Vulnerable
A/N: Hello! New chapter.
Thank you for your comment. I'm glad you liked the association and the Saiyan culture idea I proposed.
I hope you will enjoy this new chapter. Things start to heat up a while. A new side of Videl's mom will show. Things are starting to unravel. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ! However, I do own any new OC in this story.
Chapter 13: A stack of piling problems
People always say that Mondays are the worst. Gohan never paid attention to this detail up until this day, when he lazily woke up from his bed, exhausted. Vegeta had woke him up before dawn on Sunday and had him train all day, claiming he became weak. The Prince kept on saying that he was a disgrace to his heritage and their spar proved him that he was worse that his clown of a father. And needless to say, that Gohan was not in a mood to answer back at him. And the worst part of the weekend was that he had to keep Trunks and Goten company, fearing they might pull pranks and destroy the company. One of them was already a handful, but both, it was a mess. These kids had way too much energy to spend. To top it all, he had his second exams coming up and had a lot of catching up to do, thanks to his work in the lab and all the mess that was going on in his personal life. And of course, the cherry on top, he spent all of last night trying to process what Bulma had told him during the whole weekend. Why couldn't he have an easier life?
He tried to call Midori all day on Sunday, but the brunette didn't answer her phone. Not even Ichika. He even went many times to their apartment, but they weren't home. Just great. Like he needed more drama in his life. As if he didn't have enough problems as it is.
Bulma had told him that Hoshiko was very curious about him, and she kept on analyzing him all the time during her visit at CC. And he knew Videl took after her mother so, if the girl was smart, she surely inherited it from her mother; she of course didn't take her cleverness from her father, that was for sure. He feared that Hoshiko might actually understand that his father's "village" didn't actually exist and it was a decoy to hide something bigger. Or that he actually was the boy from the Cell Games, and the one that saved Videl five years ago. That would be just amazing; just what he needed. He could never explain to her that he was actually a descendant from an alien race, they would never accept him. He had to find a way to avoid any confusion.
But first things first, he had to get out of bed. He had a class with Midori and Videl in the morning, and he needed to talk with his girlfriend before she caught Videl. The last thing he needed was a confrontation between them before the sun even rose. Why couldn't his girlfriend have a casual relationship with his friends, like any normal person? Why Dende, did you love teasing him this much? He could actually hear his friend chuckle at him as he lazily got up of the bed to dress up.
He carefully chose a baggy hoodie, since Vegeta had left a pretty significant bruise on his torso the day before, and the last thing he needed was the bruise to open up and show in public. And, of course, his shoulder bag would fit just perfectly on the bruise, just to make him wince in pain. No bags it is. He took his wallet and phone to put in his pockets and he took a five-subjects notebook and a pencil as he left his room. He was way too tired to carry his books, and he hoped he won't be needing them in class. But counting his luck the last few days, he was reluctant not to bring them. He then ate his breakfast left the CC building. He was even too lazy to carry an umbrella, even though it was almost December.
On his way out, he heard Bulma's screams echoing around the whole company as she held on her word and started firing the whole delivery department. It turned out that Videl's mother was preparing a very big project that could make CC win millions, and the heiress didn't want anything to stop this. Ever since she took the reins and decided to invest in everyday used products, the company became a dominating giant with no rivals, and she was not about to let it stop now. He chuckled as he left, thanking Dende he wasn't on the receiving end of Bulma's wrath and he started to walk towards his college. He felt bad for the people who worked in the department, but Bulma knew better. If this wasn't their first mistake, he could kind off understand her anger, even though he didn't enjoy making people lose their jobs. Everyone could make mistakes, he knew that better than anyone.
He continued to walk in a slow pace to his school, but still arrived in merely minutes and he went to find his class.
And then he froze.
Why was Midori hugging Videl? Actually, hugging her. What happened?
His girlfriend saw him from afar and she waved at him, releasing her grip from an equally surprised Videl. Gohan approached them and smiled at his girlfriend who quickly hugged him, not noticing his face wincing in pain when she pressured his wound. Vegeta really left a painful blow this time.
Gohan quickly looked at Videl, sending her a questioning look to which she replied by raising her shoulders, not understanding what happened. The brunette released her grip and got on her tiptoes to kiss her boyfriend "I'm sorry I didn't return your calls, I was at my parents. They came to see me on Saturday and we ended up passing the weekend together. I kinda forgot my phone at the apartment. You okay?" Gohan nodded at her, not really understanding what happened all of the sudden, and the brunette turned to face Videl "Don't worry about the party, I promise no hard feelings. I actually understand your reaction." Both Gohan and Videl tilted their heads at the answer and Midori explained, turning to her boyfriend "Videl was apologizing for the small conflict we had at the party. I told her it's okay, it happens. It was kinda my fault for triggering bad feelings." She then looked at the other girl who fluttered her eyes at her "It's understandable. Giving what you experienced as a kid, I can only imagine how hard it was for you. Just so you know, I'll be here for you if you ever need to talk."
Videl fluttered her eyes, before she eyed Gohan. Did he really tell his girlfriend her deepest secret? Why? It was not his information to share.
And Gohan was as dumbfounded as her. Did Midori really know the truth? The whole truth? But how? It was impossible, Mr. Satan destroyed every article on the subject. It was impossible for her to reference the particular event. It was as if it didn't exist. Maybe she was just talking about bad experiences in general, without knowing the specifics, right?
