The Future Unknown

School

*****
12- School

"What?!" Bankei cried with wide eyes. "School?!"

Trunks had to bite his lip to keep himself from snickering. The boy truly looked taken back, like school was the last thing he would have ever thought about when coming to the past.

"Yes," Bulma nodded her head once. She had taken charge of putting Bankei and Sayuri into school herself. "If you two came here to learn, then school is the perfect place to start, don't you think?"

Bankei crossed his arms over his chest and sulked. "Don't like school," he muttered with a shake of his head.

"Awh, Banny, it'll be okay," Pan said as she reached over to pet Bankei's hair. "I'm sure it'll be fun for you."

Sayuri, who was sitting on the other side of Bankei, gave a small snort of disbelief. It surprised Trunks that even she seemed bummed about the news of attending school since she always seemed so keen on learning new things. Then again, they would be starting school in a completely different timeline than the one they were used to.

A pop sounded through the air, and Sayuri gasped. She stood up so quickly that her chair nearly toppled over, and she turned to run to the entranceway.

"Junie?!" She called.

Before Sayuri reached the threshold, the man from the other night appeared. He walked in, a gentle smile on his face as he looked at Sayuri. "Hey," he greeted. "I'm just here checking up on you guys again." He turned his attention to Trunks, Pan, and Bulma. "It's nice to see you again," he bowed his head slightly.

Bulma jumped up as she rushed over to him. "You're Jude, right? Are you traveling to and from the future with a bracelet like Sayuri and Bankei?"

"Oh, yes," Jude held up his wrist where a thin silver chain wrapped around it with a flattened piece in the middle. "You invented these, Bulma-San."

"Sayuri told me that, as well. Amazing-" she sighed as she gently stroked the silver chain. "I still can't believe I managed time-traveling devices- twice!" She gushed with a grin. "I still have the old time travel machine in my lab, you know? I guess if I need to produce these bracelets within the next decade, I better get busy!" And with that, Bulma rushed out of the room and down to her lab.

"She hasn't changed a bit," Jude commented in amusement.

"Not at all," Sayuri giggled, and her eyes shined the brightest they had since she arrived. She grabbed Jude's arm. "Come on. I want to show you the maze here. It's different than the one back home. Bankei, are you coming?" She glanced back at her brother.

Bankei's eyes widened slightly. He looked torn on what to do. "How's Mama and Daddy?" He asked Jude.

"They're good," Jude smiled gently. "They're the same as they were when you left. Still missing you."

For some reason, that comment made Bankei frown, and Trunks was sure it didn't go unnoticed by Pan. Instead of jumping up and joining Sayuri and Jude, Bankei wrapped his arms around Pan's.

"I'm staying here," he stated.

It wasn't that surprising. Bankei adored Pan. He followed her like a puppy. Trunks figured that he was missing his Mama, and Pan seemed unbothered by it. She wrapped an arm around Bankei and smiled at him warmly.

"Hey Ban," Trunks leaned over the table once Sayuri and Jude had disappeared. "What do you know about Jude?"

Pan glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" Her lips twitched.

"What?" Trunks raised an eyebrow back. "I'm curious. We're sending this guy to check on our children. We obviously trust him, don't you think?"

"You do," Bankei answered for Pan. "You asked Jude to protect Sayuri."