Hi there!

Sorry it took me quite some time to upload, but I was kind of stuck on this chapter. First, I got myself stuck in a plothole and after that I felt the chapter wasn't that alive as the others. Thanks to the advice and encouragement of two amazing people I mentioned before - RobynX_x (Ao3)/ RobynXart (FF) and dolphin96girl (FF) - I managed to overcome my shortcomings. I couldn't have done it without them to be honest. Thank you so much!

This chapter isn't fully beta-read at this moment, as I didn't want to keep you waiting much longer, but I think it's not that bad this time ;).

Also, RobynXart, congrats on your first completed GoChi-week! You have published some amazing stories and I'm proud of you!

Furthermore, some of you may have noticed that this website (FF) is doing some strange things lately. It sometimes shows that this story doesn't exist at all and I'm sorry it that had happend to you (even though I couldn't do antyting about it). If it happens again, I want to let you know that I'm also publising on Archive of Our Own
(AO3), so you wouldn't miss anything!

tackler5rb:
You probably have no idea, but your review couldn't come at a better time than you did... I was at a very dark place when you posted it, so thank you for your postive feedback! You really saved my day.

Prediction:
You always can share your possible 'predicitons' in a pm if you want to share them, but if you put it in a review, you can ruin some things for future readers. I'm not the one to delete reviews... but it's not quite fair, is it? Also, not all of your predictions are correct, only the ones I kinda made quite obvious in the story ;)... so that's not hard to do

Alright, enough talking, let's continue with the story:

Chapter 6: Wanted

"You look exceptionally snazzy today," Erasa winked at Gohan as he joined the two blonds in class. She exaggeratedly eyed him, from his tight black jeans to the burgundy short-sleeved shirt he was wearing, "Special occasion?"

"Not really," he lied. This morning he'd left Mount Paozu in his usual school clothes. His mother always had a say in how he had to dress for school - finding it important that he had a neat and formal appearance - but unfortunately he'd learned the hard way that her style was a bit old-fashioned. Since today was his first day since his punishment was lifted though, he quickly changed to something more casual at his apartment before he went to school this morning; something he thought Videl would appreciate. However, he had forgotten that this was the first time he'd actually worn a short-sleeved shirt to school, and he had to get used to women staring after him as he walked by, including Erasa.

"You don't hear me complaining," she said cheekily.

"Hello, I'm still here," Sharpener brought himself to attention, a little irritated, having noticed the attention his spiky-haired friend got.

Erasa giggled, "Not complaining about that either," and leaned over for a kiss to ease the blond jock's jealousy, making Gohan pretend to roll his eyes in a playful manner. The half-Saiyan grinned, realizing how far he had come to understand and react properly at social interactions; having friends his own age really made a difference.

His mind wandered to a certain raven-haired girl and he began to wonder when Videl would show up. He had waited for her at her locker, a place they usually met when they were early, but for some reason she wasn't there. At first he thought he might have missed a crime on his way to school and that she would show up a bit later because of it, but when recess started and she still hadn't shown up, an uneasy feeling fell over him and he wasn't the only one to notice Videl's absence. "Vi hasn't checked her phone since yesterday, not that that's unusual for her." Erasa remarked. "Has she told you anything, Gohan?"

Of course! How could he forget?! "Now that you mention it, she told me she had to do something with her dad today, and didn't know how long it would take. I assumed it was something she had to do after school since we were talking about meeting up this evening, but apparently I was wrong." His body relaxed again; sometimes he worried too much for his own good.

"Meeting up tonight, huh? Got any exciting plans, hm?" Erasa playfully wiggled her eyebrows, clearly insinuating at the things he'd rather keep private.

Gohan said nothing, feeling a wave of teasing coming if he did. He valued his friends, but sometimes they didn't know when to stop. If he wanted to share things with them, he would do so himself; everything else - his private matters - should be able to remain private. He didn't ask them what they did at night, so why couldn't they just drop it for once?

He sighed and opened his lunch capsule; as usual Sharpener went straight for the chicken sandwich. Sharing his food he hadn't had a problem with, at least not anymore. Involuntarily, a grin appeared on his face; having friends made everything so much more dynamic and enjoyable. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, even the teasing wasn't that bad, remembering that Krillin could be much worse at times. Maybe he was overreacting since the girl of their topic hasn't shown up today and he couldn't contain his disappointment.

Looking up from his claimed chicken sandwich, Sharpener let out a surprised snicker, "Damn Brains! Did you order a herd of women?"

