Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any of its characters.

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The following week, Videl left school and headed not towards Satan mansion but towards the Satan Apartment Complex, where her new classmate lived. He had already missed over a week of school including the day he had left after first period, so she had volunteered to bring him his missed homework, not because she was concerned the brainiac would fall behind, but because she was curious about his unusual absences. The most logical explanation was that he was sick, but Gohan had seemed perfectly fine that morning.

She also wanted the chance to talk with him. The two hadn't spoken once since her conversation with Krillin. That needed to change. She wanted first and foremost to ask him to train her, but there was also too much she didn't know or understand that she hoped he might enlighten for her.

It took little time to reach the Satan Apartment building. Videl immediately entered and took the left hallway, stopping at unit 102. Taking a steadying breath, she knocked politely and waited … and waited. Thinking he might not have heard her knock, she again rapped on the door and yelled, "Gohan! It's me, Videl. Are you there?" Still no answer. Confused, Videl turned to leave—and ran straight into Gohan.

Papers scattered onto the floor as she lost her grip on Gohan's homework. Embarrassed, she bent down to pick them up, not daring to look into his onyx eyes. Gohan also knelt and offered his help, but she assured him she could do it herself. As Videl finished putting everything in order, Gohan asked, "What brings you here, Videl?"

"I was, uh, bringing you the homework you missed," she replied, holding out the clump of papers she had just picked up.

"Oh." He took the proffered papers. "Thank you."

"No problem," Videl answered, but did not leave, as one would expect if delivering the homework was her only errand.

As the silence drew out, Gohan finally offered, almost reluctantly it seemed, "Would you like to come inside?" She nodded, and Gohan drew out his key to open the door. Swinging the door inward, he led the way inside. Dropping off the homework Videl had brought on his desk, he made his way to the kitchen area. "Would you like some tea?" he offered.

"Sure…" Videl answered hesitantly and sat on his couch. She waited silently as Gohan prepared the tea, all the while wondering why this seemingly perfectly healthy person had missed almost three full days of school. Within a few minutes, he joined her on the other end of the couch and handed Videl her tea. His own mug he kept wrapped in his hands.

"It's hot," he warned as he took a sip. Videl tested it, but found that it was indeed too hot for her taste. Setting it aside for the moment, she sat back and looked at her host, reflecting on her visit.

Sitting there with Gohan—him sipping his tea and herself wanting to get answers—it felt extraordinarily familiar to her previous visit almost three weeks ago, and yet somehow it felt entirely different at the same time. She now knew so much more about the mystery boy that, though much remained that she had yet to discover, it now seemed almost like she was visiting not a suspect, but an old friend.

Ever since Krillin told her about Gohan's father, something had clicked, like somehow the common grief each had over the loss of one of their parents connected them. Much like when she had met his eyes for those brief moments that day—a day which seemed an eternity ago when in reality it had been barely more than two weeks—she was finding herself inexorably drawn to Gohan. What was more, strange as it was, there had developed some fundamental level of trust between them that ran deeper than conscious thought. Of course, she was still a bit impatient and suspicious—it was who she was—and she was as determined as ever to learn all she could about the guy, but it no longer seemed as vital.

"So," Gohan began the conversation, "Why did you really come here?" His tone was not rude in the slightest, but there seemed to be a slight edge to his voice that stunned Videl for a moment. Seeing her struggling to find her tongue, Gohan explained, "While I appreciate you bringing my missed work, I know you wouldn't come just for something like that. Are you going to tell me or are you going to make me guess?"

"Right," Videl finally said, "Well, for one thing, I wanted to know why you haven't been at school. You don't look sick, and you weren't in your apartment when I got here so there must be some other reason. And for that matter, where were you just now if you weren't at school?"

As she finished speaking, Gohan swallowed the tea he was drinking and set his mug on the coffee table. "I'm afraid I can't help you, Videl."

"But—"

"I have been absent for personal reasons. That is all I'll say. As for where I was, I was at work."

"And that would be where?" Videl prompted.

Gohan completed ignored her question, however. "Was there anything else you needed?"

Videl frowned. Gohan definitely seemed a bit different somehow. While his voice remained even, it seemed decidedly less patient. It felt like he was really on edge, as if beneath the smooth exterior there lay something far less tranquil—a furious storm threatening to break out at any moment. Videl did not know the cause of his agitation—though if she had to guess she would say it had something to do with his father—but she was reluctant to cause him anymore anxiety, so she went along with his change of subject.

