Hello everybody, it's Shiva again. I am so sorry that I haven't updated for six months. I've just been feeling uninspired lately, but I'm getting back into the groove of things again. My muse has returned and has given me new inspiration and ideas. Isn't that fantastic? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new installment of my acclaimed hit Trials of the Mystic Warrior. Alright, you all know the drill; I own none of the characters except the ones I create, No flames, etc. Now, on with the show.
Gohan was speeding through the plentiful forests of Xanthar to the woman that had stirred his saiya-jin instincts. The thought of seeing that lovely pale blue face again made Gohan's heart go all a flutter (along with other body parts). His mind was so distracted that he didn't see the giant banghan tree he was about to fly into. The only warning he got was, as Gohan tells it, a group of voices singing in the distance "WACTH OUT FOR THAT TREE!"
It was one of the worst body plants that had ever occurred. The pain was nothing compared to the damage of the young man's pride.
"I'm so glad that nobody was around to see that. I know Sensei said this would be my awkward phase, but COME ON, I've had training to prevent stuff like this." He said partially to himself.
Picking himself up, Gohan rubbed the dirt, muck, and rocks off of his gi and proceeded through the thick underbrush within the forest. Though the sky had turned dark and starless, making it nearly impossible for any normal person to see, Gohan could navigate just fine. He had learned not to trust his eyes, but his ki senses, as well as his instincts.
Within a half hour or less, Gohan had reached his destination: the servants' cabins. The cabins were small and unassuming, much like the home he lived in with his sensei. Like his home, the cabins were made of galvan wood, but each house was painted in a different style, each reflecting the culture of each servant. Each was thing of beauty to behold. Simple beauty, but beauty nonetheless.
Gohan began navigating through the complex maze of cabins until he came to one that was painted in a simple turquoise hue. That was where he needed to be. He began heading towards the home of his first love.
'Hopefully she'll return the feeling. If she doesn't, it'll simply be another in a long line of rejections in my life.' He thought to himself. He looked at Jemla's home in trepidation until he gave one final sigh and walked towards the door. As each step passed, his anxiety grew larger and larger. Then came the moment of truth. The demi-saiya-jin stood at her front door and took a deep breath.
"Here goes nothing." He said quietly before giving a forceful but quiet knock on her door. He waited a few seconds before he started to think about leaving. Suddenly, as he was turning back towards his home, he heard the door unlock.
Only a soft squeak of surprise could be heard before words were finally said.
"Master Gohan, what are you doing here? Should you not be training with Master Moro for the upcoming battle?" she said in such a voice that made it seem like she was ashamed to be in his presence.
"Jemla, I was hoping that I could see you, maybe talk to you…" he said as his capacity for speech was starting to fail him.
"Oh Master Gohan, please don't punish me! If I haven't been a good servant because I disturbed you the night before, I promise to be better in the future, just don't report me to the elder servants!" she exclaimed as she broke down into tears.
Gohan grabbed her as she fell to the ground sobbing. He gave her a quizzical expression before lifting her head and looking her straight in the eyes.
"It's okay Jemla; I'm not here to report you or anything of the sort. I merely want to talk to YOU." He said with emphasis as he pointed at her. He gave the girl a gentle loving smile.
She stopped sobbing for a second as she looked at her handsome visitor. When she looked upon his noble visage, her heart stopped for just a second. A comforting warmth suddenly engulfed her. She hadn't quite expected things to go this way. When the two looked into each others eyes, not a word had to be said. It was amore, as the song goes (1). Suddenly, they both looked away and pulled themselves up. An awkward silence echoed through the still night air.
"So, what is it that you wanted to see me about, Master Gohan?" Jemla said trying to keep the conversation casual.
Gohan cleared his throat as he regained the ability to speak coherently.
"Well Jemla, I stopped by here because of last night..." he said before he was interrupted again.
"Master Gohan, I promise that will never happen again" she said trying to apologize.
"No No Jemla, I'm not mad at you. I actually liked what happened last night. You see, you stirred feelings within me that I've never felt in my life. I know it has to deal with affection, but it's far deeper than any affection I've felt for friends or even for my family. You may think I'm crazy, but… I love you. I want…I want…I WANT TO TAKE YOU TONIGHT! We can go anywhere; Sensei also said that it was alright. Strangely enough, he keenly encouraged it." Gohan forced himself to say.
