Chapter One

Her Worst Nightmare

This was his third time in the city, and this was the third time Gohan had had to step in, turning Super Saiyan to hide his identity, and stop a crime in progress – and he hadn't even started his first day of class yet! But here he was. Three for three. What was wrong with this city?

He exhaled softly as he arranged his satchel, glancing at the street in front of the bank over his shoulder. Five robbers lay unconscious or groaning in pain, their getaway jeep turned over and fuming. The police officers were still idle, looking around in confusion and disbelief. From his experience with the previous two bouts of heroism, he figured it was probably going to take them some time to get their bearings and arrest the disabled law-breakers, but Gohan wasn't worried. Those guys would be out for a while. The important thing was that everyone was safe now.

Well, nobody seemed to pay attention to him and he was already running late for school. Better hurry up if he didn't want to get in trouble on his first day.

And then Gohan almost jumped out of his skin. Standing behind him, a girl addressed him and for a millisecond the boy panicked, fearing that she'd seen him go from golden blond to jet-black hair when he dropped out of his Super Saiyan transformation.

"Did you see what happ…?" she started asking, but her voice trailed off when he turned around.

Her jaw dropped and her eyes grew wide, her face turning a sickly white color. She took a step back, her hand rising to her mouth.

"No way…" she whispered, taking another step back, gawking at him like she was seeing a ghost.

His fingers tightened around the strap of his satchel and his forehead creased in confusion. What had he done to earn this kind of reaction? Gohan was positive that he had never seen this girl before. He detailed her features, his brow furrowing further as he searched his memory for any trace of the girl.

She was petite and short, just reaching his shoulders, and she looked about his age. Thick, wavy raven hair tied down in pigtails were framing a fair-skinned, heart-shaped face. Deep blue eyes – still staring at him in horror. No, Gohan didn't have a single doubt: he could assert with absolute certainty that he had never seen this girl before in his life.

Although… Glancing at her clothing, she was clearly wearing an Orange Star High School badge on her baggy white shirt. Could it be that she had seen him when he went to the school to take his entrance exams or when he finalized his registration?

But that wouldn't explain why the mere sight of him seemed to all but petrify her.

He took a tentative step forward, mustering his most gentle voice as he asked, "Are you okay?"

Her eyes seemed to grow even bigger at the sound of his voice and her throat made a strangling sound. In what Gohan could only describe as utter panic, the girl swiftly turned on her heels and sprinted down the street.

Her feet drummed on the pavement as they propelled her forward. Every breath she took felt like fire in her throat, but Videl couldn't stop running. She had to keep going. She had to put more distance between her and the crime scene. She had to get away from that boy.

She bumped into someone and her speed was such that it made the man tumble back and almost fall over.

"Sorry!" she apologized quickly, notes of panic distorting her voice.

People were looking at her. Maybe some even recognized her. Videl took a sharp breath and her eyes darted about; she took off running again and turned a corner, coming upon a deserted alley where she skidded to a stop. Leaning back against the side of the building, she raised her head and closed her eyes as she tried to catch her breath.

This couldn't be happening. That boy wasn't supposed to exist. He was just a figment of her imagination, an apparition in her subconscious. He wasn't real. He couldn't be.

Her trembling knees gave out and Videl let herself slide down the wall unto the ground. She ran a shaky hand over her face, leaving it against her mouth as her eyes unfocused, her mind reeling.

How could it be possible? How could she have had dreams about someone before even meeting him? Those unpleasant dreams… Could they actually be visions of her future?

Outrage made her blood boil. Getting to her feet, Videl gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

No way. There was absolutely no way that was how she ended up. A housewife? Seriously? No freaking way!

And if it was only that! Her dreams, or visions, depicted her as a woman whose sole purpose in life was to be a doting wife and a good mother – as though these roles were the only things that characterized her!

But, as troubling and nonsensical as these dreams were, Videl hadn't let them get to her. They were just stupid dreams. They didn't mean anything.

They weren't supposed to mean anything.

And yet… She had just crossed paths with the boy who, according to those damned dreams, would become her husband. He was younger, of course, but it was him all the same. He had the same gentle, coal eyes, the same black, spiky hair – though he didn't have that lone lock curving over his brow in her visions. He had the same face, only a few years younger, his traits boyish – and, yes, handsome; she couldn't deny it. And he even had the same voice she remembered from her dreams.

Her throat tightened, and Videl swallowed, the color draining from her face. It couldn't be real, could it? It wasn't actually going to come true, was it? This was crazy. These kinds of things didn't happen. There had to be a logical explanation. What if she'd seen that boy before, maybe in passing, and her subconscious used that random memory to conjure a husband for her?

