Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z.
Summary: One year after her defeat at the hands of Spopovitch, Videl returns to compete in another tournament. Horrible memories plague her, but there is one comforting presence that renders it all moot. GohanVidel, oneshot
It has been a very long time since I've written for this fandom - and this account, really! I've been watching some DBZ on Hulu lately, as well as reading a bunch of fanfiction and I've been really inspired to write some. So here this is! I really hope y'all enjoy this little fic of mine. I'd love to hear your feedback!
Rend It
The sound of the announcer's voice is almost unbearable both in its loudness and its intention.
Videl stands alone amidst the chaos of the day, adjusting her hair in the mirror, wondering why such an action is comforting at a time like this. It looks different from her previous venture at this place, and maybe that is the only thing that comforts herself right now. It has grown out just slightly, no longer choppy but more sleek and smooth, reminiscent of her longer hair, but in a bob form.
Breathe, Videl, breathe.
The resulting sequences of inhales and exhales is enough to make any passerby equate her with a train. She shakes her head. The women's dressing room is empty but for her and Eighteen, again. She doesn't mind that so much. Eighteen keeps to herself, offering the random comment here and there. Videl respects her, despite not knowing much of her, even after all this time.
You're going to be okay. Last year was a fluke. The outcome wasn't your fault; it was his. He was possessed. You did all you could. You are strong. You are strong. You are strong.
She grits her teeth.
You are weak.
Her nails press into her palms.
Her match is first - of course it is. It couldn't go any other way, could it? She caught a brief glimpse of her opponent as all the competitors made their way to their respective dressing rooms. He was well-muscled, but no where near the monstrosity she faced last year. He was also blonde, attractive, and with his share of fangirls. A part of her felt good about facing him because of this, but the other -
- a smirking face, tongue darting out to lick worm-like lips, a hand shooting down to grab her hair and pull her from the ground, a knee to the face -
"Breathe," she mutters to herself. "Breathe."
Easier said than done, she supposes. She rakes a hand through her hair, uncaring of the strands that stick up and about. She had never been that into her appearance in the first place, why should she start now? Just to distinguish this time from the last? To make sure she wasn't in a nightmare?
Her father had been worried, of course, with all the enthusiasm he was known for. Videl had almost cringed at the bone-crushing hug he had given her before she departed from him to get ready.
And here she stood.
She hadn't seen Gohan in several hours, and a part of her felt as if she'd crawl out of her skin because of it, because of what this day meant.
"You'll do fine," Eighteen reassures from her perch on the windowsill. "I knocked that loser out of the ring with one kick last year."
Despite her nerves, Videl smiles.
The moment of relief is cut short when there's a knock at the door. A woman peeks her head in and asks Videl to follow her. Videl looks back at Eighteen, who nods in subte support, before following the woman.
The woman is chatty, almost obnoxiously so, and not in the endearing way that Erasa is. Videl scrunches her nose as she talks about her hair, how cute it is. Videl immediately has the urge to cut it all off again.
"We are so incredibly happy to have you back, you have no idea. After last year - "
And, in that moment, Videl tunes out -
- he can fly too, he can fly too, a sick grin, purple energy fanning out from thick fingertips, he can fly too, energy, so much energy -
"Breathe," she tells herself yet again. "Breathe."
"What's that, sweetheart?"
"Nothing," she snaps.
The woman doesn't take her tone as a warning, only continues to babble on like a mindless drone.
"Here we are," the woman says, motioning a hand forward. Videl's eyes follow the manicured fingernails to where the point, at the opening leading out to the ring. It looks so familiar her heart clenches -
- the crowd cheering, it's Videl versus Spopovitch, will the feisty young daughter of Mr. Satan be able to defeat this lumbering brute of a man, the crowd definitely seems to have a favorite, you got this Videl, go Videl -
- punch, punch, punch, kick, kick, kick, elbows and knees and grunts, his head spinning around and him spinning it back, horror, horror, horror -
- she felt nothing but the pain -
"Videl," the voice broke through her reverie; it sounded as if it had been calling her name for quite some time now.
Gohan. Both the name and the sight of the boy are enough to soothe her, for the moment. Videl can't even find it in herself to find it pathetic.
He gives her that easy grin, that grin that seems so out of place on someone who has seen so much. How he keeps his innocence is beyond her, although not unattractive in the slightest.
"Are you alright?"
"Fine," she croaks, and even to herself the word sounds forced.
Gohan's eyebrows narrow in concern, sensing the little stutter in her voice, but then his face smoothes in realization - or, what Videl feels is realization in the moment. He looks hesitantly at her for a moment, before he lifts his hand and his fingers find a stray lock of hair and tucks it behind her ear. Videl stiffens at the touch, eyes immediately darting around. She's unsure why she is so jumpy even now - they've been dating for almost a year - but a part of her knows why.
- Videl! Videl!, a concerned and desperate voice, strong arms scooping her up, a feeling of safety, a warm chest, a beating heart, a growling threat through clenched teeth -
She leans into his touch despite herself, his thumb grazes the apple of her cheek. She closes her eyes and breathe, Videl, breathe.
"You're amazing," his voice is full of conviction, yet shy at the same time.
Videl swallows as the announcer's voice cracks through the moment - "Our first match today is going to be a doozy! The feisty daughter of Mr. Satan takes on the pretty boy - "
She steps back away from Gohan and looks out at the ring, closes her eyes, and breathes in and out and in and out.
"Remember," Gohan says before she begins her walk. "I'm your cheerleader...minus the skirt."
This causes Videl's face to crack into an almost too-large grin. "Now I would pay ten million zeni to see that."
"More incentive to win."
The laugh that was drawn from her chest, surprisingly, was not forced, and a lightness came over her. "I'll keep that in mind."
Giving Gohan one last smile - and seeing his responding grin of support - Videl walked forward into the light, hearing thousands of people cheering her name, and was not afraid.
End.