Chapter 14: Back to School

It was morning just before dawn in Satan City. The sun hadn't even peeked over the horizon and already Son Gohan had his new spouse Videl S. Son, joining him in an abridged facsimile of Master Roshi's daily regimen. Dawned in their weighted training gear, the two teen fighters blazed a trail down the sidewalk in an effort to cover the long route they would have to meet just to simulate what they had done on the island.

"It feels good to run my old jogging route again," Videl commented as she and Gohan passed another car in the suburbs.

"We'll have to switch it up every other day just so we can maintain terrain variation," advised Gohan.

"To simulate the different environments of the island, right?" asked his wife.

"Only without the predatory dinosaurs," the half-Saiyan remarked with a chuckle. The duo leaped over a car as they sped on ahead. Several other early morning risers gawked at the pair as they barreled down the street faster than the actual traffic.

"I can see what Master Roshi and Krillin mean by 'embarrassment factor'…" said the Satan girl.

"Don't let it bother you," Gohan told her. "Training in front of so many people is going to present its' own challenge."

"Do you really think we'll get that many training volunteers?" Videl asked. "I can't help but think all those years my father spent bashing your dad's legacy will get in the way of Goku's recruitment search."

"That's where we come in," Gohan stated. "You and I will have to help him in his initial search by hosting an unofficial conference of sorts at your dad's dojo during business hours. We can give him an endorsement in front of a good deal of the dojo's current membership."

"Having the city's two resident heroes behind him should count for something…" the girl mused.

As the young couple continued their early morning routine, Videl's gaze flitted over to her new spouse every so often. This didn't go unnoticed by Gohan. She seemed somewhat depressed.

"What's wrong, hun?" asked her husband.

Videl looked down with sadness as the sidewalk passed under them. "Nothing much…"

"Come on, you can tell me!" her spouse coaxed.

The two young lovers slowed to a stop at a park bench. Turning to her new husband, Videl's eyes were beginning to brim with tears.

"Gohan!" she sniffled. "I've been so selfish!"

"W-Whadda ya mean?!" stammered the half-Saiyan.

"Sweetheart! I talked you into a civil union just to head my father off at the pass over a trust issue, but I never gave you a reason to trust me!" she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. "I've been such a hypocrite for so long…!"

"Videl…., please."

"No, listen!" she pleaded. "You've done so much for me, and all you've ever really asked for is my love! Back when you left with the others to fight Babidi, you shouldn't have been the one to apologize! I should have been the one apologizing! I really did like you, but instead of trying to earn your trust, I blackmailed my way into your life! I...I'm so, so sorry…"

With that, Videl broke down and buried her face into her new husband's chest. "I keep treating you like you owe me something, but you never complain about any of it! I've been so unfair to you! You gave your life against Buu just so I could have a second chance to make things right with you, and I keep screwing up! I never deserved you, but you still made a place for me in your life!"

In her anguish, Videl felt her legs give out from under her as she continued to weep. Seeing this, Gohan brought his own arms up around the small of her back to offer some support.

"Shhh! It's OK, honey!" Gohan soothed, "None of that matters now! So what if our relationship had a rocky start?! If blackmailing me got the two of us together, than you can blackmail me whenever you like!"

"Gohan…" she choked, "I went to lower Heaven after I died. I wasn't a selfless person. I may have saved lives, but in part, I kept doing it for the wrong reasons!"

Gohan buried his face in his new wife's hair before whispering, "Listen, sweetheart. A little bit of selfishness on your part couldn't have kept you from keeping your body after death. If that were the case, than my father shouldn't have been able to keep his."

Videl's cerulean gaze locked with his. "But what if we're separated forever?!"

"We won't be…" was his reassuring answer. "I'll turn down passage to the Grand Kai's planet before I allow that to happen. Besides, as soon as Dad teaches me the instant transmission, there's a little favor I intend to collect from both the Supreme Kai and Elder Kai. After the way Elder Kai's negligence cost you and Goten your lives, I'll be giving him an offer he won't be able to refuse."

Wiping her eyes, Videl gave her mate a small smile.

