"Mom ... my homework's done. Can we go and train now?"
Goten dashed into the kitchen where Chi-Chi was busy preparing the evening meal, a significant daily event with two growing half-Saiyan boys in the house. He tossed his school papers on the table so his mother could examine his work and pronounce it done. While he waited, he bounced from foot to foot in barely contained excitement.
Mid-afternoon was Goten's favorite time of day after he wrapped up his studies with Chi-Chi and before dinner, which came in a close second. During that time, Big Brother Gohan returned from his commute to Orange High and retired to study, so Goten had his mother all to himself.
During those wonderful two hours, the younger Son went outside with his mother - on nice days only, of course, as not to dirty his clothes too much - and they practiced martial arts together. Chi-Chi had agreed to train him after Goten had begged her forever. She had not wanted to at first, but there was no one else to ask. His father was dead and his brother was way too busy with school, his girlfriend Videl, and being the Great Saiyaman on the side to teach him.
Which was a bit unfair. After all, he was the only one who did not make fun of his brother's superhero costume. He had wanted to support Gohan, as family is supposed to, but in secret, he thought the outfit was quite silly-looking. He would never give voice to such thoughts; Goten was a kind and considerate boy who did not like to hurt other people's feelings.
But still ... you would think that Gohan would be glad to help him out. No such luck though, and he had been forced to beg Chi-Chi. When he had talked about it with his brother, Gohan had warned him not to expect much because Chi-Chi had been dead set against Gohan fighting when he was younger. But, to his surprise, Chi-Chi agreed.
Chi-Chi wiped her hands on a clean towel, then looked over his homework with a critical eye. Goten had taken extra time to double check his maths, he did not want any errors to get in the way of his training time.
"Good work, Goten. Everything looks good." Chi-Chi set the papers down, then tousled his hair with great affection. "Now go and change into your doku, and I'll meet you outside."
"Okay, Mom." The wide smile that reminded his mother so much of Goku spread across his face. He rushed to the room he shared with his brother, pulled out a fresh orange gi and blue undershirt from his dresser.
"Hi, Gohan!" Goten waved with enthusiasm as he tugged the shirt over his unruly hair.
"Hey." Gohan didn't look up in response; he kept his face buried in his texts. "I'm studying for my midterms, so keep it down. Okay?"
"Ummm, sure," the younger half-Saiyan replied in a distracted tone as he rushed to prepare for sparring time.
Goten did not get why the older Son spent so much time on his schoolwork; Gohan was just so smart that he shouldn't need to study at all. Sometimes Gohan would stay like that for hours, hunched over his books, and the world ceased to exist for him outside of those pages. He was so wrapped up that Goten was not sure that his brother knew he was learning how to fight.
"See ya later, Gohan."
"Later, Squirt," Gohan replied, but again did not look up.
A stew bubbled in the slow cooker for later, filling the small room with savory odors good enough to make anyone drool in anticipation. The tantalizing aroma met Goten when he rushed back into the kitchen to gather up Chi-Chi for the day's workout.
"Mooooom, I'm ready," he called as he passed by the family table, opened the door, and dashed out into the front yard to begin his stretches.
Goten could see Grandpa Gohan's little white shack across the way; he often stared at it from his bed at night when he had trouble sleeping. His dad had grown up there for the first twelve years of his life, and the little boy liked to go into the old building when he needed to think ... or when he missed the father he had never met. In that place he could feel closer to Goku, whom he had only seen in pictures on the family mantle, and who everyone said he resembled so much in face and temperament.
Often, Goten wished that his father had chosen to come home after fighting the villain Cell instead of staying away to "make the Earth a safer place", or so his mom had told him. Honestly, it just wasn't fair! Why did his dad have to be dead? Trunks had a dad, and he had even left for a while but had chosen to come back home to his family.
Had he done something wrong? Was that why Goku chose to stay away? Did he even know that Goten existed at all?
"Are you ready for today's lesson?" Chi-Chi had pulled her raven hair back into a tight bun and changed into a lighter aquamarine sarong that was easier to move in.
Goten beamed when he noticed his mother and put the sad thoughts out of his mind. He was not one to dwell for long on negativity, especially when he could focus on his most favorite thing in the world: sparring!
Together, they performed warm-up exercises: stretches to limber up, sit-ups and push-ups to warm their muscles and prevent injury, then practiced their punches and kicks to make sure that Goten was doing them correctly. Goten played along without complaint. He really wanted just to get right into it, but Chi-Chi insisted that it was just as important as learning new katas, or sparring matches.
The exercises seemed to take forever to the seven-year-old, but he did not speak up. He was at heart an easy going child, and he knew that his mother would not make him do things just to keep him busy. Still, when Chi-Chi proclaimed them 'sufficiently warmed up', he breathed a sigh of relief. He took his place across from Chi-Chi, back straight and arms at his sides, at the ready.
"Please teach me, sensei." Goten bowed low as a sign of respect.
Even though he was supposed to keep a serious expression, he could not help but to grin with joy. Goten loved it when Chi-Chi did something with him that did not revolve around studying for school, and it made him so happy that she was his martial arts teacher now.
For the longest time, he'd only had Gohan to spar with, when the older Son was not busy or his best friend Trunks - but Trunks had a mean streak and did not like to lose. Trunks was also older, more skilled, and spent almost every day training with his father. But Goten was stronger, always had been, and he secretly thought that Trunks was jealous.
