Videl could've started dry reaching as she looked at the hand being offered to her with blood dripping rhythmically from the bottom finger. Gohan seemed to realise what was wrong and retracted his hand before wiping it on his pants and then offering it once more. Videl put on a brave face and gripped his hand with her own, feeling the warm blood on his palm.

"Yea, sorry about the blood, some bastard shot me earlier," said Gohan as they broke the handshake.

"You got shot!" exclaimed Videl. "Have you been to a hospital?"

"Na, I've had worse," said Gohan waving it off. "It'll be fine in a day or two."

"You've had worse, what could be worse than being shot?" asked Videl, her tone still disbelieving what Gohan was saying. Gohan didn't answer in words but simply looked at his left shoulder and the absent arm. "Oh I'm sorry," said Videl, her mood doing a complete one eighty. "Do you mind if I asked how it happened?"

"I was being noble," he chuckled recollecting what had happened. "A vicious attack was heading for one of my dad's friends and I threw myself in the line of fire."

"What sort of attack can blow a man's arm off?" asked Videl, curious to what this meant.

"An attack from Cell," said Gohan as he sat down at the table. Videl was shocked; this man who looked no older than her had taken a blow from that monster seven years earlier when he was only still a boy. "Well are you going to have some?" asked Gohan offering some of the spread.

"I'll only have some if you let me bandage that wound properly," said Videl. It was clear that Gohan had survived an attack which had come from a being who had wiped out an entire army but she would not let him openly bleed in front of her. Defeated, Gohan got off his seat and went and grabbed a nearby first aid box. For safety reasons, Bulma had placed a box in all of the group gathering rooms in the house.

Handing the box to Videl, Gohan grabbed his makeshift bandage with his teeth and pulled out the knot which held it in place. Videl held a roll of thick cloth and a few safety pins ready along with a cotton bud or two and waited for Gohan to take his shirt off. As nothing was happening it was clear that he didn't know that she needed to see the wound. "Could you take your shirt off?" asked Videl trying desperately not to insult him.

Gohan seemed to understand what she was saying but was reluctant, as if he had something to hide, although since there was no way out of this situation he grabbed the shirt by the collar and pulled it off. Videl was stunned by both shock and horror. The number of scars littered across Gohan's torso was phenomenal and underneath that was the toned body of a warrior. The muscles weren't bulging but they were so well defined as if they had been chiselled out of the smoothest stone. Her eyes tried vigorously to avoid the absence of a left arm but her eyes succumbed to their desire.

"Bulma helped smooth it out," said Gohan noticing where she was looking. Videl could see where the arm had once been was now just a plain flat piece of skin with the largest scar of all crossing over it. Of course it would be the largest scar it's because he is missing an arm for Kami's sake, Videl mentally swore. Realising the task at hand, she dipped the cotton bud in some disinfectant and dabbed it on the bullet wound. What normally would have stung at least a bit didn't seem to faze him in the slightest. Grabbing the cotton bud she went to repeat the process on the other side of the arm where the bullet should have come out...except there was no wound.

"What are you staring at?" asked Gohan.

"Well you got shot, doesn't that mean the bullet should have gone through your arm?" she asked in retaliation.

"Na, it didn't make it," he said with a smile.

That damn goofy smile, doesn't he take anything seriously, she thought as she wrapped up his wound with the cloth before fastening it with the safety pins. Grabbing a wet rag, Videl washed Gohan's arm free of the blood. "I'll say this now Gohan; it was a pretty foolish thing jumping in front of Cell and taking the blow for a friend."

"Impulsive behaviour can do strange things," he replied as he admired the handiwork before throwing his shirt back on. "Can we eat now?" he asked.

"It's your house," she said. Gohan casually walked over to the dinner table and got himself comfortable before literally inhaling half of the food. Videl sat down on the other side of the table where there was less chance for a hand to go missing. She couldn't believe that another person could eat at such an inhuman rate. Slowly she lifted her cutlery to her mouth and tasted the food which was disappearing rapidly. It felt like Heaven had just relocated to my mouth. "This is incredible," Videl said feeling the urge to throw away all table manners and simply dig in.

