Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter. I want to say thanks again to all the reviewers for all your support.
I don't own DBZ.
Last time...
Erasa put her hand on Videl's shoulder sympathetically but inside, she was ecstatic! Videl had had a romantic moment with Gohan and now the two of them had no idea how to deal with it! It was so adorable! They were moving much faster than she thought! She knew just how to get them back on the right track.
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Three days later…
Gohan awoke at 3:30 a.m. as he'd been doing every day since that night in the kitchen. So far, his avoidance plan had been working. Over the past three days, he had not spent a single conscious moment alone with Videl. He woke up before her every morning and trained in the G.R. until it was time for the class training session to begin, making sure to eat a sensu bean to fill his stomach as well as heal his injuries. As soon as class was over, he made sure to stay in a group and when the others were nowhere to be found, he locked himself back in the G.R. and trained until well after she had fallen asleep. His methods were cowardly; even he would admit that, but effective nonetheless. Well, effective in the sense that he didn't have to see her and thus didn't have to own up to his feelings. However this method did nothing to curb the underlying reason for him distancing himself away from her. It didn't quite curb the growing affection he felt for the crime fighter. In fact, his feelings only seemed to grow stronger each day. It was pathetic really. He, who saved the world from the most vicious monster ever known at the age of eleven, was afraid to talk to a girl, simply because he was afraid of rejection.
However, unlike the other days, Gohan woke up with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was very wrong. He'd noticed small signs such as Lime refusing to meet his gaze whenever he'd talk to her or the fact that Lime and Erasa would be talking animatedly and immediately shut up the moment they noticed him coming. When he asked Mirai and Sharpner what was going on, they honestly had no idea. Thus, he had come to the conclusion that the girls were planning something. He had no idea what, but he would bet his Saiyan heritage whatever it was, was going to unfold today.
Slipping his gi pants over the boxers he'd worn to sleep, Gohan moved to creep out of the room. However, as he walked past Videl's bed, his gaze caught her face and he froze in place. She seemed to be having a nightmare of sorts, her face contorting into a terrified expression. Small protestant murmurings escaped her lips. The last and only time he had ever seen that look on her face was when he'd saved her from those rapists. He wondered if she was reliving that experience. Immediately, the emotions she'd stirred up in him that night at the warehouse resurfaced. He felt pity for her, but more than that, he felt overwhelming anger at the persons who would dare to do such a thing to his Videl. His Videl? Where did that come from? His shoulder fell as he exhaled sharply. He shouldn't be having these feelings anyway. He wasn't supposed to know what happened. In her mind, Gohan and the Gold Fighter were two very different persons.
Against his better judgment, he felt the need to comfort her. The boy sat next to her on her bed and stroked her dark, silky hair in a soothing pattern, secretly relishing the feel of it. Instinctively, Videl curled into his side and her furrowed brow immediately smoothed. For a split second, he wondered if he was going about this all wrong. Maybe he should tell her about his heritage and the past fourteen years of his life. Maybe she'd accept him for who he was. His pessimistic side wasted no time countering his logic. But what are the chances of that happening?
The girl next to him groaned in her sleep, startling out of his thoughts. With the grace of a cat, he got up a slid out the door, towards the G.R. He had to make sure he watched his back today.
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As Gohan struck down the last training bot, the wake-up call sounded over the P.A. system. Landing gracefully on one knee, Gohan gave the command for the G.R. to return gravity to normal. He lay on the floor briefly to catch his breath before ingesting the sensu bean. Immediately, the many deep cuts and areas that were already beginning to bruise cleared up, leaving his skin virtually flawless, save for the old ones which seemed immune to the power of the little green bean. As he moved to a corner of the G. R. he realized he'd forgotten to bring his usual change of clothing due to his concern for Videl. Now he was going to have to go out there shirtless with numerous rips in his pants. Not only that, but most of the students had already congregated in the gym so there was no chance of him sneaking by unnoticed. Briefly, he wondered if Dende was in on the girls' plot against him and this was part of it.
Sighing in defeat, Gohan held his head high and walked to his room, ignoring the astounded looks on the students' faces at the state of his clothing and the bloodstains on his completely healed wounds.
He walked back a few minutes later; dressed in a shirt sleeved, blue gi with red wristbands and boots. Taking his seat among his students he listened to what Krillen and Yamcha had to say.
"Alright everyone, we have some good news and some great news. Which one to you guys want to hear first?" Krillen said a huge smile on his face.
"How about the good news?" a boy spoke up.
"Well, you guys will not be doing any training today," Krillen said.
Before the words were fully out of his mouth, the students broke into a loud cheer.
