Blood Lies

Chapter Three

"I Find I Can't Rely On Myself"

"Gohan," Chichi started as she walked out of the house a few days later, "Goten has been looking for you; I think he wants to play. Could you keep an eye on him for me while I finish supper?" Gohan shifted his position on his tree branch to look down at his mother. He had been reading a science book and had just finished the chapter on the inner workings of a volcano; very interesting stuff.

"Sure, Mom, I don't mind," Gohan answered before jumping easily from the branch and scooping up his little brother. Goten laughed and wiggled until he sat high up on his brother's shoulders. Gohan rose a few feet in the air and turned slowly around in a tight circle, allowing the little boy the chance to view the whole area.

"Do you like to fly, Saru?" Gohan asked, using his pet name for his little brother. It meant 'monkey' and Gohan thought it fit the little boy. Goten raised his small hands into the air and waved them around, happy to be in his brother's company. Gohan smiled slightly and wiggled around, allowing Goten to fall backwards a bit and then fly forward just as fast. Goten grabbed onto Gohan's long hair and tangled his chubby fists into the long locks, thrilled by the horse play.

"Ouch!" Gohan howled, flinching when Goten's fists tightened, drawing the hairs taught away from Gohan's head. Wincing, Gohan reached up and desperately tried to untangle the hairs from his brother's sweaty palms. Slowly, they drifted back to the ground where Gohan stood, both arms in the air and one eye closed in a silent grimace.

"Goten, that really hurts, you can't pull like that," Gohan said softly. Goten's hands released the little hairs and Gohan almost cried with relief. He quickly removed his little brother and tumbled him onto the ground before reaching up to rub at the abused spot on his head.

"Go'an!" The little boy said. Gohan chuckled at the way his little brother said his name. Reaching for the little boy, Gohan tickled his tummy and under his chin lovingly. Goten giggled and ran away, Gohan pretending to have a hard time catching up.

Watching the two of them through the window, Chichi smiled happily to herself. Her two boys seemed to be doing wonderfully. She had been rather worried when she first told Gohan that she was pregnant that he would be heartbroken; first he lost his father and then all too soon he would have to share his mother. Gohan handled it like he handled everything else that ever hit him: head on and with a certain amount of happiness. Chichi sighed, a niggling amount of worry pushing its way into her mind.

Maybe Gohan handled things a bit too well. Chichi bit her lip at where her thoughts were taking her, but she knew logically that it was truth. Gohan had never really grieved; he just stood up, wiped his eyes, and took over the role he felt he should take. Chichi never heard him crying in the middle of the night like she did when he was younger; he never wanted to talk about his father, which alarmed Chichi greatly. In fact, if ever she brought up the teenager's father, Gohan became very quiet and reserved, his eyes taking on a peculiar glint. It frightened Chichi, but she wasn't sure who to confide this bit of information to.

The sound of a vehicle outside drew Chichi to the large window again. Bulma had just landed and was getting little Trunks out of the hover car; Goten shrieked happily and ran quickly to his best friend, while Gohan—much more calmly—hugged Bulma in greeting and stood talking to her. Bulma had phoned a few days ago and had mentioned the accident that she had seen on the news about the bombing; she had shared her concerns and fears that it could very well be an android that they had missed. Chichi had simply brushed it off and told her not to worry so much, but in reality, Chichi feared the same, even now. Bulma had come today to make sure that all of the food was settled and ready for the reunion in two weeks.

Having Saiyajin to feed along with a dozen other people took planning and accuracy, but to feed them all for four days took an act from heaven. As was the custom, everyone would bring necessary things and stay for a few days in Capsule homes that Bulma would supply.

The kitchen door burst open and two little boys tumbled through, a jumble of arms and legs that squawked and squealed happily; Bulma slowly stepped through the door and looked at Chichi with a frown and wide, concerned eyes. Chichi stopped short in her greeting.

"Bulma, what's wrong?" Chichi felt so shaken by the look on the older woman's face that she immediately tugged her to one of the wooden kitchen chairs and forced her to sit. Bulma looked out the window and finally, it clicked with Chichi that Gohan wasn't with them.

