Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z.

Author's Notes: Well, I know it's been a while, but this chapter was difficult to write. And I had to do it all from scratch. I probably won't get the next chapter out until after Thanksgiving. Hope you enjoy.



Chapter 24: Contest



Kami's Lookout. Although it had seen battles and destruction by both Garlic Jr. and Buu, and it had been the setting of some of the most intense training ever known, God's house seemed to be a haven of peace and tranquility. Dende was watching the world over the southern edge. Mr. Popo was happily watering the intricate garden he'd finally perfected after many long years (the Namekian dragon had not restored the garden well after the Buu incident). Piccolo was taking time out from training and meditating to talk with Gohan, who was taking time out from his teaching and research to visit his old mentor. All was calm and quiet. Until . . .

"Gohan!" Jita landed in the middle of Kami's Lookout and spun around, quickly locating the annoyed demi-Saiyan professor. He had come up here to get away from pressure.

"Gohan," she continued. "Why are you up here and not reading those papers? Are you done? What did I make? And, by the way, where exactly are we?"

Dende couldn't help but notice the noisy intruder. He couldn't even concentrate on the volcano eruption near Hawaii. He turned to face the girl, who he quickly recognized from when he looked in on the Z-warriors. "Hello, Jita. You're on Kami's Lookout. I am Dende, Earth's kami, and this is Piccolo." The young god would have introduced Mr. Popo, but he had disappeared inside.

Jita eyed them both warily. "Ah, yes. The Nameks. I would introduce myself, but since you already know everything about me from your infernal spying, I won't bother."

Gohan rolled his eyes. "Listen, Jita, you'll find out your paper grade when everyone else does. Now, unless you're here to pick a fight, then you're probably wasting your time here."

Jita looked down on the others - quite a feat for one so short around such tall people. "I would be wasting my time even if I did come here to pick a fight."

Piccolo looked her over. "Hmph. No mistaking it, you are Vegeta's sister. No one else could think they're god in god's own house."

Jita raised her eyebrows. "Well, you would be the has-been Namek warrior. I could take you in a minute."

Gohan looked like he was going to intercede, but one look from his former mentor stopped him short. He had been fairly itching for a fight in this time of peace, but Gohan wouldn't present a mental challenge. The boy had grown entirely too lax in his training. And he knew about Jita's famed talent in ki. So, Piccolo decided to turn the tables on the princess. He stared her down, using both height and the fact that he looked older (well, on his Kami half, he was). If Jita was the least bit intimidated, she didn't show it. "I may not be your equal in strength," he said slowly, mockingly, "but I am everyone's superior in ki manipulation. Even better than Goku."

Jita looked royally surprised, as did everyone else. "Is that a challenge? I can't imagine anyone being better at controlling ki than I am, but I welcome the test of my abilities."

Piccolo nodded. "A ki contest." The two began to power up.

Mr. Popo, sensing the two rising kis, ran outside in a panic. "Not here! Please! I just perfected the garden! You'll destroy it!"

The two warriors quickly powered down. Piccolo knew Mr. Popo would give him grief for years if he ruined the garden. As for Jita, she had a true appreciation for beauty, and the garden WAS beautiful. Piccolo motioned toward Earth. "We'll go somewhere a bit more desolate."

Jita nodded, but then looked at her clothing. Velvet and scarlet chenille. Her favorite outfit. "Allow me to get changed. I'll meet you in an hour."

"Just find my ki-signature."

Jita frowned. But she was not about to admit her weakness in ki-sensing. She merely got a thorough feel of his ki, hoping that would be enough, and shot off to her dorm. This day was turning out to be more interesting than she'd anticipated.

Gohan watched as Jita and Piccolo took off in opposite directions. A ki contest. Not a common occurrence, but Gohan couldn't think of two better candidates. Piccolo relied heavily on ki techniques, and spent much of his time meditating just to master his ki. As for Jita, wherever she had trained in death had certainly taught her some interesting tricks. Gohan was getting excited at the prospect of this unconventional match, and realized everyone else would probably wish to see it. Noting the time, he quickly went to round up some spectators.

Dende, now virtually alone and forgotten on his lookout, shook his head and went back to watching the volcano. 'Warriors.'

*****

Jita smiled, not believing her luck. All through changing her clothing she'd tried to keep up with Piccolo's ki, but he'd suppressed for a while. It wasn't for very long, but long enough to confuse her. She'd almost given in to frustration, when she sensed almost ALL of the stronger kis in one area. She'd flown to the place, thankfully a sufficiently warm arid desert, and was greeted by an audience of action-deprived warriors. Goku, Gohan, Trunks, Krillen, and Yamcha were all together, looking to be in an intense conversation. Vegeta was looking on, trying to hide his amusement. Eighteen was with Krillen, and seemed to be in disagreement with him. As for Piccolo, he had been ignoring everyone until Jita arrived.