"However, you still have to wear your shells until the end of the day. Then you can take them off forever!" Yamcha said, earning an even louder cheer from the crowd.
"So what's the great news?" another student asked, literally bouncing in place from excitement.
"You have today and tomorrow to do whatever you want!" Yamcha replied with a smile, earning an ecstatic applause.
"Alright, alright," Krillen said, "Settle down! We still have a lot of work to get done today. The first thing I need you to do is pair up, go back to your rooms and get one item that would help both you and your partner survive in the wilderness. It cannot be anything electronic. Also, no capsules are allowed. You will be scanned before you leave and any smugglers will be sent home immediately with an F in this class. So I suggest you discuss what it will be with your partner so your item will be beneficial to both of you. Be back in half-an-hour."
The students groaned. How were they supposed to survive for a week on only one item? How were they supposed to survive without their cell-phones or laptops or even a cPod? It just wasn't fair!
Gohan was now sure that Dende was involved in the plan. Now, after all his hard work he had to be alone with her. Well, he guessed he'd better get used to it. Once they were out in the wild, she was going to be the only human being he'd see for a week. He locked eyes with Videl, "Lead the way," he said, speaking his first direct words to her in three days.
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Gohan and Videl walked through the halls, an awkward silence prevailing between them. As they stepped through the threshold of their room, Videl couldn't take it anymore. She had seen no sign of Erasa's plan coming to fruition although the blonde had reassured her several times that it was still in progress. To be honest, she just couldn't wait any longer. "What-what happened to us? Did I do something wrong?" she asked almost timidly. "I've gone over the situation over and over again and the only thing I think I did that wasn't very appropriate was getting so close to you and I'm sorry. Just please tell me what's wrong so I can fix it!"
Gohan looked at her surprised. As selfish at it seemed he never once thought she'd be this affected by his distant behavior. The thought of him being the cause of the anguish expressed in her eyes killed him. He stood there gaping, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Words seemed to ignore his summoning. His heart stopped as he noticed her lower lip trembling, tears welling up in her sparkling blue eyes. Right then, he wished a bullet could kill him. He knew how to deal with a lot of things, but a crying woman was not one of them. He took the girl by the shoulders, turning her around to face him. Moving closer to her, he hugged her to him as tears began to roll down the girl's face. He apologized into her hair over and over again, rubbing her back in a soothing manner. He couldn't help but think this was almost exactly the state the incident at the warehouse had put her in, except now he was the cause of her pain. The last time he'd felt so guilty was when he thought he'd lost his father for good after the Cell Games.
Not long after, the tears subsided and Videl pushed him away gently. Gohan wiped the last remaining tears from her eyes before he explained himself in the best way he knew how without completely revealing his feelings.
"I-I'm just so sorry, Videl," he apologized yet again, sitting on his bed. "I never meant to hurt you. I was just-"
"You were what?" Videl asked softly, gazing at him through wet eyelashes as she sat across from him on her own bed.
"Scared," Gohan admitted, hanging his head. "I was just scared."
"Of what?" Videl coaxed him.
Gohan grimaced, a blush permeating his cheeks. It looked like there was no way out of it. He would have to at least hint his feelings for her in order for her to understand why he did what he did. "When you touched my face that night, I just felt emotions I've never felt before. I didn't know how to deal with these…feelings so I just bolted! It was really stupid of me. I shouldn't have done that," he said quietly.
A moment of silence followed his statement, causing Gohan to expect the worst. He looked at the floor, finding new patterns in the carpet as he awaited Videl's response. Well, that was if she decided to dignify him with one.
"I felt new feelings too," Videl confessed. This earned her a surprised look from Gohan. "I still don't know what they are… but can we at least be friends until we do figure out what's going on?"
A small smile made its way lazily over Gohan's face. "Deal!" he said, shaking hands with her. There was still no guarantee she'd accept him once she knew the whole truth but he had to admit, this conversation gave him hope.
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After rooting through their stuff for a while, Gohan and Videl lay down on their beds. They lay in a comfortable silence for a while before Videl spoke up. "So what are you bringing?" she asked, lying on her stomach facing him.
Gohan looked over at her. "My sword, I guess," he replied, shrugging.
"You have a sword?" Videl asked incredulously. "Where did you get a sword from? Isn't that dangerous?"
"Well I got my first sword when I was four and I've been training with them ever since," Gohan responded. "It's not dangerous once you know how to use it."
"Can-can I see it?" Videl asked shyly. Why she was being this timid about it, she had no idea.
"Sure!" Gohan replied, getting up to retrieve it from under his bed.
