Chapter 5; Malls, Movies, and Crime?

Friday went by in a hurry and Saturday was here before anyone knew it. Gohan was just glad that he had escaped the mayhem that was Friday in one piece. There had been a few minor complications when Gohan had to explain why he had been found by Goten with torn clothes and many small injuries. After coaxing his mother into believing that the training wasn't as severe as she suspected and that his appearance was only because his clothes couldn't take it, he had the joyful task of avoiding being connected with Saiyaman all day. The crime had been particularly active that day and juggling class, his bathroom break charade, and Saiyaman's duties had been more of a nightmare as usual. To be alive at the end of the day was by itself, a cause for celebration, as far Gohan was concerned. Hanging out with friends was just a bonus.

"Now Gohan! You will conduct yourself like a gentleman and uphold a good reputation while with your friends. I'll have no tales of shenanigans being spread about you at your school. Do you understand?" His mother instructed him whilst giving every inch of him a once over.

"Yes mom. I understand. Now can I go?" He couldn't help but grin at Chichi's overbearing personality. She was too much sometimes.

"I suppose you can. Your clothes are just barely adequate, but I guess I'll let it slide this time." Gohan scratched his head as he looked down at his casual clothes. He had on a navy blue t-shirt tucked into jeans held up by a leather belt. Over his t-shirt he had on a lighter blue button up shirt with the sleeves folded up to his elbows. He had left it un-tucked and open.

"Gee, mom. I thought it looked pretty good. Besides, my friends and classmates look the same for the most part."

"Hmmph, well there's no sense of class amongst the youth lately. Very well, have it your way. I won't interfere with your dressing habits. Just don't expect to impress any girls if you decide look like some of the slobs I've seen."

"Well, I still have taste mom! Besides, who said I was trying to impress girls?" "Should have shut up. Now I'm going to get her started on me finding a girlfriend. Stupid Gohan!"

"I think you know who I'm talking about. One of these days, maybe you'll make a move on her." She turned and winked at him. Gohan wasn't stupid. He knew exactly to whom his mom was referring to. He turned red as he thought about it.

"Mom! Who said I even like her like that!?"

"Don't raise your voice at me young man! Now run along. You don't want to be late do you?" She waved him off in the direction of the door

"Yes mom." Gohan was still red as he exited and took off.

"Bye Gohan! See you later!" Goten waved as he called after his brother.

"See ya Goten! Don't drive mom up the wall!" Goten grinned and scratched his head at those words. He knew better than to provoke the wrath of Chichi's frying pan.

"Alright Goten! Come inside for now. We'll go over to Capsule Corp. later to play with Trunks."

"Okay mom!" The extremely cheerful and very hyper half-Saiyan obediently came inside as he was told. It had been a few weeks since he had played with Trunks. He didn't want risk changing her mind.

Meanwhile, a certain teen Saiyan flew at a relaxed speed to the mall. It was still 10:00 in the morning. The plan was to meet up at 10:30 and spend a couple hours in the mall. After lunch they would head to Videl's house for a couple movies. He was for the most part, excited. However, some tension was bubbling underneath the surface. The more he convinced himself that it was going to be a fun day with friends, the more he was plagued with scenarios of how the day could go wrong. By the time he had landed and taken out a capsule car to pull into the parking lot, he was sweating as he fretted over the possibilities.

"Crap. I'm almost here. Get it together Gohan. Everyone is going to see I'm freaking out. What's to freak out over? Everything is going to fine. I'm sure crime will be inactive and I won't have to be Saiyaman today." He had no choice, but to put on a smile and hope he was right. He had to park and his friends were already waiting.

"Hey Gohan! You finally made it! Hurry up would you?" An excited Erasa waved enthusiastically at him.

"Yeah dude! We don't to keep these two waiting. It could get ugly." Sharpner failed to see their female companions were less than amused at his humor.

"Sorry guys. I'll be right there!" He quickly parked and joined his waiting companions. "So where to then?"

"Oh, you poor thing. You've never been shopping with these girls have you? Somehow, in the space of three hours, we'll cover most of the noteworthy parts of the mall. We'll come in empty handed and probably be leaving with enough bags to fill up one of our trunks."

