All right, first the Author's notes.
1. Character's name is pronounced Sen-ta. I know, it's spelled Centa, but that's how it's pronounced.
2. His move is the Shitoka. (Pronounced She-tok-a) It's a move where energy is drawn from the user's ki and funneled into a large, half-moon shaped shot. One shoots from each hand. Please, if you like this move, email me and I'll let you use it. Just don't rip me off.
3.Quick guide to the mood hair, as I like to call it.
Green-Normal Blue-Fear Violet-Happy Black-Pain Red-Anger Orange-Slightly Miffed White-Confusion
Pink-Embarassment Yellow-Humor Flesh-Shock Grey-Lieing
4. Email me if you like, dis-like, or have any suggestions. Gigasbolt@yahoo.com is my email. Oh yeah, for any who have it, my AOL Instant Messenger name is XxGigasboltxX. I'm easily accesible and love talking to new people, so shoot me a message if you're on.
Well, I've bored you enough. On with the story. It takes place after the Freeza Saga. Sometime right after the Nameks are wished to their new planet. If I get support, I may continue the story. Thoughts are in `these` and speaking in "these." Scene changes are -----these------
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Centa's Journey
By: Gigasbolt
It was a new day. The sun was shining and everything felt perfect. Well, everything except that his father was missing. Gohan was still worried about his dad. `Why hasn't he come back yet?` Gohan thought. He sighed, knowing he would have homework to do without his dad to get him out of it.
"GOHAN!!" The scream came as if to remind him of what he had just thought. "YOU'D BETTER BE GETTING READY FOR SCHOOL!!!" Chi-Chi cared about her son. A lot. That's probably why she wanted him to get such a good education. She didn't want him to have to depend on fighting for everything. Like her husband. `How I miss Goku... Even though he does eat everything in sight.. And he never thanks me. That lazy, good-for-nothing. Always training. I can't believe it.` Her thoughts were interrupted by the fact that Gohan was nowhere in sight.
Gohan didn't want to go to school. He wanted to have fun. So, of course he had put on his training gi, the one modeled after Piccolo's, and was climbing out his window. Suddenly, Haiya Dragon flew up.
"KKKRRRAAA" He shouted, obviously overjoyed that Gohan was joining him for a day of fun.
"Icarus, shush! Don't make any noise. I'm gonna skip school." Gohan shushed the dragon, trying not to alert Chi-Chi.
"GOHAN! YOU BETTER NOT BE GOOFING OFF WITH THAT BEAST!!! YOU'VE GOT SCHOOL!" Chi-Chi began her ascent up the steps. She was sure that boy of her's was trying to do something to get out of school. Ever since he got back from that planet with Bulma and Krillen, all he wanted to do was goof off. `I bet Krillen was a bad influence on him. What does Krillen do, anyways? All he does is train at that pervert Roshie's house.` "Humph. I'll have to give Krillen a piece of my mind." Chi-Chi sure wasn't gonna give Gohan any excuse to goof off. She burst through his door to find him on the roof, preparing to take off. "YOU STOP RIGHT THERE, MISTER!" Chi-Chi had this thing about yelling today. She ran to the window, hanging out and grabbing his leg. "You've got to go to school!"
"But Mom... I wanna go play with Icarus!" Gohan pulled a little, but didn't want to hurt his Mom.
"Please, Gohan. Go to school for Mommy.. Please. I don't want you to grow up without an education." Chi-Chi was pleading with her son. He coulnd't do this to her.
"All right..." Gohan didn't sound very excited, but Chi-Chi didn't seem to care. She was too busy dancing around with glee. He came back in and got dressed for school. `Man. I hate doing this.`
"Oh, my little man is so cute." Chi-Chi pulled at his shirt, adjusting it to fit just perfect. `Hmm.. That unruly hair is growing back. I'll have to schedule another hair appointment.`
Gohan walked towards the bus as his mother's voice was heard in the background.
"BYE BYE GOHAN! HAVE A GOOD DAY!"
"By Kami, she can be annoying sometimes." Gohan whispered to himself as he climbed on the bus. He moved to the back, where he always sat by himself. His was the last stop, and everybody knew it was his seat. He had claimed it from a bully. After knocking him senseless with one punch, that is. He pondered on taking Kami's name in vain, but then, he had met Kami, so it wasn't that bad. And so he sat, the bus making it's way down the road until it stopped abruptly.
"Hey, what's going on?" was the general question. Every child on the bus said it or some version of it.
One of the boys sitting near Gohan piped up. "Hey Gohan, I thought you were the last stop. Anybody moved in recently?"
"No, Johnny, not that I know of." Gohan had no idea who lived here. In fact, none of the kids had even noticed the house until that time. As they watched, an old man marched a little kid out to the bus.
