316Disclaimer: *Kurumu clears her throat and begins* Okay, so like, the following is a fan-based work. I do not own DragonBall Z (property of Akira Toriyama and Funimation) or Rosario + Vampire (Akihisa Ikeda andFunimation). Ghost Nappa is property of Team Fourstar. Please support the official releases! Did I do this right? *author nods* Ya-hoo!
A/N: A bit late, yes, I know. Work is a bitch, it always is. I know it sounds like I'm making excuses but I'm really not. I really, really am dead tired most days I get back from work. What little time I do have left to myself I spend with my fiancée. So as you can imagine, I don't get to work on this story very much. It's a crying shame really, I really do want to finish this story and I still aim to do so. I don't know what everyone else's life is like, sometimes I imagine that it isn't too much different, but then who the hell works the kind of hours I do and deals with the crap that I do. I mean for godsakes, just the previous work week I had to put in several work order tickets for my workstation. They responded and sent someone over; only to have them tell me that 'it was a lost cause' and that they would 'put in another ticket to have it disposed of.' That workstation had tons of important spreadsheet templates and work documents...operative word being 'HAD'. That's government contracting for you...well I suppose I should be thankful anyone responded at all. Anyway, end rant. Here's the 9th installment as promised. Signed, sealed, and delivered. Enjoy!
== Chapter 9: The Mighty Oozaru and Vampire ==
It was midnight and the moon above the entire school glowed an eerie but beautiful red glow. Usually Gohan liked to view astronomical phenomena such as this on such a night but this night Gohan had shut himself inside of his room, locking the doors and the windows; even going so far as to shut the curtains so that it was pitch black dark in his room. He could feel carnal sensation of the blood of his warrior race that comprised half of him. Each bead of sweat that fell from his brow was an immediate reminder of the reason why he was taught to dread the moon so much as a child. He tried to sit still, he tried to lay down and go to sleep, but the sensation of sheer panic overtook him as he paced around the room; absolutely fighting the urge to tear the curtains down and gaze upon the moon. His tail seemed to wiggle and shake around even more as he buried his face within his clammy palms as he screamed out with animalistic rage that consumed him from the inside.
"No, no, no...I can't look at the moon...BUT I HAVE TO GET OUT BEFORE I GO INSANE!" Gohan yelled out trying to find some sort of reprieve as he chugged down an entire gallon of water from one of his capsules; but no matter what he did he just could not escape his nature.
He began to remember something Vegeta had rambled on about to his son that came from the future, Trunks. Vegeta had mentioned that when he still had his tail in order to prevent unwanted transformations he usually trained or battled to the death or he would seek the arms of his mate and well, the rest could be imagined. Gohan had no access to a training room like Vegeta did so that was out. Neither did he have a mate to whom he could find comfort in...well perhaps he did in one sense. He could easily go to Kurumu or Mizore, both of whom oblige him within a heartbeat. Heartbeat...he could feel his own pounding hard within his chest as he breathed heavily, trying to keep himself calm and collected as he continued to sweat profusely. He quickly shook his head at such thoughts and growled once more as his thoughts wandered to the pink-haired vampire, Moka Akashiya. She was quickly becoming his closest friend of all the ones he had made in his life, and perhaps most frighteningly of all; he was starting to fall for her hard.
"It's...getting harder...to stay focused..." Gohan muttered out in the darkness as he breathed heavily as he laid back on the floor in nothing but his boxer shorts.
He also then remembered the flip-side to Moka; her cold, but sultry inner half. Her personality made him shiver in fear somewhat but at the same time he was drawn to her in some strange way. Perhaps that is how Vegeta was drawn to Bulma? He surmised this but was always afraid to ask either of them. Moka had wanted to spend some time with him this night, namely see a movie with him at his room; but he didn't want anyone nearby him on a full-moon night. He had no idea what could happen if he were to accidentally transform. Once again he knelt down on the floor and buried his face into his palms and looked up at the ceiling as his eyes dilated slightly. His irises had turned from its usual black and slowly turned turquoise as a rush of golden energy overtook him as grasped hard onto his black-to-golden hair. The raging beast from within threatened to break out from the demi-saiyan.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" His scream echoed all throughout the campus of Youkai Academy, and somewhere around the girls' dormitory, Outer Moka placed her book down next to her night stand as she attempted to figure out the scream's source.
"I wonder what that was..." Moka spoke out to no one in particular as she got up and looked out the window; gazing upon the same blood red full moon. She sighed quietly remembering that she had been turned down by Gohan earlier in the day but he never quite gave her an adequate explanation; only that 'we'll see about next time.'
She had been attempting to subtly send Gohan signals of her true affections towards him but it seemed as if it was falling on deaf ears; and what made it worse was that the other girls around him were re-doubling their efforts in order to win his heart. Moka quietly slipped herself into bed and underneath her covers. The only fact worse than this was that her other side, Inner Moka, was resisting her feelings towards him and the tournament loss she suffered to Gohan only made this worse. She laid upon her side and felt her eyes get heavy as she yawned; hoping that tomorrow would yield better results.
Gohan on the other hand was doing anything BUT resting as he struggled to keep his ki in check. More sweat formed along his cheeks as sparks began to fly all around him; feeling tears well up in his eyes as his fists clenched inwards.
"If only dad were here...I don't know how much more of this I can actually take..." Gohan muttered out to himself as he slowly closed his eyes. Praise Kami, he thought; sleep was finally going to claim him as he passed out on his own floor.
The next morning came with little fanfare as he slowly got himself up off the ground. His alarm clock was blinking '6:00 AM' in blinking red font. Sighing quietly he made his way to the bathroom, quite relieved that the night had passed but still feeling quite exhausted and not ready for everyone's antics. He splashed the icy cold water into his face, seeing his bloodshot eyes and groaning.
"Hey Gohan! Sounds like you had a rough night last night; had a girl over? Hahaha!" One of his floormates teased but Gohan ignoring him outright; still not ready to face the day.
