Thanks to all those who answered my call. Hopefully there will be more interest in this fic down the road.
'Oh Kami, my head,' was the first thing Gohan thought as he awoke from unconsciousness. He just had to bust that masonry instead of dodge it like any sane person would've, but no, no he had to let his arrogance get the better of him. He deserved the headache for his stupidity. A strange odor found his nose, waking him up completely. In all of his travels, he had never smelled something like this before.
As Gohan opened his eyes, his worst fears had been confirmed. He wasn't in a human hospital or in the middle of a street. He had no idea where he was! And for some reason, his butt was numb and his back felt very stiff, his shoulders angled in an uncomfortable position. Fighting the panic from his mind, Gohan took in his position and surroundings.
As of now, he was sitting in a beat up chair, his arms tied behind the chair top with rope. At least he knew the reason for his body's discomfort now. With half-lidded eyes, so as not to appear awake by his captor or captors, he slowly turned his head, taking in the room he was confined in, finding himself to be completely alone. There were cardboard boxes, with the name of a moving company printed on them, scattered throughout the room. Some boxes were closed with tape while others were opened, their temporary tops sticking up in four separate pieces. Gohan spied a dull white sink with an old fashioned nozzle and knobs off to his left; a dirty mirror was hanging above the sink, giving Gohan a reflection of his face. Turning his head to get a view behind him, he saw what appeared to be a wooden staircase, newly made with fresh wood planks. Although it looked sturdy, it also had the appearance that it could collapse at any time.
The walls around and the floor beneath him were of a solid grey. 'Must be that material the humans call concrete' Gohan mused. Once done with his inspection, he focused on his current situation. The ropes that were securely tied around his wrists held his hands immobile; the multiple wrappings made the bindings bulge with mass. It shouldn't be a problem snapping the ropes; he could do that anytime he wished. The bindings on his legs, holding him to the chair were just like the rope holding his wrists. Whoever this person was who held him captive had seriously underestimated him and they would pay dearly for that.
As his thoughts ended, he heard a door open behind him, footsteps following the staircase to the bottom floor. They were light footsteps Gohan noted. Way too light for a man.
Closing his eyes, he felt his captor's presence walk behind him, coming around his left side and stopping right in front of him. The sound of what Gohan assumed was a chair being dragged on the ground was heard and the presence took the seat, watching him, waiting for him to make the first move. 'Might as well get this over with,' he thought.
The person he saw when he opened his eyes was not what he expected. Before him was a small girl with piercing blue eyes and long black hair in twin pigtails. She was sitting in her chair backwards, her legs straddling the back of the chair, her arms resting on the chair top. The girl watched him with studious eyes, trying to figure him out like he was a puzzle. Who was this girl?
Finally she spoke, "Do you remember me?"
What kind of question was that? "Nope and I'm glad I don't," Gohan replied with a straight face.
Her reaction was what he would've expected, anger writing itself over her facial features, her eyes blazing with fury—just like a typical human. "Well, allow me to remind you. I was the person you knocked down in the street earlier," she said through clenched teeth.
If Gohan thought a little, he could remember knocking a human down earlier, but he really didn't care who it was. This girl must've carried a grudge or something. But wait, binding someone to a chair was a little extreme for just holding a grudge.
"What do you want with me?" he asked.
A little disappointed with his response, but not deterred, the girl pressed on. "I just want some answers from you, like what's a Saiyan doing in a human settlement?" the girl said, almost nonchalant. She grinned widely when she saw the Saiyan paled slightly.
"What makes you think I'm a Saiyan?" Gohan said, shocked by the girl's response.
With the upper hand, the girl smirked. "As far as I know, humans don't have tails…but Saiyans do. Don't try to deny it; I saw it hiding under your shirt."
Gohan's eyes hardened. Well, no use beating around the bush with this one. He remained silent.
The girl continued. "Now if you'll be so kind, tell me what you're doing here. And don't lie, all I have to do is tell everyone you're here and you'll join those friends of yours in the courtyard."
Well that was good news. No one knew he was here. Then Gohan's eyes widen as the implication of her words smacked him in the face. Trunks was telling the truth about those heads! Those…animals.
The reaction he gave the girl for her threat was not what she had expected. First she saw some form of recognition in his eyes before a burning hatred washed over him, his face twisting in a vile portrait of undying hate.
"So what are you doing here?" she asked.
No response.
"Are you here to destroy us?" she tried again.
Once again, no response.
"Could you tell me your name?" she asked, frustrated.
He remained silent, his anger still evident on his face.
"Will you say something?" she shouted.
"You sick bastards," Gohan finally said, his voice deep and low, hate laced throughout it. "You dirty, rotten bastards."
Although taken back, the girl refused to be talked to that way. "You're the one who's a sick bastard," she retorted. "You're nothing but a dirty barbarian that preys on the helpless."
"At least I don't destroy whole civilizations out of greed," he retorted.
"We've never destroyed any civilization!" she shouted. "We only fight back those who attack us and take the spoils!"
Gohan looked at the girl incredulously. What was this girl smoking? Everyone knew that the humans blatantly attacked anyone they came across.
