94Author's Note: Hello again everyone! It's been...a whole year since my last update ;w; I apologize a thousands times! I've had a busy, busy, and eventful year! I lost my motivation for both drawing and writing. It was awful ): But! I was hit with a sudden burst of motivation for whatever reason, at least as far as writing goes. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. It's the last in the Teen Saga (as I refer to the teen year chapters) and now the adult years will begin next chappie.
There's a bit of TrunksxCharisma in here but I'm also exploring the GotenxMisa relationship here a little more. Gotta say that this fic lacks it! I hope you like it. (:
Chapter 26:
Changes
Misa's green eyes wandered in the bustling crowd from one thing to the next, not wanting to miss a single sight. She strolled along side Charisma, Trunks, and Goten as they made their way to the tournament area with their family and friends.
"This is so exciting!" Misa said happily. "I've never been to one of these before. I'm so glad I'm old enough to not ask permission from my folks."
"I'm glad you could make it," Charisma said and turned to look at her. "I really wish you'd been here last time. It was quite…" Charisma was hit with a sudden flashback of all the catastrophe that had happened: losing the match to Goten, Vegeta being possessed, Buu emerging and destroying the earth. She grinned at the thought. "…interesting…"
"I wish I could've been here, too, then," she responded with a giggle.
"So, who do you think would win this time between Trunks and me?" Goten asked, coming in between the girls. "Honestly? Me, right?"
Before the girls could respond, Trunks suddenly appeared beside Charisa. "Not gonna happen," Trunk stated proudly. "You never could overpower me, even when we would spar."
"That's all about to change, bro," he replied.
"Remind me: who won last time?" Trunks asked smugly.
"That was last time," Goten retorted with a smirk.
"Oh, trash talk…" Misa cooed to Charisma. Charisma chuckled lowly with a hand over her lips.
"This should be fun to watch," she added.
The group continued walking together until they reached the area that lead to the locker rooms. "Looks like this is it," Goku announced to everyone. "We'll see the rest of you later."
Misa waved towards her friends as they made their way towards the main building. "Good luck! I'll be cheering for you guys!" Misa watched as they walked off before heading off with the rest of the group.
After parting ways, the three teens headed into the building with Goku and Vegeta on their way up towards Mr. Satan's private room. Charisma could barely contain her excitement as she followed along, looking out the windows and drinking in the sights.
'I can't believe it's been ten years already,' she thought to herself. Watching so many different fighters, of different sizes, different races, and different backgrounds, made her remember her old passion for martial arts.
"Are you ready?" Goten's voice broke through her thoughts, coming close to her and placing a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.
Charisma looked at him and smiled. "Of course!" she replied. "I'm so excited to start."
Trunks cracked his knuckles as they made their way to the top floor. "I wasn't planning on entering at first, but I'm looking forward to this myself. Make no mistake, I'm definitely going to win."
Goten rolled his eyes and grinned. "You'll have to get through me first, Trunks."
"That won't be a problem," Trunks sneered.
"Wouldn't it be great if we were pitted against each other, Trunks?" Charisma asked him. "It would be interesting, don't you think?"
Trunks grinned arrogantly. "Honestly, you wouldn't last two seconds against me…"
Charisma glared up at him with a pout. "I know I probably wouldn't win, but I can last more than two seconds, I assure you…"
"Your skills of intimidation and trash talk need work," he laughed.
"Here we are!" Goku announced as they arrived at Mr. Satan's door. He knocked lightly on it and waited for an answer. Sure enough, the door opened and the now obviously-aged Mr. Satan answered.
"Hey, Goku!" he greeted. "How's it going?"
"Me, too, Gramps!" Pan said cheerfully.
"Of course, I'd never forget my favorite little girl!" Mr. Satan cooed as he snuggled her in his arms. "Did you come to watch me win the tournament?"
"No!" Pan replied with a smile. "I came to win!"
"WHAT?!"
"Yeah," Goku confirmed and gestured towards the three friends and Vegeta behind him. "We're all going to compete."
Mr. Satan looked like the wind had been knocked out of him. "But…but…!"
