Hi all! Sorry it took longer to publish a chapter than it did with the last one, as I got violently ill. Anyway, back to full health and writing during my free time.
Thank you all for the great feedback! There's definite potential here, and I'll keep a better eye out for spelling, typos, and other story ideas I haven't considered yet. So anyway, here's the next chapter on how Gine and Kakarot begin the process of adapting to their new lives on Earth with Grandpa Gohan.
Based on MasakoX's What If series "What if Gine went with Goku to Earth?", but a retcon with some changes of my own on how I think the story would have went down had Goku's mother escaped planet Vegeta with him.
Onwards!
DISCLAIMER: The following is a fan-based work of fiction. Dragonball Minus, Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball Super, and Dragonball GT are all own by FUNimation, Toei Animation, and Akira Toriyama.
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CHAPTER 2: A NEW BEGINNING
"You got everything you need?" Gohan asked.
"Yeah, I think so." Gine said uncertainly. They stood in front of the hut with pieces of the destroyed front door on the ground, mixed with other pieces of cut wood that Gohan had from the pile out back. She held a bucket of nails and hammer in her hand.
"I'll try to have your front door fixed by the time you get back." She said, and looked at the pile of wood planks anxiously.
"Whatever you can do will be fine." Gohan reassured her. "It doesn't need to be perfect, just enough to cover the entrance."
"Okay." Gine nodded.
"Anything else that Kakarot will need?" Gohan pointed to the boy in question. Kakarot was sitting on the ground trying to catch a butterfly from his spot. He fell over, giggling.
The sight made Gine laugh and her heart feel warm. "Nah, I think you got everything on the list."
"Very well then, I shall return by tomorrow." Gohan said, slinging the basket on his back. "Outhouse over there," he pointed one way, then another towards an empty drum "bath is over there," then towards the forest behind the hut, "river is over there", and finally pointed towards the kitchen through the door-less entrance "and feel free to make whatever you like until I return."
"I really appreciate this." Gine said to him for the umpteenth time that morning. She was still unable to grasp how anyone like him could be so kind to a stranger. He had taken them in, fed them, and now was going to the nearest village to get supplies for them.
"No worries my dear, anything to make your stay here on Earth more bearable." He said kindly, and took that moment to start walking.
"Be safe!" She called out to him, and Gohan waved back as he walked a path through the trees and disappeared.
Gine then went about the task of rebuilding the front door. She hardly ever used tools in her life, let alone primitive ones, so she had to learn how all this worked. Following the instructions Gohan gave her, she arranged the frame in a way that should form the rectangle the size of the entrance, and nailed the planks onto the frame. She smashed a finger or two with the hammer a few times, trying to strike the nails perfectly but missing wide.
"GAHH!" Gine yelped when she painfully smashed her thumb, and threw the hammer into the ground out of frustration. She threw it hard enough that it buried itself deep into the dirt.
Cursing herself and not wanting to lose any of Gohan's tools, she spent a good deal of time digging by hand to find the blasted thing. The soil came loose thanks to her Saiyan strength, but now she was making things worse with digging holes. Kakarot just sat and watched, amused by his mother's struggle.
By midafternoon she found the hammer and got out of the hole, realizing then that she had just decimated the beautiful grounds the hut stood on in her search. Trying not to let that undo her calm, she got back to working. After smashing one more thumb again and uttering some explicit words, she finally finished the rudimentary door. She gave it a test fitting in the entrance, and it barely fit. Gine also forgot to put in the hinges, so it just sat there like a giant board cover. Well, at least he said it didn't have to be perfect, so she called it good.
Then she spent the next hour filling in the holes she dug up, trying to undo the damage she did to Gohan's yard. She felt so stupid for causing this, but at least the place wouldn't look like it was pocked with craters.
When she was done, she inspected her work, nodding in half-satisfaction and half-embarrassment. The yard was still a mess, but the door was fixed (somewhat) and the holes where packed in.
Kakarot rolled in the dirt-packed concaves she filled in, laughing while he did so. Gine went to pick him up, he was almost as filthy as she was. She also realized that they haven't bathed since they landed, too tired to do so the night before. They definitely needed to clean up.
Gine took Kakarot to the river with the giant empty drum that Gohan told her to bathe in. She was flabbergasted that humans bathed in such primitive means, but this should work still. Using only one arm she scooped up enough water from the river with the drum and took it back to the hut. After setting the drum atop a rack of stone and getting a fire going underneath it, she waited for the water to warm up by getting some drying cloths and strange white bars of animal fat that Gohan told her was "soap".
The sun was almost behind the trees when the water was hot enough. Gine removed her dirt-soaked armor, boots, and pants, then lowered herself naked into the boiling water with little Kakarot. He seemed to relax as much as she did when they felt how exquisitely nice the hot water felt. Savoring the hot water for as long as she could, Gine then took the soap bars and cleaned herself and Kakarot up, washing away the dirt from today and the dust from the day before. Kakarot giggled happily when she wiped his face with the soap.
"So silly you are." Gine cooed. She couldn't help but giggle too at how her son tried to play with the bubbles on his face and in the water. Gine felt a little embarrassed bathing outside naked, and also perplexed at how Gohan didn't have the modern means to bathe like a shower or a cleansing tank like on planet Vegeta. It felt like she had stepped back in time when Saiyans had yet to develop any forms of technology. But she had to admit that this had some charm to it.
