Man I have mixed feelings about being so close to the Buu Saga
On one hand, it's really cool that I get to move forward with plans (and hope I can actually pull them off properly)
On the other hand, Gonna have to try real hard to make it look like I'm not completely flying by the seat of my pants for all of the, Buu related stuff, in the Buu Saga. I know exactly what I'm doing with my original plot lines...folding that into Canon, or rather changing from canon so that it makes sense, is what's gonna cause issues
OnTheTidesOfEvermore: Yeah, yeah. I guess while people are used to Beastmen, Human people with tails are still out there. I assume mixed kids between them aren't a thing, probably not being possible
thewittywhy: Honestly though, in canon she found Gohan's address by looking in the school records
xXSelenaXx: glad to see you again! and lol thanks
JCINNABAR: Such a nice review. it gave me the smiles. All the thanks
I woke to Goten shaking my arm until I was awake.
"Wha-?"
"Your friends are here. Also more people."
I blinked blearily processing the information.
I rolled onto my back, my eyes falling closed. Goten shook me again.
"I'm awake," I muttered.
I rubbed my eyes with the palms of my hands with a groan. Satisfied that I was awake enough, Goten ran back out to the front door.
I was. Rather tempted to let myself fall back asleep, the darkness already waiting to retake me.
I forced myself to sit up before that could happen.
With zero haste or energy, I walked out to the main room to see Videl and company standing just outside.
Goten was out there talking with Chico and, Rom was also here for some reason.
I squinted at the clock. It was nine. Which was even worse considering the travel time it's have taken them to get here.
"Did you leave before dawn to get here? Why? Who's awake before ten on a weekend?"
"I tried to say that you'd still be asleep, but nooo, obviously a seasoned martial artist would never sleep in that late," Chico said before continuing her conversation with Goten.
I blinked. Still too tired to deal with this.
"I'm gonna…go get changed," I said as I turned back to my room, as I was still in a purposefully oversized t-shirt and sleeping pants.
I glanced wistfully at my bed, still tempted to go back to sleep, but went to actually get changed instead.
Eh, she's not gonna make nearly enough progress to justify wearing my Gi…but then if I'm gonna pull off at least somewhat acting like a teacher, I probably should…but like, it's their fault for being so early anyway…
Actually, the Gi might be one of my most comfortable day clothes that weren't sweats anyway so, yeah guess I'll wear that.
The Gi hasn't exactly changed much over the years. It was still the same purple fit with a blue undershirt, if a bit oversized for maximum comfort.
And then I immediately threw out the illusion of professionalism as I pulled a Pepsi out of the fridge.
I did a vague sense out, and Chichi was around, but Goku wasn't. I didn't want to bother checking if he was in the area or off to King Kai's or something.
The Pepsi was the first thing Videl focused on when I met them outside, "really?"
"It's caffeinated and I don't like coffee."
I sat and only as I noticed Sharpener looking at me did I realize this was the first time I'd worn a short-sleeved shirt around them.
"Dude…"
"I have caught buses and punched a hole through a water tank. Suffice it to say, I'm fit."
"I think he was looking at the scar, actually," Rom leaned back.
"…oh, right. That," I glanced down at the jagged line visibly peeking out from the sleeve on my arm, "got that when I was a kid. Namek, existed. Frieza's, the worst. But hey, he's dead now. Will it last? Who knows."
I took a sip from the Pepsi as Videl was squinting at me.
"What does any of that mean?"
"I am not elaborating on any of that actually," I lifted the bottle in a mock cheers before taking yet another sip.
"We have a board trying to keep track of Stuff," Rom grinned, "I think, we know what Namek is. First time hearing the name Frieza though, writing that down." True to his words, Rom had taken out a notebook and was scribbling the name.
"And you're just, ok with your friend for, years, having so many secrets?" Videl asked.
"I mean, sure," he shrugged, "that's how it's always been. It's not like we've just sat down and asked everything that's ever happened to her. Goh will just mention something off-hand and it's added to the lore of just how mental is her life really? It's fun."
