A/N Well, I told you guys I'd try to have more time to write, so here! :) Hope you enjoy it, as this will probably be the last chapter before Gohan gets ready for high school. This'll be going into the part I'm the most excited to write, and where I'll spend a few chapters at. Ironically enough, I originally just wanted to write a story about a badass Gohan in high school, but the more I thought about it, the more ideas I got, and well, you guys know the rest. Bah, whatever, anyways, on to replies! :)
Drama Llama-Sama- Glad you're still liking it! I had a feeling you'd enjoy the ending of that in particular. :) You seem to have a good eye for stories, making some accurate guesses about characters and I enjoy reading your insight, hope you keep enjoying it and hope you like the direction this chapter takes everything!
anonymous- Glad to see you're enjoying the story. :) As for Mystic being weaker than SS3, I think that makes sense in DBS. During Z, I think Mystic was stronger, by quite a bit? (Correct me if I'm wrong, no hard feelings) But yeah, I'm going to definitely make Hercule less of an ass, it almost hurts me to write it, so its as much for my sanity as all of yours! But, here's the update!
Hero in the shadows1- Yeah, it really is a Hard Knock Life for those two (ok, sorry for the pun, it just fit, please don't hate me, heh) and life really kicks them while they're down. But the thing with people taking Gohan's protection for granted did piss me off in the show. His mother even berated him for WANTING to protect everyone. Its ridiculous and I really dislike canon ChiChi, so I made a better one. :3 Here's the next chapter, and I'll keep writing, friend!
There ya go, replies done and now here's the chapter, enjoy and by all means, R&R :)
Capsule Corp. 2 Months After Broly
"Vegeta! Gohan! Lunch is ready, come and eat!" Bulma's voice had a metallic ring to it as she called to the two training Saiyans in the gravity room. They both stopped the little sparring match at they were having at the second level of Super Saiyan and smirked, Vegeta pushed the return to normal button and instantly, hundreds of thousands of pounds were lifted from their shoulders, which was really a curious sensation, probably as close to being weightless as one could get. Before Gohan reached the door, Vegeta stopped him, "Ok kid, one last bit of training before dinner. I think you've grown used to the third stage enough that you're going to eat lunch in it. Everything you break is one free punch for me." The older of the two grinned, knowing that Gohan's Saiyan side wouldn't let him turn down the challenge.
"You're on." Gohan had a slight smirk set on an otherwise serious face. After a short amount of time, he completed the once painful transformation, becoming more used to the strain it put on his body.
"Let's go." The new, more masculine, deeper voice rumbled from Gohan's now more muscular chest. His face was now more naturally serious, more angled and dangerous, the face of a person who wouldn't hesitate to kill if crossed. Vegeta still marveled at the sheer vastness of the power the teen had and shook his head, following him out the door, still in his second form.
Over the course of the last two months, Gohan's relations with people seemed to have improved, at least on the surface. He now made more of a conscious effort to talk to his friends about different things and tried to put on a more cheery, content mask, which made those around him think he was making real progress in recovering. The only one that saw through this facade and down to the truth was Lime. She saw the lingering self hatred and regret at the core of his being, driving him to train harder and harder. Collapsing from fatigue was now something like a weekly occurrence, if not more. He'd stay up for 48 hours at a time, training and studying the whole time, feeling like he always needed more power to protect those he held dear. The demi never really forgave himself for Lime's death and made the vow that it wouldn't happen again, causing him to progress more in the last two months than he had in the past six. He'd grown slightly taller, but broadened out more so than anything, looking more like his father, but with a tail. He still wore the same scars, seeing them also as incentive to become stronger, not fully forgiving himself for his father either.
The two battle hardened warriors came strolling into the dining room, still transformed, dripping sweat and cut up everywhere, earning disapproving looks from Bulma. She still wasn't used to Gohan's new form, as she'd only seen it a few times and it was such a drastic change that it was still cause for a quick double take and comment. "You sure have some nice hair there Gohan."
He let out a deep rumble of a laugh, "Sure, sure, I've been working on it all morning."
