Hi there!

And yet another chapter is finished, enjoy!

gopona: I agree you can look at it in different perspectives. In Japan, the word Kami refers to a divine being, or spirit, or even elements with 'holy powers', such as forces of nature. It is often translated as god, but it's not the same as the term God used in Western countries. I agree that Dende isn't God in those terms of the word, but rather that he is God as he fulfills his role. It's like someone who becomes a bus driver when he drives a bus, but isn't when he changes jobs. In my perspective, for a Earthling like Videl, Dende is Kami, and therefore God. And when I say Kami, I'm not referring to the Namakian named Kami (which is indeed fused with Piccolo). But whether you see Dende as God or not, it doesn't change the story ;)

Guest (04/07): I'll be writing the story mostly on the weekends. But because it needs to be spell-checked (as I make a lot of grammatical errors while writing), I do that on Monday evenings. A chapter is therefore usually completed between Monday night and Tuesday morning (which is equivalent to the early evening on Monday US time). But that can be a little variable. Since most of my chapters turn out to be two chapters instead, an additional chapter can be uploaded that same week because it's already written.

Chapter 15: Baseball

Videl leaned against the lockers, waiting for her friends to arrive. She had left early this morning to escape the environment overshadowed by her ever-growing lascivious dreams. Thinking of the boy, she wondered what he had to take care of so suddenly the day before. She had her suspicions, though.

"Good morning!"

Videl looked up and saw Gohan walking towards her with a big grin on his face.

"You look exceptionally well today," she greeted him, raising an eyebrow.

"I feel great, compared to previous days at least." Gohan smiled at her, "What are you doing tonight?"

"What do you mean?" she asked confused.

"As in, do you have anything planned or are you free this evening?" he said with a little twinkle in his eye.

Her eyes grew. Was he about to ask her out? The innocent boy who always seemed to miss all kind of romantic encounters; the boy who didn't even notice girls flirting with him; did that boy ask her on a date now? She swallowed, "N-No, I'm free."

"Good!" he rummaged in his satchel and pulled out four tickets. "Here, these are for you," he said, handing her the tickets.

She accepted the tickets and examined them carefully. These were tickets to tonight's Satanists – Taitans baseball game, a game that many sports fans looked forward to. It was the baseball game of the year to be exact, sold out many months ago. Even her father, the main sponsor of the Satanists, couldn't get tickets anymore. So, maybe her expectations of his approach were a little too high, and while it wasn't specifically a date, it was still a really nice surprise.

"Thanks, how did you get these?" she wondered aloud.

"They are not mine, they are from my substitute. After I learned about the incident between you two yesterday, I was pissed, to be honest. So I confronted him and he has told me the whole story. I still strongly disapprove his behavior, but I believe it was indeed a misunderstanding," he looked at her intently, "Correct me if I'm wrong."

"I already told you, it was!" Jeez, how many times did she have to tell him.

"Alright, just making sure," his smile returned, "Anyway, he's really sorry and he gave you these tickets to make it up to you." A defiant smirk appeared on his face, "Of course you can choose who you want to take to the match, but this one," – Gohan took one of the tickets from her hand – "I call dips on this one."

She playfully placed her hands on her waist, "And who says I want you to be there, hm?"

"I don't care, I just want to go," he still smirked, challenging her to go against it.

"Hey there!"

Both teens looked up from their conversation to see their two blond friends coming their way.

"Hey guys! Cancel all your appointments tonight," Videl said with a grin. "And Sharpener, please don't fangirl about this," she wishfully pleaded, but knew it would be in vain, "We're going to see the Taitans tonight!"

XXX

The square in front of the Satanists Arena was packed with excited people, divided by the colors yellow or red. The exuberant cheerful buzz was contagious, it even gave Gohan extra energy and with a big grin he walked amid his friends. They got to the arena extra early, because it was common for all kinds of bands to give small performances before the game, and they didn't want to miss anything.

Even though Mr. Satan was main sponsor of the Satanists, Videl has always been a supporter of the Taitans and wore their shirt to show it off. Erasa had tied a high knot in hers, distracting many man as she passed, and Gohan and Sharpener each wore one with Yamcha's name written on the back. Yamcha himself had given Gohan one of his own old shirts the day before, and as usual he wore a loose, long-sleeved shirt underneath to hide his muscular arms.

"Hey, let's go all the way to the front, I can't see shit from here," Videl hated being so short. "It's really crowded, so let's chain up so we don't lose each other."

