Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z, or any of the characters mentioned hereafter. Nor do I own the song my title is derived from, Art Of Life by X Japan.
Summary: A father's love, A mother's hate, These two will clash, For it is fate.
'thoughts'
"Speech"
Chapter Start
Dark thunderclouds threw their brilliant lightning to the ground, ripping and shredding ground and tree from the side of the vast mountains, then cast the objects down the slopes causing even more devastating destruction.
Rain poured from the clouds, mixing with the lightning's ripped ground, forming immense mudslides that changed the faces of the mountains forever.
It was as if the Earth itself was mourning yesterday's loss.
The loss of its hero. Son Goku.
And his son joined in the mourning, floating in the midst of the worlds power, crying.
Crying for his father.
Crying for his death.
Crying because it was all his fau...
No, no, wait a sec.
Maybe that's how it happened in another time and place, but this cell has long been changed from its original growth and function... which is a very fortunate thing for us, my dear reader.
Now let us try this again.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The loud, booming noise hung in the still air of the Son residence's front entrance, vibrating and bouncing off the hard, wooden walls, waiting for the response it knew would come.
And come it did, in the form of a short, black-haired woman, bustling to get the door, slight tear streaks on her face.
The door swung open, revealing the faces of two close family friends, smiling with excitement.
"Hey Chi. Is Gohan around?"
"He's in his room. And why, may I ask, do you want to see him?" her voice and eyes had a hint of steel in them that went unnoticed by the pair.
"There's gunna be a big parade over in Orange Star City, going to be like none before. Figured he might want to go."
"What's this parade for, hmm?" an eyebrow quirked with minor curiosity.
The smiles fell only slightly from their faces, they had hoped that Chi Chi would not ask this question, naturally, they did not have a dragon's luck today.
The taller of the two looked down at his much shorter friend, hoping that he would step up and rescue him from this sticky predicament, which he did... with more than only slight hesitation.
"Well Chi, it's a parade for the defeat of Cell."
"Well, why didn't you say so? Gohan surely can't miss a parade held in his honour." The two barely caught the undertones of sarcasm in her voice, glancing at each other, they quickly agreed that this was not one of their best ideas, definitely should have gone straight to Gohan.
"Well actually, it's not in Gohan's honour. Someone else... sorta... took credit for the fight..."
They could feel their veins chill with the coldness that was now being sent their way, mainly focused through Chi Chi's eyes.
"And who would be fool enough to try and take such a thing." It was a statement, a statement that dared them to answer it, with the penalty of a harsh and vile death if they didn't.
While they did not have a dragon's luck today, whatever luck they did have was used up on what happened next.
Gohan came down stairs.
"Gohan! Just who we we're looking for! Listen man, how would you feel about going to a parade celebrating Cell's defeat, like right now?" nervous glances were thrown in Chi Chi's direction, since she had to turn around to look at Gohan
Gohan, not expecting to get this offer as soon as he came downstairs, or ever in fact, studied all three adults for a moment.
Yamcha and Krillin were looking quite hopeful, while Chi Chi had on one of those looks, which showed she was in one of those moods again. The frequency of these moods was alarmingly increasing, something that gave Gohan a near desperate want to always be away from the house.
"Sure! Just let me grab some things first." His quick acceptance did not sit perfectly well with his mother.
He quickly re-ascended the stairs. Hastening from his mother's presence. When his footsteps could no longer be heard, Chi Chi slowly shifted her gaze back to the to men, one giving her a sheepish smile while the other took a few steps back, the later, Krillin, knew Chi Chi better, much much better.
"Well, since my permission was not asked for I'd better make a few things clear now..." her arm lashed out and grabbed the closer of the two men, "I had better not hear of some certain things you have come to be known for, and I mean: no beer, no magazines, and none of your stupid ideas about how certain establishments are healthy for a young boy. And Krillin, you had better make sure that he follows these."
"Of course Chi Chi, you have nothing to worry about. Everything will be fine."
The steel in her eyes was harder than ever.
"Somehow, I don't find that comforting."
Gohan stood in his room, looking for the few things he needed before he went to the city.
The first was his wallet, which he tucked into a small pouch that he had just attached to the bottom of his large steel blue belt.
The second was a key to the house, just in case his mother was not around when they returned, this was also tucked into the pouch.
The last thing was a chain, which he wrapped around his neck twice so that it would fit without too much slack. He did not know exactly why he wore the chain, it was after all just a plain chain, but just felt it necessary when going to the city.
He walked out of his room, closing the door on the large white piece of fabric that was slung over his chair. Though the cape did complete the purple gi he wore, he felt it would make him stand out too much in the city. He didn't know of anyone that wore such an accessory, aside from his sensei Piccolo.
The familiar squeak of the stairs was all he heard as he returned to the main floor, where Yamcha and Krillin were waiting.
He made his way over to them, they seemed anxious to leave.
"Ok guys, let's go."
"Great, well uh... it was nice seeing you again Chi Chi, he'll be back later tonight."
They quickly left to their escape, but did not make it far, as Chi Chi's voice called for their attention once again.
"Krillin... you never said who the parade was for."
"Oh just some crazy doofus called Hercule Satan. Well we gotta run, don't want to miss anything. See ya."
They blasted off into the sky before the Son matriarch could make any more interruptions.
Aforementioned woman stood in the door for a moment, watching as their trails of light faded into the distance, before turning and shutting the door behind her, eyes hard as steel the entire time.
She would never forget the name Hercule Satan.
End chapterAuthors notes: Ok this was really just a filler chapter to get to the Parade. Really I finished this chapter almost a week ago, but... have I ever told you guys I hate floppy's? They just never seem to work for me.
Anyways, hope you liked it.
Date Completed: September 14, 2004