AN: I've gotten a lot of feedback on my Blur concept and have decided not to go back and revise it, but rather have Gohan learn from actually doing it, much like I did. I thank everyone for all their feedback!
Disclaimer: Do not own DBZ. M for mature content not in this chapter.
A familiar officer was working a Sunday shift at local precinct. Sighing in frustration, Klark Cent completed his case report on the recent pick-up of the teen Shredder and his accomplice. If only his other concerns were so easily dealt with. With great reluctance, he re-examined the long memo from the higher-ups. They were promoting him.
Normally, a promotion was a good thing—normally. Instead, he was obviously being used in a much larger political game. Making him a public figurehead, he was to lead the new taskforce against the Black Demon. A taskforce with absolutely no hope of capturing or finding the masked vigilante. If it wasn't for the recent murder with a gibbering witness's account, the police force wouldn't even be sure such a figure even existed.
Suddenly overnight, after the witness's testimony and the confirmation of the body, the police force had been suddenly galvanized into action. There was strong external and internal pressure for action to be taken, but honestly, the police had nothing on the son of a bitch. The witness's memory was shoddy, obviously affected by trauma, and the corpse was too far along, stinking up the morgue like something foul. Whoever ended up in control of the inevitable taskforce was going to be thrown under the proverbial public bus.
At least his superiors were nice enough to make him a Sergeant before he got run over.
Wearing his formal suit, Sergeant Cent stood up from his desk reluctantly. The clock signalled the imminent arrival of his required press conference. Groaning, he made his way to the podium setup within the press room of the precinct. He was going to deliver a short and sweet speech and hopefully only have to answer a minimum number questions.
Standing at the podium, the new sergeant tried to ignore the glaring lights as he faced the small assembled audience. Taking a deep breath, Klark started his short prepared statement.
"Three nights ago, the Black Demon was witnessed committing a murder. The Golden Star City Police Department does not and will not support vigilante activities. The crimes committed by this masked vigilante have escalated in nature and as such, the Police Department has put together a task force solely to catch this criminal. It is our hope we can bring justice for all those the Black Demon has wronged. Thank you for your time, that is all."
There was a sudden storm of raised hands from the group of gathered reporters. Letting out yet another sigh, Sergeant Cent prepared for the worst.
"Any questions?"
Minutes later, the new sergeant found himself fondly recalling his old simple and routine. Corralling citizens, writing tickets, and even dealing with crime scenes was preferable. Especially if crime scenes were wrapped and packaged like the Shredder case the day before.
The suspects had already been properly subdued by the time they arrived on the scene.
.
The warning klaxons ringing in Gohan's head did little to limit his thinking; compared to his previous life experiences, Shredder was ultimately pathetic. His concern was primarily on keeping Erasa safe, although keeping his abilities probably ranked high on the agenda. He knew that it would hard to balance both, but Gohan knew if push came to shove, literally, he would expose his abilities in order to protect his friend.
"Erasa, stay behind me," Gohan commanded, stoicism instantly replacing his usual carefree persona.
It was obvious to everyone present that something within him had changed; he was standing taller and with much more confidence than normal.
"Suddenly decided to grow a pair huh?" Shredder sneered, his facial expression quickly adopted by his two henchmen. They replaced their regular slouching posture with looming aggression, intent on intimidating Gohan and Erasa.
The blonde, stood nearly frozen, save for her trembling. The fear overwhelming her senses locked her mind and body. She couldn't recall the last time she'd been this scared. A deliberate motion caught her eye, knocking her out of her stupor.
The half-Saiyan took an intimidating step forward. His presence and confident aura was so strong, Erasa almost felt it as a tangible force. "Erasa, I want you to get out of here," he ordered, never taking his eyes off of Shredder.
"Y-y-you want me to what?" she squeaked, barely able to speak. She managed to sputter on, "B-b-but, w-what about you?" clearly worried for his safety.
Gohan turned his head, giving her a warming smile, "Don't worry, I'll be perfectly fine," his head snapped around as Shredder let out a guttural snarl. His stern mask settled back into place, glaring at the present threat. "This is between him and me. Isn't that right Shredder?"