"Yeah, you brat. I'm finally gonna get rid of you. Hehehe.." The old man laughed. He didn't live here. It was a front. The kid was an orphan he'd found, and he didn't want the responsibility. He was gonna dump him on the bus and leave. There was something about the kid, something unnerving. Maybe it was his hair, the hair that changed color with his moods, staying green when he was calm, his yellow eyes, or his unusual stature. The kid was 9 years old, but he was only the size of a 6 year old. The eyes didn't help, either. The doctor's had thought he would be blind, but he sees fine. `Better than fine.` The man thought. This kid had seen flies land on food in the kitchens of other houses from the street they usually lived on. The man thought he could cash in on it, but the boy didn't want to do anything. At least, not anything the man tried to force him to do. All in all, it wasn't worth the trouble.
The boy looked at the bus, and saw kids his age. A glimmer of hope grew in him. He'd never been allowed to play. The old man saw to that. He'd never been near kids his own age. Maybe he could play with these kids. A memory from his very early youth came to mind. He was young, around 2 years old, and he was back in the orphanage. Before the man. He was playing with another baby, and accidentally knocked it over. He was playing to hard, scolded the nurse. They had never seen a toddler so strong. They didn't let him play after that. Then, it closed down and the man found him. That was when he was 3. He could remember all this. His reasoning skills, though he didn't know it, were far beyond his age level. He'd lived with the man 6 years, growing smarter, stronger, faster. And yet, as the man pointed out, not taller. He had reached this height when he was 6 and hadn't grown any more. He climbed the stairs onto the bus.
"Hey, look at him. He looks like a first grader! Are you sure he's on the right bus!" A few troublemakers in the back began to make fun of the boy's height, but Gohan knew some things didn't matter. Height was one of them. His dad's friend Krillen was the same age as his dad, but Gohan was almost taller than Krillen. But, even though he was small, Krillen was one of the fiercest fighters he had ever seen. Gohan knew not to judge people by how they looked, but by how they acted.
The boy looked at all the kids. He heard the jeers. He didn't pay attention to them. If they didn't like him, their opinions didn't matter. He stepped to the line between driver and children. He knew two things instinctively. The first was that the man wouldn't be there at the end of the day. The boy didn't care much. The man didn't love him, and he didn't love the man. The second, and the more important, was that he had a friend on the bus. He didn't know who, and he didn't know how, but the feeling was there. Someone here was willing to be his friend. And not just any friend, but a close, personal friend. Someone who could be trusted with anything. He walked forward, searching for a seat. Everywhere he turned, the children either covered it up, saying it was taken, or just turned him down. He finally reached the back of the bus. The last seat was next to a boy with spiky black hair. He got the feeling again. Maybe this was his friend.
Gohan looked up. The boy had made his way all the way back here. He looked around. `Everyone else turned him down. I can't believe they did that. They're so cruel.` Gohan looked into the boy's eyes. There was something about him that reminded him of Dende. He looked hurt, yet trusting. `This boy is looking for something.` Gohan realized. "Here, you can sit with me." Gohan moved over a little and put his books into his bag.
"Thank you very much." The boy bowed and put his backpack on the ground next to him. He then sat and looked at Gohan. "What's your name?"
"My name's Gohan. What's yours?"
"It's Centa." The look of surprise was not very pronounced.
"That's an odd name.. I've never heard of it before."
"I made it up myself. I didn't like the name the orphanage gave me."
"You're an orphan? That's too bad. Was that your adopted dad?"
"No, that's some guy who found me. He took me in, but I don't like him. He's mean."
And so it went. Centa told Gohan the story of his life, as outlined earlier, about how he started in an orphanage that ran out of money. It shut down and the man found him. He raised him until that point. Nothing out of the normal had ever happened in Centa's life, other than his looks and height. And his strength. Centa didn't tell Gohan about that. He thought he'd be scared. If only Centa knew. In fact, he would have known, because Gohan was about to start his life story, when the bus pulled into the schoolyard. They got off the bus and headed to their school room. They were surprised that Centa was in Gohan's room, and they picked seats next to each other. Dende had been the only close friend Gohan had had in a long time. And then he had to leave. Maybe Centa could take his place.
"All right, I know how interesting your conversation is, but Gohan, Centa. You must stop talking while I talk." The teacher was driven to the point of making them stand
outside when the bell rang. "OOH!! JUST EVERYONE GO OUTSIDE!!" All the children raced out, while the teacher walked over to her desk and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. She was about to take one, when Gohan and Centa stuck their heads back in.
"BYE TEACHER!"
She then proceeded to throw the entire bottle of aspirin into her mouth, swallowing every last one.
"Heh, that was awesome, Gohan. We really freaked her out." Centa laughed as they walked down to the playground.
"That was great." Gohan was ready for some playing time after sitting down so long. They threw the doors open, already the best of friends. As they walked, Centa noticed a bully picking on a group of kids at the Jungle Gym. His hair began to turn to a shade of orange as he got slightly angry.
"Hey, Gohan. Do you see that?" Centa pointed.
