Puppy Love
Ch. 10
Disclaimer: Do not own.
It was that moment, Gohan knew. He wanted to keep Videl safe.
As he felt the pigtailed girl within his arms, burying her face in his chest, the half-Saiyan couldn't help but want that. Videl was one tough cookie, there was no doubt in his mind. But Gohan knew there was a hidden side of her. Underneath that tough exterior was an inexperienced fighter inspired by strong influences like her father. She yearned to be that tough-as-nails martial artist, yet she had yet to reach that goal. In reality, Videl was just a girl who Gohan wanted to protect.
"Um," the boy sputtered.
Videl loosened her embrace and looked up at him, noticing the crimson red staining his cheeks. Abruptly, she pulled back from his body and averted her gaze, blushing in embarrassment from her impulsive action.
"A-are you OK, Videl?" Gohan managed to ask.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a little shaken up, is all," she attempted to regain her stern composure.
"I'm glad you're not hurt."
The half-Saiyan then watched Videl's flustered expression change. Her brow furrowed and she questioned him with her eyes. Feeling uneasy, Gohan took a step back.
"Gohan… I…" her voice trailed off.
Her sentence unfinished, she sealed her lips back up, swallowing the words that were about to come out. She shook her head gently and masked her befuddlement with a smile. "Never mind. It's nothing."
Confused, Gohan cocked an eyebrow. He decided to shrug it off and smiled back at her. He was just glad Videl was unharmed from that crazy hostage attempt.
"We should get out of here," he then suggested, casting a glance at the two unconscious criminals lying on the ground.
Without hesitation, Videl nodded in agreement.
As the two walked away to the exit of the park, Gohan suddenly halted his steps, causing Videl to stop and turn around. She asked, "What's wrong?"
He wanted to tell her, but he hesitated. This just didn't seem to be to right moment to bring it up. So instead he asked, nervously kicking at the ground, "W-well, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out again sometime." His voice softened in anxiety, "I know that you were with Nos at first, and this was a total coincidence that we ended up hanging out. But I'd like to do it again, if you want to, that is."
Videl stared blankly at Gohan for a moment. She then flashed an elated smile, "Yeah, Gohan, definitely! How about next week?"
A little surprised by her quick response, Gohan stammered happily, "S-sure!"
o (o) (O) (o) o
A week flew by quickly. Before Gohan knew it, he was going to go see Videl again. He was glad the day had finally arrived because he planned to tell her some news.
The two agreed that Gohan would meet Videl at the entrance to her school when she got out. So, the half-Saiyan flew over to Orange Star Junior High and waited by the gates. The bell must have already rang, because he watched the student body slowly begin to shuffle out of the front doors. He peeled his eyes open for the pigtailed girl, who he eventually spotted with her bubbly blonde friend he had briefly met before.
Catching sight of the boy, Videl waved to him as she approached, "Hey!"
Grinning, he replied, "Hi, Videl, hi, Erasa!"
Erasa shot him a quick smile and waved, "Hey, it's you! Gohan, right?"
He nodded in response. He then turned his attention back to Videl, "So, what do you want to do today?"
Videl lightly shrugged her shoulders, "Doesn't matter. We can figure it out, right?"
Erasa pouted, "Aw, you two are gonna go hang out? Is this why you didn't want to go to the plaza with me, Videl?"
Blushing lightly, the pigtailed girl responded defensively, "Well, I promised Gohan that we would hang out today."
"Oh?" Erasa shot her a wily smirk, glancing at Gohan before darting her eyes back at her best friend.
Cocking an eyebrow, Videl skeptically asked, "What?"
"Nothing," her friend sang, "I gotta get home now! My mom said she'd take me to the plaza. I'll see you later, Videl. Bye, Gohan!" At that, Erasa trotted off.
"I swear. Erasa's just so strange sometimes. Oh well," Videl turned to the half-Saiyan, "let's get going!"
"OK, where?" he asked.
Taking a moment to think, Videl then replied, "I'm not sure, but I know I don't want to stick around school, that's for sure."
It was then that Gohan decided this would be the best opportunity to finally bring it up. He meekly began, "Speaking of school… um, well, I've been thinking a lot."
The pigtailed girl looked up at him questionably.
"I think… I think that I want to go to school. You know… here…" his voice trailed as his nerves began to act up.
It was true, he did. Especially after being able to hang out with Videl and discovering how much he enjoyed her company, it came to mind that he really wanted to continue to socialize with this girl. Moreover, being able to form a friendship between Videl and himself, Gohan also thought that it was time to make some new friends – friends who lived seemingly normal lives, and friends who were in the same age group as him.
