Hey guys!
Please excuse my absence. I'm going to try to update more regularly again.
Previously on A Half-breed's Life 3:
"We know what's best, half-breed!" Nappa clapped him on the back cheerfully.
Gohan made a face. "Could you stop calling me that?"
"Oh come on, you've never had any problems with the nickname."
"Yes I did." Gohan complained. "I hate it. Why can't you call me by my real name?"
"If it really bothers you that much then why don't you fight for it?" Nappa suggested.
"Fight for it?" Gohan grabbed the cloth again and squeezed the water out of it. He figured he might as well continue his work while they conversed.
"Yeah. Challenge one of us. If you win, they have to call you by your real name. If they win, you have to do something for them. It's common for young saiyans to challenge their elders for something they want."
Gohan raised both his eyebrows. "I didn't know I could do that."
**** DBZ **** DBZ ****
The full-blooded warrior studied the half-saiyan for a moment before turning to the young warrior fully. The man's tail lashed behind him and followed a similar pattern to Gohan's tail.
Gohan's tail gave a brief push upwards. Turles laughed in response, shaking his head afterwards. "Get lost, kid." He said, waving the young warrior away.
Gohan repeated the movement, the tip of his tail pointing upwards to the ceiling. Turles's smile disappeared from his face. "Maybe I should call Vegeta and let him help me show you what happens to children who make too dominant tail gestures for their own good."
"Can't handle me on your own?" Gohan responded, smirking at the man.
Turles eyed Gohan's tail. "Half-breed…"
"I want you to stop calling me that." Gohan interrupted. "I challenge you for my name. If I win, you will call me by my real name."
**** DBZ **** DBZ ****
"How long is this trip going to be? The truth." Gohan responded as he stepped closer. Raditz seemed uncomfortable as he looked at Vegeta.
Vegeta held Gohan's gaze for a moment. "Six months." He answered.
"Six months?" Gohan snarled. "What? How could you? Why? Did you…" The half-saiyan was at a loss for words.
**** DBZ **** DBZ ****
Thanks for the reviews!
Chapter 5. One step out of line.
Gohan put his hands together above his head and created a blast. He knew not to put too much into the blast. They were not sure how much the walls of this ship could take. The young warrior pushed his hands forwards, sending his blast straight at his opponent.
The blast charged towards Turles head on and it seemed as if it was going to hit. The blast made contact with something and exploded, but Gohan was too experienced to assume he hit Turles. His comrades could disappear in a nano second.
"You gotta do better than that, kiddo." Turles yelled from somewhere above the half-saiyan. Dodging blasts like that was child's play for these warriors. The man sent the young warrior a smirk when Gohan looked up at him. Turles blinked and frowned when he realized Gohan was gone. The man looked around hurriedly but was too late to block the attack from behind. Two boots connected with his spine, pushing with such force that his bones winced under the pressure. Luckily for Turles, gravity took over easily and the man was thrown forwards to the ground.
Turles gritted his teeth, pushing his power through his body and using his energy to slow down, turn in the air and land on his two feet. However, before Turles could really land, Gohan appeared right behind him, pulled back a fist and knocked the man off his feet. This time Turles crashed down on the ground a few feet away from the half-saiyan.
Turles crawled back to his feet and growled in annoyance. He clenched his fists and powered up to his max. The man noticed the smug expression on Gohan's face and he realized not for the first time that the adults were the ones to blame for the boy's sadistic behaviour during their spars. He learned from the best.
Turles launched at the half-saiyan once more, pulling back a fist and trying to punch the younger warrior. Gohan leaned his head sideways to avoid the punch and before Turles could respond the half-saiyan's tail curled around the man's lower arm and pulled him closer. Gohan pushed his fist deep into Turles's stomach. The half-saiyan made a face when Turles spit out saliva and some drops hit his cheek and exposed shoulder.
They'd been at it for so long that there were several gaps and tears in Gohan's armour and uniform. A training session between saiyans wasn't just union of spars. No, they entered the training rooms with the intention to tear each other apart, and that's exactly what they did.
