A/N – Hello, my dear friends, thank you for checking out this update. Just wanted to put this brief note here before we start with the story just to say a few things.

1) You may have noticed that the Title of the fic has changed from "The Rise of Saiya" to "Path of the Dragon". The reason for the change is that there is another story with a similar premise and near identical title on this site, so I wanted to avoid any confusion. Just as a little side-note, if you were curious, the previous title was a tribute to another one of my favorite childhood anime series, "Saint Seiya, (Los Caballeros del Zodiaco in Mexico)." The new title is more in line to the central message of the story.

2) I want to apologize for how long this chapter is. My plan was supposed to have the entrance exam start last chapter but when I was writing this chapter out, I realized there was still so much that needed to happen before then to establish the path of this story, please please please forgive me. Next chapter for sure, going to UA. Next chapter is going up later today. I just had to split the chapter in half because it was wayyy too long.

3) Due to the number of guest reviews, beginning with next chapter, I'm going to start replying to all reviews at the end of each new chapter, since I cannot PM guests.

4) Lastly, I wanted to include opening and ending songs just like in the anime. You don't have to check them out, but they do set the tone for the fic as well as give it another touch of that anime feel that I love. The opening/closing songs will change with either a new season or major arc. For this first season, I'm using two of my favorite J-rock bands. Hope you like them! Okay that's all for now, I've rambled on long enough. Thank you, dear friends! Enjoy the chapter!

Opening Song –

"Reviver" - My First Story

Watching the fires rise in the distance, Gohan slipped his boots on, the tough, yet comfortable Namekian leather firmly gripping his ankles. Another explosion rocked the street and he jumped towards the balcony of the room, ready to take off.

"Wait, Gohan!" Gohan turned to see Dende running towards him, catching up to him on the balcony.

"I've got to do something, Dende," Gohan pushed past him. "Please don't try to stop me."

"I know, and I'm going to help. Here," Dende handed Gohan the device that he had found along with his father's hero outfit in Mount Paozu.

"I never had the chance to even use this thing," Gohan said, taking the scouter from Dende. "Any idea what it even is?"

"When we plugged it into our system, it came back as an old prototype communication device from Capsule Corp. Patent name, Scouter," he said. "When we tested it, we found out it has many functions, including X-ray mode, Night vision, and a two-way communicator. We'll have time to study it further later, but right now, I figured it can help you rescue the people trapped in the building."

Gohan took the device and placed it on his ear. The tiny green screen that covered his left eye lit up with data and images.

"The feed from the communicator is encrypted and transmitted directly to me, so I'll be able to help you from here."

Gohan nodded, thumbing through the settings of the scouter.

"Okay," he said.

"Are you ready?"
"Let's do this."

Chapter Six – The Legend of the Dragon

The rush of wind tugged against Gohan's long hair as he flew down towards the burning building. The closer he got, the more apparent it became that the building was on the verge of collapsing. From up here, Gohan could see the fire rescue crews and heroes working hard to get people out from the lower levels. Large water canons targeted the higher levels of the blaze, but the fire refused to die down.

As he ascended to the skies, the scouter beeped a single, sharp tone, indicating an incoming transmission.

"Gohan, this is Dende, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Dende."

"Great. Go ahead and tap on the large button on the side of the scanner to begin the scanning process; it will guide you through the safest point of entry to the building."

Gohan pressed the button and immediately the screen began to scan the building, drawing up a spinning 3-D model of the building. There were a lot of areas that were just barely clinging on to each other by a couple of support beams, but there was one area on the south side of the building that blinked blue.

"Scan complete. Okay, the safest way inside seems to be through the back wall. The Scouter will guide you there. Be careful, Gohan. I'm seeing a lot of trapped bodies down there!"

"Got it, thanks!"

The scouter lit up with a highlighted flight path through the city and Gohan swung around and followed it. As he passed over the side of the building, the scouter signaled about a dozen or so bodies still trapped in the blaze. He tapped the MODE button on the scouter and the screen switched to EMT mode, which highlighted the bodies in the rubble and displayed their vital signs.

Other than elevated heart rates and raised anxiety levels, most had steady vitals. A couple were completely unconscious.

His eyes landed on a small body.

Oh, no! There's a baby down there! Hang in there, everybody! I'm coming!

Gohan swerved around the corner of the building and crossed his arms over his face as he flew through the window. The next instant, he crashed through, landing into a roll and sliding to a stop.

The fire was intense. A thick black curtain hung like a veil across the halls, blurring his vision. Gohan instinctively brought the Namekian scarf up to cover the bridge of his nose. He thumbed the scouter into X-Ray mode to give him the location of the closest body. The scouter beeped and to his surprise, there already was a small group of people in the lobby. The group was startled by his sudden entrance.

