Vulnerable
A/N: Hello! New story.
Inspired by the Netflix TV show, Lucifer. What if Gohan suddenly becomes vulnerable when he goes and fights crime, but doesn't understand why?
Storyline: Gohan and Videl meet just after the Cell Games, and develop a fond friendship. However, they have to be separated as Videl and her mother move to another city. They will find each other years later when they start college. What if Gohan already had a girlfriend by college? But what if he actually find himself falling in love with his childhood friend? And what is the deal with this new vulnerability that strikes him every time he goes and fight crimes?
Videl's mom is alive in this story, and Videl will be OOC with a girly approach, but still curious and strong-headed. Gohan will be the same Gohan, shy and nerdy.
Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ! However, I do own any new OC in this story.
Chapter 1: Changes
One of the hardest issues celebrities have to cope with is keeping the privacy of their families. It is already hard enough that they have to pay attention to paparazzi when they go here and there; but to also have their spouses and kids live the same nightmare, it surely isn't easy. And in the household of the world martial arts champion Hercule Satan, it wasn't any different.
Hercule Satan was the newest winner of the WMAT tournament, right after Goku. He was already known before his win, with him being one of the most followed emerging fighters. He had his own dojo and a few students who used to win every small competitions around the country. Then, the champion won the first tournament that had been held after Goku had won and destroyed the ring, and it increased his popularity tenfold.
However, he was renown to have a very big ego, and winning the MWAT also increased it. During the championship, he felt that the fights anchor felt bored, surely seeing that Hercule used basic fighting techniques; and compared with the Ki attacks the former champions did, it was surely a boring fight. And for the worst, he decided to badmouth the former winners, calling them tricksters, hoping to increase his popularity. And since people tend to believe everything they see on TV, they believed him.
But the champion didn't pay attention to a small, yet very important detail. With his popularity increase, his privacy would soon become inexistant. And while he enjoyed the fame, his wife and daughter surely didn't. Hoshiko, Hercule's wife, was a very beautiful woman of average height with long black hair and blue eyes, and Videl, their daughter, was a copy of her mother. She was a chef in a five stars restaurant and she enjoyed the simplicity their lives had to offer. They always did their best to raise their daughter in the best way possible, making sure she would be strong and independent. But with paparazzi following them everywhere, their lives quickly jumped from simple to nightmarish, in a couple of days.
Hoshiko always did her best to hide her daughter, and she was happy that sometimes, she managed to resonate with the paparazzi, asking them to leave them alone during their outings. Because of the mother's tenacity, very few pictures of the mother-daughter duo appeared in magazines, and they managed to live a kind of simple life.
Then, Videl's nightmare became a reality. The young girl was very attached to her mother, seeing that they passed most of their times together ever since her father was crowned champion. And as every other kid, she always feared that she would loose her. Her mother always told her it won't happen, but then again, no one can predict the future, and Hoshiko Satan wasn't a psychic in the end.
Then, three years after her father was crowned champion, the whole world entered chaos with the arrival of a new threat, Cell. And sadly, Videl's mother was one of the numerous victims of the bio android, and it turned the young girl into a mess. Videl felt angry at herself. It was the one outing in which she didn't accompany her mother, claiming she was tired and wanted to watch TV. Her mother understood and left on her own to pay a visit to a family relative on an island nearby. The same island that Cell decided to pay a visit to. The Satan child felt guilty, thinking that she could have protected her mother from the green monster. Hercule, on the other hand, while being devastated by the news, felt relieved to see that his daughter escaped this tragic fate.
Then, Cell, with a very new more human form, announced the Cell Games, and Videl felt her world crumble around her again when her father told her he will be joining. What if he got killed and she lost both her parents? She had to do something.
And on the day of the Games, a very angry Hercule could be heard from the other side of his house, screaming at his ten years old daughter "VIDEL! You stop this nonsense. You aren't coming with me."
Videl, even though she was shorter than her father, stood near him, looking at him angrily "But dad. Please, I want to see you fight." She then tried her usual puppy eyes, hoping to persuade him "Please daddy. I don't want to stay alone."
Hercule tried to stay firm, but his daughter surely knew how to play her game "Videl, sweet pea, listen to me." He tried to continue but she pouted at him. He then got an idea "Why don't you call your friend, the blonde one. You can watch the game together. She can even come here. I trust you both to stay alone for a while."
