"Did you enjoy yourself? That poor, defenceless young man." Gohan wasn't in the least bit surprised at what Mika had just done, he had expected something of the sort, but being honest, he had thought it would have been much more likely if it had been him who had smashed that unlucky souls face in. As it were, he was happy enough that the school populus knew they were not to be trifled with.
"As a matter of a fact I did. From what Videl said he had it coming to him." Gohan's thoughts were forced back to the black haired beauty that had departed in the opposite direction. He had still not spoken to her, just given her a shrug of the shoulders. He wasn't quite sure what she thought of him. How could he know whether she was attracted to him to the same level that he was attracted to her? She had held his gaze for an exceedingly long time in the classroom, as well as at Capsule Corporation. But was that just a result of him looking at her? This was so complicated. Surely two people, even if they were compatible with one another in such a way that they were capable of spending the rest of their lives together didn't have a connection to each other like he seemed to have with this girl. To be so drawn to one person, and one alone surely wasn't normal for human beings. Perhaps the fact that he wasn't a human being had something to do with it. He had always suspected there was more to Saiyan relationships than to human ones. His mother had had an almost unhealthy obsession with his father for over six years before she eventually tracked him down. And as for Bulma and Vegeta, well they were a case. How could two people be so perfect for one another but still harbour so much anger at each other. Never before had Gohan seen two people fight verbally - he hoped - to the extent they did. They seemed to have had an attraction when they first met, even at the tender age he had been at on that fateful trip to Namek all those years ago, he had been mentally mature. The furtive glances between the two, and the not so furtive, obvious looks they had shared. Were the ones he himself had shared with Videl been the same thing? If so, was Videl supposedly the person he was destined to spend the rest of his life with? He would have to keep quiet about this. He certainly didn't want to think about that, as he had said to himself hundreds of times before, he didn't need that sort of love, he could just leave the school without bating an eyelid and never think of her again, couldn't he? All he had to do was to erect his facade of complete indifference to the world and she, along with all others would be pushed away.
The two followed the maps to the uppermost floor, where the majority of the advanced classes took place. Physics was the first of the afternoon, and the initial of their high school careers. They arrived at the laboratory, S-1, in time for the start of the lesson. As they had expected, this was a small class, only a dozen or so participating, including themselves. Most seemed to be typical high school intellectuals, a number of them stereotypical geeks. Mika was already chatting away excitedly with one who kept pushing his glasses back up his nose, already moving onto theories they would hopefully be discussing this year. Gohan sighed. He'd always loved studying, it allowed him to escape his troubles, but that had been in the comfort of his own home, surrounded by the chirping birds and rustle of leaves in the wind. Here the chatter and banter of children along with the noisy roads skirting the school didn't owe much to a perfect educational environment. He would just have to get used to it. After a few more moments, the teacher arrived. He was short, around fifty years of age. His bushy brown moustache quivered as he spoke and his comb over was barely concealing his bald patch. He outlined the subject topics they would be working on this year. Some difficult themes, but nothing Gohan and Mika hadn't covered before, just enough to keep them interested.
As the teacher teacher set the class to a simple reading exercise, Mika leant over to Gohan. "Guess who Videl's father is Gohan?" She said excitedly.
"Who?"
"None other than the world champ. Mr Satan. Can you believe it?" No, he couldn't. First of all, how could someone who looked like him produce something like her? However, as much as he didn't care about Mr Satan's taking credit for the whole Cell thing, he did not like the man. If he was capable of doing something like that he must be one of the most dishonourable and deceitful humans on the planet. That would probably have rubbed off on his daughter too. Excellent. If he thought she wasn't a good person,he wouldn't desire her as much. "Of course, she's nothing like him, doesn't seem to like the man a great deal." Great, thank you dear sister. "And what was going on between the two of you? Couldn't take your eyes off each other when we walked in."
"It's nothing."
"Didn't seem like nothing to me."
"We've seen each other before, alright."
"What? Where could you have met?"
"It was one of Bulma's tour days, with the schools. She was on it and her entire group saw Vegeta and I exit the gravity room."
"So that's why the blonde did that when she saw us out on the field."
"Yep. Now, can we drop it? Back to physics." He ended the discussion.
--------------------------------------------------
Now that Videl's classroom had quieted down, she had a chance to resume her thoughts. Obviously Gohan wasn't the only fighter in the family. Mika had lifted him clean off the ground before slamming him against the lockers as if he were made of feathers. Whether that action would make him learn was another matter. She had done the same years earlier and he had resumed his torment of the female population soon after. Perhaps the knowledge that there was another who could quite easily put him in a coffin with their bare hands might put a stop to it. She was intrigued now as to just how strong these two could be. She would certainly get a good grasp of their physical capabilities tomorrow in physical education.