She grabbed Gohan's hand before making her way through the mass of people. Gohan felt that Sharpener had grabbed his other hand as well and assumed Erasa had done the same to Sharpener. After some struggle, they found a nice spot a bit to the side near the stage where a band was playing some old pop music. Sharpener had let go of Gohan's hand, but Videl hadn't. Confused, he looked at the girl, but she had her eyes on the band in front of her. To check if this was normal behavior, he looked over to Sharpener and saw that he too was still holding hands with Erasa. Then he looked around and found that other pairs of people – whether opposite or same-sex pairs – were holding hands. He'd always assumed this was something couples did, but since he knew Sharpener and Erasa weren't a thing, he was probably wrong. Perhaps this was what normal people did to avoid ending up alone in crowded places. He'd also noticed that most of the pairs had their fingers interlocked, and as he didn't want to be the odd one, he too interlocked his holding with Videl.

Videl's body stiffened. While the band was playing a romantic song, she had deliberately held Gohan's hand, just to see how the guy would react... but she never expected this bold move. Her face turned as red as a tomato and she demanded of herself to keep her eyes on the stage, afraid that Gohan would notice her redness. But by the time the next song ended, she'd gathered herself together, and for the first time since he had interlocked their hands, she dared to look in his direction. He noticed she was looked at him and gave her his characteristic smile and leaned forward to make himself audible. "Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah, I am," she replied with a light stutter. Why did he act like this was the most normal thing in the world? She couldn't comprehend it, but she didn't complain either.

They stayed at the stage for quite some time, but eventually it was time to take their place in the arena. As they left the large crowd, Gohan had let go of Videl's hand, much to the girl's disappointment. However, she assumed he probably didn't want their two friends to notice. When they had found their seats, she made sure to sit next to Gohan. Sharpener and Erasa sat on the other side of him.

"I'm so excited for the match!" Sharpener exclaimed, "Oh look! There he is!" and he pointed to Yamcha as he made his way across the field to a reporter for a pre-match TV interview. Sharpener proved to be a huge fan of Yamcha ever since he joined the Taitans. The team from West City, the city where Sharpener grew up most of his childhood, wasn't doing so well back then. They almost didn't qualify for the Champions League anymore. But that all changed when the man joined the team. It was almost like he came out of nowhere and made baseball populair again. "Man, I can't wait to see one of his legendary home runs!"

Gohan had never been to any of Yamcha's matches. In fact, the only time he saw the former desert bandit was at one of Bulma's get-together parties. There the man was always in the background chatting with old friends about the 'good old days'. The majority of the Z-fighters had overshadowed him in skill and strength a while ago, and Gohan knew Yamcha felt insignificant and left out. Perhaps that's why he retired form martial arts and turned to his second favorite sport: baseball. To Gohan's bliss, it was clearly to see that he had found his place and excelled in it too.

"Another home run!" the arena went wild as the ball flew over the field roof. No batter had ever done that in the Satanists's Arena before. Gohan wondered if all the training he'd gotten over the past few weeks from being Saiyman had something to do with the increase in power. Whatever it was, Yamcha was owning this game!

"Go Yamcha!" Gohan shouted, going along with the excitement of the moment.

"Damn, Brains, I didn't expect you to be such a sports fan," Shaprener shouted above the cheers. Gohan answered only with a nervous chuckle, unable to tell the blond he was really just cheering for his friend.

The teams switched places as the eight inning was about to start. The Satanists were at bat and their own legendary player John Yakyū took place in the right-handed batter's box. Yamcha got ready in the pitcher's mouth and closed his eyes in concentration. Although his cutter was a good throw, John did strike the ball with full force, sending the ball flying through the air and over the Taitan's right fielder. It took the Taitans quite some time to regain control of the game, nearly giving away a home run, but in the end John was forced to stay on the third base.

"Maybe you should give that right fielder your sneakers, you know, with those air cushions, then he might have had that ball," said Erasa, looking over to Gohan. "Still think it's strange though, that you jumped twenty-five feet into the air. And why don't the Taitans use such good shoes anyways?"

Gohan swallowed and nervously scratched his neck, not knowing what to say. He knew what the girl was talking about, but hoped they'd forgotten it, as it had been a few months ago. On his first day of school, during P.E., their class also had to play baseball. Immersed in the game, Gohan had jumped inhumanly high to catch a ball, not noticing his classmates staring. He clearly overdid it. He had come up with a lame excuse for why he could jump so high, apparently something about air cushions in shoes, and decided to lay low during P.E. ever since.

