What You Will

AN: After four years, I'm picking this story up and dusting it off. I really like the concept of Videl disguising herself into a boy, and sparking a relationship with Gohan, and generally getting into all sorts of trouble. It's inherently amusing to me. So I'm trying, for the upteenth time, to rewrite this story into a more intelligible form, hopefully one which has a lot less plot holes than the first version.

I am hoping that those of you who have read the previous version and liked it, would also find the changes here agreeable; and for those who haven't read my story before, I hope you enjoy this one.

Her name was Del Natas. 'Late-bloomer Del,' they joked. That's why 'his' voice was still high. Officer Miso gave her three-inch platforms to insert into her shoes. He even gave her two pairs. One for the sneakers and the other for the dress shoes, he said, giving her a wink. Yet as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, trying to familiarize herself with her male alter-ego, she knew that even the freshmen boys of West City Academy would tower over her.

Videl left the mirror, and closed the blinds on her window. She was on the seventh storey of the dormitory, a new-century building surrounded only by a lovely ball park and some trees, but she was not taking any chances. After all, even West City's proud reputation of being highly secure with bleeding edge technology did not prevent them from losing half a million zennis from their funds account.

Half a million zennis that disappeared, and miraculously appeared three days later.

That was what they said. It was a strange occurrence that even the hush-hush tactic WCA officials usually employed during tipsy times did not prevent them from seeking out some help. Oh, WCA was a very prestigious and clean-cut school alright, but it was not spotless, seeing that over half of the student body had quite prestigious family names attached to them as well. And when there was money, there was trouble.

Videl, out of all people, knew that.

She went to her still packed luggage and pulled out a metal folder in which the documents for her mission were kept. There was a touch sensitive sensor at the bottom corner of the metal, where she could tap the password in Morse code before the folder's flaps could be pried apart.

It was outrageous, really, to think that neither West City Police Department nor Satan City Forces had any boys under their command that could pose as a spy in an all-boys' school. Of course they just had to make the mission much more risky by planting a girl in it. There had been one other choice, but the cursed boy just had to be scaling the heights of Mountain Road, and that the spy had to be safely registered by the start of the new semester. Since West City Police Department had always been quite buddy-buddies with the Satan City Forces (right after the Cell Games too, how surprising), she was hired to investigate.

568,000 Zennis were reported missing on March 24, Age 774 at 4:37am from West City Academy's Third Sector Funds Account. The theft was reported by one Mrs. Bay B. Blue, head assistant of the Security Department. On March 27, Age 774 at 12:12am, an update of the Third Sector Funds Account revealed that 568,000 Zennis have been returned.

That was what West City Academy reported to them. Videl could have pointed out that perhaps now that West City Academy had its lovely 568,000 zennis lump sum back, it was not worth looking into. That was out of the question apparently. If the accounts had been tampered with, clearly someone was able to breach WCA's infamous first class securities, and that alone required investigation. It could have been a computer glitch, but it was not in WCA's temperament to be so negligent. How ironic.

And so here she was, long hair buried under a short wig – everyone unanimously agreed that a wig would be better to detract suspicions from her real identity – sporting a blue-checkered Polo and dark brown khakis. Really, she could have passed for a freshman herself, but the officers insisted on making her a senior. They had more privileges, they said. Later curfews, roaming passes, etc. She had marveled at the shadowed portion of her throat, quite a masterpiece that a make-up artist painted on her to resemble a small Adam's apple. She underwent half an hour of training to be able to replicate the make-up. Art had never been her best subject.

She looked over the files in the folder, trying to ingrain more details into her mind. She doubted she would discover something big on the day before school began, but it was good to keep her subconscious working on things, just in case serendipity was around the corner.

Prime suspects: Math teacher, Mr. Foo Bar. Reported to have been extremely upset and vindictive when he was not promoted as Head of the Math Department. New Finance Director, Ms. Yung Wan. May have not been trained properly on the software tools, and caused an upsetting accident...

All the suspects currently were staff in the school; Officer Miso said he'd been informed that there was no way an outsider could have gotten access to those funds, unless they had helped from someone who was familiar with the institution. So if indeed it had been an outsider, it would still be a good idea to start with someone from within the school walls, and work their way up from there. Videl had to hide rolling her eyes at the implication of "no way," since it had also been rumoured that WCA was impenetrable. Look how that turned out.

Videl scanned the rest of the page, before putting it back into the folder and returning the folder into a secret compartment in her luggage.

She stretched her arms, and looked about the room. The officers had made sure that she was going to be in a single. She was glad to hear that they were still, in some ways, trying to mitigate the risks.

Quickly, she took out a small backpack, and stuffed in some of her regular shirts and shorts, as well as her nimble boots. She planned on scouting the neighbourhood to see if she could get a sense of what the atmosphere was like around here. Despite being quite free with what she did with her time – the police trusted her in how she would conduct her investigation, or so they said – she was restricted to one thing.

