Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z, or any of its characters. They belong
to Akira Toriyama. I own this plotline, however.
AU plotline: What if Chichi had died having Goten, and Gohan blamed himself for everything?
Translations: baka = idiot/stupid. onna = woman. sensei = teacher
Note: The school system will *not* be Japanese, meaning they will move to different classrooms, not have the teachers come to them.
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THE SHADOWS OF MY HEART
Chapter Two- A Friend
Lab. Spare bedroom. Spare bedroom. Closet. Bathroom. Spare bedroom. Storage room. Lab.
Goten had been happily exploring the large building known as Capsule Corporation for ten minutes, but now it was just getting boring. He knew that it would be much more fun to actively seek the playmate he had been promised, but every time he said to himself that he was going to, the next door down would say, "Goten! Goten! I have some exciting secret held inside! Open the door, Goten!" and he wouldn't be able to resist. Not that there had been any exciting secrets so far.
He was just beginning to become really dispirited when he approached a corridor that seemed very deserted. Like it hadn't been used in years. There were no lights on further down, so the hallway appeared to descend into darkness from the point where Goten was standing. He automatically inserted a finger in his mouth and nibbled on the nail for the few moments, before remembering Gohan's stern warning to break the nervous habit.
"Gosh.it sure looks scary," he whispered to himself, wincing as he heard imaginary echoes that made the hall seem all the more threatening. Biting his lip, and reminding himself that he'd get sick if he chewed on his nails, Goten tried to bolster his confidence. "Come on, Goten.Don't be a dumb-butt, it'll be fun exploring that hall! That dark.quiet.scary..Er! Think of the hidden treasures that could be forgotten about down there!"
Continuing to psyche himself up this way, Goten began walking, trying to ignore the way it was getting hard to see without light.
There was a prickle of a breeze at the back of his neck, and Goten shivered unconsciously. He felt eyes staring at him from the dark and cringed. //No such things as boogeymen, no such things as boogeymen, no such things as boogeymen.// He repeated the mantra over and over.
There was a creak of loose floorboards being stepped on ahead of him, and Goten stopped instantly, eyes huge, shaking. "N-no such th-things as b- b-boogeymen!" he squeaked, trying to get his feet to move forward.
All of a sudden a huge, white, billowing shape leapt out of the darkness, straight at him! Goten screamed, "BOOGEYMAN!" and threw up his hands to defend himself as it launched at him. Whimpering, Goten fell to the ground and curled into a fetal position, waiting for the blow. Instead, he heard.laughter?
He peeked up over his shoulder and saw the 'boogeyman' writhing on the ground, hardly able to breathe for hysterical laughter. As Goten's eyes narrowed in anger and childish embarrassment, the white sheet slipped off the figure to reveal a green gi, bobbed lavender hair, and blue eyes.
"HEY!!!" Goten scrambled to his feet, fists clenching and face going red as he faced the bully. "You're not a boogeyman!!!" At first he thought that the other boy hadn't heard him, because he went on pounding the floor and laughing his head off. "Hey-."
"'Course I'm not a boogeyman, *stupid*!" the boy chortled. "Man, you shoulda seen your *face*! I bet you peed on yourself you were so scared, didn'cha?! Didn'cha, scaredy cat!!"
"I did NOT!" Goten yelled. "That wasn't very *nice*!"
"It wasn't *supposed* to be nice, baka!" the taller boy snickered. "It's fun to scare the pants off the weaklings who come around the house!"
"I'm not a weakling!" Goten sulked, "*You're* a weakling! I'm saiyajin, and really really strong! So there!"
The other boy stopped laughing abruptly and scowled. "No you're not! *I'm* saiyajin! I'm Trunks, and my dad is the Prince of all Saiyajin! So that makes me a prince, too! Ha!"
"You're Trunks?" Goten sputtered, indignant. His playmate was supposed to be someone he could play with, not someone who would leap out and scare him and who he disliked already. "But Ani said you'd be my playmate!"
"The son of the Prince of Saiyajin is no one's 'playmate'," Trunks sniffed, turning up his little nose.
"Yea-huh!" Goten argued, for the sake of arguing. "My brother said, and he's always right!"
"Nuh-uh! My dad's always right, and he said the son of the Prince of Saiyajin is no one's playmate!"
"Yea-huh!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yea-huh!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yea-huh!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yea-huh!"
"I'll fight'cha for it," Trunks said, smirking.
"Yea-hu.Huh?" Goten stopped, then cocked his head, blinking. "Fight me for what?"
Trunks rolled his eyes. "If I win, my dad's better. If you win, your brother person is better."
"Oh, is that what we were arguing about?" Goten scratched the back of his head, confused.
"Basically," Trunks said, shrugging.
"Okay!" Goten grinned.
"All right!" Trunks cheered, a crafty gleam in his eyes. //No way some human baka is going to beat *me*! This is gonna be a cinch!// Unfortunately for Trunks, he didn't know that Goten wasn't human. Giving Goten another advantage was the fact that Goten knew that *Trunks* wasn't human. So Goten knew to be prepared for a tough fight, while Trunks didn't even power up.
"Kyaaaah!" Goten ran all out at Trunks, bordering blurring.
"What the-!" was all Trunks managed before a small elbow smashed into his face, followed quickly by a knee into the gut. Goten jumped back quickly and crouched into a fighting stance, ready for Trunks' return attack. He waited for several moments. It didn't come.
"Huh?"
"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!!" Trunks had fallen to his knees so he could press his stomach against his legs, and had both hands clamped over his nose. "Ow ow ow!!"
"Hey, how come you didn't defend against that?" Goten asked, puzzled. "Weren't you ready to start?"
"Noooo!!!" Trunks howled, still doubled over. He raised his face slightly to glare at Goten. //Dang, how come he's so strong? Stupid human! Waitaminute...His older brother?//
Wiping his nose and sniffling a little, Trunks got up and looked sideways at Goten. He met the concerned gaze of the younger boy with a calculating glance of his own.
"I'm sorry!" Goten muttered, completely repentant. "I wouldna started if I knew you weren't ready."
"I forgive you," Trunks said graciously, raising his head regally. Not for a million bucks would he admit how much the blows had hurt when he wasn't prepared.
"Say, your older brother wouldn't be named Gohan, would he?" Trunks queried as he put an arm around Goten's shoulders, both of them having completely forgotten their argument.
"Yup, he is," Goten nodded.
"Then you really are saiyajin!" Trunks exclaimed, pulling away and dancing with juvenile delight. "This is soooooo cool! We can spar all the time and get really strong and you can help me pull pranks on my dad because he wouldn't dare kill you!"
Goten nodded uncertainly, but smiled anyway. "We can have sleepovers and Gohan could take us on camping and fishing trips," he offered.
"Yeaaaah!" Trunks yelled, happily, and soon Goten was grinning too, and they both scurried off to Trunks' room, where a map of Capsule Corp. and the gravity room was hidden.
"Okay, here's what we'll do. My dad is always in the GR right now, so.."
-------oooo000oooo-------
Scritch, scritch, scritch. Gohan paused, the pen stilling. He glanced up and saw Bulma eagerly following every movement of his pen, clearing waiting to pounce the moment he finished the application. //She's like cat,// he thought, unnerved. //She just sits there, waiting, until the right time to strike.// He sighed and shook his head lightly, writing another letter of his signature. He was going as slow as saiyajinly possible.
The moments ticked by, the only sounds being the slow scratching of the pen and the impatient tapping of Bulma's foot. She was itching to grab Gohan's shirt and shake him, shout, "How long does it take to sign your friggin' name?!", but then he would probably rip the application to shreds and forget the whole idea.
"Are you hungry, Gohan?" she said sweetly instead. Gohan didn't glance up, just kept writing, painfully slowly. He paused for a very long moment between letters. Bulma was convinced he was going as slowly as he could on purpose.
"That's okay, Bulma, I got food on the way here."
They lapsed into irritated silence again.
After a few seconds, Gohan pulled his head up reluctantly, and capped the pen. Bulma glanced up quickly.
"Well," Gohan said hesitantly. "I'm.done."
"That's great!" Bulma cheered, snatching the application and skimming it in a few seconds. "That's great, just peachy. Nice signature, Gohan." Suddenly business-like, she straightened the papers and looked at him officiously.
"School starts at eight o'clock. Don't be late for your first day, it creates a bad impression. There's no uniform, but dress decently, mind. You should get in about fifteen minutes early and head to the office to get your schedule. They'll probably assign someone to show you around until you get to know the place. The principal's name is Mr. Medon, and I'll be giving you some capsules so you can carry a decent saiyajin sized lunch. Any questions?" She raked him with a laser like look.
Gohan felt the ridiculous urge to pretend he hadn't heard a word she said, just so she'd get irritated at having to say it again. He resisted, however, and instead saluted sharply, clicking his heels together.
"Yes, sir, Mrs. Briefs, ma'am," he barked.
Bulma gave an exasperated sigh, but smiled, belying her amusement. "Oh, wait a minute, I forgot something." She dug through her pockets for a while, muttering. "Ah, here it is!"
She handed him a patch with the Orange Star symbol on it. "All the students have to wear these," she explained. "I.think that's everything."
"Calm down, Bulma," Gohan said. "Everything's going to go fine."
"I just don't want anything to go wrong, Gohan," she said, fingering her bracelet in a nervous habit. "I want you to have a chance for the normal life that you were cheated out of."
