Smoke And Mirrors
Chapter 4: He's Just A Geek
By raicho
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The ringing in the young demi-saiyajin's ears hadn't stopped, and he was beginning to think his mother might have actually permanently damaged his extra sensitive hearing.
After the verbal beating he'd received from his mother that morning about steering clear of any kind of fighting in school, Gohan felt rather nervous about his upcoming day.
"I'm going to have to try and blend into the background as much as possible if I want to avoid anymore trouble" the young saiyajin thought to himself. "That means controlling my powers as best as possible, and avoiding that girl at all costs..."
His mind drifted back to his tour guide from a month ago. Brilliant, sapphire blue eyes, long midnight black hair, and such skill and grace. He grinned at the irony of how she, Satan Videl, could have such a buffoon of a father yet turn out to actually be quite a skilled fighter.
Satan. It was a name that seven years ago infuriated him, a man that had continuously put down his father and friends as tricksters and cheats. Over the years, time had allowed him to mature and block out the mixture of anger and guilt he had felt. In hindsight, he actually felt somewhat thankful that the masses of reporters and legions of fans that followed their 'saviour' were not chasing after him instead – grieving his father had been a long and painful process, and one that would have been far more unpleasant if he'd faced constant interruptions.
Suddenly spiralling out of control in midair, Gohan quickly realised he had once again been dragged from his thoughts by the strange sensation of crossing Satan City's mysterious barrier.
The barrier was still a puzzle to him. Piccolo had not been able to offer anymore thoughts on the phenomena, and Bulma's investigation for the past month had also failed to bring to light any kind of a clue – much to the annoyance of the blue-haired genius.
Gohan himself had spent a large amount of time inside the field, trying to figure it out. He could fly within the field, he could fire ki blasts, he could punch through solid rock just as he always did back home. The only difference was that here, that familiar sensation of energy rushing beneath him to propel himself into the air, or gathering into his palm before sending it towards some inanimate object, was missing.
He had even transformed into a Super Saiyajin at one point to see if he could somehow overpower this aura that was around him. It was evident from his experiment that the power was there, as indicated by the crater that formed around him and the debris that was sent in all directions. Still he hadn't been able to detect the slightest hint of life force within himself. If it wasn't for his other senses telling him otherwise, he'd have sworn he was dead.
Of course while this was all extremely perplexing in the grand scheme of things, it also posed a far more immediate problem.
"If I can't detect and control the amount of energy within me, keeping myself incognito at school is going to prove extremely difficult..."
With his mothers threats still lingering in his mind, Gohan's face changed into one of steadfast resolve and concentration as he resumed his journey towards Orange Star High.
# # # # #
"I'm telling you, this kid might be able to help us out."
The boy looked across at the feisty girl sat next to him before rolling his eyes and tossing his long blonde behind him with a quick flick of his wrist.
"Videl, are you seriously expecting me to believe that some scrawny kid knocked out that Craig loser? The one who, as I recall, even gave you a run for your money at the Sigma Corporation offices not that long ago."
Standing up, Sharpner proceeded to flex his muscles in an overly elaborate fashion, much to the annoyance of Videl and the delight of some of the more superficial girls sat around them.
"Besides, I've got more than enough muscle, this team doesn't need anymore!" he grinned, looking down at the raven-haired girl shaking her head.
"Sharpner, firstly sit down, you look like an idiot. Second, I'm not claiming anything, all I did was turn around to see this kid standing over that unconscious moron – he might be worth checking out."
Settling back down in his chair, and propping his feet up on the table, Sharpner proceeded to lean back, eyes closed with an arrogant smirk on his face. "Let me know when you see this wonderboy then, I'll tell you instantly what kind of kid he is."
# # # # #
"Welcome back, Son Gohan."
The receptionist flashed a smile at the young man before handing over the necessary paperwork and timetables. Innocently grinning back, Gohan walked across to one of the seats where he proceeded to sign on the various dotted lines to complete his enrolment.
Around him sat a couple of rather bored looking students – obviously not there by choice – along with a number of animated students filling in their own enrolment forms. Completing the necessary paperwork, he returned it promptly to the receptionist and sat back in his seat, waiting for the class representative who would lead him to his first session.