Videl frowned and I decided it was time to interrupt.
"Right, so. Videl's here because I told her I'd try and teach her to use Ki. You two," I pointed at Sharpener and Erasa, "are here because of curiosity, I assume?" I got hesitant nods, "great. Chico's here, because, Chico. Rom?"
"I'm here because this is going to be funny."
"Great."
I sighed and finished my soda.
"Before we start anything. I have one condition."
"A condition?" Videl asked.
"Yes. A condition that you must agree to in order for me to teach you."
"Ok. What is it."
"If I tell you to back out from a fight, you do so. Immediately."
"Wh-
"That is the condition. If you do not agree to that, I will not teach you."
"…fine. I guess you probably know more about this stuff than I do…" despite her words I could see the shot in her pride. That hardly mattered though when she was unlikely to catch up to the real threats anytime soon.
I leaned back. I suppose that's a well enough answer. I doubt she'd go back on her word, with how vitriolic she is against lying.
I sat back forward, clapping my hands.
"Ok. Disclaimer time. I tried to teach them," I pointed at Chico and Rom, "and their group of friends to use Ki when we were kids. Most of them dropped it in a couple of months. The only ones who made any sort of progress were Ena and Pigero. Ena can, kinda fly. Closer to levitate really. And she can produce small energy beams, only really useful as a light source and maybe self-defense against an ordinary person. Pigero can fly decently long distances, can produce small energy balls, and levitate stuff, but that's with magic, which is different from Ki. You can levitate things with Ki too, but that's a lot harder and takes a lot of control."
"You," I pointed at Videl, "have a few advantages, however. Technically, anyone could learn how to use Ki, if they practiced long enough. How long it takes is determined by time, motivation, mindset, and genes. I got the luckiest end of that last one, which makes up for having less of a few of the others. Your dad is the probably strongest person who doesn't use Ki, so, that's probably an advantage. And you've already been in martial arts for, I assume your whole life, which is a great starting point. The thing that will probably hold you back however is that you haven't known Ki was a thing, and it'll probably be hard for you to understand how it works. And I'm not great at explaining things. So, this is going to be fun."
I sat back as Videl processed that information.
More than once I'd caught them staring at my tail. I rolled my eyes and wrapped it loosely around my waist.
Goten, the sweet baby child, was apparently unable to read the situation.
"Ki stuff is really easy! Watch!" Before I could do anything to stop him he extended a hand and blew up a rock. Great.
I sighed, rubbing my forehead, "Goten. Not helping. Why don't you go hang out with Trunks and Clover, I'll cover for you."
"Really!" The boy cheered and hugged me, before flying off into the horizon with absolutely no subtlety.
Great great, great, great.
"Ok, none of that just happened. Ignore all of it."
"You just said it was hard!" Videl exclaimed.
"Yep, uh huh. I did, that's still true. Goten has been around it his entire life. He started even earlier than I did. He's been able to use Ki and knows how to do so just as easily as you would martial arts, while another person who isn't as practiced as you would have no idea. Like any skill, it takes practice to be good at it. Also, the genes thing helps a lot in his case too."
Videl frowned but accepted the answer. Of course, now I'd have to mitigate any unrealistic expectations.
"Alright, so, Ki, Chi, Energy. They're all different words for the same thing. Life energy is connected, but way more, risky. It wigs me out so I haven't done anything with it. And then there's also magic which is completely separate and honestly, I don't know enough about it to really explain how it works like, at all."
"Ki isn't just that ability to fly and shoot lasers, it's also the reason I'm so
Much stronger than a normal person. Ki enhances one's strength. For example, Sharpener has more muscle definition than I do and somehow I doubt he's catching too many busses."
He shook his head to the rhetorical.
"Course, having muscle does help, and is often a byproduct of sorts. I don't exactly lift weights on the regular yet here I am."
"Everyone has some Ki. Most people just don't know how to use it, or access it, not even knowing it's there. With practice, you can increase how much Ki you have, just like any muscle. Individuals will have different limits and will progress at different rates."
