A/N: This stupid story keeps making me have to research various concepts and figures in order for it to be written. Stupid story. Also, this chapter is a bit of a fast-forward, and from here on, the story will be a little bit faster-paced. I still have a lot to get through, and since this will go up through high school for Gohan, I kind of needed to move things along.
There is a tiny battle in this chapter, between Gohan and Mariya Stone. It isn't a serious battle, but it's a match nonetheless. Mariya will have her significance later on in the story, but for now, she's just Mariya-sensei.
Explanations of the different figures I've mentioned in the chapter will be at the bottom, extremely abbreviated. So will translations. I don't think it'll get quite this bad any more, but I wanted all my readers to be aware of the outside figures I've brought to the story, rather than leaving you floundering with all these names and things.
Videl and Gohan didn't have much interaction here, either, but it's more than what's been in previous chapters. *sigh* I'll see what I can do in the future.
The title is part of a lyric from "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen.
Disclaimer: None of the characters that are recognizable belong to me. Any unrecognizable characters, the Trouble Force Four, and all their relations are original characters, and any resemblance between them and characters found elsewhere are purely coincidental.
His Saving Grace
Chapter 6 - They Call Me Mr. Fahrenheit
Gohan snapped awake and bolted upright. 'The pain…it's gone,' he marveled as he twisted around experimentally. Sure enough, there was no pain at all in his back, not even a twinge. He grinned and leaped out of bed.
Those three and a half weeks had been the most boring of Gohan's still-short life. Or, rather, they would've been, if not for Matt…and Videl.
Videl.
If she hadn't shown up a few weeks ago in the hospital, Gohan wondered whether or not he'd be entirely sane. Or the same person. The id dragon still reared its head whenever he thought about the woman, but he'd been able to handle that by not thinking of her.
Of course, that had just given the id dragon incentive to widen its focus. Its expanded focus now included the leader, the instigator, the attacker, and the daughter.
Avery, Michelle, James, Jenifyr. The thought of their names, like the thought of the woman, caused the id dragon to rear up in the black depths and demand revenge on them for all that they'd done to him. Its burning want simmered in Gohan's bloodstream all the time.
And then the Eagle would come and soothe the burn, and Videl would find him. He still didn't know how she knew to do that, and whenever he'd asked, she'd always tell him that she just knew.
Gohan was getting very good at dismissing any thoughts of the woman, the leader, the instigator, the attacker, and the daughter. Scarily good. But he had to be, because the Eagle could only do so much. If the Eagle failed, then the Bear would come. Gohan hated the Bear almost as much as he hated the id dragon. But the Bear was all that was good in Gohan, and he couldn't hate the goodness in him, or the id dragon would win, and Gohan disliked the id dragon even more.
Such was the state of the mental battle that Gohan constantly waged with himself. If he could just figure out how Videl knew to come to him to help him, then maybe he could figure out why she resembled the Eagle so much, and then he wouldn't have to depend on her so much. She never seemed to mind, though, and she continued to find him when he needed her.
He intended to find out how she knew these things. He'd read fictional stories of people who had formed mental bonds with each other, but he didn't know Videl (or, rather, he hadn't known her) well enough to form a mental bond with her, if they even actually existed. He found it rather hard to believe.
He shook himself from his thoughts as he found happier, less confusing things to focus on. The woman left him alone largely, and his Daddy had stopped drinking altogether. That made Gohan so happy he often didn't know what to do with all the glowing feelings inside of him and would seek out his father and latch himself to him until the glowing receded into its proper place.
How it knew where its proper place was, Gohan didn't know. His mind, in the absence of The Fog, was still just a barren landscape of nothing. Things were starting to make themselves known on the landscape, but there was no organization whatsoever.
He'd have to fix that as well.
"Hey, son," Goku said, catching Gohan's attention.
"Hi, Daddy," Gohan replied with a smile. "Is there something you needed?"
