Chapter 073 - Exposure
School continued to grow more and more problematic for both Corset and for Gohan. Ever since the new appearance of the Great Saiyaman, talk and gossip had spread throughout the school and outside into the streets of Satan City. Often on her way through the corridors Corset'd hear people muttering about how goofy this new hero looked but how incredible he was. The descriptions had Gohan's name written all over them to her; Gohan was indeed incredible and goofy! The problem was he was also treading on someone else's territory; Videl would often be in the same places as Saiyaman and seemed even more suspicious - if that was even possible! She clearly had her eye on Gohan no thanks to his peculiar behaviour during class and his long excursions to the bathroom! It would be only a matter of time before she cracked him, Corset was sure.
Indeed it was another week before the truth was found out...
On their way through the city, Gohan had revealed some alarming news.
"You were spotted?" Corset shrieked, her frustration and annoyance perking up as a voice in her head screamed 'I told you this would happen if you weren't careful'! "Damn it Gohan, who saw you and why?"
"A girl from our class called Angela," Gohan moped feeling downhearted.
Corset breathed a small sigh of relief, thankful it wasn't Videl. However the relief was short-lived. Angela was not someone she'd gotten to know well at all, just another girl who happened to be in their class that Corset assumed she had nothing in common with! She recalled her as a girl with lilac eyes and burning red curls which reached down to her lower back. She was a pretty girl and seemed to be the type that always had a boyfriend, flitting from guy to guy.
"So what did she say?" Corset asked not really sure she wanted to hear the answer.
"Well you remember when I was sent out during class today and then she left the class?" Gohan explained. "Well she came out to talk to me and asked me to go out on a date with her, otherwise she'd tell the entire school my secret! She saw he land on the roof and transform out of my Great Saiyaman disguise!"
"... You're such a headache sometimes..." Corset sighed though there was a playful smirk on her face. The look caught Gohan a little by surprise.
"... Um... What?"
"You got a girlfriend," Corset playfully jeered. "Gohan's going on a date! Serves you right for being so careless, I did keep telling you to be careful!"
"You told me to be careful around Videl, which I have been! You didn't say I had to be careful around Angela!" Gohan pouted.
"So any idea what you're going to wear and what you'll both end up doing?" Corset asked deciding now was not the time to continue teasing him. She was genuinely interested to see how Gohan'd handle being on a date. "Gonna get her a present or something? You don't have to, some girl like that and some don't. Where are you meeting?"
"What's with all the questions?" Gohan raised an eyebrow. "I haven't really thought about any of this... but we're meeting by the station in central Satan City."
"Sorry but I'm genuinely concerned for you," Corset apologised. "No offense but you come off as really naive and clueless when it comes to dates… and girls… and regular human life for that matter!" She noticed the slightly annoyed look on his face and grew a little flustered. "D-Don't worry though, you're lucky your best friend's a girl! I can give you advice at the very least!"
"I guess so..." Gohan mumbled folding his arms, realising they'd come to a quiet street with no one apparently present but the two of them. "I hope mother doesn't mind all of this. Angela wants to meet over the weekend and mother usually makes me study more during that time."
"She'll probably be thrilled to get you out the house," Corset giggled. "I guess this is where we part... though I honestly think I should be helping you out with all this. If you need any advice or anything, don't be a stranger!"
"Right," Gohan nodded.
Both teenagers checked to make sure no one was around before both teleported, reappearing high in the air and flying in separate directions to their respective homes.
Another week of school passed and rumours about the Great Saiyaman continued to flow, though thankfully the date seemed to have passed off fairly well as no one was talking about his identity! Unfortunately for Gohan there did seem to be rumours of another kind about his choice of underwear which Corset eventually picked up on! Teddy-bear underwear? Yeah that sounded like Gohan. She did not confront him on the matter sensing the embarrassment he was already going through and choosing not to make it worse!
Corset was visiting Gohan during one of their days off from school, homework in tow for a study session and to make an appearance as it'd been a while since she'd last visited. The scenery became familiar to her and she eventually landed outside the Son house. The small house had grown slightly in the past seven years mainly due to the arrival of a new member of the Son family; Son Goten. The house now had an extension added with a larger living room and kitchen space. Corset wandered up the path and knocked on the door, waiting quietly. The door opened and an excited face lit up. "Corset!"
"Hey Goten," Corset smiled as the seven-year-old boy rushed out and hugged her. "You've gotten bigger since I last saw you!"
"Did you come over to play?" Goten asked ecstatically. The boy was identical to his late father both in looks and personality according to Chichi! Corset had to agree with her, he looked like a miniature Goku for sure and seemed to have his love for food and animals from what she remembered of the late warrior. He was a lot more boisterous than Gohan was at his age and a lot more playful and child-like. Easily understandable considering the life he'd lived compared to her and Gohan. By his age they'd been involved in the battle against the Saiyans, Freeza and had began their training to fight the androids!
