Chapter 17: Buttons

"I think we should go or we'll be late too," Videl sighed, leaning against her locker.

"Maybe he's still not feeling well," Erasa mentioned as the trio started to walk to their classroom, "Too bad he couldn't come to the arcade this weekend, he was really looking forward to it."

"Maybe Brains has managed to go missing again," Sharpener tried to be funny, but his tone betrayed his genuine concern.

They all found their seats, but Gohan wasn't in the class either. But as soon as the teacher was about to begin her lesson, the door in the back of the classroom opened and Gohan entered, facing straight ahead, without looking into the class. He walked to his chair and sat down, not bothering looking at or greeting his friends.

Erasa took him in with a raised eyebrow. Normally he dressed so well, a little nerdy, but always neat. Now he was wearing just a gray sweater, which she thought was odd, and his always so cheerful mood was non-existent. His eyes were slit in a frown and he had obvious bags under his eyes. "Are you all right, Gohan?" she whispered, not wanting to disturb the class.

"Just leave me be, I'll be fine," he replied irritably, "I've had a few rough days, that's all."

"Wanna talk about it?" Erasa tried, but she was met with silence. Clearly he didn't. She sighed and reluctantly forced herself to focus back on the lesson, leaving her friend alone.

He didn't take in a word the English teacher said. He just stared forward as he went over his inner turmoil, the same that kept him from sleeping for the past couple of nights. He couldn't understand why Vegeta got so upset this weekend, nor did he know why the man cast him out like that. Sure, he wasn't exactly strong at the moment, and yes, he kind of wished he could live a normal life, but to say he was deliberately ignoring his Saiyan side was going a bit too far. He called himself 'Saiyaman' for crying out loud. And to say that his father died for nothing... that was too low, even for Vegeta.

But what bothered him most were the threats. Not about killing him per se, though he didn't find it comforting either, but about the foresight he could potentially turn against the planet and that there was indeed no one to stop him if he did. It seemed really unlikely to Gohan at first, but the more he thought about it, the more realistic the scenario seemed. Would he really do that? And what did he mean by 'don't come back crying if you aren't able to protect that pretty mate or yours'. Did he threaten to kill Videl too?

From the corner of his eye, Gohan glanced at said girl without turning his head. She was nibbling at her pen as she focused on the lesson, oblivious of the danger that could impend. He'd struggled with the idea of escaping this place, severing the friendships he had, living on his own in the middle of nowhere, and when the time came, he would accept his fate as it was... but he couldn't abandon her.

He sighed deeply. If only he could sense Ki again, at least he could feel when she was in danger, wherever he was. Not that he could do anything to prevent things from happening in his current state, but at least he could give her some time to escape or something if it got risky. At first, not feeling Ki gave him back his inner peace, but now this whole situation was stressing him even more.

When recess began, he went straight to the oak tree and sat down with his hoodie up against the trunk. He didn't wait for his friends in class because he knew they would make a fuss about it. He would rather do it outside, away from most of his classmates, than in the midst of the classroom. He wasn't looking forward to the conversation, but he couldn't keep avoiding his friends either.

"So, are you on your period or something?" Videl asked as she and the two blonds approached him. She stopped in front of him, bent over and tried to look straight into Gohan's hoodie. Though he turned his head hoping she couldn't see it, she saw it anyway. "What the fu-," the crime fighter let out, "What happened to you?"

Although Gohan had a quick recovery period being half Saiyan, Vegeta's punch left quite a mark on the left side of his face. He had hoped it would be over, but apparently his body already had enough trauma endured and couldn't heal as quickly as usual. "I fell down the stairs," Gohan tried, but he knew his little lie was in vain.

"You have no stairs in your apartment," Videl gave him a glare, hinting that he would risk another black eye if he continued lying.

"Look, just ignore it, I'm not gonna talk about it anyway." Finally, he turned his head up to Videl, who had straightened her posture, causing his hoodie to slide off.

"Damn Brains! What the heck?!" exclaimed Sharpener in shock.

"It was that mean-looking guy with the spiky hair, wasn't it?" Videl said with a serious frown as she crossed her arms.

Gohan looked up in surprise, "H-How did you know?"

"I got a strange text message from Bulma last Saturday, just before you canceled the arcade. Something about I shouldn't come to Capsule Corp. anymore and that I didn't need to take it personally. It was about you, wasn't it?"