Midori, on the other hand, rose an eyebrow at both teens. Why did she feel that Gohan and Videl were going to fight over a stupid quid pro quo? She could see Videl glaring at Gohan, and she felt her restraining herself from screaming at him just because they were in a public place. Once she discovered the truth, the brunette genuinely felt bad for the girl, and she hoped she didn't say anything that could've triggered her. She passed the whole weekend thinking about the situation and she got sincerely affected by the events, especially since she and Videl could be considered good friends. And she was honestly offering her an ear if the law student ever felt the need to talk to a third, exterior party. But why did she have the feeling that what she said will lead to a bigger fight then the one that happened at the party? She had to ease a little bit the tension, otherwise, things might escalate more. She could almost see daggers shooting out of Videl's eyes, and surprisingly shooting at Gohan.
She wanted to ask what happened for the tension to get this high, only for Benjori to come and greet the trio, cutting their conversation short. He quickly engaged in small talks with Videl, hoping to get her attention, and the young girl was politely answering back, albeit very briefly. Her mind was obviously somewhere else. They then saw their professor enter the class and they followed him, sitting in their usual places. No one said a word to the other, and they waited patiently for the teacher to start the lesson.
Their professor then started to deliver them handouts and explained "You will be divided into groups of four. This is your final project for the semester and it will count for 20% of your grade. I want you to choose a company of your liking and ask them if you could take a small tour in their legal department. You will of course get a signed permission from the university and myself. You will be asked to work on a small project that isn't confidential and report to me in details how you would solve it. Don't forget, the company needs to be related to biology in a way, it is a bioethics class in the end. It can be a pharmaceutical industry, a laboratory, or even a biomechanical company. Anything that suits you. I will let you choose the groups but I want the names at the end of the day on my desk, you all know where my office is. Any person that isn't in a group will have the mis luck to have me choose one for him. You'll have to present the report before the start of your reading period. I will be available during my office hours for any questions." The teacher then turned around towards the board and started writing "Now, to continue where we stopped, we already discussed autonomy and non-maleficence. Next, the third principle is beneficence…"
After the one hour and a half passed, the students eagerly left the classroom. Gohan and Midori, as usual, waited for the crowd to dissipate, and the brunette smiled at him "So, how was your weekend? Did you miss your mom and Goten a lot?"
Gohan was relieved that she wasn't as angry as he anticipated it, and he happily smiled back, totally forgetting the morning's events "It's been okay. The word I'm looking for is hectic. They came to sleep at the company, so I had to make sure the kids didn't pull pranks. And Vegeta decided to train me again and he beat me pretty bad. Aside that, everything's been great. You?"
She blinked at him "Vegeta wants to train you? Why? It's been like what? Eight years?"
Gohan sadly nodded at him, passing his head over his chest where the Prince left him the mark. Right now, he regretted more than ever going to him for a spar. But well, it couldn't get worse than that. Knowing the Saiyan Prince, he'll get bored of his 'incompetence' in a week, tops. Then, he'll finally get his freedom back.
Their conversation was then cut with Benjori coming to them "Hey guys. Am I interrupting?" They both smiled at him and he reciprocated "Just wondering, do you have a fourth in your group?"
Midori smiled at the boy, however Gohan tilted his head at him "We don't even have a third yet." He then looked at Midori "Right?" He then looked at the boy again "But, you can join us if you want."
The brunette smiled at their classmate, nodding in agreement "Sure. It would be great." She then looked at her boyfriend "I assumed that Videl would be the third in the group, no?"
Gohan rose his shoulders, replying calmly "I saw her leave with a group of girls, maybe she decided to work with them."
The brunette noticed the absence of their friend and nodded "I can ask her if you want, I have a free period now."
Gohan nodded at her as he got up and retrieved his notebook "That'll be awesome. If she can't, choose whoever you want, I don't mind. I have to go or I'll be late for my next class." He then kissed her on her cheek and rushed outside the class.
Once he reached the door, he stopped in the hallway and sighed for a second. Even a kiss on the cheek started to feel wrong. What was wrong with him? She was his girlfriend. Bulma really got in his head.
In the classroom, Benjori looked at Midori and smiled "I hope Videl can work with us. It might be a good opportunity to know her better. She's pretty great."
Midori nodded politely "Yeah. Let's hope your lucky star's listening. Do you wanna come with me?"
He shook his head, taking a glimpse of the time, before he waved her goodbye and left, leaving her alone in the room.
She sat for a while in an empty chair, thinking of the situation. It could be a good opportunity for her to understand what happened in the morning. She didn't want to mess up the situation more. She hoped that Videl would accept to work with them, it could be the best way to ease the tension in the group. And Benjori seemed genuinely interested in her. They were both their friends and looked like a good fit together. She hoped that Kami was listening to her prayers and that Videl hadn't already found another group.
Midori made her way to the cafeteria and saw Videl sitting on a table, reading a book. She approached the girl and smiled politely "I'm not disturbing?"
The raven girl looked surprised when she recognized the voice and she removed the earphones from her ears "No, not at all. Let me remove all of this." She then quickly put away her textbooks and invited the girl to sit "Sorry, exams are coming and I'm a bit late."
Midori nodded understandingly at her, even though she was always up to date in her studies, and she decided to lend a hand "Tough luck. I don't usually have this issue, thankfully. Can I help you with anything? I don't mind." Videl politely shook her head and Midori sighed, noticing how distant the girl was towards her "Anyways, how are you? Everything alright?"
Videl rose an eyebrow at the girl, not understanding the question "Yeah, everything's okay. Why do you ask?"
Midori rose an eyebrow at her, not understanding why the question angered her. Was it wrong to check up on her? She then tilted her head at her and spoke "Nothing. Look Videl, about this morning…"
Her sentence was cut short by the raven girl "Don't worry. Nothing happened."