Gohan softened at her words stepped forward to give his old friend a short hug. "Despite my regrets, Bulma," he said quietly, "I wouldn't ever trade the life I have for a 'normal' one. I don't know if I even *could* have had a normal life, being saiyajin and all." He looked down to smile crookedly at her. "No matter what my mother might have wanted, fighting *is* in my blood, and that surely would have done something to alienate me."
A faraway look entered his eyes. "There have been too many good things in this life to even think about letting it go. I'm not saying that the good things outweigh the bad, but I'll never know if a normal life would have been even worse. Under the circumstances, I think what I had is pretty okay. Until, that is, my parents died, of course." He didn't even bother to hide the pain in his voice, and Bulma put a hand on his arm in sympathy.
"I know how you feel, Gohan," she said, nodding. "I always wonder what my life would have been like if I'd never met Goku, never gotten involved with the Dragonball hunts. There would have been so many fewer risks, but yet.I think that if I could do it over, I'd do everything the exact same way."
"Even getting together with Vejiita?" Gohan grinned, banishing the serious mood.
"Yes, even that," Bulma laughed. ".I think."
They laughed again, and Gohan was surprised to feel a warmth stealing into him that he hadn't felt this strongly in a long time. It felt familiar, and he knew he felt it when around Goten, but this sense of close camaraderie, of old friendship; he couldn't name it after being separated from it for so long.
He didn't know if he was ready to be completely submerged in his old life yet, but he knew that this time with Bulma was helping him deal the it, one step at a time. He *knew* that everything would never be exactly the same ever again, but he was really to try and patch things up as best he could.
Gohan and Bulma stood there for a moment, just smiling at each other. And then.
A huge explosion sounded from somewhere outside of the building, and Gohan whirled immediately, his eyes narrowing as he tried to detect the energy of an enemy force.
"There's nothing hostile out there," he reported to a wide-eyed Bulma. "I'm guessing Vejiita blew up the gravity room or something, 'cause."
He stopped as he was interrupted by a bellow of anger. Bulma heard the shout, but she didn't feel the angry spike of chi that accompanied it. //Why would Vejiita be angry if he himself blew up the gravity room?// Gohan asked himself, and was answered in the next second.
Trunks and Goten came hurtling into the room, panicked looks on their faces.
"Move it, move it!!"
"Oh, gosh, he's gaining!"
"You're gonna trip me!!"
"Gohaaaan!" Goten dashed behind his older brother, and Trunks followed just before the bombshell dropped.
"Wha-" Gohan didn't finish as Vejiita burst into the room.
The ebony-eyed prince was covered in ash and scorch marks, but was relatively unharmed, as was to be expected. His black hair, however, was hidden under a layer of dust so thick that his hair had been turned grey.
He stood with his fists clenched, glowering at Goten and Trunks, who were cowering and whimpering behind Gohan.
"Boy!" he growled. "Hand them over!"
"What, no //Gohan! It's been too long!//? No //Nice to see you, let's have a spar sometime!//?" Gohan smirked, a wheedling tone in his voice. "Veggie, I'm so disappointed. I've been looking forward to seeing you for *so long*."
"Cut the crap, boy," Vejiita snarled. "And if you want to keep your head, don't *ever* call me 'Veggie'!"
"Yeah!" Bulma put in abruptly. "Only *I'm* allowed to call him that! It's *my* petname for him!"
"Onna!" Vejiita snapped, but there was the faintest, almost invisible trace of red in his cheeks. "Nevermind! My brat and the second spawn of Kakarotto did something to the gravity room, and it blew up while I was meditating!" he said, jabbing his finger in Gohan's face. "So their lives are mine by forfeit, to exact any punishment I wish!"
"We didn't do it!" Trunks said at the same moment Goten piped up with, "It was only a joke, Ani!" Trunks socked Goten in the arm for blowing their cover, and Goten glared at him. "Hey! What was that for?"
"For being stupid!"
"I'm *not* stupid!"
"You just told them that we *did* hot-wire the GR so that it'd blow up!"
"It was a...a slip of the tongue! Yeah! That's all!"
Gohan clamped a hand on Goten's shoulder and the boy jumped. "Well, you've both as much as admitted that you blew up the gravity room." He knelt down so that he was eye level with the two boys.
"I don't believe we've been introduced," he said solicitously, nodding at Trunks. "My name is Son Gohan." He extended his hand solemnly. If he'd learned one thing in raising Goten, it was that youngsters didn't like being treated condescendingly. They delighted in feeling equal with grownups, so that was what Gohan made them feel, to get on their good side.
"I'm Trunks Briefs-Vejiita and my dad is the strongest guy in the universe," Trunks said with a completely straight face. "He could kick your butt. My ancestry dates back to thousands of kings of Vejiita-sei, and my mom's a genius," he finished, ignoring Goten's gaping and Vejiita's chortling and Bulma's indignation at having being mentioned as a small sidenote.
"That's very impressive, Trunks. Can I call you Trunks?" When he received an affirmative nod, he continued. "You must be pretty smart if you could figure out how to make the GR explode just by hot-wiring it."
Trunks puffed up in pride, not noticing that a trap had been set. "Yep! I figured it out easy, 'cause I knew Goten wouldn't be able to when I came up with the plan. It's all a matter of colors, 'cause Mom does everything by color. Y'know, switch the red with the green, and stuff."
Then he realized what he'd just said. His eyes went wide, and his hands clapped over his mouth. "Um, um!"
"Trunks!" Bulma blew up. "I put a lot of time and effort into building and repairing that room when your father manages to destroy it, and now I find that *you* are conspiring against me as well?! I don't think so, mister! Get up to your room, NOW!"
With a muttered, "yes'm," Trunks ran out of the room as fast as he could, glad that he was able to escape the punishment of his father for the time being.
"You let him off too easy, onna," Vejiita said, disapproving. "You should've let me take him outside and knock some sense into him. That's the proper way."
"Not here on Earth it isn't!" Bulma said, glaring at him. "Besides, there are other, more *effective* ways of disciplining a half-saiyajin. Like.No food all tomorrow! Bwahahahaha!" she cackled. "See, I'm a genius."
"If you're a genius, then so'm I, Bulma," Gohan said dryly. "'Cause I've thought of that punishment before, too. It works very well."
Goten's eyes widened as he contemplated his own fate at Gohan's hands. He looked at his brother slowly, little by little feeding the Son Puppy Dog Eyes into his gaze. //Please let me have dinner, please let me have dinner,// he repeated, letting the words leak into his eyes.
Gohan felt his resolve fading quickly as he sought to tear his eyes away from the Puppy Dog Eyes, but it wasn't working. //You shouldn't let your kid brother manipulate you like this, Gohan!// he told himself sternly. //One look in those big eyes and you're toast! He looks just like Dad begging Mom for scraps of food before dinner.// Gohan shoved that thought away violently.
"Oh, all right, squirt," Gohan sighed. "You can have dinner."
Goten jumped up. "Yippee!"
"What?!" Vejiita thundered. "How dare you let him get away without recompense for my trouble! Boy, you're going too far!"
Gohan shot a sour look at the ill-tempered prince. "I didn't say that I wasn't going to punish him." Goten stopped cheering suddenly as Gohan turned to him, a strange smile on his face. "I hope you're looking forward to a few extra-looong and haaaaard training sessions! And in your spare time- guess what? Studying, and nothing else!" //Just like when I was a kid,// he thought, reminiscing.
Goten fell to his knees and cried dramatically, "Noooooooo!"
-------oooo000oooo-------
They left Capsule Corp. not long after, Goten still sulking about his punishment. He lost his temper when he saw Trunks making a face at him from his bedroom window and hurled a chi blast at him, but Gohan managed to intercept it before the youngster did any damage to the building.
There were a lot of things to do before Monday, and only a few days, since it was Friday and the day was almost over. The first thing that Gohan wanted to do was fly over to Master Roshi's island and visit with Kuririn. He hadn't seen him in too long. The next thing.
Was Piccolo. He had been around every once in a while in the year after Chichi's death, but when Gohan hadn't opened up, when he continued to try and shut everything except Goten out, he stopped coming. Well, at least he stopped coming to see him directly.
Piccolo would never really abandon Gohan, so he hadn't been surprised when he still felt the namekjin's presence around occasionally. He never came out and spoke to Gohan and Goten directly, but he knew that Gohan wouldn't be able to miss his chi close by. It had been a comfort, really, and Gohan suspected that Piccolo had meant it to be that way.
His mentor deserved better, Gohan knew. That was why he was planning to head for Kami's lookout as soon as he could after Kuririn's place. Maybe he could bring Goten, too, and introduce him to everybody.
"Where are we going, Ani?" Goten asked curiously, flying along next to Gohan on the Kinto'un. The teen had modified his pace for the yellow cloud, and they had been zooming over the water for about twenty minutes. Goten had only been to the island once, and that was when he was four, so he was bound to have some memories of the people, but couldn't be expected to know the way there.
"We're going to Master Roshi and Uncle Kuririn's house, Goten," Gohan replied after a moment. "Do you remember who they are, gaki-chan?"
Goten bit his lip and scrunched his face in concentration. "Old bald man with a white beard who cackles?" he said finally, looking to Gohan for confirmation, who nodded.
"That's Master Roshi," he said. "Do you remember what Uncle Kuririn looks like?"
"Short, bald, dots on head," Goten answered, looking confident. Gohan managed to stifle his chuckle.
"Yeah, that's him all right. I wonder if he still fights?" Gohan mused.
