Disclaimer: I, Goku's Daughter, do not own Dragonball/Z/GT.

Sinful

Written by the somewhat infamous Goku's Daughter

Chapter Eight: Assurance

Assurance

1 the act or action of assuring : as a : PLEDGE, GUARANTEE b the act of conveying real property; also the instrument by which it is conveyed c chiefly British : INSURANCE
2 the state of being assured : as a : SECURITY b a being certain in the mind the puritan's assurance of salvation c confidence of mind or manner easy freedom from self-doubt or uncertainty; also excessive self-confidence : BRASHNESS, PRESUMPTION
3 something that inspires or tends to inspire confidence gave repeated assurances of goodwill

--Merriam-Webster OnLine

She screamed loudly. Her eyes widened and widened and quickly she returned where she came from, back into the rectangle box.

Videl Satan had been taking a long, warm shower. Yes, she was actually enjoying herself, the peace, from being under the waterfall and cleaning her body and hair. While doing such a normal and calming task, the blue-eyed, wet girl was really surprised to see Gohan on the other side.

And it didn't look too good.

The first thing was he saw her naked. Videl was more than embarrassed at that moment; she could feel her cheeks burn from anger and discomfiture. The second thing wrong about the whole situation was that he was stripping his clothes only a couple of steps away from the shower.

That part really freaked out Videl. Fear coiled into more anger and mistrust swept through. "What the hell are you doing?" she screamed while she hugged her body. She had the strongest urge to hit him in the head with something hard. A frying pan came into mind.

The half-Saiyan, who had just recently returned from conducting his bloody deed, looked toward the stand-up shower with an eye opened wide. In his defense, he wasn't there to peep on her. Gohan only wanted to get the scent of Tien and Chiaotzu's blood off of him.

Okay. Okay. So he knew Videl was in there, but he wasn't going to join her or do something perverted. She would have a heart attack.

Videl's eye twitched as she stood there. How she felt to burst. "I can't believe that just happened," Videl said, hoping he would hear her. Her voice cracked unexpectedly, and then she asked for a towel.

Gohan sighed and grabbed two: one for her drenched body and the other for her damp hair. He cursed silently, for several reasons. One, her nude image was now emblazed in his mind, taunting and teasing him. He tried brushing it off but it wouldn't disappear so easily. It was the sight of her curly, wet hair stuck on one of her breasts, reaching down to her belly with water droplets rolling down her sleek skin. He saw her other breast nude too and felt something tingle, no, burn inside of him. Gohan's jaw clenched as his memory brought back her round hips, the fair flesh of her thighs and just a whole sparkling Videl sent him…breathless. He even saw bruises that he had given her from fights and yet she was still something enjoyable to look at.

"Videl, come out," Gohan demanded softly, holding her towels in his hand. "I'm not going to bite, I promise."

The human female frowned bitterly. "Give me the towels and go away!" she said, covering her private areas just incase he decided to open the door. "I don't want to see or talk to you!" she added quickly, her tone growing sourer.

Gohan sighed and rested against the wall by his right. He unexpectedly had an urge to rectify what happened, even if it meant pacifying her, coaxing her. Never before was he in this kind of situation and well, he wasn't sure what to do.

"Why?" Gohan soon asked breaking the short silence. "Why don't you want to talk or see me?" He heard a snort; he knew she was listening. That was a good thing he supposed.

"Because…" came her irritated voice, "you saw me naked. And why were you stripping Gohan? To rape me?" she accused, raising her voice on the last part, almost to tears. All trust she had in him was gone temporarily. And the hate came back. Desperately she tried to think of ways of returning home without pretending to be nice and his friend.

Gohan frowned from irritation and well… he did feel bad for what happened if he made her so… pissed off. His frowned deepened when he realized that Videl's behvaiour would probably revert back to when she first came to his abode. "Well I apologize that I was here at the wrong time. But you have to understand, my intentions weren't to join you—"

"Oh please! Don't give me this crap. All guys are after sex and I'm sure you were trying to take advantage of me!" The tone had not lost its bitterness, "…especially when you're so much stronger than me." How she loathed saying that.

