fate 10

Videl woke up to the sunlight from the window next to her bed streaming onto her face. She squinted, trying to squeeze out the light, and brought up her hand to shield her eyes.

Once the light was out of her face, Videl looked around and found herself in an unfamiliar room. She shot up in bed, wondering where she was, her eyes darting around the room until they caught sight of her gym bag. She eyed it carefully before everything came back to her; she remembered where she was.

< I'm at Gohan's house. I must have fallen asleep last night outside and he carried me back, > Videl thought. She ran her hands over her face, trying to wake herself up, before throwing off the covers and getting out of bed. Noticing that she still wore the same clothes she wore the day before, Videl moved to change, taking out a pair of leggings and a tee-shirt.

When she was dressed to her liking, Videl exited the room and was immediately bombarded with the mouthwatering smells of breakfast cooking. Letting her nose lead her to the kitchen, Videl spotted Chi-Chi standing over the stove, cooking something delicious that Videl couldn't identify.

"Good morning," Chi-Chi said, sensing Videl's presence behind her, "If you're looking for Gohan, he's right outside." Videl smiled.

"Thanks for telling me. Do you need any help with breakfast?" Videl asked. Chi-Chi shook her head.

"No, I don't need help, but thank you for offering. Just go on outside and I'll call you and Gohan when breakfast's ready."

"Ok, thanks, Chi-Chi," Videl said before leaving the kitchen and heading towards the front door. Videl got about 5 steps towards the front door when an object, or rather a person, entered her path.

Videl looked down to see little Goten, who was looking back at her with an inquisitive, yet bashful gaze. Videl smiled and knelt down so she was eye-to-eye with Goten.

"'Cause I think you should. Then, I could have you and Gohan as my parents. That would be cool!" Videl cleared her throat and tried to suppress her blush.

"Well, Goten, I guess we'll see. Hey, speaking of your brother, do you know where he is?" Goten nodded enthusiastically.

"But be very quiet," Goten whispered, "Gohan gets mad when I interrupt his training. I don't want Gohan to hurt you." Videl smiled and laughed slightly.

"Thanks for the warning, Goten," Videl said, believing that Gohan could never hurt her, "I'll make sure to be careful, alright little guy?" Goten nodded before rushing off.

"Bye, Videl!" he called out as he ran upstairs, to do God knew what. < Probably to play with his toys up in his room, > Videl thought as she walked outside, being greeted with the beautiful morning light.

Videl gasped at the beauty of the countryside. < I wouldn't mind living out here forever. It's so beautiful out here, so peaceful. > Videl's eyes took in the clear blue skies, the luscious trees, the dew that still lingered slightly on the grass. Out of the corner of her eye, Videl saw movement.

She turned her head and saw Gohan, totally unaware of the world around him. He moved so slowly, Videl could swear that at times, he was frozen. Videl couldn't believe what she was seeing. His movements were so graceful and fluid, like they all melded together to make one motion, a never-ending motion.

She faintly recognized martial arts forms, but she didn't know what type of martial arts those forms came from. Videl could only stare in awe as Gohan, taking in his movements, his navy blue gi, and his look of utter concentration that came from years of discipline.

Gohan was fully focused on his movements, practicing Tai Chi, a form of slow movements created out of martial arts forms that tested his concentration and skill.

< Thank you Piccolo for teaching me this; this has helped me a lot in my training. You always know when it's time for me to learn something new, > Gohan said to himself, thanking Piccolo. Piccolo had been his first and best master, with the exception of Goku. In some ways, Piccolo was like a second father to him, always looking out for him, making sure he stayed out of danger.

< Well, my friend, you can't protect me anymore. I've surpassed your own strength. Now, all I can do to pay you back is protect you the way you protected me, > Gohan thought. Gohan's movements were stopped abruptly when he felt a fairly strong ki behind him. He relaxed his body, standing normally, and turned around to see Videl watching him.

"Oh, that's good," Gohan breathed. There was a bit of a silence where nothing was said and Videl was the first to break it.

"Hey, Gohan, what were you doing when I walked outside? That looked really cool," Videl said, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"That was something called Tai Chi. One of my masters just taught me that a few months ago. It helps build up my concentration and sharpens my skills to make me better. But, I'm not nearly as good as Piccolo is."

"Oh, I see," Videl said as she deftly changed the topic, "So, how good are you?" Gohan looked confused at Videl.

"Oh," he drawled out, "I see. Yeah, I guess I am pretty good. I mean, I've only been training since I was 5."

"Well, so have I," Videl chuckled, "And I bet I can beat you." Inwardly, Gohan was laughing. < Videl? Beat me? Pigs might fly, first, > Gohan thought before shrugging.