"I came over to see your brother, is he in?" Corset asked.
"No, he's out saving Chobi!" Goten shook his head.
"Chobi?" Corset repeated confused.
"He's a baby dinosaur who lives nearby; Toto's his dad!" Goten explained. "He's about as big as I am!"
"I see, well why is Gohan having to save him?"
"Chobi got taken by some mean circus people so Gohan went to rescue him so he can live with his family! It was awful, Corset! They had a whip and they were hitting him with it!"
"Aww that's not good. Well it's a good thing Gohan went to go rescue him then isn't it? Isn't your brother kind? If he's really not here then I guess I can play." Corset smiled.
"Yay!" Goten cheered as Corset put him back down on the grass, Goten grabbing her hand and dragging her inside. "Let's play! Let's play!"
Gohan soon returned home with a couple of scrapes and cuts though looking none the worse for wear. The slightly sheepish look on his face sent alarm bells through both Corset and Chichi's minds but neither reacted at that moment.
"Gohan look at you! What happened?" Chichi demanded.
"Yeah, what happened?" Corset asked shocked. "Did someone actually cause you some damage?"
"It was Toto; he and his wife showed up in the city looking for Chobi," Gohan explained as he took his helmet off. "It'll be ok, all I need is a plaster!"
"... Maybe you ought to see Dende," Corset suggested anxiously - and for good reason. "Was Videl there?"
"Yeah, she thought I was stealing Chobi from the circus but once she realised what was going on she helped out," Gohan nodded.
"Then you definitely need to see Dende!" Corset's suspicions had been confirmed and the alarm bells were ringing louder now. "She'll find out it's you if she sees that scratch! Gohan she's onto you already; she's already suspicious about the Great Saiyaman. If she sees you go into school tomorrow with that cut it'll be over! She's too cunning and smart!"
"It'll be fine; besides I'd feel bad if I went to Dende to get this little scratch healed up!" Gohan smiled. "Videl won't know it's me. She's smart but I have a plan."
"Oh what, stick a plaster on it and hope she won't notice?" Corset jeered wryly. "Gohan she's not stupid! You'll need to get it healed."
"Alright you two, that's enough," Chichi butted in, "Honestly, you bicker like you're a married couple!"
"M-Mother!" Gohan protested in embarrassment, "It's not like that! Really!"
"I'm just saying, it would be so sweet if you two got married and started a family. You've been friends since you were little." Chichi giggled.
Corset blushed lightly and rolled her eyes. So Chichi was still suggesting and spurting out these kinds of things? Was it because of her and Gohan being friends or was it because Corset was rich? She could never tell with Chichi but she knew the woman had always had her eye on money.
"So would Corset be my big sister?" Goten asked perking up and smiling at the prospect of getting an older sister. None of the adults had realised he was in the room.
"No, Corset and I aren't together! We're just friends!" Gohan cried even more flustered than before.
"Right now I feel like I'm his mother," Corset added folding her arms. "Please don't come to school with a plaster or with that cut!"
"Go on you two, get out of here and go have some fun," Chichi literally pushed her son and his friend from the room, the smug smirk never wavering from her face despite her son's protests. Gohan and Corset ended up leaving the house and sitting down on the outskirts of the edge of the forest, not straying too far from the house as dinner would be ready soon.
"... So how'd your date with Angela go?" Corset asked deciding she could no longer avoid asking.
"It went alright, she got pretty mad at me then suddenly she was fine again" Gohan replied looking up at the leaves of the trees towering over them. "I had to distract her a little though so I could go help the fire fighters with something..."
Corset looked at him suspiciously. "... You really can't resist it can you? How did you manage to distract Angela... and doesn't she already know you're the Great Saiyaman anyway?"
"Well surprisingly it turns out she was blackmailing me with something else!" Gohan explained. "I'll save that part for later. The nearby hospital was on fire and Videl was trying to get the water tank on the roof to open up to help put out the fire. Trouble was the talk almost crushed her; if I hadn't have stopped it from falling she'd have been seriously hurt! The fire was put out and I managed to transform back and find Angela."
"... That doesn't explain how you distracted her! No surprise Videl was there either... I don't like this Gohan, the more time you spend bumping into her, the more convinced she'll become it's you!"
"I think she had her suspicions and I don't think Angela helped!" Gohan sheepishly rubbed his head. "She bumped into Angela and I after the fire and for some reason Angela got upset again, I think it was because I was talking to Videl. Anyway she was about to tell Videl my secret! Turns out she didn't know I was the Great Saiyaman... it was something else!"
Corset smirked. "Ah I see! So that's why there are rumours going around school about you…"
Gohan's eyes widened in shock, a slight blush visible on his face. "... You mean... Aww no!"
