Note: Here it is a day early! Surprise! Just thought I'd get a jump on it since I'm gonna be too busy tomorrow to write or post anything and didn't want to keep you guys waiting.
Just to clarify, the few other Saiyans ARE somewhere on Earth. Like Chichi, they've all had the Block placed and are living out their lives semi-peacefully none the wiser to their true heritage (aside from being endangered by Goku's enemies over the years.)
Chapter 4: Food and Training
Summary: The two most important things to a Saiyan are food and training, but not necessarily in that order.
The Next Morning
My eyes slowly opened. It was very early in the morning and Goku's first morning back. The sun had only barely begun to rise, its first hint of light barely visible in our room. A loud snore sounded beside me, making me jump in my sleepy state, but I smiled as soon as I realized what that loud snore meant.
I reached over and brushed his cheek with my fingers. He cracked an eye open and gave me a sleepy, lopsided grin. He sighed as my fingers continued to glide up and down over his slightly leathery skin covered in intricate patterns of old, tiny scars. It amazed me just how few scars he had on his body even though he sustained some severe injuries in battles over the years.
I felt his cheek muscles pull taught as a giant yawn tugged his mouth wide open and he stretched like a cat.
His eyes opened completely and immediately crinkled. "Morning, Babe."
"Good morning, Sweetheart."
A loud rumble sounded next to me. I giggled.
I slipped out of bed and pulled on a sleeveless dress of the same style I wore to the Twenty-third World Martial Arts Tournament all those years ago and did my hair for the day. The dress was a deep burgundy with white pants. Two slits ran high up my legs on both sides, higher than any regular dress I wore for ease of movement.
"I'll get going on breakfast."
I glanced at him as I left the room.
He flashed me a toothy, bright grin.
My heart pounded, his smile dazzling enough that it made me clumsy and I bumped into the doorframe as I backed out.
I giggled nervously, mumbling some kind of incoherent gibberish as I backed out of the door. It amazed me how easily he could fluster me like that even after twelve years of marriage.
A short while later, I found myself in the kitchen, nearly done with our meal. My powers coming back certainly made things easier as far as cooking was concerned. I had multiple dishes cooking simultaneously. I had a couple in the oven, my giant wok on the stove, and eight more dishes hovering in the air, cooking them with little bits of energy.
I had mastered that method just a few days after getting my power back. I was amazed at how much easier it made things in the kitchen and how much faster meals were finished. I had a couple of hours of extra free time during the day that I quickly got used to having.
As I worked, I heard footsteps followed by a quiet gasp. I glanced over my shoulder to see Goku standing behind me in his usual orange gi, pure awe on his face.
Another set of footsteps approached. "Pretty cool, huh Dad?"
"Yeah! That's… amazing! She's doing a lot better than we did. Remember when you tried to cook that roast beef with a small blast in the Time Chamber?"
My son's sweet laugh filled room. "Yeah! I accidentally made your hair catch fire and you ran around in a panic like a chicken with its head cut off."
I wasn't familiar with that story. I chuckled at the image.
Goku laughed, too.
I checked on our food and – seeing it was done – extinguished the energy I was cooking with and pulled out several cooling racks. I asked Gohan to arrange them on the table and started floating dishes one by one onto the cooling racks.
In just a couple of minutes, the table was set and we ate – Goku as messily and as quickly as usual. I just rolled my eyes slightly, but couldn't bring myself to really be annoyed, much less angry.
After breakfast, I got up to get started on the dishes and noticed Goku staring at me out of the corner of my eye. I turned to face him fully and he was positively bouncing on the balls of his feet.
I cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, Goku?"
"I'm dying to see what all you can do, Chichi! Can you show me today?"
"You mean my power?"
He nodded eagerly.
I giggled. "Sure. We'll all go out as soon as I'm done with the dishes."
"Yes!"
He rushed over to stand by me at the sink and he rinsed and dried our dishes the fastest I've ever seen him do it. He broke a few, but I decided to let it slide just that one time.
The second he placed the last dish in the cabinet, he gently but insistently grabbed my hand and pulled me through the house almost to the front door. "Come on! Let's go!"
"In a minute, Goku! Be patient!"
He pouted slightly and I didn't bother to hide the smile on my face at just how funny he looked.
I pulled away from him and headed down the hall and over to Gohan's bedroom. I knocked on his door. "Gohan! Would you like to do some training today?"
In seconds, the door was thrown open, eagerness that matched his father's plain on his face.
My lips quirked up in an amused smile. "Go get your shoes on."
"'K!"
He dashed down the hall, but I never heard his feet hit the floor. I crossed my arms and frowned as he entered the room. "Gohan. What have I told you about flying in the house?"
He froze and cringed. "Sorry, Mom."
I heard a muffled giggle and I shot Goku an intense glare.
His jaw snapped shut and his amused smile instantly fell into an expression of nervousness.
I sighed, grabbed the capsule case from its spot on a side table next to our couch – the case I had been keeping well stocked with food for training with Gohan – walked to the front door and opened it for all of us. We stepped out.
