[Author's Note: Please understand that this novel starts with very few differences to the canon as it starts during the World Tournament. However, as the story progresses, Goku's absence will be felt more. Please, be patient with this story and you may experience what should be a peak.]
Seven years ago, Son Gohan defeated the grotesque miscreant known as Cell. However, despite winning the battle, Son Gohan lost something more important than he could've possibly imagined; his father, Son Goku. Perhaps in a different universe, one very similar to his own, Gohan would one day be reunited with his father. However, in this world, Goku never returns, leaving the Earth under Gohan's protection.
For seven years, the Z fighters lived in peace.
Until inevitably, things changed.
Gohan, the Son of the Legendary Son Goku, watched with proud eyes as his student finally mastered the art of flight via Ki control. With his hands resting on the blue, lightweight material on the gi blanketing his hips, Gohan smiled from ear to ear.
"Great job, Videl! Told you; all it takes is a little bit of practice!" he told his pupil.
Videl, her heart racing as her gaze met Gohan's, smiled bravely as she levitated a few dozen feet in the air. She once had long hair, worn in two twin ponytails, but she'd recently cut her black locs to not even grow past her ears. She laughed, "Look, Gohan! I'm higher than the trees!"
Gohan chuckled, his hands still resting on his hips. "Yeah! You soak this stuff up like a sponge! You're a very good learner."
However, Videl's pride would be shattered by Gohan's little brother, Goten, flying hundreds of feet in the air like a fighter jet, giggling as if it took little to no effort. Videl pouted, crossing her arms as she watched the kinder dash across the sky as if weightless.
"How long until I can do that!?" she asked Gohan, pointing to the spitting image of Goku soaring through the sky.
'Goten…' Gohan thought. Just when he felt like he was off the hook, having taught Videl how to fly and all, here comes Goten making her want to further her training. Gohan didn't mind it too much, however; in fact, he enjoyed her company, despite his mother's wishes. It was nice to take a break from studying every once in a while. And he may have thought the young lady was rather attractive.
Videl's feet gently planted onto the grass before she plopped her backside onto the ground, exhausted from exerting herself.
"In due time. Goten's been practicing for years," he told her.
"Yeah, yeah…" Videl mumbled. "Anyway, if you see my dad, don't tell him about this. I'd rather surprise him at the tournament."
"You don't have to worry about that. The last time I spoke to your father was maybe seven years ago."
"Good," Videl said. "'Cause if he found out I was spending all my time at a boy's house, he wouldn't be too happy. He says boys are a waste of time unless they're stronger than him. How am I supposed to even find a guy like that? I mean, he beat Cell and all with his strength."
'Right… the world thinks Mr. Satan beat Cell. Little does she know…'
"I mean, you're a pretty tough guy, Gohan," Videl said plainly, perhaps hinting at something…
Gohan, dense as his father, chuckled and said, "Has your dad ever sparred with you?"
Videl shook her head. "Nope, I probably wouldn't last even five seconds. You know, his training regiment is top secret, not even I get to see it."
'Yeah, I wonder why…' Gohan thought.
"Say, someone beats your dad, then what?" Gohan asked.
"All that fame that's gotten to his head would probably disappear. I mean, my mom's been gone for a while but he's just been running around with all sorts of young women like some playboy. It's gross. I hope he loses."
A sly smile stretched across the Saiyan's face. 'Perfect!' he thought. 'Once I beat her father in the tournament, just maybe…'
"Anyway," Videl continued, jumping to her feet and stretching her back. "He's too strong for his own good, so I doubt anyone could beat him. Say, who taught you martial arts anyway?"
"First, I was trained by a family friend named Piccolo and then my dad," Gohan answered.
"Oh, really? How come I never met him?" Videl asked, her arms stretched across her chest.
"My dad? Well, he's not with us anymore. He died around the time all that stuff with Cell happened."
"I see..." Videl said; her voice had become solemn. "I guess that's another thing we have in common, huh?" Videl said quietly.
Gohan nodded. "Yeah."
For the next ten days, Gohan and Videl continued training, all the way up until the day of the World Tournament. Of course, they weren't the only two preparing for the tournament. Piccolo, Vegeta, Krillin, Goten, Trunks, and the rest of the Z Fighters were all preparing for the oncoming tournament.
Gohan eventually found himself riding in one of Bulma's flying contraptions; accompanying him were the aforementioned Z Fighters. It'd been a while since they'd all been in one place together, so they decided to commute together and catch up with one another. As the others joked and laughed, Vegeta had this intense look on his face, such that Gohan figured he'd say something the Prince of Saiyans wouldn't like, but needed to hear.
"Hey, listen, Vegeta. Goten and Trunks too. I say we refrain from turning into Super Saiyans in front of all these people."
Bulma turned toward the group. "Good idea. We can't have everyone recognize you all as those guys from the Cell Games. Besides, I'd rather not have the press standing outside of my yard all day."
"Yeah, it would be a real mess…" Gohan added; however, Vegeta had other ideas.
"I don't see the problem," Vegeta said. "So what if the press comes? I'll destroy them."
"Vegeta…" Bulma growled. "Behave!"
Vegeta smirked, "Fine. No Super Saiyan transformations," Vegeta said as if he secretly just wanted to rile up his wife.
"That's fine with me!" said Trunks, Vegeta's only son.
"Me too!" Goten added.
Krillin, who then had a full head of hair, looked relieved, "That's good news for me! Maybe I stand a chance now." Krillin started to laugh, only for Vegeta to glare daggers at him.
"Pipe down!" yelled the Saiyan, and Krillin did just that.
As the plane was pulled toward their destination, a remote island where the tournament would be held, Gohan disguised himself in his Great Saiyaman costume. In Gohan's mind, his costume was very pleasing to the eye; however, his friends had differing opinions.
