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Dragonball: Vertigo	By : Lucythebeast Category: Dragon Ball Z > Yuri - Female/Female Views: 2501 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own DragonballZ, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
DragonBall V: A World Both Familiar and Foreign

Chapter 17: To Ki Or Not To Ki

Frieza scowled down at the young Saiyan prince who stood
proudly before him. “So, Prince Vegeta, is it? That’s the first thing we have to
take care of. While you are working for me, you are not a prince. You are
nothing but a mongrel. Say it.” Vegeta grit his teeth and remained silent. He
stared up into the tyrant’s eyes, defiance blazing in his eyes. Frieza chuckled
dryly and flicked his finger, causing the Saiyan to suddenly double over in
pain. “Say it.” Frieza repeated.

“Never!” Vegeta snarled.

Frieza frowned. “Say it or I’ll kill your father.”

Vegeta smirked. “Go ahead. That bastard deserves to die.”

Frieza’s eyes narrowed as he considered
his options. “I’ll destroy your planet and every last Saiyan. You’ll be the
only one left, and perhaps I’ll kill you as well. Your only chance to save your
people and yourself is to say it!”

Vegeta’s hands clenched into fists.
He looked away from the ice-hearted monster and out towards Vegeta-sei, floating below them. “You’re bluffing.” Vegeta
challenged.

Frieza smiled. “Am I? Zarbon, how
many of your kind are left?”

The blue haired man frowned for a moment. “Just
myself, my lord Frieza.”

“And what happened to the rest of them, if you would be so
kind as to inform me?” Frieza asked in a tone that suggested he was asking a
child.

“You destroyed them because I didn’t want to call you my
lord at the time, my lord Frieza.” Zarbon replied
automatically.

Vegeta grimaced. “Why is it so important to you, Frieza?”

The alien grinned and leaned forward. “Because
it is important to you. And because I want your
loyalty to me to mean more to you than your own pride. Now say it.”

Vegeta closed his eyes, waging a war against his own pride.
“I am not a prince while I am in your service.”

“The rest of it as well. You are a
mongrel.” Frieza baited the Saiyan.

Vegeta took a few deep breaths, before saying quietly “I am
a mongrel.”

“Louder.” Was the reply.

“I am a fucking mongrel! There, are you happy you sadistic
freak!?” Vegeta spat out.

Frieza chuckled. “Better. Now get on your hands and knees
and lick my feet, to show me that you mean your words.”

“Never! I’d rather die!” Vegeta
snarled.

Frieza nodded at one of his henchmen, who took a step
towards the Saiyan warrior. Vegeta brought both of his hands up and blasted the
man with ki, incinerating him. He then turned and
blasted at Frieza with all of his energy, gasping in surprise when it simply
dissipated after hitting Frieza’s ki
shield. “Oh my, we have ourselves a lively one. Beat the impudent mongrel,
men.”

Vegeta struggled, but was bashed into the floor and felt
countless blows rain down upon him until he was barely conscious. He then felt
himself dragged over to Frieza and had his face shoved onto the tyrant’s foot.
“Lick it.” Frieza commanded.

“Fuck you.” Vegeta gasped out.

Vegeta choked as his face was pushed down, forcing the
alien’s foot into his mouth. Vegeta weakly bit the foot in his last ditch
effort at showing defiance, but it only made Frieza laugh. He was dragged off
after having his head slammed into the floor to render him unconscious and
thrown into a regeneration chamber. After being pulled out, he was beaten to
within an inch of his life again before once again going into the chamber. This
was repeated several times before Vegeta bit back his pride and did was Frieza
wanted, forcing himself to go along with it until he had the chance to have his
revenge. Days later, Frieza informed him that his home planet was destroyed ‘by
a comet’, but Vegeta knew the truth. He made his last bid at defiance that
night, and after being beaten he was chained down face first then injected with
a stimulant to not only keep him awake but to increase his pain tenfold. It was
then that Frieza entered the chamber and stood behind him, laughing dryly. “You
will learn the penalty for disobedience, little monkey. And you will learn it
well.” Vegeta’s eyes widened as the tyrant gripped his neck and lowered himself down, then he screamed in blood-curdling agony.

Vegeta sat up quickly, the scream dying out in his raw
throat. Cold sweat coated his body, making him shiver as he blinked, squinting his eyes in the darkness to figure out where he
was. “The space ship… the Saiyans. It was just a nightmare… a memory of a
nightmare.” Vegeta gasped out, shivering not just from the cold now. He
stumbled up and into the bathroom and emptied his stomach into the toilet,
flushing down the evidence of his nightmare. He ran the faucet and splashed his
face with cold water and stared into his own reflection, barely recognizing
himself. “Frieza is dead, Vegeta. You killed him.” He told his reflection, but
it didn’t take away the haunted look in his eyes.

He walked out into the training room and frowned at the
gravity generator which was set at 250Gs. He impulsively turned it up to 350
and gasped as he fell to his knees, grimacing in pain. He forced himself to
stand and then to start training, finding it hard to breath as the gravity
nearly crushed his chest. He wasn’t surprised when Goku came crawling out of
his sleeping quarters, complaining about the gravity. “Damn, Vegeta! What did
you do, double the gravity! I’m trying to sleep!”

