Author's Note: Sorry this took so long. I was studying to get my permit, which I haven't gotten yet, and, by the looks of things, I will NEVER get. Anyway, here's the next chapter. You'll never guess what's going to happen here . . . hahahahaha!!!!!!!

Oh, yeah!! 10 pages!! Longest in a while- but only because of the rather silly Trunks and Goten scene at the end . . .

I don't own DBZ. Sad, isn't it?

WARNING: Bad words, a little violence, knees, women power, bad Goten and Trunks (you'll see J )

II. Dark Passions

*~* Chapter Thirty *~*

Round Two

The next morning, Videl was still tingling with excitement from the previous night. She and Gohan had a blast, eating, dancing, meeting new people while trying to ignore the death glares being sent their way by Hercule. The two, along with an exhausted Goten and Chibi Trunks, retired earlier than the other fighters to rest up for the next day's fight.

Gohan had insisted on rooming with his girlfriend, now that they knew of the enemy's presence at the Tenkaichi. After going to retrieve some clothing from his room, he took to the couch, almost falling asleep instantly. The night was uneventful, as no surprise attacks of any kind occurred, but Videl was glad to have her boyfriend near anyway.

Videl woke early, having slept a while the day before. She quickly dressed and peeked out of her door to see if anyone else was up and about. She spotted Bulma tiptoeing back to her room, arms stuffed with familiar pink shirts. Videl cleared her throat. "Bulma . . . what are you doing?"

The blue-haired woman looked surprised, then mildly embarrassed. "N-nothing . . ."

"Oh, yeah? What are those in your arms?"

Bulma smiled a bit. "Okay, okay . . . I managed to salvage a few of the shirts from the garden outside of Chichi's room. One quick wash, and they'll be as good as new . . ."

"Uh huh . . ."

"Shh! You never saw me, okay?" Then, looking around suspiciously, she ducked into her own room.

Videl shook her head and closed her door, walking up to the couch where Gohan was sprawled out, sleeping soundly. His arms were flung up over his head, his legs were tangled up in a blanket and his mouth was slightly hanging open, and he was snoring very softly.

How cute! Too bad I have to wake him up . . .

Videl pulled the pillow from underneath Gohan's head and smacked him in the face with it. He lurched up, swatting madly at the air.

"Morning, Gohan," she said as sweetly as possible. "How are you?"

He gave her a look. "Sleepy."

"We've got a match today, Gohan! It takes you . . . oh . . . about two hours or so to eat, so you'd better get up now."

"It does not take me two hours to eat," he grumbled, getting up.

She just smiled and watched him trudge into the bathroom. Videl sat on the couch, watching some footage of her and Gohan dancing at last night's party on the morning news. She chuckled as the screen switched to her make-out session with Gohan.

It was then that Gohan emerged from the bathroom, dressed in a dark blue gi. Upon seeing what was on the news, he turned bright red. "Jeez, Videl, why are you watching that?!"

Videl laughed and turned off the tv. "Ready to go down to breakfast, handsome?"

His face turned even redder as he followed her out of the room. Okay, Gohan had to admit that he liked being affectionate with Videl- giving her a kiss in front of his life-long friends was okay. But sucking face before the whole world? THAT was different. Gohan glanced down at Videl, who was absolutely quiet as they walked down the hallway.

I bet she wanted to get her mind off of whatever Shin said to her, so she pulled that little stunt last night. I wonder what he could've said to get her all worked up . . .

They stepped onto an elevator and rode it down to the private buffet area, reserved for fighters only. Goku, Chibi Trunks and Goten where already there, pigging out on pancakes, eggs, bacon and other breakfast foods. The rest of the place was empty- besides Shin standing off in the corner of the room all by himself.

Videl hung back a little as Gohan approached the long buffet table. She could feel the Supreme Kai's gaze locked onto her. She knew what he wanted.

I haven't decided yet. Sorry.

It's fine. Take your time, and choose wisely. I could really use your help, but there may be other alternatives . . .

Like what?

. . .

Videl chuckled slightly. Don't worry. I'll decide soon.

Very well, then.

She felt him remove himself from her mind and watched as he quietly left the room.

Unknown to Videl, Goku and Vegeta, who'd entered the room with Mirai Trunks just as her mental conversation with Shin began, had been watching her carefully as she stared at Shin, even laughing once about nothing.

Vegeta sent Goku a knowing glance, and he nodded back ever so slightly. Goku had been right, Videl and Shin were up to something.