"So how do I access it?" Videl asked.
"That's gonna be the first roadblock here. See, I can explain it and how it works, but using it is pretty second nature to me, so teaching that, is kinda difficult. I don't really think about what I'm doing as I do it. It's like, I can tell you how perspectives and lighting works, but I can't teach you how to draw. I can only really help give advice. With Ki at least, there I know the starting point."
"Which is?"
"You know how to meditate?"
"Yeah, I guess-"
"Find somewhere comfortable to sit, and go do that."
"…that's it?"
"That's it."
"I've meditated before and I've never-"
"This is how we're starting."
"For how long exactly?"
"Til I say."
Videl stared at me, as if expecting me to change my mind. I raised an eyebrow. Eventually, she gave up and went off to find a suitable patch of grass.
"How long til she gets bored do you think?" Rom asked.
"I'm sure that she'd be much better off than you were as a kid," I responded.
"Wait so, we're you kidding or…?" Sharpener asked,
"Oh, no. Meditation is the most reliable way to unlock it. If you know what you're looking for. I'll wait a bit and Advise her further later."
I yawned and leaned back, wishing I was still asleep but knowing I'd never be able to fall back asleep now. Shame.
And then the questions began.
"So, when you said you fly to school, you literally meant that you, like, fly?" Sharpener asked.
"Yeah."
"How long does that take you?"
"I don't know. Like, fifteen? Twenty minutes?" I definitely exaggerated, it was like half that at most, but by the look Sharpener gave I wished I'd doubled it again.
"Ok so, like, how fast are you? Top speed?"
"I don't know. If I ever clock it I'll let you know," I said knowing I'd never bother.
"Ok so, you beat Cell. Got that. Processed that. Mostly. Uh, how strong are you? Exactly?"
"No idea, haven't had to go all out so I don't know what that would look like," I said, which was true. There wasn't exactly much that could stand against The Ultimate just yet.
"Ok, then, how strong are you normally? Like, right now?"
"I don't know, haven't measured it in a while."
"Could you like, lift that rock over there?" He pointed at a Boulder on the edge of the clearing.
"Yeah," I glanced over to Chico, exasperated. She looked very unhelpfully amused.
"Ok, ok. So can you-"
"If you're going to ask about more heavy stuff I can lift, the answer is probably yes. Nothing's been heavy for me for a long time."
"Oh, ok. Right. Huh. Uhm-"
"Sharpener, I think that's enough questions for now," Erasa chastised with a frown. She glanced at me apologetically.
I shrugged, "I'm mean, it's fine. If I was really annoyed I just, wouldn't answer."
Still, Erasa bit her lip before speaking again, "I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I'm sorry," she repeated, she'd grabbed my hands as she talked, "I knew I should have stopped Videl sooner, but I didn't and-"
"It's, fine? It's not your fault. I overreacted anyway," I slowly freed my hands.
"You didn't though! Videl was being pushy and I totally already scolded her for that! You're being really nice by teaching her anyway."
"Trying. Hopefully, she can get by with me, but worst case I might have to find someone who like, can actually teach."
Videl learned pretty quickly in canon though, so I'm sure it'll be fine.
"Well, I think you did a great job with that explanation! It still sounds a bit out there but I kinda understand how it's supposed to work."
"Yeah well, theory and practice are two different things," I sighed.
I turned my head as the front door opened behind me, "oh there you are Gohan. Have you seen Goten? Oh, you have friends over, it's nice to meet you," Chichi said as she walked out with a smile.
There were vague introductions and much more familiar hellos from Rom and Chico.
"Goten was bugging us so I sent him to Capsule Corp."
"That boy, he knew he had homework due today."
"Sorry, I told him to go, so my fault."
I heard a tapping on the table and looked to see Rom sliding a paper in front of Sharpener and Erasa.
"What's that you got there?" Chichi asked.
"Oh, I just had a question about next week's homework, and you reminded me," Chico smiled, sliding her hand over the paper.