The two locked eyes, neither one moving an inch. For Erasa and Shredder's cronies, time stretched, grasping and holding their complete attention. When the delinquent leader growled his small concession, the three let out breaths they hadn't realized they'd been holding in.
Erasa felt some feeling return to her body when Gohan returned his attention back to her. His warmth and demeanour was contagious. How does he do that?
"See? Everything's going to be fine," he intoned, obviously lying through his teeth for her benefit, "We're going to talk some things through, you don't need to be here anymore."
Liar. She held her tongue though, this wasn't the time—they needed help and fast, "Uh… ok, call me later, ok?" Erasa, walked away quickly, anxious to turn the corner and call Videl. The fighter was only a quick run away from their current location. Hopefully she could get here before things got too out of hand.
"Is there something I can help you three with?" Gohan asked, raising an eyebrow, completely calm. Now that Erasa was safely away, he found his anger simmering quietly in his veins. Any and all worry replaced by a rising lust for the violence likely to come. He was holding it back at the moment, but if they tempted him, he would let it take over.
"Don't fuck around with us, Nerd-boy," the brunette sneered, obviously upset Gohan wasn't freaking out like expected.
Shredder however, had quieted, carefully examining the half-Saiyan with an intense scrutiny neither of his friends could have replicated. There was something different about the usually bumbling teen. It seemed Erasa wasn't the only one who noticed the sudden change in atmosphere.
"We're here to fuck you," the other crony jeered, oblivious to the increased tension in the air.
"Huh, you're here to wha—with me?" the other teen replied, faking surprise and ignorance. He rubbed the back of his head in mock embarrassment, "Wow, sorry guys… I don't swing that way…"
His audacity shocked everyone into a pause of silence. It took a moment or two to process his insinuation before the trio roared in fury. Blinded by his rage, Shredder grabbed Gohan by the scruff of the neck and forced into a nearby alleyway between two shops. The other two followed quickly, their own excitement fueled by both anger and adrenaline.
Hook, line, and sinker! The half-Saiyan fought the urge to smile, settling for an unnoticeable twitching of his lips. Not only were they going to be out of sight for any passerby, but they were setting it up for him! Instead of letting his amusement show, he played the part of whimpering coward, allowing his fighting spirit to shimmer just below the surface.
Gohan let Shredder throw him into the wall, re-establishing the punk's dominance; Shredder refused to acknowledge his earlier intimidation and in a subconscious effort to compensate, took his rage and viciousness to a whole new level. When the other teen collapsed to the floor, he delivered brutal kick at the slumped student's midsection. If Shredder was more observant, he would have felt the steel plating in his toes crumple slightly.
The less intelligent duo stared on in surprise, unsure how to react to their bosses' new take on alley fighting. They'd normally at least let the victim try to get a punch or two in. Before they could make a decision however, Gohan stood up, pretending to stumble in pain.
Leaning against the wall, he gasped loudly, feeling his amusement grow with each 'strained' intake of air. Gohan was not an accomplished liar, in fact by almost anyone's standards he was a terrible one. And he knew it. Somehow, they were completely buying it, an act put on by him, Gohan Son. He was close to bursting out in laughter.
It was a good thing his anger was being blunted by his good humour, or else Gohan may have used excessive force when Shredder swung his fist. Instead, he simply dodged his head to the side, surprising everyone present.
Shredder lunged forward, missing the boy, smashing his fist into the wall. Grasping his knuckles in pain, he howled, "You little fucker, you asked for it." To emphasize his point, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pair of brass knuckles. Grinning sadistically, he put them on, intent on destroying Gohan completely.
The two cronies laughed, with slightly veiled apprehension at the beating to come. However, their laughter was cut short when Shredder commanded them into action.
"Hold him."
Making clumsy grasps at Gohan, the two tried to pin his arms against the wall. They hadn't expected much resistance, never mind the evasiveness the nerd was demonstrating. With every lunge, the two found themselves grabbing nothing but air.
Gohan even stretched his arms out in front of him to tease the two, "Come on guys, I'm right here."
With a snarl, the both leapt at him from different angles only to collide with each other head on. Falling to the ground, the two felt their rage grow as the nerd had the audacity to laugh at them. They knew he was laughing at them and if they understood the concept of audacity, their bloodlust would have mirrored Shredder's.