"Have as much as you can," said Gohan between mouthfuls. Videl saw that he no longer had any cutlery and was just using his hand to pick up everything. He's not using any table manners but does that make it alright for me to throw away all of the etiquette I have been taught? Deciding to be sensible, Videl continued to eat with her cutlery but found herself forcing food down her throat.

Soon, the food had all gone and Videl couldn't help but wonder how much weight she would have put on from that one meal. "I think you've gone and made me get fat," she said bleakly. I sound like Erasa damn it.

"Don't worry about your weight, these dishes were premade by my mum and then Bulma pressed them full of her latest edible invention which helps prevent weight gain," he explained.

"That's good to know," she said. Now Videl wanted to get some details about this strange man before her. "Just wondering, how did you get such a tone body?"

"I train constantly," he answered.

"How can you train with only one arm?" she asked, half expecting Gohan to cringe at the fact that she had said that he had only one arm.

"You just have to have the right equipment," he said with a smile. "Will your father be worried about you being at a boy's house?" Videl stood up remembering the whole reason she had come over.

"Thank you so much for reminding me, dad's going to kill me," she exclaimed walking to the kitchen door. "Thank you so much for the meal Gohan."

"Anytime," he said as a robot on wheels began rolling in the direction of the front door. Not wanting to get lost, Videl began to follow it. As soon as she was outside and the doors closed sealing her out did she realise that she hadn't even introduced herself. Stupid Videl, you go in take his food and you don't even give him your name, she thought angrily as she walked over to her house. She suddenly stopped in her tracks though as she realised a few things. If he didn't know who I was then how could he know about my father's hatred of boys my own age? Although that is a fairly well known fact so he could have made the assumption since I said that I live next door. Wait did I even say that I lived next door? Kami I am so stupid.

She walked through her front door and closed it behind her. She walked into the kitchen where she found her father. "So did you beat up that punk?" he said as more of a statement than a question.

"No," said Videl. "Turns out he is Bulma's Godson."

"So why did it take you so long if you weren't beating him up?" Hercule asked confused about the situation.

"He invited me in for dinner," Videl said knowing what the consequences were going to be.

"WHAT! HOW DARE THAT PUNK INVITE YOU FOR DINNER WITHOUT ASKING PERMISSION FROM ME FIRST," shouted Hercule.

"I accepted because I wanted to get off on the right foot," said Videl which made Hercule calm down somewhat.

"Well that's understandable," said Hercule. "Is there anything interesting I should know about our new neighbour? How would he react if I went over and greeted him?"

"I wouldn't go see him today; when he invited me I wouldn't eat unless he let me tend to his wound."

"Wound? What Wound?"

"He'd been shot and was bleeding badly," said Videl solemnly.

"SHOT? Why didn't he go to the hospital?"

"He didn't think it was necessary."

"This kid is starting to sound a little crazy."

"Well he said that he had much worse and I believed him."

"What would make you believe him?"

"The fact that he only had one arm," stated Videl before walking off leaving Hercule speechless. She didn't feel like discussing Gohan anymore. She didn't know whether to make friends with him or not since it would almost look like unnecessary pity. She could just imagine the headlines, 'Videl Satan befriends Cell survivor.' She knew then that love rumours would sprout up and she would hate herself for it.

Her wristwatch beeping brought her back to the real world as she closed the door to her room. "What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing Videl, I just wanted to know if the man who got shot ever went to the hospital?" asked the chief.

"Not to my knowledge, I asked the clerk to contact me immediately if something comes up," said Videl.

"That's good to know Videl," said the chief before the communication was cut short by Videl. She pieced together the incident from today with the meeting she had had not an hour earlier.

"Was Gohan the one who stopped that robbery?"

...

I'm enjoying writing this so much. Thank you to everybody who reviewed and for those who are asking about "Bounty Hunters," just wait, I'll get around to it eventually. The Burdened Muse, thank you for your comment, it put a smile on my face. Please review, more reviews mean longer chapters.