Redemption's Side
Disclaimer: Dragonball Z and all its characters © Akira Toriyama, BIRD STUDIO/SHUEISHA, TOEI Animation. Licensed by FUNimation Production, Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer 2: All fictional character © Eileen Ayling Setiawan (author) and any aliases she assumes (H-san, Hina-chan, etc…)
Author's Note: This takes place after the first part of Masshiro na Yuki: Pure White Snow, my fanfiction about Kinoko, the female Saiya-jin. It's a filler of sorts.
Author's Note 2: This was inspired by vege-chan from deviantArt. Go visit her!!
HIS SIDE
Chapter Nine: Welcome to Orange Star High!
Orange Star High School: The high school found in Satan City where Gohan attended during his teenage years. It has four levels, its own baseball field, and rooftop access as well as the normal facilities of a High School. Each student is allocated their own locker, where they can drop or pick up any books or items stored. During the early years of Orange Star High, students were allowed to wear whatever they pleased, much like American high schools. However, presently, students are now under a dress code, where there are winter and summer uniforms for boys and girls. The P.E. uniform consists of white T-shirts with blue shorts or skirts (depending on your gender). It also comes with an optional hat that bears the Orange Star High insignia, an orange star with a large black H within it, surrounded by a green circle visible through the barbs of the star and bordered by a white circle. This insignia is also found on the school uniform: on the breast pocket of the black male blazers, the lower left hem of the female summer and winter skirts, and the collars of the P.E. uniforms.
Cell awoke the next morning, sunlight shining over his entire body. As he opened his eyes, he found himself face-to-face with a furry face, pink nose wriggling, paws posed in front of its hairy body. Cell shot up, seeing the rat scurry away and into a crevice somewhere in the kitchen. He sighed, looking around the room. The bed still lay engulfed in a brown mess of what Cell believed to be faeces, dirty water, and urine. The thumping had stopped from the neighbour. He looked at his pillow, at least that had lasted the night. It was relatively comfortable. Stretching, Cell felt parts of his body ache in places he did not believe could ache. He sighed again, standing up and walked to the kitchen, scratching his dark green hair.
"You should have a shower before you venture out y'know," came a voice behind him.
"Why should I listen to you, you crabby –" Cell stopped, gob smacked as he turned to see a woman behind him, her hair a dark ebony colour. She wore a grey suit, her hair tied neatly in a bun at the back.
"Who the Hell are –"
"It's me Jaena!" yelled the woman, irritated. "Isn't it obvious?"
"Pft, no," answered Cell, crossing his arms.
Jaena sighed irritatingly. "Hurry up and shower. I only have a two-hour-limit in this form!" she growled, stalking over to him.
"When were you the boss of me?" he grumbled, turning to walk away.
She growled, more irritated, and grabbed the collar of Cell's shirt, dragging him to the shower. Despite Cell's protests, it seemed Jaena was stronger than she seemed. In the bathroom, she tore off his clothes, Cell screaming profanity. She then shoved him into the shower, turning the valve whilst Cell yelled:
"Hey, watch it you –" Cell's sentence was once again interrupted as cold water washed over his entire body, Cell yelling, his arms instinctively going over his body. He had never felt this sensation before, a tingle going up and down his spine, his breath caught in his throat and prickles around his body as his hair seemed to stand on end.
"HA!" yelled Jaena, jabbing Cell with a pen that had appeared out of nowhere. "I'll show you to talk back to me! That's for all the swatting too!"
Cell stood in the shower, shivering and covering his body from the water.
"Now, shower, or should I do it for you?" asked Jaena, staring at Cell with an amused expression on her face.
Cell growled, grabbing the shower curtain and closing it around his naked form. Jaena laughed and walked towards the kitchen.
In the shower, Cell leaned on the wall, looking at the valves. One was marked red, the other blue. Grabbing the red one, he turned it slightly, feeling the water go warmer on his back. He sighed, rubbing a hand through his green hair. For a while, the water washed over Cell as he stood there, feeling the sensation of the water on his back washing over his body. He then looked to the showerhead, the water falling on his chest and running down, his arms now at his side, his eyes closed.
