Satan City, District 666, Erasa's Home; Erasa's Room, The Night Following Training
"Remain calm..." Erasa's soft voice could be heard through the imperceptible darkness that shrouded her entire room. With her eyes closed, the lack of light meant little anyway, it was merely for dramatic effect. Evening her breath, as if on instinct by this point, the now familiar "pull" of her own inner well of ki called to her.
"Tapping into ki, you must clear your mind and only focus on the inside. Feel that warmth build up in the center of your body and focus on that."
Gohan's words, clear as crystal, resonated in the blonde girl's head as she felt the warmth from the center of her body flood outward and into the palm of her hands. It erupted once more into the familiar, spiraling sphere she was used to, but it shone much brighter than before, nearly illuminating her entire room in a soft white glow.
"I can really do it, Gohan," Erasa thought to herself with pride. With this, she was taking another step closer to him.
East District 439, Base of Mount Paozu, Son Residence
An uncomfortable silence sat over the Son family as Chi-Chi's two sons sat down at the table for breakfast. Gohan and Chi-Chi were avoiding making eye contact with the other, and she spoke only to her youngest son as she asked for help setting the table. It was quite clear the argument from the previous day was weighing heavily on both their minds; only poor Goten had no idea what was creating the unbearable atmosphere.
The family ate in silence, a tense muteness that pervaded the entire room. The sound of the clock ticking could be heard, chopsticks clicking against bowls as the family ate their food. Goten and Gohan, whose ears were more developed as Saiyans, were used to these noises, and did their best to ignore them, despite their magnified volume. It was Chi-Chi who began to look obviously uncomfortable, noises she was unused to adding to the pressure.
The instant dinner was finished, Gohan knew he had to break the silence. If he didn't say something soon, he was quite sure his voice was crack from being underused.
"Mom, I need to tell you something," Gohan's voice rang out through the hush, and just as he suspected, sounded quite hoarse.
Chi-Chi looked up from the sink, a worried expression crossing her face as she nearly dropped one of the wooden rice bowls into the sink. "Goten, honey, why don't you play outside?" She said sweetly to her youngest child
"But I want—!" The boy began to make a protest, not eager to be cut out of the conversation when it had finally just started.
"Go on, Goten," It was Gohan who urged his little brother away from the table and out towards the door. "Why don't you go play with Chobi?"
"Alright!" The miniature Saiyan's eyes lit up excitedly at the prospect of going to find the baby pterodactyl. Without any need for further persuasion, the boy tore out of the house, leaving his brother alone with their mother, the silence falling once more.
"About what I was saying," Cutting through the muteness as quickly as he could, Gohan wanted to say what was on his mind before he lost his nerve. "I had all last night to think about it, and I feel I owe you an apology for what I said yesterday."
Chi-Chi blinked in confusion; was her son apologizing to her? After everything he'd said the previous day?
"I'm not going to lie to you and say it was entirely uncalled for. Seven years I've had to live with my shame of knowing that I've caused my father to die in a way that didn't befit him at all. Every time I've closed my eyes I see his proud smile vanish before my outstretched hand, telling me goodbye. Having his name so casually brought up has reopened that wound and callously sealed back up, making it sore for years that I've lately been finding it hard to stand hearing you speak." Having had the entire previous night to mull over his argument with his mother, Gohan had decided that while what he said had their points, really shouldn't have approached it the way he did. "But after all these years, even when I had finally vented out my feelings, I had no satisfaction. I had no right to speak to you in that way. You had been having trouble coping, just as I have, and you had no idea how to handle it. I'm sorry for not being more understanding to you or realizing how much hurt you've been feeling as well. I'm sorry, Mom."
Chi-Chi couldn't help but feel shocked. Gohan, after everything he had said to her the day before, was now apologizing to her. "Oh, Gohan," The woman's voice was soft, motherly even; a tone Gohan hadn't heard from Chi-Chi in a great many years — not since Goten was born, in fact. "It means a lot to hear you say that, but you're right, what you said wasn't uncalled for. I did a lot of thinking last night as well, and I know I put you through more than I should have when you were growing up. And watching your father die couldn't have made it any better. I put both of you boys through a lot, and I can't go back and change any of it, I know that. But I can start making it better for you two now."
