A/N: Hey hey! It's been one heck of a week, but it's finally Friday. As promised, here's another update.
The tournament's about to get underway! How exciting! Per usual feedback is appreciated and essential.
Now, on with the story! (Shortest A/N yet. Shows you how tired I am lol)
"dialogue"
thoughts
"telepathic communication"
~change in setting~
*action*
flashback
Chapter 6: The Prelims
~Intergalactic Tournament Fighting Platforms, Yahoi Island, Age 768~
All of the numbers for the Intergalactic Tournament have been drawn and now the Tournament is underway. With 77 people fighting all at once on each platform, who knows what can happen right? …Not quite.
All of the Z-fighters are having a very easy time in their respective blocks. They are clearly overpowering their opponents, who are all normal human fighters. Let's take a look at some of these platforms shall we?
Platform #1 consists of a metal circle suspended high above the water. The platform is suspended on some sort of hydraulics, adding an extra element to the fights. Vegeta seems to not notice however as he continues to punch and kick the unfortunate fighters off the platform with a very bored expression on his face in his typical arrogant manner. Eventually, after Vegeta eliminates twenty of the competitors, they all realize that their only chance is to gang up on Vegeta, so that's what they attempt to do. Of course Vegeta being Vegeta, just crouches down and then raises his hands towards the sky, blowing all of the remaining fighters off of the platform with his ki alone.
"Hmph," the Saiyan Prince grunts. "What a waste of my time."
Meanwhile on platform #2, Goku is being a little gentler on his opponents, yet he is still overpowering everyone very easily. His platform is a large metal platform that comes off of the island. It has a large tower in the middle of it, which he accidentally punches one of the other fighters through, breaking it in the process. He quickly dashes over to the tumbling tower and catches it before it falls on any stray competitors and tosses it safely to the side like it was nothing. The crowd watching the fight is stunned at how he was able to pick up that huge tower so easily like it was nothing, and some of the fighters on his platform upon seeing this just give up and jump off the platform. Eventually, Goku battles it out and knocks the last guy off of the platform, advancing him to the semi-finals.
On platform #3, Gohan finds himself in an interesting predicament. It seems that all of the fighters are teaming up against Videl Satan, leaving Gohan to knock off the stragglers. Everyone's so focused on Videl that he hardly has to try to defend himself. He also notices that despite being outnumbered, Videl is easily disposing of her competition. She's an impressive fighter, nothing like her father. Gohan silently comments. This could be fun after all.
Videl continues to dispose of her competition as Gohan quietly picks off the stragglers. Eventually, it comes down to the two preteens.
"Wow another kid in the tournament!" Videl comments, surprised that another kid even entered, let alone made it this far into the tournament.
"Yeah, I know a surprise right?" Gohan responds, scratching the back of his head. Despite the fact that he can beat her easily, Gohan is nervous for some reason. What's wrong with me? Why am I so nervous? Is it because she's a girl? Common Gohan focus!
"Yeah…" Videl answers. She takes a good look at the boy standing in front of her and her eyes widen. Wow he's cute! Whoa! Did I just say that? Calm down Videl. He's the enemy! Yes you can rant on about his perfect face and his muscular, god-like body and those dark shining onyx eyes later. Whoa! I can't believe I'm ranting about a boy! This is the first time I've seen him for crying out loud! Now that I think about it though, he looks awfully familiar. "What's your name kid?" she asks, trying to hide a blush that found its way to her face while thinking about him.
"Gohan Son," Gohan replies shyly.
"Son?" she asks. "Are you by chance related to Goku Son?"
"Y-yes," He stutters, wondering why all of a sudden he's so nervous. "He's my father."
Aha! I knew I recognized him! Now to see if my hypothesis from earlier is true. "I see, so you're the kid of a former champion as well! Say do you happen to have an oneesan and an otoutosan?" she inquires the demi-saiyan.
Gohan was about to respond that he only had a brother when he realized that he's supposed to pretend he's siblings with Pan and Goken as well. "Well I don't have an oneesan, although I do have an imoutosan that does look older even though she's a few months younger than me. Her name is Pan. I also have two otoutosans. One's eight, he's named Goken and my other one, Goten, is only a week old. Pan and Goken are also competing in this tourney in fact."