"Oh Ceeeelll!" said Jaena's voice in a singsong voice, opening the curtain.
"What?" snapped Cell.
Jaena shoved a bar of soap and bottle labelled "Duty free Shampoo" in his arms, giggled as she looked down, and then closed the door. Cell looked at the soap and shampoo, and then moved his arms out of the way to see what she was laughing at. His face twisted into one of confusion.
When Cell opened the shower curtain, he found himself face-to-face with Jaena who carried white towels in her arms. For some time, Cell stood naked, staring at Jaena, who merely smiled eerily at him.
Cell started growing suspicious, and just as he opened his mouth, Jaena pounced, wrapping Cell in the towels and dragging him away. As soon as he had gotten his bearings, Jaena was drying his hair, rubbing the towels in ferociously as Cell yelled, arms flailing. Jaena then sighed, stepping back and looking at her masterpiece, a squeaky clean, fresh smelling Cell, his green hair fluffing up. He growled, shaking his head, causing his hair to settle down.
Jaena laughed.
"Okay!" she began. "Get changed!!" She gave Cell a bundle of black clothes, lines with black.
"What?" snapped Cell, looking at the bundle.
"Clothes! You know, so you don't walk around naked?"
"I know what clothes are!" he snapped. "Why are they different?" he continued.
"Well, very simple reasons: number one, your other clothes are filthy with sweat from yesterday. Number two, you can't wear the same thing over and over, it's unsanitary. And number three, you need to wear a uniform to where you're going."
"A uniform?" asked Cell, looking incredulous.
"Yes, why?"
"Where am I going?" he asked, dipping low and looking at Jaena from below.
"School. You know, Orange Star High School. You are eighteen…"
"WHAT!?" yelled Cell, standing up and knocking Jaena and the clothes off balance.
As Jaena regained her balance, she sighed irritatingly. "I thought you knew," she said exasperatedly.
"How should I know? I didn't even know you were taking me to this godforsaken place!!" he retaliated.
Jaena went silent, then started nodding slowly, before nodding more rapidly. "You've got a point," she finally said.
Cell yelled in frustration, clutching his head.
"Well," began Jaena. "Yama-sama said that you need to be a human. So, as you're eighteen, you should go to high school. They're just coming back from yesterday's public holiday," she ended matter-of-factly.
Cell sighed, trying not to sock the woman in front of him. With a shaking hand, he put his hand out, head still down so that he did not look at her. She handed him the bundle, chuckled almost evilly, then turned towards the kitchen. When Jaena was gone, Cell lifted his head, staring at the clothes in his hands. Standing, the towel around his nether regions placed there by Jaena fell to the floor as he prepared to get changed.
"Time to eat!" came Jaena's voice as she entered the bedroom. She couldn't help but smile as she saw the young man standing before her, Prussian gakuran on as he fixed his black tie around his collar. He seemed to be looking out at the window, until she noticed he was actually looking at his reflection in the window. She made a mental note to buy a mirror. For some strange reason she felt like a new mother looking at her son venturing out on his own for the first time. Jaena, after all, was a career ogre; she had not time for children.
"Why are you all blubbery?" came Cell's monotonous teenage voice, snapping Jaena back to reality.
"What? Can't I think?" she snapped back.
"You think? I thought only higher life forms could think," teased Cell, smirking.
Jaena growled, roughly grabbing his arm and dragging him to the kitchen, where a plate of burnt toast, eggs and bacon lay on the table.
Cell looked incredulously at the food, and then at Jaena.
"You're not expecting I eat this?" he asked, pointing to it.
Jaena opened her mouth, about to retort to his comment when a beep from her breast pocket sounded. Jaena fished through her pocket, taking out a device that looked like a mobile phone.
"Well, I guess not…" she mumbled.
"Huh?" asked Cell.
"Time to go now," she said, matter-of-factly, dragging him out of the kitchen and to the door. She pointed down.
