"That...was a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be..." Gohan said sheepishly.
"No shit," Vegeta said bluntly.
"Probably a good thing you didn't practice that in the Kai Realm," Piccolo said.
"Yeah, Old Kai said he wanted me to, right before I came home, but Shin told him no. Old Kai thought he was being paranoid, but it seems like he was right..."
"This is twice you've mentioned him now. Who's this Old Kai person you're talking about?" Vegeta asked.
"Uh... He's an ancient Kai who was locked in this mythical sword that I was able to pull from the ground, because apparently I'm the Chosen One, and then I broke the sword and he popped out... And then he unleashed this form from within me and..." Gohan rambled.
Vegeta waved his hands in front of him. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry I asked. I don't care that much," he grumbled. "Whatever. I'm going home now. I'm starving. The brat ate my lunch, and his. Barely got anything to eat before you two came pounding on my door."
"Will you train with us tomorrow?" Gohan asked, his voice almost pleading. Piccolo gave him a confused look.
"Yes. Here. Noon. Don't be late," Vegeta said brusquely. He then turned and took off, not looking back.
"He hates me," Gohan said after a few moments of silence.
"He doesn't hate you," Piccolo said dismissively. "He's angry that you're a lot stronger than he is. As usual. Don't get yourself worked up over it. This happens every time you make an ascension."
Gohan's blue eyes cut to him sharply. "He thinks I'm going to hurt his family. He's afraid of me. Just like Shin."
"He's not afraid of you," Piccolo scoffed. He then scowled slightly. "Did you hear us talking?"
"Lucky guess. He looked angry, you looked angry... that usually means it's about me," he said. "...and I heard you say Krillin." Piccolo could've smacked himself. Careless mistake on his part. "He'll never forgive me, will he?" Before Piccolo could answer, he continued. "I can't even forgive myself."
"Between the two of you, I think I've said it a million times: it was not your fault. It has never been your fault, it never will be your fault. You two both need to let it go now, and start moving on. It happened, and there's nothing anyone can do to change that."
"But..."
"He would be so heartbroken if he saw you two beating yourselves up over this," Piccolo interrupted. "You know he would."
Gohan smiled a bit ruefully. "All he wanted was for all of us to get along," he said quietly. "I'm glad you two are getting along better now," he added, louder this time.
"Getting along is relative."
"Well, you guys aren't trying to kill each other, so..."
We almost did...
"I suppose," Piccolo conceded. "Are you hungry?" he asked, steering the conversation to safer ground.
Gohan smiled. "Actually, yeah, I'm starving!"
Piccolo stood in the doorway to the kitchen, leaning against it casually as he watched Gohan bustle about the kitchen. The boy's appetite seemed to have returned with a vengeance. He was moving around the kitchen like a tornado, grabbing pots and pans, lighting the stove, stirring... Jade watched from her perch on the counter, and Piccolo could hear her purring from where he stood.
He allowed himself a small smile and sighed in content. His boy was home, and everything was as it should be. For the time being, at least. The thought that the impending battle was soon to come niggled at the back of his mind as he tried to suppress it. Just once, he wanted to live in the moment.
A flurry of movement brought him out of his reverie. Gohan was hurriedly plating seemingly endless amounts of rice, fish, and vegetables of all sorts. He carefully brought each plate to the table, filled two water glasses, and plopped himself down heavily in his seat. He wordlessly handed Piccolo a water glass as he approached, and promptly began shoveling ungodly amounts of food into his mouth.
Piccolo wasn't sure whether he should be glad Gohan was so hungry, or nauseated. He decided he could be both.
"So... Mr. Piccolo..." Gohan started, his voice muffled because of the sheer amount of rice in his mouth.
"Gohan. Swallow. You know I can't stand it when you talk with your mouth full. You're almost finished, wait until then," Piccolo admonished.
Gohan obediently swallowed and quickly demolished the rest of his meal within moments.
"Okay, so, Mr. Piccolo, I need to talk to you about something," he said.
"Go on..." Piccolo said cautiously.
"I know you were actually talking about me, but I'm concerned about something else."
"What?"
Oh great... here comes the argument...
"Your little cover up. You said it was army stuff, and that I shouldn't be worried about it because it wasn't my part. But... it is my part. I should know everything that's going on!" Gohan said indignantly.
"Gohan, it's really not something you need to worry about. You will be focused on Amat and his monster. You don't need this added to your stress. Vegeta and I can handle it," Piccolo said sternly.
"No. I do need to worry about it, Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan said angrily, standing so abruptly that his chair flipped over. At the clattering, Jade ran to hide in the bedroom. "We don't know who is in Amat's army! We don't know who is in Lady Tsuki's! What if... Mr. Piccolo, I trust her, I do, but...what if her army isn't strong enough? What if Amat's is stronger? You and Vegeta are leading it. Amat's army is going to try to take you guys out first. I can't... Mr. Piccolo, I can't lose either of you! I can't lose you!" Gohan practically wailed at the end.
"Gohan..."
"No. Don't! Don't try to tell me it's going to be alright! You and I both know that's a lie! Vegeta knows it's a lie! If he dies, he leaves a child behind! Trunks will be without his daddy because I couldn't save him! Bulma will be heartbroken!"
"Gohan, it hasn't happened yet. It probably wo-"
"Don't lie!" Gohan practically screamed. "Trunks is only five! He's just a kid and it will be my fault that Vegeta dies!"
"You're just a kid, too," Piccolo said quietly. Gohan completely ignored him.
"And you! You've been in danger ever since you took me in! You didn't even want me! You wanted me to go live with Krillin or Bulma, and I begged you to let me stay! And you relented! You shouldn't have! If I had known what I know now... I never would've asked to stay! I wouldn't have even gone to Krillin or Bulma's, because I would have put them in danger too!"
"And just where would you have gone? You were five years old," Piccolo nearly snarled.
"I would've stayed dead, had I known! You shouldn't have let me live through the heart virus! And then Krillin would still be alive..."
"Gohan, don't even star-"
"And then I wanted to die and you wouldn't let me! And now, now, I will be the cause of your and Vegeta's deaths as well! You should have let me die! You should ha-"
Without thinking, Piccolo reached out lightning fast and smacked Gohan across the face. He instantly stopped his shouting. For a moment, his eyes turned blue, and for the first time, Piccolo worried that Gohan's anger would be directed at him. And then, in the next moment, they turned black again, and became wide and glassy. For a second, there was nothing but silence, both shocked at Piccolo's actions.
"Gohan, I-"
Before he could finish, Gohan gave out a sob, and turned and fled into the bedroom. He practically shoved Jade out with a swirl of ki, slamming his door in the process. Piccolo could hear the sobbing, could feel the dramatic rise in Gohan's ki. He struggled for a moment, unsure of what to do. Jade looked up at him, worry clearly written in her eyes.
"Stay here," he ordered quietly. He then opened the door to the bedroom, and stopped short. Gohan was crying heavily into his pillow, his ki swirling around him in angry golden waves, though he hadn't ascended yet.
"Gohan?"
When the boy didn't answer, Piccolo moved to the bed, making to sit on the edge of it, but Gohan flared his ki a bit, pushing him away. Piccolo's heart clenched.
"Gohan, please. I'm sorry. I didn't mean... I didn't..." he started, struggling with his words. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he whispered.
Gohan's ki slowly lowered, and then dissipated, allowing Piccolo to sit near him. Almost hesitantly, Piccolo reached out, placing his hand on his shoulder. The boy flinched away at first, and then stilled. Piccolo reached a little further, preparing to put his hand on his head, when Gohan sat up suddenly and flung himself at Piccolo, burying his face in his chest, his arms around his waist. Instantly, Piccolo's arms wrapped around him, holding him close. He felt his gi soaking up the boy's tears, but he didn't care. No, he was angry.
Angry at himself for losing his temper.
Angry at himself for striking Gohan.
Angry that he had caused his boy so much hurt.
"I'm sorry," Gohan choked out.
What?
"You're sorry? You did nothing wrong! I was the one who hurt you," Piccolo said, shocked.
"It didn't hurt," Gohan said, a trace of mirth in his voice. "Getting punched by Cell... that hurt."
Piccolo playfully shoved him off his lap, and the boy smiled. "Are you saying I'm weak?"
"No. Sort of. Okay, yes. In comparison."
"I'm offended."
"You know, if you punched me now, it would probably hurt. All that training... you have to be as strong as Cell was, maybe stronger!"
"One would hope," Piccolo said. His voice turned serious then. "I need to be as strong as I can for this." Gohan's smile faded, and Piccolo scrambled for words to do some damage control, determined not to make the child slip into a depression again. "You know, I'm still betting if I punched you now, you wouldn't feel a thing, powerful as you are."
Gohan's smile didn't return. "Mr. Piccolo... do you think it's going to be enough? Buu killed all the other Kais, and apparently very easily, according to Shin."
"You are much stronger than Shin."
"I know, but... I have no idea of how strong Buu will be."
"You agonizing over it will only hinder you," Piccolo said sternly. "So don't."
"It's hard not to, when the fate of everything depends on it," Gohan said quietly.
"Well, then I guess we'll just have to train until you're so exhausted you won't be able to think."
It took several hours for Gohan to fully calm down enough to sleep. He worried and worried the rest of the evening away. While Piccolo was running his hand through Gohan's hair as the boy lay in the bed, he looked up, pleading in his eyes.
"Mr. Piccolo, will you sing to me? Vegeta said you did before, and I want to hear it."
"That was years ago."
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No. I don't even remember the words."
"Yes you do. You don't forget anything," Gohan pushed relentlessly.