The brunette scratched her neck "Yeah. I just want to say that I'm sorry if there was a misunderstanding or something. And you really didn't need to apologize. No harm feelings, really. And seriously, if you need someone to talk to, I'm here. Always" She saw Videl look indifferently at her and Midori internally sighed "Anyways, do you have a group for the bioethics class? Benjori is working with us and he also wants to have you in the team. What do you say?"
Videl blushed a little, not wanting the extra attention of the boy and she shook her head "Thanks, but I think I will work with Hinari. I already work with her on a project in another class. It'll be easier that way."
The brunette quickly started thinking about the situation. Did Videl seriously considered working with someone else? Why? It didn't make sense. She had to let her know it wasn't an actual question. So, she answered "Non-sense. I was asking you just as a formality. I didn't think you'd actually consider working with someone other than us. Come on Videl." She saw her think for a while and Midori smiled at her "I'll give the names of our group to Pr. Akako after my next class." She then glanced at the clock on the wall "Shoot, I gotta go, I'll see you later." And with that, she left a very surprised Videl alone in the cafeteria.
What was that all about? And what misunderstanding? This girl was getting weirder and weirder by the day. No harm feelings? She should be the one to say that. She decided to ignore it for now, she had a lot of catching up to do. She then put back her earphones to continued her studies, putting aside everything that happened in the last few days. Needless to say, it was very hard for her to stay concentrated but, in the end, she managed. Her grades were at stake.
Two hours later, she felt someone put their hand on her shoulders, startling her. She quickly got up of the chair, making it fall on the ground, as she stood near the wall and took a defensive stance.
Gohan was surprised at his friend's quick reaction before he chuckled and retrieved her phone which fell on the ground "Easy there. You're pretty good. Did you take a class?"
She quicky stood still, taking her phone from him as she eyed him "I don't want to talk to you."
He tilted his head, not understanding what he did wrong "Um, what did I do?"
She quickly gathered her stuff and glared at him "What did you do? You're an idiot who couldn't keep his mouth shut in front of his girlfriend, that's what you did. For what? Was it worth it?"
Gohan blushed at her words before he gathered his thoughts a little bit, noticing she left towards the gardens, and he followed her outside "Hey, wait! Videl!" He then rushed and held her by the wrist, turning her around "WAIT! What did I do? I don't understand."
She quickly escaped his grip before she slapped him with all her might, channeling all her anger towards the slap. But she regretted this decision because as soon as her palm hit his cheek, as she felt her hand getting numb. Just what was Gohan made off? Steel?
He surprisingly rubbed his cheek which turned red and he looked at her "Jeesh, how strong are you? That actually hurt. Why did you do that for?" She was about to leave before Gohan caught her wrist again and stopped her, talking strictly at her "Videl. What's going on?"
She closed her fists, trying to escape his grip again, but he held on. She could feel him being very furious but she glared again "You jerk! You don't even know? How dull are you? How could you tell your girlfriend my biggest secret? It's my life, it's not your information to share. If I wanted the whole world to know what happened to me, I would've told people myself. I wouldn't have left all my friends and family behind for three years, to live all alone in Kami knew how many countries. I wouldn't have made my mom miserable or begged my father to make sure that the whole internet gets erased. I don't care if she's your girlfriend and you don't want to keep secrets from her. This is my secret, my life. You had no rights."
His mouth opened, agape at what he just heard as he tried to process what Videl just told him. He then tried to form a sentence "W-What? I-I don't, what? Wait. What are you talking about? I didn't tell her anything."
He could see the fumes coming out of her ears as she set free from Gohan's grip and did her best to avoid screaming, remembering she was still in a public place "You're driving me crazy! So, it just slipped in a conversation? What were you doing? Why were you casually talking about me? What, you happened to tell her 'hey, guess what, Videl was kidnapped as a kid and was beaten up.'? Just a random thing to slip in a conversation, very normal. And she comes and tell me no harm feelings about the party, and that she'll always lend an ear? Who does she think she is?"
Gohan blinked several times. Did Midori really know? How? And more importantly, did she tell Videl she knew? Why? He then started to rub his temples, trying to gather his thoughts, thinking out loud "I swear, my head is gonna explode." He then sighed and looked at Videl "I don't know what you're talking about. I swear, I never told her anything. Why would I tell her? Come on, you know me."
Videl tried to calm down, lowing her voice, albeit still talking with sarcasm "Then how? Dad erased the whole net. No one can know. Especially in this city. Unless someone talked. And I know Erasa didn't, she could've only known from the third person who knows the truth." She then cracked her knuckles "Just, leave me alone. I was happy to finally live a slightly normal life. I don't want your girlfriend to ruin this for me. I thought I knew you, but it looks like I was wrong. So, go live your life with your girlfriend and leave me live mine. I don't need this right now."
She then left him alone.
But he quickly stopped her, holding her hand "Wait! Videl, please. I swear I didn't tell her anything. I don't know who told her, but I swear it wasn't me. Let me just talk with her and…"
She released her grip one more time, cutting him "Stop touching me." And she rubbed her wrist "Your grip really hurts by the way. What are you made of? Steel?" She then gulped, not knowing how to formulate the sentence she was about to say, knowing very well it would hurt both of them "And no, I don't believe you. I can't trust you right now. I can't, I just can't."
He was agape at her sentence. Did she really mean it? How couldn't she believe him. They always blindly trusted each other's. Always.
He was about to replicate when he heard his watch ping and he turned his attention towards the disturbed Ki's direction. His eyes then flashed teal as he quickly turned to Videl, giving her his notebook without thinking "I'll be right back."
She didn't have the time to ask him what was happening before he left in a rush, not noticing that his phone had fell of his pants. She blinked at him, trying to understand the angry look on his face, and she stood in place, not knowing what to do.
