fate 5

Gohan furiously scribbled down notes as his physics teacher gave a lecture. Physics, to Gohan, was the only subject that might give him any trouble during the school year so he was determined to work extra hard in that class.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and Gohan dropped his pen. Using his other hand to massage the cramp in his right hand, he listened as the teacher gave follow-up announcements.

"Ok, tomorrow we'll continue discussing the topic of thermodynamics. Now, it's time to head over to the assembly hall." < Assembly hall? What's going on? > Gohan thought to himself as he packed up his things and headed out into the hallway, following the crowd of students. He wore a perpetually confused look, trying to figure out what was going on and was relieved when he found Videl.

"Hey, Videl!" he called out. Videl heard his voice over the din of students and turned around to see him rapidly moving towards her.

"Well, actually, that's what I was going to ask you." he said, "Where is everyone going? What's this assembly all about?"

"Oh, that's right, you don't know about these assemblies. Well, let me explain," Videl lectured with a know-it-all voice. "Every two weeks, we have a guest speaker, who's very successful in life, come and talk to use about his or her life and how they got to where they are now."

"No, we don't. It's always a surprise. Usually, the students can overhear teachers talking about it, but this time, the teachers have been really tight-lipped. I guess this speaker is someone huge."

"Yeah, I guess..." Gohan said, but cut off sharply when he felt a very familiar ki. < Vegeta? What is he doing so close? > Gohan thought to himself as he automatically suppressed his own ki, as if trying to hide from Vegeta. Videl noticed the searching look on Gohan's face and tugged on his shirtsleeve.

"Hey, Gohan, you alright?" Gohan shook his head to clear it and looked down at Videl, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just spaced out there for a moment." They walked into a large assembly hall and took their seats, Gohan sitting on the aisle and Videl sitting right next to him. They sat near the back and could see down over the whole hall from their seats. The rest of the students filed in and took their seats, anxious to see who the guest speaker was.

Once everyone had sat down, the principal stepped out onto the main stage and she looked up at all of the students.

"Thank you for coming, everybody. As you all may have noticed, the teachers have been especially secretive about who this guest speaker is and I bet you all are wondering who it is. Well, let me keep you in suspense no longer. I would like to introduce you all to Bulma Briefs!" The whole audience was shocked for a moment before breaking out into roaring applause.

Gohan's mouth fell agape as he saw Bulma walk out of the stage right door and over to a small table and chair that had been set up for her. Some of the male students whistled in appreciation as they saw Bulma. Gohan cringed, knowing that Bulma, for a women her age, still looked extremely beautiful. < Oh god, if Vegeta were here, he'd...uh-oh. Please don't tell me that was his ki I really felt, > Gohan said to himself.

Gohan almost felt sorry for all the guys who were whistling when Vegeta walked out, following his mate to the center of the assembly hall. Gohan chuckled as Vegeta threw his usual glare at the audience, causing all of them to shut up immediately.

"Oh, ok. Hey isn't it great that Bulma Briefs is here? I never imagined that they would be able to someone like her. I mean, she's the richest woman in the world!" Videl said at a whisper, "And she's beautiful to boot. But, that husband of hers is something else." < You got that right, > Gohan said in his mind before he got an evil idea.

Suppressing his ki even further, Gohan decided to have fun with the fact that Vegeta didn't know he was sitting in the audience. If Vegeta had known Gohan was there, he would be looking for him among the crowd of students, not standing behind Bulma with a cross look on his face.

Vegeta, at the moment, was not in a particularly happy mood. He had been dragged from his daily training routine to be a bodyguard to his mate. Now, it wasn't that he didn't want his mate safe, but what could possibly happen to her in a high school full of whiny brats?

::How can I not be in a foul mood, woman? I don't even want to be here. These teenagers make me want to rip my hair out,:: Vegeta harrumphed. Bulma sent reassuring thoughts over to her mate.

::Well, calm down, Vegeta. We're only going to be here for an hour. And, I'll make sure you get a reward for doing this.:: Vegeta grinned as he realized what Bulma was implying.

