Innocent Feelings

27

Layers

Videl looked around as Krillin gave her a tour of the place and little Marron skipped after them. She learned that Kame House used to only have one bedroom, but Roshi had to expand after 18 moved in. Two more bedrooms had been added, one for the married couple and one for their daughter. Videl had been told she would be staying in Marron's room while the little three-year-old would be sleeping with her parents – which the little girl was more than thrilled about.

"Oh, and that's my room!" piped up the little pigtailed blonde, running inside in excitement. Videl smiled as she followed her, curious to see where she would be staying.

She froze.

Pink. Pink everywhere. The walls, the toys, the carpet, the closet, the tiny desk, the bed, the sheets. Everything was bright pink, and some even had sparkles added into the mix. And the posters… the rainbows, the unicorns, the dolphins… At least the mammal sea animal illustrations weren't pink. Oh, wait, that one over the bed represented a pink dolphin. Spoke too soon.

"Um…" She didn't even know what to say. Was she supposed to sleep here? Videl knew she should be grateful that they were letting her stay with them for two whole months, and she really was, honest. But… Couldn't they have made the room a little less pink when they knew a teenage girl would be using it? Or, could it be they assumed she wouldn't mind because she was a girl? Didn't they realize how blinding all that pink was?

Videl took a deep breath. She was making too much of this. It was just a room, and she only needed it for sleeping. Although, looking at the child-sized bed, she wondered how she was supposed to sleep in it. She may be a little on the short side, but she was still fully grown-up (albeit not quite as much as she would've wanted), and the bed was way too small for her.

Following her gaze, Krillin came up from behind her and offered her a kind smile. "Don't worry, we'll move the bed against the wall and you'll sleep on a futon."

Can we do something about all the pink too? she asked in her head for want of saying it out loud.

Krillin, however, gave an awkward smile, and Videl had a feeling that she wasn't hiding her queasiness at the choice of decoration too well.

"Look, look!" Marron ran to her with a stuffed toy, her eyes sparkling. It was a turtle. A pink turtle. "It's like Grampa! I named it Baby Turtle 'cause we already got Turtle. Isn't she pretty?"

Krillin put his hand on his daughter's head, making her grin wider. "It's her favorite, and she chose it herself," he explained.

Videl nodded, unsure as to what she was supposed to reply to that. Marron hugged her stuffed pink turtle happily, and the teenage girl felt a smile tug at her lips at the adorable sight. Marron was a cute kid, and at least the color pink looked good on her – she was wearing a pink dress and pink ribbons on her pigtails. Videl sighed, admitting defeat. Ah, well, it was only for two months anyway. And besides, with the lights off, even the brightest colors turned gray and black. Videl figured that she would just need to keep the room dark so as not to notice all the pink.

As she followed Krillin and Marron out of the bedroom, the girl thought to herself that if she ever had a daughter, there was no way she would be decorating her bedroom with such exuberance of pink. And anyway, her daughter was going to be a tomboy like her, so the matter wasn't even relevant.

She smiled slightly at the thought. She and Gohan had all the time in the world to get there, and although the idea was kind of scary, she liked to think of their possible future together.

Somehow, over the past month or so, Gohan had managed to shoo away all of her insecurities. The more their love grew, and less she could make out the faint whisper of that little voice trying to make her doubt their relationship.

Krillin opened the door to the bathroom, and Videl nodded her head at him, and they went on to the next room.

"That's Roshi's room," he said, showing the closed door. Right on cue, it opened and the old man grinned at them.

Videl took a step back, not wanting to be at arms reach from him. He may have promised that he would behave, but she wasn't going to trust his word for it.

"Hohohohoho, what do we have there?"

She scowled, knowing that he was looking her up and down even though he was wearing sunglasses and wasn't even moving his head. He was getting closer, his hands at chest level and his fingers twitching, like he itched to… ugh, Videl didn't even want to finish that thought.

"Touch me and die," she hissed in a low, dangerous tone, her eyes throwing flames.

It seemed to do the trick because he stopped advancing and starting whistling with his hands clasped behind his turtle shell, like he was trying to look as though he hadn't been trying anything.

