Author's Note: I'm BACK!! Anyway, you'll finally get a tiny glimpse of my bad guys here. If anyone suspects who they might be and what they're after or has any ideas, e-mail me but PULEAZE don't say anything in the review! Let's not spoil the story! Thanks for the e-mails and reviews everyone.

Someone asked me how long this story is going to be. I've typed up an outline and so far I have 39 chapters and I'm not even done with it yet! I must be crazy.

I don't won DBZ. Just this awesome plot.

WARNING: There's a little violence in here, but not too much. That's coming later . . . Hahahahaha!

Part I

*~* Chapter Ten *~*

Moving In

Goten climbed onto his Gohan's bed and watched as his big brother tried to comb his hair. Gohan growled as his locks refused to lay flat. He tossed the comb out into the hallway. "Why do I even bother?"

Goten giggled. "You're SOOOO lucky!"

"What do you mean, squirt?" asked Gohan as he shoved some books into his bag.

"You get to live in a big ole mansion with maids and stuff for a month! Imagine all the food you'll get to eat!"

Gohan's bag hit the floor. "SHOOT! I forgot all about that!"

Goten gave his brother a weird look. "How could you forget when so much food is involved? Are you sick?"

"No. I . . . had a lot on my mind."

"Do you think Trunks and I could come with you when you move in?! We wanna see Videl's house! I heard she's got, like, twenty training rooms in her house!" exclaimed the little Saiyan as he began to jump up and down.

"Um, sure, Goten. If you two behave, then I suppose Videl won't mind."

"YIPPE!!! ALRIGHT! I'M GONNA TELL TRUNKS!!!!" Goten skipped out of the room.

Gohan stared down at the floor and sighed in exhaustion. "Everything seems to happen to me, doesn't it?"

*~*

Videl watched as Gohan approached her locker with a small frown on his face. "Something wrong, Gohan?"

"You know I'm supposed to move into your house this afternoon, right?" he asked hesitantly.

Videl froze, then slammed her locker shut. "Damn it! I forgot. Well, I suppose it won't be so bad, you know? At least a friend is going to move in."

Gohan relaxed a bit. "Right, a friend."

"I'm glad we've worked all of that stuff out," said Videl as they walked towards their class. "I can't tell you how sorry I am, Gohan."

"And I told you to forget about it. Don't mention it again, okay?"

"If you insist . . ."

"Say . . . do you think it would be alright if my little brother and Trunks come with me? They want to see your house."

Videl shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Sure."

They continued the rest of their walk to their classroom in silence. Videl was slightly aware of the strange looks that she was receiving as she walked down the hallway next to Gohan. What really bugged her was that the kids in the hall were staring openly and whispering behind their hands, as if she or Gohan wouldn't notice.

Videl muttered a curse under her breath. "What in the world is going on?"

Gohan seemed oblivious to the actions around him. "What? Something wrong?"

Videl rolled her eyes. "Never mind." As a with brown girl quickly crossed in front of them, Videl reached out to grab her arm, stopping the girl in her tracks.

The brown haired girl looked a little scared. She shrank back a bit. "Um, hi?"

"Do you mind telling me WHY everyone is staring at me?!" she exclaimed.

A sweat drop rolled down the back of Gohan's head. "Uh, Videl, why don't you let her go? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea . . ."

"Not till I get some answers!" Videl snapped back, but released her hold on the girl anyway.

The girl took a deep breath. "Well, just yesterday you were . . . ready to kill Gohan. I mean . . . everyone saw you two in the hall. We're just wondering why you two are friends again so soon."

Videl blinked once. "Oh."

Gohan let out a shaky laugh. He grabbed Videl's arm and pulled her down the hall, shouting, "We made up, obviously! Thanks for caring, though!" When they reached their class, Gohan hissed, "I thought you were going to try to beat that girl up!"

Videl crossed her arms over her chest. "I should have. I've seen her hang around with that skank Angela. Which reminds me . . . when I see her during lunch . . ." Her voice trailed off, an evil look crossing her face.

"Er . . . you KNOW I was just joking about what I said last night . . . about me letting you beat her up and all . . . You shouldn't fight in school and-"

Videl looked stunned. "After what she did?! You're STILL saying that?" When he nodded, she just shook her head. "I don't get you, Son Gohan."

"Hey! It's tough being the good guy all the time!" he said in his defense.

Videl laughed and took her seat. "Well, the dark side is waiting for you," she muttered.

