"Hey watch it!" Piccolo scolded brusquely, tapping the fire out that started on his cape's edge.
"Oops! Sorry Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan apologized quickly. "I can't control it."
"Well learn, brat. And quickly. This is the third time."
"But, well sir, doesn't that mean you need to be more aware of your surroundings and expect the unexpected?" Gohan asked quietly, wringing his hands. "That's what you're always saying..."
Piccolo growled, but didn't say anything other than a brisk "shut up" before turning his back on the boy. Gohan smiled, knowing this was one of the few times he one-upped his mentor.
These past few weeks, Piccolo had been training the boy to master his ki. As Tsuki had said, he had learned to fly the day after the fiasco, and not remembered a bit of it, which worked just fine for Piccolo. The boy was quite a fast flyer, and he could already tell Gohan would have the advantage of the air just as his father and uncle had. Piccolo mentally stored that information away for the day of the battle. Perhaps all Saiyans had the advantage in the air.
Too bad the boy didn't have the same aptitude for controlling his ki. Ever since he learned to tap into it, he couldn't figure out how to close it off. Now, every time he twitched, a little burst of ki shot out of the offending appendage, even in sleep. This made Piccolo always hyper-alert, and while he supposed it was good for his mind given the upcoming circumstances, but it was exhausting.
"OOPS!" Gohan exclaimed out of the blue and immediately following was a loud rumbling, then a roar as mountain to the left of Piccolo crumbled and crashed to the ground in a heap of rubble. Piccolo whipped his head around to see Gohan standing stick-straight, eyes wide, both hands clapped over his mouth in complete awe at the destruction he had just caused.
"Good one, brat," Piccolo mused. "That one actually had some power to it. What'd you do, sneeze?"
Gohan shook his head. "I really hope I didn't kill some poor little animal..."
"You've been eating animals since you learned how to use blasts."
"Yeah, but that's intentional, and has a purpose. And I always thank the Kais for the animal's spirit. But to kill without a purpose...that's... that's..."
"That's life. Look, if you're that worried about it, go over there and see if you actually did kill anything before you have a mental breakdown. If anything is dead, well, you saved some time tonight going to catch your dinner."
Gohan smiled brightly. "Oh, thanks Mr. Piccolo! I never thought of it like that!" he said happily, skimming the ground to go over to the destruction.
Piccolo watched for a moment before shaking his head in absolute frustration. He wasn't supposed to make the boy feel better. Why, a month ago, he'd have snapped at the boy for being an idiot, not practically holding his hand through his worries.
Above him, he could've sworn he heard Tsuki laughing at him.
Night was falling and Gohan and Piccolo made their way up to the top of their mountain, Piccolo starting a fire while Gohan cleaned his fresh kill, having not killing anything during the mountain collapse, much to his pleasure. Piccolo wrinkled his nose as the scent of cooking meat filled the air. He really hated that the boy ate meat. The scent was nauseating. All food was nauseating. But at least the fruits and other plant life the boy ate had an earthy smell to it, if any smell at all.
"How many blasts did it take to kill this one?" Piccolo asked out of boredom.
"Just one! I think I'm finally figuring this out, Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan said happily, pumping his fist in the air, promptly sending off a large blast into the night sky. "I uh... I meant to do that one."
"Sure you did, kid."
"I did, Daddy! Oh oops..." Gohan started happily before trailing off.
Piccolo wrinkled his nose. "What did you just call me?"
"It was nothing, sir. Sorry."
"Explain yourself."
"Please, I didn't mean to..."
"You're not in trouble, brat. Not yet anyways. Just answer the question."
"I...well... I called you Daddy, Mr. Piccolo," Gohan answered reluctantly, twiddling his thumbs.
"And why?" Piccolo pressed, keeping his expression blank.
"Because... the way we were just play-arguing just now... it reminded me of my daddy. Because we used to do it all the time. And...and... I miss him, Mr. Piccolo. I miss him and Mommy so much! And I like you, I like you a lot, and I like living with you, but they were my parents and I want them back," Gohan choked out, barely suppressing a sob, angrily wiping his tears away.
Piccolo didn't know what came over him as he moved to stand in front of the boy and softly laid his hand on his shoulder. Gohan looked up at him in mild wonder at the gesture before letting out a loud sob and launched himself at his mentor, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist and crying into his gi. Piccolo stiffened immediately, hands hovering out at his sides before he finally opted to place one hand awkwardly on the boy's head.
They stood that way for a few minutes as Gohan's sobs died down and Piccolo gently pushed the boy away. Gohan wiped at his eyes and nose, ridding his face of his tears. He smiled softly at Piccolo, knowing it best not to speak. Piccolo nodded his head slightly and turned away, letting the boy go back to his food in peace.
As the boy fell asleep, Piccolo could not stop the nagging feeling in the pit at his stomach that maybe, just maybe, this boy was more to him than he seemed.
"I'd say that's a pretty good assumption to make," Tsuki said from behind him.
"Would you quit doing that?" Piccolo growled as he hurriedly stood to face the goddess.
"Just keeping you on your toes, Piccolo, though I see the boy has done that well enough," she said, smiling as she made her way over to where the boy lay. "Such a strong fighter for such a little child," she said softly, running her hand through the boy's wild black hair.
