Chapter 7
Again, Erasa awoke to the smell of good things, but there was something else now – she was being carried by someone, someone strong, "Huh?"
Gohan looked down with a smile, "Oh, you're awake already."
"Gohan? What happened?"
He grinned at her wryly, "You passed out again, Erasa. You know, this is going to take forever if you keep doing that."
Erasa blinked a few times and then smiled a little as it came back to her, "Sorry, but it's a lot to take in." She stopped smiling after a second and realized something – she wasn't hearing any footsteps. She looked down and saw the floor directly below them… twenty feet below them, "Gohan!"
He gave her a rather cute little boy grin, "Yes, Erasa?"
She didn't care as she started to go into complete freak-out mode, "WHYAREWETWENTYFEETABOVETHEGROUNDANDHOWAREYOUDOINGTHAT?"
He gave her a very serious look and deadpanned, "I'm controlling my ki and using it to keep us both off of the ground. Observe as we go up a little more," they increased their elevation by ten feet, which she shrieked at, "left and right," they moved, "and finally down." After a few seconds, they were on the ground and Gohan was releasing her, "There, we're all safe."
Erasa stood shakily, one of her hands with a death grip of Gohan's arm while the other one waved erratically above, behind and around him, looking and feeling for the wires that had just been used…and no finding them, "How…"
Gohan gently walked her over to a padded bench and sat her down, "That's part of what I wanted to talk to you about. As a true martial artist, you learn about not only fighting, but how to control your ki, the energy created by your body and soul, and with that control you can do great things – they can be terrible, yes, but great things none the less."
Erasa shot him a glare, "Hey, I've read Harry Potter, too, so don't snow me." He gave her a sheepish grin and she calmed down, "So… you can do things like Cell?"
She saw him wince a bit but nod, "Yes, I can. Anyone, with enough and the correct training, can do things like that."
"Then why aren't there dozens, hundred, no, THOUSANDS of people who can do that?"
Gohan shrugged, "Simple answer is that very few are patient enough in this day and age to learn how to do this kind of stuff." He held up his hand, palm up and flat, and a ball of blue energy appeared above it, "It took me over six months to even get my ki to appear when I wanted it to, rather than when I needed it, and it's taken me this long to do it without having to get angry. Lots of meditation, hours upon hours of it and martial arts practice, which left little time for friends or a social life."
Erasa nodded, she could understand the reasoning, sorta, "Okay, but why are you showing me this?"
He shrugged, "Well, for one, I think you can keep a secret, and two… you wanted answers, and this is part of it." She smiled at this but he held up a hand, "Not all of it, mind you, that will take time to explain and I think you have enough to think about now, but we'll get to it… if you want."
Erasa nodded eagerly, "Yeah, I do!" She then calmed down, "Gohan… do you really know Kami? I mean, I know a lot of people who talk to him, supposedly, but…"
Gohan snickered, "That was the first hurdle he had to get over, Erasa. Dende… well, he's not from around these parts, so he had to get over the amount of people talking to him first… well, talking, screaming at him, crying out his name in the depths of passion, that kind of stuff."
Erasa blushed at that, "Oh my."
Gohan nodded, "Yeah, that's what he said when the adult film stars started reaching his ears. I think he's learned to tune it out."
Erasa blushed even more, "I'd like to think he has." She looked around at the place they were at and suddenly realized just how beautiful it was, "This place is… gorgeous."
"Thank you. Mr. Popo puts a lot of work into it." She turned and saw a small green man, dressed in white and brown robes, carrying a staff in his hands, standing next to a pillar, just beside Mr. Piccolo. He was cute, in a young kind of way, and his antennae twitched slightly as he approached, "You must be Erasa."
Erasa blinked a few times before she shot to her feet and bowed deeply and repeatedly to the Kami, "Hail, Kami!" She did it so much that she got dizzy, so much so that when she finally stopped, the world spun and she started to fall back, but she was stopped by the chest of Gohan, who wrapped his arms around her… and boy did that feel nice.
The little green man next to the not-so-little green man snickered a little, "Please, call me Dende, and there is no need for the dramatics. According to Piccolo, I'm quite laid back in my approach to things."
"That's because you're still learning," Piccolo growled even as he eyed Gohan and Erasa with a bemused look. The girl looked like she was enjoying the fact that Gohan had not let go and Gohan appeared to have not noticed her joy or that he hadn't let go yet, "Come on, Gohan. We need to train, so let Dende talk to Erasa."
Gohan nodded and let her go, which caused a moment of displeasure to flash through Erasa's mind and over her face, "Be careful with her, Dende. She's kinda new at this."
Erasa looked at Gohan as he left and then turned back to Kami… Dende, "Is he going to be okay?"
Dende nodded, "Don't worry, Gohan won't hurt Piccolo that much." Erasa blinked at this and followed him as he motioned to her, "So, Erasa, tell me about what you think of Gohan…"
(Elsewhere)
Eighteen frowned as she approached the Tower at a high rate of speed – why in the nine hells would Erasa be there?
She banished those thoughts from her mind as she saw two figures standing in a position that told her they were about to spar and she dove at them, screaming, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY NIECE?"
AN: Alright, there's the set-up. Next part, sadly, will be delayed – reviews, please.
