Story: The Freeze Response

Summary: There are three responses to fear: Fight, flight, and freeze. When one of Gohan's teachers begin to make sexual advances towards him, he turns to freeze. Feeling frustrated with himself, he starts hurting himself as a means of coping with the situation. It's Piccolo who first sees his cuts, deciding it best to get the boy's father involved. A bit later, Goku makes an unexpected discovery about Vegeta's past he never thought possible.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball.

Gohan had always been a kind person; abnormally well-mannered, ever since he was a young boy. Unless it was to protect the innocent or to fight for the people he cared about, he didn't like hurting others. When possible, it was always his first choice to avoid violence.

So when one of his teachers, a woman no less, started touching him, he didn't even know how to react at first. Even though the urge to fight back was there, he didn't want to hurt her.

He tried to stop her, though. He tried to speak up and excuse himself, but she talked right over him, pressuring him into staying each and every single time. Maybe it was because she was twice his age, or that she had some level of authority over him, he just couldn't bring himself to stop her in the end. After all, putting up the least resistance would avoid trouble and make it go by faster.

Of course, because of that, it didn't take him long to start blaming himself for the entire situation, for not having more of a backbone to stand up to her. It took him even less time to figure out a way to deal with the emotions he was feeling, as unhealthy as it may have been.

Piccolo noticed the marks when he was training with Gohan for the first time in months. Numerous gashes that were lined too perfectly to be from a simple accident.

The boy had clearly been trying to hide them with long sleeves but Piccolo still noticed them pretty early on into their sparring match; It was almost impossible for him not to with them trading blows the way they were.

Piccolo wasn't a patient person, so he wasted no time in confronting him about the injuries.

"Hey, Kid, what happened to your arms?" He asked with a hint of concern.

"M-my arms?" Gohan stammered nervously, backing away a bit. A look of guilt flashed over his face.

"Don't screw around with me. I saw the cuts, Gohan. I can tell they aren't from our training, so tell me what happened?" Piccolo carefully took a step towards him, reaching out to one of his arms.

"It's nothing important… Don't worry about it… Just a bad accident from the other day. It's stupid really." Gohan's gaze began darting everywhere around him except at Piccolo. He instinctively pulled his arms away from reach.

Piccolo wasn't an idiot. He could tell there was something serious going on, and Gohan was afraid to tell him.

"I don't believe you. You're hiding something. Show me your arms." Piccolo said, more sternly this time.

"I..." Gohan clutched at his left arm.

"Do it now, or I'll make you!" Piccolo snapped, slightly harsher than intended.

"No, I can't…!" Gohan retorted on instinct, jumping a bit. Hanging his head down, frustration and shame distorted his face.

"And why not …?" Piccolo inquired, tired of his refusal to give an answer..

"It's…" Gohan couldn't even give a response beyond that.

"Tch, just forget it. I'll find out for myself." Piccolo didn't want to use force but his gut instinct told him it was something serious and he refused to let it go.

He quickly grabbed Gohan's wrist and, despite his protests to let him go, pulled up his sleeve to reveal countless red lines littering his arm, some of which were still fresh.

"What the…" Even Piccolo was rendered speechless at the sight. He knew there were some cuts but not this many.

All guards Gohan previously had up were now dropped.

"I'm sorry… I didn't want you to see this… I told you it was stupid." He mumbled, his shoulders slumping.

Taking notice of the way Gohan was acting, it didn't take long for Piccolo to figure out that the cuts on his arms had to be self-inflicted, but the realization tore him to pieces in ways he never imagined possible.

"Gohan..." he managed in a surprisingly soft voice, before letting out a breath of frustration he didn't know he was holding in. Slowly, he let go of the boy's arm. "Come with me. I'm taking you to the lookout so Dende can heal you."

"That's not necessary. I'll be fine." Gohan wanted to protest, but knew Piccolo wouldn't have it, so he caved.

"Right…" he nodded, simply.

Piccolo then took the lead and flew into the sky towards the lookout, momentarily followed by Gohan.

Dende was baffled at the sight of the injuries when Piccolo asked him to heal them. They were easy to heal of course, but it was hard to stomach the fact that it was Gohan himself who caused them. Why would he do such a thing to himself?

"I'm sure you must be disappointed in me over this…" Gohan's low voice interrupted the silence when only old healed scars remained on his arms.

"...No, I'm not." Piccolo admitted, surprising him. "I just wish you had come to me sooner."

"I know… I just… I got scared." Gohan said.

" Scared ? Of what ? Tch, I wasn't going to kill you if that's what you were worried about…" Piccolo scoffed. It was rare for him to make any kind of crack at a joke, but lightening the mood was his best bet to get Gohan to open up to him.

When the boy didn't respond, Piccolo frowned a bit.

"I'll leave you two alone…" Dende murmured as he dismissed himself, wanting to give Gohan the space he needed right now.

"...Can you tell me why?" Piccolo asked after a moment, doubting he would get an answer.

Gohan couldn't bring himself to speak up at the question.

"I guess not." Piccolo sighed, before folding his arms. "Then tell me this. Does anybody else know about this besides us, like Goku?" Piccolo asked after a moment.

"No… You and Dende are the first ones to find out. Not even Videl knows. Though I think she might suspect something is wrong by now..." Gohan explained.

