One wink at a time.

v

Videl Satan was not having a good morning.

It was bad enough that her jet copter wouldn't start this morning and she had been forced to walk to school, but because of this a mysterious crime fighter had beaten her to the punch, literally. Her fingers instinctively clenched around themselves. The last person to try and challenge her title as unofficial city protector had met a spectacular end; even now she could still remember the sight of his underwear through the strained and subsequently torn lycra. That had been over six months ago now, you'd figure given her recent success anyone else out there would happily step aside.

What was worse was that this guy was good. Not that Videl had seen him in action, nor did she innately trust the enthused descriptions offered to her by spectators; they regularly made bold exaggerations about her own triumphs. No, she saw all that she needed to in the looks on those criminals faces; they were scared, terrified even. One of them was visibly shaking, another's eyes widened as he mentally relived the event. Some people said that the fighter, this golden-haired fighter, had managed to catch a volley of bullets as they flew towards him. Even if they were exaggerating, that seemed more than a little bit strange.

Videl's fingers, now relaxed once more, trailed lazily along the locker frames as she walked down the corridor. Despite her copter issues, she'd still managed to beat most other students to the school; only a small amount populated the corridor, isolated specks dotting her line of sight. One of the onlookers had said the fighter was wearing an Orange Star badge; Videl didn't like the idea that this challenger was perhaps right under her very nose. It certainly sparked her interest though, as it was a rarity to find anyone of her age with any significant combat ability, let alone capable of some of the feats that had been described earlier in the day. Videl stopped herself at the door of her classroom, more out of habit than out of conscious thought.

If this newcomer really was an Orange Star kid, then she'd find him out. And once she did, she'd prove that she didn't need anyone else's help. Collaboration was for the weak, the strongest fighters stand alone.

Videl turned the doorknob, the creak echoing through the early morning schoolyard haze, and walked inside.

v

Before long, the rest of her classmates began to stream in. One by one at first, but before long they would arrive two, three, four at a time, the boys jostling their way through the doorframe loudly as they went. The room gradually filled with teenage voices and the clatter of moving chairs and desks, the topics sharing the self-imbued importance of high-school life. Boyfriends cheating on girlfriends (and vice-versa), heated debate about sporting team selection, a group of pale-faced boys in the corner discussed trading card game strategy. The variety was impressive, but the topics only proved illuminating to those who inhabited the same space as them; such is the way these conversations tend to be.

The sun was now glowing in full display, disparate streams of light pushing through the clouds and filtering across the classroom, their forms brought to life by the thin layer of dust that had come into existence since the day before. Soon, the bell would ring to signal the start of the school day. The students reluctantly started to resume their daily positions, drilled into them by endless repetition. The voices dropped off somewhat, but didn't stop entirely.

Videl hadn't really been paying much attention to those around her; they talked about the same things every day anyway, or close enough. Sitting on top of her desk in contrast to everyone else, limbs casually landing where they may, she scanned her eyes across the room for any traces of gold hair. In the end there were only two, and they were to her left and right; her two best friends Erasa and Sharpener. Cautiously she turned her eye to the latter; she didn't need to give him another reason to assume she was interested in him.

He certainly had the right sort of look that she expected the Gold Fighter (another student had mentioned the morning's event, and it sounded like this character had a name) to have, if perhaps not the right attitude. Sharpener rocked back on his chair, his smile that of slightly smug contentment. His consistent success on the school boxing team guaranteed his continued tenure at the school, and his academic performance showed this. As she mulled over the possibility that this boy could perhaps be the crime fighter she was looking for, he ran his hand through his hair and sighed contentedly. Videl frowned mentally; there's no way Sharpener had the sort of mindset to be the Gold Fighter.

"Hey Sharpener," Videl asked resolutely, looking for confirmation, "don't tell me you're the Golden Fighter."

