A/N: Hello once again everyone! I hope this update finds you all well.
Wow, I apologize for the long delay in posting. As you guys are aware from my previous posts, my life is in a state of flux right now. This has really limited my writing opportunities. However, now all of my major licensure exams are taken and over with, and I am now a licensed pharmacist! YAY! Now I'm looking for jobs, but I should be able to do more writing on the side now that the hardcore studying is done.
Which leads to this chapter! The only thing I will note about this chapter is that I am trying out some new perspective that I normally write, including Chichi. Please let me know how I did with all of my characters, but I would appreciate specific feedback on both her and Krillin. It will help me gauge how well I'm doing in keeping them in character or if they are completely different in my AU from the reader's perspective.
Enjoy the chappie!
"Dialogue"
Thoughts/Mindscape/Dream sequence
"Telepathic communication"
~Change in setting~
*Actions*
Flashback
Chapter 3: Heaven
~Son Household, Mount Paozu, 439 East Mountain District; December 31st, Age 767~
"Happy New Year's Eve to all of our viewers! I'm Jimmy Firecracker of KBFD Channel 2 news, and we are live in Orange Star City where the mayor has scheduled a grand New Year's event to honor the man who saved us all from the terrible threat that was Cell, Hercule Satan! The event will begin at the start of the new year, so stay with us for continuing coverage!"
Krillin rolls his eyes at that statement. He shakes his head at the stupidity of the people of Earth. Yeah, the savior of Earth is Hercule Satan, the man with a giant afro who was attacking Cell with everything that he had, but not even making the android flinch before being swatted out of the ring as easily as a fly. The savior of the Earth is Hercule Satan, the man who conveniently 'tripped' out of the ring and had a 'stomachache' that prevented him from fighting instead of an eleven-year-old boy 'trickster.'
Oh brother! How can people believe a goofball like that saved the Earth?
He takes his gaze away form the small television for a moment to glance over at his little buddy, his godson, the real savior of the world. The pre-teen demi-Saiyan is currently on the floor sitting in front of baby Trunks, playing a game of peek-a-boo with him. The tiny tot seems to be getting tons of amusement from the game with the older demi-Saiyan. Krillin's actually surprised that the baby prince is even still awake at this time of night. Upon closer inspection, he can see the lavender tuffed chibi's eyes starting to droop a bit.
Must be as stubborn as his parents, he muses.
Looking at the two demi-Saiyans, he has to admit that it's quite a cute sight. It seems that ever since finding out that he's going to be a big brother, Gohan has taken quite a role in little Trunks' life. It's as if Gohan is trying to get as much practice as he can before the newest addition to the family arrives. That little tyke is going to be the luckiest little brother in the world.
Watching this scene makes it hard for him to believe that this same little boy that is doting on Bulma's child is the actual person to beat the greatest threat that the Earth has ever known. He will freely admit that he thought that his best friend was crazy to send Gohan out to fight Cell. However, his godson turned out to be the only one that had enough power to actually match up with the diabolical android. The little boy who is currently playing with a baby doesn't look anything at all like a warrior, but inside that small body of his is a gigantic power that is absolutely mind-boggling.
Literally.
Oh, he remembers that power alright. That power had turned his kind, gentle little buddy into a sadistic, power-hungry monster almost on par with that of Frieza. It was incredibly scary to watch an eleven-year-old boy go though what he did. The hardest part was seeing him threaten Goku, his own father. He's ashamed to admit that if he were to be honest, he was completely terrified that Gohan may have gone over the edge. Heck, he still has nightmares about what could have happened to his little buddy had he not regained himself in those final moments before he ended Cell's existence.
Those moments are the only redeeming moments that came out of that whole situation. Gohan had regained himself after realizing what he had done. It had taken Goku completely breaking down into a sobbing mess to make the kid come to his senses, but he did nonetheless. After that, he was able to blast the bastard android responsible for that whole mess into oblivion.
Looking at Gohan play with Trunks, he knows that the demi-Saiyan wouldn't do anything to hurt any one of them. At least not by his own will. His godson is just too much like his father: too pure-hearted and kind-minded to even think about doing anything to hurt them. Still, Krillin doesn't know how he will react if he ever sees that power from Gohan again. He knows that Goku and Piccolo have worked with the chibi tirelessly to get him to gain more control of the form. From what he hears from the two of them, as well as from Gohan, the training has been going incredibly well. However, he can't help but shiver just thinking about what happened back at the Cell Games.
Shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts, and with it warm up his body from those frigid memories, he looks back at the television. On the screen he only sees that wannabe reporter continue to praise the biggest fraud in the world. He can't help but get a bit irritated at that. He had wanted to go out right away and disprove Hercule Satan's 'recollections' of the Cell Games, and he was not alone in that regard either. Yamcha, Tien, Chaiotzu, Bulma, heck even Vegeta wanted to show that buffoon what those 'light tricks' can really do.
They were stopped by Goku though. HIs best friend had explained to them that Gohan, while most likely mature enough to handle the attention that came with being declared the world savior, wouldn't want the attention at all. Upon thinking upon it further, Krillin decided that his best friend's thoughts made sense. The child is rather shy and naive to outsiders of their group. His godson is also just too humble for his own good. Knowing Gohan, he would most likely just blush constantly at the constant praise for doing something he felt was only right to do and shy away from all of the attention. It really would have made him incredibly uncomfortable.
So they allowed a clown to take the title.
He honestly has never seen a more ridiculous person in his life than Hercule Satan. The giant afro and goatee make the man look like a serial rapist. Seriously! That thing just screams 'creeper!' It really is amazing how the world believes that man is the world savior.
Still, the buffoon really does know how to demand attention, the bald monk muses.
He continues to watch everything that is happening on the TV. They are now showing highlights of past fights that the buffoon was in during the last Tenkaichi Budokai while counting down the time till the new year. While Krillin will admit that Hercule's fights are somewhat impressive on a normal human scale, they are nothing in comparison to what they used to be back when he competed.
Okay, maybe he's being a bit biased on that.
Still, they aren't even close to what they can do now. After watching yet another mindless highlight of Hercule's career, he turns his attention away from the TV and peers around the room to find someone that he can talk to. The whole gang had decided to go over to Goku's place to bring in the new year, and nearly everyone is here. The only ones who haven't shown up are the Namekian duo of Dende and Piccolo. He sees Yamcha in the corner of the room talking with Tien about something or another, with Chaiotzu adding his own input every now and then. Gohan is still occupied with the baby demi-Saiyan, now bouncing the little tyke up and down on his knee. Bulma and Chichi are not too far off behind the demi-Saiyan duo discussing Dende knows what. Moving on, he also sees Goku trying to draw Vegeta out of his antisocial shell, although it only seems to be making the Saiyan prince more irritated.
Well, it looks like that would be a good place to step in.
Getting up from his spot, He makes his way over to the two Saiyans. After all, he doesn't want Vegeta to end up blowing up the house trying to get Goku to shut up. Sadly, knowing his best friend, that's what it would take to get Goku to realize that Vegeta just wants to be left alone. He still has no clue how Bulma even got the certified psychopath to show up in the first place.
"Yo, Goku!" He shouts, walking up to the younger of the two Saiyans. His best friend looks his way and grins. Out of the corner of his vision, he sees Vegeta seize the golden opportunity and quickly make his way away from the two of them as fast as possible. He internally laughs at that.
"Hey Krillin!" the taller Saiyan greets him with a smile. This draws a smile to his own face. That grin of his is just too contagious! "What's up?"
"Oh nothing in particular," the monk replies. He looks back over at the television to see the time before turning back to his friend. "Although it seems as though we only have five more minutes until the countdown."
"Alright, I guess we'll have to tell everyone then." The friendly Saiyan looks around the party. If Krillin were to guess, he would assume that his best friend is trying to take in the fact that almost everyone is here. "I'm glad everyone could make it! This has been fun!"
