AN:
Thank you ever so much for all the feedback and constructive criticism for the last chapter. I had a lot to work with to try and address some of the issues raised.
Here is that chapter, it's ridiculously long, so I cut it into two. You might wanna get a snack, lol
Disclaimer: I own not dbz
Chapter 11: A demons doing
Gohan levitated into the air and sat down on the roof to take the call in private.
"Hello" he answered, his heart filing with hope
"Hi, it's Videl" she said from her end, twirling one long pig-tail around her finger on the other end of the line. Just be cool
"Hey Videl, what's up?" he said, trying to sound casual, his restless emotions making it difficult.
"I have to tell you something" she said, he could hear her taking a deep breath.
His heart skipped a few beats, this is it! Finally, she's going to tell me about the baby!
"Sure, what's up?" he said, smacking his forehead, Gohan, can't you come up with anything other than 'what's up?'
"I've been thinking about what you said, and I just wanted to know if…you know…you were being serious about…everything" Ok, here it comes
"I was, I mean, I am" he said. Please, please, please let this go well…
"It's just that, I can't help but think, that this whole thing might just be about sex with you, and if …"
Gohan flushed, his cheeks reddening in the darkness of the night, but still, he summoned the nerve to interrupt her. Her accusation was a bit unfair, the reason she had kicked him out of her bed and room in the first place, was because he had wanted to take things slowly.
"I don't want to reference anything that happened in the past since that didn't end so well, but honestly, if you recall from that time at your house, all I wanted really, from the word go, was to slow things down, go out for a bit of fun, get to know each other, you know, the conventional stuff." he defended
Videl sighed, it was unfair to accuse him, she had been the one gunning to seal the deal as soon as possible. Okay Videl, just let it go, let the past go
"The conventional stuff" she repeated his words
"The conventional stuff" he affirmed
"Like…" she prompted
"I don't know, I've only ever been on one date before, we could get an ice-cream or go out to Ground-Zero and play paint-ball or something, I've seen that on TV once, always thought it looked like fun" he told her
"You've never played paint-ball?" she asked, surprised
"Nuh, my mom thinks it's messy and mind-numbing" he shrugged
"It is a bit messy, but you get protective gear, coveralls and goggles for your head. The mess is totally worth it" she said, smiling at the memory of the last game she'd played. A shrieking Erasa had declared to never set foot in another field again.
"It would be nice to do something like that" he said
"Are you asking me out on a good old fashioned date mountain-boy?" she said, smiling into the receiver.
"I believe I am, Miss Satan" he said, reclining fully on the roof, holding his breath
"And your first choice for a date is to go out to a field and shoot me with paintballs?" she asked him laughing
"Yep! I'm pretty sure it beats a boring old movie" he told her, remembering how he had fallen asleep at the movies with Angela.
"Have to agree with you there" she said good-naturedly, her face breaking into a smile
"Can I take that as a yes?" he asked hopefully
"Yes" she said, that smile expanding into a grin
Thank you Dende!
"It's just…" she continued
Damn, spoke too soon
"It's just that, something was brought to my attention today, something I hadn't given much thought to in a long time actually" she said, biting her bottom lip nervously
"Um…something like what?" he asked, genuinely confused
"You have to understand, I was thirteen at the time, so I really didn't know what I was talking about, thirteen year olds tend to just blurt things out without thinking them through, you know, well actually not just thirteen year olds, my dad does that all the time, still, and he's supposed to be an adult " she blabbed
"Aha…" he waited
"I mean, what do we really know at thirteen anyway, right?" she continued to spew the white noise
"Um.." the whole high-school syllabus, graduate level civil engineering, genetics, various programming languages…
Her continued rambling interrupted his list of 'things I knew at thirteen'
"…in their right mind should be allowed to legally entertain such a ridiculous notion from a love-struck thirteen year old, right?"
Wait a minute, love-struck, what?
"Hold on, what?" he asked, completely confused
"Who was a love-struck thirteen year old?" he enquired
"Hello, I'm talking about me here, who else, aren't you listening, besides, it was more of a crush really, maybe love-struck is a bit extreme" she said
"You had a crush on someone when you were thirteen" why did he get the feeling that he wasn't going to like where this was going.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you, I was on a bit of a high from winning the junior division, so I may have said something a bit reckless to the press, unfortunately my dad, and the rest of the world, seem to think I should be held to it" she said
"Wow, you won the junior division of the Satan Science Fest, that's so cool!" he said, genuinely impressed, he had wanted to enter a few times, but his mom and Bulma had refused him, saying he'd most probably shock the world.
"Science what?" she said, and burst out laughing. "…Gohan, your so cute and clueless, I'm talking about the junior division of the world martial arts tournament!" she declared
Gohan blushed on his side of the line at the compliment and the blunder.
"Oops, sorry, don't know why I immediately thought of science" he said sheepishly
"Because you're a big ol'nerd" she said, laughing
"Hey!" he said, indignantly
"You shouldn't take it as a bad thing you know, I don't, I kinda like that about you" she said, one could practically hear the smile in her voice.