Sharpner and Erasa entered the classroom just as the bell sounded, barely beating the teacher. Their sensei gave them a stern look as they rushed to take their seats.

"Alright, class, let's get straight to work. Open your science books to page two twenty."

*~*

Gohan stared up at the clock hanging just above the chalkboard. "Mouto-sensei is late," he muttered.

Erasa sat on the edge of the desk. "Good for us!" she cried.

Gohan looked a little worried. He stood up. "Maybe I should go look for him . . ."

Videl yanked on the right sleeve of his shirt, catching him off guard and causing him to fall back into his chair. "Look, Gohan, when the teacher doesn't show up for class, you don't go LOOKING for him. In fact, you hope that he doesn't show."

"You do?"

Erasa just giggled at Gohan's innocent comment. "Anyway, I'm glad you two made up. Did you all figured how Gohan got entered into the contest?"

Sharpner paled and his palms began to sweat. If Gohan, Videl or Erasa had seen the expression on his face, they would've known right away that he'd done it. Holy . . . I've been caught! I'm going to die!! Videl's gonna string me up and-

"I sure did," Videl growled. "That bitch Angela must've done it. We all know that she had the means and the motive."

Sharpner let out a huge sigh, his hands flying up to his racing heart. Oh, Gods, I thought I was done for!!

"Angela, hmm? Well, I hope you each her a lesson she'll never forget, Videl!" Erasa crossed her legs and grinned. "And maybe I'll help you. What do you have in mind?"

"I don't know. Torture sounds good. Or maybe making her go without her make up and stuff for a month-" Videl was cut off by her phone. She took it from around her waist. "Videl here."

As soon as she said those words, the ground beneath them seemed to shake. Erasa toppled off of the desk and fell to the floor with a shriek. "Earthquake!!!" someone shouted. The students around them began to scream and began to fall to the floor, coving their heads and necks.

Only Videl and Gohan were left standing. Videl was trying to hear the Chief of Police over all of the screaming going on in the room. "Sorry, you're going to have to speak louder than that! I can't hear you!!"

Gohan was tense. He'd felt a sharp rise in ki somewhere in the city, a ki he didn't recognize. That could mean trouble. Could this vibration have a connection to the rise in ki I felt?

"I'll be right there!" Videl took off racing from the classroom.

Great! Where is she going?! Gohan was torn between following her and searching for the mysterious ki. He sighed and went up to the roof, changing into Saiyaman.

Gohan quickly located Videl's copter in the air and flew just behind it, deciding to let her lead him to the trouble. He was surprised to see Videl flying to the outskirts of the city. What's out here?

Gohan spotted the police cars blocking a long stretch of road. The cops leapt out of their cars and pointed their guns at a cocky muscle bound guy standing less than twenty feet away from them. Gohan's eyes narrowed as he felt for his ki level. This guy was pretty strong, but nothing he couldn't handle.

Videl landed her copter and hopped out, joining the police. They were relieved to see her.

"Be careful, Videl! This man is using tricks, like explosives and stuff!" one of them shouted.

Tricks? Oh, ki blasts! Gohan came up behind Videl and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look, miss, you might want to let me handle this."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, yeah? Well, thanks for the offer, but I've got it all under control."

"Uh . . . alright. If I can't beat him, then you can take over, okay?" Without her confirmation, Gohan stepped past the cop cars and up to the man.

The man laughed at him. "Well, I know I haven't been here long, but I've NEVER seen anything like you!"

"I wouldn't be laughing, buddy," he growled. "You've got no idea who you're messing with."

The stranger got serious, looking Gohan over. His bushy black eyebrow raised a bit. "Hmm . . . I can feel some ki, but very little. You actually think you can take me on?"

"I've been 'observing' you a bit too, and it's sad, really. I don't even need to go Super to beat you," Gohan snickered. He was slowly switching to his game mode.

The man's eyes widened in fear. "S-s-super?! But-"

"Enough talk." Gohan leapt into attack.

Videl watched in awe as the two men began to fight. They were moving so fast that she could barely keep up with them. The cops, though, were totally lost. They'd put their guns down and were looking around in confusion.

Gohan could tell by the man's sloppy movements that he was getting scared. He increased the speed of his attack. Eventually the man gave up trying to hit him back and just blocked.

Gohan landed a punch in the man's stomach, sending him flying into the dirt. He went up to him and picked the man up by the front of his shirt. "Now, tell me who you are and what you want," said Gohan, his voice hard.

The man sent a nervous look down at his pocket. "N-nothin! I was just having some fun!"