"Don't worry!" Goku reassured him. "If one of us make it to the top, we'll let you win."
The color returned to Mr. Satan's face. "You'd really do that for me? That would be great!"
"Well, that's assuming that one of us does make it that far," Goku said. "Someone else could come and win instead."
"No way. I'm sure you'll win if you try hard enough."
"Oh, I almost forgot," Goten said and walked over to Mr. Satan. "Excuse me, Champ, our friends and families also came along to watch, but there aren't any seats left in the whole stadium."
Mr. Satan laughed confidently. "No seats! That's a good one! Not while I'm world Champion!"
…
Misa didn't mind being the center of attention, not at all. But this was simply too much. She looked awkwardly towards Bulma, who was steaming mad and embarrassed, along with the rest of the gang.
They sat outside, a couple of feet from the ring in the main arena, in perfect sight of the thousands and thousands of spectators who eyed the peculiar looking group of people strangely. The air of awkwardness wafted from one side of the row of seats to the other.
"How embarrassing…maybe I should've just competed," Gohan said with annoyance. "At least then I'd give them a reason to look at me."
"How can you say that?" Videl protested.
"What? I'm serious."
Bulma at last couldn't take it anymore and stood up angrily. "This is absurd! I'm going to take care of this!"
"Wait!" Videl stood up and stopped her. "Leave it to me! I'll go talk to my father!"
Fortunately, Videl was able to get the situation straightened out and the gang now sat comfortably inside the main building with the perfect view of the main arena.
"Now this is much better," Bulma said as they sat near the windows on the second floor.
"Look at the view, Mommy!" Bulla said enthusiastically.
"It certainly helps to know the right people," Videl laughed.
Misa brightened up when she saw the competitors making their way to the ring. "Hey, it's starting!"
The announcer ran out from the building and onto the ring to the sound of cheers.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" he bellowed loudly, spit flying wildly. "Welcome to the World Martial Arts Tournament! It's time to introduce you to our finalists. Please give it up for these great athletes who made it past the preliminary rounds!"
The cheers of the crowd intensified as the competitors made their way out to the ring.
"Look, it's Daddy!" Bulla said happily.
"Goten! Charisma! Trunks!" Misa cheered loudly. "You can do it!"
Charisma trailed behind Goten and Trunks, her nerves starting to get the better of her. 'What if I'm not ready for this?' she thought. 'What if I haven't trained enough? I'd hate to make a fool of myself in front of all these people…'
Trunks looked back at her. "Hey," he whispered. "Don't look so worried. You'll do fine."
Charisma's eyes travelled up to meet with his. Noticing the uncertainty and uneasiness in her eyes, Trunks slowed down enough to walk side by side with her. Charisma felt her heart skip a beat when his rough and warm hand softly grabbed onto hers, lacing his fingers in between her small ones.
"Make me proud," he said and smiled down at her.
Charisma's cheeks flushed red as she smiled up at him warmly. "Thank you."
Once they stepped up to the ring, their hands carefully released and they both stood tall and confidently amongst the others.
"Here they are!" the announced bellowed. "The best fighters in the world, fighting to be the next champion! Who will win? Your guess is as good as mine! Now they will draw numbers to find out how they'll be matched up."
The announcer was interrupted by one of the tournament officials who leaned over to whisper something into his ear. "Hold on one moment, folks, while we get this settled!" He hurried off into the building with the official.
"Looks like it's going to be a while…" Goten mumbled and watched as Charisma walked over to the other side of the ring. "What's up?" He looked up to see Misa waving at him from window. He coughed nervously and waved back awkwardly. 'Now I'm really going to be nervous.'
'I'm definitely not so nervous anymore…' Charisma sighed as she looked up at the crowd. Her eyes fell to her hands as they fiddled coyly with the end of her blue gi. 'Trunks…' She turned her head to look at him as he chatted with Goten.
"Hey there, beautiful," a voice smoothly interrupted Charisma's thoughts.
She turned to look at him and pointed at herself. "You…mean me?"