"Saiyan or not, if I don't get sleep soon I don't know what else could happen..." Gohan muttered out as he brushed his teeth and finished up; ignoring the greetings of several of his floormates. Once back at his room he got himself dressed in his usual school uniform attire and headed out the door towards homeroom. He saw Piccolo on the way but said nothing to him; even going so far as to seemingly avoid eye-contact. Gohan thought it strange; like he was being avoided or wasn't being let in on a major secret. He shook it off however and took his usual seat behind Moka's desk; promptly letting his head fall on the desk as he fell asleep. At least until Kurumu and the others began to show up.
"GOHAN! Goooood MORNING!" Kurumu's voice rang out loudly, one of Gohan's eyes popping out of its bloodshot socket; pulling over his jacket to hide his face but to no avail. Kurumu was already busy pushing her breasts into his face repeatedly as Gohan sighed.
"Please, Kurumu, not today...I'm really not feeling too great..." Gohan responded as Froze used his ki to pry Kurumu off and into her desk.
"HEY! What's the big idea?!" Kurumu yelled out as Yukari stuck her tongue out at Kurumu.
"It wasn't me but it serves you right! You'll kill Gohan one day with those flabby bags of yours!" Yukari retorted as the succubus shot her a death glare. Moka then showed up as her usual, bubbly, cheerful self as she greeted Gohan and the others.
"Hello everyone! Hello Gohan!" Moka's voice filled the room, grabbing Gohan's attention almost immediately as he smiled. No matter how bad a day he was having, or was about to have; he could never not smile at her. Almost out of instinct, she leaned in towards Gohan and took her fill of his blood. He flinched; no matter how many times she did that he would never get used to it. "Oh Gohan...you look like you didn't get sleep again...You really should try to get to bed earlier."
"Believe me if that would have solved the problem I'd do that..." Gohan replied as he fell back into his desk while Ms. Nekonome began to take roll for the class.
Meanwhile, Kuyou and his PSC henchmen were at their headquarters; planning their next moves but were joined but a familiar face.
"I somehow actually doubt that Gohan is really human. He destroyed everyone at that tournament without even transforming." Kuyou thought carefully as he looked on out the window. "I personify justice at this academy, and because of this I will be forced to lift my arrest order on him. I simply cannot believe the nonsense coming from your mouth."
"Don't you want to see the destruction of the Newspaper Club? It has been pretty much defying you and the PSC at every turn. And this Gohan, does it really matter if he is human or not? He poses a legitimate threat to you and everyone here. He has the potential to change the order of things in this world, you cannot allow that flame to soar into blazing waves." Ishigami goaded as she smirked.
"I suppose when you put it that way, it wouldn't matter if he or the rest of the club were killed..." Kuyou chuckled and merely flicked his wrist and his henchmen were already off. Almost immediately after Gohan's first class was over the PSC were waiting outside the hall for him.
"Son Gohan, you are to come with us. You are under arrest..." One of them spoke up as Gohan looked at him quizzically.
"For what?! He hasn't done anything wrong!" Moka interjected, protectively holding onto Gohan's arm.
"He is under arrest under suspicion of being human..." The reply came as the PSC looked at Moka as well. She protested but Gohan calmly placed his hand on hers and smiled.
"Hey, it'll be alright, I'll be back before you know it." Gohan tried to reassure her but it wasn't working out. Gohan had no idea what was going to happen either but he wasn't about to back down from a challenge. Moka refused to let him go but as Gohan attempted to pull away he pulled off her rosario on accident; unsealing her true vampire form. "Oh Kami what did I do..."
"Come with us peacefully, Son Gohan, or the next visit I promise, will not be so smooth." The PSC henchmen revealed, the other two joining in as well. Inner Moka growled as she closed her eyes. She was still quite enraged at Gohan for that humiliating defeat, and she couldn't let him go with them. She knew he wouldn't ever return if she let that happen. Moka wanted her revenge match against Gohan and that wouldn't happen if he were to disappear; at least that's how her mind justified all of this. Deftly she stepped in front of Gohan and the oncoming PSC members.
"He isn't going anywhere." Moka coldly stated as she dared them to cross the line that she had just drawn. "AND NEITHER ARE ANY OF YOU! KNOW YOUR PLACE!"
With everything she had she landed a hard kick to one of them, sending all three flying down the hall and straight into the girls locker room for gym class. Without another word she took back the rosary from the surprised hands of Gohan and re-sealed herself. It had to be one of the weirder things that had happened to him thus far as he caught her, but then he had to worry about what would happen later. Because Moka resisted, they were now going to target her too. Gohan felt his hands clench into fists.
"I'm going to protect you Moka, no matter what." Gohan spoke out silently as she slowly started to wake up. A few minutes had passed as they entered the Newspaper Club room with an impatient Gin waiting for them all.
"YOU FRIGGIN' MORONS!" Gin snapped as soon as everyone was seated. "You're telling me that not ONLY did you start something with the academy cops but you BEAT one of them up too! THE FUCK?!"
"Actually..." Moka started but was finished off by Gohan.
"Actually...ehehe, well she kinda beat all three of them up that were going to arrest me..." Gohan replied as he rubbed the back of his head while Gin facefaulted and rubbed his own forehead.
"Didn't I warn you idiots that you all would be in an metric asston worth of trouble if you started anything with these people?! The academy police are a violent gang drawn from the center of world's Youkai population. Rotten and corrupt all the way to its core, Kuyou. What the FUCK were you all thinking?!"
"Well, I..." Moka started but was yet again interrupted further by Gin's ranting.
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IF MY PRECIOUS MOKA-SAN GETS HURT FIGHTING BECAUSE OF YOU IDIOTS!"
"Um, it was Moka that beat them up in the first place..." Kurumu stated as she narrowed her eyes at the werewolf.
"Actually, Moka, before I forget; why exactly did your other half intervene? They were coming after me, not you." Gohan asked as he wondered about that as well while Moka's face began turning a beet red.
"I, um, well...Gohan, you see, I..." Moka nervously began pressing her fingers together to help her formulate an answer of some sort that wouldn't result in her total embarrassment; but that ship was beginning to quickly sail. "I-I'm sure she just did it to help you Gohan. You are after all, my best friend!"