"Oh, sounds great." In truth, Gohan had no idea how he really felt about THAT.

"Are you guys done talking yet? Let's go shopping!"

"Right behind ya," added Videl.

"Here goes, Gohan. You might be a world class fighter, but if you've never done this before then brace yourself."

"Gee thanks. I'm looking forward to it so much now." A hint of sarcasm colored Gohan's voice as he responded.

Sharpner was true to his word as they spent what seemed like ages in the major stores in the mall. The girls would spend nearly half an hour trying to decide between two items before reaching a verdict, sometimes asking for an opinion from the guys. Sharpner could have cared less and responded with a bland 'looks great' while Gohan always gave an honest and sometimes constructively critical comment on the item under scrutiny. What was really surprising to Gohan about the ordeal was how loose Videl seemed as she enjoyed herself in the mall. She didn't seem to be the girl that enjoyed shopping, but today was proving that she indeed had a femine side. They seemed to be taking the longest at the last store before they ate lunch.

"So guys! What do you think?" The girls had come out of the dressing room, clad in the last out of three things to choose from. They were both wearing casual, not overly formal dresses. It had taken some coaxing from Erasa, but Videl had grudgingly agreed to try one on. It was a short one at that!

"Looks fine to me." Sharpner was actually staring off into space whilst answering.

"Sharpie! You aren't even looking! Besided, you said that about the other two things we were wearing!" The bubbly blonde fumed at her disinterested boyfriend. "Well what about you Gohan? I know you're probably ready to devour a mountain of food by now, but try to be honest?" He gave a brief scrutinizing look as he tried to ignore his grumbling stomach. Erasa was right about him being hungry!

"Hmmm, Erasa never looks bad so I can say she looks good. Videl looks...wow. That's a good look for her! She never dressing like this at school!" Unbeknownst to him, his face grew red as he dwelled on how attractive Videl looked in a dress. It didn't go unnoticed by Erasa or Videl.

"Hey Brains! If you don't mind that you quit eyeing Videl like a piece of meat and offer your intelligent critical opinions, would you? It would nice if we ate sometime today." Apparently even Sharpner had noticed it. Gohan's embarrassment was sealed.

"Hehe, umm, well you both look nice. I have no criticism to make. Videl, you should try that look more often." She had already blushed lightly under his extra scrutiny. His compliment sent her blush into overdrive, her face turning a bright red as it deepened. Sharpner and Erasa gave each other a brief glance before smirking.

"Thanks Gohan. I'll think about it." Her face was still a deep red as they prepared to leave. "Usually it annoys me when guys check me out. When Gohan checked me out, I actually liked it. Why?" The question was left unanswered as they checked out the articles of clothing and headed for the food court.

"Lets see. Gohan will need an order from every place here." Sharpner had made the remark in a teasing manner, but it was also true.

"Yep, that's right. How did you know Sharpner?" Gohan was too naive to notice the intended humor of the statement.

"Oh, er, I guess I'm just that good." Sharpner sighed as Gohan made his way over to one of the oriental counters. "For such a smart guy, you sure are thick Gohan." He turned and looked at the girls in an exasperated manner. Erasa giggled and patted Sharpner on the shoulder.

"Well, let's hurry and get some food before the garbage eats the mall out of house and home." Videl was already headed to one of the counters. The blonde couple followed her, as they knew just how much of a possibility it was.

A few minutes later, the teens were situated at a table. Gohan had commandeered a separate table to put a few trays unto. He was still waiting for other orders as he dug into what he currently had.

"Gee Videl. Good thing you're loaded or 'hungry man' over here would be starving all the way back to his house. Right Gohan?" Erasa looked over at Gohan.

"Huh? 'Hungry Man'? No, those are pretty small. Thanks though." He went back to enjoying some sesame chicken and fried rice. A bit of yaki soba was hanging from the corner of his lower lip and a few triple-stacked burgers were next on his list of victims. A collective giant sweat drop hung from everyone else's head at the table.

"I still can't get used to you eating dude. How do you put away enough food for five people to GORGE themselves on let alone eat and stay so trim and ripped?" The long blonde was gawking as Gohan tore into one of his burgers and ate six fries at once. He was too distracted to notice his own food was only half eaten.

