Here it is! The first rewritten chapter of the rewrite. It's basically one small element that will change everything that follows.

I hope you'll enjoy, and please don't forget to tell me what you think! :D

Chapter Ten

His Promise

Sharpner had a hard time focusing on training after Videl left. They hadn't been done with their sparring match so he had stayed in the gym to keep training. However, his mind had been elsewhere and, for the life of him, the boxer just couldn't get his head back in the game. In the end, Sharpner went home shortly after Videl left and isolated himself in his room. He tried passing the time by scrolling down on social media on his phone, but he was barely seeing the posts from the pages and people he was following. His mind was still trying to wrap around what Videl had said earlier.

And then he got a notification about an ongoing bank robbery turned into a hostage situation, and he went to the living room and grabbed the remote to change the channel and watch the news. His little sister started to protest, for he interrupted her program, but she quickly fell quiet when she saw what it was about.

They were covering the bank robbery, but the situation was apparently quickly taken care of.

The Great Saiyaboy, who appeared to be Saiyaman's little brother, had made his grand debut. Sharpner had raised an eyebrow at the new tidbit of information. So, it seemed that superpowers ran in Saiyaman's family, because his younger sibling seemed to be as gifted as the grown-up superhero, despite being only seven years old, which was one of the only things the superhero duo had agreed to reveal to the media.

He couldn't help staring in embarrassment as the brothers proceeded to take some ridiculous poses as they once again introduced themselves and announced that everything was under control, their routine uncoordinated and so lame that it hurt to watch, yet Sharpner just couldn't look away. And then they ended in a final pose, standing back to back with their arms crossed, looking at the cameras with big grins on their masked faces, before bidding their goodbyes and taking off into the sky.

And then the cameras rushed to Videl, who had teamed up with the superhero duo to take down the criminals. She gave a brief account of what happened and quickly excused herself.

The newswoman was on camera now, concluding the report, and Sharpner let out a deep sigh as he leaned back into the couch and turned off the TV.

"It's so cool that you're friends with Videl," commented Harper, his thirteen-year-old younger sister who was sitting with him on the couch. She discreetly tried to get the remote back to continue watching her show, and Sharpner acted like he didn't notice her since he couldn't care less now that he'd seen the news. "She's so awesome."

He distractedly hummed in agreement, crossing his arms as he still tried to make sense of what Videl had told him earlier today.

Did she really have dreams of Gohan before meeting him? And the way she reacted when he asked what her relationship with the guy was… It looked like they were romantically involved in Videl's dreams, which seemed to have been about her future… with Gohan.

It was just all so weird. Was Videl psychic or something? But there was no such thing as psychics, everyone knew that. Well, according to Mr. Satan anyway, and, surely, Videl's dad knew what he was talking about. After all, he did kill Cell and save the world, and if Cell hadn't been using magic tricks to pretend he had superpowers, Mr. Satan wouldn't have been able to beat him.

And why would the dreams stop once Videl met Gohan, for that matter? Sharpner could see why Videl had seemed so confused when she tried talking to him about it. He could understand why she had been too embarrassed to keep going, too.

Would Gohan and Videl actually end up together? The teen couldn't help wondering.

He had been fiddling with his phone for a while now, debating with himself on his next move. Should he do something? Should he let it be? Did Videl even dream about Gohan at all or did he misinterpret everything? Maybe he could just ask her. Would she tell him, though? Trying to talk to him about it had embarrassed her so much earlier, it was unlikely she would be willing to try again.

He had to find out more. He was never going to get any rest and would keep racking his brain about it if he didn't get to the bottom of this thing.

Sharpner scrolled down his contact list until Gohan's name appeared. Sharpner chewed on his lower lip as he debated with himself on what he should do.

In the end, he decided to go for it and typed a message to his friend. He quickly hit send before he could change his mind. And then he waited.

His phone started ringing, Gohan's name displayed on the screen, and the blond rolled his eyes before answering the call.

"Can't you just text me back?"

"Sorry," came Gohan's reply followed by a sheepish laugh. "I'm not really used to texting and I figured it would be easier to just call you. I hope I'm not bothering you?"

"Nah, it's fine," Sharpner brushed him off.

"Anyway, I happen to be in the city right now, so yeah, sure, we can meet up. Where do you live?"

"I'll text you the address, and I'll be waiting for you downstairs, there's a park just on the other side of the street so we can hang out there. Text me when you're close."