A sigh escaped the hybrid's lips. "If I wanted to take advantage of you, I would have done so already," was his calm yet snappy reply. After short silence followed until he ended it again, "And I was waiting for you to come out so I could use the shower. I have to get this smell of blood off of me."

"How do I trust you?" Gohan heard a sniff and then her voice cracked again. "I saw the way you looked. The way your eyes sparked and feasted on my body. I feel so… violated."

Gohan's tongue smacked against his front teeth before he sighed again. He didn't know how to counter that one. Using the room's darkness as an excuse wouldn't work because it was fairly bright. What else could he say? "I don't get it with humans, especially women. They're so sensitive when it comes to nudity," he commented. He didn't have anything nicer to say.

Videl's eyebrows snapped together. "Well I'm sorry for being modest!" she cried out.

"I do not understand why you're embarrassed."

Her mouth fell open. "Excuse you! I'm not used to having strange guys looking at me naked!" she retorted, pulling her hair onto each of her breasts.

"Well you should get used to it. It isn't a bad thing," he said, confident in his words.

She almost sweat dropped, unbelieving him. "How so? I don't think you'll like men—women—to have lustful thoughts of your body. And I'm just uncomfortable being nude in front of anyone!"

Gohan rolled his eyes and muttered something about "stupid humans". He cleared his throat and said something to change the subject. "Aren't you cold?"

Videl's frown lost its sharpness. Even though he tried to alter the topic, it was a nice thought and concern. "Yeah I am," came her weak reply. Her skin had the bumpy texture of chicken and her nipples had erected from the water.

"Then come out here and get your towel," was his suggestion.

"But you're right there!" she bleated.

"I won't look then," he said shortly. His frown grew wider.

It was silent for a moment, disregarding the little drips from the tap, before she spoke again. "You promise?"

He nodded and then he realized she couldn't see him. "Yes. You have my word."

"Okay, close your eyes. And if you peep…" she halted and tried to think up something to threaten him with, "… I won't talk to you, train, eat with you, and avoid you for as long as I could!" Her tone revealed she was dead serious. Though hearing his chuckle, she doubted he took her seriously.

"Okay," he said, "come out." Slowly, Gohan closed his eyes and didn't open them until she said it was safe too. When his black eyes were granted vision once again, he saw her using both towels. She avoided his gaze but he already saw her face. Red and pink suited her nicely.

"Were you crying?" he asked, noticing her puffy eyes. Gohan saw her pink, flushed cheeks and for his own good, didn't ask about that. Her angry look almost frightened him to do such a thing. But he liked it. The passion, that is.

Her blue eyes flashed fury at him. "No," she snapped, crossing her arms over her towel. Videl had protectiveness over it, just in case he decided to turn into a monster and rip it off her. "I wasn't crying." Without another word, she turned and headed to the door, avoiding him. However, she abruptly came to stop when she held on the door handle. Videl turned back to speak to Gohan and felt her face get hot when she saw him completely nude. Her body stirred with indescribable feelings and she prayed for him to not turn around. Immediately, her head shot around back at the door and she completely forgot what she wanted to ask him. It was about the blood.

"Oh Videl," came his voice when she opened the door. His head twisted back to her and saw her hesitant to turn around. "I don't care if you see me nude," he said nonchalantly, almost mocking her.

Videl stared outside of the door, ignoring what he had just said. "I don't want to see you completely without clothes. It's rude."

"But I said I don't care." He was toying with her. He never really saw the fun of it until now.

"I do!" she said sternly. Videl heard him sigh and opened the shower door. "What did you want to tell me anyways?" she asked, curiosity taking over her.