"Oh, but I'm a man of my word, young lady," he said in an overly polite tone. He glanced at her again and his hand moved up to adjust his sunglasses. Videl clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. He was obviously staring at her chest. She crossed her arms over it. Ugh. She hated perverts.

And then he was thrown face first onto the hardwood floor. Videl turned to the newcomer, her eyebrows raised. 18 still had her leg outstretched and slightly bent, and her arms were folded across her chest as she sneered at Roshi's fallen form.

"Sleazy old man," she muttered in distaste. She gave Videl a nod and turned on her heels, her hands in her pockets. Marron, clearly unphased by what just happened, ran after her mom, all starry-eyed as she hugged her pink turtle, and 18 patted her head, a faint smile forming on her lips as she listened to her daughter's excited chatter.

What a cool woman, Videl couldn't help thinking. Well, at least it didn't look like she needed to worry too much about Roshi, not with 18 as her personal bodyguard. She usually preferred to fight her own battles, but in this case, she felt a kinship towards the other woman, and Videl had a feeling that they would be watching each other's back for the next two months.

ooOoo

Gohan tapped his fingers on his thigh as he waited for a new email notification, his eyes glued to his laptop's screen. The beads of sweat forming on his temples and forehead weren't only caused by the hot summer day.

Could it really be Nevy blackmailing him to break up with Videl? Or was his judgment clouded by what he had felt in her ki? All that animosity towards him, and the romantic feelings she had for his girlfriend… Did he jump the guns and accuse her too quickly?

His brow furrowed as he read over his email exchange with the blackmailer as he waited for them to reply. Everything they said… It sounded too much like what Nevy had told him on their first meeting. Which was what made him write that last email, for that matter.

They were taking a while to reply, too. Was it really Nevy? Did she not know what to respond because he'd figured her out? Or was the blackmailer annoyed at the failed attempt at finding out who they were and decided he didn't even deserve a reply?

Gohan heaved a deep sigh, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He shouldn't have sent this email at all. Like the person behind this would actually answer him truthfully. But it had felt so obvious at that moment. Then again, Nevy wasn't the only one who wished Videl wasn't his girlfriend – the group of jocks trying to corner him came to mind once again, not to mention the person who sent the pictures of him kissing Videl to the paparazzi.

He had a gut feeling he wasn't wrong about this, though.

He suddenly sat up straight when he finally got a notification at the bottom right of his screen. He quickly clicked on it and opened the new email.

I want proof that you two have broken up. You have until tomorrow, or else these photos will be all over the internet for all to see. You don't want that tainting Videl's reputation, do you? Do the sensible thing and spare me the trouble of ever writing to you again. Did I make myself clear?

Gohan swallowed. Tomorrow? Were they serious? And they wanted proof? Damn it, all he'd managed to do with his stupid email was exasperate the person behind this despicable blackmail.

His eyes suddenly flashed in anger. And he was supposed to let this happen? He, one of the strongest beings in the universe, was going to let some petty blackmailer get in between him and the girl he loved without putting up a fight? He had defeated Cell, he had faced Freeza, but he couldn't solve this one problem?

An idea suddenly formed in his head. Gohan stood up so abruptly his desk chair fell over. He quickly picked it up, then looked around for his phone. Hopefully, he could pass it off as a coincidence…

He looked at the screen of his laptop again, his eyes narrowing. If he didn't reply right away… Surely the person behind the blackmail would stay put and wait for his reply, hoping it would bring the confirmation that he would do as he was told, right? Well, there was only one way to find out, and he really needed to hurry if he wanted to make it to Nevy in time.

He grabbed his phone from his nightstand, put it in his pocket as he walked to the window, and then jumped out and flew off towards Satan City. Then he turned Super Saiyan – he just couldn't afford to waste one second. While he tore through the sky, Gohan frowned deeply as he focused his senses, scanning the approximative direction of the city for Nevy's ki signature. It was a good thing he'd studied it so much when they went to Videl's beach house, because it didn't take him too long to find it. She wasn't moving. Good. That meant if she was the one behind this, then he would be able to catch her in the act.

Three minutes was all it took him to get to the city. He landed on the roof of the local library four seconds later. Turning back to normal, Gohan didn't pause to breathe and jumped off the roof before getting inside the building in a blur.

