She sat and watched her son, the joy in her life, sit quitely at the desk in the living room and work on his studies. From morning until now, late evening, he had been at it. For weeks now it was the only thing he'd done. Get up, eat, study, sleep and repeat. Since that wretched day he had dived into books like she'd never seen before.
Gone was the boy who wanted to wander, to wonder, to play outside. To train with his father, or go and find his mentor. Now sat a small shell doing what she had always wished he'd do, and it broke her heart.
The pot of rice on the stove began to boil over, and the sound of the chattering lid broke her reverie. She stood and bustled over to the other side of the kitchen to put the finishing touches on dinner. She had made a feast, tempura sat steaming on the counter as she began to bring it all to the table. The rice filled several large bowls, scallops sat piled high next to fillets of fish soaked in soy sauce. Miso and curry and natto mixed together and filled the small house with a moving aroma.
As she finished setting the table she called to Gohan to come join her. Obediently closed his book, put his pen away, and walked to the kitchen table.
"Thank you for dinner Mom." He smiled as he said it, but it stopped short of his eyes.
"Your welcome honey. How were your studies?" She didn't partiularly care. She knew they were good, that he was doing well. He was HER son after all. And she knew how smart he was. She just wanted to get him talking.
"Good! I was just reading about the arachnid family, under the order of Thelyphonida! ALso known has or whip scorpion, they shoot vinagar when threatned! Well, not true vinager, but still close enough! Isn't that interesting?" Chi-chi smiled and nodded. It was more words than he had spoken at one time in weeks. She was glad to see some flicker of enthusiasm in him. Some reflection of what he had been before his father's death.
"That is very intesting Gohan! Though, I was thinking, what if we went out tomorrow? Maybe try to train a little?" Immediatly the youthful and excited look washed from Gohan's face. His eyes went dull and a pained expression came over his face.
"No, I think I'd rathe rstudy." His voice was monotone, bereft of the enthusiasm that had been there mere moments before. Chi-Chi, not deaf to the feelings she was seeing quickly changed the subject.
"Well, what if we simply went for a walk around the mountain? You could tell me all the different things you've been learning." She smiled hopefully to the boy across the table.
"No, I think I'd rather study." He face was void of all emotion. His eyes empty once again. "Thank you again for dinner mother, I think I"m going to study some more before I go to bed." With that Gohan stood up fro the table, brought his plates to the sink and walked back to his desk.
Chi-Chi sighed, setting to clean the table of the mostly uneaten meal. She lamented her sons current appetite. It was mostly non existant. He'd hardly eaten anything at each meal. It wasn't healthy and she knew it, but she couldn't do anthing to convince him to do more. He was beginning to wither away. Every action she took to draw him back out didn't work. He wasn't interested in the outside world, in training, in anything but his studies. He was burying himself and she couldn't pull him out. Something was needed to bring him back.
***
The next day Chi-Chi rose early and made breakfast for herself and Gohan. Again he ate, but barely enough. Her stomach wouldn't allow her to hold much down either. Gohan stood, thanked her for the meal and walked over to his desk to start on his days activities.
"I was thinking of visiting the Briefs today Gohan, would you like to come as well?" She knew Gohan always enjoyed looking at Bulma's lab. Or he did, before.
"No thank you Mom, I'm almost down with this book and I think if I work hard I can finish a second one today as well." She wished she could take pride in his diligence. Here, in front of her, was the son she always wanted but thought she'd never have. Though now that he was here it broke her heart.
"Okay honey. I might be awhile, but there's plenty of food left over for lunch. I should be home before dinner." She smiled at him, but he didn't look up from his books. She knew he wouldn't stop to eat either, not unless she was here to make him.
She stod in the front yard and called nimbus. As she waited for the flying cloud she began to layer up, though it was warm out. From past experiences she knew how cold it would be in the air, and though it hadn't ever effected Goku or Gohan, it did effect her. The cloud swept down and waited patiently as she gingerly climbed up. "Okay you weird little cloud, I need to go to Bulma's house." She had never become one hundred percent comfortable with nimbus, no matter how many times she'd been on it with Goku. Even now she would have rather driven, had she been able to afford the gas.
Below her the landscape whirled by. She didn't look. Her mind was preoccupied with her son, and what she could do to help him. She hoped her trip to see Bulma and that terrible man Vegeta was worth while.
In short order she arrived at her friend's house, and stepped off of cloud in the backyard of the mansion that was the Briefs complex. Stepping in she made her way to her friends labratory. She knocked once and entered, stepping gingerly around the equipment strewn about. She spotted the cerulean haired woman bent over a piece of machinery, slowly taking it apart piece by piece.
"Hello?" She called out gently, so as not to startle the woman. Bulma looked up and saw her friend standing there between the tables of machinary that they had plunder from Gero's lab.
