(The following Monday)
It was early morning out in the country and everywhere you looked animals of all shapes and sizes were waking up to the same delightful chorus. This was especially the case over at the Son residence, where the denizens of the domicile were already up and about, and getting ready for a long day ahead.
Sleeping out at the front of the house just a couple of feet from the door, the familiar, pink form of the family's pet dragon Icarus was currently curled up near the clothesline like a cat resting underneath the shade. His tail shifting every so often while his breaths came out in soft purrs, the dragon's ears then perked up when he heard the sound of a ruckus inside the house. When those noises increased in volume, the flying reptile's head perked up and his eyes shifted towards the dome-shaped building, just in time to see the front door open up.
As soon as it did, the tall, strapping form of the home's oldest male tenant stepped out of the hall and into the light. Adorned in black pants, a maroon singlet top, and a yellow and black Capsule Corp jacket with matching boots similar in style to what Mirai Trunks wore in their first encounter, the cheerfully smiling Son Gohan emerged from the home with a laptop bag slung over his shoulder and hanging at his side.
After inhaling a deep breath of the cool mountain air and feeling a light breeze from the East lick at his face, the teen adjusted his duffle and glanced back into the house. "Alright, mum! I'm heading out!"
"Just a second, Gohan!" the voice of his loving parent called back, stopping him in his tracks. Quickly swiveling around, the young Saiyan was quickly met by his mother, dressed in her usual yellow gi, jogging out of the house with a large bento box wrapped in a white sheet. "Here. You'll probably want your lunch."
When the raven haired woman held the package out to him, Gohan grinned back at her sheepishly, "Oh. Yeah. I can't forget about that." He then gave his mother a grateful smile, which earned a shake of the head from the ever dutiful housewife.
"Geez. You're just like your father. Always jumping the gun," Chi-Chi exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips and watching as her son slipped the item into his bag. "Your brain's probably turning into mush from all the times you've landed on your head during training."
"Ah, I'm fine mum. I'm just a little overexcited, that's all."
"Well, make sure you keep that excitement to a minimal. I know how you Saiyans get when you're all riled up. Since this is going to be your first time attending a public school, you're going to want to make a good impression on your fellow students."
Chuckling as he buckled up his pack, the spiky haired young male then looked back up to meet the woman's adoring gaze. "Don't worry. I'll manage."
"Good," Chi-Chi nodded, a confident smile forming as she faced her son down with pride. "Remember to listen to your teachers carefully… and good luck."
"Yeah," Gohan nodded, only to then feel a nudge in the back of his shoulder. Turning about, he saw the adorable face of his best friend and companion Icarus standing directly behind him, his tail wagging happily. When the dragon squawked in greeting, the teen chuckled and gave the reptile's beak an affectionate pet. "Sorry, Icarus. Maybe next time, okay?"
The dragon purred, bowing his head when the boy massaged the top of his skull. Once he was certain his friend had received enough attention, Gohan glanced back to smile at his mother. It was then he noticed another figure step into his doorway and peeked around to see Zangya, decked out in an oversized white shirt that she'd obviously slept in with a wicked mess of bed hair, lean against the frame and look out across the front lawn.
Gohan smiled, "Hey there, sleepyhead."
"Good morning to you too, schoolboy." Yawning into her hand, the still drowsy Hera grinned and, with as little effort as possible, passed the young scholar-slash-hero a wave. "Evening spar? Same time, same place?"
"You're on," the teen shot back with a quick point in her direction, upon which he then readjusted his bag and turned heel. "I'll see you guys later." With one last nod, the demi-Saiyan ran out into the open and rocketed into the air, his takeoff causing a sonic boom to echo out across the valleys. A split second later, he was gone, his form vanishing over the horizon.
Even though he was long gone, Zangya, Chi-Chi and Icarus continued staring into the distance, smiles formed across their lips and their faces practically glowing. Out of all three of them, it was the mother that was the most elated, as indicated by the glimmer in her eye and the way her fingers interlocked in front of her.
"Do you think he'll be alright?" the raven haired parent asked the Z-fighter standing behind her.
The Hera, an eager smile in play, nodded while folding her arms across her chest. "Hey. The guy fought my former boss and saved the entire universe from a crazy-ass goddess. I'm sure he can handle a classroom full of people his own age for seven hours."
Acknowledging her words with a sigh, Chi-Chi nodded, "I sure hope you're right." And she sure as hell hoped nothing bad happened along the way.
After all, moving to a high school after so many years of studying at home was a pretty nerve rattling prospect for a normal kid. For a Super Saiyan capable of laying waste to an entire star system… that was another matter entirely…
OOO
(Sometime later)
As he soared over the valleys, farmlands and rivers making up the region surrounding his mountain home, all Gohan could think about was what his first day at school was going to be like. Ever since he received the letter from the principal of Orange Star High that he'd been admitted into their academy with the most outstanding results they'd ever seen, he'd been overjoyed and practically beside himself. His acceptance into their ranks meant that he would not only be free to try out something normal for a change, but he would also be able to attend the same institute as Videl and the rest of his friends.
The thought of being in the same class as the raven haired girl and her fellow peers made his stomach quiver with excitement. Though he was determined to make a good start in his first period, he also wondered how the kids would respond to him.
Would they find his appearance strange? Was his hairstyle suitable enough? What about his personality? How would the other kids respond to his out-of-town demeanor? Sure, Videl and Erasa loved his country-boy persona and general benevolence. But how would the others react to it? So many questions were flooding through him, making him wonder whether or not he was ready to attend such a prestigious establishment.
Though based on the graphs and reviews he'd read up on the place, the school was around midlevel in the state. Not to mention it was the only place he could afford to go to.
