A/N: It's finally here! This has been one of my most anticipated chapters ever since I first started outlining this story. It was so much fun to write! The Day has come!
Without further ado, dear friends – let's begin! Review Responses at the end, as usual.
Opening Song:
"The Beginning" by One OK Rock
"So…" Mina said as she stretched a pink arm across her chest, warming up for the Combat Trial ahead. Gohan shot her a questioning look with a half-twisted grin.
"...so?" He asked, his voice strained from his crouched stretch.
"You look extra happy all of a sudden."
"Do I?" Gohan shrugged, switching over to stretch the opposite leg, dipping low to the ground. "I guess I'm just excited about the Combat Trial, that's all."
"Oh, I think you're definitely excited, but I doubt it's because of the test," Mina teased, waggling her pink eyebrows insinuatively and poking at Gohan's ribs.
"Ummm, I have no idea what you're talking about," Gohan lied, looking away to keep Mina from seeing the blush on his nose.
"So…"
"...so…?"
"Do you like her?"
"Who?"
"You know who I'm talking about," Mina teased. "Don't try to play dumb with me, mister. It's cute, but it's not going to work."
Gohan sighed, his shoulders sagging.
"Ochaco? Of course I like her, she's my best friend and an amazing girl who never gives up-"
"That's not what I meant, and you know it, Muscles," Mina once again poked Gohan's side.
"Can we please just focus on the Combat Trial?" Gohan laughed nervously, trying his best to duck the question. Mina most definitely saw that kiss just now, he thought to himself. Why does she have to keep teasing me about it?
"Aww c'mon, don't be like that!" Mina whined, pulling on his arm insistingly. "Gimme the tea! Are you guys a thing now or what?"
"Okay, okay!" Gohan huffed. He took a deep sigh.
"I do like Ochaco," he said, taking another deep sigh. "But only as a friend… She's like a little sister to me, that's all…"
"Really?" Mina asked incredulously, crossing her arms and placing a hand on her chin.
"Really," Gohan lied, looking away.
Mina stared at him with an unbelieving smirk.
Fine, Gohan. You wanna play hard ball? Let's play hard ball.
"If that's the case," she said, leaning so close to Gohan that he jerked his head back, uncomfortably. "Why don't you and I get away this weekend and go hit one of my favorite teens-only night clubs?"
"Uhh-" Gohan stuttered nervously. "You want me to...? B-But why?"
"Why not? You are free, aren't you? To be honest, I've had my eye on you for quite some time. You'd be quite the catch, so what do you say? Unless you really do have feelings for Ochaco. Then I'd back off respectfully, of course."
"B-But I don't even know how to dance," Gohan said, backing up against the wall. Mina was relentless, pressing her body up against Gohan, making him even more uncomfortable. What is with her? Gohan stared at his partner, confused by her bizarre behavior.
"What's there to know?" Mina asked, backing off of him and jumping into a dance in front of him. "It's all about feeling the vibe, the ambiance, the music, and anticipating your partner's moves without necessarily seeing them. Nothing to it, see?"
"Uh…"
"Look, I'm not asking to elope," Mina said, stopping her dance and placing her fists on her hips. "All I'm asking is for is a night out. Tell you what, if I help you win the Combat Trial, you have to take me out this weekend, okay? And as a bonus, I might forget about seeing Ochaco kiss you just now."
So she did see everything!
Gohan clenched his jaw. Mina was considered by everyone to be the little sister of Class 1A. Always sociable, always joyful, always flirty, always wild, with everybody. If she or her best friend, Toru Hagakure, were to find out that he did feel something for Ochaco, no doubt they would start to tease her, and that would definitely make Ochaco feel uncomfortable.
Wanting to spare Ochaco any unpleasant gossiping, Gohan swallowed his pride.
"Ughhh. Okay, fine," Gohan groaned, sliding down the side of the wall to sit on the floor.
"Heck yes!" Mina danced happily. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you have an unforgettable time."
"Great, can we please focus on the match now?" Gohan asked, burying his head in his gloved hands.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: COMBAT TRIALS IV - THE DRAGON AND THE CRANE
As soon as the match began, Gohan reached up and activated his scouter. The green lens came to life and began scanning the entire building, formulating a three-dimensional wireframe model. After a series of flashes, the Scouter beeped.
"Okay," Gohan said, turning to face Mina. "I found them. They're keeping the weapon on the fifth floor, just below the rooftop. It looks like they're both guarding the weapon from the same room, as well."
"Got it," Mina nodded. "Do you wanna just fly us up there or what?"
Gohan shook his head, thinking.
"No, they'll definitely be expecting that. I'm picking up a massive spike of energy gathering around Ojiro. He might be waiting for us to climb in through the window to blasts us or something. We can't take that chance."
"So what do you suggest?" Mina asked.
"Ladies first," Gohan said with a smile as he opened the door and motioned her in.
"And here I was thinking you were about to sweep me off my feet and fly away," Mina grumbled, entering the building. Gohan rolled his eyes with a scoff and followed, closing the door behind them.
