Hey guys. I know that's it's been a while and I'm sorry. I'll try to update more regularly from now on.

Chapter 21. Saiyan Troubles

"Your hair…" Raditz reached forwards as he walked behind Gohan and grabbed hold of the young warrior's hair. Gohan glanced over his shoulder. "It's getting way too long. It's starting to swallow you up."

"I know right." Gohan looked over his shoulder to his hair that was already coming down to his knees. "I might have to cut it soon."

"Why not right now?" Vegeta looked up from the couch. The man was reading through their reports quickly before they would start their first spar of the day.

Gohan turned to face the man. "As if you guys will volunteer to bring me to a haircutter."

Vegeta's expression changed as if he already expected this type of response. "Where do you think you're going to get the money for a haircutter?" He asked in an amused tone.

The half-saiyan's expression fell. "It's not free?" He asked. Vegeta only shook his head while he held Gohan's gaze. "Well I work hard enough for it. I earn my own credit, right? I can pay with my number."

Vegeta's smirk broadened even more. "I didn't know you knew your number these days."

"Vegeta!"

The man shook his head once more. "I'm not going to let you spend any of our credit on your stupid growing hair."

"It's my number and thus it's my credit to spend!" Gohan snarled in response.

"And who do you belong to?"

"I don't belong to anyone." Gohan stomped on the ground with his foot. He was getting sick and tired of people telling him he belonged to anyone but himself. "Besides how am I going to get my hair cut otherwise?"

Vegeta only looked over to Raditz, who nodded and got up. However, the half-saiyan stepped back and shook his head. "I want to look somewhat decent, don't you agree?"

"Why would you want to look decent? You're a warrior, not a fairy princess. That little scrape on your cheek is not going to convince anyone of the fact that you're anything more useful than a slave boy. I'd say you can use all the help you can get when it comes to looking like a proper soldier."

Gohan took a deep breath to stay calm. He wanted to throw an insult right back at the older warrior. Oh man, it was balancing on the tip of his tongue. But he couldn't. Vegeta could change from a horrible man to an even more horrible man in a second and Gohan didn't feel like receiving a beating today.

Raditz placed a chair near the half-saiyan. "Sit down, kiddo." He said before turning around and walking away. Gohan blew out a sigh before he sat down on the chair and waited for Raditz to return. The uncle placed a metal bucket behind Gohan's chair to catch the black strands of hair. "How far should I cut it?" Raditz asked as he grabbed hold of Gohan's hair and moved it up.

"Just cut it all off." Vegeta said without looking up from his notes. "Saves us the trouble of having to cut it for a while."

"What? No!" Gohan snarled as he sat up. "I don't want it short. I've never had it short. I want to keep it that way."

Vegeta didn't even respond as he studied the report in front of him. Raditz placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder to pull him back. "Orders are orders, kiddo." The uncle said innocently.

"I swear to the gods if you cut off all my hair I will wait until you're asleep and cut off all your hair." Gohan snarled as he looked over his shoulder. "And yours is never going to grow back, remember?" The half-saiyan was somewhat satisfied when a look of utter fear appeared on Raditz's face.

"Oh really?" Vegeta looked up now and a smirk appeared on his face. The man placed his laptop aside and got up. "Alright. I'm calling your bluff." He stepped closer to the half-saiyan and held out his hand so Raditz could give the scissors to him. Gohan made a miserable face while Vegeta positioned himself behind the young warrior. "But let me tell you," the man roughly fisted a chunk of Gohan's hair and pulled the young warrior's head backwards, forcing Gohan to look up at him, "before you even touch a strand of my hair you will find your balls severed off your body in an instant, got it?"

The man didn't wait for Gohan to respond but only pushed the boy's head back to its original position. After this he made a tail of Gohan's hair by wrapping his entire hand around it and easily cut right through it. The man casually dropped the mass of hair in the bucket before turning back to the young warrior's now suddenly very short hair. "Now now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" He teased as he continued to cut off the young warrior's hair. "Now we can finally properly see your pretty face."

