(A few days later)
It was the middle of the day on a Wednesday and the entirety of Gohan's class was out enjoying a nice day of physical activity. This wasn't a usual event either. For this particular second period the gym teacher had decided to let the class participate in a little bit of a game called battle ball, which was pretty much a jacked up version of rugby involving studded protective gear. The sole purpose of the game was for one of the two opposing teams to get the ball from their side of the field to their opponent's side. If they could get the ball between the markers on the other side of the oval and touch the ground with it, then that was basically a point. How they got the ball to the other side was entirely up to them, just no crotch shots, kicking, punching or kneeing was allowed.
While the gym teacher allowed the girls to play on one side of the field to get a taste of the sport, the boys got the other side and, for the guys that followed this sport religiously, it was turning out to be a real blast. For the majority of their hour out on the pitch, the two opposing groups on the male half of the green were running the ball up and down the line. With testosterone and adrenaline running high, it was no wonder the display looked so chaotic from a distance. The gym teacher actually had to blow the whistle on them a fair few times when the males decided to get a little too rowdy. But all in all the entire class was having fun…
… for the most part.
So far Sharpener's team was on a ridiculous hot streak. Not only did his group have a much better idea of strategy, but he had a really strong battle back on his end. This, unsurprisingly, took the form of the innocent yet physically dominating embodiment of toughness known across the campus as Son Gohan, who was decked out in the exact same gear as everybody else and marching on the jock's orders with every wave.
For the majority of their class time the young Saiyan had remained in the background, hoping to go throughout the entire game unnoticed. However, the moment his blonde haired classmate assigned him the role of chief ball runner, the opposing team started getting massacred.
And here was a reason why.
With both teams formed up across from one another and assumed in sprinter's stances, hands placed firmly on the ground, the contestants were primed and ready for battle. Ball held firmly under him, Sharpener took sized up the opposing squad and readied himself for the off.
Looking left and right, making sure that everyone was in position, the blonde sportsman grinned, "Three, two, one… GO!" He then rolled the ball under him, allowing Touya to catch it and chuck it over to his far left. The instant the ball was loose, the two opposing teams went at each other like mad bulls, their shoulders crashing into one another as the enemy group attempted to force their way through the defensive line.
The ball soon dropped from the sky and landed in the waiting arms of Son Gohan, who could be seen standing on the edge of his team's formation looking as anxious as ever. A few seconds later, the grappling line his team had set up to tackle the other team was broken, and three of the larger boys from the enemy squad charged at him with the intent of burying his ass into the ground. They ran at the hybrid at full speed and tackled him shoulder first, one after the other with concussive force.
The moment they crashed into the demi-Saiyan though, it was almost like watching a bunch of kids trying to push over a tree. With the three males stacked up against one another, all Gohan did was stand there like he wasn't even doing a thing and looking down at his opponents, all the while listening to the trio of jocks as they growled into his chest and their feet dug into the grass. After a few seconds of staring, he then looked up to where Sharpener was now standing, the boy having dispatched the person he was grappling with and had now cleared the way forward.
"What are you doing, Gohan?!" the blonde shouted, waving towards the other side of the oval frantically, "Don't just stand there! Run!"
"Oh? Okay," the spiky haired Saiyan chirped. Almost instantly, the three male students pushing against the dark haired teenager were blown back and sent tumbling through the air almost like a bull had charged into them. As soon as they were airborne, Gohan began a brisk, effortless jog towards the other side of the green.
Both girl teams on the other half of the oval literally stopped and dropped whatever it was they were doing to watch the spectacle unfolding on the boy's side. From a distance, the entire female entourage had the pleasure of watching their class's top student Gohan run through an entire army of guys without the slightest bit of effort whatsoever. It was almost like seeing the Juggernaut take down an entire row of soldiers one after the other as he jogged down the oval and towards the end line, ball under his arm and a smile on his face. The sight of his dominance on the field drew a series of cheers and whistles from all the girls egging the half-Saiyan on, whereas the rest of his team simply stood back and watched in awe and amusement.
Sharpener especially pretty much phoned it in as he stood by with his hands on his hips and watched as his friend practically bulldoze his way to the enemy markers, "Geez… this guy is freakin' unbelievable." When he saw Gohan set the ball down behind the line and turn to face them, the blonde shook his head in disbelief. "I wouldn't be surprised if I found out that he ate steel every morning and crapped out tanks in the afternoon." He then raised a fist and cheered, "Way to go, man!"
