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Chapter 1
As the sun slowly crept over the treetops, a certain demi-saiyan sat bathed in the early morning light. Six years had passed since Cell's defeat; six years had passed since his father had died. As Gohan completed his habitual morning meditation, he could not help but look back on those years. After Goku had sacrificed himself, Gohan found it difficult to sit idly back while that buffoon Satan Hercule had taken credit for saving the world. It wasn't so much the credit, but the fact that Satan had bastardized the martial arts and the art of ki control. Satan insisted, repeatedly, that ki control was nothing but light tricks and mirrors. However, in an effort to ease the burden on his mother, Gohan let it slide.
Since the day Goku died, he had kept up with not only his studies to please his mother, but with his training for himself. Everyday Gohan would meditate, study for a couple of hours, then find his sensei Piccolo, and train. He knew it frustrated Vegeta that he preferred Piccolo to the mighty Saiyan Prince, but that was his problem. The bond he shared with Piccolo allowed him to relax in a way he couldn't with anyone else. He was no longer as naive or innocent; Cell and his own arrogance had stripped that from him. But other than his sensei, Gohan's family and friends seemed to expect him to be unchanged by the events of that day.
"Gohan! Breakfast is ready!" Chi-Chi called.
Sighing, Gohan unfolded from his lotus position and flew to the house. Today he entered a new hell, high school. For the life of him, he could not understand why his mother felt he needed to attend regular school. He had mastered the subject material on the entrance exams back when he was six! But apparently, he needed to socialize. Sighing again, he sat at the table.
Chi-Chi carefully examined Gohan as he ate his breakfast. She hardly recognized him from the happy go lucky child he had been. Now he was quiet and a bit somber, his onyx eyes held a maturity far beyond his years and it broke her heart. The little boy had grown into an imposing man. At 6' he towered over her, his black hair, much to her frustration, reached past his shoulders, and his body was layered with muscles from his years of training. Her baby had become a warrior.
She knew she should not be surprised; after all, just look at his father, but it wasn't the path she had chosen from him. After Goku had died, and finding she was pregnant with Goten, Gohan had taken it upon himself to become the ultimate defender. And regardless of how well he thought he hid it, she knew he still blamed himself for his father's death.
"Thanks Mom, that was great." Gohan said, rising from the table.
Chi-Chi shook herself from her musing. "Here is your lunch, and where are the clothes I laid out for you?"
Gohan shuddered. Those clothes, as she called them, were horrible. Orange pants, white button front shirt, and a black vest, no. Instead, he wore a pair of comfortable jeans and a long sleeved T-shirt. "Oh, those, well…. They weren't comfortable so I grabbed something else." Gohan said, as he darted for the door. It was the truth, for his own mental comfort, he could not handle those clothes. Leaping into the air Gohan flew off to Satan City and his first day in hell. The flight was relaxing, there is something so freeing in flying.
'Hey kid, where are you going?' Piccolo asked across their telepathic bond. He had noticed Gohan's ki headed in a strange direction.
'School, my mom feels I need to make friends and she find my social skills to be lacking. Where better to accomplish that than a place where I am not supposed to talk about my past or reveal too much about my capabilities.' Came the slightly sarcastic reply across the bond. But he couldn't help it. How was he supposed to accomplish his mother's goal in an honest fashion with her stipulations, no ki control, no displays of strength, and no talking about his past to preserve privacy.
Gohan heard the rich baritone chuckle in his mind. Easy for Piccolo to laugh, he didn't have to spend his day trapped in a building with all of those people. Shrugging, he landed a few blocks over from the school. He did not intend to obey all of his mother's dictates, but freaking the population out by flying directly to the school might push it a little far. After spending most of his life pleasing someone else, the last few years had started to be about pleasing himself. He would not show off, but he was proud of what he had accomplished under Piccolo's tutelage and he would not disgrace his sensei by pretending to be weak. After a quick trip to the office, Gohan headed to his first class.