Hero of the Despaired Future!
Chapter 13: Sunset's Change of Heart and Gohan's Swift Recovery... Time to Visit the Master!
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Chi Chi left with Gohan out the door.
Gohan carried his giant lunch, had his bag on his back, had bandages on his arms, some on his forehead, and many hidden under his shirt.
The Flying Nimbus was parked right there.
He jumped and sat down on it...
"Alright, Gohan... Please, be safe, and don't get into another fight..." Chi Chi said.
"I won't... I'm sure this was a one time thing." Gohan said.
"Good. Now have a wonderful day." Chi Chi said.
As Gohan flew away, Chi Chi waved.
'Oh... I hope they treat him well...' She thought.
Arriving at the school...
Not a lot of students yet.
Gohan jumped off the Nimbus, and patted it twice.
Then it flew off.
He noticed that some of the holes were filled, but the huge ones had caution tape all over them.
'Yeesh... I'm only now noticing how intense that was.' He thought.
'I really smashed her head into the ground there...'
"Oh... You're here early." A familiar voice said.
Gohan looked to his side to see Fluttershy.
"I didn't park far away, so..." He said.
"I see... Are you alright? You have a lot of bandages..." Fluttershy said.
"Well, I'm still trying to heal, but..." Gohan said.
He pulled down his blue shirt a tad to reveal even more bandages.
"I think my mother overreacted with the bandages." He added.
"Oh... Okay." Fluttershy said.
"Good thing is, I'll be stronger than ever once this is up." Gohan said.
Fluttershy nodded in agreement.
"Do you want to wait for homeroom in the cafeteria?" She asked.
"That's where our friends will be..." She said.
"Oh, really? You go on ahead, let me just put this away." Gohan said, holding up his wrapped lunch.
The cafeteria was not packed.
Not a lot of people...
Our main six were just hanging out at a table, with Sunset Shimmer, Rarity and Fluttershy standing, and Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack sitting.
"L-Listen, girls, I'm really confused..." Sunset said.
"How can we make it any simpler?" Pinkie asked.
"We're gonna be friends to teach ya how to be nice!" Rainbow Dash said.
"H-How will that work...?" Sunset asked.
"Exposure, darling. You'll just learn not to act like a bully by looking at our actions! Then, testing it out yourself." Rarity said.
"I suppose it's just acting like we do... Or, how we used to." Fluttershy said.
"Thanks..." Sunset said, really thankful for friends like these...
She smiled...
...
"It's the Super Saiyan of the hour!" Pinkie said happily.
Then everyone looked in her general direction, and behold, Gohan walking towards them.
"I'm surprised you remembered that." Gohan said, stopping.
"Did y'all go to a hospital, or...?" Applejack asked.
"Hospital? No, I wasn't that injured..." Gohan said.
"How...?" Sunset asked.
"I don't know, I guess your attacks didn't inflict mortal damage on me." Gohan said.
"You still did a number on me, heh." He added.
Now Sunset felt bad...
"I'm sorry..." She said.
"You already said that." Gohan said.
"Besides, you haven't done the worst. Or anything near the worst." He added.
"What do you mean by 'the worst?'" Rainbow Dash asked, using air quotes...
"Well..." Gohan said, reminiscing of the worst times...
A very young four year old Gohan being charged by a dinosaur...
Piccolo beating the tard outta him...
Nappa...
The Ginyu Force...
A Second Form Frieza stepping right on his skull...
The countless times he fought Androids... In failure...
"...It's too much." He said.
"Come on, it can't be that bad. Those spells were all the among highest levels of fire. They can incinerate any regular pony." Sunset said.
Then she realized how she was going to incinerate some people, and felt bad...
"He's not a regular person, Sunset." Rarity said.
"Now, let's change the subject..." Gohan said, trying to move this away from him.
Although the secret's out, he might as well preserve some of the personal stuff.
Like Goku and Piccolo.
"I'm pretty boring..." He added.