"Chichi, I greeted Gohan and asked how he was doing and if he was looking forward to the reunion and getting to see everyone and his face just…changed! He looked…vacant, Chichi! Is everything all right? I've never seen such a disturbing look on Gohan's face before; it was scary watching his whole demeanor just…switch!" Chichi frowned in concern, making a mental note to discuss it with her son later that night. Meanwhile, she still didn't understand where her son was. As if reading her thoughts, Bulma continued.

"He looked off into the forest and then whispered something I couldn't understand and then said that he was just leaving. He said that he needed to go do something and that he would be back later and then he just…left." Chichi bit her lip and walked to the window, curious as to what was so important that her son needed to be gone so quickly without saying anything to her. Right then a crash from the living room caught the attention of both women who rushed into the other room.

"Ah, Twunks, you bwoke it!" Goten cried. They both sat in the middle of a pile of broken and splintered wood and Chichi's heart skipped a beat when she realized what it was. It was the little wooden chair that Goku had made for Gohan right before he had been taken by Piccolo. Chichi covered her mouth with her hand and a tear came to her eye as she saw ahead to Gohan's reaction; he would be so upset.

"Okay, you two," Bulma said. She strode forward and grabbed a child under each arm before she unceremoniously chunked them out the front door.

DBZ

Gohan ran through the dense trees; limbs and branches reached out to him, snatching at him, scratching and bruising him, but Gohan ran on, unaware and uncaring. How stupid had he been? The day had sneaked up on him and now, his world was slowly tilting into chaos. Bulma had innocently asked if he was looking forward to seeing everyone, and it was then that his mind had wrapped around the truth: two weeks away was the four year mark since the Cell Games, and also four years since his father had said goodbye. And now Gohan, the champion of that day, tore through the forest seeking release from the anger and panic climbing up his spine at the very thought of spending another day knowing that it was his own fault his father was not there. Flying had not even occurred to him; his body needed freedom and movement to pull his shattered mind back from the brink. Never in all of his short life had Gohan wanted to just run and run and never stop, never look back. Hell, Gohan did not even want to go back, but some rational part of his mind had broken through and commanded his legs to stop moving. It had only partly worked, though, as Gohan tripped and rolled head first before coming to a stop on his back, staring up at the dark green leaves and fighting for every breath he took. Sitting up, he once again fought the sash on his gi for the small box that contained the one way that he could stop the angry thoughts and panic driven insanity. It was the only way that Gohan was sane.

As the cool metal touched his skin repeatedly, Gohan's mind began to tilt slowly back into place again and his nerves stopped burning. Watching the delicious, warm, red liquid, Gohan once again regained control of his emotions, stuffing them deep into a far corner of his heart. But although he felt better, Gohan had the alarming feeling that it would start over far too soon this time. It was too close to the surface this time and nothing Gohan did would cause it to stop for long. Tears raced down Gohan's cheeks as this realization dawned on him. What was he going to do? Miserable and very alone, Gohan curled onto his side, wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to calm his tattered nerves. Dark crimson blood dripped slowly onto the ground beside him, drenching his gi.

This time, high in the heavens, a pair of eyes watched, and ached silently for the lost and lonely child. Nodding his head, the guardian held his head up and walked away from the edge of the Lookout. Sometimes there were more important things than sleep.

DBZ

Chichi wrung her hands with worry as she watched the stars begin to twinkle one by one. It had been hours since Gohan ran off and Chichi felt worried about her eldest son. What could make him just leave like that and then still be gone at this late time of day? Goten had gone to bed tearfully, only being cuddled by Chichi could calm the boy enough to allow him to drift off. He had never known a time when Gohan was not there.

Gohan had always been a good boy. He rarely ever disobeyed her which was why he had never really been punished. Oh, he had been grounded a time or two whenever he had skipped out on homework, but Gohan had never really required anything harsher. Chichi bit her lip and wondered if maybe she should call someone. Maybe Bulma would know what to do. No, after all, Gohan was a teenager, perhaps this was just one of those teenage things that Chichi had heard about. Gohan was in for a very rude awakening if it was. Chichi suddenly stood and began pacing in the kitchen.

No! Gohan you will not act this way! I am your mother and I demand respect, she thought, her teeth clenched into a half-snarl. When that boy got home, she would make him so very sorry that he dared to make her worry!

