DRAGONBALL Z
STEP BEHIND HUMANITY
HIGHSCHOOL
Chapter 2
7 years after the cell games
Chi-Chi was looking over the brochure she had managed to pick up from her trip into the City and sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She knew that Gohan would never forgive her for this but the decision has been made and the deed has been done. She hoped that her son didn't blow up at her when she announced this and she hoped that he wasn't in a bad mood. But she figured that being at home all day and night and just hanging around by himself outside was unhealthy and not good for his social skills. The young half Saiyan needed to get out more.
Tossing the folded up paper onto the lounge room table, the Son mother fell back onto the couch, spreading her arms out and letting out a sigh of relief, allowing herself to relax for once. All thoughts were focused around the brochure she had collected and that time she called the principal about Gohan's sudden transfer into their school. Come on, a first day of high school can't be that bad… could it?
The opening of the front door and it instantly shutting caught Chi-Chi's attention and she looked to her right to see her eldest son Gohan walk into view from the hallway in his battered up state. She was thankful that her son didn't over do it this time because at least his body was intact without a scratch to be seen and his clothes weren't that ruffled up. Still, it didn't mean he wasn't sweating a whole lot.
Just before Gohan could pass by, Chi-Chi called to him. "Gohan, could you come here for a moment, I need to talk to you", said Chi-Chi. Gohan, thankfully not in a bad mood today looked up at his mother, the same sorrowed expression on his face.
Blinking a couple of times at his mom, not noticing the brochure's and paper work on the table, Gohan reluctantly turned on his heel and walked over to sit on the couch on the opposite side of the central table and sat down, his eyes cast downwards towards the floor. Chi-Chi smiled up to him and, hoping for a positive result, slid the brochure on the table over to him. Out of the corner of his eye, Gohan saw his mother slip the brochure across the table and, in curiosity, looked up.
Blinking a couple of times at the advertisement, Gohan swept it up in his left hand and, after examining the cover over a few times opened it and read its contents. However, he knew from first glance what kind of an advertisement brochure this was. Chi-Chi smiled as she watched Gohan read it and, figuring it was better now then never, she spoke.
"Gohan… since you are home a lot and don't really socialize much with other people, I've decided to send you to this school", said Chi-Chi. Blinking in surprise, Gohan sharply looked up at his mother from his reading. It was an unexpected turn of events that were bestowed upon him and in his shock he threw the brochure down on the table and stood up, startling the Son mother.
"What", Gohan demanded. Chi-Chi merely smiled up at him, her eyes moving to the brochure then back up at him in a non hand gesture. She was just briskly pointing out the school's picture so to help her with her explanations.
"I figured it would be a good change to send you to school honey. You've been home schooled all your life and never really had a chance to hang out with other people your age. I think you should perhaps get out and study freely while spending some time out in the public. I think that this would hold some benefits for you Gohan", said Chi-Chi. Gohan was still mortified beyond belief and while his mother was talking he started pacing left and right, rubbing his forehead as he absorbed the information being passed on to him.
He hadn't expected something like this to happen because he had thought that his mother had a good sense of what was right. He had displayed over the years subtle hints of depression, including his big hit with anti-social behavior and unhappiness but even after everything he has done and has been through, his mother suddenly from out of the blue says he is going to high school!
Turning towards her after she had finished Gohan was looking quite over stressed. "Mom! How could you… you know I… uh…!" he stammered, trying to find the right words and use the correct sentences to express his objections. His embarrassing display of stammering didn't get him anywhere and so he failed miserably. Taking in a few deep breaths, Gohan restarted off clear and simple and began speaking in a much calmer and controlled voice.
"Mom", he began to say slowly. "You know the condition I am in and you know how much I resent going out into the public. And after all these years why send me now", asked Gohan. Chi-Chi frowned and stood up while placing her hands firmly on her hips and glaring daggers at her son.
"Because Son Gohan, I strongly believe that people around your age should be mingling around and enjoying life as it is. It has been seven years of peace and yet you haven't lived up to it, you haven't been enjoying yourself the way I or you have wanted it, all because of you arm", said Chi-Chi, pointing out Gohan exposed mechanical limb. "I'm sending you to school not just for studying, but to make some friends and perhaps get a girlfriend!" Gohan looked at his mother oddly as stars appeared in her eyes and her face lit up as if a light were shining down from heaven. "You know how much I want grandchildren!"
