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Summary: Gohan meets Sasami's family.

A Tale of Us, Part 2


"Something's not right here."

Sasami was the picture of innocence. "Whatever do you mean, Gohan?"

"Just where are we, anyway?"

Sasami tried not to smile and failed. "My room?"

"Uh huh. I'm sure that's the first impression your parents want."

"You're taking this way too seriously, Gohan. We've slept in the same bed before. Just last night, as a matter of fact."

Gohan rolled his eyes. "Could you say that a little louder? I think there's a few people back on Earth that didn't hear you!"

"You're way too nervous. Do I have to kiss you to calm you down?"

"Maybe you didn't know this, but if you want me to calm down, kissing me is the last thing you should do."

Sasami shook her head. "Anyway, let's go meet Auntie Funaho."

Gohan grabbed her arm. "Wait, I came here to meet PARENTS. You said nothing about an AUNT!"

"She's like a mother to me. You'll want to meet her first. She's the N & N one in my family."

"Huh?"

"Nice and normal," she explained.

"Oh. In that case, let's go."

* * * * *

Funaho was just entering the royal gardens when she felt an unfamiliar presence. "Who's there?" she called.

Sasami's head popped up from behind the rose bushes. "Hi, Auntie!"

Funaho smiled warmly as Sasami ran into her arms. "It's wonderful to have you back home, Sasami. But isn't there someone with you?"

Sasami's face fell. "You could tell? I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, who is it?"

"Remember that weird blue guy I was telling you about?"

Funaho thought for a moment. "King Kai is here?"

"No, but remember the funny guy with the big hair he trained?"

"Goku is here?"

"No, but remember his son?"

"Goku has a son? You never told me that."

"But remember I told you about the nice boy I met? That's Goku's son."

"Oh, I see. So where is he?"

"Hiding," Sasami replied. "He's nervous about meeting you."

"Me? But why?"

"Well, I told him you were like a mother to me, and he got all scared."

"I can't blame him, if he's met your mother."

Sasami grinned. "Well, that's why I brought him home. But I wanted you to meet him before my mother hugs him." She turned back to the bushes. "Come on out!"

Gohan slowly stepped out of the bushes. It was clear that he was very nervous, but he somehow managed to smile. He held out his hand, but Funaho only stared at him. After a few seconds of uneasy silence, Gohan shot Sasami a "did-I-do-something-wrong-already?" look.

Sasami answered with an "I-hope-not" shrug.

Funaho cleared her throat. "Young man, am I correct in assuming you know Sasami quite well?"

"Um...yes. Ma'am!" he added quickly.

"Then I'm afraid I can't shake your hand."

Gohan gave Sasami a blank look.

Sasami shrugged again, looking a bit embarrassed.

Gohan was about to give up when, without warning, Funaho kneeled and drew him into her arms. Not that he was uncomfortable or anything, but it was a bit strange.

"Here on Jurai, young man, any friend of Sasami's is always welcome, and treated as a member of our family." Funaho leaned back a bit and squeezed his shoulders. "Now, what is your name?"

"Gohan."

"It's good to see you're wearing armor, Gohan."

"It is?" he asked, looking very puzzled.

"Yes. My sister-in-law, Sasami's mother, can be very...strong."

"Strong?" Gohan repeated.

"You'll know. Good luck." Funaho stood up and turned away, pausing to lean down and whisper to Sasami. "He's a handsome one, dear. Excellent choice." Then she walked out of the gardens.

"I think she likes you," Sasami said after a while.

"Sasami, I'm starting to get the impression that your mother isn't like most people."

"Well, she isn't. Now let's go meet her."

"Uh...do we have to?"

Sasami grinned. "Look at it this way. If you don't, we'll never be able to get married and have that honeymoon."

"Can't I just say I kidnapped you or something?"

"That only worked for Washu and Vegeta."

Gohan sighed. "Okay, fine. But I'd like to point out that no harm came to you in my house."

"Noted. Can we go now?"

"No." Gohan took her hand. "If I don't survive this? It's your fault."

"Very funny. Let's get this over with."

* * * * *

"Lady Misaki?" the guard asked for a third time.

Misaki finally looked at him. "Yes?"

"Your youngest daughter is here to see you, and she AAAH!"

Misaki grabbed him by the throat. "My Sasami is here?!"

"Yes, GAH! Can't breathe!"

"AND YOU MADE HER WAIT OUTSIDE?!"

The guard had almost lost consciousness when Sasami entered the room.

Misaki lost all interest and threw him to the wall, where he left a a rather large dent. "SASAMI!"

"MOMMY!" Sasami ran into her mother's arms. "Mommy, I missed you!"

"My Sasami," Misaki whispered, hugging her tightly. "It's so good to see you! Let me look at you!" She held her daughter at arm's length. "Why, your hair! You've let it down!"

"Only for a little while," Sasami promised. "Mommy, I want you to meet someone."

"We have a guest?" Misaki asked eagerly.

"Yes. He's a boy I met on Earth."

"A boy?" Misaki asked, her smile growing wider.

"Okay, a really cute boy," Sasami admitted. "But he was nervous about meeting you."

"Why?" Misaki asked.

"Uh...I don't know! I guess he wanted to make a good impression."

"Well, send him in!"

Sasami turned to the door. "She's ready, Gohan!"

Gohan stepped into the room and froze upon spotting the guard on the floor. He put two and two together and figured that Sasami had left out a few important details about her mother. He took a deep breath and walked across the room, silently telling himself that no woman could possibly stronger than his own mother.

Misaki's eyes seemed to shine as he came closer.