Videl came out from behind him, "It still has to be a sport, Erasa, they have to compete on skill level and physical strength, not on what they can do with all kinds of material or equipment. There are rules for that. Such shoes aren't allowed. It's the same reason you don't use a bike during a marathon, or a rocket launcher during the javelin throw. It's kind of cheating. Besides, I think Gohan's shoes just malfunctioned, as we've never seen him jump that high again."

Erasa looked like as she was processing what Videl had said, then smiled, "I guess you're right, never thought about it that way," and to Gohan's relief, she looked back at the game.

Not wanting to draw Erasa's attention again, he waited a few minutes before bending over to Videl's ear. "Thanks for the rescue," he whispered, giving the girl goosebumps as his breath tickled her ear.

"You're welcome," she said, though she didn't feel comfortable fooling Erasa like that. "But why did you jump that high anyway?"

"I simply didn't know I was jumping that high. Believe it or not, I was already restraining myself to the point where I assumed humans were, but still it wasn't enough. Bulma had warned me that I had to try really hard to blend in at High School, but it's so hard sometimes," he let out a sigh and turned his attention back to the game.

Videl was puzzled. Did he said 'to the point humans were'? She looked at the boy and studied his face. Suddenly she remembered something and in mind she heard the crook's voice repeating it: 'the guy ain't human, I tell ya'.

She averted her gaze and began to ponder. Could that be true, him not being human? And if so, how many of them are there? He did know aliens, that she'd already learned from the guy. And all those other men could fly, though, except from those Namakians, most of them looked human enough. But again, Saiyaman – and thus Gohan – had displayed such incredible strength, it even made her doubt her father was capable of going against him. She always assumed it had something to do with the suit, but with P.E. Gohan didn't wear it. Maybe it was something small, an invention Bulma had made, something like a belt, something inconspicuous. She looked back at Gohan. The guy looked so normal, he couldn't be from another planet, right?... Right?

A loud deafening rumble jolted her out of her thoughts. The noise was so loud that some supporters let out a scream from fright, not knowing where it came from or what it was. Even the baseball players paused the game and looked up. Videl and Sharpener looked beside them, both in opposite directions. In the middle, Gohan had his arms around him, his head red of embarrassment.

"Shit, I think the Senzu has worn out," he said as another very loud sound came from his protesting stomach. "I... I think I should go," and he stood up.

"Wow Brain Boy, is that really your stomach?" exclaimed Sharpener in astonishment.

However, both boys were distracted by a shrill whistle, followed by the words "Gohan, catch!", causing them to face the field. There Gohan saw Yamcha, visibly ready to throw a pitch in their direction. Gohan's eyes widened when he realized Yamcha was about to use the Wolf Fang Fist, one of Yamcha's signature martial arts techniques. And with incredible speed something came soaring through the air. Gohan tried to catch it but failed in accuracy and missed. Just in time, a mitt appeared in front of Gohan's face and prevented a collision. Gohan released his breath, which he apparently held.

"What the..." Sharpener said in surprise as he took a look at what he'd caught. "Yamcha threw you an... an apple?"

"Thanks Sharpener for catching that one," Gohan said with relief, snatching the apple from the jock's hand and immediately taking a big bite out of it. "I have to go, sorry," he added with his mouth full.

The only other person who had a clue of what was going on, other than Yamcha and Gohan himself, was Videl. Gohan hadn't eaten for ten full days, and now apparently that strange bean had worn off, his body clearly needed some food. "I'll give you a lift home," she said and she too stood up.

"No need," said the Saiyan hybrid, taking another eager bite of the apple. "I'll take Nimbus home, it's much faster. Just enjoy the game and don't forget you have a meet-and-greet afterwards."

"A Meet-and-Greet?" Sharpener asked, and hopeful twinkles appeared in his eyes.

"Yeah, with Yamcha," Gohan pointed to the field with his thumb over his shoulder as the last piece of apple disappeared into his mouth. "Details are on the tickets. I really need to go guys, see you later!" and with that, Gohan ran off, a rumbling sound trailing him.

"Wow, that was weird," Erasa mumbled.

After the odd disturbance, the game had resumed. The Taitans had won the match with a staggering 32-11. The biggest part of the arena was celebrating, giving their surroundings a really pleasant buzz as they made their way to the venue of their Meet-and-Greet featuring the biggest star in the game, perhaps even baseball in a whole.

Waiting outside a door, somewhere behind the scenes, Erasa looked at her ticket. "Strange, this is really the place we should be, why aren't there more people?"

"Don't know," Sharpener shrugged, "but you won't hear me complain, I don't mind having my hero almost to myself."

