AN: Within this chapter I have made a few cultural references which for those not familiar, I will explain at the end of the chapter, in fear of potential spoilers or readers jumping to conclusions.

- LilDBZbuddy89

Chapter 36 – Nine Days

"I'm sorry."

Those had been the final words he'd said to her during that dreadful, horrible conversation. It wasn't even a conversation, not really. She hadn't really said anything to contribute to the two-way communication so in the end it had been just her father doing the talking. He may as well have been speaking to a brick wall. She would have spoken, she wanted to say a number of things... but she couldn't. He was her father, she couldn't be so rude to him otherwise her mother would find out... and she didn't want her mother to have any more reasons to tell her she couldn't take part in the tournament. She really wanted to take part, she wanted it with all her heart. Unfortunately, she was still at that age where a parent was the one to ultimately make the decisions for their child and hers were of no exception.

It had stunned Chichi to hear the words come from her husband's mouth; she'd readied herself for a battle of wits regarding their children's roles within the upcoming games and although she hadn't had confirmation in regards to their son, Goku had said he had no intention of taking Chiri along with them. Naturally the child's face had dropped; her final ray of hope of convincing her mother to let her go had just backfired in her face, draining the colour and words from her body. Gohan had sat uncomfortably during the entire debate as his mother checked their father's temperature muttering something about him regressing back to his heart illness. He hadn't said a word all evening; Chiri wished he'd spoken up and come to her defence but apparently no one seemed to be able to sense what she felt and what she wanted. It wasn't fair.

Her mother was right. Life wasn't fair.

Chiri had been told she would not be taking part in the Cell Games, the last chance their friends had of sparing the planet from the onslaught and violence the diabolical, crafty android had planned. It filled her with disgust, the fire in her belly burning her insides until momentarily being subdued by the salty tears cooling her cheeks. Chiri had stormed out of the living room, much to her family's protests, stomping her feet as loudly as she could along with wooden floorboards and slamming her bedroom door shut, almost knocking it off the hinges! She had to get out of there, she didn't want them to be anywhere near her. She didn't want them to see just how upset she was, didn't want anyone to fuss over her. That would only make her cry more. She didn't want their help, she didn't want anything to do with them.

She hated that man. She hated her father for making such an awful decision. She wanted desperately to go, it wasn't fair! Why had he given up on her? Was it because she wasn't the eldest? Was it because he was just being a jerk? She couldn't understand it. Why would he not let her participate and yet let Gohan do so? Was it because she wasn't a Super Saiyan and her brother now was? It wasn't fair; he hadn't been a Super Saiyan before they'd gone in to train! The more she tried to find answers, the more frustrated Chiri grew and the angrier she felt. The tears slowly gave way to the heat in her belly and unfortunately, her brother had ill-timed poking his head around her door to see how she was and as a result, had several cuddly toys and a pillow thrown in his direction as he quickly vanished back behind the door!

Mother's temper had apparently been passed through the gene pool. Not that he was one to talk. There were times where he too had lost complete control and it resulted in devastation and destruction. Gohan had wondered on more than one occasion whether it had anything to do with his mother's explosive temper…

He knew better than to try and open the door again. He'd give her a few minutes to cool down. It was heartbreaking to hear his own little sister's muffled sobs through the door but it was clear she wanted to be alone for now. He would pester her later until she had no choice but to accept his shoulder to cry on. He was her older brother and loved her dearly, if anything he felt frustrated that their father was still stuck on the idea that she wasn't strong enough to be at the Cell Games. Sure he didn't want to see his sister get hurt but he knew from experience how it felt not being allowed to do what you felt to be the right thing just because of the danger it came with. He'd been lucky. His outburst against his mother's wishes when he'd been so desperate to travel to Namek were thankfully respected and he was eventually given his mother's blessing. He'd had his father's support. Chiri hadn't been so lucky: both parents were united in their stand. Chiri would have to find a miracle to change their minds.