"Sounds good to me. See you in a bit."

Sharpner replied in kind, hung up, then texted Gohan his home address. A reply came almost immediately, this time by text, and Gohan told him that he was nearby and wouldn't take more than five minutes. Huh, what a coincidence. Sharpner shrugged and got up, let his parents know he was going out for a bit, and went down the stairs to get out of the building and wait for Gohan outside.

Soon enough, he saw the spiky-haired teen walking towards him, and they waved at each other.

"So you just happened to be around, huh?" Sharpner asked ironically, an eyebrow raised at the other boy who chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head like he always did when he felt uneasy.

"Yeah. I came to visit the city with my little brother, actually, but he went home ahead of me. I, uh, had something to do first."

Sharpner gave him a skeptical look. "Didn't you say he was like six? And that you live out there in the mountains like thousands of miles away? And he just went home on his own?"

"O-Of course not!" Gohan replied quickly, waving his hands frantically as a nervous laugh slipped through his lips. "My, uhm, my mom, she came to pick him up, obviously." He gave another awkward chuckle. "And he's seven, by the way."

They started to walk, going toward the small park on the other side of the street. "Huh, that's funny. The Great Saiyaman's little brother is also seven. I just saw them on the news. They stopped a bank robbery with Videl."

"O-Oh, really? I, uh, I haven't heard…"

Sharpner narrowed his eyes at his friend. Gohan definitely looked suspicious, and he sounded like he was lying, too. But why would he lie about something like that? It didn't really make sense, so Sharpner decided to believe him.

Another thought occurred to the blond and he tilted his head. Could it be that Gohan was nervous because he'd mentioned Videl? Maybe his assumption was correct after all… But there was only one way to find out: at the source.

"Speaking of Videl," the boxer started. They got to the park and continued towards the small pond. Sharpner picked up a flat stone and assessed it, before shooting Gohan a pointed look. "What's up with you two?"

A look of genuine confusion crossed his face as the other boy tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

Sharpner drew his arm back and threw the stone; it bounced six times on the pond before it sank. "Do you know why she's been avoiding you? It doesn't make much sense to me." He did kinda have an idea now, after what Videl had confessed to him earlier, but he couldn't tell Gohan that. He picked out another stone. "I mean, if I can become friends with you when you're such a big nerd, then you could become friends with basically anyone."

A frown etched across the dark-haired boy's face, like he was thinking about what to answer. This piqued Sharpner's interest, and he turned fully to Gohan to give him his full attention as he waited for his answer, his arm falling to his side with the stone still in his hand.

Gohan mimicked him and took a flat stone, making it bounce in his hand a few times before throwing it at the pond. Sharpner's eyes widened as the rock kept skipping on the water up to the other side of the pond.

"Whoa."

Gohan smiled at him and rolled another pebble between his fingers. "It's… complicated." He sighed. "Not because we don't get along or anything ━ we do get along. Really well, actually. We came across each other today and hung out for a bit." A fond smile formed on Gohan's lips while his gaze unfocused, evidently reminiscing. "It was… really nice. Videl's pretty great."

"I'm surprised she didn't avoid you again." Sharpner tsked when the stone skipped eight times. While he did better than his previous throw, he was nowhere near as good as Gohan. Man, that guy was just on a level of his own, wasn't he?

"Yeah, I was too, but I think my little brother may have had something to do with it." Gohan grinned. "He's really cute, and I think even Videl couldn't resist."

Sharpner chuckled in amusement. He knew for a fact that his childhood friend had a soft spot for kids, so Gohan's cute little brother enticing Videl to stay and hang out wasn't surprising in the least, all things considered.

"So, you guys hung out and it was nice, that's what you said, right?"

A faint blush formed on Gohan's cheeks while his gaze lowered. Sharpner quirked an eyebrow. Perhaps he really was on to something.

Gohan threw another stone and, once again, it just kept skipping until it reached the other side of the pond. "Yeah. I really like Videl, but even though she admitted that she liked hanging out with me, she said we can't be friends."

Sharpner gave Gohan a long look, scrutinizing him for clues in his investigation.

"When you say you like Videl, you mean…" He trailed off, hoping the other boy would catch on without having to spell it out to him. Alas, Gohan looked up at him with utter confusion, obviously having no idea what he was trying to ask him.

Goodness, this guy was hopelessly clueless.