*~*

"Mind communication," Tien said simply. He, Goku, Vegeta, Krillin, Yamcha, M. Trunks and Gohan were sitting separately from the rest of the group. Gohan had reluctantly left his girlfriend's side to join the 'meeting' that Goku had insisted on having.

"What?" Vegeta demanded.

"From what you and Goku told me about their earlier interaction, and from what I know of Shin, then I'd say they were communicating through their thoughts or something. The Supreme Kai DOES have the ability to do that, you know."

Gohan frowned. Videl was keeping a secret from him? How could she?! He winced slightly, remembering all of the things he'd kept from her. Yeah, but sill . . . that doesn't make it right!

"Gohan," Goku said seriously, "You need to talk to Videl. We need to know what's going on."

"I'll talk to her . . . but she's loyal. She may not tell me anything," Gohan admitted.

Vegeta scowled at him. "Look, BOY, she's YOUR woman! You MAKE her talk!"

Krillin nodded. "As much as I hate to admit it, Vegeta may be right about this. Don't let her use her womanly charms on you, Gohan."

Gohan wanted to ask exactly what were 'womanly charms', but just sighed. "I'm not going to hurt her or anything, Vegeta."

M. Trunks spoke up. "Well, no one's asking you to." Vegeta snorted, but he ignored him. "Just tell her you mean business."

"And don't take no for an answer," Yamcha put in.

Gohan raised an eyebrow at Yamcha. "And since when have you been an expert on women?"

Krillin burst out laughing as Yamcha flushed. The others tried to hold back their laughter, but failed. Soon, all of the guys- minus Vegeta, who just rolled his eyes, were hanging all over each other, laughing their heads off.

Gohan grinned and stood up. "Sorry, Yamcha. Look, guys, I've got this all under control. I can do it, okay?"

Krillin snickered. "Yeah, sure Gohan."

"I'm the man, right? That's what you said last night."

At this Vegeta roared with laughter and everyone looked at him as if he were crazy. "The MAN?! Right! Haha!!"

Gohan shook his head and rejoined Videl's side, ignoring Vegeta's continuous howling. She glanced up at him. "What's so funny? You guys have been laughing at something, and us women feel left out."

"Nothing. Nothing at all . . ."

Juuhachi glared at him. "I don't believe that for a second. Krillin's going to get it! You were talking 'business', weren't you?"

The ladies turned and locked their gazes on Gohan. He shifted nervously. "Business? What do you mean?"

The blond woman stood up and leaned very close to him, whispering, "You know what I mean. YESTERDAY'S business."

Gohan chuckled, becoming even more nervous. It seemed that Bulma and Chichi had caught on and wanted to know what they'd been talking about, too. Videl just looked confused.

"What is she talking about Gohan?" Videl demanded. "Are you keeping something from me?"

"Are YOU?" he countered.

The room quieted down, and Gohan was aware that everyone was staring at them. Goku and Vegeta were watching with great interest. He'd caught her there, and she looked pretty scared.

Videl gave him the meanest glare he'd ever seen, surpassing those he'd gotten from Vegeta. She got up out of her chair and pushed him back slightly. "I don't have to answer to you."

"Why not? I thought I meant something to you, Videl!"

"You do! Just . . . just . . . just stay out of my business, okay?!"

Gohan frowned. "NO, that's NOT okay! What's going ON with you?"

Videl looked defeated for a second, then raised her chin. "Nothing. I'm fine, I'm NOT hiding anything, and I DON'T want to talk about it anymore!"

Gohan gave his father a helpless look. Goku nodded. "Keep going," he mouthed.

"Please, Videl, I just want to help. Talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"You're obviously strung up about SOMETHING, or you wouldn't have caught an attitude with me. You haven't been this way in a long time!"

"We'll talk later."

"But-"

"LATER. We've got to go, or we'll be late." With that, she stormed out of the room.

"Damn," Krillin swore. "She's tougher than I thought!"

"She'll be hard to crack, Gohan," Goku said. "But I think you can do it."

Gohan took off after her, not wanting to hear anymore of their comments. He didn't approach her, but followed her to make sure she was safe. At this rate, with the way things were progressing, he'd loose his girlfriend of less than twenty-four hours.

*~*

You blew it, Videl! They're on to you! You'd better decided what you're going to do- and fast! The sooner you make up your mind, the sooner you can focus on other things, rather than on Shin's plan.

She made her way to the waiting area, noticing that the stadium was already beginning to fill up with spectators. She sighed and closed her eyes, leaning against a nearby wall. I didn't mean to blow up at Gohan. I should apologize to him. He was right- I AM worked up over this whole thing.

