PREVIOUSLY
Cindy quickly put the paper and pen away before she got in trouble. Her father was usually easy going about her flirting but always seemed to stop her before she could make a real move. Robin shook his head and when he left the store he just laughed lightly.
He wouldn't have called her even if he did get the number. He knew he couldn't get romantically involved with someone, especially since he was positive that she would one day be the mother of Erasa.
Soon enough, an hour had passed and Robin found himself at Town Hall.
Chapter 13: Celebrations and Mourning Part Two
For the first half hour that Robin was at Town Hall, he just stood at the top of the stairs alongside a few other fighters while the mayor talked about the damage done to the surrounding area, the number of casualties and about how proud he was to have fighters willing to risk their lives for his city.
Robin didn't pay too much attention to the mayor; he was still only a teenager with slightly short attention span during speeches. He only really listened for the number of casualties; 132 known casualties between both sides along with another 58 injured.
Robin was sure that at least 20 injuries were from him. He wasn't too sure about casualties though since he was kind of blanked out when he destroyed the tanks. In the end though he knew that if he did kill anyone in the tanks, he wouldn't let that affect him too much.
The past few days, he's been constantly gaining new resolve and everyday he grew more attached to this world. Some things he still felt weird about; like how everything was in an anime setting and looked cartoonish. However he knew that, if the dragon couldn't bring him home several years from now, he would need to be ready to defend the friends he makes along the way.
He also knew that if he wanted to try and make things go the way they should in the future then he would need to train extra hard to make sure he has the power to correct mistakes he causes. Later that day, when he's back at home, he decided that he would check his phone and laptop since they had a mysterious internet connection.
He would also need to learn a lot more about this world and its geography. It's a good think he grew up liking to learn about the world. But for now, it seemed that the mayor was wrapping up his speech and Robin had a feeling he would need to do something.
Robin looked up, now focusing on what's happening around him and saw an anthropomorphic dog over to the side near the podium. 'That must be King Furry; he seems a lot larger than I thought.' Robin then focused on the mayor to listen what was being said.
"… and with the recent actions of war that took place, it caught the attention of King Furry. Once he heard that the altercation was settled and learned of the heroes who bravely defended the city, he came to award the group of fighters you see here on stage Medals of Bravery." The mayor finished as he stepped aside to let the King of the world take a place behind the podium. All the while the crowd was clapping and cheering.
King Furry lifted his paws up to the crowd while clearing his throat to silence them. When the crowd was silent enough, he started. "To start things off, my empathy goes out to all those who have lost a loved one yesterday; war certainly is a cruel thing. However, I am here today to award those who stepped up to defend this city. So if the fighters could step up when I call their names, I would be honoured to award them with these medals." He finished and then turned to his side facing the group of fighters.
King Furry started calling off names that Robin wasn't familiar with, but he did recognize some of them. A few were masters from the dojo he visited the other day, and some of them were the leaders of certain coloured groups he saw on the battlefield.
After maybe fifteen or sixteen fighters were called out, Robin was the last one yet to receive his medal. Once the most recent fighter to receive one was back in his spot the king spoke up. "And lastly, I call forth a fighter by the name of Robin. Now this young man is truly a hero, in the footage I've seen and some of the talk I've heard from other people, he glowed like a beacon of hope and stared down several enemy tanks and took them down barehanded. He showed great courage and proved himself as a great fighter."
Robin stepped forth with a look of pride. He had never received so much recognition before and it felt great. He leaned down and allowed the king to put a medal around his neck. When Robin straightened back up, the king spoke up once again.
"After this ceremony is over, I will also be donating two million zeni to Orange Star City to have a memorial made to commemorate the warriors who fought valiantly and to remember those who died. On behalf of Robin here, I would also like to have a statue of him to be built with the memorial as a beacon of hope, titled 'The Glowing Hero' named by the people of this city." He finished.
As the crowd cheered for this, Robin simply stood there astonished that people would want to erect a statue of him. That's when he realized that the story hadn't even begun and he was already changing the course of history. It scared him slightly but it also made him proud that he could accomplish such a thing.
Several minutes later, after the mayor finished up the ceremony by talking about the building of the memorial, the crowd started to thin out and Robin wasn't sure what to do. While he was standing there, King Furry walked up to him and asked for his attention.
Robin looked down at the dog. "Yes?" He asked curiously. "I would like to give you this medal to be given to your grandfather Gohan since he wasn't able to be here." The king said while handing Robin another medal. Robin kindly accepted it and the king left him to his thoughts as he had business to attend to.
Robin stuffed the medal in his pocket and decided he would give it to Gohan tomorrow at home. Today, he was truly going to enjoy himself. So, for the next couple of hours, Robin walked around town truly familiarizing himself with it while finding several different parks and areas that had events being hosted.
