Staring after them for several seconds, Chi-Chi then turned to Hercule to see the big man looking back at her nervously. Upon which the martial arts champion cleared his throat and nodded, "Ma'am."
"Mr. Satan," the Son mother replied with a parental nod of respect.
"I appreciate you for having my daughter over. This… really means a lot to her," the Champ murmured, rubbing the back of his hand in a meek manner as he gazed back at the woman. "I can tell she really likes that boy and that she wants to be around him as much as possible. Just… make sure she eats her food and brushes her teeth every morning and afternoon."
Chi-Chi sucked in her gut confidently, "Don't worry, Mr. Satan. I'll make sure that your daughter is well looked after. I promise."
Feeling relieved, Hercule swallowed nervously and bowed to the woman, "I'll drop by every now and again to check up on her. Even though I am the World Martial Arts Champion and the face that defeated the mighty Cell, that doesn't mean I can't set aside some time for my most important little girl in the world…"
"I understand that completely, sir," Chi-Chi responded earnestly, giving the man a kind gaze. "My Gohan means the world to me too. So don't worry. I swear I won't let anything bad happen to either of them." It was the best comfort she could give, which was all Hercule needed to settle the swarm of butterflies in his stomach.
Eventually, after pleasantries and assurances had been made between the two, the world champ waited for his daughter to come back out and after giving her a hug, he hopped into his copter, waved, and took off.
Over the past few days, both Gohan and Videl had assembled one hell of a timetable together.
While the half-Saiyan was still getting a few of his things in order, the champion's daughter had arranged to stay over at his place for the next several weeks. It wasn't just an ordinary sleep over either. The raven haired martial artist was going to be taking fighting lessons under him starting from that very weekend, and Videl was determined to give it her all. She even took some time off from school for 'Hercule Satan' business, which was one of the few privileges granted to her by the institute. Of course, this was under the condition that she completed the course work during her away period over the internet.
After hashing it out with her dad, clearing the air and what not, the raven haired girl then packed her things and readied herself for the long months ahead. Gohan had no problems organizing this with his mother either, who was just as happy to have her son's friend over as he was.
Surely there was some ulterior motive behind her cooperation in the matter, but Gohan wasn't splitting hairs. He was sure that whatever it was, he did not want to be a part of it…
Because he was pretty sure that he'd already passed that point.
With Hercule gone and Videl's stuff put away in his bedroom, the demi-Saiyan then walked the girl across the field and in the direction of the spot Piccolo and Zangya was waiting. On their way there, the visitor began taking in as much of the countryside as she could. Marveling at the hills and the cool breeze that moved gently across the plains, the pig-tailed martial artist in training smiled and stepped closer to her friend.
"This place is really beautiful. You like it out here?"
Gohan grinned, "Yeah. It's quiet, it's open, and I can go wherever I want and not have to worry about stepping onto another person's property. I can also get a lot of training done out here without having to worry about destroying anything important or hurting any people nearby."
"For a superhuman that's capable of wiping out an entire city block with a sneeze, I think that's a fair deal," Videl replied, grinning brightly at the blonde. "I bet your workout sessions are intense."
"Well, not as intense as Vegeta's for sure, but definitely more practical," Gohan informed, shrugging as they continued moving through the grass at a casual speed. While the girl brushed some bangs out of her hair, the young Saiyan continued. "My dad and friends believe that training out in the open is the best way to get stronger. While I'm thinking of mixing it up a little more, the fields and natural environment I think is the best place to begin."
"And that's where you'll want me to start as well?" the girl asked, giving the spiky haired fighter a hopeful look.
"It was where all of us started out, including me. Considering how far I've come along, I believe that's where we should kick things off," Gohan said, earning a grin from his friend and seeing her pump her fist excitedly.
The pair soon arrived at the flat where Piccolo was waiting for them. When they approached him, Videl shirked a little at the sight of the seven foot green man. But of course, being the daughter of the world champ and a tough girl in her own right, she gladly stood beside her friend as he introduced her to the giant of a warrior.
"Hey Piccolo, this is Videl," Gohan greeted, turning to the teen to see her cup her hands in front and bow to the Namekian. "Videl, this is Piccolo, my best friend and my very first martial arts teacher. He's the one that taught me everything I know about fighting, and helped me and my dad train for the androids and Cell." The youngster grinned across at his guardian. "He's an awesome fighter and one of the best I know."