"Woah, what was that?"

"Is he a Pro?"

"Is that Endeavor?"

"Are you here to rescue us?" A frightened young woman asked.

"I going to get you all out of here," Gohan said.

"We tried going down the stairs but the fire has consumed the lower levels. We're trapped!"

"Okay," Gohan said, thinking. "We'll find another way out of here. Does anybody have any flying or water-based Quirks we can use right now?"

"I can control the moisture in the air," a man in the back said. "If there was any."

"My quirk lets me weld things together," a second man said.

"And I can create brief gusts of wind with mine," the young woman said.

"Okay," Gohan racked his brain for ideas. "Okay, I got it."

He raised his arms, palms out, and shot several blasts of energy that destroyed every window in the lobby.

"Miss, I need you to get some fresh air flowing in. And as you do, the gentleman with the moisture quirk can help try to elevate the moisture level that the new breeze brings in. That should help make it breathable in here, at least."

"Okay."

"Got it!"

"Everyone else," Gohan said, picking up a piece of wood. "Start gathering things we can use to build walls and weld them together; anything to keep the roof from collapsing in on top of us."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to go look for the others who are stuck in their apartments. Don't worry, as long as we work together and help each other, we're going to get out of this building alive. I promise."

Everyone got to work on the tasks Gohan had given them and he dove through the black smoke that clouded the hall. The scouter beeped, highlighting a body nearby.

Down the hall, first door on the right. One body was trapped underneath a support beam. Gohan slammed through the door with his shoulder and ran over to the body, lifting the burning frame off of the man underneath.

"W-who's there?" The man asked, frightened.

"Easy," Gohan said, placing the burning debris aside. "I'm here to rescue you."

To Gohan's relief, the man wasn't unconscious. After a few seconds of digging, he reached the large man underneath. The man opened his large eyes to see his rescuer. "Thank goodness! I'm saved!" he cried.

"Come on, let's get you out of here," Gohan said, lifting the beam off of him and extending a hand. The man reached up to take it, his dark skin glistening with the glow of the fire around him. Suddenly, another explosion rocked the building, tilting it to the side and the floor underneath began to crumble.

"No!" Gohan dropped the beam and jumped forward, but he wasn't fast enough. The floor caved in sideways and everything, including the man, fell through to the fire below. "Dammit!" Gohan yelled. He had been so close to saving the terrified man's life.

And suddenly, with a brief but bright flash of light, the man slowly floated back up to where Gohan was. Gohan stared, amazed. The man was laying on the mattress of his bed, light emanating from his hands, making the mattress float.

"Wow, is that your power, sir?" Gohan said, helping the man climb off of the mattress and onto solid ground. The man's quirk deactivated and the mattress tumbled back down into the hole in the room.

"Yes," the man dusted himself down and wiped his face with his shirt. "My quirk lets me turn solid objects into flying vehicles, so long as they are sturdy enough to support my weight."

"That's a useful quirk," Gohan said. "Do you think we can use it to rescue your neighbors?"

"Yes," the man nodded. "That had been my intent when the fires first started, but unfortunately I was pinned down under the rubble back there."

"Great," Gohan said, moving forward and thumbing through his scouter. "We could definitely use a quirk like yours right now. We're cut off from the mid levels of the building so the only way we're getting out of this floor is by flying out. But first, we have to gather everyone from this floor at the lobby."

"Why don't you get everyone and I'll start looking for things I can use my quirk on?" the man said.

Gohan nodded. He was clearly the stronger of the two and it would probably be better to split up at this point. He had to trust that the man was going to stay true to his word and help.

"Sounds like a plan," Gohan said. "Some of your neighbors are already gathered at the lobby. Maybe you can help them out when you get there."

"I will."

"Great. I'm Gohan, by the way. What's your name?"

"Popo," the man said, pulling a heavy lounge chair with him and heading towards the lobby.

"Okay, Mr. Popo," Gohan said. "I'll be back soon."

The two parted ways and Gohan dove back into the smoky halls and met with an elderly couple, the man dressed in his robes helping his wife through the smoke.

"What's going on?" the old man asked, terrified. Gohan placed a comforting hand on the man's shoulder.

"There's a large fire in the lower level of the building, but don't be afraid, sir. We'll get you both out of here safely. Head to the lobby and Mr. Popo will help you."

Gohan guided the couple back to the lobby.

"Stay low," he called out to them as he sent them ahead. When he was sure they made it to the lobby safely, he turned back and charged down the hall again. The further he got down the hall, the heavier the smoke became and Gohan began to cough violently. I have to do something about all of this smoke, he thought. If only…

"Dende."