"What about the Martians?" he countered.
"They were threatening to invade Earth," she responded.
"And the Plutonians?" he shot back.
"To avenge the Martians."
"How about the Namekians?"
"They were diseased and had to be quarantined."
"But did that give you the right to wipe out the whole species?"
"They would've infected the universe if we hadn't," she said, though she lacked the same confidence.
Gohan shook his head. "Your own leaders have been lying to you. You people are so gullible."
The girl shook herself, probably to shake off her doubt. "Hey, I'm the one asking questions here. Now tell me, what are you talking about?"
The Saiyan looked at her with something akin to pity. Really, what else could you look at a self-diluted fool?
"Your race has been nothing but a plague to the rest of the universe since you left your home planet."
"Hey, I told you the Martians were going to invade us!"
The Saiyan shook his head again. "If the Martians wanted to 'invade' you, they would've done it a long time ago. Your people attacked them and wiped them out. Anyone that survived was forced into slavery. The same scenario happened with Pluto. You humans always justified yourselves, but the rest of the universe knows about the truth. The one you humans refuse to accept."
Something about this was wrong the girl seemed to tell herself, trying to convince herself that anyone could fix the facts, even someone like him. This led her to scowled. "If that's right then where's your proof?"
"Do civilized people put heads on stakes? I thought only barbarians did that."
He had her on that one, but she wouldn't tell him that. Before she could retort though, Gohan continued. "You humans are so full of contradictions. You say that you come to a planet in peace, but you stick people's heads on poles celebrating the latest kill as if you had been there yourself. You claim that the entire universe has wronged you, yet you are the first ones to draw your weapons. Your gullibility and stupidity are the laughing stock of the universe and you want people to take you seriously? Respect is earned little girl, not given because you throw a hissy fit and you humans have done nothing to gain the respect of other races. You're just a disgrace, a parasite that feeds on others and despite what you may say, that is what you are. Every single inch of you."
The human girl could only stare at him. That little speech of his was too much for her to comprehend. Disgrace? Parasites? Laughing stock? Was that how the universe really saw them? Not as the victims of a conflict who always came out on top, but as an invading force, ready to devour all that opposed it? Gohan could see all of those thoughts play through her head and on her face. But she couldn't accept that, wouldn't accept it. It couldn't be true she was telling herself. No matter what one person could say or do there had to be some kind of proof that even her people couldn't do without.
And through all of this, Gohan hadn't even wondered why he could read the girl so well despite his lack of social interaction with anyone.
Then in as calm of a voice as she could muster, she spoke "If what you've claimed is true, there has to be some kind of proof. Even my people have to have some kind of record that can prove it."
Gohan just stared at the girl, his eyes calculating. Maybe, just maybe he could use this girl to his own benefit. She had said something about records. If that was the case, maybe he could gets some info on the humans plans and if there was something of importance that could give him an edge, who knows. He might be able to get rid of this human menace that Vegeta had been forced to suffer with for so long.
"Would you know where they would keep such records?" he asked, trying not to sound too eager.
The girl didn't catch it if it did show, or appeared not to notice. "The Mayor of the town should have something like that, but he lives on the outskirts of town. His mansion is supposed to be impregnable. How would you be able to get us in there?"
The Saiyan smirked. "Don't worry about that. I'll take care of it when the time comes," he said confidently.
Against her better judgment, the human girl nodded her head in confirmation. "I'm gonna go get a knife to cut you loose."
Getting up from her chair, the girl walked past her prisoner and towards the stairs, but was stopped by the Saiyan's voice. "Don't bother. There's no need for it."
The sound of the ropes snapping filled her ears, startling her. Turning around, she was shocked to see the Saiyan standing up, rubbing his wrist to ease the burns from the ropes. He started stretching himself, working out the kinks in his body. Popping his neck, Gohan turned to the stunned girl. "Ready to go?" he asked.
Regaining her composure, the girl shook her head. "Before we go, you have to tell me what your name is. I'm not just going to refer to you as no name or some crock like that," she said.
Gohan stared at her, before nodding his head. "My name's Gohan. And yours?"
The girl held out her hand, confusing the Saiyan. "My name's Videl. Videl Satan."
Gohan's blood went cold. Did she say Satan? As in Hercule Satan? The supposed hero of the Saiyo-Earthling War?
Seeing Gohan stiffen, Videl continued her introduction, her hand dropping to her side. "I'm the daughter of Hercule Satan," she confirmed for him, fully realizing the situation.
Hercule Satan was a war hero thanks to his victory over the Saiyan race. Had he not been fighting, it was very likely that the Saiyo-Earthling War would still be raging on, but in outer space rather than the Saiyan home planet. The humans had been told a story of how valiant Hercule was as he single handedly defeated the Saiyan menace, bringing an end to the bloodiest war the humans had ever fought.