"Yeah, that's not nice. We should teach him a lesson, Centa." Gohan began walking over there. He took a look back and noticed Centa's hair changing color. He almost freaked, but then remember what his friend had told him on the bus, about it changing colors like a mood ring. That just meant Centa was kind of angry at the bully.
`How did Gohan know that I could teach him a lesson? I'm sure I didn't tell Gohan I was stronger than normal.` Centa, nevertheless, followed his new-found friend towards the bully. Now, most of the bullies had heard of Gohan, but this particular bully had either not been around long enough, or had just forgotten. Bullies are kind of stupid, you know. So, he continued making fun of the kids until he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Yeah, what do you want?" He turned, coming face to face with.. air, surprisingly. He looked down, noticing Gohan, who was about 3 inches shorter. Bullies usually are the bigger kids, too.
"I want you to stop picking on them." Gohan said, matter of factly.
"Who's gonna make me, YOU?" The bully pointed and laughed, but stopped when he felt Gohan grab his finger. "HUH?" Gohan then proceeded to pick him up, turn him over so that his head was facing the ground, and bring the aforementioned head into the ground 4 to 5 times, leaving a massive bump. He then turned him rightside up again and placed him on his feet.
"You going to stop?" Gohan asked.
"Yes... sir..." The bully replied, tears streaming down his face as he felt the lump.
"Good." Gohan said. He then turned and nearly run into a slack-jawed Centa.
"How?.. Where?... When?.." Centa tried many interrogative sentences, but each ended with the first word. Perhaps his hair conveyed the sentiment he was trying to get off, as it was a confused white.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about myself, didn't I?" Gohan said, a bit sheepishly. He then proceeded to launch into a vivid, if not child-like account of his battles, starting with what he remembered from his 4 year old battle with Radditz to his most recent battle on Namek with Freeza. There were a few discrepancies between his account and what truly happened. From his point of view, Piccolo, or "Mr. Piccolo" played a much bigger role, at one time going from saving Gohan from being killed in the wilderness to having him defeat Freeza only to have him come back from the dead when Goku arrived. Methinks Gohan was just a bit confused on Namek. But, anyway, that really doesn't retract from the importance of the stories Gohan was telling, does it? Centa certainly didn't think so, as he stood. Then sat. And eventually lay, wrapped up in Gohan's story so much he felt as if he were there. Gohan had just finished when the school bell rang to come in. Wow, long break, huh? Anyhoo, they went back in and continued their boring school day. Until lunchtime, that is...
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"Hey, Centa. I'm going to the bathroom. Save my seat, okay?" Gohan stood up from their table. It wasn't crowded. In fact, no one else was sitting there. Gohan had a kind of reputation. But, to be nice, Centa put his feet up where Gohan was sitting.
"Sure, Gohan. I got it."
"Okay, be back in a second." Gohan walked over to the bathroom. As soon as he was gone, the hecklers from the bus walked over.
"Hey, shrimp." The first said, pushing his feet aside and sitting in Gohan's seat. He didn't seem to notice Centa's hair begin to shift into orange.
"You can't sit there. Gohan's sitting there." Centa said, sticking up for his friend.
"You gonna make us move, shrimp?" The second said, sitting next to the first. Centa's orange hair got a little redder.
"If I have to." Centa answered.
"HA! Yeah right!" The third said. He sat on the other side. None of them even moved when Centa stood up and walked over to their side and put his hand, that's right, one hand on their bench. His hair was now a bright, bright red.
"Can't say I didn't warn you." He then proceeded to lift the bench containing the bullies into the air, walked over to the garbage container, and dumped them in. As he did, his hair began to turn back to green. Just as Gohan was walking out of the bathroom.
"CENTA! What're you doing?" Gohan was amazed that his friend lifted the bench with one hand, let alone with three bullies on it.
"Oh, hi Gohan. They took your seat. I told them to move, but they said to make them. So I did. I figured now I don't have to hide stuff from you since you didn't hide stuff from me." Centa then told Gohan all about how he was different. When he was young, in the orphanage, he was as strong as the nurses. When the old man found him, he was as strong as a bodybuilder. Now, he was very strong, strong enough to lift small cars. Gohan was amazed. This was great! Not only was his best friend cool, he was strong, too. Now they could train together.
"Centa, do you know anything about ki?" Gohan was hopeful. With power like that, maybe he could do something.
"No, I'm sorry Gohan. I've never heard that word before." Centa's hair was turning white again.
`Oh well, I didn't know what ki was until Mr. Piccolo. I'm sure he can teach Centa, too.` "Centa, I've got some people you should meet. Can you come with me after school?"
"Sure, Gohan. I don't have anything to do. The man abandoned me, so I don't have anywhere to go." Centa didn't feel bad about it, as his hair showed by turning green again, but Gohan obviously felt awful.
"That sucks, Centa. Maybe you can live with me until you find someone to take you in." Gohan was worried about his new friend. Maybe he could help him.
