Sorry for such a long wait guys. First I had horse shows, papers, and exams, and then just Monday, I had to put my horse down. It's been really tough around here for me, and I just haven't had the heart to update it. But, it's here finally! So please enjoy!
"Uh... Mr. Piccolo, sir... I don't think this is a very good idea..." Gohan said, voice shaking with nerves.
Piccolo rolled his eyes. "You have to learn to fly somehow. This is as good a way as any. Quit acting like a baby."
It had been two months now, and the boy had progressed quite well, much to Piccolo's surprise. His dodging skills were perfecting finally, and his strength was gradually increasing from the rigorous strength-training exercise Piccolo enforced every day. Tsuki had yet to show her face again, and Piccolo was beginning to wonder if maybe she had just been a bad dream after all.
"Well go on. What are you waiting for?" Piccolo asked, nudging the boy closer to the edge of the mountain.
"This is a really bad idea, sir. I can't do it!"
"Shut up. If your idiot of a father could fly, so can you," he snapped.
Something in Gohan's eyes flickered and his face set in determination and anger. "Do not talk about my dad like that," he said stonily.
Piccolo quirked a brow ridge in curiosity. This was new. Never had the boy shown anything beyond silent compliance and the occasional doubt. He smirked and rose to the sky. "I'll talk about him any way I wish. I knew him far longer than you did. In a way, I know him better than you do. How do you know he's not a weak little brat like you, hm?"
"I said stop! I know my daddy better than you ever could! He was a strong, brave person!" Gohan retorted. "So you just be quiet, Mr. Piccolo! You know nothing!"
"Make me, boy. Make me stop."
"Get down here and I will!"
"Oh no. You come up here. Make me pay for what I said. I killed your father. You were out of it, passed out like a little weakling. How do you know I didn't kill both your uncle and your father in one blast. Maybe I did it with a smile on my face! I'm glad he's gone!" Piccolo laughed cruelly, but deep down, somewhere in his heart of black, something pricked him annoyingly as he gazed upon his student's tear-stained face.
"You're lying!" Gohan screamed. His body rose just an inch off the ground.
"It's been my life goal to kill Goku and I finally did it! Your mother's death was just an added bonus."
"Stop it!" Gohan screamed, ki swirling around him as he rose a foot further off the ground. "Stop it right now!"
"Make me boy! Make me pay for my words and actions!"
Gohan let out a pained, animalistic howl as his ki exploded and surged him upwards towards his mentor. Piccolo barely had time to dodge him, knocking him away with a swipe of his arm. Gohan merely rebounded and for just a second, Piccolo held his student's gaze and caught the flash of haunting blue in his eyes, and the way his ki surged in a golden swarm. But then, just like that, it was gone, and the black eyes returned and penetrated his soul, the ki blue as the sea.
Gohan's small fist slammed into Piccolo's cheek so quickly that he didn't see it coming, didn't register it had happened until pain blossomed from the site of impact. Piccolo launched his leg out in hopes of striking the boy back, but he missed. Gohan dodged left and came back with a powerful kick of his own into Piccolo's gut, causing him to double over in pain, out of breath.
Piccolo saw shining light for a second and it dawned on him that the boy had a hand full of ki waiting to release into his face. He threw his hand up and shot his own blast, the two crashing into each other in a loud, resounding bang and the force threw Gohan and Piccolo away from one another. Gohan recovered quicker than his mentor, and flew at him again, ki bright in his hand once more. Piccolo prepared to block...
Time stopped.
Gohan was suspended in midair, eyes hard, a sneer on his face... Frozen.
"Not your brightest idea, Piccolo," the familiar voice reprimanded.
"What'd you do that for? I had it under control," Piccolo snapped in resentment.
"Sure you did."
Piccolo growled. "I don't appreciate your tone."
"Remember who you're speaking to, Demon King," Tsuki warned, her eyes flashing.
Piccolo backed down. "Whatever," he muttered. Tsuki watched him coolly. "Why are you here?"
"Too much, too fast, Piccolo. You'll kill him that way."
"He seems fine to me. Better than ever, actually."
"Until his body gives out. He's only a child, Piccolo."
"So? I was stronger than him as a child! I was already flying the day I was born!"
"Drop the tone, Piccolo. You were infused with your sire's power. This boy is a normal child. Yes, he has abnormal powers, but he's not trained to use them, and he can't attain them so quickly."
Piccolo grunted. "Fine. Then what do you suggest I do?"
"Take it slow again. The pace you were going at before was working fine."
"It's too slow. He has no confidence in himself! He needs to learn to fly and control everything and at the rate he's learning, it won't be in time!"
"Calm yourself. I'll make sure it happens in time."
