AN: Just wanted to let you know that this is the edited version of this chapter. It's written a bit differently. I think better, but you can be the judge. All I know for sure it that it definitely creates better character cohesion. This is the version of the characters that I like best. They fit better with the overall concept that I'm going for. Anyway, enjoy re-reading the chapter if you so desire.
AN: So, if you haven't noticed by now you will in this chapter, but I like to start each chapter in a similar way. It's my style and I'm not going to change it. Each chapter's will start off with a different person's perspective. You can guess who will start off the next one if you like, but even my twin couldn't guess who'd be starting this one so good luck. I almost cut this chapter short, but, and I'm sure you've noticed by now, I hadn't written a line that would make a good chapter name, hence the longer chapter. I had wanted to end with more Vegeta, but the chapter was getting too long so when I saw my chance I took it. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
P.S.I have yet to buy the rights to Dragonball Z, so sadly I can't claim ownership for the characters or the plotline. When I can you'll be the first to know.
P.P.S.Some people may still be in denial about this being a yuri, and I must confess that sometimes even I forget that Gohanna is a girl, but she is and that fact won't change so if you don't like it don't read it.
It Was Meant to Be
Chapter 3: Her world could turn again
The moonlight reflected off of the dome shaped buildings, filtering into the many windows to gently light the sleeping occupants. The gentle rays of light found its way into a large room, lighting the sole occupant of a bed meant for two. Yet no matter how easily the soft moonlight could illuminate the relaxed faces of the sleeping occupants in the many rooms of the large domes, the pale light could only weakly penetrate the dome's interior, barely lighting the inner rooms and hallways. Each ray of light eventually succumbed to the deep shadows that lined walkways and hallways, threatening to engulf the frail white beams. Deep within the central dome of the premises, a lone figure stained against the unusually high gravity. Fighting an invisible enemy so fiercely, one might think his life depended on the outcome of the imaginary match.
Covered in the sweat of his workout, Vegeta let loose another series of punches and kicks at his invisible opponent before letting out a frustrated sigh. Kakarott's eldest fucking brat was giving him hell with her raging emotions. It had been nearly a week since Kakarott's spawn had come bothering his mate about some idiotic disguise. It had something to do with wanting to help those pathetic excuses of sentient life forms that the bloody woman insisted on calling humans. It was beyond him why anyone would want to help their sorry fucking asses but what could he expect from one of Kakarott's demon spawns. That goody two shoe never knew how to keep to his damn self and act in an appropriate manner, always going off to save those ungrateful humans.
After the brat was done dicking around and he was finally able to get his worthy sparring opponent back, the brat was too damn distracted to put up much of an effort, wasting his fucking time really. 'If that brat isn't going to fight me seriously then she shouldn't even fucking bother sparring,' thought Vegeta as he went through another series of punches and kicks, getting low to the floor and sweeping the legs out from under his imaginary sparring partner. While all true, Vegeta failed to acknowledge the fact that even though Gohanna wasn't one hundred percent focused on their fight, she still managed to kick his royal ass all around the gravity chamber and back again. It was just damn insulting that she didn't put up her normal effort. 'I can take a fucking hit,' Vegeta thought as he did a back flip that led into another series of punches and kicks.
But the signs were there, Kakarott's oldest brat had chosen, 'At least her Saiyan side has chosen a suitable mate.' Vegeta grabbed the head of his invisible opponent and slammed it into his knee. The brat's predicament vaguely reminded him of his resistance to mate with his woman. That blue hair and fiery passion had captured his Saiyan interest long before he had allowed himself to succumb to her damn human charms. Rational Saiyan logic dictated that the Prince of all Saiyans should never lower himself to accept a lowly human as his mate. But bestial Saiyan instincts have shit-fucking little to do with any form of logic. The Saiyan heart will take what it wants, whether it has permission from the damn brain or not. It can't be suppressed no matter how bloody hard you try.
Dende's bleeding dick, he had learned that the hard way when his own buried desires had grown too numerous for him to continue to deny. He had fucked his woman hard on the floor of his gravity chamber, claiming her forever in the process. It was perhaps the most undignified way to claim a mate and perhaps the most savage, raw sexual encounter he had ever had. It was a good thing his woman liked his more bestial side or there would have been dire consequences for his primal actions. It was far safer for Saiyans to embrace their desires. As shitty as it was, not all partners could damn well handle the rough treatment, nor would the last of his noble fucking race have his subconscious restraint and willpower gained from years of mental training under that bastard Frieza's reign.
No, it was better if what was left of the once mighty Saiyan race learned to embrace the desires that their more primal side created than to risk the worst. It wouldn't be shits and fucking giggles if a Saiyan killed its intended. No, they wouldn't be able to fucking live with their selves. They would slowly wither away and become little more than a hollow fucking shell of what they once were before dying. It was a slow and painful way to die, lacking any type of honor or pride, and Vegeta was damn well pleased he had never had to witness it firsthand.
'That's it. The next time I see that brat, I'll advise her against restraining her Saiyan instincts,' with that thought Vegeta counted off his good fucking deed for the month. Why he had allowed his woman to talk him into completing at least one good deed every month, he didn't damn well know, but somehow she had managed to coax the promise out from between his lips. So it was more of a bet, but either way he had given his damn word and he couldn't take it back without hurting his honor and pride. Moving into another series of complex maneuvers intertwined with punches, kicks and ki blasts, Vegeta heard the view screen sound before the face of his mate appeared.
"Vegeta come back to bed," his woman spoke before re-adjusting her robes. "I have an executive meeting early tomorrow morning and you know I don't sleep well without you. You wouldn't want me to fall asleep in my own meeting now would you?"
