A/N: Hey hey! Hot stuff coming through.
This chapter is probably one of my favorites I've ever written. In fact, the next five or so chapters are probably my favorites to write, which is good timing for then since that will give me motivation to write even with pharmacy school. I may be able to keep this update schedule to once a week still!
In case you haven't noticed, I'm super excited about the next part of the story. So far, I haven't seen a Buu Saga like the one that I'm planning on writing so that means that it will be super original! I really want to reveal what I have planned to you all, but that would defeat the purpose of the whole 'reading the story and finding out' thing.
I'll shut up now... enjoy the chapter!
"dialogue"
thoughts/mindscape
"telepathic communication"
~change in setting~
*action*
flashback
Chapter 11: Tournament Time!
~Orange Star Elementary School, Satan City, Age 772~
It is nap time in Mr. Hitsuijikai's kindergarten class. The chibis have all had their lunches (all of them were very surprised at how much Goten could eat) and are now settled down for a nice quiet nap before their last couple hours of the day.
Mr. Hitsuijikai looks at all of his students with a gentle smile on his face. He really enjoys his job as the kindergarten teacher at Orange Star Elementary. He loves kids and can't help but think that all of them are completely adorable. Sure, they can definitely be a handful sometimes, but he really wouldn't trade jobs with anyone, even if the pay isn't that great.
He is startled out of his contented thoughts by from what sounds to him like mumblings from one of his students. His smile quickly turns to a concerned frown as he observes one of his students, Goten, tossing and turning about rather violently while mumbling something he can't quite understand.
This makes Mr. Hitsuijikai particularly concerned since he has noticed that ever since his little episode with his dad earlier, this chibi has been nothing but pure sunshine and joy for him. Not only has he discovered that Goten is one of the nicest and most friendly little boys he's ever seen, he is also quite intelligent despite his younger age. Needless to say, he has been quite taken by this particular chibi.
The teacher definitely wants to comfort his student, but he has also learned both from outside research and from experience that it is better for the nightmare to play itself completely through rather than trying to shake the child awake in the middle of it. The child will most likely not notice the shift in reality and thrash around and fear whoever it is that wakes them up, thinking they are still part of the nightmare. So, despite his want to cuddle the chibi close and comfort him, he will just have to wait and let it play out.
Meanwhile, Goten is indeed having one of the nightmares that have been plaguing him often recently. It is a rather intense nightmare once again about him not being able to help his daddy.
~987 South District~
Goten watches on with wide, fearful eyes as his daddy continues to get crushed underneath the foot of the gigantic, evil man with the long, spiky hair similar to his daddy's. Despite the fact that this man looks a lot like his daddy though, he seems to be the complete opposite.
It all started when Goten was playing in the woods by their house. The man had basically dropped out of the sky in front of him and scowled at him. Once over his surprise at the strange man's appearance, fear took over the chibi as he recognized the man as the evil brother of his daddy's daddy from that horrible memory that he was forced to see in the pendulum room. He put his arms over his head and crouched down in fear as the evil man raised his hand to hit him…
Only for his daddy to take the hit for him…
Goten still has no clue where his daddy came from and how he was able to get in front of him so quickly, but he is extremely grateful for it.
His daddy protected him once again like he always said he would!
Goten's elation at seeing his daddy faded as he saw the bad man start fighting his daddy. At first they seemed dead even with Gohan actually getting a few decent blows in on Raditz. However, it was all a faint as Raditz was holding back his power significantly.
After that, tears started forming in Goten's eyes as he witnessed his daddy take a huge beating…
…a beating that is still going on.
Goten is brought out of his thoughts by his daddy's pain filled screams as the mean man pushes his foot down even harder on his daddy's chest. At each agonized cry from his daddy, Goten starts to loose himself. His fear is quickly turning to anger as he sees this mad man continue to cackle in laughter over his daddy's pain.
Finally, Goten snaps.
"Hey! You Meanie!" Goten furiously shouts, causing Raditz to stop his laughter for a moment and turn his attention to Goten. Gohan also stops his shouts of agony and looks to Goten, deep concern filling his eyes despite the mortal danger he himself is in.
Raditz smirks at the chibi. His scouter is showing that the kid's power is increasing dramatically, but nothing he can't deal with. "Aww, what's the matter?" he asks sarcastically. "You mad that I'm not playing with you?"
Gohan's eyes widen at the statement as he realizes what Raditz is getting at. "Goten!" he shouts desperately. "Get out of here while you still c–AHHHH!"
Gohan's cut off when Raditz stomps on his chest harder than before, causing him to scream out in pain. The evil saiyan glares at the teen demi-saiyan. "Shut up!" he growls, annoyed that he interrupted his little showdown with the child. Man how he loves haunting children!
This only seems to make Goten angrier as he finally loses it completely. "HEY! YOU LEAVE MY DADDY ALONE!" he cries, now charging the mean man.
Raditz however merely smirks as he dodges Goten's wild fist and backhands the chibi a few hundred yards away. He turns towards the chibi now. "Eager to play eh?" he asks, now grinning evilly. "Well, since you're so anxious to play with your dear Uncle Raditz, I guess I can play with you."
Goten sits up and rubs his head with both of his hands. When he looks up though, he sees the evil man walking slowly towards him. All of his previous anger is replaced by pure fear as he continues to watch Raditz stride towards him. That was his best attack! How did the man dodge it?
Before Raditz is even able to get halfway to him though, Gohan jumps out of nowhere and puts the saiyan in a full nelson hold. He is clinging to the evil saiyan for dear life despite his serious battle wounds. "You will not lay a finger on him as long as I'm still breathing," he shouts out. Pain erupts from his chest from the shout but he still holds on firmly to his credit.
Raditz sighs. However, his expression quickly changes to a smirk as he looks over his shoulder at the demi-saiyan holding on to him. "Well in that case, I guess I'll have to make you stop breathing then."
Before Gohan can even process the full-blooded saiyan's words, Raditz elbows him in the stomach violently, forcing him to let go. As the teen is staggering backwards, Raditz quickly shoots a ki beam straight through Gohan's chest, making the demi-saiyan stop in his tracks and collapse, completely void of life.