Videl's eyes widen at that last comment. "Wow for real?!" Gohan nods his head in confirmation. Wow they must be good if they're competing as well. My Dende! She then internally debates whether or not those two are the same kids she ran into. Now that I think about it, that girl did yell "Goken" when he knocked me over and she did say that he was her otoutosan.
Suddenly, she realizes that Gohan has been staring at her the entire time. Blushing slightly, she realizes that she should explain why she asked in the first place. "I think I ran into both of them when I was coming back from lunch. Your brother ran me over, but he helped me up. Then your sister seemed out of it and your brother dragged her away. I was wondering if they were alright, but I guess the fact that they are currently competing answers that question hehe."
Gohan however suddenly becomes worried. Oh no! They must have run into Android Eighteen on their way to lunch. They must have been so dazed by her appearance that Goken ran onto Videl and Pan seemed to be out of it. I definitely need to talk to them after this.
Gohan then realizes that they were supposed to be fighting this whole time. "Say, aren't we supposed to be fighting?" Gohan asks sheepishly. Although I'd much rather continue to talk to you.
Videl blushes in embarrassment. Oops! I completely forgot about the tournament! I was so caught up in figuring out if those two kids were his siblings that I didn't even realize that we were supposed to be fighting, although I'd much rather be adoring that perfect body of his… Snap out of it! "Y-yeah that's right!" she finally responds, getting her train of thought back on the match. "It's a good thing that there are other matches going on at once, otherwise we would be getting booed off the stage!" They both share a chuckle at that comment. Finally Videl continues, "Let's see who the better champion's kid is!"
"Alright! Prepare for battle!" Gohan responds, dropping his nervous demeanor at the prospect to an entertaining spar. He saw her fighting off all of those others before and was impressed to say the least.
Videl answers by going on the offensive. She starts him off with one of her father's famous 'Dynamite Kick's' yet she only connects with air as Gohan swiftly dodges it by moving his head to the side. Videl, stunned that her kick didn't connect, is left venerable which Gohan takes advantage of by giving her a light jab to the left side of her lower torso.
Despite it being a light punch for Gohan, Videl is knocked twenty feet back by it, although she manages to stay on the platform. She growls as she realizes that he didn't even seem like he was trying in that little exchange. She responds by going after the young demi-sayian once again, this time, giving him an entourage of punches and kicks, all of which he successfully dodges and blocks. To Gohan, they are like in slow motion, but to the average human spectator, the punches are only blurs.
Wow she's cute and a great fighter! Gohan silently exclaims. Wait did I just call her cute? Oh boy Gohan not now, she's the daughter of that big liar for Dende's sake… but she does seem different from her father. I guess it's not fair to judge her by him alone.
Videl notices that Gohan is in deep thought even though he is blocking everything that she's throwing at him. This make the champ's daughter more frustrated, but she decides to take advantage of Gohan's little lapse in concentration and lands a powerful punch to Gohan's chest, knocking the demi-saiyan back a few paces. However, Videl looks more fazed than he does.
What is he made of!? Solid steel? Videl silently inquires as she grabs her throbbing hand. It's feels like I broke my hand on his chest! Gohan uses her pause to his advantage and lands a kick to the same spot that she got hit in earlier. This time, since she was distracted by her hand, she goes flying off the platform, landing in the ocean below in a thundering splash.
"And Gohan advances to the semi-finals, beating out Videl Satan!" the announcer exclaims and gasps from the crowd can be heard at this. Everyone expected the champ's daughter to make it to the next round.
Gohan however immediately dives off of the platform searches for Videl. I hope she's okay. I think I overdid it a little on that kick. He finds Videl treading water, gasping for breath, still stunned that she flew off the platform after one kick. Gohan swims over there and sees if she's alright. "Are you okay?" he asks her, concern lacing his voice.
Videl, surprised that he dove in after her, replies, "I'm fine! How did you do that?"
"It was no big deal, but I'll tell you when we get to shore. I'll help you swim back."
Gohan puts his arm around Videl's shoulders and she instantly blushes from the contact. What's wrong with me? Usually I never let someone help me, yet somehow this boy is different. He seems to genuinely care about me. Wow, he's caring and good looking! Whoa wait a minute Videl! Calm yourself down and just focus on getting to shore. Don't think about the contact he's making with you.
