Last time on Dragon Ball: HPA: The Steering Committee made a wish on the Dragon Balls that made all of their students capable of achieving absurd power levels. This included the once normal Bulma and made it possible for Chisa Yukizome to achieve a power, on her own, greater than Freeza's first form. After hearing about the school, Vegeta decided to train these elite students and has suddenly come to enjoy his role as an instructor. The story continues NOW!


EPISODE 2: Gohan's Arrival! A New Challenger Comes!


Two and a half years after Vegeta taking his job seriously at Hope's Peak Academy, it was soon time for the Steering Committee and their talent scouts to begin looking for new blood to take up the student roster of Class 77.

Among the possibilities, one of the easiest picks for the class was Videl Satan, an up-and-coming martial artist and the daughter of the man now heralded as The World's Savior.

Of course, Hope's Peak knew the truth about Hercule and they were not above shaking him down where it counted. The time was not yet right to expose Hercule as a fraud—god no the upcoming World Martial Arts tournament would do that itself—but the members of the staff were not above…exploitation.

Hercule sat in a room in his house with an old man that had come by the house wishing to discuss the recruitment of his daughter Videl into the most illustrious school in the world: Hope's Peak Academy. Naturally, Hercule could not be prouder of Videl to be considered to join the ranks of Ultimates. However, there was a problem, a big problem.

"Mr. Satan," an elderly, bespectacled man said to Hercule. "Do you still wish to claim that you are the one that defeated the monster known as Cell?"

"Of course I defeated Cell! Just ask all of my fans! They saw it on live TV! I'm the champ for a reason! HAHA!" Hercule held up his index and middle finger to show off a V for victory.

"Disappointing. And inaccurate. We have it on good authority that you had as much of a chance at defeating Cell as a cow does defeating a butcher."

Hercule sweated a little. Crap. What did this guy know?

"Mr. Satan, have you ever heard of Son Goku?" the older man asked.

"Son Goku? Uh yeah, he's the guy that won the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. Hah, wasn't even enough of a man to defend the title!"

The elderly man nodded and dropped a dossier on the table and pushed it towards Hercule. Hercule, curiously, picked it up and opened it, revealing a young looking boy with spikey black hair in a familiar orange gi. The name Son Goku was at the top and also Class 56: Ultimate Hero. Hercule tensed up and looked nervous.

"Son Goku is one of our alumni, the same man who took your place in the Cell Games after you were catapulted out of the ring by the monster himself," the old man explained. "The same man who also sent his son, Son Gohan, in to fight Cell before the cameras went dark. As an alumnus, we have been keeping a close eye on Son Goku's whereabouts, abilities, potential and his many, many battles. Barely a few months after we recruited him at the behest of former Ultimate Technician Bulma Briefs, Goku singlehandedly slew the monster known as King Piccolo. Does that name ring any bells for you, Mr. Satan?"

"W-Well o-of course I do. Everyone knows he's one of history's biggest monsters," Hercule replied.

"And do you think you could, even now, best King Piccolo in single combat, Mr. Satan?" the old man asked.

"N-no," Hercule stuttered.

"And so does it not seem farfetched that a man of your caliber could defeat a monster like Cell who is, by our estimates, millions if not perhaps billions of times stronger than King Piccolo?"

Hercule hung his head. "What do you want? Please don't take away my baby girl's nomination. I want her to get a good education and fightin's all she's got. Her grades aren't that great otherwise. I need her to succeed as a martial artist. Please Mr. Amando, I'll do anything!" Hercule blubbered.

"Well, the good news is, Videl's abilities more than qualify for the academy even if you weren't such a joke. That said, your 24th World Martial Arts Tournament victory is legitimate so there's nothing we can do to discredit that. However, if you want us to stay quiet about your lie to the masses, and therefore not send Videl to our school as the daughter of a liar that would besmirch the family name of a campus alumnus, we'll need…well, I think you know."

Hercule got out his checkbook silently in resignation.

"300,000,000 zeni should cover your…generous donation, Mr. Satan."

Hercule filled out the check and handed it to Mr. Amando.

"Thank you for your contribution," the old, wrinkly man said, receiving the check. "We'll make sure Videl is well taken care of at our institution. Have a wonderful day, Mr. Satan," Mr. Amando then got up and left with his bodyguards.

Hercule was left on his couch despondent. Videl's future was important, but was 300,000,000 zeni really the price to pay for it? However, in the next second, the martial artist stood up, flared his nostrils and clenched his fists. "Three million times he says, huh? Then I'll just have to train three million times harder, that's all! I'm Hercule Satan! I'm the best martial artist in the world! And I'll show that Son Goku character who the real champ is!" Hercule then leapt into the air and promptly fell onto and through his coffee table, breaking it in half. "Owwwww…"


Meanwhile, far away from civilization in the peaceful air of Mount Paozu, Son Gohan was in the middle of some routine exercise, doing one handed pushups in his room before going back to some trigonometry studying.

"391,992…391,993…"

While that was going on, his younger brother Goten was in his own room, headfirst in a geology book. Asleep.