The air was thick with the penetrating scent of perspiration and blood. The only sound they heard was the exhausted panting and the pained grunts of their opponents. Their perfect little world revolved around their own bodies and how far they could push themselves in this unending struggle for survival.
Gohan moved back and used his still gloved hand to wipe some spit off his shoulder. The young warrior made an annoyed face. "Disgusting." He muttered.
Turles used this moment of peace to recover from Gohan's latest attack. The man studied the young warrior he'd known for only four short years. Gohan had grown so much since Turles met the boy. Not necessarily in size or body, but in spirit. When he first met the young warrior, Gohan was just a spirited little brat who disobeyed orders and argued with his comrades about pretty much anything. Typical teenager.
Back then, Turles would have laughed loudly in the face of anyone who would try to tell him how much he would care for the boy one day. The man watched as Gohan returned from the war a grown man. War would change any man. The lights that used to sparkle in the boy's eyes were gone entirely. Of course, most of this was caused by the betrayal of Gohan's best friend Justin and the agonizing days after that Gohan spend in the dungeon where he was constantly bullied and tortured by Zarbon, a man who hated Gohan's spirit and wanted to break the boy once and for all.
After they defeated Zarbon and escaped from the World Trade Organization, Turles watched as the half-saiyan slowly but surely changed back to the cheerful bratty young boy he used to be before he left for war. The sparkles returned to the boy's eyes but Turles was pretty sure they used to be brighter.
Gohan suddenly met his eyes and Turles realized he'd been staring at the half-saiyan. Gohan raised an eyebrow at him when he noticed the strange look on Turles's face. "You're not getting emotional on me, are you?" The half-saiyan called over to his comrade. "I didn't punch you that hard did I?"
Turles noticed the amused tone in Gohan's and the man shook his head. "Aren't you a little too old to show such a bratty attitude?" He countered as he placed his hands on his hips.
Gohan made an exaggerated bow. "I learned from the best." He kept his eyes on his opponent at all times.
"I was just thinking the same thing." Turles muttered in response. He wasn't really planning on letting Gohan hear this but the change in the half-saiyan's expression let him know that Gohan did catch it.
Turles lowered his body into a defensive stance. Gohan followed his example, grinning excitedly. Turles launched at the young warrior and tried to kick him but Gohan moved his body aside quickly to avoid it. Turles let out a growl when he realized the half-saiyan dodged his kick. The man used his tail to snatch at Gohan's wrist. The young warrior let out a gasp when a tug at his wrist pulled him down and he was slammed into the ground. Before he could react, Turles placed his foot on Gohan's spine and pushed him back to the ground.
Turles bent his knee a little and leaned on his upper leg with his elbow, smirking when Gohan groaned in response to this added weight. "So, why don't you tell me some more about how much of a brat I am?" Turles suggested.
Gohan looked over his shoulder at his comrade. "Get off me."
"Throw me off."
Gohan powered up and used his sheer energy to throw Turles off his feet. The young warrior pushed his body up and turned to Turles fully. "Now you've done it." The half-saiyan grinned as he powered up further and further, pushing straight through the barrier of the super saiyan level.
The energy pushed his hair upwards and a fire from within his heart changed his hair to a beautiful golden colour. His turquoise eyes focused on Turles and the half-saiyan tensed his body to attack the man.
However, the half-saiyan let out a gasp when something shivered in his body and he lost the transformation. His black hair fell down and his brown eyes gave a questioning look. The young warrior stopped and looked at his own hands. "What the hell?"
Turles placed his hands on his hips. "You do keep losing that transformation often, don't you?" He taunted.
Gohan sent his uncle a glare and tried to power up again, hoping that this was just a slip up. However, he couldn't focus his power. He was unable to grasp that sensation he felt whenever he transformed.
Gohan's uncle frowned before turning and cupping his hands to his face. "Vegeta!" He called.
