Author's Note: Hello again. I have returned. For further notice, however, my updates will become less frequent. Have no fear though, for the story will go on. College, although easy so far, is still quite busy, and a triple room in the dorms does not provide the most wonderful writing environment. To add even more to my troubles, I have sinned and switched to a MAC. So, forgive me for any excess errors; I'm still getting the hang of using it. Oh yes, in response to a particular review, I'm sorry to say that I don't care much at all for the outer scouts (besides Pluto, that is) so they will not make an appearance in the story unless I become truly desperate. I never got far enough in Sailor Moon to really appreciate them anyway.
Notice: For those of you who forgot, this story is basically the Saiyaman Saga happening in the Sailor Moon universe with a few minor twists. And, just for reference, I'm using a Japanese school system (teachers switch classes, not students, except for PE) because it takes place in Japan, after all. However, all names will be written English-style (first name, last name) because I'm writing in English, not Japanese.
Disclaimer: It's not mine. 'Nuff said.
Chapter Three: Home-Stay and School
The dimensional portal opened in a secluded region of a park and Sailor Pluto stepped out, followed quickly by an awed Gohan. She then transformed into normal human attire, which shocked him even further.
"Call me Setsuna in public," she snapped while adjusting her clothing. "Now, I'll take you to the mall so you can get your school uniform. While you're shopping, I'll enroll you in Juuban High School and at the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Student Service. Then, I'll take you to their office, and that will be the last of me you'll see until the enemy is gone."
Needless to say, Gohan fell into an intimidated silence and followed her to the nearby mall.
Gohan wove through crowds of shoppers, trying desperately to reach his destination, the school uniform store. During his journey, he carefully tried to avoid many treacherous perils. These included trying not to step on small children and escaping the penetrating stares of schoolgirls who had just arrived after a long day of classes. He was quite unsuccessful at the latter. He caught the eye of one girl in particular, a certain Serena Tsukino. Although she had a loving boyfriend, she always kept her eyes open for handsome young men, if not for her own eye-candy, for the purpose of recommending them to her friends who were without significant others.
Serena watched him closely as he entered the uniform shop, then scampered over to the window to do a bit of spying. She held her breath as he searched the racks of clothing then squealed in delight as he stopped and began pulling clothes from the one labeled "Juuban High School." Giggling, she ran off to call Lita and Mina and inform them of the soon-to-be addition to their school.
Gohan, meanwhile, made his purchase and left the shop. He still had a bit of time until Sailor Pluto was supposed to pick him up, so he entered a nearby bookstore to get a bit of studying done. He was about to wander over to the science section and pick out of few information-packed texts on microbiology, when a large sign above a table caught his eye.
"Sailor Scouts! The Defenders of Tokyo!"
His eyes widened in surprise as he noticed a picture of five girls dressed in uniforms that were very similar to Pluto's. You've got to be kidding me, he thought as he picked up a comic and began flipping through the pages. These are the protectors of Tokyo? Wait, that must mean…I'm working with them?
He would have passed into a coma out of shock had he not been rescued by Pluto's voice.
"Let's go. We haven't got all day."
He nodded silently and followed her out of the store.
With in a half an hour, he was sitting in an office waiting to be picked up by the mysterious person that would be hosting him during his stay in Tokyo, and in that same half an hour, a black-haired college student was cursing the insanity of his Modern Anthropology professor as he made his way to the Exchange Services Center. In an effort to force his students to become more familiar with other cultures, he had required them all, including the students in the dorms, to host exchange students.
Muttering under his breath, Darien opened the office door and was surprised to see that the student he was hosting was only a mere few years younger than himself and that he was reading a – Holy Crap! Differential Topology! That's practically PhD candidate mathematics!
As Darien stood plastered firmly to the ground with his jaw hanging open, Gohan closed his book with a slight smile and stood up.
"Hi I'm Gohan Son," he said pleasantly, placing his hand on the back of his neck while his smile widened. "You must be here to pick me up."
Darien recovered from his state of stupor and smiled back, though not unsuspiciously, at Gohan. "Yeah, that's me. My name's Darien Shields, by the way. We should get going home though."
As Gohan followed him out of the building, Darien gave his new "roommate" a good sizing-up. He was about as tall as himself, and he seemed to be physically fit, despite the loose clothing he was wearing. What surprised him the most, though, was Gohan's apparent lack of belongings; he was only carrying a small duffel bag and the book he had been reading earlier. "Hey, Gohan, is that all you brought?"
