Summary: In a medieval-like fantasy world, Son Gohan meets a young woman, Videl, who comes to West City in search of medicinal herbs to develop a cure for a mysterious illness which is killing people in Orange Star, her home. Will she achieve her goal before it's too late? Who will help (or delay) her? Gohan/Videl
Disclaimer: Do I own DBZ? HA! I wish… (sigh) A story partly-inspired by Game of Thrones, which I do not own either.
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Previously…
"Nonsense." He just briefly answered, as if she was playing a trick on him.
"You've seen how I do it." She insisted joyfully, coming a bit closer to him. "It's so easy. You just have to gather the same herbs I have here, plus some others. You've seen where and how I do it."
"Only for a few minutes!" He complained.
"Every day for almost a week! You'll be fine!" She cheered with enthusiasm.
"No, I'm not taking this responsibility. What if I do it wrong? No… No, no, no…" He was panic-stricken.
"Gohan, please…It's not difficult. Please, reconsider." She begged. At that, Gohan's eyes widened. He had never expected to hear a woman begging him to do something for her. Never. He swallowed hard and found himself unable to think or answer her delightful plea. "Please, for me… If not, I don't know what I'll do."
"I'll get you out of here. Pan won't be this obsessed with you for long, I hope." He whispered trying to change the subject. "I think…"
"What?" Her eyes glittered with an unrivalled hope.
"I have an idea." He said with determination, but suddenly happy while intensely staring at her. "Let me handle this."
Thus, he drew a large smile on his face which shone down on her and then he left the study room as fast as he could. That smile really had made a strong impression on her, as if all her pain and worry could be instantly removed. But what was that idea he had just had?
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Chapter 3: Clingy
During dinner, Gohan refused to talk to his siblings, as usual. Videl guessed his isolation was the bastard thing over and over again. His only means of communication was an occasional deadly stare at Sharpner every now and then. He had stared at him like that ever since that dreadful encounter in the corridor a few days ago. In spite of that "normal" behaviour on his behalf, she kept wondering what Gohan had thought of to stop Pan from following them to the woods from then on. He was suddenly so happy in the study room only a few minutes ago – he knew him so little and yet she had the impression he was never happy. Ever.
When the dinner was over, Videl bumped into Erasa in the corridor, who seemed to be in a slightly bad mood. She had to spend the night with Sharpner, but she admitted she was getting weary of him. As far as her opinion was concerned, he was rather clingy. She didn't want any kind of emotional attachment with clients, although the incoming money was good. That's what being a slut was all about, according to her.
"Just send another girl instead of you." Videl told her as a suggestion.
"It doesn't work like that. Customers are really picky, and if you don't go and send someone else instead, then they might not wanna do it. So no money, baby."
"That's… stupid." Videl complained. "They just need to fuck, don't they?"
"Then the whole world is stupid." Erasa complained.
"I guess so." Videl made a brief pause, only to break it when she had a brilliant idea. "Do you mind if we try something, though? I think I've got an idea which might just work. But I can't show you here."
"A smart gurl. Niiice…" Erasa gave her one of her lusty stares and took her hand. "Tell me about it at my place. Let's go!"
Erasa was about to drag Videl with her when she had to stop:
"What about your "date" with Sharpner?" Videl asked with worry.
"He can "date" himself off for one night." Erasa replied with cheek, as usual.
Erasa obviously meant to say "fuck" instead of "date", but she just loved being sassy and she couldn't help it. Therefore, Erasa pulled Videl's hand towards her and, with a youthful, insane, low giggling, she rushed out into the streets leaving no sign, no tracks, nothing behind in their light, hurried pace.
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Sharpner spent half the night raging in his bedroom and the other half, sleeping due to boredom. Erasa had not come as she had promised.
In the meantime, Gohan was getting ready to perform his plan so that the next morning both Videl and he could go out to the woods alone. So he smiled warmly as he approached Pan in her bedroom after dinner.
"Pan," He whispered gently, but seriously, standing by her door. "you're older than you look and I'm not going to pretend that you don't understand what I'm about to say. I need to speak to you."
Her full attention never faded for a second after that. Guaranteed.
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In the meantime, Videl and Erasa were developing Videl's plan with the help of the other girls from the brothel. There were Maron (a blue-haired hot girl but dumb as a fish), Melee (a gorgeous ginger-haired woman with a blue cloth crown on her head and a demonic attitude), Misa (the youngest girl, but cute like button), Ranfan (a purple-haired seductress) Princess Snake (a blue-skinned and ginger-haired threatening lady) and Miss Piiza (a hot red-head with yellow irises and a high-pitched voice).
