Hi there!

It rained all night/morning, which means I couldn't work. So I finished this chapter instead :)

Enjoy!

Chapter 22: The hero returns

Videl had deliberately moved herself closer to her spiky-haired friend to test his reaction, like when she'd held his hand at the baseball game. She was thrilled that he didn't reject her or move away from her when she leaned against him. She couldn't help but to feel all fuzzy inside. Too shy to say anything, she just stayed in that position, enjoying their closeness while a pleasant warm feeling came over her.

After flying in silence for a while, Gohan noticed a change in Videl's breathing. It became more rhythmic and calmer. He looked down at the top of her head and assumed she had fallen asleep. It made him smile, she was pretty cute like that. And then she moved her body, turning onto her side. Yep, she definitely was asleep! Gohan's heart began to beat much faster than was good for him. He tried to calm himself as quickly as possible so that his heartbeat wouldn't wake her. She moved again, probably to make it herself more comfortable, and snuggled against his torso as she grabbed his shirt in her right hand.

After a short period of recovery, Gohan had managed to calm himself once again and found peace in their new position. She was really, really cute when she was asleep, he thought to himself as he gently rested his chin on her head. He closed his eyes and tried to turn this exact feeling into a memory, cherishing the moment.

However, a subtle cherry scent awakened him from his inner peace. He opened his eyes and stared blindly into the distance. He knew exactly what this scent was, and he blushed with the realization. But why hadn't he smelled it before? Was it the wind?

The scent grew heavier and Videl tightened her grip on his shirt. She mumbled something that almost resembled his name. Did she dream about him? He swallowed and tried to ignore it, but his curiosity won out. What would she dream of?

"Gohan."

Now he was sure, she dreamed about him. As his mind took him on a journey to wonder what she was dreaming about, the cherry scent began to intoxicate him.

"Rip it."

Her new words took Gohan by surprise. What would he rip? Or better, what would be ripped? What did she dream of? And why did her pheromones flare up so suddenly?

He closed his eyes again and tried to cast out impure thoughts that came into his mind. Whatever her dream was about, it was her dream and it was none of his business, even if he was involved in one. And frankly, you couldn't control dreams, so even if she was dreaming about him, it doesn't have to mean anything. He tried to focus on his breathing and did a simple meditation technique to regain his inner peace once more. It helped, and besides some soft sleeping moans, Videl stayed quiet for a while, which was also convenient.

A slightly louder moan escaped her lips and suddenly her hand moved. Gohan still tried to ignore it, but couldn't help but follow her movements. Her grip on his shirt had loosened and it almost felt as she trailed his muscle outlines with her fingers. Then she gave a chuckle, burying her face a little more into his chest, but still remained laying against it. Gohan suddenly felt hot and squeezed his eyes shut, afraid he might peek down, and resumed his meditation. But he couldn't concentrate anymore when he noticed the girl against him was moving slowly downwards. Her hands caressed him, starting from his chest, moving across his abdomen and even going down to his inner thigh, while her head moved down too. She let out another chuckle. What the hell was she doing? Was she still asleep? That couldn't be it, right? Or was she teasing him? But then again, why would she do that, there was no reason for her to do so. And if she was sleeping, shouldn't he wake her up now? To point out what she was doing? But his subconsciousness didn't want her to stop, not at all.

He bit his lower lip in anticipation as he decided to see where this was going. He felt really hot all of a sudden and had given up using mediation as a distraction. His hands grew sweaty and his breathing became heavier. But he didn't dare to open his eyes. Her head went dangerously low and he cursed himself for being a teenager.

And then… her contact suddenly disappeared.

He opened his eyes in confusion and found himself on Nimbus, but no one else was there. In a panic, he looked around and a scream began to fill the air. He turned his head and saw Videl fall to the ground. "God damnit, Nimb-" but before he could finish his sentence, he too fell through the cloud.

Internally, he finished his curses as he rushed to Videl's aid, lifting her out of the air and slowly decreased the falling speed to the point that they both hung still in the air. He had her in his arms in a bridal position, as she gripped his clothing firmly in shock.

"W-What happened?" She stuttered, still trembling from her near-death experience.

"You tell me, what do you remember," he asked hesitantly, trying to fish for answers about her intentions behind her previous actions.

"I don't know? I-I think I fell asleep, and the next thing I know, I was tumbling through the air."