Gohan blushed, again, thankfully, he was alone on the roof, with no one to witness it.
"You do?" he said, almost shyly
"I do" she affirmed
And a small silence fell between them
"You know, you still haven't explained about this crush and why it's an issue for our date" Oh god, don't tell me she still has feelings for this guy
"Yeah, sorry about that, I guess I kinda rambled there for a second" she said, laughing "…I tend to do that when I'm a bit nervous…" she told him
"You can tell me" he said, wondering if he was ready to here the news
"So this guy you see, I wanted to meet him, he was a fighter, and I kinda thought, at the time, that the best way to meet him would be in a tournament, so I kinda auctioned myself off as the prize, hoping he'd enter, and you know win, then take me out on a date or something" even though she was alone in her room, she still covered her eyes, in an attempt to shield herself from his reaction.
Gohan didn't like it, he didn't like it one bit.
"So…" he wasn't sure where this was going exactly, but he found that he was jealous of the notion that Videl had liked someone strongly enough to set herself up as a prize just to go on a stupid date with him.
"So, my dad and I kinda promised the world that before I date anyone, they would have to compete in a tournament, win, and then go out with me. I know it was silly and pre-historic, but apparently the world still expects this tournament, which is part of the reason the press is going crazy over those photos from school" she finished, crossing her fingers, wondering what he was thinking.
"So you're saying that there's going to be a tournament?" he asked, just to be sure
"Aha" she confirmed
"…and the winner gets to date you, with your fathers approval and all?" he asked, tapping his fingers on the roof.
"That's the idea" she said, crossing her fingers even tighter, cutting of her circulation.
"Then I'm competing" he said, just like that.
"Y-you are?" she stammered, surprised by his decisiveness
"Well yeah, that is…I mean…you want me to compete right? I mean…I just thought that since we're already, you know, since we're gonna go out and stuff, I mean, unless your still holding off for this mysterious warrior?" his throat went completely dry at the thought
"What? No! Of course not. That was years ago, like I said, I was just a kid, as in, yes, I…I'd like it if you entered" she told him softly, blushing, despite herself.
Gohan beamed.
This was the best news EVER!
This tournament would be a walk in the park, he couldn't deny the thrill he felt at the prospect of literally knocking out any potential competition. It would be like staking his claim, for all the world to see…
Yep, he couldn't deny that a part of him was more than just thrilled.
Subconsciously he cracked his knuckles.
"Gohan, I don't think you understand, some of these guys have been training for the last four and a half years for this chance, things could get dangerous" she warned.
Gohan smirked in the dark. Dangerous for anyone who stands in my way no doubt.
"Don't worry about me Videl, I'm not exactly without martial arts training, I can take care of myself" he told her.
Videl sighed, he sounded so nonchalant, so confident, he obviously did not realize the danger he was putting himself in. She was pretty sure that most of the contenders would be gunning for him.
"Well, if you're sure…" she said, concluding that he must know more than just a few things, given who his father was and all. It was probable that he could actually hold his own?
"Look, I doubt any of those guys want this as much as I do, that in itself gives me an advantage, so don't worry, I'll be fine, I promise…I'm glad you told me about this, is there anything else you might want to tell me?" he asked hopefully.
"Apart from the news about the tournament…I…something like what?" she asked, genuinely confused.
Like the fact that we're going to be parents
"Just wondering" he said disappointedly
"Is there something you want to tell me? She asked, wondering if Son Goku had come home, how his family took the news, how much they knew about Kais and Gods and Demons, not to mention Ki and flying and the truth about the Cell games. Gohan had to know more than he was letting on. He just had to.
But then again, she hadn't known that her father was a big fraud!
"Like what?" he asked innocently
"Nothing, I guess, I should go, it's really late" she said
"Yeah, it is" he said
"You didn't say when" she suddenly blurted
"When?" he asked, not getting it
"Our date" she reminded him, blushing
"OH, yeah, let's do it this weekend, we can go out to ground zero, but…I'd really like to do something small in the interim though, like…maybe an ice-cream after school?" he asked shyly
"An ice-cream would be nice, I'll talk to a friend of mine who works at ground-zero and make some arrangements for this weekend, we can discuss where to go for ice-cream tomorrow at school" she concluded excitedly
"Cool, I guess, I'll see you tomorrow?" he said happily, things were finally going his way
"Goodnight" she said softly, before cutting the line
'Good-night Videl' he thought.
Tuesday Morning…OSH…
Gohan glanced around carefully to make sure that no one was in sight. Satisfied, he jumped over the ridiculously high, school fence and made his way in towards the school buildings.
Yesterday, whilst chasing after Videl to the bridge, it had occurred to him that flying off the roof would not be safe. The reporters could have easily spotted him. As a result, he had circled around the massive school grounds trying to find a place where he could exit undetected. The far right of the oversized school grounds was nothing but wild trees and untamed grass. He had picked that as his exit point.
