There were hundreds of aliens sitting around, going about their daily tasks. They were scum, the lot of them, but that didn't matter to them at all. It wasn't like anybody would be able to interfere with their lives. Two guys were sitting on a rock, drinking a beer, laughing as they discussed something from the previous day. It seemed like today would just be a typical one on their planet…
…that is, until a figure surrounded by a brilliant gold aura and sparks of electricity dropped in from the sky. Several of the aliens got up, directing tense glances at the newcomer. He laughed sinisterly at their fear,
"Guess you all didn't see this coming?" He said mockingly.
"Who are you?" One of them shouted.
"They call me Son Gohan; but you all will just know me as the grim reaper." He said with a dark grin.
Many of the men ran at him and leapt forward in an attempt to bum rush him. However, Gohan easily leapt into the air to avoid the attack and fired a bright, yellow Ki blast at the aliens, which either severely burned or completely vaporized them. Gohan descended the ground and looked around studiously, counting in his head all of the survivors. He pulled both of his arms back and began firing hundreds of Ki blasts at the remaining aliens, making sure to thoroughly take them out. He hit them with deadly accuracy, all the while cackling maniacally at their despair. The screams of death and fear were like music to his ears. He fired the attacks more rapidly, not even caring about the decreasing numbers of his targets. This was simply too enjoyable.
However, his fun was cut off when he felt a hand grip its way onto his wrist. Gohan hissed in annoyance and turned to whoever this hand belonged to. He did a double take when he saw who it was: standing before him was his father, Goku, and he didn't seem too happy from the looks of it. His face was a mixture of anger and sadness.
"Gohan, what are you doing?" He asked in horror.
Gohan snorted in disgust at his perpetually soft-hearted father. "What does it look like? I'm cleaning this planet up!"
"Why, Gohan? They did nothing to you! They're so much weaker than you, son!" Goku exclaimed, trying to make sense of his son's actions.
Gohan laughed grimly. His father was always so pacifistic, constantly preaching about how bad it is to kill; that silly mantra had come back to bite him so many times. Gohan almost felt ashamed in himself for believing in it for so many years. "You're such a fool, father; a disgrace to the Saiyans!"
"Wha-"
Before Goku could even get the whole word out of his mouth, he was left doubled over from the sharp pain of a fist being driven into his stomach. The elder Saiyan fell to his knees, coughing up fresh blood in a pained frenzy. Gohan's grin widened; seeing the aliens die one by one was one thing, but seeing his father reeling in pain like this? It was absolutely delightful! It was something he wanted to do for the last three years.
Gohan walked closer to his father and grabbed him by the jaw, lifting his head up so that his onyx eyes were looking straight into his piercing teal ones. "You're so pathetic, father." He sneered. Goku let out a pained cough before Gohan forcefully brought him up to his feet. Violently, Gohan kicked his father in the ribs.
"C'mon, dad! You're supposed to be way stronger than this!" Gohan taunted. He punched Goku squarely in his nose, taking great pleasure in the sound of the bones at the base of it breaking.
Gohan let out another laugh until his face became very serious. Goku opened up an eye to look at him and gasped when he saw the evil, almost Satanic look in his own son's eyes. Before he had a chance to take any action, he was rocked by a furious shower of blows, packed with the fury of the most powerful, rage driven being in the entire universe. It took all he could just to breathe as he had to endure the assault raining down on him. Goku's blood began spilling onto Gohan's arm, and even to his chest, but it didn't deter him at all. No, in fact, it motivated him – he started firing the punches and kicks with even more speed and power, smiling joyously as he heard the bones in Goku's body cracking from the sheer force of his attacks. He hadn't even hit Cell as hard as he was hitting Goku now. Finally, Gohan hit him with one last barbaric punch to the jaw until Goku collapsed to the floor in a broken heap. He forced one eye to open as he looked at his son.
Gohan looked at his father studiously, mentally applauding himself for the work he had done. He raised his palm, and gathered an amount of Ki to it that was capable of blowing this entire planet up.
Goku stared right into the bright light that held his fate and swallowed. "W-why, son?" he choked out.
"You made me how I am, daddy. And now it's time for you to reap what you've sewn." Gohan said, his tone ice cold.
Goku reached out a hand with all of the strength he had left. "G-Gohan, please-!"
