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[If there was ever a time Gohan wanted to take a step back and reevaluate his life choices... It was right now. He'd question exacty what it is he did to land himself in this situation, but...

No, he knew exactly what it is he did. He just had to think he could have his cake and eat it too when it came to going to school and trying to be a superhero. But hey, how was he supposed to know that the daughter of Mr. Satan was going to be so ruthless when it came to exposing his identity?

Still... Training her wasn't so bad. Sure, it was cutting into his own prep time, but Videl seemed to have a real aptitude for it, and she was definitely more open-minded than her old man when it came to all this. Even if they've only really scratched the tip of the iceberg when it came to blowing her mind.

All he could do at this point was wait for her to arrive for today's training session. He knew there was no getting out of it, so he might as well just accept his fate.]

[ Originally, Videl's plan to make Gohan train her had been out of spite. He was lying, to her and the world, and there were few things that made her angrier than liars. Combine that with the fact that he'd been keeping his secrets of flying and magic powers to himself, despite the fact that apparently anyone can do them, and it'd felt like righting some of that wrong to demand he share that knowledge with her.

But the more she gets to know him and his family, the more she starts to rethink that initial impression. Yeah, he was lying, and she's still not happy about that, but at least she can kind of understand why. It wasn't meant to be mean-spirited. It's a secret he's kept for personal reasons, ones that are strong enough to keep him willing to teach her even though she's struggling and taking forever at it compared to Goten.

Plus flying is pretty darn cool, even if it takes a ridiculous amount of work and effort. She can't do much more than hover above the ground for a few minutes, but damned if she's not determined to flit around like the Sons do one day. That's what keeps her coming back to their house, ready for another exhausting session.

Today is no exception to the rule. She flies her copter over (someday she won't need it, but not today), landing in the nearby clearing before calling out. ]

Hey, Gohan! Ready to train?

[Gohan watches Videl's copter land itself nearby, not catching him by surprise this time, unlike last time.]

Sure am.

[He could make up some sort of lie, telling her that he thinks she's already learned everything she can and that she's good to go. ...But honestly, he knows she'd see right through him. She's terrifyingly good at that, even better than his Mom is! Plus... Well, it's actually been pretty fun to hang out with Videl like this, teaching her. He'd never considered himself capable of being a mentor, especially one like his own mentor, but maybe there really is a future for him in teaching.

It's kind of exciting to him, really.]

It looks like you've already got the hang of the core concept here. But you don't have the same kind of fighting background that Goten and I have, so we'll need to work on your agility before you can really start soaring around in the sky.

[ Not the same kind of fighting background? He probably hadn't meant it as a slight, but Videl's crossing her arms and scowling at the comment instinctively. Sure, she hasn't been flying her whole life, but she's the daughter of Hercule Satan, World Martial Arts Champion. She's been training in martial arts herself since she was a kid.

Usually, it's criminals who underestimate her due to her size and gender, and they quickly find out that they were wrong to judge a book by its cover. Turns out that it's just as annoying when Gohan makes those same assumptions. ]

Just because I haven't been flying for years doesn't mean I haven't been fighting.

[ She might not be on her father's level, or so she thinks, but she'd like to think she's pretty good at it even so. So with what she knows, it's pretty insulting to say that Goten has more experience than she does, when she's got a decade or something on him. ]

[She's mad at him? Oh, great. Leave it to Gohan to unintentionally insult someone without trying to.]

Huh? ...W-wait, that isn't what I mean! [The panic sets in on Gohan, he's dealt with Videl long enough to be able to tell that she's mad at him for something. Even if he doesn't understand why. Sheesh, he was just trying to tell her that she hasn't spent her whole life fighting to save the planet, that's all. How she got "you're weak" out of that he'll never understand.

Okay, deep breath, relax. Time to try and explain his way out of this one.]

I know you know how to fight. Heck, you've probably got a stronger martial arts background than I do.