"Not really, I just wanted to ask how you've been lately. We don't talk much any more, not since Miss Videl and your friend Matt started coming over more often." Gohan narrowed his eyes and looked away from Goku so that Goku couldn't see his face. Against his will, Gohan thought, 'Daddy isn't going to become like the woman, is he?' He didn't think that the Bear and the Eagle combined would be able to keep the id dragon at bay if that happened.
At the thought of the id dragon, it gave a lazy yawn in the black depths before returning to its slumber. Gohan closed his eyes and shook the bad thoughts away, and looked at his dad again. "I'm all right, Daddy."
"Are you sure, Gohan? Because I wanted to talk to you about…about your mother." Gohan stiffened, then forced himself to relax. 'The woman, the woman, the woman,' he repeated to himself.
"All right, Daddy. What about her?" he asked, when he felt his voice wouldn't convey any of the anger he felt toward her.
"She's going to…well," Goku trailed off, and frowned. "She's said that she's going to try and file for a divorce, since you don't seem to need or want her around."
'Good riddance,' Gohan thought, and felt the id dragon give a contented purr of agreement. He really needed to figure out how to keep the id dragon contained as it had been when The Fog had still been around. "Do you think it'll work, Daddy?" he asked, and Goku nodded, though his eyes were troubled. "Daddy, what's wrong?" Gohan asked, concerned.
"I do still love your mother, Gohan," Goku said finally. "I'm tired of her constant insults and commands, and these past few days with her away visiting her father have been wonderful. But…we can't just cut her out of our lives."
'Speak for yourself,' Gohan thought dubiously, yet he remained silent. He'd talked with Matt about it for a long time, and they had come to the conclusion that Gohan honestly could survive without the woman.
Almost as though to think of Matt had been to summon him, a knock sounded at the door. Goku looked toward the door, then said, "That must be Matt, come to escort you to school." He gave Gohan a hug and said, "I'll see you later today, then, son. Have a good day at school."
Gohan nodded and got his things together before opening the door to find Matt standing there waiting for him, like he'd taken to doing every morning for school. Matt waited for Gohan to close the door before he said, "Tennis practice is cancelled for today."
"What?" Gohan was mildly shocked, especially because neither Coach nor Dolby had told him that they'd been planning to cancel practice. "Why?"
"I don't know," Matt replied with a shrug. "They called me and told me because they couldn't reach you." Gohan made a mental note to ask his father for a cell phone for his birthday. "But it's cancelled for today."
"Do you think Mariya-sensei will let us have an impromptu meeting today, then?" Gohan asked. Matt shrugged again, and they walked in silence the way to school.
Gohan walked into homeroom, intending to ask Mr. Dolby about the cancelled practice, only to find a substitute sitting behind Mr. Dolby's desk. The substitute introduced himself as "Mr. Sir", to assorted giggles and snickers from the class. Gohan, for his part, settled for raising an eyebrow.
Just as the bell rang, the attacker walked into the classroom, and Gohan had to hunch over at his desk. The attacker noticed the motion and smirked as he walked around the classroom in a roundabout fashion, smacking Gohan in the back of the head "accidentally" as he headed toward the substitute, who was asking the attacker why he was late.
As he'd hit Gohan, he'd whispered, "Why you cowering, you baby? Scared that I might hit you with a bat again?" It had taken Gohan all of his self-control to keep from showing the attacker one of the latest techniques Mariya-sensei had taught him. Even then, it was a close thing, and Gohan could feel the id dragon coursing through his blood at the provocation, yearning to be entirely in control, demanding revenge on the attacker. Commanding it.
Gohan shook only slightly as he remained hunched over at his desk, looking for something to keep the id dragon from taking over, and found in the black depths something that glinted like dull silver. He touched it with a fingertip, and shuddered as it repelled him strongly. He realized that it was his determination, hidden deep in the black depths, but always there. He suspected it was from there that the id dragon, the Bear, and the Eagle all came.