"Who was the pretty lady with yellow hair?" Goten questioned eagerly.
"That's your Auntie Juuhachi," Gohan responded, frowning slightly. He knew that the beautiful android had repented completely, and even settled down with Kuririn and had a daughter- it wasn't that he was worried about that. It was just the memories she inspired were quite painful. "Last time we were there, though, she wanted you to call her Auntie Juu, so call her that."
"Okay!" Goten chirped happily. "Auntie Juu! I like that."
//Their daughter was one the last time we were there.so she must be three now. Okay.// "Their little girl is named Marron, Goten. She's three years old. Be nice to her, and no tricks!"
"Yes, Ani," Goten said dutifully, then squealed as the island came into view. "There it is, Gohan! Lookie!!!"
"I see it, Goten," Gohan sighed, then dove into an almost vertical drop which Goten instantly followed, laughing. When they landed, Goten hopped off the Kinto'un and waved it off, so it went spiraling into the distance.
There was a little blonde, pig-tailed girl, hair tied with red ribbons, bouncing a ball near the water. She had on a red dress and no shoes. She looked up when she saw them, and smiled shyly. "Hi!" she said, running over to them, bringing the ball.
"Hello, Marron!" Gohan smiled. "Do you remember me?"
"Um." Marron scuffed the sand with her foot. "No."
"That's okay," Gohan soothed her. "You were really little when we saw you last time. My name's Gohan."
"I'm Marron," she said, even though Gohan already knew that. //Cute kid,// he thought. //She'd have to be, being Juuhachi's.//
"I'm Goten, Marron!" the boy exclaimed running up. "Can we play with your ball?"
"Sure!" Marron said, starting to grin.
"All right, I'm going to go and say hi to your parents, Marron. Play nice." Gohan winced as he spoke the words. Kami, he sounded like Bulma's mother! He remembered every time he'd gone over, she'd said, "Play nice." He'd hated it, and now here he was, saying it to his little brother and Marron!
//Here we go,// Gohan took a deep breath as he stood in front of the closed door of the Kame House. //Please let Kuririn answer the door, please let Kuririn answer the door.// He rubbed his hands together, mentally prepping himself to speak to them. Gohan waited for a few moments, then reached up and knocked loudly.
-------oooo000oooo-------
"I can kick it really high!" Marron boasted proudly, opening up to the friendly demi-saiyajin. "Watch!" She gave the ball a hard kick straight up, and it went higher than the house roof. When it came down, she caught it again. "See! Can you beat that?"
"Sure I can!" Goten grinned. He took the ball from Marron and kicked it as hard as he could, as high as he could. It was out of sight within seconds. Marron's mouth dropped open as she craned upward, trying to get a glimpse of the ball. "Man, I kicked it pretty high!" Goten marveled, shading his eyes with his hand.
Marron turned to him, red in the face, and stomped on his foot.
"OW!" Goten yelped, hopping around on one foot. "What'd you do that for?!"
"You lost my ball!" Marron yelled, all semblance of being shy flying out the window.
"I did not! It's gonna come back! Just look up there!" Marron followed his pointing finger, and, sure enough, the ball was coming straight back down. At the same time as Gohan knocked on the door, the rubber ball smashed through the roof.
There was a scream from in the house, while Gohan stood, sweatdropping, his hand poised to make another knock. Slowly, he turned around and saw Goten and Marron standing paralyzed, staring at the house.
"GOOOOOTEEEEEEN!!!!!" Gohan steamed. The chibi saw him coming, gave a frightened squeak, and tried to hide behind a palm tree.
"I can see you there, gaki!" There was no affectionate suffix attached to the term. "Haven't you already gotten into enough trouble today?!"
"I didn't mean to, Ani!" Goten wailed, trying to focus on making himself skinnier so he would fit behind the tree. "I just kicked it! That's all, I promise!"
"Why I oughtta-!" Gohan shook his fist angrily, but was interrupted.
"Who the hell are you?!" came and angry, completely unfamiliar voice.
Gohan whipped around, and saw a girl standing on the porch, a deflated rubber ball in her hand. Her face was set in a frown, and her amber eyes darted from him to Goten rapidly.
The girl looked to be around seventeen years old, and she had one hand on her hip, staring at Gohan accusingly. She had straight brown hair that was twisted into an extremely messy bun, resulting in a lot of strands hanging down from the knot to her shoulders. She was also extremely pretty, but Gohan wasn't thinking about that at the moment, as he was more concerned with what she was *wearing*.
It was a feminine training gi, not unlike the ones that his father, Goten, and he himself usually wore. The difference between the styles was that the girls' outer shirt and pants were white, and the undershirt was black. What had caught Gohan's eye, however, was the symbol over her heart. It was unmistakably Master Roshi's symbol.
//What the hell?// he thought, confused. //The only people allowed to wear that are people who've trained under Master Roshi!// He started to get angry. //Master Roshi doesn't train anyone anymore! I didn't come here to see some stranger!//
"Marron, come here!" the girl snapped busily at the girl, who ran to her obediently. It was another shock for Gohan.
//Marron apparently trusts her,// he thought, as though severely doubting the intelligence of that decision. //Who is she, then? The babysitter? Then why's she wearing a gi?//
"Who am *I*?" he said finally. "Who the hell are *you*?" Gohan grabbed Goten and dragged him behind himself, putting the young one out of reach of potential danger.
"Urk!" said Goten.
"Where's Kuririn?" Gohan demanded. "What have you done with everyone?"
"*Done* with them?" the girl said incredulously. "I haven't done *anything* with them! They're on a shopping trip at the mainland! Who are you, anyway?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, and she clutched Marron protectively.
"I'm Son Gohan, and I have more of a right to be here than almost anyone else," he said cautiously, while feeling out her power level. //Hnn, let's see.Whoa! What the-! How did she get to be so strong?!// What he was sensing couldn't possibly be right. Her chi energy was at the level of Vejiita when he first came to Earth. Of course, that wasn't even close to the level that even Kuririn was at, but it was pretty damn impressive for a human he'd never heard of before.
"Oh!" the amber eyed girl exclaimed, a blush sweeping over her face instantly. She simultaneously let go of Marron and widened her eyes to a point where they made up half of her face. "Son Gohan!" she sounded wretchedly embarrassed. "I'm soooooo sorry! I didn't know who you were!"
"Huh?" Gohan wrinkled his nose in confusion. "How *do* you know who I am?"
"You don't remember me?" the girl asked, stepping down from the porch and smiling at him widely. She didn't sound hurt about it. "That's okay. We've only met once, and that was a long time ago. I didn't forget about it, though."
Gohan continued to have no clue, and he supposed it must have showed up on his face, for the girl winked slyly.
"I'll give you a clue." she offered, smirking. The next moment Gohan and Goten were clutching their ears from the loud scream emitting from her. When the shriek ended, the girl yelled, "Ewwww! You *pervert*!!! PUT ME DOWN!"
She stopped and cocked her head, grinning at Gohan, who had let go of his ears and was looking at her with dawning recognition. "Remember me now?" the girl asked smugly, nodding with satisfaction.
"You! You're that girl I saved from the river!" Gohan said, amazed. "And the village, and the shelter, and, and.LIME! Yeah, I remember you!"
"You know the crazy lady, Gohan?" Goten whispered, a frightened look on his face as he glanced at the girl who was revealed to be Lime.
Gohan patted his brother's head and didn't answer. "How come you're at the Kame House, Lime?" he asked curiously. In ten minutes he would be berating himself for having asked the question, for the answer was overly long.
"Come on inside, and I'll tell you everything," Lime said, opening the screen door and gesturing with her arm.
//Wow! I don't believe it! After all these years I'm finally meeting him again! This is so exciting! He looks different without his blonde hair, but oh, well.OhmyGod! I'm meeting the strongest person in the universe! For the second time!// Lime's thoughts were all a blur.
Gohan followed her inside reluctantly- he still wasn't sure if he trusted her. After all, they had met so long ago.Goten and Marron were left outside to play some more, after a stern word from Gohan that they weren't to damage *anything*.
"Okay," Lime started when they were both comfortably settled on the couch. "Do you want me to start at the beginning, or just the reason why I'm here, at the Kame House?" None of her amazed mental comments reached her visage, as she was outwardly composed, admirably so, when one considered that she was meeting the person that she had looked up to for so long.
"The beginning," Gohan said shortly.
"All right." Lime tapped her face for a few moments, obviously gathering her thoughts. "Well, after you saved me at the river and stopped that gang from conning everyone into that shelter from Cell, I watched you battle Cell and everything. Of course, it was completely *obvious* that that Mr. Satan *idiot* wasn't the one who beat Cell." She scratched her chin. "I've wondered since then why no one else has picked up on that, but anyway.
"I knew what really happened in that fight, but my grandpa told me not to tell anyone. From then on, I had only one goal in life," Lime continued. "I wanted to become strong enough to join the Z senshi and help protect the Earth whenever a threat rises."
Gohan's eyes darkened. //Stupid girl,// he thought bitterly. //Why would anyone want to condemn themselves to this kind of life?//
"You *do* know that our kind of battles never amount to any glory, don't you?" he said, narrowing his eyes. "People you care about get hurt right before your eyes, you perceive your own weaknesses; your eyes are opened in ways that you wouldn't want them to. And no one else in the world gives a shit as long as they can go about on their happy little lives, completely oblivious to any real danger."
Lime didn't seem surprised at all that the innocent boy she had met seven years ago was gone.