Of course, that brought her to her major request, one that she was fairly certain he would not particularly like. She remembered the look in his eyes when he had declared he would not fight her. Just thinking about it again, she shuddered. Yes, she remembered it well. Something told her he'd be extremely unwilling to consider training her officially. Still, she had to ask, right? That, after all, was the primary reason she had come.

As she tried to work up the nerve, she picked up her rapidly cooling tea and took the first of many sips. The silence stretched out as the two teens sat focused on their beverages. During the pause, Videl toyed with various ways to approach and phrase her question, but in the end favored the direct approach, something that had worked for her many times in the past.

Some minutes later, she finally spoke.

"Will you train me?"

Gohan visibly tensed.

Will you train me? The question reverberated through his mind so powerfully that she might as well have screamed it at him. That was one of the worst questions for him to hear at that moment. Every muscle in his entire body clenched at the very mention of the word "train." It brought back so many images of his time with his father…

Ever since he had come home from his talk with Krillin, he had been an emotional wreck. Trying to fight off the onslaught of memories that he had sought to suppress for so many years, he spent the entire first day in meditation in a futile attempt to wrest himself from the overpowering guilt and sorrow that held him and regain control of his emotions. However, every time the storm abated and everything seemed to be returning to normal, Gohan would think of Videl—the way she had looked at him and spoken with pity in her voice—and fall right back into a sea of shame and self-loathing.

The next day, he tried something different, deciding to find something to distract him from his problems. Training had always been his outlet in the past. Unfortunately, every thought of martial arts reminded him of his father, so that was now impossible. Nor could he go to school and risk an encounter with Krillin, or worse, Videl. Thus, he instead returned to work at Capsule Corp, attempting to lose himself in the mundane with this project and that, putting every bit of his mental capacity into his job, thereby diverting it from less pleasant areas. It worked, too, at least until the day ended and he had to return to his apartment. Then his torment began all over again with renewed vigor.

That brought him up to the current day, when he slept in past noon for the first time in recent memory. Nothing else had worked, so he turned to sleep to try to hide from the pain. When he finally awoke, he felt physically refreshed but emotionally exhausted. The pain was still there, but what had before been sharp pangs had dulled into low throbs. With some hope that he could work past this phase, he decided to head to Capsule Corp again, even if he was late, only to sense Chi-Chi and Goten already there as he approached. Not wanting to deal with them at that moment, he returned only to find Videl knocking at his door.

Now here he was with the persistent raven-haired girl who was managing to severely rock what limited stability he had managed to create over the previous three days.

"Will you train me?" Videl repeated when Gohan did not respond right away.

"Videl, I—" he started, but he could hardly speak, let alone think of how to let her down gently.

As if expecting him to refuse at first, Videl preempted him. "Please, Gohan. I want to get stronger, and you're the only person who can help me." Videl was practically begging, something Gohan would not have thought possible for her to do. If circumstances had been different, he would have gladly trained the spirited girl, but as it was, the pain was just too great.

"I can't," he said at last, staring at the floor between his legs. He expected to hear a string of objections from the precocious girl, but was instead met by silence. Glancing up, his eyes locked with Videl's for an instant. In in that brief flash of azure brilliance he saw exactly what he had seen earlier that week, what he had seen from so many others—pity. What before had brought the stable world he had created for himself crashing down now made a deeply disturbed Gohan angry, no, furious—at his father for leaving him, at Cell for destroying his world, at Videl for barging into his life, but mostly at himself, for causing it all to happen because of his stupid arrogance.

"I don't need your pity, Videl," he said, his voice low and shaky. He rose to take his near-empty mug back to the kitchen. He just wanted to be alone. Part of him wanted to just scream at Videl to go away, but he knew better.

Instead, he took a second to steady himself. Rational thought was quickly losing ground against raw emotion once again as the stabbing pain of grief started to grow. He didn't know why this girl affected him so much, but he was anxious to have her leave.

Videl had yet to say anything in response. Turning around, he saw that she was staring at him, mouth parted slightly in surprise, with a stunned look on her face, as if what he had said was the last thing she would expect to from his mouth.

"I think it's best you leave," he told her, hoping she would take the hint and just go. He didn't like to be rude, but he was currently having a difficult time being civil at all. Still, he didn't really expect someone as persistent as Videl to give up and go away just because he told her to. Thus, he was surprised when Videl did just that. She stood up, thanked him for the tea, and turned to leave.

On her way out the door, though, she paused. With her back still towards him, she called back, "Gohan!"

