Hey you! Thanks for reviewing on the previous chapter!
Previously on A Half-breed's Life 1:
Vegeta sat down on a branch and yawned again. He frowned as he looked around. What was taking the brat so long? He noticed a small rodent and he pointed his finger at it. A purple beam shot right through the rodent, killing it instantly. Vegeta smirked as he got up to fetch it. That would make a nice waiting snack.
The man lazily ate the flesh of the rodent as he waited. He left a small bit for the half-saiyan. The young warrior would appreciate that. However, when Vegeta finished eating Gohan still wasn't there. The saiyan prince frowned as he got up and looked around. "Half-breed! What is taking you so long?" He snarled. The man reached up to scan for Gohan's power level.
Vegeta widened his eyes when the scouter could not find Gohan's particular energy level. The man opened the line of communication to the half-saiyan. "Half-breed. Come in…. Are you there...? If you don't answer now I'll have your balls for dinner, brat!"
Vegeta waited for a few second as he realized what was happening. The Saiyan prince opened the communication line to the other two Saiyans. "Raditz. Nappa. Half-breed is gone."
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"Dear Vegeta, I seem to miss one of yours. Has he been beaten up so much that he needed to consult the rejuvenation tank?" Frieza asked curiously.
Vegeta considered lying but he knew Frieza would find out eventually. The man asked for Gohan to meet him often enough. Same went for the Ginyu Force and Zarbon. Vegeta would only get in trouble if he lied to Frieza now. "No sir. We lost the boy."
"He died?"
"No. He… He left the planet without our permission." Vegeta decided to just throw it out there. The whole situation was a huge blow to his pride and if he ever saw that runt again, the boy would pay for it dearly.
"He left the planet without your permission." Frieza repeated slowly. "So, he ran away?"
"Affirmative, sir."
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Gohan looked up when he heard screams. Miles and miles away he could see that a building was crumbling down and a particularly large bit of debris was about to crush a group of volunteers that was digging there. Gohan didn't think as he powered up and flew towards the scene. He caught the danger easily as he put his hands upwards and caught the debris before throwing it away to a safe area. Gohan smiled in relieve. He made it. They were saved.
However, this smile froze on his face when he heard clapping coming from someone above him. The half-saiyan looked up and a cold sensation ran down his spine.
"Well well, that was quite a show." A man was floating in front of a group of warriors. They were all dressed in uniforms that appeared very familiar to the half-saiyan but they were also somewhat different. Gohan couldn't really put his finger on it but something was different.
The foreign warrior was obviously not from this planet. The entire squad was made up of different races. The man who appeared to be the leader was tall and bulky – typical – and he had a light-blue skin tone. Small grey spikes erupted from his skull and the same spikes were seen on the man's light-blue tail.
"I'll admit I never thought I would see a saiyan so small." The same warrior exclaimed cheerfully. "Most of you are all grown up by now and since the planet was destroyed even before I was born, I never expected to see child saiyans."
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"Are you sure it's a saiyan though?"
"Let me show you, master."
A door was opened, footsteps approached and a moment later hands grabbed Gohan's arms and roughly hauled him up. While he was forced forwards he realized there were two pairs of hands coming from either side of him. Two guards? Maybe the people he fought before he ended up here. He couldn't remember much of what happened before he lost consciousness.
Before he could focus on the sounds around him the young warrior was forced down on his knees. The half-saiyan managed not to make a sound when his knees painfully crashed down on the ground. A hand pushed against the area between Gohan's shoulder blades, forcing the young warrior to bow down to the ground, before grabbing hold of the half-saiyan's furry tail and holding it up.
"I'd say this is a frank giveaway, lord." Furani stated as he showed the tail to the unknown person.
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"Do you have any experience in fighting?" Cooler asked. Gohan only shook his head. "Furani." Cooler only had to say the word and Furani grabbed hold of Gohan's shirt and ripped it off. Gohan's lips tightened on each other as he realized what Cooler was getting at. "So you grew all these muscles just by staying on a good diet, right?"
"I just want to go home." Gohan tried as he crossed his arms over each other.
"I don't like it when my subordinates are dishonest to me." Cooler snarled in response.
"I don't work for you." Gohan stated calmly. "Please. Allow me to leave the ship."
