Slowly seen cruising along the stratosphere, a strange flying object of fluffy consistency called a 'Nimbus Cloud' was blitzing across the azure skyline. Leaving a golden trail from its sheer velocity, a young teenager was sitting on it with his arms folded. The same individual who defeated Cell seven years ago, the dreaded bio-android that threatened to destroy not only humanity, but the Earth and entire cosmos.
His name is Son Gohan, the eldest child of Son Goku and Chi-Chi. In a hurry to rush to school, which is Orange Star High School within Satan City, Gohan was greatly anticipating his first day in class. Seeing the city slowly appear below his peripheral vision, the nimbus made a stark turn before hovering above the metropolis.
"I think I could get off right here. I don't want people to notice me too much." Rising, he jumped out of the flying cloud as the nimbus flew away. "¡Thank you, nimbus! ¡I will see you later!"
Landing neatly on the ground, Gohan finds himself face to face with a large sign adorned with the face of Mr. Satan, the 'hero' famous of saving the world from Cell. Ignoring it and marching away towards his destination, soon Gohan realizes that it will take way too long at his current pace. Deciding to sprint, Gohan becomes a transparent blur that bypasses every pedestrian's perception. Within a few seconds due to the sheer speed he is going, Gohan accidently crashes into someone, making both fall on the ground.
"Ouch! That hurt..." Quickly rubbing his head, Gohan gradually stands up and realizes that the person he bumped into is a girl. "I'm sorry! I didn't look where I was going. Let me help you." Offering his hand, the girl slowly grabs it to help herself get up.
Now both standing, Gohan better observes the girl before him. Having red hair in a choppy bob, her eyes was of the same coloration as her hair. Wearing a purple top and indigo vest that doesn't reach to the waist, jeans were worn as black shoes with purple lines were attached to her feet. She wore a black choker, which help accentuated her looks. The most eccentric thing about her attire is golden snake-shaped bracelets on both arms.
Stunned by the beauty of this girl, it was the first time he's seen one his age. He couldn't help but think how cute she was.
Slowly realizing that he was probably looking weird when staring at her, Gohan diverts his eyes and scratches his neck to calm his nerves. "I... I'm so sorry. I must've somehow got distracted and I didn't see you. Please forgive me."
"It's okay, I'm partly to blame too. I didn't see you. But thank you for helping me."
"Can I make it up to you in some way?" Gohan slowly looks back to her, wishing to make things right.
"You don't have to. Besides, I need to get to high school quickly. Goodbye and thank you again for helping me." The girl then leaves, leaving Gohan behind. Deciding to sprint again when the coast was clear, thoughts about the situation flooded his mind.
'That's so weird. I was going at a high speed, but that girl didn't seem to have hurt herself when I hit her. I should be more careful. I wouldn't want the same thing to happen again.'
Boom boom!
Hearing an abrupt sound that tore Gohan away from his own thoughts, he recognized it immediately largely thanks to his sensitive saiyan ears.
It was a shooting.
Heading to the scene of the shooting, Gohan quickly witnessed a horrible altercation taking place upon arrival. A major gun exchange was occurring before Satan City Bank, showing cops crouching behind their cars to avoid the thug's bullets.
"I knew the city could be more dangerous than the mountains, but I didn't think by so much."
Looking around and seeing that no one is even aware of his presence, Gohan threw his shoulder bag in a bush while rolling up his sleeves. It was time to get serious. "I'd better take care of this before anything worse happens."
Getting into a stance that had him bending his knees and scrunching his arms to his sides, Gohan gritted his teeth as a white light surrounded his outline. Eyes turning blue, in an instant both his hair and outline became golden, showcasing his complete transformation into a Super Saiyan.
Quickly flexing his engorged muscles, Gohan jumped into the air on a crash course straight onto the criminals. Quickly kicking one of the masked thieves to the chin, though soft enough to not break his jaw completely, Gohan turns around to punch the other nearby thief in quick succession. As both simultaneously fell on the ground, Gohan appears behind the stolen truck using a burst of superior speed.