"Heh, I guess it doesn't look like much, but most of it is capsulated in here." He gave his bag a pat, not noticing when the loosely-packed capsule that Trunks and Goten had snuck into it fell onto the sidewalk and rolled a good distance away.
"Capsulated?" Darien repeated.
"In capsules. My mom's best friend makes them. I guess they aren't too popular here." Or they haven't yet been invented…
Darien replied with a puzzled look, so Gohan rummaged through his bag and pulled out the capsule that contained the rest of his study materials. He then pressed the button on the top and threw it to the ground a few feet away. His smile turned into a grin as he watched Darien's jaw drop at the small explosion and the resulting box of books. He placed the current book he was holding onto the top of the stack and recapsulated the box.
"That's a capsule," he said, picking it up and holding it in his palm so it would be in plain view for the gaping Darien.
"That…that technology!" Darien finally managed to gasp out. "It's incredible! The inventor must be a genius!"
"Precisely."
"Why on Earth isn't it available in Japan! We're the world's most advanced country, for crying out loud!"
"Uhh..."
Gohan was at a loss for words, so instead of trying to explain that he was really from another dimension (he figured he wasn't allowed to be talking about that to anyone anyway), he just changed the subject: "So, uh, how much longer until we get to your house?"
Darien noticed the switch, but decided not to pry. He did decide, however, to keep a close eye on this Gohan character; there was something odd about him that Darien couldn't quite place.
"We've just arrived," Darien said as he motioned to a tall apartment building.
Gohan nodded, then followed Darien inside, where they both soon fell into a deep slumber.
Later that night, a lone film producer wandered down the same sidewalk on which Gohan and Darien had momentarily paused. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an odd, pill-shaped object. He stooped down, and while picking it up, accidentally hit the button on the top. He was thrilled to suddenly watch a tape appear out of thin air. Grasping it tightly, he ran back to his home, played the film, and was very, very intrigued with what he saw.
The next morning, Gohan was awoken by a massive rumbling in his stomach. He got out of bed and got ready for school, and was soon waiting impatiently at the table for Darien to wake up so they could eat breakfast. Normally, he would have just raided the fridge, but he didn't want to be rude, having only spent one night at Darien's.
Moments later, Darien stumbled in, still half asleep. He started his coffee-maker, and began pulling out breakfast items: leftovers, bread for toast, cereal, hard-boiled eggs, and orange juice. It took a full five minutes for his brain to register that as soon as he placed an item on the table, Gohan consumed it within seconds.
"Holy crap!" Darien erupted, displaying his evident shock at Gohan's eating habits. "Gohan, slow down! How is it humanly possible for anyone to eat so much so quickly!"
It's not human, Gohan mentally chuckled. "Oh, sorry. I should have warned you. I always eat like this. It's genetic, from my dad's side. Just so you know, though, while I'm staying with you, the amount you pay for food is going to be more than what you pay for rent. But I brought money to help compensate, so don't worry too much."
Noticing the look of horror on Darien's face, Gohan decided it was time to split. "Well, would you look at the time? School should be starting soon. I'd better get going!"
With that, he ran out the door, leaving Darien still flabbergasted.
Gohan was ahead of schedule as he made his way to school, so he walked at a slow, leisurely pace and took a longer route than he normally would have taken. This long route, however, led him past a bank. It was not just any bank, though; it was a bank that was currently being robbed.
Gohan's sensitive hearing picked up the sounds of sirens as he neared the crime scene. As he added himself among the gathering crowd, he was just able to pick up the conversations of the cops.
"There's ten of 'em. All heavily armed too! An' they say they have hostages!"
Now Gohan, being a man of justice, could not leave innocents in danger. Right now, he decided, would be the perfect time to test out the costume Bulma gave me…
He dashed into an alleyway, pressed the button on his watch, and flew into the air. From above, he could see the criminals just emerging from the bank. Using super speed, he shot through the doorway as one of them was emerging, knocking out two in the process. He figured it would be safest for the hostages if he took out the ones still inside the bank first. So, in a series of lightning-fast kicks and punches, he did just that.
Six down, four to go, he reminded himself as he dashed out the door, leaving gaping hostages in his wake.
