Right, here we are, new month, new chapter. It won't be this slow for the next chapter, it's half term the week after next so should get a chapter out by then. Cheers for being so patient. Doot.

The song for this chapter is by the fantastic band Girls off their debut album 'Album', it is called, unsurprisingly 'Lust For Life'.

Also, I'm British, English to be precise, so I'm going to be using Sterling as the currency purely for convenience sake.


Lust For Life

At the time it seemed like a really great idea. Gohan knew that helping her with work would be far easier than teaching her to fly, and he would also benefit from the extra time spent studying. This would be especially important now considering the new job as protector of the city that he had taken up. It wasn't that Gohan particularly wanted to have the expectations of a city weighing almost solely on his shoulders; he just couldn't take seeing innocent people being harmed. That group he had taken out were an eye-opener for him. He knew that there were beings out in the universe that killed indiscriminately, he had experienced it first hand, but they always seemed to have some sort of end objective that had some sort of twisted logic to it. That lot though…what he couldn't get out of his head was 'What would murdering a group of innocent toddlers in cold blood lead to?' However, he didn't have time to mull over these things; he had to get to a certain girl's house, and sharpish.

The previous day had progressed quite quickly after the incident at the nursery for Gohan. Videl was still staring at him, but not quite as intently, she was far more secretive about it now. It didn't bother Gohan, she seemed pretty mental to him yeah, but then again, everyone at that school appeared batshit to Gohan. It was a culture clash. Luckily, he'd managed to get back to school in time for the end of lunch, meaning his absence had gone unnoticed. As far as he could tell, other than Eraser and now Videl obviously, no one particularly cared about him. He wouldn't have had it any other way.

His second day of school had been a lot more incident free, thank God. He'd got into school, on time, made small talk with Eraser, for some reason she kept trying to stray on to the topic of relationships. But he could deal with that. Other than staring at him, Videl had done little else; it seemed as if she was a little scared to talk to him. The only thing of note that had happened during lunch had been, coincidentally, Videl giving him a note. Well…by give, what's really meant is that Videl ACTUALLY gave the note to Eraser, who gave it to Gohan. For a note, it hadn't really been that significant, just directions to her house. He was quite surprised at the fact that she wanted to do the homework sessions at her home, he'd have thought the library was more suitable. Going to her house wasn't a problem though; it wasn't like this was a date or anything, it was purely helping out a classmate with her work and that was it. An extremely attractive classmate with that tight behi - bad thoughts, she has feelings too.

Gohan exited the school gates and crossed the road as he headed in the direction of the bus stop, which was currently vacant, conveniently placed outside the school for students use. When mentioning that the note had 'directions' to her house, what was really said on it was, 'Catch the 367 and get off at Merriweather road it's the house with the picture of Hercule Satan on the front of the gates'. Gohan was quite excited about this, not the helping out at her house, the catching of a bus; he had never caught a bus before you see. The service for Satan City didn't extend out of the city; it stopped at the edge of the suburbs. The bus stop itself was a basic structure, a large roof held up by two walls made of glass at the back and right-hand side. A small LED screen indicated which bus was coming next and when it was due. Luckily for Gohan, the screen currently read that the 367 was the next due, in 2 minutes to be precise. It was strange how time seemed to work, a bus in 10 minutes would have felt like waiting for one in 30 minutes, however a bus in 2 minutes felt like waiting for one in 30 seconds, it wasn't in anyway proportionate. As anticipated, the 2 minutes disappeared and the red single-decker bus had now pulled up in front of Gohan, its open doors inviting him in. He stepped through them and looked at the man behind the perspex window.

"One adult ticket please". The driver looked back blankly as if Gohan had insulted his mother's cooking, his greasy long brown hair trailing down the side of his head as he peered over his sunglasses. There was a silence between the two as the stare-off that had started began to develop. A few seconds more and the driver had still said nothing; awkwardness was beginning to set in. Something HAD to be said.

"Erm…so…how much will that be, kind sir?" Gohan was unsure as to whether his tone or something related to what he said had upset the man. He knew the 'kind sir' was taking the piss a little bit, but he hoped it would emphasise the fact that he hadn't meant to offend him.