"Who the hell are you, you piece of shit!" One of the criminals points his gun directly at Gohan and opened fired. Each shot was painfully slow to the trained hybrid.
In the blink of an eye, Gohan grabbed every bullet that was shot at him, crushing them inside his hand until they were fine powder. Smirking while dropping the dusty shells into the open air to be carried by the wind, the thief became filled with fear and quickly attempted to retreat. Not having any of it, Gohan jumps into the air and gives him a painful flying kick to the face, making him fall on the ground with a heavy thud. Gohan then lands on the floor, giving a stern look to the remaining robbers in the vehicle.
"H-He's a monster! Let's run!" The remaining two thieves attempted to flee in their stolen truck by accelerating the gas pedal to the max. No longer smirking, Gohan kept a watchful eye on the runaway vehicle until they were at a distance that would minimalize collateral damage. Raising his hand, Gohan points it directly at the truck and with a powerful cry releases a kiai, which causes the vehicle to end up face down with the thieves trapped inside.
"Who…. was that guy...?"
Groaning on the ground, Gohan ignores the thieves to quickly run back to the bush that had his belongings. Powering back down to base, Gohan picks up his bag as everyone else was distracted by the supreme fighting that just took place.
"Hey, you!" says a high-pitched voice in his ear, which makes Gohan to turn nervously towards the direction. It was a girl with black hair stylized in twin ponytails, possessing fierce eyes that were sky blue. She was all business. "Do you know who did this? Cops wouldn't be able to take them down so quickly."
"Eeeeh... sorry, I don't know who could have done it. I just got here." Feigning ignorance, Gohan sees the girl ignore him in favor of observing the crime scene.
Seeing his chance to escape, Gohan gradually begins to move away until everything behind him disappeared completely.
"Do you really don't know...?" Turning around to speak to the boy, she became surprised to see that he is not there. "Huh, hey? Where'd he go?" Before she could think any further, the news stations arrived, making her to forget about the boy in favor of the latest developments.
Orange Star High School – Class 2C
The sound of hushed conversations is heard throughout the classroom. Students talking about whether they have done their homework, the latest gossip around the block, or plain old wishing they hadn't come to class.
"Hey, Sharpner." A young girl with pigtails appeared, being the same one who met Gohan earlier. She then sits next to her subject of interest. "You wouldn't happen to be one of the Golden Warriors, would you?"
"As if it could be me, Videl." Scoffed a boy with platinum-blond hair that was relaxing in the back of class. "Also, I train early in the gym. I don't have time to play hero."
"Wait a minute Videl, what if these Golden Warriors are stronger than your father?" Asked a blonde girl with cropped hair that sitting next to Videl.
"Stronger than Videl's pops?" One of the boys in the front row laughs, possessing glasses, light-brown hair, and freckles. "It should be known that Mr. Satan defeated Cell seven years ago. There's no one stronger than him!"
At that moment a loud sound reverberated across the walls.
Videl turns around and stares at the classroom teacher, Mr. Chūi, entering the vicinity. He was an older gentleman, having white hair and a matching mustache to frame his face.
"Good morning class. As of today we have an exchange student joining us." Turning his head to where the door is, Mr. Chūi addresses the person. "Don't be shy lad, come and introduce yourself."
A teenager enters the classroom, looking around the classroom in silence.
"N-Nice to meet you all, my name is Son Gohan. It's a pleasure to join!" Speaking timidly while politely bowing, Gohan observed all the students in the class.
'It's him! It the boy from morning! I had no idea he was going to the same school as me too...' Thought the red-haired girl with some surprise.
"Gohan here has passed all the entrance exams with the highest possible scores, so I hope you can all learn a bit from him." Mr. Chūi then takes a stern look at a boy with messy brown hair. "Especially for some who may be falling behind this semester."
This comment caused students, especially the more rambunctious ones to start babbling with each other and making mocking gestures to the new kid. Ignoring the looks, Gohan simply looked at an empty wall to avoid further confrontation.
"Silence!" The students instantly became silent at the cry of their teacher. He then looks at Gohan with a small smile. "Choose the place where you'd like to sit."