He looked around as he briskly walked through the lobby and passed the front desk where librarians were checking in and out books. He let his senses guide his steps, and Gohan felt like his heart rate was about to explode as he spotted the back of the dyed blonde's head. She was sitting at one of the computer desks. He was finally going to know whether he'd been right or wrong about Nevy.

He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down.

Okay, Gohan. Stealth mode. She can't see me approach.

Almost noiselessly, he got closer to Sharpner's cousin. A part of him hoped he was wrong about her, that she wouldn't go that far just out of jealousy when she was part of the family of one of his closest friends. Another part of him wished he was going to catch her red-handed and this whole ordeal would be over with already.

He came up behind her. She didn't notice, still staring at the screen intently. A lump rose in his throat.

And there it was: all in one thread, the emails they'd been exchanging. His heart sank.

"How could you do that?" he whispered, his chest tight.

She jumped, visibly having not sensed his presence at all, and then her eyes widened when she saw him.

"Go… Wha… Gohan? How are you even… What?"

She was at a loss for words, opening and closing her mouth several times, staring at him with eyes so wide they looked like they might fall out of her skull. Gohan didn't even bother explaining his presence in the library. He'd been planning to say he just happened to be around when he stumbled on Nevy, and he'd even brought his phone with him to explain how he could be writing emails, but now he didn't even care what she thought of him or that it could look suspicious.

Nevy tried to take Videl away from him. She had been ready to ruin the reputation of the girl he loved and get her in serious trouble with her father, just to make them break up. If she liked Videl that much, how could she be ready to jeopardize her whole life like that? Or had she been that convinced that her blackmail would work and he would give in? Did she even care how much she could have hurt Videl with her vile actions?

He clenched his fists. "The photos. Show them to me. Now."

His voice was low and deadly – he barely recognized it. Nevy's lips trembled with fear. He didn't even feel bad.

"I said now," he hissed, and he had to use all of his self-control not to let his ki skyrocket.

"I-I-I… I don't know what you're talking about…" she mumbled, her eyes still wide open as she stared at him.

He had to calm down. His anger was rising and he couldn't let it cloud his mind. He couldn't afford to make a stupid mistake again just because he couldn't control his temper.

That girl had accomplished quite a feat, making him so angry. That usually took a whole lot.

"Don't. Just don't. Our emails are right there; you didn't even close the page. Don't try to fake your way out of this."

"Damn it," she cursed under her breath, and quickly closed the internet browser with all the open tabs. Not that it mattered now.

"Show me the photos, Nevy."

She narrowed her eyes at him, pursing her lips in an ugly scowl. "Or what? I'm the one with the leverage here. So what if you figured it was me? I'm still going to upload those photos online if you don't break up with Videl."

His fists clenched tighter, his jaw closed almost painfully. Damn it, she was not making it easier for him to calm down.

"Or I can tell Videl how you feel about her and what you've done, trying to break us up."

Her mouth went agape, her eyes went wide again, and her body stiffened completely. Not that he had doubted his ki-reading skills, but her reaction confirmed his deduction without any ambiguity.

"I don't think you'd want her to know what you've done," he went on saying. "You like her, right? Really like her. If I tell her what you tried to do, she's going to hate you. That's not what you want, is it?"

He could read the shock and disbelief in her wide eyes. She didn't see that one coming, did she? That he, of all people, would have seen through her, that he would've figured her true feelings for his girlfriend. Not that clueless now, was he?

"What… What do you mean… I'm not… I don't… I…"

And then her face flushed and she looked sideways, lifting her hand to cover her mouth. Gohan raised an eyebrow. It looked like she was just now realizing what her feelings meant…

His anger subsided somewhat. She was just a kid with a crush, in the end. And it wasn't like he could blame her for falling for Videl – like he was one to talk. He had been lucky that Videl loved him back, but what if she hadn't? What if he would've had to watch her get together with someone else and be all happy and googly-eyed with him? (Or with her, for that matter.) That would've crushed him. He knew he would never have reacted the same way Nevy had and done the things she did, but she was still a kid. She just didn't know any better.

