Hello, everyone! Thank you for taking the time to review! Oh, and also, just to make it clear, this is going to go as much with the canon storyline as possible, making it a possible way for Gohan and Videl's relationship to have blossomed and developed in the real storyline. As such, as I am currently in the Buu saga, things will go mostly according to canon, with my own little twists here and there but still following the main storyline, because, as I've said, I want it to be a canonical approach to their relationship. The Buu saga should only be about two or three more chapters, because I don't want to repeat the whole thing all over again, because it'd be boring, so you guys don't need to worry that I'll only do the Buu saga. I can't wait to write the post-Buu, because I have so many ideas and surprises up my sleeve…*evil cackle* XD
So…that's really it, I suppose.
Well, hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: …this gets old over time. Nope, I don't own it, I wish I did, but I do not. Oh well.
He'd been told numerous times by the doctor that he could leave now, continuously thanking the boy for bringing her over here and that he could return back to the Tournament.
But he couldn't.
No matter what the doctor said, no matter how much thanks he gave and how much insisting that he could leave, that he should leave to give her rest, and to fight in his match in the Tournament, Gohan just wouldn't—couldn't—leave Videl. It felt as if he was physically unable to make his limbs bring him to the door and outside of the hospital, rooted to the spot next to the bed where Videl was currently laying on as the doctor treated her wounds. Every light moan that came from her mouth in her pain caused something within Gohan to twist, each and every time she emitted a gasp, a groan of hurt.
There had been a few times, however, that as the doctor fixed up Videl's wounds, she let out a sharp hiss as the pain became excruciating. He would apologize and tell her that he needed to do this in order for her to heal and that he had told her that it would hurt, and, seeing that, Gohan did the only thing that he thought he could and knelt down next to her, offering her his hand. She took it and squeezed it through the pain, grinding her teeth together—before she had known it, the pain was gone, and the doctor had finished treating that nasty wound.
After that, Videl hadn't let go of Gohan's hand, which was another reason why he couldn't simply leave her. Every time the doctor had said that he could leave, her grip on his hand slightly tightened, barely anything, but he felt it; it was yet another reason why he wasn't leaving her. Especially when one of her joints had to be popped back into place—she had damn near cried, but it was only her grip on his hand that kept her from doing that as she fiercely bit back the yelps of pain that wanted to make their way through her throat. He knew that he couldn't leave her, not when she was hurting so much.
She hissed once again in pain as the doctor had to clean another rather nasty wound that she had been given by the crazed lunatic, and she gripped onto Gohan's hand fiercely, her grip so tight that he was sure that if he was a normal human that his bones would've shattered. She breathed hard through her nose, forcing herself not to scream.
"Hey, it's all right, Videl," he told her gently, and, at the sound of his voice, she seemed to slightly fight off the pain as she continued to squeeze Gohan's hand with a death grip. Hearing his reassuring voice in her ear slightly calmed her down, feeling him gently feeding his ki to her in an attempt to take away her pain, to make her forget it, at least for a little bit. "I know it hurts, but the doctor says that this is the last big one—after this, they're all minor, and then all you'll need is some nice, long bed rest. I've got you, Videl."
Not long after he finished speaking, the pain from her wound being treated went away, and she breathed a deep sigh of relief. She opened her eyes a crack to see Gohan trying to smile down at her, and the doctor nodding. "That was the last of them," he said in finality. "Everything else is very minor—they shouldn't hurt nearly as much."
"Th-thank god," Videl managed to get out, her voice still hoarse from the bloody murder that she had been screaming beforehand, during the fight with Spopovich when he had been crushing her temple with his foot. She looked up at Gohan and made eye contact, managing to smile a bit, even though it slightly hurt her face. "See? I'm O-OK, and there's n-nothing to be sorry f-for," she told him. He opened his mouth to object, but she beat him to it, still able to glare fiercely at him even though she was in pain. "I s-swear, if you s-say sorry one more damned t-time, I'll punch y-your face in. You did n-nothing wrong. G-get it?"
Hearing the familiar tone in her voice, Gohan couldn't help but crack a grin at her in slight relief; she was still as fiery-tempered as ever. "I get it," he finally said with a grin, deciding to comply with her wishes; it did not, however, decrease the gnawing guilt that he felt inside of him as he looked at her bandaged and patched-up body.
"Good," she replied, smirking lightly at him, before she closed her eyes once more, allowing herself to relax as Gohan's comforting thrum of ki continued to flow over her body, taking away some of the pain and replacing it with the warm fuzziness that came from his energy.
Neither of them knew how long they simply stood like that, settled in a comfortable silence as the doctor continued to clean and fix up Videl's other, less major wounds, but suddenly, loud, banging footsteps sounded outside in the hallway, before the door was flung open my none other than Hercule Satan, who had a look of shock and worry on his face. When he saw his daughter lying on the bed, be let out a surprised gasp and shouted, "Videl! My precious baby!"
He ran up to her, just about shoving Gohan out of the way as he took in the sight of the teenaged girl covered in bandages—the doctor was currently treating a cut on her cheek, but she currently wasn't showing that she was in any pain, still having access to Gohan's gentle pulse of ki. When Hercule suddenly turned, as if just noticing Gohan, the young man hastily let go of her hand, so that the older man wouldn't jump to conclusions.
"Who did this to her?!" he demanded, before his eyes just about narrowed to slits as he glared at Gohan. "Did you do this to my daughter?!"
Gohan was shocked with the fierce accusation that Mr. Satan had just thrown at him, and then felt the tiniest twinge of anger in him as he was suspected to have done this to Videl. As if he would ever hurt her! All sense of rationalism had left at that thought, because he knew that Hercule had no idea that Gohan had spent time with Videl while he taught her how to fly, who had no idea that Gohan would never harm those he cared about, but Gohan didn't care about that in that moment. The only thing that the half-Saiyan was caring about was the fact that he had just been accused of hurting Videl, who he would never hurt, who he had promised to protect. However, before things could even begin to get the slightest bit ugly, the doctor spoke up.