Soon after her arrival, Piccolo flew into the room. He noticed her bleak mood.
"What happened?"
"What happened?"

"What happened?"

She jumped slightly, then looked around. Oh, he's speaking to me . . . "Gohan and I had a little fight, that's all."

"Over what?"

" . . . he thinks I'm hiding something from him."

"And are you?"

" . . ."

Piccolo snickered. "I'll take that as a yes."

"It's not going to put him in danger, or any of you, for that matter . . ."

"Let me guess- just yourself."

" . . . how did you know? What's going on?"

He tapped his right ear. "My hearing is exceptional. I over heard you speaking to Shin while you were flying back the other day."

"Oh. So you were spying on us?"

"Sort of. I'm sure he knew I was there, but didn't comment because of my . . . loyalty or whatever. Shin asked you not to speak of his plan to the others, and neither will I. But . . . have you decided?"

"No. But to tell you the truth, I'm thinking about saying yes."

Piccolo chuckled. "I figured that much."

"It's time for me to be useful, you know? I'm not going to be the weak woman who needs saving! I'm going to try to help out as much as I can, and right now, this is the only way I can see . . ."

"I understand."

Just then, Gohan rushed into the room. He hesitated upon seeing Piccolo. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm fighting today, remember? Of course I'd be here," Piccolo said.

Gohan looked a bit sheepish. "Of course! Sorry." He turned to Videl. "C-can we talk?"

"Sure."

He pulled her away from Piccolo. "Videl, I'm REALLY sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to pry. It's just that my Dad and Vegeta and the others think that something's going on."

"It's okay. I should apologize, too. I'm sorry for acting so childish."

"Videl . . . you're not going to tell me what's going on, are you?"

She shook her head. "I can't. I want to, but I can't, Gohan. Please try to understand."

Well . . . at least I know that something's up. "Videl . . ."

"Gohan . . . do you trust me?"

He blinked. "W-what?"

"You heard me. Do you trust me?"

"Yes! Of course!"

"Then trust me to do what I feel is right. Please. Have a little faith in me, Gohan."

Gohan smiled down at her. She's right. I need to have faith in her. "Okay. I won't ask about it anymore. I trust you, Videl."

"Good."

The others arrived. The fighter's who'd been eliminated the previous day were sitting in the bleachers, with front row seats so that they could catch all of the action. The arrival of Asento did not go unnoticed by the remaining fighters. They ignored him, just as he did to them, and he went off to stand in a corner by himself.

Goku went up to his son. "Did you find anything out?"

Gohan shook his head. "No. And Dad- I can't do it."

"It? What do you mean?"

"I can't force this out of her. I trust her to make her own decisions, and I trust her to choose the best path. She's not stupid, and she can . . . she can take care of herself, as much as I really don't want to acknowledge that."

Goku sighed. "Okay, Gohan. If that's how you feel . . . then we can't make you do anything you don't want to."

"Thanks Dad." But why . . . WHY do I get the feeling that I'm going to regret this later?

*~*

"And welcome back, folks!! We're ready to start the second round of the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai!!" cried the announcer. The crowd went wild. "The fighters have arrived, so let's get started! For our first match, we've got Gohan, who dazzled us all with his impressive light show in the first round, and Juuhachi, the lady responsible for taking down Hercule!"

This got some boos from the crowd. Krillin jumped up, glaring at everyone near, shouting, "HEY!! THAT'S MY WIFE YOU'RE BOOING AT!!!! YOU ALL WOULDN'T KNOW REAL TALENT IF IT BIT YOU IN THE A-"

Yamcha shook his head and forced Krillin to sit back down.

Chichi looked smug. "Gohan's got this one, no doubt."

Once again, Krillin got angry. "What's THAT supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying that Gohan will beat your wife with no problem. There's no way she can compete with a Saiyan, even if he ISN'T a full blood." She rubbed her hands together greedily, money signs forming in her big eyes. "All that money is MINE!! Hahahahaha!"

Everyone around her sweat dropped.

Gohan and Juuhachi came out, walking into the ring. The crowd cheered.

"Now that both fighters are out . . . let's FIGHT!!"

"No going easy on me, boy," Juuhachi snapped.

Gohan grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it."

She snickered, then attacked. Gohan was ready, though, and easily defended her punch. After a few minutes of punching and kicking, Juuhachi took it up a notch and took to the air, shooting a ki blast at him. Gohan powered up to SSJ1 and joined her in the air.

Vegeta scoffed. "Weakling. He needed to go Super for HER?"

Goku rolled his eyes. Typical Vegeta response.

