Hello, hello! Thank you so much for all the positive feedback and I'm so glad you all like this story so much. I look forward to keeping this up for you all!
Speaking of which, this chapter will contain another change in Masako's story on Gine, about how a certain concept Kakarot had trouble grasping in the original timeline is explored but with his mother and Grandpa Gohan there to guide him this time. For it may have major consequences on certain important people he meets or interacts with. Will it work out for better or worse for our main characters? Let's find out!
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.
DISCLAIMER: The following is a fan-based work of fiction. Dragonball Minus, Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball Super, and Dragonball GT are all owned by FUNimation, Toei Animation, and Akira Toriyama.
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CHAPTER 4: SOME KIND OF FOOD
"But then I reminded him that he didn't have a nose! Then all of a sudden it's like he was never harmed by Bacterian!" Kakarot exclaimed, both his mother and grandfather burst out laughing.
"Well that's convenient!" Gine joked.
They were all seated at the family dining table waiting for the stove to warm up so she could cook dinner. Kakarot had just returned an hour ago from his latest adventure. This time he was gone for almost half a year, training with Gohan's old martial arts master, Roshi, and competing in some sort of tournament, as he was recounting to them now.
Kakarot was so excited to tell them everything. His travelling had done him good in ways Gine never expected. He had become more independent ever since he first went off with Bulma, and had grown an insatiable curiosity in everything he saw and a thirst to see everything Earth had to offer, essentially making the world his to explore. It made Gine so proud that he had become quite an explorer, and couldn't be any happier to hear his exploits. The peace and quiet of his absence was certainly just as great too, but she did miss him so much sometimes.
"Then what?" Grandpa Gohan asked.
"He knocked him down and gave him a taste of his own medicine by farting in his face." Kakarot replied.
Gine and Gohan didn't laugh at that. He didn't have to tell them that gross little detail, but they supposed it worked for teaching that filthy slob a lesson.
"So he won that match?" Gohan said to cut that thought short.
"Yep. He won that and made it as far as the semi-finals."
"Who did he lose to?"
"Some really good fighter named Jackie Chun." Kakarot said.
"Ahh, so you encountered Mr. Chun?" Gohan said, sounding nostalgic.
"Yeah I did, you know him?" Kakarot asked.
"Oh we've meet before in previous tournaments."
Gine noticed a touch of slyness in Gohan's voice, as if he knew something they didn't. "Did you fight him in the finals?"
"We did! We went all out too, so I had to use every trick and technique Master Roshi ever taught me just to not get thrown out or beaten down."
"I bet you had to, he is one of the best fighters out there. He has a way of...putting you to the test."
To Gine it almost sounded like Gohan knew there was something about Mr. Chun that correlated with Roshi. And somehow should be kept secret. She'll ask him later.
"Yes he did, he was such a good fighter that I almost wanted to look up at the moon."
Gine turned toward him in alarm. "You weren't actually going to, were you?!"
Kakarot shrunk when he realized he shouldn't have said that. "N-no! I was tempted to since it would've been the only sure way to win, but...I know you said I never should. Plus there were people everywhere, so I didn't."
His mom looked him in the eye, as if searching that he was telling the truth. He was.
"That's very good, I'm glad you didn't." She said finally, and sipped her tea.
Gine really was glad he considered all this, but made a mental note to talk to him about never even thinking about resorting to such a reckless tactic to win something trivial like a competition.
"Also, it would've felt like cheating. I wanted to win the tournament in a fair fight." Kakarot added.
"Now that is the philosophy of an honorable warrior." Gohan remarked.
Gine didn't entirely agree, for the Saiyan definition of "honor" was far more different than from what humans thought it was, then again it just meant winning a fight. If it was for the sake of fighting then yes, all for a good sport. But if your life depended on winning...
Another thought entered her mind, overtaking her last one.
"Hang on, how did you not look at the full moon? You had your shades on?" Gine asked.
"Yeah." Kakarot answered. Then perked up when he remembered. "Oh, and my tail grew back!"
He uncoiled his tail from his new orange gi and showed it to her.
"Excellent!" She said genuinely, then got back to her original question.
"So, you wore your shades on during the fight?"
"I did." He answered.
"So, how did you keep them on while getting punched in the face?"
Kakarot thought this over. "Well... Jackie Chun did accidentally knock off my glasses and I almost transformed."
Gine didn't realize she was holding her breath, almost afraid to hear what happened next.
"But I looked away as you always told me to do. Then, Chun gave them back to me so we could continue fighting. He also didn't try to hit me in the face afterwards. He was as courteous as he was strong."