When Gine dried herself and her son off then redressed in her armor, dusk was setting in. She went back inside to make themselves dinner.
Again, she was unused to using old-style cooking pots and open fire pits to heat food, which resulted in her almost burning the hut down. When the fire under the pot got too out of control she grabbed the handle to throw its overheated contents out the window, only to burn her hand when she forgot that iron pots conducted heat. Instinctively she dropped the pot that spilled the stew of vegetables onto the floor, and knocked some hot embers around, setting fire to some of the fabrics in the rest of the kitchen. With the dry wood of the hut, the fire started to grow fast.
Panicking, she ran outside and grabbed the drum of water they just bathed in and completely emptied it onto the fire. The cloud of steam completely enveloped them in the hut, and blasted out the windows. With the large drum of dirty water she dumped, the fire was out but now the hut was flooded out. The floor completely soaked, some furniture overturned, the pot and some fabrics very burned. The crudely constructed door she rebuilt was on the ground in pieces, again; washed out from the rush of water. Kakarot sat at the table and just looked at her, still expecting their meal to be done.
Great, Gine thought while she tried not to explode in rage and dismay. She almost destroyed her host's home and all her hard work undone. Not bad for her second day on Earth.
Giving up trying to salvage the stew, she just split some leftover loaves of bread with Kakarot. He whined that he wasn't going to get the big tasty stew that his mother was trying to make but the bread was not half-bad.
After finishing their meal, Kakarot was dozing off and Gine put him to bed. She rang out some of the fabrics as best she could and swept out some puddles of water to dry out the place. By late into the night, she was done. She'll worry about fixing the door again tomorrow, and hoped against hope that Gohan wouldn't be too mad at what she did.
Gine picked up and straightened the last piece of furniture overturned, then something on the floor caught her eye. There was a small plush violet pillow that looked like it was on top of something. She lifted it to reveal a small glass orb hiding underneath it. It was orange in color, and with four red stars embedded in it. Curiously, she picked it up and held it in her hand, fitting perfectly in the cup of her palm. She wondered what it was but could fathom no idea, it was rather pretty though. As Gine looked at her reflection in the orb, she felt a strange sense of mysticism emanating from this orb she held, like it had some great untold mystery or otherworldly power in it that she couldn't possibly comprehend.
She set the orb on the table she straightened, atop of the pillow which she assumed it was supposed to be where it rested. Was it some sort of decoration or memorabilia? Whatever it was, she could ask Gohan about it later.
In the master bedroom where Kakarot was fast asleep, Gine plopped herself onto the bed. To a Saiyan who spent a majority of her life sleeping on dirt or cramped cots, the mattress she lay on was like floating on a cloud. On their first night on Earth, Gine had fallen asleep too fast to truly savor the comfort of an actual mattress. Now she wasn't as tired, so she could feel the lavishing cotton sheets.
With little Kakarot snuggled against her, she relaxed finally as she was left alone to her thoughts.
It was the first time since they landed on Earth that she could just lay there and think freely. She tried to fight off the worry of Gohan getting angry at her damaging his house. So instead she enjoyed the silence of the wilderness outside the window. She wasn't sure how, but something about listening to the sounds of insects, birds, predators, and prey in the night was so soothing; even if they terrified her the night before. Shelter changed everything. It almost made her forget she was on some far away planet with only her son and stranger for company...
That thought made her mind stop. The thought of her and Kakarot alone, with no Bardock and Raditz around. Suddenly, the sounds of the woods did not comfort her anymore, and her vision blurred with wetness. Then, everything faded as she lost herself to grief.
Like a dam bursting within her heart, Gine let out a wail into her pillow, all of her pain and sorrow rushing out of her at once like a tidal wave. She did not care if her sobs disturbed Kakarot.
"R-Raditz..." She choked out between her cries, her face moist with tears.
Her firstborn child was gone, a piece of her own soul as much as her own flesh and blood had been extinguished. It was like she had a knife stuck through her heart to fully accept that he was dead.
And Bardock. The man she looked up to, the light of her life, and the father of her children was gone too. She had been around death before in her days as a low-class warrior, and seeing comrades die. But someone she bonded with, and her own child... how could she live with such pain?
Long ago she thought she'd have been prepared for the loss of people she cared about, even her own comrades and blood. She knew the realities Saiyans faced in combat for conquering other worlds for Frieza. She had almost expected to learn that either of Raditz or Bardock being killed in action someday. But now... it seemed unreal. And it took her two full days for her to finally break down from that fact. Funny how grief worked that way.
She grieved long into the night, crying until she feel asleep. Darkness overtaking her consciousness like the loss that had drowned her whole world. But as the wall of sleep closed in, she had one comfort in all of this despair: the knowledge that no matter what, at least Kakarot was safe...
When morning came, Gine woke up to feel the rays of the sun shining on her face. She grumbled and felt around the bed with her free arm. She hadn't moved from where she fell asleep, and she slept hard. Sore everywhere and feeling numb from the release of all of her emotions the night before.
Her arm brushed in the sheets in front of her, and her eyes shot open when she realized Kakarot was not in her grasp. Bolting upright out of bed looking for him, Gine saw that the room was a complete mess. Gohan's wardrobe was tossed all over the room as if a tornado went through his clothes. Some of them were torn, soiled, or both.