"To be honest, I don't really know why I need so much food." Gohan dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. "All I know is that I inherited it from my father. His appetite was the next level of mine." It was a partial lie, but it was necessary. He really didn't know why Saiyans could eat so much regardless of their metabolism. He then began demolishing a second burger and emptying another container of fries. "By the way, are you going to finish that?" He pointed at Sharpner's half eaten food. He looked at his tray and finally realized his plate was still half full.

"Yeah dude. I need food too you know? Just not as much as you!" He tore into the remains of his food at that.

"Well, I'm stuffed. What say we load up and head to the house now?" The bubbly blonde stretched as she said this.

"Yeah, sounds good. I'm sure the black hole is satisfied by now." Videl grinned at Gohan.

"Hey! I'm not THAT bad. I told you already, my dad could make this look like a kid's meal." He pointed to the stack of ten trays he alone ate from.

"Sure Gohan. Sure." Videl patted him on the back as they left. "Be a good boy and help Sharpie with the merchandise." He turned and saw Sharpner struggling with some of the many bags.

"Oh yeah. Sheesh! What would they do if they didn't have this much money to burn? Well, it could be worse. At least we didn't have any calls today. Looks like my cover is safe so far."

"Hey Brains! You've got some muscle to go with your smarts! Why don't you use them to help me with these bags!?"

"Oh, sorry Sharpner! I'm coming!"

True to his word, Sharpner was indeed right when he said at least one of the trunks would be full. They decided it would less of a hassle if they all rode in one car, so into their capsules went Gohan and Erasa's cars. With the clothes loaded and everybody in Sharpner's car, they set off towards the Satan mansion. Gohan was finally starting to relax. It seemed that his worries had been all for naught and he could simply enjoy his day.

"So Gohan, are you going to be alright getting home after we watch some movies?" asked Videl from her seat beside Gohan. Sharpner was driving his own car of course, and Erasa was seated beside him in the front passenger seat. "You do live kind of far away."

"Oh I'll be fine. I have good connections and have a very fast jetcopter. In fact I probably shouldn't have it, but I know an employee at Capsule Corp and they set me up." He chuckled at his own lie. Maybe it wasn't so hard after all.

"Oh cool. Well, I was going to give you a lift if you needed it. I don't have anything to do this weekend and it wouldn't have been any trouble." Erasa glanced over at Sharpner and he just shrugged back at her.

"Wow, that's really nice, but I'm covered. Thanks though."

"No problem." She smiled sweetly back at him. There was a slight feeling of disappointment she could feel welling up. She had actually wanted to give him a lift. Erasa again noticed.

Soon they could see the mansion getting closer in the distance. Gohan briefly wondered how Hercule would treat him and Sharpner when they arrived. It's not that he could have actually been any threat, but confrontations of this sort made him nervous. It was his fear that HE would answer the phone that made Gohan nervous about calling Videl.

"Hey Videl. Is your dad going to be okay with me and Sharpner coming over?"

"Oh yeah. He's okay with it. As long as I have Erasa with me, he doesn't care. Besides, he's going to be out of town until tomorrow night."

"Oh, gotcha." "Well that takes care of that."

"When the cats are away, the mice will play."

"You again. You mind behaving for at least a few hours?"

"Well, yes. Mwahahahaha!"

"..."

"Dude, you gotta come up with something better than this silent treatment. It's lame like your mother's fashion sense."

"She's YOUR mother too."

"Oh hell. You're right."

"Haha! Victory!"

"This isn't over princess."

"Gohan, are you alright?" Videl was watching Gohan curiously as his facial expressions changed like he was having an offensive conversation.

"Oh yeah, I uh, just thought of something embarrassing."

"Okay, just checking." "What's with this guy?"

"We're here guys! Pile out."

"Pile out? What the heck Sharpner?" Erasa couldn't help snickering at the statement.

"Yeah, that probably wasn't cool. Sorry babe."

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going inside. Bye."

"Wait for us! We're right behind you."

Videl entered the kitchen to pop some popcorn and was met with a note from her father.

Hey sweetpea!

