Chapter 5
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The lovely Cover was created by: IjustWokeUp
This chapter is brought to you by Gue22 and ShadowMajin
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Pre-dawn was always beautiful, boasting a coming of blue's and orange's in the sky. Street-lights still twinkled in the distance, though their shine somewhat dimmed in the lighter background. And with summer in full swing, the early morning air was cool and refreshing.
The beauty of such a morning was missed by this particular duo though, they were too busy being aware of each other, each finding hidden beauty in the little things the other did or said, albeit it secretly.
They'd spent all night sitting on cheap plastic chairs in the little back garden of the Trafalagian pub. Though the place was run-down, with a lingering odour of marijuana in the air, not to mention the terrible lighting - neither had paid any attention to the finer details of their surroundings. They'd spent their time drinking – namely Videl who had two cocktails. They did a lot of talking – about any and absolutely everything under the sun, but most importantly, through it all, they'd found themselves laughing all night long.
Ultimately, they'd been kicked out when they'd made no move to leave even when the rest of the staff was long gone, and the pub was down to just the bar-tender.
This early in the morning, the rest of Satan City was relatively quiet with only the faint sounds of running engines in the bigger, much busier streets. On this small one-way street though, infectious laughter could be heard over the slow clanking of Videl's heels.
"You really don't like it all?" she exclaimed, pressing on a button to stop the music that was playing from her phone.
"Uh...no, not at all," Gohan grinned. "Too loud. It sounds more like a child throwing a tantrum with a set of drums than music."
"What a horrible thing to say about one of my favourite songs!" Videl playfully smacked him on the arm.
"I'm sorry, but it's so angry though, I could never listen to more than ten seconds of it." said Gohan as they walked on.
"Well let's hear yours then, since you've dissed all of mine."
"Uh," he pulled out his phone. "I don't really listen to music per say, but I do have a few background tracks that I play when I'm working, let's see..." he fidgeted around with his phone. "Here's a nice one," he pressed play.
Videl listened for all of five seconds before she put up her hand. "That will be all Sir, thank you very much."
"Not to your liking?"
"Sure, if I wanted to take a vow of silence to join my mother in Monochus while she meditates her life away. I'd definitely take it along."
Gohan laughed, "Well, that's the last thing I want." He glided his fingers around his screen until the music stopped. "There, I stopped it. Now we can walk in peace."
"Actually no - I can't do this anymore," she said suddenly, promptly lifting up one foot after the other to pull off her heels. "There...that feels so much better." She wiggled her toes on the cold pavement, champagne heels dangling in her hand.
"Sorry for all this walking. I'd offer you my shoes but your feet are so...tiny." He stared, marvelling at how much shorter she'd just become without her shoes. "Gosh, you're tiny."
"Hey!"
"I don't mean it as a bad thing," he added quickly. "You just look so much...shorter," he smiled. "However it's really not a good idea to walk around like that. Look over there, this street is not so clean, broken glass and Kami knows what else."
"Urgh, maybe," she scrunched her nose, gazing at the stretch of road ahead of her. "Bleh, if only I had Phoenix, he'd sweep me under his wings and fly me away." she laughed, even more so at his expression. "Aww, don't look like that, it's okay. You have your own superpowers right?
Gohan blanched, "Wha...super...p-po...what do you mean Kata?" he stuttered in a rather high pitched voice.
"Well, last time I checked, Vampires are super strong right? Jump really high or...I know!" she grinned, "quickly! turn into a bat, I'll hop on your back and we can fly away."
Gohan shook his head at his own foolishness. For a second there when she'd said super-powers, he'd thought...urgh, it wasn't important. He had forgotten her little jab about him being some kind of vampire from the the 14th century.
"Um...I would, but...even as tiny as you are; I don't think you'll fit on my back if I turned into a bat."
Videl laughed. "Good point."
"Don't worry, all is not lost," said Gohan. "you said you're trained in martial arts right? I won't transform into my ultimate bat form right now," he grinned. "But you can still hop on my back - I'll give you a piggy-ride."
"Very funny,"
"I'm being serious; I give my little brother these all the time."
"I don't think-"
"Look I'll make it easy for you," he took two steps and semi-squatted before her. "Hop on; it's better than getting a piece of glass stuck in your foot. Come on."
Videl looked thoughtful for a second, but in the end, Gohan felt a tiny weight pressing on him as she hopped onto his back, her legs wrapping around his waist.
Her slender arms wrapped around his neck for support – the straps of her heels dangling in one hand, and with an unexpected sigh, she pressed her face firmly against his back.
Gohan's eyes widened as he straightened up. She'd made herself more than a little comfortable, and her tiny body fit around him perfectly.
