Chapter 6: Gohan's Little Trip
Gohan sat on the open spot of the lookout, many things running through his mind. He couldn't help but wonder how Usagi was doing with her friends inside the Room of Spirit and Time. The cats dared not get too close to the saiyan, lest there be a repeat of what happened to Artemis. Gohan decided to stand up and stop with his meditation. Standing there with his arms crossed, Gohan couldn't help but have thoughts about the girls and the room.
Luna and Artemis walked up to the saiyan and decided to join him. The cats making it to the side of Gohan caused the saiyan to smile a little as he knelt down. Getting their heads petted made both cats meow a little at his touch.
"You two sure know how to make someone forget their problems...if even for just a moment," Gohan stated toward the felines.
"I know you are worried about them. I'm sure the girls are fine Gohan," Artemis pointed out.
"You're probably right Artemis...I guess I just can't help it," Gohan replied.
"I know what you mean. I worry about that girl all the time," Luna interjected.
Gohan laughed a little at Luna's statement. Both cats jumped onto the shoulders of the saiyan, and said saiyan took that moment to stand up. The three were just staring out into the skies, just enjoying the wind hitting their face.
After a moment, the felines hopped off his shoulders as Dende walked to Gohan's side. The guardian knew that despite the peaceful exterior of his friend, the fact that Gohan still worried about Usagi would not go away any time soon.
"I guess love does many things to a man," Dende pointed out.
"Hmm...it's that obvious?" Gohan asked.
"Gohan, you might as well have a flashing billboard the way you have been the past two hours. Might I make a suggestion?" Dende asked.
"Sure, I'm listening," Gohan repled.
"Step away a bit from the Lookout. I'm sure Tuxedo Mask could stop a bank robbery or something," Dende suggested.
"Dende...I never thought to use that disguise in that way before. There haven't been any monster for a while," Gohan pointed out.
"Or you could go home and help out at your mother's shop," Luna suggested.
"Hmm….come to mention it I haven't done that since I got out of school for training," Gohan said with a bit of a frown.
"Or do something else you enjoy. You have your communicator with you, right?" Artemis asked.
Gohan looked down and saw a black watch with golden designs. The eye mask stood out on the cover of the device.
"We will alert you when it's close to 24 hours. Your flight speed is tremendous after all," Luna pointed out.
Gohan nodded and decided to magically change into his Tuxedo Mask outfit using his rose. A golden light washed over him and before he knew it, he was in his trademark tuxedo. The costume fit him as Gohan felt that it should and he did a few stretches in said outfit. The material felt as flexible as it did the first time he wore it on that fateful day he met Sailor Moon. Gohan said goodbye to the group, including Mr. Popo as Popo watered his flowers, and flew down to The Earth.
After what seemed like only a few moments in the air, Tuxedo Mask made it to Tokyo. Landing on the tip of Tokyo Tower, Gohan looked over the city. His balance was impeccable as he showed no signs of losing his footing, and remained still. Gohan looked over the city and saw a group of people pull up to the bank. Feeling something was suspicious, the superhero hopped off the tower and leapt from building top to building top. His eyes were able to scan the area without being detected as he knelt behind some metal fixtures. Gohan peaked out of the side of the round structure and saw that the men were armed with weapons. Those weapons looked like automatic rifles with banana style magazines.
The armed fighters went into the bank and disappeared from Gohan's view. The saiyan leapt off of the building and floated down onto the ground.
As he floated downward, Gohan could hear people screaming. His hearing wasn't as good as his friend Piccolo's, but he could make out sounds much more clearly than a normal human. The saiyan looked inside and saw the men had the bank patrons face down onto the ground. A pair of the crooks eyes almost saw him, but the hero in the tuxedo leapt to the air and avoided the eyes of the criminal. Landing of the roof, Gohan stood there and formulated his next move.
The crooks had their weapons aimed at the customers. One however, had his machine gun pointed at one of the tellers. The crook screamed at the poor lady clerk, who filled the cloth sack with the cash in the drawer.
The largest of the crooks had one of the bankers open the vault. As the scared man dialed in the
combination and opened the giant room, a skinny guy shot his gun up in the air before he waived his weapon all over the place.
"Ok Ladies and Germs! Stay quiet while we relieve this bank of it's burden of all that money! Do that and no one gets hurt!" the underweight crook screamed.
