"How was your first day of school, Sweetie?" Chi-Chi smiled warmly at Gohan from across the dinner table. He swallowed and put his fork down.

"It was fun, but confusing." Gohan looked deep in thought. "I think I made a few friends."

"That's wonderful! What are their names? What are they like?"

"First, there's Erasa. She's really energetic and, well, friendly. Then there's Sharpener, who's really into fitness, I think." Gohan's brow furrowed. "Then there's Videl…"

Chi-Chi caught the shift in her son's attitude. "Did something happen between you and this Videl person?"

"Sort of?" Gohan scratched his head in thought. "I can't really tell if she hates me or wants to be friends." He decided then and there not to tell his mom that Videl might know about his powers.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she was acting pretty cold to me at first, but then I got hit in the head with a baseball and she seemed really concerned-"

"You WHAT?!" Chi-Chi immediately ran over to Gohan and began inspecting his head. Goten jumped a bit at his mom's sudden outburst, but immediately went back to stuffing his face. "You're not hurt, are you?!"

"No, no! I'm fine Mom, really!" Gohan gave her a reassuring smile. "The ball was really slow, I almost didn't feel it!"

Chi-Chi sighed in relief and walked back to her seat. "Alright, you may continue."

"Right. Anyway, Videl insisted on walking me to the nurse's office, even though I kept telling her I was fine. She even held onto my arm like I couldn't walk myself!"

Chi-Chi gasped. "She wasn't hitting on you, was she?!" She didn't wait for Gohan to respond. "Oh, we can't have some stranger trying to distract my Gohan from his studies!"

Gohan blushed a bit and shook his head. "No, Mom! She was just trying to make sure I didn't fall down or something!" He waited for his mother to settle down to continue. "She was convinced I had a concussion." He frowned and looked down, adopting a defeated tone. "Besides, she yelled at me and stormed out once she found out I was fine."

Chi-Chi glared at nothing. "This Videl sounds like a bad influence. You shouldn't be friends with someone like that."

Gohan didn't know why, but the way his mother had said this made him determined to be Videl's friend. "No, I think I said something rude to her and didn't realize it. You know how bad I am at reading people." He smiled. "I'm sure she'll make a great friend if I put in the effort to get to know her."

Videl lay in bed, going over the day's events. She'd given up on sleep after about an hour of fruitless tossing and turning. No matter what she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about how odd that knew kid had been. She decided to make a mental list of all the things she knew about him, starting with a physical description.

Let's see...he has jet black hair that sticks upright, he has really big ears, he's like six feet tall, he has a strong brow that contradicts that oddly innocent look in his (black?) eyes…. She frowned. And he wears that nurse mask. She briefly wondered if she'd be able to recognize him without it, but shook the thought quickly. He has a very recognizable frame. Now, onto his personality…

She shifted her body to face the other way. He seemed really nervous, but that could just be because it was his first day. He seemed pretty nice, albeit oblivious. She glared a bit to herself as she remembered his seemingly rude tone in the nurse's office. After she had cooled down earlier, she realized Gohan probably hadn't meant to sound patronizing. She hadn't known him for long, but she figured it seemed out of character for the guy to purposefully upset someone.

Wait. Videl's eyes widened in realization. The nurse's office! Gohan wasn't hurt at all! She shot up into a sitting position. He wasn't even fazed by that hit! Is he made of steel or something?! If she hadn't been suspicious of him before, she sure was now. What the hell?!

When Gohan woke up that morning, he had fully planned on wearing the same thing he'd had on the previous day. However, Chi-Chi was having none of it.

"We don't want everyone thinking you only have one outfit!" Chi-Chi shook her head and tore through Gohan's closet. "I swear, Gohan, it's like you don't care one bit about your appearance!"

Gohan had been about to reply when his mother threw him a white Chinese-style jacket and light-blue silk pants - and outfit strikingly similar to the one he had worn right before the Cell Games. He had to admit it was easier to hide his tail in such loose pants.

After eating breakfast, Gohan grabbed his bag, kissed both his mother and Goten on the cheek, threw on his surgical mask, and headed off to school.

Videl was having a less-than-stellar morning. She had gotten a maximum of 2 hours of sleep, and she was definitely feeling it. She managed to wake up a good half-hour late, so she hadn't had time to shower or eat breakfast. She was feeling that, too. And now she just had to stumble across an armed robbery of a Waffle Hut. Who? Robs? A Waffle Hut?

Videl was pissed.

The police hadn't arrived yet, so she'd have to go this one alone. She cracked her knuckles and snuck her way inside the building. She sized up the enemy. Three robbers, all with automatics. Why?! It's a Waffle hut! She ducked behind a corner and waited for an opening.

Gohan was steamed. He'd been flying to school at a leisurely pace when he noticed what looked like another armed robbery. What is up with this city? Is this a daily thing?!

Gohan took both his mask and jacket off and transformed into a Super Saiyan. Here, this way I won't have to worry about Videl recognizing my outfit. He hopped off Nimbus and tossed the excess articles of clothing into a nearby bush before speeding into the Waffle Hut, his golden tail freeing itself from its hiding place and swishing about.

Videl had been just about to pounce when the wrongdoer she'd had her sights on collapsed. Her eyes snapped up to whatever had taken out her target. What she saw was a golden...monkey? He's totally covered in fur! And he has a tail! And those fangs...

This must be that Golden Fighter everyone's been talking about! I better scope this out. Videl backed farther into her hiding place and stared intently at the monkey-man, who had an incredibly intense look about him. She couldn't tell if he was actually glaring, or if his strong brow just made him look like that all the time.

The Golden Fighter had finished taking out the second crook when the last one standing grabbed a young kid who'd been caught in the restaurant when the robbery started. The kid screamed as the criminal held a gun to his head. "N-not so fast, monkey boy!" He gulped. "One more step and this kid is good as dead!"

Videl's heart skipped a beat. That golden idiot! Why wasn't he paying attention! She cursed herself. I should've jumped in, I knew I couldn't trust this guy to take care of police business!

The Golden Fighter didn't seem worried in the slightest. In fact, he looked more annoyed than anything. This further infuriated Videl. Why isn't he taking this seriously. That kid's life is one the line!

Videl was snapped out of her inner-rant went the Golden Fighter phazed behind the crook, taking him out before he could even consider pulling the trigger. She gaped as the criminal crumpled to the ground.

Gohan sighed in relief as the crook collapsed, leaving the child unharmed. Gohan knelt in front of the still-crying kid and smiled brightly, patting him on the shoulder. He spoke in a voice slightly gruffer than that of his normal one. "It's alright. You're safe now."

The kid took one look at him and went into hysterics. "P-p-please! D-don't hurt m-me!" He flailed wildly and shoved against Gohan's chest, pushing himself away from the scary monkey-man. He cowered in fear behind one of the adults who had built up the nerve to stand.

Gohan was taken aback by this. He stood up suddenly and opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, trying to find words to say. The kid spoke up again. "G-get out!"

This broke Gohan out of his stupor. Without a word, he spun around and left the shop. It was in that moment he realized why his mom had told him to hide so much of himself.

He was scary.

And this realization crushed him.

to address concern: this storys gonna veer off further from the canon as it goes on. im just kinda takin my time to make sure everythings set up and all that

that being said, if youve got suggestions for stuff you wanna see in this story, then go ahead and, uh, suggest them