"..." Piccolo didn't exactly know how to feel at hearing that.

At the very least, Goku, his father, needed to know about It. After all, Gohan was still just a child, so as frustrating as it was, it was partly his responsibility if something were to happen to the boy now that he was aware of this.

"Sorry, I know this must seem crazy of me to something like this." Gohan suddenly spoke back up. "I don't even fully understand it myself. All I remember is being upset, then it's like… my mind goes totally blank, The next thing I know, I'm bleeding from my wrists and my arms are covered in more cuts all over again. I hate it. I hate cutting, and I hate these scars. I'm tired of having to hide them… But it… it's the only thing that gets rid of the pain, I don't know what else to do…"

"...How long has this been going on for?" Piccolo inquired, suddenly feeling weak in the stomach.

"About half a year, I think… Maybe a bit longer."

"That long?!"

Piccolo couldn't believe it. How the hell had nobody noticed before now?!

"Gohan, listen to me, I need you to stay calm, alright?" He tried his best to approach the situation with care to avoid upsetting him. "I'm going to call Goku here so he can talk to you and find out what's going on."

"No, don't! Mom and dad… They don't need to know anything about this…!" Gohan immediately protested, not surprising Piccolo in the slightest.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let this continue..." Piccolo felt a slight pang of guilt but knew he had no choice.

At this point, Gohan knew there was no use in arguing against him.

"Goku, can you hear me?"

"Piccolo, is that you? What's up?"

"I need to talk with you on the lookout. It's about Gohan. He's here with me."

"Why? Did something happen? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, for now, but he might not be for very long if he's left alone. There's something you need to be aware of, so hurry."

"Alright, I'll be right there. Just give me a second to use my instant transmission."

Within a minute, Goku was standing before them, with Vegeta in tow, startling Gohan, who immediately hid his arms behind his back.

"Dad!"

"Hey, Gohan. Sorry, Piccolo. I intended to come alone. But Vegeta kinda insisted on coming with me." Goku smiled nervously.

"Hmph. As if I'd dare risk the chance of Kakarot ducking out on our sparring match again." Vegeta added, scoffing.

"So, anyway, what is it you guys need to talk about?" Goku asked, looking at Piccolo, then at Gohan, who looked down in response.

"Gohan, show him your arms." Gohan heard Piccolo's voice instruct with a surprising amount of patience. Hesitantly, he did as told.

Vegeta's eyes widened at the marks, seeming to recognize what they were immediately.

Goku on the other hand was confused at first.

"Wow, that's a lot of scars, what are they all from?" He asked, cluelessly.

"Isn't it obvious? They're clearly self-inflicted." Vegeta muttered.

"Self- what now?" Goku rose an eyebrow. confused.

"Damn it, Kakarot, do I have to explain everything to you?! It means your son has been hurting himself on purpose!" Vegeta snapped, irritated at Goku's lack of awareness. Even he felt uncomfortable at having to put such an unspoken thing out in the open like that.

"Wait, are you serious?! Gohan, is that true…?" Goku's eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"I'm sorry, Dad, but I didn't know what else to do. I understand if you're mad at me." Gohan murmured, confirming Vegeta's accusation.

"Hey… Look at me. Nobody's mad at ya, okay?" Goku knelt down in front of him, holding onto one of his son's arms in a comforting manner. "I just wanna know what's going on with you. Why would you want to hurt yourself, huh…?"

"It's… No, I just can't. There's too many people around..."

"Well… what if we go somewhere else, just the two of us?" Goku offered, with a soft smile.

"...Okay, I guess so." Gohan said after a moments' hesitation.

Goku then looked at Vegeta. "You don't mind, do ya, Vegeta?"

Of course he didn't. He cared about Gohan, just like anybody else currently on the lookout.

"Tch. Do what you want." Vegeta muttered without much bite to his words.

"Alright then. We'll be back shortly, guys. Come with me, Gohan." Goku said, before he and Gohan flew down from the lookout and Goku led the boy towards a mountainous and grassy area which was over all secluded. It would be free from distractions.

The whole way there Gohan hadn't said anything. He didn't even know if the words would come to him when he got there. He was scared.

When they landed Gohan refused to look his father in the eyes.

"Can I see your arms again?" Goku asked with innocent curiosity.

"Okay…" Gohan didn't say much, holding up his arms so his father could take a closer look at them than before.

Goku took note of every scar, whether big or small, feeling a sense of guilt rising in the pit of his stomach as he reached up and touched one of them with his thumb.

Gohan tensed up a bit the contact.

"You must have suffered a lot to go this far… I'm sorry for not noticing before." Goku apologized.

"It's not your fault, I hid it from everybody. I didn't want anybody worrying about me, but it looks like I screwed that one up big time, huh?" Gohan muttered a bit bitterly.

"No, of course not, there's nothing wrong with needing some help every now and then. You did your best and that's all that matters." Goku told him, holding his shoulders to offer extra reassurance.

Unfortunately, the physical contact was too much for Gohan.

"Yeah, I… Um… I guess…" his breath became shaky and he couldn't think properly. Too close. He's too close.

"Hey, what's wrong? Gohan, I need you to talk to me…" Goku asked, never having seen him in such a state before.

