AN: Thanks everyone, I appreciate the reviews. Sorry that this is late, longest time without an update so far. School is taking up more time so updates may take longer. I'm going to try to get one out on the weekends, but there's no guarantee. For everyone, most people seem to know about Lime but I know at least one doesn't. She is a filler character in only one episode, but she knows about Gohan's powers. It's why I want her in the fic.
Buckets Full O' Sunshine- I'm glad you liked Tien's lesson. I want to throw wisdom in when I can. As you will see, this chapter starts with Lime. She was part of the original plan and I doubted that I would change it. I mainly wanted to hear opinions to help shape her character more. And yea I have seen you ANs. You want some duck tape? jk XD
SeanHicks4- Thanks! I know how you feel about seeing your profile name in an AN (confusing). I haven't reviewed much with name since I just made it, but I did a lot as a guest. I always like the authors that talked back to answer questions or something. Made it feel more personal and like they were actually listening to my comments. I'll definitely keep it up.
Aaron Leach, Sushi133, & annvelwis- Thanks! Glad you liked Tien!
Gansner- Thanks and above shows a little about her.
person345- Sorry but it will a sibling love for each other. Hope you like it anyway!
Guest- Thanks and you're welcome! I hope you will like my Lime when she comes into play.
chaos267- Thanks and that is my favorite type of Vegeta. I like the episode where he cries and begs Goku to defeat Frieza, the episode he goes off on Cell for killing Mirai Trunks, and when he hug chibi Trunks (one of the only things I like from Buu) They show that he has emotions. It's just that he's had a hard life and how he was raised he doesn't know how to show them. Those close to him can tell though.
moon fire 96- Thanks! As of now, no. I might add one but I don't have one planned.
Sportsfan64- Thanks! Some of your questions are answered here and some, only time will tell.
Ky111- Thanks! I'm glad you liked Sharpener and the little narrative. I liked the little narrative from 16, Piccolo, Trunks and Krillin that happened as Perfect Cell mocked Vegeta. It helped to inspire the small add to the fight.
Chosen To Die- Glad you like it! :D Just don't hurt yourself with that table! XD
WineIXI- Thanks! Glad you liked Tien.
Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ.
Lime wiped the sweat off her forehead as she finished chopping the firewood for her grandfather. School had started this week, but she couldn't go because she had to take care of her grandpa. There was a fierce storm during the break with relentless winds. A tree limb snapped and flew straight into his leg, breaking it on impact. She has been taking care of him since the incident. His leg has recovered well and he should be able to care of himself soon.
She gathered the recently chopped wood and placed it on the pile next to the shop. She finished closing the shop for the day before heading back to her grandfather's house nearby. She opened the door and took a seat. She laid her head back and shut her eyes for a moment of relaxation. The sound of ice bouncing in a glass caused her to open her eyes.
"I appreciate your help Lime. Here's some lemonade; you must be thirsty," Mr. Lao said holding a glass cup out to her.
She took the offered cup and sipped on it. "Thanks," she smiled back.
"I'm sorry to keep you from your school."
"It's okay, I'm glad to help. It's only the first week so I probably won't miss much."
"I hope so," he replied, setting his crutches to the side of his chair and sitting down.
Lime went back to her relaxation and into thought. 'I wish I could visit Gohan since he lives close to the village. I have been too tired to go after the work I have been doing here. I haven't seen him for a few months now! I should visit soon.'
Gohan and Lime have kept in touch ever since Cell. He came to the village often and played with her. He came when he didn't have to study or help his mom and brother. The first time surprised her, because his eyes and hair where black. He showed her how he could change. Later he explained it as going Super Saiyan. The more time the spent together, the more he told her about himself. His life's crazy!
They would play everything: climbing, swimming, games, and much more. As time went on they formed a close sibling bond. When Lime's parents, whom were revived with the dragon balls like many others, informed her that they would be moving to the city, she asked her grandfather and Gohan to train her.