Gohan blinked a couple of times at his mother but then, when realization dawned on him, he let out an upset sigh and raised his left arm. After looking his bionic limb up and down, he looked back up at his mother and held up his arm so that it was in plain view of the Son woman. "But mom, look at me. If I go out in public with this and I'm exposed, all our secrets will be revealed and our privacy and peaceful ways is shattered. Do you want T.V crews all over our front lawn, asking about the boy who defeated Cell", asked Gohan. Chi-Chi shook her head.
"No…"
Gohan glared at her. "Then why send me there when if I'm discovered God forbid, everything on top of this will come crashing down on us like a ton of bricks!" said Gohan firmly, lowering his arm. Chi-Chi crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her son seriously.
"Well, I'm sorry Gohan but it's for your own good. You'll just have to wear that glove of yours. I'll write a letter to your school saying that it is necessary for you to wear that and I'll have Bulma's word to back you up on it. School starts tomorrow", said Chi-Chi. Gohan sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his right hand and taking in a deep breath of air to compose himself.
"Alright", Gohan said firmly, giving up. "I'll go. I suppose it's for the best then". Gohan then looked up at his mother with an upset look on his face, surprising Chi-Chi a great deal. Her son looked rather hurt now. "I hope you've made the right decision…"
With that, Gohan turned on his heel and left the room, walking back up to his bedroom. Chi-Chi followed her son to the hallway and watched as he entered his room and closed the door, locking it shut.
She then just stood where she was and stared. She had never seen or felt Gohan like this, he had never acted so… down and so negative about anything except the death of his father. She had expected him to blow up like Vegeta and burst out in anger but she was shocked that Gohan could put on such restraint on his already unstable emotions. Perhaps the piece of his soul missing from him was a part of Gohan that didn't matter. But someone without a full soul does matter, every piece of he or she matters.
Chi-Chi had always felt sorry for her son and it just broke her heart to see him like this. She had once held in her arms a child full of light and hope, a child who held a lot of promise. But now, that child of hers was snatched away from her, leaving Gohan as cold as ice itself. When she came to think about it, perhaps that part of Gohan's soul taken from him was happiness, the part that made Gohan so naive and childish.
The next morning…
After packing his bag and zipping it up, Gohan stood up and flung it onto his shoulder. The contents weighed down on his shoulder but didn't lurch the young Saiyan one bit. But it didn't stop the bag from not having weight. Gohan on the other hand couldn't even feel the weight.
Making sure that everything in his room was neat, tidy and in place with no loose ends to cover up, Gohan left without a second glance, shutting his door behind him and locking it so that he would have no intrusions. Not that the locks of the door would work against a semi powerful chibi Saiyan like Goten who had the capability of destroying a planet as well.
Walking down the hallway and down the stairs, Gohan met the two other members of his family at the dining table in the kitchen, both Chi-Chi and Goten waiting for him patiently. When they saw the young Saiyan enter their midst, both their faces brightened at the sight of the newly dressed demi-Saiyan. Goten was overjoyed to see his loving brother and Chi-Chi… well, she was just awed by her son's new look.
Looking Gohan from head to toe, Chi-Chi could barely recognize him. Though Gohan's hair remained the same spiky style that defied gravity with the symbolic bang and single strand of hair hanging in front of his forehead, his appearance fitted him into the crowd completely. He wore blue, tight jeans that hugged at his lower body, a black long sleeved shirt that was also tight and practically almost showed off everything and a grey vest over it.
Chi-Chi let out an appreciative moan, making Gohan's expression fall a little at the tone in his mother's voice. Anything like that meant big trouble for him later on in the day ahead of him. "Oh Gohan, you look so handsome. I bet girls would absolutely love you!" exclaimed Chi-Chi in satisfaction.
Gohan shuffled on the spot and shifted his bag uncomfortably. His clothes weren't uncomfortable it was just the feeling he had deep in the pit of his stomach. How did he get himself into this mess?
"Mom, please don't embarrass me", mumbled Gohan, walking through the doorway and taking his seat at the table beside his brother, hanging his bag on the support bar of his chair so that it was in easy reach. Once Gohan was seated, the three members of the Son family started eating.
During their 'small' feast, Goten couldn't help but look his brother over. Just like his mother he could hardly believe Gohan was wearing something other then his gi and as it had been established before, he looked different. He looked more… colorful.
Goten smiled brightly up at his older brother beside him who was eating at his regular slow and sedated pace. "Nii-chan, you look awesome! Can I wear something like that too", asked the chibi Saiyan. Gohan would have scowled at any comment like that made by anyone else and, instead of doing so turned to his brother and smiled.