He pulled up the chair from the computer desk next to hers and sat down, getting to eye level with her. "Look," he said, his voice a lot softer now, "I get that you're hurting. Videl is the most amazing girl I've ever known, and I realize how lucky I am. But I never wanted that luck to be at the expense of others."

She was still looking away, and Gohan felt a pang when tears gathered in her eyes. He risked touching her forearm, hoping he could reason with her.

"You don't want to hurt her, right? If you put those photos online, you will not only get her in trouble with her dad, but you will stain her public image. She's a role model to a lot of people. She's a hero. And if you showed these photos to the world, you would be exposing her in an intimate scenario, something nobody has any business seeing, and you would be inciting people to judge her and shame her for something she didn't even do."

Her face scrunched up. "You mean to tell me you guys didn't do it? Do you think I'm dumb? I know what I saw."

Red pigmented his cheeks and he looked down, sitting straighter on the chair. He tried to form words and say something intelligible in response, but all that could come out of his mouth were half-words and sputters: "I-I-I… Uh… We… Um… Well…"

Nevy huffed. "That's what I thought."

Oh, geez, that sounded guilty, didn't it? And now Nevy thought that he… that Videl and he… that they actually…

"B-But, we-well, um I'm still a vir–"

He suddenly coughed into his fist, his face turning an even deeper shade of red. What was he even saying? Why was he telling her this for that matter?

"You're still a virgin?" Nevy sounded skeptical. Gohan closed his eyes and nodded his head once, too embarrassed by the turn of the conversation to form words. He chanced a look at her; she was raising an eyebrow, giving him an unconvinced look, like she was gauging whether she should believe him.

"W-Why would I lie about this?" Oh, would you look at that, a full, complete sentence, albeit with a slight stutter. He let out a soft sigh, leaned a little closer, and looked Nevy in the eye. "Look, the point is, I know you don't want to hurt Videl, so just, let's forget about all this and go back to our lives. I won't ever tell anyone about this if you back down. Please, Nevy. Do the right thing. I know deep down, you're not a bad person. You've made a mistake, but it's not too late. Don't let it be too late. Don't do something you will regret out of hatred and spite… That kind of thing… it never ends well."

I should know, he finished in his head, his regrets echoing in his eyes.

Nevy watched him. Her aura was conflicted. Gohan dared to hope. Did he manage to get through to her?

"You still don't deserve her," she muttered, looking away. Gohan cracked a small, understanding smile. Nevy heaved out a deep sigh, hunching her back in defeat. "Okay, fine, you win. You're right, I can't do this to Videl… I won't use the photos."

He felt like he could finally breathe. "Thank you, Nevy."

"And you won't tell anyone, right?" she added, eying him from the side. "Not about the blackmail or… the other thing."

"Your secret's safe with me."

She got out her phone out of her back pocket and, Gohan assumed and hoped, proceeded to delete the compromising photos. But then her brow furrowed deeply as she stared at the screen.

"Did you really not do it?"

Gohan hid his newly crimson face with his hand. "Oh, geez…" He took a shaky breath. Well, he supposed that if telling her things like they were helped her delete the photos, it was a small price to pay. "N-No, we didn't. We… we still had our, um, underwear on, even though, well, you couldn't tell with the blanket and all…"

"So you guys were just fooling around?"

She sounded relieved. Gohan felt a pang in his chest. He could only imagine what she must be going through, talking with the boy who got to kiss and be with the girl she liked.

"Yes." Good, no stutters for once. "I was a little drunk and got a little carried away. But we didn't do it."

Wow, he was actually impressed with himself. Who would have thought he could say all this without stumbling on his words once?

"Okay, I believe you." She turned back to her phone and tapped several times on the screen. "Okay, they're gone from my phone. They might have synched with my Cloud though, let me check."

"Don't forget the email you sent me," Gohan remembered. "Since you attached a photo to it."

"Right."

"I'll delete the thread from my mailbox too," he added, getting his phone out of his pocket to do just that. "And from the trashcan, too."

She hummed in agreement, and they handled their smartphones in silence for a few moments.

"There. They're all gone, and I deleted the email account too," Nevy declared, setting her phone on the desk with a sigh. Gohan made a mental note to delete the one he downloaded on his laptop once he got home.