"He certainly does sound like it..." Gine said, looking over to Gohan, who smiled back at her.
It seemed to click in place. Roshi was made aware of Kakarot's heritage and his Oozaru transformations. Could he be Chun? But, wouldn't Kakarot recognize it's him? So many questions...
"And after a final struggle, we were both down. I managed to get up before he did, but passed out." Kakarot said. "Chun got up and stayed up, so he won the title of championship." Kakarot said with some regret.
"You were that close, huh?" Gohan asked.
"Yeah..." Kakarot said as if looking out into the distance. "It was a very fun match...and I was THAT close to winning." he said, holding his thumb and finger close to emphasize.
"Well, you did manage to get up before he did once, and that's all that matters. It's something you should be very proud of Kakarot." Gohan said.
Kakarot looked into his tea and smiled. "Yeah, I am. And Master Roshi said as much also."
He looked up at them. "I'll beat him for real next time, though. Since I hope I can earn the championship someday."
"You will, I have no doubt about that." Gine said. She thought these competitions were silly but if Kakarot was having fun, then who was she to say so otherwise.
Anyways, she decided not to worry about it any more and told him to continue with recounting his adventures.
But she was in for more worry when Kakarot went on with how he single-handedly brought down a brutal military regime by fighting it all the way to it's headquarters in an icy tundra.
He was hesitant at first, but he said that he did indeed kill some soldiers, the Red Ribbon Army as they were called. But that these were very bad men who were murdering innocent people just to claim the dragonballs. He finished them off after defeating several robots and finally killing the leader, a man named General White.
It was a lot of story to take in, but the mention of Kakarot actually killing someone made a cold pit open in Gine's stomach. She knew that something like this would happen someday, that Kakarot would get a taste for taking a life one way or another. She hoped it would never happen, but it would be against his Saiyan nature to fight to the death no matter how much she nurtured him. She hated killing, even if she thought they were bad people deserving such a fate. She had seen and participated in far too much of it to take any positive attributions from it. And now her own son had actual blood on his hands.
But...(Even though she kept remembering that there was nothing good to the act of killing) at least the lives he took were those of evil doers. It was a sad solace to her heart, but she would take it.
Kakarot assured her that he never wants to kill anybody, but if they were evil he would stop them anyway he could, even if it meant deadly force. He even gave one of the robots he was fighting a chance to change their ways, and befriended it!
That made the cold pit in her go away in amazement, almost unbelieving at how he could turn a killing machine into a friend. Even more amazed that humans had the technology to create artificial versions of themselves to bridge the gap in power with a Saiyan.
But her son never lied to her, no matter how strange his tales may sound. This planet truly was full of surprises.
Gine said she was happy for him that he did that and gave that machine a chance at life. And the android, Eighter as Kakarot called him, could learn to live a normal life that his creater denied him.
She hoped he would.
Moving on to lighter details of his trip, he got to see where Bulma lived at West City, the awesome Capsule Corporation run by her father, and got to see Chi-chi again. They were now continuing their search for the dragonballs, and Kakarot was with Chi-chi just before he arrived, saying he wanted to go visit his mom and grandfather. And here they were.
"Can you come to the next tournament with me, Mom?" Kakarot asked when he was finished.
Gine looked uncomfortable. "Well...I don't know, I mean-"
"Aw, please!" Her son almost begged. "The Tournament is really fun! And I really wished you were there to see me fight!"
"I know you do sweetie. But...I don't want to fight other people." She said.
Kakarot could never understand this about his own mother. Why in the world would a Saiyan not want to continue fighting or training?
"But you and grandpa fight all the time, why don't you want to fight others?" He asked.
"Well...your grandpa is all I need to fight, and I'm happy with that." She said.
"Not unless you want to learn something new." Gohan commented.
Gine turned to him sharply. "I don't need to!" She didn't need him to argue against her.
She turned back to Kakarot. "Besides, there's work to do here. You may be lucky to go out on your own but we have chores here to do for the winter."
"You said that when I left to go train with Master Roshi, there aren't as many chores to do now that it's already winter." He complained.
She remembered that. Kakarot begged her before he left for her to go with him, but she couldn't bring herself to leave. She said she had a lot of work on the grounds to do to get ready before the snow came, but in reality she was just too scared to leave the place she called home for twelve years. She supposed she had gotten too used to the life of a hermit, but she felt set in her ways anyway.
"I know I said that, but...I-I just don't want to go, that's all." She said unconvincingly.
Kakarot looked puzzled. "But, why?"
