When a Hero Disappears

The Awakening (part 1)

Chapter 11: The Awakening (part 1)

It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon and Yamcha was flying nervously over Satan City disguised as Saiyaman. He had been looking for this 'fangirl' for over two days. Why didn't she give him her contact details? Did she think he was clairvoyant or something? How on Earth could he get in touch with her without it? He just hoped he wasn't too late.

He decided to fly over the park one last time. And finally, after all this time of searching, he found the girl he was looking for. She was sitting on the grass with straight legs, her upper body resting on her hands, next to two blond teenagers. Without any announcement, he landed in their midst.

"Hello there, Miss – uh, what's your name again?" Saiyaman turned his attention to Videl.

After recovering from the initial shock of his sudden appearance, Videl pretended not to be impressed. "I've already filled out the charges," the raven-haired teen said coolly.

"Come on! I've been searching for you for the past two days!" the hero protested, but was interrupted by a scream of ecstasy.

"OH MY! Are you for real?!" Erasa jumped up to get a better look at the local celebrity. "This is so exciting! You were at my front door last Monday!"

"Um, apparently," Saiyaman replied indifferently, though he immediately returned to the conversation with the girl he came for. "Please, that's not fair!" he pleaded.

"I said before Wednesday, and since it's already said day, you're too late," Videl said bitterly, looking up to the costumed man standing in front of her. "But I'll spare you for now, if you have something interesting to say."

"You almost gave me a heart attack, you know that?" Saiyaman breathed a deep sigh of relief when he realized she hadn't gone to the police yet. "Alright, I came here to tell you that he has been found and has undergone immediate care. He is out of the woods and it looks like he will be taken out of his coma by the end of this week."

"You're talking about Gohan, aren't you?" Sharpener joining the conversation.

Yamcha was horrified. Did that guy really say Gohan? The one whose identity he tried so hard to protect? How on Earth did this guy know about him? And how will that girl with the dark pigtails react to that information? As far as he knew, she was on the assumption he was talking about the real Saiyaman, of whom he also knew she didn't know his identity. Yamcha looked nervous from the long haired blond jock to the girl in front of him and back. What was he supposed to say now?

"Yeah, he's talking about Gohan," Videl said, looking straight into Saiyaman's visor with a smirk. She really enjoyed seeing him being cornered. It was kind of sweet revenge. However, he did give her new information about the current status of her friend's recovery, so she was actually glad that he kept his word and reported back to her. "Thank you, you may go now. You are welcome to report back to me, but I don't make it obligatory anymore. You're a free man now," releasing the hero from his pledge. "Except of course, you'll still behave yourself," she added just to be sure.

Without a word, Saiyaman nodded and placed his hand next to his head in a salute. Then he flew off, caught up in his own inner struggle: ' Shit, that girl knew too much, how did that happen? How will this turn out in the future? ' He only had one job, and he managed to screw everything up big time.

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It was Sunday morning and Videl was lying in her bed after a restless night. She thought back to the events of the past week. After Saiyaman had left her at the park, her two best friends started questioning her. She had to cover up some details as she still needed to protect Gohan's real identity. But they were her friends, so she couldn't leave out all the details. So she told the truth about her impedance in suing him after he 'tried' to kiss her without consent. This was tough, because Erasa really wanted all the juicy details. She then added some fictional details to the story about Saiyaman's involvement in finding Gohan. And to her luck, both her blond friends were satisfied and so the conversation trailed off to some other topics.