Summary: The unexpected death of the Ox King leads to changes for the Son family. (One-shot. Completed)
Fandom: Dragon Ball Z Characters: Gohan, Videl, Chi Chi, Ox King
Gohan was sitting in his classroom at school. It was the second lesson of the day, yet the teenager couldn’t concentrate on the class. He couldn’t even sleep through class like he normally did. He sat looking out the window, worried for his grandfather. The Ox King had caught the flu the week before and was having trouble shaking his illness. While he was sick, he’d been staying with the Son family instead of in his castle. Gohan could see that his mother was concerned for her father. It was unlike his grandfather to be sick more than a few days. Both he and his mother were worried while Goten was oblivious. The youngest member of the Son family was excited to have his grandfather staying with them even if he was not well.
A distinct beep was heard from the watch of the girl sitting next to Gohan. Videl stood already heading out of the classroom. The beep was an alert for a crime happening somewhere in the city that Videl would be assisting with. Happy for the distraction from his thoughts of his grandfather, he watched as the junior cop ran into one of the office ladies when she came through the door. The office lady fell to the floor.
“I’m sorry, Miss Demetrio,” Videl apologised, helping the young woman up.
“That’s quite alright, you may be able to help you … I mean me,” she said slightly dazed from not only being barrelled over by Videl but from her previous phone call. The phone call which had brought her to the classroom. “Is Mr Gohan Son here?”
“He is; up the back,” Videl pointed to Gohan who was gathering up his books.
“Would you like to see Gohan?” the teacher asked, she was used to having her classes interrupted with Videl’s police work. The sooner the disruption was taken care of, the sooner she could return to teaching.
“I would,” Miss Demetrio answered.
Gohan walked down slowly to the front of the class and out into the hallway with the office lady. He had a feeling that he wouldn’t be coming back for the remainder of the classes. He had already planned to follow Videl as Saiyaman, something that no longer was in his plans if she told him what he already suspected.
Videls curiosity got the best of her. Instead of rushing out for police work, she stayed standing outside the classroom hoping that whatever she’d been called to wasn’t urgent. Gohan and Miss Demetrio either didn’t notice she was there or if they did notice, they didn’t care.
“Gohan,” Miss Demetrio said in a quiet voice of concern. “We had a call from your mother …”
Gohan didn’t let her finish what she was going to say. “Grandpa, did she say if he’s alright?” Gohan panicked. That would be the only reason that his mother would call the school, right? Actually, there were several things but considering his grandfather’s current health that was the most likely.
“No he’s not. Your mother has asked that you come home as soon as possible,” she said, confirming Gohan’s fears.
“Gohan, do you need a lift home?” Videl asked.
“No thank you Videl, I’ll be able to get home on my own,” Gohan managed to squeak out.
“No Gohan, I insist, you shouldn’t be driving while you are this distressed. I’ve never seen you like this before.
He knew that she meant well, but he would get home quicker on his own.
“Thank you for your kind offer,” he bowed to her and then was gone before she had a chance to follow him.
Gohan tried to calm himself down. He had to be strong for his mother when he got home since she would only call him if things were bad. He looked down at the city below him noticing fire rising up from a building, knowing that had to be the job Videl just got called out for. Without a second thought, Gohan activated his watch. He had forgotten to activate it before he left the school. Now in costume he flew down to the city below and into the burning fire.
He could sense five ki’s from the building all growing weaker. He first flew into the room with the strongest two ki’s and found a little girl hugging a dog and crying. Gently the young superhero picked up the dog and his young master. He threw his cape around over the pair to help protect them from the smoke. He flew to the next room where he could sense another ki; this one belonged to a bird that looked very close to death. Nursing the dog and the girl in one arm he ripped open the cage with his free hand and removed the bird. “Can you look after him for me?” He asked the girl who gently took him in her hands. With a task to do she stopped crying.
He made his way to the next floor, he could sense a ki that seemed to be making its way towards the balcony. Gohan watched as a cat jumped out the window and without thinking jumped after it. The cat, however, was fine and landed on all fours. Safely on the ground, the cat ran straight to a frantic man who calmed down once the cat was in his arms.