"I'm here, Gohan."

"How sturdy do you think the roof is?" His eyes ran alongside the ceiling.

"I'm looking at the scan from your scouter, and it's probably the only thing keeping the walls on your level from collapsing in. Why?"

Another explosion rocked the building. There just wasn't any time to think. Gohan had to do something now. He raised two fingers to the ceiling. Power glowed around his fingertips, but rather than emitting a large blast, Gohan focused the power into a spear. A small glowing orb of energy formed and Gohan aimed it at the ceiling. About a dozen quick blasts shot out like arrows, piercing several holes alongside the roof. Slowly, the smoke began to rise and seep out of the building through the holes, making it a little easier to see and breathe.

"Gohan, what was that?" Dende called, frantically. "The roof just exploded."

"We're fine," Gohan said, struggling to breath. "Everything is under control."

"Be careful! Another blast like that and you'll bring the entire roof down!"

Gohan was too tired to respond. He gulped in a breath of air and wiped the sooty sweat from his forehead, beginning to feel the fatigue of the previous day. The adrenaline he had been running on was beginning to wane, but he couldn't stop now. There were still people trapped in their apartments – lives that he needed to save. Pushing himself forward, he thumbed this scouter again and scanned through the rooms. To his relief, the following three rooms were empty, but Gohan kicked down the doors just to make sure. Nothing. Okay, last two rooms and then I'm heading down to the next level.

Through the scouter, he could see the five bodies in the next room, huddled together around the window at the end of the room.

Gohan crouched under the smoke and made his way to the door. With a mighty kick, he tore down the secured metal door and stepped in through the smoke. The family consisted of a portly older man, and presumably his wife, and three young boys. They looked up at him, startled and the boys called out to their father in a foreign language.

"It's going to be okay," Gohan told them, extending his arms out. "Come with me. I'm going to get you out of here!"

The wife held the children back, shaking her head and talking to her husband in their native language. Gohan started to wonder if they even understood him, but the man gave his family a gentle push. One by one, the family exited the room. The mother wrapped scarves around the boys' mouths as they went through.

"Thank you," she said with an appreciative bow. Gohan smiled and nodded.

"Okay, is that everybody?" he said, taking the smallest of the boys in his arms.

"Yes," the father replied. "We all here now."

"Stay close to the ground and follow me."

Another blast and the children cried in fear. What is causing all of these damn explosions?!

"Hey, hey, hey, it's going to be okay," Gohan comforted the little boy in his arms. He pointed to the image in the boy's shirt.

"Is that All Might?" he said. "Is he your favorite Hero?"

The boy nodded in tears.

"Yeah, he's so cool, isn't he? He's so brave and he always saves people with a smile. I'm sure he's on his way right now to save you. But right now, you have to be brave, too, okay? I promise, everything is going to be okay."

Gohan lead the family down the hall towards the lobby, where Mr. Popo was helping the elderly couple onto a legless marble table.

"You're our hero, Mr. Popo," the older woman said. Mr. Popo gave them a reassuring smile. "You'll be safe soon," he told them. "Just hold on tight."

He touched the table, activating his quirk. Slowly, the table levitated and gently exited the window of the lobby, floating slowly down the 16 stories of the building and landing safely on the ground. Another family safe. Good, Gohan sighed in relief.

"This way," he motioned to the family behind him, bringing them to the lobby next to Mr Popo.

Everyone that had been standing in the lobby when he first arrived had been lowered to the ground by Mr. Popo, except for the young woman with the wind gust quirk and the man with the moisture quirk.

The young woman ran up to Gohan and took the child in her arms.

"Hey!" she said to him. "We've gotten almost everyone from this level out of here."

"Great," Gohan patted her in the shoulder. "You two did great! But now it's time to get you to safety."

"What about you?" The man with the moisture quirk asked, palms still glowing with his quirk.

"I've got one more room to check and then I'll be heading to the lower level. Don't worry, we'll be fine. Mr. Popo?"

Mr. Popo looked up at him.

"After you help these two down, get out of here. I'll meet you down on the ground."

Popo nodded and Gohan dashed away.

"Wait, I never got to ask you your name-" but he was already gone.

Gohan followed the scouter to the very end of the hall and smashed through the door. This was by far the biggest of the apartments, as it was easily two or three times larger. The smoke was everywhere here and Gohan had to rely solely on the scouter as he approached the tiny body in his display.

