The Dragon Ball Diaries
By Letgo
Summary: A collection of drabbles oneshots that about the Dragon Ball Z characters as they think about the big things that happen in their lives.
Story: Fishing
Rated: PG for mild language
Fishing
You know, I just had my first real conversation with my father today. Ever since he came back to life four years ago today, we've barely talked. But, we had our first real conversation and now, I feel more at ease.
Maybe I should first explain who I am. My name is Son Gohan. My parents are Son Goku and Chichi, Princess of Mount Frying Pan. I have a younger brother named Goten. My wife is Videl Satan, daughter of Hercule, and my daughter is Pan. Any one of those names would elevate me to the highest of social status, but I'm friends with several other big names. I don't mean tot brag, but, its the truth and it plays big in my story.
I had gone over to my parents' house to borrow something or other. Well, I think. You see, I kind of forgot by the time I got there. Which is quite sad since they live next to us. Anyways, I had just arrived.
I could hear my mother screeching at my brother. I shook my head and walked inside without knocking. "Hey mom, dad, Goten," I called as I removed my shoes.
"Gohan!" My mother said excitedly like she hadn't seen me in a long time. "Hey son," My father's ever cheerful voice floated towards me as he walked out of the kitchen. He was eating a sandwich.
Suddenly, he got a look on his face and asked me to come with him. We walked out to his favorite fishing spot. Dad sat down and I next to him. We were silent for several moments when suddenly, a memory surfaced.
"Hey, dad, do you remember when we first met Vegeta?" I asked.
"Yeah," he answered. I looked around and found a smooth, flat rock.
"You know, we never did go fishing like you promised," I announced. He looked at me quizzically as the memory surfaced for him.
"You're right. We haven't gone fishing since, at least, not together," my father replied. We sat in silence as I skipped my rock and looked for another.
Maybe that's why it startled me when he said, "I'm sorry."
"What? About not taking me fishing? You said when it was all done we'd go and its never really stopped," I answered him, a laugh in my voice. I looked over at him and noticed he was staring across the lake at Pan and Bura. They were playing dolls, laughing and talking excitedly to whole time.
"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I never let you have a childhood," he told me after a while's pause. "From the time you were a year old, Chichi began teaching you. And, after I died, you had to grow up and learn to fight. You had to learn techniques it took years to learn in a few short months," he stopped. The days of my early childhood came and I remembered watching Nappa kill my dad's friends. And Piccolo. I shuddered, as in my mind, he died countless times.
"Dad, it was the only choice. Otherwise, people would have died," I told him, a smile on my face.
"And, Namek. You had to see the cruelty harbored inside some. Not to mention Freeza," my father stopped, still staring at my daughter and her friend. "And, with Cell. You had to see your loved ones die, again. It seemed like a good idea at the time, letting you fight. It was, but it cost you your father. Me." He paused again.
"Dad, I was the only one who was strong enough at the time," I told him.
"I won't even mention Buu," he went on. "If I could, if I could go back in time and change something, you know what I would change?" He asked, still not looking at me.
"No, I don't," I answered him, throwing another tock into the lake.
"I'd make sure you had a childhood," he told me.
"Dad, it's okay. It was for the best that I grew up so quickly," I protested.
"Dammit Gohan, quite making excuses," my father told me. He looked me in the eye and I saw anger. Not anger towards myself, or Freeza, or Cell, or anything else that popped up in my childhood. He was mad at himself.
"Dad," I began but he interrupted me. "Gohan, I've seen how you watch Goten, Trunks, Pan, and Bura, as well as Marron. I see the sadness," he said. Neither of us said a word for what seemed a long time. It might have been a few seconds or a few months. Time seemed to have stopped in that one instant. Finally, dad stood up and started to walk away. But, as I stayed there, skipping rocks, he told me, "Let's go fishing tomorrow. After all, I did promise."
"Sure dad," I told him. He turned to me and I swear I saw him genuinely happy.
And that was my first real conversation with my father. I think I learned more about him today then I have in my entire life. Today, I met a man who I had known all along, yet I never knew. I met my father, but I think that I met a part of myself, too.
A/N: Well, what can I say? I was reading DBZ manga 3 when I reached the end and came across the line where Goku promised Gohan they'd go fishing and I began to think. Did they ever go fishing? I couldn't remember, but I didn't think so. And, that's where this came from. Also, I wrote it in about an hour. Is it good for an hour's time? Tell me.