Chi-Chi let out a heavy breath; she knew she had to let go of her son, starting now. He was growing older, and if she didn't stop being overprotective right now, she would damage him in the future. "You're meeting up with your classmate again, aren't you?" She changed tack at the drop of a hat, and Gohan flinched instinctively. What was she about to say?
"Why don't you bring her up to meet Goten and myself?" A kind smile stretched across Chi-Chi's face, and the uncomfortable atmosphere melted on the spot. "She can have lunch with us, and I'll get to see just what she's like."
"Thanks, Mom!" Gohan smiled wide, unable to believe this. Not only had he and his mother made up, she actually wanted to meet Erasa.
"Are you being serious, Gohan?" Erasa was speaking through the phone located in the cockpit of her hovercraft, having called Gohan only moments earlier so he would know she was on her way. "Your mother actually wants me to come up to the house?"
"Erasa, this is the fifth time you've asked me that, and the answer hasn't changed within the last minute," Gohan's familiar, nonchalant laughter ringing through the receiver located on the dashboard. "I can't believe it myself, but she really wants to meet you!"
"Are you sure?" Erasa repeated her interrogation, refusing to believe, after all she'd heard, that Chi-Chi would actually allow her to step within even five feet of her home. "I'm still just so dumbfounded by this..."
"I told you, it's alright!" Gohan assured her quickly. "That's the sixth time and counting, Erasa. You'll believe me only when you get here!"
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Erasa agreed. "I'm almost there, so I'll see you when I arrive!" She pressed the button to end her call, unable to stop herself from smiling. Chi-Chi actually wanted to meet her...despite everything she'd heard about this woman, Gohan had somehow convinced his mother to meet her. "Please, please like me..." Erasa thought to herself, desperately hoping Chi-Chi wouldn't disapprove of her in some way.
The half-dome Son Residence came into view just over the hood of her hovercraft. She'd never truly gotten to see it in person before; rubbing her eyes, she noted it was actually about what she expected. A humble home in the middle of the mountains suited Gohan very well. Peering out of the bubble-shield, she saw there was no landing space, but Gohan was standing on the ground waiting for her, waving towards an open spot right in front of the house.
With Gohan acting as marshal, the hovercraft thrummed down to the grassy field, gently clanking to a perfect landing. With the crisp clicking of gears, the bubble shaped shield pulled back, allowing Erasa to make a agile jump down to the soft soil in front of her aircraft. As she had come originally to continue training, Erasa's attire was fairly light; a navy blue jacket, worn over a green undershirt that pooled out from underneath, as well as cycling tights which matched the jacket in colour, and dark blue sneakers.
Gohan, unconsciously, appreciated the sharp contrast to Erasa's school-clothes and casual attire — though he had the distinct feeling that Erasa could look good no matter what she was wearing.
The two ran over to greet each other, smiles wide on their faces. Upon closer inspection, Gohan saw faint bags under Erasa's eyes — a clear indication of a lack of sleep. "Hey Erasa, are you alright?" He inquired, concerned. "It doesn't look like you slept much at all."
"Don't worry about it," Erasa replied through a barely stifled yawn. "It wasn't much, I'm in better shape than Videl — I think her vigilante duties, schoolwork, and training are all starting to collapse in on her." Despite her exhausted state, she looked cheerful and her face was brimming with energy. "Let me show you why I look so beat."
The latter statement perked Gohan's interest. "Go on, I'm eager to see!"
Erasa cupped both her hands in front of her body, and, with a soft flash, a spiraling sphere of bright white ki energy formed in her palms. She smiled, looking over at Gohan expectantly. "Isn't it amazing? I stayed up all night practicing this, Gohan! And now I can do it within seconds!"
