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

House Call

The next day was Friday. Gohan went to school with renewed determination to get through to Videl, but was disappointed when she again was absent for first period. In fact, she never showed up at all. After school, he asked Erasa if she knew anything, but Videl had not said anything to her.

"My guess, though, is that she's at home. Satan mansion has its own fully equipped gym."

Gohan thought for a moment. He agreed with Erasa's assessment, but should he go visit her? Going over there uninvited could drive her away. But then again, she had visited his home without any prior notice multiple times before. He reasoned she couldn't begrudge him one house call.

"Could you tell me where she lives?" he requested politely. Erasa stared at him like he was an alien—he was, of course—but told him anyway. Quickly memorizing the address, he thanked her and left.

The address Erasa had given her was on the other side of Satan City, so he went ahead and decapsulated the motorcycle Bulma had given him for his birthday the year before. It was a prototype model—one he had helped design, in fact—whose sleek black finish often drew too many looks for his taste. As a result, he rarely used the powerful machine, preferring to walk all but the longest distances.

Riding such a vehicle, he made it to Videl's house—if one could use such a word for that monstrosity—in short order. As he pulled up to the gate, he was surprised to see a cadre of overeager reporters with cameras and microphones, all hoping to get so much as a glimpse or a word from their savior.

Though he had known Videl's father was quite the celebrity, it still stunned him to see how much these people idolized him. He couldn't imagine living such a life, and was glad he didn't have to put up with it. The relief almost made him want to thank that fool Hercule for taking his credit. Almost.

Riding the bike up to the gate, the media that were clustered at the gate parted before him to avoid getting run over. They gawked at the strange visitor riding such an expensive looking vehicle.

"Does anyone know how I can get in?" he asked them. They all just stared at him wide-mouthed in disbelief. Eventually, though, one of them pointed to an intercom system attached to the gate. Pressing the button, he spoke into the small device, "Can I come in?"

There was no response at first. Then, the speaker crackled to life and a disembodied voice spoke.

"Identify yourself."

"My name's Gohan. I'm a friend of Videl's from school," he answered, hoping that would be enough to gain him entrance.

Nothing happened at first. After several minutes had passed, Gohan began to lose hope. He was about to leave when he heard a click and the gate swung open. All the media members were awestruck. They whispered among themselves as they speculated how this mere boy had been granted access to the most high security household in the world, after that of the Brief family, of course.

Once past the gate, there was a long driveway up to the main complex—complex, that was a better word than house. At the end, the pavement widened into an enormous cul-de-sac with a many times life-size statue of Hercule Satan. Parking near the end of the cul-de-sac, he ascended the elegant staircase to the front porch where a long line of marble columns proclaimed Mr. Satan's opulence.

He rung the door bell and waited. Within seconds, a tall, thin man in a tuxedo answered the door and greeted him. He was an older man. Crow's feet lined the corners of his eyes and his formerly black hair was liberally peppered with gray.

"Right this way, sir," he said and motioned for him to follow.

Gohan could only gape as he was lead into an entryway. The ceiling towered high above his head in grandiose fashion. Part of the vast space was filled with an ornate crystal chandelier and a granite staircase that spiraled up to the second floor.

He didn't have much time to take in the decor, however, as the man he assumed to be the butler waved him on. He took him past the stairs and through a large hallway. Their steps echoed on the hard tile echoed off the walls as they made their way down to what looked to be a private study. There his guide left him and closed the door as he took his leave.

The room was a stereotypical study. Bookshelves lined the back wall, boasting an impressive display of decorative books. The rest of the walls were covered with pictures, news articles, and trophies, all bearing Mr. Satan's name. In the center of the floor sat a large, wooden desk, and behind it was a high-backed leather chair.

"So, you say you know my daughter, eh?" the chair spoke in an obnoxious voice. It swiveled around to reveal the voice came from none other than Mr. Satan

"Yes, sir," Gohan confirmed.

"Alright then, I'm going to give you a little test," Mr. Satan explained, "And if you fail, I'll beat ya so hard you'll wish you never tried to mess with my sweet pea."

