Hey there!
Previously on A Half-breed's Life:
His father's screams rang through his head. Raditz's laugh as he tortured his father. Vegeta's last words before he left…
"If he can't survive, he's not worth our time."
Fine. They wanted him to toughen up? He would toughen up. Those specialists wanted him to work and train? Fine. He would do just that and he would become the strongest warrior in this camp and once those three saiyans returned…
Gohan narrowed his eyes at the wall in front of him as he leaned on the sink.
"I'm going to kill them."
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"Half-breed." Vegeta stated, looking up from the couch.
"Yeah?" Gohan walked closer, expecting an assignment.
"We decided to let you go to school, if you still want to." Vegeta said. "Raditz will take you there this afternoon so you can sort things out with the school. You're not the only teen soldier. They can make some arrangements. You'll do most of your studying at home but you'll get to make the tests and follow some classes at the school."
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"You'll go to school and come straight back here. Don't talk to anyone. Don't even make eye-contact with anyone." Vegeta instructed the young warrior. "If you get in any sort of trouble I will personally give your tail a nice and hard massage."
Gohan glared at him. "I can walk for ten minutes without getting in trouble."
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"Saiyan soldier! Stop!"
Gohan froze. He made a mental prayer to some god out there that might be listening before turning around. Raditz told him that Captain Ginyu was technically Gohan's superior, which meant that Gohan had to obey any orders coming from the man. The same went for the other soldiers of the Ginyu Force. They were an elite team and Gohan was just a regular soldier of yet another regular squad.
"Fancy seeing you here." Ginyu's eyes ran up and down Gohan's attire as he spoke. "I'm off to have a training session with my comrades. Why don't you join me?"
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"You're a saiyan, aren't you?"
Gohan looked up when she spoke. She seemed older than he was. Her violet eyes were studying him curiously. She placed a cap on her head, covering her short lemon hair. "You seem young to be a soldier." She leaned back on her seat, her eyes running up and down his body shamelessly.
The half-saiyan shifted so he could look at her easier. "That's none of your business." He said coldly. The idea of making friends was tempting but Gohan was not entirely sure if he wanted to stay here. Honestly, he did not need friends holding him back.
His cold response got the exact opposite result that he expected or wanted. Her eyes lit up and she leaned forwards, placing her lower arms on her table. "Everything that goes on in this school is my business, little saiyan. You might as well tell me what I want to know. It will save you and me a lot of trouble."
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"You like being a soldier." Vegeta growled at him. Gohan gave him a confused expression. "You don't mind spending time away from your studies to train. You get all the freedom in the world to interact with children of your age." While Vegeta spoke Gohan realized what was going on. Vegeta was supplying him with answers he could give to the doctor. He did not want Gohan to tell the doctor the truth but he expected Gohan to play along with this lie. "We don't physically hurt you. We've never laid a finger on you outside of the training sessions. We don't force you to do anything you don't want to do. You joined the army because you had nowhere else to go and we offered to take you in out of the goodness of our hearts."
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The doctor held Gohan's gaze. "My practice was created so we could do something against the exploitation of children." He explained. "Children are often forced to work in these armies because they're easily tamed and because of their young age they can work for the army longer than the regular soldier. You don't have to be afraid of your comrades. They can't hurt you. If there is anything fishy going on in your team, you can tell me and I'll get you out of there. You can stay here until we found you a place where you can be safe. We can have you on another planet tomorrow. They'll never find you."
"Be honest, okay?" The doctor smiled at the young warrior and Gohan returned his smile, although somewhat hesitant. "So, Gohan, did you join the army because you really wanted to?"
Thanks for the reviews!
Let's move on!
Chapter 18. In Sickness and in Health.
"What are we going to do now?" Gohan asked as he looked up at Vegeta.
"We're going to get something to eat." Vegeta responded, looking at his comrades for approval. Raditz and Nappa grinned cheerfully. They hadn't gone out for lunch in a very long time.