"Are you a comedian?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Do you want to talk about quantum physics, calculus, and the advanced theory of covalent bonding?" Gohan asked.
"I have to memorize the theory of relativity again, if any of you want to help." He added.
...
"...Point proven. I'm a nerd." He said, crossing his arms.
"That's even more interesting, a super hero nerd." Rainbow Dash said.
"Ugh..." Gohan sighed, realizing how that just backfired.
"I can see that you don't want to talk about much, so I'll oblige and change the subject. You're part of this group now." Rarity said.
"Group?" Gohan asked, uncrossing his arms.
"Of friends! Unless you have other friends." Pinkie said.
"I mean... I do have other friends, but they don't attend this school." Gohan said.
"Welcome to the club. We're all insanely different, and you'll assume that Pinkie's on meth, so get ready." Rainbow Dash said.
"I have noticed..." Gohan said.
'I think she just has constant sugar highs. Not actually getting high off of methamphetamine.' He thought.
"I think it's a cool club..." Sunset said, trying to be nice.
"Uh, duh!" Pinkie said.
"I believe that we each need to do our part to help Sunset become a better person, so..." Rarity said, reaching into her backback.
She pulled out papers.
"I created schedules for when each of us will give her a lesson on friendship or being a better person." She said.
...
"...I like the enthusiasm, but does that mean we gotta like, make and plan lessons?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yes, only for a little while." Rarity said.
"It depends on how long that 'little while' is. You can only teach so much." Gohan said.
"See, these schedules are based on our respective element of Friendship. Except for you, Fluttershy recommended you for this." Rarity said, pointing at Gohan.
"You helped plan it out?" Gohan asked Fluttershy.
Fluttershy nodded.
"Cool. Alright, can we see it?" Gohan asked.
"Of course." Rarity said, beginning to walk around and give them out.
Gohan quickly scanned the paper, and-
"Oh, it's during some of our free periods. One of us per day." He said.
"Precisely. We can't overload her, and we certainly can't overdo ourselves." Rarity said.
"I'm really surprised that you'd go through these lengths..." Sunset said.
"Well, if it all helps, then it's worth it." Gohan said.
"Alright, Rainbow Dash, you're up today." Rarity said.
"Okay. I guess I'll let my awesomeness rub off on Sunset Shimmer here." Rainbow Dash said.
Now, since Gohan revealed his true identity...
He didn't gain popularity...
People thought of him as the new Sunset Shimmer.
...In the sense that you don't fuck with him.
In the crowded hallway, he was unaccompanied.
And...
Everyone tried really hard to avoid him.
Like, a girl literally clung to the lockers and slid on it...
A whole crowd of students just opened a huge path for him...
And Gohan noticed this.
It's too strange...
He stopped and just looked around at all the students staring at him, and...
...
"What's going on? Why are you all acting so strange?" He asked.
...
"Uh... Are you all scared of me?" He asked.
"Uh, yeah." Flash Sentry said.
"Why...?" Gohan asked.
"Are you kidding us?" Flash asked.
'You have got to be kidding me...' Gohan thought.
"Don't tell me that you honestly think that I'll fight you..." He said.
Everyone nodded.
Gohan sighed.
"Listen, I don't like to fight, so don't expect me to be angry with you." He said.
"It's been almost a month." He added.
"How can we be sure?" Flash asked.
"...I really do not need a pathway made for me at my presence. I don't need everyone being afraid of me, and I don't have any high ground against anyone." Gohan said.
"You have superpowers, though..." Flash said.
"Did anyone say that there was a contest?" Gohan asked, crossing his arms.
"No, but..." Flash said.
"Please don't treat me like I'm going to kill you, I genuinely do not care if you're in my general direction. You're treating me like I'm smallpox." Gohan said.
...
"Sorry about that." Flash said.
Now the halls were just instantly packed again, and now he had to try his best not to knock someone away.
'Oh, great. At least it's better than them being afraid of me.' Gohan thought.
In the lunchroom again, lunchtime...