Gohan Son is dead.
Goten witnesses all of this and is completely terrified as his daddy is killed right in front of his eyes. His eyes never leave the form of his daddy, even as the murderer of his dad starts pacing towards him, only one thought going through his mind.
His daddy is dead…
He suddenly collapses as well, bawling his eyes out. Raditz looks upon the scene with a wide, extremely evil grin, but that's just background scenery. Goten wails his sorrows as he runs over to his daddy's lifeless body. He hugs his body close to him, praying to Dende that his daddy is still there. But he knows that he's only fooling himself. Even a four year old knows that a hole in your chest is really bad.
It's then he realizes that his daddy died protecting him after he attacked the mean man. Even after he was incredibly hurt, his daddy still got up and held him back for him. He knew his daddy loved him, but he didn't know he would do that!
"I'm sorry daddy!" he sobs to Gohan's dead body. As he continues to cry over his daddy's death, Raditz nonchalantly makes his way over to the chibi demi-saiyan.
"Haha! Sorry about that kid, but he was getting really annoying," the saiyan suddenly states, smirking down at the distraught chibi. "Now that he's gone though, we can play without any interruption!"
Goten looks up and glares menacingly at the full-blooded saiyan, his anger coming back tenfold. "YOU KILLED MY DADDY!" He quickly gets up and charges the saiyan again, winding up a punch like before. The evil saiyan merely steps to the side and karate chops the chibi's neck as he blows past him, resulting in a sickening crack!
"NOO!"
~Orange Star Elementary, Satan City~
Goten shoots up in his spot, his shout resonating through the room. He is panting heavily with tears already in his eyes. He looks though the tears to see that he is in the classroom that he has been in for the entire day.
Mr. Hitsuijikai quickly makes his way over to the frightened chibi, but Goten barely notices his presence. He just witnessed his daddy die right in front of him! Sure, he's had some pretty scary nightmares in the past, but he's never seen his daddy die before. It might be due to the fact that he's been away from his daddy for a good six hours now.
The teacher tries his best to comfort the chibi, pulling him into a hug. By this time, the rest of the students are awake and wide eyed at what is happening. They are all confused as to why the teacher is cuddling one of their classmates. Goten just continues to cry into Mr. Hitsuijikai's arms.
The teacher tries his best to soothe the chibi in his arms as he continues to wail as if someone set him on fire. "There, there Goten," he speaks softly, but the boy just continues to sob. The teacher sighs before trying to console him some more. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Goten violently shakes his head negatively. "I JUST WANT MY DADDY!" he cries.
As if his words were magic, the door to the classroom slams open. Goten looks up and what he sees though his tears makes him tremble.
His daddy…
Alive!
Faster than the teacher thought possible, Goten dashes across the room to Gohan. He clings to the teen like a leach and does something that he has never done in front of him before:
He cries in Gohan's presence.
While this doesn't come as shocking to anybody else in the classroom, Gohan is completely stunned. Not even as an infant had Gohan ever seen his son cry! Sure, he's seen signs of him crying before he got to him, but by the time he arrived Goten was always done. This is a first for him, and the thought of whatever would have caused this to happen terrifies the teen to no end.
Gohan knew something bad was happening. He was talking to Videl while they were waiting for the gym teacher to come outside for their sixth hour P.E. class when Gohan had suddenly felt a large pain in his chest. At first he couldn't explain it, but after feeling the resulting coldness and fear coming from his bond with Goten, he quickly realized that something horrible must have happened to his son. Without so much as saying a single word, Gohan sprinted back into the building, making his way to the elementary school as fast as possible, not caring if people saw his real speed in the halls.
When he found Goten in the Kindergarten teacher's arms, as well as all of the blankets and chibis that were around them, he deduced pretty quickly that Goten probably had a horrible nightmare during their nap time.
Gohan immediately tends to the tiny charge in his arms, using his soothing gestures like every other time Goten is upset about a nightmare. He rubs the chibi's back and runs his hand through the chibi's hair, all the while saying soothing things to him while inwardly cursing Piccolo and Dende for making Goten see the Raditz event that caused the onset of these nightmares in the first place.
And like every other time, Gohan's calming gestures work wonders on the chibi. The combination of the feeling of his daddy's hands as well as the incredibly soothing sensation of his daddy's ki calms him down immensely. His crying halts after only a few seconds, while he relaxes in his daddy's embrace.
It was just a bad dream.
His daddy's here, alive and well.
Eventually, Gohan calms the chibi down enough where he can lift his head and speak to the teacher. "Mr. Hitsuijikai, I'm gonna take Goten home for the day. I think he needs it after what happened."
The teacher smiles softly at the teen, still in awe at how he was able to comfort the chibi with such ease when he couldn't even get him to calm a little. Despite his young appearance, Mr. Son seems to be an incredible dad. "I completely understand. I'll see you both tomorrow then."
Gohan nods silently to the concerned teacher, standing up with Goten in his arms. The chibi is now silent, although he is still trembling slightly. Gohan quickly makes his way to the door and closes it absentmindedly, not taking his attention off of Goten.
Despite the fact that he seems to be better now, the teen is still incredibly worried about his son. What did he see that made him cry in front of him for the first time ever? He wants to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.
But Goten interrupts him first.
"I think I'm ready daddy…" he states softly, sadness still lingering in his voice, but there is also a lacing of determination in there as well.
This confuses Gohan. What is he ready for? "You're ready for what Goten?"
"I-I think I'm ready for you to train me again," he clarifies. "You know, like you were doing before."
This shocks Gohan. He did not expect this in the slightest. "But I thought you didn't like that Goten," he responds, now more worried about what his son saw in his dream.
"W-well I don't," Goten answers, confusing Gohan even more "but in my dream I-I saw…. I saw… I-I…"
"Shh, It's okay Goten," Gohan soothes before his son breaks down again. He never wants to see his son cry again and it seems like this particular subject is very sensitive to the tiny demi-saiyan. He doesn't have to explain what it was, but if he wants to train, then he'll do just that. "If you think you're ready to give martial arts another shot though, I won't hesitate to teach you. Just know that no matter what you saw in you dream that I will always be here to protect you."
