A BIG SHOUT-OUT TO ZFighter18 FOR THE EFFORTS AND TIME HE PUT INTO THIS CHAPTER. HE REALLY MADE IT WONDERFUL. I COULDN'T HAVE MANAGED EVEN A BIT OF WHAT HE DID.
Disclaimer:- I don't own Dragon ball and related series or products
GUEST REVIEW - Yeah… I could have gone with Guardian reviving people but honestly it didn't even came as an afterthought. Regarding the aliens being made a public knowledge yet Saiyans not, because Saiyans live on Earth. It would have been too difficult for them to mingle with Normal humans. You can't deny that media would have flooded their homes for even a glimpse of them. I respect that everyone has a right to privacy, no matter the situation. Regarding Master Mutaito not dying, well it's fanfiction, isn't it? We don't need to follow canon because if we did, the essence of fanfiction is lost. Thirdly, the super saiyan who saved Bulma was Vegeta. Regarding his hair reaching his collar bone, you remember a scene after Namek saga, when Vegeta returns to earth and takes a shower in Bulma's house, Bulma giving a pink shirt and yellow pants? to him. During that scene when he's showering, his hair is wet and falling along his back. I used the same concept with Lava and ssj hair because the hair are hair. Chichi's pulling Gohan's hair when he comes as ssj in his house before Cell games, gives that the hair even in ssj are not rigid but easily flexible. And, Lava being in liquid state though dense but a liquid nonetheless, affected the hair. But I admit, I should have been a bit more elaborative.
Note: Due to a glitch in FFN, I was forced to delete and re-upload chapters 5 to 9. I apologize for the inconvenience.
-oooooo-
Grabbing and twisting the handle of the door before pushing it, Gohan entered the classroom. Receiving nods and returning in kind to some of those seated in the front, he climbed up the stairs. The front-seaters, ignoring their slightly obsessive tendencies regarding studies, were actually rather good company.
Reaching the last row, he sat down on his usual seat and began to remove the contents of his bag as usual. A small but expressive smile already on his face, he turned towards his newly-formed group of friends before greeting them with a simple, "Hey"
"Hello~/Gohan/Mountain boy" Erasa's response was as cheerful and lively as usual, which only served to widen the slight smile on Gohan's face. Videl's was a bit terse but the small grin on her face spoke enough about their budding friendship to satisfy the Saiyan teenager. Lastly, Sharpner's response firmly established that his newly earned moniker would remain the status quo for the foreseeable future.
Gohan couldn't help but shake his head slightly at the last one, smile still not disappearing. Wonderful.
"So, city life treating you good?" Erasa voiced her question as she propped up her chin, elbow on the table providing her support.
Gohan blinked in confusion at the sudden question before realization dawned in his mind about the whole rented house thing, "It's… umm, alright."
"Just alright? Something happen, Gohan?" Videl asked with a bit more concern in her voice than normal for her. Hearing that, he almost smiled. To think that his friendship with Videl - the same girl who had adopted an almost neutral attitude towards him in the beginning - would reach this point in just three days, was slightly surreal.
"No, nothing like that," Gohan responded as casually as he could manage, literally waving off her concern with raised hands. "It's just that I'm more of a nature person. At least, I believe that's the right word?" He let out a nervous laugh at that, rubbing the back of his head in the way all the Son males seemed to when put on the spot. "Anyway, I prefer living close to nature and all that. City life doesn't really suit me." That much was true, at least, Gohan reasoned to himself. Orange Star City did have a lot of buildings, all of them too tall for his taste. One could not get a full view of the sky stretching to the horizon with all of that in the way. Coupled with the city's dense population, the choking pollution and overwhelming and constant noise left a terrible taste in the mouth of someone who had spent so many years in the heart of nature like him.
"Well, can't fault you there, mountain boy." The musclebound blond on the far side of him gave a slight shrug, the usual smirk on his face still there as he responded. "I remember visiting the natural park up in North City with my dad, Man, no matter how much I love Orange Star City and all that, I gotta say that nothing in this city comes close to that experience, I ain't lying. Here, it's all congested." Sharpner added, combing his hair with his fingers.
"I would have to agree," Videl replied with a nod. "City life can be a bit too much. Sure, all your needs are catered to, but the lifestyle is stressful."
"That's what I'm saying!" Erasa chimed in, clapping her hands together. "How bout we make a trip to Gohan's place ASAP? Get in all that nature stuff. I could use a tan too, know what I mean?"
The door opened suddenly, the sound of it reverberating throughout the room and halting their conversation. All four of them turned towards the door in time to catch sight of a slightly buff man with a brown complexion walking towards the podium.
