Gohan glared at his small hands. Forcing himself to manifest an energy orb as he had seen the tall man do. He still hadn't gotten the man to tell him his name but Gohan would happily live with that if it made the man more comfortable. He started affectionately calling him the forest man, only in his head of course. If he ever let it slip he knew he would feel the fire of the man's temper and never see him for a long time if ever again.
"What did I say?!" The man leered down at the seated child, arms cross and eyes steeled in the only expression he knew… stern.
"No techniques until I master meditation and mental strength." Gohan recited. It was one of the requirements the man stated when he agreed to teach Gohan and let the ten year old hang around him.
"Then why are you trying to increase and manifest your energy?!" the man asked as a stifled growl enhanced his words.
"I've been meditating every day for the last month and it's all the same. Nothing has changed despite all my practice so I've learned everything from that haven't I?" Gohan explained. "I wanted to learn something new."
"It takes years to master meditation and mental strengths to the fullest." The man replied more gently. "Remember when we started I mentioned how there are people who can get into your head and manipulate you and I can still pry into your mind too easily. Don't be impatient."
"Really?" Gohan was both impressed by the man's skills and disappointed in his own.
The man sat down before the kid and in a short moment Gohan could see images he didn't imagine on his own. Beautiful expanses of sky with sunset colors splashed on the clouds, bright flowers decorating the meadows that hid in protection of the moss covered trees of the forest.
"It's this easy for me to show you the very clearing we sit in now from the sky. It would be just as easy to show you horrifying scenes you should never be exposed to." The man spoke, his voice heavy with an unreadable emotion. "Not to even mention reading your mind for your limits and weaknesses."
Gohan tensed. Just the vague imagination of what he could have been shown made him well aware again of why the man was so determined to train his mind first. "I understand. I'll practice my mind more sir."
The man sighed and Gohan could swear he saw one long ear twitch. "I said no honorifics."
"But you're my teacher aren't you? Besides you won't tell me your name so I don't have anything else to address you as." Gohan smirked as he chuckled. He had been in a few debates with the man already and knew he could be reasoned with logic and fact.
The man glared. "I'll help you focus and learn to protect your mind."
Gohan refocused at the ignored papers before him. He grew bored of the repeated practice of running numbers and found it much easier and welcoming to sink into his memories of Piccolo. He could focus on them longer now, explore more of each, though logic kept screaming that memories this old shouldn't be this clear. He waved it away as a result of a few very possible facts. These memories weren't forgotten normally and weren't processed by the brain like they should have. Alien techniques and practically magic was used to hide them and even after that he wasn't completely human, maybe his brain could do things different from true human ones.
"I had more than the one year with him…" Gohan sighed as he considered the memory again. He already had theories on why Piccolo didn't give his name the second time and also why he had only taught him mental tactics. He was trying to train my brain for when I broke down again. The longer I didn't know his name, the longer he had to teach me. The image of the sky and flowers flashed again. So he likes to look at the forest? All of my memories of him then were all outside of society. I wonder if he loves nature. We'd have something in common.
Gohan couldn't stop the foolish grin. It was all he wanted, all he craved, to have someone he could relate to. Someone he could easily talk to. His old memories with Piccolo were just that and it made his heart warm. It wasn't long before he let himself wallow into another.
Gohan had been sitting beside his teacher all day training to keep his thoughts inaccessible to others. The sky had started fading into bright pinks and oranges as he watched it. "Do the clouds really look as beautiful at sunset as you showed me? When you put that image in my head?"
Piccolo opened his eyes and glanced at the kid. "You've seen a sunset haven't you?"
"My mom doesn't let me stay up to see it past this point usually; and I've definitely never flown to see it all around me like you did." Gohan answered as he turned to his teacher.
"I'm sure she has a reason." Piccolo answered and thought for a silent moment. "We've been meditating for long enough today."
Gohan knew that sentences like that usually meant he wanted Gohan to go home. "Alright, I'll see-"
"Would you like to try flying?" Piccolo asked as he stood up.
"Flying? You really mean it?" Gohan beamed.
"You've strengthened your mind quite a bit and flying isn't fighting but a useful skill. It does require basic energy control which you've already practiced through meditation." Piccolo explained.
"Wow meditation really does teach a lot." Gohan stated in awe.
"You feel the gravity pulling you down right?" Piccolo asked.
"Of course." Gohan nodded.
"Use your energy to try and repel it's force away from you. The challenge for your first time is maintaining enough constant energy output to keep you up and in control or you'll fall." Piccolo began hovering as he instructed. "It doesn't take a lot, start with smaller amounts."
"Got it." Gohan nodded as he stood and focused his energy to separate him from the ground. It was a bit different from using it just in his head but it wasn't long before he had a handle on getting a couple inches from the ground. The sensation of controlling how much pull gravity had on him was strange. "Oh wow!"
Piccolo watched Gohan closely, matching his elevation. Slowly Gohan pushed higher and higher, struggling to balance upright as his tail fought instincts to know where down was. They reached just above the trees when he smiled at the world opening up around him. The sky's brilliant colors expanding past the far horizon. "It's so beautiful up here. You get to see this everyday?"
"I do." Piccolo replied softly. Gohan looked at him and halted by the small smile he spotted. He couldn't stop himself as he eagerly floated to Piccolo and hugged him. "Thank you."
Piccolo stilled, his small moment broken by the sudden contact. "Why are you hugging me?"
"I hug everyone I like!" Gohan exclaimed. "Don't you get hugs from other people?"
"No." Piccolo gave his sharp answer.