The soft breeze wafted the wonderful smells of the woods all around us, the sharp scent of evergreen trees dominating the air, but my recently sharpened sense of smell detected other notes that my human nose could not. Notes of wildflowers in bloom from the clearings nearby, of decaying wood and leaf litter, and the musk of wild animals all combined to be smells of the woods that I had never experienced on that level. It was a little overwhelming at first, but I quickly grew to love it and I wondered how I ever really lived without my strong new senses.
I closed my eyes for a moment to allow the soft warm breeze to wash over me and I heard a low sigh to my left. Goku had the same idea I had. After a minute of simply enjoying the outdoors, his hand brushed mine and I intertwined my fingers with his.
He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "Ready to go, Babe?"
"Sure."
He lifted a foot off the ground, almost dragging me into the air with him.
Gohan kept his feet on the ground. "Uh… Dad? Mom doesn't know how to fly yet. We ran to where we normally train."
He touched back down beside me looking a little bit shocked. "You can't!?"
I shook my head. "No. Can you teach me?"
His eyes lit up and his mouth split open in that huge grin that made me go weak at my knees. "This is going to be great! You're going to love it! Oh, I can't wait to teach you!"
Between one heartbeat and the next, he scooped me up and pulled me close to his chest and we zoomed off.
Gohan sped a little past Goku. "Follow me, Dad! Where we usually train is over here."
What took over an hour running full tilt only took a few minutes to reach by flying. Gohan had asked for a spot somewhat of a distance from the house so he could raise his power and really train without worrying about destroying anything other than a few trees.
The spot Gohan and I had been going to for weeks was a large clearing deep into the woods with a stream running through it that was perfect for drinking. The ground was covered in soft, deep grass perfect for meditation. I quickly found the shade of a large oak and sat at its base for meditation. It was my usual spot out there. It provided the perfect view of the clearing and – between that and our senses – no one could sneak up on us.
Before I lost myself to my warm up meditation, I made a suggestion to my boys: "Why don't you two spar until my meditation's over and then I will show you, Goku, what Gohan and I have been working on."
Goku beamed. "I can't wait! Let's do it, Gohan!"
"'K!"
They ran out to the center of the field and settled into their fighting stances and rushed each other. I watched for a few minutes before tuning them out and beginning my meditation in the comfortable, cool shade of the large oak and set to work trying to calm my ever-present nerves about what was to come.
Gohan and I finished our intense spar and dropped down on the soft grass in the center of the field on our butts. We were both hot and sweating. I was mildly out of breath and could feel multiple bruises forming on my body. He had fewer bruises and wasn't panting at all. He was so fast – much faster than me! Not to mention still much stronger than me and I was so proud of the way he handled himself during our spar and I let him know. I was thrilled I had more bruises than he did.
I very much enjoyed sparring with my fellow warriors in Other World, but sparring with my son was so much more fun and had lots of fun memories wrapped around it. I was so thankful I had the chance to experience that again – even if we were training for another battle.
"Dad?"
I faced Gohan, seeing he looked curious. "Hmm?"
"Why did you come back here? You haven't told me about that yet. I'm guessing it has something to do with that energy, right?"
"Yep! I met someone named Cressa – Chichi's mother – and she was the one to tell me about that energy and just what this Saiyan is after."
His eyes popped open wide. "Wow! What was she like? What did she look like? How did you meet her? How–?"
I laughed and held my hands up. "Whoa, slow down there, Champ! She was a lot like your mother in a lot of ways and looked a lot like her, too – except your mom has black hair and Cressa's was dark brown. She even sounded just like Chichi. Your mother got her temper from her but–"
A quiet voice floated to us across the clearing. "I heard that, Son Goku."
I could hear the smirk in her voice.
I chuckled. "Chichi got her smile from Cressa and her eyes, too."
"How did you meet her, Dad?"
"Well, I was sparring with a friend I made up there named Pikkon and King Kai tried to call me down to talk to him. I ignored him for a while until an attack I was about to launch at Pikkon shifted my direction just enough to see your grandmother standing on the ground right next to King Kai and staring up at me. I was so shocked I dropped right out of the sky because I thought she was Chichi and even forgot all about the sparring match."
Gohan raised an eyebrow. "You forgot about a sparring match? That's hard to believe."
I laughed. "Yeah, I know that was surprising, but it's exactly what happened. In fact, I was so distracted, Pikkon landed a couple of good, solid hits on me but I was too focused on her to really care too much." I laughed again. "He was so mad at me for getting distracted."
Gohan laughed as familiar, toned arms wrapped around my neck. I felt a lithe form press against my back and a chin settled on top of my head.
I reached up to hold her hand. "Hey, Honey. Have a nice meditation?"
"It was fine, thanks. How was your sparring session?"
"It was an absolute blast! Gohan was amazing! It blows me away just how strong he is!"
"That's our Gohan!"
I gave Gohan a proud smile and watched as his cheeks turned slightly pink.
Chichi's arms left my neck as she moved to sit next to me. "I heard everything you said to Gohan so far. Tell us everything she told you. I have a lot of questions and I'm hoping you can give me some answers."