"Bring it on," she whispered. Gohan stood about two yards in front of her and moved into fighting position.

"You're going to lose, Videl," Gohan said, making sure that his power level was way down. < Don't want to hurt the poor girl, > Gohan said to himself.

The fight had unofficially begun. Both of them were looking at each other, trying to stare the other down but with no success. With a roar, Videl was the first one to strike, only hitting Gohan's forearm which had come up to block Videl's hit.

The two fought for a few moments, Videl throwing punches and Gohan blocking them. Suddenly, Gohan's stomach growled, which interrupted his concentration, causing him to drop his guard and allowing him to let Videl hit him in the face. Gohan was shocked with the impact, which violently jerked his head to one side. He brought up a hand to rub his slightly abused cheek before reaching out and grabbing Videl by the wrist. With one deft move, he flipped her over so her back hit the ground.

Gohan smiled; the fight was over and he had won. He leaned over Videl, who was looking up at the sky with a dazed look.

< One second, I'm holding my own and then he grabs my wrist and the next second, I hit the ground. What happened? > Videl asked herself. She directed her gaze at Gohan, who was smiling down at her.

"I think our fight is over, Videl, and I won. I think it's time to go in and have breakfast, don't you think?" Gohan held out his hand to help Videl up. Videl, without warning, grabbed Gohan's hand, pulled him down, planted her feet into his stomach, and flipped him over her using her legs to boost him over so he landed behind her on his back.

"Thanks Gohan, for trying to help me up. It was much appreciated," Videl purred. As Videl disappeared into the house, Gohan could only lie there in shock.

< Wow. She is amazing. I think I'm in love, > Gohan thought before pushing himself off the ground and walking into the house as well to fill his empty stomach.

Videl moved her chair back a couple of inches to get the late afternoon sun out of her eyes as she and Gohan researched for their project in his room, surrounded by piles and piles of books. Videl turned back to the large, thick book she was reading thorough and her eyes lit up when she found something.

"Nope," Gohan said while typing up stuff that he found, "That won't do. The war of 217 wasn't a civil war; it was a war against the Deep Sea Islands over valuable resources after a year of one natural disaster after another."

"It is?" Videl asked, letting her eyes skim down the description. Her shoulders slumped with defeat when she realized that Gohan was right and she harrumphed.

< How does he know all of this stuff? He's like a walking encyclopedia? > Videl thought. She looked over at him to see him intently focused on the computer.

< But a gorgeous walking encyclopedia, > Videl admitted to herself. Shaking herself out of her daze, Videl turned back to the book on the desk in front of her and flipped through a few pages before her eyes spotted another documented war. She took in a deep breath, ready to tell Gohan that she might have found something else, but closed her mouth before she said anything.

< I want to see if I'm right about this one before I say something, > Videl thought as she read the first few paragraphs on the page. Her face drew into a smile; she had found something useful.

"Hey Gohan," Videl said, "Come here. I found something and I want you to check it over." Gohan looked over at Videl, who was sitting up straight with pride at her accomplishments.

"Ok," he said, getting out of his chair and walking across the room to where Videl was working. Bracing on hand on the back of her chair and the other on the desktop, he leaned over her shoulder to read what she found.

"So," Videl asked, "What do you think? Did I find something?" Gohan's eyes quickly skimmed the page and after a few moments, he smiled.

"Yeah, actually, I am," Gohan said as they turned their heads to face each other. Gohan's smile died and Videl's eyes widened with surprise as the two teenagers found that their faces were mere centimeters apart from one another's. They both froze, their eyes locked on each other. They were so close that they could feel each other's breath on their faces.

Videl stared deep into Gohan's coal black eyes, drowning in them as she found herself becoming short of breath. < This isn't happening. This has to be a dream, > Videl told herself, beginning to feel light-headed.

Gohan, too, was starting to feel light-headed. He didn't know what to do; he had never been faced with the situation before in his life and he was frozen.

They stayed there, staring at each other for what seemed like forever, neither of them moving. Gohan's eyes flickered down to Videl's lips, slightly open and very tempting.

< Damn, she's beautiful, > Gohan thought as he removed his hand from the desktop and gently, yet shakily, cupped Videl's cheek. His eyes flickering down to her lips one last time, Gohan leaned in.

Videl tilted her face upward, her lips moving to accept the impending kiss. The gap between them was closing, their lips brushed up against one another, and...

"GOHAN!! VIDEL!! IT'S DINNER TIME!!" Chi-Chi yelled from downstairs, shocking the two teens. They jumped apart, as if they had been scalded. Gohan stood up straight and looked down at Videl nervously.

