Welcome to the next chapter of my story. Now that the trip is done it is almost a whole new game trying to put this story together but at least I have a decent idea what I want to get done.

Chapter 17

=Later in the day=

Towards the end of the day Mel finds herself looking at an upset Erasa who was currently glaring at her. Turns out it didn't take long at all for the blond to not only get hounded by curious people but also to find out why.

"…ok in defense I thought you would enjoy having a bunch of people desperate to get information from you." Mel tells her only to get a 'hmph' as a response.

"I AM happy that I get to control the gossip in this school BUT it would have been VERY nice to know about it BEFORE it caused me to have all of the student body talking to me." Erasa tells her.

"See I told you she would be upset." Gohan told his sister.

"You shut up" she told him with a glare. "Ok I am sorry. How can I make it up to you?" She then asks turning back to Erasa.

"You can by telling me the truth about your relationship." Erasa tells her confusing all of the group.

"Relationship? I am not dating anyone right now Erasa."

"Oh? Then what about all the times that I see you sending longing stares to-" Erasa begins only for Mel to cover her mouth.

"Nope. Gonna stop you there." Mel states getting another glare.

"Either tell me the truth or I will make sure that all of the school hounds you down even worse miss princess."

"h-hey you wouldn't do that to your friend right?"

"try me" Erasa states firmly making Mel just stare at her for a few seconds.

*sigh* "Fine I will talk BUT not here. We will talk after school." Mel tells her finally giving in.

"Sounds good. And don't worry I will definitely help you in your quest for love." Erasa tells her with her usual smile.

"…that is what I am afraid of." Mel couldn't help but mutter making everyone else of the group chuckle.

After that the day passed relatively uneventful except for Sharpener being oddly quiet. But with a good portion of what he normally said being brags the group simply enjoyed the peace rather than question it.

_Mel and Erasa_

After school ended the two girls made there way up to the roof top and Mel quickly glanced around to make sure no one else was there.

"Okay gal you've made me wait long enough now admit it already." Erasa firmly orders.

*sigh* "Alright yes I do like Miara. Ok?" Mel tells her with a blush on her face. She then hears a loud pitched squeal as Erasa got excited.

"Ok now you GOT to tell me how your guy's relationship is going. I mean from what you said before you've been friends for ages."

"Ya we have been. But that is all we are just friends." Mel tells her with a small frown.

"Well girl we gotta change that! Come on I've never seen you act so shy. Just go up to him and tell him. And don't even tell me you can't because of Gohan and Bri. Because your families already have a weird kind of mix that one more match won't make it worse." Erasa tells her. For honestly, she was still rather weirded out by Gohan's relationship and felt dating someone that got married into your family was a bit weird. But she was pushing past these feelings seeing as she already assumed there was a weird history that she didn't know about going on between the two families. Besides first and foremost she wanted her friends happy.

"I-it's..complicated." Mel says.

"Grr. Come on girl you are going to have to do it soon if you don't want him taken away! I already know several girls who are making plans to woo him."

"You don't think I have tried to 'woo' him?" Mel tells her annoyed. "We met ages ago and he was…a bit older than me so he treated me like a kid. And now that times have changed he still refuses to see me as child!" Mel rants at her. Erasa then gave her a hug.

"Oh you poor girl. Stuck with one of those guys as your crush. But don't worry there isn't a man alive that I haven't been able to seduce. So, let the love guru help you out!" Erasa tells her with a smile.

"Heh. I don't think 'guru' is the right word for what you do Erasa." Mel told her with a small smile.

"Fine then just call me master. Now come on and follow me before I have to force you to." Erasa threatened.

"Yes mam." Mel told her as they both left the rooftop.

_Videl and Gohan_

After their last class Videl wasted no time rushing out of the school and stood clearly annoyed that Gohan was taking his time. Still she said nothing and simply kept glaring at him until he picked up his pace at least a little bit.

"Alright alright I am coming. You know your gym isn't moving anywhere." Gohan told her as he got close. Videl then simply turned around and began to walk making Gohan follow.

