WiffleDick678: So you wouldn't put yourself through any harm, I updated pretty fast. Happy to hear that you are enjoying the story and I hope the future chapters are even more enjoyable.
SEE THAT! THAT'S HIS RESPONSE TO MY REVIEW!
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT or Dragon Ball Super. Every character and location mentioned in Seven Years Later, with the exception of ones created by myself and not mentioned within Akira Toriyama's manga and anime, are owned by Akira Toriyama.
Chapter 3: Saiyan Pride
Son Gohan was flying through the white clouds, a white ki enveloping him with the power to soar. He passed over a collection of small and scattered settlements that were located in the lush green paradise below the sky. Gohan, being born and raised in 439 East District at the very center of mount district, had an overwhelming appreciation for the beautiful scenery of the countryside. Despite what most of the world's population believed, Gohan always felt that a home away from towering skyscrapers and bickering citizens would do anyone some good. His purpose for dashing through the sky in the opposite direction of his house was not to enjoy the scenery, however. The young man was on his way to West City, the most technologically and industrially developed city on the face of the earth to visit a wealthy blue-haired genius.
As he neared the incredibly populated city, Gohan reflected upon his first experiences at Orange Star High School. The first day wasn't so bad, I guess. Mr. Hiro's assignment is likely to cause some problems for me, but other than that I didn't have many issues. Erasa and Sharpner believed everything I told them, the former believing that I'm just a shy and innocent teenager and the latter believing I'm just a bookworm. Videl...I might have some problems with her. She reminds me of Bulma and Vegeta to a great extent and knowing them she might catch me doing something suspicious and start to pry for more details. The end of the school day is what worried me though...I've never lost control of my emotions like that before. I felt the urge to blow up the planet just because my new friend was bashing Piccolo. I really need to regain control over my actions...I can't let anyone get hurt because of me again. Piccolo died because I wasn't brave enough. Krillin died because I wasn't strong enough. Father died because I wasn't smart enough. Now that everyone is depending on me to protect the earth, I can't let them all down.
After reaching the city, Gohan remained at a fast pace and a high altitude to avoid any civilians potentially catching sight of him. The spiky haired teen was traveling faster than the eye can see, zooming above large commercial buildings and a multitude of cars. In no time, he reached the enormous beige sphere known as Capsule Corporation. After descending to touch down onto the ground, Gohan walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. A blue-haired beauty answered the call, quickly dragging him inside for a friendly embrace. Gohan chuckled at Bulma's display of affection for her godson.
"Hey Bulma! How are you doing?" - Gohan politely asked.
Bulma's affection soon turned to anger as she wacked the teen across the back of the head with a small angry fist.
"It's been two weeks, Gohan! Two weeks and you haven't called or came to visit! What the hell is wrong with you? I'm your godmother for Kami sakes!" - Bulma exclaimed. She quickly pulled herself away from Gohan and put a hand on her hip, staring at him with a vicious glare. I haven't seem her in weeks, but this is strangely familiar. Bulma sighed before continuing. "Vegeta told me you came over to train with him several days ago. Did it even occur to you to take one second out of your busy schedule to come inside and visit with me? Ugh, you certainly are your father's son."
A smile came to Gohan's lips after she compared him to his father. Piccolo may have been his guardian and the man he looked up to the most, but Gohan always wanted to become a strong and honest man like his father. After Goku's death hit an eleven-year-old Gohan fairly hard, the young man desperately tried to change his ways. Instead of an innocent child, Gohan grew up to become an experienced warrior. He adopted his father's kindness towards others but the ruthless nature of Piccolo and Vegeta in battle. His father's gullible nature caused Raditz to take his life, Frieza to make his way back to earth, and resulted in Dr. Gero constructing both the Androids and Cell. As much as the spiky-haired teen admired his father, he would not repeat his mistakes. Gohan understood that not all criminals could change with a second chance. Piccolo could change because he was only acting on his father's wishes, completing the pre-set destiny that his parent had laid out for him before he died. Citizens of the earth looked upon Piccolo as a monster, and that's what alienated him from the human race. Vegeta had the ability to change because he was being controlled by Frieza. An entire race that he was directly responsible for was enslaved and later destroyed right before his eyes, and this led to his anger and hatred against all things standing in his path for power. Gohan would always give those worth redeeming a second chance, but would not hesitate to destroy an evil space tyrant who ordered men to rape and kill and pillage across the universe, like his father would.
"It's really good to see you again Bulma, I apologize for not calling, but right now I really need your assistance with something."
Bulma's face took on an inquisitive expression and quickly lost the angry one.
