(A few days later)
The inner workings of Capsule Corp were all abuzz with activity as the gravity room was currently dishing out its toughest session yet. With Goten and Trunks resting up in the observation room following their own grueling practice an hour or so earlier, they were able to get a good view of the current match being conducted by their seniors. Just like every other day before, this training regiment was just as captivating as the last ones.
Hanging over by one side of the room, adorned in black spandex shorts and a top that was cut to expose her midriff, Zangya was performing a one-handed handstand on her thumb and two fingers. Gritting her teeth as sweat trickled down her face and body, the Hera was currently putting herself through hell on earth as the force of over one thousand times gravity was weighing down on top of her. With her body maxing out her base power level, she was doing her best to keep herself steady, while at the same time doing push-ups on one arm and balancing what looked like a couple of anvils on her feet.
While she was doing her own workout, the two most powerful Saiyans on the planet were engaged in their own activity across the rest of the chamber. Both adorned in spandex shorts and training boots, Gohan and Vegeta were spending their time polishing their technique and power work across the floor space. Mixing it up from their previous spars, the demi-Saiyan was wearing large metal bands on his forearms that Bulma had designed to increase his weight several times over and to make the task of fighting more difficult. The prince meanwhile had on a pair of weighted metal pads on his arms, which he was using to catch the boy's various punches and kicks.
Heavy and durable, these pads were made up of twenty percent adamantine, meaning that they were flexible enough to be bent yet strong enough to take a Saiyan's planet splitting punches. This made them exceptional training tools, especially since both of them were in Super Saiyan form and were battling against the elements at their absolute maximum.
Gritting his teeth and pouring sweat, the shortest of the two warriors backed away across the tiled surface at a staggered pace as his opponent drove a dozen more concussive blows into the metal blocks on his arms. "Come on, brat! Faster! Double jab and a right kick!" Vegeta shouted, taking the blows and checking the kick from the teenager as he staggered after him. "Good! Three punches here, switch kick and a low punch!" The hits rang out throughout the room like cannon fire, rattling the chamber to its core and prompting the full-blooded fighter to back away at a faster rate. "More power! Right and right hook!"
Yelling out with every punch, Gohan drove into the metal pads a combination of blows before driving a two consecutive kicks into his opponent, who caught them with the steel cushions effortlessly. After uncorking those attacks, the demi-Saiyan then jumped at the prince and dove at him with a downward elbow. This attack connected with a deafening shockwave, which he then followed up with a powerful roundhouse that Vegeta blocked and sent the royal sliding along the ground.
Wincing under the force, Vegeta looked up in time to see Gohan zigzag towards him at a ridiculous speed. Timing his approach, the man then jabbed out at him, forcing the boy to slip the blows and counter with a swinging elbow, slamming it into the metal block with a 'clang.' He threw a couple more elbows one after the other, driving them in with cutting force. Immediately after taking the kid's last elbow and body shot, the prince cocked his foot up and slammed a push kick into the teenager's stomach, sending Gohan crashing to the ground. When the hybrid rolled onto all fours, the prince rushed him with a kick.
"Is that the best you can do?!" Vegeta shouted, his golden aura blasting around him as he aimed the blow for his head.
Spitting out sweat that was rolling into his mouth, Gohan blocked the kick with his arm and lunged up, slamming two punches into the metal blockers, before being forced to block a series of hooks from the sides. When Vegeta threw a third hook though, the boy pivoted on the spot and slammed a kick into the man's ribs, drawing a yelp from his opponent and knocking him stumbling away.
Vegeta then leered at the teen after shaking his head of sweat. "That's more like it!" He then put up his guard when Gohan dashed towards him.
Ready for the assault, the shorter fighter threw a kick at the approaching teenager, forcing him to check it. But this didn't stop the demi-Saiyan from jumping at the man with a knee, which connected with one of the pads and had Vegeta stumbling backwards again. Instead of falling, the Saiyan lord spun back around and drove a hook into the boy's side, forcing him to block and counter with a series of punches to the metallic pads. When those hits landed, Gohan ended it with a step-in knee, which his training partner caught with the block and knocked the pair away from one another.
Stopping a few yards from one another, the two panting and battered warriors glared across at their adversary, their forms readying for another go. But just before they could rush in to confront each other for one final hurrah, the bell inside the chamber went off and the control system's voice reverberated throughout the dome. "Training Session: Complete. Gravity Simulation: Deactivated. Normal Environmental Settings Restored." And so on and so forth.
Almost immediately after the computer read the curtain procedures, the two Saiyans felt the weight lift from them in an instant and slowly stepped out of their fighting stances. The sensation also told Zangya that her session was over and, after performing one last rep, returned to her feet.