"I mean, you like like her?" he insisted.

Gohan paused in mid-throw and tilted his head. "What do you mean?" he asked, apparently not familiar with the very common way of asking if you liked someone as more than a friend.

Sharpner heaved a deep sigh and threw another stone at the pond. Seven skips this time. Damn. "I mean, do you like her as a guy who likes a girl? Like, are you attracted to her? Do you have feelings for her?"

Well, he couldn't have spelled it out to Gohan any clearer, so if the other teen still had no clue, then this was simply hopeless.

But some clarity seemed to finally reach Gohan, making his eyes widen in realization.

"Oh. You mean, like that."

This time it was a sigh of relief that slipped through Sharpner's lips. "Yes, like that. That's what I'm asking you, Gohan. Do you like Videl?"

The other boy tilted his head and his eyes shifted upward and to the side, as though he needed to think about it. Sharpner was getting impatient as the silence dragged on and Gohan didn't seem like he could make up his mind, nor could the blond jock get more than nine skips on the pond, so he gave up on skipping stones, and focused on his friend. He tried something else.

"Like, do you think she's pretty?"

A blush appeared on the other teen's cheeks at the question, and he looked down with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, I mean…" he mumbled. "I didn't really notice at first, because she was scowling a lot on my first day and all. But… the first time I saw her smile, it did cross my mind ━ that she was pretty."

A satisfied smile formed on the blond's face. Okay, they were making progress. If he could find out how Gohan really felt about Videl, then he could get an idea as to whether Videl's dreams may come true or if they were just a weird coincidence that didn't have to mean anything.

"So you're attracted to her," he stated matter-of-factly. Gohan's blush deepened.

"I… I don't know. Maybe. I mean, I never really thought about it before you asked…"

"And you say Videl won't be friends with you even though she said herself that she likes hanging out with you."

Gohan simply nodded his head in affirmation, still too embarrassed to speak.

"Do you have any idea as to why?"

The blush receded as a frown took up Gohan's boyish traits. "I do, kind of. And there's nothing I can do about it. Videl won't change her mind."

Sharpner waved him off. "Don't give up so easily. I actually think you may have a chance with Videl. I've known her since we were kids so I know what I'm talking about."

Gohan looked up at him at that, his eyebrows raised. A glint of hope shone in his onyx eyes, and Sharpner smirked. Yep. Gohan definitely liked Videl as more than a friend. That meant Videl's dreams were probably visions of their future together.

But why would they make Videl avoid Gohan, refusing that they even be friends? What could've been so bad that would make Videl try to stop what she had seen from happening?

Maybe things didn't end well between them. That was the only explanation Sharpner could think of. Maybe they had a horrible breakup and Videl was trying to save herself from the heartbreak. Yeah, that made sense, and it totally sounded like something Videl would do, too.

Well, that was a real shame. He could really see Gohan and Videl work as a couple. They did seem to get along well despite Videl's best efforts to stay away from the boy.

What if there was a way for them to still be together and avoid the drama and the heartache? Surely, Videl should've seen what had caused the issues between them and could use that to help the relationship. Of course, knowing Videl, it wasn't surprising that she would choose to avoid the situation and the risk of having her heart broken completely, but Sharpner believed this would be a waste. Gohan was an all-around great guy and he would be pretty perfect for Videl. As someone who had known the girl since elementary school, Sharpner did know what he was talking about.

"You really think Videl could change her mind?" Gohan asked hopefully.

Sharpner quirked a smirk. "Of course. Leave it to me, I'll just talk some sense into her. I'm sure she's just scared to get her heart broken. She's got a hard time letting people in since her mom died."

Gohan's lips parted at what he just said, his eyes widening slightly. "Videl's… lost her mom?"

Sharpner's smile toned down with sympathy. "Yeah. I guess you two have that in common. Losing a parent. Sorry."

Gohan nodded gravely. "Thanks. I wish I'd known. I wish we could just be friends."

"Just friends?" Sharpner asked, his tone full of innuendo. Gohan's blush was back in a flash at the insinuation.

"I don't know," he mumbled. Sharpner chuckled in amusement at the other guy's embarrassment. "I mean… Videl's great and all, and yes, she's really pretty, but I don't know her that well. And before you pointed it out, I wasn't even thinking of her that way… So, I don't know. I don't know how I feel about her. Still, I'd be happy if we could at least be friends." Then the boy frowned and shook his head sharply. "But, no, we can't. She told me why, and I get it… As much as it pains me, I can't go against her wish."

