Author's Note: Welcome back everyone! Thank you again for the wonderfully kind reviews and the generous favorites - it always makes me so happy to know people are enjoying this story!

Apologies for posting a bit later than usual; today's chapter was...a bit of a nightmare to actually write, honestly. I had the most difficult time getting some of these scenes to flow. I'll tell you which at the end if you're curious and I'll give a bit of fun behind the scenes info too. And I still hit my target of updating on Friday, so I'm glad for that! Anyway, I'll let you get to the new chapter now. Even though it was a bumpy road to get it finished, I'm fairly satisfied with the final product and I hope it's still an enjoyable time! Thanks so much for reading and have fun with the new installment!

Chapter VII – I Want to Be Beside You

June set upon Satan City and with it came the distinct feeling of summer. Gone were the cooler temperatures, replaced by the familiar heat that heralded the second half of the year. It would be some time still before the weather became completely miserable, though, and Videl was tremendously glad for that fact.

She hated hot weather. It was much easier to warm up in the winter than it was to cool down in the summer. And now it meant cuddling with her boyfriend wouldn't be as comfortable if they weren't someplace air conditioned. But it also meant it was almost time for midterms and, shortly after that, finals. At least she still had summer break to look forward to in August. Maybe she and Gohan could plan something fun together. That thought alone made all the frustrations of weather and school feel much more bearable.

Because midterms were coming up in a week, though, Videl found herself at the little diner near campus with Sharpner, Erasa, and Gohan, of course. The two blondes had taken her and Gohan here to celebrate his birthday a few weeks back now and they'd had a wonderful afternoon. They bought him lunch and the four of them had stayed, chatting and laughing, until the sun set.

Today, however, was decidedly less fun. With exams on the horizon, they had planned to study together several times throughout the week. Videl felt fairly confident in her classes but she still wanted a little extra practice to be sure she hadn't fallen behind. What better way to make sure she was on top of her game than tutoring her friends? Gohan, of course, was entirely prepared for midterms; he was really just there to help Erasa and Sharpner. It would at least be a good review for him too. Sharpner wasn't in the worst position either; he'd be ready if he spent the week studying. But Erasa on the other hand…

"I just don't understand why I'll ever need to know these stupid formulas!" The blonde girl was complaining vehemently as she threw her pencil down. Gohan gave her a sympathetic smile across the table.

"I know, it's a lot of annoying busy work, really. But it'll be on the exam, so we should make sure we know it."

Videl smiled as Erasa grumped to herself and picked up her pencil again. She certainly wasn't dumb. In fact, 'Rase was quite intelligent, more so than most of their class. She was just wholly uninterested in the subjects she was forced to learn in school. And honestly…she had been for quite a while.

"Just hang in there E," Sharpner chimed in. "At least we have the local genius to help us study this time." He flashed a sly grin at Gohan.

Videl couldn't suppress her own mirth as Gohan reached up and scratched the side of his head awkwardly, the smallest blush present on his cheeks. 'God, he's so adorable!'

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Erasa finally conceded. "If anyone can teach me these awful equations, it's Gohan!"

"Hey," Videl shot back, "that's mean! I always used to help you study for exams before now!" She cast a playful scowl across the table and raised an eyebrow, incredulous. Erasa shook her head hurriedly, her eyes widening.

"I didn't mean it like that Vi! You're totally as smart as Gohan is; we've just been doing this since elementary school! He makes things feel fresh, I guess." Videl gave an easy laugh and let her guise of anger slip away, falling back into the gentle smile she so often worse these days.

"I'm just teasing 'Rase, don't worry." She ignored the pout that eclipsed her friend's face and continued. "Besides, you're right; Gohan's way smarter than me. We're all gonna do better this time around because he's helping us."

She stole a quick glance at her boyfriend from the corner of her eye and delighted in the sight of him blushing more obviously now. She liked complimenting him regardless of the situation but seeing him blush so openly was just too cute for words, not to mention a wonderful bonus for her efforts. Sharpner was snickering lightly, still pleased from earlier. Erasa decided to come to his defense though.

"Hey, you two are ganging up on Gohan, that's not very nice. Besides Vi, I seem to recall you proposing this study session because you thought it would be good practice for him in case he ever wanted to teach after college." The blonde girl gave her a sly wink, but Videl was already feeling the heat well up in her cheeks. Erasa hadn't played defense at all; she'd gone on the attack.

"Aw, you really did that for me?" Gohan asked, turning towards her and smiling. Videl felt her eyes widen and her face grow even hotter. Of course she'd done that for him, but admitting it so directly - and across from their two best friends - was so much more embarrassing than just saying it to him alone.

"Um, y-yeah, I guess I did," she stammered at last. Erasa giggled and flashed an innocent smile.

"Not so fun when you're on the other end of the teasing huh? That'll teach you to fake like you're mad at me!" She had to admit it: she'd been beaten...this time.

"Thanks 'Del, that's so sweet of you!" Gohan continued, oblivious to Erasa's scheming. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before turning back towards the others. Videl felt her blush turn a deep scarlet. How had things turned around on her? Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by the familiar voice of Sharpner, though.

"So hey," he began, putting his pencil down. Clearly this wouldn't be about their exams coming up. "I had a question for you two; figured if anyone would know anything, it'd be you."

"Yeah, what's up?" Gohan asked him, giving him his full attention. Videl watched him too. It seemed like something a bit more serious based on the boxer's tone.

"Well, my dad works in the tech industry - you know, capsules, computers, all that brainy stuff. His company's been hired by Capsule Corp. for a few years now to work with them. They get outsourced projects and that kind of thing. But lately, they've been finding a lot of random parts that have gone missing here and there. Nothing huge, so it's unlikely to be robbery, but enough that it can't just be a coincidence. He came home complaining about it happening again yesterday; I guess it's a big pain for all the employees and throws off a ton of their project timelines.

"Anyway, since you both know Bulma Briefs and work with the police, so I was just wondering if maybe you knew anything about it. Like I said, it's probably not an organized thing so the cops may not have heard about it, but I figured if anyone might know something, it'd be you two." He finished, watching them with the faintest trace of hope in his eyes. Gohan was the first to speak.

"I don't usually talk business with Bulma, but when I saw her last week, she didn't mention anything about theft or any of her work partners having trouble with things." Sharpner nodded and glanced to Videl. She shook her head, though.

"Sorry, I haven't heard anything like that either. The Chief hasn't mentioned anything about tech sector crimes in the last few weeks." The athlete gave them an easy smile in return.

"Don't worry about it; thanks for keeping me in the loop though." Videl gave him a light smile.

"Of course. And if we hear anything, we'll definitely let you know."

"Now how would you hear anything?" Erasa chimed in, that mischievous capturing her face again. "Rumor has it you're not working with the police department anymore Vi. In fact, they say Saiyaman has a new partner that's taken your place." Her eyes were shining with mirth as Videl gave her best friend an exaggerated eyeroll.

"Yeah, yeah, I take your point. I should be a bit more careful when I talk about this stuff out in public."

"Nah, I'm just messing with you," 'Rase returned, her smile practically glued to her face. "Though I hear his new partner dresses like him, flies like him, and even does all that posing and monologuing with him! Isn't it romantic?" Videl blushed badly yet again and tried to calm her nerves.

