(That weekend)
Who said going to a town festival wasn't a fun thing to do?
Videl certainly thought so as Gohan led her through the open streets of a village somewhere in the outermost region of Mount Paozu. With the roads littered with stalls, vegetables and all sorts of other miscellaneous decorations strung up about the place, it was obvious the community was in celebration of one of their traditional holidays. It seemed like a pretty old tradition as well because not only were the two teenagers able to make out several old time artifacts and landmarks on display, but they could also see several villagers walking around dressed in clothing that people hadn't worn for over a hundred years. That was more than enough to tell them that not only was the entire village in party mode but they were also putting on one heck of a show for the tourists.
That was fine by the demi-Saiyan's book; as long as they were making money. All he wanted to do was take his friend out for the day and show her more of the region surrounding his homeland.
"So what festival did you say this was again?" Videl asked her partner as she dodged traffic to get to one of stalls in the middle of the square. It was here the two of them stopped to inspect the various pastries that'd been put out by the owner of the shop.
"This is Kiko Village's annual Moon Festival; a little celebration that the people have to commemorate the end of their settlement's first harvest season," Gohan informed, smiling as he took a glance around at the crowds of guests moving back and forth across the block. "Judging from the number of people here and what they have on sale, I think it's safe to say that they've had a very productive year. Check out all of the attractions."
There were horse rides, coach tours, souvenir stalls, sheep shearing, bread and butter making, silk and material works, clothing stands… pretty much everything you would find at a flea market and more. On top of having a concert over on the green later that evening, the entire town was also an ideal place for a little bit of one on one time between the two best friends.
And neither one of them was complaining about it.
"You can only come across these kinds of fetes in the countryside. They're nothing like the festivals back in Satan City or the fun parks everybody visits in West City. These are much nicer… quieter," Videl exclaimed, tucking some hair behind her ear while checking out one of the bagels on the counter. "Mm… those look good."
"Two zeni each," the woman wearing the red and white striped apron behind the counter said before smiling across at the girl in the yellow sweater, white skirt and black spandex pants. The cook then gestured towards another stack of delicious looking scones sitting on top of a plate. "These moon cakes are also one and a half zeni each. Three for three if you like."
"Ooh. I'll take those thanks. And two bagels," Videl said, smiling as she then watched the woman go about parceling them up for her.
But just when the raven haired girl was fishing into her pocket for some cash, the half-Saiyan suddenly stepped in front of her and fished some bills out of his. "Don't worry. I got it." Keeping the girl's hand from extending and spoiling herself, Gohan moved to the front and handed the customer service agent his cash, before then throwing the girl a wide grin. "My treat, since I'm taking you out."
At first appearing surprised, Videl then threw him an amused smirk, "I don't think that's how it works."
"Well… let's just go with it for now and see exactly where it takes us," the Saiyan replied, receiving change from the baker as well as the products he'd purchased. He then handed the bag to Videl, opening it up and allowing her to fish around for her treat, which she promptly did so. "I heard the moon cakes from this village are the best scones in the entire region. Am I right?" He directed a smile over at the middle-aged woman behind the stand of breads and assorted baked confections.
The master chef nodded to the boy in response, "That's right."
"See?" Gohan chirped. After giving a wave of thanks, he then began walking Videl away from the small crowd gathering around the desk and further out into the open. However, with the amount of villages darting this way and that, checking out the many other booths set up around them, this made the task of navigation extremely difficult. "I've flown to dozens of villages to do shopping in the past, but this place always has the best breads and some of the best pumpkins I've ever bought. The people here take a lot of pride in their work."
Chewing on one of the scones she'd managed to grab, Videl moaned out at the heavenly taste that rolled across her tongue. "Mm. And they have a right to be. This is delicious."
"Maybe we'll come back around and see if they can bake us some fresh ones. The smell that they have when they come straight out of the oven makes your mouth water," the demi-Saiyan said, holding a hand out and clenching his fingers to convey just how glorious the prospect was.
Videl was easily impressed, "I'll hold you to it." She then pointed across the way when she saw another wagon-driven-stall that caught her eye. "Wow. Check out those watermelons. They're massive." Stopping in their tracks to watch the crowd slip by and give them a better view of the cream of the crop, the raven haired crime fighter then spared her escort a grin. "What do they fertilize those things with? Chickens and asparagus?"
"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Gohan chuckled, glancing down to see Videl take a couple more bites out of her large scone before then holding up the bag to him. "Oh. Thanks." Grabbing a bagel for himself, he then pointed across at the prized vegetable collection. "To get watermelons that big, the soil would have to be incredibly rich and the products well taken care of. The farmers use only the best natural remedies to ward off all the bugs and pests that would be considered harmful to their patches."
This had the sweater wearing girl shrug, "Nothing that a healthy splash of grain around the farm can't fix, I suppose." Not really knowing much about the ins and outs of farming, yet finding her friend's knowledge about it incredibly insightful, she then grinned up at the spiky haired warrior. "Your mum plants her own stuff around the house, yeah?"
"Uh-huh. We buy the seeds from Lime's parents and plough the gardens ourselves. It's a really great meditative practice to get into every second season."
Videl then gave him a playful nudge. "That probably explains why you know so much about it."
"I'm just as much a learner as I am a professional fighter," Gohan stated while raising his hands. "Agriculture just happened to be small part of my education during my primary years, so I went ahead and did some."
"I keep forgetting how unique a childhood you actually had growing up. Outside of your outer space adventures, your life at home with your mum and dad was just as intense." Finishing up her scone and dusting her hand down as they continued on walking through the busy village square, Videl then hooked her arms around Gohan's and beamed up at him happily. Her actions drew the boy's gaze down to her, a sight that had her heart start to thump, "I'm really glad you invited me out here to spend the day with you, Gohan."
"Yeah. Me too. I wouldn't be able to enjoy it as much without you around. So… well…" Fumbling a bit with his words as he tried to think up something to say, the teen chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. Blushing slightly as he glanced towards the girl's enchanting smile and captivating sapphire eyes, he then lowered his hand and straightened up. "I wanted to take you some place great, that's all. You're an awesome friend, Videl, and I… I really love spending time with you, you know?"
Batting her eyes, the girl sighed and turned about to continue staring ahead of her. "Not quite there yet, huh?" she whispered, arms still wrapped around his. Figures…
"Hm? Did you say something?"
"No. Nothing," the tomboy replied, shaking her head at the half-Saiyan. "Just talking to myself." Stopping them for a third time along the footpath, Videl then spotted a café across the way and gestured the male's attention over to it. "I feel like a coffee. How about you?"
"Sure. My treat," Gohan spoke, allowing his friend to keep a firm grip of him as he then led her towards the establishment in question. They'd been walking for quite a while now. The least he could do was pull up a chair for them.
Passing through the crowd, the pair were given a moment of silence as they approached the diner. Once they were about partway across the square, Videl then spoke up with a devilish look in her eyes. "You're not going to tell me that this place sells some of the best coffee in the world, are you?"
"Ah-ha. Second best coffee, actually," Gohan replied, responding to the teasing tone in the girl's voice as he opened the door to the shop and allowed her passage. "The best is somewhere on the other side of the world. I'll take you there, sometime."
Rolling her eyes, Videl then threw him a playful swing that he blocked. "Sometimes I don't know whether you're just playing with me or telling the truth."
The demi-Saiyan threw her his signature grin, "Wanna guess?"
"I'd like to, but I'm a little bit afraid of the answer," the teen answered in amusement, not giving the boy the satisfaction of seeing her daring leer. "Keep smiling, hotshot. I ain't crackin' that easily."
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