Author's Note: I'm back! I'm glad you all like the Saiyan thing. I have a perfectly good explanation for all of that, but you guys will have to wait a while to hear it.

WARNING: Some sexual stuff in here. You'll see . . .

Part II. Dark Passions

*~* Chapter Seventeen *~*

Tenkaichi Budokai Time

 

Gohan leapt up off of the couch. "A tail?!" he shrieked. This was NOT happening. It was like 'invasion of the Saiyans' all over again. Impossible! I thought that Goten, Vegeta, Trunks and me were the only living Saiyans left!

Videl read the panic on Gohan's face, then stood up too. "You know something! What?!"

"N-nothing!! D-don't you think it's weird that a guy had a TAIL?! Haha!" Good cover up, Gohan. I hope she buys it.

As usual, Videl looked a little more than a tiny bit suspicious. She was VERY suspicious. He's such a bad liar . . . probably because he doesn't do it often, unless he's with me. "Yeah, it is . . ."

Goten laughed. "Gohan, you're silly! Remember, I had-"

Gohan slapped his hand over Goten's mouth and laughed nervously. "SHUT UP, Goten," he hissed. "Why don't you go and bug Mom?"

The youngest Son ran off, leaving Gohan and Videl alone. "Uh . . . let's forget about all of that for now! Are you hungry, tired . . .?"

There he goes again, running away like a little puppy dog. Videl glared at him as he wondered into the kitchen, chatting the whole way.

"Mom made some awesome soup earlier . . . I think there's some left over. You want a bowl?"

called Gohan from the kitchen, sticking his head into the open refrigerator.

Videl quietly walked up behind him and glared at his back.

When Videl didn't answer, Gohan whirled around, only to come in contact with her. He let out a tiny yelp and flattened himself against the fridge as she locked her ever so penetrating gaze on him. "W-what?" he asked, his voice a very high pitch.

She continued to stare at him for a few minutes, hoping to scare him into telling her what he knew, ignoring the pounding of her heart the whole time. They were close, VERY close . . . When he showed no signs of spilling the beans, and when she realized that she WAS hungry, Videl let out a big sigh, stepping back and sitting at the kitchen table. "Soup sounds fine."

Gohan released his breath and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, laughing nervously. MAN, that was CREEPY! What in the world just happened here?! He began to warm up the pot of soup, glancing once and a while a Videl, who sat quietly at the table.

It's good to have her back, and unhurt. I was really lucky that Videl's ki rose when it did, or she might not be here now. I have a lot to be thankful for . . .

Gohan cleared his throat "Er . . . so . . . are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah. That bean you said you gave me worked wonders."

"Ah . . ."

Gohan's mother and Goten entered the kitchen at that moment, and Chichi immediately grabbed Videl and hugged her tightly. "I'm SO glad you're okay! I was worried out of my mind!"

"I'm glad to be back!" gasped Videl.

"Mom . . . you're gonna crush her!" Goten giggled. "Let her go! It's my turn for a hug!"

When Chichi stepped back, Goten launched himself at Videl. She caught him as he threw his arms around her neck.

When she sat his feet on the floor, he sniffed the air. "OHHH, I smell food!!"

Gohan laughed. "I'm warning up some soup. You all want some?

They both agreed and so the extended Son family closed the night with a meal of hearty soup and soothing green tea. Then the issue of where Videl was going to sleep arose.

"She'll sleep with me!" cried Goten. "I can get the cot out!"

Chichi rolled her eyes. "She'll sleep in MY bed. I'll take the cot."

"I couldn't do that, Chichi. Why don't I take the cot?" offered Videl.

"Not after all you've been through."

Gohan sighed and shook his head. He was tired and wanted to sleep. "Okay, she'll sleep in MY bed, and I'll take the cot. Is that okay with everyone?"

Goten reluctantly nodded, and Chichi looked worried. "Now, Gohan, I expect you to be a gentleman. Separate beds, and-"

Gohan knew where she was going with her speech. "I KNOW, Mom. That's what the cot's for!"

