Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ

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Videl nervously tapped her foot within the confines of the last class of the day. Every second that ticked by she knew was bringing her closer and closer to the time where she would find herself walking towards the gymnasium where he would be waiting there for her with some form of disgusting torture in mind. That torture however would push her further forward in her quest for strength but as she had discovered over the past few days of training she had been brought to the point of exhaustion and defeat.

At first it had been difficult for Videl to admit her pulverising form at the end of the day as a form of defeat but once she had bitten back upon her pride she discovered that there was no other word for it. In many situations in the past she would have stated that she would only suffer defeat in death. Every time she had stepped in to tackle the criminals that were either robbing a store or causing some other form of chaos there was always the chance of defeat and ultimately death. There would be no mercy and she would fall knowing that she had not been strong enough.

This defeat that she had now come to embrace was different in its entirety. No longer did she link the two words together and now defeat meant solely that she was progressing ever so slowly forward. This would be her fourth training session with Gohan after the two of them had had to have a break over the weekend period, a time which Videl had embraced wholeheartedly. The first day she had only moved from bed when her stomach had forced her to move from the comfort of her blankets.

Upon the Sunday Videl had actually tried to put what she had learned into action by heading down to the basement where the gym was located. After a full day's rest she was raring to get into action and slammed both her fists and feet into the punching bag before her with all the fury she could muster. The weights upon her body no longer felt so much like a burden but more of an extension of herself and once she was rid of them she would be much better for it.

"Oi Videl, you there?" asked Erasa breaking Videl from her trance.

"What?" asked Videl in response as she looked around only to find that everybody else was packing up their belongings.

"Class finished and you were just sitting there daydreaming about hunky over there," said Videl tossing a casual thumb over her shoulder to where Gohan was busy neatly placing paperwork inside of his satchel.

"Pfft, keep dreaming," scoffed Videl trying to ensure that her poker face was on. The last thing she wanted Erasa to realise was that she had actually been thinking about Gohan but not in the way the blonde imagined.

"Fine then, well what's he going to be teaching you today?" asked Erasa, failing to realise that Sharpner had leaned himself into the conversation.

"What's this, you're getting lessons from nerd boy?" asked Sharpner believing he had got the brunt of what was going on.

"I just need some help with a couple of things," said Videl, not theoretically lying to her long-time friend. "Gohan offered to help me get the gist of it."

"So what, you're spending one on one time with mountain boy, wouldn't your dad tear his head off if he found out?" asked Sharpner.

"It's why I tag along as well," said Erasa with a beaming smile. "I don't really pay much attention to what's going on but this way Gohan doesn't have to worry about Hercule's fury."

"Well as much as I hate to admit it," said Sharpner rubbing the back of his head, "My grades have kind of been dropping a bit and my mum's getting pissy with me over it. You reckon it'd be okay for me to tag along and get some wise words alongside you guys?"

"No!" quickly declared Videl.

"What?" replied Sharpner in confusion, wondering why Videl had shot down the idea so quickly.

"It's just like it's meant to be a full one on one session you know," said Videl getting flustered. "Like Erasa said she's there to back me up if my father gets suspiscious of what I'm doing after school and I just get this feeling that if you come along than it's going to hamper my own training by having to drag your ass along the way to catch up to where we are..."

"Alright, alright, I get it," said Sharpner putting his hands out to stop Videl before she burst a blood vessel. "Calm down will ya, I was just after some tutoring but I guess I'll have to ask someone for some help."

"Anyway Videl, you need to hurry," said Erasa. "You don't want to be late."

Videl's eyes widened slightly at the memory of the last time she had been late and the punishment that she had been put through before she turned her head to where Gohan was sitting, or at least where he had been sitting. "Shit," she cursed realising that her time arguing with Sharpner would likely put her through the slammer once again. Shoving all of her gear inside her bag as quickly as possible she stood up, knocking her chair over as she did so before literally leaping over her desk into the row below her so that she wasn't forced to push Erasa out of the way.

"She's in a hurry," observed Sharpner.

"With what Gohan's got planned for her I don't blame her," said Erasa as she finished packing up all of her gear before standing up and picking up Videl's chair, placing it the way that it should have been. "Anyways I better catch up before I miss anything, we'll catch up later."

"Sure thing," said Sharpner with a small wave as Erasa left the classroom leaving him the only remaining occupant. Lifting his hand to his face he cupped his chin in-between his thumb and forefinger. Something just seemed a little off to him and it wasn't just the fact that Videl was getting lessons from Gohan. By all means Gohan was the smartest kid in the class by a long margin but Videl wasn't going to be failing anytime soon unless he missed something that had happened over the last month or so.

Clearly something big was going on, something that he couldn't fully comprehend and thus he did something that any well respected manner of the city would do when knowing that a teenage girl may be getting up to no good.

He called their father.

...

"You're actually progressing really well," said Gohan as he watched from the sidelines with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Like hell I am," said Videl as she weaved left and right, dodging the projectiles thrown her way. The task that Gohan had given her today was to avoid rubber balls being thrown at her while remaining only within a circle that had been drawn on the ground.