::Oh, you'll get it alright,:: Bulma said with an impish smile. Gohan caught the grin on Vegeta's face and started worrying a little.

< I wonder what's up with him? What is he planning? He only gets that smile when he realizes the bright side of the situation...well, the bright side for him anyway. Eh, oh well. I can't wait to have fun with the Saiya-jin prince. >

Bulma began her presentation on her life and how she had gotten as far as she had. Gohan spaced out as Bulma spoke; he already knew Bulma's life history and didn't feel the need to listen to it. About 20 minutes into the presentation, Gohan, who had his ki suppressed to an extremely low level, raised his ki sharply and tremendously.

He wasn't disappointed when he noticed Vegeta feel the powerful presence and immediately become alert. Vegeta scanned the crowd of students, looking for the source of the power.

< I know that ki, > Vegeta growled inside his head. He felt himself flare with anger as he spotted Gohan, who gave him a goofy smile and waved at him. He clenched his fists underneath his crossed arms. Gohan almost burst out laughing at Vegeta's reaction and acted to make Vegeta even more annoyed. Contorting his face, crossing his eyes, and sticking out his tongue, Gohan made a face at Vegeta, relishing in the fact that there was nothing Vegeta could do about it. He was standing in front of a crowd; he couldn't act out in anyway.

Vegeta suppressed the violent urge to do bodily harm to the brat as he continued to make faces at the powerless Vegeta.

::Not now, Vegeta. I'm trying to give a speech. Whatever it is, it can wait until later.:: Bulma shut her mind off from Vegeta, not allowing him to talk to her. Pissed at his wife's refusal to listen to him, Vegeta's scowl deepened. Gohan continued to make funny faces at Vegeta, completely unnoticed the entire time.

Gohan thanked his lucky stars that he hadn't been caught and was about to pull out another face to throw at Vegeta when the assembly hall doors burst open and the sound of two little boys' loud cries could be heard by everyone.

"Daddy, daddy, daddy!" Trunks cried as he rushed over to his father, hugging his leg, sobbing occasionally. Gohan, along with everyone else, was shocked, but Gohan's shock soon faded into dismay.

"It's not true, Goten; it's not true," Trunks whined. Vegeta leaned over after removing Trunks from his leg.

"What's not true son?" Vegeta asked his only child. Trunks gave a little sniffle before telling the story to his father.

"Well, Goten and I were talking about our daddies and Goten said that his daddy was stronger than you and could beat you. It's not true, is it dad?" Vegeta smirked.

"Well, at one point in time, Kakarot was stronger than me, but now, with him being dead, I am the stronger one." Trunks looked relieved for a moment before Goten broke in again.

"Are not, Vegeta, my dad is stronger. And his name's not Kakarot; his name is Goku." Vegeta smirked again, not threatened by smaller Saiya-jin's words.

"I don't care," Goten said, "My daddy's stronger, my daddy's stronger..." Goten began chanting the words over and over again, annoying Vegeta and making Trunks on the verge of tears again.

Murmurs rose up in the crowd as they tried to figure out who the two children were and why they were there. Gohan sunk in his chair and hid his face in his hands.

< I can't believe this. Why did this have to happen to me? > Gohan thought, knowing that there were only two people who could control Goten: his mother and his brother. < Well, since mom isn't here, looks like I'll have to be the one who does something about it. Besides, this is really pissing me off; Goten's completely out of line here and he knows it, > Gohan thought.

Taking a deep breath, Gohan stood up, completely ignoring Videl's questions and protests. Glaring down at his younger brother, Gohan yelled, "GOTEN!!" The younger Saiya-jin quieted his mantra and froze; he hadn't known that his brother was there and he knew that he was in trouble now.

All of the whispers of the people in the assembly hall had quieted as well, all of them wondering what Gohan was doing. Gohan marched down to the center of the assembly hall and glared down at his younger brother.

"What are you doing here, Goten? I thought that you were supposed to be at Capsule Corp. being watched over by Mrs. Briefs. If mom finds out that you snuck off..." Gohan didn't finish the sentence; he knew that Goten could finish it by himself. Goten's eyes widened with fear and he hugged his big brother's leg violently, as if to persuade him differently.

