Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z, or any element related to it.
To Wear Armour in Times of Peace: Chapter 1
The elderly teacher stood in front of the blackboard, back stiff with annoyance.
"Settle down, class. Settle down," she shouted. Thirty students jumped at the sound of her voice. After checking the clock to confirm their homeroom had indeed ended, most students managed to focus their attention on the teacher. The exception, of course, sat in the third row. The cheery young blonde continued whispering to her neighbor.
"As I was saying, Miss Erasa," the older woman said, finally silencing the bubbly girl with one last glare. "We have a new student joining us today. Come on, boy. Don't be shy."
The door cracked open to reveal a tall, slender young man who gave his teacher a sheepish smile. Despite his superior hearing, Gohan had been too engrossed in his wild thoughts to hear his teacher's introduction. His long legs took hesitant steps toward his elder, and he let out a nervous laugh.
"Sorry about that, ma'am," he said.
"It's quite alright. Now why don't you introduce yourself?" The professor asked, though her tone didn't give much room for debate.
"Oh! Hello," Gohan squeaked. "I'm Gohan. It's a pleasure to meet you all." He finished with a slight bow. Several girls giggled at his old-fashioned display of manners. Others, however, had noticed his nervous stutter and simply laughed.
"Gohan here has earned perfect scores on all sections of the entrance exam-"
Exclamations of surprise and outrage echoed from several students.
Hearing their outbursts, the teacher growled, "So I suggest you befriend him, and perhaps he'll help some of you slackers with your assignments!"
A few students snorted, one waved his hand dismissively, and another shot a nasty look toward the one he now considered to be the new teacher's pet. Gohan gulped, suddenly wishing he could disappear into thin air.
"Hey, cutie! There's an empty seat next to me," a bright voice sang.
A flush crept up his cheeks as Gohan looked up to see a hand waving around near the aisle of the third row. With a nod to his teacher, the boy hurried up the stairs, where a blonde teenager stood awaiting his arrival.
"Thank you," he murmured to the girl as they both sat down. The teacher couldn't help but smile at Erasa's friendly nature. Now satisfied that her algebra lesson could commence, she turned to write on the chalkboard. Keeping his head down, Gohan meekly fished around in his backpack for a notebook and pencil.
"No problem. I'm Erasa," the girl said, a grin easily slipping from her plump lips. Pencil in hand, Gohan looked up from his satchel. Upon laying eyes on the beautiful young woman, he nearly fell from his seat. Her fashionably short hair curved gently beside her fair chin, and her blue eyes held a soft look of genuine care for the boy she had met only moments ago.
"Uh, hello," he stammered, suddenly realizing he hadn't actually spoken to a girl his age in… well, a long time, actually. Her generous looks certainly didn't help ease his anxiety. His stomach seemed to tighten, and he felt the tips of his ears burn with a blush. "Well, welcome to Orange Star High," she said with a wink, before turning to face the front, purple gel pen poised to jot down notes.
"Just breathe," Gohan reminded himself for the upteenth time. He had struggled to quell his nerves all throughout the period. The material hardly challenged him- apparently he had advanced far more in his homeschooling than was typical. But movement from his right garnered his attention once again, and he sent a quick glance toward Erasa. However, Erasa didn't look bothered, and her sweet blue eyes looked firmly glued to their teacher.
However, on the blonde's other side, sat a girl with dark hair. She looked at Gohan oddly, a peculiar frown etched into her porcelain skin. He attempted to greet her with a smile in lieu of verbally interrupting their math class, but his face only twitched into a slight grimace. Abashed at his lack of social skills, the 16-year-old boy turned his head back to the front of the class.
He blinked as the teacher quietly shut the door behind him, leaving the classroom without adult supervision for the moment. What had he missed? Had the lesson already ended? As chatter began to pick up amongst the students, Erasa spoke to him again.
"What's up, Gohan? You look worried," she said softly, her voice wrenching Gohan from his thoughts.
"Chill, Erasa," came the casual reply from a tenor voice. "Nerd Boy is probably just overwhelmed seeing the champ's daughter in his class."
"Nerd Boy?" Gohan asked, already sure who the boy was referring to.
"Oh, I didn't introduce you guys yet!" Erasa said, a grin breaking out across her bright face. She turned back to the new classmate on her left. "That's Sharpener. Obviously not the nicest guy, but he's certainly not that bad once you get to know him," she said, playfully rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, right," Sharpener scoffed, leaning back in his chair with muscular arms folded behind his full head of blonde hair.
