A couple weeks have passed and Gohan has steadily become more confident with his training and abilities, as well as his happiness. At night he still dwells upon his father's death, but at least he no longer requires me to be close while he sleeps. Occasionally he crawls into my lap while I meditate, but nowhere near as often as before, thankfully.
Our bond is as strong as ever, and we've ceased talking now; there's no point. One may think that it is awfully silent and I suppose to outsiders, yes it is. However, it is constantly loud in my mind. Constant chatter from Gohan all the time unless we are sparring or he's asleep.
To my credit, I've become uncannily good at blocking him out.
Our days are usually quite long. I wake Gohan up at 8:00am sharp every morning without fail. He is expected to find and eat food by 9:00am. By ten, we are warming up and stretching for a half hour, and then commence in light sparring. There is no ascension and no blasts; kicks and punches only.
I let him break at noon to rest and eat lunch while I meditate. By 1:30pm we are sparring again, and this time I allow Gohan to ascend to Super Saiyan and we throw blasts. The kid is usually able to run circles around me, but I've gotten better at keeping pace with him.
The heat of the day takes us off training by 4:00pm. Turns out Gohan's heat tolerance as a Super Saiyan is relatively lower than usual, I assume due to the high amount of ki energy. It is at this time that we adjourn to a small oasis and Gohan swims and bathes in the cool water. Every once in a while I join him for a few moments to get the sweat off my body.
Night comes early in the desert this time of year. It's beginning to darken by 6:00pm and is black by seven. We spend the night meditating and conversing, Gohan usually holding most of it himself, telling me of his plans for the future while he eats his dinner.
"I used to want to be a scholar when I grew up, because that's what Mommy always wanted me to be. But I don't think I like that idea anymore. I think I want to be a warrior, just like you and Daddy. Daddy told me to protect the Earth now that he's gone, and I want to. I never used to want to. But now…now, I want to! Maybe… Mr. Piccolo, do you think I could do both? Because I would like that! Because then I could make you, Daddy, and Mommy proud!"
"Kid, I'll be proud whatever path you choose. But you are a part of me; the urge to fight will always be strong in you, especially with that Saiyan blood in you as well. The world won't always be in peril, you need something to do in your free time, don't you?"
"Yeah! You're right, Mr. Piccolo! I can do both! Thanks!"
"Sure kid."
Gohan's hair has become increasingly more unruly every passing day. The Saiyan in him refuses to let it lay flat and when he ascends, he looks…ridiculous. His golden hair flies wildly around his face.
"Kid, we're going to need to cut your hair at some point. I think I'm going to lose you under there," I say, brushing his bangs from his face.
He smiles at me happily. "Yeah, I think so! Can you do it?"
"It can't be too hard."
I conjure up a sharp knife. "Hey, maybe you should power d—"
A sudden ki approaches us quickly and Krillin lands in front of us, cutting me off.
"Hey guys! Whoa, Gohan! Man, you need a haircut man! You're starting to look like Yamcha! Only stronger and blonde…"
Gohan opens his mouth to talk and only a crackling sound comes out due to lack of talking. He clears his throat and laughs slightly. "Yeah, Mr. Piccolo was just about to cut it for me!"
Krillin looks at me sheepishly. "Hey Piccolo, you cut hair now, huh?"
I growl at him. "Shut up."
"What? I just think it's nice that you've picked up a more urban skill…"
Gohan covers his mouth in shock and humor. I snarl and throw a weak blast at Krillin. He doesn't dodge it all the way and his gi pant leg catches fire, causing him to run around in circles screaming.
Gohan drops to the ground in laughter, rolling in the dirt and holding his stomach. I can't stop the satisfied smirk from playing across my face. Krillin finally puts the flames out, and stops running and screaming.
"That was cruel, Piccolo!" he says.
"Well I'm sure you didn't come out here to just make fun of me. What do you want?" I ask.
"Oh, I just wanted to tell you that Bulma's pregnant!"
"Aw, no way! She and Yamcha are having a baby?" Gohan asks, bouncing up and down in excitement.
