Piccolo watched very closely as Gohan stood alone in the middle of the room. It had been a week, and Piccolo finally deemed Gohan ready to ascend. The boy was quite happy about this, as for the past few days, he had trained solo while Piccolo built his strength against a low-level Super Saiyan Vegeta. Surprisingly, the Saiyan had been civil about it, and Piccolo was proud to say that as each day went by, Vegeta would increase his ki and he'd keep up, even landing the occasional blow.
Gohan, however, had been getting restless and agitated at his weakened state. Although he could hardly be considered weak. Even in his base form, he rivaled Vegeta's ascended form. While there was no doubt that as a full-fledged Super Saiyan Vegeta would have his base form beat, Gohan would definitely have been able to give him a run for his money.
Gohan began to ascend. His ki jumped up quickly as he tried to rush into his Super Saiyan form.
"Slowly, Gohan," Piccolo reminded him sharply.
"Kinda hard..." Gohan said through gritted teeth as he tried to hold himself back. And it was evident it was true. Gohan's muscles strained as he tried to keep from ascending too quickly, his hair standing on end, flashing between black and gold, his eyes holding the blue.
"Oh just let him do it. He's fine," Vegeta snapped from where he leaned against the wall. His own blue eyes watched the boy carefully. "Lower back to base. And then let it go. It appears trying to do it so slow is only exerting yourself more."
Gohan breathed and dropped back to base. He closed his eyes and breathed out heavily. His eyes snapped open then, blue as the sky, and they met Piccolo's. He exhaled once more and in a flash of gold, was ascended. He tore his gaze from his mentor's then, and allowed his ki to continue travelling upwards. Higher and higher...
"Gohan..."
"No, let him," Vegeta interrupted. "Let's see how far he can go."
"He's going to hurt himself."
"Mr. Piccolo," Gohan's eyes snapped to him. "Trust me."
Piccolo sighed. "I do."
And then...
Gohan let out a shout, and for a moment, it appeared his hair grew longer. His face took on a determined look. Vegeta moved forward to stand beside Piccolo, and as Gohan's ki kept growing, he let out a soft growl. Suddenly, the boy's ki dropped to that of a normal Super Saiyan and he fell to his knees. His eyes flickered black for second before they returned to blue. Piccolo was at his side in two big strides, dropping to his knees beside him, a hand going to his shoulder.
"Easy kid. Drop back down," he urged.
Gohan shook his head defiantly.
"No. No, I can do this," he ground out, shaking Piccolo off as he stood again. He took another deep breath and his ki stabilized. "Okay, okay, I'm fine now. Vegeta, I'm ready."
"N-" But before the word could get out, Vegeta fired at Gohan, not even waiting for Piccolo to step out of the way. Piccolo dodged to the left, though it wouldn't have mattered. Gohan's hand flew out and caught the blast, extinguishing it easily. He sent a blast of his own back, and Vegeta had no choice but to dodge it. If the room had not been blast proof, the blast would have barreled out of the walls.
"Huh," Gohan mused, cocking his head. "That's never been that strong before."
"Indeed. Don't try a Masenko or Kamehameha in here. I don't think the walls could take it, no matter what they may be proofed against," Piccolo warned. "In fact, you are not to practice a Kamehameha without my permission, understand? It was strong on your first try, in your weakened base state, it was strong. I shudder to think what it would be in your form now."
"Yes, Mr. Piccolo."
Piccolo spent the rest of the afternoon and into the evening supervising Gohan and Vegeta sparring in their ascended forms while he trained solo on the sidelines. He called for breaks often, but each time he did, the boy was barely sweating, though the same could not be said for Vegeta. He and Vegeta went at it, the older Saiyan pushing and pushing the younger. Slowly, nearing the three hour point, Gohan began to tire and lose his breath, yet every time Piccolo looked to intercede, he was shot a glare from both Saiyans, and he wisely stayed back.
Finally, finally, Gohan held up his hand and bent over.
"Okay. Okay. I have to be done," he rasped. He coughed harshly before sitting down hard, descending to base, Vegeta following suit, breathing just as heavily. Piccolo remained standing, though he bent slightly to catch his breath, hands supporting himself on his thighs.
After several long moments, Piccolo straightened and approached Gohan.
"Can you stand?" he asked. Gohan held a hand up wordlessly and Piccolo grasped it, hauling him up. He swayed for a moment, before planting his feet solidly and letting go of Piccolo's hand. Beside them, Vegeta began to push himself to his feet. Piccolo glanced at him, debated for half a second, and then offered his hand to the Saiyan. Vegeta stared at it for a moment, and for a second looked as if he was going to ignore the gesture. Then, surprisingly, he grabbed the Namekian's hand, and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.