As he lifted it from the ground, Videl gasped as the five foot long masterpiece was released from its sheath. The hilt was gold and beaten into the shape of a dragon's head. Several emerald stones made up the facial features of the beast. The blade was long and curved to a deadly point, glinting in the dim lights of their room.
"Wow! It's amazing!" Videl said.
"Yeah, it's pretty awesome. My first trainer made it for me," Gohan said with a fond smile. "So what are you bringing?"
"Well, I'm trying to decide between a tent and a sleeping bag," Videl supplied.
"I think you should bring the sleeping bag," Gohan told her. "It gets pretty cold in the mountains at night so you should keep warm. We can always find shelter."
"But what about you?" Videl responded. "Won't you get cold? Krillen said the item had to benefit us both!"
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine," Gohan answered.
Videl took out the sleeping bag refusing to give in. "Oh! I didn't know daddy bought such a big one! I guess we could share," Videl replied, a bit relieved but seeing the uncomfortable look on Gohan's face she couldn't help but tease him. "You've never slept with a girl before have you?" She blushed when she realized the double meaning her words carried.
Gohan blushed and shook his head. "Not one I didn't consider family," he replied nervously.
Videl chuckled. "Just relax. We're only sleeping," she said then added sternly, "No funny business!"
Gohan just smirked back. "I won't if you won't," he teased back. He was glad they were back to normal.
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A few minutes later, the students sat in a semi-circle facing Krillen and Yamcha. The scarred-faced former bandit stepped up to speak first.
"Alright, everyone," he said. "What we're here to teach you today are the basic skills of survival. Can anyone tell me what the four most important things you need to find in order to survive in the wild are?"
Videl raised her hand and Yamcha gestured for her to answer the question. "Food, water, shelter and protection," she replied. She had read a survival manual the night before they left to come here. Once she was going into unfamiliar territory, she was determined to know everything she could about her surroundings.
"Very good, "Krillen responded. "As Videl said, the first things you want to make sure you have are food and water. Next you be sure to build yourselves somewhere to shelter near a water source and find a way to protect yourselves.
"Could everyone take out their chosen item?" Yamcha asked. The students reached into their pockets and pulled out the capsule they had stored their item in.
"Ok, Brittany and Todd, you brought a makeup kit and a hairbrush?" Krillen responded, a sweat drop rolling down the back of his neck.
"Ok…moving on! Sharpner and Erasa you brought doughnuts and pepper spray." Yamcha said. "Well I guess that's a little bit better. How about Mirai and Lime? I see you brought a tent and a sword," he continued.
"Mirai, I know you and Gohan have been doing this survival thing since you were kids, but did you really have to bring the swords?" Krillen said gesturing at the students who had already backed away from the two pairs. "You're scaring the others."
The two boys looked at each other and grinned. "Well you said to bring something useful on a survival trip that's the only thing I was allowed to bring when I went on my first survival trip," Gohan responded cheekily.
"Whatever," Krillen replied tiredly. "So anyway, the first thing you need to do is find a source of water. You can do that in quite a few ways. First you can listen for the sound of a stream or waterfall. You can also follow small herbivorous animals, certain birds, and a few types of insects since they usually live within a short distance of a water source. Any questions?"
A girl raised her hand. "What does habivious mean?" The entire class sweat dropped. Krillen and Yamcha scratched their heads, wondering whether this trip was a good idea after all.
"It means something that eats plants," Yamcha answered.
Another boy raised his hand. "How do you know if they eat plants?"
Yamcha chuckled. "It's all on the sheet I'm passing around. It has a list of the animals and plants you will encounter and how they may help or hurt you along with a few tips."
Krillen then spoke up. "Also for those of you who didn't bring a tent we need to demonstrate how can build yourselves a hut in case you're not lucky enough to find an empty cave," he said. "Follow me."
The students grabbed their stuff and followed the two martial artists into the backyard. There, they found a series of logs along with a few vines, giant palm leaves and pointy stones. They formed a semi-circle like before and watched as their instructors demonstrated.
"So what you need to do mark out the area you want your hut to be in then is find an appropriate stone to dig out a hole for the logs around the edges," Krillen said as he and Yamcha got started. "Next you place the log in the hole, and fill in the hole with dirt, making sure the log is sturdy," he continued leaning his weight against the vertical log. "After you finish placing the logs, use the vines to tie them tighter together. Next you create a roof by tying the palm leaves together and then tie them to the logs so it doesn't fly off. Everyone understand?"
The students nodded.
"Now we are going to spend the rest of the day practicing how to make huts, knives and other neat knick knacks that might help you in the wild.
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