Bulma had implemented two different sounds into his watch. A swoosh sound that would mean the police had been called so he could intervene as Saiyaman; and a ping that his family would use whenever they needed him and couldn't wait for him to answer his phone. They usually never used it, so when they did, Gohan would only think something bad could be happening.
He transformed as he flew towards the East Area faster than light. He arrived in merely seconds, surely setting a new time record, and he saw his mother, sitting frightened on the ground outside their house, while an enraged dinosaur was ravaging the area. He quickly called Nimbus as he flew towards his mother and held her in his arms, before he put safely on the golden cloud who waited patiently for the rider to climb.
Gohan quickly checked on her, making sure she was okay, as he asked her what happened. She was still in shock, trying to gather her thoughts "I, I don't. I don't know what happened. Bulma had just called me to tell me that Goten arrived to CC, so I decided to steady the house. And while I was preparing for diner, I heard a big thump and I saw the dinosaur come here. That's when I pinged you and I quickly got out of the house before he hit it. They never attacked us before, what do you think happened?"
Gohan shook his head and looked towards the gigantic animal "I don't know. Something must have triggered him. I'll chase it away. Stay here."
Gohan then commanded Nimbus to stay up in the sky out of the dinosaur's reach, while he flew towards the animal. He then prepared an energy wave to harmlessly blind the animal, before he flew towards his back, reaching for his tail. Which was weirdly cut. Who would do that? That's must be why it attacked them. He must have thought Chi-Chi was behind it seeing she was the only person close to the area, and the aroma of meat coming from the house must have confused the gigantic animal.
Gohan then refocused and held the beast by the remaining of his tail and flew in the sky "Sorry buddy." He then moved away from his nearly destroyed house, taking with him the dinosaur into a completely different area. After putting him on the ground, Gohan stroke the giant animal, calming him down "Hey, calm down buddy. You know me. We'd never hurt you. I promise, once I found who did that, they'll pay." The beast then smelled Gohan and started to calm down, before the hybrid flew towards his house.
He reached his mother, promising her that everything will be alright, before they took a look at their house. There were several damages, but nothing Gohan couldn't handle. He should be able to repair them on his own, at least he hoped. He proposed that his mother and Goten would sleep at CC during the remaining of the week, just in case it started to rain, and the Son matron accepted. She then started to gather some clothes for her and Goten before they both left the area. He flew the entirety of the trip next to her while she rode Nimbus, making sure she would arrive safely to their friend's company. And after explaining everything that happened to Bulma, Gohan left towards his college to finish his day. That was another problem to add to his stack, which kept becoming higher and higher.
But while the young hero waited for his mother to pack, he didn't pay attention to a figure hidden in the bushes. After Gohan left, the figure left its hiding spot and entered the house, carefully searching inside. It then opened a drawer and smirked before it called someone on the phone "Boss, I found it. One left to go." and it left the damaged area.
Videl blinked several times, trying to understand what happened. She was standing still, Gohan's notebook in her hands, not knowing what to do. She paid attention to some papers that were sliding out of the notebook, and she out them back in their place. She never noticed before how neat Gohan's handwriting was. And how ordered his notes were. It was amazing, how did he managed to write like this, while paying attention to the lecture and answer the teacher? This boy really was out of this world. She then noticed his phone on the floor and retrieve it. Great, just great. What was she supposed to do with his stuff? She had no way on contacting him and it looked like Midori had a class now. So much for telling him to stay away from her. Maybe she could just go to CC and give them his stuff. He would eventually go back there. And it's not like Gohan ever noticed the absence of his phone. It could be the most reasonable thing to do at this point.
Then, Gohan's phone chimed and, being very curious, she read the sender's name and saw a text message from non-other than the Bulma Briefs. It was still a shock for her that he was this close with her. They were on a first name basis, and literally family at this point. It was amazing. Gohan kept on becoming more interesting by the second. And being very curious, and seeing that Gohan's phone didn't have a password, she opened the text and her eyes widened 'Kiddo, I noticed your mum just pinged you. Is she alright? Goten is with me so don't worry about him. Call me as soon as you get to her, so I can make sure she's safe. Don't make me wait.' She quickly marked the message as unread as a thousand ideas flew through her mind. How did Gohan know? What ping? Was Chi-Chi okay? And most importantly, how could Gohan reach her this fast? They literally lived on the other side of the country. And he left on foot, it was absurd.
But her trail of thoughts was cut by another ping and she saw a message from Midori and she quickly read it 'hey babe. Turned out I have an extra session now, I'll see you when I'm done. Wanna come back to my place? Btw, I talked to Videl. I told you she won't mind working with us, you understood wrong. And I apologized for this morning and I made her understand that I'm here if she wanna talk to someone. Just thought I'd tell you so you can clear your mind for the rest of the day. Anw, I'll see you when I finish. I love you.' She didn't know if she should get angry or not at the message. Did Gohan really lie to her? To her face? Why would he do that? She hated herself so much right now. As much as she loved her friend, her private life was and will always be off limits. No matter who it was.
But that wasn't the issue here. Right now, something, or rather someone else, was on her mind. First, she had to know where to find Gohan to give him his stuff back. Second, she needed to make sure that Chi-Chi was okay. Bulma's message really messed her up. But how was she supposed to know? She could just go to CC to give him his stuff back and ask about Chi-Chi at the same time. It could be the best solution. But then, she looked at the time and figured she wouldn't have the time to go to CC and made make it in time for her appointment with the chief of police. She decided to wait for Midori to finish her class and she hoped she won't arrive late to her meeting.