"Something else is troubling you?" the Saiyan guessed. The Saiyan hadn't said anything about it yet, but part of his assuming the mantle of teacher from Roshi entailed taking his mental training in a whole new direction. Learning to read minds was an absolute must in his new role.

"It's just… I can't help but think we should've done something akin to a honeymoon last night. I know we're not in a formal marriage but our civil union still grants us spousal status. I want to do something special together. We haven't gone out on a date since spring!"

"You're right…" Gohan conceded, his own voice now carrying a hint of sadness. "With Mom and Dad spending the night, we really didn't get a chance to spend quality time together. I wanted to take you right there in the hot tub…"

"I'm sure your parents wouldn't have really minded us doing it in front of them," Videl reasoned. "I was on your lap and we were all naked anyway. They probably would of done it themselves if we weren't there. Hell, your dad likely would have been giving us pointers."

"It certainly would've given Miss Pizza a show!" laughed her spouse. "But in all seriousness, is there something special you had in mind?"

"I know we're only starting the new school year today, but perhaps we could take Friday off from school," suggested the petite fighter. "That would give us three days that we could devote to both our training and more importantly, to us…"

"That's a great idea!" beamed the Son boy. "But where would we go?"

"It would have to be someplace nice," Videl said. "There's a great Korin restaurant downtown that I haven't been to in a while. They serve real wild venison (deer steak) and fried squash there. The corn bread is also to die for!"

"Sounds fantastic!" he remarked dreamily. Resuming their morning training, the two teens closed the distance between them and turned their heads to share a smooch.

Later that morning, Gohan and Videl arrived at Orange Star High School for the first day of the new school year. The unionized couple landed on the front step amidst a group of other teens from various grades.

Immediately upon seeing the young couple, crowds of onlookers began to whisper and gossip among themselves. Gohan with his Saiyan hearing, picked up on most of what was said. Needless to say, he wasn't particularly fond of some of the things many of the other boys were saying about his wife.

"Holy Shit! Videl's gotten stacked!" remarked one teen. "Check out her tits…and those thighs…"

"Better not let her fuck-toy hear you say that!" replied another.

"Betcha he was given her the old in-out all summer! Lucky half-alien fucker!" commented yet another.

Unfortunately, Videl heard this last remark and marched right up to the oblivious teen in question. She stood toe to toe with the boy, a tall kid from a few grades beneath them, and glared at him with a look that could burn through lead.

"For your information bucko, Gohan can do whatever the hell he wants with me!" fumed the raven-haired girl.

Hearing this, a new wave of murmurs spread through the gathered students. Not wanting to deal with anymore of their gossip vine tripe, Videl looped her arm around Gohan's and together, the two walked into the school.

Backpacks slung over their shoulders, the two teens continued down the halls. They made their way through the bustling student body, but just as they were about to reach their lockers, they were stopped by a very familiar voice…

"Videl! Gohan!"

Whipping around, the young couple were met by their friends Erasa, Sharpner, and Penn.

"Oh my Gosh! Look at you two!" gushed Erasa as she waved her arms around. "You've both changed so much! And look at you, Videl! You've grown back your pig-tails!"

"Look at us?!" quipped Videl incredulously. "Look at you! Long hair is definitely you, Erasa!"

"Damn, Gohan! You put on some muscle, didn't ya?" asked Sharpner, wide-eyed. "Seriously, if the villains of Satan City didn't need to watch out before, they sure as hell do now!"

"I see you're sporting some body art there, Sharp!" Gohan observed gesturing to a series of tattoos on the blond jock's forearms.

Sharpner puffed out his chest in a show of bravado. "Chicks dig the tats!"

"So Videl, how did your training trip go?" Erasa asked. "We haven't heard from you all summer! After you were beaten in that fight, we were all really concerned!"

"Let's just say I wouldn't have traded this last summer for anything," Videl commented with a wry smile. "From dawn to dusk, I, my dad, and Gohan trained together. We're still not through with the program though."

"Whaddaya mean?" Erasa inquired with a perplexed expression.

"The three of us still have five months left in the program," answered the petite girl. "We're required to return to the island for training every other weekend at least until December."

Erasa looked down in sadness. "Oh… After not being able to be together for three months, I was hoping we could spend some time catching up."