"Oh spare me," Sharpener replied, the dismissal evident in his tone of voice, "I don't have time to play superhero. I spent all morning working out my arms." As he spoke his eyes shifted downward towards his arms, as they flexed and convulsed in an obvious bid for attention.

"So Videl, do you think this guy could be stronger than your pops?"

"What a joke, we all know Videl's dad is the strongest there is. He could knock this gold boy out by flexing his bicep."

Videl was happy for the intrusion on her conversation; Sharpener didn't so much talk to you as he did to himself. Surprisingly though, she took a moment to consider Erasa's question: was this Golden Fighter stronger than her father? It only took that one moment for her to realise how silly she was being, however. Nobody was stronger than her father, much less a mysterious teenager whose name she didn't even know.

There was no time to point this out to her friend though; as the teacher walked into the classroom Videl sunk into position behind her desk and looked down at him, only partially feigning attention. The rest of the class followed suit.

They got the usual spiel: new student, excellent marks, you could all learn from his shining example, et cetera. Normally the teachers would embellish the students results some in order to make them seem more impressive, and by extension make the other students feel a bit more guilty about their own results and study harder. The guilt part happened often enough, but it never tended to translate into better classroom etiquette; one of the boys in the back row had shouted out "Example this!" and been met with raucous approval from the collective. This guy seemed to actually have the smarts to back up what the teacher was saying about him though; "Perfect scores on all his entry exams", that's not the sort of claim you can make without being able to prove it. So the new guy was smart, that much was obvious. But there was something else...

"That's weird, he looks familiar..."

Sharpener's self-assured chuckle interrupted Videl's train of thought, "He was probably on a TV spelling bee."

The new student was now scanning his eyes across the classroom nervously, looking for a vacant seat. Videl had never had to go through the process herself, but it hardly could have been a desirable one. All those unfamiliar faces, the uncertainty with which you make your selection, the feeling that said selection could influence your social standing within the grade for the rest of your schooling life. She didn't envy this new student one bit, grades or not.

Erasa stood and motioned to the vacant seat next to her, "Yoo hoo, new boy! Here's a seat."

As the boy politely thanked her and made his way across the room, Videl felt a bit surprised. Erasa was hardly a reserved person, but this was a rather bold gesture even for her. Maybe she'd taken a liking to this particular boy, she thought she'd heard Erasa comment that he was "a cutie" when he walked in. At the very least, the boy wouldn't have to worry about his social standing; while they were hardly the most popular kids in the grade, Videl, Erasa & Sharpener certainly sat comfortably on the upper half of the ladder.

You can tell a lot about someone from their posture and how they carry themselves, Videl always thought. Erasa would almost jump more than walk, excitedly shifting from leg to leg when standing in one place. Sharpener often walked around with broad shoulders, his head resting unnaturally high. Videl knew she should probably be a bit less hard on Sharpener, he was a good friend when he wasn't on display in front of everyone else in the class. Ever since he'd begun to show an interest in her though, she'd found it a lot easier to simply focus on his negative qualities. She mentally shook her head clear of its current occupations and refocused on the new student, Gohan she had heard someone say his name was.

His stride was casual, but purposeful. Much like Sharpener, his shoulders stood tall and wide, an example of good posture that stood in strong contrast to the hunched-over slackness of the student body. Coupled with what she had seen of the boys manners and heard of his academic prowess, it seemed that this Gohan was polite, meek and had a good streak of self-confidence; all things Videl looked for in people she spent time with. So far, so good. But she wasn't sure just where she had seen him yet, and this was beginning to annoy her. A frown began to make its way across her face, one that only intensified when she saw Erasa was still standing, affording Gohan a look that suggested near-infatuation. She'd only just seen him! Plus if they ended up together, it'd just be her & Sharpener who were single, and that was a future Videl didn't really want to have to deal with. She was getting ahead of herself though; maybe Gohan didn't even want to join their group.

"Nice to meet you."