Outside, two thugs were loading cash onto their getaway car while the other two were aiming rifles threateningly at the police and citizens. Gohan chose to land directly in front of them. One of the rifle barrels shifted to face him. Gohan simply held up his hand and heroically stated:
"I will not tolerate crime. Surrender now and you won't be seriously maimed when you go to prison."
The thugs (and some of the police and citizens) erupted into laughter. "Look kid," one of the thugs stated. "We's got guns an' you don't. Now, get you an' that wacky costume outta here before I decide to shoot ya." He positioned his finger firmly on the trigger of his weapon.
Gohan, to the surprise of all the onlookers, stood his ground, and the thug became enraged as a smirk crossed his face.
"I warned ya kid! I'll teach ya not to mess with me!" the thug shouted. The crowd gasped in horror as the trigger was pulled.
The shot was followed by a stunned silence in which everyone was amazed to see Gohan still standing, though his hand position had changed to a fist. He slowly opened it, the smirk never leaving his face, to show his would-be killer the bullet he had just caught. Several women in the audience fainted and murmurs of "incredible," and "impossible" filled the street.
The thugs were not amazed, however. They were petrified. "Let's get outta here!" they screamed as they scrambled for the van.
Gohan reappeared behind the two with weapons and knocked them unconscious with no effort whatsoever. As the two in the van started to drive off, he held up his hand and shot a small energy blast at a front tire, which sent the vehicle toppling onto its side.
Dusting off his hands and smiling to himself about a "job well done," Gohan prepared himself to take off, but was suddenly stopped by a voice from behind him.
"Hey, who are you?" It was a police officer and, although Gohan didn't notice them, there were reporters standing behind him.
"I'm, uh, well I really haven't given this much thought…" He scratched his headscarf pensively. "Oh! I've got it! I'm…the Great Saiyaman! Yeah, that's it!" With that, he grinned widely and struck a hideous pose that made everyone watching cringe in disgust. Of course, the reporters took a good hundred or so snapshots of it.
In a dazzling conclusion to his first appearance as Saiyaman, Gohan took off into the air and jetted towards school, leaving the crowd in astonished amazement. No one at all, though, had noticed the small purple cat that had watched the scene as well.
Gohan emerged from the office at Juuban High School with his schedule and locker information in hand. He decided to figure out the lockers later and opted to head straight to his classroom because he was late; the office had taken longer than expected.
In Gohan's soon-to-be classroom, Raye had just received an urgent message from Luna to meet at the arcade directly after school and was relaying it to the other scouts in her class. In another classroom, Lita was disappointed when only Serena walked in late without the handsome boy she had been told about on the phone. She was, however, eager to know what Luna was so worried about as Serena passed the message on to her as well.
Moments later, there was a knock on the door of the classroom containing Raye, Mina, and Amy.
"Ah, that must be the new student!" the teacher exclaimed excitedly. "Come in!"
A nervous Gohan slowly opened the door and crept into the room towards the front of the class. Upon reaching a spot near the teacher, he quickly glanced up at the rows of students with an obvious blush on his face, then back down at the floor.
That must be him! Mina thought from her seat. That's the cutie Serena told me about on the phone! And there's an empty seat next to me! This is so perfect! She giggled to herself, which earned her odd looks from Amy and Raye.
Back at the front of the classroom, Gohan was asked to introduce himself.
"Um, hi, I'm Gohan Son." he began nervously. "I, uh, like to read…"
This caused a certain blue-haired girl to look up from her own reading. Read? She thought. Wow, I guess there's more to this guy than just good looks… Taking a better look at him, she felt a slight blush of her own begin to creep over her face. He really was cute and innocent-looking.
Gohan continued: "And I like martial arts…" He noticed how many people's heads shot up at the mention of this and quickly added "videos. Martial arts videos. They're my favorite!" He gave an uneasy laugh that was slightly too high-pitched to be his regular voice and unconsciously scratched the back of his neck.
Raye, who had been one of the many to suddenly look up, narrowed her eyes. Hmph. He looks too thin to be able to put up a fight anyway, even if he does have a cute face. She crossed her arms and went back to studying for the quiz she had next period.
Next, the teacher instructed Gohan to find a seat, and before he even had time to look around the classroom for one, a blonde girl jumped up with waving arms and shouted, "Yoo-hoo! There's an empty seat up here!"
