Goku's POV

Sunlight pierced through my eyelids. I groaned, reaching for the curtain that would surely block out at least some of the offending rays.

"Go back to sleep, sun. You're not welcome here yet," I muttered, still half asleep.

The sun refused to respond as I turned my back on the window. Chichi was busy downstairs, setting up breakfast. I could feel her orangey glow of energy bustle about the kitchen. More importantly, I could smell the delicious scent of eggs, fruit, bacon, rice, bread, and even a few green things cooking over the fire. My stomach rumbled, reminding me of how hungry I was. I sat up, but regretted it immediately. My body still ached from yesterday's training with Vegeta. For the past few weeks, I haven't been able to concentrate on technique or form or strategy. Sure, my body was as strong as ever and I still enjoyed our ruthless fights, but my mind couldn't focus. Vegeta had taken full advantage of this fact, relentlessly beating into me until his gloves were stained with red. I had never let him win though. I always ended the fight by blasting him down to the ground with my Kamehameha, reminding him I was the stronger Saiyan.

"Goku? Are you coming down for breakfast?"

I listened to Chichi set the plates of food on the table for another few seconds before I swung my legs onto the cold floor. It took a fraction of a minute to get myself settled in at the table between my two sons, Gohan and Goten.

"Dad, can we train with Trunks and Vegeta today? Please?"

My clone-like son looked at me with pleading eyes. I recalled that is had been over a week since I had taken my kids with me to train. Not since Vegeta almost broke my leg while fighting. How embarrassing.

"Goten! Don't talk with your mouth full," Chichi scolded. "And you can only train after you finish all of your homework."

Goten swallowed his mouthful and smiled at me, thanked his mom, and took a handful of bacon and a plateful of eggs over to his desk. I watched him as he eagerly started in on his math problems. Or were they science? I could never tell. Numbers and equations weren't my strong suit. The scent of fresh baked bread brought my attention back to the table of food. There was a deep rumble emanating from my stomach. I could no longer ignore it.

Once the food was eaten, the table was cleared, the dishes were washed and the homework was finished, Goten and I gathered our gis and headed out. I looked over at Gohan who had opted out of training for studying. What a strange boy. My youngest and I headed to the stream to wash up. In order to conserve energy, we jogged instead of flew.

The cold water was a refreshing shower. With a quick burst of hot energy I dried off. I put my gi on, ran my fingers through my hair, and waited for Goten to get dressed. We let our normal clothes dry on some branches in the sun like usual. There was no use worrying about them being stolen. After all, we were miles and miles away from any other humans. The only other people living in this part of the forest were Saiyans. A few months ago Vegeta had demanded a capsule house to be set up a few miles from this clearing. Apparently Vegeta and Bulma no longer felt the need to stay together for the sake of their son, Trunks, who was now ten years old. Bulma had confided in me that she and Vegeta had gone their separate ways a while ago but had felt Trunks needed both parents in his life. Only recently did they finalize the divorce. Trunks lived with Vegeta on the weekends and went home for the weekdays for his education.

"Daaad! Hurry up! Vegeta and Trunks are already there," whined Goten.

I cast my senses out. A little ways to the North I could feel the spark of Vegeta and Trunks' ki. Without a word I started running at full speed, confident my son was a few paces behind my tail. We reached the spot just below the Saiyan prince and his son in time to see Vegeta land a nasty kick to Trunks' back. Goten yelped in surprise as Trunks fell down and knocked over two trees.

"Dad, that hurt like hell!"

Trunks sprang back up, brushing off dirt, looking quite affronted.

"Well maybe you shouldn't be so lazy," Vegeta retorted.

The short Saiyan landed softly on the ground in front of Goten and me. He crossed his arms and pointed an accusing gloved finger at my chest.

"Look who decided to show up," Vegeta said with a sneer. "Are you incapable of punctuality?"

"Sorry. Chichi made us a big breakfast," I explained.

Vegeta scowled.

"You rely too much on your woman, Kakarot," he muttered.

I looked at him quizzically.

"Dad! Are we gonna fight or not?" Goten asked.

I ruffled Goten's hair, amused by his unfazed eagerness.

"Yeah. You and Trunks stay on the ground for now, okay Goten?"

He snorted lightheartedly, already planning his strategy to beat Trunks. I glanced at Vegeta and shrugged. He narrowed his eyes and gave me a curt nod. With one last look at my son, I shot into the air, Vegeta at my heels.

The energy crackled around us as we clashed against each other. Fist to stomach, foot to leg, knee to chest, elbow to neck. It was an endless barrage of violence, uncontrollable. As fast as I threw punches, he reacted with equal speed and force. My kicks hardly touched him. It was as if he was anticipating my every move. I wasn't going to be beaten again, so I resorted to my ki blasts. A flurry of bright yellow discs of heat, followed by a single brilliant blue Kamehameha hit Vegeta squarely in his chest. I must have underestimated my power because I managed to burn through the top of his dark blue spandex. For a moment, I marveled at how tan and chiseled Vegeta's chest had become. I wondered how he got so tan over the years. Did he lie out in the sun? My slight lapse in concentration gave the object of my musings just enough time to power up to Super Saiyan. The sudden surge of power snapped me back to the fight. I tensed my muscles, willing the flow of my ki to push past my current body and transform me into a Super Saiyan.