Gine soon got her answer to what caused all this when her son poked his head through a hole he chewed into on a rather expensive-looking tunic. He smiled so innocently at her, like he did nothing wrong. Her eye twitched.
She yelled at him something fierce which quickly replaced his happy demeanor with crying that wouldn't stop. With her work cut out for her, Gine gathered up all the clothes and sorted out whatever clean ones that were still intact. There were only two sets of shirts and pants for Gohan that weren't torn or soiled, and she kept them out of Kakarot's reach. She then gathered up all the soiled pieces and took them to the river, spending the rest of the day trying to clean them out and save whatever clothes she could. By the time she got back, she saw the door in pieces, almost entirely forgotten that it was destroyed again. Kakarot was in the yard too, having gotten his hands on the clothes she tried to hide from him and was now wearing it, and he still hadn't stopped crying.
Adjusting to this world was going to be harder than she thought.
Later that afternoon, after Gine finished reworking the door, Gohan returned. When he stepped out of the woods and came in sight of his home, he dropped the basket he was carrying.
"What happened here?!" He said as Gine ran up to him. She looked back at the hut, which looked more like a warzone. "I-I'm so sorry" Gine said nervously, "I-I almost burned your house drown trying to cook something, and Kakarot ruined most of your clothes. All the holes you see were from me trying to find the hammer to fix the door-"
"Slow down, Gine." Gohan placed a hand on her arm, it was a lot to take in.
"First thing's first, how badly did you almost burn it down?" He said.
Gine nervously showed him the damage, how some of the kitchen wall, ceiling, and pot was blackened. Then she showed him the water damage from trying to put it out, and the pile of clothes she tried to save from Kakarot. The boy was in the yard playing around in the dirt dug up. That she also had to explain to Gohan that it was from building the door, which had to be moved out of the way like a board than an actual door.
Gine was close to tears when she finished, almost certain that Gohan would demand that she leave immediately.
"It's no big deal my dear. Nothing to get too worked up about trying to adjust to life here." He said, surprising her.
"Now let me show you how to properly clean these clothes, then we'll worry about everything else." Gohan said reassuringly, as he gathered the clothes she salvaged and took them outside. She let out a breathe she didn't know she was holding, so relieved. His kindness and patience never ceased to amaze her.
He took the mayhem caused to his home very well, and he spent the rest of the day patiently showing Gine how to wash clothes by hand in a bucket of soap and water, not in the river. All the while they kept Kakarot busy with an improvised chew toy they made out of wood, which he chomped right through. He had quite a ravenous mouth but at least they saved what's left of the clothes in the hut, and he was already trying to walk.
Later that night he showed her the finer points of cooking with an open wood fire. With the tips Gohan gave her, she was able to finally bring the cook out of her and get the hang of it. True to her word she cooked up a feast from the animals Gohan hunted for in the forest, had them skinned and boiled into a proper stew with vegetables and some spices. It was a large hearty dinner she made to make up for the damage she caused and to show her gratitude to him, not to mention to support her and her son's Saiyan appetites.
After dinner Gohan showed her the supplies he brought back from the village. He had bought some extra food, books, diapers, soap, and some fabrics so they could make some clothes for Kakarot and her. The books he said he got would be to help home school Kakarot someday so he could learn how to read and write this planet's language, and so could Gine. She liked that idea for her son, but felt embarrassed as she realized she would have to learn how to read and write all over again for this planet.
Gohan had just finished his stew while sewing a blue tunic he was making for Kakarot.
"The stew was absolutely delicious." Gohan said, patting his belly satisfied.
"I'm so glad you like it!" Gine beamed, so happy she did it right. She gathered up the bowls and started cleaning them out. With Kakarot fed, they kept warm by the fire while Gohan worked the seams on the tunic.
"I must admit it was quite a learning experience to cook with an open fire." Gine said, looking into the dying embers. "Is there a reason why you don't use a regular stove or something? I mean, no offense, but this seems rather primitive." She asked tentatively.
Gohan mused over her words. "None taken. We humans do have modern technology, but I chose to live a simple life. I wanted to clear my spirit as a martial artist, and to do that I had to rid myself of modern comforts."
"Martial artist?" Gine asked.
"Yes." Gohan answered. "I study and apply the art of hand-to-hand combat. It has always been my life's passion to perfect it, and to do so I had to give up worldly pursuits to live a life free and untouched by convenience so I could master my spirit without distractions."
She was fascinated by this. "So...martial arts is a human way of fighting?"
"Well, not necessarily just for humans. But yes, it is basically everything that has to do with fighting with your own mind, body, and spirit without artificial means." Gohan answered.
Gine thought over what he said. "We Saiyans just called it fighting. But, no artificial means? Wouldn't that make it difficult for conquest or killing?"
Gohan looked at her. "It has nothing to do with killing. Though there are schools of martial arts out there that teach that, I would never want to kill anymore than you do. I practice it primarily for recreation, self-improvement, and for self-defense." He answered.
Gine was fascinated by that. "So, no killing needed at all?" She asked with amazement.
"If that's the type of training you wish to pursue, yes, no killing is needed. Though I don't think killing is ever needed." He answered honestly.