"And you already know Videl, right?" Erasa continued, gesturing to the girl sitting between her and Sharpener. Gohan leaned forward to get a better view of the dark-haired girl who had stared at him throughout the class. "Sorry, I think Erasa must be mistaken," Gohan said as politely as he could. "I don't remember meeting you."
Videl raised an eyebrow at him. "Why would I have met you before?" She said gruffly.
Gohan looked at Erasa and then back to Videl. Was that a trick question? "Well… well, she said we knew each other, but we've never met-"
"Wait, are you seriously telling us you don't know Videl?" Sharpener cut in, straightening himself in his chair to get a better look at the boy several seats away.
Fat beads of sweat rolled down the side of Gohan's face. He desperately searched for some scrap of understanding in Erasa's eyes. "I'm- I'm sorry, I don't think I understand."
Before Erasa could jump to his aid, Videl leaned forward. "What school did you transfer from?" She asked, eyes narrowed.
The boy blinked. "Oh, um... I didn't. l grew up in the 439 Mountain District, so I was always just homeschooled," he said, one hand nervously scratching the back of his neck.
Sharpener's jaw dropped and Erasa gasped. Videl cocked her head, her calm exterior never slipping. "Hold up- you live like five hours away?" Erasa squealed. "Why in the world would you go to this school? The drive here must be totally nuts!"
Before Gohan could answer, Sharpener leaned forward again. "So that's why Brains didn't know who Videl was. A country bumpkin like him probably doesn't even have cable, let along internet," he concluded.
The teenage half-Saiyan felt his shirt dampen with sweat as he searched for a way out of the increasingly awkward conversation surrounding him. "Well, actually, I moved to West City a few years ago," Gohan said, trying to delay the burial of his rapidly decaying social status.
"That's still pretty far," Videl pointed out.
Erasa suddenly recovered from her shock and casually mentioned, "Well, okay. But surely you remember Cell, right?"
The world came to an abrupt halt as one word reached Gohan's ears.
Cell.
His eyes instinctively closed as a heavy feeling resurfaced from deep in Gohan's abdomen. His eye twitched, and his hands curled into fists on the tabletop.
Noticing his strong reaction, Videl stated, "I take it that's a yes."
Forcing the words through an even tone of voice, he quietly answered. "Yes. I do." Pieces of painful memories assaulted his mind all at once. Several small chunks of events were missing from his chaotic recollections, but the overall intense emotion associated with that time of his life was still palpable.
"Well, Videl's dad is Mr. Satan!" Erasa said, excitement pouring through her voice once again. "You know, the man who defeated Cell."
Gohan's eyes snapped open.
Videl stared at the new boy. She noticed how tense he had become while Erasa spoke, and now it seemed as if her best friend had struck a nerve. "Why do you look like you're gonna be sick?" Videl asked, her suspicious gaze unwavering as Gohan turned to focus on her. "My dad saved us. You have nothing to be worried about anymore. After all, it's been nearly five years."
"That's right," Sharpener interjected. "Mr. Satan saw through all of Cell's cheap light tricks and killed him with good 'ol martial arts… unlike those golden fakes who thought they stood a chance."
Gohan's jaw fell slack at Sharpener's declaration. For the first time in his life he felt completely and utterly speechless- not that he would've had the opportunity to to answer anyway. Their next teacher entered, the classroom's thick door smacking heavily against the wall as it was gruffly thrown open. "Settle down," the stuffy man commanded with an absent mind, not bothering to look at his students before reaching his desk. He immediately pulled a stack of papers from his briefcase.
Everyone quieted down almost at once, remembering the 10-page essay they had turned in the week prior. A few quiet groans echoed throughout the large classroom space as their strict literature teacher began passing back graded papers. Sharpener looked at Gohan from the corner of his eye, wondering why the brainiac didn't seem all that impressed with the mention of the world saviour, or even the saviour's daughter, for that matter. However, the conversation flew from the jock's mind as he received his low grade, and he huffed in annoyance at the uptight professor.
Videl ignored the essay placed in front of her, and instead made a mental note to keep an eye on the mountain boy. She didn't know why, but he gave her an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't anything in particular he had said. Rather, it seemed to be something he hadn't said. Yes, it had surprised her that he hadn't immediately fawned over her once he found out who she was, but she certainly hadn't minded the lack of attention. No, everything about him just seemed strange, from his upbringing to the way he had interacted with her friends.
Videl Satan knew something wasn't quite right with this kid, and her instincts were never wrong.
When they had stopped at Erasa's locker before lunch, Videl had asked her best friend about the new kid.
