Chapter 4: Trouble in Golden City
Two days after Gohan's meeting with Vegeta, the young teen sat prim and proper completely attentive to the almost incoherent rumblings coming from Mr. Ryu's mouth, a common state the students would find their teacher in halfway through his English lesson. The majority of students sat slumped over in their chairs and gazed blankly at the mysterious adult with sleepy half-open eyes, their minds being elsewhere. The athletic bunch would always converse back and forth in hushed voices about the Golden Fighter, Hercule Satan, or Orange Star High's championship winning boxing team. The nerdy bunch would half pay attention to the teacher and half daydream about the new science-fiction movie at the local theater or the new video game console that released a couple months prior. However, Son Gohan, the student who had watched his father's life end twice before his own eyes, the student who had the entire fate of the world resting upon his shoulders, was the only one who was giving his full attention to Mr. Ryu and taking their education seriously.
Gohan had improved his relationship with his group of friends a great deal. He finally felt as if he spent his childhood growing up along side of them instead of fending off his own alien race from the earth, traveling to another planet to fight the tyrannical emperor of the universe, and defeating several androids all of which stronger than Frieza himself. Erasa had seemed to take to Gohan the most, always including him in any of their conversations and clinging on to him wherever they walked, to the dissatisfaction of Sharpner. Originally Gohan believed that it was just part of Erasa's regular carefree and outgoing personality, but after a few days he suspected she might have developed a crush on him. My mom would flip if she knew I was hanging out with such an affectionate girl! Better not invite Erasa over anytime soon. Sharpner now considered Gohan one of his closest friends, despite continuing to tease him and attempt to make his high school experience a living hell at all costs. Gohan wasn't as close to him as any of his fellow boxing club member friends, but he was getting there. Videl, Gohan believed, was difficult to figure out. She appeared to be almost as friendly as Erasa, and miles more outgoing than Sharpner, always smiling when he talked to her and laughing at his jokes. At the same time, she was distant and would refrain from starting conversations with Gohan unless he approached her or the countless times when Erasa would drag her into their bantering. When Gohan looked into her eyes he could swear there was a combination of determination and curiosity there, and when his attention was directed elsewhere he could sense her sharp piercing gaze from afar. Did she discover my secret? Does the intellect of the daughter of the famous Hercule Satan match the overwhelming and seemingly inhuman strength that she is known for? Gohan had yet to find an answer to his burning questions, yet one thing was for sure: he was just as interested in Videl Satan as she was in him.
Mr. Ryu continued to mumble in a monotone voice, adjusting the collar of his shirt or scratching his pale neck every couple of minutes. The class was analyzing their first novel, which Gohan read in the span of a couple days due to his late arrival within the semester. Mr. Ryu deemed the feat miraculous given that the book was over six hundred pages in length, although six hundred pages is a small task to an eighteen-year-old who could read at a university level by the age of eight. Mr. Ryu, finally becoming conscience to the fact that every one of his students was daydreaming with the exception of Gohan, decided to quiz an unexpecting poor soul by the name Druy Hallow.
"Mr. Hallow," - Mr. Ryu began, startling the seventeen-year-old who promptly glanced up at him with wide eyes, well aware of his own slacking off. "Early on in the novel, Eddard comes across a direwolf that had been killed during a quarrel with a stag. What literary devices does this iconic, and extremely important, scene utilize?" Instead of letting the teen compose himself and attempt to fabricate an answer, the teacher gave him a cruel chuckle. The corners of Mr. Ryu's mouth were stretched before he spoke, Gohan noticed, and it was as if the man was delighted that Druy didn't know the answer so that he had the opportunity to condescend him. Initially, I thought this guy was a little bit off in the head. He speaks to me with a small smile on his face to cover up his personality, yet now I see what an asshole this guy really is.