Gohan pulled out the huge lunch again, placing a box on the table.
"How do you eat so much...?" Sunset asked.
"It's my biology. Inherited from my dad, it's an incredibly advanced metabolism." Gohan said.
"That's insane..." Rarity said.
"Well... You're not wrong." Gohan said.
"Can you teach me how to do that?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Didn't we go over this...?" Gohan asked.
"No, no, not the eating. I'm talking about the blasts and aura and Super Saiyan and screams and stuff." Pinkie said.
"You want to learn... how to fight?" Gohan asked.
"No, just how to fly and scream like you to power up!" Pinkie said.
"Hey... That's a cool idea!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Well, actu-" "Right?" Pinkie interrupted Gohan.
"I don't think you-" "Can ya teach us how to fly and stuff?" Rainbow Dash interrupted.
"Wait, wait, wait. I'm sorry, but I can't just teach you how to utilize ki." Gohan said.
"What? Why not?" Pinkie asked with a sad face.
"Listen, ki is very complicated. It takes a lot of focus and practice to truly master. I can teach you, but it's not simple. To get you to draw out your power from within? It doesn't sound possible, right?" Gohan asked.
"No... I wouldn't even know how to draw power from..." Rainbow Dash said.
"Look, I'm sorry. I'm already teaching someone else, and it took him a long time before he had a grasp on ki control." Gohan said.
"I had to figure it out myself, and that took me nearly 7 months. I couldn't do anything beyond a basic blast, anyway." He added.
"We get it, we get it, you can't teach us." Pinkie said.
"Sorry." Gohan said.
"Nah, don't be." Rainbow Dash said.
"You got a lot on your plate, it's okay!" Pinkie said.
"I might teach you in the future, but as of current, you need to build up some strength." Gohan said.
"But Dashie here is the captain of every sports team at CHS." Pinkie said.
"How is she not strong enough?" Applejack asked.
"While it's impressive, she doesn't have the most strength nor a passable amount of strength. I had to build up strength to fend off dinosaurs in Break Wasteland before I could fathom ki." Gohan said.
"D-Dinosaurs...!?" Fluttershy asked.
"On another continent...?" Rarity asked.
"Alright, I see what you're sayin'..." Rainbow Dash said.
Pinkie giggled.
"What?" Gohan asked.
"Super Saiyan sayin'... Heh." Pinkie giggled.
"Ohh. That's funny." Rainbow Dash said.
"Er..." Gohan mumbled...
He opened the box to reveal rice.
He took slow bites...
...
...Then he started chowing down like a lawnmower.
"I still don't understand that..." Rarity said.
"How are you so used to that, Fluttershy?" Sunset asked.
"Used to what?" Fluttershy asked.
...
"...Oh, right... It happens over time." She said.
'I wonder if I could ever cook up a meal like his mother... That should be stressful... Wait, does she feed two of them!?' She thought.
Even though Rarity had about two to three cycles planned, each person only taught once.
Rainbow Dash taught the ideals and benefits of being loyal.
Also, about how awesome it is to be by your friend's side and how important it is to red pill them when they're dumb.
Fluttershy taught the need for kindness and how it makes you feel great.
Also, about easy and impulsive it becomes to be nice to everyone, especially your friends.
Rarity taught about generosity and how it can be applicable in many areas...
Also, she taught about the limitations of generosity.
She doesn't always make dresses for free, you know.
Applejack taught about how it's always good to be honest.
Also, how good never comes from a lie. Never.
Pinkie Pie just taught about how to have a good time with your friends without screwing up their feelings.
Also, she taught about how turning that frown upside down really makes a difference.
Gohan taught about the values of life and nature...
Or, tried to.
It was Gohan and Sunset's free period for that day.
The two sat crisscross right in the middle of the soccer field, facing each other.
It was empty, so it was perfect for Gohan's lesson.
Gohan himself had no bandages on his arms, but had the ones on his head and the ones hidden on his chest.