Vegeta snarled at him. “Suck it up, Kakkarot! It was time to
turn the gravity up. Keep up, or be crushed!”

Goku struggled to stand and gasped at the new gravity
setting. “Kami, Vegeta! At least set it to 300 first! It was at 250, an extra
hundred is too much of a leap up! Pace yourself!”

Vegeta growled in warning when Goku’s hand reached for the
gravity controls. “Pacing myself was what left me in Frieza’s service, prostrating myself before that monster
for most of my life! I will never be weak like that again! I will push my body
to the breaking point and beyond! I will get stronger! I will never be used
again!”

Goku frowned when he saw the look in Vegeta’s eyes, so he
simply nodded grimly. “All right, Vegeta. I’ll handle it. Just try to turn it
up in increments that won’t make our hearts burst, ok? Geez.”

Vegeta grimaced in pain and slumped to his knees, his face
expression edging on defeat. “Fine then, turn it down to 300.”

Goku scratched his head nervously, unsure of what to do.
“Are you sure? You look a bit… upset.”

Vegeta snarled. “Turn it down before I change my mind, you
fucking simpleton!”

Goku sighed and turned the setting down to 325. “That’s
better, isn’t it? Don’t worry, Vegeta. We’ll work it up. You have to give
yourself time to adjust or you’ll just end up killing yourself from the strain.
Now… what’s on your mind? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Vegeta chuckled and rested back against the bulkhead, taking
deep breaths and trying to adjust himself to the gravity. “A
fairly accurate guess. I had a dream about my childhood, when I was
first given to Frieza’s service by my father. It was
very unpleasant, and my time under Frieza only got worse because every time I
had to report back to him, Frieza pushed me further and further. He made me
swallow my pride and abase myself. He made me grovel and beg for his approval
and he never gave it to me. And he always found new ways to prove his
superiority over me. The only thing that kept me going was my pride, the very
thing he tried to beat out of me, and my burning desire for revenge. And now
I’ve had my revenge, but I still can’t let it go. The only happiness I’ve ever
found in my entire life has been with Bulma, and I’m scared to death that
something will happen to her. If that happens, I know I’ll go insane,
Kakkarot.” Vegeta squeezed his eyes shut as tears fell from them, dripping down
unnoticed because of all the sweat beading on his face.

Goku nodded and sat down to lean against the gravity control
interface, facing the prince. “I understand. I feel the same way about Chi-Chi.
And then there’s also Gohan. He adds a whole new meaning to my life. I don’t
know what I’d do without them both.”

Vegeta’s head lowered at Goku’s mention of his son. “Bulma
is pregnant. I smelled it on her as we were leaving.”

Goku blinked in surprise but then grinned. “Congratulations!
You dog you!”

Vegeta fixed Goku with a murderous glare. “Never… EVER call
me a dog!”

Goku raised his hands innocently. “Hey, I didn’t mean to
offend you. It’s just a saying on Earth. It’s not an insult. But I’ll keep it
in mind to never say it to you again, ok?”

Vegeta sighed and reached into a refrigerated cabinet set
into the wall and retrieved two bottles of water and tossed one to Goku,
gritting his teeth in frustration when it only made half the distance and
rolled the rest of the way. “Fine, Kakkarot. I’m glad Frieza is destroyed, but
I can’t help but wonder if there are any new Frieza’s
out there. We could even be going to meet people as evil as that soulless
monster. Saiyans aren’t known for their pleasant personalities and humanitarian
values. We’re warriors, for the most part. We like to main, kill, and destroy.
Or at least, we did. But we never, ever did it randomly before Frieza dig his
sick fingers into our minds. We were focused, honorable. Frieza changed so
much… even me. I still get sick every time I think about just how much he
changed me. Kakkarot… sometimes all a Saiyan has left is his pride. We can lose
our honor, our minds, and our bodies, but the worst sin against a Saiyan is to
take away his pride. Always remember that.”

Goku scratched his head nervously and took a long swig of
the water. “Ok, Vegeta. I think I understand. By the way, am I going to be able
to understand these people when I meet them? I never got around to learning the
Saiyan language, given that we both thought we were the last ones left.”

Vegeta grinned. “Can you understand what I’m saying right
now?”

Goku nodded. “Yeah, sure. Why
wouldn’t I?”

“I was speaking in Saiyan, you silly fool. You learned it as
a child, when you were in the pod heading for Earth. You just don’t remember
learning it. Reading and writing it, well, that’s another matter.” Vegeta
explained.

Goku smiled. “Cool! I didn’t realize I was multi-langa… langua… linga…ling…”

“Bilingual, you clown!” Vegeta shouted, though he couldn’t
hide the grin that came to his lips.

“Oh yeah!” Goku laughed.

Vegeta sighed. “Spar with me for a while. I need to clear my
head.” Goku nodded and stood up, assuming a fighting stance. Vegeta stood as
well and stretched for a moment before beginning to spar with the other Saiyan.

************************

“Good luck today, Gohan!” Chi-Chi exclaimed, giving her
little boy one last motherly [smothering] hug before backing up to smile at
him.

“Give it your best, kiddo!” Krillin added, slapping the boy
on the back with a huge grin on his face, not noticing the grimace of pain that
crossed the young demi-Saiyan’s face. Piccolo simply
nodded at his young student, so Gohan turned and walked into the fighter’s area
where he stretched for a few moments before sitting down.

A few moments later, Videl walked in as well and sat down
next to Gohan, stifling a yawn. “Why do we have to start so early!” Videl asked with a frown.

Gohan chuckled. “Good morning to you as
well, Videl.”

Videl groaned. “Morning. How can
you be so damned chipper at this time of the morning?”

Gohan grinned playfully. “What, you mean you haven’t been up
since 4am meditating, stretching, and
being generally excited about your matches today? I must have been the only
one.”

Videl’s mouth dropped open. “You are joking, aren’t you,
Gohan?”

Gohan blinked a few times. “Uh… yeah, of
course. He he. I just
woke up a little while ago too… oh, hey Gerrick!”

Julien yawned and rubbed at his
eyes before slumping down on the bench on the other side of the fighter’s area.
“Hey. Why do we have to be down here this early? The matches aren’t even
starting for another hour and a half.”

Videl frowned. “I was just saying the same thing.”

Mai Te Lei entered the room several minutes later, sitting
down next to Julien and promptly falling asleep
against his shoulder. Julien looked at her nervously
for a few moments, unsure whether to just let her be or try to prod her off of
him. Gohan and Videl couldn’t help themselves, and began to laugh softly. Julien scowled at them and sighed, leaning his head back
against the cement wall. “Do you think they could have told us the wrong time?
I only see one official here. There’s barely any
spectators yet either.”

Gohan frowned. “I don’t know, wait here a minute and I’ll go
ask.” Gohan stood up and hurried outside, catching up to the official who was
on the opposite side of the ring inspecting it for damaged tiles. He returned a
few minutes later and grinned, scratching the back of his head. “You guys won’t
believe this. We’re supposed to be having breakfast right now then reporting to
the spa area for massage and warm ups!”

“Oh for the love of Kami! All
right, let’s go guys.” Videl stood up, sighing in frustration.

Gohan grinned and came into step with her, barely noticing Julien prodding Mai awake. The demi-Saiyan’s
stomach was already growling, even though he had just eaten a little over an
hour before, not knowing about the free breakfast for the competitors. They sat
down at a table that already had various breakfast foods set out and began
eating. Videl stared at Gohan for a few moments, expecting him to choke on the
food he was inhaling. “Gohan, we have some time. You don’t have to shove the
food down your throat that fast.”

Gohan chuckled. “Sorry, I’m just hungry! I’ve never really
been a slow eater. If it’s offending you, I’ll try to slow down.”

Videl shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me, I find it
fascinating. I’m waiting for you to choke on it though.”

They all paused and looked at Mai, whose head had just hit
the table. “Mai?” Videl asked, getting up to walk over
to check on the girl.

Mai lifted her head up. “Time to fight
already?” She asked drowsily.

“Mai… you’re half asleep. Maybe you should come back to
breakfast after a cold shower?” Videl asked gently.

Mai nodded and dragged herself up and towards the bathing
area. “Man, I thought I was sleepy.” Julien joked.

They grinned and finished up eating, Gohan making sure to
leave enough for Mai once she finished washing and waking up. They then went
into the massage rooms and relaxed, receiving massages that had them all
wishing they could go back to sleep afterwards. Finally they finished up with
some warm up exercises and a hot bath, then went back
into the fighter’s area where they had begun. Videl poked her head out to look
up at the stands and grinned as she sat back down. “It’s even more packed then
it was yesterday.”

Gohan smiled nervously and glanced over at Mai, who looked
much more alert now. Mai noticed him looking and bowed her head slightly, a
strange expression crossing her features for a moment. Gohan shrugged and
leaned his head back on his hands, sighing. It wouldn’t be long now that the
matches would start.

“Does your hair always look like that? A comb would do you
wonders, you know.” Videl suddenly said in a teasing tone.

Gohan stared at her blankly for a few moments before he
looked up at his lengthy wild hair. “I could use a haircut I suppose. But
believe me, a comb just makes it worse.”

“Aw come on, let me comb your hair for you, Gohan!” Videl
grabbed onto him, pulling a brush out of nowhere.

“Ah! Get off! Leave my hair alone! AAHH!!!”
Gohan tried to pull away from the deadly comb without blowing up half the
stadium.

Videl chuckled. “Aw, spoil sport. Like a little grooming
would kill you.”

Gohan scowled for a moment before sheepishly running his
fingers through his hair. “Is it really that bad?”

Videl just nodded. “You need some serious hair work done,
Son.”

Gohan blushed. ‘Why does she make me feel so self-conscious?
Nobody has ever made me feel this way before. I don’t think I like it very
much!’ “Well, if you have scissors feel free to cut it. Like I said, I need it
anyway.”

Videl grinned. [AN: Never tell an 8 year old girl that she
can cut your hair. Trust me.] She got up and ran down the hall a bit and came
back with some scissors that competitors used to cut their wrist tape. “Hold
still, ok?” Videl grabbed Gohan’s head and started humming a tune as she cut
his hair. Gohan gasped every time a clump of hair fell, wondering what
mutilation the girl was wreaking upon his scalp.
“That’s not right… oh, this over here needs to go.”

Gohan winced as a huge clump of hair fell. He looked over
and saw Mai and Julien both giving him sympathetic
looks. ‘Oh great, I can tell my hair is going to be horrible just by the looks
they’re giving me.’

“It’s so spikey, it’s like it
doesn’t want to let me flatten it!” Videl growled.

“I told you, Satan. It’s naturally spikey.
It’s a family trait. You should see my father’s hair!” Gohan grinned, mentally
picturing his father.

Videl leaned down to look him in the eye upside down and
frowned at him. “So formal. Tsk
tsk. I think I’ll cut off more of your hair for
that.”

Gohan’s eyes widened. Hadn’t she cut off enough already!?
“Wait, I…” Another hair clump fell. Gohan sighed. “You done
yet?”

“One sec, Gohan.” She brushed his
hair, and even though the spikes resisted any styling, it did show her that his
hair was as she wanted it. “There we go. Take a look.” Videl pointed to a wall
length mirror on the wall.

Gohan frowned and walked over to it and looked at his hair.
“Wow… not bad! I was sure I’d have bald patches.” Gohan said,
a bit too loudly. He ducked as the scissors whizzed past his head and he looked
at his new hair style. [AN: Same style as he sports as a teen in the Buu saga] He brushed the stray hairs off and shook himself
like a dog, giggling as hair flew off him and floated down to the floor. He sat
back down next to Videl and looked at her thoughtfully. He blushed furiously
when she returned his gaze and he wondered why he was reacting the way he was.
‘It must be because I’m not accustomed to being around girls. But I don’t feel
that way when Mai looks at me…’

“Welcome back to the 26^th Tenkaichi Budoukai,
folks!” The announcer suddenly yelled into the microphone, causing the crowd to
burst into cheers and applause.

“They sound excited.” Gohan observed nervously.

Videl grinned and elbowed him in the ribs. “You’ll do fine,
don’t worry.”

Gohan shrugged. “I hope so. I’m not accustomed to this much
attention. I don’t know how I got through yesterday.”

Videl sighed. “Because you weren’t
fretting over it, silly boy.”

“The first match up in the semi-finals of the Youth Division
is Satan Videl versus Gerrick Julien!
Put your hands together for these two fine competitors!” The announcer yelled.

Videl and Julien both stood up and
stretched for a moment. Videl glanced over at Gohan and grinned at him, then
giggled when she saw him blush and slouch down in his seat. “Wish me luck,
Gohan.” Videl said.

Gohan blinked for a moment then realized Videl had just
asked him something. “Huh? Oh… good luck, Videl!”

Videl rolled her eyes and smiled as she walked into the
ring, pausing a moment to go ahead and shake Julien’s
hand before taking her mark. They both crouched down into fighting postures as
the announcer took a few moments to praise their accomplishments and work the
crowd into a frenzy. They both waited patiently until
the call to fight was yelled. They stared at each other for several moments,
waiting for the other to make the first move. Videl had seen Julien’s fighting style enough to know that he turned
attacks into submission holds at the drop of a hat so she didn’t want to make
that kind of mistake. Unfortunately for her, Julien
knew enough to wait for her to attack, since his melee skills were abysmal.

The announcer got a bit nervous, thinking the children
didn’t hear the call to fight, he said it again. Videl sighed, realizing Julien wouldn’t make the first move so she moved forward
slowly. Julien inched forward as well, watching the
girl’s fighting posture closely. Videl threw a quick jab and barely retracted
her hand in time as Julien nearly latched on to it.
Videl growled and circled the boy slowly, looking for an opening. She threw a
quick kick just above his knee and when he tried to grab her leg she landed a
solid punch straight into his face, knocking him backwards and onto the flat of
his back. Videl grinned, happy that he had fallen for her feint. The grin
dropped when Julien got back up and wiped away the
blood that had dripped out of the corner of his mouth. He resumed a fighting
posture, ready for another attack.

‘He’s not going to fall for a feint again so easily this
time. I wonder if I can overpower him?’ Videl moved
forward quickly and tackled the boy, lowering her center of gravity as he tried
to flip her. She bashed her fist into his ribs as he tried to twist her the
opposite way and finally pushed forward as hard as she could, falling on her
face and feeling wetness drip out of her mouth that she knew was blood from
nipping her tongue. She looked up and saw Julien
grimacing from the outside of the ring. She had pushed him just hard enough to
give him a ring out. He approached again and helped her up, smiling at her as
the blonde man [AN: Same guy that announced the 21^st Budoukai and
I’m assuming the 22^nd and 23^rd as well?] announced her as
the winner. Videl sat back down next to Gohan and elbowed him in the ribs.
“Your turn, Gohan-kun. Good luck!” [AN: I really should be using those when the
situation warrants it… like Kami-sama instead of just
Kami, but I forget a lot. If you don’t see one, just assume it’s –san because
I’m lazy.]

Gohan blushed and scratched the back of his head as he
stood, wondering what brought on the more personal tone. “Thanks, Videl.”

Gohan and Mai walked out to take their marks, bowing
politely before the fight signal was given. The moment the announcer yelled for
the fight to begin, Mai exploded into action, coming at Gohan in a flurry of
offense that left him momentarily shocked. ‘Normally she’s so defensive… she
must have realized that she couldn’t win that way.’ Gohan winced as a finger
jab made its way past his defense and poked into his ribs. He grabbed her arm
before she had a chance to pull it back and twisted his hips and shoulders,
throwing her down to the ring floor. She got out of the way just in time as his
foot came down, making a small crack in the stone tile. ‘Oops, I need to tone
back my strength a bit of I’ll seriously harm her!’ Gohan took a deep breath
and pushed his ki level down before resuming his
fighting stance.

Mai frowned and lowered her center of gravity, bringing her
arms up in her phoenix stance. Gohan chuckled to himself and advanced. ‘I’m not
an amateur, I’m familiar with that form, silly girl.’
Gohan thought to himself. He fainted overextended a punch, grunting softly when
her jabs landed three times but he had planned on that, using the momentum of
his punch to twist and land on that arm and bringing his leg forward in a wide
sweep, knocking the girl onto her backside. Gohan continued the movement and
used it to bring himself back up on his feet then twisted the other way,
landing a foot next to the girl’s head and then bringing his other leg up to
press onto her chest. “Submit.” Gohan said calmly.

Mai scowled up at him. “I had you.”

Gohan shook his head. “Not with that Phoenix
stance, you didn’t. I knew exactly what I was doing. Now submit so I don’t have
to hurt you.”

Mai twisted her body as much as she could, grabbing his foot to try to dislodge him. Gohan simply
pressed his foot down harder, making it impossible for her to breath. Mai
grimaced and felt the pressure in her ribs slowly building and she knew at
least one of them was ready to snap. “Mercy!” She
cried, dropping her head back in shame at her loss. She knew her sensei
wouldn’t understand why she couldn’t take him down in the position they were
in, but he didn’t know how strong the boy was!

Gohan took his foot off of her and leaned down to offer her
a hand up which she took with a sigh. They walked out together as the announcer
yelled out that Gohan was the winner and the final match was now Gohan versus
Videl with Julien and Mai placing third. They left
together for the stands to watch the rest of the matches, content that they had
at least won the third place prize money.

“Folks, that’s all for the Junior
championships for now! There will be a small break before the adult league
semi-finals and then we’ll come back to the juniors for the final match!” The
announcer called.

Videl and Gohan grinned at each other. “So, it’s down to you
and me. I hope you won’t feel ashamed at losing to a girl, Gohan-kun.”

Gohan laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head,
feeling strange that he had so much less hair back there. “I wouldn’t, but I’m
not going to lose, Videl-chan. But even if I do, it
sure won’t be an easy win for you. But, I don’t expect it to be easy for me
either.” Gohan smiled, though he wasn’t sure if he was being honest or polite
anymore. ‘Her skills have improved so much just over the past day. The meditation
I showed her is designed to raise and focus the ki…
could she have not known how much inherent ki she
already possesses? I guess that’s kind of like how I was when Piccolo first
decided to train me. Thank Kami-sama for Piccolo.
Speaking of Piccolo…’

They both walked up into the arena seating and smiled at
Piccolo, Chi-Chi, Bulma, and Krillin. “Hello again.”
Videl said, bowing slightly.

Gohan plopped down next to Piccolo and in front of his
mother. “Piccolo-sensei… I just wanted to say thanks again for my training.”

Piccolo’s eyes narrowed a bit at the praising tone. “Sure,
kid. Don’t sweat it.”

“Gohan, what in the world happened to your hair!” Chi-Chi cried, reaching down to pull at his hair.

“Ow! Mom, Videl cut it. She said
it was too long.” Gohan griped, wincing as his mother
yanked at his hair.

“Aww, that is so sweet, Videl-chan!
Oh… that is so cute, don’t you think so Chi-Chi?” Bulma gushed, leaning over to
pull at Gohan’s hair as well.

“Ow!” Gohan complained again,
giving his ‘Aunt’ Bulma a dirty look.

Videl blushed and chose to keep quiet, blushing even redder
when Krillin whispered something into Gohan’s ear that she didn’t catch but
judging by how red the Saiyan had gotten, she knew it was embarrassing.
Luckily, the adult league fights were starting so she could distract herself by
cheering for her father.

The two semi-final matches lasted quite a while, but soon
the final match-up was decided, Mr. Satan versus an Orin monk named Tai-Pao. Krillin laughed softly. “Oh man, I remember when he was
a clumsy oaf at the Orin temple. He’s not half bad now. Your dad is in for
quite a fight, Videl.”