Gohan didn't respond as he stared down at his lap, his fists clenched tightly until his knuckles turned white.

It wasn't long before Vegeta considered the job done. The man walked around the chair and used his fingers to push Gohan's face up and into the light. "It is interesting that this does suit you as well." Vegeta smirked when Gohan jerked his chin out of Vegeta's hand. "If only I had a mirror right now," Vegeta grabbed Gohan's chin this time but the half-saiyan moved his head away again, "then I could show you how pretty you are right now." The man reached out again but this time Gohan shied away from his hand and that was exactly what Vegeta wanted. The moment the half-saiyan avoided confrontation was the moment he gave up.

Vegeta tossed the scissors in the bucket and walked away. "Clean up everything will you?" The man didn't even look over his shoulder as he headed to his own bedroom, because if he did, he would have seen the look of pure hatred on Gohan's face.

**** DBZ **** DBZ ****

Later that day, Gohan took off his shirt and threw it on the ground. Vegeta threatened to cut off one of Gohan's fingers for every time the half-saiyan did something sloppy like throwing his clothing everywhere. The young warrior was pretty sure this was just a threat. Vegeta was not going to cut off anything any time soon.

"Hey Raditz."

"Hmmm?" Raditz was already curled up in his bed, his eyes closed.

Gohan sat down on Raditz's bed. "Why do you go to the pleasure ship?"

Raditz opened his eyes when Gohan sat down on his bed. The man briefly considered pushing the young warrior off but at the same time he realized the young warrior wanted to talk about something so he decided to tolerate Gohan's presence for now. "We go there to relax."

"Why?"

The adult warrior took a deep breath. "We need some relaxation once in a while. Something to distract us from our jobs." He said thoughtfully.

"Shania told me that she grants the wishes of her costumers." Gohan continued. The young warrior noticed Raditz was now smiling a little. "What was your wish?"

Raditz now looked at Gohan. "My wish?"

Gohan nodded twice. "She said she granted your wish too."

His uncle considered this for a moment before responding. "I just wanted to relax. I don't have any wishes at the moment." The man studied Gohan's expression closely. "Did you tell her your wish?"

Gohan lowered his gaze. "Yes."

"What was it?"

This time Gohan hesitated. Raditz could guess at Gohan's wish. He was pretty sure he knew exactly what Gohan wanted the most. Still, there was a part of him that hoped Gohan was giving up on his dreams of freedom. A part of him wondered if Gohan could actually be a mild form of happy right here with them. Aside from the struggle he had with Vegeta Gohan didn't appear unhappy with them.

"You don't want to tell me?" Raditz pushed gently.

Gohan took a deep breath. "Why do you force me to stay here?" He asked, turning to look at his comrade. "Why can't you people just let me go? It's obvious that I don't fit in here. We always fight. There's never really a normal day and I'm certainly not cut-out for the life of a purger." The half-saiyan shook his head. "Why don't you find someone else? Someone who can do this job better than me."

"We don't want someone else." Raditz responded almost immediately. "We're saiyans so we only allow other saiyans into our team."

"But I don't want to be in your team!"

"Half-breed, let it go." Raditz said gently but somewhat forcefully. "This was decided the moment I laid eyes on you. Saiyans have to stick together, whether you want it or not."

"So it's only because I'm a saiyan."

"One day you will be just as strong as Vegeta." Raditz said as he studied the young warrior. "Maybe even stronger. We know that just as well as you do. If trained well, you can become an exceptional warrior. And an exceptional warrior can help us earn a lot of credit."

"And eventually help you defeat Frieza, right?" Gohan looked sideways just in time to catch the somewhat guilty look on Raditz's face before the man quickly concealed it with a neutral glance. "I know why you people like me so much. I overheard Crimon and Headmaster talking when they thought I was knocked out. I have anger attacks. Moments in which I get so angry that my power multiplies several times and I manage to hit even the strongest of oponents." Gohan turned to look at the doorway, his gaze somewhat distant. "I don't remember much of it afterwards. It's usually a haze of events that seem more like a distant dream than a real memory."