"Yeah, see, that's the thing…Yamcha isn't the father. He and Bulma never got back together after we wished him back…"
"Oh, so then whose the daddy?" Gohan asks in confusion.
Oh god, don't say who I think it is…that's just disgusting…
"Vegeta."
And there it is. The woman mated with Vegeta.
"Oh man, no way! That's crazy!" Gohan shouts, hands thrown in the air.
Gross.
"Yeah, no one was expecting that, all right," Krillin says, chuckling. "Anyways, she called Chi-Chi and she sent me out here to tell you. Apparently Bulma wants us there for the birth."
"Okay!"
"No."
Gohan and I say this at the same time, and then look at each other.
"I sense conflict," Krillin says, backing up.
"Oh, c'mon, Mr. Piccolo! She's having a baby!"
"You say this like it's going to sway my decision when in fact it's the whole reason I'm not going."
"Oh, come on, Piccolo. You're part of the gang now. You have to go!" Krillin pipes in.
"Yeah! Part of the gang!" Gohan agrees.
"Still not going."
"Please?"
"Absolutely not. I don't like kids."
"You like me!"
"Correction, I don't like babies. And any spawn of Vegeta is destined to be twice as bad as a normal baby."
Krillin laughs, but Gohan's face remains stubborn.
"We're going, Mr. Piccolo. And that's that."
Before I can say anything, Krillin chimes in. "Hey Piccolo, do you know how babies are made?"
"What the hell? No, not exactly, and I don't want to know."
"Well, if you don't come, Yamcha and I will be forced to tell you, in detail, how they're made. And then you can picture Bulma and Vegeta…"
I slap my hands over Gohan's ears. "That's enough!" I growl. "I'll go, I'll go," I relent. "But on one condition."
"What's that?"
I throw the knife handle first to him. "Cut Gohan's hair."
"Oh yeah, sure. Here kid, power down so I can't actually cut through it. Hm… how do you want it?"
"What, are you a woman now? Just chop it to a more reasonable length," I quip.
Gohan laughs and agrees. "Yeah, just chop it off!"
"Well, okay. But if it looks terrible, don't blame me!"
"Hey, I'm a Saiyan! My hair grows really fast! Besides, Mr. Piccolo was going to cut it. You can't do any worse than he would've!"
I mentally slap Gohan. He smiles at me broadly as Krillin saws the knife through his thick hair. Locks are blown away by the wind and after a good ten minutes, Krillin reaches a length he deems acceptable. Gohan's hair is now short enough that it lays mostly flat, but the front spikes up in a way reminiscent of Goku. Much better.
"There ya go, kiddo. Much better. And I think I did a pretty good job!" Krillin proclaims proudly, spinning the knife in his hand.
"Thanks Krillin! So, when is Bulma having her baby?" Gohan asks, standing up.
"I guess the due date is sometime in five months."
"Oh wow, she was really keeping it a secret then, huh?"
"Yeah, a four month secret. I guess she was struggling with the whole idea. I mean, Vegeta isn't exactly what we picture as father material. We don't even know if he'll be back in time for the birth. He doesn't even know yet. No one has been in contact with him since he left. Bulma's pretty worried about him, I guess."
"Well I think Vegeta will make a good daddy!" Gohan says.
"Ha, you sound like Goku. Always believe in the best of everyone," Krillin says with a sigh.
Gohan's smile fades slightly in sadness and remembrance.
"It's a good thing, kid. Don't be sad about it," I reassure him.
"So, will you guys still be out here then? Or will you be back home again?" Krillin asks.
"That depends on Gohan. Whenever he's ready."
"Yeah, we should be home by then," Gohan says, nodding. "I'm already feeling a lot better thanks to Mr. Piccolo."
"Oh good. When do you think you'll be home then?"
Gohan glances at me. "Uh…maybe a month? I dunno…"
"As I said, whenever you feel ready. I don't care how long we're out here."
"Yeah. So Krillin, do you want to spar with us?" Gohan asks.
"Hm, little ol' me against a Super Saiyan and a super strong Namekian…let me think about this…uh…no."
