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The (highly ironic) Death of Gohan
"Honey, I'm home!" Gohan called out, placing his book on the small table in the foyer. Videl soon emerged from the kitchen, bags under her eyes, apron tied around her waist, wooden spoon in hand, and smears of unidentifiable cooking ingredients on her face. From her room upstairs, Pan could be heard wailing about how unfair life was and how her 'Kaasan hated her and how she wished she'd never been born.
"So… rough day?" Gohan asked, a smile playing on the corner of his lips. Unfortunately, that was exactly the wrong thing to say.
"Rough… day?" Videl asked, disturbingly calm. Then, much like Mount St. Helens, she erupted forcefully and without warning. "Rough day!? Let me tell you about my day, -_honey!_ First one of the pipes in our bathroom exploded, drenching our bedroom, so I have to call the plumber and get one of their workmen to come over, and of course it takes them over an hour to send somebody over. So when the guy gets here he immediately starts hitting on me, despite the fact that I repeatedly told him I'm very happily married, but does he take the hint? NOOOOoooooo…. He just keeps going on and on about how there's no one else home and no one would know, so of course I kick him out, literally. Then I have to figure out how to fix the stupid pipe myself, and halfway through that Pan gets home from preschool. So not only do I have this pipe to deal with, but your daughter keeps getting into things while I'm distracted. Why I let you and your father teach her to fly, I'll never know. Finally I fix the pipe and get Pan under control and start on dinner. Of course, she chooses that moment to act up again, this time breaking the crystal candlesticks we got on our wedding day to get my attention. While I'm punishing her, the steam cooker explodes, so now dinner is all over the kitchen, Pan is wailing in her room, and you come in asking if I've had a rough day? You have no idea!!!" Videl put her head in her hands and began crying.
"I-I…" Gohan stammered. He never had been quite sure what to do around crying women. There was one thing that always seemed to work, though. Carefully he walked over and put his arms around her. Videl continued her rant, a little more subdued now that the tears were pouring down.
"You just *sob* have no clue. And you *sniffle* know what? *sniffle sniffle* Y-you never will! You can never understand how hard it is to raise a super-powered daughter when you're just one human without anything extra because you have extra powers, too!"
To somebody passing by at that moment, it would have looked like Gohan was simply holding his wife for a few minutes while she composed herself. However, anyone who knew the half Saiya-jin well would have noticed the far-away look in his eyes, evidence that some idea had taken root in his mind and was even now germinating. "I'll do it," he said under his breath, the idea having finally blossomed.
"What was that, Gohan?" Videl looked up at him, much calmer and brushing away the last of her tears. He kissed his wife gently on the forehead.
"I said I'll do it." Gohan gazed fondly at Videl's confused expression. "You said I couldn't possible understand with my abilities, so I'll gather the dragon balls and wish them away… Just for one day!" he hurriedly assured Videl at her look of horror over the announcement. "Just to see things from your perspective. I'll even take the day off work and watch Pan while you have a day to yourself."
Videl didn't have a single thing to say. Words just couldn't describe the emotions coursing through her. "R-really?" she managed to get out. Gohan just smiled and nodded.
"I'll gather the dragon balls this evening after dinner and make the wish in the morning. Now, let's see what we can salvage of dinner."
"I wish to not have any of my inherently Saiya-jin abilities for twenty-four hours!" Gohan called out to the huge dragon floating in the sky above him.
"Your wish is granted," the beast replied. A strange yellow glow seeped out of Gohan. It hung around him for a moment, then vanished into the morning mist. "It is done," the dragon boomed out. Without another word he disappeared in a flash of light, and the dragon balls scattered.
"Did it really work?" Videl asked incredulously.
"I-I don't know," Gohan replied, looking inquisitively at himself. "I do feel a little different, like I'm heavier somehow, but…" Deciding to experiment, he picked up a rock about the size of his hand and drew back his arm. Quickly he snapped it forward, intending to throw it hard enough to break through the tree standing about 40 feet away. The rock barely made it to the closest roots of the tree.
