Chapter 9, Yes, Teacher
Author's Notes: Hi guys. I finally got Office XP, so this is my first chapter of this story in Office. I've used Office before, but XP won't let you use any version of Office but this one. It sucks, but hey! That's Billy for ya!
Anyway, now that I'm done whining, I'm going to talk about the story a little bit. Kudos go out to all my reviewers, but especially to Hakutwo and lorilynn whom I have an ongoing review correspondence with and who actually answered my question. That will come into play soon enough, but first; I'm going to put my poor character through more Hell. Pan has a special surprise in store for him (the poor guyJ).
I hope you enjoy this chapter, I know I intend to enjoy writing it.
Disclaimer: I'm running out of smart-ass ways of doing this, but suffice it to say I don't own DBZ.
(Oh, and Hakutwo? Why'd you take down the sequel to Here to Stay? I was really enjoying that!)
Begin Ch. 9
Bradley did his best to keep up with Pan's pace, but even so, his arm felt like it was seriously considering becoming dislocated, Where are we, anyway? We must be in the forest behind their house, I guess.
"Hey, Pan? Can I please have my arm back? I need it, you know."
"Yeah, sorry," Pan stopped by a small river and let go of his arm, then sat down heavily. "Jeez, I swear sometimes that father of mine lives to humiliate me. She gazed out over the river and sighed.
"Well, I don't know how it is with your parents, but my mother is always joking about how she's gonna show my first girlfriend baby pictures of me in the bath as revenge for all the trouble I caused her." He chuckled, then picked up a flat rock and threw it at an angle into the river. It dropped straight to the bottom, "Damn, I never could skip stones."
Pan laughed, "Maybe I should date you then, and at least with an imaginary person it wouldn't be quite so embarrassing."
Bradley shook his head, "No, that would be worse. You're still a hero, after all," he looked up and smiled, "Besides, you look pretty real to me. Anybody ever tell you how cute you are?"
"Why do you always have to flirt with me?" she held up one hand, "not that I mind it, but I can't help wonder."
Bradley sat down beside her and thought for a few minutes, "Well, to be honest, I really don't know, but I do know that I've always been a flirt in chat rooms on the internet, and I have to admit that I'm fairly at ease around you. Say, not to change the subject or anything, but why are we way out here in the middle of nowhere, anyway?"
"Oh, yeah, that's right," Pan got up and brushed off the back off her jeans, "We're out here, because Piccolo is training somewhere around here, and you need to learn how to fight and use your ki properly."
Bradley started to sweat, "Um, you know what? I just remembered, I've got a dentist's appointment. I'm having a root canal," he turned around and started to run.
Unfortunately, Pan had a hold of the back of his shirt, so he didn't get far, "Oh, no you don't. You've only been here a couple days, and besides, you're from another universe, remember?" she buffed her nails on her shirt and started dragging Bradley, "You're not getting out of this that easily. I don't know what you're afraid of, though. Jeez, he's not that bad." With that, she started looking for the former Daimao while her captive blubbered like a baby.
…
Okay, ground and center. To achieve greater mastery of ones skills, one must be able to focus both inward and outward simultaneously. One must be aware of all that is going on inside and outside of oneself.
"AW, C'MON, PAN! I DON'T WANNA MESS WITH THAT GIANT APARAGUS SHOOT! HE'LL RIP ME LIMB FROM LIMB!!"
Piccolo's eyebrows twitched, Such as a cowardly fool screaming his lungs out in terror of me! I look nothing like asparagus, but I may tear him apart all the same. He stood up; there was no point in trying to meditate if this young man was being dragged here by the daughter of his pupil. Besides, it was impossible to concentrate with all the noise the young man was making, anyway.
"Tough. You need the training. Now, quit crying like a child and start acting like a man, or so help me, I'll rip you to shreds," Pan walked into the clearing, dragging the kid by his ankles. "Oh, hi Piccolo, Sir, I'm sorry for disturbing you. This is Bradley," She let go of the young man long enough for him to stand up and extend his hand in the manner of westerners, the look of a cornered animal on his face, then she got a good solid grip on the shoulder of his t-shirt.
Piccolo took the boy's hand and shook it firmly but gently, Just what is that kid afraid of? It can't be my looks; he knew what I looked like before he even saw me! "Well, Pan. Is there a reason you're dragging a young man through the forest? Or are you employing your Grandmother's methods for catching a husband?" he laughed to himself, remembering how Chichi had roped Goku at that long ago Tenka-ichi Budôkai.
Pan scowled, "That's not funny. Anyway, this is Bradley, He's kinda weird, but here's what we know so far." With that, she proceeded to tell Piccolo everything that had happened, "and I heard you helped my dad lean to unlock his potential, so I thought maybe you could teach Bradley the same way you taught him."
Piccolo had noticed Bradley's eyes start to dilate at the mention of how Piccolo "taught Gohan", but he was completely unprepared for the sudden burst of speed the young man mustered to escape Pan's grip and disappear into the forest at the mention of undergoing the same training.
In fact, he moved so fast that Pan was left holding the torn-off shoulder of his shirt.
Pan stared in shock, "Just what did you put my dad through, anyway?"
Piccolo calmly lifted off the ground to chase after the young man, "Don't ask."
…
Bradley looked up just in time to see a calloused, green hand reach for him.
"Oh, God, I forgot that Piccolo was a Stretch Armstrong wanna-be," he moaned as he was pulled through the air.
"Well, since it's obvious that you know how I trained Gohan and it terrifies you that much, perhaps Pan would be a better instructor for you."
"But I'm the same age as him, what makes you think he'll learn from me?" Pan asked from right behind Bradley.
Piccolo smiled in a way he hadn't smiled in a long time. It was a smile designed to terrify the weak and make even the most courageous soul think twice. "Because if he doesn't learn," Piccolo half growled, "he'll start his first lesson from me immediately."
Bradley swallowed, his eyes as big as saucer plates, "D-Don't worry, P-Pan. I'll learn, s-somehow. I-I'm not interested in becoming a g-greasy smear on the side of a m-mountain."
Pan raised one eyebrow at that, Piccolo was right, I shouldn't ask. I don't want to know. "Okay, anyway, let's get started," she said.
Bradley sighed, "Yes Teacher."
End of Ch. 9
AN: Well, that takes care of that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
DBZ Trivia: Goku's father, Bardock, was given psychic powers right before he was destroyed with Planet Vegeta (the Saiyan home world) (see the Bardock special for more information).