The only light that illuminated the hallways came from the glass windows. Other than that, all the light bulbs were missing, adding an eerie feeling to the already empty hallways. Their footsteps echoed as they walked up the stairs that lead to the next floor.
Gohan glanced at his scouter, which was tracking the weapon as well as their two opponents in the floors above them. Still no sign of any movement from either Hagakure or Ojiro. The dramatic power surge that had emanated from Ojiro's silhouette had stabilized by now. Gohan's eyes narrowed. Just what are you planning, Ojiro?
Suddenly, a slow movement to his left side caught his attention. Gohan's head snapped in the direction of the shadow that was slowly walking away from them down a hallway.
"Mina," Gohan whispered, holding his hand up. Mina froze.
"What is it, Muscles?" She whispered back, falling into a crouch behind him.
"Do you see that?" Gohan said, pointing at the figure that was walking away from them. "Do you think that's Ojiro?"
"Uhh," Mina glanced in the direction that Gohan was pointing. "No…? There's nothing there."
Gohan reached up for his scouter to scan the figure ahead. The figure stopped and turned around to stare at Gohan, but his face was covered in shadow. The scouter scanned for three seconds and delivered a flat chirp, indicating that there really was nothing there.
"Strange," Gohan rubbed his chin.
"Yeah… you can say that again," Mina replied.
"I'm gonna find out who that is. Stay here," Gohan instructed, moving to follow the shadow down the hallway.
"Huh? What are you talking about? Wait, Gohan!"
Gohan got up to walk down the hall and slammed face first into solid wall.
"What the?" Gohan blinked several times. The hallway, along with the shadowy figure, were gone and Gohan found himself staring at the brick wall. "But… there was a hallway here… a man just walked down that way a second ago…"
"Nooo, that wall was always there," Mina shot Gohan a concerned look. "Are you feeling okay, hon?"
She placed the back of her hand on Gohan's forehead.
"Hmm, you feel fine. Are you sure you saw something?"
"Yeah…" Gohan shook his head. "Maybe my scouter was acting up… anyway, sorry for alarming you, Mina. I feel just fine. Let's continue moving up, okay?"
Mina stared at him in concern, then dropped her hand from his face with a smile.
"Okay, lead the way, boss!"
With one last look at the solid wall, Gohan wondered exactly what the heck it was that he had just seen.
He didn't have to worry about it for long. He felt more than heard, a shadow whistling through the air, aiming straight for him. Gohan jumped to the side as Ojiro flew by him with a mighty kick, grazing his cheek, but otherwise missing him completely.
"Gohan!" Mina shouted.
"I'm okay!" Gohan responded, wiping the blood with his white glove. "Sorry, I should have been keeping better track of Ojiro with my scouter!"
As Ojiro rose to his feet and turned to face them, Gohan quickly scanned the room for any sign of Hagakure, but there was no other person near them. Gohan frowned, tapping at his scouter. The scouter scanned the building again and confirmed that Ojiro and Hagakure were still in the top floor.
So something really is wrong with my scouter… or maybe Hagakure's Quirk is somehow messing up my scouter's reading? I better have Melissa take a look at it after class.
"Coming to fight us alone, Ojiro?" Gohan asked. "Boy, I wish I had your confidence. I don't think I'd be able to take you both on without my partner here!"
"Yeah, what he said!" Mina barked, raising her fists. "You're going down, Monkey boy!"
Ojiro shot them a chilling smile and attacked, running straight for Gohan.
Ojiro pushed off the ground and flew into the air, swinging his tail around like a propeller in Gohan's direction. Gohan brought his arms up to block the move, which was surprisingly powerful enough to send him sliding back. Ojiro didn't relent.
He lashed out, spinning around with his left leg, bringing it down on Gohan's head and then twisting his body around to sweep at Gohan's feet with the same fluid motion. Gohan jumped to avoid the leg sweep and shot off a ki blast that Ojiro dodged with surprising speed. Rising to his feet, Ojiro swung his opposite leg up and over, aiming once again for Gohan's head, connecting this time and sending Gohan to the floor.
Gohan shook his head for a moment and rolled away from Ojiro's stomp to rise to his feet. Out of all the opponents he had faced until now, aside from Nail and Piccolo, Ojiro was the only one whose movements were swift, precise and painful.
Ojiro smiled at him, crouching into a crane stance – hands raised to the side of his head, hands craned towards Gohan, raising one knee to its maximum height defensively.
"I got him!" Mina shouted, jumping towards Ojiro.
"No, Mina, wait-" Gohan surged forward, but didn't reach her in time. Mina wrapped her arms and legs around Ojiro in an effort to bring him down, but Ojiro brought his elbow down on her stomach.
Mina cried out in pain and staggered back. With the same movement, Ojiro's tail cracked through the air, slapping her aside, leaving her open for a final strike. Winding back and shooting his arm forward, Ojiro punched Mina squarely in the face, knocking her to the ground.
"You bastard!" Gohan roared, surging forward. "She was already down!"
With a single bound, Gohan closed the gap between him and Ojiro, swinging his arm forward. Ojiro's eyes widened as Gohan's punch connected with his chin. Ojiro grunted for a second and then the force of the blow sent his body spiraling through a wall, knocking him out.