Ah, so she'd been sleeping the whole time. He felt somehow relieved, but also stupid for thinking otherwise. He looked up at the sky, only to see a tiny yellow speck disappear in the distance. Nimbus was a sensitive cloud and only allowed people to ride him pure by heart. But even the pure-hearted could sometimes have impure thoughts. He knew because he was rejected in mid-air once while thinking about what he'd seen in one of Roshi's magazines. Probably Videl's dream was a bit too much for Nimbus and rejected her because of it. Her movements for going down against him were nothing more than her sinking through the cloud. Gohan flared up again and was ashamed that he'd interpreted the whole situation in such a - to use Nimbus' reasoning - impure way.

"You must have fallen off while sleeping," he decided to say, without explaining the real situation. "I guess my time to relax is over, I'll fly the rest myself." He didn't dare to look at her, but couldn't help but ask, unable to hold back a slight grin, "I hope you had a nice dream?"

He felt her heartbeat increase, then she swallowed, "Yeah," she said softly, tugging her head under his chin to hide her embarrassment. If only he knew…

Gohan couldn't help but smile: at least her dream, in which he was involved, was a good one. He, too, became red with embarrassment, realizing they were still talking about an impure themed dream, or Nimbus wouldn't have cast her out. He swallowed and tried to think of something else before his mind went down that road again. He increased their speed, hoping the wind would cool him down.

They remained silent for a while, until Videl tugged at his shirt to get his attention. Gohan looked down and met her gaze. She had a sad expression on her face that made him stop flying. "Something wrong?" he asked concerned.

She pointed down, "That's where I found you," she said dejectedly.

Gohan turned his gaze to where she pointed and saw in the distance an old abandoned industrial estate. He flew closer, following Videl's directions to a dilapidated storage building. He looked at her, non-verbally asking if this was the place, and she nodded. He then descended and entered the building through one of the large holes in the roof. When he landed, he carefully lowered Videl to help her stand on her own two feet. They looked around in silence, both recalling their memories of this place.

"Do you remember it?' Videl asked, "Being poisoned and all?"

"Hmm," Gohan let out, giving himself a moment before replying, "Yeah, I do. Bulma told me I was under the influence of a psychedelic drug, but I didn't know it at the time. It was intense, to say the least. It already started to kick in when I checked on you to see if you were hit by one of the darts, and it quickly escalated during my flight to Capsule Corp."

"What did you see?"

"My past struggles, the things that haunted me at night for almost a decade. They all came flying around me and started talking to me one by one, reasoning with me that what had happened was for the better. I'm not sure what the exact conversations were, but it helped me gain inner peace, to forgive myself, and then they exploded in all kinds of colors, like fireworks. It was odd, but I'm kind of glad it happened. Those nightmares never haunted me again." He looked up at the hole in the roof he'd fallen through that day, "I didn't get very far, did I."

"Bulma said the poison hit you very quickly," Videl said and came standing next to him. "She told me that the toxin from this toad has been used in alternative medicine to cure Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, although it's illegal. Even one treatment should be enough to heal someone. What I understood from Bulma is that you carry a lot of emotional baggage, and although I have no idea what that baggage is, she hoped that at least some good would come out of your poisoning." She paused, "Do you think that would be it?"

"Probably," Gohan processed the information: would all his nightmares finally be gone for good? He certainly would hope so. He was so used to having those, it almost sounded surreal. Perhaps that was why his newfound fear that Vegeta would hurt Videl became so intense, refilling the empty pools of despair. But since that issue has also been resolved, he should be fine now. Maybe he should ask Piccolo to help him eliminate those empty pools, so they'll never be filled with despair again. Or should he refill it with something else, something that would give him strength, a happy feeling; love maybe?

He looked at the girl next to him and gave her a half-hearted smile. "Well, it's all behind us now," then he took her hand and pulled it toward the still-open door Videl had barged in that day, "Come on, let's go, this place is depressing."

They both had to cover their eyes when they stepped outside. The sun was shining brightly, in stark contrast to the dark room they had just been in. Gohan's half-hearted smile gave way to a happy one. He turned his face to Videl, who smiled back, although she noticed that Gohan's smile turned into a mischievous smirk. She blinked, she'd never seen such an expression on his face before. He let go of her hand and walked behind her. One of his hands grabbed her belt firmly, the other did the same with the back of her sports bra against her shirt. He tugged with both hands to test if his hold was sufficient.

"What are you doing?!" she asked in surprise, dumb-smacked by his audacity.

"You'll see," he said mysteriously, "Can you do me a favor? Please, tighten your abs for me and hold your arms out to your sides." Not understanding what he was up to, she just did as he requested. "Good! Now brace yourself!"

Suddenly she felt a tug behind her belly button, as the wind began to rush around her. She had her eyes closed and felt her upright position slowly tilt to an horizontal one at one point.

