Chapter 3

A good thirty minutes had passed after the final bell had rung, signaling the end of the long school day. Gohan journeyed through the halls in hopes that he might find Videl so he could thank her, but figured she was most likely long gone by then along with most everybody else. Still, it didn't hurt to look though.

"Hey Gohan! Uh… That's your name isn't it?" A female voice asked excitedly.

Gohan turned towards the voice and smiled. It was the same girl that Rico had been sexually harassing just a few minutes before, and along with her brother had slipped away somewhere during the fight. "Hey there. Hope your okay? That Rico jerk didn't rattle you too much did he?"

"Oh no, I don't let scum like that affect me," she replied, blushing slightly. "I'm glad I ran into you. I wanted to thank you for helping me, and my brother out back there. He wanted to thank you himself, but he had to run home."

"That's okay, I don't even need any thanks, though it's appreciated. I was doing what I thought was right is all."

"That was really brave of you, you know," she said rather shyly, still blushing like an overripe tomato. Gohan noticed this, and wondered if she had some kind of weird skin disorder. "I really do appreciate it. If there's anything I can do to repay you just say the word… By the way, my name is Kamari."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Kamari," Gohan smiled sweetly. "Don't you worry about repaying me. It's all in a day's work helping out a pretty lady and all."

Kamari's face burned even brighter. "Oh please stop, your embarrassing me! Well, I guess I better be going now. I'll see you later Gohan… I hope."

"Bye-bye Kamari." Gohan watched curiously, as Kamari walked away turning back around to wave at him before disappearing down the hall. He wondered why she was giggling when she walked by him. "That was strange. Do I have something on my nose?"

"Ah, isn't that cute," Ryo teased, as he suddenly appeared at Gohan's side. "I think somebody has a crush on you Gohan."

Now it was Gohan who was lighting up like a lava lamp. "What are you talking about?! So I helped her and her brother out, that doesn't mean she has a crush on me or anything!"

"Actually, that's probably exactly why she does," Ryo disagreed. "Besides the fact that it is kind of obvious. When girls blush like that around you, and flirt with you like that, they obviously have a thing for you Gohan."

"It doesn't mean that Ryo! A lot of different girls act that way around me, and…" Gohan's mouth dropped, and his face flushed a deep red as that realization sunk in. "Oh…"

"Well duh," Ryo said, trying his best not to laugh at the look on Gohan's face. "Your really naïve when it comes to things like this aren't you Gohan? When you see those girls staring at you and giggling, they're not laughing at you Gohan. Most of them are talking about you because they think you're cute."

"But… but…How do you handle it then?"

Now it was Ryo's turn to blush. "What do you mean? What makes you think I'd know?"

Gohan's face remained serious and innocent. "Well, I see girls do the exact same thing to you all the time, so I just figured you knew how to deal with it already."

"What are you talking about?! No, they don't!"

Gohan smiled evilly seeing his chance for revenge. "Now who's being naïve? You're just as bad as I am, face it. I've seen girls act the same way around you all the time! I just thought that was the way they made fun of dorks around here."

"Can we drop the subject, and not talk about this!"

"That's just fine with me," Gohan replied very relieved. "By the way, you haven't seen Videl around have you?"

Ryo smiled in a way Gohan couldn't quite decipher. "Yeah, she just walked out the door a minute ago. If you hurry you might catch her before she hops into her chopper."

"Thanks Ryo." Gohan was ready to rush out to look for her when Ryo stopped him.

"Oh, by the way," Ryo said, his expression turning very serious. "You might want to keep an eye on her until you guys are off of school grounds today, and watch your own back while your at it. I have a sinking feeling something bad is in the works."

Gohan eyed Ryo suspiciously wondering what he could possibly be getting at. He shook it off quickly, and darted off to find Videl. "Thanks Ryo… I'll keep my eyes open."

Gohan tried not to think much of Ryo's warning, but it just seemed to stick somewhere in the back of his mind. It wasn't that he feared for his own safety or anything like that, he just wanted to know what it was exactly that Ryo thought he knew and, if he did, how he knew it. All thoughts of that encounter were instantly forgotten when he spotted Videl almost as soon as he exited the building. She had already pulled her dino-cap from her pocket, when she heard someone calling her name. She frowned a bit at first, not in the mood to talk to anyone since she just wanted to get home, but when she realized it was Gohan calling out to her she had to fight back a smile from crossing her lips.

"Hey Gohan, you need something?" Videl asked, trying her best to sound disinterested with everything around her as usual.

"Nothing much," Gohan responded almost shyly as he approached her. "I just wanted to thank you for sticking up for me to the principal after that fight I got into earlier. I thought I was in real trouble there for a minute, they were all but ready to suspend me if you hadn't done what you did."

"Don't mention it, it was no problem," Videl dismissed the act like it was nothing. "You know it was noble of you to stick up for those kids like that." Videl allowed a small grin to cross her lips as she said that for just a moment before her face quickly turned seriously. "Still, I wouldn't advise that you do that again in the future. Rico and his thug friends aren't your ordinary juvenile delinquents, they can get very dangerous when they want to be. If I were you I'd leave the tough guy antics at home, and leave that kind of work to me before you get yourself hurt. No offense, but I've had a lot more experience and training dealing with this type of scum then you have."

"Is that so?" Gohan nearly laughed. If you only knew Videl. I've fought with super powered monkey's bent on total destruction of our planet, an evil tyrant bent on conquering the universe, and marauding androids one being the creep your father took the credit for riding the world of. I think I can handle a couple of street punks with serious hygiene problems. "I'll keep that in mind Videl, but don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"So I can see," Videl smirked, and eyed him questioningly. "So tell me Gohan, just where did you learn to take a punch like that?"

Gohan sweat dropped. "Oh that... Well, I've been training in martial arts for years with my dad and his friends, and they can hit a lot harder then Rico can. Compared to some of the blows I've taken from them, Rico's punch was almost like getting hit in the face with a pillow," Gohan answered truthfully, conveniently leaving out the parts about aliens and other things she didn't need to know about. "To tell you the truth, I don't think Rico is half as tough as he thinks he is."

"Your probably right there," Videl agreed. "Martial arts training huh?"

"There they are," a raspy voice sneered from a car hidden somewhere in the shadows.

"I see them Biggs… This is almost to perfect," Rico chuckled as he glared at his two targets. They were standing out in the open alone by one of the side entrances to the school that was little used. Rico could only make out the back of Videl's head from the back alley their car was parked in, but he could see Gohan's face all too clearly. "We better hurry. Start the car Gunther!"

"Are you sure you want to do this Rico?" the spiky haired blond asked nervously. "Don't you think this is a little much? Couldn't we just jump him after school, and rough him up or something?"

"Stop talking like a pussy Gunther! Nobody makes an ass out of me like that! Nobody, and that scrawny son of a bitch is going to pay! Now since that little brat Videl is with him, I can kill two birds with one stone. Now shut up, and start the car!"

"Okay… If you say so," Gunther sighed, as he started the car. He really didn't want to go through with his, but he feared Rico might take his frustrations out on him if he didn't comply.

Rico cackled, and he pushed a fresh clip into his handgun as the car slowly crept out of its hiding spot. "So, you can take a punch can you Gohan? Let's see if your bullet proof too."

"What the?" Videl said at the sound of a vehicle accelerating, and from the sound of it heading in their direction. Gohan looked out at the speeding car equally as puzzled.

"Hey super dork! I've got your kryptonite right here!" Rico pointed his gun out of the window and fired, ringing out several shots until the barrel was empty.

It took exactly one second for both Gohan and Videl to realize what was going down, and they were both thinking the exact same thing. Get the other out of harms way, and they both reacted at the same time.

"Look out!" Videl shouted as she grabbed him by the bands of his black over shirt intending on pulling him to the ground with her. Much to her surprise, Gohan didn't budge. The next thing she knew she felt Gohan's arm wrap around her with surprising strength, and dropped to his knees making sure none of Videl's body was exposed. Her eyes widened, surprised by how easily he overpowered her, and by the fact that he was literally using his body as a human shield to protect her.

Gohan held on to Videl tight, as he felt three little pings bounce off his back. He listened as the car sped off into traffic, and quickly let go of Videl once he was sure the coast was clear. They both shot up quickly and stared off in the direction the hoods had drove off in, and then looked back at each other allowing the same question to roll off their tongues. "Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Gohan answered first, fairly certain he already knew what Videl's answer was going to be.

"Damn, that was nuts! What were those creeps thinking?!"

"That's the problem, they don't think!" Videl fumed. "That's what I meant when I said they aren't your normal hoodlums! You see why you shouldn't be messing with them?! They must be out of their minds! Do they have any idea how many people they could've hurt or killed!"

"They obviously didn't care. I better go call the police," Gohan lied, as he ran off. He had much different plans in mind, but he couldn't let Videl in on them.

"You go do that," Videl said to herself, after Gohan was well out of earshot. She pulled a tiny capsule out of her pocket, and tossed it to the ground watching as her chopper materialized behind the usual cloud of dust. "In the meantime I'm going after those dirt bags before they get any farther away. There's no way I'm letting them get away with what they just pulled!"

"Turn down this road Gunther!" Rico ordered his friend in the driver's seat. "It's an old back road no one uses anymore. It leads to an old dirt road leading to the middle of nowhere. We need to get out of sight before the police come looking for us. They'll never find us out here, do we can hang out until the heat's off."

"I can't believe you just did that man!" Gunther said, as the old dirt road Rico had promised quickly came into view. "What do we do if we get caught?! This is serious Rico! We're in deep shit now!"

"Stop your whining and keep driving! We're not going to get caught! No one knows where we're going, even if anybody knows we're even responsible yet."

"Hey, what's that?" Biggs asked, after hearing something in the background that sounded a lot like helicopter blades spinning.

"Yeah, I hear it to. Sounds like a chopper, but…" Rico face faulted. "AWE SHIT!"

"Stop your vehicle now creeps!" Videl ordered, her voice booming over the police intercom built into her chopper. "Don't you know drive-by shootings are a serious crime in this country! Not to mention the penalty for two counts of attempted murder!"

Rico face faulted again. "Attempted murder?! Damn, I didn't get either one of them!"

"Oh, this is just great Rico!" Gunther groaned. "Our asses are going to wind up in jail for the rest of our lives, and you didn't even hit your target!"

"Shut up and drive Gunther! Nobody's going to jail!"

"Pull over, and come out with your hands up!" Videl boomed. "Don't make me come down there and get you!"

Rico poked his head out of the car window, and shook his fist up at her helicopter in defiance. "Bring it on little missy!"

"Little missy!" Videl growled. "That's it! These morons are going down!"

Videl positioned her chopper directly above the speeding vehicle before switching the controls to auto pilot. She slid open the chopper doors, and timing everything perfectly, jumped out and landed on the hood of the getaway car.

"She's on the roof!" Biggs deduced after hearing a thud from above.

"Then just don't sit there you idiot!" Rico pushed him towards the window. "Get up there and get her!"

Biggs looked at his friend like he was crazy before reluctantly replying to his demand, and rolling down the window. He poked his head and shoulders out the window, and looked up to find Videl standing on the edge of the roof looking down at him.

"Don't you know it's dangerous to stick your head out of a car window? Get back inside!" Videl shot her leg out quickly, her foot connecting with the boy's face. Biggs slingshot back inside, landing in Rico's lap. Little X's formed in his eyes as he moaned incoherently.

"Get off of me!" Rico shouted, throwing Biggs's body down on the floorboard.

"I could've gone to law school like mom wanted," Gunther rambled while watching the road flying by in front of him. "But no, I had to be a rebel! I had to be a tough guy! If I had to be a crooked sleaze ball I could've at least become a lawyer, and have gotten paid a lot of money for it!"

"Whine, moan, bitch!" Rico spat, as he slid a fresh clip into his gun. "I think this car could use one less hood ornament." Rico pointed his gun at the roof and fired.

"Whoa!" Videl gasped, as she danced out of the way of several bullets being fired from inside the car. She grunted in determination, and dropped on all fours searching for the best place to enter the vehicle. It didn't look like anyone was riding in the passenger seat, so she decided there would be the best place for entry.

"Crap," Rico whispered, realizing none of the shots had hit their intended target. "Gunther, stop the car!"

"Excuse me?"

"Just do it! Slam on the breaks now!"

Confused, Gunther did as he was told anyway. Videl was just then pulling her fist back to break through the glass of the passenger side window, when the car came to a screeching halt. Videl screamed as she was sent flying off the car, and braced herself to make contact with the unforgiving ground. However, that never happened. Videl opened her eyes to find she was floating in mid-air, no actually being carried. She looked up into the face of a young man with turquoise shaded eyes, and spiky golden hair smiling down at her. "Hey, look what I caught."

Videl blushed unsure of what surprised her more. The fact that this guy happened to be in just the right spot to catch her, or the fact that he was flying. Remembering the situation, she shook off her stupor and frowned at the man who's arms she was cradled up in. "Look, I appreciate you catching me and everything, but if you don't mind… PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

"If you insist," Gohan smirked, obviously in his Super Sayian form. He stopped in mid-air and promptly dropped Videl down on her butt."

"Ouch!" Videl cried, as she rubbed the small of her back. "You didn't have to drop me you jerk!"

"Well, maybe next time you should show a little more appreciation." Gohan smiled realizing this really must be the way she greets everyone she meets for the first time. Or maybe with that Satan pride in her, she just hated it when she had to be helped out. "Now if you'll excuse me I have to go stop that car."

"Excuse me?" Videl asked, then watched in amazement as he flew out into the center of the dirt road. What Videl didn't know was that they had gotten considerably farther ahead of Rico and his friends, who were now once again speeding forward in their direction. Gohan waited patiently as their car came into view, barreling towards him going at least ninety-five miles and hour, kicking up dust as the wheels tore up the road.

"Who the heck is that?" Gunther asked noticing some strange looking guy with blond hair standing in the middle of the road.

"I don't know, I guess some idiot standing out in the middle of the road. Don't worry about it, he'll move."

"Rico, he's not moving," Gunther said anxiously, as they closed in on him.

"Man this guy is whacked," Rico said. "Don't worry about it. He's obviously nuts, so you might as well just mow him down and put him out of his misery."

Both boys eyes widened as they closed in, close enough to notice Gohan was smiling at them. "Rico something's wrong here!"


"Is he out of his mind?!"

"What's going on?" Biggs stammered, as he finally came to.

"What the hell are you doing?! Get out of the way before they run you over!" Videl screamed at the golden haired boy, but he just seemed to ignore her. She flirted with the thought of running out there and pushing him out of the way, but by the time she decided to make a move she realized it was already too late. She closed her eyes and cringed, as the speeding car hit the young man head on.

Gohan's smile widened as the car approached, and stuck his foot out. The sounds of screeching metal ripped through the air, as the car split in half both sections clanking to a thud a few feet behind him. Wearing a smile only a Sayian was capable of marshalling, Gohan turned to examine the carnage left behind him. Gunther was fastened snuggly into his seat, which was now sitting in the middle of the road, still clutching on to the steering wheel. The only two parts of the car left completely intact. Biggs was lying across some of the debris, knocked out cold for the third time in the last hour. Rico would be in definite need of a chiropractor, hunched over on his neck like a pretzel with his legs pointing towards the sky in about the most uncomfortable fashion imaginable. Gohan quickly rounded up the three hoodlums, and piled them up in the middle of the dirt road, all three too dumfounded to put up even the tiniest bit of resistance. They remained completely quiet and still, except for a little nervous twitching, as they stared up at who was most definitely some kind of monster in their eyes.

Gohan peered over at the side of the road where Videl was standing, gawking at the scene in front of her with her mouth hanging open and her eyes as wide as saucers. Once Videl noticed the golden guy was looking in her direction she quickly shook off the shock, and glared at Gohan suspiciously. "What the he… How the?!… What the heck do you think your doing?!"

"Well, in case you didn't notice I think I just stopped three crooks from making their getaway." Gohan frowned slightly growing irritated with the way Videl was treating him. He was only trying to help her out after all.

Videl placed her fists on her hips, and frowned. "Well, it's not that I don't appreciate the help, but I could've handled things here myself! I'm trained and licensed to do this kind of thing, and I don't need some super-charged vigilante trying to play superman running around and risking botching everything up! I don't care what kind of tricks you used to tare up that car, and make yourself look like you can fly!"

"Tricks?" Gohan raised an eyebrow. "Aw forget about it. Look, I didn't mean to get in your way, but I had a personal issue to settle with these creeps. They're all yours now. You might want to call a cop car or something to come get these guys. Later."

Videl's eyes bugged out again as the golden guy took flight, and flew off at amazing speed. "Maybe he really can fly… Weird. Oh well, might as well call the captain, so he can send someone to come pick up this garbage."

Videl placed a call into the station only to find a car was already on it's way. Videl smiled remembering Gohan saying that he was going to call the police. Videl's brow lowered over her eyes, as she thought about the matter further. "Wait a minute… Gohan?" Videl looked back up in the direction that strange guy just flew off in. "No, it couldn't be. Gohan's a lot better looking then that guy was. Still… I think I need to get back to the school, and do a little investigating."

All of a sudden a violent stench attacked the air, forcing Videl to grab at her nose. "Ewe gross! Which one of you three let loose in your pants?!"

********

Gohan wasn't exactly sure where he wanted to go, but he knew he didn't want to go home quite yet. He needed to blow off some steam first, and he finally decided to head back towards the school. He doubted the one reason he had to go back there was still there, but it was worth the shot none the less. Making sure the cost was clear, Gohan landed safely to the ground without being noticed, and finally allowed his mouth to spout out the full blown rant that had been building up since Rico tried to gun him down.

"I can't believe those guys! All I did was embarrass them a little bit, which they deserved, and they want to turn around and try to take my life because of it! If I was anyone else I'd be dead right now! No wonder that kid wouldn't stand up to them… He probably knew exactly what they were like. Worst of all, they could've hurt Videl or somebody else just trying to get to me! What the hell is wrong with them?! I'll tell you, those kind of people don't deserve to be walking the streets, and if I had it my way I'd remove them all personally!"

As luck would have it, Gohan's excuse for coming was gratified. Ryo was still on school grounds, or he was just leaving them anyway. Gohan assumed Ryo meant Rico's drive by shooting when he warned him of impending danger earlier that day, and Gohan had been dying to ask him about it since the attack. He didn't suspect Ryo of any particular wrong doing, but it was too much of a coincidence to completely ignore. Besides, he had loads of other questions about him he still wanted answers too. Gohan lowered his Ki as much as he could so he couldn't be sensed. He was going to follow Ryo, and see just what he could find out about this mysterious human.

It hadn't taken long for the police to pick up Rico and his goons, and Videl wasted little time flying her chopper back towards the school. Her first stop was the crime scene where Rico had tried to gun her and Gohan down only moments ago. Her focus at the moment centered on three bullet casings near the wall of the school where they had been fired. "That's funny. I could've sworn I heard six shots, but there's only three bullet shells here. I've looked along the wall, but there's no sign of the other three. Hmm…"

Videl had an idea, but she doubted its legitimacy. It just seemed impossible to her but… She walked out into the grass, searching for the spot where she and Gohan had knelt for cover earlier that afternoon. It was relatively easy to find, for her trained eyes at least, since that section of grass was still slightly flattened out from where their feet and lower bodies had pressed into it. Videl knelt down for a closer look, and her eyes widened as she discovered something. The three missing bullet casings that she was unable to find along the wall. Not only that, but they were flat as pancakes, looking like someone had pounded them repeatedly with a hammer. She surveyed the area around her. There weren't any trees, statues, or anything else strong enough to have blocked the bullets flight path nearby.

"There's no way they could've ricocheted that far after hitting the wall! It's a good fifteen to twenty feet away! But the only target Rico could've possibly hit out here was Gohan… Why am I even considering that! The idea is absolutely crazy, there's no way Gohan could've taken three bullets without so much as a scratch…" Videl's eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. "Unless he's not okay… He could've been hurt badly when he ran off, I didn't even really bother to make find out. I need to find him and make sure."

A mild panic sweeping over her, Videl combed through the immediate area, but didn't find any traces of blood anywhere. That was a good sign, but she still couldn't help but worry. Her first instinct was to run to the nurses office to see if Gohan had stopped by or anything, and if not to track down the handful of people left at the school and interrogate them on what they might have seen after she went after Rico and his gang. Those plans would change three seconds later when she saw none other then Gohan streaking past her form a distance. He was sleeking around in a rather odd manner, giving the impression he was trying to avoid being seen. From where she was standing, Gohan looked perfectly fine to her. Videl frowned at this miffed that she wasted her time worrying about someone who had the nerve to be perfectly fine. There still was that little matter to explaining just how the hell he was perfectly fine after he apparently took three gunshots to his back. Videl wanted answers, and she wanted them right now. She chose to do the only logical thing to do, at least to the impatient and curious type, which she was guilty of both. She was going to follow him.

----------

Ryo was faced with this sinking feeling that someone was following him, and it took him mere seconds to realize the boy known as Gohan was hot on his tail. Ryo tried his best to shake him, but no matter what twists and turns he made Gohan was always right on his heels. Ryo was fairly sure Gohan knew he was on to him, but the boy must've chose to ignore the fact and follow him anyway. He'd managed to give Gohan a bit of the slip, at least to the point where Gohan couldn't see him, but Ryo didn't expect that trend to last very long.

"I wonder if he can sense Ki?" Ryo asked himself. "I guess there's only one way to find out."

Though Ryo had a clear view of the young Demi-Sayian, Ryo was still out of Gohan's range of sight for the moment. Ryo flared up his energy to see if Gohan would react, and sure enough he took the bait. Gohan's head snapped around hastily, searching for the source of the powerful surge of energy. Ryo smiled to himself contently. He had a feeling about this boy since the day he had walked into class, and now he was positive Gohan was exactly who he thought he was.

Pinpointing where the energy had originated from, Gohan was set to make a beeline straight for it's source and finally catch Ryo red handed. He hadn't taken two steps when the feel of another strong Ki closing in on him stopped him dead in his tracks. Gohan shot his head around, and his sharp Sayian eyes caught a brief glimpse of Videl ducking into an alley to hide from his prying eyes. "Videl? What is she doing out here?… Is she following me?"

Ryo laughed slightly as he felt Videl's energy enter the area. It was obvious to him what she was doing. "How about that now? It looks like my stalker has a stalker of his own."

Videl's appearance on the scene distracted Gohan just long enough for Ryo to take advantage of it. He quickly snuck away, choosing to cut through some of the old back allies on his way home. He figured Gohan didn't know his way around the city very well yet, and was counting on this little side-trip to lose his pursuer.

