Guys, you have NO idea how long I have wanted to get this chapter out. This idea has literally been in my head for two MONTHS! I think you'll like it! Also, this chapter is an early-birthday present for one awesome, amazing, lovely individual, the one who gave me that last little push to post this story. Happy early birthday, abbieouji! Hope you like this chapter as an early birthday present! XD
Also, thanks for the support, guys, it means a lot to me! I hope you guys like this chapter as much as I'll enjoy writing it!
Disclaimer: You have no idea how much I wish I owned DBZ. I would make sure that Abridged was sold on DVD. I KNEW that Piccolo was a Yoshi! XD MUFFIN BUTTON! So, I don't own it. So yeah.
"Bring a bathing suit," Gohan had said.
Well, that was a lot easier said than done. The first thing she needed to do was get a bathing suit that fit her, which meant shopping, which meant asking her dad if she could go shopping.
When Hercule was asked by his daughter if the wanted to go shopping, he was very, very surprised, and became suspicious. His daughter did not enjoy shopping, and he demanded to know what she had to go shopping for. Quickly and easily lying to her dad, she just said that Erasa wanted to take her shopping, and had literally forced her to come with her, and that if she declined her best friend's offer that it would be very, very disappointing for the blonde. After hearing that it was Erasa who wanted to go shopping, and not Videl, Hercule condescended.
After she was given permission, Videl instantly called Erasa. Going to her room, she dialed her best friend's number and then plopped down on her bed, waiting for the other girl to pick up.
Three rings sounded before the bubbly blonde picked up. "Hello?"
"Hey, Erasa, it's me," Videl replied.
"Oh my gosh, hey, Vi!" Erasa greeted eagerly to her best friend. "Where've you been? You haven't come to school, and neither has Gohan!"
"Oh, well, I'm training for the Tournament," Videl answered. "And Gohan…well, I dunno what happened with him." It was a lie, but hey, Videl wasn't completely sure for how much longer he was gonna be out, so it was a sorta-partial-kinda-truth more than a lie. "Sorry about not calling you before, I was a bit swamped with stuff."
"It's all right, hun!" Erasa reassured her, and Videl knew that the other girl was grinning on the other line. "So, what's up?"
"'Rase…I need to go shopping," Videl admitted, turning onto her side on the bed as she absentmindedly played with one of her stuffed animals—an absolutely adorable plushy tiger that Erasa had gotten for her for her birthday last year, because she knew that a tiger was one of Videl's favorite animals. The black-haired girl hadn't parted with it since. Seeing the animal, Videl was suddenly reminded of yesterday, when she had given Gohan the massage, and the way that he'd made sounds that sounded like contented purrs as she'd eased the soreness of his muscles. It made her smile a bit.
"Wow, Videl, that may have been the second time that I've ever heard you say those words in all the time that I've known you," Erasa told her bluntly, her voice surprised. "Are you OK?"
"Erasa, I'm fine," Videl replied with an eye-roll. "I just need to go shopping for something, and I need someone else's opinion on clothing. Please, 'Rase?"
"Hey, you know me—I'm always up for some shopping!" the blonde told her eagerly. "Just give me a few minutes to get ready—meet you at your house?"
"Sure," Videl answered as she held the little tiger plush toy, lying back on her back as she looked at her ceiling. "I'll be waiting here for you, OK?"
"All right! See you in a little bit, Vi!" Erasa said in finality, before she hung up.
Videl closed her cell phone, placing it back in her pocket as she rested on her bed. She was all ready to go—unlike Erasa, she didn't exactly have the urge to put makeup on herself if she was just going shopping, and honestly didn't care about what clothes she wore, either. She'd already taken a shower when she'd gotten home and changed into a cleaner set of clothing—her clothes had gotten a little sweaty when she'd been training with Gohan. It was her traditional pair of black shorts and a dark blue T-shirt, and she was perfectly happy with her clothing. However, she knew that Erasa would probably say something about her fashion sense and comment on her clothing, but Videl wouldn't listen. Of the two friends, Erasa was the one who was all into the fashion and whatnot, while she was the fighter.
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Videl jumped out of bed, placing the tiger back down on her only slightly messy bed now since she'd been laying down on it, and went downstairs to greet her friend.
"Dad, it's Erasa," Videl said as went down the stairs, grabbing her wallet, which was on the coffee table of their large living room, where her father was watching TV. He turned towards her as she spoke. "I'm probably gonna grab a bite to eat with Erasa while we're shopping, so I'll be back in three hours, tops, OK?"
"All right, sweetheart. Just be careful," Hercule told his only child, wanting her to be safe. His little girl was just about everything to him, and the thought of anything happening to her was something that he did not want to think about. He knew that she was more than capable of handling herself in a fight, but still, a father had to worry about his daughter.
Videl grinned at him, going over to him. "Daddy, I'll be fine," she told him reassuringly, bending down to kiss his cheek. "I'll be back before you know it, all right?"
"All right, honey. Have fun!" he called as she headed towards the door.
"I will—bye, Dad!" she called back, before she quickly went out of the house. Erasa was standing in front of her cherry-red hovercar, wearing a cute dark green tube top and a pair of light denim shorts. When she saw her best friend coming towards her, she squealed.
"Hey, Vi!" Erasa exclaimed eagerly, and Videl grinned. She and Erasa shared a quick hug, before the blonde girl pulled back, looking at her best friend's outfit. Her eyes widened when she saw Videl's hair.
"Oh my gosh, Videl, you cut your hair!" she said in surprise, touching the significantly shorter black strands. "It looks so cute! But why'd you cut it? I thought you liked it long!"
"I just felt like I wanted it cut—it's also getting hotter, and having a lot of hair only makes it worse," Videl replied, only giving her best friend part of the story. Yes, Videl loved Erasa almost like a sister, and they were extremely close, but some things just couldn't be told. Videl hadn't told anyone about her and Gohan training, and Erasa was the gossip queen of the school. Some kids would get the wrong idea about Videl and the new kid, and she didn't want that.
"I think it suits you nicely," Erasa complimented. "Your outfit, on the other hand…Videl, why do you always have to wear boyish clothes?"
