I do not own Dragon Ball Z, any of it's characters and any other property.
Chapter 3
Within a clearing in the woods, there's a teenage boy training by himself. Flowing through his motions throwing punches and kicks at an invisible enemy, moving so quickly his limbs start to blur, but to the trained eye, you could clearly see him. At fifteen-years-old Gohan has grown a bit. He's now a bit taller, but his wild spiky hair remains the same. Gone is the purple gi he usually wore and is replaced with a new gi of his own. A sky blue sleeveless gi top covers his torso with a short sleeve black undershirt, along with gray gi pants, a pair of black wristbands, and black boots.
"Big brother look what I found!" a small kid wearing a purple t-shirt and light blue pants with black shoes came running towards Gohan. Finally reaching him, four-year-old Goten skids to a stop. Ever since Goten's been able to play around outside, Gohan was allowed more time outside to supervise him. Usually, he monitors his ki to make sure he doesn't go far away from him while he gets some training done.
Looking over his shoulder, Gohan stops what he's doing and faces his brother, "Yeah, what is it squirt?" Goten is hopping up and down, excitement evident on his face.
Goten stops bouncing and raises his hands. "I found the coolest lizard ever!", opening his hands so his palms are facing upwards reveals a small green lizard. "Isn't it awesome?!" A small smile forms on Gohan's face seeing how happy his brother is.
"It sure is Goten, where did you find it?" Gohan asks
"I was over there in the forest running around and I saw it and just had to pick it up," Goten says while pointing to behind him. The lizard starts crawling up his arm and on to his shoulders and finally to the top of his head, causing him to giggle. "Can I keep him, please Gohan?"
Shaking his head, Gohan responds, "Sorry squirt, I don't think mom would like you keeping a pet lizard, plus his home out here, you wouldn't want to take him from his home, would you?"
"I guess not," Goten says sadly. "Okay, Mr. Lizard I'm gonna take you back where I found you." Seeing his younger brother so sad he tries to think of a way to make it up to him and figures out what to do.
"Hey Goten, hurry back here I've got a surprise for you!" Hearing this Goten perks up and picks up the pace. He runs back to where he came, wandering around looking for the same spot he found the lizard. Finally finding the spot he runs back to Gohan. Ruffling Goten's hair affectionately he asks him if he's ready. Nodding his head frantically in response, Goten sees his brother turn away from him, cups his hands around his mouth and shouts out, "Icarus!"
"Why'd you do that, what's gonna happ-" before he can finish asking his question, Goten hears a loud roar boom through the forest. Over the tree line, the two brothers witness a large purple creature soar through the sky towards them. As it gets closer its features become more distinct. Purple scales covering its body, glistening in the light from the sun, two horns protruding from the crest of its head, and two smaller horns on each side of its head. The dragon's massive wings flapping creates a windstorm around them as it slowly descends. When it lands it shakes the ground, causing Goten to have to hold on to Gohan's leg to keep from falling. Before them is a large twenty-foot dragon with sharp claws on each foot. The dragon's bright blue eyes staring at the two, its long slender tail falling to the ground and its wings folding closer to its body.
"This here is my friend, Icarus," Gohan states happily. "I've known him since I was a kid and it looks like he's grown since I last saw him." Icarus proceeds to move closer to Gohan and lick his face, causing him to laugh and wipe his face with his shirt. "Come on Goten don't be shy, he won't hurt." Slightly pushing Goten towards Icarus.
Goten walks up slowly, "Wow." He says quietly. Icarus lowers his head down to Goten's height and sniffs him before he licks him too. Giggling, Goten wipes off his face and raises his hand to pet Icarus. "He's amazing Gohan, this is the best surprise ever!"
"Don't worry, it gets even better." Goten feels himself getting picked up and Gohan walks over to place Goten on Icarus' back. "Now hang on tight, okay," Gohan tells him. He walks back to the front of Icarus and pats him on the head, "Let's go Icarus, I want you to fly with me for a bit."
Gohan lifts off the ground and Icarus soon follows him. The wind generated from the flapping of his wings causes the trees to sway back and forth wildly, and soon enough, Gohan, Goten, and Icarus are rocketing through the sky.
Feeling the wind to ripple across his face and his messy hair flow freely causes a bright smile to come across his face. Flying always gave Gohan a sense of freedom. Freedom from responsibilities and freedom to do as he wishes. Something he's so desperately wanted. Looking to his left he can see Icarus following nearby. On his back is Goten shouting out in excitement. Screaming loudly, "Faster Icarus, we can't let big brother beat us!" Icarus roars and surges forward, passing Gohan by.