"So, you finally decided to show up," Piccolo commented.

Jita rolled her eyes. "I am exactly on time. If you're trying to distract me with such comments, then you are faulty in your strategy."

Piccolo crossed his arms and looked over at Gohan. "How do the odds stand?" At Jita's expression, the gamblers fell into laughter.

"So, this is the way you Earth people treat a serious contest. Did you participate in this inane game, brother?"

The laughter increased, and even Vegeta afforded an amused chuckle. "I bet 100 against you. You may have more tricks, but most of them take up too much energy. You'll be limited in what you can do."

"Oh, really. This sounds like a male's childish pastime, but I can't believe you're involved, Eighteen."

The android raised her eyebrows. "Of course I wouldn't participate in these childish antics. I'm here to watch. There are so few women fighters, and most of them don't train enough to be even remotely interesting."

Piccolo cleared his throat for attention. "If you're ready. . ."

Jita cracked her neck and stretched her arms in front of her. "One moment. The men may have a point there. It would certainly be more interesting if we had something to lose. So, what'll it be?"

Piccolo frowned. Did these humanoids always have to make things more difficult? "Very well. If you are so insistent, then you will pick first."

Jita crossed her arms. Summer was almost upon here, and she would soon have the usual task of watching Pan and Bra. That would be bothersome, especially since she had planned to spend a lot more time with Goten that summer. And she could never get her reading done with those rambunctious girls taking up all her free time. You just couldn't concentrate around those chibis. Wouldn't it be great if she could get them out of her hair for a few weeks? An evil glint came to her eyes. "Tell ya what. If I win, you have to baby-sit Pan and Bra five days a week for two weeks this summer. That's usually from when they get up until about 4:00. And they don't sleep in. That is, if it's alright with the fathers."

Piccolo eyes widened at the implications. He had sworn off babysitting a long time ago. If fact, it was the day he died at the battle with the Saiyans. A whole year spent watching over a demi-Saiyan was no piece of cake, and the two girls were probably more of a handful than Gohan ever was. Speaking of Gohan . . . he looked over at the fathers of the demon children, desperately searching for a reprieve. Gohan was doubled over in laughter, along with most others, and Vegeta was smirking at the former demon. "No, sister, I have no objections," Vegeta replied in tone of mock civility.

Piccolo mentally cursed all Saiyans in general, causing Nail a good-natured laugh and Kami to scold him gently. Didn't he have enough to deal with having these voices in his head? The last thing he needed was a couple of chibis to distract him. However, he had not dealt his blow yet. "Well, I needn't worry about that, since I do not intend to lose. What you'll need to worry about is far worse. When I win, you will take cooking classes from Chichi."

The warriors gasped at Piccolo's terms. Chichi, the most exacting and demanding woman ever to live, teaching the thing she excelled at the most . . . the term "fate worse than death" came to the minds of the warriors extremely familiar with her temperament. Even Jita was put off by this prospect. Sure, Chichi was one of the few people she could confide in, but to be taught by Chichi? "Why would you care about my cooking abilities? You're a Namek; you don't eat. And even if you did, I wouldn't cook for you anyway."

Piccolo smirked at her discomfiture. "I DON'T care. But I've heard complaints . . ."

Jita cut him off. "All right, I agree. But let's get this started, so I can beat the crud out of Trunks."

Yamcha laughed at Trunks stuttering protests. "Don't even try it. She's got you."

Piccolo ignored them. "Then let's begin. Goku, get over here and referee."

Jita shook her head. "Uh-uh. He bet against me, probably. Eighteen's the only one who doesn't have money riding on the outcome."

Goku's eyes widened. "Hey, I'm impartial. And I bet for you. I've fought against you too much to underestimate you. Besides, I know more about ki than Eighteen."

Eighteen didn't relish the task of judge. "Let Goku referee. I really don't want to. Besides, he'd never cheat. He's too good," she added with amusement. The others couldn't help but appreciate this jab at Goku's more annoying side.

Now that the terms were settled, all were at a loss as to how this contest would be conducted. It wasn't like a normal fight. Gohan, after a minute's deliberation, decided that it should be graded on control and originality. As for the rules, they could be made up as they went along.