"Because they're comfortable," was Videl's answer, the same exact answer that she always gave Erasa when she asked that question.
Erasa sighed—some things would never change with her tomboyish friend. "Whatever you say," she said, grinning, as she went into the car. "Come on."
On the ride to the mall, the girls absentmindedly talked about things that had happened while they were away. One very interesting piece of information hit Videl as Erasa told her a secret.
"You like Sharpener?" Videl repeated, looking at her friend with awe on her face. "As in, 'like', like?"
Erasa blushed slightly. "Well, yeah," she replied, slightly bashful. "I mean, he's cute, he's nice to me, he's strong, and he likes showing off in front of me. I think that he might like me back, but I'm not sure. I'm just pretty sure that I like him."
"Wow, 'Rase," Videl said in shock. "I didn't think that you'd like him!"
"Don't tell anyone, all right, Vi?" Erasa begged her friend.
"Of course I won't tell anyone!" the black-haired girl replied with a slight grin. Even though she wasn't one of those girls who always loved to think of people in couples, she sometimes did find information about crushes interesting, especially if it involved her best friend.
"So, anyways, why did you need to go shopping?" Erasa asked her best friend, as they pulled into the parking lot of West City Mall. She turned off the car, and then turned to her friend.
"Well," Videl began, and she got out of the car. Erasa got out as well, and they began to walk to the store. "I have to get a bathing suit," the black-haired girl admitted, looking away a bit.
"Why?" Erasa wanted to know, looking at Videl oddly.
"Well, I decided that I wanted to go to the beach for myself, and I haven't gotten a bathing suit since last year, and that thing doesn't fit me at all anymore. I need to go and buy a new one," the fighter replied, as they walked into the big mall.
Erasa grabbed Videl's hand. "Well, I know a great store that I'm sure that we'll find cute bathing suit for you!" the blonde said eagerly, and almost dragged the slightly unenthusiastic girl over to one of her favorite stores. Seeing the very girlish designs of clothes there, Videl suddenly was having second thoughts on shopping for a bathing suit, and she was considering just showing up to Gohan's with her normal clothing, saying that she didn't need a damn bathing suit for whatever the hell they were going to do. However, it was too late to back out now.
Erasa dragged Videl to the bathing suit section. "Actually, I need a bathing suit, too," Erasa said, grinning. "Come on, let's look at some of the stuff that they've got here!"
While Erasa began to look at the bikinis, Videl was leaning more towards the one-pieces. However, the blond-haired girl would have none of that, and gave Videl a look when she had begun to look at a simple dark blue one-piece bathing suit.
"Vi, you are not a little girl anymore!" Erasa reprimanded the other girl, lightly smacking her hand. "We are getting you a bikini, and that's final. You're sixteen, girl, and have a pretty sexy body to boot, all right? You should show it off, not hide it!"
At her friend's brashness, Videl's cheeks darkened a little bit. "'Rase," she almost pleaded, "a one-piece is fine."
"Nope, I will not have my best friend wearing a one-piece this year. You are wearing a damned bikini, even if I have to sedate you and get you one myself!" Erasa said determinedly, and Videl knew that arguing with her blonde friend right now would be pointless. The blonde grabbed the black-haired girl's hand and determinedly brought her over to where the two-pieces were, forcing Videl to look through some of them. With a slightly annoyed groan, she began to look through the bikinis and two-pieces, rolling her eyes.
"Oooh, I like this one for myself. What do you think?" Erasa suddenly said, pulling out a pretty sky-blue bikini that perfectly matched the blue hue of her eyes. It also had darker blue polka dots all over it, and on the hips were little bows connected to the thin straps, along with a small dark blue bow in between the breasts. It seemed to plunge rather daringly, and would reveal quite a lot of her body.
"Whatever you think, Erasa," Videl replied absentmindedly, looking at another bathing suit.
The blonde rolled her eyes at her best friend. "C'mon, Videl, I need some more input! You like it or not?"
"All right, fine. I like it," the black-haired girl answered, causing Erasa to grin.
"OK! But I need to see another one, just to see what another one looks like on me," the eager-to-shop girl smiled, leafing through the bikinis. She then turned her head when she saw that Videl had paused, looking at a dark purple two-piece that had slight swirly designs all over it, and covered her modestly.
"Why don't you try that one on?" Erasa prompted, nodding her head towards Videl. The other girl nodded, taking it off of the rack and holding it.
"All right, this one's nice," Erasa said, pulling out another one for herself. It was a pretty, dark forest green that was completely strapless, with a gold hoop in between the breasts and on the hips, connecting the pieces of cloth together. A slightly shimmery lighter green fabric outlined the bathing suit very lightly. Videl had to admit that it was rather pretty.
"Yeah, that one is nice," Videl agreed. Yes, it would look nice on Erasa. However, the fiery-tempered girl would never be seen dead in that bathing suit, but she thought that it suited her best friend nicely.
After a few moments, Erasa gasped. "Oh, Videl, I found the perfect bathing suit for you," she said excitedly, beckoning her friend to come over with her hand, her eyes sparkling with eagerness. Videl went over to her best friend, wanting to inspect the bathing suit that she'd picked out. The moment that she laid eyes on it, she gaped and shook her head.
"No," she told Erasa.
"Yes," the blonde retorted, pulling it off the rack.
"No," Videl repeated, her voice hard.
"Yes," Erasa shot back, her blue eyes determined as she shoved the bathing suit at Videl. "And if you say 'no' one more time, I will buy this anyway and manage to sneak it into your bags somehow—don't underestimate me, I will find a way."
Videl groaned, shaking her head at her friend. "'Rase, come on, you can't possibly think that I'd look good in something like…like that!"
"I don't think you'll look good—I think that you'll look absolutely-freaking-amazing," Erasa fought back. "Come on, we're gonna try these on, all right?"
Videl sighed, knowing that there was no arguing with her blonde friend when she had her mind set on something. She followed the other girl to the dressing rooms, where they instantly took stalls next to each other. Videl hung up the one that Erasa had taken for her and glared at it hatefully, before beginning to take the black one off of its hooks.
