DRAGONBALL Z: IN THE EYES OF A CHILD
Chapter Eleven: The Verdict


People began to flock around the World Champion, and the teenager who defied him. They chattered amongst themselves excitedly, as they recognized the young man who stood in front of Mr. Satan confidently. After all, they were present during the Tenkaichi Budokai just recently, and in that special event, they saw the man behind the Great Saiyaman's... helmet. And he was standing in front of Mr. Satan at the moment.

"HOW DARE YOU---!" Mr. Satan roared as he lunged at Gohan, although all the demi-saiyajin had to do was hold the human by the forehead without even breaking a sweat. Stuck at his rather uncomfortable situation, the World Champion decided to do the next thing to fighting that he was best at.

Yelling.

"YOU! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, SON GOHAN! YOU AND THOSE WORTHLESS FRIENDS OF YOURS! NOW LOOK AT MY DAUGHTER! LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO HER! THIS IS ALL YOUR BLASTED FAULT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! JUST WAIT 'TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I'M GOING TO---"

Gohan smirked, amused at his girlfriend's father who claimed to be the strongest warrior on Earth, when he obviously wasn't. "What are you going to do, Mr. Satan? You have the perfect opportunity to get your hands on me! Come on, try and get me! What are you waiting for?" he taunted as the other continued to lunge and tackle him but all the older man's efforts were in vain.

It took Mr. Satan some time to realize that his efforts were useless, and when he finally did so, he decided to trick the demi-saiyajin so he could take the chance to at least give the stubborn, obnoxious and rash teenager a bloody nose. He was about to begin his plan, when he noticed that cameras were all pointed to his direction, and he knew that he should give his fans a bit of a show.

"What are you going to do, just stand there? I thought you wanted to get your hands on me?"

He glared at the 18-year-old before he cleared his throat and began his speech, aimed to distract the demi-saiyajin who was pissing him off at the very moment. "Nevermind, Son Gohan. I don't want to waste my precious time on someone such as you. You won't even stand a chance against me, if I'll take you seriously. So I'll just leave you alone now," he said as he turned towards his daughter. "Videl, let's go."

"NO WAY!" Videl whined in defiance as she stomped her feet in anger. "I AM NOT GOING WITH YOU! I TOLD YOU, I'M GONNA MARRY GOHAN AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!" She then turned to Gohan, desperate not to get dragged away by her father and begged him silently with her eyes to do something about it.

Gohan stepped forward and cleared his throat in the process. "Excuse me, Mr. Satan, but did you say that I don't stand a chance against you? I think that you are utterly mistaken. You don't know who you're challenging, World Champion. You don't know who you are trying to deal with."

Those words made the other angrier than ever, and he turned back to look at Gohan with fury in his eyes. "How dare you mock me?! Have you forgotten who I am? I am the hero of this world, the courageous warrior who defeated Cell and put an end to Majin Buu!" he finished as the crowd cheered for him. However, to his annoyance, Gohan was laughing at him, as if he just told some really hilarious joke.

"YOU?! You defeated CELL and put an end to MAJIN BUU?!" Gohan asked before he burst into laughter once again. "Oh my... that's the best joke I heard in a while!" he commented as the people gave him strange looks. However, Mr. Satan's look was a murderous one, but that didn't stop Gohan from his spree. After all, HE, Son Gohan, was the warrior who defeated Cell, and helped in the defeat of Majin Buu. "Well, then, Mr. Satan. I'd like to see you try your power on me. Why don't you punch me right on my face, and see if you could knock me out?"

That challenge caused the audience to stir, and they began cheering for their World Champion, their hero. However, Mr. Satan wasn't too happy about it. In fact, he began to panic. He KNEW that he could not knock the demi-saiyajin out no matter what technique he would use, and he KNEW that his fight with Gohan at the moment was broadcasted all over the place.