"Please, Dad… just let… go of me… I need… to breathe" Gohan pled.

"Sorry…" Hesitantly, Goku did as asked. With the way Gohan was acting, he was afraid of him trying to fly off or something. It wasn't that he couldn't stop him but the idea of having to restrain him just felt wrong to him.

Slowly, Gohan managed to calm down his breathing.

"I know this is probably going to be hard for you, but I need you to trust me. I want to know why you've been hurting yourself so I can help you." Goku reasoned, hoping Gohan would open up to him.

"...Okay, Dad, I'll try." Gohan hesitated for a moment before gathering his thoughts. "It's… about one of my teachers… My History teacher. Ms. Panelle. She… does things to me sometimes that makes me uncomfortable… I don't… I don't want to hurt her, but it really scares me."

"Wait, has she been hitting you or something? Sorry, I'm confused." Goku wasn't exactly an idiot but when it came to implications such as this one, he had never been that fast at picking up on them.

"No, it's not like that." Gohan said, suddenly feeling worse than ever. Maybe it wasn't even an issue and he was just overreacting.

"Then… what is it she does to you? You can tell me." Goku said, urging Gohan to continue.

"She touches me, in places I don't want her to. I've asked her to stop, but she keeps doing it. And a few months ago, she started to… No, just forget it. It's not important. I'm just being stupid." Gohan couldn't bring himself to continue.

Goku finally put the pieces together, feeling his heart break at knowing his own son had been violated in such a way. That's when he realized the reason behind his intense reaction to physical contact.

"No, you're not. I think I get what's going on now. This teacher you speak of, she's been sexually harassing you, hasn't she…?" Goku asked, his mood growing more serious by the second and his fatherly instinct kicking in instantaneously.

Gohan's silent nod confirmed it.

Goku had never once felt more guilty then he did now. How could he have been so blind to only just now find this out, as if the self harm wasn't bad enough..

"I'm so sorry, Gohan... I should have paid closer attention, then maybe this would have never happened. Still, she had no right to lay her hands on you, with or without being told to stop. You're a good person, and those scars on your arms already tell me everything I need to know." Goku said. "Come on, let's go have a talk with Piccolo. Tomorrow, we're going to report your teacher to the police."

"No, you can't…!" Gohan immediately protested. "Don't hurt her. I mean… I…"

Goku smiled softly. "Hey, I know you want to do what's right, but she's been hurting you, and maybe even others. I need you to realize that…"

"...Yeah, but… what if they…" Gohan never wanted to cause this much trouble for any of them. He didn't even have any proof outside of his own word. What if they decided she was innocent because of that and she got mad at him for saying anything? What if his classmates found out and started spreading rumors? So many things could go wrong if they tried to make a case of this.

"Don't worry, it's all going to work out, okay? Ya just have to believe in me, and yourself as well..." Goku smiled.

"Okay…" Gohan uttered with uncertainty and frustration.

"I'll just use my instant transmission. I can tell you're not very comfortable with physical contact right now, but do ya mind grabbing my hand? If not, I-" Goku started to say but was cut off before he could finish.

"No, it's fine, you just startled me earlier. I'm okay with it. I trust you…" Gohan lightly took hold of Goku's offered hand.

"Good… I'm glad." Goku smiled softly at his son before teleporting them back to the lookout.

Piccolo and Vegeta hadn't even moved an inch.

"Piccolo, I…" Gohan tried to speak, but couldn't gather the words he needed. Fortunately, Piccolo had been using Telepathy the whole time, so he already had an idea what Gohan wanted to say.

"It's alright, kid. I heard everything. You have nothing to apologize for." Piccolo said in as soft a tone as he could muster.

Vegeta eyed them, wondering what he had missed. "Just what did you two even talk about anyways?"

"It'll have to wait until later. Gohan, I want ya to stay with Piccolo for a bit. I'm going to talk to Chichi and let her know what's going on. No doubt she's gonna be pretty upset about all this, so it would probably be best if we give her some time to calm down before ya come back home." Goku placed a hand on Vegeta's shoulder. "Come on, Vegeta."

"What?! Damn it, Kakarot, don't you dare drag me into your-"

Too late .

Goku had already used instant transmission, cutting off and taking the angry Vegeta with him, most likely to Chichi's house.

Piccolo stifled a snort at the sight, before looking at Gohan, who still seemed uneasy.

It was just the two of them now.

"Sit down." Piccolo instructed, seating himself on the ground. Gohan did as told, sitting beside him.

"...So how are you feeling?" Piccolo asked, after a while.

"I'm fine, I guess..." Gohan answered dismissively, nervously rubbing at his arm to the point it was becoming red.

Piccolo grabbed his hand,not able to stomach it anymore. "Cut the shit, kid. We both know you're not doing well, so you might as well just be honest with me."

"Fine…, truthfully, I feel like crap right now." Gohan reluctantly admitted.

"There. Now talk." Piccolo urged.

"...Everything… reminds me of her... No matter what I do… it's like… she's still on top of me… telling me that my body was made to… to be… Damn it…. Maybe I really am just weak, after all." Gohan muttered bitterly.