Gohan smirked sadistically. "Sorry, but I'm afraid you're way past the bargaining stage. See ya!"
He fired.
Gohan let out a pained scream and sat straight up in his bed, drenched in sweat. The half-Saiyan was trembling from the thought of that horrible dream he had just woken up from. His heart was racing as he felt disgusted with himself for even dreaming something like that. Yes, it was true that he resented his father very much for leaving him and being the catalyst for everything that had changed about him; but that? What he had done to him in his dream? How much he enjoyed it? It made him sick to his stomach how his brain could even process such images.
Dreams are supposed to reflect one's deepest desires, right? No…NO! Gohan vehemently denied it in his thoughts. He would never do something like that to his father, regardless of emotional pain. And yet, in his disdain caused by the dream, the fact that he even formulated it in the first place, the anguish once again circled over to him anyway. As usual. Taking a deep breath, Gohan sat down at the edge of his bed and looked at the digital clock on the dresser besides him. It read 4:36 AM. He had barely gotten even a few of hours of sleep, and he still had a whole four until he'd leave for school. However, he didn't want to go back to sleep; he didn't want to have that awful dream again. Gohan massaged his temple as he tried to think of something to occupy himself with.
He decided to train in the gravity room to take the edge off. Gohan sighed and left his room, walking down the hall to his destination. He entered in the password and the door opened right up. With a flick of a switch, the bright lights flashed on, straining Gohan's tired eyes. He did some stretches first before turning the gravity up. Gohan pressed the button on his watch to switch to his purple Gi. He decided 500 Gs was a good enough level. Gohan took a deep breath as he felt the pressure in the room increase and the increased weight hit him. His muscles finally relaxed, and that was all the sensation Gohan needed before powering up to Super Saiyan.
Gohan hopped into the air and let out random punches and kicks, aimed at nothing in particular but released with enough fury to make an observer think he were fighting an invisible enemy. With each thrust of his fist, which each swing of his leg, the half-Saiyan released his anger and frustration. He wished he would've gotten training bots, but this would do for now. Gohan was still bitter from his spar with Vegeta two days earlier, so he pictured himself fighting again, even jumping back and to the side while raising defensive arms as if the flame haired prince was really there.
Gohan was really working up a sweat while training, which was exactly what he needed. He was throwing his punches more feverishly, relishing in the sensation he got from engaging in some sort of physical activity. His joys were interrupted when he heard the door swing open.
"About time you showed some initiative, brat." A gruff voice said from behind him.
Gohan turned around to see Vegeta walking towards him, wearing his standard training shorts. Except this wasn't just an image he was projecting in his mind. Gohan wiped some sweat from his forehead and eyed Vegeta curiously. "What's got you up at this time?"
"Since I've got a job now," Vegeta said with a sneer of contempt over his new occupation, "I can't start my morning training session at my usual time, so I pushed it back a little bit." Gohan nodded. Vegeta raised an eyebrow at the half-Saiyan. "The better question is what are you doing here so early?"
Gohan frowned. "I had a bad dream." Gohan stared down at the floor and clenched his teeth as the image of him killing his father came back to his head again.
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Kid, if you're going to start angsting again, then spare me the annoyance and get the hell out of here." He ordered harshly.
"S-shut up, Vegeta!" Gohan yelled haughtily.
Vegeta's eyes narrowed. "Do not speak to me in that tone, brat, or else I'll remind you of your place." He warned, his voice deceptively calm.
"You don't understand, Vegeta…in that dream…I killed my father!" Gohan grit out.
Vegeta's head tilted back, surprised at what he was just told. "Have you been invading my thoughts, brat?" He said light-heartedly.
"But why would I have a dream like that?" Gohan asked in anguish, but not particularly to Vegeta.
"I'd assume it's because you seem to hate him as much as I do." Vegeta said matter-of-factly.
Gohan glared at Vegeta. "No, I don't!" He grumbled.
"Well then why the hell are you having dreams about killing him?" Vegeta asked irritably, not really in the mood of dealing with the half-breed's shit at the moment.
"Don't you think I wouldn't be so confused if I knew why, Vegeta?" Gohan sneered.
"No, I guess not, and I don't care if you find out. Now bring your pity party elsewhere or I'll force you out." Vegeta said gruffly.