But then the id dragon grew tired of fighting to be let loose, and retreated back into the black depths. Gohan slumped as he let out a tiny sigh, and picked up his head to look at the substitute. He found that he was sweating, as though the heat from the id dragon had gone straight to his body temperature, raising it until he felt like he was burning from the inside out.
He shook his head, and let out cool breaths on his hands and forearms, sighing in the relief that the action presented. He thought that the steel in the black depths would need to be used more often. That might be what he used to keep the id dragon contained, rather than being its source.
He didn't know whether homeroom had lasted longer than it should, but, finally, the bell rang, and he moved from his desk to go to Spanish class. He was the first one there, and Sra. Filcure smiled at him as he walked in.
"Buenos dias, señor, ¿cómo estás?" (1)
"Estoy bien, señora," (2) Gohan replied, almost without thinking. He caught himself, though, and smiled at Sra. Filcure, who returned the smile. Apparently, nearly four weeks of speaking in nothing but Spanish had had its effects on Gohan without him realizing it. "¿Cómo está usted, señora?" (3) he asked.
"Estoy bien tambien, señor, gracias," (4) Sra. Filcure replied, the smile widening.
'Maybe I can use my "newfound" ability to speak Spanish passably to get that extra credit,' Gohan thought. No one had yet managed to translate the entire thing, although a few students had gotten extremely close. Sra. Filcure, however, was very particular about the translation, and as such, the message was still undeciphered, and therefore was still a source of possible extra credit.
"Señora, ¿puede ayudarme traducir estos conjugaciones verbales?" (5) he asked, proffering a list of words to her. She took the list and looked at it for a few seconds, before she looked up at him with a questioning look.
"Señor, estos verbos son en la tiempo subjuntivo. Debes usarlos con frases como 'espero que' o cuando dando mandates que no sabes será seguido." (6) Sra. Filcure said, and Gohan gave her a sweet smile.
"Muchas gracias, señora," (7) he said as more students started to trickle in. "And now I know enough to translate the extra credit," he said, switching to English. Sra. Filcure blinked, then smiled.
"Whenever you are ready, señor," she said, and Gohan nodded and waited until all the students had been seated. Once the bell rang, he switched to Spanish as he raised his hand.
"Señora, quiero traducir el 'extra credit'," (8) he said, and Sra. Filcure looked at him as the other students did and nodded. Gohan looked at the message on the board, and then spoke. "Pienso que dice, 'Welcome to Spanish class. My name is Mrs. Filcure, and I hope that you all will learn to speak Spanish as easily as I do, or a little'. ¿Tengo razón?" (9)
Sra. Filcure smiled and nodded and made a mark in her grade book. Gohan smiled, feeling supremely contented with himself.
The rest of the day passed much in the same fashion, with minimal trouble from the leader, the instigator, the attacker, or the daughter. 'Thank Kami for small favors,' Gohan thought as he sat at the lunch table with Matt and Videl. It was then that he noticed that Jack was still not at school. He frowned as he sat down, and Videl noticed his expression.
"Gohan, what's up?" she asked.
"Where's Jack?" Gohan answered her question with a question of his own. Videl and Matt looked at each other, and Matt shrugged.
"No one knows but the coaches, Gohan," Matt said. "All I know is that they told us that it was a family emergency. I haven't the slightest idea what that entails." Gohan's frown remained firmly in place.
"It doesn't make much sense for him to come to school for two days, and then be gone for almost four weeks. What sort of emergency would cause him to be gone that long?"
"No one but him knows," Videl said, and Gohan sighed. He really missed Jack, and felt his absence every time he went to tennis practice and Jack wasn't there.
The end of the day came, and Gohan got a message during gym that there would be a meeting of the Triple Tenet Club, and that it was important that every member showed up. Curiosity captured, Gohan went to the meeting room to find Videl, Emily, Matt, and Greg there with Mariya-sensei.
"Gohan-kun, welcome," Mariya said, and Gohan gave a small bow. "Now that you are here and fully healed, perhaps it is time for a test of the club's skills. Gohan-kun, I would like you to fight against me. The Bears and the Eagles will match up against each other, as the best way to test one's skill is against someone with the same skill. You may take whatever time you need to prepare, my students."