"That will be 2 pound 20, KIND SIR!" Well, clearly, someone wasn't a happy bunny. But at least Gohan had got some type of response, even though it had been surprisingly aggressive. Rummaging through his right pocket Gohan fiddled with his unseen change and spilled it out into the blue crevice-like tray/gap in the perspex window. The driver placed a small ticket, made out of the same thin paper as supermarket receipts, on the tray as he scooped up the coins. Giving Gohan one last disparaging look, he activated the closing mechanism for the doors and the bus pulled away. Gohan found himself a seat at the back of the bus and sat next to a hooded figure who had their mobile phone gripped in his right hand. Suddenly a tinny noise sprung forth from the small black block, an indistinguishable sound that seemed to be some sort of music. Gohan looked at the owner of this screeching machine who seemed to be taking little notice of those around him, or her, he wasn't sure due to the large hood hiding their profile. What he did know, however, was that it was going to be a long, tiresome journey.


Videl peered out of her bedroom window, the lush green lawn stretching out in front of her as the copious driveway her father had installed when building the house wound its way through the pure deep green, all the way up to those garish gates with her father's face plastered on them. It was already 5:30, and Gohan had agreed that he would turn up by 5:00. It wasn't like she was that bothered about the timing, just as long he actually showed up and helped her with her homework. A bus pulled up at the small stop just beyond the gates and a figure exited from the doors. Gohan. Turning away from the window, she waited for the buzzer on the gate to ring. Nothing. She waited, but still, nothing. Suddenly there was a sharp knock at the front door and Videl was finally forced to vacate her room. She turned the lock and pulled the door open to reveal a stoic-faced Gohan.

"Gohan…why didn't you ring the bell?" In her entire life she had never encountered anyone who didn't ring the bell in front of the rather over-sized and intimdating gates.

"There was a bell? Who needs a bell when you can knock on a door." He had a point, a very vague point. Gohan stared at her, still little emotion showing in his well-defined face. "So, are we gonna get started?" He began to take his bag off his shoulder.

"Oh...yeah. Sure." Videl blurted out as Gohan disturbed her nervous daydream. "Erm…yeah…let's get going. Do you want to do it in…NOT IT, I mean my w-work in the kitchen or my bedroom?" Videl's cheeks turned a deep crimson as she began to blush heavily. Gohan's face finally showed a hint of reaction, through a contortion of his eyebrows, mouth, eyes and ears which she assumed could only confusion or he had done something unspeakable in his trousers.

"Does your kitchen have a desk?"

"No, but it has the counter."

"Does your bedroom have a desk?" Gohan seemed to take little notice of her suggestion of a counter. What was so wrong with a counter? Arsehole.

"Yeah…it does, soooooo upstairs?" She half-wanted him to say no. It felt strange inviting someone she barely knew, let alone a boy, into her bedroom. He indicated with his free hand to the stairs while holding his bag in the other.

"Lead the way." They ascended the stairs and entered Videl's bedroom through a surprisingly large white door. The room itself was also rather large, however it was made to seem even bigger by the lack of items within it. The walls were a bright white and the entire theme of the rooms seemed to be white; carpet, bed, drapes, desk and even her television were white. It was slightly unnerving for Gohan, felt as if he was stepping into a room designed for scientific purposes that had been sterilised on a daily basis, for all he knew, it could well have. As Gohan surveyed the room, he failed to notice an attractive young, and very impatient, girl looking up at him.

"Erm…Gohan…can we start, or are you just going to carry on admiring the drapes?"

He paused to look at her.

"You gots yerself some might fine drapes lady." Gohan replied in a mock hillbilly accent as he gave her a cheeky smile and a wink. Videl felt her knees weaken. "Right, so…erm…yeah let's do this, what work are you yet to do?"

"I've got that English work about the significance of the old man in the Pardoner's Tale still to do, think you can help me with that?" Why was she even asking? It wasn't like Gohan was going to turn to her and say 'No, fuck that, Pardoner's Tale? Please, don't waste my time'. He was here to help and that, surprisingly, was what he was going to do.

"Sure, I can do that". Gohan repressed the slight anger that had bubbled within him. Going through human puberty with Saiyan blood meant that he was inclined to…fly off the handle for the most obscure of things. He plastered on the old tried and tested Son grin as Videl offered him a seat. She moved toward the door as Gohan began to get his copy of the text out of his bag.