Within minutes, Gohan knocked Juuhachi out of the rung with a rather harsh punch, sending her flying to the ground with a loud THUD.

Krillin jumped up out of his seat again, trying to get a better look at his wife. "That boy . . . if he's hurt her, I'll . . ."

Juuhachi climbed out of the crater that had formed from her fall, brushing the dirt off of her clothes. She didn't say a word to anyone, just walked away.

"And Gohan has won the match! What an amazing kid! Let's give it up for him!" cried the announcer. The crowd cheered louder than they had before.

Gohan blushed slightly at the overwhelming reply he was receiving from the spectators as he joined Videl's side in the waiting area. He glanced down at her, then said softly, "Are you nervous? About your next match, I mean."

"I . . . maybe just a BIT. I mean, if he's . . . you know, then . . . what if he tries to hurt me or something?"

"He wouldn't dare. Not with all of us around. Don't worry- if he tries anything, I'll be out there to help you, okay?"

"Thanks, Gohan. I know I can always count on you." She gave him a kiss.

Vegeta gagged and turned away from the young lovers. "Can't they take that crap somewhere else?"

Goku grinned and nudged him in the ribs, getting a heated look from the older Saiyan. "I don't know, Vegeta. You seemed to be enjoying it last night, if I remember . . ."

"I did not! I enjoying seeing your brat being embarrassed, and that's about it!"

"Whatever, Vegeta . . ."

"Screw you, Kakkarot!"

"Now for our next match!" said the announcer. "We've got newcomer Asento and the beautiful, strong, ever so lovely Videl."

As expected, Vegeta snorted at the description of Gohan's girlfriend.

"Let's get them out here so we can get started!"

Videl reluctantly separated herself from Gohan and walked out, stoping to get a reassuring sqeeze on the shoulder from Goku. She took a deep breath and walked into the ring. Shortly after, asento joined her there, giving her a look that made her skin crawl. Kami . . . there's NO way I'm going to win this! He's a Saiyan, and he's WAY too strong for me.

"Scared?" he asked her in a surprisingly soft, but not nice, voice.

She jumped. "What? HELL no! Not of YOU, buddy!"

He chuckled. "Brave. I like that."

"I don't give a damn about what you like. Prepare for a major ass kicking!"

This only caused him to laugh more. The announcer spoke up. "Er . . .is he going to laugh all day . . . or fight?"

Videl attacked and he easily blocked. He advanced, grabbing her arms and pulling her close to his chest. Videl began to struggle against him, but it was no use. He was just too strong.

"Let me go, freak!" she managed to grunt out.

"You're very beautiful . . ." he said in a husky voice.

How. Revolting. Utterly. Revolting! I bet he's getting turned on or something . . . YUCK!! She struggled against his grasp and, this time, he let her go. She backed up from him and collected herself, standing tall. "LOOK, are you going to fight me, or what?"

"If you want it that way . . ."

He punched at her and she ducked, then returned her own blows. They fought back and forth for a while until Videl began to tire. Asento backed her up to the edge of the ring.

Shit. I'm so done for . . .

He grabbed her again and pulled up to him. He grabbed the neck of her shirt and pulled it down slightly, brining his head very close to the crook of her neck.

Meanwhile, Gohan was going crazy. "STOP THE FIGHT!!!" he was shouting. "STOP!! HE'S ABOUT TO RAPE HER OUT THERE!!!!"

Goku shook his head and pulled backwards on his son's gi. "GOHAN, she's FINE! Calm down, okay?"

Vegeta began to laugh as Asento bent down close to Videl's neck. He knew exactly what was going on! "This is too good! Hahahahaha!!"

Gohan gave Vegeta an angry look. "I don't see what so funny!!!"

Back in the ring, Videl was tired of having this JERK sniffing around her neck, and she DID NOT want to be so close to him anymore. Videl, old girl, desperate times call for desperate measures. And boy am I desperate right now!

Videl took a deep breath, brought back her knee . . .

And placed it directly in his crotch.

Everyone winced as a loud cracking noise echoed throughout the stadium and the crowd went silent. Asento wheezed once, then stumbled around, trying to clear the stars from his eyes. Most of the men in the crowd winced and shook their heads at the man's misfortune.

Videl decided to end it now. She grabbed him and forced him out of the ring as he cradled his damaged privates. She couldn't help but giggle.

Gohan was staring in shock, his mouth hanging open. Goku was trying not to laugh. Tien just muttered, "Damn."

But Vegeta, however, was practically on the floor, howling with laughter.

"Hahahahaha!"

Gohan winced. "Oh, man . . . that sounded like that hurt."