After they all felt themselves sufficiently prepared, Matt and Emily paired together, and so did Videl and Greg. Gohan had something he wanted to ask Mariya. "Mariya-sensei, does that mean that you follow the Dragon, since you're going to fight me?" Gohan asked, and Mariya nodded.
"That's why I've been able to teach you, and why you've managed, without actually fighting, to ascend from the level of Hydra to the level of Leviathan."
"Are you the highest level, then, Mariya-sensei?"
"Yes," she replied with a nod. "I am at the level of Mushussu." Gohan nodded, and looked to Emily and Matt, the Bears.
Emily had managed to ascend from the rank of Callisto to that of Jambhuvantha, while Matt was having troubles getting into the Bear's mindset, thus remaining at Callisto.
Videl and Greg were another matter. Videl seemed to have such an affinity for the style of the Eagle that she was considered by Mariya-sensei to be Perun. Greg also seemed to be gifted with an affinity for the Eagle, though he had only managed to be promoted from Yatagerasu to Geruda.
Gohan bowed to Mariya, who returned the bow, and they each assumed their preferred stance.
Gohan's favored stance consisted of leaning back slightly with his knees slightly bent, with his right hand in front of his face with his index and middle fingers pointing behind him. His left hand also had his index and middle fingers pointing out, yet he held his left hand down near his waist, pointing to the right. His stance was highly defensive.
Mariya, for her part, assumed a stance worthy of a master of the Dragon style of her martial arts discipline. Both her index and middle fingers pointed out, like Gohan's did, yet her hands were positioned much more aggressively. She also leaned backward like Gohan did, as well. The only real difference laid in their hands. Mariya's right hand she held straight out in front of her, two fingers pointing downward. Her left hand she held down at her waist, palm upward, fingers pointing toward Gohan.
"Ready," she said, her voice steady. Gohan nodded, and so did the others, though they were facing each other. "Begin," Mariya-sensei said, and pushed forward with her foot.
Immediately, her right hand came upward, poised over her head as her left hand shot out. Gohan batted her left hand out of the way and ducked, before surging upward with both hands aimed at her midsection. Her right hand descended, going in between Gohan's hands and spreading them farther apart, giving her enough of an opportunity to jump backward.
Gohan instantly followed, switching from defense to offense. He slid feet first along the ground, making Mariya jump over him. 'Good thing my back is healed,' Gohan thought as he pushed himself up so that he was standing to defend against Mariya's next strike.
They backed a small way from each other, circling around as they tried to find a weakness. Any weakness. "You're better at this than I'd thought you'd be, Gohan-kun," Mariya said, and Gohan nodded in acknowledgement of the compliment before he rushed forward again, aiming inside Mariya's defenses.
Mariya seemed to flow as she ducked and twirled, neatly dodging to the side of Gohan as he ran forward. She ended up behind him, and she prodded the center of his back with two fingers, sending him tipping forward as he tried to regain his balance.
He tripped, and managed to brace his fall with both hands. He ended up doing a handstand as Mariya dipped and spun, aiming her foot for his hands. Gohan pushed off the ground, flipping himself back over again, bringing his foot to connect with Mariya as his whole body curved.
Mariya's hands came up in an X shape as she blocked Gohan's kick. He didn't let that slow him down, however, and swung his other leg around to kick Mariya in the side, sending her skidding lightly to one side. He lacked the power to put behind his swings to really do any damage, but his hits weren't as light as feathers.
Mariya stood slowly, and said, "You get second hit." Gohan started, then realized that, technically, Mariya prodding him in the back would be considered the first hit. Gohan nodded and assumed his stance again, and Mariya did the same.
They waited, and both moved at the same time. Mariya aimed low, Gohan aimed high. They collided, Gohan's foot connecting with Mariya's shoulder, Mariya's fist hitting Gohan's stomach. They stayed together for a second, then Mariya pushed and they sprang apart. Mariya instantly went on the offensive, causing Gohan to perform repeated backhand springs to keep moving away from Mariya's fists and feet.
