FYI: DON'T LOSE HOPE ON ME! THERE IS A VIDEL/GOHAN MOMENT IN THIS CHAPTER!
To be honest, I know that the last two chapters were depressing... but the end of this chapter (hopefully) will make up for all the sadness. To be honest, I am a sap for happy endings. I will want a happy ending for Gohan and Videl! Now... at this moment I am listening to a recording of my band playing 'Phantom of the Opera'... and I just got to the part where I screamed... It usually doesn't scare me... but it just made me jump (part of the reason why is because I have the volume up very high). Just some very random info...
I thank you all for your responses to the fic so far... and I'm glad, yet saddened to know that the next chapter will conclude the second part to this trilogy. The part will be called 'Welcome Home, Child'. It will make more sense when you find out the dilemma (it will be introduced in the next chapter).
Thank you, Chris! For here is my new chapter!
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Chapter 12: Loved
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"I need the next person in line," stated the monk who sat at the front tables before you entered the Martial Arts Arena.
A group of friends and allies stepped up. Gohan, currently in the front of the group spoke first, "The eleven of us want to enter the competition." Eleven you ask? Yes, let me list the one's who came along with Gohan. It was the emperor with his more than excited brother and patient father. Gohan uncle, Raditz also stood in the line patiently as he held a duffle bag of his training suit; it was more like battle armor. The one's following were the saiyan prince, Vegeta, with his son Trunks, and his always loyal 'side kick' Nappa. Yes, all the saiyans made it to the competition. But we mustn't forget the warriors of earth. The two androids, Seventeen and Eighteen were in line. The blonde android stood beside her husband, Krillin, who wanted to see how long he would actually last against all these saiyans (mainly this competition was for training purposes). Last but not least, we cannot forget the demon king, Piccolo. Who doesn't love the walking green bean?
The monk looked to every member in the team and blinked for a moment before he counted every single person. There was something about each and every one of these warriors... They all looked familiar...
"Yes, of course. All I need is your name, or the name you wish to be known as in this competition. We also need to be aware of any medical conditions that might be a hazard to you for this competition." The monk began to pull out some papers, "We don't want our warriors to be leaving dismembered."
"You mean to say that we can't KILL!" exclaimed Vegeta as he crossed his arms. A scowl was noticed on his face.
Now, if you were in this group of warriors (who basically knew you inside and out) you would have known that he was kidding. Yes, the saiyan prince will kill, but if it was absolutely necessary. The monk didn't catch the joking tone of the prince's voice.
"No sir, there can't be any..." the monk gulped when he noticed the glare on Vegeta's face turn darker, "...killing... If there is killing taking place, then the person will automatically be disqualified. That is... if the person being killed was purely accident."
"Well, that's sure encouraging to know," muttered Krillin sarcastically as he crossed his arms. The short Z-warrior, being the only human among this group, began to feel like a weak baby among all these strong space warriors.
The group laughed at his comment.
"Oh come on Krillin! Where's your warrior's spirit? You know this competition will be fun!" replied back Goku with his happy-go-lucky smile plastered on his face. He 'gently' patted his childhood friend on the back. "This will be like old times!"
"Old times?" questioned Krillin as he rose up a finger, "If this was like old times, then we would be the strongest fighters in the competition... along with Yamcha, that Bacteria person... who I couldn't smell (thank goodness), that dragon thing that spit things out, or Namu (the person from the desert), that... lady...who stripped..." Krillin coughed slightly, "and that 'Jackie Chun person." Krillin brought his finger down as he looked up to the saiyan, "Say... did we ever figure out whom that old clown was?"
Goku shrugged, "I don't exactly remember that battle... The before and after pictures, of the competition in the family photo album, have brought back only snippets of my memory. Everything else is just gone."
"Oh..." muttered Krillin. There were a few things that had started to slip the minds of the earth warriors since Goku had returned to earth. They were forgetting the fact that Goku had lost his memory. Those ten years of torture years back were still affecting the saiyan warrior. Goku and his earth friends were grateful now that they could all live in peace.
"Could I have every one of your names?" questioned the monk as he pulled out a pen.
Gohan was the first to speak. "My name is Son, Gohan."
"Age?" questioned the monk as he scribbled the name down.
"I'm 20 years old," stated back the hybrid saiyan.
"Is there any kind of nickname that you wish to go by while in this competition?"
Gohan paused for a moment before shaking his head. "Nope, just my name would be fine."
