EDITED - 05/01/2014
...
Hey, guys!
Thanks again for your kind reviews and opinions (about the Ki suppressor and every other). You make it all worth it. :D
I like to answer all questions and, as such, here is my response to Dr. Blue22's question (as I already told him ;D) regarding the football team's name: why didn't I called them "the OSPU Spartans"? I thought it was a little too "in your face" to call them that, AND the spartan way of doing things was coach Leon's own way of commanding the team. As the university comes from way back, he wasn't the first coach to manage the team and so they weren't named that but "the Tigers", instead.
And, referring to Birdy's review, his (a dude :D, by the way, your latest review: lol) opinion about the power levels is similar to my own and they won't be that much addressed or referred to throughout the story. The highest power level doesn't make you the best warrior, in my view of things. Gohan was one of the highest powers ever since he was little but that didn't make him one of the best warriors from the get go. Training, experience, and maturity are also important. It's not that point blank and it gives things a whole deeper interest.
What do you guys think?
Well, anyway, here goes chapter 8 (technically, 7 :D).
Enjoy!
They knocked on the door as soon as they reached it. "Who is it?" they heard Erasa sing from inside.
"It's us, Babe." Sharpner responded. "Open up, we're starving!"
As if on cue, an intrusive Saiyan stomach growled loudly, giving birth to an even louder laugh out of his blond roommate. As many times as the guy had heard his body beg for food, one would think it wouldn't be as hilarious anymore, but apparently not.
It wasn't Gohan's fault, though. The amazing scent that emanated from their friends' apartment was so unbelievably mouthwatering that his Saiyan side instinctively suggested just blowing up the damn door. Luckily, Erasa beat him to it.
The guys walked in to the closest to paradise that they could manage to get at this point in their lives. Sharpner because he was meeting the girl he'd been in love with for the past couple of years, and Gohan for the beautiful sight in front of him. A full, colorful, yummy-looking table, stocked up with mountains of different kinds of appetizers and side-dishes. His throat forced a hard gulp from all the extra saliva in his mouth.
He managed to snap out of his food-induced glaze pretty quickly, however, since he didn't want to be standing so close to the couple next to him, who had suddenly decided to have a pre-dinner make out session, as it turned out. Calmly, he made his way towards the kitchen counter where Videl was hard at work, her whole body swaying rapidly from the whisking action of what his perfectly accurate sense of smell decided was garlic mashed potatoes. Man, how he loved those...
"Did you spend the whole day cooking?" he asked, amazed, just before pecking her cheek from behind her shoulder.
"Just a few hours," she said cheerfully, a big proud grin on her face. "No biggie."
The young man looked down to the massive bowl she was gripping as in a hug, and swiftly dipped a finger in its contents, eagerly bringing it to his lips right after.
"Hey!" she objected, but it wasn't too serious. And even if it had been, there was no way he could feel guilty about it. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, his chin tilted in delight.
"Oh, dear God, it's amazing..." he blurted out despite himself. So creamy, just the right amount of garlic… Would she be mad if he stuck his whole face in there, just for a second?
"It's never hard to make it amazing for you, is it?" True enough; he never managed to hide his prodigious appetite around his friends. Or anyone else, for that matter. Videl then lifted the wooden utensil she was holding. "Do you wanna lick the spoon?"
He tried his best not to gasp at the prospect, pressing his lips together so as not to shout out his true desire. Licking the spoon was a cute treat for little kiddies, not a grown man. Hesitating, he answered, "No…?"
Thankfully, she knew well who she was dealing with, sweetly insisting, "You'd be helping me a lot. It'll be easier to wash if it's licked clean." She handed it over. "Pretty please?"
Could he ever say no to such adorable puppy-dog eyes? Could he ever say no to guilt-free garlic mashed potatoes? Not likely, so a fake sigh preceded his response. "Fine, if you insist." Taking the spoon and shoving it directly into his mouth, he fought a groan of pleasure from escaping him. So delicious…
A delighted giggle came from her, before placing a friendly peck on his cheek as well. "Thank you," she said, winking playfully as she turned around to check in on whatever was inside the hot oven. When she opened the door, it was nirvana, the incredible scent forcing his eyes to close shut once again. Apple, onion, cinnamon, rosemary and sage, a touch of ginger and pepper, and the heavenly smell of a crunchy-skinned full turkey, roasted to juicy perfection. Man, how he loved Thanksgiving… Though the actual holiday was still a few days away.
Videl turned off the oven with the customary ping of a reset timer before taking out the golden-brown masterpiece, fit for a group four times their size. Which was the same as saying just enough considering they had a Saiyan among them. "Dinner's ready!" she sung while removing her green apron.
The wooden spoon was placed in the sink, and the four of them took their seats around the round table, his eyes rapidly queuing up every single item he was going to shove into his mouth, in which order and quantity. That big wedge of baked butternut squash was definitely calling his name; that one would go first.
"Wait, guys," Erasa said just as his fingers started to inch over to the small platter. "We have to say what we are grateful for!" W-What? But he was so hungry! Was she really gonna make him suffer like this?
"E, can't you see the man's in pain?" Videl joked, pointing at the young Saiyan to her side. He could only pout and nod pitifully, which made the girls giggle.
"Aww, come on, it's tradition! We'll say only one thing each and we'll be done in a jiffy. I'll start." One of her hands came up to cover her boyfriend's. "I'm grateful for the strength to allow new things into my life, even if it means being terrified that they may not work out." A smile graced all their lips as Sharpner reached in for a small peck. He went next.
"I'm grateful for the power to follow my heart," the blond said, "even when all things around me are telling me to move on."
Gohan couldn't help but feel happy for his roommate as he saw the peacefulness in his expression just as much as in his speech. The guy had always been a bundle full of crazy when it came to everything else, but whenever the subject was Erasa, things would turn completely different - mellower, serene. Now that said blonde girl was finally his girlfriend, it's like the weight of a full heart had suddenly been voided into a shared burden.
It was so clear from the very moment the guy had crashed open their room's door and hugged him tighter than ever, elated with the news that Erasa had finally said "yes" to his umpteenth attempt at an actual relationship. Videl had worked her magic all right, and it was her voice that brought his attention back to her now, sitting to his right.
"I'm grateful for love," she said, "in all its forms." Her blue eyes were staring warmly his way, a smile so sweet that brought his right along. "I'm grateful for the ability to embrace it even when life tries to make it look like some fabricated notion that only exists in the movies. I'm grateful for the understanding that romance may come with love, but that true love can come without romance. And that's okay."