Gohan looked towards his timetable, quickly noting that the first lecture on Wednesday was marked as 'Physical Fitness'. He blinked at that before voicing his confusion to Erasa, voice almost lowered to a whisper as he asked, "Erasa, why do we have physical fitness as the first lecture?" He didn't have to reduce his tone much, the entire class's chit-chatting covering any sound he could have made.
The busty blonde turned towards him, slight confusion evident on her face as she replied, "Not like it's a big deal, Gohan. Why even ask?"
"Well, normally," Gohan began, raising his gaze slightly as he tried to put his confusion into words, "fitness classes are after lunch, and usually at the end of the day, not this early. Any reason for the change?"
"Oh…" Erasa nodded twice in understanding before continuing, "I get what you mean. You're pretty much right because it used to be just like that over here until Coach Gregor…" She tilted her head towards the coach who had settled himself on the podium, "decided to switch it up. He figured we were all totally drained after lunch anyway and you can't get a good workout running on fumes. So, the school went with his plan."
Gohan totally understood that. He knew how difficult it was to train in the afternoon or beyond that. The only person who could go at it for the entire day was Vegeta.
"Okay, okay, that's enough, let's wind down with the chit-chat." The gruff voice of the coach had the desired effect, silence suddenly spreading throughout the room. The only sound was due to the spinning of the fans.
"Much better. Now, I am here to inform that the hall has been repaired. So, meet me there in ten minutes."
-oooooo-
Gohan joined Erasa in the hall. All the students in his class were there, wearing suitable clothes. Erasa was clad in gym shorts and a slightly fitting grey shirt while he had decided to wear a full-sleeved loose blue shirt and grey pants. He didn't want any unnecessary attention. The jocks could have that.
Glancing around, his eyes widened when he saw Videl and Sharpner ambling towards them. Their slow pace didn't surprise him but their garbs did. Sharpner was clad in an all too familiar orange GI, only difference being the lack of King Kai's symbol on the front. However, Videl was more or less the same, the only thing standing out was her oversized green shirt. Though, Tien's touch was apparent from that.
But why were they wearing Gis? Slight anticipation rushed through his being thinking that. After all, the sole purpose of wearing a Gi was…
"Martial Arts…" Gohan couldn't prevent his neck from snapping towards Erasa on hearing the words martial and arts, spoken together. She couldn't really mean that they would be doing martial arts…
"...is what we will be doing today." NO! They couldn't do martial arts, not when he was there. No, wait, that came out wrong. They could do martial arts even when he was there but they had to avoid involving him! If not, all the work he put in to come off as normal and all his plans for the future to mingle with the humans would have to be thrown out of the window.
"...lose at the hands of a future Turtle Style master."
Gohan blinked out of his frenzy when he heard Sharpner's voice. Both he and Videl were nearing them.
"I'm telling you, Sharpy, you better surrender now if you want to keep looking good, especially in front of the girls."
"Yeah yeah yeah, Videl. You're just flapping your gums."
"Nope, it's a fact. Cranes are better than turtles."
"Hey! Don't you dare besmirch the name of the legendary Turtle School And, why the hell are you wearing pajamas, mountain boy?"
Gohan again blinked at the sudden and absurd shift in topic, directed at him. He glanced down at his track pants, despite knowing exactly what Sharpner was referring to. They were not pajamas but loose track pants for comfort. Shaking his head, he replied, "I'm fine, Sharpner. What's the problem with them?"
"You sure you're not gonna trip over yourself, big guy?", Erasa asked, tilting her head to the side, "And why the long face?"
And they say Erasa was the oblivious one. He was sure she had barely spared a glance at him yet managed to see through his thoughts.
"Well… uh, we are doing martial arts today."
"Not a fan of fighting, Gohan?" Videl asked, a slight frown evident on her face.
That look was enough to make Gohan freeze up, the Saiyan quickly altering the straightforward answer he was about to give. "Just a bit, you know. Only as a spectator, really. I am not a big fan of all that kicking and punching." He wasn't lying, ever since he was a child, he didn't have the slightest disposition towards fighting unlike his dad and Vegeta who seemed to prioritize it. Only when it was for the sake of his family, friends and the planet, he could really give it his all.
"Dude," Sharpner scoffed, turning his head to the side, "martial arts isn't only about kicking and punching. It involves other things too. Like dodging…"
"The kicks and punches." Erasa cut in with a smirk.
"... and meditation to analyze…"
"The kicks and punches."