"Hahahahaha!"

Goku nodded in agreement. "I suppose that's a woman's ultimate secret weapon."

"Hahahahaha!"

"I don't think he's gonna like that, though, Dad. I imagine he'll be furious . . . when he regains consciousness, that is."

"Hahahahaha!"

"Hmm . . . you're right. We're gonna have to keep an extra close watch on her from now on . . ."

"Hahahahaha!"

"Man . . . I never knew she had it in her . . ." Gohan muttered.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Neither did I . . ."

"Hahaha-"

"VEGETA, WILL YOU STOP THAT INFERNAL RACKET!!!!!!!!" Piccolo demanded loudly. "You laugh like a god damn hyena!!"

Gohan grinned. "It's more like an evil cackle."

Vegeta regained control of himself and watched as several monks came out, dragged Asento onto a stretcher and ran off. He turned to Gohan and sneered, "You better watch out for that knee, boy."

Gohan turned red a tiny bit and glared at Vegeta.

The announcer cleared his throat. "Ahh . . . I'm afraid . . . by the rules . . . Videl is disqualified, not only for using excessive force, but also for hitting beneath the belt."

The crowd cried out in protest, booing and throwing things all over the place. Chichi jumped up and shouted louder than them all. "YOU GO VIDEL!!!! DON'T TAKE ANY CRAP FROM A MAN!!!!"

Bulma joined Chichi in her cries. Videl smiled up at them and gave them a thumbs up sign to show them that she was alright. Bulma and Chichi's antics got OTHER women around them going on about 'women power', and soon, it spread throughout the whole stadium.

Videl was feeling good about herself at the moment as all of the women stood up and cheered for her. She grabbed the mic out of the announcer's hand and said, "Let this be a lesson to all men! Treat your women RIGHT, or else!! We don't take crap from ANYONE!!!!!"

The female spectators jumped up and began to shout loudly, clapping for Videl. "YOU TELL 'EM GIRL!!!!" someone shouted.

Goku looked very scared at all of the women going wild at Videl's short speech. "Gohan . . . stop her!! They're gonna riot!!"

"Oh, goody. A female uprising," Vegeta snickered. "Let's sit back and watch as they burn their bras, hmm?"

Gohan just shook his head and ignored Vegeta's remark. Leave it to Videl to pull something like that . . .

The announcer grabbed the mic out of Videl's hand just as a monk ran up to him, whispering in his ear. "Oh . . . uh HUH . . . REALLY . . . WELL, I'VE GOT SOME NEWS TO CHEER ALL OF YOU LADIES UP!!"

They all quieted down.

"Asento has ALSO been disqualified for . . . ah . . . sexual assault in the ring."

The women cried out, considering it another fight won in the battle for the equality of women. The sound was deafening and the men were getting a little scared as they edged away from any female that happened to be sitting next to them. Videl just laughed as she went back to Gohan's side. Goku looked scared of her, backing away as she walked past. Even Gohan appeared a bit nervous.

"Er . . . Videl, maybe you shouldn't have done that."

She gave him an evil look. "I was supposed to let him feel me up out there?!"

Gohan flushed. "Well, NO, but-"

"Stupid girl. He wasn't 'feeling you up'," Vegeta scoffed. "Now, why in the world would anyone want to do that?"

"Fuck off, Vegetable," Videl replied, rolling her eyes.

He just grinned. "But I DO know what he was doing out there. Would you like to know?"

Gohan sighed. "Cut the crap, Vegeta. Just tell us already."

He thought about it for a second, then said in an overly sweet voice, "Maybe later."

Gohan looked ticked. He was acting like his juvenile self again.

"Asshole."

"VIDEL!!!"

"Sorry, Gohan."

Outside, the announcer tried to regain control of his crowd. "Now, now, ladies . . . calm down! We need to start our next match!" Eventually, the crowd was calmed down. "Thank you. Next up, we've got Piccolo and Son Goku. They fought here before and totally destroyed the ring! Now, let's hope they can keep things under control . . ."

Gohan watched anxiously as Goku and Piccolo took to the ring. He was eager to see how this match would go, although he was positive that Goku would win.

"Now that both men are out, FIGHT!"

Goku walked up to his old friend. "Piccolo . . ."

" . . . what is it, Goku?"

"We need to talk."

Piccolo looked around. "HERE? Of all places, Goku? Odd place for a conversation."

"Sorry. Look . . . I want YOU to win this one, okay?"

"Why? What are you up to?"