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Later that day, after school was over, Chi-Chi recieved her introduction to Centa. She checked her watch as the alarm went off. `Well, Gohan should be home right now.`
"HI MOM, I'M HOME"
"Right on time. Gohan, I've got your favorite snack, cookies and.." She gasped, catching her first view of a strange green topped body following Gohan through the door. "GOHAN, SOMETHING GREEN IS FOLLOWING YOU!! I'LL GET IT!" Chi-Chi grabbed her broom, about to start swinging, when Gohan broke in.
"Mom, Mom. It's okay. If you'd look a little closer, you'd see that's my new friend. His name is Centa. He's all alone, he's an orphan. Can he stay with us?" Gohan looked at her with big, sad eyes. "Please?" He said, in that sweet voice kids reserve for conning parents into something.
"Well, that's a lot for me to process, Gohan. I'll think about it. Meanwhile, I'll make a second set of cookies and a second glass of milk. Hello, Centa. I'm sorry about before. It's just, you're so small, and I didn't look any lower than your hair."
"That's okay, Mrs. Chi-Chi. I don't mind. I've gotten worse reactions to me before."
`He seems like a good enough boy. Maybe I shouldn't worry about Gohan making friends.` Chi-Chi thought, as she prepared the second snack. The boys had made their way up to Gohan's room. She heard muffled sounds of laughter and a strangely familiar KRARK. "OOH! THEY'D BEST NOT BE PLAYING WITH THAT... THAT... ANIMAL IN THE HOUSE!" Chi-Chi hated cleaning up after that dragon, even if Gohan loved him. She carried the tray up there, knowing she'd get a chance to lecture Gohan, which she loved to do. She flung the door open. "Gohan, how many times have I..??" She looked around, no sight of dragon.
"Told me what, Mom?" Gohan looked up from the large bean-bag he and Centa were laying on, shifting his weight. They turned the page on their comic book.
"Um.. I thought I heard that dragon in here. I'm sorry to bother you. Here's the snack. What are you boys planning on doing?" Chi-Chi asked, as she set down the tray.
"Yum!" Centa snatched two cookies and his glass of milk. He proceeded to make the cookies disappear, and half his milk. He then stuffed some cookies in his pocket, while sticking another in his mouth. He looked up, noticing the talking had stopped as Chi-Chi and Gohan both stared at him. His hair began to change to a sheepish pink color at his actions.
"Centa, when was the last time you ate?" Chi-Chi asked.
"Uhh... Let me think. I had something two weeks ago, but I haven't had cookies since I was 3.." Centa answered.
"What?? No cookies for 6 years?" Gohan was shocked. He had cookies every day. And as a snack at night.
"More importantly, you haven't eaten in two weeks?" Chi-Chi was worried. The boy didn't look gaunt or hungry. But then, he was wearing a very baggy shirt. And baggy pants.
"No, ma'am. I wanted to eat at school, but they said I needed money. I didn't have any." His hair, kind of like it had been blushing, finally turned back to normal as he calmed down.
"You poor thing. You boys are staying right here until I can pull together a quick sandwich for Centa. And when you go, I'll give you a picnic to take with you." Chi-Chi turned and headed back downstairs.
Centa continued to eat until he finished his plate. He then drained his milk. He reached into his pocket and fished out another cookie. "Your mom sure is nice, Gohan."
"Yeah, she is." Gohan reached for one of his cookies, when the bean-bag moved and grabbed a cookie, too. "HEY! Icarus, I would've given you one."
"AARK! KRAAKRAK!" Icarus told him, eating the cookie. Roughly translated, it means. "Get off my back! My cookie!"
"Okay, okay." Gohan rolled off and began punching the dragon playfully. Icarus stood up and whipped his tail into him, knocking him back. Centa knew it was all in good fun. As Gohan got back up, Icarus ate another cookie and dragon laughed at Gohan.
"AAK. AAK. AAK." Icarus laughed, pulling the cookie all the way into his mouth and eating it.
"Why you little.." Gohan tackled the dragon.
"HAHAHA.." Centa laughed, watching Gohan and Icarus tumble around happily. His hair turned yellow, matching his eyes in this hilarity. Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming up. "Uh-oh. Gohan, can we hide him again?" Centa's hair turned from yellow to a scared blue.
"I don't think Icarus could hide in time." Gohan was about to throw a blanket over him when Chi-Chi came in.
"All right Centa, here's your.. GOHAN!! I knew that dragon was here! Get him out!" Chi-Chi couldn't believe she'd fallen for the bean-bag trick. She shooed the dragon out the window. She then handed the picnic lunch to Gohan and a sandwich to Centa. "You two boys are full of mischief. Get outside and get some sun. I've got to vacuum this room! Oh, and Gohan. I'd like it if you and Centa visited Bulma and give her this for me." Chi-Chi handed the boys a small package.
"Okay Mom. Thanks!" Gohan ran to the window.
"Um, Gohan. Why are you going to the window?" Centa asked, contentedly munching his sandwich.
END PART 1
Sorry, everyone who reads this. I ran out of memory in one text file and am now working on part 2. Bear with me.