The two warriors faced each other, the air thick with anticipation. It was about to begin. Jita, impatient to get started, fired the first shot. Piccolo wasn't sure what had happened, until he noticed a hole about the size of a dime in the left corner of his cape. Cursing, he answered in turn with a hole of the exact same size on the knee of her pants, though the energy did even touch the skin. The first strokes had been dealt.

Jita glanced angrily at her pants. He'd ruined them! Piccolo noticed her anger and, chuckling, repaired his cape with hardly a look. Jita, not one to be upstaged so early in the game, repaired her clothing in much the same fashion.

After a moment's thought, Piccolo decided to make the first move. He surmised that Jita wouldn't know much about ki techniques that were purely Terran in origin. Vegeta had been somewhat surprised by the attack he had in mind. He let his eyes go out of focus and, concentrating, made three more of himself surrounding the Saiyan girl. "Tri-form technique," the four Nameks calmly stated.

Jita looked around from one to the other. "Wow. I guess you've answered the question 'What is uglier than one Namek?'" The other warriors stifled their amusement at this jab. If it was an insult contest, she'd probably win. "Now it's my turn." Raising her ki a bit more, Jita zipped around the four Piccolos, creating after-images.

"That wouldn't work against tri-form. What is she doing?" Krillen commented.

However, when Jita returned to the middle, the four after-images she'd left were still there. After a moment's concentration, the after-images in front of the Piccolo clones became more opaque, and even turned Super Saiyan, even though the original Jita did not. "Ghost-image," the images said smugly, yet Jita did not speak.

Then, suddenly, while everyone else was arguing over which technique was the most powerful and effective, the clones attacked, rising in the air while Jita looked on in fierce concentration.

"Oh, I get it," Gohan said. "She's controlling each ghost telepathically. That would take more control than the tri-form."

The Jita ghosts definitely had the upper hand, but Jita herself looked to be under strain. The four fights were getting complicated, and she couldn't even push the ghosts' levels up farther than the lowest Super Saiyan level. With a growl of frustration, Jita looked away, and the ghosts disappeared. With a triumphant gleam in his eyes, Piccolo became one again. Jita closed her eyes to bring the world back in focus, as well as to shut out the Namek's smug expression. Gathering herself, she faced her opponent off. "If you think this is finished, you're out of your mind."

Piccolo gestured to her. "I believe that it is your move."

Jita brainstormed for a minute, ignoring the bets being changed, as well as her new technique being discussed. She'd noticed that Piccolo, and most other warriors she'd fought, relied completely on the ki they had in themselves. Well, she didn't have that limitation. Focusing on the ground around them, she tried to pull life from nature. It wasn't easy; the ground was pretty barren, but there was enough.

"What is she doing?" she heard Yamcha say out of fascination.

"That looks like when she put the energy barrier up the first time I saw her fight. Don't you think so, Dad?" Trunks replied. Vegeta merely nodded slightly.

As she began to pull more energy, Goku was slightly alarmed. He knew that feeling. "Wait, Jita. Are you preparing a Genki Dama? That's a bit too powerful for a game."

"Don't be foolish, Kakarrot," she snapped. "There's more to fighting than just explosions."

Then, without warning, Piccolo was frozen. Jita had formed a barrier close to his skin, and he couldn't move an inch. The more he struggled, the worse it got, until he was about to get truly worried about his air supply. After all, how much COULD he trust this strange Saiyan girl? However, before he could have serious doubts, the barrier dropped, leaving the Namek gasping.

"What was that?" asked Krillen.

"That one is a manifestation of something I call 'nature drain.' Notice I didn't use any of my own ki. A bit more useful than a genki dama when you want to use the energy for something other than killing."

Piccolo adjusted his cape and brainstormed for a technique to match that. He had always used his energy to affect the environment, and had used nature in his meditation, but he had never thought of using nature's energy itself. It just seemed rather - unnatural. Harmful to the environment. He decided to prove that technique to not be as affective as she made it out to be. Better to use what you have. Though, borrowed ki techniques were completely legal. Such as . . . Piccolo formed his ki into a circle and quickly surrounded Jita with it, pinning her arms to her sides. Soon it was squeezing her tightly, mostly to make a point.

"Hey, that's one of Gotenks's techniques!" exclaimed Trunks. "The energy ring attack. We used it against Buu."