"Wha-?" Gohan rushed closer to Turles and grabbed his upper arm, pulling it down. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Vegeta needs to know you're having trouble with your transformation." Turles responded, shrugging.
"No, he doesn't."
"Half-bree—Gohan." Turles said, correcting his own mistake quickly. "The quicker we let Vegeta know, the quicker we can solve your problem. He's better at these kinds of things." The man pointedly looked down to where Gohan's hand was still clutching his upper arm and the half-saiyan released him.
Turles resumed calling for Vegeta while Gohan lowered to the ground. Once he landed safely on the ground, he headed for the refreshment table. There were several bottles of water on the table and Gohan grabbed one of them, opened it and turned around while taking a sip.
Turles was already speaking to Vegeta and within several seconds, Vegeta's gaze moved to the half-saiyan. Gohan considered leaving the room. Vegeta'd been hard on him when it came to the transformation. He wanted Gohan to get used to the transformation so he forced the half-saiyan to stay transformed during their endless fights. It was difficult for the young warrior to achieve. A twenty-hour fight was already tough when he was in his base form, but in his transformed form, it was almost unbearable after a while.
The half-saiyan could understand why Vegeta was so strict. As long as nobody else transformed, defeating Frieza was mostly up to Gohan's ability to transform. Goku and Gohan together would be difficult for Frieza to defeat.
The half-saiyan leaned against the table with his back, one of his hands curled around the edge of the table so he could lean on it easier. Vegeta landed right next to him but Gohan didn't stir. The adult reached over and grabbed a bottle of water. Opening it, he took a sip, swirling the water in his mouth before swallowing it.
Gohan absently sipped from his water too while he waited for Vegeta to get to the point. The saiyan prince placed his bottle on the table. "You failed to transform? I thought I ordered you to be transformed at all times during our spars? Why were you only trying to transform now?"
The half-saiyan didn't look at him. "Turles is exaggerating. I can transform just fine."
"Okay. So transform." Vegeta responded. Gohan looked at him now. "Right now please." Vegeta motioned to the area around them.
The half-saiyan bit on his lower lip. "I can transform." He repeated. "I'm just a bit tired right now. I'll transform later."
"Now, brat." Vegeta snarled. "I make the rules around here, not you."
"Can't you see I'm trying to rest here? We have some rest moments. Let me finish my drink." Gohan responded, obviously stalling, as he went to take another sip. He hoped Vegeta would return to the fight while Gohan finished his drink and the man would forget about it.
However, this hope was destroyed when Vegeta casually reached out; placing his hand over the hand Gohan was holding the bottle in and squeezing tightly, crushing the bottle. The half-saiyan was just about to take a sip and the water sprayed all over his face and shoulders. The young warrior was so surprised that he relaxed his grip on the bottle so Vegeta could easily take it and he let the rest of the water run out.
"Done." Vegeta tossed the empty bottle away.
Gohan took a deep breath to calm his anger. The thought to punch his squad leader crossed his mind but he knew Vegeta would only get even angrier and he would be bullying Gohan for the rest of the young warrior's live. However long that may turn out to be.
The half-saiyan pushed away from the table and took a few steps to get some space. He closed his eyes for a moment to focus his energy. The young warrior clenched his fists as he powered up. He willed his body to transform. He needed to transform to show Vegeta that he could. However, he couldn't get to it. That sensation he always got whenever he transformed. That trigger deep inside his soul that allowed him to tap into his reserves, his energy.
The young warrior opened his eyes. He lowered his gaze to the ground, unwilling to admit what they both knew. Vegeta stepped closer. "You're not focused." He snarled as he approached the young warrior.
"I am." Gohan responded tiredly.
"Not enough." Vegeta shot back. "You need to focus." He put his fingers together and angrily tapped against Gohan's forehead every time he spoke the last three words. "Focus. Right. Now."
The half-saiyan's patience ran thin quickly and he pushed Vegeta's hand away. "It's hard to focus when someone is bashing in your head." He snarled.