The bald monk nods. He would have to agree. Things are always more lively when all of them are together. Of course he wishes a special someone else were here too, but he knew that she wouldn't be here. "Yeah, we should definitely get together more often. The last time I saw you must have been when you told me about your second kid. That was like, what, six months ago?"
He sees his childhood friend scratch the back of his head in the classic manner that he his known for. "Geez Krillin, has it really been that long? I'm sorry. I guess I've been so focused on training Gohan that I've lost track of the time."
"Oh brother," Krillin replies with a face-palm. He looks up at his friend and sees him grinning in a sheepish manner and can't help but shake his head with a smirk. That's just typical Goku. Although that particular habit of his friend's is very annoying at times, he wouldn't have him any other way. He also knows that his friend truly doesn't mean to forget about his friends. "Well, whatever. Please try and come over more at least? I miss you buddy."
Goku gives him an affirmative nod. "Definitely Krillin. We should hang out again sometime. As soon as I can get Gohan to control his new super Saiyan transformation we can have a spar or something."
Krillin chuckles at that. Of course Goku would want to spar. If he's not thinking about food, he's thinking about fighting. "Speaking of Gohan's training, how is my little buddy doing anyway? Last I heard, he was making some serious progress."
"Well, you see—"
"Guys!" a voice cuts him off. He sees that it's actually the subject of their conversation, Gohan himself. The chibi looks excited, and is vehemently pointing to the TV while tugging on his father's arm. Krillin already realizes what the kid is getting at, but Gohan continues nonetheless. "There are only thirty seconds left on the countdown! Hurry up! Otherwise you will miss it!"
Gohan then proceeds to pull Goku away by the arm towards the television. That sight makes the bald monk laugh. Seasoned warrior or not, Gohan is still a kid. It's refreshing to see him act like one instead of the almost adult-like personality that he has adopted over the past few years. He quickly makes his own way over towards the party of people. He doesn't want to miss the countdown himself.
"Alright everyone get ready!"
"Ten!
"Nine!
"Eight!
"Seven!
"Six!
"Five!
"Four!
"Three!
"Two!
"ONE!
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
At that shout everyone starts going nuts. Noisemakers are spun by a few while others are sounding off those plastic party horns in celebration. Gohan takes a pot and starts banging it with a wooden spoon, eventually breaking the spoon after a few over powerful strikes, much to the anger of his mother. However, that's all quickly forgotten as Goku wraps an arm around his wife and, quite unexpectedly to Krillin, gives her a kiss, one which Chichi doesn't hesitate to respond to. He also notices that Bulma caught that out of the corner of her eye, and she quickly makes her way to find Vegeta. She gives him a big smooch of her own against the royal Saiyan's will, probably not wanting to be outdone by her two best friends. That sight actually saddens the monk. That is exactly what he wants. He would give the world for someone that he could kiss on New Year's Day.
Well, alright. He already has the perfect girl, but he hasn't seen her since immediately following the Cell Games.
Despite the happy cheering going on around him, he can't help but lower his head in disappointment as he is reminded of that memory. He had just came up with the idea of wishing the bombs out of Androids Seventeen and Eighteen. Eighteen, his dream girl, had apparently overheard him. She had seemed angry, but he could tell that she was grateful for his wish. She had immediately left the Lookout, flying away to some unknown territory to never been heard from again. The smile she directed at him before she left gave him some hope that he would see her again.
After that, he had started searching the Earth for her. He has searched and searched for countless hours, spending days at a time on a few occasions trying to find the girl of his dreams. However, he has never once been successful, despite his valiant efforts. He figures that it is very easy for her to avoid him since she doesn't have a ki signature to trace. She can also sense ki herself, so if she feels him nearby, he knows that she could quick split if she wanted to. After realizing this, Krillin has given up searching for her, deciding that if she wanted to be found that she would have turned up by now.
He just hopes that he will get the chance to see her again.
"Hey Krillin, what's wrong? Why do you look so sad?"
He's startled out of his rather depressing thoughts by none other than his little buddy. Gohan is looking up at him with big, onyx eyes that are shining with concern for him. He kind of feels bad for making the kid worry about him, but he can't help but sigh in frustration. He still is heartbroken by Eighteen's cold shoulder. "Oh it's nothing big, bud," he responds despondently. "I'm just thinking about the last time I saw Eighteen. That's all."
The boy looks up at him with an expression of confusion. "Have you seen her since the Cell Games Krillin?"
He sighs once again. "That's the thing, Gohan. I've been looking for her for a while now, but I have yet to run into her again. I'm starting to think that she's avoiding me."
A look of understanding crosses the chibi's face, which soon melts into shame for some reason he can't understand. "I"m sorry Krillin… I was the one who blurted out to everyone, including her, that you liked her. It might be my fault that she's avoiding you."
Wait… what?
"No, it's not your fault at all Gohan!" the monk immediately corrects the kid. How can Gohan think it's his fault?
"But Krillin, what if the reason she's avoiding you is because she is completely awkward around you now?"
"Stop right there kid!" He demands. He tries to give Gohan his most serious glare. Yeah, Gohan might have made it more awkward, but he could never blame his little buddy for something that trivial. He was just acting like any naive eleven-year-old. In fact, if Gohan hadn't said anything, his father probably would have. He's starting to regret sharing this information with him. "We don't know if that is even the case, and even if it is, I don't blame you for a second, so you shouldn't blame yourself. Alright?"
For some reason, it looks as though Gohan goes through a series of emotions all at once in the next moment. It's almost as if he is conflicted on whether or not to believe him. Krillin sighs once again. He berates himself for even forcing this info on Gohan to begin with. The chibi has always seemed to take unnecessary blame for things he didn't do, and he just gave him more ammo to add.
Eventually though, Gohan gives him a small smile. "Alright Krillin, I'm sorry." The chibi's smile widens back into his classic, infectious smile. Krillin let out an internal breath of relief. He didn't want to put any more burden onto his godson's already large plate. "I'm sure you'll see her again Krillin! Just you wait!"
The monk smiles at the kid's remark. "I hope so Gohan… I hope so." Wanting to change the topic of the conversation, he quickly looks over at the TV. He sees that they are about to start the grand event that they set up for the New Year's Celebration in Orange Star City. "Hey, why don't we sit down and watch what's happening in Orange Star City? I'm sure we can get a few laughs from watching Hercule."
Gohan giggles at that. "Yeah, I've never seen a funnier guy ever! He's always doing those hilarious poses and his hair is just silly! He's funnier than any clown I've ever seen!" The kid giggles again, and Krillin joins in the laughter at that last comment. "Of course the only time I've ever seen him was the Cell Games. I know that he's the one that everyone thinks beat Cell, but I still think he'll be hilarious." The chibi scratches his chin in thought at that. "I wonder if he finally got a haircut."
That last comment causes Krillin to burst out into laughter again. The only thing that would look more ridiculous than that afro on Hercule would be if he shaved it all off. "Well, let's find out shall we?"
His little buddy nods at that, and they both make their way over to the couch in the living room. They take a seat and start watching what is going on. Apparently the mayor of the city is talking now, and it appears as if there is some great unveiling about to take place. There is a curtain that is drawn at the moment over what looks to be a giant billboard. The bald monk raises an eyebrow wondering what it is that he's going to unveil. The mayor is also at a table with a pile of official looking documents, as if he is about to sign a new city ordinance into place.
"Wow, this must be a huge law or something!" He hears Gohan state beside him. "I wonder what he's going to sign?"
He's wondering the exact same thing.
"This measure was voted on by the public and reached a record breaking approval of 98%!" The mayor states proudly. Krillin can't help but give a low whistle at that. No one ever agrees that much on one thing, especially in as big of a city as Orange Star City. Whatever this is must be a very popular bill. "So it is with great pride and honor that I, Mayor Daidaiiro(1), sign this official ordinance changing the name of 'Orange Star City' to 'Satan City' in honor of our world savior!"
