Title: A sweet surprise
Author name: Trugeta
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Akira Toriyama and Funimation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. And I own nothing, so don't sue me.
This story focuses on Gohan and Videl, and is set after the Majin Buu Saga. Reviews are welcome and appreciated.
Author's Note: some 'light' fighting (this fight scene just wanted out!) and my take on the Saiyan bond. This chapter does in no way criticise other author's view of the Saiyan bond.
Additional note: I had the thought of starting a mailing list due to some problems had with the notification of updates from me. What is your opinion to this?
Chapter
21: Training, physically and mentally
At
the same time in Vegeta's GR...
The
Saiyans were engaged in a heated trainings session. Vegeta and Gohan
were tied in a match, and both combatants were at their respective
maximums as Super Saiyan Twos. At the same time Goku and Gotenks were
engaged in an equally heated fight, both as Super Saiyan Threes.
"Now
come on, brat! Show me what you've got!" Vegeta taunted as he
blocked Gohan's latest attempt to land a blow. Despite himself the
Saiyan Prince had to admit that Gohan was being fair, as he had not
used the mystical abilities of his yet. But somehow the Saiyan Prince
got the feeling that Gohan was holding back deliberately, and not
regarding the use of his mystical level..
Gohan's
face contorted into a smirk.
"You asked for it, Vegeta."
And
faster than Vegeta could see Gohan had phased out and reappeared
behind him, landing a crushing blow to the back of the Saiyan
Princes' head that send Vegeta into the far wall.
Vegeta
regained his composure fast and prepared for a counter-attack, seeing
his assumptions confirmed.
'The brat is holding back. But how
much? Time to find out...' he thought with a smirk and then
started to execute an attack of his own. He phased out of sight and
reappeared above Gohan, trying to hammer him down into the ground.
But the demi had his guard-up and blocked the blow with ease, then
somersaulted and kicked out at Vegeta's chest in one fluid
movement.
Vegeta blocked the
blow with his left hand, cupped the other and fired a Final Flash at
point-blank range. The taller Saiyan deflected the beam with one hand
and smiled.
"Now it gets interesting!" Gohan exclaimed, his
eyes alight with passion.
The Saiyan Prince
smirked. Finally Gohan showed that he was worthy of his heritage.
This fight was the total opposite from what he had seen in Gohan´s
fight against Dabura. There and then Vegeta had been endlessly angry
that Gohan had obviously forgotten his heritage. But now...
Yes,
he could see it; the younger man was thriving in battle, had
obviously rediscovered his fighting spirit. And he should get a
challenging battle...
Vegeta
tapped into his reserves and powered up more. Then he suddenly phased
out of sight and uppercutted Gohan hard on reappearance and send the
younger man flying. The Saiyan Prince followed this action suit with
a spin kick to the stomach that caused the younger Saiyan to gasp for
air.
But
Vegeta did not give him time to recover and pressed his advantage as
he zanzokened above and hammered him with a double-fisted blow
straight into the ground.
Gohan
however managed to get up faster than lightning, and he raced upwards
and tried to cross punch Vegeta, but the older warrior dodged the
blow and countered with his own left hook this time. Gohan blocked
the blow with his right hand and countered with a crushing left hook
of his own, and Vegeta was send flying across the room.
The
Saiyan Prince was actually surprised at the strength behind this
punch, as he had not thought that Gohan could be this strong.
Vegeta knew for sure that Gohan had slacked off after the Cell Games,
and only due to the fact that he had received this mystical power-up
of his he had been able to become the strongest once again.
But
now it seemed as if Gohan would not have to resort to his mystical
powers much longer, cause if this fight was any indicator, Gohan was
strong. Really strong...
After
Vegeta had recovered he raced forward and hit Gohan hard in the face
with everything he got. The impact actually caused the air to
tremble.
But
like back then when Cell had punched him hard in the face Gohan's
head never moved. Not an inch. And this was when the Prince of all
Saiyans realised that Gohan had deliberately allowed him being hit,
for he just smiled, a few drops of blood trickling from his mouth.
