Standard Disclaimer: Awwww, man, I don't own Dragonball or the characters in it. Wish I did.
A/N: I will continue this fic if I get asked to. This a continuation of Trouble and Surprises. Please read it first.
Training with Piccolo
The group ate dinner in silence, not wanting to broach the subject of Mahi's training again. But after the plates had been cleared and dessert eaten, Piccolo stood up.
"So, is Mahi to train or not?" He asked abruptly.
"Nani?!?!!" Chi-Chi shrieked. "My Mahi-chan? To train with you blockheads? How will she ever learn to be a lady? Absolutely not!"
"But Chi-Chi, she has incredible powers. She healed Piccolo. She fought this Detori and won. The Detori had beaten Piccolo badly." Goku explained. "And more Detori are on their way. They'll be here in three years. Chi-Chi, they want to conquer Earth."
"So? You and your friends fight these Detori. Leave my Mahi alone. She's just a little girl, only six years old." Chi-Chi suggested.
"Kaasan?" Mahi quietly interrupted. "I would really like to train. I've been dreaming of this since I came to live here. I would very much like to train with everyone else."
"Oh? I didn't know. I still don't want you to go. What about your studies?" Chi-Chi demanded.
"I am years ahead of the others my age. This will give them time to catch up. And I'll study when I can. Please may I go? I would rather go with your luck than without it."
Chi-Chi recognized the determined look Mahi gave her. That girl would do what she wanted when it pleased her, but she wanted to part on good terms with her adopted mother.
"Where will she train?" Chi-Chi asked, looking at Goku.
"With me, where ever I choose to train her." Piccolo spoke up.
"I would like very much to train under Piccolo-san." Mahi assured her.
"Please be careful and don't over do it." Goku said, giving her a tight hug. "I'll see you in three years."
"Arigato, Tousan." she replied her scowl lifting into a smirk.
"Wait! What about packing? You'll need extra clothes, and your toothbrush and...." Chi-Chi rattled off the packing list as she ran into Mahi's room to begin packing.
"Well, bye and train hard minna." Mahi waved as she followed Piccolo out the door and into the sky.
Mahi and Piccolo flew farther and farther away from her home. After a while Mahi began to slow down. As Piccolo noticed the intense flying was draining her limited power supply he too slowed down.
"I can't seem to keep up with you Piccolo-san. Gomen." Mahi blushed. "I'll try harder. I prom..." Mahi's words faded as she suddenly plummeted to the ground. Piccolo swiftly flew down to catch her. 'Shimatta, I thought she had more power than that. Maybe it was a mistake to think I could train her like I did Gohan.' Making a vow to try, Piccolo cradled Mahi in his arms and continued flying. A strange feeling began to surge up inside of him. At all costs, he felt he must protect Mahi. Finally reaching his destination, Piccolo set Mahi gently on the ground and began gathering wood for a fire. Since night had fallen hours before, Piccolo decided that Mahi could sleep until dawn. The next morning would be soon enough to begin her training.
"They left already?!!?" Chi-Chi shrieked as she returned to the dining room.
"Well, yes, Chi-Chi. Mahi-chan wanted to begin her training as soon as possible." Goku explained.
"But she didn't take her bags. She doesn't have her blanket. She doesn't have anything." Chi-Chi cried.
"Piccolo-san will get her everything she needs, Kaasan." Gohan assured her. "When he trained me I didn't have anything either."
As Chi-Chi ran out of the room crying, Goten looked up at his tousan. "Do you really think Mahi-chan will be able to help us? She's so little."
"You were even younger than that when I started training you, Goten." Goku gently reminded.
"Hai, but Mahi-chan is a girl!" Trunks protested. "She just gets in the way all the time."
"But she has more power right now than you do." Vegita pointed out. "You must start training harder, Toranksu. You are a Sayjin, a powerful warrior. You can't let some girl become more powerful than you. That would be pathetic."
"Hai, Tousan. I'll train harder tomorrow." Trunks replied, knowing his tousan was serious by the use of his name.
"No, you'll start training harder now." Vegita demanded. "You will need all the training you can get." Vegita strode over to his son and the two left to begin training.
"Wow. That was harsh." Goten said, looking towards Goku. "Do I have to start tonight, too?"
"No, son. But we will begin at dawn, so you better get some sleep now." Goku replied. "You're welcome to train with us Gohan."