Gohan felt his heart freeze. It was the saddest thing he remembered ever hearing. His face scowled slightly. "Well they're missing out!"
"What?!" Piccolo faltered.
"I feel like you can give great hugs!" Gohan declared with a teasing laugh.
"Where did you get that idea? I have never once been affectionate to you!" Piccolo struggled to push the kid from him.
"I can tell you care. Even though you don't hug or laugh with me I see you smile sometimes as I improve and you don't yell so much any more." Gohan smiled. "You have your own way of being affectionate, and this is mine. So if it's alright I'd like to share it with you."
He watched Piccolo stiffen seeming to debate between conceding or arguing it further. With a stifled grumble Piccolo closed his eyes and crossed his arms. Not audibly allowing or denying the kid's request. Gohan smiled bright, taking it as a 'yes'.
Gohan's heart fluffed at the memory. I'll keep that one in a special place. He mulled over it many times before having a thought. He straightened his posture and closed his eyes. If I focus just right… "Piccolo?"
Silence followed before finally… "Hey kid."
"Oh my god I did it." Gohan beamed in his excitement.
"Calm down, you're excitement is conveying in full blast. So you remembered this lesson?" Piccolo asked.
"I did. I've been going through quite a few memories today and.. I guess wanted to talk to you. If you're not to busy of course. I forgot to factor in the time and you might still be working, sorry." Gohan apologized.
"It's fine. It is my day off. Kami always manages to convince me to close the shop every now and then. I'm just out to resupply the shop." Piccolo explained. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Well I was thinking about how you used to hate when I hugged you. Do you prefer no contact?" Gohan asked.
"I'm not too comfortable with hugs, but like with many things you are a different story. I don't mind when you hug me." Piccolo replied. "I know they mean a lot to you and since they did… I figured I also meant something to you whenever you hugged me. So I allow it from you."
Gohan felt something buzzing in his head, like a warmed but stifled pulsing. "What was that?"
"What?" Piccolo asked.
"There was this weird sensation." Gohan answered.
"It was nothing. It's normal don't worry about it." Piccolo replied.
Gohan thought for a moment before settling on a thought that it was something to do with Piccolo's response, most likely his emotions, and resigned to just let it be. "Alright. Another question, we didn't just have that one year when I was five did we?"
"No. You found me in the forest when you were around ten or eleven."
"Even though I wasn't supposed to see you?" Gohan asked.
"Chichi kept you very close to the house understandably, so I didn't think there was any chance I'd run into you and I… I did initially start much further away. In the middle of a rain forest I think on the other side of the earth but… I was wrong to think it would be safe being that close. I gave in." Piccolo struggled to answer.
"Gave in to what?" Gohan questioned hoping to get a clarification.
Piccolo was quiet for a while and Gohan patiently waited, fearing that maybe he would never get an answer as the long minutes passed. The only evidence he had that Piccolo was still there was the return of the staggering pulsing and buzzes he felt earlier.
"The only reason I didn't leave again was I thought maybe you could strengthen your mind enough to handle and process the trauma of the fight where I died." Piccolo finally responded. "I was wrong of course. You eventually discovered everything and once again had a break down so I came here and forced myself to stay."
Gohan considered what it was he was avoiding to say. "I missed you too. There were moments… strange feelings where I missed something. I needed to get out; to sit on a mountain and hear the waterfalls. I once cried when I saw a certain shade of purple and I didn't know why at the time."
"I'm sorry. I troubled you and messed up your head." Piccolo replied.
"Don't be." Gohan's request was more sharp than he intended. "We already agreed to be equal didn't we?"
Piccolo asked after a moment. "Did you really mean it when you said they were your best memories?"
"I did." Gohan answered trying to return a cheerful note to his words.
"Why? You have a good family and home. How does being left in the wilderness make better memories than a comfy and safe life could?" Piccolo's voice became heavier in his question.
"Well… It's not like I didn't love my other memories of childhood." Gohan chuckled. "But my time with you was very different and… in a way beautiful. There was home and then there was my adventure. A world to run where I wanted; to sleep under the stars and watch the animals and flowers. I loved seeing the sky and its colors, you gave me that. I felt free. So yes I feel they're my favorite moments and memories."
"Despite the harsh training? You didn't hate the yelling and bruises?" Piccolo asked.
"Although I don't currently have the memory of knowing why we were training, I get the feeling I knew during that year so I guess I understood. Along with the fact that you balanced it all with constructive criticism and knowing when to stop. You're more patient than you give yourself credit for." Gohan clarified. "Furthermore, though it all did lead up to trauma and complicated memory issues, I don't blame you. So you don't have to apologize. If anyone, I'm the one at fault for-"
"What the hell do you mean you're the one at fault?! You couldn't possibly have caused the damage to yourself!" Piccolo barked. The sensations of buzzing burning fast in what Gohan confirmed to be anger.
"Logically I wouldn't have been so affected by your death if I didn't care for you as much as I did." Gohan smiled to himself.
Piccolo huffed. "If caring for me is what caused it, then you should cease."
"I can't do that." Gohan chuckled as the pulses and buzzing softened once again. "I like you too much."
"Gohan!" Chichi's voice called up through the house, distracting Gohan from the conversation in his head.
Oh my dad must be home. I better go greet him. "I'll let you get back to your day, Thank you Mr. Piccolo."
"Don't thank me… I like talking to you." Piccolo responded before cutting out of the connection.
Gohan stood and straightened his shirt as he fought the pink in his cheeks. Sharing his emotions wasn't new to him but hearing kind things from the man everyone else seemed to see as only angry and trouble made him feel special.