The following story is a 'what if' scenario in which the events of the Majin Boo arc do not happen. In other words: no Babidi, no Boo, no Goku coming back to life.
Videl is aware that Gohan is Saiyaman, however she didn't pressure him into participating in the Tenkaichi Budoukai. She tried sparring with him and quickly realised that he and Goten are far above her level.
3:41 PM, Wednesday
Videl entered her bedroom, took her backpack and socks off, walked over to her bed and fell into it. Summer break was finally here, and she was now faced with deciding what to do with her extra spare time. She planned on using it to fight crime, of course, but she found it fun to imagine other things to do.
A few months ago she would've said that she wanted to spend her time with Gohan, but that guy is so dense. Sometimes she wondered if he was even aware she had feelings for him. She was ready to give up on him, honestly.
Suddenly, her cell phone rang, and she was taken out of her thoughts.
She got up, walked over to her backpack, took her phone out and looked at the screen. It was Gohan's house number. Speak of the devil.
She answered it. "Hello?"
"Hi, Videl! It's Chichi."
"Oh, hello, Chichi. How are you?" Videl said as she walked back to her bed and sat down.
"I'm doing really well, thanks. And how are you?" Chichi asked. "I'll bet you're glad school's out, huh?"
"Yeah, I am. I'm doing great. How are Gohan and Goten?" Videl asked.
"Well, that's actually the reason I called you. See, me and Gohan are going to East City to apply him for a summer school." Chichi said.
Well, Videl really had no chance with Gohan now, she thought.
"Oh, really? All the way in East City? Why not here in Satan City?" Videl asked.
"Well, I looked into a lot of different summer schools and I think the one I chose for him is the best one." Chichi explained. "..Anyway, listen. The problem is Goten. He came down with a bad fever yesterday."
Videl suddenly remembered. That's right, Gohan had mentioned something about Goten being sick yesterday.
"Me and Gohan're leaving tomorrow morning, which is when we've set up the meeting with the school. Everyone else I've asked seems too busy to help, and I know it's pretty short notice, but.. could you babysit Goten until we get back? I-I can pay you if you want. Even though I know you don't need money. Probably." Chichi finished, stammering a bit.
"No no, you don't need to pay me. We're friends, of course I'll help." Videl said in honesty.
"Oh, thank you, Videl. That means a lot to me." Chichi said, relief in her voice.
"I'll come over first thing tomorrow morning." Videl said.
"Alright, thank you so much. See you then."
"Bye." Videl said before ending the call.
She then laid back down on her bed.
Babysitting a sick Goten. Not really something she was looking forward to, and she definitely didn't have experience in this area. But she really did want to do her best to help, and it was only for a day or so, so she felt confident she could handle it.
Goten was kind of like a nephew to her anyway, so she felt some form of responsibility to help him.
9:33 AM, Thursday
Videl arrived at the son household in her aircraft. She was just putting it back into capsule form when Gohan came out of the house.
"Hello, Videl!" He said as he walked over to her.
"Hi, Gohan." Videl said back.
"I'm sorry about all this. I tried to get my mom to change the date of the meeting, but she wouldn't listen." Gohan said with his hand behind his head.
"No, I don't mind, really. It's just for a day anyway, I can manage that." Videl said.
"..Well, I appreciate it." Gohan said with a smile.
"..So.." Videl started after a moment of silence. "I guess we won't be seeing each other as much from now on."
"..Yeah.." Gohan said simply.
"Are you really okay with continuing school all throughout summer?" Videl asked. "I know your mom is strict about these things, but that it seems like overkill to me. You already do so well in normal school."
"Yeah, I guess it's a bit much.. but she really wants me to do it, and the idea doesn't bother me that much. I'm sure I'll meet lots of new friends there, too." Gohan said with a bit of a smile.
"Well, I'm glad you're so optimistic about it. I hope it works out for you." Videl said.
"Thanks."
"Oh, Videl, you're here?" Videl and Gohan turned to see Chichi, who was standing in the doorway.
"Hi, Chichi." Videl said.
"Come on in, and I'll show you where everything is." Chichi said before reentering the house.
9:40 AM
Goten could hear his mother's voice from where he was laying in his room, and it sounded like she was talking to someone who wasn't Gohan. So he assumed Videl was here.
