"Welcome to my class, Ruby and Gohan," Ms. Hamilton, the English teacher smiles.
In front of the class, Ruby keeps to herself and while still nervous, she's a little calmer than she was in her first introduction. As for Gohan, he's far more curious this time as a mixture of old and new faces appear before him.
Ms. Hamilton, a young woman with hazelnut hair all tied up into a knot, smiles apologetically at the two. Behind her reading glasses, the two reflect a little in her eyes.
"Sorry, you'll have to go through this a few times as you enter new classrooms throughout the day, but please bear with it for today," she whispers.
The two nods without a word and the English teacher clears her throat before pointing a hand at them. While staring at the row of students before her, she introduces them with more grace.
"Some of you have already seen these two I'm sure, but for those who haven't, this is Gohan and Ruby. They're transfer students from abroad and will be joining our lessons from now on. Gohan has made perfect scores on all his entry tests and Ruby is a relative of our new director. Please treat them nicely."
There are a few whispers but compared to the Math class before, it's far quieter. It's a nice change for Gohan who is able to feel a little more at ease compared to before. He starts looking around for any people he's already met or seen.
However, there are only two people of note: Erasa and Videl. They sit more on the left side of the seating as oppose to the right side from Math class. From Videl's expression, he can see the twin-tailed girl is somewhat relieved to see that Fang Fang hasn't followed them. As for her friend, Erasa, she leans forward on the table with her chin resting in her hands, looking at the two with excited eyes. Always ready to engage with new people, she's glad to have another chance to know the other two transfer students.
Compared to the previous class, the English class is fuller with only two seats open. As if it's premeditated, there's an open seat next to Erasa and right above her, another seat is available next to a girl with collar-length dark-blue hair with split bands at the front. Focusing on the girl carefully, he sees that she wears a conservative polka-dot dress and compared to other people around, one might say she looks a little old-fashioned.
She smiles serenely at Gohan and her eyes seem like they have plenty to tell him, causing him to wonder.
'Well, there's only two seats. We'll be apart, but only by a row. It shouldn't be too bad.'
Ruby also seems to understand that this time, she can't be next to her friend. Although he'll be either in front of her or behind, it still means that she'll be sitting next to a stranger. Because of that, her unease grows back again.
"As you can see, there's only two choices for seating," Ms. Hamilton notes before turning to the two with a smile, "...Please take your pick. One of you can either sit next to Erasa and Videl-"
At the mention, Erasa waves and interrupts. "I wouldn't mind the second cute boy!"
The class chuckles, almost predicting the blonde's choice. Ms. Hamilton is less amused however with her head shaking. She clears her throat with a fist in front of her.
"Yes, very much noted, Erasa."
Videl can only sigh at her friend's easy preferences. That said, she looks at Gohan with a more tolerant expression thinking he's likely less frustrating than the last.
'Come to think of it, have I seen him somewhere before?' she thinks, feeling a vague sense of recollection with his outfit and short spiky hair.
Ms. Hamilton continues and points to the blue-haired girl above, "...and then there's San who..."
The teacher pauses as the blue-haired girl lifts something of a sketchbook up with her hands. Her eyes remain fixed on the boy transfer as words are shown up in the air.
The room goes silent.
'Pardon. I would ask Gohan to sit next to me if that's okay.' is what it reads.
After a few seconds, whispers begin with many students asking their fellow peers who can see her written request and surprising gasps following.
"What did she write?"
"That's strange. To think that the student president is speaking up. I mean, not really speaking up but still..."
"God damn it...our angel San. To think she's become interested in that dork!"
"Man, I wish I could see her board more clearly."
Erasa, who turns her body to read, can only slump her shoulders and lean her head to the side with a sigh. She smiles with resignation.
"Well, if San is requesting, I might have to let this one go."
"It's not even your decision, Erasa," Videl complains and looks up at San disapprovingly, "...and neither is it yours, San."
San glances to the fighter below and simply smiles. At the bright expression, Videl rolls her eyes and scoffs.
Gohan feels a sudden pressure overwhelming him with two people wanting his presence, but looking more carefully at San, she simply stares comfortably at him with no concern. Admittedly, he is curious about her. The fact that she's not speaking...could it be that she's speech-impaired?