Remaining silent while observing every row of the classroom, Gohan was having a hard time trying to pick an unemployed spot that won't cause any issues.
"Hey, new kid, sit right here!" Shouted a blond girl who points her finger to a seat near her.
Seeing that there is no other empty seat from his observations and not wanting to be rude by declining the offer, Gohan walks to that place. Gently sitting next to the girl, she smiles flirtatiously at him.
"My name is Erasa and this tough-looking gal is Videl." Erasa points her index finger at the onyx-haired girl next to her, but quickly hears a fake cough, realizing it from Sharpner. "And of course this guy next to Videl is Sharpner. Another friend of the group."
Gohan quickly recognizes Videl, who was staring at him as if she were analyzing him. She was the same girl he ran into at the crime scene.
"You sure don't know who she is, do you?" Erasa lets out a giggle at Gohan's face of confusion. "She is the daughter of Mr. Satan, the savior of the world."
"Mr. Satan?" exclaimed by Gohan, surprised to learn about that. "That must be interesting, being the daughter of a celebrity like him."
"You don't have someone like Videl as a classmate every day, do you?" Sharpner says, making a condescending look at Gohan.
"Wait a minute ... I remember you!" Exclaimed Videl suddenly, who has until now been silent in analyzing Gohan. "I saw you at the bank this morning, after the crime!"
"E-eh... Yes, I was there this morning."
"Didn't you say Videl that this morning one of the Golden Warriors appeared and defeated all the criminals himself?" Asked Erasa to Videl, curious about this latest development.
'They're talking about me!' Thought Gohan, though quickly his nervousness passes into confusion and disbelief. 'Wait a moment ... Golden Warriors? Is there more than one!?'
"Not only are you talking about the Golden Warriors, but you didn't introduce me Erasa. I'm hurting." Called a grave voice in a false sense of pain.
"Fenn!" Stuttered Erasa while looking up to the top row of the grandstand. "I was so into the conversation that I forgot to introduce you and Shānhú!"
Gohan turns his head to know where that voice came from, staring at a boy with bristly brown hair with three locks on his forehead. Reclining in his chair, he was smiling mockingly at Gohan. His eyes were black, nearly identical to Gohan's own. He was dressed in a tight indigo high-necked T-shirt, perfectly framing his physique.
Something about him made Gohan suspicious, as if his ki both looks and feels like his, but that shouldn't be possible, right? However, those thoughts quickly faded when his gaze fell on a girl on the right side of 'chestnut tree', Videl's nickname for Fenn.
'It's not possible! She's the girl I'd bumped into earlier!' Thought Gohan, crossing glances for a few seconds with the girl until they both looked away via nervousness. Feeling curious, he decided to ask who she was to the girls by him. "Hey... who's that girl next to Fenn?"
"You mean the redhead? She's..."
Erasa interrupts Videl, earning a sharp look from the crime fighter. "She's Shānhú. She's another one of our friends next to Fenn."
"You didn't have to interrupt me." Erasa lets off a giggle while scratching her neck through Videl's piercing gaze.
"And what is it that there is more than one Golden Warrior? I thought there was only one." Asked Gohan in a confused tone. It without question that he's one, but who could be the other?
"We know only a little more than you do. But wait, do you even know who the Golden Warrior is?" Faced with Gohan's oblivious face, Videl begins to explain, making sure the professor doesn't listen to her. "He's a mysterious boy who seems to be our age. He started doing heroic acts just last year. His muscles are abnormally large and has hair that golden. He is very strong, fast, and can even fire some kind of light projectile. And finally, he can fly."
"Wow... and do you know who he is?"
"Are you a fool or do you not get it?" Videl turns her eyes at the stupid question. "We call him the Golden Warrior not only because of his hair, but because no one knows his identity. He always covers his face, and he doesn't talk to people."
"That's not true, Videl. He does interact with people... With the girls he rescues." Erasa tries to disguise her laughter before Videl – failing miserably – snorts at the joke.
Erasa's eruption of laughter catches the attention of the professor, who casts a look of disgust at the group of friends.
"Silence, all of you!" Cried Mr. Chūi at the front of the board.