"Vegeta can be a jerk at times," Gohan simply said, not wanting to tell her the true story. "He and I sometimes have different opinions that don't go toe to toe."

"Gohan, I don't know who this Vegeta guy is, but you should seriously start standing up for yourself. I've seen people pestering you, but getting mugged and now this, this is going too far! What about I give you some boxing lessons? So when the time comes, at least you can defend yourself."

Gohan has never seen Sharpener so serious. He hated that his friends were worried about him, for the wrong reasons non the less. Or was it? Maybe his blond friend had a point. He should stand up for himself, to become stronger and defend himself, to protect Videl – or even the world – when the time comes. It seemed like Vegeta was a ticking time bomb, and when he was going to explode, there was no one to stop him. Gohan sighed, why was he always the one to sacrifice himself? To take the blows – literally? He never had a chance at a normal life, did he? Whatever the reasons, the time for sitting on the sidelines was over, that was for sure.

"Yeah, sure, why not," Gohan agreed, a little hesitantly. Normally he would never – ever – spar with any of his friends, the stakes were too high for his true self being exposed. But with his Ki gone and his stamina reduced to nothing, so low as to even lose to Erasa running laps, he dared to try. Maybe this was a good start to his training and he actually always wanted to spar with the jock, to test him out a bit.

"And maybe I can give you some other martial art lessons," Videl interjected.

"Babe, he has to learn to crawl before he can run," Sharpener rubbed her off, "Your level is way too high for a bookworm like him."

Gohan gave a nervous laugh, but wisely kept quiet.

###

A smirk appeared on his face as he dodged Sharpener's technical uppercut, one he couldn't dodge earlier this week, as he threw in a counterpunch himself. Gohan almost forgot why he was initially doing this, and for the first time in ages, he allowed himself to enjoy sparring, something he missed ever since his father died. It was clear Sharpener had some trouble holding his ground against him, but boxing was the jock's second nature and he wasn't about to give up that easily. Sharpener charged, but as the many blows before, it failed to land his target.

"He's pretty good," Erasa said in astonishment, as Gohan skillfully avoided Sharpener's punches, "Who would have thought."

"Uhu," Videl could only hum in agreement. She and Erasa had been watching their male friends spar for the past half hour, and there seemed to be no end to it. They hadn't tagged along the first two times Sharpener and Gohan went training, mainly because first lessons tend to be boring to watch, but some rumors caught their attention and they decided to see for themselves if they were true. And man, they were on fire.

Videl could only marvel at the skillful movements of both boys, especially Gohan's. It was clear that the boy had experience. He was swift on his feet and could dodge almost all the punches of the school's boxing champion. The more she looked at it, the more she recognized his movements as those of a highly skilled martial artist. She knew Gohan was Saiyaman, but she never actually saw the man fight as he usually finished his fights within seconds. She now understood why the criminals didn't stand a chance against him.

"I wonder what he'd look like without his shirt on," Erasa said dreamily. "Seeing this, I won't believe he hasn't got any muscles."

"He actually has," Videl said, a small blush appearing on her cheeks as she recalled both times she'd seen Gohan's perfect bare torso. Erasa turned wide-eyed to her friend, not believing what came out of her mouth. Videl immediately realized her slip-up and flared up profusely. Oh, no! Did she really say that out loud?!

Erasa eyed her best friend's shocked face and saw her struggle with her inner thoughts. The bubbly blonde's mouth parted a little at first, then turned into a teasing grin, "And how exactly do you know? No one has seen him shirtless, not even the boys in the locker room."

Videl swallowed, trying to find her words without giving her friend the wrong idea. "I-I accidently saw him without a shirt when I visited him at Capsule Corp. I simply forgot to knock on his door before going in."

A squeak escaped Erasa's mouth. "O my Gosh, no wonder you decided to sleep with him in the same room. Tell me, was he totally naked?"

"ERASA!" Videl tried to stop her friend's train of thoughts before they spiraled out of control, "For the record, he was still wearing his sweatpants! And I did not sleep with him in one room."

"Oh, yes you did!" Erasa said daringly, still grinning widely.

"W-Wha..."

"He told me," Erasa said proudly. "So, don't deny it."

