Piccolo's eyes opened, when a loud noise echoed in the air. He huffed, as his concentration was broken, yet again. He was thankful that it wasn't the brat crying, this time. The noise was coming from outside. It sounded like the rumbling of an engine. His brows furrowed. He thought no one here had a car.
There was a loud bang in the kitchen, and Chi-Chi was running towards the door, soon after. Piccolo tilted his head to the side, to try and see what the commotion was about.
He wasn't prepared for what he saw. Stepping out of the car was the biggest man he had ever seen – both tall and stout. He had a cap on his head with cow horns on each side, making him look even taller. Contrasting that was his outfit: a pink polo and a pair of slacks with suspenders. He was confused: he hadn't seen something that mismatched, before.
"Dad! You're back!" Chi-Chi ran up to him and hugged him around his waist.
He picked her up, and hugged her tightly. "How's my little princess?"
Piccolo's eyes widened. That giant was Chi-Chi's father? He looked down, as his mind tried to piece together how that worked.
"I wasn't expecting you, so soon," she said. "What brings you around here?"
Chi-Chi's father reached into the back of his car and pulled out a few wrapped boxes. "I brought some presents for Gohan! I was gonna wait until his birthday, but I thought I should give them, now!"
"Oh, that's just wonderful! I can't wait for him to see it!"
He stomped loudly over to the house. "Hello! Gohan! I'm here! Where's my little grandson?" He tried to go inside, but he and the presents got stuck in the door. He tripped as he managed to push himself inside, and he landed on his face.
Chi-Chi laughed. "Oh, dad." She ran next to him, to help him get up. "Gohan's not here, right now – He's out with Goku. They should be back later." She managed to pull him on his feet, without exerting much effort, making Piccolo do a double take. "You can stay for dinner, if you'd like. You can give everything to Gohan, then."
He sighed, in disappointment. "Oh well. What's a few more hours, am I right?"
"Do you want tea, or anything?"
"You always know what makes your old man happy, don't you?"
She giggled. "I'll get right on it, dad. Make yourself comfortable in the living room, while you wait."
Piccolo closed his eyes and lurched forward. Dammit, he was hoping he could get out of meeting him.
Chi-Chi's dad carried the presents into the parlor and sat them on the coffee table. He took a seat in the reclining chair, and picked up a book sitting on the end table. He laughed to himself, as he flipped through it.
Chi-Chi was back in no time, holding a small tray of drinks. She handed her father a mug of tea. "There you go: one cup of white tea."
He smiled and gave her an approving nod. "Thank you, princess."
She sat a small cup on the table in front of an empty chair, and, to Piccolo's surprise, a glass of water in front of him. "I figured all of that meditating must have made you a little parched."
This got her dad's attention, and he looked up from his book. He readjusted his glasses, when he saw Piccolo sitting on the couch. "Why, hello there, stranger! Who's this?"
"Oh, right. This is Piccolo: he's been staying with us for a while. He's one of Goku's friends."
"Really?" A grin formed on his face, as he stood up from his seat. "Well, any friend of Goku's is a friend of mine!" He extended his hand towards him.
Piccolo stared at it for a few seconds, not knowing what to do. He knew what this called for; he was just a little caught off guard. However, he quickly got his bearings. He stood up and firmly shook his hand. From the corner of his eye, he saw Chi-Chi smiling.
"It's a pleasure to meet you!"
He only nodded, in response.
Chi-Chi and her father caught up on missed time, for the following hour. To his surprise, Piccolo wasn't tuning out the conversation. He never spoke up, but he was listening. He didn't find it that boring. Time seemed to go by quickly, and he couldn't explain why.
"So, what about you, Piccolo," Chi-Chi's father interjected. "What brought you here?"
He glanced at Chi-Chi. In one look, she made it clear that she wasn't going to speak for him. "Goku was quite insistent that I live with him."
He laughed. "That certainly sounds like our Goku! Say, you look at bit like Kami – are you two related, by chance?"
"In a way." He had no desire going into detail about it.