Sharpner gave a dry look to Erasa, the girl's playful grin only making him shake his head, "I rest my case."
Gohan relaxed a bit hearing the small and playful banter, but the relief was short-lived as immediately Videl spoke up again, "Times have changed, Gohan. Martial arts isn't just about simple fighting anymore. With the publicity of KI, new opportunities have opened. If not for fighting, then you gotta learn it to figure out Ki, or for flight and other stuff. Not to mention self-defence."
He nodded but mentally cringed. He couldn't tell them that right now, he was arguably the fastest being on the planet – on land, air, and sea. If Videl and the others came to know about his abilities, he didn't know what would happen. But for the time being, he decided to go along the flow, not that he had a choice as the physical fitness lecture was compulsory.
"Students…" The shout drew the attention of all, including them, towards the coach, "You know the deal today - Martial Arts. So pair among yourselves like last week." A couple of moments passed in the pairing before coach spoke again, "Good. Now, Gohan, who is your partner?" The coach asked while looking directly at Gohan.
"It's me, coach." Some of the students turned towards Erasa, hearing her voice.
"Alright, that'll work. I mean, I would honestly have gone with you, Erasa, just to get to know his skill set." Gohan sighed at that. With Erasa being his partner confirmed by the coach, he wouldn't have to worry about his abilities. The blonde being an absolute novice meant he wouldn't have to go out of his way to be excessively careful.
"Sorry, coach, I figure that Gohan should be paired with someone experienced. He is totally lacking in this field and pairing him with Erasa just won't work…" Gohan felt slightly apprehensive at where this was going. Though a moment later, he mentally shook the dread as the only experienced person who wasn't paired yet, was the coach himself. It won't be an issue with him being his partner. The issue would have been if Videl herself had volunteered…
"In fact, I'd like to test him myself. Since he's a close friend, I wanna see where he stands. Simply to get an understanding." His stomach twisted into a knot hearing that. This wasn't supposed to happen. Videl would definitely see through his plans, no matter how much he tried to conceal his abilities.
"Even I agree with that." The words of Sharpner and a shrug from Erasa sealed his fate.
"Alright." The words were spoken after a moment and followed by an apologetic look from the coach, directed at Gohan, one the young Saiyan didn't miss. Resigned to his fate, Gohan followed Videl to one of the many martial arts mats laid down for the purpose.
"Now, I'm gonna come at you with varying speeds. I'm gonna base your level off of how you react." Gohan nodded to Videl and started pondering over what to do. He could either dodge, block or allow the hit but that itself was an issue. He didn't know Videl's total skills so she could be running at half of her total speed, implying that dodging or blocking would reveal his skills. On the other hand, allowing the hit would only hurt her, thanks to his incredibly tough constitution even with his Ki suppressed as low as it was.
His musings halted when Videl reached him and lobbed a punch straight towards his face. His instincts taking hold, Gohan clapped his hands together, catching the girl's hand at the very last moment. Gohan blinked, noting that the tip of Videl's knuckle was just barely touching his nose, implying that she had also slowed her punch. Of course, she wasn't actually going to hit him, he should have realised that.
For a few seconds, Videl was oddly still, simply staring at her martial partner with a blank expression. Gohan started worrying when she didn't seem to react any further. A couple of moments passed which only augmented his worries before Videl lowered her hand and spoke, "Okay, I've got a general idea where you stand and the next punch would have definitely hit you. I gotta say, though, you blocking this one really surprised me. Erasa's slightly better than you but she has a couple of months on her side." She pulled back her fist, raising an eyebrow at Gohan curiously. "Also, you aren't as scrawny as you want us to think. I saw the outline of your muscles when you blocked my punch."
Gohan slightly gulped at the unspoken yet evident question. This was exactly the situation that he was afraid of. Yet, at the same time, he was surprisingly amazed at Videl's deduction abilities. What was happening to him? His feelings were all conflicted. But he mentally shook them as he knew he had yet to answer. His hand inadvertently reached behind his head, "Umm…"
"I think it's all about where he came from."
Everybody turned towards the coach who was also watching them, but neither he nor the others had noticed. "As I said, he was raised and lives in Mt Paozu. Manual work there, definitely counts to something."
"Coach's right…" He immediately went with the coach's idea, "You remember I told you about all the firewood we use..." The others nodded, "...I do all the work from cutting to carrying, and regarding the punch, I just followed my instincts." Gohan concluded with a nervous chuckle while rubbing the back of his head, praying to Dende that they accept his excuse.
"Hmmm… that's actually good. Now, we can focus solely on your martial arts." Videl nodded to herself while looking at the ground.