"What's up, kid? No wait, let me guess, does it have anything to do with a certain Golden Fighter showing up out of the blue to vanquish some hoodlums in Golden City?"
Gohan nodded swiftly. "Yeah, I have a pretty big problem regarding that. Since I'm going to school now-"
"Oh my god Gohan, that's great!" - Bulma chirped. Now she's reminding me of Erasa. "Did you get good teachers? Meet any cute girls?" - Bulma asked, nudging the teen slightly on the arm.
"Bulma!" - Gohan exclaimed, embarrassed by her last question.
"Sorry, sorry. So, how was it?"
"Well, it went slightly better than I expected. I gained three really good friends in my first hour of class." - Gohan explained.
"Girls?" - Bulma asked with narrowed eyes.
Gohan sighed in defeat. "Yes, two of them were girls but it's not like I was going to do anything. I'm there to get a high school diploma and develop a social life, not to chase girls around all over the school."
"So, any good teachers?"
"There's this one guy named Mr. Hiro, he's really nice and is a fan of our friends. Then there is Mr. Ryu, he's a complete freak who looks like he'd sooner be eating students than teaching them." - Gohan explained.
Bulma chuckled at Gohan's description of his least favorite teacher. "So, what did you need my help with?"
"Oh, right. As you now know I'm going to school, so I'll be coming across more and more of these crooks while passing over the streets. Golden City has a serious crime problem and I can't just avert my eyes and watch the citizens get hurt. They need a protector, stronger than the police force yet not as strong as an ascended Super Saiyan." - Gohan began, with Bulma nodding at the last part.
"I had to transform to hide my identity, but my powers could fatally injure one of the criminals when all I mean to do is temporarily disable them. Also, Super Saiyan doesn't change my clothes, so if my classroom discovers that the Golden Fighter has saved the day in the exact same attire I wear to school, I could be in for some trouble. Any ideas?"
Bulma put her hand on her chin while pondering any possible solutions to Gohan's problem. Suddenly an idea popped into her head. A wide smile grew between her cheekbones and her face lit up with newfound enthusiasm.
"I could make you a suit that can appear on your body at your beck and call. All you would have to do is press some sort of button on a small device that you'd need to keep with you. It would cover your body from your neck to your toes in new apparel. What do you think?"
A smile quickly grew on Gohan's face. "I knew I could count on you Bulma. How'd you ever get so smart anyway?"
She returned Gohan's smile with her own cocky grin. "I guess smarts just runs in the Briefs family. It also helps being a natural born genius. If I wasn't around your father would have stayed in the woods all of his life and you wouldn't have been born." - Bulma boasted. Gohan simply chuckled at her over-confidence. It wasn't an unusual occurrence for compliments to go to her head. At times she was just as proud as her Saiyan husband.
"I'd love to stay and chat Bulma, but I really need to talk to Vegeta about something. Is he home?" - Gohan asked. Maybe Vegeta can explain and solve that little problem of mine. Bulma nodded quickly and flashed a smile towards Gohan while pointing in the direction of the gravity room.
"He's in the gravity room training with Trunks, where else? I really wish that he would take it easier on our boy. Those two spar for hours without a single break, punching and kicking and firing at each other as if they were arch rivals instead of father and son. For Kami sakes, Trunks is eight-years-old!" - Bulma exclaimed, growing more and more frustrated throughout her rant. Gohan calmed her down with one of his father's grins before he took off towards the gravity machine.
"Don't worry about Trunks, Bulma! If he has the same endurance and heart as his father I'm sure he'll be fine!" - Gohan called back. The young teen proceeded by disappearing out of Capsule Corp's front door.
Some time later, Gohan found himself outside standing face-to-face with one of the most genius contraptions ever created by the Briefs family, the gravity machine. The large circular dome was striped white and black in addition to sticking out on the Brief's property like a sore thumb. Thanks to the incredible machine the power level of all who had utilized it, including Vegeta, Trunks, Goten, and even Gohan himself, had increased dramatically. Since the death of his father, Gohan had used the gravity machine to release his pent up frustration and guilt while getting stronger in the process. Over seven years Gohan's time in the chamber had decreased significantly, due to the fact that his power level had become so unbelievably high that training in gravity hundreds of times greater than earth's did very little to increase his power. Since he turned sixteen, Gohan noticed that his power would only increase by a noticeable margin during his battles with Vegeta, which prompted him to resort to sparring as a main method of training. Gaining fighting experience and strength at the same time appeared to Gohan as the most efficient way to make use of his free time. That is when he wasn't studying, doing chores, or playing with Goten.