For some reason, the sudden change in his voice always unnerved Bulma. It was like someone else was talking through Gohan's face and it just didn't fit. Knowing she would just have to accept it, she shook it off. "Well, eat up then, you two and then after, Gohan, you're with me in the lab!"
"Sure, Bulma!" Gohan's happy reply rumbled out, sounding oddly boyish when it was so deep. A disapproving grunt from Vegeta followed, who would have obviously rather spent his time training with Gohan, but had already lost that battle with his wife long ago. The tailed demi just laughed a little and picked up his glass for a drink… crack. The glass shattered in Gohan's hand who had trouble finding how much pressure to apply to the cup so it wouldn't slip out of his hand. "Damnit…" he whispered to himself. "HAH! That's one, boy! Please, do break more." Vegeta shot an evil grin at Gohan, who was all to aware of the deal they made minutes before. He sighed, cleaning up the mess and returning to his food.
This'll be a long meal…
One plate break and fork bend later, lunch was finally over and Gohan quickly followed Bulma out to one of the many labs in Capsule Corp, trying to get away from the frighteningly happy Vegeta as he called out, "See you for training after your schooling! Heh".
"Alright Gohan, as you know, this is precision work, so we can't have any of that. Go back to normal so we don't blow up the place." The tailed boy let out a snort and exhaled, slimming up somewhat and returning his hair back to normal, "Gotcha. Where to today?"
"Well, you're actually pretty close to done with the general science studies and from there you can launch your own studies from here in whatever you like. I'd say another month or so and I've taught you all I really can, without getting into too much detail of one specific field, of course."—Gohan nodded, knowing his time as Bulma's student was growing short and he was about to graduate to lab partner—"But today, we're going to go to the robotics lab, uncapsulized, section B to focus more on the inner circuitry of AI machines. Come on, let's go!"
About four or five hours of grueling work later, Bulma announced that today's lesson was over and he could go train with Vegeta until it was time to go home. They stopped by the kitchen on their way back, meeting up with the older warrior to eat their fill before returning back to the gravity room, with Bulma going back into the lab. "That's 3 kid, get ready to spar." The shorter of the two walked over and turned the dial up to 500 times earth's gravity and powered up in his second form. Not waiting for Gohan to react, he immediately turned and drove one first into the now blonde boy's face, sending it to the side and Gohan towards the wall before the gravity caught him and sent him crashing to the floor. Spitting out some blood, he looked back at Vegeta, "Two more, let's go." Loosing a battle cry, Vegeta directed a fist at Gohan's sternum, causing him to double over before catching another blow to the nose, sending blood spurting out of it. The older one pressed his advantage and spun to deliver a foot directly in the ribcage of his sparring partner. Gohan noticed this and dropped to the side, lowering himself close to the floor before propping himself up on one hand and sending a kick out to the one leg Vegeta had left on the ground. The prince saw this and jumped backwards, avoiding it, before coming to a rest and letting out a short laugh. "Okay, let's go for real now." The two crashed into each other once more, exchanging a blindingly fast series of blows, connecting on a few, but dodging or blocking most. They continued this way for a while until a ringing sounded off in the room, signaling that it was time for Gohan to go home. The gravity automatically cut and the two smirked at each other, returning to base form and walked out. Vegeta, seeking to rile up the younger one asked in a taunting tone, "You sure you're leaving so soon? Personally, I could go for a few more hours… I might just do that hmmm. Can't be slacking off now, can we?" Gohan just rolled his eyes, nursing an ember of anger in his stomach for the comment. "Whatever old man, I bet you can't even do 1000 one fingered pushups at 500G in base."—Then Gohan smirked and sought to piss the prince right back off—"Hah, weak. Do that then we'll talk" The taller of the two turned on his heel and walked off, making it almost to the door before he felt a ki spike behind him and heard an enraged snarl. Gohan turned right in time to duck an elbow and return a left jab, which the prince blocked. "Oh bullshit kid, you're on." Vegeta walked over to the console and turned the gravity up to 550 before powering up to his max base and starting in on the workout. Not wanting to be outdone, the tailed boy quickly started on the same workout.
Man.. 48 hours straight a couple days ago.. 6 hours of sleep and now I'm probably gonna be here all night, Mom's gonna be pisssseeeeeed. Oh well, I can't let him think he's won, sorry mom, I'll call you later and let you know what's going on.
