The Bonds Of Time

By:

Ashley M. D.
WindGuardian87

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Dragon Ball Z Characters or anything else created by the very talented Akira Toriyama.

Pairing: Gohan/Videl

Rating: PG-13 (For Violence, MILD Language, and SOME Lemon)

Chapter One: Aftermath

It was all over... Majin Buu was destroyed, the evil Kid Buu to be exact, the insignificant Wizard Babidi was gone, and there was no trace of a threat to the world. Life was back to normal, well... as normal as it could possibly get for the seventeen year old Son Gohan.

But life might just take a turn towards the better side of life for him. His father was back in his life, he could go to school once more and try to act normal. Be with his friends. And maybe have a somewhat peaceful life. Perhaps maybe... Just maybe the world could go a little bit longer than seven years without having to be saved.

One very short yet very long week of rest has passed since Buu was destroyed and now it is time for Son Gohan to return to school. And for only one reason, he did not want to. One reason he would not discuss with anyone.

"SON GOHAN! GET UP OUT OF THAT BED RIGHT NOW AND GET READY FOR SCHOOL! YOU'VE MISSED MORE THAN ENOUGH AND YOUR FINAL EXAMS ARE COMING UP IN TWO MONTHS! NOW GET UP!" Came the shrill voice on his mother from the foot of the stairs.

"OK, I'M UP!" Gohan yelled back into his pillow as he slowly raised his head from the soft surface of the white duck-feather filled pillow.

He turned over and pulled the covers off his body as she sat up on his bed. Rubbing his eyes, he stood up and walked over to the door to his bathroom, reached in the shower and turned on the hot water. He slid off his boxers and stepped in and let the shower wake him up as he was once more on the verge on falling asleep, and the hot water was not helping. He did have to wake up so he moved his hand over to the knob and change the water to cold, which immediately woke him up to where he could not fall asleep again even if he tried.

After fifteen minutes he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Brushed his teeth and hair, then as he walked to his closet noticed something. Something wasn't right. He felt as if he were being watched. He looked around his room, even sensed there was no one there.

"Weird." He muttered to himself, and threw the thought away as he got dressed and ready for school. He dressed in his normal red/brown pants, white long-sleeved shirt, black shoes, and black vest. He fastened his school badge to his vest grabbed his bag and headed down stairs to where his brother and Father were waiting for him to eat breakfast.

As he walked in his mother looked over as he sat down in one of the chairs next to Goten and Goku.

"Oh good you're ready. Now can we eat mommy?" Goten asked as Gohan entered the room.

"Yes Goten. Here's your breakfast, and you too Goku." Chichi said as she set plates down in front of the three of them and sat down herself.

"Great I'm starved!" Goku said as he dug in.

"Gohan, you're not eating. Are you feeling ok?" his mother asked.

"What? Oh - Oh yeah. I - I'm not really hungry. I'm just going to go to school. I'll see you later. Bye." and with that he grabbed his bag and left for school.

"Hey if you're not eating it, can I have your breakfast?" Goku asked as he left the room.

"Goku!" Chichi scolded.

"What? I just wanted to know if I could have his breakfast; It doesn't look like he's gonna be back to eat it."

"GOKU! He has been unusually quiet this past week. I just wish I knew why."

"I dunno. Maybe he's protesting about not wanting to go to school." Goku asked as Goten began to laugh. Chichi hit him over the head with a still hot frying pan; Goten immediately stopped laughing and continued to eat his breakfast.

"That's better."

'Finally.' Gohan thought to himself as he transformed into Saiyaman and took off into the clear blue sky. 'I had to get out of there. I - I don't know why but I can't stand to be around people for so long anymore. What's happening to me? Does this all have something to do with what happened with Buu?'

Gohan was left with these thoughts filling up in his mind as he flew towards Orange Star High. Try as hard as he might he couldn't get rid of any of them.

It was true as he'd been thinking and as his mother had wondered this morning as well as this past week. Ever since the events of Majin Buu and the World Martial Arts Tournament he'd not been the same as before. He looked the same but acted completely different. He could not stand o be around people, he locked himself in his bedroom or stood for hours upon hours in the most secluded part of the mountains he could find. Where no one else could find him. Not even Goku.