All three warriors stretching out, Gohan and Vegeta slowly removed the metal blocks wrapped around their arms and limped their way towards the door. With the demi-Saiyan unclipping the cuffs with a resounding hiss and the prince simply sliding his pads off, the two sweating and exhausted warriors breathed a collective sigh of relief as they unconsciously followed the Hera out of the room. When the equally beat woman met the pair at the exit, she grinned at them and held her hand up for a high-five.
"Good session, guys," she chirped, watching Vegeta walk passed without even giving her a second glance. Doing a double-take at practically being blown-off by the prick, she then received a congratulatory high-fivefrom Gohan, who she shared a grin with before following him into the lockers. After stretching her fingers above her head and groaning in satisfaction, she threw the teen a smile and gestured towards his opponent, "You really gave his royal highness a pounding back there. Nice job."
Chuckling as he made his way to his steel top shelf, with the central bench dividing the pair from one another, the spiky haired hybrid smiled in the young woman's direction. "Okay. First of all: phrasing." When Zangya grinned lecherously in response, Gohan shook his head and blindly grabbed the towel hanging off of his door. "And second of all, I think we were both equally beating the crap out of each other."
A quick scoff from Vegeta pulled the pair's gaze down the line of lockers to see the royal standing by his shelf and using his towel to wipe himself down. "You wish, brat. I had you on the ropes the entire time," he then threw a smirk at the boy.
Feeling his Saiyan side acting up, Gohan returned the man's competitive expression with one of his own. "Hey, at least you weren't the one carrying the thousand ton weight bands on your arms and being forced to block everything being thrown at you. That pretty much gave you a handicap." He then held up the metallic cuff he was still holding before depositing it on the bench. Since it was programmed specifically to respond to the gravity room's settings, the normal weight of the brace had also been restored to it, making it a poultry two kilo. "I'll be sure to return the favor this afternoon."
"Hmph," the prince grunted before returning to wiping down his face.
Shaking her head at the pair, the orange haired woman quickly grabbed her towel, wiped her face down and turned to face the demi-Saiyan across from her. Her eyes running up and down his muscular back and broad shoulders, Zangya took a moment to savor the sight of his toned upper body until the Super Saiyan's attention fell upon her once again. "It's been a couple of weeks since I've had a pad session. Mind if I take a swing at you as well?"
"You want to share in my pain?" the young Saiyan asked, finding her request quite curious. When he saw the Hera nod her head affirmatively, the teen smiled. "Alright then. If that's what you want to do, then I'm not gonna stop you."
"Oh, trust me. You won't be able to," the woman grinned slyly while turning side on to the hybrid. At the same time, the girl bent her leg and struck a rather alluring pose, one which she hoped would catch Gohan's attention given her current state of dress. Sadly though, the boy simply smiled at her as she gave her response. "After seeing what you were doing to Vegeta, I'm gonna use every opportunity I can to jump in and start beating the stuffing out of you as well."
Ecstatic to hear this, Gohan pointed at her confidently. "I accept that challenge."
"Goodie," Zangya exclaimed, wiping her arms down before tossing her towel back into her locker and saying in a sing-song voice, "This afternoon is going to be so much fu~un." She then did an about face and began sauntering towards the gravity room, making a show of waving her hips at the same time.
Vegeta seemed to take notice of this, his eyes darting between both Gohan and Zangya couple of times suspiciously. Noticing the oblivious smile on the boy's face and the flirtatious manner the orange haired woman was speaking to him with, the Saiyan male raised an eyebrow at their banter and slowly turned back to his locker. He did so at the exact same time Goten and Trunks rushed into the room and made a B-line straight for the GR.
"Hey, big brother!" Goten laughed, giggling as he and Trunks ran after Zangya. "It's our turn to train now! Second session!"
"Alright." Gohan smiled and watched as his younger sibling dashed past him, springing over the center bench in the process. "Good luck, little bro. You too, Trunks."
"Thanks, Gohan!" the lavender haired adolescent called back, before leaping at the retreating Hera's back. Unfortunately, the blue-skinned Z-fighter sensed the sneak attack and dodged it, taking a mock boxing stance and throwing a few playful punches at the youngster until Goten leapt onto her shoulders from behind.
The two little devils giggled as they latched onto Zangya, who laughed along with them as she staggered towards the training room's central control panel. Watching them from a distance, the hero of earth couldn't help but allow a cheerful smile to spread across his lips and a soft laugh to leave his heart.
Grabbing a bottle of water and sitting down on the bench directly behind him, the spiky haired defender of the planet took a moment to rest and recover. While doing so, and listening to his brother and friends preparing the gravity room for use, Gohan then sensed Vegeta sit down next to him and looked across to see his father's arch rival glaring ahead of him with a bottle of water of his own and his towel slung around his neck.