This however has the opposite affect that Gohan intended on the chibi. Instead of giving him comfort, that statement seems to have shaken Goten up again. "But daddy, in my dream, you–you died!"
Gohan pales at the revelation, but quickly comforts his son again before images of whatever he saw flood his head again. No wonder Goten was so upset! He saw him die? Sure, Gohan knows that he would easily give his life to protect his son, but Goten must have witnessed it firsthand! He must have felt so hopeless when he saw that, exactly how Gohan remembers feeling once he saw his dad getting crushed under Raditz's foot.
No wonder he wants to train now. Gohan distinctly remembers how he felt when he found out that Raditz had actually killed his father. Back then, Piccolo was going to train him, and despite his dislike for fighting, he suddenly remembers how determined he himself was to learn to defend himself.
He never wanted to feel that hopeless again.
As he continues to comfort Goten, Gohan suddenly realizes that this is what Piccolo was shooting for when he showed Goten the memory in the Pendulum Room. Of course it didn't have the desired effect right away, but eventually it came to pass. Piccolo had seen this happen with Gohan before, but it took an actual death for Gohan to get his motivation. The Namekian saw how similar Goten is to himself as a chibi and knew that it would take something similar to motivate him.
Piccolo didn't want Goten to go through the same thing though, and it worked! Sure, Goten did witness his death, but the teen didn't actually die. Now, if Goten learns to defend himself, hopefully he never will have to witness it ever again. Gohan then contemplates if training Goten is the key to ridding the nightmares. After all, once he has more confidence in his abilities, the chibi won't seem as defenseless in his dreams. Perhaps it will help to train the chibi after all.
However, Gohan is still angry at how the situation was handled. Even though Piccolo's method ended up doing what he had set out to do, Gohan absolutely despises the fact that Goten still has to go through what he's going through right now. He hates the fact that Goten is probably traumatized because if it, just like him. Even if training helps, it will still take a long time for Goten to eventually get over what he saw.
Gohan wants to make sure that Goten doesn't have a childhood like his own, and up until that incident, it was going rather smoothly. Now, Goten may not have physically lost him, but the chibi still felt the pain like he did. It's turning out to be the exact same experience he had! The only difference is that Goten doesn't have to train to defend the Earth against a threat, but who knows how long that will last? The fact that Piccolo had a part to do with this repeat happening makes it that much harder for Gohan to forgive him.
As the demi-saiyan ponders upon it deeper though, he realizes that this is partly his fault as well. He was so afraid of something happening to Goten that he ended up trying to force martial arts on the chibi when he clearly wasn't ready. If that hadn't happened, or if Gohan would have just given his son a more specific explanation when the chibi asked, the Goten wouldn't have been asking for answers in the first place. Perhaps he's being a bit too hard on the Namekians.
Gohan shakes his head to clear up his thoughts. No, they deserve his silence. They were the ones that hurt Goten. It's their fault that Gohan has to comfort his son after a terrible nightmare.
The teen quickly rids himself of his musings. It doesn't matter at the moment. All of that can wait. Right now he has to worry about reassuring his son. "It's okay Goten, I'm right here and I'm not dying anytime soon, so don't worry so much about it okay? It was just a bad dream."
Goten gives Gohan a shaky nod in his chest, accepting his daddy's reassurance greedily. "Yes daddy," he mumbles into Gohan's chest before looking up. He gives his daddy a small smile. "Thank you for always being here and making me feel better daddy. I love you so much."
Gohan returns the smile before hugging the little guy close. It still amazes him how much Goten means to him, but the explanation doesn't matter. "I love you too, Goten, more than anything else in the world. Don't you ever forget it."
~987 South District~
"Wow Videl! You're a natural!" Gohan excitedly praises, legitimately impressed with his best friend. "You mastered it in less than three months, way faster than I ever expected! Not even my dad picked it up that quickly!"
Videl huffs a bit to catch her breath. Man that technique is draining! However, she manages to grin at Gohan, truly proud of her accomplishment. "Maybe it's because I just had a better teacher."
Gohan shakes his head. "No, you're just that amazingly talented Videl! I can't wait for you to use that on Seventeen tomorrow at the tournament."
The daughter of Mr. Satan chuckles, imagining the look on the bio-android's face once she unleashes her secret weapon. "Haha! Sev will be so surprised when he sees it! He won't know what hit him!"
It has been two months since Gohan's first day of school, also the same day he became reacquainted with Android Seventeen as well as the same day Goten asked to be trained again, and it is now the day before the tournament. Over this time, a lot has been going on in Gohan's life.
To start out, he has been training Videl pretty much every day in order to prepare her for the tournament. He has been giving her special lessons on ki control and last minute tips on sustaining it for longer periods of time. He can't help but be impressed with how well Videl seems to be progressing. Her ki level is growing very steadily, and if Gohan were to compare it to someone, he would say that she is approaching his father's power level before Raditz arrived to Earth. If she is able to power up and amplify her ki, she would surpass his evil uncle easily and possibly be at Nappa's base level! She also has learned to sustain it for a lot longer than before, lasting up to a half-hour in her fully powered up form where she could only last barely a minute two months ago.
Videl has been doing more than training with him though. She has also been continuing to talk with him about his father. As much as she's tried convincing him that he actually misses his father and is mad that he left him, he still continues to deny it, much to Videl's frustration. He still insists that he deserves it, but that he's mad that Goku didn't want to stick around for Chichi and Goten. It truly gets hard for her sometimes not to smack the demi-saiyan upside the head for being so dense to not be able to see what's in front of him.
Besides spending time with Videl, Gohan has also been spending time with his former-enemy-turned-friend, Android Seventeen, or as he is known in public, "Mr. Juu Nana." Since he found out that the bio-android has the same lunch period as him, Gohan spends his lunch every day with the calculus teacher. It is during this time that they talk, whether it be just small talk or something important that has to do with Gohan's personal life.
In addition to spending his lunch with Seventeen, he also invites the android over every Sunday to have a spar. This turned out to be pretty convenient for Gohan since this would normally be the day that he would go to the Lookout to spar with Piccolo, which he hasn't done since the Pendulum Room incident. This gives Gohan his 'fighting requirement' that his saiyan side demands.
Gohan personally likes this arrangement better than the one he had with Piccolo. While Seventeen isn't nearly as experienced as the Namekian, and not as powerful either, he makes up for it with his innovation. He always is able to throw Gohan for a loop, keeping him on his toes. It also helps the demi-saiyan with fighting with his senses, since the bio-android doesn't emit a ki signature.
That fact alone also makes it much more convenient for Gohan. Since neither of them give off a ki signature, he can do his spars with Seventeen right in the area he lives and not draw attention to the Z-fighters. Gohan knows of some really good open areas in the 988 South District that they spar in without threatening the environment around them.
But Gohan really loves the arrangement since this is also the day that he spars with Goten, and Seventeen gives Goten another perspective as another experienced sensei, teaching him what he knows.
That's right, like he had promised the chibi, Gohan has started training the boy again. He admits that it's been hard at times, especially when he spars with the chibi since he can tell that Goten doesn't really like it much at all. Much to the young demi-saiyan's credit though, he has stuck with it and has become determined to learn what Gohan is teaching him, no matter how much he dislikes it. This is a great source of pride for Gohan since it shows how much Goten is growing up, even if he is still only four months from turning five.
Goten has been remarkable with his progress as well. It seems like the little guy is a true prodigy when it comes to fighting, reminding him much of himself as a chibi. While Goten doesn't like the fighting aspect of martial arts, it's completely obvious that he has the potential to be a very skilled fighter. He seems to pick up on martial arts forms and technique incredibly quickly, stunning even Gohan sometimes with how fast he is to pick up certain complex combinations that took Gohan a while to master himself!
There are some distinct differences between himself as a chibi and current Goten however. While Goten loves ki manipulation, he usually struggles with it a bit more than he himself did at that age. Now, Gohan naturally is incredibly skilled at ki manipulation, as he was able to learn everything very quickly, so it really isn't saying much to say that Goten is a bit lacking in this area compared to him, but it seems that he struggles a bit more with it than he thought he would.
Oftentimes, Videl can learn a skill faster than Goten can, which isn't normal since Goten is half saiyan while Videl is a pure human. Saiyans generally have a much more natural inclination towards ki, so this comes as shocking to Gohan. However, Gohan does have a theory of why this is. It is a fact that learning a ki skill takes a great deal of concentration. The teen figures that Goten's short attention span (which he had unfortunately inherited from his father) distracts him much more easily than it would him, making it much harder for him to focus on the particular skill.
What Goten doesn't have in ki manipulation though he makes up for in power. Goten doesn't have the hidden potential ki that Gohan had when he was younger, but the chibi has a lot more raw power. Once Gohan was able to teach the little guy how to release his ki, Gohan was amazed at how strong his son truly was. Goten's base power is much higher than his own at that age. When he was five years old, Gohan barely had enough ki to take on Nappa at his base power when he himself was at full power. However, Goten's base ki level is equal to Nappa's at full power, and when he amplifies his ki, Goten's ki level is up to par with Vegeta's back when he first arrived on Planet Earth. It truly astounds Gohan how powerful his little boy is.
Gohan quickly looks over at Goten, who has just woken up from his nap and rushed out of the house to greet Videl with nothing less than an enthusiastic hug. A smile graces his face as he takes in the scene. His boy may be powerful, but he is also the sweetest chibi in the world. He wouldn't change a single thing about him.
"Ane!" he cries happily, quickly jumping into Videl's waiting arms. He's ecstatic to see who he considers an older sister. "You're here!"
Videl smiles fondly at the chibi as she returns the hug. She is starting to love the chibi much like a younger brother she never had and is happy to see him as always. "Yep, I am," she responds. She pulls out of the hug, but still holds the chibi close in her arms. "How was your nap?"
Goten grins widely. "It was great! I had a dream where daddy and I were swimming in the lake and you came over and swam with us!" Goten then jumps out of the girl's arms and runs over to his daddy, jumping into his arms now. Gohan quickly secures a hug from the chibi before Goten leans back a bit. "Hey daddy!" he greets.
"Hi Goten," the teen demi-saiyan responds, smiling warmly at Goten. "I'm glad to hear you had a good nap. So there were no bad dreams?"
The chibi shakes his head back and forth negatively. "Nope, I had an awesome dream about us swimming in the lake with Ane." Goten then puts on an adorable pleading expression. "Can we go to the lake daddy?"
Gohan looks at Videl. "What do you think Videl? Do you think you're ready for tomorrow?"
Goten leaps out of Gohan's arms and back into Videl's. He seems to be playing leap frog between the two teens. He then turns his insanely cute expression on Videl. "Common Ane! It'll be fun! Please?" he pleads, unleashing his puppy dog eyes on the girl.
While the daughter of Hercule has gotten used to Goten's cute act, she still caves almost instantly, smiling while shaking her head. Damn Goten and his cuteness! She swears if it was any other chibi she would be able to resist the look at least a little bit, but when it comes to Goten, it's a lost cause before the battle even begins. "Of course we can go to the lake, Goten. Besides, I know I'm ready for tomorrow." Videl replies, making Goten whoop in victory. She sets the younger Son on his feet before addressing Gohan. "I'll meet you guys there. I have to change."
"You better hurry Ane!" Goten states before running over to his daddy and tugging on his hand enthusiastically. "Common daddy, let's go!"
Gohan chuckles at his son's antics before eventually giving in to Goten's lead. Before his son gets the chance to drag him too far away, he quickly gets out a sentence to his best friend. "We'll see you there Videl."
Videl chuckles as well at Goten's enthusiasm and waves at the duo before heading back to Gohan's house. While it's true that she needs to change, she has an alternate motive for not going to the lake right away.
She has to prepare herself.