"No, this young man didn't do this to her, Mister Satan," the old man reassured he slightly distraught father. "In fact, you should be thanking him. He brought her over here as quickly as possible, so that her injuries wouldn't get any worse."
"Oh," Hercule said shortly, averting his eyes back towards his daughter. "Well then, thanks, kid, I'll give you my autograph later, you can go now," he said, his tone suggesting that he wanted to be left alone with Videl.
"Um…OK," was all Gohan was able to get out, surprised at the way that he was simply being dismissed. He wanted to stay with Videl, but he had a feeling that Hercule would jump to the wrong conclusions if he demanded to stay in the room. He got up out of his chair, cast one last glance at the still calm form of Videl, and began to leave the room, going to the closed door.
"Wait…Gohan," Videl managed to get out. Gohan paused, his hand on the doorknob as he instantly turned at the sound of her voice, looking at her, seeing her hand right hand slightly reaching out to him.
"Yeah, Videl?" he replied.
"Spopovich…" she whispered, cracking her eyes open to look at Gohan once more. "Go g-get 'im…"
Gohan grinned lightly at her. "Sure thing; right after this next match, if I win, I'll be going against him."
"I kn-know you'll win," Videl told him, managing a very, very small smile in return. "Ki-kick his ass f-for me, O-OK?"
"Of course I will," Gohan told her, smirking the slightest bit as he gave her a thumbs-up. Videl's smile grew slightly wider at this, and she was able to close her eyes in peace now, mumbling her thanks to Gohan. The boy grinned, before finally leaving the room.
"Videl, sweet pea, why'd you ask that scrawny little runt to take care of Spopovich? Your daddy's gonna beat him up for you," Hercule said, looking at his daughter oddly. When she said nothing in return, her features simply serene, the smallest hint of that smile still on her face, he looked at the door where the boy had just left, then back to his daughter, and made the connection.
The rant was expected as Hercule exploded, going on about how Videl wasn't allowed to date anyone yet, that she was only allowed to date someone who was stronger than him and that he would not let her date that scrawny kid, and blah blah blah. Videl easily toned her father out, eyes closed, knowing that Gohan was going to kick Spopovich's sorry little butt without remorse. Gohan would take care of it for her.
She couldn't resist as her smile widened the smallest bit.
Anxiously, Gohan was pacing, back and forth and back and forth, barely even conscious of his movements, constantly sending glances up at the sky. He rarely spoke, often making noises of annoyance and impatience when he realized that his father wasn't back yet with the Senzu beans. He had already asked the announcer to give him a few minutes so that he could get medicine for Videl, but he still felt that he wasn't enough, and couldn't claw away the sense of anxiety that had taken hold of his heart.
He continued to pace, arms behind his back, wondering what the hell was taking his father so damned long to just use Instant Transmission to go over to Korin's tower, get the Senzu beans, and come back. He ran a gloved hand through his black hair absentmindedly as he yet again cast a glance towards the sky as he stopped pacing, before letting out a grunt of annoyance and resuming his pacing once more.
"Hey, kid, calm down," Krillin said, looking at the teenager with concern in his brown eyes. "Didn't you say that she'll be fine? It won't take long for your dad to come back with the Senzu." The only reason that it was taking so long was because Goku probably wanted to catch up with Korin and Yajirobe, who he hadn't spoken to in seven years.
Gohan made yet another noise of exasperation. "That's not it," he nearly growled, pacing even faster now despite Krillin's attempt to assuage his fears. "How can I just stand here and do nothing while Videl's in the hospital?" He felt the sudden urge to punch something, but resisted, instead running his fingers through his hair once more in agitation.
"I'm gonna go see her," he announced to no one in particular, making a snap decision. He didn't care if Hercule was there—he had to see her again. It had been a pretty long time already since his father had left—well, to Gohan, anyway. A half an hour seemed like an eternity to him as of now, and Goku still wasn't back yet.
Without another word, and despite Krillin's protests, Gohan ran back to where he remembered the hospital was, knowing only one thing—he had to somehow see her again, to somehow take away the pain that she must be feeling. He ran, having nothing else on his mind but reaching her.
His plans came to an abrupt halt, however, when he saw that the door to the room that Videl was in was absolutely swarming with reporters. He quickly made sure that he wasn't seen, before running in a different direction, determined to reach Videl. As he tried a different direction, he unknowingly passed right by Sharpener and Erasa. Doing an almost comical double-take at seeing them—they must want to see Videl, too—he quickly changed his direction.
Eventually, though, when he wasn't able to get in any other way, he gave up with frustration, before going back to the area where the rest of his friends were waiting for Goku to return. Gohan resumed his anxious pacing, and, thankfully, Krillin didn't comment on the teenager's behavior.
Barely a minute later, however, Goku suddenly appeared in front of them, holding a brown bag in his hands and a grin on his face. Feeling his father's ki suddenly arrive, Gohan turned, and, seeing the bag of Senzu inside of Goku's hand, gave a relieved sigh.
"Here ya go, Gohan," Goku told his son with a smile, giving the boy one of the magical green beans. Gohan's demeanor completely changed—he was now hopeful and relieved, and he clutched the Senzu in his hand, grinning at his father and offering his thanks before he ran off to Videl's hospital room.
This time around, there were no reporters at all crowding around the door. Silently thanking Dende for his pure luck, Gohan ran up to the door and opened it, and was hit with a fresh wave of guilt as he saw Videl.
She seemed to have been feeling the pain more now, since he had stopped transferring his ki to her. Her face was currently set in a grimace, her hand clutching the white sheets under her tightly, grinding her teeth together. Unbeknownst to him, while he had been anxiously waiting for his father to return with the Senzu beans, she had whispered his name, because she had known that Gohan helped take the pain away, that she felt better when Gohan was near.
