Author's Note: Even if I did not win in the Sennenki --- with this fic as the entry --- here I am with the double-chapter update I promised. This is to show my appreciation to all of you who have supported me through this project. I hope you'll enjoy my little present here.

I don't know how many chapters there will be after these two, but we are definitely nearing the ending of this story... probably just two chapters or so after this, the epilogue included. I also don't know if you'll like the ending or not, but as I said in my Yahoo! Group, DBZAHQ, there will be a sequel, entitled Killing Me Softly.

Please review!

Fueled by Anger, Driven by Despair
Chapter Eleven: Two Men, One Face


"Gohan, what's happening out there?! What---"

The blonde-haired young woman who stood beside Gohan with a smug, almost sinister grin on her face made Videl back off and pale evidently. So this was it, then --- Gohan and Erasa have been plotting against her all through this time, and they've never changed. The I don't love you anymore speech was merely an act, an obvious set-up, and the two of them were still allies all along. The thought made Videl grimace; it was obvious, but she fell for it.

But... there was an odd gleam in Gohan's eyes...

Before Videl could figure out what the young man's silent eye signals meant, she was interrupted by a high-pitched laugh, full of amusement and malice, from her former best friend who was now her worst enemy. Erasa. "Well, well... here we are, face to face once again. Thought I'd let you get away that easily? I don't think so," she said with a sneer. "I've worked so hard to attain this life... and you will not destroy what I've managed to build!"

"You worked so hard to make my life miserable in order to make yours joyful, I suppose that's what you just said?" Videl countered coolly, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Very funny. I thought you were my best friend, Erasa."

"I was your best friend, Videl... until you got in the way of my happiness. It was then when I realized, what good would a best friend do if I'd be in misery for the rest of my life? I had to choose between you or that happiness... and I picked the latter, because people change. I knew that sooner or later, I will lose you as my friend. I mean, look at you. You're the cream of the crop. You're wanted wherever you go. What about me? Yes, people like me, but only because I'm rich, because I have the wealth. You have everything you could ever want---"

The raven-haired woman scoffed, rolling her blue eyes as she did so. "I had everything I could ever want, but you took them all away from me. Stop your dramatics, Erasa. It doesn't suit a devil like you," she spat, bracing herself for a fiery response from her two opponents. However, Gohan apparently did not care about the situation, and what the girls were talking about, as he paced around the room and examined the artifacts that were in the old mansion --- almost as if he hadn't been there before, or he had been there but he couldn't remember.

"The rough-and-tough mask you're wearing doesn't suit a wuss like you either," Erasa snapped with drastically narrowed eyes.

"Wuss?" Videl asked in an amused tone. "Thanks to you, Erasa, I'm no longer one. I've learned things the hard way, and I've learned to stand up against my oppresors without fear and hesitation. I'll kill if I must. After all, we're talking about survival as a way of life here --- it's kill or be killed." Then, to the other's surprise, she drew a pistol from under her sleeve, and pointed it at Erasa, ready to pull the trigger at a moment's notice. "And I won't be killed. You will be. But first... talk."

"What d-do you want to know?" the other young woman asked, trying to maintain her composure despite of the panic that was surging through her. She glanced uneasily at Gohan, her eyes practically begging for help, but Videl only moved closer and tightened her grip on the weapon at her hand.

"Everything," she replied. "And Gohan... do not interfere."

The command was unnecessary, however, as Gohan was practically non-existent at the moment. He prowled through the artifacts silently like a curious buyer and examined them one by one as if he was the only one in the room and the two ladies weren't having a conversation.

Erasa took a deep breath. "Very well, then," she gave in, her voice rather distant. "It was... two years ago, give or take a few months, when I found out that you and Gohan were actually a couple. An official one at that --- he asked you out to be his girl and you agreed. I laughed about it at first, as I was so sure that Chichi will never approve of your relationship. A few days later, when I was at the Son house babysitting Goten and Trunks as Chichi asked me to --- for everyone else was practically busy doing their own thing --- I overheard Goten's confession to his best friend that you were going to elope. And in utter luck, he gave out the exact date and time to the curious Trunks. I wanted to stop it so badly, as I was head over heels in love with Gohan, so I asked Sharpner to help me."

Gohan was suddenly very uninterested with the artifacts, and without a word he stepped out of the room.

"Sharpner didn't want it to happen either," the blonde girl continued ignoring Gohan's departure. "He wanted you more than anyone else. So he agreed to help me, and we plotted a way to wreck the event and have each of you to ourselves. The car accident Gohan got himself in? We set it up. Nasty, but it was the only way to clear us out of the situation. I even prayed that the blow would be hard enough for Gohan to lose his memory. And Sharpner... well, he did his thing." She paused to look at Videl, the corners of her mouth twisting into a sardonic smile. "We then celebrated, after we managed to drive you out of our paths by putting you in jail for a crime you did not commit. Brilliant, wasn't it? The celebration went deeper than expected, though..."

The ebony-eyed, raven-haired young man who was bound and gagged by the door of the bedroom chamber, finally regained consciousness after being out cold for quite sometime --- and he was just in time to absorb bits and pieces of Erasa's confession. Even at his rather dazed state, he still managed to process the information clearly in his mind.