"No, please don't tell mommy about this! If she finds out, she won't let me have dinner for a week. Please, Gohan, please don't tell." Goten looked up at his brother with the biggest tear-filled, puppy-dog eyes Gohan had ever seen. Gohan couldn't help but melt underneath his brother's pitiful look. Picking up his brother, Gohan looked straight into Goten's eyes.

"I promise I won't do it ever again," Goten said loudly before hugging Gohan. Gohan smiled as Goten released him and he set Goten down on the ground.

Bulma, who was finished consoling Trunks, had put down her son a few moments earlier. The two children apologized to each other and, within minutes, were talking to each other as if nothing had happened. Gohan smiled at the two before looking at Bulma, who looked back at Gohan, amusement shining in her eyes.

"Well, I didn't know you went to this school, Gohan," she said with a smile on her face. Gohan smiled back before moving to hug Bulma.

"Hey, keep your hands off my mate, brat," Vegeta growled. Gohan rolled his eyes as he pulled away from Bulma.

"And, as usual, it's nice to see you too, Vegeta," Gohan said, turning around to look at the shorter Saiya-jin.

"Vegeta, you don't have the strength to stop me. We all know I'm stronger than you and that there's nothing you could do to stop me or harm me in anyway." The student body gasped as Gohan taunted Vegeta; no one threatened Bulma Briefs' husband and lived to regret it.

Vegeta's anger flared and he grabbed Gohan's collar with one hand and formed a fist with the other, ready to hit Gohan.

"Oh yeah? Well, we'll see how well you fare after being hit straight in the face with a punch that packs all of my power." Gohan smirked.

"I dare you to do it," Gohan said. Vegeta pulled back his fist and was about to plant it in Gohan's face when Bulma stopped them.

"I expected better of you Gohan. Your father wouldn't act that way. You know better than to get Vegeta all riled up." Suddenly, she whirled around and faced Vegeta.

"And you," she said, addressing her mate, "need to learn to control that vicious and out-of-control temper of yours before you get someone killed. Let go of him now, Vegeta or else." Slowly and reluctantly, Vegeta let go of Gohan, lowering his fist at the same time. Bulma nodded satisfactorily.

"Good, now shake hands you two and put an end to this bickering." Gohan was the first to follow Bulma's orders and stuck out his hand. Vegeta looked at it like it was a vicious snake, but took it anyway, shaking it.

"There, happy woman?" Vegeta asked Bulma after he let go of Gohan's hand. Bulma nodded and said, "Now, Vegeta, you knew Gohan was here the entire time and you didn't tell me?" Vegeta harrumphed.

"Well, I tried, but you wouldn't listen to me. You were too concentrated on your little speech to listen to me." Bulma heard the condescending tone in Vegeta's voice and was about to comment on it when Trunks spoke up.

"You know what? You can take them back home so you won't have to be here anymore. Are you satisfied?" Vegeta gave Bulma his classic smirk.

"Well, it's better than staying here." Looking down at the two children, he said, "C'mon, let's go you two."

"'K!" the two said at the same time and followed Vegeta out of the assembly hall, leaving Gohan and Bulma in the front of the assembly hall.

"Well," Gohan said, "I guess I better let you get back to your speech. I'm sorry about Goten. He just doesn't know when to shut up sometimes."

"No, I was too busy annoying Vegeta," Gohan whispered back. Gohan laughed as Bulma hit him lightly on the arm.

Once he was halfway up the aisle, Bulma said, "Ok, now where were we?" Bulma continued on with her speech and Gohan sat down, a smile on his face. He was poked sharply on the arm the moment he sat down and he turned his head to look at Videl, who was looking at him with disbelief.

"I put two and two, together. That was your little brother up there, who said his father's name was Goku and your last name is Son. Make the connection, Gohan," Videl whispered.