Gohan froze and smiled, not facing her at all. "I was going to ask how to make it up to you. That's if you still feel betrayed… and all that garbage that humans are conflicted with." The latter part of the sentence spilled out almost incoherently.

Videl didn't know if she should smile or frown at that. "I'm shocked at your kindness," she said half sarcastic. Indeed she was shocked, but more suspicious than anything else.

"Well, I do need to 'make it right'. I'll need your help in order to do that," he said meekly. Gohan knew if he didn't do something about it, she'll be a pain as she was before. Maybe even worse off. He didn't want to deal with her stubbornness tonight.

Videl was about to comment on why he had a conscience all of a sudden. Instead she said, "I want to go home."

Gohan slowly shook his head. A little to the left. A little to the right. "You know that's not an option."

Frowning, she tried to think of something grand. Then her stomach rumbled and instantly the idea of fast food popped into her head. Soon her eyes lit up from a brilliant thought. "McDonalds!" she cried out, surprising Gohan with her sudden burst of energy. Oh how she craved for oily, fatty foods. It wasn't like she couldn't lose the calories.

"McDonalds?"

"Yeah, it's a fast food restaurant. It's been ages since I had a bite of a Big Mac." Her small mouth watered.

Gohan breathed in heavily. "Alright. That's it?"

Videl said a small, "Yeah—and don't forget the fries." She was about to leave, but stopped again. "Was that all?"

The hybrid looked back at her and shook his head. He was initially going to tell her that she was beautiful and she had no reason to be embarrassed. But now… he wasn't sure. Gohan was too new with these thoughts… and women all together. The only thing he learned was: give women what they want, and they'll give you what you want. If Gohan continued to be nice and keep her content, it wouldn't be long that she'll submit to him.

He cracked a smile, but he still didn't want to flatter her. Gohan was uncertain if she would take it as a compliment in the first place. Instead he said, "No, that's all." The man stepped inside the shower and turned on the taps when he heard her leave the room.

Gero relaxed in his chair, in a good mood. Restfully, he sat back and stared at his large computer screen while he typed in his simple password for one of his many electronic mail accounts. Currently he logged into his work e-mail accounts—an e-mail address that many scientists and anyone else in the same profession knew of. His head cocked to the side when he saw the number of unread mail.

"Twenty seven," he murmured, slightly shaking his head. Quickly, he scanned through all the senders. His eyes brightened when he saw mail come from Bulma Briefs, head of Capsule Corporation. Driven by curiosity, he immediately went to open her mail.

"Dear Dr. Gero," the old man read out loud. "Hello. As you probably already know, this is Bulma Briefs. It may come to a surprise of why I am contacting you. I myself am surprised of what I am orchestrating this year at my home, Capsule Corporation.

"Being that I own the company, and am overwhelmed with the advances in science we have accomplished this year, I have decided to celebrate by having a large Christmas Eve party at my home, inviting all guests—celebrities, friends, family and even scientists, the doctors. I strongly believe that this growing sense of family within our community can do us good.

"So that is all for now. I hope you do attend. Business may not transpire in the evening but I know you will have a good time. Please reply as soon as possible, preferably before December 18.

"Sincerely,

"Bulma Briefs."

Gero sat back, looking quite dazed at the computer screen. He was not shocked at Bulma's friendliness, but was surprised that she'd host something like this around Christmas time. Suddenly he sighed, not quite sure if he should go or not.

The old man knew that she might feel offended if he did not attend. These types of gatherings were important, mainly for himself. The scientist rubbed his chin in a detective like manner.

"Hmm." He pondered, weighing the pros and cons. Having so many people there could help him. Creating connections and formalities with not only other scientists but celebrities wouldn't hurt. The problem, however, was that he would have to socialize. The old man's eyes narrowed. He wasn't too fond of that. Besides he would need a date. He was in no condition to get a well, pretty lady because he was old and it would look strange if he showed up with someone young enough to be his daughter. Gero exhaled deeply, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. Gero had to attend… somehow…

Suddenly his eyes snapped opened. "A representative," he muttered, a smile growing slowly.