"Because, well, as I said, your grandpa and I fight all the time. There's no need to fight others." She tried to say.
"I thought you said you had chores to do?" Gohan said slightly teasingly.
Gine looked at him with a slight twinge of anger. She loved Gohan for all he has done for them, for taking them in, being a father-figure to her and Kakarot for all these years, but she really didn't need him to try and push her out of her comfort zone. She found it silly really, how she talked about trying to get Kakarot to do the same not long ago, but now it seemed like the tables were turned on her.
She also tried to fight off the fear she felt that this might be his way of trying to end the Silent Agreement, as words of her venturing away from here were now getting tossed around.
She turned to Kakarot and said with as much a motherly commanding voice as she could:
"I'm not going, and that's final!." She said almost angrily, hoping to end it there.
Kakarot looked to the floor in utter defeat, his shoulders sagged and his eyes filled with sadness. Her sternness melted into guilt by just looking at him.
She really didn't want to disappoint him like this, but she couldn't bring herself to consider fighting in a silly competition. They all know she was the strongest person on the planet and she would easily win, so what would be the point if there wasn't a challenge? Plus, she was beyond uncomfortable with the idea of being around large crowds of other humans. Winning the title of champion would only bring her unwanted attention, she'd have no idea what to do...
"You could just go as a spectator, just to see what it's like." Gohan suggested.
She and Kakarot looked at him incredulously.
"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Her son agreed enthusiastically. "You don't have to fight, you could just watch!"
"Uhhh…." Gine said, still not sure.
She appreciated Gohan's ideas that took her insecurities and concerns into consideration. At least she won't be the center of attention, and just as a spectator. But still, that's a lot of people to be around, and Gine thought she'd lose it if she were.
"Pleeease…" Kakarot pleaded, his eyes wide and begging.
As Gine looked into his wide and innocent eyes, her resolve to protest him crumbled. Kakarot could be downright infuriating sometimes, but there was no doubt her love for her son overtook any reservations of trying to break his heart. How could she say no to her sweet little boy?
She sighed, finally caving in.
"Alright."
"YAY!" Kakarot almost leapt out of his seat.
But she lifted a finger up, "But only as a spectator. Don't sign me up to fight. Understand?"
Kakarot lifted his pinky. "Promise!" He said, then wrapped his pinky around her finger like a handshake. She was bemused by the gesture but took it as an agreement.
"You promise to come too?" He asked, not letting go of her finger yet.
"I promise." She said assuringly.
"Okay." Kakarot let go.
"Right then." Gine changed the topic and looked towards the stove, the water was now boiling in the cast-iron pot.
"Let's get dinner started, shall we?" She said as she got up to prepare some mixed vegetables for chopping.
Kakarot suddenly spoke up. "Can we have a marriage for dinner?"
It took a full five seconds for Gine to realize what he just said, then she looked back toward him dumbfounded.
"What?" Was all she could say.
"I said: can we have a marriage for dinner?" He said again, as innocent as always.
Gine blinked, having no idea what to say still.
"What... did you mean by that, dear boy?" Gohan asked, just as bewildered.
"Well, I was just curious but what kind of food marriage was. I almost had a bit before I got here, so I thought if Mom could make some, whatever it is, we could try it." He said as if he was trying to explain a simple question, oblivious as to why his mother and grandfather looked weird at him.
Gine shook her head in disbelief. There was a lot to unpack with what he just said, he couldn't possibly be that ignorant. Could he? And he almost had some?! What did that even mean?! Did he...
"Kakarot..." She began, thinking that she should figure out how this big misunderstanding took root. "Where did you hear that marriage was food?"
"Huh?" Kakarot said, sensing that there must be a problem from how his mother was reacting.
"It's not a food?"
She really shook her head now, "No, it isn't."
"Oh." He sounded slightly disappointed. "What is it then?"
Gine had no idea how he wasn't aware of this social union concept, but she guessed that they never had to covered it in his homeschooling since there wasn't any immediate need to.
Still, it would be better for him to learn about it now than in a more embarrassing situation.
"Uh, well it's when two people, namely a man and a woman, take each other to be their partners for the rest of their lives." She tried to put simply.
"Take each other to be partners?"
"Yes." She went on. "It means that they love each other very much and want to stay together forever."
Gohan picked up where Gine left off, "They have a big ceremony called a wedding where friends and family come to watch them commemorate the moment the man and woman declare their love for each other. Then they make a socially-binding pledge to spend the rest of their lives together, where they become husband and wife respectively. That is what the saying 'to be married means'. Hence the word, marriage." He finished with a high note as if finishing one of his brilliant lectures.