"Meh…I don't really think this looks that good on me, all things considered," Erasa said from her stall a few seconds later. "Hey, Vi, what do you think?"
Videl opened her door—she hadn't even begun changing yet—and looked at her best friend. Erasa was wearing the sky blue bikini that she'd chosen at first, eyeing herself in the mirror with distaste. "Is my butt really that big?" Erasa muttered to herself, inspecting herself this way and that.
At her friend's slightly self-conscious antics—which were only exhibited in front of the blonde's best friend—Videl actually laughed. "'Rase, there's nothing at all wrong with your body figure," she reassured the other girl. "But I do see what you're saying about the bathing suit—it's not 'Erasa' style."
"It also smushes my boobs weirdly," Erasa admitted in discomfort as she tried to adjust it. "It's almost as if there's a weird type of pushup that doesn't feel comfortable. OK, it's not as cute as I thought it was, this one's got to go."
"Yeah, I think that's for the best," Videl agreed, before Erasa went back inside of her changing room. Videl changed into the purple two-piece that she had seen and rather liked. She didn't look at herself in the mirror yet, and walked outside of the changing room so her friend could see.
"Well, 'Rase? Whaddaya think?" Videl asked, causing Erasa to peep her blonde head out of the changing room, hiding the rest of her body as she looked closely at her friend.
"Mmm…I'm not so sure about that, Vi," she replied. "I mean, yeah, it covers you…but it doesn't exactly flatter your figure, if you get what I mean. It makes you look…well, not that cute. I'm gonna be blatant—it doesn't look right on you and makes you look a bit fat, when you aren't at all. Purple isn't really your color."
"Yeah, I was thinking that as well," Videl said, now looking at herself in the mirror that was outside of the changing rooms. The bathing suit made it appear as if she had extra layers of fat that didn't actually exist. Erasa closed the door of her changing room, and spoke through the door, telling her friend, "We're putting it back, for sure." A few seconds later, after Videl had gone back into her changing room, Erasa let out an excited squeal.
"Oh, yeah, I'm sexy and I know it," Erasa giggled as she quoted the lyrics from the song as she came out of the dressing room, proudly wearing the emerald-green bikini that she'd chosen secondly. "Vi, I am totally getting this."
Videl grinned—after shopping with Erasa, she eventually found that she could slightly bear giving opinions. It was almost as if the blonde's bubbly attitude was infectious. "Yes, that definitely suits you," she agreed, as Erasa inspected herself in the mirror proudly. Almost giddy with glee, she went back to her changing room, probably wanting to buy that bathing suit as quickly as possible as she changed back into her normal clothes. Meanwhile, Videl had been changing into the other bikini that Erasa had gotten for her, not looking at herself in the mirror that was in the changing room. She closed her eyes and opened the door, knocking on Erasa's door, holding her breath.
The blonde girl opened the door, wearing only her bra and panties now as she inspected her friend. It was then that she let out yet another eager squeal.
"Vi, that is the perfect bathing suit! Have you seen yourself in the mirror?" Erasa asked eagerly. Without waiting for Videl's answer, she turned the other reluctant girl to the mirror. Videl was now burning with curiosity, wondering what she looked like.
Her eyes were wide as she looked at herself in the mirror. "…Wow," she finally said in surprise. "I look…"
"Amazing!" Erasa squealed, grabbing Videl's hands happily.
Videl had to admit that she did look quite amazing in this bathing suit. She looked surprisingly…feminine, and didn't mind it right now, actually.
The bikini that she'd chosen had black as its base color, but was swirled greatly with a slight floral design which was colored a dark red, her favorite color. It almost looked like fire, which matched Videl's personality. It was very figure-flattering—it revealed only the smallest bit of cleavage, which was decent enough covering for her, revealing just enough skin to tantalize the imagination. Her toned midsection was shown off, and her long, lightly muscular legs were revealed, seeming even longer now because of the design and cut of the bottom of the bathing suit. Overall, her rather pretty feminine figure was revealed—from her not-too-large-but-not-too-small breasts, to her thin, tapered waist, to the slight swell of her hips, to her long, lean legs.
It was one of the first times in her life that Videl actually thought to herself: I am pretty damn sexy.
"OK, Vi, we are absolutely getting that for you. You're freaking gorgeous!" Erasa exclaimed, having finished putting on her clothes. "Come on, hurry up and change back into your clothes so we can buy these suits!"
Videl was grinning confidently a bit as she went back into her changing room, throwing back on her undergarments before putting her clothes on over it. She grabbed both of the bikinis that she'd brought with her, going over with Erasa to return the ones that they didn't like, before going over to the like to purchase their new bathing suits. The black-haired girl had a knowing grin on her face as they bought their now clothes, leaving the store.
Not that she really cared, but…
She couldn't wait to see Gohan's reaction to her bathing suit tomorrow.
Gohan grinned as he saw Videl's hoverjet descend onto the green grass near his home, excited about what they were going to do that day. He was already wearing his swimming trunks, which were a dark navy blue, and a white T-shirt for now. He waved up at her, and he saw her wave back at him as she landed the jet with ease. When the door opened, she jumped out, landing on the floor—Gohan saw that she was wearing a loose T-shirt as well, along with her shorts.
"So, you ready?" Gohan asked her when she landed on the ground from her jump.
"As I'll ever be," Videl replied, as she encapsulated her jet and placed the small capsule inside of her pocket. Gohan nodded at her, and began to levitate in the air, with her following suit.
"All right, so, all we're gonna do is fly somewhere—stay close to me, OK?" Gohan said once they were at a considerable height in the air.
Videl nodded, and, with that, both she and Gohan began to fly towards wherever they were headed. She moved slightly ahead of him as they flew, causing Gohan to raise his eyebrow. He then sped up a bit to pass her the slightest bit.
Videl passed him a bit again.
A light grin crossed Gohan's face—it was an unspoken challenge, he knew. And it was cemented when he looked at Videl's sparkling blue eyes, shining with the prospect of a challenge in them.