This morning, he had seen from the news before leaving his house that the reporters were already camped out again, in the hopes of catching him or Videl.
Smiling, he made his way through the untamed grass, crushing dried leaves and twigs en-route to the main building.
He may have been successful in evading the reporters, but his friends were waiting for him, their eyes shining with anticipation.
"You dog!" Kome nudged him
"Man, talk about lucky!" Kali beamed
"You're not seriously going to get yourself killed by participating in this medieval ceremony, are you?" Mosia quirked
"Good morning to you too guys, and yeah, sure I am, I cant let some random guy go out on a date with my girlfriend" he told them
Kali whistled loudly, at the bold reference
"Girlfriend ha? I'll tell you Gohan, you've certainly raised the bar for us nerds" Kali said humorously
Gohan laughed out loud.
"So, erm…what happened with you guys anyway, I mean, no one knew you were even dating in the first place, I mean come on man, I know you guys hung out and stuff, but dating? Dating Videl? That's HUGE!" he exclaimed. He still couldn't believe it.
Gohan shrugged, what could he say to that.
"We had better get moving you guys, the bell for first period will be going off any second now" Kome advised.
Making their way through the hall-ways, it was impossible not to catch the stares and the whispers.
The subject was Gohan and Videl and the latest buzz in the media - Mr Satan had made his grand announcement about the tournament. The consensus amongst the student body was the same.
Gohan was done for.
Making his way into the classroom, Gohan glanced up and smiled at Videl. 'Hi' she mouthed, smiling in his direction; he had a good feeling about today.
Before the lesson could start however, Videl and Gohan were called to the Principal's office.
"Miss Satan, Mr Son, please have a seat" Principal Talipa said, motioning for the armchairs with his hand.
Videl and Gohan sat down, sharing a bewildered look
"I'll get straight to the point guys, you're both suspended for the duration of the week" he informed them
Gohan's eyes bulged out significantly, suspended, mom will kill me!
"I don't understand" Videl said, glaring at the principal
"You are both in violation of rule 7.2, I can't very well ignore it, and your violation was well photographed and publicized. My hands are tied" he told them
"Students violate that rule all the time, all the time, and you're suspending us?" she said, disbelievingly
"I know they do, but this case is different, a student brought in the evidence, they made an official report, the matter has already gone to the board. I'm sorry, but my hands are tied." he informed them solemnly
"It was Angela wasn't it?" she said, bitterly, Angela's mom was on the board.
"I can't discuss that with you Miss Satan" he told her
"I think I have a right to know the name of my accuser" she said
"This is not an accusation Miss Satan, it's a fact, do you really want to fight this?" he said, slightly amused by her indignation
"No, I guess not" she said sulkily, rising to her feet.
Gohan hadn't followed much of the conversation, he was just imagining the many horrible ways his mom would deal with this. He really didn't want to stress her, not when she was so ill. He wanted her to be happy.
"Come on Gohan, let's get our stuff"
Mt. Paouzu
"You've been walking on egg-shells since that phone-call this morning Goku, spit it out already!" Chichi shouted over the noise of the vaccum cleaner.
"You have to promise not to get mad" he told her
"If you don't tell me who the hell that was and what the hell they wanted that's got you all antsy, I will get mad" she said, turning the vacuum off.
"It was the principal at Gohan's school" he said, creating some space between them
"Is Gohan okay?" she asked worriedly
"Yeah, he's fine, just suspended" he blurted, and backed away a bit further
"SUSPENDED!" Chichi shrieked, pointing the nuzzle of the vacuum threateningly at her husband "…did he say why?" she glared; her free hand clenching into a fist.
"Apparently you're not allowed to kiss girls in school" he said, backing up into a wall.
"OH" she said, instantly calming down "…what a stupid rule…" she shrugged, and turned the vacuum back on.
Goku exhaled the breath he had been holding.
That's it? Really? No yelling, No breaking of furniture? No threats to castrate the principal…Oh well…
OSH…
Gohan and Videl stood outside the school building debating the best way to make a get-away without being assaulted by the reporters.
"Even if we take my copter, they'll just follow us and swarm us once we land. The only safe place for us right now is my house" she said
"Nuh, we can get out the same way I got in, come on" he said excitedly, grabbing her hand and making a dash to the back of the school.
Videl stood eyeing the fence, damn; it stretched all the way up to the heavens.
"This is how you came?" she said, shocked
"Yeah, had to avoid the mob somehow, come on, we can climb over it" he told her, effortlessly jumping over it would be more than a wee bit suspicious.
"If you say so" she said sceptically, it was worth a try, if she fell, she could always use her Ki, if she could get it out fast enough, that is.
Videl was amazed by his dexterity, he climbed all the way to the top of the fence like a pro.
"Come on" he said, from the top, reaching out to help her.