"Gohan, you don't know how many connections you have in this world. You know a famous baseball player, the richest woman in the world and her deadly husband, and you're the son of the winner of 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai. That makes you something close to a legend. Now everyone's going to want to be friends with you, especially because you know Bulma Briefs."

"Why? So they can get closer to Bulma? I don't think so, I won't let that happen," Gohan said determinedly, "She may be the richest woman in the world, but that doesn't mean that people can take advantage of her. I care about her too much to let that happen. If people want to get to know Bulma Briefs, they'll have to find a different way to get to know her besides through me."

For a moment, Videl was scared of the determined tone of voice that Gohan was using, but eventually realized what it meant.

"Bulma and I have been through a lot together," Gohan said, thinking about their journey to Namek with Krillin to collect the Dragonballs, the time when the androids were on earth, and the time before and after the Cell games. Bulma had helped keep everyone's spirits and hopes up during these times.

< Without her, I doubt any of us would be here today, > Gohan thought. Suddenly, Gohan didn't want to talk anymore. Videl picked up on those signals and settled back in to listen to Bulma speak. The speech lasted about 20 more minutes after the interruption and when it was over, Videl got up.

"Yeah, sure," Gohan said smiling. Videl smiled back and ruffled his hair before walking away. Gohan watched her leave, following her movements until she had gone too far into the crowd for him to see and he smiled slightly.

Bulma, who was looking at him, caught the smiling look that he was throwing at Videl and noticed the two of them talking during her speech. < Well, from the looks of it, I think Gohan's got a crush, > Bulma thought with a smile.

Gohan got up and was about to leave the assembly hall when Bulma called out his name. Gohan turned towards her and walked back down to Bulma. Bulma cocked an eyebrow and looked at Gohan with a grin.

"So, who was that girl you were talking to Gohan?" Gohan blushed slightly; Bulma caught that and only grinned wider.

"Yeah, well, for a human, she's pretty strong. I was surprised when I first met her at how strong her ki is. But, anyway, she's really nice, nice enough to show me the ropes here at school." Bulma looked at Gohan analytically before speaking.

"Well, it's not it's obvious, Gohan. Well, to me at least. I doubt that Videl girl knows that you like her. Why don't you ask her out?" Gohan shuffled his feet nervously.

"I-I don't know, Bulma," Gohan said, "I just met her yesterday. Give me a chance to get to know her better, ok?"

"Oh yeah! I have lit class. I better go." Running up the aisle, he shouted behind him, "I'll see you later, Bulma!"

"I will." Gohan picked his stuff up from where he left it and flung his bag over his shoulder, rushing out of the assembly hall and off to his class.

Bulma smiled and moved to pick up her purse and jacket before leaving the assembly hall herself. < A matter of time, > Bulma thought, thinking about Gohan and Videl, < It's only a matter of time. >


