Gohan had left the living room before he could begin to cry in the least
bit. He flew away form the house quickly. When he stopped flying, he
found himself in a secluded place in the mountain forest, next to a huge
waterfall. He settled himself down at the foot of the waterfall and closed
his eyes. This place was so familiar, and peaceful. Gohan began
meditating, allowing the sound of the waterfall to lull him into a
peaceful, even unguarded state of mind.
/Hey kid./ A voice called out in his mind. Gohan opened his eyes and looked around in surprise.
"Who's there?" Gohan demanded scanning the sky. Soon, Piccolo came out from behind the tree line.
"Oh, it's you. You know, I might've killed you if you kept hidden." He said stonily angry with himself for letting his guard down. Piccolo walked over to him and sat down next to him.
/No you wouldn't have kid. You let your guard down and let me see what you kept hidden. You wouldn't have attacked./ Gohan growled inwardly before putting up a mental shield to keep Piccolo out of his mind.
He hated to admit it, but Piccolo was right. He rarely killed anyone, even on his missions from Freiza, Gohan only killed those who had tried to kill him first. He usually let Vegeta do all the killing, that man was a bloodthirsty savage, what was worse was that Vegeta was a SMART bloodthirsty savage. Gohan beat up quite a few people, but always stopped when the next blow could have been fatal. Vegeta and Nappa always had called him weak for that.
"A Saiyian that doesn't kill has to right to claim being a Saiyian." Vegeta once said to Gohan after he let some old geezer from a planet run away with only a slight beating, that was just before, Vegeta blew the guy up on the spot. Gohan still remembered how the guy's innards flew all over the place, landing just short of Gohan and Vegeta. He was seven at the time.
"Piccolo. How much did you find out about me?" He asked gravely. Piccolo opened one eye and looked at Gohan, a phantom smile on his green lips.
"Enough to know that you aren't evil." He replied before returning to his meditation. Gohan stood up and flew away from the meditating Namek. He decided to go back to the house. Once he got there, he was surprised to see ChiChi standing outside of the house, a set of folded clothes in her arms.
"That was fast, I didn't expect those clothes until sometime tomorrow at the earliest." Gohan said in awe.
"Well I'm done and that's all that really matters. Now go and put these on before your father decides to wake up." She shoved the clothes into Gohan's hands and led him to his room. Gohan spread his new outfit out on his bed and began to put it on. He felt so odd now that he wasn't wearing his armor, he felt exposed, weak, almost naked with his new outfit on. When he looked in the mirror, Gohan's eyes almost bulged out of his head. It was an exact replica of the clothes he was wearing when he was kidnapped. Gohan looked so out of character in them. Yet, strange as it was, he felt comfortable in them. Almost as if his outfit was like a security blanket.
"Gohan, what do you think of your new clothes?" ChiChi asked through the door. Gohan put up his mask of cold indifference as he opened the door and looked up at ChiChi.
"Yeah, there're pretty comfy. Nothing like what I'm used to, but nice. Thank you ChiChi." He bowed politely to her. When Gohan's head came back up, he saw tears in ChiChi's eyes.
"What's wrong ChiChi?" He asked patiently.
"You look so handsome in that outfit. Like a gentleman instead of a little barbarian."
"ChiChi, I was never a barbarian. Barbarians enjoy killing. Unless I don't even know my own emotions, I hated even hurting the people unless they tried to kill me first."
Gohan suddenly felt as through someone had forced him to eat mass quantities of ice, he was freezing, not on the outside, but on the inside. The ice was freezing his insides, slowly working their way up to his heart. In a way, Gohan welcomed the cold. It froze his emotions so that everything that was churning inside of him, hatred for Freiza, undecided love for ChiChi and Goku, a devout sense of responsibility he felt towards Goten, everything, was frozen, and he felt no more.
At the same time, Gohan cried out against the cold. He hated it more then he had ever hated anything in his life and wanted nothing more then to expel it from his body, but he seemed unable to do so. Suddenly Goten began to cry. Goten's screaming wails seemed to have broken the spell that was upon Gohan as a warm feeling of concern for Goten welled up inside of him as ChiChi went to tend to her son.