She now thought back to Gohan. He had once again won their little staring contest, but this time she had lasted a little longer. She had had the chance to really fathom his eyes this time. His face had been stern, impassive and unemotional, but his she had been able to read his eyes a little. They were cold and threatening, obviously warding off any would be trespassers that tried entering his own world, but they appeared so pained, he looked almost like a shattered soul, someone who didn't seem to have much keeping them on their dull trudge through life. She was utterly shocked by what she saw in his eyes. She had seen that look before on the eyes of people who had attempted suicide, or those who were about to. He appeared even farther along than all of the others she had encountered however, so obviously something was holding him in this world. But what exactly could make himself believe he was so unworthy of life? He was an enigma to her, and when she looked at him she just wanted to stand up and go to him, to soothe the pain that resided within him. What perplexed her even more was that Mika seemed to hold none of this negative energy. Her eyes had been full of warmth, not just the traces of it present in Gohan's. And she was so eager and confident as she greeted her new classmates, while Gohan had sulked, and slammed his head on the table to escape the inevitable questions. She shook her head violently, drawing the attention of a few classmates with it. She had to get these thoughts out of her head, she had schoolwork to do!
---------------------------------------------------
The afternoon's lessons progressed without any notable happenings, and Mika and Gohan had soon escaped the confines of the school and begun the flight home. "School wasn't so bad was it?" Mika asked hopefully."
"I suppose not, at least I didn't lose it. What would mother say. And you were the one who was supposed to be keeping an eye on me. Tut tut." He wagged a finger. "As if you could do anything to me anyway."
"All I would have to do would be to tell mom and she would sort you out. You couldn't go long at all without her cooking."
"I've spent years away from her cooking."
"Yes, and that makes you need it even more." She quickly changed the subject. "Tomorrow should be interesting. Physical education."
"We'd better hold back, don't want to attract too much unwanted attention. Let's just act like stereotypical geeks, alright?"
"NO WAY! I'm not being someone I'm not. If I'm good at sports I'll be damn sure someone knows about it. You know I'm not one to show off, but I'm not gonna sit around like some pathetic moron who refuses to even try."
"Fine, you do that. I'll sit around like a pathetic moron."
"Oh no you won't. People will see how fit and healthy you are, we have to wear shorts and t-shirt. How weird will that look?"
"I couldn't care less."
"Ah, but I know one thing you can't stand. Being shown up by me. You're never one to let me get too cocky, and I'm the same for you. We keep each other grounded. Who knows what I might do if I wasn't concentrating." She turned to Gohan, eyebrows raised. He was deep in contemplation. On the one hand he could remain inconspicuous by acting almost non-existent in physical education, or on the other he could continue on an even footing with Mika as they had always done. Academically, one had never truly outshone the other. In some areas perhaps, but those were made up in others. They would also be at exactly the same power if Mika had the ability to transform, if she had continued training that is, as he had.
As they approached their small home in the country, young Goten became visible as he waited patiently for their return. As he sensed and saw their approach he jumped to his feet and began bouncing on his toes. As they touched ground he jumped on top of the both of them, wrapping an arm around each, jabbering about how much he had missed them and what he had been forced to endure from Chichi in their absence. Gohan took responsibility and swept him into his arms and pacing back towards the house. The young boy was one of the main reasons he had remained on this earthly plain. He felt as though he had a duty to protect and raise the child as a father would, since he still thought of himself as the reason Goten didn't have his natural one. Many people, Chichi and Mika in particular had been worried what sort of relationship the two might of had when she was pregnant, and when it became clear he resembled Goku so much, they feared he would become cold and distant towards him to keep his painful memories at bay. Gohan himself knew that on occasion the smiles and good spirits he had around Goten were forced, but the majority were real. When he was in a bad state around Goten he would affix his mask, purely to keep him out of the presence of such feelings, he didn't want them rubbing off on the youngest Son.
When they entered the quaint house they were bombarded by questions from their mother. How did the test go? What classes are you in? How much trouble did Gohan get into? These were the main themes behind the questions, the third was one Chichi was most interested in. It was inevitable that he would get angry in some form, but it was a risk that had to be taken.
"Mika knocked the crap out of some poor guy." Gohan was quick to get the subject off himself.
"WHAT!" She shrieked.