"Chi-Chi!" Bulma smiled widely as she walked over and gave the other woman a large enveloping hug. "I'm sorry about Goku, truly. You know he's probably my oldest friend." Chi-Chi stiffened, and composed herself before replying.
"I know, but I'm not here to talk about that right now." Bulma looked into her friends eyes and saw the pain laying there, barely concealed, and nodded. Knowing that now wasn't the time.
"What can I do for you then girl!" Bulma put ona false front of chipper energy, hoping to take the other woman's mind off of her pains.
"I'd like to speak to Vegeta, actually. I just don't know where to find him." Chi-Chi spoke these words demurely, almost embarassed to admit that she wanted to speak to Vegeta at all. She still hadn't entirely forgiven him for what he'd caused. In her mind, if it wasn't for him and his cohorts, her family would still be whole, unbothered by the likes of aliens, space tyrants, and cyborgs.
"Pff, that pig. Why would you want to talk to him? He's in the gravity room. LIKE ALWAYS!" The last phrase was shouted at the farwall. Chi-Chi assumed that Vegeta was behind it.
The two woman walked through the complex and made it to the training rooms of Vegeta. Though close on the plans it was a long and circuitous route to arrive at the entrance. Bulma hit the buzzer to let Vegeta know that they were outside, but he didn't open the door, instead buzzing through the intercom to them. "What?" His gruff voice and heavy breathing came through the speaker at them.
"Ugh, I never should have given him the option of locking this thing." Bulma grumbled to herself.
"is that why you came here to interrupt my training? For your griping? Leave me woman, I'm busy." The intercom clicked off and Bulma muttered some more under her breath.
"I'm sorry Chi-Chi, he can be so inconsiderate sometimes." She hit the intercom button again. "No Vegeta, you jerk, Chi-Chi has something she wants to talk to you about." She let go of the button and waited for a reply.
The intercom clicked on again. "What do you want woman?" The annoyance in Vegeta's voice was evident.
Her hand played with the front of her dress, slowly wringing it. "I was wondering if you could talk with Gohan. I can't get him to do anything, not even train. I'm worried about him and was hoping you could somehow pull him out of it." Chi-Chi waited for a reply, sickened that she was asking this beast for help, hands clenched nervously at her side, and waited for his answer.
"I'm not going to waste my time with that Brat! If he wishes to give up his power than so be it! Let him grow weaker as I grow stronger and claim the right that is mine! To be the strongest in the universe!" With a growl the Vegeta clicked the intercom off. Chi-Chi was crestfallen, though not suprised. She sighed and turned to her friend at her side.
"Well, it was worth a shot." Bulma simply leaned over and hugged her friend.
"Please, stay for some tea and snacks?" Chi-Chi nodded and the two walked off to the kitchen.
That night Chi-Chi sat alone in her living room, fire buring gently in the wood stove. It's flames danced and swayed reaching up for the chimney, the crackle and pops of the wood burning eased her mind and she gently rested her hand on her stomach. She could feel something moving there. It was too soon to have felt a normal baby, but this wasn't a normally baby. This was his. She began to cry silently at the thought of raising a child without Goku.
The next day, after setting Gohan up, Chi-Chi departed on nimbus again. Unsure of what she was doing. Unsure if Numbus would even be able to find who she was looking for. She sat bundled up, and waited, and the worries of last night ran through her mind.
In the distance the high tower that was the guardians look out rose before her. Nimbus began it's ascent and the temperature dropped, Chi-Chi began to shiver through her layers. Then suddenly the temperature jumped and it was warm again. Like she'd crossed some invisible barrier. Nimbus landed and CHi-Chi gently disembarked, and stretched her sore legs and back, stiff after the long ride. Rubbing her lower back the looked around.
"What are you doing here?" The gruff voice made her jump, startled. She turned around quickly and tried to regain her composure. She looked up at the green man in front of her. Gohan and Goku had explained that he was in fact an alien, but in her mind he was still a demon. One that had tried to kill her husband and had stolen her son. She blamed him almost as much as she blamed Vegeta for the life her family had led.
"I came here looking for you." She was proud that ver voice didn't quake or quiver in the least. "I want you to talk to Gohan, I can't get him to be interested in anything. He's just burying himelf in his books everyday. He's barely eating, he won't even go outside." Her voice broke slightly at the end and a few drops fell from her eyes before she steeled herself, pushing it down. Trying to show a strength she didn't really feel.
"Hmf. Isn't that what you always wanted?" Picollo sneered down at her. She stood straighter and matched his gaze.
"It isn't wrong to want more for your son than a life of violence! But I don't want him to waste into nothing either! Now are you going to help me or are you going to be as useless as the idiot braggart Vegeta!" She's lost her temper, she felt the anger well up in her and nearly transform her. She knew what Picollo could do and it didn't scare her. The only thing that truly frightened her was what could happen to her son. She stood panting in front of the demon.