"Yes, I realize that," she said calmly, staring him straight in the eye. "But why I want to do this isn't about glory. First and above all, I love this planet, and its people, no matter what their faults. I want to help protect them, even if I don't get any credit, just so that they *can* get on with their lives and be happy. They *have* to be oblivious about it to be happy, otherwise they'd be wary and on their guard all the time. I don't want anyone to feel like they need to worry.
"The other reason is maybe even more important to me than the first," Lime admitted, leaning forward and steepling her hands together, resting her chin on them. "I want to improve myself, know my own worth. I want to be the best that I can possibly be. I want to be without regrets, and never have to look back on missed opportunities.
"My grandpa showed me how to fight when I was small, and I'd already been interested when you and your father came along." Gohan flinched when she said, 'your father'. "But when I met you, I knew that I could take it *so much further*. I wasn't limited to the perceptions of our society anymore, I was freed. And I want to keep that freedom," she concluded, sliding a glance at him to see if he had absorbed everything she'd said.
Her little speech had reluctantly bought an amount of grudging respect from Gohan- she obviously understood the consequences of her actions, and really believed in everything she said. Of course, Gohan wasn't about to tell her that. It just wasn't his way anymore.
//How much does she know about my past? Kuririn's? The entire Z senshi?// Gohan wondered. Did Kuririn trust her enough to tell her everything that they'd gone through? Including the fact that Gohan himself was half alien?
"All right," was all he said, nodding. His face showed traces of approval, but that was all. Lime couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed, but she reminded herself of what Kuririn had said. //He's completely withdrawn into himself ever since his parents died, keep that in mind, girl!// Lime thought, determined to break through the demi-saiyajin's barriers and become his friend. //You can't expect him to open up in just one conversation!//
Sighing, Lime went back to describing how she ended up at Kame House.
"I trained under my grandpa until he couldn't teach me anything more," she explained. "I surpassed him about three years ago, but I was too unsure of myself to try and seek out a stronger instructor until he died, leaving me with no ties to my home. Anyway, before he died, he told me to follow my dream.
"I entered a few tournaments and things while I searched for someone who could teach me to be like you- someone who could teach me to go beyond the limits of normal human strength and develop the powers that only a few have. Y'know, flying, chi blasts, etc." Lime grinned at Gohan, who managed a wince in return.
Gohan shifted in his seat, suddenly restless. He was *extremely* uncomfortable with the idea that he had managed to become a role model for this girl he barely knew. //She wanted someone to teach her to be like me?// he thought, slightly panicked. //That's not good.No one should want to be like me. I'm a monster. I killed my own parents.//
He wasn't allowed to continue this train of thought as Lime cut into it with the rest of her story. Gohan hoped that it would be over soon.
"I came to this island a little less than two years ago because it was reportedly the home of the legendary Turtle Hermit, Master Roshi. I wanted to train under him at the time." Lime grimaced. "Of course, that ended when I found out that he was perverted old man who was the least powerful of the Z senshi. I was fifteen at the time."
Gohan frowned, thinking of something. "Wouldn't have Kuririn, Juuhachi, and Marron been here at that time?" //Kami, I mean, Dende knows that Kuririn would be a better teacher.//
"Yeah, which was where I found my solution," Lime said, nodding. "When I told Kuririn-sensei how I met you, and he'd tested me to find out how strong I was, he agreed to train me. At first he used the same techniques the Turtle Hermit did, with the weighted turtle shells and everything, but I've been getting better." Her eyes sparkled with pride. "Even Juuhachi trains me sometimes, when she feels like it."
"You got her to speak with you, let along interact with you," Gohan said, so serious-faced that Lime couldn't tell if he were joking or not. "Impressive."
She bet on joking.
"I know, aren't you just so proud of me?" Lime beamed semi-sarcastically.
Gohan ignored her last comment to question her about her knowledge of his past. As it turned out, Kuririn *did* trust her enough to tell her about all of their adventures. ALL of them. The teen could tell from the glint in Lime's eyes that Kuririn had entertained her with embellished stories all the time. //Can't wait 'til she brings *that* up,// he thought.
Gohan sighed heavily and ran a hand through his unruly raven locks. //Well, you learn something knew every day, I suppose,// he thought. Then he sat up as a thought occurred to him.
"Hey, how come you're not in school? You can't be old enough to have graduated high school already, are you?" Gohan questioned, slightly accusing. After all, if he had to endure the hell of high school living, then he was going to find out why someone else didn't have to.
"Erm," Lime managed as she smiled nervously. "No, I'm only seventeen. I'm.supposed to be in school, yeah. But, after all, it doesn't require much of an education to become a savior of the world, does it? Hehehe?"
Gohan's frowning face clearly stated, 'hell yeah it does,' and Lime stopped laughing.
"Bulma trapped me into agreeing to go to high school only earlier today," Gohan glowered. "I start on Monday. She say it'll be good for my social skills." //At least, that was the gist of it.//
Lime's mouth dropped open. "You?" she squeaked. "Going to high school? After going to the far end of the galaxy and saving the universe who knows how many times? Wouldn't that be kind of." she trailed off.
"Awkward?" he finished for her, surprised at how closely her words were to his own, when directed at Bulma.
"Well, yeah," the girl said, shrugging.
"That's exactly what I said," Gohan told her. "I don't exactly recall how she got me to agree to it," //Clever, clever Bulma.// "But the cinch is that I'm starting at Orange Star High on Monday." //Why are you talking to this girl, Gohan? Why are you opening up? Stop it, fool! You'll end up getting her killed! Anyone close to you dies, remember?!//
Then the other half of his mind spoke up. ~~ Are you going to keep hiding for the rest of your life? Locking everyone out except for Goten? For that matter, he's the closest one to you, isn't he? Doesn't that make him directly in the line of fire? ~~
//Shut up!// he raged. //Goten's strong enough to take care of himself, and besides, I'll *always* be there for him! The only reason I'm getting a little relaxed with this girl is that she knows my past, and Kuririn trusts her! You can't expect me to act this way with everyone!//
The other voice was silent, and Gohan felt compelled to add a little something else defensively.
//Besides, I really do need a friend my own age.// When had he started considering Lime a friend? Gohan became aware that he was scowling furiously. As Lime didn't know about his little mental conversation with himself, she took this to mean that he was extremely averse to going to high school, and was being sympathetic.
"That's kinda pointless, isn't it?" she asked. "I mean, you're already really smart and, I dunno, didn't you study a lot when you were younger?"
"Mmm-hm," Gohan said, leaving it at that.
"Yeah, well, life sucks. And then you die. Or so I've heard."
A mirthless grin spread across Gohan's face as he thought about how accurate that saying was. He hadn't heard it in a long time.
"Actually, it's more like 'life sucks, then you die, only to get wished back for more strife and suffering, after which you die again." Gohan shrugged. "Or so I've heard. I've never experienced dying myself, personally."
Lime's eyes had widened at how casually he spoke of death, but then, she figured he knew more about it than *almost* anyone on this planet. Almost, seeing as how other people *had* actually died and been wished back.
"AAAAIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!!" Gohan and Lime both started violently at the sound, leaping up in their seats. //An attack?!// Gohan thought wildly.
Goten launched into the room, eyes frantically seeking and finding his brother, who he quickly hid behind. "Help me, Gohan!" he pleaded, huge, frightened eyes fixed on the older boy. "Sh-she's trying to-!!!"
The door crashed open again, and Goten yelped, hiding his face in Gohan's leg and thinking, //If I can't see her, she can't see me! If I can't see her, she can't see me!//
Both teens looked curiously at the source of Goten's terror, who had come running into the living room and was now standing at the center. Marron was staring at the top of Goten's head, (which was all of him that was visible,) with a strange grin on her face.
The next moment, she took a step forward and said in a high-pitched voice, "C'mere, Goten! Here, Goten, Goten, Goten! Wanna have a little kissey- kissey?!"
Goten gave a scream so loud that Gohan clutched his head in pain. Such a loud noise, at such close range, with saiyajin hearing! Argh!
The small boy had meanwhile jumped up and ran out of the house, screaming bloody murder and waving his hands hysterically. "COOTIES!!!!" he shrieked.
Marron followed him, giggling insanely. "I'll give ya a makeover, too, if you're good! Come back here! Doncha wanna be Marron's little dollie?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!"
Lime and Gohan looked at each other, simultaneously sweatdropping.
"I swear, there's something wrong with that girl," Lime muttered, biting her lip in an attempt to stop the laughter that threatened.
"I didn't know little girls could be so.menacing," Gohan mumbled, a strange look overtaking his face as his lips twitched uncontrollably. //Don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh, oh Dende, don't laugh!!//
They both stared out the door, then slowly looked at each other again. They both cracked.
"Bwahahahahahaha!!!!" Lime fell to the ground and pounded on the floor, her stomach hurting from merriment. "Hehehehehe!!!"
"Hahahahahahahaha-choke-ehem-whoo!Haaaaahahahahaha!!" Gohan had doubled over, clutching his stomach, and had tears in his eyes.
As the sounds of laughter echoed in the room, occasionally overlapped by a young boy's screams and an even younger girl's crazy giggling, Fate smiled on her favorite child, glad that he had finally found a friend.
-------oooo000ooo-------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RaliNeoBlade: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapters. I hope you liked this chapter. I'm sorry I took so long getting it out. IMPORTANT!!! Lime will NOT! I repeat, will NOT! end up as Gohan's girlfriend. They are going to be really close friends. That's it. Anyway, thanks for reading! Review!
