A little while later and managing to duck and dodge all of their pursuers from the fields, Gohan, Videl, Erasa, Sharpener and Touya managed to make it over to the multipurpose workout buildings. It was here where they found the gyms situated not too far from the swimming pool and the very place where they intended to checkout a couple of the other clubs. Thanks to their convenient placing, the five of them didn't have to walk too far to get to whichever one of the half-dozen they wanted to go to afterwards.
However, despite their success at managing to evade the people that'd taken an interest in Gohan's ridiculous displays in strength, it was the fact that the demi-Saiyan was able to pull it off in the first place that had one of them completely stressed out. They were of course referring to one blonde haired Sharpener, who was still shaking his head in disbelief at what he'd witnessed at the basketball courts a little while earlier.
"What in the heck happened back there?" the man practically shouted as they entered the hall of their next objective.
Gohan, cringing a little at the volume in the blonde's voice, rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I'm honestly not too sure myself. Could've sworn I had it all under control."
Nudging the demi-Saiyan in the side, the raven haired girl strolling alongside him smirked. "Didn't I tell you to watch that throwing arm of yours?" she asked as their group moved down the well-lit, white hallway, avoiding a drinking fountain and a couple other students along the way.
"You did. But I just couldn't help it," the Saiyan replied exasperatedly, feeling a little bit flustered as he rubbed the side the girl had hit. Though it didn't hurt, it was just his way of showing emotional discomfort. "With so many people watching me, I may have gotten a tad too excited. That or I'd managed to get a dozen times stronger since the battle with Set."
"Ah. Well… that would explain a lot," Videl replied with an understanding nod. "I guess with every power boost you have, you need a few extra days of training to fully accommodate to the new levels. Looks like you're still having problems in that area."
"Yeah. It sure seems that way."
Giving the duo a strange look, Sharpener scratched his head, "What are you guys talking about?" He was then lightly punched in the shoulder from behind by an intently listening Touya.
"Nothing for you to worry about, Sharpie."
Grumbling at the playful jab and how it'd struck a tender spot, the blonde then focused his attention on their next destination, which just so happened to be through one of the many doorways lining the hall up ahead. Judging from the amount of chatter he could hear coming from the various archways, he guessed that their first stop was the first corner on their left.
"So… what are we going to be checking out now?" the blonde jock asked.
"We're going to have a look at the martial arts clubs," Erasa chirped, looking over the rest of her crew to see the apprehensive expression her fellow golden haired friend was currently giving. "Since we know how much Gohan and Videl love to fight, I think this is the perfect place for them to show their stuff."
"Sure. That sounds fine and dandy. But…" Sharpener winced as he shot a cautionary glance in the demi-Saiyan's direction, "Have you seen the crazy shit this kid has been pulling all afternoon? He chucked a basketball through a wall for crying out loud."
"I know. Crazy… right?" Touya said with a lighthearted chuckle as he placed a hand on the guy's shoulder. "You gotta love those chest workouts."
"What chest workouts? What are you tal-" Completely baffled by the weird crap coming in from left and right, the blonde jock shook his head and glared at his fellow athletes. "Do we really want this guy to join a club that has him fighting other people?" he asked worriedly. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all for watching you guys kick ass in the ring. But honestly, having this power monster get into a fist fight… that might be a little bit too much."
"Don't worry, Sharpener. Of all the things Gohan is good at, fighting is definitely number one in his top three," Videl answered, putting her full confidence in the Saiyan's ability to handle himself in this particular field. When she exchanged a smile with the teen in the yellow jacket, all eyes returned to their less than optimistic teammate.
Breathing out a heavy sigh, Sharpener crossed his arms. "Alright. If you say so. Which club are you going to check out first?"
Tapping his chin and giving the room beside them a quick glance, Touya then raised a hand, "I'm guessing karate, maybe?"
"Karate?" Videl chuckled in amusement, "The Dane Cook of martial arts? No thanks." She then shared an amused look with Gohan.
Crossing his arms, the teen in glasses smirked, "Oh yeah? And which club are you a part of, Ms. Satan?"
"I'm a member of the Judo Club. Since they didn't have a krav maga club and the taekwondo club was a tad bit overcrowded, I had to settle for the next best thing," the tomboy stated with a proud grin, which she quickly turned on her trainer of many years. When she quickly recognized the inquisitive expression he took on, the young crime fighter shrugged. "Hey. I've got a life outside of police work too, yah know. It's not always car chases, homework and training every single day. Plus you can trust me to hold back against these guys."
Gohan raised both his hands defensively, "Don't worry. I know you can handle yourself." After backing down from the girl's wide grin, the boy then panned over his companions a second time and directed their attention towards the entrance. "This club here is the muay thai group. Next to that is the boxing club. We'll check them all out and, if they don't pan out like the others did, we'll move on to the next lot. Yeah?" When he saw the boys and girls nod in agreement, the teen then led the way into the room.
As soon as they entered the training chamber, they were immediately greeted by the sight of an entire crowd of students gathered around the ring. Baffled by the number of people in the gym, Gohan, Videl and the others quickly approached the stage to see what was going on. When they came across a student decked out in full kickboxing gear with a pair of gloves held tightly under his arm, Sharpener approached the guy and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey, man. What's going on here?"
The young man with short black hair and his eyes seemingly closed gave the jock a smirk, "New kid up in the ring trying out for the team. He's taking on the president and two other guys at the same time."
The long haired sportsman recoiled in surprise. "Three on one? Seriously?" He then turned his attention to the ring, where he then proceeded to watch the show.
