in the hallway until it was too later. She ran head long into the broad wall of a male chest. "I-I'm so sorry," she stammered, taking several steps back. "You're the new girl right?" The guy she had ran into asked. He pushed his long blonde hair back and assessed her with cold eyes. "Why aren't you in class new girl?" His friends laughed at the question as if it were the funniest thing they had heard all day. "I'm going home," Aiden murmured. She tried to move around the group but they blocked her way. Her gut twisted painfully and a wave of apprehension slammed into her. She looked behind her, noticing with a sinking heart that she was alone in the hallway with this group of guys. "You might as well stick around, new girl," The blonde drawled, eyes roaming over her. "Come here. I want you to meet my friends." Aiden didn't even have a chance to cry out for help before a large hand clamped down on her mouth and she was pulled into the group of leering young men. *~*~*~* "Gohan!" Closing his locker, Gohan looked up, seeing his brother and his best friend walking toward him. "Goten, Trunks? What are you guys doing here?" He waved to Erasa, letting her know to go on without him. "Shouldn't you be in class?" Goten smirked. "You used to skip out of class all the time, Mr. Saiyaman. Didn't you think we were capable of playing a little hooky? Besides, you now why we're here," Goten's cheerful disposition turned solemn. Gohan nodded. "Do you think we can trust them?" he asked. "Whoever they are, they're dying. We need to at least try to help them." "It was her," Trunks spoke up. The two demi Sayians turned to look at Trunks. "Her who?" Goten asked. "The girl in the hallway. The one we ran into, with the hair like mine." "Aiden." Gohan muttered a curse under his breath and started walking down the hallway. "Are you sure it was her?" "Yeah." Trunks followed closely behind Gohan and threw a worried look at Goten. "I could see it in her eyes when she looked at me." Gohan glanced back at Trunks. "What exactly happened?" he asked, not slowing his pace. If that was Aiden's Ki signature he didn't want to waste a second getting to her. Her Ki was weak, much too weak. They didn't have much time. "I'm not sure how to explain it. Her arm brushed mine and we both turned at the same time. We were staring at each other. I felt...I felt like I should know her somehow. Trunks shook his head. "It was strange." "Sound like it," Goten muttered. Gohan focused in on Aiden's Ki signature, alarm filling him when he realized how much lower it had been then before. 'Hang on Aiden.' He thought. It surprised him, how much he cared for this person he hardly knew. Rounding the corner, Gohan cursed again upon seeing Sharpner and his buddies crowding the hallway. He was about to turn away when he heard a feminine whimper come from somewhere in the middle of the group. "Aiden." Choking on her fear, Aiden struggled against the hands holding her. It was Ed all over again. Ed multiplied by ten. She kicked out and one of the guys went flying back against the lockers on the opposite side of the hall. Unfortunately it was just one guy. There were still others surrounding her and her energy level was running dreadfully low. Tears scorched their way down her cheeks. They only amused the cruel group of jerks. 'I think it's time to give up dear.' Her mothers voice echoed insensitively in her mind. A sudden guttural cry broke through the harsh laughter of the men. Aiden's head jerked up and relief flooded through her. Standing before her, in the place where the crowd of guys had once stood were Gohan and the two teens from earlier. Sprawled on the ground around her were the jerks. Sharpner still stood, his hand gripping her arm in a tight, painful grasp. "Let her go, Sharpner. Now," Gohan demanded, his eyes dark with the promise of pain. "Christ, man. I was just having fun with her. She's fine." Sharpner released her and Aiden slumped to the ground. "See?" Gohan growled and slammed his fist into Sharpner's face. The blonde fell to the ground, unconscious. "I've wanted to do that for so long," Gohan muttered. He stepped over the cocky blond's body and crouched next to Aiden. "Are you okay?" he asked, reaching out to the trembling girl. Aiden jerked back and immediately blushed. "I'm sorry. I..I didn't mean to-" Gohan offered her a tender smile and gently placed his hand on her arm. She was so cold! "It's okay. I understand." Clumsily getting to her feet, Aiden started to move back away from her rescuers. "I have to go," She murmured. She made it a foot before pain caught her in a vice like grip. She gasped and fell back to the floor. Panicked, she clutched her stomach, breathing raggedly. Gohan was next to her as soon as she fell. His arm went around her. "Aiden, you have to let us help you," He said, tilting her chin so that he could look into her eyes. Aiden shook her head. "I don't need help. I'm fine." She tried to stand up again and cried out as agony harshly bit into her. "No you're not," Gohan murmured. How was he going to make her understand? The straightforward approach wasn't at all what he wanted to resort to but at this time, he