Aieee! Everyone loves my story! *tosses candy at everyone that reviewed*
MG: Nani? You're giving them more sugar? Oi…*goes back to reading reviews* Wow…these are really nice…you haven't gotten any flames yet.
That's because they all know that if you play with fire, you'll get burned. ^__^
MG: Um…yeah…n-nani? Uh, Ani, you should hurry up and get on with the reviewer feedback so you can get to the story…*sweatdrop*
Huh? Why?
MG: Read this. *hands her the reviews*
Oh dear…I'd better hurry it up then…*sweatdrop*
sakura117us: Thankies!
Chris-Redfield26: Uh…rabid monkey…named Bobo? I'm typin', I'm typin' already!
Frying Pan of DOOM: Glad you like it!
Destiny's Light: ^_______^ Oh yeah! I'll get to that in about two chappies…I think…
Trunks Soatome: Thank you!
Contrail: Yeah, but it's supposed to be sad. I just like playing with people's heartstrings.
MG: That's what worries me.
Oh yeah, and here's your plushie! *hands her a Duo plushie* DUO ROCKS!
Saiyagal: First a rabid monkey named Bobo, now secret ninja monkeys? O.O;
MG: …and they're gonna kidnap me? O.O; Now I'm worried, Ani.
notgoingtotellyou: Will do!
Matt Zero: I agree. Mystic Gohan is soooo awesome!
MG: More awesome than me?
Nah, you're way cooler that Present Gohan. But there aren't enough Mirai Gohan stories!!!!!
Chibi Lauryn: Class? *gags* I'm glad you like it!
Jadesaber: Thanks! Will do!
Android 71: You're welcome, and thanks! Oi, everyone wants to know what's on that piece of paper…
*****
Bulma gently took her son's body from Gohan and laid it in the casket. She swallowed hard and wiped the brimming tears from her eyes as Gohan closed the lid. He lifted one end of the rustic coffin as Bulma lifted the other, and they lowered it into the grave beside Vegeta's.
All too soon was the dirt replaced and the headstone laid. It simply said 'Trunks Briefs' and nothing more. Both Bulma and Gohan agreed that it was too cruel to put dates on the stone.
The wind picked up, and Bulma fell to her knees beside the grave. She buried her face in her hands. Gohan kneeled next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.
"Gohan…what kind of a world do we live in? When should a mother ever have to bury her 14-year-old son?"
"I know. Life is never fair. Things like this should never happen, but they do. And right now, I can't do anything about it."
Bulma looked up at the young man who was now staring blankly at the grave as the wind tossed his thick, black hair. She knew he was having a hard time adjusting to everything that had happened lately, but she wished he would stop mentally beating himself up over it.
"I should've been able to prevent his death," Gohan continued. "I should've been able to do something. But I've felt so useless since I lost my arm…"
"Gohan, stop talking like that. I doubt there was much you could've done even if you hadn't been injured. I—"
Gohan abruptly stood up, unintentionally cutting her off. "Goodbye, little brother. Until we meet again," he said, half to himself, as he turned to walk away. He looked skyward and half-heartedly called out, "Nimbus!" Even the yellow cloud seemed to be worn with grief as it sailed down to Earth. Gohan mounted the cloud and looked back at Bulma. "Be careful walking home."
"Where are you going?"
"Home."
Bulma nodded once. Gohan forced a small smile, and Nimbus took off over the northwest horizon.
He had forgotten how far it was between West Capitol and his house, but he was reluctant to make Nimbus move any faster. It had been a while since he had been home, and he wasn't exactly looking forward to his mother's inevitable reaction.
Gohan was deep in thought, and the light was dim in his obsidian eyes. The sun was at his back, for it was still before noon. A sudden chill ran down his spine, and the feeling of imminent danger prickled his senses. His muscles tensed, and he looked around, slowing Nimbus to a mere crawl.
"God, Gohan, you're just paranoid," he muttered to himself. No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something swift slammed against the back of his head, knocking him off the cloud and temporarily blurring his vision.
"Well, well, well. What have we here?" a smooth, taunting voice said. Gohan looked up to see the raven-haired Jinzouningen hovering a few feet in front of him.
"You…"he growled, snapping quickly into a defensive stance.
"Me? What about me? Oh…that little incident the other day. Actually, that was my dear twin sister," Juunanagou said with a smile. "I'm glad to see you're alright. I was afraid we'd broken our toy for good that time," he added coolly.
"I don't care which one of you it was. I'm going to permanently deactivate both of you for ever messing with me in the first place."