"What're you doing back here, kid?" Hercule demanded, turning as he saw Gohan burst into the room. Hearing her father's voice, slightly accusatory, Videl opened her eyes a crack, and she saw Gohan. She couldn't keep the tiniest of smiles off of her face when she saw that he had come back for her.
Gohan ignored Hercule, and went next to Videl, standing by the bed, holding the Senzu in one hand and reaching down to her with the other. She gently took his hand, smiling a bit more when she once again felt the warmth of his energy passing to her, almost as if it was instinctual, as if he wasn't even fully conscious that he was doing it.
"Hey, Videl," Gohan greeted with a small grin, while her father spluttered in the background in pure shock, his eyes focused on their joined hands. Neither of the two teens paid attention, and she managed a small smile in return.
"Hey, Gohan…" she returned, able to speak a bit better now; however, her voice was still hoarse, making it sound the slightest bit scratchy. "You won your match, right?"
"Well, the match didn't start yet—I asked them to wait until I got you some medicine," Gohan told her, and his grin got even bigger.
"Medicine? Gohan, I've just gotta…get some bed rest, and I'll be…good," she said, confused.
His grin turned slightly knowing as he showed her the green bean that was in his left hand. Seeing the slight skepticism with which she was regarding the seemingly ordinary bean, he explained to her. "This is a special bean, Videl; it'll make you feel better, I promise."
Hearing that, Videl couldn't help another small grin on her face. "Knowing you…something completely unreal is gonna happen…huh?"
"Yeah, something like that," Gohan smiled, bringing the bean closer to her mouth.
However, the doctor was the one that spoke up now, looking at Gohan doubtfully. "I'm sorry, young man, but I haven't prescribed that bean," he told Gohan.
"That's right, don't you dare give her anything of yours!" Hercule almost yelled at Gohan, not trusting the boy in the least.
"Dad…it's OK," Videl whispered, first looking at her father before looking at the teenaged boy above her. "If he says that it'll make me feel better…it will. I trust him." This was said with another small smile, as her declaration of trust reminded the two of the simple day that they had spent at the lake, when she had told him without words that she trusted him when he asked.
Gohan nodded, smirking for a moment before he gently placed the bean in her open mouth. She chewed it with slight effort on her part and swallowed, against her father's protests, and Gohan was satisfied—the bean's magical healing powers would kick in at any moment now.
"OK, now, I have a match now. See you, Videl!" he said, and he quickly left the hospital, running back to where all of his friends were gathered.
"Videl's gonna be OK, I gave her the bean," he announced to no one in particular. Krillin and Goku grinned at him.
"All right—now, go on, you've got a match to fight!" Goku encouraged his oldest son, giving him a clap on the back. Gohan laughed, before he went up to where his opponent was standing, waiting for him.
The man who he was going against, Kibito, seemed slightly impatient and disgruntled at the boy's lateness, but didn't say anything as Gohan came up beside him. As the announcer told the crowd who the two individuals were, the teenager scrutinized his opponent with a critical eye. He had to make sure that he didn't get ahead of himself, because this guy seemed to have a decent power level.
"Hey, um, thanks for waiting," Gohan said truthfully. All he received was a grunt in return—oddly, it reminded him of Vegeta, and he couldn't help but grin slightly as they climbed up the stairs into the ring.
As the announcer continued to speak, talking about the two still before they began their fight, voices called down to Gohan from the stands, voices that were actually calling him by name. Startled, he turned to see Erasa grinning down at him from the stands, waving at him, while Sharpener also called down slight encouragement to Gohan.
"Hey, Gohan, why don't you take off your shades?" Erasa yelled, smiling. "You look a lot cuter without them!"
"Yeah, Brains, ditch the glasses!" Sharpener added.
Gohan blushed the slightest bit at Erasa's comment, and let out a sigh after he realized that his classmates had figured out his identity—in slight defeat, he took off the sunglasses and threw them out of the ring so that they landed on the grass, before grinning sheepishly up at his friends.
"There ya go, you cutie!" Erasa laughed, causing Gohan's light blush to reappear again on his cheeks, before he turned back to his opponent, who was looking at him impassively.
The announcer called out that the match would begin, and Gohan went into a light fighting stance once more, waiting for Kibito to make the first move. However, when the wrinkled man didn't make any attempt to go into a fighting stance at all, simply standing there and looking at Gohan, the boy began to wonder what was wrong with this guy. He didn't look like he wanted to fight, so why had he entered—
"I need to see you transform into a Super Saiyan," Kibito said abruptly, his voice deep and serious and unfaltering.
Hearing that, Gohan couldn't contain his shock, and was struck dumb for a few moments, simply gaping at his opponent. When he finally regained the ability to speak, he managed to stammer out, "H-how…how do you know about that?"
"Never mind that," Kibito replied gruffly. "Just transform for me, please, I'd like to see it."
Now, suspicion began to creep into Gohan's system. "Why do you wanna see it?" he asked distrustfully, glaring at Kibito slightly with his onyx eyes.
"There is no time to explain, please, just transform," said Kibito, seeming slightly anxious, every so often sending glances towards the area where the rest of the fighters were waiting, exchanging quick looks with the purple-skinned mohawk-guy, Shin.
Suspicion still slightly pricking at him, Gohan decided to give the man what he asked for—if Kibito wasn't able to handle it, well, it was the man's own damn fault for asking Gohan to transform in the first place.
"All right, I'll transform," he agreed, inwardly sighing at the fact that just about all chances at a normal life were now gone with this decision. With that, he clenched his fists, and began to power up to his Super Saiyan form, not noticing the glance of triumph that was quickly shared by Kibito and Shin.
Hearing the jeers of the crowd, Videl ran over to see what was going on in the arena, despite her father's protests.