Since he was already out of the building, Gohan flew to the ground. He unwrapped his cape to reveal the girl and her dog.
“My baby!” a lady yelled. Gohan gave the young girl over to her mother. She reminded him of his own mother.
“And our dog as well.” The girl’s father smiled, taking the canine from him.
“Thank you for looking after the bird for me. You were really brave,” he said. Taking the bird back.
“Thank you, Mister, you’re my hero,” the girl said, kissing him on the cheek.
The parents thanked him multiple times before he was able to free himself to find the birds owner.
“Does anyone own a bird?” Gohan asked, holding the bird out gently with his free hand.
“Peaty.” A girl slightly older than Gohan shouted. “I can believe that you saved him.”
“I’m not sure if I saved him miss, there was a lot of smoke and birds aren’t as hardy as other animals.” Seeing the bird close to death saddened the young hero.
“Whether Peaty lives through this or not, I thank you Saiyaman; for attempting to save him no matter how small he is,” the girl said through happy tears, giving Gohan a peck on the cheek.
Everyone cheered as a firefighter came out with a young man, sensing the building again Gohan could tell that there was nothing else living in there, be it human or pets.
“Is that everyone, officer?” Gohan asked in his superhero voice. If there were deceased in the building, he would help recover them for the families sake.
“We believe so Saiyaman,” the officer replied. “Everyone who lives here is now accounted for.”
“In that case, I’ll be off.” He flew into the distance and heard shouted requests for him to help put out the blaze and help with the clean up afterwards. Typically he would help, today he didn’t have time. He’d already wasted too much as it was. He had to get home as soon as possible.
Videl arrived just as some girl kissed Saiyaman on the cheek. He had outdone her again! Not only did he arrive first; he saved a little girl as well as a dozen animals, at least, that was how the witnesses were reporting it. Saiyaman had the better deal when it came to crime fighting.
- He had powers.
- He didn’t seem to get hurt often.
- And most importantly, he didn’t have the paperwork that went with it like she did.
Hoping the cops hadn’t noticed her, Videl made her way back to school. There was no way that she was going to do paperwork without doing the real work first. She told the chief that Saiyaman had got there first and that she was returning to school.
“Videl, do you know where Gohan is? He generally comes back when you do.” The blond girl asked when after ten minutes Gohan still hadn’t returned.
“He went home after he spoke to the office lady. His grandfathers sick, and he was asked by his mother to come home as soon as possible,” Videl explained.
“I hope his grandpa is okay,” Erasa stated sincerely.
Videls thoughts were back on Gohan, she hoped as well that her friend would be okay. She really should have insisted on going with him. She didn’t have his contact phone number to call to make sure he got home safely. She could not ask Erasa for his number, she’d make assumptions that simply were not true.
Gohan didn’t bother with going through the front door. He flew straight into the window on the second floor that his grandfather had been staying in. He usually was scolded for flying through windows, but not this time. His mother was crying. His grandfather, he couldn’t sense his grandfather’s ki, the older man was to still for the Gohan’s liking.
“Grandpa, no he’s … this isn’t possible, he only had the flu,” Gohan stuttered. Taking his grandfather’s hand, feeling that is was already cold.
“Gohan, my baby. You’re home at last.” Chi Chi screamed and grabbed her oldest son in a bear hug. “My daddy’s gone, and there was nothing I could do! It’s all my fault! I should have taken him to a hospital.” She sobbed into his shoulder, and Gohan cried with her, blaming himself just as much as his mother blamed herself. They should have done more. He had to remind himself that a little girl, her dog and maybe Peaty the bird were still alive because he did go to school. His grandfather would have put their lives ahead of his own.
It was hours later, and everyone in the Son family had red puffy eyes and streaks of tears down their face. Gohan was up in his room looking out the window, holding a textbook which he’d tried to use to distract himself; which had only succeeded in making the book soggy with his tears. Gohan’s mobile phone rung, in a zombie-like mode he picked up the ringing device.