With a quick glance around the room, Gohan unfortunately found that it was the only open seat. With evident dread, he made his way up to the desk, and upon sitting down, felt two thin arms latch onto his bicep.
"Hi, I'm Mina! It's so great to meet you! You absolutely have to eat lunch with me!"
Of course, being home-schooled his whole life, he was horrified. Glancing down the row at the next few people, he was also surprised to find a blue-haired girl sending him looks full of pity, and a black-haired girl glaring at him.
"These are my friends!" Mina continued overenthusiastically as she pointed down the row. "Amy and Raye. And sitting below us are Molly and Melvin."
The couple turned around and gave him a pair of friendly smiles.
Gohan began taking mental notes on which of his newfound "friends" were sane. Molly and Melvin seemed decent, and Amy had shown pity so she probably had some common sense. Mina was entirely nuts, though, and there was something about Raye's suspicious stares that made him uneasy. His thoughts were interrupted, though, by the teacher who was silencing the class. He spent the next few hours listening attentively, and his next scare did not occur until lunch.
He was dragged out to a large picnic table in the courtyard of the school by Mina, who was still firmly latched onto him. They were soon after joined by the small group he had been introduced to in the classroom, and by two students from another class. He soon discovered that their names were Serena and Lita.
Serena giggled and gave Lita and Mina "I-told-you-so" looks, while Lita glared at Mina, warning her that the competition for the school's cutest new boy was about to begin, much to Gohan's unawareness.
Lita turned back towards Gohan, taking her first close look at him. Her expression immediately turned dreamy. He looks just like my old boyfriend… she thought as she pulled out the extra lunch she had made for the occasion. "Here Gohan. I made this for you."
Gohan had forgotten his own lunch, and it suddenly dawned upon him just how hungry he was, so he gratefully accepted the gift. Mina, however, was not as pleased about his reaction. She glared at Lita, who returned the look with a smug expression. Within a few seconds, though, their mental fight was interrupted by an exclamation from Raye.
"Just look at him eat! He eats more than Serena, and five times faster! Ugghh!"
This earned a shocked "really!" from Serena, and Gohan immediately froze with wide eyes and a mouth full of rice as he noticed the entirety of the table staring at him. He quickly swallowed, then, not daring to make eye contact with anyone, stated:
"It, um, runs in the family. We all have big appetites."
The girls and Melvin all gave him an odd look as he blushed, but began shoveling food back in his mouth anyway, despite his embarrassment. An awkward moment passed in which the only audible sound was that of Gohan eating.
Suddenly, Lita spoke up. She was eager to know more about the person she had decided as her current love interest. "So Gohan, where are you from?"
"China, I'm here on exchange," he answered with his pre-planned lie. If they're going to interrogate me, I'd better keep my answers short so I don't stumble over them. That Raye looks more suspicious than ever.
Serena was the next to ask a question: "What's your favorite movie?"
Crap, they probably don't watch the same movies in this dimension! With a few seconds of hard thinking, he chose his answer. "Uh…it's a Chinese martial arts movie called 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.' I doubt a lot of people here in Japan have seen it." This was followed by a nervous laugh.
Mina noticed his edginess, but saw it in a different light than Raye did. Aww, he's so shy! How cute! "Have you ever had a girlfriend, Gohan?"
Gohan blushed a violent crimson as he meekly answered. "…No." He ate faster than ever to hide his embarrassment as every girl at the table giggled and Melvin gave a look of triumph, obviously proud that he had found a girlfriend before the more handsome boy.
Amy's question was the first one that made him genuinely smile. With a slight blush of her own, she asked, "What's your favorite subject in school?"
Most of the people at the table groaned as Amy's nerdiness was put on display, but were taken aback by Gohan's reaction.
"Gee, I don't know. I really like them all!" he started, which earned a horrified gasp from Serena. "Probably any of the sciences or math, though, if I really had to choose. What's yours?"
Amy's blush grew across her cheeks. "I also like math. I've been working on differential equations on my own at home."
"Wow, that's fantastic! I've done those before, so if you ever want some help, I'll gladly aid you."
Amy's heart felt light and fluttery as he smiled at her. She didn't even notice the malicious glares she was receiving from Mina and Lita.
Her moment of mirth was disrupted by Raye's question. It, to Gohan's gratefulness, was not directed towards him, but at the entire group. That didn't stop him from paling a few shades, though, as he listened to it.