Videl had a plan. Not only Sharpner would be tempted to change his ways, but also the rest of brothel visitors. That heavenly surprise would knock them out for good. In spite of old rivalries amongst the girls, the plan seemed to unite them and create a strong, unbreakable bond. Videl knew that ensuring a healthy friendship between them was crucial to the aim they had in mind. They had to work together, otherwise it would not work. So they had decided to close the brothel for the night and work on that common project.
Thus, amongst piles and piles of multi-coloured strips the girls giggled as they sew them together to make sensual dresses as Videl told them. Even Erasa insisted that Videl should make one for herself, which made her blush, but she never protested. Next, she told them that those kind of clothes were traditional in Orange Star amongst dancers and she then proceeded to teach them how to sing and dance like a native from Orange Star while wearing that indecent, cheeky, whorish clothing. The adjectives were very West City in attitude, since the concepts of fashion and propriety were quite different, but that didn't make Videl back off. The girls loved every bit of Videl's plan. And the dresses. Especially the dresses. They made a huge progress in a few hours.
Videl told them to keep practising, since they were having an opening night at the brothel in 24 hours. The timing was a bit tight, but they had learned the basics quite fast and none of them saw any problem with that. Some girls were preparing a stage at the back of the largest room of the brothel, with large curtains and candles. When Videl felt sleepy – it was half past four in the morning already – and she was about to leave because there was nothing left to be done, Erasa stopped her.
"Hey Videl!" Erasa yelled right before Videl opened the door. "Will you tell Gohan to come?" She asked with a naughty smile on her face.
"Gohan? What for?" Videl asked naively.
"Oh…, come on, Videl!" Erasa insisted with vehemence, giggled and stared indecently at her. "He…"
"Erasa, stop it this instant!" Videl realised what Erasa had in mind.
"The day we met you said you were not a saint. Prove it." Erasa pushed her while crossing her arms over her chest. "Dance with us on the stage and tell Gohan to come."
"No. No, no, no, no – it doesn't work like this." Videl replied nervously.
"Yes, it does. Those moves of yours on the dancefloor were… Well… Inspiring in terms of the mind's eye of men. Oh…, relaaax, baby girl." She winked at her, but since Videl was frowning at her quite sternly, she sighed and admitted the truth. "Anyway, Gohan's not a favourite around here. In fact, he never comes around here."
"Never?" Videl asked whispering in awe.
"A-ha, sweetie, NEVER." Erasa answered smiling with naught. "Suddenly interested, Videl?"
"Oh, shut up! I'm not dancing tomorrow!" With that angry comment, she left in a rush and a blush.
But Erasa had something wicked in mind as she smirked deviously at the closed door.
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The sun was shining bright the next day at dawn and Gohan hurried down the corridors to get to Videl as soon as possible. He had had a restless night because he couldn't stop thinking about Videl and whether his plan would actually work. It was before breakfast and only a handful of servants were awake and moving about, but he had to see her. That was why he decided, though hesitating, to knock the door of her bedroom.
"W-who's there?" Videl asked mildly alarmed and sleepy. She wasn't expecting anyone so early in the morning. Besides, she had gone to bed so late at night…
"It's me, Gohan." He answered almost whispering and feeling childish. "I think my plan's going to work. We can go to the woods to fetch more herbs, if you want, that is."
"But… now?! I'm barely dressed… not to mention awake." At that she yawned feebly and he blushed violently as he thought of her in such a state. "Must we leave so early today? Sorry, I went to sleep late last night. I was helping Erasa."
"Helping Erasa late at night?" He repeated in confusion. "What for?"
"Oh, Gohan. You definitely don't wanna know about that, I swear." She giggled a bit without any malice, but he blushed even more. Then, she couldn't help remembering Erasa's insinuations and blushed too. "I'm curious about your mysterious plan. Let me get dressed. I'll be ready in five minutes."
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As promised, five minutes later she came out of her bedroom fully dressed and refreshed. Her black curls looked lovely over the baby blue cloak on her shoulders.
"Gohan…" Videl called him opening and closing her bedroom door. "I'm ready. Let's g-"
"Helping Erasa?! Late at night?!" Gohan suddenly cut her, still unable to process that information. "Now I get why Sharpner was so quiet in his room. Erasa was with you!"
"Are they usually loud?" She dared to ask.
"Yeah,…" He whispered quite lowly, his cheeks blushing into such a fluorescent red colour which was actually out of any humanly healthy spectrum. "almost every night."
Both of them started imagining stuff as regards what Erasa and Sharpner were actually capable of doing in his bedroom when suddenly a cock announced a new dawn. That restored a rational, socially acceptable attitude in them. All of a sudden she felt awkward, as if she just shouldn't ask that kind of things. Why didn't she just try to be more careful and think things twice before opening her mouth?