Erasa rushed to hook an arm around her flat-mate's neck, bringing her closer for a hug. Tears were flowing down her cheek, and when the two girls parted ways, the back of the blonde's hand went up to wipe them clean. Then, she turned blue eyes to himself. "What about you, Sweetie?"
It wasn't like he'd expected to skip his turn, of course, but at the same time it was proving difficult to choose what to say. What was he grateful for? His answer was the same every single year - the kids, Bulma, and his mother; his family - but... so much had changed since last Thanksgiving. New people had come into his life, new experiences, new feelings, right along with old feelings that'd been considered long lost. There was still much more healing to go through before he could be grateful for simply being alive and healthy, but if anything would be able to help him achieve it…
A smile returned to his lips. His answer was the same every year, and this one would be no exception.
"I'm grateful for family," Gohan said, his eyes hopping from person to person around the table until they stopped on Videl, "in all its forms." She produced a sweet smile of her own, staring back. "I'm grateful for the ability to allow others into my life, even when I don't feel deserving of their support and the way they care about me. I'm grateful for the realization that families don't have to grow up under the same roof, or have the same blood running through their veins." He paused. "And I'm grateful for the blessing of having two."
His three friends looked at each other wordlessly, heightening his awkwardness and making him look down to his plate. It had all come from his heart, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but… God, could he have been any more mushy? He was lucky they weren't laughing in his face about it.
Suddenly, Videl screeched her seat back, startling him with the proximity when her arms surrounded his neck and hugged it tightly, but after the initial shock, he simply smiled and hugged her back. This kind of contact was just like her, as he'd come to realize over the time. The scent of green apples from her hair dissipated all the other delicious ones around the room but he didn't mind one bit, his eyes closing shut to let the comfort of the gesture envelop him. A little sigh escaped him when she let herself drop gently to sit on his lap. This was nice. Really nice.
Afterwards, two new pairs of arms encircled them both, though the loving moment was only allowed to last for a couple of seconds. Unfortunately, Gohan's stomach wasn't much for displays of affection as for demands of intake, shouting yet another thunderous rumble that induced a general laugh from their bundle. Sharp and Erasa let go of their grips, the girl clapping her hands once and cheering loudly, "Let's eat!"
Food… Wonderful delicious food. Yeah, he was thankful for that too.
Videl loosened her grip around his neck and took a second to look at him directly in the eyes before getting up and returning to her seat. His body decided right then and there that it actually liked being hugged, whimpering silently at the lack of touch, but luckily there was a ton of scrumptious delicacies to get him over it, and he wasted no time to lunge himself at them.
An hour and a half passed as fast as the rate of food consumption around the table, only being somewhat curbed with topic after topic of friendly conversation. "Wow, Vi. That was awesome," Gohan complimented, drinking up the last of his orange juice. He knew he wasn't easy to satisfy when it came to food, not because he was picky - for sure! - but because of the sheer quantity it would take for him to feel completely satisfied. The skillfulness his friend had portrayed preparing the amazing feast was closely comparable to his mom's, and he couldn't find a compliment more flattering than that.
"I second that, G!" Sharp proclaimed. "All in favor of a mandatory weekend family dinner say 'aye'."
"Aye!" Videl's three friends promptly delivered.
She grinned immensely, saying, "I'm glad you all liked it."
"Are you kidding, Babygirl? We loved it!" Erasa insisted with one of her patented giggles. "But anyway, Gohan?" she asked, earning a curious tilt of his eyebrows at the sudden change of target. "Sharp said you're on the guest-list for the Christmas gala, next month. What's that all about?"
Oh, that. "Yeah, Bulma is kind of my aunt," he responded casually.
Videl turned back to him, a little too harshly. "Bulma?"
"Umm… yes."
"The Bulma Briefs is your aunt?" Now her words seemed like a statement, like they were skeptical or something.
"Kind of, yes." Not exactly by blood, but it was how she'd introduced herself to Dean Momo when they first came over to take the tour around campus. And it wouldn't feel right to say Bulma was simply a friend, since she was like a second mother to him also, so "aunt" seemed to fit her just perfectly. Oh, and then there was the whole "Dad and Vegeta being like brothers" thing, considering it was the same tenacious Saiyan blood that ran wildly through their veins. Yeah, it was completely logical and easily passable for truth, so why not?
Next time he'd see Vegeta would be in Other World anyway, so his neck was safe if the Prince ever found out they'd be putting him and "the clown" within the same family tree. He couldn't kill someone who was already dead.
All three of his friends were dumbfounded, staring at him like he'd inadvertently told them he'd once been a gigantic ape with a knack for destruction, ultimately renewing his understanding of how widespread Bulma's notoriety really was. President Briefs of Capsule Corporation, beautiful, smart, probably the most powerful woman in the world if not be physical terms. She'd been in the public-eye ever since a teenager, at least, so it was only natural she'd be recognizable just by name.
"Shit, G!" Shapner suddenly spat out through the silence. "I kinda got it that you knew someone on the inside, but Bulma Briefs? Damn!"
Gohan only shrugged at that. There was really nothing he could do about people's reactions regarding the matter, but he knew he could trust his friends with this. It was probably the most tellable secret he had, after all. But then suddenly, he realized something, his eyebrows shooting up to the ceiling. "Oh, but... Now that you guys are together, you can't be my plus one, Sharp."
"Yeah, that's why I brought it up," Erasa confessed. "I mean… he could but-"
"No, I can't," Sharpner interrupted. "Can't leave my girl all alone during dinner! All those other assholes would be eyeing you up and drooling over you. Someone's gotta set them straight."
They all chuckled. True that whenever they all went out together, if Erasa was ever not holding her boyfriend's hand, the random men around her would tend to be rather explicit with their... interest over her. Normally crudely, always indecently, always suggestively. It'd be much more toned down whenever Sharp was by her side, though.
Erasa smiled caringly at his roommate, and then her bubbly persona came right back up, looking his way again. "But I would love it so, so much to meet her, Gohan! You can still introduce us, right?"
"Of course," he told her. "I'm sure she'll love to meet you guys." They were all ecstatic by that. Meeting a celebrity could do that to a person, apparently, even though he'd never be able to see Bulma as one. It didn't cross his mind that simply being in the same room as Bulma Briefs would be such an honor, but they didn't know her like he did, of course, so it was understandable.
Every celebrity had a family, right? Half-breed Saiyan nephews included.