Slowly the teenagers present left reception one by one, and soon Gohan was by himself, watching the second hand tick slowly away on the clock. After what seemed like hours, he was broken from his boredom by the doors quickly being flung open, a flustered young blonde pushing her way into the room. Scanning the area her eyes quickly locked onto Gohan, giving him a meek smile.
"Son Gohan right? I am sooooo sorry I kept you waiting! I was like, caught up in class breaking up yet another pointless argument between the two 'superheroes' once again...." the girl continued on, ignoring the look of confusion etched on Gohan's face.
Just as he began to fear the girl might turn blue and pass out, she took a deep breath before beaming a brilliant smile at him.
"So yeah! My name's Erasa! Pleased to meet you!"
Grinning, Gohan instantly grew a liking for the girl. "I have no idea what she just said... kinda reminds me of Goten!"
Still without having said a word, he followed her out of reception and through the maze of corridors, up a stairwell and along a row of lockers, all the while listening to her talk about... well it seemed like nonsense. Something about a boy and girl at the prom who stopped talking to each other, but really were, but actually weren't. Sweatdropping he came to a stop next to a locker which the girl pointed at.
"This one's your locker, the code should be in your enrolment pack thingy. You might have to give it some 'umph' though, they can be a bit stiff!" Erasa chirped, still smiling.
"Gee thanks!" Gohan replied before turning to the locker, trying the code and giving it a pull.
A look of horror quickly shot across Gohan's face as the sound of metal creaking was accompanied by the destructive force of the locker being ripped out of the framework. With the door finally swinging open, the whole locker fell to the ground with a crash.
"Smooth Gohan, real smooth..."
With a sheepish grin on his face, Gohan faced the rather dumbfounded Erasa beside him. Blinking, she opened her mouth as if to speak, but for once found herself speechless. Shaking her head, she finally managed to find her voice.
"Sooo... errrrrm... sorry about that, I guess they haven't been maintaining the lockers! Or maybe you're secretly hiding some muscle under that shirt of yours!" the girl hinted, winking whilst she did.
Gohan couldn't get the words out of his mouth quickly enough. "Ohhh no, not me, I guess it was just broken like you said! Yeah! Broken!"
"Uh huh..." Erase mused... "C'mon, we're already late for class!"
Grabbing the teenage boy's arm, she proceeded to drag him further down the corridors before coming to a stop outside of a classroom door.
"Room R052, our first stop!"
Taking a deep breath, Gohan followed Erasa as she knocked on the door and proceeded to enter. Tentatively stepping into the classroom, he quickly surveyed the students before turning towards the newly discovered 'blonde Goten' and the teacher.
Coughing to get the attention of those in the class who hadn't noticed the newcomer, the teacher moved his way to the front of his desk to address the class.
"Now then class, calm down please. As many of you have noticed already we have a new student joining us today."
Turning to Gohan the elderly man motioned for him to step forwards and introduce himself. "Ummm, hello everyone, my name is Son Gohan, it's a pleasure to meet you all."
Nodding, pleased that for once he'd ended up with a student who seemed to have a certain degree of manners, he pushed his glasses back up his nose before continuing.
"Gohan here scored perfect marks on his entry exams, and is a fine example of what many of you could become if you decided to pay attention for once!"
Turning to pick up the text book on his desk the teacher then began to resume the class as Erasa once again grabbed hold of Gohan and bounded up the stairs to her seat, dragging the helpless teenager behind.
Meanwhile, a very energetic Videl was poking the rather irritated Sharpner sat next to her.
"That's him Sharpner, that's the guy from the open day I was telling you about!"
Peering over the shoulder of the Hercule's daughter, Sharpner began to crack up as he saw Erasa excitedly talking to the bewildered boy now sat next to her. "That little wimp?! Give me a break Videl, I could snap him in two in a heartbeat!"
The pigtailed girl turned to face the same direction, and take in the subject of their conversation more closely. She had to admit it, he really didn't seem like much, but in this city, looks didn't count for much at all.
"Hey you, new kid, you're the guy who was in my tour group at the open day right?"