"Yeah, your workout makes this a lot easier for us to really get you trained up." Sharpner voiced giving Gohan a thumbs up, and he nodded in return. However, inside, he felt relieved at the end of the ordeal. It could have been worse, his abilities were at stake, after all.
"Don't worry Gohan, we'll deal with their training together." The assurance of Erasa slightly helped his general mood. Not by much, though.
"With that done, both of you can go and help the other students before your match, and Erasa, since you already know the basics, you should follow and observe them. Meanwhile, I'll show Gohan the basics.." The coach directed Videl and Sharpner, both of them nodding before they left. Erasa also heeded the coach's advice before wishing Gohan luck and leaving.
Gohan watched as they shifted from one mat to another, interacting with the students and helping them as they went along. The students were really eager to learn about Martial Arts and consequently Ki. Yet, here he was, hiding his origins and skills despite the publicity of Ki. What was he even doing like this?
"You can't hide it forever, Gohan. Sooner or later, they will know who you are, you know."
The coach was right, the adolescent Saiyan couldn't help but note. At some point, he would have to tell them more than even the coach knew. But for now, he was content enough with the situation, though knowing that he would have to cross that bridge when the time comes.
"I know coach…" Gohan sighed out loud, "I know."
-oooooo-
The moment came for which everyone was eagerly waiting — The duel between the next generation users of the two of the infamous martial arts styles — and Gohan, like others, was also interested to see it. It would be, after all, the first time he would witness a pure hand-to-hand spar between both styles. There would be no KI blasts nor flight.
"They're amazing. You can't even blink or you'll miss a good chunk of the fight."
Gohan turned towards Erasa, clearly surprised at her words, "I thought you weren't fond of martial arts?"
"Not really… mostly 'cause of all the hard work I have to put in, you know, but I am totally fine with watching it. And, It becomes more interesting when the ones duelling are your friends. In fact, I jumped into martial arts watching them only."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I grew up with those two knuckleheads, y'know. I've seen them going at it since we were kids, and they were intense even way back when they didn't even have any muscles to show for it. They only got even crazier when this Ki stuff went mainstream. Seeing them literally go from human to this in such a short time even inspired me."
That was Ki, alright, Gohan mused to himself. It opened a whole new world for the user to explore. It didn't matter if one was fond of martial arts or not. After using it – or as in Erasa's case, even witnessing the results of KI – you couldn't help but be drawn towards it.
Now more interested than before, Gohan shifted his vision towards the upcoming fight where Sharpner had just settled into the turtle stance, legs spread out wide to provide balance and strength while his arms were raised up in front of him with his fingers curled into claws. Videl also followed in the crane style, one leg raised and hands outstretched in different positions. Out of nowhere, a sudden thought flashed in his mind which he voiced, "Uh… Erasa, why did they choose different schools? I mean, with them being friends and all that, shouldn't they have gone for the same master?"
Erasa slightly chuckled before replying, "Oh, they actually applied for both schools, honestly. Thing is, though, Tien rejected Sharpy as he was too carefree for his own good – at least that's what Tien said – and Krillin rejected Videl because she was too uptight."
Slight amusement appeared on his face in the form of a smirk as he heard that and not a moment later, the shout rang out for the fight to begin.
-oooooo-
The coach's shout was the signal.
Sharpner immediately dashed towards Videl, the sight of that wiping away Gohan's smirk in place of a frown. Reaching her, the muscular blonde cocked his right hand – his dominant hand – but jabbed with his left, towards her stomach. Reacting quickly, Videl deflected that with her right palm only to be suddenly placed on the back foot as Sharpner followed it up with a blow from his dominant hand, forcing Videl to meet it with a fist of her own. A knee strike lanced out towards her stomach – another vicious attack from Sharpner – but the dark-haired girl again slammed a palm onto his knee joint, locking it in place with her own strength to Sharpner's visible surprise. Immediately after, she sprung up with a hand still on Sharpner's knee and using it as a springboard, the girl launched a spinning double kick towards her opponent. Sharpner reacted just as quickly as she had, rapidly lowering his leg but even that wasn't fast enough to disrupt Videl's movement, the girl leaping off to launch a flurry of kicks. Jumping back in the nick of time, he avoided the strikes as best he could, nearly stumbling as he landed
Taking a breath, Sharpner again dashed towards Videl and attempted a spinning kick but she dodged that by dropping into a crouch, her short stature helping in that. Caught up in his own momentum, Sharpner couldn't react to Videl's counter, the blond unable to deflect the straight kick to his back. With a pained grunt, he fell forward on his hands. Rolling to his left to avoid a sudden stomp from Videl, he sprung back to his feet in a flip, facing the short Satan girl with a frown on his face.