"Serves you right," Gohan said, breathlessly. He approached the tailed student and took out his capture tape, knocking Ojiro out of the fight. Catching his breath, he ran over to where Mina was picking herself up.
Mina sobbed quietly, but wiped her tears with a bloody arm.
"I'm sorry, Mina," Gohan said, soothingly, crouching down next to her. "I should have taken him out sooner. But you did a great job. You were so brave! I'm so proud of you!"
Slipping one of his white gloves off, he used it as a tourniquet and wrapped it around the wound on Mina's arm.
She smiled up at him through tearful eyes.
"Gohan, you're my hero," she said with a smile.
Gohan smiled back down at her, extending a hand and helping Mina get up to her feet.
"Come on, partner," he said. "Let's go get Toru!"
"Right!"
As they left the room to head back to the stairway, Gohan looked to the spot where Ojiro had been laying a moment ago, wrapped in capture tape. But the spot was empty. The capture tape laid on the ground, wrapped among itself.
"Hmm, that's weird. He was here a second ago," Gohan tapped his chin.
"Maybe he had to pee or something and left the building? Either way, he's out, right?"
"Those were the rules," Gohan nodded. With a shrug, the two heroes continued their trek upstairs.
As they progressed upwards, Gohan thought back to his fight with Ojiro. It had gone almost a little too smoothly, hadn't it? And for someone who practiced martial arts, Ojiro had not employed a single ki move. Very odd indeed…
"Gohan…"
"Hm?" Gohan looked up at Mina. Mina looked over to him.
"What's up?" she said. "Did you see something?"
Gohan blinked at her, confused.
"...Gohan…"
Gohan's head snapped upwards.
"Tell me you can hear that," he said.
"Uh-uh," Mina pursed her lips and shook her head. "Come on, snap out of it, Gohan. You're starting to freak me out!"
Gohan gave Mina a reassuring smile and nodded, looking away.
What is going on with me? He thought, feeling his heart start to race. Why am I seeing and hearing things?
"I'm sorry," he apologized again with a laugh. "I must be hungry or-"
He looked up and Mina was gone. Everything – the hallway, the stairs, the walls, everything was gone.
"...something."
He was outdoors. The cold breeze whistled, making the grass bristle gently against his bare feet. Other than the quiet howl of the wind, the land appeared barren and lifeless.
Several landmasses rose in the shape of hills and mountains here, and many, many lakes dotted the landscape for as far as Gohan could see.
"What happened?" Gohan wondered aloud, hearing his own voice echo. "What is this place?"
He looked up into the night sky to see it dotted with dozens of stars, moons and planets of varying shapes and sizes. One single stream of water cut across the land, running down the infinite horizon, and one single giant tree stood in the middle of the land.
It was a strange land, like something out of a dream.
"Gohan…" the voice sounded much, much closer and Gohan turned around to see a figure standing behind him – the very same figure that he had seen walking down the hallway at the start of the match.
"Who… who are you?" Gohan asked.
The wind picked up, swirling around them and making the figure's orange clothes rustle. The shroud on the man's face lifted with the wind and Gohan gasped, finding himself face to face with… himself?
No. It wasn't himself. It was a man that looked exactly like him, but older. A face he hadn't seen in years.
"D-Dad?" Gohan asked, his eyes watering. "Is it really you?"
Goku smiled at him and Gohan's breathing picked up.
"Dad!" Gohan reached for him, and then the vision ended.
Suddenly, he was back in the hallway of Building E. Mina was shaking his shoulders desperately.
"Gohan!" she was crying. "Gohan, snap out of it!"
Gohan blinked several times, his eyes adjusting to the darkness of the hallway.
"Mina?"
"Oh, Gohan!" Mina said with relief, resting her forehead on his shoulder. "You were out of it for a second. I thought you were having a stroke or something!"
"I'm okay," he reassured her, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Come on, let's get this match over with already. I think I need to see Recovery Girl."
"Okay," Mina said, worriedly. She helped him get onto his feet. "Come on, I'll help you get up the stairs."
"I'm okay, honest," Gohan said, taking his arm off of Mina's shoulder. "But thanks."
"You sure?"
"Mhm."
And suddenly, Ojiro was upon them again, flying through the air from behind them, tail spinning, knocking Gohan away.
"What?! OJIRO?!" Gohan shouted from the floor in anger and confusion. "But I knocked you out of the match fair and square with the capture tape!"
Ojiro gave them another chilling smile and launched himself at Mina.
"All Might," Gohan tapped on his scouter to communicate with their teacher. "You saw me capture Ojiro, right? I don't understand how he's able to continue-"
"Surf's up, Monkey Boy! This is for the gut punch back then!" Mina yelled, angrily. "Eat this!"
She swung her hands up, unleashing a wave of acid that landed on Ojiro.
Ojiro's mouth gaped open in a soundless scream before the acid consumed him. The tailed boy disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"OHHH CRAAAP!" Mina and Gohan yelled in unison.