Videl sighed, not knowing what to do. She then got an idea "Okay daddy. I'll go to her house, it's better. I don't want to stay here alone." She wasn't lying on this, she couldn't stay in the house without her mother. But she definitely won't be going to her friend's house and she looked at her father innocently "You're gonna win daddy. I'll see you on TV. Bye." She then kissed her father goodbye and left the house in a hurry.
Hercule smiled as he saw his daughter leave the house and he then turned around and started posing in front of a mirror "YEAH! I'm the strongest." He then started showing his muscles, hyping himself for the fight. "Just you wait Cell. You're no match against the great Hercule Satan."
The world champion was too absorbed in his poses and failed to notice a set of ponytails hiding under the windows, heading towards the car. Little Videl quickly sneaked into the trunk of the car, benefiting from the absence of the driver. She needed to be there, to support her father. What if he needed help? Maybe she could, and maybe she couldn't; but, she would be very angry at herself if she might have been able to protect her father but didn't because she wasn't with him.
Around fifteen minutes later, the car started, and her father was on his way to the Cell Games.
She couldn't see a thing. All she saw was a blur of green and orange moving in every direction.
As soon as Hercule arrived, Videl quickly sneaked out of the car and hid behind a boulder, as far away as possible from her father. She then saw him and his students talk about this and that before the champion made his way onto the ring, from where he was swooped out like a fly in merely seconds. She didn't understand what he said when he laughed, but she assumed it would be a lie. The world champion got kicked out of the ring in less than five seconds, you don't see that every day.
Then, a blonde guy in an orange suit started fighting and, he and Cell, disappeared. She saw them move very fast, changing their position every now and then, they then flew, started sending weird flames from their hands. It was a big mess she couldn't understand. But she knew one thing, it was a heated fight.
Then, the guy said something she couldn't discern, and Cell started laughing as the fighter made his way to a young blonde boy, surely not older than her. She heard the news anchor call him a delivery boy, but judging by his cloth, posture and muscles, the anchor couldn't be more wrong. And as surprising and insane as it appeared, the boy entered the ring, took a fighting stance and started to attack Cell.
Everything after this was like taken out of a movie. The boy kept being beaten but he didn't give up. Then a weird robot guy got destroyed, Cell created weird mini Cells, and she saw her father throw the head of the robot on the battlefield, before Cell crashed it. Then, the boy started screaming and she could actually see a golden aura surround him and his hair stood more than before. He then started fighting with Cell, like he was nothing.
She didn't understand a thing. The boy seemed to be winning. He destroyed the mini-Cells instantly, then hit Cell in the stomach as he weirdly puked out a woman out of him. Then Cell became gigantic and said he was going to destroy himself. The guy in the orange suit appeared in front of Cell, talked to the boy who started crying, and they both disappeared. Then Cell came back, alone.
It was like a movie and she was actually seeing the whole fight with her eyes, hearing her father say they were using tricks and mirrors. But she knew it was wrong, everything was real. If they were tricks, how come the boy had his hand injured while he protected the other man? Or how did the boy with lavender hair get pierced? They were all real, and these people were actually fighting using these weird attacks. Just how powerful are they?
The worst part was, after she saw the fight going down, and seeing the young boy win against the biggest threat on the Earth, she heard her father lie. She had seen it first handedly how the young blonde boy defeated Cell using this ray of light. But she didn't expect her father to claim the credits after the mysterious group of fighters had left the battlefield. How could he lie about something this big? And how dull was the news anchor for believing him? How could her father take away a boy's achievement?
But she didn't have time to think about all of this. She had to come back to the trunk before her father left. She would think about it on the way. She had to confront him.
After what she felt would be a convenient time for her father to think that she got back from her friend's house, Videl got out of the trunk, ready to scold her father. But she reached the front door of their home, and heard someone crying inside. Not knowing what was happening, she quickly opened the door, only to be greeted by non-other than her mother. Videl rushed to hug her, all the tears she tried to held back from losing her coming out. She couldn't believe it, it was a miracle. They then saw on TV every victim of Cell, alive again. They didn't understand what happened, but they didn't care. The small family was happily reunited.
