Gohan: Development of a Hero
This is a Dragonballz fanfiction. To my eternal sadness, I do not own or in anyway profit from Dragonballz or any of the characters in this story. This fic, as you can guess from the title, centers on Gohan, and begins right after the cell games. It is an AU, and reviews are welcome and appreciated.
Btw, from now on, when characters speak in Saiyago (the Saiyan language), the dialogue will be shown in Bold.
Part 29 – Goten vs. Trunks
"Ladies and Gentlemen, fighters from all over, rest up. The first match will begin in a few minutes"
As the announcer's words washed over him, Gohan smirked. Even though he knew that the Destroyer would be making her appearance today and the events he'd been preparing himself to deal with would begin, Gohan found he was strangely exhilarated. This was the first time he would be participating in a martial arts tournament outside of the Cell games (which don't count in his opinion), and he was looking forward to it. Not that there weren't several things to worry about; several of the matches were going to be interesting, to say the least.
A flaring of two kis caught Gohan's attention; glancing out of the corner of his eye, his smirk faded. Lime and Chi-chi were facing each other, with Lime directly between Chi-chi and Gohan. Judging by the look on his mother's face, Lime wasn't going to let her past. Looks like Lime is still playing interference Gohan thought. He was really grateful for that fact; Gohan was sure if either his father or mother tried to talk to him, Gohan wouldn't be able to keep his mask up. He could feel the edges of it slipping as he remembered how they had treated Goten recently, and that was something he couldn't allow.
Still, that interference was going to cause problems. Gohan could almost feel his mother's anger and annoyance from here, and it was all directed at Lime. As for his student, she had never looked angrier. Not even when Vegeta had gotten her riled did she display such a look, one that seemed to scream I'm going to tear you limb from limb. Gohan had no doubt the feelings each woman had for the other would affect their bout in the ring. Gohan just prayed they didn't kill each other; it was definitely a cause of concern, although not his biggest one with regard to matches. No, that honor belonged to his brother.
"Hey big brother! Isn't this great?"
Speak of the devil Gohan thought privately as he turned his gaze to his brother. Goten had a look of immense eagerness and excitement on his face; the prospect of fighting a lot of the z-fighters seemed to have energized and excited him, a fact which worried Gohan. More specifically, Gohan was worried that Goten would forget his promise in all the excitement and take off his Amulet. The sudden releasing of Goten's full power would definitely draw attention to areas that Gohan would rather stayed hidden, at least until after this was all over.
"Big brother?"
Slightly startled, Gohan refocused his attention on Goten. He had become so preoccupied with his concern he had forgotten Goten was speaking to him. Mentally shaking himself, Gohan replied, "Sorry about that Goten. Yes, I think this is going to be great. Are you excited?"
Goten nodded eagerly, "Yep. I can't wait to fight Uncle 'Geta and Mr. Piccolo and Krillen and Trunks and…"
"I get the idea," Gohan interjected. Leaning forward, Gohan whispered, "Remember, you need to keep your Amulet on."
A look of intense dejection came onto Goten's face, "But big brother, I need my full power to fight. Without it, people might beat me that wouldn't have otherwise."
Gohan inwardly sighed; this was going to be tougher than he thought. "I know Goten, and I'm sorry. But this is really important; I want you to promise me again that you won't take it off until I tell you."
Goten sighed, "Alright big brother, I don't want to, but if I have to, I promise…"
Gohan smiled as he pulled Goten into a hug, "I knew I could count on you Squirt."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time to start. Would Goten Son and Trunks Brief please report to the ring?"
Gohan slowly let go on Goten, "Go get him."
Goten nodded eagerly, and then he was out the door. Standing up quickly, Gohan moved over to where he could watch the fight. While most of him was just interested in watching the battle, a part of him was curious to see if Goten would keep his word. Suddenly, he became aware of a presence behind him, one that he definitely did not want to deal with right now.
"Listen Gohan, I really want to apolo…" Chi-chi began. She wasn't even sure where to begin; everything that had happened just welled up inside her. But she knew she had to apologize; her behavior was atrocious. And with Goku running interference with that Lime woman, this was her first chance to get close to her son.
"Not now mom," Gohan interrupted, even as inwardly he cringed. "I…just not right now, ok?" Inwardly, Gohan prayed that his mother would drop it. Until his mask was more stable, any long conversation with either his mother or father would definitely end badly. And despite everything that had happened, Gohan wanted to keep up appearances. For Goten; despite the somewhat rocky start, his parents were only here for 24 hours, and this was Goten's only chance to know them. Given that fact, Gohan could sacrifice.