1. Character's name is pronounced Sen-ta. I know, it's spelled Centa, but that's how it's pronounced.
2. His move is the Shitoka. (Pronounced She-tok-a) It's a move where energy is drawn from the user's ki and funneled into a large, half-moon shaped shot. One shoots from each hand. Please, if you like this move, email me and I'll let you use it. Just don't rip me off.
3.Quick guide to the mood hair, as I like to call it.
Green-Normal Blue-Fear Violet-Happy Black-Pain Red-Anger Orange-Slightly Miffed White-Confusion
Pink-Embarassment Yellow-Humor Flesh-Shock Grey-Lieing
4. Email me if you like, dis-like, or have any suggestions. Gigasbolt@yahoo.com is my email. Oh yeah, for any who have it, my AOL Instant Messenger name is XxGigasboltxX. I'm easily accesible and love talking to new people, so shoot me a message if you're on.
Well, I've bored you enough. On with the story. It takes place after the Freeza Saga. Sometime right after the Nameks are wished to their new planet. If I get support, I may continue the story. Thoughts are in `these` and speaking in "these." Scene changes are -----these------
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Centa's Journey
By: Gigasbolt
It was a new day. The sun was shining and everything felt perfect. Well, everything except that his father was missing. Gohan was still worried about his dad. `Why hasn't he come back yet?` Gohan thought. He sighed, knowing he would have homework to do without his dad to get him out of it.
"GOHAN!!" The scream came as if to remind him of what he had just thought. "YOU'D BETTER BE GETTING READY FOR SCHOOL!!!" Chi-Chi cared about her son. A lot. That's probably why she wanted him to get such a good education. She didn't want him to have to depend on fighting for everything. Like her husband. `How I miss Goku... Even though he does eat everything in sight.. And he never thanks me. That lazy, good-for-nothing. Always training. I can't believe it.` Her thoughts were interrupted by the fact that Gohan was nowhere in sight.
Gohan didn't want to go to school. He wanted to have fun. So, of course he had put on his training gi, the one modeled after Piccolo's, and was climbing out his window. Suddenly, Haiya Dragon flew up.
"KKKRRRAAA" He shouted, obviously overjoyed that Gohan was joining him for a day of fun.
"Icarus, shush! Don't make any noise. I'm gonna skip school." Gohan shushed the dragon, trying not to alert Chi-Chi.
"GOHAN! YOU BETTER NOT BE GOOFING OFF WITH THAT BEAST!!! YOU'VE GOT SCHOOL!" Chi-Chi began her ascent up the steps. She was sure that boy of her's was trying to do something to get out of school. Ever since he got back from that planet with Bulma and Krillen, all he wanted to do was goof off. `I bet Krillen was a bad influence on him. What does Krillen do, anyways? All he does is train at that pervert Roshie's house.` "Humph. I'll have to give Krillen a piece of my mind." Chi-Chi sure wasn't gonna give Gohan any excuse to goof off. She burst through his door to find him on the roof, preparing to take off. "YOU STOP RIGHT THERE, MISTER!" Chi-Chi had this thing about yelling today. She ran to the window, hanging out and grabbing his leg. "You've got to go to school!"
"But Mom... I wanna go play with Icarus!" Gohan pulled a little, but didn't want to hurt his Mom.
"Please, Gohan. Go to school for Mommy.. Please. I don't want you to grow up without an education." Chi-Chi was pleading with her son. He coulnd't do this to her.
"All right..." Gohan didn't sound very excited, but Chi-Chi didn't seem to care. She was too busy dancing around with glee. He came back in and got dressed for school. `Man. I hate doing this.`
"Oh, my little man is so cute." Chi-Chi pulled at his shirt, adjusting it to fit just perfect. `Hmm.. That unruly hair is growing back. I'll have to schedule another hair appointment.`
Gohan walked towards the bus as his mother's voice was heard in the background.
"BYE BYE GOHAN! HAVE A GOOD DAY!"
"By Kami, she can be annoying sometimes." Gohan whispered to himself as he climbed on the bus. He moved to the back, where he always sat by himself. His was the last stop, and everybody knew it was his seat. He had claimed it from a bully. After knocking him senseless with one punch, that is. He pondered on taking Kami's name in vain, but then, he had met Kami, so it wasn't that bad. And so he sat, the bus making it's way down the road until it stopped abruptly.
"Hey, what's going on?" was the general question. Every child on the bus said it or some version of it.
One of the boys sitting near Gohan piped up. "Hey Gohan, I thought you were the last stop. Anybody moved in recently?"
"No, Johnny, not that I know of." Gohan had no idea who lived here. In fact, none of the kids had even noticed the house until that time. As they watched, an old man marched a little kid out to the bus.