/What the hell is happening to me?/ Gohan asked himself miserably as he went back into his room, sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands.
/Hey kid./ A voice called out in his mind. Gohan opened his eyes and looked around in surprise.
"Who's there?" Gohan demanded scanning the sky. Soon, Piccolo came out from behind the tree line.
"Oh, it's you. You know, I might've killed you if you kept hidden." He said stonily angry with himself for letting his guard down. Piccolo walked over to him and sat down next to him.
/No you wouldn't have kid. You let your guard down and let me see what you kept hidden. You wouldn't have attacked./ Gohan growled inwardly before putting up a mental shield to keep Piccolo out of his mind.
He hated to admit it, but Piccolo was right. He rarely killed anyone, even on his missions from Freiza, Gohan only killed those who had tried to kill him first. He usually let Vegeta do all the killing, that man was a bloodthirsty savage, what was worse was that Vegeta was a SMART bloodthirsty savage. Gohan beat up quite a few people, but always stopped when the next blow could have been fatal. Vegeta and Nappa always had called him weak for that.
"A Saiyian that doesn't kill has to right to claim being a Saiyian." Vegeta once said to Gohan after he let some old geezer from a planet run away with only a slight beating, that was just before, Vegeta blew the guy up on the spot. Gohan still remembered how the guy's innards flew all over the place, landing just short of Gohan and Vegeta. He was seven at the time.
"Piccolo. How much did you find out about me?" He asked gravely. Piccolo opened one eye and looked at Gohan, a phantom smile on his green lips.
"Enough to know that you aren't evil." He replied before returning to his meditation. Gohan stood up and flew away from the meditating Namek. He decided to go back to the house. Once he got there, he was surprised to see ChiChi standing outside of the house, a set of folded clothes in her arms.
"That was fast, I didn't expect those clothes until sometime tomorrow at the earliest." Gohan said in awe.
"Well I'm done and that's all that really matters. Now go and put these on before your father decides to wake up." She shoved the clothes into Gohan's hands and led him to his room. Gohan spread his new outfit out on his bed and began to put it on. He felt so odd now that he wasn't wearing his armor, he felt exposed, weak, almost naked with his new outfit on. When he looked in the mirror, Gohan's eyes almost bulged out of his head. It was an exact replica of the clothes he was wearing when he was kidnapped. Gohan looked so out of character in them. Yet, strange as it was, he felt comfortable in them. Almost as if his outfit was like a security blanket.
"Gohan, what do you think of your new clothes?" ChiChi asked through the door. Gohan put up his mask of cold indifference as he opened the door and looked up at ChiChi.
"Yeah, there're pretty comfy. Nothing like what I'm used to, but nice. Thank you ChiChi." He bowed politely to her. When Gohan's head came back up, he saw tears in ChiChi's eyes.
"What's wrong ChiChi?" He asked patiently.
"You look so handsome in that outfit. Like a gentleman instead of a little barbarian."
"ChiChi, I was never a barbarian. Barbarians enjoy killing. Unless I don't even know my own emotions, I hated even hurting the people unless they tried to kill me first."
Gohan suddenly felt as through someone had forced him to eat mass quantities of ice, he was freezing, not on the outside, but on the inside. The ice was freezing his insides, slowly working their way up to his heart. In a way, Gohan welcomed the cold. It froze his emotions so that everything that was churning inside of him, hatred for Freiza, undecided love for ChiChi and Goku, a devout sense of responsibility he felt towards Goten, everything, was frozen, and he felt no more.
At the same time, Gohan cried out against the cold. He hated it more then he had ever hated anything in his life and wanted nothing more then to expel it from his body, but he seemed unable to do so. Suddenly Goten began to cry. Goten's screaming wails seemed to have broken the spell that was upon Gohan as a warm feeling of concern for Goten welled up inside of him as ChiChi went to tend to her son.
/What the hell is happening to me?/ Gohan asked himself miserably as he went back into his room, sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands.