In the Eyes of a Child
Chapter Four - The Hunt Begins
Gohan put down the phone and buried his head into his hands. "It's all my fault! If I had been more careful---"
"Gohan, who was it?"
"I don't know, dad," he answered. "Just some people who told me that they have Videl, and that they won't give her back unless I go to their hideout and fight them."
Goku smiled. "Then that's no problem! A fight is something you can always handle!"
"But," his son said, "They said it's going to be more like a treasure hunt. They're going to drop me clues, and they have to find their hideout AND defeat them before sundown tomorrow. If I don't, then they'll do something bad to her."
"You don't have to worry, you're smart enough for that," Goku blurted out as Chichi emerged from the kitchen.
"What was that phone call all about, Gohan? And what about that thing with Videl?"
Gohan knew that Chichi must not know, and so he immediately answered, "Um... her father wanted me to bring her back home, so I will! Take care mom, see you later!"
And with that, Gohan took off.
Chichi turned to look at Goku. "What was that all about?"
"I dunno," the saiyajin shrugged in response. "But I'm hungry."
"I don't understand how all this happened," Gohan told himself. "How those people managed to kidnap Videl without me noticing, and how they're all dragging me into this stupid game of theirs! I must be dreaming. This can't be real. First, we got into an accident. No, Sharpner got a car. THEN we got into an accident. Afterwards we land in the hospital and when we're finally out of trouble, Videl's brain gets tweaked up and now she's acting like a kid. And Mr. Satan threw her out of their house too. THEN she almost got herself in trouble with mom, and she got in trouble with Goten and Trunks----"
He blinked.
"Goten and Trunks... no, it can't be. Why would they kidnap her in the first place? I know Trunks could get really mean sometimes, but I don't think they'll go as far as kidnap her! But then again... they managed to kidnap Videl without me noticing... and when I went to check if she was hiding behind the tree, I found Goten---"
He stopped in his tracks and he clamped his fist in fury.
"Trunks... this is all Trunks' doing! I'm going to get that kid for this... If I can get past Vegeta," he ended with a sigh. He sighed --- again --- and then decided to fly to Capsule Corporation to check on Trunks and Goten. However, just as soon as he turned towards Capsule Corporation's direction, he saw the two chibis flying towards him.
Just his luck.
"Gohan!" Trunks called out. "Gohan!"
"Oniichan!"
The older demi-saiyajin folded his arms in front of his chest, his eyes narrowing significantly. "Trunks, Goten, be honest," he began as the kids stopped in front of him. "Did you kidnap Videl?"
"Why would we?!" Trunks snapped defensively, and then, he stopped and blinked. "W-What? Videl-san got... kidnapped?!"
"Oh no!" Goten exclaimed, slapping a hand on his forehead in a very dramatic manner. "My brother's girlfriend got kidnapped! This is SOOOO horrible! Who would do such a thing?!"
Gohan gritted his teeth, and then yelled, "YOU TWO COULD DO SUCH A THING!"
It was a wrong move for Gohan.
Trunks and Gohan both looked at Goten almost immediately, and saw that the other saiyajins' lower lip began to tremble noticeably.
"Great, you did it, Gohan," Goten's best friend muttered with gritted teeth.
And the seven-year-old burst into tears.
"Oniichan accused me of kidnapping Videl! He's sooooo baaaaaaaad! I can't do that to Videl-saaaaaaan! I want her to be my sister! I want her to marry Gohaaaaaaaaaan! But he's saying that I kidnapped her! He's sooooooo baaaaaaaaaad!"
Gohan began to panic. "Goten, keep your voice down, Mom's gonna hear you!"
"I don't care if Mom's gonna hear meeeeeeee! I want her to know that you're baaaaaaaaad! You're baaaaaaaaad Oniichaaaaaaaaan!" Goten continued to say between sobs.
"Okay, okay, I take that back! I take that back, Goten, now don't cry!"
Goten looked at his brother. "Really?"
The older Son nodded.
"Okaaaaaay! Now, why don't we look for her instead?" Goten asked, receiving a thumbs-up from Trunks, and a "That's a great idea, Goten!"
Gohan sighed. "Well we should just go home... after all, the hunting game the kidnappers set for me won't be until tomorrow..."
"Hunting game?!"
"The kidnappers called," Gohan began to explain. "Their gonna have me do something for them, participate in a hunting game of sorts. I have to track down their hideout with the clues they're gonna give me, then defeat whoever I'm supposed to defeat when I get there before sundown so I can rescue Videl. Although I'm not really worried of the fighting, but I'm worried of the tracking down part. Who knows what those people could think of?"