"I don't think this was such a good idea," she said as he walked on; the words warming his back on the spot where her mouth was pressed. "I feel like a baby on a carrier, I'm getting sleepy just being here,"
Gohan had to agree – this was not one of his best ideas, though, his own reasons had nothing to do with her being sleepy. Having those legs wrapped around him like that, her thighs and groin pressed against him in that little dress, sleepy was the last thing he felt. This was completely different from carrying Goten. He went from playful and carefree to...well...tense and very much aware of all their points of contact.
"I'll just call a cab to take us home."
At those words Gohan felt a sense of panic. Home! She couldn't go home! Not yet! He was having so much fun, the thought of the night coming to an end was just...depressing. Plus...he still had to ask her to the fundraiser!
He felt her fidget about on his back as she pulled out her phone from her purse.
"Um...Kata...I mean Videl," he corrected, "Hold on just a sec, I'd like to uh...before you call for a cab, there's something I want to ask you."
"Uh-huh," she said sleepily.
"I...uh..." His cheeks burned as an insecurity that had been absent all evening suddenly appeared, swimming its way to the surface. Good thing she couldn't see his face. "I'm really glad that you invited me out tonight," he began, "and I...I have this thing,"
"Thing?" she asked sleepily as she shifted, adjusting her legs, her thighs rubbing all around him, making him very aware of the other 'thing' he had which was being affected by all of this.
"Um...yeah, next weekend, for work," he said uncomfortably. This piggy-ride was a very, very bad idea. Why couldn't she be still! "It's like a fundraiser type of thing, like a ball" he continued, trying to ignore the feel of her breasts as she tried different ways to rest herself comfortably.
"Mmhh," she sighed against his shoulder blades. That really tingled, in all kinds of inappropriate ways. He really had to get a grip!
"See I was gonna go with this friend of mine, but she has plans with a real guy-"
"you a fake guy?" she said almost sluggishly.
"No!" he denied heatedly. "Not that I'm not a real guy or anything, I am! I am!" he flushed even more so since his 'guy part' was starting to come awake on this cool summer morning. "Just...you know, we are just friends and she has an actual date, with a guy she likes you know?"
"Mmk,"
"So, I...kinda...um...I don't really have a girlfriend or anything, and this thing, well I kinda need a date for it." He cleared his throat nervously. "So I signed up on-line hoping to meet someone that I-"
"So you want me," she said lazily, summing up his less than eloquent monologue. "be your date?"
Gohan flushed at the truth of the first half of that statement. He wasn't one to spend a great deal of time thinking about those certain 'wants', okay, okay, so maybe he'd thought about it once or twice with Kirsty every time he was alone in his room while mas...whoa! he was really getting carried away here."I...err...yes," he swallowed. "Would you? Be my date? It's next week Friday."
"Mmhh,"
"R-Really?"
"Mmhh, I'll come to your thingy."
...
Gohan soared through the sky as he headed back to his hotel in Gold City, a wide smile on his face. Tonight had been great, no terrific! He hadn't felt this uplifted in so long, it was nothing short of amazing. Kami, he loved this feeling. He didn't ever want it to stop.
Meeting Kata—no, Videl; Videl was her name—had gone better than he could have possibly dreamed. She was so beautiful and funny and open that it just took his breath away, and she'd actually shown interest in him! That had never happened to him before, not like this, not with a girl. And all that wasn't even including her acceptance to the fundraiser!
A grin appeared on his face, recalling their good-bye after seeing her safely in a cab. 'See you at your thingy,' she'd smiled with droopy eyes, as she curled into a tiny sleeping ball at the back of the cab. Man, what a night! He was gonna have to get in touch with Marcy soon. He could finally send her an email to say 'in your face Marcy, here is the name of my plus one!'
On impulse, he did a loop-de-loop, laughing as he did so. It was something he had down as a child whenever he was happy, and this was an occasion worth the effort. He was literally on Cloud 9, the fluffy white formations of condensed moisture floating all around him. Nothing could get him down; not even that cloud of smoke rising out of the city down below.
Gohan paused at that, slowing his flight. Huh? A billowing cloud of dark smoke was rising out of the city, the fading darkness of the early morning skies making it look darker than it really was.
The Son boy couldn't help but feel like he should go check it out, make sure that no one was hurt or trapped inside. Yeah, he needed to go do that.
Plunging down, Gohan flew towards the smoke. It was here that he began to see white puffs of smoke appearing, causing some relief to well up within him. The fire department was there and they were in the middle of putting the fire out. That was good.
As he drew near it though, Gohan began searching for a convenient place to land. It wouldn't do for him to land right in the middle of the scene and freak everyone out.
Finding an alleyway a couple blocks away, he quickly landed in it and as nonchalantly as he could, he walked out of the alley, heading towards the scene of the fire.
With every step, Gohan began to realize that the building that was on fire was in fact his hotel. 'What in the world?' Flares roared out of broken windows, scorching the formerly-polished walls. Surrounding the building were large red fire trucks and men in heavy yellow jackets scrambling around as they tried to put out the fires. Several of the men had long hoses in their arms, spraying the building with gallons and gallons of water. There were large crowds of people, half of them in sleep-wear, milling about as they watched the spectacle.
Alarm began welling up inside of him as he began jogging towards the building. Due to the people standing about, there was a constant murmur about as they talked. Many of them were hoping everyone had gotten out, but there seemed to be some comments about someone already considered dead.
Oh jeez, and he could have prevented that death had he been here.
Quickly, he pushed out with his senses and swept the roaring building, but apart from the fire men hard at work, he couldn't pick out anything or anyone that appeared to be trapped inside. That was a relief, at least all the guests and staff had managed to get out. Or...he couldn't sense those trapped under the flames because they were already dead – as per the murmurs.
No, no, these were just people speculating. If he wanted answers, he needed to talk with one of the firemen. They would know what was what. Heading towards one of the trucks, he eyed one particular fireman that seemed to be barking out orders to all of the others. He definitely looked like someone in-charge.
However, before he could reach him, a thick meaty hand grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. "Son!" his boss exclaimed, relief thick in his voice. "You got out! You're alive!"
Gohan let out an uneasy chuckle. "Uh, yeah. Yeah I did."
"Thank the Kami above! We were all worried, m'boy. We all thought you were trapped inside somewhere."
"Well, I'm okay," he reassured him. "Do you know what happened?"
His boss shook his head as he looked back at the burning hotel. "A fire started in one of the rooms. It got out of control and started burning everything down. I was just coming in from the Casino, talking to the receptionist in the lobby when the fire alarm went off. I've been searching for you ever since."
Huh, so that's what it was. Still, he had to know who, if anyone had died. "I've been hearing murmurs about someone being declared dead already. Do you—"
"Yeah, we all thought that was you," his boss interrupted him. "I didn't see you when everyone came running out and I knew you'd been in your room. You're the only guest that was unaccounted for, and your floor...well...there's really nothing left up there, so yeah, everyone'd written you off Son."
A light flush began to work its way onto Gohan's face, but he suppressed it. It wouldn't do anyone any good to tell them he had been in Satan City when all of this happened.
"Found the source of the fire, Sir," one of the fire-fighters said nearby, causing both Gohan and his boss to look towards him. The fire-fighter had just jogged up to the man Gohan had been heading towards before he had been intercepted – the one that looked in-charge.
Gohan and his boss listened in on their conversation.
"We found ignition points in Room #653." said the fire-fighter.
"653?" Gohan's boss whispered to him. "Isn't that your room?" he regarded Gohan questioningly.
Gohan's face paled at that. That was his room. How did the fire start in there when he hadn't even been inside? Wait…that meant all of his belongings were gone, all his case files, along with his computer. Oh no! Anything but his computer, how was he going to talk with Ka—
"Son!" his boss yelled in his ear, ending his train of thought. "Did you start a fire in your room?" he demanded.
Immediately, Gohan shook his head. "No! Of course not!" he exclaimed in astonishment.
"Then how do you explain it? You went to sleep after we parted so...did you forget to put out a cigarette or something?"
"I don't even smoke!" he jumped.
Oh, this looked bad. This looked very, very bad. While he could tell the truth, it wasn't going to do him any favours. It'd look like a blatant lie if he said it, since no one could be in a city hundreds of miles away. And if he proved it, he'd lose his job in a heartbeat and probably start a riot by frightening everyone here.
So how did he explain this? Oh crap, this was going to be difficult.
"W-well, you see, Sir," he stuttered out. "I, uh…I wasn't in my room…"
"You weren't? But you told me you were going there to get some sleep. Did you lie? Ditch the old boss and headed over to the strip clubs ey?"
"No! no, no, no! I did go to my room, but I…uhh…I…had…trouble sleeping! Yeah, I just couldn't go to sleep, so I went for a short walk. To get some fresh air. Ended up lasting longer than I thought."
His boss looked dubious at his excuse, something that frightened the Son boy. But then the man clasped his shoulder. "Alright then, be sure to explain all that in a report. The Fire Inspector from Gold City is probably sniffing around, and if they've already identified origin, we can assume that their lab is already hard at work and cause is next."
Gohan nodded.