Jita struggled, desperately trying to make a better showing. So far Piccolo had been coming out on top or even with her with every exchange. She wasn't going to let a Namek win over her. Well, she knew something that would tip the scales, but she needed her hands. Well, maybe that was a good thing. She hated to use the technique so early in the game, since she KNEW there was no other move to match it. So, this required something more physical. Jita stopped struggling and waited for the ring to relax. Then she quickly compressed her body and ducked out of the energy ring, knocking it out of the way. At least she hadn't practically cried for mercy as the Namek would have surely done. Her technique was still superior. Adjusting her clothing, she smiled smugly over at her opponent. "Your move."

Now Piccolo had to regain the upper hand. He drew upon his knowledge of the Saiyan, figuring he needed to use something he'd never seen a Saiyan use. And he knew just the thing. Before she knew it, thin ki-beams were coming at Jita from left and right, barely close enough for her to feel a concentrated burst of heat from each. Yet Piccolo's hands had not moved. The beams were coming out of his eyes.

"Yeah, good one Piccolo!" Gohan shouted. He knew those eyes beams to be wicked in close assault.

"I agree with you, Gohan, it is good," Jita admitted, still smiling smugly at Piccolo. "But if that's all they can do . . ."

The others reacted with shock as beams shot out of Jita's eyes - and struck Piccolo dead-on, forcing him to his knees. Slowly, and with not a little pain, Piccolo got to his feet and started walking towards Jita. He was struggling the entire way, veins bulging from his green skin with the strain. "This is the real eye beam technique," Jita said through enormous concentration.

Krillen's eyes twitched at the memory. "I remember that technique! General Blue used it. Remember that, Goku?"

Goku just looked on with almost disgust. "Yeah, I remember, Krillen. I never liked that attack. Jita!" he yelled. "You've made your point already. You can stop now."

Jita, slightly irritated at the interruption, abruptly broke her concentration, causing the Namek to fall forward from the sudden drop in pressure. "It was hardly enough to seriously hurt him. I don't see what the big deal is," she said to the horrified faces. All but Vegeta was astounded at her casual disregard for the pain she had caused.

"All right," Piccolo reclaimed her attention, still a bit thrown from the unnerving technique she had used. "Just get on with your next technique."

Jita crossed her arms. "Well, I have to say that I can beat you in variety any day, but this is getting boring. What say we try two more tests with just ordinary ki blasts?"

Piccolo glanced over at Goku, who was beginning to agree with Jita. It was either getting boring or disturbing. "First we'll do big ki-blasts. I'll draw a line between you, and you keep your ki-blasts connected. First one to lose control . . . well . . . loses," Goku ended awkwardly. No matter how many times he was pushed into the leadership position, he was never truly comfortable with it, especially when not in the heat of battle. He walked over between them, judged the distance, and drew a line deep in the sand. He then took a measure of both powers. "I'll fire a blast, and I want you to match that strength exactly." Powering up, he did a quick kamehameha, and retreated from the battle ground.

Piccolo smirked and put his fingers to his forehead, forming his signature attack - the Makkankosappo. He wondered briefly when Jita was going to start her attack already as he watched her pondering.

"What do you think she'll use, Trunks?" Gohan asked.

"Oh, I don't know. She usually uses Galic Gun, though."

"Of course," Vegeta commented, mostly to himself. "We came up with that attack together."

Jita pondered for a moment. She could of course use any of the attacks they knew through Vegeta, but how would that show her versatility? She wanted to show off how fast she learned. And she needed something that would definitely be close to Goku's blast. She was NOT going to lose.

As the others looked on with wonder, she slowly cupped her hands to one side. Maybe she could even throw Piccolo off balance with surprise.

"KA . . . . ME . . ."

"What th-" Vegeta started.

"HA . . . . ME . . ."

"Is she doing what I think she's doing?" Krillen wondered aloud.

"HHHHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!"

"MAKKANKOSAPPO!!!!!!" Piccolo shouted, letting loose the blast just in time. He had indeed been thrown off guard momentarily by her choice in attack.

The blasts met exactly at the line, the coiled beam looking odd in the stationary pose against the yellow kamehameha wave. The two warriors were almost immediately straining for control. Ki-blasts, especially finishing moves, were not meant to remain in place. They were meant to, well, blast things into smithereens.

"How did she learn that one?" Yamcha asked rhetorically.

"Either she watched Goku," Trunks decided to answer, "or she learned from Goten."

"Why would she - oh," Yamcha said, noticing Vegeta's discomfort at Trunks's comment. He looked over at Goku, but the man was so intent on reading the power levels in front of him that he hadn't heard a word they had said.

Jita frowned. Maybe she had made a mistake in her choice. She was showing her versatility, and had almost gotten the element of surprise, but both were at the cost of control. She was struggling with the unfamiliar attack. However, if she could pull this off, she would be in the lead. In a strange afterthought, she wished Goten were here to see her putting his teaching in action.