Krillin's eyes bug out as loud cheering breaks out on the television. That's what passed a city-wide vote with 98% approval!? Looking over at Gohan, he can see that the kid is surprised too. Quickly looking around the room to see the reactions of the others, he can tell that none of the others are really paying attention to the TV at the moment. He turns his stunned eyes back to the television. He sees the mayor finish signing the bill before pulling a cord, which withdraws the blinds from in front of that large billboard.
And then both him and Gohan burst out laughing.
Tears are starting to form in his eyes as he laughs at the hilarity of it all. He just can't stop though; it's just too hilarious! They both laugh so hard that they fall off of the couch, now rolling around on the ground.
"What's so goddamn funny that you imbeciles are howling like a bunch of pathetic hyenas?"
Of course their laughter would bring notice to Vegeta. However, for once in his life, Krillin's not afraid of the irritated prince as he just continues to cackle like a maniac. He does however pull himself together long enough to point at the TV, drawing the prince's gaze to the what he and Gohan are laughing at.
And then Vegeta bursts out laughing!
This development stuns the bald monk greatly. However, one more look at the TV is all it takes for him to start laughing all over again. With the normally grouchy Saiyan prince laughing his head off, that is sure to attract the attention of everyone else at the party. As predicted, pretty soon Krillin can hear the additional laughter of Yamcha followed by Bulma. He can even hear Tien start laughing, and he is the most stoic of all of them. In fact, the only ones he doesn't hear laughing are Goku and Chichi. That's probably because they both don't have a clue about what is so funny about what is on the TV screen right now. He is able to glance up once more at the screen before bursting into even more laughter.
The mayor is on a stage, now standing to the right of Hercule himself. The 'world savior' apparently got invited to the stage in the time that he was laughing. They both are now grinning proudly in front of what appears to be a giant billboard of the new city name. That's not the funny part though. The funny part is the giant blown up picture of Hercule with his signature idiotic smirk holding up two peace signs. Even better, there's a speech bubble coming from his mouth saying 'Welcome to Satan City! Home of the World Champ!' The billboard is just so ridiculous that it is freaking hilarious!
The only thing that could make that guy more vain would be if they erected a gold statue of the man, the monk manages to think through his laughter. Although with a 98% approval rating for changing the name of the city just to honor the guy, I wouldn't put even that past them.
By the time he's able to calm down, he sees that everyone is now paying attention to the television. Even Vegeta is listening in on what is being said. Apparently Krillin was the last one to calm down from his laughing attack. Looking at the TV, he struggles to retain more laughter (which would have hurt like heck with how much he's already strained himself from laughing) as he sees none other than the figure of his amusement now getting interviewed by, in his opinion, a rather attractive news reporter. That opinion of her changes instantly though as he winces at the sound of her squeaky voice. He can only imagine what it would be like for those with Saiyan hearing. He can already tell that she wasn't hired for her intellect.
"Sounds like you have quite the tournament planned," He catches the reporter announce. His eyes widen at that. Hercule is holding some sort of tournament? That would certainly explain why even Vegeta is interested in what the buffoon is saying. He probably wants to shut the idiot up.
For once Krillin agrees with the Saiyan Prince.
"BWAHAHA!" The buffoon (he's starting to like that title for Hercule) laughs his idiotic laugh in reply. This causes the monk to face-palm. Oh brother, this guy's a moron… "That's right! After all, whoever is able to get past their intergalactic fighter will be facing me in the final round for ten million zeni! If they manage to beat me—which let's face it, is a long shot—then—"
"TEN MILLION ZENI?!"
Okay, even he needed to cover his ears at that shout. He looks over at Chichi, the one who shouted that in the first place. He gulps as he sees that she has already worked herself into hysterics. Much to his continued apprehension, this is a feat that is even easier than normal considering that his best friend's wife is a little over seven months pregnant.
"Dammit Kakarot!" He hears Vegeta yell at his fellow Saiyan. He's probably going to complain about his rival's wife. "Tell your harpy to stop shouting so damn loud!" Checkmate on that.
Much to his amusement, Goku looks a little scared of his wife at the moment. Not that he can blame him. He would be scared of Chichi too if she were his wife! "Umm… Chichi—"
"Goku!" the matron of the house cuts off her husband. She sounds frantic. "You have got to enter that tournament! That prize money could put our Gohan through college, where he could graduate at top of his class and become a great scholar! Then he would meet the perfect girl to be his wife and… OH!" The sudden shout makes Krillin jump in place. It appears as though the (somewhat insane) woman is in her own fantasy land now. "Think about the grand babies!"
Krillin briefly looks over at his little buddy. He once again explodes into incessant giggles, pain and fatigue be damned. The boy's face has turned so red at his mother's insinuation that he is doing the perfect impression of a tomato.
Oh, if only he had a camera!
"MOM!" the demi-Saiyan indignantly shouts in whiny manner that is typical of a child his age. "I'm only eleven!"
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say though as the Son Matron's mood switches on a dime. Krillin can't help but wonder how she does that. Now appearing extremely livid, the mother immediately marches over to her son. Krillin winces slightly. Even though Gohan's height goes up to her shoulders now, he seems to appear much smaller under the powerful glare she is sending her son's way. "I don't care! I can dream, can't I?"
Gohan gulps at his mother, making the monk snicker a little. He can see Goku also scratch the back of his head, desperately trying to figure out what to do in this situation. "Common Chichi! I already want to enter the tournament so you bet I will win that money for you, so just calm down—"
She instantly spins around, now glaring her husband down. "Don't you tell me to calm down—"
"GOKU SON!"
His head whips to the television. He had expected those words to come from the irate mother, not from Hercule on TV. This obviously gets the attention of everyone else as well. Now the whole group is once again watching the television with great interest.
"I hope you're watching Goku Son, because I, Hercule Satan, savior of the world, challenge you to enter this tournament. Then I will be able to show you what a fraud you really are!" Krillin feels his ki spike a little at that, but he calms himself down quick enough. This is new. Sure, the buffoon has denounced their way of martial arts as a way of getting people to believe his story, but this is the first time he has actually called out Goku specifically. Wanting to find out what this is about more than ever now, he continues to watch what the moron is going to say next.
"What do you mean by that Hercule?" that dumb reporter asks him to elaborate.
The neanderthal glares at the camera. "Well, as everyone is probably aware, Goku Son was the champion of the Tenkaichi Budokai before me, but if you look at his fights, he used all of those cheap light tricks that those mystery fighters from the Cell Games used, meaning that he cheated in order to win! Therefore, I challenge Goku Son to my Intergalactic Tournament in order to prove to everyone the real way of fighting! He won't be able to cheat his way to victory in my tournament! I will make sure he knows his place!"
That does it!
Krillin feels his rage spike at that comment. This idiot of a man—this fraud—is calling a true hero a trickster just because he doesn't understand the concept of ki control? Hercule has the gauld to call his best friend a cheater and a liar, claiming that he won the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai using 'light tricks?' He can feel his ki start to rise with his anger as he tries desperately to calm himself down.
However, his anger quickly diminishes with the feeling of an even more monumental ki spike.
He comes out of his shock in time to gain his bearing as he feels a gust of wind attempt to blow him away. The TV crashes into the wall behind it, damaging it and—thankfully—shutting up that disgrace of a man. He looks over to the source of the ki spike, shocked to see none other than his little buddy, Gohan, already transformed into a super Saiyan… and still powering up. Krillin was so focused on his own anger that he didn't even notice Gohan's ki level until it was already at a super Saiyan level. He gulps, trying to figure out what set the normally level-headed chibi off. Like his mother, Gohan has been known to have an explosive temper when pushed too far. Unlike his mother though, his anger threshold has an extremely high ceiling. His patience is second only to that of his father. Krillin finds it strange that something so trivial is able to set Gohan off, despite it being about Goku. The ki he feels from the chibi though is overwhelming, and it's only continuing to rise.