Gohan had noticed his look and his gaze too fell to the man's pocket. There was something in there.

As Gohan reached for it, the man sent a ki blast directly at his chest. Gohan just knocked it away and kneed him hard in the stomach.

The stranger was really desperate now. "The Lord is . . . going to kill me . . . if . . . I don't get this back to him . . . I've got . . . to get . . . away!" He eyed the people on the ground. The man licked at a trail of blood falling from the corner of his mouth and raised his hand, pointing one finger at a pretty girl on the ground.

Gohan growled under his breath and intercepted the beam, letting it hit him in the shoulder before it hit anyone on the ground. He winced. That's gonna leave a mark . . .

But when he looked up again, the man was gone. Gohan tried to feel for his ki, but found nothing. "Damn!" he exclaimed. What had that guy wanted? And what had been in his pocket that was so important?

Gohan went up to the police officer, rubbing his shoulder a bit. "Excuse me sir, but could you tell me what's going on here?"

"Sure, Saiyaman! We got a call that a man was attacking people at Satan City Mall, so we went over there as fast as we could. When the guy spotted us, then flew off. We followed him here and . . . I think you know the rest."

Gohan frowned. Something didn't add up. "Why was that guy attacking people? What did he want?"

The cop shrugged his shoulders. "No one knows."

And this just keeps getting weirder and weirder . . . "So what caused the city to shake like that?"

Videl stepped up to him. "It seems as if one of that guy's explosives hit a nearby mountain or something and it fell to the ground." She eyed him, particularly his shoulder.

"And no one was hurt?" asked Gohan, trying to ignore her heated gaze.

"Those people he attacked were . . . stabbed. Sort of," amended Videl. "It's hard to explain."

"Sort of?"

"Yeah. There was no bleeding or anything . . . the people he attacked just felt weak."

"Weak, hmm?" Sounds like someone's been stealing energy.

*~*

School was let out early due to the sudden 'earthquake', so Gohan took his time and flew home. His thoughts were on the fight with that strange guy. Sure, the guy wasn't strong enough to defeat Gohan, but he's learned that where there were the weak, the strong were not too far away.

He decided not to tell his mother about the strange man unless it somehow made its way onto the six o'clock news. Judging by the way that the students at school had been told that the shaking they'd felt earlier was just an earthquake, he seriously doubted that. Obviously the authorities were trying to keep the truth from the public.

Maybe I should talk to Piccolo or one of the other fighters. They might think that it's worth knowing.

When Gohan entered the house an hour later, Goten looked up in him in surprise. "Gohan! What are you doing here?!"

Chichi came from the kitchen with a wet plate in her hand. She suspiciously eyed her son. "Are you skipping class, Gohan?"

"No, Mom." He gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Er, there was an earthquake in the city earlier and they decided to let us out of school early."

"An earthquake?!! Oh, my poor baby! Were you hurt?!!" Chichi dropped the plate and began to poke at her son. She noticed Gohan wince when she reached his shoulder. "AH HA!! What happened to your shoulder?!"

Busted . . . "Nothing! It's nothing!"

She gave her son a look. "I'm not stupid!" She pushed him into a chair and quickly yanked his shirt off. [A/N: Drool . . .]

Goten came over and frowned when he saw the mean looking bruise forming on his big brother's shoulder. "Oh, wow. What happened?"

Chichi looked furious. "Yes, please tell us what happened here?"

Gohan took his shirt from his mother and drew it over his head, ignoring the sharp stabs of pain that shot through his arm. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

Goten wasn't going to accept that. He stamped his foot out of frustration. "I know you're lying, Gohan!" he cried, tears appearing in his eyes. "Tell me what happened!" The little Saiyan's voice was laced with worry and concern.

Gohan stared down at his little brother and sighed. Oh, Goten . . . He reluctantly filled them on his encounter with the strange man.

"You, Son Gohan," began his mother, "are going to go up to Dende's Lookout and tell Piccolo what happened. And while you're there, you can get one of those senzu beans from Korin."

"Aw, Mom-"

"Don't 'Aw, Mom me! And when you get back from there, you'll tell . . . the man that Bulma married what happened!"

Gohan chuckled. "You mean Vegeta?"

"You know who I'm talking about!! And don't come home until you do!" shouted Chichi.

Goten began to look excited. Going all those places with his big brother would be fun, and it had been so long since he'd last seen Mr. Piccolo . . . "OOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Can I come too?!!! PLEASE?!!! I'll be good, I SWEAR!!!"