The duo began another approach, more cautiously this time, neither of the two were intent on colliding into each other again. Over Gohan's shoulder, they saw Shredder raising a fist. Intent on causing damage, the two rushed forward to distract their target. Pain, the only thing that mattered was hurting their target and—
Crunch!
Indescribable pain blossomed across his face. With a painful and inaudible oomph the pair was reduced to an individual, one of them receiving Shredder's fist to the face.
Gohan shot a cocky grin, standing a bit off, "Oops, looks like you missed." He wasn't worried about the damage; he assessed that the collapsed boy merely had a broken nose and mild to moderate concussion.
Surprised, both Shredder and his remaining crony froze up. The nerd's silent confidence threatened their own. In fact, the remaining crony backed away before running in terror. He couldn't explain why, Gohan hadn't demonstrated anything scary, but he knew he just needed to leave the alley.
Gohan watched him run; glad someone was going to learn from the experience. He returned his gaze to his would-be-tormentor and offered him amnesty, "This is your last chance, walk away and take your friend to the hospital. If you do, I'll forget this ever happened."
Roaring in rage, Shredder let his pride overrule his sense of self preservation. He took a swing with his right. A haymaker with his left. Each blow he threw had his full body weight behind it; they would have easily taken off a normal teen's head. If only they connected.
Letting his frustration show, he continued to rain blows on Gohan, "Stay. Still. Damnit!" he emphasized each word with a swing and a grunt. His muscles began to scream for oxygen. If he didn't deck the nerd soon, he'd lose the fright from exhaustion!
Luckily a much needed distraction gave him the opportunity he needed. A random shout from up the alley drew Gohan's attention, allowing the punk to land a vicious hook to the side of the half-Saiyan's head. Shredder grinned in victory as his fist made contact.
Then the world exploded in pain.
.
The following Monday, school greeted Erasa in the form of a question.
"How'd the date with you and Gohan go?" Sharpener asked her curiously before class.
Erasa nibbled at her bottom lip before sighing, "Not so good."
"Not so well," he corrected lightly, trying to raise her spirits.
His friend stuck her tongue out at him playfully before pouting, "He's so nice and cute… but…" Her voice trailed off, obviously unsure of how to continue.
"But what?" Sharpener prodded lightly, already suspecting the gist of her answer, "He's not for you?"
"Huh?" the female asked surprised. Her face took on a mix between confusion and thoughtfulness, "How did you know?"
The boy shrugged in response, trying to act nonchalant, "I kinda suspected as much last week. There were just moments which lacked chemistry."
Pouting prettily, Erasa complained, "Why didn't you tell me?" Before Sharpener could respond, she continued her tirade, "Why can't I fall for some decent guy? A great guy almost literally falls on my lap and I don't feel anything for him! Even when he saves me from Shredder and acts so cool, I still can't like him in that way!"
Half-ignoring her in a typical male fashion, Sharpener suddenly spluttered at her last sentence, "Wait what? He saved you from Shredder? What happened?" He demanded, obviously concerned for both his friends' wellbeing. Slamming his hand on the desk, he stood, obviously upset, "This is the sort of thing I need to know as soon as it happens!"
Erasa was both touched and slightly annoyed by his protective outburst. Deciding to calm him down rather than rile him up she explained, "The dick interrupted the end of our date. Gohan held them off and told me to run. I called Videl for help as soon as I could. From what she tells me she managed to get there in time and they were both okay. Gohan even called after to make sure I was fine."
"Really?" her friend asked skeptically, that Gohan, cool as he was, would be able to last any amount of time against the punks, "You sure he didn't pretend he was ok to make you feel better? He's not even here yet."
She shook her head emphatically, "I triple-checked with Videl. You know she wouldn't hide this sort of thing about others. She may be cold sometimes, but she wouldn't lie."
Sharpener conceded she may have a point, "Not when it comes other's safety I guess," he paused before giving a half-hearted grin, "When it's her on the other hand…"
Erasa gave out a reluctant sigh and agreed with a small nod, "Sometimes I wish she would let me in more. Like there are things she'll talk to me about, but anything that's big…" she sighed again, "I wish she'd just let us help her."
