The teen blinked in astonishment when she saw Videl bench-pressing one of the family's Hummer's, sitting directly underneath it dressed in an orange and blue gi, and suspending the vehicle a couple feet above the ground. From the expression on her face, the girl looked as though she wasn't even trying, but had apparently gone through a much harder routine sometime earlier. However, Videl's previous workouts were the least of Erasa's concerns as the blonde continued to watch as her best friend lifted an excess of over a ton of weight over her head like it was just a one kilogram dumbbell.
After a couple minutes of standing there gaping like a fish, Erasa eventually shook herself out of her daze and strolled forward, bending over to smile at her hardworking schoolmate lying across the metal bench. "Damn, girl. A little over excessive, don't you think?"
It was at this point the raven haired fighter finally acknowledged her friend's presence, "Oh. Hey Erasa. I didn't see you there. Glad you could make it." She then turned back to her makeshift gym equipment. "Hang on a second, just finishing up here."
Performing a couple more reps, Videl then moved the vehicle one-handedly over her and set it aside, allowing it to touch down and engage its massive wheels. Once she'd moved it off of her, the teen then leapt to her feet and rolled her arms, loosening herself up after a good session.
"Woo. That was great."
Considering the Hummer for a moment, Erasa then looked at her friend in amazement, "You never told me you could lift cars, Videl. Since when the heck could you do that?"
"Oh… since I started training like this a couple years ago," Videl replied, gripping her shoulder and rotating her arm, before moving to adjust her weighted wrist bands. "It was tough at first, but after several months of hard pushup, sit-up and squat routines wearing ridiculously heavy loads… pushing cars and tossing trucks is like child's play to me."
Blinking a few times in surprise, Erasa then cracked a smile, "So… is that the reason why you've been taking so many months off of school to study at home? Have you been taking super secret fighting lessons under your dad?"
"Well… yes and no. I've been taking a lot of martial arts seminars and classes over the holidays and semesters," Videl answered, returning to a proper standing position and smiling across at her schoolyard companion. "But my dad wasn't the one that's been teaching me. It was… somebody else… a very close friend of mine."
Finding some juicy gossip in the girl's words, the blonde clapped her hands together excitedly and grinned at her raven haired counterpart, "Ooh. Would this 'close friend' happen to be this mysterious Son Gohan I've been hearing so much about?"
Smiling, the teen in the orange gi shrugged and looked away, "May-be."
"I saw him fight in the final match of the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament a couple years ago. I thought he looked pretty cool," Erasa remarked, at the same time taking a step closer out of intrigue. "Just how strong is he exactly? If he was able to beat you in a fight, then he must be a pretty tough cookie."
"Oh, you have no idea," Videl chuckled with a grin, walking up to her friend and clapping her on the shoulder lightly. "Gohan's so strong, he makes dad and I look like a couple of insects compared to him."
Processing the Champ's daughter's words and following her back toward the front porch, the blonde teen then gave a light chuckle when she analyzed the confident smile on Videl's face, "Now I know that's not true. Your dad's the strongest in the entire world, Videl. I mean… he beat Cell for crying out loud… and that guy was monstrously powerful."
Looking her friend's way for a couple of seconds, the teen with the pigtails then shrugged while stopping beside her porch's steps. "It seems I have a little bit of explaining to do about that. But… I think I'll hold off on the long talk until Gohan gets here, which should be in the next couple of minutes." Videl smiled, reaching out with her senses and picking up the distinct signature of her best friend and sparring partner approaching on the wind.
Erasa's face lit up with excitement as she stood beside her classmate, "Really. Y-You mean… he's coming here? Today?"
"Of course. What? Did you think I invited you over to my place just so we could hang out?" Videl asked, smiling across at the blonde now expressing excitement and finally being able to meet the mysterious country boy. "Gohan's still new to the city and doesn't know that many people around here, so I figured I could introduce him to some of my friends from school. Getting you two acquainted with each other seems like a great way to start him out."