Hoshiko hugged her little girl, playing with her hair, as she looked at her husband "What happened? Where is Cell?"
Hercule boosted his ego, as he started to believe his own lies "He's dead. We won't have to worry about him anymore." He then looked at his wife proudly, as he continued "I killed him."
Videl quickly turned around, her eyes bigger than her stomach "No you didn't! It was this young boy who killed him. You lost in barely seconds."
Hercule's eyes widened, but he quickly responded "Videl, sweetie, I tripped over. We lost the camera after a while, that's why you couldn't see it. I killed Cell with one kick after all his bombs and light tricks were done." He then started showing an example of his dynamite kick, hoping that his daughter would believe him.
Videl was flabbergasted. How could her father lie to her and her mother? She looked at her mother sadly than eyed her dad "Dad, I was there. You didn't kill him. Why would you say that?" She then quickly noticed her father fuming smokes and she continued "Before you scream at me, I was in the trunk of the car. But please daddy, don't be mad at me. I wanted to see you. Mom was dead and I didn't want to lose you too. I'm sorry daddy." She then quickly lowered her head, waiting for the scolding of her life.
Hercule and Hoshiko both looked at their daughter, not knowing what to do. Sure, she had disobeyed direct orders, but they couldn't blame her. She had lost her mother barely a couple days ago, and Videl wasn't the type of girl to cry. Hercule knew she had bottled up feelings and he couldn't stay mad at her.
The world champion looked at his wife and smiled at her "I'm not mad at you pumpkin. I'm just disappointed. We thought you to never lie. And it was dangerous. What if something bad had happened to you?"
Videl quickly rose her head, looking weirdly at her father "But daddy, you lied to the whole world. It's not a big deal if I lie only in front of you."
Hercule quickly gulped as his wife eyed him "MARK! What did you do? What are you teaching her?" Hoshiko then looked towards Videl, as she crouched to her level "Videl, sweetie. It's bad to lie, even if daddy did it. You should always tell the truth, okay princess? Now, why don't you tell me what happened during my absence?"
Videl quickly nodded as she started explaining everything.
A few minutes later, Hoshiko nodded at Videl "Monkey, can you leave me alone with your dad?"
Videl quickly nodded and left the room. However, being very curious, she hid behind the door, and heard her mother screaming at her father "How could you? I mean how? Where is your integrity? Don't you have no honor? No pride? Taking a young boy's achievement like that?"
Hercule sighed, looking in every direction "They were gone. They didn't care about the fame. And the news guy needed an answer. What was I supposed to say? No one would have believed that an eleven years old boy would win. And they were using light tricks. Something isn't right. Cell disintegrated in a ray of light, how is that possible? It was all staged."
The Satan matron started shaking her head "I don't care if it was real or not. You lied on live TV. What will these people say when they find out? What will you do, huh? And imagine the nightmare our lives will becoming if people actually believe you. We already have no privacy. I don't want my daughter to live like this. She has the right to be normal, like everyone else."
The world champion sighed dejectedly "But honey, think about it. With the money, we won't need a thing. We can live our lives carefree."
Hoshiko glared at her husband "We have more than we need. I make more than enough money, so do you. And with the championship money, we can raise Videl and save enough for college. We even have enough money if we want to try and get pregnant again. More is always bad, Mark. We both know that." The chef then sighed, looking around her house "This house is more than enough. And I want to live freely with you and Videl. Hopefully, with another kid, it would be nice. Stop trying to increase your popularity even more, it's affecting us all negatively. And don't start lying to the whole world, you're better than this."
Hercule nodded, looking around him "I want to live with you, and I want another child with you. Look, if this kid will come forward, I will deny everything I said. And if not, a little more money won't hurt us."
The young woman rolled her eyes, having a bad feeling about all of this. She then left the living room and saw Videl rushing to her room. The matron roller her eyes and reached her daughter's room, ready to have a small talk with her, to make sure she was okay after all these events.
A few days later, Hoshiko's nightmare became a reality. Since no one claimed victory, Hercule was crowned winner, and he didn't deny it. To thank him for saving the world, the whole Satan's world turned upside down.
