Oblivious Chapter 8

"Remind me again, why are we going to a mall? Shouldn't we be, I don't know, seeing what we could find out about that guy?" Gohan asked as Erasa dragged him down the street, Videl trailing just behind him.

After the attack on the school, Erasa had declared that they needed to get out of the school to unwind, having been in a stressful, life-threatening situation. While Gohan wasn't against the ideal of unwinding after a fight, it was something his Dad had recommended he do all the time when they trained together, now seemed like an inappropriate time to do so.

After all, their school had been attacked by an actual terrorist who had been gunning for Videl and had a suit which was powerful enough to even catch Gohan off-guard. Admittedly, not to enough of a degree to actually hurt him, but the last time he had been caught off guard like that was when he was sparring with Piccolo a few month ago, and he had struck him with stretchy arms.

Gohan didn't know what to think about Piccolo's abilities sometimes.

But as Gohan began to lose himself in his thoughts, he was brought back from them by Videl's response.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Erasa's got the right idea," Videl admitted, as she sped up her walking pace in order to walk alongside Gohan. "I may not like it, but this isn't something we can really help with, not since he blew himself up. We've got CSI teams looking into the remains, and when they find something, we might be able to act. But until then, all we can do is wait."

Gohan nodded at this, as Erasa hummed happily. That made sense, especially since he couldn't really contribute. Despite scanning his ki throughout the fight, Gohan couldn't find anything noteworthy about it, and had nothing to go off. His ki was so… normal. He might as well have been another civilian. And with no way to track the suit's origin since it, well, blew up, he had nothing to contribute.

Which was annoying.

But Videl was right, the police teams would be able to find something, and when they did, he could act on it. Sure, he may have to steal that information since the police weren't likely to just hand it over to him, but he'd work that out later down the line.

"Besides, I have more pressing questions on my mind," Videl continued, causing Gohan to look at her curiously. Questions about what?

"Firstly, is the fact that my heel is completely fine. I'm a fighter, remember? I know when I've broken something, and my heel was way more than just broken. And somehow, with nothing but a… magic bean, I'm fine. How does that work?"

Gohan blinked at this, saying nothing as Erasa agreed with Videl's question. He forgot that some people didn't know about the many mystical things that had become normal in his life. That must have been a nice feeling.

"Oh that? That was just a senzu bean, which heals all injuries. My friend Korin grows them." Gohan said jovially, not noticing when Videl and Erasa looked at him in shock.

"Heals all injuries? And your friend just grows them? Why hasn't he released them to the world?" Videl shouted, catching the attention of other people walking down the street.

Gohan however, obviously unbothered by the new attention, just shrugged.

"Well, Korin doesn't really interact with people much, and it's not like senzu beans are easy to grow. The only reason I have some is because Korin feels like I deserve them." Gohan explained, deciding to omit the fact that Korin only felt that Gohan deserved them because he had been the one to defeat Cell.

Videl didn't seem to like this, as she began puffing up her cheeks in frustration before she stomped off ahead of the two of them, muttering curses under her breath.

"You know Gohan, you're a weird guy. A nice guy, to be sure, but very weird." Erasa commented, as Gohan just looked at her.

But as Gohan digested this fact, she suddenly stopped in front of Gohan, causing him to almost walk into her. As Gohan tried not to trip forward and accidentally squash her, her face began to light up, even as Videl began to sigh dramatically next to her.

"We're here!" Erasa announced, throwing her arms up in front of her to point out their destination.

Not that it wasn't obvious where they were, since the building in front of them was huge. Gohan had been to a mall before with his mother when he was younger, but he didn't remember it being so big. The building towered above him, casting a massive shadow over not just himself and the street he was standing on, but the building behind him as well.

There seemed to be dozens of people present, forming massive crowds that seemed to ebb and flow around with a practiced ease, even outside the structure. Gohan even felt intimidated by the amount of people present, his hands beginning to get clammy at the thought of being in those masses.

Not noticing Gohan's unease of being surrounded by so many people, Erasa strode forward with a skip to her step.

"This mall is great, filled to the brim with so many good shops. And unlike other malls, the food court here is actually pretty good."

This snapped Gohan out of his reprieve, as he looked at Erasa intently.

"Food court?"

Z watched the news story covering the Orange Star High attack with an amused expression, partially because of the story being told, and partially because of the general reaction of his present underlings.

The story being told was that an unaffiliated terrorist had attacked the school with the primary goal of attacking famed daughter of the World Champion, Videl Satan. After a brief confrontation, which Miss Satan had confirmed she was involved with, the terrorist seemed to resort to a suicide final option, blowing himself up in a, failed, attempt at killing her.