The daughter of Hercule, despite her prior beliefs, still has a crush on her best friend. And not only does she still have feelings for him, but they have gotten even worse! The more time she spends with the demi-saiyan, the more she falls for the boy. It's gotten to the point now where she can't even be around him when he strips out of his gi top before he hops into the lake without feeling the urge to jump the teen right then and there. The daughter of Hercule is very thankful for the fact that both Gohan and Goten seem completely oblivious to her feelings since it is getting incredibly difficult for her to keep them in check, something that gets pointed out constantly by both Seventeen and Erasa. It's completely obvious to them that she is crushing on the boy, and they tease her constantly for it.
In all honesty, Videl just thought this was a simple crush two months ago. She has had crushes before. In fact, back when she was in middle school, she had the biggest crush on baseball star and martial arts enthusiast Yamcha the Bandit (who she ironically found out is part of the group of Gohan's friends). However, that only lasted for about a month before she moved on.
This however is completely different. It's been two months now and she still has these feelings for Gohan. And what's worse, they don't seem to be going away anytime soon. She is also noticing that these feelings are much deeper than they were with Yamcha back in the day. She is starting to think that this is more than a simple crush.
Is it possible that she is actually… in love with Gohan?
Just thinking about the possibility makes her blush furiously. She is finding it incredibly possible that she is in love with her best friend.
But that's where her dilemma comes in.
She has no clue how the demi-saiyan feels about her. He seems to treat her just like a close friend. She however also realizes that it is possible that Gohan may just be oblivious to his feelings for her like he is about her feelings towards him. She reminds herself that she is the first girl his age that he has had any long-term interaction with, so he might not know how to deal with these feelings or how to show them. She also figures that this is another reason why he is so oblivious to her as well.
Videl quickly finishes changing into her bathing suit and exits the house, heading towards the lake. She has no clue what to do to find out if he actually has feelings for her, but she knows she can't keep hers hidden for that much longer, even to Gohan. It's only a matter of time until they slip…
And she has a feeling that time is coming really soon.
~Main Tournament Pavilion, Tenkaichi Budokai Grounds, Papaya Island~
Today is the day…
Gohan is currently walking in his Junjoubu disguise around the common pavilion on the Tenkaichi Budokai grounds ready to sign up for the tournament. The pavilion is incredibly large: multiple booths selling various goods and foods line both sides of the main street that they are currently walking on. There are also a plethora of side paths that diverge from the main one, mainly leading to the many landing pads for air vehicles. In the background near the end of the main road, the huge tournament arena can be seen towering over the entire grounds, making it completely obvious where the main event will be held. Off of the main arena, Gohan can see that there are also multiple side arenas where they hold the preliminary rounds for the tournament.
All in all, it is a grand, worldwide event that has become incredibly popular over the years. It amazes the teen how big the place is. Sure, the arena is a bit smaller than the one for the Intergalactic Tournament, but the grounds themselves are gigantic! It is completely obvious that this tournament is much more accustomed to dealing with the copious amounts of people that come here as well as the contestants.
Videl had told him that her father had won the last Tenkaichi Budokai, the 24th one, seven years ago. It was the first tournament in years since they had to rebuild the arena after the final between Goku Son and Majunior at the 23rd tournament. That fight had left the arena in ruins, and that was the only tournament that his father actually won.
This year is the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai. After restarting the tournament, they had planned on having it every seven years in order for the fighters to have a good amount of time to train in between tournaments. Unlike team sports like football and baseball where the players can make up for others' misplays up to a certain extent, martial artists are fighting all on their own, so they need a vast amount of training and time to perfect the art. Instead of having a grand tournament like the Tenkaichi Budokai every year, a bunch of smaller tournaments take place.
What this does is makes it so only the best fighters sign up for the Budokai. The smaller tournaments usually weed out all of the weaker and lesser skilled fighters. Anyone can still sign up for the Budokai, but those that do that don't have a fighting record with a credible dojo or trainer are put to the test against one of the many instructors that the Budokai hires. In these tests, the instructor will ask you to form a decent martial arts stance, preform a few katas or combinations, and then defend against one of their offensives. This way, one has to have at least some skill to enter the prelims of the tournament. This is mainly a safety feature as well as a policy to keep the integrity of the tournament.
Gohan is quietly making his way to the sign up booth to register for the tournament, carrying Goten in his arms. He smiles at his son as he looks at him. The chibi is sleeping at the moment, taking a quick nap before all of the fun starts. Before, he was so excited to see his daddy and Ane Videl fight in this tournament. He had also heard that his new sensei, Mr. Seventeen, is also fighting, and he finds that exciting as well. He may not like fighting himself, but he finds it incredibly interesting to watch.
Well… as long as it's not a fight to the death…
Goten is not garbed in his usual green and yellow kimono. Instead, he is wearing an exact replica of his daddy's Junjoubu costume, the only differences being that his helmet doesn't change his voice and the clothes don't make him appear older. The chibi squealed in delight when his daddy presented it to him this morning since he thinks that Junjoubu is the coolest super hero ever! He immediately changed into the thing and wore it proudly all morning.
Gohan is glad that he liked the uniform. In all honesty, he didn't give it to Goten for the sole purpose of his enjoyment (although he also knew that the kid would flip when he got it). The teen actually fears that some of the Z-gang will arrive at the tournament to show up Hercule. Mr. Satan has been insulting the use of ki as well as his family and friends for years now, and everyone is quite fed up with all of the verbal abuse. It wouldn't surprise Gohan if a few of the fighters like Krillin and Yamcha signed up to give Hercule a piece of their mind.
So Gohan gave Goten a Junjoubu uniform. If any of the Z-fighters were competing in the tournament it is guaranteed that some of the non-fighting gang would come to watch. Goten of course will be cheering from the stands for him. If they ever caught a glimpse of Goten, they would recognize him instantly and know that he is here as well. However, if Goten is wearing the Junjoubu costume, it will just look like he is a huge fan of the super hero.
The disguise, while serving to protect his identity from his classmates at school, is also there to protect his identity from the Z-gang. He is super glad that he has the features in the suit that make him look older than he is. Unfortunately, helmets are forbidden in the tournament, so Gohan had to tie his hair into a rough pony tail and cover his head in a white bandana. He also had to wear sunglasses to cover his eyes since he knows that if one of the z-fighters saw his eyes, they would know who he was right away, no matter how much older he is.