DBZ

When next Gohan managed to slit his eyes, it was past nightfall. His right arm had gone to sleep from the position that he had been in, and his head was throbbing while his vision blurred slightly. Slowly, he sat up and when he did, he realized that the reason for all of these things was because he had bled too much. Swallowing, Gohan took a deep breath and rubbed his sleepy arm; his mouth felt as dry as cotton as did his eyes, but the front of his gi felt cold and wet. Gohan slowly glanced down and saw to his absolute horror that his whole chest was painted crimson. Groaning, Gohan realized that he was going to have to remove the top before he returned home. No doubt his mother would through a fit about that one!

Oh no! Mom! Gohan thought franticly. Looking around, Gohan located his blade and its case before clumsily stuffing the blade back into its case while the case he returned safely to his sash. Slowly, Gohan attempted to stand, but couldn't get farther than his knees. Drat! I think maybe I'll have to stay here till dawn. The thought certainly did not thrill him, but he was sure it would infuriate his mother. The other problem that Gohan immediately saw was that if he went sauntering into his home without his top, the new cut across his rib cage would definitely catch someone's—most likely his mother's—eyes. Lying back, Gohan swallowed and prayed that the cut would be invisible by morning. Clutching his waist much in the same way again, the demi-Saiyajin shut his eyes and commanded his brain to sleep.

When next the teen slit open his eyes, he could see a dull bluish glow from where he lay. His arms ached and the scratch across his chest prickled uncomfortably, but the truly disgusting part was the blood that had covered his chest was now dry and crumbling from the fabric of his gi. His head still pulsed slightly, but nowhere near as bad as it had the first time he had woken up.

Gohan blinked several times and shifted his position until he realized that he was no longer laying in the middle of the forest floor, but rather, in an enclosure of some sort. The blue glow was the rays of the moon that showered the ground beyond him with comforting light. Carefully, he lifted his head before he followed with his body. Things were more pronounced and understandable from that angel, but he was still baffled as to how he came to be in what appeared to be a cave—if the roughly cut walls were any indication.

A sound near the mouth of the little cave caught his attention and he quietly swung his legs around to tuck under him, in case he needed to spring on something. His breathing leveled out and came in shallow breaths as a small shape inched its way slowly into the cavern. Slowly, Gohan tucked himself closer to the wall to the left of the entrance, positioning himself for the perfect ambush, if that were needed.

"Please, do not be alarmed," said a very young voice. As Gohan watched, a young girl, who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen floated into the room. She wore a pristine white dress that gathered at the waist and ended around her knees. Her hair was pale blond, almost white, while her eyes were a glittering, powder blue, with eyebrows and eyelashes the same unusual shade as her hair. Gohan frown as he reached forward to find her ki—and came up empty. She did not have a ki.

Alarmed, Gohan brought his fists up into the defensive. "Who are you? What do you want?" The girl android looked almost crestfallen, but straightened her shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

"My name is Bird," she answered. Her voice was musical it was so light. Gohan tightened his fists, his fingers curling more into themselves.

"And you are Son Gohan," she said quietly. He pale blue eyes lifted and raked over him, her entire stance non aggressive; she was not even defensive. Gohan narrowed his eyes, still not willing to drop his guard.

"So, you know who I am, congratulations. What do you want?" Bird kept her eyes on Gohan and moved farther into the cave, away from the opening.

"I want to know why you were bleeding," she answered. In a very girly, lady-like way, she brought her hands together, her elbows straight, to clasp in front of her dress. It was hilarious, but Gohan had a vision of the android being on a country stroll and asking another young man that question, one who had no idea about the danger of the innocent looking young girl.

"I cut myself," he answered evenly. He did not care what this creature knew. He raised his fists a bit higher as she approached him. "That's close enough, monster, tell me what you are doing here before I end your life!"

Bird stopped, almost stunned at the words. Her large eyes seemed to dampen as she dropped them to the ground between them.

"Looking for someone," she admitted softly. Gohan hunched his shoulders; the last person the androids had been looking for was his father. Even peaceful Android 16 had wanted his father dead.

"The man you are looking for has been dead for four years," he spat, his voice much more harsh than he had expected it to be. Bird looked strangely sad, but the emotion in her expressive eyes were not directed at herself, they were directed at him.

"I speak not of Son Goku," she said. Confused, Gohan lowered his guard slightly.

"Then who?" Bird slowly tilted her head to look out of the mouth of the cave.

"I do not remember."