"Yeah, you brat. I'm finally gonna get rid of you. Hehehe.." The old man laughed. He didn't live here. It was a front. The kid was an orphan he'd found, and he didn't want the responsibility. He was gonna dump him on the bus and leave. There was something about the kid, something unnerving. Maybe it was his hair, the hair that changed color with his moods, staying green when he was calm, his yellow eyes, or his unusual stature. The kid was 9 years old, but he was only the size of a 6 year old. The eyes didn't help, either. The doctor's had thought he would be blind, but he sees fine. `Better than fine.` The man thought. This kid had seen flies land on food in the kitchens of other houses from the street they usually lived on. The man thought he could cash in on it, but the boy didn't want to do anything. At least, not anything the man tried to force him to do. All in all, it wasn't worth the trouble.
The boy looked at the bus, and saw kids his age. A glimmer of hope grew in him. He'd never been allowed to play. The old man saw to that. He'd never been near kids his own age. Maybe he could play with these kids. A memory from his very early youth came to mind. He was young, around 2 years old, and he was back in the orphanage. Before the man. He was playing with another baby, and accidentally knocked it over. He was playing to hard, scolded the nurse. They had never seen a toddler so strong. They didn't let him play after that. Then, it closed down and the man found him. That was when he was 3. He could remember all this. His reasoning skills, though he didn't know it, were far beyond his age level. He'd lived with the man 6 years, growing smarter, stronger, faster. And yet, as the man pointed out, not taller. He had reached this height when he was 6 and hadn't grown any more. He climbed the stairs onto the bus.
"Hey, look at him. He looks like a first grader! Are you sure he's on the right bus!" A few troublemakers in the back began to make fun of the boy's height, but Gohan knew some things didn't matter. Height was one of them. His dad's friend Krillen was the same age as his dad, but Gohan was almost taller than Krillen. But, even though he was small, Krillen was one of the fiercest fighters he had ever seen. Gohan knew not to judge people by how they looked, but by how they acted.
The boy looked at all the kids. He heard the jeers. He didn't pay attention to them. If they didn't like him, their opinions didn't matter. He stepped to the line between driver and children. He knew two things instinctively. The first was that the man wouldn't be there at the end of the day. The boy didn't care much. The man didn't love him, and he didn't love the man. The second, and the more important, was that he had a friend on the bus. He didn't know who, and he didn't know how, but the feeling was there. Someone here was willing to be his friend. And not just any friend, but a close, personal friend. Someone who could be trusted with anything. He walked forward, searching for a seat. Everywhere he turned, the children either covered it up, saying it was taken, or just turned him down. He finally reached the back of the bus. The last seat was next to a boy with spiky black hair. He got the feeling again. Maybe this was his friend.
Gohan looked up. The boy had made his way all the way back here. He looked around. `Everyone else turned him down. I can't believe they did that. They're so cruel.` Gohan looked into the boy's eyes. There was something about him that reminded him of Dende. He looked hurt, yet trusting. `This boy is looking for something.` Gohan realized. "Here, you can sit with me." Gohan moved over a little and put his books into his bag.
"Thank you very much." The boy bowed and put his backpack on the ground next to him. He then sat and looked at Gohan. "What's your name?"
"My name's Gohan. What's yours?"
"It's Centa." The look of surprise was not very pronounced.
"That's an odd name.. I've never heard of it before."
"I made it up myself. I didn't like the name the orphanage gave me."
"You're an orphan? That's too bad. Was that your adopted dad?"
"No, that's some guy who found me. He took me in, but I don't like him. He's mean."
And so it went. Centa told Gohan the story of his life, as outlined earlier, about how he started in an orphanage that ran out of money. It shut down and the man found him. He raised him until that point. Nothing out of the normal had ever happened in Centa's life, other than his looks and height. And his strength. Centa didn't tell Gohan about that. He thought he'd be scared. If only Centa knew. In fact, he would have known, because Gohan was about to start his life story, when the bus pulled into the schoolyard. They got off the bus and headed to their school room. They were surprised that Centa was in Gohan's room, and they picked seats next to each other. Dende had been the only close friend Gohan had had in a long time. And then he had to leave. Maybe Centa could take his place.
"All right, I know how interesting your conversation is, but Gohan, Centa. You must stop talking while I talk." The teacher was driven to the point of making them stand
outside when the bell rang. "OOH!! JUST EVERYONE GO OUTSIDE!!" All the children raced out, while the teacher walked over to her desk and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. She was about to take one, when Gohan and Centa stuck their heads back in.
"BYE TEACHER!"
She then proceeded to throw the entire bottle of aspirin into her mouth, swallowing every last one.
"Heh, that was awesome, Gohan. We really freaked her out." Centa laughed as they walked down to the playground.
"That was great." Gohan was ready for some playing time after sitting down so long. They threw the doors open, already the best of friends. As they walked, Centa noticed a bully picking on a group of kids at the Jungle Gym. His hair began to turn to a shade of orange as he got slightly angry.
"Hey, Gohan. Do you see that?" Centa pointed.
"Yeah, that's not nice. We should teach him a lesson, Centa." Gohan began walking over there. He took a look back and noticed Centa's hair changing color. He almost freaked, but then remember what his friend had told him on the bus, about it changing colors like a mood ring. That just meant Centa was kind of angry at the bully.