Mr. Lao is a powerful martial arts master and she had witnessed Gohan's power first hand. Her grandfather somehow understood that Gohan had the power to defeat Cell. It was his and Goku's secret. She knew that there was much crime in the city and she wanted to be able to defend herself. So they taught her.
They pushed her hard and turned her into a fine fighter. She never considered herself a great fighter though because she was never a challenge to Gohan or any of the Z-fighters. She asked Gohan to teach her to fly and to use energy waves. She wanted to fly so it would be easier for her to visit him and her grandpa. She had become a great flier. She also had mastered control over energy waves. Now she could disarm anyone at any range.
She continued to train with Gohan whenever she was angry or just wanted to spend some time with him. It was one of the activities they did together. He had taught her a lot. She learned how to meditate and to relax. She tried to visit them both often.
/\/\/\/\/\
Videl was tense as she shifted around. She clenched her eyes shut as she fought to meditate. She had been at it for almost ten minutes now with no success. Her body had become very tight and tense with all the strain she has put it through. She peeked out her right eye to watch Gohan. He sat so calm and peaceful; the same way he had every day he meditated. 'How can he be so lax? He makes it look so easy… I'm going to hate this!'
Videl was never one to ask for help, but there was no other way. Opening her eyes, she sucked up her pride, "Gohan," she waited until he looked at her, "how do you meditate so well? I don't understand."
Gohan grinned, "It can be hard if you don't understand. The most important thing is to remain relaxed. You are tensing up, which won't do you any good. You have to relax; take deep breaths."
She loosened her limbs, letting the tension disperse from them. She allowed her eyelids to drop lazily and began to breathe. There was no doubt to her that she was much more lax now, but she still was struggling. Gohan noticed that her breaths were uneven, unrhythmical, and shallow.
"That's better but you need better control over your breathing. Each person has their own style, but there must be rhythm and consistency. You can inhale and exhale with either your nose or mouth, it's just important to breathe the same way each time. The same with the length of each breath; whatever is soothing for you as long as you keep rhythm. Feel free to try many different ways to find the one most relaxing for you."
Videl listened to Gohan and focused on maintaining a rhythm. She tried, but it was something new and she found it hard to keep a steady pace. The noise of the other students wasn't helping her either. "It's no use. I can't focus in here. The noise is distracting my concentration," she sighed, "How can you block it out? You had to have done meditation before gym class."
"You're right about that. As I told you, I live in the mountains. There's not too much out there other than nature. Because of that, I do a lot of activities to spend my time. When I found myself by a soothing waterfall, a calm breeze, and peaceful birds chirping, it's easy to fall into a meditation while relaxing. I have done it for years and the more I did the easier it was to block out distractions. The key is to pick out one thing and focus solely on it."
She nodded and gave it another try. She searched and searched, but wasn't sure what she was looking for. "Umm, what do you focus on? I don't know what to focus on," Videl inquired.
Gohan tilted his head in thought. He took a few moments to think before responding, "It depends I guess. I try to find something I think is soothing. Why don't you try concentrating on your breathing?"
Videl once again relaxed herself and attempting meditation. She ignored the noisy students as she concentrated on her breathing. His advice certainly helped her but it still wasn't enough. Her breathing was still staggered slightly. Gohan could tell that she needed a pacemaker.
"You've almost got it Videl. You just need to pace you breathing a little better. I'll help you. Just listen to my voice and inhale and exhale when I say. In… Out… In… Out…" Gohan said slowly and soothingly.
She did exactly what he said. She became mesmerized by his calm voice as she matched her breathing to his instructions. All other noise seemed to fade away, leaving just the sound of his warm voice. Her muscles relaxed even further than before as the last of the tension left her body. Now she was fully hypnotized and she sunk into a meditative trance.
Gohan kept with his instructions until he sensed her fall into a meditative state. Then he went back to his own meditation.
Videl was lost in the depths of her mind as she was trapped in the spell. She could feel her energy flow in line with her breathing. The calmness that overcame her gave her body a rejuvenating feeling. Her body was completely relaxed now. She felt as if she was in a timeless place. She didn't know how long she was there. Reality came back as the bell snapped her out of her trance.