Ms. Hamilton confirms his thoughts. "For both of you, know that San is mute. Despite that, she's one of the top students in the school and the elected student president."
Gohan raises his eyebrows in surprise while the teacher adjusts her glasses with a proud smile. It's obvious that San is her favorite student. In response, San lowers her sketch board and waves her hand dismissively with closed eyes and an embarrassed smile.
"Must be nice to be popular..."
Gohan blinks and turns to the witch beside him with surprise. Although Ruby is nervous, the attention being drawn to the half-saiyan has helped her mood but also makes her a tiny jealous. In return, the half-saiyan defends himself.
"I-it's not like that! I don't even know why I'm being targeted!" he whispers back, but the witch isn't buying it as she looks away, slightly annoyed.
Ms. Hamilton clears her throat again, bringing about everyone's attention, and returns her gaze to the focused boy.
"Regardless of Erasa or San's preference, I'll let you pick first, Gohan. Although...given you are a student with high marks, you'd fit well with San."
It's a little hypocritical of the teacher to say that, but the half-saiyan doesn't comment as he rubs the back of his neck, humming.
"Um..."
While hesitating, he stares back at the blue-haired who gazes back more hopefully. Since Erasa already is willing to let him go, he makes his decision with a sigh.
"I'll sit with San then."
In response, San's eyes close happily and the half-saiyan makes a weak smile as he makes his way up the rows. Seeing him off, Ruby takes a deep breath and her attention turns to Erasa who winks encouragingly at her.
The uneasiness in her stomach returns. She swallows and then tries to smile back. Knowing that Gohan would at least be behind her, she thinks positively.
'You can do this, Ruby. Just...don't be strange.'
"Then of course, Ruby, you'll have to sit by Erasa," Ms. Hamilton states what is already known but adds, "...Although she's disruptive, I have to admit she's a likeable person to many. I'm sure you'll get along with her fine!"
Ruby is a little surprised by the teacher's reassurance. Is her nervousness so obvious that even she could tell?
Erasa giggles, not at all offended by the teacher's judgment and calls on the witch. "That's right! Come on, I won't bite Ruby!"
"Oh my god, Erasa," Videl groans, burying her face into her hands in embarrassment over her friend's eager words, but this only makes Erasa grin wider.
"Well, um...excuse me," Ruby bows slightly in response and follows to her new assigned seat.
As the two new transfers settle in, the English teacher claps her hands. "Alright, we'll begin our lesson then. Please open your book to page one-eighty-one."
The lesson starts without further delay but for the two transfers, there's hardly time to focus as personal introductions begin with their new peers. In Gohan's case at least, it's quieter as San passes over her sketchbook with a new message.
'It's nice to meet you, Gohan. Thank you for choosing to sit next to me.'
Gohan smiles dryly, knowing there wasn't much of a choice. Pulling his book out from his backpack, he turns it to Ms. Hamilton's requested page and then leaves it off to the side as he writes back on her sketchbook.
'Nice to meet you too, San. Why me specifically?'
He passes her sketchbook back and San grins, already expecting the question. She begins scribbling and Gohan tries to pretend to be attentive to Ms. Hamilton's reading; however, much like before, he's already read it ahead of time at home.
In no time, her response comes. What's surprising is that she's able to write neatly but fast enough that Gohan has to blink a few times at her impressive writing quality.
'Because I have to keep my eye on you.'
When the words are processed in his mind, he flinches and turns his head to San who remains beaming, her light expression somewhat opposite to the weight of her words on paper.
Curling his lips, he clears his throat and writes his response, passing it back with a sweat behind his neck.
'I don't understand.'
Gohan has to play dumb, but San stares at him disapprovingly which causes him to sweat further. It appears that the girl beside him isn't having any of his nonsense. Her next words come swiftly and he can feel her determination overflowing from her pencil...
'Then what was that little scuffle that I felt in your previous class? You won't fool me, I report directly to the director when I catch these matters with stronger students.'
Gohan reads her message carefully and it finally occurs to him that this girl isn't your average student. He drops his head and places his face into his hands in disbelief.
'How am I still meeting these people!?' Gohan thinks, his pupil quivering behind his hands.
He's pretty sure that this girl wasn't in his first class, otherwise, he'd recognize her energy even if he wasn't paying attention. She either had to be nearby when she caught Fang Fang testing him or she has amazing senses. In the end, it doesn't matter since the fault lies with Fang Fang.
