Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ
...
Videl fiddled with the card in her hand, the one that Yamcha had given her two days ago. No doubt this was the place she was looking for, but at the same time it was the place she most feared. Her breakfast sat in front of her, growing colder by the second. Yet she would not touch it, the card was calling to her in an alluring tone, as if urging her to take a bite of something forbidden. To gamble with fate so much so that it could cost either her sanity or her life. She may have been overemphasizing the whole ordeal but that's what it almost felt like.
A door opened behind her, signalling that either her father or brother had awoken this Sunday morning. Shoving the card quickly in her pocket, she picked up the remains of breakfast and tossed them in the bed before the kitchen door opened. "Morning Videl," said Hercule as he walked in, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "What are you going to do today?"
"Nothing," replied Videl without looking at her father. "Probably see what Erasa is doing."
"So long as it has nothing to do with that Sharpner boy, he isn't in my good books at the moment and until he is I forbid you from seeing him," said Hercule with venom on his tongue.
"I'm not a kid, you can't tell me what I can and can't do," said Videl before she stormed, preventing Hercule from replying. He stood there, staring at the open door as if it signalled the distance that he was starting to grow with his daughter. With a defeated sigh, he set about preparing himself for the busy schedule the day had in store for him.
...
"I saw your advertisement in the paper," said Erasa slowly, looking at her potential employers. "I'm not very used to this kind of work, or any work really but..."
"Don't worry," said the man as he placed a hand on her shoulder, all three of his eyes focused on the girl in front of him. "You've shown the courage to stay even though you're clearly uncomfortable, that makes you the perfect candidate."
"You mean it?" asked Erasa, her eyes lighting up with hope.
"Your first shift starts tomorrow," said Tien with a smile.
...
Videl found herself walking the streets, walking simply to get away from that place she called a home. She had tried to get in contact with Erasa but the girl's mobile had been switched off for some odd reason, the girl's phone was never switched off, it was never on silent even. So either she'd lost it or it was broken, Videl had thought, although if she had broken it she was probably at the store buying a new one at the moment.
Videl contemplated ringing Sharpner, just to mock her father when her phone rang. Looking at the screen, she saw Erasa's name flashing at her, which only added to her curiosity. "What's happening Erasa?" she asked when she placed her phone to her ear.
"I've been at a job interview," said Erasa in her bubbly tone from across the line.
"You know what happened last time you went for a job at a clothes store," said Videl placing her vacant hand to her forehead, remembering the incident clearly.
"It's not at a clothes store though," said Erasa defending her situation. "And you and I both know that I was right in what I did."
"Where is it then?" asked Videl, trying to keep away from the other topic altogether.
"It's at that dojo we went to a while ago, I applied for the job there as a receptionist and got it," exclaimed Erasa but Videl was only half listening after the word dojo. Even though she fought crime on a regular basis, her best friend had more courage than her by simply going to a place she didn't want to. "Videl...Videl are you there?" asked Erasa snapping Videl back to reality.
"Yeah, congratulations," said Videl but her mood wasn't as enthusiastic as she would have liked it to be.
"Thanks, one of the guys there also said that the first training session was going to be tomorrow at noon, sort of like an introductory thing," explained Erasa.
"Cheers, anyway I've got to go so I'll see you later," said Videl.
"Sure thing, see you later then," replied Erasa before the connection cut. As it did, Videl's arm dropped to her side. Erasa had just told her the time when everything was going to be in place and making a solemn vow, she was not going to break it. She would be there, ready to face her demons, not only that, but she would win.
...
"You seem determined," said Mark as Videl continued to unleash a flurry of kicks into the bag in front of her.
"I need to be ready," said Videl, her pace not diverting in the slightest as she continued to channel blows into the bag which was beginning to look worse for wear.
"Let me guess," said Mark with a concealed smirk spread across his face. "You're preparing yourself for the opening training session at that gym tomorrow." Videl's kicks came to an abrupt halt as she turned around to look at her brother. "I'm on the money aren't I?"
"How do you know about that?" asked Videl.
"James, one of the men who had quit the dojo came crawling back, begging dad to let him rejoin in exchange for information," stated Mark. "All dad wanted to hear was their opening date before he told James that he would have to work twice as hard as before. Everything is back to the way it was." Videl remained silent, taking this information in before turning back towards the punching bag, starting to work on her punches. Mark continued, "Some of the other information we got was that one of their sensei's, the short one I think, has been in three of the last four tournaments, made it to the semi finals of each one. He should be able to teach you something of a middle range fighter, you might even learn how to fight people taller than you."