Hearing the cheers and praise begin to rain down from his side of the field, the spiky haired teen beamed brightly and waved back at them.
On the other half of the oval, the girls were ecstatic. Up and down their end the entire female body could be heard whistling and cheering the boy on, congratulating him for a job well done. When he turned to smile in their direction, an even louder chorus of squeals followed, with Videl throwing her hand up to wave at her boyfriend.
"Lookin' good, Gohan!" the raven haired girl shouted, causing the young Saiyan to blush and rub the back of his head in his characteristic Son manner. Her grin widening as a result, Videl then looked towards Erasa, whom she knew was standing nearby and was currently watching the young Saiyan with an expression filled with wonder and admiration. "Did you see that? He was like a freight train out there."
Erasa, startled out of her dreamy-eyed daze, looked back at her friend and smiled nervously, "Y-Yeah. Gohan… he… he's really amazing."
Finding her stutter a little bit out of place, the young crime fighter then gave her friend a concerned look, "Hey. You okay, Erasa?"
"Huh?"
"I asked if you're okay?"
"Oh. I… I'm fine Videl," the blonde hurriedly replied while glancing the other way, "R-Really."
"Are you sure? You… seem a little bit distracted…"
"I'm probably just thirsty, that's all," the stuttering girl answered while attempting to clear her throat. Massaging it to indicate her parched condition, Erasa looked across at her classmate with a pained smile. "I've been running around so much the entire day that I haven't had the time to stop and grab a drink."
Though this was an obvious lie on the blonde's behalf, Videl bought it without a second thought and nodded to her friend in understanding.
"You should go sit down and rest your head a bit. Maybe that will help."
This seemed to cheer Erasa up as she responded to her friend's suggestion with an enthusiastic smile, "Good idea. I think I'll do that." Without the slightest bit of hesitation, the blonde quickly turned heel and headed off, completely missing the wave she received from Gohan.
When the demi-Saiyan tried to get the attention of his other friend, his hand lowered in surprise when he saw Erasa rush off towards the bleachers. Though it appeared she was going to sit down and catch her breath, the boy then saw her disappear around the bend and head in the direction of the wash room. This had him stare after the blonde for several moments with a confused glimmer in his eyes, only to be snapped out of his trance when a firm arm wrapped around his neck.
Looking to his left, he saw Touya had snuck up on him and was now patting his chest in a hearty gesture of congratulations. "That was a wicked run, dude. You just steam-rolled through those chumps. They didn't stand a chance."
Feeling himself being pulled along, Gohan's concerns over his retreating classmate were quickly swept away as a nervous grin returned to his face. "I tried my best to hold back. Really, I did."
"Su~ure you did," the brown haired sportsman chuckled, before then quietly dragging the Saiyan back towards their line. "I could tell you were having fun out there. Now come on. The teacher wants to debrief us."
And that's exactly what happened next. After the chipper young warrior was pulled back over to the center of the oval, Gohan was able to receive a few words of praise from the gym teacher for his incredible performance before the man then sent the boys and girls off to wash up after their hard day of play. Needless to say, after the amount of roughhousing that'd taken place on the patch of green over the course of their second period, a lot of the boys were in desperate need of a shower. So, pushing and gunning their way towards the change rooms, the demi-Saiyan took a moment to have a playful chat with Videl before they had to split to their respective locker rooms.
Once in there, things quickly settled down as the guys striped down and headed for the cubicles. As soon as the faucets started running, this left Gohan, Sharpener and Touya as a couple of the only males left standing in the locker room, decked out in towels.
After setting his clothes down on his shelf and shutting the door, the blonde jock turned and chucked a glance towards the new guy's back. "Geezus, man. No wonder you rule at everything sports related. You're fucking ripped."
Looking over his shoulder in surprise, the demi-Saiyan then realized that Sharpener was talking to him and, after doing a quick check of his appearance, grinned nervously at his classmates. "Really? Well… I wouldn't exactly say 'rule' at everything… more like… fail spectacularly."
The long-haired teen snickered as he swiveled around, placing his hands on his hips and showing off his own chiseled body. Compared to the demi-Saiyan's muscles though, his refined state was only second best. "That all depends on which end of the board you're standing on. It's your opinion against everybody else's. No matter which way you slice it, there's no denying the fact that you're one tough son of a bitch." He then gestured to his classmate when the martial artist turned to face him completely. "Most of the guys in the school would kill to have a body like that. I can imagine a lot of the girls would be lining up for a piece of that action too. Point is… I just don't see why you insist on hiding most of your figure underneath that jacket of yours."
