35

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Gohan said, "I'm beat. I'm just happy that today is a Thursday and we have the weekend after tomorrow." The two of them continued to walk to Videl's house, their first day of school in over 9 weeks, the amount of time it had taken to rebuild the school after it burned down.

"So," Videl said, trying to make conversation, "How are your classes going? Are they starting up good again?" Gohan considered Videl's question for a couple of moments before answering.

"Yeah, they are. I mean, you know about most of them since we share most of our classes. But, the only class that I seem to be having trouble with is my independent study Organic Chemistry class. I've forgotten a lot of what I learned and I never fully understood everything I learned earlier, so it's pretty hard," Gohan admitted before shrugging.

"He's really smart. He was telling me things about the technology that they had on Vegetasei and he was drawing out designs for many of the pieces of technology, trying to explain them to me. I understood most of what he was saying, but some of that stuff is still beyond my understanding. And the amazing thing is that he understands it all perfectly, so perfectly that he can recreate much of it after all of these years. And, to top it all off, I think some of the designs he drew were ones he invented himself." Videl smirked.

"Well, at least we know where you get your brains from," Videl said, "As well as your good looks. Not to gross you out or anything, but your father and grandfather aren't bad looking at all." Gohan smiled.

"Yeah, well you didn't get your looks from your father, let me tell you. You're beautiful just like your mother was," Gohan said, looking at Videl. Videl caught his eye and blushed at his statement before looking away. Neither of them spoke for several minutes, a nervous silence spreading over the two, as they continued to walk back to the Satan Estate. Videl was the one to break the silence.

"Well you are. At least, I think so. Anyone who tells you differently is an idiot," Gohan said. Videl looked over at Gohan and smiled widely; it seemed like things were easing up between the two of them and Videl, for one, was relieved. This time, a comfortable silence stretched over them, a silence that wasn't broken until they reached the front yard of Videl's house.

Once they stood in the driveway, Videl stopped walking and looked at Gohan, who, alerted to Videl's halt, stopped at well and turned to look at her.

"You don't?" he asked, his voice quiet, "So, you're ok with me being half-human?" Videl smiled softly and took a couple of steps in Gohan's direction so that she was standing right in front of him.

"Yeah, I am. And I don't find it weird or freakish; I actually find it very intriguing. At least I know that the rest of my life with you won't be boring." Gohan looked down at her, slightly confused.

"Yeah, I'll bet. I remember when Master Roshi was teaching Krillin and me. That was tiring too. I think I understand a little bit of what you mean by tiring."

"I trained today. Vegeta tried to get me to spar with him, but I just wanted to train by myself," Goku answered. Once again, a silence fell, none of the three knowing what to say. Gohan, deciding that the silence was uncomfortable, spoke up.

"Well, I'm going to go and find Grandfather so he can help me with my organic chemistry homework. I'll see you two later, ok?" Gohan said as he started to walk away. Remembering something, he turned around and looked at Videl.

"Yeah, sure thing Gohan." Gohan smiled back and, with that, he walked into the house, leaving Goku and Videl outside. Videl turned and smiled at Goku.

"Yeah, I know," Goku said, falling in step with Videl, walking beside her as she entered the house, "I'm very lucky to have him as my son. He has made me so proud."

"Yeah, definitely something more than a friend," Videl said, sighing as she and Goku walked into the sitting room, both of them sitting down on one of the couches, "I've never met a person quite like him before. He definitely leads parallel lives: one as a peaceful scholar and the other as a ruthless warrior. He's a deadly combination." Goku nodded.

"Don't I know it. I know I feel pride at Gohan's accomplishments, but I can't help but feel a little wary of his power. He has all of this power inside of him, power that I can't even begin to understand, and, as much as I hate to admit it, it scares me a little. The only thing that calms me is that he truly is a pacifist at heart. He'll only fight if he has something to protect. That's the only reason why he's fighting now."

"Well, I'm sure you know that Gohan would rather not fight, like with Cell. He even asked Cell to stop fighting because he didn't want to kill him. But, if push came to shove, that would not be the case. Gohan, if given the right motivation, would fight for anything. Right now, the only reason why he's fighting is to protect you. His love for you is the only thing running through his mind while he trains and I can tell; he's my son. He would give up everything for you, Videl. I hope you know that," Goku said, his tone deadly serious. Videl nodded and drew up her knees onto the couch.

