(That Monday)
It was midday during school period and the atmosphere at Orange Star High was buzzing with excitement. The corridors of the main building were filled to the brim with students all making their way down to the main hall, all of whom were expected to attend a very special ceremony. It was for this very reason why everyone was being so well-behaved, even the more disobedient ones. However, neither the affair nor the mood of the student body was going to stop the local gang of troublemakers, whom everyone affectionately referred to as Videl's Crew, from having a pleasant conversation on the way down to the big meet.
"Oh my God, this is going to be so great!" Erasa cheered brightly, the look in her eyes glowing as brightly as her hair. "I can't believe that we're all going to see the legendary Kaiser Talos give a speech at our school in person! Ooh, I can't wait!"
"Geez. Cool your jets, Erasa," Videl groaned, looking across at her friend with a slightly nervous expression in play. "If you keep carrying on like that, you're going to give yourself a heart attack."
Acting as though she didn't hear the girl's words at all, the blonde quickly turned to the city's poster girl with stars in her eyes. "Come on, Vi! How often do we get to see a real life, big time celebrity at our school?"
Touya, who was walking alongside his girlfriend Yuki, glanced across at the blonde with a half-smile in play. "Well, if we're being realistic here… pretty much every day. I mean…" He then gestured across at the raven haired crime fighter the bubbly reporter-in-training was speaking to. "We have the 24th Junior Division Martial Arts Champion and the daughter of Hercule Satan walking alongside us."
"Not to mention the 25th Junior Division Martial Arts Champion standing right next to her," Yuki also added, pointing to the demi-Saiyan whom their beloved poster girl was attached to the hip to. "That's two cards on the first draw."
"Not to mention those two cards also happen to be a pair," Sharpener interjected with an amused grin drawn across his lips. He then raised a finger, "The most famous pair in the school, I might add."
"Well. Yeah. We have these two, for sure," Erasa exclaimed, at the same time waving her hand flippantly in their direction. She then gestured to them in a grandiose manner, "But that's the thing. We all know these guys. They're not some well polished trophies that have been put on display in some case to be ogled at by the public… or just a couple of people we've randomly bumped into on the streets." She then wrapped her arm around Videl and hugged her in an affectionate, BFF manner, "They're our best friends and classmates; people we've developed an incredibly strong bond with. There's no way we can view them as anything else."
This remark earned a cheerful grin from Gohan and a warm smile from Videl, the latter of whom hugged her friend back in response to her remarks. "Thanks, Erasa. That's really nice to hear from you."
The cheerful blonde nodded judiciously, "You're most welcome."
"But Touya does have a point. You guys aren't exactly novices when it comes to meeting famous people. In fact, you guys have shaken hands with a whole bunch of them in the past," Videl commented, at the same time unwrapping her friend's arm from around her neck to look across at the rest of their crew. "Why should Kaiser be any different from them?"
"She just likes meeting new people, that's all," Gohan answered, drawing the attention of his peers as he beamed at them in his characteristic manner. "It's just one of the many things she loves to do in her free time: chatting over the phone, making friends, hanging out with the ones she knows, going out to the shops, playing games… and keeping in touch with the latest trends, news, and gossip."
"Aww," Erasa exclaimed, reaching up to poke the handsome boy in the cheek, "You know me so well, country boy."
The demi-Saiyan grinned at her despite the girl's finger being pushed into his face. "That's because I've gotten to spend so much time with you, Videl and everybody else. Hell, I've been hanging out with you guys so much that knowing what each of your individual interests and quirks are has become second nature to me. Your fascination with celebrities and famous people is definitely at the top of that list."
Erasa giggled, pulled away, and put her hands behind her back. "Well, when you're studying to become a reporter some day, you've got to keep a close eye on all the big fish swimming around out there in the world."
Yuki chuckled as she shot the blonde an odd glance with her doe-eyes and doe smile, "There's an original excuse if I ever heard one."
"And an acceptable one at that," Touya finished, sharing a shrug with his anthropomorphic girlfriend. "Kaiser is a pretty famous guy and a big shot toy maker. We all know that."
"Pretty famous guy?" Eraser scoffed, looking across at the sportsman with a look that was a cross between amusement and disbelief. "You think a man as big and powerful as Kaiser is just 'pretty famous'?"
"Oh boy," Sharpener chuckled from the sidelines as he slipped his hands into his pockets, "Here it comes."
"Kaiser Talos is the owner and founder of the second largest research and development conglomerate in the world, Talos Industries, and is one of the wealthiest, powerful, and most generous billionaires alive. His work on quantum engineering, medicine and sustainable energy is unparalleled, and has led to some of the greatest innovations and discoveries in the history of the human race. It's no wonder his company is the only monopoly in the world that can compete with the likes of Capsule Corp," Erasa raved, filling the corridor with her exclamations that all of her friends leant an ear to hearing. Upon ranting over this topic with a flare and passion no one else could match, the blonde then waved her hand dismissively and added her last bit as a side note. "That's not even counting the fact that he's one of the top ten smartest people on the face of the planet and donates millions of zeni to charity, as well as unaccountable resources to helping the poor."
Hearing this drew a nod of acknowledgement from the demi-Saiyan walking with Videl under his arm. "Sounds like he's a very kind man. I wouldn't mind actually meeting him face to face."
"His efforts and donations have helped a lot of people across the country, and has rebuilt entire communities that'd been ravaged by sickness, famine and war," Yuki informed, beaming across at her friends with a smile. "Given his character and laundry list of accomplishments, I think your assessment on him is spot on."