The new data on the matter, however, had left him with a plus one position to fill, and he considered no other option but the girl to his right. "Congratulations, madam," he joked, turning to Videl. "You've just got yourself a ticket to the VIP room." He tried to make it sound much more of a big deal than it was, and since she responded by gasping faintly at him, he'd apparently nailed the delivery.
"Really?" she beamed. "Are you sure?"
Gohan's eyebrows furrowed together. "Well... of course. Who else would I bring?" It'd surely be a humongous bore without her, but he'd more easily go alone than bring anyone else with him. "I mean, you are going to the gala, right?"
"Yeah, I am." She paused, still grinning. "I'd love to see her again. She's an amazing woman."
Again? "Wait… you already know her?" Gohan asked, genuinely surprised. Knowing of Bulma Briefs was common occurrence - or rather, "expected" - but knowing her personally was definitely not.
"We're not actual friends or anything," Videl explained, "but yeah, I met her a couple of times."
Sharpner's voice was heard next, addressing his girlfriend. "We're well connected, Babe," he told her in a whisper, joining in the amused chuckles that blended with the text message tune of Videl's cell phone. She reached for it with a big smile, but a quizzical frown took over immediately.
"Rick just texted me," she said, and every smile at the table died instantly, Gohan's expression upping the ante even further into a deep frown. Had he not been explicit yesterday night? Either leave Videl alone, or he'd be forced to butt in and make it his business, and a text message was definitely not leaving her alone.
"What does it say?" Erasa asked.
Videl snorted after reading it and responded, "He wants me to meet him downtown to talk." Oh, and he wanted to see her personally? Come on, it's like he was asking for trouble.
"Well, he can just go fuck himself," Sharp almost growled, and rightly so. "You're not going, are you?"
Videl took a moment, but finally answered, "I... am, actually."
It only made his frown thicken, his gut to turn on itself. Erasa was the one saying the obvious, even though Sharpner and himself didn't yell out the words. "You can't be serious! He tried to hit you, Vi!"
"I want it to be over for good," Videl argued. "And I'm not going to just let him believe I wasn't serious yesterday." She got up from her seat. "Look, I'll just go tell him to piss off and be back in no time. We can watch a movie or something."
Gohan stood up, as well. "I'm coming with you."
"Gohan, there's no need to-"
"I wasn't asking," he interrupted sternly, staring into her eyes so she'd understand he wouldn't back down from this. It was bad enough that she wanted to go meet the guy again - even if her reasons were valid - but after the show Rick had provided them yesterday, with the anger, the insults, the actual attempt at physical violence… No way; she wasn't going to see that bastard alone.
Rick was too low. Hitting a defenseless woman… his own girlfriend. Just too low.
What if he was going to hit her again? Or worse, convince her to take him back. No, Vi was too smart to fall into his game again. The guy was awful! He treated her like a common thing, someone that would always be nothing more than sex or some sort of macho recognition among his friends. Vi was a beautiful person, inside and out; she'd find someone that would treat her like she deserved to be treated. Like a princess. Or a queen. The one who deserved the world and nothing less than that.
"I'm coming too," Sharpner said, and after a nod from Erasa, he added, "We all are."
"You guys, we'll be in a public place," Videl insisted. "Even he isn't dumb enough to hit me while we're surrounded by people. Besides, you know I can take care of myself. He just caught me off-guard yesterday."
"I wouldn't underestimate his dumbness," Sharpner joked, making his girlfriend giggle.
"It's not up for discussion, Vi." Gohan stepped for the entrance and grabbed his jacket, opening the door afterwards. "Now come on. Let's get this over with."
Downtown was dark and empty, which was normal considering the hour. People were most likely still finishing up their meals or already turning in for the night, tomorrow being a weekday and all. The Third Street diner wasn't exactly a place Rick would visit too often, Videl knew, considering that anything less than five-star service would be below him, but it was where he'd meet up with his football buddies from time to time.
From the sidewalk across the street, they spotted him, already inside the small restaurant, sitting in an upholstered booth by the window while reading the menu.
"There he is," Erasa pointed out as they came to a halt.
"Okay, you guys stay here," Videl instructed, turning halfway to her friends but maintaining eye contact with the douchebag. "I'll go get him off my back for good."
"I'm not staying out here," Gohan told her, his words really quiet and contained. She turned to him, and his face matched his tone exactly - quiet, contained - charged with intensity.
"Yes, you are, G," Sharpner insisted, the impelling manner by which he'd produced the words earning him a couple of inquisitive looks from herself and Erasa - though not from Gohan, she noticed, still completely engrossed in the image of her ex. "If you go there, he'll just want to cause a fight, so you'll have to defend yourself, and the next thing we know someone calls the police, and then what?"
"Sharp's right," Erasa agreed. "Vi, you go on inside and we'll be right here. If you need any help just give us a signal."
Gohan's gaze was anchored tightly on Rick's figure across the clear glass window, not for a second breaking contact. It was sweet that he wanted to protect her, but if he was such a martial arts enthusiast, he should know that the Saviour's daughter knew a thing or two about fighting. She could very well defend herself.
Nevertheless, all Gohan ever wanted was to help, she was sure, to do everything he could so she wouldn't have to get her hands dirty. It was as clear as water, his intentions, since it would be the proper thing to do for a gentleman such as himself. It was kinda refreshing, actually. Everybody knew who her father was, meaning they knew what she herself was capable of when it came to fighting, so she'd usually be seen like just one of the guys, a butch who didn't need those kinds of pleasantries normal women would get, never an actual lady.
But Gohan had never treated her as less than that, a lady. It made her feel like a princess, as childish as it might sound. It was nice.
She turned fully to him, taking his right hand to try bringing his eyes down to her. They did. "I'll be okay," she told him, and smiled to reassure him. Gohan just stared at her for a long moment, silently, but then finally nodded, his features not softening, the straining in his eyes, in his jaw, not diminishing, but in some way convinced as his gaze returned to the diner.
Things would be dealt with in no time, anyway, since last thing she wanted was to spare Rick another minute of her precious time, so she gave a soft tug at Gohan's hand and walked across the road towards the door. Inside, she made eye contact with Rick, immediately lifting up a palm to stop him when he stood up to greet her with a kiss.
This right here, this was exactly why she wanted to come meet him like he'd asked. It didn't connect with his bloated ego that her words were to be taken seriously, yesterday. "We're done" hadn't been explicit enough, apparently, and neither had "Leave me alone". They sat down and she crossed her arms across her chest.
"Thank you for coming," the young man started.