Remaining silent for several seconds, the full-blooded warrior took a deep breath and, after one last moment of consideration, glanced over at his most recent sparring partner. "I understand that you've chosen that buffoon Hercule's daughter to be your future mate and life-partner, is that correct?"
Caught off guard by the Saiyan's sudden question, the demi-Saiyan froze up for several moments before looking the man nervously in the eye. "Future mate? W-What do you mean by that?"
"Don't play games with me, brat. You know exactly what I mean," the flame haired warrior snapped with a slowly deepening scowl. "That Videl girl is incredibly fond of you, yes?"
Gohan swallowed anxiously, "Y-Yeah?"
"And you're as attached to her as she is to you, am I right?"
"Yes. I like her a lot… no… I love her. More than you know," the teen replied immediately, his own frown becoming more pronounced as he glared right back at the alien male. "Where exactly are you going with this?"
The prince continued to glare at the teenager for some time. After he was certain he'd instilled a feeling of uncertainty within his opposite, Vegeta's back straightened up and he began to speak. "It has recently been brought to my attention that there are a number of women in your life that have developed a bit of a healthy interest in you and, if my observations aren't deceiving me, you've taken quite a shine to them as well. And I'm not talking about some best-friend sideshow or an ordinary companionship here. These girls have become incredibly fond of you … and are growing more so by the day."
Hearing the Saiyan's words loud and clear had the spiky haired teen balk in shock. "Huh? H-How do you know?"
Vegeta turned his head away slightly, but kept his eyes fixed upon his sparring partner. He then allowed a small smirk to form across his lips. "Believe it or not, brat, but I've seen more than my fair share of this kind of crap over the years. Your case in particular is bringing me a great deal of amusement… and that doesn't happen to me very often." He then threw the boy a sly look, one that promised no ends of frustration for the hero of earth, before then directing his gaze towards the GR. When his and Gohan's eyes fixated upon Zangya playing around with the two kids, watching her laugh and mock spar with them in the white, dome-shaped room, the Saiyan prince nodded towards her. "She's a very attractive woman that one… tough… strong… laidback… I can see why you like her so much."
Visibly baffled by the man's statement, Gohan stared at the man with his eyes wide in shock, "Huh? Wait… I don't-"
"And she likes you a lot too," Vegeta interrupted, stopping the boy short and looking across at him with a steeled look. "Don't act coy and try to hide the fact that you find her character and physique appealing. It's humiliating… especially for a Saiyan. You like her more than you care to admit and I can see that as clear as day."
Staring right back into the prince's hard, charcoal eyes, Gohan swallowed nervously and looked away, his eyes becoming half-lidded. "I… I don't… know… what…" Sighing, the boy ran a frustrated hand through his sweaty hair and, after a few seconds of irritated contemplation, glanced back up at his group's second strongest member. "Why are you telling me all of this?"
Expression becoming more serious, Vegeta allowed for a few moments of silence to pass before an exhausted sigh escaped his lips. "Somewhere underneath this gruff exterior, there's a small, insignificant part of me that actually cares about you and your friends. I just don't show this side of myself very often, mostly because I can't be bothered." Taking a swig of his bottle of water created a brief pause in their conversation that enabled Gohan to process the man's words. After having his fill, the short fighter rose to his feet and, taking his towel with him, glared down at the boy intently. "Here's the thing runt… as you probably already know, the Saiyan race's most prevailing trait is our voracious nature. This includes the desire to fight, to grow stronger, and to find mates to help bear us a strong offspring. But because our occupation as planet conquerors became the most dominant aspect of our society, we never had the time or the luxury to spend pursing other meaningless aspirations or practices. Marriage for example was a foreign concept to our race… or at least to most of us, and there was no official law or process on Vegeta regarding those kinds of rituals. Saiyans were allowed to take as many mates as they wanted… and they did. It was in our nature to do so and, considering the blood running through your veins; it's well within your nature too."
Gohan blinked as he stared up at the man, narrowing his eyes questioningly at the same time.
Staring back down at the stern looking teen for a few moments, the prince then turned around and focused his attention on the other side of the room, "A little something for you to think about while you're deciding who you want to spend the rest of your life with. Since I've told you this much, I suggest you find out what other females have selected you to be their potential mate… otherwise you're going to end up destroying whatever bonds you've managed to forge between yourself and them." He then started towards the shower, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he looked back at his second rival. "Knowing the kind of person that you are, that's something I know you will never want to let happen. Try not to disappoint me." He then promptly left the room, leaving Gohan to stew over his thoughts.