"OK… Changing the subject, will you spill the beans about your plan or not?" She asked smiling warmly to him. "I'm curious." She added joyfully, as if singing.
"Only if you tell me what you did with Erasa last night." He insisted seriously worried, still blushing a bit. "H-has she… has s-s-she…" He licked his lips once, hesitating. "…has she touched you? Do you like…?" He rushed the question out of his lips as if he couldn't bear the sound of any of those letters.
"No!" She complained, trying to hide the fact that she felt the issue was getting too intimate. "Of course not! I'm not gay." But then she tried to chill out and regain her composure and continued thus: "Erasa was worried that Sharpner might get too attached to her. I came up with an idea to solve that. Now," She insisted. "what about this brilliant idea of yours? Give me a clue at least."
"Fine." He surrendered. Hearing about the cause behind her actions had somehow calmed him down a bit. "I want to know what you were doing yesterday! This isn't fair, but I'll tell you my plan when we're in the woods."
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A few minutes later, when they were deeply in the woods gathering herbs and plants of all sorts, Gohan decided to tell Videl about Pan and his plan, but Videl was trying to guess what his plan was about before he could actually say a word about it:
"Pan needs some degree of adventure in her life." Videl stated matter-of-factly. "And she firmly believes that spying on us will sate her eagerness. I assume that you've got a plan which involves Pan, you and me probably. Giving her cool, non-girly stuff to do so that she's not so clingy. Has she tried fencing? Archery? Have you devised some sort of treasure hunt for her? Or will you teach her to cleverly sneak out? Or maybe…"
"Not really." Gohan replied not feeling satisfied by the level of sophistication that Videl was hoping to hear about. "It's not that complex."
"Not that complex? What do you mean?"
"I got the idea from a trickster, really." Gohan admitted shamefully. "The simplicity of what he had done met the greatest efficiency. I was thunderstruck, amazed… To this day, I still admire him."
"A trickster?" Videl could hardly believe her ears. "I would never say you could actually admire a trickster. What did he do?"
"He made a deal, like I did with Pan last night after dinner, with one of our fellow traders in West City one afternoon during market day. He wanted to sell a goat which was very ill and could barely stand up. It was very skinny, it had some scars even, and it was said that it wouldn't survive for long. Some didn't even give the poor thing a few hours of life expectancy. The trickster insisted that the goat was lucky, that it had survived many pains and bad weather in this condition – and that it provided very fine milk. The man, hoping he'd get a bargain if the trickster told him the truth, said that if the goat that the trickster was selling him that afternoon was still alive the next dawn, he'd give him some ounces of gold and…"
"I thought it wasn't a complex story."
"It isn't. The man spent the night trying to back-stab the trickster by killing the goat himself while pretending its death had been natural. That way he'd win. The trickster, in the meantime, stole all his gold while he was taking care of the poor goat. There you go: simple."
"Oh, Gohan, pluh-zzzeeee, come on!" Videl complained quite childishly while crossing her arms over her chest. "He was a mere thief. That's not admirable!"
"It is!" Gohan insisted, smiling and fascinated by her tantrum. "He got what he wanted. He stole the stupid man's gold, what he wanted, and… simply… left."
The last word echoed in the woods as they were staring at each other.
"He got what he wanted and left!" He insisted.
Videl fell silent, her eyes darkend a bit and suddenly understood why Gohan was so fascinated by that stupid trickster:
"So that's why you're so caught up in this story:" She concluded dryly. "because you also want something, but you can't even imagine yourself taking it and leaving. But you'd love to."
They fell silent for a long time. She didn't elaborate it any further. There was no need to. Gohan stood frozen when the sudden realisation that he was frustrated with his own life dawned on him. How come was it so palpable? So evident? Why was she so dammed clever?
"Honour bids me to act according to social conventions. I can't take what's not mine by right." Gohan stated with pride, as if his life and his sanity depended on the logic of those words.
"And yet you're a bastard, a state of affairs which of course leaves you out of those social conventions behind which you shield yourself so proudly." She whispered seriously.
Silence again. By the old Gods, the wench had a blade for a tongue – that was what Gohan couldn't help thinking.
"I can't and I won't act otherwise. I'm stuck." He said at last, avoiding her beautiful eyes.
"That's why you're eventually leaving for the Demon Realm Doors, right?" She whispered sadly. "Because you're stuck."
"How do you know?!" He asked dumbfounded.
"Bastard, bad vibes in town, rather new black clothing,… Kami told me about it. Need I go on?" Her voice seemed sadder then, and it made Gohan sigh in defeat and regret being so transparent. Seeing that she was obviously pushing him too far, she coughed and changed the subject: "Anyway, what about Pan? What's the plan? Do you think it'll work?"