Gine thought hard about what Gohan said. Fighting without conquest or killing? It was so unfamiliar to her. As a Saiyan it was like loving to eat but hating food. But, she was not like any other Saiyan. She hated killing, and did not have the fighting spirit. But she still had the combative instincts of all Saiyans, and even a pacifist like her had to scratch that itch once in a while. They were manifested more verbally with Bardock than actual fighting, though some of it did involve trading blows for training purposes.
This "martial arts" was rather interesting though. To fight for fun and therapeutic reasons without bloodshed?
"Could you show me some of your martial arts sometime?" She asked.
"Absolutely!" Gohan said enthusiastically. "How about tomorrow? We could spar for a bit so I can show you what it's all about."
"Sounds like a plan." Gine smiled.
"Good." Gohan said as he finished the tunic he was working on. He then tried to fit it over Kakarot.
The boy squirmed and growled, thinking Gohan was about to strangle him. He bit Gohan's fingers hard, making the poor old man yelp in pain.
"KAKAROT!" Gine yelled, her son immediately cowered when he knew he was in trouble. After a sharp look she gave him, he slumped his shoulders in shame and mumbled in gibberish to what was an unintelligible apology. Gine was by Gohan's side tending to his hand.
"I'm so sorry about that." Gine apologized as she cleaned up the deep bite marks and bandaged up his hand.
"That's okay." Gohan said, "Your son has quite the survival instincts or he's just very ill tempered."
"He can be violent." Gine said worryingly, "He's been programmed since he was born to attack and destroy other living things."
"Programmed?" Gohan asked as he flexed his patched up hand.
"Yes." Gine looked to Kakarot then back at Gohan. "Saiyan babies are brainwashed for a time before they get sent on their infiltration missions. It's part of preparing them for life as conquerors."
"Brainwashed? As in...?" Gohan tried to ask, horrified.
"Yes." Gine answered grimly. "They are bombarded with mental images of battle and death to have their Saiyan thirst for battle amplified, and make them into killers born rather than just regularly trained soldiers."
"That's barbaric." Was all Gohan could say.
"I know." Gine said sadly, as she picked up Kakarot. He flinched slightly from her touch as if was expecting to be punished, but Gine just held him tight as she went on.
"That's why Frieza chose us to be his elite warriors in his empire. We were bred for war due to our violent nature. Since joining the Planet Trade Organization we were able to find better ways to conquer and get stronger, and brainwashing babies was one of them."
Gine looked down at Kakarot in her arms as she explained all this to Gohan, but she looked at him without seeing him though, staring off into space.
"I went through the incubation process too, like every other Saiyan. But I guess it never really took hold since I always hated killing, even when I was a infiltration baby." She said wryly.
"That's a very good thing." Gohan said to her. She was touched by his words since she never thought she'd get to hear them spoken to her.
"I'm glad too." Gine said, her smile downturned though when she looked at Kakarot again. "I just hope it never took hold in him too."
Gohan looked at Kakarot, the boy looking back and forward between them as if he knew they were discussing about him.
"Well, I don't think it may have. He has the same kind eyes you have, and you could tell a lot about someone that way. I think he's as gentle a soul as you are. And besides, he's only just begun his life. With you to nurture him, he will turn out fine." Gohan said thoughtfully.
He has such wisdom, Gine thought. Kakarot did indeed have her eyes, and had the look of innocence within him. But the incubation process was meant to drive all of that away. She was a rare exception while everyone else turned out to be the battle-hungry Saiyans they were born to be. Raditz turned out to be such a warrior, who's to say that Kakarot won't either?
But Gohan was right, that she was here though. She could teach him to be a good person, to undo all the evil that was put into his mind. She would still tell him of his heritage, but she would make sure to let him have a chance to be an actual innocent child who could grow as his own person and not as a pawn of an emperor.
"I hope he does." Gine smiled, knowing the task ahead of her as a mother. Then said teasingly to her son, "You better be." Kakarot just stared back at his mom, wondering what she was saying to him.
"Anyways, let's see if we can try this again." Gohan quipped, holding up the tunic. Gine set Kakarot back down and gave him a look that told him to behave this time. He didn't like being told to go against something his brain was urging him to do like attacking, but now he knew better than to disobey his mother.
With Kakarot pacified, Gohan fitted the blue open-chested gi on him, and tied it up with a white belt. It was a little big but he should grow into it. Kakarot played his hands over the fabric, fascinated.
Gine looked over her son and approved of Gohan's work.
"You look nice, Kakarot. Say thank you to Grandpa Gohan for making you that." She instructed. Kakarot turned to Gohan and babbled something in gibberish. Gohan smiled as the boy was learning his manners fast.
Kakarot paused at the last piece of gibberish he was trying utter, then repeated something he noticed his mother said about the man who was in front of him.
"G...Gwandpa." Kakarot said, pointing his tiny fingers towards Gohan.
Gine gasped, shocked that he had just spoke his first word. But she was even more surprised and delighted by how he addressed Gohan.
Gohan meanwhile smiled warmly. "Grandpa…" he said to Kakarot pointing towards himself. "Grandpa Gohan." He repeated. He actually liked the sound of that.
Then pointed a finger towards Kakarot's chest. "You, Kakarot." Gohan cooed and poked the boy's chest. Kakarot giggled.