His assumption was confirmed when his bedroom door opened and Chichi and Videl walked through it.
He sat up a bit to greet them. "Hi, Videl." He managed to say with a somewhat scratchy voice, before coughing.
Videl was a bit taken aback by what she saw. Goten was usually so full of energy whenever she would come over. He was always the first one to run out the door to greet her. So to see him acting so drained, and to hear his weak voice compared to his usual spunk, made her sad.
"Hey, Goten, how're you feeling?" Videl asked.
"I'm feeling a little better now." Goten replied before clearing his throat.
"Yeah? That's good to hear." Videl said back.
"Me and Gohan are getting ready to leave now, so tell Videl if you need anything, okay sweetie?" Chichi said before turning toward the door and walking out of the room.
"Okay."
10:07 AM
Videl watched Gohan step into their air car as Chichi started it up.
"Thanks again, Videl!" Chichi said over the engine's noises. "Don't worry, we'll be back before you know it."
"Okay, see you later!" Videl said loudly.
"Bye!" Gohan said loudly, waving his hand as Chichi flew the air car up into the sky.
"Bye!" Videl shouted as she waved back.
They then flew away into the distance.
After standing there for a bit, Videl walked back into the house and sat down at the dining room table. She then took her phone out of her pocket and checked to see if she had any text messages. She didn't.
"Videl?"
She perks up as she hears Goten's voice.
"Yeah?" She said back.
Goten walked down the hall and saw Videl sitting there.
"Good, you're still here." Goten said with relief in his voice.
"Whaddyou mean? Of course I'm still here."
"It got awful quiet after Mom and Gohan left. I got scared." Goten said before coughing.
"There's no reason to be afraid. I'm not going anywhere. You should probably go back to bed." Videl said before putting her phone back in her pocket.
"Okay."
"Are you feeling well enough to eat?" Videl asked, standing up.
"..I dunno.." Goten said slowly.
"Well, go and lie down then. I'm going to make myself something to eat, so call me if you need anything." Videl said.
"Mm-kay." Goten said as he walked off to the bathroom.
Videl walked into the kitchen and started making some ramen noodles.
She then heard the toilet flush, and after a bit, Goten walked back into the dining room. He kept walking until he could see Videl in the kitchen.
"Hey, Videl?"
"Yeah?"
"I changed my mind. Can I have some food?"
Videl thought about it a bit.
"..When was the last time you uh.. threw up?" She asked carefully.
"..Yesterday night I think.. I feel okay now I think."
Videl thought about it more, then decided. "Okay, I'll make you a little bit. Go ahead and wait in your bedroom and I'll call you when it's done."
"Okay. Thanks, Videl." Goten said before walking back to his room.
Ten minutes later, they were both sitting at the dinner table eating from bowls of ramen. Goten's had much less than Videl's had.
"..Nice and slow. Don't eat too much." Videl said between forkfuls.
Goten watched as Videl wolfed down her noodles.
He took a small mouthful, still watching her eating away.
"You must be really hungry." Goten said, surprised at how quickly she was eating.
Videl stopped eating and looked up at Goten. She smiled a bit.
"Yeah, I hardly ate anything before I came here. ..I was planning on sleeping in, since summer break is here, but then this happened." She said before taking another forkful.
"Oh yeah, summer break.." Goten said in a moment of realisation.
"..Will you be going to public school when summer break ends?" Videl asked.
"No, I think my mom stills wants to homeschool me."
"That's a shame. I'm sure the girls at school would love you." Videl said with a smile, before taking another bite.
Goten blushed a bit. "No they won't.." He said before eating a bit more.
"What are you talking about? Of course they will. You're a.. a handsome boy." Videl said, avoiding the word 'cute.'
"..Do the boys at your school all come after you?" Goten managed to ask through his embarrassment.
Videl then stopped eating and looked down a bit. "..No, not really. A lot of them assume I have a boyfriend without even talking to me. But most of them are too scared to even approach me, with me being the daughter of Mister Satan and all. My dad is really strict about boyfriends."
Goten had a bit of a puzzled look on his face, then began to cough.
"..So, your dad has to like the boy for him to be your boyfriend?" He asked naively.
"Pretty much, yeah. But he's said before that he'd only allow it if the guy could defeat him in a fight. And that's never gonna happen." Videl said before taking another forkful.
