Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty
Authors: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner
Edited by: StevenBodner and SparkerLightning
A/N: It looks like the Gohan's have it for how this progresses. If any of you change your mind about following Gohan or Goku next, please let me know. The story is about to fork, ever so slightly, but both characters have an important tale to tell all on their own.
Chapter 137: Back to Earth!
On Planet Earth...
Earth. It has been 7 years since the defeat of the monster known as Cell, and only slightly less time since one of the planet's most headstrong champions disappeared into space in search of long-lost kin. In that time, the beautiful, blue planet has endured a period of prolonged peace. Let us visit these brave folk once more, and see where their story might lead to next...
On Mt. Paozu...
With the shrill ringing of an alarm clock, Son Gohan (now a 16-year-old teenager) sat up rail straight in his bed. He had been giddy about this day for quite a while now: his first day of public school!
No longer bound by the chains of private tutelage, thanks in no small part to his Aunt Launch and Godmother Bulma working away at his mother, Gohan was eager and readily prepared to undertake this new endeavor. And perhaps, finally meet some new friends!
He quickly slid on his school uniform, a pair of scarlet pants, a black vest and white long-sleeve combo, and an Orange Star High student badge, and went running from his room, sliding down the banister of the stairs, and straight into the kitchen where his mother stood, dishing out three large bowls of porridge and laying out a platter of homemade, buttery biscuits. Gohan was cheery. "Morning, Mom!"
Chi-Chi smiled at him, with only a hint of sadness in her eyes. Her massive, ox-demon horns jutted from the sides of her head and gleamed with an ivory-white luster. "Morning Gohan! Wow... today is the day, huh?"
Gohan nodded, popping two biscuits into his mouth and practically drank his morning porridge. "Mmm~"
Chi-Chi smiled; a tad bashful. "Fresh honey. I went out and got it myself..."
Gohan grabbed Chi-Chi tight, hugging her close. "Thanks, Mom! And... uh... thanks for... letting me go to school like this. I know it's hard on you, but..."
Chi-Chi shushed him, wiping a tear from her eye onto the shoulder of her shawl. "You kids need room to breathe. Launch and Bulma were right, I can be a bit too protective... or maybe possessive is a better word..."
Gohan hugged her one more time. "It's going to be great~ You'll see."
Chi-Chi nodded, watching her little man... her big man... run toward the den. "Just... make sure you look both ways before you cross the street, okay?!"
Like a hurricane, Chi-Chi's two younger children stormed into the kitchen. Goten grabbed his bowl of porridge and a single biscuit while Chika emptied the rest of the buttery morsels into her backpack. Goten chuckled. "Don't worry, Mom! We'll make sure he uses the crosswalk!"
Chika grinned. "We won't let Big Brother get hit by a bus~"
The two of them rushed off and Chi-Chi called after. "You two be safe too! And Chika, mind your hat!'
Goten leapt over a chair, landing on both feet next to his brother. Chika landed on the other side, leaping up along the way to grab her pretty, floppy sunhat that she always wore on trips to town. It was either this or the hair bun covers, and on a nice day like this Chika would prefer the latter. Though, as she caressed the tiny, curving horns popping out of the sides of her head, her heart wished she didn't have to hide them at all.
But that was neither here nor there, all three of the Son kids bull-rushed to the door, only for it to open and reveal a startled Goku. "Wh-Whoa! Where's the fire?!"
Gohan dodged to the side, skimming past Goten and side-leaping out the front door. He smirked. "First day of school, Dad! Gotta hurry!"
Goku nodded. "Ah. Sounds boring. But, have fun! Just remember: Work well!"
Goku and Gohan exchanged a fist bump. "Study well!"
He and Goten shared a high-five. "Eat well!"
Chika jumped into her daddy's chest and hugged him tight around the neck, he ruffled her hair and adjusted her hat. Watching all three of his kids run down the road towards Raditz' house, Goku called after them. "And don't forget to rest well!"
All three of the kids waved bye to their ever-cheerful father, getting a warm feeling in their chests as he grinned after him. These years of peace, just getting to be with him without the threat of eminent destruction, were some of the best that Gohan, in particular, had ever enjoyed. He looked down to his siblings and beamed. "Let's go get Ranch!"