Another precaution Gohan took was that he altered his ki-inhibiting wristbands a little bit. He was able to modify them so that they gave off a ki signature of a normal human. He figured that any Z-fighter would find it incredibly suspicious if they couldn't feel a ki signature from him. This took a ton of research for him to make, but a week ago, he finally figured it out. Now, if any of the Z-fighters do show up, they won't be nearly as suspicious.
There are two things that worry him however. One is the fact that his voice converter was in the helmet. Right now his voice is deeper than it was when they last saw him, but still not fully matured. At the moment, he actually sounds a lot like his dad, who had more of an alto voice. If he ever were in a situation where he had to say something to the Z-fighters, this would be another give away of who he actually is. He will have to find another way to disguise his voice, but as of right now, he doesn't have an idea of how.
The second thing is the fact that his face still isn't covered that well. Sure, the bandana covers his hair and the sunglasses his eyes, but the shape of his face is still incredibly similar to his father's. In fact, he probably looks even more like his father now than he did four years ago. All it would take is a passing glance for the Z-fighters to recognize him. He somehow will need to disguise his face even more, but once again, he has no clue how.
However, he is meeting up with Seventeen and Videl at the sign up booth. Videl had to fly in with her father in order to keep up with appearances while Seventeen just wanted to come a bit later. Perhaps they have a few ideas of how to disguise these features.
Gohan approaches the sign up booth, and to his delight, there aren't any people in line. Smiling an easy going smile, he walks up to the booth. The monk running it smiles as well as Gohan walks up.
"Hello again, is there something else you needed Mr. Junjoubu, sir?" he asks politely, startling Gohan quite a bit as well as confusing him immensely. Obviously the monk recognized his uniform, so the fact that he assumed him to be Junjoubu isn't too surprising since he is known pretty widely as the retired super hero of Satan City. What confuses him is the fact that the monk is talking to him as if he already signed up.
"Excuse me sir, but I didn't sign up yet, although I am signing up as Junjoubu," Gohan states softly, still making an effort not to wake up Goten.
The monk looks back up at him confused, before comprehension dawns on him. "Oh! You must be another competitor! Sorry sir, but there already is a 'Junjoubu' signed up. You're going to have to sign up as someone else."
This shocks Gohan. Someone else already signed up as Junjoubu? Gohan curses his luck. It figures that it would be at the tournament that is broadcasted world-wide where some random fan decides to dress up as him and enter as him.
What is he going to do now?
Videl has just landed on her father's landing pad. She's now impatiently waiting for her father to stop showing off to the press and fans that have gathered around the plane to praise and suck up to 'the great Hercule Satan.' Much to Videl's irritation however, he doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon.
Her father can make her so mad sometimes! Not only has he been taking credit for something he didn't do for almost six years now, but he is also calling the ones who actually deserve the credit fakes! She swears that if it wasn't for Gohan telling her to keep it all a secret that she would have called out her father already.
Thinking about the teenage demi-saiyan instantly lightens up her mood. He truly is her best friend, savior, and more than that. He is the man that drives her crazy with happiness whenever they're together as well as the one who is able to brighten the darkest of her days with just a smile. She would literally do anything for that guy, even something like keeping his true accomplishments a secret so he can stay under cover.
However, that doesn't mean that she won't teach her father a lesson in humility.
The daughter of Hercule smirks as she thinks of her plan that not even Gohan knows about. She will keep her word and keep Gohan's identity a secret to the world. However, if she is fortunate enough to actually fight her father in the tournament, then she knows that she will definitely enjoy herself.
She knows that she is so much stronger than her father at this point that it's borderline comical. All she has to do is sense his ki to know this. What Videl plans to do is absolutely humiliate her father in their match and show him that he's not all that he's cracked up to be, and that being the 'savior of the world' doesn't make you a god that can make people follow your every whim and insult those few that don't.
She desperately wants to do more than just that, but she knows that if she used ki to fight her father that one of two things would happen. One would be that Hercule would write off her fighting as 'using a bunch of tricks,' saving his credibility that way like he has for the past five and a half years. The sad thing is that most of the people would believe him since they worship the ground he walks on, making life for her (especially in Satan City) very difficult.
The other scenario would be even worse, not because of the immediate results, but because of the implications it would bring. In this scenario, everything happens exactly as she secretly wants it to. She defeats her father with ki and proves to everyone that ki is real. If this were to happen, her father's mask would be removed and he would be exposed as the fraud he is. However, that would also mean that people would realize that whoever defeated Cell was one of the mystery fighters, and the people would logically connect the dots to believe it was the 'delivery boy,' aka, Gohan.
Not only would one of those two things happen though, but using ki in this tournament would give away that she knows Gohan to all of the people that he's trying to hide from. They would know that someone would have had to have taught her about ki, logically concluding that Gohan would be the only one to be able to do that without any of them knowing. After that, Bulma would most likely track her down and demand her to tell her where he lives, which she definitely would want to avoid at all costs.
So, despite the fact that she will want to really show her father what is real and what's not, she will restrain herself… at least unless she fights someone else who knows ki manipulation, aka Gohan or Seventeen. Gohan, much to her disgust at the idea, had told her that she can justify herself by saying she had to use those 'tricks' to keep up with the trickster that she was fighting.
The daughter of Hercule shakes her head. How Gohan can be so indifferent about being called a trickster she will never understand.
But then again, that's another reason why she loves the demi-saiyan. He doesn't care about fame and fortune, only about the safety of others. He doesn't care if the world thinks he's a fraud; as long as the world is at peace, it doesn't matter to him. He deserves what her father has and more, but he doesn't care that he's not getting any of it and is happy in fact.
She has a feeling that Goten and herself have a lot to do with that, the thought making her grin. She is so fortunate to have met the boy at the Intergalactic Tournament almost five years ago. If not for him, she would still be in the dark about the truth of what ki is and how much of a fraud her father is. Sure, she still was suspicious of her father before she met Gohan, but fighting him and watching him fight in the semi-finals of that tournament really gave her reason to believe her father was lying.
