*Beaming with pride* ^.^ You reviewed!!! All of you!! I'm so happy I could cry!!!

Arigatou gozaimasu Teddy *blows a kiss*, ChibiMirai aka Silenced, Cutsy, dragonchic, ChibiChibi *plug me, plug me!!!*, hall, Nihil, JadeiteZ, Dan, Mirai-Trunks' #1 fangirl, Lala, Smilingsam and Katie West!!!!!

I love you so much (especially if you review ^_~)

A/N: Ok. I had to get the rating up a little because of this little chappie. And I warn, it's based on something that happened to someone I know.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: (See Chapter 1)

I own Lettusu and Cauli.

Chapter 6:

Secrets

"... Secrets" he said.

"Why? Why do you want to know my secrets?"

"Well, you know mine. It's only fair."

"Hn... You promise not to tell?"

"Cross my heart. Anything said in this room, stays in this room. Besides, how do you think I'd tell if you haven't?"

"You're right about that. Hey! You must have some more secrets hidden. I don't want to be the only one talking her heart out!"

"Well, I'll just have to give it some thought."

"Ok, then. Secrets it is. Shoot."

"So... what's your biggest secret?"

"I don't know."

"Something you haven't told anyone and you've planned to take with you to the grave." She was silent for a while.

"I stole."


"Nande?"

"Don't make me repeat it!"

"No. I mean, what did you steal?"

"A necklace... from a woman my dad and I want to visit once, not so long ago. It was in the summer. My dad was in some business with her in her country house and they left me free to roam the studio. I opened a box that was sitting inside the upper drawer of the desk. It was ajar. In there I saw several pieces of jewelry. That necklace was the only one that called my attention and the only one I could take out with me, so I took it. I didn't really have the need to, but I did. Now, every time I wear it or look at it, it makes me so angry with myself, cause I was just weak enough to do that. It's just wrong, but I can't seem to get rid of it." She was silent again.

"I think you probably should. It is wrong. But you can't give it back."

"No. I never saw the lady again." They were both silent again.

"Give it away." He said all of a sudden.

"Nani?"

"Give it away.... As a present. To someone you're not seeing in a while."

"You think that would help me?"

"Don't know. But if you don't see it, maybe you'll forget about it."

She nodded in the dark. "What about your secret? Remembered one yet?"

"Yeah... When I was little, I used to have a crush on Bulma-san."

"Sou ka?"

"Hai. She was the only woman I knew by then, besides my mom. When we went to Nameku-sei, I remember I used to watch her intently, since she was used to walk around in her underwear." Videl gasped.

"She was!?"

"Uh-huh. Then I accidentally caught a glimpse of her changing and... It became a habit." She gasped again. "After that, I began to search for ways to watch her bathe." Videl sat up quickly.

"I can't believe it! Gohan's a peeping tom!!"

"I'm not!!" He whined, sounding offended. "I was that one time!"

"I'll remember to lock the doors and check for holes when I'm changing from now on, thank you!"

"Videl! I'm not a peeping tom!!"

"Ok, I believe you! I was just teasing you! So, did you see Bulma-san naked?"

"Hai."

"And?"

"What do you mean 'And?' I was too young to think anything about it but how girls are different from boys. I don't even remember how she looked now!"

"Have you seen anybody else?"

"Mmmm..." he trailed off hesitantly.

"THE TRUTH!!"

"Iie. I haven't."

"You ever touched a girl?" She asked this in a tone that he didn't know how to take.

"No." He said frowning at her sudden change in behavior.

"So you're a virgin." It was more a statement than a question.

"Hai." His voice was barely a whisper.

"Then there's two of us."

"You are? But you know all that stuff."

"I might be a virgin, but I'm not innocent. You learn that stuff from the road, hearing people talk, reading magazines and watching TV."

"Then that means I'm a virgin and innocent, cause I don't know all the stuff you do."

"Awww!! You're so cute I could bite you!!"

"Hehe. I wouldn't recommend that."

"Why?"

"Remember what Vejiita-Ou said about mating and claiming?"

"Hai. How could I forget?"

"In saiyajin culture, you claim a mate when you bite him so, don't even try it."

"Oh, thanks for clearing that up for me." They were silent for a moment.

"So..." he trailed off. "When you said you're not innocent... How do you know you're not?" She chuckled.

"Guys do things. You know... try things. Haven't you... Oh, forget it. I keep forgetting you're just starting to hang out with people your age."

"What kinds of things?"

"You know... Stuff."

"There you go, being specific again." She hit him.

"Don't make me say it! It's embarrassing!"

"It's dark. I can't see your face."

"Ok. Got a point there. Well, you see, they experiment touching each other's certain parts."

"You have!?"

"Well, yeah" she said almost inaudibly.

"So? Go on!"

"You sounding so eager doesn't help much, you know. I can't believe I'm telling you this!"

"Me neither. But remember: All this stays in this room."

"Well, there was this guy and well, he I- Kuso! I can feel your eyes on me!"

"Videl, you're evading it."

"I let him touch me!" she blurted out all of a sudden.

"You did?" he sounded incredulous.

"Hai."

"Where?" She could feel the blood rush to her face.

"Do you have to know?" she almost growled.

"I'm just curious." He said in a little voice.

"Ok." She sighed, defeated. "First, it was my breasts. Then he grew bold, and I didn't have the will to stop him from going down." Gohan was silent. She didn't know what to make of it. "I just took the chance and touched him too."

"You did?"

"Uh-huh. I touched his well, you know. I had never seen or touched one before, so I did it."

"And?" she could feel her face heat up even more.

"I-I w-well. I went down on him."

"What does that mean?" Had she not known Gohan, she would have sweatdropped.