They finally make it to shore and Gohan helps Videl out of the water, the daughter of Hercule still blushing furiously. The ever observant Gohan notices this and asks her if she's alright once again.
"Your cheeks are red! Did you tire yourself out or something?" Gohan asks, concerned.
Videl blushes even more at this statement. Wow it's a good thing he seems completely oblivious! I'm so embarrassed right now! How can one boy have this effect on me? I've seen plenty of cute guys, but no one has ever affected me like him. "Umm yeah," Videl finally answers the concerned demi-saiyan. "That was one tiring swim… ha ha." Way to sound convincing Videl! She silently scolds herself.
Gohan accepts her answer however and sighs in relief. "Well rest up I guess." Gohan responds, nervousness coming back to him. "By the way, great match! You were impressive."
His last statement gets Videl out of her embarrassed state. "What are you talking about?" she asks indignantly. "You beat me with one kick, plus I was only able to hit you once… and it hurt me more than it hurt you!"
Gohan, seeing the sudden change in behavior gets even more nervous. What is it about this girl that makes me so uneasy? I don't understand this! "Yeah that's true, but you were a lot more impressive than all of the other fighters. You did really well! You actually made me work to dodge all of your punches and kicks. I usually don't get hit at all!"
Videl is stunned at this declaration. How good is this kid? She silently wonders. I'm a master at my father's dojo! I thought the only one capable of beating me was my dad! I must find out who taught him! "Wow, who taught you martial arts Gohan?"
Gohan's nervousness drops after that question as he finds it a very easy one to answer. "Well my first sensei was someone by the name of Piccolo and then my dad taught me."
I knew it! Videl silently exclaims. This just proves that Goku Son isn't a fraud like dad makes him out to be! I knew that he had to have some skill in order to win the Budokai.
Videl never told anyone about it before, but she's been skeptical about her father ever since he started calling out Goku Son and calling him a fraud after the Cell Games. She found it incredibly suspicious that he was so defensive of his title and was so adamant on the fact that Goku, the former champion, only used tricks to win. Why would her father act that way so suddenly when he's never acted that way in the past? To Videl, this made it seem like her father was hiding something, and if there's one thing that Videl can't stand is people hiding things from her!
She became more skeptical of her father after she saw old footage of the 23rd Budokai. Not only was Goku doing those things that her father dismissed as 'tricks,' but so were the other finalists including the likes of past greats such as former champion Tien Shinhan, three-time qualifier Yamcha the Bandit, two-time semi-finalist and quarter-finalist at the 23rd tournament Krillin Chestnut, and even Majunor, the runner up at that tournament.
While she agreed that no one could possibly fly around like they seemed to be doing, or shoot balls of light out of their hands, she can't help but doubt her father's claim because to her, they didn't look like tricks at all! They looked incredibly real, and the proof of that was the state of the arena after the finals ended: there was none because it was blown up! Videl couldn't help but recognize the similarities between the things they were doing at the 23rd Budokai and the ones that the mystery fighters were doing at the Cell Games. Then couple that with the way her dad has been acting since the Cell games, and Videl can't help but put a connection between the two, only reinforcing her suspicions about her father.
Videl shakes off her thoughts as she realizes that Gohan has been staring at her again. Blushing, she tries to hide her embarrassment by engaging in conversation again. "Well I must say that I'm impressed Gohan. Your dad and that Piccolo guy taught you well, plus you just proved that your dad's not a phony like my dad says he is. If you're that good, then he must be a great fighter as well. I always had a suspicion that my dad was lying about Goku, and you proved me right. Thanks Gohan!" Videl then goes over and gives Gohan a hug, a gesture that surprises both of them and makes them both blush furiously.
Dende! Did I just do that? Videl silently exclaims.
Oh my Dende! What's wrong with me? Gohan silently thinks. It's only a hug, yet I suddenly feel very hot and nervous.
After a few moments, Videl lets go and looks down at the ground, and Gohan does the same, the blush still apparent on both of their faces. After another few minutes, Videl finally works up the courage to say something. "Well, good luck in your semi-finals match! I know you can win!"