Out of nowhere, the doors opened. Over the bank entrance the skinny guy saw Tuxedo Mask in front of him. Around two seconds later, the hero darted over and gave a little jab at one of the crooks stomachs. The thug fell down into unconsciousness and before any one can blink, Tuxedo Mask knocks out another crook with a chop to the back of the neck.
"You gonna die pretty boy!" shouted the scraggily thug as he fired his weapon.
Tuxedo Mask caught each bullet with his right hand. After he finished his burst, Gohan flew toward the man and lightly kicked him in the face. The man was knocked into the air a bit before falling to the ground, sprawled out onto the hard bank floor.
Gohan knocked out the two remaining thugs on the customers side of the bank. Both were too stunned to do anything, making it much easier for the teenager to lay them out. One was left, and it was the one with the gun pointed at the banker.
"Make one false move and I'm killing this piece of shit!" shouted the desperate crook as he put his weapon to his shoulder, ready to fire at a moments notice.
The banker was shaking with fear. However the heavily muscled crook would not have the chance to make good his threat as Gohan zoomed over toward him and grabbed his weapon. With one hand, the weapon was bent over backwards toward the shooter. The large man's jaw went slack in surprise with the feet of strength.
The brute didn't have long to ponder what Tuxedo Mask had done as he got hit with a light tap to the temple. The hero caught the man falling forward and sat him against the wall. The saiyan took it upon himself to break the bent weapon over his knee for good measure and looked over toward the banker.
"You don't have to worry about him anymore," Tuxedo Mask said with a disguised voice.
"T-thank you sir…." the nervous man replied.
Gohan left the counter and broke apart each weapons the assailants had. He had broken the last rifle when sirens could be heard. Officers went into the bank and saw the saiyan. Dressed in full tactical gear, the cops aimed their weapons at Gohan. The banker stood up and walked to the side of the super hero.
"Please don't shoot, this man stopped them!" the banker said, pointing to the man.
"Yes...Tuxedo Mask stopped these robbers!" one of the customers said shakily to the police.
The cops went around and arrested the robbers as they woke up. A male detective, who looked to be forty and in decent physical shape, asked Tuxedo Mask various questions about what happened, and the hero answered them to tell his side of the story. After a few moments, the investigator told the man he could go. At that moment, a certain girl with pigtails showed up on the scene. She walked right up to the Tuxedo Mask and glared at him.
"You aren't leaving, yet!" Videl yelled.
"The detective said that I can go," Tuxedo Mask said in his disguised voice.
"I don't care, I have questions Mr. Tuxedo Mask!" Videl exclaimed with venom.
"I'm sorry miss, but I have to leave!" Tuxedo Mask said nervously.
Before the woman could ask another question, Gohan walked out of the bank and flew away. Videl couldn't believe that the hero could just fly away, not answering her questions. The detective saw this whole thing with Videl and Tuxedo Mask and shook his head.
"You know...not everyone has to answer to you," the detective told her.
"Shut up Sakimoto," growled Videl as she grabbed one of the robbers and took him out of the bank to the armored jail car.
Gohan was flying in the sky, still thankful that no one discovered his secret identity. After flying for a short time, the boy noticed that he had passed by a familiar village that he had visited several years ago. The saiyan decided to touch down, behind some woods near the village to magically change back into his normal blue gi. The saiyan found a trail to his right and went onto the path.
After walking the path to the village, Gohan noticed that the village seemed rather busy. The saiyan, after the Cell Games, did visit this village from time to time. Though in his own reckoning, it had been at least a year and a half since his last visit. A dark skinned man, carrying a basket full of fish, noticed the saiyan and waived at the young man. Gohan noticed this wave and made his way to the fisherman amongst the small crowd of people.
"Hey Gohan, how have ya been!" the fisherman asked with his thick islander accent.
"Eh, you know, just trying to get by. This place seems to be busy," Gohan replied.
"Oh ya noticed, there is a big festival starting in a few hours. Celebrating the coming of Spring. Lots of food, games and stuff. I know you like to eat!" said the fisherman.
"You know me so well Manu. Say how is Lime and Mr. Lao doing?" Gohan asked
"Well the old man did have a health scare a few months ago. He's on the mend though. Scared poor Lime to death," Manu pointed out.