Slowly opening her eyes, her sight began to focus and clarify. She saw Gohan getting up and leaving the gym. The sight of him brought a smile across her face. A few moments later, she snapped herself out of it and went to follow him. Maybe he was a nice guy after all, but she was still determined to uncover him.
Gohan just left school grounds and headed for the edge of town. It didn't take him long to find Videl's energy following him just as she had every day. It was really starting to piss him off. 'Why must she be so nosy?'
As he neared the edge of town, he turned around, "What do you want?"
Videl looked around confused. 'There's no one there. Who is he talking to?'
"You can come out. I know you're there."
Videl quickly hid behind a building. Her heartbeat sped up and sweat formed on her forehead. 'Was he talking to me? But how did he know? I was being cautious; no way had he seen me.' She peeked her head back out to find he had disappeared again, "Where did he go?"
"Where did who go?" a voice called from behind.
"This kid my age with blon-," she began to say as she turned to face the figure. Being caught completely off guard, she lost her breath from shock. "WHA-, HOW-, WHEN-!" she rambled incoherently.
Gohan smirked at the success of his surprise attack, "Do you plan on finishing any of those sentences?"
Videl collected herself as her anger rose some, "How did you know I was here following you?"
"Trust me; it's not easy to sneak up on me."
"How long have you known?"
"Since day one; Monday. My turn; why are you following me?"
There was no use denying, she was caught. She answered honestly, "Because I don't believe you! I don't see how you can get here from where you say you live. Even my jet takes like an hour and a half to travel that distance, maybe longer. I don't think you would do that long of a trip twice a day just for school!"
Gohan was slightly irritated, "Well I didn't lie to you. Believe what you want, I really don't care what you think. I know the truth and that's all that matters." Gohan pulled out a capsule, pressed the button, and tossed it out.
A smoke cloud appeared. When it faded, both teens' expressions were ones of shock. Videl barely even recognized that it was a top of the line model jet copter. It was completely customized with one thing in mind: speed. The bubble dome of the pilot was nonexistent; instead, there was a much more aerodynamic design. There were fine, sharp cut shapes that formed the shell shielding the two-seater. The tail fin was also sharper and looked much lighter than the stock fin as were the wings. On it was the Capsule Corp. insignia and with it a symbol which looked like a "Z". Upon closer examination, she noticed Bulma Briefs' signature on the wing. Oh, did he have answers to spill!
Gohan was freaked out. 'BULMA! WHY? Of course you would to something like this! How stupid of me to think otherwise!
'Maybe he does live out there. I should make him take me, but first.' Videl gathered herself, "Maybe you, but you know THE Bulma Briefs?!"
He nervously laughed as he rubbed his neck in the Son manner. 'I guess I should be honest. The evidence is right in front of us.' "Yea, I know Bulma."
"How do you, a mountain boy, know the most famous woman ever! You better start explaining yourself Gohan! Why didn't you tell us? You're so secretive and it needs to stop so start spilling it!" she demanded.
Gohan's anger was boiling. 'Who does she think she is? Like hell I'm going to tell her everything about me! I barely know the girl!' Gohan's Saiyan side was kicking in. It refused to allow this girl to push him around. "It doesn't concern you," he warned.
Videl stepped back at the change of attitude. He sounded like a different person. She quickly went back on the offensive, "What! I have a right to know! All this mysteriousness around you makes you seem shifty. It makes it hard to trust you!" she shouted.
"Why do you have a right to know? Do you think it's a privilege because you're THAT man's daughter? There are these things called boundaries! My most trusted information is for me and those close to me. I have only known you for less than a week! What makes you think I'll share it to you so soon, huh? Besides, I can't trust someone who doesn't trust me now can I?" Gohan snapped back. He was sick of her bratty attitude. She was acting like a stuck-up girl who got whatever she wanted!
Videl became enraged for a few reasons: one, for talking to her like that; two, for insulting her father; and three, his last point beat her and she didn't like losing. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT MAN? HE'S THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD. YOU SHOULD BE THANKING HIM!"
