Chapter VII
Gohan stared at the determined girl in front of him with wide eyes, his heart racing with anxiety. She looked kinda different the last time he saw her. She was still really pretty, her cobalt eyes were sharp and brilliant although they were bordered with dark circles due to lack of sleep. Her hair was shorter though, but it suited her fine. The pixie cut brought out her simple beauty, and her bangs no longer poked at her eyes.
His mind juggled numerous different scenarios as he tried to pick the best way to deal with her demand. If anything, he did nothing wrong; he didn't owe her anything, much less the secrets of his family and friends. He didn't have to tell her anything.
"You have to be more specific than that," he said, deciding to play innocent.
"Stop lying to me!" she shouted angrily. She shoved the picture she was holding on his face, displaying the image of a golden-haired Son Goku and the Delivery Boy back in the Cell Games. "This was you. You were there seven years ago! You, all of you! Those mysterious fighters, the 'tricksters', you're one of them! You've all hidden yourselves for years, and then seven years later, my father dies! You have everything to do about his death because you knew the truth, everything about what really happened back then! But instead of owning up and telling it to the whole world, you just withdrew back under the rock you've been living in, just because you're all nothing but cowards!"
Gohan stared intently at the photo, inhaling deeply as his eyes dilated. He tried so hard to forget what happened back then. He had wanted to forget it all. He felt his ki control tremble, the pressure in the room increasing with Videl's intensity.
This girl, she really badly wanted to destroy her world. With the rate she was going, he wouldn't have a choice but to shatter everything she believed in. However, that's not really what he should be concerned about. Should he even care? She's not his friend. She didn't know him; she knew nothing about him. She just barged into his life and demanded things that he had no obligation to give.
Gohan ought to give her what she wanted, but doing so meant inviting her fully to his world. Telling her the truth meant dragging her down the proverbial rabbit hole and keeping her there. Not just her, but her posse, too. Would it be worth it? Would she be worth it?
He didn't know what her reaction would be. She might hate him truly; call him a liar, or maybe think him crazy. Perhaps she wouldn't believe him, call him delusional or something.
He inwardly chuckled at that thought. If anything, she was the delusional one. Living in a world built on lies; a life that was nothing but illusions. It might be for the best if she stayed in it.
Gohan grabbed the photo from her, reigning his control over his power. "Whatever happened then is none of your business. You don't know anything about me, much less my family and friends, and there's nothing obliging me to tell you anything about my life," he said, walking around her and putting back the frame exactly where she took it. "We had nothing to do about Mr. Satan's death. I had nothing to do with it. We didn't care enough to associate ourselves with him," he added truthfully.
He could almost feel her clenching her fist. "You are so full of yourself! Every one of you! My father saved the world! He saved you! How dare you think so little of him! Dad might think he owes your family, but that's no reason to not care at all! If anything, you all owe him your lives!"
Gohan wanted to cringe. Not just because of her words, but also the volume of her voice. She was starting to really throw a tantrum, and his mother and little brother might be woken by all the commotion she was making. For a girl raised in high society, she really do lacked decorum. At least that was probably what Chi-chi would say if she wasn't unresponsive.
"We don't owe Mr. Satan anything, ok?" he said with a sigh. "And would you please lower your voice. Some of the people in this house is asleep."
"Do I look like I freaking care?" she asked, her nose flaring in anger and her voice getting louder. "I want answers, Gohan! And I'm getting it or so God help me, I'm gonna raise hell right here and now!"
"Are you threateni—"
"Oh, I am! I want the truth right now, Son Gohan! The truth, and nothing else!"
"Videl—" Erasa tried to placate her friend.
"NO!" Videl insisted. Gohan paused, guilt suddenly striking him hard when he saw tears flow down her cheeks. "My father is dead, guys! He was all I had…
"And now he's gone. But you know what's really ticking me off? It's the fact that it happened right in front of me and yet I was able to do jackshit. All I did was stare and watch him die.
"Seven years ago wasn't any different. Even with all his bravado back then, I knew my Dad was scared of Cell. He was in the national television, and I'm gonna watch him as he get himself beaten up and killed. You know how awful that was? How utterly terrified I was for him?
"He could be anything to the world, but first and foremost, he was my father!" she added, wiping her tears with the back of her fingerless gloves and looking none the less fierce. "So, like hell I'm gonna stop. Tell me what happened seven years ago! What happened back then was the reason he got killed now. I want to know so I can give him justice. So that, at least, I can have some peace for myself, too."
The teenage demi-Saiyan looked at the girl in a new light.