Chi-chi, their mother, was cooking up a big lunch for her boys when a loud knock came to the door. She thought perhaps it was her father come for another visit, but when she opened the door, she saw an older man in a white business suit with blond hair and a matching fedora hat.

"Afternoon. You must be Chi-Chi. My name is Koichi Kizakura. I'm a talent scout for Hope's Peak Academy, maybe you've heard of us?"

The loud, ear piercing scream of "GOHAN!" Caused the teen to fall over on his arm. Gohan rushed to the living room, figuring he was in some kind of trouble, but only found Koichi sitting on the family couch and his mother serving tea.

Chi-chi then marched right up to her eldest and spoke right in his face. "Gohan, that man is from Hope's Peak Academy, they're the most exclusive elite school in the world. You do not mess this up, mister. If you can get into Hope's Peak Academy, you'll be set for life. Do you understand me? Eyes front. Manners on. Best behavior."

"All right, all right. Relax, mom." Gohan then took a comfortable seat on one of the chairs opposite the couch. Chi-Chi did the same only after pouring her and Gohan some tea.

"I wish you had told us you were coming, Mister Kizakura. I'm just in the middle of making lunch. I'd offer you some, but I don't think I have enough for four."

"That's quite all right. I ate before I came here." He turned his attention to Gohan. "Let's talk about you, Gohan. Smart kid from what I hear, strong too."

"Um, uh well, my mom seems to think so."

"Oh yes he is very smart. I made sure to make him study several hours a day. As far as I'm concerned, his grades are at the level of a 2nd year university student."

"Well, that's impressive to say the least. That aside, I have it on good authority that you're the one that brought down Cell. Is that true?"

"Oh um, I don't know. I was nowhere near—"

"Of course it's true!" Chi-Chi exclaimed, indulging in Gohan's more violent exploits if it meant getting him into the world's best academy. "My Gohan is the strongest man on Earth! Put that in his student record!" she proclaimed, nodding her head knowingly.

"Strongest man on Earth. Yeah, that about checks out with what I've heard. Like father, like son, eh kid?"

"W-w-wait, you know about my dad?" Gohan asked.

"Of course I know about your dad. What? Did he never mention the time he spent at Hope's Peak? I mean, yeah he barely spent a day on campus and kept heading to a place he called The Lookout on some flying cloud. Though that might've just been the alcohol talking, but he produced results."

Chi-chi's face twitched into a broken smile. "W-wait, hold on. Y-You're making it sound like Goku attended Hope's Peak Academy. Th-that…that doesn't make any sense."

Koichi looked surprised. "Really? He never told you. Go figure."

Chi-Chi started to chuckle unsettlingly. She sounded like a mental patient.

"M-mom?"

"Gohan. Mr. Kizakura. Can you give me a moment?" Without waiting for an answer, Chi-Chi stormed into the master bedroom and slammed the door. Gohan and Koichi could hear things being knocked over and broken and many furious pillowed screams could be heard from the master bedroom. Gohan was certain he heard his dad's name being screamed more than its fair share of times followed by words that would have been impossible to repeat in front of Goten.

Koichi very nervously took a sip of his flask as he waited for Chi-chi to come back out…which took more than its fair share of minutes.

When she returned, the mother of two looked to be brimming with cheer as she addressed the talent scout. "Well thank you for bringing us such wonderful news. Can I have my husband's graduation certificate so I can hang him—I mean hang it in the family living room? Or would that be too much to ask?"

"I'll have a copy sent over tomorrow."

"Well thank you very much. Wow, who would have thought I married a man with such a colored educational background," Chi-Chi said, one eye looking like it was on the verge of becoming bloodshot with the way the pupil was rattling around and the brow was twitching. "Sure would've been nice to know in the years when I was scrambling to get the best educational material for my super intelligent son," she said, rubbing the top of Gohan's head fiercely.

Koichi beamed, trying to remain calm in hopes it will calm Chi-Chi down. "Goku may not have been the brightest kid, but he was certainly bright in certain areas. Takes a lot of guts to win the kind of fights and conquer some of the trials we've seen him overcome." He pushed down on his hat. "May he rest in peace."

"So, uh, about my getting into Hope's Peak," Gohan said, hoping the sudden change in conversation would lower his mother's anxiety.

"Ah, quite right," Koichi said with a smile. "Well, the higher ups have figured that since we already have our eye on a Martial Artist next year and we've already got an Ultimate Brawler this year, we'd like you to inherit your father's title as Class 77-A's Ultimate Hero."

"U-Ultimate Hero. I-I'm not sure if I'm qualified. I—"

"Kid, you killed a monster millions of times more powerful than your dad did and that was after we already had him as a student. You've got recommendations from a staff member and a former Ultimate, plus, according to what we have on file, you're currently enrolled at Muten Roshi's Martial Artist's School of Turtle Style."

Chi-Chi took a deep breath. Oh, Bulma was a lifesaver. She was worried she would have to fudge the requirement that all prospective students had to be enrolled in a high school already, but she was still home schooling Gohan as of now. "Wait…was that how Goku got in? That same school?"

Koichi chuckled. "Yeah, I know it's a longshot, but we couldn't exactly let that kind of talent slide without examining it up close. So, what do you say, kid? Can we count on you as a student?"