The crew eventually landed, departing from the plane before marching as a group toward the venue. They could see from a mile away that a crowd was beginning to form, swarming around Mr. Satan and Videl as the so-called savior spewed untruths to the press.
Soon enough, the fighters were called to the waiting area of the tournament. Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, Trunks, Goten, Krillin, and Android 18 said their goodbyes to the non-fighters and delved deeper into the venue. As they walked, Gohan couldn't help but wish his father could be there with them all, so he could see him fight one last time.
The Z Fighters entered the waiting area, only to find a popularity contest underway as competitors fought for the attention of onlookers. Many flexed their muscles, arm wrestled, or took the various strength tests scattered across the venue. However, the Z Fighters paid them no mind, knowing they could beat any of these showboats with just the flick of their fingers.
It wasn't long before Videl found Gohan, despite his Saiyaman disguise. She was indeed the only person to figure out the hero's secret identity. "There you are Gohan!" she said aloud, forgetting that it was supposed to be a secret.
"Shush!" Gohan muttered. "It's the Great Saiyaman! Remember!"
"Oh, right… I forgot."
Before the two of them could continue their conversation, a man in a white suit approached them. He had blonde hair that reached past his shoulders and amber-colored eyes. Jealously and rage concocted the dirty expression he wore across his face, his gaze directed toward the Great Saiyaman. The bouquet of roses in his hands was about to burst from his killer grip, though if he tried that on Gohan, those five fingers would likely wound up broken.
"There you are Videl!" the fellow yelled.
'Oh, no! Is that her boyfriend or something!? I better leave them to it, then,' Gohan thought. He started to walk away; stepping past the blonde-haired gentlemen. However, his cape being yanked back stopped him in his tracks.
"Hold it, buddy. Who the hell are you?" the pompous blonde asked. Gohan wasn't going to fight this guy, there was no point. Instead, he chose to ignore him, saving the fighting for when it mattered. However, Videl had other ideas.
"That's the Great Saiyaman!" Videl said as she stepped toward Gohan and interlocked her arm with his. "He and I have been spending a lot of time together; in fact, he's been training me all this time. Isn't that right, Great Saiyaman?"
"Uh… Y- yeah." Gohan mumbled, his face turning beet red. The way she worded it, it almost sounded like they were the couple here.
"What do you say we get out of here, Great Saiyaman?" Videl asked; though she started leading Gohan away before he could even answer.
"Sure…" he mumbled, being dragged along by the spunky young lady.
"See ya later, Sharpner!" Videl mocked, walking away attached to Gohan by the hip.
It was safe to say that Sharpner was infuriated, watching his one-sided love walk away with another man. He spiked the roses to the ground and made a singular vow to himself. "I'll find out who you are, Great Saiyaman. No one steals my girl from me! No one!"
He wanted to wring the Great Saiyaman's neck with both hands, but the outcome of that would likely be the opposite of what he would hope for.
Once the two of them were far enough away from the blonde prick, Gohan asked, "Who was that guy?"
"Some annoying bug that won't leave me alone. Not my type, that's for sure." Videl said.
Gohan let out a sigh of relief, loud enough that Videl took notice.
"You sound relieved about that?" Videl teased, raising a brow.
"What?" Gohan's face was still crimson as blood rushed to his face. "I mean, I wouldn't want you to have any distractions. With our training and all."
"Whatever you say, Mr. Saiyaman…"
Just then, Gohan and Videl could see Android 18 standing in front of a machine designed to measure one's punching power. She gave it a little tap, putting only a small percentage of her strength into this singular strike. Effortlessly, she scored two hundred and seven points, as did Krillin and Piccolo who went after her. Those in attendance assumed that the machine must've been broken as Mr. Satan, their savior, only scored about one hundred and seventy.
However, once Vegeta stepped up to the plate, punching the machine so hard that it was reduced to dust, no one knew what to think.
"Who the heck are these guys?" Videl mumbled, in disbelief at the strength of these strangers. How could these people be that much stronger than her father?
"Gohan!" said Krillin, approaching the Saiyan with the rest of the group. "Is this your girlfriend?" he teased.
"No! No, she's just a friend!" Gohan said, sweating through his costume.
Krillin laughed before walking away with his wife and the others. "Well, see you two love birds in the tournament," he teased before disappearing into the crowd.
"You know those people?" Videl asked.
"Yup, ever since I was a baby. They're practically family." Gohan grabbed Videl by the hand. "C'mon, it's about to start. I don't want to miss my brother's fight in the junior division."
For once, Videl was the one caught off guard, her face flushed as Gohan dragged her along.
Things were all sunshine and rainbows for the adults; however, for Goten and Trunks, they were the runts of dozens of jokes about their size from the other kids in the junior division. Still, their harsh words would only fuel the fire within the boys, especially Trunks who was preparing to face his first opponent.
Speak of the devil, his first opponent, a lanky young boy with a blonde mullet, approached the half-Saiyan, his tongue geared and ready to poke fun at the boy. With his arms crossed, Trunks eyed the boy, smiling with the knowledge that he could eradicate him in seconds if he wanted to.
"Hey, you little dweeb!" the young man bullied, his voice nasally and uneducated. "I hope you brought your diapers, 'cause you're gonna need 'em!"
He threw a punch at Trunks, who didn't even flinch as the boy's fist stopped just an inch from his face. "What a surprise. Kid didn't even flinch!" said the bully.
Trunks scoffed, just as his father would have. "I don't flinch from weaklings. It's best if you just walk away."
"You can act tough off al you want kid!" said the bully, his crooked finger aimed at Trunks. "But I'm gonna beat you so hard, you're gonna have a concussion."
"Go for it," Trunks mumbled. "Sounds fun."