.

Tough Chick

Chapter Three:

The Fusion Dance

….

Pan

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Whose fault is it that we randomly live in each other's bodies? Trunks thinks it's his fault, and most of the time I agree. I mean, Trunks is an adult…a level-headed adult NEVER would've gone along with my idea. Papa and Uncle Goten flat out told me "No" when I asked them to show me the fusion dance. Yeah, sure, Uncle Goten was too busy texting his girlfriend, and Papa was in the middle of a boring chess match against himself. They simply didn't have the time to show me the fusion dance.

Trunks wasn't too busy for me, though. He shut the book he was reading from Papa's collection without bookmarking it, smiled, then said," Sure. I'll show you the fusion dance, but we'll have to go outside so we'll have more space."

I could've asked Grandpa Goku. He would've shown me the fusion dance. Well, he would've if he was around. Five years ago, Grandpa Goku jumped on Shenron's back and disappeared. No one has seen him since.

Looking back on how things turned out now, I'm glad Grandpa Goku wasn't around for me to ask him. Grandpa Goku would've messed up my life on day one if he switched bodies with me. My teachers would've sent him (me) back to kindergarten and our entire family would've found out about my greatest shame. Trunks assured me I had no reason to be ashamed since he and I weren't evenly matched in power or height, but I begged him not to tell anyone else about our problem.

The fusion dance just became one more thing on the list of things I can't do. In case you're wondering, here's a little copy of that list:

I can't turn into a Super Saiyan

I can't fit in at school.

I can't do the fusion dance.

I can't ask out the average boy I like.

Let's be honest here. Trunks is willing to take all the blame for the fusion dance going wrong because he's a nice guy. Nice guys soak up the blame like a sponge, that's just what they do. The truth is, it's my fault.

I NEVER should've asked Trunks to show me the fusion dance.

I NEVER should've asked Trunks to do the fusion dance with me.

I NEVER should've asked Trunks to power up and seriously try to fuse with me, just to see what would happen.

And I NEVER should've called The Invisible Force 'the dumbest thing ever' for switching our spirits instead of merging us into one new powerful being. Maybe if I sincerely apologize… the Invisible Force might switch us back?

. . .

Trunks

. . .

I rarely get days off. When there's no paperwork to fill out, no interviews to prepare for, and no meetings booked, I usually like to spend that extra free time with my girlfriend, Mai.

Well, I used to like spending my free time with Mai, before she broke up with me.

The worst part about it is there was no warning.

There were no fights leading up to the breakup, no withdrawal, no crying…there was nothing to clue me in to Mai's unhappiness. I thought our relationship was perfect. The sex was perfect, at least. Mai and I made love every morning and night, and sometimes we made love in my office when she'd bring me lunch. My coworkers knew not to knock on my door during lunch after Mai closed it. She was a prude, always refusing to hold my hand in public, but it excited me when she shut the blinds and closed the office door, intentionally keeping it unlocked. Anyone could've walked in on us. Anyone could've heard the loud thud of my stuff being shoved off my desk, our heavy moans as we satisfied each other's needs. The burning scarlet faces of my secretaries when I walked Mai to the elevator afterward told me that they had indeed heard everything.

I truly believed Mai was the perfect woman. She was smart, kind, loyal, brave, feisty, and beautiful. God, was she beautiful! Best of all we had history. Mai didn't come from money, but that didn't stop me from falling for her the second she snuck on my Mom's party ship with her friends, Pilaf and Shu. She was my childhood love. My very first girlfriend. My first kiss. Eight-year-old boys can't be expected to keep a girlfriend for long, so Mai and I lost contact for a few years, reigniting our love for each other later as adults.

It was the night after I went shopping for a ring that Mai broke my heart.

We met at our second favorite spot to have lunch, Sandwich Al's, located down the street from Capsule Corp, and just a few blocks away from Mai's makeup company.

Jazz music played softly through the speakers above us as it rained outside. Beneath the table, my hand protectively covered the small velvet box in my right pocket while I repeatedly kept asking myself," Should I propose to her now?"