Whatever Gohan had given her was some serious stuff—just about moments after he left, she had suddenly felt…different. With shock, she had sat up, and had realized that she was completely healed, her bruises and cuts gone, just like that. Jumping up in her eagerness, while her father and the doctor looked at her in pure and utter shock at the fact that she was fully healed, she had gotten a change of clothes, quickly washed herself up, and put the new clothes on. Instead of a pink T-shirt with a white tank top and her traditional black spandex shorts, she was not wearing a long-sleeved shirt which was dark blue but had orange sleeves, with the word "FIGHT" written in red letters on the front, and white jeans. After she had quickly appraised herself in the mirror, glad that she looked satisfactory, she had gone out, hoping to manage to catch some of the fight that Gohan in.
When she heard the jeers was when she had started to run, wondering what was going on.
She ran over to the arena, going to the area where the fighters were staying. She shoved past someone, who let out an indignant, "Hey!" in response, but she honestly didn't care. She ran up to the sign, and hoisted herself up, supporting her body weight with her arms.
It seemed as if she was caught in a trance as she watched Gohan.
The young man's fists were clenched, a white aura pulsing steadily around him from the pure power that he was exerting. His clothes were flowing from the energy that was coming off of him, and she saw his eyes flash teal for a millisecond, before flickering back to onyx. However, his eyes were only obsidian for another moment as they flickered turquoise again, until finally, his eyes remained solid turquoise, no pupils at all. His hair began to raise, becoming even spikier than normal as it flickered blond for a second, and for a moment, the white aura that was coming off of him turned gold. It seemed that electricity was cracking around him, sparking around him erratically.
Letting out a yell, a burst of bright, golden light exploded from around him, encasing him in brightness for a few moments. She hastily shut her eyes against the bright light, and, when she had regained her vision, she was stunned into silence as she looked at the place that Gohan was standing.
Around him, a powerful gold aura was pulsating, seeming to be like flames of golden fire coming off from his skin that didn't burn him in the slightest. Small sparks of electricity were still sparking around his form, as the tiles, which had come up because of the pure force of his transformation, fell back down on the arena. His hair was now extremely spiky, and was now a brilliant, magnificent, shining golden color, almost like the color of the sun on a cloudless day. And his eyes…even though they were devoid of pupils, something which would probably frighten other people, she found it fitting, for it brought about a sense of mystery, of magic, of an unearthliness that simply…fit. Endless pools of beautiful, utterly intoxicating turquoise that was impossible not to get lost in…. He looked like…the first word that came to her mind was an angel, and she allowed it, because it seemed right. He was an angel. He was—
Viciously, Videl was jerked out of the slight trancelike state that she had been in as she watched the transformation as it suddenly hit her.
Holy crap.
He was the Gold Fighter.
The audience seemed to suddenly realize this at the same time as her, probably having been captured by the spell that had been unintentionally set by Gohan as he had transformed. They were all shouting that he was the Gold Fighter, and her classmates were going on about how Gohan was the Great Saiyaman and the Gold Fighter.
Meanwhile, in the arena, as Gohan heard the yells of everyone, he closed his eyes, knowing that all chances of a normal life were blown away, because people were bound to recognize that he was one of the people from the Cell Games who were able to do that. They might not make the connection that he had been the little boy who had been referred to as the "Water Boy" by Hercule back then, but they would know that he was one of them.
"Well, what now?" he asked Kibito impatiently, slightly annoyed that he had been forced to transform. "Are we gonna fight?"
However, Kibito didn't reply, his eyes wide with shock as he looked at Gohan. "This power…" he trailed off. "It's…it's unbelievable!"
Gohan couldn't keep the smirk off of his face; the guy probably hadn't known what he had truly been asking for. "Yeah, and I'm not even fully powered up yet," he couldn't resist adding. He knew that he hadn't exactly advanced from the power that he had when the Cell Games were in place—in fact, he might have actually decreased in power since he hadn't trained seriously for quite a while—but he still had quite a bit of power, and was still definitely one of the strongest, if not still the strongest, person on Earth.
It was then that he sensed something odd, feeling two thrums of ki that were out of place, that weren't natural. He turned around to see that the two creepy gray-skinned guys, Spopovich and Yamu, were both heading towards him, flying, one of them carrying an odd object that had a threatening point at the end. Instinctually, he leaned into a fighting stance as he faced the two men.
"Looks like we've got company," Gohan growled, still feeling immense hatred towards Spopovich for what he had done to Videl. Even though Gohan knew that she was fine since he had given her the Senzu, and could, in fact, sense her now, what Spopovich had done was unforgivable, and he would never forget it. He got ready to get rid of these guys so that he could finally start the match with his opponent.
And then, suddenly, he just…stopped functioning.
It was almost as if he had suddenly been frozen in a block of ice—his body wouldn't move, going into a stiff, ramrod straight position, and he couldn't move his arms even though he wanted to and he was unable to move his legs and he was so vulnerable and why couldn't he move!? His mind was screaming at him to defend himself, but his body wouldn't listen, standing stiff and straight, and he could do nothing but stare as the mean suddenly leapt on the tiles.
Spopovich grabbed Gohan, wrapping his arms around Gohan's upper arms so that the boy was unable to retaliate with any punches, while Yamu came towards him with the weird object, brandishing it almost like a weapon as he wore a smirk of triumph on his face.
"Spopovich, hold him down!" he shouted at his comrade, and Spopovich's hold on Gohan got even tighter; neither of them knew that Gohan was unable to move because of reasons that he couldn't explain.
Searing pain suddenly exploded in Gohan's left side, and he realized that Yamu had plunged the item right into his skin. And then, he felt his power slowly leaching away from him, struggling to cling on, but unable to as it suddenly began to leave his being, tearing itself away from his system.
He began to scream in pain, still completely unable to move, unable to do anything as every single bit of his power that was stripped from him felt like pieces of him were being torn off, as if he was removing skin, and the sharp point of the object caused red blood to gush from the open wound, digging into his skin as he continued to scream as his energy was forcibly taken away from him, as his blood poured out from the wound.