For the first time since the day started, he feels annoyed, especially with that androgynous boy for putting him into this position.
'I can't tell mom about this...ever. She'll freak out if she hears I keep meeting these types of people, he thinks, swallowing.
No longer denying it, he sighs and scribbles down his reply. It seems San is quite amused with a cat-like expression on her face as she watches him worry.
'Sorry, but that wasn't my fault. I was only defending myself.'
San provides a light, silent chuckle as she closes his eyes, causing Gohan some confusion. He can't ask what's funny as she immediately replies back on the paper.
'That makes more sense now. I heard the head of the Huang family is a troublesome guy anyway. Even so, there's little I know about you.'
Gohan hums. The way it's written, it seems she's also familiar with Fang Fang's family. He's now more curious than ever, especially after hearing Oyakata speak about his grandfather. From what he's seen from the previous class while that boy was engaging with Sharpner, he can only assume grandfather must be a highly experienced martial artist.
He's tempted to ask more, but given the topic is still on him, he knows he can't lower his guard. No matter how exceptional she is, it'd be bad if he divulged himself so easily. After all, he's not sure how much he can trust her.
'You can always ask the director,' he writes back.
San curls her lips and shakes her head, rejecting such methods, then writes her next message...
'That's no fun!'
'Fun?!' Gohan thinks, his eyes wide at her written words.
After blinking a few times, he turns his head to stare at her in disbelief. The girl keeps up her innocent smile, but there's undoubtedly excitement in her eyes. Without words, he can only rub his head and laugh distressingly.
'Does she like playing detective or something? Oh man, what am I going to do?' he wonders, trying his best to look away from her gaze.
Meanwhile, a more verbal conversation is going on between Erasa and Ruby as they both talk in a quiet voice. Gohan can't help but perk up as he's mentioned.
"...So, you've been hanging around with the boy behind me. Are you guys in a relationship?" Erasa asks, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.
Gohan can clearly hear the blonde girl and coughs, causing Erasa to smile wordlessly. San also listens with attentive eyes, interested to hear more. Naturally, she also knows something is different about the witch.
"N-no, he's a friend," Ruby corrects with some hesitation before glancing up said friend, "...we met this morning, that's all."
"Oh? Well aren't you a lucky one! I'm not against the dorky kinds," Erasa giggles, causing the half-saiyan much embarrassment.
Ruby furrows her eyebrows confused, her eyes returning back to the blonde. "He's not a dork..."
The half-saiyan smiles a little appreciatively hearing that, until...
"...just a little odd."
Ruby gives a surprising smirk and Gohan sees it as a small return from his earlier statement. Even though he apologized, it seems the witch wasn't going to the perfect chance go. He smiles bitterly and leans to the side, accepting the light payback.
Erasa giggles at the half-saiyan's reaction while Videl watches the half-saiyan carefully with focused eyes. So far, she hasn't said anything but as she goes through her memories from the past week, her eyes widen.
"Wait...Gohan, right? Have I seen you somewhere before? Maybe like a week ago or something?"
The half-saiyan straightens up and fixes his attention towards the daughter of Mr. Satan. To finally have a closer look at her, he can't believe that the afro-haired man has a daughter. Given she and Fang Fang helped the police this morning, the half-saiyan had to give her some benefit of the doubt that she's relatively capable.
"Um...I'm not sure," he answers truthfully, "...I do come to this city quite often to pick up stuff, so it's possible."
Videl furrows her eyebrows and hums, thinking hard. With his hair and black and white attire, she could have sworn she saw him before. She normally wouldn't be this invested in remembering, but she has a feeling it's noteworthy.
"Wasn't there a gang shootout a week ago that you helped stop?" Erasa questions, causing Gohan to freeze, now remembering an incident like that did happen near the parking lot of the store he was at.
Videl silently gasps, then turns to her friend. Her expression brightens with gratefulness. "That's right! Now I remember..."
Her eyes return back to Gohan and she points at him, causing him some sweat. "...You were the one who ran out the entrance of the Mars Mart despite me telling everyone to remain inside!"
The accused boy flinches while Ruby stares at Videl, confused by her words, and San eyes brighten. Before the half-saiyan can say anything, Ms. Hamilton had enough of their interruptions with Videl's revealing voice becoming the breaking point.