Orange Star High School – P.E. Field
After finishing the interior classes all the students went to the field for their final class of the day, that of Physical Education. All students were dressed more appropriately for this session, leaving all their things in the locker room.
Most students were talking to each other, while others – such as Gohan's new friends based on observation – are doing their own thing. Fenn is doing push-ups with one arm, possessing a smug smile on his face. Erasa and Sharpner meanwhile were laughing at Videl, who seemed to want to hit 'chestnut tree' as Shānhú snorts at his antics.
"It's time we get started." Says the coach, a burly man with short black hair and a thick mustache. "Today we're going to play baseball. Prepare and choose your teams."
"Are you good at playing baseball?" Sharpner is the first to confront Gohan before anyone can do it.
"I've never played it, but at least I know the rules." Admitted Gohan, right now glad he's read so many books about the sport.
"He's never played he says." Laughed the platinum-plated blond mockingly. "It's so absurd, but I'm not surprised, I'm sure you were studying all the time." Sharpner turns to Videl, having his arms folded. "Why don't you let him play on your team? I'm sure you won't make it any worse with your team's skills, if one can call them that."
"I don't want him on my team. I'm sure we'd lose with him."
"I know that Gohan is the new boy in town, but ... couldn't you stop messing with him?" Thought Shānhú out loud, surprising her friends, which makes her to quickly cover her mouth.
"Wow, wow... did you fall in love with the nerd?" Fenn elbows Shānhú, who looks at him with a face of annoyance. "It's just a joke, I'm not serious."
Gohan blushes nervously, not used to being defended by a girl except by his mother.
"Hey, Videl, I don't think it's a bad idea for Gohan to be with our team. He's smart, maybe he can come up with some plan we could use to win." Erasa's words make Videl think. "Remember what Mr. Chūi said, he passed all the exams with perfect grades!"
"You'd better take all the help you can get, Videl. Or you'll lose to me again." Smugly commented Fenn, having his arms crossed with his chin held up proudly.
"You may be right, we won't lose anything by trying, I suppose." Videl then frowns in deep thought. She looks forward to winning, because every time she has to play against Fenn – who usually captains the opposing team – she frequently loses. It was time to change this dynamic.
"Hey, you! Protect the right side, okay?" In the face of Videl's piercing gaze, all Gohan does is nod nervously.
After several minutes of aggressive gaming, no team managed to score points. When the time came, Videl's team was playing defensively while the opposing team was on the offense.
"I remember Mom and Bulma telling me that if people found out my identity, then it would make a big fuss. I must hide my powers as much as possible." Thought Gohan. "It's hard to live in this world." Lost in his thoughts, Gohan doesn't notice that there are two people looking at him.
"I know you more than you think, Son Gohan, and I know you'll show your abilities sooner or later." Thought confidently Fenn as Shānhú remains quiet.
Standing on the pitcher's mound, Videl smiles confidently. "I won't let you hit the ball." Placing all her strength behind her, the girl throws a fastball, which quickly heads towards Sharpner, who easily hits the ball with the bat, which shoots it out into the sky.
As soon as Sharpner started running the whole field became shocked at what they saw next. Fast as lightning, Gohan jumped into the air, completely ignorant of the altitude he was in, let alone the effect it had on those watching.
"That Gohan is very interesting..." Stated Fenn to such a scene, smiling sideways at the spectacle.
'He's running to third base. In this case I have to throw the ball to that place to have him eliminated.' Grabbing the ball, Gohan tries to control his strength as much as possible. 'I must throw the ball as smoothly as I can...'
As soft as possible, Gohan throws the ball towards the baseman, who struggles to keep the ball in his glove while trying to not fall backwards due to the force of the shot. In the end Sharper was eliminated.
"Perfect! That was much easier than I expected!" Initially not realizing the stupefied and surprised looks of his classmates – in addition to the coach – but when he notices their reactions, he covers his own face with the edge of his cap. "It may have been a little too much..."
The few people who were not surprised were Fenn and Shānhú, intimately studying the spectacle. "So you're also special, Gohan..." The redhead casts a look of complicity at Fenn, who throws one back at her.