"Oh come on!" exclaimed Trunks from behind, "Everyone should know that you're the emperor of this universe!"
Gohan's face became a bright red as he turned back to Trunks. The pre-teen just smirked to the saiyan. "What? It's the truth."
Giving a small sigh, the emperor looked back to the monk. The human's beady eyes became wider with surprise. "E-emperor?"
Gohan gave a short nod. And with that done, the monk stood up and immediately grabbed the emperor's hand shaking it frantically. "Oh! It's such an honor to know that you are here! You are such a hero! Everyone at this competition is so glad that you have decided to come!"
The hybrid saiyan just laughed nervously as the monk released his hand. "I think I'll just... go back and get changed for the competition..." replied Gohan as he looked to the others in the group. He nodded to them as he ran out of the area.
He didn't want to be mauled by the whole human population; Gohan just knew that that mistake would be his punishment for letting too many people know his identity.
The monk watched the emperor scurry off. He gave a bright smile before turning to the next person in line. "Can I have your name sonny?"
"I'm Son, Goten!" exclaimed the excited pre-teen as he stood up looking to the monk. A bright smile was evident on his face.
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Gohan walked out of the changing room in one of his training suits. It was all black. The sash that tied the shirt to stay in place was gold. His feet, however, were bare. The saiyan did not want anything to be holding him back as he fought against the opponents he would face. The weights he would normally be wearing in his clothes would most defiantly slow him down. Gohan wanted to be as nimble as possible in this competition. That would be the only chance he would have to defeat his father and other saiyan warriors in battle. Looking to his wrists, the hybrid saiyan could most defiantly feel the lightness. He no longer had the twenty-five pound weight sweat guards around his wrists
Stretching his arms, a few of the joints cracked. Gohan smiled lightly; he was finally able to loosen his muscles up a bit. He knew it would be a disadvantage to him if he didn't fight his best with all this stiffness in his joints.
"I thought you said you would be watching the battle from the stands... like everyone else."
That voice.
Gohan turned his head around and he smiled. She came. "Good morning SaiyaGirl! Lovely day?"
Her lips were in a small smile. She was very wise with her clothing too, noticed Gohan as he glanced over her clothes. She was indeed wise to wear a spandex body suit. It a deep violet, and it was sleeveless. SaiyaGirl also wore a black vest like tunic with a purple sash. Her shoes were very much like the one's his brother and father wore when ever in battle. Gohan didn't like those shoes too much. He didn't like having tight fitting shoes; he preferred to have them one size bigger. Actually, he preferred no shoes. That's how he usually trained.
Her head was also covered in a black handkerchief.
"Why the head cover?" questioned Gohan looking to her sunglass covered eyes. She looked almost like someone out of the matrix.
The smile on her lips turned into a deep smirk. "Would you take the excuse that I want to keep my identity a secret?"
Gohan shrugged as he sat on the soft grass. He began to stretch his legs, "Maybe."
She crossed her bare arms, "And would you also believe me if I stated that I wanted to keep my hair out of my face when I fight?"
Gohan shrugged once more. "My hair also falls in my face when I'm in battle, but it doesn't exactly mean that I want to get rid of it."
"I don't want to get rid of my hair also," she stated as she sat down on the ground. "That's why I tightly pinned it to my head. If you saw it, you would almost swear that it was super glued to my head."
"Sure," stated back the emperor sarcastically as he smiled to her while he glanced at her from the side. She just rolled her eyes when she took the head covering off of her cranium.
Gohan's jaw almost dropped when she looked back at him.
She was right! Her jet-black locks of hair DID look like it was glued down!
"You can thank three bottles of mega hold hairspray and about 300 hair pins," she muttered placing the handkerchief on her head once more. "When I take this crap out of my hair I think my hair might fall off..."
Gohan winced at the thought as he sat up in Indian style while scratching the back of his head. "I couldn't agree with you more..." he guiltily looked back to her with a sympathetic smile. "From what I saw, that stuff is literally caked in your hair... It looks almost... painful."
She began to giggle as she rubbed side of her face. "Yeah... it actually is. It's feels like someone is pulling your hair out by the bulks."
Before Gohan could mutter another word, he felt something, similar to a brick, crashing into him. He looked to his side; it was his young brother. The hybrid saiyan was grateful that his younger brother didn't knock him over! "Gohan! Gohan! Gohan! I'm going to be fighting in the competition! They've allowed me and Trunks to fight in the grown up division!"