"And take Goten with you," said his mother as if it were her idea. "I need a vacation . . ."

*~*

Gohan tucked his brother under his good arm and used his Instant Transmission to get to Dende's Lookout. Gohan gave his young Namekian friend a pat on the back. It had been a while since they'd last seen each other.

Goten ran off to find Piccolo and Mr.Popo while Dende told Gohan to remove his shirt so that he could examine his friend's injured shoulder. "Care to tell me how this happened?" he asked.

"When Piccolo gets here. I don't want to have to tell the story again," Gohan muttered.

"Okay then. But do you want me to heal this? I could . . ."

Gohan shook his head. "Nah, a bean would be just fine. But thanks for offering."

"You've got something against my healing you?"

"No. I just don't think you should be wasting your energy on me, that's all."

Dende chuckled. "Wasting? Never."

Just then, Goten reappeared with Piccolo and Mr. Popo. The little Saiyan was chatting non-stop and Piccolo was just looking down at him in amusement. "Oh, oh!! And you should see his shoulder! Mom had a COW when she saw it and-"

Gohan raised a brow. "I see that Goten's been talking your ear off."

Piccolo grinned secretively. "So, what's this about a girlfriend, Gohan? A girl named Videl who just happens to be the daughter of Hercule?"

Mr. Popo gasped and looked very shocked. Gohan was dating the DAUGHTER of HERCULE? It was all a bit too scandalous for him. "Oh, my," he muttered.

Dende looked at Gohan with interest and a twinkle in his eye. "A girlfriend? Hercule's daughter? Why haven't we met her yet?"

Gohan flushed and gave his little brother an evil look. This is the last time I take him anywhere with me . . . "She's NOT my girlfriend! Sheesh! Besides, that's not what I came all the way up here to talk about!"

Piccolo just crossed his arms over his chest, noticing a faint blush in the boy's cheeks. The poor boy must be in denial . . . "Okay, Gohan. Then WHY, exactly, did you come all the way up here?"

"I guess you haven't noticed my shoulder."

He sure hadn't! The injured shoulder was beginning to swell and turn purple. "Where the hell did you get that from?!" he bellowed, forgetting that Goten was standing next to him.

Goten just giggled at Piccolo's bad word.

Gohan recited his story once more. Once he was done, Mr. Popo went off to get a bean for him.

Piccolo was thinking over the information he's just learned. "So these guys seem to be taking energy, you said? I wonder why . . ."

"So do I," said Gohan. He gave the genie a smile when he returned with a green bean in his hand. Gohan popped it into his mouth and chewed slowly. "Thanks." Gohan put his shirt back on.

"Be careful Gohan," Piccolo said in a stern voice. "I have a feeling that the peaceful times are going to come to an end very soon."

*~*

Bulma let out a screech and she dropped her latest capsule invention as Gohan and Goten appeared out of nowhere, materializing right in front of her.

"GOHAN!!!!" she cried. "Don't DO that! You scared the . . . crap out of me!"

He looked a little sheepish. "Gosh, I'm sorry. I just need to talk to Vegeta right away."

She looked slightly ticked. "Then why'd you bother me? You know where he is- training room. I swear, that man doesn't know when to give it a rest . . ."

Goten and Gohan crept out of the room, leaving Bulma alone, talking to herself. They went to the gravity room and opened the door, canceling the gravity activated inside.

"Who dares disturb my training?!!" shouted Vegeta.

Trunks grinned when he caught sight of Goten. "Hey, Goten! Long time no see, ne?"

Vegeta gave Gohan a harsh glare. "What do YOU want?" he asked as the boys went off into another part of the room and began to spar.

"Just thought you'd like to know that we've probably got another enemy on our hands," informed Gohan. As he began to give Vegeta the run down on his encounter with the strange man, he couldn't help but notice how fast Goten and Trunks were moving. "Hey, they're pretty good for kids, aren't they?"

Vegeta's glare grew more intense. "Get on with the story!"

"Oh . . . right. Let's see . . . I was just about to reach for his pocket when-" Gohan jumped back, avoiding a ki blast aimed straight at him. "WOAH!!!"

"HA!" cried Goten triumphantly, sticking his tongue out at Trunks who stood there looking mildly disappointed. "TOLD YOU he'd dodge it!! So there!!"

"That's cuz it was too slow," said Trunks, rolling his eyes. "Let's see him get past this one!" He raised his hand and aimed a big ki blast straight at Gohan. Like a bullet, it sped towards him.