Robin even found one place that was hosting an eating contest; he had been somewhat hungry so he decided to enter. Surprisingly, he only placed second behind someone named Ramsay, a tall beefy man. He also encountered Mariah and Mark at one of the parks and spent some time with them enjoying festivities; all the while taking photos.
It was roughly seven o'clock in the evening when Robin was getting ready to head home. Before he could do that though, he stopped at a cemetery that was hosting a memorial event and learned a few things about some of the other fighters and met their families.
It saddened him to see so many people who lost loved ones. If he could, he would find the Dragon Balls and wish back to life those who died, but he knew he couldn't and had more than one reason. The biggest one being that it could affect history too much by changing the places of the Dragon Balls. Another is that he simply had no way to find them.
He still wished he could do something, so he decided that if there were to be another major event like this in the next three years, he would be present to help defend these people.
Once the memorial was finishing, Robin left and headed out to the edge of town and took flight. He made it home about thirty minutes later since he wanted to take his time and view the landscape as the sun was setting.
There was a lot of damage done to the forest and to Raft Village, but he knew that there would be people working for the next few weeks to restore the village and clean up the forest. Once Robin spotted the small house in the distance, he landed on the path in the forest and walked the rest of the way.
By the time he got home, it was starting to be dark out as only a little sliver of sun was still above the horizon. Robin found Goku outside the front of the house sitting next to a fire with a big fish over it. Goku heard footsteps and turned around; his face brightening at the sight of Robin.
"Hey big brother, I'm cooking some fish how you showed me earlier today, do you want some?" He asked with a jovial smile on his face. "Sure Goku." Robin answered with an almost as cheerful smile on his face as he sat down next to the fire.
As they waited for the fish to cook, Goku asked about the thing around Robin's neck and Robin told Goku about his day. It was one of the first times Robin and Goku truly had any brotherly bonding. After eating and putting out the fire, Robin and Goku went to bed.
As Robin lay in bed he was looking through the window at the clear night sky. The moon was out but it wasn't quite full so Robin didn't pay it much mind. He just laid there with a smile gracing his lips as he started to truly felt he belonged and he also felt that he truly was an older brother. He grew up an only child and he always wanted a sibling, and now that he had one, he couldn't ask for anyone better.
The next morning, Robin awoke with the sun. Looking around the small house, he spotted Goku's form lying asleep on the floor with a blanket scrunched up next to him. Robin just shook his head with a small chuckle at the sight. He took out his camera and snapped a quick photo then picked Goku up and tucked him back into bed.
Goku was quite a heavy sleeper it seemed as he didn't even stir at all when Robin moved him. Goku stayed up slightly later the night before than he usually does so Robin decided to let him sleep while he went out to catch a fish.
Since Gohan wasn't home yet, it was up to him to make breakfast. It didn't take him long to catch a fish and he brought it back to prepare it. He was already much better at gutting it than the day before so that didn't take long either.
Once the fish was set over the fire, he grabbed a basket and decided to look around the forest for some fruit and herbs. Not long later, he came back with a bunch of apples and some pine needles along with other various plants that he'd seen Gohan pick for some herbal tea.
After setting the basket down, he turned over the fish and then fetched some water from the well. Making another fire and then setting some water over it in a pot to boil, he made some herbal tea which smelled quite pleasant.
Growing up, Robin's father would bring him camping and hunting once every summer. They would spend three days in the wilderness eating what they found and captured. His father would always make tea during those trips and all this reminded Robin of those days.
Robin reminisced about his past while preparing everything and he realized that although he missed his parents, he felt like he truly belonged here more. Robin sat blissfully waiting for breakfast to finish when he felt Goku's energy spike slightly as he woke up.
It seemed that energy sensing was starting to be much more natural with Robin, but he knew he still had plenty of training to do. When Goku walked out of the house, Robin greeted him. "Good morning Goku, did you sleep well?" He asked.
"Yup, and it was even better that I got to wake up to a delicious smell." Goku said with a large smile on his face as he spotted the food. "Well breakfast is just about ready, do want some tea?" Robin asked him as he took the lid off the pot and stirred the liquid with a stick. "Sure!" Goku said cheerfully.
Robin took out two cups and filled them each with some tea. He handed one cup to Goku and kept one for himself. He blew on the scalding liquid and took a small sip to test it. It actually tasted quite good, and the heat of the cup felt good on his hands.
It was already well into autumn, and up in the mountains it was quite cold in the morning. "Ouch!" Goku exclaimed after taking a large gulp of the liquid. Robin was laughing slightly and spoke up. "Goku you dope, you're supposed to blow on the tea and take small sips so that you don't burn yourself." Robin found it quite humourous that Goku was a warrior alien, and couldn't even drink tea without hurting himself.