"Honestly Videl, I think his reaction wasn't that weird," Erasa hummed, grabbing her embroidered lunch bag from her locker. "I mean, yeah, we all know now that Cell was just a trickster, but he scared a lot of people back then!" The blonde gently closed her locker door with delicate fingernails before flinging her bag over one shoulder. Videl looked deep in thought as the duo began to walk to the cafeteria. "The anniversary is in a few days," Erasa continued, "Even though West City is pretty big, it's not home to the world saviour like Satan City is. So they probably don't celebrate as much as we do, and he probably only remembers the bad things from that time."
Videl nodded slowly. "That… actually makes sense, Erasa," she conceded. "But still. There's just something off about him, you know? I mean, it's been years. He should've gotten over it by now."
"I can't get over it," Gohan thought. "Mr. Satan… Did he really tell everyone that we were fakes? That we weren't real martial artists?"
The sunlight seared his sensitive eyes as he carefully opened the door. About half of their grade was eating lunch outside. Gohan began to walk to the far side of the courtyard, hoping some fresh air would clear his mind. He settled on a patch of dry grass near the chain link fence, his back facing his peers. His stomach growled in hungry protest, but Gohan's heart was still twisted in knots at the earlier revelation.
"We sacrificed so much," he thought sadly. "Dad… he gave his life for a world that scorns him?" Tears stung his eyes, but he willed them not to fall. "And… and mom." Gohan swallowed hard. Just that morning, Bulma had warned him to keep his powers a secret along with his past. While she had reminded him that Mr. Satan had taken credit for Cell's death, she hadn't mentioned anything about the slander of his dead father. And when she had enrolled him in school last week, she certainly hadn't mentioned he would be going to school with Mr. Satan's daughter!
With a dejected sigh, Gohan finally pulled a capsule from the pocket of his khakis. He gently activated it on the ground, wondering what Ms. Briefs had packed him. A stack of four bento boxes appeared, a modest meal for him to get through the day. He ate his meager lunch of beef roast, mixed vegetables, steamed rice, and egg rolls with deliberate patience, hoping to waste time during the lunch break.
He would simply have to avoid Videl, he finally decided.
While the intensity of his nightmares had lessened over time, his past still continued to haunt him nearly every night. He had woken on more than one occasion convinced he was still in the midst of a life or death battle. The resultant damage to Capsule Corporation became frequent in the months after Gohan had moved in, but Bulma assured him she only cared about his well-being. And while the psychological scars manifested themselves through action, he also had to face the physical scars every time he bathed or dressed. And despite the prolonged period of peace that currently embraced the Earth, Gohan couldn't help but feel compelled to worry about what may come next.
He nodded in his resolve. Yes, he would just have to avoid Miss Videl Satan at all costs. Her presence would only open wounds that had yet to completely heal. After all, her current life had most likely been built upon the lies of her father, not to mention the plights of him and the other Z-Fighters. A single slip of the tongue could destroy her worldview.
But worst of all, that stern, calculating look she gave him in class… it reminded him of his mother. While he loved his father without a doubt, Goku hadn't been as present in his life like Chi-Chi had been. Albeit weakly, he could somehow accept his father's death as a sort of extended absence. But adjusting to not having his mother hover over him every moment of the day had certainly taken some time. Perhaps that's why he had grown so attached to Bulma in recent years- her mature, feminine aura quickly became a substitute Gohan so deeply craved. He had very few women in his life to begin with, and now the most important one had vanished.
The girl frowned as she squinted through the harsh sunlight. "Should we invite Gohan to eat with us?" Erasa asked, throwing her napkin back into her lap. "He looks so lonely."
Sharpener glanced at the boy in question before shaking his head, long locks of hair settling over his black tank top. "Come on, Erasa. He's sitting with his back towards everyone. He obviously just wants to be alone."
"For once in his life, Sharpener's right," Videl agreed. "And besides, I don't want him sitting with us. Remember what we talked about earlier?" She turned to look at the blonde girl beside her.
Sharpener leaned over to playfully on one of Videl's dark pigtails to regain her attention. "What, you two talking behind my back, now?" Sharpener said with a frown, narrowly avoiding a slap from the angry raven-haired girl.
Erasa raised a sculpted eyebrow. "You're the one who had to go buy lunch instead of bringing your own, Sharpener. Did you really expect us to be silent until you came back?"
The male athlete pretended to look offended. "Well, yeah," he said. "After all, where would you two lovely ladies be without your knight in shining armour?"