had no choice. "Aiden..you're dying. You have to let us help you." The lavender haired girl jerked out of his grasp and stared at him with wide eyes. Shaking her head, she tried to push him away. "Why..why would you say something like that?!" "Because it's true. We know what you are. You're a Sayian, like us. We can sense your power Aiden. That's why you need to let us help you." Aiden looked up at the two teenage boys standing on either side of Gohan. Both of them nodded their agreement to Gohan's words and Aiden's crystalline eyes filled with tears. "No!" She screamed, forcing herself to get up despite the mind numbing pain. "I am NOT dying!" She moved away from them, gritting her teeth. How far could she make it? Deep down she knew they were telling the truth but still, her first instinct was to deny them, to live despite the fact that her body was shutting down on her. Gohan got to his feet. Ebony, sorrow filled eyes watched her cautiously. "Aiden," he tried once more. "NO!" She yelled. And that was the end. Her energy drained from her so fast that it made her head spin. She collapsed, hitting the tiled floor hard. Once again, Gohan was there, collecting her tiny frame in his strong, capable arms. "I can help you," he whispered, catching one of the many tears streaming down her face with the pad of his thumb. Aiden gave him a sad smile. "But I..I just got here," she said, working the words out past the lump in her throat. "And you'll stay here if I have anything to say about it," Gohan cradled her small body against him and looked at Trunks and Goten. "We need to get to Bulma's. Fast." "Okay," they said in unison. Wasting no time, the three quickly exited the school and took to the skies. They were at Bulma's in record time, throwing open the door and marching inside. Bulma came out of the kitchen and her aqua eyes widened. "Why aren't you boys in school? And who is that?" She demanded, perching her hands on her hips. "No time mom," Trunks said, gently taking a hold of his mother's hand and pulling her down the hallway to the lab. "The girl is sick. She needs your help." "Why didn't you take her to the hospital?" Goten shrugged. "We couldn't really." "Why not?" "Because she's a Sayian," Trunks said, trying to keep up with Gohan. Bulma gasped and yanked her had free. "What? How is that possible?" she asked. Goten once again shrugged. "Your guess is as good as ours. All we know is that she needs help. She's dying Bulma." That was all it took to get the beauteous scientist to jump into action. She hastened to the front where Gohan was, carrying the pale female in his arms. "What happened to her?" She asked, placing a hand over the girl's forehead and then checking for her pulse. "I'm not sure. She's new at school. I've been sensing her Ki all day but I wasn't sure what to do about it. I couldn't tell it was her right away. Trunks is the one that figured it out. When we found her, she had lost most of her strength. She was the latest unwilling victim of Sharpner and his buddies. I don't know what happened to make her so weak." Gohan looked down worriedly at the half conscious woman in his arms. Bulma frowned. "I can tell you what's wrong," she muttered, opening the door to the lab and ushering everyone inside. She motioned for Gohan to set Aiden down on the bed in the corner and immediately started prepping an IV. "She's severely malnourished. That's why her body is giving up on her." Bulma gently brushed lavender hair away from the girl's eyes. Lids opened to reveal a startling shade of blue and Bulma had to smother a sudden gasp. Those eyes..they were so familiar. "Honey, I need you to tell me something, and be honest." The girl nodded slowly. "Do you have an eating disorder of any kind?" Aiden shook her head, a slight frown marring her brow. "No. It-" She swallowed hard. "It's nothing like that." Bulma nodded. She wasn't going to try to pry any more information out of the child. Not until she was well again. She carefully inserted the IV needle into the girl's hand and placed a strip of tape over it to secure it. Gohan approached the bed. "Is she going to be okay Bulma?" Sighing, Bulma looked up at the handsome demi Sayian. Just like his father, worrying about everything. "It's hard to say right now Gohan. I'm sure she'll be fine though. You said she was a Sayian, right? If she is, then healing shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'm sure she'll be fine after we get some food in her and get her healthy again." A small beep sounded and the lab door whooshed open, revealing a very annoyed Sayian Prince. Striding into the room, arms crossed over his chest in a well-known, arrogant pose, Vegeta walked up to Bulma with every intention of demanding yet another gravity room when he saw the girl. He stopped, staring in shock at the brown appendage hanging over the side of the bed and swaying sluggishly back and forth. "You've got to be kidding me," he muttered. Once again Aiden opened her eyes. She stared at Vegeta for a moment then a small smile curved her full lips. "Hello father," she whispered before fully giving in to unconsciousness. [ Previous | Next Chapter ] |