Piccolo barely held back his anger at hearing the implications. She couldn't just stop at touching him, but she had to force sex on him as well?! Damn it…

"No, you're not . Don't even think that, Gohan…" he reached up and softly stroked the back of his head, wanting more than anything to take away the pain he was feeling. Gohan relaxed a bit at the touch for a change, receiving a small painful smile from Piccolo. "You're probably the nicest kid in the world and that monster took advantage of that… Anyways, none of this is your fault, so try not to beat yourself up over it…"

"...Mn. Thanks, Piccolo." Gohan wiped away some stray tears that were falling from his eyes before he leaned against the shoulder of the green man who he'd long since started to see as a second father.

"Don't mention it, kid…" Piccolo said, allowing him to do whatever helped him relax.

At some point, Gohan dozed off and Piccolo was left to watch over him as he slept.

"Whatever you need or whenever, I'll always be here for you."

Gohan was asleep at Piccolo's side when Goku returned with Chichi and Vegeta. Piccolo hadn't moved an inch, knowing the boy needed every bit of rest he could get.

Chichi slowly approached her son, being just as careful about not waking him up. She didn't want to scare him. Just seeing him was enough for her.

"Gohan… my baby…" She knelt down beside him. Tears welled up in her eyes when she saw all the pink scars on his arms. She couldn't refrain from touching them. "I can only imagine how much pain he must have felt to hurt himself like this… I'm so sorry for not noticing sooner. "

"It's okay, mom... It's not your fault… I should have told you something..."

Chichi looked up to see Gohan had opened his eyes. He looked tired, but he was meeting her gaze regardless.

"Oh, honey, you were scared. Of course you didn't know what to do." She reasoned, reaching up to caress his face in a motherly manner. Her heart tore to pieces when he flinched, rejecting her touch. "You were confused and hurt, and you should have never had to endure any of that. But mommy's here now, and we're going to get through this, okay? I won't ask you to come back home right now, but I want you to know I'm always here for you if you need anything."

"Okay… Thanks, mom." Gohan said with some uncertainty.

Chichi wanted more than anything to pull him into her arms and tell him everything would be okay, but she knew he wasn't ready for any of that, so all she could do was wipe away the tears in her eyes and have Goku bring her back. Anger began to well up inside of her. Jail wasn't enough, she planned to sue the woman who had dared to lay a hand on her son for every Zenni she could get out of her.

She gazed at Piccolo with such intensity that even he felt a bit uncomfortable. "You better take care of him. I'm trusting you."

"You can rest easy. Your son is safe with me." Piccolo assured her.

"Thanks, Piccolo." Goku smiled softly, before looking at Vegeta, who hadn't said anything in a while and seemed distracted.

"Vegeta, I want you to stay here. I'll be back in a bit, okay? I hope you didn't think I forgot about our fight."

"Tch." Vegeta barely even responded this time. This didn't go unnoticed by Goku but he decided that talking to him about it could wait.

The truth was, Vegeta had found himself mortified when Goku had got done explaining the situation to Chichi. What kind of teacher would break that many ethics to violate her own student?

If this were Trunks , he'd have probably just destroyed the entire school building for allowing something like that to go on. Nobody deserved to suffer such an indignity.

With that thought in mind, however, old and bitter memories of his childhood started to resurface, taunting him like never before. As a young prince, sleezy royals were oftentimes drawn to him, making unwanted sexual advances on him when they were alone.

At the time, he was too young to truly grasp what was even being done to him, let alone fight back, but then he was taken in by Frieza, who was even worse about letting his hands wander if only just to toy with him. Only then did he finally began to understand the gravity of the humiliation he had been subjected to and what it meant; that he was a victim, but even considering such a term was detrimental to his pride as a warrior.

He would never forget the times his tail had been used as leverage against him to force him into submission, or the harsh training he had to endure to overcome that weakness of his.

Vegeta looked over at Gohan, almost wanting to say something.

For a long time he said nothing, but neither Piccolo nor Gohan felt it was a good idea to speak to him, so they left him be.

At some point, however, Vegeta spoke up, surprising them both. "Hey. Son of Kakarot."

His voice almost sounded strained.

"Yeah? What is it, Vegeta?" Gohan inquired.

Vegeta thought for a second about saying something as a way of encouragement, but with Piccolo there, he just couldn't bring himself to put aside his pride.

"...No...It's not important. Just forget it…" Vegeta swallowed, after a moment of hesitation. "If Kakarot comes back here, tell him he can use his instant transmission to find me or whatever… In any case, I'm leaving."

"Hmph." He glanced at the boy for only a second, giving a small genuine smile before flying off from the lookout.

Even without words, Gohan got the feeling that Vegeta was trying, in his own way, to tell him something like, " Stay strong, kid ."

"What was that about…?" Piccolo muttered.

Gohan grinned a bit. "I think he was trying to encourage me."

After a few minutes of flying around, Vegeta found an area surrounded by nothing but rock and rubble, deeming it the perfect spot for his training.

He didn't even think twice before decimating a nearby stone with one of his ki blasts. He could have used Bulma's artificial gravity chamber right now but he didn't want to mess with it right now. Truthfully, he just needed to let off some steam.

Which he did for a while, until Goku appeared.

"Wow, Vegeta you really did quite the number on this place." Goku remarked.