Cell looked towards the direction of her pointed finger, seeing a pair of sneakers and socks and a green, army-printed "U.S. Military" bag. Grumbling, he snatched the socks up, leaned against the door, and started pulling the socks on. He then slipped the sneakers on, and then crossed his arms, looking annoyed.
"You'll be taking the school bus!" she chirped. "I'll be riding with you," she added as he opened his mouth, interrupting him.
"Whatever," grumbled Cell, opening the door.
Jaena followed after him, closing and locking the door as Cell walked forward to the elevator.
Cell leaned against the signpost that signalled it was the bus stop. Jaena stood nearby, arms folded neatly in front of her, waiting patiently. Some men ogled at her, causing Jaena to smile smugly.
What is she, eighty? Thinks she's a teenager or something, thought Cell, annoyed that he had to do this.
"Oh Seru," came her voice, addressing him by his alias. Cell glanced sidelong at her. "You'll be taking a test when we get there," she said, her voice dripping with a sweetness that only made others at the bus stop stare at the woman and the teenager.
"Excellent…" he said sardonically, rolling his eyes.
He felt a bump on his left side, causing Cell to turn to look. His eyes befell on a teenager about the same age as him, wearing the same uniform.
"What?" asked Cell bluntly.
"Your mum is hot," he said with a rogue grin.
Cell scoffed. "You're disgusting," he replied. "And she's not my mother!" he added.
"Yes, I'm his matron," came Jaena's voice behind him, causing Cell to yell in surprise. He then watched as she shook hands with the teenager. "Pleased to meet you," she added, smiling amiably.
"Woah, you're one hot matron," replied the teenager.
Jaena laughed behind her hand, looking bashful. "Oh, that's not true," she gushed.
"Nah, it's totally true," replied the teenager. "What's your name anyway?"
"Janet Harvington," she said, smiling at the teenager amiably.
"Ah, that's a very sophisticated name. I'm surprised to find you down in these dumps Ms. Harvington," replied the young teenager, signalling around.
"Oh no, I'm here because of my ward here." She leaned in, lowering her voice and placing her hand over her mouth. "He's a little dense y'know," she whispered.
Cell heard every word, glowering at the ogress. The boy nodded in understanding.
"If you want," he began. "I can show him around the school," he offered. Cell had a feeling he was only saying that to get on "Janet's" good side.
"Oh, that would be lovely," piped Jaena, looking between the two teenagers. "Did you hear that Seru, he'll show you around!"
"Whatever," muttered Cell, digging his hands into his pants as he saw a bus making its way towards their stop.
Onboard were teenagers, throwing things around and yelling. As Cell boarded with Jaena and the other teenager behind chatting animatedly, Cell observed the bus. Students turned to look at the new kid, taking in his green hair, pink eyes, pale skin, black facial markings, U.S. Military schoolbag and expressionless face. However, his dress sense was neat, primmed, every detail of his uniform meticulously placed. They then saw Jaena with the other teenager, Jaena holding onto Cell's schoolbag, almost protectively, although this was more so that Cell did not wander down the bus without her.
A punk kid with a mother-complex.
That was what they believed him to be.
As Cell stood in the aisle, Jaena sat down in the front with the teenager, still talking, or more, the teenager flirting every chance he got. Cell plopped down onto a seat nearby, hearing a defiant 'hey'. He turned, seeing a blonde girl staring at him in disgust.
"I'd rather you not sit here," she said, Valley-girl talk pervading her every word.
Cell gave her a chilling smile, eyes still expressionless.
"Well I'd rather you hanging from the backdoor, each leg fastened to the two backseats, mouth in the exhaust pipe as you inhale all that carbon monoxide, but do you see me doing that to you?" he replied.
She gasped, staring in mild fear at the teenager. He went silent, turning away from her. Internally, he smirked.
As Cell reached the school, he stared at the four-storey building, seeing the same insignia upon the tall spear-like monument in the front. He sighed then stared back, seeing Jaena walking up with the teenager. As they neared, she bid the teenager farewell. He waved back, and then gesticulated towards Cell, two fingers up in a form of salute.