"The plan is going on as planned. We've already left before she realised about it." He said sombrely.
"Leaving her behind? That's it? You had a deal with her and you betrayed her?" Videl asked simply dumbfounded and angry.
"Told you it was simple." Gohan replied seriously.
"Pan may still be willing to do something dangerous! That is the whole point!"
"Pan is usually asleep at this hour and, once she's woken up, she's bound to do chores. She's constantly being watched for a couple of hours. It's only until later that she's usually able to sneak out. That's what happened yesterday. By that time, we'll already be back." He tried to reason with her. "That's my plan. We don't always get what we want, right?" He asked feeling wounded.
He waited for her to be finally convinced about it. She eyed him with honest doubts, until she eventually sighed and said thus:
"I trust you, Gohan." Videl said softly, taking a couple of steps towards him. "I really hope it's enough to keep her safe."
Her voice and her face were warm and nice to him again, as if she was regretting she had taken the conversation into a too personal domain. Gohan realised of it and his eyes glowed in awe. His lips were unable to let his thoughts out, as usual, but when Videl warmly smiled back at him, his heart soared as if nothing wrong had ever happened in his entire life.
"Come on, let's go." Videl said with unrivalled joy. "I think I might be able to find a special type of flower if we reach the top of the mountains today. I've got a hunch!"
Seeing that she was happy, Gohan even forgot to ask her about her own plan as regards Erasa and Sharpner.
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Videl had actually found that type of flower she was so enthusiastic about… at the top of a rocky, sharp-edged, needle-like crag. The snow-clad, deadly freezing environment didn't dishearten her at all. The heavenly, white-petalled flower was gracefully waiting for her to pick it up. Although it seemed out of reach, she just kneeled on a block of ice and stretched her right arm as far as she could to snatch it.
Gohan was even holding his breath until she succeeded. He couldn't bear to see her take such childish risks, but her further investigations were at stake. She needed that damn flower. Only the Gods knew whether it was the key to get the cure she was hopefully looking for.
When she was just about to get it, the ice beneath her knees played a dirty trick on her: the ice broke and she slid down the slope and hurt herself on her right shoulder. Luckily it wasn't very high.
Gohan rushed to aid her.
"I'm fine, Gohan. Just…" Videl said making an effort. "… get the flower for me, please… The ice is unstable. We should get out of here as soon as possible. Be very… careful…"
At that, Gohan hesitated for a split second, but he knew she was right and that she'd probably never forgive him if he didn't get the flower she coveted so much. That's why he rushed to get it and, as soon as he did it, he rushed back to Videl and, putting an arm round her back, helped her walk back to their horses, way down the mountain, duly waiting for them while their bridles were tied to a tree.
Once they reached the beginning of the woods, where the horses were, and Gohan thought they were safe and sound, he stared at her as they were walking. He was still holding her. Her hair was mildly dishevelled and containing some rebel snowflakes. The fall had given her a charming blush on her cheeks – or so he thought. He smiled at her and chuckled as if he wanted to chide her because she had been acting like a foolish child.
"What?" Videl asked not really offended, looking straight at him. "Really what? I'm not laughing." Oh, but yes, she was. She couldn't help but mirroring his good mood.
Gohan still had an arm wrapped around her back, his fingertips gently but firmly sinking in her clothing, and thought very deeply about what answer he could give her.
"For such a strong, independent, young lady like you, I honestly thought you'd be more careful."
"I am careful. I just slipped. It was an accident."
"Can you ride on your own?" Gohan asked her as they approached her horse.
"I'll try…" She tried to sound convincing.
A few minutes later, she found herself able to ride the horse on her own, but Gohan couldn't help but checking on her every single second. Just in case.
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Kami was nowhere to be found. And Videl's shoulder ached like never before: it was dislocated and it needed urgent medical assistance which she couldn't provide to herself.
Gohan's cold, hard fingers gently brushed Videl's naked right arm and shoulder, quite hesitantly since he was unsure whether he could actually do it. Embarrassment was the key trigger of his doubt, not his lack of medical knowledge.
Her mere presence had enlightened him every day ever since she came to West City, and her voice had appeased and warmed areas of his mind and his heart which he didn't know that could be soothed. Subdued by his misery, he had long abandoned all hope and decided upon leaving for the Demon Realm Doors, a future which had risen his expectations on life – and yet right then, that fateful day, in Kami's study room, he couldn't bring himself to think about it, about leaving for the Demon Realm Doors and never seeing her again, as if the thought itself was toxic.
Videl was right at the centre of it, her naked arm and her injured and exposed shoulder trembling under his touch and leaving his mouth dry, as if she was the one and only sun he could ever live and thrive under. In contrast, the Demon Realm Doors seemed a sterile future.