Piccolo struggled at his end. Leave it to Goku to think of something even Piccolo would struggle with. If he dared to spare any of his concentration, then he knew he could have looked over to see Goku with that innocently mocking smile on his face.

Suddenly, the Namek started to feel strange disturbances in the beam near the middle. He could see the Saiyan girl smirking through her concentration. She was actually varying the ki within the beam itself, all the while keeping her entire kamehameha wave at an average of the exact strength. Piccolo smiled grimly at her audacity. 'So, she thinks she can outdo me that way?' he thought. Slowly, he began to do the same thing, matching each fluctuation perfectly with hers, maintaining the balance, and then taking control of the game. Her eyes widened. She was starting to lose control. She was sweating and her breathing was starting to get a ragged quality, even more so than Piccolo. After three more minutes, Jita lost control, her kamehameha wave veering upward to the sky. Yelling in impotent frustration, she quickly dodges Piccolo's coiled beam. She'd lost . . . again. For once, she considered disregarding the rules and just attacking Piccolo, just to show who was really the master. But she knew that would make her look stupid, and more of her pride would be lost. She couldn't have that. That wouldn't do at all.

If only Piccolo would stop smiling!

Goku, along with everyone else, noticed and interpreted her inner struggle through the look she was giving Piccolo. Goku decided to act fast. "OK, everyone, calm down. We have one more contest. Piccolo, do you remember all those ki-blasts when you were fighting Cell?

Piccolo smiled in understanding. "Yeah, I think so." Before him formed fifty dots of ki, all forming a spherical shape.

Jita shook off her former defeat. "I see where you're going, Kakarrot. Guided ki technique." She did a quick count and concentrated. Beside each yellow ki dot formed another ki dot, this time blue in color. Without a word to break their concentration and control, Piccolo and Jita began to move the dots, interweaving them in an intricate light show.

After a minute, Trunks was getting a headache trying to follow the paths. "So . . . what makes them lose, now?"

Vegeta motioned him to silence. Even though he bet against her, he didn't want his sister to lose. And she seemed to have a more difficult time concentrating than the Namek. That was to be expected. Exactly how much meditation could she get done in hell? "They're following a pattern. First one to break the pattern loses."

Krillen looked away. "Gives me a headache just watching it."

Jita was starting to get a headache too. Her face was scrunched up in ultimate concentration, but Piccolo seemed unflappable. And then, the voice came . . .

'what are you doing these are trivialities i had great hopes for you you will come to me how could you betray me what has any of them done for you what has your brother done for you the boy will not remain faithful all you have to do is kill vegeta he will not expect it no one else can contest you not if you use . . .'

"SHUT UP!!"

Involuntarily, Jita grabbed her head, and each ki dot strengthened in her violent reaction and collided, causing a massive explosion. All of the warriors were thrown back, but Piccolo and Jita seemed to be the worse for wear. Jita quickly repaired her broken wrist, forcing herself to stop shaking.

She looked around. Everyone was staring at her, and Vegeta seemed to have a knowing expression on his face. From shock to pity, she couldn't stand it anymore. "Well," she said, hoping to break the spell, "I lost." She smiled, seeming to regain her composure. She couldn't show how scared she was right now. "I guess I'll have to take those lessons from Chichi."

Jita was about to leave, when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She looked behind her at Goku. "Wait a minute."

Goku's face was serious. Jita was so afraid that he would demand an explanation, and the others would finally decide she was evil. If Goku got it in his head that she needed to be disposed of, there was nothing she could do. It was either die, or condemn herself to maybe a worse fate. She clenched her teeth, waiting for him to pronounce judgment.

"You both won," the man said with a smile.

Jita's eyes widened. She'd almost forgotten about the contest, and his role as referee/judge, in her panic. "What is the basis of your judgment?"

"Yes, Goku," Piccolo added. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

Goku's smile seemed to break the tension caused by Jita's strange outburst. The mood always lightened whenever he wanted it to. "Yeah, Piccolo, you clearly won on control. But Jita had more variety and originality. So, you both win."

"So that means I'm out of cooking lessons," Jita said with some relief.

"No, you're still going to take cooking lessons," Goku added with a mischievous glint in his eye. "You think I'd pass on an opportunity to see that?"

Gohan began to laugh out loud. "Of course! The agreement was based on winning, not losing. So, that means Piccolo has some babysitting to do," he ended, laughing at Piccolo's horrified expression.

