Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or any of it's products nor anything associated with it.

Chapter 21

Erasa tossed and turned in the bed as the day wore on. The green warrior who had always protected Gohan had given the blonde female the same treatment as he kept a protective eye on her. Every few minutes she would toss the covers off in a fit of fever only for the silent Namek to cover her up again.

Such an episode was happening as Piccolo pulled the blankets back up as he spoke, "I know it's hot, but you have to sweat this out."

Such was the sight that Gohan walked in on, "Piccolo? What's going on? What happened to Erasa?"

"You really don't remember the consequences of touching me during meditation when you were little? It was shortly after Namek, you had snuck away from studying to come find me, does that ring any bells?", the Namek asked irritably.

Gohan nodded his head as he tried to remember, "Yeah I remember now, my arm hurt like hell for the rest of the day. You said it was because I touched you when your power was manifesting and the difference in our powers made me get hurt."

Piccolo snarled at the cluelessness of his pupil, "Now think Gohan, after Namek you began to catch up to me in power, and it still hurt you that much all day. Think of how big the gap between your power is and hers."

Gohan looked sick as the implications dawned on him but Piccolo kept on before panic could set in, "Thankfully you're not inherently evil and you weren't intending to kill anyone while meditating, so she should recover just fine after tonight. Although, she's probably going to be stark mad when she wakes up. The only problem you need to worry about is the fever anyways.

By coming in contact with you like that her system got flooded with an excess of ki. If she was a fighter then she'd just have to train through the night to burn it off. However, she's just a normal human so her body is getting rid of it the only way it can. It's giving a tune up and boost to everything. When she wakes up she'll be in the best shape of her life, nothing like any of us, but probably comparable to an Olympic athlete. Maybe more but it won't be by much, the point is, everything from blood cells and lungs and brain to muscles and ligaments and bones will be much better. No telling how much you just extended her lifespan also, I'd guess at least a decade."

Gohan silently absorbed all the information. I've literally made her bedridden, but she'll jump up afterward and be much better off. This has to be some sort of bad luck. Not only will do I feel horrible now but she'll have an even better lung capacity to yell after this. This has just been a great run I'm on. I was forced into school, then back here for a night only for that to turn into moving back, and now this. Can all the all the aspects of my mind just agree that I'm screwed?

He quietly said bid farewell to his friend as Piccolo made for the front door, and Gohan assumed his spot against the wall. He watched as the sun set and his vigil began. Every few minutes he would cover the blonde girl back up as she tossed the blankets off.

It doesn't seem right to see her like this, she's so bothered and stressed. She's had to deal with enough already without the side effects that come with me. She's survived things that I couldn't have. Carrying on after your parents are dead is one thing but to keep going after they've left you and are still alive is another. As for going hungry just to keep a roof over your head is something I couldn't imagine, but I guess being able to take down any animal on the planet with ease makes me biased. Either way, I couldn't do it.

Gohan knelt down by the head of the bed as he gently spoke, "I'm sorry Erasa. I hope that you'll understand that it was an accident. I would never intentionally hurt you, but I guess you've gathered that by now. I know you're a lot smarter than you let on. Did you do the ditzy act at school for people like Videl? Or was it for scum like Sharpner? Speaking of that certain degenerate, I need to tell you about him before you find out the hard way. All of that can wait though, for now just focus on getting better."

Gohan gently squeezed her hand on top of the blanket as he continued, "You know, when I first saw you I wondered how in the hell I had walked by you without noticing. It was your eyes that got me the most. They looked so bright and happy, I never would've imagined how many problems they were hiding. Logically I never should've seen you again after that first day, I never stay in towns for long and I had no intention of staying in Satan City. For some mind-boggling reason though, I stayed and kept meeting up with you. Hell, I had no intention of ever leaving that city, but I think I really had no intention of ever leaving you.

Vegeta once told my father that my mom was a 'damn confusing choice as a mate, but it's not like Saiyans really think that way. We find the one that's right for us be damned the consequences or logic.' I guess he was right. By all logic, we don't belong together. I have no problem with killing anymore when it's needed, but you adamantly refuse to agree. I have to wonder every time we ride on Nimbus if I'm going to fall through because my view on killing has shifted from a solution to the lowest forms of life to all life, but you just jump right on. I love the adventure that comes with traveling, but you see it as just a dream. I hate to socialize with most people, meanwhile, you'll talk to anyone. You remind me of my dad with how sociable you are sometimes, he seemed to love socializing.

However, with all of that and much more going against us, I still wouldn't want to be anywhere else. If you can hear me then I want you to remember that. If you can't hear me then that's too bad because I don't like repeating myself. Now, get better, I'll stay right here. See you when you wake up."

Gohan quietly stood back up and resumed his vigil as the girl before him continued to sleep. Her ki was still higher than normal. She was still burning up and tossing and turning. Gohan still felt horrible, but the look of stress and worry left her face as she slowly burned off all the excess energy.