A/N: Hey guys! I have been swamped at school the very first week I got back from rotations. This is actually the first chance I've had to post this chapter, let alone continue to make progress on chapter 3. Fear not though. I am very confident I will be able to post that one by Friday next week.

Until then, enjoy this next installment of Poof!

"dialogue"

thoughts/mindscape

"telepathic communication"

~change in setting~

*action*

flashback

Chapter 2: Ten Minute Farewell

~Fighter's lounge, Main Arena, Tenkaichi Budokai Grounds, Papaya Island, Age 785~

I can't believe it!

A mere ten minutes ago, Dad had been in the ring fighting this kid with a mohawk named Uub, and actually having a good fight. Apparently the kid is the evil version of Buu reincarnated into a human and made good, explaining why my dad was so excited to fight him. But it was obvious that Uub had no real training, as Dad had to rile him up to get him to unleash his power. They were fighting for a few minutes until it looked as if Uub had fallen out of the ring, only for my dad to reach down and save him from a ring out.

A mere five minutes ago, dad was talking to this kid and telling him he had so much potential, and that he could be an incredible fighter with the right trainer.

A mere four minutes ago, Dad had made a decision to take this random kid that he literally just met in that match under his wing, and not only train him, but live with him, flying up to the balcony that everyone that wasn't competing was watching from and giving them a very brief explanation of what he's doing.

And it was a mere three minutes ago that Pan had tearfully run up to him and pleaded and begged him not to go. Dad had held her and put on a smile, telling her that he would visit whenever he could. My niece had conceded, believing him and believing that he will visit, but I could tell that he was just trying to placate her. I could only stare blankly at the man, my incredibly adorable niece's sobs drowning his quick goodbye to all of us competing.

And then a mere two minutes ago…

Poof!

He was gone.

Flying away to live with a kid he had just met.

I seriously can't believe it!

To be honest with myself, I'm not really shocked at the way my father left. From what Gohan had told me and from my own personal experiences with the man, he doesn't seem to be the type of person that would stick around too long, especially in times of peace. He's always looking for the next challenge, the next adventure. I guess he found it in Uub. But what I seriously can't believe is that he could choose fighting over his family… over Pan.

As soon as he was gone I quickly made my way to Pan and tried to calm her down. She was incredibly upset by my father's spontaneous departure, and honestly I couldn't blame her. He had never not been around for her before when she wanted him to. Not like how he wasn't around for my brother or me.

However, my four year old niece doesn't understand this. To her, he's the doting grandfather that is really fun to be with and very caring and loving towards her. To her, he would never leave just like that, and to see him do just that must have crushed her. Normally I'm able to calm her down rather quickly, but she is still crying in my arms, even now two minutes after he left. As I continue to cuddle and sooth my niece–my incredibly cute, loving, and trusting niece who I see as a sister–I start to get angry. Angry at my father, that he would do something like this to her.

That he would hurt her.

I briefly look up at my brother in the balcony that his father-in-law had gotten our family, and I see that he's currently occupied consoling our mother. I can't imagine what she must be thinking. Her husband had left again, but this time he had seemed like he was here to stay for good beforehand. It must have felt like nothing short of betrayal to her that he left again, gone to live with a boy he had just met for Dende knows how long. I suddenly feel my rage spike again.

He hurt Mom too.

As if he sensed my gaze, Gohan looks straight at me. His eyes show an incredible amount of concern as he looks at me holding and comforting his daughter, but I could see an underlying rage there as well. He's pissed, and far more pissed than I've ever seen him before. But he's hiding it for now, trying to once again pick up the pieces after the devastation that our father's departure caused everyone. I suddenly empathize with my brother. I really can't imagine what he's thinking after this. After seeing his father abandon his daughter just like he had abandoned him when he was Pan's age.

I can honestly say that I'm rather indifferent towards Dad's departure on a personal level. To me, he never really was around much to begin with, Gohan really being more of a father to me than he was. Am I disappointed that I won't see him again? Sure. But his departure doesn't really affect me that much. To me, I still have my dad around. Don't get me wrong, I love Dad, but even though I may have been the doppelganger of him when I was younger, I never really developed a unbreakable connection with him. My most impressionable years had passed by the time he came back to life.

It's different for Gohan though. He has a deep connection with our father, and I know for a fact that he really was desperately hoping that Goku was going to stick around for good this time, thinking much like our mother. I believe he truly thought that our father was going to stay home permanently after the whole Buu debacle, going against his instinct that says that Dad wouldn't. After all, he had been home for the last ten years, even if it was only for meals and nights most of the time. I don't think Gohan would have let Pan get so attached to him either if he thought he was going to leave again. As I continue to look into Gohan's eyes, I can tell that he's incredibly hurt as well, but he's holding it all back, trying to be strong.