She then made sure to mark Midori's message as unread before she got out of the messages app. She smiled when she saw the wallpaper. It was a picture of Gohan holding a very cute blonde toddler on his shoulders, Goten in his hand, while Trunks was grabbing his other hand and hanging like a monkey by his hands. The kids seemed to like the older boy very much; he appeared almost like a father figure. Being very curious, she started to look through his phone. He barely had any applications, with of course no games, a few contact cards with very plain, very weird names, and some pictures, mostly of his family and some people she assumed were his friends. And, even though she didn't enjoy the situation, she couldn't but smile at the pictures of him and Midori together. He was so happy and they were really working well together. It looked like she was an athletic person; a lot of their pictures were about hikes and outdoor adventures. Maybe she was misjudging the girl, she seemed to really care about Gohan and she made him feel in his element. She couldn't be this bad. She looked inside his contacts and, aside Midori's and Erasa's names, every contact card only consisted on the first name, sometimes with the family name; and she was sure that the first two were their doing. Gohan really was very professional, even with his phone. It could be because he used his phone during his time in CC, so it would be better this way. He was still a teenager in the end, but he had to behave like an adult in certain situations. She started browsing a little through his notes, calendar and reminders. She knew it was an invasion of privacy, and it was the main reason behind their argument, but she couldn't help it. She had missed so much in the past years, she felt like it was the only way to really know the man he became. But eventually, she felt guilty that she was looking without his permission and she locked the phone, a dry smile forming on her face at the lock screen photo. It was one with his father when he was younger. He must really miss him. She noticed she never asked him how he felt after all these years. He always asked about her wellbeing while she didn't even notice he might still be grieving his father without anyone knowing. She knew him very well; he had to become the man of the family at a very young age and was suddenly showered with a lot of new responsibilities. Knowing Gohan, he wouldn't let it appear if he still wasn't over his father's death. She had to ask him about this sometime; when the time's right.
She then put his phone and notebook in her bag and she went back inside the cafeteria. She bought a cold juice and sat on a retreated table to study. Midori would still have at least an hour of class remaining, better make the best of the remaining time to catch up on the pile of studies she had.
But barely thirty minutes later, she saw Gohan enter the cafeteria, searching for someone. He scratched the back of his neck when he saw her and he approached her table, blushing lightly. How did he leave and come back this fast? Something didn't make sense, at all.
She smiled lightly at him, retrieving his phone and notebook from her bag, handing them to him "Here. You also dropped your phone, you should be more careful. Everything alright?"
Then, to her surprise, he lied to her "Yeah. Sorry, I suddenly remembered I forgot something in the lab. I'm sorry I left like that." He then took his phone and checked his messages "You're working on the bioethics project with us? That's nice."
She rose his eyebrows at him. Did he just lie to her? Just like this, this easily. Gohan? The boy who never lied? That surely raised a lot of questions in her mind. Nonetheless, she ignored it. She wasn't supposed to have read his messages anyways, so she couldn't confront him about it, and she smiled politely "Yeah. Midori told me that Benjori wanted to work with me. I told her okay. He seems like a nice guy."
She didn't know why she formulated her answer like this. She didn't want to tell him that Midori made her work with them, and that she was hating his guts right now. But she didn't expect her answer to trigger this specific reaction, as she saw Gohan's eyes turn green, literally, before he tried to compose himself "Yeah. Great guy. Really nice." He then coughed "I hope it works between you two." He noticed the tension in the air raising as he stood silently for a moment before he waved at her "I guess I'll see you in class. Bye."
She waved back at him as he left the cafeteria. She knew it was a lie but she didn't find any other way to explain why she said yes. Rather, how was she planning on explaining that Midori had her enter their group without asking her. What was this girl's problem anyways? She knew she was friendly, and a lot, but something wasn't right. And why was Gohan lying to her? That was what hurt her the most. She never expected him to behave like this her. It made her rethink a lot of things. And he even lied about something that mattered to her. She had to find a way to know if Chi-Chi was okay, without Gohan knowing she read his messages. But how?
She then saw him in the garden, sighing. She felt a little bad about their fight, but she had every right to be angry at him. She then bit her lip when she saw Midori get out of the building and hug him. Damn it, this wasn't right. She had accepted the fact that he was in a relationship, so why was it still bugging her? She tried to read on their lips what they were talking about, but she couldn't. However, she got a slight idea when she saw Midori scratch her head, thinking about something. Could their situation get any messier right now?
She then noticed it was almost two and she quickly gathered her stuff and made her way to the police station. Right now, she had to clear her mind for something far more important than her love life, or her fight with her best friend. Because, if everything worked out like she wanted, she would have the best community job ever. Police detective.
Hoshiko sighed as she tried to find her way in the gigantic labyrinth that was CC. Bulma's secretary directed her to Bulma's private quarters but couldn't continue with her because she had to answer the phone and rushed towards the other end of the building. The Satan mother sighed and tried to find her way on her own. It was almost as if CC didn't want to ease her life. But she understood the secretary's uneasiness. Hoshiko received the news that the whole delivery department had been fired, so surely the whole staff was on edge, fearing to do something wrong and anger the CC heiress.
However, it was nice of Bulma to accept to sometimes work after hours, seeing that Hoshiko couldn't leave the restaurant whenever she wanted, and that she proposed to work in her private lab instead of the general manufacturing area. The CC heiress could've given the project to anyone else, so it was nice to see her invested. Hoshiko was more than happy to work directly with the CEO; in the end, the project could benefit the both of them. But she didn't know if Bulma chose to work with her because the project was very important, or because she considered her someone close to her seeing her relationship with the Son family. The future interactions between them could help her understand a little bit the situation. And she hoped it was the latter.