"Erasa, that's amazing!" Gohan was impressed and even a little surprised by Erasa's progress. For a human to have come this far with ki training in just a day was unheard of — with the possible exception of his father's friend, Yamcha, who Gohan had heard started from swordsmanship before progressing to ki as a young adult. "I've never seen anyone progress so far; you're a natural talent!"
Closing her hands, she compressed the sphere until it vanished, a victorious smile crossing her face. Staying up all night had been a success after all. Even better, he seemed absolutely impressed. "Now if his mother can just react the same way." She thought, a nervous chuckle escaping her lips. "Thanks, Gohan! Now..." She cast her eyes towards the wooden front door of the Son residence.
"Are you nervous?" Gohan inquired, despite the answer being obvious.
"If only a little," Erasa replied, her voice unsure. "Given everything you've said, your mother seems like a very imposing woman. I'm not sure how well she's going to take to me, actually." It was a strange tense feeling she couldn't shake; she could feel her heart pounding away, and a bead of sweat dripped down her face.
"Don't worry," Gohan replied, placing his hand very gently on her shoulder in an encouraging manner. "My mother, for all her ups and downs, is a good person when you get to know her. And I know you'll be fine, so, let's go greet her." Whether Erasa — or even Gohan himself — was ready for this moment was irrelevant now; Gohan pulled the wooden door to his home open as gently as possible to avoid snapping the hinges.
"Mom, she's here!" Gohan called out to his mother as Erasa kicked her shoes off at the door.
"She is?" The voice of Chi-Chi rang from the kitchen, and Gohan's careful ears could excited trepidation behind Chi-Chi's tone. It appeared every individual present was worried this little gathering might backfire in some way.
"Goten, come over here to meet our guest," Chi-Chi called upstairs as she walked into the living room, drying her hands on a white cloth which she quickly stowed inside her apron. The younger brother had been called back for lunch and was currently playing in his room.
"So this is Chi-Chi." Erasa thought nervously, her sapphire orbs scanned Chi-Chi over, and a quick look told her everything she needed to know. This woman was the spitting image of a housewife, and yet she had a powerful presence around her that was complimented by her beautiful pale skin and ebony hair. In fact, Erasa noted she could see quite a bit of resemblance between mother and son, despite the different genders and body build.
"H-hello, Mrs. Chi-Chi," Erasa stumbled through a very awkward greeting, and her face flushed crimson as a result of her embarrassment.
"I can definitely see why Gohan has a thing for her," Chi-Chi thought, scanning over Erasa similarly to how Erasa had analyzed her. "Blonde hair, athletic build...she almost reminds me of myself when I was younger." Chi-Chi smiled warmly, half in response to Erasa's endearing greeting, and half due to remembering herself and Goku when they were younger. Decided she approved of Erasa, Chi-Chi extended a welcoming hand to Erasa, who took it in surprise.
"It's very nice to meet you, Erasa," The housewife replied warmly, and both Gohan and Erasa relaxed, all tension vanishing. "And please, don't be so formal. Call me Chi-Chi. I trust you're taking good care of my son?"
"Of course," Erasa replied confidently, feeling much more at ease now that Chi-Chi seemed to be accepting her. "Gohan is in completely safe hands with me."
"That's good to hear," The older woman smiled, pleased with this answer. "Come on, we'll take more during lunch. GOTEN, COME ON OUT HERE!" Her cheerful demeanor quickly switched to stern mother the moment she had to tell Goten what to do for a second time.
Lunch at the Son household was a new experience for Erasa. Having lived in a city all her life, she was surprised the moment she saw the Son siblings setting the wooden table that Gohan had placed almost directly outside of the half-dome dwelling. While Gohan and his mother went about setting out trays of food, Erasa and Goten hit it off almost instantly, the boy's childishly adorable disposition winning her over immediately.
"Thank you for inviting me to lunch, Chi-Chi," Erasa confessed, only realizing just how hungry she was when she saw the food that had been placed onto the table; bowls of rice, platters of grilled fish, deep fried pork, as well as assorted vegetables. It appeared the Son family really enjoyed to eat meat.