"Bet you must be boiling that the first hit goes to me, eh, Sharpy?"
Sharpner knew she was trying to bait him, as she only called him Sharpy when they sparred to press on his nerves. Releasing a breath, he calmed himself before retorting, "Oh, we're only getting started, little girl." This time he didn't rush forward, simply standing his ground as he waited for the Satan to make her move.
Videl apparently saw that and initiated the attack. Despite her short height, she successfully performed a roundhouse kick. But he didn't dodge that instead punched her midriff which she wasn't able to prevent due to being airborne, the length of his limb helping there as he had calculated. With an audible noise, she fell on her back but stood a second later.
"Something to say now?" Sharpner asked with a cocky grin.
"I admit that was a mistake on my part, but it won't happen again." As if corroborating her words something changed in her demeanour. Though he couldn't name it, but it was easily observable. And, the sudden boost in her speed when she dashed towards him, only substantiated that.
For the next few seconds, Sharpner was forced to dodge a flurry of Videl's vicious attacks, his actions quickly shifting to blocking as he was forced to struggle to maintain a defense under Videl's rapid improvement. The notion gave birth to slight panic inside him, worry that Videl was outpacing him in more ways than one. They were supposed to be equals since they began training at the same time but it was evident that Videl was already better than him and… The blond blinked out of his musings as a punch flashed through his vision, the teenager suddenly doubling over from a strike he was entirely unprepared for. The next moment, he felt the pain in his stomach, the sensation intensifying as it was followed by two quick jabs to his chest. He made to stumble back but didn't get far before a leg swept his own, and he slammed back hard into the mat, his vision filled with nothing but the sky above.
"The match goes to Videl."
-oooooo-
Gohan couldn't help but feel rather impressed by the short fight. It was really anew for him to see a pure hand to hand spar between both styles. Though, it was clear that Videl was definitely better of the two. Tien's strict and calculative teaching was apparent in her moves. She had successfully employed her short height and low mass to enhance the agility in her attacks. Truly, Videl was doing justice to the famed Crane style.
On the other hand, he couldn't help but frown at seeing Sharpner's less than satisfactory performance. The blond had everything to his advantage - height, body mass and Turtle style. It had already been proven – multiple times, in fact, from what every member of the Turtle school had told him – that Turtle style was better than Crane style. His father despite being a kid, had first established that idea as fact by almost defeating Tien in the WMAT, only losing as a result of a technicality.
Somehow, Sharpner had lost despite that. The reason behind his loss was apparent to Gohan of course, and would be so to any other master martial artist, but entirely unknown to the blond. Sharpner had definitely grasped the moves but not the essence behind the famed style, which was…
A buzzing noise halted his train of thought and Gohan immediately turned towards the source of the noise - the speaker hanging on the wall.
'All staff members, as well as students, must vacate the school premises within thirty minutes. Cyclone K-seven has rerouted itself towards Sector Seventeen. It's estimated to hit the shoreline in two hours. Heavy downpours are forecasted. You are advised to seek immediate shelter. REPEAT…'
-oooooo-
"You sure you'll be fine?"
"I will, Videl. My house is just on the other side of the city. Honestly, I'm more worried about you. With the storm at the horizon, I really don't think you should…"
Videl interrupted Gohan by raising her hand before speaking, "Gohan, I appreciate it but thousands of people's lives are at stake here. This city needs all hands on deck. I didn't stop trying to help people when I didn't know a thing about Ki, so it'd make no sense for me to quit now."
Gohan got where Videl was coming from, if he was being honest. There's no doubt that he would have done and said almost exactly the same if the roles were reversed but the petite little Satan didn't have anywhere near the required power to do something like this safely. From what Krillin and Tien had told him, they hadn't done anything like shift the course of a natural disaster until they were all firmly stronger than Master Roshi.
True, Videl had found the gates of her KI but she hadn't quite managed to open them, not anywhere near to the point of being considered a true student of her respective style like Krillin and Tien had been just. At best, she was a practitioner of Crane Style's forms with only somewhat more understanding of the essence of the art than Sharpner did.
She certainly couldn't be compared to Master Roshi in the slightest. Even his Mom was nearly as strong as the Old Turtle Hermit and she hadn't trained properly since before Gohan was even born. Videl's skills had definitely taken a jump but it was nothing in comparison to either his mom or Master Roshi and it certainly wouldn't amount to much when she couldn't even muster the energy enough to fly. Still, Gohan knew better than to voice his thoughts.