"Yes, of course," he said as he confidently ran his fingers through his neat blond hair. "You must be really tough. I like a girl who knows how to fight."
Charisma didn't quite know how to respond, but couldn't help but blush shyly. "I'm…really not that good at it though…"
"If you made it this far, then you really must be," he continued to butter her up. "But you know I'm the strongest fighter there is. I can easily win this tournament, like I've won many other tournaments, with my eyes closed."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. And I hate to break it to you, but you won't be able to beat me, either. But you're really cute and I'd hate to hurt you or scratch your pretty little face. Instead, I'll end it quickly and then you can join me for dinner once I win the tournament…"
Charisma's eye browns furrowed in annoyance. "…What are you saying to me?"
"I'll treat you to the night of your life," he said, coming closer. "Drinks, dancing, a fantastic dinner and all the gifts you can imagine. I won't have an issue with or without the prize money, after all…"
Charisma crossed her arms and tightened her fists as she seriously began contemplating whether or not to just sock it to this guy right now. 'What nerve!' She glanced over at Goten and Trunks and grinned. Goten was struggling to hold Trunks back as he was ready to march over and knock this jerk out himself.
"That sounds nice and all," Charisma said, smiling at the guy cutely.
"Is that a 'yes?'" he replied, trying his best not to sound too happy. "Of course it is…"
"Well, not really…" Charisma responded quickly. "You see, I don't think my boyfriend will like that very much…" She pointed over towards Trunks with a mischievous grin and he stopped fidgeting in Goten's arms.
"That's right," Trunks grumbled breathlessly, having worked up a sweat from trying to get out of Goten's iron grip. Composing himself, Trunks exchanged a glance with Goten.
"Control yourself," Goten warned him as he marched over.
Trunks wrapped his arms around Charisma's shoulders and pulled her close to him. "That's right," he said confidently, looking at the guy up and down.
Charisma grinned at the blond jerk. "Sorry! And he can also kick your butt with his hands tied behind his back and his eyes closed."
The guy grumbled angrily, and shook his fist. "We'll see about that! You'll regret having turned me down, girl!"
Charisma rolled her eyes and walked over with Trunks back to Goten.
"What a creep," Charisma huffed. "I really do hope I get to fight him in the next match."
"I would personally like to beat his face in," Trunks added. "But if you get to do it, that would be perfectly fine with me."
"Oh, you two…" Goten chuckled awkwardly.
Before they could say anything else, the announcer returned to the stage with the tournament official. The official carried a small box in his arms.
"And now we can begin drawing numbers," the announcer said into the mic. "The winner of the final round will proceed onto the final round and have the honor of facing the World Champ, Mr. Satan!"
The crowd cheered wildly at the sound of Mr. Satan's name. The announcer proceeding in calling out the names of the fighters and they all drew numbers, one by one.
Charisma frowned at not having the chance to fight the guy she wanted to. Trunks found himself unluckily paired with a tall and muscular guy who blew kisses at him. And finally Goten was also unlucky at having to fight Buu in his match.
Unfortunately, only Pan and Goku were able to fight in their matches. An unexpected turn of events occurred during Goku's fight with Uub, the super power reincarnation of Majin Buu. After putting up an amazing fight, Goku decided to leave and take Uub with him, leaving everyone confused, upset, and bringing the tournament to a halt.
…
"That was fun and all," Misa said as the four friends hung out at West City Mall two days later. They walked along the corridors around busy folk and window shopping. While Charisma and Trunks walked together, arm in arm, Misa and Goten kept their distance from each other somewhat awkwardly. "But I'm still very confused about the whole thing…"
"So are we," Goten said. "Then again, my dad never was the type of father to really stick around…Being idle makes him unhappy. He is a Saiyan after all…"
"How's your mom doing, Goten?" Charisma asked. "This must be really hard on her…"
"She's doing better, I guess," he responded with a sigh. "But she's hanging in there. You think she'd be used to it by now. Still, it hurts to see her unhappy…"
Charisma frowned and nodded. "I can only imagine…"
The teens walked around in silence, not really knowing what to say. Only the sounds of their footsteps and the mumbled voices of the people around them resounded in their ears.