The young servant girl stood there, simply speechless. Nobody that she had known had ever treated her with so much kindness. The fact that Gohan looked extremely nervous made the act that much sweeter. It simply melted her heart, and with the permission of Master Moro, the Elders couldn't lay a finger on her. She gave him such a smile that Gohan swore that his legs literally turned to Jello.
"I would love to go with you, Master Gohan." She said sweetly.
"Jemla, just call me Gohan. If we're dating, then let us act as equals. That's what my mother and father always told me." He said as a sharp pain entered his heart. Jemla cried out.
"Master… I mean… Gohan, are you alright?" she asked suddenly. Gohan simply turned to her and gave her a limp smile. He did not want to trouble her with the emotional baggage that he had been carrying since the day his father died.
"It's nothing. It's just a little chest ache, from the anxiety of this moment. I've never gone on a date with anybody. I don't have a lot of experience with the opposite sex, apart from my mom and some family friends. It's new to me" the demi-saiya-jin said giving the famous Son grin, rubbing the back of his head.
Jemla simply smiled. Legs going into Jello mode… Now.
"That makes the two of us. I'm not that experienced with the opposite…sex either. I'm a novice at this sort of thing as well. It'll be a new experience for the both of us." She said with her arms behind her back, looking extremely embarrassed at saying the "S" word. If she was anymore red, you would have thought she was a newly ripe cherry.
"Well then, let's get going. Although Sensei has given me extra time for this, I only have eight hours to go on a date and then sleep before I start training again." He said with a mixed tone of excitement and anxiety.
He then took his date in his arms and raised them off the ground until they were in full flight. Jemla was slightly frightened by this, but her fears were put to rest knowing that Gohan was there to hold her and keep her from falling.
"I'm going to take it easy and slow down while flying. I want you to get use to the experience before we speed up." He said comforting her.
"Speed up?!" she asked in a slight state of panic.
Gohan sweatdropped at this.
"Only if you want to." He said calming her fears again, not wating a panic on his hands (literally).
She soon began taking in the wonderful view, both of the world below her and the boy holding her. Both sights completely took her breath away. She wouldn't dare tell anybody this, but she had been harboring feelings for Gohan as well, right from the very beginning. It all started when he had first arrived on Xanthar. Moro had sent the servants away so he could greet his "guest". She was waiting in the bushes, hoping to catch of the master's new arrival. When the Master and Gohan came around, she caught her first glimpse of the future savior of the universe. She was smitten from the start. She began asking to be placed directly in the saying that she wanted to "Make the masters comfortable". After her daily duties were done, she would hide out in the bushes until they were fast asleep. She would then sneak in to look at Gohan, love written all over her face. After an hour or two, she would head home because she still had her chores to attend to. This pastime got even better as they got older, because Gohan began maturing, which made him more masculine. Sometimes she felt like shouting "FIRE DOWN BELOW!" (2) during some of her nightly stalkings. If Master Moro knew about it, he never let on. However, when she was caught, she thought that Gohan would be upset and report her to Moro, who would talk to her superiors. If they found out about this, Ereru knows what they would do to her.
As she laid there thinking about this, she didn't notice that they had already landed where the two lovebirds would be on their "date". She only noticed when she heard an "oomph" that came from her body hitting the ground. She was then jolted back to Reality Land (who wouldn't?).
"Hey, what was that for?" she asked angrily. Gohan simply smirked at her as she was rubbing her butt.
"I needed you back in reality with me. It's not a good date if only one person is paying attention." He said sardonically.
It was at this point in time that he was unceremoniously smacked upside the head.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" he shouted. This time it was Jemla's turn to smirk.
"It's not a good date if only one person is in pain." She replied.