"Gohan, do you want a cup of coffee or tea or something?"

"Oh yeah, erm, could I have some tea please?"


"So right, what we can see, basically, is that the old man is effectively an enigma, there's no 100% certainty over what he's actually meant to be. Some argue that he is Death, however there is no definite idea we can point to that proves this to be entirely correct, that's what makes him such a good topic for an essay." Videl hadn't even begun to write her essay on the subject they had been given by their English tutor due to the fact that Gohan had spent the last hour explaining the entire topic to her.

"Okay, I think I get it now Gohan, but I'm a little worn out at the moment, how about we take a break?" As informative as Gohan's lesson may have been, Videl needed a break to let it all sink into her brain. Not only this, but she wanted to get to know Gohan a little better, throughout the lesson he had radiated a feeling of discomfort and it hadn't helped in anyway. "You fancy a coke or something?" Please say yes. Gohan looked at the white clock on her wall, 6:30, he may as well, he had time.

"Yeah, sure, why not?". He followed her out the room and down the spiral staircase, he's eyes readjusting to the lack of white, the walls were painted a deep royal blue. They proceeded into the kitchen. It appeared to be fairly modern with all types of random cooking utensils that they obviously didn't use, for instance, the ice cream maker. Videl opened the fridge and pulled out two cans of coke, their red surfaces dripping with condensation. She set the pair of drinks down on the black, granite worktop surface and took a seat on the far side of the counter. Gohan took his seat and cracked the can open with one hand while he nervously scratched a mosquito bite on his leg that had been troubling him all day with the other. It was strange how the mosquitos round his house had managed to adapt to the rock hard Saiyan skin, but then again, it was strange that he could fly. Videl rested her head on her right hand and sighed loudly, hoping to get the black haired youth's attention. It appeared she was going to have to break the ice.

"So Gohan…how long have you been able to fly?" It was an obvious topic, but she really wanted to know.

"I don't really want to talk about this Videl…can we talk about…I dunno…shopping?" He had been told that's what all girls liked, shopping. Then again, it had been Sharpener who gave him that advice and while Gohan wasn't one to judge right away, he appeared to be one of the biggest tossers he had met in his entire life.

"Oh coooome on Gohan, you might as well, I won't tell anyone okay? Plus you'll be coming here on a regular occasion so we might as well get to know each other a little better." As much as he hated to admit it, she had a point. He gazed at her for moment, giving no emotion away, he was good at that and he knew it.

"Okay, fine, I'll tell you, have you ever heard of the man Son Goku?"

"Of course I have, he won the World Martial Arts Tournament a while back, apparently he could do all the stu…wait…Son Goku, like Son Gohan…don't tell me, he's your Father?" This would explain a lot.

"Yeah, you got it, he's my Dad. Weehehehell, he kinda taught me how to do all I can do I guess." He hoped that would be the end of it, that she wouldn't interrogate him further.

"But my Dad told me that it was all tricks and that real fighters don't do that…" She was stopped mid-sentence by the now melted can that sat in front of her, a small silver pool forming around it as it began to cool. Videl looked back up at the Saiyan in horror. He smirked back at her.

"Tricks eh? I can assure you Videl, what I do are not tricks, they have taken a long time to master, something your Father probably refuses to believe. But speaking of Fathers, where does yours happen to be?" It was his turn now. He wasn't going to let her hold all the cards in this relationship. Gohan made a mental note to clear up the mess he had made with the can when it had cooled as Videl's demeanour changed dramatically.

"Well, yeah, he's…he's out I guess, I don't really know what he gets up to most of the time, you can normally find him downtown. He likes to flaunt his cash, one-night stands...you know. But hey, ever since my mum…passed away…well, it's always been like that." Gohan looked down at the counter as he began to fidget uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry Videl…I…I didn't know, I'm, well, I'm sorry." He truly was. Guilt was pumping through his veins as he stared down at his hands. He could've sworn he heard a couple of stifled sniffles come from her direction. If he had felt guilty before, he felt as if he had murdered a litter of new-born kittens now.