"Woman, I'm in the middle of my training. I'll be up when I finish," Vegeta replied as he saw his mate huff in a flurry of motion, then stormed back upstairs to their room. But when the screen went blank, Vegeta headed to the center of the room, shutting the gravity machine down before he went into the bathroom connected to the gravity chamber to get a quick shower. Drying off, Vegeta grabbed a pair of black shorts and put them on. 'I wonder who the worthy fucker is? Who can capture that brat's Saiyan heart?' Vegeta questioned as he left the gravity chamber and headed up to his room to join his mate in bed. 'Maybe I should tell the woman about my good deed now. That always makes her happy,' Vegeta thought as he reached his bedroom and opened the door. 'No, I think I'll let her sleep. Maybe in the morning,' and with that Vegeta joined his mate in their bed, wrapping her up in his protective embrace.
Elsewhere, a demi-Saiyan tossed and turned in her twin size bed. A primal moan escaped her throat with each sudden twist. Body covered in sweat as her limbs lay akimbo across the navy blue sheets of her bed, Gohanna jerked awake in one quick motion. Right arm extended as she hastily sat up gasping for air while the knuckles on her left hand turned white from clutching at the sheets below her. The Saiyan-human hybrid was up and slowly attempting to bring her haggard breathing back under control. With a sigh, she ran a hand down her face. "Not again," she said to no one as she grabbed the edge of her sheets and threw them off of her. It was the fifth night in a row that she had been plagued by the same dream, a dream that with each repetition became more and more real, more graphic, more detailed. Now she could remember tastes and smells with horrifying clarity. She remembered the frantic touch of lithe hands and the desperate moans escaping from hoarse lips. It was a sexual encounter that she'd never had and it was an encounter she'd never forget.
Gohanna moaned in frustration as she recounted the details of the night's dream. Tonight had felt so real. It was as if Videl had been right there beneath her and over her and inside of her. She could taste the sweat as it dripped from Videl's body. Hear the uneven cadence of her heart as it pounded frantically against her own. It had been invigorating, the most pleasant and yet the most unpleasant sensation she'd ever felt. And then suddenly just before she could reach a sense of completion, satisfaction, she'd been thrown from her sleep. Thrown by the sheer intensity and left in a state of heightened arousal. Wanting something she'd never wanted before. Needing something more, yet unsure if it was something she was allowed to have. It was completely frustrating.
'I shouldn't want you so much,' Gohanna thought as she got out of bed, feet gently hitting the cool wood panels as she slid from beneath the warm confines of her bed. She knew it was inappropriate to dream so passionately about a member of the same sex, but she couldn't help it. She could stop herself from wanting Videl in the waking world, but she couldn't control her dreams no matter how hard she tried. It just didn't work that way.
'If only I was born a boy, then I wouldn't have this problem,' Gohanna thought as she strode over to her dresser. 'I could just go up to Videl, tell her how I feel, then take her to an empty supply closet and grope her like there was no tomorrow.' Gohanna grabbed the nearest gi and put it on, it was black and one of the many dark colored gi she owned. Glancing at the clock on her nightstand, she read the time, 'One thirteen, Dende why me?' There was absolutely no way she would get back to sleep, not now, not after that dream. She had just lost nearly two precious hours of sleep. Sleep she didn't get enough of with her rigorous morning training schedule. Walking back over to her nightstand, Gohanna turned off the alarm that was supposed to get her up at three o'clock. There would be no need for that tonight.
Gohanna walked over to her window and looked out towards the still black sky. At least it was a pleasant night, she thought as she gazed up at the nearly full moon illuminating the world below. In moments she had the window open and was hopping out of it. Flying towards her usual training grounds, Gohanna sighed. Hopping out windows was most definitely not her idea of a great start to the day, but it couldn't be helped. Her mother was just too light of a sleeper for her to escape any other way this early in the morning. Gohanna took a mental pause, curious how daily jumping out of windows would affect her psyche in the future. She couldn't possibly be forming good habits by sneaking out her window on a regular basis.
Shrugging the thought aside, Gohanna touched down in the middle of the clearing, a clearing as familiar to her as the back of her hand. With a quiet sigh, she began her morning workout. Stretching first to loosen up her muscles and relieve the residual tension from this morning's dream. Slowly she worked each muscle while trying to keep her mind off of the vivid fantasy that had ripped her from blissful oblivion. She failed as she slipped into the first position of her set of katas. Gracefully, deliberately running through each kata at an exaggerated pace her mind wondered to the girl she was desperately trying to forget. Each controlled movement reminded her of Videl. It was that very control that she admired. It enthralled her, the way her body twisted and turned, flawless in each movement, gracefully at every turn, every bend. Gohanna slowed her pace as she tried to bring her mind back into focus. She couldn't allow herself to get sloppy, couldn't allow her own desires to draw her focus away from the current task. She needed to be master of her body's movements. She had to be.
Yet she couldn't stop herself. She couldn't get the image of Videl's graceful movements out of her mind, the flexibility that rivaled a sapling tree bending and twisting as if guided by some unseen force. It was like nothing she'd ever seen before. So different from the rigid stances she'd grown use to, so removed from that stiffness that prevailed in all the techniques that she'd ever been taught. It was as if Videl was the very flow itself, the moving water, rapid and strong but forever changing. It made it seem as if everyone else was just a stone in the river, blocking the path un-movingly yet never really affecting the flow. And it made sense Gohanna thought as she forced her senses to focus on one point, blocking out all other sensations. Videl was petite and her fighting style reflected that fact. At a little under five feet one she barely reached her chest yet size didn't seem to factor into her strength. No, the power was there, but her style added to its effect. It allowed her to adapt to taller opponents with longer reach. It allowed her to compensate for their larger mass, allowing her to use each powerful hit effectively instead of wasting energy on fruitless attacks. And as a result, Videl was a force to be reckoned with, a fury of power and speed that bested her opponents on pure skill. She was formidable in a way that would allow her to defeat opponents far stronger than herself if she ever felt so inclined. However Gohanna highly doubted that she ever would. She was just too stubborn to admit being weaker than someone else.