"Really? Where?" Gohan asked curiously. His attention was drawn by something glittery behind one of the windows of a store. "Oh! Look at that!" The half-saiyan ran away to take a closer look at the glittery machine.
"Stay in sight!" Vegeta called after him. Gohan ignored him and stopped in front of the shop. He wasn't the only child there. The half-saiyan easily disappeared in the group of children of different sizes and colours. Vegeta gave an annoyed sound. "I can't wait until he is old enough to walk next to us without running off every time."
Once they reached the café, Raditz turned and cupped his hands in front of his mouth. "Half-breed! Get your tail over here right now!"
Gohan looked over his shoulder before running closer. He smiled innocently. "I love being a soldier." He stated in a sickly sweet voice. "And I loooooove going out with my beloved comrades."
Vegeta rolled his eyes. They just came back from a visit to a children's doctor. The doctor was part of an organization that was opposed to child soldiers. Therefore, the doctor was more than willing to take the half-saiyan away from Vegeta's squad. Before their visit to the doctor, Vegeta took Gohan apart and supplied the half-saiyan with answers to give to the doctor. Lies that would convince the doctor that Gohan joined the saiyan squad willingly because he had nowhere else to go.
"Being sassy, are we?" Vegeta stated as he placed his hands on his hips and leaned over the half-saiyan. "We'll see how sassy you are when I put your tail in a bow."
Gohan didn't shrink back as he would have done just a couple of months ago. He was used to Vegeta's intimidation techniques by now and no longer affected by them. "Okay. Okay. I got it."
"Good." Vegeta turned away from him and walked to the doors of the shop, which automatically opened. Once inside, Gohan gave a curious look at the interior of the café. He hadn't been here before. The place seemed somewhat more inviting than the regular places they went to. He was used to breweries packed with strong bulky soldiers chucking down one beer after the other and screaming and laughing loudly.
A gentle music was playing in this cafe. A mother was sitting at a table with her children. A group of teenagers was doing their homework in the corner. Well, their books were open but none of them was actually looking at their books. They were too occupied talking to each other.
"Gohan!" A female voice said cheerfully before they even had the chance to sit down. The half-saiyan looked around and noticed the group of teenagers was looking in their direction. He recognized the girl he met at school yesterday. "Come here!" She waved him over.
The half-saiyan looked at his comrades. They all seemed as surprised as he that he was recognized by someone other than their own friends. Vegeta shrugged and waved him away.
Gohan headed to the group. "Hi." He said hesitantly.
"Hey there, kiddo." The girl he met yesterday grinned at him. Her violet eyes moved to the three saiyans sitting at another table. "Are those your comrades?" She guessed.
Gohan nodded in response and one of the other girls made a face. "You poor thing. They look horrifying." She stated as she looked up at him.
The half-saiyan was not entirely sure how to respond to this. When he first saw the saiyans at age four he was scared of them too so he could understand the girl's opinion. However, he'd been in touch with scarier people and they did not all look as scary as his comrades. Looks could be deceiving. "It's the inside that counts." He stated, immediately regretting his words. Did he just defend his comrades?
"That it does." The girl he met yesterday said, smiling.
"You two met at your school, right Biku?" One of the girls stated.
"Biku." Gohan repeated, looking at her. "That's your name."
Biku shrugged. "You got me." She said as she looked up at him. "You weren't at school today."
"No time." Gohan looked over his shoulder at his comrades. "I have to get back to my comrades. I'll see you next time."
"Next time." Biku nodded. The others greeted the half-saiyan when Gohan said goodbye to them and they fell silent when he walked away.
"I met her at school." Gohan explained once he was back with his comrades. The young warrior sat down. A silence between the four comrades made it possible for them to hear the whispered conversation between the girls.
"He's cute." One of the girls whispered to the others.
"You should invite him to a party sometimes." Another suggested.