"998…999…Arghhhhhh….1000! HAH There boy, happy now?! Done." Vegeta's smug tone crept into his voice, proving Gohan wrong.
"999….1000…Hnnngg…1001! Ah, easy. Vegeta, you were saying?" Gohan took the same tone and smirked.
"What?! Bullshit. 1000 more, right now. GO. First one done chooses the next challenge."
"Fine, let's go."
And so they continued throughout the night, working endlessly, seeking to become stronger and stronger. Most nights training went like this and ChiChi knew how it was and why Gohan did it, so she really didn't bother him about it much. She, however was more worried about Lime and Goten who had been spending less and less time with Gohan since he was always either training or studying. Goten complained about it to his mother, but quickly forgot about it if Gohan would play with him for a few hours, so no real damage was done there. Lime on the other hand stayed silent about being ignored, because she knew his reasoning behind it, but it still hurt. Her closest friend, her brother couldn't make time for her, and even though she knew that a big reason he was ignoring her was, in a sense, for her, she still felt unwanted. It put a slight strain on the two's relationship that both Gohan and ChiChi were starting to pick up on. That aside, the two were worried about him, constantly pushing himself until he would simply collapse of exhaustion. It couldn't be healthy, but then again, neither of them knew what really was good or bad for a Saiyan, and when they confronted him about it, Gohan said he was fine and that he'd seen great results, so why not? After all, they did know about the boost that Saiyans got from near death experiences, so this might have been something close to the same thing and he never got sick… Nevertheless, the two worried for their family.
Orange Star High School
"Alright kids, two laps around the track and then it's a free day for P.E. As long as you're doing something active, then you'll get an A for the day. Carry on!"
The students all nodded and the pack took off, making their way around the track. Before long, one lone figure bounded ahead of the rest, effortlessly striding further away from the group, earning a mixture of jealous glares and looks of admiration. Videl Satan took her place at head of the pack, finishing the full two laps before more than half of the class even completed their first. Without waiting for any others, she quickly made her way over to where the boxing club practiced and started working on different fighting forms, ignoring the world around her. A short while later, she heard the last few finish up, which happened to be a group of senior guys who all played sports.
Disgusting. They look to be in decent shape, but they give that kind of effort? They'll never get anywhere, idiots.
Videl caught herself sending an involuntary glare towards the group, which they picked up on. They met her glare and all at once, the group roared into laughter, being much louder than necessary, to try and get as much attention as possible.
Attention whores. Pathetic. They're like 18 and still doing this? Grow up.
She rolled her eyes and looked away. "Man boss, she'd be pretty cute if she didn't act so bitchy.. ahhhhaha"
"Yeah man, for real. Just because she has money, she thinks she's better than everyone else. Must be nice being a princess."
Wow, pulling out all the stops, creative, guys. Wonder what makes them feel the need to say stuff like that? Hmm. Guess I'll never understand. Back to training!
Unperturbed, Videl started working over the heavy bag in front of her, each punch and kick furthering herself towards her goal. She simply didn't have the time to deal with them. As long as she was the target of their insults, it was just fine.
"Hah, ignoring us? Wow… she must be really stupid. I need to use that heavy bag anyways, I was just thinking she could at least be considerate enough to move aside, eh? A girl can't use the damn thing right anyways."
By now, the group of senior guys had dispersed for the most part and three remained, the three biggest idiots of the group Videl thought. They burst into another fit of uproarious laughter, "HAH So true man, but she is kinda a guy with all that training and fighting she does." he overemphasized fighting for a sarcastic effect.
"Heh, exactly. Step aside kid, I'll show you how to throw a punch."
Goddamnit, I REALLY don't have time for this. Pretty sure there's another punching bag somewhere he can hangup. Do they really have to be this stupid? So annoying.
Videl let out an exasperated sigh, but before she said anything, another girls voice popped up, higher pitched than Videl's, "Guys, I'm pretty sure there are more of those over there if you want to grab one…"
Shit.. its that girl I helped out a while ago. Why does she think she owes me anything? I appreciate the sentiment girl, but I can handle myself, its you I'm worried about.
