Gohan's eyes darted nervously around the room. None of the brides were moving, and some were barely breathing. The second Mr. Satan burst through the door, everyone had turned into maniqquins with crazy smiles frozen in place.
Inhaling a deep breath of air, Gohan followed their example and froze his body, keeping the bouquet locked at his chest. Chichi had told him to smile, but the best he could do was bite his lips into a thin line. He couldn't control the beads of sweat dripping down his body.
"Wow!" Mr. Satan exclaimed, his eyes glistening upon seeing the beautiful brides filling the room. " Would you look at that Videl! Forget having one wife. I should go home with all of them!" He procceeded to go into a fit of laughter, but the manager, and the girl called Videl didn't find his words funny.
Videl crossed her arms and walked ahead of Mr. Satan, eyeing each bride with unmasked hatred.
The manager looked down at the cliboard in his hand and cleared his throat." As you can see, there are hundreds of brides to choose from. It would take too much of your time for me to list off details about every single bride. If you see one you're interested in then please let me know."
Mr. Satan nodded." Oh, of course."
Right away, Mr. Satan spotted the curves of a sexy bride in a tight dress and quickly begged for details about her.
'Please don't notice me, please don't notice me...' Gohan recited in his head as Videl walked closer to where he was standing. She was short, not much taller than his mother, but her blue eyes were frightening. Threatening. He felt sorry for the unlucky bride destined to have Videl for a daughter-in-law.
Of course, as luck would have it, Gohan didn't go unnoticed. He was a tall man wearing his mother's hand me down weadding dress. He was the most noticable person in the room.
Videl stood in front of him, her hatred wavering as she took in his appearance, sizing him up from his boots to the wedding veil on his head. Gohan mentally braced himself for the mocking laughter to come.
"Dad, come here a sec."
Mr. Satan brightened when he heard his daughter's voice. He ran to his daughter's side with surprising speed." Yes darling? Did you find someone you like? Is she beautiful?"
"Look." She pointed at Gohan.
Mr. Satan's eyes bulged." OH MY GOD! That's got to be the ugliest woman i've ever seen! What the heck happened to her? Was she in some kind of accident?"
' I really don't like this guy,' Gohan decided.
"No sir. She is not a woman." The manager said simply. He gestured at the rest of the brides with his arm." We have plenty of beautiful ladyboys for you to choose from. This one isn't our most feminine."
"Wait. Are you telling me that some of these women are men?"
"Yes. You told me to gather all of the brides we have at headquarters." The manager narrowed his eyes." Is there something wrong?"
"No, no. Nothing's wrong." Mr. Satan coughed." But, uh, you will tell me which ones are men, wont ya?"
The manager nodded." Yes. That wont be a problem. The bride you were looking at earlier was a man."
To Gohan's relief, Mr. Satan decided that Gohan wasn't the one for him, and moved onto the next brides with the manager following behind him. Videl lingered on Gohan a moment longer. Suprisingly, she smiled at him.
.+.+.+.+.+.
Mr. Satan found many attractive brides, but each time he asked for Videl's opinion, she had nothing nice to say. She only saw their flaws:
"She's too fat."
"2 million zeni? Who would pay that much for her?"
"One eye is bigger than the other."
"Forget a divorce. She's so skinny she'll blow away in the wind."
"Come on Dad, even I can tell that that's a man." At this, the manager double checked his clipboard, read the details, and shrugged at Mr. Satan. Meanwhile, Gohan was getting angry with every remark Videl made about the brides. He wasn't sure he could stand by and listen much longer.
Videl noticed the girl wearing the sheer red cloth over her body. The girl's mother gave two quick bows, thankful that Videl would even look at her daughter while knowing that Videl was most likely preparing to unleash a wave of insults.
This was it. This was the one person Gohan wouldn't let Videl insult. The girl was too young and too kind to be treated badly. ' Just keep walking Videl.'
Videl leaned in, trying her best to see the young face behind the cloth. The girl looked down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with Mr. Satan's intimidating daughter.
"She's shy," The mother apologized, forcing the girl to look up by grabbing her chin.
"She's very pretty," Videl complimented, patting the girl on the head, suprising the mother and Gohan with her kindness." Someday you will make a beautiful bride when you're older. Stay in school, kid."
Mr. Satan picked out two more brides, but they didn't meet Videl's high standards. Finally, Mr. Satan couldn't take much more.
"None of these women will ever be your mother!" He shouted, running a hand through his poofy, curly hair." I asked if you'd be okay with me marrying another woman, and you said yes. Why are you being so difficult?"
Hot tears streamed down Videl's face. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and stayed stubbornly silent. She would not give him an apology.
"How can you sentence me to a life of loneliness when your mother gets to sleep with any guy she wants? Huh? How's that fair to me?" Mr. Satan grabbed the manager's clipboard and thrusted it down on his knee, breaking the board to pieces." I saved the whole damn world! I deserve to be happy!"
Mr. Satan looked around the room, spotting a beautiful bride on a pedestal. She had long silky black hair, clear skin, full lips, plump thighs, and a perky bust. She was also very tall, like a model.
"That one!" Mr. Satan theatrically declared, bending his knees and punching out his fists while extending his fingers." She's it! That's my bride."
The bride let out a shrill scream like she'd just won the lottery and fanned at her face. The rest of the brides came out of their mannequin state. They would feel the disappointment later, but for now they good naturedly applauded Mr. Satan's decision.
Mr. Satan ordered the manager to fly his bride to his mansion later. With a final flick of his cape, Mr. Satan stomped out of the room and away from Videl.
Videl's arms and legs trembled with rage.
She growled like an animal, glaring at the hallway Mr. Satan disappeared into. The manager, and the brides closest to her took a hesitant step back as if expecting her to combust.
"He promised I could choose his next bride..." Videl grumbled between growls." He said my opion was important to him!" With effort, Videl lifted her trembling arm, extended it, and relaxed her fist. She was pointing at Gohan." You!"
Gohan blinked. He looked around him. Was Videl really talking to him?
"Yeah, I'm talking to you!"
Gohan gulped. He pointed at himself." Me?"
Videl nodded. Gohan had no idea what Videl wanted with him, but the manager seemed to. He swooped in on her with a brand new clipboard in his hand and whispered into her ear. Gohan heard his bride price being mentioned.
"I can pay for it. No problem." Videl nodded.
The manager bit his lip and glanced at the hall Mr. Satan had disappeared into.
Gohan could sense that Mr. Satan was far away from the building, probably flying in a copter back to his mansion.
Again, the manager talked lowly into Videl's ear.
"I'm seventeen. I'm old enough." She answered.
"Okay," The manager shrugged. He pointed to the papers on his clipboard. " Please sign here, here, and initial here."
Gohan's stomach tightened. Earlier, his only wish was for this tiring ordeal to be over with so he could go home, but it looked like he'd never feel the comforts of home again.
The manager directed his attention at Gohan. He handed him his clipboard." Please sign here Mr. Son. I'll need your initals too."
"What's going on?" Chichi demanded, holding a sleeping Goten. His mouth was open, and there was a small dot of drool on Chichi's shoulder. Gohan couldn't help but smile. He was going to miss his mom and brother a lot.
Videl charged out of the room, pretending not to have noticed Chichi.
The manager smiled. " Today is your lucky day ma'am. Today all of your wishes have been answered."
Chichi's eyes brightened and she looked at Gohan.
Gohan signed the papers and handed them back to the manager.
"I'm married to Videl Satan. The richest teenager in the world." Gohan said in disbelief.