"I'm glad to have over, so don't mention it," Chi-Chi replied casually, doling out rice into her own bowl. While her sons eagerly began to eat — so much like their father when it came to food — Chi-Chi decided to strike up conversation with Erasa. The more she could learn about this girl, the better.
"So, how's your home life?" The elderly woman asked casually. "What do your parents do for a living?"
Erasa blinked, the question taking her by surprise. She hadn't expected to be interrogated by Chi-Chi, but she supposed answering her questions wouldn't hurt — besides, nothing the ebony-haired woman had asked was anything Gohan didn't already know.
"I'm an only child, and I live with my father," The blonde girl explained, talking amid the sounds of Goten and Gohan devouring food. "My mother died seven years ago, before I started high school. Ever since then, it's just been Dad and myself."
Chi-Chi's hand shot up towards her mouth, stifling a sympathetic gasp that escaped it. "I-I'm sorry to hear that," The woman immediately offered her condolences to the younger girl. "I shouldn't have pried."
"No, don't worry about it," Erasa insisted, not wanting Chi-Chi to get uncomfortable so quickly. "It's been a few years already, and ever telling Gohan about this, I'm actually getting a little better at talking about it."
While it was obvious to Gohan that Erasa was still not truly comfortable mentioning her mother's death, he did take notice that she was in fact improving. The awkward silence that had plagued them both only a few weeks prior at the very mention of their dead parents had not manifested itself here.
"My father works in an office regulating booking and numbers for the Office Supplies Company," Erasa carried on. "He's the overseeing manager of his office, so he actually makes enough money to keep us afloat. We're not rich but he works hard enough that we can live in Satan City's better districts and our house has quite a few luxuries." Erasa smiled to herself, thinking of just how hard her father truly does work to provide for both of them.
Chi-Chi couldn't help but smile as well. For everything she'd said to Gohan — and she was now internally apologizing for every insult — it appeared her son had latched himself onto a very dependable and well adjusted girl. "And what about you, Erasa? What do you do in your spare time?"
"Me?" The blonde girl's azure orbs widened, a tad surprised at an additional question, but she nevertheless went on to make an answer. "My focus is athletics and sports. I'm a member at a gym, and at school I'm in several athletic clubs this semester. In fact I'm on the swim team right now. I guess you could call me the athletic type."
"Oho, an active girl," Chi-Chi's approval of Erasa was only furthering itself with every detail the girl spoke. "That's good, you're going to need energy to keep up with Gohan."
"Oh, I know," Erasa replied, giggling, and the two women started to laugh, causing Gohan to wonder if he was the butt of some joke only these two could understand.
"Is Erasa the girl Gohan is kissy-kissy with?" Goten asked innocently, while still shoveling food into his mouth in a manner characteristic of Goku.
The reaction to such an innocent sentence was astounding. Gohan, who had been eating a healthy portion of rice, immediately spewed half-chewed food at rocket speed in the direction of his little brother in shock. Erasa, on the other hand, began to cough furiously, having inhaled a small piece of food in surprise.
"Goten!" Gohan sputtered, wiping rice from his chin.
"I-it's not like that yet!" Erasa rasped, her breathing uneven. Completely missing the last word, she felt that her face had flushed crimson once more. Why was she so vehemently in denying such an accusation? Certainly it wouldn't be bad, would it...?
Wiping his face of the spewed rice, Goten continued to press the two, oblivious to his innocent insensitivity. "If it's not that yet, will it be that soon? Are you going to be my new sister?"
"Goten, that's enough, don't pester them," Chi-Chi reprimanded her youngest son, causing Goten to silence himself. Erasa and Gohan breathed a sigh of relief, now that the awkward questioning was over. Chi-Chi, on the other hand, felt a smile slide onto her face. "They're so awkward together. It truly does remind me of myself and Goku in our younger years. But, I suppose that's how all cute couples start." Satisfied with this thought, the mother watched as a normal atmosphere settled again around the table.