Thinking it was a tease again and uninterested in the subject, Gohan rolled his eyes and continued to eat. But when he saw a few pairs of feet entering his downcast view he stopped abruptly. A wave of a fruity mixture began to assault his nostrils, making him a bit nauseous. He looked up in surprise and was met with a substantial portion of his female classmates. Confused, he asked with a mouth full of onigiri, "Uh, can I help you with something?"

"You certainly can. We've had enough and we demand answers," Punaise said while folding her arms.

Being suddenly the center of the conversation, an uncomfortable feeling crept over him, having no clue what they wanted from him. With difficulty he swallowed his food and replied, "About what?"

"Are you gay?"

Both Erasa and Sharpener choked on their food, and after some coughing, they continued to laugh. Now beet-red, Gohan shot them a quick look of annoyance before answering Punaise, "I don't see why it's relevant, but no, I'm not."

"See? Told ya he's asexual," another classmate of his said, recieving some agreeing hums.

Gohan's face got even even more red and he quickly flared up his Ki to gain a bit more confidence to replied quickly, "I'm not asexual either. Why, may I ask, do you wanna know?"

A blond girl who had apparently held her breath sighed in relief, as the one who spoke to Gohan first explained, "You are the most wanted guy in class, yet you never act on it. Better yet, you have never shown any interest in any girl since you came to Orange Star High - your date with Angela not counting as we all know she blackmailed you for it. So we started to speculate: either you're extremely dense or you're not into girls. Hence the question."

Staring blankly for a moment, unsure how to handle this situation, Videl's voice came to Gohan's mind: 'It's not hard to tell people to fuck off, you know' . Of course he would never use such words, but he knew she was right; he had to tell them he wasn't interested, this being such a situation in which he should make that clear - a situation Videl urged him to handle himself. Taking advantage of his Ki still being flared a bit to gather himself some extra courage, he answered, "Or-" he began hesitantly, "Or I have a very specific taste in girls of which none of you qualifies by," Gohan tried his best to explain, feeling a mixture of relief and guilt, yet unaware that his words came across as harsh.

Shocked and hurtful whispers arose from the group. Erasa cleared her throat, "What Gohan is trying to say is that he has no interest and that he is sorry if this has hurt any of your feelings." Erasa then shot him an angry look, " Right, Gohan ?"

Gohan flinched at her firm tone, a tone he knew she used on Sharpener when he was in trouble. He looked at her confused, not sure what he'd done wrong.

"Besides, the guy isn't single," Sharpener bluntly threw into the group.

Gohan jerked his head towards his other blond friend and gave him a very penetrating scowl, while another round of whispers arose, " That was supposed to be kept a secret."

"Wait," a ginger girl with her hair neatly braided said in shock, "So you have a girlfriend?"

Sighing in defeat, he nodded, causing yet another one of the girls to sob quietly.

"Can… Can I please continue my lunch in peace?" Gohan pleaded and looked at Punaise with a dejected expression. Sore and without another word, she turned on her heel and marched off, flicking her long, brown, curly hair in the process. Not long after, the rest of the girls followed, leaving behind a bewildered Gohan.

After what had happened slowly sank in, Gohan turned to Sharpener, " Why did you have to say that ?"

"What? About you having a girlfriend?" Sharpener raised his eyebrow in confusion, "What's the problem? It's not like I've told them who it was, and-"

"I tell you what the problem is," Gohan interrupted the jock, unable to withhold his rising anger, "First off, Mr. Satan made us promise that this wouldn't become public knowledge, at least not before the tournament. Furthermore, the tabloids are still hot on our tail! It's only a matter of time before they will uncover that it's Videl and then hell breaks loose! You are risking everything : not only my relationship, but also my secret identity and basically my whole private life. Do you have any idea what might happen to me, my family and Videl if they uncover who I really am?!" It all came out without thinking, fueled by frustration and panic.

Erasa had a puzzled look on her face, "I'm confused, what secret identity? And what's wrong with who you are?"

Gohan stood up, letting out an irritated goan while making a hand gesture to Erasa to make a point; "See?!"

"Dude, I'm sorry! I didn't know it was that big of a deal!" Sharpener tried to calm him down. But Gohan had already grabbed his things and marched off, leaving his lunch behind.

Already regretting his outburst, he ran a hand through his hair to ease his nerves. He felt like he was losing grip on his own 'secret' life. The more people knew about his secret identity, the more he was at risk that it might become public knowledge - Sharpener being a good example for it. He looked at his watch; he needed to clear his head and he only had ten minutes to do so before the next class would start. He started to wonder why he was so jumpy anyway. Normally he would be able to remain calm in such a situation and wouldn't be so reckless. What was the matter with him? He almost blew his cover in the midst of a public schoolyard. Just like that!