	LOVES TRIALS 5 Gohan furiously scribbled down notes as his physics teacher gave a lecture. Physics, to Gohan, was the only subject that might give him any trouble during the school year so he was determined to work extra hard in that class. The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and Gohan dropped his pen. Using his other hand to massage the cramp in his right hand, he listened as the teacher gave follow-up announcements. "Ok, tomorrow we'll continue discussing the topic of thermodynamics. Now, it's time to head over to the assembly hall." < Assembly hall? What's going on? > Gohan thought to himself as he packed up his things and headed out into the hallway, following the crowd of students. He wore a perpetually confused look, trying to figure out what was going on and was relieved when he found Videl. "Hey, Videl!" he called out. Videl heard his voice over the din of students and turned around to see him rapidly moving towards her. "Hey Gohan, what's up?" she asked as he started walking next to her. "Well, actually, that's what I was going to ask you." he said, "Where is everyone going? What's this assembly all about?" "Oh, that's right, you don't know about these assemblies. Well, let me explain," Videl lectured with a know-it-all voice. "Every two weeks, we have a guest speaker, who's very successful in life, come and talk to use about his or her life and how they got to where they are now." "Do we know who the guest speaker is?" Gohan asked. Videl shook her head. "No, we don't. It's always a surprise. Usually, the students can overhear teachers talking about it, but this time, the teachers have been really tight-lipped. I guess this speaker is someone huge." "Yeah, I guess..." Gohan said, but cut off sharply when he felt a very familiar ki. < Vegeta? What is he doing so close? > Gohan thought to himself as he automatically suppressed his own ki, as if trying to hide from Vegeta. Videl noticed the searching look on Gohan's face and tugged on his shirtsleeve. "Hey, Gohan, you alright?" Gohan shook his head to clear it and looked down at Videl, a sheepish smile on his face. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just spaced out there for a moment." They walked into a large assembly hall and took their seats, Gohan sitting on the aisle and Videl sitting right next to him. They sat near the back and could see down over the whole hall from their seats. The rest of the students filed in and took their seats, anxious to see who the guest speaker was. Once everyone had sat down, the principal stepped out onto the main stage and she looked up at all of the students. "Thank you for coming, everybody. As you all may have noticed, the teachers have been especially secretive about who this guest speaker is and I bet you all are wondering who it is. Well, let me keep you in suspense no longer. I would like to introduce you all to Bulma Briefs!" The whole audience was shocked for a moment before breaking out into roaring applause. Gohan's mouth fell agape as he saw Bulma walk out of the stage right door and over to a small table and chair that had been set up for her. Some of the male students whistled in appreciation as they saw Bulma. Gohan cringed, knowing that Bulma, for a women her age, still looked extremely beautiful. < Oh god, if Vegeta were here, he'd...uh-oh. Please don't tell me that was his ki I really felt, > Gohan said to himself. Gohan almost felt sorry for all the guys who were whistling when Vegeta walked out, following his mate to the center of the assembly hall. Gohan chuckled as Vegeta threw his usual glare at the audience, causing all of them to shut up immediately. "Well, I'm happy he can still inspire fear in anybody," Gohan mumbled. "What did you say?" Videl asked. "Oh, nothing," Gohan said. "Oh, ok. Hey isn't it great that Bulma Briefs is here? I never imagined that they would be able to someone like her. I mean, she's the richest woman in the world!" Videl said at a whisper, "And she's beautiful to boot. But, that husband of hers is something else." < You got that right, > Gohan said in his mind before he got an evil idea. Suppressing his ki even further, Gohan decided to have fun with the fact that Vegeta didn't know he was sitting in the audience. If Vegeta had known Gohan was there, he would be looking for him among the crowd of students, not standing behind Bulma with a cross look on his face. Vegeta, at the moment, was not in a particularly happy mood. He had been dragged from his daily training routine to be a bodyguard to his mate. Now, it wasn't that he didn't want his mate safe, but what could possibly happen to her in a high school full of whiny brats? ::Vegeta, don't be so grumpy,:: Bulma said. ::How can I not be in a foul mood, woman? I don't even want to be here. These teenagers make me want to rip my hair