"So, have you guys heard the latest news? About this morning? It's been all over the school, and the whole city as well. Some guy who called himself 'the Great Saiyaman' stopped a bank robbery."
"What's so great about stopping a bank robbery?" Lita asked. "The police do it every day."
"They were stuck, in this case, because the robbers had taken hostages and were heavily armed themselves. What shocked the public the most though, was that this 'Saiyaman' not only dealt with the thugs all on his own, but he used some pretty amazing methods to do so. They say he caught a bullet that was fired at him, and he shot some light thing at their car as they tried to escape."
"Caught a bullet!" cried Amy. "But-but that's not possible! Even if he had some sort of protection, it's way too fast!"
Gohan had stopped eating and was sitting unusually still.
"From what I've learned, I've concluded that he must be some sort of super human, like the Sailor Scouts," Melvin, who had established himself as the school's resident 'strange-happenings' expert, explained matter-of-factly.
"He hasn't fought any monsters so far though, only crime," Molly pointed out. "But crime is a lot more frequent than monsters. If he keeps it up, he could become more popular than the scouts. I bet tomorrow he'll be all over the newspapers, and by next week there will be a 'Saiyaman' comic."
Gohan, Mina, and Serena all took on expressions of horror, though for different reasons. Gohan, of course, was shocked by the rate at which news traveled in Tokyo, and the two girls were appalled that there could possibly be a chance that the new hero would become more liked than the scouts. No one would take their place as defenders of the city!
They were disrupted from the conversation by the bell ending the lunch period. However, unfortunately for Gohan, the next class was Physical Education, in which Gohan's class and Serena's class were combined.
Gohan opened his PE locker, which was placed conveniently next to Melvin's. As he pulled out his clothes, he was quite dismayed to find a large t-shirt and shorts. He would have preferred something that covered a bit more, but at least the clothes were loose so they covered some muscle. He quickly whipped on his clothes, hoping Melvin wouldn't notice and make any remarks to the girls, and left the locker room.
He took a seat on the outdoor bleachers and was shortly followed by his new companions. From their facial expressions, he soon learned that this was Lita's favorite class, and Raye didn't mind it too much, but everyone else in the group detested it.
The PE teacher soon strode to the front of the bleachers. He was a tall, overly-muscled man whose appearance, as well as his personality, was similar to that of a certain Hercule Satan from Gohan's dimension. Gohan immediately decided that he was not fond of him.
"Alright kids! It's time to get pumped up! Yeah!" the PE teacher shouted while waving his arms like a lunatic. "First we'll do some exercises, then we'll continue with this semester's martial arts unit!"
Gohan almost fell out of his seat and barely managed to hold in a scream. "Why…just why?" he muttered to himself.
"Is something wrong, Gohan?" Raye asked, eyeing him. He's nervous about something, that's for sure. What could he be hiding?
Gohan paled considerably and answered, "No-nothing! Nothing at all! I'm just dandy right now!" He placed his hand on the back of his neck and attempted to grin, but failed miserably.
"Alright! Four laps around the track! Yeah! That's a mile!"
The entire class, except for Lita and Raye, groaned, clambered down from the bleachers, and began jogging. The two girls, on the other hand, began running at full speed. They had a bit more endurance than the rest of the members of their class.
Usually Lita finished first and Raye second, but both were utterly surprised when Gohan passed them, then lapped them!
"Did you see that?" Raye gasped to Lita as they both finished. Gohan was standing under a tree a few yards off to the side, not paying attention. "He completely beat both of us! And he didn't even look like he was tired when he lapped us! He looked like he wasn't even paying attention! Like he was just daydreaming or something!"
Raye decided to keep her thoughts to herself, though, as she noticed the daydreamy look on Lita's face as she stared at Gohan.
Gohan, in fact, had been in his own little world as he ran and as Raye made her comments on his speed. He had begun to wonder about the enemy Pluto had mentioned, and hoped that whatever it was, it would be easy to beat so he could get out of this dimension of loonies as soon as possible.
"Ha ha! Alright!" The PE teacher yelled as the slower students finished the run. "Now, since yesterday was only a demonstration, we'll have a mini-tournament today to determine everyone's level! Yeah! Then when instruction starts, I'll be able to group you all in the right category!"