“Gohan, is your grandpa alright?” The voice on the other end of the phone asked.
“Videl?” Gohan managed to whisper out. He was amazed at how croaky his voice sounded when he said her name.
“Yes, it’s Videl. I got your phone number from the student directory. Did you get home safely? Is everything alright with your grandpa?
“He’s gone, I was too late. He was already gone when I got back. I should have been faster travelling home. No, I shouldn’t have gone to school today. Then I would’ve been able to spend a few more moments with him.” He continued rambling on about what he should have done differently.
Videl was not sure what she should be doing, Gohan was crying on the other end of the phone. She’d never heard him cry before and worse, it sounded like his grandfather died before he was able to get home. Her kind classmate was blaming himself for not getting there in time to not finding a cure or realising that he was that sick. She didn’t know what to do so she just sat there listening while Gohan got it all of his chest.
“I’m sorry about your grandpa. I’ll let Erasa and Sharpener know at school tomorrow if that’s okay with you.”
“Sure Videl, thanks for listening.” Gohan managed a smile as he hung up the phone. He felt a lot better after talking to Videl, he turned to see his little brother standing at the door.
“Gohan, can I sleep with you tonight?” The younger boy asked, his eyes red, tears and snot streaking down his face.
“Sure,” Gohan smiled as his brother ran and gave him a hug and started sobbing.
“Mummy said that we can’t use the Dragon Balls to wish grandpa back.” The young boy cried, looking at him with so much hope. He wished that he could tell his little brother their mum was wrong.
“No, we can’t. Grandpa died of natural causes, he can’t come back.” It hurt for Gohan to say that. They couldn’t change anything.
“But why can’t the dragon bring back people that die of natural causes?” Goten cried. “I want my grandpa!”
Gohan just held his brother till he cried himself to sleep, before leaving the younger boy curled up on his bed. Gohan made his way downstairs, a capsule on the table which contained his grandfather’s corpse.
“Gohan, are you hungry?” Chi Chi asked her oldest as he stood in the doorway.
“Not really,” Gohan replied, making a move to sit next to his mother. “What happens now?”
His mother knew what he meant without asking the full question.
“I’m going to have to return to the Ox Kingdom and let everyone know what happened.” Chi Chi answered. “Someone is going to have to take over as ruler of the Ox Kingdom.”
“Who was next in line for the throne?” Gohan asked. He really didn’t know if the Kingdom followed a lineage of eldest to eldest or if it followed male succession. Either way, he or his mother would end up ruling the country.
“I was supposed to be next in line, I stood down from my responsibilities a long time ago, when I had you. I’m not sure if I’m still in line for the throne or if you are.” Chi Chi responded.
Why hadn’t he taken the time to learn more about his grandfather’s family? He knew that one day he would be King. Why hadn’t he prepared? He prepared for everything else. Preparing to be King would have been preparing for his grandfather’s death and possibly the death of his mother, depending on how succession went. Something he hated thinking about. Something that had now caught him off guard.
Bulma had chosen Gohan’s costume well for Saiyaman. It was a tradition for the Ox family to wear a costume of some sort and a helmet. His mother was wearing a helmet which looked like it had a fin on top, a white cape with a purple dress. Looking at older photos of his mother, he was glad that she was wearing a dress since it seemed like when she was younger, she wore a bikini with the cape and helmet instead.
“So we just go out there and announce to the world that grandpa is dead?” Gohan managed to squeak out. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to tell the world that his grandfather was dead. He would be revealing his identity as well, tying Saiyaman to the Ox Kingdom and from there, it was not hard to work out that Saiyaman and Gohan were the same person.
“Pretty much,” Chi Chi answered fussing over her sons Saiyaman costume. Wiping away imaginary dust and fluff. She’s already removed everything that was legitimately on his costume over an hour ago.
“Princess Chi Chi, may I interrupt?” A butler by the name of Renji asked. He had worked for the family for many years.