"If you really want to, maybe mom can find you something like that to wear", replied the young Saiyan. Goten cheered happily before diving back into his breakfast and beginning to eat away again, bits of rice and food flying everywhere. Gohan chuckled at this and turned back to his meal. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't help but see how much Goten was like his father.
A few minutes later Gohan, Goten and Chi-Chi finished breakfast and quickly collected the dishes and brought them to the kitchen. It was here Chi-Chi excused her older son and handed him his lunch for the day. After which the half Saiyan took the bag of snacks, Gohan wasted no time and immediately headed out the front door and took off for school.
Sprinting a few yards across the grassy ground his home was built on, Gohan powered up and sharply took off into the skies above, his golden aura bursting around him as he took flight. Ever since Gohan transformed to Ascended Saiyan the young Saiyan's aura had gone through a strong development. No longer was it a white aura that shone against the clear blue skies but a golden aura that lit up the darkness, representing his incredible heritage legend.
With his golden energy trailing behind him, Gohan vanished into the horizon beyond Mount Paoz, his form heading northwards towards the city where his school was set. Goten had watched his brother depart for his new and unfamiliar destination and was amazed at Gohan's speed. It was rare for any of the Z-fighters, even Gohan's family members, to witness Gohan's training and incredible power in action. Goten, who was now the closest to his older brother had caught glimpses of Gohan's power in the past and couldn't help but be amazed by how much more powerful Gohan was to him and everyone else he knew, even Vegeta.
Waving out the window, Goten watched as the golden trail of energy left behind by his older brother slowly vanished, fusing in with the earth's energy in the skies. Once it had all disappeared and all that was seen was the blue skies and white puffy clouds, Goten lowered his hand. "Bye Nii-chan…"
Gohan stared ahead of him as he flew onwards. He hadn't seen the outside world for quite some time but was still well aware of the social life. After past experiences with his family and friends how could he forget!? His mother had practically dragged him and his father into the city for shopping and other purposes he dared not to remember. Those times were both amusing but embarrassing at the same time.
Gohan's eyes sparkled with unshed tears at the memories of his father reappearing in his mind but he quickly blinked his tears away when he noticed his visibility going blurry. He sniffed and looked down at the valleys and roads passing him below. He was getting close to Satan city now…
"Dad", he whispered to himself. "If only you were alive today… I miss you…"
His clothes, though tight waved slightly in the winds of his energy along with the bag that hung tightly from Gohan's shoulder. It was only the return of sound to Gohan's senses did the young Saiyan snap out of his thoughts and look back up. On the horizon, Gohan could see the tall skyscrapers and vast cityscapes of Satan city appear, the sun rising from the mountains behind the incredible eye sore.
Staring at the city, Gohan let a small smile spread across his lips. "Oh well", he thought to himself. "Here goes nothing…"
Believing that his aura would be sort of a give away, Gohan powered down so that he was flying normally without the use of his aura. But despite his loss of speed and power, the young Saiyan still flew at an incredible speed that would make Vegeta's speed look like a joke.
Flying over the cityscapes far below, Gohan looked left and right and up and back, examining his new surroundings. With his enhanced Saiyan vision and quick reflexes, he was able to create a mental map in his head of Satan city so far and it looked as though he would be able to find his way through easy. He was beginning too believe he would actually fit in but one glance down at his left arm changed all that when he saw the black glove covering his hand and upper arm which was hidden by the long sleeve of his black shirt.
He scowled and clenched his fists, the creaking and cracking of metal from his artificial arm and hand ringing in his ears. "Stupid Cell… I wish Dr. Gero never created him. Fucking androids!"
Returning to the real world Gohan looked back ahead of him and, beyond his sights over a few tall office buildings in the distance Gohan could see a clearing in the city with a large, orange painted building gleaming like a jewel in the distance. Blinking, Gohan enhanced his vision ten fold and on closer inspections, Gohan could see that the orange building in the centre of the clearing in the cityscapes was his high school.
"Finally… I'll have to set down somewhere else though. I don't want to attract too much attention."
Looking around, Gohan finally found a spot to settle down. It was a quiet area several blocks away from his school. His choice of landing spots came in the form of a dark ally in between two office buildings, each about 6 stories high and concealed by other taller, surrounding buildings. With very little people walking around and with basically everybody on the move to notice anything, it was the perfect spot to make a secluded landing. It would be weird for anyone to see someone just fall out of the sky and land in front of them, it would scare the crap out of them.