Gohanna brought her focus back to her forms. Ignoring the pleased feeling she felt at knowing that she towered over Videl. Ignoring the sense of power and control it gave her knowing that it was false. No one controlled Videl. No matter how small Videl was she was always larger than life. Always capable of making a giant feel two inches tall with but a look, a piercing stare that saw more than imaginable. When Videl looked at you, it was with more than just her eyes. She bore into you with her very soul, dominating you, breaking you. So Gohanna wasn't foolish enough to think that she had some form of control over Videl. She didn't mess with Videl because nobody did. At least she tried not to, but it was so hard to go along with the masses, putting her head down and looking away when Videl was in one of her moods. The same mood that had sent a poor kid running, screaming, crying, calling out for his mother, a kid only slightly younger that herself, a second year student standing just a few inches shorter than her over six foot frame. He ran away in tears without a single word needing to pass from Videl's lips. No, you didn't mess with Videl.
But it surprised her how effected she was by Videl's display of power, how aroused it left her, boiling her blood as she shamelessly watched. Just thinking about it almost caused her to stumble as she trained. Imagining Videl's unrivaled ability to intimidate, it left her nearly breathless. Gohanna finished her last kata with a hesitant breath, reigning in her wayward emotions as she prepared to do them again. She needed to separate herself from her emotions, break away from her rebellious thoughts. It was an ability that separated the experienced fighters from the novice, something she use to be good at, at least that was true before she met Videl. Now as she moved with speeds that could just barely be seen by the untrained human eye, she found herself once again enthralled by the mere idea of Videl. She was obsessed with being Saiya-girl, obsessed by the prospect of watching Videl fight, watching her bend over backwards and twist to avoid attacks. Gazing in rampant attention as Videl gracefully and fluidly out maneuvered her opponents. It was intoxicating just to watch and she could only dream about what it would feel like to participate, to fight against the grace of a dancer and the flexibility of a gymnast, to move against Videl in a deadly dance of violence. Gohanna's nostrils flared at her newest obsession. There was no doubt in her mind how lucky she truly was. Videl could definitely protect herself.
Gohanna violently released the breath she'd unknowingly held as she moved into the next kata, no longer attempting to separate Videl from her thoughts. Fighting Videl would be an experience. 'Exhilarating,' was the only word she thought could best describe it, but it was more than that. As Gohanna pushed against her limits, her primal Saiyan instincts pushed against her restraints, lashing out at the mere idea of fully testing Videl's battle prowess. Every part of her wanted to push Videl. Push her past any limit she'd set for herself. Push her beyond every dream she'd ever had because she knew that she could handle it. The small voice at the back of her mind kept telling her that with just the smallest amount of training, with minimal instruction in ki manipulation Videl could move past average human limitations. She would easily meet and surpass the strongest of the human z warriors. It would be the accomplishment of a life time, to take the novice with so much potential and make her invincible, make her into an opponent worth fighting. Her blood boiled at the prospect.
'Of course I'll never get the chance to train Videl in the art of ki manipulation,' Gohanna thought as she finished the last set of katas, preparing to focus her movements in order to complete the sets again. Faster she moved, fueling each kata with the frustration of her situation. No matter how much she might want to forget, she could not ignore her commitment to the rest of the z warriors. Moving as quickly as she could without ascending to a Super Saiyan, Gohanna lashed out with each kata. There was just no way that any of the z warriors would agree to Videl's training. Not some unknown outsider. And especially not the daughter of the man who took the credit for defeating Cell. They would forever hold a grudge over fame she rightly deserved, but didn't want. Her muscles strained as she moved from kata to kata. It just wasn't fair. She had so little control over her own life, not with Cell and not with Videl.
Gohanna sighed as she vaguely contemplated just not telling the other warriors. Who would it hurt? It wasn't like they saw each other frequently. It wasn't like they paid attention to TV gossip either. They would never know. A dark thought briefly crossed her mind, but she quickly pushed it away. There was no way she could lie to the other z warriors, and it just wouldn't do to keep secrets from them. They were her family after all. Even when it wasn't their business, it was still their business, still their right to know.
Gohanna shifted uncomfortably. It wasn't like she was in any position to train Videl either. She just couldn't trust herself with that type of temptation. Alone with Videl for hours, both cloaked in sweat from a vigorous workout, it all spelled disaster. Gohanna was liable to jump the poor girl the moment she started to breath heavily. Heck, it probably wouldn't take that long before she managed to lose control. Not when they'd be working on the same activity that seemed to intoxicate her beyond rational thought. No, the lapse of control would be quick, and whatever disfigured mass was left after Videl was through with her would be beyond recognition. Videl had destroyed people for a lot less. Nope, any type of inappropriate infraction on personal space and respectable conduct towards a member of the same gender would be taken very poorly by a one Miss Videl Satan. Hell, that type of conduct probably wouldn't be acceptable if Gohanna was a 'he' instead of a 'she'. You just couldn't tell with Videl. She was like a secret diary that you couldn't open unless you had the key no matter how powerful you were and no one seemed to have the key to open Videl up, not even her closest friends Erasa and Sharpner.
Finishing her forms, Gohanna moved on to fighting her favorite invisible opponent, herself. She always imagined it was her on the receiving end of each blow she gave. It was her way of punishing herself for failing her father, when she should have finished Cell off during his stupid games instead of offering that bastard another chance. Not everyone deserved a second chance and Cell had proved that in the end by attempting to blow up the earth when he realized he couldn't win. If only she had listened to her father and finished Cell off quickly then maybe he would still be here, but that was the past and it couldn't be changed. The only good thing that had occurred from her ignoring her father's plea to end Cell's life was that Eighteen's life had been saved in the process. Krillin was happy and there was another member to their group, Krillin's little girl Maron. And cute little Maron was the little sister she'd never have.