Piccolo growled, then sighed. "If I do... if... do you promise to go to sleep?"
Gohan nodded readily. "Yes! I promise!"
"Just to be clear, I am not happy about this."
"I know."
"And this is never happening again. Understood?"
"Understood."
"And I will murder you if you so much as speak a word of this to anyone."
"Got it."
Piccolo sighed. He knew the words. He knew the melody. "I really don't want to do this."
"Please," Gohan pleaded, his eyes huge.
Piccolo rolled his eyes heavenward and sighed. He felt guilty still for striking Gohan. He owed him this much. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to force the words out. He closed his eyes, hoping to tune out the rest of the world. His cheeks burned with embarrassment.
I can do this. Just get it over with...
He opened his mouth again, and this time the words came forth:
"Come little child,
I'll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment.
Come my sweet child,
The time's come to play
Here in my garden of magic."
He opened his eyes and glanced down at the boy. As it had been when Tsuki had sung it, and when he had sung it before, Gohan was finally asleep. Piccolo carefully moved from the head of the bed, and sat at the foot of it. He had no sooner closed his eyes when the phone rang.
SHIT.
Gohan grumbled in his sleep, shifting around and burying his face into the pillow. Piccolo practically sprang off the bed and in two long strides was in the kitchen, hastily picking up the phone right as it rang a second time.
"WHAT?" he snarled into the phone.
"Hello?" a muffled voice came. Bulma. Piccolo realized he had the phone upside down, rolled his eyes, and turned it around.
"What do you want?" he ground out.
"Oh, Piccolo?" Bulma asked, shocked. Piccolo very rarely answered the phone.
"What?" he asked again, getting even more annoyed.
"I thought for sure Gohan would answer. Just a bit surprised, sorry."
"He's sleeping."
"Already? It's only nine. I haven't even managed to get Trunks in bed yet."
Only nine? Was that all? The day had seemed to drag on forever. He had thought for sure it was nearer to midnight.
"It's actually a good thing you answered. You're the one I had wanted to talk to."
"What is it?" Piccolo ground out, thoroughly annoyed that he had to ask three times now.
"Well, Vegeta's been getting very antsy and won't tell me why. I'm assuming it's because this...war... is drawing closer. And, well, I wanted to have a little bit of normalcy before it happens. I was thinking a dinner over here-"
"No," Piccolo said, cutting her off.
"What? Why?" she asked, somewhat shocked.
"I gave my word to Vegeta that I would not bring Gohan there."
"Oh, for the love of... He doesn't own this place! He's such an asshole sometimes. You guys can come around-"
"No, that's not what it is," Piccolo said, again cutting her short. "Gohan is..." he trailed off, not sure how to put it. "He's... well... he's a bit dangerous, I suppose."
"I beg your pardon? Dangerous?" Bulma asked, shocked.
"Well... in a way, he is. Gohan managed to make an ascension, and he has very little control over it. Vegeta tends to push his buttons, like he does with everyone else."
"Typical. He's such an asshole sometimes." At Piccolo's snort, she laughed. "Okay, most of the time." She was quiet for a moment. "Piccolo, do you really think Gohan would hurt any of us?"
Piccolo hesitated. "Not...not on purpose. Never." Gohan's angry blue eyes aimed at him flashed in his mind, but he pushed it away. "But, he's emotional, he always has been. And with this battle looming, he's a bit more...reactive. He's expressed extreme worry that Vegeta will die and leave you and Trunks behind-" He heard Bulma inhale sharply at that "-and seeing you all together may just... tip him in the wrong direction. It's best he stays away until he has himself fully in control."
It was silent on the line. And then: "Piccolo..." She stopped herself, and cleared her throat. "Piccolo, do you really think... Oh god..." she trailed off. Piccolo could hear the tears thick in her voice. "Is he going to be killed? Are we going to lose?"
It was Piccolo's turn to be silent. He sighed. "I don't know," he admitted.
He heard Bulma sniffle. "Okay..." Her voice broke, and she cleared her throat again. "Okay," she said again, her voice stronger. "I'm going to stop by tomorrow. I'm going to give Gohan a few things to keep him a bit busy. I still want him to have a bit of normalcy between training."
"Alright. We're training with Vegeta at noon."
"I'll be over before that, then. Probably eleven-ish. I'll just be real quick, and then you guys can meet up with Vegeta. I won't make you late, I promise. I know Vegeta is a real dick about making him wait longer than five nanoseconds."
"That's an understatement," Piccolo said bluntly.
Bulma laughed. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. I have to get Trunks in bed now. Or at least attempt. That is the operative word here. Goodnight, Piccolo."
"Goodnight."
He hung up the phone then and quietly made his way back into the bedroom. Gohan was out like a light. Getting that emotional normally wiped him out, and he was sure that him showing off his transformation and nearly losing control of it only added to his exhaustion. He sighed.
Please, please don't let me lose him.