But he couldn't daydream for much longer: she needed his help immediately.
"This will probably hurt." Gohan whispered darkly.
"It will. I know." Videl replied also whispering, feeling weak at the prospect.
"You…" He sighed and swallowed once.
"Get on with it." She whispered bravely.
"On the count of three." As he whispered that sentence, he got a firm grip of her naked arm and shoulder with both hands, both motionless and devoid of life on purpose so that he could cure her.
She huffed and inhaled deeply. Then she just held her breath, waiting for the pain to overflow her and hoping Gohan would be there to hold her and pick up the pieces if it was necessary.
"One,…" Gohan whispered as if he was already regretting what he had to do. "two,…"
And then his grip on her got stronger and he fixed her dislocated shoulder with one bold, quick move. She immediately gasped due to the sudden, unexpected pain. Her head lolled for some seconds and Gohan immediately held her from behind with his strong arms until she finally moaned very softly and exhaled once. Her head had fallen backwards on his left shoulder. She smiled to herself once she realised her shoulder was good as new. Gohan had made a good job.
"You… said… on the count of three." She complained whispering very feebly. He briefly smiled at her forehead and smelt her flowery essence.
In spite of the pain and the cold –or Gohan's prudish hands which were still glued to her body–, she didn't complain and both remained still, standing, blissfully ignoring the lack of space between their bodies, as if time had frozen like water in the poodles outside. She was weary and her body had somehow lost all strength. All that weakness and her exposed skin…
Something deep in Gohan's mind was making him feel right about something so wrong. He closed his eyes, frowned, and smelled her hair as deeply and silently as he could, engraving the smell on his brain.
Even though he was pressed to have more of her, he fought his urges, closed his eyes, let her sit on a chair and dropped his hands to either side of his body. After she had gently gasped due to the sudden lack of physical contact with him and the succeeding cold where his hands had formerly been, he moved aside and turned around so that he wouldn't see her as if guided by a morally-upright principle which couldn't be forsaken. Then, he stammered thus:
"G-get d-dressed." After a brief pause of just a couple of seconds, he added quite sheepishly: "Are you OK?"
"Yes…" She whispered with glowing eyes and a thunderstorm in her veins and heart.
"See you later, then." He whispered dryly.
With that, he left in a hurry, never looking back at her. If he had turned around, he would've seen her high spirits in her bright eyes and the dejected look on her face once he had bidden her farewell so dryly.
Like a lost puppy, she just tried to focus on the immediate reality at hand and got dressed quite slowly, as if she was dumbfounded by his reaction. She still wanted to thank him for what he had just done to heal her, but then she didn't know whether she should do it or not, because his reaction had been so radically cold… after having been so radically intimate.
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Her expectations had been a great source of inconveniences that day. Ever since what happened in Kami's study room that same morning, Videl felt awkward, fearing to meet Gohan or look into his eyes whenever they'd meet again. Not only was she feeling dejected, but also afraid. But why?
The closeness had felt absolutely great. Sin had never been so appealing, and yet she felt as though Gohan had been bothered by it. Of course, she knew about honour and all that. They had had that conversation already. But then again, Videl felt something crack right there. She also valued honour a great deal, but she would've had Gohan right then and there, no questions asked.
His sudden departure had left many questions lurking in her mind. Had he ever been with a woman before? Did he fancy someone? Or rather, had he ever fancied someone? Probably he thought he couldn't afford it, since he was a bastard and all that. Or simply no one had ever noticed him or his needs as a man. She didn't even know whether his destination to the Demon Realm Doors was a path he had actually chosen for himself or not! Probably not. The realisation that she lacked lots of basic information left her devastated, and yet she still sighed thinking of Gohan as if she was just a stupid, prudish girl in love with a knight in shiny armour.
Stupid as it made her feel, she shook her head violently and frowning, as if she could shake those thoughts off.
But it would soon be lunchtime. Lunch. In the dining room. With all of them and their closest fellow countrymen gathered.
Gohan included, of course.
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Lunchtime arrived and Gohan was nowhere to be seen.
Videl could only think of one reason for this, but she hopelessly tried to figure out what other potential reasons there could be to justify his absence. Pan had other plans, though:
"Videl," Pan called her attention with great care, whispering. "Gohan lied to me yesterday. He told me to wait until my chores were done, that he'd be in the courtyard ready to take me to the woods with you, but you were already back when I was done!"
"I know, sweetie." Videl replied as if she was tired, also whispering.
"How dare he lie to me!" The younger one complained in anger. Videl was amazed to discover that none of it was her fault, according to Pan's point of view. "And you! What about you? Did you know?"
"No, I didn't. And he did it for a good reason."