"It's a little too late for that. You're young but you're obviously a trained fighter. You could be very valuable for my army. I want you to join us." Cooler stated, smirking as if he just gave Gohan his dearest deepest wish.
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Gohan did get up now and he threw his legs over the edge of the bed. The young warrior ignored her stare as he walked to the dressing screen and hid behind it so he could change into his uniform. "Are we going to do anything special today?" Gohan asked in order to keep the conversation going.
"Training as usual and we have a meeting with Lord Cooler later today." Iona responded, her voice wandering around, which told Gohan that she was moving.
"A meeting?" Gohan asked as he walked around the screen to meet Iona. He was still attaching the band to his armour as he walked closer to her.
"Yep. We're going off a mission soon." Iona responded. She was looking out the window so she didn't notice how Gohan looked up with a worried expression on his face. "It's about time too. I was getting bored here."
"A mission?" Gohan repeated as he lowered his hands. "A purging mission?"
Moving on!
Chapter 27. Faced With Reality.
The team spread out over their quarters. Gohan was deep in thought as he headed for the windowsill and climbed into it. The young warrior considered his options in his mind. What could he do to stop this entire situation? He was supposed to be on some sort of trial run in this army but Cooler appeared to assume that he was going to join the mission, no questions asked.
Iona nudged Furani and nodded to Gohan. The squad leader followed her gaze before he let out a sigh. She smiled when Furani sent her an annoyed glance. Furani rolled his eyes before he headed to Gohan.
"Worried?" Furani stated as he reached the younger warrior. His leathery light-blue tail gently waved behind him as he walked.
Gohan turned to look at his squad leader. "About what, sir?" He asked instinctively.
"Don't play dumb with me, Icarus." Furani stated as he moved to sit down on the windowsill as well. Gohan had to shift to make room for the man. "Your face has been one of death and despair since lord Cooler mentioned the mission."
Gohan lowered his gaze. "This was the reason I didn't want to join the army." He responded truthfully.
Furani nodded for a moment. "It's part of being in this army though." He stated in response. "You're going to have to do it." The half-saiyan didn't respond as he looked at the ground. Furani took a breath. "Okay. You've been with us for like a week now?" He stated as he lowered his gaze to the half-saiyan. "We may be able to cut you some slack. Just for the first mission. We don't know what's on that planet. I want you to help us fight whatever is out there. If it comes down to clearing the planet of further life, you can just knock them out and we'll take care of the actually killing."
Gohan looked up. "Really?" He asked – his brown eyes wide with surprise. He was sure he was going to be forced into horrifying deeds again.
Furani nodded once. "Really." He responded. "This only counts for the first mission. After that it depends on the mission. I can't make any promises."
"That's fine." Gohan nodded once as a smile appeared on his face. "Thank you, sir."
"Pure business. And overall morale, I guess. Your mood was bringing the lady of the house down." Furani nodded to Iona, who was sitting on a comfy couch reading a report. "And the lady of the house should always be kept happy. Trust me. It's good for all of us." Furani shrugged before he pushed away from the windowsill and headed into the room.
Gohan smiled as he leaned back against the window. This was an option he didn't consider before. He didn't have to kill anyone. He was allowed out of the deal. This was amazing.
The half-saiyan didn't actually interact with the others as much as he did the previous days. The novelty of his presence wore off and they now focused more on each other's presence, preferring to ignore the half-saiyan in order to show him his position at the bottom of the chain.
Gohan didn't mind too much. He didn't want to feel too at home here since he was still planning on getting out. He just didn't know how just yet. The team might treat him well but he wasn't allowed to leave the room or walk the corridors by himself. He needed to be accompanied by one of the others. They still didn't trust him just yet.
It was only two days later when Lord Cooler called Gohan to his office for a meeting. The young warrior followed Furani to Lord Cooler's office and was somewhat surprised when Furani didn't follow him inside.
"Ah, Icarus. Sit down." Lord Cooler said as he watched Gohan kneel down. The young warrior got up and headed to the silver chair Lord Cooler indicated to. "How was your first week in my army?"
Gohan wasn't sure how to respond. "Fine, my lord." He responded after a moment of consideration.
"Fine?" Lord Cooler repeated. The man leaned on the silver desk with his lower arms. "I'd say the privileges you got to enjoy as an elite soldier are more than fine. Most people start in the normal ranks but you received the best of the best straight away."