“Of course,” Chi Chi replied. His mother stopped fussing over his costume, turning to face Renji.
“This is Miss Videl Satan. She has been hired by the Palace for your protection.” Renji introduced the last girl Gohan expected to be at his grandfather’s house.
Videl couldn’t believe it, she gets a job to protect the Ox Kings family and who does she find already there Saiyaman! She didn’t want this job if it required working alongside Saiyaman to protect the royal family.
“I’m quite capable of looking after myself. I don’t need this child looking after me!” Chi Chi snapped.
“Who are you calling a child, old lady!” Videl snapped back, covering her mouth hastily. She couldn’t believe that she had just called the Ox Princess, an old lady. That was no way to talk to clients she had been hired to protect, even if they were rude.
“What about your son?” Renji asked he didn’t seem to keep up with the media so wasn’t aware the Ox Prince was also known as Saiyaman to the public.
“I think I can look after myself,” Gohan replied. Not believing that Renji had suggested Videl, the girl he was always rescuing from danger should be protecting him.
“You’re the Ox Prince?” Videl was in shock. The young Ox Prince was nervous because he knew it wouldn’t be long until everyone found out that Gohan Son, Saiyaman and the Ox Prince were, all the same, person. Heck, he didn’t even know he was known in the Kingdom as the Ox Prince until recently. “Saiyaman is the Ox Prince?”
“Y-ye-es,” Gohan replied. He knew that Videl would work it out very soon who he really was especially since he hadn’t used his superhero voice once since she had been there. “Mum, this is Videl-“ he didn’t get to finish what he was going to say.
“Renji, may you please leave now. Miss Videl can stay,” Chi Chi said, sounding just a little bit sinister. Chi Chi turned her attention to Videl once Renji was gone. “Now who are you, and why do you want to protect us?”
“Because the police from your Kingdom suspect foul play with your father’s death and want to protect you from whoever hurt your father. Plus it’s my job to protect people. Do you really not know who I am?” Videl replied.
“My father died of natural causes. There was no foul play involved at all. I was with him when he passed away.” Chi Chi replied with a cold tone. “And I don’t believe that the police would send a little girl to protect people.”
“Little Girl! Look, Ox Princess, I am not a little girl. You should know who I am. Everybody else does,” Videl snapped.
“Should I?” Chi Chi snapped.
“Mum, this is Videl, who I go to school with. She is Mr Hercule Satans daughter.” Gohan said before the arguing could continue. He was about to reveal his real identity in a few minutes to the whole world, so he thought he may as well get Videl out the way now since she was already here. Besides, she might come out onto the balcony when the announcement was being made and who knows what she would do. The thing he did know was, she would be angry if he didn’t tell her himself.
Videl stood in shock, Saiyaman just said that he went to school with her. But she still had no idea who he could possibly be. Unless he was the boy at school whose, grandfather had died that week. Like the Ox King, had died this week. That didn’t make sense there was no way that Saiyaman could be-
“Gohan?” Videl stuttered.
Saiyaman just nodded his head.
A maid had entered the room while everyone was standing in silence. “Princess Chi Chi, Master Gohan, the press conference is about to start.”
The maid also confirming that Gohan was, in fact, Saiyaman and the Ox Prince which made Gohan even more glad that he’d chosen to speak up when he did.
“Thank you, Miruku,” Chi Chi replied.
Videl stood in silence as she watched Chi Chi fuss over Saiyaman, Gohan again.
“Now Gohan, do you remember what you have to say?” Chi Chi asked her son in a motherly tone.
“I do,” Gohan gulped, he hated the idea of public speaking.
“Videl, can you make sure no one comes through this door?” Gohan asked he knew that if he didn’t say anything, his mother would kick her out and then he would have to deal with an annoyed Videl next time he spoke to her. “Thank you for listening,” he said so his mother couldn’t hear.
“May I introduce Princess Chi Chi and her son Prince Gohan.” The spokesperson for the Palace said as Gohan and Chi Chi walked onto the balcony.
