Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Drummer's March ❯ Chapter 6 (REPOST) ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

*Author'snote: Ok, I owe everyone a huge apology. I took another look at this chapter today. And now that I'm feeling slightly better I realized not only had I left things very unclear in the chapter itself, but that the format was screwed up from when I posted it online. So I'm redoing parts, adding stuff and clarifying others.

I also wanted to quickly address some questions that have been asked by people but that I've been avoiding it as much as possible because frankly, I'm a chicken. <grin>

This could quite possibly kill my readership for some of you- I really hope that isn't the case, but I'm just going to say it. No, Videl is not going to make an appearance in this story. At all. I feel her little cameo in the prequel was enough. This story is technically supposed to be about Goten and Trunks. Though Gohan does play a large role in it. Gohan is going to stay single. I just feel the character, as I have portrayed him, is someone who wants to stay alone. He's happy that way. I'm very sorry if this ruins the story for some of you out there. However, I know for a fact that there are tons of Gohan/Videl stories out there so you don't have to worry too much about my little piece of fiction depriving you of your pairing fix.

Regarding Gohan not saying anything about being Goten's brother. That's a little harder to address. I strongly feel (and hopefully made clear in the first story) that they don't consider each other brothers. There relationship is very much one of father and son. Gohan doesn't tell people he's not Goten's biological father because he doesn't really feel it's any of their business and because he actually does consider himself to be Goten's dad.

Ummm, I think that's about it. If there are any other questions or if anyone would like to offer their own view of how I've arranged things, feel free to email me. I can be reached through the review section or my email address. srusse87@stlawu.edu

Again I'm really sorry about the quality of this last chapter and hopefully this repost is a bit better. Thank you everyone for sticking with me.

-srusse87

“The Drummer's March”

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

Chapter 6

Gohan was trying to figure out where to hide a dead body when the phone rang.

The closet won'twork and the garbage men would find it if it went in the dumpster…

Distractedly he answered the phone, still dismissing ideas in his mind. Bury it? No, not enough time. Damn, this was why murder was so messy. A good energy blast took care of all these problems. No body, no mess. Of course it did tend to leave a rather unexplainable blemish on the landscape…

He shook his head with a slight snicker, realizing he was sounding more like Vegeta every day. Besides, he didn't think his editor would understand if he suddenly blew up the victims in his latest novel.

Then he had it.

“The old cement shoes trick! I'll dump it in the ocean.”

“Excuse me?”

Suddenly Gohan realized he was holding the telephone and there was someone on the other end.

“Is this the Son residence?”

Scribbling the idea on a pad of paper next to him, Gohan nodded; absentmindedly adding, “Yes.”

There was a pause and papers were shuffled. “Would it be possible for me to speak to Gohan Son?”

“Speaking.” Spinning his chair around, Gohan grabbed a book on tide schedules and current patterns from the large bookcase that lined the wall behind his desk.

“Oh, good. This is Mack Gibbons from Fukuoka High School and I was hoping I could speak with you.”

Gohan noted the tidal pattern for the Pacific Ocean and then flipped to the index to check the current pattern as well. “Ahh.”

“I spoke with your son today, about the incident in the locker room...” The voice on the other end paused.

“I see,” Gohan muttered while he turned pages and marked them with sticky notes, noting that the timing would have to be very precise to avoid the body washing back up on the same shore.

“Yes, so I was wondering if it would be possible for us to arrange a time when we could sit down and talk about Goten. You could stop by the school, or if that's inconvenient I could schedule a visit to see you at home.”

“Perfect.” Gohan slammed the book shut, tossing it on the desk to be re-shelved later. “It'll have to be late afternoon, just before dusk.” He chuckled quietly, “They do say time and tide wait for no man.”

“Ok then, I can schedule you for three. Is it convenient for you to come in to the school?”

Gohan was reaching for his pencil which had fallen on the floor when he finally became aware of the man on the telephone. “What?” Sitting up quickly he banged his head on the bottom of the desk, “Damn it!”

“Mr. Son?”

Grabbing his head, Gohan scowled. “What is it? Who is this anyway?”

The speaker on the phone was silent for a minute and then slowly, as if to a child said, “Mr. Son, this is Mack Gibbons. I'm the counselor at Fukuoka High School. I met with your son this morning and I wanted the chance to speak with you in person. You just agreed to an appointment for three tomorrow.”

Gohan studied the phone in his hand for a moment, a grimace exchanged for a look of puzzlement. Seeing the book on his desk, his face cleared in comprehension. “Gotcha. Sorry. I wasn't actually listening to you; I was looking up tide schedules.”

There was a long pause on the other end. “I'm sorry; did you say…tide schedules?”

Sitting back in his chair and ignoring the question, Gohan gingerly fingered the spot where he'd cracked his head. “Why do you need to speak with me Mr. Gibbons? I heard the story from Goten and I assure you there is no lingering animosity between him and Trunks.”