Finally, Mariya stopped moving, just as Gohan found himself backed up against one of the walls. Videl, Greg, Matt, and Emily had long since stopped their own battles to watch the clash of two Dragons. Mariya and Gohan looked at each other for a long time, then they both bowed.
"You are good at entering the mindset of the Dragon, Gohan-kun," Mariya said, and Gohan smiled for the first time since the meeting had begun.
"Thank you, Mariya-sensei. You're still far better than I am, however."
"Only because I am the instructor." Gohan shook his head and stretched, and Mariya shifted her focus to the others, who simply watched her. "Why did you stop testing each other?" Mariya asked.
"We could feel the heat practically radiating from the two of you," Videl said, though she was looking more closely at Gohan than at Mariya. "Was that supposed to happen?"
"If you believe that it can," Mariya replied. "It is a mindset, just as the tenets of my discipline are. If you believe you can feel the effects, then you will. Those who pay attention to the Bears as they fight may smell the forest, and those who watch the Eagles may feel the wind from their wings pass over their faces."
"But why was the Dragon sensation so overwhelming?" Emily asked.
"Because the Dragon is the most powerful of the three animals," Mariya replied patiently. "They control fire, the single most powerful and destructive element of the three. Bears are Earth, and they are steadfast. Eagles are Air, and they are graceful. Dragons, however, are Fire, and they are beautiful, deadly, and devastating to the senses, just as fire is."
Her words left the five 12-year-olds with a lot to think about, and think they did. 'Fire seems to be showing itself everywhere,' Gohan thought to himself as he slumped against the wall. 'The id dragon is full of fire, the martial arts style I'm learning is full of fire, and fire threatens to consume me, if I'd let it.
'I need a way to tame the fire.'
-TBC-
A/N II: All right. The levels are listed from lowest to highest.
- The Dragon tenet has three levels:
Hydra (Greek) - the multi-headed serpentine creature Hercules fought as one of his Twelve Labors, with an immortal head that grew back everytime it was cut off.
Leviathan (Hebrew) - a demonic dragon that rules the waters.
Mushussu (Babylonian) - a dragon found at the Ishtar Gate.
- The Bear tenet has three levels:
Callisto (Greek) - a nymph of Artemis that was turned into a bear and placed among the stars.
Jambhuvantha (Hindu) - the Great Bear, supposedly having traveled the earth 12 times and being extremely knowledgeable in war and other matters.
Nanook (Inuit) - master of bears who decided if hunters had followed all applicable taboos and whether they would be successful in hunting nears.
- The Eagle tenet has three levels:
Yatagerasu (Japanese) - tripedal (three-legged) raven belonging to the sun goddess Amaterasu.
Geruda (Hindu) - Vishnu's mount.
Perun (Slavic) - the highest deity in the Slavic pantheon.
There's a lot more detail to each than that, as I only gave the bare essential information. If you want, you can look up what I've mentioned if it sparks your interest.
Translation(s):
(1) - "Good morning, sir, how are you?"
(2) - "I am well, ma'am."
(3) - "How are you, ma'am?"
(4) - "I am well, too, sir, thank you."
(5) - "Ma'am, can you help me translate these verb conjugations?"
(6) - "Sir, these are verbs in the subjunctive tense. You should use them with phrases like 'espero que' or when giving commands that you don't know will be followed."
(7) - "Thank you very much, ma'am."
(8) - "Ma'am, I want to translate the 'extra credit'."
(9) - "I think it says...'...'...Am I right?"
If I've made any mistakes with translating, I know that the last time, someone anonymous was kind enough to point it out to me. If I made a mistake, if someone would let me know, I'd be grateful, so that I can fix it, since my Spanish is woefully rusty.
And that's all the extra information for this chapter, I believe. So, review, please. :D
V
V
V
V
V
