Secret Heart

Chapter 14

She was standing near the training room's exit for a while now, the words that Gohan had said to her were slowly registering in her mind.

"I won't hesitate to kill anyone who will dare to hurt you."

I didn't thought… that he'd go that far for me… She thought. He is usually so kind… It's hard to believe that he terrorized Dad… She suddenly widened her eyes.

"Dad!"

She made a U-turn. Her father didn't move an inch: sitting on the ring, as white as snow, still trembling in fear. The girl approached him, worried.

"Dad?"

He didn't seem to hear her. She approached him more, kneeled down next to him, and started to shake him a bit. Finally, he seemed to wake from his torpor, and turned his head toward her, staring at her with his frightened eyes.

"Vi-Videl… Th-This b-boy… I-It's… It's him…" He stammered.

Videl frowned. "Him? What do you mean, him? Did you already meet Gohan, Dad?"

Mister Satan suddenly realized what he had said, and what he was about to say, and he pulled himself together. He stood up, becoming more confident.

"It's nothing, don't mind it." He said.

Videl looked at him suspiciously. What was her father hiding from her? And in what it was related to Gohan? She swore to herself that she will discover it.

She stood up as well, deciding against insisting, for now. "If you say so."

"Well, it's getting late." Mister Satan said. "Go to bed, now."

"Yes Dad."

She was about to get off the ring, but her father's voice stopped her.

"By the way, Videl," He started.

She turned to her father. "Yes?"

"Where did you learn to do this… thing?"

"Gohan taught me." She replied.

"So these… 'math lessons', it was just a cover?"

She lowered her head. "Yes…" She bit her lip. Well, better tell him everything… "Actually, Gohan's teaching me how to fly. And it's not a trick." She added.

"I see…" He said. "I always thought that these were tricks, but since you can do it as well, I guess it's not the case."

Videl smiled. "Well, I'm going to bed. Goodnight Dad."

"Goodnight…" He said. "Ah, Videl?"

Videl stopped once more as she was about to get off the ring. She turned to her father again.

"Yes, Dad?"

"I… I'm sorry for trying to slap you… I don't know what has gotten to me… It is fortunate that this boy was here to stop me." Mister Satan said, his head lowered shamefully.

Videl was surprised. Her father had never been the king of man to apologize; he was way too proud for that. Then her face softened. He must really blame himself.

She approached him and pecked him on the cheek.

"Goodnight Dad."

Mister Satan blinked, watching his daughter get off the ring, then walk toward the training room's exit. And then, slowly, a smile appeared on his lips.

"Goodnight, Sweet Pea."

Gohan was back at home. It was pretty late when he arrived, but surprisingly, his mother didn't question him about his lateness, and simply told him to go to bed.

Only, there was a problem: he couldn't sleep. He was worried. Worried about what Videl will think of him, now that she had seen this side of him which he would have preferred her to never see.

And then, he didn't know where he was, with this girl. She had kissed him during her flying lessons, then she had regretted, telling him to forget. And yet, she had responded to his kiss when he kissed her, afterward. He didn't know what to think anymore. He needed to know what she was feeling for him.

…If she was feeling anything at all.

Videl, too, was having difficulties to fall asleep. She was more and more questioning herself about her father. How the man who defeated Cell could tremble in fear in front of a teenager? Well, okay, this teenager happens to be the Great Saiyaman, the super hero who could carry buses without troubles, but her father was supposed to have beaten Cell! Cell, the monster who had reduced the Royal Army to dust without effort!

She had doubts. She doubted her father's word. She shouldn't be; he was her father, he would never lie to her, she had to trust him… But the more she thought about it, the more she doubted.

She needed to clear her mind about it. So, in the middle of the night, she decided to go watch the Cell Games' tape. Without noise, she exited her room, and walked in the dark corridors of the Satan Manor toward the video room. Arrived at her destination, she turned the light on, and the sudden light blinded her for a few moments. Then she got used to it, and didn't lose any time, searching the Cell Games' tape among all the tapes about old fights that her father possessed. She found it after a while, and immediately put it in the video-tape. She pressed the 'play' button.

She settled down on the couch facing the big screen to watch the video. She saw her father arrive, seeming confident, followed by a whole group of people coming from the sky. Among these people, there was a man with golden hair, and next to him, a little boy who had to be his son. She pressed the 'pause' button when the camera stopped on the boy. He must have been ten – the age she had at the time. He had golden hair and teal eyes. Just like…

The Gold Fighter. She realized. He fits the description of the Gold Fighter perfectly. Even the age fits. It has to be him.

But why did he appear in Satan City, after seven years? And why did he disappear suddenly, exactly when Saiyaman appeared? This is all very fishy…

She pressed the 'play' button again, continuing to watch the video. She saw with stupefaction her father being thrown away from the ring like a mere fly after only a few seconds.

How could she forget that??

Her father had given as a pretext that he did a "wrong move", but she knew better. She may have believed it when she was ten, but today, as a martial artist, she couldn't believe it, even if she wished to with all her heart.

She wished with all her heart that her father hadn't lied, that he had really defeated Cell, but as she watched the tape, in which the fight between the monster and the unknown man with golden hair had begun, she doubted her father's word more and more.

The fight was really impressive – well, what the cameraman could film of the fight, anyway – and now that she knew Gohan, she knew that there weren't 'tricks', like her father had pretended. This was real, and she knew that her father was far from their level.