Videl stifled a laugh and followed Gohan into his room. His face was a little red ad he began to dig around in his dresser.

"What are you looking for?" asked Videl.

He pulled a t-shirt and a pair of shorts out and held them out to her. "Something for you to wear. The bathroom's just down the hall, if you want to shower or something."

As Videl walked off to shower, Gohan smacked himself on the head several times. "WHY, WHY did I agree to this?! WHAT was I thinking?!" he hissed.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid . . ." he muttered as he went into the hallway and pulled their spare cot out of a closet, then carried it back to his room. Gohan unfolded it and threw some sheets onto it with a heavy sigh.

Meanwhile, Videl was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, staring at her face. Her hand slowly drifted up to her cheek.

She'd expected to have some bruises, and was shocked to see her white skin was unmarked. Strange . . . It's like I wasn't hit at all. Maybe Gohan's bean thingy has something to do with it . . .

After a quick shower, Videl went back to Gohan's room where he was sprawled out on the cot in the floor, staring up at the roof. She cleared her throat, catching Gohan's attention.

He sat up quickly. "Uh . . . back so soon?"

"My face."

"What?"

"What happened to my face?"

Gohan chuckled nervously and stood up, inching closer to her. "Er . . . what do you mean?"

"I MEAN, why isn't my face bruised?"

"Oh, that." Gohan reached past her to flick off the light and retreated to the cot. "The senzu bean did that too."

"Hmm . . ." Videl walked over to the bed and got in, pulling the covers over her body and falling back against the pillow. Damn . . . it all smells like GOHAN . . . Well, what did I expect? She rolled over onto her side and stared out of the window.

She lay like that for a while, until she heard the soft, even breathing coming from Gohan. Videl sat up in the bed and glanced over at him, smiling at the way his legs, tangled in the blankets, were hanging half off the cot and the way his arms were thrown over his face.

Cute . . . aw, damn it! NO, not cute!

Videl drew her legs up to her chest, contemplating her relationship with Gohan. It was all too new to her . . . she'd never really had any FEELINGS for a boy, besides strong dislike for Sharpner, but that wasn't the same. Was she beginning to like him?

She shot a look at Gohan as he muttered, "That fells good," in his sleep. Videl smirked. What exactly was he dreaming about?

"Lower," he whispered softly. "Ahhhhh . . . right there . . ."

At this point, Videl was practically hanging off the bed, staring down at Gohan with wide eyes. He had an incredibly goofy smile on his face and . . . was he drooling?

"You're so sweet . . . yeah . . ."

Oh, my GOD . . . is he dreaming about someone he LIKES? Ohmygod, ohmygod, this is sooo embarrassing . . . I feel embarrassed FOR him . . .

She was about to shake him awake when the evil part of her decided against it. Maybe he'll say the name of the girl he's dreaming about . . .

So Videl sat back and watched as he moaned and shifted on the cot. "Riiiiiiiiiight there . . . ah, yeah, so good . . . harder . . . no, don't stop . . . ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . "

Videl had to cover her mouth with BOTH of her hands to stop herself from laughing out loud. She needed this, especially after what had happened to her. This is great!! He'll never live this one down!!

Gohan scratched his belly, then mumbled, "Let me see you, please. You're soooo good at this . . ." He stretched like a kitten, reaching for something that wasn't there. "Don't hide . . ."

Videl leaned forward, so that her upper half was hanging off of the bed. This is it! Say her NAME!!

Suddenly Gohan jerked upright in the cot, screaming on the top of his lungs. This surprised Videl and she toppled off of the bed and right into Gohan's lap with an 'oof'.

The door was thrown open and Chichi rushed in, flicking on the lights. "WHAT?! WHAT?!!" she shrieked.

Gohan groaned, his eyes focusing in the light. "What . . . what's going on?"

Chichi gasped when she caught sight of Videl lying in Gohan's lap. "WHAT IN THE WORLD??!!"

Videl struggled to get up, only succeeding in tangling herself up in Gohan's sheets. "Damn . . . damn . . . DAMN!" Her plan had backfired. Instead of finding out who Gohan's dream girl was, she'd ended up humiliating herself and sprawled in Gohan's lap, way too close to his . . . ahem.