As he entered the complex machine, Gohan felt a slight stinging sensation as the strong gravitational pull attempted to push him down to the steel flooring of the room. Gohan resisted the urge to grit his teeth under the pressure from the increased gravity. Vegeta and Trunks are going all out. This has to be the maximum setting, 500X gravity. Although this may have been considered a heavy workout seven years ago, Vegeta and Gohan had grown in power to the extent where the maximum gravity setting would render completely useless if they transformed into Super Saiyans. It is for this reason that the two strongest Z-Fighters on the planet remained in their base forms when they would train together. Hope Vegeta doesn't take it too rough on the kid. The only way Trunks would be able to stay standing under this pressure is if he transformed and if Vegeta has also...he could get a bit carried away.
Gohan's assumptions were proved correct when the spiky-haired teen finally reached the room in which the two Saiyan Princes were sparring. They both sported spiked golden hair and light blue eyes. Vegeta had several bruises all around his topless form, yet the Saiyan Prince showed no signs of self-exertion. The man was slightly battered yet he had not broken a sweat. His golden-haired son on the other hand, was completely beaten. Across Trunk's torso, there were at least a dozen heavy bruises and many more forming across the rest of his body. The eight-year-old had a large puffy welt under his left eye which almost rendered half of his vision useless. His top and pants were covered in holes and tears and still fresh blood. All of the chamber's increased gravity, combined with the injuries inflicted by his father, left the young Trunks sweat glistened and panting, bent over with one of his hands on the steel floor to prevent falling over due to exhaustion. Vegeta really went all out this time.
Vegeta, aware of Gohan's presence but ignoring him nonetheless, began to manically laugh at his son's bruised form. "And here I was believing you to be a descendent of the Saiyan race's royal bloodline! Does the offspring of the Prince of all Saiyans kneel below an opponent, no matter how mighty? Get up boy!" - Vegeta yapped at his son with a cold tone.
The cold and unforgiving voice of his father made Trunks tremble and collapse in pain, slamming against the hard steel floor. Trunks glanced up towards his father with eyes full of determination and gritted his teeth. "I have not lost father...I will not loose!" - the boy screamed. A powerless Trunks proceeded by propelling himself back up to his feet, using all the might that his tiny arms could offer to lift his small frame up from the steel. For Trunks, son of the proud Saiyan warrior Vegeta, the steel itself was cold unforgiving defeat and the disappointment of his father. Pushing the steel underneath him to earn a great deal of power, and more importantly a great deal of respect from his father, was Trunk's ultimate goal. Gohan watched the determination of the young Saiyan with a large smile on his face.
Trunks stood his ground with wobbly legs, prepared to take another strong hit from his father that would undoubtedly end the match and send him into even worse condition. To the golden-haired boy's surprise, the hit never came. The boy felt the gravity revert from 500X to normal and looked upon his father to find a small grin on his face. When I first met Vegeta, I wouldn't believe that he would ever take pride in anything other than his own personal accomplishments and power. Here is the mighty Saiyan warrior, pride radiating off him as he's smiling at his weaker, yet just as determined, son.
Trunk's hair reverted back to lavender, whereas Vegeta's regained its natural black color. They both glanced over towards the doorframe to see Son Gohan. A look of joy and happiness overtook Trunk's face while one of inquiry took over Vegeta's.
"Gohan!"
The small frame of Trunks dashed towards Gohan in a blinding flash, as if he just consumed a sensu bean and restored all of his energy and health. Trunks came crashing into Gohan, both Saiyans capturing each other in a friendly embrace. Vegeta scoffed at the display of emotion to keep up appearances, ensuring that the son of his arch nemesis Kakarot would not realize how soft and affectionate he had become after seven years of domestication.
"What are you doing here, Gohan? Goten told me you had school today." - Trunks questioned after the two separated.
"Well, I'm done school for today and decided to come over to pay you a visit. I also needed a favor from your mother and some advice from your dad." - Gohan explained. This earned him an impatient grunt from Vegeta, sensing something was wrong with the teen as soon as he entered the gravity machine. After seven years of training with Gohan, the elder Saiyan could read him like a book.
"Well? Are you going to come over here and talk boy, or are you just going to waste more of my time by catching up with my son?" - Vegeta asked coldly.
Gohan turned his attention to the man and just chuckled at his annoyance. He nodded his head in confirmation and began to walk towards the other side of the room, where Vegeta was located. Trunks quickly left the premises to return to his mother, not wanting to be present if the two men decided to start a destructive spar in Capsule Corp's backyard. Vegeta's cold hard exterior ceased when Gohan approached him, as a small smile tugged on his lips. This soon turned into a self-sure smirk and the shaking of the Saiyan Prince's head in disbelief. This earned the Prince a confused look from Gohan.