Gohan returned the smirk and soon led her to a quiet place for them to be alone. They had landed by a large beautiful lake at the edge of a roaring waterfall. Trees and beautiful plants of all shapes and sizes surrounded the two teenagers. The scenery was perfect for romance and love. Gohan soon led her to a spot on a giant rock overlooking the water. They spent the next couple of hours skipping rocks and talking about anything and everything, except the battle that Gohan had to take part in. After that, they simply cuddled together and stared out at the moon that hung above them. Not a word was spoken between them. They wanted nothing to mar this perfect evening. However, Old Father Time soon caught up with them and it was time to return home.
When they returned, Gohan escorted Jemla to her front door (as every gentleman should). She then turned to him and smiled (I feel sorry for Gohan's Jello legs).
"This was one of the best nights of my life. It'll be awhile before I'll be able to sleep." She said with careless abandon as she grabbed Gohan for a big hug. Gohan returned the hug. Both never wanted to leave each others' arms. He pulled away and smiled.
"I also had a wonderful time. This is the best I've felt in a LONG time. I guess I'll have to learn to get to sleep quickly because I've got some intense training tomorrow. However, I was wondering if we could see each other another time?" Gohan said with a slight blush. Jemla blushed as well.
"I would like that." She said. Soon they did something they never expected to do. They kissed, long and passionately. Each reached levels of ecstasy the both had never reached before. When they finished, each pulled away and, blushing profusely, went their separate ways. Jemla went inside and Gohan walked away. When he was far enough away where nobody could hear him, he jumped into the air and flew around like a bloody madman.
"YES, SHE LOVES ME! LIFE IS GOOD; NO WAIT IT'S BETTER THAN GOOD, IT"S TERRIFIC (Ha! I didn't go the Tony the Tiger route)." He shouted as he whooped and hollered. Suddenly realizing he could wake up everybody on the planet, he regained his composure (well, as much as he could) and soon landed in front of his cabin. He knew Moro didn't need a lot of sleep, so he would probably be awake, so Gohan entered the house as he would normally would, not fearing the prospect of waking his sensei. He walked around the house until he found his master in the den.
Moro was sitting by the fireplace, reading one of the books he kept in his vast library. He looked up and smiled.
"I take it that the date went well Gohan?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Gohan smiled and danced a little bit around the room. Moro couldn't help but chuckle at this.
"It was wonderful. Jemla is one of the most wonderful people I've ever known. In fact, I was hoping that I…well could see each other regularly. You don't know how it feels. When I'm around her, I feel something that I've never felt before, around anyone. It's well…well I can't describe the feeling, but it feels heavenly." The teenager said as he slumped across the sofa.
"Trust me, my young pupil; I've been around the block a few times. I know how it feels to be in love. It does feel wonderful. Anyway, I think it's good that you two came together so, yes, you can see each other regularly, but it'll have to be after training. Speaking of which, let's get you to bed so you'll be prepared for tomorrow's session." He said as he closed his book, got up out of the chair, and led Gohan to his bedroom.
Soon, all of the nightly activities were done and Gohan was in bed.
"Good night short stuff, and pleasant dreams." Moro said as he rubbed Gohan's temple and smiled that smile that made our hero feel as if everything was going to be okay.
Gohan smiled in return.
"I will, as long as she is in my dreams tonight. Yeah master, good times are here again." He said as he drifted off to DreamWorld. As he did, he could swear that he heard his mother shouting something about grandchildren from Heaven.
As Moro was leaving the room, he turned back and looked upon his student with a look of sympathy and sadness.
"Enjoy them while you can kid, because good times don't last long." He said to himself. He then closed the door and left his young pupil to dream in peace.
(1)The song referred to is "That's Amore" by Dean Martin
(2)Can you guess which Broadway show that line comes from and who wrote it? Whoever finds out gets a cyber puppy.
Whoo boy that was a long one. I hope you thoroughly enjoyed this chapter, or are at least satisfied. Sorry if you don't like filler, but this chapter serves a purpose in our hero's epic tale. Also, I apologize if the romance seems forced and clichéd; I do my best to make good romance, but it's hard sometimes because love is such a tricky thing to analyze. I also hope you enjoyed our moment with Moro. I wanted him to have an almost fatherly relationship with Gohan.Anyway, Please review, but NO FLAMES! I'll update again sooner next time, in about a month or less. And always remember: DON'T GET RUN OVER! (Some people need practical advice)