His Special Gift
Part Eight: Learning About Daddy
Goten and Trunks were outside Goten's home playing. Actually, Goten was running around the land with a net trying to catch a frog. Trunks had his arms folded looking bored at the silly task Goten was involved in. His Mom had brought him over to play with the four-year-old while she have a chat with Goten's mother inside the house.
"Come on, Trunks. Let's catch frogs together. It's fun," Goten said cheerfully.
"Catching frogs are for kids," Trunks retorted.
Goten dived trying to catch a frog but he jumped just out of Goten's reach. He looked back at his friend. "You're a kid."
"I'm a mature kid," Trunks pointed out proudly. "I'm a year older than you."
Goten wasn't paying attention to what Trunks had said as he dived to catch frog who continuously outsmarted him. "What'd you say, Trunks?"
Trunks rolled his eyes. "Baby."
"So where's Gohan?" Bulma asked.
Bulma was sitting at kitchen table chatting with Chi-Chi who was at the counter chopping lettuce on a wooden cutting board in preparation for dinner. Bulma usually came by once in a while to check on things and Trunks would play with Goten when he was there.
"He went to see Piccolo and Dende on the Lookout."
"I'm surprised you did, Chi-Chi. You always have Gohan in his room studying."
"Well, Gohan has all his studying done and I've learned to let go some. He needs friends and needs to have fun too."
Bulma looked surprised. "Wow, Chi-Chi, you really have loosened up some. You let Gohan go out of the house more and you don't have Goten studying."
"It's not like I never let Gohan go out. He did. I just made sure his studies were done, but I do let him go out more now. Gohan's growing up. He's going to be attending high school soon. I can't keep him sheltered in forever. His father wouldn't want that. Gohan was so shy as a child around people and because of his father and his friends, Gohan wasn't like that anymore."
Chi-Chi put the lettuce in a large bowl and started working on the tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower and broccoli to put in the salad. "As for Goten, he's a child and so much like his father. I want him to get an education but I don't to want to force him like I did with Gohan. I want Goten to enjoy his childhood. Goku told me once that he was never worried about Gohan's education because he was always confident Gohan would be just fine. I've decided to take his advice with Goten."
"Chi-Chi, I have to ask you something." Bulma knew to be careful about her words. It had been something bothering her since she learned from Yamcha that he wasn't going to court Chi-Chi. "Try not to get mad, but don't you miss it?"
"Miss what?" Chi-Chi asked absently as she tossed the tomatoes and cucumbers in the bowl and worked on cauliflower and broccoli.
"A man's touch." Bulma saw that Chi-Chi had ceased moving. She took the chance to continue. "It's been nearly five years since Goku's death and I know you loved Goku and all, but don't you miss it--the touch of a man, going out on dates, making love, the feel of being in a man's arms. Don't you think it's time to move on, be happy and go out on dates?"
"No," Chi-Chi said quietly. She faced Bulma with an unreadable expression. "Maybe you would move on should something happen to Vegeta, but Goku will always be the only man for me. I can't imagine myself with any other man beside him." She laughs. "I've been in love with him since I was a little girl. I've waited years for him to marry me. I've waited for him after his death from the Saiyans, his return from Namek; I'll even wait for death to be with him."
Bulma couldn't help but smiled. She understood what Chi-Chi was saying. Should something happen to Vegeta, Bulma wasn't sure if she would ever get involve with another man either. "Sounds like a storybook romance. I thought that didn't exist anymore. Heck, I didn't think it existed at all."
Chi-Chi couldn't help but blush as she thought about Goku. "Goku and I did have true love."
"After we leave, Mom and I are going to shop for a Father's Day gift for my Dad," Trunks told Goten.
Goten had finally caught the frog and had him trapped in his net. He looked at Trunks with cheerful eyes. "Ooh! Can I get a gift for your Dad?"
"No, stupid. You're supposed to get a gift for your Dad, which you don't have since he's dead."
"Dead?" The four-year-old replied looking lost.
"Dead as in not living. You know, when you squash a bug with your foot. Didn't your Mom and Gohan tell you about him being dead?" Trunks asked.
Goten shook his head slowly. "Mom said that Daddy had to go away."
"He had to go away because he died," Trunks said bluntly.
Goten's face scrunched up as he started to cry. Tears fell down his chubby cheeks. "No, he didn't! My Daddy's not dead! He just went away! He's not dead!" Goten released the frog and ran away from Trunks and into his house. He ran straight to his mother, clutching his tiny hands around the skirt of her dress. He looked up at his mother with tears streaming down his face. "Mommy, how come Daddy had to go away? He didn't die, did he?"