Life was a bizarre motion where things seemed to happen, and smaller things seemed to happen during those times where bigger things were also happening. It was like a layer of large things which contained fragments of smaller events, like bread with seeds in or cake with icing sugar and jam, or little fruit pieces. Smaller things could have a dramatic impact on the larger picture. Like Krillin suddenly inviting Gohan, Chiri and Bulma's family to a hanami viewing festival. It was uncharacteristic of the trees to still cling to their blossom mid-May but winter had been prolonged this year and so spring had been late in arriving, knocking back the traditional times to see hanami viewing festivals. Mid-May was traditionally the time when you'd be lucky to see any blossom on the trees which just goes to show how prolonged winter really was! Admittedly the trees were shedding their blossoms, most of which had fallen onto the green canopy of grass covering the ground, or onto the concrete spattering it in wonderful patterns of pink and white. There were a few parties in this particular park the group had decided to visit amongst the concrete buildings of East City, which was rebuilding itself after the horrors of the Saiyan invasion and consequent massacre and utter destruction of the city. The original had lain twenty kilometres to the east of the current city which had been built in a record-breaking time and was still under development. (It had been only four years after all!)

Whist Krillin had taken 'stage' – a crate settled before his audience – and was now singing something none of his friends had ever heard (and hopefully would never have to endure his unique vocals again!), Gohan found himself sitting minus his little sister. He could have sworn she was beside him a moment ago – when had she gotten up and moved? His eyes darted through the proximity of his close friends; Bulma was settled nearby with baby Trunks in her arms, with teenage Trunks sitting nearby; to Gohan's other side were Oolong and Master Roshi, both of whom were happily cheering Krillin on and swigging back large quantities of a suspicious beverage Gohan knew was alcoholic. He couldn't see his little sister anywhere.

"Chiri?" Not wanting to seem rude by shouting over Krillin's singing, he began to concentrate on her energy, quickly picking it out of the crowds of life force. She was nearby… Very close… Really close. Gohan averted his eyes up to the tree just behind their group, spotting the child nestled comfortably in one of the branches, barely hidden by the blossoms and leaves. Still conscientious enough to keep vocals to a minimum and not be rude, he leapt off the ground and launched himself for the tree, halting when he was level with her. "You ok?" He asked.

Chiri give a small nod though she did not look at him; her back remained to him which sent alarm bells off in Gohan's mind. He leaned a little closer and drifted forwards, Chiri spotting his blonde bangs in her peripheral vision and rapidly turning away. Gohan wasn't going to give up just yet, he remained determined and continued to move in what was now a horseshoe around her. "I'm not going to give up that easily, Chiri. You might as well tell me."

"I don't want to," Chiri responded, still looking away from her older brother. "I don't have to tell you."

"Alright then," Gohan huffed, burrowing his fingers in his blond hair as he gave his scalp a scratch. "I can still guess though!" With any luck this would annoy her into telling him what the issue was, though annoying her could be a risky move if he wasn't careful. "Is it the festival?"

No response. Was she ignoring him or just remaining silent because that suggestion wasn't the reason?

"Is it Krillin's singing?" He tried again.

A shake of her head brought some hope into his body. Perhaps this wasn't so hopeless after all.

"He's not very good at it but that's not it…" Chiri mumbled, bringing even more hope into her brother! She wasn't telling him but she was already telling him what wasn't bothering her! And in record timing too!

"Ok, if it's not Krillin's singing then is it because Mother and Father aren't with us today?"

Their parents had declined the invitation (but had allowed their children to attend) because, despite the world supposedly coming to an end in what was now five days' time because no one was strong enough to face Cell, their mother had decided to enrol her children into a nearby school. For the previous two days their mother's attitude regarding their fate seemed to have taken a dramatic u-turn from accepting what was realistic to suddenly believing someone would beat Cell and therefore her offspring would spend their days studying just as every other child their age was! Gohan was sceptical and honestly didn't feel as if his studies were the most important priority right now but nevertheless he accepted his mother's wishes and stayed quiet. He was just grateful he hadn't had to attend the interview his father had been roped into! Chichi had demanded he go back to his non-Super-Saiyan form so he didn't look so much like a punk, especially as this was supposed to be one of the best schools in the local area! It was bad enough that Goku's hair was naturally unruly to begin with, he'd also been forced into a suit for the occasion! Gohan wondered how the board would react to seeing such a smartly dressed man with bangs as wild as his father's?