"What do you want, Rick?" Videl's tone was as harsh as it was determined.
"I just wanted to talk to you about yesterday."
What about, she wondered? That he tried to hit her? That he'd insulted her? An apology would certainly be welcome, but it wouldn't make her get back together in any way. Maybe she'd been playing dumb and blind before, but now she saw it: he was an awful boyfriend, a terrible person. He'd say what he had to say, and then she was walking away for good. "Then talk," she told him, coldly so as not to get his hopes up on any sort of reconciliation.
"I know you didn't mean to say those things," Rick said, "and I forgive you for going out with that guy-"
Videl's eyes widened almost inhumanely at his words. Dumbstruck, incredulous, she interrupted him right away. "You... forgive me?"
"Yeah. I know you were just acting out to make me jealous, and that's okay. I forgive you for everything."
She couldn't really form any type of sentence, given the severity of the shock she was in. Dear God in heaven, how was she ever anything to this guy? Was he really that dumb? Or just plain narcissistic? It was the latter, surely, since Rick was as smartass as they came, but enough was enough. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"What do you-"
With a steady tone, she quickly interrupted him again, not allowing for anymore stupidity to ruin her night. "Look at me," she said. "We are over. I don't want anything else to do with you. I want you to leave me alone and nothing more, get it?"
"Aww, come on, Babe. Don't be like that."
"I'm not your babe. I'm not your girlfriend. I'm not your anything! Don't ever text me again. Don't call me and don't come looking for me. Nothing! Is that clear?"
Rick scowled then, his voice louder and more aggressive. "You're actually leaving me for that guy? You can't be serious!"
The young woman stood up. "I'm leaving you for myself. Goodbye." She turned around to walk away but was forced to a stop by his unyielding hand, gripping her tightly around the upper arm.
Bastard. He did not just touch her.
Videl forced her member out of his hold and brutally slapped him across the face, continuing her path outside to her friends. Erasa was the first to meet her halfway, running over and cupping her friend's face in between her palms, looking at her with concerned eyes. "Are you okay?"
Silently yet surely, she nodded, just as Gohan and Sharpner were arriving next to them. "Did he hurt you?" Gohan asked. He was nervous, she could tell, breathing a little harder than before.
"No, I'm okay." She smiled, touching his hand again for a moment to reassure him. "I just wanna go home."
Gohan nodded vigorously, as if telling himself everything was fine with the action, and then let out a soft breath. Erasa hooked her arm on Videl's and they started walking along the sidewalk towards the car. Until a voice stopped them.
"Hey, you! I want to talk to you!" Rick shouted from their backs, and they turned around to face him. Gohan extended his arm a bit in front of her, as if wordlessly saying to stay behind him.
"I told you I don't want to talk to you, Rick! Go away!" Videl shouted.
"I wasn't talking to you." Rick pointed to the young man in front of her. "I was talking to him."
The group was surprised, to say the least. All apart from the chosen one himself, apparently, since the only thing that changed in Gohan was his extended arm returning down, his frown not softening, his stare not drifting away from Rick for a single second. What in the world did her ex want to say to him? It couldn't be anything good, that's for sure.
"You guys go on ahead," Gohan told them, completely calm. "I'll be right there."
Videl snapped, standing in front of him and looking up to his eyes, though he didn't look back. "Like hell, Gohan! You don't have to talk to him!"
"I made him a promise yesterday," he said. "It's my business now."
His eyes were battle-locked onto his opponent for the entirety of path between them, even though it was only a few steps. Gohan stopped and crossed his arms in front of his chest, so intensely towering over Rick as to scare him into giving a shaky step back. She wasn't sure what it was about Gohan that made him seem so… prepared. Like he'd been through this type of confrontations many times before and been steeled to deal with them.
She had to admit, it was as chilling as it was exciting.
Videl gave a couple of steps their way so she could hear them, because if the douchebag thought he had any right to harass her friends just because he'd been her boyfriend once, he was sadly mistaken. She'd smack him right into the wall beside them, the bastard!
"You're a little piece of shit, you know that?" Rick seethed. "You come here from some shitty mountain or wherever, and you start humming around my girl and putting things in her head. This is all your fucking fault! She's mine! You are so much beneath her, it's not even funny. How in the world do you think she would have anything to do with a fucking hick like you, huh? You'd be best just running back to your little mountain and leave her alone, because there's no way I'm gonna let you of all people take her away from me!"
There was no response - or movement, or anything else, for that matter - coming from Gohan, but there sure as hell was one coming from her. Who did he think he was? Videl stomped over to them the rest of the way, standing next to Gohan and pushing Rick on the chest though not with too much force; it was just a warning.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" she yelled at her ex. "Leave him alone! He has nothing to do with this!"
"Fuck you! He has absolutely everything to do with this!"
"That's not true! He's my friend!"
Rick cackled. "Right! Because a girl like you is more than capable of having male 'friends'!" He air-quoted the words. "You are clearly more fuckable than you are likable, and damn you all to hell if I'll let a fucking nerd-boy steal you from me!"
"That's enough!"
Gohan's voice scared her shitless with its intensity, echoing in the empty streets around them like a crackling thunder, a booming storm of authority over everything living. But after the initial shock, it was its visceral tone that really amazed her. She'd had a glimpse at this other side of him yesterday, a commanding, seasoned man who had clearly been living his adulthood for a longer time than she was able to even consider, but this…?
More than a soldier, this was a warrior. When he spoke again, it made her shiver.
"I didn't steal her from you because she's not some thing that you can take away from another person," he said. "She's a human being with free will and opinions of her own, and she makes her own decisions. Not me, and definitely not you. If you're too thick to realize that, then this whole thing is your own damn fault, and you had it coming. It's over. And if you ever touch her again, I swear to God, Rick... I will find you." He didn't elaborate but there was no need; his eyes filled in for what was left unsaid.
A couple of silent seconds were allowed to let the words sink in, Videl all but numb at what had just happened, and then Gohan turned around, nudging her to accompany him towards their friends with a hand on her back.
She couldn't take her eyes off his face, looking ahead as if escorting her, her lips stubbornly parted in awe. Something crept in from somewhere she couldn't quite place and rubbed the area just beneath her navel like it was setting it on fire. It made the muscles in her legs feel achy and numb, and if it wasn't for his hand on her back, she could swear they'd faulted for a couple of steps. Not wanting to stare, she forced her gaze away only to exhale forcefully at the imprinted after-image that took over her blank mind. The sight of a concerned Erasa snapped her out of it, and she just hoped that the burning sensation on her cheeks wasn't visibly shown.