Again, the leader of the group spoke up, "If I wanted to use another heavy bag, I would've by now, dumbass, now stop fucking talking before you embarrass yourself."
The group found this absolutely hilarious and fell into another fit of laughter, causing the already rattled girl to shrink further, undoubtedly destroying what little courage she had, damaging her self confidence in the process. Like a caged animal, she cowered back in fear, not knowing how to react, she looked once at Videl, who stopped training and glared at the three. Seeking to impress her idol, she stood up to the group, "They're all the same, stop being mean and leave Videl alone to train, she's not hurting anyone."
Raising an eyebrow, the same guy spoke up, "Yeah, bitch? Remember how I asked you? Yeah, me neither, now leave." The same time he spoke the last word, the boy pushed the smaller freshman, causing her to stumble back, and trip, falling hard on her back. Finally having enough, Videl walked over to her elder, pissed off and fire in her eyes. In one fluid motion, she aimed a low kick at the boy's ankles, lifting them both off the ground and pushed his neck forward, causing his face to hit first with an extremely satisfying thud. Not waiting for a response, Videl walked over to the girl on the ground, in shock of what just happened.
"Maria, I really appreciate this, thanks, but you don't owe me anything. I'm glad to help you out, but don't worry about me, I can handle some idiots like them, no problem."—Videl flashed her warmest smile and laughed lightly, reaching her hand out to help the girl on the ground—"But that was brave. I don't know how many others that would stand up to those three, way to kick ass."
Maria stood up to her full height, slightly shorter than Videl, brown haired with brown eyes, tanned skin, and a not too unattractive figure. She was pretty normal looking, not really standing out, but in Videl's opinion, had one of the best personalities of anyone she met at the school.
Hmm, maybe they're not all bad.. She seems nice enough, maybe I'll keep an eye on her.
"Thanks, Videl! I-" She was cut off by the same boy that pushed her earlier, "BITCH. What, do you think you could get away with doing that because you're a girl? Hell no." He advanced towards Videl, who returned his glare with one of equal intensity. "Tony, don't be a dumbass. You want to do something, go get gloves and get in the ring, unless you're scared or something?"
He gave an evil grin, showing his obvious mal-intent, "Oh great idea."
Maria gave a concerned look to Videl, which she returned with one of assurance and eagerness, ready to embarrass the asshole who seemed to make it his personal mission to belittle everyone that wasn't his crony. Minutes later, they both made their way to the ring for a sparring match. Of course, the school didn't allow these things during P.E. class, but since Videl Satan was involved, the instructor looked the other way, after all, without her father, the school wouldn't be even half of its current size.
"Ready?" Videl asked, not really caring if he was or not.
"Hah, I usually don't hit girls, but I'll make a special exception for you."
"Who said anything about you actually hitting me?"
"Cocky bitch."
With that, Tony shuffled forward and sent a looping haymaker, on course to Videl's cheek.
He's way too far on his front foot, horribly off balanced. He might hit me if I was blind, but I really have no idea how he's won a fight before. Oh well, I'll probably enjoy this a little more than I should.
With ease, Videl ducked under the sloppily thrown punch and threw a straight, hard jab right to his ribs, causing him to stumble back and inhale sharply. Undeterred, he decided to change up his tactics and tighten up his fighting style a bit. He squared up, feet now in a sturdy base, and held his hands up in a classic boxing form. Letting out a grunt, he threw a heavy, slow left jab, followed by a sloppy cross. Videl sidestepped the first jab and then ducked under the cross, springing up in front of him, throwing another hard jab into his sternum, causing Tony to double over, the wind forced from his lungs. Using the downward motion of his head as leverage, she drove an uppercut, straight and true right to the larger boy's jaw, knocking him out cold and onto his back.
"Told you, idiot. Don't even know how to throw a punch." Videl jumped out of the ring and all of a sudden heard cheers, claps, and laughter from the other students. Little did she know, this little skirmish caught the attention of the entire class and all present, aside from the two who were now attending Tony, thought the fight was comical. Without even realizing it, Videl earned herself a fanbase in the school. Blushing furiously, Videl quickly put on her best stern face and returned to training, trying to ignore the class.