"Yeah, I do. I would give up everything for him, too," Videl said softly, staring ahead of her almost blankly, "There's something about him that draws me to him. It's his intensity. He's always fully focused on whatever he's doing. You can tell that he has the mind of a genius just by looking in his eyes and his face, even when he's not being serious, still holds this intensity. He's always so concentrated on one thing at a time, or so it seems. He gives everything his all; it's either all or nothing with him.

"I guess that just really attracts me. He also has this way of making everything seem all right when it isn't. Just being near him is enough to make me feel good." Goku smiled softly at Videl's admission.

"Well, as much as it's been fun, Goku, I need to go and do my homework. I figure that since Gohan is doing his, I should probably do mine too." Goku gave Videl a wide, cheerful grin.

"Ok, Videl, I'll see you later. I'm going to go and find somebody to go and spar with me, but not Vegeta." Videl nodded and began walking out of the sitting room.

"Bye Goku, see you at dinner," Videl called out over her shoulder as she left the room and Goku behind. Goku smiled as he watched Videl walk away.

"I really like that girl," Goku said softly, "She'll make a good addition to the family." With that said, Goku stood up and walked out of the sitting room to go and find someone to spar with.

Gohan pressed his fingers to his temple in an attempt to stop the impending pounding of his head. Organic chemistry always gave him a headache, even if he understood the concepts.

< This is so hard. How does Grandpa do it? > Gohan asked himself as Bardock sat next to him in a chair, his eyes roving over the page of complex compounds and molecular structure diagrams. Gohan sighed as he watched Bardock work; Gohan had had enough for the day.

"Well, if you say so. I must say, Gohan, that even though some of the elements on this planet are similar to the ones of Vegetasei, the compounds that form on this planet are interesting indeed."

"I'm interested to find out more about the science and technology that existed on Vegetasei. I'm sure you know a lot about that," Gohan said. Bardock's face darkened as he thought about his extinct home world.

"Yes, I know a lot about that. I even helped develop the technology and brought on advances in the area of science until I gave it up to become a warrior. The life of a fighter had a higher reward then that of a scientist. So, I gave it up for a more profitable career." Gohan's face twisted into a look of confusion.

"Yes, it was. On Vegetasei, people were valued for the strength of their bodies, not the strength of their minds. I was considered pretty strong, even though I never got promoted to a level higher than a third-class warrior." The look on Gohan's face turned slightly guilty and remorseful.

"I guess things must be hard for you know. I don't mean to offend you or anything, but you must be feeling pretty weak compared to myself and my father. Doesn't it bother you that your son and your grandson are stronger than you?" Bardock clenched a fist in anger at the situation. Gohan's words were accurate; he was feeling inadequate.

"Yes, it does. I wish there was some way that I could train with you and Kakarot, but with the enemy coming up, that leaves little to no time for me to train to become stronger." Gohan nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, too bad we can't stop time to train you. Or at least slow it down," Gohan said softly, the thoughts mulling around in his mind before something struck him.

"I know of a place where you can get a year's worth of training in one year." Bardock looked a little skeptical at Gohan's words, but Gohan didn't notice; he just kept talking.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you what it is. It's a place called the Room of Spirit and Time. A day on the earth is a year's worth of time in this room. It's almost as if it's in a different dimension. Time moves differently. You can spend one year in there and only one day will have passed on the earth. It's really a time saver. But, the only drawback is that you can only stay in there for a total of two years time in the room, two days on the earth.

"If you stay in there for more than two years, the doors disappear and you will be stuck in the room for eternity. But, it's a great place to get in a lot of training in a short amount of time." Gohan thought about what he said before shrugging his shoulders slightly. "Well, short amount of time out on the earth, at any rate. So, what do you think, Grandpa?" Bardock raised an eyebrow, a smirk on his face.