"It might not be moving but I want to start training as soon as possible. I might have lost this time but I refuse to let that be it. If you are stronger than me then there has to be more room for my own improvement then." Videl told him firmly.

"Man this girl. She lost for the first time in kami knows how long but instead of getting mad like I thought she would. She just wants to use me as a stepping stone to make her improve even more…I almost feel bad that she really can never match my true power level. Maybe if she take the truth decently I will take her to compete with Krillen. I mean he is the strongest complete human that has time. Last I heard Tein was still dealing with his own stuff too much to take on a regular sparing partner." Gohan thought as they went. All around them there were various people glancing at them making Gohan uncomfortable.

"Just ignore them." The girl beside him ordered.

"What?" Gohan asked confused getting her to look over at him.

"The public always is like this when they find out something new. They can't help but try and stick their nose into it further. It's like how there are always a decent crowd of people around the police calls I go to. But anyways the fact that you somehow are the 'mysterious royal prince' and engaged to me is new to them. Though as soon as they realize that they aren't gonna get anything to gossip about from us they will lose interest in our day-to-day life." Videl explains.

"Speaking from experience?" Gohan asks getting a slight nod.

"Every time my father makes a speech or takes a new brand deal there is always at least a reporter or two trying to get my 'take' on it. Thankfully after telling them to fuck off so often most of them got the point."

"I see. Well hopefully that happens soon…their stares are rather creepy." Gohan told her making Videl laugh.

"Oh how weak the mighty truly is." She told him with a teasing smile.

"Oh shut up." Gohan told her with a small smile of his own. After this there was a comfortable silence between the two as they walked until the stopped in front of a large building.

"Wow I knew that you had a true gym but I didn't think it would be quite this large." Gohan admitted.

"Yep my dad wasted nothing to make sure that his gym was set up to be as high tech and grand as he possibly could make it. In fact, the only gym that has more members is the Brolga gym. And that is simply because they are a lot cheaper than my dad would ever put his price at. So, they are the best compromise" Videl states proudly. "Now come on you gotta show help me reach the next level." Videl orders pushing him in through the doors.

"Good afternoon Miss Satan…or should I say Mrs. Satan now? Come to show your husband off to the members?" a receptionist asks with a smirk. Both teen's faces quickly turn red making the receptionist even more amused.

"Just Videl is fine as always. And we are here JUST to train." Videl told her and pushed Gohan away from the desk. "Honestly some days I miss the time back when she use to think even slightly upsetting me would make her lose her job." Videl muttered as they walked.

"Heh, it is good to know that you are well liked by seemingly everyone." Gohan tells the girl who smiles bashfully and rubs the back of her head.

"I guess I am." Videl tells him with a small but happy smile but quickly refocused. "Anyways so where do we need to go first?"

"What do you mean?" Gohan asks confused.

"I mean what machine do you start off with? I promise you that dad has made sure that practically all machines dealing with working out is somewhere in this building. So, just tell me what machine we need and I will take you to it."

"Oh…um…I actually have never used machines for working out. Well I guess I do use one but I doubt you have it." Gohan told her rubbing the back of his head.

"What! You don't use anything? Then what DO you do?" Videl asked curiously.

"Mostly shadow boxing, sparing, a few body weight exercises, oh and weighted clothes." Gohan told her.

"Huh. Weird but I mean I guess it has to work if you still managed to beat me even if you are living a low tech life." Videl stated with a shrug. "We do have some body weights I think come with me." Videl told him taking them to a closet. In which were several different vests and wraps with weights that clearly could be inserted into both. "Does this work for you?" Videl asked letting Gohan pick up a few of the weights.

"Hmm…do you happen to have anything heavier?" Gohan asked her surprising her yet again.

"Not at the moment but I guess if it will work to make me better than I will force dad to get it. What kind of weight are we talking about?"

"Well…how much would you say that you could carry around with you for a while?"

"How much I can carry? Well I guess maybe 1 or 200 pounds why does it matter?"

"Perfect. Then I guess we will start with maybe 60 pounds in the vest and 15 on each limb." Gohan told her with a small smile.