"That's right." Gine agreed, grateful for Gohan helping her out.
"Ohhhhh." Kakarot took in this new information. "So when a man and woman loves each other very much, they get married by saying they want to be with each other forever?"
"Yes."
Kakarot thought for a moment, trying to wrap his mind around this concept. "But...does that mean any man and woman that says they love each other?"
"Well, no... I mean, they could." Gine tried to elaborate "Its supposed to be between people who are not blood related but are very, very close. Like they have a very powerful emotional bond with each other, as if they can't stand being apart from each other. So they make a promise to live together."
"Oh." Said Kakarot. "So, marriage means two people saying they love each other and end up living together?"
"Yes. Mainly unrelated people who want to be together to start a family." Gine said, glad she was able to get this new thing to him across and not mess up his first impression on how pair bonding works.
"Start a family?" He asked.
"Yes, people who want to be mothers and fathers together." She said.
"Mothers and fathers?"
She nodded, but then regretted it.
"Hmm." He held his chin thinking. She dreaded that he was going to ask how THAT worked. He may now finally grasp the basics of marriage but wasn't quite ready for that 'talk' yet.
"So, did you and my father get married?" He asked.
This caught her by surprise, and forgot about worrying about what he would've asked.
"Well... sort of." She said carefully.
"Sort of?"
"Yeah. Saiyans don't marry the same way humans do."
"In what way?"
In every way, she thought.
"Well, for one, they didn't call it marriage. It didn't even happen that much at all."
"Really?"
"Yep." Gine said.
Indeed marriage was a very rare thing in Saiyan society. Only the Super Elites and royal family practiced marriage, the general belief being that they were the only ones worthy enough to make it a holy declaration that they shall keep their bloodlines alive through each other.
"Saiyans didn't stick with partners, or even fall in love either. Only to become parents. And when the children are born, they went their separate ways." She said simply.
"Oh."
"It never ceases to amaze me how different Saiyans are from humans." Gohan said.
"Were." Gine corrected.
"So...you didn't love my dad?" Kakarot asked.
"Oh no, absolutely I DID love him!" She said fiercely, trying to quell any doubt about that idea.
"We were more like an unofficial couple." She tried to explain.
"Unofficial?"
"Like it means we were kind of married, just that we were...not." She said, thinking her own answer sounded lame.
"How can you be married and not married at the same time?" Kakarot said, confused.
"Well, it's not that. Like I said, Saiyans didn't join together as humans do. But the important part was that we loved each other."
"But you said we Saiyans don't love each other's partners?" He pointed out.
"I know, and they didn't. But...we were the exception I guess."
She figured it was as much of a guess. All other Saiyans in the bottom of the caste like herself were as cold as they can be, and she never knew another as gentle as she was. She had thought this over all her life, and she still couldn't figure it out.
At least until she met Bardock. Sure, he was a stone-cold killer like any other warrior, but she saw something special in him that made her look up to him. And when she learned he did indeed have a soft spot, there was some good in other Saiyans afterall. Sure he never said he loved her out loud, but she knew he did in his heart somewhere, for he definitely stuck around much longer than any other Saiyan ever would. Almost un-Saiyan like.
"Exception...so, does that mean we are different? That I can stick around with whoever my partner is?" Kakarot said.
Gine forced herself to stop thinking about Bardock lest she risk getting upset in front of them, and smiled at her son.
"Yes, Kakarot, you can. You are far more kind and compassionate than any other Saiyan who has lived. I do hope you do find someone special to spend your life with and cherish, but you don't have to if you don't want to."
He took her words into consideration. Kakarot truly believed his mother was really wise and seemed to know him better than he knew himself.
But, another question came to mind.
"So, how do the husband and wife become moms and dads?"
His mother's face paled.
"Uh..."
Well, this was an already interesting evening with trying to correct the concept of marriage. But now she may have to explain the concept of copulation to her son so soon...
"So, where did you hear that you were supposed to get married?" Gohan asked.
Gine looked to Gohan confused, but thankful for the diversion from that awkward conversation.
Then she recalled that Kakarot did mention that he almost had some marriage. However weird that sounded. Did that mean that...
She turned to her son. "Kakarot, did promise to someone that you'll marry them?"
Kakarot thought for a moment.
"Oh." He just remembered. Now that he knew what marriage really meant...
"What?" Gine asked.
"It's just that... I heard the word marriage from Chi-chi. I thought it meant that she was going to have some kind of feast or something with me for saving her village. But...I guess..."
Ah. They thought together. Now they saw what the problem was.