Never fight.

She was a local celebrity in Satan City, and the populace knew her abilities. The police were afraid that if she got into a fight, her 'technique' and 'prowess', or so they said again, would be recognized, and she would be revealed. Videl did not think her popularity spanned this far west, but she agreed to play on the safe side.

Still, she thought as she hoisted the bag over her shoulders and exited the room. Just because I must not fight as Del Natas, it doesn't mean I can't fight as Videl.

-o-

On the day he came to West City to kick-start his high school career, Gohan fell in love.

Well, not really, because Dende knew he was only seventeen, and had no accurate notions of romantic love beyond the biological mechanisms written in the books he had read. And perhaps his parents' fleeting flirtations when his father was still alive, but that had been at least seven years ago, and who knew what really went on in Goku's head? Gohan certainly didn't, and he was probably the closest person to Goku.

So, perhaps he wasn't really in love. Maybe he was more in admiration... a cold, bottomless, electric admiration. For a some girl he did not know and probably would never see again.

It all started when he blew out a fire in a gang-infested plaza.

He had ridden in by the outskirts of the city via Nimbus, hailed a taxi, which took him to the West City Academy campus. And right when he was about to go in, he noticed the sudden surge of people fill the street leading up to WCA's driveway. Only they were not running into it, they were running away from the other direction. Curiosity piqued, Gohan rolled his luggage around to observe what was happening. Above the scattered buildings was a clear trail of smoke, dark and serpentine. More people poured into the road as Gohan heard the clear echo of a gunshot.

What? Criminals at a crowded place like this? Gohan had thought in disbelief. One would think that culprits would at least worry about being identified, but no.

He snatched his luggage by the handle, and decided to run towards the commotion. Good thing too, for if he hadn't, a lot of people would have been injured, and where else could he have had the opportunity to fall in lo – in admiration? Fall in admiration?

After passing two blocks, the alleys opened up to a small plaza, where two groups of people were threatening each other with firearms. The civilians who could escape the commotion ran in labyrinthine directions, causing more terror and confusion. There were broken glass littering the street, pieces of furniture strewn about the concrete, and public garbage bins upturned. The two groups, made up of what appeared to be gangs, were on the side of the plaza, opposite from each other. One group had its members marked by an orange and black bandana across their foreheads, while the other had no particular motif.

He ignored those who nudged and knocked him about. Instead, Gohan found the source of the fire by the gas station: a pile of debris someone managed to catch on fire, though he did not know how. But Gohan knew the city enough to understand that strange things always happened when there were so many people involved. Somehow, among the confusion, someone must have sparked a fire accidentally. But the gas station was large enough that if the fire reached one of the tanks, a huge explosion could result.

Anger stirred in him. What terrible disregard for public safety!

He left his luggage on the side and rushed with extraordinary speed to the gas station. The rush of air displaced by his swift movement was enough to extinguish the fire, even though it was not at all a small flame.

"Whoa Momma, that man appeared out of nowhere!" Gohan turned around to see a little girl pointing an accusing finger at him, her expression shocked. As a matter of fact, there were five to six people surrounding him, all forming a tableau of desperate escape, yet somehow were rooted in their tracks, staring at Gohan like he had three heads.

Shoot, Gohan thought. I forgot I wasn't supposed to show my powers in public.

But it had been an emergency! Surely this wouldn't count.

Speaking of emergency, he ignored his spectators and turned to look back at the gangs. A powerful chi emerged from somewhere within, and Gohan's annoyance multiplied at the thought that the criminals were now up to even more trouble.

Strangely, however, the source of the chi didn't turn out to be one of the criminals after all. There at the center of the plaza, like a terrible eye of a storm, was a short youth taking on the two gangs by herself. After delivering a well-timed kick to the jaw of the leader on the right, she used her momentum to switch positions with another gang member just in time as someone from the opposing group released a bullet in her direction. The bullet lodged itself on the man's arm, eliciting a pained yell. The girl further infiltrated the gang's lee, her hands a precise blur that sent half of the men stumbling into unconsciousness with a blow to the back of their necks. Soon enough, only two men were left standing, and they too received the same fate as the girl whirled, planting a knife on the leg of a man almost three times her size, and driving her fist up the other man's face. Gohan saw a splutter of blood, then heard the heavy thud as the man fell on the concrete.

Without waiting for breathing space nor losing her position on the pavement, the girl spun halfway around, releasing a small pocket knife from her hands, with a velocity that sent it straight to the opening of the gun held by the leader of the opposing gang. Shocked, the man dropped his weapon. The girl then sprinted towards them, all of whom were now paralyzed on their spots, but whether due to terror or helplessness, Gohan didn't know. But it was too late now to get their acts together as the girl gave them a generous dose of what she had given the other team. Within a few seconds, back-up from the police came. By that time only a handful of the members from the remaining group were left, and they were too dazed to even do anything but surrender.