"Oh c'mon! You and Mr. Piccolo could team up against me! Aw, please? I could go full power this way!" Gohan pleads.
"You are not going full power," I say sternly.
"Why not?"
"Because Krillin and I put together are not anywhere near as strong as Cooler."
"Oh yeah, I guess you're right. Well when we're done can I show you how strong I am?" Gohan asks hopefully.
"Sure."
"Only if I can get anchored to the ground," Krillin says.
Gohan laughs and ascends in the blink of an eye. Krillin and I power up as well to our maximums. Krillin quickly goes through a few stretches and warm ups.
"Go easy on me, Gohan. I haven't really done any hard core fighting in quite a while!" Krillin says.
"Sure thing!" Gohan says, nodding. He begins to rise into the air and Krillin starts to follow before I grab his leg and yank him back to the ground.
"Get down here," I order Gohan. I send a side-long glance to Krillin. "His advantage is in the air, so try to stay down here."
"Shouldn't we try to devise a plan or something?"
"Won't matter. If you'll recall, Gohan and I share all our thoughts. He'll know all of it. Better to just wing it."
"Wait… does that mean he knows every attack you're about to do? How are we supposed to put up any fight if he knows all your moves?"
"I don't think about it. I just do."
"Will you guys hurry up! I'm bored!" Gohan complains jokingly.
Without a thought, I fly at Gohan as usual. Krillin lets out a plaintive "HEY!" and follows suit. Gohan meets us head on, immediately knocking Krillin into the ground. I manage to barely dodge him and fly backwards away from him, my feet skimming the ground. Krillin gets up and flies behind him and we attack him from both sides.
Gohan easily blocks every move we throw at him with ease and with a small yell, he flares his ki and throws us away from him by several feet. He laughs as Krillin lands on his backside and I try to catch him off-guard with a ki blast to the head. He throws it right back at me.
This goes on for a half hour before Krillin calls it quits.
"I give! I give!" he calls, falling to the ground on his back and breathing heavily.
I relax my stance and wipe my brow of sweat. Gohan is hardly breathing heavily, though the heat has made him sweat bullets it seems.
"Can I show you guys now? Huh?" he asks, beginning to hover.
I nod and Krillin sits up to see it.
Gohan begins to yell and his body curls in on itself for a few moments as the air sizzles with electricity. His ki flies higher…and higher… and higher…
"Oh man, how string is he?" Krillin shouts over the wind and shouting.
I honestly have no idea.
My own ki begins to rise in response and I unwittingly hover a few inches off the ground. I reachmy max and suddenly I feel like I can't breathe anymore.
Air!
"Gohan, stop! Stop!"
Immediately everything halts and I can breathe again as Gohan's ki drops to normal.
I don't even remember falling to the ground.
Krillin is over me in a second. "Piccolo! My god, are you okay?"
I breathe in deeply. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," I say, sitting up.
Gohan looks like he has been struck by lightning.
"I'll be fine. Fine. Just… gotta breathe. You should probably go. I have to sort this out. Thanks for coming. We'll see you when the baby is born," I say briskly, starting to stand.
Krillin nods in understanding and throws a comforting smile to Gohan before taking off.
Gohan will not come near me.
"Come on, kid. It's okay. I'm fine."
"I-I almost killed you! Us! I almost killed us!" he exclaims, backing up, tears forming.
"Gohan, we didn't know. It's okay, calm down. Gohan, easy…easy…" I try to soothe gently. "It's okay. We're fine. We're fine. We just have to be more careful."
"I almost KILLED us, Piccolo!"
"You didn't mean to, and you stopped. You were under control. Perfect control. My body can't handle powering up that much yet. It's okay, Gohan. We'll figure this out."
"No! I can't power up again! I'll kill us both!"
"Kid, calm down. Please. We'll figure this out together. We won't die. We WON'T die."
"How do you know, Mr. Piccolo? How?"
"Trust me, kid. It'll all be okay."
"Okay."
"It'll all be okay, Gohan. It will. I promise."