Then
the demi-Saiyans moved too fast for even Vegeta to see and
uppercutted the Prince of all Saiyans painfully into the air. Despite
the shock from the Earth-shattering punch he had received by Gohan
and the pain in his face Vegeta managed to turn around in the air and
shot a quick succession of KIblastsat the nearing
Gohan.
But
the demi-Saiyan had no trouble to deflect all of the blasts, went
into the offensive again and decked his opponent with a flurry of
punches and kicks which were all countered and returned in kind by
Vegeta. The experienced Saiyan Prince then aimed a kick for Gohan's
forehead in a feint attack, and Gohan countered the blow whose real
target had been Gohan´s abdomen without any trouble,not
falling for the trap.
And
faster than he could see Vegeta was punched hard in the face and flew
back. And with a lightning quick kick Gohan shot his opponent to the
ground where he impacted with enough force to shake the GR.
But
Vegeta still had not had enough, and with a roar he launched himself
at Gohan who was hovering some feet above, and Vegeta phased out and
shot a swift kick to Gohan's head on reappearance that only found
air, and moved his left hand just in time to defend his gut against a
punch of Gohans' who had reappeared in his side, then he moved his
right hand just in time to block a knee from his face.
Vegeta
then executed a backflip to evade a kick aimed for his chest, raced
forward at Gohan again and fired an energy blast. But the younger
Saiyan simply jumped out of the way, phased out and behind Vegeta and
elbowed the Prince of all Saiyans in the back of the head on
reappearance.
Gohan
had enjoyed this fight to the fullest, but now he decided that it was
time to end it. Meanwhile Vegeta had recovered and spun around,
aiming a punch for his face. The younger Saiyan simply caught the
incoming fist and threw it back. This was followed by a quick kick
across the face.
The
Saiyan Prince grunted as he flew back, and this time he knew that he
was no match any more for the younger Saiyan. He had as recently as
come to this conclusion when he felt a sharp pain in the jaw.
Obviously Gohan had phased out and in too quickly for him to see, and
again the Saiyan warrior was sent to the ground, and this time he was
not able to catch his fall.
As soon as Vegeta had
crashed into the ground Gohan appeared above him, a KI-blast prepared
in his hand.
"Game over, Vegeta." he said and the blast
knocked Vegeta unconscious.
Meanwhile
Goku and Gotenks had finished their fight too, and due to fact that
the fusion only lasted 30 minutes this match had had no winner.
However, Goku was quite impressed with Gotenks performance, and he
could hardly await the next match...
Goku and the chibis
had touched down, while Gohan had gone and helped himself to
something refreshing to drink. Slowly Vegeta came around too, and the
first thing he did was to send a glare at Gohan.
"Not bad, brat,
but next time I will get you." he promised.
Then
something rare happened, as the Saiyan Prince actually smiled, even
ifnot consciously. Yeah, that had been a very satisfying
training, even if he had been knocked unconscious. He now had the
proof that Gohan had not completely forgotten his heritage. Now the
brat would only have to grow a backbone and stand up to that screechy
mother of his...
Soon
everyone had helped themselves to something to drink and grabbed some
towels. Afterwards the Saiyans hit the showers, and as Bulma, Chi-Chi
were shopping and Videl had planned something too this meant that the
Saiyans had the house to themselves.
That
also meant 'raid-the-fridge-time', the favourite pastime of a
Saiyan. Once the fridge had been raided, everything edible eaten and
everything drinkable drunk, Gohan decided that now was the perfect
time to talk to Vegeta and his father about his telepathic
problem...
"Dad, Vegeta, you both know or might not know that
Videl is able to hear my thoughts. And due to her condition she might
react... irritable towards what she calls inappropriate thoughts
concerning her mood swings. So, what the heck can I do to shield my
thoughts from her? I know it has to do with a bond we share, and that
it's some kind of telepathic connection, but there must be a way to
keep my thoughts to me. You know just how hard those accused frying
pans are." he said, praying to the Kais (as Dende had obviously
forsaken him) that there was a possibility.