[He pauses, scratching the back of his head.]

But... There's more to it than that. It's not like I woke up one day and just decided to fight the bad guys. I've been doing this kinda stuff since I was a little kid.

What do you mean by, "since you were a kid"?

[ She's figured out a good amount about his life, through determination and plenty of snooping. But why Gohan has these powers, and just how involved he's been in keeping the planet safe, remain a bit of a mystery to her. So of course she'd been offended if he implies that she's somehow less experienced at fighting despite also growing up in a martial arts-oriented household, and of course she doesn't know what he means by fighting bad guys as a child.

Videl knows for a fact that he's not worked with the police force before - she's the first civilian they let help out, and that was only after a lot of string-pulling and proving her worth. They wouldn't let some random kid help out. And even if he was claiming to be acting in a vigilante style, she's pretty sure she would've heard about that, too. Saiyaman and the Gold Fighter were talked about pretty heavily as soon as they came on the scene.

So she doesn't get it. And that curiosity replaces that anger, especially once he backtracks and acknowledges that she's a fighter, too. What's he going to share with her now?

...And he will share it with her, willingly or not, because she's Videl, and Gohan should know by now that she's not about to let him lie to her. Not as long as she can do something about it. ]

[Crap... Maybe he said too much? But... After all this, with how open-minded Videl's been, he wants to believe that she could handle the truth about him. The real truth. He desperately wants to believe that he could tell her and it would be fine. Except one problem stands out in his mind. And that's one thing he absolutely can't reconcile.

Videl grew up believing Mr. Satan was the one who defeated Cell... If I told her the truth, that it was actually me who did it? If she did believe me, that'd totally destroy her world. I can't do that to her...

He was going to have to lie her, and just pray to Dende that she actually believes him.]

U-uhh, well... Dad was a hero too, you see! But he died years ago, and I've been trying to follow in his footsteps ever since then. So, you know, since I was a kid?

[It was only a lie by omission, and he did already tell her that Goku was dead and gone, so he could only hope that maybe she wouldn't push that matter further.]

[ Her dad might not be dead, but she doesn't see how that changes things much. Her dad's still a world hero, and she's still been training to carry on the Satan name since she was young. There's a reason they crossed paths outside of school - she's been involved in crimefighting, even before he decided to butt his nose in.

It's not that she doesn't buy his story about his father being a hero. Even if she hasn't made the connection between Son Gohan and Son Goku the World Martial Arts Tournament champion, it's perfectly believable to her that he could've had a dad who fought as well. What she doesn't buy is that he's somehow different because of it. It's not really the same as "fighting bad guys since he was a kid", not the way he tells it. ]

Again, failing to see the difference here.

[ Her eyes narrow, trying to size him up. Is he lying? He doesn't have a very good answer to her question, but she doesn't know if that's because he was backpedaling to keep her from getting angry or because he's hiding something. Either way, he's got some explaining to do still. ]

[Of course. Of course Videl wouldn't buy that. Gohan would never be so lucky as to actually have something work out for him the way he wants it to. There's always some unknown variable that he can't account for that throws everything off.

And when it came to Gohan's personal life? Videl was the biggest unknown variable out there.]

It just... is different, okay? It's complicated... ["Complicated" doesn't even begin to describe the task of making someone like Videl understand that he's half-alien, a member of an elite super fighting force, and the guy who saved the Earth from Cell. Or at least Gohan thinks so.]

A-anyway... [He pauses, running his hand through his hair.] We should get started.

Hey, hey! Don't act like this conversation is over!!!

[ If she wasn't annoyed before, she definitely is now. Why does he feel the constant need to lie to her? And why, in addition to making her angry, does it hurt to realize he still won't share the truth with her?

She's starting to realize her dad may have been right about one thing: boys really weren't worth it. ]

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so sorry for the delay!

no worries!

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sorry for the delay! I got eaten by Shadowbringers.....

no worries, work has clearly been eating my face just as much

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