The door was locked and Gohan slammed against it with his shoulder. Ow, Gohan winced. He was getting noticeably weaker. He threw himself against the door again and this time the door gave way. The little girl had locked herself inside a large walk-in closet. Gohan quickly scanned the rest of the apartment, but there was nobody else in any of its 6 bedrooms.

From out here, he could hear the sobs of a little girl inside the closet. Her vitals came back normal. She is terrified, but at least she's not hurt, Gohan sighed in relief. He tore down the closet door and there, curled up in a ball was a little girl, about six years old with long brown hair, hazel eyes and a yellow dress.

"Onee-san?" The girl cried, but when she saw that it was Gohan, she retreated deeper into the closet, scared.

"It's okay, honey," Gohan said, extending his arms out to her. "You're safe. We're going to find your big sister, okay? Where is she? Is she here?"

The girl shook her head apprehensively.

"Onee-san said she was going out to buy some medicine, but she hasn't returned and now there's fire everywhere!"

"Okay, well, how about we wait for her in the lobby? I'm sure she's worried sick about you."

The girl's sobbing quieted a bit and she nodded.

"Don't worry about a thing," Gohan said, reaching out to her and taking her in his arms. "I've got you."

The little girl wrapped her tiny legs around Gohan's waist and he held onto her firmly, making his way across the large room. The fire had already started to creep up to the door of the bedroom, causing chunks of wood and debris to come crashing down around them.

The little girl screamed and buried her face in Gohan's chest.

"It's okay," Gohan shushed her. "It's okay. We're okay."

He looked around the room, his eyes resting on the letters that decorated the girl's wall.

"Valese?" he said. "Valese, is that your name?"

Valese nodded, tears flowing down her blackened cheeks.

"That's a pretty name, Valese," Gohan said, trying to calm the child down while looking for a way out at the same time. The scouter's X-ray showed a hollowed wall to his right and with a blast from his left hand, he tore a hole through it. The next room was a kitchen.

"What uh… deserts do you like, Valese?" Gohan kept trying to distract the girl from the loud explosions he was causing with his blasts. We're almost out of here!

"Meringue Macarons," she said. Wow, Gohan thought. A child of culture.

"I'm a softy for soft-served myself," Gohan said as he kicked through the rubble that had blocked the path back to the hall. "Vanilla Ice Cream on a waffle cone, for me."

"What's Ice Cream?" She said, innocently.

"You've seriously never had Ice Cream before?" Gohan asked incredulously as they made it back out into the hall. "Well, when your big sister gets back, I'll have to treat you to it, okay?"

"Okay," the girl wiped her tears and smiled up at him sweetly. "Thank you for rescuing me, Onii-san. You're my hero!"

Gohan smiled at the little girl.

Okay, she's the last person on this level. Now I just have to-

Suddenly the building began to shutter and sway. The ground opened up ahead and the cracks snaked up to where they were standing. Dende's panicked voice boomed over the scouter.

"Gohan! The level is coming down! GET OUT OF THERE NOW!"

Gohan ran forward as the entire level began to cave in. Valese screamed in his arms as the roof came down with it. Gohan leaped forward into flight, but a large rock landed on his head. He grunted as he and Valese both tumbled down the crack and into the burning inferno below.

Gohan barely managed to stay conscious long enough to hold Valese protectively against the falling debris. The next moment they landed and everything became dark.

"Gohan?! Come in, can you hear me?! Gohan!" the earpiece was deafening and Gohan groaned against the ringing in his ears. He felt a wet streak running down the side of his forehead.

"Onii-san," Valese was sobbing and gently nudging him. "Please wake up!"

"Valese?" Gohan's eyes slowly opened and he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Are you hurt, sweetheart?"

"I'm okay," she said, a worried look coming over her eyes. "But you're bleeding!"

"Just a scratch," Gohan wiped the blood away with his scarf. "Dende, what just happened? Where are we?"

"You're in Hell, Hero," a voice boomed. The fire around them blazed and Gohan instinctively put himself between Valese and the tall figure in the shadows. The fire grew higher and the blaze illuminated the figure. He was tall and lanky, standing like a carefree drunk. His white hair appeared unharmed by the fires, and there was a feral cruelty in the man's bright blue eyes. "Isn't it lovely?"

The man swung his hands and ferocious waves of fire burst out from his palms, causing another massive explosion.

"So you're the one responsible for this!" Gohan gritted his teeth. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why?" the man smiled. "The rich and the decadent just happen to be good fuel for my fire."

"Gohan!" Dende was yelling over the scouter. "His power level is rising exponentially. You have to get out of there now! He matches the description of the villain that burned an entire forest village to the ground. Let a Pro handle him. Get out now!"