"Thank you, Nevy." He stood, feeling a lot lighter now. "I hope we can be friends someday."

"I wouldn't count on that," she grumbled, crossing her arms stubbornly.

"Okay," he replied, not losing hope anyway. It wouldn't be the first time in his life that somebody who meant him harm became his ally in the end, and his father had been through that kind of thing even more often. Nevy wasn't a bad person, she'd just proved that now. They might come to get along in time. Who knew what was going to happen? And they did share the same taste in girls, at least.

"See you at school, then," he said, standing up.

But as he walked away, Gohan couldn't see Nevy narrowing her eyes as she glared at the back of his head. He didn't even pay attention to the emotions her ki carried; had he been more careful, he might have realized that a girl with a broken heart wasn't that easy to reason with.

ooOoo

Watching Videl sleep so soundly, Gohan felt bad to have to wake her up. However, if she wanted to be taught the Turtle Way, getting up at four thirty in the morning was part of the deal. He had tried to compromise with Krillin to let her sleep another hour, but the new Turtle Master reasoned that they had strict hours to deliver the milk in time.

Gohan had heard a lot of stories of the peculiar training regiment of the Turtle Way from his father, and he was curious to see all the different stages for himself. That wasn't the main reason for his presence at Kame House this early in the morning, however: he had come here to encourage Videl on her first day of training and cheer her on every step of the way. He was aware that he couldn't do that every day, though, but today was her first day, and from what he knew, Videl was going to need all the support she could get.

He would have loved to spend his summer with her at Kame House, and he had even asked if he could stay with Krillin for the duration of Videl's training for that matter, but the answer had been a resolute and definitive no from his mother. For one thing, she had argued that it was already too crowded at Roshi's house and that she needed his help with Goten; moreover, she wasn't okay with letting her teenage son live with his girlfriend without her supervision for two whole months.

He saw her point, of course, which was why Gohan hadn't insisted. He figured it was probably better this way anyway, as he didn't want to distract Videl from her training. The priority was to make her stronger – to make her bulletproof. And for the next two months, this goal would be overshadowing everything else.

He smiled fondly, watching Videl's sleeping face some more. How he loved this girl. His heart was glowing in a pleasant warm light as he brushed her bangs away from her forehead. He stroked her cheek softly and murmured her name, trying to wake her up as gently as possible.

Her face scrunched up in the most adorable way, and Gohan grinned. And then he let out an amused chuckle when she rolled on her stomach and hugged her pillow, still sleeping soundly. He raised an eyebrow; was she snoring now?

"Pffrrrttt…" He tried to muffle his laugh in his hand, but it came out pretty loud nonetheless.

And still, Videl didn't wake up.

Gohan scratched his hair. Maybe he was going about this a little too gently?

A soft knock came from the door and Krillin's head popped in. "Still not up?" he asked in a hushed voice; his wife and daughter were sleeping in the other room, seeing as Videl was borrowing Marron's bedroom. They thought it was best to give Videl her own space so she could rest properly from the rough training regiment that awaited her, without a little four-year-old running around and driving her nuts.

"I think she's a heavy sleeper," Gohan replied with a mirthful grin.

"Well, it is four freaking thirty A.M.," Krillin consented with a chuckle, closing the door behind him as he walked into his daughter's pink bedroom. He yawned into his fist. "To think you had to wake up even earlier to get here."

"I don't mind," Gohan shrugged.

"Well, you still have to wake her up, we can't be running late," Krillin stated, looking at a wristwatch he didn't possess. He peered over at the sleeping girl, still hugging her pillow and snoring softly from the position. "She sure is a heavy sleeper, huh? We're not even whispering and she's not waking up."

"I didn't realize she was like that," Gohan chuckled in amusement. Krillin quirked an eyebrow at the slip-up. And sly grin formed on his lips. What an interesting the new bit of information…

"I didn't realize you two were already waking up together."

As expected, a bright blush streaked across Gohan's cheeks and his eyes widened. Krillin snickered at the look on his face. Finally, after seven long years of waiting for the opportunity – finally, he could get back at Gohan for embarrassing him in front of his crush-now-turned-wife.