"I'm Erasa, with an 'E', and this is my friend Videl!" The words sounded almost comically enthused; she must have really wanted to make a good impression.

Gohan looked at Videl and gasped instinctually; had he recognised her as well? Or perhaps he just knew who both she and her father were, and was only minutes away from running his mouth off with phrases like "You're the coolest!", "Wow, I can't believe I'm talking to Videl Satan!" and "Your dad's so strong, do you think he'd let me train with him?". She was used to it by now, so it wasn't necessarily irritating; it was just typical.

"Gohan, you wanna know who Videl's pop is, you'll be surprised!" Erasa asked as Gohan took his seat, "She's the daughter of Mr. Satan!"

"What, Hercule Satan?" Oh great, here it comes.

"Yep, the one and only, I knew you'd be surprised!" Videl was used to this as well by now; Erasa piggybacking off of her own fame. She didn't really mind though, to be honest it helped to deflect some of the questions away from Videl herself.

"Well that must be neat, you being a celebrity's daughter and all." Gohan was trying the gentle opening, it looked like. Some guys would simply start sounding off as soon as they heard the name Hercule, others would feign interest in Videl herself before getting onto the real topic.

"Our Videl is a special gal, of course, being the friend of a daughter of a celebrity is pretty good too, you know." Wow, Erasa had gotten better at this; it looked like Videl might not even need to contribute this time at all. What was more important though was that Videl had finally realised where she'd seen Gohan before, she was surprised it had taken her so long; she blamed it on the Gold Fighter.

"So you're the guy!" Gohan flinched involuntarily at Videl's abrupt tone, it was definitely a marked changed from the casual conversation they'd been having, "Yeah, you're the guy that I talked to outside of the bank this morning."

"Yes, I am." He seemed mildly relieved, as if he'd been expecting something much worse to follow Videl's original lines. That seemed a bit strange.

"Wow, right after the Gold Fighter vanished." Erasa piped up, phrasing her words more like a statement than a question.

"Who, the Gold Fighter? Is he a celebrity too?"

"Where are you from, you're out of the gossip loop," Erasa had once again taken control of the conversation, which was fine by Videl. She may have recognised Gohan, but there was still something else bugging her, "He's a crime fighter with super strength and magic powers. They say he looks like a teenage boy except he has glowing golden hair. Everyone's talking about it!"

At this last sentence, Gohan's teeth clenched and his head sunk towards the desk. Suddenly the poise he'd possessed previously vanished, replaced by a nervous anxiety. Why would he care about the Gold Fighter, anyway? Unless...Videl looked across at Gohan. He didn't look much like a fighter himself, although it was hard to tell with his long-sleeved shirt and everything. Besides, with his grades the way they were he probably didn't even have time to think about fighting.

Still, when you thought about it it all came together rather neatly; new crime fighter, new student. That was hardly enough evidence to go on though, and there was still the obvious issue that Gohan clearly didn't have gold hair. Then again, those fighters in the Cell Games videos turned their hair gold too, although Dad said it was just a cheap trick. That aside though, it seemed like an avenue worth exploring, especially when considered in light of one other piece of information Videl had neglected to recall until now...

"Gohan, I remembered something," Videl cut through the silence resolutely, "What the Gold Fighter was said to be wearing. It was a white shirt, a black vest, and red pants. Sound familiar?" As Videl rattled off this checklist – which Gohan satisfied completely – she made a point of using her eyes to point at each individual garment as she named it, compounding Gohan's apparent worry. Truthfully, she wasn't completely sure that the Gold Fighter had been said to be wearing the items in question; she may have mixed the colours around or something. But that was besides the point; she was trying to trap Gohan and she didn't feel she was doing a bad job of it either. Gohan looked down at his own outfit in a state of almost-panic, Videl was sure she was onto something.

"Hey, that's funny! You and the Gold Fighter dress alike!" Just like that, Erasa had given Gohan an out. Videl frowned mentally, all that work for nothing. Not that it had been a great deal of work, but it was still more than a little frustrating.