After a few moments of endless walking, she found what appeared to be a living room and she saw Bulma's husband, arguing with his son in a language she couldn't really understand. It made sense that they knew different languages, seeing they surely had to travel a lot for the company's stature, so she didn't really dwell on the subject. But she'd surely find it weird to see Gohan rush inside from the window nonetheless, and Chi-Chi followed him, hoping off a flying golden cloud. She hid behind a wall, hoping to understand what just happened? Was her mind playing tricks on her? What she just saw was real? A personal flying cloud? It really happened?
Gohan then spoke with the man, who was apparently called Vegeta, and the man screamed at him in the same language, to which Gohan surprisingly responded fluently, before Chi-Chi cut them off "Stop talking in the Saiyan language. Use the universal language for Dende's sake. Some people here didn't learn this dumb extinct thing. I swear you were and always will be barbaric uncivilized muscle headed people. And why are you shouting on your kid like this? You think you'd finally grow a heart in the last years, seriously."
The guy named Vegeta kept glaring at Gohan "This dumb brat here was supposed to keep an eye on my idiotic son and your youngest clown yesterday. Instead of doing his job, he was off chasing around his dumb fake mate and forgot about them. When Bulma entered her lab to work, they almost destroyed it because of a stupid joke gone wrong and the new supra material was in there. She's angry at them and I don't wanna be on the receiving end of her wrath, again. So, get your brats out of here before I kill one of them. Or both. We could use less clowns on this dumb planet. As if the afro buffoon on the television wasn't enough."
Hoshiko blinked several times. Was the afro buffoon her husband? Did they really talk about him like that behind their backs? She genuinely felt offended, it was her husband in the end. She then heard Gohan bark at the man, his eyes turning blue "Stop talking to my mother like this or I'll teach you how to respect her more. Second, don't ever talk about my girlfriend like this. Don't you dare objectify her by calling her a mate. And, to refresh your memory, I couldn't stop them because you decided to train me and locked me in the GR for Dende knew how long. Whose fault is that? And we're not going anywhere. A dinosaur almost destroyed our house and I have to repair it. So, you can either leave this place, or cope with the fact that we're staying here for a while. Finally, stop talking about Mr. Satan like this. He's the father of one of my closest friends so, give him a little more respect."
The man crossed his hands at Gohan, and Hoshiko swore she saw the vein in his head pop "If only you stopped using your dumb human heart and think like you should. You should've destroyed the man for the way he took your credit. No respected warrior would've accepted this humiliation. And I wouldn't have to train you if you decided to stop this dumb studying and train. You're weak. Even your third-class warrior of a father was better than you. You're a disgrace to your heritage. You have the most powerful dormant powers of us all, yet you decided to throw it in the trash. You're more of a clown than your dad. Weaklings."
She saw Gohan grip the guy by his collar, lifting him of the ground. Even though the man was smirking, she could see Gohan's eyes becoming teal "Never speak of my father like this. He may be a third-class warrior but he was stronger than you, Prince. You should be grateful to him that you're still alive today."
She saw Vegeta smirk at him, appearing surprisingly proud "It looks like you have Saiyan genes after all." He then held Gohan's hand, almost crushing his bones, reducing his grip "Bulma told me you were in your mate finding process. That explains your rage. I never thought you had it in you to talk to me like this. But never touch me again, or you'll visit your father. Got it, brat?"
She saw Chi-Chi put a comforting hand on Gohan's shoulder, calming him down, as Vegeta was smirking at him.
What was this guy's problem? It looked like he enjoyed teasing people and make their lives miserable. How could Bulma marry a guy like this, it didn't make sense. A lot of things they said didn't make sense. It was almost as if they were talking about something that didn't exist.
But then, Hoshiko saw Vegeta leaving the room and she stood in the corridor, making it show as if she was just arriving. She ignored the glares he was sending her, surely not appreciating a stranger's presence in his house, and she proceeded to the living room. Viewing the character she noticed he had, his reaction to seeing her didn't surprise her one bit. When Chi-Chi saw her by the door, she smiled at her but returned her focus to Gohan, putting her hand over his chest. She noticed the young boy wincing a little in pain but he reassured his mother by nodding at her. Hoshiko then smiled when he kissed his mother goodbye before he bowed to the her, wishing her good day, and he left the company.
Chi-Chi rubbed her temples for a while, surely thinking about the pain Gohan felt on his chest. Nevertheless, she smiled at the other mother, inviting her to sit, as Bulma entered the room, fumes coming out of her ears "I swear Trunks and Goten are gonna be grounded for a year." He then noticed she had guests and she composed herself "Hello Mrs. Hoshiko, I'm sorry I didn't see you before. I hope I didn't keep you waiting." Bulma shook the woman's hand before she hugged Chi-Chi "Everything okay?"
Chi-Chi smiled lightly "Yeah, could be worse. I'll tell you later. I'll let you two speak." She then bowed at the women, letting them talk alone.
Besides, she had other things on her mind. One, a very big punishment was awaiting her youngest. Two, the new weird rivalry between Gohan and Vegeta had to stop. Three, why was Gohan's injuries taking a longer time to heal? The blow Vegeta gave him the day before should've healed by now. And why was he injuring himself with normal equipment? She saw the cut on his palm from the party and it didn't make sense. She remembered some similar things happening when he was younger. He once came back home after a diner at Videl's with a cut from a kitchen knife. Something didn't feel right. Finally, why was Vegeta calling Midori a fake mate. What was happening behind her back?
Around an hour later, Hoshiko and Bulma finished discussing details of their new project, and the CC heiress clapped her hands "Perfect then. I'll call you as soon as the contract is done. I'll gather a team of my most brilliant researchers and we'll start as soon as possible."
Hoshiko smiled as she got up "Perfect. I'll wait for your call. And Drs. Briefs, I'd like to have Gohan on the team. If he can be the one to communicate with me when you can't, I will be satisfied. I trust him enough to properly deliver my messages to you whenever I can't reach you, and to design the product we both envisioned."