out,:: Vegeta harrumphed. Bulma sent reassuring thoughts over to her mate. ::Well, calm down, Vegeta. We're only going to be here for an hour. And, I'll make sure you get a reward for doing this.:: Vegeta grinned as he realized what Bulma was implying. ::Alright, woman, I'll stay and protect you. Just make sure I get my reward.:: ::Oh, you'll get it alright,:: Bulma said with an impish smile. Gohan caught the grin on Vegeta's face and started worrying a little. < I wonder what's up with him? What is he planning? He only gets that smile when he realizes the bright side of the situation...well, the bright side for him anyway. Eh, oh well. I can't wait to have fun with the Saiya-jin prince. > Bulma began her presentation on her life and how she had gotten as far as she had. Gohan spaced out as Bulma spoke; he already knew Bulma's life history and didn't feel the need to listen to it. About 20 minutes into the presentation, Gohan, who had his ki suppressed to an extremely low level, raised his ki sharply and tremendously. He wasn't disappointed when he noticed Vegeta feel the powerful presence and immediately become alert. Vegeta scanned the crowd of students, looking for the source of the power. < I know that ki, > Vegeta growled inside his head. He felt himself flare with anger as he spotted Gohan, who gave him a goofy smile and waved at him. He clenched his fists underneath his crossed arms. Gohan almost burst out laughing at Vegeta's reaction and acted to make Vegeta even more annoyed. Contorting his face, crossing his eyes, and sticking out his tongue, Gohan made a face at Vegeta, relishing in the fact that there was nothing Vegeta could do about it. He was standing in front of a crowd; he couldn't act out in anyway. Vegeta suppressed the violent urge to do bodily harm to the brat as he continued to make faces at the powerless Vegeta. ::Bulma...:: Vegeta said, trying to catch her attention. ::Not now, Vegeta. I'm trying to give a speech. Whatever it is, it can wait until later.:: Bulma shut her mind off from Vegeta, not allowing him to talk to her. Pissed at his wife's refusal to listen to him, Vegeta's scowl deepened. Gohan continued to make funny faces at Vegeta, completely unnoticed the entire time. Gohan thanked his lucky stars that he hadn't been caught and was about to pull out another face to throw at Vegeta when the assembly hall doors burst open and the sound of two little boys' loud cries could be heard by everyone. "Daddy, daddy, daddy!" Trunks cried as he rushed over to his father, hugging his leg, sobbing occasionally. Gohan, along with everyone else, was shocked, but Gohan's shock soon faded into dismay. "Oh no, why me?" Gohan whispered to himself, his face paling. "Ha, you just don't want to admit it," Goten taunted. "It's not true, Goten; it's not true," Trunks whined. Vegeta leaned over after removing Trunks from his leg. "What's not true son?" Vegeta asked his only child. Trunks gave a little sniffle before telling the story to his father. "Well, Goten and I were talking about our daddies and Goten said that his daddy was stronger than you and could beat you. It's not true, is it dad?" Vegeta smirked. "Well, at one point in time, Kakarot was stronger than me, but now, with him being dead, I am the stronger one." Trunks looked relieved for a moment before Goten broke in again. "Are not, Vegeta, my dad is stronger. And his name's not Kakarot; his name is Goku." Vegeta smirked again, not threatened by smaller Saiya-jin's words. "Depends on how you look at his history and background, brat." "I don't care," Goten said, "My daddy's stronger, my daddy's stronger..." Goten began chanting the words over and over again, annoying Vegeta and making Trunks on the verge of tears again. Murmurs rose up in the crowd as they tried to figure out who the two children were and why they were there. Gohan sunk in his chair and hid his face in his hands. < I can't believe this. Why did this have to happen to me? > Gohan thought, knowing that there were only two people who could control Goten: his mother and his brother. < Well, since mom isn't here, looks like I'll have to be the one who does something about it. Besides, this is really pissing me off; Goten's completely out of line here and he knows it, > Gohan thought. Taking a deep breath, Gohan stood up, completely ignoring Videl's questions and protests. Glaring down at his younger brother, Gohan yelled, "GOTEN!!" The younger Saiya-jin quieted his mantra and froze; he hadn't known that his brother was there and he knew that he was in trouble now. All of the whispers of the people in the assembly hall had quieted as well, all of them wondering what Gohan was doing. Gohan marched down to the center of the assembly hall and glared down at his younger brother. "What are you doing here, Goten? I thought that you were supposed