He can't believe how much they both had in common. They both looked up to their fathers, almost to the point of worshiping the path they walked on. They both watched them die right in front of their eyes, sharing a grief that was so painful and unfathomable. And unsurprisingly, they both chose the same direction to move on—by being stronger; by upholding their legacy, or, in Videl's case, seeking truth and justice. How could he ever deny a grieving daughter that?
Gohan sighed, taking the loveseat and clasping his hands in a contemplative gesture with his head bowed.
"We really got nothing to do with his death," he told her, looking into her eyes. "What inevitably led to Mr. Satan's death was his city's corruption. Politics, probably. I only ever had one conversation with him, and that was impersonal and awkward for the most part. Like what I've told him then, I'd already forgiven him. We parted in good spirits as friendly acquaintances."
At his confession no one else said a word, waiting for him to finish and say more.
"So," Sharpener interjected when it became apparent that no one was really going to say anything at all, "you're telling us that Mr. Satan really did owe your family something big?"
"I wouldn't say owe," Gohan said bitterly. "It's just, well, he kinda ruined my father's legacy, walked all over it and thrash-talked my friends every chance he got. Although they mostly just laughed it off, it really hurt me far longer than I care to admit."
"Your father, I gather he's gone now?" Erasa inquired uneasily.
"Yeah," Gohan answered somberly. "He's been gone for a long time now. His memory was really precious to me and his friends, especially to my mother. Mr. Satan's insults was like adding salt to the wound."
"You mean the 'tricksters' thing?" Erasa asked.
"Not just that," Gohan said, taking a deep breath. "You see, my father is—"
"Son Goku."
It was Videl who completed his revelation with her own realization. Gohan trained his attention at her solemn face.
"Son Goku is your dad, isn't he? Dad had been denigrating his name ever since he won the 24th WMAT. Calling him a fraud, a trickster; a coward hiding behind smokes ad mirrors… But that's not really the truth, isn't it?"
Gohan closed his eyes, taking a calming breath. He realized she had finally connected the dots, quietly biting her lip and slumping on the sofa with her brow wounded in a complicated knot.
"Son Goku?" Sharpener gasped, thankfully breaking the tension with his exuberant exclamation. "You mean the Son Goku?"
The blonde jock stood from his seat and inspected the picture frames on the shelf to prove for himself. "Holy shit! It is him!" he declared to the group. Videl didn't react, but Erasa also stood up and excitedly perused his family pictures.
"Aww, you look so cute here!" Nope, Erasa was just gushing on his baby pictures, after all. "Wow, is this really you? You're so cute!" Gohan inwardly groaned.
"Dude, your father is a legend among the Martial Arts enthusiasts!" Sharpener said to Gohan. "My old man is a fan, you know. He used to get riled a lot whenever Mr. Satan dissed Son Goku's fighting styles. Dad told me the tournaments were different a long time ago; much more brutal and selective, and the fact that Son Goku got runner up when he was just twelve—that was stuff out of legends! I can't believe it! Son Goku actually had a son! That's really cool, Brains." Sharpener grinned at him.
"Oooh, I remember now," Erasa said, her eyes twinkling. "The old middle school history books used to dedicate an entire chapter just for his exploits. The fall of the Red Ribbon Army and the defeat of King Piccolo, I think, is the most prominent. According to it, Son Goku destroyed the Red Ribbon Army single-handedly, and then King Piccolo's tyranny came to an end because of his bravery. But, they're legibility was disputed later on because they were all based on hearsays. Now, the newly published books mostly just speculate that it was him that did it, but never for certain anymore. I guess Mr. Satan's words against him didn't help it at all."
Videl's head lowered, all her bluster deflating from her system. She remained quiet, her eyes downcast. When both her blonde friends looked at her, she washed her face with her hands.
Gohan knew that she already knew, and Erasa and Sharpener was just a little behind. He waited for her to say something, but she just clenched and unclenched her hands in ambient frustration and agitation.
A heavy silence hung in the atmosphere, none of the four of them willing to address the sudden elephant in the room. Gohan held his breath in anticipation.
Fortunately, someone else interrupted their unexpected gathering.
Goten bounded down the spiraling stairs, rubbing sleep from his eyes and looking adorable on his teal checkered pajama set. The little boy's Super Saiyan transformation was still active, his aura suppressed but Gohan had no doubt that his schoolmates could still feel the power radiating from him with the relatively close proximity. Gohan himself was a bit grateful that he'd forgone his transformation before going to bed, lest Videl's first confrontation could have been more complicated. The three city friends looked at the young child in awe, not just because of his intense energy, but also because of his obvious resemblance to his father.