Bulma nodded and shook her hand, as Hoshiko left the company.
As soon as the chef left, Bulma started thinking about everything before she called Chi-Chi to see what was going on with Gohan and Vegeta. But her mind kept on drifting to the chef, and she was unable to focus on the newly found issue between her godson and the father of her child. If Hoshiko wanted Gohan on the team, it was surely to know him better. Could it be that she found something on him? Or maybe it was curiosity? She had to understand what the woman knew about Gohan so they could do damage control in case of emergency. She knew she didn't mean any harm, at that Hoshiko loved Gohan like a son, but the less the people knew, the better.
Hoshiko, rushed towards a near library as soon as she left CC. She knew it was wrong of her to eavesdrop on Gohan and Bulma's husband, but something didn't feel right at all. What are Saiyans? Warriors? Who the hell was Dende? Universal language? Mating process? Dormant powers? So many questions were floating through her mind. She had to find something to help her understand, at least a little.
She quickly reached a library and sat on a retreated computer. She opened the browser in incognito mode, and started typing 'Saiyans' but nothing came. The same with 'Dende' and 'Universal language'. But, of course, 'mating' yielded results and she started reading 'It is the pairing of usually opposite sex organisms for reproduction purposes.' Okay, that she knew. But it didn't fit the context Vegeta used, no? It didn't make sense for Vegeta to use the verb as a noun. And what did "mate finding process" mean?
She had spent the last hour searching and reading, with no avail. She even started reading about the tale that Bulma had told her and read history books about the old monarchies and villagers' revolution. No book ever stated that an event like the one she told her happened. Even if their village was small, at least someone would've told the story; especially of the villagers were recruited to be part of the armies. It was as if Bulma was making it up. Like they were talking about something that didn't even exist. She then closed the countless of books she had in front of her, and the computer's browser. Some problems required modern solutions, and some older one. She asked the librarian for a piece of paper and she started to scribble everything she heard, centering everything around Gohan.
And this was what she knew so far. He was the Delivery Boy, the one who defeated Cell eight years ago. He could change his hair and eyes color as he liked, and he had inhuman strength, powers and abilities. His father and this Vegeta man originated from the same 'culture', with an "?" next to the word. It could be the correct word and she didn't understand it's the way it was used, or they could be using a different word to dupe them. She then scribbled the word Saiyan next to it. These two words where connected, that was for sure. But was Saiyan a culture, nationality, or something totally different? Then she wrote Dende in the corner, and remembered that Chi-Chi used it as Kami. Other religion maybe? No, the whole country followed the same belief, it didn't make sense. Unless this Saiyan culture had a different religious opinion, but she couldn't judge them on this. So, she wrote 'Dende=Kami' in the corner with an "?" next to it. They could or could not be related to Saiyans. But, Saiyan language and Universal language, they were surely linked to this whole mess. But, do they really speak something called Universal language? She always thought it was Japanese, logically. Each country had a different language, it didn't make sense. But she was sure it was related to this Saiyan culture. If she could only catch one word, she might be able to translate it. It could help her decipher everything.
Her mind was in overdrive. She felt it could explode at any moment.
A middle-aged man in a suit with black hair and blue eyes saw her scribbling on the paper and approached her. Hoshiko rose her head and saw him politely smile at her and he chuckled "I'm sorry. I saw you writing a lot of things, I thought at first you were a student that needed help. Thought I might make myself useful since I'm here."
She smiled politely at him "No problems. Do I look this young? That's very pleasing. I was just thinking about something I heard today, nothing important."
The man nodded at her "If I can help with anything, let me know."
Hoshiko nodded at him, looking at the scribbling on the paper "It's just, how can you learn about something that doesn't exist?" She saw him blinked at her, surprised by her words, and she chuckled "I know, it's weird; especially coming from someone my age but, I heard today weird words and I can't find anything of them. For example, have you ever heard of the use of the verb "mate" as a noun? Aside from the British use that is."
The man started thinking for a while then started rubbing his chin with his hand "It's not very common, but it could. It's a way to objectify the spouse. I guess it could be used in order to state that you are in a relationship with your spouse for the sole purpose of reproduction, not necessarily because of love. I think it can sometimes be used in zoology. But I'm not sure, don't take my word. I might be mistaken."
Hoshiko fluttered her eyes, remembering Gohan's fight with Vegeta, telling him to stop objectifying his girlfriend like this by calling her mate. What this man said actually fit the context the word was used. So, where these Saiyans marrying just for reproduction purposes? She had to check it up later; it didn't fit Gohan's character at all, especially since they were fighting about this.
She noticed she hadn't said a word and nodded at the man in front of her "Thank you. It actually makes a lot of sense, it could actually work in my context. If you don't mind, can you help me with another word?" The man politely nodded and she continued "Have you ever heard of 'Saiyans'?"
The man sat next to her, shaking his head "No, never. It's a weird name. But I heard the name Saiyaman, they might be connected. Think about it, Saiyaman, Saiyan-man. They could be linked together." Hoshiko rose her eyebrows, scribbling the crime fighter's name on the paper next to the word Saiyan. Why didn't she think of this before? She then heard the man chuckle "I don't know if it helps but, I remember the tale of a man who single handedly destroyed the Red Ribbon Army more than twenty years ago. The guy was very strong and had a very distinctive monkey tail. It was really weird but we couldn't find anything on the subject. He was the only one like this in the country, maybe the whole planet. That until around fifteen years ago, during the East City Alien Invasion event, I'm sure you remember it, the two men that appeared also had similar tails. Nothing on record showed anything about them so it remained a mystery."