"No," Chiri responded.

"Is it to do with Father?" Gohan cautiously asked.

Chiri shook her head, much to her brother's surprise. It wasn't to do with their father? Hold on, it wasn't related to their father at all. Their father who four days ago decided not to train her after years of preparing her through training. Their father who disappointed his daughter so much with this decision. It was nothing to do with that at all? How was Gohan supposed to believe that, he knew how hung up his sister was on that decision and how much it had devastated her!

"Are you sure?" He queried.

"Yep," Chiri nodded, no sign of distress in her voice. If anything, she sounded a little more upbeat compared to the start of their conversation!

A wave of nostalgia - or was it deja-vu – hit him giving Gohan another possible reason. "Is it your stomach?"

"Bingo!" Chiri beamed and turned to face him, a large grin on her nodding face. "I was trying to see if there were any peaches or apples or cherries but I can't see any from up here."

"Well you won't find apples at this time of year, especially not in a cherry tree!" Gohan grinned with a chuckle. "I don't think you'll find any cherries in here yet, it's too soon and the blossoms are still here. We might be able to find a food stand but I think Bulma brought a picnic with her. You could always ask politely if you could have something to eat."

"That might work," Chiri mused before swinging her arms to her sides and lifting her body off the branch. "Right, I'm gonna go ask her nicely!" With that, she sprung herself from the branch with the strength in her arms and landed safely on both feet, Gohan watching for politeness as Chiri approached the blue-haired woman and, thankfully, politely asked if she could have something to eat. Bulma seemed more than happy to obleige and pulled something out of the large basket. Apparently she had four more of these wicker baskets in their capsules, all filled to the brim with food, or so Bulma's parents had said.

"Gohan!" Bulma's voice brought him abruptly back to reality, "Do you want something as well?"

"N-No thank you!" Gohan called as he too descended to the ground, suddenly becoming very much aware that he was hovering ten feet or so in the air and there were people around! He joined his sister who'd sat herself just in front of Bulma and her parents on the edge of the blanket they'd brought along with them, now happily eating some melon bread. Gohan returned his attention towards Krillin who now seemed to be rounding up his song. Suddenly the bald man burst into a crescendo and hung on the last line for an impressive amount of time. His effort won him a round of applause with Master Roshi, Oolong and even Bulma's mother demanding an encore, though the rest remained reserved with their own opinions.

"That was an experience," Bulma mumbled loud enough for the two Son kids to hear, earning a small but well-meaning smile from the elder of the two who conceded that Krillin had a unique voice but earned top marks for effort and enthusiasm. Chiri on the other hand wasn't so diplomatic.

"Mr Krillin's singing is bad," She said almost too loudly, catching the former monk's ear and causing them to burn along with his cheeks. Six years old or not, he wasn't about to let her remain blissfully unaware of how words could hurt! He knew he wasn't the greatest of singers but at least he gave it a go! (That and he'd drunk a little before finding the courage to go up in front of everyone in a public place!) It wasn't a frequent occurance but when this little warrior formulated a plan, it was fast, it was crafty and in this one's case, it would see those attacking him in an awkward position.

"Ok!" Krillin shouted down the microphone he'd acquired before starting his song. "I would like to nominate the next person who I know has a wonderful singing voice and has a large choice of songs to pick from!" His dark eyes fell upon those belonging to the smaller child seated in the audience. His free hand rose up straight towards the sky before falling, index finger pointed straight for his target. "Son Chiri, ladies and gentlemen!"