But just because people were happy didn't mean Gohanna could let herself forget what her failure had cost, her mother's husband, her little brother's father, and the solid rock that every member of the z warriors leaned on, Goku. He meant so much to them and Gohanna wouldn't let herself forget, ever. So every time she faced her invisible opponent she imagined it was her face she was pounding in and her body she was beating. There had to be some punishment for her actions after all.
As the sun peaked around the mountain tops, Gohanna glanced at her watch, 'Five twenty-three, better wrap it up,' and with that thought Gohanna threw another series of punches and kicks, sweeping low then rolling into a back spring before turning around with a high kick. Breathing hard, Gohanna did a couple more back springs before setting into a run back to the house. It was a good fifty miles away, so it made for a good cool down run. Reaching the front door Gohanna glanced at her watch again, 'Good, five thirty exactly,' she thought before jumping up to her window and heading in for a quick shower. She may have woken up earlier than normal but at least she was able to get in a good workout. 'I guess it's like mother always says, there's always a silver lining.'
An hour later Gohanna had had her shower, changed into her school clothes and had consumed the large amounts of food that she called a breakfast. It was finally time to get to school, so with a click of a button Gohanna changed into her alternate persona Saiya-girl and took off towards Satan City. That was one of the perks of having a superhero persona with a costume, she could fly around all she wanted without the fear that people would think she was a freak. It was all semantics and it made all the difference. Where once she would have been seen as a monster, now she was a superhero. She could use all the powers she wanted under the guise of Saiya-girl and that knowledge comforted her greatly, giving her a sense of freedom. Even better, she could get to school a lot faster. Now it only took ten minutes to travel from the 439 mountain area to Orange Star High School without ascending to Super Saiyan. Ascending would see her traveling the distance in less than half that time.
She now worried about being late to school less on a regular day without morning crime fighting. If the bad guys were up early then she would either let Videl take care of it, least she be in a foul mood, or she would have to knock it out of the way quickly. Gohanna had rapidly learned in the first week of school that Videl was a whole lot grumpier and suspicious when Saiya-girl took her morning crime fighting away. If Videl never received the call from the police chief then she might be okay, but that was only until she heard the gossip in the morning about Saiya-girl's exploits. As soon as she discovered that Saiya-girl had taken her morning crime fight, then she'd be in a horribly foul mood. It was just safer for everyone involved to let Videl have her morning crime fighting.
Of course Gohanna quietly suspected that morning crime fighting for Videl was like a morning exercise. She needed to relieve the night's tension and to properly prepare for the day like when dancers locked themselves in a room, music blaring, after a long day. Videl was a fighter and like all fighters she needed to just lose herself in a good spar to relieve the stress of the world. After all there was only so much you can accomplish by yourself. Gohanna suspected what Videl really needed was a proper sparring partner so she could get an adequate morning workout. However, she wasn't about to make that particular suggestion to Videl directly. No, she would rather live to see another sunrise. It also didn't hurt that she was rather fond of the way her face was currently arranged.
Gohanna ran a hand nervously across her face in hopes of reminding herself why it would be a very bad idea to piss off Videl only to be met with cool re-enforced polymer. 'That's right I'm Saiya-girl right now. I've got to remember that,' she thought as she arrived at the school without incident. She didn't really need the reassurance anyway. Checking the rooftop for any wondering eyes, Gohanna found that the coast was clear and hit the button that hid her outfit. Jogging down the stairs from the rooftop, Gohanna made her way to her classroom and as had become customary, plopped into the seat next to Erasa, right on the aisle. Erasa was gabbing away a mile a minute. What she was talking about could be any one's guess Gohanna thought as she sat dumfounded at the auditory overload, but slowly she was able to absorb the conversation. Finally after a minute or two of adjustment to Erasa's talking speed, Gohanna was able to catch up and even add her two cents in with the resident gossip queen. Being a girl was so difficult at times, but at least she could keep up with gossip. If she had been a boy, she would have been hopelessly lost, like Sharpner who just sat there completely zoned out until one of his male buddies got to class. What could she say? It was just the way of life.
Meanwhile, Videl was just getting to class, running a little late because of her early morning rendezvous with her papa's punching bags. She just couldn't seem to get a good night's sleep any more. She had been pounding the hell out of one of her papa's punching bags when as the bag burst open she glanced at the clock only to find it was six forty-two and if she wanted to grab breakfast then she was going to have to book it to her room then hop into the shower for the quickest wash she had ever had. It wasn't the most relaxing shower but it did the job. She was clean and into her clothes in a little under ten minutes and down to the kitchen in an instant. Olivia didn't even bother with the standard probing questions. She just told Videl to eat and said papa had already finished with this worried look on her face that only made Videl want to confide in her so she could stop worrying.
So after a smaller breakfast than she would have preferred, Videl raced out of her home with record breaking speed. Decapsulizing one of her cars then starting it up would have taken too long and early morning traffic would only slow her down so she ended up racing to school on foot. When Videl finally made it to her classroom she still had seven minutes to spare before Mr. Stone was expected to be there.
"Hey Videl," Erasa greeted when she saw her long time best friend walking to her seat. "You're totally cutting it close today aren't you?" It was an innocent question, but it still brought a light blush to Videl's face as she remembered exactly why she was late. It was a good thing that Erasa thought that her best friend was just a little embarrassed that she was so late and didn't think much of what could have caused it. It helped that Erasa didn't notice how Videl's eyes glanced at Son for the briefest of seconds before returning to rest on her best friend.
"Hai, I kind of am," Videl admitted as she took her seat next to Erasa. "I lost track of time and barely had time to get ready for the day before I absolutely had to rush out of the house."
