We'll Get Through It
Work
The Day Before
"I'm sorry Piccolo-san, but I really need to go," the young half-breed looked up at his mentor as they wrapped up their mediation. It was the first time they had spoken since Piccolo found him at the beach.
Piccolo studied his student, Gohan felt his sharp eyes on him as if he was deciding to let him go or not. Gohan stood straight, saying, "I have to fix what I did."
Piccolo gave him a single nod, getting back into his mediation position, he closed his eyes, "Tomorrow we will train."
"Yes sir," Gohan watched as his mentor began his mediation once again. Then, jumping into the air, the child took off.
Chazke Village is a spot that his mother and him had visited many times. His mother had stated that this village was one of the hardest working villages around them, and that is what she liked about it.
"These men are not afraid of work," he remembered her telling him one day, "A good man will do all types of work to support their family, no job is too small. These men here are not afraid of that."
Although Chazke Village was small, the surrounding farms in the area were enough to have constant work. There were people from other villages that would come here to look for work.
Gohan landed in the out skits of the village and began to walk towards The Post.
The Post is where people went to look for work. If anyone were looking for work, they would stand near The Post in the middle of town, and wait until someone approached looking for a worker. Gohan had seen people standing near The Post every time he went into the village. The people there were mainly men, but sometimes he did see women or teenagers, and had seen a few children from time to time.
Sometimes, his mother would send his father to The Post.
His dad had explained that he just worked on the farms in the outside of the village. He said the work wasn't very hard, and he was always the first one done chopping wood, hunting for a family, or tending the farmland.
Gohan knew how to do these things.
No one was at The Post when Gohan approached it. It was late in the afternoon and most people did their work in the morning. Hoping to catch a break, Gohan walked over and stood under The Post.
He stood straight, not sure how to make himself look presentable while waiting for work. He didn't want anything to think he was rude and not hire him.
Standing as still as he could, Gohan waited.
He had to make some Zeni. He had to replace the books and desk that he had damaged.
If he could help it, Gohan didn't want to go home. He didn't want to look at his mother; he didn't want to explain to her what had happened. In all honestly, he didn't know what happened.
He never got mad in front of mother like that.
The only time he really remembered even raising his voice at her is when she refused to let him go to Namek. He remembered his blood starting to boil at the thought of not being able to help bring Piccolo back to life. After everything Piccolo had done, going to Namek was the least he could do.
Hearing his mother say those horrible things then, was enough to finally raise his voice to her.
When he had told his mother that he had to go, he made sure to keep his eyes pointed towards the floor. He knew he couldn't look at anyone while he was explaining why he had to help.
When he was done explaining his reasons, he looked over and saw his father smiling at him.
Like he was proud of him.
Would his father be proud of him now?
Gohan doubted it.
The sun was starting to set, the villagers starting to return to their homes. Gohan didn't know how long he was supposed to stand there. He knew that he should be heading home soon; he normally never stayed out past sunset.
Gohan relaxed his shoulders and looked up at The Pole. He was sure he was going to be able to work on something, he saw a few people throughout the day looking at him. Maybe they had thought he was too young to be working. Sighing to himself, Gohan turned away from the pole.
A man was approaching him. The man had to be a little shorter then his father but was big in muscle and bigger then most men he had seen in the village.
Sensing his ki, Gohan had quickly realized those muscles were just for show.
"Hey kid," the man bent down, looking Gohan up and down, "You looking for work?"
"Yes sir," Gohan nodded, standing up tall in front of the man.
"I need someone to guard my field for the night," the man said, "Pesky animals have been destroying my crops, and I need someone to scare the animals away."
"I can do that," Gohan blurted out, realizing that he had just agreed to stay over-night at this man's farm. There was no way he could go home and tell his mother where he was going.
His mother would not approve.
The man stared down at Gohan, as if he was deciding to hire him or not. Gohan started to worry. Would he ask about his parents? Would he ask him why Gohan was looking for a job in the first place? Would he turn Gohan away?