"I can see the potential in my anger attacks. You train me until I'm at my strongest, find the right time and space, put me in front of Frieza and make sure I go ballistic." Gohan placed his hands behind him on the bed and leaned back. "There's just one thing I don't understand." The young warrior glanced sideways. "What makes you assume that I want to risk my life for you people?" Gohan tilted his head sideways as he studied his uncle. "What will stop me from turning the tables on you and attacking you?"

Raditz shrugged once. "We'll just have to take that chance." He deadpanned. "Nephew, we won't always be like this. Once you start to behave we will give you more rights. Besides, we let you go out now, don't we? You can go to that school. You went out with that girl and her friends yesterday."

Gohan had to admit that this was true but only because Biku practically picked him up. She came by yesterday, knocking on the door and blatantly asking Vegeta if Gohan could come out and play. His comrades were thoroughly amused by her guts and they allowed the half-saiyan to go with her. Biku took him to a bar where most of the students of their class were hanging out at that time and Gohan had one of the best evenings of his life.

"But… After I help you guys defeat Frieza, you won't have a use for me anymore, right?" Gohan said slowly.

Raditz hesitated before responding: "We won't need your help anymore, I guess."

"So you can let me go home then." Gohan continued. "If I help you defeat Frieza you can let me go afterwards."

"I… don't think it works that way, kiddo." Raditz said slowly. He was obviously uncomfortable.

"Why not?"

"Just imagine knowing that there is a stronger warrior in the universe. Would you let them go off into the sunset so they could possibly train and then come back someday to kill you?" Raditz provided. "Wouldn't you want to keep an eye on them? Something about keeping your friends close and your possible enemies closer."

Gohan stared at Raditz while his thoughts raced through his head in all directions. He spent the entire day trying to find some way to justify staying with his comrades. The prospect that they might let him go after defeating Frieza made him wonder if he could stay with his comrades, train hard until he was strong enough to do so and then go back to Earth. However, he now realized that freedom would not be achieved that easily.

"So… You can't let me go now because I'm too weak and you won't let me go when I'm older because I might get too strong?" Gohan concluded, feeling heavier than he felt in a long time.

"That's about the gist of it." Raditz pressed his lips together when he noticed the look of utter disappointment on Gohan's face. The man reached out and placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder. "It's time for you to go to bed. It's been a long day and we have to get up early tomorrow."

"Right." Gohan got up and walked to his bed. The young warrior sat down and reached back to get the elastic out of his hair. Gohan widened his eyes when his hands grabbed nothing but air and he realized that he had short hair now. The half-saiyan was used to getting the elastic out of his hair every evening before going to bed so his movement had been totally automatic.

Raditz watched as Gohan showed a somewhat lost expression while he lowered his arms back down. "For what it's worth," Raditz started, "it looks fine on you."

Gohan met his gaze. "Thanks." He muttered before he crawled under the sheets and lied down. "I honestly don't really care what I look like. I just needed to…" Gohan's sentence trailed off as he stared up at the ceiling.

"Put up a fight." Raditz finished Gohan's sentence for him. Gohan glanced at him and Raditz chuckled. "I've known you longer than today, kiddo."

Gohan smiled a little as he looked up at the ceiling again. "Good night." He stated before he turned and leaned on his elbow in order to turn off the light on his bedside table.

"Good night." Raditz said as he watched Gohan lie back down and pull up the sheets. The half-saiyan turned on his side and closed his eyes. Raditz stared up at the ceiling and was silent while he listened to Gohan making himself comfortable in the bed. The man reached up to turn off the light on his own bedside table. Might as well get some rest too.

**** DBZ **** DBZ ****

Gohan rubbed over his cheek, wincing when he felt a wet sensation on the corner of his lip. The young warrior withdrew his hand and frowned when he noticed the dark red colour on his white glove. Kneeling on the ground, Gohan looked up at the one responsible for his pain.