"Uh, uh, uh, sure. I just…" he bowed in his seat, "I hope I live up to your expectations, sir."

"You will live up to their expectations, Gohan. So help me, if your father could graduate from this school, so can you! If you're three million times stronger than he was at the time, then you're also three million times smarter!"

"That said, before I go, I do, for formalities sake need a proof of talent. Could we step outside a moment? This won't take long."

The Son family members stepped outside with Koichi out into the wilderness.

"When I came before Goku to enroll him all those years ago, I told him that as long as he kept showing improvements, he didn't have to so much as breathe on a textbook. We gave him all of the resources he needed to keep up with his training. But I'll never forget how he proved to us that he was worth enrolling in the first place."

"What did he do?" Chichi asked. She was eager to know a part of her husband's life she'd never known about until now.

Koichi pointed to the sky. "He unleashed a powerful energy blast that rocketed out into the atmosphere and completely wrecked our scanning equipment in the ensuing shockwave. If you're anything like your father, Gohan, you can at least do that, right?"

Gohan nodded. He knew exactly what Koichi wanted to see. "Mom, stand back. You might get knocked over," he said.

Chi-Chi shuffled back a little.

Gohan tilted his body and looked up at the sky, charging energy in between his palms. "Kaaaaameeeeeeeeehaaaaaameeeeeee…" there was a pause as Gohan thrust his arms forward towards the sky and shouted, "HAAAAAAAAAA!" He unleashed a powerful energy blast that ripped up into the heavens and pierced a lone cloud that was just minding its own business. The energy blast took up the entire skylight and kept zooming out into outer space.

Koichi smiled the entire time. Boy this takes me back. That's definitely your kid, Goku. He then walked over to the hardly tired at all Gohan and put an envelope in his hand. "Welcome to Hope's Peak Academy, kid."

The envelope felt heavy in Gohan's hand. His mother always talked about getting him into a high class establishment, but he never imagined this. This was higher than high. This was the number one school in the world. "Mom," he said, looking at the misty-eyed Chi-Chi, "I'll do you proud. I promise."

Chi-Chi ran up and hugged her son. "I'm already proud of you," she sniffed.


In the days that followed, Gohan continued to keep up with his mother's recommended studies, but he was also skewing some of his studies towards things like "The Art of Combat" and "Greatest Tactics in History". Even if he was going to have his dad's title, that didn't mean he couldn't put his own spin on it. He knew his dad was watching over him from Otherworld.

Chi-Chi, meanwhile, had received Goku's entire transcript and student profile from the Academy. To her, it was like finding a locked box in the attic of a secret double life she never knew about her spouse.

Goku…why did you never tell me about this? She wondered. Sure, Goku's dossier was pretty thin, all things considered, but the fact that it existed at all brought tears to Chi-Chi's eyes. She was overcome with many different emotions, anger, sadness, anxiety, regret, mostly anger, but still…

She looked at the pictures the academy had taken, and watched all of the videos that had been filmed of Goku's exploits at the academy. From Kamehamehas to tricks with the power pole to outrunning and outfighting the school's best athletes. Dominating sports festivals, eating delicious food, Goku had had a real campus experience and he spoke of none of it. Not a single name of anyone in his class was brought up. Not a single memory Goku ever shared at the dinner table.

And Chi-Chi had missed it all. She knew it the minute Koichi mentioned it when it was Goku had attended the academy. He had started right before the mess with King Piccolo and graduated right before the 23rd World Martial Arts tournament. It was an undocumented chapter in Goku's life that hardly anyone knew about. Even Bulma, despite the fact that she'd gotten Goku in, was sketchy on the details.

Goku, Chi-Chi sniffed as she shut the dossier and shoved it into a bookcase. She then smiled as she looked at the certification of graduation with Goku's name on it, hanging on the nearby wall. She then shut the desk lamp off and got into bed. She immediately cuddled one of the pillows, sniffing, missing her husband. "Goku…" she mumbled.


While Chi-Chi was sleeping in a cold bed, King Kai had been observing all of this and found Goku, as per usual, running laps around the Grand Kai's planet with stupidly heavy weights. King Kai stood there and waited for Goku to stop of his own volition. Trying to get the man to stop during an exercise was, in itself, an exercise in futility.

"Oh, hey King Kai," Goku waved to him. "What's up?"

"Goku, you and I need to have a talk," King Kai told him.

He explained to Goku everything he'd observed in the past few days. He was utterly dumbfounded. "Why, Goku? Tell me why. Hope's Peak Academy is such a prestigious school on Earth. If you had used any of the perks you earned from attending there, you could have helped out Chi-Chi and Gohan greatly. Heck, Chi-Chi would've probably complained less too," King Kai said and snorted.

"Hope's Peak Academy…" Goku said and pondered for a while, arms folded until the name hit him. "Oh yeah! I did attend there, didn't I? Oh wow, guess I forgot all about it! Those three years was when I did nothing but train. I guess it all just flew right by." Goku said, ruffling his hair, laughing nervously.

King Kai sighed. What did he honestly expect? "Why am I even surprised?"

"Wait, did Chi-Chi just find out I went there?"