"Uh, sure…" Gohan replied, feeling awkward listening to the man's arrogance.

"Wh-what the," Hercule faltered, "You're not afraid?"

"Should I be?"

There was something weird about this boy. That face…and that crazy hairdo…it all seemed familiar. Plus, he didn't seem at all fazed by being in the presence of the champ. He should be quivering in fear, but instead he looked almost bored.

"Well, no. Not if you don't mean my little angel any harm!" He shook those thoughts off. It wouldn't do for the champ to look weak. "Okay, first question, what is Videl's favorite color?"

Gohan cocked his head. Is that really the question? he thought. Were friends supposed to know stuff like that? He hoped there were more questions because he had no idea how to answer this one.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't know."

"You don't know?" Mr. Satan shouted incredulously, "Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Sir?"

"That's right. I'm having mercy on you and won't knock you senseless this time. Now get out of my house before I change my mind!"

"Mr. Satan, is that really the only question?" Gohan was confused.

"Of course, every real friend of my darling knows her favorite color. She makes sure to tell them so that if they ever come over here, I know not to kick their butt into the next town."

"Really?" Gohan again tried to think if Videl had ever told him her favorite color.

"How about this, son?" Hercule suggested, leaning forward in his seat, "I'm feeling generous today so I'll give you one more shot to answer. Think real good, because if you don't get it, I'm going to town with your face! HAHAHA!"

Gohan looked up at the ceiling, his mind racing. Was he forgetting something? No, he was positive that Videl had never said any such thing. Then did Videl not consider him a friend? Even after all they'd been through she still considered him no more than a suspect to interrogate? What would he do now? He had staked so much on this. He could not afford to fail.

"I'm sorry, sir," he said. Unsure as to what he would do now, he got up to leave. "I guess I'll just have to ask her when she comes back to school, whenever that is." he muttered to himself.

"Wait, son!" Hercule stopped him. "You passed the test."

"Whaa?" Gohan was now completely lost. He had no clue what this crazy man was talking about anymore.

"It was a test, boy! Videl doesn't have a favorite color. I just had to make sure you weren't a creep."

"And you did that how?"

"If you were a creep, you would have tried to lie. You didn't, so you must be telling the truth about knowing my Videl. Pretty smart, huh? AHAHAHAHA!"

Mr. Satan was standing now, rubbing his finger under his nose as he basked in what he believed to be his cleverness

"That…" Gohan stared dumbfounded at the man's ridiculous behavior. He didn't understand his reasoning in the slightest. Was he really that dumb?

"Plus, I checked with the school while you were at the gate," he said when he finally stopped laughing, "You check out, at least for now."

"Then why…?"

"Oh, I was just messing with you a little. Wanted to keep you on your toes. AHAHAHA!" Hands on his hips, the huge man was cackling at an absurdly loud volume yet again.

Now Gohan was getting irritated. This was the man everyone in the city worshipped? This arrogant buffoon who would abuse his position of authority to 'mess with' those who feared him? As the grating laugh continued, he could feel the anger start to rise. An image of himself kicking the idiot through the wall popped into his head.

Noticing the direction of his thoughts, he quickly worked to suppress his anger. It would do no good to let his rage control him again. Even once he had calmed down, though, he still couldn't get rid of the general dislike he felt for the man.

His patience at its limits, he finally interrupted Hercule, "Where is Videl?"

"Oh, right." He bumbled back into his chair and pressed a button on his desk. "I'll have George take you to her."

A minute later, the butler—who he now knew was named George—appeared.

"Ms. Videl is using the workout facilities. If you will follow me …"

George led him to a new area of Satan mansion. With each twist and turn, Gohan became increasingly disoriented despite his keen sense of direction. Just as he was getting hopelessly lost, they turned down a seemingly insignificant set of stairs and descended until they reached a door.

The door was mostly glass but was reinforced with metal, so Gohan could see past it to get a limited view of what lay behind it, but he saw nothing interesting. At the side was a key pad, which the butler went up to and entered a quick succession of digits. A dull thud rang out as he pressed the last key.