"Heh. So you're back. Are you finally ready to continue our fight now or what , Kakarot?" Vegeta challenged.

"Sure. If you still think you can take me on." Goku smirked, preparing his stance.

"Well, don't start getting too cocky now." Vegeta warned him with a new found bravado.

Goku was already hyped up and looking forward to this. "Hm. Funny. I was about to tell you the same thing."

For the next few hours, Vegeta and Goku sparred, exchanging blow after blow.

By this point, both Saiyans were covered in countless injuries from head to toe and were starting to reach their limit.

Despite Vegeta keeping up rather well, Goku could tell that his moves were sloppier than ever, they had been ever since the fight began.

"What's wrong, Vegeta? Don't tell me this is all ya got. You seem distracted." Goku swiftly kneed him in the gut, causing him to jump back in pain. "If ya want to stop, we can. It is getting pretty late."

"Shut up, I don't need your pity, Kakarot. And stop holding back on me!" Vegeta landed a harsh kick to Goku's arm. The blow was strong enough to dislocate his shoulder, possibly even breaking a bone in the process."

Goku shouted in pain, clutching at his arm. He then steadied himself, taunting Vegeta through gritted teeth.

"Oh, so you do have some fight left in you. To be honest I was starting to get a little bored, but now ya got me all excited again." Goku narrowed his eyes. "So what do you say we go all out?"

"Alright, I'm game, but you had better not complain when I knock you down on your ass." Vegeta told him.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Goku smirked, more than eager to embrace such a risk.

Within seconds, their exhausted energy was pushed to its max.

Another thirty minutes had passed, the surrounding area had long since been completely destroyed, craters everywhere. It was at this point that both of them decided they were finished.

Goku was the first to collapse, pangs of hunger getting the best of him, while Vegeta fell to his knees only a minute after, gasping for air and not able to hold himself up any longer. Neither one of them had the strength left in them to get back up. Within seconds, Vegeta slipped out of consciousness, too drained of his energy to keep his eyes open.

"Heh, it looks like you won this time, huh Vegeta?… Barely, but still…" Goku weakly laughed at the sight of the sleeping prince beside him. The man looked so relaxed and calm for a change, a stark contrast from the trademark scowl that usually contorted his face. For a second, it was a little hard to believe that such a face could possibly belong to a person with a rocky history like Vegeta's.

But that's when he had to remind himself that Vegeta wasn't anything like what he used to be. He had changed so much over these past few years, and as his friend, it kinda filled him with a sense of pride. Was that strange of him? To be honest, Goku didn't even know, but he didn't care either. It was just how he felt.

With that thought in mind, he suddenly found himself taking note of an odd bunch of scars on Vegeta's leg where his pants had been torn. They were faded, and clearly old, most likely by a decade at least, but due to the most convenient lighting, the white toned marks stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Those scars… They look just like Gohan's…"

Goku wasn't certain what to make of them at first, but then the realization dawned on him.

"Vegeta… No, he wouldn't…"

Immediately, he corrected his assumptions.

"Actually… The truth is I don't really know much about Vegeta's past outside of what he's told me himself… I had no idea…"

Hesitantly, he reached out and traced a finger over one of the scars, with a sense of foreboding.

"Damn, how am I only just now noticing this…? Could that also be why he was acting so strange earlier…? When he saw Gohan's scars, he must have remembered something… I wonder… if I should ask him about it…"

Goku already knew that Vegeta probably wouldn't tell him anything. After all, he wasn't exactly the talking-it-out type of person, and to be fair, neither was Goku himself, but he liked to believe he was at least better at it than Vegeta.

So maybe it was worth a shot after all.

A couple hours later, Vegeta woke up to the fresh smell of cooked fish. When he sat up to view his surroundings, he realized he was in a different location than before, next to a river to be precise.

Looking over, he saw Goku was cooking what appeared to be five trout fish above a fire.

"Did Kakarot carry me here…?" He wondered.

"Oh, Vegeta, you're awake." Goku smiled, noticing his gaze. "Just in time too. I actually just finished cooking these fish, so I was about to eat them. Come join me."

"Hah. I hope you don't think I'm going to thank you." Vegeta scoffed, but unable to ignore his stomach growling, he got up and walked over anyways. Without saying a word, he grabbed one of the sticks holding the fish and took a bite, sitting down beside him. His hair was matted and unkempt, but neither him nor Goku had been ones to keep up with personal hygiene much, so they didn't take much notice of it and Vegeta couldn't care less about fixing it.

"You know… I saw the scars on your leg earlier. I can't believe I never noticed them before." Goku said, casually attempting to strike up a conversation.

"Probably because they're over a decade old, but why does it even matter, anymore?" Vegeta clearly didn't want to discuss it, starting to bite into his fish in a passive aggressive manner.

"I figured as much, but you've been acting kind of odd ever since you saw Gohan's scars, so I thought maybe it had something to do with that." Goku took a bite of his own fish, observing the way Vegeta's eyes darted off to the side.

"Look, it has nothing to do with the scars, alright? I'd rather not talk about it… Just eat your damn fish already." Now on edge and irritated, Vegeta all but tore his fish to pieces. He had no desire to talk about that.