Chiri choked, she felt her whole body shudder upon hearing her name be nominated. Sing? In front of all these people? No, she couldn't! It was so embarrassing being caught singing by her brother or mother but to deliberately sing in front of everyone else? This had to be a dream, it couldn't be real! Unfortunately her reluctance didn't shine through her exterior self as everyone – including Gohan – clapped and encouraged her to take the microphone and sing them a song. Roshi was even shouting suggestions! She couldn't deny the audience a song, could she? Even if she really, really, really, really didn't want to sing, she had to, didn't she? Maybe if she pretended to feel ill…

The microphone was thrown into her hand by the enthusiastic and vengeful bald man, the glinting sunlight momentarily blinding Chiri as it bounced off his waxed head. She felt herself being pulled to her feet and before she could do much about it, a strong grip held her hand and walked her up to the stage. Rubbing her eyes in a bid to rid herself of the sun spots she'd just acquired, she felt a sense of horror and betrayal to find it was her brother leading her up to the crate-cum-stage! The horror petrified her and kept her rooted to the spot as Gohan left her side and sat back down amongst the crowds, completely unaware of the turmoil his little sister was feeling inside. Her heart raced and tried several times to leap from her mouth and dash off into the horizon. It did not succeed. Her body refused to respond to the situation until finally she felt she was fully focused on those cheering in front of her. The little well of fear slowly began to warm up into a vengeful lust. Those who she'd been hoping would protect her had failed and now she was stood here, forced to give these people a song. Well she'd give them a song! Then she'd march over there and hit Krillin several times! She didn't care if it got her into trouble later on with her mother!

Arms trembling under the pressure, she slowly raised the microphone to her lips and sucked in a small breath. Her voice faltered the first time, feeding the feeling of embarrassment further. She wanted to run now, it felt like that first mistake would be one of many if she went through with this. Her body was going to shake itself loose at this rate! Yet she couldn't stop her voice from making sounds and she found herself singing:

"T-T-Twinkle twinkle… l-little star…"

"Atta girl, Chiri!" Bulma encouraged her, recognising the song almost immediately which only upped the small child's cuteness level. She'd decided to sing a nursery rhyme!

Against her mind's screams to stop and her voice's habit of stuttering and releasing quiet sounds, she found herself unable to stop now she'd started it:

"H-How I wonder what you are

Up above the world so high

Like a diamond in the sky

Twinkle twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are."

She promptly tossed the microphone to the ground and hurriedly jumped off the stage, marched her way through her cheering audience daring not to make any eye contact with any of them. Her hands were across her chest and were clasping onto the opposite arms in an attempt to somewhat shield herself from her surroundings, not wanting to show the raw emotion she was feeling, even if her song had earned a positive response. It was all Krillin's fault! She was adamant that Krillin would pay for this embarrassment! (Being a six year old child meant Chiri did not have the maturity to see that her own actions had brought this upon herself and even if she had the maturity to realise this, she certainly didn't have the maturity to realise it was her own fault and accept this as the truth! It was of course, Krillin's fault as far as she was concerned.)

She kept on walking past the others, leaving the edges of their group and continuing to walk onwards, oblivious to her brother's watchful gaze. Though Gohan was tempted, he chose not to follow her and instead turned to see who would be up next, quickly finding himself being dragged off his feet by Krillin! Panic set in as he realised what was about to happen!

As her brother was pushed onto the makeshift stage, Chiri continued to make herself distant from the group, finding herself wandering down a small incline towards a path at the bottom. The park itself was expansive and stretched out far beyond this little mound she made her way down from; there were a neat line of trees in the distance signalling the perimeter of the park which separated greenery from concrete, nature from the manmade jungle surrounding it. She wasn't paying too much attention to where she was walking though she was conscious of those around her and made the effort to avoid walking into anyone. A young couple saw her stroll across their path and watched as she moved from one side of their vision to another, whispering amongst themselves whether she was alone or with family and how irresponsible the parents must be to let her walk on her own in days like this. They didn't really register on her radar, in fact it was only until Chiri was taken out by an overplayful dog that she fully became aware of her surroundings, thrown to the ground with a thud! Her head momentarily spun as she tried to make sense of it all, quickly confused further with the loud barking in her ears!

