Additional note:

Hi there! Forgot to post a note here. I just wanted to say thank you for all the lovely reviews I've been getting and I'm glad to hear you're looking forward to this sequel. I'm not going to lie, I do too ;)

I would also like to thank dolphin96girl, RobynXart and QueenKeesie in particular for volunteering to be my beta! You are a great help. 3

Chapter 2: Pool of Energy

"Gohan?"

When there was no answer to her knock, she carefully slid open the door. Her heart dropped. "What the-?" was all Videl managed to say after seeing the room full with boxes and moved furniture. Was he moving?

She could understand, really she did, but she didn't like the idea at all. Gohan had moved to this apartment in Satan City while he was terribly ill so that he could continue his studies without having to travel the long distance. And in that same light, this apartment became unnecessary now that he was completely recovered. But for selfish reasons, she hated the idea. Why would he leave her?

The sound of a toilet being flushed startled her out of her inner thoughts. The man she was just thinking of had entered the room and looked surprised to see her.

For a moment he marveled at the girl standing in his living room, gorgeous, even though she looked the same as ever. His onyx eyes made contact with her beautiful light-blue opal ones and he blushed, recalling everything that had happened between them in that very instant. Realizing that his staring wasn't so discreet, he shook his head, blinked a few times to gather himself together, then looked away in shame. Gohan scratched his nape, "Hi, uh, sorry for the mess. I wasn't expecting you."

Videl just crossed her arms, her expression showing a mixture of sadness and disbelief. She looked at the boxes scattered around the room, then back at Gohan, hoping he would explain.

"Someone broke into my apartment this weekend," he sighed, "And I haven't had much time to clean it up yet."

Videl's face brightened as a weight was lifted from her shoulders. It was a selfish thought - she would rather have someone break into his house than him moving away - but she just couldn't bear the thought of not being able to visit him anymore. Both his mother and godmother lived hours of flight away.

"So, you aren't moving?"

"No, just try to sort things out," Gohan sighed, "They broke my bookcase and ripped some shelves off the wall."

She closed her eyes for a moment to shield her inner happiness after hearing the 'good' news, though managed to regain her serious attitude. "Did they steal anything? And what did the police make from it?"

"No, it seems like they didn't steal anything," he opened one of the boxes to look for something, "And to be honest I didn't get the police involved. I don't think it's the smartest idea to have them snoop around in my personal belongings. I have a lot to hide from them." Realizing that the last part almost sounded like he was a fugitive, he added, "You know, with my alter-egos and stuff."

"I get your point, though I highly recommend reporting it anyway, just in case they come back."

"They didn't take anything, unless they were really into algebra; I can't find my Math book…" Gohan looked into yet another box in vain, "So I don't think they'll be back anytime soon."

Videl looked at her watch to see time was shortening. "Then you and Erasa have to share books. I'm afraid we have to go if we want to be on time."

Gohan sighed, but grabbed his satchel nonetheless and followed suit. "Should I fly us there?" he asked, but Videl shook her head.

"No, let's take my copter, I actually need to talk to you about…" she paused, visibly building up some courage, "us…"

The half-Saiyan stiffened. He never had a positive conversation if the sentence started with 'We need to talk about…'. It was always something he had to change; do differently; he had done something wrong; had to hide himself away from the rest of the world; or - much worse than what he had mentioned before - he had to quit the things he loved for the greater good.

Was she going to put a halt to the course they started on so recently?

With a knot in his stomach, he forced himself to move and reluctantly took the passenger seat. As soon as they were airborne, she glanced at him and, to his surprise, began to laugh. "You look like you just heard your death sentence," she snickered.

"For all I know, you might as well give me one," he tried to joke, though his body was still tense.

Another giggle, "Relax, it's not that bad, promise." She gave him a reassuring smile, one that helped him to relax a bit, "Though, after you guys left yesterday, I had a long and very exhausting conversation with my dad." Gohan looked at her intently and tried to read her body language, but remained silent. If Mr. Satan was the instigator for 'their talk', it couldn't be any good. "He meant what he said after the confrontation between you two, and I'm still allowed to date boys." She heard Gohan sigh with relief, causing her to grin.