Goten looked a little surprised at this. "S-so, you've never had a boyfriend?" He asked apprehensively.
"Nope, not once."
Goten could hardly believe it. He'd had a crush on Videl since he first met her, and he thought she was completely out of his league, but she was actually single, and had been her whole life.
"What about you, Goten? Ever had a girlfriend?" Videl asked jokingly.
"What? No, 'course not! I don't even know any other girls.." Goten said before returning to his food.
Suddenly, Videl started to see Goten in a new light. He was usually a loud, somewhat annoying ball of energy, but now she was seeing him as another person. She was carrying on the conversation because she wanted to, not just because she had nothing better to do.
"..You know, you're actually pretty mature for your age, Goten. I don't know any seven-year-old that could hold a conversation like this." Videl said.
"Mature? What's that mean?" Goten asked obliviously.
"It means you act grown up. Like an adult."
"Oh. Is that a good thing?" Goten asked, wanting to know every detail of what Videl thought of him.
"..It can be a good thing or a bad thing. But I like it." Videl said before eating more ramen. She was almost done with hers.
Goten blew his nose.
"..Well, how're you feeling now?" Videl asked before picking up her bowl and drinking the remaining soup from it.
"A little better.."
"Well, in that case, I think I'll step outside for a bit. You should probably get back into bed." Videl said as she stretched and stood up.
"Uh, w-wait!" Goten said in a slight panic.
Videl turned back to Goten. "Huh?"
"Can.. can we keep talking here until I'm done with mine?" Goten asked with a bit of a frown.
Videl could tell he was troubled either by the idea of being alone in the house, or simply by her leaving. He'd always been visibly sad whenever she would leave to go back home, so she figured it was probably the latter.
She sat back down in her chair and smiled. "Okay. what do you want to talk about?"
One thing she knew for sure was that she didn't like it when Goten was sad.
"..Um.." Goten said quietly, looking down a bit.
Videl smirked. It was clear that he didn't actually have anything to talk about. He just wanted her to stay with him.
"Don't worry about it. I won't go outside if you don't want me to." She said.
Goten looked relieved. "..Thanks."
"What do you want to do today then?" Videl asked, resting her elbows on the table and her head on her hands.
"..Um.. well, I can't really do any of the things I usually do because I'm sick." Goten said quietly. "We could play with toys, though!"
Videl laughed. "I think I'm a little too old for that."
"Oh. Yeah."
"You should probably spend most of the day in bed if you want to get better." Videl said, looking at her phone.
"..Yeah.. but.." Goten said quietly as he looked down.
"But you want to be with me, right?" Videl asked with a smile.
Goten got embarrassed again. "W-well.. yeah.. I guess."
"Then why don't you lay on one of the couches in there?" Videl asked, pointing to the living room.
"Oh. Okay."
"Bring your bowl and whatever else you need." Videl said as she stood up and walked toward the living room.
"Okay." Goten said as he stood up and walked toward his bedroom.
Ten minutes later, they were both asleep on either couch.
12:29 PM
Goten was the first to wake up. He rubbed his eyes as he turned over and looked at Videl.
He was surprised to see she was asleep at all. He didn't really remember very much from after he laid down.
He stood up and walked silently over to her. He then knelt in front of her face.
In some ways, she was even prettier when she was asleep. She looked like an angel*, albeit an angel that was drooling.
Goten thought he'd wipe the drool from her mouth, so he took a tissue and did his best.
Then she opened her eyes, which startled Goten a bit.
"Goten?" She said in a half-asleep voice. "What're you doing?"
She then sat up and rubbed her eye.
"I-I.. well you were drooling and I tried to clean it up. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." Goten said, again embarrassed. Spending this much time alone with his crush was not something he was used to dealing with.
"Sorry for what?" Videl asked as she stretched.
"..W-well I was sorta.. watching you sleep before that.." Goten's face was quite red now.
Videl giggled a bit. She would normally be mad, but how could she possibly be angry with such an innocent little boy?
"You're not mad?" Goten asked.
"No. I just hope I didn't look ugly."
"You didn't look ugly, you looked like an angel."
"Well, thank you very much." Videl said, smiling.
She then stopped smiling.