Judging by his behavior, Goku could tell that Vegeta was definitely hiding something, and it wasn't just concern for Gohan motivating his strange behavior.

For a while, the two Saiyans said nothing, eating in silence. It wasn't until Vegeta finished and started to get up that a grim possibility entered Goku's mind.

"Vegeta, wait." He called out to stop him from leaving.

"What is it now , Kakarot…?" Vegeta looked back at him with tired eyes.

"I was just wondering… in the past, has somebody ever done something to you…? You've been distracted ever since I told Chichi about that stuff with Gohan, so I figured that if you hurt yourself in the past like he did, you must have had a reason for it. But who knows? Maybe I'm just overthinking things. it's probably something else entirely. I mean… you don't really seem like the person who would…" Goku trailed off into silence when Vegeta looked away. Out of concern, he placed a hand on the shorter man's shoulder, which suddenly seemed tenser than ever. "Vegeta…?"

"Unhand me, you fool…!" Vegeta snapped, pulling away. The implications of Goku's words hurt more than he wanted to admit. "I'm done here."

Before he could fly off, however, Goku caught his wrist with a tight grip, fearing what would happen if he let Vegeta run off on his own right now.

"Hey, you can talk to me…!" He shouted out in a soft tone without even needing to think about it. Anything to get the man to stay with him and calm down. Upon hearing that, Vegeta looked back at him with untrusting eyes, searching his face and voice for any sign that Goku would think less of him for his past.

"I promise I'm not going to judge you…!" Goku assured him, sensing just how fragile Vegeta's pride was right now.

Slowly, he relaxed his grip, to show Vegeta he meant no harm. Maybe it was just a trick of the light but, for a split second, Goku could have sworn he saw unshed tears shimmering in Vegeta's eyes.

"You can trust me…" Goku said, when Vegeta looked away, glaring at the ground.

"Tell me, Kakarot; Can I really …? How do I know you won't just blame me? Maybe you'll tell me I was weak for not standing up for myself." Goku heard him say with a bitter laugh, barely above a whisper.

"No, of course not…! Why would you even think that?" Goku actually felt hurt by the accusation. "Vegeta-"

"It's not important, just forget about it. It happened years ago, so it doesn't matter anymore." Vegeta muttered, still unable to look at him, he clenched his fist trying to keep his emotions under control.

Blast those damned memories .

All he could remember was the feeling of sheer and utter helplessness; the inability to even truly understand it; those memories were a part of his past he wanted nothing more than to forget. Even thinking about them right now brought about a sense of fear and humiliation like nothing else he'd ever experienced.

And he hated it. He hated knowing he used to be that weak.

"What? Hey, of course it matters! Look at me…" Goku said, trying to reason with him. After a second, Vegeta gazed up at him. "If it's brothering you this much, then it must have been something pretty bad, and there's nothing wrong with being upset about it, but you're not alone anymore. You can-"

"Talk to you? Damn it, just what the hell do you want from me, Kakarot?! For me to state the obvious and say that I was raped as a child?!" Vegeta snapped at this point, not able to take being lectured anymore. His shoulders were now trembling and he could no longer contain his rage or frustration. With tears in his eyes, he rubbed at the old scars on his thigh, just barely resisting the urge to dig into the skin right then and there. "You could never begin to imagine the sheer humiliation and fear I felt back then, knowing just how weak I was, not being able to stop them from doing whatever the hell they wanted to me. I was just a child - a child - and I didn't even understand what was happening to me… I spent so many years blaming myself for what those bastards did to me, always telling myself it was somehow all my fault for not being strong enough. And then Frieza, he…"

"Oh, Vegeta... I have told you repeatedly that fighting against it is useless, yet you never learn, do you?

Desperate tears were streaming down Vegeta's face now. He couldn't stop them.

The memories began flashing through his head all over again, Every time somebody had put their hands on him against his will, every disgusting word that had been whispered into his ears, the feeling of being pinned down and immobilized .

His tail, being used to restrain him, as it had been so many other times.

Cold fingers, tainting his naked and prepubescent body.

"Aw… you shouldn't worry, my little monkey… I'm not without mercy. Before this is all over, I shall teach to you sing for me all over again…"

His insides, being completely and utterly violated.

Vegeta started to gasp for air, his head becoming clouded and fuzzy.

He couldn't breathe. He needed to escape, to forget about it; forget about everything . Without thinking, he started clawing at his leg, drawing blood in a subconscious attempt to distract himself and calm down.

It took Goku a moment to even notice it for his other irrational behavior, but when he did, his heart skipped a beat at the sight.

" Oh, crap, he's-! Vegeta, stop that…! You're going to hurt yourself…!" Goku grabbed his hand in an instant, and, doing the only thing he could think of, he pulled the smaller man into a tight embrace. He had no idea how Vegeta would react, but he was desperate to get him to stop in some way or another. Besides, even if Vegeta lashed out at him for it, it would be better than watching him tear his own skin to pieces right in front of him. Goku felt Vegeta stifle a breath at the contact. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have pushed ya to talk about that stuff when you weren't ready to… It was wrong of me. Ya don't have to say anything else, okay? Just breathe now…"

Slowly, Vegeta's breathing started to even out. After a few minutes he pulled away with bloodshot eyes

" Never do that again. And if you utter even a single word of this to anybody else, I swear to god that I will kill you myself, Kakarot." With tears eyes, Vegeta glared at him.

