Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

Chapter 3: Scandal

The gym was empty save for the black-haired girl in the corner beating the stuffing out of the punching bag. It had taken one look from the other occupants to realize that if they didn't leave, they would be Satan Videl's next victim – er, sparring partner. They had quickly and quietly filed out, leaving her to take out her frustrations on an inanimate object rather than a living one.

On any other day, she would have been shocked that not only did Gohan know the Bulma Briefs, he also was obviously trusted enough to watch her son. On any other day, she would have interrogated her classmate until he pissed his pants. On any other day, she quite possibly would have asked Goten questions about his brother until he pissed his pants.

But this was definitely not any other day. All Videl wanted to do was to get as far away from Son Gohan as possible. But no matter how physically far away she was from him, her thoughts revolved around the incident from earlier that day. Her first kiss. And not only had it been her first kiss, but it had been with Gohan, the geeky boy with practically no social skills to speak of. Somehow she had envisioned her first kiss (yes, even Satan Videl had imagined what her first kiss would be like) to be with someone less… nerdy.

But even she could admit that despite the geekiness, Gohan could be considered quite a catch. He was a genius. Though he didn't seem to be athletically inclined, she had seen that underneath the horrendous clothing he had a body that would make most of the guys at her father's gym green with envy. He had a great personality: nice sense of humor, polite, and respectful. He even had a bit of a chivalrous streak in him if the Halloween Dance was any indication, not to mention that he definitely knew how to kiss. What girl wouldn't want to date him?

After finally reducing the bag to a pile of mangled sand and cloth, she wiped her face off with a towel and left for her room. She paused as she heard her father's drunken shouts at the television, rolling her eyes as she realized that he was watching old tapes of himself. Again. Her father really was an idiot. She loved the man, but he had become egocentric in the years since the Cell Games. He really needed to be taken down a peg or two.

But back to her main problem. Namely, what she would do when she saw Gohan tomorrow. Should she avoid him again? Act like nothing had happened? Kiss the hell out of him? She could admit to herself that her crush was more than just a crush. If she were honest with herself, she really wanted to kiss him again. But what would he do if she did that? Would he push her away? Kiss her back? Not do anything because he'd be freaking out? Somehow she could see him doing that. The image made her smile, even if it involved her being embarrassed because he wasn't responding.

She turned the shower on and undressed, stepping in when the water was warm. Dumping some shampoo into her hand, she massaged it into her hair thoughtfully. She could call Erasa, but she'd rather not bring the blonde into this… whatever it was unless she had to, mostly because she didn't want to endure Erasa's smug "I-told-you-so's" just yet.

By the time she was done in the shower, she had decided that she would just run with what Gohan did. If he chose to avoid her, she would do the same to him. If he kissed her in the middle of class, she would respond in kind. If he ignored what had happened, she could do it too. It wasn't like anyone else knew what had happened, right?

How wrong she was.

***

Monday rolled around and with it came Videl's eighteenth birthday. She was actually somewhat excited; though being the daughter of the most famous man in the world had its perks, being legal in the eyes of the law was even better. Now she could do whatever she wanted and her father had no say in the matter. She could date Goh- a boy if she wanted and the World Champ couldn't do anything!

As she approached the school, she noticed a large group of people fighting to try to get in. Seeing the cameras as they followed her descent onto the school roof, she sighed irritably. Great, the vultures were here to interview her on what it felt like being eighteen. As she carefully landed on the roof, Erasa practically flew out of the door that led to the staircase. Videl raised an eyebrow. What was she doing up here?

The blonde rushed to the coptor and nearly ripped the door off its hinges in her hurry to shove the newspaper in her hands. "You need to read this," Erasa panted, bending over and clutching her side.

"Fold your hands behind your head," Videl commanded absently, glancing at the newspaper that had been so unceremoniously handed to her. She froze, rubbed her eyes, and looked at the paper again. A picture of her and Gohan kissing graced the front page, a large headline over it. Disbelieving, she began to read.

Satan Videl: Mother at Twelve?

Could this be possible? Satan Videl, mother at the tender age of twelve years old? Impossible, one says. Even Mr. Satan himself couldn't contain news of this magnitude. And yet it seems that that is exactly what happened six years ago.

Incriminating photos from an anonymous source were sent to the editor here at the head office of Purgatory News, photos that seem to prove this seemingly impossible claim. In them, Ms. Satan is walking around a park in West City, holding hands with and kissing a formerly unknown teenager and looking after two young boys. Though the boys' names are unknown, the teenager is none other than the son of former World Martial Arts Champion Son Goku. Son Gohan apparently chose not to follow in his father's footsteps and instead focused more on his academic career, for he received one hundred percent on all of his entrance exams and is at the top of every class. One can only wonder how such an academically-inclined young man ever caught the attention of one of the foremost female martial artists in the world, and at such a young age as well.