"Oh, don't feel too bad, Piccolo," Vegeta said with some sarcasm. "I'm sure you'll get along with Bra just fine. She's a perfect angel," he said of his hyper-active, slightly spoiled handful of a daughter.

Piccolo sweat-dropped, but couldn't resist getting a jab to Vegeta. "If she'd anything like you, I wouldn't count on it."

The party broke up soon after, Piccolo being the first to leave. He felt unbalanced at the prospect of babysitting again, and needed to meditate it out of his system. Jita left soon after, still incredibly shaken after her latest encounter with the voice. She felt so dirty, and needed a shower. After everyone figured out which bets were nullified and which weren't (Eighteen ironically won the most, and had kept up with all bets), each went back to their respective homes, until only Vegeta remained.

Vegeta looked around for a minute, pondering his sister's strange encounters. He was worried, and she seemed to have stopped confiding in him as much. Well, he knew who she DID confide in, and it wasn't Chichi. Vegeta paced around, until he gave up his search in frustration. "All right, brat. I know you're around here somewhere. Everyone else is gone, so show yourself."

A few meters off to the side, a sheepish-looking Goten suddenly appeared. Kami, he looked so much like his father. "How did you know I was here, Vegeta?" he asked weakly.

"Hmph. There was one too many ki-signatures around. You were the only one it could be."

"Is that how you sense ki, Vegeta? Counting ki signatures?"

"Well, I found you, didn't I? Everyone else was fooled by your little trick, since they look for each individual. Did you learn that trick from my sister?" Vegeta asked, his voice tightening.

Goten smiled again. "Yeah. It's an invisible ki-shield." He slumped a bit in fatigue. "Takes a lot out of you, though. I thought you all would never leave. I couldn't fly away invisible."

Vegeta stared the young man down until Goten couldn't stand it anymore. "Um, is this about Jita? I know you probably don't like us seeing each other, since she is your sister and I'm 'the spawn of Kakarrot,' but . . ."

"Slow down, boy," Vegeta interrupted. He gave Goten a hard look, making Goten gulp in the menacing silence. "Jita is a grown woman, much older than you. I don't have a problem with that. She is long past the age where I have to take care of her. But you saw what happened today. There's something bothering her - something dangerous. And I don't see a way to get rid of it. You're the only one she'll truly open up with, and she seems to trust you. So I do NOT have any problems with your relationship."

Goten seemed to sag with relief. "That's . . . good to know."

But before he knew it, Vegeta had crossed the distance between them and was pulling him by his collar, forcing the taller boy to be eye level. The prince's glare scared Goten to the very core of his being. Vegeta's voice came in low, dangerous tones. "But if you EVER do anything to hurt my sister, I will break every bone in your body. I will make you beg for mercy, and then I will kill you. You'll be at other's mercy if they want to resurrect you."

Goten was frozen, not even struggling. You did NOT mess with Vegeta when he got like this. Sweat was rolling down his face. "Gotcha," he replied with a shaky voice. "I won't hurt her. I promise."

Vegeta released the young man. "See that you don't," he ended with a smirk, his own way of showing that there were no hard feelings. "And before you go trying to help with her problems, solve your own first."

For the first time Goten noticed that Goku had come back, finally sensing his son's presence. Goku landed a few feet away, having missed the topic of Goten and Vegeta's exchange. He didn't say anything, at least not with words. But his eyes were pleading: 'Please come home, son.'

But Goten would have none of it. With a murderous glare, and also without words, he shot into the air. Goku didn't dare follow. He just stood there, looking wounded.

Vegeta shook his head at the exchange, but didn't say anything about it. It was none of his business. Instead, he walked over to Goku, arms folded. "Spar?"

Goku continued staring at the direction Goten had left for a moment until he shook himself out of it. Quickly adopting his customary smile, he nodded his head. "Spar."

*****

"You're in a good mood today," Goku commented casually as he threw Vegeta to the ground, dodging a few ki-blasts.

"What makes you think that, Kakarrot?" Vegeta replied, appearing behind Goku. Feinting a kick, he used a double-fist to drive Goku crashing to the ground. Goku quickly recovered, and the two began a close assault.

"Well, you're not cursing me." Goku took a punch to the face. "And I think you're pulling your punches," he added mischievously, just for Vegeta's reaction.

"Fool! I'm not pulling my punches!" Vegeta retorted. "You're just numb from the beating I've given you."

Goku just laughed and responded by getting in a kick that sent Vegeta flying. "Did you beat Jita or something? I heard she knocked you unconscious the other night."

