21Goten checked the pantry for what seemed like the thousandth time in the past five minutes. The sight of the bare shelves greeted the bored child as he searched for something to eat. Seeing nothing, the boy shuffled back to the couch and plopped himself down. His older brother was up in his room doing homework and his mom was in town buying groceries, so he was alone at the moment.
Suddenly, Goten perked up as he heard the sound of his older brother scramble down the stairs and burst into the living room. "Goten! If a girl with black hair knocks on the door, tell her I'm not home. Got it?"
Goten scratched the nape of his neck and tilted his head as he stared at his older brother, confusion etched on his face. "Okay big brother! Can we play now?"
Gohan smiled apologetically at his younger brother. "Sorry squirt, but I've got a lot of homework today. I better finish it, or else you know how mad mom will get."
Goten glanced at his feet before nodding. "That's okay big brother. Maybe I'll go and play in the woods!"
"What if Videl comes home while you're outside?" asked Gohan before his panic gave way to calm. "And besides, aren't you meant to be grounded anyway?"
"Oh yeah," said Goten with a frown. Chichi had forbidden him from leaving the house or interacting with Trunks for an entire week because of a fire that had nearly burned down Capsule Corp.'s Research and Development wing.
"This sucks!" muttered Goten as his brother slipped upstairs to finish his homework. An entire week! It was going to feel like forever.
He stared at the front door longingly, reasoning that if he was quick enough she would never even know. In the end, he was dissuaded by the thought of what his mother would do to him were she to find out. Her punishment for violating the terms of his original punishment would no doubt be more severe, after all.
Goten sighed once again, before an idea popped in his head. Surely, he wouldn't be as bored if he was eating something!
He turned and headed towards the pantry to check if there was any food.
...
About ten minutes later, Goten noticed an unfamiliar presence just outside the door. The boy jumped off the couch and walked over just as someone knocked on it from outside.
Swinging open the door and peeking his head out from inside, Goten greeted the stranger with a grin. She was a teenager about the same age as his older brother, with jet black hair and azure eyes. The Orange Star pin was attached to the girl's white shirt and Goten observed that she also wore black combat gloves.
"Hiya lady! Whatcha doin' here?"
The lady bent down to Goten's level with a slight smile on her face. Goten mentally braced himself. That was the same smile Bulma used right before she grabbed him in a tight hug that always crushed him. "Hey little guy, is this the Son residence?"
"Uh huh! Why?" He scrunched his face in thought before speaking again. "If you're trying to sell us something, my mommy always says that we don't need anything. Sorry."
The unfamiliar woman giggled at Goten's statement, although he couldn't determine what was so funny. "Actually, my name's Videl Satan - I was wondering if Gohan was home?"
"You're looking for Big Brother?" Goten rubbed his chin as he tried to remember what it was his brother had warned him about. "If a girl with black hair knocks on the door..." Goten murmured out loud.
"Actually, big brother isn't home right now!" declared Goten with a toothy grin.
Videl took a deep breath as she looked Goten in the eye. "You know, I heard you say you received special instructions in case I knocked on the door."
Goten's eyes widened as he clasped his hands over his mouth. He was so in trouble when Gohan found out. "I'm sorry Miss Videl. Please don't tell Big Brother that I accidentally told you!" cried Goten as his face contorted in worry.
Fortunately, Videl was a sucker for cute children and Goten was the epitome of cute. Seeing the little boy in front of her, Videl struggled against the urge to wrap him up in a hug and rose to her feet. "Oh alright, I won't tell him. But maybe I could come back some other time when he is home?"
Goten fell right into the raven haired crime fighter's trap, shooting her a thumbs up. "Yeah! Big Brother always comes home right after school so you can come over tomorrow if you want!"
Videl smiled at the boy in front of her. The urge to smother the kid with a giant hug was getting harder and harder to resist. "Okay, then I guess I'll be on my way. I'll see you tomorrow….what's your name?"
"My name is Son Goten! But only my mommy calls me that. You're my friend now Miss Videl, so you can just call me Goten okay?"
"Sure thing, kid." Videl turned around to leave as Goten watched from the doorway. Great, now he had to go back to sitting in silence and rotting away in boredom until his brother was done with homework.
Suddenly, Goten was struck by a brilliant idea. Trunks was going to be so jealous.
"Hey Miss Videl!" yelled Goten as he tried to get her attention. The teenager turned around with an eyebrow raised expectantly. "I'm pretty bored, so I was wondering if ya wanted to play with me?"
Videl glanced at her watch. It was still pretty early, and if she said yes, she might get the chance to catch Gohan and finally out him as Saiyaman. That, and she was having a hard time envisioning a world in which she had to turn the bundle of excitement in front of her down. She smiled lightly. "Sure, kiddo. I've got time."