At Raditz and Launch's house...
A pair of sullen, darkly-ringed (though that was hidden by a tasteful amount of foundation) eyes stared back from the mirror at Raditz as he buttoned his top three buttons and then got to work tying his tie. He looked at his frame, barely hidden by the crisp, tailored suit that Bulma and Launch had made for him. He pressed his hands over his rounder, slightly flabbier gut and then to his doughy cheeks. He groaned and whispered to himself. "Some Saiyan you turned out to be..."
And then, he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the cold glass of the mirror. He seemed to stand there forever, until a pair of warm, familiar arms wrapped around his neck. She whispered in his ear. "Saiyan enough for me."
Raditz's eyes cracked open and he looked over at the flowing, blue hair of his wife. Launch smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek. "I, for one, love my chunky monkey. And I would appreciate if he'd stop being mean to himself on his big day~"
A brief flicker of a smile flashed across Raditz's face, only to fade the moment her head a familiar pair of wedge heel boots thundering down the hall. He and Launch turned in time to see their 8-year-old daughter, bespoke in all black for her early onset goth-phase, marching toward the stairs. Launch called after her. "Good morning, honey!"
She barely got a grunt back, followed a few seconds later by the harsh slam of a front door. Raditz moved from Launch, parting the curtains of their bedroom window and watching as Gohan, Goten, Chika, and Ranch all took off in a group. His eyes seemed to sink in just a bit more, his irises faded from a rich black to a dull, stormy gray.
Raditz was a man clearly haunted.
Launch tried to lighten the mood. "So, what's on the schedule today, my love?"
Raditz sighed, running his hand through his wild mane of hair, held back in a tight ponytail. "Just another round of investor meetings with Bulma. If these go well, then Son Family farms might have the chance to go global. We could be on the precipice of... success. Tangible success."
Launch smiled, searching her mind for things to say that might perk her husband up. She sighed. "Everything you've done these past 7 years... I bet it would make your Dad proud."
Raditz didn't even flinch at Launch's words, knowing they came from a place of love. But, out of her sight, his eyes sunk in even deeper.
In Orange Star City...
Landing in a public park sparse in attendance due to the early morning hours, Gohan, Goten, Chika, and Ranch all quickly adjusted their outfits from the wind resistance leading out of Mt. Paozu. The four of them calmly walked out of the park and looked around at their new, bustling surroundings. Gohan pointed south. "I think you guys' school is that way."
Ranch nodded. "Yup. Now we just gotta wait for those two to show up..."
Gohan cocked his head. "Huh?"
"YO! GOHAN!"
"Hey, Gohan~"
Gohan turned, finding himself suddenly attacked by two mysterious shapes. These two shapes quickly revealed themselves to by Trunks V. Briefs and Bulla E. Briefs, the two children of Bulma and Vegeta!
Gohan quickly recollected himself, turning towards his siblings and cousin so that the other two could fall off. He smiled down at all five kids. "Look at the five of you. You already have a little school clique going, huh?"
Ranch scoffed. "Pssh. I don't hang with losers. Come on, Chika! Come on, Bulla! Let's go commit some girl crime!"
Bulla cheered. "Girl crime!"
Chika pumped her fist into the air. "Girl crime~"
Trunks called after them. "H-Hey! Ranch! I-I'm not a loser!"
Goten simply laughed. "Ranch is so funny~"
As the five kids walked off, Gohan called after them. "Wait, guys!"
All of them paused. Gohan reached into his bag and pulled out a wad of cash. "I've been saving up my wages from helping around the farm. I want each of you to buy yourself something nice during lunch period. Cool?"
Gohan parsed out 1,000 Zeni to each of the kids, smiling at their grateful reactions. Even Trunks and Bulla, both wealthy beyond most people's wildest dreams, smiled warmly and gave their thanks. As they went running off, Gohan waved after them. "Stick close together! Make sure to take lots of notes and make lots of friends!"
Once the kids were out of sight, Gohan turned and began to march the opposite way toward his own school. There were three academies in Orange Star City, all of them prestigious and exceptionally easy for Gohan and his extended family to get into. In a lot of ways, Bulma having her financial finger in every one of the world's pies was a huge advantage in life. Goten and Chika were both given priority selection status for Orange Star Primary School, as were Trunks, Bulla, and Ranch.