"Thanks," Gohan responds. "I guess I'll see you around! Bye!" Gohan makes his way to the elevator shaft that will bring him back to the top where the platforms are suspended. Wow she's something else! Even though her father is such a fraud and an idiot, she seems to be intelligent and always seeking out the truth, the complete opposite of her father! Not only that, but she actually thinks dad is a great warrior too, and actually doesn't believe everything that comes out of her father's mouth! Man Gohan, you've hit the jackpot! After the tournament, I definitely need to find her again and see if she wants to be my friend.
Wow… Videl silently admires the boy that just beat her in the prelims. He is something special. He seemed to genuinely care about me and not just because of my father. After thinking it over, I can't believe he doesn't hate me for what dad says about his dad. That's just one more reason he's so special. At that moment, Videl makes a vow to find Gohan again once the tournament's over and ask him if he wants to be her friend. Hopefully it will turn into more than that, she silently hopes.
Pan watched the exchange between the younger versions of her parents from afar. She grins broadly as she realizes they both already like each other; the way they reacted to each other made it completely obvious to the young masterful emotion reader, although from what she heard from Mirai Trunks, Gohan was completely oblivious to Videl's feelings towards him for the longest time. She sighs as she remembers this and figures that once again, he is oblivious to both his and her feelings towards each other.
Now you're probably wondering how Pan could be watching everything between her two parents if she was fighting at the same time as them. Well apparently Videl and Gohan were talking for so long that by the time they started actually fighting, all of the platforms had already finished with all of the Z-fighters winning quite easily except for platform #6, where something very interesting is about to happen.
Goken continues to fight all of the fighters as they have their attention elsewhere. All he has to do is punch the guys in the back or the side and they fly off the platform, which this time is a long rocky cliff right off the edge of the island. Apparently, they are all too engrossed in the lone female fighter, who the poor eight-year-old can't even see over all of the tall fighters, so he just beats them all so he can see what the big deal is about this girl. As far as he's concerned, all girls that aren't his sister or Auntie Bulma or his grandma and mother are all yucky, disgusting, cootie-infested losers! Perhaps this one is different though… if only he could see!
Finally, after knocking off twenty guys, Goken gets a good look at the center of attention. His eyes widen and he growls in anger at the woman he sees. It was a young blond woman with icy blue eyes, the same eyes that Goken remembers all too clearly; the same eyes that used to strike fear into everyone in his timeline; the same eyes than make him bubble with rage at everything that she had done.
The eyes of Android Eighteen.
Goken, looking into those eyes he hasn't seen in three years, instantly remembers what she did. He remembers how she and her twin attacked them at Capsule Corps. while Mirai Trunks was away. This memory leads to fear, which leads to rage, which leads to a need to protect those he loves from the mechanical abomination. This triggers Goken's super sayian transformation for only the second time in his young yet extremely difficult life.
The wind picks up around the young saiyan and increases in intensity as his hair switches from black to radiant gold, his eyes from deep onyx to glossy teal. His ki increases dramatically and with a final yell, the transformation is complete. He now sports glowing golden, spiky hair and cold teal eyes; his body is glowing in a radiant golden aura; most impressive however is his ki level. It has increased exponentially, causing everyone who can sense ki to stop what they are doing and look at the young saiyan. The intense winds that come about from the chibi knock all of the remaining competitors off of the platform.
"ANDROID!" Goken cries at the top of his lungs, his eyes shining with tears, yet cold and heartless, filled with rage and malice towards the cyborg. "I WILL NOT LET YOU HURT MY FAMILY ANYMORE!"
Android Eighteen's eyes widen at the sight of the sayian chibi. "Goku?" She asks, completely in awe at the sight in front of her. Before she can say anything else however, she feels like all of the air is forced out of her lungs, courtesy of a Goken punch straight to the solar plexus. She doubles over in pain and then flies into the air as Goken gets in a strong uppercut to her jaw.
He's so strong! Eighteen silently comments as she now tries to defend against a flurry of punches and kicks from the enraged super saiyan. Who is this kid? Did Goku have another son I didn't know about? As she continues to ponder these thoughts, Goken gets a punch in on the cyborg that knocks her back to the platform, her body slamming with excessive force against the sturdy rock making a crater three feet in depth.
"YOU WILL NOT TERRORIZE US ANYMORE!" Goken shouts, completely caught up in his rage. His ki spikes again as he charges a giant ki blast in his hand with the intention of decimating the android.