"Oh my gosh, I like totally know what you mean," Erasa said as she grabbed her purse to check her make-up one more time. She normally would have done so earlier, but she was just so completely caught up in the latest gossip that it simply slipped her mind. "Last year I wasted loads of time in front of the mirror. I was totally late to class like almost every day."
"I remember that. Mr. Hanso was so angry with your 'failure' to show up to class on time that he always gave you extra work to do," Videl replied with a slight smile as she watched Erasa close her mirror, apparently happy with what she saw.
"Hai, hai, well let's stop gabbing about me," Erasa turned in her seat so that she could make sure all of her friends could hear her. "I've just heard from a very reliable source that Aspen's totally having a party this Friday. Emma overheard from Kelly who gabbed to Austin who heard directly from Aspen that his parents are going out of town this weekend so he's throwing another awesome party, but that totally doesn't matter," Erasa waved her hand in the air as if to wipe away the importance of absent parents. "What matters is if you guys are coming," she turned to look her friends in the eyes, waiting for an answer.
"Of course, we're coming," Sharpner said, speaking for all of his friends even if he knew that they might not actually want to go.
"Speak for yourself Sharpner," Videl snapped. "I don't know if I can go. I'm going to have to ask papa," Videl said far more nicely as she turned to face Erasa, ignoring Sharpner completely.
"Oh, your dad's totally going to let you go," Erasa said waving off Videl's concerns. "Even if he says no, you can just like ask Ms. Olivia. She lets you do absolutely anything you want."
"Erasa," Videl sighed, "I can't do that. That's called taking advantage of people. I like Olivia I don't want to take advantage of her."
"Ah, who's Ms. Olivia?" Gohanna asked awkwardly not familiar with Videl's family.
"Yeah, you would be like completely out of the loop on this Hanna-chan," Erasa said as she turned to Gohanna. After seeing Gohanna nod her head, Erasa continued, "She's like the head of the Satan household. Her word is definitely law, like not even Mr. Satan crosses her."
"Erasa's right," Videl added seeing the confused look still plastered to Gohanna's face. "Papa trusts Olivia so completely that if she said that jumping off a bridge would be beneficial to his health, he'd grab the bungee cords himself and head to the nearest bridge. He'd probably cancel all his appointment for the day while he was at it so he could focus his complete attention on jumping off the bridge. Not that she would ever suggest anything like that though."
"Wow, she seems…I don't know, maybe I'll have to meet her first," Gohanna said, unable to grasp the words that successfully articulated the way she saw this Ms. Olivia woman. 'She must have a lot of influence in Videl's life though for Videl to speak so highly of her,' Gohanna thought as she waited for the conversation to continue.
"Anyway," Erasa said, "it totally won't happen. You know your dad's going to let you go." Videl huffed in defeat as she accepted that she was probably going to have to go to Aspen's stupid party. "What about you, Hanna-chan? You just have to come," Erasa nearly begged, unwilling to let her newest friend miss out on a must attend social event.
"I don't think my mother would let me," Gohanna squirmed under her friends' stares.
"Why not?" Sharpner asked as he flexed his biceps at the girls a couple rows down, flashing a smile that made them melt into their seats.
"Well, the party's not going to be chaperoned for one thing, and my mother is kind of strict," Gohanna answered, trying to be as vague as possible. While those arguments were entirely true, Gohanna knew that you could never guess what her mother was going to do all of the time. You could guess the majority of what she would do and how she would react, but there were those times that her mother would catch the world off guard and do something completely different. And Gohanna had a feeling that this party would be one of those instances.
"You should totally ask her first before counting yourself completely out," Erasa advised. "You never know, she might like totally surprise you." Erasa would never cease to amaze Gohanna with how right she could unknowingly be sometimes.
"Hai, you're probably right. I'll ask first," Gohanna conceded as she watched Mr. Stone finally walk through the door. He was running a little late.
'Damn, another couple of minutes and we would have had a free period, bummer,' thought Sharpner as he got out his history notebook.
"You have to like promise me you'll tell me what she says tomorrow Hanna-chan," Erasa pleaded as she too took out her notebook as well.
"I will, I will," Gohanna said as she grabbed a one and a half inch three ring binder from her bag. It contained all of the history notes she had taken during class, the notes she had taken at home, which covered far more material than her class notes, and the homework assignments for this month and the next, which she had of course already completed.
Looking over Videl shook her head. 'That girl is an overachiever,' Videl thought as she looked at her own notes, all of which fit into a regular notebook like the majority of the kids in the class. 'She makes the rest of us look bad,' Videl thought as she remember when she had tried to get notes for the Advanced Biology and the Advanced Physics classes she had missed fighting a group of terrorists. Son had apologized when she had handed her five pages of Advanced Biology notes, front to back, written in the annoyingly tiny script that Son liked to use, saying she had missed the class because she was sick and only managed to get two other students' notes that she had added to her own notes she had written at home. Videl had never written so many notes for one day of one class in her entire life and Son was apologizing for the brevity of the notes.
But then Videl understood when she got a look at Son's Advanced Physics notes for the day before. It was the class she hadn't missed. Son's notes were more like a fifteen page dissertation front to back on the topic discussed that day, exploring each concept in greater depth than what was covered in class and elaborating on each theory Mr. Negama had given in class. There was even some discussion on topics Videl was sure Mr. Negama hadn't even mentioned. They were related to the overall concepts Videl thought that Mr. Negama had touched on but they were too far advanced for even an Advanced Physics class to cover.
All together they were really good notes, but it was just too much for a sane person to go through. And that was one of the reasons Son puzzled her so much. She was just so weird, so strange, so different and definitely an overachiever. 'Who has the time to write all those notes anyway?' thought Videl as she listened to Mr. Stone. That last test was challenging, although she had still managed to score high marks, Videl didn't want to test her luck.