Vegeta raised both his eyebrows at the young warrior, a smirk on his face. The man extended his arms and beckoned the half-saiyan. Gohan's mouth tightened as he got up. The young warrior jumped up in the air and flew up until he was on the same level as Vegeta.

The room was filled with soldiers from all races. They failed to find a solo room today but that didn't stop the four warriors from having an all-out spar. Gohan found it easy to keep up with his comrades these days. Okay, Vegeta and Nappa were obviously still stronger than Gohan but at least the young warrior could hold his own.

He still got beaten up though. When the three warriors decided to team up against the young warrior, Gohan didn't stand a chance. This seemed to happen more often lately, not because Gohan behaved badly, but mainly because the others seemed to become stricter. Gohan was punished for reasons he could not understand. Only yesterday Gohan hid himself under his bed so he could do his homework in peace without constantly being ordered around.

Before he knew it Raditz was dragging him from under the bed and to the living room where Vegeta greeted the young warrior with a smack over the head. Apparently, Gohan was not allowed to avoid his squad leader's orders. The young half-saiyan made the grave mistake of telling Vegeta the truth; that he hid because he wanted to study and he couldn't study if he was busy doing chores all day. Vegeta responded with the annoying note that Gohan was only there to do chores because why would they keep the young warrior around otherwise?

At that point, Gohan should have backed down. He should have been the responsible one and given Vegeta this round. Then again, Gohan wouldn't be Gohan if he didn't take it one step further. The half-saiyan noted that his comrades forced a child to do these chores because they were too weak to handle a grown man. Gohan didn't really want to relive or even think about what Vegeta and the others did to him after that.

Vegeta floated backwards when Gohan charged at him. The young warrior could never predict Vegeta movements and it was infuriating, especially since Vegeta seemed to be very good at guessing Gohan's moves. Suddenly, Vegeta stopped and Gohan almost bumped into the older warrior. Gohan hastily moved back but he instantly realized it was too late.

Vegeta's move.

The Saiyan prince reached out and grabbed Gohan's ankle. The half-saiyan had been in such a hurry to move away from Vegeta that he'd fallen backwards slightly, moving his legs up in the air. The man pulled Gohan closer to him until the half-saiyan was floating next to him. Gohan was hurried to get in a standing position rather than the lying position he'd been forced into by Vegeta's pull on his leg but before he could move Vegeta brought up his arm and slammed it down into Gohan's stomach.

The half-saiyan gasped when the air was forced out of his lungs and he was thrown down to the ground. An explosion of pain ran through his body when his back hit the ground harshly. The half-saiyan only got a moment to ride out the pain in his back before he realized a force was coming right at him.

Gohan rolled away just nano-seconds before Vegeta's white boot hit the ground where Gohan's stomach was lying just a second ago. The young warrior jumped up into a standing positon but instantly had to fall back to avoid being kicked in the face by Vegeta. Landing on his elbows, Gohan bit his lip when a tremor ran through his bones.

Vegeta extended a hand to send a blast in the young warrior's direction. Gohan widened his eyes at the blue energy-orb that was being created in Vegeta's palm. Vegeta met the young warrior's eyes and a smirk appeared on the full-blooded Saiyan's face.

"Check mate." Vegeta said before sending the blast.

At the last moment, Gohan kicked upwards, knocking Vegeta's arm up and causing the blast to be thrown up in the air. Vegeta raised an eyebrow as he watched the blast hitting a random soldier and throwing the poor soldier out of the air.

The man lowered his gaze to the half-saiyan and widened his eyes. Gohan was standing upright, aiming a lethal blast at the saiyan prince from point-blank range.

A smirk was present on Gohan's face. "Check mate." He said, repeating Vegeta's earlier words.

The Saiyan prince narrowed his eyes and jumped up. Gohan looked up and realized Vegeta was only jumping over him. The young warrior whirled around to confront Vegeta but the Saiyan prince was already aiming an energy-orb at the young warrior.

"Remember lesson number two, kiddo?" Vegeta said as he smirked at the stricken look on Gohan's face. "Never hesitate." The man sent the blast at Gohan, throwing the young warrior backwards.