"Well, to be honest, it's pretty intense. I mean, never mind the fact that the air is suffocating and the gravity is ten times that of earth. The Room of Spirit and Time seems to know your inner being, making you see things that aren't there in order to test your strength and will, all the time making you stronger in the process. I won't lie to you and tell you that I had a hard time being in that room. It was something that was emotionally challenging for me to deal with." Bardock scoffed.

"Well, with my experiences, I'm sure it'll be like a walk in the park. I've been in environments that have almost killed me. I can handle whatever this room throws at me." Gohan looked at his grandfather skeptically before shrugging indifferently.

"Ok, if you think you can handle it, fine. Now all we have to do is tell everyone that we're leaving. I mean, we're only going to be gone for a day, but they should know that we're going to be gone. Bulma will probably give us some Saiya-jin armor for us to wear and train in. It's actually pretty good quality," Gohan said, noticing that Bardock was giving him a skeptical look about the armor, "Even Vegeta says that the quality of the armor is better than anything the Saiya-jins created." Bardock nodded slowly.

"Ok, now all we have to is go and tell everyone that we're going," Gohan said as he pushed himself out of his chair and walked out of the room that he and Bardock had holed themselves up into do Gohan's homework in.

Bardock followed his grandson out of the room and down to where he could hear everyone gathering. The smell of food hit his senses and his body told him that it was dinner that he smelled. But, his mind wasn't focused on food; it was focused on the Room of Spirit and Time. With all of that time to train, it was physically possible for Bardock to reach the state of Super Saiya-jin in a reasonable amount of time.

< Gohan said that, or rather implied, that the room pushes a warrior to his limits. With conditions like that, reaching a Super Saiya-jin will be in my reach. Finally, I'll be able to begin to measure up to my son and my grandson, > Bardock said to himself as he and Gohan descended the stairs. Gohan rushed ahead of Bardock and burst into the dining room, where everyone was sitting down and prepared to begin eating dinner. Gohan focused on Videl, who was sitting in between his father and Yamcha, and a small, sad smile spread over his face. If he went into the Room of Spirit and Time, he wouldn't see her for a year. His heart skipped a beat.

The thought of not seeing her for a year, or at least a year to him, filled his chest with such an intense pain that it made it hard to breathe. As if Videl could feel the physical pain at Gohan's misfortune, she turned her head to look at the doorway, seeing both Gohan and Bardock standing there.

"Oh, hey you two," Videl said, a small smile on her face, "Dinner just got put on the table. Why don't you two sit down and join us." Gohan and Bardock looked at each other, both of them knowing that as much as they would love to sit down and stuff their faces full of food, that they had more important things to do. Both of them shook their heads and looked back at the table and its occupants.

Videl stood up on Kami's Lookout with Goku, Gohan, and Bardock, watching as Gohan prepared his things to go into the Room of Spirit and Time. When she heard that he and Bardock were going into the room, her mind was immediately filled with Gohan's memories of the room, the harshness and intenseness of it, and the amount of concentration and will power it took for him to survive in the rough conditions of the Room of Spirit and Time. Right after she realized where Gohan was going, she knew it was going to be a year until he saw her again, though it would be only a day for her.

< If I don't think I can deal with not seeing him for a day, I wonder how he's going to deal with being away from me for a year, > Videl thought to herself as she watched him carefully, noting his determined look. He looked like he didn't want to do it, but he had no choice; it was either get stronger or let the enemy win the fight. Videl shuddered; she didn't want to die. She knew it was selfish, but she wanted to live. And if being separated from Gohan meant that she would live for many years afterward, then she would gladly be separated from him for one day. But, she still knew that his separation from her was going to be hard. She was beginning to understand the sensations and feelings that existed between bond mates.

And, as Videl was thinking about Gohan and bond mates, something occurred to her, hitting her with a gasp. She stared at Gohan wide-eyed, her mouth slightly parted. Slowly, her eyes filled with a look of understanding and determination; she knew what she had to do. She watched as Gohan walked over to Bardock and Goku, the three of them talking over the final schematics of Gohan and Bardock's preparations for the room. Mr. Popo approached the two Saiya-jins and the one half Saiya-jin and stood next to them.