"It was nothing, he made a grab for me, so I floored him, that's all, I'm sure you would of done the same."
"And why didn't you sort him out young man?" Suddenly the topic was back on Gohan, much to his distaste.
"Look, it isn't like she needed my help, and getting beaten up by a girl gives much more of an impression than if it were a guy."
"It was fun mother, and he had it coming, apparently he has been doing it for years. I wanted to teach him a lesson."
"Weel, I'm glad that you two are always fighting for the side of good." She appeared appeased. "But just remember not to draw too much attention to yourselves. Except for your academic abilities of course." Chichi then proceeded to explain, for the umpteeth time, what their future's as scholors held for them, and of course the idea of fighting, even as the smallest of hobbies was disregarded. This went well into the night.
The next morning the entire family awoke relatively early, ready for the school day, including Goten to wave them off. Surely he wasn't going to do it every day? Anyhow, as the two advanced towards the city of Satan, gunshots and screams could be heard, particularly by keen Saiyan hearing. The two descended and approached a scene of almost mass panic confined in one street. People were running about wildly, obviously escaping the gunfight that had begun. The police had yet to establish a presence, and two gangs, who appeared very serious in their little turf war were duking it out at opposite ends of the street, ducking behind cars and vans. The two Saiyan twins stood lazily at the side, a stray bullet wouldn't even scratch one of them, even if caught off guard.
Mika sighed and turned to Gohan. "We should help you know, sort them out before someone gets hurt."
"Who cares? If they are so willing to try and kill each other, let them die."
"We don't have time to argue, if you won't, I will." Before she could move, she was thrown headfirst into an alleyway, and Gohan was bearing down on her.
"I'll sort it, you can't transform, and I don't want either of us seen doing anything weird, OK?" He dropped his schoolbag, quickly remodeled his appearance into a super saiyan, and shot out into the open air. He swept down onto the first group, the larger of the two. He noticed one had already been shot and was bleeding from his left shoulder. Another six inches across and he would be dead. Were they really prepared to die for this cause? Before they knew what had descended upon them they were out cold, and he proceeded onto the bemused group at the other end, who appeared to think they had just won the battle. Gohan however knew he was the only one going to win this little three way, and dished out the same punishment to the others. The only one left conscious was the injured male, who didn't appear much older than him, who he didn't wish to damage further.
Gohan suddenly materialised behind Mika, just out of view in the dank alleyway, in his normal state. "All taken care of, now are we all right to continue now I've done my good deed for the day?" Back to his thoughts, Gohan mulled over his plans for the day. Of course he would have to keep a close eye on Mika, but more importantly was the situation with Videl. Already he was attracted to her, and he had decided the best way to quell that attraction, and still maintain the ability to remain in the same room as her would be to simply push her away. If he was as distant as possible with her, and if needed nasty, surely she would quickly have a good reason to leave him be in return and have nothing to do with him. As for himself, it would be easy. He had learned years ago to control his emotions and feelings when it came to the soft side of things, like love and affection, so he could do it with her too.
-----------------------------------------------
Videl thought back to what she had seen earlier in the morning as she flew to Orange Star high. All those bright blue eyes could see from her yellow jetcopter at first was a golden blur moving too quickly for the naked eye to see correctly. As it moved through the criminals, they had dropped unconscious. The blur stopped abruptly as the last of the gangmembers slumped to the ground. Much to her surprise, although for the life of her she couldn't think what else it could have been, it was a person, a he to be exact, a young looking one. She was unable to pick out his features from the great distance, apart from the golden hair and shimmering glow about him, and saw the plain black t-shirt and dark pants that he wore, which seemed even darker in contrast to the glow of the boy before he disappeared form her sight, much to her confusion.
Inside the building, she saw Mika and Gohan approaching down the hall towards their lockers, and greeted them with a wave, which only Mika responded to. She was wearing similar clothes to the previous day, bright colours, not too over the top of course, colours that clashed with Gohan's pitch black shirt and jeans. Very familiar. Couldn't be him, she quickly concluded, as she looked around her and saw countless others in similar attire. And there was no golden hair, nor the aura that surrounded him. Well, there was an aura, just not bright golden and shining. It was dark and brooding, much like his eyes, and could be sensed coming off him in waves. Not to mention the fact that the incident had been a hell of a long way from the school, and she didn't even know if this Golden Boy went to school, let alone hers, if he wasn't a figment of her imagination that is. Maybe it was the police, now there's a laugh.
"Hi you two." She realised it was the first thing she had said to Gohan, in spite of it being aimed at both of them.