Videl accepted the helping hand and found herself pulled up, lifted and expertly perched on the other side of the fence. It was time to climb down.
"What the…how did you…?" she stared up at him
Gohan grinned down at her.
That smile, it made her heart flutter.
"Mountains, remember?" he lied, and swiftly began to climb down.
Videl was mesmerized by his grace. Clearly, Gohan was off many talents.
In no time at all, he was low enough to jump down to the ground.
"Jump, I'll catch you" he shouted up to her
"Are you crazy?" she yelled back
"Nope, I'll catch you, honest" he yelled
"There's no way in hell mountain-boy, now sit tight" she ordered, and began her descent
She was doing well until a passing bird decided to drop its droppings on her forehead.
"What the…" she said, when a sticky blob of something warm hit her, trickling down her forehead, down to her eye-lids, effectively blinding her in one eye
Instinctively she let go of the fence with one hand to rub the stinging sensation, unfortunately, the weight of her backpack pulling her back with just one unadjusted grip, was too much, by the time she attempted to balance herself, she was already falling
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" she began to scream
But just as suddenly, she stopped.
Gohan had caught her, bridal style.
"Told you I'd catch you" he said, grinning from ear to ear
Heart pounding, eyes wide, she stared at him, but the stinging in her eye made her shut them immediately, her hand once again going for a rub.
Gohan let her stand on her own
"What the hell is this?" she said, wiping off the remnants of the white stuff. Her eye still felt off though
"Bird poo" Gohan shrugged
"Bird poo!" she shrieked, un-strapping her back-pack vigorously
Pulling out a bottle of water, she poured a generous amount on her face, rinsing out her eye as well as the rest of her face and the last drops on her hands.
"Gross!" she said,
Gohan laughed, he couldn't count the number of times that, that had happened to him whilst up in the air. It was no biggie.
"It happens" he shrugged "…in fact, in some cultures, it's a good omen, it means good-luck" he smiled
"Luck ha? Well, it just so happens that I don't need luck to beat you at paint-ball, mountain-boy" she smiled, picking up her backpack.
"Pity we have to wait until this weekend for you to eat your words, city-girl" he said playfully
"Actually…" she smiled mischievously, pulling out her phone, "…today might as well be a weekend, given that we're suspended and all. Let me call my friend at Ground-Zero and see if they'll let us have a field to ourselves. We can take a train out of the city, and then use my copter to fly the rest of the way. That way the reports won't follow us. What do you think?" she said, already punching in the number
"Go for it" he shrugged
Satan Mansion…
"I'll cut their funding, I'll cancel my annual appearance, I'll…how dare they suspend my baby-girl?" he fumed
"It's just for a few days Sir, I checked the rule book, it is a violation, it would be pointless to fight it" Kitty advised
"That's just ridiculous, why, in my day, I used to kiss girls all the time at school, no one suspended me, kids these days are ten times worse than back in my day, they're just picking on her, that's what" he sulked
"I'm sure Principal Talipa took no joy in doing this, but he also had to protect his position, with all this footage going around, if he didn't act, he might have been accused of favoritism" she defended
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, fine, I'll let it go, it will be good to have Videl home for the next few days anyway, there's a lot to discuss about the tournament" he said, a bit of excitement creeping into his voice.
Ground Zero…
"I gotta hand it to you, for a newbie, you sure played like a pro!" Videl beamed at him
"Yeah, it's pretty cool, a lot similar to hunting, so I guess I wasn't entirely without the necessary skills. My mom was right though, it's a messy game" he said, pulling off his goggles, which had a huge blob of paint to match the other blobs on his coveralls
"Don't sulk cause you lost, and I didn't even need to use up some of that generous dropping of 'good-luck' " she said, jabbing him playfully, pulling off her own goggles
"Yeah right, you only won cause I slipped on that blobby puddle that you conveniently left in my path!" he whined
"All is fair in love and war Gohan, you know that" she said, sticking her tongue out at him
Gohan found himself taking a moment to calm his heart at the sight of her.
It was already lunch time, so after thanking the manager for letting them have a field to themselves on such short notice, they opted to have lunch at a lodge near, by. Videl swore by its home-made ice-cream.
Gohan was careful to keep his manners at the lunch table, even though the entire staff was amazed by how much he ordered for himself. With the main course out of the way, Videl was more than eager to get to the best part – dessert!
Having placed their orders, the duo sat facing each other, eagerly anticipating the homemade ice-cream.
"So, mountain-boy, what else can we introduce you to?" she said
"Gee, I don't know, what would you recommend? There must be a million things that you city people do that I haven't been exposed to" he said, cupping his chin
"Beats me, I don't exactly get out much, studying, training and crime-fighting, that's about all I do" she shrugged, her eyes lighting up at the approaching waitress.
"Here we go…" the waitress said, placing a small bowl in-front of Videl, and a bigger one in front of Gohan.
"Thank you!" she said happily, and dug in.
In no time at all, she had polished her bowl.