Gohan didn't stop, only addressing their two friends with a quick yet explicit, "Let's go."
The ride home was incredibly silent, apart from the two blonds scarce attempts of pulling their friends in the back seat into a conversation, or at least an overly-charred roast of "Rick, the prick" as they'd called him. It was fruitless, though.
Gohan was just too out of himself, looking out the window while trying to extinguish the fire in his chest, so there was no place for social communication within the tornado-like wreckage that was his mind. They arrived at their destination not long after, but his inner-struggle was far from over.
What the hell was wrong with him? He took pride in his discipline, but what if it wasn't as rock-solid as he made it out to be? He could've killed the guy! How could a fucking no-one like Rick ignite such an anger within him?
Maybe he should go to Piccolo; he would know what to do, what to say. The Namekian had been the one to implant in him the need to keep the mind as sharp as the body, so maybe he could help by… No! Man up! His friend had better things to do than babysit him.
A defeated sigh escaped him. Damn moon... Meditation was his solution for now, just as they were arriving at the girls' home. He didn't saw it as him being slacking off on his mental training, but it felt as urgent to him as ever right now. As Videl and Erasa started to go up the stairs to their apartment, he stopped, and then Sharpner came over from behind him. "Are you okay, Bro?" he asked.
Gohan simply nodded and told them, "I have to go."
Videl came back down and walked right to him, her warm hands coming up to his cheeks. "What's wrong?"
She tried to make him look at her, but he avoided her eyes, even though the entirety of his body complained. "I just... I remembered I have to... umm... stop by the lab. I forgot... something." Gently, he took her wrists and brought them back down.
He was sure the lie didn't manage to fool Vi, since he could feel her discomfort in her breathing, in her posture, and even in her Ki, but it worked on Erasa, since she said, "But it's Sunday..."
The young man scratched the back of his neck, a nervous gesture of anxiety for everyone who really knew him, so he forced himself to bring his hand down. "I... I need it in the morning," he argued, turning around and walking away. The more he waited, the worse, since he was too much out of his game to come up with a more believable excuse. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?"
"Gohan, wait," he heard Videl say, really softly, but he pretended not to hear her. If he looked back now, she'd stare at him with those guilty blue eyes, and as much as he wanted to tell her that none of this was her fault, that the way he almost lost it against Rick had nothing to do with her but with the way his every muscle yearned for a fight, for a challenge to overcome, just like a true Saiyan, he simply couldn't. This power was his - a blessing and a burden at the same time - so it was on him if it'd get out of hand.
He'd apologize for his rudeness tomorrow. He'd make up a more reasonable excuse tomorrow. Not today.
Meditation and then sleep it off. The rest was for tomorrow.
Gohan stood by his team's bench, holding on tightly to his black and gold helmet while taking in his surroundings.
It was the afternoon of his first official match as an Orange Star Tiger, and he was kind of digging the feeling. The natural emerald turf in front of him had been trimmed just a few hours ago, and the smell drew him in into a comfortable tranquility. If he closed his eyes he could see his father in front of him, cutting the unruly grass surrounding their home with a small Ki disc and a couple of perfectly mastered controlling moves. The corner of his lip rose when the image of that deep ridge, still perfectly visible next to their front door, popped into his head, celebrating his first attempt at helping out when he was about nine years-old. His father took the blame for the scratch, since Mom could never stay mad at him for too long.
The bleachers weren't full but still heavily packed with black and gold, and a smaller amount of yellow and brown from the visitors, the Green Forest Lions' most loyal fans. A lively buzz of pre-game euphoria enveloped the whole of the gridiron, and he could feel it pumping him with energy.
Absentmindedly, he rubbed the inside of his left wrist against his thigh, trying to relieve some of the bothersome irritation from the fresh scar tissue. The surgery to implant the Ki suppressor's copper disk beneath his skin was indeed "micro", as promised, but the annoying feeling afterwards was anything but. It had to be done, though, since all types of jewelry - metal cuffs included - were not allowed on official matches, as expected, and even though he'd been able to conceal it with a fabric wristband during practice, these inter-college events were much more scrutinized.
Suddenly, beneath the noise of the spectators and the music from the speakers, a familiar voice came to him from behind. "Hey, Gohan!"
Turning around, his most gigantic stellar grin preceded a full-hearted laugh at the sight that greeted him. His three best friends in the world were making an assortment of fierce poses, dressed in black and gold t-shirts that resembled his own jersey, and two eye-black streaks on the top of their cheeks. "Oh, my God!" he shouted. "You look adorable!"
Videl shut down her forced warrior frown and grinned back, running to him for the customary big hug. Erasa skipped to join them and Sharpner's long arms surrounded the whole package that more and more so was growing up to be a routine part of their family life. They broke connection and Gohan looked down at Videl. "What the hell? I want those too!" He pointed to her cute little finger-painted cheeks.
She giggled. "What, our war paint?"
He nodded while she reached into her small backpack for the round plastic jar, opened it and dipped a finger into the black polish. With careful precision, she drew two thick lines on his cheeks, cleaning her finger on a tissue afterwards. "Now you're ready for action!" she concluded, joining in his chuckles.
Erasa took out a camera from her purse. "Hey! Let's take a picture, guys!" she beamed. "The Awesome Twenty-one's first game of the season!"
Sharpner took the camera from her and held it high as they all bundled together, Gohan and Videl crouching a little at the front so they'd all fit in the frame. After the click and the damn flash that nearly blinded the crap out of him, they huddled around the digital screen to check the result. Sharp looked like a moron as usual - it made them laugh - but other than that it came out really cool.
"You guys are awesome," Gohan told his friends. Their shirts looked awesome, their war-paint looked awesome, all that trouble just for him, and now they even had an awesome picture to mark the event.
"We're your badass possy, Man!" Sharpner cheered, and then gave him a strong pat on the shoulder. "So, how're you feeling?"
"I'm good, I guess." Though a little anxious to get started. As tough as Coach Leon's practice sessions were, surely he'd be more than prepared to tackle an actual game, but things would always change when there were actual stakes linked to the outcome, of course. Unlike practice, today there was a reward for their efforts: a trip up the chart towards winning the championship itself. Glancing over his shoulder, he gazed upon their bench area where Coach Leon was taking care of some last minute adjustments with number thirteen, the quarterback. Seeing Rick just made his jaw clench, nowadays, so he looked away to his friends again. "We should be starting soon."