"Guess that answers that question," Videl replied.
"Pan! Get down from on top of the fridge!" Gohan yelled as his daughter playfully jumped up and down on the large appliance.
"Catch me, Daddy!" she called out, leaping off the top of the refrigerator. The little girl landed in his arms, causing the air to whoosh out of his lungs.
"Oof! Pan, I told you not to…" Gohan began, but was interrupted by the front door opening.
"Hi, everybody, I'm home!" Videl called out, setting her purse on the foyer table. Pan squealed in delight and dashed from the kitchen where Gohan was attempting to cook dinner.
"Mommy!!"
Gohan emerged from the kitchen, bags under his eyes, apron tied around his waist, wooden spoon in hand, and smears of unidentifiable cooking ingredients on his face. Videl tried desperately to stifle her giggles.
"Rough day?" she chuckled. Gohan smiled sardonically back, then went into a deep bow.
"All right, you win, I concede to your supreme powers as a mother of one very hyper-active, super-powered four year old." Videl laughed even harder at her husband's display.
"I think you've learned your lesson," she said, getting herself under control. "Why don't we all head into town for dinner tonight and skip the cooking." Gohan's look of pure joy at the suggestion was enough to send Videl back into a round of giggles.
"Mommy, Mommy! Can we go in to toy store, pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase?" Pan whined. It was now after dinner, and the family had decided to take a stroll around the city while they were there.
Gohan winced. He hated going into Pan's favorite toy store, 'Noise World.' All those gadgets, each making their own separate sound, were like nails on a chalkboard to his ears. Videl noticed his look and was about to tell Pan no, when Gohan interrupted.
"Don't worry about it. You take her, and I'll head over to the bookstore on the next street." Videl smiled at him, a smile that promised wonderful things later in the evening after Pan had gone to bed. Gohan smiled a similar smile back and ducked into the alley that would take him around behind Noise World and into the street where his favorite store was located. Halfway there, he felt something cold and hard jab into his back. He immediately recognized the feel of a gun.
"Just stay where you are, buddy, and don't make no sound," a harsh voice grated in his ear. "Now hand over all your money and any other valuables you've got stashed, and you may get out of this."
Terror gripped Gohan like it never had before. Normally a low-grade punk like this wouldn't have phased him one bit, but today of all days, when he didn't have any of the power or strength he had come to rely on… He swallowed around the lump in his throat, his mind frozen.
The man behind him shoved the gun harder against his back. "Didn't you hear me, smart guy? Hand over your money, now!" The powerless half Saiya-jin heard the click of the gun. The noise seemed to make something inside him snap, martial arts instinct taking over. With a swift motion, Gohan ducked under the gun and kicked it out of the mugger's hand. The motion pressed the man's finger on the trigger and the gun fired, hitting Gohan in the upper arm.
Gohan stared at the mugger in fury as the gun clattered against the wall, blood running down his arm. The man looked about ready to wet himself, and as Gohan took a step forward he ran out of the alley faster than if a herd of enraged pitbulls were after him. Gohan was exultant. He'd survived, and without his Saiya-jin powers. It was almost more than he could stand.
Gohan suddenly noticed his arm and how it was bleeding a lot more than he thought it should. The bullet must have hit an artery. Pressing his hand against the wound to try and stop the flow, he stumbled out of the alley in search of help
Videl stepped out of the toy store, rubbing her temples. Pan was still inside, but the older woman needed a break from all the noise. In a few minutes she would go back in, retrieve her daughter, and pick up…
Videl looked up just in time to see her husband lurch out of an alley and stumble into the street, blood welling out from between his fingers as he clasped his hand over his arm. She also saw the bus.
"GOHAN!" she cried out, rushing to her husband's aid.
The half Saiya-jin looked up at his wife's call, a dazed expression on his face. At her frantic gesturing, he looked around and saw the bus heading straight for him; heard it's bellowing horn warning him to get out of the way. He tried to heed its advice, but he was just too slow. Hearing Videl's cries and seeing the bus's grill coming at him were the last things he ever experienced.
THE END