"Yeah, I'm just going to go to the bathroom first, ok?" she said, looking up at him. Gohan nodded and walked out of the room. Once he was gone, Videl got up and walked down the hallway to the bathroom.

When she entered the bathroom, she hurriedly locked the door and slid down it, sitting with her back against the door and her hand on her chest, trying to slow down her rapidly beating heart. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back, hitting the door with a thunk.

< I can't believe that almost happened. What's he going to do? What am I going to do? How are we going to treat each other? Are we going to act like nothing happened? > Videl thought. Her thoughts swarmed around her like a whirlwind, making her more and more flustered and frustrated.

"Ooh, never mind. It was only an almost-kiss. That doesn't change anything," Videl whispered to herself before standing up and exiting the bathroom. She walked down the stairs and into the dining room determinedly, her head held high. Her eyes immediately locked on Gohan, who was already inhaling his food.

< How does he do that? > Videl asked herself. Gohan looked up at her and for a moment, Videl was worried about what was going to happen next. Then Gohan spoke.

"Videl, you have to try this," Gohan said, indicating the food in front of him, "It's really good." Videl sighed, half in relief and half in disappointment.

< So, it looks like he's choosing to ignore the issue about the kiss, then, isn't he? > Videl thought as she sat down across from him and served herself food. She took one last glance up at him as she was serving herself rice and felt even more relieved when he smiled genuinely at her. She smiled back.

< Good. At least he's not going to ignore me now, > Videl said to herself as she started eating and thoughts of the almost-kiss began to fly out of her mind.