For Gohan himself, Bulma had simply been the prestige to envelope his impressive intellect. By the time the selection process was done, Orange Star High School was practically begging him to attend. The school in the World Champion's city had sent their version of a diplomatic mission specifically to interview and draw him in. If Gohan weren't so humble, he probably wouldn't be able to fit his head out the front door. And yet, in spite of all of this positive attention, Gohan suddenly found his mind wandering again... wandering from the street in front of him to the sky above.
Gohan stopped in his tracks and focused his ki sense sharply into space. He felt around and around, like a radar desperately seeking a depth charge, only to come up with nothing once more. After all of this time... he still couldn't sense his Grandpa Bardock anywhere close to Earth.
Gohan didn't know how long he was standing, but he did know the sudden racing feeling of shock as a sharp finger poked into his bicep. He flinched and looked around, eventually looking down and finding a familiar face staring up at him.
Gine smiled warmly at Gohan, her face glowing like a finely cared for antique in the morning sun. Gohan smiled down at his grandmother, absorbing in her features. Her bifocals shined like the ocean in the soft, morning light. Her face was slightly creased and her hair was just being kissed by the stormy fringes of gray that came with old age. That though actually turned Gohan's smile into a concerned frown. His Grandma Gine was only 60 years old, and Saiyans weren't supposed to start showing their age until at least their eighties. Gohan thought to himself. 'What could be causing this change if not a boat load of str-'
As if she could hear his thoughts, Gine cut Gohan off. "Now now, don't look at me like that. Walk with me, I have to keep the line going~"
Gohan nodded. "Right."
Gine lifted her flag and pulled on her tail, though not hard enough to snatch it out of the little hand hanging onto it. "Come along, kids, come along! We need to keep on schedule! We still need to collect Ishimaru, Owada, and Fujisaki!"
She called back. "Miss Ludenberg! Please quit hitting Mr. Yamada!"
Gohan's smile returned. "Already know all of your new students' names, huh?"
Gine chuckled. "Gohan, if one is to be the Ultimate Teacher, then one must be on top of things such as that~"
She took a deep breath and sighed, waving the flag to keep her little flock of kindergarteners' attention. "So, are you nervous? First day in public school and all."
Gohan nodded. "A little. But I think I'll be fine. I'm just..."
He looked back to the sky. Gine shook her head. "Gohan, you can't waste your precious youth worrying about Bardock. He'll be back eventually."
Gohan turned his attention back to her. "But I'm not the only one worrying, am I?"
She rolled her eyes. "Unimportant. Young men need not concern themselves with the worries of old women. You, my beloved grandson..."
She leapt up and kissed him on the cheek. "...need to worry about yourself. So, promise me, when we go our separate ways at this upcoming intersection, you'll stop fretting over my husband and start fretting over high school things. Okay?"
Gohan nodded, blushing as he pressed his hand to his cheek. "Yes, Grandma..."
She smiled. "Good. I'll see you when I come over for dinner tomorrow."
He cocked his head. "Not coming tonight?"
She shook her head. "No. I have to prepare my lesson-plan for the next few weeks. I got so distracted learning their names that I didn't plan anything for them to learn..."
Gine turned and walked across one crosswalk, her face as red as a crosswalk signal. Gohan stood at his intersection, watching her walk off. He called after her. "Love you, Grandma Gine!"
She called back, waving with her free hand. "Love you too!"
10 minutes later...
Gohan was enjoying his casual walk, but he was also relieved that it was almost over. Above several local businesses, Gohan saw the upper floors of Orange Star High School rising high into the sky. He smiled. "Almost there..."
And that was when the first gunshot rang out. Gohan stopped dead in his tracks. Much to the half-Saiyan's chagrin, there was one last obstacle between himself and his vaunted, teenage life. And that obstacle was seven thugs in masks loading two cars full of stolen cash. Gohan groaned and scratched the back of his head. "I should probably stop this, but..."
He pictured himself being mobbed by others at the school. Or, worse, being shunned and looked upon like some sort of freak. Gohan sucked his teeth. "Can't just rush into this as I am. But... how to disguise myself..."