What was this feeling she was getting? She felt unusually happy. She's been around plenty of people of all ages, male and female, but this feeling was new to her. Was she getting attached to Goten? Or maybe she just liked having a 'little brother', so to speak?
"I um.." Goten started slowly.
"..What?"
"Well.. I got kinda close to your face.. I hope I didn't make you sick, too.." Goten said, concerned.
"Oh. Well, don't worry about it." Videl said. "Just be careful from now on."
"Okay."
8:22 PM
The rest of the day went similarly to how it'd been going, with Videl and Goten talking about various mundane things and eating lunch and dinner.
Videl was sitting on the toilet, thinking to herself.
She hadn't been happy like this in a long time, and she was trying to pinpoint the cause of it. The obvious answer was Goten, but she'd been around him before.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Chichi and Gohan's voices through the wall.
"What's your temperature at now?" Chichi asked, setting her purse onto the table.
"I haven't checked it." Goten simply said.
"Well go do it then."
"Where is it?"
"In your room."
Goten then walked off to his room.
Videl flushed the toilet, washed her hands, dried them and came out of the bathroom.
"Hi, Videl!" Chichi said happily.
"We're back!" Gohan said, smiling.
"Hi, welcome back." Videl said, also smiling.
"Sorry we got back so late. It took much longer than I thought." Chichi said.
"That's okay. How did it go?" Videl asked.
"It went great! He got accepted and everything." Chichi said happily.
"Oh, that's great! I think." Videl said, a bit unsure.
"So, Goten wasn't too much of a handful, was he?" Chichi asked.
"No, no, not at all. I had a great time." Videl said honestly.
Chichi looked a bit confused. "..Really?"
"Yeah." Videl said.
"It says thirty-six point five." Goten said as he walked out of his room with the thermometer in his hand. "Is that bad?"
"That's from under your arm?" Chichi asked as she took the thermometer from him.
"Yeah."
"You're getting better." Chichi said, handing it back to him.
"He hasn't vomited all day, so I gave him small amounts of food, is that okay?" Videl asked.
"Yeah, that's fine. You did a great job, Videl. Thank you so much." Chichi said.
"It was no trouble, really." Videl said with a smile.
"Mom, can Videl stay the night? Please?" Goten asked hopefully.
"Oh, of course she can!" Chichi said before looking at Videl. "It's pretty late, so it's probably better that way. But it's your choice."
A moment was all Videl needed to make up her mind. "Okay. Sure."
9:12 PM
Gohan and Goten had just finished brushing their teeth together, as was their nightly routine. Videl was already asleep in the spare room.
"Well, goodnight." Gohan said quietly as he walked toward his door.
"Wait." Goten said quickly and quietly.
Gohan turned and looked back at Goten. "What?"
He then saw that Goten was looking a bit embarrassed.
"Can I.. can I ask you a question?" Goten asked quietly.
Gohan then walked over to Goten and knelt down in front of him. "Sure. what is it?"
Goten then looked at Gohan. "H-how do you.. um.." Goten sighed. "Nevermind.."
"No, it's okay. Say it. I want to help." Gohan said.
"..Well.. how do you.. how do you confess to a girl that you like her?" Goten asked, looking very embarrassed.
Gohan giggled quietly. "You're having girl troubles at your age? I'm not even having those yet. Sorry, Goten, I've got no experience. But you should probably just be honest and tell her how you feel." Gohan said, doing his best to say what sounded right.
"..Hm.. yeah, I guess.. okay. Thanks, Gohan." Goten said, feeling a little better.
"But you don't mean Videl, do you?" Gohan asked with a small smile.
Goten started panicking as soon as he realised what Gohan had just said. "N-no! No, no! Whaddyou mean? 'Course not!"
Gohan smiled. He'd hit the nail on the head, it seemed.
"Don't worry, I won't tell. Good luck." Gohan said as he walked toward his bedroom door, giving a thumbs-up. "See you tomorrow."
Gohan then entered his room and closed the door.
He thought it was cute that Goten was so serious about it. Nothing wrong with playing along, he thought. And it'd be funny to see Videl try and say no to Goten's confession. That'd be tough.
7:09 AM, Friday
Having just woken up a few minutes ago, Goten was using the bathroom. Gohan was eating breakfast, and Videl was helping Chichi with the dishes.