to be at Capsule Corp. being watched over by Mrs. Briefs. If mom finds out that you snuck off..." Gohan didn't finish the sentence; he knew that Goten could finish it by himself. Goten's eyes widened with fear and he hugged his big brother's leg violently, as if to persuade him differently. "No, please don't tell mommy about this! If she finds out, she won't let me have dinner for a week. Please, Gohan, please don't tell." Goten looked up at his brother with the biggest tear-filled, puppy-dog eyes Gohan had ever seen. Gohan couldn't help but melt underneath his brother's pitiful look. Picking up his brother, Gohan looked straight into Goten's eyes. "Ok, Goten, I won't tell mom. Just don't do it again, ok?" Goten nodded vigorously. "I promise I won't do it ever again," Goten said loudly before hugging Gohan. Gohan smiled as Goten released him and he set Goten down on the ground. Bulma, who was finished consoling Trunks, had put down her son a few moments earlier. The two children apologized to each other and, within minutes, were talking to each other as if nothing had happened. Gohan smiled at the two before looking at Bulma, who looked back at Gohan, amusement shining in her eyes. "Well, I didn't know you went to this school, Gohan," she said with a smile on her face. Gohan smiled back before moving to hug Bulma. "It's nice to see you too, Bulma," Gohan said, placing a respectful kiss on Bulma's cheek. "Hey, keep your hands off my mate, brat," Vegeta growled. Gohan rolled his eyes as he pulled away from Bulma. "And, as usual, it's nice to see you too, Vegeta," Gohan said, turning around to look at the shorter Saiya-jin. "Hey," Gohan continued, "Did you like my faces?" Vegeta growled. "No, I did not!" he yelled, "And if I could have stopped you, I would have." "Vegeta, you don't have the strength to stop me. We all know I'm stronger than you and that there's nothing you could do to stop me or harm me in anyway." The student body gasped as Gohan taunted Vegeta; no one threatened Bulma Briefs' husband and lived to regret it. Vegeta's anger flared and he grabbed Gohan's collar with one hand and formed a fist with the other, ready to hit Gohan. "Oh yeah? Well, we'll see how well you fare after being hit straight in the face with a punch that packs all of my power." Gohan smirked. "I dare you to do it," Gohan said. Vegeta pulled back his fist and was about to plant it in Gohan's face when Bulma stopped them. "You guys, stop this!" she yelled, "This is no time to play macho man." Looking at Gohan, she sighed. "I expected better of you Gohan. Your father wouldn't act that way. You know better than to get Vegeta all riled up." Suddenly, she whirled around and faced Vegeta. "And you," she said, addressing her mate, "need to learn to control that vicious and out-of-control temper of yours before you get someone killed. Let go of him now, Vegeta or else." Slowly and reluctantly, Vegeta let go of Gohan, lowering his fist at the same time. Bulma nodded satisfactorily. "Good, now shake hands you two and put an end to this bickering." Gohan was the first to follow Bulma's orders and stuck out his hand. Vegeta looked at it like it was a vicious snake, but took it anyway, shaking it. "There, happy woman?" Vegeta asked Bulma after he let go of Gohan's hand. Bulma nodded and said, "Now, Vegeta, you knew Gohan was here the entire time and you didn't tell me?" Vegeta harrumphed. "Well, I tried, but you wouldn't listen to me. You were too concentrated on your little speech to listen to me." Bulma heard the condescending tone in Vegeta's voice and was about to comment on it when Trunks spoke up. "Mom, I want to go home. I don't want to be here anymore." "Yeah, I wanna go back to Capsule Corp., Bulma," Goten agreed. Bulma sighed and looked at Vegeta. "You know what? You can take them back home so you won't have to be here anymore. Are you satisfied?" Vegeta gave Bulma his classic smirk. "Well, it's better than staying here." Looking down at the two children, he said, "C'mon, let's go you two." "'K!" the two said at the same time and followed Vegeta out of the assembly hall, leaving Gohan and Bulma in the front of the assembly hall. "Well," Gohan said, "I guess I better let you get back to your speech. I'm sorry about Goten. He just doesn't know when to shut up sometimes." "It's alright," Bulma smiled, "I understand. I've only known the little tyke since he was born." "Ok, I'm going back to my seat. Continue on with your speech." Bulma looked at Gohan with a knowing look. "You weren't even listening to my speech, were you?" she whispered. "No, I was too busy annoying Vegeta," Gohan whispered back. Gohan laughed as Bulma hit him lightly on the arm. "That's enough out of you. Go back to your seat." "Yes ma'am," Gohan said with a half-grin before walking back up to his seat. Once he was