Chapter 4: Developments
As Gohan reached the clearing where his house was located he landed, just inside the fringes of the surrounding forest. He looked down at Videl still in his arms and shook her gently. "Time to get up, we're home now."
Videl sighed and left Gohan's arms. She turned around and looked towards the house. "So that's where I am going to be spending the rest of my life? It doesn't look like much."
Gohan raised an eyebrow at Videl, "Are you making fun of my home?" he said jokingly. "I know it's not much, but my family doesn't need much. And this is probably just a temporary home. I'm nearing the age where I should be thinking about moving out on my own. If you're still around by then, you're probably going to move out with me." Gohan started walking towards the house and looked over his shoulder at Videl. "We should get going. The sooner the introductions are over with, the sooner we can get you settled in." Gohan scratched his head and frowned. "I'm not sure where you're going to sleep. We only have a three bedroom house, and they're all in use." Gohan shrugged and looked back at the house. "I suppose we'll get that sorted out when we get inside."
Videl just nodded and followed Gohan towards the house with Videl taking in the sights as she went. The two of them reached the door to the house in no time and entered. The only person in the living room was Goten, and he was making a fort out of cushions and pillows.
"Hey squirt, how are you doing? I thought you went to the city to find your friends? And where's mother and father?" Gohan asked, walking towards his brother and eyeing his fort. "Nice fort, what's it for?"
Goten looked up at Gohan and sniffled a bit, "I wasn't allowed in the city, they said this isn't a time to be playing and that I had better go home. Mommy is in the kitchen and daddy is out somewhere. I think he went to the palace." Goten looked behind Gohan and saw Videl, "Who's the girl Gohan? Huh? Huh? Am I going to have a sister soon?" Goten hopped around happily accidentally destroying the fort he had been making earlier.
"No Goten, she's not my girlfriend, she's our cook. You know mother and father are leaving in less than two weeks, well she's here to cook for us while they're gone." Gohan replied, missing the slight flush on Videl's face.
Just then Chichi walked in from the kitchen, hearing Gohan's voice in the living room. "Ahh, Gohan, your back." Chichi notices Videl behind Gohan and sees the collar, "And she's the slave I suppose. Well slave follow me. I'll show you how to cook for saiyans. I want my babies to have the best." Chichi beckons Videl to follow her as she turned to head to the kitchen.
"Her name is Videl mother. Don't call her slave or human." Gohan said, looking at his mother.
Chichi looked back at Gohan, then Videl, and back to Gohan and raised an eyebrow, "So that's how it is, is it? Well, alright, if it makes you happy. Videl, follow me." Chichi turned around again and headed into the kitchen.
"You better go; you don't want to make my mother angry." Gohan shudders at the thought of the ki pan.
Videl nods and heads into the kitchen leaving Gohan and Goten in the living room, Goten looking mournfully at his destroyed fort. "Hey squirt, want to train? I know I'm far more powerful then you, but maybe I can give you an edge over everyone else your age if I trained you." Gohan said trying to cheer his little brother up, "We'll train in the forest; I want to try something new."
Goten looked up at Gohan and cheered, "YAY!! Big brother is gonna train me." Goten runs out the door heading towards the edge of the clearing.
"GOHAN! I don't want Goten to return a mess. You be careful young man." Chichi's yells through the door.
"Alright mother." And with that Gohan heads out the door following Goten into the woods.
Gohan turned on his scouter, pinpointed Goten's location and headed towards him. Gohan found him sitting by the edge of a small pond not to far west of their house. "So Goten, I want to try something. I've been thinking that if scouters can pick up power levels, maybe we can as well, without the scouter." Gohan looked down at Goten. "Alright Goten, I want you to go hide in the forest, and I'm going to try finding you without using a scouter."
Goten looked up at Gohan and grinned, "Wow, being able to find people without a scouter. This would make hide and seek a whole lot easier for me." Goten gave Gohan an even bigger grin. "Okie, I'm gonna go hide now." Goten scampered off into the trees leaving Gohan by the pond.