Videl just looked at her friend in pure shock, "He... He told you?" She swallowed thickly, remembering how she had woken up that morning. Him snuggling up against her, holding her in his strong arms as his warm breath tickled her neck. The thought alone made her feel all fuzzy again. "W-What else did he tell you?"

"Is there something else?" Erasa blinked in surprise, "He told me not to get any funny ideas so I assumed that was the whole story, but I guess I was wrong? Is he a promiscuous hooligan after all?"

Before Videl could react, a very loud but dull noise filled the gym. Both girls looked startled in the direction from where the sound was coming. In the boxing ring, Sharpener lay flat on his back as Gohan stood with one of his arms still stretched from his sucker punch, his expression in horror.

"Shit! Sharpener, are you okay?!" Gohan exclaimed, taking off his boxing gloves and kneeling beside his friend. He immediately checked his pulse, which was there, then checked for any other damage. Luckily it was nothing serious, but it looked like Gohan wouldn't be the only one with a black eye this week.

The boy cursed himself, why did he think sparring with his friend was a good idea? Yes, he had to train, and yes, he was under the impression his stamina had to be increased first. But during his first training with Sharpener, where he couldn't avoid being hit regularly, Gohan understood what was causing his weak appearance. So why didn't he break off their sparring right there and then?

As Dende said, everything was there, Gohan just needed to access it. Apparently he did not lack stamina, on the contrary, he actually poured all his energy into it to suppress it. He was so used to doing it, suppressing himself, that it was like a second nature to him. It allowed him to fit into a normal lifestyle – as much as he could – and he didn't even think twice about it. But normally his stamina wasn't the only source he relied on. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Vegeta was right. He relied too much on Ki and therefore ignored the basics, be it instinct or power. So now he was unable to tap into his Ki, he was left only with his physical strength and stamina, and with his habit of suppressing them both, it wasn't enough to function normally.

After this realization, Gohan had tested it during P.E. The teacher had yet again forced a couple of students to run some laps, Erasa included, so he tagged along and challenged her into that cat-and-mouse game again. Each time she passed him, he let the suppression on his muscles loosen little by little until he could run the laps normally again, though of course he couldn't help but beat Erasa. But now, with his spar with Sharpener, he crossed a line. He became cocky and let himself go too much, resulting in a knocked out Sharpener.

Gohan looked up when Videl knelt beside the jock too. "Yep, he's out cold," she confirmed. "I guess you beat the champion."

###

Videl couldn't understand why her spiky-haired friend was suddenly so distant. Sure, he'd beaten Sharpener a couple of days ago, but according to the boy it was just a lucky punch. So why did he avoid them? Was he so shocked that he couldn't face his friend anymore? It wasn't like it was his first time knocking someone out, him being Saiyaman and all. Or did he feel too good to be in their presence now he'd gained some status at school? No, that couldn't be it, they were his first real friends, he told her that himself, and that didn't suit his character either. Maybe it was because he'd never hurt anyone he cared about? Whatever it was, she couldn't put her finger on it.

Gohan no longer joined his friends for lunch, nor did he join any of their get-togetherings after school. When Videl asked him about his absence, he simply said he had to do 'homework' or didn't have time. And when she tried to visit him at his apartment, he didn't answer the door, even though she swore he was home. She felt left out, and well, to be honest, she wanted to be included in his life. Gathering some courage, she went over to him as he sat hunched over his homework during their free period.

Gohan didn't notice Videl approaching as he himself was deep in thought. He felt so guilty for actually hurting one of his friends, even though Sharpener had assured him that he was fine and that it was part of the sport. Fortunately, the jock came to very quickly, and apart from a black eye, he only had a minor concussion. The biggest damage was to the blond's reputation as he'd lost to a wimpy nerd, or whatever his fellow students saw him. It could be much worse, Gohan thought, but from now on he had to do his training on his own. And with Vegeta's unpredictable behavior, he couldn't afford to be with his friends, especially Videl. He figured that if the Saiyan prince might snap, he would come after him first, and that his friends shouldn't be there when he did. It felt lonely and it really hurt to see Videl's disappointed face every time he had to brush her off, but it was the only way. And as long as he couldn't sense Ki, he needed to be around to make sure she was fine. Call him paranoid, but he didn't want to take any risks. His thinking stopped abruptly as an intoxicating scent of cherries filled his nostrils.

"Uh, Gohan?"