"You can open your eyes now," Gohan's voice rose above the sound of the wind. She slowly did so, and found herself high in the air. Her heart skipped a beat, not with fear, but rather with excitement. It was almost as she flew herself. Gohan grinned widely at her childlike happiness. He couldn't see her face properly, but her aura said it all: she was loving it.

"Can you go faster?" Videl shouted above the wind and Gohan obeyed. She let out a cry of happiness and Gohan started to stunt a bit: up and then down; turning; spinning; even making loops at some point.

He decided to stop when he noticed his grip was loosening, and he didn't want to ruin her clothes much more. He flew up and threw her in the air, then he caught her and turned himself onto his back. She found herself sitting on his abdomen, with each leg hanging next to him. He let go of her and placed his hands behind his head as he flew further East at a very slow pace.

"O my God, that was amazing!" Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Do you do this every day?"

"Yeah, this is how I get to school, at least, before Bulma put me in my apartment in Satan City."

"No wonder you were all secretive about it, I wouldn't have believed it." She then leaned over and threw her legs up and lay on top of her spiky-haired friend as if he was a blanket on the beach. She placed both hands under her chin and looked at him, completely at ease in his presence. "Tell me, can I learn to fly too?"

"I promised you right," Gohan said, blushing slightly at her closeness, "Mastering Ki has many perks."

"Wait? You really mean it? Can I fly one day?"

"With a lot of practice, yes, yes you will." Gohan looked at Videl and noticed a very familiar watch on her wrist. He raised an eyebrow, "Since when do you have a Capsule Corp watch? Did Bulma give you one?"

Videl blushed. "Yeah…" she felt so embarrassed, "Please don't laugh, but I thought you could fly because of your suit, or at least some kind of device Bulma had invented that would come with it. So when I tried to ask if I could have one, she interpreted it as if I wanted a suit like you."

"The suit is just a suit," Gohan chuckled, then grinned widely, "So you have your own Saiyaman suit? Can I see it?"

Videl flared up even more, "No!"

"Oh, come on! It's not that bad, is it?"

"Have you ever seen yourself?"

His eyes turned visibly hurt for a moment and Videl couldn't help but feel bad about her comment. He recovered quickly, however, and again a mischievous smile appeared on his face. "Where's your sense of style? Come to the dork-side, it's fun!" He then reached for her wrist, trying to press the red button on her watch.

"No, no you don't!" She exclaimed, trying to stop what he was doing. However, Gohan kept trying, but more to tease her than actually try to succeed. He couldn't remember when he had so much fun with anyone other than his little brother, being himself and still being accepted. A smirk appeared on his face as an idea crossed his mind, and suddenly he turned over, catching her again in the bridal position.

"Alright, you win," he said, trying to look normal. "We're almost home anyway." Videl turned her head and saw Satan City nearing. A huge disappointment came over her because she didn't want the day to end. Gohan continued, "But please, excuse me for going Saiyaman myself, people don't react that well to flying people." He then pressed his own red button and with a flash he was suddenly cloaked in his superhero outfit. He descended a bit, so he would have had to fly between buildings when they arrived at the city. "I wonder what people might think if they saw Videl Satan being carried around town by the city's Hero."

Videl flared up, she didn't think about that. "Can't you fly higher?" she almost begged.

"Sorry, I'm tired," Gohan said, but his smirk on his face made it clear he was lying.

"You jerk!" Videl exclaimed, seeing what his intentions were. "I'm not going to put on my suit."

"Suit yourself," he chuckled at his own pun, as he flew straight to the city.

A slight panic fell over the young crime fighter: what if people saw them like this?; What would the tabloids say?; And what happens if the news reaches her father? She sighed in irritation, "Ugh, alright, you win!" and pressed the button.

A blinding light appeared and disappeared almost immediately, and Videl was wearing a similar but more feminine pastel-coloured outfit as Saiyaman. Instead of green, her gi was teal and she wore a purple bodysuit underneath. Her cape was a pinkish-orange kind of color and her helmet featured a yellow heart. Gohan's cheeks flared up as feelings started to flutter inside him, she really looked really cute, in a nerdy kind of way.

"Seriously! Why the heart?!" Videl exclaimed in frustration, pointing to her forehead, "It doesn't even make sense!"

"Ah don't be like that, I think it's really cool!"

"Pff, criminals would just laugh in my face, I'm telling you!"