Gohan grinned and scratched his cheek, at the same time propping a hand on his hip in an effort to act casual. "It's hard enough getting through the day with everyone whispering about the kind of superhuman feats I can pull during gym class. Needless to say… having every single boy and girl across campus talking about my body is a hassle I can probably do without."
A shrug was Sharpener's immediate response, "Whatever you say, dude. But just so you know, comes swimming season… I doubt that kind of secrecy is going to matter anymore."
Quickly realizing what the blonde was implying, Gohan's eyes widened in shock and he slapped himself in the forehead. "Ah, damn it! I completely forgot about that!"
The boy's exclamation had both Touya and Sharpener laugh out loud.
Folding up his glasses and propping them inside his locker, the brown haired teen slung an extra cloth over his shoulder and turned to face the young Saiyan. "Look on the bright side. At least you won't have to deck yourself out in long sleeved crap anymore. If you want my opinion, just forget about what everyone says about your body and your skills, and just role with it. I'm sure that whatever gossip gets out about you will pass in about a month or so…"
That sounded almost exactly like what Videl said to him before… only without the sarcasm.
Sighing as he ran a hand down his face, the demi-Saiyan placed both hands on his hips and nodded in consent. "I guess you're right…"
"Hey! Son!"
The sudden shout had the trio's attention snap down the line of lockers, where they quickly spotted a pair of big teenagers stomping towards them. Both still dressed in their sporting gear from earlier, the two males, one a really big guy about half a head taller than Gohan with an incredibly cut body and a bishonen haircut of black locks, and a second guy about the same height as the Saiyan, with a brown army cut and a cleft in his chin, stopped in front of the group and confronted the startled hybrid. Together, the two upset and roughed-up looking males glared hatefully at the spiky haired warrior as he stared right back at them, a little bit confused by their show of aggression and unflinching in their presence.
Trying to make himself look as big as possible, the black haired guy stepped towards the young man in the towel. "That was some stunt you pulled out there on the oval with the ball. You really made the rest of us look like a bunch of pussies."
"Uhh…" Gohan murmured, unsure of what to say as the slightly taller kid got right up into his face.
Sharpener, sensing the problem almost instantly, frowned and stepped forward in the demi-Saiyan's defense, placing a hand on the big guy's shoulder at the same time. "Hey, Jin. Come on man…" He then had his hand violently thrown off by his fellow jock, who shot the blonde a warning glare.
"Back off, Sharpener," the tall kid hissed, before turning his ire back towards the demi-Saiyan. "The boys and I don't appreciate being made fun of in front of the rest of the class, especially in the sport that most of us play competitively." He then took a step closer so that he was practically overshadowing the confused young man. "I think it's high time I teach this new kid a lesson and show him his place in the pecking order…"
Alarm bells going off, Touya stepped forward, only to be blocked off by Jin's friend and teammate sticking his arm out. "Whoa, dude. Hang on a second… you really don't want to be doing that…" the sportsman spoke in a worried tone.
The teen with the army cut and firm jaw line smirked down at the towel-clad male. "Oh yeah? And why's that?"
"Well, for one, the guy you're trying to muscle is Videl Satan's boyfriend," Touya spoke up, earning a couple of scoffs from the two brutes.
"Like I'm supposed to be afraid of Videl's boy-toy," Jin snickered while still continuing to look down on the Saiyan.
Touya then nodded his head slowly. "And… since you probably don't know this, the guy standing in front of you also beat the same Videl Satan in the 25th Martial Arts Tournament's Junior Division." He then raised a finger and pointed it in the jock's direction. "That's a fact I would probably take serious note of before you start trying to get physical with him."
In typical fashion, the black haired jock snorted at the teen's warning and looked the towel-wearing Saiyan over. Despite the fact his body was composed entirely of rock hard muscles, the guy was obviously not impressed and simply waved whatever facts were told about the kid's capabilities out of the way. "What? This piss-pot?" All of a sudden, using a level of speed that seemed impossible for a lad of his strength and size, Jin then threw his hands up and slammed them into Gohan's chest, with the intent of shoving him into the lockers behind him.