"So...I'm supposed to spend the rest of my life with Chi-chi?" He said, the realization kicking in.
"I guess that's what she meant." Gohan said nonchalantly.
Gine wasn't so easy-going. Yeah, she wanted her son to find a mate and this Chi-chi sounded like a very nice girl from what she heard in his stories, especially that this girl was royalty in some way. But he was nowhere near ready to be wedded off this early in his life.
"Son, you made a big mistake."
"What am I going to do?" Kakarot said, looking worried. "I told her I would have that feast I thought she said it was when I went to go see her again."
"It's okay, sweetheart. We can sort this out." She said. "We'll just tell Chi-chi the truth."
"The truth?"
"Yes. You misunderstood what she said and tell her you are not going to marry her." Gine explained.
"Okay, but..." Kakarot started.
"But what?"
"But I promised her I would come back for that. I don't want to break a promise." He said.
Gine felt touched that her boy was such an honest soul. But a mistake was a mistake.
"You made a promise on something you didn't understand. You shouldn't have to fulfill it if you were mislead for any reason."
Kakarot thought about that. "I guess you're right."
"Okay then." Gine said, "When are you supposed to see her?"
"I'm not sure, I just told her that I will be back sometime."
"That's good, so not too much of a rush, but the sooner the better still." She said as she came up with a plan.
"We'll go see her tomorrow and set things straight with her." She said.
"Okay."
With everything settled, Gine turned back to go into the kitchen. She paused when she saw that the pot had stopped bubbling.
They had talked for so long that they had forgotten about dinner and all the water had boiled away. A good two hours gone for that.
"So, leftovers?"
The next morning after they were finished with their morning chores, Kakarot and Gine walked outside into the cold morning air.
He stood there waiting for her, and she felt slightly annoyed at how he seemed to be waiting for her to solve his problem. She also remembered that she was still trying to properly teach him how to fly so she wouldn't have to come along on a task like this.
"So where do I have to fly you to-"
"NIMBUS!" Kakarot called into the sky, cutting her off.
A few moments later, she heard the puut-puut sound as the yellow cloud came out of nowhere and stopped right in front of them.
Kakarot jumped on and glanced at his mother.
"Come on, Mom. Jump on!"
Gine starred at the yellow cloud and remembered something.
"Didn't you say you have to be pure of heart to ride this?"
"Yeah." Kakarot answered. "Why?"
Gine looked uncomfortable. "Well, I'm not sure if I'm..." She tried to repress the thoughts of all the things she felt didn't make her worthy of being called pure.
"Sure you are! You're my Mom. You have to be pure." He said plainly.
She felt warmed to her heart by his statement, but oh how little did he know her.
Aside from their heritage and family, Gine never talked to him much about her past and she hoped she never would as the painful memories of her serving as a planet-purging warrior still haunted her. Dozens of planets she helped conquer and millions of people she helped kill. There was nothing that will ever erase what she had did, even if she hated it.
"Just try it!" He said.
Not wanting to keep her son waiting, and scared of this out-of-nowhere memory ripping, she lept onto the cloud without thinking...
...and landed on the soft and fluffy cloud like it was a mattress. Her jaw dropped.
"See? That wasn't so bad." Her son beamed at her.
She couldn't believe it. How? How could she be considered good enough to ride a cloud that somehow knew if you were a good person or not?
"Alright, let's go!" Kakarot said as they took off, without letting her say anything.
The cloud picked up great speed, flying faster than even Gine could. Below them, the mountains and forest of Paozu she had grown used to receded behind them as they gave way to grasslands and a vast desert on the horizon.
They didn't talk as they flew since the wind was blasting past them loudly, so Gine was left to her thoughts. She was still struggling with the little revelation she was literally riding on. She was pure of heart afterall? Even after all of the horrible things she's done?
She couldn't believe it either way, but a small part of her felt a weight lifted from her soul. She may not have been a bad person afterall. But that would be for a higher power to decide, if there ever was one.
"Here we are!" Kakarot shouted over the wind.
Gine snapped out of her reverie and looked around. They must have flown for a little while since she didn't recognize this place at all. A single mountain jutting out of the desert, looking recently burnt but lush greenery was growing back on it.
Gine could see a village down below, dots that were people moving about. They all stopped and looked up at them as they flew over, then started waving and cheering. Gine felt a pang of anxiety take hold as she was already getting attention in a very unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. Even if it was a small village like the one near Paozu she visited before, it still got to her nerves.
"KAKAROT!" A voice called out from below.
In the midst of the crowd, she spotted a towering hulk of a man she assumed was the Ox-king. Kakarot did mention that he was a giant, but didn't think a human could be that large.