"I'm really sorry Erasa…" Videl's apology was tinged with sadness. "It's just that our new martial arts master made the terms of our training quite clear."

"Woah! Woah! Woah!" shouted Penn holding up his hands, "Did you just say your master?! I thought you were being trained by your old man! And did you say that Gohan trained with you as well?"

"Yes and yes," was Videl's simple answer.

"Master Roshi tasked me with supervising Videl's training," Gohan explained.

"I still don't see why Mr. Satan needs a master," Penn scoffed. "He's the Champ! He beat Cell and Majin Buu!"

Pinching her nose, Videl let out a restrained groan. Out of all of her friends, Penn had always been the biggest Mr. Satan cultist in their class. Even dying like everyone else didn't change that. Like Gohan, Penn was remarkably gifted academically, having been Orange Star High's valedictorian before Gohan began attending, but he could be so grating in how he would hang on her father's every word.

"Everyone has teachers," Gohan remarked. "Some martial artists study under several different teachers over the course of their lives. It's important to remember that regardless of how much someone thinks he knows, he can always learn more."

"How much could this Master Roshi know?" asked the bi-speckled boy.

"Oh… enough to win the World Tournament eight times," answered Videl smugly.

The looks on the faces of Sharpner, Penn, and Erasa were absolutely priceless. "E-e-eight times….?!"

"Just who is this Roshi guy?!" Sharpner asked, his voice betraying no small measure of curiosity.

"A very wise old man," Gohan replied. "And a very good friend. You could search the whole world and never meet a more venerable-"

"-Or lecherous," Videl cut in.

"-martial arts master," the half breed finished.

As Gohan said this, his eyes and ki sensing abilities caught something that put him on edge. Walking in their direction were a small group of students, five in all, bearing a calligraphic 'M' upon their foreheads.

Gohan wasn't the only one to catch sight of them. To his left, Videl eyed the group of Majin cultists wearily as they approached, looking for any reason to throttle the lot of them. The two watched with baited breath as the youths passed their little get together before continuing out into the parking lot. The young couple were brought out of their trance by the voice of Sharpner.

"What was that all about?" the blond male queried.

"It's nothing…" answered Gohan.

"Didn't seem like nothing to me," Penn commented.

"Let's just say that me, Gohan, and his folks had a bad run-in with their lot," Videl supplied.

"When was this?" asked Sharpner.

"Yesterday, at the city courthouse," she answered. "They were holding a perverse convention of sorts on the front quad. There was a ruckus followed by a shootout between them and the police."

"Damn, you two can't even unpack your bags without having to deal with the dregs of society!" Sharpner quipped.

"Actually, me and Videl were at the courthouse for another reason," Gohan said with a big, goofy grin.

Videl smiled warmly at her friends as a bright pink blush spread across her cheeks. "Me and Gohan entered into a civil union!"

Whether the others understood what Videl meant or whether they were simply rendered speechless, they weren't sure. "W-what?"

"I'm Gohan's common law wife!" beamed the raven-haired girl, bringing her hands to her cheeks.

Elsewhere back on the training island, Master Roshi was presiding over Mr. Satan's late morning training with Mark slogging barehanded in the islands' moist chili fields. Due to both having the weight of his training cloths doubled and last night's bad weather, the job today was significantly more arduous. Off to the side, the Turtle Hermit walked alongside him over some untilled ground. The standing silence was soon broken by Mark.

"Something's been bothering me lately," remarked the Champ as he tore loose another batch of roots.

Roshi raised an eyebrow. "You mean, aside from Gohan and Videl's decision to get unionized?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "Aside from the ones we've discussed, were there any other reasons why you took me on as your student?"

Stopping, Master Roshi let out a long-suffering sigh before turning his back to the afroed man. For a moment, Mark thought he shouldn't have asked. It wasn't long however, before the old sage spoke.

"Truth be told Mark, there are," the old man admitted in a somber tone. "Before I answer though, I will say that you are remarkably sharp-witted, probably more so than your daughter."

"Thanks, I guess…"

"As to your question, the other reasons I had for having you trained have a lot to do with something I warned Gohan of right before I took you and your daughter on as pupils." This revelation was put forward with a tone of foreboding that was not missed on Mark Satan.