Quickly so no body would see or hear him, Gohan dived down into the ally, face first but then, just as he reached the height of the 6 story buildings, he flipped back so that he was diving feet first. Keeping off the walls a couple of times so to slow himself down, Gohan landed firmly on the concrete floor in between the buildings that made up the dark ally. Of course, landing wasn't really quite a strong point for some fighters as Gohan's landing proved that even someone who can fly still had weight. Upon landing, the impact with the solid ground created a thud that echoed down the gap created by the office buildings either side of each other.
Quickly standing up, Gohan backed up into the brick wall and glanced to his sides to make sure nobody had been watching him or had seen him land. He felt relief spread through him when he saw nobody and, still with a hint of caution, Gohan proceeded onwards. It looks like it was on foot from here for him.
Stepping out of the ally Gohan began his long walk, his school bag hanging at his side from his shoulder. Since it was hanging on his right side, he held it with his right arm and not his left. Come to think of it, his left arm was feeling rather stiff.
While walking, Gohan noticed the strange tightness of his left arm and glanced down at his soulless limb. He saw that his hand had unconsciously clenched into a fist. Because his left arm was less like his original limb, it gripped far more tightly then his right, especially when steel finger tips could dig into his glove and damage it, exposing what his left arm really was. He had to relax.
Taking in a deep, comforting breath of air, Gohan loosened his grip and reached up with his right knuckle, wiping a drop of nervous sweat that had appeared on his forehead. He was really tensed and stressed; he needed to relax a bit more. He was still concerned about the day ahead of him.
Letting his thoughts at rest for a moment, Gohan concentrated on the task ahead of him, and that was getting to school in time without running into any trouble. But unbeknown to him, trouble was just lingering around the corner.
Gunshots! Gohan's head perked up when he heard the sounds of projectile weapons firing and looked from left to right in surprise, his ears working at full pelt to try and locate the sounds location. Past experiences with firearms were still fresh in his mind, especially when they were fired at him.
After looking from left to right, Gohan finally found out where the gunshots were coming from and quick as the Flash himself, he sprinted down the street till he reached the crossroads ahead of him and skidded just past the corner of a tall building. Once he had stopped and he was looking down the street to his left from the direction he had been previously walking in, he was met with a totally different scene that had sprung up from out of nowhere. And he had suspected this to be a peacefully neighborhood.
Just a couple of buildings down the road there was a convenient store and quite a big one but that wasn't important. What mattered most was staring Gohan in the face and he didn't like it. Parked outside the convenient store was a blue jeep and outside defending the jeep were three men dressed in full on leather outfits wearing black shades and black handkerchiefs strapped on so to hide their mouths and noses so they couldn't be identified. They were also wielding MP5's and were currently shooting at a lone police vehicle and two policemen. The policemen were armed with the occasional revolver and both were firing pump action shot guns at their targets. Both parties were engaged in a fierce firefight but it was obvious the police were outgunned and outmanned.
Gohan stared at the firefight for a few seconds before looking around the street. The damage wasn't as bad as it looked but there were a few shot up cars from all the miss shots and people hiding behind whatever they could for cover. Some people were screaming in fear, too scared to move or make a break for it. It was chaos, but Gohan wasn't affected by the conflict in the least. Projectiles fired against him were proclaimed more then useless.
Frowning, Gohan looked back on the scene and sighed, pulling the bag from off of his shoulder and laying it behind the building he was beside out of sight of any wandering eyes. A new objective had reached his mind and it was to stop the criminals attacking the law enforcers in front of him.
"Stupid crooks, they never learn. Whenever I ran into a bad guy he had the capability in destroying a planet. This is plain ridiculous", Gohan thought. Glancing over his shoulder behind him and looking around him, he made a decision. His expression unchanged from its usual displeased look, Gohan looked back towards the firefight. "Guess I'll have to resolve this the hard way!"
In a flash, Gohan transformed into a Super Saiyan as his hair flashed into its symbolic yellowish white and his once black eyes turning teal. It only took a brief second to transform and when he did, he vanished into thin air.
The police had just emptied out their shot guns and were reloading them, shoving the red shells into the top barrel slot in a desperate attempt to return fire again. It was during this time Gohan made his attack on the ever frantic criminals defending their getaway vehicle. They should have escaped when they had the chance.
The crook standing closest to the back of the vehicle was just shoving another magazine into his machine gun when he suddenly had his weapon kicked out of his hand and an elbow smacked across his face. His glasses cracked at the same time his face was left with a dark bruise and an elbow imprint. Before his gun could even hit the floor, he did, dropping in an instant in an unconscious heap.
