"I stayed up almost the entire night working on this a few days ago," said Bulma before producing a metal bracelet in her hand. "I'm afraid it's not much to look at but at least it's fairly inconspicuous."

Gohan reached out to grab the bracelet. It didn't feel particularly special, just like a regular piece of metal that had been bent into an elliptical shape. "So what does this do, exactly?"

"In theory, this will bring your resting power level down to a regular human's," Bulma explained. "Unfortunately, I can't help you science away those muscles of yours, but at least this way you shouldn't end up seriously injuring your friend."

"How'd you manage that?" Gohan asked. Sometimes he felt that for all the wacky space adventures and Eternal Dragons in his life, he didn't take enough time out to appreciate just how smart Bulma was.

"Do you remember the scouter I got my hands on from your Uncle Raditz?" Bulma answered the question with one of her own.

"Yeah, I guess," said Gohan with a shrug. In truth, all he could remember from that day was being trapped inside Raditz's spacepod and later waking up to discover that he had been kidnapped by Piccolo.

"Well, I fiddled around with it for a bit even though its interface was programmed in some strange alien language. Unfortunately, the damn thing blew up before I managed to make good headway with it thanks to Goku and Vegeta's first fight," Bulma muttered, still frustrated by the incident. "We came across scouters again on Namek and by then, my curiosity had been piqued. I took Raditz's scouter apart and put it back together enough times that I had a basic understanding of how they worked, so I was able to make create my very own version after I sweet talked Vegeta into helping me out with the parts I didn't understand."

"That's pretty cool," said Gohan before his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "How did you manage to make the jump from measuring power levels to forcibly suppressing them though? If this works like you say it does, we could just slap it on the next bad guy that we run into."

Bulma laughed. "I'm afraid there's nothing forceful about this. I'm pretty sure even Old Man Roshi wouldn't have any problems frying my bracelet just by powering up; it will only work if you want it to work."

"I guess that makes more sense." Gohan nodded. "So I imagine that you tried to study the differences in ki between someone like say… Trunks and yourself? And then you tried to see what you could do to make Trunks' power level resemble your own."

"I knew you weren't just a pretty face," Bulma said with a grin. "I tried using Vegeta as a guinea pig first but, as you'd imagine, he wasn't very cooperative."

"I normally focus on getting stronger instead of weaker," said the Saiyan Prince as he entered Bulma's lab with a towel draped around his neck. "Although, I can forgive Gohan's confusion. It's been how many years since he's been in a real fight?"

"Uh, hello to you too, Vegeta," greeted Gohan with an uncertain chuckle. "It's been long enough, I suppose, but I'm pretty content enjoying the peace while it lasts."

"And when you find yourself out of your league because you were too busy running around in ridiculous costumes? Then what will you do?" asked Vegeta with a snort. "You have Saiyan blood in you, boy. Maybe you should try acting like you do sometime."

"Vegeta's just grumpy because there's nobody around for him to spar with," Bulma said dismissively before shooting Vegeta a look. "I for one think it's nice that one of you Saiyans actively tries to think with your head instead of your fists."

"I never really had my father's drive for fighting," explained Gohan. "I only ever trained so hard to protect everyone around me. I mean, I'm not opposed to a bit of exercise here and there, but I think the whole 'lust for battle' must be more of a full-blooded Saiyan thing."

"Then that's all that matters, kiddo. You're allowed to be yourself." Bulma glared at Vegeta from the corner of her eyes, almost as though she were challenging him to say anything to the contrary. "Now, back to my newest gizmo. Like I was saying, there's no way this will be able to withstand even a fraction of your true power so please don't try and test its limits."

"What happens if I need to power up to fight crime as Saiyaman?" Gohan questioned, standing up a little straighter. He was sure the whole dilemma with Videl would prove to be… interesting, but it wasn't worth putting innocent people at risk.

"I've got plans to build you a new watch that combines this prototype and the technology I used in your Saiyaman suit so you'll be able to tap into your full power when you wear your Saiyaman costume," said Bulma before going on to answer his question. "For now, just pull the two contacts apart or take it off."

She demonstrated that the elliptical bracelet had a small break in it which could be pulled, allowing the bracelet to take on a shape that resembled a 'C'.

