"Alright, this looks like a good place."

The two half-Saiyans set themselves down on one of the many deserted landscapes that bordered their house in the mountains. Gohan looked behind him to his brother with concern, but Goten was managing his flying perfectly. It had only been a few days, and already he was acting like he had been doing it all his life.

As they landed, Gohan beckoned to his brother.

"Now that Videl's gone, we can start our real training."

"I liked Videl," Goten argued.

"I like her too," Gohan agreed. "But we couldn't train for real if she was watching us. She doesn't know how strong we are."

Goten frowned, but seemed to understand.

"So, first thing's first, I'm going to teach you how to do a Kamehameha. If Father comes back and sees you don't know it, he'll probably disown me, so we'd better make sure we get this done before the tournament."

"What does 'disown' mean?" asked Goten blankly.

Gohan shook his head. "I'm just joking."

He pointed to a large rock formation in the distance.

"Let's begin."

"The Kamehameha is actually really simple once you get the hang of it. It's much easier than Bukujutsu*, and considering how quickly you figured that out, this should be a breeze."

"The first thing you need to know is the phrase. It's the name of the attack, and it's what you say when you use it. It's what makes it special. So, repeat after me: Ka-me-ha-me-ha." Gohan said it slowly, stretching out each syllable.

"Ka-me-ha-me-ha," Goted repeated diligently.

Gohan nodded his approval.

"Now, the Kamehameha isn't like a…magic spell. You don't need to say the name for it to work. But there are a few reasons why we do it. The first reason is because it's a sign of respect. The Kamehameha was the name given to this move by the Muten Roshi, its creator. Our father learnt the move from him, initially. He didn't invent it. So, by saying the name, we're showing our appreciation to the original creator. We're giving him credit for using the move that isn't ours."

"Another reason is it can actually have a tactical advantage. If you're fighting someone who you've many times before, if you always say the name before you fire, your opponent will assume that's what you need to do for it to work. So, sometimes, you can catch them by surprise if you leave out the name once or twice during a battle. If you have no other choice, it can work."

"And there's one more reason…" Gohan paused.

"What? What is it?" Goten asked, urging him on.

His brother grinned. "It just looks really cool."

"Now you know the words, the second thing you need to know is the pose. Just follow my motions."

Moving his legs slightly apart, Gohan brought his hands up splaying outwards, palms touching, his fingers slightly curled. Goten eagerly mirrored his older brother.

"This is the starting pose," Gohan explained. "It's important for building up your ki before you start charging the move itself. Here, that's all you're doing."

He slowly moved his hands to his right side, fingers pointing away from him. His grip closed slightly, as if he was carrying an invisible ball in his hands.

"At this point, you start focusing your ki out from your hands. Try and form it in the shape of a ball. If you can imagine that, it'll be a lot easier to make. Your hands are there so you don't overboard and make it too big to control."

"Does it matter what side you do?" Goten asked, miming the movements - bringing his hands back to his left side, and then his right.

"It doesn't matter which way," Gohan replied. "Just choose whichever side you think is most comfortable. But you're right-handed, aren't you?"

Goten nodded.

"In that case, it's probably best if you use your right side. That way, your strongest hand will be at the back. It'll be doing the most amount of work."

"OK."

Gohan continued. "So, once you think you've poured enough ki into your Kamehameha, you then do this,"

He performed his previous move in reverse, ending up in his starting position, hands outstretched in front of him.

"Obviously, you'll have to do it a lot quicker than that, or else the attack isn't going to go the way you want it to. But make sure you end up in the same pose that you started in. That's especially important for aiming."

Goten looked about ready to start at that very moment, but Gohan stopped him. "We'll try it in a minute. But first, I'm going to create a Kamehameha right here, in front of you. You should watch me very closely. I'll do it slower than usual, but make sure to see where I'm moving, when. And if you can try to sense where my ki is going, that'll also help."

