This is it, chapter 3.

So far I've been getting a lot of good reviews on the story and I have to say, it's really encouraging. So thanks guys, I hope I won't let you down. Now on to the story...

Orange Star High School

Videl Satan found herself inside seated within the school's cafeteria alongside Erasa and Sharpener. It had been almost a week now since Gohan's disappearing act, and the media had yet to find out heads or tails of where the family had disappeared to. The Son family had no neighbors they could have spoken to that would have given them clues to their whereabouts and all information on the Son family were either restricted or non-existent. The only things that they were able to find out was information that Videl herself had provided. The police couldn't even get involved seeing as how the Mt. Paozu district was far far outside their jurisdiction. The entire media had been led on a wild goose chase.

It was frustrating to think about for the young girl to think about.

"... what do you think Videl?" Videl was only able to catch the last snippet of Erasa's question and was subjected to giving the girl a confused stare.

"I'm sorry Erasa, I wasn't listening. What were you saying?"

Erasa pouted. "Hmph! How rude!" the girl huffed, crossing her arms beneath her bust. "I don't think I want to tell you anymore," she turned her head away from her friend, hoping to sell the frustrated bit.

Videl could only sigh. Erasa could be a big drama queen when she wanted to. "I'm sorry that I wasn't listening Erasa, there's just a lot on my mind right now."

"Like Gohan?" Erasa ventured correctly.

Videl nodded.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know Erasa," she admitted to her friend. "It's just that I'm frustrated that we can't find anything about the guy. Zilch! If I hadn't met him myself, then I wouldn't have been convinced that he didn't even exist."

"What about his school records?" Sharpener piped up from his spot around the table. He had just finished eating his lunch and was brushing away the crumbs from his lips. "Nerd-boy must have had to fill out an application to come here. Did you check those?"

"We've already checked those. But everything that wasn't basic and protocol he had left blank!" Just thinking about it made her want to rip her hair out. Why was everything about Gohan so elusive? "It's almost as if he didn't want anyone to find out about him,"

As the statement left her lips, she noticed the small grimace that had momentarily passed on Erasa's face. The bubbly blond looked slightly nervous as she picked at her meal and had suddenly refused to make eye contact with Videl. She knew that Erasa had instantly forgiven her for not listening when she had been talking earlier so the daughter of Hercule was unsure as to why her friend suddenly looked so fidgety.

"What is it Erasa?"

The girl flinched before she mumbled something in response. Even if she had been right next to the girl, Videl wasn't sure if she would have been able to even hear what she had said. Based on Sharpener's befuddled expression, he hadn't heard her either. She repeated the question, this time getting a more vocal response from the girl.

"I said that maybe we should stop trying to find him," she stuttered out, very unlike her usual exuberance.

"Why? I thought you'd want him to came back to school?" Sharpener asked. He pushed the fringes of blond hair away from his face and adopted a look that the two had come to know as his 'serious face' over the years of their friendship.

"I do want him to come back!" Erasa defended hotly.

"The why should we stop looking for him?" Videl inquired as she too was confused by Erasa's admission. 'I was so sure Erasa had a crush on him too. Why wouldn't she want him to come back?'

"Because you're not trying to find him,"

"What do you mean, of course we- " Videl was cut off by Erasa's exclamation, causing her to reel backwards.

"NO YOU"RE NOT! This isn't about trying to find Gohan. This is about you! And your unhealthy obsession of finding out everything there is to know about everyone, even when it doesn't concern you,"

Videl looked appalled. She rose to her feet to try and defend herself but her words were ignored as Erasa continued her rant.

"Ever since he came here, you've been on his case about hiding some big secret and you've never once even considered how he felt about the whole thing. Now he's run off to gods know where, and you've still haven't stopped digging!"

Videl's face shifted into a sneer. "None of that matters now! I was right from the start, he was hiding a big secret. He was the great Saiyaman!" she defended with a shout.

By now, their argument had caught the cafeteria's attention and a large crowd was formed. It was not everyday you saw someone get in a shouting match with Videl Satan. Especially not her best friend Erasa.

Sharpener had tried to dissuade the two girls but his efforts were ignored.

The blond of the duo screamed out in frustration; long and loud. "Just listen to yourself. 'I was from the start," she mocked in a terrible impression of Videl. "You don't even care that you ruined his life, do you?! All you care about was that you were right!"

"I didn't ruin his life! He was too much of a coward to face the truth!" she exclaimed, her words having a big effect on the girl. Erasa stepped back as though she had been struck across the face. Her warm blue eyes had morphed into two ice chips.

"Gohan isn't the coward in this situation."

She didn't wait for Videl's retort because quite honestly, she was drained from the fight. She just wanted to be somewhere else, preferable with no Videl Satan around.