"Damn it!" Gohan cursed, realizing Ryo had given him the slip again. Forgetting all about Videl for the moment, Gohan resumed his chase trying his best to pick up Ryo's Ki. Gohan grinned to himself once he thought he'd finally caught up to it, and from the feel of it he was really close by. Gohan cut into an alley, and his eyes widened at what he found. A dead end and an orange alley cat Gohan had mistaken for Ryo. Gohan sweat dropped before marveling at what Ryo had done to him.

"Amazing… Ryo powered down so low that I confused his Ki with a cat? Either that, or my Sayian senses are getting really dull… I don't…HEY!" Gohan heard a high pitch scream as something rammed into his backside.

"Ah! Oh my head…" Videl moaned in a daze, getting knocked on her butt after running smack into Gohan.

"Are you okay Videl?" Gohan asked worriedly, he himself completely un-phased by Videl's blunder.

"I'm fine!" Videl barked, refusing the hand he offered to help her up. She pushed herself back up to her feet, and stumbled around dizzily clutching her head the entire time. She couldn't explain why, but running into Gohan hurt and it hurt a lot. She thought she had run into walls that hurt less then he did."

"Serves you right," Gohan said, a mischievous smile spreading across his lips. "You shouldn't have been following me around like that."

"I was not following you!" Videl growled angrily, after successfully shaking most of the grogginess out of her head. "Get off yourself, Kami… You make it sound like I'm a love sick puppy or something!"

"I'm sorry I didn't mean it that way." Gohan sweat dropped. He figured he better sooth things over quick, realizing it wasn't a good idea to rib with Videl just yet. "I figured you were probably curious to some things about me that's all…Like how I ripped that locker off the hinges or took that punch from Rico, and you probably thought you could get some answers by following me around right?"

"Well… Yeah there is that, but I had other reason's for wanting to track you down," Videl said, partially admitting what she had denied just moments before. "For one, I wanted to thank you for trying to protect me back there. I could've taken care of myself, but it was a nice jester none the less I guess. That and I wanted to make sure you were all right… I'm sorry, I should've made sure before I ran off after those crooks. And I wasn't following you, I was just looking for you! Trust me, if I was following you, you never would've known about it."

"If you say so…" Gohan said, not masking well the fact that he didn't believe her. "Thanks, but I'm fine. There is an easier way to get answers out of me you know?"

"Like what?"

Gohan extended his hand to Videl, who looked at it slightly puzzled. "You can always ask me about it, and in a little time you might just find out everything about me that you want to know. Maybe we should start over. Hello, my name is Gohan, it's nice to meet you. I'd like to be friends, that is if you'd be willing to grant me that honor."

Videl tried her hardest not to, but she grinned regardless. Yeah, it was a cheesy line, and one Videl normally would've brushed away like a piece of dandruff from just about anybody else. Right now she had to admit it did sound rather cute coming from Gohan, though she wasn't exactly sure why, and judging from what she'd learned to expect from him to that point he probably meant it to. She hesitated a second or two to make it look like she had to think it over first before finally accepting his hand, and they shook on it. "Okay Gohan… If that's the way you want to play it. Let's just see where things go from here."

********

School the next morning was nerve racking to say the least. Gohan hadn't a clue how Videl and Ryo were going to react towards him after the events of the previous day. He was well aware that Ryo had full knowledge Gohan had been following him, and worried to how the boy was going to respond to the fact that morning. Videl was a more delicate subject however… He wasn't exactly sure why he was so worried about how she was going to act towards him that morning after their brief conversation the day before. He didn't want to admit it, but a part of him really wanted Videl to like him. He had no idea why, he hadn't really cared what anybody else thought of him to that point. He'd prefer it if the other kids liked him, but it wasn't a priority to him or a big deal if they didn't. He sure as hell wasn't going to change anything about himself, or act any differently to get on the good side of a few fickle teenagers. They would either have to like him for him, and if they didn't who the hell needed them?