"Oh, so that's how it's going to be." A bright aura flares around Gohan and his speed increases. The three of them continuously fly through the sky, going over the lush forests, Gohan, dropping down, starts swerving in between trees, successfully dodging the limbs poking out to come out unscathed, while Icarus flies high above. Seeing a lake down below, Icarus nose dives and pulls up just before crashing into the water, causing waves to crash across the water and leaving a trail of mist. The three begin to ascend, as Icarus reaches his peak, he turns upside down, doing a loop. Goten loses his grip while their upside down and starts free falling. Before he can hit the ground, Icarus comes swooping down and catches him with his claws, proceeding to toss him back on his back.
A couple of hours go by and Gohan and Icarus land by at the clearing they started from. Goten slides off Icarus and pets him on his head, thanking him. Goten runs over to Gohan, jumps up and gives him a big hug. "Today was the best day ever! Can we do this again tomorrow?"
Gohan smiles widely and rubs his brother's back. "Maybe squirt, but now we need to get going." He positions Goten to sit on his shoulder and turns to pet Icarus warmly. "We need to go, hopefully, we'll see you soon." Icarus licks his face walks away slowly before taking off, flying off in the distance.
Soon enough on their way back they see their home in the distance. Gohan's mood drops slightly, but when he looks at Goten and can tell how happy he is because of the time they spent, it makes it all worth it.
The next day
The sun was just rising, lighting up this side of the world to signify the start of a new day. The door to Gohan's room opens slightly and through crack Goten leans in to check if his brother his awake or not. Making sure to not be heard, he opens the door up slowly and creeps in, heading towards the bed. Once he gets close enough, Goten crawls up on top next to his brother. After double checking to see if Gohan's still sleeping, Goten grins and gets ready to pounce on him.
"Wake up Gohan!" Hopping up and down on his stomach, he finally awakens from the force of Goten landing on him. "Mom won't let me eat breakfast until you're down there."
Wincing, Gohan raises his arms to catch Goten before he can land on his stomach. "Alright, alright, I'm up calm down," Gohan says groggily. He places Goten down off the bed and onto the floor and starts rubbing his eyes. He looks down at Goten who's smiling innocently and rubbing the back of his head, before asking, "Is this going to be a regular thing now?"
Goten giggles but doesn't say anything and heads out of the room. He gets downstairs and heads to the kitchen. "Hey mom, I woke him up!" Goten says cheerfully.
Chi-Chi looks at her youngest son who's waiting at the table, "That's good dear. Remember that after breakfast I want you to get ready because today you and I are going to Bulma's." She says.
"Yay, I get to play with Trunks today!" Goten exclaims. Goten and Trunks had quickly become best friends. Whenever the two got together, either at the Son residence or Capsule Corp., they would usually spend most of their time playing video games or watching movies. The two half saiyans have always been a handful to take care of. Along with being stronger than the average human child, the two have boundless energy and seem to never tire out.
Gohan finally enters the room and sees piles of food littering the table, his mouth watering from seeing it all. He sits down at the table and immediately he and Goten start digging in. The food seems to magically disappear from how quickly they're eating. After the two are done inhaling their breakfast they mimic each other and lean back while scratching the back of their heads, saying "Thanks mom that was great!" Goten hops down from his chair and goes to his room to get ready to leave.
Gohan starts picking up the dishes from the table and heads to the sink to help his mother with doing the dishes. He places them in a pile and turns on the faucet. One by one, he and his mother clean all the plates, bowls, and utensils that were used. "Gohan, Goten and I are visiting Bulma in just a few minutes." Chi-Chi says.
"That's nice, how long do you think you'll be there for?" In his mind, Gohan is hoping his mother and brother will be over there for a good amount of time. With his mother all the way in West City, he can get a full day of training in, something he hasn't had for quite a long time.
Wiping off a plate with a towel, Chi-Chi tilts her head to the side, thinking of how long it'll be. "Probably most of the day. You know how Bulma and I are. We could spend the whole day talking to each other, and Goten doesn't have anyone other than you or Trunks to play with and it's been at least a week since we've last been there." She stops what's she's doing and looks over at her oldest son. 'Come to think of it, Gohan doesn't spend any time with people his own age. Hmm, maybe when he's older I'll send him to high school so he can get a diploma and he'll make some friends.'
On the inside, Gohan is jumping for joy. Hearing his mom will be gone for most of the day is music to his ears. Trying to contain his excitement, he glances at his mother and replies "Yeah, he and Trunks love playing together, it's good that he's got such a close friend."