Every student found this to be at least mildly interesting. That is, every student except Gohan, who groaned almost inaudibly. This did not go unnoticed by Raye, who was just about to blow up with confusion at his behavior. She desperately needed someone to discuss it with, but Serena, Lita, and Mina all seemed inadequate for the topic. What about Amy? she thought to herself. Amy! Why didn't I think of her before? Of course! I can tell Amy anything! Smiling to herself, she scooted over to where Amy was standing a few feet away.
"Psst, Amy!" she whispered. "Have you noticed anything odd about Gohan?"
Amy glanced over at Gohan, who was cringing with one of his hands over his face and mumbling something that sounded slightly threatening at a 'Dende.' Come to think of it, Amy mentally remarked, that isn't quite normal. And neither was the speed earlier… She too had noticed his remarkable run. However, having always been the polite one, and not wanting to give away her growing attraction towards him, despite his peculiarity, she tried to remain neutral in her answer:
"Well, he seems awfully smart, shy, and athletic. Other than that, I don't really know him so I don't want to make any judgments."
"And he's unusually good-looking! So good, it's otherworldly!" Unfortunately for Amy and Raye, though, Mina had overheard their conversation. "I wonder what he looks like with his shirt off!"
Both girls groaned as Lita also butted in and gave her firm approval on the removal of Gohan's shirt. Even Serena and Molly endorsed the idea, which earned them both warning looks from their friends, and an especially harsh one from Melvin.
The conversation ended, though, because students were ushered to the bleachers to watch the class tournament. The PE teacher pulled out his roll call list, closed his eyes, and randomly pointed to two names. The unlucky two chosen were:
"Melvin Gurio and Serena Tsukino! Come up here to the ring! Yeah!" the PE teacher shouted. "Ok, so here are the rules! When I say fight, you fight! If you're knocked out of the ring or knocked out, you lose! If you kill your opponent or kick them below the belt, the second being more deadly than the first, you are disqualified! When you lose, you go and sit behind the ring so I don't choose you to fight again! If you win, you go and sit back on the bleachers and wait for a later round! …Don't just sit there you two! Get up here so we can begin! Yeah!"
Melvin and Serena were completely and utterly shocked. Out of everyone in their entire class, they had been the two called to duke it out in the ring and make complete fools of themselves. The rest of the class, on the other hand, couldn't wait for the fight to begin, as it would serve as a bit of comic relief for them, so they pushed the pair into the ring.
"FIGHT!" the PE teacher screamed while jumping wildly in the air.
Serena and Melvin stood like clueless statues in the middle of the ring, not even bothering to take stances.
"Punch each other! Wrestle! Push each other! Do something!"
The two gulped, shrugged their shoulders, mouthed "I'm sorry's" at each other, and began fighting. It wasn't much of a fight, to say the least. Both were knocked to the ground, and Serena was crying within seconds.
Gohan cringed. It was painful to watch.
"Alright, Alright! Both of you can sit out! No one wins that match!"
Both students thankfully fled from the ring.
"Next up are Lita Kino and Joe Yakitori! Yeah!"
This fight roused some excitement in the crowd as well, but for a different reason: it was bound to be a real fight. Joe was the captain of the school's sumo wrestling team and Lita was known to be good at martial arts and very aggressive when she wanted to be.
The both stepped steadily into the ring and took their stances, which were imperfect by Gohan's standards, but experienced nonetheless. The start was called and they both lunged at each other.
Joe had more strength than Lita by far, but she was the more agile of the two and ducked under his fists as he swung. She underestimated his speed, however, and took a knee to the stomach that sent her to the ground. With a great amount of effort, she swung herself around and knocked his legs from under him as he came towards her to push her out of the ring. His own momentum sent him toppling to where he had planned to toss Lita, ending the match with Lita as the victor.
The crowd cheered for Lita, who clambered to her feet with a triumphant grin. Raye, however, was once again surprised with Gohan's reaction: instead of looking either bored or surprised like she expected him to, he was staring intently at Lita, frowning in a focused manner. Truth be told, though, the fight had been utterly boring to him, and the only detail he deemed as significant was Lita's power level. Although nowhere near his, it was at least a few times higher than that of a normal human. As he concentrated on the other students in his general vicinity, he was shocked discover that all of the people he eaten lunch with, with the exception of Molly and Melvin, had higher power levels. He doubted they knew how to use them, given Serena's fight as evidence, but decided that the matter might need some investigation.
"Gohan Son and Raye Hino! Up next to fight!"
