A/N: Hoo boy...where do I even begin. First off, MAJOR sorry to all my fans who've waited 2+ years for an update. I've just been getting interested in other things such as posting art on Deviantart, Tokusatsu, and drawing my own manga.
I made this chapter a medium-short length because I wish to get back into the groove of things around here. A full-length chapter that deals with story-related issues would not have been a good return for me, writing-wise. Trust me, I do not want to get rusty when writing any subsequent chapters for HDNZ, which is arguably my most popular work.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this little Gohan x Noire chapter that I whipped up for you guys. Man, it feels awesome to say this again after 2+ years so without further ado...
Hope you guys enjoy this new chapter of Hyperdimension Neptunia Z!
It was a typical day in Lastation. Birds were chirping, workers were hard at work, and overall a relaxed atmosphere. However...
"Jii..."
"Why are you staring at me?"
A confused Gohan asked Noire, who was doing just that. Noire narrowed her eyes as she continued to inspect Gohan's face.
"You have bags under your eyes. Just how long have you been out training?" Noire asked with a tinge of suspicion.
Gohan gulped under her gaze, before turning away with a sheepish look, "Um...48 hours?"
"What?!"
"Well...I can't really afford to get rusty. I don't think my dad will approve of me loafing around either, unless it's with food." Gohan replied.
"Your dad?" Noire hummed, "Come think of it, you don't speak much about your parents. Is there any particular reason for that?"
Gohan shrugged, "Not really. You've just never asked."
Noire felt an eyebrow twitch as she took in that statement, "Alright then, enlighten me o' Kyuubey."
"...Wh-?" Gohan started.
"Ignore what I said. Carry on." Noire said with an expectant look.
"Ok. Well for starters, he's sort of a battle maniac. He absolutely loves to fight strong opponents, no matter how much they've wronged him."
"That...sounds nothing like you." Noire commented.
"On top of that, he's even stronger than me! But as of recent events, I'm not sure that's the case any longer." Gohan continued as he put a hand to his chin.
"I kind of expected as much...wait, what do you mean 'I'm not sure that's the case at longer' "? Noire asked.
Gohan got up from his seat on the floor and walked to the nearest window in the room, "I've ascended...I was able to go BEYOND Super Saiyan."
Noire got up as well, but didn't walk to Gohan's position, "And there you go with the 'Super Saiyan' talk...just what is that exactly?"
As Gohan spoke the next words, Noire could not see the small but visible smile on Gohan's face, "Something that shouldn't be unleashed here."
Noire nodded her head in understanding, "So it's basically your equivalent of our HDD transformation. I can see that."
"I wouldn't say equivalent, but it's something like that. I know I've transformed in front of you guys before, but I think I should give you a proper demonstration. If that's what you really want." Gohan said, turning to face Noire.
"Is that so? Well then..."
Gohan raised an eyebrow as Noire's rapier materialized in her hand, "May I be a volunteer?"
"Umm..." Gohan grew a concerned gaze as he eyed the blade, "Are you sure about this? Like absolutely sure?"
"Yes." Noire closed her eyes as she addressed him, "After all, you may be strong, but I still want to show you your place as the goddess here."
Gohan sighed. There was no weaseling out of this one.
"If you say so, but we gotta find an open area first."
Noire stabbed her rapier on her floor, keeping both hands on the hilt, "Would Bandicrash be a good choice for you?"
"Bandicrash? What is that place?" Gohan asked.
"Where we first met. It's a fitting battlefield, don't you think?"
"I guess." Gohan said with a small shrug of the shoulders, "Can't really say I'm picky."
"Alright then. Shall we?" Noire said, transforming and climbing out her window.
"Lead the way." Gohan said with a small smile, following after her.
BANDICRASH
Gohan and Black Heart landed in an open space between a couple of rock formations. A medium sized waterfall can be seen in the background as small animals went about their daily business. Many trees were also spread throughout the small, yet vast area.