Goku
send his oldest son a knowing look, but it was Vegeta who answered.
Deducing from what he had seen during training, namely that Gohan
seemingly took aforementioned training very seriously, the Saiyan
Prince had decided to be civil´ during the explanation. Well,
he would at least try...
"What do you know about the bond you
created with your mate?" he asked bluntly, catching Gohan by
surprise.
Gohan
thought for a moment, recomposing himself.
"Hmm," he began,
"the night we consumed our marriage I noticed that I started being
able to hear her thoughts. Videl told me later that she noticed that
she could hear mine too. I figured it was some kind of Saiyan related
phenomenon, but did not implore further. But now the situation has
become... acute."
Vegeta
grunted.
"It is indeed a Saiyan related phenomenon, as you put
it. The bond you created with your mate is the bond a Saiyan creates
with his mate, the one partner he has chosen for life. When a Saiyan
consummates a relationship he or she mates for life with the chosen
partner. It creates a telepathic link between the partners, which is
rather useful in battle as the partners are able to communicate
without words." the Saiyan Prince explained.
Gohan
nodded interested, and also his father was listening with rapt
attention.
"And how does this bond process happen? During the
act I had the feeling of Videl's KI brushing against mine, but that
could have been my imagination."
Vegeta
smirked.
"No, it was not your imagination. As the bond is
formed, and exchange of KI takes place. A small fraction of your KI
was placed within Videl, and vice versa. Once the interchange is
complete, the bond is formed and established completely. That's
what you sensed. Didn't your Saiyan side, your instincts, tell you
what it was that happened during the act?"
Gohan shook his head.
He had decided to be honest with the Saiyan Prince.
"No,
Vegeta. I have my Saiyan side suppressed since such a long time, it
would not have had any chance to tell me what was going on."
But
what Vegeta had given was an accurate explanation for the feeling he
had had...
Said
Vegeta grunted. Not even during the act had the brats Saiyan side
come out?
'What has this harpy that calls herself his mother
done?´ Vegeta thought, nearly snarling. ´Has she
actually managed to eliminate his Saiyan inheritance after the Cell
Games? Played with his sorrows until everything that made him the
Saiyan warrior who killed that monster Cell vanished?' the
Prince of all Saiyans thought with growing horror.
Had
he done the wrong thing when he had left the young Saiyan in the care
of a woman who thought all that was Saiyan to be barbaric? Who
thought that a Super Saiyan was a monster?
He
had been hot like hell with anger when his son had told him that
Chi-Chi thought that exactly of her son, Goten. A boy who had
achieved the holy grail of the Saiyan race at the age of seven,
something that was unheard of, and that screechy, hormone-driven onna
had dared to call him a monster!
If
he had not known for a fact that Gohan would have killed him,
he would have send that harpy personally to the Afterlife, so angry
had he been.
Had
his mate not somehow sensed how angry he had been (okay, he had blown
up the GR when Trunks had told him, thus it had been hard not
to notice) and had somehow convinced him to talk about what it was
that had made him so angry he might have done it anyway. But Bulma
had been able to convince him that it was Chi-Chi's job to raise
her kids.
He
had argued that he, as the Prince of all Saiyans had the duty
to care for the well-being of his fellow Saiyans, his subjects. Bulma
had then pointed out that the title Prince of all Saiyans´
nowadays only held mere formal power.
And
Chi-Chi, who was an Earth-woman and not one of his subjects, would
surely not listen to him, the Prince of a nearly extinct civilization
in matters of how to educate her half-Saiyan sons.
In
the end, after a heated argument Vegeta had had to accept his wife's
logic, and he had sworn that he would not harm or kill the annoying,
screechy onna. But sometimes he regretted ever having made this
promise to Bulma, a promise that was bound to his honour. Now, after
Gohan's revelation that he had suppressed his Saiyan-side ever
since the end of the Cell-Games, now was such a time.