He looked up to the uncertain voice and met Videl's broken expression. A tightness arose in his chest, seeing her like this.

"You know you can tell me if something bothers you, right?" she started, but she was greeted with silence. The raven-haired teen then took a deep breath and tried a different approach, "Why don't we finish the rest of Jurassic Park tonight? We never made it to the end of that movie. I could use the distraction, to be honest, and you don't have to talk about what's bothering you if you don't feel like it."

"Look, I'm sorry Videl, I already have plans," Gohan replied with a heavy feeling. Unable to look her in her eye anymore, he returned his gaze to his homework. He heard her walk away, not giving him a reply to his blunt answer. When he dared to look up, she had left the room. A dejected sigh escaped his lips as he rested his face on both hands for a while, cutting him off from reality. This really sucked, big time. Vegeta will pay for this, he'll make sure of that.

A bang startled the boy and he looked up in surprise from his hands. Erasa had slammed her hand on his table and looked daggers at him. He swallowed.

"I don't know what's wrong with you, and I don't know what we've done to be ignored by you... but you don't mess with Videl like that! Especially not today!" the blonde was pissed. "Whatever it is, you need to suck up that self-pity of yours today, pal, and start being a friend for a change. I know you haven't had much practice in that area, but friends should support each other in difficult times." She stopped and looked Gohan deep into his eyes, "You know what day it is? It's the anniversary of her mothers death, and you just brushed her off like she wasn't even worth your time."

Gohan's eyes grew in shock, "Shit, I-I didn't know."

"No, because you didn't listen and only thought about yourself, you dense idiot."

He got up and cursed himself. What a mess. This was indeed something he shouldn't be brushing off like that. He knew firsthand what it felt like to have lost a parent. He sighed, "Where can I find her?"

"Second floor, behind the lockers in the left wing. That's where she usually goes when she wants to be left alone," Erasa crossed her arms, still with an angry expression. Gohan rushed out of the room, and when he was out of view, the blonde relaxed again, relieved that the boy was finally taking his responsibility as a friend.

Like Erasa had said, Videl was indeed on the second floor. She leaned against a wall and looked sadly at her feet. When she saw Gohan, she scowled her eyebrows into a frown. "Go away," turning her head away from him, crossing her arms, "I'm mad at you. Didn't you have something important to do?"

"I came here to apologize," Gohan said without beating around the bush. She looked at him and noticed that he too had a sad expression on his face as he also leaned against the wall next to her. "I'm sorry I'm aloof lately and I'm sorry that I reacted so bluntly."

"Erasa had sent you, didn't she?"

"She pointed me in the right direction, but I'm here of my own free will," Gohan laughed half-heartedly, but immediately became serious again. "I'll be honest with you, it's true I've been avoiding you. There are things going on and I didn't want you to get involved. I should have told you, but I can't tell you whatever is going on either, so I'm kind of stuck in the middle."

"So you're just throwing our friendship away like that?"

Gohan sighed, "First I have to fix what's going on, then I promise I'll make it up to you. I just need time. And no, our friendship is very dear to me, I don't want to throw it away..." he turned his head to the girl next to him and looked deeply into her eyes. "I mean it."

Videl just nodded and began to look at her shoes again. A silence fell between them, neither knowing what to say to each other. Gohan understood that this was difficult for his friend, to hear that someone was consciously avoiding you, especially in times when she really needed a friend. He spoke up, "Erasa told me about your mother, I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's alright..." Videl said, a faint sniff could be heard in her voice, "It's been a long time anyways."

"How long?"

"So long that I have no conscious memories of her, but it still hurts."

A silent tear escaped from the corner of her eye, which did not go unnoticed by the half-Saiyan. He pushed himself off the wall and before Videl knew what was happening, he embraced her in a firm hug. It shocked her, but at the same time all kinds of other feelings swirled up inside her: grief, happiness, anger, insecurity, sadness... love. It overwhelmed her, it simply was too much, and without her consent she began to cry into his chest.

To comfort her, he rested his head on hers. "I understand, I lost my father too and miss him every day" Gohan said softly, gently caressing her arm.

After a short while, Videl managed to pull herself together and dried off her tears with her sleeve. She then straightened her posture a little, enough to look at her friend's broken expression. "Y-Your dad passed away?" she sniffed.

"What the fuck?"