"I'll contact our Fire Engineers and maybe they can come down here and lend a hand, but I want you to make yourself available to the locals and also," he whispered, "keep an eye on how they're handling this. Be sure to let me know when you find out immediately—we need to head off any potential finger pointing that's going to occur, especially since the fire was started in your room."
"Yes Sir!" Gohan replied with gusto.
...
She peeled her eyes open and cursed Erasa's good news. A glance at her phone as she shut off the alarm confirmed that she'd only had three hours sleep and already it was time to get up.
This was the part she hated the most – the morning after. Her head, oh her poor head, it was reaping the just rewards of a foolish inexperienced drinker going all out on hard liquor cocktails and two bottles of champagne. Couldn't she have restricted herself to one glass for the sake of the toast?
Urgh. She knew what she needed: water, any analgesic she could find and plenty of sleep.
She crawled to the bathroom and rummaged through her medicine cabinet. She popped something or other with a heavy dose of codeine and paracetomol and then washed it down with two glasses of water. Pushing her hair back she stared at her reflection – yuck. Her face was smudged with what was left of the light make-up she'd had on last night, not to mention those red eyes boasting heavy bags down below.
Well, she'd never pretended to be a lady, but she could have washed her face a little even if she'd skipped the rest of the annoying bedtime routine. Even more, sleeping in this dress that smelt like...eww, she cringed as she sniffed it. So it definitely was marijuana lingering in that pub. She sighed, she might just have to tip her friends in the station.
Tearing off Erasa's scandalous dress, she stepped into the shower. As much as she needed the sleep, today was Saturday, and she had a pressing engagement she couldn't ignore. Just thinking about it made all of last night...the drinks with Erasa, and of course the highlight – meeting Nimbz, all of that, just felt like a slap in the face.
How could she?
While she was out having the time of her life, that poor guard's family, no he had a name – Monna Oshwele. While she was out in the company of the most wonderful guy she'd ever met, Oshwele's family was probably crying themselves to sleep and it was all because of her, her weakness, her failure, her shameful inability to save him.
"T-Thank...y-you Ms Satan, you...you...saved us." stammered the guard, choking on his own blood as Videl held him. In less than a second, he was dead.
She tried to put the guilt at bay as she stepped into the large shower. Taking a seat on the custom made rock, she turned on all 14 jets. The concave rock was big enough to lie on should she wish it, but she chose to sit with her head resting against the custom pillows instead. As the hot water jetted out from every angle, the pressure against her skin felt like a fitting punishment. It was set to maximum, hard enough to hurt, but not to bruise.
She would have liked to stay longer, but she was running late as it was. The chief was probably on his way to pick her up and 'high profile' attendees such as them could not afford to be late. Working quickly she ran two coats of shampoo through her hair and scrubbed her skin as much as she could. It wouldn't do to smell like marijuana and alcohol at a funeral.
...
"Don't you ever scare your mother like that again young man!" Chichi swivelled round and poked him in the chest as soon as they left the madness of the police station.
"But mom, I told you. I wasn't even in the hotel when the fire started. I was perfectly safe," Gohan explained for the millionth time.
"That didn't stop that hotel manager from calling us in the middle of the night and scaring us half to death now did it? They had all but declared you dead!"
She covered her face and wept.
"No," he hung his head. "I guess it did not. Sorry, mom."
Man, this fire business was never going to end was it? He'd had to sit for hours filling out reports, answering questions and generally trying not to look suspicious. Then his parents had arrived, seemingly the hotel had tracked down his next of kin when they had thought him dead. His mother had raised hell when she'd discovered that the Fire Inspector was taking him through what he called 'routine' questioning.
'So you didn't set the fire?` he'd asked many times, as if he didn't quiet believe him. The last time he'd directed that question at him his mother had finally snapped and lunged for his throat.
'My son is not an arsonist!' she'd screamed. Luckily his father had merely reeled her in and restrained her with a nervous chuckle.
He knew his mom was teetering on the crazy side when it came to protecting him, but Gohan had to agree with her outrage on this one. Seriously though, what motive would a guy like him have for starting a fire in a hotel?
They had managed to walk all the way to a deserted street, and he couldn't be more grateful. He was tired and hungry and all he wanted was a good breakfast to fill up his stomach and then get into his own bed and sleep. He could already imagine the drama that was going to ensure at the office on Monday. Hell, he'd be lucky if they didn't call him in over the weekend.
"I have a good mind to call a lawyer and sue that Inspector!" Chichi fumed. "But I'm just so glad you're okay!" she choked, then flung herself in his arms. "We should get you checked for smoke inhalation; it can be very damaging to the lungs you know."