Gohan tilted his head to one side and stared down at Videl. He suddenly remembered his dream, then blushed and stiffened. He helped Videl off of him, sighing in relief when she finally stood up.

"I THOUGHT I SAID-"

"Shhhh, Mom!" hissed Gohan. "You'll wake Goten! You know he won't go back to sleep once he's woken up!"

Chichi took a deep breath and glared at both of them. "I want to know what EXACTLY is going on?!"

"Uh . . . it's my fault! Gohan was dreaming and I wanted to wake him up," fibbed Videl. "I was leaning over to shake him, he screamed, and I fell . . . you know the rest."

"Yeah, Mom, that's it! Nothing happened, I swear!"

Chichi crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine. But one more incident out of you two, and Gohan's getting the couch, got it?"

Videl nodded quickly and slid back into the bed. Gohan's mother turned out the lights and left.

Gohan sighed in relief. "Whew! That was close."

"You're telling me."

"Um . . . I didn't . . . SAY anything when I was dreaming . . . did I?"

"Nope. Not a thing."

*~*

An hour after Chichi had left them, Gohan was still awake. He was aware of Videl's steady, even breathing, which told him she was sleeping.

He massaged his temples, then snickered. Massage . . . ha . . .

That was what his dream had been about. Gohan remembered it clearly . . .

*~* Dream Sequence *~*

The sun stroked Gohan's back as he lay on his stomach. It was a perfect day at the beach, not too hot, not too cool, a soft breeze and the bright sun. Did it get any better than that?

Apparently it did.

Gohan froze in shock as someone straddled his waist and placed their tiny hands on his back. "What . . . who . . ."

"Shhh . . ." The mystery person began to rub her hands over his back, working his muscles. "Oh, you're so tense . . . relax, baby . . ."

How could he relax when some woman, yes a woman, was on top of him, her hands roaming freely over his skin? He was just about to protest when he realized that her attentions were starting to feel good, really good . . .

"That fells good. Lower . . . ahhhhh . . . right there . . ."

The mystery female continued to massage his back, working her way up and down. She laughed softly as he tried to sit up and reach for her. She shoved him back down onto the beach towel and continued to rub his back.

"Riiiiiiiiiight there . . . ah, yeah, so good . . . harder . . . no, don't stop . . . ahhhhhhhhhhhh . . . "

Gohan wanted to know the identity of this girl. She was like magic, and he wanted her. "Let me see you, please. You're soooo good at this . . ." He reached back, trying to grab at her. She kept evading his grasp, giggling seductively the whole time. "Don't hide . . ."

"Alright, I'll let you see me," she whispered into his ear.

Gohan eagerly sat up, and came face to face with . . .

Videl.

*~* End Dream Sequence *~*

Gohan shivered. It was weird, having those kind of dreams about Videl. Or those kind of dreams, period! In fact, they hadn't started until he met Videl and became mixed up in the whole Saiyaman affair. He recalled the other dream he'd had about Videl . . . how she kissed him in the bank.

Not that it was unpleasant to dream about Videl. She was very pretty, kind when she felt like it, and a good fighter. But . . . if he ever happened to develop any feelings for her, he was positive that she would kill him.

Gohan stared at Videl's sleeping form in his bed. He was very protective of her, and, he knew, if anything ever happened to her, he'd go postal and that would be the end of the world. Literally.

Is this love? COULD it be love?

Before Videl, every girl had been the same. In his eyes, they were all superficial, flighty beings obsessed with the opposite sex. But he and Videl had a lot in common, and he actually LIKED her.

Can't forget those hot dreams . . .

Gohan chuckled to himself. Okay, so there was something there, between them. He knew it, and he realized that he couldn't ignore it any longer.

Aw, shoot . . . falling for the toughest girl alive . . . not good, Gohan . . . not good at all . . .

*~*

Gohan was awaken by frequent nudging in his ribcage. He groaned and sat up, wiping the sleep from his eyes. "What . . ."