Whoa, Gohan thought. He concentrated on her chi, amazed by what he had seen. He felt familiarity tugging in his mind, but he pushed it aside. He had never seen this girl before. If he had, he was sure he'd remember. Nobody could forget creative fighting inhibitions like those. Even for someone like him who had seen countless battles, mind-numbing martial arts skills and techniques, there was fluidity and wit in how the girl handled herself. It wasn't that she was better than his friends; no, this girl was just... different. Raw and unjaded, in a way.

Now that the girl was stationary, he could observe her better. She had back-length black hair with bangs pushed flat on her forehead by a red beanie; loose shirt and typical sidewalk-mart jeans. Nothing really was remarkable about her physique.

He stayed for a while, rooted at his spot. He even forgot about the fire and the debris and the people who were minutes ago staring at him as if he was the one who was so special. But like him, their attention had been stolen by the girl at the center of the plaza.

A cop ran towards her. "Videl, thank you so much for lending a hand! I'd hate to trouble you, because I know how terribly busy you must be, but I'd appreciate if you could answer a few questions." The cop look flustered, and even though he was six feet tall, the reverence in his posture made him look as if he was the shorter of the two.

Videl, huh?

He rolled the name on his tongue, as if trying to assess the taste of a new dish his mother invented. A smile lifted the corners of his lips, as he continued to watch her. He was not alone in his activity; others too stayed behind until Videl unpacked a small jet copter from a capsule, and then bid the crowd farewell as she took off to the sky.

Gohan blinked several times. Whoa.

In hindsight, his reaction had been strange. The rational part of his brain insisted so, as he collected the luggage he had left at the perimeter of the plaza, now knocked down and quite dirtied with shoe prints. He had seen fighters of amazing caliber before. Perhaps he just wasn't expecting one so good at her craft in the middle of the city. Having fought strange aliens in totally different environments, perhaps out of habit he had begun to think that there was nothing special in 'ordinary' places like these. Yes, that must be it. Simply put, she was just fascinating. Like rain on a sunny day.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the awe, he picked up his luggage, and began his trek back to West City Academy.

He knew his way around quite well, mostly from having spent multiple afternoons taking Goten and Trunks around for some downtown trips. Goten always loved it, because there was always so much to see. The amusement park on the eastern district, the mega-mall smack dab at the center of downtown, and the Candy Splash store just a few miles away from Capsule Corps were some of their favourite spots to hit.

Speaking of the scientist, Bulma had told him to visit some time this week after he has settled in his new environment. Gohan had no reason for declining; a visit to Bulma's was always exciting, since she would let him observe her new gadgets. Plus her company is not at all unpleasant. Besides, he sort of owed her a lot. Literally. Chichi took out loans from Bulma to send him to WCA. Even though he received some bursaries due to his high entrance exam scores, they did not cover the entirety of the expenses. Bulma, as a life long friend fervently refused to let him pay it back, but pride and practicality would not allow Chichi to have the business woman have her way.

"Besides," she had told Bulma. "Lots of other kids are paying for their own education. If part of this whole gig is to have Gohan experience what it is like to be normal, don't you think he ought to pay for his fees too?"

"Chichi, most teenagers don't go to a private all-boys' school, racking up 15,000 zennis a year! And those boys who go there are most likely not paying for it."

But Chichi would not have him anywhere else.

It did not really matter to Gohan where he would go. The prospect of entering high school with other people his age was enough of an adventure for such an introvert. Well to be honest, it was not like he had been totally alone in his educational pursuits while growing up. There was Icarus, and the frogs and bunnies. Gohan would be quite haughty indeed if he discounted them. Of course, there was the small fact that he couldn't really speak to them, but there were plenty of ways to communicate without using words! He remembered how much fun he especially had with his dragon friend, even though the purple horned animal could not utter a single word.

Gohan wondered briefly if any of his new classmates would be like Icarus. Oh, how fun it would be! Or would they be like Bulma? Intelligent and spontaneous and fashionable? Perhaps like Krillin, with a sharp sense of humour, or Yamucha with a wild penchant for adventure. Maybe he would even find one like Piccolo, a being of few words, but one who possessed the depth of an ocean.

Maybe he would even find someone he could talk to. Really talk to. Not just small talk, but about things that really mattered. Like assessing the statistical significance of falling in admiration at first sight.

Gohan sighed with that thought. No, that would never do. His mother wanted him to be a normal teenager. There was no way he could speak about all the serious things pertaining to his life without endangering his family's goal of initiating him into the real world as an 'ordinary' boy.

Icarus and the other animals never minded what he really was. He would have to be careful about exposing his identity this time around. He never had to spend copious amounts of time with people who didn't know about his Saiyan heritage. Even though the dorm that Chichi had assigned for him was a single, he would still have to spend six hours each weekday at school, and live at the dormitory five days a week. Five, because Chichi encouraged him to go home during the weekends. She was quite adamant about it, in fact. Goten too was quite tantrum-prone when he found out that Gohan was not going to stay with them for a lengthy portion of the week. Gohan could simply not leave his little brother for five months straight!

By the time he reached the campus once again, Gohan's excitement, which had sobered a bit with the thought of his heritage, was again ignited by the sight of the school grounds. The main building boasted a white granite gate that enclosed its perimeters; a silver-gilded arch hovered over the entrance, with the block letters of 'West City Academy' proudly embossed on it. The building itself, fashioned after the archaic style, sported a rectangular base, as opposed to the more commonly used circle. It was angular, decorated with square windows. The entire first floor walls were paneled with glass, and he could see, even though they were still quite a ways away, people walking briskly inside. To the side was a tall tower with a parabolic top, the infamous observatory that granted WCA part of its prestige.

Well, this was it. In some ways, he felt just as anxious about all this as entering the Cell Games.

-o-

Dragon... balls... Sharpner shivered. Kami, whoever named these things were unfashionably unimaginative. Very direct, since apparently once these so called 'balls' were gathered together, a dragon would pop out like a genie and grant your wish. Sharpner could barely contain his laughter as his finger continued to trail the line on the book he found.

The origins of these magical orbs are not known. However, it has been reported that each ball emits electromagnetic waves which could be detected by a specially designed machinery.

Wow, this was crazy, as Sharpner had guessed right from the beginning. He was in a library, for Kami's sake! Nothing gets crazier than that. But it had been a rough week, and he was recruited as the unlucky student to help out Mr. Librarian – and no, that wasn't actually the old man's name, but Sharpner didn't really quite care – put back books in the library.

"Come on, put those muscles to good use!" the man had reprimanded him. "Those things could be more than eye candy, which you would know if only you read a few more anatomy textbooks."

And so here he was, head spinning with the musty scent of old paper and leather. He had ended up in the Culture and History section, and accidentally knocked down an ancient relic that Mr. Librarian had the gall to call a book,called 'Uncommon Sightings'. Honestly, this collection of bound rags of ink marks resembled a book only in the way it smelled: bad.

It wasn't like he was expecting a miracle, or a stroke of luck, because gee, he was Sharpner Pencil; it was his destiny to be the beholder of all the world's misfortune. His good clothes and good looks were only a consolation prize. Quite honestly, he did not know what he expected when he began browsing through the book, taking in the variety of strange sightings; all of the articles featured objects or creatures that were actually confirmed to be real. At least, the book didn't seem to indicate that any of them were merely urban legends or myths.

A ring interrupted his thoughts, and he pulled out his mobile phone. The face on the screen was one he was hoping he might not see for some time.

"What do you want, buttface?" he asked.

"Aww, don't be like that, Sharp!" his younger brother said. "Don't shoot the messenger!"

"Oh, you mean you are not the one who wants something from me?"

"When have I ever wanted you for anything?" Scotch retorted.

Well, that was true. As much as it grated him to admit it, his younger siblings were much capable than he was.

Scotch continued, "I'm just calling you to say Boss wants you back."

"What?" Sharpner yelled. He received a shush from some of the people sitting by a table several feet away. He merely glared back at them. School wasn't going to start until tomorrow, and already these losers had nothing to do but read.

"I just left yesterday," Sharpner replied. "Why couldn't he have just told me everything he needed me to know yesterday? What, like a lazy lump of coal, dishonorable brute, slow rake aren't enough for a heart-to-heart chat? This is unbelievable! It's like..."

"Hey, hey, Sharpner, calm down!" Scotch said. "I don't need to know what you and Dad talked about, okay? I'm just here to relay the message. He wants you back. A phone convo won't do, but since I'm not one of his pets, he obviously didn't tell me anymore than that."

A high pitched voice emerged from somewhere behind Scotch. The view on the screen shook, and Sharpner heard an urgent, "Move over Tapey!", before the big eyes of his sister filled up the entire screen.

"Sharpie, when will you be back?" she whined.

Kami, shoot him right now! He hated kids with a passion. And ending up with three siblings, all younger, was just the kind of misfortune that could befall on him. Kids... were creepy, and honestly that was the most eloquent way he could put it. Kids make you want to confess to crimes you hadn't committed yet.

"Okay, okay, I killed five people in the future, now stop staring at me like that, Lights!" he said to his sister.

The screen wobbled again, and he heard the disappointed complaints of his sister as Scotch came into view again.

"Dad said to come by. Immediately. Today if you can, if not tomorrow."

"What? It's a two hour ride by copter!" Sharpner exclaimed.