"Learning to fly isn't that difficult, especially now that you've got a handle on controlling ki," Gohan explained, he and Erasa sitting down on the grass in their familiar spot. Lunch had ended rather successfully, and Chi-Chi had agreed to let the teenagers have their alone time while Goten mentioned going to meet up with Trunks, who wanted to show him something "cool".
"I can handle it, easy or difficult," The blonde girl clenched her fists at her sides, a look of firm determination on her face.
"I know you can," Gohan chuckled, finding Erasa's confidence to be an admirable trait. It was one of Erasa's many positive traits, that she seemed unable to back down in the face of adversity. Gohan definitely liked that about her. "Let's stand up. You'll need to for this."
Erasa followed his instructions, clambering to feet, showing slightly more difficulty than Gohan, who seemed to leap into an upright possession easily.
"As I said, learning to fly is a lot more simple than it sounds, and when you get a handle on flying, using ki for other purposes will all be second nature to you," Gohan explained, justifying fairly quickly why he was trying to teach Erasa to fly before anything else. "Tell me, what was the first thing you noticed about the ki sphere you created yesterday?"
"Um..." Erasa fumbled over an answer in her head. The first thing she remembered was the warmth of the ki energy as it spread throughout her body; almost like a bath set at just the right temperature. But she had a suspicion that this wasn't the correct answer. "If I had to guess...it was self-sustaining, right? After I generated the sphere, I didn't need to focus on it to actively maintain it, and I didn't need to apply any more energy to it other than the amount I'd used to create it in the first place."
"That's dead-on!" Gohan's tone praised her intuition; he hadn't expected to guess it correctly, though he supposed her practice last night had given her some understanding of exactly how the sphere worked. Pleasant surprise changing to satisfaction, he knew it would easier to explain from here.
"Flying is going to be a bit more difficult than simply creating a sphere of ki," Gohan carried on, Erasa listening intently. "In creating the sphere of ki, you only need to draw out a finite amount of ki and give it shape. It's a basic introductory lesson to the art of ki control.
"However, in order to fly, the process is going to be a bit tricky," Gohan knew this would be the critical moment of explanation. "The general explanation is that you simply take your ki, and place it underneath you, and doing this holds you up. But there's a bit more to it than just that."
"That explanation sounded simple enough," Erasa thought to herself. "How can that be tricky?"
"To fly, you'll need to pull the ki from the center of your body, and then a constant amount of ki from the soles of your feet; this requires precise, exact control," Gohan continued on as Erasa hung onto his every word. "You can't release too much or too little, only the exact amount required to make you float. The flight technique will refine your control of ki to the point that you can use only the exact amount needed with other techniques, and with enough practice, releasing the proper amount to float above the ground and fly through the air becomes second nature."
"Now I see what you mean," Erasa chuckled. The basic explanation of placing ki underneath oneself sounded easy enough, however, the necessary control needed to maintain flight was where Erasa knew she was going to have a few issues.
"I've got a way to make it easier on you," The hybrid helpfully offered. "As opposed to simply standing in one spot and willing your feet to lift you up, it might be better to take baby-steps into the process. This will be another lesson in ki control, similar to the sphere formation. From the center of your body, gather your ki, and disperse it throughout the rest of your body — focus it into your limbs — imbuing your muscles with your own latent energy."
Gohan stood straight, with his arms at his sides and legs together. "As the energy spreads through your body, perform simple jumping jacks." He jumped into the air, moving both legs outward and raising his arms above his head, jettisoning ki from his feet to ensure the highest leap. Floating softly in the air, he called down to Erasa, "At the moment you make a leap, expel your ki from your feet, and try to gain altitude. Remember, not too much, or you may lose your balance entirely. Too little and you won't go anywhere." He descended neatly to the ground as Erasa watched in amazement, eyes wide.