“Yes, I gathered that as well, but after talking with your son there are some questions I'd like to ask you; in person if at all possible.”

Gohan sighed, “Naturally.”

“So if that's alright, is three tomorrow afternoon a good time for you to stop by my office?”

Gohan sighed again, tipping his head back to rest against his chair. “Fine.”

With a final goodbye and promise to come in, Gohan hung up the phone grumbling to himself. “How troublesome.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dad was working in his study when I got home that afternoon. It's my favorite room in the house. There's a large window with a built in seat where you can sit and look out at the ocean. On clear days it's almost as if you can see to the end of the world. The walls are lined with bookshelves that go all the way to the ceiling and a large carpet Bulma and Vegeta brought back from Turkey rests on the floor in front of his desk.

Dad spends a lot of time in his study. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting in his lap, falling asleep to the sound of him typing. Even now, as I stood in the doorway and watched, he sat behind his computer eyes narrowed in exasperation.

He must be stuck at a particularly difficult section in his latest book. You can always tell because his hair becomes even messier from him constantly running his hands through it.

“Hey.”

Dad gave the computer one final scowl and then looked up to smile at me, “Hey yourself. Hungry?”

I grinned, “You're kidding right?”

“Right. Stupid question.”

Despite the fact that Trunks calls dad Professor, there isn't really anything terribly academic looking about him. He looks more like the college students that occasionally intern at Bulma's lab. He reminded us of a professor though, he always seemed to know the answer to any question and if he didn't, he knew where to find it.

There was something else too; something that I could never quite pin down enough to describe. It was the way he refused to argue with Bulma, or how Vegeta never got a rise out of him. He wasn't always calm, sometimes it seemed as if a storm was brewing above him and you could almost smell the crackle of lightening in the air. But it was as if he was above petty insults and challenges, like he could see farther ahead than the rest of us.

I often suspected that dad could see life so far down the road, he'd met it back again at the beginning. Maybe that's why he got along so well with Piccolo. Speaking of which…

I walked over to dad, idly picking up books from where they were scattered around the room and putting them back on the shelves. “Where's Piccolo?”

Dad grabbed a book off his desk, pulled some sticky notes off the pages, and then tossed it to me, tipping his head to look at the ceiling before looking back at me. “Roof.”

I nodded. The roof meant Piccolo was meditating, which meant he wouldn't want to be bothered, which meant it was of course, my duty to go pester the hell out of him. I smirked.

Dad rolled his eyes and brought his hand down to gently cuff me on the side of the head. “Don't even think about it.”

I blinked my eyes innocently, “What?”

“I know what that look is. That's your `I'm going to go see how crazy I can make Piccolo' look.”

I pointed a finger toward my chest but couldn't help the grin that twitched at the corners of my mouth. “Who me?”

“Yes, you. Forget it. Besides, you can help me make dinner and while were doing that…”

I eyed him suspiciously, “Yeah?”

“You can tell me how your day went.”

“Fine.” I shelved the last book and then had a thought. “But I'm not peeling potatoes!” I yelled after his retreating back. He just laughed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mack was writing up his report on a couple students with learning disabilities when there was a knock on his door and a young man with black hair stuck his head in.

“Mr. Gibbons?”

Mack smiled and nodded, quickly looking at his clock. “That's right. But I'm afraid I have an appointment right now.”

The young man nodded and stepped further into the room, firmly closing the door behind him. “I know. The appointment's with me. You wanted to talk about Goten.”

Mack stared in shock. “Mr. Son?”

The young man casually pulling out a chair to sit across from him grimaced and shook his head a little. “Just Gohan will be fine.” He looked at Mack and smiled a little as if remembering a joke. “Let me guess. You were expecting someone older?” Mack nodded silently, a little embarrassed to be caught so obviously staring.

Goten's dad wasn't at all what Mack had been expecting. Instead of the thirty-something hassled father, he was looking at a young guy probably in his twenties. There was no doubt he was related to Goten though. Black hair stuck out in spikes and coal black eyes watched him in amusement. He was dressed casually in grey cargo pants and a blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. There was an air about him that seemed to indicate he didn't really care about his appearance or impressing anyone. While most people struggled to capture that look of casual indifference, Mack could tell this young man pulled it off without even trying.

At the moment however, the young man was focused on Mack with an intensity he found a little daunting.

“Don't worry. I get that a lot. I'm twenty-seven since that's probably your next question.” He waved a hand gently in the air and frowned a little as if scolding a misbehaving child. “I know, that would mean I was twelve when Goten was born. Very young. Indeed.”

Mack was left rather speechless and could only gape at the confident man sitting in front of him. “So what's so important I had to come all the way to see you in person?”

Mack remembered that he was the one supposedly running this meeting and swallowed, “Yes, thank you very much for that. I gathered from Goten that you value your privacy very much.”