Gohan landed on the unforgivingly harsh ground and groaned in pain. Vegeta cracked his knuckles before he looked up at the other two saiyans. "Raditz. Nappa. Get down here. We're done!" He called.

Vegeta lowered his gaze back to where Gohan was slowly getting up from the ground. The man stepped closer to him and eyed the young warrior up and down. The half-saiyan's elbows were wounded severely because of his fall during the spar. Gohan's face was covered in small wounds and bruises. He'd been through a lot, but that would only make the young warrior stronger.

"Hesitation will be your death in a real battle, brat." Vegeta stated as he studied the young warrior. Gohan looked up at him. "Don't hesitate to treat us like a real threat during these spars. We're training to survive."

The half-saiyan nodded once. "I understand."

"I hope so." Vegeta responded. "I would hate to lose a comrade because he's too much of a pussy to act like a man when he has to. It must be the human in you."

"I made one mistake." Gohan started as he got up.

"Exactly!" Vegeta interrupted, raising his voice. "And how would that have turned out if I had been a real enemy? Would you have gotten a second chance? I don't think so. I could have blown your entire head off if I wanted to."

"It's just a training session." Gohan said tiredly.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes as he stepped closer. "That's where you go wrong. Why do you think we have these training sessions? We prepare for the battles we're going to have on the missions. We train to learn how to defend ourselves when things get too hot. We learn how to survive when the chances of survival drop below zero. Raditz, Nappa and I work our hardest when we train and you keep considering these matches a joke."

"I don't…" Gohan tried quietly but Vegeta continued his rant without even listening to Gohan's reply.

"This is not the first time you mess around during the training and it's certainly not the first time you hold back. From now on that's going to change. You will give it your all whenever we step into this room. You will fight us your hardest. No more hesitation. I don't care if you blast one of us half to death. The rejuvenation tanks are not here for decoration purposes only. In the training room, we are your enemies and you will treat us as such. Got it?"

"Yes. I got it." Gohan responded as he looked up at the older warrior. "I understand."

Vegeta nodded. "Good." The man turned to Nappa and Raditz, who were watching the confrontation in silence. "Let's get out of this miserable pit and clean up. We'll need to be somewhat presentable tonight."

The half-saiyan smiled slightly when Raditz placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze. The smile faded as soon as Raditz turned away from him to follow Vegeta. The half-saiyan wasn't entirely sure why he felt so put down by Vegeta's words. The man hardly even called him names and there was no threatening with any sorts of pain. Still, the disappointment Vegeta showed in Gohan's abilities made the young warrior feel bad. He would have never expected to feel bad about disappointing Vegeta. Maybe he was finally going crazy?

"Half-breed!" Raditz waved him over and Gohan realized the others were already halfway across the room. Gohan waved back and ran to keep up with them.

"Hey Vegeta." Gohan started once he was walking next to Vegeta. "I was wondering if I could stay home tonight."

Vegeta glanced sideways, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't hit you that hard, did I?"

The half-saiyan made a face at him. "Remember last time I went to the club with you? I got in a fight."

"If you don't want me to cut off more than only your hair I would advise you not to pick fights with our acquaintances anymore." Vegeta stated casually.

Gohan opened and closed his mouth, reconsidered and opened his mouth again. "Why do we have to go to the bar? I don't like going there."

"I don't like it any more than you do. Take it up with them." Vegeta pointed over his shoulders with his thumb to indicate Nappa and Raditz. "They insist on going there every time."

"I thought you were the leader of this squad? Aren't we supposed to listen to you only?" Gohan complained without thinking.

Vegeta stopped walking so suddenly that Gohan took a few steps before he stopped too. The man rounded on him. "What did you just say?"

Gohan quickly recalled his own sentence and noticed his mistake. "Why can't I stay home for one night?" He said, moving on.

"No. No. No. You're not going to talk yourself out of this one." Vegeta said, shaking his head. "I heard you say something very important and I'd like you to repeat it for me."

