A/N: My apologies for not updating in quite some time. Also, Rest in Peace Hiromi Tsuru, the Japanese voice actress of Bulma. You will be missed.

Chapter 12: Leaving 439 East District

Despite (or perhaps because of) all the stress he had been under, Gohan was the first to wake up in his household. After carefully getting out of bed, so as to not disturb Videl, he crept through the hall, passing his daughter's room and the two guest rooms where Ox-King and Mr. Satan slept. Quietly, he made his way downstairs where decorations of the previous night greeted him.

His movements stopped as he once again took in the sight. He still couldn't believe his friends and family had organized such a party for him. He closed his eyes and thought back to moment he walked in the door.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday Gohan!"

A smile stretched across his face as he reminisced upon the good times shared with everyone. It had been a spectacular party full of fun and laughter. Everything was perfect… that is until 'he' showed up.

"Hey you guys made me cake!"

Gohan shook his head as he opened his eyes back up. His conscious state came back to the present. "I have to move forward." He told himself. He then checked his watched. "8:13 AM" All his friends would be up by now and no doubt would be wondering what had happened after they left. Sighing, he walked into his study nearby and prepared to call everyone to apologize.


Meanwhile, in the adjacent home, another demi-saiyan was just waking up.

Son Goten yawned as he stretched in his bed. The morning sun seeping in through his window had pestered him enough to finally get up. He was still apprehensive about leaving the comfort of his room though. The events from the previous night had taken its toll on everyone and he was certainly no exception. Having heard certain things for the very first time, he began to question what he thought he had known about his father and his family. This 're-evaluation' had made him toss and turn in his bed late into the night. He only succumbed to sleep because of sheer mental exhaustion.

But it was now the morning after, and the more conscious Goten became, the more reality sunk in. He sighed heavily as he began to wonder what today would hold. Gohan was not only moving, but he was also cutting out their father from his life. At this point it was anyone's guess if this issue would eventually resolve itself, or if today would truly be the last day Gohan ever saw his father again. While this prospect made him sad, he was beginning to have a better understanding as to where his brother was coming from. He had not known many things until last night. Family secrets were starting to come out and it was clear that there were different perspective on events that had occurred in the past.

What Gohan had to say even made him reflect upon the first impression he had of his father. Growing up he had only known this so called 'Goku' through pictures and stories he had heard from friends and family. To him, Gohan and Piccolo had been more like father figures than brother and mentor, respectively. When Goku appeared, it took him some time to think of him as a father, rather than something like an uncle who just appeared one day. But now, with these new revelations, he was starting to go back to that stage of uncertainty. For the first time in a long time he was questioning… 'Just who is Son Goku?'

After getting dressed, he took a deep breath ventured out of his room. As he made his way to the kitchen, he ruffled his hair and wiped the sleep away from his eyes. When he opened them again he saw his father sitting at the end of the kitchen table with a pensive look as he stared at his cup of tea.

"Dad?" He said, rather surprised his father was up this early, given what happened the previous night.

"Morning Goten." Goku responded without even looking up. His voice was solemn just like his demeanor.

"Good morning." Goten returned without much enthusiasm. He didn't know quite what to say. After a short pause, he finished walking into the kitchen and opened the cupboard to fix himself some breakfast.

It was an awkward moment between the two. Goten realized that he felt angered, and at the same time sympathetic, towards his father. Therefore, he didn't even know where to begin in conversation. The only thing he knew, what he felt deep in his heart, was that in time he and his father would be able move past all this. He could forgive his father's transgressions… but he couldn't force his brother to do the same.

As Goten poured his cereal, Goku felt the internal struggle of emotions that his son was going through. However, he didn't know where to start. There was still a little part of him thinking, or perhaps hoping, that this was being blown out of proportion, that Gohan just had a bad day and had taken it out on him. But he knew that wasn't true. Finally, he decided he had to say something, no matter how short it was. "Goten," He muttered, still not looking up.

"Huh?" His son turned towards him.

Goku was still pensive but came out with it anyway. "I'm sorry."

Goten stared at his father for a moment. He knew the apology was genuine, but at the same time context he needed some time to properly digest and accept certain things that had been revealed. In the end, there was only one way he felt he could respond. "I know." He muttered back and then continued making his breakfast.


"Alright… goodbye Krillin." Gohan said as he hung up the phone. Letting out a deep breath, he leaned back in his chair. He had just finished calling everyone to apologize for his actions from the previous night. Expressing sincere remorse, he found all his friends to be forgiving. Of course, he faced the inevitable questions regarding what happened once he got back home and if he had a chance to talk with his father. Gohan knew this question was going to come up and had been thinking about how to respond to it. For the most part, he tried to keep his answer brief. He told everyone that he had a chance to speak with Goku and get somethings off his chest. However, he was trying to move forward from this and, in doing so, that meant having some separation from his father. A few of his close friends inquired further, asking exactly what he meant. Again, he tried to keep his answers vague. It was not his desire to bad-mouth his father, no matter how much hurt had been caused by him. Others had a good relationship with Goku, he just couldn't count himself as a part of that group. More than anything he simply wanted to move on. After fielding more questions, most of his friends began to get an understanding as to where he was coming from, even if they didn't have the full picture.