"Oh yeah, funny!" Nervous laughter accompanied Gohan's words.

"You three in the back, pay attention!" The teacher had apparently had enough for one class. Defeated, Videl turned her head down to the textbook in front of her. She would try again though; it was pretty obvious that Gohan was hiding something, and she had her suspicions as to what it might be.

But even if hypothetically Gohan was the Gold Fighter, then what? Would she tell him to back off, that this was her city and she didn't need his help? She definitely had no intention of forming any sort of alliance with the Gold Fighter, whoever they might be. Would she reveal their identity to the world? Again, Videl wasn't sure. Personally she'd never bothered trying to conceal who she was because she was already famous by association when she decided to assist the police force; it didn't affect her. Perhaps the Gold Fighter wished to keep his two lives separate; perhaps by forming an identity that solely related to his crime fighting he was keeping others safe. His family, his friends.

Videl decided to finally try and actually learn something from the lesson; a quick glance at the clock revealed that half of it had elapsed already. There were too many questions about the Gold Fighter, and about Gohan himself that needed to be answered. Maybe she shouldn't try to back him into a corner, maybe she should try and approach him on his own level. That seemed like a better approach.

From then until the bell, Videl systematically undertook her classwork.

v

Gohan's hands clutched the strap of his satchel bag as he walked out of the school, still not completely at ease even though the day was over. All things considered, he'd managed to get out of it alright; it was miraculous that nobody had really called him out on anything as yet, given some of the mistakes he'd made. He couldn't say it with absolute certainty, but he was pretty convinced after watching the baseball match that jumping 25 feet into the air was a rare occurrence amongst kids his age. He'd have to be even more wary than he had been.

It's not like the day had simply been a series of mistakes though; in fact, it seemed like he'd even made a few friends. Erasa had been welcoming from the start – perhaps a little too welcoming for Gohan's liking – and by the end of the day Sharpener had become convinced that Gohan was an alright guy, even if it was purely because he seemed to have an inhuman ability to take a punch after the second baseball incident. Inhuman was the best word for it, really.

Videl was different though. After the interrogation in the morning she hadn't bothered to try again, but she still didn't seem relaxed around him. Occasionally he would look over at her and see her doing the same, her eyes holding an accusatory stare. It was pretty obvious what she wanted to accuse him of, even if she hadn't exactly done so just yet. It would probably only be a matter of time until she did.

Gohan sighed, his hands falling to his sides as he left the school grounds and walked along the footpath. He looked ahead but didn't really take much notice of his surroundings, his mind was thinking about other things; there was a whole year to absorb the scenery anyway. If only he hadn't gone past the bank this morning, none of this would have happened! That was a pretty flawed logic though; if he hadn't gone past the bank this morning there'd be a band of robbers out there who were tens of thousands of dollars richer.

He didn't regret the decision, he just regretted the context he had to make such decisions in. There was no way he would simply stand idly by and allow crimes to happen when he had the ability to prevent them, especially when preventing them was hardly a difficult task. Everything would be that much easier if he didn't have his mother and brother to think about. Maybe Videl would get it, maybe the accusations simply stemmed from not knowing as opposed to an inherent dislike of the idea of the Gold Fighter. Anything was possible, Gohan barely knew anything about her.

It looked like that was about to change though, Gohan knew she was walking behind him at what she must have thought was a safe distance. Maybe she was going to try and follow him? He did live five hours away, that probably seemed more than a little bit suspicious to her. And he'd walked a good distance away from the school by now as well, with the car-park they have there it was unlikely that any student would need to walk this far to get to their car. He should have known this! Now he was backed into a corner, he tried thinking of an excuse...

"Gohan." Videl's voice called from right behind him. She was faster than he'd thought. Gohan turned around slowly, trying his best to hide his nervousness.

