Author's Note:
Like I have said in Crossroads, I will be finishing one fanfiction at a time. Love of a Brother is next! I have 10 chapters total planned out, which means that there are 5 more. (including this one) If all goes as planned, this fanfiction should be finished by tomorrow, as I will be doing 2 chapters today and the remaining 3 tomorrow. Thanks for reading, everyone!
Disclaimer: I do not own this show!
CHAPTER SIX:
From the Past to Haunt Us
Five years had gone by, flying like a leaf being carried by the wind. Gohan had sat down with all his friends and family, and revealed exactly who and what he was. To his surprise, they had accepted him without question. Gohan and Videl's relationship had only strengthened, and as it grew stronger, so did the number of selfies Hercule had forced them to take. The pictures were all over the walls, and Hercule had a copy of every single one in his wallet. He was a proud father, and considered both children to be related to him by blood. Hercule and Gohan had a long, long talk about the Cell Games, and Hercule's actions after it. During a public speech, Hercule admitted to everything.
The public took it surprisingly well, but Hercule had said that he was the guardian of the true hero, and refused to give his name. Naturally, the public thought that Hercule was supposed to guard the knowledge of this person from the world, not that Hercule was actually his adoptive father. So, Gohan's secret remained a secret to the rest of the world. People from Gohan's past had dropped by every once in a while, the most common of said guests being Piccolo. Piccolo came to see Gohan at least once a week, while Gohan had only seen Bulma, Yamcha, Krillin, and Vegeta once since he moved in with Hercule. Gohan hadn't seen the others at all. He wasn't upset - probably because he had several new best friends.
Erasa and Sharpener had become quite close with Gohan, and were also aware of Gohan's secret. They treated him like a normal human being, which Gohan was eternally grateful for. Goten had also grown up, and Gohan and Goten's relationship could not be better. What Sharpener had said earlier was completely true - Goten was the innocent demon, always causing trouble and making messes. He was almost always the cause of the nannies' breakdowns. Gohan was the only one Goten would actually listen to, and so many pics had been snapped of those two without either of them noticing. Goten looked up to Gohan like no other. Gohan made sure to tell Goten that Hercule wasn't actually his real father, and the little tyke had taken it in stride.
At this moment, Gohan was sixteen years old and sitting in Orange Star High School, bored out of his mind. He never had to pay attention in class because of all the extra studying he did on his own time. Because of all the high tech things Hercule and Videl provided him with, Gohan was always able to look up anything he wanted. As such, he had started college courses online and had already gotten a couple degrees. Gohan was currently working towards becoming an inventor, and was already drawing up inventions for when he was legally allowed to sell his stuff. Videl was obviously going to go to school for some sort of martial arts thing, but she relied heavily on Gohan to help her with academics. Over the years, Videl had picked up crime fighting and occasionally called Gohan out of class to help her.
Goten was attending kindergarten and was already driving his teachers and classmates crazy. Gohan, in class, was doodling on his notebook. His teachers had learned a while ago that they shouldn't call on Gohan if he wasn't paying attention, because he would humiliate them with his "are-you-stupid?" smirk that he seemed to have perfected over the years spent with Videl. Gohan was wearing a pair of skinny denim jeans, and he could feel the girls staring at him from behind, which made him sigh, yet smirk at the same time. He and Sharpener were currently in a competition - to see who the girls liked more. Right now, Gohan was winning by a landslide. Gohan had on a dark blue t-shirt that was tight to his chest, showing off his massive muscles.
The ones on his arms were open and being stared at. Gohan smirked at Sharpener, who blew a piece of his bang out of his face and huffed, rolling his eyes. Gohan's t-shirt had the word "Nerd" in neon yellow letters, with a pair of glasses underneath it. Gohan sighed and looked over at the screen, almost groaning in boredom. He took out his phone and started texting Sharpener, causing his phone to buzz. Like lightning, Gohan put his phone away while Sharpener got yelled at for having it out. Sharpener replied meekly, shooting a glare Gohan's way. Gohan merely chuckled, until Sharpener texted him, and his phone belted out his ringtone for everything - the "Cat Loves Food" song, sung by the one and only Yamcha.