He is starting to fear the beast that came out during the Cell Games again.
Shivering, he internally berates himself for becoming scared of Gohan. He can't help it though! That day traumatized him in a way he would have never imagined. He still feels extremely guilty that he would think that one of his best friends would be a danger to him though. However, if Gohan continues this for much longer, this entire house will burst from the pressure gradient that he is starting to generate.
As if Gohan read his mind, the kid powers down as quickly as he powered up. The child then instantly collapses into an unconscious state from the sudden exertion of ki. Perhaps his godson came to his senses, or perhaps he just ran out of ki. Either way, he's glad that that little explosion of power is over. He is about to make his way over to make sure that Gohan is okay, but as soon as he starts moving, he sees Goku appear there instantly. The older Saiyan quietly picks up his son and starts heading towards what he assumes to be the boy's bedroom. However, Krillin doesn't fail to notice the waves of anxiety and concern coming off of his best friend as he carries his son to bed.
"HA! It seems those little 'self-control' lessons you've been working on with your son haven't shown their fruit yet, have they Kakarot?"
Much to his surprise, Goku stops in his tracks, and the monk actually hears him growl at his fellow Saiyan. It seems that this is a touchy subject for his best friend, rightfully so as he thinks about it further. Vegeta probably just wants to fight Goku and is trying to get him riled up. Shockingly, it seems to be working. Instead of retaliating though, Goku just turns and continues towards his son's room in order to give the child a good place to rest. Krillin sees Vegeta smirk before the jerk pushes himself off of the wall he was leaning on and walks outside. He has no idea what the Saiyan Prince intends to do out there, but he couldn't care less at the moment. Chichi quickly folllows her husband and son out of the room in a worried state, leaving all of her guests to speculate what had just happened. The room is silent as everyone else is still too shocked at what just occurred to do anything else.
He finds himself shocked too. That was completely unlike Gohan to explode like that in a situation that didn't put the lives of innocent people at risk. For some reason, those comments that Hercule said really pushed Gohan over the edge quickly. He suddenly realizes that Gohan hadn't seen Hercule since the Cell Games, so he most likely wasn't prepared for a bomb like the one Hercule dropped on his father. It still doesn't make any sense to him though. That shouldn't have had nearly the effect on Gohan that it did.
What's wrong with his little buddy?
~439 East Mountain District, February 21st, Age 768~
He grunts as he fights off another strong attack by his pupil. The only things even allowing him to even block the assault at all are his superior experience and technique, and the fact that he knows the kid better than anyone else.
Oh, and the teeny-tiny fact that he's double teaming the child with Goku.
Speaking of Goku, his training 'partner' manages to use Gohan's focus on himself to his advantage, delivering a good shot to the kid's abdomen. He hears him grunt, the pre-teen reflexively grabbing his stomach, and Piccolo uses this action to land a blow of his own on the demi-Saiyan prodigy. This sends the disgruntled chibi towards the ground, where he explodes in a crater. He frowns, knowing that his only student is stronger than this. Never mind the fact that the only way that they were able to get the kid into this position in the first place is by double teaming him.
Something is definitely up with Gohan. He still refuses to go to the next level of super Saiyan. Sure, while he is stronger as a super Saiyan than both him and Goku, the kid doesn't stand a chance against both of them together if he doesn't go to the next level. He has seen his pupil at that level. He is absolutely, unbelievably strong. His student is able to completely overpower their double team without issue in that form.
When Gohan first found out about his brother, he was training that form hardcore, almost on a daily basis. Every time his student did this he would beat the absolute stuffing out of him and Goku. However, ever since the rebellion in Hell with Frieza and Cell, Gohan hasn't been doing that well. He hasn't even transformed once!
That fight was months ago for Dende's sake!
He knows that something happened in Other World. That much he is certain. Why else would Gohan be suddenly reluctant to transform again after that one event? Goku may have painted a pretty picture on the Lookout, and Gohan did a very good job of selling it too, but he has noticed a difference in the training. Gohan has been a lot more hesitant to use his power, even in his lower forms. When he confronted Gohan about it, the kid just looked at him with that innocent, oblivious expression that he has perfected over the years. The kid pretended that he didn't even know what Piccolo was talking about. As the Namekian continued to prod his student, the kid wouldn't budge an inch. Gohan eventually guilted the Namekian out of talking about it by insinuating that he didn't trust the demi-Saiyan.
And that couldn't be farther from the truth.
So he has left it alone since. He really does trust his pupil, and figures that Gohan would tell him if it was anything that was big. After all, the kid has never had any problems telling him anything. No, his pupil wouldn't hide anything from him, so he has opted to let Gohan deal with it on his own. He wants to give the kid a chance to figure out whatever it is that he needs to in order to gain back his confidence in that form. Gohan's done it before with the transformation; he just needs the time.
And if the kid needs his help, Piccolo will be more than willing to help out. After the last time the subject was breached, he has decided to let the kid come to him on his own. The pre-teen demi-Saiyan is growing up after all, and this is a pristine opportunity for the kid to work out his own problems—a chance to fight his own demons.
Still, that doesn't mean these training sessions haven't been frustrating as hell!
As he sees Gohan struggle to make it back to his feet, he scowls. Hidden demons or not, Gohan is going to transform today, and Piccolo is going to make sure of it! His pupil is never going to get any better at controlling his super Saiyan 2 form if he doesn't transform. He was so close to control too! Piccolo was extremely confident that Gohan would have made great strides in his control when he fought Cell in Other World. His pupil had the opportunity to see just how far he had come from the last time he fought him at Cell Games. Something happened in Other World that made his student revert for whatever reason, but Gohan is just going to have to transform sooner or later.
Might as well make it sooner.
"Common kid! This is pathetic!" he jeers. His attempt to get a rise out of his student. "I know you're better than this!"
He sees his pupil narrow his eyes at him and jump into the air. His student swiftly charges towards him and Goku. Gohan immediately goes on the attack, striking him right in the chest much faster than he anticipated. Piccolo winces, fighting off the amount of pain that he feels from that one blow. He tries to block the rest of his pupil's attack. He really needs to put his full concentration into defending himself if he wants to compete with Gohan. Apparently, Goku is letting him fight on his own for a few moments.
That son of a bitch!
Still, he can already tell that Gohan is unfocused in his attack. The kid's movements are entirely too predicable. The Namekian, while working physically on blocking them thanks to the giant disparity in ki between him and his much stronger student, has no trouble figuring out what Gohan is doing. The kid seems to be fighting carelessly, very unlike the pupil that he's been training since the boy was less than five years old. This in turn, is tiring Gohan out. Piccolo continues to fight his reckless student until he finds the opening he needs. He dodges left and uses the momentum that Gohan had built up to throw him down towards the ground. The chibi yelps in surprise as he crashes into the earth once more.
"This isn't right Piccolo," Goku states. Ah, so the father is frustrated too. He can tell by the tone of voice. "He needs to transform. He's tiring out too quickly and is becoming reckless."
"I've noticed that myself," the Namekian confirms. He watches his student struggle to get to his feet. "He could get himself killed if he continues to fight this way. How do you propose we get him to do it though?"
"I've been thinking about this for the past couple of weeks, and I believe I know how." Piccolo notices that his ally is looking at his son. Gohan doesn't appear to be in much of a hurry to continue. The kid is most likely catching his breath.
"I know that we had thought that getting him angry would be enough after the New Year's party, but that hasn't worked at all. It's been seven weeks." After stating his piece, he turns to Goku, who nods his head in confirmation of what he's thinking.
"Exactly. I think it will take a different type of motivation for him to transform. I'm just really hesitant to use it."
As if a light bulb went off in his head, the Namekian suddenly knows exactly what his rival is talking about. "You're going to use his brother aren't you." He makes it sound more like a statement than a question.