The crowd silenced, not knowing what to expect from the fight. Most of the students knew that Raye had studied a few fighting techniques at her grandfather's temple, but they knew practically nothing about Gohan's martial arts experiences besides that he loved fighting movies.
As they stepped into the ring, Gohan received a cold stare from Raye, which he pretended did not bother him. Though she did make him nervous, he didn't want to look suspicious.
Raye took her stance the furrowed her eyebrows as she realized Gohan had not taken one yet. "What's the matter, Gohan?" she taunted. "Afraid to take a stance against a girl? Are you afraid you'll hurt me?"
Now, Gohan always tried to not let his temper get the best of him, but against Raye, he was having a few minor difficulties. Narrowing his eyes at her, he slid into his flawless stance.
The PE teacher, who, despite his obnoxious demeanor, had a good knowledge of martial arts, immediately silenced himself in surprise, which in turn silenced the onlookers who were taken aback by his actions. The only voice that could be heard was Lita, who whispered, "my word…" from her seat in the bleachers.
Amy, who had no familiarity with fighting, leaned over to Lita and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the fight?"
"No," Lita answered back. "It's just that if the rest of Gohan's fighting is as perfect as his stance, then Raye doesn't even stand a chance!"
Amy glanced down at Gohan with Raye's mentioned suspicions playing through her mind. She's right... There really is something out of place about him. But he's the first cute boy who likes math that I've ever met! Now I have three sides to pick from: my own interest, going with Raye's suspicions, or staying out of the way so Mina and Lita can have him because he'd probably like more outgoing girls anyway. What on Earth am I supposed to do?
Amy's internal soliloquy was disrupted by the commencement of the fight.
Raye sprung at Gohan in a fury of punches. I'll show him, the smug jerk. Today, he'll be beaten by a girl! However, she jumped back in shock as she realized he wasn't taking any hits; he was blocking all of them!
The entire audience was dumbfounded, to say the least. "There's no way he could have learned how to block so well from just watching movies," Lita muttered. "You've got to have experience for that!"
Back in the ring, Gohan smiled apologetically at his opponent. "Look Raye, I really wouldn't feel comfortable hitting you. Just imagining how my mom would react if she ever found out scares me half to death. So, please don't be offended by the only alternate way I can think of to end this." With that said, and to everyone's complete astonishment, Gohan stepped out of the ring.
"Forfeit! Raye is the winner! Yeah!" the PE teacher cried out as the bell signaling the end of class sounded. "Ok, so we didn't finish the tournament, but who cares! Ha ha! I'll just group everyone who didn't compete already randomly for tomorrow's class then make adjustments after that!"
Several students groaned at the proclamation as they began walking towards the locker room, and others stole awed glances at Gohan who was walking silently by himself with his arms crossed over his chest. Lita had tried to question him about his martial arts experience, but he only replied with "I've had a little bit of training," signaling the end of the conversation. Truthfully, he was angry with himself for revealing such an important detail so early on. He scowled and entered the boys' locker room.
After a failed attempt to get anything out of Gohan, Lita and the other Sailor Scouts, as well as Molly and Melvin, decided to question Raye instead, but received similar results: she didn't want to talk about the fight out of embarrassment. So, the girls and Melvin parted to their separate locker rooms.
Roughly ten minutes later, the members of the Sailor team met in front of the school to head over to the arcade for their meeting with Luna.
Endnote: Well kids, that was relatively boring if I don't say so myself. Stay tuned though, because I do have some good events planned for the characters. The next chapter will include the appearance of the first villain and possibly the mystery of the film producer. And, if you're suckers for romance like me, there will possibly be more drama with all the girls who seem to have fallen for Gohan. In case you haven't figured it out, Mina is the parallel for Erasa and Raye is the parallel for Videl. The other characters are pretty much independent, but I may bring out some Sharpener like qualities in a few of them.
Random, Quasi-interesting Fact: As many of you know, Akira Toriyama based the Saiyans, particularly Goku in Dragonball, after the Chinese legend of the monkey god, Sun Wukong. The Chinese, however, were not the only Asian culture to have a monkey god though. It apparently originated in India and was passed eastwards and southwards. The Javanese people, for instance had a monkey god named Hanuman (I believe the Indian one had the same name) who was described as incredibly strong and who possessed the ability to fly. Isn't that just super neat/sarcasm/.