"Yes, she just found out, you brainless idiot!" King Kai shouted. "First you make her a widow, and now because of your incompetence you tear open those wounds all over again!"

Goku jolted back on one leg, arms turned like he was some kind of ballet dancer.

"Why's she finding about it only now though?" Goku wondered.

"Might have something to do with the fact that they just asked your son to attend," King Kai pointed out.

"Oh wow, Gohan got in? All right! That's perfect! What's his title?" Goku at least had enough brains to remember the whole Ultimate thing.

"Well apparently the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Hope's Peak recognizes him as the true slayer of Cell so they gave him the same Ultimate Hero title you got," King Kai said with a smile.

"Oh wow! Way to go, Gohan!" Goku exclaimed, pumped. "I bet he'll do great! I have faith in him."

King Kai sighed. Yup. Typical Goku.


Having been accepted by Hope's Peak Academy as its Ultimate Brawler, Videl began working her ass off to meet the bar set by the school for her to vault herself over. She amped up her training, even started hard sparring with her dad, if it meant climbing to the top. The message board for the school indicated that the class below her, Class 78, had the true blue Ultimate Martial Artist, though that girl wasn't due to be enrolled until next year.

That, and when Videl saw her dad suddenly taking his own training seriously, she decided to up her game as well…with startling results.

At first, nothing major had happened. Sure, Videl was suddenly able to keep up with Hercule, but she just figured, after she ducked under a roundhouse kick for the umpteenth time, that she was simply getting better.

However, when one of her straight line punches sent her father barreling away and into the wall, damaging said wall, she knew something was up at the bare minimum.

Her dad played it off as a big joke of course. "Videl, honey. That was incredible! You're getting really strong!" He exclaimed, putting a hand on her shoulder. He was keeping tears down from the pain, trying to act like he was just moved by her progress. "You're gonna make a great Ultimate, sweetie. Daddy's so proud of you. Now you need to leave the room a moment, a daughter shouldn't have to see her father cry in front of her."

Videl skeptically left the room, but obeyed her father regardless.

Once she was clear of the room, Hercule held his swollen cheek and let out a pained "OWWWWW!"

Outside, Videl clenched and unclenched her right fist, which had recently been vibrating against her father's jaw. After thinking it over a little, she simply gripped her fist tightly. If this was her potential, she was going to embrace it. With fire in her eyes and a potential to live up to, Videl buckled down mentally and got to work.

Over the next few months, she accelerated her training with jumping rope, doing pushups, sit-ups and drinking plenty of juice. It wasn't long before she could feel herself attaining what she considered superhuman gains.

Not only was she now curling her dad's bench press weights, but she also wasn't putting on any additional muscular weight than would be normal for someone as in shape as her. Weird, but she was glad she wasn't turning into an overly muscular giant of a woman.

She was also getting so fast that her pigtails were starting to slap her in the face and ruin her momentum. So, after some soul searching, she cut her hair down to a pixie cut. Her hair didn't matter as long as she wasn't bald, she felt. Results did.

To test her newfound abilities, Videl climbed to the top of her house and looked at the nearest building. It was a good 30 meter jump. If she fell, she'd be going to the hospital for certain. But, now was not the time to be second guessing herself.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Videl screamed and leapt off the roof, ascending high, high into the air. At first she thought she wasn't going to make the jump, but not only did she clear her objective, she overshot her destination.

Videl became startled and desperately tried to find a way to avoid becoming a smear on the ground. Unfortunately, the next building was about 100 meters away and she was already descending.

Realizing there was nothing forward, Videl bent her knees slightly and raised her arms up over her face and then crashed feet first into the pavement. She clenched her eyes shut, waiting for the pain…but it never came. She opened her eyes and lowered her arms. Instead of injuring herself, Videl had made a crater in the middle of the road. Everything nearby, including storefront windows, had been blown away if it was under a certain weight limit.

Videl was stunned. Not only had she come out of this stupid stunt unscathed, but she had been the one to cause damage to the environment, not the other way around. She rocked back on her ankles. Nothing even remotely hurt. She even tried to get a good look at her back and ran her fingers over her arms and legs just to be sure. She was completely fine.

How? Videl wondered. She remembered when her father fought Cell on camera. He'd gone colliding into a plateau and days after complained about a broken nose and periodic headaches. But Videl didn't even feel so much as a tickle in her feet after landing on them.

It was only then that a group of civilians came by to see what was going on. Videl rubbed the back of her head and tried to play it off as nothing. "Nothing to see here folks," she said, waving her arm back and forth, smiling nervously. "Just a little bit of martial arts training." She giggled nervously.

After that day, Videl figured it might be best to keep the training indoors until she started at Hope's Peak Academy.


The day finally came when Gohan was to first attend Hope's Peak Academy. He was told, per school rules, that attendance was optional and academic classes were per an as needed basis. That didn't sit well with Gohan who, for all intents and purposes, intended to still treat this like a normal school while still making his dad proud. Finally, without Chi-Chi hovering over him, he could find a balance between Martial arts and studying.

After checking out a bunch of books from the library and putting them in his on campus dorm room—it would be rude not to use it when it had been given to him—he was headed for the cafeteria when, while way off guard a fist connected with his unsuspecting face and sent him flying across the schoolyard.