Gohan marched in the direction of the park, thinking a quick walk in a green environment was what he needed, when he heard his name. "Gohan! Hey Gohan, wait up!" He turned and saw Page, a girl from his class, running up to him. He sighed, not in the mood for another declaration of love. Nevertheless, he stopped, waiting for her to catch up with him.

"Hey," was all he said when she was in earshot, waiting for her to talk.

"Gohan, someone asked me to warn you," she said while she'd caught her breath. "You shouldn't be walking around outside campus, certainly not alone."

Gohan raised an eyebrow, "Why is that?"

"They didn't say, but it sounded serious," Page said, concerned.

The half-Saiyan gave her a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, I-" he paused, noticing a motorbiker had appeared at the end of the street. He looked to the other side, only to see another one. They were blocked in.

This wasn't good.

At the far end of the street some more bikers and a car came turning into their street, and not for long the two teenagers were surrounded. It was too late to tell Page to run, and Gohan had no other choice but to wait for what was going to happen. He prepared himself for the worst as the biker with the forkbeard he had seen before stopped in front of him.

"You're coming with us, Son Gohan ."

Not having expected to hear his own name, Gohan dropped his guard for a short moment, giving their assailants enough time to draw their weapons. After he snapped himself back to reality, and wanting to refuse his request, he noticed their guns weren't aimed at him; they were aimed at Page, who froze on the spot. He cursed inwardly; he wasn't able to fight - risking being discovered and potentially putting Page in more danger if he did so - but doing nothing wasn't doing any good either. Gohan frowned deeply, finding he didn't have another choice but to cooperate, "If I come with you, would you let her go unharmed?"

"You have my word," the biker replied, as two of his men came to him with some serious shackles. Gohan had no choice but to let them cuff him behind his back, knowing he could always get himself free if he was alone. A burlap sack was thrown over his head and he was roughly pushed into the trunk of the car. The trunk closed, darkening the tight space he was in, and with squealing tires, the car drove off with increasing speed.

For a while Gohan remained in his position, monitoring his surroundings. The bikers quickly left the car in different directions and when he was sure the vehicle which he was in was abandoned by the others, he made his move. He gave the shackles a firm tug, but he noticed this wasn't enough to break them. Surprised, he tried again, and he even had to turn Super for a second to do so. He was sure he wasn't as soft as he used to be after his intensive training sessions, so why was this so hard?

Shrugging it off, having no time to waste, he removed the broken shackles from his wrists and, since this was a car designed by Capsule Corp., he knew there should be a safety switch somewhere to open the trunk from the inside. He quickly found it, pushed the button, and immediately the trunk opened and light fell in. This was much better than blasting it open, he thought as he snuck out. After he managed to close the trunk quietly, he used his superspeed to secure himself in a hidden area and avoided being spotted. He assumed he had done his escape without them noticing since the car kept driving, but as much as he wanted to follow them to know why he was abducted and how they knew his name, he needed to make sure Page was safe first, and flew off back to where he came from.

Since Page wasn't where they got separated, he decided to head back to school to look for her. Class had already started 5 minutes ago, but when he walked over the school grounds, he heard worried voices talking busily. Gohan looked around the corner and his body relaxed: although she was crying, Page was unhurt and in the presence of her two friends; Paper and Stapler. However, to Gohan's surprise, Sharpener was there as well.

For a moment, Gohan stayed around the corner, calculating the best way to approach his situation. The four were talking about what had happened and that they had abducted him. They hadn't raised an alarm yet, so he was good for the moment, though he couldn't ignore them forever.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The distressed teens turned around and were shocked to see Gohan walking in their direction, unharmed, looking at him as if he were a ghost. Gohan looked at Page and scratched his neck. Unsurely he asked, "You alright?"

"How did you…" Stapler began, gob-smacked, not expecting to see Gohan alive ever again.

Page's voice trembled, "I-I'm okay."

"They didn't hurt you?" the half-Saiyan asked, looking at her intently.

"No," then tears began to well and not long after she burst into tears, throwing herself in his arms. "I-I thought you were gone forever!" she sobbed.

Gohan embraced her to give comfort. "But I'm not," he assured her and for a moment he stayed quiet, feeling a bit awkward holding another woman so close, but understanding she needed it. "I have no idea what they wanted from me, but they weren't that smart. I crawled out of the vehicle unseen." He then pulled himself from her embrace and looked at her with both sympathy and relief, "I'm just glad you're safe."

"Told ya the guy would outsmart them," Sharpener gave her a pat on her shoulder and then gave Gohan a serious look, "I followed you after you stormed off. I wanted to apologize to you for what I said but then saw what happened. Weren't they the same guys that assaulted you last time? The guys that ruined your bag?"