The two boys that accompanied Ms. Satan and Mr. Son are almost certainly their illegitimate twins. The twins are fraternal, but one has Ms. Satan's blue eyes and his maternal grandmother's hair, while the other is an almost exact replica of his renowned paternal grandfather. Our source also confirmed that they called Ms. Satan and Mr. Son "Mommy" and "Daddy," respectively.

What more proof is needed? There is no other reason why they would be on the other side of the planet, away from people who know them, unless they truly are parents trying to keep their children away from the publicity that they would surely garner if the world knew about them.

-- Gofer Minion

By the end of the article, Videl was shaking. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, though she didn't know if they were from rage or humiliation. She crumpled the paper up viciously before throwing it over the side of the school and marching towards the door. Erasa followed behind her anxiously.

"Videl?" she asked tentatively, wincing as her friend slammed the door open. "Come on Videl, people won't believe this. Everyone knows that you've never looked at a guy like that." The blonde dearly wanted to ask about the picture but knew better than to ask. She winced again as a steady stream of curses came from Videl's direction. Definitely not a good time to ask.

Videl slammed the door of her classroom open and walked quickly to her seat. Her classmates had all abruptly stopped talking at her grand entrance, but the whispers soon started up again. She could hear words like "slut" and "whore" being tossed around and knew that they were being applied to her. Tears unexpectedly came to her eyes again and she put her head down quickly in case anyone else had seen. "Happy birthday to me," she muttered bitterly, resting her head in her hands. "I'm going to kill that reporter if I get the chance." The fact that she was now eligible for the death penalty crossed her mind and she almost laughed at the irony.

A hand rested briefly on her shoulder. "Hey, I don't believe any of it," Sharpener's voice said. His usual smug tone was replaced by a reassuring one, though it didn't help much. However, it was nice to know that Sharpener wasn't always an ass. The girl nodded slightly and for once the blond took the hint, sitting down in his seat without anymore comments. The teacher came in soon after and, after some sharp comments to the people still talking about the article, began teaching math like the rumor about Videl's supposed pregnancy didn't exist.

Halfway through the lesson, Videl realized that Gohan hadn't shown up yet. Was he hiding out because of the paper? If he was… oh, he was going to get it, leaving her to face the press alone. She began to get angry again, the anger covering up the hurt that her classmates' ready acceptance of the truth of the stupid article had caused. She began to imagine the different ways in which she could torture the idiot.

The girl was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't hear the door open or hear a certain dark-haired boy talk to the teacher before dragging something into the classroom. She did hear the increased volume of talking that Gohan's entrance caused however, and looked up to see what had caused the commotion.

A large box stood in the middle of the classroom. Gohan stood next to it, staring steadily at Videl. He smiled when she finally noticed him. "Happy Birthday, Videl," he said softly. "You should open this now." She stared at him, completely flummoxed by his attitude. He was acting like he hadn't seen the article at all! Then again, it was possible that he hadn't, seeing as he lived in the middle of nowhere. But as she slowly got up and began walking down the stairs, she could see the look in his eyes. He was definitely angry, though he hid it behind his normal easy-going smile. She relaxed slightly, happy at the realization that he hadn't abandoned her to face this alone.

"Open the box," he ordered. "Trust me, you'll like what's inside." After raising a curious eyebrow Videl complied, ripping the paper off of the box. With nothing to hold it together, the box fell apart to reveal a shaking man standing on the cardboard. The girl turned to Gohan, eyes now narrowed. Gohan grinned in a feral manner, making him look, dare she say it, almost sexy. She stowed the thought away for another time.

"This is Gofer Minion," he replied simply. "I thought you might like to have a talk with him."

Videl's eyes widened before she launched herself at Gohan, dragging his head down to hers and kissing the hell out of him. A second passed before Gohan began to kiss back; he'd clearly been caught by surprise. They ignored Sharpener's moan of despair and the gasps of surprise around them.

Videl pulled back slightly when the need for air became an issue. "You," she said softly and fiercely, "are the best boyfriend ever!" Gohan's eyes widened for a brief moment before he gave her a smile.

"I wasn't aware that we were official," he said teasingly. Videl rolled her eyes and socked him on the arm.

"I thought that we'd been official for a long time," she retorted. "We apparently have twins, you know."

"I saw that," her newly-christened boyfriend admitted. "Why else would I bring him here? What do you say we have a talk with Mr. Minion?" Videl grinned at him before turning to the clearly frightened man, cracking her knuckles in an intimidating fashion.

"Gladly."

***

The talk with Gofer Minion didn't take long. Between Videl's questioning and Gohan's intimidating stare, the man admitted to making up almost the entire story. The only research that he had done was seeing who the mysterious teenager was. By the end of the impromptu interrogation the poor man had nearly wet his pants from fear. The story hadn't taken long to circulate throughout the school and by third period everyone knew that Gohan and Videl were dating and that the majority of the article was a load of bull.