"She's proud. Just like her—well speak of the devil, look who just showed up," Sharpener replied before indicating the stairs with his head.
In a slight rush, Videl dashed up the stairs, only a minute left to get seated and prepared for class. Her hair was done in her usual pigtails and nothing seemed out of place. She seemed to have recovered from whatever bug she had last week.
Sharpener greeted her curiously with a small nod before questioning her, "Erasa told me the gist of what happened this weekend. Can you fill me in?"
Videl's returned smile suddenly diminished into a thoughtful scowl. After a moment she explained, "Turns out Gohan knows a little self defense."
"Really?" Sharpener asked in surprise. Meanwhile, Erasa frowned at the new revelation, unhappy with her emotions. Really? Still no tinglies? Damnit! I guess it's just not meant to be…
Videl gave a small nod, before continuing, "Gohan said I could tell you this, but it stays within us, ok?" she paused, giving them both time to nod. She then lowered her voice to a whisper, "Turns out his father was Goku Son."
"Who?" Erasa asked, unsure of Goku's importance or history. Sharpener meanwhile, felt his jaw drop in surprise. It took a moment before he gathered his wits enough to clarify.
"You mean the world martial arts champion before your father?" he asked excitedly, obviously wanting to confirm Gohan's illustrious ancestry.
Videl gave a small nod in time with the morning bell. Not wanting to disrupt the lesson and get in trouble with , she whispered quietly while looking ahead, "Yeah. The one and the same."
Suddenly, Sharpener's energy evapourated from his body. Not even looking at him, Videl curiously felt his excitement flee. Still she respected his privacy. Erasa however, possessed no such qualms.
"What's the matter Sharpie?" she spoke up, not lowering her voice in the slightest.
"Ahem," Mr. Alpha coughed, drawing her attention to the front, "Is there something you want to share with the class Ms. Rubber?"
"No, sorry, sir!" she yelped, ducking her head down in embarrassment.
"Good," the teacher continued his lecture, this time oblivious to the conversation taking place in the upper rows.
"What is it, Sharpie?" Erasa asked again, this time carefully keeping her voice low and head forward. A subconscious tic appeared on the teacher's forehead.
"It's just that…" Sharpener paused before turning to Videl, "Did Goku die fighting during the Cell Games too?"
"What do you—" Videl cut her own question short, understanding what her friend was implying. She'd never put together Gohan's explanations until now and it left her understandably curious. Her initial excitement at discovering his heritage had blinded her from its implications.
"What makes you ask that?" Erasa asked, not as quick on the uptake. She still kept her voice down.
Mr. Alpha's ears pricked forward picking up on her voice yet again. Luckily for the trio, his conscious mind was occupied with delivering the lecture material.
Unluckily for Gohan, it was at that exact moment that he burst through the door, late for class.
"Mr. Son! Why are you late for class again? So soon after the last!" Mr. Alpha's rage found an outlet, appropriate or not. Some of the students smirked, glad the teacher's pet was finally getting a tongue lashing.
"Uh, sir… could I explain privately?" Gohan sputtered, prepared to tell his cover story. The truth was, the Golden Blur had stopped a speeding vehicle this morning, accidentally revealing his face again when he forgot to blur. The two speeders had promised to respect traffic laws after a short flight within their four-wheeler.
Mr. Alpha gave Gohan the most intense stare he could muster, but soon cracked, unable to resist the boy's sheepish grin and embarrassed neck rubbing. He let out a sigh, "Come over and tell me what it is," he waved the teen over, "You can just tell me here."
"Uh, sir…" Gohan hesitated. His cover story was plausible, made sense, but was highly embarrassing. Which would actually make it an easier sell. He dropped his voice, "It's kind of private."
With an exaggerated sigh of exasperation for the sake of the class, the teacher pointed to the door.
"This had better be good."
Once outside the class, Mr. Alpha's demeanour changed completely from frustrated educator to worried mentor. "Is everything ok, son? Nothing wrong at home, I hope?"