Gohan lowered his gaze to the table, feeling awfully uncomfortable. He opened his mouth to talk to the others so they wouldn't have to listen to the conversation anymore but his three comrades simultaneously placed their finger in front of their mouths to sign at the half-saiyan that he had to be quiet. Gohan blew out a sigh and leaned back on his seat, giving up.
"I don't know though." The conversation continued. "Look at those guys. He's gonna end up looking like them." Another girl said.
"Exactly." Gohan recognized Biku's voice this time. "Imagine combining those brawns with that gentle smile. Sigh." She stated dreamily.
Gohan had had enough. "We're done." He stated to them. They were enjoying this a little too much. "I am hungry. I want to order."
"Eleven years old and already popular with the ladies." Raditz said in a teasing manner.
"As long as you keep combining your brawns with your gentle smile." Nappa said loudly.
Gohan gave the man a tensed glare. "Keep it down, will you?" He stated. Ugh, why did his comrades have such loud voices?
"You can order anything you want, kid." Vegeta said, changing the subject. Gohan looked at his comrade and noticed that Vegeta was looking at him from above the edge of the menu.
The half-saiyan looked at his older comrade before grabbing his own menu and looking at it. "Can I have ice cream?" He asked, his eyes gleaming with pleasure.
"Sure." Vegeta responded. "You can get the order yourself. I want lemon juice." He stated as he closed the menu and put it down. Raditz ordered a hot drink and Nappa offered to come along with the half-saiyan. The two eventually returned. Gohan brought the hot drink for Raditz. The half-saiyan chose for ice cream in several different fruity flavours. The creamy chocolate sauce drizzled down onto the glass edge of Gohan's ice cream cup and the half-saiyan licked his lips. Nappa watched Gohan choose his flavours and told the man behind the counter to make him the same ice cream.
Gohan looked up at Vegeta. "Thank you for the ice cream." He stated, grinning widely.
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Don't get carried away. I need to keep you fed or you're useless during the training sessions." He snarled in response.
Gohan did not seem affected by the older warrior's harsh response. He just nodded and started eating.
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Gohan studied the digital book in his lap. He considered these digital books very handy. They were a lot like the regular books he used to read back in camp. There they still had books with paper pages. In the digital books the pages were two screens on the inside of the outer cover. It looked like a book from the outside but on the inside it was more like a computer with two screens.
The young warrior tapped on the second screen to flip to the next page. He used a special digital highlighter pen to highlight certain sentences he considered important. He had to read the entire chapter this week in order to keep up with the normal students.
It was his first official school assignment and he loved it. The half-saiyan didn't notice the approaching saiyans at first. It was only when Vegeta and Nappa actually sat down on either side of him when he realized something was happening.
Vegeta grabbed the book from Gohan's hands and placed it on the table. Gohan took a deep breath in order to stay calm. "Do you have a job for me, Vegeta?" Gohan asked, glancing sideways.
"No. We just want to talk." Vegeta responded.
"You can't talk to me on your own?" Gohan raised an eyebrow as he looked from Vegeta to Nappa and back.
"This requires a little more manpower." Vegeta said while Raditz appeared behind the couch, right behind the half-saiyan. His uncle smiled innocently when Gohan looked up at him.
"Right." The half-saiyan tensed up entirely. "I'll just go sit over there." He attempted to get up but Raditz placed his hands on the boy's shoulders and pushed him back down on the couch. "Never mind." Gohan muttered as he grabbed his own hands and placed them on his lap.
"How high is my power level right now?" Vegeta asked when Gohan looked at him.
Gohan shrugged. "I have no idea. My scouter is in my room."
"Hmmm." Vegeta raised his hand and pulled back a fist. Gohan widened his eyes and he briefly powered up in order to catch Vegeta's punch. The young warrior frowned at the smirking man. Vegeta's scouter beeped and the man pulled back, taking off he scouter. "How did you know the exact amount of power you needed to block my punch?"
"I didn't. I guessed." Gohan responded, frowning. "You tend the punch on the same level."
Vegeta shook his head. "No. No. No. I was on a very low level. You powered up just enough to match my level in order to block my attack properly."
"You're reaching."
"You see, I've been paying attention to you lately. A while ago you slipped up. You weren't wearing a scouter but you could still prevent Raditz from sneaking up on you. You knew he was there." Vegeta stated. "I noticed that you always power up just enough to match our powers. Remember the times I told you not to wear a scouter during the training sessions? Even then you managed to know exactly what my power level was. I tried it out on several levels and you adjusted easily."
"Aside from the annoying note that you tend not to go all-out when you don't have to, I cannot help but think you are keeping something from us."
Gohan lowered his gaze down to his lap. The half-saiyan nervously fumbled with his tail, silent. The three saiyans exchanged glances. Vegeta leaned forwards so he could look at the half-saiyan. "What? No comment?"
Gohan swallowed but the feeling of a lump in his throat wouldn't disappear. "I know I'm in trouble. There's no way I can talk myself out of this." He responded.
"Yet another thing you kept from us." Vegeta leaned back on the couch, happy with the result. "Why?"
Gohan shrugged. "I realized you couldn't do it so I decided it would only work to my advantage when I would try to…"
"Escape." Vegeta finished when Gohan's sentence trailed off. The man frowned when Gohan nodded slowly. Vegeta was not happy with Gohan's ongoing wish to be freed from this world. He hoped the young warrior would give up after a couple of months but Gohan was holding on to his hopeless dreams and it was getting on Vegeta's nerves.
"Well, you're to going teach your dear comrades how to do it." Vegeta stated.
Gohan looked at him, a smile crawling on his face. "You can forget about that."
Vegeta narrowed his eyes and he grabbed Gohan's ear. The man almost wrenched the half-saiyan's ear off his head. "What did you say?" He asked, ignoring Gohan's groans. The half-saiyan pressed his lips on each other, making soft whimper sounds in response to Vegeta's actions. The young warrior tried to grab Vegeta's hand to peel his fingers off the boy's ear, but Vegeta only tightened his grip. Gohan lowered his hands in response.
"So?" Vegeta raised an eyebrow. The half-saiyan showed a stubborn expression as he kept silent. Vegeta growled before looking up at his comrade. "Raditz. Nappa."
Before Gohan knew it, Raditz was grabbing his arms, locking them on his back, while Nappa grabbed his tail. The young warrior could only mentally prepare his mind for the pain Nappa was going to inflict on him. The dire pain shot through his entire body, making his limbs heavy. A headache formed in his head and white flashes of pain made his body shake slightly.
Nappa squeezed Gohan's tail until he could feel the muscles winch. The man glanced down. Gohan was making a pained face, his eyes squeezed shut and his mouth a tight line. Nappa looked up at Vegeta.
The saiyan prince thought for a moment. "Alright." He stated. The man waved Nappa away and the man released Gohan's tail. The half-saiyan opened his eyes when the pain stopped. "I know. We have only been treating you like an adult but maybe it's time we started treating you like a child."
Vegeta grabbed Gohan by the back of his neck and pulled him closer, forcing the half-saiyan to turn and lean on Vegeta's legs with his torso. Vegeta powered up when Gohan resisted but despite Gohan's struggles, the man managed to push the young warrior down across his lap. "I'll spank you like the baby that you are."
Gohan shook his head. "No! Stop!" He tried to place his hands on Vegeta's upper leg and push up but his hands slipped off the man's leg when Vegeta pushed him down. "I'll do it!"
Vegeta grabbed Gohan by the back of his head and pulled the boy's head back, forcing the young warrior to awkwardly arch his back. "What was that, sweetheart?"
Gohan clenched his fists. "I'll teach you how to read power levels." He responded, frowning.
"Do you promise?" Vegeta didn't care for promises but after spending a couple of months with the half-saiyan he came to realize that once Gohan promised something, he kept his promise.
"I promise." Gohan responded.
"Good." Vegeta pushed Gohan's head back down. "You see, we can be best friends as long as you continue to be so compliant." He stated while he roughly tousled the hair on the back of Gohan's head. The half-saiyan let him do this, hoping the man would be done with him soon.
Vegeta released the half-saiyan and Gohan quickly got up. The young warrior snatched his book from the table and walked to his room.
Raditz opened his mouth to call the half-saiyan back but he reconsidered and decided to follow the half-saiyan. When he reached their bedroom, he sent the young warrior a disarming smile. "Hey kiddo." He stated.
Gohan took off his armour and didn't respond. Raditz stepped closer. "Nephew. Vegeta might take it a bit far sometimes." He started hesitantly. He knew they had to be strict whenever Gohan refused to follow their orders. However, he didn't understand why they couldn't just ask Gohan if he could teach them how to read power levels rather than force the half-saiyan to do so. He figured that Gohan might actually want to help them out if they showed him how grateful they would be or if they gave him something in return. However, it wasn't for him to decide. Vegeta was in charge so Vegeta decided what happened.
The half-saiyan adjusted his pyjama pants before looking up to his uncle. "Do you want me to do something for you?" He asked, crossing his arms over his bare chest.
Raditz shrugged. "Not really."
"Okay. Please leave me alone then." Gohan responded before moving to the doorway. Raditz watched as the half-saiyan walked to the bathroom. The full-blooded saiyan heard the sound of a toothbrush and realized Gohan was planning on going to bed right away. The third-class warrior took a deep breath and decided to do the same thing. It wasn't like they were going to do anything else today and he decided he could talk to Gohan once the half-saiyan was in bed.
However, when Raditz finished his work and got ready for bed, he realized that Gohan was already asleep. The man got in his bed and waited for a moment to find out whether Gohan was actually asleep or not. The boy's breathing pattern didn't change though, so Raditz gave up and lied down as well. They would get a chance to talk in the morning. If Raditz didn't forget that is…
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The following day, Gohan was curled up with his book yet again. He hadn't had any time to focus on it today. They had a ten-hour training session and after a brief shower and clean up, Gohan had to help Nappa prepare something to eat for them. Now, he finally had some time to study. The half-saiyan coughed before tapping on the second page again.
"Half-breed." Vegeta said, glancing sideways from his position on the chair. "Go grab me something to drink."
"Me too." Raditz added.
Gohan placed his book and pen on the table and walked to the kitchen. After bringing his comrades their drinks he sat down and grabbed his digital book again. He managed to read an entire page when a tail curled around his torso and lifted him in the air.
The half-saiyan managed to hold on to his book and pen. "Hey!" He complained.
Nappa dropped the half-saiyan on the ground before sitting down on the couch where Gohan was sitting before. Gohan managed to land on his feet and he watched as Nappa lied down on the couch. "That's my spot!" Gohan snarled at him.
"Tell that to someone who cares." Nappa growled before closing his eyes.
Gohan looked to Raditz and Vegeta for help but the two ignored the half-saiyan. Gohan made an annoyed sound before he turned to the windows. He crawled on the windowsill and opened his book again. The half-saiyan coughed a few times and rubbed over his forehead. His headache was getting worse and worse.
"Half-breed. Grab me a snack." Nappa ordered.
"Go get it yourself." Gohan snarled in response.
"And I'll break your legs while I'm at it."
Gohan sent the older warrior a glare. "Get your own damn snack, Nappa."
"Half-breed." Vegeta stated in a dangerously calm voice.
The young warrior threw his digital book down on the windowsill, got up and stalked to the kitchen. He grabbed the chocolate snack he always had to fetch for Nappa before walking back and throwing it on the couch.