Videl grinned and nodded. “He can do it. We’ll be father and
daughter champions this year.”

Gohan smirked at Videl. “Don’t count me out just yet, Videl-chan. We’ll see who the winner is after the match and not
before, ok?”

Videl smiled and nodded. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“All right folks, we’ll have a lunch break then in a little
over an hour we’ll have the junior championship match!” The announcer yelled.

“You hungry?” Videl asked Gohan.

Gohan grinned. “Are you kidding? Of course I’m hungry! Let’s
get down to the fighter’s cafeteria and get some food. We’ll see you guys later
after the fight, ok?” Gohan hugged his mom and chuckled when Bulma leaned in for
a hug as well, whispering in his ear to take care of his new girlfriend. Gohan
sighed and rolled his eyes. ‘What is up with them? Can’t a boy and a girl be
friends without wedding plans being made!?; “That’s so
gross!”

“What’s gross?” Videl asked as they walked into the depths
of the arena.

‘Doh… I must have said the last
part out loud.’ Gohan tried to think quickly. “Um.
Bulma just said something. Don’t worry about it.”

Videl scowled at him. “I don’t like it when people hide
things from me, Gohan. Spill it!”

Gohan blushed a beet red. “They’re
teasing me that you’re my girlfriend. How silly is that? We just met. Besides,
we’re way too young for that stuff.”

Videl grinned and suddenly wrapped her arms around Gohan’s
neck, making him stumble. “Aw, don’t you like me, Gohan-kun? Give me a kiss!”

“AAHH!” Gohan pried himself out of
her loose embrace and shot her a dirty look. “Don’t tease me, silly. I can’t
help it that my friends say things like that. They’re old, what do you expect?”
[AN: Lol… kids, eh?]

Videl chuckled. ‘He’s so fun to tease.’ They ate lunch
quickly and relaxed a bit, giving their food time to settle. Though of course
Gohan, being a Saiyan, didn’t need it, but he didn’t want to look odd by
bouncing off the walls from the burst of energy that a full stomach always gave
him.

“So who taught you anyway, Videl? You’re amazingly good!”
Gohan complimented her with a smile.

Videl shrugged nonchalantly. “Mostly I taught myself. I also
watch other people’s fighting and think of ways to
counter it and incorporate their moves into my style.”

‘That’s why I can’t pinpoint her style… no wonder!’ Gohan
grinned at her as she asked the same question. “Well, like I told you before,
Piccolo taught me when I was young. I also learned a bit from my father’s old
teacher, Roshi. I’ve picked up a few things from watching my father train, but
I really haven’t sparred with him yet.”

“Roshi? No wonder you’re so good.
And Piccolo… he looks so intense. I’d hate to have to fight him. I’ve never
seen anyone that looked like him before, but that’s not too strange given some
of the people that I have seen.”
Videl remarked, thinking of the dog looking men she had seen before and a
couple of other odd ones.

Their conversation turned to lighter topics before they were
called back to the arena. “Well, this is it, Videl. I’ll go ahead and wish you
luck now. I’m looking forward to the fight of my life.” Gohan smiled at her.

Videl smirked and nodded. “You can bet your life on that,
cutie. Let’s go!” Videl ran off to the fighter’s area, leaving a stunned Gohan
a few steps behind.

‘Cutie? What’s she pulling?’ Gohan
sighed as they walked out into the ring and they both winced as the crowd’s
noise became a deafening roar. They faced each other at their marks, both of
their stances flawless.

After the announcer yelled for the fight to begin, Videl and
Gohan both remained still for over a minute, watching each other with intensity
written on their faces. They moved slowly towards each other at the same time
as if by an unspoken agreement. They also both attacked at the same time and
quickly fell into a fast and furious rhythm, both of them turning up the
intensity with each passing moment. Kicks and punches were thrown and blocked
at a rate that had most of the crowd gasping in amazement. Gohan frowned a bit,
reaching the upward limits of his ki. ‘Holy Kami-sama… this girl is taking everything I’m dishing out!
This is amazing! I’m beginning to think I’ll have to use ki
attacks and flying to win… but I can’t do that, it wouldn’t be fair. I have to
try to win this match without ki first.’

“Come on, Gohan, I know you can do better than that! Come at
me!” Videl cried, the excitement of the fight making her face flush.

Gohan was momentarily distracted and Videl took advantage of
that, catching him in a hard left and immediately following it with a kick to
the sternum. He stumbled backwards and caught himself just before he fell out
of the ring. “Damn that was stupid of me.” Gohan muttered, moving forward
slowly. He spun suddenly and caught her in the ribs with his elbow and then
lashed his fist backwards to catch her in the other side as she was pushed,
bruising her ribs on both sides. She kicked him with surprising strength in the
lower back as she lost her balance but quickly regained it and rolled backwards
to resume her stance. Gohan grimaced and rubbed at his back before dropping
into his own stance, frowning in concentration.

Videl jumped forward and dropped down low to sweep at his
legs but he had flipped backwards just in time to avoid the blow but was unable
to counter. “Good move.” Videl observed with a smile.