Only one other person had born witness to this assault: his fellow classmate Videl Satan, the Ultimate Brawler. "Wh-what the heck?" She ran over to Gohan to see if he was okay. "Hey, you all right?"

"Urgh, I'm fine. What the heck was that?"

Videl helped him up. "Man some Ultimate Hero you turned out to be if you could get sucker punched like that."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Gohan said, not bothering with an excuse. Videl was right. He looked dead ahead and finally found his offender and the source made his jaw drop.

His attacker was a young woman with tan skin, brown hair and…a big personality. But none of those features were what drew Gohan's attention to her. No, what was the most striking feature upon her body was the very familiar, unmistakable orange gi wrapped around her torso and legs.

"Hey! You!" She shouted at Gohan. "Fight me!"

"I…beg your pardon?" Gohan asked.

Ki flared from the girl as a wild grin appeared on her face. "My body's tingling all over just from meeting you. You're Son Gohan, aren't you? I've been looking forward to this."

"Hey, hold on! Mind at least introducing yourself before you challenge someone to a fight?" Videl shouted. "Show some manners!"

"Yeah, seriously," Gohan added. "And…what's with that gi? The only people I know who wear it are—"

The girl gave him no chance to finish his sentence as she punched her fist into her awaiting palm. "My name's Akane Owari! I'm Class 77-B's Ultimate Gymnast."

Gymnast? Videl thought. Pretty sure she's a little…bouncy for that, Videl thought, looking towards Akane's chest.

"Gymnast, huh? All right, but where did you get that uniform?" Gohan inquired

"Master gave it to me," Akane said. "I'm his newest star pupil!"

"Star pupil? Master? Wait a sec…you mean…" Gohan stammered.

Akane grinned. "Heh, what are you stammering for? If you don't make the first move, I will…" She turned her body sideways and took a very familiar pose. "Kaaaaaameeeeeeeeehaaaaameeeee…"

Uh oh, Gohan thought and quickly charged a Masenko.

"HAAAAAAAAA!"

"MASENKO!" Gohan shouted, using it to block Akane's attack before it did any serious damage to him or Videl, leaving the latter stunned. What the ever-loving HFIL was going on?

When the dust cleared, both Akane and Gohan had assumed their own individual martial arts stances and ki was billowing around Akane wildly. "This is going to be fun."

"I don't want to fight you, Akane! If you're really a student of Master Roshi's, then you should know better!"

"The heck are you on about? Obviously if we're both students of Master Roshi's we should try to see which one of us is stronger, yeah? Come on! I've been looking forward to this day for five whole years! Show me what you got, Gohan! I'm not taking no for an answer!"

Gohan sighed. "All right. Fine. Just remember, you asked for it." Gohan powered up, but not to Super Saiyan. It would hardly be necessary.

Akane was ecstatic. "Yeah! That's it! Come on! Show me what you've got!"

Akane and Gohan sized each other up briefly before Akane took off like a rocket, charging Gohan down with a fearsome right hook. Gohan blocked, but Akane gave him no chance for a counterattack. A flurry of well-placed, well-executed punches went flying towards his face and chest. Gohan was losing ground at the utter ferocity and speed of Akane's attacks.

Unreal, Videl thought. She could barely keep up with Akane's attacks. Her arms were like blurs. Sometimes her eyes even missed the moments in between Akane's attacks and Gohan's blocks.

Eventually, after getting used to the rhythm of Akane's attacks, Gohan made his counterattack, throwing a single punch, but Akane dodged left and then swung her leg towards his neck. Gohan blocked with the outside of his wrist and then leapt backwards. He then fired a ki blast at Akane while she was still off balance.

Wait, what?! Videl thought, jaw going slack.

Gohan was amazed when Akane deflected the blast with a kick, sending it careening into the air. She then took a three-point stance with her right arm, legs spread wide, and charged. Ki coated her entire body. Gohan let her come, taking a right lead stance, making it look like he was going to take Akane head on. However, at the last second, he took to the sky and made her overshoot his position. Akane skid to a halt, heels digging into the grass.

Sinking into her instincts, Akane turned around sharply. She had just enough time to deflect Gohan's incoming ki blast, this time with the flat of her arm.

"This isn't funny, Akane!" Gohan shouted. "I don't want to hurt a classmate!"

"Who's joking? I'm serious! I haven't had a fight like this in…" Akane was quiet only to chuckle like she was possessed by a demon. "Man! Actually this is the best fight I've had all my life! YEAH! I'm super pumped!" Her ki billowed around her even more fiercely now.

With a powerful leap, Akane met Gohan in the air to take him on. Gohan dodged left against Akane's incoming flying punch. He tried to bring up his knee to slam Akane in the stomach, but he quickly noticed she was moving backwards. So, he tightened the muscles in his leg and turned his knee slam into a kick.

Much to his surprise, Akane flipped backwards through the air of her own according and then caught his ankle with both of her feet, floating on air. Then, with flexibility and body control he lacked, she crunched her abs and grabbed Gohan's leg with her hand. Following that, she let go of his ankle with her feet and then hurled him at the ground with one hand. Gohan went slamming into the ground.