"All five-I mean, four of you, quiet down!" she cuts in, "...you all can chat after class!"
Everyone returns to their correct sitting posture, but Videl is the last as she continues staring at the half-saiyan before narrowing her eyes and looking away.
Gohan scratches his cheek, a bitter expression on his face. He now remembers going to that store, Mars Mart a week ago and vaguely recalls something happening between the police and a gang. There was a shootout outside on the parking lot, but the details aren't important. What he knows is he didn't have time to play the civilian. Since he had to get some ingredients to his mother quickly or else there would be a less savory dinner, he sprinted out the store as soon as he paid for the items.
To his embarrassment, he wasn't aware there were bullets flying outside the store until after he came out. Now that Videl mentions it, he does remember someone yelling at him from behind, but he wasn't really paying attention. Of course, it was hard to ignore the gunfire once he was outside so he transformed into his blond counterpart after slipping to the side of the store building.
The rest is history and he was able to give his mother the ingredients in time while helping the police.
'Ah...this is bad. To think she was the one who saw me run out,' Gohan thinks, now worried. For sure, Videl is going to have a lot of questions for him.
Not only that but Gohan can feel San's stares intensify towards him. She doesn't write anything to him for now, but it's clear this isn't good for his image given she already knows that he's not an average student.
As for the witch below him, Ruby focuses her attention on the teacher but isn't sure what to think as she doesn't really leave her land that often. On occasion, she would go to the city but more often than not, she has mostly what she needs from her land. That said, she is admittedly curious about what's so big about Videl recognizing him.
'Did something happen?' she wonders but knows she won't get any answers immediately as Ms. Hamilton's voice rings clearly in the now quiet classroom.
At the Lookout, two pairs of steps can be heard echoing inside the palace. Passing along its marble and quartz structure, Dende follows Mr. Popo through the circular hallways that have existed for hundreds of years. He had thought about asking if Piccolo wanted to come, who was meditating behind the palace but decided against disturbing him. Besides, he knows that as a Namekian, they both have sensitive hearing so he's more than likely already heard them discuss the library.
"It should be somewhere here..." the genie hums, looking along the walls.
Dende stares exasperatedly at the genie. He has no clue what the genie is looking for as they've made at least a few circles around the palace for ten minutes. So far, there hasn't been a door he doesn't already know about and he finally loses some of his patience.
"Um...Mister Popo, is there something we're supposed to be looking for? We're traveling in circles now!"
The genie stops, then turns to the smaller Namekian. The genie fidgets with his large hands and bows his head.
"Apologies, Dende. It's been at least a century since it was last attempted to be entered. There's a hidden door somewhere, if I'm not mistaken."
The guardian calms down and sighs, rubbing his temples. "Mister Popo, we can always look at this later. Although I'm interested, I'm sure you'd be better off tending your garden until you remember more."
A pair of new steps echo closer causing both of them to pause for a moment before their heads turn to see Piccolo, his white cape fluttering as he approaches them in his standard weighted clothing. Fearing they may have disturbed his meditation, Dende raises his hands and smiles apologetically towards his fellow Namekian.
"Mister Piccolo! Were we too loud? Sorry, we didn't mean to break your concentration!"
The former nameless guardian sighs and shakes his head, smiling reassuringly towards his younger peer.
"No, it's no problem," he says, "...I see that you two are having trouble finding the hidden door. I suddenly remembered something from the former guardian's memories that might help."
Dende blinks, nearly forgetting that Piccolo would still have some knowledge and memories after fusing with Kami; however, this is great news and his face brightens with excitement.
"Really? What is it?" he asks, bringing his hands closer.
Piccolo smirks at the smaller Namekian's interest and brings up his thumb to his teeth...
...then bites it.
Dende widens his eyes in surprise while Mr. Popo hums thoughtfully, then nods as he finally understood.
"Oh my, how could I have forgotten about that!"
Dende looks between his assistant and the Z warrior with great confusion but thankfully, Piccolo doesn't leave him in the dark while his thumb drips down with purple blood.
"That cunning bastard," Piccolo begins with a snort, "...he always sets up the most troublesome requirements to get into his secrets."