Greaaat, this'll make it that much harder to train… But well… at the same time… it does feel kinda nice to have them like me for something other than my father for a change.
Taking a short breath, she let her emotions surface into a slight smile, illuminating her face before redoubling her training efforts for the rest of class.
Gohan's 17th Physical Birthday, 439 Mountain Area
"Gohaaaan Gohaaaannn Wake up, wake up, wake up! It's your birthday, let's play!" An overly hyper four year old bounced up and down on his brother's chest, full of energy, a spitting image of his father. The older brother moved slightly, groaned and fell right back to sleep, tired from his last 24 hour training session. Unperturbed, the boy continued on, yelling at his brother with boyish intensity, a huge, innocent grin on his face. Finally, the younger of the two succeed on his important mission, and Gohan stirred, actually awake now. Sleepily, he opened his eyes, where he was greeted by the two large, curious eyes of his brother.
"What do you need, kiddo, its early.." He groaned again, still weary. Having none of this sleepy nonsense, Goten scowled, "But brother, its your birthday and you promised to play.." His bottom lip stuck out and he pointed a small accusing finger towards Gohan. His heart melting, the now 17 year old gave in, "All right, you win."—and with a mischievous grin, he threw his brother up, and out of the open window, into the air, with Goten giggling madly the whole time—"HA! Caught ya off guard!" And he followed his little brother out the window, catching him in mid air, eventually laughing, going along with Goten's infectious giggles.
The past two years brought about some small change in Gohan's mental state. Over the course of time, it became easier for him to conduct himself around people, leading to normal conversations and completely repairing all the bonds that had been rocky before, which, whether he knew it or not, helped the demi. He was still just as bound and determined to train and study as before, but after an intervention with his mother and Lime, agreed that he'd come home more and spend more time with them. While he hated spending time doing anything other than bettering himself, his human half told him that these relationships were just as important to him. Gohan still hadn't made any other friends, but he was perfectly fine with that, especially since he had his brother. The kid was so full of life and innocent energy that Gohan couldn't help but love the child fiercely. He was equal parts brother and father to the younger demi, both scolding him for getting into trouble and roughhousing with him until ChiChi scolded them both. Gohan treasured the boy and it helped him heal the wounds of his past, ever so slightly. While there was some progress and he did lighten up and play around more, especially around Goten, he was still ruled by the same emotions he felt at the end of the Cell Games. Regret, self loathing, and anger all kept a tight grip on the hero's heart. He was still serious and his eyes still those of a battle hardened warrior, his demeanor much the same as well. However, Gohan's physical changes were probably the most drastic. He was now roughly 6' 2", but most likely done growing. His hair was the familiar shorter, gravity defying, on end cut with the same single little group of it hanging down around his eyes. Scars still decorated his body and while the one on his forehead faded slightly, it was still visible and a clear reminder of days past, same as with his shoulder. His face lost the boyish curve it once had and he now had more of an angled jawline and sharper, naturally serious features. Yet the most drastic change was his muscle tone. The warrior now looked much more like a warrior, his chest was barreled, shoulders, arms and legs were all absolutely chiseled, rippling with tight, harder than steel muscles. The same went for his core, an overly defined eight pack, with obliques chiseled on the outside, which looked more impressive than any movie. There wasn't a single ounce of fat on the fighter's well maintained body, but he was massive. In fact, ChiChi and Lime worried how he'd go unnoticed in high school with his build, even wearing long sleeved teeshirts. He looked like a full grown man in his twenties! Whatever the case, it made Gohan happy to see some physical improvement to his body, though he knew muscle had little to do with Ki prowess, and by extension, actual battle power.
After playing and training with Gohan for a while, the guests for the birthday party started showing up, so the two quickly went and took a bath and dressed in comfortable gi's, not unlike those their father used to wear. Lime and ChiChi brought out the cake they'd been working on and Bulma threw out a capsule with a huge table, an oning for shade, and gifts from the entire group of Z-fighters, who'd given them to Bulma ahead of time for safekeeping. Though what caught Gohan's eye was Lime.