Gohan smiled back as he rubbed the back of his head while the rest of the room narrowed their eyes at her; not buying that answer for a second. Moka continued blushing as she looked into Gohan's eyes, returning his gaze while Kurumu was slowly sneaking behind her. The succubus pushed the vampire aside and jumped into Gohan's arms as she stroked his toned biceps.
"Gohan-kun! Are you, okay?" Kurumu asked with a concerned look, getting ever closer as Gohan panicked and backed away.
"Yes, Yes I'm alright, thanks for asking..." Gohan replied as she continued.
"Don't worry Gohan! I'll protect you, and nurse you all night long..." Kurumu seductively purred while Yukari summoned a brass wash bin; hitting her square on the noggin and knocking the succubus out. It was then that the room fell eerily silent as Kuyou and the rest of the PSC surrounded the clubroom and entered in.
"So...here you all are. Son Gohan, Moka Akashiya...You both are under arrest. Gohan under suspicion of being human and Moka for raising arms against us. You both are to come with us; any further resistance will result in this club getting shut down and its members...liquidated..." Kuyou smirked as they grabbed both of them; but with Gohan they hand-cuffed him using a pair of cuffs that was put under a powerful spell. It began draining away the demi-saiyan's energy as he felt himself weaken in front of everyone. "You are prepared to accept the appropriate judgment, are you not?"
"Gohan!" Moka, Kurumu, Mizore, Yukari yelled out before the two were taken away.
"There's no way...that's a lie! There's no way Gohan could be a human! He's way too strong to be one!" Kurumu yelled out. Mizore however, remained quiet as she seemed to contemplate what was said.
"By the way...where is that piece of alien trash, Froze? I have a score to settle with him..." Kuyou chuckled as Gin growled. He might not have been the best leader in the world, but he actually did care about his club's state of affairs.
"How should any of us know, he hasn't been seen since this morning!" Gin barked out defiantly; but truth be told none of them knew where he was. For this, Kuyou was quite worried since the ice-jinn could potentially foil his plans. Little did anyone else realize, Froze was warning Haiji about the impending events; until of course the PSC came and ambushed the two. The ice-jinn stood ready to fight but was also placed with the same cuffs that they placed on Gohan; weakening his ki dramatically. Haiji on the other hand barely managed to get away. He knew that he couldn't take them all on and so resolved himself to rallying his club members to help Gohan and Froze. Meanwhile Piccolo stood high up in the air over the school; his fists clenched as he kept check on both Froze and Gohan. He struggled to stick to the plan as his need to protect Gohan grew even larger.
"Mikogami...you bastard...this wasn't a part of the plan!" Piccolo growled in frustration as he closed his eyes.
It didn't take too long afterwards for Kuyou to drag out both Moka and Gohan into the school's courtyard; gathering the entire student body to watch as some in the crowd chanted for Gohan's death; while others questioned the need for such barbarity.
"My best friend was a human...is this really even necessary?! Have we learned nothing as earthlings from the battles with Cell and the saiyans?!" One of the students called out.
"We are here today because these two, Son Gohan, who has been found guilty of the high crime of being human and trespassing on our sacred soil. And Moka Akashiya, the vampire, who has betrayed all Youkai by assisting this human infiltrating our world. I sentence you both, in the name of justice, to death!" Kuyou continued as Gohan struggled to keep his eyes open and his ki at a certain level. The PSC leader turned to him as he brushed his yellow locks out of the way of his hair. "So, what are you? Are you a human spy? Or are you one of the long-lost fighters from the Earth Special Forces to derail our plans? Did that weakling Goku order you here?"
Gohan kept one of his eyes open, just barely as he tried to conserve strength; struggling against letting go completely. He looked him dead in the eyes and in pained words he spoke.
"You couldn't...even...hold my father's jock-strap..."
Kuyou chuckled as he turned away.
"You certainly are a cheeky one, aren't you. So be it, go die now, will you?" Kuyou laughed as the rest of the PSC lined up behind him while Kuyou charged up a fireball in his hands, smirking. Gohan tried to rally his strength but he still could not as he looked over towards Moka who was in the midst of sobbing. Tears ran down the side of her porcelain-like cheeks. It pained Gohan to see her like this but he didn't have time to dwell on it. With the last ounce of strength he believed he had left; he transferred it over to her via energy. Quickly she got herself free but went over towards Gohan who was fading fast as he managed one last smile.
"H-Hey, Moka. It's alright, don't cry. This isn't your fault..." Gohan tried to reassure her but she shook her head.
"No, this really is all my fault Gohan! I'm so sorry this has all happened, and now because of me; they will kill you for it..." Moka muttered as she sobbed again but was stopped by Gohan as he struggled against his restraints to at least get one hand free from the cuffs. He finally was about to get both free but it was too late. Too much energy had been drained from him so he would have to say whatever it was quick before he was gone. He caressed her tear-stained cheeks as he smiled weakly.
"Hey, listen...Run off and forget about...me. Just promise me you'll live out a good life...My only regret is that...I was never able to be a real hero like my father...Please...tell my family, I'm sorry..." Gohan weakly uttered out as the color from his face slowly faded. Moka screamed out in anguish as she grabbed his hand into hers and between her tears. Lowering Gohan from the tree and onto her lap as she sobbed.
"Gohan...you can't go...you promised me you wouldn't leave me alone...you promised to be my friend...You...I never met your father before, but you are every bit the hero he is! You protected me from so many dangers, and you even let me have your blood...Isn't that what a hero does? Protect others?! Don't you remember the first time we met? I do, it was the first time I ever had a real friend so easily. Your innocent nature, you're always so easy-going and caring towards everyone; even those that had tried to harm you in the past! I can't let you go like this...Which is why..." Moka tearfully clasped Gohan's lifeless fingers around her rosario and yanked it off; unsealing herself once more. Her hair slowly started to change from its hot pink to Inner Moka's silvery white. He tearful green eyes turning to red as Outer Moka's sweet voice deepened to Inner's sultry voice. "Which is why I must...protect you, my precious Gohan. I'll protect you no matter what...Rest, I will take care of everything now..."