"Dad said what he said." Scotch shrugged. A second after, the screen turned blank, and Sharpner was left staring at his reflection.

Tomorrow then. He would not be a perpetual slave to that old man. It would not kill him to wait another twenty-four hours, and if it did, good riddance! He heaved a gregarious sigh, already feeling taxed and exhausted and he hadn't even gone home yet. As he put his phone away, his eyes landed on the old book again.

The dragon balls, huh?

Even unlucky louts like Sharpner could never stop hoping. What were the chances that he could actually find these dragon balls?

What were the chances he could be granted three wishes?

-o-

Videl was awake long before her watch beeped the morning alarm. Though she had been up for almost an hour, she still lay in bed, pondering over the upcoming day.

She had to admit, as a justice warrior back in Satan City, deception had never been her domain, let alone her forte. How was she supposed to get through an entire school year, dressed as a boy, hunting down clues to this mystery? Sure, she had a knack for sensing oddities, which was one of the qualities she possessed that got her hired for the job in the first place, but goodness, this was West City Academy; it was an all-boy's school. Wasn't it boys' duty to be so odd? If everything was odd, how could she know when things were truly out of place?

Videl threw back the blankets, and stumbled out of bed. The cherry on top of this unfortunate case was that Officer Miso left it up to her to come up with a back story for Del Natas. She already had the basics down.

Del Natas was from a quiet suburban. He did quiet things like read and study. His favourite hobby was to be quiet. Yes, Videl had full conviction that in order to be as efficient at this mission as possible, she should not attract attention to herself. And the best way to accomplish that was to stay out of everyone's way.

There was one perk though. It wasn't like she was without ambition; she would also capitalize as much as she could on the lessons taught here at WCA. There was a reason why this high school was so prestigious; there was a reason why millionaires sent their kids here. The education was top-notch. It had been one of Officer Miso's more enticing sales pitch. So she would go to class – which should provide ample time for her to observe her surroundings in detail – spend a reasonable amount of time doing homework, and then during leisure time, would sniff out whatever leads she obtained during her observation time.

She took a quick bath, and put on her undercover clothes. She had to dig deep into her luggage to find the make-up kit she brought along – almost had a panic attack when she couldn't find it and figured she'd go in a turtle neck – and began to replicate the tricks that the make-up artist at the headquarters taught her. There was not much they could do; she was still shrimpy and effeminate, but she'll squeeze by.

After checking that she had the notebooks and writing utensils she needed for the day, she pocketed her term schedule, and headed to the school grounds.

Exiting her room, and heading towards the elevator, she met a tall young man with black, spiky hair, facing the elevator doors. When he saw her coming towards him, he gave her a tentative wave and a shy "Hello!"

She waved back, quite surprised to meet the other student on the seventh floor right on the first day. There were only two rooms on the seventh floor, after all! The kids were roomed on the floor inversely proportional to the amount they paid for the dormitory. Those who wanted cheap flats, or more social opportunities, were housed on the first several floors. There were about fifteen rooms down there, each with the space sufficient for three and four students. As the floor numbers increased, so was the pay.

Videl remembered herself and smiled back. "Hey there," she said at first, and then remembered. She cleared her throat, forcing her voice to go down several mels in pitch. "I mean, hey, how are you doing?"

The boy chuckled good-naturedly. "Alright, I guess. A little nervous."

Oh you have no idea, Videl thought.

"It's my first day of school, after all!" the boy added cheerfully.

Videl nodded. "Yup, first day for all of us."

"No, I mean, it's my very first day!" he exclaimed again. His stance seemed a little shy when she first glanced at him, but he seemed quite eager to talk. She heard about effects like those; nervousness could sometimes prompt people to seek out others for support. "This is the first time I'm going to school."

Oh! Realization dawned on Videl. Okay, perhaps this guy had something to be nervous about then. This was an interesting turn in the conversation.

The elevator chimed as the doors opened, and they both walked in. Within the enclosed space, Videl became aware that this newbie was about a foot taller than her, and though he seemed not at all intimidating, just the sheer difference in height made Videl wish for higher, thicker shoe platforms. She told herself that in her next meeting with Officer Miso, he should give her several more pairs.

"So you were home-schooled, then, I'm guessing?" she asked him. Kami, she hated the way she had to look up at him! She could almost swear he would see through her disguise, and know she was a girl, because she was just so short!

"Yes, I was. My Mom was the one who guided me through most of it, especially when I was younger." He flashed her a sheepish smile. Videl awkwardly returned it, not knowing what else to do. She had not planned on making a lot of friends – any, even – with the hopes of keeping her profile down low, but this boy was just so sincere, and Kami, it was his very first day of school. She would not be responsible for making it one of the worst experiences of his life.

"My name is Del," she replied, her practice taking over her. "And I like to read."