He reached up and pinched a lock of hair between two fingers. "Only someone truly paranoid would think I dyed my hair that quick..."
Hiding behind a tree, Gohan let loose his Super Saiyan power, jumping up in a flaming golden flash and landing with a massive thud onto the hood of one of the getaway cars. The hood was pressed down so hard that the driver was booted through the windshield. Gohan thrust his hand out and caught the driver, saving them from a bloody death but dropping them like a bag of trash. He cracked his neck as the second car crashed into the back of the first. "This robbery ends here!"
Across town...
A petite blonde girl and a muscular blonde boy both stopped in their tracks, turning to see that their black-haired, pig-tailed friend had stopped a few steps back. The blonde girl called out. "Hey, Videl, what's up?"
Videl, however, was not paying attention to either of her friends. Her gaze was locked on the sky behind them, watching as a golden streak descended down and the sound of crunching metal rang out. And then, before either of the others could stop her, she was off running.
Back with the bank robbery...
Two more men quickly got out of their cars and started firing at the interloper on their destroyed hood, but he was gone in a flash. Before either of them could react to their suddenly missing foe, each got a harsh chop to the back of the neck that sent them crashing to the ground.
The back doors to the vehicle opened and two more goons hopped out. Each armed with an assault rifle, they opened fire on their golden foe. Gohan faced the bullets head on, giving off a small burst of energy and incinerating the projectiles out of the sky. The bigger of the two, fear in his eyes, charged at Gohan and swung his rifle like a club. Gohan punched through the weapon like crepe paper and then flicked the hulking brute in the head, dropping him like a potato sack. Before the other could move, Gohan shot forward like a human bullet and gut checked him with his elbow. As he fell to the ground, the final two robbers got out of the other car. Gohan shrugged. "Not too late to surrender. Turn yourself in to the police rather than the hospital..."
One of them pulled a knife and lunged at Gohan. He scoffed and rolled his eyes, catching the tip of the knife with his fingers and slapping the fool across the face. The robber went flying, crashing into a light pole and snapping it in half. The light pole tipped and fell, smashing onto the final robber's head and knocking him to the ground. Gohan sighed in relief and shook his head. "What a bunch of dummies..."
And then, with the sound of police sirens approaching, Gohan leapt into the air. "Need to hurry. Don't wanna get arrested for truancy..."
Little did Gohan notice, as he leapt away to escape the attention of oncoming police, that three more teenagers quickly arrived at the scene. Videl came to a skidding halt, looking around with a fierce expression. "What the heck?! How did I miss all of this?!"
Behind her, Videl's two friends quickly arrived on the scene. The young man with long, blonde hair spoke up. "I mean, it was a couple of blocks away. No surprise you didn't hear what was going on."
The young, blonde woman leaned against the boy, gasping and breathing heavy. "Sharpner's right... we were talking all the... way... oh god... out of breath..."
Videl looked down at her smart watch, seeing that she had received several crime alerts but had missed them all. It was still on silent mode! Videl shook her head. "Shit..."
She turned to her gasping friend. "You okay, Erasa?"
The blonde nodded. "Uh-huh... just outta shape. I didn't really do much over the summer but lay on the beach..."
The sound of sliding glass doors made Videl turn and she saw the manager of the bank slowly, carefully inching his way out the door. She ran over to him. "Excuse me! Mr. Bank Manager!"
The fellow gave a small yelped, nearly leaping out of his skin, only to relax when he saw who it was. "Ah! Videl! How are you today, ma'am?"
Videl immediately ignored the question, instead asking the only thing on her mind. "Who thwarted this bank robbery?! What did they look like?!"
The older man was taken aback, fumbling his glasses and barely catching them. He stammered. "Uh, um, uh... well... I, uh..."
Videl slapped him. "Details! I need details, damn it!"
Sharpner and Erasa both ran up. Sharpner got between Videl and the object of her wrath. "Hey! No reason to hit people! Calm down!"
Erasa, taking things a bit more softly, hugged onto and held Videl's other hand in place. Videl groaned and sighed. "Sorry. Sorry. But... please. Who did this? It's... important..."