`How did Gohan know that I could teach him a lesson? I'm sure I didn't tell Gohan I was stronger than normal.` Centa, nevertheless, followed his new-found friend towards the bully. Now, most of the bullies had heard of Gohan, but this particular bully had either not been around long enough, or had just forgotten. Bullies are kind of stupid, you know. So, he continued making fun of the kids until he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Yeah, what do you want?" He turned, coming face to face with.. air, surprisingly. He looked down, noticing Gohan, who was about 3 inches shorter. Bullies usually are the bigger kids, too.
"I want you to stop picking on them." Gohan said, matter of factly.
"Who's gonna make me, YOU?" The bully pointed and laughed, but stopped when he felt Gohan grab his finger. "HUH?" Gohan then proceeded to pick him up, turn him over so that his head was facing the ground, and bring the aforementioned head into the ground 4 to 5 times, leaving a massive bump. He then turned him rightside up again and placed him on his feet.
"You going to stop?" Gohan asked.
"Yes... sir..." The bully replied, tears streaming down his face as he felt the lump.
"Good." Gohan said. He then turned and nearly run into a slack-jawed Centa.
"How?.. Where?... When?.." Centa tried many interrogative sentences, but each ended with the first word. Perhaps his hair conveyed the sentiment he was trying to get off, as it was a confused white.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about myself, didn't I?" Gohan said, a bit sheepishly. He then proceeded to launch into a vivid, if not child-like account of his battles, starting with what he remembered from his 4 year old battle with Radditz to his most recent battle on Namek with Freeza. There were a few discrepancies between his account and what truly happened. From his point of view, Piccolo, or "Mr. Piccolo" played a much bigger role, at one time going from saving Gohan from being killed in the wilderness to having him defeat Freeza only to have him come back from the dead when Goku arrived. Methinks Gohan was just a bit confused on Namek. But, anyway, that really doesn't retract from the importance of the stories Gohan was telling, does it? Centa certainly didn't think so, as he stood. Then sat. And eventually lay, wrapped up in Gohan's story so much he felt as if he were there. Gohan had just finished when the school bell rang to come in. Wow, long break, huh? Anyhoo, they went back in and continued their boring school day. Until lunchtime, that is...
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"Hey, Centa. I'm going to the bathroom. Save my seat, okay?" Gohan stood up from their table. It wasn't crowded. In fact, no one else was sitting there. Gohan had a kind of reputation. But, to be nice, Centa put his feet up where Gohan was sitting.
"Sure, Gohan. I got it."
"Okay, be back in a second." Gohan walked over to the bathroom. As soon as he was gone, the hecklers from the bus walked over.
"Hey, shrimp." The first said, pushing his feet aside and sitting in Gohan's seat. He didn't seem to notice Centa's hair begin to shift into orange.
"You can't sit there. Gohan's sitting there." Centa said, sticking up for his friend.
"You gonna make us move, shrimp?" The second said, sitting next to the first. Centa's orange hair got a little redder.
"If I have to." Centa answered.
"HA! Yeah right!" The third said. He sat on the other side. None of them even moved when Centa stood up and walked over to their side and put his hand, that's right, one hand on their bench. His hair was now a bright, bright red.
"Can't say I didn't warn you." He then proceeded to lift the bench containing the bullies into the air, walked over to the garbage container, and dumped them in. As he did, his hair began to turn back to green. Just as Gohan was walking out of the bathroom.
"CENTA! What're you doing?" Gohan was amazed that his friend lifted the bench with one hand, let alone with three bullies on it.
"Oh, hi Gohan. They took your seat. I told them to move, but they said to make them. So I did. I figured now I don't have to hide stuff from you since you didn't hide stuff from me." Centa then told Gohan all about how he was different. When he was young, in the orphanage, he was as strong as the nurses. When the old man found him, he was as strong as a bodybuilder. Now, he was very strong, strong enough to lift small cars. Gohan was amazed. This was great! Not only was his best friend cool, he was strong, too. Now they could train together.
"Centa, do you know anything about ki?" Gohan was hopeful. With power like that, maybe he could do something.
"No, I'm sorry Gohan. I've never heard that word before." Centa's hair was turning white again.
`Oh well, I didn't know what ki was until Mr. Piccolo. I'm sure he can teach Centa, too.` "Centa, I've got some people you should meet. Can you come with me after school?"
"Sure, Gohan. I don't have anything to do. The man abandoned me, so I don't have anywhere to go." Centa didn't feel bad about it, as his hair showed by turning green again, but Gohan obviously felt awful.
"That sucks, Centa. Maybe you can live with me until you find someone to take you in." Gohan was worried about his new friend. Maybe he could help him.