"Oh, hey Videl." As he caught a look at her face he noticed that she seemed less guarded, a bit uncertain even. Maybe this would play out differently than he had thought.

"Look, I want to apologise for how I came across this morning. Being the new kid at school must be tough, and I had no business making it harder by throwing accusations at you. So yeah, I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Gohan smiled a little; he was glad to have been wrong.

"I'll be straight with you Gohan; I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, and on the whole you seem like a good person, so I'd like to extend this same courtesy to you. But I can't help shake the feeling that you have something to hide; after all, between the 25-foot jump and the throw and the ball hitting you in the face...," Videl couldn't help but chuckle at the memory of
the horror on Sharpener's face before he saw that Gohan was unharmed, "Whether it's anything to do with the Gold Fighter or not, for it to be so apparent so quickly means it's probably pretty big." She sat down on the concrete fence running alongside them, and motioned for him to do the same. With a slight degree of hesitation, he complied.

"We only just met today, so I don't expect you to go out on any limbs right away. But I want you to know that I find it really hard to make friends with people who keep things from me. It looks like we might end up being in the position to become friends, and so-"

"Okay." Gohan paused deliberately, toying with the idea of doing exactly what she had not expected him to. He certainly had a long story to tell her if he chose to, but it was a story that would not only take her by complete surprise, but perhaps even damage her relationship with her father, not that he knew anything about said relationship. He couldn't do that, not now at least.

"You've got me, I was never a good liar. I am hiding something, but I'm doing it for a good reason. Several good reasons, actually. I'd like to trust you Videl, I really would. Maybe I will before long, but for now I need to make sure. I hope you can understand that, and that you can respect my privacy, at least for a little bit." The two had both rested their backs against opposite pillars while sitting, their feet meeting in the middle. As Gohan spoke, he looked at her what what he hoped was enough conviction to placate her.

Videl smiled slowly. "Alright Gohan, you win for now. But I'm expecting one hell of a story when you eventually decide to man up and tell me, you got it?"

"Don't forget, there was a creative writing section to that test I got perfect scores on."

She stood up, and offered him her hand. He laughed slightly, and took it as he followed her lead.

"Hey Gohan, there's one more thing I need to know."

"Sure thing."

"Why are you walking home when it's 500 miles to get there?"

Gohan should have given her more credit, she was always going to ask that. But the question didn't make him panic like he thought it would, because she hadn't forced his hand. Videl may not have necessarily empathised with his situation – after all, how could she? - but she understood it. It seemed like he might have been wrong about her, and he was happy to be. Maybe he should venture out at least a little bit.

"You'll know before long." He replied as he started walking again, leaving her standing alone and wondering just what Gohan could tell her that would explain it all.

v

Author's Note:

While reading through the rather large amount of GxV fanfictions around, I noticed a common trend: the majority of authors ended up inserting their own characters or narrative arcs into their stories. I can't necessarily fault that; we're all here to write something we like and to be fair, a lot of these stories were in fact very good.

The problem is though, they weren't what I was looking for; I was looking for a story that took the events that happen within the show itself and expand on them and the characters involved within them. To that end, I've taken a lot of inspiration from Together We Stand, an Evangelion fanfiction by Hotwire that I read when I must have been 12 or so.

The key happenings that take place in the next few chapters will be directly adapted from the show itself, however the context they find themselves in might be a bit different. What began as more or less a novelisation of Gohan Goes to High School became something else by the end of the chapter, and I'm looking to continue along those lines. What always irked me within the show was the complete about-face Videl undertakes during the Tournament, and the Videl I present to you guys is going to be a fair bit different as a result.

I haven't written anything for a couple of years now, and I'm doing this as much to simply write something as for my enjoyment of the show itself. But I do love the Gohan-Videl coupling, and hopefully that's already become apparent within the first chapter. Don't expect updates to happen often, but do expect the ones that happen to show this love.