"Cool," Erasa chirped with her visage bright and full of enthusiasm. "Man… you've told me so much about him already. I can't wait to see what he's actually like."
"Well, it's a good thing you won't have wait very long." Videl's grin suddenly widened before she started waving up towards the sky, as if greeting somebody who'd just arrived.
Confused by her friend's actions, Erasa decided to see who she was hailing. It then came as a massive shock to the girl when she suddenly saw a teenage boy around their age, with short spiky black hair that defied gravity and wearing an orange and blue gi with a pack slung over his shoulder, float down from the sky and land in front of them like it was an everyday thing. She continued to gawk at the stranger when he adjusted his bag and approached the pair with a pleasant smile on his face.
"Hey, Gohan."
"Hey, Videl," the hybrid greeted, a response that earned a warm grin from his pen pal.
"Decided to fly today?"
"Yeah. Even though I could've teleported here I miss taking the long routes over the mountains and countryside," the teenager replied as he stopped in front of the two girls and acknowledged them in his characteristic manner. "The morning breeze is really refreshing after a hard night of training."
The human fighter tilted her head at him slyly, "Be honest with me; do you actually sleep eight hours anymore?"
"Hmm…" The teen looked up and scratched his cheek thoughtfully, "A little bit iffy around seven. But I guess since I've got Saiyan blood flowing through my veins, sleep isn't that big of an issue for me. Vegeta says it has something to do with how our bodies naturally produce enzymes that give us more energy to stay awake and fight long periods."
Videl grinned in amusement, "Kind of sucks how he's the only one that knows anything about your race's biology."
This drew a nervous chuckle from the young male, "Yeah. It kind of does." It was then he noticed the blonde haired girl standing alongside the martial artist with the surprised look on her face. Staring at her for a moment, Gohan then turned back to his training companion, "Is she a friend of yours, Videl?"
"Uh-huh," the human fighter nodded affirmatively. "I called her over today so that you two could meet up and we could hang out together."
"Oh. Cool." The demi-Saiyan then turned to Erasa and bowed to her in greeting, causing the city girl to balk, "It's nice to meet you. My name's Gohan. What's your name?"
"Oh. Uhh…" At first not knowing how to respond, the blonde shook her head quickly and straightened up, "M-My name's Erasa."
"It's nice to meet you, Erasa," Gohan responded in his typical, courteous manner. After sparing her a kind smile and seeing her blink a few times in surprise, he then turned back to his training partner with an eager look in his eye. "I'm really glad I'm going to be able to spend a couple nights over at your place again, Videl. I can't remember the last time I came by to visit. What was it one… two months?"
"One month, I think," the girl answered with a shrug.
"Yeah. That's probably it. Man…" The boy rubbed his head nervously, "The days sure go by fast."
"Well, I can't keep going over to your place every couple of weeks without having you spending some time over at mine. You and your family are always so good to me. I want to try and return the favor," the raven haired teen replied before thumbing over her shoulder towards the mansion. "And I know dad really enjoys having you over with us. He's really starting to like you guys."
"That tends to happen with a lot of people we meet. Must be our magnetic personalities," the teen suggested, before then shouldering his duffle bag into view. "Mind if I take this up to your room?"
"Yeah. No problem. We'll wait for you down here," Videl replied, seeing her friend nod in understanding and gleefully step around and up the stairs. "If you get lost, give a holler. Jenkins will show you the rest of the way." After receiving a wave of gratitude, the boy disappeared into the house, allowing the raven haired girl to return her attention to Erasa. When she did, she was a little caught off guard by the fact that the blonde was staring after Gohan with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open. "Uh… Erasa? You okay?" She then snapped her fingers, getting her attention. "Oh good. You're still alive."
"W-Was that who I think it was?" Erasa asked while pointing lamely towards the back doors.
The raven haired teen sighed. Figures that would've gone completely over her head. The shock of the Saiyan's arrival must have rattled her brain to its core, especially since he literally just dropped out of the clouds. "Yep. That was Gohan," Videl answered with a cheerful smile.