"You know, my old man is a Hero, too. He wears the title like a Name. All of my life, I wanted to be a hero just like him. But you know what happened when he saw that I could never be the perfect little hero he had envisioned? He cast me out. That's when I learned the truth."

"What truth?" Gohan growled.

The villain gave him a chilling grin.

"This hero society is rotten. I'm going to burn it down with my flames. But first, I'm going to show the world what a perfect little weapon my father created."

"No," Gohan said, bringing his fists up. "I am going to stop you."

Gohan jumped forward, fist flying through the air, and missed. The villain dodged and backflipped away. A fireball formed in each of his fists and he struck Gohan on the side of the face. Gohan grunted against the heat, but refused to run away. He pressed forward and flipped, bringing his heel down against the guy's head. The blow caught him off guard and he staggered back.

Gohan took advantage of the misfooting and pressed forward, but the villain again slipped away, shooting fireballs at Gohan. At the last instant, Gohan dodged the balls, which collided against the wall and shook the building. Gohan growled in frustration. Every time he got closer to the villain, the villain blasted a new wave of fire towards him and he was forced to retreat. It was a total stalemate, and Gohan knew that he was losing valuable time. The villain seemed to sense this because he came to a stop, breathlessly.

"All you so-called Heroes are so self-righteous and overconfident. I bet you told yourself you were going to save them all when you got here."

The fires grew even larger, casting away all shadows.

"Do you think they heard you saving their neighbors upstairs and thought for a second that they might be getting out of here alive? How sad, only for you to fail them in the end..."

Gohan's eyes widened. The entire lower floor was littered with charred bodies.

"What have you done? All of those explosions…?"

"...were people you failed to save, hero." The villain smiled cruelly.

"No," Gohan's hands balled into fists. "No, you're lying. I'm going to… save them!"

He thumbed the scouter, and the pit in his stomach grew. There were no longer any signs of life in the building.

Everyone was gone.

Gohan's teeth bared and he began to tremble uncontrollably.

"You… you… bastard!" He growled, enraged. "You killed them?!"

"Now you're starting to get it, kid," The villain said, relaxing his posture. "You heroes are all fake and rotten to the core. I'll show everyone that hero society-"

Gohan was a blur that appeared in front of the man. Before the man could even register what was happening, Gohan's fist had sunken deep into his abdomen. The shock and force sent the slender man flying through three walls with a blood-curdling scream.

The man finally stopped, slamming against a fourth wall. He fell forward onto his knees, coughing up blood. He looked up, raising a hand to blast fire at Gohan, only to see the purple blur of Gohan's knee flying up, connecting with his chin. The man howled with the blow, his nose shattering. He raised his hand and this time, a fireball shot out of his palm.

"Go to hell!" he yelled but Gohan dodged the flames and grabbed the man's wrist, twisting it into an unnatural position. With a dry, disgusting thud, the bone slipped out of its position and the man howled in pain.

"You don't deserve to live," Gohan's voice had become a predatory purr. The man's cocky demeanor had completely dropped, replaced by a mask of anger and bewilderment. Backing up, he raised his good hand and instead of a fireball, he attacked with a steady stream of flames. "I'll burn you alive!" He roared.

"Onii-san!" Valese cried as the flames engulfed Gohan. Gohan roared in rage and his power exploded. A white aura erupted from within him, covering his entire body and fending off the flames. The red sea of flames before Gohan parted and he slowly walked throgh them, completely unfazed by the fires, the white Namekian cape swaying with the rushing force of the fiery waves.

The man backed up, a crazed look in his blue eyes, until his back hit a wall. His eyes were wide with fear, recognizing that he had met with an unstoppable force. Enraged, the villain intensified his attacks, the red flame slowly turning blue. Gohan noticed that the skin on the villain's arms was beginning to char and suddenly realized that the overuse of his own quirk was killing him.

I'm ending this now! Lifting a hand, he charged his energy into an orb. The blue light outshined even the flames around him, casting a blinding blue light. The energy blast flew from Gohan's palm and struck the villain in the remaining good arm, crushing it.

The man screamed again and the wall of flames finally seized. He collapsed, his back against the wall as Gohan raised a hand. Another blue ball of energy formed around his hands and he aimed it at the villain. The villain's eyes stared into oblivion, and then the power dissipated and completely vanished.

"I'm turning you into the authorities," Gohan said through gritted teeth. "You're going to pay for what you did tonight."

Across the hall, Gohan saw Mr. Popo gliding down on top of a carpet. Extending his arms, he helped little Valese climb up. The villain started to cackle and Gohan turned to see flames gathering around the fingers of the villain's broken hand.