Gohan removed his scouter and placed it on a flat rock at the edge of the pond and began searching for Goten. Gohan began listening intently and peered into the shadows of the trees trying to find Goten, listening, feeling for anything that would give Goten away. Gohan walked through the forest for about an hour, trying his hardest to find Goten. Gohan sighed in defeat and walked to the pond to pick up his scouter. As he got to the edge of the pond a shadow fell from the tree above him and landed on his shoulders.
"HIYA Gohan, you couldn't find me could you? I'm good at hiding." Goten said while riding Gohan's shoulder to the pond.
Gohan picked up his scouter and put it back on. "We better head home now. It should be supper any minute now. We'll train physically after supper." Gohan said and began walking back towards the house.
"YAY FOOD!" and with a cry of joy Goten bolted for the house.
Gohan watched as his little brother disappeared into the forest and snickered. "He's so innocent; sometimes I wish I was him." Gohan jogged though the forest heading for his house. As he entered the clearing his scouter indicated that his father was flying home fast and would arrive any minute. Gohan ran through the clearing and into the house. There he walk to one of the chairs and sat down. The smells of food being cooked drifted into the living room through the open kitchen door.
Gohan and Goten, who was bouncing around while waiting for the food, turned to the door as Kakkarot walked in. Kakkarot looked around, walked to the door to the kitchen and nodded. "Chichi, could you come here? We need to go to the city, all of us. The king is going to make an announcement, and he wants every saiyan he can get there." Kakkarot said and walked out the front door. Gohan and Goten followed him out.
Chichi looked at Videl. "Keep cooking, hopefully this will not take long. I'm glad you really can cook. It makes training you in the art easier." Chichi said before she left the kitchen to join her mate and children outside.
The family rose in the air and blasted off towards the city with Kakkarot in the lead flying as fast as he could and still have his family keep up. As they neared the city they could see many saiyans in the air, flying towards the city. The message obviously went out calling all saiyans to the capital while Gohan had his scouter off. As they landed at the gates, the guard, recognizing Kakkarot and his family, let them go through without checking them.
The family flew through the city and headed towards the palace. As the family headed towards the palace, they noticed that, like them, every saiyan in the city seem to be heading in that direction. As they approached the palace they noticed a massive group of saiyans and other alien allies gathered in a big square under the palace. The square, more circular in shape, was almost a mile in diameter. Hovering fifty feet above the center of the circle was a platform, and on the platform the royal family could be seen standing, waiting for everyone to gather. Around the royal family, all the royal elite guards could be seen, making a ring around them. The only person missing from the circle was Kakkarot, who, after he had his family gathered and settled near the platform flew up and joined the circle.
Fifteen minutes later, when all the saiyans and aliens that could attend had gather king Vegeta stood raised his hand for silence. Big screens appeared at various intervals throughout the circle giving a good view of the platform to anyone and everyone who had gathered.
King Vegeta lowered his hand and spoke, a microphone under his battle armor taking his voice to everyone in the crowd, "My people, the rebels have created a new weapon, and have used it against us. They have destroyed the moon that held one of our outposts, and occupied one of our allied planets. This, which much of you know already, cannot be accepted without retribution." Vegeta paused dramatically. "In less than two weeks time, I plan on leading an assault against the rebels. They will know the folly of their actions. We'll be targeting their main supply planet, Ixiotchil. I will be taking with me half of our forces when we assault. I plan on dealing out a swift, sudden and utterly devastating blow to the rebels. To achieve that end, this won't be a simple raid. This will be a total take over. I plan on having that planet within my control in a month's time."
A massive roar went up from the masses. Nearly all the saiyans and their allies cheered and slapped each other on the back. An offensive this big was unprecedented in the war. Huge grins lit up many faces and all the saiyans and aliens began talking to each other. They couldn't wait to get out and do something big. This is what they have all been waiting for.
King Vegeta raised his hand for silence again. "I have been… cautioned by some people I've learned to listen to that it is not wise to take all of our forces, or best fighters, when we assault. So to that end, some of our best warriors will be staying behind, incase the rebels try anything while we are gone. Many of you already know who you are, for the rest, well, everyone will know their positions by the end of the week." King Vegeta looked around, "My people, this, is the beginning of the end of the war. Prepare yourselves, for we are superior to the rebels, and we will come out the victor." And with that King Vegeta left and flew upwards towards the palace. Bulma and their son followed behind. Half the royal elite guards left with them, while the rest went to their families in the crowd.