Both of them suddenly began to speed up. Of course, Gohan wasn't going nearly as fast as his top speed, so this was a leisurely flight to him, but he was rather impressed with Videl's speed, and he knew that she wasn't going as fast as she could. To see how fast she could go, he sped up a bit more, passing her. He heard an aggravated grunt from behind him, causing him to turn around to face her and grin at her. Her face was annoyed, and, when he turned around, he felt a sharp gust of wind pass by him. Videl had passed him, smirking triumphantly at him.
"Catch me if you can!" she taunted, before speeding off even more quickly than she had before.
Oh, she was going to wish that she'd never said those words. Wearing a slightly evil smirk, one that was rare for him to have on, Gohan sped up, easily catching up to Videl. She looked at him with widened eyes as he passed her, waving coyly at her, before blasting forward.
"Oh, I'll get you, Gohan Son!" she shouted at him as she tried to catch up. However, that boy just seemed to somehow manage to stay just ahead of her by a few mere inches; whenever it seemed that she had gained on him, he sped up the slightest bit more, making her aggravated. Gohan couldn't help but laugh a little bit at the way that she was struggling to keep up with him, making her clench her teeth a bit as she tried to keep up with him. But he managed to stay just in front of her!
She didn't even notice that they were making a few turns every now and then—she was only focused on the grinning teenaged boy in front of her, determined to catch up with him.
"A little slow today, aren't we, Miss Satan?" Gohan teased her lightly, laughing at the almost infuriated look that came over her face. She was going so fast that she could barely keep her eyes open, but she didn't care. She just needed to beat that boy.
Suddenly, though, Gohan stopped, causing Videl to run into his back from the speed that she'd been using. It felt like running into a brick wall—what the hell was this kid made of?
"What is your problem?" Videl asked in irritation as she glared up at Gohan. All he did was turn around with a slightly knowing smile on his face.
"We're here," was all he said, making her raise an eyebrow at him. He began to descend, and she followed suit, landing on the grass. It was then that Videl actually looked at her surroundings. Her eyes widened with surprise.
She was in a little clearing that seemed to be completely untouched by human hands. A small, pretty lake that was surprisingly clean rested inside of the clearing, and reflected the beautiful hue of the afternoon sky; the water was so clear that you could clearly see the small gray pebbles that rested on the bottom of the water. Surrounding the lake in a random scattering were numerous wildflowers of all different colors and varieties, randomly dotting the large grassy expanse that was around the lake. A few trees of different varieties also slightly surrounded the pond—there was a weeping willow, with its long, drooping branches swaying in the light breeze; there was also a tree with small, fragile pink buds, which she guessed was a cherry blossom tree, or something close to that. The wind gently tugged off a few of the small petals and caused them to land on the glassy surface of the lake, causing small ripples to form on the water.
It was…it was…
Absolutely beautiful.
Videl didn't say anything because of her awe as she looked around at her surroundings with wide, surprised eyes. Then, she turned towards Gohan, who had a knowing grin on his face as he looked at her.
"…Wow, Gohan," she finally said, the sound coming out in a surprised breath.
"See, I knew that you'd like it," Gohan told her, still grinning at her as she once again took in her milieu with awe.
"How'd you find this?" she asked him in wonder.
"Well, I…I dunno how I found it," he answered truthfully. "I just stumbled upon this one day when I was flying around, and, well, I guess that this became my little spot to escape from everything."
Videl only seemed to be listening halfheartedly, her mouth still slightly open as she took in her beautiful surroundings. Gohan grinned—he'd had the same reaction when he first saw this place, but it eventually registered much quicker than it would be for Videl. He grew up in the mountains; he was kind of used to this. Videl, on the other hand, had grown up in the city, and wasn't exactly used to things like this.
A few seconds later, Videl heard a shout, and she turned her head just in time to get splashed with a little water from the force of Gohan's jump. She saw that his shirt was on the grass, and she could still see the ripples of where he'd disappeared.
"Gee, thanks, Gohan!" Videl shouted at him, slightly irked at the fact that her clothes were slightly wet now. Expecting him to resurface, she crossed her arms and looked pointedly at the lake, knowing that she would see his head break through the surface any time now.
However, when a few minutes passed and Gohan hadn't resurfaced, Videl started to feel uneasy. She walked closely to the edge of the small pool of water, leaning over it slightly.
"Gohan?" she called out, knowing that he could hear her if he was underwater. When there was no reply—not even a bubble to say that he was breathing out—she forced herself to stay calm as she reached out her hand to test the temperature of the water before she went in to see what was going on.
It was then that she felt a hand grab onto her wrist, and saw a familiar grinning face, with onyx eyes twinkling mischievously, before he tugged. She let out a surprised shriek as he caused her to fall into the water, getting the full impact of the cold water suddenly.
Videl broke through the surface of the clear water, gasping for air slightly from the shock, shaking her black bangs out of her eyes. "You asshole!" she shouted angrily, hearing him laugh behind her. Annoyed, she whipped around to face him, ready to give him a piece of her mind.
However, she forgot was she was going to say for a moment as she looked at him. One thought scattered through her head at that moment:
Adonis? Hercules? All those Greek gods that were supposed to have bodies of perfection?
She doubted that they held anything on Gohan.
The teenaged boy was standing waist-deep in the water, revealing the entirety of his bare torso. His pale skin seemed to be carved out of marble; it seemed as if his body was chiseled out of that pure stone. His black hair was wet, falling lightly into his eyes as he shook his head a bit to clear it, revealing his sparkling onyx eyes that glowed with mischief. Water ran down his strong jaw line, pooling lightly into the hollow of his throat before running down his chest. Strong pectoral muscles rested on his broad chest, which she was suddenly realizing how very broad it was. His rock-hard six pack was revealed as well, along with his lean waist, and his thickly muscled arms seemed to be even more announced since his whole upper half was bare.
She was unable to think coherent thoughts for a moment, just getting over the pure shock about the fact that the supposed nerd boy in her school had such a perfectly sculpted physique.