"It's…it's okay Gohan, you weren't to know, I'm just gonna go for a sec." She got up from her seat to retrieve a box of tissues from her bedroom. Once she had got up the spiral staircase she broke into a run and having made sure the door was shut, threw herself onto the bed, letting the tears flow freely. Even though it had happened when she was very young, the memory of her mother was still very vivid in her mind and it hurt every day when she looked over at the picture she had of her on her bedside table. There was a slight creek as she heard the door being opened. Rubbing her eyes, she turned to look over at the source of the noise. Gohan was leaning on the door-frame with his arms crossed, scratching the back of his head intermittently.

"Uh, yeah, Videl…erm…I know I said I'm sorry back downstairs, but if it makes you feel any better, I know how you feel." This was news to Videl, Gohan struck her as one of the most happy-go-lucky people she had ever met. Then again, it's not like she knew him that well.

"What do you mean?" This was going to hurt Gohan more than he wanted it to, but seeing Videl descend into such a fit of despair had brought back emotions he thought he had long supressed.

"Well, my Dad…he's not with us anymore either…I just thought I'd let you know that I know where you're coming from and I'm here for you." He looked down at the floor as moved his feet anxiously. Videl looked at the figure before her, it was extraordinary how with those words, she felt her and Gohan grow tenfold closer. There was a short silence as Videl regained her composure and blew her nose a couple of times.

"Well, how about we get working again?" Videl inquired as she clapped her hands together, hoping to gain Gohan's full attention. The boy in question, awoke from his thoughts with a start and tried to regain his balance with the assistance of the door.

"Oh…yeah, that's a good idea, let's try and get that essay of yours done." He sat down next to her at the desk and they began.


"Well, okay Videl, I think you have a pretty damn good essay there." Gohan stated as he gathered his things up and shoved them into his bag. He was quite pleased with the work they had got done that evening. However, what he was more pleased about was the fact that he felt like he had made a real friend today, someone outside of the Z fighters. Videl was beside herself with joy, this had to be the best essay she had ever written and Gohan's guidance had been so well balanced that she actually felt it had been her who wrote it.

They walked to her front door and stopped to say goodbye to one another. They both fidgeted as they waited for one another to do something. Gohan looked down at the young girl in front of him and could of sworn that those stunning blue eyes looked at his mouth for a split second. Did she want to kiss him? Did he want to kiss her? Find out on the next exciting episode of DRAGONBALL Z!...or not. This was happening way to quickly for Gohan, they had been staring at each for at least half a minute, looking away at moments as if they had heard something. Gohan decided to make a move. Mustering up all his courage he leaned, Videl, anticipating this, also began to gradually move onto the tips of her toes. What was he doing? He couldn't kiss Videl! He had school to worry about! A girlfriend would be too much work. As these questions ran through his head, Gohan's sub-conscious took over and he pulled out at the last moment. At the same time he, without thinking, put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair slowly. She looked up at him in amazement.

"Um yeah, guess I better be hittin' the dusty trail." With that Gohan removed his hand from her head, quickly opened the door and exited in a flash, his bag trailing behind him. Leaving Videl to ponder over what had just happened.


This was bad. This was oh so bad. Gohan could not believe he was doing this. Here he was, waiting behind the sports hall for Videl. He hadn't actually had the balls to ask her to come, he'd asked Eraser to do it for him. He wasn't sure if she had actually done it, she seemed strangely unsurprised at him asking her and even more strange, she didn't flirt with him. This couldn't be right, she had to be ill. But more to the point, Gohan was now waiting for Videl, the girl who he had shared that wonderful awkward moment with. Oh dear, footsteps, here we go, time to get ready. Videl rounded the corner and came face to face with that boy, the only boy really. No awkwardness this time, too much already. Gohan was going to start this off.

"Videl, right, what happened yesterday…"

"We were both feeling quite emotional, I get it" Videl cut in. Thank Kami. She had saved him that trouble, what a girl.

"Yeah, yeah, exactly, let's try to forget this and just move on hey?" It really wasn't that easy, they were both lying to themselves about what had happened.

"Yeah…soooo…you still coming round tonight?" Ahh, this was the one. This was the one that Gohan had not been looking forward to. It was a big decision. Either he said no and let it slip that the moment they had did mean something or said yes and carried on with the façade.

"Erm, yeah, I don't see why not." Brilliant. Why he wasn't doing Drama Gohan would never understand.

"So, yeah, see you at 5?"

"5." He nodded at her as he said it. She gave him a quick smile and left without saying another word.