Videl bit her lip, looking to the side. As much as she wanted to believe this as a possibility, she knew in her gut that this wasn't it.

If it were, how could she know his name when he never got the chance to tell her?

Her backpack bounced uncomfortably against her back as she ran along the empty hallways. She was glad nobody was around; Videl was in no mood for chitchats this morning.

Her expression soured as she mentally shooed away the parasitic thoughts polluting her head – the reason why she was late for school this morning – and focused on the now. She needed to hurry to class. While her teachers were usually more lenient to her than to her peers because the police often called her for help to fight the high-rated crime in Satan City, Videl didn't like getting special treatment when she didn't deserve it. She may have gotten a call from the police this morning, but that wasn't why she was late. If she hadn't encountered him, she would've made it to class on time.

She shook her head swiftly, once again willing these unwanted thoughts away.

Reaching her classroom, Videl slowed down and stopped briefly at the door before pushing it open and promptly apologizing to the teacher for her tardiness. Her English teacher simply smiled in understanding and told her to get to her seat.

Well, she may not like getting special treatment, but it certainly made things a lot easier. And after the absolute bombshell that exploded in her face earlier, it was a relief that she didn't have to explain herself – a weight off her shoulders – and, for once, Videl was grateful for that.

Her features relaxed and she looked up, expecting to find her two blond friends in the third row: Erasa would greet her with a cheerful smile as she usually did, and Sharpner would give her a nod and a cocky smirk.

And then her blood ran cold and her lungs stopped working, her breath caught in her throat. The world around her faded away as she was once again confronted with her worst nightmare coming to life.

He was looking right back at her, his perplexed, pitch-black eyes drilling holes into her skull. His brow was furrowed as he observed her silently.

Her teacher gently called her name, a slight note of concern in her tone as she told her again to take her seat so she could resume the lecture.

Videl gave a slight start and heat rushed to her face in embarrassment. She bowed and apologized, before rushing up the steps unto her row.

Her throat tightened as she found herself standing right beside him – he was sitting next to Erasa, at the end of the row. Wordlessly, he pushed his chair forward to allow her to pass behind him. Willing her heart to calm down, trying as she might not to show her inner turmoil, Videl brushed past him and got to her seat, on the other side of Erasa. Only two seats away from him.

"Good morning," Erasa greeted her, a broad smile on her face.

Videl smiled back at her; her gaze unwittingly shifted past her friend and caught his for a brief moment, before the familiar stranger continued taking notes. This seat arrangement certainly wasn't making things easier for her.

Erasa leaned closer to her and her voice lowered. "That's Gohan, he just got in our class today. He's cute, huh?"

A lump rose in her throat. Videl turned away and focused on taking her things out of her backpack, shrugging in response.

His name really was Gohan. Her fingers quivered as she zipped her pencil case open.

This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be true. It just didn't make any sense. How could she have known his name when she had never seen him before in her life?

A feeling of dread formed in the pit of her stomach. And if her dreams were right about his name…

Did that mean they would be right about everything else too?

"Were you at the bank robbery this morning?" Sharpner asked her, barely keeping his voice down as he rocked back and forth on his chair with his hands behind his head. "We heard that the Gold Fighter made another appearance. Did you see him?"

The Gold Fighter… A vigilante that seemed to appear out of nowhere and swiftly took care of the criminals crossing his path. Which meant that, counting the bank robbery earlier, this had been his third intervention. Videl's eyebrows scrunched up in thought.

It was said that the Gold Fighter had golden-blond hair that spiked up and cold, teal eyes.

Her gaze shifted to the boy with jet-black, spiky hair and coal eyes two seats away. Gohan quickly looked away from her at that moment, his head digging in his shoulders and hiding his face into his open book.

Golden hair… Teal eyes…

Her eyes grew wide in realization and her breath hitched. One of her dreams suddenly flashed back to her.

She was whipping up a snack like the doting wife that she was, humming a cheerful tone to herself. The oven's alarm went off, signaling that the new batch of brownies was done. Getting the tray out of the oven, Videl smiled proudly at her handiwork, but she didn't waste any time and put another, pre-made tray inside the oven and adjusted the thermostat and the timer, this time baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

A boy around ten or eleven years old walked in the kitchen and he took a long whiff of the chocolate smell in the air. He had coal eyes and jet-black hair that spiked in all directions.

"Oh, man, it smells so good, Videl! I'm so glad you're a part of the family now," he said with a broad grin. "My brother's so lucky to have you!"

Another boy, this one with olive skin, blue eyes, and fine, lavender hair, strolled in the kitchen like he owned the place. "Did Gohan say when he was gonna be home from work?" he asked, casually reaching for the platter of brownies.

"He shouldn't be long now," Videl replied, glancing at the displayed time on the microwave. She smiled as he took a bite and looked at him expectantly, waiting for his feedback.

He closed his eyes and sighed in delight. "Hmm… It's so good!"

"Hey! We're supposed to wait for Gohan!" Goten objected indignantly, smacking the other boy's hand before he could take another piece of the brownies. Trunks rolled his eyes.

"Videl made plenty anyway, and Gohan shouldn't be long." He reached for the platter again but Goten smacked his hand again.

"It's not polite!" he insisted. "We're waiting for Gohan."

Trunks scowled at his friend, who took the platter away and scowled right back. "Stop being such a goodie-two-shoes, Goten," he growled. "It's just a brownie."

Videl took a step forward, raising her hands and moving them in a calming motion. "Goten, it's okay. I did make plenty."

Trunks reached for the tray again, but Goten raised it over his head, stubbornly set in his decision to wait for his brother first. Trunks glowered at him and tried again, but as he dodged the renewed attempt, Goten didn't take his surroundings into account and bumped the tray on the suspended kitchen cabinet, resulting in the contents dropping into the sink.

"Look what you've done!" they both said at the same time, pointing an accusing finger at one another.

Videl sighed, wiping her hands on her apron. "Well, what's done is done. There's no point looking for someone to blame."

But the boys ignored her, baring their teeth at each other. A shockwave erupted, the kitchen its epicentre, as Goten's hair turned golden and his eyes teal. Trunks followed suit, undergoing the same transformation.

"This is all your fault!" they yelled at each other, ready to leap at each other's throat. Videl observed the scene with an apprehensive smile, her hand subconsciously moving to her stomach. While she was used to these kinds of scenes by now, she couldn't help backing away from the Super Saiyan boys.

At that moment, a young man in a gray suit seemed to appear out of nowhere, getting between the boys and extending his arms to push them apart. A white aura made his black, spiky hair waft for a second before it faded out.

"Goten, Trunks, that's enough!" he scolded them, his coal eyes firm behind his thin-framed glasses. "What do you think you're doing, going Super Saiyan so close to Videl? You could've hurt her! And she's pregnant!"

A look of horror crossed the boys' faces, and the next moment, they dropped out of the transformation and hung their heads in shame and guilt.

"Sorry, Gohan," they mumbled.

"It's to Videl that you should be apologizing," he said sternly. As a result, both boys turned to Videl, but they quickly looked down again, too shameful to hold her gaze.

"We're sorry, Videl."

She smiled at them, accepting their apology, before turning to her husband. He smiled back at her and walked up to her. She joined him halfway, and he took off his glasses.

"Hey, you," she said, feeling herself melt at the gentle way he gazed at her. He tipped up her chin and leaned in, and Videl closed her eyes, eagerly puckering her lips.

She shut her eyes tightly and shook her head, stopping the recollection of her dream before it went any further.

"You okay, Videl?" Erasa asked from her right.

"You kinda spaced out for a moment," Sharpner pointed out, straightening himself on his chair. "And you never answered my question."

It took her a few seconds to remember what he meant. "Ah. No, I didn't see him. He was already gone when I got there."

Or was he? Her gaze shifted to Gohan once more, who was still hiding behind his book. Golden hair, teal eyes, like the boys in her dream, one of whom was Gohan's little brother. If her dream were indeed visions of her future, if everything that she saw in them was true, or would be true, then logic would dictate that Gohan was the Gold Fighter. He was the one who stopped the robbery this morning.

And he would become her husband.

Turning her head to face the board, Videl narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips tightly, crossing her arms over the desk. Like hell he would! She would never accept that future. Never! She was strong and independent, and she refused to let herself become the bland, weak-willed housewife from her visions. Her stomach twisted and churned at the mere thought, and her expression darkened.

Well, if falling for that boy was what would transform her into that pathetic woman whose highlight of the day was her husband coming home from work, then there was absolutely no way that Videl was ever going to let it become a reality. If she had to push back her curiosity about his powers and avoid Gohan at all costs, well, it was a small price to pay to prevent that dreadful nightmare from coming true.

He hadn't expected to meet her again so soon, let alone find himself in the same class as her.

Before she got there, Erasa, the friendly blonde who had invited him to sit on the empty seat next to her, told him that her friend, the girl who usually sat on the other empty seat next to her, was none other than Mr. Satan's daughter and that her name was Videl. Gohan had been curious as to what kind of person she was and if she was anything like her father.