For Chi Chi had ordered him to go out and find him when he'd been gone since the early hours of the morning. Goku had said he could sense him somewhere in the mountains but he couldn't get to where he was.

"It's as if he found a way to seclude a spot to where only he could go, and no one could find him, no matter how hard they tried. I've even tried Instant Transmission... It didn't work."

And this was Gohan's exact intentions. He secluded a spot in the mountains where he could be alone. Not to train but to be alone with only his thoughts for company. But some of these thoughts were not the best of company. He had changed, and his family had begun to notice, although it was not clear why. Not even to Gohan.

Gohan landed on the roof of Orange Star High and transformed back into his normal self, opened the door to the stairwell and walked down to the lower levels of the school.

The hallways were somewhat empty. Hardly anyone was in the school or there. He checked his watch, he was forty minutes early, most of his classmates wouldn't begin to arrive in full for about twenty more minutes. This was Fine with him, he just walked out to the area of the school to where bleachers for the sports field were, and sat on the topmost seat of one of them and just sat there looking out towards the school grounds.

"Kami, what's wrong with me? Why'd I change so much? What happened?" Gohan said to himself as he put his face in his hands.

'You know what happened." said a voice in the back of his mind. 'You almost lost her. You blame yourself, that you couldn't do anything about it.'

"No. No. It's not true." He said quietly to himself. But he knew what he thought wasn't a lie, for what he said was.

"Gohan?" said a voice below him.

"Huh? What?" He said as he quickly brought his head from his hands and looked to where the source of the voice came from .It was that of an angles. It was Videl.

"Oh... Hi Videl." Gohan said non-enthusiastically as he turned his head out towards the direction of the field once more.

"What are you doing here so early; school doesn't start for another hour."

"Probably the same thing you are, thinking... Trying to find a place where I won't be bothered."

This comment may have insulted some but Videl knew Gohan was covering up for something, and she wasn't like others to where she'd give up trying to find out what was going on after only five minutes of trying. She'd get it out of him. She had done it before and could do it again, only maybe blackmail wasn't the best idea for this situation.

"I haven't seen you for a while, where've you been?" Videl said as she took a seat next to him.

Gohan didn't answer at first; he just sat there, staring.

"Gohan?"

"I've been at home, or away from it... Thinking. Trying to get some time to myself. Be alone for once in God knows how long."

It wasn't that Gohan didn't want her there, but he just wanted to be alone. He needed to be alone, he had to be. He had to sort out some thoughts that had been racing through his mind since the evil kid buu's destruction. Sort out some that had been running in his mind since before the world tournament.

"What's wrong Gohan?" Videl asked. She wasn't going to ramble on about nothing. She wanted to know what was going on with him and she wanted an answer now. "Why've you been avoiding me? O – Or anyone for that matter?"

Gohan just glanced at her before returning his gaze out to the field.

"I haven't been avoiding anyone; I just need to sort some things out. I need to be alone for a while." Gohan sighed.

And with the lingering urge to be alone for a while, he grabbed his bag and jumped down from the bleachers. Videl jumped down after him and grabbed the back of his vest to stop him. Gohan turned around as she spoke.

"Oh no. You're not leaving yet. After all this happens and I don't even get one hint of what's going on? The least you could do is to tell me what happened or what's been going on Gohan!"

"You don't get it, Videl!" Gohan snapped annoyed, as she suddenly let go of him.

Gohan relaxed for a moment and sighed.

"I – I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. You just don't understand is all. You wouldn't if I told you. It wouldn't' work, nothing would. I – If I told you what – If I told you anything it would put you in danger and I am not going to do that."

"Gohan, I d –"

"Bye Videl, I'll see you later."

And with that Gohan turned on his heal and walked off. Videl just stood there, transfixed on what he said. She just watched him walk out across the field and into the building, her only words were:

"I don't care what the consequences, I'll find out whatever it is you're not telling me, Son Gohan."