"I prefer freedom over luxury, sir." Gohan stated simply.
Lord Cooler was silent for a moment before he leaned back on his seat. "You're one of a kind, you know. So young but yet so outspoken." He tilted his head sideways as he studied Gohan. "I can bring veteran soldiers shaking and shivering to their knees but you don't even appear afraid of me at all."
"Maybe I'm just good at hiding my fear." Gohan suggested. He was actually very afraid of Lord Cooler. Not of the man himself. But he was afraid of Lord Cooler's power. If Lord Cooler wanted it, he could enslave Gohan for the rest of the Saiyan's life. And if Lord Cooler decided to boast about Gohan to Frieza, the latter would find out where Gohan was and he would probably go straight to the saiyans with this news.
"Maybe." Lord Cooler leaned on the table with his lower arms and gave the young warrior a penetrating glance. "Furani told me your background story and I personally find it quite hard to believe."
"Sir?" Gohan asked, not really sure what Cooler expected him to say.
"Exactly." Cooler gave the young warrior a smirk. "You're too used to this hierarchy between us. You end your sentences with 'sir'. You are used to training for long hours and you had no trouble getting into this uniform." The man tilted his head sideways as he studied Gohan's solemn expression. "The raw recruits tend to ask how to put the armor on but you did it without even thinking about it."
Gohan lowered his gaze as he realized that Cooler was right. Gohan was way too used to the army life. He didn't realize he showed this. He was trained to be a soldier, all his life. It was all he knew. Therefore he easily adapted to this new situation. He called everyone "sir" because he was used to doing that but someone who spent all his life as a free man would not be used to that. A person who never encountered these uniforms would have trouble putting it on. A free person would not be used to training all day.
"You know, Icarus. I don't care about your history." Cooler stated as he crossed his arms over each other. "I don't care what you were before you came here. It's all in the past. However, I do care about how you behave in this army. If I put my time and effort into a warrior, I expect loyalty in return. This is something you haven't shown me yet."
"I just arrived here, sir." Gohan responded meekly. "I'll be going on my first mission soon. I can't show loyalty to a job I don't know the details about yet."
"Fair enough." Lord Cooler shrugged once. "Know that Furani will be monitoring you closely during the mission. He'll be reporting back to me and we'll decide what to do with you after that. You're dismissed."
"Yes, sir." Gohan bowed to show his respect before turning and leaving the simple room. The young warrior lowered his gaze as he walked back to the quarters of the team. He realized that Furani wasn't there to guide him back. This was probably a test to see if he would make a break for it. Gohan wasn't planning on doing this just yet though. When he escaped, he wanted to make sure he would actually escape this time.
The team left on their mission not long after that. Gohan was surprised to find out that they all shared a room when on a mission. The ship that they were travelling with was rather small and most was taken up by a large training room.
Gohan sat down on the upper bed of a bunkbed that Furani pointed to. The young warrior looked around as the others settled in the room. He didn't have any stuff to take so he had nothing to do for the moment. The room was large enough for four bunkbeds, one single bed for Furani and one empty bed in the corner. Gohan noticed a couple of curtains were separating that bed from the rest of the room and he realized Iona must sleep there. She emerged from the bathroom just as he thought that and she smiled at him before pulling on the curtains to draw them closed.
There was nobody sleeping in the bed under Gohan's bed and the half-saiyan realized the people who used to sleep in these beds probably died during a mission. This made him feel rather queasy and he jumped off the bed.
Furani noticed the movement and turned to look at Gohan. "You can walk around freely on this ship, kiddo." He stated, earning Gohan's attention. "If you can actually walk that is." The man shrugged as he spoke. "We'll be training hard this mission and basing my statement on your status after one of our trainings; you'll probably be beaten down and broken after every training session."
Gohan ignored the snickers from the rest of the team as he approached Furani. He was used to getting that kind of smack talk from others. He'd been living with people like Furani all his life.
"What time will the next training be?" Gohan asked once he was close enough.
Furani consulted the rosy scouter on his face. "One hour from now."
"I'll be there." Gohan stated before he walked to the entrance of the room. He planned on exploring the ship for a bit before the training session. The young warrior walked around curiously. The ship was actually quite small and sober. There was only a training room, a rather small one actually, and a living quarters. That was it. No massive game room. No large cinema. The only luxurious object in the ship was the large bubble bath.