"Yeah sorry about that. I understand if you're mad at me." Goku apologized nervously, scratching the back of his head.

Vegeta scoffed, looking to the side. "So tell me then, are you satisfied now? Maybe this is what you wanted all along, to push me until I break, and humiliate myself…"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to upset you…"

"I never wanted anybody to know about any of that, least of all you ." Vegeta clenched his fist, glaring at the ground.

" Me ? But why am I so special?" Goku asked, confused.

"Isn't it obvious, you idiot? I look up to you, so I want you to see me the same way, rather than as some weakling who couldn't even protect himself from being violated…" Vegeta muttered bitterly, clenching his fist.

"Vegeta, you're one of the strongest people I know, and nothing will ever change that. What those monsters did to you… it wasn't right , but none of that was your fault, so stop blaming yourself. You're not weak."

"That's so easy for you to say, isn't it, Kakarot…? But you forget that I'm not like you. While you grew up here on this peaceful little planet you call Earth , I had to learn the hard way from the time that I was a young boy that the only way to survive was by being the strongest there is, otherwise, you have no choice but to do as you're told, if you're even left alive , that is. That's how it's always been."

"That still doesn't make you weak!" Goku retorted, refusing to back down. "It's normal to be scared sometimes. It's okay to not always know how to react, or fight back. Besides, it's like you said yourself. You were just a child ."

"Maybe. But did you forget the part about me being an elite warrior trained to fight?" Vegeta asked coldly. "I simply wasn't strong enough. That's all there is to it."

Goku could sense the underlying message without it being spoken.

"We're done here."

Goku let out a breath he didn't know he was holding back. He couldn't be mad at the man in front of him for this, but he wanted him to understand that it wasn't his fault.

"Fine. But just tell me one thing, Vegeta. Do you think Gohan was weak?" Goku met his eyes, and in less than a second, Vegeta's demeanor changed completely.

"No, of course not… I-!" He bit back his response, before glaring off to the side when he realized the point Goku was trying to make.

"Point taken. You win. As always . Are you happy now?" Vegeta spat with bitter sarcasm.

"Well, not really, but it's pretty obvious that you don't want to talk about this anymore, so I'll leave you alone." Goku smiled softly, placing his fingers on his forehead. "Later, Vegeta."

With that, he disappeared, leaving Vegeta alone to ponder their conversation.

"Vegeta, you're one of the strongest people I know, and nothing will ever change that."

"You're not weak."

Goku's voice echoed in his head, eating away at his insides because, deep down, he wanted to believe it was true.

After a long moment of silence, he spat up bloody saliva where he had been gnawing on his lip.

"...Tch."

He hated to admit it, but the burden on his chest somehow felt lighter.

Piccolo opened his eyes, noticing it was already dark.

"Damn, I fell asleep. I didn't realize how late it had gotten."

He looked over, noticing that Gohan was no longer by his side. Fortunately, he could feel the kid's energy close by so he knew he was still on the lookout.

Following it to its source, he found him in the bathroom with his back to the wall. Gohan had pulled his knees up to his chest, and was resting his head in his folded arms.

"Gohan…" Piccolo said to get his attention.

Startled, Gohan jumped a bit, looking up at him.

"Oh, hey, Piccolo. You're finally awake?" He forced a smile, looking up. There were remnants of tears in his eyes.

"Yeah, but you seem upset. You've been crying, haven't you…?" Piccolo accused, nonjudgmentally.

The light in the boy's eyes faded and he looked away, nervously rubbing at his sleeve.

"Yeah. Sorry..." Gohan avoided his gaze.

"You have nothing to apologize for, kid. I just want you to come to me the next time you're upset. So then… did you… hurt yourself again…?" Piccolo asked with hesitation, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"...If I said yes, would you be disappointed in me…?" Gohan asked in a low and bitter voice. With that, Piccolo's suspicions were all but confirmed.

"No… I never said I expected this to be easy for you. Relapses are bound to happen." He said.

"What the hell is wrong with me? Why do I keep doing this?" Gohan clawed at his sleeve in frustration. "I feel so stupid right now…"

"Would you stop saying that…? There's nothing to be ashamed of… You're a strong person, Gohan, but nobody said anything about you having to do this alone… I'm still here, in case you need me." Piccolo pointed out in an attempt to reassure him.

"Piccolo…" Gohan wanted to say something or thank him or anything but in the end, he trailed back off into silence.

Piccolo was silent for a moment before he held out a hand to help him up.

"Come on. Let's go to the bedroom. I'll have Dende heal you again."

"Alright…" Gohan took his hand, smiling with a bit of guilt for causing him so much trouble.

The cuts were deeper than before, but Dende managed to heal them with ease. Even so, it didn't reduce the concern he felt for Gohan.

"Gohan… Next time you want to do this, you can talk to me, okay? We're friends..." Dende gently took his hands into his own in a manner to show he had no intentions of overstepping his boundaries.

"Yeah, sorry, Dende…" Gohan looked down.

"Don't apologize. I just… I can't stand to see you suffering like this… But I don't want to overwhelm you." Dende said.