"WHAT? With that much weight the vest would be so bulky that I wouldn't even be able to move properly let alone exercise!" Videl told him making him frown.

"Really? Well I guess I will talk to my friends and see about getting one made for you later. But for now let's just work on other stuff if you want."
"Hmm I guess he IS friends we Bulma so maybe she makes him some special compound that weighs a lot but isn't too bulky to wear or something." Videl thinks while he says this with a small frown of disappointment. "Fine what do you want to do then?"

"Well we already fought so why don't we work on what I saw with your stances."

"What's wrong with my stances? Even dad said my Satan style katas are perfected."

"…can we just try a few things and see what you think about the changes then?" Gohan asked her seeing that she already was getting a bit annoyed. But much to his surprise instead of getting mad at him she took a deep breath and just told him 'sure' as they walked into a larger room.

"This guy! Just because he beat me he thinks that he can improve the satan style that someone as strong as my dad invented? Fat chance!...calm down Videl you need to keep the peace if you are gonna figure out what the secret to his strength. Let's just see what happens if I humor him for a while." Videl thought with a strained smile on her face.

"So, show me a stance." Gohan told her and she did just that. He then wasted no time walking around her completely examining it. "Try moving your right foot so it is pointing an inch more to the right…good. Now hold your arms like this instead…finally move your waist just a bit here and perfect! How does that feel?" Gohan asked as he slowly adjusted things with her.

"It feels different…but I do feel more balanced for some reason." Videl begrudgingly admitted making Gohan smile.

"Good. A proper stance is key to making sure that you can use every bit of your power in a fight. Now let's continue." He told her happily. The two of them then spent their time going from stance to stance making slight corrections. After which Videl did her katas while using the improved stances slowly enough to let Gohan check to make sure that he approved the forms.

"Gah, I hate to say it but those small changes did make that whole thing feel better than it ever has. Now you said it will help me use more power so let's see it! Come on let's spar." Videl tells Gohan who frowns a bit.

"but you still are sore from the last match." He told her worried.

"Bah, nothing that will ever stop a Satan. We are the strongest family in the world." Videl told him proudly not noticing the straining on Gohan's smile.

"Right…well I guess some light sparing would be ok." He told her and got into his stance. They then fought yet again but this time Gohan made sure to only use enough speed to keep up with Videl and put almost no strength into his punches at all. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he injured her any worse than he already accidentally did. But of course this didn't matter seeing as even his lightest moves were more than enough to stop Videl from gaining any ground in the match.

"Grr. What the hell! The stances feel better but I am nowhere close to catching up to you again! Must I wait for that weird feeling to come before I can stand any chance of reclaiming my title of strongest young adult?" Videl grumbled irritated. Course what drew Gohan's attention was her mention of a feeling more than the actual frustration in her voice.

"I almost forgot that she used Ki in her last few fights! Oh and with her talking about it already this has to be the perfect time for her to learn about it. Ki has to be the best secret for her to learn and get use to before anything else right?" Gohan mentally asked himself before returning his attention back to Videl.

"A weird feeling huh? What did it feel like exactly." Gohan asked her.

"Oh perfect he is acting like he DOES know what that feeling could have been from. Maybe today won't be a waste of time after all!...well feeling more secure in my stances is already nice but this feeling is what I really need to find out about. It has been worrying me so much that I can't focus fully on anything else." Videl thinks. "Well it was like a ball of warmth suddenly appeared somewhere in my body. Then when I was trying to pull out every last bit of my strength that warmth somehow moved from a ball till it spread around my entire body. But the feeling only lasted for a few seconds before it went away and I haven't felt it since."

"Oh so you really did unlock it yourself. That is impressive seeing as the only person I know that did it without help or special reasons was an older martial arts master." Gohan told her.

"Unlock what!?" Videl called out loudly before calming herself and pulling back. "I mean please tell me what it is. It has been driving me crazy with worry." She admitted rather embarrassed.

"Hehe, no worries Videl I understand. As for what it is. Well it is your bodies Ki also called internal energy or life energy." Gohan told her making her freak out again.

