Another Year
Another strike and his opponent for the day was on the ground. Vegeta found himself smirking; he usually won these little fights, since Kakarot had left only one of the others could really be considered a challenge, Gohan: and after he mastered his Super Saiyan 4 transformation even Gohan didn't stack up. He powered down and walked over to the computer, turning the gravity room off, and lowering the gravity back down to normal earth levels. Training at 500g was simple for Vegeta, and after he started training again, Gohan was starting to get the hang of it as well.
"You did well that time; I even had to use my full power." Vegeta laughed to himself as he walked over to his downed opponent. Gohan was on his hands and knees panting hard, looking like he had just been thrown through a planet, not just around the room. As Vegeta went to offer his opponent a hand up he realized his mistake.
"You're going soft, got you." Gohan sprang up, not nearly as worn out as he let on, and connected with a hard left Hook, knocking Vegeta to the ground and causing him to wipe some blood from his lip.
"Sneaky little runt... Looks like I'm starting to rub off on you after all." As Gohan helped the elder Saiyan up, Vegeta thought back to when he started respecting the boy, no man he found as a constant training partner. While the young boy had never really liked fighting like the rest of them, Gohan never truly backed down from a fight, something even the Prince of Saiyans could claim. Even as a child, the young Half-blood stood up to the likes of Frieza, Broly, Even Vegeta himself, while the prince fully admitted he ran more than once from a fight. The Saiyan prince chuckled to himself as he thought, "Crap… I'm getting soft."
"You-hoo! Earth to Vegeta! Come back to us, it's almost time to go." At that moment you could have sworn Gohan had channeled his father, and after some Senzu beans to fix their broken bones and remove some forming bruises, the two Saiyans were off, walking down the street instead of flying, into the city.
Trunks, Bulma and Bra sat leisurely at their table. They sat in a small bistro, one they had visited almost every day since it had opened 2 months ago. Looking around at the place, they couldn't help but smile, it was busy, but not overly packed, and the investment Capsule Corp. had made seemed to be doing just fine, because they had already gotten their money for the building back and then some. Trunks looked around the place and smiled in Nostalgia. Items all around had reminded him of their many adventures, From Trunk's and Goten's training Gis, To Goku's Power Pole. Even the dragon Radar sat inside a case by the front counter, under the banner "Welcome to Son Chi-Chi's!" Trunks was pulled from his thoughts when the next costumers walked through the door.
"Bulma! Hey how are you!" Krillin and his family walked through the door waving happily at the Briefs family. Through the kitchen door Son Chi Chi's Owner came to greet his special guest, or any guest really, just to be friendly. Standing tall and waving at the costumers stood Son Goten, the owner and proprietor of Son Chi-Chi's. With no real job, or any kind of obligations to hold him down Goten mostly stayed at home, waiting for his mother to cook their next meal. With all of his hovering over his mother's cooking, he started to pick things up, using the freshest ingredients, never rushing a meal, the subtle use of spices, all things Goten picked up from watching, and later helping his mother. When Goten came to the Briefs and told them about his ambition to start a restaurant, and needing some funds to start his investment, Trunks nearly laughed him out of the building. It was only when Goten locked himself in the kitchen and made a meal for the family, gaining praise from even the Prince himself, did Trunks feel good about giving his friend the cash. After getting the place fixed up and everything he needed, Goten as owner and chef, Chi-Chi as head chef and kitchen specialist, and Pan taking orders and serving guest, worked harder than they had ever worked before, and the little place flourished.
"Welcome! Can I interest you in the Uneatable Goku Special? Finish it in an hour and you get your meal free." Goten smiled that goofy smile the men in his family had become known for, eyes closed offering he guest an almost unbeatable challenge of a meal. When he finally did open his eyes and looked around he noticed just who was there. Besides the Briefs and Krillin's family, Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu, Uub, and the rest of the gang, minus the two elder Saiyan warriors, were sitting in a corner of the place. "Oh Guys! I didn't realize what time it was..." He said with a laugh "... When Gohan and Vegeta get here I'll lock up and we can get this party started!" As if on cue, Vegeta, followed by Gohan walked in. They stared blankly as the others began to laugh, the two oblivious to whatever joke the just missed. "Wow… I should have said that an hour ago." Goten laughed to himself and locked the door, changing the Open sign to closed, and took off to serve the others. With that the party began, and the Z-fighters, past and present, took time to enjoy themselves and hang out together, without the world being in peril. Finally Trunks spoke up, saying the one thing that had been on everyone's mind.
"I can't believe it's been a whole year since the Shadow Dragon incident…" He sighed and looked around, some faces showed relief that everything was peaceful, but the majority looked sadden by the departure of the groups De Facto leader, Goku. Even with the hushed tone, the party soon picked up again, and before anyone knew it, families were laughing and stuffing their faces. Both Gohan and Vegeta proved that they could indeed defeat the "Uneatable" Goku special, but Trunks and Goten both thought they could both do it as well. As the night went on, and the sun began to set, the two Elder Saiyans found themselves again away from the crowd.
Gohan finally broke the silence between them. "Even after all this time you are going to be anti-social?" The two stood cross armed, staring at and elderly Krillin embarrassing himself, and killing whatever karaoke song he was singing. "Or is it that out of everyone here, you really miss dad the most."
"Shut up punk… or do I have to remind you who the strongest in the Universe is. Again?" Vegeta scoffed as Gohan left and rejoined the others. "Dammit Kakarot… If you were good for anything, you were an amazing warrior." Vegeta looked out the window at the now star filled sky. "Crap… I AM getting soft." With that last thought he rejoined the party,and when it ended the same thought was on everyone's mind.
"Until Next Year."
AN: This was mostly my way of redeeming some of the Characters in GT. The one that was treated the worst by far was Goten, treated as nothing more than a lazy kid who really was no help in any fights. I hope you like the story, and I hope to get some feedback soon.