Sharpner furrowed his brow. Well, that would be a shame. Gohan was simply perfect for Videl. Someone as considerate and kind-hearted was just the type of guy Videl should be with. And he wasn't even going to try?

"Are you sure? I can talk to her. I know Videl, and I have an idea as to why she won't be your friend, but I'm sure I could get her to change her mind."

Gohan shook his head. "No, I doubt it. And even if you could, I promised her I would leave her be, so I can't go back on my word."

"I didn't promise anything."

"Sharpner, I appreciate your willingness to help me, I really do." Gohan smiled at him, eyes shining with wistfulness and resignation. "But Videl has her reasons and it wouldn't be right to go against what she wants."

"But…"

"It's fine," Gohan assured him, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks for the offer, Sharpner, and yeah, I admit that a part of me wishes I could say yes, but I gave her my word. I can't take it back."

Sharpner crossed his arms and grumbled. "Well, this sucks. You and Videl would've been a great match."

Gohan took a step back and waved his hands in front of him, a bright blush forming on his face. "Y-You're getting ahead of yourself. I don't even know if I have those kinds of feelings for her!"

Sharpner rolled his eyes. Gohan could deny it all he wanted, but it was as clear as water that he had a crush on Videl. Although, maybe Gohan was simply trying to protect himself. If he admitted to liking Videl as something more when he couldn't even be friends with her, wouldn't it hurt even more to be rejected by Videl? It made sense.

And if Videl stood her ground and wouldn't change her mind, it might be best for Gohan not to try and figure out his feelings, because nothing was ever going to happen between them.

Frowning at these thoughts, Sharpner looked out at the lake.

"Yeah, I guess," he mumbled in reply. "Maybe it wasn't meant to be."

He let out a deep sigh, disappointed that Gohan wouldn't let him try to talk him up to Videl. But there was nothing he could do if Gohan refused his help. It felt like such a waste. Gohan and Videl would be perfect together. Oh well…

He bent down to pick up a flat stone, feeling like giving himself another chance to beat his own record. Beating Gohan wasn't even an option, though.

The other boy mimicked him, and they skipped stones for a while, mostly in silence. Gohan gave Sharpner some pointers and the blond was able to beat his own record and skip a stone sixteen times.

"Score!" he exclaimed, throwing his fist up in victory. Gohan laughed.

"Nice going." He picked up another stone. "So, what about you? How are things going with Erasa?"

Now it was the blond's turn to have a confused look on his face. Sharpner paused when he was about to throw another stone and tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you like her, right?"

Gohan's question was met with dumbfounded silence. Sharpner stared at him, blinking a few times, then blinking a few more times, not quite processing what he just heard.

"I mean… you two obviously like each other. Even I could tell ━ that's how obvious it is."

Sharpner blinked some more. "…What?"

"Well, you know, the other day Erasa was talking about some cute guy from another class and you were all frowning and scowling. Wasn't it because you got jealous?"

"What are you talking about?" Sharpner finally uttered in disbelief.

Gohan looked upward and to the side, his head tilted. "Did I get it wrong? I do pick up on those things from time to time. Like how I figured out that my friend Krillin was in love with 18. I was pretty proud of myself too, because I was the only one who saw it, and I got it right too. Krillin still feels sore about how I just blurted it out in front of her, but they got married in the end so it all worked out, right?" He shook his head. "Anyway, I may have gotten it wrong about you and Erasa. But you guys are always flirting with each other and you look like you like each other as more than just friends. Or did I get it wrong?"

Sharpner was still blinking. "Me… and Erasa?"

A lump rose in his throat. His face felt flushed. His heart seemed like it couldn't stand in place. His hands were clammy, and he wiped them on his jeans. Why was his body reacting in this way? What did this mean? Why was Gohan talking about him and Erasa as though it was a fact?

Could it be… Had he had feelings for Erasa all along and never realized it? Yes, she was gorgeous, but any guy would agree to that. And she was super nice and friendly, and she was one of his best friends. Sure, they always had fun when they hung out, but that was because they were super close friends and have known each other for years. Yes, she was awesome and beautiful and funny and cute and…

Where was he going with this again?

"Me… and Erasa."