"Everything is changing…" Charisma said, breaking the silence. "Before we know it, summer will be over and we'll all be heading off and doing our own thing."
Misa's eyes lowered sadly. "…yeah…that means we have to hang out as much as possible before we start college and all…" She looked up nervously at Goten. She hadn't told either of the boys about her plans to attend college in Central. "What are your plans?"
Goten grinned and placed his arms behind his neck casually. "Nothing…at least not yet. I'm just going to take it easy at home. I'll figure out something…or Mom will force me to find something. I'm just all about enjoying life one second at a time."
"That sounds like a plan," Trunks said with a sigh. "I won't be able to do that, though."
"Oh that's right," Charisma said as she looked up at him. "Your internship with Capsule Corp starts soon, right?"
"Well, that was the initial plan. Mom says I should probably go to Capsule Corp's special training school or something."
"Oh, well that sounds interesting," Charisma replied with a smile. "I know you'll do well." Misa abruptly stopped in place and hurried over to grab onto Charisma's arm. Charisma looked up at her somewhat startled. "What is it?"
"Let's go look at the shoes in this store!" Misa said as she pointed to a shoe store nearby.
"Aww, you're gonna make us go in there and wait for you," Goten protested, coming up to them.
"No, you're going to wait for us out here," Misa replied and pointed to some chairs in the center of the walk way.
Trunks and Goten exchanged and exasperated glance.
"We won't be long!" Charisma said cheerfully as she let go of Trunks arms and hurried into the shoe store with Misa. Trunks and Goten knew protesting would get them no where. Instead, they gave up and went over to the seats and planted their hindquarters there.
"Girls…" they grumbled.
…
After a few hours of hanging out, the friends decided to head on home as the sun began to set. Goten seemed to be in a hurry as soon as they stepped out of the mall.
"Wait!" Charisma called to him. He stopped in his place and she hurried over to him. "Don't you want to walk Misa home?" she whispered.
Goten blushed and looked up at Misa, who eyed him hopefully yet somewhat apprehensively. "Of course…but if I get home any later, my mom will flip out…" he whispered back. Goten sighed and hurried over to Misa. He locked eyes with her and she stared up at him softy, not saying a word. She didn't know what to say.
'Our days together are growing shorter…' she thought sadly.
"…Goten?" she said lowly, trying to figure out how to say goodbye. Without another word, he smiled at her and gave her a warm hug that took her breath away. Her eyes opened widely as she stared up at the sky above his shoulder.
"I'll see you soon, all right?" he said before letting go of her. He couldn't understand the reason why his heart felt warm yet hurt at the same time at seeing her smile weakly.
The pressure on Misa, about her new life in college, about leaving everyone behind and starting new, only seemed to be getting stronger. 'What do you think he'll feel if you just up and leave without having told him first?' Charisma's word echoed in her mind.
'How can I tell him?' she wondered. 'How…?'
"…All right," she smiled at him, hiding her true feelings. "I'll see you around, Goten."
Goten nodded at her and winked. "I'll see you guys later, too!" he said as he waved at Charisma and Trunks. They waved back at him and watched as he ran off and took off into the darkening sky.
Charisma walked up to Misa and patted her on the back. "It's all right…next time you see him, make sure you tell him."
Trunks walked up to them curiously. "What? Tell him…what?"
Charisma looked up at Trunks. "It's just that…"
"I'll tell him," Misa said, interrupting her. She looked at Trunks and spoke. "I'm going away from West City for college."
"Away? Where?"
"To North City…" she replied. "I haven't told Goten yet…I don't know how to tell him. I mean, I know there's nothing solid between us but…" Her voice trailed off and she cast her eyes to the ground.
Trunks sighed and crossed his arms. "…so that's what's been bothering you this whole time? I knew you've been acting funny for a long time now. You should've told us sooner…"
"Well, I already knew," Charisma said slowly. "Misa has just been afraid to tell you guys the news."