Mika responded with a "Hello" of her own, but Gohan just glared down at her, and his looming presence made her slightly unnerved. Both shrugging to themselves inwardly, the two females entered a discussion of their own, leaving Gohan to lean against the dull, grey lockers, and shut his eyes. This was harder than he thought it would be. In his mind, the thought of ignoring her was simple, but now in her presence he was already struggling with the pretence, barely five minutes in. Barely five seconds, in fact.
The bell sounded, abruptly bringing the conversation to a halt, whuch resumed however when Erasa joined the group. Gohan tailed the jibbering women to the classroom, where he took his seat and promptly landed a knockout headbutt to the poor tabletop. The morning's learnings began, so the two made their way up to the top floor briskly, as they had another science first thing this morning. After an hour or so of nearly demolishing the entire room, the young and heartily overeager chemistry tutor bade them farewell. For the rest of the morning, they sat through mundane language lessons, until lunchtime came around. Gohan once again found the tree they had sat beneath on their first day. He ate his food quickly, with Mika sat beside him, who stirred a little when she viewed Videl, Erasa and Sharpener coming towards them.
"Do you two wanna sit with us on the stands, we usually have a pretty good spot." Erasa asked.
"Sure! Gohan?" Mika replied. He simply turned his head in the opposite direction. "He's not much of a morning person, sorry." She apologised for her awkward brother.
"But it's half twelve." Sharpener put in. Gohan looked back towards the girly haired male. He certainly did not approve of the looks he was trying to steal up Mika's skirt as she sat on the floor. He held himself back, he could sort him out later in a subtler way than punching him right now and getting expelled for it.
"Well, he isn't much of a day person really. He would rather stay on his own I think." Gohan simply turned his head again. Mika got up and walked away with the other three. Gohan turned to watch them depart, and caught two pigtails swishing about as they turned with the head that held them back to look in front. He stood and stretched. The branch above looked inviting, and he reached up and pulled himself onto it. Sitting with one leg dangling precariously over the side, and back up against the trunk, he fell into a light doze, ready to be awoken by the clang of the bell, unseen by all but the keenest eyes.
He awoke with memories of an enjoyable dream concerning himself and Videl. His mind would not stop it's unconscious barrage on his willpower. After leaving his trusted tree he registered in his formroom and departed for his locker to retrieve his uniform for physical education. It perplexed him as to why they wore whatever they desired during classes, but had to wear the same orange shorts and white tops for running around in circles. He changed as inconspicuously as possible in the changing rooms, but was unable to avoid no jealous glances from a few fellow students. As he exited, the gym teacher for their class gathered them around and informed them they would simply be running around the school grounds five times, to get a general indication of fitness for the ease of the staff. The thirty or so of them gathered on the line, and the gym teacher shouted for them to begin. Gohan hung back and saw Mika running with the three she had sat with at lunch, and talk in Videl's ear.
"I'm just going to piss Gohan off a bit, doesn't like to be beaten, see ya later." Mika spoke to Videl with a grin. Before she could ask what it was about, she took off at a fast pace, quicker than anyone else. Then she heard a deep voice shout "Mika!" from behind her. She craned her neck to see who it was, and saw a fuming Gohan come crashing through the crowd. Mika turned and ran backwards, keeping her pace up surprisingly easily and stuck her tongue at him. He went sprinting after her. Of course they were going at less than a snail's pace compared to what they were truly capable of, but the class could not see that, and it seemed they were running at a veritable world record breaking speed.
Beside her, Sharpener mumbled something about the nerd acting like an idiot running off like that and how he would show him. Sharpener was obviously blind to another man's fitness because he hadn't noticed Gohan was as fit as a fiddle. Gohan quickly caught up to Mika, and the two wrestled a little as they eased into a run beside each other. Much to her astonishment, the twins kept their pace and even lapped her, twice, and the rest of the class even more so, as she was running with her two friends, who despite being fairly good runners were nowhere as fit as her, so she hadn't broken a sweat. Every time they passed they were bickering, which amazed Videl. Gohan had barely spoken two words in her presence while at the school but was just as involved as Mika in the arguments, and seemed very annoyed when Mika halted their discussions to say hello for a second before resuming each occasion they passed.
As the class finished their run, the coach informed them that after a quick rest they would be playing a few games of basketball.
Longest chapter yet, and I don't think I'll top it in size, for a while at least. The PE lesson will continue in chapter nine, and we'll see what Gohan has in store for Sharpener. It's nothing serious, or really funny,I just think it will be fun for me to write.