"This is the Satan family private gym," George announced.

He swung open the door theatrically and gave him a full view of the room at last. It looked very much like the gym at school. There was less equipment, but what there was looked newer. Clearly, this facility was not designed to serve nearly the number of people as the one in Orange Star High.

Looking around, Gohan saw no trace of Videl anywhere in the room.

"She must be in the locker room," George informed him, "I will leave you now. Just wait here until she comes out. You may make use of any equipment you wish to pass the time."

He was left alone, but he made no move to act on the butler's suggestion. Content to wait as long as necessary, he remained standing and monitored Videl's ki. For the first ten minutes, it remained relatively constant. After that, he could sense strange flickers—the sort of miniature spikes caused by intense emotion. By the time he finally felt her begin to move around, Gohan was more than a little concerned.

At last, the door to the woman's locker room swung open and in stepped Videl, dressed in her usual black spandex and oversized white shirt. Running a towel through her dripping hair, she didn't see Gohan standing there at first. Once she lowered the towel, though, she noticed his presence.

"You weren't at school today," he said, stating the obvious.

Videl ignored him. Without so much as looking at him, she made her way to the other end of the room, discarding her towel on the ground on the way.

"What is going on, Videl?" Gohan asked, stopping the girl in her tracks.

"Dammit, Gohan," she cursed, her voice hardly more than a whisper, "Why can't you just give up?"

Gohan turned to see Videl with her back to him. Even from across the room, he saw how stiff she looked. Her hands were clenched so hard her knuckles turned white, and if he looked closely, he could perceive her body trembling slightly. Above all, Gohan could sense pain. Her body, her words, her voice, and even her ki all betrayed the grief she tried desperately to keep hidden.

Gohan went up to Videl and put a hand on her shoulder. She bristled at the contact, but did not pull away.

"I won't make you tell me anything, Videl," he said, trying to reassure her, "I just want to help in any way I can."

Videl hung her head, her eyes closed tightly shut. She stayed like that, silent. As the seconds ticked by, her shoulders started to shudder and her breath came in ragged gasps. Gohan desired to comfort her with every fiber of his being, but he had no clue what to do. Coming here had been a mistake. He had only made things worse. He just hoped it could be remedied somehow.

Finally, the trembling stopped and her muscles relaxed. Gohan took a breath to say something.

"Train me," Videl whispered so quietly that Gohan couldn't make out what she said, even with his sensitive ears.

"What?"

"I SAID TRAIN ME!" Videl cried out wildly. Spinning around to face him, she looked at him with desperation evident on her face. "If you want to help me, then train me!"

Videl stared fiercely into his eyes, waiting for his response, but none came. Gohan was rendered speechless by the unexpected outburst. Hearing his silence, she looked down, and when her head came back up he could glimpse traces of tears welling up in her eyes.

"Please, Gohan!" she entreated, "I need to get stronger, and you're the only person I know who can help me!"

He watched in shock as her normal tough exterior rapidly deteriorated, revealing to him a new, vulnerable Videl. This was a side of Videl he had never seen, and yet … it was one that seemed all too familiar.

Her request itself was not unexpected. In fact, he had been positive that she would ask again eventually, so he had spent the previous night considering what his response would be. But despite that, he had never come to a decision.

Now, however, as Videl's determined eyes locked with his, he felt something shift. Just like during that day during gym, he was captivated by the brilliant pools of pure blue that enticed him to lose himself in them for all eternity. But there was something different now. The moisture of unshed tears glistened on their surface. The pain and sorrow he had only caught glimpses of before now saturated them and pierced him to his very soul.

Videl's anguish flowed into him with each passing second that he gazed into those eyes. And as it began to fill him, something clicked and he suddenly saw not Videl, but himself.

He saw himself looking up at Piccolo, pleading for the Namekian to help him train. The utter desperation he had felt that day as he broke down in front of his teacher, mentor, and friend—it all came rushing back. He had just wanted the pain to go away. Something was not right and the only thing he could think fix it—the only thing he had ever known—was to train. He thought that maybe, if he got stronger, his agony would stop. That somehow he could make up for his mistake if he trained his mind and body to a point where he would never let anything like that happen again.