"Arigato, Tousan. I would really like that." Gohan answered. "I should be getting to bed too. Training will be a real work-out tomorrow. C'mon Goten, Let's hit the sack."
"I guess I'll go back to Master Roshi's. I'll train with him." Krillin announced.
"Could you find Tein, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha and let them know what's going on? Maybe you could train with them, too." Goku suggested.
"Yeah! I'll head out tomorrow to find them. See you in three years, Goku." Krillin waved as he flew off to Master Roshi's house.
The Z Fighters trained hard, and three years seemed to pass by very quickly for them. But for Mahi and Piccolo the days seemed to last forever.
After the first night, Mahi woke up fully refreshed, and very hungry. Piccolo had gone to get some food for her before she awoke. Looking around and not seeing him, Mahi decided she might as well get herself some breakfast.
"I guess I have to fend for myself again." she sighed, looking around. She quickly spotted a rabbit not ten feet away. "Well, I guess, it's rabbit for breakfast today."
Mahi quickly picked up a sharp stick and threw it at the rabbit. Her aim was sharp and the stick pierced the rabbit's head, killing him instantly. Mahi retrieved the rabbit and used a sharp rock to scrape the skin away. When Piccolo returned Mahi was cooking the rabbit over the fire he had built.
"Would you like something to eat?" she asked. "The rabbit will be done in a few minutes."
"Where did you get that rabbit?" Piccolo asked, unsure of how she could have known how to catch it let alone prepare it.
"He was eating clover right over there." Mahi explained. "I threw a stick at him and killed him. No big deal. I used to do it all the time before Chi-Chi adopted me."
Piccolo was completely amazed. He had thought Mahi was a spoiled brat like Gohan had been. Evidently he could not just leave her here to learn her powers. He would have to train her personally.
"Why don't you tell me a little about that, Mahi. I need to understand where you come from before I can begin training you properly." Piccolo explained.
"Well, I don't remember much." Mahi began. "I lived in the woods by Tousan's house for as long as I can remember. I don't remember either of my parents. I got my own food and made a house out of a cave. Then one day I met Kaasan and she took me home. I couldn't speak, I didn't know how. Kaasan was very patient with me and taught me what I needed to know. I didn't have to get my own food or make my own house, so I stayed. I followed Goten-kun and Toran-kun everywhere. They are so sugoi. I wanted to be able to do what they do. You know...the flying and fighting and all. Once when my tousan and Vegita-san took Goten-kun and Toran-kun off to fight, I climbed high up in a tree and I fell. The next thing I knew I was flying. So I practiced and practiced, but I'm still not very good at it. That's all I know."
"How did you know what to do against that Detori?" Piccolo asked.
"What do you mean?" Mahi questioned, puzzled.
"You fought him. You escaped his ship and killed him." Piccolo explained.
"I don't remember. I thought that Tousan and his friends killed him." Mahi shrugged.
"No, you did it before they could help." Piccolo returned. "With a power of your own."
"Honto? I always dreamed of having power like my tousan's, but I never could do anything like he could."
"Hai, well let's see if this helps you remember." Piccolo said, firing at the top of the cliff behind her.
As the rocks began to rain down on top of them, Mahi began to scream. "Why did you do that?" Angry that one of Gohan's best friends would try to hurt her, Mahi began to power up. Suddenly a huge boulder appeared, heading straight down on top of her. Her anger building even higher Mahi screamed. Piccolo could not believe his eyes, Mahi was powering up even more. Suddenly, everything around them began to shake, Mahi's aura changed to fire, her long black hair turned blonde. Mahi shot a blast that disintegrated the boulder and all the smaller rocks. Piccolo was stunned. If Mahi was adopted, how could she turn into a super-Sayjin? He would have to think on that later, because she had turned her attention on him.
"Mahi! I did that so you could see what power you had." he explained quickly. "I knew you wouldn't be hurt."
"Honto? Alright, since Gohan-kun trusts you, so will I." she announced, powering down again.
"You are a Sayjin, Mahi. What you just did is something that only Sayjins can do." Piccolo explained. "I don't know where you get your Sayjin blood, though. Goku, Vegita, Trunks, Gohan, and Goten are the only Sayjins left. But we'll worry about that later."
"Really? I am just like Tousan? That's great!" Mahi cheered.
"No, you have a greater potential than Goku."
