Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball Super, or My Hero Academia. Enjoy.

Chapter 22: Delayed Onset Ki Disorder

Soon after wearing himself out, Gohan came to in his bed. Looking around, he couldn't really see anything, and turned so that his legs would hang over the floor. As he turned, he felt some resistance, and squinted his eyes to look closer. I can't see anything, but I know somebody's here. He was still having trouble sensing Ki, but he held out his hand and created a weak and dim ball of light. Holding it over the edge of the bed, he could now see Mina's pink skin and horns. She was sitting down in a chair, resting her head on the bed. "Mina?" He said, allowing the ball of light to fade before placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, lightly shaking her so she'd wake up.

"Goohan…?" She said groggily. "Hey, you're finally awake!" Her voice was strained just after the weight of her head left the bed, as if she was stretching.

"What happened?" He asked her as she got up to turn on the light.

The room lit up, and Gohan rubbed the gound out of his eyes. "Well, we were fighting Togata, and even after we all dropped, you and Midoriya were the last ones standing. Suddenly, you passed out when you tried to use that Super Saiyan form of yours, and Mirdoriya was left to fight against Togata alone! They were bouncing all over the walls, trying to the edge on each other! Eventually Togata won, but you should have seen it!" As she turned around, she saw Gohan's head hanging. "B-But I'm sure you tried your best!" She explained nervously, having been afraid that she upset him. "But after everything was said and done, Shoji brought you to the infirmary at school. Once school was over, Kaminari and Mineta helped you to your room."

"Mineta and Kaminari?" He asked to clarify, prompting Ashido to nod. "Then why are you here?"

"Oh, Yaoyarozu, Tsu, Hagakure, and I drew straws to see who would come watch over you.

"I see…" Gohan stood up and walked over to his desk, grabbing a picture of his family before Goten was born.

"You said that your father passed away, right?" She asked, peeking over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I bet he'd be disappointed if he could see me right now. I can't even use a Ki blast, nonetheless Super Saiyan. If I wasn't handicapped, I could have beaten Mirio Togata." He claimed as he put the picture down.

"What?! You're kidding right?" She blurted out as he looked over to her. "You're not just one of the strongest people I know, you're like, PRO levels of strong! He'd have nothing but good things to say about you!"

With a smile, Gohan put down the framed photo. "Thank you, Mina. It means a lot to me to hear that." He told her.

Suddenly, he could hear Bakugo yelling about trash.

"Hey, Gohan, that picture of you with a tail. What's up with that?" She asked. Gohan turned his head to the picture of his father carrying him about a decade ago.

"Oh, it's uh…kind of a long story." He said with a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his head.

"I don't mind listening. Unless you don't want to talk about it, of course." She told him, smiling apologetically.

Looking back down at his cherished photos, something suddenly occurred to him. Why have I been hiding this for so long…? Maybe it's for the best, after all, that they don't know. What would they think of me, knowing that I'm not actually like the rest of them…? All of a sudden, a hand rested on Gohan's shoulder. "Huh?"

The hand pulled slightly, prompting him to turn around and face Ashida. "Gohan, it's alright if you don't want to talk about it. But remember that we're your friends, ya hear me?" She told him, a look of concern making itself clear. "No matter what, you can talk to us. About anything, alright?"

That's…That's right… It was hard for him to understand at first. After all, he's never had friends his own age. The only friends that he had ever known were the ones that he'd fought alongside with, that he'd trained with, bled with, people who already knew his backstory, and accepted him the way they had accepted his father. With a stream of tears flooding down one cheek, he didn't even realize he was crying until Ashida apologized.

"I'm so sorry! It's alright, Gohan, I can just shut up!" She said, flailing her arms about as if they'd help cushion the situation.

He wiped the tears away and looked up with a smile. "No, it's fine. Thank you so much, Mina. You've helped me understand something very important."

"Oh, what's-" Before she could finish, Gohan went to his closet to change out of his pajamas.

"Mina, could you gather everyone up for me downstairs?" He asked as he reached for a clean shirt.

"Oh, of course." She told him. "I can do that, but I don't know about the people who are asleep right now."

"Anybody at all would be wonderful." He said, giving her a warming smile that made her heart skip a beat.

"R-Right!"

"Am i interrupting?" A familiar voice spoke as a breeze suddenly invaded the room. Turning around, Gohan couldn't help but smile.

Before he could get a chance to greet his old friend, Ashido jumped in front of Gohan. "I don't why you're here or what you want with Gohan, but you better get out of here before my class lays a beatdown on you!" She threatened, throwing acid towards her opponent, who didn't even bother to try and dodge. The tall green man, with his arms crossed, took a step to the side as the acid landed on and began to eat away at his cape. The spots above his eyes where his eyebrows would be (if he was human) furrowed as his visit was thwarted by the young woman.