Not that Gohan wasn't already done with his.
"Good isn't it?" she asked him
"The portion itself was disappointingly small, but I'll tell ya, that was definitely one of the best I've ever had" he said, wondering if it was safe to order a few more 'big' portions.
"Then let's have some more!" she said, her hand already up, signaling for the waitress
Gohan smiled, he definitely liked this girl.
Satan City…
"This is me" Videl said, the two of them standing outside her giant gates.
"Yeah" he said, sorry to see the day come to an end.
They had spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the grounds at the lodge, just talking about this and that, nothing serious. When it started to get late, they had flown to a bush nearest the train station and taken the train back into the city. They were lucky to have dodged the reporters for the day.
"It was nice, this, conventional stuff" she said, a small smile on her face.
Gohan rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah, it was" he said, not sure how slow, slow should be. He wanted to kiss her, just to say bye, but…he didn't want her to think he was trying to rush things.
"So, we'll do something tomorrow?" she asked, wondering where the awkwardness was coming from all of a sudden. They had got on very well, the day had just been perfect.
"I'll confirm once I've faced my mom, honestly, I'm a bit spooked that she hasn't called to yell my head off" he said, looking like a little frightened boy all of a sudden
Videl laughed.
"Don't be so dramatic Gohan, I'm sure you'll be fine" she told him
Gohan sighed, clearly she didn't know his mom
"I'll call you" he said, kissing her on the cheek. The cheek was supposed to be a safe place.
Videl blushed and nodded
He waited until the gates closed, found a deserted alley a few blocks down from the monstrous mansion, transformed into Saiyaman and blasted home.
Mt. Paouzu…
"Hey dad" Gohan greeted as he touched down and de-transformed.
Goku was busy with his exercises
"Hey son, we've been expecting you for a while now" Goku said, abandoning his one fingered push-ups.
"Yeah, I guess you heard ha?" he said, shuffling his feet
"Yep, the principal called" Goku happily related
"Where's mom?" Gohan asked, almost whispering
Goku laughed at the look on his sons face.
"Take it easy Gohan" he said, slapping him on the back "…she's not mad" Goku reassured him
"She's not?" Gohan asked, disbelief written all over his face
"Nuh-uh" Goku said, taking a whiff of his armpits.
"Phew!" he grimaced, waving with his hand as if to blow the stench off
"But she'll be piping mad if I don't clean up before she wakes up" he told him
"Mom's sleeping? At this time of day?" Gohan was shocked. His mom was not one to slack off during the day, she simply wasn't wired that way
"Yeah, she'll be up soon, she was just a bit worn out" Goku shrugged
Gohan wasn't convinced, his mom was probably feeling sick, the illness taking it's toll, and his father was just too dense to realise it.
He frowned
"You need to take better care of mom dad, she's very sick, I…I don't like thinking about it, but her organs are probably in very poor shape, she could be in a lot of pain and hiding it, you know how she doesn't like to be fussed over." he lectured sternly
"She's not sick Gohan, that is…she's sick, but she's not feeling sick right now, she's just tired" Goku assured him
"Tired from what dad? Mom doesn't just get tired, I think it's time to consider grandpa's offer, maybe we should go and stay at the palace where she can be properly taken care of" he said
"It won't come to that Gohan, I don't want you talking like that, Bulma'll find a way, I went to Yardrat last night, they have some ideas as well, just…just don't talk like that" he said, rubbing his temples
"I appreciate what you're saying dad, but I know my own mother, she doesn't just get 'worn-out', I'm gonna go in and check up on her" he said, storming into the house
Goku sighed, Gohan and Chichi were more alike than they realised. Temperamental and stubborn.
Raising two fingers to his forehead, he appeared in their room and covered Chichi's naked body, just as Gohan opened the door.
"Look son, your mom and I, we spent the afternoon in bed, okay, she's just taking a bit of a rest, she'll be fine" he said, brushing her hair with his fingers.
Gohan turned around and flushed.
Without uttering a word, he fled to his room.
Satan Mansion…
Videl was almost done with her bed-time routine when her phone started ringing.
Abandoning the toner soaked cotton-wool, she picked up and activated her speaker.
"Hey" she answered, resuming her toning.
"My mom's not mad" a familiar voice said
Videl laughed, inching closer to the mirror to check if she'd missed any spots.
"See…told you it'd be fine…my dad's a bit pissed at the principal, he was ranting about it throughout dinner." she tossed the used up ball into the bin and grabbed her night-cream..
"See… told you the bird poo was a good omen" Gohan said, laughing
"Yuck, don't remind me, I just came from the shower actually, any mention of bird and poo and I might be forced to run back inside" she massaged the cream in circles around her cheeks
"So ungrateful to the giving's from the universe Miss Satan" Gohan said
"In that consistency and smell? Yuck, the universe can skip me next time it dishes out droppings out of nowhere" she dabbed in the cream lightly with her fingertip under her eyes
"Kali sent me a message, apparently we have a geography assignment for Friday" he said
"Yeah, I got a message from Erasa as well, very exciting" she said dryly, replacing the lid and picking up her brush.