And so Piccolo began to train Mahi. He showed her how to control her power. And together they discovered Mahi's other talents. With just a light touch, she could heal wounds. She could transform into a ball of energy. She could also disappear completely. Without becoming a super-Sayjin, Mahi was evenly matched with Piccolo. Although Piccolo used her transformation to train himself and let her practice controlling the higher power. Piccolo knew that Goku would be surprised and pleased with Mahi's new skills. Strangely enough, Piccolo's feelings of protectiveness grew as time went on. With six months left to train, Piccolo discovered another one of Mahi's amazing talents. While sparring with Piccolo, Mahi lost her concentration and a powerful blast disintegrated her left foot.
"Oh, kuso!" Mahi exclaimed, falling.
"Shimatta!" Piccolo swore as he flew down to catch her. "Are you alright?"
"Hai, I'll be okay. Gomen. I just wasn't paying attention." Mahi apologized. Concentrating her energy, Mahi let out a sudden scream. An astonished Piccolo looked on as Mahi's foot grew back.
"Nani?" he asked. "Only a few beings can do that, and Sayjin are not one of those."
"I don't know, Piccolo-san. I just knew I could do it." Mahi explained. And so the question of Mahi's origins began to nag at Piccolo's mind even more. She was part Sayjin, there was no doubt about that, but part Namek, too? It was possible, Tein was the only other person Piccolo knew who could regenerate his body parts. Mahi was definitely a mystery.
Three months later, the mystery grew more complex. Piccolo went to meditate leaving Mahi to experiment with a new power she had begun to feel. When Piccolo returned he was astonished to find Mahi concentrating on seven perfectly round stones that were floating around her.
"What are you doing?" he questioned her.
"Oh!" Mahi started, her concentration broke and the stones vanished into thin air. "I was trying to create something from my dreams." she told him.
"Nani? What kind of thing?" Piccolo was puzzled.
"Well, I've been having the same dream for a while now. Seven perfectly round stones dancing around in the sky. The stones light up, the sky goes black and something appears. I wanted to find out what would appear, so I thought I'd make the stones." Mahi explained. Piccolo was greatly disturbed. What she had described was the dragonballs and Shenlong. Was she just attempting to copy dragonballs she had seen? Or could she really create a new set of dragonballs with it's own dragon?
Growing more concerned, Piccolo asked "Have you ever seen Shenlong?"
"Who is that?" Mahi was confused.
"Well, you must have seen a dragonball." Piccolo was stunned. In two years of living with Goku she did not know who Shenlong was?
"No, The dragonball that Goten-kun, Toran-kun and Bra-chan had spotted was supposed to be the first time I would get to see the dragonballs." Mahi explained.
"Okay. I'll tell you what they look like." Piccolo had to know what she had seen in her dreams. "The dragonballs of Earth are perfectly round balls, a little bit bigger than your fist. They are gold in color with red stars. Each dragonball has a different number of stars on it, one thru seven. Once all seven dragonballs are collected they will glow and the Eternal Dragon, Shenlong, will appear. Shenlong will grant the person who gathered the dragonballs two wishes. Then after the wishes are granted, Shenlong returns to the dragonballs and they turn to plain stones and are scattered all over the earth. It takes one year for the dragonballs to recharge. Then they can be collected again and other wishes made."
"Oh, my." Mahi gasped. "I dreamed about balls such as those. Except the ones in my dream were silver with blue stars on them and they were the size of your head."
"Silver? With blue stars? There does not exist dragonballs with those colors." Piccolo assured her.
"Well, something made me want to try to make them. A powerful feeling. Something inside of me wanted to make a home out of those balls." Mahi explained.
Piccolo was now certain that somehow Mahi was indeed part Namek. It was strange though, she didn't look anything like a Namek. The mystery of Mahi's origin was driving him crazy. But he could not think about it now. They only had three more months to train and Piccolo wanted to see what other talents this young girl had. The last three months passed without another clue as to Mahi's mysterious origins. She mastered the art of multiple forms rather quickly, and her training grew more intense. But no new talents emerged, and no more attempts to crate dragonballs were made.
Finally, the three years had passed. Piccolo and Mahi headed back to Goku's house. They were unsure of what was awaiting them. Piccolo was not sure how much of Mahi's new powers he should tell the others about. He had asked Mahi not to transform into a super-Sayjin unless there was no other way to win. But should he tell Goku about it? Piccolo was very uncertain.
To be continued...