Gohan silently cursed. He couldn't help but feel guilty that he wasn't around all that often. Though the teen had a busy life in Tokyo, he still felt that it was no excuse. The boy even thought to introduce Usagi to Mr. Lao and Lime at times.
"Hey man, don't worry too much. I'm sure the old man and Lime would be glad to see you," Manu said.
Gohan smiled and the two made a little small talk amongst the hustle and bustle. The saiyan waved bye to the man and went toward the General Store where Mr. Lao did his business. Opening the door, an elderly man with a pompadour hairstyle and a thick mustache looked toward the teenage visitor.
"Why hello there Gohan, long time no see," greeted the old man.
"Hello to you too Mr. Lao," Gohan replied.
The saiyan made his way to the counter of the old store. No merchandise was destroyed and everything seemed to be in order. Though it was old, the surroundings were well maintained. It was as if the owner took pride in the way his store looked, despite the small size and the fact that it was in a small, mountain village.
"Let me guess, you were too involved with your studies to visit an old man," Mr. Lao teased.
"Well sir….I did have a lot going on. I meant to visit you six months ago, but I had to help my mom move to Tokyo. We have a butcher shop in the Minato Ward, and it has been going well. I've been helping her as well as keeping my training up and my studies. Those are no excuses sir, I'm sorry," Gohan said.
"Heheheheheh...no need to apologize young man. You have a life to live after all. I'm just glad you thought of me to be perfectly honest," Mr. Lao replied.
Gohan was somewhat relieved. Though a part of him wished he visited him and Lime more, he knew that it would be tough to do with his mother's demands. However, their conversation would be interrupted by a teenage girl with long, red hair. The young woman climbed down a stepladder with a cloth in her right hand. The girl with the beige undershirt and blue denim shorts couldn't help but gaze at the saiyan for a bit. Young Gohan returned with a smile toward the red head, like he had came across an old friend.
"So Gohan, finally come to visit us," the girl said in a mocking tone.
"Ms. Lime, you know that he's got a busy schedule," Mr. Lao scolded.
"No excuse," sassed Lime.
Though it did seem like she was trying to scold Gohan, in truth it was but a shallow veneer. So shallow was the act that after around 30 seconds, the girl cracked a smile. She then ran up to Gohan and gave him a huge hug. Gohan put a single arm around her and gently patted her back, as if trying not to crush her. The young, slender girl took her arms from around her old friend and gave a wink toward him.
"You have a gift with people not staying mad at you," Lime pointed out.
"I'm sorry I haven't visited.." Gohan replied.
It was after that statement that Gohan noticed something behind the counter. It looked like a walker that was folded up. Gohan took a deep breath and looked toward the elderly gentleman behind the counter.
"Mr. Lao…...I heard of your health scare," Gohan said.
"My boy, I had a bout with pneumonia. For a while I had to use that wretched walker, but now I have the strength to walk on my own two feet. I keep it around as a reminder to be careful," Mr. Lao responded.
"Yeah, grandpa is stubborn as any mule I've seen. I helped more around the store, but grandpa insists that I keep up with my studies more. I do ok at the village school," Lime said.
"You could be doing a lot better Ms. Lime," Mr. Lao scolded.
The girl blushed slightly at that statement. True, she was not like Gohan in the scholarly arts, but she felt that she at least passed everything. The two of them left the store and walked the village together.
Gohan and Lime walked through the village, observing the booths being set up. The saiyan couldn't help but look at a stage, where it seemed like speakers were being set up. A drum set was already on the stage and a band was testing their various guitars, drum set, and microphones.
"How good is your singing voice?" Lime asked.
"Eh, it's abysmal," Gohan chided back.
"So I take it you won't storm the stage any time soon," Lime joked.
Gohan laughed at the friendly jab. The thought of his, at least what he considered, horrible voice causing discomfort to people's ears. The boy didn't dwell on this thought as him and his friend looked around the village some more. The two wound up going up a hill just above the village. The spot the two stopped at was covered in brush and high grass.
"It's hard to believe that the shelter was here all those years ago," Gohan pointed out.
"Yep, and a certain little boy showed how useless it truly was and opened the people's eyes," Lime replied.
"Yeah," Gohan said with a slight laugh.