Touched, but also surprised, Gohan waved his hand in front of him in panic, "No no no, nothing like that sir! It's just… my condition is a bit embarrassing." At his teacher's raised eyebrow he continued explaining, "I have IBS." His biology teacher winced in sympathy. "I try to deal with problems pre-emptively before class, but there are times I can't help it."
Mr. Alpha placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "I understand. You have a pretty serious case don't you? You should probably let the school nurse know…"
"No," Gohan shook his head vehemently, "Do you know how embarrassing it would be on my record? I can get a doctor's note," with a pause he thanked Bulma's connections, before adding, "If you need it. But I'd really like this to stay private."
The teacher gave a reluctant nod, "… I can explain your situation to your other teachers and try to keep it quiet."
He bought it. Gohan let out a relieved sigh, though he couldn't help but feel guilty with his lie. Still it was necessary…
"Well," he received another hearty clap on the shoulder, "Why don't we head back into class? I'm already a few minutes behind this lecture."
With a small nod, Gohan hurried back into the classroom and quickly took his seat. He greeted his friends each with a cheery smile and a nod as he sat down.
Worriedly, Erasa recalled the recent discussion and quietly whispered to him, "Is everything ok, Gohan? Shredder and his goons didn't hurt you or anything right?"
He replied with a small shake of his head and another smile, "I'm fine, Erasa; Videl over here came soon after you left. I didn't have to deal with them for long. I really just talked a lot." He let out a small chuckle, "You'd be surprised how easy they are to distract with words."
Both blondes seemed to take his answer in stride, but Videl felt her curiosity only rise with his statement. He's trying to blow it off like no big deal. But I swear he might have had it under control before I got there.
A loud cough from the teacher, redirected their attention back to the lecture. Instead of listening with attention like the others, Videl thought back to that afternoon.
Immediately hearing the first part of Erasa's call, Videl had rushed out the door. From the panicked explanation she was hearing, Shredder and his goons were crashing Gohan and Erasa's date. And they weren't being friendly about it. The blonde was pretty sure if help didn't arrive soon they might seriously hurt Gohan.
Telling Erasa to call the police, Videl hung up, before sprinting full out to the corner of Pooh Street and Happening Road. At her rate of travel, she'd arrive in a bit under 5 minutes. It was times like these Videl was glad she had long pushed herself beyond normal human limitations. She wouldn't need to slow until she reached her destination.
After a few minutes of running, she turned the corner, bowling straight into one of Shredder's cronies. She couldn't even remember his name. He collapsed on the floor, obviously injured. She paused to give him a dark look over. He seemed injured from their crash, but in a moment he completely ignored her as he stood up.
Without even looking back, he ran past Videl. She was surprised to notice his look of complete terror; it was rare for her to make someone piss themselves with a glance… At least during the day.
Quickly refocusing her attention forward, the fighter dashed towards the alleyway she suspected Gohan and Shredder to be in. At the mouth of the alleyway, she paused in shock taking in the scene before her. Gohan was dancing about Shredder, obviously enjoying his dominance in the fight.
Shredder was oblivious to the actual situation, so intent on causing damage to his opponent. With each wild swing, he threw away more of his energy. He never stood a chance at landing an actual blow.
Noticing Gohan weave himself into a corner, Videl called out a warning, "Gohan, look out!"
Surprised, he turned towards her, his eyes opening wide. Videl screamed as she watched Shredders' fist slam into the side of Gohan's face, knocking him to the ground.
The standing punk grabbed his fist, his face twisting in confusion. The female fighter charged him in rage, cursing herself for distracting her friend. She hoped that he'd be ok until she finished dealing with Shredder.
Her target remained focused on Gohan, leaning forward slightly, strangely cradling his hands in his chest. He didn't even realize Videl's presence until her foot connected with the back of his head, pitching him forward into an alley wall. She resisted the urge to put too much energy in the kick still, unconsciousness was immediate.
Quickly turning around in worry, she was dumbstruck to find Gohan standing easily and patting himself off. He seemed more concerned with the condition of his clothes than his face.
He took in her gobsmacked expression and misinterpreted it. "Are you ok, Videl? He didn't hurt you or anything, right?" he asked her worriedly.