Gohan wheezed a bit and nodded. “Thanks. You
too. Are you giving this your all?”

Videl nodded. “Pretty much. You?”

Gohan took a few deep breaths and then shrugged. “Just about.” He rushed forward and caught her by surprise
at the sudden burst of speed and they were both dangerously close to the edge
of the ring, trying to gain the advantage to push the other out. Gohan went low
and tried to make her stumble backwards but she grabbed him under both arms
from behind and they both fell out of the ring at the same time. They gasped in
surprise and disappointment and glared at the announcer as they both stood up
and dusted themselves off.

He scratched his head and looked at the judges. “Um… one second, folks. Don’t think anything like this has
ever happened before!” He conferred with the judges. “Ok… we have to have a
winner and both competitors touched outside of the ring at the same time.
Neither was unconscious, so we can’t use that for a judgment. The only option
left is to continue the fight!” The announcement was made, making the audience
burst into cheers.

Gohan and Videl nodded at each other and retook their marks.
A moment later, they were told to resume the fight so they rushed at each other.
Gohan threw a punch but Videl dodged to the side and spun backwards to catch
him in the head with her elbow but Gohan had turned just in time to catch her
arm. He latched onto it and used his other arm to brace against the back of her
shoulder joint and put pressure on it, going for a submission. “Submit, Videl.
I don’t wanna hurt you.” Gohan said softly.

Videl grimaced and tried to back into him to loosen the hold
enough for her to break free but Gohan moved with her. “One thing you should
know about me, Gohan-kun. I never…
SUBMIT!” She hooked her foot behind his ankle and twisted quickly in the
direction that he had been pulling. As she suspected, he had tried to move with
her to maintain the hold, but because her foot was hooked on his he lost his balance
and fell face first into the hard cement tile. She used her legs to twist his
lower right leg up and to the side and grabbed both of his arms for stability
and put pressure on Gohan’s knee. “The situation has reversed,
cutie. Let me hear you submit so I don’t have to dislocate your knee.” Videl
grinned as Gohan struggled. She had the move locked in,
unlike the hold he had on her moments before.

Gohan hissed in frustration and struggled. ‘Damn it… she
actually has this on better than I was able to… I normally rely on my superior
strength to maintain a hold but she’s just as strong as I am! This is what I
get for barely training.’ Gohan growled and struggled
some more, glancing up at Piccolo who was frowning in disappointment at him. He
nodded slowly and Gohan knew what the message was. ‘You did fine, kid. But
don’t let your pride give you a dislocated leg. Submit.’

Gohan considered his options as Videl put more pressure on
the hold. ‘I can fire a masenko at the ground, that would flip me backwards so I could get out of
the hold… but I can’t do that. My dad told me to not use ki
blasts unless my opponent used them as well, and Videl hasn’t used any. I doubt
she even knows how to. But dad wouldn’t give up… he’d find a way. I have to as
well!’ Gohan frowned and poured every last ounce of his strength into his arms
and pulled himself forward. As Videl tried to move up with him and readjust the
hold, Gohan twisted his body sideways until he was lying on his back. He stared
up at Videl who was now lying on top of him, looking deep into his eyes. ‘Her
eyes sure are blue… wait… what are we doing? Why hasn’t she gotten off me?’

“Ehm… I’m not really sure what
they’re doing now, folks. I think they’re both exhausted!” The announcer said,
snapping the two fighters out of their trance. Videl jumped up, blushing.

Gohan stood up, feeling the ache of exhaustion spreading
over his body. ‘Why is she blushing? Girls are so strange.’ Gohan brought
himself into his fighting stance and several moments later Videl followed suit.
‘I’m too tired now to force her out of the ring. My only options are a ki blast or… yes!’ Gohan moved forward, using the last
burst of his strength to smack his palm into Videl’s forehead. It wasn’t enough
to permanently injure her, but the force dazed her and she crashed to the
ground.

Gohan leaned forward with his hands on his knees and gasped
for breath as the announcer counted her out. Videl rolled over onto her hands
and knees and struggle to stand, obviously still dizzy. Gohan frowned. ‘If she
gets up, she’s going to win because I have nothing left except for a spare bit
of ki and I can’t use that honorably.’

“9!” The announcer yelled. Videl lifted herself up, making
Gohan sigh in defeat. But she lost her balance and fell back on her hands as
the announcer yelled “10! Son Gohan is the winner!” It was then that Videl was
able to make it up to her feet and she growled in frustration.

Gohan moved forward as he saw her losing her balance again,
barely catching her before the back of her head smacked into the concrete.
“Easy there, Videl. You put up a great fight. You pushed me to my limits! You
should be proud of yourself!”

Videl grinned impishly at him and suddenly planted a kiss on
his lips. Gohan was so shocked that his grip loosened and she fell with a loud
smack on the ground. “Gross! What are you doing!? Oh crap! Videl, are you all
right!?”

Videl climbed up onto her feet and smacked him upside the
head. “You jerk!” She stomped off, leaving a confused and sheepish Son Gohan
watching her. He rubbed at the back of his head, wincing at the pain there. He
followed her, ignoring the cheering of the audience and the catcalls from the
kiss he had received. He knew that his mom and the others were making lewd
comments, but he chose not to think about that.