Once she got over that fact, her annoyance at him took over, and she shoved him square in the chest. However, she was irked to discover that he did not budge an inch, and laughed a bit at her.
"You got my freaking clothes wet," Videl grumbled in irritation. Deciding not to get out of the water, she quickly shimmied out of her shorts and pulled her shirt off, and threw the clothes over on the grass. "Now, I have to wait for them to dry before I put them back on."
"Sorry," Gohan apologized, but his tone didn't sound like he meant it at all. When he saw Videl's bathing suit, his eyes widened the slightest bit as they quickly took in her figure, which suddenly seemed very, very feminine because of the bikini that she was wearing. The first thought that came to his head was, well, shock. Never had he seen Videl look so…well, so much like a girl.
Videl caught him staring, and she felt herself blush slightly, but also felt satisfaction at his reaction to what she was wearing.
"I have to admit, Gohan," she finally said as she went a bit deeper into the water, allowing more of her body to get accustomed to the coldness of the liquid, "this is pretty nice."
"I knew that you'd like this surprise," he replied with a knowing grin.
Videl rolled her eyes, and then had an evil smirk on her face as she suddenly splashed him sharply. Gohan, not expecting that, looked over at her with a raised eyebrow as she laughed at him.
When he returned the favor, however, it wasn't that funny anymore to Videl. Very quickly, it became an all-out brawl in a splashing war as the two teenagers chased each other around the lake, trying to escape from each other's splashes.
The girl let out a slightly surprised squeal as she dove underwater to escape the torrent of water that Gohan had splashed her way. She quickly resurfaced for a breath of air after a little less than a minute, and instantly got pelted once more with water. On impulse, she splashed back.
"No fair, Gohan!" she told him, splashing in his direction.
"There's rules to this game?" Gohan retorted, laughing as his response gained him another splash from the slightly annoyed girl.
They stopped after a little while so that each of them could just swim a bit around in the lake. As she was treading water, Videl saw a small rock ledge that seemed to be the perfect height for a diving board. She grinned and ran out of the lake, going over to the ledge. Gohan looked at her oddly, wondering where she was going; he then understood when he saw her appear on the ledge, after she had found a way to scramble up on the rocks.
She was grinning widely—she couldn't remember the last time that she'd had this much fun in a pool. And it had been way too long since she'd done an old-fashioned cannonball. She backed up a bit, and then began to run—right as she jumped, she yelled out, "Banzai!", and she landed in the water a few moments later. Gohan got splashed by the water that had come up from the force of her jump, making him laugh. She soon resurfaced, smiling as she shook the hair and water from her eyes, laughing as she treaded water in the deeper part of the lake.
It was yet another unspoken challenge between the two as Gohan climbed out of the water, going over to the ledge as well. He had a running start as well as he jumped off of the edge, before he did a full somersault before hitting the water in a slightly messy dive. After him, Videl quickly scrambled onto the smooth rocky overhang, and then executed a perfect swan dive, barely even making a ripple in the water. When it was Gohan's turn, he did a fancy-looking jump that consisted of doing a cartwheel on the rock and then jumping off of the ledge and twisting about in the air twice before doing yet another somersault and landing in the water in the ending motion.
Videl had to admit that she was a bit impressed—she hadn't ever seen someone with such physical control. It was hard to believe that she'd thought of him as nothing but a scrawny nerd over a week ago, when he was, in reality, very muscular, a fact which he'd somehow hidden under the baggy clothing that he'd worn to school. Determined not to be bested by him, however, she went up once more on the rocky ledge after Gohan had resurfaced.
Gohan watched as she stood with her back facing him, bouncing her knees the slightest bit. Then, she launched herself off of the rock, and attempted to do a backwards somersault in the air. However, she misjudged her jump, and as a result, when she attempted to do a second flip, she saw how close she was to the water and accidentally uncurled a bit, hitting the water face-first.
The boy winced a bit; that had to hurt. He began to go to the shallower part of the lake, so that he could climb out, but it was then that he realized that Videl hadn't resurfaced yet, and it had been over a minute. He remembered in the splashing fight, how she'd only been able to stay under the water less than a minute, and he'd presumed that it was the maximum amount that she could hold her breath.
If she hadn't resurfaced…
"Videl?" Gohan called out, going back into the deeper part of the water, fighting over the panic that started to slowly creep in. Was she trying to hold her breath as long as he had done before? He could hold his breath for a rather long time because of his half-Saiyan genes, but she was only human!
His anxiousness began to cloud his judgment—he tried to feel for her energy signature, but the fear and slight panic that was beginning to come into his system was making him unable to focus, so that he wasn't able to sense her ki. He called her name again, and, when he got no response once more, he frantically examined the water around him, going underwater and looking around. He didn't see her.
Suddenly, he felt a small hand grab his ankle. Completely caught off-guard and surprised, he fell backwards, slipping on the pebbly bottom of the pond. He looked up to see Videl grinning at him triumphantly, brushing her wet hair off to the side.
He began to splutter and cough a bit with his shock, having accidentally swallowed a bit of water. His eyes were widened with his surprise as he looked at Videl's smug face as she began to laugh at him.
"Your reaction was priceless!" she grinned at him, before laughing again.
However, Gohan wasn't laughing, looking at her with an indiscernible expression on his face. At his look, Videl stopped her laughing, and asked, "What?"
He shook his head a bit at her, letting out a breath that he hadn't known that he'd been holding before. "Why did you do that?" he asked in return, his voice oddly quiet.
"I was just screwing around, Gohan," Videl told him. "Now you know how I felt before, when you first jumped in. I'm fine, though."
He didn't stop inspecting her with that look in his eye, the look that she couldn't exactly name. "Don't…don't do that again," he finally said, looking intensely at her now. "Please, don't do that again."
Hearing his voice, Videl realized that he'd been worried about her, concern shining in his onyx eyes.
"I was just kidding," she offered lightly. "I wasn't in any danger."
"But I didn't know that," he replied seriously. "I thought that something had happened to you, Videl…" he admitted as he looked away. The panic that had begun to set in before had finally worn off, and now it was just the pure shock and concern for her.