Gohan's expression got serious as well, "Yeah, and I now suspect they were the same guys who broke into my apartment too. But their behavior has changed; they first assaulted random guys at the park - if I had to believe what Videl had heard from the police, me being one of the victims," he quickly added that last part to cover himself, realizing there were three other bystanders. "But now they somehow knew my name…"

In the meantime, Stapler had crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, deliberately avoiding his gaze from the group. Gohan had half expected him to have made a shitty remark by now, considering he hated Gohan, but assumed he probably held back out of respect for his friend. However, Gohan was surprised to see the brown-haired jock's posture had slumped and that his self-assured arrogance was nowhere to be found. The incident with his friend probably had more impact on him than he expected from Stapler. Gohan shrugged it off, he had more important things on his mind right now, and turned his attention back to Sharpener.

"Maybe they know because they looked into your wallet," Sharpener suggested after some thought.

"Maybe…" the half-Saiyan replied hesitantly, having the feeling this was much more personal than that. "I think I'm going to skip class and report this incident to the police." Of course this was a lie, but Gohan needed an excuse so he could leave the group; he needed to talk to Bulma as soon as possible. Again an uneasy feeling crept over him as he began to realize that the actions of the motorbike gang weren't random at all. He was certain now that they were after the Dragon Ball Gohan had lost that day. Maybe they wanted him to give them more information about it? But how did they know he had one in the first place? Did they have a Dragon Radar too?

After receiving an understanding nod from Sharpener, Gohan turned to walk away, but Paper spoke up suspiciously, "Gohan, Page told us you were handcuffed, how did you manage to get out of that?"

Unnoticeably swallowing he replied nervously, "Uh, they were very loose, so I could just slip my hands through it. As I said, they weren't that smart," and before they asked more questions, he walked away at a quick pace, leaving the bewildered trio and Sharpener. He cursed inwardly as his private life got yet again entangled with his secret identity and now had endangered people he knew.

Glad he got away, he hoped Sharpener would cover it for him and made a mental note to thank him later. Having friends he could rely on really made his life easier.

###

"I have good news and bad news," Bulma said with a deep sigh, looking at Gohan's worried face. "Which one do you want first?"

"I'm not in the mood for playing games…" Gohan said tiredly. His emotions have been all over the place today and now a headache started to plague him.

Bulma looked at her godson with sympathy. "Well, the good news is, I fixed the radar, bad news is… it doesn't show any Dragon Balls. So-"

"So they used up the Dragon Balls…" Gohan finished her sentence and let himself fall into the nearby couch, slumping his shoulders in defeat. "I really messed up, didn't I?" This was exactly what he was afraid of.

"Don't beat yourself up, Kiddo, they managed to take our Two Star Dragon Ball as well, unseen." Bulma lit up a cigarette, and after taking a drag she continued, "Someone managed to break in a while ago, before Habas brought the vulnerabilities of our system to our attention. We now beefed up our security, but for our Dragon Ball it was too late. They had just dumb luck on their side."

"Well, the world is still spinning I guess," Gohan sighed again, "So I suppose we are fine… I just hope there will be no emergency in the upcoming year." Even though the words came out of his own mouth, Gohan didn't feel convinced.

"Tsk, this is what you get when you let these peaceful times cloud your head," a gruff voice Gohan immediately recognized as Vegeta's said. "You are both letting your guard down way too much."

Gohan frowned deeply, "I'm not in the mood for any of your lectures."

"I thought those were your favorite things in life; lectures," Vegeta spotted, trying to rile the half-Saiyan up.

Gohan stood up, thinking it was wise to leave before Vegeta really got under his skin. He was still pissed at Vegeta for interrupting his alone time with Videl yesterday, and with his newly gained worries about the Dragon Balls being used, he didn't want to risk exploding in rage. He nodded to Bulma, "Let's keep each other in the loop." But before flying out of the open window, he couldn't help himself and glared at Vegeta, "I have a date tonight, so you're being warned. Keep your frustration about it for the tournament next week."

"You have a date again?" Bulma asked in surprise, "So you and Videl are hitting it off then?"

Taken aback at Bulma's reaction he mumbled a bit shyly, "Yeah, we're going to watch that movie we had planned earlier. It's going to be our first real date actually, as the other one turned out to be a surprise party." He looked over to Vegeta with a questioned look, but the Prince avoided his gaze, almost as if he was embarrassed. So Vegeta had kept his knowledge to himself? Apparently he had much more respect for him than he thought and Gohan felt almost a bit guilty for getting angry at him. For a split second they made eye-contact; the half-Saiyan nodded thankfully at Vegeta and his gesture was mirrored as a mutual understanding was established. Then he decided that it was indeed time to leave; he didn't want to be home late in case Videl was done with helping her father early.