Sharpner and Erasa both flinched. Videl's vulnerable voice. She never put that voice on in public. All at once, both of them became quite concerned. The bank manager nodded. "Quite alright. It's okay to be a concerned citizen. I, er, I think the fellow who did this was one of your fellow students. He was wearing an Orange Star Uniform, vest and badge and all. Which is bizarre because I didn't think you kids even bothered with the uniform these days..."
Sharpner rolled his eyes. "Only nerds and newbies. He'd have to have been transferred here..."
The bank manager nodded. "Right. But that wasn't the most interesting part! The biggest thing I saw was that spiky, golden hair! He was glowing golden yellow the entire time! And he shouted at their bullets and made them disintegrate! It was quite a spectacle!"
Videl's eyes went wide, a shudder seemed to go through her entire body and her face flushed bright red. And, very quickly, she regressed back 7 years...
7 years ago, on Gyosan Mane Island...
An instrumental version of "Golden", the final song by Miguel played as little Videl watched her golden-haloed champion lay blow after blow into the monster that had threatened her life.
No, scratch that, he wasn't just her champion. He was her angel. A savior angel sent down from heaven by her mother. One that was fighting tooth-and-nail to keep her face. All at once, she found herself blushing and taken by this radiant warrior.
Her Golden Fighter.
Back in the present...
"Videl... Videl... VIDEL!"
Videl gasped and turned, looking over to Erasa with a doe-eyed gaze. Erasa smiled. "Hey, girl. This is no time to space out. He might be here~! You might get to see your champion~"
Sharpner snorted. "C'mon, Erasa. Don't get her hopes up."
Erasa puffed out her cheeks and glared at her friend. "And just why shouldn't I?!"
Sharpner leaned in close, sharply whispering. "Because this gold guy might not even be real!"
Erasa leaned in close as well, snapping. "He's real, Videl saw him!"
Sharpner snapped back. "When she was grieving... and under attack by a monster!"
As her two closest friends argued back and forth, Videl looked past them and toward the school. Slightly swooning, she thought to herself. She wondered if he could really somehow be there. Somehow, after all this time, could he... possibly be... at... the...
Wait.
Wait a minute!
Rushing down the sidewalk, dressed in the Orange Star School uniform, was a boy that looked to be about their age. His bag flopped against the small of his back and his spiky, black hair was bobbing as he ran. Videl whispered to herself. "H-Hair dye..."
Erasa and Sharpner both stopped and looked at her, cocking their heads in confusion. Videl quickly shoved them aside. "HAIR DYE! HE MUST HAVE DYED HIS HAIR!"
Sharpner and Erasa both stumbled back. Quickly, Sharpner got his bearings and went sprinting. "Hey! Videl, wait up!"
Erasa whined, breaking into a sprint and following. "DO WE HAVE TO RUN EVERYWHERE?!"
Further up the street...
Gohan was so taken in by the sight of Orange Star High School that he didn't notice the heavy, clamor of footsteps rushing up behind him. He smiled, bewitched at the sight. "A real school. Wow~"
And then he was suddenly assaulted from behind, a barely of thin, soft, but quite strong arms wrapping around his neck and clenching him into a tight headlock. "LET ME FEEL YOUR HAIR!"
Gohan crashed to the ground, feeling five fingers dig into his hair all the way to the roots. The feminine voice cried out. "You must have dyed your hair! I know it! Wh-Why doesn't your hair feel wet?!"
"Dude, get off the poor guy!"
"Videl, let him go!"
Feeling the iron vice grip around his throat loosen, Gohan bucked his sudden assailant off of his back. He stood up and turned, coming upon the sight of three people his age gather behind them. A blonde girl out of breath, a blonde guy trying his best to restrain the third, and the third in question being an aggressive-looking young woman with black pigtails. As the three of them tried to orient themselves, Gohan decided that all he could do in this moment...was make lemonade out of lemons. "Hi there! I'm Gohan, nice to meetcha!"
Their racket stilled, the three teens all turned to him with different looks on their faces. A bead of sweat ran down the guy's face. "Uh, hi, name's Sharpner..."
The girl with black pigtails furiously pulled her hands out of Sharpner's grip. "Videl."