Gohan's face went red and he quickly turned his phone off, trying to pretend Sharpener wasn't laughing at him. The only reason Gohan even had that stupid ringtone was because Yamcha sung it, and it was funny. Gohan's hair had changed over the years - it now stuck straight up, in thick ebony spikes. Gohan felt like putting his feet up on the desk, but his phone rang, interrupting his musings. He looked down at it curiously, wondering if Sharpener was texting him again. This time, he was being called, and it was Hercule calling him. Gohan had a pit of apprehension in his gut - every time Hercule called him, it was because Goten was being unmanageable again.
"Hello?" Gohan picked up the phone, choosing to ignore the fact that he was in class. His teacher sighed in defeat and just continued with the lesson while Gohan's classmates snickered.
"Gohan. Goten." Hercule said, an exhausted tone in his voice. "Help."
Gohan laughed. "Okay, okay, I'm coming." Gohan snapped his phone shut and turned to his teacher. "Mr. Rapitoni, my little brother is acting up again. Can I be excused to go take care of him, please?" Gohan asked. One day, a couple months ago, there was a "bring your sibling to school" day. Gohan and Videl brought Goten, and well... scarred the teachers forever. Mr. Rapitoni nodded, paling quickly. Gohan was in the front row, so he just put a hand on his desk and vaulted over it, running for the exit. It was best to get home soon, or else Goten might blow the house up. Gohan really did love his little brother, and he found Gohan's antics more amusing than anything else.
As soon as he was out of sight, Gohan floated into the air and sped off, quickly arriving at his house and going inside. When Gohan did get inside, however, he was absolutely stunned at the mess that greeted him. There were food stains, honey piles, and feathers coating the room. In the middle of the destruction, Goten was sitting playing with a toy truck. Gohan's mouth dropped, as Goten was sitting in the only clean spot on the whole floor. In the corner, the nanny they had just hired was reading a book, covered in honey and feathers. Gohan walked forwards gingerly, having to duck as he entered the room. He didn't really want to bash his head in on the doorframe.
"Goten?" Gohan asked, horror in his features.
"Gohan!" Goten screamed, throwing his truck and leaping up at Gohan. Gohan caught his brother and smiled fondly at him. Goten was hugging him with everything he had. Goten was always bored. The nannies were no fun to play with, because they weren't as strong as he was and had to be gentle with them. The books they read him were boring, because Gohan taught him much more advanced stuff. He couldn't spar with anyone because he had to be gentle. So, he resorted to pranks to pass the time when his big brother wasn't here. Goten adored Gohan - Gohan was Goten's role model for everything, because to Goten, Gohan was just so awesome and there was no one more awesome than his big brother. Unknown to Gohan, Videl had told Goten how Hercule adopted the two brothers, and Goten would forever be grateful to his big brother for saving his life like that. Goten wanted to be the best little brother ever, but he just got so bored when Gohan wasn't around.
"Oh, Goten, you know you can't do this sort of stuff." Gohan sighed. He really loved Goten, but Goten went a little too far this time. "You have to clean this room after we get some of that energy out, okay? Or you at least you have to help. You also have to apologize to Miss Samantha for doing all this, alright? It's not nice. Would you like it if someone dumped honey and feathers on you, Goten?" Gohan asked. He adjusted his grip on Goten, bringing Goten to his hip and holding his brother. Goten's tail wrapped around Gohan's arm as Goten snuggled into Gohan's side.
"I can't help it." Goten whined. "It's so boring when you're not around!" he complained. Gohan looked up, and saw his friends and Videl running towards them, wincing as they caught the sight of dried patches of honey on Goten's fingers and clothes and feathers stuck to his hands. "There's nothing to do!" Goten flopped dramatically, looking up at Gohan with his big ebony eyes. "I have to be gentle and nice because humans aren't as strong as me, and I don't want to hurt them, and the books are boring and I've played with all my toys more than a hundred times, and there's no one to spar with! Gohan, why can't you stay home and play with me? You're smart enough to not have to go to school, right?" Goten asked innocently.