AU plotline: What if Chichi had died having Goten, and Gohan blamed himself for everything?
Translations: baka = idiot/stupid. onna = woman. sensei = teacher
Note: The school system will *not* be Japanese, meaning they will move to different classrooms, not have the teachers come to them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE SHADOWS OF MY HEART
Chapter Two- A Friend
Lab. Spare bedroom. Spare bedroom. Closet. Bathroom. Spare bedroom. Storage room. Lab.
Goten had been happily exploring the large building known as Capsule Corporation for ten minutes, but now it was just getting boring. He knew that it would be much more fun to actively seek the playmate he had been promised, but every time he said to himself that he was going to, the next door down would say, "Goten! Goten! I have some exciting secret held inside! Open the door, Goten!" and he wouldn't be able to resist. Not that there had been any exciting secrets so far.
He was just beginning to become really dispirited when he approached a corridor that seemed very deserted. Like it hadn't been used in years. There were no lights on further down, so the hallway appeared to descend into darkness from the point where Goten was standing. He automatically inserted a finger in his mouth and nibbled on the nail for the few moments, before remembering Gohan's stern warning to break the nervous habit.
"Gosh.it sure looks scary," he whispered to himself, wincing as he heard imaginary echoes that made the hall seem all the more threatening. Biting his lip, and reminding himself that he'd get sick if he chewed on his nails, Goten tried to bolster his confidence. "Come on, Goten.Don't be a dumb-butt, it'll be fun exploring that hall! That dark.quiet.scary..Er! Think of the hidden treasures that could be forgotten about down there!"
Continuing to psyche himself up this way, Goten began walking, trying to ignore the way it was getting hard to see without light.
There was a prickle of a breeze at the back of his neck, and Goten shivered unconsciously. He felt eyes staring at him from the dark and cringed. //No such things as boogeymen, no such things as boogeymen, no such things as boogeymen.// He repeated the mantra over and over.
There was a creak of loose floorboards being stepped on ahead of him, and Goten stopped instantly, eyes huge, shaking. "N-no such th-things as b- b-boogeymen!" he squeaked, trying to get his feet to move forward.
All of a sudden a huge, white, billowing shape leapt out of the darkness, straight at him! Goten screamed, "BOOGEYMAN!" and threw up his hands to defend himself as it launched at him. Whimpering, Goten fell to the ground and curled into a fetal position, waiting for the blow. Instead, he heard.laughter?
He peeked up over his shoulder and saw the 'boogeyman' writhing on the ground, hardly able to breathe for hysterical laughter. As Goten's eyes narrowed in anger and childish embarrassment, the white sheet slipped off the figure to reveal a green gi, bobbed lavender hair, and blue eyes.
"HEY!!!" Goten scrambled to his feet, fists clenching and face going red as he faced the bully. "You're not a boogeyman!!!" At first he thought that the other boy hadn't heard him, because he went on pounding the floor and laughing his head off. "Hey-."
"'Course I'm not a boogeyman, *stupid*!" the boy chortled. "Man, you shoulda seen your *face*! I bet you peed on yourself you were so scared, didn'cha?! Didn'cha, scaredy cat!!"
"I did NOT!" Goten yelled. "That wasn't very *nice*!"
"It wasn't *supposed* to be nice, baka!" the taller boy snickered. "It's fun to scare the pants off the weaklings who come around the house!"
"I'm not a weakling!" Goten sulked, "*You're* a weakling! I'm saiyajin, and really really strong! So there!"
The other boy stopped laughing abruptly and scowled. "No you're not! *I'm* saiyajin! I'm Trunks, and my dad is the Prince of all Saiyajin! So that makes me a prince, too! Ha!"
"You're Trunks?" Goten sputtered, indignant. His playmate was supposed to be someone he could play with, not someone who would leap out and scare him and who he disliked already. "But Ani said you'd be my playmate!"
"The son of the Prince of Saiyajin is no one's 'playmate'," Trunks sniffed, turning up his little nose.
"Yea-huh!" Goten argued, for the sake of arguing. "My brother said, and he's always right!"
"Nuh-uh! My dad's always right, and he said the son of the Prince of Saiyajin is no one's playmate!"
"Yea-huh!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yea-huh!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yea-huh!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yea-huh!"
"I'll fight'cha for it," Trunks said, smirking.
"Yea-hu.Huh?" Goten stopped, then cocked his head, blinking. "Fight me for what?"
Trunks rolled his eyes. "If I win, my dad's better. If you win, your brother person is better."
"Oh, is that what we were arguing about?" Goten scratched the back of his head, confused.
"Basically," Trunks said, shrugging.
"Okay!" Goten grinned.
"All right!" Trunks cheered, a crafty gleam in his eyes. //No way some human baka is going to beat *me*! This is gonna be a cinch!// Unfortunately for Trunks, he didn't know that Goten wasn't human. Giving Goten another advantage was the fact that Goten knew that *Trunks* wasn't human. So Goten knew to be prepared for a tough fight, while Trunks didn't even power up.
"Kyaaaah!" Goten ran all out at Trunks, bordering blurring.
"What the-!" was all Trunks managed before a small elbow smashed into his face, followed quickly by a knee into the gut. Goten jumped back quickly and crouched into a fighting stance, ready for Trunks' return attack. He waited for several moments. It didn't come.
"Huh?"
"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!!" Trunks had fallen to his knees so he could press his stomach against his legs, and had both hands clamped over his nose. "Ow ow ow!!"
"Hey, how come you didn't defend against that?" Goten asked, puzzled. "Weren't you ready to start?"
"Noooo!!!" Trunks howled, still doubled over. He raised his face slightly to glare at Goten. //Dang, how come he's so strong? Stupid human! Waitaminute...His older brother?//
Wiping his nose and sniffling a little, Trunks got up and looked sideways at Goten. He met the concerned gaze of the younger boy with a calculating glance of his own.
"I'm sorry!" Goten muttered, completely repentant. "I wouldna started if I knew you weren't ready."
"I forgive you," Trunks said graciously, raising his head regally. Not for a million bucks would he admit how much the blows had hurt when he wasn't prepared.
"Say, your older brother wouldn't be named Gohan, would he?" Trunks queried as he put an arm around Goten's shoulders, both of them having completely forgotten their argument.
"Yup, he is," Goten nodded.
"Then you really are saiyajin!" Trunks exclaimed, pulling away and dancing with juvenile delight. "This is soooooo cool! We can spar all the time and get really strong and you can help me pull pranks on my dad because he wouldn't dare kill you!"
Goten nodded uncertainly, but smiled anyway. "We can have sleepovers and Gohan could take us on camping and fishing trips," he offered.
"Yeaaaah!" Trunks yelled, happily, and soon Goten was grinning too, and they both scurried off to Trunks' room, where a map of Capsule Corp. and the gravity room was hidden.
"Okay, here's what we'll do. My dad is always in the GR right now, so.."
-------oooo000oooo-------
Scritch, scritch, scritch. Gohan paused, the pen stilling. He glanced up and saw Bulma eagerly following every movement of his pen, clearing waiting to pounce the moment he finished the application. //She's like cat,// he thought, unnerved. //She just sits there, waiting, until the right time to strike.// He sighed and shook his head lightly, writing another letter of his signature. He was going as slow as saiyajinly possible.
The moments ticked by, the only sounds being the slow scratching of the pen and the impatient tapping of Bulma's foot. She was itching to grab Gohan's shirt and shake him, shout, "How long does it take to sign your friggin' name?!", but then he would probably rip the application to shreds and forget the whole idea.
"Are you hungry, Gohan?" she said sweetly instead. Gohan didn't glance up, just kept writing, painfully slowly. He paused for a very long moment between letters. Bulma was convinced he was going as slowly as he could on purpose.
"That's okay, Bulma, I got food on the way here."
They lapsed into irritated silence again.
After a few seconds, Gohan pulled his head up reluctantly, and capped the pen. Bulma glanced up quickly.
"Well," Gohan said hesitantly. "I'm.done."
"That's great!" Bulma cheered, snatching the application and skimming it in a few seconds. "That's great, just peachy. Nice signature, Gohan." Suddenly business-like, she straightened the papers and looked at him officiously.
"School starts at eight o'clock. Don't be late for your first day, it creates a bad impression. There's no uniform, but dress decently, mind. You should get in about fifteen minutes early and head to the office to get your schedule. They'll probably assign someone to show you around until you get to know the place. The principal's name is Mr. Medon, and I'll be giving you some capsules so you can carry a decent saiyajin sized lunch. Any questions?" She raked him with a laser like look.
Gohan felt the ridiculous urge to pretend he hadn't heard a word she said, just so she'd get irritated at having to say it again. He resisted, however, and instead saluted sharply, clicking his heels together.
"Yes, sir, Mrs. Briefs, ma'am," he barked.
Bulma gave an exasperated sigh, but smiled, belying her amusement. "Oh, wait a minute, I forgot something." She dug through her pockets for a while, muttering. "Ah, here it is!"
She handed him a patch with the Orange Star symbol on it. "All the students have to wear these," she explained. "I.think that's everything."
"Calm down, Bulma," Gohan said. "Everything's going to go fine."
"I just don't want anything to go wrong, Gohan," she said, fingering her bracelet in a nervous habit. "I want you to have a chance for the normal life that you were cheated out of."