The teenagers stood there for a minute. The wind blew upon Gohan's face, and the boy couldn't help but take in a deep breath. In truth, it reminded him of his old home in the country. The house was not close to any schools however, and he knew that a certain move to a big city needed to happen. Lime tapped Gohan on the shoulder, snapping him out of his train of thought.
"Hey Gohan, can I ask you a question?" Lime said.
"Sure," Gohan replied.
"What's Tokyo like?" Lime asked.
"Well, it's big and sometimes it seems really crowded. Though in some strange way, it does run in good order most of the time. Mom and I live in a really wealthy part of the city, and our shop does really well since it's in such a good spot. The other shopkeepers and I have gotten to know each other pretty well. Krillin and 18 do the cutting, along with Mom sometimes. I help at times when it gets really busy, but not too frequently because Mom wants me to study so much. A lot of the people can be grumpy at times, but I guess I've made some friends during my time in Tokyo. School is interesting, and really strict," Gohan said.
"Have you seen Tokyo Tower? I also hear they have all sorts of shrines and stuff," Lime interjected.
"Yes I have seen Tokyo Tower. I haven't went to many of the shrines though, just the one that is closest to me. The priests and priestess there are really nice," Gohan replied.
"So I see…..say Gohan, I'm going to ask you another question. It might be too personal and you don't have to answer if you don't want to," Lime said, trying to be as polite as possible.
Gohan simply nodded in response. The young teenage girl took a deep breath, as if asking this question felt complex to her. Steeling herself within a few seconds, the girl managed to compose herself and ignore her rising heartbeat.
"Do you have a girlfriend?" Lime asked, trying her best to not let her emotions get in the way.
Gohan smiled at his old friend. The saiyan couldn't help but think of Usagi at this moment. How she was training at this very moment to strengthen her body for the Silver Crystal. An answer came to him as natural as breathing.
"Yes Lime, I do," Gohan replied.
Lime smiled in return. The girl was genuinely happy for her friend as she gave Gohan a smile. She nodded at the boy. Gohan saw another figure coming up the hill in overalls and a baseball cap with a rooster logo. Lime saw the person and ran up to him and gave him a hug. The young man in the overalls gave her a hug back, causing Gohan to smile at his friend.
The twosome walked a bit toward Gohan. Lime stood between the two boys. The young man was around Gohan's height and a little slimmer than the saiyan. The farmer looking boy took his hat off and blond hair came out in all directions. One could say that the hair was similar to the eleven year old Gohan's hair as a Super Saiyan.
"Names Lemon, what's your name feller," the blue eyed country boy introduced.
"My names Gohan," Gohan introduced.
The two shook hands instead of the traditional Japanese bow. The young farmer gave a firm handshake to Gohan, but felt his hand not budging an inch. Lemon was wise to not try to squeeze Gohan's hand and go into a grip contest with him.
"Why shoot, I remember you now. You scared that moron Tao out of this village. Shoot those thugs that built that shelter ran for the hills after you left. That sumbitch taking that tree and leavin' made my old Papa laugh," Lemon said.
"Heh, I guess it would make me laugh too if I wasn't so in the moment at the time," Gohan replied.
Lime went beside the farmer and wrapped her arms around his arm. Gohan knew without even asking that Lime really liked his fellow teenage boy. The girl gave a smile to the saiyan, to which Gohan saw out of his peripheral vision as he focused on the farmer boy.
"Say Lemon, honey….why don't we go back to the village," Lime suggested.
"You know what babe, good idea. Hey Gohan, why don't you come with us," Lemon suggested.
"Good idea," Gohan said.
That night…
A small crowd gathered around the stage. The entire village it seems waited in anticipation as a spotlight shined on said stage. Members of the band appeared one by one, to a raucous cheer. First was the drummer as he twirled his drumsticks before gripping them and raising both arms into the air. Next was a guitarist, the gentleman having a green and black mohawk as another spotlight shined onto his spot. A few notes sounded out of the guitar to serve that it was working properly and to warm the crowd up a tad. Though, the crowd was pretty energized already it seemed. Another spotlight shined a good distance from the guitarist, and it showed a blacked haired man. The man was pretty tall at 6 and a half feet, with well defined arms out of his black vest and a shiny pair of black pants that the rest of the band seemed to wear. The muscular man let loose a few bass notes to serve the same purpose as the guitarist. The last spotlight was shown front and center. A bald headed lead singer with strange piercings just below his lip appeared in an all black outfit. The crowd roared in approval the loudest for the singer as he smiled at his fans.
