DISCLAIMER: I do not own DBZ. I would like to, but I'd probably kill someone important, so that's why I don't. They don't trust me!

VITAL NOTICE: A CHAPTER WAS POSTED SAYING THAT I FINISHED MY CONTEST. FORGIVE ME FOR MY GRAVE ERROR AS I AM CURRENTLY PSYCHED UP ON CAFFIENE AND IT'S 10:41 AT NIGHT! MY CONTEST IS STILL ON! (I kinda' uploaded the wrong chapter and was thinking too much, not even noticing that I actually wrote in what I was considering. I'm an idiot!)

And thanks to 'person who did not write in their name' for notifying me of both of my mistakes.

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Silence is Golden

Chapter 4: Capsule Revelation

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Classes went on from there without any problems; as odd as that might sound! Too bad it is now 3:00 PM and the final bell has just gone off. Now it's a race against the clock for Videl to catch up with Gohan before he can get away again.

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Our favorite demi-saiyan was just walking out of the door when he was literally ambushed by more girls than he could count. Most guys wouldn't mind that, actually, they'd probably like it; but Gohan was raised in the woods after all . . . .

"HOLY . . . " Was all Gohan muttered in what could only be described as panic.

There was a loud banging sound from somewhere else in the hallway, making all the girls glance in the direction of the noise, but that second was all it took for Gohan to phase out of the tight situation. While all the girls were looking around stupidly, the young demi-saiyan made his way up the stairs and out to the roof.

He was just putting two fingers to his forehead to use the Instant Transmition technique that Goku taught him in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber when he was interrupted by a noise beside him.

"And what are you doing here? I don't think that you have a copter or anything." Videl asked him as she threw the capsule that contained her jet copter.

"Why would you care?" He muttered angrily. He didn't really want to be late; his mom would use the 'death-day-device' that brought horror to every saiyan alive! (AKA: The Frying Pan of Doom!)

"Just wondering." She said defensively, "It's not a sin to ask."

"You don't need to pry into other student's business, no matter who your dad is." He muttered again.

"This isn't about my father! Why do you hate him so much anyway?" She nearly yelled at him.

Gohan was slightly taken aback by the question. He wasn't so heartless as to tell her that her dad hadn't beaten Cell, and anyway, that would probably cause more problems for him because word would spread that the new guy was off his rocker. "I have my reasons. None of which concern you so you have no reason to care."

"Well, if you're insulting my dad then I have a right to defend his honor!" She yelled back.

"He has no honor to defend." Gohan muttered to himself as he turned away from the girl in favor of going downstairs and leaving the regular way. He'd just transmit himself a few minutes later. No frying pan, no girls, no problems at all.

"What did you say?!" Videl was now bewildered as to what he meant, but the rage was quickly returning. He'd just blown her off as if she was absolutely nothing! She was the daughter of Hercule! The man who defeated Cell!

All she was met with was a door slamming as Gohan pulled it shut after him.

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Twenty minutes later, Gohan was far enough from the school to use his Instant Transmition, teleporting him back to his home in the 439 Mountain Region. Chichi was waiting outside with a frying pan in her hand.

"And why are you late, young man?" She asked him.

"I had troubles with a pain in the butt girl." Gohan told her bluntly as he walked through the door.

'Did Gohan just say GIRL?!' Chichi gasped, thoughts of grandchildren flying through her head.

"Who is she?" She asked her son.

"Nobody important." He began, "But I need to go upstairs and get some homework done." With that, he walked up the stairs that led to his room.

'I know that Goku's death had a toll on him, I just wish that he'd realize that it's not his fault that Goku is dead. He's killing himself by acting like this, and if that happens, I DON'T GET ANY GRANDBABIES!!!' Chichi thought sadly as she eyed the place her son had been last.

"Mom? What's wrong with brother? He seems unhappier than normal." A tiny voice asked.

Chichi looked beside her to find her youngest son, Goten, pulling on her shirt. "Don't worry, Goten. You'll understand when you're older."

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Gohan sighed as he sat down at the desk in his room. This was the only place that he could just relax and enjoy life. His family had made an unspoken agreement about this room; nobody was allowed in if the door was closed except for wake up calls in the mornings. He didn't really have a lot of homework to work on, he'd finished most of it already during his free moments.