His eyes unfocused, staring at the pond without seeing the clear water as he considered his feelings for the beautiful blonde for the first time. Yes, he did get moody when Erasa started gushing about some guy she thought was cute ━ he never liked it when that happened, for that matter. Did it mean he got jealous? Because he wanted Erasa's attention for himself?

Sharpner swallowed, his face feeling more and more flushed.

"Did I say something wrong?" Gohan asked in concern, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Sharpner. I'm still learning about this whole social cues thing. Being homeschooled does that to you…"

Sharpner shook his head. "No, it's alright, Gohan. It's just… I never realized it." He looked at his friend with an awkward smile. "But you were right. I think I do like Erasa, as more than a friend."

Gohan perked up at the confession. "Oh, so I did get it right?"

"As astounding as it seems, you did," Sharpner teased with a chuckle. It was a wonder that someone who was usually so clueless and never noticed whenever a girl tried flirting with him ━ even as obvious as they were, and it had been happening a lot over Gohan's first week of school ━ would pick up on something that apparently even went past Videl's cunning eye.

How come Videl didn't notice, for that matter? Sure, she didn't really have experience with romance and relationships, but she was usually so sharp. Nothing ever went past her, and yet, she never even saw that her two best friends may have something more going on.

"And you think Erasa likes me too?" he couldn't help asking Gohan.

"I'm pretty sure, yeah. I noticed that she started pouting when you were hitting on a girl by her locker."

Damn, that kid was sharp. How come he never saw it when a girl hit on him? Was he only able to tell these things when he wasn't the one concerned? Some people were like that, Sharpner figured.

"Are you going to tell her how you feel?" Gohan inquired, a curious glint in his eyes. Sharpner rolled his.

"Don't talk like a girl. And I guess I'm going to ask her out, yeah…" But there was some hesitation as he uttered that sentence.

Should he ask Erasa out? They had been friends for so long. What if it didn't end well? What if their friendship didn't survive an eventual break-up?

"What's wrong?" Gohan asked.

Sharpner shook his head. "I'm just overthinking this. I guess it's just a risk I'll have to take."

Gohan cracked a smile at that. "I can talk to Erasa for you if you want. You know, to lay out the groundwork."

Sharpner chuckled. "Alright. Not that I need the help, but, you know, at least it'll open Erasa to the idea."

"Sounds good to me," Gohan said, a grin digging into his cheeks.

"Are you sure you don't want me to return the favor and talk to Videl?" Sharpner tried again. Maybe if Videl changed her mind, those two could still have a chance to work out. "You like Videl, right? Maybe not necessarily in a romantic way, but you do like her. And you'd like to be her friend, right?"

Gohan swallowed. "Well… yeah." But his expression hardened and he shook his head. "No, I can't. I gave her my word."

"I think you're overthinking this. If you try and it doesn't work, at least you tried, which is better than not taking any risk. Don't you think?"

Gohan slumped his shoulders. "I know. But… I'm sure Videl thought about that too, and she decided that she couldn't take that risk, that the price would be too high. She has her reasons, Sharpner, and she's made up her mind."

"I still think it's dumb," Sharpner muttered, crossing his arms. "I'm pretty sure Videl likes you, and you guys would be perfect for each other."

Gohan averted his gaze, his face flaring up once more. He raised a hand and covered the lower part of his face. "You… really think Videl likes me?"

"I do," Sharpner affirmed. He wasn't exactly sure, to be quite honest, but Gohan didn't need to know that. Besides, from Videl's reaction earlier when he asked her about Gohan and her dreams, it did look like the girl could have feelings for him. "And from your reaction, it's obvious that you like her too. Don't you owe it to yourself to at least try and see where things could go with her?"

Gohan's blush deepened. "I think… I owe it to her to trust her decision. Even if Videl does like me… Especially if she likes me. It means her reason must be a really good one, because she's come to the conclusion that the risk isn't worth taking despite her feelings for me. If she even has feelings for me."

Sharpner let out a deep, tired sigh. "Man, you have all the answers, don't you? I guess there's nothing else I can say…" He gave his friend a sympathetic smile and put his hand on his shoulder. "You're a good guy, Gohan ━ you're too good, actually, otherwise you would've let me try to talk to Videl."

Gohan cracked a small smile. "Perhaps. But I'd rather be too good than not good enough."

The blond chuckled in amusement. "That's one way to see things. Man, it's such a shame. You really would've been perfect for Videl."