Of course, Erasa and Sharpner were fully aware that she was Gohan's partner in crime fighting, donning her own Saiyaman suit and adopting the moniker too. The news had spread across town like wildfire two weeks ago when they had responded to their first call. Some petty criminals were holding up a convenience store, trying to extort money from the owner with hostages. The newly anointed Great Saiyaman No. 1 and No. 2 had made quick work of them.

The rumors flew around town after that, with people speculating that Saiyaman's new partner was actually Videl herself, something that had made her a bit nervous at first. It was easily dealt with, though; a few overzealous reporters approached her about the rumors (despite Mr. Satan's warnings to stay away from her) and she had casually explained that she had stepped back from aiding the police to focus on school and getting into a good college. She praised her acting chops for that performance; when she'd seen it on the news that night, she'd almost believed it was really the truth.

After that, everyone decided Saiyaman No. 2 must be the original's protégé. A few said they must be dating – which was true, of course – and some had even gone so far as to claim she was his wife. Videl had to admit, she rather liked the sound of that…even if it made her blush terribly when she was lying in bed at night imagining what it would be like. For this particular moment, though, Videl didn't find herself embarrassed because of those rumors. No, she was embarrassed that her best friend was teasing her about the goofy personae they wore when they donned the uniforms of Satan City's famous crime-fighting duo.

"You know," Gohan began, drawing everyone's eyes away from Videl, "apparently Saiyaman's partner is doing great! I was a bit worried when Videl had to step back from her police work, but it seems like those two have everything under control." Erasa's eyes were shining as she looked at Gohan, all but forgetting her teasing campaign.

"That's so sweet," she managed quietly, clasping her hands together and leaning from side to side. Sharpner just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, it's so adorable I'm gonna puke." The four of them boke into laughter together and whatever small nervous tension was in the air around them evaporated almost instantly. As they all recovered and grabbed their study materials, Videl leaned into Gohan and ran her hand down his arm.

"Thanks for that," she whispered.

"Always 'Del," was his warm response. Her heart now even lighter than it had been all day, she turned back to her textbook and leaned over the table. They still had a little while before they wanted to break for dinner. It was time to get to work.

Gohan's next few days passed in a blur of study sessions and evenings shared with Videl. Sharpner and Erasa were pretty much ready for exams now and Gohan actually had found a fair amount of fun in teaching his friends. He wasn't convinced he wanted to become a teacher but, he had to admit, the skillset was useful. He and Videl had elected to do their own more specific studies a handful of nights, delving deeper into the difficult materials that they'd sidelined for more general practice with the two blondes. Both felt very prepared for midterms the coming week as a result.

They were ready to enjoy relaxing with Sharpner and Erasa that Saturday after school when a flashing light on Videl's watch drew her attention. It was Chief Kaneki's new way of contacting the Saiya Squad, a name he and Videl had quietly chosen so the Chief could address them together instead of always saying their longer titles. The light was yellow, an indication that the situation was important though not critical. The two had apologized to their friends before finding a secluded spot to transform and blasting off into the sky, Videl responding to the Chief's ping.

"Chief Kaneki, this is Great Saiyaman No. 2. What seems to be the problem?" Gohan stifled an amused chuckle. Every time Videl did her own 'Saiyaman Voice' he couldn't help the butterflies that raced around in his stomach. She was just so adorable. He had always worried he sounded ridiculous when he did his own voice, but she made it so much fun to listen to that he didn't care anymore if that had ever been true. He was glad he'd invented the campy cover if only to have eventually heard her mimic it.

"Ah, thank you for responding so promptly," Kaneki began, his voice transmitting clearly through the speaker on her wrist. "There's a bit of a situation on the outskirts of the city. A group of thugs are robbing a tech warehouse of its parts. There are only four of them and they don't have any weapons but once the police arrived, they holed up inside. We're hoping you might be able to help us extract them without destroying too much of Satan Electronics' property."

"We're happy to help! Send the coordinates when you can and we'll there shortly," Videl replied with certainty. The Chief thanked them before ending the call, the location flashing up on her wrist almost immediately thereafter. Gohan had been considering the target for the duration of the conversation and spoke up once they knew where they were headed.

"Hey 'Del, do you think this robbery has anything to do with what Sharpner was asking us about the other day?" She nodded.

"I was thinking the same thing. It could be a coincidence, but doesn't the timing just seem too perfect? What are the odds Sharpner's dad's company starts having equipment go missing then a tech warehouse gets hit the same week?"

"I guess we should ask him where his dad works huh? If it's not the same place, that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a connection. But if it is, there has to be a reason for it."

"I'll shoot him a message once we get this all taken care of," Videl promised, veering slightly to the right, towards their destination.

Gohan smiled to himself. She'd gotten so much comfortable with flight recently. To be fair, she'd never been bad at it; she was just learning from scratch something that he'd been able to do since he was a little kid. But the way she was now able to dip and dive, blast off from a dead stop, and control her speed and heading was very impressive, especially after only a month of so of real flight. She still couldn't go as fast as he could and he could tell that she got nervous flying above a certain height, but once they started their training Gohan could help her with those things.

"What is it?" came Videl's curious voice, a half-grin on her face as she caught him staring. Gohan let his smile grow and met her veiled gaze.

"I was just thinking how amazing you are and how much more comfortable you are flying now than a month ago." He spied a subtle pink blush color her cheeks but her grin gave way to a genuine smile.

"It's only because I had such a wonderful teacher! I can't wait to learn more from you!"

"Great, because I can't wait to teach you more! Maybe we can start during summer break when we have a little more downtime?" Videl absolutely lit up.

"Yes! That sounds perfect!"

Gohan had to admit he was quite curious to see how far Videl's control of ki could go. She had learned how to float off the ground in just a single day, something all but unheard of for a normal human. But then, Videl wasn't just a normal human. She was a world class martial artist whose self-discipline and motivation were second to none; of course she'd had an easier time tapping into her latent energies. If he could figure out the right ways to teach her, he was almost convinced she would surpass even Krillin in fairly short order.

"We're almost there, should we do an entrance?" Videl called, her voice excited. He knew she had only first committed to the Saiyaman caricature to make him happy, but now it seemed like she had just as much fun with it as he did.

"Sure! Wanna try the ballroom dance?" Videl laughed loudly and nodded.

"Yes! That one's so ridiculous; I can't wait to see everyone's faces!"

The warehouse district on the edge of the city finally came into view and Gohan could make out several police cars near one of them. It wasn't the same level of blockade they'd witnessed at the bank back in May, but it was still nice to have the entrance covered. Since there weren't innocent lives or weapons in the mix this time, that made things much easier. And let the two of them have a lot more fun with the situation than they otherwise would have.

"Wish me luck," Videl called before diving towards the ground. Gohan smiled and came to a stop, hovering high above the cruisers and waiting for his signal.

Videl touched down in the center of the area, her coral cape billowing behind her. She rose to her full height and began to look around animatedly, extending her hand to a random officer nearby.