I wanted to stop it so badly, as I was head over heels in love with Gohan, so I asked Sharpner to help me.

A scowl formed on his pale features, and from the way his face twisted, one could tell that he cursed violently, although the gag muffled the foul words, to his disappointment. He quickly rolled over to his side and attempted to rip the ropes off, but it was to no avail. Whoever tied him up was determined that he would stay that way.

Sharpner didn't want it to happen either. He wanted you more than anyone else. So he agreed to help me, and we plotted a way to wreck the event and have each of you to ourselves. The car accident Gohan got himself in? We set it up.

Eyes narrowing drastically, he reached into the back pocket of his trousers. At first, he was having an awfully hard time --- he wriggle and twisted his body for him to be able to stretch that far --- and finally, he managed to pull out his handy pocket knife. He then slid the blade out, and began cutting the ropes that bound him. As he did so, he strained his head for him to hear more of the conversation from within.

We then celebrated, after we managed to drive you out of our paths by putting you in jail for a crime you did not commit. Brilliant, wasn't it? The celebration went deeper than expected, though...

The rope snapped into two, and he was free. He quickly pulled off the gag and took a few, deep breaths --- before he turned to barge into the party he was supposed to be in. He froze, however, upon hearing Erasa's next words... because as plain and as unimportant as they seemed, they were words he did not expect to hear.

"Sharpner got me pregnant that night. We both got drunk --- we couldn't help it, we were partying --- and had a good time. It was on that very same night when it happened. I was furious when I found out about it in the morning, because our efforts had come to nothing. Even with you out of the way, I wouldn't be able to marry Gohan, because I was pregnant with somebody else's baby. But I didn't want to kill the child --- after all, it didn't seem necessary at that time. So I killed him instead, to shut him up completely. Then, I waited for Gohan to snap out of his coma, and with my brilliant mind, I thought of using the baby to force Gohan to marry me... and it worked. His mind was pretty wacked up, after all---"

"You bi---"

"Do you want to know the whole story or not?!" Erasa snapped, and the other young woman nodded fiercely for her to continue. "Well then if you do, then shut up and let me talk."

Videl gripped the pistol even tighter, her expression grim and sinister. The blonde-haired girl chose to ignore it, however, as she continued narrating her story, the expression her sapphire eyes shifting from amusement to frustration. "Two months later, I realized the mistake of my pregnancy, so I aborted the baby. And for them to think that it happened by accident, I pretended to have fallen down the stairs, crying oh so pitifully from that juncture. Oh Gohan, I didn't want to lose him... If I only hadn't been so stupid, Gohan... Gohan, oh Gohan I'm so sorry... Pathetic, but I couldn't think of any other stunt to put up. But then again, it worked. Gohan comforted me --- many, many nights he did, until that one special night when we conceived the product of our love."

"Yeah, right," Videl muttered under her breath.

"And so we lived happily... until you returned," Erasa hissed, her voice dropping. "There. I told you what you wanted to know, and I did not miss out anything important? Any other questions, before I go?"

"Let me go, you frickin' bastard! Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?!"

Their gazes snapped towards the door as it slammed open, and Gohan returned, his expression still as cool as ever --- and he was dragging the young man who was once bound and gagged inside the room, his arms locked on the other's neck and upper torso to prevent the latter from escaping. "You know this man, Videl?" Gohan asked as he tightened his grip, although a strange hint of amusement could be seen in his onyx eyes that the young woman he referred to could not seem to comprehend.

"Eiyu..." Videl whispered in recognition. "Gohan, let him go!"

"EIYU?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! I'M GOHAN, NOT EIYU!" the prisoner yelled at the top of his lungs as he struggled to break free from his captor's grip --- but the other was strong. He decided to change tactics, into something less energy-consuming yet more effective. "Videl, my love... it's me, I'M Gohan!"

Erasa let out a gasp, her cerulean orbs wide open in utter shock. "You... both of you... you look..."

"Alike," Gohan finished helpfully before he took out a similar pistol from his side and aimed it at his captive's head. "Didn't you wonder why I didn't show you his face before we barged in here, Erasa? Didn't you wonder why I've been cool-headed all the while, despite Videl's insults directed to yourself? Didn't you wonder why I wasn't shocked when I brought him here, when we look stunningly... similar?"

The face of Gohan's captive was already as white as sheet, and he was trembling visibly. "Stop claiming to be me, intruder," he growled, although his voice had a slight quiver, which, unfortunately, was noticeable enough. "I'm Gohan, and you know that."

"I never claimed to be you," 'Gohan' replied with a smile. "I found myself wanting to for a couple of times, yes, but after meeting your rather... bitchy... wife, I changed my mind completely."

He paused to look at their reactions, and he had the guilty satisfaction of seeing their panicked faces. He was extremely pleased with teh way their mouths hung open and the way their eyes stared at him in utter disbelief. He took the opportunity and decided that it was the perfect time to introduce himself. After all, they weren't properly introduced. "By the way, I'm Eiyu. Eiyu Nakasone," he said with a smirk, the energetic gleam back in his eyes. "May I ask your name?"