And so class continued with most of the students studiously jotting down notes as Mr. Stone proceeded with his lecture. Although Gohanna found herself struggling to keep her eyes open, she managed to make it through the class without too much trouble. The day passed swiftly, with no police emergencies that required Videl's assistance and no deathly ill looking Gohanna seeking to go to the bathroom or nurses' station. At the start of their last class, gym, Gohanna was suddenly reminded that she had to go to Bulma's after school to get something for her mother. She didn't know what it was and frankly she didn't really care. She was just glad that they were doing a really easy workout in gym class because there was no doubt in her mind that Vegeta would demand a sparring match. He could be in any type of mood, you just didn't know until he was standing right in front of you. Either way it was always best to arrive in top form. So Gohanna was particularly glad that today would just be some kind of fitness test that would require little to no effort from her to complete with a decent score, if not perfect. Gohanna only needed to avoid doing anything too abnormal so as not to give Videl any more reasons to hound her. Videl was already suspicious of her for some unknown reason, so she'd decided ahead of time to focus on not getting perfect scores on the fitness test.
Quickly changing into her gym uniform, a pair of shorts so small that they barely covered the essentials and a long sleeves t-shirt Gohanna left the locker room ready for class. 'I wonder what type of pervert authorized this outfit?' Gohanna wondered for the tenth time. 'The guy's get to wear sweat pants and we have to wear short shorts. Someone had to orchestrate this, and I'll bet they're a perverted old man.' "Stupid perverts," Gohanna muttered. Elsewhere, an old man sneezed, 'Damn, someone must be talking about me again.'
Coach Carlson blew his whistle signaling the start of class. "Okay ladies and gentlemen, let's get started," Mr. Carlson said as everyone gathered around. "Now ladies are on the left and guys on the right. Mrs. Callaghan will be with you ladies in a moment."
As everyone began to split up, Gohanna caught Sharpner flexing his arms for another pair of girls, making them giggle. 'Doesn't he have something better to do, then flex his muscle,' thought Gohanna as she walked over to the left-side of the gym.
Clearly Videl agreed as she yelled, "Sharpner, stop fooling around will you."
"Of course," Sharpner replied, "anything for my girl."
Gohanna could hear Videl growl in frustration as she finally made it to the other side. 'Man, Sharpner's probably only still alive because of luck,' thought Gohanna as she saw the murderous look in Videl's eyes. 'She's going to be scoring high today.'
Mrs. Callaghan finally joined them as she walked up in causal gym clothes, clipboard in hand. "Let's get started," she said as she glanced over the girls, her eyes resting on Gohanna who seemed to almost tower over the other girls around her. 'That girl is tall. Taller than me and I'm a tall woman. I wonder if she's on the basketball team,' Mrs. Callaghan thought as she let her mind wonder a bit. "Ok, the first event we're going to test is running. You ladies are going to have to run a mile while I time you. Good time is about seven minutes, but if you can do it in under nine then you get a passing mark. So go line up on the track." The girls headed over to the track as instructed to join the boys who were already lined up.
"I'm going to beat you this time Videl!" Sharpner called out as he got ready at the starting line.
"Not likely," Videl replied as she too got ready at the starting line. She was determined to run it in under four minutes and she knew Sharpner wouldn't be able to keep up with that speed. For years Sharpner and Videl had competed in gym class and on the playground, even before her papa was the world champ and savior, and still Sharpner had yet to beat her. From the fastest monkey-bar climber in their first year of elementary school to now they had always competed. Their fierce competition was how they became friends and even led Sharpner to be one of her papa's prized students.
Gohanna looked over at the two in amusement, wondering how long they had been competing with each other. She highly doubted that Videl would notice her time with the level of focus she felt from her, but just to be on the safe side she planned to run it in a little under seven minutes. She wasn't entirely sure if she could jog a mile any slower.
In a matter of minutes, everyone was lined up and ready to go. "Alright, ready, go!" Coach Carlson announced, starting the run. Videl took off like a bolt with Sharpner lagging behind. It was clear to everyone that Sharpner was going to lose as the rest of the class set off at a normal speed, the guys moving a bit faster than the girls. Videl was around the track in a matter of seconds as Sharpner struggled to keep up, barely hanging on for the first lap, but as the second lap came to a close and Videl was no closer to slowing down, Sharpner knew he had lost. He couldn't run that fast and no matter how hard he pushed himself, he just couldn't get his legs to move any faster. But he didn't stop trying. He continued to push himself even as he began to slow willing himself to make the most of this run. He was halfway through the third lap when he saw Videl coming up behind him. 'She's going to pass me. Can my humiliation get any worse,' Sharpner thought as Videl zipped by him to finish her mile in record time. Sighing internally, Sharpner closed his eyes and pushed on, forcing himself to at least beat his own personal record. It only took about another minute before Sharpner was done with his, nearly collapsing at the finish-line.
"So how long did it take you?" Sharpner asked, breathing hard from the fastest mile he had ever run.
"Three fifteen," Videl said between haggard breaths. It took her another few seconds to completely get her breathing back under control.
"What! You ran a mile in three minutes and fifteen seconds. No wonder I couldn't keep up. Mine was four minutes and eight seconds and that's a fast time," Sharpner exclaimed, shocked that his short friend next to him could move that fast. 'What would her time be if she had longer legs and a bigger stride?' Sharpner mentally questioned already moving past the disappointment at losing another competition.
"Hai, it was pretty fast," Videl agreed as if running that fast wasn't all that amazing of an achievement.
About another minute after Sharpner had finished some of the faster boys started to finish and a little later the girls started to finish. Gohanna joined them after jogging her mile at an agonizingly slow pace, but she had reached her goal.
"Hey cutie, when'd you finish?" Sharpner asked as he saw Gohanna walk up to them.
"A little while ago," Gohanna said completely missing the fact that Sharpner had wanted her time.
"No, you idiot. What time did you finish?" Videl said rolling her eyes at the two.