The Namek smirked at the girl standing beside the Saiyan, "'Sup?"
"It's good to meet you, sir," Videl said, her voice a little bit shaky but eventually leveling out when she mustered up the confidence. "Gohan has told me a lot about you."
"Has he now?" Piccolo glanced at his student, who smiled back at him innocently and prompted the warrior to raise an eyebrow. "How much exactly?"
"Enough to know that you're a great man and a wickedly good instructor," the raven haired girl immediately replied.
This tickled a funny heartstring in the Namekian, who grunted back at the youngster's praises, "I'm flattered. Thanks."
While trading pleasantries with the tall green alien, Videl then noticed somebody else present and looked around the caped crusader. Squinting to get a better look, the young fighter then jumped when she recognized the blue-skinned alien girl from the Intergalactic Tournament and the Kana incident sitting on a nearby log.
Gulping, the pig-tailed martial artist raised a hand and waved, "H-Hey?"
Zangya gave an upward nod, "Yeah, hey." And then went back to looking off onto the horizon.
Chuckling at his compatriot's indifference, Gohan placed a hand on Videl's shoulder, "That's Zangya… and yeah. She was one of those aliens from the island incident. Don't worry, she won't bite. She just hangs around our place now standing guard over our laundry."
"O-kay," Videl murmured, tilting her head in the direction of the woman. After several moments of sizing her up and getting a feel for her presence, she eventually shook herself out of her daze and quickly focused back on the reason they were here. Clenching her fists, the pig-tailed fighter smiled across at her friend, "So. When can we get started?"
"Oh-ho? Eager, are we?"
The girl nodded, "You damn right I am."
"Alrighty then. The first thing we're going to do is get you acquainted to our routine. Square one," Gohan said, at the same time tugging on his gi. "That means you're going to need a new uniform."
Videl then pulled at the collar of her shirt. She was wearing a pair of black spandex pants and an oversized top; something she often wore while training at home, "What's wrong with my current uniform?"
"Nothing at all. It's just that you need one for our kind of training," Gohan replied and glanced across at his teacher. "Piccolo?"
Knowing it was his time to shine, the Namekian stepped forward and towered over the girl. While his size and appearance would have intimidated any other person, Videl didn't back down in the slightest. All she did was look up at the man silhouetted against the morning sky and watched him curiously as he raised a hand and held it a foot above her head.
"Hmm, I think… a solid eighty should do it." Before the young girl could question what he meant by that, Piccolo then gave a loud yell and, in a flash of blinding light, the Champ's daughter found herself adorned in a completely new uniform.
It was an orange and blue gi very similar to the one Gohan had worn when he was four, complete with the kanji 'Ma' on the left breast and 'Son' on the back.
When she emerged from the smoke, Videl wanted to check out her new look, but was unable to when her body suddenly lurched downwards and she had to put momentary effort into straightening back up.
"Whoa. What the heck?" It was heavy. That was a surprise. Not just the wrist bands but her shirt and shoes felt like they were being held down by bricks as well.
The material didn't feel dense, but she sure as hell felt the weight of it. Probably because she wasn't expecting it.
"Cool." Gohan, smiling as the girl pulled herself up, then turned to look at his mentor, "You're going to have to teach me how to do that sometime, Piccolo."
The Namekian nodded, "Sure. You and I can have a sit-down about it later. But let's focus on getting your student up to speed." When they looked back at Videl, they saw her quickly adjust for the sudden weight increase in her new uniform with a quick skip of her toes.
"Wow… how did you do that?" the young fighter asked, glancing up at the Namekian curiously.
Piccolo chuckled, "Magic, runt… and not the kind you can find in any retail and convenience store. That stuff was the genuine article."
"He's really good with it too. Trust me," Gohan remarked with a proud look in his eye.
This then raised another important question that the pig-tailed girl had to address.
"What happened to my old clothes?"
Staring blankly at her for a moment, both master and student turned to look at each other. After several moments of silence and contemplation, which put a bit of sweat on the two of them, the Namekian slowly looked back at the newcomer. "Don't know… don't care." His response and the half-Saiyan's deadpanned look had Zangya snort before breaking out into fits of suppressed laughter.
The Hera could be seen holding her sides in the background.
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