Gohan didn't even seem to realize Vegeta's words of warning as he continued on. "I guess, it's just all of this anger…" Gohan mused, his eyes darkening and his brows furrowing in agitation. "That bastard just left; probably because he thought I was a failure…"
Vegeta sighed irritably. "Kakarot was an idiot, Gohan." Vegeta began, "And that is precisely why I don't think he views you in that way. That clown was too dense to even think of anybody negatively." Vegeta said, snorting in disgust over defending the third class dog, however backhanded it may have been. "He let Frieza live even after he killed me and baldy right in front of him; do you really think that if he dropped in here, right now, that he would berate you?"
"That still doesn't change the fact that he left me and my mother, and a son he'll never even see!" Gohan shouted back, his tone becoming sharper. His cheeks were reddened in anger.
"So what?"
"'So what?' What the hell do you know, Vegeta?" Gohan indignantly snarled.
The half-Saiyan didn't even time to dodge the punch that Vegeta sent to his jaw. He fell to the floor and glared daggers at the prince while rubbing at his chin. When he looked at Vegeta's eyes, he could see irritation and anger radiating from them.
"Listen clearly, you filthy half-breed!" Vegeta said in a barely restrained growl. "Do not even for a fucking second question how much I know about your dilemma. Do you know what my father did, boy? He handed me over to the tyrant that spat on our race like a goddamned coward! Believe me, I know, brat!"
Gohan's face softened up. "S-sorry Vegeta, I didn't know…" He said in shame. "How did you deal with it?"
"By not bitching and moaning about it every damn chance I got." He said bluntly. "And I didn't really have much choice in the matter, either." He added bitterly, scowling at the memories of his servitude under that damned lizard, Frieza.
"But it's hard-"
"So fucking what?" Vegeta snapped. "He's gone, and by his own choice, brat! Deal with it!"
Enraged at being reminded of such, Gohan shot back up and dashed at Vegeta, trying to punch him. However, Vegeta shifted to the side and knocked him right back down with a swipe of his arm. He then slammed his foot on Gohan's back and roughly squeezed his tail, bringing pained and angered screams from the half-breed. The pain caused his aura to fade and he powered back down from his Super Saiyan state. Vegeta winced for a second, realizing how much he mirrored Frieza in this position, as he had done this countless times as part of his sick and twisted games, but he nonetheless continued.
"Listen, brat! No matter how much you scream and whine about it, and lament in your own self-hatred, Kakarot is never coming back, understand? So you fucked up and made a mistake that cost him his life and let him off his leash; big deal! He's a moron, and it's high time you stopped dwelling on it!" Vegeta shouted, trying to make sure his speech was heard loud and clear. "Use the anger you've felt to become a better fighter, so you never do something so stupid again! You are a Saiyan warrior, now more than ever! So for the umpteenth time, cease your goddamned tears!"
Vegeta released his grip on Gohan's tail, but kept his foot on his back. "Look," He began, his voice calmer now, "The anger will probably never go away, believe me. I still have nightmares about my past nearly every day, brat. I'm definitely not telling you to flip and suddenly start thinking positively about Kakarot again. Most of the changes you've gone through as a result of your anger are likely for good, but if you keep thinking about it every second of every day, you'll go insane. You actually have people around you who give a shit, which I didn't have at your age; let them help you."
Just like Bulma has done for me, He silently added. Vegeta shrugged. It felt so odd of him to be doing something like this, giving fatherly advice to the son of his sworn rival. That damn woman has made me so soft. Vegeta finally released his foot from the back of Gohan, who sighed in relief.
Gohan managed to slowly roll over so he was on his back and sat up. "Thank y-"
"Goddammit, don't even say it, brat!" Vegeta said in agitation. "I've already done way too fucking much and I don't want to be castrated even further."
Gohan grunted as he delicately rose back on his feet and scratched his aching back. He smirked. "Well, we still have a few hours until school starts and I'm still pissed about Saturday, so…"
Vegeta smirked evenly. "If you insist on getting beaten again…"
The two powered up to Super Saiyan and dashed at each other.
A couple of hours later, at school, Gohan went to his locker. His face had a few cuts and bruises on it, most of them covered with bandages. He had a darkening black eye and a slightly swollen bottom lip as well. Videl approached him and cringed when she saw the condition he was in.