Over with the others, Videl was watching the scene with pure horror in her blue eyes. She had seen the men jump on Gohan, and had seen him suddenly become stiff at the same time that Shin had moved his arms. She hadn't connected them, however, and had only seen Spopovich grab him while Yamu plunged the weird thing that he was holding into Gohan's side, causing blood to spurt from the wound and Gohan began screaming.
His laughter suddenly seemed to sound in his ears, and his smile formed in her mind. Horrified, she watched the Gohan in front of her, his face contorted in pain as he wailed in agony, blood flowing profusely from his wound.
She remembered the look in his eyes when he thought that something had happened to her down at the little pond, when he had been worried that she might have drowned. The concern in his eyes, the quietness with which he spoke, the raw emotion in his gaze.
When he had the sore shoulder, when she had massaged it for him. His face one of complete, utter relaxation, sometimes blinking his eyes lazily, his mouth slightly open. This chest rumbling with those sounds like purrs in his contentment.
His gaze as he looked at her as they were in his pond, the intensity of his dark eyes as he watched her, his hand gently resting on her cheek as he tilted her head up and their lips met in that gentle, innocent kiss…
Before she even registered what she was doing, Videl had jumped over the sign, calling out his name, knowing that she had to reach Gohan, that she had to somehow help him, she had to stop this somehow she just had to—
Suddenly, strong fingers gripped her wrist. She whipped around to see who had grabbed her wrist, and saw Gohan's father, Goku, holding her back, his own dark eyes serious.
"Let me go!" she shouted at him, struggling to get her wrist out of his grip, which felt like a steel cage trapping her. Vainly, she tried to pry his fingers away from her wrist, but to no avail, her head constantly flicking back and forth from seeing Gohan, hearing him screaming, back to her wrist as she tried to get Goku to let go of her.
"Let me go, dammit, let me go!" Videl just about shrieked, unable to truly be heard over the roaring of the crowd from their shock, before Gohan let out yet another scream of pain. She whipped her head around, and saw that Gohan's hair was now slowly, slowly returning to its original color, the golden aura having long since disappeared, as the hair that was brilliantly gold now became black once more, his intoxicating, hypnotizing turquoise eyes reverting back to onyx slowly as well.
"GOHAN!" she screamed. "GOHAN!"
"Videl, you have to calm down," Goku told her seriously, and, at the sound of his voice, she quickly turned to look at him once more, her vision becoming slightly blurred as she felt the slight hotness of tears beginning to form in her eyes from her panic. She forced it back, blinking her eyes rapidly, before she instantly began to yell at him now.
"He's your own son!" Videl yelled at him, purely shocked at the fact that he seemed to care so little about his son's wellbeing as Gohan continued to scream in the background. She turned to look at him once more, before turning back to Goku, her voice breaking the slightest bit. "Please, Goku, please help him! Please!"
"He'll be fine, Videl," he replied reassuringly. "I know he will."
"But…but…" Her heart seemed to tear as Gohan continued to scream, blood pouring relentlessly from the wound in his side so that the white boots of his Saiyaman outfit were now stained red with his own blood as he stood in a slowly growing pool of it. "Are you…are you sure that he'll be…that he'll be fine?" she whispered, still honestly baffled that one could be so uncaring towards his own flesh and blood.
"No harm will come to Gohan, I can assure you," Shin suddenly said from next to Goku. Hearing his voice, she turned to look at him for only a second, before she turned back to Goku, as if wanting a confirmation.
"I promise that he'll be fine," he said. Then, and only then, did she calm down the slightest bit, ceasing her vain struggles to break free from his grip as she simply turned around, watching as Gohan continued to wail in pain. It seemed that the life was being sucked out of him, his skin slowly beginning to have an ashy tone to it as his eyes became blank, his cries of pain becoming weaker and weaker, as if he somehow didn't have enough energy to speak anymore.
She bit her lip in anxiety, feeling a pain in her chest whenever Gohan cried out in agony, an unbearable pain in her heart as she watched him suffer. Then, she felt a strong hand gently come down on her shoulder, and she knew that Goku was giving her silent reassurance. Videl turned to him, and he reassuringly nodded to her as he placed his other hand on her other shoulder as well, so that now he was holding her by both of her shoulders. He was so tall that he didn't really have to bend his elbows, and both of them watched as Gohan's struggles became weaker and weaker. His vital crimson liquid continued to fiercely stream out from the sound in his side…
It seemed to take an eternity before Yamu suddenly pulled the weapon out of Gohan's side, saying something to Spopovich, something that Videl didn't catch, her eyes only on Gohan's unusually still form, still being held captive by Spopovich. Then, the large, gray-skinned man suddenly let go of him, causing Gohan to fall to the tiled floor lifelessly with a dull thud, his chest just barely rising and falling with his breaths. They then simply blasted away.
Videl only saw Gohan's limp form on the floor, blood still pooling around him from his wound. It seemed as if she snapped out of the trance that had been holding her captive, and his name once again tore from her lips as she ran up to the stage, managing to break free from Goku's hold because he wasn't holding her tightly anymore. She sprinted up to him, not caring that everyone was looking at her, only caring about Gohan as she knelt down beside him.
"Gohan?" she said, reaching out and holding his shoulder—his skin seemed as if all the color had been drained out of it, and it was a sickly gray color that couldn't mean anything good. His eyes were staring blankly ahead, unblinking, breathing coming in tiny, rasping breaths that seemed to drain him of his energy. "Gohan? Please say something, Gohan, please!" When she gained no response, she began to panic slightly once more. Turning around, she screamed to anyone who would hear her, "Hey! We need a stretcher over here, pronto!"
However, the man who Gohan had been going up against, Kibito, said, "There will be no need for that. I will heal him."
Videl turned to look at him for the first time since she'd gotten up on the stage, before having only eyes for Gohan. "What?" she whispered in disbelief.
"He will be fine," Kibito told her, before walking over to Gohan's limp body.
"You hear that, Gohan?" she said softly, running her fingers through his spiky black hair before she gently placed it on ashen cheek. "You'll be just fine, you're going to be OK." She didn't know if he heard her, but it calmed her slightly to say the words aloud.
