Lesson #6: Taming the Seas

Gohan woke late that morning, partly due to the fact that he didn't want to wake the sleeping goddess on his chest. She has such a strong outer shell but inside is just purity in its brightest form, he thought. Slowly Videl began to stir awake and her eyelashes batted at him involuntarily.

"Morning Gohan," she said with a smile.

"Morning Videl," he said stroking her cheek.

"What's going on here?" said an innocent voice. Both of the teenagers turned their attention to the seven year old brother of Gohan who sat in front of them in confusion. Gohan and Videl blinked a few times before they were on their feet within a second flat. "Does this mean that Videl's going to be my sister?" Goten asked curiously.

Gohan was about to babble on but Videl gave him a quick elbow to the gut before she walked over to Goten. "Do you want me to be your sister?" she asked of the small boy who nodded vigorously in agreement. "Then you have to do two things, one you must not tell anyone of what you have seen here and secondly could you bring me a pair of scissors?"

Goten nodded to show that he understood. "No problem," he said before running into the forest.

"Smooth," commented Gohan.

"Thanks, I thought so as well," said Videl.

"Just wondering, what are the scissors for?" asked Gohan.

"I'm going to take you up on your advice," she replied causing Gohan to smile at her.

"I'm glad that I gave at least some worthwhile advice and what I am going to teach you today you could never learn out of a book."

Videl beamed gleefully until a screech could be heard throughout the forest. "GRANDBABIES!!!" Videl was completely confused to the comment and where it had come from while Gohan put his head in his hands in embarrassment. He knew the exact voice from which that one dreaded word was released.

"What was all that about?" asked Videl turning back to Gohan.

Gohan sighed. "I don't think Goten held onto his end of the deal."

Videl giggled at Gohan, he looked so ashamed of what had just occurred even though he had nothing to do with it. Sure the comment had been about him and her but nothing could come out of it...right?

A few short minutes later Goten rushed through the forest holding a pair of scissors. However when he saw the menacing look on Gohan's face he dropped the scissors and ran as if his life depended on it, which in this case it did. A few moments passed before Gohan and Videl laughed simultaneously at what had just occurred.

Walking over, Gohan picked up the scissors and threw them back and forth from one hand to the other. "So," he began, "Do you want to do this or should I?"

"I reckon I better do it," she replied taking the scissors off him.

"How are you going to look at yourself without a mirror?" he asked.

"I'll use the lake water," she answered. She turned towards the lake to find that since a strong breeze had picked up the water was restless and she would be unable to get a good reflection. Gohan seemed to realise her problem and then began walking over to the restless water. "What are you doing?" asked Videl as Gohan knelt beside the lake. The answer came however not in the form of words but in a small ball of energy that Gohan produced in his hands.

Videl looked at the ball of energy with awe. Unlike her energy which always came out rough and almost incomplete in one form or another, this energy was smooth and incredibly calming to the senses. Gohan saw Videl admiring her energy so cheekily he sent it spiralling around her body several times. Videl felt the warmth surrounding her, encasing her in pure bliss. Magical, was a word which came to her mind.

She watched as Gohan controlled the ball of light and saw as it floated to the centre of the lake before gently resting itself upon it. Videl was stunned as the water became still, as calm as glass. Gohan looked over at her and saw the shocked expression on her face. "Is that better?" he asked.

For a moment Videl forgot the entire reason why he had performed such a miraculous feat. Looking back at the scissors she replied to Gohan, "That's perfect thank you." This caused a smile from both parties. Gohan, happy with what he had done, decided to leave Videl alone to do her thing much to her gratitude. She walked to the lake's edge and looked at her reflection, not a single ripple disturbing the image. If this is just a taste of his power I can't wait to see what he can teach me, she thought as she took the scissors to her hair.

Half an hour passed and as soon as the last piece of hair touched the water the water stirred and returned to its previous state. Videl had gotten a quick look at her new state and was happy with the result. Now she was curious to know where Gohan was, since the boy had left when she had started cutting her hair and now she wanted to show off the finished product. It was short and sharp and while it didn't look sophisticated it made her look tough.

"Impressive," said Gohan as he emerged from the forest holding a bunch of nuts and fruits he had gathered.

"You really think so?" said Videl as she toyed with a few strands.

"Do I have any reason to lie?" he retorted.

Videl shrugged her shoulders, "I guess not."

"Anyway have something to eat and then we'll get onto some basic training," said Gohan as he chucked Videl an apple. Videl caught it and smiled deeply as she took a bite out of the red flesh. Soon their breakfast was finished and they sat opposite one another by the lake bed.

"So what are we going to learn first?" asked Videl eagerly.

"Before you can learn something like this you must understand it," said Gohan. While Videl wanted to be shooting balls of energy at something, listening to Gohan's voice sounded just as tempting.

"Alright," she said. "I'm ready."

Gohan nodded as he began. "Since your chi was unblocked it now circulates throughout your entire body and while it may seem like an infinite source of power it does have its limits. As you use more of your energy, the more you learn to control it and thus the stronger it becomes. However, do not overestimate yourself because it will take everything out of you and you will end up feeling fatigued. This however is not a bad thing; it is simply a learning curve."

"You learn from your mistakes," summarised Videl.