"Gohan, what the hell happened to you?" She asked.
"Vegeta and I had another one of our bloody-wars-disguised-as-spars earlier. We didn't have any Senzu beans so I went with the old bandages look." Gohan said flatly.
"Well, okay. As long as it was nothing too bad." Videl said. The two walked to class, where of course Erasa had to start gossiping.
"So Videl tells me you two had a hot date over the weekend." She teased.
Gohan growled while Videl rolled her eyes. "I never said 'hot,' Erasa."
"Suuure."
Gohan grunted and took a seat, once again debating whether or not he should just snap Erasa's neck to get it over with. He was still mulling over what Vegeta had told him earlier. He was right – his father made his choice, and he wasn't coming back, no matter how much he wanted otherwise. Even though he knew that his dad wasn't trying to hurt him when he chose to stay dead, he was too dense to realize how much he did. And for that, Gohan could never forgive him. However, dwelling on it all of the time already made him change enough as it was – if he kept doing it, things would get even worse. He had already pretended once already that he was shutting the door on thinking about his father, but that was something he irrationally did out of anger and he wound up trying to do as much as he could to try and hurt his father to show it, even though that was impossible. Now it was time to start seriously doing that, difficult though it may be.
Later, at lunch, Videl followed him on the roof. "Gohan, you never did explain to me. What's the deal with this whole 'Saiyan' thing? Your dad is obviously one, too, so how did he get here before even Vegeta did?"
Gohan took a deep breath. He knew this question would come eventually, and he was already prepared. "Alright, for this to even make the slightest bit of sense, I have to start from the beginning. There was a planet, called Planet Vegeta – yes, it's named after our flame-haired P.E. coach with the Napoleon complex, who came from the royal lineage. On that planet lived the Saiyans; primal, violent fighters who thrived on strength and battle. This crazy lizard tyrant named Frieza took the planet over and added it to his galactic empire, and made the Saiyans part of his army. My father was sent here as a baby to exterminate all life to make it suitable for sale."
Videl nodded. If she was surprised, she wasn't showing it. Gohan gave her a glance before continuing. "Well, my dad hit his head as a baby and forgot the whole mission, and his violent nature went away too. But his love of battle never faded. From there, its history – he got some Dragon Balls, kicked ass in tournaments, beat giant criminal organizations, killed green demons bent on world domination, and got with some crazy stalker chick who he promised to marry when he was a little kid because he thought marriage was a meal. And now, here I am today."
"Wait, what are Dragon Balls?" Videl asked curiously.
"You've never heard of the legend? Basically, they're seven magic balls that, when you collect them, summon a big dragon that's capable of granting any wish you desire that's within its power. It's pretty much what got everyone I know together in the first place. It all started when Bulma ran into my dad in the forest when he was twelve. She was looking for the Dragon Balls for her own wish and my dad just happened to have the four star ball, which he kept as a memento of his surrogate grandfather, who I'm named after, by the way. We've all got into quite a few adventures over the years because of those balls, and yes, they do grant wishes. It's why Yamcha's still around even though he was clearly killed in an explosion in the fight with the Saiyans, and why my father and Krillin can safely say that they've experienced death twice." Gohan explained, speaking carefully so that Videl could get everything he was saying.
Videl nodded and then took a deep breath. It sure was freaky knowing all of this stuff about Gohan's past and his friends, and how there are these things that can grant wishes, even bringing people back from the dead.
"Okay…wow, that's a lot of information." She said in exasperation. "So uh…what happened to the rest of the Saiyans anyway? I mean, wouldn't they come looking for your dad seeing as how he failed his mission and never came back?"
Gohan lightly laughed. "Funny story, actually; in fact, it's pretty much the reason why I was fighting as a kid while you were watching cartoons and filling coloring books in pre-school. The Saiyans were all killed by Frieza because he was afraid of their potential. But he pretty much let Vegeta escape on purpose and a couple of other Saiyans slipped under the rug, too, since they were out on missions. One of them was my uncle, Raditz, and he came here looking for my father when I was four.