The crowd roared out in a single voice, "KING VEGETA AND VICTORY!"
Kakkarot landed by his family and beckoned that they should leave. The four of them, Kakkarot, Chichi, Gohan and Goten all took to the air and began flying back towards the southern gate. Nearly all of the saiyans and many of the aliens stayed in the circle cheering, yelling and talking among each other about the war, excitement bubbling from everyone of them. A few others could be seen heading back to their homes, mainly those that were told to stay behind, upset by the fact that they wouldn't be able to participate in the assault.
When they reached the gate they saw that there weren't any guards at the gate and the lasers were down. Kakkarot frowned at the gate but didn't say anything and the four of them continued through without hesitation. Perhaps the guards were all in the center of the city, called the like rest, and the lasers were down to let those through that were allowed through but didn't have their genetic code in the data banks yet.
The family took off and flew back to their house, all of them silent, except Goten who didn't have a clue what was going on or the magnitude of it. He just knew that his parents were going to be gone for three weeks and they were going to fight some people. Goten begins firing off questions, "What's an assault and what's an Ixiotchil? Is it a food? What's so important about this? Is that really Veggie? He doesn't really look like Trunks. I never get to see…"
"Please be quiet honey and don't call King Vegeta, Veggie, that can land you in a lot of trouble. This is very important to the war. If you would pay attention when I try to teach you about it, you wouldn't have all these questions." Chichi replied to Goten, wanting silence. They knew ahead of time what was going to happen, but now that it had been announced, it seemed a whole lot different, a whole lot bigger, and a whole lot more important.
When they reached the house the smell of the food reached their noses and all four bellies rumbled at once, causing a minor earthquake. The four of them race inside and into the kitchen to see all the food ready and prepared. The food was all laid out on the table ready for them to eat. Videl stood back in the corner of the kitchen waiting for them to return and was quite surprised when all of a sudden the four empty chairs around the table were filled with starving saiyans.
The four saiyans dug into the food without saying anything, they were to hungry, and their mouths to full to say anything. Halfway through the meal Kakkarot looks up at Videl and smiles. "This is really good, Chichi must be a good teacher if you're this good at cooking already. Can't have you going hungry on us, sorry we don't have an extra chair, just come over and take what you want. You're a human so you're probably not going to eat very much so we'll barely notice the missing food." Kakkarot said to Videl, motioning her forward.
Videl slowly came forward and stood beside Gohan and began reaching for some food. When no one said anything she started eating just as fast as the saiyans, if not as much. What little food the slaves were fed in the pens wasn't very good. Gohan looked up and snickered. Guess she's just as hungry as we are, perhaps more so considering she hasn't had a decent meal in days.
After the meal Chichi got up and started cleaning. "Videl, could you help me? This is part of your job, I'll show you how to do it quickly, and efficiently. It's hard to clean dishes for this many saiyans if you're not used to it." Videl left the table and joined Chichi as she started to instruct Videl on the finer points of cleaning. Gohan, Goten and Kakkarot left the kitchen and went into the living room to digest their food.
"That was good; Videl may end up becoming as good as Chichi soon." Kakkarot said and happily patted his stomach.
"Father, where is Videl going to sleep? I mean there's no guest room for her to take and I think it's cruel to leave her outside at night." Gohan asked his father.
Kakkarot thought for a moment and then looks over at Goten, "Goten, your going to be sleeping in your brother's room until we get a place set up for Videl. I'm going to head to the city tomorrow and by an extension for the house. I hope that's not a problem is it Gohan?"
Both Gohan and Goten shake their heads and Kakkarot thinks of something else, "What were you and Goten doing earlier? I noticed you were away from the house and together in the woods as I was coming back."
"Goten and I were training, well actually I was training my mind. I've been thinking. If scouters can detect power levels, why can't I? There has to be a way, and that's what I was doing. I had Goten hiding in the woods and I tried to find him without a scouter. It hasn't shown any results so far, but I'm not going to give up yet." Gohan looked at Goten, "And we were going to do some actual sparring after supper. I know Goten doesn't have a chance against me, but I might be able to give him an edge upon everyone his age. I might even be able to get him stronger then Trunks."