###

Laying on his couch, arms crossed behind his head and one leg still on the ground, tapping his foot nervously on the floor, his mind went over the events from past days for the umpteenth time that evening. First, the break-in where they had trashed his apartment, but other than some pocket money, nothing was taken. He'd eventually shrugged it off as a normal crime, but now he understood that they just didn't find what they were looking for: the four star Dragon Ball. During that time, Gohan himself was at the party held in the Satan's Mansion and, as he always did, he brought his satchel with the Dragon Ball. If those criminals had a Dragon Radar, they'd have known it wasn't in the apartment around that time. Considering they weren't at the right spot, Gohan concluded that they probably didn't have one, or at least, none that was accurate.

This may also explain why that motorgang assaulted young teenage men, trashing their bags all over the park to see if one of them might have that Dragon Ball; that one of them might be him. Unfortunately they'd succeeded, probably by dumb luck, but at that time they didn't know his name. But now, after they had made their wishes, they knew, making Gohan uneasy. Maybe Sharpener was right and they had just found out his name because of what was in his wallet, but that didn't explain why they came back later and abducted him… What did they want from him anyway? What else did they know about him? And why did they want to know that in the first place?

Gohan let out a frustrating sigh and set back up, running a hand through his hair. He let his body lean back against the sofa and looked aimlessly at the ceiling. He began to wonder if this whole thing was Saiyaman related. If so, why? Saiyaman hadn't done anything against their gang; on the contrary, he even gave them a second chance. So that couldn't be it, right?

No, it had to do something with the Dragon Balls as Bulma's Dragon Ball was also stolen. Him being involved was just a coincidence. Either way, they were too late now: the wishes were already made and as far he was fine. Nothing really has changed and the news didn't catch on any strange sightings either, so the wishes weren't that damaging he assumed. But somehow he felt he was overlooking something; something important.

His eyelids began to feel heavy as sleep washed over him. He looked at his watch - 10:34 PM - and he let out a deep sigh. He'd spend his whole evening mulling over this issue, not quite how he'd expected his evening would go. Disappointment fell over him; Videl probably wouldn't come and visit him tonight. He assumed she was too caught up with whatever her father needed her help for. It dawned on him that he might have asked too much from her, to come and visit him after such a busy day. She probably was tired. Maybe it was a bit selfish.

Getting off the couch he yawned while stretching his muscles. It was time to go to bed, he thought, and while walking to his room, he passed the sliding door that led to the roof-garden. He stood still for a moment and eventually slid it open a little bit, just in case Videl did show up, though he knew it was wishful thinking.

He undressed himself and put on a tanktop to sleep in. He realized he hadn't eaten anything ever since he abandoned his lunch, but strangely enough he'd lost his appetite. He shrugged it off as a sign of worry because of the Dragon Balls, but now he began to realize it may also have something to do with the absence of Videl. Maybe it was just being love-sick or something, he thought. Yet, he couldn't help himself to check her on Ki, just to make sure she was safe.

He'd promised himself ever since she had control of her Ki, he wouldn't monitor her anymore. He found it a misuse of his powers, disrespecting her privacy if he would; not wanting to become the controlling boyfriend. There was no need to, she could protect herself now and was able to deflect bullets at this point, so she had learned enough for him to let her go. But with all these strange events surrounding him and the Dragon Balls, he couldn't contain himself anymore.

He let out a sigh in relief, her Ki was still there, even though it had a strange vibe to it. He couldn't pinpoint her exact location, but even though it was faint, it was certainly there. He assumed she had listened to him, trying to conceal her Ki as much as possible as homework for her training. He grinned, she was always so dedicated.

Another yawn struck him and secretly he hoped she would still come, sneaking into his bed so he would wake up next to her. He grabbed one of his pillows and hugged it, imagining it as her. Even though it was only yesterday that he had seen her last, he missed her already: her smile; the twinkling in her eyes; her natural cherry scent; her soft kisses; her body heat; her wandering hands on his body…

He buried his head into his pillow with a goan, reminding himself to calm down before Vegeta would get mad at him again. He really needed to sort out his teenage hormones. But not long after this thought, he fell fast asleep, hugging his pillow tightly.