Vegeta smiled ruefully. "Took her two hours to regain consciousness."

A half an hour later, both Saiyans were nearing the senzu stage, so they called the fight and dropped to the ground, deciding to recover a little before they dragged themselves to their respective homes. Vegeta leaned against a tree and let the familiar drained feeling overtake him. He watched as Goku laid on the ground, stretching his tired muscles. Vegeta didn't try to initiate a conversation. He never did. Usually Goku would, and lately more often than not the prince would go along with it. Yet another disturbing effect Earth and their humanized Saiyans had had on him.

But this time Goku wasn't speaking, leaving the exhausted silence unbroken. In fact, Goku had been acting strangely of late. The naïve, painfully cheerful man was actually . . . brooding. He kept staring in one direction, his face unreadable. Of course, if he ever realized what he was doing, he would make a sudden change to cheerful mode. And people accused Vegeta of hiding his feelings. Did anyone even notice Kakarrot's attitude of late? And why was Vegeta noticing? Did he care?

Yet the Earth infection prodded him further, and Vegeta knew that resistance was futile. So he gave in. "What the hell is the matter with you, Kakarrot?" As Goku sat up, breaking out of his daze, and gave Vegeta a cheerful grin, Vegeta rolled his eyes. "And don't give me that cheerful crap. You're only using it as a front."

Before him, Goku's smile melted, which had to be the saddest sight in the world. 'The woman would compare him to a barking domestic animal, though I'm never sure why.' Goku's face was again unreadable as he stared toward the south.

Then, out of the blue, Goku asked, "Vegeta, do you think I'm a bad father?"

"What?" came Vegeta's incredulous reply.

Goku faced Vegeta, his expression troubled. "I leave my family for months at a time without a word to them. I stayed dead when I knew Chichi was pregnant. I sent both Gohan and Goten to fight battles I should have been able to win. I let them die . . ."

"Kakarrot, you're asking ME?"

"At least you stayed around. Trunks grew up with a father."

Vegeta crossed his arms. "I stayed around, but only just. I'm not exactly what you would call an affectionate father. I'm sure Trunks sometimes wondered if I even care about him. The first time I held him was right before I killed myself. And then I knocked him unconscious. So I say again, you're asking ME?"

"But you fought your own battle. You didn't stop and wait until all your children had been killed." Goku smiled sadly. "And you've probably seen my sons more than I have."

"Kakarrot, self-pity does not become you. Goten will work out his own problems. His problem is not so much hatred of you; it's more like he's trying to find himself. He's been in other's people's shadows for a while now, and those who are second place find it easy to direct frustrations to those who are the most powerful." Vegeta eyes Goku significantly. Didn't take a genius to fathom how much experience Vegeta was speaking from.

Goku again looked to the south. "He's getting a lot stronger. I just wish I knew more than that. But I can't get near him. He always hides whenever I look for him. Does Trunks know anything about him?"

Vegeta looked at Goku in surprise. Apparently the man really didn't talk to anyone anymore - not even Chichi. "I hear less from Trunks and more from Jita. That mate of yours did tell you that Jita was spending all her free time with your brat, did she not?"

It was Goku's turn to look surprised. He really hadn't known. Goten . . . and Jita? It was bizarre, to say the least. Although, upon reflection, it was no more bizarre than confiding in Vegeta, of all people. But how could he have not noticed before? True, he didn't really think of those things that much, but he at least noticed things, before.

Maybe it was all the time spent alone. Before, he had felt comfortable with everyone. He felt at peace with himself and his family. Now, Goku didn't know what to feel. Ever since Goten's outburst. Usually he couldn't remember exact words, but Goten's words had burned into his brain.

"You know, every time you've reached out to me, or talked to me, I can only think of all those years that I couldn't imagine why you would choose the afterlife over being with your family. Did you even know I was born? No, you were happily skipping along Snake Way. I can only think about the pain Mom and Gohan went through, especially when I looked exactly like you, and how they tried to hide it from me. I can only think of when I was told that my brother was dead, and my best friend was told that his father was dead, and when we had the audacity to feel a little grief, all you could do was yell at us to shut up, and then ask what was wrong when we were angry. And then leave. All I can think about is all those years you were alive, but spent your time away from home, training, months - YEARS - on end. The whole father-son bonding thing, it was too little too late. Well, you won't have to make up for lost time, or inconvenience yourself in any way on my account. I may not be off to college, but I'm leaving anyway. Just don't follow me, and we'll get along fine."