"Mina! What did you do?!" Gohan yelled in disbelief.
"I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I was just trying to get him to give up!"
"Oh, this is bad," Gohan tapped his scouter. "All Might! We have an emergency over here!"
"U-um, u-uh…" All Might's shaky voice came back over the scouter's radio. "Well… actually… While I can't give you any details, the match continues!"
Mina and Gohan shared a confused look.
Mina's eyes suddenly widened with fear.
"G-G-Gohan!" She shrieked, pointing a finger at something behind them. Gohan turned to see four Ojiro's stepping out of the shadows, walking straight towards them.
"Get behind me!" Gohan commanded, stepping in front of Mina protectively with his cape. But Mina didn't respond. Gohan's scouter beeped with alarm and he turned to see an invisible arm holding onto Mina's throat.
Hagakure!
"Mina!" Gohan shouted, jumping towards her.
"G-G-G-hnnn," Mina struggled to breath, reaching out towards him with panicked eyes. Gohan jumped forward but two of Ojiro's clones grabbed onto him, one on each leg. They lifted him up and brought him back down to the ground. Bringing his arms up, Gohan rolled as far to the sides as he could, dodging most of the stomps raining down at him.
So this is Ojiro's attack! Clones! No wonder he's not out yet. And no wonder my scouter didn't sense anyone coming. But if my scouter didn't pick up any power levels from these clones that must mean that they can't use ki attacks, because they basically are ki attacks themselves, right? And if they can't use ki attacks – they can't block them, either.
Gohan dropped his arms from his block, gathering energy to his hands, tanking the stinging stomps for a moment while the ki blast grew into the size. His vision blurred and he felt the warmth of blood splash on his face as the boot of one of the clones landed on his face.
"Scatter Beam!" Gohan shouted, unleashing the car-sized orb of light in his hands. The clones looked up as the blast split into four smaller blasts and curved, traveling back down on them and vaporizing them instantly.
The clones instantly vanished with a blinding light.
Gohan got back up on his feet. By now, his right eye was beginning to swell shut and he could feel the blood trickling down his nose and lower lip. Mina was still struggling with the invisible Toru by the time Gohan caught up to them. Tapping on his scouter, Gohan switched over to the Infrared mode, which highlighted Hagakure's body heat.
Gohan gulped for a second as he got an eyeful of every single curve in Hagakure's bare naked body.
"Um… let's not use that mode, then," he decided with a bright blush, switching over to EMT mode, which highlighted only her vital signs. Even if he couldn't see her physical body, nothing could hide the sound of her beating heart.
"Mina!" Gohan yelled. "Pour your acid on the ground!"
"But you'll get hurt!"
"Just trust me!"
Mina looked at him, concerned, but nodded.
"Right! Sorry about this, Toru!" Mina shouted, dropping her hands to her side. "Surf's Up!"
A wave of acid splashed from her hands, flooding the tight hallway.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! My feet are burning!" Hagakure cried, running away.
Gohan lifted up and hovered over to Mina, sweeping her off her feet.
"Now we just follow the splash and it will lead us straight to the Ojiro and the bomb!" Gohan said, holding Mina in his arms as they flew together down the hall, following Toru's steps.
"Mhm," Mina said, nestling her face on Gohan's shoulder. "Whatever you say."
"Fighting her should be easy for you," Gohan said.
"And why is that?"
"You said it yourself, right? It's like dancing – just feel where her she's moving to next, even if you can't see her."
Mina's eyes widened with recognition.
"Right! Leave it to me!"
Back at the monitor room, everyone marveled at the way Gohan and Mina were pushing back the villains.
"Wow, those two make such a great team," Ochaco said in a monotone voice, her eyes swollen, looking dead inside."
"That's our Gohan for you," Melissa said, holding her hands together. "Always forging ahead. He's so cool!"
"Their Quirks compliment each others so well," Tsu said, placing a finger on her chin.
"Yeah, Dragon Ki and Acid, who would've thought," Izuku agreed. "Now the question is, have we seen the extent of Ojiro's Quirk, or is there more to come?"
"They make such a great team," Ochaco repeated, eyes glued to the screen.
"You said that already," Izuku said, turning to her with a concerned look. "Are you okay?"
That's it, Young Gohan, All Might thought, holding the microphone tightly in his hand. Keep that anger in check and use your head – that's how you're going to win.
"Are you sure you can still see fine?" Mina asked Gohan, noticing his partly closed right eye.
"Yeah, I'll be okay," Gohan reassured her. The two flew in the direction of the splashes and it lead them straight to the large room where the weapon was located.
"There it is!" Mina said, pointing to it as Gohan set her down.
"Ojiro," Gohan said, floating beside Mina. Holding his hands behind his back, Ojiro turned to give the Heroes a twisted smile.
"I have to admit, Gohan," he said. "I knew you were powerful, but I had no idea just how powerful you really were. I mean, sure, you finished at the top of the Entrance Exams and the Assessment Tests, but I was so certain that even you wouldn't stand a chance against four of my clones."
"They certainly put up a fight," Gohan responded, raising his fists. "You should be proud."