"What!? So I somehow managed to use my life energy just to beat a match? How many years did I lose just to win and how is that even a thing that people can do?"

"Woah, woah. Hold on there Videl you are overthinking this way too much." Gohan quickly told the panicking girl.

*Grr* "Then hurry up instead of making me have a panic attack thinking that my life was in danger you jerk." Videl growled out.

"…but you were the one who thought of that on your own." Gohan muttered before looking at her glare and quickly moving away from pointing anything else out. *ahem* "anyways while it is called that it doesn't actually mean that your life is over if you use it all up. Rather it is the energy that your body naturally makes each day as you live your life but we just never use it. But as soon as you find it you can start to use the energy to do various things like making your body stronger or sturdier. Some people even find it able to minorly help heal their wounds." Gohan explains making her go from panic to excitement.

"So, it is a natural boost that you don't even need to work out for years to get? Well perfect how do I get to use it again!" She asked excited.

"Hold on Videl first you must be able to pull out the energy." Gohan told her getting a glare again.

"You just said I've already done that though." She told him making him rub his head feeling a bit nervous.

"Yes I did and you really did use it. But that is just the hard part that you accidentally broke through. Finding the feeling when you don't know what it is even like is something that has taken people days to finally figure out. But seeing as you have already gotten your first taste you now must work on being able to use it more reliably." Gohan explained to her making her pout in disappointment. Something he couldn't help but find rather cute to see.

"umm. If you would copy me right her." Gohan told her looking away from her pout to sit down cross legged on the mat they were on. He then brought his hands together into an 'o' shape a bit above his legs and watched happily as Videl copied without too much hassle.

"Ok so now what you need to do is focus on that first feeling that you got. Feel for that warm ball of energy you found in your body again and as soon as you find it simply picture it moving through your body to your arms and finally have it pool in your hands letting you eventually have this happen." Gohan told her moving a small bit of Ki into his hands creating a small orb of power that floated in his hands.

"Woah." Videl couldn't help but mutter as she leaned closer to Gohan and moved towards him. She eventually was practically right on top of him but paid him no mind and instead was rather entranced by the ball of energy he created. But just as soon as she was about touch it the blushing Gohan quickly reabsorbed the energy and canceled the flow.

"A-anyways that is what should happen so just try to do that yourself now." Gohan told her still flustered. Course Videl still seemed like she didn't even notice how close they just were a bit ago and instead focused on her own hands with a confused expression. Still without complaining she recopied his initial position and began to try with her eyes firmly closed. Several seconds then passed and Gohan could clearly see Videl tense up.

"No Videl you can't tense up that will only make your practice harder. Try to remain as calm as possible and empty your head. Just look for the energy and try to have it flow naturally through your body." Gohan told her and was surprised when she quickly opened her eyes and glared at him.

"I would if someone wasn't being so distracting and don't you dare think that you can talk about my body so freely." Videl warned Gohan before going back to her search.

"Ok okay….sheesh she is scarier than my mother at times." Gohan muttered as he watched Videl meditate.

About two hours passed and finally Videl was able to see a ball of energy form in her fingers although it was flickering a bit.

"I did it." Videl stated with an exhausted smile before the ball disappeared and she barely caught herself from falling over. "Why do I feel so tired now?" Videl asked wobbling.

"Your Ki is like any other muscle. It starts off small and gets larger the more you use it. So, just keep using it and eventually it will take longer and longer for you to get this tired. But for right now you just aren't use to having the energy gone so your body is having trouble coping without it." Gohan explained as Videl stood up although was still clearly tired.

"Well I hope that I get use to it fast because this feels awful. But at least I can now boost my strength to the next level right?" Videl asked.

"Umm, right now we need to work on your amount and more importantly the speed you can use your energy. So, we will get it so that you can summon an energy ball in a moment before we go into anything more complicated." Gohan told her getting another glare. "Hey I said I would help you I didn't say it would happen in an instant."

*sigh* "Fine. But man this weird Ki stuf is almost as unbelievable as the tricks those fighters did way back when." Videl muttered missing Gohan tensing up beside her.