Gohan softened at her words stepped forward to give his old friend a short hug. "Despite my regrets, Bulma," he said quietly, "I wouldn't ever trade the life I have for a 'normal' one. I don't know if I even *could* have had a normal life, being saiyajin and all." He looked down to smile crookedly at her. "No matter what my mother might have wanted, fighting *is* in my blood, and that surely would have done something to alienate me."
A faraway look entered his eyes. "There have been too many good things in this life to even think about letting it go. I'm not saying that the good things outweigh the bad, but I'll never know if a normal life would have been even worse. Under the circumstances, I think what I had is pretty okay. Until, that is, my parents died, of course." He didn't even bother to hide the pain in his voice, and Bulma put a hand on his arm in sympathy.
"I know how you feel, Gohan," she said, nodding. "I always wonder what my life would have been like if I'd never met Goku, never gotten involved with the Dragonball hunts. There would have been so many fewer risks, but yet.I think that if I could do it over, I'd do everything the exact same way."
"Even getting together with Vejiita?" Gohan grinned, banishing the serious mood.
"Yes, even that," Bulma laughed. ".I think."
They laughed again, and Gohan was surprised to feel a warmth stealing into him that he hadn't felt this strongly in a long time. It felt familiar, and he knew he felt it when around Goten, but this sense of close camaraderie, of old friendship; he couldn't name it after being separated from it for so long.
He didn't know if he was ready to be completely submerged in his old life yet, but he knew that this time with Bulma was helping him deal the it, one step at a time. He *knew* that everything would never be exactly the same ever again, but he was really to try and patch things up as best he could.
Gohan and Bulma stood there for a moment, just smiling at each other. And then.
A huge explosion sounded from somewhere outside of the building, and Gohan whirled immediately, his eyes narrowing as he tried to detect the energy of an enemy force.
"There's nothing hostile out there," he reported to a wide-eyed Bulma. "I'm guessing Vejiita blew up the gravity room or something, 'cause."
He stopped as he was interrupted by a bellow of anger. Bulma heard the shout, but she didn't feel the angry spike of chi that accompanied it. //Why would Vejiita be angry if he himself blew up the gravity room?// Gohan asked himself, and was answered in the next second.
Trunks and Goten came hurtling into the room, panicked looks on their faces.
"Move it, move it!!"
"Oh, gosh, he's gaining!"
"You're gonna trip me!!"
"Gohaaaan!" Goten dashed behind his older brother, and Trunks followed just before the bombshell dropped.
"Wha-" Gohan didn't finish as Vejiita burst into the room.
The ebony-eyed prince was covered in ash and scorch marks, but was relatively unharmed, as was to be expected. His black hair, however, was hidden under a layer of dust so thick that his hair had been turned grey.
He stood with his fists clenched, glowering at Goten and Trunks, who were cowering and whimpering behind Gohan.
"Boy!" he growled. "Hand them over!"
"What, no //Gohan! It's been too long!//? No //Nice to see you, let's have a spar sometime!//?" Gohan smirked, a wheedling tone in his voice. "Veggie, I'm so disappointed. I've been looking forward to seeing you for *so long*."
"Cut the crap, boy," Vejiita snarled. "And if you want to keep your head, don't *ever* call me 'Veggie'!"
"Yeah!" Bulma put in abruptly. "Only *I'm* allowed to call him that! It's *my* petname for him!"
"Onna!" Vejiita snapped, but there was the faintest, almost invisible trace of red in his cheeks. "Nevermind! My brat and the second spawn of Kakarotto did something to the gravity room, and it blew up while I was meditating!" he said, jabbing his finger in Gohan's face. "So their lives are mine by forfeit, to exact any punishment I wish!"
"We didn't do it!" Trunks said at the same moment Goten piped up with, "It was only a joke, Ani!" Trunks socked Goten in the arm for blowing their cover, and Goten glared at him. "Hey! What was that for?"
"For being stupid!"
"I'm *not* stupid!"
"You just told them that we *did* hot-wire the GR so that it'd blow up!"
"It was a...a slip of the tongue! Yeah! That's all!"
Gohan clamped a hand on Goten's shoulder and the boy jumped. "Well, you've both as much as admitted that you blew up the gravity room." He knelt down so that he was eye level with the two boys.
"I don't believe we've been introduced," he said solicitously, nodding at Trunks. "My name is Son Gohan." He extended his hand solemnly. If he'd learned one thing in raising Goten, it was that youngsters didn't like being treated condescendingly. They delighted in feeling equal with grownups, so that was what Gohan made them feel, to get on their good side.
"I'm Trunks Briefs-Vejiita and my dad is the strongest guy in the universe," Trunks said with a completely straight face. "He could kick your butt. My ancestry dates back to thousands of kings of Vejiita-sei, and my mom's a genius," he finished, ignoring Goten's gaping and Vejiita's chortling and Bulma's indignation at having being mentioned as a small sidenote.
"That's very impressive, Trunks. Can I call you Trunks?" When he received an affirmative nod, he continued. "You must be pretty smart if you could figure out how to make the GR explode just by hot-wiring it."
Trunks puffed up in pride, not noticing that a trap had been set. "Yep! I figured it out easy, 'cause I knew Goten wouldn't be able to when I came up with the plan. It's all a matter of colors, 'cause Mom does everything by color. Y'know, switch the red with the green, and stuff."
Then he realized what he'd just said. His eyes went wide, and his hands clapped over his mouth. "Um, um!"
"Trunks!" Bulma blew up. "I put a lot of time and effort into building and repairing that room when your father manages to destroy it, and now I find that *you* are conspiring against me as well?! I don't think so, mister! Get up to your room, NOW!"
With a muttered, "yes'm," Trunks ran out of the room as fast as he could, glad that he was able to escape the punishment of his father for the time being.
"You let him off too easy, onna," Vejiita said, disapproving. "You should've let me take him outside and knock some sense into him. That's the proper way."
"Not here on Earth it isn't!" Bulma said, glaring at him. "Besides, there are other, more *effective* ways of disciplining a half-saiyajin. Like.No food all tomorrow! Bwahahahaha!" she cackled. "See, I'm a genius."
"If you're a genius, then so'm I, Bulma," Gohan said dryly. "'Cause I've thought of that punishment before, too. It works very well."
Goten's eyes widened as he contemplated his own fate at Gohan's hands. He looked at his brother slowly, little by little feeding the Son Puppy Dog Eyes into his gaze. //Please let me have dinner, please let me have dinner,// he repeated, letting the words leak into his eyes.
Gohan felt his resolve fading quickly as he sought to tear his eyes away from the Puppy Dog Eyes, but it wasn't working. //You shouldn't let your kid brother manipulate you like this, Gohan!// he told himself sternly. //One look in those big eyes and you're toast! He looks just like Dad begging Mom for scraps of food before dinner.// Gohan shoved that thought away violently.
"Oh, all right, squirt," Gohan sighed. "You can have dinner."
Goten jumped up. "Yippee!"
"What?!" Vejiita thundered. "How dare you let him get away without recompense for my trouble! Boy, you're going too far!"
Gohan shot a sour look at the ill-tempered prince. "I didn't say that I wasn't going to punish him." Goten stopped cheering suddenly as Gohan turned to him, a strange smile on his face. "I hope you're looking forward to a few extra-looong and haaaaard training sessions! And in your spare time- guess what? Studying, and nothing else!" //Just like when I was a kid,// he thought, reminiscing.
Goten fell to his knees and cried dramatically, "Noooooooo!"
-------oooo000oooo-------
They left Capsule Corp. not long after, Goten still sulking about his punishment. He lost his temper when he saw Trunks making a face at him from his bedroom window and hurled a chi blast at him, but Gohan managed to intercept it before the youngster did any damage to the building.
There were a lot of things to do before Monday, and only a few days, since it was Friday and the day was almost over. The first thing that Gohan wanted to do was fly over to Master Roshi's island and visit with Kuririn. He hadn't seen him in too long. The next thing.
Was Piccolo. He had been around every once in a while in the year after Chichi's death, but when Gohan hadn't opened up, when he continued to try and shut everything except Goten out, he stopped coming. Well, at least he stopped coming to see him directly.
Piccolo would never really abandon Gohan, so he hadn't been surprised when he still felt the namekjin's presence around occasionally. He never came out and spoke to Gohan and Goten directly, but he knew that Gohan wouldn't be able to miss his chi close by. It had been a comfort, really, and Gohan suspected that Piccolo had meant it to be that way.
His mentor deserved better, Gohan knew. That was why he was planning to head for Kami's lookout as soon as he could after Kuririn's place. Maybe he could bring Goten, too, and introduce him to everybody.
"Where are we going, Ani?" Goten asked curiously, flying along next to Gohan on the Kinto'un. The teen had modified his pace for the yellow cloud, and they had been zooming over the water for about twenty minutes. Goten had only been to the island once, and that was when he was four, so he was bound to have some memories of the people, but couldn't be expected to know the way there.
"We're going to Master Roshi and Uncle Kuririn's house, Goten," Gohan replied after a moment. "Do you remember who they are, gaki-chan?"
Goten bit his lip and scrunched his face in concentration. "Old bald man with a white beard who cackles?" he said finally, looking to Gohan for confirmation, who nodded.
"That's Master Roshi," he said. "Do you remember what Uncle Kuririn looks like?"
"Short, bald, dots on head," Goten answered, looking confident. Gohan managed to stifle his chuckle.
"Yeah, that's him all right. I wonder if he still fights?" Gohan mused.
"Who was the pretty lady with yellow hair?" Goten questioned eagerly.