Gohan smiled as he stood up from his place on the grass, "That's great Goten! We might be matched together."
Goten nodded enthusiastically, "That would be so awesome!" And now, noticing the person whom his older brother was talking to Goten smiled joyfully and enthusiastically waved. "Hi SaiyaGirl!"
The girl waved back, "Good morning to you, Goten."
"Trunks and I are going to be in the competition! Are you going watch us when we battle?" questioned the Goku-clone.
She nodded as she smiled down to the child, "Of course! Why wouldn't I?"
Goten nodded excitedly.
Gohan looked to both his brother, then to the human female... who had proved to be very strong and quick... for human standards (that is). "How... do you two know each other?" questioned the eldest hybrid saiyan. There was something not right here...
SaiyaGirl turned her attention to the older brother of the chibi. "Goten's been teaching me some martial arts for the past few months."
Gohan's eyes widened ever so slightly. "What...?"
Goten nodded to his older brother, "Yep! She wanted to know a few things about martial arts, and I taught them to her! Trunks also helped me at times. We were hoping to get you to come down here and help us," answered the brother of Gohan, "but you wouldn't answer our messages."
Gohan bit his lip. He didn't think that the message his youngest brother sent him was that important... He honestly didn't want to speak to anyone during that time; he wanted to be completely secluded from the world so he couldn't be harmed by the memories. Those bittersweet memories of the ones he cared for were slowly eating him away.
"I... was busy."
Goten frowned as he crossed his arms, "Don't be a liar Gohan. Dad said you were only spending time with Hizashi."
Gohan also crossed his arms, "For your information, my son is only 8 months old! He needs much attention!"
"Your son?" questioned SaiyaGirl, now butting into the conversation. "I never knew you had a mistress."
Gohan's face turned to a bright blush, "No! It's not like that! I actually adopted Hizashi; his real mother was... killed."
"Who was the mother?" questioned the female; she was very curious.
"Her name was Vi-"
(ALL CONTESTANTS, PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE TRAINING GROUNDS. WE WILL BEGIN THE TOURNAMENT SHORTLY.)
Gohan looked up to the speakers before stretching his arms, "I guess that's us..."
SaiyaGirl nodded as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I guess so. Well," she started looking up to Gohan; he was most defiantly a head taller than her, "We should be making our way to the battle field. What do you say?"
The hybrid saiyan smiled, and nodded in return as he held his arm out. "Would you like for me to escort you to the arena, Miss?"
She giggled and latched her small hand onto his muscled arm. The touch, which was made, created shivers that went down both of their spines; they ignored it. "Of course, your Highness. Lead the way!"
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Leaning back in her chair, Saiyagirl began to watch the saiyans. They were all eating large amounts of food. It was almost disgusting. The piles of food were quickly disappearing and being replaced with dirtied dishes. It almost looked like habit, to the monks, that this much food was to be prepared for the saiyan contestants. It seemed like Goku was a regular contestant along with his son, whenever he wasn't in space, Raditz also joined the last two competitions with Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz. Now two more saiyans were added to the mix.
The food that these saiyans consumed would most defiantly feed an army with seconds available!
SaiyaGirl didn't know where they put all this food! It was so... crazy how they could eat this much (and before competition too)!
They had a memorial for Videl, the daughter of the Champion, who was resigning from his position of World Champion. SaiyaGirl couldn't watch the video that was displayed on one of the blimps. It was very moving... She noticed the emperor shed a few tears and turn away from the screen when it would show her face. He would wince every time her voice was played. That alone made the female warrior frown.
She went into the sitting area to have some time to think. Yes, SaiyaGirl thought it was sweet for them to make a small memorial for the Champion's daughter but there was also something called 'the-thin-line-between-too-little-and-too-much'. Mr. Satan seemed to cross the line into putting a bit too much in the video.
She sighed, "The things I have to put up with..."
(WILL SAIYAGIRL AND GOHAN PLEASE MAKE IT TO THE FIGHTING ARENA?)
The female raised her head as she turned to the exit. So... the match was finally over. She noticed Seventeen walks in with a smirk on his lips. "Congrats Sev on your victory."
The android turned to her, and he nodded. The smirk was still evident on his face. "Good luck V-babe."
She rolled her eyes at that name. He was the only one who knew her true identity other than the pre-teen saiyans. She just guessed that androids were that much sharper than humans or saiyans.