"Don't be a mother hen, mountain boy. Videl's a big girl. She'll be alright, anyway, I'll make sure of it."
Gohan turned to face Sharpner, not even bothering to fight the confusion on his face, "You're part of this too?"
"Part being the operative word there," Erasa chimed in. "He's a part-timer"
Gohan was about to ask even more but Sharpner beat him to it as he responded, "The way Erasa puts it... I only help in the worst cases, y'know. All that two hands are better than one kinda thing."
"Sorry, Gohan but we're already running late. We'll see you Monday since the school's probably gonna be closed till then." Videl put a stop to any further conversation as she de-capsulized her jet and quickly boarded it. Sharpner and Erasa nodded towards him and followed suit.
Gohan waved at them as they took off, waiting for them to get some distance before de-capsulizing the family car he had borrowed from his mom to vouch for his living conditions within Satan City. Jumping into it, he drove it away from the school, eyes focused on the road as he mentally called out for Dende, hoping the green Kami was listening.
'Dende, you there?' The worry was evident from his tone.
'I am Gohan, and I know what you have to say' As always, Dende tended to keep at least one antenna focused on the calls of his friends, listening for whenever they would call.
'Then you have to do something about the situation!'
'...Sorry Gohan, I can't. It's…'
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU CAN'T? THOUSANDS WILL DIE!" He realised a bit later that he had audibly shouted his thoughts but that didn't matter at all.
'I know but it's not in my hands'
'B-but… you're Kami, for Kami's sake!'
'That's the reason, Gohan, Natural events like this aren't something I can interfere with. It's a gross misuse of my position and it can have great effects on the natural cycle of things, as well as that of life and death.'
'B-but…'
'Please listen to me first!'
Gohan quieted his thoughts despite his nerves, and allowed Dende the time to respond.
'I said I can't interfere but it doesn't mean that you can't. In fact, it's time the world sees Bardock again' The adolescent Saiyan blinked at Dende's words before realising that his Namekian friend was right. He had the required power and it wouldn't take much to stop the natural phenomenon, time or effort. Shaking his head in dismay, Gohan couldn't help but concede that his mother was right, at least when it came to the fact that he was totally oblivious of what he had to offer.
'You're right. Thanks, Dende.'
'Anytime, Gohan'
Breaking the mental link, Gohan stopped his car and jumped out of it before re-capsulizing the vehicle and rushing towards a nearby alleyway. Quickly entering, Gohan immediately blurred and appeared several miles above in the windy sky. Raising his left forearm close to his chest, he tapped the watch he wore, specifically holding down the large green button that stood out prominently on the timepiece. Immediately, a blue GI replaced his clothes and Gohan felt himself grow more comfortable in his own skin as he stretched out in the familiar attire. Flexing his impressive muscles and releasing a breath he hadn't even been aware he'd been holding, Gohan quickly delved into the seemingly endless ocean of energy inside him as he suddenly ascended, yellow Ki bursting to life around him as he retook his Super Saiyan form and blasted out towards the sea without wasting a moment.
In under a second, the Super Saiyan passed Videl's jet copter, overtaking it with such speed that his wake would have sent the flying vehicle spiraling out of control if he didn't possess such careful control of his own energy. Another half second more and Gohan found himself above the shoreline. Stopping there, he could already spot the efforts done by the mitigation teams to evacuate the area. Still, managing nearly ten thousand people was very difficult, at least for them. Deciding to save them the hassle, Gohan quickly shot off towards the direction of the cyclone to get a better view of the natural disaster.
His eyes widened as he took the entirety of it in, Gohan quickly realizing that it was far worse than what the school authorities had reported.
The eyewall was at least 15 miles wide and nearly as tall, the monstrosity encompassing a massive amount of space within its area. There were no qualms about the destruction the cyclone would cause. Luckily, he was here to prevent this from getting any worse.
He shot towards the cyclone at speeds easily considered hypersonic, not bothering to rein in his energy as the wake left a powerful force behind it this time. His shockwave was as powerful as he had expected, powerful enough that the winds he left behind were more than enough to dwarf those of the cyclone, easily reversing the flow of the tempest as he dove directly into the center. Inside it, the eye was totally calm with winds light enough to be considered a simple breeze flowing through it.
Settling into the horse stance, Gohan started building his Ki. Some seconds passed before, with a yell, he released the burst of Ki with a powerful yell. The effect was instantaneous as everything cleared out, the sky becoming perfectly calm and placid in a thirty mile-wide area. The clouds above, and the vertical wall of winds connecting them, all scattered. The only sign that there was a cyclone was an almost thirty mile-wide depression in the water, which was quickly filling.