"How far are you?" he asked
"How far, gosh, I haven't even opened my book! don't tell me you've done it already?" she exclaimed, brushing back her long dark locks
"Guilty as charged mam, I'm all done" he said
"Nerd!" she teased, putting down her brush, with her fingertips, she gently massaged her scalp
"Guilty again" he said, smiling on the other end
"I still have a few days, guess I'll start tomorrow, are we still on?" she asked, pulling back her hair, and making one long braid.
"Yep, that's why I was calling actually, I don't really have a car, and the place I want to take you to is a bit far, can we take your copter?" he asked
"How far is far?" she said, rising from her dresser, cell-phone in tow
"Two hours in the copter, so we should leave early okay?" I hope she'll like it
"That's a long ride, you need me to pick you up?" Turning off the main light, she climbed into her bed, that's further than Ground Zero
"Nuh, I'll meet you at your house around nine-ish, yeah?" he couldn't wait.
"Okay, see you tomorrow" she said, cutting the line and snuggling inside her covers. It didn't take her long to fall asleep.
Wednesday Morning…Kame House…
Videl expertly landed her copter on the tiny island. She was amazed, she had thought for sure that Gohan had gotten them lost. Who knew there was a tiny little island in the middle of practically nowhere.
Jumping out after Gohan, she stood with her hands on her hips, taking in the beauty and the isolation. As far as the eye could see, no matter the direction, a bed of blue stretched for miles and miles.
It was breathtaking!
"Well helloooooooooo there" Master Roshi greeted, his eyes appraising the fine young specimen standing next to Gohan
"Hiya Master Roshi" Gohan greeted cheerfully
"Oooooooohhhhh, and who is this?" he asked excitedly, circling like a wolf around Videl, bits of drool dribbling from his mouth.
"Mater Roshi, this is Videl Satan, Videl this is Master Roshi, the turtle hermit, he trained my father" Gohan said proudly
'Holy' Videl thought, bowing respecfully
"It's an honour to meet you sir" she said, how in the world is it possible that he's still alive?
"Where's Krilin and the family?" Gohan asked curiously, as they made their way to the little house
"They went shopping, should be back anytime actually. You didn't give us much warning to prepare for our esteemed guest here" he said, deliberately walking behind them, so he could gawk at her butt, in those cargo shorts.
"They didn't need to do that, honest, mom packed us tons of stuff" Gohan said, feeling bad for putting his friends on the spot
Master Roshi dashed from behind Videl and suddenly appeared right before Gohan's face. It happened so fast she didn't even see him move.
"You brought Chichi's cooking?" he said, salivating even more
"Yep, enough for everyone" he said
Master Roshi could only be grateful for small mercies
"I have the speed-boat and your diving suits ready. Miss Satan, this will be your first time going under I believe?" he said
"Please Master Roshi, call me Videl" she said, embarrassed
"Whoooo, please, allow an old man to show you around his humble dwelling, Videl" he said, grabbing her arm, leading her off
Gohan rolled his eyes, there was nothing to see on the island, it was the beauty beneath the sea that he wanted her to explore.
Still, he would follow, he was naïve, but even he wouldn't leave his girlfriend unsupervised with the old pervert!
Half an hour later, Videl and Gohan clad in their wet-suits, flippers and oxygen tanks straped to their backs, where ready to hit the water. Master Roshi had driven them a ways out to sea, but not too far.
She was excited and nervous at the same time, she had never done this before, never even had a lesson to prepare herself, but Gohan had assured her that she'd be fine. He would be holding on to her the entire time. She trusted him to take care of her, she realised. It was a good feeling.
Gohan squeezed her hand.
"Ready?" he asked
"Ready" she affirmed
They pulled on their masks, securing the mouthpieces. Master Roshi checked all the equipment over, including the regulators.
Satisfied, he gave them a thumbs up.
And into the water they went.
Master Roshi sat on the boat, two pieces of tissue paper sticking from his nostrils to contain the blood.
He was watching the footage from the hidden camera he had installed in the guest room at Kame house, where he'd let Videl change into her wetsuit.
Ooooooh mama! That Gohan was a lucky son of a bitch!
Two hours later, a huge straw matt sprawled on the beach, Videl and Gohan sat, back in their normal clothes, their tummies full from Chichi's goodies, watching the waves.
"We have to do that again soon, that was…I don't even know what to say, I'm speechless" she said, wiggling her toes
"The food or the dive?" he asked
"Both!" she said laughing; she really was starting to eat like a pig.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it, the beauty and tranquility is unrivaled down there, it has the advantage of being far from man I suppose, so it can hold on to its beauty just a bit longer" he said
"I guess that must be it" she said, wondering how long that will last.