The blonde girl took a deep breath and groaned. "I hate running. But, hi there, my name is..."
She looked at Gohan and her jaw went slack. She looked him over and only became more and more dumbstruck as she went one. Firmly muscles without being too bulky, perfectly soft ebony black hair, shimmering obsidian eyes! Erasa leaned to the side and caught glimpse of this guy's butt and... she swooned. "Erasa~ My name's Erasa~ Nice to meet you, Gohan~"
A bead of sweat ran down the side of Gohan's face. "Uh, yeah... so, you're students at Orange Star too?"
Sharpner smirked, planting his fists into his hips. "Yeah! That's right! What grade are you in?"
Gohan looked for Erasa, who was ogling him like a store window, and then to Videl, who was focused on searching her hand for traces of hair dye. Gohan sighed and focused on Sharpner. "Second year of High School. I used to be a correspondence course kid, but I finally decided I wanted to strike out and give actual school a shot!"
Sharpner chuckled. "Well, newbie, let good ol' Sharpner be the guy to show you the ropes! I'm kind of a big man on campus, so I'll take up the responsibility of showing you how things are!"
Erasa giggled. "M-Me too~ I'd love to get to know you better~"
Finally, Videl looked up from her hand and into Gohan's eyes. He looked back at her, quite a bit intimidated by her entire demeanor. She was a strikingly pretty young girl, her eyes prismatic and radiant as fresh ice. And Gohan couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen her somewhere before. Videl glared at him for a long time, and then spoke. "We need to run. We're almost late to class."
Sharpner looked at his watch. "Crap!"
Gohan nodded. "Don't wanna be late on my first day!"
As the two boys went walking, Erasa whined again. "I don't wanna run anymore!"
Without even asking, Videl scooped Erasa up into her arms and ran, carrying her friend like a princess. Erasa blushed and smiled, laying her head against Videl's shoulder. "You know, if you don't find your Golden Fighter and I don't find a worthwhile guy...this wouldn't be so bad~"
Videl rolled her eyes. "If you keep being weird, I'll drop you and make you run..."
At Orange Star High School, Biology Lecture Hall...
Sharpner, and Erasa, and even Videl all stared in shocked disbelief at their new companion. Gohan cocked his head. "What...?"
Sharpner gasped. "You live on Mt. Paozu and you come to school here?!"
Erasa's eyes were wide. "Do you live in a hotel or something?"
Gohan shook his head. "No. I just leave my house every morning..."
Their jaws practically dropped. Videl, a lot more cool-headed, mumbled to herself. "That's just shy of 100 km away and full of monsters and bandits. How do you...?"
Gohan flinched. "Oh, uh, I... I don't walk. Heh. I have an, uh..."
Suddenly, he remembered his birthday present so long ago from the Future Trio. He nodded. "I have a Capsule motorcycle. It's actually, uh, in the shop getting repaired. I dropped it off on the way here. I'll show it to you guys tomorrow~"
Videl narrowed her eyes. "In the shop, huh? Kinda convenient..."
The four of them sat in their first period lecture hall. The subject: biology. The teacher: unknown (according to Sharpner, it was a new guy who got hired on at the last minute).
Gohan nervously waved off their questions. "But seriously, that's enough about me. If we're going to be friends, I wanna know a bit about you all~"
Sharpner chuckled. "Okay. Well, my name is Sharpner. My mom is on the School Board for Satan City and my dad is an executive at Papaya Vacations. When I graduate, I wanna be a pro-baseball star like the Great Yamcha!"
Gohan flinched ever so slightly. It was weird hearing a new face mention Yamcha's name. Erasa went next. "My name is Erasa! I'm single, by the way~! My mom is a presenter on the Home Shopping Channel and my dad is a Circuit Judge for East City~! Care to guess what I wanna be when I grow up?"
Gohan was nervous. "W-Well...you're really pretty so, uh, you wanna follow in your mom's footsteps, I guess?"
Erasa smirked, having gotten the compliment she wanted from the school's new, nerdy hunk. She chuckled. "Well, thank you~ But, no. I wanna be a lawyer! I'm already enrolled in a few advance courses at a legal academy in North City. And I'm shadowing a lawyer over in East City~"
Gohan nodded, blushing and averting his gaze. "Ah... I see..."