"Mina, it's alright!" Gohan told her. "This is my teacher, and my first ever friend, Piccolo." He introduced as she got a better look at the man.

"O-Oh…" She bowed down and hung her head. "I'm sincerely sorry, Sir. My class gets attacked by villains at almost every turn. With Gohan being weakened right now, I didn't want to take any chances. I'm sorry about your cape, as well."

"Tsk. It's fine. Your attack didn't do any actual damage, so I'll let it slide this time. Besides, you're a friend of a Gohan, so you're lucky he would cover for you if I was actually angry."

"Right…" She said nervously, letting out a chuckle.

"What brings you here, Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan asked, walking up to his old mentor.

"I noticed your energy fluctuating, and consistently dropping once you had the slightest power boost. I came by to make sure you were ok."

"Gee, thanks, Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan told him with a smile. "The truth is, I've been relying on Super Saiyan 2 a little too much, and snapping into and out of that form without enough practice has really taken a toll on my body. Lately it really hasn't wanted to listen to me." He laughed nervously as Piccolo closed his eyes.

"Gohan, I expected better of you. What are you even doing entering that form against a bunch of weaklings?" He asked as he turned around.

"Hey!" Ashida chimed in as he continued.

"Let's head to The Lookout and see if Dende or Mr. Popo have any knowledge of this." He suggested.

"That's a good idea, Mr. Piccolo! Although, I'm actually having some difficulty flying, too." He said, his nervous laughter continuing.

"Even your flight has been affected!?" He shouted, prompting Gohan to shush him. "This is no laughing matter, Gohan. You're the strongest warrior this planet has. You should be ready at all times."

"Right. I'm sorry, Mr. Piccolo."

"Come on, I'll carry you this one time, but you're not leaving The Lookout until you manage to fly away on your own. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" He said with a smile as he ran towards the large window. "Mina, forget about gathering everyone, can you cover for me until I get back?"

"Y-Yeah, sure, but- HEY!" Before she could finish her answer, Piccolo picked up Gohan by his waist and took off.

Several minutes passed and Gohan looked over the city that he hadn't seen in what seemed like years. The cool night air slammed against his skin, a feeling he never got tired of. "Man! I missed this feeling!" He shouted as he looked up as his mentor. "Ya know, Mr. Piccolo, this is a lot like when you first taught me how to fight a decade ago!"

"Yeah, I guess you can say that." He responded. He couldn't help but smirk, looking back on all those years watching his student grow and become stronger. "You were such a runt. It was as if you would cry at the slightest inconvenience."

"Inconvenience? Mr. Piccolo, you had just killed my dad and abducted me, then proceeded to throw me at a mountain!" Gohan said with a laugh. "If you could see yourself back then! Especially in my shoes, you were terrifying."

"I was nothing compared to Nappa. You should be grateful that I abducted you, and not the Saiyans." Gohan could have sworn he heard a chuckle follow Piccolo's words. It wasn't much longer before they finally reached The Lookout.

"Heyy! Gohaan!" Dende called out through the night as the two landed. "It's good to see you. How has school been?"

Did I ever tell Dende about going to school? "It's been great. I've made a lot of friends, already! And the school has this one teacher, and she's an Android! One as strong as Cell!"

"I'm not sure if I'd call that great…" Dende told him as Piccolo put a hand on his shoulder from behind.

"Gohan, why haven't I heard about this Android?" He asked him, a stern look resting on his face.

"I didn't want you to worry. I had it under control, and in the end, she just wanted a good fight. She didn't hurt anyone or destroy anything." He explained, remembering the battlefield that the class was training in. "Well, nothing that wasn't meant to be destroyed, at least."

"So, Gohan," Dende said, "what's been going on with your energy lately? We've noticed that it spikes and then drops to almost nothing a lot."

"So, I kinda ended up using Super Saiyan 2 too many times...hehe…" He explained. Every time he heard himself say it, he felt more embarrassed.

"Gohan, you're the strongest warrior on Earth! Who could possibly be causing you so much pressure that you'd have to transform so much?"

His explanation followed through just as it had before. "I've actually just been going overboard… Now it seems like I've lost control of my Ki."

"Wow." Earth's Guardian was astonished. "I don't think I've ever heard of something like that."

"I didn't expect you to, granted you're a little younger than Gohan with less experience using Ki, but I had still wished for the best." Piccolo said, letting out a sigh. "What about you, Mr. Popo?" He asked the genie as he walked out to join the group.

"Unable to use your Ki? No, it's not something I've ever heard of. Do you know why it's happening to you, Gohan?" He asked him.

"Mr. Popo, I may have, kind of, sort of, transformed into a Super Saiyan 2 too quickly too many times." He said, embarrassed once again.