"Go on…" he pressed.

"Mark, I'm sure you understand that Babidi, Bojack, and Cell were not the first people to threaten the Earth," spoke the elderly sage. "Gohan has already told you about the various other battles he, his father, and the rest of us have fought for humanity."

"I'm aware," replied the Champ. "Me and my new son-in-law have discussed this. I understand it's not Gohan's fault that he has issues."

"Well…," Roshi began, "Gohan's tragedy is about to play out again."

"What do you mean, Roshi?" Mark asked demandingly, narrowing his gaze.

"A new threat, this one being entirely home-grown, is on the rise," the old man explained. "It's pervasive, having wormed its' way into every major city on the Great Northern Continent, and due to its' nature, it's one that most of Goku's friends are not tailor-made to fight."

The old master then turned back to his student. "The truth is Mark, if you didn't undergo this training, your very life would one day be in danger. You're a very high-profile figure, and these people, whoever they may be, are a very dangerous threat. Sometimes, I don't understand why, but everything happens for a reason. Piccolo's actions in preventing the memory erasure wish had their own unintended consequences."

The Champ snorted. "Don't remind me. For the life of me, I still don't know how I'm going to reveal Buu to the public without causing a mass panic."

"Mark, Goku being unable to keep his promise to you is the least of your worries," said the Turtle Hermit. "The people I'm talking about are brewing up one hell of a cluster-fuck that all of mankind will have to deal with for the next hundred years. It's not something that we can just fight in some single climactic battle like we could Majin Buu or Cell! Because of the side of Piccolo that is Kami and Nail, humanity will have to wait until time itself brings closure. We're likely gonna have to preserve the light of the world and outlive this current threat until the memories of what has happened with Buu have dulled in humankinds' collective memory. For this reason, I am sending you in addition to Gohan onto the world."

"Well, I can understand Gohan, but why me?"

"For one…," Roshi started, "Your safety. Whoever these people are, eventually they will come for both you and your daughter. You are symbols of hope to the people. They need to destroy that hope. The speed with which this great new evil had spread throughout the world in the last four months is a sign of a sinister intelligence at work. In this age of cynicism, your very existence is like a blight to them. Your death would speed up the downward spiral of humanity every bit as much as it would if you were exposed for lying about Cell. You need to survive because your pull is gonna be key in saving the world just as it was on the World of the Kais. The weight on your shoulders is going to be every bit as great as the task I and Piccolo have entrusted to Gohan and Videl."

"So, you've already told my daughter about this?!" asked the Champ.

"I left that up to Gohan," Roshi answered. "As for why he didn't tell you, he needed to make sure that you didn't have any other distractions that would hurt your training. He did it for your long-term safety and for Videl's peace of mind."

"Always taking on everyone else's emotional deadweight…" Mr. Satan muttered with a shake of his head. "Now I see why my daughter was always so frustrated by Gohan's way of dealing with things. The boy really shouldn't beat himself up like that. Not everyone is made of glass."

"Gohan cares too much about people in general," said the Turtle Hermit. "Your sense of self-worth was just as important as Videl's. This is why Gohan lies by way of omission. Only since the Buu incident has he started to realize that a purely self-sacrificing approach can cause just as many unintended consequences as being selfish. He needed you to get strong enough to survive whatever these people threw at you. You have to surpass the wall of humanity for there to be any hope of that happening. Both Gohan and Videl are gearing up to face this evil. They know this is gonna be something they will be fighting against for decades to come."

Suddenly, it dawned on Mr. Satan. "That would also explain why you needed to help Videl by giving her the conditions she'd need to grow old with Gohan!"

"Correct," Roshi confirmed. "Gohan needed a clear head for the task ahead, and worrying about Videl's safety would have kept his hands tied. Your daughter's brash impulsiveness, her confrontational approach, and her need to prove herself through battle would have kept Gohan bogged down in domestic issues. This way, Videl won't be low-hanging fruit for whatever this adversary can throw at them. There's also the very crucial element of Videl being the only one of us with any actual law enforcement training to consider. She needs to be a long-term part of this endeavor! Don't get me wrong though, I also wanted Videl able to grow old with Gohan as a favor to the boy for all the good he has done. It's just that given the history of Gohan and the rest of us, it was only a matter of time before your daughter wound up getting pulled into these conflicts"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're just full of surprises?" Mark quipped.