"Hey, I'm OK," she reassured him, her voice a bit gentler now as she smiled a bit at him.
"Please, promise me that you won't do something like that again," Gohan told her seriously. "I…" He what? He couldn't bear it if he lost yet another friend? He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if she died while he was around?
Realizing how serious this was, Videl went over to him and sat down next to him, nodding. "I promise," she vowed quietly. He looked up at her to see if she was telling the truth, and he saw that she was, her blue eyes showing that she was a bit regretful for what she'd done. In her defense, she hadn't known that Gohan would almost freak out! She thought that he'd take it as a joke, like she had with him at first!
After a few moments, Videl grinned a bit as she came up with an idea. "Hey, how about we play Marco Polo?" she suggested to him.
At that, he raised his eyebrow at her, the old Gohan now resurfacing, much to Videl's relief. "Isn't that a bit…I don't know, juvenile?" he asked.
"So?" she shot back. "There's no one else here to judge, so…"
"All right," Gohan replied, grinning now at her.
"Not It!" Videl shouted the instant that he agreed, and she jumped into the deeper water. "Close your eyes and spin around ten times!"
Gohan laughed, shaking his head at her antics now as he went into the middle of the lake, closing his eyes and spinning around ten times. After he had done so, he called out, "Marco!"
"Polo!" Videl returned, before swimming away as Gohan began to come towards her, looking rather funny with his eyes closed and his arms stretched out in front of him (to make it fair, he told himself that he wouldn't try to find her by her energy signature).
This continued for a few minutes, until Gohan had cornered Videl. She had begun to climb out of the water, grinning, before she let out a small shriek of surprise as Gohan's hand suddenly came out of the water and latched onto her ankle. He smirked a bit as he opened his eyes, announcing to her, "I got you."
Videl huffed, rolling her eyes at him. "Fine," she relented, going back into the slightly deeper water of the pool as she closed her eyes and began to spin around ten times.
A few rounds passed, with the two teens content with playing Marco Polo with each other in the rather large lake. After a quick break for lunch, which Gohan had remembered to bring along with him, they quickly resumed their games once more. It was now Videl's turn to be the one searching for Gohan, and she quickly spun around after shutting her eyes.
"Marco!" she shouted.
"Polo!" Gohan replied, and she turned towards his voice as she blindly held her hands out.
She called it out again, and this time, Gohan's reply came from behind her. Annoyed, she turned around, wondering how the kid managed to travel so fast through the water, as she tried to get him. His voice was so close, but it seemed that he was just out of her reach!
After some time, Videl called out the word again, but this time, she gained no response. Surprised, but resisting the impulse to open her eyes, she called it out again.
"Marco!" she yelled once more. When silence was her only answer once again, she honestly became confused. Gohan had never simply dropped out on one of the games that they'd played! What was going on?
"Marco?" she tried again, this time sounding more like a question. "Gohan?"
Still no reply.
Videl began to walk backwards, turning this way and that as she moved her hands around. "Marco, Gohan! You're supposed to say 'Polo' afterwards! That's kinda the point of the game!" Her tone was dripping with slight sarcasm as she turned her body constantly, reaching out to somehow see if she could get him. Now, some people would open their eyes at this point, but she was determined not to cheat on this game, so she refused to allow her eyelids to open.
"Gohan? Marco, damn it!" she shouted in irritation, backing up even more, nearly tripping over the pebbles.
Suddenly, her back came in contact with something surprisingly hard. Her eyes suddenly flew open on their own accord as she turned around in shock; she had run into the rock-hard, muscular chest of Gohan. Her eyes were wide with her pure surprise as Gohan looked down at her, his dark obsidian eyes meeting her deep blue ones with a startling intensity. Without her knowing, her breathing had lightly sped up.
"Polo," Gohan murmured quietly. Their bodies were so close to touching each other, their gazes never leaving each other's. Her hand, which had been sticking out previously and now had been slightly brought to her chest in surprise, was now resting on his left pectoral. She felt gentle, reassuring warmth on his skin, felt the strong beating of his heartbeat gently under her palm—he was so warm.
"I got you; you're It," Videl told him, her voice barely even a breath that she had let out. Her brain barely even registered what she had said, mostly registering the teenaged boy in front of her—his pale and surprisingly handsome and yet still slightly boyish features, his thick hair that was slightly plastered to his head, and his eyes that were the color of the purest onyx. Gohan, too, barely knew anything else around him, his eyes only on the girl—the delicate features on her pale face, her short black hair that was framing her face as well, and her large, sparkling dark blue eyes that were currently watching his own eyes intently.
He noticed a stray strand of her black hair that had fallen in front of her eyes, and, gently, he brought his hand up to her face. His hand lightly caressed her cheek as he tucked that strand of black behind her ear, so that now her beautiful blue eyes were completely revealed. His hand remained on her soft skin, like hers was resting on his chest. Their bodies were now lightly touching, the only sound in the place their own breathing, gazes never leaving each other even for a moment.
"I know," Gohan whispered in reply, his voice barely even audible anymore.
Both of them felt an odd emotion begin to stir within them, feeling an odd impulse. It seemed to happen so slowly—Videl slightly inclined her head up while Gohan slightly leaned down at the same time, their faces mere centimeters apart, feeling each other's breathing gently on their faces.
They both moved gently at the same moment, softly and tenderly, as their lips ever-so-gently met in a kiss.
It was pure, innocent, tender, curious—only their lips met each other's, gently, slightly unsure. Their eyes had closed at the same time, with Gohan's hand lightly tilting Videl's head the slightest bit up, her hand remaining on his chest. It was a kiss of pure tenderness, innocence, curiosity, as their lips gently brushed against each other's, both of them beginning to gain confidence as they slightly deepened it, their lips gently moving against each other. Unknown emotions flooded through both of the teens as their lips tenderly touched.
They gently pulled away from each other, their lips hovering over each other's for a few moments longer, mere micro-centimeters away, eyes still closed, before they completely pulled away from each other, slowly opening their eyes. Their breathing had slightly sped up, was slightly deeper as they both looked down, before they looked up and bet each other's eyes. They did nothing but look at each other for a few moments, deep ocean blue meeting polished obsidian.