Noire deactivated her HDD as she watched Gohan inspect the scenery.
"Now that I think of it, this place does look a little familiar." Gohan commented.
"Told you." Noire said, materializing her rapier once more.
Gohan scratched his head as he looked Noire in the eye, "I hate to be that one guy, but whatever happens next is entirely on you. So um, sorry."
"I wanted this, so you better take this demonstration seriously!" Noire exclaimed as she prepared to strike.
Gohan paused. He could practically feel the determination in those eyes of hers. Then he sighed.
"Alrighty then, Noire..." Gohan started as he got into the crane-style stance he inherited from his father, "Come at me."
With those three words said, Noire was off like a bullet.
Gohan's eyes widened ever so slightly. She wasn't this fast before, was she?
"I can see that you're surprised! Don't think I don't have time to train either just because I have goddess duties!" Noire exclaimed as she attempted a downward slice.
Gohan held one finger up to stop the blade. He quickly then used his thumb on the same hand to block her incoming punch.
"Ngh!" Noire jumped back to gather some distance. Gohan simply stood still, waiting for her to attack again.
Noire dashed once more and yelled, "Venom Fencer!"
Gohan easily avoided the three strikes, then proceeded to grab her wrist that held the rapier, "Hey, let go!"
Noire tried to pry her wrist away, but was met with zero success, "What in the actual hell? It's like my wrist is being held by a block of steel!"
With a flick of his wrist, he flung Noire to the nearest rock formation, causing a loud DOOM! and many of the small animals to scatter in fear.
Gohan made sure to use only 1% of his strength, so as Noire didn't get flung through several mountains rather than one simple formation.
Emerging from the dust cloud caused by the impact, Noire could only catch her breath as she didn't expect to be flung as quickly as she was, "Ha...ha...haa...I can see you weren't playing around with that throw..."
"Nope. I'm a little surprised though. Anyone that isn't my friend from my world would've probably been knocked out with that." Gohan said as casually as possible.
"Very well then...try this on for size!"
Gohan looked on in wonder as she seemed to be charging up some kind of flaming substance on her sword.
Jumping in the air and doing a flip at the same time, Noire unleashed her attack, "Volcano Dive-!"
The sheer impact of flaming metal slamming against earth caused the ground in front of Gohan to immediately split and erupt in massive flames.
"Hup!" Gohan quickly jumped out of the way of the oncoming flames.
Noire cracked a small smile, "-KIYOHIME!"
The flames then took a curve and headed to Gohan's direction, who looked slightly surprised. He used a small ki wave and extinguished the flames instantly.
Gohan dusted his hands off as he addressed Noire, "When did you learn that technique? I've never seen you use it around the others before. It was an awesome effort though."
"I trained all week for this fight." Noire said proudly, "I want to fight and beat you at your strongest, since I'm certain that you're stronger than all of us CPUs combined."
That left Gohan puzzled, "If you knew that, then why did you bother-"
"Because Lastation is going to be the best country in all of Gamindustri!"
"..."
"And if I train and beat you, then I'll be the strongest CPU."
"A fight for your ego, basically?" Gohan asked.
"More or less." Noire admitted shamelessly.
Gohan sighed for what was the umpteenth time today, "Yeah...I don't think that's gonna do."
Noire raised an eyebrow as she lowered her rapier ever so slightly, "What do you mean?"
She got her answer when a blazing aura suddenly surrounded Gohan, accompanied by Gohan's hair slowly rising.
"Humility." Was all Gohan said, before a burst of golden light erupted from Gohan, and there he stood in Super Saiyan.
"Hmph! It's about time you me your true color!" Noire exclaimed, transforming as well.
Now in clad in her HDD gear, Black Heart made absolutely no effort to hold back, "I'll finish you with a single blow! TORNERAID-"
Black Heart wasted no time as she quickly gathered more than enough Share Energy for this attack.
"SWORD!"
Gohan calmly took one step forward as Black Heart came in for the hit...