A raised eyebrow met his comment. “Goten said that?”

Mack coughed, “Well it was what he didn't say actually.”

To his surprise the other man threw back his head and laughed. For some reason Mack got the impression that it wasn't something this particular young man did very often. At least not around strangers. Mack decided to just go ahead and ask the questions that had plagued his mind since his session with the younger boy.

“Goten is a very bright boy.” He looked to the young man to check his reaction but Gohan only seemed to be watching him in quiet amusement. Deciding tact wasn't working he switched to being more blunt.

“He had a rather cavalier attitude regarding the death of his mother.” He watched the other man closely, hoping to gage his reaction yet was still surprised by the response he got.

“Goten's right. You would make a terrible poker player.” Suddenly the smirk slid from Gohan's face as he leaned forward to study Mack closely.

“Do you consider yourself a good judge of character Mr. Gibbons?”

Mack was taken aback by the question and barely managed to keep from squirming under the penetrating look those dark eyes were giving him. No wonder Goten said he listened to his dad. He could only imagine what it would be like to be reprimanded under those burning eyes.

He stared at the other man for a moment before remembering the actual question and shrugged a little. “I think I'm a good judge of character, as best as one can be.”

“Ah.” Gohan sat back and Mack couldn't decide if he'd answered the question to the other man's satisfaction or not. There was something about this young man that was throwing Mack off balance. One factor was obviously his youth, which was rather startling, but it was also something about the way he carried himself. There was confidence but also an underlying sense that he was just humoring Mack.

Clearing his throat, Mack decided to try again. “Are you aware your son hasn't made any friends since starting here?”

Gohan nodded, “Yes.”

“And this doesn't bother you?”

“I don't see why it should.”

Mack was a little offended at the lack of concern in Gohan's answer and about to object when he caught the expression that flittered across the other man's face.

Again, it was the young man's eyes that gave Mack pause. His voice was mild and his tone friendly. He was obviously young in appearance. Yet his eyes...his eyes seem to hold a vast knowledge of life and pain in them. They spoke of time itself, of wisdom that could only be obtained through experience and age. Eyes that obviously didn't match the youth of the young man and that sent shivers down Mack's spine.

Mack had seen such eyes only once before. The way his grandfather had looked when he recounted tales of his youth. It was a look that seemed to acknowledge all the mistakes that you would ever make and held a measure of sorrow in them as well.

When his grandfather had looked at him like that, Mack had felt that his grandfather had seen everything before, all the joy and pain life had to offer, and was resigned to watching it all repeat.

Mack felt his indignation deflate and he sat back with a sigh. “Do you think your son is happy?”

For once the other man appeared surprised by the question. “Did ask him that yourself?”

Mack nodded and grimaced, “Yes. I believe he quoted D.H. Lawrence to me. `The search for happiness always ends in the ghastly sense of the bottomless nothingness into which you will inevitably fall if you strain any further.' When I suggested that was a rather cynical outlook he shrugged and promised to find me something more upbeat the next time I saw him.”

Gohan looked as if he wanted to laugh but refrained in view of Mack's obvious exasperation. “So you want to know if I think he's happy.”

Mack just nodded.

“Well first I should probably mention that Goten enjoys driving those around him absolutely crazy.” He smirked and Mack realized suddenly where Goten must get a large portion of his personality. “Really he was just yanking your chain.”

Mack knew he was gaping like a fish but couldn't seem to help himself. “Yanking my chain?”

“Yes. As you said yourself, he's very bright. He rather enjoys stringing people along, you know? If you ask him how things are going, don't be surprised if he gives you a line about waking up hung over to find dead bodies in bathtubs.”

Mack felt he had been following the conversation fairly well up until that point. “Dead bodies?” He could only ask weakly.

The other man laughed wryly. “You know, `Life is like waking up hung over to find a corpse in your bathtub. You don't know how it happened but it can't be good.' Actually, I don't know who said that, but it's one of Goten's favorites.”

Mack had no idea what to say and could only stare as the other man pondered his original question. “Is Goten happy? I think he's happy. He seems happy enough at home. We have a good relationship, I only have to beat him up and lock him in his room without dinner a couple times a month.”

This time Mack knew he was being messed with. Gohan threw him a look and then burst out laughing. Standing up he offered a hand to Mack and then started to walk out of the office. “I wouldn't worry too much about Goten, Mr. Gibbons. I assure you that as far as teenagers go, he's quite well balanced. Even if he is a bit arrogant at times.”

This last comment was said with another grin. And Mack couldn't help but match it a little.

“Thank you for coming in Gohan. It was certainly...interesting.” His only response was quiet laughter as the door closed behind the younger man. Mack shook his head and slouched a little, tapping the desk gently with his pencil.

“How did they know I suck at poker?”

TBC...

(I don't suppose anyone out there actually knows who that quote is attributed to?)