Goten looked up at Gohan and grinned. "That would be SO cool, just imagine Trunk's face when I spar with him next time and I win instead of him beating my royally."
Kakkarot looked at his two boys and smiled. "That sounds like a good idea. If you find a way to detect power levels without using a scouter, you're going to have to show me. It would be a really handy technique." Kakkarot looks over at Goten with a serious expression on his face, "Oh, Goten, if you become stronger then the prince, don't let it on. Let him win, you can become as strong as you wish, just don't beat the royalty. They would make you suffer if they got humiliated publicly." Goten looked as if he was about to protest but Kakkarot cut him short. "I mean it Goten, I'd rather not see my youngest son suffer because he refused to listen."
Goten pouted and nodded. Gohan looked over at Goten and felt sorry for him. "It's alright squirt, even if you can't beat the prince, the least we can do is get you stronger then him. Do you know his current power level?" Gohan asked Goten.
Goten nodded and looked up at Gohan, "Ya, I do, it's around 23,000."
Gohan looked at Goten in amazement, "Wow, that's really high for someone who's only 8. He's probably stronger then three quarters of the saiyans already. He's going to be really strong when he grows up. At least we know what to beat. Come on squirt, I'm going to start training you."
Gohan leaves the house and flew to the south with Goten flying happily behind him.
Kakkarot looks down at the ground after they left and sigh. "I have a really bad feeling about this attack. Why would the king want to destroy the planet? And why didn't he tell everyone else." Kakkarot sighs, "There's more going on here then what I can see."
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Six days later…
Gohan walked into the living room carrying a battered Goten in his arms with a big grin on his face. Kakkarot, sitting on the couch with Chichi resting her head against his shoulder looked up as Gohan walked into the house.
"We did it, Goten has surpassed Trunks, or at least according to Trunk's last power level reading. Goten has hit 24,000, and after resting up from our last spar, he should be even higher then that." Gohan explained, smiling down at the kid sleeping in his arms. "He sure is strong, I guess he gets it from you father." Gohan said and Kakkarot laughed at that.
"Well, with the amount of sparring and training you've been putting him through, it isn't surprising. He comes home every night beaten, battered and exhausted. I thought I was harsh when I trained you, but you're going beyond what I ever did." Kakkarot said giving a little laugh.
"It wasn't entirely my idea at first. I went easy on him at first but he got upset so I began pushing harder and harder until he couldn't take anymore. When he recovered from that first spar he was really happy and asked if we could do that every day, so we've been doing it every day since, and it has paid off. He has gotten a lot stronger very fast." Gohan looked down at Goten and tried brush a bang from his forehead. "The little squirt is determined to be just as strong as I am."
Just then Videl walked into the living room and gave a smile to Gohan and received one in return. "Lunch is ready, just go in and help yourselves, it's all on the table." Videl said, with a smile still on her face.
Goten, who was currently asleep, woke up at the word 'lunch' and bolted for the kitchen, the rest of the saiyans not far behind him. Videl walked back into the kitchen and sat down at the fifth chair that had been bought and put at the table for her. I guess all saiyans aren't bad after all. Videl looked up from her eating and saw Gohan looking at her with a smile on his face. She smiled back, especially that one. I can't help but feel safe when I'm near him, and that's odd, because he's a saiyan.
Lunch went by without much interest, everyone eating as fast as they could, Videl learning that if you wish to get the choicest foods you have to grab them fast. When lunch was finished Videl got up and began clearing away the dishes while the other saiyans left and went to the living room to digest their food.
Kakkarot sat back on the couch and put an arm around his mate, "Videl has gotten almost as good as you Chichi." Kakkarot said patting his stomach smiling widely. "You sure know how to pick your slaves Gohan, or should I say friend? She's become more then a slave, almost like part of the family, and I'm beginning to wonder if she was what you were staring at in the slave cage, not the slaves in general." Kakkarot said causing Gohan to blush slightly, "I thought as much, I suppose you'll tell me why eventually."
Kakkarot looked up at Gohan and an idea occurred to him, "Hey Gohan, lets go outside and train, I'll bring my scouter, I haven't seen you power up to full since the spar, and I want to see how much being hurt that badly improved your power level."
Gohan looks at his father, "Alright." The two of them walked outside and flew south to the same area where the spar had taken place a week before. When they arrived Kakkarot motioned for his son to land and followed his motion and landed at the edge of the crater that Raditz created.
"Since you got Goten beyond Trunks, I'm going to try and get you beyond king Vegeta. This is going to be extremely difficult because I am much weaker then he is. He's the strongest saiyan to live since the legendary super saiyan thousands of years ago. He fought Bardock, Landyn and I all at once, and beat us. His power level hit around 80,000 when he fought us and I think he can go higher." Kakkarot said, fastening his scouter on his head. "Now, I want you to power up to full, I want to see what level you are at."
Gohan landed in the center of the crater and spread his feet apart. His face took on a look of concentration and suddenly he bent over, arms bent with 90 degree angles in front of him and began yelling. A white aura immediately sprung up around him as he powered up. The yelling got louder and rocks began to rise from the ground, some of the smaller ones disintegrating while the larger ones breaking into small pieces in the air. The aura around Gohan changed from color a little and began to glow with a bluish tint to it.
Kakkarot looked at the numbers on his scouter and his jaw dropped, "42,000… 45,000, 50,000… 53,000 and still rising? Dear god, his power, how could it increase this much?" Kakkarot looked at his scouter, at Gohan and then back at his scouter disbelieving the numbers that were appearing.
The aura around Gohan grew bigger and with a final scream released the rest of his power causing the crater he was in to become even bigger and generating a small earthquake. Gohan looked up at his father and took a deep breath. A flaming bluish white aura surrounded Gohan and the air almost seemed to vibrate around him.
Kakkarot approach his son shaking his head in disbelief. "Do you have any idea how strong you are now?" he asked, not expecting an answer.
Gohan just shook his head and looked at his father curiously.
"Your power level peaked at 72,000. Your still below king Vegeta, but with a power level like that, you've just gained title of third strongest on the planet. The commander of the elite guard is still stronger then you, but not by much, but you could beat him if you pushed yourself. King Vegeta is the strongest, but if he found out you increased this much after one spar… Well, at least we won't have to work as hard to get you stronger then him." Kakkarot looked at his son proudly, "I always knew you would surpass me one day, I just didn't expect that one day to be today. Looks like I'm going to be getting more out of these sparing sessions then you will." Kakkarot said with a laugh, "Well, we might as well get started." And crouched into a fighting stance. Gohan mimicked the stance and the two of them began their dance.
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Four hours later…
Gohan and Kakkarot walked into the house, both of them battered and bruised from their spar. While Gohan was a lot stronger then Kakkarot, Kakkarot had a lot more experience and knew a lot more tricks which helped to even the fight.
Videl walks into the room and sees Gohan and Kakkarot all beaten up and rushes to Gohan, "Are you alright? I mean there was an earthquake soon after you left and I think you should get cleaned up, supper is soon and Chichi doesn't want messy saiyans at the table."
Kakkarot looks at Videl and Gohan and snickers, "We're fine Videl, it'll take more then a little spar to hurt a saiyan badly. That earthquake was Gohan when he powered up. He is really strong, stronger then me now. There aren't many on this planet who would dare to challenge him if they knew his strength." Kakkarot said as he headed upstairs to go to the bathroom to clean up.
Gohan smiled at Videl, "I'm fine, my father says I'm really strong, which is good, but he still gave as good as he got. I need to develop new techniques so I can have the upper hand next time." Gohan said looking down at Videl, wow she has such nice eyes, and a good firm body… what am I thinking, argh, she's a human, I'd only bring misery to her if we got together.
Gohan tore his eyes away from Videl's and looked around and saw his brother laying on the couch looking at the two of them kicking his feet behind him. "Am I gonna have a sister soon Gohan?" Goten asked innocently.
Gohan and Videl both blushed and split apart from each other, "Ahh… I don't think so Goten. I mean, she's weaker then just about every saiyan, not to mention she's human and… well… uhh…its not really socially acceptable. The strong are suppose to mate the strong so that they have strong children."
Goten pouted a little and then brightened, "Well, why don't you train her then? Didn't you say once that to be strong, all it took was determacon, determamat, determan something or other and will power? You said father and grandfather were both born third class but because of their determa, determantab, determination, and will power they ascended." Videl flushed a little and walked back into the kitchen to finish supper.