As they finish up, Goten hops down the stairs, goes to the living room, and sits down on the couch. "Mom I'm ready!" he calls out.
In the kitchen, Chi-Chi washes her hands and then leans into Gohan, kissing him on the cheek. "We'll be back later dear, behave yourself while we're gone." Gohan smiles and nods.
"You should get going, you don't want to be late." Gohan waiting impatiently, trying to get her to leave sooner. 'The quicker they're gone, the more time to myself I'll have.' He watches his mother leave. Her and Goten leave the house a minute later, and Gohan can hear his little brother call out for Nimbus, and as quick as Nimbus arrived, it took off carrying Chi-Chi and Goten.
Gohan pumps his fists in excitement. Rushing out the front door, he quickly materializes his own gi and takes flight, heading to his usual training spot.
It's been around eight hours now since Goten and Chi-Chi arrived at Capsule Corp. Upstairs in his room, a boy with lavender hair and blue eyes is playing with his best friend Goten. Trunks and Goten are best friends, but they are always competing against one another. Today, the two are playing a racing game on his game console. In the room, Trunks is sitting on his bed, with the controller in hand focusing intently on the screen across the room. On the wall hangs a fifty-inch television and its display is split in two. On the top half of the screen, it shows a black sports car drifting around a curve and then speeding off with no one in front of him, clearly showing he's in first place. On the bottom half of the screen, it has a view of a red sports car, coming up on the curve that the black car had just driven by.
Sitting next to Trunks is Goten. Seeing he's just a bit behind Trunks, he leans forward from where he's sitting as if that would make his car drive faster. After rounding the curve just as Trunks had a few seconds ago, they both enter a straightaway. Goten's car is right behind Trunks', but it's too late as Trunks passes the finish line, and on his half of the screen in bright gold lettering displays he came in first place. A second later Goten passes by as well, coming in second place.
Placing the controller down, Goten pouts and crosses his arms. "No fair you cheated."
"What, how could I have cheated I beat you fair and square?" Trunks asks incredulously and turning his head to look at his friend.
Breathing out his nose, Goten replies "I don't know, I just don't like losing that's all. Let's race again, I bet I'll beat you this time!" He picks up his controller and selects a rematch, waiting for Trunks to do the same.
Trunks snorts in amusement, "In your dreams Goten, there's no way I can lose." He presses the option for a rematch and the screen switches to a virtual garage to where they can select what cars they want to drive.
Before the race can start up, Trunks looks over at Goten and asks, "Hey Goten, does Gohan ever train you?"
"Train me? In what?" Goten asks curiously.
Trunks sighs, "In martial arts dumby. My dad started training me a while ago. He's the strongest in the world and he could probably beat up your brother." Before Goten responds, the television flashes, and on it shows the two cars waiting for the countdown to end, signifying the start of the race.
Shaking his head, Goten responds without looking from the screen. "No, should I ask him if he could?"
"Yeah! If Gohan starts training you then we can fight when you come over. It would be so much fun!" Trunks replies.
Downstairs in the living room is Bulma and Chi-Chi. Since she got here, they've been sitting there chatting about all that's been going on in their lives, with the television on in the background. The room they're in is quite luxurious. Being the heiress of Capsule Corp. has its bonuses. On the floor of the room is a large lush carpet, the furniture consists of a white couch in a U shape with plush pillows on each end. Nearby it is two white chairs, and in between the chairs and couch is a coffee table with magazines situated on top a few coasters to place any drinks on them. A fireplace on one side of the room, and on the mantle has a few pictures of the Brief family. On the wall above hangs a large television in a spot anyone would have a good view of it. Dangling from the ceiling is a beautiful chandelier that lights up the whole room.
"So Chi, how's Gohan doing?" The Capsule Corp. heiress asks. 'I wonder if she's still working that kid into the ground.' Thinking that last part to herself.
Always proud to talk about how smart her son is, Chi-Chi speaks up enthusiastically, "He's doing wonderful. He spends most of his time studying and I think he's going to become a very successful man when he gets older!"
'Why am I not surprised?', Bulma takes a sip from her coffee before replying. "I'm sure he'll make you proud Chi. He's a genius." Bulma has always thought of Gohan as a second son. The two have been through a lot together. They had gone off to Namek with Krillin, and what an experience that was. Finding ways to survive while all alone on an alien planet far from home. Having to stay out of sight from Frieza and his minions for as long as possible, and suddenly escaping from the planet via the dragon balls before it exploded. "Hey Chi, I still have some textbooks from when I used to attend West City University. It's one of the best universities in the world and I bet it could challenge him more than whatever work he's doing now. I could give you some to have Gohan work on." Bulma offers.