"And what's the catch?" Even with the foresight that he was still able to date her, it was clear that there was something else.

"He made me promise some ground rules," Videl continued, "One of them we already broke."

Gohan couldn't help but to grin himself. Of course, that would be one of the rules a parent would impose on his teenage child. His mother would have done the same - that, or demanded him to marry her - but he wouldn't mind breaking that rule again.

"What else?"

"This one, I actually agree on," Videl began, though her face saddened, "It's about publicity. I know you don't like being in the spotlight, though I have been all my life. The problem is, if you want to be part of it, that's something you'll have to learn to live with too." She looked over to Gohan, who was frowning in thought. "And my Dad doesn't want the tabloids to get all over me since they feast on the vicissitudes of teenage sweethearts, and I'm too young for that nonsense. Also, he doesn't want me to be distracted from my training because of the upcoming Budokai Tenkaichi tournament."

"The latter is an easy fix," Gohan gave her a deviant smile, "I have to teach you about Ki anyway, so instead of distracting you, your training can benefit from my presence."

"What if we get distracted doing other things instead?" Her question was sincere, but with a teasing tone.

Gohan let his shoulders slump slightly, "I have something to tell you too." This gained the curiosity of Videl. "I kinda promised my mother I'd be home by eleven that Saturday, so I got myself in trouble arriving seventeen hours after curfew." He gave her a half-hearted smile, "It was worth all the trouble, I assure you, but since I mistreated my mother's generosity, the consequences are that I'm now under a strict house arrest regime. I managed to persuade her to give me an hour after school to fight crime, but if I arrive even one minute late, she'll take that away too. There's no room for errors, otherwise I'll be grounded for the rest of the semester." He sighed, but this time understood where his mother was coming from. He knew she had to be strict with him, not necessarily to teach him a lesson, but to set an example for his little brother.

"But I thought your mother wanted you to commit and allow you to date, even when you were grounded?" she asked hopefully.

"I made her very angry," Gohan said with shivers down his spine, it wasn't a conversation he wanted to look back on. He still didn't know how he managed to hide from Chi-Chi what had really happened, perhaps his mother thought he was more innocent than he actually was, like most people. It may have helped that his father was always very dense about those subjects, not even knowing what marriage was until he'd already had a fiance. "Anyway, I have one hour after school to either train you or fight crime, so there's not much room for anything else until the end of the month. Your father has nothing to worry about."

"You live on your own here in Satan City; how does she even ground you?"

"Oh, believe me, she can," Gohan let out a defeated chuckle, "She demands that I go back to Mount Paozu until my punishment is over, no excuses."

Orange Star High came into view, meaning their conversation came to an end soon. Videl took a deep breath, knowing she had yet to say what started this conversation in the first place. Better get it over with, "The point I wanted to make is that nobody can know about… us… not even Erasa and Sharpener."

He already expected the conversation to take that turn and he wasn't even sad about it as he didn't want said attention. Though he dreaded having to shy away from who he was again - something he had promised himself he wouldn't do anymore - if it meant he was able to be with her, he didn't have to think twice and nodded in agreement. "What about Stapler? He knows."

"Meh, nobody really takes him seriously anymore after he tried to frame you for the hallway explosion, so I don't think people will take his word for it when we act normal" she said as she landed her copter on the roof of their school.

Gohan looked at her intently while Videl was pressing and turning a few buttons to shut off the engine. "Does this mean…" he paused, his heart suddenly beating out of control, "Does this mean you're my girlfriend?"

The keys fell from her hand, not expecting the direct question, but she managed to recover quickly. Ignoring her upcoming blush, she showed a mischievous smirk. "I don't think so," she looked at his confused face: it was so easy to tease him. "I can't remember you asking me to be yours," and without waiting for an answer, she grabbed her keys from the floor and got out of her vehicle.