Gohan was grinning smugly at the dilemna the other was in, and to add pressure, he said, "What are you waiting for, Mr. Satan? Aren't you going to show everyone how strong you really are? Aren't you going to prove me wrong? Or are you too chicken to do so?"

The World Champion's fans roared in defiance, as they yelled back at Gohan that Mr. Satan was brave, courageous and most importantly, very powerful. And then they continued to cheer on their hero. Various comments were heard all over the place, comments about how Mr. Satan could beat Gohan with just one punch, comments on how the hero who beat Cell and Majin Buu won't break a sweat in fighting a nerd like Gohan. As the commotion grew and grew, the older man was left with no choice but to give it a shot.

He walked forward until he was right in front of Gohan, although he was trembling noticeably. In his last attempt to settle things without having to be embarassed, he told Gohan that he would leave him and Videl alone in exchange for not having to fight him, but the demi-saiyajin shook his head as he refused. "We're not going to fight, Mr. Satan. We're just going to exchange punches, that's all. You punch me, and I punch you back. Simple as that."

"D-do we h-have to... d-do this?" Mr. Satan asked in a stuttered manner, terrified at what might happen when the youngster would punch him back. He wanted to give Gohan the bloody nose, not the other way around. But at the situation he was in at the moment, he was very sure that if he would not be able to do something, HE would definitely get the bloody nose.

"Well, we don't really have to, if you don't want to. However, that would mean that you're actually afraid of someone like me," Gohan replied with a grin that enraged Mr. Satan even more, and that did it. Something snapped loose from the weakling, and without much thought, he sent his fist flying straight at Gohan's face.

Silence.

Everyone who was watching --- except Videl --- expected Gohan to fall limply to the ground right then and there. But it didn't happen. He did not budge, he just stood there, the older man's fist still on his face. It didn't take long for them to find out what really happened, though, for a second later, Mr. Satan's face was as red as a tomato as he jumped away from Gohan and the crowd, trying to stop himself from yelling and jumping in pain.

Then it was Gohan's turn. Slowly yet with sure steps, he made his way through the crowd and towards Mr. Satan, who was still suffering in pain at a corner. All eyes were on him, as everyone was startled that a boy like him took the World Champion's punch --- and the punch didn't even hurt him. Everyone, that is, except Videl. She didn't bother to shut up when everyone else fell silent. Instead, she jumped and screamed from her spot as she cheered for her boyfriend, urging him to show the old man how strong he really was.

Mr. Satan was still curled up in a ball, trying to fight back the agonizing pain that spread from his fist, when a hand clamped on his shoulder. In shock, he jumped up and spun around to see the demi-saiyajin grinning wickedly at him. He tried to open his mouth to say something, but did not find the voice to do so. Without supressing his grin, Gohan took the other by the shirt and said, "It's my turn."

Blood drained from the man's face as he heard those three words. And from the excruciating pain he felt on his fist, he knew that, truly, this boy was powerful --- not because of his tricks, but he just really was --- and that he was undeniably the boy who defeated Cell seven years ago. As Gohan clamped his right hand to a fist, Mr. Satan knew that if he had one more chance to bargain for his life, it was now.

"N-no, please, d-don't h-hurt me!" he begged in such a pathetic manner that Gohan had to force back his laughs, although he could tell that the other was really very sincere --- and very scared. "I'm b-begging you, p-please! I'm s-sorry! I'm s-sorry i-if I insulted a-and underestimated you, S-son G-gohan! Y-you can m-marry my d-daughter now, if th-that is wh-what you w-want! Just d-don't h-hurt me!"

Gohan's lips curled into an even more wicked smile as he saw the World Champion beg for his life. He never had such an amusing sight in ages, and he enjoyed every minute of it. Then an evil thought crawled to his mind, right then and there. With his hand, he can make Mr. Satan do ANYTHING, and there was no one who can stop him. Not unless Videl would snap out of her regression, which was very unlikely, because she was still cheering wildly for him at the moment.