"That's a great idea Bulma, thank you." Chi-Chi accepts the offer. Bulma nods and stands up from the chair she was sitting in.
Walking into her office, Bulma starts searching around for her old textbooks. Opening the cabinet next to her desk she sees three textbooks from her old university. 'Now what to do. Hmm.' She goes to her desk and opens the top drawer, pulling out a notebook and a pen. 'I hope this helps a little bit.' She writes something down on a piece of paper and rips it out of the notebook before putting it inside one of the textbooks. Before she leaves, she takes some more stacks of papers and slides them under that original piece of paper she wrote on.
When she gets back to the living room, she places the textbooks on the coffee table in front of Chi-Chi. "Here you go, these are the only ones I could find, but I'm sure there's some more laying around here somewhere. Just give me a call whenever Gohan is done with them and you can send him over to bring them back." Bulma says.
"This is amazing Bulma, what can I do to repay you?" Chi-Chi asks.
Shaking her head, Bulma says, "There's no need to worry about that, I'm happy to help Gohan with whatever he needs."
Chi-Chi gets off from the couch and hugs Bulma closely. "You're the best Bulma." She releases Bulma, and when she turns around, she notices the time on the clock. "Oh gosh, I didn't know we've been here this long already. Time sure does fly by now doesn't it." She says.
"I'll go upstairs to Trunks' room and get the two rascals." Bulma goes upstairs and knocks on his door before opening it. She walks in and sees Goten and Trunks sitting on his bed still playing their video games. "Hey Goten, your mom said its time for you two to head back home."
Hearing Bulma, Goten pauses the game. "Aww, but do we have to leave already?" He whines.
"Afraid so. Don't worry you can come back soon so you can play with Trunks again." Bulma says reassuringly. Goten slides off the bed and walks to the corner of the room where he put his shoes. He slips them on his feet and waves to his friend.
"Bye Trunks." Goten says.
"Yeah, see you next time." Trunks presses a few buttons on his controller to exit from the game. He walks over to his game console and ejects the disk, putting it back in its case and then opening another one, and putting that game into the console.
Bulma and Goten head back down to Chi-Chi. "I'll walk you both out." Bulma leads them back to the front door and opens it for them. When they get outside, Bulma crouches down and hugs Goten. After that, she stands up and looks back and forth between him and Chi-Chi. "Don't be strangers its always fun having you guys over."
Chi-Chi and Goten say they'll be sure to visit as much as they can. Goten walks a couple feet away and calls out for the Nimbus cloud. It zooms towards them and skids to a stop next to them. Mother and son hop on and wave good-bye to Bulma before commanding Nimbus to take them back home.
The two of them get back to their home on Mt. Paozu and go inside. Goten goes to take a quick shower, and Chi-Chi, carrying the textbooks Bulma gave her, decides to give them to Gohan. She knocks on his door and hears him call out to come in. She opens his door and walks in.
"Hey mom, back already? Gohan asks. Already knowing that answer since he was regularly checking on her ki to know when she was on her way home so he could stop training in time to be back before them.
Setting the books down on his desk, she says, "Yes dear, we just got back. While we were there Bulma offered to let you study from her old university textbooks. She said they're more difficult from the work you do now and said it'd be a nice challenge for you."
Trying to keep himself from frowning, Gohan replies, "More work huh. That's, uh, nice." Scratching the back of his head. 'What's Bulma thinking, doesn't she know how much my mom makes me do already?'
"Whenever you're done with these, just call Bulma ahead of time before going over to drop these off." Chi-Chi says. "I'll go and get dinner ready." She gives her son a kiss on the cheek before leaving his room, closing the door behind her.
Gohan takes one of the books from the stack and opens it up to the first page. Inside he sees the pile of papers Bulma had put inside earlier. Grabbing the folded paper from the top and opens it up and sees that it's a letter.
Dear Gohan,
I know Chi-Chi must make you work for hours and hours on some boring assignments and reading textbooks that don't interest you. I was able to get her to replace some of your work with these textbooks because these are more challenging. While that's true, that's not why I wanted to give you these. I know how interested you are in science and engineering, so I wanted to help you out. Underneath this letter are some notes and sketches for some inventions I've thought about before. I never got around to completing them because some more pressing matters came up. These have been laying around gathering dust, but I think someone as brilliant as you could finish them. If you don't want to that's okay and you can bring them back over, but if you do, once you're finished come back and I'll get you more to get started on. I think you have a ton of potential, and not fully realizing it would be a mistake.
Love, Bulma