"We… We didn't… I mean… We were only, uh, sleeping…" he stammered, hiding the bottom half of his face with the back of his hand. "Geez, why do I keep getting myself into these situations…?"

"Suuure, you were "sleeping"." Krillin used air-quote for emphasis, not that Gohan saw it since he was pointedly avoiding his eye, but the former monk was pretty sure he had sensed the shift in the air from the movement. Same difference.

The poor boy slumped his shoulders and heaved a deep, tired sigh. "We… We'll be right down, Krillin. I still need to wake Videl up."

"Sure, you do that." As he put his hand on the doorknob, Krillin looked over his shoulder at Gohan's back and grinned mischievously. "But we're on a tight schedule so just wake her up. You won't have the time for the… other stuff."

It was hard not to bust out laughing at the way Gohan's whole body stiffened, obviously understanding his innuendo, but his little family was still sleeping and he didn't want to accidentally deprive them of a long and restful sleep.

Heaving another deep sigh, Gohan was relieved to hear the soft click of the door closing, meaning that his father's best friend had left. He didn't want to think of what just happened and instead focused on his task, also known as waking up his beautiful girlfriend.

…Was it so hard to believe that he and Videl hadn't gone all the way? Okay, so they'd come pretty close to it a few times… not to mention that if Mr. Satan hadn't shown up unexpectedly on that morning at the beach house, they would have definitely… He flushed and shook his head sharply, before placing his hand on Videl's shoulder to turn her around. Even when he did, she still didn't wake up. He cracked a smile. So cute.

And then a thought crossed his mind and made him blush even harder. What would happen when people teased him about it after he and Videl took the leap? Oh geez, Gohan was certain that just his face would be a dead giveaway. Dang it. Was there no way around it? Could he somehow learn how to lie before that happened? Maybe he just needed to be extra careful not to slip up so that the subject wasn't ever brought up again.

…Like that sounded totally plausible.

He watched Videl sleep some more, feeling his anxiety scurry away at the sight of her angelic face. What would he have done without her? If he hadn't caught Nevy red-handed and managed to reason with her… He didn't even want to think of what could have happened. At least the case was closed now, and he truly hoped that things would get better between Nevy and him from there on out.

He shook Videl's shoulder gently. "Hey, Videl, wake up," he said softly.

She scrunched up her face again, but this time it looked like she was finally waking up. She kept her eyes tightly shut however, and she turned on her side, showing him her back as she groaned sleepily in protest.

He chuckled. Not an early riser, huh? Although in her defense, it was extra early now. "Come on, Videl. It's your first day of training."

"Five more minutes," she mumbled, snuggling up to her pillow.

"You're already running late," he tried to reason with the sleepy head. "Krillin is waiting for you."

"Krillin…" she croaked in a tone that told him she wasn't quite sure what he meant. In the end, she blinked her eyes open and yawned. Gohan smiled fondly. She was too cute. "Training?" she repeated sleepily, her drowsy gaze landing on him. She lit up and smiled back at him. "Oh, right." She touched his cheek. "Hey, you."

He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the lips. "Good morning. Are you ready for today?"

She smiled at him sleepily, then she looked around her and made a face. "Oh, geez. So much pink, so early in the morning…"

Gohan turned away and put his hand on his mouth, muffling the sound of his sudden fit of laughter. "It is a little overboard, isn't it?" he giggled while Videl put a hand over her eyes.

"I hope it gets better with time. I don't know how I'll make it here for two months otherwise." She sat up, yawned again and stretched. "Maybe I'd be better off sleeping in the living room."

Gohan's lips parted and his breath hitched at the sight of the beautiful girl arching her back gracefully, causing her tank top to lift up her stomach and show her navel. She made her shoulders and neck crack and sighed in relief before looking back at him. The girl gave her boyfriend a funny look and chuckled softly.

"What time is it?" she asked, deciding against commenting on his staring. It wasn't like she minded the attention, on the contrary. In turn, Videl let her gaze run along his muscles in appreciation. Gohan was wearing a purple gi with red wristbands and belt, and the sleeveless top barely covered his torso, allowing her to enjoy the view of his gorgeously carved arms, his strong neck, his broad shoulders, his defined pecs. While Videl had started liking him way before she knew what lay under his school clothes, she certainly wasn't complaining at the discovery.

