Light shown through the canopy of the forest trees. A soft breeze blew by, ruffling the leaves all around. The silence that filled this wooden grove gave a mysterious feel to the place.
Yet all of this was the furthest away from Gohan's mind.
It had been three days since he returned to his home, broken and bloodied. His mother had wept over him even as he wept on her. She had comforted him as he allowed his emotions to overcome him.
Piccolo, Krillen, Tien, Yamcha, Chiaotzu; all of them were dead, killed before his eyes. He hadn't seen a blood bath like that since Vegeta had first arrived on Earth. Their combined might was nothing against the Androids. Though he had been the only survivor, he had a shattered shoulder to show for it.
Fortunately, the bag of senzu beans Piccolo had brought with him had been recovered. How or when he had gotten a hold of them, he didn't remember. Everything that happened that day was a blur in his memory. Perhaps he should've been thankful for that—nothing too traumatic could haunt his mind now.
That and his shoulder was back in one piece.
Standing amongst the trees, a repaired gi of the one Piccolo gave him on his form, the demi-saiyan began stretching out muscles and joints. The Son boy had had enough rest these past few days. Now was the time for training, to become strong enough to take on the Androids once more.
It was gonna take a long time to get to that point.
Never had he faced someone this powerful before. Frieza had been considered an impossible challenge back in the day but even he didn't compare to these things. They showed no emotion, not even glee when they killed people. Well, at least when he was around. Maybe they did it when they weren't killing. Doubtful, but one never knew.
Finished with his stretches, Gohan leapt into the air, throwing out a rapid succession of kicks. Using a burst of speed, he shot himself towards a tree head first. Flipping in midair, he landed on the bark with his feet, pushing off of it a moment later as he flew at another tree. This time, he threw a punch, breaking the outer shell of the tree when his fist impacted it.
A succession of punches followed soon after as the Son boy attacked his wooden opponent. With a swing of his leg, he kicked the tree to finish off his assault. Using a burst of ki, he gently pushed his body away, drifting back to the ground.
There, that should suffice as a good warm-up.
Hours later, and a few broken trees left in his wake, Gohan was sitting next to a large boulder, his arms crossed over his chest as well as his legs crossed beneath him. Piccolo always said that a fighter needed to keep a strong mind as well as a strong body.
Steadying his breathing, he slipped into a meditative state. Now was the time to think, to plan his next actions against the Androids. What did he know about them? Besides their inhuman strength, they were very agile. They moved like water flowed, giving them a deadly gracefulness. If he were to fight these things again, that agility needed to be taken into consideration.
How did they fight? The boy, Seventeen, had a tendency to go into hand-to-hand combat, preferring to beat his opponents senseless. Eighteen, on the other hand, used more energy blasts than her male counterpart. Such a tendency usually meant a fighter preferred long-distance combat, yet the blonde woman used the blasts in close quarters. Perhaps that meant she had a problem with aiming. It was an idea to consider.
Unfortunately, the breakdown of their fighting styles didn't lead the demi-saiyan anywhere. He couldn't use that information to his advantage because of their propensity to fight together. Neither felt the need to fight one-on-one battles. It practically ensured them victory.
Gohan let out a growl of frustration. Even though he had been fighting life-or-death battles at an early age, it didn't give him that edge of experience he was calling on. Piccolo could do it; he knew he could. The Namekian usually had half of his battles won simply by outthinking his opponents. However, that usually worked when one was close in strength to an opponent. The Son boy knew the gap between him and the Androids was too big to let careful planning bring him victory.
This wasn't getting him anywhere. Retreating from his thoughts, the young boy climbed back to his feet. It was time to continue training.
Chichi watched her only son gorge himself on dinner.
He had been outside all day, doing Kami knows what; but what ever it was, it had tired him out. After being cooped up inside the house for the past couple days, she didn't fault him for wanting to spend some time outside.
She hadn't expected him to stay out the whole day though.
In her mind, Gohan's studies came first. An education was what he needed to survive out in the world. Though she hadn't been too fond of her son's perchance to follow his father's footsteps with fighting, she supposed he needed some sort of physical activity.
The problem came when Piccolo had kidnapped him to train for alien invaders. Upon hearing that news, she had fainted from information overload. It wasn't everyday that you lost your husband to death and your four year old son to his evil rival.
When she had finally been able to hold him in her arms again, he was determined to be off on another adventure, just like Goku had been when he was a boy. That had been the first time he had stood up against her wishes; the first sign that her little boy had grown up.
He had gotten back into the habit of obeying her after the death of Goku. He had studied like she dreamed he would for the next year.
And then these androids appeared. First Vegeta had been killed. Then Gohan had taken off in the middle of the night to fight them. He hadn't even returned home until he came back with blood all over his body.
Chichi couldn't help but sigh at that horrid memory. She couldn't help but feel that there would be more of those moments to come.
Seeing that her son was just about done with his current plate, the Son mother decided to start up a conversation with him. Perhaps he'd tell her what he had been up to all day. "So how was your day, Gohan?"
"Okay," was his monosyllabic answer.
She frowned. "What did you do? Anything fun?"
Had Gohan been in a regular state of mind, meaning not eating, he probably wouldn't have answered the way he did. "I did some training today. It was an okay start but I need to push myself harder in the coming days."
Chichi's eyebrow twitched. Training? He had been training all day long? So that explained his tiredness. And from the sound of it, he was planning on continuing it.
Not on her watch.
"I'm curious how you're going to get your studies finished if you're training. We both know what comes first."
That was when Gohan stopped eating, causing her to frown again.
"Mom, I'm not going to study."
"You WHAT?" Chichi practically shrieked.
Her son looked her in the eyes, determination in his own. "I'm not going to study. There are more important things at hand Mom."
"You can't stop studying!" Chichi demanded. "You'll fall behind all the other kids and won't be able to get into a good college!"
He replied to her in a calm voice. "At the rate the Androids are attacking, there won't be any colleges left."
"Young man, you are not stopping your studies, you hear me? They're far too important to just cast aside."
Gohan slammed the palms of his hands on the table, causing all of the dinnerware to rattle. "They're all dead, Mom. Vegeta, Piccolo, Krillen; I'm all that's left. There's no one on the planet that can stand a chance at living against them, much less fighting them. If studying would stop them, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But that's not the case. I have to train."
Chichi's eyes widened. It was just like the time at the hospital. No matter what she did, he was determined to help people.
Just like his father.
However, there was one last card she could use.
"But…what about the Dragonballs? Surely you could wish them back and the others can fight again."
Gohan sighed. "They don't exist anymore, Mom. When Piccolo died, so did Kami, and with Kami so did the Dragonballs. And even if they were still around, all of them have died once already. I couldn't wish them back, even if I wanted to."
That was it. He had won.
Looking at her, Gohan let out another sigh and put on a small smile. "I could try to study a little, Mom. When ever I get the chance."
That would have to do for now. Chichi nodded her head. "I suppose that's the best I can get out of you for now. But when you beat these android things, it's right back to studying."
Gohan nodded his head. "Deal."