Goten started jumping around, ecstatic that he finally had someone willing to play with him. He bounded down to where she stood, grabbing her by the hand and leading her back inside. He marched inside, plopping down onto the couch as Videl made herself comfortable next to him.
She keenly observed her surroundings, noticing several pictures of a man that looked exactly like Goten if he was twenty years older. She pointed to the picture of Gohan, what she presumed was his mother, and the Goten-look-alike all smiling at a camera. "Is that the rest of your family?"
Goten followed her finger to the picture and nodded. "Yeah, that was my family before I was born. My mommy always says that I look just like my daddy but I've never met him before. He died fighting Cell before I was born."
Videl frowned at the youngster's comment. 'He died fighting Cell? No that's probably his overactive imagination. After all, everyone Cell killed came back to life after he was destroyed.'
"I'm sorry about that Goten…."
She couldn't help but notice the clothing that Goten's father was wearing in the picture. The orange gi looked extremely familiar, but she could not place her finger on where she had seen it before. Shrugging off her thoughts, Videl returned her attention to the hyperactive seven-year-old next to her. He shifted around in his seat, clearly wanting to go and do something.
"Hey Goten? Wanna go outside and play?"
"Sure thing Miss Videl!" Goten slid off the couch and dashed outside into the backyard, Videl following him at a much more leisurely pace. She stepped out into the backyard and took in the scenery in front of her. The yard was surrounded by lush greenery and in the middle of the clearing Goten was stretching his legs.
Videl watched the child diligently go through several stretches. "Goten, what are ya stretching for?"
Goten turned around and grinned as he dropped into the Demon Fighting Stance his brother had taught him. "If you're friends with my big brother, then you must be pretty strong. So if I train with you, I can get stronger and beat Trunks and maybe even Gohan!"
'Really? He's assuming I'm strong just 'cause he thinks I'm friends with Gohan? Well, I guess kids his age do look up to their older siblings. I guess there isn't any harm in letting him try.' Videl dropped into her own stance, resembling that of a boxer.
Goten darted forward without warning, catching Videl of guard and knocking her off her balance with a quick jab that she just barely avoided. He became a blur, weaving around her as he probed her defenses. Videl struggled to keep track of him as she backed up, only for Goten to reappear behind her and sweep her of her feet with his leg.
Videl struggled back up and came to a quick conclusion: this kid was actually really strong, at least for his age. That in itself led to more questions about how strong Gohan was, but first she had to somehow beat the kid in front of her. Making sure to pull her punches in case she might hurt him, she went on the assault, launching a barrage of jabs at the demi-saiyan. To her horror, Goten didn't even try to dodge, taking all of the attacks without flinching. In fact, it was Videl who managed to hurt her knuckles, having punched what felt like a block of steel.
"Hey, stop taking it easy on me!" exclaimed Goten. "You can take me seriously, y'know."
Videl grit her teeth, her hands not the only things hurt by the seven-year-old. She moved forward, making sure to keep her guard up as she aimed several full-strength punches at Goten. It was almost like the little guy was coated in butter, the way he slipped past her attacks and played with her. He slid under her legs and got to his feet with ease before sticking his tongue out at her. "I bet Marron's stronger than you - and she's just a little kid!"
Videl was starting to sweat, and yet it didn't look like Goten had been fazed in the slightest. "F-Fine. If you give me one good shot, I'll show you how strong I am," stuttered Videl as she tried to catch her breath. She was used to fighting grown men, not little kids, so it was only natural that she would struggle to land a solid hit with the tyke squirming all over the place
Goten yawned. "Okay, I'll let you punch me but it better be really strong, 'kay?" he planted himself in front of her with his hands behind his back and a smile plastered on his face.
Videl pulled her fist back, feeling slightly guilty that she might hurt a little kid. On the other hand, he had been asking for it, so perhaps she would teach him a lesson in humility. She let her fist fly at his face with her strongest punch, her eyes shut in fear of the repercussions.
Goten watched the punch come at him faster than expected, and cringed. He braced himself for the blow, closing his eyes and raising his ki to protect his face.
...
Gohan noticed a spike in ki just outside the house in the middle of his particle physics homework. He hurried downstairs and burst out the back door and came face to face with a scene that made his face go pale.
Videl stood with her fist planted in Goten's face. And if that wasn't bad enough, Goten's jet-black head of hair was a brilliant gold and his eyes were an icy teal. Somehow, the girl hellbent on figuring out all his secrets had just attempted to clobber his Super Saiyan brother. Gohan felt like digging himself a hole in the ground and jumping in.
Goten turned and faced Gohan with his typical grin as he scratched the back of his neck. "Hey big brother! Wanna play?"
…
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