The next morning he woke up before his alarm and was slightly disappointed to find out he was still alone. 'Oh well', he thought, realizing they could meet up any other time. He understood Videl was busy due to the upcoming tournament and that her father's popularity was demanding at times. A smile formed on his face as it dawned on him that it was only a week before the tournament, and after that, they could be open about their relationship. Then he wouldn't have to hide his feelings anymore.

Feeling much better, he got himself dressed in something Videl would probably appreciate and after a heavy breakfast he went to school by foot. He was surprised his route was without disturbances as he half expected that the motorgang would show up, and before he knew it, he arrived well on time. When he walked the stairs to his seat in class, he was greeted by Erasa and Sharpener.

Videl, however, wasn't there yet.

"How was ya date?" Erasa happily whispered in his direction, taking into account that Gohan was sensitive about it becoming public knowledge.

Gohan shrugged, "She didn't show up, so I guess she was too busy." He tried to be nonchalant about it, but he felt the same uneasy feeling coming over him as the day before.

Sharpener leaned forward, voicing the same worried feeling, "Don't you think it's odd that she hasn't shown up or answered any of our calls and texts, considering the circumstances?"

"Oh no," Erasa's eyes shot wide as the realisation struck and she clasped her hands in front of her mouth. "You know, Mr. Satan called me yesterday, asking me if I knew where she was. I assumed she was with you," she looked at Gohan. "He asked about your contacts, but I didn't have any, so I assured him she was fine. But if she wasn't with you…" A worried expression was written over her face.

Gohan frowned, her words fueling his concerns, "Did he mention anything else?"

"Well, he asked the same thing the day before. Again, I thought she was with you that evening since you both left the park together that day. Do you think something happened?"

Gohan scowled even more and looked at the teacher who started to introduce today's topic, meaning that their chat came to an end. He just mumbled, "I'm sure she is fine. Maybe she's just training alone for the tournament." Though he didn't believe it himself - nor did Sharpener by the looks of it. However, Erasa nodded, finding it a plausible scenario and relaxed again.

Thirty minutes into the lecture, the door of the classroom flew open with a bang. Shocked, everyone sat upright, completely awake and dead silent.

" Where is he?! " an angry voice echoed through the room.

"Sir, you cannot barge into the classroom like that," the principal tried nervously, entering the room behind the person who had just stormed in, but without vain. No one was going to stop him when he was this angry.

Gohan gulped after making eye-contact with the man, " There you are!" Mr. Satan growled loudly as he climbed the stairs with stomping feet. The half-Saiyan threw his hands in front of him as a defensive gesture, but before he could say anything, Mr. Satan had grabbed his shirt firmly and hissed through his teeth, "You are very hard to track down, boy, but you can't escape me… Now tell me, where is she ?!"

Gohan's eyes shot wide in horror; so she was missing...

"I-I don't know…" he said with all honesty. "Sir please, let's not do this here…" Gohan quickly tried to hint as he quickly looked around him - fully aware he was still in class.

But Mr. Satan didn't listen and went on with his tirade, "What have you done to her?! Is this some kind of cruel joke to get to me? To get revenge? Hm?" He now held Gohan firmly by his shirt with both hands, " Speak !"

"I-I have done nothing, I swear!" Gohan replied a bit in a panic, "Sir please, let's discuss this somewhere else, everybody's listening."

"I don't care!" Mr. Satan replied angrily, as spit came from his mouth. "Listen, Pasuta…; Jagaimo…; Men…; Kusukusu…; uh -"

"Gohan," he frowned, "My name is Gohan ."

"Whatever!" Again saliva drops spattered across the table, "I thought you promised to protect her with your life , and here you sit, in a classroom, doing nothing; not even looking for her! Do you even care about her at all?!"

"Of course I care about her," Gohan replied angrily, slamming his hands at the table while standing from his chair; he could not swallow such accusations, "Look, all I know is that she was supposed to help you with something yesterday. This is the first time I hear about her being missing! How could I have known?"

"Are you her boyfriend or what?!"

Whispers arose across the room and Gohan's eyes shot wide in disbelief. The word was out; way too soon after that 'kissing-on-the-roof'-incident. In a split second he saw everything flash by: the tabloids; the speculations; the rumors; the assumptions of him being Saiyaman - and with that the possibility of them discovering his other secrets. Just like that… public knowledge.

Mr. Satan had crossed a line. Frowning in anger, Gohan slapped away Mr. Satan's hands that still held his shirt, and grabbed the man himself by the collar of his luxurious jacket. With a firm tug, he dragged the Champion effortlessly to the back-exit of the room and unable to struggle free, the man had no choice but to follow. With a kick, Gohan opened the door, cracking the doorframe in the process, and - after he and Mr. Satan went through - he slammed it shut with a bang.