Gohan nodded and then continued, "Failure is a stepping stone in a river that leads to success. When you fall off it simply means that you have to take an alternate path to reach your destination. With your chi it is no different. There are moves and techniques which may be too advanced as such to learn one way so you must train in order to reach a level in which it is capable of doing such a feat. Also there are many rivers you can cross, not only can you release chi from your palms, but from anywhere your chi flows."

"And you said that chi flows throughout your entire body?"

"Yes Videl, while you can access chi in all parts of your body when you release it from different areas it will have different effects depending on the mood you are in and what your objective is. Our chi can enhance our own skills or help us through a difficult situation. Let us have a demonstration shall we," Gohan suggested getting up to his feet, Videl quickly following his example. He pointed across the lake and said, "To you, what are the options to get to the other side of this lake?"

Videl thought hard but only two answers seemed to jump at her. "You could either walk around or swim across."

"Let's be a little more imaginative then that, what can you do with the help of your chi?"

Again Videl thought long and hard but the only answer she could come up with seemed a foolish one. "Walk across the water?" Gohan smiled at her answer. "Wait you can't be serious?"

"Why don't you give it a try?" suggested Gohan as he gestured towards the water. Videl looked at the water and then back to Gohan, repeating this several times. She breathed deeply as she walked to the water's edge, the small waves licking at her bare feet. Confidently, she focused on the chi which flowed in the lower half of her body and stepped forward. The result was not as she had expected, her foot sank through the surface and touched the sand at the bottom.

Gohan lightly laughed at the situation before him and even though Videl was angry she knew she would likely have done the same thing if the roles had been reversed. She turned to face her teacher who had gained control over his chuckling. "So if that didn't work what could?" he said casually.

Videl knew this was a test of her mental capabilities. I've just got to focus my chi correctly, she thought. Gohan said that failures are natural and to go about the same situation in a different way. So he still expects me to walk across the water. Maybe the water needs to be calmer. She tried to recollect what Gohan had done earlier when he had made the water glassy. Focusing she summoned a small energy ball in her hand and placed it on the water. The water ceased to move around where the energy rested which made Videl ecstatic. Hurriedly she increased the strength of the ball and tossed it into the waters depths causing the lake to temporarily stand still.

Focusing the energy in the soles of her foot she stepped onto the surface, unsure whether her attempt had worked. Miraculously, the pressure her foot had on the surface of the water failed to give way and Videl relaxed as she stepped forward. Her foot rested on the surface of the water but at the same time it felt unstable, the water underneath Videl's feet was like jelly and shifted with her weight. She wobbled about as she took another step and found herself falling forward towards the water, breaking her concentration and thus breaking through the water.

Gohan couldn't help but chuckle as Videl walked out of the water soaking wet. Kindly he sent a small energy ball which circled Videl and dried her off instantly. Gratefully, Videl smiled at Gohan who returned it. Kami he's so gorgeous, she found herself thinking. Had she had those thoughts about any other man she would have beat herself silly but thinking these things about Gohan didn't seem like that bad of an option. In fact they were rather pleasant.

"Out of ideas," he smirked. Videl knew she was running low on ideas so she gave in and dropped her head in shame. She closed her eyes and thus didn't see Gohan walk towards her but she did feel his soft hands lift her chin up. When she opened her eyes she found herself staring into his black orbs. They were memorising and so inviting that Videl felt she could just be swept away by her stare.

"Would you like some help?" he asked in a soft tone.

"What do you suggest?" she asked.

"It has something to do with your mouth," he teased. This took Videl completely by surprise and she backed away a few steps. Gohan merely chuckled slightly and walked over to the water's edge and squatted near the surface. Then taking in a deep breath of fresh air, he blew an icy chill over the water, freezing a solid chunk in front of him.

Standing up, Gohan gestured to his two person vessel. "Would you like a ride madam?" he said in a pompous accent which caused Videl to giggle. She walked towards the ice and took a seat. Unlike the solid water she had created this was a pure block of ice with a soft layer of snow on top making it more comfortable. With a gentle push, the ice started to glide in the water and Gohan quickly hopped on as the ice began to drift with the current.

They sat together, Gohan and Videl, side by side with Videl's head resting on Gohan's shoulders. In turn Gohan wrapped his arm around Videl's shoulder not in a forceful manner but in a way which was tender to the touch. They looked into each other's eyes and saw an endless passion. To think I would have fallen in love with Gohan, thought Videl as she lost herself in his stare. Together as one they moved forward and their lips moved closer together. Both of them knew that this was the right moment, it just so happened that at that moment something caused the ice they were sitting on to explode into a thousand tiny pieces and cause both of them to fall into the water.

Thankfully, the water wasn't too deep and they stood with the water at chest height. Gohan immediately turned his attention to the side and Videl followed his gaze to see a few shadows vanish into the forest. "Who were they?" asked Videl.

"I think maybe a few jealous people," answered Gohan.

"Jealous of what?" she asked.

"Jealous of this," said Gohan as pulled her close to him. Once again their eyes met and they knew that the moment was still alive. With that they leant forwards and embraced each other with a passionate kiss.

Cute, isn't it? I'll try to update as soon as possible but I have a few more important pieces of writing that I need to get done (namely university assignments). Please review,I want to know if I'm doing a good job.