Ojiro smiled and stepped barefooted into the acid. The acid sizzled, but Ojiro didn't even flinch.
"Have you ever heard of Crane Ki?" he asked, lifting up from the ground to fly. His tail hanged down as he positioned himself between the hero team and the weapon. "Very similar to your Dragon Ki, Gohan. Except that rather than drawing on rage, our power comes from life and the tranquility within it – something a Saiyan knows nothing about."
Gohan gasped, but didn't respond. How did he know?
"You are a Saiyan, aren't you?" Ojiro derided with contempt. "Just like Endeavor and Shoto. I can tell just by the way you draw power from your emotions. I hate Saiyans. But a Saiyan from the Demon Clan? I hate that the most."
"Why?" Gohan asked.
"Because it was a Saiyan who destroyed my mountain village and killed my people when I was just a boy. That's how Master Tien found me and taught me to walk the Path of the Crane. You see, for centuries, the Cranes have been a check against the Saiyans and the murderous Demon Clan in the Northern Mountains. And I swore I would use my power to prevent any Saiyan or Demon from ever hurting any more innocents."
"I would never hurt the innocent," Gohan scoffed. "I'm trying to be a Hero, too."
"Tell me," Ojiro said. "Do you struggle to contain your violent tendencies, or do you unleash them the way Endeavor does? The way the evil Demon King Piccolo and his bastard son, Piccolo Jr did?"
"What did you just say?" Gohan's eyes narrowed. "You don't know a thing about me, or Piccolo, nor the struggles that we've faced."
"I'm done talking," Mina said, leaping forward and surfing on her acid. "Let's grab the weapon and finish this!"
"I agree!" Gohan yelled, pulling his fist back. It glowed with power and Gohan swung it forward, shooting towards Ojiro. "Let's go!"
"Ojiro…" Hagakure called and Ojiro smiled.
"It's over," Ojiro said. "We win."
Just before Gohan could reach Ojiro, the tailed boy dropped to a crouched position, bringing his hands up to his face.
"SOLAR FLARE!" Ojiro roared.
"WARP REFRACTION!" Hagakure yelled beside him.
Suddenly, a bright flash of light shot out from Ojiro, illuminating the dark room instantly. The beam of light reflected off of Hagakure's body and she intensified its brightness with her Quirk.
"My eyes!" Mina squealed in pain, falling to the ground.
"Ahhh! Dammit!" Gohan cursed, falling to the ground next to Mina, helplessly holding his face. Tears streamed down his eyes and he could not open them at all. The acid beneath him began to eat away at his costume, reaching his skin in seconds. Gohan winced against the pain as it burned into his skin.
"A Saiyan from the Demon Clan," Ojiro scoffed. "Does your Clan even know that you're a Saiyan, Gohan? I doubt it. After all the Namekian Blood that was spilled by the hands of the Saiyans… I think they might even excommunicate you from the Clan."
"SHUT UP!" Gohan growled, feeling his anger rising from his stomach. "This isn't over yet!"
"It is," Ojiro said, calmly. He aimed a finger at Gohan, and it began to glow ominously with power. "Someone like you could never be a Hero."
Gohan couldn't see anything, but he could sense the energy in the room gathering in one direction. There was very little he could do. Even the scouter was useless if he couldn't see anything.
There was only one thing left to do.
"I'm sorry, Ojiro. I truly am sorry for of what happened to you," Gohan shakily rose to his feet. "Someone should have been there to save your village that day. But that's why I will become a Hero. You have no idea how many cries for help go unanswered. Even now, while we're taking this stupid exam, there are people out there crying to be saved. And like it or not, I am going to be that Hero that saves them, Ojiro!"
He brought his palms together, gathering blue and white energy into an orb. It glowed and grew violently in his hands as Gohan brought it down beside his ribs. The wind howled, swirling around him and clearing the acid away from his bare feet. Gohan's power surged out in a magnificent white aura, his red cape swaying violently with the wind.
"You may not see me as a hero, but the good people of Namek do! Saiyan or not – I will be their Hero, Ojiro! KAAAAAMEEEEEEHAAAAAAMEEEE-"
"That technique!" Ojiro's eyes widened. "That's the Kamehameha Wave!"
"Duck, Ojiro!" Hagakure screamed, leaping to the side.
Ojiro's eyes narrowed.
"You've gotta be kidding me! A Saiyan from the Demon Clan enrolled in the Eternal Turtle School?!"
He lifted the finger where he had gathered all of his power.
"Then take this! Dodon Ray!"
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The much more narrow, golden ray shot out of Ojiro's finger, whistling towards the blinded Saiyan. Gohan's Kamehameha Wave roared out of Gohan's palms, spitting blue and white fire behind it. Both beams clashed in the middle of the room, sending waves of energy and wind flying in every direction.
Ojiro faltered under the weight of the assault, and he had to hold his wrist to keep it steady. Gohan himself felt the weight of exhaustion as well, but still he soldiered on. He hadn't encountered such a powerful ki blast attack since the day he fought Vegeta.
"Mina!" Gohan called, his voice straining. "The weapon – hurry!"