Erasa smiled and gave a little giggle. "Aw~ Someone's shy~"
Gohan quickly changed the subject. "Well, my name is Son Gohan. I, uh, I wanna be a biological scholar when I grow up. My... mom is a homemaker and my dad is, uh... a farmer..."
Sharpner leaned back in his seat. "Oh! A scholarship guy then? That's cool. Most people around here are dumb as bricks. Hell, I'm kinda dumb as bricks. So, it's nice to have a smart guy to help me study."
Gohan smiled. "Yeah, of course, I would love to help you out!"
Erasa chimed in. "Good. Then it's settled. We'll form a little study group. We just need to make sure we adjust our schedules so we have all the same classes~!"
Gohan was confused. "W-We can do that?!"
Sharpner pulled a thumbs-up. "Yeah, buddy! With my School Board mom, It'll be done tomorrow, we just gotta work out our best idea of a schedule during lunch~"
Erasa cheered. "We should go to St. Gentleman! They have the best savory sandwiches if you get there early enough!"
Gohan looked to the fourth member of the group, brooding as she pulled a trapper keeper from her backpack. He tried to reach out. "What about you, Videl?"
Erasa and Sharpner both stiffened up, very quickly, they reached out to try and make Gohan shut up. Not wanting him to accidentally make Videl upset. But then, to their surprise, Videl glared over at Gohan and spoke in a calm voice. "You're from the sticks, so I'm not going to get upset at you because I don't think that you're trying to take advantage of me in some way..."
She turned. "My name is Videl. My father is Mr. Satan, the World Martial Arts Champion. My mother is Miguel, a world-famous singer and musician. My mother is de... not around. And when I finished school..."
A long silence filled the air, then she pulled out her pencil and began to write. "...I want to be the next World Martial Arts champion."
Gohan was silent for a long time, then he spoke in a completely casual voice. "Your Dad is that Mr. Satan weirdo? Neat."
Erasa and Sharpner both gasped and flinched back. They looked to Videl, expecting her to blow up on their new friend. Videl looked quite a bit taken aback. She stared at Gohan for the longest time... but then she gave a small laugh and turned back to her trapper-keeper. "That's probably the best reaction I've ever heard. Sorry for attacking you, Gohan. I think... we can be friends..."
Gohan smiled back, not even noticing the door to the lecture hall open and the new professor walk in. He looked from Videl, to Erasa, to Sharpner, happy to have already made some new friends on his first day, filling his chest with such warmth.
The screen at the front of the hall came rolling down with a thunderous shudder and the room fell silent. Everyone focused on the man at the podium up front. They watched as he grasped the remote and turned on the overhead projector, and then as he produced a comb and brushed his massive, slickly gelled pompadour.
"Attention teenagers. I am going to make myself clear now and only now. I have no desire to deal with your kind. I find the lot of you loathsome, lazy creatures. So, after today, you may simply take your workbooks and use this hour in which we would otherwise be wasting each other's time for whatever teenage foolishness you might wish to indulge. I simply care not for your idiocy."
Erasa cocked her head. "Wow...what a charmer..."
Videl was blunter. "Seems like a dick."
Sharpner chimed in. "Looks like a dick."
Gohan simply watched in silence as the screen lit up and the teacher turned to the class, smugly sneering and adjusting his glasses. The overhead projector played a jaunty tune and cried out.
"CARMINE PRESENTS! BIOLOGY I!"
That evening, on Mt. Paozu...
"SANJOU! HISSHOU! SHIJOU SAIKYOU!"
The energetic opening to the superhero anime that Goten and Chika were watching was blasting through the den and Goku was watching from the couch with mild interest as he held the phone to his ear. One the other end, the familiar and extremely haughty voice of Vegeta was saying something.
Goku waited until his training rival finished, and then he spoke up. "I'm telling you, that sparring match we had the other day has convinced me of it. There's something more to all of this than just Super Saiyan 2. Something even further beyond. Something... yet to be tapped..."
And Goku tapped his chin, stuck in deep thought.
At Capsule Corp...