Speaking of Gohan…
She can see the demi-saiyan standing in the distance behind the crowd of people, leaning against the wall. He is indeed garbed in his Junjoubu attire except for the orange helmet, which instead is replaced by a combination of a white bandana and sunglasses with his longer hair tied back behind his head in a ponytail. Videl also finds it amusing that he is also sporting a green bandana that matches his gi over his mouth and nose, making him look like some kind of geeky bandit. She figures he's paranoid about his friends finding out who he really is since, according to him, his face looks almost exactly like his father's. She starts making her way off the plane to greet her best f–
"Videl! Miss Videl!"
The teenager groans. Of course the media would want to talk to her. "What do you want!?" she growls out irritably, not bothering to look into the camera she knows is getting pushed into her face.
The female reporter that addressed Videl doesn't bat an eye at the girl's attitude. She knows how the Satan girl reacts to the press and is quite used to it. Instead she goes on like Videl is happy to see her. "We heard that you are entering the tournament this year since you're finally old enough. What would you do if you have to fight your father?"
Videl finally looks at the camera, completely dumbfounded at the reporter. Sure, the media asks some pretty ridiculous questions, but she is just so surprised at the sheer stupidity in that one. "Umm… I don't know, punch?" she answers in a very simple manner, making it completely obvious what she thinks of the question. How else is she supposed to answer?
"Haha! Don't be silly Videl!" Hercule laughs, slapping his daughter on the back, causing her to stumble forward a bit since she wasn't expecting her father to come out of nowhere like that. "Oh, but seriously Patricia," Hercule continues, "We should probably get going. The champ is out! YEAH!" He finishes by raising two peace signs in the air.
Videl is actually thankful for her father's interruption. As she walks away from all of the reporters, she wonders how many more questions like the ones she was asked she could have taken before becoming suicidal. "Thanks for stopping her dad, she only asked me one question and I already felt dumber just talking to her."
"Haha, common sweet pea, it's not that bad," Hercule responds. "I think it's fun talking to reporters like that."
Videl looks up at her dad incredulously. "How do you find that fun?"
"Well, you just have to know what to say to them. If someone asks you a stupid question, and let's face it, pretty much all of them that reporters ask are, play along with them. If they ask you a ridiculous question, give them a ridiculous answer. Heck, half the stuff I say to the media is stuff that I make up on the spot! It's more fun that way, and you can keep your sanity too!"
Videl looks up at her father once more before smiling. "I guess that makes sense. Thanks daddy!" she answers. She loves this side of her father, the real side. When it's just the two of them and they're not surrounded by the paparazzi, he is actually quite funny and intelligent. He also is incredibly caring and kind to her whenever he's home or alone with her somewhere. She can tell that he loves her dearly. She only wishes that he would bring out this side of him more often.
Hercule leans down to give his daughter a kiss on the cheek. "Anything for my sweet pea!" he announces caringly, eliciting a smile from Videl. "Now then, why don't you go and sign up. I'll be in the champion's suite. I'm already in the tournament since I won the last one." The man looks up thoughtfully and rubs his chin. "Actually, I don't understand why they added that rule."
"Why is that daddy?" Videl asks.
"Well I just don't think that I should get a free pass just because I won it last time." Hercule explains, much to the surprise of his daughter. "Just because I was the best fighter that year doesn't necessarily mean that I'm the best this time around. Besides, I liked fighting in the prelims. It made me feel like I earned my spot in the tournament, plus some of the best fights are there, it's just that no one ever sees them. In fact, my best match was the final round of the prelims against this guy named Yamu. He was probably the next best fighter at the entire tournament; he just was unfortunate enough to be put in my block of the prelims." He rubs his chin thoughtfully once more. "Man I really hope he's here again this year. He'll be a good opponent, that's for sure."
Videl stares at her dad in awe. He seems like a completely different person right now compared to how he acts in front of the camera. Right now, he actually seems humble, completely opposite to the arrogant fraud she has been seeing lately. Perhaps she should spend some more time with her dad. Who knows? He could actually confess that he stole the credit to her. If he did that, he would be on the way to earning her respect back. Then she could tell him that Gohan would happily let him continue to take credit as long as he stopped insulting his friends and their techniques.
"Well maybe you should mention that to the coordinators of the tournament," Videl suggests. "They would probably listen to you since you are the 'world champ.'"
Hercule looks at his daughter and gives her a meaningful gaze. "Maybe you're right sweet pea. I will have a talk with Frank as soon as I can. But for now, why don't you go sign up. I'll see you when you fight in the prelims Videl."
Videl looks up at her father, honestly surprised. "You're going to watch the prelims?"
"Well I wouldn't want to miss a second of seeing my little sweet pea fight." Hercule truthfully answers. "Even though I have all of the confidence in the world that you'll get through, anything can happen in those prelims. You could end up like Yamu and end up fighting the next champ there, although I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen."
"What makes you say that daddy?" she asks, knowing that he's going to say that it's because he's going to be the champ again.
Hercule puts a hand on his daughter's shoulder and looks down at her with nothing but pride in his eyes. "Because Videl, I honestly think that you will be the champion this year."
Videl gasps in surprise, tears filing her eyes. She had no clue that her father thought of her that highly as a fighter. He has surprised her a lot in the past couple of minutes, but she never expected him to say something like that! Looking into his eyes, she can tell that he is completely serious too. "R-really daddy?"
Hercule nods affirmatively. "I really do sweet pea. I saw you training in the training room last night, and I can tell that you're incredible. You're technique was flawless, even though I couldn't tell exactly what style you were using, and you looked incredibly strong. I can tell that you're stronger than even me now sweet pea, and by quite a lot too."
Videl honestly doesn't know what to say, so she just hugs her father tightly. He had just admitted that she is stronger than him, and not only did he say it, but she can tell that he believes it as well!