"Read?" he jumped excitedly, closing the gap between them. He held his fists up, as if he wanted to take her hands, or put them on her shoulders or something, but etiquette probably made him stop. "Wow, I also love to read! Have you read Chayote's Theorem on the Time-Space Continuum? How about Rooibos's book on the statistical probability of food rain?"

Videl slowly distanced herself from the excited boy, inching herself towards the door, which fortunately opened up, and allowed her to spill into the lobby, with him trailing after her. Crap! She had not gotten so far into her back story to figure out what kind of books she wanted to read. She didn't expect to be interrogated about her favourite book on the first hour before she even left the building!

"Uh, no, none of those actually. I uhm... I tend to favour obscure books. Yeah. I... I feel bad for them. Collecting dust and all. You probably wouldn't know any of the ones I've read." Videl took a peek back at the boy, who now seemed a bit deflated. She still felt awkward having to look up at him. "Gosh, you're so tall."

"Hmm? Well, you're not so short on the other hand. I know men who are shorter than you!"

"Oh, do you now?" Videl felt herself relax. As a matter of fact, she kind of warmed up to him almost instantly after having said that. "So, what brings you to West City Academy?"

"Ah, my mom wanted me to have a more social experience when it comes to learning," he answered. "There wasn't much opportunity for that in the mountains."

"Mountains?" Videl asked. "You mean among the Mount Paozu ranges?" Those were the only ranges she had heard were inhabited.

"That's right! I'm actually from the 439 Mountain Area."

Videl couldn't help herself taking a double look at the boy walking beside her. They had now made it out of the building, and they were strolling on the walk-way towards the main building ten minutes away. He was dressed normally, if just a little old-fashioned. Though it was a little strange that his attire was so simple, she out of all people should know that wealth didn't necessarily correlate with outward appearances; even as the daughter of one of the richest men in the world, she had never dressed gregariously either.

She shrugged. Most kids in schools like these would never let one pass by without them asserting who they were, what company their parents managed, and how much income they had, as if financial matters were so trivial that they weren't afraid of flaunting them in small talk. Of course, none of them usually had anything to be afraid of, and boys were usually so hungry for dominance. If this boy was one of those people, she would eventually find out more about him and his family status, but if he wanted to keep quiet for now, that was fine with her as well. After all, she was afraid he would ask her about her life too, and she wasn't quite ready to divulge the few other lines of her backstory, which would be depleted in a quick half a minute.

"Well then, welcome to the city!"

"Thank you! My name's Gohan, by the way. Thank you for being very courteous to me."

Videl couldn't help but smile at that, though she tried very hard to not let it get to her. People didn't really describe her as 'courteous'.

A couple of other early-birds passed by them, joking about ghosts and magic cars, calling each other delinquents and chickens. They were a rowdy bunch who didn't seem to possess the anxieties of first-day-of-school mornings, and Videl envied them for a quick second.

Gohan chuckled beside her. "Well, I didn't think I would be hearing about ghosts here!"

Videl didn't either, until she had hit town yesterday on her neighbourhood exploration. "Didn't you hear? The entire city is still in a fuss about it. Apparently there were some 'supernatural' events that occurred a week ago."

Gohan cocked his head to the side, eyes curious. "What kind of 'supernatural' events?"

They were quite ridiculous, really; Videl expected the city folks to be more pragmatic than superstitious. But as it was, horror stories were circulating. "Apparently, some nights ago, the entire town lost power for several minutes, and people witnessed strange things, like glowing humanoids, ghost cars that could travel through buildings, people floating."

She watched as Gohan's eyes widened and his mouth firmed into a thin line, perhaps with disbelief or fear, but she couldn't figure out which. She shrugged. She had a similar reaction. First she was in total doubt, and then it occurred to her that this could perhaps be a clue to the case she was assigned to investigate.

It couldn't be an accident that the night of these supernatural events happened on the same night that the money that WCA lost were returned to them. There was obviously some correlation.

There were of course plenty of reasons why an entire city, technologically advanced as it was, would lose electricity; besides it had only been for sixty seconds, according to her calculation. She made certain of that. It was the strange stories circulating this black-out that were of interest to her. Where there was smoke, there was fire after all.

Gohan and Videl were hit with a wave of cool air-conditioning as they stepped inside the school building. Videl flashed her schedule out of her pocket, finding the room number for her first class.

"Vector calculus?" Gohan asked and waved his own schedule. "Me too! This is great."

She smiled at him, feeling sympathetic. He must feel so relieved for the companionship; Videl didn't think he'd do half bad by himself, but she knew how devastating nerves could sometimes be.

Officer Miso had selected the course for her specifically because it was taught by Mr. Foo Bar, one of the prime suspects. As a senior teacher, he was generally well-liked by the students; corky and fun, he was reputed to put a new spin on lecturing math courses. He definitely had reasons to believe he deserved the title of Head of Math Department. The question was, how bitter was he at having been denied the opportunity?