Snapping out of the bubble he seemed to be stuck in with Erasa gossiping to him constantly, Gohan's eyes quickly locked onto the interrogating stare emanating from the dark haired girl on the other side of Erasa. Gulping audibly a sheepish grin quickly spread across his face followed by a rather nervous chuckle.
His charcoal eyes looking everywhere except the intense gaze locked on him, Gohan managed to force a response from his lips, "Uh, yeah, that was me... interesting day wasn't it Miss... errr, Videl, right?"
"Great just my luck, here I am trying my hardest to blend in, and I end up in the same class as the one girl who's seen exactly why I can't blend in."
"Interesting is certainly one word to describe it Son Gohan." the young girl replied in an accusing tone. "One minute you're refusing to do what I tell you, the next you're standing over the body of a punk who'd give Sharpy here a good beating."
"Hey!" the long-haired blonde shouted out, "You have as much trouble dealing with that loser from Riverside as I do, more so actually, since I'm obviously a lot stronger than you."
Quickly jamming an elbow into the jock behind her, Videl glanced in delight as the winded boy nearly fell out of his chair, clutching at his side whilst shooting an annoyed yet pained look in her direction. Returning her own gaze back to the subject of her interrogation, she found herself even more annoyed at the almost jubilant and victorious look on Gohan's face.
"This is perfect!" the young demi-saiyajin thought to himself. "She obviously didn't see anything, I just need some kind of excuse now and I'm home free!"
"Gee, I don't really know Videl. I barely saw anymore than you did... perhaps he slipped on the gravel and fell over?" Gohan suggested.
Clawing his way back onto his seat, Sharpner let out a wheezy cough before butting in again. "See Videl, he really is a bookworm, he just got lucky."
"Oh I wouldn't be so sure Sharpy! Gohan here did just rip his locker out of the wall after all!" Hearts in her eyes, Erasa gazed up into Gohan's, who currently looked like a deer caught in headlights.
Laughing nervously, Gohan coughed quickly before letting out a nervous reply. "Well, I, errr, you said it yourself Erasa, it was probably broken or something..."
Trailing off Gohan turned his attention quickly to the text book in front of him, burying his face between the pages. From along the desk he heard 'Sharpy' laughing out at what he'd said.
"See Videl, he really is just a geek."
# # # # #
Deciding that he still needed to prove his point, Sharpner proceeded to spend the better part of the day trying to prove to Videl that Gohan really was the loser he believed him to be. Unfortunately this had had some rather undesirable results.
Having sabotaged Gohan's chair in literature class, Sharpner felt confident his tumble to the floor would be enough to get the nerd in trouble. Mr Stevens was known throughout the school for being strict and old-school; surely enough, Gohan's rather loud and dramatic tumble to the floor automatically branded him a joker in Mr Stevens' eyes, and he was quickly sentenced to an hour holding a bucket of water in each hand.
Far from looking strained though, Gohan appeared half asleep by the time class was out. Figuring he needed some added effect, the sporty blonde decided to dig a sneaky punch into his side on his way out. Instead of winding the kid however, Gohan instead jumped up out of his slumber, emptying the buckets all over his long blonde hair and brand new OSH sports jacket.
Stuffing the wet item of clothing into his locker, Sharpner was already concocting his next plan.
"What a doofus that kid is" muttered Sharpner under his breath, "I'll teach him to get me wet, time to show him who he's messing with."
Glancing in the mirror on the inside of his locker door, Sharpner admired his physique before slamming it closed and making his way to lunch.
Sharpner was already smirking to himself "At least all the chicks can get a good long look at these muscles of mine now."
Spotting Gohan up ahead about to enter the canteen, Sharpner ran up clapping him on the back as he walked through the door. "Hey man!" Sharpner cheered, a fake smile plastered across his face, "No hard feelings about the whole water thing, yeah?"
Oblivious, Gohan grinned in return at the blonde before heading towards the queue for lunch. "Gee thanks!"
"Sharpner, you didn't..."
Turning the buff jock saw an a very un-amused looking Videl enter the canteen behind him. "That's so immature, anyone would think you were in kindergarten."
Chuckling in victory he ignored his friends comments as he gazed back in Gohan's direction, a large piece of paper stuck to his back, with 'Kick me' hastily scribbled all over it. Already he could see Ash, one of the soccer players with long, wavy black hair closing in on the unsuspecting saiyajin...