Next to him was a young girl, probably as old as Kakarot. Clad only in a blue two-piece armored bikini, cape, and a pink bladed helmet, she was waving to them and called out to them again.
"That's Chi-chi?" She asked him.
"Yep."
She could at least be a bit more modest, Gine thought.
They made a slow arch on their descent and came to stop just a few feet off the ground in front of Chi-chi and her father.
After leaping off the Nimbus, Chi-chi gleefully ran up to Kakarot and hugged him, squeezing him tightly. The small crowd of villagers present cheered.
"I knew you'd come back!"
Kakarot tried to look pleased to see her, he looked anything but.
"Great to see you so soon again, Kakarot!" Ox-king said, coming up to them.
Chi-chi let go of Kakarot and held his hands, her smile so wide and full of joy.
"I'm so happy you came back so soon!" She said, then noticed Gine standing behind him.
"Oh, hello. Are you Kakarot's mother?"
Trying not to look too nervous in front of these strangers, she bowed politely. "Yes I am." Then extended her hand.
"My name is Gine."
"Hello, Gine. I'm Princess Chi-chi!" She said as she bowed in return and shook Gine's hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Chi-chi. Kakarot has told me a lot about you."
Chi-chi waved dismissively. "Oh, please. The pleasure is all ours. My brave Kakarot here saved our kingdom twice already. He's my hero!" She said with hearts in her eyes.
Then Chi-chi turned towards the giant behind her.
"And this is my father, the Ox-King."
"It is a great honor to meet you, Gine." He said with a smile.
"Oh, well, thank you so much for that." She said cordially. Gine had never been welcomed with such high praise before, making her feel ever more awkward.
"Oh no, thank you. Without Kakarot our kingdom would've long been destroyed by the fire and the Red Ribbon Army. You should be very proud of your son, Gine, he is a brave young man." Ox-king said appraisingly.
Kakarot didn't like the spotlight he was in, shifting and looking away embarrassed. Gine felt his discomfort with being the center of attention amplifying her anxiety from being here, but she couldn't help but smile with pride at how humble he was acting while being hailed for his heroic deeds.
Ox-king continued. "We're so glad he came back so soon too, since Chi-chi here was anxious to marry him."
"And now that we are all here..." Chi-chi stepped in. "We can finally get this wedding underway!" She declared aloud, and all the villagers cheered.
Kakarot looked very uncomfortable now, and his mother even more so. She knew breaking to this lovely young girl that Kakarot couldn't marry her would be a difficult task for them, but would she really humiliate her in front of an audience including her own father? She almost wanted to just disappear. But, she knew what she had to do.
Gine cleared her throat. "Yeah, about that. I'm afraid there has been a misunderstanding." She started.
The villagers and Ox-king suddenly fell silent.
"I'm terribly sorry I have to say this but... my son cannot get married yet." She said, hoping to get to the point but added the 'yet' to soften the blow of such news.
"What?!" Chi-chi said in shock.
Gine felt all eyes were now boring in on them. Kakarot fidgeted nervously and she squeezed his shoulders reassuringly for him as well as her to keep her courage up.
"Kakarot cannot marry you today...I-it's a little embarrassing but, he misunderstood what you said about coming back to be married. He thought he would come back for a feast or something, rather than be wedded to you."
She gave Chi-chi a moment to process what she said, but it looked like her mind was fried at just hearing those words.
"I'm sorry for the mix up. I hope you understand that he cannot keep his pro-"
"IS THIS A JOKE?!" Chi-chi shouted at them, her face a mask of rage.
"HOW COULD YOU MAKE SUCH A PROMISE TO ME?! WERE YOU JUST BEING CRUEL?!" She yelled directly at Kakarot, who backed away fearfully. Gine knew this girl was just a weak human but her motherly instincts caused her to raise her guard for her son.
Gine figured this girl might take this news poorly with what her son told her of Chi-Chi's temper, but she was taken aback by seeing just how fearsome she was.
"I-I'm sorry Chi-chi. I wasn't being mean, I swear! I-I just thought marriage was some kind of food or something!" Kakarot tried to explain under Chi-Chi's terrifying glare.
"SOME...SOME KIND OF FOOD?!" She repeated, aghast. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! WHO THINKS MARRIAGE MEANS FOOD?!"
Kakarot fumbled for something to say, his explanation only making her angrier.
"Really, I mean it! I-I just didn't know what that word meant until I asked my mom about it, that's all. But she's right, I can't...marry you yet."