Eighteen, completely caught off guard by the sheer power behind Goken's latest assault is completely defenseless. She is struggling to keep consciousness at this point and all she can do is watch as the ki in the super saiyan's hand continues to grow and become more defined. Finally, after a few seconds of gathering ki, Goken lets out his signature attack.
"BRIGHT BEAM!" Goken shouts at the top of his lungs. Goken shoots his right hand forward with his fingers all spread out and five, thin, extremely white beams come out of each of his fingers. The five lasers undergo a corkscrew motion and five feet before the target, Goken closes his spread out hand into a fist, making the lasers combine into one large beam, letting out an extremely bright light that blinds everyone. Eighteen braces herself for her end but it never comes. She hears an incredible explosion from far up above, but still can't see a thing.
Standing in front of the severely injured android is a very angry super saiyan Gohan. Having anticipated the attack from his future son, Trunks, Goku, Pan and him are the only ones in the whole area other than Goken not blinded by his attack. He is sporting a furious expression as Goken is completely stunned at his father's actions.
"GOKEN GOKU SON!" Gohan yells at the youngest super saiyan, causing the chibi to flinch at his tone. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?! IF I HADN'T DEFLECTED THAT YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HER!"
Goken now sports a look of utter regret as he falls out of his rage. After seeing his father suddenly appear and deflect his attack, Goken realizes what he was about to do. He also remembers what Trunks said about how the androids of this timeline are different from those in his.
"…Sorry daddy…" Goken timidly responds, completely forgetting that he's supposed to be Gohan's brother. Luckily he says it soft enough so that only those with extra sensitive ears can hear him.
Gohan sighs and turns around to see Eighteen now unconscious. After she realized that the attack was deflected, she finally gave into the tug of unconsciousness, fainting from the shock of nearly being killed. Gohan suddenly realizes that he's not supposed to be on the platform and instant transmissions back to the stands. Luckily, the judges were still blind from Goken's bright beam so they never saw Gohan on the platform. When they finally get their vision back, they declare Goken the winner of his block, although they have no clue what went on in those few minutes as they were blind.
As soon as he is declared the winner, Goken flies away from the scene at top speed, ashamed of what he did. Gohan, anticipating this type of reaction, uses instant transmission to teleport in front of his son. Goken immediately is fear stricken and backs away from his father, but Gohan advances and wraps his arms around his terrified son. This is what dad must feel like when I ascend to the second level. Gohan realizes, seeing just how similar Goken is reacting to the way he reacted when he found out about his voice in his head.
Goken struggles to get free but Gohan just tightens his grip. Finally realizing he won't be able to escape his father's embrace, Goken stops struggling and starts to sob into Gohan's chest. "Please don't hate me daddy! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Goken desperately cries between sobs.
Gohan is struck by his son's desperate pleas. This is the exact same way Gohan reacted when his father confronted him after he gave in to the voice against his father and Piccolo a week ago. Of course Gohan could never hate his son, not even if he wanted to. He immediately comforts the boy. "Goken, you know I could never hate you, even if you killed me. I love you more than anything!"
"But daddy…" Goken chokes, still hysterical from what he almost did. "I almost killed her! How could you love me?"
"Goken!" Gohan suddenly shouts, causing Goken to momentarily break from his sobbing. "Don't you ever think that I don't love you! Got it?" Goken just gives a weak nod and Gohan sighs, softening his tone dramatically while running his hand through his hair in a soothing gesture. "Goken, I understand completely why you reacted the way you did. I know what your world has been through. You, Pan, and your Uncle Trunks told me all about it. I probably would have reacted the same way if I were in your shoes."
As Gohan ponders that last thought, he realizes just how true that statement is. It's incredible how much Goken acts just like him. He may have his grandfather's looks, but his personality screams Gohan.
Goken's eyes widen at his father's last statement and he looks up at his father in awe. "Really daddy?" the chibi sniffles.
"Really, son really," Gohan confidently responds. "You were just trying to protect everyone you love. That's what drove you to super saiyan. However Goken, you need to learn to control your super saiyan form. From what you've told me, that was your first time using it in a battle, am I right?