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"Brilliant idea Sharpy, real genius you are!" fumed Erasa as she and the sports jock left the nurse's office. "Instead of hurting poor, innocent Gohan – which by the way is totally uncalled for – you've gone and got Ash injured in his place!"
Standing in front of the teen, she tried to stare down her fellow blonde whilst he did his best to avoid her. "And isn't Ash supposed to be joining you and Videl after school today? Who are you going to get to fill in for him now?!"
Before Sharpner could get a word out, the confident voice of Satan City's beloved crime fighter reached his ears. "Isn't it obvious? We're taking Son Gohan."
Groaning with his shoulders hung in defeat, Sharpner turned to Videl, who had now reached the two blondes in the corridor. "Come off it Videl, that Gohan kid just got lucky. If Ash hadn't slipped up he wouldn't have sprained his ankle like that."
"Don't be an idiot Sharpner!" Videl shot back, "Ash didn't slip up, he nearly broke his foot when he tried to give Gohan a dead leg. There is something up with that kid, and we're going to find out what it is!"
Sighing, Sharpner waved his hand in defeat as he walked in the direction of his next class. "Fine Videl, have it your way. But the loser is your responsibility, I don't wanna be looking after some cry-baby when there's real work to be done."
A victorious smirk on her face, Videl watched Sharpner leave whilst Erasa's pleas to leave her latest crush out of her plans fell on deaf ears.
"Time to see what you can do, Son Gohan!"
# # # # #
"Hey Gohan, wait up!"
The spiky haired teenager turned to see the girl with jet black hair, yet striking blue eyes, running down the steps leading from the school entrance towards him, her pigtails trailing in the breeze behind her.
"Now what? Today has been a disaster in terms of not drawing any attention to myself, the last thing I need is Videl making my life even more complicated...!"
Putting a smile on his face, he stopped to let the girl catch up to him. "Hi Videl!"
Ignoring his greeting, Videl instead went straight back into interrogation mode. "So Gohan, once again you seem to have had a very interesting day."
Laughing nervously Gohan looked down at the fiery girl, "Heh, yeah... funny that!"
"C'mon!" she instructed, grabbing hold of his wrist and leading him across to one of the benches where the two blondes currently sat; Sharpner doing his best to ignore the girl, whilst Erasa did everything she could to tell him the latest gossip.
"You're coming with us today Son Gohan."
Blinking, Gohan looked at the girl marching him across the courtyard. "Wha? Where are we going? What are we doing?"
Ignoring his questions, the daughter of Hercule came to a stop in front of her friends, a determined look on her face. "Ready for another round Sharpner?" she asked enthusiastically.
A look of thankfulness spread across his face as Videl's entrance interrupted the particular story that Erasa was reciting to him. Jumping up, the teenager pumped his muscles before slamming a fist into his palm, "I'm always ready Videl, just make sure you keep up with me this time!"
A cocky smirk passed between the two that reminded Gohan of the arrogant expression Vegeta often wore on his face. "These guys really do have a strange friendship. One minute they're fighting, the next they seem to have some kind of unspoken determination that binds them all together..."
Looking down at his wrist, he noticed that Videl still hadn't let go of him, and coughed to get her attention.
Turning to look at him, Videl quickly followed his gaze to where she still held him. Jumping a little startled, she instantly found the pavement beneath her feat extremely interesting. "Oh great! I just didn't want him to escape, now he probably thinks I have some kind of crush on him. Which I obviously don't... obviously... dammit, focus Videl!"
Examining the floor even more closely, Videl was suddenly rescued from her thoughts by Erasa. "Well, like, good luck you guys!" chirped the blonde!
Walking over to Videl, the bubbly girl leant in close, whispering in her ear with a tint of pink across her cheeks, "Please look after Gohan, ok?"
"Don't worry!" Videl grinned cockily, "I have a feeling I won't need to."
Coughing once again, Gohan desperately hoped he'd get an answer this time. "So.... what are we doing exactly?"
Sharpner laughed, yet again tossing his long blonde hair over his shoulder. "Well super nerd, we are going to be participating in an... after-school club. You are coming along to spectate."