He was certainly in for a surprise when she turned up, apparently running late. And then, when she looked up and spotted him, he saw the way she froze and paled, once again. He had watched her carefully, trying to figure out why that girl seemed so panicked at the sight of him. But what he could read in her ki was too big of a mess to be of any clue.

He had tensed up when the boy with long blond hair who sat next to Videl three seats from him mentioned the bank robbery and the Gold Fighter. He hadn't been one hundred percent sure that Videl hadn't seen him drop out of his Super Saiyan transformation before she approached him.

But she affirmed she didn't see the Gold Fighter, as people seemed to have named his superhero alter-ego, and Gohan had felt his shoulders relax as he let out a discreet sigh of relief when he heard her reply.

Still, he had no idea what to think of that girl. Her reaction to seeing him this morning just didn't make any sense.

Gohan tried approaching her while she was getting her lunchbox from her locker, to try and talk to her about this morning, but he'd barely gotten a word out before Videl slammed her locker door shut, the loud noise making him wince. She threw him a nasty look, before huffing indignantly and strutting away. Gohan blinked after her.

Erasa bit her lip, looking between him and the retracting form of her friend.

"I don't think she likes me," he said awkwardly, massaging the back of his neck. He smiled at the friendly girl and nodded after Videl. "You should go with her, don't worry about me."

But her brow furrowed deeply at his suggestion. "If Videl's got a problem with you, well, tough! You're new here and you don't know anyone, and that was just plain rude of her!"

Sharpner shrugged his shoulders and went after Videl. "Whatever. I'm hungry."

"You're coming with us," Erasa told Gohan, her tone not leaving room for argument. Seeing his hesitation still, she grabbed his forearm and dragged him along with her as she followed her friends.

"I'm not sure this is such a good idea…" he tried nonetheless. "I'm fine having lunch on my own."

"Don't be silly, Gohan," Erasa dismissed the idea. She looked back at him and gave him a smile. "It'll be fine. Videl has her moods, but she's great once you get to know her – you'll see. I'm sure you two will hit it off in no time."

Gohan scratched the side of his head with his spare hand, letting Erasa lead him to the courtyard where she and her friends usually had lunch together.

It was so confusing. Was he missing something? Surely, there had to be a reason for Videl to react so strongly upon meeting him, right?

Eying the satisfying scene over the open door of her locker, the red-haired girl smirked to herself.

Everything was going according to plan. Perfect.

To think it had actually worked. She had no idea her psychic powers could actually do this kind of thing, but it was a good thing she had been honing her skills since...

Paige's face darkened as her narrowed eyes focused on the retracting form of the famous crime fighter.

It was all her fault. If it hadn't been for Videl, her dad would still be alive today. Now he was gone and it was all Videl's fault.

Well, this served her right. With her powers, Paige had managed to make Videl turn her back on her own destiny. And it was just in time, too, because she was supposed to meet the boy who would later turn out to be the love of her life this very day. But now? After the dreams Paige had instilled in Videl, there was no way she was ever letting him anywhere near her. She snickered with vengeance as she looked on.

Paige wondered what those dreams had been about. She had been able to distort Videl's future to make it feel like her dreams were visions of some of her worst fears coming true, but she actually had no idea how that turned out.

She shrugged as she grabbed her lunch from her locker and closed the door before strutting away. Well, no matter. What counted was that now, because of her, Videl was running away from the boy she had been supposed to fall in love with.

And it was all she deserved. Videl had taken away the most important person in her life, so it was only fair that she didn't get to live happily ever after with the love of her life.

Videl could only blame herself for this. And the new kid, well, too bad for him, but he was simply collateral damage.

Well, here it is! The new story that got me back to writing. ^_^

I had the idea some time ago, and, yes, it's clearly a jab at DB Super and what they did to my OTP lol. xD

BECAUSE SUPER DOESN'T EXIST, OK?

Lol, anyway, I hope you liked the first chapter. Don't forget to tell me what you think! :D I'd like to thank Mr. Me, Rockstone, sherlockdoge, and Antonia for their help and support during the writing process, and Mr. Chuck for beta reading the chapter. Also, even though they didn't get around to do it, I'd like to thank Kakarot Son and Darkvoid for offering to beta for me. Edit: Thanks Kakarot Son for beta reading the chapter as well. I updated it with the new version. ^^

And of course, thank you all for your patience, your support, your understanding, and for reading! See you soon! :D

March 11, 2020

11/21/20 Edit: I actually changed the last scene of the chapter with this update. I've been meaning to rewrite the villain for a while, so I figured this re-post on FF was the perfect opportunity to do so. If you're curious about the original villain of the story, ask me for the link to my blog. :)