Chapter 2
After the first day at school, Gohan had begun to fall into a routine. He wondered where Videl went during lunch on the first day. He assumed she would sit with him and her friends, but she disappeared. When she returned, she had a few scratches and scrapes on her arms that caused him concern.
It was shortly explained that she gets routinely called out to help the police on tougher calls. This shocked him at first, but he got a pretty good read of her power and she was well above most other humans in terms of raw strength.
It wasn't until P.E. class of the 2nd day that he saw her sparring with the tall boy with long blonde hair, Sharpener, that he saw how talented of a fighter Videl actually was and made him think how much more of a fighter she could be if she knew about Ki.
Still, despite this, he decided he would keep an eye on her ki whenever she went out for the police for the rest of the week. It was the 4th day since he came to this school, and she seemed to leave the school a minimum of twice a day, making him wonder what kind of incompetent police were in this city.
But it was lunch now, and she still hadn't been called away, which means she actually got to sit with them for lunch. The group sat down under a tree in the far edge of the courtyard and unpacked their lunches. Videl stared at Gohan with a smirk, 'Finally! A chance to ask him some questions!' She thought to herself as she carefully thought of a question, but was interrupted by the boy himself.
"Videl, I have to ask, isn't it a little dangerous to go out and fight crime on your own?" Gohan asked, concern palpable in his voice.
Videl chuckled, "Maybe for some other schmuck. But I'm the 2nd strongest person on the planet, just below my dad." Videl postured confidently as Gohan's eyebrow quirked up.
"Really? Who's your father?" Gohan asked, forgetting the fact that Erasa told him almost immediately about Videl.
Videl was taken aback by the boy. Had he never heard of the Great Hercule Satan, the man who single-handedly defeated Cell seven years ago?
"Silly Gohan, don't you remember me telling you on monday? She's the daughter of Mr. Satan!" Erasa stepped in to answer for Videl.
Gohan thought for a second before lighting up in recognition, "I remember now. My bad, I kinda glazed over that fact. There was a lot going on for me on Monday." Gohan chuckled nervously as he internally smirked. He could sense right now that she was much stronger than her father.
"Still, it must be intimidating to run towards gunfire." Gohan pointed out as the trio laughed at the DemiSaiyan's statement.
"Puh-lease Brains. The only people who are a worst shot than the Satan City police, are the Satan City Criminals. Even I could run in a straight line and not get shot." Sharpener bragged as Videl nodded in agreement.
"Of course, that would require you to take time out of your beauty routine to come help me out Sharpener." Videl teased as Sharpener shot a glare at the crime fighter.
Before he could retort, Videl turned to Gohan. "What about you Gohan? Are you a fighter at all?" Videl asked as Gohan shuffled his eating utensils around.
"Who, me? I couldn't be a fighter, I've got no coordination whatsoever! Why do you ask?" Gohan chuckled nervously as Videl shrugged.
"The other day when Sharpener and I were sparring, I noticed you watching pretty intensely. It seemed like you were sizing me up. So be honest, can you fight?" Videl asked, not convinced by his, frankly horrible, lie.
Gohan sighed reluctantly, "Yes, I can fight. But I dont like to, it's kind of necessary to protect ourselves from the animals that live near my house." Gohan explained as Sharpener scoffed.
"Yeah right Gohan. If you can fight, then I'm a cherry tomato." Sharpener mocked as Gohan shrugged.
"Then I guess youre a cherry tomato. Hate to break it to you." Gohan retorted with a slight smirk as Sharpener squinted his eyes into a glare.
"Oh really, then we'll settle it in P.E., you and me will spar." Sharpener challenged, "If you can last 5 minutes in the ring with me, i'll believe you."
Gohan sighed, "It really isn't necessary. I dont need you to believe me." he tried to de-escalate, not wishing to make this a thing.
"Too late, if you don't accept, then everyone will know youre a liar by the end of the day." Sharpener taunted as Videl got between them.
"You heard Gohan, he doesnt want to fight. Drop it, or i'll drop you." Videl threatened.
"Don't lie Videl, you know you want to see him fight too. Otherwise you wouldn't have asked him if he could." Sharpener pointed out as Videl's glare became more fierce.
"Youre right, I would. But he said he doesnt like to fight. I'm willing to take his word at face value. You need to drop it!" Videl yelled as Gohan put his hand on her shoulder.