"That's your Auntie Juuhachi," Gohan responded, frowning slightly. He knew that the beautiful android had repented completely, and even settled down with Kuririn and had a daughter- it wasn't that he was worried about that. It was just the memories she inspired were quite painful. "Last time we were there, though, she wanted you to call her Auntie Juu, so call her that."
"Okay!" Goten chirped happily. "Auntie Juu! I like that."
//Their daughter was one the last time we were there.so she must be three now. Okay.// "Their little girl is named Marron, Goten. She's three years old. Be nice to her, and no tricks!"
"Yes, Ani," Goten said dutifully, then squealed as the island came into view. "There it is, Gohan! Lookie!!!"
"I see it, Goten," Gohan sighed, then dove into an almost vertical drop which Goten instantly followed, laughing. When they landed, Goten hopped off the Kinto'un and waved it off, so it went spiraling into the distance.
There was a little blonde, pig-tailed girl, hair tied with red ribbons, bouncing a ball near the water. She had on a red dress and no shoes. She looked up when she saw them, and smiled shyly. "Hi!" she said, running over to them, bringing the ball.
"Hello, Marron!" Gohan smiled. "Do you remember me?"
"Um." Marron scuffed the sand with her foot. "No."
"That's okay," Gohan soothed her. "You were really little when we saw you last time. My name's Gohan."
"I'm Marron," she said, even though Gohan already knew that. //Cute kid,// he thought. //She'd have to be, being Juuhachi's.//
"I'm Goten, Marron!" the boy exclaimed running up. "Can we play with your ball?"
"Sure!" Marron said, starting to grin.
"All right, I'm going to go and say hi to your parents, Marron. Play nice." Gohan winced as he spoke the words. Kami, he sounded like Bulma's mother! He remembered every time he'd gone over, she'd said, "Play nice." He'd hated it, and now here he was, saying it to his little brother and Marron!
//Here we go,// Gohan took a deep breath as he stood in front of the closed door of the Kame House. //Please let Kuririn answer the door, please let Kuririn answer the door.// He rubbed his hands together, mentally prepping himself to speak to them. Gohan waited for a few moments, then reached up and knocked loudly.
-------oooo000oooo-------
"I can kick it really high!" Marron boasted proudly, opening up to the friendly demi-saiyajin. "Watch!" She gave the ball a hard kick straight up, and it went higher than the house roof. When it came down, she caught it again. "See! Can you beat that?"
"Sure I can!" Goten grinned. He took the ball from Marron and kicked it as hard as he could, as high as he could. It was out of sight within seconds. Marron's mouth dropped open as she craned upward, trying to get a glimpse of the ball. "Man, I kicked it pretty high!" Goten marveled, shading his eyes with his hand.
Marron turned to him, red in the face, and stomped on his foot.
"OW!" Goten yelped, hopping around on one foot. "What'd you do that for?!"
"You lost my ball!" Marron yelled, all semblance of being shy flying out the window.
"I did not! It's gonna come back! Just look up there!" Marron followed his pointing finger, and, sure enough, the ball was coming straight back down. At the same time as Gohan knocked on the door, the rubber ball smashed through the roof.
There was a scream from in the house, while Gohan stood, sweatdropping, his hand poised to make another knock. Slowly, he turned around and saw Goten and Marron standing paralyzed, staring at the house.
"GOOOOOTEEEEEEN!!!!!" Gohan steamed. The chibi saw him coming, gave a frightened squeak, and tried to hide behind a palm tree.
"I can see you there, gaki!" There was no affectionate suffix attached to the term. "Haven't you already gotten into enough trouble today?!"
"I didn't mean to, Ani!" Goten wailed, trying to focus on making himself skinnier so he would fit behind the tree. "I just kicked it! That's all, I promise!"
"Why I oughtta-!" Gohan shook his fist angrily, but was interrupted.
"Who the hell are you?!" came and angry, completely unfamiliar voice.
Gohan whipped around, and saw a girl standing on the porch, a deflated rubber ball in her hand. Her face was set in a frown, and her amber eyes darted from him to Goten rapidly.
The girl looked to be around seventeen years old, and she had one hand on her hip, staring at Gohan accusingly. She had straight brown hair that was twisted into an extremely messy bun, resulting in a lot of strands hanging down from the knot to her shoulders. She was also extremely pretty, but Gohan wasn't thinking about that at the moment, as he was more concerned with what she was *wearing*.
It was a feminine training gi, not unlike the ones that his father, Goten, and he himself usually wore. The difference between the styles was that the girls' outer shirt and pants were white, and the undershirt was black. What had caught Gohan's eye, however, was the symbol over her heart. It was unmistakably Master Roshi's symbol.
//What the hell?// he thought, confused. //The only people allowed to wear that are people who've trained under Master Roshi!// He started to get angry. //Master Roshi doesn't train anyone anymore! I didn't come here to see some stranger!//
"Marron, come here!" the girl snapped busily at the girl, who ran to her obediently. It was another shock for Gohan.
//Marron apparently trusts her,// he thought, as though severely doubting the intelligence of that decision. //Who is she, then? The babysitter? Then why's she wearing a gi?//
"Who am *I*?" he said finally. "Who the hell are *you*?" Gohan grabbed Goten and dragged him behind himself, putting the young one out of reach of potential danger.
"Urk!" said Goten.
"Where's Kuririn?" Gohan demanded. "What have you done with everyone?"
"*Done* with them?" the girl said incredulously. "I haven't done *anything* with them! They're on a shopping trip at the mainland! Who are you, anyway?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, and she clutched Marron protectively.
"I'm Son Gohan, and I have more of a right to be here than almost anyone else," he said cautiously, while feeling out her power level. //Hnn, let's see.Whoa! What the-! How did she get to be so strong?!// What he was sensing couldn't possibly be right. Her chi energy was at the level of Vejiita when he first came to Earth. Of course, that wasn't even close to the level that even Kuririn was at, but it was pretty damn impressive for a human he'd never heard of before.
"Oh!" the amber eyed girl exclaimed, a blush sweeping over her face instantly. She simultaneously let go of Marron and widened her eyes to a point where they made up half of her face. "Son Gohan!" she sounded wretchedly embarrassed. "I'm soooooo sorry! I didn't know who you were!"
"Huh?" Gohan wrinkled his nose in confusion. "How *do* you know who I am?"
"You don't remember me?" the girl asked, stepping down from the porch and smiling at him widely. She didn't sound hurt about it. "That's okay. We've only met once, and that was a long time ago. I didn't forget about it, though."
Gohan continued to have no clue, and he supposed it must have showed up on his face, for the girl winked slyly.
"I'll give you a clue." she offered, smirking. The next moment Gohan and Goten were clutching their ears from the loud scream emitting from her. When the shriek ended, the girl yelled, "Ewwww! You *pervert*!!! PUT ME DOWN!"
She stopped and cocked her head, grinning at Gohan, who had let go of his ears and was looking at her with dawning recognition. "Remember me now?" the girl asked smugly, nodding with satisfaction.
"You! You're that girl I saved from the river!" Gohan said, amazed. "And the village, and the shelter, and, and.LIME! Yeah, I remember you!"
"You know the crazy lady, Gohan?" Goten whispered, a frightened look on his face as he glanced at the girl who was revealed to be Lime.
Gohan patted his brother's head and didn't answer. "How come you're at the Kame House, Lime?" he asked curiously. In ten minutes he would be berating himself for having asked the question, for the answer was overly long.
"Come on inside, and I'll tell you everything," Lime said, opening the screen door and gesturing with her arm.
//Wow! I don't believe it! After all these years I'm finally meeting him again! This is so exciting! He looks different without his blonde hair, but oh, well.OhmyGod! I'm meeting the strongest person in the universe! For the second time!// Lime's thoughts were all a blur.
Gohan followed her inside reluctantly- he still wasn't sure if he trusted her. After all, they had met so long ago.Goten and Marron were left outside to play some more, after a stern word from Gohan that they weren't to damage *anything*.
"Okay," Lime started when they were both comfortably settled on the couch. "Do you want me to start at the beginning, or just the reason why I'm here, at the Kame House?" None of her amazed mental comments reached her visage, as she was outwardly composed, admirably so, when one considered that she was meeting the person that she had looked up to for so long.
"The beginning," Gohan said shortly.
"All right." Lime tapped her face for a few moments, obviously gathering her thoughts. "Well, after you saved me at the river and stopped that gang from conning everyone into that shelter from Cell, I watched you battle Cell and everything. Of course, it was completely *obvious* that that Mr. Satan *idiot* wasn't the one who beat Cell." She scratched her chin. "I've wondered since then why no one else has picked up on that, but anyway.
"I knew what really happened in that fight, but my grandpa told me not to tell anyone. From then on, I had only one goal in life," Lime continued. "I wanted to become strong enough to join the Z senshi and help protect the Earth whenever a threat rises."
Gohan's eyes darkened. //Stupid girl,// he thought bitterly. //Why would anyone want to condemn themselves to this kind of life?//
"You *do* know that our kind of battles never amount to any glory, don't you?" he said, narrowing his eyes. "People you care about get hurt right before your eyes, you perceive your own weaknesses; your eyes are opened in ways that you wouldn't want them to. And no one else in the world gives a shit as long as they can go about on their happy little lives, completely oblivious to any real danger."
Lime didn't seem surprised at all that the innocent boy she had met seven years ago was gone.