What amused him about that story was the fact that it made it seem like the attacker had been unable to injure Miss Satan and had to resort to blowing himself up in a last-ditch effort. Which he knew wasn't true.

That man, one of his many agents which he had scattered across the globe waiting for his command, was wearing a generation two Combat suit, one of his better creations. While it was far from perfect, something he knew from rigorous testing, it was more than enough to deal with the likes of Miss Satan.

And while he hadn't expected Miss Satan to survive, he had decided to stay more, involved, with this operation. So, he had deployed a drone, high in sky and with a clear view of the attack. While he didn't expect to yield much from this, at the very least it would confirm the operation's success.

Instead, it produced something even more valuable: an actual recording of the boy who had single handily stopped the earlier operation in action.

And by Kami, was it an impressive display.

The boy was capable of near herculean feats, able to move faster than the normal eye could track and had the raw hitting power of a runaway train. Afterall, the boy had sent one of his Combat Suits flying with nothing more than a single punch, which was impressive considering that it weighed around half a tonne.

And not only that, he seemed to be an experienced and skilled fighter. Miss Satan had proven that as well, making use of great martial skill to keep herself alive longer than Z would have anticipated, but she lacked the superhuman abilities this boy seemed to possess.

Which led to another interesting discovery: the boy seemed to have magic beans. As much as Z loathed to say that, it would seem to be the only real description. Because Miss Satan had most certainly broken something while fighting his Combat Suit, based on the scream alone. However, after ingesting a single bean, she seemed to suddenly be fine.

Which wasn't something you could easily explain with science.

Bringing his attention back to the room, he began to enjoy the tense atmosphere that was forming around him. His employees were, rightfully, terrified of him. And now, they were watching a news report about one of his suits failing to accomplish their mission. They were likely expecting him to explode in anger.

Which wasn't unfounded, if Z was being honest, but he found it amusing nonetheless.

One of his braver employees, his assistance Betty, walked up to him with a notepad, a thin layer of sweat visible on her forehead.

"My Lord Z? Are you alright?" She asked hesitantly, which Z smiled at. Being silhouetted by shadow, she couldn't see his smile, so he decided to verbally respond.

"Of course, my dear, why wouldn't I be?"

At first, she seemed taken aback by this, the calm tone surprisingly her. But to her credit, she recovered quickly.

"Because of your Combat Suit failing their mission?"

"Ah, that. I must admit, the loss of one of Suits is frustrating, but the information we've gained is much more valuable." This seemed to surprise her as well, an eyebrow jutting up in response.

"Sir? What information?"

"Why information on the boy!" Z responded jovially, causing everyone in the room to jump. "We now know where the boy goes to school. Which gives us plenty of windows for future attacks. And we now have a new standard for our suits to reach. Speaking of, how goes the development of the gen three suits?"

Swallowing to calm herself, Betty glanced over her notepad.

"Production is going as expected, and the response has been better than anticipated. These suits are ten times stronger, faster, durable, and versatile than previous tests. We've now begun the manufacturing process."

Nodding at this, Z leant back into his chair.

"Very good Betty. Have one of these suits ready for combat as soon as possible. We'll see how these new improvements work against our new adversary. And regardless of the outcome, we will benefit from the knowledge gained. And as such, my suits shall continue to improve. With this new incentive, it won't be long until the suits are unmatched, and no one will be able to match me."

"Other than that, I would like you to have someone tail that boy as much as possible. If we can find the source of his strength, we can apply it to our technology."

Nodding her understanding, Betty turned and quickly began to power walk away, putting as much distance between herself and Z as possible.

Content with how things were playing out, Z closed his eyes and smiled. For now, he would be patient. And for his patience, he would be rewarded. And no one would challenge him.

Videl stared in horror as she watched Gohan as he eat. She had seen some truly horrifying imagery in her life, mainly while in the field and dealing with the sick and twisted. But nothing made her feel quite as sick as what was going on now.

When Gohan had suggested getting some food, she hadn't thought much of it. They had just been through an intense situation and, honestly, she had worked up some hunger herself. It had dissipated after eating the senzu bean, but she didn't think too much about Gohan being hungry.

Until he ordered.

He had easily ordered enough food to satisfy their entire class, with plates stacking up taller than Videl could see. And yet, despite that, he was working through it like it was a light snack. He was practically inhaling food, clearing plate after plate with ease.

And it was a bizarre image.

Something which she didn't think alone, however.

"How are you eating so much? Where are you putting it all?" Erasa half shouted at Gohan, who simply shrugged with a mouth full of food. Which made Videl's stomach turn.

"First time seeing him eat?" A somewhat nasally voice asked, catching the attention of the three teens.