However, friendship was not the only thing on the half-Saiyan's mind. He was serious when he decided he wanted to continue to protect the pigtailed girl. Something about her captivated him to want to stay close to her.
Videl studied his features – his cheeks flushed, his eyes downcast. "Y-you wanna come to school here at O.S. Junior High?" she asked to confirm.
Unsure as to whether Videl was displeased with his decision or not, his voice softened to practically a whisper, "Y-yeah."
Her lips then curled into a wide grin, "Awesome! I'm so glad!"
"Y-you are?"
"Yeah! I was hoping that I'd be able to see you more," her voice trailed slightly in embarrassment, "It's really fun being around you. Plus…"
There was a pause of silence.
"…Plus?" Gohan beckoned her to continue.
"Well, plus, I was hoping that I'd be able to train with you some time."
Baffled by her statement, Gohan repeated, "T-train with me?"
"Yeah… that is, if that's OK with you… I mean, you're really strong… and I want to become stronger."
It took a brief moment for a smirk to form on Gohan's face. He playfully retorted, "Stronger, huh? Stronger than me? You beat me at the tournament, didn't you?"
Not denying his rebuttal, Videl replied, "That's not what I meant," she averted her gaze, "Like last week. When those guys tried to hold me hostage? You were the strong one, Gohan. Once I saw that gun in their hand… I… I couldn't move. But you were able to beat them, no problem. That's why I want to learn to be strong like you!"
Completely baffled, Gohan stood there in slight shock. He had no idea that Videl would ever yearn to be strong like him in any aspect. She was known to figure things out on her own – the independent type. But now she's asking him to help train her? Gohan wasn't even sure if it would be a good idea to say OK. Indeed, he wanted to get closer to the pigtailed girl, but training with her one-on-one might just be too close for comfort. Anything that had to do with his Saiyan strength was too close for comfort. But…
He did want to get closer to her…
Noticing the hesitation, Videl asked once more, the plea in her voice becoming more prominent, "Gohan, please?" She studied his onyx eyes.
"I-I don't know," he scratched his head.
Frowning at his response, she narrowed her eyes at him before she cast her glance off to the side. She muttered, "You wouldn't understand, I guess."
His curiosity peeked, Gohan gave her a questioning look.
"I want to be able to do what you did back then at the park. I want to fight crime and be able to say I did it all by myself." She then swallowed hard before continuing, "My papa saved the world, Gohan. If I can't even fight off a couple of low-life's, then what will Papa think of me? What will Papa's fans think of me? I have to be strong… I have to!"
As Gohan watched Videl's hands clench up into fists, he contemplated once more.
…He supposed training her wouldn't be all that bad. No, not at all.
Videl was right. She was up against some tough expectations. It would only be right to help her succeed in fulfilling her goal.
Gohan had felt Videl's Ki while she was in combat enough times to proclaim that she certainly had a knack for fighting. She was blessed with a unique Ki, which the half-Saiyan could certainly boost with the right training techniques. If Gohan went through with it and trained her, Videl could possibly end up just as strong as Krillin and Yamcha.
However, the fact that the half-Saiyan had never trained anyone before was bothersome. Was he old enough, skilled enough, worthy enough to train someone? He supposed that being the fighter who killed Cell would be. Yet, there was something about training the daughter of Mr. Satan that made Gohan feel a little uneasy.
Despite it all, the boy gave in. Furrowing his brow, he replied, "Alright. I understand." His features then softened as he gave her a sheepish smile, "But I've never trained anyone before – so go easy on me, OK?"
Videl couldn't help but let out a small giggle. "Shouldn't I be saying that, not you?" she laughed.
"Heh, I guess!" he laughed in return, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Anyway, let's stop standing around and go have some fun!" the pigtailed girl then suggested, taking note of the fact the two were still in front of the school.
o (o) (O) (o) o
Videl and Gohan decided to go to the arcade. The two friends battled each other in fighting games, racing games, shooting games, and even air hockey. They then moved on to other arcade games, like Skee Ball and the Crane Game.
Eventually, they earned plenty of tickets to trade in for a prize.
Videl trotted over to the counter and peered up at the available prizes. She studied the tags, observing the amount of tickets that was needed in order to buy each prize. As she scanned the area, she laid her eyes on a video game cartridge.
"N-no way! They have King of Virtual Masters IV!" she exclaimed, pressing against the glass case barring her from laying her hands on the game.
Gohan walked over and noticed Videl squishing her nose up against the casing. He peered through the glass and pointed at the game cartridge she was eyeing, "You wanna get this game?"
"Yeah! Gohan, I hear it's awesome! The evil magistrate comes back from the 3rd game and apparently there's a special add-in after you beat Story Mode!" Videl beamed before she slumped in defeat, "…But, it's worth 5,000 tickets. I have 138…"
Gohan thought for a moment. He had earned about 265 tickets. Combined with Videl's, that made a total of 403. Videl would need a whopping 4,597 more tickets.