"Gohan!" Videl shouted, worried for her classmate, but she had very little to worry about as Gohan came rising up out of the dusty crater and delivered a solid punch to Akane's face. However, Akane barely went anywhere and stood pace with Gohan, delivering a punch back of her own, hitting Gohan in his left cheek.

After that, Videl lost sight of the two fighters up in the air. They would disappear one minute and reappear the next, their limbs locked in combat, shins and forearms vibrating with intensity. Even when Gohan and Akane moved far too fast for Videl to see, she could feel the shockwaves coming off both of her peers.

I can't even do that. She's just a gymnast? Videl wondered. And how the hell are they flying up there like that?

Up in the air, unaware of Videl's awe, Akane and Gohan had their foreheads bashed against each other, fingers locked, one knee touching. Akane grinned wickedly like some kind of demon. Gohan merely expressed extreme frustration. He wanted this battle to be over. He had no intention of indulging Akane in a fight any more than he had to.

"What's it going to take to make you back off?" Gohan demanded. "I don't want to fight you, Akane!"

"Then show me your power!" Akane exclaimed. "I know you're holding back! 18's stronger than this and I spar with her all of the time!"

"You spar with 18?" Gohan was stunned.

"You're damn right!" Akane shouted.

She and Gohan broke away and floated in the sky. Akane cracked her knuckles. "Now quit holding back! Master told me you were the strongest! Prove it to me! I want to feel what the strongest feels like! I've waited for this day for five years, Gohan! I…I need to see how far I can go!"

Gohan took a deep breath. He was starting to get what it was Akane wanted. She wanted to see how high the ceiling was. She was a born fighter, just like his father. Honestly, he was even a little nostalgic for his year spent in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with his father.

But, that was neither here nor there. It was clear to him that, if he wanted to put Akane down, he'd have to show her what he was really capable of. He didn't want to, afraid he might hurt her, but…eh, Korin's tower was, what? Only a few minutes away? He could grab a senzu bean and be back before she lost too much blood…right?

Either way, if it was even possible Akane was holding back, his base form just wasn't going to cut it. Sure, the next step was largely overdoing it, but what choice did he have?

"All right, Akane!" He shouted. "You want to see what's waiting for you at the top? Then bear witness…to my true power!" With a furious scream, Gohan powered up to Super Saiyan, the resulting shockwave tore across the sky and blew dust down by poor Videl's face. She had to close one eye just to stare up at the action.

What…is this? I can…feel that? I…don't understand.

"Akane!" Gohan barked. "Is this what you wanted to see?"

Akane laughed. "Yeah! YES! That's it! BRING IT ON!" She shouted and threw herself at Gohan with battle mad glee. However, Akane's first attempt to strike Gohan was met with a casual backhand that sent her careening into the very same crater she'd originally hurled Gohan into.

Gohan was hoping that that had ended things right then and there, but a ki blast from the ground showed him that even a casual strike from Super Saiyan wasn't going to make Akane quit.

"I've waited…so long…so long for a fight like this." Akane powered up even more. "There's no way I'm gonna let it end so soon."

Her energy is amazing! We could've used someone like her when we fought the Androids, Gohan thought. Little did he know that Akane would've been plumb useless back then.

Akane flew up at Gohan, but this time, regardless of how much she punched or kicked, Gohan was completely ahead of her. No attack could make him move, much less leave an impact. He blocked every single one of her numerous strikes, be it a punch, kick or a even a ki blast.

Akane grinned. "Yeah….YEAH! This is what power looks like! This is how far I can tell I still have to go. Gohan! See my power! Show me how much stronger you really are! KAAAAAAAMEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAMEEEEEEEE…" Akane shouted, charging up a Kamehameha. "HAAAAAAAAAA!"

Gohan didn't bother to block or dodge. He stood there, fists clenched at his sides and let the attack barrel straight into him. His shirt was blown away in the ensuing blast, leaving only his undershirt, but other than that, he was completely undamaged.

"Whoa," Akane was in awe of just how powerful Gohan was. That was the most powerful Kamehameha I've ever used…and he took it like it was nothing. "Now this is a fi—"

Gohan cut her off. He'd seen enough. He grabbed Akane's ankle and hurled her at the ground. If knocking her unconscious was what it took to end this nonsense, then that's what he was going to do.

Akane landed hard on her back, bruising it pretty badly. But Gohan was all out of mercy for this fight. He had to end things now before Akane forced him to hurt her far far worse than what he was about to do right now. Aiming his palms towards the ground. He began to unleash a burst of energy blasts rapid fire towards the ground.

He watched the first volley descend, towards Akane. She was on a collision course to get seriously wrecked.

What happened next could only be described as eye-opening and unpredictable. As if a puppeteer was pulling invisible strings, Akane stood up on her feet, eyes closed. When the first two blasts from Gohan's volley came in, she dodged them as if flowing around them like water. Every energy blast that rained down towards her, Akane dodged them like it was as simple as breathing air.

What the…? Gohan gaped. How did she…? However, there was a more pressing matter to consider. Her energy…it's skyrocketing!

