[AN: This is where things diverge a little. The original Saiyaman scene is from the manga. I'm not keeping the Saiyaman filler in there. And yes, I've stopped using the show's dialogue precisely. There's nothing wrong with it, it will just flow better from Videl's POV if I change it a little.]

Gohan was so infuriating! Every time she thought she had a lead on him, he'd disappear. At first, she tried to follow him when he left school; she wanted to know how he got home. But no matter how quickly she went, he always slipped away.

It was strange how much she was getting into the chase. For all she knew, he wasn't a crimefighter. Maybe he had another secret. Maybe he did drugs or something. OK, maybe not that. But the more she talked to him in class, the more she felt like he was hiding something. Whenever she asked him about what he used to do before coming to Orange Star, he would give a nervous laugh and only give vague answers.

After some investigation in the school directory, she saw he really DID live a couple of hours away. He wasn't lying there. And when she looked his house up, she saw it really WAS the middle of nowhere. Orange Star probably was the closest school to his house. If that was true, she felt a little sorry for him. No wonder he was home-schooled.

But Videl was still sure she knew Gohan from somewhere. His face looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where from. So she decided to do the first thing you do when you want to know someone. Look them up online.

Typing 'Son Gohan' into an online search engine, she got quite a few matches. Videl thought if he had been in a competition with her, it would show up his name. Unfortunately, most of the best matches were websites advertising different forms of rice. This is what happens when you're named after food, she thought.

But, a few pages down, there was a link to an archive of old newspapers. 'Love and War at the Budokai', proclaimed the article.

The Budokai? Maybe it was about her dad! Videl opened the article. Since she was still looking it up from a search, key words were still highlighted automatically.

Love and War at the Budokai

It was a thrilling day at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai Martial Arts Tournament, where anything seems possible. You can believe a pig can fly after watching these trained martial art masters in action, as they show the true limit of what human beings are capable of.

The winner of this illustrious tournament was the crowd favourite, 18-year-old Son Goku. After becoming the youngest ever finalist in the Budokai at the age of 12, he has beaten all records to become the youngest ever champion on his third attempt.

"It was obvious that Goku was going to win," said quarter-finalist and friend to Son, Krillin. "He's always been the strongest among us. Honestly, he should have won years ago."

Son Goku has had two failed grand final attempts before this, losing narrowly in the 21st and 22nd tournaments, before making it third time lucky on this day. But it wasn't an easy victory. Son Goku defeated his rival Demon Jr. after a long fight where even the spectators had to evacuate due to dangerous conditions, including the destruction of the arena itself. Demon Jr. shocked the entire stadium by revealing himself to be the son of the Demon King Piccolo himself. The incredible fight between these two masters ended in a simple ring-out. The adjudicator joked that defining the boundaries was difficult once the arena itself was destroyed!

There were also shocks of a different variety. During the quarter-finals, Son Goku's fight against an unnamed woman made Budokai history when Goku surprised the woman with a marriage proposal!

"We've known each other since childhood," the woman told us, 18-year-old Chi-Chi. "He promised to marry me as a child, so it wasn't a shock when he proposed. I just wish he'd understood what marriage was as a child."

When asked what him and his new fiancée would do now he had finally won, Son Goku seemed unsure. "I'm not going to stop training," he said. "Piccolo [Demon Jr., the runner-up] is going to try to defeat me again. I've got to be ready when that happens."

Demon Jr. was unavailable to comment.

Son was thrilled with his victory. "I wish Grandpa Gohan had been here to see this," he said. "He would be so proud."

Chi-Chi explained to us that her and Son Goku would be leaving the Budokai for their wedding, before settling down to live in a remote place in the mountains. "We've got it all set up," said Chi-Chi, her arms fixed around Goku, "And we can start living the rest of our lives together!"

Son Goku was unsure if he would return to defend his title. "I don't think Junior is going to come back. But I wouldn't want to miss a good fight!"

After 3 previous action-packed tournaments, the Budokai will be empty without their so-called "Monkey Boy". But perhaps this will mean, without Son Goku participating, a new generation of martial artists will come to take his place.

Currently, the tournament's organisers are busy rebuilding the arena for the next competition. While they say there may be delays, they promise it will be up and running in a few years.

Whatever happens, it's safe to say the Tenkaichi Budokai will still remain an important event in the hearts of martial arts fans everywhere.

That was an interesting article, thought Videl. Looking at the date, she noticed this was a tournament that took place quite a few years before her father won the Budokai. In fact, she wasn't even born when the article was written. Obviously, the reporter was right about Son Goku not returning. Videl thought she would have remembered if he was there last time.