"That was...amazing! But isn't jumping jacks a bit of an odd way to introduce someone to flight?" Erasa inquired, confused. While she had to admit, Gohan made it look cool, jumping jacks didn't seem very effective at learning to fly. It honestly reminded her of something a buffoon would do, trying to flap their arms as if they could fly.
"It may seem like that at first, but you'll soon find there's a bit more technique to employing this method than simply waiting around," Gohan's casual explanation was enough to give Erasa a confidence booster. He'd been doing this for years now, so he had to know what he was talking about.
"Alright! I'll give it my best!" The blonde girl replied confidently.
And thus, Erasa's training to master Bukūjutsu — the art of flying. Unsurprising, Erasa found that emitting a set amount of ki from her body was proving to be very difficult. Several tries afforded her no results; she simply looked like a high school girl performing jumping jacks in her free time.
Dragging the ki from it's origin in the center of her body wasn't an issue for Erasa by this point; she knew very well how to find it, and the sensation of pulling it out. Getting the amount to be just what she needed to float, however, was proving far more difficult than she'd hoped.
"I can't give you any advice for that," Gohan explained when Erasa had asked Gohan exactly how much ki she would need to get off the ground. "The ki needs to be able to match the weight of your body, so the amount of ki needed to fly is going to differ for every person who uses the technique. You simply need to remember the feeling of the first time you lift off the ground; commit to memory and replicate it!"
Taking this to heart, Erasa began to performing jumping jacks once more, concentrating on the ki within her body, steadily trying to increase the amount she'd need to become airborne. For nearly half an hour, nothing truly eventful happened. Erasa had managed to expel slightly more ki than before, however, the end result was barely enough to take her an inch off the ground — and unable to control herself in this brief weightless state, Erasa felt herself wobbling and she fell backwards...right into the arms of Gohan, who, smiling, had reacted with lightning speed to prevent Erasa from falling on her rear.
"Are you alright?" Gohan asked, his voice concerned despite the amused smile that crept across his face.
"Y-yeah..." Erasa panted, the shock of the fall leaving her short of breath. The proximity of Gohan's body to her own, especially in this scenario — the second time he'd saved her from some form of injury — caused the young woman's face to flush pink in the cheeks. "Let me try again, I'll get it right this time!"
"Alright, but don't stress yourself," Gohan urged her, helping her up and moving off to the side, resuming his position as overseer. "That was actually a really close attempt. I didn't expect her to get the handle controlling her own ki in such a short amount of time..." He watched Erasa with proud eyes as he kept a close watch on her physical form and the ki she was using through his ability to sense ki. Remembering his childhood, Gohan knew that it took even him much longer than this to get a handle on ki control; admittedly, he wasn't much to speak of as a child, and most of the time he should have spent learning ki was wasted crying for Piccolo to come save him.
"I wonder how Piccolo is doing...?" Gohan thought to himself as he shrugged off that last memory and internally snarked that Erasa was quite lucky not to have asked the Namekian to give her lessons.
Stopping to steady her breath, Erasa drew ki from the center of her body, whilst performing the movements for the jumping jacks. She spread the ki throughout her body, feeling new strength flow through her muscles. Making her leap, Erasa forced ki down through her feet, however, she made one critical error; she overdid it, expelling more energy than she'd intended.
"Whoooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" She cried as she felt herself rocket upward, wind pressured bearing down on her body with immense force, but the speed at which she shot upward, much like a champagne cork, ignored it entirely.
"Erasa!" Gohan reacted like a snake striking prey; the moment he saw Erasa violently rocket upwards, he immediately lifted himself from the ground, dashing straight past Erasa, floating far above her in the sky. He had to forcibly suppress the urge to catch her body — a sudden stop from moving at such speed could end in Erasa's death — and he thrust his hands forward, releasing an invisible, multi-layered barrier of sparse ki to impede, but not stop, Erasa's progress.
The girl felt herself collide with an invisible cushion, breaking through before she collided with several more, feeling her body gradually slow down to a more reasonable pace, until she could barely feel the air pressure on her body. It was then that Gohan made his move, deftly catching the girl and descended to the ground.