Akane dodged every single one of Gohan's attacks before flying up after him. Desperate to put her down, Gohan fired more energy blasts, but Akane dodged those as well. Then, before Gohan realized it, she'd gotten a perfect opening to spin kick him in the side of the head.

When did I let my guard down?

Fortunately, Gohan still had the reflexes to counteract this mistake and blocked Akane's kick. He was sent skidding across the air.

I…felt that one. What is going on here?

Akane rushed at Gohan and that was when he saw the expression on her face. She wasn't grinning or even so much as smirking. Her eyes were closed, her face tranquil. He barely had time to dodge her incoming strike.

If I wasn't using Super Saiyan right now…that could've seriously hurt me, he thought, feeling the power coming off the missed punch.

He had no time to take a breath, Akane immediately spun her legs like a pinwheel, kicking at him twice. He evaded both strikes before she launched her skull straight into his stomach. Stubbornly, Gohan grabbed Akane by the sides of her stomach as she drove him back and then threw her at the ground as best he could.

"Kamehameha!" Gohan blasted the attack with what he assumed was pinpoint accuracy at Akane, but she dodged the attack. Even as Gohan tried to redirect the energy, mid-beam, he was seemingly a hair's breath behind Akane.

Energy blast after energy blast was volleyed at Akane, but she dodged his attacks swiftly, that same calm, closed eyed look filling her face.

What is this technique? Master Roshi never taught dad anything like this. Gohan thought as he evaded Akane's next incoming blow. However, his counterattack with his knee, aimed for her chin, completely failed, as she evaded backwards and tried to punch him in the face. It's like she knows what to do and how to do it.

"Battle Instinct," Akane said calmly as Gohan blocked her punch with his palm. "I don't know how else to describe it. I can't control it very well, but whenever I give into my instincts…I've always become stronger."

"Instinct? You're fighting purely on instinct right now?" Gohan asked, amazed.

Akane nodded. "It's not perfect," she told him. "I've already come close to exhausting what I can do with this burst. When I saw your attacks coming down, I thought I might've been killed…and that was when it activated."

"So you can only turn it on in self-preservation," Gohan said.

"Yeah," Akane said and opened her eyes. "Ah, dang it. The feeling's gone. But hey, fun fight, right?" she asked, rubbing the back of her head, smiling wide.

Gohan, assuming the fight was over, powered down from Super Saiyan. "Well I wouldn't exactly call that fun, more like educational. You're a really strong fighter, Akane."

"Heh heh, thanks," she laughed cheerfully. She then looked at Gohan with only one eye open. "Honestly, I wasn't making a whole lot of headway with my abilities until a few short months ago, around the time I got accepted to this school, honestly. That's when I got really strong."

"I…I see," Gohan replied. So she only got this powerful in the last few months? How does that work? She's been training with Master Roshi for five years.

Akane's stomach growled. "Boy am I hungry. Wanna get some lunch?"

Gohan's stomach growled in response. "Yeah, I could really go for a meal. Before you attacked me, I was headed to get some food myself."

"Great! Let's eat together then. I'm gonna warn you though, I eat a lot."

"We'll see about that."


It was a good thing Teruteru didn't have to hand wash the dishes, or the tubby, short cook knew he wouldn't be going to sleep tonight. With how many empty dishes were stacked on one table, he felt he could make a plate castle out of the dirty dishes.

Videl, having been invited to eat with Akane and Gohan, could only watch on with a mix of bewilderment and horror. Neither Akane nor Gohan had stopped stuffing their mouths with food since they started. It was almost like, now that the punching and kicking was over, the two were competing to try and see who could eat more.

Videl tried not to let their bad table manners put her off her own lunch. "So…do you two always eat like this after a battle like that?"

Akane didn't answer with words, only a smile and a vigorous head nod, meat particles and sauce stuck to her cheeks.

"Um…uh…sometimes, but mostly this is just how I normally eat."

Videl looked at Gohan with abject confusion before asking, "You're sure you're not the Ultimate Glutton?"

Akane defended Gohan's appetite. "Hey, sometimes you never know when your next meal is going to be, so I always eat as much as I can."

"What do you mean by that? Do you have a hard time getting food to eat, Akane?" Gohan asked.

Akane swallowed. "I mean, I'm from Inner Center City and live with more than half a dozen siblings. Eating my fill isn't easy."

"Inner Center City?! That place is a duuuuuu…" Videl caught herself before she insulted Akane's place of living.

"Nah, you can say it. It's a dump. I live in the worst parts of it imaginable too."

"Isn't the crime rate over 70% there?" Videl asked.

"Yeah, your point being?" Akane asked her.

"Wow, you're lucky to have made it into here then," Gohan told her.

"Yeah, Master gave me the push I needed. He was eating at the restaurant I worked at and happened to have me as his waitress. After grabbing my boobs he told me I had great potential as a fighter. But when I told him I wasn't interested, he did his best to try and convince me. When he saw me later doing flips and tricks through the streets, he pushed me in the direction of gymnastics. You know, cause the World Martial Arts Tournament isn't frequent enough for immediate income and I need money."

"He grabbed your boobs?!" Videl shouted.

"What? What's the matter? Customers grab my boobs all the time. It's not a big deal," Akane said, having no idea why Videl was getting so upset.