It had been a week, and pretty soon, he'd take those off.
"I don't know why you took me out here for the lesson. Everyone else just took me to the student commons." Sunset said.
"It doesn't matter. This lesson will teach you about the true value of life on this planet." Gohan said.
"Okay..." Sunset said.
"Look around you. What do you think of the scenery?" Gohan asked.
"I think it's beautiful, it's not cloudy, I can see the forest behind the bleachers..." Sunset said.
"Yeah, it's nice. Wouldn't you do anything to preserve it?" Gohan asked.
"Uh..." Sunset said, remembering what she did as a demon...
"Don't think about what you did before. That's all in the past. Think about now, not before." Gohan said.
"Yes. I'd do anything to preserve it. Anything I can do, at least..." Sunset said.
'That's somewhat of a spirit...' Gohan thought.
"And why would you? What reason could you have to do so?" He asked.
That got Sunset thinking...
Thinking beyond this scenery, but also about the school and her friends.
"The ones I care about... Even the ones I don't know about deserve to have it... It's not fair to take this, or anything away from them." Sunset said.
"Good answer." Gohan said.
"Those who don't value the life in this world get taken down again and again..." Sunset said.
"...Yeah, you're right..." Gohan said.
"I guess I learned that the hard way, huh?" Sunset asked with a smile.
"I'd say the easy way. You didn't get yourself killed." Gohan said.
"Oh, yeah..." Sunset said.
"It seems that you've already learned your lesson before it even began." Gohan said, smiling.
"Really?" Sunset asked.
"You've made a quick and surprising change of heart. I can see that you care about others now, especially your friends. Even if you don't really know them, you seem to care about them." Gohan said.
Sunset lit up and smiled.
"Now, all we have to do is get everyone else to know that..." Gohan said.
"Oh... Right..." Sunset said.
"I'm not surprised that people don't want to talk to you, but they'll come around eventually." Gohan said, standing up.
"I can't really teach you anything else." He added.
"Really?" Sunset asked, looking up at him.
Gohan nodded.
"You already know the value of nature and others, and you don't have any animosity towards anything. At least, from what I can tell." He said.
"Oh... Thanks." Sunset said.
"Well, you have the rest of your free period to do whatever you want." Gohan said.
"Well, I'd like to know about your powers." Sunset said, standing up.
"...I'll indulge another time. When the rest of us are here. It'll be really dumb and long to explain everything more than once." Gohan said.
"Can you give me an abridged version?" Sunset asked.
"Well, you know it's ki. You can utilize your life energy to materialize it into attacks, healing blasts or jumpstarts." Gohan said.
"So... Is it like magic?" Sunset asked.
"It isn't magic, but I don't know how magic works." Gohan said.
"I guess that'll take a long time as well..." Sunset said.
"Don't worry, I promise that I will get to explaining ki later." Gohan said.
It's only been a week and a half, and Gohan got rid of all the bandages.
Saiyan biology healed him up a little faster than a human...
It's time for an adventure...!
School ended on a Friday, but...
Gohan and Fluttershy kinda laid back a bit, and there weren't many students left.
Now that they're outside, with nobody else in sight...
"Why aren't you coming to the animal shelter today?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well... I'm going to visit someone... Actually, do you want to come with me?" Gohan asked.
"To where...? And how...?" Fluttershy asked.
Gohan aimed himself away from Fluttershy, and-
"Nimbus!"
...
Then the Nimbus came flying in, leaving that certain yellow streak until finally stopping in front of Gohan.
Then, Gohan led the way for Fluttershy, gesturing for her to get on.
"Um...?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, uh... If you want to come, you can get on... If you want to, of course." Gohan said.
"Are you sure that I can get on...? I mean, it is a cloud..." Fluttershy said.
"My dad told me that only those with pure hearts could ride the Nimbus, and I know you have a pure heart, so..." Gohan said.
"You think I'm... pure?" Fluttershy asked, flattered.