Guess I'll find out what kind of a person he is soon enough, thought Videl. She and Gohan took a couple flights of stairs to the third floor, and settled in a classroom populated by about thirty desks and chairs. Only a few students were there at the time; they sat down in the middle row. She watched as Gohan took out his notebook and pencil, wrote down the date at the top, underlining it with a red pen using a ruler. Interesting. He also took out the required textbook for the course, then flipped to the middle of the textbook. Several pages of the back of his notebook were already filled with mathematical scribbles.

"What's that?" Videl asked, curious.

"Oh this?" Gohan pushed the notebook towards her so she could see what they were. "I started answering the chapter exercises. Warm up for the upcoming year." He explained.

Videl took a second glance at the notebook. Derivative and integral notations littered the page. Her eyes darted back to where Gohan had opened up his textbook.

Chapter 13.

Damn.

She gulped and pushed the notebook back to him, her mind reeling. This was a school for gifted students, what did she expect? I thought their pockets were gifted. Well, yeah, but some of the students could hoard thousands in scholarship for passing incredibly difficult entrance exams. She almost forgot that. And Gohan could certainly fit the bill.

All of a sudden, her hands felt cold, and she began swearing at Officer Miso in her head. She was unprepared for this! Be a spy, okay, fine! Plant her in an all boys' school. Okay. Incredibly risky, but still tolerable. Be a laughing stock among high class kids who had significant reputations and top-notch skills to back them up? That was a task Videl would not shy away from. But she wasn't Videl here; she was Del. And what was Del? Officer Miso didn't even have the decency to grace her with an official back story, not even as an adopted son of some well-to-do city merchants. She wasn't even allowed to fight and join sports clubs, lest she "give away" her identity! Damn that man!

It's okay, she tried calming herself. Remember, your job is not to stand out, but to blend in. Be invisible. She would solve the case, accomplish her mission, and get on with her own education her own way. In the meantime, she'll keep her head down. And try to keep up. Because there was no way in hell she would allow herself to be the at the bottom of the food chain in this school; besides being at the bottom would surely garner people's – unwanted – attention.

Videl continued reassuring herself with those lines, when a three-note bell went off. The class room gradually filled with students. A short man with brown skin and a bald head stepped in. He wrote his name, 'Mr. Foo Bar' in neat calligraphy on the board. Then he set a large stack of papers on his desk.

"Welcome to Vector Calculus, my victims!" he followed the remark with a chuckle.

Videl leaned forward, studying the man. Though his tone was harsh and loud, his face was not unkind; as a matter of fact, he bore a glint in his eyes, the tell-tale sign of an old-fashioned sense of humour. There was a jump to his step that indicated he could be easy going... if he liked you.

"Now why don't we start off this wonderful year with failure, what do you all say?" He began passing the sheets of papers across each of the rows. "This is a test to see what level you are on in terms of your mathematical and analytical abilities. It will help me anticipate the upcoming year, and orient myself as to how I should approach to show you the light."

A set of stapled sheets was placed face-down on Videl's desk. She took out a pencil and an eraser, heart thumping in her chest, her mind screaming at Officer Miso. She had absolutely no preparation! The last time she took a math test was several months ago during finals of her previous year. She was going to fail this!

"Alright, you can all turn over your test now. You may begin."

Videl sighed and flipped the test.

...and it felt like facing an entire army, while she stood unarmed and wrapped in chains.

Videl had never faced an entire army while she was unarmed and chained, but if she ever did, she was certain it would feel like this. A series of heated and passionate expletives exploded through her mind, followed by the image of Officer Miso's flayed body.

Question one: The Gaussian blur is used as a filter in many image processing software to produce a "blurred" effect. Show that the following equation is constant on the circle of radius r 0, centered at the origin. What followed was a highly complex multivariable function.

She shook her head. She had no idea. Next question. Find the unit binormal vec – ugh, who would ask such a stupid question?

Videl went through the entire test, reading the questions, and each time, her feelings sunk deeper and deeper. Finally, she picked up her pencil and tried to do whatever she could. Which was, all things considered, not that much.

When the bell rang to notify the end of first period, she was in a daze. She looked to the side and saw Gohan with his head down on his desk. Great. Mr. Mountain Boy was just sleeping; it was probably too easy for him. A bitterness pooled in her stomach, and she felt a tantrum coming, which was crazy, because she never had a full blown out tantrum in so long, but she felt like screaming, like pulling out someone's hair. When all the exams were collected, she stood up, zealous to get away from the room.

Gohan caught up to her in the hallway.

"What did you think about that?" he asked, not unkindly. But it struck a nerve, and Videl let out an irritated, "Bah!" and rushed to her next room without waiting for her new friend.