"Yes, I realize that," she said calmly, staring him straight in the eye. "But why I want to do this isn't about glory. First and above all, I love this planet, and its people, no matter what their faults. I want to help protect them, even if I don't get any credit, just so that they *can* get on with their lives and be happy. They *have* to be oblivious about it to be happy, otherwise they'd be wary and on their guard all the time. I don't want anyone to feel like they need to worry.
"The other reason is maybe even more important to me than the first," Lime admitted, leaning forward and steepling her hands together, resting her chin on them. "I want to improve myself, know my own worth. I want to be the best that I can possibly be. I want to be without regrets, and never have to look back on missed opportunities.
"My grandpa showed me how to fight when I was small, and I'd already been interested when you and your father came along." Gohan flinched when she said, 'your father'. "But when I met you, I knew that I could take it *so much further*. I wasn't limited to the perceptions of our society anymore, I was freed. And I want to keep that freedom," she concluded, sliding a glance at him to see if he had absorbed everything she'd said.
Her little speech had reluctantly bought an amount of grudging respect from Gohan- she obviously understood the consequences of her actions, and really believed in everything she said. Of course, Gohan wasn't about to tell her that. It just wasn't his way anymore.
//How much does she know about my past? Kuririn's? The entire Z senshi?// Gohan wondered. Did Kuririn trust her enough to tell her everything that they'd gone through? Including the fact that Gohan himself was half alien?
"All right," was all he said, nodding. His face showed traces of approval, but that was all. Lime couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed, but she reminded herself of what Kuririn had said. //He's completely withdrawn into himself ever since his parents died, keep that in mind, girl!// Lime thought, determined to break through the demi-saiyajin's barriers and become his friend. //You can't expect him to open up in just one conversation!//
Sighing, Lime went back to describing how she ended up at Kame House.
"I trained under my grandpa until he couldn't teach me anything more," she explained. "I surpassed him about three years ago, but I was too unsure of myself to try and seek out a stronger instructor until he died, leaving me with no ties to my home. Anyway, before he died, he told me to follow my dream.
"I entered a few tournaments and things while I searched for someone who could teach me to be like you- someone who could teach me to go beyond the limits of normal human strength and develop the powers that only a few have. Y'know, flying, chi blasts, etc." Lime grinned at Gohan, who managed a wince in return.
Gohan shifted in his seat, suddenly restless. He was *extremely* uncomfortable with the idea that he had managed to become a role model for this girl he barely knew. //She wanted someone to teach her to be like me?// he thought, slightly panicked. //That's not good.No one should want to be like me. I'm a monster. I killed my own parents.//
He wasn't allowed to continue this train of thought as Lime cut into it with the rest of her story. Gohan hoped that it would be over soon.
"I came to this island a little less than two years ago because it was reportedly the home of the legendary Turtle Hermit, Master Roshi. I wanted to train under him at the time." Lime grimaced. "Of course, that ended when I found out that he was perverted old man who was the least powerful of the Z senshi. I was fifteen at the time."
Gohan frowned, thinking of something. "Wouldn't have Kuririn, Juuhachi, and Marron been here at that time?" //Kami, I mean, Dende knows that Kuririn would be a better teacher.//
"Yeah, which was where I found my solution," Lime said, nodding. "When I told Kuririn-sensei how I met you, and he'd tested me to find out how strong I was, he agreed to train me. At first he used the same techniques the Turtle Hermit did, with the weighted turtle shells and everything, but I've been getting better." Her eyes sparkled with pride. "Even Juuhachi trains me sometimes, when she feels like it."
"You got her to speak with you, let along interact with you," Gohan said, so serious-faced that Lime couldn't tell if he were joking or not. "Impressive."
She bet on joking.
"I know, aren't you just so proud of me?" Lime beamed semi-sarcastically.
Gohan ignored her last comment to question her about her knowledge of his past. As it turned out, Kuririn *did* trust her enough to tell her about all of their adventures. ALL of them. The teen could tell from the glint in Lime's eyes that Kuririn had entertained her with embellished stories all the time. //Can't wait 'til she brings *that* up,// he thought.
Gohan sighed heavily and ran a hand through his unruly raven locks. //Well, you learn something knew every day, I suppose,// he thought. Then he sat up as a thought occurred to him.
"Hey, how come you're not in school? You can't be old enough to have graduated high school already, are you?" Gohan questioned, slightly accusing. After all, if he had to endure the hell of high school living, then he was going to find out why someone else didn't have to.
"Erm," Lime managed as she smiled nervously. "No, I'm only seventeen. I'm.supposed to be in school, yeah. But, after all, it doesn't require much of an education to become a savior of the world, does it? Hehehe?"
Gohan's frowning face clearly stated, 'hell yeah it does,' and Lime stopped laughing.
"Bulma trapped me into agreeing to go to high school only earlier today," Gohan glowered. "I start on Monday. She say it'll be good for my social skills." //At least, that was the gist of it.//
Lime's mouth dropped open. "You?" she squeaked. "Going to high school? After going to the far end of the galaxy and saving the universe who knows how many times? Wouldn't that be kind of." she trailed off.
"Awkward?" he finished for her, surprised at how closely her words were to his own, when directed at Bulma.
"Well, yeah," the girl said, shrugging.
"That's exactly what I said," Gohan told her. "I don't exactly recall how she got me to agree to it," //Clever, clever Bulma.// "But the cinch is that I'm starting at Orange Star High on Monday." //Why are you talking to this girl, Gohan? Why are you opening up? Stop it, fool! You'll end up getting her killed! Anyone close to you dies, remember?!//
Then the other half of his mind spoke up. ~~ Are you going to keep hiding for the rest of your life? Locking everyone out except for Goten? For that matter, he's the closest one to you, isn't he? Doesn't that make him directly in the line of fire? ~~
//Shut up!// he raged. //Goten's strong enough to take care of himself, and besides, I'll *always* be there for him! The only reason I'm getting a little relaxed with this girl is that she knows my past, and Kuririn trusts her! You can't expect me to act this way with everyone!//
The other voice was silent, and Gohan felt compelled to add a little something else defensively.
//Besides, I really do need a friend my own age.// When had he started considering Lime a friend? Gohan became aware that he was scowling furiously. As Lime didn't know about his little mental conversation with himself, she took this to mean that he was extremely averse to going to high school, and was being sympathetic.
"That's kinda pointless, isn't it?" she asked. "I mean, you're already really smart and, I dunno, didn't you study a lot when you were younger?"
"Mmm-hm," Gohan said, leaving it at that.
"Yeah, well, life sucks. And then you die. Or so I've heard."
A mirthless grin spread across Gohan's face as he thought about how accurate that saying was. He hadn't heard it in a long time.
"Actually, it's more like 'life sucks, then you die, only to get wished back for more strife and suffering, after which you die again." Gohan shrugged. "Or so I've heard. I've never experienced dying myself, personally."
Lime's eyes had widened at how casually he spoke of death, but then, she figured he knew more about it than *almost* anyone on this planet. Almost, seeing as how other people *had* actually died and been wished back.
"AAAAIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!!" Gohan and Lime both started violently at the sound, leaping up in their seats. //An attack?!// Gohan thought wildly.
Goten launched into the room, eyes frantically seeking and finding his brother, who he quickly hid behind. "Help me, Gohan!" he pleaded, huge, frightened eyes fixed on the older boy. "Sh-she's trying to-!!!"
The door crashed open again, and Goten yelped, hiding his face in Gohan's leg and thinking, //If I can't see her, she can't see me! If I can't see her, she can't see me!//
Both teens looked curiously at the source of Goten's terror, who had come running into the living room and was now standing at the center. Marron was staring at the top of Goten's head, (which was all of him that was visible,) with a strange grin on her face.
The next moment, she took a step forward and said in a high-pitched voice, "C'mere, Goten! Here, Goten, Goten, Goten! Wanna have a little kissey- kissey?!"
Goten gave a scream so loud that Gohan clutched his head in pain. Such a loud noise, at such close range, with saiyajin hearing! Argh!
The small boy had meanwhile jumped up and ran out of the house, screaming bloody murder and waving his hands hysterically. "COOTIES!!!!" he shrieked.
Marron followed him, giggling insanely. "I'll give ya a makeover, too, if you're good! Come back here! Doncha wanna be Marron's little dollie?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!"
Lime and Gohan looked at each other, simultaneously sweatdropping.
"I swear, there's something wrong with that girl," Lime muttered, biting her lip in an attempt to stop the laughter that threatened.
"I didn't know little girls could be so.menacing," Gohan mumbled, a strange look overtaking his face as his lips twitched uncontrollably. //Don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh, oh Dende, don't laugh!!//
They both stared out the door, then slowly looked at each other again. They both cracked.
"Bwahahahahahaha!!!!" Lime fell to the ground and pounded on the floor, her stomach hurting from merriment. "Hehehehehe!!!"
"Hahahahahahahaha-choke-ehem-whoo!Haaaaahahahahaha!!" Gohan had doubled over, clutching his stomach, and had tears in his eyes.
As the sounds of laughter echoed in the room, occasionally overlapped by a young boy's screams and an even younger girl's crazy giggling, Fate smiled on her favorite child, glad that he had finally found a friend.
-------oooo000ooo-------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RaliNeoBlade: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapters. I hope you liked this chapter. I'm sorry I took so long getting it out. IMPORTANT!!! Lime will NOT! I repeat, will NOT! end up as Gohan's girlfriend. They are going to be really close friends. That's it. Anyway, thanks for reading! Review!