Shaking her head slightly, she returned his concern, "Are you ok?" she asked, carefully examining her face. She ignored his discomfort at their closeness, aggressively, yet carefully, she grabbed his chin. With gentle movements, she turned his face despite his squawks of protest. There wasn't a mark on him.
"How is it you're not hurt?" she demanded, angry at being worried about him in the first place; he seemed to have been fine after all. She ran all the way, worried out of her mind!
Gohan was obviously panicking with his hands and spittle going every which way. It was like he hoped they'd act as an actual barrier between her and him. "I don't know what you're talking about Videl! I… must have... uh… rolled with the punch! I rolled with the punch!"
Videl quirked an amused eyebrow at his antics, suppressing the urge to giggle at his behaviour. What. The. Hell? This wasn't her at all! Refocusing her attention, she poked the gaping hole in his story, "And where did you learn to 'roll with a punch'?" she demanded, forcing him against the alley wall with a strong poke from her index finger.
With a stuttering reply, he explained himself, "I… uh… learned a bit…"He paused suddenly, obviously lost in some memory, probably a painful one. He swallowed before he continued, no longer intimidated by her body nearly pressing him against the alley wall, "…from my father."
Videl paused in surprise of both his answer and sudden change in demeanour. She took a step back and took a deep breath. Tentatively, she asked, "And he was…?"
With his quiet reply of "Goku Son," she felt a plethora of questions explode in her mind. Unfortunately it was at that moment that local authorities decided to arrive.
She recognized Officer Cent, but it was really a non-issue. Once they told their story, one of the officers considered taking Videl down to the precinct for assault and battery, until Officer Cent pointed out Shredder's brass knuckles. After that discovery the police were more forgiving and in fact thankful Videl had taken him out without major injury considering the circumstances. The two collapsed punks would receive hospital treatment before they were interrogated on various criminal charges.
For Videl however, the discovery of Shredder's brass knuckles only brought more questions and curiosity for Gohan. He quietly promised to answer her questions once they were done and they'd checked in with Erasa. Touched by his concern for a friend she'd completely forgotten about, she guiltily agreed to wait until later.
And later came. They spent hours sitting together, in the nearby park. They talked briefly about family before moving on to simpler mundane things. Things that made Gohan laugh nervously, or Videl giggle even. It had been a while since the female fighter had ever been so comfortable in another's presence. It only a week or two, somehow the other teen had wormed his way into one of her closest people. The only reason their time in the park had been cut short was the loud grumbling of Gohan's stomach. Videl had sadly thought it was the end of their time together.
She was wrong. Gohan knew the local restaurants and suggested they go have dinner and continue talking. His choice had been excellent, though he admitted he may have studied them the night before. It suited him though. It was with great reluctance that the two of them said goodbye that evening.
Both of them were rather private individuals, not willing to share many intimate secrets, but somehow they both felt maybe in the future they could, at least with each other. Videl hadn't felt so relaxed with anyone but her mom since her dad had passed away. The time the spent together had been nice.
Saturday had honestly been one of the best days of her life.
.
After school, Videl caught up with Gohan as he was leaving the grounds.
"Hey Gohan!" she called out, breathing in calmly, despite running across the school to find him.
"What's up Videl?" he asked in greeting, his usual warm smile perched on his face.
"Actually I wondering…" she began, not sure how to proceed. It wasn't a big deal. She took a deep breath before quickly sputtering out, "You want to hang out sometime after school?"
Completely unaware of her unusual behaviour, the half-Saiyan nodded in agreement, "Sure thing, but," he paused to check his wrist watch, "Today's not good. I kind of have plans already…" His voice trailed off when his palm began caressing the back of his neck.
He'd already made an excuse with his mother, baby-sitting Trunks, in order to patrol the city later. There was a disturbing trend of violent crimes after dark and it was time he stepped in to change things. It was the hope of both Bulma and himself that the presence of the Golden Blur would help deter many would-be criminals. In all honesty, without her backing he wouldn't have had the courage to lie to his mother like that.
The recent turn of events concerning the Black Demon was worrying however. Hopefully their actions and motivations wouldn't be associated with the darker vigilante's actions. Bulma had cautioned Gohan however from judging the other crime fighter. Little was known about the circumstances of the murder, but the Black Demon had demonstrated an aversion of killing in the past. Brutally maiming its victims was apparently punishment enough. Gohan had tried to take Bulma's advice to heart but, it so far it wasn't working out.