"Whatever." Pan said flatly. "But I think I know why." She added whispering and devilishly smirking at Videl, who blushed a bit.
"Pan, stop thinking about that this instant." Videl whispered back, chiding her. "It didn't happen."
"But it could've. I wasn't there to bother you, so…" Pan added playfully. "I don't mind as long as you… You know."
"No, I don't know and you shouldn't be talking about these things so freely, miss!" Videl replied with anger, but still whispering. "We talked about this already, don't you remember?"
"Hey, what are you whispering about? Anything interesting?" Bulla pointed out, feeling jealous of the level of privacy that Videl and Pan had.
Pan just smiled back at Videl. Trunks had been silently staring at her for some time during dinner.
"It's nothing." Videl replied. "I was trying to make Pan understand that going to the woods can be dangerous, that's all."
"Videl is right." Bulla added scornfully at her little sister. "You should listen for a change, Pan. It would do you no harm."
Pan stuck her tongue out to her sister and Trunks just chuckled.
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During the afternoon, Videl attended several people who suffered from different conditions under the supervision of Kami, who seemed very pleased to have such a skilful apprentice. All her patients seemed to fall automatically in love with her, as if they couldn't care less about what had been said about Gohan and her around town ever since Gohan was meant to take her to the woods and back. In addition, she made sure to point out the fact that Gohan was a good man if she had the chance to do so, as if it was part of a normal, quite casual conversation. And it definitely worked.
When all the patients were gone, so did Kami, whose presence was deemed necessary at the side of Lord Son Goku, since he had some impending matters which needed urgent counselling. She didn't complain about him leaving her side, although she expected to have some time to learn medical stuff from him that afternoon, but it couldn't be helped. She could always read his books and ask him questions about them later. So that was what she did: she started reading a thick book by a soft candlelight.
Out of the blue, the door of the study room opened and Videl saw a robust hand and arm go through the threshold. Her heart began to flutter, as if she couldn't contain her feelings. Suddenly, her awkwardness didn't matter. She admitted to herself that she wanted to see him again, no matter what. She marvelled at the thought and the wild beating inside her ribcage, but her joy died shortly afterwards when she saw that it wasn't Gohan, it was Sharpner.
"Hi there, luv." His rough voice greeted her with cheek, but not much. She became very aware (and afraid) that he might be after something from her. And she loathed that hated appendix at the end: the three-lettered pet word which began with 'l'.
"What are you doing here, Sharpner?" She asked trying very hard to be polite to him even though she disliked him while he closed the huge wooden door behind him.
"No beating around the bush, huh?" He chuckled amused, smirking malevolently. "I wanted to know how attached you are to Erasa."
"Attached?" She raised an eyebrow at him as he came a bit closer to her. She couldn't stop wishing Gohan was there. "Don't beat about the bush yourself. Do you mean "like" or "fancy" her, for example?" She liked to play it daringly although it might mean dangerous, especially with Sharpner.
"That's not what I meant, but now I'm curious. Do you?" He asked as he playfully circled his fingers on the surface of the table where she was reading.
"No, I don't fancy women." She made a brief pause and he smirked as he briefly looked at the table. "She's just a friend. Why are you asking? Are you jealous because the yesterday she decided to spend some time with me instead of you?"
"Jealous? Me?" He chuckled again. Videl decided he hated that sound. She considered the gesture too conceited, although it suited him, of course.
"Then what are you doing here? Really." She pushed him even though she knew it was a bad idea.
"I came to see you, luv." He said playfully as he came yet a bit closer to her sitting by the table. "Don't you like company?"
"Usually yes. I just happen to be very busy right now, Sharpner." She replied with a dry smile on her face.
"Reading, I see. How dull." He said bored, having a look over her shoulder. She felt the air growing colder and colder.
"Your brain is sterile. I know it seems dull to you." She said with sarcasm as she gently closed the book in front of her. Then, she decided to stand up.
"Don't even try to mock me like this, luv." He warned her with a deep, thundering voice. She could actually see his canines as he spoke.
"So you actually are jealous, I see." She said daringly, although she felt threatened. Bravery didn't make her a fool. That was why she took a couple of steps away from him, grabbing the book and holding it with her warm hands, faking she wanted to leave it where it belonged in the shelves. She went on talking as if she actually didn't care about his presence: "You wouldn't be here talking about Erasa to me if you could be banging her instead. Has she refused to see you? Again? Good Gods, you're so clingy…"
"Videl, I know you've said something to Erasa that I can't figure out." His voice was half sad, half enraged. "She refuses to see me or talk to me. And the last person she's been talking to is you, luv. What am I to think?"
"Nothing. You're dumb." She said without thinking twice about it, feeling happy about it.