The half-Saiyan released the breath he didn't know he was holding and blushed even more. He, too, got out, but kept holding the door, as if he wanted something to hold on to for support. He followed her with his eyes as she walked his way. "Do you…" he paused again, raising his Ki the slightest of margins to muster enough courage to ask the question, "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Her beautiful eyes sparkled, "I thought you'd never ask," she chuckled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. Then she put her copter into its capsule and walked to the roof stairs with a smug grin on her face, leaving a gobsmacked Gohan alone with his inner turmoil. But when she tried to open the door, the door was forced shut and a large hand turned her around and before she knew it, his lips were eagerly pressed to hers. Surprised at the sudden passion, she surrendered voluntarily and parted her mouth to give him access, which he gratefully took advantage of.

He couldn't believe she was officially his.

After a few minutes, Videl gently pushed his torso away from her, causing him to stop. Both slightly panting and blushing from their intimate encounter, she gave him a fake, mean glare. "What?!" Gohan grinned and shrugged guiltily, "I have to make the most of my limited free time." He then dared to give her a wink and opened the door for her, "After you, my lady."

###

"Come on… do you really have to do that here?"

Erasa broke off her kiss and looked past Sharpener's broad shoulders. Gohan was immediately greeted by her bubbly singing-voice, nonchalantly, not in the slightest sense of the embarrassment she had caused the spiky-haired boy.

"Isn't that something you are supposed to do privately?" His question was sincere, yet it had an irritated undertone. It wasn't something his friends and family did while in public and he wasn't prepared to witness such a display himself. He silently wished he could unsee it.

Videl had warned him that his two blond friends were all lovey-dovey ever since they became an item, but he was never confronted with it until now. He was more of a private person himself, so it wouldn't even come across his mind to do such things for all to see. The half-Saiyan just gave them an irritated look at their lack of self-control and opened his locker. His body began to relax as soon as he saw his math book on top of some other books. His search through the mess at his home this morning was all for nothing.

"What do you know, a grumpy nerd on his first day of the new semester. And I thought I'd seen it all," Sharpener snickered, "Still having that hangover?"

"No," Gohan's reply was short and a frown formed on his face. He wasn't in the mood to be teased today.

"Well, if you don't stop that attitude of yours, we won't stop making out," Erasa looked at him daringly, "We all have to do our part." Then she pulled Sharpener back in for a kiss.

"Give the man some slack, 'rase, it's actually really obnoxious."

Videl joined the trio after a brief stop at the restroom to see if there were any traces of Gohan's hungry kisses, and after her comment, she turned her attention to the man. Gohan gave her a smile and held up his math book, relief written all over his face, "Look what I found!"

Ignoring their two blond friends, Videl and Gohan made their way to room 003. When they were out of earshot, Videl whispered, "Dear Kami, please don't let me become like them once we'll come out as a couple."

Gohan blushed and imagined them kissing in front of a big crowd and immediately felt anxiety creeping over him. He certainly wasn't planning to, and he was glad to hear that Videl didn't expect him to. And besides, he believed that if you only have the private moments for such things, those moments meant more; passionate secrets that only two lovers would experience.

"Look who we've got here!" The physics teacher's face brightened as the spiky-haired teen entered the classroom, snapping him out of his thoughts. "How long has it been, Mr. Son? I hope you learned a lot from your exchange program. Senior High, wasn't it? I'm not gonna lie, I missed your bright mind and your sharp inputs during my lectures, so I'm very stoked to have you back in class!" He eyed the boy. It had been at least a month since he'd seen him, but instead of the shy, insecure - and at the time quite sick - boy, there stood a confident young man who had gained quite some muscle. How he has changed, and in such a short time! All but his smile, which was as friendly and carefree as ever. "And good to see you in such a healthy shape as well."

"Nice to be back, Mr. Butsuri." Gohan shook his hand. In reality, he'd never been on that exchange program. It was a cover-up for his absence from running away to train for this stupid paranoid thought that Vegeta was going to turn evil and he was the one that had to stop him. It turned out to be an empty threat, of course. He was still ashamed of it, but it had finally prompted him to start training seriously again, something he should have done much earlier. It felt like a part of him had come back to life, a part he'd kept hidden for a very long time. And that new development was reflected in his confidence.