"Ooo, I can't wait to see you in action!" Erasa said. "We should go grab some seats. Bye, sweetie!"
Sharpner brought up a fist, and Gohan immediately took his part in the bump. "Knock'em dead, G!"
Gohan smiled back at the two blonds as they walked away, and then looked back at Videl. "Just one last detail missing," she said, causing his eyebrows to furrow in confusion. Uniform, check. Helmet, in his hand. War paint, applied. What did he forget?
In one soft flowing motion, she elevated herself on the tip of her toes and leaned over him with a hand against his chest. The touch made his stomach jerk and his breath to hitch, and then to top things off, she added the warmness of her lingering lips against the cool skin of his cheek. "Good luck," she whispered, the low breathy words tickling his ear. A push back from him, a wink, and a smirk, she went away to meet their friends.
The only thing he could do for a moment was blink and remind himself to breathe. Videl had pecked his cheek so many times before, it was the way they'd greet each other, for goodness sake, why was this one having such a foreign impact on him?
No, it wasn't the time for these type of questions. The clock was ticking its last minutes before the match were to start, so he forced himself to turn around to face the green, only to see the refs preparing for the initial whistle. Focus; he'd brood over things later.
Deep breath. Helmet on. Time for action.
The minutes flew by along the first half hour, and for the last chance at an offense before the whistle were to blow, Rick had relayed the coach's decision for a clear-out pass route, cleverly referred to as "the vinegar" - it cleaned up everything.
It never occurred to him, that tactic, give a play a funny or cool codename that was used during practice, and then associate a secret code to it come match day that only the coach and quarterback had access to, via their respective playlists. That way, even if a non-Tiger had access to that specific game's list, they wouldn't know what a "vinegar" was. It made total sense.
In this particular play, his job was being the primary receiver, stealthily making his way along the bleachers' side of the field while a larger group of receivers attracted the Lion's defense to their long routes on the opposite side. Maybe this time he would finally be able to do something productive for his team's offense.
He hadn't managed to even touch the ball for the entirety of the almost over first-half, which was kind of odd considering the guys assigned to guard him were pretty easy to evade. Supposedly Rick had seen better opportunities in the other wide receivers to his front or left, but that was even odder considering the guy was left-handed. He knew they weren't friends - not even a bit - and he most certainly knew that Rick held some kind of grudge against him, but could he really be so petty as to refuse passing him the ball?
After all that happened, after that night last week when Videl went to meet him at the diner… Yeah, that was the most likely scenario.
The ball was snapped and everyone ran their assigned routes in a beautifully choreographed dance, achieved through repetitive training and lots fine tuning. A lonesome corner from the Lions was targeting him, but as before, he was pretty easy to evade. And then suddenly, after a long moment of nothing exciting happening, Rick started running, which made him stand still on his spot.
What the hell…? He was perfectly open! Looking to his side, he was kind of relieved to acknowledge that he wasn't the only one caught by surprise, because the Lions' guard, number fifty-two, was having the exact same stunned reaction. The two looked at each other, and with a flick of a mutual switch, started running, number fifty-two towards the edge of the gridiron where Rick was making his way to, and Gohan right behind him to clear his teammate's path.
He could now fully understand the benefits of the one-platoon system. As a wide receiver, he would've had close to none tackle experience, but as the strong safety, he was more than prepared for it. The Lion reached the sideline and halted momentarily, crouching in preparation for a defensive launch but had clearly overestimated Gohan's speed, because in a fraction of a second, the young Saiyan was ramming him with his shoulder, sending him to the ground outside the line and clearing Rick's chosen path just before he got there.
Gohan's mind was already perfectly focused on the two Lion's linebackers running behind player thirteen, analysing the best route towards them and planning to apply it right after Rick was to pass him. His foot was placed just over the white delimiting line so as not to cross his teammate's path, his eyes on the two oversized targets dressed in brown and yellow as he waited to pounce them. He'd at least get one; both if he timed his jump just right.
Or none, as it turned out, caught off guard with an incredibly sharp pain on his stomach that took his breath away and sent him almost flying to the ground, rolling to the Tigers' bench, and crashing onto it. Within his shocked brain he barely heard his friends calling out his name from the bleachers, his closest teammates blurting a couple of choice words, including an unbelieving, "Shit..." and coach Leon shouting a little too loud for his Saiyan hearing to somewhere he couldn't quite understand.
W...What the hell…? What'd just happened?
Gohan tried to take control of his pitchy breathing when the smell of blood came rushing up his sensitive nostrils. He slowly looked down to his forearm, realizing it had somehow scraped on the metallic legs of the long bench, a deep blood-red line sketched on his skin.
After a moment to reboot his brain, it became clear: Rick had headbutted him.
The benched Tigers came rushing to crouch around him, just as the cries of a touchdown celebration were heard - mainly from the bleachers, since most of the players were still kind of dumbstruck - and then the loud whistle indicating halftime became yet another over-stimulating cause of his impending headache. He fought it though, since there was something else stirring inside him, something he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Since Namek. Since Vegeta had brought him down to his knees with a surprise punch to the gut. He couldn't quite put a name to it, but he knew what it was: his inner-Saiyan didn't like being ambushed.
As quickly as he had fallen, Gohan stood up, startling his teammates around him - some gasped, some fell back on their asses. His senses heightened, he heard each and every drop of blood as they trickled down his fingers, crashing onto the grass beneath him. His eyes, however, had no place for anything but that bastard, player thirteen.
Did he want a fight? Did he? Did he know he could kill him with without even batting an eye or tightening a muscle? No one would even know what'd happened.
"What in God's name were you thinking?" Coach Leon yelled furiously as the prick approached them.
"What?" he asked, unbothered. "I scored a touchdown."
"And you headbutted one of your teammates in the process!"
"I thought he was one of them." Rick's statement only served to further open the coach's parted lips. That obnoxious smirk was making his blood boil even hotter, begging for a simple faint brush of a fist against the guy's jaw, nothing too serious, just a broken tooth or six, that's all.
Discipline. Self-control. Do not give in.
Rick looked back to the coach when the older man's incredulous words continued the interrogation. "Are… Are you serious?"
The arrogant prick crossed his arms in front of his chest, no worries in the world. "I was focusing on the end-zone. He was in my way, I pushed him out. It's as simple as that."
As simple as that… Yeah, just like the strength of his spit against the guy's chest would be enough to crack his ribs. As simple as that.