Pinning Mr. Satan against the wall, he looked at him angrily. " That wasn't a smart move," the half-Saiyan said firmly, making Mr. Satan gulp as Gohan continued, "I, of all people, understand that you're upset, but do you have any idea what you are risking at this moment by saying such things?! Especially after the recent Saiyaman-rumors? Please calm down!"

Mr. Satan blinked his eyes, confused, "What has that to do with this?"

Gohan sighed; the man was dense, even more dense than he was. "Never mind," he said dejectedly, letting go of Mr. Satan.

Mr. Satan frowned, his confidence coming back with his gained freedom, "Look into my eyes and tell me: did you or did you not have any involvement with her disappearance?"

"No Sir, I have not," Gohan said with confidence, looking straight at the man's eyes as he requested, "And I meant what I said before, I'll give my life for her. I just didn't know she was missing."

Standing straight again and straightening his jacket, Mr. Satan gave him another piercing look, trying to determine the sincerity of his reply. "Let me be clear: My daughter means the world to me and I'll do anything to find her, and you are going to help me with that." A heavy feeling came over Gohan as Mr. Satan continued, "Two weeks. I'll give you two weeks to find my daughter… If you haven't found her by then, I'm going to the press and tell them who you really are. I don't give a goddamn fuck about my reputation, I just want my daughter to be found."

Gohan's eyes shot wide, "Y-You wouldn't."

"Try me," the Champion threatened. "I may not be strong enough to beat you up, but I certainly can destroy you, and I'm willing to go down with it if I have to." Then turned his back at the half-Saiyan and before he marched off he repeated, "Two weeks."

Gohan stood transfixed as he watched Mr. Satan walk out of the hallway turning right, and - as that was a dead end - he passed by again after some minutes, turning the other way.

What a mess. Not only Videl had gone missing apparently, but now his - and thus his family's and friends - private lives were at stake as well. He understood where Mr. Satan came from - he would have done the same if it were his daughter missing - but he stood on the same side as him, so why the threats? Why risk it all? And why hadn't Mr. Satan just requested a private conversation? Then he would have gotten what he wanted without the drama and potential reputation damage. The guy sure couldn't control his anger.

Gohan sighed. It felt like he had lost grip on his own life.

Then his mind snapped back to what was the real issue at stake: Videl. The realization of her being missing struck hard and fear came creeping over him. This all was too coincidental, right? But why? Why her and not him? Or was he imagining things?

Checking her Ki again, he was certain she was still around, yet why was it so faint? It wasn't because she was hurt, but something was odd about it, as if it was muffled. And now knowing she was missing, he couldn't blame it anymore on that training exercise he had given her. Not knowing what to do, Gohan picked up his phone in a slight panic and called Bulma.

Apparently Bulma had already heard that Videl went missing as it was the breaking news broadcasted on every news channel. It became all so real… Luckily, Bulma managed to calm the half-Saiyan down quickly and she urged Gohan to go back to class, sit through the day to avoid further speculation and - most important - to keep it together. In the meantime Bulma promised him she would think of what could have happened to Videl and hoped that at the end of his school day, she would have come up with a plan in order to find her.

With a heavy heart he'd hung up and re-entered the classroom, just as Bulma told him. Ignoring the stares of the whole class and the accompanied whispers that had risen, he sat back down in his seat.

The visibly shocked principal cleared his throat to get some attention and looked at the boy it was all about, "Are you alright, Mr. Son? And where have you left Mr. Satan?"

Gohan looked down, hating being the center of attention, "I'm okay considering the circumstances. And he stormed off; he's probably lost somewhere between the second and first floor."

Again murmurs rose in the classroom as nobody could believe what they had witnessed; the biggest nerd of their school had stood up against Mr. Satan himself and could tell the tail?! And did Mr. Satan really say the nerd was Videl's boyfriend? Since when did that happen?

"I see. Please come to my office after your school day is finished so we can discuss this incident. For now, I'm going to find Mr. Satan," the principal replied to Gohan and before he left the classroom he nodded to the teacher and apologized again for the interruption.

After this ' incident ', the teacher had difficulty maintaining order in the class and continuing her lecture. It didn't help that the backdoor fell from his hinges at one point, making Gohan bury his head in his arms in embarrassment.

What a mess…

When the bell rang, signaling the start of recess, Gohan was the first to leave. He didn't feel like answering questions, nor did he want to overhear the new gossip surrounding him. He just rushed to the evergreen oak tree, waiting for his two friends to come. In the meantime he flopped on the ground and called Bulma again, more to calm his own nerves, not expecting she had gained some extra information. Unfortunately he was right and other than that there was an extensive search party looking for her, there was nothing new. He sighed, but thanked her anyway for her troubles and hung up when he saw his two blonde friends approaching.