She can feel him return the hug and start rubbing her back with his hand like he used to when she was little. This whole time, she thought her father had changed into an arrogant asshole that only wanted fame and fortune and thought that nobody could beat him. In reality though, he is the same loving father that she remembers before the Cell Games, just not in front of the camera.
"Videl, I also saw something else in that training room," he continues as soon as the hug breaks. He looks into his daughter's eyes seriously. "I saw you using those techniques that the fighters from the Cell Games used…" he adds, Videl's eyes widening at the information. "But we'll discuss that in the private suite. I have a lot to tell you and explain to you but not right now. Go on and sign up. We'll talk when the tournament's over."
Videl is elated by this news. This is exactly what she was waiting for! But for now, she complies with her father's wishes. "Alright daddy, I'll see you at the prelims then!" she quickly gives him a peck on the cheek before walking away. Hercule, smiling at his daughter, retreats to his suite, thinking of ways to explain to her why he did what he did.
Videl meanwhile is anxious to tell Gohan of her latest development with her father. She looks to the place where he was before, but sighs when she sees that he left. He must have gone over to the sign-up booth, seeing her talking to her father and deciding to give them some privacy. She smiles. He is always so thoughtful!
She quickly makes her way over to the main road that goes through the largest pavilion. It is here where she sees Gohan, or rather 'Junjoubu,' by himself leaning against the entrance to the arena. He seems to be waiting for her. She quickly makes her way over to him. "Hey, 'Junjoubu,'" she greets, using his super hero name since they are in public.
Junjoubu's eyes widen upon seeing her. "H-hey m-Videl!" he replies.
She quickly goes in and gives him a quick hug. He stiffens at first before quickly returning the hug. As soon as they break apart Videl sizes 'Junjoubu' up. "I like the new look, 'Junjoubu.' Personally, I like it a lot more than that orange helmet with the frickin' antennae. I know you have to disguise yourself, but seriously, that just didn't work."
Junjoubu just laughs nervously at that. "Seriously though," Videl continues, "I have so much to tell you."
"Videl–"
"I was talking to my dad earlier and he was completely different, but in a good way!" she continues. "I think I know why too!"
"Videl, I–"
"He said that he saw me training last night!" she says excitedly, cutting Junjoubu off once again. "I think he saw me using ki and then it hit him that what he's doing is wrong!"
"VIDEL!"
The excited teen freezes in her tracks. That voice came from behind her, but it sounded so familiar. She turns around and pales at what she sees.
Another Junjoubu, wearing the same exact uniform as the man she was talking to minus the green bandana, carrying what looks to be a mini Junjoubu. Of course she knows the mini Junjoubu to be Goten, but if that's true…
Then that Junjoubu is Gohan…
And the one she was talking too isn't.
"G-gohan!?" she calls out in shock, too dumbfounded that she actually thought that someone else was him to remember that she shouldn't be saying his actual name in public.
Gohan quickly shushes her. "Videl!" he harshly whispers. "I'm Junjoubu, remember?"
Videl's hands immediately fly to her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I just am so confused! I thought you were him!" she explains, pointing over her shoulder.
"… you thought I was a brick wall?" Gohan asks, clearly amused.
Videl quickly looks back to where the other Junjoubu was only to find that he disappeared somehow. This shocks Videl even more. Where did he go!? she asks herself. I swear he was right there! He's fast! Realizing that Gohan is still waiting for her answer, she quickly turns around, clearly embarrassed. "I swear, he was right there!" she tries to explain. "He was wearing the same uniform you were and everything, right down to the white bandana on your head and the same sunglasses too!"
Gohan sighs. "Wow, that must have been the fan that signed up as me for the tournament. Geez, he must look like me if even you were fooled by him."
Videl however is still reeling. The guy she was talking to was more than just a simple doppelganger that happened to be one of his fans, she knows it. Until the real Gohan showed up, she swore that it she was actually with Gohan. His voice sounded like him and he even had the same nervous mannerisms that the demi-saiyan has! Sure, she found it strange that he was nervous in the first place, but she just wrote it off as pre-tournament jitters due to the fact that his family was here.
How could she make that mistake?
Suddenly, Gohan gets wide-eyed. "Videl, you didn't… tell him anything… did you?"
"No, I didn't…" Videl answers, just now realizing how bad it could have been. She could have blown everything, but thankfully she was so excited about the developments with her father to discuss anything too revealing.
This also causes Gohan to let out a breath in relief. "That's good, so I guess there's no harm," the demi-saiyan replies, now much calmer. "Now I have a question for you Videl. What should I do about my face? Sure, I have the eye and hair coverage, but my voice sounds so much like my father's, not to mention my face is the exact same."
Videl comes out of her confused thoughts at Gohan's question. She will definitely have to find out who that other Junjoubu is later. But thinking about him gives her the perfect solution to his predicament. "Why don't you plant a voice chip in another bandana and tie it around your mouth and nose. That way you'll cover your face and you can change your voice as well."
Gohan thinks over the suggestion before grinning at his best friend. "That's genius Videl! That would totally work, plus it would look so cool!" he excitedly states. "After I drop the little guy off at the daycare I will run out and get one and quickly plant the voice chip!" Gohan then looks at Videl lovingly, sending a shiver up her spine and making her blush a bit, but Gohan doesn't notice, "You are amazing you know that?"
Videl quickly tries to regain her composure, giving him her best smirk. "Of course I do! I am Videl Satan after all."
Gohan chuckles good-naturedly, stirring up warm feelings within Videl at the sound. However, as soon as he starts laughing, he freezes, stiffening significantly. He then turns around suddenly, and gasps, stumbling backwards a few steps before regaining his composure.
Videl looks at the demi-saiyan, now extremely concerned. He seems legitimately scared, and nothing scares the demi-saiyan other than one of his loved one's in danger, Goten in particular. "Gohan," she asks nervously as Goten starts to stir in the demi-saiyan's arms, most likely startled awake by his daddy's emotions. "What's wrong?"
The last thing that she expected to hear came out of her best friend's mouth. "Goku… he's here… somehow, Goku's here!"
Translations:
ki- energy
chibi- cute child, dwarf
sensei- teacher, master