"Ha-ha. Very funny." He said trying to contain his anger, coming closer to her again. "You know what's going on and you're gonna tell me about it! Now!"
"You'll soon see what all is about." She said not really trying to tantalize him (although he thought so), just meaning it literally.
"Don't play games with me, Videl!" He whispered at her with anger as he towered over her and casted his shadow over her body. Since he was taller than her, it wasn't that hard. "I'm deadly serious…"
For a split second she hopelessly thought of Gohan and Android 17 at the same time, being there to help her, to defend her, to save her if necessary. But she was alone.
She'd have to save her ass on her own. As usual. Besides, she was a lady, she was in distress, but she didn't actually need a prince charming to save her. She had proven to herself that she could do it on her own.
"I am deadly serious, too." She said pushing herself away from him, coming closer to her chair again. Even though he was taller, she could be impressive when she spoke to him – and he saw it. His mightier physical appearance didn't make her back off. "Don't underestimate me, Sharpner. You definitely don't know who I am or what I'm capable of doing." She could really sound threatening if she was in the mood. "So shut the fuck up and wait."
"Tonight, I guess. Right?" He said huffing in anger, as if he couldn't do anything else but wait.
At that, Videl smirked at him and continued speaking thus:
"Are you sure you haven't talked to Erasa at all?" She asked playfully. "I didn't say anything about tonight…"
"She's sent me a stupid note, OK?!" He spat back at her straightforwardly.
"Oh, a note. How interesting. What does it say?"
"She's got a surprise for me, she says." He answered with pride while staring at her lush, soft lips. And then he added whispering in mildly repressed anger: "Which doesn't include her, she says." He said coming closer and closer.
"Don't get angry about stuff you still don't know anything about, Sharpner." She advised.
"I will if I damned want to!" He yelled back at her even though they were very close to one another, standing by her chair.
"You don't need to." She added casually, not caring about his yelling and anger. "Just wait and see."
"Look, luv." He said darkly while he was getting his face too close to hers. "If I don't get to fuck her tonight and you have something to do with it, I swear to the Gods that you'll regret the day this gorgeous ass was born –" and then he managed to give her a quick pinch on her ass, which made her shriek and blush. She didn't see that one coming. "and not even that bastard lapdog will be able to save you."
"You're bluffing." She dared to reply.
"You know I'm not…" His voice was so threatening and sinful that she wanted to flee from the room as soon as possible. "luv..." That last word, the pet word she hated so much, was whispered close to her ear with such a slowness and intensity, so full of horror that it took her breath away – in an extremely negative way, of course.
Shortly after that, Sharpner left the study room, much to Videl's poor heart's relief.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Dinnertime arrived and Videl was still upset about Sharpner's confrontation in Kami's study room that afternoon. And Gohan hadn't appeared either: he had made it a habit, coming in to say "hi" or something during the afternoon. But that day he didn't.
Was he mad at her? Was he embarrassed to see her after what had happened? Was that the reason why he didn't come to dinner either?
Sharpner was glaring suspiciously at Videl all the time, and she could only hope he'd like what he'd see that night at the brothel. She hoped her plan might work, otherwise she'd wish she'd rather be dead. She shivered at the thought and wondered where Gohan was. It was as if he had suddenly disappeared – and no one noticed his absence or asked anything about him. No one seemed to miss him. It gave Videl the terrible feeling that it was as if he had never existed at all, as if his existence was pointless.
An unbearable sadness overpowered the awkwardness which had been triggered in the morning and her afternoon fears. What a chaotic, depressing day! She hoped the night would provide some entertainment: she was determined to go to the brothel and see how the whole thing would develop with her own eyes. She'd be there for support, if needed. Erasa was a good friend, in spite of her straightforwardness and her social position.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
It was way past midnight, at that imprecise hour when drunkenness and carelessness become the norm.
Soft, slow and lazy music was being played in the background, in the semi-darkness of that huge room, in that good-for-nothing, godforsaken corner of the world. Nobody cared to listen, oh, but soon they would. They: the lost, the proud or the careless trapped souls of that old brothel.
West City's brothel was about to experience a revolution that night. It would soon no longer be simply called a brothel if the people realised what was really about to happen. But meanwhile the men were complaining, and Sharpner was among them. The girls were nowhere to be seen. Outrage filled their lungs and the men's whistling eventually became a deafening cry for attention.
In the backstage of that amateur, improvised stage made of spare parts of old tables, with huge red velvet curtains hanging from either side professing some silent, obscure secret, the girls were getting ready.
"Erasa?!" Videl exclaimed hopelessly, coming in the backstage in a rush.
"Yo-What?!" Erasa returned quite startled at her friend's sudden outburst while she was getting ready to dance.