Gohan phased out with a sigh, then back in, reappearing behind the boys. He picked them up by the back of their shirts and flung them out of the room. "We're TRYING to have a conversation here! Come back when we're done!"

"AWWW, GOHAN!!!" both boys cried.

He just ignored them and finished his story. Vegeta managed to look semi-interested, but just shook his head. "If you were able to beat him so easily, then I hardly think he's worth my time."

Gohan chuckled. "Right. You're always looking for a challenge . . ."

The Saiyan Prince gave him an evil look. "Your girlfriend was over here a few days ago. She looked like she wanted to tear you apart."

"She's not my girlfriend," he said automatically. "And we . . . well, we worked everything out."

"Hn. How very anti-climatic."

"What did you want me to say?!"

Vegeta just stared blankly at him. "I was hoping that she'd at least try to kick your ass."

Guess I better not tell him that she slapped me. "Uh, well, she didn't!"

They stood there in silence for a while until Vegeta turned away from him. "Unless you're going to spar with me, then get out."

Gohan backed out of the room and went in search of his little brother. He found him sitting with Trunks in the living room. Bulma was yelling at them for running in the house.

"Does this mean that Trunks can't come with me and Gohan this afternoon?" whined Goten, looking very sad.

"Go with you where?" Bulma asked.

"To Videl's mansion! Gohan's moving in this afternoon!"

Gohan's world seemed to crash around him. He'd forgotten AGAIN! "Gosh . . . it totally slipped my mind."

Trunks began to look excited. "Oh, can I go Mom?! I heard she's got two Olympic-sized pools and like twenty training rooms!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?!!!

Bulma looked thoughtful. "I suppose you can go . . ." She pulled her son to the side and whispered, "As long as you tell me EVERYTHING."

Trunks grinned. "It's a deal!!"

*~*

Okay . . . I think that's the last of it! Gohan dropped his second suitcase next to the one already lying on the living room floor.

Behind him, he's mother's eyes began to tear. She forced them away and pulled her eldest son into a backbreaking hug. "I can't believe my baby boy is moving out!!"

"Uh . . . MOM! I won't be gone for long!" he managed to gasp out. "And I'll visit on the weekends!"

Chichi finally released him and straightened his shirt. She then eyed him warily. "You say that now! But once you get involved with Videl, you'll forget all about your dear mother . . ."

"No I won't . . . wait a minute!! What do you mean involved?"

His mother looked innocent. "Oh, nothing. You better get going. After all, you've got to pick up the devil's spawn- I mean, Trunks. GOTEN, GET IN HERE!"

Goten emerged from the kitchen with a cookie in his mouth, a jar in his hand and a bag slung over his shoulder. "Here I am!"

Chichi recognized the glass jar. "What are you doing with that? You aren't taking a jar full of cookies with you!"

"Aw, come one Mom! They're for Videl!"

"How sweet," she cooed.

Goten grinned. "I mean, if Gohan won't go out with her, then I figure its open season, right?"

Gohan's eyes widened. "GOTEN! What in the world did you just say?!"

He just laughed. "Come on, Gohan! Videl's expecting us!"

Gohan was still thinking about his brother's words when they arrived at Capsule Corp. Could his little brother have a crush on Videl? Gosh . . . that's just . . . WEIRD!! He watched as his Goten went off to get Trunks, clutching the cookie jar to his chest tightly.

Bulma came up to him and noticed the worried look on his face. "Something wrong, Gohan?"

"Sort of. I . . . I think Goten had a crush on Videl," he muttered.

She began to laugh. "A crush?"

"Hey, it's not funny!"

Bulma tried to calm herself down. "What's wrong- are you worried that you'll have some competition now? Little Goten is really cute . . ."

"ECH!! Gosh, Bulma! No! I just don't want Goten to get his feelings hurt!"

"RIGHT."

Just then Goten came into the living room, saying, "NO, you can't have a cookie!! These are for Videl!"

"So! She won't know if ONE is missing!" Trunks whined. After all, Chichi made awesome cookies. Sometimes he wished that his Mom could cook so he'd have an endless supply of snacks . . .

"SO!" snapped Goten.

"Give me a cookie!!" Trunks leapt at Goten, reaching for the jar.

"I said NO!" Goten held it out of Trunks' reach, shaking his head. "Don't be such a pig!"

"Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

"NO!!"

Gohan rolled his eyes. "Okay, boys, break it up! No fighting."