"Hello Chatze Village, you ready to rock!" shouted the singer. The crowd yelled in response.
The singer pretended he didn't hear them, a tactic used by musicians for years to gauge just how loud a crowd can get.
"I can't hear you...I said ARE YOU READY TO ROCK!" the musician screamed as the stage became fully lighted up.
The crowd cheered much louder than the first time. The singer nodded in approval and then put the mic to his lips. The man took a deep breath as he raised his hand up and then lowered it, which calmed the crowd down somewhat slowly.
"Ok Chatze Village. Normally we of Dragon Gauge would hit you with hard stuff. But before we do that we want to sing you something that is dear to our hearts. You see, we had a friend pass away recently."
The crowd went hush at that news. It seemed that people of the village didn't take death lightly and tried to empathize with the singer.
"Yeah man, this guy meant the world to us. It's hard, but our buddy would wants us not to mourn forever, but to keep going. This song reminded us of that man and it's catchy notes were a favorite to many around the world. This little cover I hope will do it justice, and reach our friend in the great beyond. It's called 'Under Your Spell.'
The guitarist played the first few notes of the song, causing the crowd to cheer. Then the bassist and the drummer joined in and the crowd had gotten into the beat. As the notes continued to play the singer put the mic close to his mouth and began to sing.
Bit by bit, I'm falling under your spell
Your smile is all I need to see to know we'll
Leave this endless darkness saying, "Come along with me!"
Hold my hand!
The crowd had their hands in the air, waving them around. At the rear of the crowd was Lemon and Lime going along with the crowd. Gohan, who was beside the couple, even got in on the act.
Back when you first came into my life,
I recalled a place I knew as a child
A special place, one I held close to my heart.
Won't you lead me in a dance down this winding road
Where light and shadow entwine to take hold
of the thoughts one left behind?
Know that sometimes, I want to
turn around and see the things
that I've passed on on the journey.
But know with love on my side,
with courage and pride, I'll fight;
I will carry on!
The band paused for a second, the crowd became still. The singer let the pause happen for a few seconds, seemingly for dramatic effect. The singer then seemed to attack this part of the song with more effort than he gave the rest of the song. Not to say that the man slouched on the other parts, because he was a showman.
Bit by bit, I'm falling under your charm
You'll keep me and all the world from harm.
Bringing hope to everyone;
take in your hands eternity.
Even when it seems
that I don't need you
Just know that I would love and can't wait to
leave this endless darkness.
Won't you come along with me.
Hold my hand!
The crowd cheered at the end of the song. While the crowd was in it's frenzy, Gohan silently looked at his longtime friend and her boyfriend. The young saiyan couldn't help but see how happy those two were and it reminded him of himself and his own girlfriend. The teen couldn't help but see this vision of him holding his Usagi.
Lime noticed as Gohan nodded to the two of them. The young man wanted to stay for the rest of the concert, but felt that he couldn't. It was like the singer about to introduce his next song didn't matter to either of the two. The saiyan went closer to Lemon and Lime.
"I have to go home now," Gohan said.
"Why, I thought you were having fun," Lime said.
"I am...but I would rather you two have fun without me being a third wheel," Gohan said, which perked the ears of Lemon.
Gohan took this as his moment to leave a confused Lemon and a smiling Lime. The saiyan disappeared into the darkness of the night. After what was only a few seconds, the couple looked up and saw a streak of light fly toward the sky and away from the village.
"Lime...why did he leave?" Lemon asked.
Lime looked up to her boyfriend and smiled.
"He wanted us to have fun," Lime simply stated as she leaned into her boyfriend.
Author's note: That last part was inspired by the passing of Akira Toriyama. I'm sure that everyone around the world heard the announcement of his passing on March 1st a week after it had happened.
Without this man and Naoko Takeuchi's creation, this fanfic and many others do not exist. Please take the time to cherish the one's you love, for you will never know what time is left.
Rest In Peace, Akira Toriyama. Teach a dinosaur how to ride a ball.