"I want Gohan to fight Vegeta. I suppose, since both Videl AND Asento were disqualified, then they'll probably just toss everyone into the ring at the same time and make them duke it out. I don't want it to end up with Vegeta taking his revenge out on me, tiring both of us out, and giving Gohan an easy win. AND you and I both know that Vegeta wouldn't hold back with Gohan, where as I might."

"Probably."

Goku nodded. "Gohan hasn't trained in a long time, besides that intensive period before coming here, but that's about it. I want to see where he is, and I think he'll get a better fight from Vegeta than from his dad."

"You sure about that? You're stronger than Vegeta, you always have been, always will be. Would he really be a challenge if Gohan has somehow regained his powers?"

Goku grinned. "Judging how strong he is now is the whole purpose of this thing. If Gohan beats Vegeta, then great! He's right where he should be. Besides . . . SOMEONE'S gotta bring Chichi her check!"

Piccolo just shook his head. "And naturally you're counting on Vegeta winning the next match and me loosing tomorrow."

Goku looked sheepish. "Well . . . yeah."

"FINE, Goku. FINE, if THAT'S the way you want it . . ."

Goku rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Good! Now let's get this started."

Gohan was immediately suspicious as his father and Piccolo engaged in a private conversation in the middle of the ring. What are they planning? I know they're up to something!

The fight began and, to everyone's surprise and dismay, ended rather quickly. Goku lost just ten minutes into the fight, landing out of the ring. Gohan was stunned, Vegeta was sure there was a conspiracy, Tien couldn't say a word, but Videl clapped excitedly for Piccolo's win. She knew that no one had really expected the Namek to win, and sometimes she liked to root for the underdog.

Gohan looked wounded as he went up to his father. "What HAPPENED?" he moaned. "You LOST!!"

"Yes, Gohan, I'm quite aware of that . . ."

"But . . . I . . . you . . . NO!"

Videl tried to calm Gohan down by rubbing his back. "It's okay, Gohan! It's just a tournament . . ."

Vegeta, as usual, had something to say. "Slacked off in Other World, Kakkarot?"

"No."

"Ahhh . . . you and the green bean are planning something, right? Don't lie, you're terrible at it."

Goku chose not to say anything.

Vegeta was angry. There went his chance to defeat Kakkarot in front of the whole world! Now he had to settle for the Jolly Green Giant and a brat, whining over his father's pathetic defeat. It's not like the woman NEEDS anymore money . . . what an upset this has all turned out to be. He sighed. "Come on, three eyes, it's time for me to kick your ass."

Tien rolled his eyes. "I'm not afraid of you anymore, Vegeta. Drop the threatening act."

"Not scared, huh? You should be!"

The announcer called them out and they went into the ring. When he shouted 'fight' Vegeta immediately attacked, taking the offensive. They fought back in forth across the ring.

"You've . . . improved . . ." Vegeta grunted.

"Why . . . was that a . . . complement?"

"Hardly!" Vegeta punched Tien hard in the face, sending him flying into the wall and out of the ring.

"And Vegetable is the winner!! Because of our two disqualified fighters, the matches originally scheduled to be held this afternoon are canceled. Tomorrow, in place of the finals, there will be a battle royal between the remaining fighters- Gohan, Piccolo and Vegetable. We'll see you bright and early tomorrow!"

Gohan wrapped his arm around Videl's waist and led her out of the waiting area. "What a round, huh? Nothing here is going quite the way I expected."

She chuckled. "You got that right. Hey, let's go to the hotel, change and hit the beach?"

Behind them, Goku cried, "What a GREAT idea! I'm gonna go get the others." He ran off, and Tien, Vegeta and Piccolo all went their separate ways.

As they walked back to the hotel, Gohan was suddenly ambushed by a wave of teenaged girls all wearing skimpy outfits. They pushed Videl roughly out of the way and surrounded Gohan, all speaking at the same time.

"You were GREAT in BOTH of your matches!!"

"You look so CUTE in that outfit!"

"OHHHHHHH, look at those muscles!!!"

"And your hair is so PRETTY!!"

"Umm, tall, dark AND handsome!!"

"Take me! I NEED you!!"

Gohan tried to back away, but found himself unable to go anywhere. "Ladies, ladies! Please, I-"

"Can I have your number?!"

"Where do you live?!"

"Can I have your autograph?!"

Videl rolled her eyes. It was just like the girls at school . . . She shoved some of them out of the way and went up to Gohan's side. "He's MINE, got it!! Go away!!!"

The girls looked upset and eventually flocked away. Gohan's eyes grew big and he squeaked as one girl pinched his butt as she walked past. He decided to act as if it hadn't happened- he didn't want Videl to go after the girl and KILL her or something.