"You there! I need a partner for this battle! Will you help me fight today?" she called out, her bombastic voice echoing loudly. It was enough to make Gohan snort with laughter as he watched her act. This was by far one of the most over-the-top entrances they'd invented over the last few weeks.

The officer took a timid step backwards, shaking his head nervously. Videl gave an exaggerated sigh before turning to another. "How about you? Are you brave enough to step forward with me?" She was met with a similar response as the young woman she'd extended her gloved hand towards waved arms in front of her hurriedly and retreated several steps away.

"Oh, come now! Won't anyone help me protect the peace of this city?" she cried out, raising her arm to her covered forehead and casting a longing gaze towards the horizon.

At once, Gohan dropped from the sky, landing gently next to her, delighting at the gasps from the officers nearby. He bowed lightly and extended his hand to Videl, gazing up towards her. "Perhaps I can be of some assistance! May I have this dance?" His own voice resonated with confidence and as much theatrical aplomb he could manage.

She nodded, reaching out and placing her hand in his, making a show of the entire process. Gohan rose to his full height and pulled her close to him, the two snapping into a position that wouldn't have been out of place at a formal dance. His free hand rested on her lower back and she placed hers on his shoulder, their fingers interlacing together before both snapping their heads towards the warehouse at last. Gohan spoke first.

"If evil threatens to scorch the world!"

He and Videl took three steps forward together before he raised his arm and spun her. She twirled gracefully and planted her foot, speaking next.

"Then the fires of justice will only burn hotter!"

Gohan drew her close and dipped her, her back arching across his hand. He flared his ki and their capes billowed in the wind. Taking her hand, he pulled her back to her feet where she spun on her heel again as he turned. Now they stood back-to-back.

"And we shall be its champions! The Great Saiyaman No. 1!" He stretched his hand forward and held up his index finger.

"And No. 2!" Videl mirrored his arm but held up two fingers instead before speaking again. "Warriors of virtue and protectors of peace!"

They turned into each other and took each other's hands, leaning away and posing with their free arms out while the weight of the other held them in place. Both finally cried out their last line, just as they'd rehearsed.

"Your wicked deeds stop today! Surrender peacefully or we'll be forced to act!"

They held their pose for several seconds following their antics. Several officers behind them offered light applause, some even cheering. The first time they had done entrances like this, Videl had blushed so badly her face was as red as Gohan's cape. But as time continued, she had settled into the idea and even started enjoying it. Having a helmet and visor that made you anonymous certainly helped manage the embarrassment, though.

Finally, Gohan pulled her closer and the two settled on their feet again. Videl stepped next to him and whispered. "That was great! It went even better than we practiced!"

Gohan was about to answer when the loud clattering of a warehouse door interrupted him. Snapping into combat stances, he and Videl readied themselves for a fight. None came, however. Instead, two larger men walked outside the warehouse. They were awfully cavalier for being surrounded by police officers with firearms when they possessed none themselves. When finally they were convinced it really wasn't an ambush, they rose to their full heights again, eyeing their opponents.

The men could easily have been mistaken for bodybuilders. Their muscles were large and their frames well-sculpted. Of course, they paled in comparison to the enemies Gohan had fought in the past but he could understand why normal people would find them frightening.

What really interested him were the black gloves they wore on their hands. Aside from those, they wore very casual outfits: tank tops and baggy pants. Why wear the gloves in the middle of the summer? If it was to hide their fingerprints, why would they have picked such an obvious time of day to do this? If they'd broken in at 3:00am, the response would have been far slower and they probably would have gotten away. They seemed pretty unconcerned still, though. Who were these guys?

"You two done yet?" came a gruff voice.

"That depends," Gohan called back. "Have you decided to surrender yourselves?" The same man let out a barking laugh.

"Nah. Just came to make sure it was really you two bozos. We knew you'd show up."

"Oh?" Videl began. Gohan could hear the competitive fire in her voice just from that syllable alone. "Got cold feet during the job and hoped we'd end things quickly, huh?" The second man shook his head, a grin on his face.

"Wrong again. We figured when we beat the two of you into the ground, the cops'd know not to mess with us anymore."

"Strong words from someone hiding in a warehouse of computer parts," Videl fired back. Gohan could feel her energy becoming increasingly excited. She was ready to make quick work of this.

"Like I said," the first man said, "we were waitin' for you two clowns. We got no reason to hide from the cops."

That was strange. Why did they feel that way? They weren't wearing any kind of bulletproof vest or armor. When Gohan reached out with his ki, he didn't feel anything from them aside from what an ordinary human usually gave off. They didn't seem particularly special or remarkable. What was this confidence then?

He stepped a bit closer to Videl and spoke quietly. "Be a little careful Ni-gō. I'm not sure why they're so certain, but they might have some kind of trick up their sleeves."

She nodded before responding to the men. "Well, sounds like you want a fight then. That can be arranged." Her smirk was as confident as ever and it was starting to get a rise out of the two men.

"You're real obnoxious, you know that? I ain't in the business of hittin' women, but for you I'll make an exception." Videl's grin widened and Gohan knew her eyes had flashed dangerously beneath her helmet.

"How chivalrous! Well, I don't usually drop people so much weaker than me where they stand, but if you're really so insistent, I'd be happy to make my own exception too!" The first speaker glowered at her and nudged his partner.

"Doro, let me take her. You have the other loser." His partner grunted and stepped towards Gohan. "Oh, and I'd advise the cops not to do anything. If they do, their cars might start blowin' up. We don't want anyone gettin' hurt now, do we?"

There was a murmur of worry behind them and Gohan eyed them closely. How were they going to do that? Did they have someone in the force working for them who had planted bombs in the cars? Or maybe they really did have a weapon inside and had just concealed it well? Kaneki's surveillance teams were usually dead-on accurate, though. It was pretty unlikely they'd missed and entire bazooka or something with similar firepower.

"Leave them to us," Gohan called over his shoulder, finding Kaneki in the crowd and meeting his gaze. The Chief nodded his own understanding.

"Stand down, officers. Let the Saiya Squad handle this one." There were a few calls of understanding before the police officers backed up and watched.

"The name's Han," the first man spoke to Videl, eyeing her closely. "Don't suppose you'll give me a real name since you're wearin' that ridiculous getup, huh?"

"Nope. But we may as well get this over with huh? I have a date tonight and I'd hate to waste more of my time on you than necessary." Han roared in anger and rushed forward, Doro following suit a second later.

Gohan and Videl responded by floating in the air and rushing forward themselves. Doro wasn't a bad fighter, Gohan had to admit. He had some martial arts experience, clearly. His punches and kicks were well-delivered and his technique was decent. Of course, to Gohan this was all child's play. Usually he held back most of his power so he didn't critically injure anyone he fought while helping the police and today was much the same. He lazily blocked the man's punches and kicks with less effort than it took to dodge Goten throwing pebbles at him. His fight wasn't that interesting; he was more interested in how quickly Videl's opponent would go down, honestly.

Whereas Gohan always had to hold back against regular humans, Videl had no such limitation and went after Han with every ounce of strength and ability she had. That man was also fairly skilled, but Videl's entire fighting style was based around using the opponent's strength and techniques against them. She had already goaded him into fighting her and was clearly making comments to anger him further, though Gohan couldn't hear them from where he was. Eventually, he committed to a powerful punch in a fit of rage and Videl ducked under it, spinning lithely and catching his arm. She swept his feet from under him and tossed him over her head, his own weight doing most of the work. Crying out in shock, he sailed through the air a few feet and crashed hard to the ground.