His
mate had shared his opinion that it was wrong to call either Gohan or
Goten monsters because of their inherited abilities, but she had also
given him an alternative. Namely to invite Gohan and Goten to train
with Trunks and him.
In order to show them
that their Saiyan sides were not something evil that had to be
eradicated. It had been the plan of a genius, but sadly it had not
worked out as planned. Chi-Chi had already pre-planned the lives of
her sons without asking them what they wanted to do, and thus
she did not stop pestering them to study.
And
thus, as a logical consequence the two half-Saiyans had only come
over once in a while. It was a small miracle that Gohan and
Goten had survived the education dealt out by the screechy harpy as
sane as they were.
But
hopefully that insane onna had not managed to 'exorcize' all that
was Saiyan out of them...
"So your Saiyan side did not show
itself, brat? Then it's no surprise that you had no idea what was
going on. But I'm surprised that there was enough Saiyan in you
left to create the bond in the first place." Vegeta snorted.
"And obviously you have a smart enough mate who possessed enough
instinct to do what was right. Even if she most surely did not know
what she did exactly."
Gohan absorbed all
this information and looked put out at the implied insult at
him.
"Hey, feeling insulted here! I'm still a half-Saiyan!"
the demi-Saiyan exclaimed.
The
Prince of all Saiyans smirked, 'So maybe there is some Saiyan
left in him after all. Good.' he thought and said
"That
you are is still to prove, brat. And I don't mean the Super
Saiyan transformation. That's only something you achieved due to
Saiyan genes. But if you want to be a Saiyan you have to show some
Saiyan behaviour at least. Show some backbone, brat!" the Saiyan
Prince chided.
Gohan
was really a bit angry at the mention of his Saiyan side which he had
suppressed ever since the fateful events at the Cell Games. But was
he angry at Vegeta or himself? That made him
thoughtful...
'Maybe Vegeta is right. It is a part of
me. To ignore and suppress it might not be the best thing in the long
run. I have to think about it...'
Then
he spoke something that was troubling him out loud.
"But why
is it that I can't sense that part of my KI that was passed on to
Videl during the bond? Can any of you sense it?" he asked.
Both Vegeta and Goku
shook their heads, and Vegeta gave an explanation.
"No one
can. That's what makes the bond so secure. It's such a tiny
fraction of your KI that it can't be sensed or detected. No one
besides you two and those you choose to tell will know."
Gohan
looked thoughtful.
"Was it the same on Planet Vegeta?"
Gohan asked. "If it was I could imagine that it was difficult to
tell which Saiyans were bonded, which would surely have led to, ahh,
problems if, say, an unbonded Saiyan tried to claim a bonded Saiyan
as his/hers."
A
sudden flicker of emotion could be seen in Vegeta's eyes at the
mention of his destroyed homeworld. But it was as soon gone as it
had appeared.
"That is right, brat. It was difficult and led
to problems, but the Saiyan society had developed a solution for it
before long. Each couple who had proposed received a special set of
rings that showed everyone else that they had proposed and
deemed themselves destined for another. Those rings contained special
crystals, S´Rai-crystals. Engraved in the rings were the names
of the partners, their house names and the date of the proposal. Once
the bond was formed, the S´Rai-crystals changed their colour
from blue to red. This colour showed to any other Saiyan that the
particular Saiyan was bonded, while the engravings showed to whom."
Gohan
whistled, and also Goku looked impressed. He did not know much about
his culture, and he noticed that there was a lot that would be worth
to know. Similar thoughts ran trough Gohan's mind, and Vegeta
continued to explain,
"The legends that we Saiyans marked our
mates with a bite-mark are not true. Those were simply petty
prejudices, fuelled by what that baka Frieza spread about the Saiyan
race. That we were nothing more than animals, monkeys, who could not
control their instincts. But that is not true." Vegeta
explained, his Saiyan pride clearly emanating off of him.