"OH?! AND WHY IS THAT?! YOU OBVIOUSLY KNOW WHAT MARRIAGE MEANS NOW, SO WHY CAN'T YOU MARRY ME?! DON'T YOU LIKE ME?! OR IS IT BECAUSE YOU ARE A COMPLETE IDIOT?!"
"NO!" Kakarot said indignantly. "I-I do like you! It's just that...I-uh...we're-"
"THEN WHAT?!" She shouted, too angry to wait for an answer. "THAT YOU REALLY ARE STUPID?!"
Gine stepped forward.
"HEY!" She shouted, startling Chi-chi as if she just realized Kakarot's mother was there.
"Don't you dare speak to my son like that!" She chastised her. Gine wasn't going to interrupt Kakarot trying to sort this out with Chi-chi, but had to put her foot down when she started disparaging him.
Chi-chi regained her wits and her gaze hardened at Gine. "WELL HE SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SO DUMB AS TO NOT KNOW SOMETHING EVERYBODY ELSE DOES, AND PLAY TRICKS ON MY HEART!"
Gine was highly offended by her outburst, as if this little brat hadn't even listened to what she just said about not insulting her child. Both the Saiyan and motherly parts of her wanted to pound Chi-Chi into the ground, but she channeled whatever restraint she had left and addressed her calmly.
"My son is many things but he is not stupid, nor the kind of person who would play tricks. He is the kindest soul you would ever meet. Afterall, didn't he save your kingdom?" She reminded her.
Chi-Chi's expression softened a little, but still unbelieving.
"Yes he did." She said, at least acknowledging the truth of his good deeds.
She looked back towards Kakarot. "But... you really didn't know what marriage means?"
"No, I didn't" He said with as much honesty as he could.
Gine relaxed a little but remained stern. "I'm not sure if he told you but we live in a rather isolated place. He was born and raised there his whole life, and I home schooled him as best I could, but there are some customs in normal human society he has not yet learned about. And the concept of matrimony was one of them."
Chi-Chi's anger completely faded, she finally believed Gine and the anger was replaced with guilt and shame at what she had just said.
"Now I ask that you apologize to him." Gine ordered. "No one who is truly getting married should ever speak to a spouse the way you did."
That one sentence nearly crushed Chi-Chi's spirit, as all her features sagged and looked down. Shame overwhelmed her as she chewed on Gine's words. She was right. A loving wife would never even dare to dream of acting so horribly mean to her handsome husband.
She turned to Kakarot, but she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. Her face hidden and tears threatening to fall.
"Kakarot….I'm..." She tried to force the words out, her throat choking up. "..I'm sorry I yelled at you. You didn't do anything wrong for not knowing what I wanted from you, and you don't have to marry me if you don't want to." Saying that last part made the tears fall. She was so looking forward to finally taking this young and handsome savior of her home as her future husband. But now...it was all for not.
Through this entire exchange, the villagers and the Ox-king stayed deathly quiet. He was ready to step in to defend Chi-chi if need be, but now disappointment took over his features as his daughter apologiezed to the boy who saved them. He was very sad she won't be marrying him afterall, but having known his daughter better than anybody, he did agree that her temper did get the better of her sometimes. A fiery young woman, just like her mother.
"It's okay, Chi-chi. I know you didn't mean to be mad." Kakarot said, being gentle.
Chi-chi wiped away her tears, "Thank you..." She took some comfort knowing that he didn't hold anything against her.
"It-It's just that I really liked you... and I wanted to get married soon."
"Guess you got too excited." Gine said. Kakarot loved his mother to death but something in him didn't care for her snide remark.
He felt guilty too. Despite trying to set things straight, he didn't mean to cause so much grief with Chi-chi. He really did like her, she was a great fighter and found her fiery spirit fascinating. Now it seemed like the friendship they made was over, especially since this was the first time he had to go back on a promise.
Even Gine felt a little bad seeing this young girl's dreams crumble, but it had to be done.
Then an idea came to Kakarot.
"Say, Chi-chi…" He started, which she looked up still teary eyed.
"Would you like to come look for the dragonballs with me?"
Both Chi-chi and Gine were caught off guard.
"R-really?" She asked.
"Yeah. Just because we can't get married now doesn't mean we can't go on an adventure, right?"
A few seconds passed, then Chi-chi squealed in delight. She charged Kakarot and clutched him in a very tight hug.
"Oh thank you, Kakarot, thank you thank you thank you!" She praised, oblivious to Kakarot almost choking from her grip.
The villagers were taken aback, but seeing their princess happy about something again made them applause. Ox-king was surprised as well, but decided to clap along as his daughter and Kakarot made peace.