Piccolo was the only one left. The only one he thought he could go to. The only one who could help him obtain the mental and physical control he required. And when he had refused, Gohan had not been able to bear it. He lost control. Alternating between screaming and begging, he frantically tried to change Piccolo's mind. It was one of the few times after the Cell Games that he had almost come to tears.

If Piccolo had not finally relented, Gohan would have been utterly crushed. All hope lost, with no sense of direction, he didn't know what he would have done, but it scared him just thinking about it.

And now he was staring into a soul undergoing torments that closely matched his own. Just imagining her experiencing the same suffering he endured was enough for him to make a decision. He was now certain of what he had to do, even if he didn't like it.

"Okay," he said at last. Videl gasped slightly.

"Really?" she asked, tentative hope beginning to appear on her features.

"We'll start tomorrow at eight," he said, nodding his head in affirmation.

All traces of distress left Videl's face in an instant as a new expression of unadulterated joy broke through. The genuine smile and elated laugh tickled Gohan's heart and internally he rejoiced alongside with her. He still had one reservation, but he knew he had made the right decision.

All of a sudden, in her excitement, Videl jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Surprised, Gohan grabbed her so she wouldn't bring them both down. Videl was in his arms.

She didn't know why she did it. It went against everything she had promised herself.

It might have been that part of her was still thinking of Gohan's strong hand her shoulder, radiating comforting warmth that seeped into her skin and made her stomach flutter. Her first instinct had been to pull away, but she could not deny that she was enjoying the contact. She felt safe and secure beneath his touch.

And when he spoke … She had rarely heard anyone sound so sincere. With every word, every syllable he pronounced, she could hear genuine care and concern in his voice, and it was all directed to her, and she could tell: He saw not the daughter of Mr. Satan, not Satan City's resident crime fighter, not a classmate or casual acquaintance. In his eyes, she was just Videl, a friend who needed help.

And then, just when she thought she'd be denied again, he agreed to train her. She was ecstatic. Every fiber in her body went from dejection to jubilation at the thought of getting to train with the son of a master. She couldn't help it. She leaped into his arms like an overexcited grade-schooler into the arms of her father.

Finding herself in Gohan's arms ignited her senses instantaneously. His skin carried a subtle, pleasant scent of soap with musky undertones that made her lightheaded. Each breath he took sent past her ear a rush of warm, moist air that made her spine tingle and her heart pound even as Gohan's own heartbeat thumped against her chest.

What affected her the most, though, was the sensation of his body against hers. Powerful arms held her tight to his firm, well-defined chest. She could feel nearly every one of his chiseled muscles pressing against her, his body heat electrifying the contact. For a split second, she thought she wanted to stay like that, secure in his arms, forever.

Then Videl realized what she was doing and immediately broke off the embrace. Embarrassed, she blushed a deep shade of red and stared down at her feet as she struggled to find words in the awkward silence that followed.

When she finally worked up the courage to look up at Gohan, she saw him similarly incapacitated with his eyes glued to the floor.

"So … eight o'clock?" she questioned uncomfortably.

"Uh-huh."

Neither of them spoke again as she led him out of the gym and to the front door. They said their silent goodbyes and parted ways.

Thanks everyone for reading! Lots of stuff is starting to happen and I hope you enjoyed it.

I would like to specifically thank everyone who reviewed my last chapter and offered input on Buu. After hearing what all of you have to say, I have decided that I probably will put Buu in this story, but I will change how the saga plays out significantly.

Please read and review! The amount of reviews I got last chapter was incredible. You guys are awesome! I don't expect that many every time, but I would love it if there were even half that number this time. If not, oh well. Life goes on and I will keep writing.

Also, if you have the time, I invite you to check out a Gohan x Videl one-shot I wrote for Valentine's day. I'm pretty proud of it. You can find it on my profile.