Gohan smiled softly.
Finally.
Piccolo ended up scooping Gohan into his arms halfway back to the house, not trusting the boy's shaking legs. Vegeta opened the door, let them enter, and then followed them in, shutting the door with his foot behind him. Upon hearing the door, Bulma skipped down the stairs. She looked at Gohan worriedly.
"He okay?" she asked, concerned.
"I'm fine," Gohan responded. "Legs are a little weak, that's all."
"Come. There's an extra pair of swim trunks of Krillin's in my room. You can wear those," Vegeta said, heading up the stairs.
"What do I need swim trunks for?" Gohan asked as Piccolo followed Vegeta.
"Hot tub. I had the old man install therapy jets."
Below them, Bulma snorted. "Yeah, therapy. Last time I sat in front of one, it about damn near bruised my skin and catapulted me to the other side of the tub."
"Not my fault you're frail," Vegeta retorted.
"I am not frail! I'm just not freakishly strong and built like you people!" Bulma called after them.
Vegeta shook his head, smirking, as he walked into their bedroom. He opened the top drawer of his dresser and sighed. In it was Krillin's spare clothing. Gis, casual wear, pajamas...
"Dwarf practically lived here," Vegeta muttered, though not unkindly. Digging through the drawer, he produced a pair of vibrant red swim trunks adorned in large white flowers. "Hmph. These will suit you just fine. You're every bit as...colorful... as he was..." he mumbled, tossing the trunks to Gohan, who was standing on his own now. Vegeta eyed Piccolo. "Sorry Namek, but I don't have anything that will fit your freakish height."
Piccolo ignored the jibe and gestured to his gi. "This will do."
Vegeta nodded. "Go get changed and meet me back here."
Gohan and Piccolo walked down the hallway to their own room. Gohan sat on the bed to remove his shoes and began to strip off his gi. Piccolo turned his back and removed his own shoes until he heard him pulling the drawstring tight around his waist. Still, the trunks were a bit big, but they would do. As they walked back towards Vegeta's room, he stepped out and led them to what Vegeta referred to as the Healing Room. At one point it looked like it may have been a master bathroom, but Vegeta had clearly taken it over. The hamper was filled with dirty armor; bandages and wraps were strewn about. In the corner, one of Krillin's gis lay in a heap. A pair of beer cans sat on the edge of the tub.
Vegeta walked over to the hot tub and activated the heater and jets. He stood beside it, dipping his hand in occasionally, before declaring it hot enough. He hopped in and situated himself in front of a jet. Gohan began to try to climb in, but the tub was almost a little too tall for him. Piccolo picked him up and set him in before climbing in himself. The heat was almost too hot, but bearable. Instantly, Piccolo felt his muscles start to loosen. He found a jet and sat in front of it. It began to pulse rhythmically, soothing his sore muscles. Gohan sat beside him.
"Yeesh!" he yelped as the jet hit his back unexpectedly. "I can see why this pushed Bulma so far away..."
"See? I'm not the only one, Vegeta!" Bulma said as she entered the room in a robe, carrying a tray of beverages. "Good god, this place is a mess. Vegeta, you could've at least cleaned up in here-oh," she cut off, catching sight of the two beer cans and Krillin's gi. "Never mind," she whispered, setting the tray down on the counter. She removed her robe, revealing a one piece bathing suit.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" Vegeta asked.
Bulma began passing out the drinks. Water for Piccolo, an electrolyte-laden concoction for Gohan, a beer for Vegeta, and a glass of wine for herself.
"What does it look like?" she asked simply.
"Let me rephrase. Why?" Vegeta shot at her.
"Well, for your information, ever since you boys went to go train, Trunks has been cranky as hell. He finally went down for his nap. I need to relax too. I think he's teething again."
Vegeta groaned. "Great."
"You're not the one who's going to be sitting up with him all night."
"Still wakes me up."
Bulma rolled her eyes as she stepped in. "You're such a baby."
"You couldn't have at least worn your other suit?" Vegeta quipped as she sat next to him, careful not to sit in front of a jet.
"Uh, no. That's fine when it's just you, or when Krillin was around, but not when they're here," she snapped at him, gesturing at Piccolo and Gohan.
"Why?"
"I'll give you two good reasons why. One, because Gohan is here, and two, because it'd probably scar Piccolo for life."