Chi-Chi knelt down to Goten. "Who told you your Daddy's dead?"
Goten sniffled. "Trunks did."
"Trunks!" Bulma yelled and looked at Trunks who was standing in the doorway. "Who told you to tell Goten his father's dead?"
"What?" Trunks said as if it was no big deal. "You said he was and so did Dad."
Goten begin crying even louder and Chi-Chi hugged him to soothe the little boy. "Shh. It's all right. It's all right."
Bulma grabbed Trunks by the ear. "Chi-Chi, we're leaving. I'll see you later." She dragged Trunks out the house, ignoring her son's pleas of letting go. "You're in so much trouble when we get home."
Chi-Chi pulled out a cloth and wiped Goten's tears. "Dry those tears, sweetie."
Goten sniffled. "What happened to Daddy, Momma?"
Chi-Chi picked Goten up and carried him to the sofa. She sat the little boy on her lap. She looked at her youngest son with a warm smile on her face. Even though she's seen her son everyday for the past four years, it still amazed her at how much he looked like his father. "How about I tell you the man your Daddy was? It's a much better story."
Goten sniffled again. "Okay."
Chi-Chi reached over by the coffee table, opened the drawer and pulled out the family album. Chi-Chi opened the book out to the first page--a picture of Goku and Chi-Chi at their wedding.
"That's your Daddy."
Goten touched his father's face in the picture. "Daddy looks like me."
"Yes, he does. You're his twin in a way."
Goten looked at his mother with curious eyes. "What's a twin?"
"Someone who looks like you. I first met your father as a child. He was an adorable boy flying in on Nimbus. He stole my heart the moment I laid eyes on him."
"Daddy stole your heart, Mommy?" Goten said confused.
Chi-Chi laughed at the question. "Not literally. It's just that I fell in love with him when I first laid eyes on him."
"How do you fall in love?"
"Oh, that's not something you should worry your pretty head about. You have many years ahead of you before thinking about that," Chi-Chi said thoughtfully rubbing her son's head.
"But you said you fell in love with Daddy as a kid and I'm a kid. So shouldn't I know now?"
Chi-Chi laughed. He was so much like his father. He loved to ask questions. "All right. To love someone is when you really care about someone very, very much. You would do anything to make them happy and safe like I would with you and Gohan."
Goten nodded happily. He seems to have caught the concept of love as much as a four-year-old could understand. He listened as his mother told him the other two times she saw his father before meeting him at the tournament, fighting him and then marrying him. Goten laughed at the stories his mother told him about his father during those times.
"After we married, I really had to work on your father. He was on his own as a child when he was very young so he didn't know much about what normal people did. All he knew was about fighting and eating. I had to teach him things that he didn't learn because he didn't have parents to look after him."
Goten frown. "You mean he didn't have a Mommy who cooked for him, wash his clothes or tuck him in bed?"
"No."
"Or a big brother to play with or take baths with in the barrel?"
Chi-Chi shook her head. "No. Your Daddy was alone for a long time before he got a friend and started his life adventure."
A tear shed down Goten's cheek. "Poor Daddy."
"Don't be sad, sweetie. Your father was still the happiest kid. When I married him, he became even happier. He learned about other joys in life he never had."
Goten wiped the tear away and smiled. "Okay."
"Oh, I remember this picture." Chi-Chi said looking at a picture of Chi-Chi holding baby Gohan in her arms and Goku had his arms around her smiling in the picture. "This was taken after Gohan was born. I remember your father, grandfather and I were sitting around Gohan's room trying to come up with a name for Gohan. Your father said he was going to go fishing. I got so mad at your father for wanting to go fishing instead of naming his son. I kept yelling at him until we got the name Gohan. We named your big brother after your Daddy's grandfather."
Goten giggled at the story. Chi-Chi smiled at her son with adoration.
"You're so much like him. Your father always made people happy. I could never stay mad at him for long. He was also the nicest and gentlest man. He couldn't even hurt a fly. He was tall, handsome and the greatest fighter ever. He was the strongest man in the universe."
"Daddy could fight?" Goten asked in amazement. "Like Trunks' Dad and Mr. Piccolo?"
"Yes, but your Daddy was a much better fighter than any of them. He went up against powerful, evil beings that threatened the Earth and universe. He's been fighting ever since he was a child." An idea came to mind. "How about from now on, I'll give you a bedtime story about an adventure your Daddy had as a child?"