Vegeta snorted. "If you get so distraught by a few little love taps you'll have a real hard time during a real fight." He crossed his arms over each other. "Get out."
"What?"
"We don't need weaklings to slow us down. When you step in this room you will be in your transformed status and not in your base form. You're not allowed to enter this room when the hair on your head is still brown."
"You're kicking me out?" The half-saiyan's mouth was wide open.
The look in Vegeta's eyes turned amused. "Not yet, but I will if you don't start moving now."
"Vegeta, I…"
"Close the door on your way out." The man turned away from the half-saiyan and headed back to the centre of the room.
Gohan lowered his gaze. "What am I supposed to do then? Wait for you to return?"
Vegeta shrugged. "It's not my concern. Now leave."
The half-saiyan felt a hot flush of anger in his body. "If you send me away now I'm leaving the ship. I'll go straight home." He snarled. Vegeta turned around and raised an eyebrow.
The man chuckled and shook his head. "You wouldn't dare." He said in an amused tone.
Gohan turned instantly and walked away, heading straight for the door. Vegeta frowned as he followed the half-saiyan. "Half-breed!" He called. When he realized Gohan was not going to listen he quickly followed the half-saiyan. "Half-breed! Come back here!"
Nappa, Raditz and Turles looked up when their attention was caught by Vegeta's screams. They exchanged glances before following the two saiyans.
"Half-breed!" Vegeta caught up with Gohan in the supply room. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
The half-saiyan ignored him as he went around the room and tossed everything he could eat instantly without having to prepare it in a brown bag. Vegeta crossed his arms over each other. "So you're going to spend months alone in a small ship?"
Gohan closed the bag and headed for the doorway. Vegeta purposely got in his way to stop the half-saiyan from moving any further. However, Gohan did not stop and only pushed Vegeta aside. The man gave out an outraged growl and he stalked after the half-saiyan.
"When are you supposed to train for Frieza then huh? Did you even think about that? Is your honour a good enough reason to sacrifice your planet?" Vegeta snarled as he followed the young warrior.
Vegeta followed Gohan to the launching centre. There was a small area from which smaller solo ships could be sent. There were only three of them and only one person could fit in a ship, but that was enough for the half-saiyan. Gohan headed straight for one of the ships and opened it.
"Half-breed! Stay here!" Vegeta snarled at him.
Gohan turned to the man. "Why?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because you tell me to?"
"I am your leader."
"I am done being your subordinate." Gohan tossed the bag in the small space pod. "Gosh, I try so hard for you people but you never cut me some slack. If I can't do anything right then I might as well leave and let you fend for yourself without me!"
"All this drama because I tossed your weak butt out on the sidewalk?" Vegeta taunted, placing his hands on his hips. "Honestly, half-breed, your little mistress rubbed off on you. Emotions are feminine thing, remember?"
The half-saiyan held Vegeta gaze for a moment before he let out a sigh and turned to the space pod. He was about to crawl inside when a hand landed on his shoulder. Vegeta forcefully turned the half-saiyan around to face him. "You're not going anywhere." Vegeta growled.
Gohan pushed Vegeta's hands off of him. "What are you going to do, huh?" He snarled as he pushed Vegeta back. "Beat me up? Push me down? Lock me up? Chain me to my bed?" Every sentence was accompanied by another push until Vegeta was practically foaming at the mouth in anger.
"I will do anything that I need to do to keep my subordinates under my control." Vegeta snarled in response. "I don't mind going back to more primitive accommodations if I have to."
If Vegeta meant to anger the half-saiyan even further, he succeeded. Gohan gave Vegeta another push, earning an angry growl from the man. "You might have been able to chain a fourteen-year-old down but you cannot contain a grown man. Right now I am strong enough to do what I want and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it."
"Gohan…" The others caught up with them and now Turles was slowly trying to approach the angry young warrior. "Calm down. I'm not really sure what happened but please calm down."