halfway up the aisle, Bulma said, "Ok, now where were we?" Bulma continued on with her speech and Gohan sat down, a smile on his face. He was poked sharply on the arm the moment he sat down and he turned his head to look at Videl, who was looking at him with disbelief. "You never told me you knew Bulma Briefs!" she whispered. "You never asked," Gohan said back, equally as quiet. "For how long?" she asked. "Since I was little. She's also a close friend of my father's." "And your father is Son Goku?" Gohan frowned slightly. "How did you know about that?" Gohan asked. "I put two and two, together. That was your little brother up there, who said his father's name was Goku and your last name is Son. Make the connection, Gohan," Videl whispered. "Oh. Yeah, he's my dad. What's so big about that?" Videl sighed and shook her head. "Gohan, you don't know how many connections you have in this world. You know a famous baseball player, the richest woman in the world and her deadly husband, and you're the son of the winner of 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai. That makes you something close to a legend. Now everyone's going to want to be friends with you, especially because you know Bulma Briefs." "Why? So they can get closer to Bulma? I don't think so, I won't let that happen," Gohan said determinedly, "She may be the richest woman in the world, but that doesn't mean that people can take advantage of her. I care about her too much to let that happen. If people want to get to know Bulma Briefs, they'll have to find a different way to get to know her besides through me." For a moment, Videl was scared of the determined tone of voice that Gohan was using, but eventually realized what it meant. "She is really close to you, isn't she?" Gohan nodded. "Bulma and I have been through a lot together," Gohan said, thinking about their journey to Namek with Krillin to collect the Dragonballs, the time when the androids were on earth, and the time before and after the Cell games. Bulma had helped keep everyone's spirits and hopes up during these times. < Without her, I doubt any of us would be here today, > Gohan thought. Suddenly, Gohan didn't want to talk anymore. Videl picked up on those signals and settled back in to listen to Bulma speak. The speech lasted about 20 more minutes after the interruption and when it was over, Videl got up. "Well, Gohan, I have to head over to lit class. I'll see you there, ok?" "Yeah, sure," Gohan said smiling. Videl smiled back and ruffled his hair before walking away. Gohan watched her leave, following her movements until she had gone too far into the crowd for him to see and he smiled slightly. Bulma, who was looking at him, caught the smiling look that he was throwing at Videl and noticed the two of them talking during her speech. < Well, from the looks of it, I think Gohan's got a crush, > Bulma thought with a smile. Gohan got up and was about to leave the assembly hall when Bulma called out his name. Gohan turned towards her and walked back down to Bulma. Bulma cocked an eyebrow and looked at Gohan with a grin. "So, who was that girl you were talking to Gohan?" Gohan blushed slightly; Bulma caught that and only grinned wider. "Um, that was Videl; she's Mr. Satan's daughter." Bulma rolled her eyes. "You mean that loser from the Cell games?" Gohan nodded. "Yeah, well, for a human, she's pretty strong. I was surprised when I first met her at how strong her ki is. But, anyway, she's really nice, nice enough to show me the ropes here at school." Bulma looked at Gohan analytically before speaking. "You like her, don't you Gohan? And I'm not talking about just as friends either." Gohan's blush deepened. "You know, you're too perceptive for your own good, Bulma." Bulma rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Well, it's not it's obvious, Gohan. Well, to me at least. I doubt that Videl girl knows that you like her. Why don't you ask her out?" Gohan shuffled his feet nervously. "Well, I doubt she'd say yes, Bulma." "How do you know if you don't try?" Bulma countered. "I-I don't know, Bulma," Gohan said, "I just met her yesterday. Give me a chance to get to know her better, ok?" "Alright, I'll accept that excuse. Now, you have to get to class, don't you?" Gohan immediately remember. "Oh yeah! I have lit class. I better go." Running up the aisle, he shouted behind him, "I'll see you later, Bulma!" "Bye Gohan. Don't be a stranger at Capsule Corp. Visit soon!" she shouted back. "I will." Gohan picked his stuff up from where he left it and flung his bag over his shoulder, rushing out of the assembly hall and off to his class. Bulma smiled and moved to pick up her purse and jacket before leaving the assembly hall herself. < A matter of time, > Bulma thought, thinking about Gohan and Videl, < It's only a matter of time. > NEXT CHAPTER