Videl turned her head back and smiled peculiarly. It was a sad sort of smile—lips only slightly upturned and melancholic eyes filled with concern. Yet interlaced within the sadness were flickers of hope that sparkled across her countenance—as if happiness lay just around the corner. Gohan, caught by her piercing gaze, saw not pity, as he expected, but something else—compassion, maybe? No, it was beyond that. Somehow, gazing into those shimmering pools was like looking into his own soul. It was a warm smile of understanding. It was a kind smile of a friend. And it was a smile that lifted Gohan's spirit to heights it had not been in many years. Right then and there, the sun was rising on a new age, warming his face with its first few tentative rays. His anguish ceased as he basked in their warmth. He no longer felt alone.

"See you at school!" Videl said, and she was gone. Just like that the sun vanished behind the horizon, and darkness returned to enveloped Gohan within its murky depths.

The whir of the jet copter engine and the whipping of the wind drowned out all noise except the radio built into Videl's helmet. Unless the police called with an emergency that she needed to take care of, no one would disturb her as she soared high in the sky with no particular destination in mind. Thousands of people no bigger than ants filled the miniature Satan City below her. It was a breathtaking view, but her mind was preoccupied. As was becoming increasingly common as of late, her thoughts all revolved around a single person: Son Gohan.

"I don't need your pity," Gohan had said, revealing that he knew Videl had learned of his father. Videl could hear the deep intensity in his voice, the powerful emotion that lay underneath it. It had stunned her in a way that little else could.

How many times had she said those exact words to her classmates, her friends, even her own father? All the consolations, kind words, and attempts to cheer her up—they felt sorry for her, but that did not change anything. Her mother was dead. They were only making it worse.

When she heard Gohan say the same thing to her, she saw clearly underneath—not merely grief over his father's death, but a vast amount of pain and anger that ran far deeper. It was the same kind of mental anguish she lived in for years and felt remnant of even today. Seeing it in Gohan stopped her short.

She of course had felt the urge to help in some way, but she well remembered the way she had been. Mere kind words would do nothing but drive him away. She would have to know the whole situation before she could even begin to figure out what might work. Unfortunately, she couldn't risk going to Krillin this time; Gohan might find out again.

The image of the grief-stricken boy stuck in her head. As she watched him struggle to maintain his composure, she had made her decision. Abandoning her quest to have him train her, she did as he had asked and left. She would give Gohan space. But as she went away, she couldn't resist the urge to look back one more time at the sad boy. And as she said her last goodbyes, she smiled. She didn't know why; she wasn't happy at all, but somehow looking at Gohan made her feel warm despite his grim expression.

So, not wanting to return home just yet, she had taken to the skies to think. She was determined to help Gohan in whatever way she could. Even after an hour of flying, however, she still had nothing. Try as she might, she could not think of anything that she could do to help the hurting boy.

What she did know, however, was that she would have to stop pushing him to tell her his secrets. Continuing to ask him to train her was out of the picture as well, unfortunately. The thought of having to walk on eggshells like that, even if it was temporarily, made Videl feel uneasy, though. She was unsure how long she could resist prying into Gohan's life. She just wasn't the passive sort of girl.

Ugh! she groaned to herself. This was going to be hard, but she would be patient. She would wait … at least until she figured something else out.

Gohan stood in his apartment, glued to the same spot he had been in since Videl had left ten minutes ago. His fists clenched until his knuckles turned white, then relaxed for a few moments before again tightening to a vise-grip in a continuous cycle. His eyes were still fixed on the door as if he half expected the girl to come through the door again any second.

Oppressive darkness toyed at the edge of his vision, threatening to completely consume him. He clung to the fading light—the image of her face, that bittersweet smile that simultaneously shattered his heart and restored his soul in an instant. He would picture Videl standing at the door once again, smiling back at him, and would immediately feel twenty tons lighter. It was a temporary relief, however, for the weight soon returned as the image faded and he was left longing for the real thing.

Eventually, something shifted. The heavy pressure finally lifted and while he still felt terrible, his mind began to function somewhat normally.

Gohan lifted his hand to his cheek, startled to find them wet with fresh tears. What is wrong with me? he thought. The last time he had cried had been the day his father died. Now, just because a girl smiled at him, tears once again flowed unbidden? It was ridiculous, but it was the truth.

Sighing, Gohan finally uprooted himself from his spot and cleaned up the tea. Once everything was in order, he tried to do some homework as a distraction. An hour later, he closed his books in frustration. He couldn't concentrate enough to get any work done. He felt inexplicably tired, as if the tears he'd shed had taken with them most of his energy. Though he knew it was a bit late for a nap, he finally yielded to his exhaustion and went to his room. Setting his alarm to wake him for dinner, he collapsed on his bed.