Gohan made a face. "There's just no talking with you." He complained as he turned away from the man and headed for the showers.

Vegeta exchanged amused glances with the others before following the young warrior. "Oh come on!" The older warrior said as he walked quickly to keep up with the younger warrior. "Admit that you just acknowledged me as your one and only leader."

Gohan sent the man a glare. "Never."

The half-saiyan was the first to enter the dressing room. Two soldiers were already in there, changing their clothes and they looked up when Gohan entered.

"Get lost." Gohan snarled at the two grown men.

One of the soldiers stood up fully and frowned at the young warrior. "Because you say so?"

"No, because we say so." Nappa said as he appeared behind the half-saiyan. Vegeta and Raditz entered the room as well.

"I'll go. I'm not looking for a fight." One of the soldiers stated as he grabbed his clothing and walked to the hallway.

"Stinking Saiyans." The other soldier snarled as he grabbed his clothing as well. The man was about to move to the hallway but Gohan got in his way. The soldier stopped and frowned at the young warrior.

Gohan looked up at him. "Now why did you have to go and say that?" He asked.

The soldier snarled at the half-saiyan. "Get out of my way, disgusting saiya…." The man gasped for air when Gohan casually pushed his fist into the man's chest and curled his hand around the wet organ of which he could only guess was the man's heart-like organ.

"What did you say?" Gohan asked almost sweetly.

The soldier gasped for air, his blue eyes wide, and tears running down his cheeks. The man dropped his clothes and placed his hands on Gohan's arm but the man was hardly strong enough to overpower the young warrior.

The half-saiyan gave the man a cold stare. "Just as I thought. Bullshit." The young warrior pulled back his hand, taking the organ along with it. The soldier collapsed right then and there, falling back. Gohan disintegrated the organ in his hands before he reached out and sent a small blast that would take care of the rest of the body.

"You're still not getting out of the party tonight." Vegeta said as he walked to the bench and started to take off his gloves.

"Oh come on, Vegeta. Haven't I been a good boy lately? Haven't I done everything you say without too much complaining? I don't deserve this." Gohan complained as he threw off his armour.

"I'll be the judge of that." Vegeta responded smoothly.

"But I…"

"Half-breed!" Vegeta snarled as he turned on the young warrior. Gohan closed his mouth. "You're coming with us. End of discussion."

Gohan could see that Vegeta was really done with this conversation so he decided not to push it any further. The half-saiyan peeled off his uniform, grumbling to himself about stupid comrades and stupid parties, unaware that the others could hear him just fine in this quiet room.

Later that day, Gohan sat down with a brand new soda. The young warrior decided to drown his sorrows in sugary drinks and he hoped everyone would leave him alone if he only looked hostile enough. Well, aside from his comrades of course. They just did not seem bothered by his hatred for them.

"Half-breed!" Vegeta beckoned the half-saiyan and Gohan got up so he could approach his squad leader. "I want you to meet Cornro. He was a specialist when I was in camp."

Gohan made a surprised face as he looked at the tall and bulky warrior. He could easily see this man fitting in with the other specialists. The man had bright beige eyes with only small black pupils. His spiky hair was entirely white and his brown skin seemed slick to the touch.

"Nice to meet you. I hear you've been giving the current specialists a hard time." Cornro stated as he looked the half-saiyan over.

Gohan shrugged. "Nothing they couldn't handle." He said in all honestly. It was true. The specialists that worked in the camp Gohan stayed at might have had trouble containing the young warrior but they succeeded in the end. Gohan was still there when the saiyans returned for him.

"That could be expected from a saiyan." Cornro leaned on the table with his lower arm and pointed to Vegeta. "Let me tell you, this one here put some grey hairs on the heads of the specialists."

The half-saiyan glanced to Vegeta but the saiyan prince didn't acknowledge the accusation. "Really?" Gohan asked.

"Oh yes. Prince here considered himself too superior for the camp so he figured he would show us our inferiority by escaping from the camp." Cornro explained.

Gohan turned on Vegeta. "You tried to escape from the camp!?" He exclaimed.

"I didn't realize we were here to remember my childhood." Vegeta said snidely. "I only introduced you two because I figured you would have something to talk about."

"Well, you were right. You." Cornro deadpanned. "That's the only thing we seem to have in common right now."

"Then I'm afraid we'll have to pass." Vegeta casually pushed Gohan out of his seat.

"Hey! But… I wanna talk some more…" Gohan frowned when he realized Vegeta was not going to let him stay. "It was nice meeting you!" Gohan called around Vegeta's body before he was forcefully turned around by the man. "Alright! We're leaving!"

"I can't believe you tried to escape." Gohan said as he looked up at the man. Vegeta was steering the half-saiyan to the doorway and Gohan realized Vegeta was finally planning on leaving. "It makes so much sense now. The specialists kept telling me how much I reminded them of you for a reason."

"Hmm…" Vegeta pointed to a high barstool. "Sit. Stay. I'm going to get the others."

Gohan nodded obediently before climbing up the barstool. The half-saiyan watched as Vegeta disappeared in the crowd to get the other two Saiyans. Gohan leaned back against the high table and let out a yawn. He was tired and ready to get into bed.

"Hey there kiddo."

"Ika," Gohan glanced sideways at the tall warrior, "my evening was actually going quite well. Please let that continue and stay out of my way."

Ika sat down on the chair next to Gohan and sent the young warrior a smirk. "I have a feeling you don't appreciate me saying hello."

"I'd say go with your guts." Gohan responded briefly.

"Good thing I wanted to talk to you!" Ika turned to the young warrior fully and moved up his red hand to beckon the half-saiyan to come closer. Gohan frowned as he turned to the man and leaned in a little closer.

"What?"

"You look so cute when in close-up like this." Ika teased, smirking at the young warrior.

Gohan growled as he leaned back. "So you just came over here to torture me."

"Basically." Ika glanced sideways and noticed the saiyans were heading back in their direction. "For now, we are the greatest friends, aren't we? At least, as far as your comrades know."

Gohan noticed the smug tone in the man's voice. "What are you saying?"

"Friends help each other out. When a friend needs another friend to, say, keep up a pretence, then a friend will do that." Ika said slowly but deliberately. "Because that's what friends do."

Gohan took a deep breath when he realized that Ika was talking about the lie Gohan told his comrades about his time in camp. The young warrior wanted his comrades to believe he was a regular member of the vicious strength-driven Thunder Group while in reality his social life had been less fortunate.

"So, in short, I can expect to have to return the friendly favour sometime in the future." Gohan said as he looked up at the tall warrior.

Ika showed the young warrior a grin. "I always knew you were a smart one."

"Good evening, Ika." Vegeta said as they approached the two.

"Hey! I saw that you were leaving so I quickly wanted to say hi to my buddy here." Ika clapped Gohan on the back. The half-saiyan was nearly thrown off the seat but he managed to keep his balance by grabbing the high table with his hand. "You guys don't come over here often enough and now you're already off again?"

"We've got a lot to do." Vegeta responded briefly. "We'll see you some other time."

Gohan jumped off the seat and followed his comrades out. As he passed Ika, the man reached out and tapped against Gohan's shoulder with his finger, exactly on the place where Gohan's scar that resembled the symbol of the Thunder Group was hidden behind the band of his armour. The symbol was scratched into his skin years ago but the scar was still there, reminding Gohan of the pain and humiliating he experienced at the time.

The half-saiyan glanced over his shoulder and met Ika's eyes. The man sent the young warrior a mocking wink, earning a glare from the half-saiyan. Gohan turned away from the man and headed for the doorway.

As they walked outside, Vegeta called for the half-saiyan and beckoned the young warrior to come closer. Gohan ran to catch up and slowed down once he was walking next to Vegeta. "What's up?" He asked, expecting Vegeta to tell him he did something wrong today.

"Nothing. Just want to keep you close." Vegeta responded briefly as he looked ahead.