Goken nods weakly in confirmation before Gohan continues. "Trust me son, I know that feeling. You feel nothing but anger and revenge on the one that caused the transformation. I need you to realize that I understand completely what you are going through and that I do not resent you in the slightest. In fact, I'm proud of you for being able to achieve the legendary transformation at the youngest age ever. I'm also extremely proud of your power. Android Eighteen is a force to be reckoned with, yet you beat her pretty easily. You are far stronger than I was at your age."
Gohan then lets go of his now calmed down son, although a few lingering tears are threatening to come out. However, a smile appears on the younger one's face and Gohan internally sighs in relief. He hated seeing his son in such a distraught state, and he's glad he was able to help comfort the poor chibi.
This confrontation with his future son makes Gohan realize something: this is exactly what Gohan puts his father through every time he gives in to the voice in his head. Being on the other side of the spectrum opened his eyes to the pain his father must feel whenever he sees Gohan in this kind of state, thinking that his father resents him. This is the main reason why he reiterated the point that he doesn't hate Goken and that he'll always love him no matter what. Saying this to Goken made him realize that the same applies to him and his father. Now that Gohan has had to say it to his child, he knows that those words are true and genuine, and not just something he says to cheer him up. He doesn't realize it, but he just took a big step in reducing the power the voice inside his head has over him with this realization by decreasing his self-loathing.
"That was some technique there Goken," Gohan praises, changing the subject. He feels like his son could use a little time to cheer up before he goes back to the arena, plus he wants to drive out any doubt in his son's mind that he would resent him. "You did that once before when training as well. Did you come up with that all on your own?"
Goken, thankful for the subject change, grins at his father. "Yeah!" he says enthusiastically. "I call it my ultra-super-mega-destructo-freakishly-powerful-awesome-and-bright beam, but Uncle Trunks said that was too long of a name so I only call it the bright beam when I use it." He starts rubbing the back of his head with his hand, a gesture all too familiar with a Son.
Gohan beams at his boy from the future. "That's impressive little man! How did you come up with it?"
"Well," Goken starts, thinking back on how he actually came up with the technique. "I remember Uncle Trunks teaching us all of these useful techniques that you guys did before you died, and I ended up combining a couple of them. I was designing it so I could use it against the androids when I was strong enough, so I thought of how I could best combine certain elements of everyone's attacks. The first part is a variation of Mr. Piccolo's special beam cannon, in which I concentrate the ki into all of my fingers and release separate beams that spiral around each other. This is to get the opponent into a lulled state where they believe that it won't do much damage, plus it just looks so amazingly cool as well!" Goken enthusiastically says, causing Gohan to laugh.
"When I close my hand," the younger chibi continues, "the beams combine into a much bulkier and powerful beam, a variation of your attack daddy, the masenko! I used that one because not only does it have the power, but it also has penetrating force that will allow it to break the vast majority of ki shields… at least that's what Uncle Trunks said it could do…" he adds, putting his chin in his hand and looking up towards the sky.
He then looks back at Gohan and continues explaining his technique. "And the last element I added was a variation of Mr. Tien's solar flare technique, allowing me to not only blind the opponent, but to completely catch them off guard, and force them to lower their defenses. I added this as more of a safety measure for in case the beam wasn't powerful enough to take out the androids. That way, I could use their temporary blindness to escape in case I got into serious trouble."
Gohan is absolutely and completely stunned. His son is a genius! Not only was he able to combine three separate techniques that are difficult to learn into one attack, but his logic behind each technique is absolutely flawless! The little guy thought of everything! The androids' Vegeta-like cockiness, the fact that they can use ki shields to defend themselves, and the fact that they may be still powerful enough to withstand it, giving him a backup plan in case he failed. And all at the age of eight! If there was any doubt in his mind that Goken wasn't his child (and there wasn't even a shred in Gohan's mind), then this is a dead giveaway!
While Gohan would say that the concept of ki comes very easily to him, and that ki manipulation isn't that big of a deal for him, his son takes that to a whole new level! One would have to be incredibly skilled in the art of ki in order to even be able to produce a technique such as that. If Gohan is considered gifted in ki manipulation, than Goken has to be a prodigy!
