Continued from Part 1...

Once they arrived back at school, the rest of the day was relatively uneventful. Now that school days were becoming a routine, Gohan was finding it strange how one day could mesh into another so easily. He had assumed every day would be unique, which wasn't the case. You didn't necessarily learn something new in every class. Oftentimes, you just learnt how to apply the knowledge you had learnt previously. It was quite different from home schooling, that was for sure.

So, in what felt like no time at all, school was over, and he was flying home. He was so glad he could fly on his own, now. He didn't have to worry about people recognising him. And he was so much faster than Kinto'un.

When he arrived home, he saw Goten, running around outside the house. His little brother had been busy catching bugs. With his speed…the net was full to the brim with struggling insects, many of which were escaping even while Gohan was watching.

"Gohan!" his brother cried. "Hi! How was school?"

He shrugged. "It was…it was alright." He had stopped a crime, and gotten the answer to a homework question that had been bugging him – the usual. The only thing that was strange was Videl. She didn't seem to be her usual charismatic self that day. Perhaps she was just feeling a little under-the-weather.

"Wanna play?" asked Goten.

Gohan smiled. "Sure. After I finish my homework, alright? I'll call you."

After all, if he wanted to make sure he knew how to answer those algebra questions, he had to practice with questions similar to it. It was like…it was like training, except for your brain. And you didn't feel as exhausted when you were finished with it. And you could actually test yourself without worrying that you would destroy the planet.

Actually, now that he thought about it, it was nothing like training.

So, after greeting his parents, he went to his room and started on those exercises. And then, just to make sure he wasn't behind, he went over the textbook passages for some of the information he'd learnt that day. And he read another chapter for the book they were meant to read for literature.

It didn't hurt to be prepared. And every new piece of knowledge was like a miracle for him. He was learning something! Not just random knowledge, but information that could actually help him with the rest of his life! At school, no one really cared about the martial arts moves he had memorised. And no one could talk to him about the benefits and drawbacks of the different levels of Super Saiyan. But geography? That people could relate to.

But he had promised he would play with Goten, so he finished relatively early, eager to play before it got dark. When you had two half-Saiyans, playing outside was a necessity. It wasn't like they were banned from playing in the house. But everyone knew if they did, it would only end in something being destroyed. Like…the roof. And that wouldn't benefit anyone.

"Goten!" he called. "I've finished my homework!"

And, like a flash, Goten bounded up to his room. The gust of wind caused by his sudden arrival caused the papers on his desk to start flying everywhere. That was the problem when you went too fast. Sighing, Gohan quickly raced around, catching all of them before they could fall, and placing them back on a neat pile.

"Sorry, Gohan," Goten apologised.

"It's OK. You were just excited."

Once they were outside, a safe distance from the house, Gohan asked his little brother, "So, what do you want to do?"

"Can we have a race?" asked Goten, eagerly. "I want to see if I can beat you!"

Gohan smiled. "You know I'm faster than you."

"But I'm getting better! I know I am!"

And, as if it was as easy as breathing, his brother transformed into a Super Saiyan.

The first time Gohan had seen it, he was shocked beyond all belief. Now, he'd learnt to accept it as part of their everyday life. Part of him wanted to demand Goten treat the transformation with a little more…respect. It made the sacrifices that he and his father and Vegeta had made in order to transform feel less important. But Goten was still 7. Gohan doubted he would understand. It was easy for him, and that's why he did it.

But, even then, Goten was nowhere near as strong as him.

Gohan took a deep breath, and released his full power.

Almost unwillingly, Gohan grinned. There was no way to argue against it – knowing that you were the strongest person in the entire universe…it felt amazing. He had had it for 2 months, and yet he still had that rush of euphoria every time he used it, every time he could feel what he was capable of.

If he ever died again, he had to go back to give his thanks to the Elder Kai, despite his perverted nature. Now that his potential was unlocked…everything was just easier. His power felt a lot more…natural. Like it was an extension of himself. Going Super Saiyan always felt like it happened against your will. It was an explosion of emotion. At the beginning, the way he transformed was to try and recreate the conditions in his head, to try and get angry again. But his power now? It wasn't like that at all. He could access it whenever he wanted, and it didn't make him angry. He was in complete control, and it was incredible.

It wasn't even overwhelming. When he was sitting in the Kai's planet, waiting for the ritual to be complete, he had been worried about that. The last time he had unlocked his true power, it had taken control of him. It had turned him into a monster. What if that happened a second time?

But that wasn't the case. The ritual had been going for hours, and Gohan had just about lost his patience. He had gotten angry, yelling at the Elder Kai to stop wasting everyone's time, before he suddenly realised everything was shaking.

What's going on? He had thought. Is that…

Is that me?

And then, with a shock, he had realised it was him.

It was in that moment that he fully understood the raw power running through him. To do all that, and not even notice it!

It was a feeling that not much else could emulate.

And, to make things even better, he recently realised he could still go Super Saiyan! He had been practicing, and he'd finally figured out how to do it again! It was just a lot more difficult, and sort of counter-intuitive. But, still, the fact that the legendary transformation of the Saiyan race wasn't completely cut-off to him was still amazing.

"Race around the Earth?" suggested Goten.

"Sure," Gohan agreed.

They started in the air. These races had become a frequent feature of their training. In terms of fighting, his father was better at training Goten. He was older, and more experienced. But Goten couldn't deny his big brother's power. And that was what these races had become.

