Hope everyone is excited for this chapter! Now we will get to see what kind of punishment (if any) Gohan will get. Hope you enjoy!


Chapter 7: The Power of Plants

Gohan woke up to the sound of hurried feet. He was currently lying on the floor of the cave. He jolted up from where he was lying and didn't see Marie. A second later, he heard a familiar voice.

"Gohan!"

He looked in the direction of the voice and saw that Leyla was running towards him, light filtering in from the stairs.

I fell asleep all night without having a disturbance, the realization startled him a bit, but then he wondered where Marie went.

"Gohan, are you okay? When you dad and friends told me that you suddenly ran off last night after I left I thought…" his friend stated quickly and Gohan could already sense that she was nervous. Of course, Leyla didn't know how to sense Ki so she didn't know what emotions she was portraying through hers.

"Yeah, I'm fine Leyla," he started to say, but was interrupted by another voice.

"Leyla, could you please back away from Gohan," he heard his father's voice say. He looked near the entrance of the stairs and saw the remaining Z Fighters standing with his father, each looking increasingly nervous. Leyla's eyes widened when she saw them and looked frantically back at Gohan.

"I didn't know they followed me here…" she started frantically, but Gohan gave her an understanding look. She backed up a bit.

He suddenly sensed Marie's Ki hiding somewhere behind him, fear radiating off of it. Apparently, his father and the other Z Fighters sensed Marie's Ki as well because Goku looked in the direction that the Ki came from.

Gohan looked behind him and saw Marie quickly duck her head behind a rock. He walked over to where the rock was and went behind it, seeing Marie hiding with a look of fear on her face.

"Gohan, who is that?" his father's voice came through behind him with a hint of caution. Gohan quickly turned around and got in a defensive position in front of Marie.

"I won't let you hurt her…" he growled, earning him a confused look from his father.

"What do you mean? I wouldn't hurt her," Goku stated, confused at his son's actions. Gohan just continued giving him a glare before taking a deep breath. He then turned around and looked at Marie. She was now standing up, but she kept fidgeting with her white dress.

"It's ok Marie," Gohan stated softly, "you don't have to be afraid. These are my friends and dad."

"Friends?" Marie repeated the word while putting her head to the side, as if what he had just said was foreign to her. She then nodded her head. Gohan turned around and gave his dad an almost sheepish grin. His father looked just about confused as he felt about his new friend.

When he felt Marie's Ki move closer to theirs, he was going to turn around but stopped when he realized that she was right behind him, looking over his shoulder at his father. He gasped a bit in surprise and felt his feet stumble over themselves, falling back a bit, only to be caught by his father. He looked up when he realized that he hadn't hit the ground, only to see his dad laughing a bit at his behavior. It was then that Gohan realized that he was blushing.

Apparently Leyla also saw Gohan blushing since she came over and stood beside his father, looking at Marie with a look on her face that Gohan couldn't quite read.

"Who are you?" Leyla asked, and Gohan could detect a bit of jealousy behind her voice; but he was confused why his close friend would feel that way. Marie didn't answer; she just continued to stare at Gohan. When he gave a nod, she looked at Leyla.

"Marie," she answered softly, making Gohan wonder why she was acting so shy. He looked up at Leyla and then back at Marie. His new friend was staring at the ground, looking as if she wanted to be invisible. Leyla, on the other hand, had a somewhat frustrated look on her face. He sighed, knowing he might be forever perplexed at his two friends' behaviors.

He suddenly felt very tired, relaxing in his father's hold. He looked through parted eyes at the changing scenery before closing his eyes in sleep.


"I'm under what?" Gohan asked with a bit of defiance and disbelief in his voice. Goku sighed before explaining again.

"You could call it 'house arrest', or in this case 'bedroom confinement," his father stated, trying to keep from laughing at his unintended joke. Gohan sat down on his bed and bit his lip in frustration.

"Why?" was his request, although with the way he was feeling, he thought of it more as a command.

"For running off," his father stated. Gohan sighed.

All I did was go for a run and stay somewhere overnight and this is what I get? He thought with a slight bit of anger. Another part of his mind reminded him of something though, Yeah, with a giant killer octopus on the loose trying to kill you. Just normal stuff.

He was about to voice his thoughts to his father when the door peeped open a bit, revealing Marie's face.

"Can stay in here?" she asked while she stared uncertainly at Gohan. Marie was now living with them since she could remember nothing about her past and they couldn't find her parents. His friends had been trying to set up an empty room for her to stay in.

"Marie, Gohan is in 'bedroom confinement'," his father stated slowly. Gohan wanted to mentally smack himself, but almost started to laugh in disbelief at his friend's response.

"Well, can I be in 'bedroom confinement' with him?" she asked naively. Gohan gave a small smile at her response, looking over at his father while noticing the frustrated look on his face.

"No Marie you can't," his father stated. Marie gave a small frown on her confused face.