When Mr. Satan saw Gohan lift up his clenched fist, he paled even more as he resumed begging for his life. It didn't seem to work, however, because in the next moment, Gohan's fist was right in front of Mr. Satan's face, ready to punch the daylight out of him. And that was enough of a threat. "NO, PLEASE! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY IF I LIED TO THE WORLD! I'M SORRY IF I TOLD THEM THAT I DEFEATED MAJIN BUU WHEN I DIDN'T! I'M SORRY IF I TOLD EVERYONE THAT I DEFEATED CELL WHEN I DIDN'T! I'M SORRY IF I TOLD THEM THAT I DEFEATED CELL WHEN YOU DID!"

And it seemed as the world stopped. For the very moment the World Champion revealed the warrior who truly defeated Cell, he clamped his mouth shut, as if he tried to stop the words from escaping, but he was just too late. The demi-saiyajin, on the other hand, abruptly dropped the human to the ground as the older man's words got to him. Everyone else who was watching, including Videl, stopped short in shock upon the revelation. Their hero, their World Champion was actually a fraud.

And there was no turning back. No turning back for Mr. Satan, after all, he just admitted in live television that he didn't defeat Cell and Buu and that he had been lying to EVERYONE for the past years. And most certainly no turning back for Gohan, who, aside from being the Great Saiyaman, was also the boy who defeated Cell, and his secret had been revealed. He looked around to see the bystander's reactions to the announcement, but found himself greatly disappointed. He could have escaped from the sudden exposé, but now it was too late.

His expression betrayed it all.

"We have decided the appropriate punishment for all four of you," Chichi said in an authoratative tone as she waved IT around in warning. "Trunks, for kidnapping Videl; Goten, for helping Trunks get away with his crime; Vegeta, for bribing the kids do so something really dirty; and Goku, for not being Goten for the past SEVEN years and thus enabled him to snag a handful of evil genes from Vegeta and Trunks; this is your punishment."

Oh no, she's not gonna let me play with Trunks anymore... this is bad... And she's gonna throw away all my pets and my toys... this is bad... and she's gonna let Squirt sleep outside without the comforts of a home... this is bad... and she's gonna make me study as much as Oniichan does... this is bad... and she won't let me have my candies... this is bad...

Grounded for a month --- no toys, no money, no hanging out, and no candies! And she's going to make me WORK! She's going to order me around and do stuff for her, when she isn't even my mother! I won't even get the chance to play with Goten anymore, because we'll both have to work, or get a gazillion lumps or so everyday! NO NO NO NO!

No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals... No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals... No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals... No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals... No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals... No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals... No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals... No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals...

No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food...

Bulma glanced at Chichi with a smirk. Despite the fact that Chichi said that her boys had evil genes, she was still pretty amused with the reactions they were getting at the moment. She gave out a nod, telling Chichi to give out the verdict before all four of them would break down in nervousness.

"You four are going to be Videl's slaves for a week."

"NANI?!" the saiyajins chorused in defiance, as they bolted up to disagree on the matter. However, all it took were four blows --- two from Bulma, two from Chichi --- and they slumped back silently into their seats as the two women stroked their frying pans lovingly.

However, even at the silence, they still had rebellious expressions on the faces. Vegeta's scowl was worse than ever; in fact, he looked like he wanted to kill both women as much as he wanted to kill Kakkarot. Trunks, on the other hand, had the scowl Vegeta used to have BEFORE their current predicament, while Goten was pouting like the way he did when he lost to Trunks in the Junior Division of the World Tournament. Goku was simply... frowning.

Chichi did not like the looks on their faces so she glared at them and growled, "DON'T GIVE ME THOSE LOOKS, BOYS!" She then paused to regain her composure, and when she managed to do so, she let out a smile. An evil smile, at that. "Now, either you be Videl's slaves... or be her slaves AND starve. Your call."