Inner Moka couldn't understand her own feelings towards him. She wanted to feel angry towards him for the defeat but she could not help but feel the rage towards Kuyou and the PSC. Her heart had felt a longing that hadn't been felt since the days when her mother was still around. She looked back at him and felt a certain pull towards him that she couldn't describe adequately as she wiped off her tears looking back at her opponents and Kuyou's fireball attack hurling towards them as she protectively held her stance between Gohan and Kuyou. Moka was sent flying backwards as he started move towards her; kicking Gohan hard into the side of a wall as he smirked. Moka felt the rest of Gohan's life slip from him as she growled in anguish.
"Why do you even care? He's just human filth! Filth like that deserve death!" Kuyou growled as the blood red full moon bared down them all as Moka stared back with cold fury in her eyes.
"You have no right to utter his name in such ways!" Moka growled as she angrily landed a kick straight into Kuyou's head, knocking him back in turn. "Unlike you, he was a worthy opponent...You have no honor, you disgust me."
"How dare you!" Kuyou quickly got back on his feet and hurled another fireball towards Moka as she braced herself. She just didn't have enough time to dodge but shockingly the fox demon missed completely, thanks to a certain succubus. Kurumu already had her claws at the ready as she stepped in to intervene in the scene below. Smirking she looked over towards Inner Moka.
"Kurumu!"
"I knew you'd be in trouble without me." Kurumu dodged another incoming fireball. "Is Gohan alright?! Is he..."
"He's barely hanging on by a thread. I might...have to give him an injection of my blood if he is to live!" Moka cringed at that last thought; the process could actually kill Gohan instead of saving him but it was their only shot.
"But won't that turn Gohan into a ghoul?! No thanks!" Kurumu retorted while Moka growled in return.
"Do you want him to die?! That's his only shot at living!" Moka fired back only to dodge yet another fireball. Quickly Mizore and Yukari intervened as well, hurling ice projectiles and golden wash bins at Kuyou; but only serving to angering him further. Immediately he sent out a fiery attack, hitting Kurumu, Yukari, Mizore, and Moka hard. He had dealt quite a bit of damage and the worst was yet to come as he began to transform into his true self; the legendary nine-tail fox demon.
"Now...NOW YOU ALL DIE! YOU PATHETIC WORMS STAND NO CHANCE! NO CHANCE!" Kuyou growled as he fired off his patented Vortex of Fire attack once more to finish everyone off but Gin was there to intervene; already in his werewolf form as he absorbed the blow but was brought to his knees.
"I'm...tired of giving in to you guys! Every year, we keep losing club members...because you guys keep killing them all for resisting the PSC...well no more! I'm not playing ball anymore!" Gin defiantly resisted.
"ARE YOU ALL SO EAGER TO DIE?! THEN SO BE IT! DIE!" Kuyou yelled out, preparing yet another Vortex of Doom until Moka weakly got back up; already ready to fight once again until another familiar face stood behind Kuyou; the crow-tengu martial-arts club captain, Haiji Miyamoto. With no hesitation he landed a heavy blow to Kuyou's head with his own patented Gail Wind Punch; drawing blood from his nose.
"I've seen what you've done to Gohan and Froze. You weakened them because you knew they'd defeat you outright! You are a coward Kuyou, this ends today!" Haiji readied himself as he placed his hands in a diamond formation targeting Kuyou; lightning beginning to form around his hands as he concentrated nearly all of his life-force into the attack.
"The karate-club captain too? Are you serious?!" Kuyou growled. "FINE! YOU DIE TOO!"
"...TRI BEAM...HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Haiji yelled out as he let everything out that he had into it, a large golden beam hit the demon square in the chest. Kuyou braced for impact as he struggled against it. For a while, Haiji thought he had done it but much to his chagrin, Kuyou still lived. Haiji felt himself pass out as he fell to the ground having placed too much life force into the Tri-Beam. Moka charged forward, landing a flurry of kicks and punches at the fox demon, but it seemed that he was just too strong for any of them. Gohan had always been there to bail them out of those tough situations they had but now that the roles were reversed; Moka seemed helpless to protect him. She sat on her knees, tears falling to the ground as she looked towards Gohan. She looked back towards Kuyou who had flung out another Vortex of Fire her way as she braced once more; flying back into a hard concrete wall. She had taken a lot of damage. Immediately yelling with fury she went right back on the attack; placing every bit of her ki into her attacks, landing one hard roundhouse kick to the demon's neck, taking it aback somewhat.
'I'm...I'm such a failure dad...Why can't I be brave and strong like you...I could never be like you...You left this earth 4 years ago to leave it under my protection...You trusted me to do that, and look what happened, history repeats itself again. I'm dying and so will the rest of my friends. Why can't I do anything right?! WHY?!' Gohan yelled out in his thoughts.
Though Gohan was currently laying on the ground, lifeless; he could still see and sense everything around him. He looked on in anguish as he saw all of his friends being punished trying to protect him. His heart cried out as he remembered all the times his friends had helped him out before. Thoughts of Piccolo, Krillin, and his dad came to mind in similar situations such as that.
"You are a fool...now die with the rest of your pathetic rabble..." Kuyou grabbed onto her leg and smashed her against the wall once more as she landed near Gohan's body. She herself was bloodied quite badly as she crawled to him. This was her only chance now, she had to re-awaken him and if luck was on her side he would be on his feet and hopefully have enough strength to destroy Kuyou once and for all. She clawed with everything she had as she approached, bringing Gohan in closer into her arms and softly whispered into his ear.
"Gohan...Forgive me..." Moka uttered as she bared her fangs towards the demi-saiyan's neck; ready to pierce through and inject him with her own blood. It was then that she felt it, At first she thought she was hallucinating but she felt the sensation again; Gohan's heart was actually still beating and it seemed to get more faster and grow in intensity. "It...can't be..."
'I guess...I guess it's fitting that the last thing I see before dying is the full moon...It's kinda funny how it works out now. I was taught to never look at it, and here it is, giving me peace before death...and the earth...who will protect it now...I can't bare the thought of something bad happening to my friends, my family...I'm...so sorry, dad...' Gohan thought to himself as it felt it all slipping away.