"Long story short, I got kidnapped, he pissed off Piccolo, too, who teamed up my with my father even though it disgusted him, they got their asses kicked, and somewhere in between all of that I got pissed and injured Raditz with strength I didn't even know I had. Piccolo eventually killed Raditz, but ended up killing my dad, too. That was the first time he died. But then Piccolo blabbed about the Dragon Balls to Raditz while his little communication device picked it up. And that's where Vegeta fits into this whole thing.
"He decided to come here with his comrade to get the balls, and since Piccolo wasn't going to let other people interfere with his world domination plans, I got kidnapped for the second time in one day. Piccolo trained me for 6 months, and trust me, it was hell. To make another long story short, the Saiyans arrive, they're way too strong for us, almost everybody gets killed, my dad arrives, kicks ass, lets Vegeta escape, blah, blah, blah, we got to the planet that the Dragon Balls originated from to wish everyone back because Piccolo is the evil half of Kami, the guy who created the Dragon Balls, and since he was killed Kami died too, so they all disappeared. Am I going to fast? Eh, who cares. Anyway, we went to Namek to use their balls since that's the planet Piccolo came from, and blah, blah, blah, Vegeta followed us, crazy lizard tyrant was there, dad goes Super Saiyan and kicks his ass, somewhere in between Vegeta's forced to team up with us, and-"
"Wait! Slow down for a second!" Videl interrupted, completely dumbfounded by everything she was being told. "What's a Super Saiyan?"
Gohan raised his Ki and his hair switched to gold and his eyes became teal. "This."
"Oh…I see." Videl replied.
Gohan powered back down and resumed his story. "So uh…yeah. I already told you the whole business with Cell, and I don't feel like repeating it again. Oh yeah, and did I mention that the future version of Trunks, Vegeta's son, came here and warned us about these crazy killer Androids? That's why we were training for three years in the first place. Cell was one of them, but he came from another future. No, it doesn't make a goddamn bit of sense to me, either."
Videl shook her head. "Okay, now I know everything. Some crazy life you have, Gohan. So these Saiyans…they're pretty much made for fighting. But you said they were very violent, too. Since you're only half-Saiyan, you're not as bad as they are, right?"
"I wish I could say that, but no. Well, I used to not be, but being angry a lot's had some pretty weird side-effects; mainly, letting my violent Saiyan side become my dominant personality. It's why I like fighting and violence a helluva lot more than I used to. And why I'm a bit of an asshole, as you like to point out." Gohan said bluntly, not bothering to sugar coat things.
"Jeez, is fighting pretty much all you think about nowadays, Gohan? That can't be healthy." Videl commented.
Gohan smirked. "Well, don't get mad at me, Videl," He formed an obnoxiously cheeky grin, "I'm just 'Saiyan.'"
Videl cringed at that puntastic phrase. Her eyes narrowed in warning. "Gohan, if you ever make a joke that lame again, I'm breaking up with you."
"Quit whining, Videl." Gohan said through a chuckle. "There, now you know everything about your weird, abnormally strong boyfriend."
"My abnormally strong, sexy, boyfriend." Videl added.
Gohan scowled at her. "You mean, 'handsome.'"
Videl rolled her eyes. "Whatever, let's just go."
"Fine." Gohan replied. The two turned around and walked to the door and went down the steps to the cafeteria. Without even realizing it, Gohan possessively wrapped his tail around Videl's waist. Videl raised an eyebrow to the strange gesture but figured it was some sort of weird Saiyan thing. The rest of the day went by normally.
In P.E., Vegeta had an announcement for the students. "Alright, brats, I hate this as much as you probably will. Coach Wakamoto has left the school and decided to pursue his old basketball dreams, and the board has decided to make me your full time physical education coach. I would've declined, but my damn wife threatened to turn off my gravity chamber permanently."
Vegeta stared at the students, waiting for a reaction. To his surprise, they erupted into cheers.
"Yeah, Coach Vegeta's staying!"
"Awesome, I didn't want him to leave!"
Vegeta's eyes widened. "What? Stupid humans, this is supposed to be a bad thing! You'll be undergoing my tortuous exercise for an entire school year now!"
Gohan laughed. "I think the class likes you now."
Vegeta scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. "Dumbass kids…"
The period went on as usual – kids did their drills, Vegeta cracked a few jokes in Gohan's direction, blah, blah, blah. Videl actually ignored her drills and decided to practice flying instead, which Vegeta didn't object to, either. Gohan kept a watchful eye on her, noting she was having an easier time flying freely at lower levels.