"Are you two ready to enter the room?" Mr. Popo asked calmly, his hands resting characteristically at his side. The Saiya-jins looked up at Mr. Popo and Bardock nodded his head.

"Good, right this way, everyone." The group of four followed Mr. Popo deeper into the lookout, Videl marveling at the beauty of the floating edifice. She wondered briefly how people didn't know that the Lookout existed up in the sky, but she gave up and attributed it to magic.

She focused back on Gohan, trying to find the perfect moment to do what she had to do. Fortunately, for her, Gohan gave her the perfect opportunity. The group of 5 reached the door the Room of Spirit and Time and Mr. Popo opened the door, revealing the bright light of the room to the 5 present.

Bardock walked fearlessly into the room, waving absently to his son and his grandson's mate. Gohan turned to his dad, said goodbye, and was about to walk in when he realized something. Turning around, his bag in one hand, he walked over to Videl, looking down at her with his heart in his eyes.

"Hey Videl, could you do a favor for me? Could you tell all of the teachers that I'm out sick tomorrow and get my homework for me? I don't want to get caught behind," Gohan said. Videl smiled softly and nodded.

"Sure thing, Gohan," Videl said, clearing her throat to try and abate her nervousness, "So, you're going to be in there for a year, right?" Gohan nodded.

"Well, if that's the case, then I want to give you something," Videl said, stepping forward so that she was right in front of Gohan. Standing on her toes, she pressed her lips against his in a passionate kiss, one that Gohan was more than happy to return. He hadn't felt the sensation of her lips against his in a while and he wasn't shocked to find out that he had missed the feeling. Wrapping on arm around her waist, pulling her up against him, Gohan cradled her head with one hand and kissed her deeply, knowing that it would be the last time he would see Videl for at least a year.

Videl gladly pressed her body up against his, siphoning the heat away from his body and surrounding herself with it. She captured his bottom lip between her teeth and sucked on it lightly as they continued to battle with their mouths, delighting in the low growl Gohan admitted.

They kissed for several more seconds, Goku watching the two of them entire time, a small, happy smile on his face; he was ecstatic that Gohan had found the woman that he would spend the rest of his life with.

< He looks so happy and content, > Goku said to himself as he watched Videl and Gohan spend several tender moments in each other's arms, < I hope he can stay this happy forever. He deserves it. >

Slowly, Gohan and Videl pulled apart, each of them trembling from the passion flowing through their veins. Videl looked up at Gohan, still in his arms, and ran a finger across his lips. She stared into his eyes, losing herself in their coal black depths. Drawing in a deep, shaky breath, she said the one thing she had been dying to say for what seemed like forever.

"I love you, Gohan," Videl whispered, causing Gohan's heart to catch in his throat. Gohan leaned down and swept Videl up into another breath-taking kiss. He released her lips as quickly as he had captured.

"I love you, too," Gohan whispered back in a voice so tender that it brought tears to Videl's eyes. He nuzzled her neck, drawing her into a hug, one which Videl gladly returned with vigor, the two of them reveling in each other's closeness. Their minds connected and, with a flash, feelings and thoughts were exchanged, so intense it was almost overwhelming.

Slowly, after the two of them calmed down, they released each other, knowing that it was time for Gohan to go. Gohan still held onto her hand as he looked down at her.

"Well, hurry up and get into that room," Videl said, a small smirk on her face, "The sooner you get in, the sooner you can get out and come back to me." Gohan nodded and squeezed her hand in affection before letting go of it.

"I'll try," Gohan said as he began to walk away. "I'll see you in a year, Videl," Gohan said before he disappeared through the doorway, leaving Goku and Videl standing out in the real world.

Gohan heard the door shut behind him and knew it would be at least a year until he would be reunited with the real world...and with Videl. Suddenly, Gohan felt like his chest was caving in on him, like he was being suffocated.

Bardock noticed the change in his grandson's demeanor and walked over to him, seemingly oblivious his surroundings. Bardock laid a hand on Gohan's shoulder, a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, I'm ok," Gohan said softly before shrugging Bardock's hand off of his shoulder. Technically, he was ok. Except that he just realized that it would be a full year until he saw the true love of his life again; he just hoped he could live through it.