A lot of gasps were heard. Not many people were aware of the fact that Princess Chi Chi son was already a grown man and the superhero Saiyaman. This had many wondering how she had managed to keep her eldest son a secret. They were also wondering why the connection between Saiyaman and the Ox Kingdom wasn’t made sooner within the Kingdom.
Sitting in front of a TV in Satan City where Erasa and Sharpener whom Gohan went to school with. They were only watching the broadcast because they knew that Videl had been sent to protect the royal family.
“There is no way that could be nerd boy? Is there?” Sharpener asked.
“I always joked that he was a prince charming and Saiyaman. I never thought I was correct. Who would’ve thought our nerdy little friend was a hero and a prince.” Erasa replied. “Do you think he will still go to school with us? Do you think he will marry me? I always wanted to be a princess and live in a castle. I liked him before I knew he was a prince. Do you think he will let us visit the castle?”
Sharpener shrugged.
“Poor kid, he never liked publicity,” Yamcha stated to his friends from his years of playing baseball.
“Yamcha, is Chi Chi, the bossy little princess girl who married Goku?” A blue haired woman by the name of Launch asked him.
“She is,” Yamcha replied.
“You knew the Ox Princess?” One of the members of his old team asked him.
“I actually asked her to marry me,” Yamcha laughed at the memory. He had thought that Chi Chi was going to kill him, so he had asked her to marry him. “Back in the day when I was still a Desert Bandit.”
The other’s started laughing as he told the story of how he’d met Chi Chi.
Gohan looked at the crowd of people and with his Saiyan hearing could make out the occasional comment about the Ox Prince being Saiyaman and other whispers wondering where the Ox King was.
Gohan took a deep breath before he started his announcement. “I Son Gohan, prince of the Ox Kingdom and my mother Princess Chi Chi, are here today to inform you that two o’clock Wednesday afternoon my Grandfather the Ox King, passed away due to illness.” Gohan paused as he let his words sink in for the crowd. It seemed surreal; his mother had broken down crying, which was why she was unable to give the speech herself. Every time she practised, she would break down in tears. Goten was currently at Capsule Corporation with Bulma and Trunks watching the broadcast on TV.
After Gohan had finished speaking the spokesperson from the Palace informed the public that the coronation of the new ruler would take place after soon after the public funeral. The spokesperson never announced who the new ruler was going to be. They were currently working out who would take over from the Ox King due to Chi Chi having stepped down years before.
“Are my mum and big brother really a princess and a prince?” Goten asked.
Bulma looked away from the broadcast. “They are indeed, and you’re a prince as well.”
“How come I didn’t know?” Goten asked.
“Your big brother didn’t know when he was your age. You mum told him when he was a teenager,” Bulma answered. “You’re mum wanted you and Gohan to have lives as normal as possible which didn’t happen as she planned for.”
Gohan collapsed once he was back inside and away from the media and broke down in a fresh stream of tears. His grandfather was indeed gone. It hadn’t felt real before, but it felt real now. He was never going to see his grandfather in this life again.
“Do you need me to get you anything?” Videl asked Chi Chi and Gohan.
Gohan shook his head no while his mother requested a glass of water.
It had been decided that Gohan would be the one that would take over from his grandfather and he would need to start preparing for his coronation and his duties once he became King. All the preparation had to be done around school since Chi Chi wasn’t going to let him leave.
“You’re going to need your high school diploma.” Chi Chi argued with her son.
“But mum, all the kids at school are going to pay attention to me,” Gohan complained. “Can’t you homeschool me again?” Gohan begged.
“No, you are going to high school whether you like it or not mister,” Chi Chi scolded her son.
Gohan grumbled about the fact that he would still have to go to school. Even though he loved learning new things, he hated going to school. It was too easy and boring, and he wasn’t learning anything new.
He smiled, him fighting with him mum without either one of them breaking down into tears felt so normal and relaxing. His mother took that smile as defeat, and maybe it was.
He got stares when he did return back to school a week later. Everyone was whispering about what they’d seen on TV. He walked to the back of the classroom, where Sharpener and Erasa were already sitting. He was most nervous about how his friends were going to react.