"The authorities? You do realize they will blame you for what happened here tonight, don't you? They will look for you. They will hate you, because you're not playing the game on their terms. And so you thought you'd be a hero tonight, but you'll just be another scapegoat for the heroes' failure tonight. You heroes are always so distracted by your own arrogance and self-righteousness" the villain laughed. "This is why you'll always lose!"

Blue fire, hotter and much more intense exploded from his broken hand and missed Gohan. Gohan turned and saw that the villain had not been aiming at him. The blast was intended to kill Valese and Mr. Popo. Popo covered Valese protectively from the fire, holding her tightly as the carpet began to fly upwards towards safety.

Suddenly, Gohan was in front of them, power charging at his fingertips. With a slashing movement, the ki blast shot out like a sword, cutting through the flames and slashing at the ground around the villain. With that, the level beyond the slash began to crumble down. The slim villain started to tumble down to his death, but managed to grab onto a guardrail at the last moment.

Gohan turned to leave but a twinge of guilt tugged at him. Even though the villain deserved everything he got for what he had done, Gohan simply couldn't just walk away and let him die in the collapsing building. He returned one last time and extended a hand to the villain.

The villain looked panicked, holding himself onto a handrail by one arm. Gohan saw his eyes narrow as he reached out for him.

"Give me your hand!" he called. Infuriated, the villains eyes and body began to glow blue. He swung his hand forward to unleash another wave of fire and suddenly the handrail gave out. The villain screamed, consumed by his own fire as he tumbled all the way down the 13 remaining floors. One final explosion ripped through the building and the building itself started to collapse.

Gohan didn't have time to feel sorry for the villain, whose body had become entirely consumed by his own blue flames. Turning, he blasted off at full speed towards the exit.

"Gohan! The entire building is collapsing!"

Rubble fell and blocked the exit, but Gohan plowed right through the rocks and made it to the next floor, where Popo and Valese were about to be crushed by a falling boulder. Before they could blink, Gohan had them in his arms, blasting off until suddenly they passed through the black veil of smoke and were flying into the clear night sky.

They were rising higher.. higher… higher…

And suddenly, Gohan's fatigue gave way. He just didn't have the strength to go on any more. Slowly, they began to fall down towards the ground – and the next instant, Mr. Popo's carpet caught them. As the carpet lowered them to the ground below, Gohan stared in exhaustion at the building that had now come down, completely leveled and the words that the villain had just told him rang in his ears. They will blame you for what happened here tonight... They will look for you. They will hate you, because you're not playing the game on their terms.

I tried so hard to save everyone… and I ended up letting everyone down. Gohan lowered his head against the carpet, exhausted.

The carpet landed on the ground and Gohan pulled himself up, weakly.

"Onee-san!" Valese called and ran from the carpet. A slender young woman with fiery orange hair ran towards them, picking up the little girl in her arms tightly.

"Valese!" she cried. "Valese! I can't believe it! I thought I'd lost you!"

"Onee-san!" Valese cried. "Don't ever leave me alone like that again!"

"I won't, I promise! How did you make it out?"

Valese pointed at Gohan and Mr. Popo.

"Onii-san saved me," she said. The young woman approached Gohan and pulled him into a hug that he had not expected.

"Thank you so much for saving my sister," the girl said. "I apologize for putting you all in this situation. I wasn't feeling well, so I had to step out to the pharmacy and… and then…" her eyes teared up.

Gohan placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's… it's okay... now," he said. "Everything… Everything is going to be…"

Suddenly his world started to spin.

"Onii-san? Onii-san?!"

And his world went dark.

(...)

"Hang in there, Gohan. You're going to be fine…"

When Gohan woke up, he was surprised to find himself in his bed back in the Lookout. He turned and noticed Dende's hands holding onto his abdomen, deep in concentration. White waves of energy flowed out towards him. When he was done, Gohan felt incredibly strong and well rested.

"So that's your quirk, Dende?"

"Cell regeneration, yes," Dende said. "Gohan, Gohan, Gohan! I told you to be careful. You almost got yourself killed out there!"

Gohan sighed.

"I know, I'm sorry."

Dende breathed in and out, exasperated.

"But still… that was pretty cool."

Gohan gave him a tired smile.

"Tell me, Dende," he said. "The few people that made it outside… did they…?"

"Everyone made it to safety, thanks to you," Mr. Popo said, bringing Gohan a glass of water.

"Mr. Popo? You saved me. You saved us all back there with your amazing quirk. I'm the one that should be thanking you."

Mr. Popo smiled and bowed.

"You saved my life. I felt that I needed to repay that debt."

"Where will you go now?" Gohan asked, sitting up. Mr. Popo shrugged.

