Hey, all! Sorry this is so late. My computer was having problems with (It always refuses to work when I want it to the most.) So here's the next installment. Hope you like!
Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ.
When they came to the gym entrance, Videl and Erasa split off to the right and Sharpener took to the left. Gohan just stood there, confused.
"C'mon, nerd boy. The boy's locker room is this way!" Sharpener called. Gohan shrugged and jogged after Sharpener. They entered a brick room with three rows of lockers in the middle, a little space between each set. The rest of the male population that had gym that hour had found their assigned lockers and began to change into the school's gym uniforms.
Sharpener tugged Gohan's class schedule from him and dragged the saiyan over to their lockers.
"It looks like we're right here. Now hurry up and change." He said, throwing the piece of paper back at Gohan who caught. Gohan turned to his locker, entered the combination, and pulled out the clothes in side. There was a pair of navy blue shorts and pants, each with the orange star logo, a white t-shirt and a black sweatshirt. Gohan stuffed the shorts and t-shirt back into the locker.
He looked around for privacy of some kind and finally opted for a bathroom stall. When he was done changing he hurried to his locker and stored his regular clothes back in and locked it. Sharpener stood nearby, a blonde eyebrow raised as he regarded Gohan.
"So, I guess you don't want the rest of us to see your pathetic build, eh Gohan?" Sharpener himself had the shorts and t-shirt on. He was pretty muscular for a human, and it was obvious he liked to flaunt it.
"Uh…something like that." Gohan blurted, giving the Son grin.
"Well, class is starting, let's go." Sharpener turned and walked out into the gym, Gohan following. The girls had the same choice of attire, and pretty much the whole class wore
the shorts and t-shirt. Gohan felt a little out of place, but decided it was better than everybody gawking at him.
All of a sudden his senses picked up a familiar ki. He swallowed hard and focused on the ki. Yup, there was no doubt about it. Krillen was on his way to the gym. Surprise and confusion were the dominant emotions Gohan carried for the moment. He hurriedly suppressed his ki to a normal human level, but if Krillen concentrated hard enough, the Z senshi would be able to tell that it was a saiyan ki, not a human one. Hopefully Krillen wouldn't be expecting a saiyan to be in a highschool gym class.
Sharpener noticed Gohan stiffen as a far away look entered his eyes. I wonder what nerd boy is doing? He thought. Horror flashed across Gohan's face and then he returned to reality. He began to inch to the back of the group of students. Sharpener laughed. The nerd was probably just realizing the painful results a gym class might bring.
Just then a short, bald man walked into the gym, clipboard in hand. He had yellow gym shorts and a white sweatshirt on. He also wore a pair of purple sunglasses. He looked over the rim of the sunglasses and studied the class.
"Good morning. I'm Krillen and I'll be your gym teacher this year. Please say 'hear' when I call out your name. Whispers trickled through the class and Gohan's saiyan ears picked up a few of them.
"Hey, wasn't he in the World Martial Art Tournament?"
"He's awfully short for a martial artist."
"I bet Videl could beat him up."
Krillen proceeded down the list of names until he reached a familiar one at the end.
"Son Gohan?" A faint voice near the back of the room responded. "Hear."
Krillen took off his sunglasses and peered towards the back of the room. Spiky tips of someone's black hair could be just made out.
"Hey, buddy! Whatcha doin' way back there?" Gohan sheepishly pushed through the crowd of students to the front and waved.
"Hey, Krillen." Krillen whacked him on the back.
"So, I bet this was your mother's idea." Gohan nodded and responded sarcastically.
"How'd you guess?" Krillen chuckled.
"I bet Vegeta's not very happy about it." Krillen responded dryly.
"Actually, I haven't told him yet." Gohan winced and Krillen shuddered.
"Well, I'm glad I don't have to tell him. But we can't just stand here and catch up. I've got a class to teach." Gohan nodded and joined the class again.
Videl glared at the back of his head. How does he know a World Martial Artist? She thought. Krillen interrupted her thoughts.
"Alright, class, this year you'll all be learning the basics of martial arts, thanks to Hercule's funding." A few cheers and 'Go Hercule's were heard.
Krillen cleared his throat and the class quieted down.
"First we're gonna do a few stretches to warm up." He showed everybody the basic stretches and sent them to work. Gohan jogged after his friend, who had retreated to a corner of the gym and watched the class stretch.
"Hey Krillen, can I ask a favor?" Krillen turned to his best friend's son.
"Shoot." Gohan looked around the gym warily and stepped closer to Krillen.
"Can you not tell anybody about…you know what? I don't really want my complicated past revealed to them." Krillen looked at Gohan thoughtfully and nodded.
"Sure. But how's the world's strongest fighter gonna keep that kinda thing a secret in a martial arts class? Not to mention you're an alien hybrid from outer space and you could destroy planets with little effort." Gohan held out his hands.
"Okay, okay, I get what you're saying. I don't know, I guess I'll just take it easy. Maybe I can get a pass out of gym." Krillen raised an eyebrow.
"You think your mom would let you do that?" Gohan sighed.
