Age: August 740

After falling into the ravine and seeing Gohan care for him so earnestly, Kakarotto-

'No... No more Kakarotto. No family. No Saiya-jin. Only Gohan... so Goku.'

- Goku took to calling the old man "Grandpa". There was meaning behind the word, he knew, but Gohan didn't truly explain to him. He asked how old the child was, to which Goku responded with three fingers. He was past three months old, but Gohan said that he was three years old. Perhaps time was different here.

"Goku, are you hungry?"

"Yes. I'm hungry." Goku smelled the sweetness of the oranges that Gohan always got from the trees that were lower in the valley. "Grandpa, we have oranges."

"Yes," the man said, peeling one and handing it to the little boy. Goku's tail waved behind him quickly, overjoyed at the sweet food. The foods here, though, however sweet and tasty, never truly filled him unless he consumed a large amount. Gohan spent much of the time when they were out in the forest finding food for them both to eat, as Goku seemed to use up their seven-day rations in two days. Goku helped as much as he could, his small size compensated by his strength, as he climbed into the trees and grabbed as much fruit as he could gather in his small arms.

The fish that Gohan had gathered that morning were over the fire, the smell exciting Goku's nose. The three-year-old hummed happily at the thought of food.

"Goku, we're going to practice our reading after breakfast, okay?"

Goku nodded. The letters on this world were so strange, the symbols meaning whole words instead of each one making a sound and a string of them making a word. He really needed to practice them all.

During the day, they would train. Sparring was a way for Goku to let our his energy and to remember all that Raditz and Vegeta had taught him. His tutors were helpful, but he definitely liked training more with his brother and mate. Gohan was even more skilled than they were, too. He was old, he said, and in his life had done many things.

When Gohan showed him how to renovate things around their home, Goku took to taking items from his pod and making new weapons and tools. The scouter that he kept at his waist was handy and he could hear his sire's voice telling him of many things.

The voice reminded him of the festivals he'd seen before he had returned to the incubator. He remembered the bells that he had been trained in playing, as they would be used to call to the infants of his Cartload. Order was demanded of them during those times, but they were also calling them to play and to fight. The bells were wonderful, and they reminded him that there was a softness to his life on Planet Vegeta. Gine taught him to play the bells, too. The sweet sounds of the metal and wood clinking against each other were like those that Vegeta kept in his room, the only art that they encouraged and admired. The music was welcoming and dear.

They would practice reading from the books on the shelves, Gohan and Goku tracing every letter.

"Work well, study well, rest well, and play well, Goku."

Age: January 741

Nighttime was for stories.

"Cars?"

"Yes, they're machines that travel on the ground to take you places."

"Wow..." Goku bit into the small bun that Gohan had made for him from rice flour. They had pounded the grains into the fine powder themselves. "Can we see the cars?"

"When you're older, we'll go. Show me what you made from your pod today."

The boy pulled out a small wrist band that held a large circular object to it. He held it up and light emerged from it. It seemed to solidify, the plasma did, and it became a blade that had an extension that Goku could wrap his hand around.

"We can make steaks now, Grandpa!"

Son Gohan laughed.

"Okay, put it away. We don't want it t' go off while we sleep."

Goku nodded, wiggling down to rest between Gohan's legs and taking off the wrist band. He settled it down on the low table that he used to climb up to bed. He felt his eyes droop down low, yawning. Gohan petted his head, whispering stories to the evening wind and to the child with him.

It was moments like these, like when Gohan praised him, scolded him, and taught him things, that reminded Goku of his family unit.

"Good night, little lady," he heard Gohan whisper.

On this night, the moon was red, and Goku had changed into what Gohan called a "girl" and all had gone on as normally as it could. Gohan was not as surprised as he had been last September when he had changed the first time, but it was still funny to see Gohan flabbergasted at the change when they went to the river to bathe. Goku merely curled up against him, and he was his grandpa's favorite again.

He was Gohan's Little Lady.

"Gohan... is Princess Moon full tonight?"

"No. I checked. Remember not to look outside-"

"I know... Don't look out at night when Princess Moon is full, and always ask you first." Goku hummed. He looked at the candle that Gohan would leave on for just a little while longer. "Grandpa, could you show the ball again?"

"Oh, the little starred ball?"

Gohan stood up, leaving Goku to pout as his pillow disappeared. After shuffling around a few items, Gohan showed off the small golden orb. "Why do you like this so much?"

"It's warm, like your hugs, Grandpa," Goku offered. He snuggled against Gohan again, reaching for the little ball. "The ball is bright, like the sun." Gohan hummed a small tune, one that Goku remembered was about a Princess on the Moon.

Gohan looked down at the child that was drifting off to sleep, the one that had changed into a girl during the lunar eclipse. His Little Lady. For all the strangeness that came with caring for this child, Goku never brought him grief. It was like having the son that he had prayed for in his youth, and during the lunar eclipse, he had a daughter to decorate. He would brush Goku's hair more delicately, though he never let up while they were training. Goku did like the different things that he could wear as a girl, like the ribbons and bells that Gohan would put in his hair. It seemed to remind Goku about something from his birth family.

He would hum Goku to sleep, even when his sweet child would cry and hit him lightly in his slumber.

They would spend their days like this. The days would pass, and Kakarotto would let a small bit of his memory go at a time.

He would turn into Goku more and more, and he'd remember the faces of his family less and less.

Age: September 742

He only went outside to go to relieve himself. He looked up for a moment, as the night was too dark. Suddenly, all was bright. Where was the light coming from? He looked up, and he suddenly wanted to eat and eat and kill and kill. His chest ached and he wanted everything to disappear with him.

"-ku! Goku!"

Everything needed to disappear.

"Goku!"

He looked up to the sky.

"I told you not to-"

The world broke beneath him.

"Please!"

The next day, Goku buried his grandfather, and he was all alone again.

Notes:

I'm sorry.

U