"We shouldn't stay out here too late, if we want to make it back to the city at a reasonable hour" he said, he was sorry to see the day come to an end
"What about your friend Krilin, do you want to wait until he comes?" she asked, she really was in no hurry to leave this beautiful place.
"Nuh, something must have come up, I'll see him some other time" he shrugged.
Satan Mansion…the parlour
"I don't think you understand sir, there are literally thousands, I mean thousands of entries so far, and it's only been two days! We can't cope with this volume, we simply can't" she said hysterically, looking at the climbing number of entrants in the database.
"Then move up the deadline or something, and then find a way to filter out all the riff-raff." he suggested. He didn't care what they did, as long as he had his tournament, and soon.
"But sir, to go through all the applications, design a fair and widely accepted screening process, not to mention…"
"Kitty, your giving me a headache with all these details, I'm sure there are companies that do these things, just find one, hire them, let them iron it out, I don't care about the details, just get it done. I want a tournament next Saturday, and I want it to be top notch" he said dismissively.
Nest Saturday! Is he high, I already have my hands full with the real tournament coming up in three and a half-weeks, and he wants to have this one, before the real one!
Kitty held her tongue, even as the vein on her forehead began to pulsate. She hated her job sometimes; the champ could be so…so…PRIMITIVE! Argh! He had no idea about the kind of creepy-crawlies that were entering. They hadn't even bothered to set parameters, it was open season!
Frustrated, she tried her best to exit the lavish parlour with some grace. She had more than a lot of work to do.
Satan mansion…the gate…
"I had a great time, I want to do that again as soon as possible" she said, still in awe of the dive.
Gohan chuckled, it was good to see her relaxed and care-free
"Maybe this weekend, we'll have to see, but I think we should organize some lessons for you first, that way you can be a bit more independent next time" he said, not that he had minded holding on to her hand the entire dive.
"Well, I better go, Kitty's been calling me a hundred times, I wonder what my dad's said this time" she said rolling her eyes
"Kitty?" he wondered out loud
"She's my dad's…I don't know, right hand person, I guess, she manages all the other people my dad has, publicists, PA's, PR's, you name it" she shrugged
"Wow, I feel like such a simpleton standing next to you" he said, his eyes twinkling with mischief
"Says you, your royal highness, of the mighty Ox Kingdom" she said dramatically, whilst taking a bow.
Gohan flushed, and stuck his hands in his pockets
"Why didn't you tell me you were a prince?" she asked him
"Because I'm not, my mom gave all that stuff up when she married my dad, we don't really have anything to do with the running of my grandpa's kingdom" he shrugged
"Still, I want to hear all about it, your grandpa's in the history books wielding an axe you know" she said
"Yeah, he's changed a lot since those days" Gohan shrugged, he couldn't really reconcile his doting grandfather with the ruthless conqueror he once was.
"Your dad's in the history books too, he's done a lot of amazing things, Erasa gave me a complete break-down" she told him
Gohan shuffled nervously, he really wanted to avoid the subject of his father. It would be his undoing. Videl probably had a lot of questions about how much he knew about his father and comrades, and that line of conversation could very well lead to her connecting the final dots and re-visiting her old theory of him being Saiyaman.
"You do a lot of amazing things everyday helping the people in this city Videl, I'm sure you'll be going down in the history books as well" he changed the direction of the conversation, just as her phone went off again.
"I guess I better run then" she said, standing on tip-toes and kissing him on the cheek.
It had been another day well spent, suspension was looking really good from their view-point.
Later that night...
Videl stared at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. She was glad this day had gone so well, glad they had been suspended and glad to be seeing him again tomorrow.
Rinsing her mouth, she gurgled and spit into the sink a few times. Satisfied, she pulled out a facial wipe and cleaned off the rest of her face. After applying a light layer of night-cream, she exited her private bathroom and stepped back on to the lush carpet in her bedroom, her bare toes sinking luxuriously into it's softness.
Shutting the door firmly behind her, she froze at the sight.
Gohan lay lazily on her bed, in nothing but his boxers, the cute ones, with a teddy bear on the side.
"How did you…what are you…what the hell Gohan?" she stammered in shock. She had just talked to him half an hour ago, how did he get here so fast, wait, how did he get in here, period!
Gohan jumped off the bed, to stand before her.
She couldn't lie, he was sculptured better than any guy she'd ever seen, and that was saying a lot, considering all the muscle heads she saw frequently at the many dojo's she used to train in.
"Come on Videl" he said, his voice low and husky, "…I'm the smarted guy in our entire school district, probably the smartest in our grade in the whole world, no security system can best me…" he smirked lazily, groping her bum, bringing her closer to him.
"I…I don't understand, you…you broke into my house in the middle of the night! Why?" she said, trying to take a step back, but he had her firmly rooted with his hands.
"I missed you, why else?" he said, lowering his head and capturing her lips.
Videl wasn't sure about this. True, she had never had a boyfriend before, so she was no expert, but breaking in to her house in the middle of the night? Surely that wasn't allowed?