"Every day," Roshi answered with a smile.

Back at Orange Star High, several hours have passed since Gohan and Videl revealed their unionized status to their closest friends. In high school however, gossip travels fast and within a short period of time, most of the school knew about the new young spouses. A small crowd of curious students were now huddled around, as the two teens attended lunch with their friends. Off on the fringes of the lunch room, teenagers were groping and fondling their boyfriends and girlfriends in public, some of them with their assets exposed. Such was the issue of resurrection: People stopped caring.

"I'm still having a hard time believing that your father actually allowed you to not only move Gohan in with you, but also allowed you two to share a bedroom," Erasa shrilled incredulously. "That doesn't sound like the Mark Satan we know. There has to be more to it than what you're saying, Videl!"

Videl swallowed a mouthful of beef hash before bending over and whispering in her best friend's ear. "Oh, there is! I'll tell you everything later."

Nodding her head in understanding, Erasa let out an "Oh…"

"Let's just say that there's nothing my dad can do about it now even if he did change his mind," said the raven-haired girl. "Gohan and I have a legal right to be together."

"So…" Sharpner began, "Does this mean that you two can have sex without sneaking around behind your parent's backs?"

"I think that's one of the benefits of being common law spouses," Videl remarked with sarcasm.

"No way!" the blond jock all but screamed. "So you're saying that despite being the same age as us, you and Gohan can do it all you want?!"

"That's what I said," Videl replied with an annoyed scowl on her face.

"Woah…" The blond jock couldn't help but smirk at the Son couple. "Seriously Gohan! You've got it made!"

"Yeah…" said the half-Saiyan sheepishly. Beside him, both his petite spouse and Erasa giggled at his embarrassment. Erasa turned back to her food and just as she was about to start eating again, something caught her eye…

"Oh, my God, Videl!" she shrieked.

"What?!" asked the raven-haired girl, quirking an eyebrow.

"What happened to your hands?!" she gaped in apprehension.

Morbidly curious, the blond reached over and examined her life-long friend's fingers and palms. Videl's palms and fingers were course and callused. There were also signs of various cuts and her fingernails were darkened at the tips from having shoveled dirt bare-handed for so long.

"Oh, that…" said Videl nonchalantly. "That's a product of me and Gohan's training regimen. We had to toughen our hands through various forms of back-breaking labor. The first few weeks were the worst, but after that, it wasn't so bad…"

"If your hands weren't so dainty, they'd look like a man's," remarked the bubbly blond. "A trip to the cosmetics shop is definitely in order."

"You'd be wasting your time," Videl stated. "Like I said, me and Gohan have five months of this kind of training left before we're through with the program."

"Well that sucks…" Erasa griped.

With a shake of her head, Videl sighed. "You can thank my master for that."

Just then, Penn chimed in. "There's something that's been bothering me for a while now, Gohan."

"What's that, Penn?"

Pursing his hands together, the bi-speckled ginger cleared his throat before speaking. "You're half-alien and from what you've told the rest of us, your alien heritage grants you all kinds of awesome powers. I mean… you are the Great Saiyaman! I guess my question is… where were you when Majin Buu was killing us? Didn't you fight him?"

Gohan put his fork down and looked up at his friend. Off to the side, Erasa and Sharpner leaned in to listen.

"I didn't just fight him, Penn," answered the hybrid, "I tried to stop both Babidi and Majin Buu three times."

"I'm guessing there's a connection between you two and all those other guys flying off and Babidi's appearance with Buu?" queried the ginger.

"There is," came an answer, this one from Videl. "Spopovich and Yamu were under the influence of Babidi's magic. The two of them were sent to the World Martial Arts Tournament to drain fighters of their living ki for the purpose of gathering enough to resurrect Majin Buu."

"What's ki?" the ginger asked.

"Ki, Penn, is the energy found in all living things," explained Gohan. "It is the power source behind me and Videl's ability to fly."