Gohan looked around the cozy living quarters. The walls and floor were a sober light-gray color. The couches and tables were of a darker gray color, making this an uncomfortably sober room. A kitchen maid was working in the small kitchen and she curtsied when Gohan approached her. The young maid was wearing a simple black dress over her violet skin. Furani explained that slaves wore loose clothing in order to seperate them from the soldiers, who tended to wear tight-fitting uniforms. Her dark hair was braided together and her yellow eyes never seemed to make eye-contact. The slave lowered her gaze and curled her hands together behind her back, seemingly waiting for an order. Gohan wasn't used to slaves just yet, especially as the slaves here treated him like an elite soldier. He was used to being the one who served others rather than being waited on by others.
"As you were." Gohan stated to dismiss her. The slave nodded and turned back to her cooking. Slaves were not allowed to talk unless spoken to. Back in the camp, Gohan often considered himself a slave as the specialists – and later the Saiyans – always ordered him around. In this army, though, he came in contact with real slaves and he realized how unfamiliar this type of behavior was to him. Slaves were silent, ignored, unless needed for some task. Gohan realized that his previous comrades always allowed him to talk, as did the specialist. They did not mold him into the slaves he encountered on this ship. He was not as subservient as these actual slaves.
The young warrior realized he was staring at the slave and he quickly shook his head and turned to walk away. Gohan discovered the luxurious bathroom that contained the bubble bath. He knew there was another bathroom in which several showers were located; created for quick showers. The floor was an off-white color as the tiles lead to the large bubble bath in the middle of the room. The soldiers tended to slip in there together as it was big enough to give them all more than enough room for themselves, and it saved them time.
Gohan turned to leave the room. He could feel that the rest of the team had relocated to the living room. He wasn't really feeling like joining them so he turned to where he knew the bedroom was. There he walked to his bunkbed and flew up to sit on his bed. The young warrior allowed his body to fall back so that he was lying down and he stared up at the ceiling. He didn't even notice that he fell asleep until Iona woke him up.
"Get up, kiddo. It's time to train." She stated as she literally hovered next to his bed.
Gohan sat up. "Oh right. I'm sorry." He responded, getting out of the bed quickly. Iona shrugged good-naturedly as she followed him to the entrance.
The rest of the team was waiting in the training room. Gohan looked around at the white walls and red floors before he turned to the rest of the team. This training room was just like the others. Gohan almost felt bored because of the army's predictability.
His boredom was destroyed by the match that occurred after Furani's explanation. Gohan didn't know why or how but these soldiers appeared to be far stronger than any of the soldiers Gohan encountered in Frieza's army. Where did Cooler get these people from?
Gohan just about dodged an attack from one of Iona's tentacles and he moved back to create some distance between them. The young warrior bit his lip. She was way too fast for him and she always seemed to try to grab hold of him. This she always appeared to be able to do eventually and after getting a hold of him, Gohan would spend most of the training trying to disentangle his body from her hold again. This was impossible. Honestly, impossible.
The half-saiyan sent a blast to smack away one of Iona's tentacles before he kicked at another to scare it off. However, this tentacle wrapped around his foot and pulled him closer. Gohan shook his head, muttering "Nonono", before he put his hands together and sent another blast at Iona herself. She jumped back to avoid it and the hold of the tentacle loosened on his foot, allowing Gohan to pull his leg free.
Iona now appeared right in front of him. She pulled back a fist and, before Gohan could respond, smashed it right into his cheek. The young warrior could hear a crack in his skull somewhere and he wondered if his cheekbone could actually break. He would have to use a rejuvenation tank after this training yet again. And again, he would be the only warrior who would be climbing into the rejuvenation tank. He would yet again be the only warrior damaged enough to have to be patched up by the medical machine.
Gohan returned the punch but after he managed to punch Iona, a tentacle wrapped around his wrist. Gohan gave a shocked gasp as he placed his free hand on the tentacle to pull it off but another tentacle wrapped around his free wrist while two others curled around his legs.
Iona smiled as she allowed her tentacles to wrap around Gohan's struggling limbs. The half-saiyan groaned as they sucked themselves onto his skin and she pulled him closer. "You're so cute." She whined as she brought him within touching distance. "Especially when you look angry. Give me a hug, sweetheart."