	LOVES TRIALS 10 -The next morning- Videl woke up to the sunlight from the window next to her bed streaming onto her face. She squinted, trying to squeeze out the light, and brought up her hand to shield her eyes. Once the light was out of her face, Videl looked around and found herself in an unfamiliar room. She shot up in bed, wondering where she was, her eyes darting around the room until they caught sight of her gym bag. She eyed it carefully before everything came back to her; she remembered where she was. < I'm at Gohan's house. I must have fallen asleep last night outside and he carried me back, > Videl thought. She ran her hands over her face, trying to wake herself up, before throwing off the covers and getting out of bed. Noticing that she still wore the same clothes she wore the day before, Videl moved to change, taking out a pair of leggings and a tee-shirt. When she was dressed to her liking, Videl exited the room and was immediately bombarded with the mouthwatering smells of breakfast cooking. Letting her nose lead her to the kitchen, Videl spotted Chi-Chi standing over the stove, cooking something delicious that Videl couldn't identify. "Good morning," Chi-Chi said, sensing Videl's presence behind her, "If you're looking for Gohan, he's right outside." Videl smiled. "Thanks for telling me. Do you need any help with breakfast?" Videl asked. Chi-Chi shook her head. "No, I don't need help, but thank you for offering. Just go on outside and I'll call you and Gohan when breakfast's ready." "Ok, thanks, Chi-Chi," Videl said before leaving the kitchen and heading towards the front door. Videl got about 5 steps towards the front door when an object, or rather a person, entered her path. Videl looked down to see little Goten, who was looking back at her with an inquisitive, yet bashful gaze. Videl smiled and knelt down so she was eye-to-eye with Goten. "Good morning, Goten. Did you want something?" she asked sweetly. Goten nodded. "I have a question for you, Videl." "What is it?" Videl said. Goten's face lit up with a smile. "Are you going to marry my brother?" Videl paled briefly before turning a bright pink. "Uh...I don't know, Goten. Why do you ask?" Videl stuttered. "'Cause I think you should. Then, I could have you and Gohan as my parents. That would be cool!" Videl cleared her throat and tried to suppress her blush. "Well, Goten, I guess we'll see. Hey, speaking of your brother, do you know where he is?" Goten nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, he's outside training." Goten leaned in closer and put his mouth next to her ear. "But be very quiet," Goten whispered, "Gohan gets mad when I interrupt his training. I don't want Gohan to hurt you." Videl smiled and laughed slightly. "Thanks for the warning, Goten," Videl said, believing that Gohan could never hurt her, "I'll make sure to be careful, alright little guy?" Goten nodded before rushing off. "Bye, Videl!" he called out as he ran upstairs, to do God knew what. < Probably to play with his toys up in his room, > Videl thought as she walked outside, being greeted with the beautiful morning light. Videl gasped at the beauty of the countryside. < I wouldn't mind living out here forever. It's so beautiful out here, so peaceful. > Videl's eyes took in the clear blue skies, the luscious trees, the dew that still lingered slightly on the grass. Out of the corner of her eye, Videl saw movement. She turned her head and saw Gohan, totally unaware of the world around him. He moved so slowly, Videl could swear that at times, he was frozen. Videl couldn't believe what she was seeing. His movements were so graceful and fluid, like they all melded together to make one motion, a never-ending motion. She faintly recognized martial arts forms, but she didn't know what type of martial arts those forms came from. Videl could only stare in awe as Gohan, taking in his movements, his navy blue gi, and his look of utter concentration that came from years of discipline. Gohan was fully focused on his movements, practicing Tai Chi, a form of slow movements created out of martial arts forms that tested his concentration and skill. < Thank you Piccolo for teaching me this; this has helped me a lot in my training. You always know when it's time for me to learn something new, > Gohan said to himself, thanking Piccolo. Piccolo had been his first and best master, with the exception of Goku. In some ways, Piccolo was like a second father to him, always looking out for him, making sure he stayed out of danger. < Well, my friend, you can't protect me anymore. I've surpassed your own strength. Now, all I can do to pay you back is protect you the way you protected me, > Gohan thought. Gohan's movements were stopped abruptly when he felt a fairly strong ki behind him. He relaxed his body, standing normally, and turned around to see Videl watching him. "Oh, hey Videl. How are you this morning?" he asked. Videl shook off her stupor. "I'm fine, Gohan. How are you?" Gohan thought about it for a moment before answering. "I'm good...but I'm hungry. Is my mom finished making breakfast yet?" Videl shook her head. "No, but I think she should be done in a few minutes." Gohan gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, that's good," Gohan breathed. There was a bit of a silence where nothing was said and Videl was the first to break it. "Hey, Gohan, what were you doing when I walked outside? That looked really cool," Videl said, her curiosity getting the best of her. "You mean the slow stuff I was just doing?" Gohan said, trying to clarify. Videl nodded. "That was something called Tai Chi. One of my masters just taught me that a few months ago. It helps build up my concentration and sharpens my skills to make me better. But, I'm not nearly as good as Piccolo is." "Piccolo?" Videl questioned. "That's the name of my master," Gohan said, not revealing Piccolo's background and origin. "Oh, I see," Videl said as she deftly changed the topic, "So, how good are you?" Gohan looked confused at Videl. "How good am I at what?" Gohan asked. Videl smiled mischievously. "You know what I mean. At martial arts." Gohan smirked. "Oh," he drawled out, "I see. Yeah, I guess I am pretty good. I mean, I've only been training since I was 5." "Well, so have I," Videl chuckled, "And I bet I can beat you." Inwardly, Gohan was laughing. < Videl? Beat me? Pigs might fly, first, > Gohan thought before shrugging. "You wanna give it a shot?" he asked. Videl moved to stand in a perfect fighting form. "Bring it on," she whispered. Gohan stood about two yards in front of her and moved into fighting position. "You're going to lose, Videl," Gohan said, making sure that his power level was way down. < Don't want to hurt the poor girl, > Gohan said to himself. The fight had unofficially begun. Both of them were looking at each other, trying to stare the other down but with no success. With a roar, Videl was the first one to strike, only hitting Gohan's forearm which had come up to block Videl's hit. The two fought