"What are you here for this time?" Piccolo asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I'm just checking up on the boy's progress. You're doing a very good job with him. He'll be ready by year's end."
"Damn well better be with all the effort I've put into him," Piccolo snorted. "Then when this is finally all over, things can go back to the way they were before."
Tsuki's face hardened. "Piccolo, there's something you should know...There is no going back. Not for you, at least."
"What do you mean?"
She sighed heavily. "Piccolo..."
"I die, don't I?" he asked in monotone. "That's fantastic. And the boy?"
"He'll live."
"And who will take care of him then if I'm gone? He hasn't got any family left," he stated, trying not to sound like he cared at all.
"Krillin will take him."
"What? I die, and that pathetically short little weakling lives? How the hell does that even happen? That's absurd! I..."
Tsuki looked at him with an impassive face, waiting.
"I... I die protecting the boy, don't I?"
"I'm sorry."
"Isn't there any way to change it?"
Tsuki shook her head. "No, there isn't."
"But you're the Moon Goddess! You control fates! Can't you just tweak it so that, oh I don't know...Krillin dies instead?"
"Piccolo, enough. I cannot mess with the fates. This is the path that has been chosen."
"And if the boy had never been born? What would've happened?"
"You all would've died regardless."
"The boy... the boy is the one who wins this battle? The one who saves them all?"
"Yes."
"But he's so...weak. And small."
"He is not as weak as he appears. And size doesn't win battles. You know that."
"So there's nothing you can do that will let me live?"
"No. Let me show you what happened the last time the fates were messed with," she said. She clapped her hands softly and spread them out, creating an orb in the space between them. The orb shimmered before revealing a beautiful planet before them, busy with movement of the people.
"Which planet is this?" Piccolo asked, peering into the orb.
"This is the planet Vegeta, named after the kings that rules. This is the planet of the Saiyans."
"Yes, I see the tails."
"This was before my brother, Amat, the Sun God, decided to mess with the fates. He created a race of beings, the Colds, out of boredom. The race is very cruel, and while I managed to destroy most of them before they wreaked havoc, three survived. The King, and his two sons Cooler and Frieza." The orb showed the family. "Behind my back, Amat led Frieza's path to that of the Saiyans'. Frieza quickly came into power over the Saiyans and under my brother's guidance of his path, destroyed the planet.
"Only those my brother deemed important survived. The young Prince Vegeta, heir to the throne," the orb showed a young boy, then evolved into the obvious adult version, a shorter man with tall, spiked hair, "his two subordinates, Nappa," a large bald man appeared, "and Raditz," there was Goku's brother in the orb now, "the legendary and his father," a man with one eye and his son, who looked almost nothing like a Saiyan at all, with brilliant blue eyes and golden hair wildly sticking out in all direction, "and of course, Kakarott, or the one you know as Goku," and there he was, smiling in his goofy way.
"Had my brother left these fates alone, Goku would've been the only Saiyan you'd have come across. Raditz never would've come looking for him to recruit against Frieza, Prince Vegeta and Nappa wouldn't come to Earth. Goku and Chi-Chi would've lived, and Gohan would've never come to you. You'd lived a peaceful life, followed by an eventual, tentative alliance with Goku and the others."
"Why couldn't you stop him?"
"My brother is a powerful god, Piccolo. There are some things not even I can change once he has meddled with it. Which is why the boy is in hiding from him."
Piccolo had a contemplative look on his face as he continued into the orb. "Show me the legendary again."
"This is him. Broly. And his father Paragus." The orb showed the man, Paragus, stand by as Broly destroyed an entire planet in mere moments, laughing wildly.
"He doesn't look like a Saiyan. They have no tails. But the fighter spirit is there."
"They were cut off before they were banished and left for dead."
"Hm. Wait...wait... the blue eyes and the gold... Yes, this is what I saw in Gohan the day he tapped into his inner power learning to fly." Tsuki closed her eyes and nodded ever so slightly in affirmation. "A power like this could easily destroy the Saiyans in a heartbeat!"
"No, Piccolo. He is not to attain it that soon," Tsuki warned.
"But he could save us all!" Piccolo argued.
"He'll die in the process of attaining it!" she snapped, her hair flying about in wild burst of ki, eyes flashing dangerously. "And then, you will all die!"
Piccolo backed down immediately. "All right. Calm down. It was just a suggestion."
"I know what is best for this universe. Stay out of that which you do not understand."Piccolo curled his lip back in a snarl. "Do not make this a fight, Piccolo. You will not win," she warned. Piccolo relaxed his stance. "Now, I didn't come here for a fight. I came here to deliver my message, and now I am done. Are we at an understanding."
"Yes. But don't think I won't try to fight for my life."
"I want you to do so. As hard as you can."
"But I will die anyway?"
"Yes. Unless... unless the boy surprises us all. He alone has the power to twist the fates."
Piccolo nodded. "All right. We have an understanding."
"Good. Rest now Piccolo, and return to your training tomorrow. Not a word of this should be uttered to the boy, understood?"
"Yes, goddess."
"Good."
In his sleep, Gohan twitched a burst of ki shot out from his hand. Piccolo made to duck, but Tsuki deflected the blast without even turning towards the boy and with that, she faded away into nothingness.
"How does she do that?" Piccolo muttered.
He could've sworn he heard her laugh.
Again