"Maron's leg is injured! She fell this afternoon! She can't dance!" Videl yelled in panic.
"Ah… Yes, I know!" Erasa replied matter-of-factly and went on getting dressed.
"WHAT?!" Videl spit back at her like an angry mother. "Why didn't you tell me, you moron?!"
"Because you don't have to worry. It's nothing. She's taken care of it herself. It's all sorted." Erasa replied with calmness.
"Oh, really? The first lady for the show is injured and I didn't devise a backup plan. No other dancer can perform the way she can. How will you solve this, pray?"
"Easy." Erasa smirked devilishly. "You." She winked an eye at her.
Videl stared at her, blankly, at a loss about what to think, do or say. She was frozen at Erasa's wickedness. The more she knew her, the darker and more sinful her image of her became. For a second, she thought that maybe Erasa's mind had no boundaries or restraints at all when it comes to sex and being kinky.
"Me?" Videl whispered back hesitating, hoping she'd heard it wrong.
"Yeap!" Erasa exclaimed happily.
"No fucking way!" Videl replied in anger.
"Look who's speaking rogue now…" Erasa chuckled after that.
"I've never spoken like a high and mighty m'lady, so don't mock me, Erasa! This is serious!"
"I know, but it is often too obvious that you're the learned type. It won't do you no harm to play naughty for one night."
"No, Erasa. Focus:" Videl went on worried like never before. "the plan was to direct Sharpner's attention from you to some other whore. He was getting too attached to you; and I'm awfully scared of him and hate him to the core. He's come to see me this afternoon, Erasa! He's threatened me! Can't you see this is dangerous for me too?! So I'm not dancing in the leading role even though I was the one who's taught you how to do it in the first place. So now what?! What are we going to do? I'm not dancing! I don't want him to think that I'm available!"
"Of course you're not available." Erasa replied and fell silent, wearing a star-illuminated smile on her face, pregnant of a striking, wild idea of hers.
"What's that stupid, wicked smile of yours supposed to mean?" Videl asked meanly at her, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Beware the wolf, little red riding-hood Videl." Erasa said coming dangerously closer to her and whispering it as if she was tantalizing her. "He may come to you and eat you whole tonight."
Both of them fell silent for some precious seconds. Videl's eyes glowed naively, but when she realised what Erasa implied, that is Gohan, she started stammering something incoherent which Erasa couldn't make out.
"I know, babe." Erasa replied as if she had understood Videl's babbling, mocking her. She gently got hold of both Videl's cheeks and added, whispering with a lust-geared determination: "Get ready, Videl…"
"He's not "eating" me tonight!" Videl replied in anger, getting rid of Erasa's hands on her cheeks.
"Get ready TO DANCE, Videl. We still need a leading dancer. And stop worrying about Sharpner: I have an idea." Erasa replied matter-of-factly, as if all was under control.
Having said that, Erasa threw a sexy dancing dress at Videl, smiled wickedly and left. Videl was left alone to change her clothes and pondered on whether Gohan would be there for the show… or after it.
To eat her whole.
She sighed one lonely sigh.
That same morning she'd only told him that she was helping Erasa, but she never actually mentioned the show, the day or the hour of the performance – and she didn't regret it. Therefore, how could he possibly be there that night?
Did she really need to worry about it?
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Dear readers,
This is it! One more chapter. Hot stuff around the corner already, huh? ;) Will Videl dance on the dancefloor? Will Gohan be there to see it? Will Erasa ever change her wicked ways? Will Sharpner kill Videl or threaten her once more?
Be patient, my dear readers. Everything is under control! :) If you see any mistakes, typos, ANYTHING… feel free to tell me. Good God, my eyes are killing me sometimes!
Love,
Denim Jean
PS: By the way, the brothel girls are real DB and DBZ characters. Did you recognise them? If you didn't, just check DB wiki. Their profile images might help you recognise them! ;)
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
PS: Hello again!
I've read all your comments so far and I'm thrilled. Thank you for your feedback! :)
The thing is, my dear Heseltine, I had written this story ORIGINALLY for GOT, not DBZ… :( I know, I know… Such a shame! But anyway, the thing is the Find/Replace function in Word is driving me insane at the moment because it's not working properly. Some place names, for example, got away! Aaargh! God, I swear I'll revise the whole thing MANUALLY from now on! So a billon thanks for telling me! The story was meant to be only about DBZ, even though I admitted I had had a lot of input from GOT as well. Aaaaand… honestly, I had no idea about what to substitute "the Wall" for. But I think I've just found something (muahahaha… thank you so fucking much for the new idea, DBZ wiki!). So, I've just revised it and uploaded an updated version of these 2 first chapters.
Anyway, enough babbling! ;P
And read on, fellas!