"Oh, well don't let me interrupt you. I'll make extra for lunch, Gohan have you eaten?"
I knew I was forgetting something, that's why I was still so tired.
"I'll grab a snack, thanks."
"Oh! Tell me when you're cooking! I wanna help!" Rom grinned as he all but climbed over the table to catch Chichi's attention.
"Oh, no you should spend time with your friends."
"Ah, these are Chico's friends. I'm here 'cause I got nothing better to do. And I love your cooking! How cool would it be if I could just replicate it one day!"
"…well, if you insist. Can't say it's all that interesting, but I'll let you know when I start."
"Thanks!"
Chichi walked back inside and after a moment the mood shifted back to, relatively normal.
Chico handed me the paper.
It said "male pronouns in front of everyone else."
"…oh, right. Whoops. Why are You guys better at this than I am?"
A burst of Ki and the paper was less than dust.
"I'm gonna get a snack," I announced as I got up to find something. I downed a calorie supplement and looked around for actual food. Nothing looked particularly appealing so I grabbed some cookies and headed out.
"Wait, so, wait. What's the deal with the, uh, pronoun thing?" Sharpener asked after I'd settled back down, placing the cookies on the table with an indication that anyone could take some.
"Born male. Am a girl. Only people who know are their group," I tilted my head to Chico and Rom, "my closest friend, and, maybe my Uncle? Still not really sure on that one. Oh, right, also Ocari. Does Dende know? Dende might know actually. Dende knows things, that's like, half his job."
I nabbed a cookie and could already feel the headache subside.
Sharpener still looked confused but didn't question it further. Erasa looked about three steps away from hugging me and I quickly changed the subject.
Erasa had this kind of, bubbly, personality that I'd never had to, and had no idea how to deal with. If she'd noticed my hesitance, she didn't mention it. I mean, she was nice, just, not in a way I was used to. Almost too nice.
Another set of inane questions later and Chichi popped back out to tell Rom she was going to be cooking like she'd promised.
The boy practically vaulted over the table at the announcement.
A bit later I got up and crossed the distance towards Videl, who chose a place decently far away. Probably smart that she'd choose somewhere out of earshot, what with the issue of distraction.
"Break time. Lunch is gonna be soon."
The girl's eyes blinked open and a moment later she was standing up, stretching her limbs out before walking anywhere.
"Ok, now how was that supposed to help? I told you, I've meditated before and that didn't feel any different."
"You're probably not gonna make progress in one day. it is, not a quick thing."
"How long did it take you to learn?" She asked as we made it back to the table.
"Uh, I don't know. It was forever ago. And I wasn't actively trying to learn at first, it just kinda happened over a few months."
Videl frowned, "ok, how'd you learn to fly then"
"I was pushed off a cliff. So yeah, we're not doing that."
Chico took out Rom's notebook and scribbled that down. Honestly, I've lost track of what they do and don't know.
"Wait, wasn't Piccolo the one who taught you at first? He pushed you off a cliff?" She asked.
"Uh, not important."
"Piccolo?" Videl asked, frowning.
"Yeah, Son Goku's kid and Demon King Piccolo's kid being besties is like, the funniest thing."
Videl blinked. Then slowly lowered her head into her hands.
"Your name, is Son Gohan…"
"Really? You never put that one together? Huh," I said as I crossed one leg over the other.
"Wait wait no, we're not skipping past that. Piccolo?" Sharpener cut in.
"Uh, yeah. Known him since I was like, four. You can just like, ignore how we met and uh, closest friend."
"So, when you interrupted class to say that was the demon king's son-"
"Yeah."
"…and you're just, friends?"
"Yeah."
"He pushed you off a cliff?" That time it was Erasa asking.
"Not important."
"Ok, so," Videl lifted her head again, "you met him, when you were four, and he was the one to teach you, for some reason, so, then you started learning to use this Ki stuff when you were four?"
"Give or take. Maybe a bit closer to five. It was a while ago."
"And flying?"
"…five."
"He pushed you off a cliff when you were five!?" Erasa exclaimed as she stood up from her chair.