Gohan looked at Goten in amazement, "You actually thought of that all by yourself? Wow, guess your not as dumb as you look" Gohan said
"Just what is that suppose to mean?" Goten asked as face fell and tears began to form in his eyes.
Gohan ashamed at what he said walked over and gave Goten a hug, "Ah, I'm sorry squirt. I didn't mean to upset you. It's just that you surprised me, that's all. But that still doesn't fix the fact that she's not a saiyan." Gohan said comforting Goten.
Chichi stuck her head through the entrance to the kitchen and said one word, food, immediately all the saiyans were at the table getting ready to eat.
After supper Gohan stood up and yawned. "I'm tired, I'm going to head to bed early, I hurt a little from the spar and I'm really exhausted. Good night Videl, sleep well." And with that Gohan left the kitchen and walked upstairs and went to his room to sleep.
Videl stared after Gohan, "Good night to you to, Gohan."
Kakkarot and Chichi exchanged knowing but slightly worried looks.
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Five days later…
Gohan meditated by the pond west of his house, hovering a few inches above the ground while he relaxed his body and focused his mind. On impulse Gohan began to focus on what was around him instead of on himself. Gohan frowned and opened his eyes and thought, that's odd, I swear I could almost see the trees and plants around me. Maybe I'm just bringing up the mental image of the glade.
Gohan closed his eyes and focused outside of himself once again, but this time he cleared his mind of all thought. He didn't see anything or feel anything, until he accidentally mentally extended his ki from his body. He couldn't see anything, but he could feel things moving around him. The wind in the leaves, animals moving in the under brush, Goten sneaking up behind him…
Gohan's eyes flashed open in surprise and turned around not really believing he felt his brother's presence. Gohan didn't see anyone, but that didn't mean anything, there were many places to hide within the forest surrounding the glade, and the glade wasn't very big. Gohan once again cleared his mind and extended his ki around him. Once again the feel of animals moving around and wind in the trees came to him. He concentrated on trying to find Goten and felt something like him, slightly north and above.
Gohan walked into the forest and began looking. When he reached a tree, just a short ways into the forest, he felt Goten above him and looked up and blinked in disbelief. There sat Goten, very still on a branch looking down at his brother.
"Heya Goten, found you." Gohan said still looking up at Goten.
Goten dropped from the tree and landed on Gohan's shoulder, "How did you find me? I was perfectly still and quiet." Goten started pouting a little, "I wanted to sneak up and surprise you."
"I felt your presence near, so I went and found you. You know how I have been trying to develop a technique to detect power levels without the use of a scouter? Well I think I'm onto something. I was able to find you with a scouter. I wasn't able to figure out how strong you were without one though, but I was still able to find you." Gohan started walking back to the house, "I suppose I have to work on it a bit more before I reach the point of judging strength."
Goten hopped around Gohan's shoulders, "YAY! Maybe you can teach me so I can win at hide and seek." Goten said with a grin lighting his face up.
Gohan looked at Goten and laughed, "Sure squirt, just give me a little time to develop it first. I'm still not sure how I do it, so it's a little hard to teach at the moment." Gohan said to his little brother shifting him onto his back and giving him a piggy back ride home.
When Gohan arrived back at his house his father stood outside the door, waiting for him. Gohan noticed the serious expression on his face and became somber. Goten catching the mood, but not knowing why, just stared at his father and brother in confusion. Gohan put Goten down and walked inside with his father, Goten trailing behind curious to what's going on.
"You know we're going to be leaving tomorrow. King Vegeta decided everything was prepared earlier then expected and has said everyone in the assault will leave tomorrow." Kakkarot said, taking a seat in one of the chairs in the living room and clasping his hands in his lap, "I've been saying this ever since king Vegeta has called the assault, and I'm saying it again. I have a bad feeling about this. I think the rebels know that we are going to retaliate, and are even hoping that we do. Just be extra careful while we are gone. Once we're gone, you'll be the strongest person on this planet and should they attack while we are gone they would single you out and try to destroy you first."