Goten nodded happily at the idea. "I'd like that, Mommy." He suddenly frowned. "But, Momma, what happened to him?"
Chi-Chi frowned. She figured he would come back to this. "Goten, there was a great evil threatening the Earth. Your father fought bravely, the best he ever did." She thought it was best that she left the part out about Gohan in fear that Goten would accuse his brother like Gohan accused himself. "Daddy could've won but the evil monster pulled out an evil trick. He decided to blow himself up which meant killing everyone. Your father didn't want anyone to die so he took the evil monster to another place and they died together."
Tears fell down Goten's face. Chi-Chi hugged the little boy. "Don't be sad. Daddy's very happy where he is. Because before he died, he left me you. He's been watching over us ever since he died."
Goten sniffled. "He is?"
"Yes. Sometimes if you close your eyes and concentrate enough you will feel his presence. I see him almost everyday when I look at you."
Goten's face turned into a cheery smile. "Momma, can I be a fighter like Daddy?" Goten asked.
Chi-Chi wasn't surprised about this at all. "I expected as much. I want you to get an education too, Goten. I wanted to wait until you were five before I give you lessons but if you think you can handle it now--"
"I can! I can!" Goten said excitedly.
Chi-Chi smiled at her son. Goten's eyes lit up like his father's. "All right. I'll make you a training gi like your Dad's, too."
"Oh, boy! Thank you, Momma!" Goten said happily and embraced his mother.
"Just to warn you, I'm going to be stern on you. Think you can handle that?"
"Uh-huh!" Goten nodded.
****
Goten walked with his mother half a mile from their home. Gohan was busy studying, unaware of the lessons his mother was giving his baby brother. They have been training for over four months now. Chi-Chi started him off with exercises like pushups, sit-ups, running, stretching, exercises that toughen his muscles. Goten was a fast learner when Chi-Chi taught him the basics in martial arts. Chi-Chi wasn't surprise. Goten was Goku's son after all.
Today she was going to give him a lesson on weapons. Under her left arm was Goku's power pole. Goten skipped along happily as he was excited about his next lesson. His mother told him there was a surprise in today's lesson.
"This is fine, Goten." Chi-Chi said stopping at their usual spot. "Now, I'm going to show you something." She pulled out the red stick before Goten. "This was your father's. It was his power pole."
Goten reach up and Chi-Chi handed it to him. Goten rubbed his small hands on the long stick. He then twirled it around. Chi-Chi gently took it from him.
"Watch. I'm going to show you what this can do." Chi-Chi held the stick vertically. "Power Pole Extend!"
Goten watched in amazement as the red pole stretched upward into the sky, farther than he could see. "Wow!"
Chi-Chi laughed. "Wow indeed. Power Pole Retract!" Chi-Chi commanded and the stick retracted to its original form. "Your father used this a lot as child. It helped him on his many adventures I told you about." Chi-Chi knelt to Goten's level and turned her back on Goten. "Hop on my back. I'm going to show you something else."
Goten did as he was told. He gripped his tiny hands around his mother's neck.
"Are you on tight?" Chi-Chi asked.
"Uh-huh," Goten answered.
Chi-Chi stood up, stilling holding the pole. "Here goes. Power Pole Extend!"
Chi-Chi and Goten zoomed into the sky. Goten laughed excitedly as he went up. "Wowee! This is fun! Look, Momma! We're flying!" The power stopped when they were nearly two hundred feet in the sky.
"Like the view?" Chi-Chi asked Goten. They were high above the trees and looking down, everything looked like tiny ants.
"Yeah!"
"Power Pole Retract!" Chi-Chi commanded and they zoom down to the ground. She set Goten back on the ground.
The now five-year-old jumped up and down excitedly. "Wow! That was so cool, Momma! Can we do it again! I wanna go way up high again!"
Chi-Chi laughed at her son. She handed him the pole. "Okay, but be sure not to go up too high."
"Okay, Momma!" Goten held onto the stick. "Power Pole Extend!" Goten laughed happily as the stick followed his command and extended sending Goten high into the sky. "Wow! This is so much fun, Momma!"
"All right, Goten. Come on, down now. We still have work to do!" Chi-Chi yelled out to him.
He looked down at his mother who looked like a tiny ant now. "Now, Momma!"
"Yes, now!"
"Okay. Power Pole Retract." He slid back down to the ground.