"Really? I didn't think he had any relatives, but he always keeps things to himself. Well, Piccolo, you certainly got a nice place to stay, for sure! I trust that my daughter's been a good host to you."
He looked up at Chi-Chi. "She has."
Her eyes widened, in surprise, and she blinked. He wasn't lying, either. There hadn't been any incidents, since he moved back in. Especially since the day at the market, he had begun to appreciate how accommodating she had been, and how much trust that entailed. He might have started getting used to her controlling tendencies.
"Just like I always taught you! I didn't expect anything less from you, princess."
She blushed, and looked down, bashfully. "Dad, please…"
The corner of Piccolo's mouth quirked up, for a moment. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but that was kind of cute. He quickly pouted and shook his head. What the hell was he thinking? He never found something 'cute'.
The front door swung open. He breathed out a sigh of relief – at least he didn't have to ponder that thought any longer.
"Hey, there's my son-in-law!" Chi-Chi's father stood up, and stomped over to Goku, who was holding Gohan. "And he's got my grandson!"
"Oh, Ox King! What are you doing here," Goku questioned, as he walked inside.
Piccolo's brows furrowed, and he looked back. Either he heard something wrong, or Goku just called Chi-Chi's father 'Ox King'. He knew that name – it was a legend that he had heard, when Kami was taught under Earth's guardian. Supposedly, the Ox King was a giant that pillaged and stole from others and lived atop a fiery mountain. The name was only a moniker, upheld by a line of men for generation after generation.
Clearly, that tradition was dead.
Ox King took Gohan, and held him in the air. Gohan laughed and smiled, as he was spun around in a circle. "You're getting strong, already! He's taking after his old man, I see. He might grow up to be a great fighter!"
"I hope not," Chi-Chi said. "I won't have him fighting like some brainless delinquent: he'll be a well-educated young man in no time."
Ox King blinked, and looked down at the presents. "Well, now I understand why you told me to buy all those books."
Goku, Chi-Chi, and Ox King all laughed at his comments, while Gohan laughed and clapped along. Piccolo was only wondering why she was so neurotic over education this early: the brat couldn't even talk, yet.
The family had dinner together, and then Gohan got to open his presents. He was surprisingly delighted by all of the books, actually flipping through the pages and running his hands over the text. Chi-Chi held him in her lap as he 'read', with a smile on her face. He received a few new outfits and a couple stuffed animals, as well. He took a liking to the stuffed monkey, in particular, hugging it tightly for the rest of the night. This confirmed Piccolo's suspicion: Gohan was spoiled rotten. He dreaded thinking about what a brat he might become, when he got older.
Ox King stood up, looking at his watch. "Well, I better get going: it's a long drive back to Frying Pan."
"Have a safe drive, dad. Come back, soon." Chi-Chi hugged her father with one arm, holding Gohan in the other.
He patted his grandson's head. "Be good, my little monkey." Gohan shut his eyes and smiled, at the small gesture.
Goku waved. "Bye, Ox King! See you, later."
Right as Goku spoke, Ox King's eyes widened. "Right! I can't believe I almost forgot!"
Chi-Chi looked concerned. "What's wrong, dad?"
"Oh, it's not bad. I just almost forgot that I brought something for you, Goku!"
"Huh? Really?"
Ox King reached into his pockets, sticking his tongue out. When he couldn't find anything, he switched to the opposite pocket. Finally, he smiled, and pulled out a small pouch. He handed it to Goku. "I found that in my castle, the other night: I thought you might need it more than I do."
Goku looked down at the pouch in his hands, and lifted it up. He tilted his head to the side, trying to figure out what it was. Piccolo leaned in slightly, looking over his shoulder. He was a touch intrigued, as well.
Goku opened the pouch, and emptied its contents into his hand.
Piccolo's heart dropped. Sitting in the palm of his hand was none other than a Dragon Ball.
"WHAT?! A Dragon Ball," Goku exclaimed. He turned it over in his hands, inspecting it. It looked authentic, to be sure. It had that familiar orange hue and golden sheen on the outside. And engraved on one side of it were two stars. He turned over his shoulder, to look at Piccolo. "Have they recharged already?"
Piccolo thought, for a moment. When he did the math in his head, it added up: a year ago, he was fighting Frieza on Planet Vegeta. He nodded, with an affirmative grunt.
Goku went up to Ox King, to thank him for the Dragon Ball. As he did, Piccolo's thoughts came to a screeching halt. A horrifying realization had come over him.
It had been a year since the fight with Frieza.
Since he had gained freedom.
His mind completely shut down, and that was all he could think about. He had been free for an entire year, and he never even noticed. It was harder for him to figure out what was scarier: that it happened only a year ago, or that an entire year had passed without him noticing. And he had spent most of that year sulking on the Lookout. His head was reeling, and he suddenly felt a need to sit down.
He was pulled from his crisis, when someone put their hand on his shoulder. It was Ox King. "It was nice meeting you, Piccolo. I hope you end up sticking around!" Without waiting for a response, he patted his shoulder twice, before leaving the house.
Goku and Chi-Chi followed him out, waving goodbye from the doorway. Ox King waved once more, as he got into his car. Then, he quickly sped off down the dirt road, leaving a train of dust in his path.
Chi-Chi sighed, as she shifted Gohan in her arms. "We never see him, enough. When the weather gets cold, I say we go and visit him, for a change."
"Sounds good to me!" Goku walked up to Piccolo. "Hey, you feeling okay, Piccolo? You started acting funny, after Ox King gave me the Dragon Ball."
He huffed, as he glanced at the orange ball. "I don't exactly have a good history, with those things."
His joyful expression faded into a more somber one. "Oh."
"And before you ask: I don't particularly want to talk about it." Piccolo looked down. It was not just the bad memories: he did not want them to know his past, either. They would run him out in no time. He shook his head, and turned around. His freedom might as well have been another prison.
"Kami told me the same thing," Goku said. "He almost stopped making the Dragon Balls because he didn't want them to be misused. I don't understand how people can do that: have all that power and use it to hurt someone."
At least Kami understood that. He had seen it first hand: power corrupts. Even if someone weren't as malicious and diabolical as Frieza, it never took long for all that power to go to their heads. Out of the hundreds of masters he had, Bulma was the only one that didn't go down that path. "Consider yourself lucky that you don't," he said.
There was a long silence.
"Well, if you have all those bad memories, maybe we can help make you some good ones!"
He looked back at Goku. "What are you on about?"
Goku tossed the Dragon Ball into the air, casually. "Well, we'll be looking for the other Dragon Balls, soon: you can come with! We could use the extra help."
"We," Chi-Chi said. She came up next to him. "Goku, I can't go: what about Gohan?"
"He can come along, too! You said you wanted all of us to go out together: how about looking for the Dragon Balls!"
She looked downwards. "I don't know…"
"Oh, come on! The last time we looked for them was so much fun. We should bring Gohan into it, too. Besides, you never leave the house. You shouldn't be stuck here, all day."
She looked up at him, as he was giving her a big grin. She sighed. "Oh, I don't see why not."
He looked positively giddy over her agreement. He turned back to Piccolo. "You're living here, too: you shouldn't be here all by yourself, while we're out looking for the Dragon Balls. You should come with!"
Piccolo pursed his lips. Maybe this would ease some of the bad memories. It was becoming abundantly clear to him that sitting around and meditating all day was not going to lessen his pain.
"Fine."
Goku jumped in the air. "Woohoo! We're all going out to find the Dragon Balls, together! When do you want to leave?"
Chi-Chi chimed in. "I say tomorrow morning: the sooner we find what we need, the better."
"Yeah! We can jump right in! Cool!"
"I'll put Gohan to bed, now, so he'll be less of a fuss, in the morning. Good night, you two."
"Night, Chi-Chi!" He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, as she went out of the room. She covered her cheek, as they turned a bright red.
Goku put his hand on Piccolo's shoulder. "Thanks for agreeing to this. I promise that you won't regret it."
Somehow, Piccolo knew he would make good on his promise.