"I really don't want to Piccolo, believe me," he replies. "I was seriously hoping that just making him angry would be enough. I really hate guilt tripping him like that, and using his brother would be the worst kind of guilt trip. It also could possibly backfire supremely. It's one of the reasons I've waited so long to try this." The Saiyan shakes his head, running a hand through his blond hair. The man's gaze then meets his and Piccolo can see just how hard it is for the father of his pupil. "You're right though Piccolo. He could get himself killed if he continues this way. Maybe not now, but whenever he needs this power again."
The Namekian nods, quickly turning back to the battlefield. Gohan apparently is now rested enough and is going back on the offensive. Piccolo quickly dodges a left hook and continues to fight off the pre-teen demi-Saiyan. Again, he finds it incredibly challenging just to keep up, despite Goku's help from the other side. How Gohan was able to recover so much ki after just a minor pause in the battle is still incredible to him. The battle continues for a few more minutes, with Gohan still holding his own against two opponents. Eventually though, his partner is able to get a good hit in that sends the child flying. Gohan appears to recover quick enough and looks as if about to power up again, but Piccolo notices the child stop himself.
He growls, fed up with his pupil's irrational fear of himself. He quickly phases to the chibi and sends him once again flying to the ground with another assault while he's struggling internally.
"This is enough!" He shouts at his pupil as he recovers from their latest exchange. He decides to get everything in the open. "Gohan, I'm sick and tired of this ridiculous fear of yourself! I know you feel guilty about the Cell Games but that's over and done with! No one blames you for acting that way, so stop blaming yourself!"
"Piccolo's right, Gohan!" Goku chimes in. "You really need to stop holding back yourself on this! It will end up biting you in the butt in the end!"
Seeing they've got Gohan at least at a standstill at the moment, Piccolo decides to try one more method that might be able to work kick his pupil's ass into gear. "Think about this from a logical perspective, kid. The more you fear this power, the more power it has against you. You are limiting yourself with your unwarranted fear—"
"Unwarranted fear?!" Gohan shouts back. "You think my fear of this transformation is unwarranted!? You have no idea what I go through when I transform!"
This takes both adults aback. His student sounds astonishingly livid. Piccolo had not expected Gohan to retaliate to that statement so vehemently. Apparently he struck a nerve with that comment. Still, this just provided him with the perfect opportunity to get his student to open up a little more about this subject. "That's because you won't tell us! You keep on saying that there's nothing wrong!"
"That's because there is nothing wrong!" The pre-teen retorts. "There's absolutely nothing wrong as long as I stay out of my second transformation!"
"That is a lie son." Goku states calmly. "You have been holding yourself back and have been fighting very sloppily for a while now, even in your lower forms! Is that any way to fight in order to be good enough to protect your brother?"
Ouch! That had to sting. He can clearly see the surprise on his pupil's face at that before his eyes narrow. "Don't you dare bring my brother into this!" he growls back, seething. Yep. Goku was right, that definitely got a reaction out of him. Now its time to go for the kill.
"Well that's why you're here training with us in the first place, is it not? It's shocking that you don't bring him up yourself in this whole process. It almost seems as if you don't care if he gets hurt by the next threat t—"
*BANG!*
*Crash!*
Piccolo hits the ground so hard that he makes a crater of his own from Gohan's last hit. That will definitely sting for a while without senzu beans. How the hell did Gohan move that fast anyway?
"Don't you ever say that I don't care about my brother!" the irate demi-Saiyan spits at him from above. "I love my brother! I don't care who you are, I will not stand someone saying that I don't care about my brother's wellbeing!"
Okay, I may have gone a bit too far on that last jab, the Namekian concedes. He can feel the glare that his pupil is giving him, even if he can't see it through the smoke and dust that was brought up by his impact.
"I'm doing everything within my power to protect my brother!" Gohan continues. "I'm dealing with it in my own way! Like I said, you have no idea what that transformation is like so just SHUT UP!"
The next thing he notices is his student suddenly flaring his ki before it leaves at a phenomenal speed. The Namekian sighs, getting out of his crater. He tries not to wince from where he took that last blow as he looks up in the direction that Gohan went. Piccolo has a good feeling of where his pupil is going. He turns his gaze to Goku, who appears to be getting ready to chase after his son with instant transmission.
"Let him go, Goku." He tells the man before he's able to leave. He rises into the air and floats next to his former enemy. "He's heading to the Lookout, most likely to vent to Dende. It's probably best that we give him space at the moment."
He sees the full-blooded Saiyan look longingly in the direction that his son went for a few moments more before sighing and lowering the hand that he was about to use to perform instant transmission. Goku's temperament then seems to switch in a blink of an eye. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" He suddenly shouts. The Saiyan shakes his head in frustration—a frustration that he shares but never expected his ally to vocalize to such an extent. "This is exactly what I was afraid of when I decided to use his brother in this manner! I should have predicted that he would react defensively!"
Taken aback by his training partner's sudden anger at himself, Piccolo tries to calm the man down. "Goku, it was my fault. I pushed him too hard too quickly. You only did what you thought was best. We had no way of knowing for sure that he would react that way."
"No, your wrong Piccolo. I should have known! Not only am I his father, but this is exactly how he reacted the first time I tried this too."
"Wait, you tried getting him to transform using his brother before?" This comes as a huge surprise to the Namekian. He knows that Goku has trained Gohan by himself plenty of times, but usually he doesn't try to get his pupil to transform without the Namekian present. It would be too dangerous, not to mention impossible to challenge Gohan enough to require the transformation in the first place.
"Well, not exactly," he admits. "It was when we were still in Other World. He was terrified of himself after his battle with Cell because he had relapsed during that battle, and I had tried to motivate him to continue training using his brother." The man shakes his head more at the memory. "He immediately asked me if I had thought that he didn't care about his brother by telling him to transform into that 'monster' again."
Piccolo can't help but wince at that last sentence. "I know," Goku continues. He apparently noticed the wince. "I reacted that same way. In hindsight, that was probably the worst time to bring that up, right after he had a horrible experience with the transformation again. Still though, I had made my point and I had thought I had gotten the idea in his head to think over. This is the main reason I waited so long to try this again. I wanted him to reach the conclusion that he can use the transformation to protect his brother better, not endanger him. Instead, it seems like it hasn't really changed."
The Namekian honestly doesn't know what to say to that. Goku is absolutely right. It seems that Gohan is still of the mindset that he is dangerous to his brother. "Perhaps Dende can talk some sense into him," Piccolo finally tries. "They have spent a ton of time together ever since Dende became Guardian of Earth. Maybe he will listen to someone his own age better than one of us. And if not, actually meeting his brother in person might be helpful. Your second child is due any day now, correct?"
Goku smiles at the thought of his second son. "Yep! According to Chichi, the baby will be coming any day within the next few weeks."
"Well then, I suggest we halt Gohan's training for now until the brat is born. I think if Gohan's main motivation is more real and in the flesh it will help him with his mental stability. He will finally have a face to associate with his brother."
"I agree with that suggestion Piccolo." The Saiyan then grins at him. "I think you are absolutely right. If the bond that he has with his brother is already as strong as it is when he's not even born yet, I think meeting him and solidifying that bond would be extremely helpful to his control in the super Saiyan 2 form."
Piccolo nods his head in confirmation with his fellow trainer. Oh, that bond is indeed impressive. Ever since feeling the ki the first time, his pupil has always been able to find it within moments from literally anywhere on Earth, despite the child not even being born yet. That is a sign of a magnificently strong fraternal bond between the two. He has no doubt that what Goku said will happen as this bond is only in its infancy at the moment.
Over the years, Piccolo has learned a ton about bonds between people. The Namekian used to be of the mindset that caring about others would only be a hindrance to fighting as it gives one more to lose. Others can use those people as targets, creating weaknesses that wouldn't be there otherwise. However, his experiences with Gohan have taught him that the exact opposite is true. He has an incredible bond with the pre-teen demi-Saiyan that developed over the years since he has known the kid. This bond has not only helped him gain a greater motivation to fight, but also gave him a ridiculous amount of mental control of himself. That bond is the main reason he can be so rational in difficult situations.