Gohan's tail had wiggled its way free as it moved all about in the air. It shocked Moka greatly as she had no idea he ever had one; he never mentioned it! Weakly Moka gazed upon his face and slowly she saw his eyes open up wide as his chest began to beat wildly. She could hear every heart beat as Gohan's eyes remained fixated upon the sky; specifically the blood red full moon. His pupils began to dilate as his chest began to pump faster and faster. His breathing became more labored as he felt his muscles expand further; his school uniform beginning to tear at the seams.
"Gohan!" Moka called out but the transformation was already rapidly kicking in.
"WHAT?! WHAT'S THIS?! HE CAN'T BE! HE CAN'T STILL BE ALIVE!" Kuyou growled as Gohan continued gazing at the moon. His fuzzy brown tail grew bigger and his hair more wild as his eyes widened into big red, enraged orbs as his scream turned into an vengeful beastly roar. Pretty soon Gohan was rapidly growing bigger and bigger in size and more like the Great Saiyan Oozaru. Gohan's canines were much more pronounced along his jaw line as he growled out once again; hair covering every part of his body as a golden aura began to overtake him and lightning began to surround him. He was back on his feet and in no time at all the transformation took shape to its entirety. Each scream much more blood-curdling than the last. "...What...WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
The news was about to get worse for Kuyou as Piccolo and Froze finally arrived at the scene. Piccolo shook to his core as he realized what happened; Gohan had not only transformed into the Oozaru but something else had happened as well: he had transformed into his Ascended Super Saiyan state shortly before from Gohan being enraged. There stood before everyone, the legendary Golden Great Ape only heard from in ancient Saiyan lore. The power output from Gohan was completely off the charts and for that moment in time; every single Youkai realized there were far scarier monsters than they that existed. The universe was indeed, a dark, frightening place. The worst part of all: Gohan was feral in this state; he had never had training to control the Oozaru form.
Ghost Nappa was not too far off from the battle as he marveled at the wonder that was Gohan's Golden Oozaru form. He had the instinctive need to bow in its presence as if Gohan were a God.
"All hail the Great Golden Monkey God!" Nappa yelled out while his lover Ririko gave him a confused, puzzled look as she often does.
"Nappa, dear; WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She asked while Nappa looked back up.
"Didn't you know?! GOHAN IS A GOD NOW! I HAVE TO WORSHIP HIM! Oh wait! What the hell am I doing?! Get a load of this! I gotta take pictures and show these to 'Geta! He'll get a kick out of it!" Nappa exclaimed as he quickly began snapping photos of the Golden Oozaru on his phone.
His bellowing growl shook Youkai Academy as he destroyed everything in his path. The building that used to be the gym was soon reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes after Gohan smashed it to piece; stepping on other buildings as the entire student body decided to flee; save the ones involved in the fight. His first target was the nearby Ishigami who was running away from the PSC headquarters. Gohan used his breath beam; shooting out a wave of bluish energy; reducing the building the rubble and caught the former art teacher in the attack. An anguished scream could be heard as her and her remains were vaporized into nothingness; shocking all around them. Just like that, she was dead and the enraged Golden Oozaru continued his relentless onslaught,
Youkai Academy seemingly had tried to unleash this part of Gohan; and everyone was getting just that. It was their divine punishment for tempting fate as Piccolo and Froze attempted to go for his tail; smacking both into a few trees in the nearby cemetery. Gohan spotted Moka and an angered Kuyou; who also appeared to be shaking with fear. He growled angrily at them both. Kuyou cowered but Inner Moka, despite being weakened by her injuries she looked Gohan straight in the eye. Despite being in fear of him, she couldn't help but be amazed by his sheer strength and power. Gohan in his Golden Oozaru form was actually quite impressive to her. His growling slowly subsided as he slowly gazed down to her level as he looked into her red eyes while she looked into his. She slowly extended her hand out to his larger ape paw and very gently Gohan brushed his finger against her body letting out a small pained growl. If only just a small bit; there was still something left of his humanity deep down. He didn't become self-aware quite yet but it was a start. However, the heartfelt reunion was cut short as Kuyou fired off a Vortex of Fire, knocking her unconscious.
"YOU WILL ALL DIE BY MY HANDS!" Kuyou yelled out.
Gohan knew who the true enemy was now as he turned his attention to Kuyou with death in his eyes. Growling he smashed Kuyou hard into the ground; severely injuring the fox demon; cracking several of his ribs as he screamed out in pain. Gohan was resolute as he grabbed hold of him, content to squeeze the life out of the fox demon. Legend faced down legend and one was about to die; the other to continue living to tell its story. More bones began to crack within Kuyou's body as he began to cough up blood. Just as Gohan was about to finish him off; the fox demon thought quick and raked at the eyes of the Oozaru and escape from his grasp; just barely. Once more he fired his Vortex of Fire at him but ended up catching at Gohan's tail; burning it just slightly at the tip which in turn earned Kuyou a swift tail whip into the side of a nearby building. It was then that Gohan was hit by one of Froze's Kienzan discs as it sliced his golden tail right off as it fell; wiggling all about.
"Got it!" Froze celebrated briefly but was reminded by Piccolo that the mission was not yet over.
"Froze! We don't have time for that! Go help Gohan...I have some unfinished business to take care of..." Piccolo uttered out as he pulled off his weighted turban and the rest of his training clothes; leaving only his purple-blue dogi as he saw the oncoming PSC members charging right at them as the Namekian smirked while Froze flew off. "Go...I got this..."
Kuyou's minions however, had different plans as Keito and Deshiko lead the rest of the student police commission to intervene on Kuyou's behalf but standing in their way was a lone figure. The green Namekian warrior, Piccolo. He stood in the air with his eyes closed and his arms crossed; the look of impatience written all over his face as he sensed the mob coming.
"Get out of the way you green freak!" Keito yelled out while Piccolo growled back in response.
"This is your first, last, and only warning you'll get. Leave this place now, if you try to get past me, I will be obliged to use deadly force." Piccolo ominously warned as his antennae seemingly flowed with the gentle breeze in the air.