"You mean that destructive form you used to obliterate Cell? Who have you been fighting lately that's warranted that level of power?" He asked, his eyebrows raised in shock.

"Beside Vegeta and Android 21…nobody…" A breeze blew through The Lookout, cooling down his warm cheeks. "Wait! I have an idea!" Gohan said as he looked to the sky. "HEYY! DAAD, KING KAAI! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" He yelled into the night sky. Several moments of silence passed before he tried once more. "HEE-"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you! Between you and your father, it'd be nice if I could at least get a proper night's sleep." King Kai said telepathically. "What's going on?"

"Well, you see, King Kai-" Gohan spoke aloud before being interrupted.

"Gohan abused his Super Saiyan 2 form, and his abilities are rejecting him for it." Piccolo chimed in.

"Who could the warrior who defeated Cell possibly have to turn Super Saiyan 2 on beside Vegeta or that cute Android you were fighting with the other day?!"

Gohan pressed his fingers together. "Um…about that, King Kai…"

"In short, he's been using the form, and a fraction of its power with all the stress it takes on his body, on the weaklings that flock his school." Piccolo suddenly yelled, prompting for several more moments of silence.

All of a sudden, King Kai's laughter filled everyone's ear. "So, King Kai, do you have any idea what's going on with Gohan?" Dende asked the higher being.

It took a couple minutes of straight laughing for King Kai to finally settle down so that he could answer. "Yeah, yeah. I've seen this before, a condition known as 'Delayed Onset Ki Disorder.' I don't know any methods that speed recovery beside rest, so you're just going to have to take it easy, Gohan." He explained. "Hopefully, next time you'll understand that only a few people in this world can compare to your strength, and hold back because of that." King Kai told him sternly. "I would give you more information about the disorder, but I was woken up out of the dead of sleep, so please understand when I say that I'm tired. I hope things get better for you, Gohan. Goodnight to all of you." After that, the voice that spoke within everyone's head went silent, and didn't speak again.

"So, that's it, then. I just need to rest. I guess it'll be awhile before I can take a trip back home." Gohan said. "That's what I get for being a showoff."

"Gohan, here." Piccolo said, holding out a Senzu Bean. "See if this improves your condition."

"Oh, alright. I guess it'd make sense that King Kai isn't too familiar with Senzu Beans." He said as he chewed the bean thoroughly before swallowing it. He made an attempt to charge up, however he felt as if there was a wall blocking his spike.

"No good," Dende said, "I know you're way stronger than that." The distance between him and Gohan closed as he held his hands out in front of him. "Let me try." With a golden glow now surrounding him, Gohan continued to try and charge his Ki, but to no avail.

"It's no use, guys. I don't think I have a quick way out of this one." Gohan admitted, lowering his head.

"Not just yet." Piccolo chimed, looking towards the large structure to their side. "Gohan, I told you that you're not leaving The Lookout until you fly off yourself. I know you have school, so I think we're just going to have to make sure you can get more rest in a single night."

"That's right! The Hyperbolic Time Chamber!" Gohan said excitedly.

"Oh, that reminds me. I wasn't able to tell you before, since you were in such a hurry, but the previous limit on which someone could enter in their lifetime was twice." Dende informed his friend.

"It was!?" And I just used the second time for a measly four months!

"That's right, but with Shenron, we were able to make it so you can enter up to ten times in one lifetime!" He said excitedly.

"Wow, Dende! That's incredible! Although, I really wish I knew about that limit before. I might have ended up in a situation I couldn't have gotten out of."

"Well, like I said, you were in and out so fast the other time, it really slipped my mind. I'm sorry about that."

"No, it's alright Dende. No harm done." He looked up at his mentor. "Come on, Mr. Piccolo."

"Wha- Me?!"

"Yeah! Once I'm all better, I'd love to be able to spar with you like we used to! Besides, how am I supposed to know that I'm all better if I can't stretch my legs?" With a big grin, Gohan refuted any argument that Piccolo may have had.

"Hmph. Fine. Let's just get this over with." Although he put on a tough facade, Piccolo was genuinely excited to be able to see the extent of his own, as well as Gohan's, new strength. With that, the two entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, ready to spend the remainder of the night, roughly five months, with his old teacher.

Hey guys! So this is the conclusion to Season 3! I apologize for the hold up, but I want you all to know that I'm going to try and return to this story more consistently to catch up with Season 5. Thank you all for sticking around, it means a lot to me! As you know, I'm in the military, so even though so many people are being quarantined, I'm actually out and about helping with my unit. I hope you're all staying safe during COVID-19, just remember to stay home, wash your hands, wear your masks, and cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze! I'll see you all again very soon!