"Instead of trying to neuter yourself, why don't you try and make this girl less of a weakling?" Vegeta suggested. "Or have you gotten so rusty that you can't even teach an Earthling how to fight?"

Gohan scowled a little at Vegeta's jab. "She just thinks I'm a regular person. For once in my life, I want to fit in with the rest of the world and pretend I'm not strong enough to destroy the planet by sneezing too hard."

"Pitiful," Vegeta decided with a shake of his head. "If my boy ever decides to forgo his heritage, I'll lock him in the gravity chamber until he comes back out a true Saiyan."

"I don't think so, mister," said Bulma before crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll remind you that that's my gravity chamber."

Vegeta scowled at her, a witty response dancing on his tongue before he thought better of it and walked off muttering about wasted potential and stupid humans.

"So, Gohan," hummed Bulma with a devious smile on her face once the prince had left the room. "Chichi tells me that your friend flew all the way out to your place the other day."

"It's not like that," said Gohan as he held up his hands in defence. "She's been taking the whole teacher thing really seriously so she wanted to personally hand me some homework for the weekend."

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you Sons can be so dense. Did you really believe that lame excuse? She was probably just looking for a reason to see you, Gohan."

"Not you too, Bulma." Gohan groaned before bringing a palm to his forehead. "I haven't been able to get mum to stop talking about marriage and grandbabies for the past two days."

"It's just so much fun to tease you," Bulma laughed before reaching over and pinching his right cheek.

"Say, I know I've asked a lot of you this past week, but do you reckon you could do me one more favour?" asked Gohan while he rubbed his now-sore cheek.

Bulma sighed. "I suppose another one will hardly make a difference." She took the opportunity to shake her head in an exaggerated show of disbelief. "Just don't forget about our little deal. Shoot away."

"You don't happen to have a spare jet-copter lying around anywhere, do you?"

…

"What do you keep staring at?" Sharpner muttered under his breath to his blonde friend who was fixated on something else. Erasa was like the glue that held their friendship circle together: without her bubbly presence, he and Videl really didn't have much to talk about aside from the occasional banter about his latest attempt to put the moves on her.

So, it wasn't surprising that things had been rather subdued given that she had hardly said a word the entire day. Currently, her eyes were glued onto something that Sharpner couldn't see, no matter how hard he looked. It was almost as though she were in a trance. Every now and then she would shoot an odd look at Videl before going back to staring at nothing.

"Look," she whispered, gesturing towards their resident crimefighter while the teacher was focused on writing algebra questions on the whiteboard. "Notice anything strange?"

Sharpner decided to humour the blonde and offer Videl a cursory glance. Nothing seemed to be out of order: the same oversized white shirt, the same pigtails she wore her hair in every day and - Sharpner was most pleased to note - the same black shorts that covered just enough of her shapely, toned legs. She was rocking back on her chair and absentmindedly chewing on the end of a pencil as she looked forlornly into the distance.

Math had never been her favourite subject, after all.

"Not really. Am I missing something?" he asked Erasa quietly, careful not to attract the attention of their teacher or the girl in question.

"I think someone has a crush," said Erasa in a sing-song voice. Unfortunately, she attracted some unwanted attention.

"Is there something you would like to share with the class, Erasa?" asked their teacher. He didn't wait for her to respond. "Perhaps you would like to volunteer to demonstrate the solutions to the first three problems on the board?"

Erasa groaned as she realised that last bit had not been a suggestion.

Sharpner had other things to be worried about. "Videl?" he asked, once the teacher's attention had turned elsewhere.

Erasa glanced up from her textbook to meet Sharpner's questioning gaze with a curt nod.

"On who?" he asked as his voice rose in volume to a harsh whisper.

She looked up from her book once again before mouthing "Gohan" and giving her fellow blond a look that promised to explain after she had solved the math problems their teacher was going to force her to walk the class through.

Sharpner almost snorted. "I think you're seeing things."

She shrugged before focusing on her work, leaving Sharpner with much to ponder as he decided to examine Videl further. Erasa had a way with people that let her pick up on things like this, but she was also always too much of a romantic at heart.

There was no way Videl could see Gohan of all people in that way… right?