He hurt Gohan.

My big brother and father figure.

My idol.

That is the final straw for me. I never in a million years would I thought I'd see my brother hurt so much again. I remember when I was little and still shared a room with him that he would have nightmares about how our father died at the Cell games. He would have nightmares about how he could have prevented his death and he believed that our father blamed him for that, staying dead as a punishment. After these nightmares he would wake up in tears and I would pretend to be asleep so that he wouldn't worry about me.

Usually after these he would come over to me and sit on my bed, running a hand through my hair trying to calm himself down. And while I loved that gesture, I felt incredibly sad and horrible that the best person in the world, the one person that deserved eternal happiness for everything he'd been through, and the one person that I loved more than anyone felt so guilty and was so hurt. In these moments I wanted nothing more than to give him a big hug and comfort him like he always comforted me after a nightmare, but then he would realize that I was awake and saw him at his weakest, something I knew he wouldn't want me to know.

Looking at my brother now, I am reminded of those nights many years ago, and I feel the exact same way. I really want to go up there and help him but I also have to care for my niece. Right now my first priority is calming her down. It seems though that Gohan senses my distress as he quietly whispers to his wife. After a moment, she seems to nod in understanding to whatever he said and gently moves to take my mother from by brother's arms.

Gohan then looks at Pan and me, and quickly flies out of the window, not caring that the whole audience (who still is shocked at the seemingly random departure of two of the finalists) sees him flying down to us and can tell he knows how to use ki (1). He quickly makes his way over to us, and puts a hand on his daughters head. I smile gratefully at him. While I know that he wants nothing more than to take her from me and cuddle his daughter, he respects my want to do the same, knowing that I am the one person besides him or Videl that can actually calm her down when she's truly distraught, which is very seldom.

Well... and Dad, but he obviously can't do anything at the moment now can he.

Pan however stiffens at the contact and turns to look who it is, and through her tears sees her daddy. Gohan gives her a small smile that only I can tell is forced, and opens his arms for her. She obliges to his unsaid request and jumps from my arms to his, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck and sobbing into his chest. He quickly wraps his arms around his daughter and buries his face into her hair, breathing in her scent. He had once told me that the reason he loves hugging Pan or me so much is that he draws a lot of comfort from the two of us, that we evoke a sense of peace within him. I can tell now that he is drawing as much comfort out of that embrace as he is giving her.

"Shh. Panny it's okay," I can hear by brother trying his best to reassure his daughter.

"No it's not!" Pan sobs, face still buried in her father's chest. The sight of her crying is heartbreaking, and the fact that not even Gohan seems to be able to placate her makes it ten times worse. "Grandpa left! He left with some other kid!" She then draws her face up so she's looking Gohan in the eyes, her eyes still streaming with tears. "Why did he leave? Was it something I did? Was I not good enough for him?"

I felt as if I had been punched in the gut at Pan's words. She thinks she's at fault for Dad's departure?

She's definitely her father's daughter, even if she looks more like her mom.

Gohan immediately denies her self-accusation. "No! Of course you were good enough Panny! You didn't do anything wrong, sweetie. He didn't leave because of anything you did or because he didn't think you were good enough for him."

She wipes her nose on the sleeve of her undershirt and sniffles. "Then why did Grandpa leave us?"

My brother lets out an exasperated sigh. He obviously is trying to figure that out himself. "I'm not sure Panny." I know it hurts him to not be able to give his daughter a straight answer for once. I have a feeling he knows very well why our father left, but he just doesn't want to tell Pan that he left because the life he was living just wasn't exciting enough for him.

Finally, it seems like Pan has stopped crying, but she still is obviously sad. She looks into her father's eyes again, the onyx orbs still shiny with the remainder of her tears. "Will we ever see him again?"

There's the question of the century.

In all honesty, I don't think we will see him again… at least not anytime soon. And as I see Gohan struggle to come up with the answer to that question, my anger returns. I really hope that we don't see him again. He has hurt the ones I love most: Mom, Gohan, and Pan. I know that he probably didn't intend to hurt them, and that he never would hurt them physically outside of a spar, but I don't give a crap about that. In my mind, he's just as bad as any enemy we've faced. He's a threat to the emotional well-being of my family.

And if he ever shows his face around me again, he will pay dearly.

He will feel my wrath.