"But I'm really sor…" Chi-chi began again, only to have Lime suddenly appear in front of her.
"You heard him, now back off," Lime stated fiercely. Inwardly, Lime was incredibly angry; this was the woman who had abandoned Gohan and Goten, and caused Gohan so much pain. She wanted to rip her limb from limb for what she'd done right here and now, but she couldn't. Just save it for the ring Lime repeated. She had to restrain herself until then, but the moment came all bets were off.
This girl is annoying Chi-chi fumed. Out of the corner of her eye, Chi-chi saw her husband looking at her apologetically. Chi-chi took a few seconds to glare at Lime, which were returned with equal force, before turning and walking back to her husband. Although she wanted desperately to get this straightened out, Chi-chi knew she had to bide her time. No matter how much it hurt.
"Thanks Lime," Gohan muttered greatly. Lime smiled at him slightly, before moving to stand next to him. Following her example, Gohan turned his gaze and thoughts back to the match at hand. Goten vs. Trunks, it was definitely going to be interesting.
"Aren't you going to get the energy detector out?" Spokowitz asked. They were here to collect energy from these fighters, under orders from Master Babidi. Yet Yamu was just sitting there, looking absolutely bored.
"Don't be an idiot," Yamu snapped as he rolled his eyes; why did Master Babidi make him come here with such a moron? "The first match is between two children, and the second one is two women. There won't be any real chance to collect energy until the third match."
"Oh right," Spokowitz agreed readily. As if children or women could really provide any decent amount of energy for us. Nope, children are wastes of space, and women are good for only one thing…
Sudden movement by his partner in crime drew Spokowitz's attention away from his lurid fantasies. "Where are you going?"
Yamu shrugged, "Come on. There's no point in watching the next two matches, and we don't want to draw attention to ourselves too early. We'll finish our mission later; for now, let's make ourselves scarce."
Not wanting to argue with Yamu, Spokowitz quickly stood up and followed him out. After all, Yamu was right. These next two matches weren't going to be worth any attention.
As Goten walked towards the stage, he felt a little nervous. Though he had fought Trunks lots and lots of times, he had never done it in front of so many people. In fact, Goten wasn't he'd ever seen this many people. He generally stayed at home with Aunt Bulma and Uncle 'Geta, and they didn't have a lot of visitors. He always known there were lots of people in the world, but this was his first time seeing that first hand. Still, it didn't matter; after all, he was going to get to fight!
That thought brought back Goten's smile. This is going to be awesome; I get to fights lots more than normal. Goten had never faced the possibility of so much sparring, and a part of him was dancing in anticipation. But first, he had to get past Trunks. Assuming he could.
Goten's smile faded as he remembered his promise. He hated it; Goten knew that he'd need everything he had to beat Trunks. He'd rarely beaten Trunks in spars, even when fighting at full strength; the idea that now he was forced to hold back was not good. But I made a promise, and Gohan always told me that a promise is a promise. Which is weird, because how could a promise not be a promise? Could a promise be a cake? That'd be really great, maybe a giant chocolate cake that I could just eat and eat and eat and…
"Pay attention Goten,"
"Huh," Goten's thoughts ended as he looked up to see Trunks glaring at him.
"Stop thinking about whatever you're thinking and get ready," Trunks hissed. "I want you to be paying attention when I beat you."
"Oh, rig…hey, you're not going to beat me, I'm going to beat you!" Goten countered.
Trunks shook his head, "Nuh-uh. I'm older and a prince, so I'm going to win."
"So, your dad was older and a prince, and my dad beat him," Goten pointed out.
"Only cause he cheated," Trunks snapped.
"He did not," Goten protested hotly.
"Did too,"
"Did not"
"Did too"
"Did not"
"Did too"
"Did not"
"Um, boys," the announcer interjected. As the two boys turned to him, the announcer added, "As fascinating as this is, it's time for the first exchange of blows to commence."
"Huh…Trunks, what'd he mean?" Goten asked.
Trunks shrugged, "Beats me. Probably that we're going to fight soon, so we need to be quiet."
"Oh…then why didn't he just say that?" Goten questioned.
"I'm not sure…" Trunks replied with a puzzled look on his face. Turning to the announcer, Trunks asked, "Why didn't you just say that?"
This is why I never had kids. "It's not important. What you need to do is get into your positions. I'll announce you, and then when you hear the bell ring, you can fight. Okay?" the announcer explained as he felt a migraine forming.