Suddenly, Videl realized what had just happened, and a fierce, dark blush came over her cheeks as she hastily tried to get away from Gohan. At the exact same moment, he realized what had happened as well, and his own cheeks flushed with crimson as he backed away from Videl as well. Neither of them knew what to say to each other, looking anywhere but each other for the time being.
The silence was finally broken by Videl. "Hey, um…I should probably get going," she told Gohan, quickly meeting his gaze before looking away again, right at this moment unable to think of anything else about that boy except how perfectly sculpted he was with muscle and how surprisingly gentle his lips had been during their kiss (she had been right in her absentminded thoughts a few days before—his lips were very kissable. However, she instantly reprimanded herself when she thought of this). She quickly got out of the lake, getting her clothes, which were now only the slightest bit damp, and quickly throwing them over her wet body.
"Yeah, OK," Gohan replied, still blushing as he shook his head, getting out of the lake as well. Quickly using his ki to dry himself off, he threw on his T-shirt, and turned to see that she had popped open the capsule that contained her jet. She looked slightly uncomfortable in her damp clothes, he noticed.
"Um, hey," he spoke up, causing Videl to turn and look at him, a light blush still present on her cheeks. She stood silent, waiting for him to go on.
"Want me to dry you off? I can use my ki," Gohan offered. She stopped, thinking about it—her dad would get suspicious if her clothes were wet, and would instantly ask her what she had done, and she didn't think that flying home the natural, organic way would do any good to her other than give her a cold. Gohan's offer was for the best, she guessed.
"All right," she relented, making Gohan grin a bit at her as he went over to her. Videl backed up, slightly unsure about what he was going to do, her eyes unsure.
"Hey, I'm not gonna bite," he said as he rolled his eyes a bit, grinning the Son grin at her. However, he, too, understood how she felt. The slight awkwardness between them now was almost tangible in the air, neither of them knowing how to react to what had just transpired between them. "Don't you trust me?" he asked.
Hearing those words, Videl looked up at him completely, and realized that, yes, she did trust him. In response, she walked closer to him and waited for whatever he was going to do.
Gently, Gohan brought his head down to hers, so that their foreheads were gently touching. He took deep breaths, and Videl was suddenly aware of a warm, slightly tingly sensation coming over her body. Her eyes widened a bit, and she looked down to see that the faintest of glows was surrounding both of their bodies, a sheer line of light that was barely even noticeable. She looked back up at Gohan, and saw that his eyes were closed. He breathed in and out deeply, focusing on making sure that his ki was low enough for Videl—if he accidentally brought it too high, he could hurt her.
Eventually, he knew that she was completely dry. He opened his eyes and saw that her big blue ones were looking at him, and he bravely held her gaze. Then, he moved away from her a bit, his unspoken signal that he was done.
"Thanks," Videl said, feeling her clothes, marveling at how dry they actually were. The only thing that she knew how to manipulate her ki for was flying—she had a feeling that she might do something wrong if the tried to somehow control it so that she could perfectly dry herself like Gohan had.
"No problem," Gohan replied offhandedly, grinning as he ran a hand absentmindedly through his thick black hair.
"Hey, about flying lessons…do you think I've got it?" Videl asked.
Gohan paused, thinking, before he answered. "I don't think that there's anything else that I can teach you, honestly. We could wrap things up tomorrow, and you can polish things up by yourself—I can't help you anymore."
So that was it. Ten days—if you included tomorrow—and she had learned how to fly.
For some reason, she didn't exactly feel like jumping for joy. She felt…disappointed? But…why? She should be absolutely-freaking-ecstatic that she had now been able to manage the art of flying. But…
If she didn't need to learn how to fly anymore, then she wouldn't need to see Gohan for the lessons.
When had she started genuinely liking his company, started actually looking forward to the flying lessons that she had with him? She had no idea, and didn't exactly want to think about it. She was, honestly, too confused right now, what with her conflicting emotions about the gentle, innocent kiss that she had shared with Gohan earlier, the slight disappointment at the fact that she wouldn't see that boy daily anymore, the odd things that she had felt when she had shared that kiss with him (too many things were revolving around that, she noticed), among a few things.
"All right," she replied, nodding, as she went into her jet, deciding that she would figure out all of these things later. "So…see you tomorrow, Gohan," she said in finality, looking down at him before the glass came down.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow," he returned, grinning up at her as he waved.
She couldn't help but smile back at him as she returned the wave, lowering the top of her jet as the glass encased her. She then caused the jet to hover for a few moments, before she began to fly the contraption home. She couldn't resist one last glance back at the boy, who was still watching her jet, before he turned away and seemed to agitatedly run his fingers through his hair. Videl turned back around so that she could steer, deciding that she would sort out everything back at her home, where she could have a clear head.
While she was flying away, Gohan was shaking his head, confused at what had transpired between them. The pure fear and panic that he had felt when he thought that Videl might have drowned, the gentleness of the kiss that he wasn't sure who had instigated—maybe he moved, maybe she moved, maybe they both moved at the same time? He was too confused, having never felt these emotions before within him. And, even though she had left already, he continued to find his thoughts continuously drifting to Videl. Her pale complexion like porcelain, the soft skin on her face, her beautiful, delicate features that had suddenly shown how feminine she was to him, her night black hair which had seemed to bring out the paleness of her skin even more, her big, sparkling, dark blue eyes that had seemed so endless in their depths, her pink, full lips, which had been as soft as an angel's wings upon his own…
Oh, crap. Why couldn't he get her out of his head? He let out a sigh as he placed his hands on his hips, before looking into the sky as he made himself hover in the air, looking back at the fading dot that was Videl's jet.
He then began to fly back home, unable to get a certain black-haired, blue-eyed girl out of his mind.
Videl was grinning widely as she flew around in a series of quick, acrobatic flips and twists in the air, while Gohan and Goten were watching. Gohan was nodding in approval, while Goten honestly didn't understand what was so amazing about Videl flying—he could do exactly what she was doing without even a thought! Why did Gohan seem so proud of her? He was just waiting with his big brother so that he could instantly begin training with him the moment that the completely human teenager was gone.