She was wearing tight blue jeans and a light green v-neck teeshirt that seemed to fit a little too well. Her hair was longer now and a flowing sea of light auburn that fell around tanned skin which contrasted perfectly with her glowing emerald eyes and outfit. Her figure was extremely attractive, well toned from working and playing with the Son family, but she also already started to take on a more womanly appeal. A true, natural beauty.
Dear God, if she keeps this up, I may end up having to knock around most of our classmates… She can handle herself, but wow, is it really that bad of me to wish she was even a little less attractive? She's not going to be 17 for a few more months, but already looks like a 21 year old, not good.. hmmm.
"Gohan! Care to join us or are you going to celebrate all by yourself?" Lime's rich, carefree voice reached Gohan's ears and he jumped slightly, "What? Ah, sure, yeah be right over!"
The group all laughed and soon enough, they sang to him loudly, off key, but with crazy enthusiasm, with Goten's voice being heard over all and he blew out the candles, wishing for another year of peace and a good start to high school, which for some odd reason, he was slightly nervous for.
"All right, let's eat!" and so the cake was served, along with ice cream and refreshments. A comfortable conversation took place and everything was relaxing and peaceful, even Piccolo and Vegeta looked to be enjoying themselves. The only part Gohan didn't like was how he seemed to be the topic of discussion, it was mainly about how he'd be attending high school soon but other topics as well, all directed either towards present day or towards the future. No one really mentioned the past, as that was a sort of unwritten rule with them. The days past carried enough pain for all of them to completely ruin the atmosphere and mood of all those present, so they simply avoided that topic completely, which the birthday boy was all too grateful for.
The day seemed to pass into night with a blur and the party started winding down, and eventually little Trunks and Goten collapsed in a heap, worn out from the day's festivities. It was quite a sight to see the two usual balls of energy still for once, breathing in a steady rhythm with peaceful expressions on their face. The two mothers nearly lost it at the sight and in a frantic flurry, found their cameras, taking picture upon picture of the two. Once they had their fun, people began leaving, saying their goodbyes and wishing Gohan luck on his upcoming school adventures. Soon enough, all that was left were the Son family and the half Son, Lime. The mess was largely cleaned up, and Gohan flew Goten up to bed, through the very window he threw the younger one out of this morning.
He heard the door shut and soft voices downstairs, so he quietly slipped out of the door and towards the two. "Oh, my baby boy's 17 and going to high school, I've always dreamed this would happen!" ChiChi let out a squeal and gave her son a heartfelt hug. He let out a light chuckle and returned the embrace.
"Yeah Gohan, it'll be weird without you around, but I'll be there next year, so don't get in too much trouble, 'kay?"
"Sure, sure, I'll be good, don't worry."
The two shared a smile for a moment then she joined in on the hug, and the thee stood there for a bit, relishing their time together, since it wouldn't be long before Gohan was home even less than before. They broke the contact and sat around conversing for a while and the situation of the now 17 year old fitting in was brought up. ChiChi gave voice to the concerns they were all having, "We all know this, sweetie, but hiding your power is probably the most important thing you can do. None of us want people on our doorstep trying to get an interview, right?"
"Of course, mom. I know that. I'll suppress my power as much as I can and try to stay out of situations with confrontations, but as for my appearance…"—he pointed to his forehead—"I can't do much about that… and I do look a few years older than the others, so I'll have to make up something for that."
This time Lime had an idea and her eyes lit up, "Well that's easy! Just say you were a martial artist and the reason you're enrolling late is that you were living in a mountain village, training, which is also why you're so big. As for the scars, just say they were from training and say you fell from a tree as a boy and split your head open. That doesn't sound too far fetched, right?"
Both of them nodded, but Gohan thought for a second and raised an eyebrow, "But won't that ask some of them to join a club? And who will I say was my master?"
Lime looked down and thought for a second before proceeding, "I've gotta pretty good idea of this, if I do say so myself. Just say your master strictly forbids fighting for play outside of the dojo and if they ask his name, just say its a family guarded secret and refer to him as Sensei. Come on, got any tough questions?"
The other two let out a quick laugh, "Well I guess that just about covers it, all except for one thing. Where do you live Gohan?"