Gohan checked the time on his watch. 9:37 AM. He had spent over an hour on the phone. He knew, however, that discussions would not stop there, but it did for today… or so he thought.

Standing up from his desk he started to make his way back into the living room. His family would be up soon and they still needed to get a few things together before they moved out by noon. As he opened the door a familiar figure was sitting in a nearby chair, waiting for him. "Grandpa!" He gasped. He did not hear his grandfather come down the stairs, and therefore did not expect him to be right outside his study. Without saying anything Ox-King stood up, approached his grandson, and embraced him in a hug. It caught Gohan completely by surprise but, after he realized that his grandfather had been listening and was now as aware as everyone else was regarding the situation, he returned the hug.

"Gohan." Ox-King spoke after a moment. His voice, like many others, showed concern. They broke from their hug and he looked down at his grandson. "I want you to know that I'm not going to judge your decision on what you think is best for your family. No matter what, you will always have my support." He then sighed while Gohan continued to stare up at him. "But I hope in the future you will be able to give your father another chance. Despite what you might think, he does care for you."

Gohan adverted his eyes away from him. Even with Ox-King knowing as much as anyone else, which Gohan had purposefully tried to keep vague, he had been able to read in between the lines to understand what was truly going on. Perhaps some of his friends were equally perceptive but simply decided not to inquire further. Regardless, he respected his grandfather too much to lie to him. "I'm sorry but I can't. There is just no way I can forgive him. And he doesn't care for me. He's showed that through his actions."

Ox-King looked at him sympathetically. "I know he hasn't been around much throughout your life but people can change. All of this might change him."

Gohan let a light smile cross his face. "If only it were that simple."

"Huh?" Ox-King gave a confused look.

The demi-saiyan looked back up at his grandfather. "It's not just him being absent. It's much more than that… There are things that you don't know about which-" But he was unable to finish.

"Gohan." Videl shouted as she came down the stairs, unknowingly interrupting the conversation. She then turned around to see her husband and grandfather-in-law in the hallway.

Before she could ask what was going on, Gohan spoke up. "Hey, you're up. I hope we didn't wake you."

Videl shook her head. "No… no, I woke up naturally.

We better hurry and pack the remaining things. We have to be at the new place by 4:00 PM remember."

Videl nodded.

Gohan smiled. "Alright. Why don't you wake up everyone else, I will finish getting the kitchen packed up, grandpa can get the living room, and we can work from there. That sound good?"

Ox-King slightly nodded, not really knowing what else to do, while Videl agreed and went back upstairs.

Gohan turned to his grandfather, acting like the conversation they just had never happened, and explained, "There are empty capsules for the furniture in the desk. Everything should be labeled but if you need me you know where to find me." And with that he made his way into the kitchen leaving Ox-King a little confused as to what his grandson had just mentioned.

What did he mean 'There are things you don't know…'?


12:00 PM

The sun gleamed through the cloudless sky as the moment of departure arrived. There was a great juxtaposition between the beautiful Spring day and the event that was taking place between the two houses at the mountain base.

Videl and Pan began to say their goodbyes to Chi-Chi, Goten, and Ox-King. Behind them, Gohan, with the help of his father-in-law, was placing the last of the moving boxes in the hovercar. Nearby Piccolo, who had come to see Gohan off, leaned against the side of the house. The only thing missing was Goku, who looked on from the kitchen window of his home. The Saiyan did not want a confrontation with his son and felt this was the best place for him to be at the moment.

"Piccolo." Gohan called out. "Can you put the house back in the capsule?"

The Namekian pressed the appropriate buttons and within an instant, all that was left was a tiny capsule surrounded by a large circular brown spot where the foundation of the house had been. It wouldn't take too long before the area was covered with grass and any traces of where the house used to be, would disappear.

Piccolo picked up the small capsule and brought it over to Gohan. "Thanks." He said as he tossed it in a container and shut the side door to the hovercar. He then began to tremble, which made Piccolo concerned.

"Gohan?" He said in a whisper so as not to draw attention to the young man.

Gohan took a deep breath and then faced his former mentor. "I'm alright… just glad to be moving…" He then looked around. "A lot of bad memories associated with this place."

Piccolo looked at him sympathetically. Even Mt. Paozu, as beautiful as it was, held a painful remembrance. Things truly had changed.

The two stood in silence for a brief moment and then Gohan embraced him in a hug. "Thank you Piccolo. You've always been there for me." Piccolo returned the hug but kept silent. He wasn't one to become too emotional with words but Gohan knew what went unsaid. They pulled apart. "You know that you're always welcome at our place. We have plenty of room." He added. Piccolo smiled and nodded.