Making his way to the base, Gohan squats over it. It is time for his team to move into attack position, but he must maintain his skills to the minimum to further avoid more suspicion.
Seeing that it Videl's turn to now defeat Shānhú, the two friends greeted each other for luck, electing a smile from the other. In the end Shānhú couldn't hit any ball, especially in her last turn as her bat ended up slipping out of her hands and hitting a boy in the head. After one last apology to the boy – who has a good bruise on his head – Shānhú returns to the bench, sighing heavily.
"It's bad luck that you haven't managed to hit the ball."
"It's all right. I may have made a fool of myself, but I feel sorrier for the guy I accidentally hit." Shānhú sighs heavily again, which Gohan takes notice of since the base is right next to the benches.
"I don't think you made a fool of yourself. I'm sure the same thing would have happened to me too." Said Gohan in his attempt to encourage Shānhú.
His words made her laugh, now imagining Gohan doing the same thing as her. "I don't think that would have happened, but I'll believe you. Thank you for making me smile."
Gohan warmly smiles at the redhead, who smiles back. Just then Videl hears that it his turn to play, telling Gohan to retrieve the bat. Picking it up, he ran towards the batting box.
"Hey boy, are you left-handed?" The coach asked bewildered when Gohan takes a power stance in the left-handed batting box.
"Am I doing it wrong?" Gohan ask just as confused as the man.
"Well, yes. Your grip is wrong."
"Uh? My grip?" Asked the hybrid even more confused than before.
"...Why don't you try doing it this way and see how it works out for you?" Relented the coach, too mentally exhausted to continue the conversation.
Sharpner took his place on the pitcher's mound, smiling at the inexperienced form of Gohan. The kid seemed to have no idea what he's doing. "Stupid hick... you'll pay for what you did to me earlier. Now you'll see some humiliation."
Throwing the ball with all his might, sending a fastball that rivaled Videl's own, Gohan merely stood still, not moving a muscle. Instantly the ball strikes Gohan's face, throwing his cap to the ground.
Sharpner – along with everyone else – can only look dumbfounded at Gohan, who shows no pain.
Completely ignoring everyone's eyes, Gohan turns to the coach. "Hey, that's a hit, isn't it?"
"T-That's right..." Stated the coach with a dumbfounded tone, not knowing what else to say.
Dropping the bat to the ground, Gohan starts running to first base. "How lucky I am! I didn't have to hit the ball and therefore it didn't attract attention!"
Ignorant of it all, two people were smiling connivingly at the young hybrid.
The match has almost reached the end and the two teams were tied. Videl's team was on the offensive again while Fenn's playing defense. Gohan is currently in the left-handed zone in the batting box.
"Gohan you better do a home run or you'll see what in store for you!" Videl screams from the benches, pulling a nervous laugh out of the girls next to her because of how bossy Videl was.
On the pitcher's mound is Fenn, who casts a smile towards Gohan. The young hybrid already placed himself in his power stance. "Let's see if you can hit this ball, Gohan..."
The chestnut teen throws a fastball towards Gohan, who initially did not plan to bat the ball, until he notices something strange about it. Acting quickly, the hybrid imbues his bat with ki before impacting against the projectile. Struggling to send the ball into the air, eventually he succeeds, knocking it out of the park.
"Don't stand like that Gohan, run at once!" Demanded Videl, seeing that Gohan is still standing in place, as if he were surprised.
Woken up by Videl's words, Gohan runs off, heading straight for the bases.
'I knew you were special Gohan... I knew it!' Fenn smiles enormously, pleased with himself.
"Fenn, you idiot, you could have hurt someone with that ball." Murmurs Shānhú, sighing heavily as she sees her friend's smile.
Orange Star High School – Locker Hall
The bell rings, signaling the end of school. All students are happy to be able to go home, including Gohan. He has already taken all his necessary textbooks for homework.
Just as he's about to leave, he notices slim female hands grab onto his arm.
"Why are you leaving so fast, Gohan? We haven't even been able to say goodbye!" Exclaimed Erasa, pouting in a cute manner.