Standing up from her chair, she made her way to the outdoors. She was grateful that the clouds began to cover up the brightness of the sun. It was becoming quite warm around this time of the year. She strides down the walkway and to the stairs, which lead to the arena. SaiyaGirl cursed at the fates when she discovered that she was to battle against Gohan in the semi-finals. She had hoped that Gohan would have faced off against his father... or Vegeta for that matter; she didn't want to battle against the emperor of the universe... just yet.
She stepped onto the battlefield. Not much damage was done to the field... yet. The female super hero just had a feeling that when the other saiyans battled... there would be almost a massacre of the field and to each other.
She looked up noticing Gohan standing in the middle of the ring waiting patiently. He seemed to be eager to start this battle.
'Damn.'
Darker clouds began to cover the sky. It looked like... it would rain.
"Good! We have both contestants here!" stated the blonde haired announcer as he held up his microphone. "The second battle in the World Martial Art's tournament will be starting in a moment."
Holding down the microphone, the announcer smiled to both contestants. "I'm looking forward to a good show! Both of you are legends!"
SaiyaGirl rolled her eyes behind her glasses, 'Yeah... legend my ass.'
"Just remember, if you go out of bounce, you're out. And if you are down for ten-seconds you're out. Cheap shots aren't allowed either."
Both Gohan and SaiyaGirl looked to each other when the announcer ran to the side of the ring. He held up his microphone up and began to speak once more.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! This is the second battle, SaiyaGirl against Gohan!"
"WHO IS ALSO THE EMPEROR!" shouted Trunks and Goten from the side of the ring.
Gohan turned to the pre-teens and glared to both of them as his face turned red again. And pointing to the two friends, the emperor shot two rays of ki at the pre-teens. Both shrieked as they ducked. An explosion was heard in the room. The kids turned around, and their faces paled when they looked inside as smoke began to rise from the room.
The hybrid saiyan crossed his arms as he looked to the announcer once more. "Please continue."
The announcer just stared at the destruction just done to the waiting room. He glanced back up to the emperor, and gulped when he noticed the glare gracing the ruler's face.
"Um... LET THE SECOND MATCH BEGIN!" shouted the announcer in the microphone.
Both male and female crouched down into their battle positions.
And in the blink of an eye, the two vanished from the human's sight.
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Up in the stands, Bulma squinted her eyes as she tried to watch the battle. She couldn't see a THING! "How can they move at such speeds? I honestly didn't think that was possible!" Chichi, sitting beside her, shrugged her shoulders as she carried the ice-jin infant. "Beats me."
Zarbon, who was sitting on Bulma's other side, remained completely emotionless as his eyes darted from place to place on the battlefield. "His highness is going very slow," commented the advisor.
Zarbon arrived on earth just two hours before along with a crew of men who were on break. It was a crew of about 30 men; all were of different races. They wanted to see their emperor in battle and try to learn from his strategies.
"You call this speed slow?" questioned Yamcha from beside Chichi. "I can barely keep up with their movement!"
Zarbon glanced at the earth warrior from the corner of his eye, "I'm surprised that you can keep up at all; you are human after all."
"You don't need to be surprised for me, I'm surprised for myself!" stated back Yamcha as his eyes darted around the arena once more.
Zarbon took a glance at the child Chichi held in her arms. The green tinted advisor noticed the ice-jin infant's eyes on the arena. It looked like young Hizashi could keep up with the battle.
"Interesting," muttered the alien as he turned back to the battle.
Gohan was just knocked over by the girl. His nose was actually bleeding, and his face (plus parts of his arms) was very bruised.
Their super movements were stopped when SaiyaGirl stood over Gohan's form. It was foolish, yet wise. It was foolish because Gohan could easily trip her and have the advantage there. It was wise because she could easily finish him off while he was venerable.
Zarbon paused when he felt something wet drop on his cheek. Then another touched his shoulder, than his arms. The advisor looked into the sky noticing the dark clouds releasing the water droplets. Then a few seconds later, there was an all out downpour.
Many of spectators began to shriek and look into the sky as the water continued to pour down soaking everyone in the stands.
The only one's who seemed to be completely oblivious to the rain was the ice-jin child, who just continued to gaze at the battle, which was taking place.
"Very interesting," muttered Zarbon as he gazed back to the arena.
At least the blood would be washed away from Gohan's nose thanks to the rain.
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Gohan rubbed his nose. It was broken. He most defiantly underestimated this female. One thing he noticed was the fact that she was looking around blindly.