I don't know how long I was in my very angering thoughts, but as I get back to reality, I can see Gohan looking at me intently while holding his now sleeping daughter, as if trying to read my mind. He looks at me incredibly concerned before his takes flight back to where he came from, and giving his daughter to her mother. I absentmindedly look to the arena and see that the tournament has resumed, seeing Trunks desperately trying to keep his opponent away from him, who is a big guy in a sailor suit that I'm convinced is trying to seduce my best friend rather than fight him. I briefly allow an amused smile to grace my face, finding Trunks' situation very hilarious to watch.

My smile however fades as Gohan makes his way back down here, this time taking a more subtle approach than flying out in front of the crowd. I can see that he's concerned for me, something I don't quite understand. I should be the one concerned for him. He's the one who has the distraught daughter and he's the one who lost his dad. He quickly draws me into an embrace, and I eagerly return it. I may be seventeen now, but I will never shy away from a hug from Gohan. I can instantly feel the effects of the hug and I can feel myself already starting to feel better, my intense anger I was feeling before slipping away. How can one hug do that? It's always been this way for me with Gohan, and I have never been more grateful for this fact than in this moment.

As we pull away from each other, Gohan rests his hands on my shoulders and gives them a reassuring squeeze while looking deep into my eyes. "Are you okay Goten?" he asks me, thinking that something is bothering me. I look right back at him, shocked. He's probably hurting far worse than I am at this moment, yet he still is more worried about me than his own pain. Even after all of these years, it still amazes me how he can just bury his pain away in order to stay strong for me, even now that I'm practically an adult. He must have taken the delay in my response the wrong way because he looks even more concerned suddenly and wraps one of his arms around my shoulder. "I'm sorry for this Goten," he tells me, trying to apologizes for our father, concluding that I'm taking his spontaneous departure rather hard.

I'm quick to ease his burden though by wrapping one of my arms around him in return and looking straight into his eyes. "I'm okay Gohan," I tell him, not wanting him to have the extra burden of trying to care of me now for one extra second. I know my brother well. He would do anything in his power to try and make me feel better if I were to be upset in anyway, and I know he would not stop until he knew I was alright. But while this trait of his is endearing, it's also hard for me to watch my brother hurt so much, yet ignore it. I sigh, thinking of how I can convince him that I really am okay while trying to hold back the anger directed towards my father.

And then it hits me.

"Gohan, I'm really alright," I stress when he gives me a look that he doesn't really believe me. I try to make my point by looking to him and smiling. "To be honest I don't think I'm going to miss him much. He never was really around to begin with, not like you were."

I continue to look at my brother and I see a surprised expression cross his face. "What are you saying Goten?" he asks me. Gohan's a genius, so I believe he knows what I implied in my last remark, but he probably doesn't believe it. Even after all of these years, I've never really told him that I considered him to be my dad rather than our actual father, at least not since Goku came back. He probably thought that back in the day when I was really little I only believed him to be my dad because he was the only male role model I had for the first seven years of my life, and that made him my dad by default or something along those lines. My brother has always been good at putting himself down in his head, a trait that I will continue to try and get rid of from him.

I pull out of our one armed embrace and turn so that I'm facing him. I make sure I look directly into his disbelieving, yet hopeful eyes, making me all the more sure of myself. It's completely obvious that he sees me as one of his own, and that he's desperate for me to confirm that I feel the same way, so I waste no time in doing just that. "Gohan, our father was dead for the first seven years of my life, and then when he came back, he was always off training with Vegeta. You however have never been absent a single day in my life, and have looked after me like a father should. I guess I've never really told you how much that meant to me, but I think you should know that the reason Goku's decision to leave us doesn't really hurt me that much… is because he wasn't really my dad… You were, and still are really."

After I finish, I smile at Gohan. I look at his expression to gauge his reaction to my words and I can tell he's stunned by what I've told him. However, comprehension seems to dawn on him and a second later, he grins widely at me and pulls me into another hug. This time, I can feel that he's extremely happy, and that makes me feel a bit better. At least I was able to make him feel better for a few moments at least, and now he knows just how much he means to me.

"Thank you Goten!" he whispers hoarsely, and I can tell he is truly touched my confession. "You really don't know how much that means to me." He gives me a good indication of how much though if this hug is anything to go by. As we pull away, he looks me dead in the eye and that look he had before returns. "And I will continue to be there for you Goten. I promise that I will never do what Dad just did, because I have you and Pan to look out for. As long as I have you two, Videl, Mom, and the others, I will always be content with my life."