I gave the butler, cook, and maid a night off tonight. You and your friends can order something tonight with the money I left on the counter. And behave like a good young lady should. I know that one of your friends is dating Erasa, so that leaves one single guy in the house. No shenanigans!

Love your dad.

She rolled her eyes at the note then threw it in the trash. It's not that she didn't appreciate the note, but his protective side annoyed her.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence dad." She immediately put the popcorn in the microwave and then realized she would have to make a separate bag or two just for Gohan. She chuckled to herself as she grabbed some more pouches wrapped in plastic from the box of popcorn. "Gohan sure puts away his food. I wonder how he can stay so buff? I've seen people who eat less who are fat and not hot like him. Wait second. Did I call him hot? Easy girl. I don't want my dad's fears to become true."

"Hey Videl! What movie would you like for us to put on?" The blonde girl brought Videl out of her thoughts.

"Oh, whatever really. Let's put on something to make the guys happy. Last time we put on something more chick oriented, Sharpner just kind of killed it."

"Sure thing. By the way, don't think I didn't notice the little interaction between you and Gohan today."

"Say what? Don't be silly. Nothing like that really happened today."

"So when Gohan had to keep from letting his mouth hit the floor when he saw you in a dress, it was nothing? When you actually seemed flattered of all things by his compliment with that cute blush on your face, it was nothing? When you offered to give him a lift home for Kami only knows why and looked disappointed because he didn't need one, it was nothing? Let's not even talk about how you look at each other. You don't look at each other the way you two look at each other unless you're at least a little attracted to each other. You may be too stubborn to admit your own feelings, but Gohan definitely has a thing for you." Videl was silent the whole time as Erasa replayed all her evidence like a prosecutor in court.

"I think you're looking too much into it. I was just being nice to him and what guy isn't attracted to me at some point at least because of my status?"

"Whatever girl. Since when have you been THAT nice to a BOY? Anyway, you know by now that Gohan isn't like that. Besides, he can relate to you a lot more than you thought. You two have some things in common and I know you like each other. It's just something to think about. No pressure." Videl was left alone with her thoughts and with popping corn as Erasa left to put on a movie in the large living room of the mansion.

"I guess there are some things I could find attractive about him. But I don't LIKE him like that do I? We're just now becoming friends and there's still so much I don't know about him. I understand he has personal reasons for keeping some things a secret and he's probably been through a lot, but I can't feel comfortable in a relationship with someone so secretive." Her thoughts were interrupted again, this time by a beeping timer. Unanswered questions seemed to be flowing in abundance lately. This one would have to go unanswered as well. She put the popcorn in a bowl and headed to the living room.

"Hey Videl. We waited to start it with you." The long blonde pressed the play button on the remote and the movie watching commenced. Videl soon noticed she would be situated between Erasa and Gohan. It was obviously the handy work of the not so ditzy blonde girl. Videl rolled her eyes slightly before sitting down.

"Okay guys, here's the popcorn! Here's a separate bowl for you Gohan."

"Gee, thanks Videl!"

"Your're welcome Gohan." He smiled at her and a funny feeling began to rise up in her. She felt strange and fluttery when he smiled at her like that. All she could do was return the smile.

The movie continued for another half hour before the sounds of a fight scene between the hero and some henchman of the villain were interrupted.

"Yes Chief? Sure, I'll be right there in a minute or two." She rolled her eye as soon as she killed the connection. "Don't bother stopping the movie. Just tell me how it ends." A concerned Gohan looked up at her with intent eyes. She noticed his worried expression.

"It's alright Gohan. I do this all the time. You know I'll be back." He nodded at her words and she left without saying anymore.

"What am I supposed to do? It's one thing to go to the bathroom all the time, but if I do that HERE then it'll start to look strange. I can't just leave her though. C'mon! Got to think of something."

"What's up Gohan?" Erasa could tell he was thinking hard.

"Oh, uh, you know where they keep the drinks?"

"Oh sure. That door on the right leads to the kitchen, then the fridge on the left has all the drinks in it."

"Okay, thanks."

"Sure thing."

He ran through the door and quickly entered a hallway on the other side of the kitchen. He could've shouted at his good luck as he soon found a bathroom with a window. The bathroom would make the perfect ruse if they wondered where he was. He entered and locked the door then turned on the faucet to add noise in the bathroom. He then transformed via his watch and exited through the window.