After school, Videl walked up to Gohan. "Okay, so today, we'll continue my little training sessions."
Gohan sighed. "If you insist." They walked out of the school, and Gohan was about to pick Videl up, but she smacked his hand away.
"I'll fly on my own." Videl replied, waving a dismissive hand.
"Oh, this should be fun to watch." Gohan said with a snicker.
Videl flipped him the bird and levitated into the air. It was a several feet off the ground, and she was proud of her progress. "And you better fly at my pace, bucko. No leaving me behind!"
"Whatever."
Videl flew off, with Gohan flying several feet above her to egg her on. They eventually made it West City, and Videl started feeling fatigued. Gohan took notice and flew back down, which Videl took as her cue to do so as well. The pigtailed crime fighter let out a few gasps for air while Gohan snorted in amusement.
"I guess it's still a little too early for you to be flying from city to city." Gohan taunted.
"S-shut up, Gohan!" She replied through a pant. "Let's walk!"
Gohan nodded and they traveled the rest of the way to Capsule Corp by foot. Gohan opened the door and walked down the hallway and to the living room, where Bulma was sitting down on the couch with dozens of magazines laid out on the coffee table and a an ashtray right beside her.
"Hey, kids!" Bulma said.
Videl awkwardly cleared her throat, seeing as how this was the first time she saw her clothed since before she and Gohan's date on Saturday. Bulma saw the look on her face and laughed nervously.
"So, uh…what brings you here, Videl?" She asked.
"She's just here to train with me." Gohan cut in, sensing how awkward things were getting. "Is there a place where we can get stuff done?"
"Oh, you can use the gravity room. Vegeta's at a faculty meaning." Bulma said, trying to hold back her laughter.
Gohan nodded and he and Videl walked upstairs to the chamber. Gohan entered in the password and opened the door, where to his surprise, Goten and Trunks were playing around in. Trunks had Goten down in a headlock, but quickly broke it when he saw Gohan step in. Both toddlers stood straight.
"GOHAN!" The both said in unison.
"What are you two doing here?" Gohan asked.
"Goten said he got tougher and I can't beat 'im up anymore so I wanted t'see if he was lyin' or not!" Trunks replied. "And he was, too!"
"You cheated!" Goten whimpered.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"I KNEW IT!" Goten exclaimed.
"Hey! You cheated this time!" Trunks pouted.
They both turned to face each other and let out angry growls, but before they had a chance to tear each other apart, Gohan picked the two toddlers up, holding one in each hand.
"Well, that's not important. Videl and I need to use the chamber for now." Gohan said. He turned around and dropped the two off into the hallway. "You two can continue your fight out here."
They both looked at each other with violent intent, but without caring to see the conclusion, Gohan slammed the door shut.
"Wow, those little tykes sure are a handful." Videl said.
"Believe me, you don't know the half of it." Gohan replied.
Videl walked over to the control panel. "So, what's all of this crap supposed to do?" She asked, looking at the various buttons and the black screen.
"It's an artificial gravity simulator. Just type in a number and the gravity in this room will increase to that level." Gohan explained.
Videl's eyes widened and she glanced at Gohan. "What level do you and Vegeta usually have it at?"
"Oh, about 500 times normal gravity." Gohan said, as if it were some mundane fact.
Videl nearly fell to the floor upon hearing that. "F-five…HUNDRED times normal gravity?" She repeated, not believing what she was told.
"Wow…that's insane…" Videl muttered.
"So, what do you want to do? We can't really fly around much in here." Gohan said.
"I want to spar with you." Videl said, her eyes filled with determination.
Gohan resisted the temptation to laugh. "You're joking, right?"
"No, Gohan." Videl said sternly. "I want to spar."
Gohan's face became very serious. "Videl, really. I seriously don't think you should spar with me."
"Stuff it, Gohan. Yesterday I went shopping around and found DVDs of the 21st, 22nd, and parts of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournaments. I know your dad's a fighting alien and everything but…even those humans were incredible too. Even if I can't get to your level, I want to at least do stuff like they did in the footage." Videl explained, her fists clenched at her sides.
Gohan sighed. "Well, there's probably going to be no use in arguing with you. Fine, Videl, I'll do it. But don't start complaining when things don't go your way."