"Down for the count already?" Videl goaded loudly. Gohan wanted to caution her against antagonizing them too much when they had seemed so confident, but that certainty was already vanishing. Doro had yet to land a single punch and was clearly feeling outclassed and Han, though angry, had to realize he was no match for someone so much faster than he was.

"Goto, Sagi, give us a hand!" Han called loudly. Immediately, two more men came rushing from the warehouse, the same attire and gloves as their partners. One of them came rushing to Doro's side and started throwing his own punches and Gohan deflected each and every swing with ease.

Videl still had the advantage in her case as well. Though she was outnumbered now, her speed and ability to fly put her on a different level. She would dart into the air, come down for a kick or punch, and retreat to the skies before they could even begin to approach her. It was working quite well too. She was slowly wearing them down, despite the effort it cost her.

"Enough!" Han roared suddenly. Gohan was startled to feel something eerily familiar from the man. What was it? Before he could put it all together, though, he cried out, seemingly in pain, and aimed his gloved hand at the sky.

A black ki blast erupted from Han's hand. Gohan was shocked; he had been sensing ki from him? But he hadn't felt any latent energy in the man at all. How had he managed to use it offensively like that? Videl hadn't been ready for the surprise attack at all and the blast caught her squarely in the chest. She cried out and started to fall from the sky.

"Ni-gō!" Gohan felt total panic race to the very core of his being. For an instant, he saw nightmarish memories of Spopovich flash through his mind. The way he blasted her out of the sky with a wicked purple ki blast. The way he attacked her and tortured her and grinned coldly the whole time. Enjoying it. Enjoying hurting his Videl. The same way Han would do if he got to her first. But he would never close that distance in time.

Gohan spun quickly and kicked his two assailants to the side, forgetting to check his power nearly as much as usual. They were sent careening hard into the warehouse's outer wall, a visible dent appearing as they crashed into the metal. Vanishing from sight and reappearing just below Videl, he caught her in his arms and sensed another ki blast coming for them. Kicking it skyward, the energy exploded above them. Han wasn't capable of throwing very strong ki blasts it seemed. They were nothing to him, but to Videl they were more than she was prepared to deal with just yet.

Leveling his hand at the ground, Gohan launched his own blast of pure gold at Han's feet. Smoke exploded around the men and he heard coughing. That was all he'd really wanted: a moment to get Videl out of harm's way and to assess the situation. Was she hurt? Was she in pain?

"Thanks for catching me Ichi-gō," she managed with a shaky voice at last, the shock of the impact starting to wear off it seemed. Gohan sighed deeply in relief, hearing her voice. She was okay. His Videl was okay. He felt his entire body almost go numb from how quickly the tension left him. Those blasts hadn't been enough to take her away from him again. Still, even if they were weak ki blasts, she was in more danger now than she had been since Majin Buu.

"I'm so glad you're okay 'Del," he whispered, touching down and setting her softly on her feet. "But I'll handle the rest, okay? I want you to stay here."

"W-what?" Videl was stunned.

"Let me take them down. They have abilities we didn't anticipate and I don't want to see you hurt." His voice was grim but determined. He wouldn't let anything bad happen to her ever again.

"Gohan, wait. I'm okay. He just caught me off guard. He won't hit me with that again," she promised. Gohan shook his head, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Videl, please. If even two of them fired on you at once it would be hard not to get overwhelmed. Just let me take care of this." He squeezed her shoulders and turned back towards the last two men standing, just as the smoke was starting to clear.

"Wai-"

Gohan rocketed forward, leaving Videl safely away from the battlefield. If their opponents hadn't been able to use ki offensively like that, she probably could have taken them all down. But he couldn't risk her safety. Not for some petty criminals like that. Not when she hadn't ever learned how to fight against ranged ki attacks.

"Finally decided to come back huh? Well-" but Gohan would never find out what followed. He vanished behind the men and delivered fierce blows to each of them, knocking them out in seconds. Han and his partner crashed to the ground and didn't move again. He glanced around to make sure the other two men he'd been fighting earlier weren't going to suddenly attack again, but the large dents in the warehouse's outer wall and the slumped bodies beneath it told him they, too, were down for the count.

Gohan signaled the all clear to the police who began to move forward, some applauding and others cheering their support. Chief Kaneki approached and gave him a firm nod. "Thank you Great Saiyaman. Those men were more dangerous than any of us would have realized if not for you. They really might have been able to destroy our vehicles and harm my officers. I appreciate the swiftness with which you took them out. Is…your partner okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, she should okay. It was a weak attack that winded her more than anything else, but I just wanted to make sure."

"Good, I'm glad to hear that. Did she have someplace important to be? She took off in a hurry right after you knocked those criminals out."

Gohan wheeled around in surprise. Videl was gone? Sure enough, nobody occupied the space he'd set her down in just a minute ago. Where was she? Reaching out with his ki, he felt her relatively close by. Maybe she just needed to get away from the fight? Either way, he'd find her after he wrapped up here now that he knew she was okay. Thinking fast, Gohan tried to play if off to the Chief.

"Yeah, she just had to run this time, it's nothing to worry about." The Chief considered him for a moment but ultimately nodded his understanding.

"Well let her know I appreciate her efforts today as well. We couldn't have stopped them without you both."

Gohan glanced down at Han, who was unmoving still. Was that glove the reason he'd been able to draw out ki like that? It certainly hadn't been natural energy; the dark color of it meant that it had been forced out, much the way Spopovich's ki had been purple because Babidi's dark magic was what drew that power from him. He wanted to find out. And while he wasn't tech savvy enough to figure out the mysteries himself, he knew someone who was.

"Chief," Gohan began, earning the older man's attention. "I was hoping I might be able to take a glove from one of the culprits."

"A glove?" The man was clearly confused.

"I have a suspicion that something about their gloves allows them to summon those dark blasts they fired at my partner. Without getting too deep into it, that energy wasn't natural. So my suspicion is that something in those gloves is drawing that power out of them forcibly. I'd like to take one to my benefactor and see if they can figure it out."

Kaneki nodded at last. "That makes sense. Of course, please take one with you. In fact, take a pair. There are plenty more if we really need them and it's not like we'll get any useful information from locking them up at the station."

"Thank you Chief." Gohan knelt down and seized Han's wrist, grabbing the glove and pulling at it. It didn't budge, though. In fact, after another tug or two, he started to feel like perhaps the thing was embedded into his hand somehow. That might explain the way he seemed to be pained by using the ki blast. If that were the case, it was some pretty nasty technology they were wielding.

Searching across the glove, Gohan felt a small button just under the hem. Pressing on it, he heard the sounds of a small mechanical device. Curious, he pulled the glove gently again and found that this time it slipped from the man's giant hand quite easily. Gazing at his now-bare hand, he saw five puncture wounds on the back, just below each knuckle. It must embed itself into his skin and use whatever the technology was to force ki from an untrained body. That seemed to be how the glove functioned, at least. Hopefully Bulma could tell him more. Repeating the process on the other hand, Gohan placed the two gloves together and pocketed them.