A piece of cake for a Saiyan.
Gohan reached into his pocket and grabbed his share of tickets, placing it in Videl's hand. He flashed a grin at her, "Don't worry! I'll get it for you."
Videl watched the boy quizzically as he trotted off to the Skee Ball machines. 'He can't possibly be suggesting that he earns four and a half thousand tickets right now, is he? That's near impossible; it would take all day if not two or three!'
However, Gohan was already racking up plenty of tickets. Every ball he rolled, he landed it perfectly in the 100 pt. hole. Every basketball he threw landed in the highest scoring hoop. Every pellet he shot hit each and every target.
Before Videl knew it, the half-Saiyan was handing her piles and piles of tickets as he continued on to the next arcade game. She was left speechless. This boy… he was over-the-top incredible!
"How many tickets do you have now?"Gohan asked as he finished yet another round of the Crane Game, easily picking up a wad of tickets for her.
Videl was just finishing up counting all the tickets Gohan had earned. "Seven, eight, nine… nine hundred… one, two, three… Wow, Gohan!" she burst out in shock, "Four thousand nine hundred and three tickets! Just 97 more tickets to go!"
"Great!" he beamed.
o (o) (O) (o) o
It certainly didn't take long for the half-Saiyan to achieve getting the last of the tickets in order for Videl to win that video game. The pigtailed girl was so elated she couldn't help but thank the boy over and over and over again. Gohan was just glad he was able to make her happy.
As they walked out of the arcade, Videl hugged the game cartridge against her chest. She looked over to Gohan and happily asked, "Hey, you wanna come over and play Virtual Masters with me?"
"C-come over?" he stammered in response.
"Yeah! You earned this game. The least I could do is play it with you!"
"G-gosh, would that be OK? What about your dad?"
"Don't worry!" she assured him, "My papa's training his pupils today, so he'll be busy at the dojo. C'mon, Gohan, how about it?"
Gohan had never stepped foot inside a girl's home before. For some reason, the thought of entering Videl's caused head to rise to his cheeks. At the same time, his stomach quenched in anxiety, knowing he would be entering the home of the World Champion.
Nevertheless, Gohan agreed to stop by. He followed Videl to her home – a mansion fit to house twenty families – and humbly entered. He felt so out of place in this world of riches. It was difficult enough to fathom the fact that he was stepping foot inside such a large home.
Videl broke his thoughts by beckoning him to follow her to her bedroom. They trudged up the grand stairwell and headed down the hallway. The pigtailed girl opened the door that was adorned by a pink sign labeled, 'Videl', and motioned Gohan to follow.
"Come on in. This is my room," she told him.
The half-Saiyan scanned her bedroom. The walls were painted pink, and her bookshelves were decorated with various stuffed animals. On the other side, a large shelf stood tall, holding all of the martial arts trophies Videl had won. Gohan was surprised in many aspects. He knew the girl was strong for her age, but he never imagined she would already be holding so many achievements. Not only that, her room certainly wasn't what the boy expected.
"Pink walls and stuffed animals?" he asked her, surprised.
"What?" she replied defensively, "I am a girl, you know. In case you forgot."
Quickly retracting his skepticism, Gohan stammered, "O-of course I didn't, don't be silly!"
Laughing it off with a small giggle, Videl walked over to her TV and put the cartridge in her game console. She then turned around and grinned at him, "Hope you're ready for an ass whooping!"
Gohan retorted back, "Ha ha, I could say the same thing to you!"
The two kids spent the next hour or so playing against each other in King of Virtual Masters IV. They laughed and giggled as they combatted against each other, giving and receiving playfully snide remarks about their game performance.
After finishing up yet another match, Videl dropped the controller to the floor, reaching her arms far out to stretch. "Let's call it a day, huh?"
Gohan nodded as he let out a soft chuckle, "My hand's starting to get cramped!"
The half-Saiyan leaned back with his legs stretched out, his arms and hands propping himself up on the floor. He turned his head over to Videl and smiled.
Slightly baffled by his glance, the pigtailed girl couldn't help but blush a little. She asked hesitantly, "W-what?"
"Nothing," he replied, "I'm just really happy we hung out today."
Her cheeks vivid with a red stain, she coyly smiled back. "Y-yeah. I am too!" she agreed, "Maybe Nos can join us next time."
Gohan froze up. Nos?
He hoped that Videl had forgotten about that 'man'.
"O-oh? M-maybe…" the half-Saiyan sputtered, unsure of how to handle this predicament.