Sensing the prince retreat into the showers and the door to the GR shut behind him gave the demi-Saiyan the perfect opportunity to think about his predicament. Thanks to the prince's timely advice, the boy had suddenly become aware of the fact that there were a bunch of girls in his life that were vying for his attention… and not in the conventional sense. He'd been completely oblivious to this detail for some time, but in the wake of his most recent conversation with the Saiyan royal, Gohan was now able to see the kind of debacle he was actually in.
He loved Videl and she loved him, without a doubt. She was the one person he could always look to for support and for guidance in times of great turmoil, and he valued her companionship above all others. She was also his closest companion and his closest friend. But there were others too whom he valued just as much; Zangya, Lime, Kana, Erasa… all of whom he cared just as much for and found himself being drawn towards by some unknown force. It was uncanny.
"I care deeply about all of them," Gohan thought, clenching his fists tightly as his mind revolved around the faces of all the girls whom he'd formed strong bonds with. It was this idea that had his brow narrow uncertainly. "But… how much do I care about them exactly? Videl is the only one I'm in love with and treasure the most, right? Yeah. That's it. That's definitely it. I love her and… and… her… alone…"
Without even realizing it, the seeds of doubt had been firmly implanted in his head.
Was Vegeta right? Did he care about the other girls more than as a friend? Were his latent instincts and desires as a Saiyan telling him that he wanted to develop his relationships like his father's rival said… to become more intimate with them? With Zangya, Lime and Kana? Were his inner demons telling him to act on his primal impulses? It certainly would strengthen the bonds that all of them shared, no question, but that also meant going down an avenue that was rife with fears and uncertainties.
Simply thinking about it had the young warrior blush a deep shade of red and shake his head furiously when less than appropriate thoughts of the other girls he knew started to flood into his mind. He then brought a hand up and slapped it against his skull.
"Damn it… that jerk just had to open his big mouth and say something…" Right up to this point Gohan had been perfectly fine being completely ignorant of the belief that most of the girls he knew liked him in a more-than-just-friends-way. Heck, he wasn't even doing anything to attract this kind of attention from them in the first place… at least not consciously. But now another part of him was starting to act up and it was beginning to make him think about all kinds of things he'd never even considered before.
While putting a plug on the rather inappropriate images starting to seep into his brain so as to preserve his sanity, the boy then looked up when he remembered something important.
It was something that'd been gnawing at the back of his head for the past few days but he'd been unable to acknowledge it properly. But now he could.
"Erasa's been acting really strange ever since I started at Orange Star High," the teen thought, his expression softening when the image of his friend entered his mind.
It was this new thought that allowed him to stem all others and focus his mind on something that wasn't tainted by 'darkness.'
Since the day he'd met her, Erasa had always come across as a bubbly, energetic girl who was always happy and full of life. She'd always been a shining beacon of light amongst their group, not just physically, but emotionally too. For the last two years Gohan had never seen her break this mold that she'd created for herself and had always referred to her with a smile. But in the past few weeks since he started high school with Videl, and his friends realized they were an item, the girl's character had taken a sudden and drastic shift.
Now she was acting more distant and less like the girl the teen had grown to know, and it worried him.
It was after hearing what Vegeta had to say that the demi-Saiyan came to the conclusion that he knew what was wrong with her.
Looking ahead of him and towards his locker, Gohan quickly spotted the gemstone wristband he'd received as a get-well present from the blonde sitting there on the shelf and, reaching forward, gently picked it up. Holding it in his palm and studying the aqua rocks carefully, Gohan began thinking about all of the good friends he'd made over the past seven years, particularly Erasa, and all the times he'd been able to spend with them.
All of them had shared so many great moments. As a group, they'd spent time at each other's houses, played games, went to see movies, went out on the town, and even spent days with one another individually. Gohan had found the blonde's company to be very enjoyable and always filled with activity. Whenever he saw Erasa and whenever they spent time together, the boy always had a smile on his face because her spirit was always alight and brimming with positive energy.
Perhaps this was why he found such intrigue in her as a person? In spite of all the trials and tribulations she'd faced in her life, she could still smile through it all, just like him.
After taking a minute to think about his blonde haired friend and how much she meant to him, Gohan then enclosed the bracelet in his fingers and looked up with a resolute expression coming into play.
"I'll go talk to her sometime later and find out what's bothering her. I want to try and fix this and go back to the way we were before." By doing so, he hoped he would be able to find out how she really felt about him and whether he'd be able to make things well between them again.
Hopefully…
After all, he didn't want one of his friends going around looking miserable for the rest of the year. It's what he felt was the right thing to do.
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