"I won't pay you if you fall asleep," the man said, "You won't be falling asleep on me, will you boy?"
"No sir, I can stay up." Gohan tried to stand up straighter, to show the man that he was ready to work.
"Alright, follow me." Without saying anything further, the man turned and walked away.
Gohan started to follow him.
They walked into they got into a pick up truck. He saw the man go inside the car, and for a moment the boy froze. He knew it wasn't safe to go in a car with someone he didn't know. His mother always told him to be careful and not talk to strangers.
In that moment he forgot that he was a powerful warrior, who could easily fight and win against this man if need be. In that small moment, he was just a seven-year-old boy, about to get in a car with a stranger.
The man hung his head out the door, "Hop in the back."
Getting out of his head, Gohan gave the man a small nod, and jogged over to the truck, and in one quick motion, hopped in the trunk bed. He did it in one solid motion. When he looked over at the man, he saw the man staring at him, jaw slightly open.
"Was that not normal?" Gohan asked himself, his mother said he had to "act normal" in public. No special powers, no great strength, nothing that would get people to question him.
The man didn't press further; he closed his mouth, and started the truck.
The drive was about an hour away from town. Using is ki just a little; Gohan warmed himself in the back of the truck as they drove through the forest.
His mother had a car, and she knew how to drive, but she didn't have a license. His mother never liked driving, and always asked father if he would get a license. She knew one day she would make him get one, but for now, they rarely drove anywhere.
There wasn't really a point in driving when he could fly.
Yet, there was a nice peacefulness about being in the back of that truck that made Gohan relax. He leaned against the back of the truck, looking out into the forest. He watched as they passed the trees, feeling the soft bumps in the road, and listening to the man's music that he played inside the truck.
Gohan just absorbed himself the moment.
"So we have ten acres of land," the man had said when they reached the farm, "I know you can't cover all that, but the biggest issue I am having at the beginning of the forest," the man pointed towards the beginning of forest across the land, "If you see any animals try to get in, just scare them away. If you do a good job, I'll pay you well."
"Okay, Gohan nodded, looking over at the end of the farm.
"Do you know how to make a fire?" The man asked.
"Yes sir," Gohan turned towards the man.
"When the sun starts rise, I'll take a look at the farm and meet you out there, and once I see that no animals got any of my crops, you'll be paid."
"Yes sir, thank you so much for the opportunity." Gohan gave a small bow towards the man.
The man nodded in response, and without a word walked away and towards his house.
Gohan looked back towards the farm, and started his walk towards the back of the farm.
It did not take Gohan long to reach the end of the forest, gather firewood, and start a fire. Once he got comfortable, he started drawing math equations on the ground before him.
He wasn't sure how long he had been drawing on the ground, he knew it had been a few hours, but only a few times did he sense an animal and scared them away.
Using his saiyan hearing, Gohan kept an ear out for all ten aches of the land. He knew the farmer only expected him to take care of the one area, but if he could protect the whole land, maybe he could get more work.
Suddenly, he heard something. It was a small noise, and it was coming from somewhere in the middle of the farm. Rising to his feet, Gohan lightly floated in the air and glided towards the noise.
Once he reached the middle of the farm, Gohan saw a small rabbit nibbling on a leaf. Gohan landed softly on the ground.
"Hey little guy," Gohan whispered, very softly walking over to the rabbit, "I can't let you eat any of this."
The rabbit froze at the sound of Gohan's voice, his eyes peering up at the saiyan. The saiyan lightly smiled at the rabbit, bending down and stretching out his hand, "Come with me little guy and I'll get you some food."
Ever since Gohan had been really little, he always had a way with animals. His mother said that he had a kind soul, and animals could sense that kind of thing. Living in the middle of the forest, the boy was use to making the animals his friends.
