Chapter 4
"Gohan. Wake up." Krillin knelt next to the sleeping boy and gently tapped his shoulder.
Mumbling something like "'m 'wake" Gohan sat up and rubbed his eyes. A few seconds later, though, he was already alert and looked around.
He had the wide, innocent-looking eyes of his father, but while Goku's were pitch black as Krillin by now assumed all Saiyan eyes were, Gohan had inherited the warm, dark brown irises of his mother. Still, up until the other Saiyans showed up and Krillin learned his best friend had been an alien, he had never even noticed or questioned Goku's not so human qualities.
In the end, it made no difference. Alien or not, Goku was his friend, had never let him down, and saved his life more than once. And Gohan had proven himself to be just as amazing.
"How much longer do you think we'll need to reach the Namekian Grand Elder?" the boy asked him quietly.
"Ah, it's hard to say. I don't even know for how long we've been traveling now. It's all pretty hard to say when there are several suns and it never gets dark, but I think it must be several days. I hope we can reach the Grand Elder within another day." He sighed. "The last time I made this trip I managed in under an hour. But if we want to get there without being detected we have to keep using as little ki as possible."
That's what they had been doing so far. They had been limiting their flying to not much more than hovering over obstacles and bodies of water.
Gohan took it in stride and simply nodded, but Krillin felt bad about how grim the kid looked.
"Say, Gohan, how about you tell me again how you managed to evade Vegeta when you stole a Dragon Ball from under his nose," Krillin suggested, hoping to cheer Gohan up with reminding him of his previous success and handed him his share of a meager breakfast out of his backpack.
"I already told you I didn't evade him. I only hid the Dragon Ball and ... and he let me go."
Krillin blinked. "You said you tricked him."
"Yes. And I did. But it was complicated."
"Okay, now I'm curious." Krillin took another bite and chewed slowly. He felt a bit guilty about keeping Gohan from eating. After all the boy had inherited Goku's appetite. But he couldn't help it.
Gohan sighed. "I noticed Vegeta's ki and hid, but he had already noticed me and threatened to blow up the area I was hiding in. So I hid the Dragon Ball, came out and called out to him. He wasn't even all that surprised because he already met you. But when he said that and I saw that he had a Dragon Ball, I ... I thought ..." The boy's voice hitched and he looked away. "I was so sure he killed you. That we had failed and there'd be no way to bring back Mr. Picollo and the others."
Krillin smiled and inched closer to him. "But we haven't failed. Not yet. We still have a chance and it's thanks to you because you made it out of there with the Dragon Ball."
The kid lifted his head and returned the smile. "Yeah. We can make it,"
"So what did you do next?"
"Well, Vegeta told me he didn't kill you and I decided I had to stay calm. He asked about my dad and I told him he wasn't here. Then he noticed the Dragon Radar and asked about it. I got nervous again, but I told him it was a watch and he believed me."
Krillin stared at him for a moment, then he burst out laughing. He tried to say something but his laughing fit turned it into unintelligible giggling. Finally, he managed to calm down enough to suggest: "Maybe we should ask Vegeta what time it is when we meet him again."
Gohan stared at him wide-eyed as if he was afraid Krillin might have lost his mind. "I don't think making him angry is such a good idea. He'd probably try to kill us."
Krillin was still chuckling, but he nodded. "Yeah, probably not a bright thing to do. Well, nevermind. But what happened then?"
The boy looked down again, seeming even smaller and more vulnerable as he answered. "Vegeta ... he kneed me in the stomach and when I toppled over he put a foot on top of my head. He vowed he'd get back to Earth and destroy it, kill everyone, and he told me to get back there soon. Maybe so I wouldn't miss it."
That pretty much wiped all mirth from Krillin's face. He remembered Gohan limping when he came back but at the time they had been in a hurry and as they set out on their way to the Grand Elder the boy had recovered and Krillin no longer thought of asking him. He contemplated patting Gohan on the back but didn't want to make things worse with empty gestures.
They ate in silence with Gohan looking lost in his thoughts until he finally said: "What if he finds Bulma? She doesn't know how to hide her ki."
"No, but she can bitch at him." The answer was out before Krillin could stop himself. At Gohan's look, he sighed. "I know, I know. Leaving her behind with the Dragon Ball is a risk, but taking it along - or her for that matter - would slow us down even more. And that would make it even more dangerous for all of us."
Gohan nodded and looked tentatively the way they came. "At least he didn't find her yet. If he did he would have summoned the dragon and the sky would have turned black."
"Yeah. Besides, there is some wildlife around with similar ki to Bulma's and I don't think he's that good in ki reading yet. Back when he was on Earth he was still using this scouter thing to detect them and he only seems to have picked up on doing it without them from us."
"It's kinda scary how quickly he learned that."
"Hmm," Krillin murmured. "He is far too clever sometimes." He grinned. "At least if he doesn't have to tell apart a radar and a watch."
This time Gohan grinned back.
AN: Big thanks to everyone who is still reading and especially to those who favorited or followed the story. Reviews are very welcome, too.