"Let's see. Her ki is in that direction. I can catch right up if I fly to her. I think I'll just trail right behind her."

Not more than a minute later, he soon saw her jetcopter up ahead. He trailed just far enough to where he deemed unnoticeable and followed. Unbeknownst to him, she indeed saw him in her rear view just barely.

"What is that? It's Saiyaman! Why can't he just let me do a job by myself for once! I'm not helpless! Well, I'm not playing his game today."

"What's she doing? She stopped. Oh crap, she actually saw me." The aircraft turned to face him and pulled up right beside him as he spoke. Then a window opened up to reveal a pissed off Videl.

"What the freak are you doing Saiyaman!? Can't you just leave me alone for a day? I'm going to lose the credibility I have if you keep interfering! The police will start thinking that I'm incompetent without you! Don't you even get that!?" Gohan was stunned at her outburst. She usually was prickly about him helping, but he had never thought of it like that.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Ms. Videl. I assure you that the police haven't lost faith in your abilties. If it means anything, I was only trying to help you." She was unyielding in her demeanor.

"I won't give in to him. I don't care. Just leave me alone." She glared daggers at him to show her defiance. "Stay out of my way Saiyaman. I don't care if it makes you feel better because of some moral obligation. I was fine without you and I'll continue to be fine without you."

"You can say what you want to say. It doesn't change a thing. I'll stand by you and render my assistance whether or not you believe you need it or not. Now let's go. The police are waiting and we're wasting time."

"I can't believe him! Am I really going to go through with it?" She hit her control panel out of frustration, cracking the glass. "Fine! But stay out of my way." She turned her aircraft around and blasted off towards the scene. "Stupid monkey in a cape." Unbeknownst to her, Gohan could hear as he flew right beside her.

"She has know idea how much of an insult to me that could be." Gohan chuckled at the thought.

Meanwhile, at the scene it was cacophony and visual chaos wrapped into a beautiful package. A building had been raided and there were hostages involved. Police scrambled like chickens with their head cut off whilst being given orders by those in charge.

"Where is Videl!? She's usually here a little earlier than this. I haven't seen Saiyaman either!"

"Over there! They're both arriving!" A younger cop pointed at the sky. The oddly matched duo landed not less than twenty feet from the gathering of law enforcement. They quickly walked up to the cluster of police.

"Sorry we're late Chief. I had to come from my house to this farther end of town. Saiyaman intercepted me so we could arrive together."

"It's alright. It gave us a bit of time to assess the situation. Things are a bit complicated do to hostages. We would move in right away if it weren't for that. If we could somehow create a diversion and enter from where they wouldn't expect, someone could take care of the hostages while someone else handles the crooks."

"Gotcha. Saiyaman! Since you're fast, you take care of the hostages. I'll start on the men holding the robbery and you can catch up."

"Gotcha." He knew exactly why she had sent him to get the hostages. She was trying to prove that she would be fine without being able to dodge bullets, fade out of sight, or punch men through walls. He obeyed anyway. She would be fine for a little bit. At least he hoped so.

Meanwhile, the crooks in question were taking care of the hostages. The herded up the people into one room and left them tied up in one large room.

"Hey boss, what's the point in trussing up all the hostages? We're just gonna kill them anyway." A large man dressed in a trench coat turned to look at his henchman. His lip twisted into a sneer to reveal a golden tooth, the movement making ashes fall from his cigarette.

"You want one of those punks roaming around and causing trouble? What if one them were to get the cops in here? I don't think you'd be complaining about the extra work if that happened."

"I guess you're right," grumbled the henchman.

"Of course I'm right. Now get a move on and lets get ready. Hey! Are the cops clearing up yet!?" The henchman being addressed turned from his spot in the window.

"Nah, boss. They just sent in Videl and Saiyaman." Everyone turned and looked at the thug as he had basically informed them all that the operation at hand was doomed.

"You idiot! You were supposed to inform me the SECOND that those two got involved. With Videl we could use our numbers to our advantage. We have her outnumbered literally seven to one. With Saiyaman things will be tricky. Nothing we do could harm him physically, so we need to use other people as leverage. Wait, that's it! Take Videl alive! We'll use the broad as bait. Everybody get into position. Knowing her, she'll come charging in half-cocked.