"R-right. W-well see you tomorrow I guess." Gohan told her and quickly left hardly hearing the surprised girl tell him goodbye.

*sigh* "It's the first day that I 'train' with her and she already is connecting the dots…course I suppose it really isn't a far stretch to move from internal ki applications and external. But no matter what these next few days are really gonna be interesting." Gohan muttered as he walked out of the building.

~Mall, Erasa and Mel~

"Ok you have to try this. It is guaranteed to knock any guys socks off." Erasa tells Mel pushing a dress past the dressing curtains.

"I don't know about this one Erasa it is a bit…flashy even for you." Mel tells her clearly a bit uncomfortable. After all they have been going to various stores for quite a while now. At first the two of them were following the plan they had but slowly the meaningful advice and bonding moment they had turned into more of just their regular lighthearted mall fun. You could only stay serious for so long after all.

"Oh come on that is why it is guaranteed. Come on gal you gotta come out and show off that figure." Erasa tells her with a smile.

"Hey Erasa" a voice suddenly calls out making the girl turn to her surprise guest and saw it was Miara.

"Oh hey what brings you to the mall today? I figured this wasn't one of your normal destinations with how out of place you seemed last time the gang came." Erasa tells him simply glancing over to the changing room for a second before her smirk turned more mischievous.

"Ya you're right. But my mother actually was told to collect Mel and Gohan so we can go have dinner with their mother tonight. I've already found Gohan and he figured that Mel would still be hanging with you."

"Oh and you just happened to know where I was at a random hour of the afternoon? Are you stalking me here? Now come on I know I am attractive but that doesn't mean you are allowed to stalk." Erasa tells him mentally laughing as Miara clearly got a bit flustered by the sudden accusation.

"N-no I promise I just figured I would check your guys regular spots before trying to call her again. She didn't pick up her phone the first time I tried. I just got lucky with my pick I swear." Miara told her. "Darn these human interactions. I can't just tell her that I pinpointed Mel's Ki and instead have to make a half assed lie up on the spot that makes sense. Not to mention Erasa clearly looks like she is up to something." Miara mentally complained.

"Oh don't worry Miara I won't tell." Erasa told him giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Now how about you tell us as a male what you think." Erasa added quickly looking in on Mel in the changing booth seeing she is ready. "come on out gal you gotta show this dress off.

"No I can't! It is two embarrassing" Mel told her holding onto the curtain.

"Tsk, fine. Then let's do it this way." Erasa tells her pushing the curtain the other way making it bunch up on Mel's hand showing her off to those that could see. In this case that someone was Miara who froze up simply looking at the dress.

"T-that is what style you want to wear now? I-I guess it does its job at least and makes you look good." Miara states struggling to find the correct words to say. Course seeing Miara there Mel quickly looks down at her more than sultry dress and quickly retreated into another dressing booth with a quick squeak of surprise.

"hahaha. As you can see our lovely Mel has clearly developed well past what she was when she was just a kid." Erasa tells Miara as she enjoyed her plan/prank working perfectly.

"yea…" Miara muttered before shaking his head. " I mean if that is what she wants to wear then I will be ok with it and support her taste." He tells Erasa who simply shakes her head at his answer.

"Oh I am sure that you would love to support her wearing those dresses around you all the time." Erasa told him watching his face quickly turn red as he tried to stumble out a response.

And that is where I am going to end this chapter. Honestly I tried to make a 'girl talk' moment that was serious but felt it slid towards being ridiculous a lot faster than I thought it would. So, I quickly transitioned it to be a lot lighter and a bit goofier. Still they talked about stuff but it was an 'off screen' thing. Honestly I would like to practice making a 'meaningful talk scene' moments but that time is not here seeing as I need to have this chapter out by the end of the month anyways. Still it is at least nice to know places you need to work on. As for Videl/Gohan that part came super fast and quite easy. Whether you readers think that it came out ok or not is a different matter entirely though. But for now Ja Ne.

Oh and as a side note fanfiction is still not showing when I have new messages or not which makes it rather annoying to see if I have any...