Gohan stared at the blue ceiling with dreary eyes. His vision was slowly becoming clearer as he tried sitting up.
"Ngh…" he held his head in pain as he tried to remember what exactly happened. "It's no good. Thinking right now is only gonna give me a headache. Looks like I'm in the nurse's office. How did I get here?"
"Oh good, you're awake." Setsuna peeked inside the doorway and entered the office.
"Hey Setsuna. Can you explain to me what happened? My memory is a bit foggy at the moment."
"No problem. A lot happened after you were knocked out?"
"Knocked out? Ugh…" A sharp pain surged through his brain.
"Gohan! Are you okay? Do you want me to get the nurse?"
"No, I'm fine. That jolt helped me remember a little. Kentaro was gonna hit Asuka with a brass knuckle. I took the hit and then I just blacked out. What happened after that? What about Kentaro and Asuka?"
"I'm glad you asked." Setsuna pulled out her phone and gave it to Gohan. "This was Mai's plan. I followed you and saw Kentaro and those other guys ganging up on you two. I wanted to jump in but Mai had a better idea. She wanted to record everything."
"Record?" Gohan asked.
"Yep. Me, Ayame, and Mai all recorded the whole thing. I had to stop recording to bring you to the nurse's office. Mai stayed and got the rest. Afterwards she sent it to me. Check it out."
"That punch had your name written all over it, but down worry. This one I'll give to you gift wrapped. You shouldn't try to fight me but there's no going back now."
Asuka pulled her gloves down a little and walked slowly towards him.
"You're right, there is no going back. And fight you?" She had a sharp look in her eyes. "I'm gonna make you suffer for what you did to Gohan."
Kentaro threw his head up and laughed loudly.
"Make ME suffer?! This bitch is delusional. I'm getting tired of your mouth so- GAAA!"
Asuka cut him off with a sharp punch to his midsection. Blood spilled from his lips as he stepped back, clutching his stomach.
"You must think you're pretty tough hitting me when I wasn't prepared."
Asuka said nothing but remained motionless. The fire in her eyes didn't extinguish after the first punch. She wanted to do more damage.
"You'll regret looking at me like that!" With the brass knuckle around his hand he rushed at Asuka with a punch to the temple, the same punch that took Gohan out. Zoned in, Asuka delivered a swift front kick to Kentaro's jaw, nearly bringing him to his knees.
"You bitch…"
It was a full slaughter from then on. Any punch Kentaro threw was dodged or countered. Asuka wasted no time in hitting his vitals and making every attack more excruciating then the last. After five minutes Kentaro was on the ground, face unrecognizable. Asuka stood over him with no remorse on her face or in her eyes. She looked at the brass knuckle that was still on his hand.
"I've never used a brass knuckle before. I wonder how it works," Asuka said sarcastically while taking it off Kentaro's hand.
"S-stop… You win…" Kentaro said barely above a whisper. Asuka pretended not to hear his cries of mercy.
"I place this on my hand. Wow this is some tough shit. My fist can hurt people but this is pretty nasty. In the state you're in I might just kill you. I'll do my best so that doesn't happen."
With a wicked smile on her face she brought her arm up and-
"Huh? It just ended abruptly. Was that it?" Gohan asked after the end of the recording. Setsuna took her phone back and stretched her arms.
"Yep. Mai said she cut the recording as soon as she saw the principle. He grabbed Asuka's arm before she smashed his face. Both were sent into his office."
"Damn, I hope Asuka doesn't get into too much trouble. If principal Yamaha caught her in the act, then she'll end up getting expelled. That's pretty much assault with that brass knuckle."
"You would be right, but that's why we have the recording. Mai hurried to the nurse's office to grab me and Ayame so we could testify for Asuka. If we didn't she would most likely get expelled. That's where this bad boy came in."
She shook her phone. "Me, Mai and Ayame all had the recordings on our phone, so principle Yamaha couldn't ignore that. After he got done watching it all, he made his decision and expelled Kentaro."
"Expelled?! No way! He was really expelled?"
"Yes way! It was only a matter of time before everything caught up to him. He's known for getting into fights, he's known for his bullying, and he misses a lot of school anyway. All he needed was one more push. Thanks to his stupidity, he's finally gone. Now we won't ever have to worry about him again."
Gohan was silent for a very long time. He breathed a sigh of relief and laid back in bed.
"So it's finally over. That's hard to believe. We have you to thank for this Setsuna."
"All the credit goes to Mai. I think with my fists but Mai thought with her head. She wanted us all to record this so we can bring it to the principal afterwards. Paying students from another school to beat up one of our own, plus bringing a weapon and using it. That's something you just can't ignore. Kentaro got what he deserved."
"You're right, he did. Wait a sec!" Gohan sat straight up after realizing something. "What about Asuka? What happened to her?"
"She unfortunately got suspended for a week."
"Why?! He saw the footage, so why would she even get punished?"
"Something about keeping this fair or something. Asuka didn't seem too surprised by it. I'm just glad she didn't end up like Kentaro."