"K...Ka...Kakarot." The boy said, trying to form the word with his mouth's newfound ability. Gohan could hardly believe that this boy was not yet a year old and was already walking and trying to speak.
"That's right!" Gine beamed. She bent down at eye level with her son and pointed a finger at herself.
"Mama" she said, then pointed to Kakarot.
"Kakarot." then back to herself. "Mama".
Kakarot starred at his mother for few long seconds with his innocent eyes, then pointed to her. "Mama." He said, then pointed toward himself as if unsure. "Ka..Kakarot."
"Good job!" Gine said happily, then hugged her son.
"I can't believe how fast your son is growing." Gohan spoke the same thought she was having.
Gine looked into her son's eyes, smiling back at her.
"Neither can I." She said quietly.
The following day, Gohan and Gine were out front of the hut as they agreed after she helped him finish the morning chores.
"Go ahead and come at me like you did the other day." Gohan instructed.
Gine looked at him surprised and worried. "A-are you sure? I almost killed you last time."
"You won't need to worry." He assured her. "I've been hurt worse in my younger days, and I know you won't try to seriously hurt me this time. And besides, this is just a friendly spar."
"O-okay." Gine said, not entirely convinced. "I trust you, but I just don't want to accidentally hurt you."
"I appreciate your concern, Gine. But I'll be fine, and I'll hold nothing against you if you land a blow on me." Gohan said.
"That's good." Gine said. It was refreshing to hear words like that, she'd been too used to grudges for training fights back on Vegeta.
"Alright then." Gohan said as he got into stance. "Go ahead and come at me."
Gine readied herself and charged him.
She threw punch after punch and kick after kick at Gohan. He made a serious effort to dodge all of her attacks since she was rather fast. But he observed her movements easily, mentally noting that she was very sloppy. No technique or plan of attack at all, just throwing attacks out there and hoping to hit something like an amateur.
The fight went on for several minutes, Gohan trying to not get hit but dodging her every move. Kakarot sat on the porch watching them, mesmerized.
After ducking low from a sweeping high kick, Gohan strikes her in the side of her leg to make her lose her balance. Gine fell on her side and groaned, but it didn't hurt too bad. Gohan stood over her victoriously.
"How'd you do that?" She asked, amazed that she was somehow on the ground.
"You leave yourself open a lot." Gohan commented, but grimaced as he massaged the hand he attacked her with. "But you sure do have tough skin to protect you."
"Well, living on a planet with gravity ten times stronger than this planet can do that." Gine said as Gohan helped her up.
"Yes indeed it can." Gohan said.
"But I still don't get it though." Gine said, "I thought that you humans wouldn't be able to beat someone like me since I'm built stronger as a Saiyan. Or am I just that bad at fighting?" She added, not too proud of that last hypothesis.
"Relying on brute strength alone does not mean weak spots cannot be exploited." Gohan answered.
Gine took in what he said, he had a point. But still, she had trouble trying to comprehend that idea. "Where I came from, strength means...or, meant, everything. It meant that no matter what our opponents had in the way of weapons or knowledge, if their power levels were weaker than ours, they couldn't beat us."
"Power levels?" Gohan asked in puzzlement.
Gine caught herself and explained, "It's a numerical system of measuring strength or power that we used to evaluate our opponents. If the number of power or strength was measured to be lower than us, they were weaker. Higher than us, stronger."
"And how did Saiyans go about measuring these power levels?" He asked.
"With devices we wore, called scouters." Gine explained by cupping her hand over one ear to visualize it. "They measured power levels whenever we went into battle so we would know if we could handle whatever planet we were assigned to or had to call for backup."
"I see." Gohan thought over what she told him. "If you ask me, I'd say its a foolish way to enter battle."
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"As I said, relying on strength alone does not guarantee that you would win a fight. If you had opponents who were much faster than you or knew pressure points, magical abilities or things of the like, you can still be beaten. Like how I managed to take you down, even though you are much stronger than I am." Gohan said.
Gine was taken aback by what he said, not expecting such an answer to her question.
"But, I-we always believed that strength was what determined everything. We believed that the strongest Saiyan should be our king, and Frieza ruled over our king since he had the highest power level ever known." She said.
"Well I don't mean to offend or judge a belief system I know little about. But believing in such an idea as who is the strongest through who could lift the heaviest or blow up whole planets or what not is very narrow in its scope. For being a big strong warrior who is too slow won't do much if he or she couldn't hit opponents or doesn't know energy management. There is far more to fighting than just how strong your muscles are or how much gravity you grew up in. Granted it's a great advantage to have, as you Gine are definitely fast and strong in the gravity of this planet, but if you don't know how to block or plan or manage your movements, you can easily be defeated." Gohan lectured.
Gine thought over what he said, things sort of clicking into place in her head. There where times she heard rumors of Saiyans being forced to retreat or eradicated by enemy fighters that were supposedly easy prey, yet somehow managed to hold out. At least until they brought enough reinforcements to overrun them or just blow their planets up. She guessed they had sort of the same idea as what Gohan was trying to show her.
She reluctantly nodded in agreement, finally seeing what he was trying to get at. Gine had to give pause though that he mentioned magical abilities. Did such things really exist on this planet? They had to, with a human like Gohan that could beat her, anything could be possible here on Earth.