Gohan
was fascinated to get an insight into a culture that was half his
own. He nodded to himself. In the future he would not ignore the
other half of his being any more. But first of all he would have to
survive a certain pregnancy..
"Thank you for the insight,
Vegeta. I hope I can ask you more questions about the Saiyan
culture."
Vegeta
gave a grunt. Now there was something else the demi-Saiyan wanted to
know.
"Okay, I understand all facts regarding the Saiyan bond.
But I only hope that it is nothing like the Vulcan bond, where, if
the bond is broken through death, the surviving member will most
likely die as well."
Vegeta
smirked.
"That would be too late now anyhow, wouldn't it.
Anyway, it is not like in these petty fantasies the humans seem to
have of alien life. Once the bond is severed trough the death of one
of the members, the trace of KI disappears, doing the surviving
member no harm."
Gohan
cocked an eyebrow at that as realisation hit him.
"I can't
believe it! You actually watched Star Trek!" he exclaimed, and an
amused smile played in the corner of his mouth.
Vegeta
just shrugged it off.
"I was in search of some amusement, and
that human entertainment amused me to no end. How does the human race
ever want to be able to conquer space? What a laugh! They are much
too weak to stand their ground in that harsh universe. I
should know."
Gohan
shrugged.
"Maybe they are, but due to the inventions of your
wife they will sooner or later just do that, explore space."
Now
it was Vegeta's turn to shrug.
"They may do whatever they want
to do, as long as they mind their own damn business and don't
bother me."
Goku
and Gohan looked at each other and exchanged an amused look. That was
Vegeta for you...
"Okay, but how do I shield my thoughts from
Videl? I don't want her to hear each and every thought, and I am
quite sure you know techniques to shield your thoughts from Bulma. As
do you, dad, cause I never saw you get whacked for what you thought."
Gohan said.
Goku
nodded, grinning sheepishly. He had been completely silent during the
explanation...
"Must be my lucky star, son."
Vegeta
snorted, then continued to explain.
"Yes, there are techniques
to do that. The most commonly used technique is to create mental
shields that allow you to control which thoughts your mate should be
able to hear and which not. And before you ask, brat, yes, I am going
to teach them to you."
Gohan looked
astonished for a moment, and nodded then.
"I appreciate the
help, Vegeta."
Vegeta
just gave a grunt. During the next few hours he started to explain
the concept behind the mental shields, and even Goku paid close
attention. It became obvious that Goku had somehow managed to erect
basic shielding, which explained why he had not been bashed for
having the wrong thoughts in the past. It had most probably been a
reflex reaction to preserve his life, considering how irate Chi-Chi
was most of the time...
Within
a few hours Gohan had managed to establish his own basic shielding,
and his father had managed to enhance his rudimentary shields. Gohan
would have to train in order to strengthen his still weak shielding,
but it was definitely a begin.
It
would at least make it very difficult for Videl to hear any thoughts
coming from Gohan, but the demi still had to pay close attention so
that no thought he did not want to pass trough the shield actually
did so. This would cost him some conscious effort, but it was sure
worth it. It was far better to shield ones thoughts than being yelled
at, or worse, being whacked by that harpy instrument of torture...
Vegeta
had assured Gohan that it would become easier once he had his mental
shields fully in place, and Gohan was looking forward to it. Finally
he was free from the constant danger of thinking the 'wrong'
thing and Videl overhearing it, frying pan ready. Bad enough that he
had to be careful with what he said due to Videl's irate
state...
As
Videl was still at home or already away and Bulma and Chi-Chi were
still shopping the Saiyans resorted to some more physical training
after the mental. Sparring always served as an excellent exercise...
On
the lookout a certain green god pouted. Now they had taken one of his
favourite pastimes away from him. There they had gone and taught
Gohan how to hide his thoughts from Videl. Pheew, he would find other
ways to amuse himself...
A wicked grin crossed
Dende's features as he enjoyed another glass of Pepsi. Oh yeah, he
would...
TBC...