I nodded and told them everything Cressa explained to me about the traitor – leaving out the bit about exactly how Cressa died. I did intend to explain it to her because I thought she should know, but right then wasn't really the right time. I resolved to keep it hidden from her. We needed to start our training and I wanted her to be able to focus on that.
Chichi and Gohan were quiet through most of my explanation, only asking a question or two every now and again. When I reached the point that the traitor was someone from Cressa's own tribe, they gasped. Apparently, that was news to them.
"I never knew any of this, Goku! My mother told me so little about how she came to Earth. That night the Block lifted and I tried to answer Gohan's questions, I realized how little I knew. It was so frustrating! I don't even know how she…"
Her eyes welled up as she trailed off.
I reached out and wrapped my hand around her clenched fist. "Chichi… We need to focus on our training. Your mother told me exactly what happened and I'll explain everything later. I promise. But for now, we need to focus."
She closed her eyes, blew out a big breath, and her hand relaxed in mine. When her eyes opened, she had a determined glint in them and – to her credit – not one tear fell. "I'm guessing she trained you. Tell me exactly where you left off."
I nodded. "She said she was mostly going to focus on defense with me because we didn't have a lot of time. I ended up figuring out some offense as well. The last exercise I did with her was staying on guard mentally while having sparring matches with some friends I made up in Other World. She attacked me while I fought them and we exchanged a lot of blows that way."
A little bit of hope sparkled in her eyes. "It sounds like you figured out some attacks up there. That's great!"
"What was your training like, Dad?"
I looked at him. "Very intense. And painful at first. To be honest, finding out the sort of training she had in mind wasn't physical fights confused me at first. How would someone train without fighting? I couldn't wrap my head around that."
"I was sort of confused, too when Mom first told me about this other kind of training. I didn't know somebody could train without fighting either. Was… Grandmother strong, Dad?"
I nodded. "Very. She could do some scary things. When Cressa first told me of this evil, strong Saiyan with unusual abilities headed here, she launched one of those mental jabs at me. It wasn't just a jab, really. She took control of my entire body and I could feel myself walking around. It was like I was locked in my own mind. It was in that moment that I realized how crucial it was that I learned how to do that, too or at least be able to defend against it."
"Wow! That must have been scary."
"It definitely got my attention. She didn't keep me in her control long, thankfully. I was myself again in no time, but it did make me sort of dizzy."
"It sounds like that kind of controlling move would be really dangerous in the wrong hands. Mom and I are no where near that level." He paused and frowned a little bit. "I'm… not sure I want that kind of power. The thought of it seems… unethical."
I didn't think of that. What if we learned it?
I quickly dismissed the thought. After all, what would we have used that move for, anyway? There were plenty of other very effective ways to defeat an enemy.
I nodded at him. "Ya know… I don't think I want that power, either."
Gohan's frown deepened. "What if this evil Saiyan can do it? Can we still win?"
"Can that Saiyan do that move, Goku?"
I felt my eyebrows pull down as I looked at Chichi. "Yes. Cressa told me that traitor can."
Her face paled. "That's what we're up against!?"
I put a hand on her back. "We'll beat her, Chichi."
Gohan looked nervous, too.
I ruffled his hair. "Hey. Don't worry. We'll win."
"Do you have any idea how far away this evil Saiyan is, Goku?"
I looked at Chichi. "Yes. Right when I was revived, King Kai told me we had about a month."
Chichi nodded as her color returned to her cheeks and a determined glint shown in her eyes. "Then let's get started."
No sooner had she finished that sentence than an all too familiar pain tore through my head. My eyes slammed shut. I pushed up my defenses – the pain leaving immediately – and, working on instinct, automatically counterattacked but my attack only hit an iron hard wall.
I sensed nothing around it and no weaknesses, no matter how hard I pushed and prodded. Then, the wall lifted seemingly of its own accord and I was granted full access of the mind within I instantly recognized as my wife's – my very nervous wife's.
Well done, Goku.
I withdrew and opened my eyes, watching her a little bit worriedly. "Thanks."
"I don't think I could have gotten through your wall and your reflexes were quick. She really did teach you a lot. Did she cover telekinesis?"
I shook my head. "No. She only taught me enough that I wouldn't be a liability in the battle coming up. We only had a month before I was brought back. She said the three of us could help each other in our training and kind of learn on the fly."
She nodded. "I'll do my best to show you what I know, Goku. I'm rusty, but slowly my power and my training are coming back." She stood up. "Gohan, do you remember where you put that pile of rocks?"
Rocks?
"Yeah! I'll go get them." With that, he dashed off.
"I'll show you a training exercise Gohan and I have been doing."
"Sounds like fun. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Goku."
After what I sensed in her head, I didn't buy it, but I sensed Gohan coming back so I dropped it for the time being so we could focus on our training.
"I'm back, Mom!"
I turned around to see Gohan flying up to us with a large pile of rocks floating through the air behind him. I had a little experience with telekinesis, but the ease with which he moved that pile was something that could only come with loads of practice. I was amazed.