"Bimbos . . ." Videl muttered. "It's not like they didn't KNOW you were taken. I mean, we hooked up in front of the WHOLE world . . ."

"It's nothing Videl. Let's go, okay?"

*~*

Goten and Chibi Trunks were already on the beach way before any of the Z-Fighters arrived. They decided to skip the matches for the day- it was easy to see who was going to win. So the boys took a trip to the beach, instead. Trunks was ogling all of the ladies in skimpy bathing suits while Goten played with a crab he'd found hiding in the sand.

Chibi Trunks was bored, and decided to play a game he'd seen on tv before. Truth or Dare. (Dum dum duuuuum!) "Say, Goten . . ."

"Yeah Trunks?"

"Wanna play a game?"

Goten looked up from his crab. "Okay! What is it?"

"Truth or Dare."

Goten looked scared. "I heard about that game! Only big kids play it, cuz they do icky stuff, like kiss and junk."

"No, Goten! It's NOT a 'big kid game'. In fact . . . little kids made it up!"

"REALLY?"

No. "Yep! See, back in the day, when there wasn't no tv or computers or crap like that, little kids had to do SOMETHING. So they made Truth or Dare." HA!! Look at his face! He's eating this up!

"Okay! How do you play?"

"Um . . ." Let's make this FUN . . . "I'll ask you to do something, and you have to do it, NO MATTER WHAT."

Goten nodded. "Ah . . . where does the truth come in?"

"I don't know! I'll go first. Er . . . let's see . . ." Trunks looked around the beach, which was beginning to fill up now that the Tenkaichi was over for the day. He eyed a woman with a rather big bust covered only in a skimpy red bathing suit sitting on a towel and grinned. "See that woman over there?"

"Yeah."

"See that looooong STRING handing from her top?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Well, be a nice little boy and pull it out for her. Women HATE it when strings hang from their clothes, and they like it when you pull them out for them. And BOY, does she have a problem! I mean, look at how LONG and BIG that string is." What an idiot!! Haha!!

"Oh! Hey, I LIKE this game!" Goten got up and approached the woman.

Trunks grinned evilly. Not as much as I do . . . Mwahahahaha!

Goten went up behind the woman and eyed her back. There was a long red string tied in a knot there. TWO, in fact. I think I'll pull both, to be nice. Goten yanked on the strings and the knot came loose.

The woman screamed and caught her top before it fell off completely. She whirled around, about to slap whoever had pulled off her top. She stared down at a sweet little boy with his finger stuck in his mouth.

"You had a string hangin from your top, lady. I pulled it out for you."

She smiled at him. He was so cute! She put her top back on. "Aww, thank you! Hold on, I've got something for you . . ." She handed him a lollipop and patted his head.

"I'm not supposed to take candy from strangers." He handed it back.

"Is that so? Well, how about I buy you an ice cream?" She called a vendor over and bought him a huge cone. Goten skipped back over to Trunks, happily licking his cone.

"Wow, that was GREAT!!! She bought me FOOD!!!"

Trunks' eyebrow twitched. What the hell had just happened? Goten was supposed to get into TROUBLE, not be rewarded! "What? ARGH!!"

"Why don't you do the same thing? You can get some ice cream too!" Goten suggested, finishing off his cone.

"I . . . I think I will." Trunks stood up and eyed the women. Man . . . I'm taking suggestions from GOTEN of all people . . . the world is coming to an end.

He walked up to a woman and yanked on her bikini top. She, too, screamed and whirled around. Trunks grinned, expecting a reward. She glared at him. "Oh, you think this is FUNNY, huh?"

"BRIEFS TRUNKS!!!!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!!!!!!!!"

Trunks gulped and turned around, coming face to face with his mother. Damn! I'm in trouble now!

"Is this devil YOUR son?!" the woman yelled.

"He's not a devil! And YES, he IS mine!!"

"He pulled off my top!!"

Bulma looked the woman over in distaste. No one called her son names, even if he was a bit . . . Vegeta-like. "Then maybe you should put on some more clothes! No one wants to see your fat anyway!!" Trunks snickered.

"HOW DARE YOU!!!! I-"

"Something wrong here?" A big, dangerous looking man came up and stood next to the half naked woman.

"Yes! This WOMAN is insulting me and her kid tried to get me naked!! OHHH, you're gonna get it now! My husband's gonna give it to you GOOD."

Bulma looked the man over, then yawned. "Is that right? Oh, Vegeta! This man is messing with me!"