"I'm starting an advanced science project with some of my best students and I can make sure you'll get a spot, for some extra credits, of course."

"I would be honored Mr. Butsuri, but sorry, I have to decline," Gohan's eyes darted quickly to Videl, "I have a very busy schedule at the moment."

"Too bad! Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me. Now take your seat."

Gohan nodded and did as he was asked. Arriving at their row, he let Videl pass as she sat further down on the lecture benches. "I almost forgot how much of a nerd you were," she whispered and winked playfully. Gohan just rolled his eyes at her and sat down.

Being back in class was a stark contrast to his time training. It all seemed so surreal: Life always seemed to go on without even knowing about potential dangers. Gohan wondered if he would have been so ignorant had he been born differently, oblivious to all the higher powers holding the faith of the world in their hands. It would have been an easy life, but also quite boring. Now that he'd rekindled his potentials - or what he likes to call 'reset his Saiyan-side' - he began to appreciate it.

Seven years of peace had changed him: he inadvertently became more human than he actually was, neglecting his other half. It was gradual, but since he'd awakened that suppressed part, he understood what he'd been missing. How blind he had become.

His senses were now as sharp as ever. He could smell all sorts of new scents he'd never noticed before - very handy in recognizing girls intentions as they reek with pheromones when they were into him, something he would otherwise be oblivious about - and his hearing was top notch, although he wished he could have unhear some things at Capsule Corp. the other day.

However, his eyesight left much to be desired. Saiyan's sight apparently wasn't built to be buried in books. It wasn't bad per se, but he'd noticed it had gotten worse over the years. He had hoped that when his senses became sharp again, so would his sight. But unfortunately that did not happen and he feared that he would need glasses in the near future. How humiliating, he thought, and could hear Vegeta mock him already; an elite warrior with glasses. But for now he was fine, at least, that's what he convinced himself.

Then there was his feeling with Ki. He could somehow more finely distinguish between different pools of it, whether it was strong or weak. The weaker ones had been suppressed by the stronger ones, erasing them like rustling influxes too common to even register. But now that he has regained his 'sixth sense', he could see them all, like an all-seeing eye. It was a lot, maybe overwhelming at some points, making this constant noise when he wasn't able to tune it. Luckily for him, he was, and could now tap into it at will, which he tends to do occasionally when he's bored.

His attention was drawn to something outside. Not that far from school was a bunch of small distressed Kis; probably somewhere in the park. All he could think of was a crime happening, great enough for Videl to be called by the chief. The police probably weren't there yet, but he didn't feel like waiting. The lecture given was nothing new to him and he needed the distraction to break the train of thoughts about the recent break-in at his apartment.

He tore a piece of paper from his notebook and wrote a few words on it. He shoved it to Videl, who seemed surprised and took it curiously. He then raised his hand and asked permission to go to the bathroom - his commonly used excuse to leave class to fight crime - which the teacher granted. Videl looked at him as he descended the stairs and left the classroom.

As soon as the door closed, her watch went off: the chief needed her assistance. While receiving details of a crime nearby, she took a quick look at the piece of paper Gohan had given her and raised an eyebrow:

'See you on the roof'

How did he know?

While pondering over it, she hurried to the roof, where Saiyaman was indeed leaning against the railing, waiting for her to arrive. She was greeted with a smile.

"Wanna tag along?" he asked, basically asking if she was going as Saiyawoman or if she was going as herself by copter.

She just smiled mischievously at him and pressed the button on her watch, and with a flash her attire changed into a female version of the hero standing next to her. However, instead of a green Gi and black underarmour, hers was teal and purple, and instead of a red cape, hers was more of a peach color. Besides the two antennas sticking out on the sides, the main difference between the two outfits was the helmet - or 'bucket' as Videl used to call it. While Saiyaman's was orange with black midsection and a sleek streamlined black v-shaped visor, hers was white with a midsection that matched her cape, accompanied by a partially see-through visor in the shape of a ski mask. On her forehead she wore a yellow heart that she despised, finding it too girly for her liking, but accepted that it was part of her outfit.