"I sucked his" she just heard a little groan come from him. "But I never finished! There was always something happening or I just didn't have the guts to do it all the way." Gohan was silent again.

"Did he ever to you?" he asked at last.

"He wanted to, but I didn't let him. I admit I wanted him to but, as I told you, I got scared."

"Scared of what?"

"I don't know" there was a fair amount of hesitation in her voice.

"I think you do. You just don't wanna tell me."

"I I-" she felt a lump in her throat and involuntary tears began to well up in her eyes as the memories returned with a vengeance.

"You what?"

"I can't." She whimpered in a low voice, letting the tears fall.

"Videl? Are you crying? What's wrong?" he sat up, feeling worried and kind of guilty.

"I can't." She repeated and sniffed.

"This is something serious if it makes you cry. I have never seen you cry. You can tell me."

"It-It's just that every time we got too far" Sobs. "It reminded me of him." She began to cry silent rivers in the darkness, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Who's him? The boy who-"

"No." she croaked out from her position. He reached out and came in contact with the top of her head, as she had her forehead resting on her forearms.

"He was a man." She managed to say, pulling her face out of its hideout, thus giving Gohan's hand access to the side of her face. He held her small cheek in his hand and felt her lean closer to his touch. He moved next to her, leaning on the metal headboard, and brushed the bangs that fell over her face, even if he couldn't see it. She moved to lay her head on Gohan's lap, reveling in the comfort of his extremely warm, strong hands caressing her hair and face.

"He was a man that ran the dojo my otousan used to work at when he was an amateur. My okaasan died when I was little, so it was just he and I. He took me to the dojo with him almost every day after school. I was pretty much a normal girl of 8 or 9, and I didn't have any interest in fighting. My dad used to tell him to let me use his office to do my homework and he said it was okay... I don't remember. I don't know when exactly it started or how many times it happened or just what exactly he did to me when we were alone. I only know I didn't like it and that I was really scared of him. He warned me that if I said anything, he would fire my otousan; that we would be out in the streets and I would be taken to an orphanage. I believed him, so I didn't say anything. After that, I started to fall back at school. Then my otousan and I moved back to Orange Star City, where my otousan is from, after his first victory as a pro. It was then that I started to fight, because I wanted to know how to defend myself, to defend others. I didn't want it to happen again..." she was silent for a while. "I don't know how far he went. I don't remember. It's like I unconsciously erased those memories from my brain. But I guess I'm still a virgin... and I don't know if I'm ready to change that."

He listened intently while she spoke. He listened to her every word, every pause, every choke, every sniff, and every sob. He could feel a primitive rage, an unyielding hatred for that who had done this to her, the one who reduced this iron-will woman fighter to tears. He considered those tears priceless. They should be paid with blood, the blood of the one who provoked them. He just thought a being capable of such a thing to a little girl was monstrous.

Now he could understand some of his dearest friend's personality, why she was the way she was, why she did some things she did, why she had reacted the way she had to what Vejiita-Ou said about saiyajin mating customs. And he was glad he had got to share the bedroom with her. And he was glad he was the one to pick the topic. Now he knew her better and he could already feel himself getting closer to her, strengthening the bonds of friendship.

"I don't know what to say. 'I'm sorry' would be most convenient, but I'm not sure it'll be enough." He said quietly still caressing her hair and face. "I can't imagine what you went through or how you feel, but I can tell you I'm really angry with that... him. I was going to say animal but that would be offending the poor things." There was a pause.



"How do you feel, after spilling your soul like that?"



"Relieved, I guess. I had all that locked up inside me. Nobody knew. Nobody."



"And it stays that way. Nobody else will know."



"Oh, Gohan, you're such a good friend."



"I'm just myself." They were silent again for a while.



"... You have warm hands. They feel so nice." She stirred to place her head on his chest. "You're so warm."



She fell silent and closed her eyes. He put his arm around her form and sighed slightly. He looked out the window and noticed the dark starting to fade away. Then he looked down at he young woman in his arms with her head leaning on his chest and her hand resting on his stomach. 'So frail. So small. Gives you the urge to protect her, even if she didn't need to be.'



He took the small hand in his. Slender palm, long fingers, rounded nails of medium length. He touched them. 'Strong nails. Wouldn't want to have my face on the other side of these when she's angry'. Soft, creamy skin. 'So small'. It was everything he could think of, as if he still couldn't believe it. He looked out the window again. Almost time to get up. Still hand in hand, he brought it to his lips and kissed the inside of her wrist. Videl felt a nice shiver run up and down her arm, up to the back of her head, breaking her arms in gooseflesh and the hair in the back of her neck stand on end. She didn't say anything nor do anything. She was too shocked, not because of what Gohan had done, but because of her reaction.



"Videl" she heard him say. She opened her eyes in response and looked up at him. He nodded his head to the window. She looked.



"It's morning." She realized. She slowly sat up in bed, leaving behind the nice warmth Gohan's body brought to hers.



"Yeah. We talked almost all night. Are you okay now?" he asked her holding her by her shoulders. She nodded.



Gohan got off the bed, walked up to the dresser where he put the clothes he'd worn yesterday and took out a capsule.



"Today I got first dibs in the bathroom." He said, then he filed in the bathroom closed the door behind him.

There you go. Long and loaded, how you like it.

Katie, the translations will be posted next chapter, ok?

As for my new fic, I would really apprecciate it if you go check it out. It's called "Saiyajin no Odyssey". It takes place right after the Bebi Era and it tells how a visit of Mirai no Trunks and an unknown desire of our Goku are the perfect catalizers for a time travel experience that will lead to a new adventure. The prologue, now posted, is a spoiler for the Bebi Era in DBGT. There's the link:

http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=860397

Wanna know more? Read. Aaaand...

Push there

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