…

"Explain," said Sharpner, offering Erasa a sceptical look once the bell rang and the rest of the students dispersed for their lunch break. He hadn't been able to get his friend's words out of his head for the entire lesson and had spent the rest of it trying to analyse Videl's behavioural patterns. From where he was seated, she did seem to spend an awful lot of time looking in Gohan's general direction, but he couldn't tell for certain if she had been focused on the mysterious new kid.

Erasa took a moment to collect her books. "Haven't you noticed how obsessed she's been with Gohan lately?"

"Yeah, of course," Sharpner replied. Videl had made no secret of the fact that she smelled something fishy about their classmate. "I thought that was because she was convinced he's hiding something."

"She was," said Erasa. "The last time I talked to her about Gohan, she was desperately trying to prove to me that he really is Saiyaman."

"Who, Brains?" asked Sharpner as he considered the plausibility of such a theory. "He looks a little too scrawny to be flying off rooftops if you ask me."

"Exactly, but you know Videl. Once she thinks she has something figured out, there's no talking her out of it." Erasa sighed. "Anyway, the other day she dragged me out to help her buy a brand new T.V. and a VCR tape player for Gohan."

"... That's a little extreme, don't you think?" Sharpner responded after a brief pause. "I guess it's a nice gesture, though. Videl's so well off that she wouldn't bat an eyelid at such a purchase, but Gohan probably comes from humbler places."

"Tell me about it. So it got me thinking: what would make Videl, of all people, do something that nice for a new kid she was convinced was up to no good?" Erasa asked rhetorically. "And then, all of a sudden, the answer dawned on me: she's been falling for him!"

"That's a pretty big leap there, 'rasa," said Sharpner after taking a moment to process Erasa's hunch. "I don't think Videl is capable of falling for anyone. I mean, she's managed to evade my irresistible charm for so long."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself," warned Erasa before playfully swatting him on the shoulder. "And even though Videl tries to act like a big hardass, you know just as well as I do that she's not like that on the inside."

"What makes Brains so special, then?" Sharpner questioned with an air of genuine curiosity. "Somehow, I don't think she's attracted to his incredible intellect."

"Aside from the fact that he's really cute; he's so innocent and pure that it feels like you could replace him with a big stuffed up teddy bear sometimes," Erasa replied as she looked off into the distance with a twinkle in her eye. "Plus it's just so romanti-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Sharpner interrupted. "Opposites attract. So how do you plan to test your theory?"

"By looking for more clues, of course," Erasa answered. "I figure that she's got to meet up with Gohan at some point to hand him the stuff she bought for him so we might get to see something special if we can hide somewhere."

"Do you think she's going to chase him up to the rooftop again?" asked Sharpner. He and Erasa had tried to talk Videl out of spying on the new kid plenty of times, but that had gone about as well as they had expected.

"If she doesn't corner him right now at lunch, then yeah, I'd say so." Erasa rubbed the palms of her hands together in anticipation. "We both happen to have last period free so we can stake-out the roof if you're game."

Sharpner shrugged. "I guess it beats catching up on my biology homework."

"Alright, it's a date!" exclaimed Erasa with a chuckle. "I wonder what we're going to see. Do you reckon they're at the kissing stage yet? I mean Gohan's a pretty shy guy, but Videl never goes into anything half-hearted so…"

Sharpner slowly but surely zoned out of the conversation as the two blonds walked towards the cafeteria, Erasa lost in a world of her own as she described every single thought running through her mind.

…

Videl was off like a hawk the moment the bell rang. She knew Gohan's routine at the end of the day so well that it was almost natural for her at this stage. As far as she was concerned, the two had wasted enough time already since the minor setback she had encountered the other day had cost Gohan a weekend of watching real martial artists go toe-to-toe.

With someone like Gohan, Videl figured she was never going to get his full cooperation unless she got him interested in the sport and the World Martial Arts tournament was about as exciting as it got when it came to hand-to-hand combat. She was certain a bookworm like him would appreciate the changes in general trends of fighting styles over the years and since her collection spanned from the days of Master Roshi to her own father winning the championship, there was more than enough in there to catch the eye.