"Morning, sleepy head," said Videl. She was kicking at him with her foot, grinning the whole time. "Get up. It's almost noon."

"NOON?!" He jumped up and placed a hand on his grumbling stomach. "I'm sooo hungry," he moaned.

Videl snickered. "Yeah. Your belly woke me up about an hour ago. Let's go- you Mom just got done with lunch."

"Sure . . . let me wash up real quick. Save me some food!" Gohan dashed down the hall and into the bathroom , slamming the door behind him.

Videl went into the kitchen, where Goten was already stuffing his face with rice. Videl smiled at Chichi and sat at the table, accepting a bowl of hot rice from the older woman.

"You know, Videl," started Chichi. "You're going to have to go home soon. I'm sure your Dad is worried about you."

"Shoot. You're right." Videl sighed. "Say, did you hear anything on the news about my housemaid, Iria?"

"Iria? Oh, yeah! She was hit on the head with a blunt object of some sort. Anyway, she was taken to the hospital, but I think she's fine."

"Good. I was worried."

"I'll phone Bulma and ask her to stop by and take you home after lunch, okay?" Chichi moved over to the phone.

"Sleep well?" asked Goten, his mouth full of rice. "Thought I heard Ma yellin 'bout somethin last night."

"Ahhh . . . no, she wasn't yelling. You were probably just dreaming!"

"Guess so."

Gohan then came into the kitchen, wearing a pair of dark pants and a white shirt that was halfway buttoned up. He grabbed a bowl and filled it with food, sitting next to Videl.

She stared at his hair, which had managed to stay pointy, even though it was clearly wet. Gravity defying hair . . . interesting . . . Her eyes drifted down to the bit of bare chest that was showing from his partly unbuttoned shirt. His tan skin looked quite inviting . . . Videl let her eyes wonder down to his waist. It was unusually TINY for a guy, but Gohan was really fit. What did she expect? Hmm . . . those pants fit really well . . .

"Uh . . . Videl? Hellllllooooo?! Anyone home?" Gohan asked, waving his chopsticks in front of her face.

Goten giggled. "I don't think so! The lights are off!"

Gohan chuckled. Videl snapped out of her daze and turned a bit red. "Sorry? You were saying something?"

"What were you looking at?"

"Ahh . . . I was zoning out for a while."

"Uh, huh."

Chichi came back to the group and sat at the table, frowning. "I just spoke to Bulma, and she said that we should have contacted the police the minute Videl showed up here."

Gohan nodded. "Yeah . . . maybe . . ."

Videl waved her hand, finishing off the last of her food. "Don't worry about it. I'll explain everything to the cops."

While they waited for Bulma to arrive, Goten persuaded Videl, who persuaded Gohan, to play some board games with him. They were currently engrossed in a heated game of Monopoly.

Goten laughed evilly as Videl landed on one of his properties. "Haha! You owe me . . . how much would that be? Let's see . . . I've got five hotels . . . eight houses there . . . ahhh . . ."

Videl sweat dropped. She handed him the rest of her money and her title deeds. "You cleaned me out, kid."

When Gohan landed on another of Goten's places, he sighed and handed over all of his stuff, too. "I always loose to him. He's just too good . . ."

Suddenly someone pounded on their door. "OPEN UP, NOW!!" shouted the voice of Vegeta.

Gohan got up off of the floor and opened the door. Vegeta stalked into the house, followed by Trunks and Bulma.

"I don't see WHY I had to come," grumbled Vegeta angrily.

"Because Gohan had something VERY IMPORTANT to tell you," she hissed. "Don't you, Gohan?"

"Ah . . . right! Come on outside with me, Vegeta."

The two stepped out of the house. "Alright, brat, make this quick. And it better be good."

"Er . . . okay then. Videl said that her kidnapper had a tail."

Vegeta stared in disbelief at him. "A tail? Impossible. All Saiyans were wiped out by Freeza long ago, except me, Kakkarot and those OTHER GUYS."

"She said-"

"Maybe she was delusional from getting slapped around too much," snickered Vegeta.