Videl looked up at his gentle smile, "I appreciate what youre doing Videl. But I don't want to cause conflict between friends. If it keeps the peace among you two, I will fight you Sharpener." Gohan negotiated as Videl's shoulders slumped a little.
She loves being an arbiter of justice and defending the little guy, but what is she supposed to do when the little guy caves? Still she couldn't be too upset, his gentle smile and kind nature made it impossible in his presence.
She had to fight a little though, it wasnt fair to ask Gohan to do something he didnt enjoy, "Goha-" she started before Gohan raised a hand to stop her.
"Like I said, I appreciate your defense, but friends shouldn't quarrel." Gohan stated as Sharpener laughed at the ridiculous statement.
"Youre out of this world Brains! Friends shouldn't quarrel? Who talks like that!? HAHAHA" The blonde boy laughed uproariously before receiving a slap to the cheek.
"He already said he'd fight you, you don't have to make fun of him for being smart too!" Erasa yelled before turning in a huff to leave as Sharpener rubbed his cheek, following shortly after her.
Gohan stood a little confused, "What just happened? I know i'm new, but Erasa isnt a violent person from what I gather." Gohan asked Videl as she chuckled sheepishly.
"Yeah, Sharpener can be a bully sometimes, 99 percent of the time, he's a good guy, if not a little annoying. But Erasa cannot stand him being a bully." Videl explained as Gohan looked at her incredulously. She laughed a bit at the look, "Not to ruin the whole standing up for you thing, but I was doing that more so Erasa wouldn't have to, I hate seeing her get upset like that." Videl explained as Gohan began laughing.
Videl couldn't contain herself as she joined him in laughter. They still had some time left, so as the laughter died down, she thought it was a good time since they were alone. She took a deep breath and looked him square in the eye.
"Tell me the truth Gohan, what happened at the bank robbery on monday? Where we first met." Videl asked as Gohan was taken aback slightly.
'Does she know? Did she see me drop out of Super Saiyan and was keeping it to herself?' He thought to himself in a panic. "Uh, what do you mean? I heard gunfire and I took cover behind a wall. i didnt really see anything else." Gohan reiterated his earlier story, concerned as to why she is bringing this back up.
Videl scowled at the answer, "And at first I believed you. But then, a gentleman at the scene pointed out that the Golden Fighter had a school button on his VEST. Excuse my judging your fashion style Gohan, but nobody else in this school wears a vest." Videl said interrogatingly as Gohan just chuckled nervously.
Before he had a chance to defend himself, she continued, "On top of that, you were the only other student I saw there before I left for school and you claim to be able to fight. It's all circumstantial at best, but enough to make you suspicious." Videl laid out her case as her face softened. "Just tell me the truth Gohan, I won't be mad, I just don't want anyone else to get hurt."
Gohan was putty in her hands when her features were soft like this, "I don't want to see anyone get hurt either." Gohan gulped anxiously as he looked around. "That's why I wanted to stop those guys before they could seriously hurt anyone." Gohan whispered as Videl's eyes brightened up.
"I knew it, how did you turn your body gold?" Was her first question as Gohan racked his brain for a second.
"Well, I-er, I used really bright flashlights! My goal was to disorient them before jumping into the fray. It worked too well I guess and everyone must have just seen a gold blur." Gohan responded quickly to try and throw her off.
"Brilliant! I'd never thought to do that! Though I prefer an honest fight, no dirty tricks or anything. No offense, I know not everyone is as skilled as my father or myself." Videl bragged as she started on a tangent about sparring partners and how Gohan would knock Sharpener for a loop later. All the while, Gohan just laughed nervously, thinking he had successfully avoided a bigger conversation.
As Gohan walked to the gym for P.E. class he got nervous. He had to make it look good but not too good. He had never dropped his power to a level so low, and he still felt like he was ten levels above Sharpener.
He opened up the doors to see Sharpener standing in the center of the ring with his brown Satan Gi. Gohan didnt even think to put his gi on, although it was probably better that way. He didn't want everyone knowing just how well he could fight.
He was about to step into the ring when the P.E. teacher stopped him, "Sorry kid, I won't let you in the ring if you don't have a gi on. If youre sure you want to go through with this, you can use one of the school's gis." Mr. Mercury stated as Gohan cursed mentally.
"That's okay, I have one. I'll go change immediately." Gohan said as he ran to the locker room. As he entered he saw Erasa sitting on the bench and yelped quietly, drawing her attention before slamming the door shut.
"Gohan? Was that you?" She asked in a small voice.
"Yeah... it was me, I'm sorry, I thought this was the boys locker room!" He spoke through the door, his eyes nailed shut.
"It is, I came here to wait for you." Erasa stated as Gohan opened his eyes to look at the sign on the door, confirming it was the boys room before peaking his head around the door.
"Uh, Erasa, I dont mean to presume... but you are a girl, right?" He asked nervously as Erasa giggled.
"Of course silly. Am I making you uncomfortable by being in here?" Erasa asked as Gohan nodded, stepping through the door. "Well that's okay. I just wanted to come and make sure you weren't taking what Sharpener was saying too personally." Erasa started with sadness in her voice.
Gohan smiled gently, as he does, and sat beside her, "It's alright Erasa. I don't take it personally at all. I know i'm smart, and I know that some people would label me without my consent. But I know exactly who I am in this world, and nothing he says will change that." Gohan comforted her as she smiled at him.
"Youre a good guy Gohan. I just dont want anything to get in the way of us all being friends." Erasa stated as she gave a half hug and left the locker room.
Before anyone else could enter, Gohan changed into his purple gi with a red waistwrap, just like Piccolo's when he was a boy. He exitted the locker room and made his way to the gym once again.
As he entered the gym, he was met with a variety of slackjawed faces. Part of him knew this would happen if he anything less than a sweatshirt and jeans. He stepped into the ring with a sheepish smile as Mr. Mercury nodded at him.
"Alright boys, I want to see a clean fight. First one pushed out of the ring wins. You are not fighting for a K.O., am I understood?" Mr. Mercury laid out the guidelines and each boy nodded. "You may begin!" he announced as he stepped out of the ring and rung a gong.
Gohan dropped into a defensive stance, making sure there were a couple holes in his stance to make sure a certain somebody didnt get too analytical.
Sharpener smirked as he rushed the demisaiyan, planning to exploit the clear holes in his stance. He threw a hook towards Gohan's face, as Gohan blocked, Sharpener used the opportunity to deliver a kick to his ribs.
Gohan planned this, knowing he wouldnt feel much pain in a fight like this, he allowed the kick through, pinning it against his side as he threw a very light punch to Sharpener's chest, letting go of his leg at the same time. Sharpener stumbled back and took a deep breath after getting the wind knocked out of him.
"Holy shit Gohan. No need to overexert yourself!" Sharpener exclaimed, as he breathed deeply and chuckled through the pain of that hit.
Videl watched intensely as Sharpener dropped back into his stance, although a little lopsided as if he was trying to protect his chest. She could tell that Gohan hadn't put his full strength into that strike. Rather, to her, it looked like he was holding back in a very calculated manner.
She even thought she saw him berating himself after letting go of Sharpener, as if telling himself he didnt hold back enough. Meanwhile, Sharpener was pretending to protect his chest because he didnt want to admit he may have broke a knuckle or two on Gohan's forearm with that block he threw up.
Sharpener lunged forward, throwing punch after punch at Gohan, not landing a single one as Gohan had decided it best to go through the rest of the fight by dodging. He couldn't risk hurting Sharpener any further.
Gohan dodged and back and forth as he moved back towards the edge of the ring. If he dodged at the perfect time, he could potentially ring out Sharpener with his own momentum.
Everyone cheered on Sharpener as he seemingly pushed Gohan to the edge of the ring, but Videl and Sharpener could tell that Gohan was in control of this fight. Just before reaching the edge, Sharpener hopped back and dropped to a defensive stance.
"Nice try Gohan. But you can't ring me out that way." Sharpener stated as he stayed defensive and shimmied his way to the center of the ring. "If you want to win, you'll have to make the next moves!" The blonde boy exclaimed, thinking he was taking control of the match.
Gohan smirked, despite only dodging, this fight was starting to excite his Saiyan side, knowing that he was putting a huge handicap on himself. Videl saw the look on Gohan's face, she had never wanted to be facing someone as an opponent more than right now.
Sharpener stood resolute in his defensive stance, waiting for Gohan to strike, but the spiky haired boy stood there analyzing him and his stance. "I think I've made my point clear before Sharpener. I don't like to fight, so if youre going to shift into a defensive position and stay there, then we've reached a stalemate." Gohan explained as he made his way to the edge of the ring, never looking away from Sharpener.
Sharpener gritted his teeth, this wasnt how he expected this match to go, but Gohan was fast and clearly able to deliver decisive strikes should he need to, not to mention, strong, the guy hasn't broke a sweat. Sharpener stood to his full height.
"Youre right Gohan. It is a stalemate. Good match." Sharpener stated as he walked over to Gohan and held out his hand to shake it.
Gohan, sensing some malice in his energy smirked and stepped out of the ring before grabbing Sharpener's hand and shaking it. "Nice try Sharpener. I agree though, it was a good match."
The rest of the day went smoothly, although Sharpener did have to get his hand bandaged up. He broke 2 knuckles just from hitting Gohan's forearm. Which was a shame, he wouldn't be able to participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament.
They all began to part ways save for Videl and Gohan, the former of which stopped the boy and scowled. "You held back in that fight. You maintained complete control and even gave the perfect example of an imperfect stance. Tell me i'm wrong!" Videl exclaimed as Gohan smiled at her.
"Youre not wrong, but only a seasoned Martial Artist would have seen all that." Gohan stated as he began walking toward a Satan City Park. "It seems like there is something else you want to say." Gohan observed as Videl walked alongside him.
Videl stepped in front of him, "There is. I want to fight you myself. At the World Martial Arts Tournament, I want to take you on, no holds barred. We don't stop until one of us is out of the ring or unconscious." Videl started as a huge smile spread across her face. "I've never gotten the opportunity to face someone as skilled as you, and the thought of it excites me beyond belief!" Videl exclaimed as Gohan stood dumbfounded.
"You didnt happen to have a tail when you were younger, did you?" Gohan asked sarcastically as Videl looked at him funny.
"That's a weird question Gohan, but no, not that I know about. So will you participate?" Videl asked with hope in her eyes.
Gohan just chuckled apprehensively, 'She would make a great Saiyan. She's just like dad or Vegeta when it comes to fighting.' Gohan thought to himself, "I'll talk to my mom about it, but no guarantees. She's the only one who hates the idea of me fighting more than me." Gohan laughed off as Videl pumped her fist in victory.
Gohan smiled, she was excited as a kid on christmas morning. But he stopped for a moment to think. She would be very upset if she found out he held back at all in a fight against her, all because she didnt have the same knowledge he did.
"I know this might sound weird, but would you be willing to train with me at my house? If you want me to give you a fair fight, there are some techniques you should know." Gohan asked as Videl's eyebrows furrowed.
She hadn't considered training directly with the only person she really wants to face. But he did seem sincere about those techniques. Besides, the true goal was to beat her father at the end of the tournament and take the title of World's strongest. She didnt want her dad knowing her fighting strategy.
"You know what, I'll take you up on that offer. How much could you teach me anyway?" Videl asked condescendingly as Gohan gave a devilish smirk.
"Just wait and see." Gohan stated as he put two fingers to his forehead and disappeared before her very eyes. Videl stood speechless before her resolve returned with a confident smirk. Now she just had to make sure her father never found out about her going to a boys house.
End Chapter
A/N: So I decided halfway through chapter 1 that I would knock out the first couple of chapters, including the Prologue, before even posting the story, to keep my momentum going on this particular story. I've already started on Chapter 3 and I will start chapter 4 before I post Chapter 3. I want to stay ahead.
You may be wondering, "Why wasn't Bardock in this chapter? Where was Dabura and Babidi?" I want this story to be more focused on Gohan and Videl, because I love that ship. However, I wanted Bardock to be a player in the Buu saga. Obviously I changed some things around already. It is an A/U so that was going to happen. Bardock and the Majin Gang will not show up again until the end of Chapter 4, when the tournament officially starts. Chapter 3 will be Gohan training Videl.
Why would Videl believe Gohan about the flashlights? She is still a part of the crowd that believes those lights from the Cell Games were tricks. That part at the end where Gohan disappeared was meant to open Videl's mind a little bit.
Lastly, why did I decide to give Gohan instant transmission? I feel like it was a waste for it to die with Goku. Gohan is smart enough to see how useful I.T. is as an extraction technique. I also felt it may speed things up if Gohan can teleport.
I apologize if the formatting ends up a little weird, I am writing all of these chapters on my phone.
Thank you and please, Read And Review