EP. 23 - Boy

                                    

                                          
A/N: So, I just lost my driver's license and my debit card, so, I'm pretty stressed right now... And this week has also been busy since I'm getting ready to graduate from high school! Being part of the senior class of 2020 has been tough, but I'm almost done! So, chapters are gonna be a bit shorter as I transition into taking college classes and adult responsibilities.
                          
☆ ▪ ☆ ▪ ☆
                          
Everyone was shocked at the name Goku had chosen. Who wouldn't have been? Goku had picked out the youngest fighter in the group! He was just a child! How could he rest the fate of the planet -- the fate of the universe -- on gentle Son Gohan's shoulders? 
                          
All eyes were on the shocked, young Super Saiyan. He wasn't even trying to hide his surprise and confusion. 
                          
Kusuke stared at his best friend. Gohan is the only person strong enough to beat Cell...? he mentally questioned. He thought back to his time with the young half-saiyan. 
                          
He recalled a few times during their training sessions that Gohan had indeed surprised him and gained the upper hand, but that was it. Gohan indeed showed great promise as a warrior, but... he remembered that Gohan's aspiration wasn't to be a fighter like his father. He wanted to be a great scholar, as he told Kusuke. 
                          
So, just what exactly did Goku have in mind sending in a light-hearted boy like Gohan to fight someone filled with pure evil like Cell? 
                          
Kusuke greatly worried for his friend. He wasn't growing fond of the image of cackling Cell with dead Gohan. 
                          
"Has he lost his mind?!" Piccolo questioned their thoughts aloud. "Is he really going to send his own son to his death?!" He sounded furious. 
                          
Kusuke clenched his fists. He furrowed his brows worriedly at Gohan, but his friend didn't turn to him. 
                          
Then, they could tell that Goku's decision was legit when he flew over to his son and said, "You can do it." He wore a smile that said he was certain in his decision.
                          
Gohan, however, was still surprised. "Me," he questioned, "fight Cell?" 
                          
Kusuke held a hard look towards the saiyan father. How can he do this?
                          
"Come to your senses, Goku! How can he do this?" Piccolo demanded. "He has grown remarkably, but this is Cell -- someone who not even you stood a chance against!"
                          
Kusuke felt angry at Goku's calm smile. How can Goku act this way towards his son?
                          
"Piccolo," Goku started calmly, "Gohan has more power than I can believe. Think about it. He's been fighting with us ever since he was little. I was nothing like this when I was his age!" 
                          
"But even if he is a Super Saiyan now," Krillin interjected, "to fight Cell..." He began to shake his head. Fighting the villainous Cell was  completely different story. 
                          
Goku kept his cool. He answered surely, "The power sleeping deep within him began to awaken in the Room of Spirit and Time." Sensing their uncertainty, he decided, "Can I ask him how he feels?" 
                          
When no one refused, he turned to his son. "What do ya say, Gohan?" Goku asked. "Was our battle too tough for you?" 
                          
Gohan was silent for a moment. "Well, no," he answered. "B-But neither of you was fighting for real yet, right?" 
                          
Goku held his smile. It seemed like he was pleased to hear his response. "I don't know about Cell, but I was doing my best," he admitted. "So, to *you* it looked like I wasn't really trying, huh?"