The blaring sound of his alarm clock shook him awake almost an hour later at 5:30. Fighting off the temptation to go back to sleep, he rolled himself out of bed and went into the main room. Still groggy, he squinted at the few beams of sunlight that still shone through the windows. A few quick stretches helped finish waking him up. He felt much less tired, but a veil of depression still covered him.

Hunger prompted him towards the kitchen. A quick peak in the refrigerator revealed little to eat, and he couldn't muster up the effort to cook. So he decided to eat out instead, hoping a walk in the fresh air would also help clear his head and work through what had happened that afternoon.

Unfortunately, the crowded streets of Satan City and the noisy atmosphere of the restaurant offered few opportunities to think. He sat and ate his meal alone as the din of the noisy patrons washed over him. When he returned his stomach was satisfied, but his mind was still confused.

Once back in his apartment, Gohan tackled his homework yet again, finding it easier to concentrate this time around. The problems were all simple, however, leaving most of his mind free to wander. At first, his thoughts were filled with sweet remembrances of the time spent with his father training, fishing, napping, eating. But these lasted only a short time before they were slammed down by the bitter memory of the Cell Games and the nauseating sense of failure that had become all too familiar.

Feeling sick, Gohan finished up his homework, and got ready to go to bed. It was still early, but he was still exhausted from the two previous nights of nightmares. Crawling into bed, he closed his eyes, shutting out the world around him, but images of the past still danced behind his eyelids. Even that, though, could not overcome the strong tug of sleep as fatigue overwhelmed him. He just hoped he didn't have another nightmare…

Gohan stood in black, empty space. Surrounded by nothing, cold, and alone, he called out for his daddy. But instead of Goku, faces of all the enemies from his past spiraled around him. And they were yelling at him, mocking him for his weakness, gloating over his failures. Nappa, Vegeta, Frieza, Cell—all laughing at him. He closed his eyes and covered his hears to try to drown them out, but he could still see their faces and hear their voices in his head.

Then, all of a sudden, everything went silent. Looking around, he saw something else. Filling his vision entirely was the shadowy image of Videl, smiling at him. Everywhere he turned, there was her face. It haunted every corner of his consciousness so that there was nowhere he could run, nowhere he could escape her gaze.

Suddenly, the ground he was standing on lit up. Now he could see that he was at the battlefield of the Cell Games. Crushed boulders and debris littered the ground, and deep holes scarred the rocky terrain. As Gohan took in his surroundings, suddenly he noticed a body on the ground in front of him, char marks and blood staining his orange gi.

"Dad!" he cried out, and ran to the body, but an invisible wall stopped him just as he was about to gather him in his arms. Try as he might, he could not bridge those last few inches to touch his fallen father. "Dad…" he groaned, tears streaming from his face now.

Flashes of light danced at his peripheral vision. Turning, he saw Videl once again. This time she was normal-sized and with a body to accompany her face. A slight glow glittered off her features, emanating from the every-present smile. And behind her, the world faded into a long, dark tunnel filled with every trap and pitfall his imagination could conjure up.

Videl turned to walk slowly into the abysmal tunnel, her gaze never leaving Gohan. Her smile constantly tempted him to join her and run wildly into this place he had never been before. Her smile pierced his soul, beckoning him to follow her down this long, dark tunnel in a journey of which he knew not the length or even the destination.

But at the end of the tunnel, what seemed an eternity away, a light glowed. It was faint, yet it possessed a radiant beauty that seized his attention and pulled at his very being. He could feel its force, drawing him onward, away from his father, away from the battlefield. Its allure was powerful, but so was his fear and his reluctance to leave his dad, the world's true savior.

The choice was clear: follow Videl and face whatever he found on the foreboding path in front of him, or remain at his father's side and hope to find a way to break through the barrier. His foot lifted…

Gohan awoke, heart pounding and breathing raggedly. Thirsty, he went to get a glass of water while he tried to process his dream—or was it a nightmare? Whatever it was, it was confusing and unexpected, although he supposed he shouldn't be surprised that Videl would work her way into one of his dreams after the previous day.

Looking at the clock, he saw that it was still very early, just a bit past five in the morning. However, at the moment, he couldn't imagine going to bed. So instead, he changed into some running clothes, and set out for a morning jog as he thought through his dream.

He returned a half an hour later after finishing his standard 10 mile run. Though his mind was still a little foggy, one thing had become clear to him.

He was going to school.