"Well then, I guess we're going to find out for ourselves exactly what kind of a person he is when he finally gets up on stage," Videl stated, knowing for certain what a lot of celebrities were like when addressing the public. "His presentation today should be more than enough for us to get a feel for his character."
All those who were walking alongside the girl could agree with her statement. But as they continued marching along with the rest of the crowd, Gohan's head then perked up when he remembered something and he turned his attention towards Sharpener. This was where the demi-Saiyan put a big grin on his face and addressed the man in a very sly, very Bulma-like manner. "Speaking of breaking news in Orange Star High, there's another bit of gossip I'm sure a few of you might be interested in hearing…" He then shared this practiced look with Erasa. "You probably already know this, but our friend is no longer one of the most eligible bachelors on the premises anymore…"
Blinking a couple of times, the blonde teenager then realized what he was inferring and quickly turned to the jock. "That's right! Sharpener's got a girlfriend!"
At that, almost every single person walking in that formation made a simultaneous 'ooh' sound and looked in the direction of their physically adept classmate. In a matter of moments, they saw the teenager in question hunch over and form an expression that was easily akin to embarrassment for someone of his personality.
A few seconds later, Sharpener replied, "Alright. There's no need for that. It's nothing for any of you guys to be losing your heads over."
"Who is she?" Touya asked, completely ignoring his friend's remarks. "Is she cute?"
"What's her name?" Gohan asked. "Does she go to this school? If yes, what year level is she in?"
"Is she a human or a hybrid?" Yuki asked, leaning over her boyfriend to interrogate the blonde standing on the outside of their arrangement. "Is she a local?"
"Where did you meet her?" Videl asked next.
"Is she allergic to shellfish?" Touya asked a second time, drawing an odd look from most of the kids there, particularly Sharpener.
"What the hell kind of question is that?" the jock asked, earning a cheeky grin from the boy in glasses, who then shrugged at his friend. Shaking his head at the man's stupidity, the long-haired track star scratched his head and looked away. "Well… to answer your questions, Sena is a transfer student just in from Red Star Senior College on the other side of town, and is in the same year level as us. She's a red haired girl, really good looking, and has a spunky attitude to boot. Even though she's new, she's already made a name for herself on the fencing team."
"Oh. So she's a sporty type as well, huh?" Yuki asked, finding an interest in this information.
"Yeah, and not just in sword fighting either. She's also super good at judo and has won several championships in middle school," Sharpener added proudly.
Lips turning upwards into a grin, Videl looked towards the ceiling with a grin, "I'm starting to like this girl already."
"I'll introduce her to you guys when we get down to the hall," Sharpener stated, looking more excited at the thought of getting his friends to meet the mysterious young woman who had managed to bury her claws into his heart. "Since I know how hospitable you guys can be, I know you numbskulls will hit it off with each other just fine."
"That sounds awesome," Erasa chirped, grinning across at her blushing friend to see him look back in her direction. "I really want see the kind of girl who was able to capture the heart of our romantically challenged sports superstar."
"I bet she's tough," Gohan commented, beaming at the blonde man to see him shrug while Videl and Erasa nodded in agreement. "If there's one thing I know about Sharpener, it's that he likes girls who can kick him in the backside."
The raven haired crime fighter leaning into his arm snickered, "He's one of those people who gets pleasure from pain."
"Hey! I object to that!" the jock spoke up, scowling at his thoroughly entertained classmates and companions. "What? You think I get my jollies from getting my ass beat?"
Sliding in on this exchange of friendly banter, Touya leaned forward and threw his fellow sportsman a sly grin at the same time the rest of his friends did. "I do."
"No one asked you!" the jock snapped, blushing in frustration and taking a swing at his rival, only to see him dodge and laugh.
While the two sportsmen grappled, with Yuki laughing on the sidelines, as Gohan, Videl and Erasa watched the scene unfold, the demi-Saiyan walking in between them suddenly lurched forward when someone stealthily jumped onto his back. Feeling a set of arms lock around his neck, the teen quickly looked over his shoulder in surprise to see the familiar, friendly face of Lime grinning back at him.
As soon as she straddled her friend, the teenager giggled, "Surprise, Gohan-kun!"
"Hey. Good morning, Lime," the hero laughed, not bothering to fight the girl as she held onto his shoulders nice and tight. "Where've you been hiding this whole time?"
"Oh, just a few lockers back… waiting for you to let your guard down," the brown haired girl replied, sticking her tongue out at him. "Now I've got you… and I ain't lettin' go."
Greeting each other in their usual, friendly manner, the young Saiyan allowed his fellow villager from the mountains to remain pasted to his spine, hanging off of his neck like a backpack. During that time, Videl and Erasa couldn't help but look upon the duo enviously as their schoolmate from another year level nuzzled their spiky haired idol. When she eventually hopped off of the warrior, relief and stability quickly returned to their ranks, and the group continued following the herd down to the hall where they would be receiving their school's visitor. Videl and Erasa were sure to secure their spots on either side of Gohan, and made doubly certain to huddle in close to him to prevent Lime from hogging all of the glory.
About halfway down the hall, Sharpener excused himself from the group to head off to the restroom, allowing his friends to carry on without him. Though this puzzled a few members of their troop, namely Gohan and Lime, everybody else had a sneaking suspicion as to why their blonde haired friend disappeared so readily. The girls shared mischievous grins with one another, as they all knew the real reason why the boy had retreated so quickly.
He wanted to go meet up with his would-be, mystery girlfriend before introducing her to the rest of his friends. No doubt to warn them about their shenanigans.
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