"Wow, Gohan! Neat trick! I can do a little of that, but I'm not that good at it."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks, Dad. Mom taught me."
I glanced at Chichi and she regarded our son with a warm, proud smile.
It hit me at that moment just how amazing it was that we were all going to train together. For the first time ever, we were going to train as a family. Chichi and I had sparred some when Gohan was small and more recently just before the Androids showed up. Her skills and reflexes were very sharp then. I could only guess at how much stronger she was as a Saiyan, but we couldn't spar since I returned. I wasn't too disappointed, since it was for a very good reason.
She sighed. "Don't worry, Goku. I may be pregnant, but I'm not slacking off."
I jumped. "Oh. You were reading my thoughts? I didn't notice." Then I realized what I said and what that meant. "Oops…"
She lightly punched my arm. "Yeah, oops. You let your guard down. That was sloppy."
I scratched the back of my neck. "Sorry! Wont happen again!"
I decided to try to catch her off guard and mentally launched myself at her but only succeeded in hitting that same impenetrable wall as before.
She cocked an eyebrow at me. "Come on. I'm sure you can do better than that."
I crossed my arms and frowned in concentration as my eyes closed. Once again, I mentally launched myself at her, throwing my full focus behind that spike. I smashed into her defenses then quickly went through them.
I heard a hiss of pain – I broke her defenses, but she wasn't defenseless. She counterattacked with even more force than I used and threw me out soon after.
I opened my eyes and smirked at her. That smirk quickly vanished as I noticed she was holding her head and had a pained grimace on her face.
"Chichi! Are you okay?"
She cracked an eye open, and surprised me with a small smile on her delicate lips. "That was… very good. You're a natural. Is there any sort of fighting technique you're not good at?"
I laughed lightly. "Thanks, Babe and nope."
She cocked an eyebrow at me and crossed her arms.
Before I knew what hit me, I was sent careening into the air with the wind knocked out of me.
I quickly recovered as my mind caught up to what happened and I landed in the same spot I started. Chichi never moved. All she did was look at me. I glanced at Gohan who had a suspiciously knowing look on his face and his lips twitched like he was fighting a smile.
"Did you do that, Gohan?"
He shook his head and glanced at his mother.
I faced her. Chichi met my eyes with a small smirk playing on her lips and an eyebrow cocked.
My eyebrows found my hairline. "You did that, Chichi!?"
She merely nodded, still with that smug little smirk on her lips as Gohan laughed.
I landed and dropped down on the grass in the same spot I was before and stared at her. "How…?"
"It's easy. It was just telekinesis taken to a whole new level. I'll show you. Gohan, you ready with those rocks?"
"Yeah!"
They both got up and went to stand several paces apart, as the rock pile followed Gohan through the air.
"Let 'em fly, Gohan!"
Her hands were grasped behind her back. Just how did she intend to block the rocks? I tensed and prepared to dart in as Gohan sent the first rock hurtling toward her.
I felt a spike of power and that rock sizzled, and then vaporized in midair. She had never moved a muscle. My jaw hit the ground. I had never seen anybody use ki quite like that.
The next rock was sent flying toward Chichi. It flew ever closer. I began to wonder if she was going to block that one at all; I gathered power in my legs as I prepared to dart in and block the rock but it abruptly stopped and hovered inches from her face.
She calmly reached up and plucked it out of the air and bounced it in her hand. She pitched it back toward the pile and it landed neatly on top.
She shot me a look. "What? You didn't think I was going to let that hit me, did you?"
"I was beginning to wonder."
She rolled her eyes and turned her gaze back toward Gohan. "That was a nice little warm up. Send more and faster now."
He obliged by lobbing a dozen or so rocks in the span of a few seconds. These moved much faster than the single rocks he threw at her. A fingernail found its way into my mouth but – as it turned out – I had little to worry about.
Starting with the ones thrown first – the ones just another second or two from hitting her – she froze each one in the air and quickly worked her way to the last rocks thrown. By the time she was done, they were all hovering harmlessly in the air before her.
"Pretty cool, huh Dad?"
I couldn't peel my eyes away from her so I just tilted my face in Gohan's direction. "Yeah!"
Chichi looked at me – not one strand of her pretty black hair out of place in her tight bun – as she directed the rocks back to the pile. "Goku, would you join him? This is getting too easy. I need more of a challenge."
My eyebrows found my hairline. "You mean you want me to throw rocks at you with Gohan?"
"Yes."
My eyes darted to her stomach and back to her face. "Chichi… are you sure?"
A vein popped out of her forehead. "Would you just do it already? I'll be fine."
"Well… okay…"
I hustled over to stand next to Gohan, not wanting to further sour her… somewhat unstable mood.
"Thank you. Now throw several – as fast as you can. You too, Gohan."
Gohan and I glanced at each other. He looked as worried as I did. In fact, he looked as if he was questioning his mother's sanity at that moment. I had similar thoughts on the matter.
We each grabbed an arm full before Chichi had time to yell at us again. We lobbed the rocks at Chichi as fast as we could as ordered. They sailed closer and closer and I subconsciously shifted a foot in her direction.