"Don't tell him to calm down!" Vegeta snarled in response. Turles gave Vegeta an annoyed expression but the saiyan prince was too angry to listen to reason. "I'm not going to apologize to a brat." He turned to Gohan again. "You may think you're a grown adult but you're nothing more than a whiny little baby. Filthy bastards like you should know your place!"
"Vegeta!" Raditz said, shocked by something he would have no problem saying years ago. Discriminating Gohan because of the fact that he was only a half-blood saiyan was something they hadn't done in a very long time. Yes, they might use the word 'half-breed' to tease the young warrior and because of habit but it wasn't meant in a mean way, not anymore.
Gohan narrowed his eyes and powered up. The half-saiyan gave a roar of anger and launched at the older warrior. Vegeta did not see this coming. Before he knew it he was slammed back into the wall and his world went black.
**** DBZ **** DBZ ****
Planet Earth
"Good morning." Katy greeted cheerfully as she passed Bulma.
"Good afternoon I'd say." Bulma corrected as she watched the other walk to the coffee machine. "Late training session last night?"
"Fourteen hours straight." Katy blew out a sigh. "I needed that nap." After placing her white cup she pressed a button to activate the machine. The young woman studied the earthling at the table. "Did you sleep at all? You look tired."
"Thanks a lot." Bulma responded in mock-agitation before smiling sadly. "I've been sick all morning. Throwing up my guts all over the bathroom. I'm glad my stomach settled down." She complained as she pushed her fork into a slice of her pancake and swiped it over the plate to pick up the last remains of the syrup. "I'm starving."
"So after throwing up all morning you decided the proper thing to eat are pancakes." Katy turned sideways to grab her now full cup of coffee.
"I really wanted to eat pancakes. Why not give in to my cravings for once?" Bulma responded as she shrugged.
"Hmmm. I don't think I will ever understand the human mind fully." Katy muttered as she sat down at the table.
"I think it's the female mind that's at play here." Justin said cheerfully as he entered the kitchen. He fell down on a chair and yawned broadly.
"You want coffee?" Katy offered as she got up. Justin nodded once and she went ahead to prepare a cup for him. "Wanna have another training session today?" Katy suggested as she turned so she could look at them.
"Sure." Justin nodded once. "We should stop by Goku and see if he wants to join us. He can really help us push ourselves. Those saiyans are some species."
Katy smiled sadly as she thought about her boyfriend, very far away from her. "I know." She stated as she grabbed Justin's cup and brought it back to the table. The young woman sat down at the table and let her thoughts wander for a moment. They hadn't heard from the saiyans for more than a month. They didn't know where they were, how the training was going. For all they knew they could have been caught by Frieza already.
Katy could feel her body growing cold as she thought about Frieza and horrifying images about what Frieza and his henchmen could do to her boyfriend and his comrades popped up in her mind. The young woman flinched when Justin placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Justin asked quietly.
"Yes. I'm fine." Katy smiled at him as she picked up her coffee cup. "Just being morbid, I guess."
"I was saying that we can find a wasteland to fight so that we won't be confined by the walls of the gravity room. I mean, the GR is great, but it's always easier to fight out in the open." Justin said, giving a quick glance in Bulma's direction.
Katy smiled as she watched Justin's behaviour. Bulma's moods had been unpredictable lately. One moment she was as happy as a saiyan with a full-belly and the next she was murderous. It was difficult to predict her moods and Justin often got the full load. Katy knew when to stay away.
Luckily, Bulma was in a good mood. She nodded once. "It's good for you to train in different environments. You'll never know when or where you'll be fighting Frieza. Being used to one environment could be a weakness."
"Exactly!" Justin said happily. "That's settled then."
Katy sent the other warrior a grin and only received a glare. He knew exactly what she was thinking. The three friends flinched when the cup in Katy's hand exploded into many different pieces.
The young woman gave a shocked glance at her hands and noticed it was clenched into a tight fist. She quickly shook her hand only to find out that it was normal again afterwards. The female warrior looked up at the others and noticed they were as shocked as she was.
"What happened?" Bulma asked.