Still, she wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed the momentum of the kiss to lead them against the wall. It was if she was a different person when their bodies were intertwined. She could hardly think, all she could do was give in to the urgent demands placed on her by her body.
She was so lost in the moment she almost missed it, almost, but when her room began to shake, when her curtains began to bellow and her items began to rattle, her heart stopped.
Looking over her shoulder, she was paralyzed by fear.
Right there, the evening sky illuminating their sillihouttes, stood the demon and Saiyaman.
She gasped at his face, it wasn't healed at all. It was still horribly, horribly burned.
Taking Gohan by surprise she shoved him behind her, even as she trembled in fear at what their appearance could mean. She already knew bits of their history, the demon had killed Saiyaman's dad when he was a boy, kidnapped him, trained him, and ultimately saved him by taking a blast that was meant to obliterate him. They had also come together to make a stand against Cell.
But she also knew that Saiyaman had been outraged at the demons actions pertaining to her and Gohan, he had attacked him, almost killing him, drawing the attention of the Gods, or whatever.
But instinct was a powerful thing in a warrior, and her instincts told her that the Saiyaman glaring angrily at her, was no friend, no saviour.
She hated how right she was.
In a speed she could hardly fathom, the demon had Gohan by the throat, cutting off his air supply.
Videl herself found herself pinned against the wall by Saiyaman. She couldn't get past him.
"Please, let him go, you're killing him!" she begged the demon.
Gohan was loosing colour, and fast, his terrified face was glued to Videl, as if asking her why she had allowed this to happen to him.
"PLEASE!" she begged, trying to get past Saiyaman
Saiyaman just chuckled, highly amused.
"Why, why are you doing this, I thought you were a good guy!" she cried.
"Tsk…tsk…tsk…my little crime-fighting friend. And I thought you were a decent girl" he said, too close to her face for comfort.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, chilled to the core by his demeanour.
"The tournament Videl, the tournament. Do you have any idea how long I waited for that tournament. I desperately wanted to win Videl, but instead, you let that weak nerd, put his hands all over you, this…" he said, cupping her crotch "…was supposed to be all mine…" he breathed on her neck.
Videl stared at him in shock. This wasn't happening, this couldn't possibly be happening!
"What are you talking about, we were partners, just PARTNERS!" she screamed.
"Perhaps…" he said lazily "…let's see if this will clear it up for you, shall we…" he said, transforming into a blonde.
What surprised her was not the golden flames, the teal eyes and the erect blonde hair. What knocked her socks off was the fact that he shrunk, to around her height. His clothes changing as well, his face healing, as he took on the exact appearance of the delivery-boy.
Videl's breath caught. He was still as handsome as she remembered.
"Curious" he said, his voice changed as well. "…I guess you like me better in this form…" he smirked and nibbled on her lips roughly, drawing a bit of blood.
Videl wrestled to no avail, from the corner of her eyes she could see that Gohan was beginning to stop struggling. 'No!' she screamed in her mind. 'No, no, no…he couldn't die, he just couldn't die!'
She bit his tongue, hard, and gasped when he slapped her, almost knocking her out.
"Please, please, let him go, please, don't let that monster kill him" she cried, the blood taste in her mouth making her nauseous.
"What's in it for me?" he said hotly into her ear
"What do you want?" she said
"Oh, I think we both know what I want" the delivery boy said, running his hand lightly below her navel.
"Please, don't make me do that, please" she said, a tear falling from her eyes.
"Come now Videl, don't act all coy with me, it wouldn't be the first time you spread your legs to save your loved ones" he said licking his lips.
Another tear fell from her other eye. She shook her head 'no', but she knew it was true.
"Whore" he whispered into her ear, ripping off her tank top. Her breasts stood bare, her nipples pointed in his direction.
"So, what's it gonna be Miss Satan" he said, his voice changing to that of Saiyaman's once again, though he still remained in the face, body and bizarre clothes of the delivery-boy.
Videl stole a look in Gohan's direction and paled. He had stopped moving all together. He looked…he looked…dead.
"YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED HIM!" she screamed at him, a rage like none other engulfing her, she was clawing at his face with her nails, trying to bite him, kick him, anything she could do to inflict pain on him.
"Stop it, Stop it! Stop it" Hercule shouted at the thrashing body of his daughter. He literally had to 'power-up', like that demon had taught him in order to gain enough strength to subdue her.
Still she tried to attack him, tears running down her eyes, sweat pooling on the sides of her face.
Videl snapped her eyes open at the familiarity of her father's voice.
"Dad…dad?" she said breathlessly, squinting in the dark and taking in the scratched and bleeding face of his father.
"It's me sweet-pea, it was just a nightmare, just a nightmare" he said, settling himself on her bed, gathering her in his arms and humming her favourite lullaby as she wept.
He had his own nightmares, but he hated it when Videl suffered like this from the demons doing.
When was she going to recover from all this?