Before I could make my move, each rock halted before her like the last batch Gohan threw at her – until she missed one and a gasp escaped my lips. I instinctively Instant Transmissioned to her only to see her hand extended with the rock in her grasp.
I blew out the breath I didn't realize I was holding and relief surged through me – until I saw the blood dribbling from her hand. My heart jumped into my throat.
I grabbed her wrist and she dropped the rock. "I knew this was a bad idea!"
She was utterly unfazed. "Relax, Goku. It's just a little cut. It'll heal."
"But–!"
She gave me the look. The one where she narrowed her pretty eyes and raised an eyebrow and put her free – and uninjured – hand on her hip.
I just stared at her.
"Remember, I'm half-Saiyan. I'm going to heal much faster than I did before the Block was lifted. This cut will probably be completely gone by tomorrow. No big deal."
She had a point there.
"Well… okay. If you're sure."
Gohan walked up to us and eyed her hand worriedly. "Mom? Are you okay?"
She nodded. "It's no big deal, Gohan – just a little cut. Why don't you and your father go spar some more? I'll get a snack together in the mean time."
My boys wore identical excited grins and slid into their fighting stances.
I giggled as I walked to the edge of the clearing and watched them. Goku attacked first. He seemed to be reveling in their match. There was a certain twinkle in his eyes and a spring in his step. A small smile played at the corners of his lips, never fading, not even when Gohan landed a few solid – and no doubt painful – hits. If anything, that small smile grew wider.
His small, content smile grew to be one of pure pride as Goku picked himself up off the ground after Gohan elbowed him hard in his back. I felt my lips twitch up as I watched them. The soft breeze carried their laughter to my ears and my own grin grew wider.
If I had seen that just weeks before, I would have glared disapprovingly at Goku and insisted on keeping Gohan holed up and studying safe and sound at his desk. Instead, the sight of them sparring that day warmed my heart, and I thought to myself: My, how things have changed.
I was encouraging them to train for a reason that made my stomach twist into uncomfortable knots. So much rode on the outcome – far more than just my family's safety.
I needed a walk.
I watched them for a while longer before I decided to slip unnoticed into the trees to gather some berries and head to the giant apple tree nearby with the infamous hole straight through it.
I was sure they'd be starving after they were done sparring. Lunchtime was still a couple of hours away, but I knew my boys would need a snack. What constituted a snack in our family was usually enough to feed several people. Heck, not just feed several people, but stuff to them to the gills.
My own appetite only added to the already vast amounts of food I was well accustomed to preparing on a daily basis. I had the double-whammy of being both pregnant with a half – no, three-quarter – Saiyan baby and being half-Saiyan myself. I wasn't painfully hungry yet, but that time was quick approaching.
It was a very good thing I had remembered to grab that small case of capsulized food and some apples and berries would be the perfect dessert.
I lifted my chin and sniffed the air. Finding our favorite giant apple tree was easy. All I had to do was follow my nose. The smell of apple was faint, just barely detectable above the sharp, strong smells of the evergreen trees and decaying plant matter.
I set off at a quick jog before the wind had time to shift and, a few minutes later, the tree with the largest and best apples I've ever tasted came into view. I jogged up to its trunk. Finding the tree was the easy part. Getting to the delicious, shiny red morsels above was the hard part – at least it was when I still thought I was human.
The lowest branch was still several feet above my head, but reaching those tantalizing red apples was no problem at all. I bent my legs and gathered a small amount of ki in my legs for the jump.
I released the power at the same moment I pushed off hard with my feet and sailed into the air, the sensation unpleasantly pulling my stomach to my feet – a feeling I would have to get used to if I was ever going to learn how to fly. I landed gracefully on the lowest branch and plucked the closest apple to me.
I turned it around in my hand, checking its shiny red skin for any signs of worms then sunk my teeth in for a nice, big bite. It was the ideal balance between sweet and tart, its texture perfectly crisp.
I quickly finished off the apple and dropped the core to the ground below. I picked the apples closest to me, and, with as much as I could carry, dropped to the ground and landed gently without dropping a single one.
The moment I had touched down, a rustle and a faint crunch of a twig in nearby bushes to my right caught my attention, and my senses alerted me to a small pack of seven wolves stalking me. My head snapped over just in time to see two large, dark brown, snarling, fury blurs fly at me and I jumped into the air, twisting to kick the one the on the right in the side of its head, my momentum carrying my foot to the other wolf, sending both flying, my apples still in place.
The rest of the pack noisily bounded out of the brush, intent on defending their fallen comrades, gnashing their teeth and snarling at me. They circled me like a school of hungry sharks, their intense yellow eyes pinning me in place. They were hungry and thought I would be an easy target.
They had no idea how much danger they were in.
They attacked, but I saw it coming and easily levitated all seven wolves about five feet off the ground, stopping their fearsome snarling instantly. Their confusion was obvious, and a few whimpered in fright.
I pushed them closer to together because it was less taxing to move one big mass instead of seven smaller ones and shifted the brown, furry, yipping mass a safe distance away before unceremoniously dropping them on the forest floor.