"All right, Goten. We've focused on blocking for the last few days, now let's see how you use them during a match. Remember, don't tense up and let your body take over. This is about instinct. Learning to react without over-thinking is just as important as having good technique, perhaps even more important. Let's begin."
"Okay." Goten took up his fighting stance: body turned, hands raised with loose knuckles, weight evenly distributed. "I'm ready, mom!"
Chi-Chi came at him then, directed fast strikes at his face and body, her hands curved into blades and her legs lightning quick as she used the Grasshopper Form to put him on the defense. Part of him still did not want to hit his mother but she kept up the pressure, throwing kicks and punches and leaving him no room to hesitate.
Instinctively, Goten swerved instead of blocking and backed away out of reach. Chi-Chi did not let up her relentless assault and kept after him, throwing more strikes at his head, his face. This was a new level of ferocity and Goten did not like it at all.
"You wanted me to train you, Goten, so stop dodging," Chi-Chi scolded in that sharp tone that both Gohan and Goku knew all too well.
But this was his mother, the person who had acted as both parents to him for his entire life and had raised him alone ... and besides, you really were not supposed to hit girls in general, or your mom. It was just rude.
So, Goten was having a hard time putting his heart into it and giving it his all like he should have been. This was not like when he sparred with Trunks, or Gohan, or - on the rarest of occasions - Vegeta, when the Prince worked out with the two of them. Then, he was not afraid to hit his opponent.
"You can't keep avoiding me if you want to get better, Goten! I'm not going to go easy on you. Now remember your blocks, and strike back at me. Don't hold back!"
As promised, Chi-Chi did not let up. She rained blows down on him with fury. Although he kept his arms up and kept blocking, he was caught off guard when she reversed directions and snapped a front-kick into his chest, knocking him off his feet and onto his bottom.
For a second, tears sprung to the youngest Son's eyes. His mom had hit him, really hit him! He was surprised and stunned, and then he got mad. If she wanted a fight, he would give her one.
Goten got back to his feet, his face set in a stern expression, and he wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Something had changed. Suddenly this was not his mother, but someone who had struck him.
Without a word, he rushed at Chi-Chi, struck back with sudden ferocity and came at her with all he had. The thrill of the fight always did something to Goten; he felt an odd current rush through his body, and he powered up without thinking about it.
His raven black hair stood up on end like he had been shocked, his body buzzed with energy as his Ki enveloped him. Goten imagined himself surrounded by the golden light that infused his entire form and traveled from head to toe as he transformed for the first time.
Chi-Chi had always said that his dad was the strongest man in the world and maybe the entire universe, and now he felt powerful too, like he could do anything in the world ... just like his dad.
Boy, was his mom going to be proud!
Although he had not learned to fly yet, he was super strong and fast. He did not hesitate, but collided with Chi-Chi and pushed her back with such force that she was knocked off her feet and flew through the air, just like she had wings, then landed roughly and tumbled to a stop.
"Mom! Mom, are you okay?" He rushed to his mother's side and knelt next to her. Now he felt bad, he had not meant to hit her so hard; he had just gotten so excited that he had forgotten to pull his punches.
Chi-Chi sat up slowly, one hand to her head. Her ebony dark eyes were wide with fear, and she stared at her youngest son with a horrified look on her face.
Goten worried that maybe he had struck too hard, and really hurt his mom. Prince Vegeta had always told him that he should watch his strength when sparring with non-Saiyans because they were weak and could get hurt, but then Vegeta thought everyone was weak.
"Mom? What's wrong? Did I hurt you? I didn't mean to." Goten hung his head and sniffled. "I'm really sorry, but you said not to hold back..."
Chi-Chi's mouth opened and closed like a fish for a few seconds, then she managed to stutter, "Goten... just look at your hair! You're a - a... Super Saiyan!"
Even though he could not see it, Goten touched his hair. It stood straight up and spiked out. "I am? You mean, like Gohan?"
"This can't be happening. Not to you too, not to my little boy." Chi-Chi placed her hands over her face. Her body shook and her shoulders slumped. "Now you're a monster, too!"
At first, Goten thought he had heard wrong. Had his mother just called him a monster? That couldn't be right! She was supposed to be proud of him, not mad.
"Mom?" That wonderful warm sensation leaked away, his hair turned black, and he suddenly felt cold and empty.
"Not another monster in this family," Chi-Chi whispered. "I thought that tail surgery would help..."
Goten's face fell at his mother's words. Unconsciously, he glanced back where, at one time, his tail had been - or so he'd been told.
"Mom ... do you think Gohan is a monster? What about Dad? Was he a monster too?" Goten spoke softly, afraid to hear the answer.
Chi-Chi shook her head in a quick negation, anger and fear present in equal parts on her face. She set her mouth in a thin line and her eyes were dark with emotion. "Of course not, but I never want you to do ... that ... again, Goten. Do you understand me? I don't want you to be like them, like those delinquents!"
Goten did not know what to say anymore. He was confused and hurt... his mother wasn't proud at all, she hated him and Goten, and his Dad, and Trunks, and Vegeta too ... All monsters...
He stared at his mother, and hot tears spilled down his cheeks. Without another word, he turned and ran away from her at top speed, wailing in pain.
"Goten, come back here," Chi-Chi called, but Goten ignored her and fled.