Gohan nodded slowly, still not quite understanding what was going on. Before he could give it any further thought however, his attention was quickly drawn to the beeping watches around the wrists of all three teenagers stood before him.
Quickly reading some details that flashed up on her screen, Videl threw out a capsule from which a yellow jetcopter sprang forth. Shouting over the engine roaring to life, Videl motioned for Sharpner and Gohan to get in.
"It's the bank this time, let's move it!"
# # # # #
As the jetcopter flew over the bank, the three teens surveyed the scene before them. A myriad of destroyed squad cars with battered and bruised police officers scattered around them were at the front of the building, whilst a cloud of smoke billowed out from a hole in the side of the bank. In the distance, a car was weaving in and out of traffic at top speed.
Blasting after the vehicle, Videl was soon piloting the jetcopter skilfully through the streets of Satan City. Meanwhile, Gohan looked on at the sequence of events with a rather dumbstruck look on his face. "I don't get it, is this place a city, or the film set for one of Goten's favourite action movies...?!"
As the jetcopter closed in on the getaway car, Sharpner looked across at Videl knowingly. "So what's the plan this time Miss Hercule?"
"Oh you know me Sharpner, the usual!" she returned playfully. Quickly pushing the jetcopter into overdrive, the trio overtook the car before bringing themselves to an abrupt standstill in front of the oncoming vehicle.
With a loud screech the fast approaching getaway car slammed to a halt, almost toppling over before landing back on 4 wheels. The doors on the car opened as four teenagers, probably no older than Gohan by the looks of them, stepped out.
Videl and Sharpner immediately jumped from the jetcopter themselves, with Gohan slowly stepping out after them. Taking in the scene before him, the quad of crooks arrogantly strode towards them. One of them was a towering figure, easily standing a foot higher than Gohan, accompanied by two athletic blondes slightly shorter than himself, and a dark haired individual with far too much muscle for his own good. All of them wore a menacing look, but what attracted his attention more were the red bandanas that each of them wore around one of their arms.
"Just like those students who attacked us during the open day..."
Laughing, Sharpner tossed his hair to one side. "I don't recognise any of them Videl, must be a bunch of newbies. I get dibs on the big guy!"
Videl glanced at him before looking back at the approaching crooks, a grin clearly present on her face. "Always taking the big one's eh Sharpy? Anyone would think you were over-compensating for something!"
Before Sharpner could shoot back a retort Videl continued, "Fine by me, I'll take the two blondes." Without looking over her shoulder, she shouted to Gohan, "The guy with more muscle than brains is all yours Gohan!"
"What?!" the young saiyajin exclaimed, "I can't do this! Mum will actually kill me this time!"
Not able to voice his objections in time, he watched as Sharpner lunged towards the towering teen and Videl gracefully leapt in between the two blondes. A fist heading his way snapped him from the spectacle, and he narrowly dodged as the punch sailed past his face. Quickly ducking and evading, Gohan was now manoeuvring in and out of a flurry of kicks and punches that were headed his way.
Unable to decide on a sensible course of action, the young saiyajin simply continued to avoid the strikes sent in his direction until his well-built opponent stopped with a scream.
"Enough! Try dodging this one asshole!"
A look of confusion on Gohan's face was quickly replaced by one of utter disbelief as a glowing ball of ki began to gather in the hands of the teenager before him. As the energy launched from his assailants hands, he quickly bent over backwards, watching as the beam impacted with the wall behind him, covering them in dust and debris.
Deciding he'd had enough, Gohan was about to launch a blast of his own at his attacker, when a bright light hit the dark haired youth from behind, knocking him unconscious.
Looking past the crumpled body on the floor, Gohan could see Sharpner standing a few meters away, hand out-stretched, eyes closed and cocky grin on his face.
"See Videl, I told you he wasn't some superhero..." the long haired blonde laughed, clearly amused, "He's just a geek."
# # # # #
Well there you have it, Chapter 4 is complete. It certainly came out a lot lengthier than previous chapters, and I'm hoping I haven't substituted any kind of quality I had for quantity. I felt it all needed to be said though, and it's paving the way for the events that will unravel as the story moves on...