Furani laughed as he watched the scene. "You're supposed to spar, Iona. Not hug."
Iona looked over her shoulder in response. "Oh come on. He's too adorable to fight." She reached out and painfully pinched Gohan's already damaged cheek. The half-saiyan couldn't help but look pained as she did this. "Honestly, we should just forget about this soldier thing, Furani. I want to keep him as my slave." She smiled as two more tentacles wrapped around Gohan's torso, entangling him more and more in her system. "You'll get to wake me up with breakfast in bed every morning, rub my feet and shoulders… And other places." She added as an afterthought.
Furani approached them and was now floating next to Iona as he studied the half-saiyan. "Lord Cooler thinks it will be a waste to enslave him." He stated thoughtfully.
"Meh." Iona responded. "He's not actually that strong and most Saiyans aren't either. Lord Frieza's Saiyans are not even stronger than the Ginyu Force. They're a bunch of weaklings. I don't think the race is all that we think they are, or what they think they are."
Gohan was only half listening to their conversation as he tried to de-tangle his limbs from her tentacles but they were strong and every time he managed to pull one off his flesh, another would latch onto him again.
Iona's tentacles suddenly tightened around his arms. They pushed his arms together behind his back as the two around his torso pushed against his back, forcing the young warrior to bend over. A last knock to the back of his knees made his legs collapse under him and he found himself kneeling down in a bowing position.
Iona showed off her black teeth as she grinned nastily. "Now that's a becoming position for a Saiyan." She stated as Furani let out a laugh. "This is something I can get used to. What about you, Furani?"
The man crossed his light-blue arms over each other, an amused light in his dark eyes. "Sure. Let's make a deal. We'll train him until he's fifteen. If by then he still isn't the warrior Lord Cooler expected him to be, you can have him, deal?" The two warriors didn't notice how Gohan's fists clenched tightly as he listened to their conversation.
"Five years?" Iona complained. "That's way too long for me to wait."
"Were you going to fuck him any time before that? I know that's what you're after. I wasn't born yesterday, Iona."
Iona rolled her bright green eyes. "No, I guess not. That's wouldn't be proper of me, right?" She shrugged before looking back to the half-saiyan. "Five years it is. But I can have platonic fun with him until then, right?" She asked as she glanced to Furani again.
The man waved the question away. "Do whatever you want. I don't share Lord Cooler's trust in the boy. He's just a dead weight for us." The man went to turn away from the situation when his scouter beeped. Iona's scouter made the same noise at the exact same time and the two looked to Gohan.
As they spoke, the half-saiyan had been seething silently. The young warrior could feel his blood boiling at their words. He could feel his fists clenching as these warriors insulted his heritage. His limbs were itching to show them just how strong he was. He would show them that he was a warrior to be reckoned with. The pain of being enslaved once again and this time by people who so recklessly spoke about his future as if he was a pawn to be used at their dispense. His fingers itched to punch them. His mind wanted blood for what they said. His body longed for freedom from the white tentacles. The Saiyan in him screamed for revenge.
And that's exactly what he got.
The young warrior let out a scream as he released the energy he kept within him. He powered up so quickly that Iona's tentacles fell off his body. She let out a screech as Gohan's energy scorched her tentacles, smoke drizzling up from her limbs as she pulled them back.
Furani's scouter exploded and the man automatically closed his eyes to protect them from the shards of glass. Iona's mouth was open as she looked up at Gohan. Furani chuckled as he crossed his arms. "Anger triggers him." He stated. "Unbelievable. He's an emotional fighter. Maybe Lord Cooler was right after all."
"He's a man who fights with his emotions." Iona's snake-like tongue licked her lips once again. "I didn't think he could get any more attractive but there he goes and surprises us all." She pulled her tentacles back into her body before she powered up. "Let's get going, kiddo. I'm ready and eager to fight."
Gohan didn't need any more encouragement as he attacked her head on. The two locked into a fierce battle as Furani flew backwards to give them room. Iona easily blocked the first few punches. Her bright green eyes focused on his face to see where he was going to attack next. The young warrior was relentless as he threw punch after punch, trying hard but failing to hit her.
Iona was in no hurry as she decided to ride out Gohan's tantrum. It didn't take long for Gohan to slow down in his attacks. Her black teeth showed as she grinned in response to the fury that Gohan showed. Gohan flew back to create distance as he struggled for breath.