Gohan gives his son the biggest grin he can muster. "Goken, that is absolutely incredible!" he excitedly praises his son, causing Goken to blush from the praise. "I'm serious son, you are absolutely amazing! I could have never come up with that at your age, heck! I probably still couldn't come up with something like that! I thought I was proud of you before, but now I'm even more proud to call you my son! I only wish I could do it openly without risking your existence." He then goes over and gives Goken another hug, this time not to console him, but to show his affection of how proud he truly is.
Goken just continues to bathe in his father's warmth. How could he ever think that his daddy doesn't love him, or that he would be ashamed of him? It is at this point where Goken makes a silent vow to always trust his daddy, no matter what.
Finally, after a couple minutes, Gohan breaks the embrace. "Are you ready to go back to the tournament Goken?" Gohan gently inquires his son, as he powers down from super saiyan. He doesn't want to force him to if he still isn't ready yet.
"I think so daddy." Goken responds in a somewhat cheery tone, also dropping his transformation. He has a smile on his face that makes Gohan smile back at his son.
"Alright. Now remember that at the tournament, I'm your brother, so niisan or Gohan from here on out until it's over okay?"
Goken rolls his eyes at his father. "I know dad!" Goken responds with a huff. "You've only told me like 500 times today."
Gohan chuckles at his son's reaction. "Just making sure." He then places his hand on Goken's shoulder and two fingers on his forehead and instant transmissions them back to the island, ending up right next to Goku.
As soon as they get back, Goken excitedly runs over to Pan, who is looking at the matchups for the next round.
"It looks like you got him under control Gohan," Goku comments to his son, looking at his grandson jumping up and down excitedly in anticipation of his next match. Apparently he's fighting Piccolo in the next round. "You really are a great dad you know that?"
"Dad…" Gohan shyly responds. He's still embarrassed at the praise his father gives him. "I'm not that great. He's just easy to cheer up that's all."
"That may be true Gohan, but I saw him when he was fighting. He was furious, blinded by emotions. I know from experience that it is not easy to calm someone down when that is the case. You must really know him in order to reach him. You know him inside and out, even though you only met him a week ago. More importantly though, you love him more than anything, and that, my son, is what makes you an excellent father," he speaks the last sentence with pride evident in his voice.
Gohan has heard it many times from his father in the past week, but it still surprises him every time his father calls him a great dad. "Thanks dad," he says genuinely. He continues to watch both of his children, now with Pan telling Goken something that shocks the boy as his eyes widen upon hearing it. He watches as Goken's expression of shock turns into one of pure excitement, a sign that whatever news Pan had told him was good.
~Hercule's Private Suite, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds~
Videl watched Goken's fight with wide eyes. She saw the boy transform into a golden warrior right before her very eyes!
"Woah!" she exclaims in awe. "He's like the boy from the Cell games! That must be him!"
Videl continues to watch him pummel Android Eighteen like he was going to kill her. Her jaw drops when he fires his bright beam before she had to shield her eyes from the brightness.
"What is that technique?!" she asks astounded, still clutching her eyes. As she tries to continue her thoughts, she is knocked down by a shockwave of some sort that followed a gigantic explosion. By the time she got up and her eyesight was back to normal, the boy had vanished.
"W-where did he g-go?" she shakily inquires no one in particular. "They said he won the match, yet he's not there!" If I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't have believed it! That was no trick; that was real. So the guys from the Cell games weren't posers. She then realizes a fact that she hadn't thought about yet. Wait! Wasn't that the kid Gohan said was his brother? He's the one that's an exact replica of Goku Son!
Videl then puts the pieces together and makes a surprising discovery. That guy that fought after my dad; that was Goku Son! When that boy turned blond, he looked like a miniature version of that guy from the Cell games! I've got to ask Gohan this!
Videl looks around the area where all of the semifinalists are gathered and finds that neither he, nor his brother, are even there! He must have gotten something to eat or som – Her thought is cut off by the sudden reappearance of Gohan and Goken, like they just appeared out of thin air!
Videl is speechless. How can someone just appear out of thin air? It's impossible! You've got some explaining to do Gohan! She silently seethes, eyes narrowing in suspicion. I'll get answers out of you if it's the last thing I do!
Translations:
chibi- cute child, dwarf
oniisan- older brother (formal)
niisan- older brother (informal)
oneesan- older sister (formal)
imoutosan- younger sister (formal)
otoutosan- younger brother (formal)
ki- energy
sensei- master, teacher