Videl's brain hurt at the lack of care Akane had for her own dignity.

"One time, I got a huge tip for letting a customer motor boat me," Akane proclaimed practically proudly.

"Just…just stop talking," Videl said, rubbing her face in disbelief.

"What's motorboating?" Gohan asked.

"You wanna try it?" Akane offered.

"No! No he does not!" Videl shouted, red in the face.

"Videl, why are you getting so mad?" Gohan asked.

Videl ignored Gohan's ignorance and turned her attention to Akane. "Akane, you don't just…offer that to boys."

"I mean, normally I don't, but I like boys that can really fight," Akane said, laughing.

Videl's left eye twitched.

Gohan could tell that it might be wise to change the subject. "So, uh, Videl, how strong are you, exactly? Hope's Peak Academy let you in as the Ultimate Brawler, right?"

"Well, I have been using my dad's weights for curls rather than their intended use as bench press equipment."

"Huh? You still use weights?" Akane asked. "Master just makes me wear a heavy turtle shell on my back when I train."

"I…what?" Videl asked.

"Oh yeah, dad used to talk about Master Roshi doing that," Gohan said.

"It's not so bad once you get used to it," Akane said. "Could've done without the bee stings though."

What the hell kind of training is this girl being taught? Videl wondered. "So, how exactly were you two, um, flying earlier?"

"Huh? What do you mean? Can you not use ki?" Akane asked. "This is pretty basic stuff."

"BASIC?!" Videl shouted, rising to her feet, palms slapping the table. "People don't just fly!"

"Well, it's true that this is something most people know about. As a matter of fact, until my dad and some of his friends met people from Crane School, only they knew how to fly."

"Crane School?" Videl and Akane asked at the same time.

Akane followed up with. "I just learned how to fly from Krillin cause Master didn't know."

"Oh you know Krillin?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah, he and 18 are my sparring buddies. They really toughened me up," Akane said, beaming.

"I can see that," Videl said. "How did you two get this strong?" She sat back down, pouting. "I want to do that."

"What's this? Do I hear a few runts wanting to know the secret behind getting strong?"

That voice! Gohan's head whirled around to see Vegeta approaching the three of them.

Who's this guy? Videl wondered.

"Whoahoho," Akane chuckled. "You seem pretty powerful too. What do you say? Wanna fight after I'm done with my meal?"

Vegeta didn't take the gauntlet that had been thrown. "Hmph," he scoffed. "Please, you wouldn't even be good enough for a warm up."

"You turning down a chance to prove you're the best. That's not like you, Vegeta," Gohan said.

"You know this guy?" Videl asked.

"Sure I know him, he's my dad's rival," Gohan answered.

"No way! You're Vegeta?!" Akane asked, intrigued.

"Okay, how do you know hi—right, Krillin, 18 and Master Roshi probably told stories," Gohan said, answering his own question.

Vegeta smirked. "Thats right, the prince of all saiyans stand before you. Besides, I don't need to prove anything. I'm already one of the most well respected instructors at this academy."

"Instructor? You? You teach here?" Gohan smirked.

"That's right," Vegeta said, grinning maliciously. Gohan could tell it was directed only at him. "Which means if you want to get stronger here, you'll have to do everything I say. I did recommend you to the Academy's recruitment department out of the goodness of my heart." Vegeta folded his arms and chuckled.

Gohan could feel a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Yeah, sure. Goodness from Vegeta. Next thing he knew, pigs would be flying through the air. Gohan knew Vegeta was motivated only by one thing: Revenge on Goku by proxy by being able to work Gohan like a rookie in boot camp.

"Since you all have physical talents, I'm expecting you all to show up to my classes. Tardiness will not be accepted," Vegeta said, grinning.

"Now you're speaking my language," Akane said, grinning.

Vegeta laughed. "I like this one. She's eager." He looked at Videl. "You need work."

"Excuse me?!"

"Compared to these two, you're about as pathetic as a low-class weakling. But don't worry, I'll make sure that by the time the World Martial Arts tournament rolls around you can at least make it to the tournament bracket proper."

Videl growled like an angry wildcat. How dare this pompous asshole put her down, even if he was an instructor. Why that no good, arrogant…I'll show him! I'll train harder than ever before to catch up! No...not catch up...but exceed him! All of them!

"Good, I like that look in your eye now. You'll be a fine warrior yet. Today's training starts an hour after noon. I'll be expecting all three of you," Vegeta said and then walked away.

Akane chuckled. "Hell yeah. I'm even more excited now. The World Martial Arts tournament…AW YEAH! I'm fired up just thinking about it!"

Gohan simply watched Vegeta walk away, realizing that the next three years were probably going to be some of the most painful in his life, seeing Vegeta smirk as he looked over his shoulder at the terrified half-Saiyan.

Gohan has stepped into the ring of the world of Ultimates at Hope's Peak Academy. But is this blessing a curse in disguise? After trading blows with an unexpected challenger in Akane, he now finds Vegeta to be his new tutor. Will the son of Goku rise above this challenge and become the hero his father wanted him to be, or is he doomed to become a punching bag of the Saiyan Prince? Tune in next time on Dragon Ball: HPA!