"It's really hard," Misa said. "I don't want to go. I don't want to go to college to begin with, but if I had to, I'd stay here in West City so I could hang out with you guys all the time. And so…I could see Goten more often…"
"He's not going to be happy about this," Trunks said before placing a hand on Misa's shoulder. "But he's not going to be mad at you, either. He's not that type of guy. Just tell him and he'll understand. Sure, he'll probably be sadder than he'll even show, but he'll be happy so you can be happy, too."
Charisma smiled at Trunks and turned her head to smile up at Misa as well. "That's right. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, after all! It'll work out. And it's like I told you before: this won't change anything between us. And I mean between any of us four. So don't worry!"
Misa glanced up at both of them, her gaze moving back and forth between Charisma and Trunks. Their smiles were confident and reassuring. Misa suddenly burst into tears and wrapped her arms around both of them, making them both uncomfortable.
"Thank you guys!" she cried as tears streamed out of her eyes like waterfalls. "I don't feel so alone anymore!"
Charisma and Trunks shared a warm smile and embraced Misa as well.
Once they all let go of each other, they hurried into Trunks' car to begin heading back home. The couple dropped Misa off at her house and went on their way. Misa remained in her spot staring off as they slowly disappeared at the other end of the street.
'They're right,' Misa mentally told herself as she turned around and began heading into her house. 'What else can I do?' She walked up her stairs and towards her room, not even noticing her sister, Harmony, greeting her as she passed by.
Misa shut the door behind her and threw herself on her bed. 'I have to do this…Why am I so scared?' she wondered to herself. After a few moments of hesitation, she sat up and grabbed her cell phone.
Her heart froze at seeing his name on her screen, but she mustered up all her strength and courage to press the button. She placed the phone near her ear and listened to the call tone as the call was going through.
'Please answer…' she begged. 'Please answer now…'
Misa was ready to hang up when she heard his voice on the other end.
"Hey, Misa!" he greeted her smoothly. "It's pretty rare of you to actually call me first. What a nice surprise!"
Although his cheerfulness always made her smile, right now Misa felt her heart sink. "…Hey…um…when are you free?"
"Oh? You're asking me on a date?"
"…I guess…"
"Well whatever it is you want, I'm up for anything. Is tomorrow fine for you?"
"…Yeah, tomorrow is okay. Let's meet at the mall again, all right?"
"Sounds like a plan," he replied smoothly.
"Okay great, bye!" she said quickly.
"Wait! Wait! You gotta go already? I thought we were going to have a conversation." Misa couldn't tell if he was just playing around with that tone in his voice or not.
"We'll…do plenty of talking tomorrow…" she stuttered.
"Oh, well okay, I'll see you then!"
Misa hung up her phone and threw herself on her bed again. "This is going to be so hard…"
…
"This is definitely the best pizza anywhere," Goten said with a full mouth as he munched on pizza in the food court. "You should try and eat more, you know?"
Misa sat across from him with her chin on one hand. She stared down at her salad as she played around with it using her fork. She'd tried her best to look happy and cheerful when she first saw Goten again. It was difficult to do with everything going on inside her mind.
Seeing Goten so happy as he usually was made her feel happy as well, but it also hurt her a little. 'I'm not gonna get to see this smile as often as I used to…'
Goten looked up at her mid bite into his fifth slice of pizza. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Can I ask you something?"
Misa didn't respond. She was too busy lost in her thoughts.
"Misa…Misa!"
She snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at him. "Y-yes…?"
"Is there something bothering you?" he asked, his eye brows furrowing in concern. "You haven't been acting like yourself lately."
"Oh?" she replied. 'He's noticed?'
"Yeah. You're not this quiet. You're not quiet at all…" Goten covered his mouth once he realized what he said. "I'm not saying you talk too much or anything!" he said quickly. "It's just…everything about you. I'm getting worried…"
"You're…worried?"
"Of course. You're my partner in crime, remember?" he grinned at her. "I know when something's wrong and it's been some time since I noticed, but it seems you're frowning more often than before. I don't like to see you unhappy."