Kibito came over, and placed his hand on Gohan's shoulder, motioning for Videl to step back. Slightly stubborn, she only condescended to standing up again and stepping back the slightest bit, so that she wasn't touching his face anymore, watching what was going to happen.
A small orange light appeared around Gohan's body, encasing him within a small cocoon of orange. It was almost like when Gohan had used his ki to dry her off back at the lake, but more substantial, somehow, able to be seen more easily. And then, before her very eyes, he began to heal.
His skin began to return to its normal pale color, not the sickly gray that had become of his skin. His eyes began to refocus, and his tiny, strangled breaths suddenly became stronger as he breathed deeper. The open wound on his side was closing, stopping his loss of blood, and soon, it was healed, the only thing showing that it had ever been there was the hole in his uniform.
"Gohan?" she asked, and felt a huge wave of relief wash over her as he finally blinked. His breathing had regulated, and he suddenly stood up, easily regaining his balance. He opened and closed his fists, shocked at first, and then he broke out into a slight grin.
"Thanks, Kibito," he said gratefully, before he looked at Videl, who walked right next to him and simply looked at him.
"Don't scare me like that again," she told him, glaring at him with her blue eyes.
Gohan managed a laugh, though it was slightly weak and raspy from his previous screams of pain. He cleared his throat, honestly relieved to see Videl all right, glad to see that the Senzu had done its magic once more. "All right, I won't," he promised, and she nodded in relief.
Before they could truly say anything more, however, Kibito spoke up. "We must go and follow my master and your father," he said abruptly.
"Hey…what happened back there to me?" Gohan asked suspiciously—it had been almost as if it was a setup, because just about the moment that he transformed, the weirdoes had appeared and taken away his energy with that thing that they had been carrying.
"That will all be explained, on the way, but we must follow them," Kibito said gruffly, before he began to levitate himself and began to fly away at a slow pace, which suggested that he wouldn't leave without Gohan.
The teenagers turned to face each other, confused. "Do you have any idea what's going on here?" Videl asked, knowing that, if weird stuff happened, that Gohan was probably going to have more of a chance of understanding than her.
To her dismay, he shook his head. "I don't understand it at all. Nothing's making any sense," he confessed. "Obviously, there was something wrong with those two men before. And they somehow managed to drain my energy…but why?"
"Well, that guy said that he would explain while you followed the others," Videl said, looking at the spot where all Gohan's friends had previously been. "They must've begun flying somewhere too, and we've got to follow him."
"All right," Gohan nodded. "But we aren't following him Videl."
This stopped Videl right in her tracks. "What?" she demanded, looking at him with shock clearly written on her features.
Gohan hated to say this, but he knew that it was the right thing now. "Videl, you can't come with me," he told her. "This could get really, really dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt again. You've got to stay here."
She huffed in indignation. "I am not staying here," she told him, glaring at him. "I wanna know what happened back there, too. And you think that I'm just going to stay like a coward?"
"No, Videl, I just want you to be safe," Gohan tried to explain. It was then that Videl was able to read the emotion in his eyes—it was the same look that he had when he had believed that she might've drowned in the lake, the same look of concern on his features. Seeing that made her lighten up, made her understand slightly why he wanted her to stay behind.
"Hey, how about this: if things get too dangerous, I'll turn back right away," she offered, making a compromise, before she crossed her arms and added indignantly, "And, even if you say no, I'll still follow you, so there!"
Knowing that he was only wasting time, and also knowing that Videl would follow him even if he didn't want her to come, he sighed and agreed. "All right, but you have to promise to turn back if things get really bad," he told her.
"I promise," she replied instantly.
"All right, then; ready?" he asked as he began to float in the air. Videl followed his lead and nodded.
With that, the two teens blasted away, leaving behind a completely stunned crowd who was just as confused as they were.
Eventually, they managed to catch up to Kibito, who seemed to have been waiting for them. Without another word, they all blasted off even faster, and Kibito began to tell his tale.
It turned out that Shin, his master, was the Lord of Lords, which was the highest possible ranking for someone of divine status to have. However, a very, very long time ago, there had been five Lords of Lords, but Shin was the last surviving one. The other four had been killed by a monster accidentally created by an evil warlock; the warlock known as Bibidi was the one who had unintentionally created Majin Buu, a monster with the ability to destroy the entire universe.
Yeah, that was totally normal. However, Videl didn't say anything—she would believe everything and anything now, based on the things she'd seen, so she didn't interrupt his seemingly completely unbelievable and total bullshit story, and allowed Gohan to do the question-asking, because she wasn't sure if she would make some snarky comment.
"So, what happened? Was Majin Buu defeated?" Gohan asked Kibito.
He nodded. "In a way, yes," the pink/red-skinned man replied. "Bibidi eventually was unable to control him, so he used a special spell that sealed away Majin Buu within a small cocoon, which has lain dormant for a very, very long time, here on Earth, where Majin Buu had been planning to destroy next. Bibidi was soon killed by my master, and we thought that the whole situation was under control, and that Majin Buu would never come back once again, since Bibidi was the only one who knew the spell that would release Majin Buu from his prison.
"However, something unexpected came up recently, something that we had no idea would happen. It turns out that Bibidi had a son, and the warlock, Babidi, is just as evil as his father was before him. He had learned that the shell holding Majin Buu was here on Earth, so he came here and was determined to resurrect the monster."
"But didn't you say that Majin Buu had gotten out of control when Bibidi had first made him?" Gohan wondered aloud. "Why would Babidi want to resurrect that thing?"
"Babidi wants what almost every villain wants—complete and utter domination of the universe, and he will use anything to get what he wants," Kibito answered gravely. "Remember those men back at the tournament, the two who stole your energy? Originally, they were unable to fly and create energy blasts, but they have been possessed by Babidi, which makes the warlock even more dangerous. Even though he lacks in physical strength, the power that he has over magic is unimaginable. He can take over the evil in one's heart, and then manipulate them so that they are in his control. It's how he gained control over Spopovich and Yamu, and because of his possession, they gained more power than they had before."