"Tired already, kiddo?" Iona asked as she studied the younger warrior. "Where is that Saiyan stamina they always boast about?"
"They?" Gohan asked as he looked up at her. He had never before asked about the other Saiyans because he didn't want to raise the impression that he knew about them. Now he saw an open window to start the discussion about Vegeta and the others and he could get some time to rest too.
"The other Saiyans." Iona responded easily. "There are more like you, you know."
"Right. Furani said something like that before." Gohan looked to the squad leader. Furani was still watching them and the man now nodded in response. "Do they work for this army too?"
Iona shook her head. "Sadly, no. They work for Lord Frieza. So you won't get to meet them. Regular soldiers don't really visit the competing company."
"But we're not regular soldiers, right?" Gohan responded.
Furani shrugged. "We don't really feel like visiting either. Lord Frieza's company is a lot less impressive. We sometimes meet up with the Ginyu Force. They are Frieza's elite team."
"So I won't get to meet the Saiyan team?"
"I wouldn't recommend it." Furani said as he shook his head. "Saiyans have something against half-breeds. They feel that it's an insult to their heritage when someone decides to mate with another race. I think they would kill you on sight."
"Especially Vegeta." Iona added as she tilted her head sideways. "He's the leader of the Saiyan squad. He's such a hothead. Besides, you're competition. And saiyans are not good with competition."
"Yeah yeah, little Vegeta." Furani muttered as he crossed his arms. "I always thought the temperament was a personality thing but now that I am working with you I realize that it might be a Saiyan thing."
"Furani worked with Vegeta for a while when Vegeta was very young." Iona explained. "That was way before I joined the team."
"It was a very long time ago. I think Vegeta was only a couple years older than you are now." Furani responded as he studied the younger warrior.
Gohan pursed his lips. So Vegeta spend some time working for Lord Cooler too? The half-saiyan realized Vegeta was actually way more integrated into Frieza's company than he thought at first. Raditz did tell him that Vegeta had been working for Frieza's army as an active soldier since he was five years old. His uncle also said Frieza tended to ship Vegeta to other teams once in a while because the tyrant thought the Saiyan team treated Vegeta with too much respect. It caused the Saiyan prince to become too big for his shoes, in Frieza's opinion. That's why he - once in a while - sent Vegeta to other places, like the camp or, apparently, Furani, so that the Saiyan prince could live as a subordinate for a while.
"So," Iona smiled as she studied the younger warrior, "have you rested enough now?"
Gohan widened his eyes for a moment. "What?"
Iona's smile widened to a grin. "This is the first time you actually engaged in a conversation with one of us on your own initiative. It's obvious that you're just trying to take some time to rest."
Gohan could feel his cheeks heat up in response to this comment. She saw right through him. "I… I didn't…"
"Oh!" Iona jumped up and down in the air as she curled her ghostly white hands together. "You're blushing! And I thought you couldn't get more adorable!" Furani laughed in response to her comment while Gohan let out a frustrated sigh.
"Alright." Furani said amusedly. "On that note, I'm done here. Let's take a shower and get back to the common room. Everyone!" He raised his voice to reach the rest. "We're done!"
Gohan followed the rest of the group to the ground. The young warrior glanced sideways when Iona landed next to him. She reached around his shoulders so she could grab both his cheeks while standing behind him. "Oooohhh~ you're so cute with those red cheeks," she coed. The rest of the squad laughed in response to the situation.
The half-saiyan was not having this and he elbowed her right in the stomach. Iona let out a gasp for air as she released him. Gohan didn't get any time to turn around as Furani grabbed him by his collar and smacked him over the head.
Furani forcefully turned the half-saiyan around and pushed the young warrior on his knees in front of the female warrior. "Apologize to Iona."
"WHAT?" Gohan looked over his shoulder to Furani. "I can't defend myself now?"
"You're on the bottom of the food chain here, monkey boy. We can do whatever we want with you until you prove yourself worthy of better treatment." Furani responded strictly. The man gave a push against Gohan's shoulder. "Apologize. Now."
"No."
"What?" Furani was dumbfounded for a moment.
"I didn't stutter." Gohan snarled in response. The young warrior gasped when a boot kicked against his back and he landed face forward on the ground. Furani placed his boot on Gohan's spine and pressed down until Gohan could feel his bones shiver under the pressure.