"Aren't you not supposed to mess with the written future?"
"It's not messing with it if it's already been charted. You'll have it done. It's already been written," she said calmly.
"You're sure?" Piccolo asked, instantly regretting just how unsure he sounded.
"Rest easy, Piccolo. I'm a goddess. I have it all under control, don't you worry," Tsuki replied, smiling.
"I am not worried."
Tsuki smiled warmly at him. "Go back to basics with the boy. Once I leave, he will not remember any of this. Tomorrow, when you try again, be more gentle. He'll have it figured out by day's end."
"Then what am I supposed to do with him the rest of the day?"
"Let him rest, Piccolo. He'll be exhausted after what just happened. Tell him he's come down with the flu and that he gets the day off. And you'd be wise to keep his parents out of future matters."
"His anger is what makes him strong."
"His anger is what will kill him," Tsuki said, shaking her head.
"Wait, the boy will die?" Piccolo asked.
"Everyone dies eventually. Including you."
"But when does he die? If you're having me do all this for him to just die the day of the battle, it's pointless! And I will not waste my time on him anymore. If he dies, he's just useless to me."
Tsuki's eyes hardened and she stood tall. "One day soon, you will regret those words."
"Stop with the threats, goddess," Piccolo snapped.
Tsuki's hand shot out and grabbed Piccolo hard around the neck, lifting him effortlessly so that his feet skimmed the ground. He was wise and didn't thrash or even move beyond shifting his eyes to glare into hers.
"They are not threats, Piccolo. They are facts. And when it happens, you will be at a loss, and there will be nothing I can do."
"Then why bring the boy to me?" Piccolo asked tightly around her hand.
She lowered him and released him slowly. "Because he will survive this battle," she said quietly. "I must go now. You already know too much." She turned her back to leave.
"Wait... wait. The boy... his eyes. They were different for just a moment. As blue as the sky. They've never done that before. And his aura... it flickered gold. What...what was that?"
Tsuki shook her head. "Something that is not to be unearthed for a long time."
"But wait... it's what drives his power, isn't it? So why shouldn't we let it out?"
"Stay away from it Piccolo. It will be released only when he's ready. He'll let you know when that is."
"But how is he even supposed to know when that is?"
"It is something even I can't control. I'm sorry, but everything about him has yet to be written. I told you, he's an anomaly. I only know so much about him. His future is being processed, and I have no control over it."
"But you control everything. You said so yourself," he protested.
"I control only what my mother made and set out for me to take over. And the child is beyond that. There is nothing I can do. All I know about the child is that he is destined for greatness."
"And that he'll survive this battle?"
Tsuki hesitated for just a moment. "Yes."
"You don't know it, do you?" Piccolo asked.
"No, I do. He will survive. That much I can see," she answered firmly.
"Then why did you say it so uncertainly?"
"Piccolo, I cannot tell you. It is best if you just do not push the matter and trust me. I am a goddess of truth. I cannot lie to you. Take comfort in that. Now really, I must go. The boy will be unconscious for a few minutes, then he'll awaken. Let him rest. All will be well again tomorrow."
Piccolo nodded his head and instantly, the goddess was gone. In that moment, Gohan came back to life. For a second, he still looked ready to attack, before his eyes rolled back into his head and his eyelids shut. His body began to fall and Piccolo reluctantly caught him in his outstretched arms, lowering them both to the mountain, setting the boy down gently.
The boy began to stir about a half hour later, Piccolo noting begrudgingly that it took longer than the goddess had said it would.
"Mmmm... What happened?" Gohan asked, sitting up and rubbing his head.
"You're ill. Take the rest of the day off and rest. We begin training again tomorrow," Piccolo said coolly.
"But... what happened? I wasn't sick when I woke up this morning..."
Goddess, you said he wouldn't remember any of this...
"You collapsed. Rest now. Sleep, or something. Whatever it is that you weaklings do when you're sick," Piccolo snapped.
Gohan looked taken aback for a moment before nodding his head and laying down once more. "It's too hot," he muttered.
"Suck it up, boy."
Gohan remained quiet while Piccolo closed his eyes to meditate once more. Once he had remained stationary for several minutes, Gohan crawled over to him and lay down in the shade provided by his mentor's cape and shadow.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" Piccolo said lowly.
"Please sir. It's so much cooler here. Just for today?" Gohan asked softly.
Piccolo grunted. "Fine. But only until evening."
"Thank you."
The pair stayed that way well into the evening, and Piccolo found himself unable to rouse the boy, even though he shivered with chill. Sighing in deep annoyance, he lowered himself slightly so that his cape partially covered Gohan, who immediately snatched it close to him, sighing in content.
How annoying.