The kids shrugged, but Trunks decided to add his comment. "Well, I think they're very smart," he said with a smug grin.
"Yeah, I think so too," Goten blurted out with a smirk.
"WHAT?!?" Chichi yelled as she stood up and slammed her fists on the table. "Videl... GOT KIDNAPPED?!"
Gohan shot a glare on Goten's direction, but the youngest saiyajin just kept on eating, avoiding his brother's gaze. The more it made Gohan mad, for Goten did not only tell Chichi that Videl got kidnapped, he also told Chichi that she was kidnapped while they were playing with Gohan. "Mom, I didn't notice that she was already kidnapped! We were just playing, and next thing I knew, she was gone!"
Chichi took IT and waved it around threateningly. "Son Gohan, you either save her from those kidnappers, or I'll throw you out of the house! I want grandchildren and you can't give me that without Videl!"
"I want Videl to be my sister tooooooooo," Goten joined in, only to receive another glare from Gohan, whose face was now bright red.
The phone rang.
Gohan jumped out of his seat and grabbed the phone. "Hello?!" he asked, then he looked disappointed. "Yes, Bulma-san, hold on." He looked at his mom and she nodded curtly.
"Lighten up, son," Goku advised as soon as Gohan sat back down. "Take it easy. We'll get her back. Somehow."
The sky was blue and the sun was already high in the sky, but Gohan was still asleep. He was so exhausted with worry that he didn't wake up early, as he had originally planned. Chichi didn't know about the hunting game Gohan was going to participate in, so she didn't wake up her son, because she too, felt sorry for him. Goku, on the other hand, was still wrestling with his sheets, having a nightmare about Buu eating all the food Chichi prepared for breakfast; while Goten already left to hang out with Trunks.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
"Hello?" Chichi asked as she answered. "Gohan? He's still asleep. May I know who's calling, please?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Look, I am most certainly not in the mood for jokes or pranks! Either you tell me who you are or I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN WITH MY FRYING PAN!!" To Chichi's surprise, the person on the other end of the line actually seemed taken aback by her comment. It was as if the caller was actually dreading IT!
However, a loud, gruff voice replaced the first, and growled, "Give the phone to Gohan or you're going to get hurt!"
Chichi almost dropped the phone, shocked by how... fearsome... the caller sounded. Trembling, she walked over to Gohan's room, and said, "G-Gohan... You h-have a p-phone c-call."
"PHONE CALL?!" her son asked in panic, then rushed to their living room to take the call. "HELLO?! What have you done with Videl?! Give her back!!"
"We did not touch her, do not worry. She is properly cared for. I called to give you the first clue. But before that, allow me to tell you the mechanics of the game."
Gohan was silently fuming, his other hand clamped into a fist, as he continued to listen.
"You can only bring one companion with you. You are not allowed to use ki as well, except during the battle. Do you understand? No ki. And no flying either."
"THAT'S RIDICULOUS!" Gohan snapped. "I WILL DO WHAT I MUST!"
The person at the other end of the line chuckled. "We'll see about that. Now, here's first clue. Listen carefully."
Gohan held his breath, wondering what the clue was, but instead, he only heard noises. First, he heard the sound of the breeze, the breeze from a high place, like a mountaintop. Then, he heard other auxiliary noises. The area was apparently very far and very desolate, and there was also... a slight rippling of water. Afterwards, he heard footsteps. Soft footsteps, but he could tell that they only belonged to one person, and that there was only one person in that current area. He also heard... tapping. Tapping made by some sort of staff.
"Well, that's it. Don't take too much of your time, though. That's still not our hiding place. When you get to that area, another clue will be waiting for you. So, you might as well start pondering, and go there as soon as you can. You only have until sundown."
And he hung up.
Gohan could only stare at the phone, and then, he ran his thoughts, analyzing all the sounds he heard. Wind, water, footsteps and tapping. Area with only one person living in it, high up in some place.
Silence.
Then he smiled.
"That's it!" he exclaimed. Everything then made sense. All the sounds pointed to one area. One place that Gohan and his father had been to before. And now that he figured out where they were supposed to go next, he did not waste any time. He ran towards his father's room in order to wake him up, for Gohan knew that there would be no better companion in this dangerous journey of his than his father, Son Goku.
Gohan would risk his life and limb because he loved Videl. He had always loved her, and he'll always will.