Almost everyone knew, that was.

Lunch had just begun when a loud roar was heard across the school grounds. It was possibly the most famous roar in the world when it didn't sound completely furious. Gohan, Videl, Erasa, and Sharpener looked up from their picnic under the tree in surprise as Mr. Satan stomped towards them in all his black afro'd glory.

"VIDEL! WHAT IS GOING ON BETWEEN YOU AND THAT BOY?" he shouted, spittle flying from his mouth as he came to a halt in front of his daughter and her friends. Gohan wiped his face in disgust. "YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN'T DATE ANYONE UNLESS THEY CAN DEFEAT ME IN A FIGHT!" Videl rolled her eyes.

"Dad, I'm eighteen," she said flatly. "I can do whatever I want."

"I DON'T CARE HOW OLD YOU ARE!" the man yelled. "YOU ARE MY DAUGHTER AND YOU WILL OBEY MY RULES!" He continued to shout incoherently. Videl growled and began to get up. Gohan pulled her back down easily.

"It'll be a lot easier if he agrees to this," he said over her protests. "I'll fight him. After all," he added, letting a smug grin escape, "I am Saiyaman." Videl froze at the words. The two blonds had heard his words as well and stared at him, completely shocked. Gohan stood up and walked over to his girlfriend's raving father.

"If it means that I can date Videl, I'll fight you," he declared. Mr. Satan stopped in mid-rant, staring down at the boy who dared to date Videl. He looked familiar… The article said that he was Son Goku's son, but the champion recognized him from somewhere else.

"Why do you look familiar?" the man demanded.

Gohan smiled mysteriously, moving closer. "Let's just say that I know who really defeated Cell," he said softly, not wanting the others to hear what he was saying. His eyes flashed to teal for a moment to make sure that the man knew that he was being serious, and the color drained out of Mr. Satan's face. "I think that you owe me a favor for not telling the truth about the Cell Games all these years."

"W-what do y-you want me t-to do?" the big man stuttered.

"Let me date Videl," was the simple reply. "We fight, I let you win so you can keep your reputation, and you graciously let me date your daughter anyway because I was brave enough to stand up to you." Gohan's eyes hardened slightly. "Or I can defeat and humiliate you. Your choice." He watched Mr. Satan's struggle and was satisfied when he heard the resigned sigh. 'I win,' he thought smugly. He knew the way he was acting was uncharacteristic, but he'd listened to the man badmouth Goku for seven years. It was time for some payback.

Suddenly Mr. Satan let out his trademark laugh. "All right then kid, if you think that you can take me on, then let's go!" He gave his trademark roar and launched himself at Gohan. They traded blows for a few minutes, Gohan staring at him the entire time as if to say, "This is all you've got?" Mr. Satan growled in irritation; just because he wasn't some freak like this Gohan kid didn't mean that he couldn't fight! The man pushed himself even harder, wanting to land just one punch.

For his part, Gohan was actually impressed with his opponent's talent. It was clear that Mr. Satan had been training hard in the past seven years. Seeing the Z fighters' inhuman fighting techniques had probably spurred him on in trying to attain their level. Maybe one day Gohan could teach Mr. Satan how to fight like them.

Right now though, it was time to end this fight. It was pointless and they both knew it. Gohan let his guard down and allowed his opponent to land a punch on his jaw and send him flying backwards. He made a big show of trying to get up and failing. "All right," he said in what he hoped was a pained tone, "I give up."

His friends' and girlfriend's jaws dropped even further at this declaration than they had when the two fighters started fighting. None of them could believe that Gohan had just lost to a man who couldn't do all the things that Saiyaman could do. He had to have lost on purpose, but why did he do it? Their question remained unanswered.

Mr. Satan stared down at Gohan for a moment before laughing loudly. Striding over to the teenager sitting on the ground, the champion hoisted him up and shook his hand. "You're the first person who ever tried to fight me to date my daughter and you gave me a good workout," he said loudly. "You can date my daughter even though you didn't beat me." Gohan stared at him in fake surprise.

"T-thank you, sir!" he said happily. "I won't hurt Videl, sir, I promise!"

"You better not!" Mr. Satan said sternly. "If you do, I'll hurt you!"

Gohan nodded sharply, knowing that the man meant it. He had no doubt that Videl's father would try to hurt him if something happened and Videl got hurt physically or emotionally. Mr. Satan nodded back and turned, cape billowing majestically around him as he walked away. Gohan squared his shoulders, turning back to the three people sitting underneath the tree.

As he fended off questions about his strange abilities, the demi-Saiyan reflected on what had led him to be sitting here, an arm around his girlfriend and enjoying time with what his mother termed "normal" people. He'd helped out a girl, kissed her in a park, helped her scare the hell out of a man who had printed lies about them, and fought the World Martial Arts Champion to date her. And it was all because of that crazy little thing called love.

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~tp