"I guess we got too used to the idea that with enough strength you could beat anything." She said wistfully.
"Well, that's also partially true." Gohan said, which caught Gine's attention.
Gohan went on. "You are indeed strong from the gravity you lived in, and you have knowledge of ki attacks like the ones you did in our first fight. But you lack technique and discipline. If you mastered those things combined with your strength, you'd be almost unstoppable."
He did have a point there too. If Saiyans fought the way Gohan did, they would have been a far more formidable force to contend with. But she didn't think if that would extend to her though. That thought made her look away from Gohan.
"I guess that would be true." She said, "But, I was never a warrior. I was a weakling and a pacifist. I don't think I could fight like that."
Gohan shook his head, "Nonsense. I think you could."
Gine looked at Gohan seriously, "What makes you say that? I don't like to kill or cause pain and suffering."
"Who said anything about killing?" Gohan scolded. "Just because you have a kind heart doesn't mean you are weak. If anything, it makes you stronger than you realize. You have a code of honor, and a desire to protect instead of destroy. Having those qualities can give a fighter incredible strength from within rather than just what your body could do or with selfish desires. And if you set your mind to being the best fighter you can be, anything is possible. You would never have to do any killing to do so."
Gine looked at Gohan incredulously. "Really?"
"Of course. Anyone has the potential to be the greatest fighter of all, and they can be for forces of good. While true that you and your son come from a race of people that make humans look puny in comparison and conquered planets for a tyrant, but anyone who sets their minds to being the best can become the best through hard work, dedication, and a good heart." Gohan said passionately. "That's the beauty of what it means to be a martial artist. To not be the best of others, but to be better than yourself."
It all struck a chord with Gine. The idea that she wouldn't have to fight for bloodlust or conquest. That she could fight for the sake of fighting for good, or even for fun. That she could be the best she can be, and not just the bottom of the barrel. This was completely unheard of.
Everyone has the potential to be great if they set their minds to it. Gine rolled those words in her mind, trying to fully grasp what it meant. It almost sounded like something Bardock would say. How he tried to claw his way up the ranks through taking the most difficult jobs he could take, that he tried to be something better than what he was born for.
She loved him for that kind of spirit, even though she didn't immediately agree it was true. She remembered how the caste system of Vegeta was set up. Those who were the strongest ruled, as King Vegeta did. But Bardock never fully believed that, as he had proven time and time again that he took on jobs that were meant for the elites and came out stronger for it. But he killed and caused a lot of destruction that she hated so much, but never believed that she could get stronger without such acts. But now she had just seen it with Gohan, an elderly human on a pathetically weak planet that managed to take on a Saiyan. Living proof that being a killer was not the end-all be-all of fighting.
Did she, and by extension all Saiyans who knew her, confuse her gentle nature for weakness? That the fighting spirit of Saiyans was just the combative urges they had and not the lust for killing? Did it mean she was meant for something better? That instead of killing, she could fight for fun? To scratch her Saiyan itch while still being a good person? Could such a wonderful thing exist?
All those questions circled in her head, and all of them answered with yes. It all sounded too good to be true, but it all made sense.
"I could get used to that idea." She said more to herself than Gohan.
"I'm glad you agree." Gohan said with a smile. "When people set out to better themselves, the world is a great place."
Gine looked back at Gohan, not with the distant look she had a moment ago. "Can you teach me how I can be a good martial artist like you?"
Gohan chuckled. "Of course! I'd be more than honored to teach you."
"You'd really do that?" Gine said, amazed.
"Yep. I love teaching the art of fighting as much as I love making people's lives better." Gohan said truthfully. "If you keep making more of those excellent dishes you cook, I just might teach you everything I know."
She felt like she had just landed on the luckiest planet in the galaxy. A beautifully quaint home, a safe and unknown haven for her baby boy far from Frieza, with the most generous host she could possibly imagine helping her find a new purpose in her life. To top it all off, the food was to die for. There's no way all of this could be real.
Gine walked up to Gohan and shook his hand with new vigor, "It's a deal."
"A deal it is." Gohan repeated.
Gine let go and backed up a bit. "Well if you feel up to it, why don't you start things off with telling me how I can protect myself from the moves you did to land me on the ground." She said enthusiastically.
Gohan looked at her bemused, "We'll I'd rather show you the basics first, but I do feel like trial-by-error is good way to introduce you to this. So lets go at it again, shall we?"
"Then lets do that!" Gine said, already getting into a fighting stance. She had never felt more thrilled for sparring than she ever had in her life.
"Very well then." Gohan got into stance, a big grin on his face. "Come at me when you are ready."
"You're on!" Gine said as she charged him.
Gohan and Gine fought long and hard. He'd take her down every time and explained what she did wrong and how she could correct it. Whenever she didn't understand what moves or ideas she'd have to employ he would explain them to her the concepts and how to do them. Every time she learned something her fighting improved slowly but surely. She'd managed to land a few blows that would send him flying but he was never hurt too badly, and continued on, happy with her progress.
They fought long into the day as Kakarot sat and watched them go, captivated. His mother looked genuinely happy for the first time since they landed here, and whatever they were doing, it looked so fun.