Gohan made his way around a corner. Since he was looking for hostages, he knew that the largest cluster of ki was probably what he should look for. They were also the most agitated, although the smaller cluster also seemed to be agitated.

"Let's see, the larger cluster must be the hostages. They've been agitated since we got here. The smaller group of ki must be the thugs. They're just now getting agitated, probably due to us arriving." Gohan took a second to sense exactly where everyone was. "Since the hostages are on the next floor I'll just go through the ceiling. No one should right above me right now." He powered up a ki blast and blew a sizeable hole in the upper floor. "That oughta do it."

"What was that!?" The leader of the thugs screamed. The blast had apparently been louder than Gohan anticipated.

"Crap, maybe that wasn't a good idea. Oh well. I can't cry over it now." He honed in the location of the captive employees. "I'll bet this was a pretty hellish work day for the people here." As soon as he said that, he was nearly upon the cluster of energy. He stopped next to a door. He heard shuffling and whispering right behind it. "What was that? Must be one of the hostages. Hello? I'm here to save you."

"We're in here!" called one of the employees. In a few moments they were all freed and crowded around Gohan.

"Oh, thank you Saiyaman!" gushed one of the employees.

"No problem citizen! This must have shaken you all up a lot."

"Not so much. It happens every other month." A giant sweat drop appeared on Gohan's head as one of the employees had made the confession so lightly

"Umm, yes, well you all should make your escape and send in the police. When they see you're all safe, they can advance without doing you any harm."

"Will do. Come on everybody!" The herd of freed captives raced out of the building, heading for the nearest elevators.

"Well, that's stupid. Why didn't I just take an elevator?" Gohan shook his head at his own recklessness then headed to catch up with Videl.

Meanwhile, Videl was homing in on the thugs responsible for all the mayhem. Unbeknownst to her, a trap had been set and she was about to spring it. She turned a corner to see one man waiting for her.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the leader of this operation. You can call me Wolf. If formalities are your thing I also go by Akira, but it's such a bland name. Wouldn't you agree?" Ashes fell from his cigarette as he spoke.

"Well Akira-"

""I know I gave you the option, but I prefer Wolf." A mocking smirk graced his face as he said this. A vein in Videl's head began to throb, as her patience with him was growing very slim.

"Fine then, Wolf." She spat the name with disgust, as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. "I'm not here for a social call or for idle chit chat. Surrender now, or else I'll make you."

"Now see, that would work for you, if I wasn't a strong man with many strong followers. You're outclassed in every way and you dare to throw such empty threats at ME?"

"You can talk all you want, but it won't do you any good if you don't have bite to match your bark." She lowered into a fighting stance.

"Very well." He shed his trench coat and threw away his cigarette, but didn't lower into a stance of his own. He simply beckoned her with a hand. Pissed off, she took the initiative and sent a kick to his face, which he ducked. She quickly followed up with another kick, which he hadn't anticipated. A risky move it was, but it successfully struck his chest, sending him on to his back. She launched herself into the air and landed on his stomach with her knee, knocking the wind out of him.

"We can do this the hard way or the easy way. You pick." She was still on top of him with a hand on his collar and the other hand ready to strike.

"Neither," came another voice from behind her. It was followed up with the click of a gun. She turned to see a pistol in her face and cursed under breath. Wolf sent a hard punch to her face, creating a small stream of blood from her lip. He stood back off and dusted his clothes off, smirking all the while.

"You see, it doesn't matter if the grasshopper is stronger than the ant if the ant has an army and the grasshopper is by itself."

"Saiyaman will be here soon, and he counts as two armies." The admittance of his superiority left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Be that as it may, you two made a mistake in splitting up. He'll pay the price for agreeing to do it. " He then turned to his other goons who had come out of hiding. "You two! Tie her up and get her ready! We want Saiyaman to be taken by surprise." Two men bound her hands behind her back, tied her ankles together then wrapped tape around her mouth.

"How could I have been so stupid?" She chastised herself inwardly as she was carried away.