"Oh I'm so sorry!" A young man's voice called, sounding as if it were coming closer. Chiri managed to sit herself up and found a large dog leaping around her, barking and nuzzling her. It took her a couple of seconds before she realised there was a sodden ball settled next to her. So that's what had happened…

"Are you ok?" The man asked as he finally reached her, catching his breath from the run he'd just had to do. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realise I'd thrown the ball right towards you until after it'd happened! You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, I'm alright," Chiri responded as she rose to her feet, keeping one eye on the dog. It was taller than she was! Was it really a dog or a wolf?

"Are your parents around? You shouldn't be walking around here all alone," The man warned, relieved to see she wasn't injured (and that subsequently he wouldn't be ripped apart by irate parents for accidentally sending his dog in her direction!)

"My mother and father aren't here," Chiri replied, reaching down cautiously to pick up the ball, flinching a little as the dog moved suddenly and began leaping about again. "I'm with my brother and some friends, they won't mind me walking on my own."

This rang alarm bells in the man's mind. "Oh, you really should stay with them! It's not safe for a child to walk around by themselves."

"I have to go now because I was taught not to talk to strangers," Chiri ignored the man's warnings. A playful smile settled upon her face as a thought crossed her mind. "Hey, can I throw the ball for your dog to chase before I go? I promise I won't throw it too far."

It was a very odd request. The man was only a couple years older than Trunks and was an only child. He'd never really been brought up with any young children in his life and so he wasn't really sure how to interact with them. If anything young children her age made him feel uncomfortable – and the slightly older ones were just terrifying! He didn't know whether it was ok to let this random child play with his dog; surely the other people around them had made the connection that these two were not together. What if they thought he was some sort of creepy man and was trying to abduct her or something? How terrifying it would be to be accused of such an atrocious crime, one he had no intention what-so-ever of doing! No, he had to make sure she found her friends again soon. But he didn't want to make her cry, if he did then surely people would think he'd done something bad? Perhaps one throw would be alright, then he'd tell her to go and find her brother and friends and stay with them. Then he'd quickly hurry away from her so as not to look suspicious (or would running away make him look suspicious?)

"Can I?" Chiri repeated her request; the man had been quiet for quite some time and looked rather worried and frantic!

"Oh! Y-Yes, just one throw though, alright? Then you have to go and find your friends," The man bartered with her.

"Alright!" Chiri beamed mischeviously. She drew her arm back, still very conscious of the dog who could easily knock her to her feet once more! As lightly as she could, Chiri tossed the ball forwards.

The ball suddenly became a blur.

The dog bounded off at full pelt as the ball bolted through the air, across the decline of the slope and far off towards the perimeter of the park over two hundred metres across the grass. It had a lot of catching up to do as the speed of the ball far outpaced it! Chiri and the stunned man watched as the dog slowly shrank and became a blob in their vision, still running after the ball with determination and energy.

"Thank you very much, I'll be on my way now." Chiri waved as she left the man's company, the man who was still staring with shock and utter disbelief as his dog rapidly increased the distance between he and itself! He'd been wrong in his earlier thoughts. Young children her age didn't just make him feel uncomfortable. They now also terrified him, possibly much more than those troublesome teenage kids did!

Chiri was not oblivious to the shock and lack of registering in the man's mind as she left him and headed back up the incline, feeling a little better now she'd impressed someone to the point of being speechless! She hadn't really done anything like this before, not in front of a regular person who wasn't a friend of her father, yet it felt strangely good and satisfying to show off her skills in front of someone completely naïve to her abilities and strength! Having had her spirits lifted, she made her way back to where her brother and their friends had been sitting and singing.

"Hey, where did you go?" Gohan asked as she rejoined them.

"Just for a little walk," Chiri replied innocently, sitting herself back down on the grass and focusing her eyes on the bizarre but strangely skilled balancing act Master Roshi seemed to be performing for them all, several piles of several plates all balancing precariously on one foot, his nose and both hands! "I got to play with a dog!"