Without noticing it, Kakarot stood up and clumsily tried to mimic the fighting moves Grandpa Gohan and his mother were doing.
Gine and Gohan took a break, letting him catch his breathe. They looked over to Kakarot, seeing him trying to emulate their moves.
"I guess he would to try martial arts too someday." Gohan said as he and Gine watched. She looked at her son with a swell of pride in her. He had some of Bardock's spirit in him, she could tell. Even if he had such a low power level, maybe it didn't mean anything. If he could be better than what destiny provided Bardock, then maybe Kakarot could too.
She hoped he would.
Over the course of the weeks and months that followed, their lives blended seamlessly together. Gine lived and trained with Gohan as his student while she cooked, kept up with any other chores she did with him to live together, and raised Kakarot. All the while she managed to learn how to fight like Gohan, refining her style and acquiring some of his techniques. In no time she managed to be a formidable challenge to Gohan and not him being a challenge to her. He could not even knock her down anymore like he used to at the beginning. But he still sparred with her as she was quite fun, and expanded her horizons further with getting her into meditation exercises and managing her ki better. Through fighting for fun rather than survival, Gine found a great release for her grief for her eldest son and Bardock. She still cried in the night or at random times when thoughts of them overtook her, but martial arts training has really provided an anchor in her life to ground herself back into reality and focus on the family she had now.
Kakarot grew fast. Before Gine knew how much time had passed he was walking, talking, and learning how to fight by watching them and practicing on his own during their early morning routines. Just barely older than one year and he was already wanting to join his mother and adoptive grandfather in their sparring sessions. They agreed to go easy on him at first and teach him the basics, but he learned fast. Before they knew it, they were having three-way battle royals and one-on-one fights with him. Kakarot was still weaker than them, but his strength grew fast enough that they could throw actual punches at him. Gohan even gave him the red pole he had to provide a better challenge for the fights, and as a gift to him. She learned that it was called the Power Pole, a magical staff given to Gohan from his old martial arts teacher by the name of Roshi. She was amazed to see a simple wooden pole expand and contract to such incredible lengths and be practically unbreakable.
Gohan never mentioned the possibility of them leaving, and neither did Gine, even though she had managed to get mostly oriented to life on Earth. Having spent enough time living and training together, they didn't want to break the arrangement that grew from Gine and Kakarot's integration into Gohan's life. He enjoyed teaching Gine the arts of fighting, for it was like teaching the old ways to someone who only knew modern things from another world. He also enjoyed their company even if he did miss the isolation of the hermit life. Gine paid back the teachings he gave her with stories of the world she came from and had seen, being the best sparring partner he ever had, and the excellent food she made. Neither of them wanted to break that unspoken deal. So they both silently agreed to themselves and each other that they would never bring that up as long as the other didn't.
Winter arrived and Gine had never been so in love with a planet's seasons before. Seeing the landscape of Paozu blanketed in white powdery snow, feeling the icy cold temperatures she found to be soul-cleansing in contrast to the scorching heat of planet Vegeta, and hearing the silence that snowfall brought made the home she lived in seem magical. She really did feel blessed to have found this place.
By then, Gohan had taught her how to knit and sew, so she made her own clothes to wear when it got too cold to wear just her armor. After enough practice and pricking her fingers, Gine had made a fighting dress that was dark green with an ankle-length skirt, purple long sleeves, and pants to go with the blue boots that Gohan bought her. Fitting it on, she felt like she was now one of the Earthlings. Indiscernible from other human women except for her tail, which she wrapped around the belt at her waist. And with that, she put away her armor. Feeling at long last she can put the past of planet Vegeta behind her.
On this particular day, Gine was busy teaching Kakarot how to read. He was making slow progress, even though Gohan said that human children are much older by the time they get to this stage in development, so Kakarot had that head start going for him.
"T-Th-The boy..." Kakarot struggled to make out the words in the children's book his mother was making him read. "t-thwew...th..."
"Go on, you got it." Gine encouraged him, sitting by his side. He was still trying to pronounce his 'r's but she let it slide this time. Although he was slow to learn by Saiyan standards, at least he was not having as much trouble as he was with arithmetic.
"th...threw...the...red..." He paused as he tried to figure out the last word. "...ball...to h-his...pa...papa."
"Good job sweetie!" Gine clapped for him.
Kakarot closed the little book in a hurry. "Can I go play now, mama?"
"Yes you may." Gine answered, glad he asked this time instead of taking off. He clumsily got up and ran to the door, Gine followed him. "Don't forget your coat!" She yelled out to him.
They played out in the snow for the rest of the day, with Gohan showing Kakarot and Gine the wonders of snowball fighting and snow sculptures. They laughed hard at the silly things they drew in the snow like a blank piece of paper. And they laughed even harder at how competitive the snowball fight got before it devolved into a all-out brawl between the three of them. It was the most relaxing fun Gine ever had, made more so that Kakarot was involved too.
With his insane amount of child energy he single-handedly fought and beat his mother in the snowball fight and proceeded to chase critters in the snow, trying to catch them. He still had the random urges to hurt them but Gine was always there to reprimand him. His programming ran deep but he did indeed have his mother's gentle nature, so she made sure to drill into him that causing unnecessary harm was wrong. She hoped after awhile and enough times to remind him of these lessons, the mental imprinting done to him could be undone or fade away to nothing. He'll still crave for battle but she hoped it will be for sport or self-preservation.