"Oh yes, teddy-bear underwear!" Corset burst out laughing. "I thought it was true but your face just makes it that much funnier! Aww don't worry Gohan, I think it's cute! My guess is either Angela or Videl spread that one - and honestly I doubt it's Videl! You must have really upset Angela... Poor girl."
"What about me?" Gohan cried embarrassed. "I'm the one who's gotta deal with everyone else teasing me about my underwear!"
"If it bothers you that much then buy some new underwear," Corset replied, her speech slowing as a thought sprung to mind. "... How did she know about your underwear anyway?"
"She spotted me getting changed after gym I think, something like that..." Gohan mumbled.
'Geez Angela, what a perv you are looking in the guy's changing rooms!' Corset grumbled in her mind. "...Well at least your other secret is safe for now. Just make sure you don't do anything stupid with that cut."
"It'll be fine," Gohan responded. "You worry too much!"
"I worry because I know what you're like and I know what Videl's like!" Corset sighed.
The new school day had started. Corset sat herself down at her desk chatting to Eresa as the class slowly filtered into the room. Videl appeared through the door looking pretty pleased with herself. The conversation between the two girls abruptly stopped as both eyed her up suspiciously. Whilst Eresa muttered something about Videl being cheerful and thinking nothing more of it, Corset wasn't so dismissive. She looked happy... too happy...
'Please tell me he didn't...' She prayed to herself.
"Hey Corset, isn't it a nice day out today?" Videl's voice made Corset jump! "Aah I'm in such a good mood! A very, very, very good mood!"
"Is that so?" Corset asked, inside she was nervous. Videl had a pretty smug look in her eye which just made her worry all the more about Gohan. "Well here's hoping we have a good day today!"
"You know, we don't talk that much," Videl responded. "We should talk more. In fact I think we should hang out together too."
"Aww Videl, you know Corset's all shy and quiet." Eresa giggled. "She doesn't have time to hang out outside of school anyway, right Corset?"
"Yep, I'm very busy at home," Corset nodded, refusing to give away too much. It seemed she'd now become Videl's next big interest which could only mean one thing. She'd cracked Gohan. 'I swear if he's said anything about me to her I'll make him wish he'd never set foot in this school!'
A couple of minutes later a tired and defeated-looking Gohan wandered through the door. There was no plaster but even from this distance Corset could see his cut. 'Oh he's in trouble later on! I warned him and he didn't listen! Damn it Gohan!' She patiently waited for Gohan to sit down and tell her what had happened... no, the classroom would be a bad place to tell her what happened. Gohan sat himself down and slumped in his seat; his face said it all. Corset sighed and sat quietly at her desk, chin cupped in her hands.
"So what happened?" Corset asked as the two walked through the streets of Satan City. School had ended and Gohan had decided he needed to head to Capsule Corp again. Thankfully Videl didn't seem to be tailing them which surprised Corset a little. Even as she and Gohan spoke she kept one ear open for any movement from behind them.
"... You were right..." Gohan sighed. "Videl saw through me straight away. She knows I'm the Great Saiyaman. She saw the plaster and exposed me!"
"Well... No, it won't help..." Corset mumbled more to herself. She was about to tell him she told him this would happen but right now, would she appreciate someone gloating at her? No, she'd be of no help! She had more urgent questions to ask him, "Did you say anything to her about me?"
"No, she didn't ask anything about you," Gohan shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna drag you down with me."
"... Thanks," Corset gave a small nod, "So what's gonna happen? Are you gonna stop being the Great Saiyaman since she'll probably tell everyone?"
"Not exactly, Videl's promised not to tell anyone..." Gohan answered, "... she blackmailed me into entering the next Tenkaichi Budokai."
"Geez Gohan, you're pretty easy to blackmail; that's twice in one week! The Tenkai... Wait, isn't that the tournament your dad used to enter as a kid? I think I remember Mama telling me about that," Corset wondered.
"Yeah, that's the one," Gohan nodded. "She said if I don't enter then she'll tell everyone I'm Saiyaman! She's so smart; she even figured out I was the son of my dad, the man who won the tournament before the one Mr Satan won."
"Mr Satan won the last Tenkaichi Budokai?" Corset gasped. "... I knew he'd have had to have won something but I didn't realise it was that! No wonder they all thought he would save them from Cell. That's the strongest under the heavens martial arts tournament!"
"Since I'm not entering this tournament, I wanna enter as the Great Saiyaman so as not to blow my cover," Gohan added. "That's why I need to talk to your mum to see if she can help. Helmets and armour aren't allowed in the tournament but I wanna be able to hide my face."
"So it's back to mine then? I guess that's fine with me," Corset folded her arms. "Hmm... I have to admit it does sound like it could be fun. I'd feel bad if you had to enter the tournament by yourself but I don't know if I'd wanna risk my identity!"
"You could always-"
"I don't think so! That costume suits you; I don't think it'd suit me!"