"What a strange device," Kaneki mused as he watched Gohan finish his work. Rising to his feet again, the young Saiyan nodded.

"It is. I'll take it to someone who can make heads or tails of it and let you know their findings once I learn anything."

"Yes, please do."

"Well, until then, I should head off for today. Let us know if anything else transpires and we'll be here to help!" Gohan snapped back into his typical Saiyaman voice at last. The Chief nodded and gave him a warm smile.

"Thank you for your help today. We always appreciate you and your partner. Take care, Great Saiyaman."

Gohan flew towards Satan City again, feeling for Videl. She hadn't moved since she'd left the warehouse, as if she were waiting for him someplace nearby. Was she okay? Had something happened? Maybe she'd been hurt by the blast more than either of them had realized. When his eyes fell upon her on the roof of a tall building though, he was glad to see that she was standing on her feet.

As Gohan descended towards the rooftop, he noticed a few things that were odd. She wasn't in her Saiyaman outfit anymore and she was scowling up at the sky, her arms folded across her chest. Touching down gently, he pressed the button on his watch, transforming back to normal and smiling at her.

"'Del, you okay? You kinda vanished back there, the Chief was worried." Videl's eyes didn't soften the way they normally did when he saw her. In fact, they might've even hardened.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said tersely. Her voice was low and lacked entirely the warmth he had become so used to hearing from her.

"What's going on? Are you upset?" he asked, now wary that she was angry at him. Surely she wasn't upset that he'd tried to protect her, right?

"No." That hadn't been very convincing.

"Hey…I…I'm pretty bad at social cues, but I don't think I'm misreading this one. What did I do to upset you 'Del?" She stared directly into his eyes, causing him to wilt.

"If you don't know, then don't worry about it." She turned away and huffed. Gohan stepped forward and spoke gently.

"I'm really sorry if I hurt you by sidelining you back there." She drew into herself even further and glared at the roof below her feet. "'Del, I never meant to make you feel bad."

"What did you think I'd feel like?" she asked suddenly, turning to face him and biting her lip.

"I…the truth is, I didn't really think about how you'd feel at all Videl. I'm sorry for that." He had ignored her feelings entirely. She was strong and sometimes prideful; it made sense that taking her out of a battle had frustrated her to this level.

"You're right; you didn't think about how I felt at all. If you had, you'd have realized that there were only two left and I'd want payback for that cheap shot he got on me. So why did you take over?" she demanded. Gohan winced at her tone. She hadn't been mad at him like this since he'd taught her to fly all those weeks ago.

"I…Videl…I was scared. When you went down like that, it reminded me of your fight at the Tenkaichi Budōkai and I panicked. I couldn't let something like that happen to you again…"

Videl's eyes softened for just a moment but her frustration was still a bit too strong to be overwhelmed, it seemed. "Then you could have covered me or shielded me or something, but taking me completely out? I'm not that fragile Gohan!"

"I know," he insisted quickly.

"Do you? You can sense ki; you should have known that little blast barely hurt me. It just winded me and knocked me down. I've been through a lot worse."

"I just hate seeing you hurt…"

"And I hate being treated like I'm weak! I don't want to hide behind you; I want to be beside you! I want to be your partner who supports you and has your back, no matter what!"

"And you are 'Del, I promise."

"When you set me down like a little girl on the sidelines and tell me you'll take care of it because I'm not ready to handle it yet, it sure doesn't feel that way. It makes me feel like baggage…it makes me feel like you don't see me as anything more than someone you have to constantly worry about protecting instead of someone who can fight right next to you…"

Gohan was stunned into silence. He knew she had always strived for strength and improvement. She was an incredible martial artist and had spent most of her life honing her abilities, just like he had. Yet he had wounded her pride as a warrior. If he had tried something like that with one of the Z Warriors, they'd have laughed him off if he was lucky...or kicked him into a mountain if he wasn't.

"I'm really sorry I made you feel that way. I shouldn't have treated you like that. I know you're not weak or fragile 'Del."

"Then promise me you won't do that to me again." Her eyes bored into his own…but Gohan hesitated.

"I…I don't know if I can promise that just yet…" Confusion and frustration welled up on her face.

"Why not?" she demanded, her voice ringing around the rooftop. Gohan winced again but knew he wouldn't be able to get out of this one now. He owed her an explanation now that he'd chosen to really set her off.

"Because…you haven't learned how to stop ki attacks like that just yet. I can't let you take those head on. Sure, theirs were weak and only winded you, but what if they had been capable of something stronger? I don't want you to take that risk until you know how to handle those types of attacks."

"So you don't trust me to take care of myself in a fight then, right?" she shouted, the marginal control she had over her anger before vanishing completely.

"It's not that, it's-"

"It's what, Gohan? Because it sounds to me like you don't think I could even dodge a lousy ki blast if I knew it was coming! Even if I can't bat it away like you can, I can avoid it or at least defend against it!"

"Videl, that's not it, I-"

"I fought all the time before I met you, you know! I've been helping the police in this city since I started high school! That's two whole years I confronted armed and dangerous criminals before you and your superhuman powers showed up to save me, the delicate little flower, from their evil clutches!"

Gohan was reeling and completely thrown off. She hadn't been this angry since he'd suggested she cut her hair but even that had only been for about five seconds. He'd never been on the receiving end of her full, unbridled temper for this long. She continued quickly, not leaving any room for him to interject.

"Guns are a lot more dangerous to my body than a ki blast is and I've fought people with bazookas and machine guns before! What's one energy blast compared to things like that? Spopovich didn't beat me because of a surprise ki attack; he won because he had a wizard making him invincible! What did that thug down at the warehouse have?"

"Just this," Gohan conceded, holding up the black gloves he'd taken. Videl eyed them incredulously for a moment before responding.

"So the gloves drew his ki out and let him use that blast right? I figured that was it the second he did it. No wonder it was such a pathetic attack. Compared to the one at the tournament, this one just felt like someone hit me with a punch I wasn't ready for," she spat, glowering at the memory. Even for how overwhelmed Gohan was by her anger right now, he had to admit that she was incredibly sharp. She'd figured out what the gloves did in the heat of the battle, something he hadn't managed to do.

"Videl," he began gently, hoping she'd let him speak this time. She took a deep breath and sighed, waiting for him to continue. "I'm so sorry I overreacted like that. I just can't stand the idea of you getting hurt, that's all. I promise I don't think you're weak. I just…I hated myself for not doing something during your fight with Spopovich and I figured this time I could actually protect you…"

"Gohan," she began, her voice much quieter though still rigid. "You don't need to protect me from things all the time. I'm a fighter, too. Obviously I'll never be as strong as you are, but that doesn't mean I can't take care of myself."

"I know 'Del. I just got so scared when I saw you get shot down like that again."

"Look," she conceded, trying her best to lower her shoulders and calm her body, "I'm being really mean to you right now and I don't like it. I hate yelling at you and I hate that I'm being this way. I love you Gohan, I don't want you to feel like I don't."

"I know Videl, I never doubted that. I love you too."