Vegeta snarled, watching as the wretched green pipe on the television screen sucked him up and launched him away from his precious Power Star. He growled under his breath, just barely restraining his temper as Bulma swooped in and stole his precious prize. "Goddamn it..."
On Vegeta's headset, Goku sounded confused. "What's up?"
Vegeta sneered. "None of your business! So shut up, Kakarot!"
Bulla chimed in. "Yeah, Kakarot, shut up!"
It was her turn and she rolled her die, scoring a 6 and continuing on to a red space. She sneered as a massive share of her coins were robbed from her. "Goddamned turtle dragon..."
Looking at the Brief Family couch, it was clear which child took after which parents. Trunks and Bulma both looked confident as Trunks began his turn, earning an additional 20 coins. Vegeta and Bulla, meanwhile, looked utterly furious at their continued losing streak. As Trunks took his turn and landed on a mini-game space, Vegeta shook his head. "I don't think there's a single worthwhile thing waiting on the other side of Super Saiyan 2. Remember how worthless Grade 3 was against Cell, I imagine a similar result either through sacrificing something important or just from pure energy drain."
Goku responded. "Ya think so?"
Vegeta nodded. "Super Saiyan 2 is already a massive stamina drain as is. The only thing that keeps you going during that state is pure adrenaline."
The prince had let his guard down, focusing in on the mini-game at hand and on his conversation with Goku. He didn't notice a perfectly manicured hand reaching up behind him. Vegeta continued. "Furthermore, I-"
The hand came down like a lightning bolt and slapped the controller from Vegeta's hands. He glared over at his wife in utter disbelief as he lost the mini-game for himself and Bulla. Vegeta snarled. "BITCH!"
And then he tackled the cackling Bulma over the back of the couch. Trunks was laughing up a storm, but that was quickly cut off by Bulla punching him in the mouth.
Back on Mt. Paozu...
Taken aback by the sounds of screaming, shouting, fighting kids, and Bulma cackling like a demon, Goku hung up the phone call and sat the cell phone he had been gifted onto the couch. He could smell the savory scent of dinner wafting from the kitchen and wondered when dinner would be ready.
The front door opened and Gohan walked in, his arms loaded down with textbooks. He smiled, a cheery tone in his voice. "Today was amazing! I had so much fun!"
Goku turned and smiled at his eldest child. "Oh yeah?"
Gohan nodded. "Yeah. I even managed to form a nice little study group. I'll tell you all about it over dinner!"
Goku chuckled. "Good~"
Chi-Chi's voice called from the kitchen. "Well, you won't have to wait very long! Dinner's almost ready! Get to the table!"
Goku and the younger kids were up and through the threshold to their dining room like bolts of lightning. Gohan sat his books down on the couch next to his father's phone and quickly gave chase as well.
In the Son Family Dining Room...
Goku dipped the ladle into the pot of Chi-Chi's famous Seven Scorpion Soup, pouring himself a massive bowl as she busily hurried around the kitchen putting the final touches on the main course. Goku smiled, greedily slurping at the broth. "So, how was everyone's day?"
Gohan, Goten, and Chika were all quite impressed. Even as he asked the question, Goku only looked a little bored. Their dad wore his feelings about things right on his face, a lifetime of simple living having worn his poker face down into a smooth stone. He politely listened to Goten and Chika describing some advanced math, following along until they mentioned the letter "X" and his eyebrows almost shot through the roof.
Once the kids got done describing their days, Goku turned to Gohan. "And what about you, Gohan?"
Gohan smiled. "Well..."
And then, in a sudden flash, King Kai appeared floating over the dinner table. He snarled. "GOKU!"
And then, the Kai plunged his fist into Goku's chest, ripped out his soul, and disappeared as quickly as he came. Goku's body went stiff, his eyes white, and then he fell face-first into his bowl of soup. Goten poked his arm. Chika shook him. "Daddy?"
Gohan lifted and released Goku's hand, watching it fall lifelessly to the table. "Uh, Mom...?"
Chi-Chi called back. "Yes?"
Gohan scratched his cheek. "King Kai just showed up and murdered Dad in cold blood..."
Chi-Chi nodded. "Well, tell him he had better wipe his fee-"
A loud, hideous crash. "WHAT?!"