"Then I'll punch them for having no sense of style," Gohan chuckled. "That's a crime in itself!" Gohan stopped suddenly in mid-air and jerked his head to the left, causing Videl to grab Gohan more firmly against the sudden change in speed. After a moment he said, "What do you say? Ready for your first debut?"

"What?! No way! I'm not going to fight crime in this!"

"So you'd rather let the criminals escape then?" Gohan raised an eyebrow underneath his helmet. Without waiting for an answer, he flew north, where he had sensed some trouble. As he got closer, he stopped again to analyze the situation.

An alarm filled the air and the police had barricaded themselves behind their vehicles, while the media reported the scene from the sidelines. It was a jewelry store robbery. Gohan sighed, it was always the same old story. Can't they get more original for once?

He turned his attention back to Videl, "So this is what we're going to do," Gohan began, "I'll fly to that guy with the ski mask and throw you at him to knock him out. Just stretch your leg like you are doing a flying kick and you'll be fine. From there you can fight the other two guys on the right, I'll do those on the left."

"Wait? What do you mean by thr-'' she didn't have time to finish her sentence because Gohan had increased his speed and took her by her arms, made a 180 degrees turn and released her, leaving her soaring in the air right at the man he mentioned. She let out a squeal, but recovered quickly, pushed her leg forward and landed right in the criminal's face. He was knocked out cold.

In the meantime, Gohan had knocked out one of the other criminals and had a second one in a headlock. His gaze, however, was distracted by Videl, who was fighting two more robbers. Her cape danced to her movements and the tight bodysuit hugged her muscular legs and arms very well. He swallowed, seeing her in her Saiyaman outfit was beyond cute, it was hot.

"Hey! If you're gonna keep staring, at least let me go," the crook said from under his arm. He had fought to free himself, but found he would never succeed. "She your girlfriend or something?"

Gohan didn't look up from his stare and watched as Videl kicked her opponent in the groin. "Do you think she'd be interested?," Gohan mumbled as all kinds of warm feelings washed over him.

"You mean she's wearing that costume of her own free will? Come on! Once she's lowered to that point, you probably just need to snap into your fingers for a quick fuck," the crook chuckled eagerly.

Gohan's cheeks flared with anger and he tightened his grip at the inappropriate comment. The crook could barely breathe. "That's no way to talk about women!"

'Ching'

Gohan's head tilted to the side as a bullet dented his helmet. He looked angrily to the side to see the get-away guy trying to reload his handgun. He squinted, he really hated those cowardly weapons. Lifting his free hand, he used his Ki to create a small shock wave, enough to knock the man down. Then light taps on his other arm attracted his attention, and when he looked down, he noticed that the crook was nearly choking. Gohan slackened his grip, enough to give the man some air.

"Jezus, man!" the crook exclaimed between his breaths. "Don't take it all out on me, everyone knows you're a player!"

"I am not!" Gohan again tightened his grip slightly, warning the guy to be careful of what he said. He cursed Yamcha for ruining his clean reputation.

"Okay, Okay! You're not! Yeez," the crook said, afraid Saiyaman wasn't playing around anymore. "But seriously, what's the deal?"

"We're just friends for now," Gohan gave in, glancing again at the girl, who was now fighting his share of the remaining criminals.

"Then why don't you ask her out?" The crook asked, more to ease Saiyaman's temper than he was actually interested in the answer. "She's a perfect match for you!"

"You really think so?" Gohan asked, looking surprised in the crook's direction as a blush appeared on his cheeks.

"Yeah, sure. She looks hot if you're into that sort of thing, everyone has their fetishes, I'm not the one to judge."

"Judge what?" Gohan turned his head and froze when he saw Videl standing next to them. "Is your conversation so interesting that you let me do all the work?" She raised a brow and placed both hands on her waist, "What were you talking about?"

"N-Nothing!" Gohan said, turning red in embarrassment. He immediately let go of the crook, giving him a neck jab to knock him out so he wouldn't spill the beans.

"Right…" Videl rolled her eyes. "I'm going to talk to the sheriff, I'll be right back." As she walked away, Gohan's eyes followed her every move. He couldn't deny it anymore, he was completely in love with the girl.

His eyes then fell on a relatively small bag on the ground. He picked it up and found out it was the loot: diamonds, gold rings, pearl necklaces, and even some odd-looking ornaments. But then he yelped in shock and the bag fell from his hand out of surprise, causing its contents to tink across the pavement. Someone had put a hand on his butt and squeezed it gently. His eyes widened with shock and he looked to the side where he was greeted with a cheeky smile. "Haven't seen the outfit in a while, I kinda missed it. What brought you back to Satan City?"