"Why'd they take my energy, though?" Gohan asked, viciously reminded of Cell, who had absorbed other people's energy to become stronger. He forced the memories back, looking at Kibito, who answered instantly.
"Babidi needs a sufficient amount of energy to hope to resurrect Majin Buu once more—it's the only reason why he wanted Spopovich and Yamu to enter the tournament, to gain energy from the people there. When they felt your power after you transformed, they came running to absorb it, and we needed them to take what they wanted so that our plan could continue."
"So that's why you just stood there and watched as they nearly killed Gohan?" Videl suddenly snapped, irked that the extremely old man could've helped Gohan but hadn't. Her eyes stung from how fast she was going as the wind forced them closed. "All because of this plan that you had?"
"We had no idea where Babidi's ship was," Kibito answered with a slight growl at her. "It was necessary for them to take his energy, so that we could follow them as they went back to their master's ship, and try to stop Majin Buu from coming back once more."
She didn't seem satisfied with this answer, but when she saw the look that Gohan gave her, conveying silently that everything was all right, she didn't comment, simply flying as Kibito continued to explain the situation. Shin had gone ahead with Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Krillin, and they were following Spopovich and Yamu back to Babidi's spaceship. It was then that Videl began to fall back, struggling to keep up with the speed at which Gohan and Kibito were traveling at.
Sharply, Kibito said, "We must move faster, we won't be able to catch up with them at this pace."
Seeing that Videl was lagging behind, Gohan cast her a quick glance, before looking at Kibito. "Fine, just give me a second," he said, and Kibito nodded, though he seemed slightly annoyed at this.
Gohan fell back as well, flying so that he was now going at Videl's pace. "Hey, how're you holding up back here, Videl?" he asked her.
"Gohan, I can barely keep my eyes open, and this is the fastest I can go," she replied honestly, blinking back the tears that the wind was causing to form in her eyes from how fast she was going.
"I'm sure that you're eyes just have to adjust to the wind," Gohan told her nonchalantly.
"No, Gohan…" She hated admitting this, but she knew that things were becoming way too dangerous, and that she would be getting in over her head if she insisted on joining them. "I have to turn back, this is way out of my league. I heard that guy, he said that you have to go faster to catch up to them, but this is my limit. I have to go back…"
"I think that's a good idea," Gohan said quietly. Coming from anyone else, Videl would've taken that as an insult; but coming from him, it was understandable. He didn't want her to get hurt once more, and he was obviously much stronger than her.
"Gohan…I need to know something," Videl suddenly said, scrutinizing him with her blue eyes.
"All right, what is it?" he asked, looking at her, unsure about what she needed to know.
"…You really are the Gold Fighter, right?" she said softly.
At that, Gohan stiffened a bit, before letting out a sigh. Everyone had seen him transform, he couldn't lie about it now. "Yes, it's me," he admitted. "I'm sorry that I lied to you about it…"
"Hey, it's OK, I get it," Videl told him reassuringly. "So all that stuff…the hair turning blond and eyes changing color and everything…it's real, right? They're not just tricks."
Gohan nodded in reply.
"So…seven years ago, with the whole thing with Cell…" Videl's voice became quieter, as she mulled things over in her head. "Your friends were all there at the Cell Games, right? And you were that little boy who they said was the water boy?"
Damn, she had clicked things together very quickly. Letting out another sigh, Gohan closed his eyes, nodding once more. "Yes, they were my friends, and that was me," he whispered softly, forcing back the terrible memories that the Cell Games brought back to him.
He opened his eyes to see that Videl was smiling at him a bit. "So…it wasn't my dad who beat Cell, right? It was you guys."
Gohan hesitated for a few moments, unsure about how she was going to take this, before he sighed and nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, I killed Cell," he told her, deciding to tell her the full truth about what happened at the Cell Games now.
She looked at him, her smile turning thoughtful. "I knew there was something strange about the story my dad gave," she told him. "I mean, he was just an ordinary martial artist, and then suddenly becoming the savior of the world? It was even a bit much for me to believe…well, at least I know the truth now. Go and be the damned hero again, and save the world," she said playfully, smiling at him gently, before she lightly smirked. "But you still have plenty of explaining to do, Gohan Son."
He let out a slightly nervous laugh in return. "Yeah, I know that I do," he agreed. "I promise, I'll tell you everything when I get back."
At that, Videl suddenly began to slow down, her face having an unreadable emotion on it, the teasing smirk vanishing from her face. Concerned at the sudden change of mood, Gohan slowed down, too. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked her, and she stopped flying abruptly at that. Gohan followed suit, so that they were now hovering in front of each other.
"Gohan…" Videl said quietly, looking at him intensely with her amazingly dark blue eyes, as deep as the sea before a storm. "You…you have to promise me that you'll come back."
Gohan understood why she had reacted that way, and wasn't sure if he should give her the truth, or tell her what she wanted to hear. "Videl…I can't exactly promise anything as of now, because I have no idea what's going to happen—"
"Dammit, Gohan, I don't care!" she nearly shouted in his face, desperation clearly shown on her features. "Please, I have to know that you're coming back, you have to promise me that you will! I can't…Gohan, you're one of my best friends…one of my only true friends…I can't…I cant…" She couldn't what? She couldn't lose him? She wouldn't feel the same if he didn't come back? She was unable to put anything in words, but Gohan seemed to be able to understand without her having to tell him anything. It was one of the good things about Gohan—while most males wouldn't be able to pick up hints that ladies would drop, often needing things explained to them straight up, Gohan was slightly more empathetic and more understanding.