Vegeta walked over, looking murderous with his arms crossed over his chest and his meanest glare on his face. He looked the other man over, then chuckled. "THIS TWIG is the problem? I can take him easily."

The woman's husband snarled and was about to advance on him when Vegeta held up his hand and formed a ki blast. The man backed off, remembering them from the tournament. He grabbed his wife and took off.

Bulma gave her husband a sweet smile. "Thank you!" Vegeta grunted and walked off. She turned to Trunks and grabbed his ear. "AS FOR YOU . . ."

Shoot! Damn that Goten!

*~*

Videl and Gohan were trying not to laugh, as they had witnessed the whole incident from a blanket not too far away. Both had seen Trunks pull on the woman's top and what followed. Trunks looked absolutely petrified as his mother fussed him out with a beach full of people watching.

Goten came over and sat in between the two, shaking his head at Chibi Trunks. "Poor Trunks. When I did it, the nice lady gave me some ice cream. All Trunks got was into trouble."

Gohan gapped at his little brother. "You . . . you pulled a woman's top off?!"

"Yeah. Trunks said that women liked to have little strings that are hanging off of their clothes pulled on."

Videl burst out laughing. "He's . . . rotten! Absolutely, horribly ROTTEN!"

Gohan had to chuckle too. He said to his little brother, "Don't do that again, okay?"

" . . . alright, Gohan. If you say so."

"Good. We don't want you getting into trouble like Trunks, now do we?"

Goten giggled. "NO WAY!!"

Goku waved at them, shouting, "Hey! We're gonna start up a round of volleyball! Wanna play?"

Gohan glanced over at Videl. She shook her head. "Go on, if you want."

" . . . okay. I won't be far if you need me."

She watched him run down the beach and join his father's side. Goten took off after him. Videl sighed and grabbed a pair of shade from the bag next to her, then dug out some sun tan lotion. She began to apply it onto her arms.

"Hey, babe, need some help with that?"

Videl didn't even have to turn around. "Go to hell, Sharpner."

He frowned and plotted down next to her with Erasa. "How'd you know it was me?"

She wrinkled her noise and slapped some lotion onto her legs. "I can smell your god damn shaving lotion from a mile away, that's how. What are you shaving, anyway? Surely not any hair on your FACE, cuz there isn't any."

Erasa laughed. "Good one."

"Hmm . . ." Videl rolled her eyes.

Sharpner just flicked his hair over his shoulders. "Whatever Videl." He took the lotion from her and squeezed some into his hands. He moved around her back, then rubbed some onto her.

"Back off, okay?! Jeez . . ." She tried to edge away from him.

"Stay still, will ya!"

"I SAID-"

"I believe the lady wants you to leave."

Videl looked to her right to see Shin standing there, looking totally out of place in his normal clothes on a beach. What in the world is he doing here?!

Erasa and Sharpner looked scared. A purple guy just popped up out of no where!! "Who IS this guy?!" Sharpner demand.

Videl stood up. "Look, guys, I need to talk to him for a second. Could you . . . go away?"

They hesitantly left, glancing over their shoulders at them continuously as they walked away.

"Thanks," Videl said to the Supreme Kai.

He nodded. "I just thought you'd like to know . . . the two little ones know what we're planning."

"HOW?!"

"By accident, I assure you. But they won't talk, or so I hope. I've bribed them to keep quiet."

"I'll watch them."

"Thank you. Kibito is very worried about this whole ting, with the boys knowing and all. He thinks that it could get out of hand."

Meanwhile, Sharpner was busy making his way up to Gohan. He grabbed the other boy by the shoulders and whirled him around, pointing to where Videl was standing with Shin. "Who IS that guy? What does he want with Videl?"

Gohan didn't answer his questions. He watched as Videl spoke to Shin about something, an array of emotions crossing her face. Then the purple man smiled and shook her hand.

"So you'll do it?" Shin was saying.

" . . . yes. I'll do it."

He took her hand and shook it. "It is agreed, then. Welcome aboard."

Author's Note: What do you think? I really hadn't expected the whole disqualification thing, but I didn't want Asento to fight against Gohan just yet. That'll come later. Anyway, please review and e-mails are greatly appreciated.

ADVERTISING: I'm afraid I've been neglecting the DBZ area of ff.net, but I think I've found something here! Scars of the Past: The Life Story of Son Gohan by Frozenflower is pretty good.

Next Chapter: OH, NO!! Videl said YES!!! Dum dum dum!!! The battle royal is up. Who will win- Vegeta or Gohan? Also . . . Shin's little plan goes into action. Will it be successful or disastrous?