So it stands to reason that this fraternal bond between the kid and his brother will help Gohan achieve a similar mental stability. It seems that there is much more than meets the eye with this new transformation that they haven't thought about. There may be reasons why it affects Gohan so adversely that have not yet been figured out, and it may be that this bond will be the key to finally getting some answers instead of more questions.
"So Piccolo," Goku states. This startles him out of his thoughts on his student. The man gives him a rather mischievous smirk. "Since we didn't get a chance earlier, do you want to have another spar right now?"
Ugh. Yeah Goku, that's what I want to do after fighting Gohan for the past two hours. He's already exhausted from all of that effort, plus Gohan's 'parting shot' really took a lot out of him. Nonetheless, his pride won't allow himself to show any weakness. He will ride it out to keep up appearances at least. He grunts, nodding in affirmative.
Goku responds by throwing him a punch.
~The Lookout~
"I can't believe that they really would say that I'm not really trying in my training! I'm working my butt off every single day, going against them two-on-one! How is that even fair?!"
Dende just nods in agreement with his best friend, although his thoughts are to the contrary. He knows that fighting two-on-one is the only way that Goku and Piccolo can hold their own against Gohan. If anything, it's the only thing that gives the demi-Saiyan a challenge. However, the Guardian also knows that it is better to just let Gohan get his grievances off of his chest when he's in his "venting-ranting mode" as Dende likes to call it. Gohan will holler and complain, sometimes for literally an hour, and all he can do during those times is listen. Only once his best friend runs out of steam can he start to talk him down from his issues.
The Guardian of the Earth was completely taken aback when he was interrupted from his monitoring duties by his best friend showing up as a super Saiyan. Gohan was extremely livid. He was about to ask him what was wrong when Gohan just started on his bickering about his father and mentor. Now for the past ten minutes he has listened to his best friend rant about the criticisms that he received from both of his trainers. While the young Namekian doesn't know exactly what set his friend off, he is willing to bet the dragon balls that it has to do with their latest attempt to get the demi-Saiyan to transform into a super Saiyan 2.
"Really?! I mean seriously! Yeah, I really don't want to conquer this transformation at all! But go ahead! Try and force me to transform! That will make it so much better! I have absolutely no idea what goes on in my own freakin' body when that transformation occurs, so it must be in my best interest to force the transformation using any means possible! They do realize that's exactly what Cell did, right?! Yeah, follow the plan of a bio-android psychopath! Thats a fantastic idea! It's not like I actually have a plan of my own that I'm working on to help with this! No! Just ignore my strategies since yours work so well!"
Yep. Hit the nail right on the head.
He winces a little at how thick his best friend is laying on the sarcasm as he speaks. The normally level-headed demi-Saiyan usually avoids sarcasm as much as possible due to the fact that Chichi finds it in bad taste; however, when he really gets going, Gohan can really lay it on with the best of them.
"By the way, how did they think I would take them saying that I don't care about my very own brother's wellbeing!"
The Guardian's eyes widen at that. Did they really say that to Gohan to get him to transform? He suddenly realizes why his best friend is so irate now. Only someone who doesn't understand what love is would be unable to recognize that Gohan cares about his brother most of all.
"Seriously! You know as well as I do what happens when I transform, Dende!"
The small Namekian nods, knowing exactly what happens when Gohan goes to the next level. He also knows that both Goku and Piccolo do not know as this is something that was disclosed only to him. He has sworn secrecy to his best friend to not tell either of them until Gohan is ready to tell them himself. He only hopes that this recent incident leads him closer to telling the two of them.
Judging from his friend's rant though, it seems unlikely.
As Gohan continues to go on about this situation, he internally curses Piccolo and Goku for their sheer ignorance. It is completely obvious at this point that Gohan is going to resist the transformation to the max. While he agrees that the both of them should be told why he has been resist since they could probably help, he understands why Gohan would refrain from that hardcore. Him knowing is bad enough, and the demi-Saiyan child doesn't want to add any extra weight to this problem. Forcing the child to transform is definitely not the way to go about addressing this issue.
And they most certainly shouldn't have used his brother either.
He can't help but scowl at that idea once again. Really? Are they seriously that dense? He's heard stories about how clueless Goku can be, but the full-blooded Saiyan also is known for being completely in sync when it comes to Gohan. Piccolo also should have known better. They really should look at it from Gohan's perspective. If they are having this hard of a time getting Gohan to transform, they seriously should know by now that there's a reason for that. After all, Gohan had agreed to these training sessions in order to help him control that form. Trying to get him mad by saying that he doesn't love his brother will not do anything to help the situation if he's actively trying to resist the transformation. It will only create a further setback.
Like right now.
He fixes his expression back to his interested listening expression as Gohan finishes his tirade. It appears as though the pre-teen is finally calming down. He has finally powered down from super Saiyan and starting to talk more normally now.
"Phew! Wow, I'm sorry for unloading like that on you Dende," the demi-Saiyan apologizes with a sheepish smile. "Thanks though for letting me get it all off of my chest!"
"Hey, that's my job as your best friend Gohan," the little Namekian replies. He grins for a moment before it fades to a more concerned expression. "So, what are you going to do now?"
Gohan scratches the back of his head. "Honestly, I'm still kinda mad at Dad and Piccolo, so I was wondering if you wanted to hang out for a bit."
The Guardian of Earth grins at his friend. While he should probably focus more on his Guardian duties, he does have his ki senses attuned to Earth's population, so he should be able to tell if something extremely significant happens that needs his guidance. He would rather hang out with his best friend anyway. Besides, after all that Gohan's had to deal with today, he figures that the kid deserves some 'fun time.' "Sure Gohan, I have some time. What would you like to do?"
"Do you think we could continue studying the Namekian language? I think I'm actually starting to get the written language down."
Dende can't help but giggle. Only Gohan would want to study to hang out. In all honesty though, the young Guardian has really enjoyed trying to teach his best friend the language of his people. It helps that the kid learns extremely fast. "Sure Gohan! Hold on, let me go get my texts."
However, before he is even able to take two steps towards the Lookout Palace, the Guardian feels a sharp spike in a ki from Earth. It wasn't that large of a ki, but it was the location that caught his attention. It was right inside Gohan's house! The Guardian turns around to see if his best friend noticed…
Gohan's expression says it all. He turns his gaze in time to see the pre-teens shocked expression turn into a large grin. It is such a happy expression that Dende can't help but mimic it himself. He has a feeling of what that was, but waits for his best friend to confirm his thoughts.
"Dende! It's time! He's coming!" Gohan pulls the Guardian into a big hug, laughing gleefully. "That ki spike is my brother, ready to be born! I'm finally gonna be a big brother!"
Thankfully his friend puts him down before he can squeeze him tighter. However, the child is still jumping around happily until he appears to realize something. "Crap!" he shouts. "I need to get Mom to Bulma's! She said that she was the only one with the staff to deliver a Saiyan baby!" The Guardian is pulled into another hug, a quick one this time. "Thanks again Dende! I'll come up with the little guy as soon as I'm allowed! See ya!"
Gohan then turns around and closes his eyes, concentrating hard on something. "I really hope this works… this will be my first real test to see if I got it down." The demi-Saiyan shocks the Guardian of Earth by raising his right hand and putting two fingers to his forehead, then disappearing a moment later. Dende blinks a couple of times before breaking out into a giggle fit.
Did he mention his best friend was a fast learner?
~Room 2, Capsule Corporation Medical Ward, Capsule Corporation, West City~
Chichi tries her best to catch her breath as anxiously awaits for the nurses to finish cleaning up her newborn son. Despite the overwhelming pain and fatigue that comes with delivering a child, the Son matron can't help but smile proudly as she hears the extremely loud wails of the newest addition to her family. The only thing that could make this better is if Goku were right here in the room with her.