Trunks huffed and turned away from Goten. He couldn't believe it- his BEST FRIEND had REFUSED to give him a delicious cookie, just baked, fresh from the oven . . . His BEST FRIEND had refused to give him FOOD! "Fine, Son Goten! I guess I'll just have to tell everyone your secret!"

The little boy looked frightened. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Trunks snickered, then shouted, "GOTEN LIKES VIDEL!! He wants to KISS her, he wants to TOUCH her, he wants to HUMPH!! Ow Mom, that hurt!!"

Bulma had smacked her son hard on the back of the head. She glared down at him. "Shut up this instant or I'll make you stay at home!"

"Aw . . . shoot!"

"Now apologize to Goten," said Bulma, glancing at the other demi-Saiyan, who looked as if he was about to cry.

"I'm really sorry, Goten. I shouldn't have told everyone your secret like that . . ."

Goten sniffled. "S'okay. Here, you can have a cookie anyway."

"Gee, thanks!"

Gohan, who'd stayed silent throughout the exchange, was surprised. So Goten really had a crush on Videl. Poor kid . . .

"Besides," Goten was muttering, "Momma told me that Videl was gonna be GOHAN'S girlfriend and I'd just have ta find one when I get older."

At this, everyone turned to stare at Gohan. He shrank away a bit. "How many times do I have to say it- she's NOT my girlfriend!!"

*~*

Videl found herself pacing in the foyer, awaiting Gohan's arrival. She was a bit nervous about having a guy from school move into her house . . . and into the room across the hall from hers.

She'd practically died of shock when Iria informed her that Hercule wanted the winner of his drawing to stay in the room across from his daughter, KNOWING that the winner was a guy, a TEENAGED guy, a guy that went to school with her, and a guy that she just HAPPENED to hang around with . . . Once she'd managed to digest the information, she concluded that her father had lost his mind or suffered from some sort of brain damage that resorted from looking in the mirror at one's self for several hours at a time.

She almost jumped when someone knocked on the door. On the other side, she heard Goten shout something about how Trunks had eaten all of his cookies . . .

Videl opened the door and almost fell over when the two little boys rushed inside, leaving Gohan on the porch with two suitcases under his arm.

"Let me get one of those for you," she said, reaching for a suitcase.

"Uh, that's okay. I got them." Gohan moved forward to walk through the door, then realized with both of the bags in his hands, he wouldn't fit. So he twisted sideways with a chuckle and entered the house.

"WOW! THIS IS SO COOL!!" exclaimed Goten, looking around the lavish entry way. "This is even cooler than Trunks' house!!"

"Is not," Trunks muttered. "It's alright . . . "

Videl smiled. "How about we go up to Gohan's room?"

"YIPPE!!" shouted the boys.

Videl led the way up a flight of stairs and down a long hallway. She stopped outside of Gohan's new room and pushed the door open. Goten barreled into the room, followed by Gohan.

"Lookie! You've got your own TV!" exclaimed Goten. He ran to the other side of the huge room. "OH, and your own BATHROOM!! This is SOOOO cool!!!"

Trunks, however, stayed in the hall. He was a bit curious about the room directly across the hall from Gohan's. "Who's room is that?" he asked, pointing to the closed door.

"That's mine," answered Videl uneasily.

Gohan nearly dropped his suitcases in surprise. Videl's father was ACTUALLY going to let him stay across the hall from his daughter?

Trunks raised an eyebrow and chuckled evilly. Won't Mom love to know that! Haha!

Goten grabbed his friend by the back of the neck and shoved him into Gohan's new room. "They even have a balcony!" he cried, hauling Trunks out onto it.

Videl watched as Gohan placed his suitcases on the bed. "So . . ."

He smiled at her. "I can't believe your dad is letting me stay across the hall from you," he said.

"Neither can I. Personally, I think he's flipped." She sat on the edge of the bed. "Do you like the room?"

Gohan nodded. "It's nice."

"That's all? NICE?"

"Er . . . yeah . . ."

She rolled her eyes. "Are you going to unpack now or later? If you want to do it now, I can take the little guys on a tour . . ."

But would she be able to handle them? He didn't think so. "Um, I'll do it later.

"Okay, then. So what do you want to do first?"

Goten and Trunks came from the balcony and both shouted, "SWIMMING!!"

Everyone gathered their bathing suits and followed Videl back down the stairs and outside where the outdoor pool was located. It was huge, shaped like a rectangle.