"Bit busy here, hon!" Mina yelled, rolling on the ground, pulling on a clump of invisible hair. A pair of invisible hands was pulling on her cheeks.
"I sure hope you got Gohan to agree to meet up at the club this weekend," Hagakure growled under her breath as Mina pulled her hair.
"Sure did, he's in," Mina said. "You just… make sure Ochaco's there. I'll try to get Bakugo or Denki or even Midoriya to be the bait."
"Kaminari? Ew," Hagakure whined as the two girls continued to fight, comically rolling around on the floor.
Gohan's teeth gritted and he returned his attention back to Ojiro, who had lifted up into the air.
"That was… a nice speech… Gohan," Ojiro said breathlessly. "But this Kamehameha Wave… is your limit, isn't it?"
Ojiro's middle finger began to glow with power and suddenly, Gohan realized that the tailed boy still had a trick up his sleeve.
"Double Dodon Ray!" Ojiro screamed. A secondary golden ray shot out of Ojiro's middle finger, spiraling down around the first beam that he had shot out. This one clashed against Gohan's Kamehameha Wave, pushing it back down towards Gohan.
"D-Dammit!" Gohan yelled as the Kamehameha Wave flew back towards him at an incredible speed.
"Stop, Young Ojiro!" They heard over the radio. "You'll kill him!"
"He'll be fine, All Might," Ojiro responded. "He's a Saiyan after all, isn't he? I'll be doing him a favor!"
Gohan's vision blurred as he scraped every last bit of energy within him to repel the attack, but he was completely spent. The three ki blasts shot straight for him in a blinding flash.
"Gohan!" Ochaco screamed with tears in their eyes.
"No way!" Izuku said, horrified.
"I can't watch!" Tsu squirmed, looking away.
Gohan felt like his whole world became white.
...Gohan… Gohan!
"Gohan!"
Gohan blinked.
This time, the voice wasn't a shadowy echo. He opened his eyes to see himself once again in that paradisaical land, facing away from the one tree in the middle of the field.
"Dad?"
Once again, the body of his father appeared before him, wearing an orange gi.
"Gohan! Look at you! You're giant!" Goku said in amazement.
"DAD, IT'S YOU!" Gohan threw his arms over his father, but fell through to the grass. He looked up in confusion.
"Sorry, Gohan. No matter how badly I want to hold you, I can't. That's just how the Kanassan Hallucination works."
"Kanassan… Hallucination? Is that what this is?"
"It is," Goku nodded. "It was a Quirk passed down by my father – Bardock. Through it, we can commune with the consciousness stored within the Quirks of the ones who came before us."
"You were there, then," Gohan said. "You were the guiding voice that helped me when I faced Rappa Kendo and Vegeta, weren't you."
"That's right, I was," Goku gave him a thumbs up.
"So… are you a ghost of my father?"
"HAHAHA! No, I'm not a ghost! More like an idea," Goku laughed. "Oh, this reminds me of the time when I first saw the Hallucinations. I was a little younger than you, at the time. Don't worry, it's part of your journey towards becoming a hero. You see, the time is coming when you will manifest all of the Quirks of your ancestors, Gohan. Here is where you will learn to master those Quirks – in this plane."
Goku stepped back and Gohan saw a line of men standing behind Goku.
"So those are our ancestors?" Gohan asked.
"They are," Goku nodded. "You are the Sixth Generation of our family, leading all the way up to King Sadala. And you will acquire all of our Quirks."
"Amazing," Gohan breathed. "Will Goten be a part of this, too?"
"Goten?" Goku asked, scratching his head. "Who's that?"
Gohan looked back up at his father and sighed.
"Right. Never mind, forget I mentioned him. Will… Will I ever see you again? I have so many things to tell you – so many questions to ask."
Goku gave his son a warm smile.
"Those questions can wait, Gohan. I have a feeling that we will meet again someday," Goku said, his voice a soothing purr. "But for now, it's time for you to go back and be a Hero. But before you can do that, you need to beat this guy, first."
Gohan's eyes fell to the ground.
"But how, Dad? Ojiro's way stronger than I am."
Goku chuckled, giving his son a wide, childish grin.
"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you're giving up already, Son. You have more than enough power to beat this guy! You just need to reach inward and use my Quirk."
"But Dad," Gohan said, shaking his head. "I already tried the Kamehameha Wave and it isn't enough."
Goku leaned back with another hearty laugh.
"Oh Son, don't be silly. The Kamehameha isn't my Quirk – that's just a technique I learned from the old Turtle Hermit."
"Then… there's another power within me?"
"That's right, young man. After all, there's a reason they called me "The Blur". It's because of my Quirk. I have the ability to multiply the Dragon Ki within, doubling my power and speed and endurance. It's called: The Kaioken. Normally it takes years of practice to master it, but you're much, much stronger than I ever was at your age. So I think you're ready. Take this Son. My true power is yours now. Do your best, Gohan."
Goku reached into his chest and pulled out a glowing red orb, handing it to Gohan.
"Don't overexert yourself with it. Make sure you do plenty of training with it before you start using it with multipliers."
Gohan stared at the glowing orb. This was his father's true Quirk. Feeling a sense of emotion swelling up inside him, Gohan reached for the orb with a smile. When his hands closed around the orb, the energy leaped into his hands and he felt as if his father's hand close around his for a brief moment.
"Okay," Goku said. "Go be a Hero, now."
"I love you, Dad. I'm gonna do my best and make you proud," Gohan said, tears spilling from his eyes. "I promise!"
"I already am proud of you, Gohan. You are my son, after all." Goku smiled and waved back at him and with that, the vision was over. Gohan blinked several times. He was back in the room, struggling against Ojiro's relentless assault.
"Now, everything changes. Kaioken!" Gohan yelled. Immediately, he felt new power swell from the deepest depths of his heart, flowing up to his arms. For a Quirk that doubled his ki, it felt surprisingly well-controlled. The white aura that had shot out of him violently began to subside and formed into a barrier around his body, covering Gohan in a dazzling, diamond light.
"What's happening?" Hagakure yelped, pulling on Mina's hair. "That looks like my warp refraction!"
"Amazing! He has a new form," Izuku said in awe, back at the monitor room.
"Gohan," Ochaco whispered nervously. "Please be alright."
All Might's eyes widened.
"That's… That's the Kaioken! Goku's move!" He whispered to himself, feeling fresh emotions rushing to his eyes. "Goku…even now, you're still watching over us, aren't you?"
Back in Building E, Gohan's growl had turned into a powerful roar. The entire building began to shake violently as the sparkling white lights flashed, blinding everyone in the room for a moment. When they opened their eyes, Gohan had become engulfed in a fireball of scarlet red light. His hair, clothes and skin were tinted with red. His muscles were noticeably bulging now, as were the veins in his face and neck.
Ojiro ground his teeth in frustration.
"UGH! You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Ojiro yelled.
"That's right," Gohan yelled back, pushing himself up from the floor. "And you wanna know why? BECAUSE I'M MY FATHER'S SONNNNNNN! AAAAAHHHHHHH!"
With a mighty push, Gohan sent even more power towards his Kamehameha Wave. This new, much more powerful blast caught the original Kamehameha Wave and both of the Dodon Rays and sent them roaring back towards Ojiro, who could do nothing but scream as the mighty blasts roared towards him.
"Ojiro!" Hagakure screamed, and Mina used the opportunity to knock her down and tie her up with the capture tape.
Ojiro looked away, unable to escape the blasts surging up towards him – and then Gohan appeared, flying towards him like a red blur, catching him in his arms and dodging the incoming blasts with a blinding speed.
Ojiro blinked in shock, barely registering what had just happened. He was now sitting safely on the floor as the blasts of energy blasted through the roof and exploded in the afternoon sky above.
"You… you saved me!" Ojiro gasped.
"Yeah, I guess I did," Gohan chuckled, exhausted.
"But why?" Ojiro asked, shaking his head. "After the terrible things I said to you – this goes against everything I've known about the Demon Clan or the Saiyans."
"I told you," Gohan smiled at him and shrugged. "We're not the Demon Clan anymore. We've changed. And I'll be a Hero, too."
The red tint dissipated and Gohan's green clothes fell in tatters, exposing the black bodysuit underneath. The only thing remaining from his costume was the red cape and the golden belt. Suddenly Gohan felt every muscle in his body give out, spasming into painful cramps. He leaned over and collapsed, but Ojiro caught him.
"You're an amazing guy, Gohan," Ojiro smiled, swinging Gohan's arm over his shoulder. "You deserve this win."
"What do you mean?" Gohan said, his voice straining. Ojiro walked Gohan over to the weapon and nodded towards it.
"Go on, take the win," he said, holding Gohan up. "And with it, my respect."
Gohan stared up at Ojiro, amazed. There was definitely much more to Ojiro's character than he had first thought.
"Okay," Gohan gave him a smile and, reaching up, he touched the weapon.
"With an amazing display in chivalry and sportsmanship from the Villain Team, the Hero Team… WINS!" All Might declared.
With that, the Combat Trials had finally come to a close.
Closing Song:
"1,000,000 Times" by My First Story
A/N: Whaaaat! With that, we finally finish off the Combat Trials! I hope you're intrigued by this new development in Gohan's powers – it's a callback to the old Bardock Father of Goku episode, as well as a way to explain how Gohan has so many different Quirks.
Yeah, it does seem a little like One for All, because of the way the user can communicate with the previous user, but the difference is that these are all Gohan's relatives, so he inherits their powers, rather than receiving them from strangers. These Quirks may or may not include certain transformations beyond the Kaioken….
Just putting that out there, hehe!
Okay, next stop! The USJ Incident, which plays out just a little different than in canon. But if you've read all 21 Chapters of this wacky fic, you already know that's how I roll, right? Thanks so much for the kind reviews and the PMs guys!
PS: Screw the ads in the middle of the stories, man! They suck!