"I was born in that apartment, grew up and grew old there. I don't really have anywhere else to go."

"But.." Gohan said. "Don't you have any kids or family that can help you out?"

"No," Mr. Popo's glance fell. "I do not. I suppose I'm now… what do they call it? Homeless?"

"Oh no, no, no, Dende, can't we do something for him? I owe this man my life!"

"Absolutely," Dende said. "Mr. Popo, is it? Don't you worry. You stay here with us for as long as you need and you'll never have to worry about needing anything ever again."

Mr. Popo's smile widened.

"I-I'll think about it," he said, sheepishly.

"It will be fun!" Gohan said. "You and Dende will get along great. You'll be my two Guardians."

Again, Mr. Popo bowed.

"Thank you, both," he said.

"Guardian," Dende brushed his chin. "I like the sound of that."

"That could be your Hero call-sign," Gohan said, excitedly. "You'll need one if you're going to help me do more of these hero rescue op-"

Piccolo entered the room with a grim expression.

"Gohan," Piccolo said sternly. "I thought I told you to stay here and rest."

"I'm rested," Gohan said, innocently.

Piccolo grunted, annoyed. He reached over and switched the screen on the wall on.

"-street fight that was captured around 8pm last night," the reporter was saying. "A Musutafu apartment building's CCTV caught part of the scene, when a super powered teenager overpowered five criminals-"

"Care to explain yourself?" Piccolo scolded.

"Hey! They were trying to hurt my friend-"

"I know you, kid. You don't have any friends."

"-and they were trying to steal my food!"

"So you got cocky and wanted to show off in front of the pretty girl, is that it?"

"C'mon, Piccolo," a red flush washed over the bridge of Gohan's nose.

"Gohan!" Piccolo always had that ability to make him freeze in his tracks. "I'm not… I'm not saying you can't use your powers to help others; that's the very essence of being a hero. But you can't just go charging in without a plan. That's how your father died."

Gohan stared down at his fists.

"That's how things like this happen."

Gohan looked up at the screen to see footage of the burning apartment building.

"-thirty-two people lost their lives in the blaze last night. Eyewitnesses say that just before the building collapsed, the same individual attempted to enter the building before the Pro Heroes could arrive."

"He is not a criminal," an eyewitness was saying. Gohan recognized her as the girl with the wind gust quirk. "He saved me. He saved us all. We would have been dead if it weren't for him!"

"There was a villain out there, causing the fires and this young man saved us all from him."

"Other residents were not so understanding."

"My father was up on the eighth floor. The heroes almost got to him, but he was killed in the explosion that the villain and this vigilante caused during their fight. This is exactly why amateurs need to leave the rescuing to the Pros. My father would still be alive if it weren't for this punk."

Gohan hanged his head low.

"I tried, Piccolo." he said, hist hand tightening into a fist. "I really tried to save them all, but I wasn't strong enough..."

Piccolo sighed.

"Gohan," he said, lowering his tone. "I told you, you have the potential to be the most powerful being in the universe. And I have faith that one day, you will be. What happened last night is something that happens to all heroes. You cannot save everyone every time. But this is why you can't let your emotions get the better of you. You need to keep your rage in check. With a calm mind, you must always have a plan before you act, otherwise you'll just be putting more lives at risk. But you did do something right – something that made me very proud. Look."

Valese had the microphone now.

"Onii-san saved me," she was saying. "I never got the chance to thank him. Onii-san, I'm alive because of you. You're my Hero!"

"I don't care what anybody says, okay?" the man with the weld quirk was saying. "That boy risked his life again and again for us. He is a damn hero."

"He save my all family," the family man was saying. "He keep my boys safe even when they scared."

Gohan teared up and smiled when the little boy with the All Might shirt waved at the camera in the back. "That boy is Hero!"

"I've lived in Namek all of my life," the elderly man was saying with tears in his eyes. "I've seen the crime in this city go from bad to worse over the years. There ain't enough goodness in the world these days. But this young man gave me hope that… well, that maybe there's still a little good out there."

"Your heroism has inspired others, Gohan. That is what this symbol stands for," Piccolo proudly pointed at the sigil of the Dragon Clan on Gohan's chest."A symbol of hope and self-sacrificing heroism.

The Symbol of the Legend of the Porunga, the Dragon of Namek."

A few days later, Gohan stood atop a pillar overlooking the city of Namek. The scouter beeped and he quickly took off to stop the bank robbery being committed down below.