"Oh, about six minutes and forty-two seconds, at least I think that's what it was," Gohanna said as she put a finger to her chin.
'Weird,' Videl thought, 'she doesn't even look like she broke a sweat. Was she even trying?' Videl's eyes narrowed in suspicion and her mouth opened, but Sharpner interrupted her.
"Cool," Sharpner said in his lazy way. "That's a fast time for a girl."
"Thanks Sharpner," Gohanna replied as she looked out at the track. Erasa was on her last lap.
Finishing up Erasa came off the track, breathing hard. "Hey guys," she greeted in between labored breathes. "I finish in eight minutes and thirty-three seconds, what'd you think?"
"That's an amazing time Erasa," Videl said as she looked over at her friend.
"Hai, Videl's right. That is a good time," Gohanna agreed as she plopped down in the grass waiting for the last of the girls to finish up.
After the run, the guys and girls split up again. "Okay, ladies now we're going to do sets of pushups and sit ups before going in for the day. Tomorrow we'll be doing more of this," Mrs. Callaghan said as she took out her clipboard. "Line up!"
And so gym class went on with Videl speeding through the highest of the requirements and Gohanna slowly making it close to the highest requirements. She couldn't make it look easy or Videl would get suspicious although Gohanna had a nagging feeling in the back of her head that Videl already was suspicious and that no amount of caution on her part would ease any of it away.
When the last bell rang, Gohanna headed to her locker. "Hey, Hanna-chan, wait up," Erasa called after her as Videl slid in next to her to get into her locker.
"What's up?" Gohanna questioned as she slid some of her books into her locker, she already had a set of similar books at home and didn't really need to bring any of them home.
"What are you doing after school today?" Erasa asked as Sharpner slid up beside her, clearly he had already been to his locker.
"Oh, I was going to walk to a family friend's house. My mother wants me to pick something up for her there," Gohanna replied, not entirely sure where this conversation was going.
"Do you need to go like right away, because we were totally going to walk to the mall and hang out a bit. We wanted to know if you would totally join us," Erasa said.
Turning away from her locker, Videl added, "If you can't come, we can always walk with you. It can't possibly be that far away if you're going to walk." Videl wanted to see what Son would do. She had tried to follow her on her first day of school, but lost her in the process. If Son was going to the same place again today, then she wanted to see. Plus, she couldn't shake the feeling that Son was hiding something about this family friend of hers. This would be the perfect opportunity to find out what it was.
'Damn, we can't walk all the way over to West City, and I certainly can't take them to Capsule Corp. What am I going to do?' Gohanna thought as she searched for the appropriate response. "Ah, sure."
"Sure what?" Videl probed.
"Sure I'll go to the mall with you guys," Gohanna said thinking quickly. "I don't think my mother will mind if I'm a little late. She isn't expecting me home for a while now anyways."
Videl narrowed her eyes as she studied Son's face, 'Is she lying?' Videl thought, 'I don't think so.'
The truth was that her mother really wasn't expecting her home any time soon, but that was because Vegeta always wanted a spar when she was over and she couldn't leave without playing with Trunks. 'It's going to be a long night,' thought Gohanna as she closed her locker and followed her friends out of Orange Star High.
It took them ten minutes to reach the mall, bustling with people and when they did, Gohanna was awestruck. She had only ever been to the West City mall with Bulma and her mother. She had no idea that malls could be this huge, and West City mall was no joke.
"What you staring at?" Sharpner asked, "You never seen a mall before."
"Sharpner," Erasa chastised, hitting him on the arm, "Don't be such a meanie."
"Oh, I've only ever been to the West City mall," Gohanna replied shyly, a hand behind her head in typical Son fashion.
"Well that explains it," Videl added. "Satan City mall is one of the largest malls in the world."
"Yeah, that's why I totally love coming here," Erasa gushed. "I never get bored."
So the small group walked around the mall, stopping at the food court to grab a bite to eat and talking along the way. They were all having a grand time until a shrill scream was heard in the background, rapidly followed by the wail of sirens. The group rushed out the nearest door only to see a building ablaze in flames. Rushing towards the building the group of friends began to get lost in the ever growing crowd.
"Guys, stay back," Videl ordered as she pushed forward, "I've got to see if I can help." And she was off breaking away from the group and heading towards the fire trucks at the front of the building.
"Videl," Gohanna whispered in worry as she watched her run off towards the blazing building. 'I have got to find a way to get away for a minute so I can help her.' But as Gohanna looked around her, she didn't see a way out. Every direction she looked was clogged with people so much so that she was pushed closer to her small group of friends. Standing this close to them, there would be no way to sneak away without them noticing. It looked like she was going to have to wait for something to distract them.
"I sure hope Videl's going to be okay," Erasa said quietly as both Sharpner and Gohanna nodded in agreement. None of them wished to see their friend hurt.
When Videl reached the fire trucks she learned the horrible news, they didn't have a ladder long enough to reach to top, that truck was on the other side of town being used. But there was still hope, if someone could reach the rooftop, then they could turn the valve for the water tank that was up there. With the water running, the smoke would die down enough for helicopters to fly in and get to anyone at the top of the building.
"I'll go up and do it," Videl said with steely resolve.
"But Videl, it's too dangerous," cried one of the firefighters.
"No, I'm small enough to get past the fire and strong enough to open the valve. I'm perfect for the job," Videl replied as she started off towards the door. The majority of the flames were at the top of the building so she didn't have a problem getting to up the building until she was four floors from the roof. Hearing screams and moans coming from one of the rooms, Videl made a detour. Knocking the door in with a swift kick, Videl ushered the people out of the room and down the way she had come.
"Thank you, Videl, thank you," an older woman said as she came out of the room, but there wasn't any time to respond as Videl made her way to the next floor, stopping to kick down a door or quickly snuff out a fire so another group of people could get out of the building. Reaching the last floor that separated her and the water tanker, Videl was momentarily stopped by a falling beam.