Once they finished eating breakfast and cleaned up, Robin suggested that he and Goku spar instead of doing their usual training. Robin just felt like getting to know Goku better personally and sparring was a great way for the two of them to bond.
Goku couldn't even land a single hit during the spar, but the both of them had enjoyed themselves. They sparred for about an hour then went to the lake to take a swim and bathe off the sweat from the session.
Not long after, when Robin and Goku were having fun swimming and having a splashing battle, Gohan arrived. Robin was the first one to notice him when he sensed another presence and looked up. Goku capitalized on this distraction and created a huge wave that splashed Robin in the face. Goku then looked up to see who was there and smiled when he saw who it was.
"Grandpa you're back!" Was all that Goku said before being pulled under by Robin; he had snuck over to Goku after being splashed. "Hey Gohan, are you feeling better?" He asked as he surfaced. Goku surfaced not too long after Robin with a pout on his face.
"Robin, that wasn't fair." Goku said as he and Robin swam over to the shore to see Gohan. "Neither was your splash." Robin responded jokingly while sticking his tongue out to Goku. Gohan seemed quite amused by the actions as Goku just started to laugh. Robin joining him not long after.
"It's about noon, are you boys hungry?" Gohan asked them. Before they could answer though, a rumbling noise was heard as Robin and Goku looked at each other. "I will take that as a yes then." Gohan said as Robin and Goku looked up at him sheepishly.
Later that night everything seemed back to normal except for that fact that Robin now felt much closer to Goku. Right before bed though, Gohan went into the house and came back outside with something behind his back.
"Recently, with what has happened, I've realized that I'm starting to get older and I'm not quite as tough as I used to be." He started as Robin and Goku looked up to him curiously. "A few days ago on Goku's birthday, I found this little orange orb." He said as he pulled out the four star Dragon Ball.
'So that was what I saw him pick up the other day. It must've also been the Dragon Ball that the Red Ribbon Rebels were looking for.' Robin thought as everything seemed to piece together. Gohan then continued with what he was saying.
"It caught my eye since one similar to this washed up on my master's shore one day. As such, I would like to give it to the two of you if and when I die so that you may remember me." Gohan finish while handing it to Goku.
"Whoa, it's pretty." Goku said as he looked entranced by it. "Here brother, look at it." Goku said while handing it to Robin. When Robin grabbed it, he swore he could feel the magical power emanating from the Dragon Ball. The object was unlike anything he'd encountered before. It felt like glass or crystal but much more durable.
Robin then handed it back to Gohan as the three went into the house for the night. Gohan put it on a small cushion on a table in the house and the three went to bed. Robin looked up through the window at the moon that was slightly fuller than the night before while wondering about how much longer it would be when Gohan is killed; especially now that the Dragon Ball was around.
A few days later, Robin found himself back in Orange Star City. He was here to witness the unveiling of the memorial and to see his statue. Apparently they were able to model it off of a picture taken when he was receiving his medal and also a still image take from footage of the battle.
Unfortunately, neither Gohan nor Goku were there to witness it with him, since Gohan wanted to stay back and let Robin have his moment of glory and Gohan made Goku stay for an unknown reason. At least Robin found Mariah, Mark and Cindy all present at the unveiling so he stood in a group with him.
Mariah and Cindy already knew each other too, since Mariah's father was the one that helped fund the bakery that Cindy's father owns. Mark didn't know Cindy, but he didn't mind another good looking girl around. They mostly just had small talk until Mariah's father finally unveiled the memorial.
It was actually a fairly simple memorial but nice at the same time. It had two large granite pillars that listed off the names of those who died defending the city with a fifteen foot tall, bronze statue of Robin in a fighting stance. The plaque underneath the statue read "When hope seemed lost, this young man stepped forth glowing like a beacon to win the battle – The Glowing Hero, also known as Robin Mann. –Age 746, October Twelfth"
Robin personally thought that the title "The Glowing Hero" was somewhat cheesy, but he decided to deal with it. He stayed there all day as more festivities were being held; it almost seemed like a fall festival.
Sometime during the day, King Furry showed up announcing that he had some important news that would mostly affect the surrounding area. Apparently, because of the sudden attack from the rebels recently, the kind decided to give Orange Star City and the surrounding districts, the ability to for a military that would be supplied by the Royal Army and Capsule Corporation.
Also, to make the districts simpler, the Paozu mountain region would be separated into three separate districts. The eastern mountains would become the 439 East District along with Chazke Village and other surrounding villages. The western mountains along with Mount Alf (which is where Gohan lives) will become the 440 West district along with most of the Diablo Desert.