He smirked a bit at the thought of sneaking out and getting some more training time. He'd trained during the seven years of peace, but it was uneven, just during whatever free time he could find. His mom didn't want him to train to be a warrior like his father. These thoughts reminded him of the capsule case Bulma had given him for his birthday last year. He hadn't even touched it, shoot, he wasn't even sure what was in it!

Digging the white case out of his drawer, he opened the panel on top revealing twelve shiny capsules. Taking a peek at the labels on each, he noticed that one was blank. He was tempted to open it and see what was inside, but there was also the argument of whether or not it was something big. His room wasn't big enough for a capsule jet or something to appear, he doubted it would be something so extravagant, so with a sigh he pushed the button and dropped it on the ground.

When the smoke cleared, there was a white box with an envelope attached. As Gohan lifted the box, he realized that there was something rolling and rattling inside. His mom had always taught him to look at the card first, especially since it tended to explain the present. He extended his finger and a small beam of ki started to come out, but he stopped it, almost making it look as if he had a ki blade coming out of his finger. It wasn't the strongest weapon, but it was self-cleaning and made a good letter opener; which he used for just that purpose.

Inside the envelope, there was a card from Bulma along with another piece of paper. He decided to check out the card first.

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Hey kid!| Since Dende wasn't able to come to your party, he told me to make sure that this box got to you. He also gave me the piece of paper which explains what's up.

Happy birthday and good luck training!

-Bulma

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Taking the piece of paper from the envelope, he opened it and read the words inside.

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Gohan:

I wanted to say sorry for not being able to come to your party, there was a bit of a tight situation here at the lookout. I also didn't know what to get you so I'm going to let you decide! Enjoy your decision! Say thanks to Piccolo as he got them all.

Dende

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He was a bit touched at his friend's note. He hadn't thought of looking for anything from Dende in a capsule case, he'd actually thought that the namekian guardian had forgotten about his birthday. But that made no sense now that he thought about it; Dende was Earth's guardian, he could read minds and obviously wouldn't forget about his friend's birthday. Although he was curious as to what the last part meant.

Opening the white box, he found seven glowing orange balls with stars on them: the Dragon Balls.

He realized now what Dende had meant by letting Gohan decide what he wanted. He could make anything happen with the Dragon Balls. But he didn't want to, not at this point. He would love to wish his dad back, but Goku had already said that he didn't want to come back. That left him without a decent wish, and he wasn't the type to wish for immortality or something like that.

Apparently Dende hadn't been counting on Gohan not making a wish for an entire year; Gohan had left the most dangerous thing on Earth unprotected in a drawer in his room. This got Gohan more curious as to what was in the other capsules, but he made the promise to carry the case around with him no matter where he went. He wasn't going to risk the Dragon Balls!

Gohan recapsulized the box and ran out of the room with his capsule case in tow. "Mom! I'm going out to take a break!" He yelled to his mom.

"Be back in an hour! Dinner will be ready soon!" She yelled back, but was only greeted by the sound of the door closing. 'He's a saiyan, he'll know when dinner is ready.' Chichi thought with a smile. It had been a long time since she'd heard such excitement in Gohan's voice. It did her good to hear her son sounding like himself again.

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AN: Well, there ya' go! Yet another chapter is up for grabs by you guys!

The next chapter is going to be longer, after all, I do have eleven more capsules to explain! Okay, I won't explain all of them, but they all will be explained as the story goes on.

I would also like to make one addition to the notes: I MANAGED TO DO THE SAME THING THEY DO IN THE EPISODES! (Take the Frieza battles for example, the five minutes before Namek exploded were stretched out to six or so episodes! Darn! They waste time better than I do . . . .)

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-Ligar Zero X

PS: There are still things yet to be decided that I need help from the readers on:

One: should Gohan get a disguise of some kind; or should he just stay as 'The Gold Fighter?'

Two: Pairing. I already have a few votes for this to stay as a Gohan / Videl fic.

Three: Should Majin Buu appear?

Four: Respond to my contest in chapter 3! I'm still accepting reviews and entries!

Please respond to any / all of these questions by review or email. Oh yea, speaking of that, REMEMBER TO REVIEW!!!!!!!!! (I don't know why I said that again . . . )