"Why?" she asked while tilting her head, making her blond hair move with the action. Gohan had come to realize that his new friend might actually be more naïve and innocent than his own father. Right now, this particular situation seemed to prove his theory.

"Gohan needs to be alone for right now. And besides, there is only one bed," Goku stated, hoping to get her to realize that she shouldn't be in here, but that apparently didn't work.

"I can sleep on the floor," Marie stated simply as she walked into the room and sat beside Gohan on the bed. He was somewhat surprised since he felt that this was her way of being defiant.

"No Marie, you are not going to sleep on the floor. Now come on," his father said as he came over and took Marie's hand, turning around and apparently wanting to bring the small girl with him. He felt Marie stiffen beside him, almost as if she was going to refuse. But after a few moments, his friend follow suit and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Gohan sighed, hoping his new friend wouldn't be that much trouble. The next moment, he knew that this was going to be a bad night. He heard footsteps in the hallway and heard his father's voice.

"Marie, where are you going?" his father asked and Gohan noted the confusion in his words. He heard the footsteps stop right outside his door and then heard his friend's voice.

"I'm going to sleep here," Marie stated and he realized that she had just laid right down beside his doorway.

"Marie, like I said in the room, you're not going to sleep on the floor," his father answered and Gohan knew that his father was trying not to lose his patience. For some unknown reason, this brought a small smile to Gohan's face.

"I'm not sleeping on the floor, I have the blanket under me," Marie stated with some defiance in his voice.

"Marie…" Goku stated but then was interrupted by Gohan's voice.

"You might as well just let her. I don't think she's going to budge from the way it sounds," Gohan yelled out from on his bed, trying not to laugh at his friend's behavior. He heard his father's footsteps fade, signifying that he had taken Gohan's suggestion.

The next few hours were the hardest for him. He knew it was late in the night; he had slept through the whole day when they had gotten back. He knew that he couldn't get to sleep now; his mind was too alert to even try. So he sat on his bed, seemingly staring at the wall. He was then curious if Marie had actually stayed by his door all this time. He was towards the door and opened it silently; the small figure laying beside the door an answer to his question. Marie suddenly looked up at him, blue eyes open wide to confirm that she hadn't been sleeping. Gohan didn't know what compelled him to speak; maybe it was the way she was looking up at him from the floor.

"Come on," he whispered softly while motioning with his hand pointing into his room. Marie nodded silently and stood up; bringing the light blue blanket she had been sleeping on with her. When in the room, he closed the door and then turned around before seeing Marie sitting on the floor.

"Marie, you sleep in the bed. I'll sleep on the floor, ok?" he stated softly, but was quite confused when he received a shake of her head as a "no".

"I'll sleep right here," Marie whispered softly as she patted the ground in front of her.

"Marie, as much as I don't like having to tell you this, but I agree with my dad on this one. I won't let you sleep on the floor," Gohan stated, but was surprised at her confused look.

"I'm not going to sleep on the floor…" she started, but Gohan cut her off, seemingly knowing what she would say next.

"Marie, sleeping on a blanket on the floor does not count as not sleeping on the floor," he said. He then looked at her. She was tracing her finger along the ground.

"I'm not sleeping on the blanket either," Marie said in a soft tone, staring at what she was tracing. Gohan also looked and saw that it was the shape of some kind of flower.

"What are you going to sleep on then?" he asked, quite confused at what she meant. She looked up at him and then back down at the floor.

"Do you mind if I…?" she started then shook her head, making Gohan wonder if she knew that he wouldn't understand anyway. She then got up and kneeled on her knees, tracing the floor with the flower again. Then she traced outwards into the air, almost in a waving motion. From where her hands traced, giant green leaves appeared until her hand stopped and moved on to another leaf. When the six leaves were done, she placed her hands into the joining section of each one and spread her hands outward again, pink flower petals following the flowing motion. When she was done, a huge pink flower had formed next to his bed. She stared at him for a response, but Gohan was at a loss for words. She seemed to understand and tried to help by talking first.

"I'm going to sleep here," she stated with a smile.

"Ok," he stated in amazement, not sure what else to say. Marie nodded and lied down in the middle of the flower. Gohan was telling himself not to be surprised by anything else, but that failed when he saw two of the petals fall over his friend, almost acting like a blanket. He shook his head and then went to lie down in his own bed.

"Why didn't you just do that in the hallway?" he asked when he was situated.

"I figured you didn't want a giant flower in your small hallway," she stated simply. That made him laugh a bit, imagining them all tripping on the giant petals.

"Agreed," he said before the room lapsed into silence. Before he went to sleep, he found himself wondering just what else his new friend could actually do.


Yep, so Gohan is under 'bedroom confinement'. Random question: Is it just me or does Marie remind you of Yeul from Final Fantasy? Just wondered about that. Either way, hope you enjoyed and please review.

-AnimeWolfGirl9