"HOW DARE YOU DEFY THE STUDENT POLICE COMMISSION!" Keito yelled as she changed into her spider-monster form while the others transformed into their youkai forms. All of them growled as one of them foolishly charged past Piccolo. It was a slender male member of the commission. Without flinching in the least, Piccolo merely stretched his arm and grabbed onto him hard as he threw him right back straight into the concrete in front of him; watching his glasses shatter into pieces while some of the others flinched.
"Any of you try a stunt like that again…and I'm giving all of you an all-expenses paid trip to the next dimension…" Piccolo coldly stated while Keito spat and growled.
"ATTACK HIM! THERE'S NO WAY HE CAN TAKE US ALL ON!" Keito yelled out as she attempted to spray her spider silk at him only to see Piccolo disappear and reappear in front of her; his reflection appearing in many of her yellow eyes. He grinned as he relished the opportunity for real combat again. He had not killed anyone in quite some time and he was not one to waste an opportunity.
"I'm going to enjoy this far more than I should…" Piccolo grinned as he kicked Keito hard into the wall of a nearby building while he charged back and kicked another officer; his foot impaling straight through as bloody red mist sprayed into the air. The namek formed his hand into a flat chop stance as he began to impale some of the other officers as his arm weaved and stretched; impaling some of them like a youkai shish-kabob. All that he had come into contact with had immediately came to their untimely deaths. Piccolo also spotted some of the others that had gone a bit further as they ran. Seeing this he raised his cupped hands in the air as he readied an energy beam attack. "MASENKO HA!"
He watched as all of them went up in an heavy explosion while he turned his attention back to Keito but was then interrupted by Deshiko with her bo staff. She attempted to strike Piccolo upside the head only for him to grab onto the weapon and throw her off with her own staff and broke it as he shoved it down another oncoming student police officer's throat and watched as the monster suffocated to death. Keito shook as she growled with rage.
"Our comrades…HOW DARE YOU! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" Keito yelled as she lunged at Piccolo but was stopped as she felt one of her legs get severed and screamed out in pain as she began to bleed out a purplish-red blood from her wound. Piccolo sadistically went to work and began severing her other limbs. CRUNCH! CRUNCH! The disturbing yet satisfying sound continued to ring out as leg after spider leg was ripped right off. "YOU! YOU…MONSTER!"
"Alien…" Piccolo corrected, grinning as she attempted to crawl away but she wasn't going to get very far as the Namek placed two of his fingers near his forehead and focused his ki into his most powerful attack. Sparks began to fly all over the place and soon fired a purplish-yellow corkscrew energy beam. "OH TO HELL WITH IT! SPECIAL BEAM…CANNON!"
The attack soon hit and began to pierce through Keito as she screamed until her limp lifeless body hit the concrete hard. She had perished like her fellow officers while Deshiko panicked. She was the only one remaining while Piccolo approached her closer and closer. He placed his hand out as if to finish her off but then patted her head lightly as she looked up in shock and horror. Without saying a word he turned around but then stopped again as he spotted Ghost Nappa walking through the hallway. It was then that a sadistic smirk went across the Namek's face as he relished the opportunity to gain revenge on the bald saiyan that killed him before as he grabbed onto Deshiko.
"Please! Please Mr. Alien sir don't hurt me! I won't do anything else I swear! PLEASE!" Deshiko pleaded but Piccolo was going to hear none of it as he kicked her hard up into the air and telekinetically sent her flying through the glass window and into Ghost Nappa as she went right through the warrior-turned-instructor while Nappa narrowed his sights at Piccolo.
"Dick move man, dick move…" Nappa growled as he continued snapping what photos he could of Gohan. Of course, Gohan himself was slowly de-transforming back into his normal form. His clothes had been ripped off, save his stretch-fit saiyan under-armor pants. A wave of relief washed over Kuyou in a big way; assuming that cooler heads would prevail and that Gohan would let him live. However, that assumption could not have been more wrong as Gohan still stood; his golden aura still surrounding the area as super saiyan locked eyes with the injured nine tailed fox demon. His turquoise eyes still reflected the true depths of Gohan's fury; his hair glowing a wild gold. It was just something to behold, something otherworldly. Slowly Moka got back up as she gazed upon the golden fighter; her usual barrier of her cold attitude was down; if only for a moment. The silver haired vampiress couldn't help but gaze with longing eyes upon the built saiyan warrior. His muscle tone, his entire body was as if the gods specifically chiseled his body as if to lead up to true perfection.
"You...you're just a monkey! Just a monkey! You can never defeat me! You, Son Gohan are inferior to me! I will not go like this; not to trash like you!" Kuyou made his foolish last stand as Gohan's glowing form descended upon him closer and closer.
"Time has run out for you, fox...You have spent years bringing suffering to the innocent students of this school. Your reign of terror is now at an end. Now look upon your physical better, and know that this day; it was a saiyan monkey that was your end. That will be your shame for all time...Now, go die..." Gohan coldly stated as he placed on hand in front of him; a small blue orb began to form as it glowed while Kuyou panicked. "KAAAAA...MAAYYYY..."
"DON'T YOU COME ANY CLOSER!" Kuyou pleaded as he shook with fear as Gohan continued the familiar incantation. Desperately he fired off a Vortex of Fire to counter.
"HA...MAYYYYYY...HAAAAAAAAAA!" Gohan's eyes showed no sign of wavering as the kamehameha wave was unleashed, straight towards Kuyou; the kamehameha ripped right through the Vortex of Fire and soon hit the demon himself; feeling every single part of his body being incinerated and vaporized from the inside out as he screamed. Then, just like that; Kuyou was no more.
Froze had arrived a bit late to the scene as his mouth was still agape from Kuyou's explosive demise. He had never seen Gohan in his super saiyan state before; let alone any super saiyan at all. The ice-jinn carefully approached but soon cowered away as Gohan exploded with rage; howling into the heavens, screaming as the sky swirled above from the sheer power output. Soon, the golden aura disappeared as his hair and eyes returned to normal as he let out one more breath as he began to fall to the ground; only to be caught by Inner Moka before he could. She checked for a pulse and saw that he was still indeed breathing as she sighed quietly while Froze sat back in relief. Moka looked down, smiling just slightly as she lightly flicked Gohan's forehead as he slowly stirred.