Gohan crouched into a fighting stance, not even bothering to change out of his street clothes. Although he wasn't intending it to come off that way and it honestly never crossed his mind that he didn't switch, it was slightly insulting to Videl. That made her all the more determined to fight. Videl went into her own stance and immediately dashed at him. She threw all of the punches in her arsenal, including ones that Vegeta had instilled in her and all of the students in P.E. Gohan was dodging them with no effort whatsoever, but that didn't matter to Videl. She tried to kick him straight in the side of the head, but he blocked it with his forearm with ease. She swung her leg back down and tried to slam an elbow into his face, but Gohan phased out and reappeared at her side. Videl shifted to his direction and tried to kick him in the ribs, but Gohan grabbed her by the foot and roughly swung her to the side.
Videl let out a frustrated growl and aimed a kick right at his jaw, but Gohan bent down backwards to get out of the way. As soon as Gohan got back into a standing position, Videl flipped over his head and tried to punch him from behind. However, Gohan grabbed her arm without even so much as looking over his shoulder. The half-Saiyan spun her around so she was facing him again. Videl stared right into his eyes with a piercing gaze, although Gohan wasn't fazed at all.
"This is going nowhere, Gohan." Videl relented.
"Gee, you noticed?" Gohan deadpanned.
"I'm serious, Gohan. I'm not going to get anywhere if you go easy on me." Videl said.
If Gohan was drinking something, it would've spewed right out of his mouth. "Are you serious, Videl?" Gohan asked in disbelief. "You can't even beat me up when I'm putting less than 1% of my effort in! What makes you think you can hit me when I'm actually trying?"
Videl clenched her fists tightly. "I want you to go on the offensive this time!" She challenged.
"Videl, I can't." He said slowly. "You could d-"
"So?" She interrupted. "If I die, I wouldn't be worth anything in the first place.
Gohan couldn't help but laugh. Videl frowned. "What's so funny?"
"It's just, you sound exactly like I did when I was training with my father before I transformed into a Super Saiyan for the first time. I said those exact words – 'If I die, I wouldn't be worth anything.' Alright, Videl, fine. You asked for it, and you've got it!" Gohan exclaimed.
Videl smirked. "I wouldn't have it any other way!" Videl crouched down and lunged…
About 15 minutes later, Gohan was leaning against the control panel. The only sign of damage was a bite mark on his neck. He had his arms folded, and he was looking down at the other figure in the room with a smirk. "I guess that oughta do for the first day."
Sitting on the floor, with her shirt torn up, her face covered in bruises, and her right eye badly swollen shut, Videl looked up at Gohan and laughed. "Y-yeah, I guess so."
"Next time, though, I'm going to actually teach you some basics. It's definitely a lot better than beating the shit out of you." Gohan remarked. "Alright, let's get you to the infirmary; Bulma will fix you up."
Gohan stuck his hand out to help Videl up and she took it without complaint. Gohan pulled her up to her feet and held her closely as they walked out of the gravity room. Gohan opened the door, where Vegeta was waiting. He had an irritated scowl on his face; that is, until he saw Videl. His eyes popped open in shock.
"Holy shit." He said with uncharacteristic surprise.
The couple laughed. "She insisted." Gohan said.
Vegeta shook his head. "We oughta make sure that girl isn't half-Saiyan." He said off-handedly as he walked into the gravity room.
Gohan and Videl walked down the hallway, where Bulma happened to be walking in their direction. She stopped and gasped when she saw Videl so banged up. "Whoa, Gohan, what happened to her?"
"She basically told me to beat the crap out of her." Gohan said sarcastically. Videl weakly smiled and gave a thumbs up.
Bulma shook her head and sighed. "Kids these days…" She mumbled. "Let's get her to the infirmary."
Gohan nodded and followed her lead. They both gently laid Videl down on the bed. Videl looked up at her boyfriend and smiled, her blue eyes glistening. "Thank you…Gohan."
"Hn."
"Gohan, you can get something to eat while I treat her injuries." Bulma instructed.
"Sure thing." Gohan replied before heading out the door. He laughed to himself over what had happened. For what Videl lacked in strength by his standards, she more than made up for in her determination. Maybe she could become stronger if he trained her.
Hell, maybe training her would be something to help him finally take his mind off of his father.