"Gohan," Goten mumbled sleepily.
"Hey, kiddo," Gohan said gently. "Why are you up? It's still dark outside. Go back to sleep upstairs."
"I can't sleep. It's so noisy," he answered with a whine.
No doubt, Gohan thought. His Super Saiyan form increased the sensibility of his senses a thousand fold. Videl's shouting must have woken him up.
"Come here," the older Son said, gesturing for him to come closer. The little demi-Saiyan walked up to him and climbed onto his lap, curling on his chest and clinging to his neck while Gohan rubbed circles on his back.
"Awww," Erasa cooed at them. Gohan blushed in embarrassment.
"It's late," he said, addressing his schoolmates. "Why don't you guys spend the night here? We only have one guest room, though. Erasa and Videl can share it. As for you," he said, glancing at the jock uncertainly. Sharpener's really bulky and tall, so he doubt he'll fit in Goten's bed. He and Goten could've shared his, but it seemed like it wouldn't work.
"It's okay. I can crash on your couch," Sharpener volunteered. "It won't be comfortable, but it's definitely an improvement from the cramped backseat of Videl's jetcopter."
Gohan nodded, conceding to the blonde jock.
Gohan went upstairs to tuck his little brother back to sleep. Then, while the girls washed up and got ready for bed, he changed the guest room's sheets and pillows with fresh ones. The guest room was usually were Grandpa Mao slept when he visited, so the bed was kinda humungous. The two of them would more than fit there with space to spare.
As Gohan was about to leave the room with the old linens, he bumped into the raven-haired girl. She was still in a daze, operating on instinct alone. Her eyes looked empty, her thoughts were still lost.
"Hey," he called.
"Huh?" she responded absentmindedly.
"Why did you cut your hair?" he asked, not really thinking about it. It was just painful for him to see her so hollowed.
"I…" she started, her hand touching her short locks. "I wanted to look strong. My hair only gets in my way," she answered, her voice quiet and flat.
Gohan bit his lip, contemplative. "It looks good on you," he said with a smile.
Videl snapped her head at him, her blue eyes widening and a blush creeping to her otherwise pallid face.
Gohan passed by her, his smile growing now that she'd finally reacted to something. She should've seen her face; she looked really cute!
When he stepped out of the door of the guest room, Erasa cornered him with a weird twinkle in her eyes. "I see what you did there," she said, beaming at him.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Gohan replied innocently.
Erasa scoffed playfully. "Oh, please. You're a horrible liar. And wipe that sappy grin on your face. You look like doofus," she teased. And then taking a softer tone, she said, "I know Videl can be really pushy and impulsive, but I hope she didn't offend you enough for you to hate her."
Gohan smiled at her. "No, it's okay. I'm not kicking you out in the cold, am I? I thought that was enough clue that I'm not offended at all."
"You're really nice," Erasa said, not a compliment but a statement of a fact.
"And you're a really good friend," he told her. "Videl is lucky to have a friend in you. You really care for her."
"We've known each other for a long time," she said.
"Is that the truth?" Gohan asked, peering at her.
Erasa bit her lip, uncertainty dawning on her cheerful face. "I…" the blonde girl bowed her head, looking abashed. "I do envy her sometimes," she confessed, "It just gets me that she didn't even need to try, and people fawns on her like a cat to a bowl of milk. She got everything she wanted handed to her on a silver platter, and she doesn't even appreciate it. I don't like the feeling, but I can't help it. Videl is my best friend. I shouldn't…"
Gohan might understand a bit about what Erasa's deal was. Despite her confident and optimistic façade, the girl was actually insecure about a lot of things. It was a habitual instinct on her part, he supposed, to be fake. To give a fake smile, to laugh when she's lonely, to pretend to be something she wasn't just to please everyone. She does it with Videl sometimes, too. Following her around and agreeing immediately to things she would have protested to in different circumstances, just because she didn't want to offend her friend. It was obvious with the way she acted in school; that just because she was blonde and fabulous, then she would have to be dumb, too. But in truth, Erasa was actually really smart.
He can't help but pity the girl. It must have been hard for her to be friends with Videl with the way she felt, but she still stayed anyway. Videl Satan was someone with a very strong personality. If she wasn't pleased about something, she wouldn't shy away from saying it bluntly. She could beat up anyone, not be pleasant at all, and be really honest to the point of being mean, and still, she wouldn't care even if everyone hated her for it. Gohan had the distinct impression that she was that way even before she became the World Champ's daughter. She didn't care to pretend to be someone she wasn't, because she didn't have to. As Erasa have said, people fawn on her, anyway.