Porunga was a wise and powerful Dragon that wished to gift the Ancient Namekians with the desires of their hearts, so he told them that he would grant any three wishes that they made to him. But Porunga did not know of the evil within the hearts of some Namekians, who had been overcome with a desire to dominate their world. A disagreement broke out between the Ancient Ones, regarding what three wishes to make, so Porunga made a deal with them. With the help of Grand Elder Guru, Porunga crafted seven beautiful orbs called Dragon Balls, and cast them across the unknown regions of the land and told them that whoever gathered the seven Dragon Balls would have their wishes granted."

A purple blur shot up towards the sky like a rocket, intercepting a falling passenger plane. With all of his strength, he carried the plane down to the ground safely, but when the Pro heroes arrived, Gohan was long gone. Everyone stared up in amazement.

"The Ancient Ones with wicked intent tried and tried again to find the Dragon Balls, but failed every single time. Only those who were of pure intent, tenacious and truly heroic could ever find them."

In the docks of Dagoba Sea, a cargo ship carrying illegal drugs from Namek pulled into the harbor, but when the Musutafu police intercepted it, they found the drugs completely destroyed and all of the criminals tied up.

"Dragon," was all one of the criminals kept mumbling. "It was the Dragon."

Namek in the modern day has become something of a melting pot these days, but those of us who descend from the Ancient Ones still remember the Legend of Porunga. To us, The Dragon of Namek is a symbol of hope, tenacity, and heroism. That's what you'll become one day, Gohan. A beacon of hope for tomorrow. You will save them and in turn, you will inspire them to act heroically, even in the face of adversity. To help one another. You will become the Dragon of Namek."

The ferocious typhoon slammed against the tiny shelter at the edge of Okinawa, blowing away houses and uprooting trees, but the volunteers refused to leave the Okinawans behind.

"Don't worry, mama," a little girl was comforting her mother. "He will come. I know he will."

"Of course he will," one of the volunteers wrapped a blanket around the arms of the woman and child. "He will save us."

The next day, the typhoon passed over them. When the volunteers came out of their shelter, they noticed that all of the debris had landed just around the shelter. They had been spared.

"I told you he'd come," the girl flashed a toothy smile at her mother.

As Gohan left Okinawa, the aura around him brightened and he blasted away at full speed back towards Namek.

Ending Song

"Re:Make" – One Ok Rock

After several weeks of digging up bodies from the destroyed apartment building, the heroes had found the charred remains of the villain.

"Hey, chief!" a worker called his supervisor over. "We got another one."

"Just tag 'em and bag 'em," the man walked over disinterested at first, but when he saw the villain's face, his eyes widened.

"Oh my god!" He said. "Is that... who I think it is?"

The body was never reported to the authorities; not officially, anyway. Instead, it was secretly transported to discreet location, where extensive life saving measures were taken and at last, the Villain's eyes opened weakly.

"He's awake," the nurse said, excitedly.

"Let me see him," another voice said.

The villain slowly opened his eyes.

"I'm… alive? But how?"

He stood up from his bed to find himself in a dimmed ICU room, though this was no regular hospital. He recognized it. He was in one of his father's Agency secret outposts.

The villain gritted his teeth when he recognized the second voice. He was a sidekick from his father's Agency.

"Your father has been looking all over for you," the sidekick was saying. "Luckily, somebody reported you to us instead of going to the media. We're going to sit tight and let this all fall on that so-called Dragon Hero. Don't worry, everything-"

The sidekick's ambitions were cut short. The next moment, his blood had stained the villain's hospital gown and face. The villain's eyes widened as a sword-wielding creature pounced from the shadows and killed every last person in the room.

When it was all done, the creature stood up in the shadows.

"Are you going to kill me, too?" the villain asked.

The creature stood silent for a moment, its back turned to him.

"This… world… with it's false heroes…." the creature hissed in a snake-like whisper. "...is…deformed… and stained. I will… cleanse it."

With that, the creature vanished into the shadows. The villain, barely alive, his charred skin held together by staples and now baptized in the blood of his enemies, stood up from the bed with new purpose. The last bit of humanity that still remained in him had died, cremated along with his body that fateful night. Even the hatred was gone. Now there was only purpose. A carefree smile stretched across his face, aching at the seams of the staples that held him together. Society had no idea what a monster it had just created.

"Yes," Dabi's voice was a whisper. "This world is infected. My flames will consume it. Dragon Hero, I'm coming for you!"

Here's the preview:

Gohan finally takes the UA exam, and encounters the nice girl from a few weeks ago. The two get to know one another a little more and find out that they aren't so different after all. Anyway, time to make new friends! Get those points, Gohan!

Next time – You Say Run – The UA Entrance Exams! Don't miss it!

Go beyond – Plus Ultra!