"Chichi, he just said he wasn't even there," Goku reassured her.
"Oh, right. Just where were you mnn?" she glared suspiciously.
"I was out mom,"
"Out where Gohan? Don't think I don't know what Gold City is famous for. I know all there is to know about the casinos and the loose women, and Son Gohan if you've been in some strip club I swear-"
"Mom! I was not even in Gold City, I went to Satan City to meet a girl!"
"A girl?" both parents said simultaneously.
"Yes, a girl. I have that fundraiser this coming weekend and I flew over there to ask her to be my date in person okay?"
"Oh, my."
"So if it's all the same to you. I'm hungry and I'm tired and I'd really like to step into the shower and wash off all this dirt and," he sniffed himself, "I just reek of smoke. Dad?" he prompted.
"No problem Son, I'll get us home in a jiffy."
With two fingers to his forehead, his Dad moved them out of the mayhem of Gold City and saw them home.
...
Hours later, when he opened his eyes, he immediately lunged for his phone. The fire had taken his laptop, but he remembered that last night, Kata had been on a mobile application of their mutual dating site. A quick search and he was able to download the application onto his own phone. He logged in, breaking into a delighted smile when he saw that funny rectangle next to her name.
Hurriedly, he began typing.
NimbusRider says: Kata?
It took a few seconds too long, but eventually a response came through.
Katagirl says: Hi
He frowned, the greeting just felt so...bland. It didn't even have a smiley...
NimbusRider says: Hi! Glad to see you're on. I really had a great time last night. Just waking up actually XD
Katagirl says: Um yeah, me too.
Okay...now he was really worried.
NimbusRider says: Is something wrong?
Katagirl says: No, not really. Sorta. I don't know. Just can't concentrate enough to type right now. Sorry.
All he could do was just sit there staring at his enthusiasm as it went flying out the window. Something was definitely wrong, he could feel it. She was off, and he just couldn't understand why. They'd parted on such great terms last night. At least...he'd thought so. She'd even agreed to be his date and everything so why was she...could she be...
NimbusRider says: Do you feel like talking instead? I could, meet you, maybe, if you wanted, if you're not too busy.
He held his breath, he had to try something. It could be nothing, maybe she was just tired like she said, but if he'd learned anything from his parent's relationship it was that if his mom said nothing was wrong, something usually was. Luckily he was not so dense as to just take it with a grin and then sail out the window to train – something his dad almost always did. But boy would he pay for it later.
Katagirl says: You're still in Satan City?
He scratched his head, a little lie never hurt anyone.
NimbusRider says: Uh yeah, that work thing is still going on so I'm still here.
Katagirl says: What hotel are you staying in? I know my way around so it will be easier if I came to you.
Oh shit, um...hotel, hotel...he didn't think of that. Ah, did he even know any hotels? He could do a quick search but that might take a while. Um, this is not good.
Katagirl says: If coming to your hotel makes you feel uncomfortable we could always meet somewhere else.
NimbusRider says: No, no. It's fine. It's Satan Hotel.
It was the best he could come up with. He had a flash of Bulma rolling her eyes while reading some magazine. 'That man has no shame, not only did they name the city after him, but now he even has an avenue and a hotel named after him in every major city in the world'. That had been way back when Goten was still a baby.
He remembered how his mother had raged and ranted about how Orange City and all those avenues and hotels should have been 'Son & Son, instead of Satan. Personally he hadn't cared one way or the other, but he figured there must be a Satan Hotel in Satan City, if that article had had its facts right.
Katagirl says: Wow. You must work for a very rich company then.
Gohan cringed. Damn, was it one 'those' hotels then? Damn.
He thought of just meeting her outside and then going for a walk but then thought better of it. What if she was wearing heels again? The last thing she'd want to do is walk around again.
Ah, damn it!
They could always have a coffee in the lounge or bar or something, but would she want to see his room at some point? Did girls do things like that? He didn't know! He didn't know! He didn't have any experience with any of it. What if she was expecting to be invited to his room? Then what? If he didn't have one not only would he be caught in a lie, but he'd look like a fool too.
Man, why did he lie in the first place?
NimbusRider says: How long do you need?
Katagirl says: I'll head over right now, so fifteen minutes or so.
Gohan cringed. Fifteen minutes only? Damn. He'd have to move fast.
NimbusRider says: Great! Can't wait!
Katagirl says: Okay
That 'okay' just brought him down again. Why was she so...so...unlike herself?
But now was not the time to ponder on it, he had to move!
He climbed out of bed and got dressed; hurriedly he tossed some random clothes into a suitcase and dialled Bulma.
"If it isn't the arsonist," she teased.