Of course she realizes why the doctors were hesitant to let her husband in the room with her while delivering though. After what happened when Gohan was born, she doesn't blame them in the least. Only her husband could be so incredibly brave and strong, yet cry like a five-year-old girl at the mere sight of a needle. She shakes her head fondly at the memory.
"Congratulations Chichi!" The attending physician states happily. He has a hard time getting his voice heard over the loud cries of the newborn. "You have yourself a very healthy young Saiyan boy! He weighs a whopping 20 pounds, 6 ounces! Would you like us to remove the tail right away?"
"That would actually probably be for the best Dr. Hamada, thank you," She responds, smiling fondly at the doctor. This particular doctor is the same man who delivered Gohan. He's also her primary care physician as well as a family friend from back when she was still living with her father on Fry Pan Mountain. He, along with his select medical team, are the only ones outside of the group of Z-fighters that know about Saiyans living on Earth. Not only is this helpful since he won't freak out when he sees the abnormally large weight of the child as well as the tail, but he also has experience caring for Saiyan patients. Bulma pays him and his staff triple their normal salaries in order to keep them on hand at Capsule Corps. for situations like this.
Speaking of Bulma, the blue-haired genius startles Chichi a little bit by wrapping her arms around the tired mother, giving her an enthusiastic hug. The Son matron can't help but smile though. Her best friend was with her every step of the way with this delivery, taking Goku's place as the supportive hand-holder. "Congratulations Chichi!" She chirps. "I'm so happy for you! Now Trunks will have a playmate his own age once they're old enough!"
She chuckles while returning the hug. "Well, I have no doubt that they will become the best of friends when they get older."
"Here you go, Chichi," a nurse interrupts her. The mother will forgive the woman though as it appears that she is holding her, now sleeping, child. She quickly reaches out to gather her youngest son and can't help but smile.
Being part-Saiyan definitely has it's advantages. For one, her baby, though just born merely within the last half-hour, already has a good amount of fluffy black hair on his little head. Another is that Saiyan babies develop basic motor and psychological functions much quicker than humans. This is mainly due to the fact that back on Planet Vegeta, generation after generation of Saiyan babies was subject to missions under the Planet Trade Organization as early as hours after they are born, so they needed to develop extremely quickly.
This means that her baby will be able to hold his head up, wave his limbs around, even smile, frown, and giggle right away. These functions usually take months for a normal human baby to develop. Eventually, this will also lead to her baby being able to start crawling and walking much earlier than normal children. This is also the reason Saiyan babies are so much heavier than a human newborn, even though they don't look any bigger than normal. The muscles are denser and already more developed. Her baby is actually on the smaller side by Saiyan standards.
She can tell her baby is now content as he sleeps by the small smile on his tiny face. Both Bulma and her coo over how adorable the chibi is. Her best friend then gets up and makes her way out of the room. "I'll go get Goku for you and tell him the good news, Chichi. You just rest up and bond with that little cutie while I lead him here. After that, I'll go get Gohan."
She smiles at the bright woman. "Thank you Bulma! You are the greatest." Her friend waves as she leaves the room.
"I think we'll give you some bonding time with your son as well, Chichi," the head nurse adds.
The Son mother nods to her nurse with a smile. "Thank you Grace. You all were fantastic as usual." As the nurse leaves, Chichi turns her attention back to her son, leaning down and giving him a loving kiss. "Oh, aren't you the most adorable baby!" She softly coos. "I thought that Gohan was the cutest baby, but you are definitely giving him a run for his money! I only hope it doesn't take us a month to pick a name for you…"
She sighs. Just like Gohan, both her and Goku haven't come up with any good names yet for the baby. She is temped to try Einstein once again and see if the baby likes it. If this child is anything like his brother though, he will absolutely despise the name. It was only by accident that they were even able to settle on Gohan. She still doesn't know how a one month old baby could have such strong opinions on names. Must be a Saiyan thing.
She spends the next few minutes just watching her neonate son sleep happily while thinking of potential names. There are a few that she can think up on the spot, but they are about as good as the names her father had picked out for Gohan. She shivers slightly at that thought. She loves her daddy dearly, but those names were absolutely horrific. Ox Jr.? Johhny Oxenseed? Ox-in-the-Box? She realizes he's the Ox King, but really?
There is no way she is calling her son by anything Ox related.
She is interrupted from her naming nightmare by a soft knock on her hospital room door. After a soft acknowledgement from the Son matron, Bulma enters the room once again, this time with the company of Goku. The Saiyan immediately spots his wife and quickly makes his way over to her bedside and gives her hug. Her husband makes an extra effort to be gentle, as his son is sound asleep in his wife's arms. She notices in her peripheral vision Bulma quickly making her way out of the room to give them some privacy.
"How are you doing Chichi?" he asks. The man sounds nervous, and the mother figures that he remembers how she was screaming bloody murder before the nurses took her away to the delivery room. She giggles at the memory. She doesn't feel an ounce of regret for that since she was in the worst physical pain of her life at that point.
"Oh Goku, relax. I'm not actually going to kill you." She giggles some more at her husband's relived expression. She adjusts her hold on her son so she can smack his arm with her free hand. "Oh honestly, Goku. It would be impossible for me to even hurt you even if I wanted to."
"I'm sure you could find a way Chichi," Goku jokes back. "You're definitely stubborn enough!" Her husband then has the audacity to laugh at her affronted expression, earning him another smack.
"Ha, ha. Keep this up and I won't let you hold your son," she threatens. She stifles her own laughter at how abruptly he stops his. She gives him a grin before once again adjusting her hold on her newborn and holding him out to his father. Goku eagerly, yet gently, takes ahold of his newest family member.
"Hiya baby!" He coos childishly. She watches with a warm feeling in her heart as her husband rubs his nose against his sons face, pouring all of his affection into the child. Eventually, after giving his son a kiss to the forehead, the father looks back up at her. "He's adorable Chichi! He almost looks exactly like Gohan did when he was born! Have you thought of a name yet?"
Chichi shakes her head sadly. "Sorry Goku, nothing new that Gohan didn't hate when we tried it on him. I was hoping you had thought of something else actually."
The Saiyan father frowns in thought. "No, sorry Cheech. I've been trying but I can't think of anything new. I know we don't want Kakarot since it reminds you of the ruthless Saiyan that I could have been. I also don't want to name him Goku Jr. since I want this kid to have his own legacy. No one should have to live up to unfair expectations just because of a name."
Chichi smiles and nods in complete agreement. Her husband may not appear the intelligent most times, but that's only because of his childish nature. Deep down though, he truly is a wise, thoughtful man. "Well perhaps Gohan can think of something. He was the most excited about his brother after all." She shakes her head in fond memories, thinking of her now oldest son. "Can you believe that I caught him reading parenting books the other day? And not only that, but it was the last one in a series of ten!"
Goku chuckles at that. "That doesn't surprise me at all. That's just how Gohan is. I'm still amazed at how he can feel his ki from anywhere on the planet! I can only do that with Gohan and you! He already has a special bond with his brother."
"How is Gohan doing, by the way," Chichi asks. She remembers her son. While he was extremely happy and excited that his brother was coming, he was also really nervous once they got here. His mood immediately switched on a dime akin to a light switch. She was still getting over the fact that he actually learned instant transmission against her wishes before she noticed her son's apprehensive switch in attitude.
She knows it's not a good sign when her husband looks back down at his son and frowns before sighing. "He was still the same way when Bulma came to get me. Even after telling that he wasn't going to be in trouble for learning instant transmission he still was nervous. I think he was trying to hold himself back from running away again…"
The mother sighs. "I really hope that he doesn't think that he's too dangerous to be around his brother still…" She sighs again. She's heartbroken that her son could even think something like that, especially since its obvious that Gohan loves his brother more than life itself.