for a few moments, Videl throwing punches and Gohan blocking them. Suddenly, Gohan's stomach growled, which interrupted his concentration, causing him to drop his guard and allowing him to let Videl hit him in the face. Gohan was shocked with the impact, which violently jerked his head to one side. He brought up a hand to rub his slightly abused cheek before reaching out and grabbing Videl by the wrist. With one deft move, he flipped her over so her back hit the ground. Gohan smiled; the fight was over and he had won. He leaned over Videl, who was looking up at the sky with a dazed look. < One second, I'm holding my own and then he grabs my wrist and the next second, I hit the ground. What happened? > Videl asked herself. She directed her gaze at Gohan, who was smiling down at her. "I think our fight is over, Videl, and I won. I think it's time to go in and have breakfast, don't you think?" Gohan held out his hand to help Videl up. Videl, without warning, grabbed Gohan's hand, pulled him down, planted her feet into his stomach, and flipped him over her using her legs to boost him over so he landed behind her on his back. She stood up, dusted herself off, and walked towards the entrance to the house. "Thanks Gohan, for trying to help me up. It was much appreciated," Videl purred. As Videl disappeared into the house, Gohan could only lie there in shock. < Wow. She is amazing. I think I'm in love, > Gohan thought before pushing himself off the ground and walking into the house as well to fill his empty stomach. * Videl moved her chair back a couple of inches to get the late afternoon sun out of her eyes as she and Gohan researched for their project in his room, surrounded by piles and piles of books. Videl turned back to the large, thick book she was reading thorough and her eyes lit up when she found something. "Ooh, ooh, Gohan. What about the war of 217?" Videl asked, her voice full of excitement. "Nope," Gohan said while typing up stuff that he found, "That won't do. The war of 217 wasn't a civil war; it was a war against the Deep Sea Islands over valuable resources after a year of one natural disaster after another." "It is?" Videl asked, letting her eyes skim down the description. Her shoulders slumped with defeat when she realized that Gohan was right and she harrumphed. < How does he know all of this stuff? He's like a walking encyclopedia? > Videl thought. She looked over at him to see him intently focused on the computer. < But a gorgeous walking encyclopedia, > Videl admitted to herself. Shaking herself out of her daze, Videl turned back to the book on the desk in front of her and flipped through a few pages before her eyes spotted another documented war. She took in a deep breath, ready to tell Gohan that she might have found something else, but closed her mouth before she said anything. < I want to see if I'm right about this one before I say something, > Videl thought as she read the first few paragraphs on the page. Her face drew into a smile; she had found something useful. "Hey Gohan," Videl said, "Come here. I found something and I want you to check it over." Gohan looked over at Videl, who was sitting up straight with pride at her accomplishments. "Ok," he said, getting out of his chair and walking across the room to where Videl was working. Bracing on hand on the back of her chair and the other on the desktop, he leaned over her shoulder to read what she found. "So," Videl asked, "What do you think? Did I find something?" Gohan's eyes quickly skimmed the page and after a few moments, he smiled. "Yeah, you did find something, Videl." "Are you proud of me, Gohan?" Videl asked. "Yeah, actually, I am," Gohan said as they turned their heads to face each other. Gohan's smile died and Videl's eyes widened with surprise as the two teenagers found that their faces were mere centimeters apart from one another's. They both froze, their eyes locked on each other. They were so close that they could feel each other's breath on their faces. Videl stared deep into Gohan's coal black eyes, drowning in them as she found herself becoming short of breath. < This isn't happening. This has to be a dream, > Videl told herself, beginning to feel light-headed. Gohan, too, was starting to feel light-headed. He didn't know what to do; he had never been faced with the situation before in his life and he was frozen. They stayed there, staring at each other for what seemed like forever, neither of them moving. Gohan's eyes flickered down to Videl's lips, slightly open and very tempting. < Damn, she's beautiful, > Gohan thought as he removed his hand from the desktop and gently, yet shakily, cupped Videl's cheek. His eyes flickering down to her lips one last time, Gohan leaned in. Videl tilted her face upward, her lips moving to accept the impending kiss. The gap between them was closing, their lips brushed up against one another, and... "GOHAN!! VIDEL!! IT'S DINNER TIME!!" Chi-Chi yelled from downstairs, shocking the two teens. They jumped apart, as if they had been scalded. Gohan stood up straight and looked down at Videl nervously. "Well, I guess we better go down to dinner," he said. Videl nodded. "Yeah, I'm just going to go to the bathroom first, ok?" she said, looking up at him. Gohan nodded and walked out of the room. Once he was gone, Videl got up and walked down the hallway to the bathroom. When she entered the bathroom, she hurriedly locked the door and slid down it, sitting with her back against the door and her hand on her chest, trying to slow down her rapidly beating heart. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back, hitting the door with a thunk. < I can't believe that almost happened. What's he going to do? What am I going to do? How are we going to treat each other? Are we going to act like nothing happened? > Videl thought. Her thoughts swarmed around her like a whirlwind, making her more and more flustered and frustrated. "Ooh, never mind. It was only an almost-kiss. That doesn't change anything," Videl whispered to herself before standing up and exiting the bathroom. She walked down the stairs and into the dining room determinedly, her head held high. Her eyes immediately locked on Gohan, who was already inhaling his food. < How does he do that? > Videl asked herself. Gohan looked up at her and for a moment, Videl was worried about what was going to happen next. Then Gohan spoke. "Videl, you have to try this," Gohan said, indicating the food in front of him, "It's really good." Videl sighed, half in relief and half in disappointment. < So, it looks like he's choosing to ignore the issue about the kiss, then, isn't he? > Videl thought as she sat down across from him and served herself food. She took one last glance up at him as she was serving herself rice and felt even more relieved when he smiled genuinely at her. She smiled back. < Good. At least he's not going to ignore me now, > Videl said to herself as she started eating and thoughts of the almost-kiss began to fly out of her mind. NEXT CHAPTER**