By nightfall they feasted on mountain lion that Gine killed and smoked herself, making a nice warm meal to ward off the cold and replenish their strength after such a brutal snow play-battle. Later, Gine tucked her stuffed and sleepy son into bed while she stayed up, looking at the snow and stars by fireside while her mind wandered. A crescent moon was out tonight so she didn't have to wear her shades, and it lit up the landscape by making the snow sparkle, rendering it indistinguishable from the twinkling starlight up above. Gine didn't think she'll ever get used to the unparalleled beauty of this world.
"Mama?" She heard Kakarot say, still drowsy.
"Yes, sweetie?" Gine looked at her son, who was yawning but looking at her intently.
"Do I have a papa?" He asked.
Gine's breath caught in her throat. She knew that this question would come eventually, but didn't think it would be so soon. Then she remembered the children's book Kakarot tried to read today. It did contain a story about a mother and father, and figured that's where he got the idea from.
"You did have a papa, sweetie." She said.
Kakarot looked at nothing, thinking over what she said. "Where is he?" He asked in his gentle voice.
Gine didn't know how to explain the concept of death to her son. He was almost two years old, and by what Gohan said he already had the cognitive capabilities of seven year old human children. But Gohan said that explaining something that meant was gone permanently was something people should learn later on in life, as humans were a little more adverse to talking about death among other taboo things. Gine considered this, but Kakarot was a Saiyan and was meant to know death by now as any other would. At least he may have gotten the grasp of the danger of it through him fighting with them. And he deserved to know his history.
"He's dead." She said. It's about as plain and simple as she could put it.
Kakarot digested what she said, thinking about what that word meant. Then, "What does dead mean?"
Probably should've used the word "gone", she thought. Too late to undo what she said, so Gine tried to explain it as easily as she could.
"It means...gone. As in like, you fall asleep and never wake up." She said carefully.
Kakarot looked at himself in bed then looked back at her, and back at himself in bed. "Am I going to be dead if I fall asleep?"
"No! No, you will absolutely not!" Gine said adamantly, she really should have worded that better.
"What I meant was...dead means..." She tried to think of another way of putting it, but it was too tiring on her mind, and it brought up the uncomfortable memory of Bardock and Raditz.
"Let's talk about that later." She said finally, hoping to bring that subject to an end.
Kakarot looked confused, but he appeared to have let go of pursuing the topic, not wanting to upset his mother when he could sense when she wasn't unhappy. He lay back down, and started to doze off again, but then let out another question.
"What was he like?"
Gine looked at Kakarot and back out to the night sky, almost as if looking for planet Vegeta again.
Words like brave, harsh, competitive, and determined entered her mind. He was the kind of Saiyan that charged into a fight no matter how difficult, and fought with his teammates like they were family. He considered them more family than even her and Raditz sometimes as they were far weaker than him, but he still cared about them to a small degree, but leagues beyond what most saiyans ever would. But aside from all that, he had something in him that drove him to be better than himself and others, that gave him the strength to rise above his caste. The thing that really drove her to him.
"He was strong." Gine said. She then turned toward Kakarot in bed and brushed her hands through his hair.
"And he looked exactly like you." She added quietly as she thought of how eerily similar the two looked alike.
Kakarot stirred as his mother petted his scalp.
"Was he stronger than you and Gw-Grandpa Gohan?" He asked.
Gine chuckled. "Yes. Even stronger than me and Grandpa Gohan."
Kakarot momentarily looked up at her in awe, "Wow." Then sleep began to take over him again, and he was rapidly drifting away.
"Will I be...as strong as..." Kakarot tried to murmur in his dozing off state, but started snoring soundly before he could finish his sentence.
Gine looked at her son, knowing how he was going to finish that sentence.
"Sweetie, you'll be even stronger." She whispered, never more certain of anything she ever knew. Somehow Bardock saw something in Kakarot, and she saw it too now.
He will be something special someday...
And so the winters go by as the three of them lived together in perfect harmony. Through training and living the simple homestead life, Gine had found a place she would never have dared to dream of belonging to before. They were far enough away that Frieza would never look for them, and Kakarot could grow up to know a peace that she never did. For that, she was eternally grateful to Gohan, and even adopted his surname Son to signify that they had become their own little family. That and in case anyone asked who they were on her rare visits to the village Gohan went to every now and then.
The grief she felt for her lost family never left her, but grew duller and more manageable over the years. The past receded further as she focused her energies on the here and now with the family she had, and Gine was happy.
Her dream of living a quiet and peaceful life with her son had come true. But as she would come to learn, peace and quiet don't last forever...
A/N: There we go, settled in like proper Earthlings and ready for the big adventure when Bulma comes along! It may take awhile since I will be taking a trip overseas soon so please be patient.
To my guest reviewer who suggested I list the power levels of our characters: while that's a good idea I think I'll refrain from doing that. For listing power levels that would be radically different than in the original story would be guestimations at best (especially for characters that weren't officially given any like Gine), and not to mention that as well all know, power levels are meaningless. Plus, makes for better suspense in the heat of battle instead of it being a numbers game. Hope you understand.
Let me know how I did and Happy Halloween!
See you next chapter!