But, besides that. Son Goku. It was the same last name as Gohan. Was he…his father? It would make sense. The article mentioned him and Chi-Chi living in the mountains – just like where Gohan mentioned he lived. And, if Gohan's father was a former martial arts champion, it might explain why he was so strong. It would be ridiculous to think his father hadn't taught him anything.

"All I need to do is convince him to go to the Budokai," Videl told Erasa on the phone, a few days after school started. "That way, I can see how good he is, and I could work out if he's the Gold Fighter or not."

"Is that all you want?" Erasa asked. "It sounds more like you want to fight him."

"Well, I do," she admitted bluntly. "Think about it; the children of two former champions fighting together! It would be perfect!"

"Still, though, if you want to convince him, you might not want to tell him everything that you did. He might think you're stalking him."

"I'm not stalking him!" she exclaimed. "I'm just…" She wasn't sure how to put it.

"Curious?" Erasa suggested.

"Curious," Videl decided. "There's something strange about him, and I want to know what it is."

"So you're going to fight him? How is that going to tell you anything?"

"You just don't understand," said Videl. "For a martial artist, fighting someone tells you everything."

The next day at school, Videl tried to ask Gohan if he was entering the Budokai, but for some reason, she couldn't work up the courage to say it. It was really strange, she didn't normally have any trouble talking to others, but she just couldn't do it, and she didn't know why. Maybe she thought he would think she really was stalking him?

She was trying to work out what was stopping her during the first-period science class. As usual, no one was paying attention, except for Gohan, who was methodically taking notes. The perfect student as always.

Just then, she got an alert on her watch during the middle of class. Secretly, she was thankful for that. The class was a total bore, she'd rather be off fighting crime. And she got an automatic excuse to leave the class whenever she was contacted.

"Two armed robbers. We're in pursuit," the police officer explained, and gave the address of where they were currently headed.

"I'll be on my way." She hurried off. No class, AND she got to beat up some criminals? This was turning out to be a great day! She'd work out her boy issues when this was all over.

She uncapsuled her helicopter and headed straight for the route. If they were driving in that direction, it was likely she could get ahead of them. Then she could intercept them and hopefully beat them up.

So she landed her helicopter in the middle of the road and waited in front of it. The criminals would be arriving soon. Videl had to admit she was pleased with herself. It felt like a real police roadblock, even if it was just herself.

Eventually, she saw the criminals in their getaway car. They noticed the roadblock and were forced to stop right in front of her. Videl was a little concerned when she saw one of them had a gun. Guns were so cheap! You couldn't fight someone properly if they were shooting at you. She had to trick them into deciding this one on one.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands up," she called to them. "Unless you want to get hurt."

The larger of the duo smirked and walked up to her. "You want to show me how to fight?" he asked her. "I'm pretty tough."

He's underestimating me. Videl smiled. This always happened. All the criminals saw was an unarmed teenage girl. They didn't understand how strong she was, so they assumed they could beat her easily. How wrong they were.

He tried to hit her, but he was too slow, as always. They were always too slow. She didn't have time to mess around, so she hit him in the jaw. He immediately fell to the ground. It was such a satisfying feeling when a hit connected like that.

But while he was mostly unharmed, he refused to give himself up. He tried to hit her again, angry this time, but it was useless. She hit him a few more times and knocked him out.

But she noticed, a little too late, that she had gotten so into the fight, she forgot to keep her eye on the other accomplice. She heard the click of the gun behind her. He was preparing to fire.

…and then she heard his shout of shock.

Videl turned around. The criminal was backing away, his gun on the floor. And in front of him was the man who had clearly disarmed him.

He was wearing a green tunic, along with a red cape and a large helmet that reminded her of one of those Sentai shows. Surprisingly, her first thought was it looks tacky. The colours don't match or anything.

The man picked up the criminal's fallen gun, and crushed in in his hands like it was made of paper.

He turned around and saw her. "Are you OK, Videl?" he asked.

She didn't know how he knew her name. "I'm fine," she said dismissively. Now that the immediate threat was over, she felt a little embarrassed that she had to be saved by him. She was sent in to deal with the criminals, no one was supposed to look out for her! What if he was someone sent by the police to check up on her? What if they didn't trust her after all?

The criminal stared at him in astonishment. "Wh-what…" he blabbered. "Who are you?"

"Oh…" the hero looked around a few times to check no one else was there, and then started.