"And I know that's why you felt like you had to protect me. There's more I want to say about all this…but not right now. I owe it to you to talk with a much cooler head and not scream at you like this. So I'm gonna go home for today, okay? I need some time to myself to calm down."

Gohan felt his heart sink. This was the first day since they'd started dating that she wanted to go home without him. He knew it was for the best; she was very exasperated and angry. But it still stung a little. Nonetheless, he put on a brave face for her and nodded.

"I understand 'Del, take all the time you need. You can call me whenever you feel like it," he promised. She gave a weary smile.

"Thanks Darling." A moment later, Videl lifted off and flew away.

Gohan gazed after her, feeling guilty and sad. It was their first fight since they'd become a couple. He hadn't believed they would never fight, of course, but he hadn't expected it quite so soon or over something like this. He wanted to make it right somehow. But he couldn't just let her be in danger. Was there a middle ground someplace he couldn't see just yet? Feeling quite dejected, Gohan took off towards Mt. Paozu, pondering silently how he could make things up to Videl.

Videl sat down between her dad and Buu on the couch with a huff, staring blankly at the television. Buu was laughing his usual raucous laugh but she wasn't really taking anything in. She'd been this way all evening. She had showered and eaten dinner in a daze. Part of her was feeling terrible about the way she had spoken to Gohan. But another part was having a hard time getting over her frustration. The two warring feelings had left her nearly paralyzed for hours now.

She knew Gohan meant well, but it stung so deeply that he treated her like she was weak. She wanted to be strong. Strong enough that he wouldn't have to worry about her like that anymore. But Vegeta had said that he'd always worry about her. That she would never be strong enough to rival him.

"Sweetpea, are you okay?" Videl's thoughts were interrupted as her dad's voice reached her ear. She sighed heavily.

"I got mad at Gohan today…"

"What happened?" he asked gently. There was a time he would have come unglued and raved about how Gohan must have never been good enough for his little girl. She was glad those days had passed. She wasn't sure how well she could deal with that right now.

She told him the story of the afternoon and he nodded, never interrupting her tale. Buu seemed to be off in his own world, still staring at the television with his mouth slightly agape. He at least had stopped laughing so loudly so she didn't have to talk over him. He'd actually become quite considerate of her lately.

When she finally reached the end of her story, Videl sighed and shook her head. "I treated him pretty badly..."

"You were upset Pumpkin; I'm sure he understands that you were caught up in the moment." Videl shook her head again.

"He looked so sad when I told him I was coming home alone. He tried to hide it for my sake, but I could see it in his eyes. Why would he even want to date someone like me…?"

"None of that, now," Papa chided her, his expression turning just a bit stern. She looked up at him in surprise. His set face softened and a small smile appeared. "You remind me so much of your mother, Videl."

"I do?"

"You do. She used to have quite the temper, you know!" he explained, laughing loudly. "I remember when she would get mad at me. I've been in the ring with tons of people in my lifetime, but none of them were ever as scary as Miguel!"

Videl managed a smile at last. She still remembered Mama vividly but she and Papa had made it a point to never fight in front of her growing up. Still, it was strangely comforting to know even her parents had arguments too.

"Did she ever hurt your feelings Papa?"

"Of course. And I did the same to her sometimes. It's all part of a relationship; you've gotta figure out how to coexist and have your own needs met while you respect the needs of the other person."

"I just…I hate being so weak," she sighed, frowning and gazing down at her lap. She knew Gohan didn't want to make her feel that way, but she did. And it frustrated her so badly.

"Videl, I've been boasting for the last several years about how powerful I am, but you know it's not true. You also know just how strong Gohan and his friends and family really are. We can't do the things they're capable of but that doesn't mean we should feel ashamed. We're strong in our own rights and someone being stronger than us doesn't take away our progress." Videl had to marvel for a moment at how far her father had come since he'd met Buu.

"I just…I know I can be stronger than this. I learned how to fly in a few days from Gohan; there has to be a way for me to get closer to the way they fight. I know I'll never be as strong as he is but I at least want to get to the point that he isn't terrified I'll be hurt by one tiny little attack…"

"Buu no think Gohan scared you get hurt." Videl and her father both looked to their left quickly, surprised that the pink giant had interjected at all. He slowly turned away from the television and met Videl's gaze. "Buu think Gohan scared you get killed."

Videl's mouth fell open and she blinked several times. Had he really gone to that extreme in his thinking? She had survived what Spopovich had done to her at the tournament; she wasn't that fragile, was she? But that would explain the way he disregarded her feelings entirely. And he had told her he'd remembered everything that happened at the tournament when she'd been shot down.

"What makes you think that Buu?" she asked slowly. He reached over and (somehow) pressed the mute button on the remote, shifting so he could face her more easily.

"Back when Buu got eaten by evil self, Buu could only watch fights. But when Gohan fought evil Buu, he found out Buu killed Videl. Gohan hurt evil Buu a lot for that. Buu think maybe when Gohan get scared for Videl, it not just because she hurt. Gohan scared Videl get taken away again."

She found herself in shock somewhat. It made sense that Gohan might feel that way; it was very much who he was and how he thought. She was more stunned by the nuance Buu had approached the conversation with. Maybe he was learning from them, slowly but surely. And Gohan hadn't really talked much about his fight with Buu while she and the others had been dead. If he really had been that badly affected by her death, she could understand his fears today. Even if it upset her.

"That…thanks Buu. That really helps put a lot into perspective."

"You welcome!"

"You know," came her father's gentle voice again, "your temper isn't the only way you're like your mother. You love with your whole heart and have a good head on your shoulders once you calm down. You're not still that mad at Gohan are you?"

"…no…I guess not…" Papa chuckled.

"Miguel was the same way. I'd make her upset and sometimes she'd even yell at me for it, but after a few hours, she would always come back to me and we'd sit down and figure things out together. You're the same kind of person she was Sweetpea: quick tempered but thoughtful and kind, no matter what. So don't be so hard on yourself, okay?"

"Do you think Gohan will even want to talk to me after how mean I was to him earlier…?"

"Of course he will," Papa assured her. "Gohan loves you more than anything; I've seen it over and over again since we came home from the Lookout that day."

"Papa? How did you and Mama figure out how to deal with arguments and fights?" He considered her for a second, a nostalgic smile played across his lips.

"I don't know if there's a perfect answer to that Pumpkin; everyone's different. Miguel and I were both pretty aggressive people so we just had to fight it out sometimes and reassure each other later once it was over. Gohan's not like that, though. He's a gentle soul and even if he was really mad at you, he'd never yell or treat you like anything less than a princess."

"I know…that's why I feel so bad about the way I treated him…" Her eyes were downcast and she balled her hands into light fists. Her father's words interrupted her spiraling thoughts.

"You shouldn't kick yourself so much while you're feeling down; you've only been dating for a month now. You're both gonna make mistakes. You're not perfect and neither is he. But all couples fight, no matter how much they love each other. What's important is how you deal with the aftermath."

"…how do I handle that part?"

"Well, that depends. I know what he did upset you, but was he wrong for doing what he did?" Videl chewed her lip before responding in a tiny voice.

"No…"

"Then you know how to handle it Sweetpea."