She sprinted up the stairs and burst onto the rooftop, only to look around in confusion when she realised nobody was there. While she was determined to take her task seriously, she wasn't exactly eager to fly all the way to Mount Paozu again. A return trip amounted to about five hours of flying time and that would be a feat in and of itself after a whole day of school. Without even accounting for the homework that she needed to complete on a regular basis, by the time she made it back to the Satan manor she would probably only have enough energy left to eat a very late dinner before collapsing onto her bed in an exhausted heap.

"Looking for me?" Gohan's voice rang out from behind her. She spun around just in time to face him as he stepped onto the roof. "I thought that you'd be up here so I figured there was no point trying to rush back home."

Videl was about to respond, but a loud crash from somewhere else on the roof killed the words on her tongue. Although she was fairly certain they were alone, it was possible that some moron had left something up here as a joke during lunch or something. She decided to ignore it and cleared her throat to attract her pupil's attention.

She fished around in the pocket of her shorts before producing a capsule and throwing it onto the floor of the rooftop. A thin cloud of smoke followed. "I, err, got you something. Call it a 'get better soon' present or whatever."

She could see Gohan's expression change from curious to completely shocked when the smoke cleared, revealing a fifty-inch flat screen television and an accompanying tape player. She twirled the end of one of her pigtails with the tip of her index finger as she watched him at a loss for words.

"Y-you shouldn't have," he finally said after what felt like an eternity or two of hesitation. "I would've talked mum into buying a tape player as soon as we could, honest."

Videl's face flushed a scorching red. She felt like walking to the nearest brick wall and banging her head against it because only now did she realise how awkward a thing it was to buy a guy she hardly knew a new T.V. "I wanted you to get started right away," explained Videl. "No offence, but having a jet-copter on you paints a target on your back in this city. Once a few gang members get a whiff, you won't be safe until you either agree to their demands or show them not to mess with you."

"Right," Gohan said with a nod, still unsure of what to say. "Please tell me how much it cost you, though? Mum would kill me if I just accepted it without paying you back."

"You can tell Mrs. Son that I insist," said Videl as she began to regain her usual confidence. "You're a good kid, Gohan, and you had to see an ugly side of the city because I wasn't fast enough to save you the other day. If it helps you, maybe think of this as nothing more than a tool to improve your martial arts skills. And besides, not to brag or anything, but I'm pretty sure my father spends more eating out at fancy restaurants every other day so it's not like anyone's going to miss the money."

"That's really kind of you, Videl, and I really appreciate it," said Gohan stubbornly, "but I can't just take it from you. It wouldn't feel right."

"Just accept the gift already, you idiot," Videl snapped in irritation before rolling her eyes. "Alright, fine, you can pay me back… not with money, but by promising to take this thing we have here seriously and really give it your best effort. I know you're still iffy about the whole fighting thing, but it would mean a lot to me."

"Sounds like a deal," replied Gohan with a grin. "I mean, I'm still getting the better end of it, but when you put it that way… I guess I'd do the same thing too if I, uh, were any good at fighting, that is. I'd try and protect everyone I can."

Videl encapsulated her recent purchases and shook Gohan's outstretched hand with her right before offering him the capsule with her left.

"So I guess this means I better put my plans to write up that Chemistry report on hold, right?" asked Gohan.

"Damn right," said Videl without blinking. "Wait, that's not even due for another two weeks!"

Gohan raised a hand to the back of his head sheepishly. "If you're keen to make a head start on it, I could run you through it once I've had a chance to go through those tapes of yours."

"Fine," muttered Videl after shrugging her shoulders. "Don't think I'm going to go easy on you now. I want to give you a few more days to fully recover, but we're going to start with the real stuff this Wednesday. We'll have to figure something out because it won't always be practical to do this here after school."

"I'm pretty flexible," Gohan responded. "I'm happy to do it somewhere in the mornings if that'd be easier for you."

Videl looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "You do realise that it takes you four hours to get here so you'd probably be looking at getting up at two in the morning to make it here with enough time to spare, right?"

"I'm an early riser," said Gohan dismissively before a smirk rose to his face. "And besides, you're not the only one who has a fancy new jet-copter."

Videl's expression didn't change.