Mark burst into laughter as he walked out of the room, Videl having stopped her punching taking it in. In a burst of anger, her fist rocketed towards the punching bags with such strength it almost bust her knuckles. Her fist remained there, planted within the material as her face hung low. She looked back up at the bag, knowing that any fighter to teach her would be better than anyone at her father's gym, screamed through gritted teeth. The boxing bag seemed to be replaced by the figure of her brother, tormenting her and laughing all the while. She would not rest for several hours.
...
Videl stood there, breathing deeply as she looked at the door to the dojo. Around the building, it was clear that some improvements had been made, it no longer looked like the place was going to fall down at any second. There was no sign however indicating that this was a dojo, or even a store of any kind as if they weren't worried about attracting customers, either that or they didn't want to scare anybody off.
Inhaling, Videl stepped forward and placed her hand on the handle before letting herself inside. Immediately she saw the decorations which made her believe she was in a traditional dojo some centuries ago. The water feature was still running calming her soul. "Videl," squealed Erasa from behind the counter alerting Videl of her presence.
"Never thought I'd see you on the opposite side of the counter," joked Videl as she stepped forward to see her friend.
"It's great here, it's just so peaceful," said Erasa closing her eyes and listening to the water running.
"Tranquil," admitted Videl.
Erasa quickly snapped back to attention. "You're here for the training Videl, aren't you," assumed Erasa. "They're just about to start in there."
"Cheers," said Videl stepping around the corner, giving a quick wave to her friend. As she walked into the same room she had last time, she saw five people standing upright barefoot in the dirt. Kicking off her shoes and socks, placing them by the wall as she did, she joined the five of them and tried to look like she belonged there.
"Hey Videl," said Sharpner noticing the girl next to him, shocking Videl in the process.
"Sharpner?" exclaimed Videl looking at her friend. "What are you doing here?"
"Sensei Gohan took me in," explained Sharpner not taking his eyes off the front of the room as a door nearby opened. Everyone stood completely upright and stared at the wall in front of them as footsteps were heard behind them. Slowly, the four sensei's walked in one after the other, Gohan leading the way. He turned to face the potential students, Tien, Yamcha and Krillen lining up behind him one by one. He looked at them, staring them down one after the other as if analysing them. Videl could feel beads of sweat forming on her brow, the last thing she wanted was for him to unleash his willpower. The students all inhaled deeply as Gohan spoke.
"You all look completely stupid like that you know," he said causing them to fall over in an instance. Krillen and Yamcha struggled to keep their laughter hidden as Tien smiled at the sight while they got back to their feet. "In here," continued Gohan, "There is no master of martial arts, simply because one cannot be a master. We are all students and we can all become better at what we do."
"So what do we address you as?" asked Freed recovering first.
"There are no titles, simply call us by our names as if you would a friend," said Gohan. "Us four standing up here have fought tooth and nail many times before, fighting as if our lives depend on it. Yet while our skills may be similar, they are never identical. We can't teach you to how to win championships, but we will teach you how to fight to the best of your ability. We will not be teaching you an individual style of fighting, we will help you create your own."
Videl smiled, she was happy that she had worked up the courage to come. "So you'll be working us up by scratch?" asked Sharpner.
"Not completely," said Krillen stepping forward. "I myself was trained under the turtle hermit Master Roshi, known as a living legend amongst some of the greatest fighters the world has ever known. In twenty years, he managed to master a single technique which he himself created. After showing it to me and my friend, we were able to use it in less than a month."
"What technique takes twenty years to master?" asked a female student, the only other girl besides Erasa and Videl in the room.
Yamcha smiled as he stepped forward. "This technique is not something easily conducted, it took me several months to learn, even more so to get it to a stage where it could be used in a fight. We will not be focusing on Roshi's techniques for the time being, rather we need to see what you are capable of and how we are going to proceed in helping you improve."
"How we going to do that?" asked Videl.
A smirk spread across Tien's face as he stepped forward. When Videl saw the third eye in the centre of his forehead she got scared, especially when it moved to look around at everyone. "We will be having fights to analyse your strengths and your weaknesses before devising a plan to help you improve."
"So we're going to be fighting each other," stated the final guy in the room.
"No," said Gohan calmly. "You're going to be fighting us."
...
For those of you who remember this fic from when it was owned by Razamataz22, be prepared because from here on out it's all original.