"You have a point."
"Gohan, you're a trained fighter, not to mention your saiyan instincts. You're gonna have to push yourself really hard to keep from slipping up. I'll help all I can, I promise."
"Thanks, and you're right, it'll be hard. But If I have to go to highschool, I want to seem as normal as possible. People would think I'm a freak if they knew the truth." Krillen smiled.
"Well, regardless of what people may think, what matters is that you aren't a freak, you're a hero." Krillen patted his friend on the back and Gohan smiled warmly.
"Thanks, it means a lot." Krillen withdrew and gave his friend a thumbs up.
"No prob. Though I wouldn't mind seeing you take a few of those kids's egos down a notch or two…" The bald man trailed off and Gohan laughed.
"Now you sound like Vegeta." He replied, joining the rest of the class in exercises and leaving a stunned Krillen in his wake.
Videl watched Gohan walk away from Krillen and frowned. What were those two talking about? Gohan was hiding something, she knew it. It was only a matter of time until she found out.
After everyone was good and limber, Krillen walked to the front of the class again.
"Alright, everybody had to circle their level of martial arts knowledge upon entering this class, so I'm going to pair you up accordingly. I'll put those of you who are more proficient with someone less so and I'll expect you to help them out. Later when we spar, I'll match you with someone about your skill level. Once you get your partner, pick one of those red mats and wait for everybody else. Alright, Erasa and Videl, Gohan and Sharpener, Pencil and Marker, Pen and Takashi, Asuka and…." Krillen went on with the list of names until every body was paired up and standing on a red mat.
"Okay, I'm gonna demonstrate a few basic forms, so watch closely. When I'm done, I'll have you guys try them and I'll walk around and make sure everybody has them. Please help each other also." He took about ten minutes to show everybody a few basic forms and then set them to work.
Sharpener was feeling rather arrogant at the moment (A/N: When is he not?) as he had been paired up with nerd boy. Obviously, he was supposed to help Gohan like the teacher said.
"Alright, nerd boy, watch me closely." With that, he semi-clumsily pulled into his forms. Gohan watched with a trained eye, noting Sharpener's defense holes and improper stances. The blonde wasn't bad, he was about average. Gohan put on a nervous face and clumsy fell into the forms himself, making sure to make obvious mistakes and seem unsure of himself. Sharpener snickered under his breath and pointed out rather snootily Gohan's flaws. This is harder than I thought! Gohan thought, trying to appear anything but the trained martial artist he was.
Krillen was walking around the gym, helping kids with their forms and giving compliments. He looked up, amused, when he came to Sharpener and Gohan. Gohan was doing an admirable job of seeming clumsy and weak. Sharpener obviously thought he was the better of the two, but in reality, Gohan was there to help Sharpener, though Krillen was pretty sure no one in that group was going to learn anything. Sharpener wasn't bad himself, but nothing special. After complimenting Sharpener for 'helping' Gohan, he gave the young saiyan a few 'tips' and continued to the next group.
Twenty minutes later, when he'd made his rounds, he called everyone to a halt.
"Nice job, everybody. Most of you know a least a little about martial arts. Since we only have ten minutes left, I've asked Videl to give a little demonstration. Videl…"
Videl stepped onto the front mat and Krillen backed off to the side.
"Um, Mr. Krillen, is it okay if I pick someone to help me?" Krillen nodded and motioned for her to do so.
"Alright, any volunteers? Everybody looked a little scared and Sharpener decided to play a mean joke on Gohan.
"Gohan wants to help!" He called. Gohan looked at him alarmed, but Videl, seeing her chance, called out the Saiyan.
"Thanks, Gohan!" Gohan made his way to the mat and stood in front of Videl.
"Okay, I'm gonna show you how you would disarm someone with a gun. Gohan, could you please pretend to hold a gun aimed at me?"
Gohan shrugged and pointed his finger at her in the classic gun position. A few people in the class chuckled but he ignored them.
"Alright, I'll try not to hurt you." Videl whispered. She fell into a nice stance and delivered a kick to Gohan's hand/gun.
As soon as he saw her prepare to fight, Gohan's instincts kicked in. Her left hurtled towards him and before he realized what he was doing he ducked and positioned himself to swipe her off balance. He caught himself in time and pretended to loose his balance. He fell unceremoniously onto his butt and sat there blinking. Everybody laughed at him, believing it a fluke. Videl and Krillen, however, didn't laugh, realizing what Gohan had just done. He hadn't fallen down like everyone thought, he'd dodged her kick. Videl tried to pass it off as lucky, but a doubt lingered in his mind.
Krillen stood in the middle of the room as the students filed out to the locker rooms, a frown on his face. That had been close. He was sure anybody with enough martial arts training would realize at least part of what had happened. Luckily, Videl was the only one who did notice, and even she didn't catch everything. Gohan got lucky this time, but what about the next time? What would happen when his luck ran out?
Hope you like it! This scene turned out to be a little different then I planned, but I like it. Sorry for any OCC. Hope to see you all next chapter! Oh, and thanks to all my reviewers! It means a lot to me.