"See ya 'round Seru," he farewelled, turning and walking inside the building.
Cell stared sidelong at Jaena.
"What?" she asked, innocently shrugging.
"You just love being a fool, don't you?" asked Cell.
"No," she retorted, insulted at the slight. "I was merely talking," she ended, turning her nose up at Cell and walking inside.
"Whatever," muttered Cell, following her inside.
As they walked inside, Cell found his arm clasped in Jaena's arm. She pulled Cell down towards her, so that Cell's head was beside hers. With a smile on her face, she then started talking to Cell:
"You are to stay with me at all times until I turn back to my smaller form. Then you are to listen to me whilst I am in my smaller form. School can be a scaaaary place Cell," she said in a serious tone, despite that smile on her face.
"Yes ma'am," he said, his voice dry and sarcastic.
"Good," answered Jaena. "Now, what they want you to do is an entrance exam. It's an exam that tests the abilities of the student and places them in a ranking. In Orange Star High, there are rankings A to D, depending on the intelligence of the student: A is the highest and D is the lowest. Students are also split according to your grade. You're going to be in senior high, third year, so you will be designated the number three."
"Uh-huh," answered Cell, tone flat and monotonous as usual.
"Also," explained Jaena. "Once you're done with your examination, they'll probably want you to "sit in" classes, meaning they'll want you to observe how the classes go. You don't have to learn anything today, just be there as a third person party. The selections of classes you'll be sitting in are English, Japanese, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, and Home Economics. There's also Physical Education, but you won't be playing today."
"Great," answered Cell, sarcasm still apparent voice. "What do you mean by selections?" he asked after some time.
"You'll only be able to take four of the six classes," explained Jaena, shrugging. She then turned to face the front. "Okay, here we are!" cried Jaena, her voice changing from serious and instructive to bright and cheery.
Cell stared at her incredulously, wondering why she was being so weird today. He then looked forward, seeing a glass panel, and within, people going about their daily routine, typing, filing and working on computers. As Jaena and Cell neared the entrance, the door opened automatically, all eyes within the school office looking towards the two.
"May I please see the school principal?" asked Jaena to a secretary with square-framed glasses and hair similar to Jaena's.
The woman looked to her through her glasses, looking oblivious, than she nodded.
"Mrs. Harvington, I presume," she asked.
"It's Miss Harvington," she replied, causing Cell to roll his eyes.
"Ah yes, the principal was waiting. You've made it on time," replied the secretary. She then pushed a button on a black box-like device. "Mr. Hasakawa? Ms Harvington is here."
A voice replied, sounding gruff and, to Cell at least, bewildered. "Ah yes, yes, send 'er in."
"The principal will have you now," said the secretary. "Oh, and please be wary, he hasn't been the same since the incident several years ago."
"What incident?" asked Cell, finally making his presence known.
The secretary looked to him, shocked at the appalling appearance of the teenager: green hair, facial markings, pink eyes… she half expected a lip ring.
"Well, that's really not your concern," replied by the secretary.
"Feh," replied Cell, trudging to the principal's office, followed by a nervously laughing Jaena.
As Cell and Jaena sat in the Mr. Hasakawa's office, they found the man fidgeting around, looking out the windows, hands clasped behind his back. His brown moustache seemed to twitch at every sound, almost like a rodent or a rabbit with their whiskers. Cell peered at him, the man looking very familiar.
"Ah… Miss… Miss Harvington…" he began, stuttering badly. "Ni – nice to meet you." He gave his hand, it shaking indefinitely.
"You too Mr. Hasakawa." Jaena put her hand out to shake it, but he took it back, almost violently, as if he was scared to touch.
Cell looked on sceptically from where he already sat, leaning back on his chair and watching the strange interaction. Jaena merely laughed nervously.
"May I –"
"Yes, yes… go… sit, please," he answered hurriedly, distracted.