The rabbit looked at Gohan for just a moment, before hopping over to his hands and softly sitting on him. Gohan smiled to himself, bringing the rabbit to his chest, using one of his hands he started petting the animal. "I promise I can get you food but just not here, okay."
Gohan started walking back towards his fire, he continued to talk to the little rabbit, "I bet your family is worried sick about you, little guy. Once we get some food you should really go back home."
Crows flying above Gohan, he looked up, lightly using a little bit of ki to push the crows away. Startled by the gust of energy, the birds took off. The rabbit stayed in his arms, his face nuzzling between his arm and his side, slightly shaking. Gohan continued to pet the rabbit, "Aw its okay little guy, I promise I didn't hurt them."
Reaching his fire, Gohan set the rabbit down on the ground, "Be right back, okay."
The rabbit stayed by the fire as Gohan walked into the forest. He knew there were some berries near by that he could give the rabbit. He had taken some himself earlier. He gathered as many berries as he could, and walked back to the fire.
When Gohan returned to the fire, he saw that there was now a new rabbit next to the rabbit he left behind, this new rabbit was slightly bigger then the rabbit he left there. They both sat by the fire. Gohan laughed, "Looks like you brought over a friend."
Gohan laid the berries next to both rabbits, and they both began to eat. Gohan watched them eat together.
"Is he your big brother?" Gohan asked the rabbits, and although the rabbits didn't answer, Gohan continued to talk, "Sometimes I wish I had a little brother or sister."
The rabbits didn't stop eating, Gohan watched them, "I don't think that is going to happen though, I didn't have any brothers or sisters in the future."
Gohan rested his hand on his chin, "I wondered if Dad left there too." No longer speaking to the rabbits, a small tear came down Gohan's face, "I wish Dad was here."
He whipped the tear away.
He didn't keep talking then, instead he watched as the rabbits finished the rest of the food, and hopped away together.
Gohan was able to protect the whole farm throughout the night. Using slight gusts of his power, the energy scared off all animals away from the farm. At one point, Gohan realized he didn't even have to leave his spot near the fire. All he have to do was gather a little bit of his ki and release it, and the gust of his energy felt like a powerful wind, which caused all the animals to run away.
So when Piccolo landed in front of him in the middle of the night, looking confused at what he was doing, Gohan couldn't help but to bust in a fit of laughter. Piccolo didn't need to talk for Gohan to know why he showed up, Piccolo sense his power rising throughout the night.
"Sorry Piccolo-san," Gohan laughed, "I didn't mean to keep you up."
"What are you doing?" Piccolo crossed his arms, and Gohan could clearly see that Piccolo did not like Gohan laughing at him.
Letting his smile fade from his face, he jerked his head towards the farm, "I'm trying to keep the animals out of the farm. I realized that if I just release a little of my power, they all scatter away."
Piccolo didn't ask any other questions; instead he got into his meditation stance, and sat next to his student.
His mentor was never one to talk, but it was nice to have someone just sit next to him. It reminded him of when they were training for the saiyans. They use to spend all their nights like this: Gohan by the fire writing math equations and Piccolo mediating.
It felt like home.
"I have never seen my crops like this," The man said the next morning, pulling up in his truck and jumping out, "It doesn't look like anything got in my farm last night, not even the bugs."
Gohan swallowed his words back, slightly nervous on how well of a job he did. He stood to his feet, before the sun started to rise Gohan made sure to get rid of all his math equations on the ground, and Piccolo had left when the man woken up. The fire was also out. He walked over to the man, "I did the best I could."
"I noticed it was mighty windy last night," the man stated, "I woke up a couple of times from the wind. I hope it didn't cause you any problems."
Swallowing his nervousness, for some reason Gohan thought the man figured out he was the one who caused the wind during the night. Realizing there was no way the man could figure that out, Gohan shook his head, "No sir, I was fine all night."