Gine stood there not sure what to say or do. They came here to stop the wedding, and already he's backpedaling with this girl? She wasn't sure how Chi-chi could be as nice as Kakarot made her out to be in his stories. Gine was astonished at how Chi-chi could be so emotionally volatile, seeing her go from joy to rage to despair to joy again in a matter of minutes. She wasn't sure what Kakarot saw in Chi-chi, but she wasn't going to stop him since she's helped him enough already.
If he wanted to have her tag along on his adventures, then it was up to him.
After he made it clear that he was choking, Chi-chi let go of him, embarrassed.
"Sorry! Was just so happy!"
"I know you are." Kakarot said as he rubbed his neck.
"Well, we better go." Gine said, trying to put an end to whatever sabotage Kakarot was making on her efforts.
"Aw, really?" Chi-chi said with disappointment.
"Yes." She said firmly, not wanting to loose her patience with this girl or her son.
"I'm glad we got this sorted out." Ox-king decided to speak up, Gine didn't agree with these new developments but was glad they won't start a wedding right now.
"Me too." She bowed politely, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Ox-king."
"Oh, likewise!" He said in return, still hopeful that things will work out.
"Come on, Kakarot."
"Oh, alright." He said resignedly, then held Chi-Chi's hands.
"I'll come by to let you know when the quest starts."
Chi-chi was more than ready to accept, but stopped and looked at Gine frightfully.
"Is-are you okay with this, Gine?" She asked, as if by extension wanting her permission to court her son.
Gine couldn't fathom why Kakarot suddenly wanted to continue contact with this girl again. But as long as they weren't getting married now, then their job was done and they can do as they please short of making decisions they were too young for.
"Yes, I am okay with it."
"YAY!" She jumped with joy as if she had given her blessing, then turned to Kakarot alluringly.
"Then it's a date!" Chi-chi said, then kissed him on the cheek. He normally wouldn't be embarrassed by such things, but his cheeks flushed red. Not wanting to be kissed in front of his mom.
"I'll see you later then." He said, collecting himself, then hopped on the Flying Nimbus.
"See you soon, my hero!" Chi-chi called out from below as everyone cheered and faded into the background behind them.
On the ride home, they didn't talk for a good stretch of the way home until Gine broke the silence.
"Kakarot, why did you promise to meet her again?"
He looked over and smiled, "Because I didn't want her to feel bad, that's all."
Gine was confused, but then,
"You wanted to cheer her up?"
"Yeah!"
Gine thought for a moment, she didn't entirely like Chi-chi with the way she let her temper get the better of her. But she did have to admit that she had the fiery spirit that any Saiyan would find attractive in their counterpart sexes. Just like how Bardock first met her, so fiery in their arguments with each other turning into moments of passion. How could she have missed it?
But still, "You didn't have to do that, you know."
"I know..." He said, "...but I wanted to."
"It's because she's a great fighter, isn't she?"
Kakarot felt caught. "Yeah, she is."
Gine chuckled. Sure, Kakarot was a kind-hearted soul that didn't hold ill to almost anyone, but still was like any other Saiyan boy on the verge of manhood. They can't say no to a woman who would put up a good fight.
"Plus, she's the only other person pure of heart to ride the Nimbus." He said, patting said cloud. "She is a good person, Mom. No doubt about that."
Gine totally forgot that detail. Remembering that if she was good enough to ride it, then would she be too? This cloud really was the ultimate judge of character?
She guessed it was.
"Well, if you really like her that much, you two can get married someday if you want to like I said. But you should wait until you are older, and at least get to know each other better first."
It wasn't her giving her blessing for them to marry, but once he was old enough it will be a choice he has to make on his own.
"OKAY!" Kakarot said, and they continued on towards home.
Judging from his answer, she guessed the wedding won't have to be called off completely after all.
A/N: This one took me awhile to work so I hope it makes sense. I know a lot of you wanted Kakarot to end up with Bulma or someone else instead of Chi-chi, but hear me out. Now that the concept of marriage is no longer a mystery to a much sharper Kakarot in this timeline, things can go off to a much better start between them. And with Gine around, she can talk some sense into them so Chi-chi can learn to not be an abusive partner to Kakarot, and him on how not to be a deadbeat.
So yeah I know some of you may be bummed that it seems the same as OTL, but a functional and actual loving relationship between them (unlike the story as it was written by Toriyama) is a drastic change that could still have consequences in this timeline, so don't give up just yet.
See you next chapter when Gine actually decides to go along on one of his more fateful adventures!