"I have to graduate from high school, Goten. That means showing up for class." Gohan said. "It's okay to be bored, but what isn't okay is to do all this because of it." Gohan gestured towards the messy rooms within the mansion. The brothers were outside now, observing the sun and sky. "There are lots of kids in the world who have it a lot worse than you do, Goten, kids who don't have any sort of toys to play with. Or even kids who don't get to go to school, kids who don't have enough to eat, or clean drinking water... they just work all day to survive. You have it really good here, Goten, and don't you forget it." Gohan explained gently, humour making his lips twitch and rise into a smile. "And if you can't remember, the tickle monster just might get you..." Gohan raised his hands and wriggled them threateningly, grinning at his little brother.
There was a pop noise, and Gohan turned around, instantly on alert. He dropped Goten and shoved the boy behind him, falling into a battle stance. His eyes widened as he viewed the people ahead of him. One was a young girl he did not know, with straight blue hair down to the back of her knees. Her eyes were a pure gold, and were guarded, her face smirking with mirth. She looked no older than twelve, a gnarled, brown staff clutched in her right hand. The staff had a blue, floating ball of top of it. She was wearing a very odd outfit - dark blue scraps of clothing. They left her sides and belly mostly bare, just barely covering her chest and completely covering her neck and collarbone. The outfit joined together at her hips, going down and hugging her legs. She had on blue dress shoes, with a little bow at the toes and square heels in the back of the shoes. On her head was a classic blue wizard hat.
Standing directly beside her was Gohan's mother.
Son Chi-Chi.
It seemed the past was coming to haunt Gohan and Goten after all.
~Chi-Chi has just come back, and along with her, a new person. Is this newcomer friend or foe, and what do they want with Gohan and Goten?~
baconman104: Hehe. Thanks so much!
MODdenial: Um, today, because first I procrastinated, (DO NOT KILL ME, YOU'LL NEVER KNOW THE ENDING!) and then I decided to finish each story, one at a time. The last couple of days has been spent finishing Crossroads.
vishwakamarahul735: There will not really be a pairing. I can't say anything without spoiling how the story is going to end... the person Gohan marries will not be canon.
hfrivera02: I get the pun. XD
DestinyMason: Thank you!
Super Vegetarrot: Thank you for your comments! No, seriously - I need all the criticism I can get to improve. Perhaps the gun thing wasn't the best call, but Chi-Chi trying to smother Goten with a pillow is all part of the ending, and what's coming next. It shall all be revealed... but no spoilers for right now. I see where you're coming from in terms of my reaction to Goku and Chi-Chi as parents, and I will try to improve upon it. Thanks for the advice!
Super Kamehameha: Nope, he won't be present in this story. And thank you!
goku lord z: Not in this story, but perhaps in another one? And thank you!
blacknumber21: Well, I'm really glad you like it.
Guest: Thank you!
nimedhel09: Yup! Thank you. :3
Critic: Thank you!
blacknuber21: Well, they are siblings, so they will not be a romantic couple. Thanks for reading!
Taboo: Well, unfortunately, the Briefs family will not be making an appearance in this fanfiction. Also, Gohan x Videl will not be happening because the two are siblings as apposed to being a romantic couple. Thank you for reading!
Duck face 101: Okay! Thanks for reading!
Guest: Thank you!
Guest: I'm glad you're so excited!
Doglover157: There will not be very much romance at all in this story. Sorry!
Dragon Ball Z: Can I just start off by saying I love your user? XD And SORRY SORRY SORRY - DO NOT KILL ME. YOU WILL NEVER KNOW THE ENDING IF YOU DO.
Hell Yes: Nice user. XD Very classy. AND SORRY I WAS BUSY. PLEASE DON'T KILL ME.
Guest: Updated!