Gohan sighed. "And she mentioned something about a prince. Now if, she SAID he had a tail and that there was a prince, then I believe her. Just think about it . . . what if there are MORE Saiyans? And another Saiyan prince?"

This angered Vegeta. He glared at Gohan and shoved him against the house. "There is ONE, and ONLY ONE Saiyan prince, and he has your sorry ass pinned against your own home, ready to blast you into oblivion!!"

"Um . . . right. Didn't mean it, forget I opened my mouth . . . yeah . . ."

Vegeta took a step back. "That's what I thought. WOMAN!!! Get that female and let's GO!" He stomped back to the jet copter.

Bulma came out of the house with Videl. "You want to come with us, Gohan?"

"Sure." They all got into the copter, and Gohan stayed away from Vegeta, who still looked ticked off. He sat next to Videl and buckled himself into a seat.

They arrived in Satan City about forty-five minutes later, and Videl instructed Bulma to land in her back yard. She forced back laughter when her Dad and several police officers ran from the house and outside, gaping at the copter.

When Videl stepped out of the copter, followed by Gohan, Hercule gasped. "VIDEL!!! YOU'RE ALRIGHT!!" he shouted. Then he turned to Gohan and pointed a finger at him. "You kidnapped her, didn't you?!"

Gohan's mouth fell open. "What?! NO!! I-"

"I remember what you said! 'I'll be around, whether you know it or not. I'll be watching Videl very closely'! Arrest him!!" several police officers moved forward, one drawing out his handcuffs.

"You can't do that!" protested Videl. "He didn't kidnap me."

Hercule eyed Gohan suspiciously. "So what in the world are you doing with him?!"

"Saiyaman rescued me and dropped me off at the nearest house, which just happened to be Gohan's."

"And what about you kidnapper? Where's he?"

"Damn! I have no idea, you'll have to ask Saiyaman."

"These answers are unacceptable, young lady!" exclaimed Hercule. "Arrest the kid!"

Bulma shook her head, watching the commotion from the copter. She joined Videl and Gohan outsides. "Is there a problem here?" she asked.

Hercule gapped at her, eyeing her body. "Hey, you're Bulma Briefs!"

Videl rolled her eyes. So sad . . .

"That's right. I'd like to say that there was no way that Gohan could've kidnapped Videl. After all, he was over five hundred miles away when it happened. If I'm correct, then Videl was kidnapped right after she returned home from dropping Gohan at his house. There was no way that he could've made it back to Satan City in time."

Gohan wanted to bow down in front of Bulma and kiss her shoes. Thank you, Dende! She saved my butt!

The cops looked at each other, then stepped back. Hercule gave up on his notion, pulling Videl over to him. "Well, thanks kid. You want an autograph or somethin?"

"Uh . . . no! I'm fine. See ya later Videl." Gohan went back into the copter and Bulma went after him. She started the jet and took off.

"I saw the way that fraud was looking at you," snapped Vegeta to his wife. "I'll kill him the next time I see him!"

"Chill out, Vegeta. I can't help it if I've got a fine body and everyone knows it," she said playfully.

"Yes, well, your 'fine body' as you call it belongs to me. You'd do well to remember that!"

Gohan gagged. "Um, if you guys are going to continue this conversation, then I'm gonna . . ."

"Sorry, Gohan," giggled Bulma. "Anyway, I bet you're glad that Videl's safe and sound."

"Yeah . . . but I'm worried about that prince guy. What if he comes after her?"

Vegeta snickered. "What prince?"

*~*

Two days passed and Videl was busy preparing for the Tenkaichi Budokai. She'd set her alarm to five in the morning so that, by six, she was in the gym, training hard. The tournament was less than a month away, and Videl was pumped. She wanted to do her very best, and hopefully snatch the title away from her father, who'd stopped training long ago, claiming that there was no one strong enough to compete against him and win.

Videl was currently kicking the stuffing out of a punching bag when Iria, who'd insisted on returning to work even though she had a huge bruise on her face, and Erasa entered the room. Videl stepped away from the battered bag and smiled at her friends. "Hi guys. What's up?"