Saiyaman's grin widened, thrilled to see she chose his side.

"You still know how this works?" he asked as he came standing beside her. She nodded, and in reaction he grabbed her belt firmly from behind. "Ready?"

"Uh-huh," she hummed, tightening her abdomen and holding her arms out a little.

"Set. Go!" he counted down, and flew up. He made sure that, even though they were very close, it seemed as if she was flying on her own, in case anyone saw them. He intended to teach her to fly as soon as possible, but since she couldn't at the moment, he had to improvise. It was a short flight and he landed on one of the nearby buildings to take in the scene. Below, several policemen were already lined up behind their car and held three bikers at gunpoint.

"What did the chief say?" Gohan asked, trying to calculate what their role would be. It didn't seem like the police couldn't have solved this on their own.

"That group drove around like maniacs, assaulting young men, stealing their bags and throwing the contents through the park. Seems like a classic example of boredom to me. But they will not let the police take them away voluntarily by the looks of it."

"Hmf," an audible sigh escaped his lips, "Any plan of action?" Normally he would just take out the criminals in seconds, but that seemed a bit much for this amount of misbehavior.

"Let's just go down, maybe we can reason with them," Videl understood where his reservation came from.

Without further notice, Saiyaman took them to ground level and ended up between the police and the small group of bikers. "Will you take care of them? Then I'll ask the police what they want to do with this situation" he suggested, to which Videl agreed.

"So, what's your deal?" the costumed crime fighter asked when she was in earshot, crossing her arms to show off dominance.

"What the -! Who are you supposed to be, his sister?" the smallest one of the bunch - not much taller than Videl - asked, surprised to see another costumed individual.

"No," Saiyawoman scowled.

"How do we know who you are? Where's that ridiculous introductory dance I've been hearing about?" the guy with the mullet added mockingly

"Shut up," she began to get irritated. "Answer my question."

"You don't answer ours either." the smaller one dared.

"Yama-Ha, focus! Don't make it worse than it already is. I don't think the boss is too happy with how we handled things today," warned a man in his mid-forties with a semi-gray fork beard and dark sunglasses, receiving only a snort from Yama-Ha as an answer.

Videl fell into her fighting stance, letting them know she meant business. The short man stepped forward, but was held back by the same man who had warned him. Videl smirked, enjoying the sight of the bubbling frustration that the short, wrought-up motorcyclist at the bottom of the pecking order couldn't suppress.

"Now now, maybe we can work this out without causing a scene," a bombastic voice interrupted.

The bikers looked at each other nervously. A confrontation with Saiyaman was something they were told to avoid at all costs. No matter what it would take, they had to keep him happy, even if it meant begging for forgiveness. "I apologize for the behavior of my boys, great defender of justice," the bearded man began, "I will make sure they clean up their mess and apologize to whoever they mistreated." It was the smallest who was about to open his mouth in protest, thinking it unfair that the one who was speaking put the blame on them, but was silenced by a firm tap on the back of the head by said man. "I really hope we can resolve this problem with a warning," the older man continued, making a head gesture to the police, hoping to avoid an arrest.

"I'm glad you've come to your senses, good sir!" Saiyaman bombastically said. "I guess if you feel sorry for the things you've done and clean up the mess you've made, I could see if the police will let you go."

"What are you doing?!" Videl hissed at him, "They've committed vandalism! That's a serious offense."

"My father always taught me that people deserve a second chance," Gohan whispered, "The good old man here said they were sorry, and that's good enough for me." He gestured for the man to follow and walked over to the police, who had already lowered their weapons.

Videl frowned at them as they passed, but tried to give it the benefit of the doubt. Gohan probably knew what he was doing. She sighed aloud and turned her attention to the two other bikers, but was stunned at the scene that took place. They were actually cleaning up their mess, putting whatever they had scattered back into the bags and giving it to whoever they took it from and apologized! She was gobsmacked.