Vegeta's cold hard exterior ceased when Gohan approached him, as a small smile tugged on his lips. This soon turned into a self-sure smirk and the shaking of the Saiyan Prince's head in disbelief. This earned the Prince a confused look from Gohan.
"A fine race of intergalactic warriors, fighting the strongest villains that the universe had to offer. Beings of immense strength and endurance, able to survive in almost any climate on any planet during infancy. Here we are, the two strongest warriors that our race has ever had to offer. One of us has been domesticated like a wild dog brought into a new home, worrying about groceries and shopping and the needs of a woman instead of destroying planets. The other is running around the face of the planet acting like a fool, playing dress-up and gossiping and going out on dates like a little girl. Our ancestors would undoubtedly frown upon us today if they could bear witness to our current states, brat."
Gohan began to laugh while Vegeta was unable to suppress his chuckles his chuckles. Gohan recomposed himself several seconds later, looking up to Vegeta with a smile that displayed both friendliness and respect.
"It's great to see you again, Vegeta."
"Likewise, brat. It grows rather dull when there is nobody around who can stand up to one-tenth of your power." Vegeta grinned back at him.
Gohan looked at Trunks and smiled. "I see Trunk's training has been paying off tremendously. In three more years I could see him being almost as strong as I was when I beat Cell." Vegeta chuckled at this and nodded his head at Gohan, a sense of pride welling in his chest.
"The boy is very strong. Not a prodigal warrior like you and not as determined and battle-hardened as I am, but a strong child in his own right. Your father's youngest brat is not too bad, either. Youngest Super Saiyan in history, you and Trunks made sure of that. He'll never catch up to my son, though." - Vegeta finished with a confident smirk, his Saiyan pride once again being displayed. "And what did you want to blabber about again?"
A wave of realization instantly hit Gohan as he remembered the main purpose of his trip to Capsule Corporation. "I was at school today and made some new friends-"
"What the fuck does that have to do with anything?" - Vegeta interrupted.
Gohan sighed at the wroth and hot-headed Saiyan Prince. "I'm getting to that, Vegeta. Anyway, after school one of my new friends insulted Piccolo, still believing him to be a demon for the trouble that his father caused the earth over two decades ago. I've never lost control of my power like I did then. I was about to blow up the school and most likely the planet with it out of pure frustration and anger. You know me, I would never even dream of doing something like that. It is really bothering me because if I experience another episode I doubt I'd be able to stop without help." - Gohan finished.
Vegeta's face lost its expression of anger and returned to a serious and unreadable one. "You are the first Saiyan in history to experience this. However, I'm positive of what caused this dilemma." Gohan's eyes widened in surprise. "You are a half-breed. Half Saiyan and half Earthling. You have lived on this planet for the entirety of your eighteen-year-old life and adopted most of your qualities and traits from your human side. Instead of hard and ruthless, you are soft and forgiving. And this could be the reason behind your ridiculous ability to stay several steps ahead of me, despite my training routine being triple the difficulty of yours."
Gohan knew from his surges of power and unlimited potential that he wasn't a normal human or Saiyan for that matter. For a warrior to increase and power when angered was a common occurrence, but a four-year-old child with no combat experience powering up to the level of a low-class Saiyan warrior was unheard of. And that mysterious power that enveloped Gohan when he would explode in rage would give him a seemingly endless amount of power. Goku and Vegeta always hit barriers during expeditions to increase their strength that would allow them to go no further in their attempts for power. Vegeta hit a power barrier before he transformed into a Super Saiyan, and Goku encountered his last barrier during his training with Gohan, believing that he had hit his maximum potential and could go no further without specialized training or a new transformation. When Gohan exploded in rage, he felt all those barriers continuously disappear as his own power skyrocketed past what even he thought was possible.
"In moments of anger, your Saiyan side attempts to surpass all of your human feelings and emotions. Two halves of you fight for supremacy over power, body, and mind. Since you possess the ascended form of Super Saiyan, your Saiyan side is able to increase its control over you because you are relying more and more on your Saiyan transformations to bring you victory in a battle. When you were a child this didn't affect you, most likely because at that point you used power that was only increased by your Saiyan heritage and did not solely rely on it. Remember when you fought Cell? That was the first time that you exploded in anger while possessing the power of a Super Saiyan. This is why you were so confident, ruthless, and reckless after you transformed into Super Saiyan 2." - Vegeta finished, smirking at the shocked look on Gohan's face.