"Finally." Nappa stated as he grabbed the snack.
Vegeta looked up now. "Seeing as you have so much free time to bicker with Nappa you might as well go and clean the windows. Inside and out."
"Oh come on, Vegeta." Gohan turned to the man who was sitting on one of the chairs. "I need to study."
"No, half-breed, what you need to do is follow orders." Vegeta closed his laptop. "I told you I was not going to let you take time off from your chores to study. You will have to find time on your own."
"I am. This is my spare time, just like it is yours." Gohan responded, frowning. "I don't understand why I have to do all these chores. Why can't you clean your own rooms? Why do I always have to clean the bathroom and the windows and who did the cooking before I arrived?"
Vegeta leaned back and crossed his arms over each other. "Are you done?" He asked. Before Gohan could respond the man continued. "Half-breed, let me tell you something. When I decided to allow a pathetic ball of filthy hybrid dirt to live I wasn't doing that for the greater good and certainly not out of the goodness of my heart." Vegeta noticed the angry expression on Gohan's face but he did not care. "I only thought of how convenient it would be to own a little pet who can serve me. The only reason why you're alive is so you can make our lives easier and you do that by doing everything we say. No matter how many privileges you think you gain, you're nothing more than a slave in our eyes." The man disdainfully eyed the half-saiyan. "Don't forget what you are, boy. Hybrids are an abomination and an insult to every single race in the universe. Bastards like you belong on their knees, scrubbing the floor."
Gohan's mouth tightened into a thin line. "You're like a broken record, you know that?" The half-saiyan placed his hands on his hips and he leaned forwards, closer to Vegeta's face. "One day, this filthy hybrid is going to torture you to death and I'll enjoy every moment of…"
Gohan let out a startled groan when Vegeta's tail smacked against his cheek. The young warrior stepped back and turned to look at the older saiyan. "Bad hybrid." Vegeta growled softly. "Let's try that again, shall we? Half-breed, go clean the windows."
"Yes, sir." Gohan stated softly before turning away from the man. The young warrior touched his cheek, frowning when he saw his now red fingers. Just a normal day in the life of Gohan.
As the young warrior carried the cleaning supplies to the nearest window he was suddenly hit by a wave of nausea. Gohan placed the bucket on the ground and rubbed his stomach, wondering whether he was going to throw up or not. The half-saiyan took a few careful breaths. False alarm.
"What's the hold up, brat?" Vegeta snarled.
Gohan quickly glanced in Vegeta's direction before grabbing the bucket and walking to the window. There he flew up to start cleaning but another wave of nausea hit him and this time he knew it was for real. The half-saiyan ran to the bathroom and draped his body over the toilet just in time to throw up the contents of his stomach.
The three saiyans gave disturbed glances in the direction of the bathroom. Vegeta got up and stalked into the bathroom. He grabbed Gohan by the hair on the back of his head and forcefully made the half-saiyan look up. "Did you secretly drink from our alcohol stash?"
"No." Gohan responded, frowning. He didn't even know they had a secret alcohol stash. That was something to investigate on later date.
"Are you lying to me?"
"I'm…" Gohan's face contorted and Vegeta quickly pushed the young warrior back into the toilet where Gohan threw up again.
The man ignored the sounds coming from the young warrior and walked back to his comrades. Raditz was giving the young warrior worried glances. "What is going on?" The man asked.
"He says he didn't drink any alcohol. I don't think its food poisoning. We haven't eaten anything unusual." Vegeta stated. "Did he sleep at all last night?"
Raditz shrugged. "I don't know. I was asleep. Wait a minute…" The man walked closer to the young warrior and placed a hand on Gohan's forehead. "He's burning up. He's been coughing all day, hasn't he? I think he's sick. The doctor said there was a virus going around, didn't he?"
"He can't be sick." Vegeta snarled in response. "Saiyans don't get sick. Our bodies are genetically programmed to defeat any virus or sickness thrown at us, no matter how vigorous. Saiyans cannot get sick."