Still, Videl was a soft spot he couldn't quite explain just yet, the reason for it being there anyway. She was direct kin to Hercule for Kami's sake, someone not all that high on Gohan's Christmas card list to say the very least. So, what was this feeling running laps in the pit of his stomach every time he thought about her, that enticed him to want to get to know her better when he could give or take just about anyone else. He didn't know, but all the more reason to attempt to get closer to her he guessed.

"Morning Gohan," the exact voice he had just been imagining, greeted him.

Gohan turned to face the girl as she shut her locker, and he noted the rare smile on her face "Hey there, good morning Videl." That funny feeling in his gut returned, but a little less potent this time, lacking a bit of that sense of dread and anxiety. At least she was talking to him… That was a start, and put to ease at least one of his concerns that morning.

Then that other for mentioned concern popped up almost as quickly. That Ki he'd been chasing around for days now flared up again, but it wasn't just a fading thing. This time around it stayed strong instead of phasing out almost as quickly as he picked it up. Videl noticed the funny look on Gohan's face, and voiced her curiosity. "Is something wrong Gohan?"

"Oh no… I just forgot something… I'll catch you later Videl!" Gohan muttered the first excuse he could come up with, and hoped he didn't seem too rude as he dashed off towards the source of the Ki he was sensing. He waved back at Videl as he ran off, leaving the girl behind staring after him with her eyebrow raised.

"That boy is definitely up to something."


"Excuse me!" Gohan apologized to a young couple he nearly mowed over as he rushed through the halls hoping to track down the source of that Ki before he had the chance to evade him yet again. Gohan blurred past the science hallway, and hung a sharp right down a corridor little used by the school. In fact the only room down that hall was an old storage closet the janitor used after regular school hours.

"Slow down Gohan, what's the big rush?"

Gohan stopped dead in his tracks, and turned to face Ryo who was making no attempt to hide who he was this time, a smug grin plastered across his face. Gohan's nerves settled, and he looked the boy dead in the eyes, returning a small smirk of his own. "So… It was you. I knew it!"

"Hmm… Yeah it's me. Sorry to give you the run around like that. Needless to say, I don't run into many people with your kind of power, especially my own age. I wasn't sure what to think of you at first, so I decided to lay low until I found out more about you. No offense, but I didn't want to expose myself to someone who could be hostile."

"I understand completely," Gohan assured him. Gohan figured Ryo must've come to many of the same conclusions about himself that Gohan had of Ryo. "I was worried about you finding me out early for the same reasons. But tell me though… Why did you decide to reveal yourself to me all of the sudden?"

"To tell you the honest truth I just got sick of hiding it," Ryo began. "It's a lot of work to keep my Ki suppressed to such a low level eight hours a day, five days a week. Besides, I don't care for the idea of being chased home every day. I doubted losing you the first time was going to detour you from following me as long as it took to get what you wanted.

Gohan gulped, as a bead of sweat developed over his head. "Oh yeah… I'm sorry about tailing you yesterday… I guess I did let my curiosity get the best of me. I do agree with you about the Ki thing though. It's a relief that I'm not going to have to hide it anymore."

Ryo smiled and nodded his head. "You know if you were really that interested to who I was, there are easier ways to go about it then spying on me you know?"

"Like what?" Gohan asked, a sudden feel of déjà vu spreading through his body.

"You could've always asked me about myself." Gohan's eyes widened as Ryo extended his hand out to him. "What don't we start this over. Howdy, my name is Ryo. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Gohan grinned, as he accepted his gesture. It looked like this boy had just turned the tables on him. He'd been doing the exact same thing to Ryo that Videl had been doing to him, and Gohan hadn't realized it until now. Well, he did want to find out more about his boy, and he couldn't think of a better way to go about it. "It's nice to meet you Ryo. My name's Gohan."

End.

-Whew… I can't decide whether this chapter was good or bad… I guess I can always do better. Anyway, part four is coming up. Gohan learns a few interesting things about his new friends. That's all I have this time, but there is much more to it then that! I hope it'll be ready by this weekend. Thanks for reading!