"Very funny Bulma. I need your help. It's urgent!"
"Don't tell me they're actually going to arrest you?" she sounded appalled and worried now.
"No, this is about something else entirely. I need a room at Satan Hotel in Satan City. Can you make that happen in the next five minutes? I can't stress how urgent this is."
"Eww, Gohan, of all the hotels in Satan City, why would you want a room there?'"
"Please Bulma, I need that room," he spoke as he zipped up his bag. "There's this girl you see ,and I kinda lied about staying there, stupid I know...but now she's on her way there to meet me and-"
"You had me at girl Gohan, say no more. Leave it to me."
He sighed, tossing the bag on his shoulder as he raced out of his room. "Thanks Bulma."
...
He made it to the hotel in ten minutes flat. His super-speed would be nothing without the GPS on his phone. This way he didn't have to circle round and round in an unfamiliar city.
The hotel was ridiculous with all its unabashed opulence, just getting passed the walk-way shaded by immaculately trimmed palm trees and gorgeous fountains, just stepping onto the gold plated stairs of the entrance that opened up to a ridiculously lavish reception made him feel like he was transported into another world.
He really should have picked a different hotel.
The butler practically wrestled him for his meagre bag, even if he'd been a hundred per cent human, he still wouldn't have needed the help. It was just a tiny little bag that he'd packed for the sake of appearances. Ultimately, he let the butler have his way.
As soon as he gave his name, the receptionist hit the keys of her computer and lit up like a dragonball about to summon Shenron. She seemed really excited to have him, which was rather shocking, considering how shabby he felt he looked compared to all the other guests.
He sighed in relief when she finally handed over the swipe card for his room, even more so when the paperwork confirmed that the room had already been paid for in full. 'Thanks Bulma', he had an inkling that a room in this place would set him back a whole month's worth on his meagre intern salary.
"Enjoy The Champ's suite Sir," she'd beamed. "It's the very best, far superior to any Presidential Suite you'll find anywhere.'
But he wasn't really paying attention, he was too busy glancing at his watch, worried that Kata, no Videl – would come through the doors at any minute.
His gratitude leapt right out the window and splattered onto the floor when he stepped through the door. This was ridiculous. The conspicuous decadence of the hotel's decor didn't stop at the entrance and reception. The sheer size of his room...Why would Bulma book him such a monstrous room?
Grumbling, he tossed his bag, messed up the bedding on the giant bed and popped into the shower for a minute. He hadn't exactly taken it easy on his flight here, and the last thing he wanted was for Kata to catch him dishevelled and sweaty.
He was just about ready, bending over to tie his shoes when he received the call from reception. His guest had arrived.
...
Videl stood conspicuously in the lobby, hoping Gohan would be able to spot her right away before more people did. She cursed, running her hands down the consecutive charcoal tapered skirt. She was still in her formal clothes from the funeral.
Another guest passing by spotted her, her face breaking into awe the instant she recognised her. Luckily she was the shy kind, with just a smile, a small token of acknowledgement, she'd managed to appease her enough to make her blush and scurry along.
This was a bad idea.
She'd just shooed the manager away, the lanky man had come running when he'd heard that The Champ's daughter had just walked through their doors. How did she hope to keep her identity in a place where all the employees and half the guests knew her name?
Yeah, this was one of her worst ideas yet. She'd had no business suggesting meeting up with him in the first place. It's just...she was having such a miserable day, that funeral had been so sad and she'd felt so awful, and then the bank manager and the chief had given their speeches, thanking her...and the worst of it, Mrs Oshwele herself, that poor widow, thanking her for doing her best? Kami, it was more than she'd been able to bear!
Didn't any of them realize that there should never have been a funeral, that there should never have been a death in the first place? She should have been stronger, faster...anything, anything at all.
And when he'd sent her that message she'd just...she'd just wanted the company of someone who could make her forget who she was. Sure, she hardly knew him, but she'd had so much fun last night that she'd thought...she'd thought that just seeing his face again, just being in his company again...maybe it would make some of this pain go away, or at least, help her forget, even if it was just for a little while.
The large and lonely rooms of her home were certainly not helping, so here she was.
Urgh, damn it! She blinked rapidly, trying to keep the stinging in her eyes at bay. It would be appalling if she let her tears fall in a place like this. She had to keep it together or turn around and leave.
...
Gohan spotted her right away, even if her clothes were so different from last night's that he'd had to do a double take to confirm that it was the same person.
He could feel himself lighting up from just seeing her, his stride increasing, his face breaking into a smile, his heart...his heart plummeting when he saw the pained expression on her face.
'Wha...' the pang of worry was so strong it was all he could do not to give himself away by phasing before her.