She continued to watch the fight. The man with golden hair had suddenly forfeited the fight. He admitted that Cell was the strongest, and that he had seen enough of his power. When Cell said that if there weren't anymore fighters, he would destroy Earth and its inhabitants, the unknown man said that it wasn't over, that there was still one fighter able to defeat him.

When Videl heard the name of the next fighter, her heart stopped.

"You're up next, Gohan!"

Gohan was walking in the corridors of Orange Star High School, a bit anxious to see Videl again after the events of the night before. He arrived at his locker, putting away the books he wouldn't need in it. When he closed his locker, he had a little start; Videl was next to him.

And she didn't seem to be in a good mood.

"You have nothing to tell me?" She asked.

He sighed. "It's about yesterday? Look, I'm sorry Videl, I guess I went a bit too far by threatening your fath-"

"I'm not talking about that!" She cut him.

Gohan blinked. He scratched his hair. "I don't understand…"

She clenched her fists. "You… You knew the truth… And you didn't tell me…"

"The truth? What are you talking about, Videl?" Gohan asked, more and more confused.

"About my father!"

"A-About your father?" Gohan stammered, afraid to understand.

She looked at him, her eyes full of anger, but also of hurt. "How could you hide something like that from me?"

He swallowed hard. "Did… did your father talk to you?"

"He didn't need to! I discovered everything by myself!"

The bell chose this moment to ring. Videl glared draggers at Gohan, then she turned on her heels, walking away from him and toward her classroom. The young man stayed without moving for a while, as the students were leaving the corridor, asking himself millions questions. But one in particular imposed itself in his mind.

Did she discover the truth about the Cell Games?

Gohan couldn't focus his mind on the lesson, questioning himself about what Videl had discovered.

It's obvious! He thought. Something that concern me, and that concern her father as well; there aren't millions possibilities! I don't know how, but she discovered the truth about the Cell Games!

He glanced to his right. The raven haired girl was taking notes, but he could see that she was still upset. He sighed, lowering his head.

I should have told her… Now she's mad at me because I hided the truth from her… I hope it's not too late…

The bell announcing the break rang. Gohan had looked forward to it, and at the same time, he dreaded it. Because the young Saiya-jin had decided to tell Videl everything about the Cell Games, hoping that she would forgive him for hiding it from her in being honest with her.

He waited in the corridor for her to come out of the classroom, like he would usually do when he wanted to talk to her. When she came out, he hesitated for a moment. Could he really tell her the truth?

He shook his head, getting rid of his doubts, and, with a new determination in his eyes, walked toward Videl, who had gone pretty far away while he was hesitating.

He placed his hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Videl, we need to talk."

The girl released her shoulder from his hold and turned around, ready to tell the young man to get lost, but when she saw how serious he looked, she changed her mind, and decided to listen to him.

"I'm listening." She said.

"Not here. Follow me."

She followed him without a word. Not surprisingly, he took her to the roof. After all, it was the most appropriate place to talk privately. They sat on the roof's ledge, staying silent for a while, until Gohan decided to speak.

"What did you discover, exactly?" He asked.

"I think you know what I discovered." She said, crossing her arms.

He sighed. "Yes, I think I know what you discovered." There was a brief moment of silence. "It's… about the Cell Games, isn't it?"

"So it really was you, the little boy from the group; I wasn't wrong." She said.

Gohan lowered his head. "No, you're not wrong."

"And you're also the Gold Fighter." She continued.

He simply nodded his head, keeping it down.

"How do you do to change your hair and eyes color?" She then asked.

Gohan tensed. He may be ready to tell her the truth about the Cell Games, but he sure wasn't to tell her that he was half alien yet. He thought about what he could respond, but found nothing. He sighed.

"It's… complicated. And I'm not ready to tell you, not yet." He lifted his head, looking at her in the eyes. "Please understand."

He expected her to protest, but she didn't. She nodded her head, showing him that she understood, which surprised him just as much as her.

He smiled. "Thank you."

"But you will explain to me, right?" She asked.

"Yes… But not now. I'm not ready for it yet." He said.

"Then I will wait." She said, smiling at him. Then her face became serious. "My father… My father didn't kill Cell, did he?"

"No, he didn't." He replied honestly.

She sighed. "I knew it… After all, how could he? He has been thrown away from the ring in not even three seconds. I wonder how I could believe it all these years…"

"Everybody believed it, you're not the only one. But you know, your father did us a big favor by taking the credit for killing Cell."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we don't want the fame and the glory. If I defeated Cell, it was to protect Earth and the ones I loved, not for becoming famous."

"I see…" Then Videl's eyes widened, as she realized what Gohan had just said. "YOU're the one who beat Cell??"

He rubbed his neck. "Well… yes."

"But you were just a kid!"

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth."

"I believe you, Gohan, even if it's a bit difficult for me to. You were only ten… And you saved the World…"

He blushed slightly, looking down. "I only did what I thought was right."

She smiled. "Thank you for telling me the truth." She came closer to him and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush even more. She then stood up and walked toward the roof's door. She was going to open it but Gohan's voice stopped her.

"Videl?" He called.

She turned around. "Yes?"

"Are we… Are we friends, now?"

She smiled. "Yes, Gohan. We're friends."

To Be Continued…