Erasa was wrong about one thing, though.
"You're right, Videl is a really amazing person." Erasa ducked her head, feeling more ashamed. "But, so are you," Gohan added. The blonde girl's eyes widened, looking directly at him with something akin to hope. "You're always positive and cheerful, and you make people smile. You don't have to think of it as trying so hard to be liked, you just have to be you.
"It's okay to feel envy, so long as you don't act on it, especially in a way that you'll hurt your friend," Gohan said. "You are a good friend, Erasa. The fact that you just admitted that you felt that way towards her is a testament to it."
Erasa's face lit up at his words.
"Thanks," she said finally, smiling again. "Here, let me help you with that."
She took the dirty sheets and pillows from his arms. They weren't much, but they were really heavy and bulky, though. When she tried to walk ahead of him towards the hamper, she tripped on her feet and Gohan had no choice but to wound his arm around her midsection and pull her to his chest so as to stop her from falling headfirst to the polished floor.
The teenage boy started, withdrawing away from her as he scratched his head sheepishly.
"Oh, damn, I think I'm starting to really loathe Videl right about now," she said with a wink, her vulpine smile back on her face. "Careful there, sweetheart. I might just jump you myself."
Gohan blushed, taking the stacks of cloth back and dumping it to the dirty hamper himself before giving her a wide berth and heading to the linen closet.
"I'm gonna give Sharpener his blankets," he mumbled, scampering away like a coward.
Erasa's lilting laughter followed him as he went down the stairs.
.oOo.
Gohan rose from his bed the same hour he had always woke up. Stretching his limbs as he yawned, he glanced at the face of his brother, still blonde and fast asleep. Gohan smiled proudly at the boy.
Getting ready to set out on his morning hunt, he washed up and changed his pajamas to his purple gi. Messing up his hair in the mirror and fastening his red wristbands, he tiptoed down the stairs so he could finally head out.
Pausing at the living room, Gohan snickered at Sharpener's sleeping form. The blonde jock was skewed in an uncomfortable posture on the couch with drool dripping from his mouth. He'll definitely feel the cramps later.
Stepping out the door, the demi-Saiyan took a long deep breath of the morning fresh air. He was about to start his warm-up exercises when something caught his attention.
Up on the hill, just before the sloping stone stairs that led to Grandpa Gohan's shrine, Videl sat alone as she waited for the sunrise. The mountain breeze played with her short locks while her eyes was lost on the horizon. Gohan hesitated to intrude on her peace, but it was like he was gravitating to her. By the time he had realized it, he was already walking towards her.
"Do you mind if I join you?" he asked. When she didn't respond, he duly obliged himself to sit a meter apart from her on the soft grass.
Silence hung between them, only the soft sound of the rushing wind whistling a quiet tune. Gohan thought it was a comfortable silence, but Videl might just be completely lost in thought to even realize someone had joined her. Some of the stars were still visible, the darkness fading in front of him with the view of the 439 Mountain Area growing clearer. It was a beautiful sunrise; he hoped she'd actually witness it.
"I'm sorry," Videl finally said. Gohan snapped his attention at her curiously, surprised that she even said a word at all, much less an apology. He had never heard of Videl Satan apologizing to anyone before.
"I'm sorry for being so selfish," she said. Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. If Gohan had not the hearing of a Saiyan, he might have missed it. Gohan wanted to tell her that there was nothing to forgive, but it seemed like she really needed to say these, lest she'd bottle it up and hide it forever. "I understand now, what my Dad had meant the day before he died. I understand now what a fool I'd been.
"I had been arrogant. I thought I could hold the world at the palm of my hand, but all that strength had all just been a lie. It was all an illusion I built around my father's reputation, but that turned out to be just another lie, too. My arrogance and pride was nothing but a sham fostered by ignorance.
"Seven years ago, that wasn't my father's greatest achievement, it was yours. You and your friends, it was all of you who saved the world. It wasn't Hercule Satan, was it? He was just a face that you all hid behind so you can enjoy a life in the shadows of peace…
"I should hate you. I should hate all of you, because I was right after all. You really were just a bunch of cowards."
Gohan shrunk in on himself, not defending himself because she was indeed correct. He and his friends hid behind Hercule's name, and that's the reason why he got killed. He couldn't have foreseen that, though. He hadn't thought much of it that time because he had a lot on his plate.
