It has been several years since Son Gohan defeated Cell.
The world has long forgotten the Cell crisis.
Well, that is only natural.
In fact, even Gohan himself, the one who defeated Cell, now hardly trains anymore and spends his days focusing only on studying.
Occasionally, he plays with his younger brother, Goten.
Until now, Gohan had either been taught by private tutors or studied on his own, but recently he began attending high school.
The name of that high school was… Orange Star High?
No, it was Asahi High School.
He commuted from home using the Kintoun (Flying Nimbus), so he never joined any school clubs.
Then again, even if the school was nearby, Gohan only attended for the sake of studying, so it made little difference whether he joined a club or not.
Gohan had friends, though not many.
Interestingly, he was very popular among "carnivore-type" girls, who considered him a "cute-type boy." He even had a fan club among them.
But whether it was because he was naturally dense about romance, or simply didn't notice, Gohan remained completely oblivious and showed no signs of realizing it.
Meanwhile, the Son family finances were in crisis.
The savings of Ox-King, Gohan's maternal grandfather, were running out, and since both Gohan and Goten were huge eaters, money had become tight.
His late father, Son Goku, had never worked a day in his life, so there was no source of income.
Even so, his mother, Chichi, persuaded him, "It's better for you to attend school," and so he enrolled at Asahi High School.
To repay his mother, Gohan worked hard to maintain first place in the school exams.
So far, his effort had always paid off. He had scored perfect marks in all subjects and held the top spot in his year.
However, there was another person tied with him for first place.
His name was Uesugi Fuutarou.
Although Fuutarou didn't actively socialize with others, he seemed to take an interest in Gohan, who also achieved perfect scores.
Gohan had no reason to refuse his company, and so the two became friends. By now, their relationship could even be called that of close companions.
They were often seen studying together, asking each other questions, and teaching one another.
And now, Gohan was preparing to eat lunch in the school cafeteria with Uesugi Fuutarou.
Fuutarou: "Yakiniku set meal. Without the yakiniku."
Uesugi-kun always ordered like this. Since his family was poor, he tried to save as much as possible on meals.
According to him, instead of paying 200 yen for a single serving of rice, ordering the 400 yen yakiniku set without the meat reduced the price to the same 200 yen, while still including miso soup and pickles.
My family is also struggling… Mom said something like that before. Maybe I should learn from him?
…Ah, but then again, I brought a bento today.
In Mount Paozu, meat and fish could be obtained through hunting and fishing, but vegetables usually had to be bought.
Gohan: "Uesugi-kun, shouldn't you eat a little more?"
Fuutarou: "If it's not enough, you'll share some with me, right?"
That was true. I couldn't bear watching him eat so little, so I often shared with him.
Though, "a little" by Gohan's standards was actually quite a lot for Fuutarou.
Student A: "Uesugi is eating with Son again?"
Student B: "He doesn't have any other friends, huh?"
Student C: "Son and Uesugi are both bookworms after all…"
Girl A: "Hey, should we try inviting Son-kun?"
Girl B: "Ahh… embarrassing! I can't do it…"
So it went. Among certain people, Son Gohan was fairly popular.
Gohan and Uesugi-kun walked to their usual seats.
But just as Fuutarou set down his tray—
Clatter!
"..."
Fuutarou: "..."
A girl also placed her tray down at the same time.
Girl: "Wait! I was here first! The seat next to it is empty, so move over!"
Fuutarou: "That seat is Gohan's. And I sit here every day. So you should move."
Girl: "That doesn't matter!"
Gohan: "Well, well… maybe we should let her have it, Uesugi-kun…"
Girl: "See! He agrees too!!"
Clatter!
Uwah… Uesugi-kun had no hesitation. He sat down first and started eating…
Fuutarou: "See? I was faster! This is my seat!"
Swoosh
Fuutarou: "Hah?"
The girl ignored him and sat in the chair opposite him.
Fuutarou: "That's my seat—"
Girl: "The chair was empty. I toured the whole school this morning, and my legs are at their limit."
Student D: "Hey, Uesugi's eating with a girl?"
Student E: "Oh no…"
Student F: "…///"
The girl sitting opposite Uesugi-kun blushed.
Was she sick…?
She looked unwell, but then continued eating normally, so maybe I was imagining it.
Girl: "…! Studying while eating… that's so rude."
Fuutarou: "…What? Ninomiya Kinjiro was praised for reading while walking, but I get scolded for studying while eating?"
Gohan: "Ninomiya Kinjiro was studying while walking…"
Girl: "Exactly! It's not the same thing!"
Fuutarou: "Ignore me. I'm just reviewing for the exam."
Uesugi-kun calmly kept studying.
Girl: "Studying while eating… You must be desperate? How many points did you get? Show me!"
Fuutarou: "Hey!"
The girl snatched Uesugi-kun's test paper and looked at the score…
Girl: "Wha…!?"
Fuutarou: "Ah—! Stop! Don't say it—!?"
Girl: "100 points…?!"
Fuutarou: "Ah—!! So—embar—rassing—!!"
Though honestly, Uesugi-kun didn't look embarrassed at all.
Girl: "Y-you showed me on purpose, didn't you!?"
Fuutarou: "Who knows."
Girl: "Ugh… as frustrating as it is, you really are smart. I'm so jealous… I'm terrible at studying…"
"…Oh! I've got a great idea! Since we're sharing a table, teach me how to study!"
Fuutarou: "I'm full. Gohan, I ate a lot today, so no rice."
Gohan: "Eh? Uh, okay…"
Girl: "Ehh!? You're done already!? That little bit of food was enough!? Want me to share some with you?"
Fuutarou: "I said I'm full. Actually, you're eating too much. You'll get fat."
Girl: "…!?"
Gohan: "Is that so…? I think she's fine."
Crunch crunch
(End of Chapter)
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