'Damn, that was close,' Videl thought as she conjured up a way to get around the beam. Then it hit her, taking a couple of steps back Videl raced forward flipping over the beam in a tight ball. Landing on the other side, Videl was about to continue when she heard a cry from the next room. Racing to the room, Videl kicked open the door to find a little girl huddled in a corner.
"Come on," Videl urged as she tried to think of what she was going to do with the girl.
Tears in her eyes the little girl shook her head, "I can't," she sniffles out. "It hurts too much."
Videl glanced down to see the girl's swollen ankle. 'Damn, it looks broken. What am I going to do now?' The situation wasn't looking good and Videl was rapidly running out of time. "I'll carry you down, how does that sound?"
"I guess," the little girl looked gloomy, her nose was runny and tears were still making their way down her face. Walking over Videl gently picked her up.
"Now, you're going to have to ride on my back," Videl instructed as she maneuvered the little girl around. "Hold on to my neck. Hold on tightly." Once the little girl was situated on Videl's back, Videl set back out to complete her task, kicking open the door to the roof and swiftly moving across the rooftop. The roof was covered in flames and a small group of people were huddled together on the only side of the building situated as far from the majority of the flames as possible. There were more people than Videl had anticipated and the fire was only eating away at more and more of the untouched rooftop, but Videl could hear the helicopters in the background. With any luck, everyone could be saved. All she had to do was open that water tanker. "I'm going to have to put you down for a moment, is that okay?"
"Hai," came the girl's weak reply.
Racing over to the small group, Videl set the little girl down against the wall as far away from the virtual inferno that made up the rest of the roof. "Don't let this little girl out of your sights," she commanded as she turned to the nearest person before she stood back up and headed back towards the tanker. It took no time at all to arrive in front of the one chance of survival that everyone on the rooftop had. Knowing the stakes, Videl wasted no time on assessing the situation. There was only one way off of this roof and she was it. Quickly putting her hands on the valve, Videl quickly retracted them. Kami-sama it was hot, but she couldn't, wouldn't let the burning heat stop her. Taking a deep breath, Videl placed her hands on the valve again, keeping them there despite the mind numbing heat that burned her through leather fingerless gloves, scorching her hands in the process. With all the strength she possessed, Videl turned the valve.
It didn't move at first, but Videl refused to let go and just give up. Failure was simply not an option. So she continued to turn and soon her diligence began to pay off as the valve began to budge. Slowly the valve turned and the sound of water began to replace the raging roar of the fire surrounding her until the tanker was gushing water at full blast. She'd done it. She'd opened the valve and with a hesitant step back she allowed herself to relax, allowing a satisfied smile to cross her face. Finally, that little girl and the rest of the building residence would be saved. It would be but a matter of moments now. All they had to do now was wait.
However all was not well, as she turned around to join the small group in their wait for a rescue, she heard a creak. Stopping, Videl turned back around only to see a scene that nearly stopped her heart. One of the beams that had been holding the tanker up was alight with flames and as a result falling apart. In mere seconds the whole tanker was likely to come down on her. Realizing what was about to happen, Videl could only stare in horror as the beam broke and the tanker start to fall. There was no way she could get out of the way fast enough, not with flames towering over her to either side of her. This was it. She was going to be crushed.
'I always knew I would die saving people,' Videl thought as she waited for the end oddly calm at the prospect of dying. She turned around and ducked close to the rooftop in hopes of minimizing the damage. 'I just didn't think it would be so soon,' she finished her thought as she waited. So Videl waited, and waited and then when it seemed like an eternity had passed she looked up to see a figure holding the fallen tanker above her. On closer inspection Videl noticed it was Saiya-girl and for the first time since the new hero had come on to the scene, she was happy to see her, thankful really.
…
It was the scariest moment of her life. More frightening then the fight with Frieza, more frightening then even Cell, all because she was helpless to do anything. Erasa and Sharpner never let her out of their sight, so she couldn't slip away and make sure Videl was safe. And it was driving her insane. While Gohanna was fully aware that Videl could take care of herself. That was against bad guys and goons. Enemies she could physically defeat under her own willpower and strength. This was a burning building. Not a person with a weakness to exploit. Not a monster, larger than life and threatening the world. This was a force of nature that would take more than strength and ingenuity to defeat. In fact, it wasn't likely that it could be defeated. So Gohanna was beyond herself with worry, because Videl had blindly raced into head first.
Waiting, all she could do was wait, until the loud sound of a beam crashing distracted her ever vigilant friends. Glass blew out of a tenth story window quickly followed by the red and orange glow of flames. The image was enough to distract Erasa and Sharpner as well as everyone else in the area and Gohanna didn't waste a second of the time allotted her. 'Finally', she thought as she quickly slipped away into the crowd, frantically searching for an empty alleyway. Seconds felt like hours but she was finally able to change into her costume without fear of wondering eyes. Hitting the button for her disguise, Gohanna rushed up into the air, shooting up into the sky as fast as her body would allow. When she finally made it to the top, she saw Videl at the tanker, twisting with all of her might despite the towering walls of flames surrounding her. At the sight of Videl's success, Gohanna sighed with relief. That was until she heard the creak of a beam about to fall. Shooting forward without thinking, she made it just in time to catch the falling tanker before it crushed Videl. Looking down she saw the one look that she didn't think she would ever see on Videl's face, gratitude. And it made all the worry worth it. Her world could turn again although she hadn't realized it had stopped. None of that mattered, because Videl was safe.
AN: Ok, if you were paying attention, this chapter circled around. Some of the things mentioned at the beginning were here at the end. And if you are really savvy then you'll know who's perspective will start off the next chapter. Go ahead and guess, it's not as hard as you might think. Anyways, as always, give me some feedback. I want to know what you think. So review, review, review.
BloodRed13