"It's nice to see you working so hard, Videl," said the housemaid. "I'll leave you two girls alone."

Erasa pulled Videl into a tight hug. "I'm glad you're okay! I was sooooo worried."

"I'm glad I'm okay too!"

Erasa looked Videl over, then whispered, "That guy . . . he didn't . . . you know . . . force himself on you?"

"NO!!" shrieked Videl. "No way."

Her friend sighed in relief. "Well, that's good. Anyway, I can tell you're really serious about this competition."

Videl nodded. "I want to win. Or at least do my best."

"Is kicking a bag gonna help you any?" she teased.

"Good point . . . say, how would you like to come over to Capsule Corp with me?" suggested Videl. "I want to use this really cool training room Bulma Briefs has there."

"Pass up a chance like that?! No way. Let's go."

The girls left the house without telling Hercule where they were going and hopped into Videl's copter. Erasa was practically bubbling with excitement when they landed on the yard of CC and went up to the door.

Videl knocked a couple of times and smiled when Trunks opened the door. "Hey, Videl! What's up?"

"Nothing much. I just wanted to use the room."

"The room? OHHHHH, that one! Come on in." He let the girls in, keeping his eye on Erasa. "Who's the chick?" he asked, rudely jerking his thumb at the blond girl.

Erasa gasped. "HEY!"

"This is a friend of mine from school. Watch out, she's also a friend of Gohan's . . ."

"Oi! Sorry then. Don't want to mess with Gohan!" Trunks led them to the room, letting Videl in, but not Erasa. "She can't go in. She'll get crushed."

Erasa was about to protest when Bulma Briefs herself came down the hall and eyed them all. "Did I miss something?"

"Oh, I just came for the room," said Videl.

"Ah. Well, Vegeta's taking a 'nap', so I guess it's okay. What about her?" asked Bulma, looking at Erasa.

"I'm Erasa, a friend of Videl and Gohan from school! I came here for your tour . . ."

"Oh! Uh . . . hi!"

"Do you think . .. you could show me some stuff you're working on? I'll keep everything a secrets, if you want me to! Please?!"

Bulma chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm. "Okay. Follow me!"

As they went off, Trunks followed Videl into the gravity room, shutting the door behind them. "So, Trunks, you think you could show me how to work this thing?" muttered Videl, looking at the controls.

"Sure!" Trunks went over to the controls and punched some buttons. The lights in the room dimmed and suddenly Videl was plastered on the ground. "Oops!" He turned down the gravity so that she could stand. "Sorry about that!"

"Right . . ." That's weird . . . how did HE stand up if I couldn't?

"Whatcha training for?" Trunks asked, watching as Videl began to experiment under the new conditions.

"The . . . twenty-fifth . . . Tenkaichi . . . Budokai."

"Cool! A world tournament! Maybe I can enter too!"

"Sure thing, kid. If you want to. They've got a junior division now."

Trunks gasped in horror. He pictured the junior division- snot nosed kids running around, waving their fists in the air as if they were fighting. "NO WAY!! Junior division?! That's . . . that's . . . injustice!!"

Videl shot him a look. "The officials don't want kids to get hurt too badly. It's a safety measure."

"Safety measure my a-"

"TRUNKS!! Don't you dare . . ."

"Uh, sorry. Anyway, you wanna spar?" he asked anxiously. He wanted to see first hand what Videl could do.

"Okay . . . I'll go easy on you."

Trunks snickered. More like vice versa . . .

*~*

A few hours later, Videl emerged from the gravity room, looking frazzled. Trunks was strong for a little kid. Vegeta was standing in the hall, leaning against a wall, smirking as Videl exited the room.

"DON'T say a WORD," she grumbled.

He laughed and went into the room to give his son a real sparing lesson.

Videl wandered into the living room and was surprised to see Bulma and Erasa bent over some device that Bulma had just created. Erasa was closely listening as the older woman explained each and every component and it's function. She cleared her throat.

"Oh, Videl! You didn't tell me your friend was interested in engineering and inventing!" exclaimed Bulma.