Still rubbing his neck, the half-Saiyan quickly reassured Videl about wanting to spend time with her, "I'd really like to hang out, I just need to know when. So I can let my mother know."
Amused, Videl tilted her slightly and cocked an eyebrow, "Need permission from your mother, eh?"
"Yes," he replied, meekly nodding his head.
The fighter raised a finger to her chin in thought. "How about Wednesday?" she suggested. With a normal heart rate again, Videl was able to act normally. To be honest, she felt like her previous worry had been a gross overreaction. What's so weird about friends hanging out?
"That sounds like a great idea," he replied.
"Ok, I'm looking forward to spending time with you after school then!" Videl allowed a rare smile to split her face. A smile of that magnitude was rare for her.
"Sounds good, I'll see you then!" Gohan grinned. He walked off and turned the corner, carefully tracking his friend's attention.
Apparently his dismissal wasn't exactly what she'd been expecting as she stood still, gazing out at nothing. Completely not understanding, he disappeared around the corner before blasting into the sky. He had a city to change.
.
Much later that evening, Gohan was patrolling some of the seedier areas high up in the air. He found that relying on his traditional Ki sense was useless; everyone involved was so below his notice, the general population always came across as a general smear of weak energy. Instead, the half-Saiyan attempted to hone his other senses. He found when he focused his energy towards his eardrums, his sensitivity increased dramatically.
It was a tremendous effort to filter through the overwhelming number of sounds, but he slowly began to adjust to the streams of noise. Gohan figured that a high pitched scream or fight would stand out from the usual mundane sounds. Oh how he was wrong.
So far he'd gotten himself involved in an argument over dinner choices between a girl and her boyfriend, a boyfriend sneaking up behind and scaring his girlfriend, and a bunch of young children have a small fight club outside their apartment—though his help with the old lady's kitten had been greatly appreciated. She'd even rewarded him with some home backed cookies. Unfortunately learning through experience, it was too hard to keep up his constant blurring and often, by accident, he'd end up revealing his face to others. He might give it up altogether; hopefully no one would connect the Golden Blur with the black-haired Gohan Son.
Flying just below the clouds, Gohan was thankful for the delicious cookies sitting in his stomach. And surprisingly, he was not that thankful for a crimeless night. Logically, he knew it was a good thing his presence wasn't needed; but he couldn't help but feel the whole afternoon and evening had been nothing but a waste of his time. It was time he could have spent with Videl instead. As if the universe heard his laments, Gohan felt a sudden spike of ki, rewarding his dedication.
Flying towards the site, he tried to study the energy, but its movements were strange. The power was minimal, but its movements were bizarre to say the least. Rather, the shape of the ki signature was. Up until now, the possibility had never even occurred to Gohan.
Slowing above an alleyway, the half-Saiyan watched as an armed group was decimated by a dark figure. Watching the figure fight and subdue the group, he assumed it must be the Black Demon. All of the Demon's victims wore a red coloured armband, possibly a gang, and were trying desperately to fight back. Despite the Demon's weak ki signature, the group didn't stand a chance.
The movements of the black vigilante were carried out with extreme precision and a grace which Gohan couldn't help but admire. If brutal ruthlessness and beating on a practically defenseless victims was admirable. Watching the Black Demon pull back a fist to deliver a potentially maiming blow at an already downed gang member, Gohan reacted.
The Black Demon tried to bring down her fist, only to find her wrist tight in the grip of another man. A tall, handsome, glowing man. His face was hard and set; the power emanating from him overwhelming. Feeling a cold sweat breakout, she tried to stand firm, composing her emotions beneath her mask. She jerked her head pointedly at her arm and tugged.
His muscles refused to budge.
"I can't let you do that."
AN: I've renamed the story. Also, story wise I'm at a crossroads. I've figured out villains/challenges etc, but I'm not sure what to do with Golden Blur/Black Demon's warring philosophies and settling the two. I'll likely end up blending the two, but this is a warning that my next update may take a while. Input would be appreciated! Also input on the title change would also be appreciated. Thanks for reading!