"Humans can." Raditz said quietly.
Vegeta held Raditz's gaze for a moment before he groaned. "Humans." He muttered. The man stepped closer and felt Gohan's forehead too. The half-saiyan clicked his tongue and pulled away. "Stop touching me." He snarled at them. This movement earned him a sting of pain in his head and he let out a pitiful groan.
"A hot forehead is a symptom of being sick, isn't it?" Vegeta muttered. "He's been coughing too." The man looked the half-saiyan over. "And the fur on his tail looks disgusting." The man recalled the fact that the tail showed a saiyan's health. If Gohan's tail was a representation of the boy's health right now, the half-saiyan was feeling horrible.
Vegeta growled as he turned away from the half-saiyan. "Get him in his bed." He ordered before moving away from them. The man walked to the kitchen and grabbed a clean bucket. He placed the bucket in the room Gohan and Raditz shared.
Raditz reached out to grab Gohan's arm but the half-saiyan hit his hands away. "Get off me! I don't need your help." Gohan snarled.
The older saiyan stepped back and crossed his arms over each other. "Okay. Get up." He stated, raising an eyebrow at the young warrior.
"Fine." Gohan pushed his body up from the ground. Raditz watched as Gohan's legs shook and gave up, the boy's body slumping to the ground. Gohan let out a sigh when he realized he was kneeling on the ground. Why was he suddenly so tired? Where was all his strength?
Vegeta appeared in the doorway and raised an eyebrow at the full-blooded saiyan. Raditz shrugged. "He doesn't need my help." The uncle stated as a way of explanation.
The saiyan prince rolled his eyes before he turned sideways and leaned against the doorpost with his back, crossing his arms over each other. "Well then. Go ahead, kiddo."
Gohan mustered up enough strength to shoot a glare in Vegeta's direction before placing his hands on the ground and forcing himself to position his feet on the ground steadily. After this he placed his hands on his knees and pushed his body up until he was standing straight. The boy felt a wave of nausea but he pressed his lips together and pushed it back down.
"Are you planning on walking any time soon?" Vegeta asked, sending the half-saiyan a smirk.
Gohan looked up. "Why don't you go fu…" The half-saiyan coughed violently and he crashed down to his knees again. The young warrior could feel his throat hurting with every cough. It felt like there were knives scraping against the flesh inside his throat. A disgusting flavour ran down his tongue.
Vegeta glanced up at Raditz. "Nappa is fetching the doctor. Get him in his bed, give him some vitamins and close the door behind you. I don't want to listen to him coughing all day."
"Okay." Raditz stepped closer and grabbed Gohan's upper arm. Ignoring Gohan's complaints and curses, Raditz dragged the half-saiyan to his room. Gohan forced himself to keep walking even when he stumbled. He could do that much.
Raditz let Gohan land on the bed with his arms. The half-saiyan crawled on the bed and took off his armour and uniform. After this he crawled under the sheets just in time for Raditz to walk closer and hand him a glass of water and a green pill. Gohan gave the pill a wary glance before he looked up at his uncle again.
"Take it." Raditz sat down on his own bed.
Gohan looked up at him and placed the two items on the bedside table. Raditz looked from the table to the half-saiyan. "You don't trust me?"
"Is that a rhetorical question?"
Raditz smirked as he shifted back on his bed so he could lean against the wall. "I have no reason to poison you, kiddo."
"I'll believe that when I see it." Gohan stopped talking when he coughed again. The half-saiyan let out a miserable sigh. This was horrible.
Nappa walked in followed by an old looking doctor. "Medicine on its way." Nappa stated cheerfully. "The patient is right there."