Up on the canvas platform surrounded by red, white and blue ropes, the group saw a petite looking fellow, adorned in a sweat jacket and padded gear, including chest protection, going up against three other, much bigger guys wearing the same stuff. From the normal bystander's point of view, it looked like a suicide run for the one squaring off against the far more muscular looking combatants. But as the sparring match carried on, both Gohan and Videl realized that it was actually the three fighters who were out of their league.
Hopping on the spot with their guard up, the mysterious newcomer danced around the three kickboxing students when they rushed at him with a swift series of punches and kicks. Doing their best not to cross blows or get in the way of one another, the three had scattered across the canvas to try and corner the guy. They did so by coming at him from all sides, striking out at him with wicked roundhouse kicks and punches. An onslaught like this would seriously intimidate any ordinary practitioner and even result in having the stuffing beaten out of them.
However, the person not only avoided the trio's assaults effortlessly, he was even able to parry and block whatever blows they did manage to land. Even attacks that seemed like they were heavy didn't even throw the guy off balance. He simply pressed forward and continued to toy with the three males, all of whom were struggling to keep track of him.
Sharpener whistled when he saw the newcomer slip a kick and block a left hook, and quickly shuffle out of range when they chased after him. "Damn. This guy's got some serious skill."
"You can say that again," Touya agreed, folding his arms as he watched the display.
Most of the members of that audience were blown away, unable to comprehend how a new guy could keep up with the president and two of the club's most senior members. It was something that caught the attention of Gohan and Videl as well. But when they stretched out with their senses to see exactly who this mysterious youth was, both of them smiled when they discovered exactly who it was playing around up on that four-corner arena.
For the next few seconds the small fighter continued to evade the three boys, sticking to an incredibly defensive style as he allowed his opponents to burn out all of their energy. After avoiding a couple more hand blows and a kick, the newcomer then decided it was time to hit back, and did so in spectacular style.
When he dodged a right, he countered with a kick that sent his attacker flying into the ropes on the other end, which he bounced off of and face-planted the mat. After dispensing of the first, the newbie then avoided two blows from the club president and blocked a kick. Hit stopped, he then drove a hook across his face, which sent him crashing into the canvas. The instant the leader went down the third man came in swinging wildly, only to be met by a jumping knee from the novice, who took him down in a similar way to the first.
The moment all three students hit the floor and lay their motionless, the bell was rung, allowing the novice to stand victorious in center ring while the audience looked on in amazement.
Once the shock of the moment passed, the teenagers watching from the sidelines applauded the newcomer for their victory. The shared expression of elation allowed Gohan and the others to make their way to ring side, where they saw the young warrior in the head gear raise a glove in victory and slowly make their way over to the edge.
Touya laughed out joyously, "Bravo! Well done!"
"Wow. Who is that guy?" Erasa murmured, also clapping as she gave the petite fighter a curious once-over.
All of their questions were answered shortly. As soon as the new kid did his victory lap, he suddenly spotted the familiar faces of Gohan and Videl smiling from the sidelines. Upon doing their double-take, the person hastily removed the gloves from their hands and lifted their headgear free. This allowed their long brown hair to fall freely down their shoulders, and gave the audience an unobstructed view of the winner's identity.
It came as one hell of a wake-up call to a lot of the boys, particularly Sharpener, to see that the victor was actually a hot girl.
"Gohan-kun," the boxer exclaimed, quickly walking over to the ropes and leaning over the side, "You're here!"
"Hey, Lime. Great to see you," Gohan laughed, placing his hands on his hips as he gazed up at the girl. "Man. You really killed it out there. Nice work."
The farmer's girl giggled and nodded her appreciation under the waves of congratulations she was receiving from the other students. "Thanks. To be honest though, it wasn't that tough of a fight. I was just humoring these guys to make things a little more interesting."
"I'll bet," Videl snorted, sparing a glance around the girl and towards her opponents, who were now in the process of slowly regaining consciousness. When Gohan and Lime looked over at the fallen males, they saw the other club members hop in to help them back to their feet. "If you'd actually hit them with all your strength, you could've put them in hospital…"
"Or worse," Lime finished, before then turning her attention back to her friends, especially the tall one with the spiky hair. "Anyway, I'm so happy to see that you're here." Taking a moment to wave at Touya and Erasa, a gesture which was cheerfully returned, she then pushed down the ropes and jumped over. "Sorry I didn't drop by earlier. I was too busy organizing things with the teacher and getting my assignments sorted that I wasn't able to come say hello." Landing on the ground directly in front of the two Z-fighters, she quickly rose to her feet and beamed their way. "Welcome to Orange Star High, Gohan."
"Thanks. That means a lot coming from you. This school is awesome," the demi-Saiyan replied with a fond smile, stepping forward so that he could share a hug with his friend. Upon sharing pleasantries up close, the boy then pulled away and looked the unscathed fighter over. "Having fun?"
"Tons," the girl immediately replied, before then nodding towards her crush. "And you? Checking out the clubs?"
"Yep. I already had a look at the ones outside," Gohan said while thumbing over his shoulder, "They… heh… didn't exactly pan out how I was expecting."
"You could say his heart was deviating more towards these ones then the other one," Videl chimed in, folding her arms as she gave her rival a confident smile. "With a little bit of help from us, of course. If things go well, maybe we can settle him into one of these groups."
Raising an eyebrow, the girl in the fighting gear looked across at the boy and, after analyzing his current state of dress, chuckled in response. "If that's what you want to do, then go ahead. But if you ask me, I think you're a little too overqualified for a sport like this."
Appearing sheepish, Gohan then tilted his head uneasily. "That may be true. Still, it wouldn't hurt to give it a try."
"I suppose," the teenager replied, sharing a fond look with her friend before then gesturing for him and the others to follow her. "Come on. I'll introduce you to the president… if he's done seeing stars, that is."
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