Gohan had to admit- the shining water looked inviting. It sort of reminded him of all those times he'd gone swimming with his Dad in the lakes in the woods. Except, of course, there were no giant fish to catch.

Videl gestured to a line of booths on the other side of the pool. "There are some places to change over there."

They each took one. Videl was the first one out. She'd had her bathing suit on the whole time- she'd somehow guessed that the boys would want to try out her pool.

Videl went over to a lawn chair and sat down, rubbing sunscreen on her arms. Perfect time to work on that tan you've been meaning to get . . . She stretched and fell back onto the chair, closing her eyes with a soft sigh.

Videl didn't notice Trunks sneak up to Goten's dressing booth and snatch both his regular clothes and swimming trunks, hiding an evil grin behind his hand.

Realizing that his clothes had been stolen, a butt-naked Goten emerged from the room, looking very angry. "OHHHHH, TRUNKS!!! You give me my clothes back NOW!"

Videl sat up in her chair. "Oh, my," she gasped.

"Nuh, uh, not till you catch me," he said in a singsong voice.

Goten pouted. "I'm not playing! What if Videl sees me all nakie like this?!"

At that, she could not help but laugh. Goten caught sight of her, flushed, and dashed back into the dressing room, shutting the door with a loud slam.

Trunks was rolling on the ground, unable to contain his laughter. "Oh, boy!! I . . . wish I had a camera!! The look on his face . . . was PRICELESS!! Hahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He gets it from his father, no doubt. Videl shook her head and went over to Trunks. She lifted him up, yanked Goten's clothes from his hands and tossed him into the water.

"HEY!!!!!"

Videl tossed Goten's clothes over the booth's door. "You okay, Goten?" she asked softly.

"Y-yeah."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh at you."

Suddenly the door flew open and a beaming Goten stepped out, fully dressed. "S'okay!! I'll get him back later . . . haha!"

Videl watched as Goten jumped into the water and proceeded to try to drown Trunks by shoving his head underneath the water and keeping it there.

"They're going to kill each other," she said under her breath.

"They'll be fine."

Videl whirled around. "GOHAN! You scared me!"

He smiled innocently at her. "Sorry." Gohan's gaze slowly drifted away from Videl's face as he noticed how . . . nice . . . she looked in her bathing suit, even if it was a one piece. He began to turn red. Those, Son Gohan, are not good thoughts.

Videl lifted one of her eyebrows. "Erasa was right. You've got some muscle there, Gohan." She poked his flat, toned stomach.

He nearly jumped out of his skin. "Oh, ho, ho! I've always been this way!" Seeing that Videl was about to say something else, he grabbed her hand and leapt into the pool, bringing Videl in with him.

She came up for air and glared at Gohan who was just grinning like a fool. "Trying to evade my questions?"

He chuckled. "How ever did you guess?" Gohan sank under the water and swam off.

Videl sighed and narrowed her eyes. He's still keeping something from you. Like how he got so good looking- I mean buff if he doesn't work out or fight.

Oh, well. With him living at her house for a month, she was sure that she'd be able to find out more about the mysterious Son Gohan.

*~*

They spent several hours in the pool until Goten and Trunks announced that they were getting hungry. So they all changed back into their regular clothes and Videl lead them to a fancy dinning room.

Gohan eyed the huge chandelier hanging over a polished oak dinning table. There were paintings of Hercule twisting his body in different poses covering the wall. "Gee, your Dad doesn't do anything half way, does he?"

Videl shook her head. "I hate eating in here. But dad goes wild if I try to eat anywhere else in the house."

Goten went up to a marble bust of Hercule's head resting on a white column. He frowned. Surely Videl's father didn't keep his head on a column. Didn't he need it to THINK? Was the head even REAL? He reached out and poked it, gasping when it began to teeter from side to side on the column. Goten winced when is fell to the floor with a crash, breaking into tiny pieces.

Trunks' eyes grew as round a saucers. "OHHH, Goten, you're going to get it now!!"

Gohan was about to have kittens. "GOTEN, WHAT-"

"No, it's alright," said Videl over Gohan's shouting. She went over to Goten and rubbed the top of his head, making him giggle. "I hated that thing anyway. It was pretty ugly wasn't it?"

Goten nodded. "I think I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my life," he said jokingly.

Gohan gapped at his younger brother. Had Goten just made a joke DELIBERATELY? Was the world coming to an end?

"Someone will clean it up," Videl was saying. "Why don't we sit down and I'll tell the maids to bring in the food?"