Gohan looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "I, uh, I told you, I don't know if I like her like that…"

Sharpner frowned. He understood Gohan's reluctance to dwell on his feelings, but this whole situation didn't sit well with him. Was it really not meant to be? He had a hard time believing that. Moreover, if Videl did have dreams about Gohan before meeting him where she was in a relationship with him, then those two getting together actually was meant to be.

Videl just decided to go against fate.

Sharpner scowled. That idiot. What could be so bad that she was turning away an amazing guy like Gohan? Even he approved of him in spite of how big of a nerd Gohan was; how could Videl pass up her chance to be with a guy like him?

Sharpner could only come to one conclusion: she was an idiot.

It was way past dinnertime, and Videl knew her father didn't like missing a meal. So, she went back to his room and decided she should wake him up. Hopefully, he would have sobered up by now, or at least be in a good enough state to hold a conversation. Because they still needed to talk.

"Papa? Papa, wake up." She shook his shoulder, and he groaned. The lights were on and she saw his eyes slowly open, his face taut in a painful frown. She helped him sit up and brought to him a water bottle and a couple of painkillers. "Here, take this, you'll feel better in a bit."

He obliged without a word, and let out a sigh after gulping half the bottle.

"Thanks, sweetie," he said.

"You missed dinner," she told him, "but I had the chef keep your plate warm. Are you hungry?"

He turned to her, his eyes squinted as though he was fighting a headache, but still managed a meek smile. "Thank you, Sweetpea."

She helped him up and out of the room, and then down the stairs and to the dining room, where a foil-covered plate sat on the table in Mr. Satan's usual spot.

Videl sat on the chair adjacent to him at the long and fancy dining table, watching him as he unwrapped his plate and picked up the cutlery to start eating.

She wondered how much he remembered from earlier. Did he even recall their fight or was today just one big blank in his head? Or could it be he was pretending not to remember to avoid confrontation? Yeah, she wouldn't put it past him to do something like that. Videl frowned.

"Papa," she said, her voice quiet, calm. "We need to talk."

His movement froze, his fork standing still, halfway to his open mouth. Without moving an inch, his eyes shifted towards her, beads of sweat gathering on his temple. He finally closed his mouth and set his fork on his plate, before swallowing so loudly in the silent and spacious dining room that it seemed that the noise echoed off the walls.

"Wh-What about?" he stammered. His eyes kept darting from side to side now, and he was fiddling with his hands, fidgeting on his chair, like he couldn't sit still.

His nervousness told her that her father likely did remember their fight. Perhaps he had hoped it was a dream, seeing as she had been nice to him since she woke him up and didn't act like she was still angry at him. Obviously, he had been completely out of it earlier when he drunkenly confessed to her how he felt about what he had done, so it was highly unlikely that he remembered any of it. Which explained why he was so nervous.

"You don't remember it, but you were mumbling when you were drunk earlier," she started. "You were talking about what I tried to tell you earlier. Before I stormed off."

She was giving him a second chance at admitting to the truth without having to force it out of him. Surely, since he obviously felt horrible about what he had done, to the point of trying to drown his sorrow in alcohol and try to forget about it; surely, this time he wasn't going to try to lie to her again.

"W-Was I?" he asked, his voice unnaturally high.

"Papa," she said, her tone firm but calm. "Please, tell me the truth."

He watched her, biting his lip, unable to sit still. Videl pleaded with him with her eyes, hoping this time her dad was finally going to come clean to her.

"How… How did you find out?"

A wave of relief washed over her. He had finally stopped trying to deny it. He was ready to tell her the truth, at long last.

"It doesn't matter. Tell me the truth about what happened, Papa. Please."

Videl was aware that it was hypocritical of her to ask the truth of her father while she, herself, was hiding a big secret from him. But it wasn't something he needed to know anyway, and it would only upset him to even imagine his "little girl" with a guy, let alone getting married. Her father was so overprotective that he had decided one day that if she wanted to start dating, her boyfriend would have to be stronger than him. Him, the world champion.

How ironic ━ Gohan actually fitted that description.

But she had erased that future with him. Hopefully. The ghost of his gentle smiles, of his beautiful onyx eyes, of the enchanting notes of his voice ━ they still haunted her. Even as hard as she tried, there was nothing she could've done to stop herself to start developing feelings for Gohan ━ feelings that kept growing the more she spent time with him. Which happened to be quite a lot today, somehow. Fate certainly wasn't on her side, that was for sure.