Watching his work for a few seconds, Gohan nodded in satisfaction before blurring and appearing above cloud level and blasting away towards his home.
It only took a minute or so to reach his house in Mt Paozu, Gohan not feeling any urgency to rush towards home. Landing in front of the house, he didn't get a chance to knock on the door, when Goten came like a bullet towards him. Though, Gohan managed to catch him in the nick of time before settling him on his shoulders.
"You need to be careful, Goten." Gohan advised to his brother who was giggling hilariously. However, as usual for the little guy, Goten ignored him and simply flailed his arms as he loudly shouted, "YouareamazingGohanreallyamazingwaytooamazingan…"
"Woah, cool down, tyke. I can't understand anything." Goten was like that, always full of energy and overly excited, just like their father.
Controlling his excitement though barely, Goten repeated, "You are waay too amazing, big bro, thiiis much..." Gohan chuckled when Goten wide opened his arms to convey his emotions. The innocence was just too much. And, I would savour it for as long as possible.
"You came in like Whoosh-Whoosh-Whoosh and then it was all over. I want to stop a cycle just like you." Gohan had just entered the house when he abruptly stopped, already familiar with the Goten's habit of mispronouncing words. But how did Goten come to knew that he stopped a cyclone? And that too, so fast?
"Goten, how did you know that?" Gohan voiced while looking up at Goten.
"From the TV." Hearing the voice, Gohan shifted his vision towards his mother who was standing at the entrance of the lobby. Immediately, she pointed to her right where he knew the TV was. He entered the lobby and saw the TV displaying the satellite view of the cyclone, with only the rotating clouds visible. A second later, the clouds were violently dispersed when a golden light flashed through them. The satellite footage started zooming in, capturing a slightly disoriented footage of him from the moment he appeared above the clouds before blasting away at untraceable speeds. Though, the cat was out of the bag.
"I'm fine with it," Chichi replied with a sigh, shaking her head a little. "Not only it was necessary but you were also careful enough to avoid being seen. I'm sure it'll fade in days, just like the showdown."
Gohan was slightly surprised that his mother brushed off the topic just like that, nonetheless nodded to her. Despite welcoming the shift in her thoughts, he wouldn't get used to it, ever. Though, She was totally right.
"Can we play outside, huh? Huh?" As usual, Goten's train of thought rerouted within seconds, Gohan mused, smiling slightly. The mini-Goku totally forgot about the cyclone issue and shifted to playing. Well, he had nothing to do, so why not? "Sure, let me change."
"Boys, I want you back before dinner, and remember Gohan, you have homework to get done."
"I'll take care of it over the weekend, mom," Gohan replied offhandedly.
"No missing school tomorrow either."
Gohan slightly raised his face before replying, "But they closed the school because of the storm…"
"Which you stopped, remember? So, no vacation for you, young man." His eyes widened realising his mother was right before he slightly slumped and walked towards his room, with Goten giggling at his fate.
-oooooo-
Gohan flew towards the school, ready for his next day in class. The school authorities had called home and informed them that the closure orders had been suspended in light of the storm no longer being an issue. His mom had already ordered him to comply but, then again, it's not like he really wanted to miss it, either.
Time at school so far had been good, especially considering he had managed to acquire really good friends. Sharpner, ignoring his slightly cocky attitude, was good company, The blond was rather carefree, and his gentle ribbing with Videl was honestly rather amusing. Then, there was Erasa. She was full of life and, like most of the girls of her age, was a bit obsessed about fashion. Though, that was Erasa for you. He would always cherish their friendship as she was the first person to befriend him in the school. And lastly, there was Videl. His friendship with her was… unique, if he had to pick a term. Initially adopting a cool attitude, she had soon warmed up to him. Their interactions had increased, and now she was one of his best friends. The blue eyed girl had a will of rock, standing proud despite the odds against her. She deserved all the praise for that. But above all, she was nothing but honest.
And, it was really surprising that he, a total stranger, managed to worm himself into a group of friends who had been together since childhood and were fully open regarding their secrets with each other. He was sure this type of situation only occurred in films and novels.
Though, the thought brought a frown on Gohan's face.
Gohan was aware of the fact that he would need to reveal his secrets to his newly formed friends. They definitely deserved to know at least what even the teachers knew, if not more.