He blinked, looked around in confusion for a moment, and then remembered he wasn't wearing a watch so he looked at the bunny-shaped clock on the wall. "It's, uh, four thirty-eight." He got up. "I'll let you get ready. We need to get going before five."

She nodded, yawning again as she watched her handsome boyfriend go to the door. Gohan opened it, looked at her over his shoulder and gave her a wink, and Videl grinned while he left. Gosh, he was so cute. She was glad that he could be there for her first day of training, and she sure liked seeing his face first thing in the morning; it even made the awful pink room more bearable.

Well, almost. Videl grimaced as the bright color assaulted her eyes once again. She sighed and got up. Ah well, it was only temporary. Surely she could bear with it for the time being, right?

ooOoo

Krillin, Gohan and Videl walked through the front door. To their surprise, Master Roshi stood outside, a solemn look on his face as he held his stick horizontally behind his back.

Was he supposed to come along? Videl wondered with some concern. While she understood that he was a renowned martial art expert and master, the white-bearded man didn't seem to possess much control when he saw a pretty girl and she would rather not have to worry about whether he was going to try to grope her when she was in the middle of training.

Although, Videl had to admit that his demeanor felt completely different than the perverted side she'd seen of him so far.

"Good morning," he said, nodding to the three. "While I won't be joining you for training, there are some things I wanted to address before you left."

Krillin cracked a smile. "Ah, that bring back memories. The whole use martial arts for good speech? Videl fights crime in Satan City alongside Gohan, I think she's up to date on the matter."

Roshi gave his former student a harsh look that meant he clearly didn't like being interrupted. Videl looked on with interest. It seemed as though she'd misjudged the old man. While he was, without a doubt, a pervert, there was obviously more than one layer to him, and she was curious as to what he wanted to say.

"I am aware of your new student's moral compass, thank you. And while it wouldn't have hurt to remind her of the true purpose of martial arts, that isn't what I wanted to talk about."

Krillin shrunk slightly at the scolding. Roshi then looked straight at Gohan. The boy in question blinked.

"I understand that you're in love with Videl, correct?"

As one should expect, Gohan blushed brightly in response. He nodded his head, looking deeply interested in his shoes. Videl felt some heat on her cheeks as well, but she couldn't help smirking at his adorable reaction.

"And you realize that the Turtle Way can be very dangerous, don't you?" Master Roshi went on, his tone more serious than what Videl would have thought him capable of. "And you cannot help her, you cannot save her, no matter what. Running for your life is what drives you forward, what makes you go beyond your own limits. But if you're protecting her, if you serve as her lifeline, Videl might as well pack and go home because trying to learn the Turtle Way would be pointless."

The girl in question turned to look at Gohan. He was standing still, his body stiff, his eyes wide. Videl had to admit that what Roshi said didn't sound reassuring, yet at the same time, her blood was pumping in anticipation at the challenge. However, after her recent near-death experience and the way Gohan had reacted to it, she wasn't sure if he would be capable of seeing her in danger and just stand there with his arms crossed. As much as she wanted him to be with her today, it may not be the best idea if it was going to get in the way of her training…

"Can you handle it?" Roshi asked.

"I…" Gohan glanced at her, his eyes reflecting his inner conflict. Then he looked back at the old man in determination, his fists clenching tightly. "If it's to make her stronger, then I'll bear with it. It's precisely because I can't always be there to protect her that Videl needs to get stronger. That's my priority."

"Good to hear," the retired martial arts teacher said with the hint of a smile, nodding his head. "Then off you go. Mr. Cowson will be waiting for you."

"All right!" Krillin grinned, all pumped up to take the lead. "Let's start with a light jog. After me!"

And off he went, and Gohan jogged after him. He looked over his shoulder when he noticed that Videl wasn't following.

She bowed respectfully to Master Roshi. "Thank you. I'm honored to receive your teaching through Krillin."

The turtle shell-wearing man moved his staff to hold it normally on the ground and simply nodded his head. With an excited smile, Videl took off after Krillin and Gohan.

May 25, 2021