Alright, Goten had a point, but everything he said could be explained. He wanted to be wished back, but it was impossible with the dragonballs. And Goten HAD to fight Buu. And Goku couldn't have stayed on Earth; he had used up all his time with the level three transformation. And Goku had tried all those years, but he had to train. And he had to be alone when he trained sometimes.

'No,' Goku contradicted himself, 'Goten was right.' He should have come back to life. He should have been there. He shouldn't have sent Goten off to fight Buu; the boy was only seven. Even Goku hadn't been fighting all that hard at seven. And when he got the chance to make up for all those years of being dead, he'd squandered them on training.

Goku had analyzed those words so often, not even needing to write the words down. Not that he could have easily anyway. He could read, of course, but writing was a different story. Grandpa Gohan had not taught the child how to write and he had gone through much of his childhood without any opportunity or need of writing. Both Bulma and Chichi, and even Master Roshi, had tried to teach him, but had eventually given up. When he had gotten frustrated, Bulma had told him that the muscles in his hands were extremely difficult to condition to writing, since he had not learned as a small child. Strange that hands so adept at fighting couldn't even master so basic a skill. Which was why Chichi was so obsessive about the boys' study habits. Didn't want them to be like their illiterate father. Never mind that he could read just fine.

Goku didn't truly understand Goten. Goku'd had a father, albeit adoptive, for the first several years of his life. He hadn't felt the pressures to act normally and control his strength. He hadn't even been as strong as Goten, though he'd always been the strongest. His early life had centered on training, hunting for dragonballs, and killing soldiers. He'd never been dead as a child. He'd never been forced to fight when he didn't want to, because he always had.

But both of his boys had faced all this and more. Gohan had seen more death in the first ten years of his life than most people saw in their entire lives. He'd fought every major villain. And he hadn't even enjoyed fighting. Goten . . .

In point of view, most people had gone without their fathers. Most had been forced to fight, even as children. Many had died. Why was Goten reacting so differently from the other Saiyans? No one else had reacted so badly. No one else had run away . . .

His face reflecting his revelation, Goku suddenly understood. Goten was not simply a rebellious adolescent. And Goten didn't hate him. He had just been denied his nature for so long that he had grown resentful. When all he needed was some solitude. Away from his family and friends. There were so many times when Goku just hadn't come home, and hadn't truly understood why. It was just a Saiyan need. Of course, Vegeta spent his life in semi-solitude, preferring to close himself off from everyone. And even Gohan had spent some time alone, though demi-Saiyans tended to have less of a tendency to this. But Goten . . . he wasn't as human as the other demi-Saiyans.

Goten's life had been filled with family and friends. Chichi seemed to smother him, and the boy spent the rest of his time with either Gohan or Trunks. He'd been in one major battle, and that wasn't even as fully himself. No wonder he was the way he was. Goku should have seen it before - seen the longing that Goten couldn't have understood. To fight - to prove himself . . .

To become a warrior.

Vegeta pushed himself from his seated position on the ground, stretching his muscles out and grimacing at the pain lingering from a particularly nasty punch from Goku. He looked at his rival and friend, who was still in deep thought. Somehow, Goku's self-doubt disturbed Vegeta. Goku's ever cheerfulness and confidence was one of those bedrocks of life. But Vegeta had said all he was willing to say. He wasn't a bloody therapist, after all. He was literally a bloody warrior who should have his own head examined. After, of course, a shower and a lot of food. However, as he was leaving the earth-infection couldn't resist a few more words. "Kakarrot, stop feeling sorry for yourself and go home to your mate. The brat will be fine, probably better than my own."

Goku smiled as Vegeta took off, noting with competitive satisfaction that he looked a bit weaker than Goku felt. For a minute he considered looking for Goten, or maybe just going off alone, but right now neither held a special appeal to him. He found it strange to be taking Vegeta's advice, and even stranger for Vegeta to be giving advice, but it made sense. He hadn't really talked to Chichi for a while now, and wasn't even aware of Jita apparent friendship with Chichi. Plus, he was starving, so he leisurely flew home.



Author's Notes: Thanks to my reviewers: Ssjgoddesschico, Omega (prepare to wait some more. I use romance sparingly, and it's usually not sappy.), tim333 (the wait is over, the strife is here!), anonymous cat (I kind of liked the kiss myself, although I've never experienced that type of kiss), and last, but certainly not least, Dark Wolf (that's interesting. Whenever you point out that I'm rushing, you're referring to my earlier writing, and whenever you say that it's well paced, you're referring to my recent writing. I'll be interested in seeing what you think of this chapter, since all of it is recent.) Au revoir!