Gohan's power level began to climb as he listened to her. Man was he getting sick of hearing about this man's "accomplishment"! He started walking to the jet copter, "Whatever!"
"Don't whatever me! And don't you walk away! I've got questions for you to answer!"
He just waved her off, "I'm not interested."
She rushed after him and blocked his path. "You will! It's only fair," she spat.
"How's that fair?" he viciously replied.
Tears started to form in her eyes, "...Be… Because everyone gets to know me! Thanks to the attention I get because of my father, everyone knows who I am! I know about everyone else in school and I need to know who you are too!" she shouted as she bowed her head out of his sight.
The anger he had felt dissipated as understanding overcame him. He could relate, not in the sense of having to deal with it himself, but because it's the reason why he listens to Hercules' crap. It was for that reason, his and his family's privacy, that he didn't take credit for defeating Cell. 'I think I get what she's saying. She's just a bit paranoid about trusting people. I bet many try to get on her good side just because they like the idea of knowing someone famous. She has a right to feel paranoid about others; I know I would in her shoes. I'm not going to spill my life story for her, but I need to do something.'
He closes the distance between them, "That's not true, they don't know you."
"What are you talking about? Everyone hears about me in the media!" she answered.
"No, they hear about the daughter of the savior of the world," he replied.
She shook her head. She didn't understand his cryptic message, "That's who I am."
"Listen to me Videl. The media speaks of the daughter of the Champ. They paint their picture of what she should be, but that's not you. They expect things from you, but it doesn't mean you need to fulfill their expectation. I don't care what they say about you. I would much rather hear who you are from you. I'd want to know what you like, what you want to be; the real you," he took his hand and lifted her chin up so he could look in her eyes, "Don't let them get to you. What they say doesn't matter. Be what you want; that's what your friends want for you."
Emotions and thoughts swept over her. His words hit her hard. She stared at his icy teal eyes. They showed a pure soul; one that had concern for her well-being. They sent sparks of electricity that coursed through her, sending chills down her spine. He was being sincere. Somehow she could tell he was worried for her and it had nothing to do with her status. His aura gave it away.
She became confused with herself. She didn't know what she wanted anymore. All her life, she worked hard to preserve the legacy of the Satan name. Was that what she really wanted?
Gohan knew she was stricken by his words. He felt for her. He sensed the battle that had started after he told her that. A war had begun; one that would define would she would become. He stood there; he wouldn't leave until she was better. Annoying as she may be, she's still a human with a heart and he needed to help her when she needed it.
She calmed herself; she would think more about it once she got home. Once she had finished calming herself, she realized the position they were in. A blush colored her face as she swiftly backed away. Flustered, she tried to speak, "Ha… well… I-I should be going now. Bye!" She sped off waving as she finished.
"Bye!" he waved back. He got into the vehicle and headed to his home. Once he was far enough away he would capsulize it and fly himself. 'That's weird. She completely freaked out at the end. I knew she would be baffled, but I didn't think her attitude would change so much. I'll see how see is tomorrow.'
/\/\/\/\/\
Videl was once again lying on her bed. Gohan had really nailed a cord. It made her think about herself. 'Am I doing everything because that's what people think I should do? I started training to be like dad. I help the police to do good for others. Why? Do I want to? Or is it to try and match dad? Is it because I want to? Or is it because I'm expected to?' She began questioning her motives for everything she does. Out of all of this, one question needed to be answered: 'Who am I?'
I want to talk about a few things. First, I don't know how people feel about Lime being a good fighter. She is better than any normal human but cannot compare to any of the Z-fighters. I'm not sure if she will ever need to fight. If she will, she will in defense and never throw the first punch. It is something to build her character and a way that her and Gohan bond.
I hope that how Videl acted was reasonable. I think I might of needed a longer transition before she explained her reasoning to Gohan, but I hope it worked. And also, I am a dude so I claim ignorance to the woman mind. I tried to make it all seem like something that might happen, but I know I don't understand the woman mind so it might seem crazy to some people.
Let me know what you think.
-Keep It True