At this, the blonde suddenly took her schoolmate by the shoulders and shook her with a mixture of incredulity and disbelief, "Damn it, Videl! What the hell?! Why didn't you tell me he was so good-looking? Huh?"
Feeling her brain being bounced around, the teen fighter quickly responded to her friend's question. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Videl apologized while being woman-handled by her classmate. Geez. Did she completely overlook the fact the guy had flown here and landed in her back yard? Where in the heck were all those questions? "P-Please s-stop sh-shaking me…"
Now it was Erasa's turn to apologize. "Oh. Sorry. Sorry," Letting the girl go allowed Videl to sway back and forth on the spot until her natural equilibrium returned to her. After placing her hands behind her and bowing her head repentantly, the blonde then looked up at her schoolmate with a slightly flushed look, "I'm just a little bit surprised, is all. I mean… can you blame me? After all the years I've known you, you've never shown even the slightest interest in a boy before. But now here you are, smiling like a kid and hanging out with an awesomely cute guy from the country. What? Are you two, like, an item or something?"
"What?" Recoiling at her friend's sudden question, Videl quickly swallowed and turned away. Hiding her face from view, the girl then expressed an immediate sense of irritation and disbelief, "N-No way. Gohan and I… we're just… good friends. Th-There's nothing going on between us."
"Oh? Really?"
"Yes. Really."
"Hmm." Giving her classmate a suspicious once over, the blonde stood silently for a moment before, after several moments of consideration, pulled away with a smile and an apprehensive glint in her pupil. "Okay. If you say so."
Due to the fact that Videl had pretty much turned her back on her friend, Erasa completely missed the visage of embarrassment and the flush of red that appeared on the tomboy's face. The pair remained that way for the next couple of minutes, keeping absolutely silent before the raven haired fighter was startled out of her daydream by Gohan's voice cutting into the scene.
"Wow. No matter how many times I visit this place, it always amazes me at how massive it is," the hybrid spoke while strolling down the steps, only to immediately come face-to-face with the ever energetic girl that was Videl's school friend. "Oh. Hey, Erasa."
"Hey, Gohan. So… Videl's told me quite a lot about you. How you met during the Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament and how you've been training her for the last few years. I can tell she's really grown attached to you," the girl said with a cheerful expression, her face hanging directly in front of his as she engaged him in pleasantries. The sixteen-year-old teenager beamed. "Has she told you anything about me, by any chance?"
The half-Saiyan smiled, "I remember she mentioned you several times while we were hanging out. She said you're an awesome friend who always has a lot of interesting things to talk about, and that you're also really funny and sweet." The young man smiled as Erasa stepped away to take in his appearance. "Looking back on all that, I can tell that everything she's told me about you so far has been right on the mark."
"Really?" When Gohan nodded, Erasa giggled, placing her hands behind her and rocking from side to side bashfully, "Well… I sure hope she hasn't said anything about my bad qualities. That would be pretty awkward."
"Actually, no. She hasn't," the teen said a-matter-of-factly, which then prompted the Saiyan to chuckle, "Why? Is there something I should be worried about?"
Erasa stuck her tongue out at him, "Nope. Nothing evil or malicious hiding underneath this smile." She then winked in Videl's direction, causing her friend to roll her eyes.
"Well that's good," Gohan said, all the while watching as the blonde maneuvered around him. "You're the first friend Videl's introduced me to from the city. I hope you and I will be able to get along."
"Oh, I'm sure we'll get along just fine, Gohan," Erasa replied, before throwing her schoolmate a discreet, evil smile that had the raven haired martial artist recoil at the sudden chill that ran down her spine.
Blinking a few times, Videl frowned, "Why is she looking at me like that?" It was the one thought that proceeded to run laps inside her head as she watched Gohan descend the rest of the steps and engage in further conversation with Erasa. As the pair became properly introduced, Videl decided to dispense of any suspicious thoughts she had and simply watched on as the country boy began settling into his new position.
So far, his innocent character brought up in the mountains was serving him well in this social setting. Hopefully he'd be able to make it work in the long term…
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