"Son," he heard coach Leon call, but he wouldn't look away from the asshole, "go see the medic."
"It's just a scratch," he told the man. It was bad enough to have been caught off guard like that, no way in hell would he give Ricky-boy the satisfaction of sending him to a doctor.
"Son!" Coach Leon almost yelled, his words only contained by the gritting of his teeth. "Medic! Now!" He heard the man, but his brain was still having a hard time disconnecting from the challenge on the quarterback's face, daring him to let go and just strike him already, consequences be damned. Such a nobody and yet able to inflict such a straining on his hard-earned discipline… No, that couldn't happen. It would only give reason to that victorious smirk and that haughty body language.
So he left, with no further words and no further movement other than the one of his feet, taking him away from there. Soon he arrived by the locker rooms and immediately spotted the old paramedic, acknowledging his presence with a silent nod just before taking a seat. The man sat down in front of him, grabbing his bloody arm to place it up atop the metallic table so as to tend to it. The man could do what he must, he didn't really care.
Pain had become irrelevant over the years. Dad would say it was a "proof of life", your body's way of letting you know, "I'm still here, please hang on a little longer." Just another minute, another second. One more punch, or a kick, or a broken bone.
Dad would never give up, so neither would he. Pain was irrelevant.
Behind him, beneath the sounds of feet clanking against the metal bleachers from the spectators' trips to the restrooms and halftime snacks, he heard the voice of his teammate, Shin. "Hey, you can't be here, Videl."
That name turned him around over his right shoulder, spotting Shin and his three friends just a few steps away. "Shut it, Shin," Vi said, pushing him aside with the ferocious scowl on her face more than the hand at his chest. When she came closer, her eyes drifted immediately to his injured arm, her lips parting at the presumed severity of it. It wasn't that bad, just a scratch.
Erasa came over to her side and gasped loudly, her hands to her mouth. "Oh, my god! Gohan, are you okay?"
"Yes," he said, "I'm fine. Don't worry."
Sharpner stood behind the two girls, grimacing when he saw it, and saying, "Shit, G… I can't believe he did that."
"Well, I'm not surprised!" Erasa continued. "That guy's clearly crazy! Trying to hit Vi, saying she's his like some damn possession. He's a psychopath!"
More like a sociopath. Psychopaths often behave erratically, living in the fringe of society while unable to maintain social relationships. Sociopaths blend perfectly into their communities, using their charm to manipulate people around them and obsessing over their controlled, premeditated behaviours. And more importantly, obsessing over their relationships.
Both were ultimately dangerous, but sociopaths didn't normally get caught…
Suddenly, he felt a spike of familiar Ki to his side, instantly focusing on Videl's face, tense, her eyes raging and shiny. He instinctively grabbed her wrist, making her look down at him. "Calm down," he told her. "I'm okay."
Vi didn't look away, thankfully, and he tried his best to calm himself so has to transfer the feeling to her as well. It wasn't as hard as he expected, but her lovely blue eyes had always managed to soothe him somehow. A slight curl emerged on both their lips though just for a moment, since Rick's appearance behind his friend brought the intensity back to his stare. It was joined by Videl's a second later, as she looked over her shoulder and stepped aside a bit; he held her wrist tighter to help her keep control.
Coach Leon came along a second later, standing next to the medic. "How's he doing, Doc?"
"The cut is a little deep, but no stitches needed," the older man responded, proceeding to unwrap a long bandage around Gohan's forearm. "It'll close by itself in a week, I'd say." More like a day or two. Piccolo had inflicted a much deeper one on his thigh back when they were training for the Androids, and with only his father's antiseptic medicine from a couple of pounded Guava leaves, it'd healed completely within five or so days.
Hopefully whatever treatment the medic would prescribe him this time wouldn't burn as much. Dad's "wonder goop" stung like a bitch.
"See? It's nothing!" Rick said with that cocky tone of his. "What a baby."
Gohan fought Videl's reaction to lunge at the guy by pulling sternly at her wrist. This was no place for that, and it was his battle now. His business, just like he'd promised the week before.
"Shut up and get your ass back on that field!" Coach Leon scolded loudly. "And if you pull another stupid stunt like this, purposefully or not, I'll kick you out of my damn team! Now go!" Rick snorted but complied, and then the coach turned to the three non-Tigers that remained, though much more calmly. "And you three shouldn't even be back here. Go on."
Sharp and Erasa nodded silently and started heading back to the bleachers. Videl looked down to him, and he too nodded in agreement. He'd be fine, and halftime was almost over anyway, so he'd be heading back as well in a few. "I'm okay," he told her, but then her eyes turned from worried to sad, and immediately he added, "It's not your fault."
Vi didn't respond, probably not believing it and berating herself for what'd happened, so he'd be sure to reiterate that statement after the game was done with. She was definitely not to blame about any of this, a mere victim of a relationship that might not have been physically abusive but could've easily turned so, considering Rick's behaviour. Thank God she was out now; if that bastard had actually hit her...
She smiled at him after a moment, leaning down for a hug around the neck and a peck on the cheek. "You were amazing back there."
It made him smile as well. "Thank you."
Their eyes linked for a second, in a shared connection that was now happening more often than not between them. She stood up and turned around to join their friends, and Gohan followed her motion until she turned the corner and went out of sight, a soft frown weighing his face down with the concern. He just hoped he was now the target of Rick's hatred; the only target.
"Your girlfriend?" he heard Coach ask, snapping his eyes right back to the man as he sat next to the medic.
No, he'd never have a girlfriend - what kind of girl would voluntarily take pity on him in that way? - but the question still pinched his gut for some reason. "Umm, no, Sir. She's... one of my best friends."
Coach Leon simply waved his head up and down as if in contemplation of the words. "I've seen her a couple of times arriving with Rick to the practices," he said, pausing for a moment. "Care to enlighten me?"
"She was his girlfriend until last week," was his terse answer.
"Is that so?"
Gohan nodded silently, looking down to his arm as it was finishing being mended. This sudden interest in Videl was making him too uncomfortable for eye contact.
After a while, Coach Leon was the one speaking once more. "You wouldn't have anything to do with their breakup, by any chance?"
"No, of course not," he responded immediately, frowning at the man. Why did everyone keep thinking that? Rick was crazy enough to perceive it as being true, and the buzz going on in the locker room when the other's thought him out of earshot might've been understandable as random gossip, but Coach too?
"Stupid teenagers, so damn oblivious" the man mumbled lowly to himself, but he heard him just fine. What the hell did he mean by that? "Look," he went on to say at regular volume, "I want absolutely nothing to do with my player's personal lives, but when it starts affecting my team, I have to know why."