It was only when she got to her second class that she realized she had been too absorbed in the test to observe Mr. Foo Bar. However, even that jarring thought fled her mind as she was again subjected to the same treatment in her second class. And her third. And fourth. By the time the fifth one rolled around, she looked about her and realized for the first time that almost everyone else expected this. She didn't.

She walked back to the dormitory that afternoon in such low and irritated spirits. She was certain she failed every single one of those tests. She had never failed a single test in her entire life! Even when she was recruited as a justice enforcer in Satan City when she was fourteen, she still maintained an admirable standing when it came to her education. Most people would be surprised, but like the no-boy rule her father had imposed, getting good grades were one of those things that "the daughter of the man who saved the world" should follow. She was never going to come up with capsulization theorems, but she never once thought she'd fall below average.

Except the average was unbelievably high this time around. It irked her. It piqued her competitive nature, and the fact that she was quite helpless in this aspect made her angry.

Videl rushed back to her room. She closed the windows and made sure the door was locked. She took her phone, and just to be extra safe, jumped under the covers of her bed. She dialed her father's number. After several rings, a saccharine female voice answered the line.

"Howdy hoo, you've reached Hercule Satan's agent! If you're looking for information regarding media appearances –"

"Hey Prunes, this is Videl," Videl cut the woman off. "Get Dad for me."

"Oh hey sweetie! Just a moment."

Pop music played in the background on the other line for several seconds, before the boisterous voice of her father came through the receiver.

"Sweet pea! How's my little girl?"

Videl couldn't take it anymore, and burst out in a frustrated tone. "Dad, I'm dumb!"

There was silence for a minute on the other side. Then Hercule cleared his throat. "Uh... nah, sweetie, don't you talk like that! You're as smart as your papa!"

"That doesn't make me feel any better!"

"Hey, now, don't you think –"

"I'm serious. Everyone here is a genius! They all probably have A triple pluses on their transcripts!"

She heard a small chuckle. "Well, that can be easily fixed, now can't it? I'll pull some strings, and we can see if your transcript can also boast several of those pluses!"

"Dad!"

"Alright, alright!" she heard him sigh. She knew she wasn't being very articulate, and she was acting quite immature at the moment. But her father head dealt with these episodes before, and she trusted him to know how to deal with her. Sometimes, it was tough love: "get your act together or you'd be joining me on national TV for a week." Other times, it was peaches and cream.

"I'll get Prunes to search for some books for you. Good ones with pictures in them! Get you caught up with the rest of those geniuses. They'll be there by tomorrow or the next day."

"Thanks, Dad." She released a sigh of relief, and for the first time in several hours, smiled.

Then her father lowered his voice. "By the way, Viddy, how's the treasure hunt going?"

Treasure hunt: their code word for the mission.

"It's okay. I found out several things yesterday that might help me find the chest," she explained. Then she mimicked her father's hushed tones. "But things might get tricky. There's some weird stuff going on around the night the money was put back."

Hercule whistled. "Should I tell Miso?"

"No, not yet. I'll try to get more of a lead before I tell them about it. I should have more things by the end of the week when he expects my report. Hopefully."

"Okay," Hercule replied. "Be careful there, okay? If anyone lays a hand on you, you quit the mission and come straight back home!"

Videl laughed quietly. Just because her Dad suggested she accept the job, it didn't mean he was going to be any less lenient on her.

"Yes, Dad. I have to go now. Say hi to Prunes for me, properly. I think I kinda snapped a bit." After her father echoed her farewell, she turned off her phone.

She pushed the sheets away. Come to think about it, Prunes wasn't the only one she snapped at. Rich or not, she had manners to mind, and there was one other person who did not deserve her ire today.

AN: Aaaand, there you go. Chapter 1, the new version. Some of you might see the similarities from the previous writing, but I think the differences would be more stark.

I feel as if this approach would work better for a plot like this. The first version sported a Videl who tricked her way into school with a single-minded purpose, ignoring the consequences and ramifications of her actions. I didn't think this fit well with her personality. Videl would not bend the rules for anyone; if she's tough on law breakers, why would she break the law herself? I just didn't think it aligned with her principles, and trying to work around that terrible characterization breach was a pain.

Anyway, one of the things I fell in love with during my absence from this fandom is the concept of an unreliable narrator; many of the books I've read featured such a character. So what I'm trying to do is to include an unreliable narrator in this story. Just so you know, there would be four focalizers: Videl, Gohan, Sharpner and Erasa. I'm trying to see if I can work in at least one unreliable narrator among them. (I quite liked the idea of having all, but sadly I don't think I'm skilled enough to pull that off.) I actually don't believe I'm capable enough pulling one off, but we'll see.

Also, if any of you are interested, there are snippets for the first five chapters of this story on my blog. Just follow the links from my profile, and voila!