"Jet-copters are a must if you want to get anywhere further than a small town or two where I live," Gohan began to explain. "So my mum entered into a cook-off competition when she was in town doing the groceries… and she won! I'm not sure how it stacks up to yours since I didn't go full speed in the morning, but apparently it's the final prototype of a model that's hitting the market in a few months."

"That's surprisingly… believable," said Videl after a moment or two. "I mean, I only got a little taste of your mum's food the other night, but it tasted better than anything our chef and all his kitchen staff have ever managed to whip up."

"I guess she gets a lot of practice between my brother and me," said Gohan with a hearty laugh. "Anyway, I better be off now. It might not take me an entire four hours to make the trip back home, but I'll need all the time I can get if I'm to put those tapes to good use."

He tossed a capsule to the ground and a moment later, there was a shiny new jet-copter for all to see. Videl figured that his little story added up given the bold Capsule Corporation logo emblazoned on the outside of the vehicle. The paint didn't look entirely fresh - Videl could only make that particular distinction because she had picked out a new jet-copter herself a few days ago - but that fit in with it being a prototype.

With a hint of a smile on her face, she bid him goodbye as he hopped into his jet-copter and disappeared into the skyline. Her gaze lingered there for a while as she took the opportunity to admire the view before she turned on her heel and continued back to the stairwell.

The sound of two pairs of feet shuffling in front of her and soft tutting quickly drew her attention. Erasa was shaking her head, seemingly in disapproval, while Sharpner hung slightly behind her with his arms crossed.

"All that work and you didn't even step onto your tiptoes to try and steal a goodbye kiss?" Erasa asked in a tone that had Videl questioning whether she was serious or not. "How disappointing."

"What are you two even doing here?" demanded Videl, her nostrils flared. It had been a simple conversation with her pupil and yet the thought of others - even her best friends - intruding upon it felt wrong. "I hope you weren't spying on me."

"Like you can talk," Sharpner countered before running a hand along his bicep. "You've been following Gohan around so much lately that I'm not sure he thinks the word 'privacy' exists in Satan City."

"That's different!" exclaimed Videl.

"How?" asked Erasa. "And besides, it's not like you told us that you were going to be up here in the first place."

Videl had no answer to that. She sighed and her posture slumped, defeated.

"Now that we've got that out of the way, care to fill us in?" questioned Erasa. "You never did explain the backstory behind that impromptu shopping trip, although I think I have a fairly good idea now."

Videl took a deep breath. She had been hoping to avoid having this conversation, mostly because it meant owning up to her own stupidity, but it was necessary. Fudging any details would just make Erasa more excited than she already was, provided that she didn't see through the lie altogether.

"It all happened last week," Videl began. "I guess I don't have to tell you guys how… obsessed I was about proving that Gohan is Saiyaman-"

"No," they chorused.

"So I was shadowing him after school while he tried to make his journey home. I figured that he wouldn't bother using a jet-copter if he could fly, after all. It was going fine until a few gang members appeared and started roughing Gohan up," Videl continued before taking a moment to pause. "I thought that if I just waited in the background, if I didn't reveal myself, he'd use his Saiyaman powers to make short work of the thugs. I was wrong."

Erasa winced. "So that's why he looked a little roughed up the other day?"

"Yeah," Videl answered. "Of course, I intervened as soon as I realised I had made a mistake, but it was too late by that point: he had already been hurt."

"So you tried to bribe him with a new T.V. and a tape player?" The disapproval in Sharpner's voice rapidly bubbled to the surface. "It might make you feel better, but that doesn'-"

"Let me finish," Videl interrupted him, her voice pleading for once. She couldn't afford to lose her friends; they were the only real ones she had. "I felt pretty terrible about it, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him that I allowed it to happen. Not in the heat of the moment. So when I brought him around to the police station, I talked him into letting me teach him self-defense."

The rooftop was quiet for a moment before Sharpner spoke again. "You and your dad haven't taken on a student since he defeated Cell." He knew that better than most, having failed to convince Videl's father to take him on as a disciple on multiple occasions.

"Yeah, we didn't need the extra publicity or money after that," explained Videl. "And I'm not looking for either with Gohan, just an opportunity to atone for screwing up."

