I am so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry that it has taken me so long to update! I have no excuse, though, admittedly, I was a little disappointed at the speed and number of reviews I got for the last chapter. but anyway, thank you all for you wonderful wonderful reviews! They had particularly lovely content this time . . . I love you all and hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Gohan's internal alarm clock woke him up at five o clock. It was another day. Gohan yawned silently, so as not to wake his brother who was sleeping in the same room, and walked outside. It was crisp fall day, but Gohan ignored the scenery as he walked to the spring. The water was icy cold, yet Gohan jumped in unhesitantly and found the water refreshing. Climbing out into the cool wind, Gohan ignored the promotion to shiver and instead setting down beside the silent spring and meditated.

Gohan loved starting his day like this. The meditated prepared him for the day. It soothed his troubled mind. The woods around him were silent and the breeze made his body tingle from the bitter cold water.

Gohan meditated for an hour before going back to the house to fix breakfast for Goten and himself. Gohan generally hunted in the afternoons, so he simply took a few of the large fish that he had caught the day before from the freezer (it was a big freezer) and put them on the stove for a little while (it was a big stove). Goten came running into the kitchen when he smelled the food.

"Good morning Squirt!" Gohan greeted Goten as he arrived in the kitchen. Goten, obviously eager to get to the food, paused nonetheless and in a way that should have made Chi Chi proud responded with a hug and, "Good morning Brother!"

Then, they ate.

When the meal was finished, Goten copied his brother in taking a dip in the spring and meditated for about half an hour while Gohan cleaned up around the house. Then, it was time for Goten to go to school. Gohan flew Goten into the city and watched from the air to make sure that Goten arrived at school.

It always saddened Gohan to see Goten walk in those school doors. His entire perspective of life seemed to change. The glass quickly went from being half full to half empty. Oh well.

Gohan set off at a random direction to find a new training spot. He trained daily, yet was not seeking an advance in power. The power seemed to come to him whenever he got angry, so he saw little point in seeking it. He worked a lot on technique and speed. Both were worth a lot in a fight. Gohan paused and looked down to try and figure out where he had flown.

Of all the places.

Here he was, hovering above the last place he ever wanted to see. Home. There was the charred ground where the house had once stood. There was the spot where his mother used to hang clothes. There was the spot where the outhouse had stood. There was his dad's old training ground. There was the stream where he used to fish with his dad. There were all of his old memories, surging back up, strong and sad.

All thought of technique and speed vanished and were replaced by sorrow. Gohan exploded in pain and hopped right up to super saiyia-jinn two, skipping the first step all together.

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"Gohan! Gohan! Guess what!" Goten yelled as he ran out the school doors to greet his brother.

"What is it Squirt?" Gohan questioned as he swung his brother up on his shoulders.

"Tomorrows show and tell! We can bring any 'inanimate object'-whatever that means-to school and show it to our class! I know just what I'm gonna bring!"

"What are you going to bring, huh?"

"The four star dragon ball!"

"That's a great idea Squirt. Let's go get it after we eat, okay?"

"Alright Gohan!"

Gohan had always feared that Bulma might need to use the dragon balls at some point and come looking for the four star ball and stumble upon the cabin. So, Gohan had hidden the ball in a cave beneath some rocks where only a very determined person with the dragon radar and great strength could find it.

Gohan relaxed as Goten continued to talk about his day. Goten's very presence was soothing. Gohan had no idea what he would have done without the little squirt. There was a silver lining to everything when Goten was around.

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"Thank you Trudy for showing us your lovely doll. Who would like to go next?"

Most of the children raised their hands, ecstatic about showing what they brought in. Smiling, Ms. Carpenter chose, "Goten, why don't you go next?"

"Yes ma'am." Goten smiled brilliantly as he came up and pulled a small yellow ball out of his pocket.

Videl leaned forward a little to get a better look, it seemed to be made out of glass . . . .

"This," Goten announced proudly, "is the four star dragon ball!" Goten turned the ball so that four red stars shown out on the ball's surface. He seemed to think that that was all the explanation needed.

"Goten," Ms. Carpenter spoke again, "why don't you explain to us what a 'dragon ball' is."

"Oh! I thought everyone knew about dragon balls! Well, there are seven dragon balls, each with a different number of stars. The one star dragon ball has one star and the two star dragon ball has two stars and the three star dragon ball has three stars and the four star dragon ball, this one, has four stars and, well, it goes all the way up to seven. Anyway, the dragon balls are scattered all around the world. When you gather all of them and call on the dragon, Shenlong, Shenlong will appear and grant you two wishes. You can wish for ANYTHING, even bringing people back from the dead, as long as they did not die from natural causes."

"How do you find the dragon balls?" an excited boy in the back asked.

"Well, you have to use the dragon radar. We don't have one, but Gohan borrowed the radar from a friend to find this one. You see, the four-star dragon ball is special. My great grandpa used to own it, and then he died, so my dad owned it, and then he died, so now my brother and I keep it."

"Would you like to pass it around, Goten? Or is it too fragile?" a slightly bemused Ms. Carpenter asked.

"Oh no, it can't break, see?" Goten dropped it, yet, the ball did not break. He handed it to a student in front of the class and walked back to his seat.

"Thank you very much Goten, good job! Harry, since you have a ball too, why don't you go next?"

Harry, a little boy with a basketball smiled and walked to the front of the classroom.

Videl did not hear a word Harry said. She had been curious as to what Goten would bring in, but certainly had never expected this. She had never heard of dragon balls. Were they just a legend, or were these balls real? Videl had no proof that they really existed, yet Goten had seemed so sure, and Gohan did not seem like the kind of person to lie to his brother. The ball was passed to Videl, and she inspected it carefully. It was almost transparent, though obviously not class. It did not seem to be made of any jewels. In fact, the ball was unlike any material Videl had ever known. Maybe the legend was true. Maybe.

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There you have it. Someone requested Gohan angst, so I put a little in there. No G/V this time, but I PROMISE some next time . . . I already know what I'm going to write and Erasa will be in it, a little . . . please please please review! I love you all and hope you have a marvelous day!

-pd