Videl continued, "Picking up where I left off, both contestant Kibito and contestant Shin came to the World Martial Arts Tournament to warn all of us about Babidi's plans. We left to help fight Babidi and his minions, but because my flying abilities hadn't developed as much as the others, I was advised to return and warn their friends. Gohan can tell you the rest…"

"Upon arriving at Babidi's spaceship, we were attacked by a particularly nasty guy named Dabura, the King of the Demon World. Due to the nature of Babidi's ability to possess others, many evil warriors from other worlds fell under the wizard's sway, chief among them the Demon King of the Shadow Realm."

"I remember Dabura," Videl added. "Me and the others met him in lower Heaven after we died. It's hard to believe that someone as nice as him was once the single most wicked demonic presence in the known universe."

"Videl, isn't it a bit ironic that your name is a derivative of the word 'devil' and that you met the actual Devil in the afterlife?" asked Sharpner. "Seriously though! A beast of a girl like you could probably sit at the same table with the Devil and still laugh it off."

The group of friends had a quick laugh at this.

"Anyway…" said Gohan picking up where he left off, "Kibito was killed in the first exchange and Dabura turned a few of our friends into stone. We pursued Dabura into Babidi's ship and proceeded to fight our way through various stages in the ship designed to drain our ki energy for the purpose of siphoning it towards Majin Buu's containment ball. We managed to fight our way down to the third stage, where I fought Dabura myself. I may have been slightly stronger than Dabura but having not done any serious fighting, aside from a battle me and Videl had against another alien named Broly before the tournament, Dabura was able to lead me around by the nose. It was during that fight that I came to regret my decision to stop training after my father died. Eventually, Dabura withdrew from the fight. At the time, we had no idea that he was planning on having Babidi possess one of our allies, thereby turning him against us. Afterwards, Babidi used his magic to teleport the lot of us back to the World Tournament stadium where our possessed friend attacked and killed the audience."

"Yeah…. We know that part!" Sharpner interrupted. "We saw what that pointy-haired guy did to the people in the stands. For a second there, we thought we were gonna be caught in that guy's line of fire."

And so, Gohan and Videl went on to tell them everything about their exploits during the battle against Majin Buu, covering topics such as the Z-Sword, the old kai and his power raising, Gohan's two battles against Majin Buu, the circumstances of their deaths, the various transformations of Buu, and planet Earth's destruction. As they spoke, several more of the other students joined the small crowd around the table and listened.

"It's just so hard to believe any of this," remarked Erasa with a shake of her head.

"To think that you two were basically working alongside gods this whole time…" Sharpner mused.

"Not that it did us a lot of good," muttered Gohan, his tone one of sadness. "We all still died. The Earth was still destroyed. I still failed you all in the end."

"At least you tried…" Penn told him sadly. "Hell, at least you were able to do something! I couldn't even help my little sisters."

"Everyone I know was counting on me though," the hybrid choked.

"You can't win em all, Gohan," Sharpner remarked with a wry smile. "Super powers or not, you're still flesh and blood."

"With what's coming down the pipe, we won't have the luxury of not winning them all," the Saiyan replied in a hushed whisper.

This got the blonde's attention. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that something else is coming," Gohan warned. "This is gonna be the focus of me and Videl's training for the next five months. I can't give you any specifics just yet, but there is another great terror coming to Earth in the not-so-distant future. A silent shadow is spreading across the land. Me, Videl, and a few others have seen its' power first-hand. Everything in our lives from here on out will be a game of chess."

"If it's really that bad, is there anything we can do?" Sharpner asked, his voice betraying a measure of worry. "I've already died once! I'm in no hurry to make a return trip."

"Thanks, but I'm not sure if any of you will be much help. I would tell you to pray, but the gods have already shown that they couldn't care less about Earth's survival. What me and Videl are looking for are people who are realistically able to give up their personal lives for a few decades if need be. Those kinds of people are few and far between. If you have personal dreams in life, there's a good chance this battle will force you to give them up."

"Well that's a bummer…" muttered the blond.