"I don't know. My hand acted on its own. I haven't felt anything like this since…." She gasped when she realized when was the last time her body reacted to something she didn't know anything about. "Gohan lost his temper." Her gaze turned to Justin and she immediately knew that he was thinking the same thing.
"He's fine. He probably had a falling out with the others. Those guys always fight, especially when they're locked up together in a small ship 24/7." Justin said calmly.
"You're probably right." Katy blew out a sigh. "I just wish I knew how they're doing."
"Knowing those saiyans," Justin said, smiling, "they're out there making each other's lives miserable."
**** DBZ **** DBZ ****
Vegeta woke with a massive headache. The man groaned and placed a hand on his forehead. He had a horrible headache. He was not entirely sure how he got it. What happened? His gaze momentarily went to his comrades before something shiny caught his eyes. The man widened his eyes and got up as he studied the place he was currently in.
Shiny yellow bars were surrounding Vegeta and the other three adults. The man stepped closer to the bars and studied them more closely, realizing they were actually energy beams. The man reached out and went to touch the bars.
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you."
Vegeta looked up and noticed that Gohan was sitting on a chair, outside of the cage, and looking back at him. After a quick look around Vegeta noticed the full-blooded saiyans were lying in the cage. "It tends to hurt." The half-saiyan continued, amused sparks in his eyes.
"What the hell is going on?" Turles was sitting up and looking around curiously.
"Payback." Gohan stated sweetly. "Locking you guys up is so satisfying."
Vegeta crossed his arms over each other and frowned at the young warrior. "And you think we can't get out of here?"
Gohan shrugged casually. "You can try. It will only be so much more amusing to watch you guys try to hopelessly power up. Those bars are unbreakable unless attempted by me."
Raditz studied the bars. "Wow, you did a good job." He muttered more to himself than to the others.
"I learned from the best." Gohan responded before leaning back on his seat and crossing his arms over each other. The half-saiyan looked utterly amused at the sight.
"Let us go, brat." Vegeta snarled as he glared at the young warrior.
"No."
"You do know there will be payback after this, right?" Turles smirked at the young warrior. He was more or less amused by Gohan's attempt to retaliate.
"I'm counting on it." Gohan responded, returning his smirk.
"So what do you think this is going to accomplish?" Vegeta asked as he stepped closer to the bars.
The young warrior shrugged casually. "Nothing really. It was just satisfying."
"I'll bet." Nappa said, still sitting on the ground. He didn't even bother getting up but was lazily leaning against the wall.
"I hope this is not one of your new attempts to gain authority." Vegeta pushed, frowning at the young warrior. "A failed one at that."
Gohan blew out a sigh. "Vegeta. I'm not going to try to overthrow you. Not for a while at least." He responded in a tired voice. "I'm not ready to lead this squad yet, I know that now."
Vegeta crossed his arms over each other. "However, you never really subjected to my authority either. As long as you don't give in to my power I will continue to assume you're opting for the leader position."
"But I did subject to your leadership!" Gohan snarled as he jumped up.
"No you didn't!"
"Yes I did!" Gohan snarled as he stepped closer. "Don't you get it, Vegeta? You won!" The half-saiyan stopped right in front of the cage and he spread his arms. "You won the moment you guys rescued me from the dungeon. You took me in because you wanted a perfect little soldier to help you defeat Frieza and here I am; a super saiyan on the run from the strongest warrior alive. Where am I going to go without you guys? I have to fight him now because he'll kill me otherwise. And I can't face him without you. I'm officially stuck and you guys are stuck here with me."
Vegeta did not respond so Gohan took a deep breath and continued his rant. "Stop fighting me, Vegeta. I've been thinking and I now know why I have trouble focusing my energy. It's because every time I show even the slightest bit of strength you get all threatened on me and assume I'll try to take over the squad. I can't focus my energy if I'm constantly concerned about your response to it." The half-saiyan let out a sigh. "That's what I needed to say." He muttered eventually a little awkwardly.