"I know…it's so hard to swallow my pride though Papa. I know why you could never admit you didn't kill Cell now…" He made a face as if he'd eaten something extremely sour.

"I'm still not proud of that. But that's where you can do better than me! You love Gohan right?" Videl felt her cheeks heat up at her dad's directness, but a half-smile tugged at her lips too.

"I do. So, so much."

"Then what's worse? Admitting you were wrong for treating him that way? Or sitting here on the couch with me and Buu feeling miserable when you could be spending time with the boy you love?"

Videl looked up at him with wonder in her eyes. If anyone had told her two months ago that her father, the World Champion who hated the idea of anyone dating his daughter, would be encouraging her to make amends with her boyfriend, she would have genuinely sought out pamphlets for self-help courses to give them. As it stood though, she felt her smile widen.

"Thanks Papa, you always know how to help."

"I'm just glad I can. Now, why don't you get outta here and go see that boyfriend of yours?" Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Now? It's almost 10:00 though." He simply gave her a knowing grin.

"You won't sleep at all tonight if you don't, right?" She let slip a derisive laugh.

"Not a wink."

"Then get outta here! I trust you to be safe and responsible." Videl leaned close and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

"Thanks Papa, you're the best! I'll try not to be too long, okay?"

Gohan's evening had crawled by at a glacial pace. He had felt dejected and depressed since Videl had flown away earlier. Everyone in the house had known he was upset immediately and gave him some space for a little while. But they knew he was really upset when he had only picked at his food throughout dinner and had barely eaten any of it. Goten had opened his mouth to say something but Chi-Chi had nudged him lightly, shaking her head.

After dinner, Gohan had flopped on the couch and stared aimlessly at the television while he let his mind wander. What was Videl doing right now? Was she still mad at him? Should he send her a message or try to call her? No, he had told her he would be here if she wanted to talk; he shouldn't pressure or rush her. She probably needed a little more time to cool off.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice his mom sit down next to him. "Gohan, are you okay?"

He jumped a little and turned quickly. She just laughed and patted his shoulder. Sighing, Gohan sat up a little straighter and turned towards her.

"Videl and I had our first fight today." She gave a nod, a knowing twinkle in her eye.

"I figured as much. I remember when your father and I had our first fight. I felt terrible about it afterwards. Of course, he was more confused than anything else, so it's not quite the same." Gohan managed a small laugh at that comment. It didn't surprise him in the least that his father had been mostly perplexed by the situation.

Gohan decided to tell his mom the whole story. She was much better versed in relationships and social tact than he was, even if Dad was…well, Dad. And so he explained what had happened and how frustrated she'd been by his decision to protect her, admitting that he had ignored everything else but her safety.

"Hmm, that's a tough situation. Obviously you're far stronger than she is and you didn't want her getting hurt. I think that was the right decision objectively. But Videl is awfully stubborn and has a lot of belief in herself and her abilities. So it makes sense why she got so upset too."

"Did I do something bad? I was just so scared she'd be hurt…or worse…" His mother shook her head, a comforting smile on her face.

"You didn't do anything bad at all. It was just something that frustrated her in the moment. She'll come around soon, I'm sure. She's mellowed out a lot since you first brought her here, you know." As usual, Mom was right. If he had offended the Videl he'd met back in April this badly, she'd probably have given him the cold shoulder for days or even weeks. But now that they were dating, she'd let her walls down and become so much warmer.

"How long do you think she'll need?"

"Hmm…could be a few hours, could be overnight. I'd be surprised if you didn't hear something from her by tomorrow morning at the latest. But honestly, my bets are on tonight." Her smile was widening by the second. She was really pleased with herself and it was making Gohan feel lighter than he had all evening.

"So what should I do in the future Mom? I don't want Videl to get hurt but I don't want to make her feel this way any time we face someone that can do things she can't…"

"Why not train her?" Gohan felt his mouth fall open. His mother was suggesting training? It was Videl who would be learning of course, but she had certainly surprised him with her openness to his continued martial arts practice since his birthday. She continued, smirking at him.

"She's as hardheaded as me or Bulma, that's for sure. The best you're going to get in this situation is to train her and teach her how to handle herself the way you do so she's not in danger when she fights. She's never going to just sit at home and let you fight all by yourself." Gohan smiled at the thought.

"You're right; she'd probably start taking swings at me if I ever suggested that. I just still get scared that someone way stronger than her might overwhelm her, like her fight at the tournament…"

"You shouldn't keep beatin' yourself up for that son," came Goku's familiar voice from nearby. He had just entered the room from the kitchen, a serene smile on his face. Gohan gazed at him with surprise on his face while Chi-Chi just watched, her eyes sparkling.

"Seriously," he continued, stepping a bit closer. "Your mom's right; Videl does have pride in herself. Sometimes to the same level as Vegeta! And that's scary…but that was part of the reason I tried to get you to calm down back at the tournament. She would have surrendered if she wanted to. Maybe it's my own Saiyan pride that made me feel like we shouldn't intervene if she didn't want our help. But still, it wasn't your fault what happened that day."

"I know…I just…I hated seeing her in pain like that."

"Of course you did! I feel the same way when I watch you or Goten fight."

"You do?"

"Yeah! You're my sons! I want you to fight and get as strong as you can and give you every opportunity to do that! But it's not like I ever feel happy that my sons are gettin' smacked around by whoever they're fighting."

"And whose fault was it that my Gohan wound up fighting Cell all those years ago?" Chi-Chi argued, her eyes narrowing at her husband. Goku laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head, trying to play it off. Gohan drew their focus back to the situation at hand quickly; he knew where this conversation might lead otherwise.

"Dad, how do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Let go of the fear and worry you have for us when we fight. How do you look at an enemy like Buu and trust that Goten and Trunks will be able to hold their own? Don't you get scared?" Goku finally sat down nearby, looking deliberately at Gohan.

"I may not always show it, but sometimes I'm terrified. When I sent you out against Cell, I knew you could beat him. But there was still a part of me as your father that was scared to put all that pressure on you. The same was true last month with Goten."

"Then how do you get past that fear?"

"I let myself trust their strength more than I doubt it." Gohan eyed his father incredulously, but the man didn't say another word, instead grinning like it was the most natural response in the world.

"That's all?"

"Yep! I trusted your strength to defeat Cell more than I believed you'd crack under the pressure. That's all there was to it!"

"Goku, that's a bit less helpful than you might think," Chi-Chi interjected, rolling her eyes. Gohan chuckled and shook his head, though.

"It's okay Mom. Actually, it does help. I really do need to learn to trust Videl a bit more in battle. I know she's a fighter so I'll just have to teach her how to use her ki even better so she can deal with surprises like today if they come up. I'll have to trust her strength more than I worry about her getting hurt," he echoed, earning a lopsided grin from his father.

"That's the spirit! Let me know if you need someone to help demonstrate some techniques for her! We could get a little sparring session going ourselves to show her the ropes!"

"Goku," Chi-Chi warned, "don't make Videl's lessons into a training opportunity for yourself."

"I wasn't doing that, honest!"

"Uh huh. I've heard that one before."