"It was nothing I purposefully started," he told him. "He was going to hit her, so I grabbed his wrist. That's what I did." If the asshole had seen it as Gohan "robbing him of his property", then that was solely on Rick, not on him.
Coach Leon's eyes widen in surprise at his response. "He was going to hit the girl?"
"Yes, he was." Just the thought of that night… He took a deep breath to remain calm.
The older man sighed then. "Okay."
It was his turn to be surprised now, his eyebrows arching up. "Okay?" Just like that?
"Yes," Coach confirmed grimly, looking down at his wrist watch. "Half-time's over." He got up and away in a flash, and Gohan swiftly followed him back to the field, thanking the medic for his help and promising to return after the game was over for the customary directives at how to properly tend to the wound. No disrespect, but he'd probably had more overall wounds on his body during his life than the old man had tended to in the course of his career, so he knew perfectly well how to take care of them. But he'd be back to hear them anyway, and nod politely as the man informed him; it was part of his job so the respect was due.
The young Saiyan quickly grabbed his helmet from the grass in front of the Tigers' bench, just for a second wondering if it was indeed his or not, but quickly spotting the small golden twenty-one on one of its sides. He was about to put it on when the coach interrupted him. "Sit down, Son," he said, so calmly it was more of a demand.
Sit down? But his team needed him on the field, not watching from the sideline. "But, Sir, I'm fine."
The older man didn't even look back at him, eyeing his precious clipboard and scribbling some notes on it. "You heard the medic. One week."
"Coach, please. This is nothing." Nothing really. He'd had his whole left arm nearly ripped out of him once, with more blood on its surface than in the veins inside it. If he'd ever stopped training because of a scratch this pitiful, he'd earn himself a disappointed grunt from Piccolo, at the very least. If the Namekian was feeling particularly irritable that day - or sympathetic, depending on how you saw it - he'd probably just take his arm and rub a fist against the wound until he stopped whining about it.
"I won't say it again, Son." His voice was nothing like and everything as Piccolo's in such a way that it took Gohan a little aback. He stared at the man for a few seconds, lips parted in the anticipation of further arguments from his mind, but none ever came. Respect was paramount for him when it came to fighting, superior even to his Saiyan pride which was torturing him a million times harder than the gush on his arm, and he would abide by his coach's wishes like he would honor his sensei's. A deep, defeated breath filled him with further annoyance rather than the calm he was seeking, but he managed to control it, taking a seat on the long bench as instructed.
"You did good, Gohan," the older man added, softly while momentarily looking back over his shoulder to where the young Saiyan was sitting. It helped a bit, but not much.
Last week's events had scared him in a way he would never have anticipated, sending him on a who-knew-how-many-hours marathon of intense meditation that ultimately brought back the self-confidence he was seeking. He was in charge of his abilities, his hard-earned discipline was damn near flawless, and he was in control, but no type of inner-restraint would be able to soften his expression right now. The muscles on top of his lip where instinctively tightened to a curbed state of animalistic teeth showing, and his glare was locked on his unlucky prey, the thirteen on his back shifting into a target.
His blood was boiling in a way he had long forgotten, revitalizing and disgusting him at the same time, but it was cut short when he started hearing... something. Like a melody, muffled by supporting cheers and a wide array of other loud noises coming from all around the field. He focused on it, quickly dismissing his quarrel with the asshole.
It was... a voice, angelical in tone and in message. It spoke no words but told him to... to calm down. He looked to his immediate surroundings, checking to see if his sensing abilities were off for some ungodly reason, but there was no one there. No, it wouldn't be that; he could sense Coach Leon's Ki just fine. How could he not sense such a strong presence?
In a heartbeat, he knew the answer. It came to him in the form of the most hurtful memory of his life, as he recalled how he felt his father present within him even though he wasn't really there to help him with that final attack against Cell. The realization was welcome and reassuring, but even more confusing because... this wasn't his father's voice. It was a woman.
He focused harder on it, his curiosity acquiescing the voice's command of peace faster than the actual sentiment it was singing. There were still no words but he understood it perfectly, like one would understand their own thoughts. A deep sense of tranquility fulfilled him, and it was like she was right behind him, embracing him in a way that felt so... so familiar. He slowly looked around again, and then over his shoulder to see if she was there. She wasn't, but it's like the volume increased, and it suddenly became clear. That voice...
His gaze slowly navigated its way around the bleachers to where he knew her to be, and it was like the blue in her eyes was shining brightly for him, like a lighthouse, a beacon of serenity. Between the amalgam of excited fans, there she sat, peacefully, looking back at him. There was no way he was dreaming. He was hearing her like she was right beside him.
No, not beside him. Like she was in him. How was that even…?
Videl smiled and he mirrored the gesture, now certain of his assumption. It was her, alright. Her eyes were speaking the same as the voice in his head.
"Son!"
Gohan's head shot back to the harsh voice in front of him, quickly assessing it to belong to Coach Leon, the beautiful melody dissipating as quickly as it had appeared.
"Just because you're benched doesn't mean you don't have to pay attention to the game," the older man near scolded, turning his gaze back to the action. "Watch the quarterback closely." The order incited a deep frown from the young Saiyan. The last thing he wanted at the moment was to pay attention to Rick. "Ours and theirs," he added.
Ours and theirs? The frown was still there but his expression turned quizzical now. He was trying to think of a reason for such command but obeyed fully after a couple of seconds. Even if it went against everything he was accustomed to, in this specific battle he was a Spartan soldier, not his own warrior. Trust was a merit, and Coach Leon had certainly earned his, as far as he was concerned. When the time came, Coach would let him know.
There had to be a reason, though...
The actual football on the scene was a little short, I know, but I'll try to make the next one a little bigger if I can, ok? Thank you, Power9987 for your help and thanks, especially, to Dr. Blue22, my sensei. ;D
("Oh, and just in case you were wondering: yes, Gohan's eyes flashed pink. Not teal or red or any other color of the rainbow. Pink. :D Why? ... There's a method to my madness, just trust me. ;D" - EDIT: after the re-write, this comment doesn't make sense anymore, but I'm gonna leave it here anyway, since some of the pre-edit reviews mention it. The pink eyes will appear later on in the story, so no worries. :D )
Things are picking up! Oooooooooooo! XD And the next chapter... yeah, it's another 'big' one. You'll have it as soon as I can, I promise. Bye!