"Gohan!" The ice-jinn yelled out as he stopped in front of Moka, kneeling down. "Is he, alright?"
"Oh man...what happened? My body feels like it got hit by several trucks..." Gohan muttered out as he attempted to get up but could not while his gaze was met by Inner Moka's.
"You're alive, Monkey Boy. That's good; I'd hate to go back into the dead and drag your sorry body back to life for that rematch..." Inner Moka smirked as she closed her eyes, trying to choke back that tear. "Silly saiyan..."
"And Kuyou? The others? Is everyone alright?" Gohan weakly asked as he lightly placed his hand on Moka's cheek, her tears now flowing more freely.
"The others are alright. But you killed Ishigami...and Kuyou." Moka stated as Gohan looked down dejectedly.
"I didn't want to kill anyone, Moka..." Gohan sighed. Even if Kuyou had deserved what was coming, he still didn't want to kill anyone needlessly but Moka placed a finger upon his mouth.
"No. Don't. He needed to die. The whole PSC was corrupt and needed a wholesale change. You did exactly that. You were nothing short of amazing so don't go beating yourself up; that's my job." Moka stated matter-of-factly. Once again, Gohan slowly felt his eyes close. He was simply just much too exhausted to stay up any longer as Moka scooped Gohan up into her arms bridal style. She looked around, daring any of the others to object as Piccolo touched down nearby.
"Moka. Take him to the infirmary. He deserves the long rest." Piccolo stated as he turned the other way. Moka stared back as she smirked, taking Gohan with her in the other direction. Piccolo went off in the other direction, angrily marching towards the Headmaster's office, barging right in; breaking the door in two.
"YOU! NONE OF THAT WAS A PART OF THE PLAN!" Piccolo's voice boomed, echoing throughout the office and the hallway outside. A faint chuckle was heard from Mikogami and then spoke up.
"I do say, Mr. Piccolo; you look rather upset...What is eating at you?" The headmaster asked his now official security chief of the school.
"Upset? Oh no, no, no...I'm not upset..." Piccolo began to laugh which caught the headmaster off-guard but quickly turned back into a stern scowl. "I'M ABSOLUTELY LIVID! YOU'VE BROKEN EVERY PART OF YOUR PROMISE! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED GOHAN! I SHOULD KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!"
"Oh? Have I, Mr. Piccolo?" The headmaster replied as Piccolo scowled, the Namekian warrior's fists cracking the top of his desk.
"Five seconds. Start talking. NOW!" Piccolo demanded.
"If you'll calm down for a minute, you'll see that I haven't broken our deal. Kuyou and the corrupt Public Safety Committee is gone and Gohan is still alive. Yes, some things didn't work out in our little plan; but that's to be expected in war." Mikogami stated matter-of-factly which took Piccolo by surprise with the mention of the word 'war'. "Yes, a war, Piccolo. You and Gohan are now in the middle of it, whether or not you both like it. And for better or worse, the result of this war will directly be tied with the fate of your world. There are forces in play here, big players propping one organization against the other. You want to protect the earth, do you not? This is the only way, Mr. Piccolo. With time, you'll see that too."
"I don't care, Mikogami! I don't care what you have up your sleeve!" Piccolo growled threateningly once more. He was absolutely determined to keep Gohan out of unnecessary trouble if at all possible; a determination that would have made even Chi-Chi proud. "Now you listen carefully...Gohan is the absolute LAST LINE OF DEFENSE for the people of earth. He goes, and so does the earth; and so too will this world perish with us! NEVER, EVER FORCE GOHAN TO DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN OR SO HELP ME KAMI I WILL MAKE YOU BEG TO BE SENT TO HELL!"
With that, Piccolo dropped him back into his chair and walked away; completely disgusted by the whole ordeal. Several days had passed as Gohan lay asleep in his room; recovering from his injuries. Once more he awoke but this time to the smell of delicious food. Almost immediately his stomach made a rather loud gurgling noise that frightened Outer Moka.
"Eeep!" Moka yelped as she looked back towards Gohan who was awake, smiling while rubbing the back of his head. "Ah! You're awake Gohan!"
"Hey! I hope I didn't scare you, I'm just really hungry is all!" Gohan exclaimed while Moka bowed and brought out his food. "Oh wow! This looks great! Thanks Moka!"
Immediately the demi-saiyan dug in; destroying the platter of white rice, a simple egg omelet, a fish with a few other assortment of side dishes. Moka smiled at this but then began to become nervous; wondering if she had prepared enough food to quell his voracious appetite.
"I...I don't think I could ever get used to that appetite of yours, Gohan." Moka nervously laughed but then smiled sweetly at him. "But I'm glad you're still here with me, Gohan. There for a while, I thought you weren't going to make it out, and neither would I."
"Hey, it's all in the past now Moka. We're alright. But to tell you the truth Moka..." Gohan looked up at the four-star dragonball. "I was almost certain I was going to see my dad again and meet my great-grandfather for the first time. When Kuyou's henchmen arrested me they out this...special cuff on me and the next thing I knew I was being drained of my energy. And then, I remember seeing the moon, and...nothing. I remember nothing else."
"Maybe it will be better if you don't remember, you know?" Moka smiled but then she was beginning to have another realization. She distinctly remember seeing, even feeling the true extent of Gohan's mighty, powerful super saiyan state. She could never forget that feeling, that sight. Gohan looked like a golden angel that day; such an image forever burnt into her mind. "You were something, that day. People described you as a golden angel, and that image of you while you were fighting Kuyou was forever etched into the memories of all at this school. People look up to you here, Gohan. They're even mimicking your hairstyle! But...something about that image, it feels so familiar, and yet so fresh in my memories. I don't quite understand. I have seen that image, the techniques, the moves from somewhere..."
"What...what do you mean, Moka?" Gohan nervously asked as he softly rubbed the back of his head as he smiled; letting Moka know she was on the right track.