The first truly genuine laugh since earlier that afternoon escaped Gohan's lips and his parents both smiled warmly. "Thanks Mom, thanks Dad."

"Oh, by the way, you should still make it up to her with something special,' Chi-Chi told him directly. "Just because you weren't wrong doesn't mean she won't appreciate the gesture."

"I was already planning to, don't worry," he reassured her.

"I have such a wonderful gentleman of a son! We raised him right Goku!"

"I'll say," his father chimed in, "he might even be stronger than me!" Chi-Chi sighed heavily.

"I raised him right."

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Gohan couldn't help but laugh again.

His parents had done a wonderful job making his heart feel much lighter tonight. It was reassuring too that he'd witnessed innumerable fights between Mom and Dad growing up, usually about him participating in a fight or not. But they had always come through it okay and he knew they loved each other more than anything or anyone else in the world. Except perhaps he and Goten. It gave him confidence, though, that he and Videl would be just fine, with a little time. And if it really came to it, he already had his 'something special' planned for her, too.

Gohan grabbed some books and set up in the living room so he could get some more studying done. Goten had tired himself out training all day and had already passed out in their shared bedroom, so Gohan had opted for the couch so he didn't disturb his little brother. It wasn't that late - just around 10:15 - and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep yet anyway.

He had anxiously checked his phone almost every minute, but had found no messages or calls from Videl to greet him. 'It'll be okay. She just needs to cool off some. Trust her; she loves you just as much as you love her."

All the reassurances in the world couldn't calm his mind tonight, though. So he had decided to distract himself, not with midterm studies – he was more than prepared for those – but with his own personal research project instead. He hadn't had much of a chance to read the books Dad had gotten him for his birthday, so he was excited to dig into them. With a little luck, they'd be enough to occupy his mind tonight.

Cracking open Martial Arts Styles of Past Ages, Gohan let his mind be absorbed by the text. Books had become quite the lovely pastime for him since the Cell Games. Where he had once dreaded the sight of textbooks and study material, his newfound love of knowledge had allowed him to gain a much deeper appreciation of them in the past seven years.

He was a quick reader and had soon progressed through about a quarter of the book. So far, there was no mention of ki at all. Aside from the general history of his fighting techniques, he was mostly interested in learning if ki was something that was ever mentioned in these texts at all. There was a time when the world had been more accepting towards the idea of the kind of energy he took for granted, but in the last two decades that belief had all but been erased. Gohan chuckled lightly to himself. Mr. Satan may have had more to do with it than Gohan would ever want to tell him. That was okay though; it made keeping their existences and powers simpler.

Part of him idly wondered if the general public would ever accept that idea of ki. So much of the world believed it to be parlor tricks and illusions since Cell. There had been a time when the Z Warriors had been known fairly well and respected as heroes and saviors of Earth. But since the Androids had first arrived, things had changed. Gohan was curious though: how much could peoples' general quality of life improve if they understood even just a little more about ki?

He didn't envision everyone on Earth flying around on their own merits; that would be far too much to expect of regular humans anyway. But what he did imagine was a world where that energy could be used to help others. A world where martial artists could further their potential for strength through mental and physical training with the energy source, reaching heights they could never have imagined before. Perhaps there was a day in the future where humans would actually be able to defend themselves from some of the threats that came to their planet, instead of always relying on a singular group of fighters.

Speaking of ki, he also had to make sure he understood enough to really teach Videl how to use it effectively. Maybe a trip to the Lookout was in order; Piccolo could help him make sure his teachings were focused on the right things. There were so many different aspects to teach her about the energy source. Proper control of it was pivotal to her growth as a warrior, after all. The first thing he wanted to teach her, though, was how to properly deflect ki blasts. That was a huge blind spot in her defenses that had caught her off-guard twice and he wasn't just about to let her go through that again.

A gentle buzzing on his lap stole his attention suddenly – his phone. Glancing at it nervously, Gohan felt his heart leap as he read the name of the sender: 'Del. His mind came to a screeching halt, every other thought vanishing almost instantly. Unlocking his phone, Gohan was a bit perplexed by the message. It was short and sweet.

[Gohan? Will you come outside please?]

Confusion obvious on his face, the young Saiyan stood and placed his book down on the table, approaching the front door and opening it slowly. Glancing outside, he saw Videl waiting for him. She had clearly come here pretty suddenly; she was wearing a baggy hoodie and jogging sweats, not the usual outfits she preferred to wear out. Her eyes were somber and couldn't meet his gaze, he noticed.

"H-hey," she managed, her voice timid and awkward.

"Hey! You flew all the way out here this late 'Del? You didn't have to do that, you could've just called," he told her gently. In all honesty though, he was thrilled to see her. Overjoyed even. But he felt bad that she had flown to Mt. Paozu by herself.

"It's okay, I wanted to. Actually, Papa thought I should do it too," she explained, a tiny smile appearing on her face.

"Wow, that's pretty surprising! He's come a long way since May, huh?" They laughed lightly together, the sound of her precious giggling warming his heart like nothing else could.

"He really has. But…I have a long way to go," she began, steeling herself. She took a deep breath and finally managed to meet his eyes.

"Darling…I'm really sorry about earlier."

10/21/2022

Post-Chapter Note: Hey again! I hope you enjoyed reading! So like I mentioned before, I had a hell of a time with some of these scenes. The only two that actually started to flow the way they usually do were the ballroom dance entrance (not the fight so much) and Gohan talking to Goku and Chi-Chi at home. Everything else was a bit of a slog to get through.

I think part of the reason I struggled so much writing this chapter was the fact that I was wading into Gohan and Videl's first fight. All the fluffy, cute date stuff flows so easily from my mind when I write it, but I had to really take my time with the argument. Videl as a character has always been pretty brazen and outspoken, but the Videl I've settled into writing is kind of the bridge between her DBZ self and her DBS self, so it was hard to make her angry at Gohan without her coming off as just a big ol' jerk. I hope I did an okay job with it - I wrote and rewrote and rewrote that scene until I didn't hate it, but I'm still not entirely sure I "like" it.

On a more fun and interesting note, I figured I'd explain how I came up with the names for the group that Gohan and Videl fought at the warehouse. Some of Toriyama-san's names are based on a category of object, of course (Sharpner and Erasa being stationary tools, Briefs and Trunks beings different kinds of undergarments), but he also uses the syllables of certain Japanese words that have a similar meaning to the type of character he's creating and edits them into a proper name. So I used that method for the four criminals the Saiya Squad fought. It was a fun little exercise in coming up with names that might fit into the Dragonball Universe!

Criminal = hanzai-teki = Han

Thief = dorobo = Doro

Crook = sagi-shi = Sagi

Robber = gōtō = Goto

Anyway, thank you so much for reading this new chapter! Sorry it's a little shorter this time, but I just couldn't fit the next scene into this chapter without pushing the page average a bit further than I wanted to. And honestly, for the difficulties I had writing this week, I was just glad for it to be done so I could focus on editing and fixing things up (and there was quite a bit of work to do on that front). I do hope you enjoyed it despite the challenges and I hope next time catches your interest as well. We're getting into the meat of the subplots at last and I'm excited to share what I have planned with you all! Thanks so much for reading and I'll see you next time!