"Ok, we can stop focusing on the cliff thing."
"Well I just think-"
"Not-"
"But-"
"-In-"
"I-
"-Por-"
Slowly, Erasa sat back down.
"Ok but-"
"-Tant."
Erasa was pouting at my interruptions so I pulled out my phone and opened my Home Screen.
"Look at him. Just a guy."
The picture was of him about a full second before he noticed me. This was especially evident in him just about petting a cat.
I smiled at the memory. And also did not mention him chasing me down after the fact to delete the photo.
Jokes on him. He doesn't know about online saves.
The photo softened Erasa enough for her to drop the subject at least.
"How- does the son of the Demon King become friends with the son of the guy who killed his dad?" Sharpener, however, did not drop the subject.
"Uh, I dunno. We just vibed I guess," I absolutely lied, because they definitely did not need the whole story. Also, I'd be rude to share without Piccolo's say so anyway.
And this Sharpener seemed absolutely nothing like the Sharpener I'd met when first going to school. By this point, half of his personality seemed to be confused.
It felt fortunate that that was when Chichi announced that lunch was done.
For a second I remembered that Videl wasn't there when the whole gender thing was discussed. I glanced back to see Erasa whispering in her ear. Then she gave me a grin and two thumbs up.
I kinda, smiled back.
I appreciated the effort, but somehow I doubted subtly was a particular skill of hers.
Introductions were made and unfortunately, Videl introduced herself by her full name. I say unfortunately, because Chichi obviously recognized it.
"Satan, huh?" Chichi's eyes darkened and honestly, my favor towards Mr. Satan was probably the only thing keeping her from making a bigger issue of it.
The three shifted at the obvious implication. Chico and Rom had no such issues.
Honestly, Rom was probably too excited with the whole cooking thing to even notice.
"There's probably not much of my blood in it," the boy joked as he set up the dishes, which distracted Chichi away from the tension.
"There is no blood in any of the food," she tapped the side of Rom's head as she straightened out the alignment.
With a couple of the dishes, it was a bit easy to tell what Rom had prepared and what Chichi had, but the only one willing to point that out was Chico.
"Say Gohan," I glanced up at Videl, "are you going to be joining the Budokai this year?"
I blinked, then sighed.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"You guess so?"
"Yeah, sure. Why not?"
Videl frowned. Oh sure it was probably obvious that I wasn't explaining my apprehension, but it's not like I could.
I mean, with The Ultimate, the whole Buu thing was a nonthreat. My main concern was that I didn't quite remember the order of events. But it was probably fine.
"Now Gohan, I hope you're not expecting to get out of school for this?"
"I mean, I don't think so, what day does it take place?" I asked.
"They're held on weekends, that way the most people can attend."
"There. A nonissue."
Chichi nodded, "then I expect either you or your father to win," she stated it more as a fact than a suggestion.
I decided to not mention the fact that if I was put against Mr. Satan I'd 110% throw the match.
"And you!" Chichi turned to Videl, "what are your intentions? Why would you ask Gohan to join?"
"What? I just thought that since, Gohan's, apparently so strong he should join the tournament."
"Are you sure? Are you sure you don't have any other intentions? You'd best keep your hands off my son, he's far too busy for dating anyway."
"What?! No! Who in their right mind would try and use a tournament to get with someone!?"
Immediately Chico, Rom, and I were pointing at Chichi.
Chichi flustered.
"Didn't you like, only join the World Tournament to get to dad?" I asked.
And immediately Chichi was lost in reminiscence.
Got rid of the argument at least. Can't argue if you're telling stories about your childhood crush.
Videl just seemed stuck on Chichi having been in the World Tournament.
Eventually, lunch ended and Chichi refused any offers to help clean up.
This time, I joined Videl to actually describe what she was supposed to be looking for.
Of course, since I was here, we also had an audience of, everyone else sans Chichi.