He cocked an eyebrow, thrown off guard by the weird phrasing of his mother's question and shook his head, "I've already talked to Bulma, she's renting me out an apartment that I can 'live' in if anyone asks or wants to come over. It'll be good to have a place to keep food and take a nap too. Anything else I can just make up on the fly."
The women both nodded in thought, neither of them voicing the one question that would no doubt be asked and could connect him to fame. If anyone knew who his parents were, then the quiet life they wanted would be over. The son of Goku, a previous martial arts champion and ChiChi, the daughter of the Ox King. They figured that this is what he meant by making it up on the fly. Lime spoke up, "Well perfect then, I guess we got it all taken care of. Nervous?"
"Well, actually yeah, kinda. It's weird. I mean it is the first time I'll have been around that many people my age. What do I say? What do I talk about? I mean I know a lot of stuff but nothing that would help in conversation, ya know?"
ChiChi was not very great at meeting new people, so they both looked to Lime, someone who was naturally more social than the other two. She smiled at her brother, glad he felt close enough to the both of them to show so much emotion. "Well Gohan, that just depends on the situation. Talk to them like you'd talk to me and I'm sure you'll be fine. Whatever you do, just be yourself and find people who appreciate you for that, those are your real friends. You don't need anyone but those who like you for you. Okay?"
"Hah, pretty generic advice, but good nonetheless. Thanks Orange." Gohan gave a wry smile and chuckled to himself.
"GOHAN! That stopped being funny years ago! Shut up!"
"Well it pisses you off enough, still funny for me!" He laughed out loud this time and Lime glared in frustration before grabbing the fork next to her and hurling it at him. Gohan easily caught it and doubled over in laughter, tearing up from this laughing fit. Lime gave her best cross look, but eventually broke into a smile, laughing right along with him. ChiChi just shook her head and gave in, succumbing to a fit of laughter. Eventually it subsided and they took turns yawning widely, tired from the day. "Alright kids, ready for bed?"—They both nodded—"Good good, me too. I'll see you in the morning, love you both, goodnight! And no sleeping together!" ChiChi laughed to herself and walked off waving. Slightly flustered, the two made eye contact for a second. A brief pause followed. Gohan broke it by rolling his eyes and saying, "She thinks she's hilarious. Meh, whatever. You've got my bed I've got the couch. Night Lime, see ya in the morning."
"Yeah, yeah, night idiot. Talk to ya tomorrow." She turned away, slightly blushing and forced a laugh and thought to herself, Ya know… I really wouldn't mind that.. No Lime, that's gross, he's like your brother! Why would you think that!? But… he really is hardcore eye candy, I mean really who could contain themselves seeing that damn near naked everyday. Ugh… oh well, I should probably stop talking to myself and just go to sleep, I'll figure it out later…
And with that, the two walked off to lay down and go to sleep. The Son house was silent, the only noise was the steady breathing of those inside, followed by the occasional snore. Soon enough, these nights would be no more, Gohan would be off for school and Lime would be busy finishing up her homeschooling and working. Life was marching forward at the Son house, to the steady flow of time.
However, this wasn't the case in Other World. Time meant nothing there, but Goku still trained with urgency, desperately grasping at more strength, to defeat this chaotic evil that the Kais feared so much. He was told it was much stronger than Pikkon, a fighter he only just managed to beat. Goku also learned that this force would make its way to earth sooner or later, so he had to be ready for it, yet he still suspected that there was much more to this situation than met the eye.
Well whatever the case, I've gotta get stronger. For ChiChi. For Gohan. For Goten. I know I'm nowhere near father of the year, but I hope you three will forgive me once you know the full story. I love you all so much. Now, let's go Goku. Get stronger…stronger… STRONGER, ARRGGHHHH!
Alright, that's it for the chapter! We get our first little peak into Other World, nothing more than a little teaser, and Gohan's last birthday before he starts school. I've got TONS of ideas for that, so I'll probably start writing on it tomorrow. No promises as to when it'll be done, as I'm going to be camping this weekend, so it'll either be before or after that. Thanks for the support, and I'll see you all next time!
Cheers!