"You...you're a genius Vegeta!" - Gohan exclaimed.
"So they say."
"But...if my Saiyan side is battling against my human side because I'm relying more on my Super Saiyan powers, why did this never happen to my father?" - Gohan questioned.
Vegeta pondered his question for a second before he gave his best attempt to answer it. "Firstly, Kakarot may have had to become enraged to unlock his Super Saiyan power, a requirement that applied to all of us, but that does not mean he receives power through anger in the first place. That's how you and I manage to increase our power by a staggering amount. Your father has training as his most beneficial power-up whereas the both of us rely on an uncontrollable rage anger directed towards our opponent to bring our power to the next level. If you can recall, your father came out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber as the most powerful out of all of us, due to his training inside the chamber. However, my power matched his when Cell killed Trunks before my eyes and your power surpassed Kakarot's as you watched those little blue bastards try to kill us all. Secondly, you are an earthling. Kakarot just pretends to be one. He is a full-fledged Saiyan." - Vegeta finished.
So that's why I almost lost control in front of Sharpner...it helps that I understand more about it. Gohan closed the gap between himself and Vegeta and clasped the Saiyan Prince on the shoulder with his hand. Gohan shot him a trademark Son smile, causing appreciation to radiate off of his body. "Thanks Vegeta, I really appreciate this. Now that I understand what my Saiyan side is trying to do, I can eventually train to control it." Vegeta scoffed and smacked the spiky-haired teen's arm away from him.
"Whatever, brat. Save your appreciation. All I want from you is a spar, here and now." - Vegeta challenged, his eyes sparkling with overwhelming determination and excitement. Gohan gave the man a frown and quickly declined his offer.
"I'll come back tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to try and finish an assignment tonight."
Vegeta glared at the half-Saiyan as if he had just told him off. "You value the ridiculous education system of this blasted planet over increasing your power? You are too fucking soft to be a Saiyan! If Bardock could see you now he would've refrained from giving his seed to your grandmother to avoid creating the embarrassment of a Saiyan that you and that fool Kakarot have become! You are truly unbelievable Gohan, I-"
"Did you just call me Gohan?" - Gohan interrupted in surprise.
"Why would the Prince of all Saiyans resort to referring to a low-class Saiyan half-breed by his human name?! I thought you were just lacking in motivation, but I've started to doubt your sanity, boy!" - Vegeta retorted.
Gohan just chuckled off Vegeta's anger and annoyance with him. For seven years he has stopped referring to himself as the Prince of all Saiyans and bragging about his royal stature on Planet Vegeta. When the guy gets angry, it's like he does a complete three-sixty! Vegeta sure can be hot-headed. Currently, he's the spitting image of the same Vegeta that arrived on Earth over a decade ago. "Goodbye, Vegeta! Love you too!" - Gohan joked as he ran away to avoid any further confrontation, hearing a very frustrated growl behind him. I'll have to remember to come back here tomorrow after I train with Goten. Don't want to keep that guy waiting for any longer than I have to.
After Gohan exited the gravity chamber, the teen ventured back inside the Capsule Corporation Headquarters to find a certain blue-haired genius with a wide smile on her face. Enthusiasm radiated off her very being, evidence that the woman had completed another one of her inventions. To Gohan's surprise, his god-mother threw him a small watch-looking device with a single button in the middle.
"Ta-da! I completed your little suit in no time! It pays to know a genius, huh? Strap the device around your wrist and press the button!" - Bulma exclaimed, clearly excited to see Gohan's reaction to the gift. Gohan followed Bulma's orders and when he pushed the button, black Saiyan battle armor instantly appeared on top of his school clothes. The chest plate, leggings, and boots were identical to Vegeta's when he first arrived on earth, save for the color. To the teen's surprise, when he pressed the button a second time the clothing completely disappeared, leaving no trace within the outside world of it ever existing. Gohan glanced up towards Bulma and shot her a genuine smile.
"Thanks a lot, Bulma! I have no idea what I would've done without you."
Bulma gave Gohan a wink. "No problem kiddo! You want to stay over for dinner?" - Bulma asked.
"Sorry, but I have to decline. I'm going to be working on my first school assignment tonight. See ya! Tell Trunks I said goodbye!"
Gohan watched as Bulma waved him a goodbye before striding out of Capsule Corp. A white aura of ki enveloped the teen as he dashed into the sky, this time in the direction of his small rural home. While thinking about Vegeta's insistence that he should train, Chi-Chi's insistence that he should study, and Erasa's insistence that he should expand his social life, Gohan realized that balancing the differentiating expectations of family and friends was easier said than done.
END