His eyes were extremely sharp; he zoomed in on her face and cursed under his breath when he saw that her eyes were glistened with moisture.
"Kata, what's wrong?" he couldn't help himself. He did exactly what he was trying to restrain himself from doing. He just cut the gap between them with super-speed and appeared right in-front of her.
She gasped, obviously startled. "Nimbz, jeez! Where did you come from?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, you just startled me that's all." she attempted a smile.
Gohan frowned, maybe if he hadn't spent seven years seeing his mother try to smile through the pain of losing her husband, if he hadn't spent those years watching her as she tried to be strong for the sake of others, then that half hearted smile might have hoped to fool him.
He tipped her chin with his finger. "What's wrong?" he insisted, for this was not the face of the girl he'd met last night.
"It's nothing; I'm just coming from a funeral."
"Oh, I'm...I'm sorry. I-"
"Can we go someplace private to talk? I feel like everyone's looking at us."
...
He cursed Bulma again as he opened the door for her. How was he supposed to explain this extravagance? Even the wealthiest companies in the word wouldn't book their interns in the The Champ's Suite. It was ridiculous!
"Can I get you something to drink? Uh, I'm sure we can order room-service or something."
"Just some water, there's a pitcher over here. I'll help myself," she said and stood to do just that.
Gohan didn't know what to do, he thought of sitting down but he felt too nervous. He felt so useless in the face of this, he wanted to comfort her but he didn't even know who'd died! He really didn't know much about her at all. Just that she was a student and an only child.
Hours and hours of conversation and sure he knew a lot of trivia about her but in this moment, it wasn't helping him.
"I don't mean to pry or anything, but if you want to talk about it...was it a family member?"
She sat down with a grim face, glass of water in one hand. "No, I didn't even know him."
"Oh," now he really didn't know what to say. Why would she go to a funeral of someone she didn't even know? "Were you accompanying a friend?"
"No. I-" she seemed to debate over what to say for a few seconds before she continued. "It was someone; it was someone I couldn't save."
"Oh, from the bridge?" he couldn't think of anything else. She wasn't in the medical field, but in one of their very first conversations she'd told him that she'd been in Gold City as a volunteer, pulling out survivors etc. the day Golden Bridge had collapsed. Perhaps it was someone she got to a bit too late?
"No, not the bridge, though," she seemed to grimace. "Though there were lots of casualties that day." She shook her head as if to shake the memory off as took another sip of water.
Gohan said nothing, waiting patiently for her to continue.
"There was this bank robbery and I...these guys, these low-lives." Her face contorted into something that resembled fury. "They were debating over the lives of the hostages you know, 'cause they'd seen their faces. Anyway, before they started shooting, I was able to kick them around and knock them out. "
The confusion he felt must have been plain to see for she went ahead and clarified before he could ask the question.
"I'm sort of," she bit her lip as if she was debating with herself again. As if she was not certain of what to tell him. "I told you I'm a Martial Artist right? Well sometimes I volunteer to assist the police in apprehending troublesome criminals."
"Criminals with guns and explosives? Sounds dangerous," he said out loud.
"The world is a dangerous place," she shrugged and took a sip of her water. "I was so close to kicking this last guy in the head, but my foot was too slow, he pulled the trigger and the bullet went straight to the guard." She shook her head again, the fingers around the glass breaking into a small tremble. "If I'd been faster, if I'd been stronger I might have-"
"So you blame yourself, even though you did everything in your power."
"That's the point!" she exploded. "I train so hard every day, I push myself...I...but I just don't feel like I'm getting any stronger. I just," she sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come." She stood up. "The last thing I wanted was to ruin what's left of your Saturday, but look at me...I'm just-"
"Kata, I mean Videl don't go," he approached her. "You're not ruining anything, trust me. I'm glad you came, really and I'm glad you opened up to me. I practice a little Martial Arts myself remember? So I understand the frustrations of hitting a wall in training."
"Maybe you do, but it's not just some hobby for me you know? When I get called in to assist, its people's lives! Hitting a wall is not acceptable."
"I don't know what ties you have with the police, and under what circumstances they call you in but," he placed his hand on her back and steered her towards the unnecessarily long balcony. "If you're taking on bank robbers unarmed, then I'm guessing you must be really good to take that risk. I can show you a little trick that might come in handy should you need to buy a little time in a jam."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's go out onto the balcony and I'll show you," he offered his hand and a smile.
...
His skin had always been tough, so he wasn't too worried about getting burnt. But it wasn't the same for her. They'd been out here in the sun trying to do this for a while now; he just hoped she had the hang of it this time.