"I don't see any reason why not... We don't know until you try it. I'm confident that you can do it." Gohan said.
"Um... Okay, if you think I can do it..." Fluttershy said.
She couldn't jump aboard, so...
She tried pulling herself up by pushing the cloud, but she just wasn't strong enough.
So...
"Let me help." Gohan said.
Then, he jumped on and kneeled on the Nimbus.
He held her hand out to her...
Fluttershy took his hand, and he effortlessly pulled her up.
...She squeaked in fright, closing her eyes...
...
"Are you okay...? You're on." Gohan said.
"Huh...?" Fluttershy asked, actually opening her eyes.
She was on all fours, on the Nimbus...
Wow, this is the perfect two-seater.
"I... can ride this?" She asked.
"I mean, learning to drive it takes a while, but you're capable of sitting on it." Gohan said, sitting down crisscross with his back faced towards her.
He looked over his shoulder.
"I guess this means you do have a pure heart." He added.
Fluttershy smiled and felt happy that she had a pure heart...
"Okay, we're about to fly. I suggest you get comfortable and hang on." Gohan said, looking forward.
He gave her some time to get herself ready...
Fluttershy sat down, moved ahead and clung onto the cloud beneath her.
"Okay..." She said.
"Alright, here we go." Gohan said.
...
Then they started flying upwards and ahead very quickly.
So, suddenly...
Fluttershy acted on impulse, and wrapped her hands around Gohan from behind, clinging for dear life.
She also forced her eyes shut as they kept flying...
"Uh... Fluttershy...?" Gohan asked.
"P-Please... Don't let me fall...!
She said that with a very high pitched voice...
Gohan just felt strange about her hugging him, but...
He understood that she had limitations, and didn't expect this...
"Alright... Just hang on tight." He said.
'Even if you fall, you'll be alright.' He thought.
Fluttershy whimpered and burrowed her face into his back.
'You know, I shouldn't have probably invited Fluttershy here... I heard that Master Roshi is a real pervert from mom...' Gohan thought.
Flying towards the other side of the planet, Gohan and Fluttershy finally arrived at Kame House...
"Alright, you can get off now." Gohan said.
'And let go of me in the process, please.' He thought.
"Are you sure...?" Fluttershy asked.
"We're not moving. We're on an island." Gohan said.
Fluttershy actually lifted her head up and took a peek.
A house...
"Okay..." She said, letting go of him.
She sat on the edge of the Nimbus before moving off and standing on the ground.
Then Gohan jumped off, and patted the side of the Nimbus.
The Nimbus flew off, and...
"Where are we...?" Fluttershy asked.
"This is Kame House, but... For some reason... Wait, let me just explain this first. My dad's first master didn't fight the Androids, and he's like family to us... So I'm hoping he's still alive." Gohan said.
"Oh..." Fluttershy said.
"But he's not in the house... He's in the water...?" Gohan asked, looking at the sea.
He didn't notice the submarine periscope sticking out of the water...
The USS M'Dick!
How does it feel ridin' m'dick!?
"How does that make any sense...?" Fluttershy asked.
Yeah, see-
Even though it's been over a decade...
These four fuckers have been alive.
Oolong, Puar, Turtle and Roshi...
They've been doing fridge raids for like a few weeks and using a near inexhaustible supply of nonperishable food...
Oolong was looking through the periscope, and-
"Hey guys, didn't Goku kick the can like, ten years ago...?" He asked.
"Yeah. Why do you ask...?" Puar asked.
"...Because I think I see him right there." Oolong said.
Roshi shoved Oolong aside to look through the periscope.
"Let me see!... That isn't Goku, that's Gohan! And he brought a nice lady over...Heh!" Roshi said, getting a boner for the first time in a decade
"Gohan...? What's he doin- Wait! That means the Androids aren't livin' here!" Oolong said.
"You're right...!" Turtle said.
"Then we can finally get off this thing!" Oolong said.
"Ten years of riding my-" "-Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Oolong interrupted Roshi.