Chi-Chi took the pole and set it on the ground. "You will get to use it once in a while. Call it a relaxing tool after your lessons. Now," she said getting in a fighting stance. "Let's fight."
To Be Continued
Part Nine: Dark Visions of the Future
Princess-Leona-Nv: Thanks. I like all the characters though I have my personal favorites, so I try to keep it as in character as possible when writing it. Hope you liked this chapter.
Hina-chan: Thanks. I'm trying to keep it as real as possible as what could've happened in those seven years. Since you love Goku so much, he will be in the next chapter. It's a very nice scene.
Gogirl: More Goku in the next chapter. Hee. Hee. I'm excited CN has gone back too. I hope to see the Android/Cell Saga again too. I never thought about Goku and Chi-Chi's relationship until that saga. Before that, all I saw was a married couple and I accepted it as that. I knew they loved each other because they were married. (I didn't know about the existence of Dragonball when I thought this.) But seeing Chi-Chi care for Goku and the moments they did have when he woke up, and Goku's speech to everyone about him staying in the Other World, it really showed me that there was more than a simple love between the two, but something much deeper. It started my curiosity as to how they got together and my interest into DBZ fanfics. I started liking DBZ more because of it. Sure, I love it before because of the storylines, (Saiyan, Namek, and Frieza Saga. It was nothing like I've seen before on a cartoon.) action and the lighthearted moments in between, but it really hooked me when I saw a more personal side to the characters. Look how a simple response to your review turned out. Hee. Hee. I've thought about that but I don't I will ever write anything about Goku's virus anytime soon.
The only tips I can give you is--A) You really have to understand the character to write a good fic. B) Put yourselves in their shoes. I swear you will look at the characters a lot differently than you normally did when you didn't put yourself in their shoes. Like Chi-Chi for example. A lot of people don't like her because she yells a lot and doesn't want Gohan to fight but study, but think about it. If it was your five-year-old or your eleven-year-old out there fighting a monster that killed millions of people and is very strong, would you really want to send your child out there? You know he's strong and all but this is your son and it's always a parent's intuition to protect their child and keep it safe from harm. The same thing with Chi-Chi's husband. You know your husband is strong, but you're still going to worry about him, because it's your husband and you don't want to see him hurt or worst killed. And Goku's so naïve that sometimes it does take yelling to get Goku to listen. Even Bulma yelled at him in the beginning of DB. When she was taking a bath and Goku came in thought she needed his help since she gave him a bath. Bulma at first was calm and told him to leave but she was left with no choice but to scream and throw objects at him to get out of the room because he wouldn't take no for an answer. How did I get so off topic here? Anyway, just follow tips A and B, and I think you will do fine.
GOGI: Thanks. There should be a little bit of Gohan in the next chapter.
CB: Yeah, it was fun. Good thing I went last week instead of this week otherwise my stories wouldn't have gotten posted since ff.net is having problems. Thanks for the review.
Digi Fan: Thanks.
Brios201: Thanks.
Moon girl: Hee. Hee. That seems to be a trend here. I keep making people feel sorry in my stories. You feel sorry for Yamcha and I kind of do to because everyone is moving on in their life--Krillin got married, Bulma settled down with Vegeta and they have a kid together. It seems like he's alone in the same rut and everyone else is moving on with their lives.
Dillpops: Misspellings? I thought I got it all out. Blasted spell check. Oh, well. Nobody's perfect.
GD: I thought Goten was extremely adorable in this one. You have a crush on your own brother? Eww. Hee. Hee. I'm kidding. Yeah, if Yamcha had any feelings for Chi-Chi, I don't think he ever confronted her with it.
Lady Athena: I totally agree with you on Yamcha's feelings. I was thinking the same thing. Bulma just want to see her friends happy. She's happy with the life she has and wants her friends to be happy too and since Goku is dead and no thought he was coming back, she didn't see the harm in Chi-Chi dating again. She preferred it to be one of Goku's friends since they understood what she's been through. Of all the DB girls, I think she can be the most admired and looked up to by the other females. Bulma may admire Chi-Chi's strength for dealing with Goku dying twice and leaving so much. They weren't friends at first and didn't really get along until after Goku died. Videl didn't like Chi-Chi at first. I wouldn't like a woman first either if she called me a hussy, but quickly when she was training with Gohan Videl started to like Chi-Chi and she admires her for the same way as Bulma and the loyalty Chi-Chi has for Goku, but she also feels sorry for Chi-Chi because of Goku dying and leaving her alone so many times. I like long reviews and as you can see, I get carried away too.