They were gifted a mansion, a ton of money and donations, several Satan products and movies were ongoing, and to top it all, they even decided to rename the city they lived in 'Satan City'. Most of the shops and restaurant started changing their names to something related to the world champion: Satan candy, Satan play store, Satan arcade. It was a huge mess.
And instead of denying it, Hercule accepted everything, as if it was his own achievement. He started doing interviews, going on business trips, partying and going to galas. Needless to say that both mother and daughter didn't see him in the house. And to top it, paparazzi were everywhere. Even in their gardens. It was big mess and both Hoshiko and Videl couldn't stand it anymore.
After barely a month, Hoshiko waited for her husband to come back from a gala dinner. He barely opened the door of their new mansion, that he saw his wife glaring at him "Mark, we need to talk. Now."
Hercule tilted his head, not understanding the situation. But he knew his wife meant trouble when she called him by his name, not his fighting one. They then entered a heated fight.
Videl was hidden behind the door, listening to every word of the conversation. She knew what her mother wanted, since they both agreed to this, but she never thought she would actually hear her parents fight like this.
She then heard her mother giving her father the ultimatum they had improvised, hoping to make him change his mind "You either stop all of this, and we go back to our old life, or both Videl and I leave the house."
Videl could hear the silence in the room, and she peaked to see.
She saw her father's mouth wide open and he shook his head "You really want to destroy a fifteen years old marriage, just because of some white lie?"
The mother started rubbing her temples "Are you serious? White lie? And now the issue isn't with the lie, it's its consequences. We don't need a house this big, you're never here, and paparazzi are everywhere. I saw one last night while Videl was trying on new clothes. This is insane, we can't live like this. You have to do something. She is growing up, and she will soon be an adolescent. She can't have this, what will people say. Come on, be reasonable."
The world champion lowered his head "I can't revert the lie, people will hate us. I don't know what might happen. Think about my reputation. My career will be over and I won't be able to compete anymore." He then started thinking as he looked around him. He then looked at his wife and sighed "You know what, you're right. Videl can't live like this. You should leave the house, both of you."
Both mother and daughter were surprised as Hercule continued "I love you both, but I can't go back. We still own the other house, live there in peace. I will tell the paparazzi to not follow you there. If you stay here, they will always lurk around to get a picture of me."
Videl quickly entered the room, tears in her eyes. Her mother saw her and quickly held her "Videl, sweetie. What are you doing here? I told you to stay in your room while I talk to daddy."
The young girl cried lightly, and she wiped her tears with her hand "I don't want you to divorce. I want you to stay together."
They both looked at her surprised and Hercule smiled lightly at her as he held her "You're growing up real fast. Someday, I won't be able to hold you anymore. Sweet pea, we're not divorcing. And I will come as much as I can. It's just better for you. This way, you can see your friends without having cameramen at your windows. And you can come here anytime you want."
The Satan family stood there in silence a minute, before Hercule spoke "Look, I guess we have a lot to discuss. Let's all go back to the old house tonight, discreetly. We'll take the right decisions there, we always had."
It has now been more than a year since the Satan family divided. Hercule lived in the mansion, while his wife and daughter were in their old house, free from paparazzi. The world champion had forbidden the media from following them, and everyone feared his anger. He was still the world champion in the end, and he could easily beat them up.
Videl was almost twelve and she was entering junior high in Satan City. She was considered to be a very bright young girl, as her curiosity helped her a lot. And as every young twelve years old girls, her body started to change, and it appeared she would turn out to be as beautiful, if not more, than her mother.
Due to all the fame, she had difficulties making friends, since almost everyone wanted to befriend her to meet the world savior. Her only real friends were a blonde bubbly girl named Erasa and a blonde boy named Sharpner. Erasa was her friend ever since kindergarten and they were both inseparable. While Videl was considered relatively calm, Eras was always cheery and friendly with everyone, and payed a lot of attention to her physique. Sharper, on the other hand, showed from an early age to be a future jock in high school. He was friend with Videl since elementary school and they grew together, both of them being interested in baseball. They were the only two people that remained friends with her after her father's fame, just for her, and not to meet the champ, or to get publicity by being friends with his daughter.
