When a Hero Disappears

Buttons

Chapter 17: Buttons

"I think we should go or we'll be late too," Videl sighed, leaning against her locker.

"Maybe he's still not feeling well," Erasa mentioned as the trio started to walk to their classroom, "Too bad he couldn't come to the arcade this weekend, he was really looking forward to it."

"Maybe Brains has managed to go missing again," Sharpener tried to be funny, but his tone betrayed his genuine concern.

They all found their seats, but Gohan wasn't in the class either. But as soon as the teacher was about to begin her lesson, the door in the back of the classroom opened and Gohan entered, facing straight ahead, without looking into the class. He walked to his chair and sat down, not bothering looking at or greeting his friends.

Erasa took him in with a raised eyebrow. Normally he dressed so well, a little nerdy, but always neat. Now he was wearing just a gray sweater, which she thought was odd, and his always so cheerful mood was non-existent. His eyes were slit in a frown and he had obvious bags under his eyes. "Are you all right, Gohan?" she whispered, not wanting to disturb the class.

"Just leave me be, I'll be fine," he replied irritably, "I've had a few rough days, that's all."

"Wanna talk about it?" Erasa tried, but she was met with silence. Clearly he didn't. She sighed and reluctantly forced herself to focus back on the lesson, leaving her friend alone.

He didn't take in a word the English teacher said. He just stared forward as he went over his inner turmoil, the same that kept him from sleeping for the past couple of nights. He couldn't understand why Vegeta got so upset this weekend, nor did he know why the man cast him out like that. Sure, he wasn't exactly strong at the moment, and yes, he kind of wished he could live a normal life, but to say he was deliberately ignoring his Saiyan side was going a bit too far. He called himself ' Saiya man' for crying out loud. And to say that his father died for nothing... that was too low, even for Vegeta.

But what bothered him most were the threats. Not about killing him per se, though he didn't find it comforting either, but about the foresight he could potentially turn against the planet and that there was indeed no one to stop him if he did. It seemed really unlikely to Gohan at first, but the more he thought about it, the more realistic the scenario seemed. Would he really do that? And what did he mean by ' don't come back crying if you aren't able to protect that pretty mate or yours '. Did he threaten to kill Videl too?

From the corner of his eye, Gohan glanced at said girl without turning his head. She was nibbling at her pen as she focused on the lesson, oblivious of the danger that could impend. He'd struggled with the idea of escaping this place, severing the friendships he had, living on his own in the middle of nowhere, and when the time came, he would accept his fate as it was... but he couldn't abandon her.

He sighed deeply. If only he could sense Ki again, at least he could feel when she was in danger, wherever he was. Not that he could do anything to prevent things from happening in his current state, but at least he could give her some time to escape or something if it got risky. At first, not feeling Ki gave him back his inner peace, but now this whole situation was stressing him even more.

When recess began, he went straight to the oak tree and sat down with his hoodie up against the trunk. He didn't wait for his friends in class because he knew they would make a fuss about it. He would rather do it outside, away from most of his classmates, than in the midst of the classroom. He wasn't looking forward to the conversation, but he couldn't keep avoiding his friends either.