“Hi Gohan,” Erasa greeted him with her cheery voice and clung to his arm like normal. Sharpener’s greeting was also typical. “We saw the broadcast on TV. We’re sorry about your grandpa. Are you alright?”
“Thank you. I will be,” he replied, taking his seat next to his friends.
He was happy that his friends were still treating him the same as before. Videl was treating him slightly different than before. That was more to do with she didn’t know how to deal with knowing his Saiyaman identity and struggling with seeing Saiyaman and Gohan as one person since she had dealt with Saiyaman as a separate person for so long. He was still expecting an eventual grilling from her once things had settled down, and his grandfather’s death wasn’t so fresh.
Everyone else in the class treated him very differently. Worst of all, even the teacher was different around him. He had people that had never given him the time of day before trying to suck up to him. Thankfully, Sharpener and Erasa both had years of experience with Videl that they were able to weed out those people who meant him harm. He was grateful for his three friends.
“So how come you never told us you were a prince.” Erasa playfully asked him during the lunch break.
“Yeah, it would’ve made Videl less suspicious if she knew you also came from a famous background.” Sharpener laughed.
“I didn’t know I was a prince until the other day,” he replied sadly. “When I was a kid, I thought my grandfathers’ title was just a martial arts fighting name. When I realised he was a real king, even though I knew one day I would be King, it never registered that I am a prince.”
Sharpener laughed hard. “So oblivious. Didn’t you read the history books for class? Your grandfathers mentioned several times. Your mothers even mentioned directly as the Ox Princess.”
They all turned when they were blinded by a flash. Videl was the first one to react, pulling a camera out of the photographs hand and smashing the camera to the ground.
“You aren’t allowed on school property,” The Satan heiress yelled.
“We’re not allowed on school property to take photos of you, there is nothing against us taking photos of young Prince Gohan.”
“You’ll find that my mother’s rather strict when it comes to taking photos of me without permission,” Gohan told the photographer. This was why he didn’t want the credit from the Cell Games. He hated publicity as did his mother.
Unfortunately, it was the first of many incidents with the media. They only got more cunning the closer the funeral and coronation came.
The private funeral was held with close friends, family and staff of the Palace. Gohan looked around at the people he knew all his life. The people who truly knew his grandfather and not just his title. He squeezed his mother’s hand as she gave the eulogy. His mother and grandfather have always been close, they had only grown closer after her own mother, had passed away when she was a young child. Chi Chi cried and sobbed during the whole eulogy, everyone was silent and understanding at her tears. Everyone here knew how much losing her father meant to Chi Chi, it meant more to her than losing his dad, Goku, which was saying something considering how fiercely Chi Chi loved her husband.
Once his mother had finished her eulogy, friends and family came up to them speaking kind words. Goten and the other children looking lost. This was the first time any of them had been faced with actual irreversible death.
“Gohan, your grandfather, was a great man and king,” Krillen told him. “He lost his way for a while, but found it again and was a better person as a result. I know you will make him proud, that you will be a King that the people will look up to, that the Kingdom will continue to prosper under your rule. Besides you’re the smartest strongest kid I know.”
“Thank you, Krillen.” Gohan smiled. His father’s friend always knew how to make him smile.
“Now you just need to find the perfect woman to be your Queen.” Krillen teased.
Gohan sighed, and Chi Chi perked up at the mention of a wife for her son.
“I already have someone in mind.” Chi Chi grinned. Telling everyone about the boisterous girl the police chief from the city had sent out to ‘protect’ them. And Bulma had a lot to add since she’d seen the news reports with himself and Videl saving the city. Gohan groaned as the teasing started, but managed a smile seeing how happy his mother was. They’d always miss his grandfather, but he wouldn’t want them to mourn him forever.
He looked up at the clouds. “I’ll make you proud grandpa, after all, this is a job I was born to do.”
Also posted at:
- Fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11773435/1/Born-to-Be-King
- Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24436405
- Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/894258449-born-to-be-king