Robin was quite curious before when Gohan said that they lived on Mount Alf. Robin had asked about Mount Paozu and learned that that was the name given to the entire mountain region. At least this cleared up some more questions that Robin had about the names of places. After King Furry announced this, Robin went back to enjoying himself in the festivities.
It was quite late at night when things started to quiet down. Cindy had gone home about an hour earlier since she had school in the morning and Mark was just leaving now. Mariah had gone to find her father. Robin was pretty ready to fly home and call it a night too; with going to bed fairly early for the past few months he wasn't used to being up late anymore.
As he was leaving, he spotted Mariah and Yang out near the road. When he was close to them, they beckoned him over. They offered to let him stay the night since it was late and Yang didn't want Robin hiking home alone this late.
At first Robin was hesitant but he decided to go with them. He was sure that Gohan and Goku wouldn't worry about him too much. Considering Yang was the mayor of the city, when they arrived, Robin wasn't surprised to see that they lived in a fairly large house.
Mariah, who was obviously very tired and probably wasn't looking forward to school the next day, went straight to bed. Yang then showed Robin to his room and told him that he could leave whenever he wants the next day.
Robin then laid down and looked out the window thinking about how the day went. He had captured plenty of pictures throughout the day but he noticed his camera battery was starting to get low. He would need to see if he could find more.
He then drifted off into a peaceful slumber failing to notice the full moon that was hidden behind the smog. While off in the distance a large ape like being destroyed a large chunk of forested area along with a small house and trying to stop it was an old man.
The next morning, Robin woke up at 7:12 am according to the clock next to his bed. Something didn't feel right though. Robin put it off as just waking up in someone else's house but he couldn't get rid of the bad feeling in his gut.
He left the room he was in and found both Yang and Mariah sitting at a table. Mariah was eating some eggs with toast and looked only partially awake while Yang sat there drinking coffee with a bagel while reading the newspaper.
Robin cleared his throat when he entered the kitchen and only Yang looked up. Mariah was certainly too tired to even move at the moment. "Would you like some breakfast?" Yang asked while setting down his newspaper. Robin was slightly hungry but the feeling in his stomach was telling him not to eat.
"No thanks, I think I'm going to head back home. I doubt my grandfather and little brother would be too happy if I stayed away too long." Robin said while trying to think of why he felt something bad was going on.
"Well alright then, have a safe trip home." Yang said while picking his newspaper back up to resume reading the article that had caught his interest. "Bye" Was all Mariah could muster while lifting her hand slightly to him. "Bye guys." Robin said as he walked out of the house and blasted off into the air; a dreadful feeling coming over him the closer he got home.
Robin could only float in mid air in shock as he looked down at the area where his house used to be. The house and the surrounding area were destroyed. He spotted a colour of blue and black down by the side of the house.
Robin landed next to it not really caring that anyone would see him land. The colour happened to be Goku as he was leaning over Gohan who was motionless. He could hear sobs coming from Goku and instantly knew what had happened.
He knelt down next to Goku and hugged him. Goku only started to cry more and kept on blurting out about how the monster of the full moon had come out and killed grandpa. Robin simply sat there hugging Goku.
He felt sad even though he knew that this would happen. He at least wanted to be present when it happened so that he could help Goku deal with it. He looked on solemnly and the two stayed there for a while.
Eventually, Goku stopped crying and eventually fell asleep in Robin's arms. Robin then decided that he would lay Goku down somewhere comfortable and then went back over to Gohan's body. He picked it up and brought it down the hill and laid it back down.
Robin then proceeded to dig a hole in the ground and then buried Gohan inside of it. He then went to grab a large chunk of wood and then started to carve a cross out of it with his hand while it was infused with ki. He then stuck it in the ground and leaned it against the tree that was right behind the grave.
Once that was done, Robin sat back and just stared down at the grave and silent tears started to roll out of his eyes.
It was the first time that he had cried since he was a child. It was also the first time he had lost someone so close to him. Before coming here, all his grandparents were still alive and so were their siblings. His parents were alive and so were all his cousins. He had never felt this kind of lost before, and thus he just sat there quietly mourning.
After sitting there for the next few hours, Robin stood up and went to find Goku and just sat next to him to think. The next few days would be rough, but Robin knew that things would turn out fine as he started to play with Goku's hair.
So this was somewhat of a bipolar chapter. I really wanted to get this stuff out of the way so that I may skip to the point that the Dragon Ball story starts. Also, I'm sorry for not updating in a while, my excuse however is that my school year started recently and I've been kind of swamped with work. Since it's the weekend though, and all my homework is finished, I felt motivated to write a chapter. Just know that chapters may come more frequently or even less frequently depending on the amount of homework I have. During the school year though, I usually feel more motivated to write.
P.S. This is now the longest chapter in the story with over 4 thousand words. Took me almost 3 hours to write it.