Hoshiko and Videl lived happily in their house. The mother continued to work at her old restaurant, which started to grow more and more. She even won numerous cooking competitions, and made enough money so she wouldn't need to take some from Hercule. She didn't mind, seeing that they were actually married, but she couldn't take the money that came from a lie. To settle this, she and Hercule had decided to put the money coming from the Cell victory in a different bank account, and the Satan matron would use the old one, with the money coming from the dojo and WMAT victory.
Everything appeared to be going okay. Hercule would come anytime he could to see his family. They would eat dinner and play games together, and when the opportunity presented itself, they would travel or take the weekend off. And when the paparazzi weren't roaming around the mansion, the mother and daughter duo would go and sleep at Hercule's. It wasn't idealistic, but at least the women would get the privacy they deserved, without having Hercule ruin his entire reputation.
Videl was always curious about the Cell Games, as she always tried to locate the mysterious group of fighters that was there. She felt that some of them were very familiar, but she couldn't really point from where she knew them. He mind specifically kept wandering to the young boy who fought Cell. He should be around her age, maybe a little older, but he was very toned for someone this young. And she didn't understand where he got the strength and courage to fight Cell like he did. She really wanted to meet him, her curiosity taking the best of her. She felt like there was a lot she didn't know about, and being very curious, she didn't like that. Her friend Erasa kept saying that her obsession with him was due to the fact that he was cute, and Videl would blush every time. They were barely twelve and Erasa already started talking about this stuff. Videl was very lucky to have her a friend when she needed answers, that was for sure.
A few months later, during the school year, both Videl and Erasa were sitting in class. While Erasa was mainly drawing random sketches in her notebook, Videl was actually paying attention and taking notes. A few minutes before the bell, Erasa elbowed Videl, hoping to gain her attention. The young raven girl turned around and looked at her friend who smiled at her "What'cha doing after school?"
The raven girl started thinking lightly "Um, it's Tuesday, so mom should be at the restaurant. Wanna go there to eat?"
The blonde started shaking her head excitedly and Videl laughed at her. She then quickly payed attention to the board, trying to avoid a scolding from the teacher.
When the bell rung, both girls eagerly took their bags and left the classroom. Satan City was considered to be a safe city, with it being the home of the world champion, and both pre-teens could walk in the street freely.
They reached the restaurant of Videl's mom and eat their meal. Afterwards, they decided to go the park to pass the afternoon and Hoshiko accepted, telling them to not be late. And with that, both girls made their way to Satan Park.
On their way there, while they were waiting for a light to turn red so they could pass the street, they saw a young boy in traditional white pants with a dark blue top, wandering in the street. Videl quickly felt he was familiar, with his haircut going in all direction. Erasa quickly squealed, telling her friend how cute the boy was, and Videl couldn't but chuckle.
A few seconds later, the traffic light turned red, and Erasa quickly held Videl's hand as they passed the street. The bubbly blonde then lost no time talking to the cute boy "Hi. I'm Erasa and this is my friend Videl. Are you lost?"
The young boy turned around, and both girls could see him clearly. He had dark hair, waving in all directions, and dark onyx eyes. Videl couldn't help but notice that they hid a hint of sadness in them. He was taller than them, as he appeared to be a year or two older. His posture was very straight and they could notice that he was considered to be very well toned, especially for his age.
He looked at them, surprised to see them, and he started to scratch the back on his neck "Hi. Um, yeah. I'm looking for a grocery store. Could you help me?" He then looked at them and blushed a little "I'm not from here actually, it's my first time in the city."
Erasa squealed, quickly taking over the conversation "When did you move in? Are you liking it so far? Which school do you go to?"
The boy quickly gulped, noticing how enthusiastic the girl was. Videl chuckled and shook her head playfully "Calm down Erasa. Sorry about her. There's a grocery store around the corner. You follow the street till the end then you take a left. It should directly appear in front of you."
The boy nodded "Thanks." He then looked at the girl that asked him all the questions "I didn't move in actually. We usually go shopping in another city, but we couldn't make it today so I came here." He then smiled at both girls "Thanks again for helping me." He then bowed respectively at them and waved them goodbye.
Before he left, Erasa called him "Hey, wait. You didn't tell us your name. We told you ours. This way, if we see you another time, we can call you."
The boy blushed lightly but then smiled at them "I'm Gohan. Nice to meet you both."