"I'll talk to him." And with that he turned and launched himself into the sky, leaving Chi-Chi behind and feeling drained.
Picollo touched down in front of the Son house hold, the quaint cottage in the mountains and approched the fron door. As he reached for the doorknob he heard Gohan's voice from the inside. "Go away! I'm busy studying!" Picollo ignored his students request and walke din aways. Gohan didn't even turn from his desk. Picollo strode forward and reached to grab Gohan's shoulder. Faster than the namekian thought possible Gohan was turned around, facing him with his hand grasped tightly in his own. Gohan repeated himself. "Go away, I'm busy. I need to study." Picollo shuddered at how cold his students voice had become.
"Look at yourself Gohan! You're wasting away! Your mother's worried sick about you!" Gohan's face slowly turned sour, his frown growing deeper.
"You can leave now." Gohan let go of his mentors hand. "Leave. I'm busy." He turned back around and reached for his chair. Picollo reached out and grasped his students shoulder. Before he knew it he was picking himself up off of the ground, and there was a huge gaping hole in the Son's house. Before he could fully stand up a boot was in his midsection bending him double, spit flew from his mouth. His students face was twisted and ugly. Anger and pain writ plainly across his face. Picollo was launched backwards, but managed to compose himself before the second assault could begin.
He saw it coming this time, the fist flying for his face. Know that he expected it he dodged easily, flying quickly to the side. Gohan tried for a roundhouse to his waist but Picollo blocked it with out effort. Already Gohan was showing fatigue. The abuse he'd treated his body to in the last few months becoming evident. Picollo knew he needed to end it quickly. With a quick chop he stunned Gohan and followed it up with a flurry of blows to Gohan's midsection. A crushing double handed hit on Gohan's back flung him into the ground below.
Picollo landed next to the boy. "Pathetic Gohan. I barely had to try. Look at what you've done to yourself. You can barely fight! What if was someone threatening your mother?" Picollo scowled down at his students prone body. "Even the best engine needs fuel. You can't abuse yourself like this.
Gohan looked up, tears evident in his eyes now. "I deserve this, this is my punishment I killed him Picollo, I killed him and I deserve this." Picollo softened as he saw the pain in his students eyes, the broken boy. The one who had seen his father killed infront of him, twice now.
Picollo kneeled down so he could be at eye level with the sitting boy. "He chose to stay dead, you didn't do anything. He could have come back. You're here though, he wouldn't want you to hurt yourself like this."
Gohan continued to look down. "I don't even like fighting. I do, because I have to. I like studying Picollo. I enjoy learning." Picollo frowned.
"Hmf. If it's what you want, I guess you can leave the protection of earth to Vegeta and me. But stop punishing yourself. You can still do more. You're not the only one hurting Gohan. You're being selfish. You're mother is as broken hearted as you. But she's being strong, for you." Gohan looked up, guilt on his face. "It's natural to feel like you do, and grieving is okay, but hurting yourself isn't. Now stand back up. Let's go back to your hosue."
Chi-Chi landed outside her house, her first reaction was anger at the hole in her front wall, but her second was of relief as she saw Gohan at the table, eating a large meal with Picollo standing behind him, arms crossed. He met her eyes and walked over.
"Well, this isn't what I totally had in mind when I asked you for help." Chi-Chi remarked, coldly. Picollo simpy grunted. She wasn't sure what that meant.
"Mom?" Gohan's voice pulled her attention away from the green demon and back to her son. "I'd like to go for that walk tomorrow." He looked up and smiled, unsure. SHe smiled back, blinking away tears and only nodded in response. Gohan turned back to his meal and started to eat with enthusiasm she hadn't seen since his father had died.
"Thank you, Picollo." She said, as pure intentioned as she could possibly be. "But I expect you back to fix my wall tomorrow." She said, with iron in her voice. Picollo grunted again, with what she hoped was acquiescence, before flying away.
Chi-Chi turned to her son, her hand falling to her stomach without ther noticing and breathed a long sigh of relief happy that now the healing could begin. Praying that nothing like this would happen again.
AN
So, there's a short one shot I've been kicking around. Everyone always blames Chi-Chi for Gohan not training during the time skip, but what if she didn't force anything? She clearly wasn't opposed to training, as she trained Goten. rather, I think Gohan was done with fighting. He'd never chosen it. It was always something thrusted upon him. Instead I think whe given the chance he simply wanted to go back a peaceful life. learning was something he enjoyed.
Also also, i you find any spelling errors, or other grammatical mistake let me know. I didn't proof read this because if I did I'd just delete it since I hate my own writing. Let me know what you think in the reviews!