Dende's mouth opens in realization as he understands that Piccolo is referring to his predecessor. He wouldn't have to guess the relevance of self-harm as Piccolo stopped a meter before them and stares a blank wall. It doesn't seem to matter which part of the wall he needed to be looking at.
This becomes evident as he presses his bleeding thumb to the marble and begins writing a symbol using his blood. This somewhat disturbs Dende who, as a healer, isn't willing to purposefully inflict harm even if it's minor.
After Piccolo finishes, he let's go and stares at the ancient symbol that represents the desire to seek knowledge. He remembers when he was the original nameless Namekian, he witnessed his master at the time performing the same thing. The only thing left is...
He turns to Dende who gulps as he stares at the symbol that drips with lines of purple blood. He also recognizes what it means thanks to the books he had to study after he agreed to become the new guardian.
"As the guardian, you're the only one who can open the door," Piccolo explains, "...you'll have to apply your energy across this marking."
Dende collects himself, then nods. He walks in front of the drawing while Piccolo steps back, watching carefully with his arms crossed.
The guardian takes a deep breath and stretches out his hand, just an inch away from the blood as he remains cautious not to smear it. Closing his eyes, he focuses his energy and a soft yellow glow emits from his hand. The energy somehow is drawn to Piccolo's blood causing it to glow.
Feeling something change, Dende releases his energy and takes a step back. The symbol glows brighter than before and the palace rumbles without warning, causing Dende to take another step back in panic.
"A-are you sure this is safe, Mister Popo?" Dende questions, looking to the genie doubtfully as he vibrates in front of him.
Mr. Popo hums, his voice slightly altered by the vibrations. "I'm positive. Despite how scary it seems, this is how the former guardian intended to prevent the accumulated knowledge from leaking out and secure it for the next generation of guardians."
The rumbling stops and Piccolo's blood disappears, much to everyone's surprise. Naturally, it's been a while since this procedure has been followed so the details of the hidden door are fuzzy, even for Piccolo and the genie. Luckily, they wouldn't have to wait for long as a unique gold embellished door fades into existence, taking up the blank wall space.
Mr. Popo lets out a breath of amazement as he sees the intricate door again after a long time, now standing out from the rest of the built in rectangular and open doors around. He stops short of growing emotional as memories of his time with the former guardian flashes in his mind.
'Oh...If only you were still here, sir,' the genie thinks fondly.
The door with grand design stabilizes and a strange temperature can be felt emitting from the new entrance, cool yet soothing. The genie looks to the young guardian who stares in awe.
"Go on, your guardianship," Mr. Popo declares formally, "...you should be the first to open it."
It's been a while since Dende felt this honored. Yet, he doesn't allow his emotions to cloud his mind. He straightens up and steps forward as Piccolo and the genie smile at him. He doesn't waste any further time as he grasps the handle and pulls.
The moment the library door is ajar, it shines out bright white light from inside, creating a solid shadow beneath each of their feet. This doesn't deter Dende as he continues pulling while keeping his eyes shut. Eventually, the light slowly fades to reveal the inside...
...and everyone flinches.
Despite standing at the entrance, it is obvious that the library is a large cylindrical arena, filled with multiple floors holding many shelves of books with various wood furnishings. The sight of the room is beyond what Dende could imagine, clearly too large to exist on the surface of the Lookout.
That can only mean...a spatial dimension, one similar to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
Yet beyond the grandiose appearance of the library and the magical energy that's overflowing from it, there's one thing that stands out above the rest - a white-robbed figure sitting in the middle of the base floor with a bunch of books crowding a table.
The figure stops his reading and turns his head towards the entrance where he senses three presences. Before his eyes that shine out of the shadow of his hood, he only focuses on the guardian that is Dende.
A smile flashes from within his hood while the group remains stunned from afar. He snaps shut the book he was reading and places it with the rest before he stands up from the wooden chair.
"So, you are Dende, the new guardian? This is overdue, but I am Mikogami. We have much to discuss."
A\N: Just want to note that not every character that hasn't been either eluded to or mentioned will appear. It doesn't mean certain main characters or other side characters can't appear much later, but I have to follow what makes sense for the planned story direction.
The only reason I say this is because I'm sure there was some disappointment in this chapter when a blue-haired girl is described and you might think it's Kurumu...until it isn't.