He could clearly remember how the staff was head over heels to meet the son of legendary Son Goku. His father's status had apparently gone even more sky-high after the showdown. He had to request them to keep his family name to themselves and to secure his admission form in which he had mentioned his family details just because he didn't want any unnecessary attention. Thankfully, the teachers had relented after hearing his reasoning, and agreed to call him by his first name only.
He stopped his musings when he reached the outskirts of fourteenth division of sector seventeen, his CapsuleCorp watch again managing the save. Landing there, he de-capsulized his car and drove towards the school.
Barely ten minutes later, he was walking on the pathway leading to the school's entrance.
"Heya, Gohannn!" Turning around, he was greeted to the sight of his three friends ambling towards him. Adding some steps on his part, he reduced the distance between them and was about to greet them in return when Videl beat him to it.
"Did you see Bardock?!" Her eyes were slightly wide, blue irises shining with sheer awe and excitement. This was the first time Gohan had seen Videl like this, acting like most other teenage girls.
"Yeah, my brother called and showed me. The little ball of energy didn't stop talking about him for hours." His answer was what she had expected, apparent from the way she nodded rapidly a couple of times before replying, "Yeah, he's that amazing! I mean, he stopped the cyclone in a moment! Can you believe that?!"
Gohan chuckled at the sheer excitement in her words, "You really look up to the guy, don't you?"
"Yeah, as a crush and future husband." Sharpner jumped in with a chuckle. Erasa also laughed a bit at that. Videl, on the other hand, turned beet red before exploding at Sharpner.
Unfortunately, Gohan didn't hear what she said.
He couldn't, his mind having lost the ability to comprehend anything else after Sharpner's remark. To believe that Videl had a crush on him was just too much for his brain to process. A few moments went by before his brain finally interpreted her words, and he slightly calmed himself as she was crushing on his alter-ego. A moment later, his eyes again widened a bit when he realised that technically it was him.
But how did this happen? He hadn't even met her directly as Bardock, ever, meaning no talks, no getting to know each other, so, how? Not to mention the future husband thing. That was something he didn't even want to delve into.
"...just Gohan…" His name spoken by Erasa, broke him out of his stupor before he focused on what she was saying, "...He's our friend, you can tell him. It isn't a big deal either."
"Yeah, wasn't 'secret-free friendship' your motto?" Gohan cringed a bit hearing that. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold it for long. He would have to tell them about him soon.
"I guess I have no choice," Videl relented with a sigh before continuing, "The muscleful idiot is right. I vision Bardock as a future life partner and all that."
"Really?!" The words came out a bit louder and on their own. Hearing that from Videl's own mouth, was sort of different. Fortunately, the others ignored that.
"Oh, she's totally smitten with him since the Cell games." Confusion replaced the wonder on his face as he took in Erasa's words. Hadn't he been labelled as a supposed 'trickster' after the Cell games? By her father, no less? Gohan couldn't help but voice his confusion, "Uhh… how could you, you know, like Bardock after cell games? I mean, he was labelled as a… trickster after that." Slight faltering in speech marked the uneasiness he felt, not at all wanting to sound too obvious.
But that wasn't supposed to be the case.
Slight regret dawned upon Videl's visage before she shook her head and spoke, "But not at the Cell games. At that time, he was like this figure of hope for everyone on the planet, and double that for the girls as a crush too."
Videl slightly chuckled before continuing, "But it was natural, with a boy not older than eleven facing down the world's biggest monster without any fear, I mean… it was just amazing to watch, y'know? Not to mention his powers, too, and that golden transformation just made him look even more amazing! I couldn't take my eyes off of him back then. Though, I'm kinda sad that I believed my dad when he called him a trickster… I still hate how gullible I was. After that, I didn't even talk about him for almost seven whole years but when he showed up and saved King Furry… that's when I started thinking about him again. Plus everything that happened after that, including how he still supported me at the big showdown even after all that terrible stuff my dad said about him and his friends… How many guys can you find out there that are good-looking, strong, nice and super humble like that? There are a lot of girls in the race to get Bardock, and I'm definitely one of them." Videl shrugged with a smile on her face.
Gohan could only blink after all Videl said, the dark-haired girl basically pouring her heart out with a dreamy look on her face that simply looked out of place on the tough fighter. That… was intense. Her thoughts and desires about him were really surprising as he honestly didn't know he had this much effect on her. Not to mention, the other girls. Out of nowhere, a thought flashed in his mind – the other girls didn't matter at all.
But before he could delve into that recent and strange thought, a bell rang indicating the time to enter the classes, and brought him to the real world before all of them rushed towards the classroom.
-oooooo-
Please support and review. Any suggestions are welcome for the future chapters, and I will see if they are usable in the plot I have planned.