Hours passed where I saw nothing but Vegeta. It was times like these where I noticed how his golden hair literally had shocks of white electricity whenever he powered up an attack. I noticed how the tip of his tail would lash from side to side when he had the upper hand… or how for the half second after I would land a blow he smiled to himself. It wasn't his usual sarcastic smirk, but rather almost like a reflex.

"Kakarot! Get your head out of the clouds! You're so damn slow," Vegeta yelled as he punched me hard in the abdomen. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," I lied.

"You've been acting stupid for weeks."

"It's nothing," I repeated, looking at my feet.

Before I had time to react, Vegeta had grabbed me by my shirt. His teal eyes bored into mine. I stole a glance downward to the exposed skin of Vegeta's chest. I could feel his breath on my face. He was breathing heavily. I realized with a slight jolt how hard he had been working thus far to beat me. I hadn't even broken a sweat. He looked at me, an unreadable expression on his face. His anger rolled off his body in waves.

"You are holding back, Kakarot."

"It's nothing, Vegeta," I repeated.

"You're lying."

"Why do you even care?"

"Because," Vegeta stammered. "Because you're holding me back!"

"Then let me go."

He hesitated a moment longer before flinging me in the air. I resolved to give the fight all of my attention. Vegeta powered up to an Ascended Super Saiyan. I did the same. We resumed our fight, now at full power.

I swung a well-aimed fist at Vegeta's head. Just as I suspected he would, Vegeta dodged to the left. My other hand connected with his side, resulting in a satisfying thunk and then followed by the -carrack- sound of a broken rib. Vegeta snarled in pain. I felt his energy fly above me. He was obviously about to shoot a ki blast in retaliation. I didn't give him the time to think before I flew right behind him. Even though he was fast, I was faster. I slammed both elbows down on his shoulders. Vegeta grunted in surprise and pain.

"You are so going to—"

A powerful burst of energy cut off whatever he was going to say. My Kamehameha blasted the short Saiyan to the ground. I followed it with a quick succession of punches. Vegeta regained composure faster than I had predicted. I had a millisecond warning before his Galick Gun attack hit me square in the face, the heat searing away much of my gi shirt. His brutal retaliation was a blur of punches and kicks. His left knee (or was it his right?) slammed into my midsection, knocking the breath from my lungs. Next thing I knew, my back was pressed against the hard ground and Vegeta was powering up for his next attack. The massive amount of golden energy that radiated about his lithe body gathered in his palms.

"FINAL FLASH!"

I used Instant Transmission to avoid the gigantic ki blast that left a skyscraper-sized hole where I had lain less than a half-second before. I IT'd directly behind the prince. The blond tips of his spiky hair gently brushed against my chin and I could feel his fiery energy. Vegeta spun around wildly, his fist aimed at my chin. I caught it effortlessly. He had already used the majority of his energy during our hours of sparring together. Next he tried a kick, but I blocked it with ease. My one mistake was thinking I had won. Vegeta smiled ferociously. His large forehead smacked against my chest and something made a cracking sound. I think it was my collar bone. Once again, I found myself on the ground, but this time Vegeta was pinning me down. He was so pleased at having bested me I could practically smell the royal arrogance in him.

"I think you broke something," I grunted as I powered down. Vegeta followed suit, his hair returning to the color of rich dark chocolate. My gaze landed on his perfectly angled brow and then drifted down to his obsidian eyes.

"Why the hell are you staring at me, Kakarot?"

"Why the hell are you sitting on me, Vegeta?" I countered.

I felt his body tense and then leap backward off me. Was that a blush on his cheeks? Before he could come up with a smartass answer, Goten and Trunks appeared at the edge of our destroyed battlefield.

"Hey Dad, you okay?" Goten inquired.

"Yeah, don't worry," I assured him. "Just a broken bone or two."

I bounced back up and brushed off the dirt that had accumulated on my torn uniform.

"Looks like you took a beating, Dad," Trunks said to his father.

"Shut the hell up," Vegeta snapped.

Trunks just laughed.

"I guess it's time to head back home," I said. "I'm starving!"

Vegeta seemed to agree. He gave me one last glare before stalking off in the direction of his house. Trunks looked from Goten to his father, shrugged, and headed towards his dad. Before completely disappearing into the forest, Trunks turned, smiled and waved goodbye. Vegeta just kept walking, tail twitching irritably. It was obvious he was still mad about me nearly beating him and then embarrassing him.

Goten tugged on my pants leg. He was anxious to go home, probably because it was almost dinner time and we hadn't eaten in a few hours. My stomach grumbled loudly. I took Goten's hand and took to the sky. We flew home, unhurriedly, as Goten recounted his training with Trunks. I tried to listen, I really did. But my mind was elsewhere. My thoughts kept returning to Vegeta, my once greatest enemy.

We were nearing my house when I realized Goten had asked me a question and was now peering at me curiously. I had been so busy delving into my memories I had completely tuned him out. I looked at my son sheepishly.

"Sorry, Goten. I just have a lot on my mind," I explained.

"It's 'kay, Dad. I'll tell you and again over dinner."

I smiled at him. He really was a good son, not to mention a great storyteller. Dinner would be wonderful mix of delicious food and tales of training.

"I can't wait."


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