"Ki is the energy inside you. It's what provides the ability to do, just about anything. Most people are unaware of it, but those who are and have control of it can use it to make, minor changes. Higher pain tolerance, higher temperature tolerance, hot or cold, better immune system, things like that. Nothing to the point where you could go to extremes with it, and results vary, but the disciplined can do these things with years of effort."
"Of course, that's just minor changes, we're looking for, more direct ones here. For that, you need to be able to summon your Ki outwards."
I sat across from her and held my hands out so they were visible, before slowly forming a small ball of Ki between them.
"This, is Ki. In this form, it's really volatile, it's pure energy, being able to put its force into something without having to go through your muscles first."
To demonstrate, I extended my hand and shot the ball off to destroy a medium-sized rock. Videl stared at the results, eyes wide.
"Depending on the person, this can be an assent or not. That's one reason that muscle mass may still matter even if you're good with Ki, physical punches or kicks will still benefit from it. I tend to go either way."
"To fly, you don't need that much Ki, but you do need decent control over it. You need to be able to exert enough of it under you that it holds you up, and be able to hold your balance doing so. No use in flying if you're tumbling over yourself. Well, there could be if you were just looking for the fun of it, but not very practical."
"Hey, is it just me, or is this explanation a lot more, explainy, than from when we were kids?" Rom asked.
"Ok, first of all, there's no way you'd have listened to all this back then. Second, I've had several more years to learn since then."
"Anyway," I continued, "the easiest place to find your Ki is around your upper stomach," I pointed at my own as an example, "this time when you're meditating, focus there."
I stood up and Videl looked up, comically alarmed, "meditating? Again?"
"Why do you think they didn't last long with it?" I pointed my head towards Chico and Rom.
"Starting to consider being thrown off a cliff," Videl muttered.
"That was still after weeks of Ki practice before that."
I remained in the area, on the off chance that she'd stumble onto progress, but, I wasn't exactly surprised that none was made that day.
Eventually, it was time for the lot of them to head back, since on Jetcopter. They only had so long to get back home before it was too late to safely fly.
…
Goten-
Goten watched as Trunks peered over the window. They'd ended up in Trunks's room after running away through Capsule Corp.
"You think it's safe?"
Clover nodded, "I think we've avoided the tiny terror."
Goten kinda thought Trunks was being dramatic, but since Clover agreed he guessed not.
Trunks drew away from the window and smirked.
He ran over to his desk and pulled out his tablet, poking at the screen until he got what he was looking for.
"Check and mate Clover," Trunks turned the screen so they could see what he was looking at. It was a news thingy, it was showing Gohan in Superhero costume.
"So?" Clover asked. Her tail flicked behind her. Goten kinda wanted a tail, but he wasn't born with one. Trunks didn't seem to mind so it was probably just him.
"It's about Gohan! In the superhero form! Aaaannnndddd," Trunks zoomed in on the article until the most prominent word was "they"
"That doesn't mean anything! If no one else knows how would random news people!"
Goten sat as Trunks and Clover began arguing again. Goten didn't really like this argument.
They both seemed to agree that Gohan was not a boy. They just didn't agree on what else Gohan would be. Clover thought Gohan was a girl because- well he doesn't really get her reasons but she had to have good ones since she was so confident about it. And Trunks thought Gohan was neither because Gohan was an- andr- andro-something.
Goten didn't really get it.
Trunks also said he wasn't allowed to just ask because Gohan would probably just lie for some reason. But if Gohan would lie about it, wouldn't it also be weird that they were arguing about it?
And he wasn't allowed to ask someone else either because Trunks said you weren't supposed to tell other people, for, some reason.
Trunks was smarter than he was so he was probably right.
Clover had to be really smart too since she was so good at arguing with him.
Goten just wished they could know so they wouldn't have to argue about it anymore.
Goten didn't get why Gohan would hide something like that anyway. But Gohan was weird sometimes so maybe.
They always got bored of the argument pretty quickly, since neither of them had anything new to add, except for the news thingy from Trunks.
But once they got bored of arguing they could go back to playing normally at least.
Uh, yes. Of course Trunks is an IPad kid. Obviously.