Either way, the teen was certain he would cross that bridge when he came to it. As long as he had Videl at his side to show him around, as well as Erasa, Lime and Touya, then he was certain he'd be able to make it through his first day completely unscathed.
His eyes shimmering with excitement as he watched the countryside and clouds zoom past him, the fast-moving boy grinned from ear to ear. "This is going to be so much fun." He would bet his money on it.
Looking down to make sure his bag was still strapped around him and everything was still inside, the teen then spotted the badge he had attached to his jacket. Reaching down to grab it, the Saiyan angled it so that he could see the big capital 'H' sitting in the orange star in the center.
After having it flash in his face a couple of times, the young man allowed a soft smile to form. "Finally… I have a chance to be a normal guy for a change." While being a Saiyan was fun and all, gallivanting about every single day and flexing your powers was a bit of a drone sometimes.
Needless to say, after the madness he'd recently been put through, Gohan needed the time out to try something new. Starting the coming week off with his first day at high school seemed like an appropriate thing to do.
While flying along at a casual pace and watching more towns and roads pass by under him, the demi-Saiyan couldn't help but spare a moment back to the day he'd regained consciousness. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't put the image of that one particular scene out of his mind…
XXX
(Flashback)
A current of what felt like electricity rushed through his body, prompting the peacefully sleeping Gohan to let out a low groan while his face scrunched up in discomfort. His fingers twitching as feeling returned to his limbs, the demi-Saiyan's eyes blinked open, pushing aside the veil of darkness that was consuming him and replacing it with the sight of his bedroom ceiling.
At first not knowing what to make of it, the doped up young warrior allowed for a few moments of reprieve to regain his bearings. It was only when memories of the events leading up to his sudden black out finally came about that the young man gasped and sat up with a start. By doing so, he inadvertently sent the towel folded up on his forehead flying to the other side of his futon.
Startled and breathing heavily, Gohan then winced when he started seeing spots and closed his eyes. "Ah, damn it… shouldn't have done that." He was then about to reach up to massage his scalp, only to realize he couldn't move his arm…
Or both his arms to be exact.
Puzzled by the fact he was feeling heavier than usual the demi-Saiyan then looked down at his sides to investigate the source of the problem. He received quite the surprise when he not only saw Videl lying directly alongside him, sound asleep and dressed in her signature shirt and pants, but that she was also accompanied by an unconscious Lime, Zangya and Kana, all of whom had decided to crash on the floor around him.
It was quite the surprise. Not only was the raven haired girl he'd known for many years curled up next to him and clutching his left arm like a hug-pillow, but Kana had taken up his right arm in a similar manner along with Lime, the latter of whom was lying across his torso, while Zangya was sprawled out at the foot of his mattress partially covered by his blanket. As they slept, the tomboy and farm girl wore fond smiles on their faces, while the Hera snored quietly away, not really caring about anything that was going on.
However, while seemingly unaware of her surroundings, the orange haired girl unconsciously gave Kana a kick. The young traveler yelped before kicking the orange haired woman back, who didn't do anything except groan.
Baffled by the number of people sleeping around him, as well as the condition of his room, Gohan then looked across at his door, where he suddenly spotted the familiar face of his mother beaming right back at him.
Her appearance drew a quiet gasp from the young man, "Mum?"
"Good morning, sweetheart." Carrying a tray of freshly made breakfast with her, the woman slowly made her way into the room and, careful so that she didn't step on anyone's hair, knelt down beside her son's pillow and set the food on the floor next to him. "Did you sleep well?"
"Y-Yeah… I guess…" His eyes falling back on the numerous female occupants, the teen did a quick scan of the space before returning his gaze to his parent. "Umm… why are all the girls here? Did I organize some kind of sleepover or something?"
"Not exactly," Chi-Chi exclaimed quietly, shrugging and throwing the boy a cheeky grin, "While you were snoring away for the past couple of days, there was actually a really big fight."
Gohan's eyes snapped back to her in bewilderment, "Really? Who won? Was it by KO? Ring out? Or decision?"
Surprised by her son's rather hurried reply, the raven haired mother had a look around the room herself. After taking in the smiles on everyone's faces and seeing how all of the girls were curled up comfortably where they were positioned, all Chi-Chi could do was scratch her head and smile back at her son.
"A draw… I think…"
(End Flashback)
XXX
After spending an entire weekend thinking about it Gohan had been unable to come up with an answer to the unexpected debacle. For whatever reason they had, Videl and the rest of the girls had all clammed up about whatever had gone on in his room while he'd been unconscious. When he tried to approach them about it, each and every one of them either gave him a completely vague answer or simply grinned at him cheekily and left him to stew over it.
Kana didn't stick around long enough for him to interrogate her, and Zangya and Lime weren't saying anything. The former was being her usual enigmatic self and the latter had decided to play hard-to-get. Heck, even Videl was being surprisingly quiet, saying that it was 'her problem' and something that only she could resolve. Of course, Gohan accepted this right off the bat, partly because he trusted her and partly because he didn't want to piss her off if he prodded too much.
He was aware at how angry she could get when provoked. It happened often during her training and whenever she got flustered.
"Why are all the girls I know so terrifying?" Gohan thought, taking a second to consider all of the people he'd come to associate with over the years.
This subject occupied his thoughts all the way to Satan City, which appeared over the horizon a few short minutes later. Keeping well out of sight of any wandering eyes, the demi-Saiyan continued to fly across the metropolis before eventually happening upon an alleyway nestled comfortably between two buildings. Dropping down between the apartments, he then ambled out onto the street and, acting like nothing out of the ordinary had taken place, began jogging towards Orange Star High.
Deciding to put all questions in his mind on the backburner for the time being, the demi-Saiyan made a beeline straight for the institute. Judging from the clear blue sky and the wonderful climate surrounding him, the young hero had a feeling that it was going to be a perfect day…