Erasa placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We all make mistakes."

"I don't think you did the right thing, but it seems that you've come to the same conclusion," Sharpner offered his two cents before shrugging. "You don't need my forgiveness because I wasn't the one who got clobbered. I'm sure Brains will hear you out if you decide to make things right."

"I'll come clean to him eventually," Videl promised. "I think I need to do a bit of soul searching before I get to that point, though. I messed up. Bad."

"Well everyone's fine now so it could have been worse," Erasa diplomatically stated. "Just try to not let your suspicion get in the way of your better judgement next time. I know you don't like Saiyaman, but he's still on our side, at least for the moment."

"Thanks." Videl forced a smile even though letting her heart out had just made her feel worse. "I wish I could pin this all on Saiyaman and say it's his fault… but it's not. This is on me."

"It takes courage to open up about these things." Sharpner tried to comfort his friend after she sniffled. He had never seen Videl cry before. "I might have been a little too harsh, there. Either way, there's no point dwelling over this. Worry about what you can do right instead of what you did wrong."

This time, Videl smiled a little wider. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

…

"The Great Saiyaman has arrived!" exclaimed Saiyaman as he burst onto the scene. "Evildoers beware!"

"Where'd he come from?" asked a robber with a balaclava covering his face. "I thought we had more time till the cops showed up!"

"He's not with the police," said Videl as she raised her arms in front of her, "but I am."

"I told you not to go for the place next to the damn high school!" one of the other robbers exclaimed before producing a pistol. "Look, we don't want to hurt any of you. Just let us walk with the cash and we don't have to shoot."

Saiyaman took a moment to survey the scene in front of him. Four robbers; two posted outside on lookout while the other two took care of the inside of the convenience store. They had a getaway vehicle parked on the kerb, but he decided not to blow it up because it was possible that there was a driver stationed inside of it.

All in all, an easy workout.

He launched forward to take out the thug with a raised pistol only to realise that he was already sprawled across the floor and his gun was now displaced twenty metres away from him. He blinked before turning to Videl who was fending off the other watchman.

"You snooze, you lose," she shrugged before kneeing her opponent in the gut and sending him to join his friend.

"That was fast," Saiyaman muttered to himself, "but I bet I can save the people inside even faster!"

In a flash, the two robbers on the inside suddenly found themselves lying on their knees on top of the footpath with their arms crossed behind their necks. Saiyaman crushed their guns into small pieces before dusting his hands off and turning to his fellow crimefighter.

"Alas, justice has preva-"

"Shut up before I get my backup officers to gag you," Videl glared at the superhero before her features softened considerably. "Thanks for your help, though. I'm pretty sure I had it handled, but hostage situations are always a little messy because you never know when one of these lowlifes will decide to cave into the pressure and blow someone's head off."

Gohan was a little lost for words. As far as he was aware, Videl still hated Saiyaman with a burning passion because she didn't like the idea of someone going outside police jurisdiction to dole out justice. "No problem," he said after a while. "I was just trying to do my bit."

"Did you just break character?" Videl asked with a grin. "Y'know if you'd lose that eyesore of a costume and drop that stupid voice, I wouldn't find you so annoying."

"Not gonna happen, I'm afraid, Miss Videl," he said, suddenly conscious of his exaggeratedly deep voice. "I'm glad to see that we might just be able to get along after all."

"Don't get too used to it," Videl shot back before sighing. "It's just that I promised myself I'd try something new. Something happened recently that made me realise that it's not a bad thing if there are more people who want to try and do good in this world."

Gohan figured that Videl's epiphany made sense. From her perspective, if Saiyaman had just happened to be flying nearby, then 'Gohan' would have never gotten hurt.

"Also, I've been a little hard on you these past few weeks," admitted Videl. "Now that's all you're getting out of me. I want you to remember that I won't think twice about taking you down if you step out of line."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Saiyaman responded after a moment's deliberation. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd best be off. I have something else which needs to be taken care of tonight."

With that, he swooped off and disappeared into the sky, leaving a somewhat conflicted Videl in his stead.

'Maybe he's not so much of an idiot after all.'

...

This chapter was brought to you by Kakarot Son and Darkvoid116.

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