"I advise you to reconsider that answer." Furani stated – his gaze focused on the youngest warrior.
Iona watched the scene with mixed feelings. A part of her wanted to extract Gohan's apology from the half-saiyan herself. Another part of her realized Furani still needed to gain authority over Gohan and this was the perfect moment for the squad leader to showcase his position. That was one of the perks of being the leader of a team…
Gohan could feel his anger rising. His fists were trembling - itching to cause pain. But he also remembered his own vow to himself that he was not going to cause trouble in this army. He would be obedient. He would pretend to be tamed easily. He wanted them to think he wouldn't even put up a fight. That was the main reason why he allowed the others to mess with him. Iona just got the better of him for a moment. He couldn't hold his anger down and retaliated. Now a peacefulness fell over him and he blew out a breath to calm down.
The half-saiyan lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry, Iona." He stated, fighting down the urge to power up. "I didn't control myself."
Iona looked at Furani for a moment. The man nodded once and stepped back. "It's okay." Iona responded cheerfully. "Saiyans are known for their temper."
"Good. Get up." Furani ordered. Gohan meekly got up, his gaze lowered submissively. Furani didn't approve of this and he reached out to push Gohan's face up by placing his hand under Gohan's chin. "Your free-roaming privileges are discontinued for an unlimited period of time. Until I officially tell you otherwise you will stay in my or any of the other members' close vicinity. Do you understand me, boy?"
"Yes sir." Gohan responded, his eyes darting around Furani's face. He tried to look submissive – almost weak. And he knew that meeting someone's eyes was seen as dominant.
The young warrior didn't notice that Furani frowned quizzically for a moment before he stood straight. "Alright. Let's go, guys. Icarus, at my side." He ordered as he motioned for Gohan to follow him. The young warrior pressed his lips together as he realized Furani was going to take this new rule very seriously.
And the man did this. Throughout the rest of the journey to the planet, Furani constantly kept the young warrior at his side. Gohan didn't mind too much as the rest of the soldiers behaved relatively well towards Gohan when Furani was present. Even Iona toned down her teasing when Furani was listening to the conversation.
The days went by quickly as all they did was train, eat and sleep – not necessarily in that order. Gohan got used to heading for the rejuvenation tank after every training session and he could literally feel his body growing stronger and stronger. He was sure he would be thrice as strong after a couple of months with these guys. This was amazing.
The morning they arrived on the planet, the group was awoken a little later than usual so that they could allow their bodies to get some extra rest. After a nice breakfast, they went out explore the planet. Gohan was chewing on his lip as they flew. He knew that Furani sort of promised him he didn't have to kill anyone today but he also had enough experience with people like Furani who tended to take back their words and promises easily. It meant nothing to them.
The half-saiyan looked up at Furani as he flew next to the man. Furani noticed his glance and the man sent the younger warrior a wink. Gohan smiled in response but this smile faltered when Furani looked away. The half-saiyan realized he would have to be careful during this mission.
The group landed in a small clearing to discuss the plan for today. They already knew all the details about this planet but Furani, very similarly to Vegeta, always wanted to see the planet for himself just in case any of the information they received was outdated.
"Alright. It appears that we will encounter no extra difficulties on this planet. Therefore, I will make no changes to the original plan. You know the teams. Icarus, you will stay with me and Iona. Let's get this planet done and go back to strike up a huge reward!"
"Yeah!" The rest of the team yelled cheerfully. Gohan smiled as he watched them cheer. Was this a tradition of some sort?
"What the…" Furani looked up when a space pod burst through the ozone layer of this planet. Gohan followed his line of sight and his face paled. "Three space pods?" Furani asked out loud as he turned to face the novelty and placed his hands on his hips.
Iona stepped closer to the squad leader. "I thought we were covering this planet alone." She questioned.
"We don't need back-up!" Liom added.
"I wonder who they are." Furani muttered as he moved up his hand to activate his scouter.
Gohan didn't have to wonder who they were. He could feel the familiar sensations instantly. Three power levels he'd almost forgotten but now remembered so clearly. So painfully. The young warrior could feel a cold brick falling down from his heart to his stomach.
The Saiyans found him.
**** DBZ **** DBZ ****
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