"It's okay. I really don't mind you being here. But talking about that stuff… It scares me. I need some time."

"I completely understand… Still, I'm here for you, okay?" Dende smiled softly. "Even if you don't want to tell me anything, we could do something, anything you want, to get your mind off of it. But only when you're ready."

"Mn, thanks, Dende." Gohan said.

"Of course." Dende smiled, giving his hands a firm shake before leaving him alone with Piccolo.

Piccolo noticed then that one of Gohan's hands remained clenched, even after Dende left.

He must have been holding something. Within a split two seconds, he was able to figure it out. He never did figure out what Gohan had been using to hurt himself with.

But what good would knowing that do? Would taking away the mysterious weapon prevent him from doing it again? Most likely not, as he'd probably just find something else, or even use his own finger nails if he wanted to cut himself badly enough.

Still, something told him he needed to try.

"Gohan, show me what's in your hand…" Piccolo said, on guard.

"...Man, I really can't hide anything from you, can I…? It's like you can see right through me or something." Gohan said with some bitterness.

"Hmph. I have known you since you were five, so don't feel too bad." Piccolo said with an attempt at sarcasm. Able to sense that Gohan was tense, he sat down beside him with his arms folded. He softened his tone to avoid intimidating him. "Look kid, I'm not mad, okay? I just want to make sure that you're safe."

He didn't want to say that part of keeping him safe was also keeping him away from sharp objects right now. Setting such limits on Gohan like that felt wrong to him. He was his mentor, not his father, and yet, Gohan was so much more than just a student to him. Hell, he might as well be family.

"I know, but you don't understand. I need this. It's the only thing that helps." Gohan muttered, increasing his grip on the razor blade that he was holding in his hand. He accidentally drew blood in the process.

Piccolo's stomach turned at seeing it. It was strange. He never had an issue with the sight of blood, he could deal with witnessing the worst of battle injuries, even death, but this… it was too much.

…Have I grown soft…?

No, that wasn't it. Well, maybe that was part of it, but the senseless need to tear one's own skin to pieces… There was zero logic behind it besides channeling out emotions. Isn't that what training or exercise was for? Hell, even therapy would be better than this…

"...No, you're wrong, Gohan… What you must be feeling right now, I can't even begin to imagine it, but we both know this isn't the answer…" He said with obvious hesitation, wondering deep down if he even had a right to confront him on such a topic so delicate and sensitive as this.

Maybe he was overstepping his boundaries entirely without even realizing it. If it had been anybody else, he might have ignored it. But this was Gohan , the same kind hearted boy who had looked up to him since he was only five years old. The first person to ever care about him and see him as an actual friend rather than some scary green monster. The boy who had softened his heart and made him realize the value of life; the importance of protecting those you care about. In hindsight, he might have learned more from Gohan than he taught him.

Somewhere down the line, he started to think of him as family, almost like the son he never had, one he'd sacrificed himself for and fought to protect on multiple occasions.

Right now, that child was in so much pain that he had even turned to harming himself to deal with it. It was too much for Piccolo to bear. He simply couldn't let this continue on.

Cautiously, he reached over to take hold of Gohan's hand in hopes to get him to release the tiny weapon he was clutching. "I know you think this is helping you… and maybe you even believe it to be some sort of punishment for not being strong enough to stop her, but that's a load of crap… None of that was your fault. You didn't deserve to be treated that way, least of all by a teacher and I swear she'll never even think of laying a finger on you again if I have anything to say about it. But all that this is doing is hurting you more…"

As he listened to him, Gohan slowly let go of the razor in his hand, allowing Piccolo to take it, and put it off to the side. "I already know that, but… what else can I do? I'm scared, Piccolo. I'm afraid that if the same thing happens again, I'll just freeze up like I did all the other times and I won't be able to stop it. All I can remember was the way my body reacted to hers. When I said I didn't feel comfortable with it, she wouldn't listen. She just talked right over me. I didn't want to hurt her, but it scared me. I couldn't fight back. I just let it happen. You and dad probably think I'm a coward right now. I was raised to be stronger than this…"

Without even thinking, Piccolo suddenly found himself doing something completely out of character.

He pulled him into his arms, and gently rested a hand on his head. He could only hope that Gohan wouldn't push him away.

"Hush, kid, you're not a coward, so don't even think that, you hear me?" Piccolo scolded him with a suspiciously strained voice, more frustrated with himself than ever for not having been there to protect him.

After a second, Gohan melted into the embrace, tears welling up in his eyes. "Tell me, Piccolo, how do I get rid of these memories…? I can't stand feeling like this… I just want to forget it."

"I don't know, kid…" Piccolo admitted, feeling bad for not having all the answers. "But we'll figure it out..."

Together.

A/N: So uh first Dragon Ball I've ever written before, and I'm pretty new to the fandom. That said, I absolutely adored Gohan and Piccolo's bond in the show, I really love the idea of Piccolo being a parental figure to Gohan, and after the new movie came out, I felt a huge boost of inspiration. I've been wanting to write about them for a while.

Although I'm kinda feeling insecure about posting this, especially because I never know how people will receive these kinds of headcanons and topic matters. I hope somebody enjoyed it in any case.

Kinda venting from personal experience here, so please be kind.