The doctor did not say anything as he approached the half-saiyan. The man retrieved a syringe from his bag and removed it from the sterile package. Gohan saw the needle and sank back in his bed, whimpering softly. Raditz sent the half-saiyan a reassuring smile when the doctor leaned over, sterilized the skin on Gohan's arm and gently pushed the needle closer to his flesh. It was over before he knew it and the doctor pulled away.
"Alright." The doctor's voice was so low it sounded like a growl. "The antidote should work fast and make you feel better in a couple of days. Stay in bed." The doctor's eye fell on the vitamins on the table. "Take extra vitamins and drink a lot of fluids. Good luck." He swiftly turned and left the room.
Gohan raised an eyebrow when he saw Nappa handing the doctor silver coins. The boy looked at Raditz after the doctor left the room. Raditz shrugged. "You're supposed to be in the hospital. The regular doctors wouldn't allow us to keep you here. This doctor is a good friend of ours and he won't be so difficult."
"You don't want to give me proper medical care because…?"
"We don't want you to run for it." Vegeta stepped closer to the bed in which Gohan was lying. The man grabbed the glass and the vitamin pill. "Therefore, we took the necessary precautions to make sure you would stay in this room." The man held out the glass for the half-saiyan to grab. Gohan did not know why he did it but he accepted the glass and the pill. He put the pill in his mouth and gulped down some water to make the pill go down easier. Vegeta took the glass and placed it on the table. "We will do anything to keep you right here with us." Vegeta applied pressure on Gohan's shoulder and Gohan slowly lowered his body onto the bed until he was lying under the covers. After this Vegeta started to tuck the covers so tightly that Gohan was pressed against the mattress.
Nappa and Raditz were studying Gohan from the doorway and Vegeta turned back to Gohan once he reached them. "Now, you need to rest, kiddo. If you need anything, we'll be right outside." Vegeta caught Gohan's eye and smirked when he saw the look of dire realization on Gohan's face. Not for the first time Gohan was made aware of the fact that his comrades still considered him a flight-risk and he had to be treated accordingly. It was them against him.
Vegeta turned and walked out the room, followed by the others. Gohan immediately made sure the covers were not tucked in so tightly anymore. Stupid Vegeta and his symbolic actions. The young warrior sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. He understood their message loud and clear. They would go through great lengths to keep him under their custody. They even denied him a visit to the hospital because they did not want to run the risk of losing sight of him. The young warrior frowned as a new sensation of determination crawled up his spine. He could play that game too. He too was willing to give up everything to get away from those bastards, and, someday, he would be back on planet earth. Someday…
A sudden wave of nausea made Gohan turn sideways and grabbed the bucket just in time to throw up in it. Chills ran down his spine as he placed the bucket back on the ground and sank back in the bed. For now, he would focus on getting better. That was all he could do..
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Next time on a Half-breed's life:
"Good morning, kiddo."
Gohan glanced sideways and showed a surprised expression when he recognized Zarbon. The man knelt down so he could talk to Gohan easier. "Whatcha doing down there?"
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"Let's go." Zarbon got up.
Gohan opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"I'm kidnapping you. They'll be training for a while so you and you might as well go have some fun." Zarbon extended his hand to the half-saiyan. Gohan accepted his hand and was helped up.
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The four saiyans found one room where two regular soldiers were just removing their clothing. Vegeta placed his hands on his hips. "I'll give you five seconds to leave this room before I kill you." He stated.
"This is a communal shower room." One of the soldiers snarled in response. The man was about as tall as Raditz and therefore was not impressed by Vegeta's posture.
However, the other soldier eyed Vegeta and made a scared face. "Man, those are the saiyans." He hissed to his comrade before grabbing his clothes. "I'm out of here."
"The saiyans?" The first soldier gave Vegeta a disdainful glance. "He looks hardly strong enough to be a saiyan from those stories. He's tiny."
Gohan made a face. Did someone just insult Vegeta? Nobody insulted Vegeta and got away with it. Vegeta showed a smirk as he studied the first soldier. "Why don't I show you?"
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