"Hey, Videl," he said gently, and Videl suddenly refused to meet his gaze, looking anywhere else but his dark eyes. Gently, he reached his gloved hand out, which was lightly stained with the blood that he had shed before, having turned a crusty brown color because it had dried, and cupped her cheek softly in his hand, bringing her face so that she had to look at him, her blue eyes making contact with his onyx ones. His hand was slightly under her jaw, his thumb now brushing her cheek.
"I promise that I'll come back," he vowed quietly. "I have too many things here that I can't leave behind, like my mother and brother…and you, Videl. I won't leave you behind." He gently ran his hand through her soft, short black hair, while she continued to look at him with her intense blue gaze.
"You promise? Cross your heart?" she whispered quietly, knowing that she sounded like a little girl now but honestly not caring.
Gohan managed a small smile, now gently cupping her under the chin with his index finger, his thumb now resting on her chin gently instead of on her cheek, so that their gazes didn't waved. "Cross my heart," he said softly. "I promise that I'll come back for you, Videl."
Hearing the sincerity in his voice, Videl nodded slightly, now reassured that he was going to return. Gohan didn't break promises, that much she knew.
"Thanks," she murmured, smiling the slightest bit at him now. He nodded, and it seemed as if he was getting ready to fly away, removing his hand from her face, but she made a split second decision and reached out for his hand quickly before he blasted off.
Feeling her gentle touch on his hand, Gohan turned around to look at her, still smiling slightly. "Is something wrong?" he asked, to make sure that nothing was wrong before he flew off. If there was, he wanted to amend it as quickly as possible, so that he wouldn't dwell on it during the battle that surely was looming on the horizon.
She looked intensely into his onyx eyes, shaking her head only the slightest bit. "Just wanted to say…good luck," she mumbled, before she quickly acted before she would lose her nerve.
She then reached her head up and planted a quick, gentle kiss on his pale cheek.
Videl pulled away, and saw that Gohan was staring at her, as if though he was in a trance, simply looking deep into her eyes. She squeezed his hand slightly, offering him a small, halfhearted smile, still not believing what she had just done, and it was obvious that Gohan didn't believe it either. It wasn't as if he was complaining or anything, however, and could almost feel the softness of her lips still on his cheek, as soft as the caress of a flower…
"Be safe, Gohan," she whispered quietly, squeezing his hand once more. "I'll be waiting back with everyone else for you, OK?"
Still seeming as if he was in a slight daze, Gohan nodded numbly. "OK," he replied, and, when Videl let go of his hand, he slowly began to fly away from her, reaching up to touch his cheek gently with his fingertips, the exact spot where her lips had touched his skin. He was in a trance of disbelief, still able to feel the velvety touch of her lips on his cheek, before he quickly snapped himself out of it and began to fly over to Kibito, who had slowed down so much that it seemed as if he was barely moving.
As Gohan flew out of human earshot, Videl looked at his retreating form, seeing his face as he smiled gently at her, the intensity and yet softness of his amazing obsidian eyes. And she let a small smile grace her features as she realized something, something that suddenly seemed so obvious to her now, that she had constantly been denying but that she had subconsciously known for quite a long time, finally having the guts to admit it to herself.
"Gohan…" she said to herself, smirking a bit. "When you come back…I'm going to ask you out!" she announced, finally admitting aloud that, yes, she was attracted to Gohan Son, the Great Saiyaman and the Gold Fighter, that she liked him. She made her decision: if he didn't ask her out when he came back, then she would ask him, taking charge.
Gohan eventually reached Kibito, and the two blasted quickly away, leaving until they were nothing more than mere specks in the distance. She watched them fly away with awe, marveling at their speed. Then, she smiled a bit more, finding it very hard to stop smiling lightly now as she began to fly back to the Tournament, thinking about a certain black-haired, dark-eyed teenager with the ability to transform into an angel, which reflected his personality. She shook her head slightly as she grinned some more, surprised that her mind had came up with that, but it had been accurate. And Gohan had promised that he'd come back to her, so he left with considerably lifted spirits.
Little did she know that, when she had announced that she would ask Gohan out, that he had been out of hearing distance for a human, but not exactly for a Saiyan. His more acute senses picked up those words, and Gohan found himself stopping short, faltering the slightest bit, before he had gone back up to Kibito.
"Have you finished?" Kibito asked gruffly.
Gohan nodded numbly, his fingers still lightly touching the spot where Videl had kissed him, still mulling over the words that she had spoken when she believed him out of hearing distance.
And, with that, they had blasted away, leaving Videl behind.
While they were busy catching up to the others, who had been a considerable distance ahead of them, Gohan didn't speak to Kibito, his mind still trying to make sense of what had happened in the past minute or two. Her gently kissing his cheek, and then announcing that she would ask him out…the worry for him in her dark blue eyes, the slight fear that she might not see him again…
It had been so obvious, staring him right in the face, and it was as if he was seeing the sun for the first time as he had an internal epiphany. Because, yes, he did care for Videl…he liked her. She was the first girl he'd ever felt this way towards…
His features changed from that of someone who has just had a revelation into a small, bright grin. Well, if Videl really wanted to go on a date with him, he wouldn't exactly object…he resolved to ask her out once they got this out of the way.
It was a thought and a revelation that would keep a smile on his face for quite some time.
I really enjoyed typing the end of this chapter :D. Next chapter is gonna be the intense and super sad one, I think you guys already know what's gonna happen next. I mean, as I said, I am not going to go through everything in the Buu saga, that's why we saw the anime :) I'm only gonna do what mainly focuses on Gohan and Videl, or really important and emotional things, like Goku coming back in the last chapter and stuff, so I'm not gonna repeat the whole thing.
Also, I have noticed that this story has quite a few favorites and follows. Please, if you have favorited or followed this story, may you please review it? I really like hearing what you guys have to say about this, and sometimes I get inspiration for what to do for the next chapter based on reviews that I received. Also, getting reviews makes me feel super duper happy, and also might prod me to update faster—once again, Cottoncandy101 threatened me with a rock if I didn't update, so yeah XD
Anyways, hope that you guys liked! Please review, thank you all so much for reading! :D