"Well," began Jaena. "My ward would like to take an entrance –"
"Yes!" interrupted the man. "The exam! The exam!" He bent down, pressing the button on a similar box-like device. In the dim light, Cell realised it was the one and only Capsule Corporation that had made the devices. This made him then wonder if that Son-brat and the purple-haired moron were in the school.
"Mrs. Kaien," started the principal. "P – please, escort young Mr. Harvington –"
"Mr. Jinzouningen," interrupted Jaena.
"Ehrm… Mr. Jinzouningen… to the examination room."
"Yes Mr. Hasakawa, right away, the papers are already ready," replied the secretary.
Jaena stood and bowed. "Thankyou very much Mr. Hasakawa," she thanked.
The principal nodded, still distracted. Cell also stood up, following Jaena out, all the while staring at the principal. He seemed very familiar.
Cell grumbled incoherently under his breath, wondering why he was even here. He was in his 40s for Christ sake, a killing machine, now whittled down to taking stupid entrance examinations and listening to a little retarded pixie-like thing. He looked at the clock on the wall. It read 9:34 AM. He was already past half an hour into the exam. He looked at the exam, seeing how simple the equations were. He was already done with the Mathematics component, almost done with the Science component and was now heading towards the English component. He looked down at the last Science question, a sceptical look crossing his face.
"Oil floats in water due to both density gradients and other forces. What are these forces, and why are they so important?"
Cell smirked. Easy, he thought. Putting pen to paper, he wrote:
"Lipids, especially oils, are amphipathic. This means they have both a hydrophobic ("water-hating") and hydrophilic ("water-loving") region. When lipids are dropped in water, the hydrophobic effect causes an increase in entropy, or disorder, and therefore, the water molecules are dispersed, causing the water-oil interaction to then be "ordered". This is the major driving force in oil floating in water, and also the major driving force in the folding of globular proteins."
Cell sighed, flipping the page and looking at the English question. The first questions dealt with reading and responding with an understanding of what you read, including the use of "techniques", whatever that meant. Halfway through question 1, part two, Jaena had appeared out of nowhere, telling him that "techniques" was another way of saying components in English such as metaphors, similes, and hyperboles. Cell looked to her sidelong, then sighed, and proceeded in adding these "techniques" to his work.
Why do I even care? He thought, going through the texts and underlining any technique that came his way. He then rewrote the first question, parts one and two and continued on, keeping to whatever Jaena had said.
When he reached the final question, it asked him for a "long response", which Cell believed meant an essay. He groaned under his breath as he read it, sceptical at what the question was asking him:
"Through the changing years, society and its moral values have been changing more and more as the community grows more and more hostile. Many still believe in community values among small communities, but many others deem the world to be a "dog-eat-dog" world. Explain your views on the changing moralities of the time."
You've got to be kidding me… thought Cell, scratching his head with the eraser part of the pencil.
He looked out the window, seeing storm clouds gathering, imminent of spring rain. He then looked to the paper, re-reading it. He read the last sentence.
Explain MY view, eh? He asked himself, smirking. This would be fun.
Already on page three of his essay, Cell had written on the moralist attitudes of extremist groups, as well as the immorality and ignorance of society. He was almost finished when his stomach gave a sudden loud, long growl, followed by a pain that threatened to make Cell groan out loud. He clutched his stomach, stopping himself from writing as he bent low.
"Oh crap…" he muttered, his stomach screaming for something yet Cell not being able to heed to its call. He let out a frustrated sigh as he grabbed his pencil, finished off his lengthy and highly opinionated essay, and once again clutched his stomach with both hands.
Looking at the heap of papers, Cell stood up, taking it to the front, where a woman, who Cell believed to be a teacher from appearance alone, sat, writing down notes in a book. She looked up as Cell approached.
"Ah, Mr. Jinzouningen. Are you done?" she asked, smiling at him.
Cell did not reply, merely handing her the papers. She thanked him, then flipped through them before smiling up at him. She was surprised, however, to find him gone, leaving a swinging door in his wake.
