Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z

...

Hercule stood at the back of the class, watching Gohan teach the children who were listening to every word he said with such attention that it was difficult to believe the same kids had driven his trainers to near insanity. Even when he had entered, only a couple of the students had turned around to look at the world champion only momentarily before focusing once more on the person teaching them.

As much as it pained Hercule to admit, the teenager knew how to maintain the attention of those in front of him. He spoke to them on a simple yet informative level, likely from some manner of experience dealing with younger children on a regular basis. It was quite public knowledge years ago that Bulma Briefs had been pregnant and given the familiarity between them, it was possible that he had babysat their child for some pocket money back in the day. Possibly still, it was difficult to tell. Heck, if that wasn't the case then maybe he had a younger brother of his own and knew how to keep him in check.

The adults in attendance also seemed to be trying to take some manner of notes regarding how best to keep their children in check. Most of it likely helped with the belief that Gohan was teaching them much simpler exercises that each of them could accomplish while still making to feel as if they had achieved something incredibly difficult. It was an incredibly effective method and one that the teenager had down to near perfection. How that would correlate in weeks and months to come where the lessons progressively got more difficult would be interesting to see.

Especially if he started to teach them...those things.

Which was why he was here. He knew that this was a conversation that he would much rather not have, mostly because he had no idea how the teenager was going to react. If it was in a violent manner, he didn't know just what would happen to the dojo and the people within it. He was just glad that Videl wasn't here at the moment to witness what was about to go down.

...

"Wow, you made quick work of them," acknowledged the police chief as he looked at the sprawled bodies on the ground, each of them having been pummeled into submission.

"I've been practicing," said Videl as she rolled her left shoulder, loosening the muscle a touch.

"It's been noted," said the chief as he watched his men apprehend the criminals. "Given the number of witnesses I guarantee that you'll be trending again tonight."

"At least it's for my work in the field this time, not because of..." started Videl before she trailed off, looking away from where passing pedestrians were taking photos with their phones. If she the images of her weren't already circulating the internet it would only be a matter of minutes.

"Videl, can I speak to you plainly?"

Videl found herself slightly perplexed before suggesting that the chief continue.

"I know what it's like to be in the limelight," he started, taking his cap off. "Nowhere near as much as you I imagine but I've still been in the view of the public more than one occasion. As much as you like to believe that whatever they're saying doesn't affect you, it does whittle away at you bit by bit. I tried to put on a brave face at the time, saying that I could keep going but eventually I was forced to take a break, orders from my commanding officer at the time."

"Chief, are you benching me?" asked Videl in shock.

"Temporarily," he said, looking her in the eyes. "You're still in high school and we keep dragging you away from any semblance of a normal life to deal with issues that we do professionally. Once the year is over and you've finished your exams, then you'll hear from us again and who knows, you might want to go travelling with your friends instead of fighting crime. At least for a while."

Videl gave the officer a light smile at his pitiful attempt at humour. "I don't know whether to thank you or hit you," proclaimed Videl.

"You could do both if it makes you feel better," offered the chief.

"I'll go with neither," said Videl as she started to walk away. "If you find yourself unable to handle something you better give me a call you hear."

"Don't count on it."

...

"Remember to rest up before you try anything you learned today," instructed Gohan as he dismissed his class.

Hercule waited for everybody else to leave the room but had to be patient as parents rushed up to Gohan and thanked him deeply for the lessons that he had put their children through. He watched as the teenager greeted them all politely and graciously took the praise they sent his way. It took a couple of minutes before each of them had had their say and left the two of them alone in the room. Not wanting to be disturbed, Hercule locked the door.

"I take it my lesson was to your liking?" queried Gohan.

Hercule responded not with words, but with a bellow darting across the small confines of the room before unleashing a powerful kick towards Gohan's head. The teenager swayed beneath the attack with little difficulty before taking a small shuffle to the side to avoid the follow up punch. Finally he ducked in order to avoid the elbow which had been threatening to hit him in the jaw.

"Yeah that's right, against strength like this all you can do is dodge!" boasted Hercule. "After all you're just a snot nosed kid who doesn't know that real men talk with their fists."

Gohan merely chuckled before avoiding Hercule's attempt at grabbing him in a bear hug. Shuffling backwards in small hops, he avoided Hercule's barrage of punches by the barest of margins.

For a moment, Hercule believed that he would manage to back Gohan into a corner. His hopes were severely dashed however as Gohan sensed the wall was getting closer and performed three quarters of a backflip, planting his feet against the wall before pushing off and over Hercule. Gohan landed safely in the middle of the room, unharmed and unfazed as Hercule turned around to face him.

Hercule pulled his right arm back and telegraphed his next attack from so far away that it was almost hilarious. That was until the distance between them closed severely and instead of launching his haymaker, Hercule shot his left fist out in a swift jab towards Gohan. Gohan chose not to dodge it however but merely put his hand out to catch the blow with minimal effort.

"Do you really want to chat this way?" asked Gohan, remaining stoic in his position.