Vegeta snorted at that, accepting her answer and taking a swig of his beer. "Would've been funny, at least. Namek, what color do you turn when you blush?" he jeered.
"He turns purple," Gohan said innocently. Piccolo promptly smacked him upside the head as Vegeta and Bulma snorted with laughter.
"Yeah well, maybe you can use your oh so lovely singing skills and shut the brat up when he undoubtedly wakes up tonight," Vegeta continued, on a roll now that he was relaxed.
"Shut up," Piccolo snapped.
"Mr. Piccolo, you sing?" Gohan asked.
"What, you don't remember?" Vegeta asked.
"Shut. Up," Piccolo said at the same time.
"No..." Gohan said, confused. "When'd you sing before?"
"When you went berserk. Stopped you right away. Come to think of it, shut the brat up too... What do you say, Namek? I'll pay you ten zenni to make him shut up. And then I'll pay you twenty zenni to shut you up."
This time, Piccolo felt his cheeks flush unbidden as he lifted his lip at the Saiyan. Vegeta barked with laughter.
"Holy shit, he does turn purple!" he cackled. Bulma and Gohan quickly joined in his laughter.
"Alright, I'm out," Piccolo snapped, standing and stepping out of the tub, flaring his ki to dry as he stormed out of the room.
"W-wait, Mr. Piccolo, c-come back!" Gohan called between laughs. "Oh, there he goes. Oh well," he chuckled.
Piccolo stomped into his shared room with Gohan, switching his gi for a fresh one. He stalked over to the bed and began meditating at the foot of it, still fuming. Jade made her way over, staring at him with big green eyes.
"Come to laugh at me too?" Piccolo snapped.
The cat simply mewled and hopped into his lap, kneading on his leg before settling down and curling up. He huffed, allowing himself to scratch behind her ear. She purred loudly, content.
The door opened, Gohan walking in wrapped in a towel, a large sandwich in his hand.
"Back already?" Piccolo quipped.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm really tired. Figured I'd grab a late dinner. And I wanted to let Bulma and Vegeta be alone for a while. He's... happy, for once. I'm sorry it started at your expense, but I don't think he's laughed like that since...since Krillin."
"It's fine. Eat and then get ready for bed. The more you sleep, the faster you'll heal. You're almost there," Piccolo said.
"Yeah," Gohan agreed.
Piccolo watched the boy go about his evening routine, which was relaxing in its normalcy. Finally, clad in his pajamas, Gohan climbed into bed. Unbidden, Piccolo swiped at his eyes, trying to rub away their heaviness.
"Mr. Piccolo, are you tired? Why don't you sleep?" Gohan asked. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"
"I've been watching you."
"I'm okay now. Here, come sleep," Gohan insisted, holding the covers back.
"I'm fine."
"Mr. Piccolo," Gohan said sternly. "Please, you're tired. How can you expect to train properly if you're tired?"
Piccolo rolled his eyes, not able to fight that logic. Briefly, he wondered if he had used those exact words on the boy himself.
"Fine. Shove over," he said gruffly, settling himself under the blankets. Gohan smiled in triumph, snuggling up against his side. "You're getting a bit old for this, you know."
"I'm nine."
Piccolo smirked and ruffled the boy's hair. "Sometimes I forget."
Piccolo jerked awake to Gohan's thrashing. Down the hall, he registered Trunks' crying.
"Gohan? Gohan, wake up. You're..."
"NO!" he screamed, jerking awake. He sat up quickly, breathing hard. Vegeta burst into the room, clearly already awake from his child's cries.
"What the hell is going on in here?" he stormed. "In case you haven't noticed, there's already one brat screaming."
"Pink eyes," Gohan breathed.
"Pink? What the hell could possibly be so scary about pink?"
"They were cold, Vegeta. So cold, and full of hate. Like Nappa's as he was about to kill me. Like yours used to be..." Gohan whispered, his arms wrapping around himself. "They wanted me dead."
Piccolo's hand fell on his shoulder. "It's okay, Gohan. It was only a dream."
Gohan shook his head. "No. No, it wasn't a dream. It was that thing. Whatever Amat is making. It's developing out there somewhere... Already so full of hatred..."
"Relax, and go back to sleep. We'll try to talk to Shin about it tomorrow. A year is a long way off. You'll be ready. I promise," Piccolo reassured.
"I-"
A wail from Trunks cut him off, causing all three of the warriors to wince.
"So Namek, about that singing..."
Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long! I've been working and such, so it takes a little while to crank these out. I'm trying to get better, I promise! Also, needed some humor to brighten up the story a little. Even if it continues to get dark...