I watched them disentangle themselves from their confused ball and run away in a panic before I swung my foot forward to walk back to where the boys were and promptly bumped into a very solid orange and blue wall that hadn't been there a second before – my apples dropping to the ground and rolling every which way.
I stomped one foot and put my left hand on my hip and my right arm raised, my pointer finger jammed in his back as a wave of irritation engulfed me and my eyes narrowed. "Dang it, Son Goku! Look what you–"
I didn't get to finish the thought before the orange wall whirled on the spot and firm but gentle hands grabbed my shoulders as a pair of very frantic eyes scanned up and down my body.
"Oh, honestly! I had everything under control. The wolves are gone. Once again, I'm pregnant but not defenseless and now our snacks are all bruised up!"
He scanned my body one more time before finally seeming to accept what I told him as he dropped his hands. "Sorry, Chi. I sensed you out here by yourself and then sensed the wolves stalking you and I…"
He trailed off and I sighed. "I am half-Saiyan, ya know."
"Are you okay, Mom?"
I sighed again. "Just fine, Gohan."
And then promptly shot a glare at my husband. "Well, now the two of you can help me pick more apples."
We did.
As Gohan and I picked armfuls of fresh apples, Chichi started clicking and tossing capsules in the shade of the large apple tree, revealing a large blanket and several platters full of her amazing cooking. Gohan and I landed, our arms full with the shiny, bright red morsels.
In a few minutes, the entire insanely delicious spread was wiped out. Nothing beat Chichi's home cooking. As much food as there was, this wasn't anywhere near enough to stuff us. It was just enough to be a nice snack to hold us off until lunchtime.
I rubbed my stomach. "That was great, Chichi!"
"Thanks, Mom!"
"You're both welcome. Now, let's get back to work."
After capsulizing our stuff, the three of us took turns practicing Mind Manipulation on each other, but not for much longer. With the capsule case's food being almost wiped out for the day, we cut our training a little short and headed home for dinner.
During the short flight home, Chichi poked me in the shoulder. "I think I'm going to have to remember to pack extra food now that you're home."
I chuckled.
We landed in our front yard and walked into our house and – not ten minutes later – the doorbell rang.
I extended my senses to see who it was and smiled at Chichi. "Your dad's here!"
Chichi stared at me with a dear in headlights look for just a second before taking control of the situation. She looked pointedly at me and jerked her head toward the stairs and mouthed: 'Bedroom! Now!'
That confused me. I raised an eyebrow at her but she only gave me the look. If I didn't hustle, I knew I'd be in trouble, so I hustled to the stairwell and floated quickly up the stairs. Once in our bedroom, I closed the door silently behind me just as I heard the creak of the front door opening.
"Hi, Papa! What brings you to our neck of the woods?"
I could hear the Ox King's booming voice loud and clear even with our bedroom door closed. "Oh, just wanted to drop by and visit my daughter and my soon to be two grandchildren! How are things?"
Chichi's obvious nervousness rolled off of her in waves, reaching me easily even up the stairs and through a closed door, her tone slightly louder and higher-pitched than normal. "Just fine. Keeping busy."
Why is she so nervous? was my thought to myself as I listened to the somewhat muffled conversation.
"And how's studying going, Gohan?"
"It's great, Grandpa!"
A seemingly awkward silence stretched between them for a minute before I sensed Ox King head back toward the door.
"I can see I'm interrupting. I'll get going. Just wanted to–"
"No, not at all! Why don't you stay for dinner, Papa?"
"Yeah, Grandpa!"
His tone was slightly off but he agreed anyway; he knew something was up. "Well… alright."
They fell into an awkward silence again. My curiosity got the best of me. What's going on, Chichi?
Goku… my father has the Block on him and doesn't know about my power. Plus, he doesn't know you are right upstairs. As far as he's aware, you're still… still…
It dawned on me. Oh… right. He thinks I'm still dead.
She didn't want to give the poor guy a heart attack springing two huge pieces of news on him.
At least he already knows you're pregnant.
Yes, I told him when I found out just a couple weeks after Cell.
Well, that's one less thing to worry about telling him.
I'm… not sure we should tell him anything about my power. At least not yet. I can't hide it around him forever, but I can't help but think we should wait until after confronting that Saiyan.
You do what you think is best and I'll go along with it. If you want me to stay hidden up here, then I will.
Thanks, Goku.
A new idea occurred to me. Gohan?
Yeah, Daddy?
Your mother doesn't want Ox King to know about her power or me yet. Think you can help keep those two things a secret just for now?
Sure, Dad.
Thanks, Buddy.
Eventually, the three of them relaxed into light chatter as Chichi moved into the kitchen. The occasional clang of a pot or pan floated up stairs.
It wasn't long before the wonderful smells of my wife's cooking filled the house. I was suddenly very jealous I couldn't join them right then. My stomach picked that moment to voice its jealousy by unleashing a massive roar, louder even than Gohan's that had – by some random stroke of luck – growled at the same time as mine.
Goku!