Like straight out of a Sentai show, he posed. In fact, he made a few poses. This person had clearly been practicing their dance choreography.

"I am the guardian of the city, the defender of justice!" Finally, he placed his hands above his heads in a M symbol.

"I AM THE GREAT SAIYAMAN!"

It took Videl a few seconds to process these strange actions. She immediately felt disappointed. He's acting like this is a TV show or something. It removed any sort of presence he might have had. Whoever this person is, they must be a total dork.

Then it hit her. There was only one person she could think of that could both be a superhero whilst still being a dork. And, if she was right, it would be a perfect opportunity.

But then she realised the criminal was getting away. He must have used the heroes' little routine as cover to escape.

"So long, suckers!" he yelled at them as he drove off.

But the Great Saiyaman wasn't having any of that. He just…flew after him. He was flying. Definitely flying. She would have thought it was a trick, but she could clearly see him in the air. She could only stare, open-mouthed. He can fly? How is that even possible? It's like I've stepped into a superhero movie, except…it's real.

He returned, holding the criminal in his hands.

"Videl, cuff them," he said.

"Sure," she replied. "I'll leave them here for the cops."

His voice was another dead giveaway, she realised. He still sounded the same. She walked up to this…Great Saiyaman. She had to word what she said carefully.

"So, Gohan," she started, trying to sound as casual as possible. "How did you manage to get out of school?"

"Oh, it was easy!" said the Great Saiyaman eagerly. "I just told them I was going to the bathroom, and then I-"

He stopped, suddenly realising what he had said, and what it meant.

I knew it! Videl looked at him, waiting for him to respond.

Saiyaman- or should we say Gohan- fidgeted nervously. "How did you know it was me?" he asked.

"It was pretty obvious," Videl replied. "You knew my name. And your voice is still the same. And you act the same way."

"Please don't tell anyone!" he begged.

"Oh, I won't," she said, fighting the desire to laugh. She had him now.

Gohan sighed in relief. "Oh, thank-"

"On one condition."

For a split second, Videl thought Gohan might refuse, but he finally said "OK, sure. What is it?"

"That you fight in the Tenkaichi Budokai with me. It's in a few weeks, and I want to see what you can do."

Gohan looked horrified at first. I can't see why he'd be scared, she thought. He seems to be pretty good. I doubt he'd make a fool of himself.

But then he seemed confused.

"How do you know I can fight?" he asked.

"Well, for starters, what you did back there. I can tell you know some stuff. Plus, I know the previous champion was Son Goku. That's your father, right?"

Gohan nodded, unsure of how she knew all this.

"So, what do you say?"

"Um…" Gohan hesitated for a while, as if he was weighing up the options in his head. "Alright."

"Then it's a deal!" Videl giggled. This was perfect! One blackmail and she managed to get Gohan to fight at the Budokai with her.

But there was one more thing she needed to know. "You're not the Gold Fighter, are you?" she demanded.

"What? …no, of course not!"

She almost didn't believe him. But, at the same time, what were the chances that Gohan was two different superheroes? The Gold Fighter was probably someone else. But she still wanted to see what Gohan could do at the tournament.

She started walking back to the helicopter. "Here, I'll give you a lift back to school."

"Oh, you don't need to," said Gohan. He started rising in the air.

Right, he can fly. I almost forgot about that. "I insist," she said. "Think of it as a favour for helping me."

Gohan shrugged his shoulders. "Alright."

As he started climbing into the helicopter after her, Videl asked the question that had been bugging her for the past few minutes. "How do you fly? Did you fall into toxic waste or something stupid like that?"

He chuckled. "Oh, no, it's not like that. Really, flying isn't that difficult when you learn how to."

"Learn how to? Can you teach me?"

He considered it. "I guess I can try. But if you can't do it, don't worry about it. It might be a bit too advanced for you."

How could he say that? What does he think I am, 10 years old? "I'll try it myself before you start making assumptions!"

It's that attitude, she thought. That attitude that everyone else is beneath him. I thought he wouldn't be like that. Especially not to me.

People had been underestimating her for her entire life. She didn't want HIM doing it as well.

When they arrived back at school, Videl stopped him. "You go in first," she said. "Say whatever you want, but not the truth. I'll come in a few minutes after you. That way, it won't look like I came with you."

"You mean you really won't tell anyone?" Gohan looked glad, and a little surprised.

"Of course not," she said. "A deal's a deal. But don't forget to keep your part of the bargain."

"I won't." Gohan smiled a little as he ran towards the classroom's entrance.