Gero turned his gaze back on the screen, closing the window. He got up and headed to one of the many doors in his underground chamber. Most led to other underground chambers and he was sure the one on his right, the one well hidden, was the one that led to Raditz.

The evil doctor had found his perfect representative. Gohan. Not only was Gohan young, but also he had presence and a certain air of authority and power around him that people automatically respected him. What made him a greater candidate was Gohan had a human girlfriend, a date.

Gero just hoped that Gohan would agree.

Gohan returned from the kitchen, having an early breakfast snack. There was a slight smile on his face as he walked to the window, watching the sunrise. He breathed in heavily before giving Videl his full attention.

She was still asleep. It was six in the morning after all. Gohan never found her up earlier than eight. His half smile sharpened as he watched her carefully. She looked peaceful like this, totally serene and calm. Since last night, after seeing her nude, he could finally admit to himself that she was indeed beautiful.

He froze. That sounded horrible and shallow. After seeing her nude… Truth be told, he did not deeply care of what happened last night. Though, there was a part of him that wished it hadn't occurred. Seeing her like that made his loins tightened and remembering the vision over and over created the same effect.

Suddenly his eyes narrowed further. Videl began thrashing side-to-side, most likely from a bad dream. Having both eyes on the girl, he reached the black sofa to sit on it. For ten minutes he watched her mumble out incoherent phrases and her erratic movements. He waited until she woke up with a start.

Blue, glossy eyes snapped opened. Sweat drenched her cotton pajamas and her hair felt lightly damp. Her pulse raced with the dream she just had and seeing Gohan stare at her from across the room only made it beat faster.

Gohan swallowed hard, raising one of his dark eyebrows. "What did you dream?"

Videl's eyes darted from his face to her hands, then to the covers. She again avoided his gaze. "It's nothing," she said lowly, clasping both hands together nervously.

Gohan didn't believe her for a second. For one thing, he was too good at reading her emotions, especially when she was lying. "You were thrashing. If you had pleasant dreams you would have been smiling."

Gathering courage, she looked at him in the eye, glaring at him. "And why were you looking at me?" she asked, desperately trying to change the subject.

Gohan dampened his lips with his tongue before he leaned back, his strong arms resting on the top of the sofa. "Well, you were interesting to watch. And besides, it is my home, my rules. You are in no position to question me." He saw how his strong words affected her; Videl flinched. "And so, what were you dreaming?" he asked again, more softly this time.

Videl closed her eyes shut and forced a smile. "I told you it's nothing. Now leave me alone. I still didn't get my Big Mac yet." Hopefully that'll do. She didn't want to tell him that she had an erotic dream with him in it. It was frightening and embarrassing. Partly because it she hardly had erotic dreams and partly because it was a what-if that took place after the bathroom incident.

It was almost what Videl thought was going to happen after he joined her in the shower…

Videl stared at him, terribly shocked. Quickly she covered her breasts with her hair and tried to close the shower door on him. He was already completely nude and made his advance, blocking the closing door with his arm. At first his face was hidden in the shadows, but when he came close, the shadows were swept away. He was serious as usual but his eyes told her that he was driven with lust. It frightened her. She screamed.

He covered her mouth with his hand. Her eyes popped out. He pushed her back against the cool tiled wall. She didn't find herself pinned, but nevertheless she was stuck. Squirming and attempts to scream didn't seem to help at all.

Then he whispered her name. "Videl…"

She looked up at him.. "Don't please… please… Gohan…"

He held her face carefully and for a good moment they were still until he swooped down to kiss her lips. He swooped down so fast as if he was the predator and she was the prey.

Soon, as the dream progressed, she found his kisses deepen, and then eventually trail down her throat, skimming her breasts, then down to her belly. His hands were occupied, caressing and discovering her body, setting it aflame.