The door opened and a man got out. "Miss Videl Satan?" he asked, looking at both girls.

"That would be me," the girl replied, raising her hand.

"Follow me," the man said, holding the door open.

"He, what about us?" Sharpener asked the man, a hint of indignation recognizable in his voice.

"Yamcha specifically asked me to get Miss Satan first, you'll follow later, don't worry."

The blond jock crossed his arms in annoyance and leaned against the wall, while Videl followed the man down a hallway that led to another door. The guy knocked and both were greeted in by a voice. Again the door was held open for Videl, and as she entered, the door closed behind her, leaving her alone with the baseball star.

"Hello, Miss Satan," Yamcha greeted, "Please sit down."

Videl's eyes widened: that voice... she knew that voice. As she walked to the chair across the desk where Yamcha was sitting, she took a closer look at the man. The man had some old scars on his face, in a very familiar place.

"Do you know why I asked you here first?" the man asked.

Her brain was working overtime. Besides his voice and the scars, the other coincidences were too many. The guy had thrown an apple at her hungry friend for Kami's sake, almost knowing what to do in that strange situation. She even thought she heard him call Gohan by his name. And Gohan, he acted like the gesture was the most normal thing in the world, and he didn't even think twice about it. And why only she and her two friends had a meet-and-greet? When her father had those, the room was packed with people, it was a money making business. But no, here she was, alone with the famous baseball player, giving her the impression that she was here for a purpose. Suddenly, her face turned red.

"No way, you are his substitute, aren't you?"

"He told me you were smart," Yamcha said with a smile, "Yes, yes I am. And now that I know it doesn't damage his true identity, I want to personally apologize to you for the faulty events the other day." He looked at a stunned Videl and continued, "I'm ashamed of my behavior back then and I want to emphasize, that's not how I really am. I got overconfident with the anonymity of the suit and, well, overdid it." Yamcha looked away in shame. "Thank you for putting me in my place and giving me a wake-up call."

"Well, it's good of you to see what you did was wrong, and I've seen you change your behavior," Videl then let out a small giggle, "It was really fun to see that the Z T.V Daily news reporter was all over you while you were trying to avoid her." She looked at the man again and resumed her serious posture, "And as a good friend of mine recently said, everybody deserves a second chance, so I accept your apology."

"Let me guess, that good friend was Gohan, wasn't it?" a grin appeared on Yamcha's face. "He really got that from his father, he's a good kid."

"May I how the two of you know each other?"

"I've met Gohan's father a long, long time ago. The guy was still a little kid, traveling with Bulma in search of the dragon balls. I decided to join their journey and we've been friends ever since."

"Dragon balls?" Videl blinked her eyes and thought back to the story Gohan had told them for their history project, "You mean they're real?"

Yamcha raised an eyebrow, "Wait, he told you right? I thought you two were very close, you knowing his background and all?"

"All I know is that he's Saiyaman," she said, her face slowly turning into a serious frown, "There's more to the guy, isn't there?"

Yamcha froze for a moment, realizing that he had to be careful about what information he could share with her. "Let's put it this way," he began hesitantly, "He is Saiyaman for a reason." He took a deep breath, "Look, you understand that it's not my place to tell you about his personal life. Gohan speaks highly of you, and to us you're the first real friend he opened up to outside the Z-fighters' group, so give it some time and he'll tell you about it himself. But I must warn you, the truth will not be easy for you, as you are the daughter of Mr. Satan."

"What's my dad got to do with it?" she said, a little defensively.

"Much more than you realize," Yamcha said, "But please give the boy a chance to tell himself. Be patient. He doesn't like to talk about it, but he will if he finds you have the right to know."

"I'm confused, but I suppose I have to wait until he's ready for it. I'll let the Enigma called Gohan alone for now," she sighed deeply. Then she looked back at Yamcha and decided ask him one last question, "But, what I was wondering, is Gohan human?"

Yamcha looked up in surprise. "Why do you ask?" He wanted first to know what the girl knew before throwing away confidential information again.

"Well, he's got the strength and skill beyond human capabilities, or so it seems. And he survived a deadly cocktail of poison, which no human should do. He's also befriended aliens, so, well, I was just wondering, maybe he was one himself."

"He's a special kid, I'll give him that. But you'll have to answer that question for yourself," Yamcha looked at her and gave her a wink, "I'll give you a hint: It's all written in his superhero name."

"I suppose you're right," Videl said. 'Saiyaman' did end with 'man' after all. "Thanks."

Yamcha stood up, "Shall we ask your other friends in? I think they've waited long enough."