Videl made to follow but was pulled short by the sudden blaring of her watch. She fumed. 'Couldn't they have waited until after! They always call at the most inconvenient times!'

She swallowed the curse on her tongue, instead answering the call as the chief's voice came from the device.

"Videl, there's a large group of criminals robbing the city's bank. We need your help, they have hostages!"

"On my way!"

Sharpener watched with an unreadable expression as his two closest friends stormed off in opposite directions. He had no idea what to do at a time like this and hoped that sooner, rather than later, that both girls would kiss and makeup. He wasn't even opposed to the kissing part.

'All of this over Nerd-boy... makes you wonder where he is now,'

Mountainous area somewhere...

Gohan let out a whoop of joy as he streaked across the sky. He was dressed casually, a loose white shirt tucked snug into a pair dark jeans. His spiky black hair flapped relentlessly as he flew through the air, over the mountainous ground below. He was going at a speed just a tad faster than a jet-copter - which was utterly slow compared to his true speed - but the boy had not gone on a leisurely fly in far too long, so her would take any chance that he got.

An accompanying shout of joy reminded him that he wasn't alone in the skies. Flying alongside him - albeit using the service of the ever faithful cloud Nimbus - was a teen-aged girl with long flowing brown hair caught in long fishnet braid that was whipping in a frenzy against the breeze and the clearest of green eyes he had ever seen. Her grin was infectious, and the light freckling on her cheeks made him want to see her smiling forever. She was garbed in a form-fitting yellow blouse - the first button left open - and a pair of maroon pants.

"Hey Gohan!" the girl called over to him.

"Yeah, Lime?"

"There's a small lake right down there y'know. Wanna take a stop there before we head home?" she was pointing towards the ground as she spoke to him. Inclining his head, Gohan saw that she was right. It wasn't the biggest lake he had seen but it was a beautiful little spot to have.

Suddenly, he grinned. "Sure thing... race ya!"

It hadn't been much of a contest but he hadn't expected it to be. She had landed a few moments after him, spouting a large pout as she hopped off the yellow cloud.

"That wasn't fair!" she whined childishly, drawing a laugh from the half Saiyan.

"Sorry," he apologized and released a grunt as the girl all but tackled him to the ground. A peal of laughter was heard from the pair as they mock wrestled, before inevitably Gohan came out victor. He had easily rolled her off him, allowed her to struggle against his indomitable strength before easily overpowering her. She laid out on her back, her hair a mess as Gohan had pinned both hands above her head.

"I win," he sounded out, but failed to notice the knowing smile on her face.

"I guess you do," she breathed, and Gohan had the feeling he had missed something important.

He came off the girl - ignoring her whine of disappointment - and pulled her to her fee. "Come on, let's go see that lake before Gohan comes looking for me," he urged, Lime falling into step behind him.

He reflected on the past week as he did. It was a sudden move that his mother had made but Chi-Chi had somehow known about meeting with Lime all those years ago and had thought to move close to the young girl. She had reasoned that Gohan would need someone his age to talk to while they hid from the public and was the only person that she thought could fit the build.

Gohan had wanted to protest the move had first. He had thought it better to confront the problem head on a first, but his mother was set in her ways. The woman had packed them up so fast that Gohan's head had spun, before she called for Nimbus to carry her away. He - and his little brother Goten - were forced to carry the luggage. It wasn't anything strenuous for the pair. After all, Gohan had decided to allow the boy to join him in his weekly training and the youngster had flourished exponentially under his guidance.

Gohan wasn't looking forward to the relocation.

After his reunion with Lime, he was singing a completely different tune. The girl had all but monopolized his entire time since then and he couldn't find a reason to complain. She was as bubbly and cheerful as Erasa had been yet had a sharp tongue and steel backbone like Videl. But despite that all, being around the girl was... easy. Relaxing, even. There was no tension or a battle of wills when it came to the two like his interactions with Videl had been nor did he feel uncomfortable and unsettled in her presence like how Erasa had a tendency to make him feel.

Lime was different.

And different felt good.

A hand was waved in front of his face and Gohan blinked as he came back into focus. "Huh?"

"Weren't you listening to anything I said?"

He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the nape of his neck as he did so. "Sorry, I was lost in thought,"

"About what?"

"Nothing really. Just thinking about the city and my old home among some other stuff," he admitted to her.

She stared up a him with an unreadable expression. She was almost a head shorter than he was - then again most girls were - and had to tip on her toes and she gave him a quick peck on the cheeks.

"It's okay to be a little homesick Gohan. Just remember that this is your new home now, okay?"

He nodded at the girl, not trusting his voice as his cheeks were aflame. 'Did she really just... I mean... '

The girl skipped ahead, a little bounce in her steps as she did. When she realized he was rooted at the spot and not following her, she tossed him a look over her shoulders that told him that she knew the effect she had on him and was enjoying every second of it.