After flushing the toilet and washing his hands, Goten came out of the bathroom.
"Good morning." Gohan said to him.
"Morning." Goten said back.
"Morning, Goten." Videl said.
"Feeling better?" Chichi asked as she washed a mug.
"Yeah, I barely feel sick at all." Goten said with a smile.
"Good. You should be fully recovered by tomorrow, then." Chichi said, handing the mug to Videl.
"Hey, that's great!" Videl said happily.
"..How long're you staying here, Videl?" Goten asked.
"..Oh.. I don't know. Until I'm done with these dishes, I guess." Videl said, drying the mug.
"Oh, don't let me keep you. You can leave now if you'd like." Chichi said, washing a plate.
"That's alright, I'll stay until this is done." Videl said.
"Thanks. I appreciate the help." Chichi said as she handed Videl the plate.
"Speaking of which, I should probably get going. I wouldn't want to be late for my first day of summer school." Gohan said as he stood up.
He then gave Goten a thumbs-up. Goten looked a bit embarrassed and looked away.
"All your things are in your backpack, right? You didn't forget anything?" Chichi asked as she turned the faucet off and dried her hands.
"Yes, I have everything." Gohan said as he put on his backpack.
Chichi gave Gohan a hug. "Have a great day, sweetie."
Gohan blushed a bit. "Mom.."
Videl giggled, then went back to drying the dishes.
Gohan then walked out the door and flew off.
"Bye!" He shouted.
Goten and Chichi waved as he flew away.
"Bye!" Chichi shouted back.
The two of them then walked back into the house.
"I'm hungry." Goten said with his hand on his stomach.
"I made bacon and eggs earlier, you can have yours now." Chichi said, walking toward the stove.
Goten walked over to the table and sat down. He wasn't sure how to go about this. He wanted to confess to Videl, but for some reason he couldn't imagine himself saying the words.
Chichi brought him a plate of bacon and eggs.
"Thanks." he said as he began eating.
He went over it again and again in his head, and there was no reason not to tell her, he thought. So why couldn't he just do it?
Before he knew it, he was done eating and Videl was done with the dishes.
"Well, I guess I'll be leaving now." Videl said to Goten.
"Oh. ..Right.. um.. okay. Bye.." Goten said, a bit sadly.
"Don't worry. I'll come over again soon." Videl said. Unlike most other times, she was actually getting sad over leaving, as well.
"When?" Goten asked.
"..I'm not sure. We'll see. Not too long." Videl said with a small smile.
"Okay." Goten said back.
"Goten, aren't you forgetting something?" Chichi asked.
"Oh. Right. Thanks for taking care of me." Goten said to Videl.
"You're very welcome." Videl said.
"Really, thank you, Videl." Chichi said. "You helped us a lot."
"It was nothing, really."
Videl then walked outside, pressed the button on her aircraft capsule and threw it in front of her. It then poofed into her aircraft.
While she was having good feelings yesterday, by contrast she was now feeling unusually depressed. And she hadn't even left yet.
She looked back at Goten and Chichi.
"Well, I'll see you-" She stopped.
Her heart sank when she saw that Goten had tears running down his cheeks. Chichi was rubbing his shoulder.
Videl turned to Goten and opened her arms wide.
Goten ran to her and gave her a big hug.
"It's okay. It's okay. I'll be back really soon, okay?" Videl said in an effort to comfort him.
What she didn't realise was that she needed comforting as well. Before she knew it, she was tearing up, too.
Chichi was a little confused now. It was normal for Goten to be upset when Videl would leave, but now Videl herself was also crying over it. What exactly happened yesterday?
After a few more moments, Goten and Videl separated and looked at each other in silence.
Videl then stood up. She was sad, but that hug made her feel better. She felt ready to leave.
"Alright, bye. I'll be back." Videl said as she got into her aircraft.
"Okay. Bye." Goten said with a sniff.
"Bye! Thanks again!" Chichi said, waving.
Videl waved as she started her aircraft and flew up into the sky.
Goten watched as she flew away.
He then walked back over to Chichi, still looking sad.
"It's okay. Don't cry. There's nothing to be sad about." Chichi said as she hugged him.
As she flew away in her aircraft, Videl started to get feelings of emptiness.
- To be continued
*Yes, I am aware of that irony.