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Later that day, after school was over, Chi-Chi recieved her introduction to Centa. She checked her watch as the alarm went off. `Well, Gohan should be home right now.`
"HI MOM, I'M HOME"
"Right on time. Gohan, I've got your favorite snack, cookies and.." She gasped, catching her first view of a strange green topped body following Gohan through the door. "GOHAN, SOMETHING GREEN IS FOLLOWING YOU!! I'LL GET IT!" Chi-Chi grabbed her broom, about to start swinging, when Gohan broke in.
"Mom, Mom. It's okay. If you'd look a little closer, you'd see that's my new friend. His name is Centa. He's all alone, he's an orphan. Can he stay with us?" Gohan looked at her with big, sad eyes. "Please?" He said, in that sweet voice kids reserve for conning parents into something.
"Well, that's a lot for me to process, Gohan. I'll think about it. Meanwhile, I'll make a second set of cookies and a second glass of milk. Hello, Centa. I'm sorry about before. It's just, you're so small, and I didn't look any lower than your hair."
"That's okay, Mrs. Chi-Chi. I don't mind. I've gotten worse reactions to me before."
`He seems like a good enough boy. Maybe I shouldn't worry about Gohan making friends.` Chi-Chi thought, as she prepared the second snack. The boys had made their way up to Gohan's room. She heard muffled sounds of laughter and a strangely familiar KRARK. "OOH! THEY'D BEST NOT BE PLAYING WITH THAT... THAT... ANIMAL IN THE HOUSE!" Chi-Chi hated cleaning up after that dragon, even if Gohan loved him. She carried the tray up there, knowing she'd get a chance to lecture Gohan, which she loved to do. She flung the door open. "Gohan, how many times have I..??" She looked around, no sight of dragon.
"Told me what, Mom?" Gohan looked up from the large bean-bag he and Centa were laying on, shifting his weight. They turned the page on their comic book.
"Um.. I thought I heard that dragon in here. I'm sorry to bother you. Here's the snack. What are you boys planning on doing?" Chi-Chi asked, as she set down the tray.
"Yum!" Centa snatched two cookies and his glass of milk. He proceeded to make the cookies disappear, and half his milk. He then stuffed some cookies in his pocket, while sticking another in his mouth. He looked up, noticing the talking had stopped as Chi-Chi and Gohan both stared at him. His hair began to change to a sheepish pink color at his actions.
"Centa, when was the last time you ate?" Chi-Chi asked.
"Uhh... Let me think. I had something two weeks ago, but I haven't had cookies since I was 3.." Centa answered.
"What?? No cookies for 6 years?" Gohan was shocked. He had cookies every day. And as a snack at night.
"More importantly, you haven't eaten in two weeks?" Chi-Chi was worried. The boy didn't look gaunt or hungry. But then, he was wearing a very baggy shirt. And baggy pants.
"No, ma'am. I wanted to eat at school, but they said I needed money. I didn't have any." His hair, kind of like it had been blushing, finally turned back to normal as he calmed down.
"You poor thing. You boys are staying right here until I can pull together a quick sandwich for Centa. And when you go, I'll give you a picnic to take with you." Chi-Chi turned and headed back downstairs.
Centa continued to eat until he finished his plate. He then drained his milk. He reached into his pocket and fished out another cookie. "Your mom sure is nice, Gohan."
"Yeah, she is." Gohan reached for one of his cookies, when the bean-bag moved and grabbed a cookie, too. "HEY! Icarus, I would've given you one."
"AARK! KRAAKRAK!" Icarus told him, eating the cookie. Roughly translated, it means. "Get off my back! My cookie!"
"Okay, okay." Gohan rolled off and began punching the dragon playfully. Icarus stood up and whipped his tail into him, knocking him back. Centa knew it was all in good fun. As Gohan got back up, Icarus ate another cookie and dragon laughed at Gohan.
"AAK. AAK. AAK." Icarus laughed, pulling the cookie all the way into his mouth and eating it.
"Why you little.." Gohan tackled the dragon.
"HAHAHA.." Centa laughed, watching Gohan and Icarus tumble around happily. His hair turned yellow, matching his eyes in this hilarity. Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming up. "Uh-oh. Gohan, can we hide him again?" Centa's hair turned from yellow to a scared blue.
"I don't think Icarus could hide in time." Gohan was about to throw a blanket over him when Chi-Chi came in.
"All right Centa, here's your.. GOHAN!! I knew that dragon was here! Get him out!" Chi-Chi couldn't believe she'd fallen for the bean-bag trick. She shooed the dragon out the window. She then handed the picnic lunch to Gohan and a sandwich to Centa. "You two boys are full of mischief. Get outside and get some sun. I've got to vacuum this room! Oh, and Gohan. I'd like it if you and Centa visited Bulma and give her this for me." Chi-Chi handed the boys a small package.
"Okay Mom. Thanks!" Gohan ran to the window.
"Um, Gohan. Why are you going to the window?" Centa asked, contentedly munching his sandwich.
END PART 1
Sorry, everyone who reads this. I ran out of memory in one text file and am now working on part 2. Bear with me.