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== Next time: Videl continues to show Hercule that she is a force to be reckoned with, and afterwards she starts to visit her best friend Erasa. Together those two have a fateful idea... So stay tuned! ==
Thanks
for reading! And please review!
And
as always a very special thanks to my beta, who is doing a great job!
Thx!
Also
very big thanks to my good friend Psi, who pointed out some flaws in
the Saiyan bond! Thank you!
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Gogi:
Thanks! And no prob!
Tootsy: Be careful,
rolling on the floor in your condition is not innocuous. just
joking... :)
Yup, Hercule is stupid, and he learned not to boast
in front of Videl. As you said, or else...
Rejhan (from Chapter 1 and
4): Thanks, it's good to hear that! And that's Vegeta for
you. He may have softened a bit (don´t let him hear I said
this!), but he will always be blunt. As for Chi-Chi, I tried to write
her in-character. I like to think I succeeded.
Mr.Staypuft: Thanks!
And no problem. Sounds good with the update, looking forward to it!
Have fun gaming, and don't let school get you down! Btw, don't
worry, Gohan will be able to handle it. The only question is: will
Dende be able to handle the Saiyan revenge?
nick-lover1991: Heh,
yeah, but I said so. And yeah, Dende is quite enjoying himself. Don't
forget, Dende is the Kami, and besides, Nameks can materialize
objects. So it's easy for him to get Pepsi. How he got drunk on it
and what the effects of Pepsi on a Namek are will be explained later.
And I'm glad that you liked Videl whacking the old oaf, I could not
wait to write this. And I appreciate your review.
Thanks!
goldfighter: That she
did indeed. If she's finished banging Hercule´s head is for
me to know and you to find out...
ElectraBlack: Thanks
for the compliment! I'm glad that you liked it! But poor Hercule...
no!
But I can assure you, I'm really no native speaker...
Marshmellow13Dragon:
Thanks! And that's right, but Sprite doesn't have the same effect
on Dende. No problem regarding the review lapse, I would have a hard
time too if I had no broadband.
And I guess Sarki would say 'No,
it's not just you!' :)
zara m: Yup, and it's
not only the sugar that causes Dende problems...
And I had a good
time letting Hercule get whacked. It was fun! And good spoken, it's
only Hercule. Who cares? :)
cosmictwilight: Always
very much liked among DBZ-authors and fans alike, I'd say. Glad
that I could give you an idea, I like to think that I'm an
inspiration. Just joking :)
As for the mailing list, the
discussion is open. Glad that you liked the chappie!
# gives
cosmictwilight tent with unlimited popcorn # Enjoy!
Saiya-jin Queen:
Thanks! It's nice to see you once again, and I'm glad that you
liked it!
animeprincess1452:
Thanks! Yup, that fraud deserved it, for he brought it upon himself.
As for me being an inspiration, I'm flattered. :)
Saiyan-of-the-Seas:
Thank you! It's good to hear that the sequel will be out soon,
looking forward to that! And don´t worry, I will keep on
writing. All you guys are giving me all the motivation I need!
Candy the Duck: You're
right on that, but my beta came up with Pepsi and it stuck...
zfighter1989: Thank
you very much! I'm really flattered. Its reviews like this that
make my heart swell. Don't worry, my head won't swell, though...
:)
Cappucine: Thank you!
Yeah, Hercule got a little part of what he really deserves. And I
agree, Gohan does not have much to worry regarding Videl. But
regarding a certain prankster god... oO
Joou Himeko Dah:
Thanks! And you're absolutely right! Stupid Hercule, heh heh...
HieiLuver1: Thanks!
It's good to hear that! And I hope you got enough Vegeta action
this chappie, even if he lost the match to Gohan. But there's a
reason for that, which will be revealed later...
Rose Vaughn: Thank
you! #evil grin# The baka deserved it...
See,
I kept my promise. A longer chapter. Hopefully it was better too. :)
Please continue to read and review. I greatly enjoy everyone's feedback. Thank you!
The next update will probably commence Wednesday. Till then!