Videl shot him an annoyed look. "Probably having an intelligent conversation, that's for sure," she fired back, throwing her sandwich down on the table in annoyance.
The two ill-tempered teens continued to bicker, only pausing when Erasa stood up, a petite hand resting on her cocked hip.
"Well, I'm going to go say hello," she said in a determined voice, holding her chin high. "Try not to kill each other while I'm gone, alright?" Without waiting for an answer, the blonde beauty made her way through the crowd of rowdy teenagers. As her heels reached the end of the concrete, she slipped her shoes off to carry them.
Sensing her arrival, Gohan turned to greet his bubbly classmate. "Hey, Erasa," he said, trying to keep his voice light. Erasa squatted next to him, careful not to get grass stains on her white capri pants. "Hey! How'd ya know it was me?" She asked, dangling her noisy heels in her hand.
"Well, two classes so far and you're the only one to talk to me, so…" he replied honestly.
"Hey… why don't you come eat with us?" She asked, eyes brightening with a smile. "You're a nice guy. We'd love to have your company."
"Oh, I don't want to impose," Gohan said quickly, not even sure if he wanted to sit with them. While he did enjoy Erasa's calm, outgoing personality, Videl's presence would surely be an issue. Not to mention the boy with blonde hair that they seemed to hang out with- Sharpener had judged Gohan without hesitation.
"Oh, it won't be any trouble!" Erasa squealed, latching onto Gohan's arm. His instincts urged his body to move back slightly, and Erasa just narrowly managed to catch his arm. Despite knowing he wasn't in any real danger, as Erasa's energy signature was one of the lowest he's ever felt, his body couldn't help but react, even if it was a small, delayed response. He flinched as her skin made contact with his.
At first, Erasa gave him a puzzled look, before her eyes went wide. She promptly detached her small hands from his arm. "Oh… you have a girlfriend don't you?" She stated more so than asked. Gohan blinked in surprise as she continued. "Darn, why do all the cute ones have to be taken? I thought maybe since this was your first day, nobody would've had the chance to snatch you up yet."
"No," Gohan quickly said, feeling a flush spread across his cheeks. "No, I don't. I don't have a girlfriend," He winced internally as he realized the truth of that statement. "Actually, I've never had a girlfriend," he blurted out loud.
Relieved, Erasa laughed. "Really? I find it hard to believe you've never had a girlfriend. I mean, you're so adorable!" She paused, seeing how self-conscious Gohan looked as she talked. "But if you're single, then why'd you look so worried when I touched you?"
"Well, um, actually," Gohan started. He wasn't sure how to broach the topic with her, but he hoped she would be understanding. "Could you please not touch me? I just- I'm sorry, it kind of makes me uncomfortable-"
"Say no more!" Erasa said firmly. "I'm sorry, Gohan, I totally didn't realize-"
"It's okay, really-"
"No, I'm sorry, Gohan, I shouldn't have-"
"It's fine, Erasa. Please... I know you didn't mean anything by it."
There was an uncomfortable silence as both teens wondered what to say next. Eager to break the ice, Erasa finally said, "Let me make it up to you. I have a slice of cake in my lunch box if you want to come and split it with me!"
Before Gohan could respond, his stomach growled softly at the mention of dessert. The boy closed his eyes, ready to brave the taunts directed at him and his insatiable appetite. But instead, Erasa giggled. "Come on, I want to get to know you better. Please?" She reached out to grab his hand, but thought better of it at the last second. "Pretty, pretty please? For me?"
The tall boy sighed. "She really is a nice girl," he admitted to himself. "I would be a fool to not spend time with her, regardless of who else she hangs out with."
"Okay," he told her, beaming at her joyous expression.
His new friend cheered as she stood up, patiently waiting for Gohan as he recapsulized his empty dish. "Wow, did you really eat all that by yourself?" She asked as they began to walk.
A chuckle escaped Gohan as he mumbled, "I just have a really high metabolism is all." She accepted his answer with a small smile, gracefully navigating her way through a few stray teens laying in the grass. The half-Saiyan gentleman waited patiently as Erasa paused to place her heels back on her feet, and he caught her by the elbow when she lost her balance and nearly tripped on the concrete.
"Oh, thank you!" she said.
"Damn it, she brought Nerd Boy with her," Sharpener complained, watching Gohan help Erasa up. Videl's brow crinkled as her best friend approach their table with the new kid trailing close behind her. He sat next to Erasa, leaving a space between him and Videl before looking across the picnic table at Sharpener. "Um, Sharpener, was it?" Gohan politely asked. "Nice to meet you again."
The jock faked a smile. "Yep, that's me," he said, immediately breaking eye contact to play with his food.
"Hey, Videl," Gohan said with a nod in the girl's direction.
"So, Gohan," she said, tone flat and emotionless. "How do you get to school? West City may not be as far away as the mountains, but it's still quite a distance to cover."
Gohan was eternally grateful Erasa had chosen that moment to open her plastic container of the promised chocolate cake. She set the slice on a napkin before him, along with a fork. It gave him a moment to think.
"Oh, it's not that far," Gohan casually said before stuffing his mouth with Erasa's dessert. "I just fly here."
Videl lifted a thin eyebrow, stern expression never changing. "My jet copter is the newest on the market and it takes me three hours to get there from here," she replied.
Chewing slowly, Gohan shrugged, which seemed to only aggravate Videl. "Well? What model do you have?" She growled. "Or are you just lying about having a flying license to try and impress us?"
Gohan nearly choked at that last statement, and finished the last of Erasa's cake with a hasty gulp. Thankfully, Erasa didn't seem too concerned that there wasn't any cake left for her.
"Videl," Erasa reprimanded.
"What?" Gohan asked in confusion. "Why would I want to impress you?"
The table felt completely silent as three heads turned to look at Videl. The scowling girl stood from the table abruptly and threw her trash inside her brown paper lunch bag. Without another word, the girl stalked away, teenagers leaping out of her furious path without hesitation. She was Videl Satan, after all- her peers knew to never get on her bad side.
"Wow," Sharpener said lamely. "For a supposed genius, you sure a dumbass."
"Sharpener!"
"It's alright, Erasa," Gohan said, disappointed at how his first day was turning out. "I know when I'm not wanted. Thank you again for the cake." The half-alien extracted his long legs from underneath the picnic table and headed back inside the school building. Unfortunately, with his heightened sense of hearing, he wasn't able to escape what he heard next.
"Damn it, Erasa," Sharpener growled, slamming a hand onto the wooden table. "Why'd you have to go and pick a loser like him to be your latest charity case?"
"Hey! Don't you dare talk about him like that!"
"Or what?" He demanded. "You don't even know the guy! None of us do! They don't give out flying licenses to just anybody who asks for one. He was obviously lying about flying just to act all cool, and for what? He's a nobody, Erasa. A nerdy, awkward, nobody."
When Gohan didn't hear Erasa defend him again, the last strings of his resolve broke. He slammed the metal door open and sprinted through the bustling indoor cafeteria. A few stray calls of, "Look, it's that weird new kid," and "Wow, what a dork!" reached his ears, along with ringing laughter. Gohan swallowed hard, but the lump in his throat didn't yield. He picked up his pace until he became a blur, blood pumping furiously through his veins as if wrestling to break free from its fleshy confines. A wind created by his incredible speed rustled flyers on nearby bulletin boards, and he knocked over several recycling bins in close proximity. Adrenaline coursed through his muscular frame as the boy zoomed across the school, never slowing.
However, even nearing his base form's top speed, he couldn't seem to escape the crippling depression he thought he had outgrown. Before he knew it, his trembling legs gave out and he tumbled across the tiled floor. His knees felt weak, but not from physical exhaustion. He panted as the air surrounding tasted thick and dry.
Blood rushed through Gohan's ears, and he struggled to hear anything but his own torturous thoughts. He tried to relieve the pressure by steadying a hand on either side of his head, but he soon noticed that his hands also shook violently. Still on the ground, a grunt escaped his throat. The hallway was empty, and so was his life.
If only his legs worked! Then he could run from the shame of who he had become. Once upon a time, he lived as the most powerful warrior in the galaxy- perhaps even the universe. And now, he was merely a shell of his former self. No longer did he take his martial arts training seriously. No longer did he feel the small degree of confidence that he had once worked so hard to build as a pre-teen.
He didn't want to be the strongest. He didn't want to be the most skilled. He didn't want to be an alien half-breed. Hell, he didn't even want to be the scholar his mother had always wanted! He didn't want to be extraordinary- in fact, he yearned only to be ordinary.
Ever since that fateful day nearly five years ago, his grip on reality had gradually spiraled out of control. There was no chance of regaining the life he had once lived. Thus, Bulma had suggested he try to find another sense of belonging. She suggested he try public school, where he could socialize with people his own age.
Hunched over, the young man gasped, his robust lungs desperately seeking air.
Maybe the Capsule Corp. genius should just stick to rocket science.