"Mommy, this is Gohan," Sasami said. "Isn't he the cutest thing?"

"Oh, you're absolutely adorable!" Misaki cooed. She held out her arms. "Come to me!"

Gohan thought about refusing, then remembered the guard on the floor. Either that, or he thought about refusing BECAUSE of the guard on the floor. He sighed and wrapped his arms around Misaki. About one second later, he lost all feeling below his chest. It felt like his arms were being crushed in some sort of bear hug. Gohan almost looked up and expected to find Frieza or Vegeta standing over him, laughing maniacally.

Just before his face could turn blue, Sasami touched her mother's arm. "Mommy, there's something else I should tell you about Gohan."

Misaki released Gohan, who fell to the floor gasping for air. "What is it, sweetheart?"

Gohan's eyes widened in fear, and he gave Sasami a "don't-you-dare-tell-her" look.

Sasami ignored him. "He's my boyfriend."

Gohan closed his eyes and waited for the explosion. There was none. After a while, he opened his eyes to find Misaki smiling at him. "You're...not angry?" he asked.

"Of course not! Anyone that makes my Sasami happy makes me happy."

"Oh. That's good." Gohan slowly got to his feet, and was nearly yanked off them when Misaki grabbed him. She wrapped her other arm around Sasami.

"So, when's the wedding?" Misaki asked excitedly.

Gohan gave Sasami a "you-handle-this-one" look.

Sasami smiled uneasily. "Mommy, we haven't been out on an official date yet."

"Well, there's no sense in wasting time! Let's make one right now!"

Gohan just shook his head. This is gonna be a LONG day...

* * * * *

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Gohan muttered.

"Don't worry," Sasami said. "If anyone can force Daddy into agreeing with her, it's Auntie Funaho."

"But why do we have to wait outside? I know throne rooms are huge as a rule."

"Daddy's a private man."

"Yeah. And maybe he didn't want to see me."

"Gohan, stop being so negative! Everything will be fine!"

At that moment, the door opened, and Funaho stepped out of the throne room.

"How'd it go?" Sasami asked.

Funaho smiled. "Surprisingly well. Gohan, you have the king's blessing to marry Sasami...at the appropriate time, anyway."

"I've got to go thank him!" Sasami started to run into the throne room, but Funaho stopped her.

"I'm afraid that's not a good idea, dear," she said quietly, the smile fading away. "Your father did give his blessing, but only because I convinced him that Gohan was worthy of you. He is still very upset that you didn't inform him earlier." Funaho paused for a moment. "He doesn't want to see you for a while. I'm sorry, Sasami."

There was a shocked expression on Sasami's face. "For how long?"

Funaho hesitated. "Until the day of the wedding."

"Oh. I see," Sasami whispered, lowering her eyes to the floor.

Gohan placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay, Sasami?"

"I...I..." Sasami pulled away from him and ran down the hall, a sob building in her throat.

"I will see to her," Funaho said. She squeezed Gohan's shoulder. "This is not your fault, Gohan."

"No," Gohan muttered, his eyes narrowing. "But I know who's it is."

* * * * *

Washu's eyes widened as she read the report. "Whoa."

"What is it, Mama?" Trunks popped up behind her left shoulder.

"Hey, I wanna see!" Yugi chimed in, appearing behind Washu's right shoulder.

"It seems there's been an incident on Jurai involving the king."

Yugi frowned. "I don't like those royal types. Except Sasami."

"Then you'll LOVE this," Washu snickered. "The report says that the king was injured in an attack by invading forces. Of course, that report was censored."

"But you got the real story. Right, Mama?" Trunks asked.

"Oh, my baby has such confidence in me!" Washu cooed, patting his head. "Of course I do! As it turns out, the king wasn't just injured, he was beaten within an inch of his life."

"Cool! Anything broken?" Yugi asked hopefully.

"Just an arm, maybe both. Anyway, it wasn't an "invading force" like the fake report said. It was actually our old pal, Gohan."

"I always did like that guy," Yugi said. "Why'd he do it?"

"That's not in here, either. But he must've had a pretty good reason to beat up someone that powerful. I suppose we'll have to drag it out of him as soon as he gets home."

* * * * *

Sasami slowly opened her eyes. "Gohan?"

A gentle hand touched her face. "I'm here, Sasami."

She blinked, trying to bring his face into focus. "Where are we?"

"One of Jurai's flagships. Your aunt insisted on giving us a ride back to Earth." He stroked her hair. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she whispered, laying her head against his chest. "I guess so."

"Don't worry. I took care of everything."

"So I heard." Sasami smiled a bit. "You didn't have to do that."

"He was wrong, Sasami. He had no right to hurt you like that."

"Well, I guess he wasn't expecting to get hurt, either. It's kinda funny, isn't it?"

"What?"

"You," she answered. "You can be so dangerous when you get really angry, but when you get around me, you turn into a marshmallow."

"Is that supposed to be a joke?" Gohan asked.

"Nope. Just a random observation." Sasami raised her head and looked into his eyes. "Thanks, Gohan."

"For what?"

"Spending the day with me, going to meet my parents...and beating up Daddy."

"Uh...you're welcome."

"No, I really meant that." She reached up and draped her arms around his neck. "I could almost kiss you."

"Almost?"

"Yes. Except my mother is watching us."

Gohan followed Sasami's gaze.

"Oh, don't mind me!" Misaki said. "Go on with what you were doing! It was so cute!"

Gohan sighed. "One of these days, I'm gonna find a pocket dimension where we can be alone anytime we want."

Sasami smiled. "I'll get Washu to lend us one of hers."

The End.