Mai was quiet, deep in thought as she stared out from the second story window, watching the traffic and people with shopping bags walk along the sidewalk, her eyes flickering to the top of Capsule Corp's tower – my office.

Mai blew the steam from her earl grey tea before taking the smallest sip." Let's break up," she said, lowering the cup, making the smallest 'tap' as it met with the saucer.

We stared into each other's eyes for a long time. The tone of her voice and the look in her eyes mirrored her feelings. She was serious about breaking up, and nothing could change her mind. My hand slipped away from my pocket. I sunk back in my chair, focused my gaze on the raindrops sliding down the window, and sucked in a deep breath before asking, "It's Pilaf, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Of course it is. It's always been Pilaf. You've never stopped thinking about him, have you?" I laughed, humorlessly." You told me you came back to West City to start your makeup line and live your own life, and here I thought that you'd stopped being 'Emperor' Pilaf's mindless slave. What a joke."

"I'm not a slave! I choose to serve him," Mai snarled while furiously digging through her black clutch purse." Emperor Pilaf is…is… well, he's amazing! He's always been the most important person in my life. Yes, I know sometimes he can be a little hardheaded and doesn't listen to my ideas, wants, or needs…but…."

"Mai, do you hear how crazy you sound right now?" She no longer looked like an intelligent, independent woman, but a recovering drug addict about to throw her life away (Pilaf being the metaphorical drug)." Pilaf is a loser, and that will never change. He'll only bring trouble and suffering into your life. Trust me, Mai, you're better off without him."

Mai finally found her wallet after all that rummaging. She ripped out a couple dollars and slapped them in the middle of the table." No, Trunks, I'm better off without you. Goodbye." She got up and, without a second glance, flipped her long black hair over her shoulder and walked out of my life.

The pain of her final words lingered with me like a throbbing finger that had been smashed in a door.

Outside, the grey, wet scenery turned into a dark blue, then a pitch black. I sat through Sandwich Al's dinner rush in a daze, unaware of the final customers leaving until a kind waiter tapped on my shoulder.

"Sir, we're closing in ten minutes."

"I didn't try to stop her. I couldn't even tell her I loved her." My hand once again settled on top of that velvet box in my pocket.

"Pardon?"

I shook my head and lifted my credit card to the waiter. "Don't mind me. I just got dumped. How much will it cost to sit here for a few more minutes?" The last thing I wanted was to return to my office or my apartment. Both places held too many memories of the woman I loved.

The waiter smiled." Oh, that's not necessary, sir. You may sit here while I close, but you'll have to leave when I do, and I'll be locking the front door, so please don't let anyone else in. There's a lot of dangerous people out there."

"How do you know I'm not dangerous?" I asked, slipping my credit card back into my wallet.

"Most dangerous people don't wear business suits that costs as much as their rent. I'm not afraid of you; I know who you are. Everyone in West City knows who you are. You're Trunks Briefs, the youngest president of Capsule Corporation, "The waiter smiled sadly, then began lifting up chairs and putting them on tables. He picked up a worn-out broom and started sweeping the floor. "But, at this moment you're just a regular guy who got his heart broken by a beautiful woman and you need a few minutes to plan out your next moves."

I thanked him, and the waiter left me to wallow in my misery. He swept the restaurant, mopped the floors, then descended the stairs to wash the dishes. I looked out the window, but it was so dark outside I couldn't see past my reflection and the backdrop of the restaurant. I stared back at my reflection. How could Mai choose someone like Pilaf over me? I'm rich, handsome, in shape, funny, smart, loyal, and I have a head full of hair. What the hell did Mai see in Pilaf that I didn't? What could he give her that I couldn't?

I called in sick to work the following week, which pissed off my mother. She thought I was being a lazy son, choosing parties over work again, but I didn't go to parties. My housekeepers reported back to her that I wasn't eating much, and spent most of the day in bed, only coming out to grab a few liquor bottles from my mini bar in the kitchen. Mother knew then that something was wrong, and she stopped leaving angry messages on my phone. I sobered up on the last day of that week, took a shower, put on a hoodie and jeans, and walked down the street to Mai's makeup company. I couldn't let us end things the way we did.