It reality, however, Hercule was a clumsy buffoon whose clumsiness had cause the downfall of the Saiyan race. While fighting the "final battle," Hercule was too busy trying to get his gun to fire as a couple of Saiyan warriors surrounded him. As he backed away, he tripped on a rock, causing him to fire his gun not at his enemy, but up into the air, hitting a combatant on the city wall defending the capital. The combatant's body fell off the wall and on to a shield generator that was shielding the city within the wall from the Earthling's artillery batteries. You'd think that the shield would protect against all kinds of weapon fire, but no, it was only made to protect against energy attacks. Lead bullets could go through the shield easily since most Saiyans were immune to gunfire. They'd never expected a bullet-vulnerable Saiyan would be protecting the wall that day and overlooked that insignificant fact until it was too late.
When the shield came down, the humans unloaded every piece of ammo and artillery they had, destroying the south wall and section of the capital. Because of the breach, the Saiyan command fell apart, the city falling into chaos. Every Saiyan began fighting on their own for survival, not standing a chance against an organized human army. It was a cakewalk for the humans to seize control and effectively end the war.
The victory was credited to Hercule, giving the humans a hero, a tangible figure that they could all look up to. Nowadays, every human child wanted to be a Hercule in their own right. Always referring to his bravery and courage as the ultimate form of human supremacy.
This was bad. Videl knew that being the daughter of a war hero had its benefits and its drawbacks. At this moment, it was a drawback and a serious one at that. She wouldn't be too surprised if Gohan tried to kill her where she stood. His display of breaking his bindings proved that she couldn't stop him even if she wanted to.
Restoring himself to his cool, collect persona, Gohan decided to move past the introductions. "So where is this place we're going?"
Seeing his attempt to move on, Videl gladly accepted it. "We have to go a mile to the north. We can't possible miss the mansion."
Gohan nodded. "Fine. Let's go."
The village people were whispering. They had thought that hell would've frozen over long before they would've seen this day. The young Videl Satan was walking in the company of a boy. True the boy was handsome enough for people to see why, but why now? Why would Videl just out of the blue decide to be seen around a boy without some kind of company, namely her best friend Erasa?
That and there was something different about the boy. What ever it was, they couldn't put their fingers on it, but there was something definitely different about the boy. His posture, his looks, everything about him screamed different.
And that was how one boy with long blond locks found Videl, his Videl, that morning. He had tried for months just to get with the girl alone and every time she denied him that which he sought. Then, out of the blue, some punk comes out of nowhere and steals what was rightfully his. He wasn't gonna let this transgression go without punishment.
Carefully hiding his anger, the boy stormed after the couple as they headed to the north side of the village. "Hey Videl! Who's the guy you're with?" he yelled from behind them.
Videl took one look at the boy before scowling. "That's none of your business Sharpner. Now go away. I'm not in the mood to deal with you."
Sharpner was taken aback. Videl had never snapped at him like that before. Turning his gaze to the young man that Videl was with, his eyes blazed with fury. This punk must've had something to do with this.
"I don't think I've ever seen you around before. Who are you, Boy?" Sharpner said demandingly.
The punk looked at him with his dark eyes as if he was staring into his soul. His face scrunched slightly with disgust. "I don't give out my name to scum like you," he said with a little venom.
Well that wasn't the response he had expected. Looking at the guy, you would think he'd crumble at the slightest bit of aggression.
"Hey, I've been here a long time newbie and I'm the only guy worthy to be seen with Videl. So why don't you just crawl back to that little hole you came from and not mess with the best."
The punk's eyes took a peak at Videl, who was steaming at the comment, before looking back at Sharpner. "Why don't you go tell that to someone who cares?" he said before turning away and continued on his way north. Videl glanced at Sharpner once through her scowl before following her companion, leaving Sharpner in a state of shock. No one but Videl ever talked to him like that. He clenched his fist. And he would be the last to do so.
Not caring about keeping his cool, Sharpner ran after the two, seeking his retribution. He caught up to them at the end of the street, balling his hand into a fist and throwing it at the punk.
As his fist closed in on the back of his target's head, the young man ducked the punch, grabbing Sharpner's forearm with his right hand and pulled the arm to continue the punch's momentum. He then swung his leg into the back of Sharpner's knees buckling them and finished the boy by using his left fist to backhand the boy in the face, letting go on the forearm and sending the blond boy into a building on the other side of the street, crashing through the wall as if it was made out of paper.
Gohan scowled in fury. By all rights he should've killed the human on the spot for such a trespass. If it wasn't for the fact that he wanted his Saiyan presence to remain unknown, he would have. But for the time being he would settle for that piece of artwork. He would just have to get out of town fast before news spread of his "talent."
Videl stared in shock as Gohan knock the stuffing out of Sharpner. Sharpner was supposedly the second strongest fighter in the village, after herself of course, and after watching Gohan take him out with a simple backhand, she really had to think about how strong her "friend" really was. True she had seen him snap rope easily enough but to send a boy through a wall at least fifteen feet away was…madness.
The two left the town as soon as possible. By the time they had, word had spread about the incident. Many people had theorized that due to the mysterious boy's strength, he had managed to win Videl affection, which made complete sense. Others thought the boy was forcing Videl into her present circumstances because of his insane strength. And yet, others thought Videl had finally decided to start having an interest in boys. What ever the reason, they weren't going to say it to either Videl or Gohan. They didn't want to end up like Sharpner.
Not at all.