From afar, Goku watched this interaction take place. The fact that his son saw his former rival as his father figure became more apparent to him by the scene that was playing out before him. He began to question, again, what he had done regarding certain decisions he had made. His chronic absence had now resulted in him being the one left in the dark.

After deciding it was now time, Gohan left Piccolo at the hovercar and made his way to Videl's side. "It's time to go." He declared.

Chi-Chi bit down on her handkerchief as she tried her best to hold back tears. Videl and Pan started saying their goodbyes with Gohan behind them.

"Grandpa." Gohan said as he gave his grandfather a hug. He then moved to his brother. "Goten…" His voice started to crack. He and Goten had been together from the day Goten was born. And even though his brother was 18 years old now, Gohan still saw him as his little baby brother. To say it was tough goodbye would be an understatement. The two brothers embraced in a deep hug as they both began to shed tears.

"I'm gonna miss you Gohan."

"I'm going to miss you too Goten." Gohan returned. "Make sure to take care of mom for me." He added as they broke from the hug. Goten nodded.

Gohan then turned to his mother who was already losing her battle with fighting back her own tears. "Mom, I" He started but was interrupted by her.

"Gohan-chan!" She cried as she hugged him, sobbing on his shoulder. Her little boy was leaving after all these years.

"Mom." He said soothingly to try and calm her down. "It's going to be OK. We won't be too far away. You will be able to visit us anytime you want." Chi-Chi continued to sob but eventually gained enough control let go of the tight embrace she had on her son. As she looked into his eyes, and that calming smile across his face, she kept thinking to herself how much her little boy had grown up. For a moment, they forgot about everything that had happened and remembered the good times rather than the bad.

Gohan sighed and looked at Videl. "Alright, I guess we better get going." He then turned to face his daughter. "Ready Pan?" But she wasn't there. When he looked up he saw his daughter running towards his parents' house, where the man he now referred to as Goku stood in the doorway.

"Grandpa." Pan cried as tears flew off her cheeks. She had seen him open the door as everyone was saying their goodbyes and realized that couldn't leave without saying goodbye to him as well. "Grandpa." She cried again as she ran into Goku's arms.

Gohan stood still for a moment as he had flashbacks to last year at the Tenkaichi Budokai when Pan ran towards Goku. He only came back to reality when he felt the stares of his family on him. He calmly moved past them, and walked towards his daughter and father.

"G-Gohan." Chi-Chi pleaded, worried about another altercation.

But Gohan knew better. "I'm fine. We just need to get going if we are going to make it to North City on time."

"Grandpa…" Pan muttered as she wiped tears from her face.

"Pan, don't cry." Goku said, trying to comfort her.

"But dad said that we won't see you for a very long time."

Goku was taken aback. He wasn't expecting to hear that from her and he began to wonder what Gohan had said.

Almost as if she was reading his mind, Pan looked up at him through her tears. "He said you hurt him a lot when he was younger and that he doesn't want you to hurt me. I don't understand. Why did you hurt daddy, grandpa?"

Goku looked into his granddaughter's eyes. He could tell she was confused by everything that was going on. He did his best to explain the situation without going into too much detail. "Well Pan. I haven't been the best father to your dad. Last night he made me realize that I've made a lot of mistakes and he's upset with me right now because of those mistakes. Your dad and I just need some time to figure things out."

"Pan it's time to go." Gohan announced as he reached them.

Pan turned to face her father. "…ok." She then turned back towards Goku and gave him a hug. "I hope everything works out grandpa." It was whispered but Gohan could still hear it. He saw the connection the two had and, for a second, questioned if he was doing the right thing. It was only for a second though. Memories of how much hurt his father had caused was still ingrained in his head. What he saw before him was his father playing the innocent type. It was how he won people over. However, the truth was that the man would only cause more pain and he would not let his daughter go through that.

"Go say goodbye to Piccolo before we take off." Gohan said.

Pan nodded. "Goodbye grandpa." She waved and then dashed towards Piccolo to say her goodbyes to him. Gohan smiled as he saw her daughter run towards The Namekian. He took a few steps towards them when he was interrupted.

"Gohan, wait-" Goku said reaching out his hand to his son's shoulder. Before he made physical contact Gohan stopped.

"Don't!" He said without even turning around. "Don't say one more word."

Goku backed off.

"You got to say goodbye. Now please, leave us in peace. You've done enough damage." Gohan then walked back to the hovercar with his father both literally and figuratively behind him. As he approached the vehicle where everyone else was gathered, he saw Pan and Videl saying goodbye to Piccolo.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Mr. Satan asked as he started up the engine.

He was answered with a collective "Yeah!"

Everyone said one last goodbye as the boarded. As the hovercar ascended into the air and once it reached the appropriated height Mr. Satan, who was driving, shouted. "Alright, North City here we come." Recovering the emotional goodbye, Gohan and his family all cheered.

As they blasted off Gohan sat back and sighed. He felt as if a chapter had finally closed and he was now starting a new one. The future held promise for him and his family.