The Prize
3 months later
"Whew," Saiyaman said as he'd just finished saving a child and mother from drowning. "Man, I'm getting real popular." Just the other day he'd run across what he thought was a woman who needed saving from a car crash when he found out he was in the middle of the set for the Saiyaman Movie. Even now, when he was trying to rescue a mother and her boy, the boy had had the presence of mind to pull out a camera and start taking pictures of Saiyaman as they were flying through the air, while the mother (who couldn't have been over 25) was trying to finagle a "Rendezvous" out of the town's newest crimefighter. Managing somehow to extricate himself from a sticky situation, Gohan managed to make it to school on time for once.
When he got there, he was amazed to see most of the guys staring at one of several brightly colored posters that must have just been posted up last night. Figuring it was a school dance or some other function which Gohan had NO intention whatsoever of attending, he strolled into class. Gohan assumed that he'd be late again. However, he was only half-right. All of the girls seemed to be in their seats, but none of the guys were in class yet. Even the teacher, who was a man, hadn't shown up. Gohan figured that they were all outside somewhere staring at one of those posters, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. The only thing that would keep him out of class, he decided, would be an all-you-could-eat buffet lunchon. I mean, what could be more important in life than food. Mmmm … just thinking about food was making him hungry, and, grabbing a cracker out of the box in his bookbag, he proceeded to much away happily.
Videl Satan, meanwhile, was also thinking about those posters, but in a much less happy way. For the thousandth time in the last week she wished she were anyone but Hercule Satan's daughter. She couldn't believe her dad would do this, THIS, to her. Apparently her mother (a now deceased heiress who was almost as rich as Bulma Briefs), knowing her time was short, had rewritten her will shortly before her death. It stated clearly that if Videl wasn't in a relationship that her father thought would lead to marriage by her senior year in high school, then her father was to arrange a marriage with the most eligible bachelor possible. Of course as we know, Hercule Satan was not the type to encourage those types of relationships. Rolling her eyes at the through, she replayed her father's "talk" to her about dating. I forbid it. You find a boy that's stronger than me, and then maybe, and I mean maybe … Oohh, there were times when she wished she was strong enough to take out her dad, and "then maybe" he'd start to treat her like she wasn't twelve anymore. So, now that the dreaded time appointed by the will was here, she knew Hercule would stage this thing, beat everyone to a pulp, and keep doing it every few years until someone could actually beat him. Which, with Videl's luck, would be 20 years from now.
She was pulled out of her reverie by an unwanted arm around her shoulders, followed by the last voice she wanted to hear.
"Hey, babe, looks like your dad finally came to his senses. Tell you what, you can name the first place we go out to after I win the tournament."
Videl calmly wrapped her wrist around Sharpner's forearm and flung him into the chalkboard, where he collapsed unconscious with a thud. Ugh, at least when this thing was over, whoever won would be able to kill Sharpner for her. Hell, she may even be able to get the guy set up for murder, and get rid of both the baka and the unwanted husband in one shot.
Videl liked to think of herself as someone who could meet any challenge, but the challenges of marriage and parenthood were by far the scariest she'd ever encountered. I mean, what would her new husband be like, if he could beat her father? Probably some muscle-brained egomaniac like Hercule. She sighed. Videl knew she was strong, but she also prided herself on her top marks and on her general knowledge of many things. Videl liked to debate things with people and argue her points, something she did often in class (when she was there); she had little doubt that anyone who could beat her father would probably have the IQ of a mountain-gorilla. Heck, he'd have to be a mountain gorilla to have a realistic shot. No, she kenw what this was. Just a way for her daddy to make sure that his little girl never left him. In some weird way, she was almost hopeful that a man would defeat her father, if only to take him down a peg or two.
Again deep in thought, her eyes snapped back to the door when Sharpner said, "Hey, nerd boy, when was the last time you ate, a month ago?" Videl looked at Gohan Son, who'd stopped halfway through eating the last cracker in the full box he'd brought to school. The Son boy blushed slightly as he finished his last cracker, and then turned his attention back to the teacher. Videl sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. Gohan Son. One of her big three enigmas. Since the first week of school, she'd made it her priorities to a) find out who the Gold Fighter was, b) unmask that jerk Saiyaman, and most importantly 3) find out how Gohan managed to get to and from school without a jet copter.
She didn't know why but every time she thought of Gohan, she'd start to get warm and tingly inside. It couldn't be that she liked him; he was not bad-looking, maybe a shade on the scrawny side, and even if he wasn't even as strong as Sharpner, he didn't look like too much of a weakling. She could even deal with the fact that he was the only kid in the entire school weird enough to abide by the school's non-mandatory dress code. But still, he was an enigma, and he kept secrets, and if there was one thing that Videl couldn't stand it was puzzles. If there were two things, they were puzzles and liars. Gohan, she was sure, was both. So no, she didn't like him, even though he was very polite, patient when people asked him for help, respected everyone, and was even kind to animals (she'd once caught him giving part of his lunch to some hungry magpies that were nearby). Surprisingly, she found herself wishing that whoever won the tournament had a personality like Gohan's. But it couldn't be Gohan, because even though she couldn't prove it, Videl knew he was a liar. A cute liar, but still, a liar.
"So nerd boy, I take it you aren't going to enter the tournament."
"What tournament is that, Sharpner?"
"You dunce, haven't you seen any of the signs posted around school? Mr. Satan is hosting his own tournament, and the winner gets Videl's hand in marriage, not to mention all of the Satan family fortune."
Videl was blushing, expecting Gohan to start laughing like some of her other friends had when they found out. Looking over at him, she was surprised to find that he was staring at her with one of the most earnest looks anyone had ever given her in her life.
"Well Videl, I guess I don't understand why you'd want to find a husband that way, but whatever happens, I hope you find someone great. You deserve it."
Damn him, why couldn't he just have stayed a cute liar.