"Honestly, no," said Hercule, taking a couple of steps back. "However I just had to confirm some suspicions."

"I see," said Gohan, visibly relaxing.

"Also, if you decided to speak with your fists, I don't know what condition I'd be in. After all, you're the kid who beat Cell after all."

Gohan blinked several times as he processed that single sentence. "Okay, I honestly didn't think that would be coming up in conversation," he finally said.

"I wasn't sure at first," stated Hercule. "Every little bit of information however seemed to only prove my theory more and more. So...uhh...you're not mad that I..."

"You saying that you defeated Cell and saved the world was for the best," said Gohan. "There would have been too much confusion and chaos if the world figured out that a kid managed to defeat Cell. They'd worry that there was no way that someone who hadn't even hit puberty should have that much power. They'd want to monitor my every movement and there'd even be those who would want to experiment on me and find out just how I was so strong. Trust me Hercule, I've had a lot of time to think this over."

"Well, ya see, the other thing I was worried about is that, these kids you're teaching. You're not teaching them to injure people with those balls of light or anything are you?" asked Hercule, his voice filled with concern.

"I've got my younger brother learning how to blow stuff up with his ki right now and given how destructive that is, I think I will be sure to ensure that none of these children develop the same level of skills. Last thing we need to hear about is how a schoolyard tussle ended with severe injuries that can't be explained by the authorities."

"And, Videl...are you teaching her how to use this ki thing?" asked Hercule.

"I am," answered Gohan without hesitation. "I believe that Videl would only use such a thing for the benefit of those around her. She's too pure to use it for her own personal reasons."

"Well, I can't argue with that," said Hercule, smiling at hearing Gohan's kind words regarding his daughter. "Plus if you keep making statements like that about my sweet pea I might actually come around to liking you."

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves," chuckled Gohan. "I guess though that I should inform you that Videl is aware that I was at the Cell Games. I'm not sure who she believes actually defeated Cell but it is probably better to address the issue now. If you want to keep her in the dark that's fine but if she finds out the truth on her own..."

There was a tense silence as Gohan's unspoken words hung in the air. "It's probably best that I tell her," stated Hercule.

"Aren't you afraid that she might resent you for lying to her, to the world and come true about the whole thing?" asked Gohan.

"That'll be her choice," declared Hercule. "I'll deal with the circumstances as they come. But...uhh...if she does decide to tell the media do you reckon we might be able to make some sort of agreement where I say that I did it all to protect you from the media and every other reason you listed earlier."

"I'm sure if it comes to that we can figure something out."

...

After having inhaled the feast which he called dinner, Gohan retired to his room for the evening with his phone in hand. He knew that Hercule and Videl had likely found themselves in a conversation which centred around him and his actions. He had no real idea how the chat between father and daughter would pan out and either party could very well try and contact him that evening.

If they did so, it was not a phone call he wanted to take with Goten clawing at his legs wondering who he was talking to. Or his mother for that matter. Gohan had noticed that Chi-Chi had managed to secure herself far more magazines than he was accustomed to. Knowing what contents lay within, he had made an effort not to open any of them lest he come across rumours surrounding him.

Taking a seat at his desk, Gohan took a momentary glance outside the window at the peaceful countryside that welcomed him everyday. The fact that the media had yet to track down his known residence was astounding and he could only imagine how much some of the members of the news industries had likely tried to pry said information out of the school.

Still though, he couldn't help but fear waking up to find journalists pounding at his door, desperate to learn more information to feed to their avid readers. Frankly he was pestered enough by his peers in class, he didn't want to find himself being hassled at home. More so because if Goten decided to show something off that they weren't mentally prepared for it could turn disastrous.

Taking his homework out of his bag, Gohan began to write away and answer the questions being asked of him. Casual equations which he had mastered years prior but were necessary for someone his age. Whether his phone would ring or not, time would tell.

...

Videl sat atop her bedsheets, her knees pulled in to her chest. The information her father had willingly given to her was groundbreaking. For so many years, Hercule Satan, the saviour of the world, was a fraud. He had told the world that he had been the one who had defeated Cell when in truth, it had been someone far younger.

Gohan had defeated Cell. Someone her age had not only stepped up and confronted a threat to the planet but had done what nobody else could have. Gohan was the saviour of the world and nobody knew.

And he was fine with that.

It infuriated her!

All of the accolades, all of the fame and glory, none of it belonged to her father but rather Gohan and he didn't even think twice about it.

She badly wished she could discuss this with Erasa but Videl knew that this was one topic of conversation that she had to keep to herself. The chances that her best friend would blab were far too high. This information felt far too classified for her liking and there was only one person who she could willingly talk to.

It wouldn't be happening at the school however. If need be she would drag Gohan by the ear using unheard levels of force if need be to take him to where she needed to go.

For she had once seen Gohan survive on an island as a child.

Now it was time for her to watch him tackle the greatest threat the planet had ever seen as a teenager.

It was time to return to the Pendulum Room. And she wouldn't be going alone.

...

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