The two boys nodded eagerly, and the announcer sighed in relief. Turning to the crowd, he then announced loudly, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, the martial arts tournament is about to BEGIN!" The crowd erupted with applause, and the announcer patiently waited for it to die down before continuing, "We've got a great tournament for you today. A lot of competitors from previous tournaments, ones that haven't been seen for years, are here today to test their mettle in the greatest battles EVER!" The applause predictably broke out in applause. Yep, still got it. "The rules are simple. If a fighter is knocked out of the ring or loses consciousness, they lose. If they are pinned to the ground for 10 seconds, they lose. If the match goes more than an hour, the match will end and our panel of expert judges over there will determine the winner based on general skill, ability, and how they fared against their opponent. Our first match up features two new competitors. But don't let their youth fool you; they are solid martial artists. Now, let's get this tournament STARTED!"
Goten was puzzled; he only understood half of what the announcer person was saying. Looking over to Trunks, he whispered, "Are we supposed to fight now?"
"No Goten," Trunks hissed, "We need to wait for the bell."
"What bell?" Goten asked. Just then, a bell went off.
"That one," Trunks shouted as he shot towards Goten. Acting reactively, Goten brought his hands up and deflected Trunks punch. Trunks followed up with his right foot, but Goten dodged it easily.
Leaping backward, Goten shouted, "NO FAIR! I wasn't ready!"
"So?" Trunks countered.
"Well, it's my turn now!" Goten shouted. Pushing off the ground, Goten leapt towards Trunks. Trunks was smirking in a way that reminded Goten a lot of Uncle 'Geta as he casually settled into a fighting stance. At the last second, Goten phased behind Trunks and shot his left leg towards Trunks unprotected back. However, Trunks easily anticipated that move. Having felt Goten's ki behind him, He dropped into a crouch, feeling the kick fly harmlessly over him.
Goten wasn't deterred however; without a pause, Goten unleashed a flurry of punches at Trunks. They traded blows back and forth, with neither one gaining any advantage. They danced around the ring and in the air, moving back and forth and each tried to defeat the other. Finally, after a few minutes, they both landed in fighting stances, facing each other warily.
Hey, aren't the crowd people supposed to be clapping? Goten wondered. Glancing around quickly, he saw that the only people clapping and cheering in the crowd were Aunt Bulma, Roshi, Oolong, and Puar. The rest of the audience was simply sitting there, completely silent.
"Hey Trunks," Goten whispered.
"We're fighting, we're not supposed to be talking," Trunks whispered back fiercely.
"Do you know why the crowd people aren't moving?" Goten asked, ignoring Trunks response.
Trunks glanced around, and then a look of horror came onto his face, "They must think we're doing badly, not fighting good enough. This is VERY bad!"
"Why?" Goten asked cluelessly.
"Remember what the announcer person said," Trunks questioned.
"Not really," Goten admitted.
Truthfully, neither did Trunks. He didn't catch most of it, although he did remember a word or two. "Remember, he said to win you need to some judge people to think you did good."
"Who are the judge people?" Goten questioned.
"The crowd, duh," Trunks replied as if it were obvious. Although privately he admitted he wasn't sure, he wasn't going to admit that to Goten. He was the son of a prince after all. "And if the crowd doesn't like how we fight, they won't let us fight more people."
"OH NO, that's awful," Goten exclaimed in dismay. He was really looking forward to fighting the rest of the people. "What do we do?" Goten asked desperately.
"I know we have a limited time to show our stuff," Trunks explained, although he wasn't actually sure how long that time was. I really should have listened to that announcer guy. "We need to go all out, right now! Power up Goten!"
Without another word, Trunks ascended to Super Saiyan. Goten quickly followed suit. Trunks didn't wait a second longer. Cupping his hands behind his back, Trunks gathered his energy. "Gallic Gun, FIRE!"
Seeing the beam coming at him, Goten quickly followed suit. "MASENKO-HA!" The two blasts slammed together with concussive force and each boy began to pour more and more energy into it. The two beams began to expand as each boy tried to overpower the other, causing the winds to pick up and the grounds to shake. Finally, Goten realized that if the blast went off it would probably do a lot of damage, which wouldn't get the judge people to like them much. Goten immediately released his control of the beam, allowing Trunks to overpower it and sent it hurtling towards Goten. Goten quickly flew up over the beam, and felt it fly up into the atmosphere.
Without wasting a second, Goten flew towards Trunks. He began to throw everything he had at Trunks, and could feel that Trunks was following through. The ground shook every time one of the boys ricocheted off it, and the air seemed charged with energy. And yet still the crowd was silent.