Hearing their friend fall, the remaining two bandits looked beside them in surprise, brandishing their weapons. One of the bandits was standing by the door to the vehicle while the other was standing at the very front of the jeep. They were to experience the greatest shock and pain of their lives as they were quickly cut down by a mysterious golden haired warrior.
The first of the remaining pair to fall was the bandit closest to the doors of the vehicle. Backing away as the golden haired boy slowly approached, he threw his machine gun to the floor as his MP5 wasn't loaded and pulled out a pistol. Before he could point it and fire off a shot, he was suddenly smacked in the gut by a quick upper cut, making him hunch over from the blow and drop his weapons. Before he could even loose consciousness, he was repeatedly punched across the face, first by a left hook, then a right and then by a dozen or so light punches before he keeled over backwards in an battered, bloodied and unconscious heap.
The last man was quick to react but instead of using his MP5, he dropped it and reached to the front bonnet of the jeep. Opening it, with great effort the bandit pulled out a massive gun Gohan saw was a mini-gun, its six barrels aimed at him in a threatening manner.
Loading it with a yell, the bandit pulled the trigger and began blasting hails of bullets away at Gohan, the hot orange projectiles flying through the air straight at their targets. Unfortunately for him his efforts were in vein as the bullets repeatedly slammed into their target's chest, torso and face but all rebounded ineffectively. Gohan grunted indifferently and began approaching, at the same time the bandit backed away.
After about 100 rounds were fired from his stashed weapon, the mini-gun ran out of juice as the magazine emptied instantly and the bandit dropped the weapon. After which he pulled out his revolver at his side and aimed it straight at his target's forehead.
"What the hell are you!?"
Gohan didn't react to that and, after walking up to the remaining bandit, vanished into thin air before the bandit could fire a single shot. Much to the bandit's bewilderment and fear, he had no time to act as he was elbowed in the back of the head, the blow sending him falling forward and landing in a crumpled mess on the hard concrete floor, unconscious. His pistol lay just a few feet away by his side.
Seeing his targets downed and out, Gohan was about to leave when he suddenly heard someone come up behind him and glanced over his shoulder. To his surprise, he saw a raven haired girl standing behind him, her hard yet beautiful blue eyes glaring up at him. The girl had her hair done up in two, unbraided pigtails, was wearing a oversized white T-shirt, black bicycle shorts and identical green Capsule Corp. boots with purple socks.
The two of them stared at each other for quite some time before the girl standing behind him spoke.
"Hey, who are you?" she demanded more then asked. Gohan blinked. He hadn't expected for such a rough question to issue out of the girl standing beside him now that he had turned around a little. He was even more surprise at the tone he sensed underneath that rough image displayed before him. This girl was a lot softer hearted then what he saw now.
His expression unchanged, Gohan turned and vanished, his afterimage following after him. The girl was rather shocked to see the figure she had been staring at just vanish and once his after image was gone, she held out her hand and waved at the spot the blonde haired figure once stood and found that there was no physical evidence of him left behind here… here whatsoever! How startling and bizarre…
"Who was he? I had never seen such a display of strength, speed and agility before in my life except from that tape of the Cell games from those people. Weird", she thought.
"Oh, Miss Videl! It's you", said one of the policemen from the shoot out before coming up to her, his shot gun slung over his shoulder. Snapping out of her stupor, Videl spun around to face the tall cop, her thoughtful gaze changing back to its regular cold but puzzled expression. "Didn't you see that boy, wasn't he amazing or what?"
Videl blinked. "Of course I saw him. Was he one of your men", asked Videl. The policeman chuckled.
"What you think I would keep someone like that as my partner in the law enforcement business? No way, but if I did have someone like that I'd just sit back and watch him deal with it. But I must say that was a spectacular performance out there", he said, whistling in amazement while tipping his hat. "Boy he was incredible."
Videl frowned. This new gold fighter was stealing her job. But she had to admit that guy was strong and quite handsome too.
Shacking her head to deny her wandering thoughts, Videl turned back towards the crime scene, seeing the other policeman cuffing the criminals and hauling them over to their jeep so that all three of them lay in their group. After that he started collecting the weapons lying around, not wanting the scene to go any more out of control then it already was.
Sharpening her stare in anticipation to her thoughts, she turned to the spot where the blonde haired man once stood. After coming that close to him she was able to catch a good view of his outfit and appearance. She found it odd that the guy wore a black glove on his left hand and not on his right hand too, but maybe it was just to make him look cool. Either way, it was her only lead to discovering who this gold fighter person was.
She smirked. "Watch out blondie, because you're next on my list…"
TO BE CONTINUED…