"Let me stop you just right there, boy. Did everyone in the class hear Mr. Hallow's answer loud and clear?" The students who were still blankly staring around the room directed their attention to the front. "This is the level of incompetence you can expect from a student who does not pay attention in my class. Let this be a lesson for all of you. I'm not a timid man and I will certainly not refrain from calling you out when your attention is directed elsewhere." He spoke in such a quiet tone, yet commanded so much respect at the same time, and after setting his class back on track he could hold the attention of every single student in the room. He was not known as a teacher who would dish out punishment or inform parents of misbehavior, but he would embarrass and unstabilize his students at any chance he obtained, and then again there were the rumors flying around the school. Mr. Ryu was believed by the students to engage in the practice of cannibalism, torture mice in the dimly lit cellar that he called a basement, and cut his wrists for the pure sensation and thrill of watching the blood flow from his veins, apparently the reason for him always wearing long-sleeved shirts no matter the season. In Gohan's mind, all of this information wasn't probably too far of a stretch from the truth. Gohan's thoughts were stopped when the teacher turned towards him, the brown round orbs above his dark strained eyelids widening and his smile positioning into a sly smirk.
"Let us see the answer that we can receive from a true scholar. Mr. Son, if you would?" Mr. Ryu gestured towards Gohan with his hands as the youth reluctantly stood up to give his answer.
"The stag-" Gohan's answer was interrupted by the loud static of a radio, along with some muffled voices. The noice was coming from beside Erasa, and Gohan determined the exact location of the sound when Videl stood up and picked up a small device from her pocket, biting her lip in anticipation. After a couple seconds of silence the loud booming voice of Golden City's sheriff came through the radio, joined by gunshots and commotion in the background.
"V-Videl, we have an emergency here! The Green Kings have returned and they are attacking Golden City Bank! They have hostages, we need-"
"Did you just say the Green Kings?" - Videl interrupted with a wide-eyed look of shock on her face.
"Yes, I'm so, so sorry to ask this of you, given your history with them, but-" The police chief was interrupted again by the sound of a loud gunshot, followed by a woman's high-pitched scream and the desperate ordering of a policeman for citizens to evacuate the area. "Videl, we can't beat them, we all need you!" Videl put the device back inside of her pocket, then swiftly made her way out of the classroom while Gohan's classmates whispered and murmured worriedly. Erasa waved goodbye to her friend, and for the first time since he arrived at Orange Star High he saw a look of concern on her face.
"Hey Erasa, is Videl going to be alright out there?" - Gohan inquired, to which Erasa promptly nodded.
"Unfortunately, this happens at least once every week...when the police can't, Videl can." Erasa sighed and rested her cheek in the palm of her hand drowsily before continuing. "I know that she's probably as strong as Hercule himself, but she's still a high school girl! Murderers, Rapers, Robbers...she has to fight the worst creatures that Golden City has to offer while the invincible namesake of the city lets her do all the work. The town seems brainwashed from all the headlines and television reports, thinking that she's the invincible one. But that girl's not invincible, I know that better than anyone." Gohan's face lowered at her words, and his eyes shifted towards the door that Videl had exited minutes before. What have I done? Was I taking it easy all these years, even though there is still evil that I'd yet to fight? Erasa is right...
"Yeah, and the Green Kings are not the best gang for our Videl to go up against, because back when she was four-" Sharpner began, before quickly being interrupted by Erasa.
"We're not supposed to talk about that, not even to Gohan! Videl will tell him when she's ready! Were you-"
Gohan stood up from his seat, the shifting of his desk making a noticeable noise in the process. The whole class had their eyes fixed on Saiyan, including the mysterious, dark, and quiet Mr. Ryu. He gave Gohan a questionative glance, and the teen took little time to explain his outburst.
"May I use the washroom, please, sir?!" - Gohan asked, almost yelled, frantically. Mr. Ryu adjusted the collar of his shirt and responded with his usual stoic tone.
"I do suppose this is a difficult time for all of us, some of us having family in danger and all because of this quite unfortunate event. So yes, Mr. Son, you may indeed use the washroom." Gohan took little time before dashing out of the classroom in a speed that none knew he possessed, leaving the students and teacher from inside the class bewildered. In a matter of seconds, he was on the roof of Orange Star High School, out looking the school grounds. Gohan was without time to bask in the beauty of the perfectly trimmed grass wet with dew from the night before's plentiful rainfall. The young half-Saiyan was on a race against time. He would make sure that the Green Kings, the most notorious gang to ever set foot inside of his city, the group of criminals who wronged Videl in the distant past, would no longer be around to harm her in the future. In a flash of blinding yellow light, the black-haired and dark-eyed Son Gohan transformed into the golden-haired and teal-eyed legendary Super Saiyan. The Golden Warrior returned to Golden City for the second time in seven years, yet this time, he is here to stay.
END