"You missed my singing," Gohan was a little relieved to see she was alright though he was curious as to where this dog had come from and had said dog's owner minded his little sister playing with it. He let it slide and watched Master Roshi as Oolong was suddenly thrown forward and miraculously caught on one of the piles of china which fortunately stayed balanced upon Roshi's extended foot!

"We got in?" Gohan's voice wasn't exactly full of the same enthusiasm as his mother's voice had been when she'd delivered the news. In fact he was a little disappointed. The world was about to come crashing down around them, Cell was likely to be the victor of his self-titled Cell Games and yet all that now seemed to matter was that Gohan and Chiri had been accepted into this spectacular school. His mother was planning out their future; did they have a future to have planned out? Gohan was sceptical, he didn't want to accept the real reality that it was looking like Cell would be the winner of the tournament to be held in four days' time but what choice did they have? His father was supposed to be everyone's saviour and whilst that hadn't always seemed the case, he was still expected to be the one to stand most of a chance against Cell. The fact that his dad didn't seem particularly worried about training and wasn't revealing any plan unnerved him. It felt wrong not to be rushing around and fitting in as much training as possible. It was almost as if his father had accepted there was nothing that could be done, not now.

Gohan found himself walking through the fields close to home, past a thin patch of the forest which branched out from their home towards the west. His father's energy was close and growing closer as Gohan continued his search, eager to talk to him. He had to put his mind at ease about this, it had been eating away at him for the past few days now, his skin itching as he thought of every passing second he'd not spent preparing himself further just because his father had decided they didn't need it. Why didn't they need to train? It made no sense to him at all. Was his father really that confident that he could beat Cell as he was? Gohan wasn't convinced and apparently neither was his dad. After having half of his strength measured by Korin, the wise cat had made the grim prediction that Cell's power was still higher than Goku's, something his father seemed bizarrely relaxed about. How could he be so relaxed? The past had taught Gohan that if there was a foe stronger than his dad, it would drive the man to train all out, almost recklessly, until he'd gotten to the point he felt he could go no further than. Even then, at some point he would somehow find a way to surpass that point, given the time and challenge! So why was this battle any different?

When he finally spotted him, Goku was sat with his back towards the direction Gohan was coming from, perched upon a fence enclosing a nearby farmer's wheat field. His hair was once more standing on end, blonde tufts dancing gently in the late spring breeze. He didn't seem to be doing much other than sitting and watching, what exactly he was watching Gohan didn't know. Nevertheless the younger Super Saiyan strode along to the perimeter of the fence and approached his father.

"Gohan?" Goku turned his head and smiled at his eldest offspring. "Hey, what's up? Did you come to watch the hawks?" He was referring to the large birds of prey currently circling up in the skies ahead of them, two together possibly searching for food for themselves or potential offspring. Every-so-often, their cries could be heard drifting on the winds as they cautiously circled watching for movement far below. It was odd in that watching them seemed to still Gohan's anxieties for the moment before his brain rudely reminded him why he was here.

"F-Father… Do you think we'll be able to win against Cell?"

Goku continued to look up into the sky, the question didn't seem to worry, surprise or irritate him in the slightest. In fact he seemed to respond almost as if he hadn't heard it or it'd never been asked. Gohan waited patiently for a reaction from his father, it felt like an eternity had passed in the space of a few seconds and yet those few seconds told him all he needed to know. His father eventually did lower his head to its natural position, facing whatever lie directly in front of him.

"Why so anxious, Gohan?" He asked his own question. "We've had this discussion a number of times already. You'll worry yourself sick."

"I'm sorry but I can't help it," Gohan apologised though he didn't know why exactly, it wasn't like he was in no means justified in feeling how he felt, given that all his father had told him and his friends was not to worry. No plan had been mentioned, no guarantee they'd win this, not even that they'd come out of this mess alive and the Earth would be fine! Just 'don't worry' or 'it'll be alright'. It wasn't enough to tell him not to worry, he needed to know what his father had in mind! The others were just as perplexed and clueless about Goku's behaviour, all demanding an answer just as much as Gohan was, almost expecting Gohan himself to know what his father was thinking! "Dad, what are you going to do? How are we going to defeat Cell?"