Mai's makeup company, a little shop tucked between a tattoo parlor and lingerie boutique, had large yellow and black "Permanently Out of Business" signs taped all over the windows and door. Posters of Mai and all her product's advertisements were no longer taped to the windows. I cupped my hands around my eyes to filter out the light as I peeked through the window. Only a bare, square-shaped room remained. The cash register, stands, displays, products, and the decorative rug we had picked out together…all of them were gone.

Later, I learned from the owner of the tattoo parlor that Mai had withdrew all the money from her bank account the day she broke up with me ( she owed him money), practically gave everything away during her going-out-of-business sale, and handed her landlord – the same guy who ran the tattoo parlor— her apartment keys, along with the last of that month's rent. Carrying her suitcases was a bald, short, blue-skinned guy and some type of talking fox in a ninja outfit. Pilaf and Shu.

The tattoo parlor owner shrugged his shoulders when I asked him where Mai was headed.

" Don't know, man. All I know is, wherever she was going, she couldn't wait to get there."

. . .

What does Mai have to do with the fusion dance?

I'm getting to that.

Except for the coworkers who saw Mai visit me during lunch, my family, and my closest friends, no one else knew about the breakup. Thankfully, gossip magazines and other media sources never found out about Mai, so It was easy to pretend like nothing was wrong, that a girl didn't just break up with me for the first time in my life, that I didn't buy an engagement ring and throw it into the ocean during a drunken rage.

I started dating immediately. Just short two-week flings with models, actresses, and a cute barista I noticed one morning before work. I wanted everyone to think that I was just a playboy enjoying my twenties, living my best life and accomplishing so much in my career.

On the inside I was a complete mess, heartbroken over a woman who had so easily walked out of my life, but no one needed to know that. Then, one morning Gohan burst into my office with exciting news and a sonogram in his hands." Videl is pregnant again!"

I offered to take Gohan, Videl, Pan, and Goten ( the best friend I'm too busy to ever see) out to dinner the following Sunday to celebrate. It was the first day off I'd had in a long time. The women whom usually kept me company on my days off had found themselves serious boyfriends, and I didn't want to spend that day alone, thinking about Mai.

Gohan dismissively waved both hands at my offer and took two steps back. "No, no. You don't have to buy us a fancy dinner, Trunks, really."

"You seriously don't want to eat a free dinner? Am I hearing this right?" I made a show of testing my hearing by snapping my fingers by my ears.

"It's too much…"

I smiled." Have you met my mother? She's the queen of 'too much,' which you'll discover for yourself once she hears you're having a baby, and don't get me started on Bulla. Pray to Dende that you're not having a baby girl, Bulla will have that kid's entire room and wardrobe decorated pink."

Gohan's face lit up at the possibility of having another daughter.

I patted him on the shoulder and walked with him out of my office. I had an appointment I couldn't cancel, and Gohan still needed to let my mother in on the baby news. " Please, let me treat your family to a nice dinner. You'll be doing me a favor. I have nothing planned that Sunday anyway, and it'll give me a chance to catch up with everyone. Maybe we can fit in a quick fight somewhere after dinner?"

"I didn't want to say anything, but you have become a little rusty," Gohan teased, referring to the well-known fact that I'd stopped training to focus on work, which my muscles and my father complained about daily. "Just be careful, Trunks." Gohan's expression turned serious, and his voice took on a warning tone I'd only ever heard him use against opponents." We're living peacefully now, but that can change without notice. It did for me when I was a teenager. I'd stopped training back then, and it nearly cost me my life when Babidi and Majin Buu showed up. Don't make the same mistakes I did. The world can't afford to lose another fighter."

.

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . To be continued in "The Fusion Dance Part 2," next chapter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Author's Note:

Trunks better listen to Gohan if he knows what's good for him *wink, wink*

Sandwich Al's is a made-up restaurant. The name came to me while I was looking at my Full Metal Alchemist poster. If it's a real place, then that is purely coincidental.

The timeline in this story is after GT, featuring some Super characters (ex: Mai, Shu,& Pilaf). I still haven't caught up in Super so I'm not sure if more Super characters will appear later.

Thanks for reading!