She grew confused, extremely terrified, and worried for what would happen next. She didn't realize it was a dream, yet. All of it seemed so real… And Kami, as he continued, Videl started to want… him…

"Please Gohan…" Gohan don't… or Gohan continue

Want… him?

Yes… want him.

It was sickening… Eventually she snapped out of it before he had made love to her but it didn't erase the fact that she felt she enjoyed it. She stopped struggling in her dream… she knew that for sure.

Disturbed, she wondered why would she dream something like this.

She enjoyed it because she didn't fight it anymore. She didn't submit… Yet she felt the burning passion on her bitten lips.

Videl didn't know if she should scream, cry, or just be happy of having a 'nice dream'. All of this time recollecting her thoughts, she wasn't fully aware that Gohan was still staring at her.

"Videl," he called, standing to his feet.

Her eyes snapped to him, catching his gaze. She didn't smile or frown. The female made sure her lips stayed in a tight, thin line. Giving him ideas of her dream did not sound like a good thing to do. He could indeed take advantage of that—and play, tease her. Hopefully he wouldn't press her of it later.

When he got her attention, Gohan walked to the large bed, sitting at the edge. "I have been invited for a party at Capsule Corporation," he started. Her eyes still looked glossy and lifeless but nevertheless he had her attention. "I'm going to attend… with you." That certainly brought a spark inside of her.

"A party at Capsule Corporation?" she asked weakly.

Gohan nodded. "Yeah. For the rich, snobby, smart… Whoever is an acquaintance of Bulma Briefs."

For the rich… Videl slowly smiled. "I get to see daddy," she whispered, hardly audible. Hercule was definitely one of the rich. He had to be there since he was one of the most influential people in the world. Suddenly her eyes narrowed, glaring at Gohan. "Why are you giving me this chance?"

The half Saiyan's shoulders hunched. "Well, I thought you were getting lonely."

"And?" she asked, expecting more.

"Well, you have to be my date for the evening," Gohan explained, carefully eyeing her.

Videl nodded. That was a reasonable price. "Okay. Is that it?"

Gohan shook his head shortly. "No, you have to teach me how to be more 'human'." That earned him a look of surprise.

"What? Like… less of an animal?"

"Etiquette. That type of stuff," he explained. "Do's and dont's basically."

Videl agreed with another nod. Again, it was reasonable, and definitely not difficult. Even though Gohan was a jerk at times, she gathered that he was definitely smart. He would learn quickly. "So when's the party?" she asked, not noticing how fast her emotions changed.

"Oh, Christmas Eve."

Alarm struck her. That was only in a week time.

Bulma eyed Vegeta carefully as he ate his lunch. He didn't seem to notice her eye scrutiny—or maybe he just didn't mind. Her gaze then slowly shifted onto her son, who like his father failed to detect her eyes on him. A frown tugged at her lips. Obviously she was expecting something else from them.

"And you guys are cool with it, right?" she slowly asked. It's been days that Vegeta had talked with her after Bulma told him of the social gathering she was orchestrating. As expected, he wanted nothing to do with humans—or anyone who interfered with his training. Trunks took it better except he did not think it was fair that he would have to go to bed much earlier than when the party ended.

The young half-Saiyan glanced at his father, who had ignored Bulma. Trunks gave her a blank look, saying, "Yeah, as long as I get what I want for Christmas," with a full mouth.

The blue-eyed woman was about to scold him for not having manners, but refrained because of Vegeta's silence. She looked at her mate and cleared her throat. Vegeta tossed her a small glance, and he saw the threatening look in her eyes if he didn't respond.

"I already told you I want no part of it," he repeated, allowing his exasperation to show in his tone.

Bulma sat back, giving him a firm look. Now what exactly could she bribe or threaten him with? She uses the gravity room and food too much and Bulma knew Vegeta well enough that he would find a way out of it. "You can't guilt me of Yamcha's death to stop me," she said boldly. She fought back the tears but held her confidence.