Goten and Trunks began to fight over who got to sit at the head of the table.

"My Dad's a prince, so I get the chair," declared Trunks, puffing out his chest. "Cuz that makes me a prince to."

"Not on EARTH, dummy. I say I get to sit here because Videl likes me best." Goten grinned at his last statement.

"Last time I checked, this wasn't HER house! It's her Dad's house!"

"The last time I checked, this wasn't your palace!"

Trunks blinked. Goten had never spoken like THAT before. "SO!" exclaimed Trunks lamely.

"So, I get the chair!" Gohan threw himself into the huge chair, fit for a king. "Man, this is comfy!"

Goten stuck out his tongue. "No need to rub it in our faces, Gohan!"

Just then Videl returned with several maids and butlers pushing several carts of food. Everything was placed on shiny silver that glistened from the bright light.

The boys could only stare in amazement. NEVER had they seen so much food in one place, not a Chichi's, and CERTAINLY not at Capsule Corp. Gohan was practically drooling. Oh, man! A Saiyan could get used to this!

Videl took an empty seat next to Gohan and smiled at her guest's stunned faces. The maids and butlers proceeded to place plates of food in front of them and began to pour white wine for Videl and Gohan and some lemonade for the little ones.

Gohan tore his attention from the food and glanced down at the glass of wine sitting in front of him. "Uh, gee . . ."

Videl saw his uneasiness. "I could get some lemonade for you, if you'd like that better . . ."

"Oh, this is fine! It's . . . just . . . I've never had any alcohol."

"Well, you're not supposed to gulp the stuff down. I'm sure if you take small sips, you'll be fine. Besides, it makes the food taste a lot better."

Anything that made food taste better was okay in Gohan's book. He began to tare away at his food without a second thought.

Videl was still trying to get used to the way that Gohan and his brother ate. Apparently, whatever made them eat so much had gotten to Trunks. He was eating just as fast, and as much, as Gohan and Goten. She slowly began to eat her food, watching out of the corner of her eye as the boys began their fourth servings.

When she was done, she just sat back and tried to ignore the slurping sounds that came from both Trunks and Goten. Gohan had somehow managed to curb his appetite- he was eating at a saner pace.

The guys finally finished up their dinner and Videl had lost count of how many servings each boy had wolfed down.

Goten and Trunks sat back in their chairs and glanced at each other. They nodded and . . .

*BURP*

Goten nearly fell out of his chair as he laughed. "I won!! Mine was longer!!"

Gohan shook his head. "Boys . . . will be boys, I guess . . ."

*~*

Much to the boy's disappointment, Bulma picked up Goten and Trunks a few hours later, leaving Gohan and Videl alone. They went up to Gohan's room and Gohan began to unpack. Videl fell back onto his bed as he began to put his clothes away.

"Wild kids!" she exclaimed. "Cool, but wild!"

Gohan chuckled from inside the huge walk in closet. "I'm sure they think you're cool too." He quickly finished unpacking, then sat next to Videl on the bed. "So . . . what now?"

Videl stretched and yawned. "It's . . . pretty late. Maybe we should get to bed . . ."

Gohan flushed. The way she said it made it sound as if they were going to bed together . . . "Yeah. Maybe we should."

Videl stood up and walked over to the door. "Uh . . . goodnight, Gohan."

"Night Videl."

Videl quickly crossed the door and entered her own room, closing the door gently behind her. She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. Visions of Gohan in nothing but swimming trunks floated through her head . . . It was all she could think about.

It was going to be a VERY long month.

Author's Note: So Goten and Trunks didn't do too much damage. Everyone wanted me to have them rip the house apart! Once again, if you have any ideas on who this bad guy might be, then e-mail me. I'm interested to see what you think. Heck, e-mail me even if you have no clue!

ADVERTISING: There seems to be a tie for this chapter. I couldn't decide which story to advertise, so I decided to do TWO!!!! They're both awesome.

1) 'The Wedding Chronicles' by Nik Nak: Very funny, really cute, and I WANT MORE!! It's all about Gohan and Videl planning their wedding. Go read and review this!!

2) 'The Misadventures of Gohan and Videl' by CCS AnGeL00: Okay, this is REALLY funny. Tons of Vegeta jokes and stuff! My sister was looking at me like I was crazy cuz I was laughing so hard. Check this one out too!!

Next Chapter: Gohan starts his first day of 'classes' at Hercule's school. Hercule gives him an 'assessment test' and . . . what??!! He has to fight VIDEL? Who will win?