"Aren't you coming Gohan~?"

Satan City Hospital

It was the low beeping that roused her awake.

She wasn't sure what was making the sound but she planned to put a stop to it. The room was small. Bland walls with multiple health charts hung along the walls surrounded her and a small chair was next to the bed she was lying in. As she tried to sit up, a splitting headache had her crying out in pain and falling back helplessly. Her scream was short and shrill, the girl not expecting to feel a pain equivalent to using a jack hammer on her head,

Moments later, the room's door was thrown open, and in came a ridiculously huge and buff man.

"Sweet pea?! Is everything okay?"

"D-Dad?" she groaned out, her voice sounding brittle and weak.

The man was by her side in an instant, hovering above her like a hummingbird. "Are you okay? Do you need some water or maybe something to eat? Maybe a TV? So you won't get bored?"

"D-Dad," she tried to cut the man off but he was too far gone in his worries.

"NURSE! Get a TV in here, now!" he shouted, only aggravating the mind-splitting headache she had.

"Yes Mr. Satan," a voice replied from outside the room and she could hear the scampering of feet.

"Don't worry sweet pea, your daddy will make it all better," he cooed, and she felt a warmth spread within her. Despite his many flaws, her father truly did love her. But now wasn't the time for her to be coddled. She had to know where she was and how she got here. She had no recollections of what had happened after her spat with Erasa and amnesia was a worrisome sign.

"Dad? What happened? Where am I?"

What she was expecting was for her father to go off on a tangent explaining everything which had happened. If you knew the man like she did, then you would know that Hercule Satan was a notorious story teller. What she didn't expect was the dark shadows that passed over his face. His shoulders shook with fury and the only time she could recall such a thing happening was when news had reached the two of her mother's murder.

Hercule Satan was mad and there would be hell to pay.

"Daddy," she whispered but the man ignored her.

She tried again with little success. He had acknowledged her presence by planting a soft kiss on her forehead before whispering a soft 'Get well' before he stalked out of the room. She was left confused by his sudden departure but pushed it to ponder on later as Sharpener entered the room. The tall blond was wearing his usual get-up, telling her he had probably rushed out from school to reach here.

"Hey," he greeted softly, and Videl spared a smile for the boy.

"Hey yourself, what's up?"

He chuckled. "Nothing much, just came here visiting a friend. She got hurt pretty badly, have you perhaps seen her around?"

"Dunno. Maybe I did? Maybe I didn't? What does she look like?" Videl said, continuing their banter.

"Hmm. She has black hair and blue eyes, y'know. And she's short too, like really short," he chuckled at her small cry of indignation. "But despite that, she's pretty strong too,"

"Is she?"

"Yep, one of the toughest persons I know!" he bragged, earning himself another smile from his best friend.

"She sounds awesome,"

He smiled as well, enjoying the small charade the two were having. "She is. I'm sure you two would have hit it off. No doubt about it,"

"Really? Then if she's so awesome, then how did she end up in a hospital?"

Here, the same dark shadow that crossed her father's face had done the same for Sharpener. She feared he would withhold all the info but was proven wrong when he started to speak. "When I said she was one of the strongest persons I know, I wasn't lying. She's incredibly strong and brave and kind too. So when she heard that a bunch of criminals were robbing a bank and holding hostages, she ran in there to help. She was amazing, beating up all the bad guys. But she didn't know that it was a trap. Another one of the bad guys was hiding. He had a gun.

Videl's eyes widen. Yes. She could remember it know. It was hazy but it was there. The man had sneaked from behind while she was fighting. The hostages had tried to warn her but it was too late, he had already fired.

"He shot her. The filthy coward couldn't fight her himself so he shot her," Videl was frightened by he edge in Sharpener's tone. She had seen him angry before but nothing like his. "Then he and his friends started beating. They hit her. Over and over and over again," his voice trembled. "They only stopped when she was unconscious. They thought they had killed her so they ran,"

"Did the police catch them?" she asked, but he shook his head in a negative. "What about the hostages? Did they make it out alive?"

His silence was all she needed to know.

She hadn't realized she had started to cry until she felt a cool drop of tear running down her cheeks. Sharpener was quick to side, holding her hand in his as he spoke.

"It's not your fault Videl. You did the best could."

"But it wasn't enough!"

He made no response to her shout, only squeezing her hands tighter.

But even through all the crying, she realized one important thing...

... Erasa hadn't come to see her

There you have it, another complete chapter from yours truly...

Gohan's whereabouts are revealed... sorta and Videl had been injured in her line of duty.

What are Lime's intention with poor Gohan and will Videl and Erasa ever make up (don't forget about the kissing part!)

Find out next time on... What If...

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-Gregorybryce9