As she stared at the scene for a while, Videl caught sight of a piece of paper amongst the clutter and picked it up. She turned it around and saw an old flyer, one she knew very well. It was one of Gohan's that his mother had distributed when he went missing, featuring a photo of him with that lovely characteristic smile of his. Immediately the despair she felt when she first saw it came creeping over her: the feeling of helplessness; the angst of never finding him; the fear of losing him. For a moment she seriously thought he would never come back, that he had died and left her all alone. But even though it was a challenge for him to get back on his feet, everything turned out alright in the end. She sighed, folded the flyer and tucked it into her Gi. Better not to confront Gohan about it, she thought.

After a while the boy came back. "The police have given them a firm warning and if they step out of line again, they will also be prosecuted for this crime." He eyed her, "Everything alright? You look tense."

"Yeah, it's nothing!" she waved off and gave him a friendly smile. There was indeed nothing to worry about, for the troubles of her mind were now far behind them. Or at least, that's how it felt anyway. "I'm surprised they're actually cleaning up the park."

Gohan chuckled, "Me too, but I'm glad they decided to spare us the trouble." Videl looked at the odd trio picking up items throughout the park and nodded. Somehow it didn't suit her well, she never had seen these types of men being so cooperative. Still, she shouldn't judge a book by its cover, she reminded herself.

"Let's go back, I've been on the toilet long enough," Gohan said jokingly, "If we stay any longer, they'll think I haven't eaten enough carbs. Besides, I don't want to be late for P.E.

###

It was at this point he doubted that he was doing the right thing by not hiding himself anymore. Gohan had chosen to wear his Gi to P.E., as they would be practicing martial arts to honor the approaching tournament, but even wearing a short sleeved T-shirt underneath, he attracted too much attention for his liking. Girls stared, the guys were cranky, and even Sharpener was quieter than usual. He tried his best to ignore it, but he couldn't shake this unpleasant feeling. Luckily for him, he was able to tune them out when the teacher started the lesson.

"Welcome class! We all know that the 25th Tenkai'chi Budôkai is about to happen where the strongest under the heavens will fight for the title World Champion, a title our beloved Mr. Satan currently holds. This year we are honored to have his daughter in our midst, who will be competing in the adult division for the first time," he nodded in acknowledgement to Videl, "Whom we wish the best of luck, not that she needs it."

"Thank you, Mr. Jimu," Videl said, avoiding everyone's gaze. She wished he hadn't put her on a pedestal, because it felt awkward while sitting next to the strongest man in the world.

"Today we pick up where we left off in previous years and start with more advanced techniques. I would like to invite everyone who practices martial arts in their spare time to stand up and do a warm-up while I give the other students some extra introductions. Videl, you can do whatever you think will benefit your training, and Gohan," the aforementioned boy looked up in surprise, not expecting his name to be called, "I know you've been a transfer student and probably don't have as much martial arts experience as your fellow students, so after I get everybody up and running I'll give you an quick introductory training."

"I-It's alright sir, I know the basics," Gohan stammered in embarrassment as Videl chuckled out loud. If only they knew!

"Miss Satan!" Mr. Jimu warned, "Do you think inexperience is hilarious? If you've forgotten what it was like for someone to start from scratch, I suggest you train him instead. It's no laughing matter, I can assure you."

She swallowed the next snicker that came up. "Yes, sir," she managed to get out, albeit in a mocking tone. She couldn't help it, it was just too funny. Even Gohan couldn't suppress chuckling softly at their inside joke now.

After some extra instructions, the class proceeded with their assigned tasks. Gohan and Videl had found an empty corner for themselves and were still a bit giggly. Then, Gohan took a deep breath and tried to regain a serious posture. "We both know I'm not the one who is going to be trained today," he gave her a mischievous smirk.

She mocked his pose, "We'll see about that."

Ignoring her, he continued, "First, I want to establish some ground rules. When I train you, I am your Sensei; so not Gohan, not your lover, not even your friend. I will be hard on you if necessary and you will do what I say without complaint. I want you to be able to control Ki as soon as possible, so we'll start right here, right now."