"W-Well, I... I must go home soon and..."
"Erasa, if Gohan should go home now you should leave him. I'm sure he didn't say goodbye to us for some other reason." Called the voice of Shānhú. Next to her were some of her other friends, ready to go home too.
"All right, all right." Erasa lets go of Gohan's arm, whom the hybrid throws a look of thanks at Shānhú while smiling nervously. He could tell this was normal with the blonde.
The six teenagers then left high school, walking quietly through Satan City and chatting animatedly, well, almost everyone.
"I was quite surprised at what you did at the baseball game. I've never seen anyone jump so high!" Exclaimed with admiration from the bubbly blonde.
"That was luck, something that happens only once in a lifetime." Lied by Gohan, scratching his neck. 'Of course, it will only happen once, I have already caught enough attention for today.'
Jingle Village, Fenn's House, Hours later
Having come home a few minutes ago, Fenn is greeted by his father, a muscular man with stylized black hair in a low ponytail. His bangs were held backed up, though two locks still managed to frame his face. His eyes were black, just like his son's. Finally, he has two scars on his face, one on his cheek that reaches his neck and one on his lip. His name is Roegan, who has come back from work not too long ago.
"Hey Dad, I have some interesting news to tell you."
"You just arrived and you already got news to give me?" Roegan looks at his son, who doesn't even flinch at the hardened gaze of his father. "Let's go somewhere more comfortable to talk, but it better not be bad news."
The brunette snorts at his father's words, but says nothing, because he knows that he usually gives more bad news than good news to his father. The two of them head into the living room, sitting on the pine green sofa.
"What's all the interesting news you have to tell me?" Roegan asks with some mockery in his voice. Fenn rolls his eyes at his father's tone of voice.
"First, a new guy just came in at Orange Star High School." Roegan looks disinterestedly at his son, who gives him an exasperated look. "Shānhú and I are suspicious that this boy is 'special'. Special like you and me."
Roegan widens his eyes enormously, drawing a smile from Fenn's face. It not every day that he manages to surprise his father in such a way.
"How can you be so sure that boy isn't normal? You've never seen him before." Trying to cover all available options, Roegan hopes it's all just silly assumptions from his son and the redhead.
"After everything he's done in today's baseball game, we're both more than sure that this kid can't be normal. I've made sure to test him myself."
That leaves the boy's father thinking. "If what you say is true, I want you and Shānhú to be on guard when you're around him. Maybe that boy doesn't have bad intentions, but I wouldn't trust him."
"Don't worry about Shānhú or me. You know how strong I am, and she knows how to defend herself. There won't be any trouble."
Meanwhile in the house next to Fenn's, despite it already being dusk, a young redhead was busy listening to music while cooking something delicious. She was hungry after finishing her duties, which has ended later than usual.
"Now that I'm alone, I can at last take off my bracelets." The young woman sighs wearily, taking off her accessories and leaving them on the kitchen counter. "I've been using them for years, but it's awkward to carry them all the time."
Shānhú is so self-absorbed in her thoughts that she doesn't even notice that her food is burning until the smoke alerts her senses. Quickly putting out the fire, the food is a little burnt, but still edible.
After eating, Shānhú went to her room to lie down on her bed. Since she's not sleepy yet, she decides to think about what it's been like today, specifically Gohan and the baseball game.
"That Gohan certainly doesn't know how to pretend very well. It shows too much that he tries to hide all his strength to not create any ruckus, but all he does is look more suspicious. He certainly doesn't have the years of experience in hiding that Fenn and I have." She laughs softly, as if she finds Gohan's situation amusing. "But one thing is for sure, this year may be the most interesting one yet thanks to this."
A/N: Here is the first chapter of Alternative Chronicles! I am very grateful to the people who have helped me write this story, it is the first time that I write something and I publish it, so I hope you all like it!
My first language is not English, so I thank Xeno Gotenks for translating the chapter for me. Thank you!
For those who don't know, "Chūi" (注意) means "note". I know, it's not very original, but I wanted a simple name, and I couldn't think of anything better.
Until the next chapter!