He caught up to Videl moments later and she punched him in
the shoulder. “That’s for dropping me!” She hissed.

“Ow! You already hit me for that.
Lay off, Videl! What’s wrong with you?” Gohan asked, baffled.

“You’re such a child. Bah, what can you do? Forget about it.
My dad’s match is going to start soon and I want to watch it. Let’s go, ok?”
Videl said, changing the subject. Gohan followed after her, the incident
already forgotten. “By the way, Gohan-kun… do you have an email address? I’d
like to keep in touch with you, if you don’t mind?”

Gohan grinned. “Sure. SonGohan@439mountains.net. What’s yours?”

“Devilgirl@orangestar.net. Think you can remember that? I
gave you a few hard knocks to the head.” Videl teased.

Gohan laughed. “You bet. Hey… devil girl sounds appropriate,
you are an evil little girl, aren’t you?” Gohan taunted back.

Videl flashed him an evil grin as they approached his family
and friends. “Don’t you forget it, cutie.”

Gohan sighed and sat down by Krillin again, grinning as he
was congratulated for his victory. Not to exclude her, they complimented her as
well, making her blush in embarrassment. Videl leaned over to whisper in his
ear. “I’m gunna get you at the 27^th
Budoukai. You better train your little ass off, cute stuff!”

Gohan’s face flushed a deep scarlet. ‘Damn she is viscous!’
They watched as the match between Mr. Satan and Tai-Pao
started, and after nearly an hour of back and forth fighting Mr. Satan
delivered his patented ‘Miracle Super Kick of Doom’ and Tai-Pao
landed outside of the ring and unconscious. The crowd erupted into cheers as he
put his arms up and hammed up the victory. Videl applauded and cheered and
Gohan smiled at her, not even paying attention to Mr. Satan.

As they were about to leave, Mr. Satan approached as he
spotted Videl. “Videl! What are you doing with the
punk that hurt my baby girl!?”

Videl chuckled. “Dad, this is Son Gohan. He’s Son Goku’s
son. And I dished out as much as I took, he was just lucky. This is Krillin,
Chi-Chi, Bulma Briefs, and…” She paused for a moment, wondering if she should
say Ma Junior or Piccolo.

“Ma Junior.” Piccolo supplied for
her, nodding at the new champion.

“Hey, I’ve heard of you two! Why didn’t you compete!? Afraid of me?” Mr. Satan grinned and assumed a proud stance.

“Uh yeah, we were afraid of a guy we never met. Heh… no actually we just didn’t feel like it. We’ve proved
ourselves in the ring plenty. But you know… if you were really serious about
fighting you’d shave your head. All the greatest martial artists shave their
heads.” Krillin ran his hand over his bald pate as an example. “If Ma Jr. over there took off that turban, you’d see he had a shaved
head too.” ‘Well, ok so he’s naturally hairless, but this guy doesn’t have to
know that!’

Mr. Satan frowned and ran his fingers through his curly
afro. “You really think I should shave my head!?”

Krillin grinned evilly. “Yeah, you remember when that guy
grabbed your hair to make you break that hold you had on him? You could have
beaten him 20 minutes earlier than you did if your head was shaved.”

Mr. Satan nodded slowly. “You know… you’re probably right!
I’ll have to think about it. What do you think sweetie? Would daddy be handsome
with a shaved head?”

Videl giggled. “Daddy, you’re so silly.” She chose not to
reply to that. On the one hand, he’d look hilarious and she’d get to giggle
every time she saw him. On the other… he’s look silly and embarrass her.

Mr. Satan grinned. “You guys better compete at the next
tournament so I can grind you into the ground! I want to know I’m the best by beating
the best!”

Krillin chuckled. “Maybe I will compete then. See ya at the next tournament!”

They all waved. Gohan smiled shyly at Videl. “Well, bye.
I’ll write to you soon, ok?”

Videl grinned impishly. “Sure, cutie! I’ll be waiting!”
Before he could move away she wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a
kiss on his lips and giggled as she ran after her father, who had, thankfully
for Gohan, not seen his daughter smooching the demi-Saiyan.

Gohan sighed and blushed, knowing he’d have to endure teasing
for the whole journey home. He grinned as he thought of his victory, knowing he
would make his father proud. And he’d have some money for his college fund,
making his mother happy.

************************

So, what did you think of the tournament? And
how about Vegeta’s nightmare? I hope it was scary. He he. And poor Gohan… he just had to meet Videl when
she was in her girly affectionate stage. How’s that for your first meeting of a
girl your own age? Hehe. Though, he has a bit of interest in her as well… not that
he understands it! Teehee… I’m eager for reviews. Oh
I so wish I had the skill and tools to draw a completely bald Mr. Satan… or had
the means to edit his hair off… that would be so funny! Anyway… next chapter:
The Saiyans, are they real or is it a trap!? Till next
time!
- 16
- 17
- 18
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Dragonball: Vertigo