Gohan moved his hands once more to the starting pose. "Ka…Me…"

Moving his hands back - "Ha…Me…"

But this time, something happened. Between his hands, a ball of blue light was forming, growing, its rays shining in all directions.

"HA!"

Quickly, Gohan brought his hands out, released his power, and fired. The Kamehameha was a beam of energy, its width about as large as Goten himself. It flew at a rapid speed, trailing light behind it, although the beam was largest at the front. As it hit the mountain in front of them, there was an audible crash, and the centre began to crumple, dust filling the air ahead of them.

Goten was about as excited as any young boy who had seen his brother destroy a mountain would be. But Gohan just looked disappointed.

"I probably should have held back a little more," he mused out loud. "At least I know I've still got something."

"You mean, you can make it bigger?" Goten jumped up in anticipation.

"Of course," Gohan replied, nonchalantly. "This one wasn't very powerful at all."

"How big can you make it?" Goten demanded.

Gohan frowned, in thought. "I've never really tested it, but…pretty big."

"Bigger than that mountain?" Goten pointed to the ruined heap of what it used to be.

"Definitely," Gohan replied. "I'm just thinking…the most powerful Kamehameha I've ever done, when it hit, was probably about-" he pointed in the distance. "From that rock there to that tree over there."

Goten observed it in awe. The distance Gohan was pointing out had to be at least half a kilometer across.**

"Although size isn't everything," Gohan commented. "All that really matters is how much ki you put into it. A Kamehameha can be more or less concentrated. In that big one I was referring to, my shot wasn't nearly that big…until it collided with something of an equal power to itself. Actually, it was a power even greater than itself. That was what made it spread out so much."

But if that was meant to calm Goten down, it didn't seem to be working.

"I want to try! I want to try!"

"Have you got the positions down?" Gohan asked.

Goten nodded, and started to bring his hands together.

"Make sure to aim at the mountain!" Gohan exclaimed, suddenly concerned.

The younger Saiyan tried to follow what he had seen his brother do. "Ka-me-"

Observing him carefully, Gohan started to frown.

The rest of Goten's movements were quick, as if he was in a hurry to do it. "ka-me-ha!"

But as he brought his arms out, it didn't work. A small cloud of ki emerged from his hands…only to peeter out the moment it started to move.

Goten fell to the ground, suddenly exhausted. "Why didn't it work?" he frowned.

"I know what you did wrong," Gohan answered. "You weren't building up your ki in the first step. I think you were a bit too eager to try and forgot all about it."

"Is that important?" Goten asked.

"Definitely. The attack requires ki. It takes all the ki that you've stored up and unleashes it. If you don't charge it up, build up that ki, where are you supposed to get that energy from? That's why you're so tired now. Your body didn't know what it was supposed to do, so it took the energy from your stamina, instead."

Gohan walked up and offered Goten a hand. "Are you feeling alright? Want to try again?"

Goten nodded. As his brother helped him to his feet, he prepared his stance once more.

"Ka…me…"

Remembering Gohan's words, Goten tried to spend a lot longer on that starting pose, building up his ki.

"ha…me…"

This time, it seemed to be working. The blast became visible in Goten's cupped palms. Growing…growing…

It was growing at a massive rate. Then, suddenly, there was a blast, and Goten was flown backwards.

"Are you alright?" Gohan rushed over to him.

"It exploded!" Goten exclaimed, showing off his hands. They were covered in black dust. "You didn't tell me it could explode! Why would it explode?"

Gohan frowned, in thought. But the solution came quick to him.

"I think your problem was control. You weren't controlling how powerful your Kamehameha was, so it got too big for you and exploded."

"But I had my hands covering it!" Goten protested.

"That's not the only thing you need to do," Gohan replied. "The position of your hands is more of a…guideline for how big you want it to be. You can't stop it from growing with just your hands alone. You have to control the energy. It's like when you're flying. You don't just build up your ki to fly, and then not worry about it once you're in the air. You've always got to constantly keep control of your power. It's the same here."