Misa couldn't help but smile at him and his concern. "…you know, you mean a lot to me, Goten."
Goten gave her a confused glance. His cheeks burned red. "You mean?!"
"…let's go somewhere a little more private," she said before continuing. "I have something important to tell you. We need to be alone."
Goten's confusion only increased, but he nodded his head and agreed. "All right, if it makes you feel better."
…
Grass crunched and rustled under their shoes as Misa and Goten made their way into the city park across the street from the mall.
"It's pretty empty out here today," Goten said as he looked around.
Misa shivered slightly as they made their way to a bench. She looked up at the sky to see it filling with a few scattered storm clouds. "Probably because it's so windy…I think it's going to rain, too…"
"Well then, even better for us," Goten chuckled and put his arm around her. She froze against him. "It's not good manners for a gentleman to let a lady go cold," he said with a grin.
Misa felt as if her heart were melting into a puddle. She'd been with guys who were smooth talkers and quite romantic, but there was something about Goten that made her feel far more special than any of those guys ever did.
They sat together on the bench and Misa softly pulled away from his arms.
"So what's wrong?" he asked again, looking at her. "You can tell me."
Misa's eyes fell to the ground. "Goten…would you miss me if you couldn't see me as often anymore?"
"Of course I would," he replied, his eyes filling with confusion. He didn't like where this conversation was heading. "Why? Are you…moving?"
"Technically…yes…" she said looked up at him. His face slowly filled with a hint of shock. "I'm going away to North City to start college…in two weeks, I have to go so I can start moving into the dorm."
"Two weeks?" Goten repeated. "So soon? Why?"
"That's what my parents want…" Misa said, swallowing the annoyance in her voice. "I'm sorry, Goten. I should've told you sooner. But I didn't know how to say it…because I don't want to go away. I don't want to be away from Charisma or Trunks or you…"
Goten's face fell and he stared up at the gloomy sky. "I see…"
"I guess I should be more honest about my feelings, too…" she said slowly. "I don't know what's going to happen now. Maybe I'm thinking about it too much, more than I should, but I want you to know before I leave." She lifted her face confidently and turned to look at Goten. "Look at me…" she commanded.
Goten looked at her and their gazes looked together for all but a half second. Before he could realize what was happening, she suddenly leaned forward and planted her lips against his, resting her left hand on the back of his neck.
Misa's eyes remained opened for a split second, catching a glance at Goten's deep black eyes, wide with surprise. Smiling against his lips, her eyes softly shut.
Goten's mind went blank so much that he forgot how to blink. At feeling Misa's lips pressing firmly on his, as if encouraging him to kiss back, he responded. His eyes finally shut as well and he softly cupped her faced with his hands.
After a long moment, their lips parted breathlessly as they remained frozen in place. Misa's eyes slowly fluttered open and she looked up at him. His eyes opened as well and he winked at her with a goofy grin on his face.
Her face flushed red, from her cheeks to her nose to her ears as she pulled away, nearly sending him flying off the edge of the bench.
"I-I don't know w-what came over me!" she said suddenly, cover her mouth.
Goten's goofy smile faded into a warm one. "Your feelings? You showed me your feelings…and I showed you mine…"
Misa nodded smiling back at him. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry I have to go away now…Now when we're starting to get to finally understand each other better. I want to keep learning more about the side you I never see, Goten. We've known each other since we were kids, but it's only now that I'm seeing more of you…"
"Distance complicates everything," he said carefully. "For sure…but that doesn't mean we can't see each other at all, right? I can go visit you when you're not busy. Charisma and Trunks can visit you as well. You have my number and I have yours. We won't lose contact, ever."
"You're right,' she said excitedly. "You're completely right! And someday when I finish college, I'll return to West City and we can be together as much as we want!"
"Right!" Goten said, coming closer to her. "I don't…want to tie you down right now though…"
Misa's face slowly fell along with her shoulders. "What…do you mean?"
"You need…to live your life over there and focus on school so you can come back sooner," he explained, locking eyes with her. "I don't want to hold you back…"
"You don't…want to be with me…?" she asked in disbelief.