Vegeta froze for a second and looked at her. He saw the sadness in her eyes and he knew she was fibbing—or at least holding something back. "I know," he simply said, half lying. The Prince was going to say something else but it'd be too unkind, only starting a fight. Besides the brat was in the room and Vegeta didn't really want his son to be troubled with his parents' affairs.

The lady across the Prince kept her serious expression. It hadn't softened one bit. "It's for business…" she paused, slightly fearful to go on.

"And who exactly are going to attend if it's for business?" Vegeta asked, not quite interested but he forcefully put some expression into the word business.

"Well…" she paused, putting a finger to her chin, "Dr. Conner, Dr. Tofu, Dr. Kaede…" she trailed on while Vegeta blocked her out. "Oh yeah, there's Dr. Gero. But he's not coming. He's sending a representative."

The Prince's eyes flickered to hers as he got up to leave. The look Bulma made told him that she had struck a nerve.

"Yeah, a representative. That guy that was here last time…" She continued to eye her mate, wondering why he made that funny noise in his throat.

"Is that clown Kakarott coming?" Vegeta suddenly asked, not looking at her anymore, but at his son. He could see Trunks nod his head happily.

"Yeah, of course! You know Goku is my close friend," Bulma replied, her eyes narrowing with concern.

Suddenly Vegeta felt a tug at his lips and he was afraid that he was going to smile. Maybe this gathering would not be too bad…

"If I do attend, it's not for you. It's for the food and the gravity chamber." That was a, "Yes, I'll go," Vegeta realized. It slipped out too quickly, but that was because he had created his own agenda planned for that night. Without saying anything else, Vegeta turned around and headed to his gravity room.

Bulma and Trunks exchanged looks. With eyebrows raised they asked each other, "What was that about?"

Knowing the type of man Vegeta was they decided not to ask him what changed his mind, before he decided to change it again.

"Mm, Goran," Videl moaned. "It oo ood!" Her eyes were closed as she chewed on her beloved Big Mac. Very slowly she licked the side of her lips, cleaning where some mayonnaise type dressing fell. When Videl looked up to thank her abductor, he had a blank look on his face.

She swallowed hard and raised a slender eyebrow. "What? It's been at least a month since I ate this. I was trying to go on some sort of 'diet'. Now I say screw it." His zoned out look did not change and she hunched her shoulders. "It's really good!" she repeated, eyeing him.

Gohan held the McDonalds bag in his hand as he tried to remove his gaze off her. The half Saiyan knew she always amazed him in some sort of way, but this… eating a burger… this… it was puzzling. How can she have so much pleasure eating this junk food nonetheless?

"Here, Gohan, have some."

And she was willing to share it.

Gohan looked at Videl, seeing the way she was glaring at him. The girl was suspicious; that made the two of them. Slowly he neared her on the black living room couch until he was in arms length to her. He tried to take the burger from her to only have it snatched away from him. Gohan arched an eyebrow.

"No, I hold it. I don't want you to eat the whole thing," she reasoned, grinning at him.

Gohan did an eye roll, meeting her demand. He slowly took a bite of the burger from her dainty little hands. As the abductor chewed, he stared at her expecting face.

"Is it good?" Videl slowly asked in a less forced friendly tone.

He opened his mouth to speak. Videl slapped his leg, which forced him to nod instead. It was delicious! Just like the pizza. The thought that Videl would use food to gain his trust never crossed his mind.

"Good, we got one thing down. Don't talk when your mouth is full," the human female commented, returning back to her burger. She wasn't any better, but the point was to teach him etiquette. She could taste freedom coming closer and closer…

Again Gohan saw through her. "What are you going to say when you see your father?" He paused and stared down at her while he took out another Big Mac burger. "Oh daddy, this big bad man abducted me!" Gohan did a nice impression of a damsel in distress. Videl received a dark look. "Your alias is Vasha. And if you do try to escape by hinting that you're really Satan Videl," he halted, eyes narrowing with a cold ice filling his eyes, "do not let the thought escape you that extreme measures would be executed."