Erasa looked at him in surprise, "Since when do you have a phone?"

Perplexed, Gohan raised an eyebrow, "Seriously, that's the first question you ask?"

"Do you have any idea what may have happened to Videl?" Sharpener asked, ignoring Erasa.

Gohan looked at him with a serious expression, "All I know is that she's alive and unharmed."

"How d'ya know?" Erasa asked, relieved and curious at the same time.

"Hard to explain, just take it from me." Gohan wiggled nervously with his fingers, he wasn't one to sit still and do nothing, certainly not now that his girlfriend was the one who went missing. He frowned, checking her Ki once more…

Where was she?

Sharpener sat down next to him, "If you say so." He looked at Gohan's tense face, "Can't you go look for her?"

"I was told to wait and sit this school day out," Gohan replied, irritated, hoping Bulma was right about this, "But they are working behind the scenes to track her down."

"Who are they?" Erasa asked, not entirely understanding the conversation between the boys. Was she missing something?

"Bulma Brief."

"Ah, yeah, I almost forgot that you're her godson," Sharpener's face relaxed a bit, "Guess if she's on it, Videl would be found very quickly."

"Let's hope so," Gohan sighed. Still, he didn't feel reassured.

"Can I…" Sharpener began, carefully pointing to Gohan's pocket while his stomach made a protesting sound.

Gohan followed where he was pointing at and sighed, "Yeah sure," and reached in his pocket and threw his lunch capsule toward him. Sharpener opened it and eagerly grabbed his favorite chicken sandwich. With a mouth full he looked at Gohan, confused, "You not hungry?"

"No."

This was a first; a Gohan who didn't want to eat. The guy must be worried sick, Sharpener thought, and looked with sympathy at his friend. "Look, it's gonna be alright. Videl is tough and I believe you if you say she's alive and unharmed - even if I don't understand how you'd possibly know that... Soon we'll know what happened and maybe she was indeed just training off the grid for all we know. And well… if those same guys that tried to abduct you yesterday are involved, she'll manage to escape too; they weren't smart as you said." Sharpener tried to sound confident. "Also," he continued, "If you need to save her, you'd better eat so you have some fuel to do so."

Erasa looked up with shock, "W-What, someone tried to abduct you?"

Gohan shot a knowing glare at Sharpener who abruptly looked forward, realizing his slip-up.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine."

"No, it's not fine!" Erasa said firmly, surprising both men, "This whole thing is becoming scary. First you went missing... You were abducted, then they drugged you and left you for dead! Luckily Saiyaman and Videl found you in time, otherwise you would be dead for real! But man, you were so sick, Gohan, I was so worried... And now they tried to abduct you again?! And Videl is missing too… How can you be fine?"

Gohan opened his mouth to react, but Sharpener interfered with a firm voice, "Drop it 'rase. If Gohan says he's fine, he's fine."

"You guys are hiding something from me, aren't you?" Erasa said suspiciously, frowning at her boyfriend.

"I said drop it!" Sharpener's voice was demanding, taking Erasa aback. She'd never heard him talk in such a firm fashion, and certainly not towards her. "And you," the jock turned his attention to Gohan, who froze by his tone, "Eat!"

Giving him a quick nod, he grabbed a sandwich and took a bite, more out of fear to upset Sharpener any further than he actually wanted to. But as soon as he swallowed his first bite, his appetite returned and he began to eat at a faster pace. The guy was right, he should be ready when he had to jump into action, and from experience he knew he shouldn't do that on an empty stomach.

Erasa just watched, hurt that she was told to shut up and not be included in whatever they held from her. She felt cast out.

Gohan looked at her dejected expression and swallowed his bite. He felt sorry for the blonde, knowing she hated liars - especially if they were her friends - and maybe it wasn't fair that she was the only one not knowing him to be Saiyaman. But then again, she was one that regularly participated in gossip and the more people knew about his secret identity, the more he was at risk. And Gohan already felt he had lost grip of his secret identity already. But she too was his friend… and friends share secrets…

He opened his mouth, "Erasa… I-"

But he stopped as a shadow fell over him. Looking up with a deep frown he half expected it were his female classmates again, demanding answers about his relationship with Videl; but he couldn't be more wrong. He swallowed thickly before speaking up:

"Chief?"

Surprised by being recognized, the chief raised his eyebrow, "Are you Son Gohan?"

Gohan nodded, confused.

"I hereby place you under arrest for the suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of Videl Satan."