Juunanagou threw his hands up in the air in an unenthusiastic mockery of fear. "Oh no. I am so very scared. I am all alone in the middle of nowhere and the one-armed freak is going to do me in. Help me, save me." He rolled his eyes and folded his arms.
Gohan narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth. "I may only have one arm, but that's all I need to get rid of you," he hissed. "I am not in a very pleasant mood today, and if you value your circuitry, you should get moving." With that, he powered up to Super Saiyan and charged forward.
Juunanagou simply moved to one side and put up a block as Gohan spun and fired a ki blast at him.
"You are way too predictable," he said, dodging everything the 23-year-old threw at him. Gohan dashed towards the Jinzouningen and plowed his knee into Juunanagou's stomach.
"Was that predictable?" he asked sarcastically as Juunanagou doubled over.
"I'm impressed," Juunanagou said. He straightened back up and casually wiped the trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "But unfortunately, that little stunt is gonna cost you."
The golden aura surrounded Gohan's form once more and he drew back his fist and drove it with all his strength directly at Juunanagou's face.
He froze as he realized what had happened. Juunanagou had his hand wrapped tightly around Gohan's wrist, holding his fist a half an inch from its target. "Nice catch, don't you think?" the Jinzouningen taunted. Gohan jerked backwards, but Juunanagou didn't budge. He simply tightened his grip.
Sweat poured down Gohan's face as he tried and failed again and again to free his hand. "Let me go!" he yelled.
Juunanagou smiled. "Oh, am I hurting you?" Before Gohan could blink, Juunanagou was behind him with his left arm around Gohan's throat. He twisted the Super Saiyan's arm backwards and pinned it behind the young man's back.
Gohan squeezed his eyes shut and drew in a sharp breath. He leaned back towards Juunanagou to relieve the pressure as the Jinzouningen continued to twist his arm.
"Come on, scream already! I know I'm hurting you more than that—" He was cut off by a sickeningly loud pop as the two bones in Gohan's shoulder separated. Gohan cried out and would have doubled over had Juunanagou not had him in a headlock. Juunanagou smirked and pulled Gohan backward against his chest. He leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "You know, I could rip off this arm just as easily as I took off your other one." He let go and kicked Gohan back towards the Nimbus Cloud. "But if I did that, you couldn't fight, and then what would I have to play with? Go home, Son Gohan. Come find me when you think you'll actually be a challenge for me." He folded his arms, snorted at Gohan, and flew away.
Gohan swallowed hard. His breathing had become somewhat laboured and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He glanced down at his arm, which now hung limply at his side. It was still functional, but it hurt to move it at all. He dropped himself onto the yellow cloud, and at the same time, dropped out of Super Saiyan.
He cursed under his breath and instructed Nimbus to fly as fast as possible home. As if it could sense the urgency of the situation, it carried Gohan back home at top speed.
Nimbus screeched to a halt directly above the Son residence and slowly dropped straight down. The Ox King let go of the shovel he was holding and rushed around to the front yard. "Gohan, is that you?" he called. The cloud held its position a few feet above the ground as the Ox King approached.
Gohan half-fell off Nimbus and looked up at his grandfather. "Hi, Grampa," he said weakly.
"Gohan what happened to you? You look terrible."
"I just had a little run-in with Jinzouningen Juunanagou. Could you do me a favor and pull my shoulder back into place?" He lifted his hand a little. The Ox King looked at him a moment, then firmly grasped Gohan's arm.
"This is gonna hurt," he said. Gohan nodded, braced himself, and winced as his grandfather yanked back. There was a loud crack and the Ox King let go.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Gohan closed his eyes and nodded again. "Yeah, thanks." He opened his eyes and looked towards the house. "Where's Mom?"
"In the kitchen, I think."
Gohan started towards the door, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at the bearded man and smiled. Really, I'm alright, Grampa." He opened the door, took a deep breath, and walked into the house.
*****
MG: *glares at Anshin* You just had to make me fight Juunanagou, didn't you?
Yup. Sorry, Gohan-san! I needed a battle scene! And besides, we love you more when you're getting beat up because we feel sorry for you. It's called sympathy.
MG: It's called 'maternal instinct', I think.
You know, you may be on to something there. Oh yeah-and to my wonderful audience: I will be gone until Thursday to New Orleans. So the next update probably won't be until Friday, since I won't have free access to a computer while I'm on vacation and it's a ten-hour drive.
MG: I'm sorry. Do you want me to wake you up in the morning since your dad wants to pull out before 7:00? *sarcastic smirk* And here I thought spring break was supposed to mean sleeping in.
*growls* I am NOT a morning person…well, sayonara, minna-san!