The one who had spoken was, to Videl's surprise, an incredibly buff midget. While Videl had seen plenty of people with ripped muscles, she had never seen that type of body on someone like this. Not only was he shorter than her, something which Videl wasn't used to seeing from an adult, but he seemed to lack a nose, and had some strange dots on his forehead, partially covered by his dark hair.

But Videl couldn't help but notice that he was built incredibly similar to Gohan, incredibly ripped and none of it for show. If he knew Gohan, which the way he spoke suggested, then there was a good chance it wasn't for show. Videl made a mental note of that before shifting her sights to take in other details about the man.

He was dressed rather casually, wearing nothing more than a bright red t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts, and was carrying several dozen bags in his hands, surprisingly without much strain. Seemed like he was here to do some shopping.

And he wasn't alone, as standing next to him was someone who Videl could only describe as 'drop-dead gorgeous'. Standing next to the midget, was a woman who stood easily twice as tall as him, and with a stunning set of golden blonde hair, she was stunning, even to Videl. And in her arms was a child.

A child, who was lacking their nose?

Wait, was she the child of that man?

Wait, was this woman that man's partner?!

"Mmfmfm!" Gohan shouted, his words muffled by a mouth full of food, which caused the short man to chuckle.

"Swallow first, speak second Gohan. I swear, you're so much like your dad."

Pausing to swallow his food, Gohan smiled a toothy grin, before standing up and walking over to the man, scooping him up in a tight hug.

"It's good to see you Krillin."

"Uh-huh, good to see you too." Krillin said in a strained voice, as he struggled to breathe from within Gohan's tight vice. "Could you ease up bro? I can't breathe!"

Letting him go, Gohan just smiled before turning to the woman.

"Hey 18, how are you?"

The woman, who was apparently named 18, smiled at him, before readjusting the child in her arms.

"Fine. Just enjoying some shopping."

Gohan nodded at this, before he crouched over slightly so that he was at eye level with the child.

"And how are you doing Marron?"

The child in question smiled a goofy grin, eyes lighting up as she began to animatedly tell Gohan about how she was.

The entire time, Videl just watched silently, not wanting to interrupt but also wanting to find out more. These people were clearly friends of Gohan, but they seemed to possess something that Gohan had which she was struggling to put her finger on.

At first, she wondered if they were fighters like him which might have been true of the man. He clearly had the build for it, what with his muscles and build. And if he was friends with Gohan, there was a good chance he also knew one of the older martial arts.

But while there was reason to believe that, Videl couldn't help but dismiss it. Because this was only true for this man and Gohan, which didn't apply to the woman. She clearly didn't have the same build, or even the demeanour of someone who might have practiced martial arts, but she seemed to possess that same quality as the two others, which Videl couldn't name.

If she wasn't a fighter, then it couldn't have been that. Then what?

She was brought from her musings when Erasa began speaking to her.

"I don't know what I was expecting when I was thinking about who Gohan would hang out with, but I must admit, I never would have pictured this."

Videl just nodded dumbly, still focused on the group in front of her. Curiouser and curiouser.

Suddenly, Gohan turned around, waving his hand in an arc which gestured to herself and Erasa.

"These are my two new friends; Videl and Erasa. Guys, this is my friend Krillin, his wife 18, and this is Marron." He introduced, ending with a quick pinch of the child's cheeks which caused her to giggle.

The short man looked over at the two girls, and with a giggle and an eyebrow wiggle, he nudged Gohan in the ribs.

"Friends, right? Nothing more?" He asked suggestively, which caused 18 to smirk and Gohan to blush furiously.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Hey guys, TWoS here, and I don't normally do this for this story, but then again, it's kind of needed.

That's right, I'm, somewhat, reviving this story. I'm sorry for abandoning it for so long, but I hit a bit of a writer's block with what to do, and ended up just moving on to different projects, with this one falling to the wayside as a result.

But I had no intention of ever abandoning it, and I mostly just never had the time or energy to work on it again. I decided to give it a try and I managed to produce this chapter. I'm not sure what I think of this chapter, as it's better than the previous attempts at writing this chapter, but at the same time, this isn't my best piece of work. So, if any of you could give me feedback, that would be greatly appreciated.

Nonetheless, this story is back, and I will be making more of an effort to work on it. Chances are, I won't be uploading this story that regularly, but I will be uploading it more in the future. I hope for now though; this chapter will suffice.

For those who were here when this story first was written, thank you for sticking with it for all this time, and for all the new readers, thank you for taking the time to read this story. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see you when I next decide to upload. Here's hoping it won't be another year and a half.

Much love – TWoS.