Staring up from the table, Gohan once again eyed the same small group of students who had joined the Majin cult as they walked through the school cafeteria. Each one showcased a branding upon their forehead. On the surface they acted normal, but to Gohan, their ki told him otherwise.

To his side, his new wife's head jerked up as she felt the cold-burning pressure of the student cultist's living ki walk past their table to the food counter. Casting a glance to her side, she sent Gohan a knowing look that he reciprocated.

The half-Saiyan bent over and whispered, "For everyone else's safety, we'll have to keep an eye on them."

Videl simply nodded before taking her tray to the repository.

At school's end, Gohan and Videl found themselves ambushed by a large gaggle of paparazzi at the school exit. Unlike his new common law wife, Gohan was not used to dealing with the bottom feeders of the entertainment industry and did his best to just ignore them.

"Videl, is it true that you've entered into a civil union?!"

"Videl, what last name should we use when addressing you?"

"Miss Satan, we have inside sources confirming that you and Mr. Son have been sharing a bedroom with your father's approval! Care to comment?"

"Videl Satan, did your defeat by the fighter named Barbella have anything to do with your summer disappearance?! Or perhaps your loss at the hands of Spopovich?"

"Mr. Son, what do you have to say to the families of the gunmen you killed last spring?"

To each of these questions, Videl gave a quick "No comment!" Gohan pushed a camera out of his face as he took his spouse's hand. Having had enough of their garbage, the two teens took to the sky.

"Ya know…" said Videl, moving some stray hairs out of her eyes, "If these people were half as dogged in their pursuit of the truth when my dad lied as they are with us, I'd have a little more respect for the media."

"I know what ya mean," Gohan replied. "Considering my grandfather's status as a king and my dad's status as a former champion, I'm surprised these people didn't badger my family! I liked my privacy, but still, it's like people forgot my dad beat the Red Ribbon Army and King Piccolo entirely…"

"The people are fickle, Gohan," she stated. "It's said that the human mind can only hold seven items at any moment. I don't think the people are even capable of recognizing more than one hero at any given time. There's a very good chance that if we ever have another crazy situation like the Majin Buu incident and you decide to take credit for saving the world, those very same people may just forget my father ever existed. Next time something like that happens, I really think you should."

Gohan couldn't believe what he was hearing from his new wife. "And have people actually scrutinize me and the others?! I think part of the reason why we've been able to do so much good in the first place is because we've been able to stay low-key. I mean…let's face facts here, Videl. Among our group is a former assassin, an alien who destroyed both East City and King Furry's military, an alien who overthrew King Furry's government and tried to institute a regime of genocide on the rest of the world, and a planet destroying pink demon who killed everyone on Earth less than seven months ago. I understand that even if people knew, they wouldn't be able to do anything due to our friends being so strong, but there are still other more important reasons why most of my father's old circle are so adamant about keeping their privacy."

Videl raised an eyebrow. "Those being?"

"For one honey, the dragonballs," the hybrid answered. "The number of people outside our group who know the truth behind the dragonballs is relatively small. Most people think they're a myth. If everyone in the world knew about the power of the dragonballs, the number of people trying to acquire them for wicked ends would skyrocket."

"I have to disagree with you there, sweetheart," said Videl.

"Why so?" asked Gohan.

"Because Piccolo confiscated the seven star ball, remember?" she reminded him. "Even if the number of people in the world actively seeking the balls increased, they'd have no means of finding where Piccolo hid the last one. Ergo, we take credit next time we save the world! I'm convinced it's the only way by which we can attain the credibility needed to start rolling back my father's narrative. I really don't want historical revision from my father's camp winning out completely! The people need a context so they can have a new starting point. As I've told you, leaving people in the dark about what's really been happening in their lives isn't an option either. It just creates more long-term problems that we all wind up having to deal with, and I don't want our grandchildren having to clean up messes created by our unintended consequences. It's the principle of the thing!"

"As usual, you're probably right," Gohan muttered with a long-suffering sigh.

Smiling to herself, his new common law wife crossed her arms. "Mmmhmm…!"

"Of course, when we do tell people the truth, we should do it in small doses like we did back at the school cafeteria," the half-Saiyan advised.

"As a half-way point, I can live with that," Videl conceded.