"It sounds like a lion is upstairs. If I didn't know any better, I could swear that sounded just like–"
I was saved by Gohan's quick thinking. "It was just my stomach, Grandpa! Nothing to worry about!"
Ox King laughed. "You must be getting ready for a growth-spurt, Kiddo!"
Gohan said something I didn't quite catch, but just from skimming his emotions, I knew he'd have a light shade of pink dusting his cheeks.
You need to leave or that stomach of yours is going to blow your cover!
I sighed. Okay, Chichi. I'll leave for a few hours and go fishing or something.
I pouted slightly, knowing I was going to miss the wonderful meal she had planned.
My stomach roared again and that time, there was no other noise to cover it.
GOKU! GET GOING!
I winced and rubbed my temples to ward off the instant headache. I found out getting yelled at in my head was way, way, way worse than listening to it.
"What's going on, Chichi? There's something huge you're not telling me."
By Ox King's firm tone, I knew he expected an answer. He was usually a very cheerful guy. Huge but wouldn't hurt a fly – at least not since Chichi was born if the stories the villagers told me were anything to go by. That tone was one I had only heard out of him once – maybe twice – before.
I could practically feel Chichi squirming under his scrutiny, her discomfort flowing across the telepathic link between us.
Chichi… I think it's best we just tell him – even if only about me.
She sighed. I guess you're right.
"Okay… You win. Yes, Papa. That roar was exactly what you thought it was."
A crash shortly followed by his loud yell echoed around the house. "GOKU'S REALLY BACK!?"
I chose that moment to slip out of the bedroom and down the stairs to see Ox King and Gohan standing over our overturned kitchen table, both of their chairs on their sides behind them and Chichi chopping vegetables at the counter.
I grinned at Ox King. "Yep! I'm back!"
He pulled me in for a Saiyan-bone-crushing bear hug. "GOKU, MY BOY! WELCOME BACK! IT'S WONDERFUL TO SEE YOU!"
My back popped and breathing was getting hard, but I managed to wheeze, "It's great to see you, too."
He released me and the first thing my grateful lungs did was suck in a big breath.
Chichi giggled, walked up, and leaned on me. I put an arm around her shoulders.
"Isn't it wonderful, Papa? Goku's home and Gohan's going to be a big brother before too long."
I glanced down to see her rest a hand briefly on her flat-for-the-time-being stomach and pulled her a little closer.
Ox King smiled down at Gohan. "So, looking forward to being a big brother, Kiddo?"
Gohan nodded vigorously, his smile so big his eyes were closed.
Chichi and I exchanged our own bright smiles.
Ox King righted our table, Gohan picked up the chairs and Ox King, Gohan, and I sat down while Chichi went back to chopping vegetables. There wasn't anything on the table, so there wasn't any mess to clean up. Chichi would have been mad if there was. I was thankful for that because I didn't think my ears – or my head – could take anymore.
"When did you come back, Goku?"
"Just yesterday."
"I'm thrilled to see you, but Gohan said you didn't want to be brought back because of all those powerful bad-guys after you. Why the change of heart?"
Tell him the truth, Goku. Just… maybe not all of it…
You sure? Should I mention your mother, too?
Yes. Just… be gentle… okay? We'll tell him the rest later.
Okay.
"Well… it's kind of a long story."
He nodded, his eager expression urging me to go on.
"I met someone in Other World. This might come as a bit of a shock to you but… I met Chichi's mother and she's the reason I had to come back."
His jaw dropped to the ground and his eyes bulged, the only sound was the rhythmic tapping of Chichi's knife as she sliced and chopped vegetables and meat for dinner. After a few moments, he recovered and leaned in toward me.
When he finally spoke, his voice was uncharacteristically soft, almost choked. "You met… my…"
He stared into my eyes and I nodded slowly, hoping he wasn't going to explode into a flurry of questions that none of us were prepared to answer.
"Did she… say anything? About me?"
I breathed a small, unnoticeable sigh of relief, glad he wasn't asking about exactly why I was back. He latched onto the mention of Cressa and asked a question I definitely couldanswer.
"Yeah… actually she did. She told me things to tell all of you." I turned to Chichi in the kitchen. "Chichi, you should come in here, too."
Chichi joined us at the table and watched me. "What did she say, Goku?"
"Well, she wanted me to tell you, Chichi, that she loves you and she misses you and that she's extremely proud of the woman you have become."
Her eyes immediately filled with tears, but she had a small, sad smile on her face. I reached over and rubbed her back for a minute.
After comforting Chichi, I turned to face Gohan. "She wanted me to tell you that someday, when the time is right, you'll meet face to face but hopefully not for a very long time."
He nodded, smiling up at me. I ruffled his hair.
Finally, I turned to face Ox King, who had been watching us intently. "She loves you and misses you so much and she will see you again someday, but hopefully not too soon."
His eyes – like Chichi's – immediately filled with tears and he couldn't quite stop the small choked sob that escaped his lips. Chichi immediately got up and wrapped her arms around her father's neck and kissed his cheek. I could see the tremor in her shoulders and her battle to fight back her own sobs.
"She said she'll be watching over all of us and that she loves us very much."