The blonde chuckled weakly in Gohan's arms, and, trying to ignore the fact that she was firmly pressed against Gohan's chest, she looked up into the worried eyes of the Saiyan-Human hybrid. "H-hey, I technically made myself airborne this time!" She quipped, trying to assuage the boy's worries.
Gohan's face relaxed, letting out a weak laugh of his own. "You nearly die, and you make a joke about it...what am I going to do with you?"
Several hours had since passed after Erasa's mishap. The fiery red orb that hung in the sky was descending low over the horizon, dyeing the once-blue sky a brilliant mixture of red and orange, that settled into a dim mauve in the far horizon as the time escaped both of the teenagers on the sun-dyed grass below.
These several hours, however, had not been wasted. Erasa's perseverance and faith in her own abilities, as well as Gohan's careful guidance and monitoring of her progress, had paid off in a very big way.
Erasa was floating several inches off the ground. With a wide grin, she was truly defying gravity, and, while not in a true state of weightlessness, was capable of maintaining it fairly well for someone who'd only succeeded not five minutes ago.
"You did it!" Gohan crowed excitedly, a wide grin on his face at the sight of Erasa's success. "You're actually floating!"
"G-Gohan, let me concentrate!" Erasa replied sharply, her grin fading as the distraction of Gohan's voice nearly caused her to stop releasing ki from the soles of her feet. Breathing heavily, she slowly lowered the amount of ki she released, and in doing so, lowered herself steadily until she touched the ground. "Whew...!" She wiped the sweat from her brow, appearing as if she'd just run a mile.
"Erasa, that was amazing!" Gohan was seemingly unaware of being reprimanded by the blonde haired girl, continued to yammer on in his excitement. "If you keep making steady progress like this, you'll be flying in no-time flat. Just remember the feeling you had; apply that amount of energy again, and this shouldn't be a problem for you!"
"That feeling..." Erasa tried to remember the feeling of floating; the ki she'd released from her feet felt similar to the sphere she'd generated from before, but different; a kind of calm euphoria. "I'll remember it!" As she looked at the sky, and the brilliant setting sun, Erasa only just realized how late it was getting.
"I really should be getting home, Gohan," The blonde girl said, with an edge of disappointment in her voice. She wasn't eager to leave, but her father would get worried if she wasn't home soon. And worse, the duo's next week of school began the following day — this might seriously dampen their training. Pulling out her case of Hoi-Poi capsules, she rummaged around in it, pulling out capsule number 3. Tossing it casually, it exploded with a large puff of smoke into Erasa's familiar jet flier.
"'I'll pick you up for school tomorrow," Gohan replied, still brimming with excitement.
"Don't be late!" Erasa called back as the bubble-shield pulled back, allowing Erasa to leap into the cockpit, closing the shield once more. Smiling to herself at just how eventual and positive her day had been, she waved at Gohan as the vehicle rose into the air, before flying off and out of sight, leaving the hybrid alone in the sunset.
A/N: Whoo boy. This chapter took longer to put out than I like; over two weeks, in fact. One thing I really hope my readers take to heart is that it's not the speed in which the chapter is produced, but the content within the chapter that matters. This chapter may have taken less time to put out, had I not been playing a few games I borrowed from a friend of mine and would really like to return at some point in the near future.
I really hope everyone enjoys this chapter; I did like writing it, even though the delay was too long. Gohan and Chi-Chi apologizing was a fairly difficult scene, because (and this runs in my family), I have issues apologizing myself. I don't like to be wrong, or to admit that I am wrong, so it was as difficult for me to write the apologies as it was for Gohan and Chi-Chi to say them.
Stay tuned, everyone, for the next exciting chapter of The Erased Chronicles. I've got a bit in store to make the next chapter for more eventful than this one! And, as always, let's thank my friend Mangetsu20, who is a big help in both brainstorming and proofreading!