"But I can't go flying around in front of everyone, can I?" Videl almost whispered, confused, barely audible over the muffled sounds of footwork on the gym mats. She looked around quickly and began to wonder if this was such a good idea. However, no one paid any attention to them, as the class was already doing all kinds of exercises in pairs at their own level - except Erasa, who was chatting with Page at the far end of the gym.

"New rule! Don't interrupt your Sensei while he's talking," he smirked, almost loving his newfound power over her. He was certain that if she were a different person, he wouldn't even be able to explain anything with confidence - let alone let them do what he wanted - but he felt like he could be himself with her and show his mischievous side; it was more of a cat-and-mouse game at this point, a big tease, yet it had a purpose.

"What I was about to say before you rudely interrupted me," he shot a daring glance at Videl, "We don't have that much time before the tournament. Luckily we now have P.E. to do the theory and dry exercises, and after school I have about an hour to either train you, fight crime, or …" he paused, as he was about to say 'have some alone time with you', but he knew he had to get his priorities straight and that - even though he really wanted to - his private matters with her had to wait. "Well, actually that's about it."

"Then why are we wasting precious time, Mr. Sensei," she gave him a daring look and grinned.

"Since we have to act busy, let's do some laps," Gohan suggested and started jogging, Videl following in his footsteps and after the first lap, Gohan began to explain, "Ki is basically your inner energy. Every living thing has it, though some more than others. If you are a trained person, like you, your pool of energy is greater than someone who neglects sports, like Erasa," Gohan shot her a disapproving look and shook his head. "That doesn't mean Erasa can't learn it, but it limits her options. For you, I think you can accomplish all that I have to offer, if you put your mind to it."

"Good to know."

"This pool of energy - or Ki - can be used in several ways. The one you are most familiar with is that you can fly with it. In theory, you find your Ki within and push it out through the desired limb. For flying, that would be your feet."

Videl nodded understandingly.

"Using the same technique, but pushing it out of your hands, you can create a barrier to protect yourself. But you have to stand your ground for that, otherwise you'll knock yourself over," Gohan chuckled, remembering the first time he tried it with a little too much enthusiasm. "The other thing you can do with Ki is make all kinds of attacks, which your father calls 'tricks'. But I can assure you they are not. For that, you basically push Ki out, usually from your palms or fingertips, and hold it until it's concentrated enough to do some damage. Because it is densely concentrated, it becomes visible to the eye in the form of light and sometimes even sound. Your father calls this 'lasers' and 'smoke and mirrors'. Technically, it can indeed be a laser, but one that you have created yourself. And since you can shape it into any desired shape and determine how much energy goes into it, the possibilities are endless." Gohan looked at his side, "Do you still follow me?"

"Uh-huh," Videl replied as quietly as she could, not wanting to be heard by Sharpener and his sparring partner doing their usual boxing routine as the two dark-haired teens passed them. Somehow it all felt like she was doing something illegal, something she knew had to be kept a secret. There was something exhilarating about it too, and gave her an adrenaline rush, comparable to experience fighting criminals.

"Those are all more advanced moves," Gohan continued undisturbed, "So we're going to start off simple. One of the things that you would benefit from - especially during the tournament - is that you can significantly strengthen your punches and kicks, making them much more powerful."

Videl looked up in surprise, triggered by these new insights. Was it possible to gain more power just by applying Ki?

"We are going to start with that today. Give you a sense of Ki and use it to boost. It can be difficult to access at first, so don't get upset if it doesn't come to you naturally," Gohan warned. He knew she wasn't the most patient person when it came to progress. Then an idea occurred to him and he began to grin. Maybe he could use her flaws to her advantage. Gohan stopped jogging and looked at his new apprentice, "Okay, let's get started."

In the farthest corner of the gym, they carried out their training undisturbed. The teacher usually left them alone, and when he came to check on them, they pretended Videl was the one who had given Gohan a few lessons in dodging. However, after one of the two hours of P.E. was already over, he still hadn't taught her anything useful, much to Videl's frustration. They just did kickboxing exercises for forty-five minutes straight, while he occasionally corrected her techniques, but most of the time he remained silent. She began to tire as she repeatedly punched and kicked the hand pads the half-Saiyan was holding.