Now that there was an all out downpour of rain, the handkerchief covering her head fell off and onto the ground. The hairspray was also coming out of her hair along with the pins holding up her short locks of hair.
Now all that remained were her glasses; they were currently covered with water droplets warping her vision.
But now, he was no longer playing Mr. Nice Guy. He thought this battle went on long enough. So, using his suppressed energy, he phased out and phased back in only to appear behind her. Sending a silent apology, he sent an arm down and elbowed her in the back. She didn't have time to scream in pain as her head lowered. She was trying to catch the breath that escaped her just moments before. The pain slowly began to creep up her spine. And as it occurred, the glasses on her face slipped off due to the impact of the elbowing (and because of the rain). She fell to her knees and cried out in pain as her now free but wet locks of short hair slapped her forehead.
The pain was tremendous.
Gohan blinked as he looked down to the female he attacked just seconds before. He didn't mean to attack her THAT hard!
Slowly making his way to her, she glanced at him with one of her eyes, her ice blue eyes. And dodging him once more, she leaped a few feet away from his current position before slowly raising her head to gaze at him with a glare.
"You know... that attack really hurts."
Gohan's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
Were his eyes deceiving him?
SaiyaGirl walked before him waving a hand before his face. "Gohan? Earth to Gohan! Are you-"
She gasped as he grabbed her tightly into a hug. She just remained frozen for about a moment or so before she tapped his shoulder.
"Um... Gohan?"
"Videl..." started the hybrid saiyan as his face remained in her sticky hair. "Please don't leave me ever again."
Finally he spoke her name. She didn't know what cause for him to become so... clingy. Why did he act like she was his long lost lover?
"Gohan? How did I leave you when I never left earth?" she questioned him as he began to rub her back gently in this love filled embrace. She was very confused about what was going on...
He raised his head from her hair; the rain immediately rinsed the moist hairspray from his face. He looked to her crystal clear eyes as she curiously looked up to him. Her question puzzled him... Did she not remember what had happened?
"What do you mean? There was King Cold and-"
Videl raised an eyebrow, "So you were the one who defeated him?" she questioned as a smile graced her features. "I wish I was there to watch! But could you at least tell me what the evil king LOOKED like? You did, after all, leave me here with your brother and his friend to train."
What?
"T-train?"
She nodded. "That's the only reason why I'm in this competition."
Gohan bit his lip. Did she not remember what had happened? "Do... you recall anything that had happened about 8 months... or even 11 months ago?" questioned the saiyan as he looked down to her.
She shook her head. "No, not exactly. Trunks and Goten said I had some kind of head trauma when I trained with them."
Gohan nodded slowly as he mentally smiled. She doesn't remember a thing of what had happened on the ship...
"I don't want to lose you again," stated Gohan as he took a step to her grabbing her hands. "Please," started Gohan, oblivious to the fact that the rain stopped and that the announcer was staring at the couple along with those who remained in the arena. "Please always stay by my side, Videl. I don't want to lose you again."
She looked into his eyes and blinked. "Are... you proposing to me?" she questioned.
A light blush was staining his cheeks; he nodded his head, "Well... yes. I am actually." He began to rub her fingers with his thumbs gently, "You wouldn't realize how much pain in my heart I had when you weren't by my side..."
Her eyes softened. "Gohan..."
He smiled softly, "Will you marry me Videl?"
A genuine smile crossed her lips and she tightly hugged the saiyan before her, "Of course, my knight in shining armor."
Gohan stiffened for a moment. Did Videl really know the meaning behind those words? He gazed into her eyes lovingly. Her eyes were too innocent; she didn't remember the events from almost a year ago. Amnesia? Could it have been that? He gave a relived sigh. He prayed that she had a permanent case of memory loss for that tragic time.
"WELL! HERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS! THIS IS THE SECOND PROPOSAL HERE AT THE WORLD MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT! WILL THERE ALSO BE A WEDDING?" announced the blonde announcer as he was noticed for the first time since the rain stopped.
Both Gohan and Videl turned to the older human with blushes staining their cheeks. That was when a loud womanly shriek was heard in the crowd.
The saiyan ears picked up his mother's voice. Videl turned her head up to where Mrs. Son was sitting. "Is that your mother?" asked the female with a small smile gracing her features.
Gohan nodded as the blush on his cheeks became darker. "Sadly... yes..."
Both of them winced when Chichi began to scream again, "MY BABY IS GETTING MARRIED!"
Yep... that was Chichi all right...
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