"Ah, what's wrong with me?" he growled, staggering down the hallway as he clutched his stomach. He felt very weak all of a sudden.
"You need to eat," snapped Jaena in his ear.
"Eat?"
"Yes, like when you were in your Imperfect form as Cell."
"I am Cell."
"I mean the ugly Cell, with that ugly beak."
Cell growled, doubling over and crouching down as he grabbed his cramped stomach. It pained him to ask this but he needed to: she was the only way the pain would end.
"What… what do I do?" he asked after much hesitation.
Jaena went silent, obviously shocked.
"What do I do?" snapped Cell after a long silence.
"Oh, right, right!" started Jaena. "Uhm… well…" She looked around. "Wait there!" she said suddenly, disappearing.
Cell sighed, closing his eyes as his stomach continued to cramp. Hearing footsteps in front of him, he opened his eyes, seeing a pair of legs. He looked up slowly, coming face-to-very-close-face with a familiar countenance.
"Are… you okay?" she asked.
Cell merely stared, wondering why his face felt suddenly hotter at the proximity of his face and her face. It was then that a hand grabbed him from behind, jerking him up. Cell turned again, seeing Jaena, or more, Janet Harvington.
"There you are!" she yelled, patting him on the back, roughly. "I've been looking for you everywhere!!" She then pulled him into a hug, much to Cell's chagrin. However, he heard a whispered snap in his ear. "Next time, eat breakfast!"
As they pulled away, Jaena was already in action, hand stretched out towards the girl. "Nice to meet you!" she greeted, smiling.
The girl smiled back, grabbing her hand. "You too," she replied.
"Aisu Sakagoshima, I presume," said Jaena, causing Cell's face to fault.
"Oh, you know me?" asked Aisu.
"Of course dear. I watched the mock rounds whilst Seru was fighting. You're an excellent fighter, may I add."
Aisu laughed, flattered but modest. "I'm not that good. Seru-san was much better," she retorted amiably.
"Well, sorry for this. Seru's really hungry. He forgot breakfast. He'd probably forget his head if it wasn't screwed on."
In the background, Cell growled in anger, although half of him was very hungry.
"Okay," laughed Aisu. "But… I didn't catch your name. Are you Seru-san's mother?"
"Oh no dear!" replied Jaena, clutching Cell around the arm. "I'm his matron. He turned eighteen a while ago and I'm just prepping him up to go into high school!"
"Oh, right," she replied, nodding. "Do you know where the cafeteria is?" she added.
"Oh yes, I checked the school before coming. You run along. You have class, don't you?" asked Jaena.
Aisu laughed, rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah true," she answered. She then waved farewell again, and walked down the hallway.
Jaena sighed in relief, dragging Cell down the hallway, the other way.
"Okay, we'll get you something to eat. And then into class you go."
"Class?" asked Cell.
"Yes, first class is Mathematics I believe."
"Then what's happening now?"
"Physical Education," answered Jaena. "You don't have to play, remember?"
"Whatever…" said an exasperated Cell.
In the cafeteria, Cell played with the food, poking it around.
"Aren't you going to eat?" asked Jaena, already munching on her meal.
"What is this?" he asked.
"Macaroni and cheese," replied Jaena, chewing and swallowing. She then took a sip of her drink. "It's nice," she added.
"I don't –"
Cell's complaint was interrupted as Jaena shoved her fork in his mouth. "Chew " she said viciously.
Cell turned his head away, taking the food with him, then swallowed. The first thing he tasted was the cheese, with a slight taste, which he believed was the pasta.
"Don't do that!" he snapped at her.
She shrugged, digging into her food with her head down. As she looked up, she gave herself a private smirk, seeing Cell eating the food on his plate. A few minutes later, she then saw him scarfing it down, the cafeteria workers staring almost incredulously.
"He's a growing boy," responded Jaena, looking nervous.
The workers nodded, turning to work, as Jaena sighed, staring at Cell eat the food like, and this was the ironic part, a Son.