She's startled out of her inner musing by her husband handing her their son back. He then sits down in the visitor's chair. Her husband surprises her further by putting his head in his hands, as if ashamed of something. He speaks again before she can question him. "I'm sorry Chichi, its all my fault. I've been pushing him while training, but he's not making any progress. He wouldn't feel this way if this training was going better."
Chichi looks at her husband wide eyed before giving him one of her signature glares. "Goku Son knock it off!" she shouts at him. He jumps at the volume that she shouted, as the room is really quiet. "I don't want to hear you say that ever again! It's not your fault he feels that way! It's no one's fault! It's just is taking longer than we'd like to figure this out!" She softens her voice upon realizing that she has her husbands attention. Thankfully, her son is still sleeping soundly. "Goku, please don't blame yourself for this. You told me before that as far as your transformations, Gohan is in uncharted territory. How long did it take you to figure out your transformation the first time you did it after Namek?"
Her husband sighs again. "Almost a year before I could really control myself well."
"Exactly," she states. "Gohan's doing the same thing you had to do: trying to figure out a brand new transformation. And since he's only a child and its another level above that, it may take him even longer. Remember it's only been nine months Goku. Give Gohan some time. I know it's hard sometimes to realize he's only a kid, especially with everything he's been through, but he is still only eleven-years-old. It should be expected that he has some bumps in the road. That doesn't mean it's your fault every time something doesn't go right."
Goku looks at his wife in awe. She figures he's probably stunned that she has this much insight into the concepts of his training. She may not be a Saiyan, but she is a martial arts master in her own right. Not to mention Goku tells her all about everything that goes on with his training to begin with, so it shouldn't be that surprising that she has so much knowledge about these issues. Goku then gives her a sweet smile.
"You're absolutely right Chichi!" He walks back over to her bed, sits down beside her, and gives her a long kiss. While not expecting that, she eagerly returns her husbands affection. "Thank you Chichi," he continues once they break apart. "You always know what to say. I'm so lucky to have you! I love you."
"I love you too Goku," she responds. She goes in for another kiss, glad she could ease her husband's guilt for the moment at least.
Their moment is interrupted by a sudden movement from the bundle in her arms. The baby now appears to be fully awake and is now grinning as wide as his little face will let him. He appears to be extremely happy about something. This confuses the mother as the tiny boy is reaching his short arms towards the hospital room door, softly grunting in the effort that he's using to reach in that direction. She looks at her husband and he appears to be just as startled as her.
A soft knock echoes through the room, drawing their attention to the door. After another acknowledgement, Bulma once again appears in the doorway, followed by a very apprehensive looking Gohan. Chichi frowns for a moment at how nervous her oldest son looks, but is quickly drawn out of her line of thinking by the sound of baby laugher and increased movement from the bundle in her arms. She follows her infant's gaze and is amazed to see the tiny child reaching and yearning towards Gohan, as if desperate to get to the demi-Saiyan.
Chichi then smiles a wide smile, on the verge of tears. This is the first time she's heard her infant son giggle, and it happened the moment he caught sight of his big brother. This only adds prudence to the theory that the two brothers already have an insanely strong bond. She realizes now that her newest son was reacting to Gohan on the other side of the doorway before he even came into the room, as if he could sense him. This totally unprecedented territory for everyone involved.
For his part, Gohan appears to he doing his own fish impression, as if amazed by the sight of his hour-old brother giggling and reaching out for him. Chichi assumes that he's probably stunned that the infant is reacting so strongly to his presence. Eventually, she holds her youngest son out towards her eldest. "Here Gohan! Come meet your baby brother!" She giggles a little before continuing. "He seems to really want to meet you!"
Her son can only nod numbly before carefully reaching out and taking his baby brother. Chichi holds her breath as the newborn immediately snuggles against Gohan's chest, who still looks as if in awe of the child. Slowly, a small smile appears on her oldest child's face, which continues to stretch until it's a full-fledged Son trademark grin. This illicits even more giggles from the infant, and the older demi-Saiyan can't help but let out a few chuckles of his own before leaning down and planting a kiss on his brother's forehead.
"Hello Little Brother," the child mutters. Chichi turns away for a moment to shed a few tears. That picture is so amazingly sweet that she couldn't help it. After all that Gohan has been through and all of his fears about himself around his baby brother, to see the unimaginable amount of love that he's displaying for his brother in this moment is too much for her heart to take. It is truly a wondrous sight to behold.
"Hey Mom," Gohan addresses her, making her turn back to her sons. "Do you have a name for the little guy? He is absolutely perfect in every way that I want know what to call this amazing life in my arms."
She giggles at that, looking over at Goku before gazing back at her son. "Well Gohan, we actually thought that you might have a name for him. Your father and I couldn't come up with anything worthwhile."
Gohan stares back, eyes the size of dinner plates. "Are you serious?! I get to name him?!" The hour-old chibi giggles even more, looking up at his brother's expression.
Chichi giggles even more herself at that. She can't help it! Both of her sons are so cute right now! "Yes son, I'm completely serious. Your father and I can't come up with any good names. Besides, he seems to love you the most, so it's only fitting that you get to name him."
Gohan, still wide-eyed, looks back down at his infant brother before giving the child a tender smile. "Goten," he states. He nods, sure of himself. "Your name is Goten, baby brother."
Chichi almost cries again at the continuous giggles from her infant son. It only took Gohan five seconds to come up with the perfect name. How fitting.
"Wow Gohan, that's impressive!" She hears her husband state. She has to agree with him. "It took your mom and I a whole month to come up with your name, and that was really only on accident! How did you come up with a name so easily?"
She sees Gohan chuckle at his father's statement, yet his eyes never leave his brother. To Chichi, he seems to be completely enthralled with the tiny life in his arms. From the looks of Goten, the feeling is mutual. Eventually though, the elder demi-Saiyan looks up from his brother towards his father. "Well, to tell you the truth, the name just came to me almost instantly. I was just thinking that this little guy felt like Heaven when I first felt his ki. That feeling only got stronger when I started holding him, so I figured I'd use 'Heaven' as his name."
Chichi can't help it; she instantly bursts into tears after that explanation. She quickly catches herself and calms down, but she can tell that she startles both her husband and eldest son at her actions. That was just the perfect explanation and thought process to cap off this absolutely perfect day. "I'm sorry Gohan, but that was just so beautiful! Maybe it's the postpartum hormones, but I just couldn't help myself there! You are truly amazing, son, and I just love you so much!"
She giggles a little through her tears at Gohan's blush. The fact that he's holding his smiling infant brother who is looking at him with the greatest adoration just adds to the adorable appearance of her eldest son. "Oh honey, no need to be embarrassed at that! It's the truth. Now give me Goten so I can kiss him goodnight for the time being. I'm still exhausted from bringing him into this world and I need my rest. Don't worry," she adds at seeing Gohan's crestfallen face at having to give up his brother, "I'll give him back right away. I know how much you want to be with him right now."
She internally laughs at her son. Of course she always thinks her eldest son is as cute as a button, but she doesn't know if she's ever seen him as adorable as he is right now. And that's saying something! Eventually, Gohan conceded his brother back to her. Much to Chichi's amusement, Goten frowns a little at the lack of contact with his brother before gazing up at her. He then smiles cutely which makes Chichi giggle yet again.
"Goodnight, sweet Goten. I'm gonna sleep for now but I'll see you again soon!" She quickly plants a kiss on Goten's forehead before handing him back to Gohan. As she closes her eyes, she hears her elder son cooing at his baby brother while the younger soaks up the attention greedily. The proud mother sighs contently before drifting off to sleep to the sounds of her family's love. While on the verge of unconsciousness, she is able to catch parts of a quiet conversation between her son and husband.
"—feel that, Dad?"
"Yeah, all … familiar… brought guests this time…"
1. Daidaiiro literally translates to the color orange. I figured that it would be hilarious to have the mayor of Orange Star City be named "Mayor Orange."