Both teens looked up at whoever interrupted their conversation. It was one of their classmates, a guy who regularly pestered Gohan, and he looked like he wouldn't pass up this opportunity. He smirked, "Well, well, well… Satan and Nerd Boy?"

"I'm not in the mood Stapler, don't you see we're in the middle of a private conversation?" Gohan's eyes turned into an irritated frown as he reluctantly let go of Videl.

"You're on public property, I have every the right to be here and watch." He then noticed that Videl had been crying, and he added "Was he that bad?"

"If you don't leave, we will," Gohan said and tried to walk past Stapler, but the buff guy blocked his way. "Let me pass, Stapler," Gohan warned him.

"Make me," Stapler dared him, "I don't believe the rumors that you can fight and I don't see your friend Sharpener around to back you up."

Videl clenched her fists and prepared herself to speak her mind, but as she stepped forward, Gohan stopped her. "He has a problem with me, so you should stay out of this."

"Very noble," Stapler said, secretly relieved that Videl wouldn't beat his ass. "So what now?"

"Like I said, I'm not in the mood to play games. You let us pass, or you leave, your choice," Gohan said again, straightening his posture.

Stapler stepped aside, letting Gohan believe that he was free to go. But when the boy tried to pass him, he was held by a hand. "Tell me, how did your father die?" Stapler was determined to push the nerd's buttons.

A draft suddenly appeared in the hallway as Gohan clenched his fists. "That's none of your business," he said, pulling Stapler's hand away from him.

"I see, a sensitive subject, isn't it?"

Gohan turned to face the bully. "I'm warning you, you don't want to make me mad right now," Gohan said in a firm voice. Then he continued his way, followed by Videl.

Stapler smirked at the empty threat, "I bet he killed himself when he realized what a loser he's brought into this world."

###

Vegeta and Trunks both stopped eating their lunch and jerked their heads eastwards, and not much later a smirk appeared on the Saiyan prince, as Trunks could only express himself with a "Wow". Vegeta then got up, went to the cabinet and took out five 1.000 Zenni bills from a wallet.

"What are you doing?" Bulma asked her husband coldly, she was still mad at him for his outburst last Saturday. Her eyes followed Vegeta's movements as he walked over to her and placed all five bills on the table in front of her.

"Here."

Bulma looked at the money and then back to Vegeta, "You're giving me my own money from my own wallet?"

"We're married, your money is my money and vice versa, take it or leave it, I don't care."

"But what for?"

"You win the bet," he said simply and went back to his lunch, leaving the scientist in the dark.

"Gohan's Ki is back," Trunks explained, still looking east.

Bulma's eyes grew in surprise. "No way? You're not pulling my leg, are you?"

"I didn't think the brat had it in him anymore. I guess my motivational speech had an effect on him after all."

"You call that a motivational speech?!" Bulma angrily rose from her chair and slammed her hands on the table, "You punched the boy across the room!"

"I prefer to call it a gentle push in the right direction."

"You threatened to kill him!"

"The half-bred does better when he's cornered, his powers are driven by anger."

"Have you ever thought about what might happen if he thinks your threats are real? He'd killed before to protect Earth, what if he really comes after you?" Bulma sounded concerned as she dropped back into her chair.

"Then at least the world will have its hero back," Vegeta looked determinedly at his wife, his eyes frowning. "And he better come and challenge me, he still owes me a fight."

"I still think my approach would've been better, he had to choose whether he wanted to fill that role or not. Now you've forced him into it again."

"That may have taken too long."

Bulma looked at her husband confused, "Why?"

"I need the boy in shape as soon as possible," he took a deep sigh and looked at his wife again, this time with worried lines on his forehead. "I haven't told you yet, but I've been restless for a while and that feeling is getting stronger every day. I'm a thoroughbred Saiyan without a purpose, a warrior with no target. If the brat slacks, I'll have no one above me to hold me down when the time comes."

"W-Wait, are you saying those threats about you turning against Earth weren't empty?"

"I'll never get bored of you, you know that, so yes, the threats were empty. But I have to admit I can't suppress the nagging feeling I might one day lose control to my other side, the ruthless and coldblooded Saiyan I used to be. And when that happens, I need someone to protect my family."

Additional note: I adjusted some sentences in the end, as there were some contradictions which shouldn't be there. My apologies.