AnimeWolfGirl16: It's so hard trying to stick to writing Kenny when he was easier being Kevin (if that makes any sense). I think there are too many Kevins in my stories :)

Chapter 22: Lessons

"You already know how to form Ki, so manipulating and sensing it shouldn't be a problem," Gohan started to explain to Kenny, who sat across from him on the grassy plain they had found. It seemed as if spring was finally coming, and the rare appearance of grass confirmed it.

He briefly wondered if Marie had anything to do with that. Glancing over at his blonde haired friend, he noticed she was currently talking to something. On closer observation, that something was a blue flower.

Despite their connection to plants through the Lotus, he thought that Marie sometimes did things that were strange. Not that he was judging anyone, he had his fair share of strangeness in his life, but he figured he wouldn't be talking to organic flowers anytime soon.

Gohan mused for a moment over what would be easiest for their new friend to learn first. Sensing Ki, he decided, would probably be a better way to start. He had been able to sense Ki before he could manipulate it, but his friend seemed to have the latter down to the basics.

"Does Leyla know how to fly?" Kenny asked suddenly, prompting them both to look over at his crimson-eyed friend. Gohan let a small smile slip.

"Let's just say she's working on it."

Leyla was currently practicing how to manipulate her Ki enough to fly. She got a few inches off the ground before she came back down again. He easily spotted her error.

"You're concentrating too hard! Try to make it more natural!" he shouted to her, trying to give her tips, but his friend just good-naturedly stuck her tongue out at him, making him sigh.

She would get it a lot sooner if she listened to my advice; he shook his head, focusing back on the task at hand.

"We're going to start with sensing Ki since it's a good starting point. Being able to sense your own Ki will be able to hopefully help with flying later on," Gohan realized that Kenny was still looking over at Leyla, making him wonder if he would have to repeat himself, "Hey Kenny, are you paying attention?"

"Uh, yeah," Kenny's gaze came back to him, making Gohan sigh. His friend seemed to be distracted by something… whether it was the prospect of flying or Leyla, he wasn't sure.

"As I was saying, being able to sense Ki should help you pick up some of the more advanced techniques easier," he stopped for a moment, not quite sure of how to continue. He had always been taught by someone else, and now it seemed to be the other way around. "Do you ever feel as if you can feel something around you without physically feeling its presence?"

"Sometimes… I mean it's a really weird feeling…" Kenny seemed to feel slightly awkward talking about himself, so Gohan made a mental note to try and avoid that for a while. Their new friend had just been hurled into the weirdness of their group, so he should rightfully have a period of adjustment.

At least he has some sort of awareness, he picked up on the different feelings that his friends were feeling and concentrated on Kenny's.

"Well, you have a starting point then. That strange feeling that you get is your awareness," Gohan started to explain, but then saw the slightly confused look on his friend's face, "It's useful for sensing Ki. Normally you focus on a living object and focus on its presence; when you learn to control that feeling is known as sensing Ki."

"Oh, that makes more sense now," Kenny nodded, a serious expression on his face for once. They sat in silence for a moment before laughing. It was strange how the other boy seemed so much like Gohan had when he was younger.

It feels good to have another friend to talk to.

"Now don't be surprised if you don't get results right away. It takes concentration and practice if you're going to do it right," Kenny glanced over at Leyla again for a moment before looking back at him during his explanation, a smile on the other boy's face.

"But not too much concentration, right?" Gohan didn't get what Kenny was saying at first, but he then glanced over at Leyla. The connection made both of them start to laugh again.

A strange sense filled Gohan for a moment, making him have to hold back more laughter. He glanced over at Marie, who was skipping towards them with a smile on her face.

She's at it again, he thought with a sigh, wondering how their new friend would take what was about to happen.

Just as Marie reached them, a purple flower with four petals formed in between the circle that they were seated in. Kenny's face turned to one of surprise while Gohan slowly leaned down to stare at the flower.

Marie let out a giggle at their reactions and he came up with his answer. He wouldn't be talking to flowers anytime soon, but having a connection with them did feel kind of nice. A strange tingling started in his left side as Marie sat down with them and copied him.

Kenny, probably thinking it was some sort of ritual, did the same. He felt Leyla become irritated through her Ki, but she probably didn't know that she had revealed the feeling. She had stopped practicing, which almost broke the trance he was in.

"Am I going to learn how to do that?" Kenny asked after a while, sounding somewhat creeped out, "I'm not sure I want flowers popping up wherever I walk."

"No, I don't think you should learn that," he was almost tempted to say that Kenny couldn't learn what Marie had done, but there was so much that their new friend didn't know of yet.

A small, light green vine snaked around his foot, keeping him in place. He glanced over at Marie with a smile, feeling as if she was overdoing it a bit. Kenny's look was priceless once he realized what their blonde haired friend was doing.

"Am I going to learn that?" he asked again, and the overflow of emotions coming from his Ki made Gohan laugh again. Kenny shrugged and ran off to join Leyla, who had resumed practicing. She seemed to be concentrating a little too hard again, but he had faith that she would figure that out sooner or later.

Is that intentional? He wondered, but the thought dissipated when Marie led the vine away from his foot, allowing him to move it again.

"I think my foot was starting to go numb," he joked as he moved it a bit, feeling the pins and needles starting to fade. Marie giggled again, and he wondered why she seemed especially happy today.

Not that I would want it to be otherwise.

"The final piece is almost here," she whispered, that strange feeling running through him again. It was quickly replaced by confusion at her words.

"What do you mean?" he asked, watching as she stood up and looked over at their two other friends. Before his blonde haired friend could answer, however, Kenny interrupted them.

"I can sense you!" the other boy shouted, waving his hand in the air in some form of triumph. His friend's statement made him laugh.

"You can also see me!" he shouted back, and the other boy's shoulders slumped a bit. Marie tapped him on the shoulder and whispered,

"Maybe it's time for a little hide-and-seek?"

Wow, it's been a few months since I've wrote anything for this (and I'm sorry about the delay). I figured I would revisit this and give you guys an update, since you have been waiting so patiently. Truth be told, I completely forgot what this chapter was supposed to be about at first (which was the main reason for the delay). Anyways, I figured we needed a bit more of a happy chapter since the rest have been mainly bad news and terror one after the other :) It's alright for the characters to have a little fun every now and then! Either way, I'm rambling a bit. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please let me know your thoughts/suggestions in a review!

-AnimeWolfGirl9