"Aww, I never took you for the sentimental type." Gohan responded acidly, knowing full-well Vegeta was only looking after him because he feared Gohan would try to run. As if he would run in such a hopeless situation. No he had other plans for that opportunity.

Vegeta chuckled at the sheer thought of being sentimental. "I just want to keep a close eye on your scent. It's easier to keep a hold of when you're close."

"Stop saying such disgusting things. I showered after training. I can't smell that bad." Gohan said, frowning. He was getting sick and tired of the others saying that they could smell him so easily. Honestly, he couldn't smell anything when he sniffed his armpits after taking a shower.

"It's not that kind of scent, kiddo." Vegeta said as they entered the hall of their building. "It's a personal scent. Every person has a particular scent but only few races are actually aware of it. These scents can help us find others from our race easier."

"But why aren't I aware of them?" Gohan asked, frowning. He wasn't entirely sure if he believed this story.

"Because you're still a cub."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"I know, but that's how it is." Vegeta shrugged before glancing sideways again. "You're not aware of the scents but you can actually smell them. Remember how you managed to find Raditz in a crowd? You knew exactly where to go without actually knowing where he was."

"I think I followed the sensation of his powerlevel back then." Gohan said thoughtfully.

Vegeta stopped walking so suddenly that Raditz nearly bumped into the smaller warrior. "That's right! You can sense powerlevels!" Vegeta exclaimed. "You were supposed to teach us how you do that. I forgot about that." The man growled in annoyance but when he looked up he noticed that Gohan was looking even more annoyed. The half-saiyan was probably beating himself up for reminding Vegeta of this. "We'll get right to that tomorrow." Vegeta stated, nodding.

"We'll see." Gohan muttered as he lowered his gaze.

"Oh yes we will. You promised me, remember?" Vegeta placed his hands on his hips and leaned over the young warrior. "Or do you want me to go back on my decision to spank you until your butt cheeks are bright red, huh? I could do it right here in the hallway if you want." Vegeta gestured to the benches scattered over the entrance hall.

"No." Gohan growled in response. "I'll do it."

"Good cub." Vegeta petted Gohan on his short black hair in an almost loving way before heading to the elevator.

Gohan was silent as they stood in the elevator. He was so angry he was afraid he would burst if he spoke even the smallest word to one of his comrades. He hated Vegeta for treating him in such a denigrating way and he hated Raditz and Nappa for never helping him out. They always just watched whenever Vegeta was on one of his jerk trips. Gohan was always on his own. Nobody ever helped him.

The young warrior glanced to his own reflection. In the mirror he saw that Raditz and Nappa were speaking to each other in excited tones, relating their experiences in the club to each other, but he also noticed Vegeta was looking right at the half-saiyan. The two met the eyes of each other's reflection in the mirror and Gohan could feel a cold trickle run down his spine. The man's eyes were cold like always but there was something else. Some sort of challenge. A declaration of resistance. The continuum of the ever-ongoing struggle between the two warriors.

Not for the first time, Gohan realized he wasn't the only stubborn Saiyan in this team. All this time he'd seen the three saiyans as his enemy but that wasn't entirely true. Raditz and Nappa were strong but easy to accept Gohan's rebellion was over. Vegeta was the only person who was keeping Gohan on his toes. Vegeta was the one who knew Gohan wasn't defeated that easily.

If Gohan wanted to get away from the Planet Trade Organization and gain authority over his own life, he would have to go straight through Vegeta, and that was not going to be easy.

The young warrior held the man's gaze until the elevator doors opened and Vegeta was forced to break eye-contact to leave the elevator first. Gohan entered the hallway last and frowned as he followed the others to their apartment.

Vegeta might think he got the upper hand over the young warrior but Gohan wasn't defeated that easily. The young warrior would play along tomorrow, pretending to refuse to teach the others to feel powerlevels and finally giving in, handing Vegeta another victory that would make the man cocky.

Then he would make his move. Once and for all.

**** DBZ **** DBZ ****

Thank you for reading. Please review and let me know what you think!