Goten seemed to understand, but still had questions. "But if my hands don't do anything…why do I need to keep them like that?"

"It's for aiming," Gohan answered.

Goten stared blankly.

"By having your hands controlling where your attack is, it gives you more control over where it's going to go. Like, for example…"

Scanning the area, Gohan found a small rock lying on the ground.

"Catch."

He lightly threw it to Goten, who caught it effortlessly.

"Now, throw it back to me. It doesn't have to be hard."

As Goten casually threw the rock back, Gohan examined him carefully. "Now, did you see how you brought your arm back before you threw it?"

Goten mimed the movement, realising.

"If you try to launch something without moving your arm, it's a lot harder to control where it's going to go. Say…"

Abruptly, he threw the rock back to Goten, who caught it.

"Try throwing the rock back to me now, but without moving your arm - just your wrist."

Slowly, carefully, Goten attempted this, throwing the rock with just a flick of his wrist. It landed on the ground a few metres from Gohan. Goten stared at it, disappointed.

"See? It's a lot more difficult. And that's just a rock. For something as powerful as a Kamehameha, it's even more important to make sure it goes exactly where you want it to."

Gohan smiled. "And that's why you have to bring your arms back before you fire."

"OK." Goten prepared to try the attack for the third time.

"So, remember, Goten: build up your ki, make sure you control it, and fire. Also…say the words."

"Got it!"

There was a look in Goten's eyes - a determination there, and…Gohan realised his brother had gotten it.

"Ka….me-"

His ki was rising, Gohan could sense.

"Ha…me-"

The ball was growing, but not too fast, until it stopped and steadied.

Goten breathed in. Gohan held his breath. It was as if time was stopped in that very moment - the power in Goten's hands waiting for release.

But then Goten's eyes narrowed, and pushed his hands forward.

"HA!"

The wave of energy was large - much larger than the one Gohan demonstrated. Gohan could sense it was also much more powerful, although…he knew he could make one that was stronger.

He shook those thoughts out of his mind. He was the older brother. Of course he could make one stronger. It was his job to be the stronger one.

Goten moved his gaze from his hands, to the new cavity formed in the mountain ahead of him.

"I did it!" He jumped up the air

"You did it!" Gohan agreed, grinning broadly. "I'm so proud of you!"

But then Goten frowned. "I didn't get it on my first try, though."

Gohan grabbed his shoulder. "Ah, don't worry about that! No one gets everything on their first try. And, besides, you're already the youngest Super Saiyan ever. It's fine if you don't do everything else perfectly."

A sudden thought brushed his mind.

"Wait, Goten! One more thing!"

Goten looked up. "What is it?"

"Just…be really, really careful about trying use a Kamehameha when you're Super Saiyan. Be very careful. If you don't aim it correctly, you could hit the planet."

"And that's bad?"

"That's very bad," Gohan answered. "With that kind of power, it could destroy the entire Earth."

That shocked him into silence. Knowing you had the power to destroy the planet was something not many 7-year-olds wrestled with on a daily basis. Goten still seemed unsure of how to handle it.

"Don't worry," Gohan comforted him. "I trust you."

"But on that note…do you want to keep going?"

And Goten nodded, always eager to please.

[A/N]

This was inspired by a realisation over how much I love training sequences in fantasy settings. It's like the real-world equivalent of watching someone do their homework, but instead of them learning how to do maths sums, they're learning how to shoot lasers out of their hands. It's pretty awesome.

I know this is very dialogue-heavy. I might rewrite it sometimes down the track.

* Bukujutsu = flight. It's what they actually call it in the series, like it's a real martial arts technique, and not just 'flying'. I had include this in the story because reasons.

** For you Imperial system people, that's approximately…0.3 miles. If you think that's too small/big, then I'm just bad at estimating distances from manga panels. Don't take this too seriously.