"I didn't know. Who would've guessed? She doesn't pay attention in class."

Erasa blushed. "Um . . . the way they teach it at school is sooo boring! At least this is hands on!"

"Whatever. Are you ready to go?"

"Sure thing!"

Bulma stood up. "Speaking of school, what are you guys going to for classes?"

"They cancelled them for the rest of the year," answered Erasa. "We had less than a month left anyway, so they just decided to let us out early."

When they got into Videl's copter, Erasa looked her friend over, then giggled. "Did you fight that kid? He did a number on you!"

"Shut up."

*~*

Gohan was on the phone, telling Krillin about the information Videl had given him when there was a beep. "Oh, hold on. Someone's on the other line." He clicked over. "Hello?"

"Hey."

"Videl! How are you?"

"Just fine. I just called to tell you the Tenkaichi Budokai is coming up in a few weeks."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

" . . ."

"Are you going to enter?" she asked, sighing heavily.

"Nah, I don't think so."

"Why NOT?!"

"Umm . . . because I don't want to?" Why fight when he didn't have to?

Videl snickered. "Whatever. But you're still going to come and watch me fight, right?"

"Sure."

"Great. If you're not going to enter, could you at least train with me a bit? I need a sparing partner."

"Er . . . okay . . ."

"Fantastic! I'll see you tomorrow then!" She hung up.

Gohan stared down at the phone. Man, that was fast! He clicked back over. "Sorry Krillin. That was Videl."

"Ohhhhh, your girlfriend! What did she want?"

"She's NOT my girlfriend. And she wanted me to enter the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai."

"Well, are you?"

"No. The only thing I fight now is crime."

Krillin chuckled. "Sure thing, Gohan. Hmm . . . all that prize money . . . I think I'll enter, and Juuhachi probably will too. Then we could finally get off of this island . . ."

It was Gohan's turn to laugh. "Okay, but watch out! Videl is some competition!"

"Are you joking with me?"

"No."

"Oh. She's that good?"

"Well, she can't fly or use ki blasts, but yeah, she's good. For a human, anyway."

"Yeah, for a human," said Krillin, sounding a little hurt. "I'll catch you later, okay? Keep an eye on your girlfriend, Gohan."

"I will. But she's not my-"

CLICK

"Girlfriend . . . shoot!" Gohan hung up the phone.

Goten, who'd been eavesdropping on Gohan's conversation, spoke up. "Trunks is gonna enter if I enter! Can I? Huh?!"

"That's up to mom . . ."

"She already said yes, for the prize money. This is gonna be so much fun!" Goten jumped up and down, then frowned. "Hey, Mr. Vegeta isn't gonna enter either. Trunks said that he said that there's no competition out there for him."

"Is that so?"

"Yep! I'm gonna go call Trunks!" Goten ran off, leaving Gohan in the kitchen by himself.

*~*

"Have you seen Pikkon?" Goku asked a blue guy, show just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

Goku sighed and placed a hand on his hip. He'd been looking for Pikkon for a few hours now, and no one had seen him. All he wanted was a decent spar before dinner . . .

He went up to King Kai and roughly slapped him on the back. "Hey, have you seen Pikkon?"

King Kai stumbled forward, then caught himself. "No! Why would I know where he is?"

"I don't know. You're a kai!"

"I'm not his."

Goku rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Look, I'm just saying that's it's strange. It's like he's vanished. I asked almost everyone and flown all over the place and I haven't caught sight of his green self!"

King Kai dismissed the subject and wandered over to the Grand Kai's old model convertible and ran his hands over it.

Goku sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Wherever you are, Pikkon, I hope you're okay . . .


Author's Note: Okay, so I know that the cops don't know what happened to the bad guy, and neither does Videl, but that's coming up in the next chapter. Yes, the Pikkon thing is important.

ADVERTISING: Read 'In The Life of Son Gohan' by Satashi. This guy is really good. I've read most of his CCS stuff and this one is just great!

NEXT CHAPTER: It seems that someone is stalking Videl. Gohan gets Piccolo to look after her. Who is this stalker?!