Videl waved down at the two boys, proudly showing off her skills, while they waved back at her. Eventually, she landed in front of Gohan, having finished with showing off her awesomeness.
"Great job, Videl," Gohan praised her. Once again, she felt that familiar rush of pride as Gohan complimented her—even though he was doing it more often now, since she was greatly improving on her ability to fly, it hadn't grown old.
She ran a hand through her short black hair, wearing a smug smile on her face. "Thanks. I've really gotten good at this, huh?"
Goten barely restrained a "Pfft" of unbelief, unable to stop himself from lightly rolling his eyes. Plenty of other humans were able to fly better than she could! Krillin and Yamcha and Tien were all able to fly way better than she was able to, and he and Trunks could do better than her without even trying! Seeing his little brother's light reaction, Gohan shook his head slightly, knowing that the little boy was definitely spending too much time around Trunks and Vegeta—he had been at Capsule Corp for just about the whole day yesterday, and it was showing a bit.
"Yes, you have," the older boy smiled, nodding his head. "There's nothing more that I can teach you—you're all set." He knew that he had told her the same thing yesterday, but this was more final, it seemed.
Both of the teens had acted as if yesterday's little kiss hadn't happened, deciding that they weren't sure about how they had felt about it. Neither of them wanted to bring it up, wanting to figure out exactly how they felt about that innocent touching of their lips before the topic was brought up again between them. Until they figured everything out, though, they had both determined that they wouldn't mention anything to each other.
Once again, at Gohan's words, Videl felt both pride and very slight disappointment as well. She shook off the disappointment once again, not paying attention to the odd, foreign emotion that she shouldn't be feeling at this moment.
"Man, when Dad finds out about this, he is going to freak," she said, and she couldn't help but smirk, wondering how her father would react when he found out that she was 'suddenly' unable to fly. She was sure that it would be very entertaining.
Gohan couldn't resist a chuckle at that as well as he shook his head. "I'm sure that he'll be surprised."
"That's the understatement of the century," Videl muttered as she rolled her eyes. "But, hey, thanks for teaching me how to fly."
"It's nothing," Gohan replied offhandedly, grinning at her as he waved his hand in a general direction, showing his nonchalance.
She smiled a bit at him, his easygoing demeanor once again infectious. It was sometimes hard to believe that the boy could be serious—she had learned that he definitely could be over the past few days, especially yesterday, when he thought that she might've drowned in the water. One could sometimes not imagine the guilt that he had been feeling from the death of his father as well.
"I think that I'm gonna fly home without the jet today," she said, more to herself than to anyone, grinning. "It would be funny to see people's faces if they saw me in the air."
Gohan could feel the impatience in Goten's thoughts—yes, the little boy had told his older brother that he thought Videl was OK, but she kept on holding him back in training! He wanted to train with his big brother seriously, as Super Saiyans, and he really wanted to do it now! Goten felt that this conversation wasn't necessary, and was taking out of his training time.
"Yes, it is funny to see other's reactions," Gohan agreed. "So, I'll see you at the Tournament, then?"
Videl nodded, and she grinned knowingly at him. "See you there…Saiyaman."
Gohan moaned slightly, shaking his head. However, she had promised that she wouldn't reveal his identity if he taught her how to fly, and he knew that she would keep up her end of the bargain. She then blasted up into the air, hovering for a few seconds as she waved down once again at the boys, before blasting back off to her home, grinning from the exhilaration.
The moment that she was out of sight, Goten turned to Gohan. "You're gonna train me now, right?" he asked eagerly, just about bursting with eagerness as the prospect of training with his big brother.
Gohan laughed, affectionately ruffling the little boy's hair. "Yep," he grinned. "How about a spar as Super Saiyans to start us off, squirt?"
Goten giggled as the teenaged boy ruffled his hair and at hearing the familiar nickname that only Gohan called him. "Yeah!" he replied eagerly, before ascending to the legendary golden state without any hint of effort. Once again, it made Gohan surprised just how powerful the little boy was—much more powerful than he had been at that age, for sure. It had taken him a long time to turn Super Saiyan at the age of nine, and yet Goten seemed to be able to do it without any problem at all. Trunks could do it as well, apparently—the oldest half-Saiyan was surprised at how much raw power the two little boys seemed to have.
Gohan grinned, powering up as well as his hair flickered to gold and his eyes to solid turquoise. "Ready?" he asked Goten.
His little brother grinned eagerly. "Always!" he replied confidently, before he lunged at Gohan, locking them into a spar.
After that, the two trained the rest of the day, both of them eagerly looking forward to the Tournament as they sparred. Like Videl had, Gohan had also felt a little bit of disappointment when he realized that he was done teaching Videl everything that he could. However, he knew that he would definitely see her again for the World Martial Arts Tournament.
Gohan couldn't resist grinning as he dodged another one of Goten's attacks. Just about the whole gang would be together again, just like old times.
And his dad would be coming back for the day, too.
He remembered how, at first, he had been completely unenthusiastic at the fact that he had to go to the Tournament, courtesy of the blackmail that he had just about gift-wrapped to Videl, agreeing to go and to teach her how to fly just so that his secret identity wouldn't be revealed.
Now, he was looking forward to it. He couldn't wait to see everyone again.
And he couldn't wait to see his little brother's reaction when he got to see his father for the first time.
Hiya, guys! I would've gotten this chapter out MUCH sooner, but some family problems arose, unfortunately, and, as such, I didn't have that much free time on my hands.
And I know that some of you had thought that Gohan was gonna take Videl to the beach—sorry, but I wanted a place a bit more…private for them :D but don't worry! They will go to the beach…eventually.
Once again, happy early birthday, abbieouji (don't wanna put the date if she doesn't want it known XD)! Hope you liked this chappie as a birthday present!
Thanks for reading this, you guys! Please review and send me your thoughts, hearing what you have to say makes me feel all happy and warm and fuzzy inside! Thanks for reading and please review!