THUNK!
...and much to her utter fascination and shock, he stopped the blade with his index and middle fingers.
"Told you." Gohan quoted Noire.
Black Heart tried to move her blade, but again, it felt like a block of steel to her.
Gohan stared Black Heart in the eye as their gazes locked onto each other, "I'm a boy of my word, so I'll show you...5% of what you wanna see."
Tossing her blade off to the side, Gohan took another step forward. Black Heart stood her ground in defiance of the opponent before her.
Releasing a small amount of ki to allow his aura to flare, Gohan narrowed his eyes.
POW!
And without warning, delivered a vicious uppercut that sent Black Heart soaring several thousand feet in the air.
"What in the world just-"
WHAM!
Only for her train of thought to be abruptly cut off by a brutal drop kick that sent her spiraling into the ground like a torpedo. The impact nearly caused a mushroom cloud, and uprooted several trees in the area.
"I didn't even see him move! That's not fair!"
Black Heart reverted back to Noire as she barely stood on one knee, utterly defeated.
Gohan flew back down and took a knee in front of Noire, "Oh man, sorry if I went overboard!" He apologized, "I guess my dad is starting to rub off on me after all..."
He offered Noire a hand, who only stared at it with an unreadable expression, "He just two-shotted a CPU and apologize as if it were an everyday occurance?"
Gohan could only do the famous Son laugh of awkwardness when asked a difficult question.
"Sigh...since this you, I guess I can let it slide. B-but don't get the wrong idea or anything! I haven't admitted my defeat!" Noire exclaimed, taking his hand.
"But didn't you jus-"
"No buts! This was a tie, and I'm keeping it that way!" Noire said, getting up and then turning her head away.
Gohan had a sweatdrop as he began to walk ahead of Noire, "If that's you wanna see it, be my guest."
"Hmph." Noire stuck her nose in the air with her eyes closed and arms crossed, in typical tsundere fashion.
"It's times like these where I'm surprised she leads an entire country of people." Gohan thought.
Noire began to walk beside Gohan as they headed to Bandicrash's exit. There was a noticeable limp in her posture.
Gohan looked at Noire's pained but determined expression, as she continued to look forward, and smiled, "I can definitely see why people would be willing to fight for her ideals, though."
"Whoa!" Noire exclaimed as her foot hit a piece of stray stone, causing her to fall over. However, Gohan's instincts were sharp, and was quick to catch her.
"Yeah Noire, you need to get yourself checked out. I mean I did say that this fight was on you, but I can't leave my friend to endure the aftermath of a Super Saiyan beating by themselves." Gohan stated, slinging an arm around her shoulder and vice-versa.
Noire's eyes could only widen at that last sentence, "Did you just call me...your friend?"
Gohan looked back at her like she was crazy, "Um...I'm pretty sure I didn't stutter. But yeah, you're my friend. What about it?"
Noire's face felt very warm at that one moment. In that one moment, it felt like a thousand burdens were suddenly lifted, and were now in the hands of the boy next to her.
Plutia was technically her first friend, and Neptune unofficially her 2nd, so hearing Gohan boldly and casually declaring their friendship made her feel...incredible for some reason she could not put her finger on.
"I think I'm gonna have to give you a lift, so hang on like your life depends on it." Gohan ordered.
Though Gohan was speaking respectfully and was only concerned for her well-being, she couldn't stop the tsundere side of her from responding, "I don't take orders from anyone."
"Heh! Either way, let's get you taken care of, Noire!" Gohan said, before shooting through the evening sky.
Noire couldn't help the red from her cheeks from growing any intenser, "Yes...my friend."
A/N: And done. I wish I could've made this longer. I really do. But I didn't want to drag this chapter out any more than I already did. I think I might make these "Daily Life" development chapters for each CPU. For example, Neptune gets a chapter with Gohan, Plutia gets one, Blanc, Vert, and so on, so forth. Tell me what you guys think.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this, and as always, see you next chapter.