Her cheeks still flushed, her eyes gleamed as she continued to speak about the red-haired man. She added, "Yeah, maybe he can come during our training sessions too?"
Uh-oh. Not good.
"I… I, uh, I don't know. I have to uh, ask him," Gohan managed to reply.
"Can you? It'd be great to see him again…"
The onyx-haired boy watched Videl as she spoke – how her voice trailed softly, full of longing desire. Why?
Gohan asked himself. Why? Why did his alter ego have to be engraved in this girl's mind? Why did he go ahead and enable Videl to create a relationship with this 'Nos' character, rather than just forming the relationship they were creating on a day like this with his normal self? And why did he have to keep on lying to her about his disguised self?
Maybe it was time to tell her the truth.
Gohan swallowed hard as his contemplation slowly turned into a thoughtful decision.
But… why wouldn't the words come out of his mouth? His lips agape, his eyes full of the truth he desperately wanted to reveal, yet not a single sound escaped his throat.
He just couldn't.
The half-Saiyan cursed himself under his breath for acting so cowardly.
"Gohan?" Videl interrupted his thoughts, "Is everything OK?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine!" he forced a smile and quickly flashed it at her. "I think it's time I get going, though."
o (o) (O) (o) o
Gohan sat at his desk in his bedroom, glazing his eyes over the flask in his hand. There was still plenty of Baba's potion left inside.
As he continued to fiddle with the bottle, rotating it in his hand as he watched the pink liquid slosh around inside, he furrowed his brow in deep thought.
'Maybe it would be best to just dump the potion out. Videl keeps on wanting to see Nos again, and this charade is tiring me out. If I keep Nos around, it'll only get worse, right? I can't keep digging a hole for myself.'
Yet he was still hesitating. Gohan knew there was something about Nos in Videl's eyes. Every time she spoke of him or thought of him, he could see the change in her whole demeanor. Although the half-Saiyan wasn't sure what exactly the girl was thinking, he at least knew that the look she had on her face each time Nos was mentioned could not be replicated in any other situation.
It didn't make a whole lot of sense it him, really. As far as Gohan knew, he didn't act any different from his normal self when he was pretending to be Nos. Aside from keeping an adult-like image, Nos was just Gohan. So why did Videl look at him differently when he was Nos rather than as himself? It just wasn't fathomable.
The boy attempted to shake his thoughts out of his head. 'Maybe I'm thinking too much into this,' he reasoned as he got up from his chair, 'I just need to clear my head. I'll eat dinner then sleep on it. Maybe tomorrow I'll have a better idea as to what to do.'
Gohan trudged down the hallway towards the kitchen. Plopping himself down at the table, he glanced over at his mother who was finishing up her cooking. He shifted his gaze over to the small television propped up on the counter and picked up the remote. Mindlessly flipping through the channels, the half-Saiyan suddenly widened his eyes. He went back one channel and glued his onyx orbs onto the screen, his mouth slightly agape in shock.
Videl's home was on the news.
Which, in reality, probably wouldn't have been very shocking to Gohan. But the headline underneath the video was what really caught his attention.
'Daughter of Mr. Satan held hostage. World champ's whereabouts unknown.'
Immediately, the half-Saiyan raised the volume and listened intently.
"What you are witnessing right now is live footage of Mr. Satan's home. We have received word that Satan Videl, the daughter of the World Champion, along with some employees of Mr. Satan are being held hostage inside! It is believed that a local gang is responsible for this attack, and they are demanding Mr. Satan to come forth," the news reporter explained as he stood in front of the enormous mansion.
Yellow tape barricaded the house, and police vehicles surrounded the property. Helicopters were also in view, circling the vicinity with a spotlight.
The reporter continued, "Mr. Satan! If you are watching, please, hurry! Your daughter may be in grave danger! You must come back home immediately!"
o (o) (O) (o) o
Elsewhere nearby, Mr. Satan and his pupils were huddled up in a room watching the news.
"M-Mr. Satan… shouldn't you head back home?" one of his pupils asked.
"Y-yeah, your daughter…!" another piped up.
Mr. Satan was probably the one person who wanted to go back home more than anyone else who wanted him to. His daughter was in danger, for crying out loud! He really wanted to. He had to save his daughter… but why wouldn't his legs move?
He looked down at his feet and watched his own legs tremble.
A man's home is his castle. But was it necessary to make his a fortress? It didn't matter if it was Mr. Satan or an ordinary man and his family. When the last shred of privacy and security is breached, it seems hopeless to think the world is a safe place.
End, chapter 10.
A/N: Oh no! Videl's in trouble!
Finally finished my semester! Glad it's over. Phew!
I hope you enjoyed reading! I appreciate comments, suggestions and criticisms.