"Thank you son for all your help," the man reached into his pocket, "Did you want to come to the house and get some food for me and the wife; you must be starving."
"No thank you sir, I had at some berries in the forest this morning, and I should be heading home." Gohan lowered his head softly.
"Home?" The man asked, looking puzzled, "Oh, I just assumed—Well, never mind," the man appeared nervous then, his eyes shifting to the side, "Does your kin know you are out here?"
Gohan was a little nervous that this question would come up. He didn't know how to explain the situation he was in, and didn't know how to lie in a way that would make it believable.
The man shook his head, "It's none of my business, forget I said anything," the man reached into his wallet and pulled out a handful of Zeni. He bent down and placed his hand on Gohan's shoulder.
The man looked straight into Gohan's eyes, and there was something about his eyes that made Gohan want to look away. He knew that would be rude, and instead meet his gaze.
"If you ever need work you come to me, alright," the man placed the bills in Gohan's hands, "I was like you when I was a boy, maybe I was a little older, but I use to the main provider for my ma and all the kids, so I know what its like to struggle."
Gohan didn't know how to respond to this. It was true that his family wasn't rich, but he never felt like they were struggling. There was always food on the table, always-warm water, and until this moment Gohan never thought about money.
Suddenly the job had a bad taste in his mouth.
He knew the man only meant well.
Yet it was implying something Gohan didn't like.
He didn't want anyone to think he wasn't being taken care of.
"Thank you," Gohan found the words in his voice, "I appreciate it."
Gohan counted the money when the man dropped him off back in the village. He was given 20,000 Zeni. He knew that was way too much, and if he had the thought to count that when the man had given him the money, he would have given some of it back.
His father always got food in the morning, and it was still early enough for Gohan to go fishing. Once he got out of the village, Gohan took to the air. He spent the rest of his morning finishing, gathering fruits, and stopped by another village to buy some rice.
By the time Gohan landed at the house, it would have been the time that he would have started waking up.
He thought about his normal morning routine, how he would wake up in the morning, do light stretches, then find an outfit to wear, and the pick up a book to read. He would read his book until he heard his father come home, and from there he would help his mother get ready for breakfast. She would do the cooking as he set up the table. Then, he would work on his homework or read his book until breakfast was ready, his father running back into the house, and they would eat.
Opening the back door, Gohan set all the food he had carried in the kitchen table. Feeling in his pocket for the money, Gohan put his hand around it and walked out of the kitchen. He was planning to leave it next to his mother's nightstand, but when he walked into the living room he saw his mother sleeping on the couch.
He watched her for a second, noticing her narrowed eyebrows, her chin stiff, and her body tightly wrapped within itself. His mother always did sleep stiffly.
Only time she was relaxed was when father was home.
He noticed the blanket on the ground, and as softly as he could, he picked it up and placed the blanket on her.
Waking her up.
Gokuu didn't know how time worked in the afterlife. When he went to train with Kaio-sama, it didn't feel like normal sense of time like when he was on Earth. There was no nighttime; there were no clocks, no sun to pass the time. It felt like time had stopped.
Grandpa Gohan stood in front of his Gokuu, looking the boy up and down, "Time to head home."
Gokuu nodded, "I know, thanks for everything Grandpa, it was nice to see you again."
"Next time you see me," Grandpa Gohan smirked, "You better be dead or I'll kill you."
Gokuu laughed, "Okay, promise."
"Give your wife a kiss for me," Grandpa smiled, "You better take care of her or I will."
Gokuu laughed again, "Alright, alright Grandpa, enough. I'm going home okay."
Gokuu placed his two fingers against his forehead; he searched for Gohan's ki, locking on to it. He looked back at the older Gohan then. In that one moment, he wanted to absorb his Grandfather. He wanted to make an imprint in his mind.
Who knows when he would see his Grandfather again.
"Bye," Gokuu nodded.
"Goodbye," Grandpa Gohan nodded back.
It was time to go home.