Turles showed a grin. "You said it well. Good for you, kiddo." He said cheerfully. In Turles's opinion Vegeta was definitely overreacting when it came to Gohan's behaviour. The half-saiyan might have been a difficult child to tame and he still showed typical teenage tantrums but the young warrior was really trying to be good. He was working hard in order to get stronger and he was putting up with Vegeta's bullying gracefully.
Vegeta sent the full-blooded saiyan a glare before turning to Gohan again. "Noted. Now get us out of this cage." He snarled.
The half-saiyan shrugged as he turned away from them. "Get out of there yourself." He responded. "I'm not going to save your asses."
"These bars are unbreakable." Vegeta snarled as he watched the young warrior walk away.
Gohan turned around in the doorway. "Are they?" He asked as a smirk appeared on his face.
Vegeta frowned confusedly before he reached out and curled his hand around one of the bars. He put pressure on it and the energy-bar disintegrated easily. Vegeta's mouth was wide open as he looked at the gap in the cage. The others gave gasps as the entire cage suddenly started to disappeared, bar after bar, disintegrating into thin air.
"Guess what." Gohan showed an amused grin when Vegeta looked back to him. "I learned to lie with a straight face." The young warrior turned and left the room, leaving the speechless saiyan warriors to stare after him.
**** DBZ **** DBZ ****
Gohan leaned on the control panel with his hands as he looked up at the screens. Since they moved to this ship they put a constant guard in the control room in order to keep an eye on the alarm system, in case someone would try to attack them again.
Vegeta stepped inside and glanced up at the screen. "Everything going alright here?" The man asked as he stepped closer.
"All is well." Gohan responded as he looked over his shoulder. "There was a ship flying by a while ago but they sent out a friendly hello and went on their way."
"Good." Vegeta studied the panel for a moment. "How are you doing?"
Gohan glanced sideways but Vegeta was not looking at him. "I'm fine, I guess." The half-saiyan responded awkwardly. "What about you?"
"Never better." Vegeta's gruff reply made a smile appear on Gohan's face. The smaller warrior took a deep breath before turning to the young warrior fully. "Half-breed, certain things were said in the heat of the moment earlier today."
"It's okay." Gohan shrugged.
"No, it's not." Vegeta shook his head. "I know that we used to say things like that to you all the time mainly because we knew it would bother you. However, I never really considered you any less of person because of your genetics, boy." He stated. "I knew your strength was not under any circumstances tempered with by your half-saiyan blood. If anything I was positive that was exactly what made you so strong."
"But… if you didn't hate me for being a half-blood, then why did you say that all the time?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Vegeta responded, shrugging. "You were bothered by it. Every time we commented on your un-pure blood we could see the pain in your eyes. You tried to hide it but we could easily see it got to you. They say that words don't hurt but everyone with half a brain knows that's not true. Words can be just as damaging as any physical torture if you try long enough."
Gohan lowered his gaze to the control panel. He wasn't entirely sure what to say. Indeed, the others used to comment on the fact that he was a half-breed all the time when he just joined them and after a while Gohan got used to it. Maybe he just accepted it as a fact that he was less worthy because he was a half-breed. He was so used to being called a worthless hybrid that he eventually experienced it as normal, as something he was supposed to go through, as something everyone thought about him when they saw him.
But that wasn't true. Being a hybrid didn't make him worthless. Just because people used to call him names that didn't mean he was what they called him. He was more than what others told him to be.
The half-saiyan turned to his comrade and the half-saiyan sent the older warrior a smile. "So, are you going to call me by my real name from now on?" He asked.
Vegeta chuckled. "I'm not that sorry." He responded as he crossed his arms over each other. "No, you're going to have to officially fight me for that one."
"Ah man." Gohan complained playfully before turning to the control panel. "I'll challenge you for it one day."
Vegeta's expression turned to an amused one as he looked up at the younger warrior. The man briefly studied Gohan's determined expression and his own expression softened somewhat.
"Come and get it."
***** DBZ **** DBZ ****
Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you think!
Until next time~