Her father swallowed once more, his eyes dropping to his plate.

"I… lied. After everything calmed down, and nobody was left that day. No Cell, none of the fighters, no extraordinarily strong boy ━ they were all gone. And the newsman asked me what happened. I was the only one left standing. I saw an opportunity to get everything I've ever wanted, everything I've always worked for ━ and I took it. I lied to them, said I got tired of the other fighters and their tricks, and took on Cell, finishing him off in one hit." He smiled dryly. "As if someone like me could ever measure to a monster like Cell."

Her heart was hammering in her chest. He had done it. He had told her the truth, the whole truth. He finally said it. He finally stopped lying to her.

"Actually…" Videl bit her lip in hesitation, but decided that her dad had a right to know at least this. "The boy who was there that day, the one who actually killed Cell and saved the world…"

She trailed off, and Mr. Satan looked up at her expectantly, waiting for her to keep going.

Videl took a deep breath. "He's in my class. That's how I know."

"He… told you?"

"No, I figured out he was Saiyaman, and put two and two together for the rest. He confirmed it to me today, actually. We met by chance."

Twice, no less, she couldn't help adding for herself.

"So, you're… friends with him?"

Videl pinched her lips together. "Not really. It's complicated. But he did tell me the truth."

A frown was digging between the man's eyebrows. "He's not your boyfriend, is he?"

Videl gave him a smug smile, unable to help herself. "Even if he was, he's stronger than you."

Mr. Satan's jaw hung open at that, and Videl laughed good-naturedly.

"Don't worry, Papa, he's not my boyfriend, and I wouldn't want him to be."

Which was ninety-nine percent true. There was still that stubborn one percent that hoped she would change her mind and give in to her feelings for Gohan, but it was a lost cause. Her stupid heart could beg all it wanted, she was never getting in a relationship with Gohan. No matter what.

Her father sighed in relief at her words. "Okay, good. You got me worried there for a moment."

"You really shouldn't, you know. I'm so not interested in boys right now. I'd rather focus on kicking your ass at the tournament," she said in a joking tone.

"Oh, is that so?" he bantered along, a smirk on his lips. "Then I guess I should stop slacking off and train more seriously, huh?"

"You definitely should, but I'm still kicking your ass."

He laughed. Not that fake, horrible laugh that she hated so much. No, it was his real laugh. The one that came from the heart. Videl smiled, feeling a warm, pleasant glow in her chest.

"Oh, we'll see! I ain't giving up my championship belt without a fight."

"And I wouldn't expect you to."

At least it gave her something to look forward to about the Tenkaichi Budokai. Even though the strongest fighters obviously weren't going to compete, it would still be a challenge for her to rise to the top.

Besides, since Gohan was half-alien, wasn't that kind of like cheating, what with his alien genes giving him a natural advantage? Although, he mentioned his friends who weren't aliens like him but could do the same stuff he could do, like flying and shooting blasts from his hands. That meant there were more Earthling fighters who could easily win the championship but wouldn't be entering the competition.

Ah, well. There was such a thing as retiring from martial arts, and Videl supposed that if those fighters weren't going to try and become the world champion, then it meant they had retired, and there was nothing she could do about it.

It was probably Goku's training buddies, for that matter. Krillin, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Chaozu. Piccolo too, though she was pretty sure this one was alien too, what with his green skin and pointy ears. And Vegeta, but he was the same kind of alien as Gohan's father.

Those men had been at the Cell Games, too, so they were obviously among the strongest fighters in the world.

But, well, if they weren't interested in the competition anymore, there was nothing she could do about it. Most of them were tournament veterans, for that matter, so it wasn't like they didn't know about the upcoming Tenkaichi Budokai. That meant they decided not to participate on their own accord, and that was all there was to it.

Oh, well. It was still going to be fun. She would get to face up against the best fighters who entered the competition, and they would definitely put up a better fight than the average criminal she would take care of daily, so that was something to look forward to. And she was probably going to fight her father for the championship at one point, so she was finally going to know for sure if her rigorous training had paid off and if she had actually managed to surpass the current world champion.

He may have lied about saving the world, but he had won the previous Tenkaichi Budokai fair and square. And in just over three weeks, Videl would finally know if she was stronger than her father.

She was getting excited about the tournament again. Videl grinned at the prospect. It was going to be a fun day, for sure.