"I guess so. Still…"
"She'll be alright. I'll take her work to her house since I train there. You just need to worry about getting your head together haha."
"Ahh, I see you're awake Gohan." The nurse came and sat at the edge of the bed.
"Hello. So how bad is my injury?"
"Nothing too severe. You might experience random headaches and sharp pains, but as long as you don't do anything strenuous this should pass within a few weeks. If you feel as though you cannot concentrate or focus on your work, you are permitted to leave. I'll let your teachers know of your condition."
"Alright. Thank you for your help."
"Oh it's no problem Gohan. I probably shouldn't say this as a faculty member, but I'm very glad Kentaro won't be coming back here. He's caused quite a stir among the students and staff. We don't need troublemakers like him."
"I'll walk him out. Can you stand by yourself Gohan?"
"Yeah, let's go."
By the time Setsuna and Gohan made their way to his home, the sun began to set.
"You didn't need to walk me all the way home Setsuna."
"It was no problem. Had to make sure you got here safe and sound. I'll see you at school tomorrow right?"
"Yeah. My mom wants me to become a great scholar so I can't let this stop me haha."
"Alright, then I'll see you tomorrow." Setsuna waved and took off in the opposite direction. Gohan waved back and opened the door.
"Mom, dad, I'm home."
"You're back early from training Gohan." Chi Chi said as she came from the kitchen drying her hands. "You usually come back WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!" Her calm demeanor quickly morphed into a frantic rage by seeing the bandages around Gohan's head. She quickly buried her son's head into her chest. "HOW DARE SHE DO THIS TO YOU WHAT KIND OF TRAINING DOES SHE PUT YOU THROUGH THAT WITCH WAIT TILL I-"
"Wait mom slow down! I didn't go for training today." Gohan said, finally calming her down.
"Tell me what happened over dinner. Your father is working late so it'll just be the two of us."
Gohan and Chi Chi had a relaxing dinner together. Gohan recounted the events of what happened, while calming his mother every once in a while. After they finished eating, Gohan turned in for the night and tried to do his homework.
"Gaa!" He gasps, holding his head. "Whenever I try to think I get this splitting headache." Gohan sighs and closes his textbook. "Well I got quite a few things done. I'm sure the teachers will understand." Gohan turned his light off and drifted to sleep.
A week has passed since the incident with Kentaro and Asuka. All the students would talk about is how Asuka man handled Kentaro or how Ayame and Mai were brave enough to reveal the recording to the principal. They even praised Gohan's fearlessness fighting with uneven odds. Asuka soaked in all the praise, while it gave Gohan a bitter taste in his mouth.
Later in the day they ate at their usual spot up on the rooftop.
"All people can talk about is Kentaro," Ayame said with a full mouth. "It's getting pretty annoying honestly.
"Yuck, please don't talk with your mouth full," Mai said, turning her head away from her. "But you're right. All they can talk about is how the transfer student from Osaka beat the crap outta the big bad bully and got him expelled."
"What, you want an autograph too?" Asuka took the pen from behind her ear and clicked it.
"Seriously?"
"I'm a bit of a celebrity haha. The boys wanted autographs and the girls wanted to know how I fought like that blah blah blah. Kicking ass in Osaka is pretty common but I guess not around here."
"Somebody is enjoying the spotlight haha," Setsuna said.
"It's pretty annoying if you think about it," Gohan said lost in thought.
"What do you mean?"
"I've gotten bombarded with questions about what happened too. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he's expelled but it could've happened much sooner if people were to stand together. When I was fighting I noticed others were recording, but how many would've shown that to the principal…"
Everyone grew silent at Gohan's words. He quickly waved his hands in a defensive way.
"I didn't mean to be a downer about it. I'm happy that we don't have to deal with the bullying. It still angers me how people turned a blind eye to everything. That's why I wanna get stronger so I can stop everyone that tries to hurt others."
Asuka put her arm around Gohan and smiled.
"Spoken like a true warrior. By the way, you comin to practice today. I know you're still recovering from your head injury an all. Wouldn't want you getting rusty."
"I think a little light practice wouldn't hurt."
"Atta boy. Now Sets, I'll give you an autograph if you'll let me copy your test next period. Click click." Asuka said, making the clicking sounds with her pen.
"Your name better be worth something if I sell it."
The gang joked and talked some more until the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.
After school Gohan, Asuka, and Setsuna make their way to the dojo. A few hours pass with Asuka teaching the class and her mother watching from the sidelines. Occasionally Asuka would ask if Gohan was okay with the limited training.
"I'm alright, let's keep going," he would reply.
After everyone went home Gohan collapsed on the floor, sweaty and out of breath.
"Good work today Gohan I'm impressed, Asuka said couching down beside him.
"Thanks. It does feel like my training is paying off."
"We'll have to start a couple of fights in town and see how you'll do."
"I don't think my skills are quite there yet to pick fights with people haha. I have something I wanted to talk to you about actually." Gohan sat up and looked directly at Asuka.