That did it. She broke and hugged her father tighter and he turned and wrapped his arms around his daughter. Gohan watched them hug – sad but not tearful.
After a couple of minutes, I got up and rubbed Chichi's back. She turned and dove into my arms, bawling her eyes out, her shoulders heaving. I held her close as I continued to rub her back.
Eventually, she pulled away and wiped her tears. She silently turned and walked back into the kitchen to resume her chopping. The taps were slower and not as rhythmic and there was an uncharacteristic shakiness in her normally expertly smooth and quick strokes.
Ox King stared at me, his cheeks as tear stained as Chichi's. "Goku… Thank you. I can't begin to tell you what that means to me."
I put a hand on his shoulder and he reached up and grabbed my hand. "Of course!"
Ox King was quiet and with a faraway look in his eyes for quite a while after that.
Are we going to tell Grandpa about Mom's powers after all, Dad?
I'm not sure yet.
I brushed Chichi's mind while maintaining my link with Gohan. What do you think, Chichi?
I think two huge pieces of news are enough for one day. He's got enough to think about right now. I think I want to wait until after this… battle coming up. Did you hear that, Gohan? We're still keeping my power a secret, but just for now.
Okay, Mom.
There was a pause in Chichi's chopping and she turned to give me a slightly horrified look. Shoot! That means I'll have to control how much I eat…
I just barely managed to bite back my laugh.
As soon as he's gone, you can dig in. I paused for a second and then continued, Come to think of it, eat. Maybe don't go all out, but remember, your dad knows you're pregnant and I'm sure he remembers how much you ate with Gohan.
Have I ever told you how much I love you?
I smirked at her and winked and nobody but her ever saw. I could stand to hear it a little more.
She just rolled her eyes.
As we were talking, she placed the first few dishes full of food on the table and all the Saiyan stomachs in the room rumbled, hers included.
The noise snapped the Ox King out of his silence and his loud, booming laugh filled our house. "Well, you're certainly eating for two, aren't you, Chichi?"
Her cheeks went a little bit pink. "I guess I am."
I sent her my 'I told you so' smile.
She wrinkled her nose at me and raised an eyebrow.
My grin widened.
She turned her back on me, but not before I saw her cheeks pull up in her own grin.
She carried more platters to the table and soon, everything was set out and we tucked into the giant spread in front of us. There was so much food out – more than she usually prepared – but the Ox King never batted an eye. A full-blooded Saiyan, a half-Saiyan, a… well… more than half-Saiyan, and a human man that ate like a Saiyan guaranteed there would be no leftovers.
After dinner, we settled into relaxed chatter until Ox King yawned and decided it was a good time to go home and Gohan went to bed soon after.
I helped Chichi finish up the kitchen, occasionally hugging her and kissing her from behind as we worked and once that was done, we headed up to our room.
I watched her silently go through her bedtime routine of brushing her hair and changing into a nightgown, small sighs slipping out of her lips as she went through her routine before she joined me in bed. She put her head on my chest and curled up into me as I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight.
I didn't need my Saiyan telepathy to feel the sadness pouring out of her. Her warm tears dribbled onto my chest and rolled down my skin. I rubbed her back.
I frowned slightly as I comforted her. The truth was, there was something I had kept hidden from Chichi – even through all those times she had been in my head during our training. It was something Cressa had asked me to tell Chichi. I wasn't sure how to bring it up but her finding out just by being in my head just… didn't exactly seem like the right way to do that.
It was something I promised to explain to her but I figured any time I chose to tell her would be hard for her to hear. I figured I might as well get it over with.
"Right before we started our training today, I promised I'd explain to you exactly what happened to your mother."
She gasped and immediately sat up to stare at me. I knew by her expression she was scared to hear the explanation but I also knew she needed it.
I sat up, too and was quiet for a moment, thinking through that memory she shared with me my first night back. "When your father had you in his arms and your mother left you both, she had gone to hold off the traitors so you and your father would have time to get away. Cressa was mortally wounded in that fight and used the last of her power to self-destruct – severely wounding one of the traitors and killing the other. That was the last and biggest explosion you and your father felt as you ran away. When she gave her life, she not only bought you time, but managed to drive that traitor away. She saved you and your father."
Chichi stared at me as I explained, her jaw hanging slack and when I was finished, she buried her face in her hands and wept and I pulled her onto my lap. She wept into my chest while I rubbed her back and held her tightly against me.
After what must have been a couple of hours, her sobs gradually stopped and she blew out a breath and pulled back. "I'm never going to get to sleep. Will you go for a walk with me?"
I smiled at her. "I'd love to, Honey."
A moonlit walk in the crisp forest air sounded wonderful to me so we did, taking one of our favorite paths through the woods to a nearby clearing and decided to sit down together.
We talked, cuddled, and kissed under the moonlight and eventually she fell deeply asleep in my arms. The moon had moved quite a bit in the sky while we were out so I knew no short amount of time had passed when I walked into our house and straight up to bed with her curled up and sound asleep in my arms. Once I had her settled, I was out cold soon after.