She sucked in her breath, obviously intimidated. He held so much power over her that she didn't know how to counter it. Instead of biting back with a curse, she slowly nodded. They were supposed to be friends, right? "I won't do anything stupid like that," Videl said, returning the glare. "I know you kill people, and I know you won't hesitate to murder my father." She squirmed a little but her anger did not die out in her eyes. "I promise I won't spill the beans," Videl vowed. She meant it too because there were other ways to escape. Capsule Corporation was a large building after all. There were many rooms and hallways to slide in and out of.

"Good," was all he said before he presented her with another Big Mac. He saw how she tried to look happy, but his warning—threat—had killed her friendly mood. Truth be told, Gohan preferred her happier side than the depression. He pushed the disappointment aside and concentrated on her, watching her eat. His dark eyes skimmed on her arms—the green bruises—and he frowned. Gohan had to stop being rough on her, especially the couple of days before the gathering. He didn't want them to become suspicious and think that he abused her.

"Hey Gohan, is there a reason why you're going. You don't seem the type of person that would attend such parties," Videl asked, looking down on at her food.

"I don't want to go, but it's a good place to meet people…" He held something back and wouldn't enlighten her even if Videl had somehow presented him with a bribe or threat. "And plus, since you're grasping ki and such very well, I decided to at least let you see your father again." That was a partial lie.

Videl looked up at him. "I thought you didn't have a shred of compassion in you." Then it came to her. "Or maybe…you need me there as your girlfriend." Her eyes slowly widened while he nodded with a slight grin on his dashing face. "I hope we don't have to kiss or anything," she muttered, displeased. A moment passed and a smile reached her face. She tried to erase it. "You know, other people there might recognize me?"

His next words were pronounced harshly. "They won't." The confidence that radiated off him only got thicker. And unknowingly to him, she took it as some sort of threat.

Videl stayed quiet for five minutes, eating and savouring her burger. Her eyes darted on objects in the room, such as the TV directly in front of her, then onto the black, velvet-like love seat about eighty degrees to her left. As soon as it landed on another object, it fleeted somewhere else. Videl was obviously feeling uncomfortable and being distracted was the only way to cope with it. Her blue eyes darted on the room's white simple curtains before it returned to Gohan. Videl slowly rested back against the sofa. The feeling of being a hostage had come back to her. Fear returned.

When she didn't say anything else, Gohan's look became more suspicious. The need to ask what was wrong plagued him yet he did not question her. Instead he got up in the normal silence that he was accustomed to, and headed to the kitchen for food.

Gohan was certain that Videl understood it all now. Her place. Her body. Her soul. Her life. It all belonged to him.

Then she muttered bitterly, "I'm not going to…" Her face grew serious, almost strange as if in a trance.

"…Quit."

More civilized from his years traveling around the universe, he sat in a black cushioned seat at a long table. As he was waiting to be served his dinner, he studied the five interesting objects that were placed on top of the black silky linen close to him. The five objects were nestled in it, arranged as if it were five eggs in a nest. As a small smile emerged on his face, his obsidian eyes never left the five orange objects.

The five orange objects were dragonballs. One was just found recently, more accurately this morning.

Raditz inhaled and exhaled deeply. His mind was conspiring of the events that would occur after the dragon was summoned.

"Five down… only two more to go…"

To be continued…

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I know, it's been a long time.

I was very hesitant with posting this, especially when I wanted to change the plot. But I wrote SO much already. Ah, the heck with it…

School starts in about a week. Omg. And I haven't done any writing; I haven't done half of what I planned! I won't give excuses to as why I'm so slow in posting, but I will try my best to finish this story, even if it will be a long time. So those who will stick with me, I thank you. Those who will support and give me confidence to do it…till the very end, I again thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Reviews are always appreciated.

Xox GD xoX