Disclaimer

All original content is owned by Akira Toriyama and his affiliates.

Chapter 3:

With a broken TV to stare at, the Ox King and Gohan took a little walk outside to get some fresh air and leave Chi-Chi to herself for a time. Gohan didn't want his mom to hear it but he told his grandpa about the encounter with Videl on his way home. The Ox King was rather disgusted to hear that Hercule was stealing Gohan's credit so blatantly but he understood Gohan's position and promised he wouldn't push for the world to know the truth. Still wanting to know what sort of trouble that man could stir up; the Ox King said that he would go back to his house and get a spare TV for use. He knew Gohan wasn't in the mood but he wanted to know what was happening in the outside world. Gohan nodded and watched his grandpa leave while he lay down in a nearby field of flowers and stared up at the streets of puffy clouds floating by. Ironically, he had been in this same field only days before with his dad and Krillin. Gohan tried to recreate the peace he had felt then by closing his eyes and lay there for some time. Surprisingly, the events of the day finally wore on him as thoughts traced back to his dad and Cell. Gohan dozed off for a while and before he knew it he was being shaken awake by his grandpa saying dinner was almost ready. It had been over two hours and the Ox King had come back from getting his TV an hour after leaving. When he returned he saw Gohan asleep and decided to let him nap until dinner time. As they entered the house and sat down to eat the feast in front of them, the phone rang. Chi-Chi got up to answer it.

"Oh, hi Bulma, "Chi-Chi said, "what's going on?"

She turned to look at Gohan and his Grandpa and gave them a "go ahead and eat" motion while she listened to Bulma.

"Well, I had time to think about it and to make things easier maybe we should just have a farewell party," Chi-Chi said over the phone.

Gohan stopped mid-chew with some noodles dangling out of his mouth and stared at his mom in confusion.

"GOHAN!" Chi-Chi yelled suddenly surprising everyone in earshot of her, "I know I've taught you to have better table manners than that!"

Blushing Gohan finished slurping his noodles and swallowed his food behind a napkin while replying, "Sorry, Mom."

"One second Bulma," Chi-Chi said putting the phone down and spoke to Gohan and his grandpa, "I was telling Bulma that it would better to have a farewell party for your dad. She said Trunks wants to return to his own time sooner than later and I didn't think we'd want anything too formal. It wouldn't be your dad's style."

Gohan thought about it for a second and replied, "I guess that makes sense." His grandpa nodded in agreement.

"Ok, now if you wouldn't mind eating a little more civilized I'm going to make some plans for the farewell party with Bulma," Chi-Chi stated to a now red faced and nodding Gohan.

"That goes for you too, Dad! I heard that slurping noise! It's a wonder Gohan doesn't just eat like a barbarian!" Chi-Chi exclaimed while scolding her equally red faced father who was hastily wiping food off of his beard.

By the time Gohan and his grandpa had finished eating; Chi-Chi finished talking with Bulma and sat down to eat her portion, barely lukewarm at the time.

She had a few quick but graceful mouthfuls before speaking about the recent phone call.

"So, the plan is like this. Bulma is making calls to everyone to come and will have a caterer make all the food. It will be tomorrow in the early afternoon. Bulma said she will take care of everything. She said to think of it as an actual party and we will be dressing up to look nice. Gohan, you are wearing a nice suite. No fighting outfits!" Chi-Chi stated before returning to her meal. Gohan nodded in defeat knowing that fighting with his mother over what to wear would get him nowhere.

"Ok, Chi-Chi that works for me," the Ox King replied glad to see his daughter in more normal spirits despite her temper. He got up to clean up his dishes and said, "I'm going to go turn on the TV and see how the world is faring. Don't worry; I'll keep it down as I'm sure you two might not want to listen to it at all. His daughter nodded between quick bites as she ate. It seemed strange to him that she was eating so voraciously and yet so "civilized" as she put it but cooking for the past few hours probably worked up an appetite for her.

"I think I'll just go outside and sit in the grass until it gets dark," Gohan said, "I just want to clear my mind. Thanks for dinner Mom; it was delicious as always."

His mother and grandfather both nodded and watched Gohan carry his dishes to the sink before walking back outside. The Ox King gave his daughter a quick loving squeeze on her shoulders before entering the living room to watch the TV. Chi-Chi finished eating her meal and started doing the dishes. She glanced briefly outside to see Gohan sitting down and spreading his legs over the grass. He leaned back and stared up at the colorful sky watching as stars began twinkling and a full moon began shining brighter as the sunset on the horizon. She sighed as she went into her own world while cleaning up. "I hope this sadness disappears soon. I want to tell Gohan the good news but maybe I'll wait a little bit longer. It might cause more harm than good right now."

Less than an hour later the sun had set and the moon shone brightly in the sky, dwarfing the stars in its borrowed brilliance. Gohan had been staring it for what seemed like an eternity to be awoken from his gaze by his mom telling him it was time for bed. Slowly, he stood up and dusted the grass off his pants before walking back into the house. He paused in the living room to ask his grandpa how the world was doing as the Ox King turned off the TV to make his bed in the living room.

"So, Grandpa is there anything new to report?" he asked.

The Ox King replied cheerfully, "Nothing you don't already know. Mr. Satan has been declared the World Savior by King Furry but I suspect he doesn't believe Mr. Satan to be the real hero. Maybe there are more believers in you out there than we thought."

"That man has horrible manners and should be ashamed of himself," Chi-Chi piped up as she walked into the living room with blankets for her dad, "but I'm glad that there may be more people out there that know my baby is the real hero."

Gohan just stood there blushing from the warm support his family gave him for a few seconds before walking into the bathroom to clean up for bed. He finished up, said good night to his mom as she was going to her bedroom. She gave him a quick kiss and hug and replied "good night" as well. Gohan went into the living room to speak with his grandfather before going to bed.

"Hey Grandpa?" Gohan asked in an audible whisper as he entered the living room.

His grandpa was getting ready to turn off the lights when Gohan entered. "You want to know what they said about you, right?" The Ox King replied kind of sadly and knowing why his grandson was there. Gohan nodded in response.

"Well, how can I say this nicely…" the Ox King paused before continuing, "the reporters question how someone can do what you can do but they also had an interview with Mr. Satan and he gave his opinion stating that everything you and our friends did today was nothing but tricks and showboating."

Gohan had a frown on his face as he replied, "I guess that's to be expected but what did you mean by putting it nicely?"

"Oh, ha-ha, well you know how arrogant that guy is," the Ox King replied sheepishly, "he wouldn't stop boasting how he'd taken Cell down with different forms of punches and kicks of his own making. But it seems that his daughter was more apt to believe in your abilities than her dad. She was interviewed too and even though she had her doubts I could see in her face that she wasn't sure about her dad's reasoning."

Gohan chuckled at this slightly, "That makes me glad she isn't completely like her father. I saw her in action and I thought she was a good person just stubborn and hot tempered…kind of like Mom-"

The Ox King had to stifle full on laughter after hearing that and snorted rather loudly. He calmed down after a few moments and said, "Well, at least you're used to that personality. Get some sleep kiddo, tomorrow is a busy day." He wiped tears from his eyes after the giggle fit he was in and Gohan nodded giving him a quick hug.

Gohan walked off to his room and lied down in his bed. Even with the nap from earlier in the day, Gohan still felt extremely tired and fell asleep not long after closing his eyes.

His grandpa lay down as well and closed his eyes preparing to sleep as well with his last thought for the day. "I hope you don't hear how badly Hercule insulted you and your dad. If you think you're mom's temper is bad I don't want to see what you inherited from her.

Author's Note 10/16/17:

Yes, if you haven't already noticed there is some fluff entered throughout the story. It felt necessary but don't worry if you think there won't be any more action. It's coming.