Gohan swallowed, "Pardon Miss, can you please stop what you are doing?" He didn't know what else to do or say.

"Ah, nobody's looking, besides, your cape is blocking the view." She giggled, "But now that you're here, can you give me an interview? I'll treat you to dinner afterwards." She winked at him, "So what do you say, hm?"

"I say hands off missy," Videl walked in on the scene, "If you don't, I'll arrest you for committing a crime!"

"A crime?" the blonde Z T.V Daily news reporter didn't understand what she was talking about and discreetly took her hand back, trying to hide what she was doing, "What crime?"

"Touching a minor in an inappropriate way," Videl folded her arms as she stood in front of her, as Gohan took a step back. Somehow he felt the need to seek refuge behind the costumed girl.

Kate gave a sarcastic giggle, "I'm pretty sure he ain't a minor, I checked." Then she turned her attention back to Saiyaman and raised a suspicious brow, "Care to explain who she is?"

"I am Saiyaman too - I mean two - yeah, Saiyaman two!" Videl started off a little unsure, but was determined to dominate the discussion, and put her hands on her hip.

"You're awfully feminine for a Saiyaman," Kate gave her a jealous look.

"Then call me Saiyawoman, I don't care! Just leave him alone." Videl then realized something, "This is not Yamcha, his substitute duties are over. The real hero has returned to town."

Kate's eyes grew in realization, ashamed that she'd actually approached the wrong person. "Oh my, I'm so sorry!" she raised her hand to cover her mouth and blushed profusely.

"It's okay," Gohan mumbled, scratching his cheek with his index finger to calm his nerves. "I understand that the costume doesn't make it easy." Then he came to stand beside Videl and placed his hand under her cape and grabbed her waist belt firmly. Videl understood his intentions and immediately tightened her abs. "I'd rather go, sorry for your interview. Say hi to Yamcha for me when you see him." And with a blast he flew up, with Videl next to him as if she was flying on her own.

Once high in the air, he let go of her belt and continued to carry her in the bridal position. He didn't say anything, he didn't feel comfortable with the situation that had just happened. Videl wasn't ready to let it go, however, and folded her arms in annoyance. "I can't stand her!"

"Don't blame her, she didn't know I wasn't Yamcha," Gohan began hesitantly, "But thanks for backing me up. I owe you one."

"I'll add that to your ever-growing pile of debts," she said, unable to contain a grin. "But seriously Gohan, you have to handle such situations yourself. At least I smacked Yamcha against a wall after his approach."

"It sounds to me like you're just jealous," Gohan couldn't help but tease her a bit because of the mood she was in.

"What?! No way!" Videl turned her head, more in embarrassment than anger, and frowned deeply. Guess they're a perfect match, that reporter and Yamcha, treating minors like that, Videl thought to herself.

"Come on, I was jealous too when I heard about the 'Yamcha incident', at least I admit it." He then grinned, "I guess this makes us even."

Videl was pulled from her thoughts and looked at him in surprise, "You were jealous?"

Gohan stopped mid-air, ignoring her question. "Okay, you have to help me, where exactly do you live?"

"I live in the Satan Mansion," she said with a raised eyebrow, as if it was obvious where that should be.

"I have never been in this part of the city before, humor me, just point me in the right direction," Gohan replied, a bit irritated. It wasn't his fault he didn't know.

"A little further East, on the edge of town, it's the one with all those big embarrassing statues of 'The World Savior' in the yard," she said with shame. Her father could be very narcissistic at times. After a minute or two she pointed, "There! You can drop me off on that balcony, the one with the short windmill palms on either side."

Gohan followed her directions and carefully sat her down on said balcony, while he himself remained in the air. Videl pressed the button on her watch and with a flash she was herself again. "Thank you for dropping me off," she said, while tugging a few strands of hair behind her ear. "When will I see you again?" Her question was a bit shy, she wasn't really good at saying goodbye.

"Depends," Gohan replied, "If my mom doesn't kill me for disappearing, then I'll be back for the new semester, which is upcoming Monday." Then a light blush appeared on his cheeks, barely visible due to his helmet, "But if you want, I can come back the weekend before. We have yet to finish that movie." He gave a nervous chuckle and his heart started beating violently: was he really trying to ask her out?

At the other end, a similar reaction washed over the girl. A visible blush appeared on her face, "What about Saturday night?"

A smile appeared on Gohan's face, relieved she wasn't rejecting him. "Saturday it is," he placed his hand next to his helmet in a salute, "See you then!" And when he flew away, he couldn't stop his smile from widening.

~ Psst, 2 more chapters to go ~