"What's up?"
"It's when you were fighting Kentaro a week ago. Before I passed out, I felt a...strange power. It felt something big was happening. I don't know if I was imagining it but-"
"Spirit energy," Asuka interrupted.
"I'm sorry?"
"I guess I got too upset and released my spirit energy. That's what you were sensing."
"Uhhh…" All Gohan could do was stare at her for a few moments.
"It's better for me to just show you. Wait here."
Asuka quickly left the dojo. After a few moments she came back and closed the door. "Had to make sure nobody else was here besides my parents. Alright, here I go. Let me know when you can feel it."
"Al, Alright."
Gohan stood up and gave Asuka the floor. She clenched her fist, breathed in and out, and slowly raised her energy. Gohan's eyes widened at the sight that was before him. Light blue like energy circled around Asuka. He was frozen and no sound was coming from his mouth.
What is this… I'm feeling an incredible amount of pressure coming from her! It was so light before, but now it's become overwhelming.
"Ha!" Asuka released all her energy at once. Gohan put his hands out to shield himself but we knocked off his feet and into the wall behind him.
"Oh man sorry Gohan!" She rushed to his aide and helped in back up. "Still looks like I need training on that. Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No I'm fine. I can't believe what I saw. Spirit energy huh? So that can give you a power boost?"
"Yeah. I know martial arts and I'm pretty confident to only use that. With spirit energy I can double my strength but I can also critically injure someone."
"Is that what you did to Kentaro?"
"Heh, you sound almost sorry for him."
"That's unlikely. He deserved whatever came to him."
"Don't worry. I didn't do enough to cripple him, but just enough to know never to try something that foolish again. Now remember when I was talking to you about the spirit world?"
"The spirit world…"
"It's a different world from us. We have the power to go there, get stronger, fight all types of beasts and demons. It's so crazy and- HEY!"
"Alright, have a good night Asuka!"
"I vaguely remember you saying something like that."
"I was serious. It's kinda like a fantasy world different from ours. I was shocked too when I first went there. You have a purpose though."
"And what is that?"
"That's not my place to tell you. It's better if I just take you there. Now gimme your hands."
"Okay…"
"Now we'll close our eyes. I'm going to concentrate my spirit energy to get us there."
"Close my eyes. Well alright."
Skeptical, Gohan closed his eyes. While he was waiting for whatever was about to happen, he started sensing Asuka spirit energy again.
I can feel it again. She's raising her energy. I wonder if I possess the same power. This talk about spirits and different worlds just seem so unreal.
"Alright, we're here."
When Gohan opened his eyes, they were in a back alleyway. Gohan looked around but didn't seem all impressed.
"I thought you said we'd be in a different world."
"We are. Follow me."
Asuka led Gohan out the alleyway and into a busy street full of bustling people. Convenient stalls were around every corner, people were in large groups laughing and playing together. The aroma of food lingered in the air for others to enjoy.. It was enough to make Gohan's head spin.
"What is all this…" Gohan was turning his head so much it might snap at any moment.
"We are in the city of Yusnann, where the whole city is a party and the people party harder. I'll show you around later though. Right now I gotta get you over to Lightning.
"Lightning? From the sky?"
"No silly as in an actual person. The High Ark of this region. I'm not too good at explaining, just follow me. Wanna hold my hand so you don't get lost?" She asked with a chuckle.
"I would decline but seeing all this for the first time I just might pass out. I have so many questions."
Asuka grabbed Gohan's hand and started dragging him. "Ima get ya to the person who can answer all ya questions. Cmon!"
"Don't rip my arm off!"
Gohan kept scanning the areas around him. There was too much to see and not enough time to properly analyze anything. He wanted to ask questions but would wait until they reached their destination.
It doesn't even look like we're in a different world, more like a different city. There's more to this world than what I'm just seeing. Asuka mentioned beasts and demons. Just what have I gotten myself into?
"Okay here we are."
A long flight of stairs led to a white cathedral, the central part Yusnann.
"Is this where this Lightning person is?"
"Yep. Up we go."
After scaling uphill to the cathedral, Asuka pushed open the white doors, entering the main hall.
They walked along the marble white floors. The light radiating up above with chandeliers on the ceiling. Gohan could only marvel at what he was seeing.
"This place is huge," Gohan said amazed.
"People offer their thanks and prayers to Lightning and the Goddess of the moon Crescona."
"Goddess of what now?"
"You're finally here Gohan."
Asuka and Gohan stopped when they were near the front of the cathedral. A woman with pale aqua eyes starred with a cold, almost blank expression on her face. She sat on a throne wearing a silver and gold Valkyrie-like suit of armor with a shield on her left arm.
"Were you waiting for me?" Gohan asked.
"I have waited 18 years for you to appear before me. You've kept me waiting far too long. Now let us begin."
I want Gohan to reach his full potential. I know Chi Chi won't approve but I believe our son will be the one to save this world. As parents we should support that. I've already got a surprise waiting when that day comes. Just wait and see. - Fuji