"3…2…1…Go!"

From the start, Gohan was faster. He was always faster. But the difference was now he barely even had to try to outrun, or rather, outfly, him. It was in these moments where he could just close his eyes, and not worry about anything else. All he had to do was concentrate on his own power. It was in these moments where he was in complete control.

But Goten didn't want to give up. Judging by the movement of his ki, he was still trying, going the fastest he could. And while he was fast, he was nowhere near Gohan's level.

So Gohan decided to slow down a bit to give his brother some time to catch up. And when Goten was within visible range, Gohan sped up, trying to encourage him. Whenever his brother caught sight of him, he seemed even more determined to catch up. Gohan couldn't deny Goten's determination, even if it was fruitless in the end.

They finished the race in about 10 minutes. When they were getting close to their starting point, Gohan simply relaxed, and flew as fast as he could, outstripping Goten easily. He arrived back where they started and waited for Goten to catch up. It would take a while. Gohan sat down on the grass, smiling. Perhaps it wasn't the fairest to race Goten. There was no denying who was stronger. But, then again, Goten had asked for it.

Goten arrived a few minutes after him. He fell to the ground, panting.

"You're so strong, Gohan!" he breathed. "You weren't even going your fastest! I can tell!"

"Well, I am the big brother," replied Gohan. "It's my job to be the strongest."

Their race hadn't taken that long. "Do you want to spar?" Gohan asked. That was what they normally did.

But this time, Goten had a rather different reaction. He wasn't jumping around in eagerness. In fact…he didn't look at all eager. He just looked bored.

"Why?" he asked.

"You don't want to?" Gohan was puzzled.

"Well, I don't need to anymore," replied Goten, matter-of-factly. "If I fuse with Trunks, Gotenks is way stronger than I am. And he can beat everyone."

That made Gohan pause. His brother had a point. But…the way he was dismissing it was rubbing Gohan the wrong way.

Goten smiled. "So I don't need to train, do I? We're already the strongest!"

Gohan suddenly realised that the power might have started to get to his brother's head. And that was definitely a bad thing. Whenever the power went to his head, someone died. Whether it was his father, or himself…it had happened twice, and it always had disastrous consequences. Goten may not have been him, but it didn't stop him from panicking about it. It was just big brother instinct.

"Goten…" Gohan murmured.

The young Saiyan turned to face him, the cheerful expression still on his face.

"You can't just rely on being able to fuse all the time. What if Trunks isn't there?"

"Why wouldn't Trunks be there?" replied Goten, cheerily. "We hang out all the time. And I could just find his ki and get to him. You saw how fast I was!"

He made a good point.

"But…there are problems where it doesn't matter how strong you are."

Goten stared at him, his eyes wide in confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well…just because you're strong, doesn't mean everything's going to be OK. You can be the strongest being in the universe and you can still…"

He stopped.

…you can still fail. Like I have.

But Gohan didn't say it out loud. Goten wouldn't understand that, would he? And besides, he was the big brother. He had to act like it. He had to act like he had all the solutions.

"…there are still things that you can't do."

Goten didn't look like he understood.

"Like what?"

"Like…" Gohan racked his brains, trying to think of a way to explain it. "Like…adult stuff," he decided.

Goten pouted. "But I'm not an adult!" he protested. "And what about Daddy? He can do everything."

That comment made Gohan smile.

"Not everything," he told his brother. "Father may be strong, but he's not perfect. He's…"

It was always hard to explain Goku. There was no one quite like him. And, even though he had been dead for the past 7 years, when he came back, he seemed like exactly the same person that Gohan remembered. Bulma used to tell him that Goku just never grew up like everyone else did. Not because there was something wrong with him, but because there was no need to. He didn't care about trying to be part of normal life. He would be just happy living on his own, training all day. And, honestly, who could argue with it? If Goku had attempted to be normal, it was likely the Earth wouldn't be around.

"He's our father."

But it looked like the explanation had gone right over Goten's head.

"Can we play now?" he asked, getting impatient.

Clearly, Goten wanted to end this conversation. There was no point in arguing. His brother obviously didn't understand.

Once their playtime was over, as Gohan went up to his room, he sighed. He felt so…responsible for Goten's behaviour. He needed to understand! But what could he say? Goten had every reason to be overconfident. He hadn't seen failure in the way Gohan had. He hadn't seen his father die in front of him. He never had to desperately stop a monster from destroying the planet, his own strength the only thing able to prevent complete annihilation.

Or, maybe he had. He had been forced to fight Majin Buu. But being fused with Trunks had made it different somehow. It was like a game to them. They hadn't seen the consequences. They hadn't felt the consequences. Together, they had shared the burden of being humanity's last hope. But, as a result, it seemed like they were left with almost too little burden. And if they didn't learn that lesson soon…Gohan had a feeling something bad could happen. His brother was already strong enough, even without fusing. He needed to understand that he wasn't invincible. No matter how powerful he was, he couldn't afford to be reckless.

Perhaps the best thing to do was to talk to Trunks about it. While Gohan didn't want to say Trunks was a bad influence…his brother definitely listened to what Vegeta's son said. If Goten couldn't understand, maybe Trunks would.

He'd have to add that to the list of things he had to do. Along with homework, and trying to convince the police to look into that Android situation.

…with school, Gohan's life had suddenly gotten a whole lot busier.