I listen to my brother and nod, truly believing his words. He is the one person I can always count on and I probably trust him more than anyone in my life. "I know that Gohan," I answer, wanting him to know that believe his words. "But thank you anyways." Eventually, my anger fades for the moment and I'm content to just watch Trunks as he finally punches the guy out of the ring when he leaned in for a kiss. I laugh at what was a very entertaining match… well entertaining in the form of comedy. I smile as I hear Gohan laughing beside me, and my burden is lifted a little more. At least he's alright for the moment too.

As soon as Trunks comes into the Fighter's Lounge, both my brother and I give him a mock round of applause and he scowls at us, turning his back to us in a gesture that screams Vegeta. This causes Gohan and me to laugh even more at Trunks' attitude. Was it just me or did I see a blush on his face before he turned his back to us? Eventually, Gohan gives me a pat on the shoulder and returns to the balcony where he came.

A few minutes later he comes back, holding Pan and trying to wake her up. This confuses me for a moment before I realize that she is still in the tournament and that I fight her in the next round (2). As soon as she wakes up, she starts tearing up again in remembrance of the events that just happened before Gohan is able to comfort her once more. As I watch her struggle to control herself again, I decide that I'll let her beat me in the next round. Of course I'll have to look like I'm giving it my all, but that shouldn't be that hard. She needs a pick-me-up after Goku's departure, and I will do anything to make her smile again, even lose to a four year old girl in front of an international audience.

At least the fact that she's Hercule's granddaughter will make it less embarrassing to the crowd.

It seems as if Gohan has succeeded in calming Pan down and I see her run over to Trunks to congratulate him on his victory. I smile at the scene as Trunks lets his softer side show and dotes on the little girl. I take this opportunity to go over to my brother and ask him something before he heads back to the stands.

Gohan senses my approach and stops his departure to look at me, this time purely curious. "What's up Goten?" he asks me as I approach.

"Gohan, I want you to train me again." I state, causing him to raise his eyebrows in confusion at me. I can tell he doesn't understand my request, so I elaborate for him. "I want you to train me so that when Dad comes back I can give him a fight that will be worth sticking around for."

This shocks my brother, and I'm not sure what shocks him more: what I actually said or how I said it with so much animosity. "What do you mean Goten?" He asks, clearly trying to figure out my sudden request. Personally, I think he knows exactly what I mean, but is just trying to come to terms with the fact that his dad left him again. He is obviously still processing the fact that Dad just up and left.

"Gohan," I answer, trying my best to hold my temper back, but the hurt that I see from my brother at just the mention of our father is making that incredibly hard. It just makes me that much more motivated to pursue my goals. "I want to be able to fight Dad when he comes back and prove to him that he doesn't have to go off and train someone else to defend the Earth, that we are more than capable of doing it ourselves." I use the 'excuse' that our father had told us about needing another defender of Earth to hide my true motivation from my brother. While it's true that I would like to be better prepared in case something should happen to Dad or Vegeta, that is not the reason I want Gohan to train me again. No.

I want to be able to defend my family against a threat.

And Goku is that threat.

After weighing his options, Gohan sighs and nods his head, agreeing. I can't help but grin back at him. I know that he doesn't want to do it, that he hates training as a warrior and that he doesn't want to train me that way, but I also know that he would do anything for me, even this. "Alright Goten, but I honestly don't know why you want me to train you. I already taught you everything I know."

I grin back at him. "I know you still have some tricks up your sleeve that you haven't taught me, plus you are very good at correcting form and making your opponent pay for their mistakes, which are all things that I could use."

He sighs again before placing a hand to his face, shaking his head. I can tell he's smiling though, which makes me grin wider. "You make some good points. Alright Goten, I'll train you, only as long as you give it your all and listen to what I say. I also want to have a friendly, non-lethal spar with you once a week, and this can't get in the way of your homework, helping Mom around the house, or babysitting Pan. Deal?"

He extends his hand towards me and I immediately accept, grabbing his hand and giving it a firm shake. "Deal."I answer, and I internally smirk.

Goku won't know what hit him when he shows his sorry butt around here again.

1. In this story, Hercule admitted to the "light tricks" as being a real martial arts form, so the general public knows about ki. However, very few have been able to use it due to the intense training it requires, so the crowd is more surprised at the fact that someone was able to use a ki technique (flying).

2. The tournament is set up differently, where Pan fought Wild Tiger in the first match and Goten fought the guy Vegeta knocked out in the second. Goku and Uub's match was the third one of the finals. It's not relevant to the story, but in case you're wondering, Vegeta was matched up against Buu.