Review Responses
Hmm chapter 20 . Jan 19
I kinda want you to write a fanfic where dbz/super and mha are merged(like all of what happened in Z still happened(perhaps adopt the what if gohan never stopped training by carthu's dojo) but with all might being part of the z gang perhaps)
So basically the idea is Gohan and Fuyumi Todoroki are having an arranged marriage lol(in this verse, gohan is a teacher at UA, also he's the same age as he was in super [which should be 24ish])
Hey there! You know, I had considered writing something like that for this fic, the problem is that by that point, Gohan is so OP that I couldn't make it work as the Hero's Journey that I was aiming for. But in the future, if I find the inspiration for it, I might make up a one shot with the the Gohan x Fuyumi ship. It's actually kind of a cute couple, to be honest, and a definite rare!pair so we'll see. Thanks for the suggestion and the review!
X3runner chapter 20 . Jan 17
You had me thinking of the Spiderman PS4 "You can't think about saving the world. You have to think about saving one person" with that one conversation. I dig how ochaco went full badguy, and had fun with It while thinking outside the box If gohan gets to play a villain at any point I do kinda hope you have him go full over the top sentai villain Like lord zed the green ranger , Black Cross Führer., Grifforzar , Duke Org Rouki, or my boy Kuroto Dan. But for me the dining moment was the whole Kaminari being a good guy at hart and really caring about Jirou while showing himself to be a heroic person at his core I really liked that you shed such a positive light in the guy
Kuroto Dan reminds me of a real life Bakugo sorta hehe You know, I really need to beat Spiderman PS4! I rented it off the redbox but never got to finish it. But there's an example of a really well made teen hero. Definitely one of my favorites!
And yeah, I plan on giving everyone a chance to shine. Even our dear Pikachu, who whines, flirts and runs away most of the time, but is a true valiant hero when the time calls for it!
Elchico 64 chapter 20 . Jan 17
Man, finally, another chapter of this! I don't have much to say because you know I love this Xover, as for the fights scenes they were awesome, especially Kirishima and Ochako with their own Ultimate Team Attack! By the way, the mother of Melisa, she could have a reason for what she did for leaving her daughter and never meet her, but I already hate her! I-I'm sorry, but I won't change my mind until I have an explanation :
What I am really looking for is the combat between Ojiro and Gohan, I wonder about the conflict with their clans too. Also, is obvious that Mina doesn't feel the same way as Ochako does respect her feelings for Gohan, but I have to ask: Did you, at some point think or tried to put Ashido as couple for Gohan, or Melisa? Sorry if you answer this before, I'm just curious that's all.
Oh, and Todoroki being part saiyan would make possible transform into a Super Saiyan? That would absolutly too OP, but awesome.
And about we talk for my new proyect, I have been organizing, joining threads and planning the characters and story, also I make my own research in order to not lose any detail. Although, I am currently on vacations with my fam, soon I'll be back full-battery to begin to write Survivor's (which I almost finish, but I don't have date yet) and writing notes about this new story. Anyways, I hope you been good and stay health, friend!
Hey my friend! Thank you, I appreciate your reviews anyway, they always make me smile hehe as far as Melissa's mom…. Oooh, I'm not gonna spoil much, but you will get a reason for why she did it, and it might make you hate her even more. It's just a sad situation, but you'll see that soon.
As for your question on Mina, well, I wrote her after one of my best friends in high school, who was just a crazy party girl that was so open and bubbly and social, flirted with everyone, always was the life of the party, but ultimately I don't have any ship planned for her at the moment.
As for Melissa, well, she is about to move in with Gohan so it will complicate some things, eh I'll just leave it at that hehe Honestly, the original ship was supposed to be with Kendo, although the romance I had planned out didn't work out in the end. I did leave some parts of that old script in, and you'll be able to see it when the time comes.
And for Todoroki being able to achieve Super Saiyan, the short answer is yes, but it's a little different, as it is an enhancement for his Quirk. Coming up soon!
And I am so excited for the prospect of a Survivor's update! I'll have to read it again since it's been so long since I last read it, but I know you will deliver a great chapter when the time comes. I really hope you were able to enjoy your time with your family and friends!
Thanks again for the kind review.
Guest chapter 20 . Jan 17
that was way too cute! Ochaco and Gohan's first kiss and his reaction is priceless I love this ship! i am so exited to see Gohan fight Ojiro now and i wonder what that mysterious power up is that Ojiro is charging up. Update soon please!
I'm so glad you liked it, Guest! Gochako for the win!
Xeno Gohan chapter 20 . Jan 17
another chapter, nice
well as usual, I LIKE Gohan and Uraraka's moment, their chemistry is just good to see honestly
and I liked Uraraka and Kirishima's teamwork against the hero team, it was nice to see
and boi oh boi, were about to see Gohan vs Ojiro eh? Looking forward for that!
Hey! Thanks so much for the review Xeno! I love reading these from you, and I'm so happy that you enjoyed their little moment together. It's really starting to come together now, isn't it. And it's so much fun to try to come up with ways of combining the character's Quirks for fights. One of my favorite things about this world hehe
I really hoped you enjoyed the Gohan vs Ojiro fight! Thanks again for the kind review!