"…but I'm tired. I don't know what to feel anymore," she continued, sniffing and looking up at the sky so her tears wouldn't fall. "My father was a liar. He was the fraud, not Son Goku. He died because of that lie, and perhaps he deserved it."
She sobbed, "I miss him, though. I miss him so very much."
She wiped her tears messily with her wrists and arms, but her sobs didn't subside. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" she cried softly. "You must think I'm such a spoiled brat. Broken by her Daddy's loss when you've lost yours, too."
Gohan looked at his palms absentmindedly. "That was a long time ago," he told her. "I still miss him every day, though."
Videl tried to restrain her sobs, hiccupping pitifully at the back of her hand. "Can you…" she started, sniffling her sobs. "Can you tell me about him?"
The young demi-Saiyan closed his fists, but he smiled at the girl beside him. Painfully, he dredged up all the memory of his father; his smiles, his adventures, his laugh…
Gohan gulped the bitter tang stuck in his throat and began, "Once upon a time…"
As Gohan told her what started it all, Videl listened intently. Although he saw her disbelief at the beginning, she didn't say a word about it and just listened. She slowly grew enraptured at the fantastical tale, her grief receding at the back of her mind.
He told her of an alien warrior race, destroyed by an evil space tyrant, and the story of a boy who came from the stars to purge life, but ended up becoming a hero.
Not dropping any names and keeping most of his father's friends' backgrounds hidden, he made the tale as exaggerated, comical, and ridiculous as he can. Videl became more comfortable as the story went on, getting lost with Goku's adventures. She started to relax, and ask questions, and smile, and even laugh at times. Gohan decided that he liked seeing her laugh, her eyes shrinking with the melodious sound of her laughter.
Before Gohan even knew it, he was also enjoying the trip back to memory lane. It used to hurt so bad just to think about him, but telling her even the most painful memories didn't even make him flinch anymore. He didn't know if she believed him, and he found that he didn't care because along the way, he thought he was helping himself more than her.
By the time the sun had started to rise, Gohan had already reached the point of the story when his father met his mother. He paused, disappointed that he had to cut their storytelling short because he had stuff to do, stuff that he'd already procrastinated on just to cheer her up.
"And then, what happened?" Videl asked, getting his attention away from the sight of the rising yellow star. Gohan hadn't realized they'd grown so close, the meter of distance between them shrinking into mere inches.
The demi-Saiyan smiled. "They got married, and then a couple of years later, they got me," he said.
"So, you're actually a half-breed super-powered warrior alien?" she asked, looking mockingly incredulous. "Is this your true form, or are your skin secretly green and you have a head that is fifty percent occupied by your eyes?" she whispered conspiratorially.
Gohan shifted uncomfortably. "Um, actually, I can change forms," he answered.
"Really?" Videl looked excited. "Show me."
He hesitated. "Oh, okay." He ended up agreeing anyway. He stood up from his seat beside her and took a wide stance, the standard one he used to power up with his fists clenched at both of his sides and his knees bent slightly. "Brace yourself," he warned.
And then he screamed.
Gohan could feel the familiar burst of ki, that power that seemed to rip his soul apart. His vision seemed to black out for an instant, his eyes changing from the normal bottomless obsidian to a solid teal. His hair swayed for one moment, before it completely defied gravity and stood to electrified spikes, from opaque black to a shining golden hue. His aura flared stronger, his muscles contracting with the ki filling it in and making it more pronounced. The ground he stood on cracked, splintered, and floated in broken fragments.
When he finally stopped powering up, he was already in the air, his ki holding him a few inches above the ground. He looked at where Videl was, and saw that she had clutched onto the earth so as not to get lifted off her feet. Suppressing his ki but keeping his transformation, Gohan landed back on the ground.
"This is my ascended form," he told the raven-haired girl, giving her a smile that ended up looking like a smirk.
Videl's eyes were wide. She staggered on her feet as she stood up, looking at him with a mixture of awe and disbelief.
"Wow," she muttered, "you really are the Delivery Boy…"
Gohan glanced back at the rising sun.
"I have to do my chores for the day," he said, sighing. But then, with a thought suddenly occurring to him, he extended a hand to her. "Wanna come?"
Videl stared at his offered hand, and then at his face. "Where?"
Gohan smirked at her. "Do you want to fly?"
Videl grabbed for his hand, a smile growing on her lips.
.oOo.
a/n: I don't know if you all realize, but there's this cute little button there at the bottom that says 'Review'. It would be cool if you could give me a feedback, maybe a simple 'Thank you' or something equally short and sweet. I would appreciate it better if you leave something longer though.
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