However, the instant he made contact with the Saiyan, the battle ball captain unexpectedly ended up shoving himself back into a stumble, which had him look across at Gohan in momentary shock. It was almost like he'd just pushed off of a wall.
Sharpener, Touya and Jin's teammate looked across at the duo in bewilderment, with two of them wondering what was going to happen next while the latter appeared just as stunted as his companion.
Expression solidifying a little, Gohan raised a hand towards Jin when the boy straightened up and approached him a second time. "Hey, listen… I don't want any trouble, okay?"
The bigger boy frowned and moved past the boy's hand to glare down at him. "Too bad. You just got it." He then clenched his fists tightly. "You think that just because you're Videl Satan's boyfriend that you can go about doing whatever the hell you want? Well you're wrong! Out there on the oval, I'm the team captain. I'm the boss. That means I run the show and I make the rest of the boys look good."
"And I respect you a lot for that," Gohan continued to speak, his voice calm and level as he stared the fuming boy down without even a single twitch. "I apologize if I caused any problems for you and your teammates out there… and I'm sorry if I upset any of you. But if you're looking to settle any disagreements you may with me with violence, then I'm telling you right now that it's not worth it and that you should walk away while you still have the chance."
Jin sneered, "Or what?"
Gohan frowned, "Or… you're going to regret your actions in the next ten seconds."
The bigger jock smirked. "That's tough talk coming from Videl Satan's bitch. It makes me even wonder why she even picked a pinhead like you. Or is that cow actually your bitch?"
Sharpener and Touya frowned at the boy's slight towards their friend and were about to step in to defend her honor. But before they could even move an inch from their spots, their half-Saiyan friend beat them to it.
Before Jin could even flinch, Gohan suddenly hooked the collar of the jock's shirt with his index finger and lifted the boy into the air, holding him about a foot or so off the ground. The jock gasped and grabbed the teen's wrist in shock, clawing against the arm in an effort to free himself from his grasp. But try as he might, he could not shirk the steel column that was the crane now holding him up.
His friend Eita, reacting in alarm, rushed in to help and threw a punch at the Saiyan's head. But the boy ended up having his fist caught in midflight and twisted around, resulting in the boy being brought to his knees as his hand was rotated in the most uncomfortable direction imaginable. In a matter of seconds, Gohan had brought both jocks to heel and was literally holding both of them at his mercy.
The two boys standing on the sidelines could only look on in amazement as their spiky haired friend asserted himself as alpha right there in the locker room.
When Jin looked down, he saw through a pained expression the fury and outrage burning in Gohan's eyes. His charcoal irises set firmly upon the raven haired jock's, the demi-Saiyan blasted him with a suffocating wave of killing intent, enough to make the teen cease his struggling and have him gawking down at the hybrid in fear. From the way the warrior's eyes had narrowed and an eerie shadow had cast over them, he almost looked like he was going to rip the boy's head off.
But, through extreme discipline and patience, the teen Z-fighter reframed from doing so, and merely continued to hold the boy in the air with literally just his finger.
Taking a deep breath, Gohan began to speak. "I hate getting into senseless fights… mostly because I don't like the idea of hurting people by accident over something as trivial as pride or settling a score. That kind of stuff is meaningless," the Saiyan said, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. After which, he then intensified his glare, so much so that he literally felt his suspended victim begin to tremble under his ire. "However, if you even think about calling Videl or any of my friends such vile names again… or if I catch even the tiniest breath that you've done so around this school, mark my words… I will break you. Understand?" The boy made sure to speak every word with enough malice and venom to make the blood inside the two males run cold.
On the verge of pissing himself with fright, Jin bit his lip and nodded. As soon as he saw the boy nod, Gohan released him and Eita from his hold, allowing the two to stagger away to nurse their bruises. They only looked back once to see the demi-Saiyan glare after them, before frantically disappearing round the corner to their lockers.
Rotating back around, Gohan fixed his attention on Sharpener and Touya, both of whom were shocked to see his expression had returned to normal and had now been replaced by a warm smile.
"So… showers?" the demi-Saiyan asked brightly.
Nodding dumbly, the two sportsmen quietly led the way into the other chamber. It was while they were ambling down the line of lockers that the blonde man fell in step with the young warrior of their group and, trading a couple furtive glances with him, grinned in Gohan's direction.
"Hey, man…"
"Yeah?"
"Remind me never to piss you off," Sharpener exclaimed with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
The spiky haired young male smiled right back, "Sure thing, Sharpie."
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