"I've seen you before, Gohan. On TV, you were there. I saw you there four years ago at the Cell Games. You...were that little boy that fought Cell all alone, weren't you..." Moka looked into Gohan's widened and shocked eyes. "It was you..."
"But it wasn't me! It was Hercule Satan that defeated Cell!" Gohan insisted; trying to keep the illusion of normality and for the sake of his family's privacy. Moka shook her head and placed her hand on his.
"Gohan...Please. After what happened the other day with Kuyou; I'm convinced that Mr. Satan is a grade A liar. He didn't defeat Cell; he didn't even last five minutes in the ring. Don't be one too, Gohan."
"But Moka!-" Gohan was cut off once again as Moka shook her head.
"I know it was you Gohan, everyone knows it and if anyone hadn't suspected it already; they know too. You're the Hero of the Cell Games." Moka correctly concluded. "I remember a long time ago, I watched the Cell Games on TV with my friend when I went to middle school in the human world. I remembered feeling scared because it felt like we were all powerless to stop Cell. He seemed hellbent on killing us all. I asked my father why he wasn't going to fight Cell and he only told me all humans deserved to die. But it seemed to me like he was going to kill everyone, human or youkai alike."
"Moka..." Gohan sighed as she continued on.
"And then...then you guys came along. When it seemed like all hope was gone, you all came along. The rag-tag group of fighters. When the first fighter, who was your father I think, threw in the towel for his match against Cell and passed it off to you; all of us were utterly horrified. A little boy of all people was expected to bear the burden of being the Earth's champion." Moka continued on. Gohan remembered the day like it was still yesterday. It had been some time since all of them had been together, united like that. He also remembered just how scared he felt the first time he had to fight Cell. He had expected his dad to be the one to defeat Cell, not himself. "It looked like you weren't going to last for long. My friend, she actually started to cry; she kept saying you were going to die if something didn't happen soon. But it did, didn't it? Something happened when the screen cut off; you were powering up, showing the immense extent of your true strength. Even if it could not be seen, I could feel it; your power. I could feel you beating Cell; I didn't know how or why but I could feel it. I knew everything would be okay, because you were there to save the day...but why hide it?"
"I...it's true." Gohan closed his eyes as he looked downwards. "I always hid behind the Hercule Satan lie, my whole family did. We...never wanted any of the publicity, especially after dad being gone and deciding to stay dead. We couldn't have handled it; my mom sure as hell couldn't. Things were stressful after, even if you think they wouldn't be. Consider this, my mother was months pregnant with Goten, her husband, my father is dead yet again. If she had to deal with press everyday I'm not sure she would have managed as well as she had. Now, we're kind of struggling to get by at the end of the month...This isn't something I really talk about all that much, sorry."
"It's alright, Gohan. It all makes sense to me now. Your past had always been this enigma, and now it doesn't seem all that mysterious. If it will make you feel any better, I promise I won't tell anyone else." Moka held onto his hand while Gohan softly smiled back.
"Thank you, Moka." Gohan held Moka close to him, taking her by surprise. However she didn't resist and actually curled up even closer to him. "But...how did you figure it out? I really tried for years to make that story stick, and for the most part people bought it."
"For one, the fact that you were a giant ape was the first big tip off. I also suspect the Cell Games wasn't the first time you've been exposed on TV. The two powerful alien fighters that came to Earth all those years ago. The ones you call Vegeta and Nappa. I saw one of you transform into an ape on a family servant's crystal ball and crushed Vegeta pretty hard. Another thing, your facial features haven't changed much over the years. Same hair, same golden aura, same exact eyes." Moka replied back, smirking; but then softening back into a smile. "I guess you can say I've admired you from afar for a long time...I hope this isn't coming off as creepy to you..."
"Haha, nah. Creepy would be Mizore hiding under my bed. As far as I know, you haven't done that to me." Gohan laughed nervously while Moka did the same.
"Listen, Gohan, I...I don't know how to say this, but-" Moka nervously tried to get the rest of her words out. Her heart was beating out of her chest as she began twiddling her thumbs.
"What is it, Moka?" Gohan asked as he smiled; only for them to be interrupted. Moka immediately face faulted and fell over in disbelief as there was a knock at the door.
"Oh GOHANNNN!" A sing-songy voice called out from the other end as a certain blue-haired succubus barged in and jumped on top of Gohan; smothering him with her large breasts.
"Kurumu! Stop that!" Moka yelled out as she pulled her off him.
"What's the big idea trying to interrupt me and Gohan's special love moment?!" Kurumu yelled, drawing her claws but before it could go any farther, someone else had already barged into Gohan's room.
"You! Son Gohan! I challenge you to a fight to see who the strongest of the school is! I absolutely refuse to believe that you defeated Kuyou!" Chopper Rikishi the troll beamed out. Immediately he charged forward, much to Kurumu and Moka's shock. Gohan however, didn't move an inch as he still looked rather surprised. Before he could land his blow; Gohan merely flicked him right in the stomach. This sent him flying back several feet through the floor bathroom and out the other end of the building.
"...Right." Gohan shook his head and laughed with the others. Moka then began to tug at his shirt gently.
"Gohan, about the last time we were going to hang out...So I'm going to claim that raincheck on that movie, tonight..." Moka grinned as Gohan chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head nervously and nodded.
For now, things were safe. Everyone was getting sent home since the school needed to undergo some major repairs. The battle with Kuyou and Gohan had destroyed quite a few buildings and would take some time to rebuild. The newspaper club had decided an extended trip to the human world for a special round of articles was in order and Gohan had decided to join the group. Froze declined, stating that he preferred to return to his mother and the snow village for the downtime. The bus then took off through the tunnel while Piccolo floated above in the air; meditating. But deep down, he knew, something else was on the horizon and he still had no idea if they would be able to face it down...
To be Continued...
Well, there it was, hope you all enjoyed it! Working on the next one as we speak! But just a word of warning to the wise; the next update will take a while. I still need to map out some of the plots and concepts along the way; and of course, there's work that I have to deal with. All apologies in advance, but hey, hang tight guys; it will come! And as always, please leave constructive feedback! Thanks guys!
- SSJ2FutureGohan