"Alright, now don't think about it too much. Where it's coming from is not important, just let the tingling you feel catch on to the light okay?"
"Um...okay, I think I feel it again." said Videl.
"Alright then, let's try this one more time. Bring your hands to the centre of your face like this," he took her hands and placed them in the right position. "Then spread out your fingers towards your eyes like this," he increased the spread of her fingers just a little and then stepped away.
"Okay, now just remember, project that tingle towards the light and...go!"
"Solar Flare!" she called out, and then stood momentarily stunned when it finally worked. A bright white light fired out and-
"I actually did it!" she cheered pumping a fist into the air, breaking into laughter like a kid being tickled. "I can't believe it!" she beamed and then she took him by complete surprise – she tackled him into a bone-crushing hug.
"Heheheh, yeah you did," he laughed nervously, rubbing his poor eyes which were momentarily blinded, unsure of how to reciprocate to the hug.
He had never been on the receiving end of this before, damn, it actually stung! He started to move his arms to embrace her, but ended up giving her a lame pat on the back instead. Lucky for him she pulled back almost immediately.
"What an amazing technique! I can't believe that I actually did it!"
"You did great, and just in time too. Look..." he pointed at the horizon, his eyes squinting as they tried to re-adjust to the light. "The sun was definitely on its last legs, and without the sun, or some other form of bright light, the Solar Flare is pretty useless."
She followed his finger, "Aww man! It really is going down. Too bad, I really wanted to try it one more time." she pouted.
"Not on me you don't," he waved off the idea. "Once was enough. Gah, my poor eyes." He laughed, rubbing them again.
"Serves you right! You did it to me three times! So we're almost even," she grinned.
"I was trying to teach you!" he said incredulously.
She laughed, leaning over the railing, her eyes travelling across the view below. She looked so happy, completely transformed from earlier, and knowing that he had something to do with that change, it was just a high on its own.
This is how she should be: happy and excited. The light in her eye shining with more sparkles than that dangerous dress she had on last night.
Once again he noted how tiny she was. She had taken off her shoes and suit jacket shortly after they began, choosing to remain in her skirt and blouse. The strangest training clothes he had ever seen to be sure, but neither of them could have known that they'd end up this way.
Her hair and nape were damp with sweat from all the time they'd spent in direct sunlight and Gohan could also see a small trickle running down her blouse. Thankfully with the sun going under, the evening was already starting to cool down.
"I still can't believe that such a thing is possible, you can't imagine how useful it will be."
"Yeah, it's a great defensive technique. I'm sure it will come in handy should you ever end up in a tight spot again."
"I'll practice it until I can do it in my sleep!"
"Yeah, heheh...just as long as you find another test subject." he said, as he moved to join her by the railing.
He looked down at what she was looking at – the vast grounds of the hotel. They were huge, and very well landscaped. They even had a small man made mini beach at the back. It was funny how she hadn't said a word about his room, or the hotel in general. She didn't even seem to have noticed all the extravagance around them.
"So?" she eyed him mischievously.
"Um?"
She slid her arms down the railing until they made contact with his. "So...now that you've shown me this trick, what are you going to do with me?"
"What do you mean?" he stared, dumbfounded.
"This is not really a Martial Arts technique from the Crane School is it?"
"Wha...what do you mean? If you watch the old tournament tapes, Tien of the Crane school clear-"
She laughed, interrupting him. "Oh come on, we both know that it's one of your dark powers Sir Dracula, so...now that I'm on to you-"
He laughed, shaking his head. "You're right," he whispered close to her ear. "Now that you know this ancient technique, passed down to all new vampires by their makers...hmmm...I guess I have no choice but to turn you into one of us."
"Hmm, just as long as you remember my warning, bite me and I'll-"
"Kick my ass?" he brought his face down to hers. "Don't worry. I haven't forgotten," he ran a finger down the side of her neck, grazing her with the tip of his nose. "Tempting, so very tempting...but I..." he pulled his nose back and smiled. "I think I like this better," he whispered, just before he brushed his lips against hers.
...
That's the chapter guys; please let us in on your thoughts on the story so far.
Just on the side: I've had several queries about Valentines Day in the summer, and at first I was like err? When else would Vday be? But then of course it was pointed out that most readers are from the Northern Hemisphere and as such February is a cold month in their part of the world. That is as foreign to me as a cold Christmas XD. When I picture Vday, I see pool parties, foam parties, barbecue's and red skimpy skirts.
Plus *Cough* If you take the Map of the DB Universe and wrapped it around a globe (not that I've done that _ ) Satan City falls pretty close to the equator so it would be summer in Feb anyway.
Okaaaaaaaaaay, enough rambling :D