Goku pondered this for a moment, or perhaps he was only feigning thinking about it. "… I don't think Cell can be beaten, Gohan. Don't worry though, we'll find a way."

"Don't worry?" Gohan repeated, the tiredness growing in his voice. "You're telling us that you don't think Cell can be beaten and yet you don't want us to worry about it? Dad, are you hearing what you're saying? It doesn't make any sense! Surely you must have a plan or something? None of us want to go into this tournament like this, not knowing that you haven't got a trick up your sleeve or something! Don't you see it's bringing everyone down? Can't you see that?"

Goku glanced over his shoulder, a little surprised with his son's outburst. Figures, whilst Gohan was better at restraining it, he definitely had his mother's temper. "I'm sorry, I just don't think it's anything you or I need to worry about right now. Look, we've done all we can as far as training goes, pushed ourselves to the limit and beyond, right?"

"I-I… I guess… but only because you said we have," Gohan responded a little uncertain and a thread of distrust in his voice as he spoke the last part. They'd only finished their training after nine months because in his father's opinion, they had achieved all they could and had gone as far as they could. It was true that training himself to rid himself of that restless feeling whilst being a Super Saiyan had been tough, Gohan couldn't deny that, but could he honestly say he felt absolutely sure he'd done all he could? No, he didn't feel right saying that to himself, there was always something more he could do.

"We worked really hard trying to make Super Saiyan our natural state," Goku explained. "Let your body have time to relax before you force it into the battle ahead. Let your mind relax too, Gohan. We've done all we can, trust me."

"How can you be so sure?" Gohan asked.

"I just know we have."

Gohan frowned and let a long sigh leave his lips, looking down at the dirt below his feet. Perhaps his father was right in letting himself relax before the fight, they only had four days left after all. Still he couldn't relax knowing how he felt about his training. There was more inside him, waiting to be released, he just knew it. His training surely wasn't over, he knew he could get stronger if he tried. He had little choice if he wanted to help against Cell, he'd need to become stronger. They needed to become strong and defeat the android so they could wish Yamcha, Piccolo and everyone else who'd died back to life with the Dragonballs. It felt wrong and insulting to all of them sitting around and letting time pass them by when he could be doing something more constructive.

"Look, if you really feel you want to do a little more then we'll organise something for tomorrow," Goku suggested. "What do you say I give you and Chiri some personal tutoring for the day? Would that help you put your worries at ease?"

"I think so," Gohan nodded with a small smile, feeling a little more settled now he'd gotten his father to suggest some more training. Plus this would be fantastic news for a certain little sister of his, someone he knew had been dying to be trained by their father. Perhaps all this prompting had changed his mind about training her? He could only hope so, knowing how much it had broken her to hear him say he had no intention of training her.

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AN:

Thank you for reading the latest chapter (or to those of you who've skipped down to the bottom because you wanted to know what I was referring to at the top of the page, don't say I didn't warn you about jumping to conclusions). As promised, a small explanation on certain cultural references I have made can be found here:

- 1) A hanami viewing festival, as I have called it, (or simply known as hanami) is a traditional flower viewing festival which takes place from March to early May in Japan, where viewers view cherry blossoms or plum blossoms. For those familiar with the DBZ movies, the gang did this at the beginning of Movie 8. I always found it a little bizarre where this movie was supposed to fit in if you were to try and get all the movies to fit in with the story, hence the rubbish reasoning as to why in mid-late May they'd be going to view hanami!

-2) Chiri singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Apparently the tune is used internationally which was convenient. I had always intended Chiri to sing a nursery rhyme. Originally I was going to search for a Japanese rhyme since it seemed relevant to the cultural setting they were in, but I can't translate through reading and could not find a reliable translation so the reader could understand the words. After trying to find anything (on youtube no less), I came across the Japanese nursery rhyme "kirakira hikaru" which uses the same tune as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I made the assumption Twinkle Twinkle Little Star would be far more recognisable to you all and would help convey Chiri's awkwardness as well as childhood innocence.