"How are you going Erasa?" asked Gohan as he looked across to where the blonde girl was seemingly having a ball.

"Just remember you promised that Videl won't take any of this out on me," said Erasa as she tossed another projectile.

"Just wondering, how'd you get such a good throwing arm?" asked Gohan surprised that the girl hadn't complained about the exerting work placed upon her.

"I played softball during my junior years," explained Erasa. "My father wanted me to get into some kind of physical activity and I picked the one that jumped out at me. It was either that or gymnastics but have you seen those skimpy leotards, as if I'd ever dress up in something like that."

"Alright then, just throw ten more and I'm going to shrink the size of the circle again," said Gohan.

"AGAIN!" exclaimed Videl as she looked down at how her feet were at the moment. Her stance was shoulder width apart and it was only just within the boundaries set before her.

"There will be time where you have to fight in enclosed spaces," explained Gohan as Erasa pitched another ball. "You have to learn to adapt on the spot, the enemy isn't going to simply allow you to let you change the destination to somewhere where you regain the terrain advantage."

"I get the idea behind it," said Videl as she ducked beneath a projectile. "If you shrink my circle any smaller though I'm going to be standing here looking like I'm gonna pin drop off a bridge."

"Point noted and ignored," said Gohan with a cheeky smirk before he turned his head over his shoulders towards where the doors to the gymnasium were located moments before they burst open.

"WHERE IS THIS HOOLIGAN!" shouted Hercule with enough force to shake the windows.

"Dad!" exclaimed Videl.

"Oh shit," muttered Erasa, fully knowing that she would have to place some money into the family swear jar when she got home.

"Erasa, Videl, don't stop the exercise," instructed Gohan as he walked casually towards where Hercule stood. Videl immediately wanted to intervene but knew that if she took a single step outside of the circle she was trapped in the punishment that Gohan would rain down on her would be much more severe than anything her father did.

"What's going on here?" asked Hercule as he looked at Gohan. Usually when people approached him in such a manner they were trying to butter him up or get an interview out of him but there was something different about this boy in front of him. There was an air of confidence and power, something which Hercule found quite peculiar.

"What's going on here?" repeated Gohan. "At the moment Videl is in the middle of some high level training exercises to increase her mobility."

"Bah, what makes you think some dinky training exercise that you have constructed for Videl could be better than anything either myself or any of my handpicked trainers down at my gym for my little darling sweet pea?" asked Hercule, pushing out his chest trying to show a display of dominance.

"With all due respect, Videl came to me for training after she witnessed some of the feats I could accomplish," explained Gohan. "I imagine that she realised that my technique was more similar to hers as opposed to yours, no offence."

Hercule snarled slightly at the tone of the boy in front of him. Usually whenever he talked down to someone they snivelled and backed down immediately. Perhaps he had merely lost his touch. "If you think you're such top stuff, then I challenge you to a fight to see whether or not you're good enough for my baby to train under," challenged Hercule.

"Me, fight you," said Gohan in a mock shocked tone. "Mr Satan I believe you give me too much credit, I am but a mere teenager who is knowledgeable in a different form of martial arts than you. For me to step into the ring against you would be like David stepping up to Goliath."

Hercule blinked a couple of times as he tried to remember how that story ended but couldn't jog that single memory for the life of him. "Well then, at least you have some manner of respect," said Hercule. "Alright then, considering you would be crushed under my boot like this David fellow, how about instead you come to my gym tomorrow after school and against my pupils I can figure out if your training will truly help Videl or hinder her. Now if you'll excuse me I am going to take my daughter home!"

"Oh but Mr Satan you mustn't," declared Gohan putting his hands out.

"Give me one good reason why not!"

"As you are aware, it takes weeks, months even years to get certain techniques correct in such a way that they become mere muscle memory after such tremendous amounts of time being put into them. Imagine a situation then when while you were honing your Satan Punch technique and somebody came in and disrupted you, days and even weeks of extensive training can be forgotten in an instant," explained Gohan. "If you take Videl home now before our lesson for the day is over it could do lasting damage to her technique. Imagine then if the police force called her in for a hostage situation tomorrow and she forgets what it is like to throw a simple punch, what will become of your daughter then?"

Hercule stiffened at the thought before his eyes squinted slightly. "Very well boy, but know that you're playing a very dangerous game," said Hercule as he took a step backwards before pointing directly in between Gohan's eyes. "Know this though, if I discover that there is any funny business going on between you and my daughter you will have to face the fury that was able to crush Cell."

"I will keep that in mind," said Gohan with a sly smile as Hercule turned around knowing that he had plans to make. Turning around, Gohan found both Videl and Erasa standing next to one another in disbelief, neither of them having ever seen anybody ever stand up to Hercule in such a manner before. It was as if Gohan had no fear of the saviour of the world at all. "Videl."

The raven haired girl swallowed nervously as Gohan addressed her. "Yes?"

"Ten laps, now."

...

Hope you enjoyed.

Peace