What are we doing wrong? Goten wondered, on the verge of tears. They were going all out, and nothing was happening. Sparing a glance at some of the people, Goten saw all their eyes seemed bugged out and their mouths were gaping wide open. It was the a weird look, one Goten had never seen on someone before. What did it mean?
A kick slamming into his midsection brought Goten back to the fight, and he looked up to see Trunks coming at him full speed. Not wasting any time, Goten fired a small blast of energy right at Trunks. To his annoyance, Trunks easily dodged it. It was just as Goten feared; with his full power blocked, Trunks was stronger. It's just not fair.
"I'm sorry Goten, but I'm taking you down right now," Trunks informed Goten.
"You are not!" Goten countered hotly.
"Watch me," Trunks replied arrogantly.
Goten wasn't sure what Trunks was planning, but he couldn't let it happen. Without hesitating, Goten shot towards Trunks at full speed, intent on disrupting Trunks plan. However, as he got close, Trunks shot his hands forward and shouted, "MASENKO-HA!"
Goten desperately twisted, trying to dodge. He could feel the blast pass right next to him, feel its heat and power just barely miss touching his skin. That was close Goten admitted privately. Glancing towards Trunks, Goten realized in shock that Trunks was gone!
Before Goten could work out where Trunks had gone, he felt a kick slam into his back and send him hurtling out of the ring. In horror, Goten tried to slow down. He remembered if he touched outside the ring, he lost also. Goten pushed every ounce of ki out in front of him, trying to slow down. He was vaguely aware of the people in the stands moving out of the way as Goten desperately worked to stop. He closed his eyes and tensed, focusing all his efforts on reducing his speed. Finally, he stopped and breathed a sigh of relief. At least until he realized he could feel something solid beneath his feet. Opening his eyes, Goten saw that the bottoms of his feet were touching a part of the stands. He'd lost…
Goten quickly powered down and turned around. He saw that Trunks had already followed suit and was landing in the ring. With a sigh, Goten flew over and landed next to him. Trunks gave him a sympathetic look, "Sorry Goten,"
"Yeah, I know," Goten replied. He was annoyed and depressed; he knew he could have beaten Trunks if he hadn't been wearing the Amulet. Stupid promises!
Looking around, Goten realized that the crowd was still silent with that same weird look on their face. "Oh no, even now they don't like it. What now?" Goten questioned.
Before Trunks could respond, the entire stadium erupted in sound. Clapping, cheering, screaming; it was deafening. Goten could barely make out some of what was being said.
"Astonishing"
"Amazing!"
"Can you believe…"
"And these are just kids. Imagine the adults…"
"This is gonna be the best tournament ever!"
"I'm glad I bought these seats."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, wasn't that bout simply unbelievable," the announcer shouted over the din, "and that was just the first round. More action than you can possibly imagine is in store for you. Trunks will move on to the next round, but now its time to prepare for the next match!"
Goten turned to look at Trunks and asked with a puzzled look on his face, "What just happened?"
Trunks returned his look of puzzlement and replied, "I…don't know."
TO BE CONTINUED….
Hey guys, I'm back. I apologize for not following through on my promise and get this story finished by the end of the summer. Unfortunately, forces beyond my control (namely car crashes, hospitals, and physical therapy) prevented me from keeping to my pledge. But I'm back and in full health, ready to continue. However, I'm also in law school right now, so my new goal is 1-2 parts a week. Hopefully I'll be able to keep to it.
As to this part, I hope you guys like it. I'm not sure about the bout in the part, and could use some advice? Does anyone know any DBZ stories with good fight scenes? I find myself struggling slightly to accomplish this nebulous area, and could use the examples of other authors to give me a better idea how to write a good fight scene. Any help would be appreciated.
To those of you who emailed me over the summer, demanding my return and an update, I want to thank you for your concern and apologize for not returning your email. The same forces that prevented me from writing also kept me from returning or checking emails. Thank you for your concern.
In regards to anyone offended by Spokowitz's comments about women, I apologize. I needed some reason why they wouldn't read the energy from the first two matches. It is not my personal belief regarding women, just what I needed for the story.
Now for a few comment responses:
Cassiopeia91: I apologize for the confusion, but it is understandable. When I say mating, I mean more in terms of marriage than say sex. Saiyan instincts do make the decision about long term relationships. However, it doesn't stop sex. Saiyans can have sex with someone outside of a lifemate depending on their views on sex. The difference here is that Gohan was raised on Earth, which has taught him different values and places a different importance on sex than a Saiyan like Vegeta. I had thought to deal with this issue later, when it came up in my trilogy, but I figured it was better to answer you now and not leave you hanging.
As always, please read and review.