Hoshiko rose her eyebrows at the man, not really understanding what he was saying "I'm sorry but, what is the link with my question? I kind of lost you."
The man chuckled and extended his hand to shake hers "I'm sorry. I didn't present myself, I'm Dr. Toshiro Tanaka, astrophysicist. I was telling you this because I believe in aliens and outer space civilizations. Maybe the words that didn't make sense that you heard could be related to something like this. A lot of people, myself included, believe in this. And until proven wrong, outer space alien civilizations could be true."
The Satan mother nodded at him before he got up and excused himself "I'm sorry to have bothered you. I hope I didn't add more questions to your stack. I'll let you be. Have a good day." And he bowed at her before he left.
Hoshiko scribbled his name on another paper, just in case, and she started to think about what he said. If what he said could somehow apply, she would have to talk to him more. She also made a note to research the monkey boy from the Red Ribbon Army, and the Alien invasion. Could Saiyans really be aliens? That was way too farfetched, right?
Videl happily hummed to herself as she walked back to her house. The chief of police loved her and couldn't wait for her to start working with them. She would assist officers to crime scene to investigate, go with them to murder scenes, and if nodded, only if the officers couldn't, she could intervene thanks to her martial arts skills. They gave her a badge and a private phone number, along with a security code and computer specifically for the force with an access to an unlimited database. She was on cloud nine.
She reached her house and saw her mother in the living room, reading about something on her laptop. She knocked on the door to avoid startling her and Hoshiko quickly closed the laptop, clearly hiding something "Hey monkey. How was your day?"
Videl kissed her mother, and sat on the couch "Good. What were you doing?"
Hoshiko smiled as she sat next to her "Nothing, just looking at some emails from Bulma. We started working on the project. It's a surprise, but you'll love it." Hoshiko then looked at her watch and her daughter again "Kami, it's already seven? Where were you all day?"
Videl happily turned to face her, sitting cross legged on the couch "You'll never believe it. I got accepted into my community work. I'm going to be a police detective."
Hoshiko froze in place, her eyes fluttering "W-What? A police detective? What? There's like a thousand possible choices, yet you chose one of the most dangerous ones, without asking me? Are you serious right now? What if I say no?"
Videl looked at her mother with pleading eyes "Please mommy. Think about it. I already help Mrs. Suzuki at the clinic, and Pr. Sato chose me to work cases with her. With this community service, I have the perfect combination of experiences to be the best lawyer ever. Come on mum, I'm not even in danger. I'll go with the officers after the crime scene is secured, and I'll help analyze it." She wasn't technically lying since she could only intervene if things got out of hands, but her mother didn't need to know this for the moment. And she made Goten's signature puppy eyes at her mother "Please mum. I'm really excited for this. If I had found anything else that could've excited me, I wouldn't have taken this one."
Hoshiko sighed, holding her hands "Monkey, I want you to be safe. I can't make your decisions for you, you're a grown up now. But, if I feel like it's becoming too dangerous, I'll pull the plug. Understood?"
Videl started nodding her head very fast, excited at her mother's approval "You're the best mummy." She then hugged her "I love you."
Hoshiko hugged her back "I love you too." She then pulled her, looking into her eyes "I'm proud of you, you know that?" Videl nodded at her, a smiled curved on her lips, as her mother continued "Can I ask why though? I'm sure there were other things that you could've chosen that would work within your law degree. So, tell me the truth."
The raven girl started rubbing her hands together, sighing lightly "I feel like I can make a difference. I helped the police on Saturday and it just felt right. Like I belonged. Because I helped, a little girl didn't get kidnapped. I'm a civilian, I know that, but I can still help. I, um, I want to do what the people failed to do for me five years ago. I wanna protect the ones in need."
Hoshiko saw a tear hanging in her daughter's eyes as she pulled her into a squeezing hug "I just hope you'll be okay. If you need anything, let me know. I'll always be here to listen."
Videl nodded as she buried her face in the crook of her mother's neck, trying to stop her tears.
She'd be lying if she said she didn't sometimes feel the need to talk to her mother. It was normal in the end. But she was proud at the way she managed to channel her experience into something useful. She made the right decision with this job, she knew it. She will finally be able to make a difference.
Besides, the name Satan was associated to saving people. Let it be right.
Her mother wiped her tears from her eyes, smiling at her "Hungry? I was thinking traditional tonight?" Videl eagerly nodded, making her mother chuckle "Erasa's running late?"
Videl looked at the time and shook her head "No, her class should be almost done. I'll go shower then I'll help you."
Hoshiko nodded as she kissed her daughter.
When Videl left, the mother quickly put her notes and laptop away in her room. The last thing she needed was her daughter knowing she was researching her friend. Especially that she was suspecting said friend to be a hiding a very big secret from them. And she had the feeling that this secret will affect them all, and that they wished they'd knew it sooner. Whatever it was, it won't change the way she saw Gohan, that she was sure of it. But still, didn't they have the right to know the truth about what was going on around them? What if it got dangerous?
She then chuckled to herself. The last time she was this questioning of Gohan, it was five years ago when she suspected him to had befriend Videl for revenge on her father's lies. And she saw how this suspicion turned out to be. And she knew this time would be no different, and that she was afraid of something for nothing. She had learned to trust Gohan with everything that happened, and she knew this trust wasn't misplaced.
Videl, on her side, was totally oblivious to what her mother was thinking, and she had the biggest smile anyone could see plastered on her face. Starting tomorrow, she'll officially be a police detective in the West City police department. She was so excited. She will finally be able to help people, protect the ones in need. It was faster than waiting to finish her law degree. Everything was getting in place perfectly. Finally, after five long years. She finally felt like she was useful. Like she could have a normal life, like anyone else.