Later on, Gohan led Videl into one of the many public parks around the city. The sun was high and city pedestrians were running about engaged in various recreational activities. Every so often, the couple had to turn down autograph requests from random fans of Videl's father.

"And here we are!" Gohan beamed, gesturing to a pile of boulders. "This hun, is where your next exercise will take place."

"Alright! What do I do?" asked the petite fighter.

"Videl, this exercise is known as the 'testing stone.' The object of this training is to beat a stone with your legs, fists, and feet into as perfect a spherical shape as possible. This is an ancient training methodology that goes back thousands of years. It's more difficult than digging through dirt, but it has added benefits. The downside to doing this as opposed to say digging through dirt with one's hands is that you don't walk away unscathed until your body has grown tough enough to withstand it. I don't think you should have a problem with that though. You've gotten well past the point where this exercise would cause you to get hurt."

"Right!" Videl nodded. The girl took off towards the nearest stone, intent on doing some serious rock polishing.

"Oh, and before I forget…"

Videl stopped momentarily to listen.

"It's best if you try to devote equal time to knife-hands and finger jabs as you would using conventional punches," Gohan suggested. "At least with this training anyway. Understand though that we will be switching between this exercise and the one Roshi employs fairly often."

"OK…"

With that, Gohan and Videl spent the next two hours flaking, pummeling, and chipping a series of boulders into atlas stones. Indeed, the training was tougher than Roshi's method, but if Gohan could do it, by God she could too!

As she and Gohan trained, a group of onlookers gathered on an adjacent sidewalk, some of whom were brandishing digital cameras.

"Is that Videl?"

"Is that her new husband?"

"She married her boyfriend already?!"

"What're they wearing?!"

Finally losing her cool, the raven-haired girl chunked one of the stones into the air, and just as it was tumbling to the ground, she shattered it with a hard left.

"DON'T YOU PEOPLE HAVE REAL LIVES?!" she screamed. "Do something productive! Jesus…"

"Well I never…!" shrilled one onlooker, this one an old lady.

"With an attitude like that, maybe we should build Spopovich a statue…" remarked another.

"They're defacing public lands. I'm callin the cops!"

"Come on, Videl," Gohan coaxed. "Let's go home. We'll do some sparring in the dojo."

Sighing in annoyance, the petite fighter simply nodded before taking to the sky behind her spouse.

Guest Review Responses:

Guest#1: I'll admit that the idea of Gohan turning Videl inside out if she no-fault divorced him was a little extreme, but at the same time, one has to remember that she blackmailed her way into Gohan's life. Despite all her good deeds of heroism, there's a reason she didn't get to keep her body in otherworld after Buu killed her. Because of this, one could surmise that a lot of the crime fighting work she does is for her own personal glory, an attempt to build a name for herself that didn't feed into her father's reputation. In this sense, Videl is hardly an altruist, but then again, neither is Goku since much of what he did also stems from a desire to just fight strong enemies and yet Goku still got to keep his body after death. Seriously though, this is another example of Akira Toriyama not maintaining any consistency in his writing even within the same saga. Toriyama even admitted that Goku was not supposed to be portrayed like a Clark Kent.

BringItAllBack: I'm planning on making this story a long-term project that could possibly be a trilogy. We're probably looking at somewhere between 35 and 60 chapters worth of material.

Author's Notes: I don't know if it's just me, but in the past year or two, I've noticed that there has been a considerable drop in the number of Gohan/Videl stories written. I can't help but think this has something to do with the way Dragonball Super presented the couple. It's as if Akira Toriyama is telling us that Gohan and Videl's story is finished. Just because Akira Toriyama ruined the couple in his new series doesn't mean we the fans have to treat Dragonball Super with any credibility. The whole series is a complete retcon anyway. My advice to anyone is to just ignore anything that happens after Dragonball Z episode 288 when it comes to writing good Gh/Vi fanfics, and just prescribe to the death of the author theory. Akira Toriyama had some good ideas, but he just can't write a decent romance story. He invested too much into having Gohan and Videl be the only couple we actually see fall in love in the series only to botch it completely by the end of the Buu arc. There were too many opportunities missed for character development.