Gohan looked at his father and nodded, "I'll be careful father. They won't catch me unaware." Gohan said in a serious tone, "Which reminds me, I may have found a way to detect power levels without a scouter. It may take some time to develop the skill, but I was able to detect Goten sneaking up behind me. I wasn't able to tell if he was any stronger then the animals in the forest, but I'm sure I'll be able to do that in time."
Goten began to hop around like the little kid he is, "Ya, it was awesome daddy, he was able to find me hiding in the trees even though I was totally silent and quiet." Goten bubbled excitedly, "I can't wait for him to teach me that trick, it would make hide and seek so much easier, we're not allowed to use scouters when we play."
Gohan looked at Goten and smiled fondly, I don't know what I would do if anything harmed Goten, Don't worry little bro, I won't let anyone hurt you, ever.
Before Kakkarot could say anything Videl walked into the living room and seeing Gohan gave a smile, "Supper ti…" She never got to finish as the saiyans zipped by her and went into the kitchen to eat. Videl just shook her head and followed, I can't believe it, even after spending almost two weeks. I still can't believe how they react to food. I swear you could bring them back from the dead by saying food.
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Later that night…
Videl and Gohan were sprawled out in the grass with their eyes fixed on the stars above.
"Gohan, why are you and your family different from the rest of the saiyans?" Videl looked over at Gohan, and seeing his expression, proceeded to explain herself, "I mean until I met you and your family I thought all where evil and cruel. I was treated like garbage and thrown in a slave pen. No one cared at all for me. But then you came and you changed all that. Your family treats me like I am part of it, not a slave. I stopped wearing the collar after a few days, and you haven't worn that bracer since the day you bought me." Videl looks back up at the stars, "I suppose I should be happy, but I just don't understand why."
Gohan turned on his side and looked at Videl, "I really don't know Videl. I've been like this all my life, we all have been. My father smashed his head when he was younger, so there's an excuse for him, the reason being something wrong with his brain, but I got no idea with me and Goten. My father knew he was different, and knew why, so did everyone else but no one faulted him because he still acted like a saiyan when it was called for. I guess with my mother he looked for a saiyan a lot like himself in personality so they didn't conflict." Gohan sat up, still looking at Videl. "I suppose saiyans aren't naturally evil, it's the way we're brought up. Goten and I have been brought up with care and love and with ideas that words are often times better then fists, and because of that we have the capacity to care and love others. I think maybe normal saiyans aren't brought up that way, they're brought up that anything and everything can be solved with fists and to respect those stronger then them. I think also that the average parent doesn't give much attention to their children besides the fact of wanting to make them stronger then their neighbor's children." Gohan said and gave a little sigh, "My parents moved to the countryside a few years after having me. They didn't like and couldn't stand the fact that just about every other child in the district was challenging one another, me included. They wanted to bring me up right, so they moved out into the woods where they could get away from the city influence."
Videl looked over at Gohan and saw him staring at her and blushed slightly, "I suppose that makes sense. I was brought up in the city, but there wasn't the competition there that you have here." Videl hesitates for a moment, "Thanks Gohan, for everything."
Gohan looked at Videl and smiled, she's so beautiful under the star… what am I thinking? Gohan shook his head but he couldn't get that thought out and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Videl asked curiously.
Gohan leaned forward and kissed Videl, "Nothing is wrong, I'm tired, see you in the morning." Gohan got up and walked inside heading towards his room.
Videl sat there on the lawn and brought her hand to her mouth, eyes wide and face flushed. Did he just… kiss me? It felt… warm, and sweet. Videl stood up and gave a soft smile, her heart warming a little before losing her smile. Maybe he likes me… but that's not possible, he's a saiyan… but he did say he was different… it could be a trick… it's not, he could order me to bed, but he doesn't. He cares.
Videl smiled again and walked into the house and headed to bed, sweet dreams filling her sleep, instead of the usual nightmares.
To be continued…
A/N So how do you like that? I didn't put the fight scenes like spars in because it would have made this chapter ungodly long for me. It's still almost twice as long as any of my other chapters.
I know Videl and Gohan's relationship is moving fast, but it has to. You'll see why. Want a hint of what's in store for the next chapter? An Alysa/Videl cat fight
I'm thinking there will be sex, but not for awhile. Even though the relationship is moving quickly to that point and will probably reach that point by next chapter. The actual sex part won't happen until way later in the story.