Then he moved without warning, hooked one of her feet with his and pulled, causing Videl to fall. She landed on her behind and looked at the man in disbelief. "Weren't you supposed to be my punching bag? Last time I checked, they didn't counterattack."

Gohan grinned, "Your stances were off again, you need to learn. And since advice doesn't work, actions will. You should take a lesson out of this: always expect the unexpected." He took a step back, "Now stand up." But as soon as she stood up, he hooked her foot again and she again fell to the ground.

"What the fuck, Gohan!"

"Sensei, not Gohan. Get up!"

She glared daggers at him, but when she got up this time, she'd prepared for another quick footwork from her 'Sensei' and jumped, then launched an attack right after. To her frustration, it was easily blocked, but she kept throwing kicks and punches at his stupid smirking face. She couldn't help it, but she started to get irritated, and this showed in the more aggressive way she did her exercise.

"Angry are we?" Gohan pushed, his smirk more visible on his face. His plan to push her buttons started to work.

"Shut up!" she bit him and threw a punch at his head, something that wasn't part of her training. He dodged, ducked, and with quick footwork he floored Videl once again.

"Up!"

Grinding her teeth, she launched herself at the boy, throwing overboard all the rules they had drawn up before the exercise. Although, none of her hits landed, fueling her frustration even more. Minutes passed, and without much response from him, she did indeed feel anger bubbling up. Then Gohan pulled her out of her inner thoughts: "If you had to indicate where your emotions are bubbling up physically within you, where would that be?" Videl stopped abruptly and began to process the question, but got scowled by Gohan, "Who said you could stop?!"

She gave him an icy look and began to move again as she pondered his question. She didn't quite understand why it was important, but nonetheless answered between some punches, "My stomach, I guess in my center, above my belly button. And I can assure you, they are not happy feelings right now," she warned.

"What more can you say about them? Can you feel them moving," Gohan asked.

"A little bit, yes. It feels like it flows like water when I move, but it stays still in my center."

"That's your Ki. Energy is sensitive to emotions, so if you get angry, for example, your Ki will spike." Videl almost stopped at this revelation, but Gohan prevented that from happening, "Focus and keep going! Now, follow that watery motion, just like you would with a small amount of water in a container. Just move the pool slowly in a certain direction, so that it flows gradually to its destination. Try to move it to one of your limbs."

Videl closed her eyes for a moment to focus on this pool of emotions swirling in her stomach; left to right; up and down. It almost danced to her movements. Then she imagined it to be in a container, like Gohan had described, and slowly tilted it to the left corner, which was in the direction of her left arm. She gave Gohan a left hook. Nothing really happened, yet Gohan smirked.

"Again," he ordered, so Videl did as she was told and struck again, this time using her right arm.

"Again."

To her frustration, nothing really changed after that. No further instructions, no comments, no compliments, no nothing. Only the 'Again' order came quite often. She wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing at all, but she did notice that the flow of energy in her body became smoother and more familiar. Or maybe she was just imagining it and this was all some bullshit. But when she started to think this was all a waste of time, Gohan floored her again.

"Up!"

She had it with him! He crossed a line and she couldn't take it anymore. He was a shitty 'Sensei', giving her nothing but orders and no real instructions that she could work with. She frowned deeply at his grinning face and began to think that Gohan was just an ass himself. She would teach him, humiliating her like this, and in one swift movement she jumped up, flipped back and when her feet hit the ground, she charged at him with a flying kick, putting all this whirling energy, all her anger, all her frustration and all her power she had left in it.

She shouted.

A dull sound filled the gym and bits of polyethylene foam flew through the air. The hand pad Gohan was holding had exploded on impact. Videl's eyes shot wide. Did that really happen? She looked at Gohan for confirmation and she was met with a different smile, which was filled with marvel and pride. "Excellent," he whispered and grinned widely.