"That's not what I mean," he replied quickly, taking her into his arms. "I want…you to have a good time over there. I don't want you to spend it being sad. I'll still be here when you come back. I'll be waiting for you when you do come back…I promise. When you come back…we can pick up from where we left off, all right?"
"Goten…" she mumbled, tears forming in her eyes. "It's going to be a long time from now. I don't even know when I'll be back…But I promise…I'll wait for you, too, okay?"
"You don't have to worry about anything…" he said softly, looking down at her. "So don't be sad, all right?"
Misa nodded against him, burying her face into his warm chest. "I won't be!"
"Good!" Goten smiled, looking up at the cloudy sky. 'Even if I will be…'
…
The roar of airplane engines and echoing overhead announcements was loud and clear in their ears. Standing near the wide window and looking towards the airplanes parked on the runway, the four friends chatted as if nothing had changed. As if nothing was going to change.
"And when you get over there, make sure to give me a call," Charisma said to Misa. "And take a lot of pictures so I can see what your new college is like."
"And make sure you study hard," Trunks advised. "Don't party too hard. I hear the parties at North City College are out of this world."
"Yeah," Goten added, looking down at her and sharing a smile. "And…stay away from the guys there, too…"
Charisma and Trunks tossed a glance at him. Misa hadn't even told Charisma about what had happened that day at the park. 'It's a secret for only Goten and I to share,' she thought to herself.
"I mean! You need to stay focused and all!" he suddenly added with a nervous chuckle. "You know, we want you to do your best and all."
Charisma giggled to herself while Trunks shook his head. Misa stared up at Goten and smiled wholeheartedly at him. "That makes sense," she said. "I'll remember you, Goten."
Goten couldn't hide his blush, but nodded at her with a smile. "Thanks."
"Misa!" a voice called. "Your airplane is going to be leaving soon."
The gang turned around to see Misa's mother, along with her father and 10 year old sister, Harmony, approaching.
"Oh, okay," Misa said sadly. The group headed over to the gate and hesitated for a moment. Misa stared ahead at the gate as passenger after passenger began boarding. She turned to look at her friends and they all exchanged a silent glance, yet one overflowing with a sense of sadness and deep affection. Without a word the four came together for a group hug. Misa couldn't remember the last time they'd all shared a hug like this, not since they were little kids
"Please come visit us when you can," Charisma said though tears. "We'll be waiting for you."
"I know," Misa said with a sob. "We won't disconnect ever, all right?"
Hugging each other tightly for as long as possible, the friends nodded towards each other and slowly let go. Misa walked over to her parents and hugged them both.
"You're making us both very proud, you know?" her mother said. "You'll do many great things."
"Take care," her father said. "Call us every single day, all right?"
Misa released them and hugged her little sister. "I'm going to keep your room and your stuff, okay?" Harmony said happily.
Misa looked at her and smiled. "Not in your dreams, kid." With a pat on Harmony's head, she silently departed towards the doors that lead to the airplane. She handed her ticket to the agent at the gate and turned to waved at her friends and family one last time before hurrying inside the plane.
Charisma sighed sadly and looked up at her friends. "…it's just us for now, huh, guys?"
"Yeah…" Goten said. "But she'll be back someday. I know it…"
"We'll go visit her someday soon," Trunks added. "It's not forever."
Charisma nodded and wedged herself in between Trunks and Goten. She link her arms into theirs and sighed. "Let's go…"
The three friends made their way through the airport, arm in arm, walking towards the exit. Tomorrow, they would each pick themselves up and continue on with their own paths. Charisma was getting ready to start college in West City herself, while Trunks would start training to prepare for his eventually inheritance of Capsule Corp. Goten's next step would be to figure out just what he wanted to do with his life and finding a job would be the best place to start.
As Misa sat alone in her plane, staring out into the sky and eventually the sight of North City as the plane flew above it, she couldn't help but feel alone. 'You guys…I will be back someday…Please take care of each other.'
Her eyes filled with tears and she quickly wiped them away.
"The plane has landed in North City Airport."
