Author's Note: I really do feel like it is a shame that both Sharpner and Erasa have no official last name. At least not one that is on the Dragonball Wiki. Though I've ran across some in other fanfiction I really enjoy. With Tippet being my favorite for Erasa. Still not sure about Sharpner though. Most of them are "Pencil" and I don't like that one. We'll see if I'll go for it. Feel free to give suggestions in a review.

This one turned out to be half heavy and half heart-warming. I like it! I do hope you all like my calmer Chi-Chi though. She will certainly fly off the handle later on, but I want to make her less of a cartoon. So to speak. Some stories go a bit . . . extreme with her.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z. At all. I only own my fond childhood memories of it and some of the movies on DVD.


Fight 48
A Mother's Curiosity

Chi-Chi watched her boys devour the mountain of food she made for dinner with a small smile. This past week had felt so very strange with Gohan gone for so many hours each day. Her eldest had really stepped up to the plate in the years since Cell. Especially once they found out she was pregnant.

Those first two years were still rough nonetheless. She knew his willingness was, in part, due to feeling guilty about Goku's death. "Please stay seated when you finish up, Gohan." Goten's identical appearance and similar personality to her late husband has been both a boon and an unfortunate happenstance.

Gohan looked at his mother with confusion as he swallowed his food. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Oh no!" Chi-Chi shook her head, "I just want to hear more about your week. You've mentioned making friends?" Her youngest might be a constant reminder of Goku, but it also has helped heal the wound his missing presence left.

He nodded in understanding and smiled, "Yeah. Though my perfect score on the entrance exam had me branded a nerd almost immediately." Gohan chuckled and scratched his cheek sheepishly, "But I've still met good people."

Truthfully Chi-Chi had been well aware that high school wouldn't really teach her son anything new. Even one as reputable as Orange Star. Not only had she tutored him the best she could over the years, but Gohan had soaked it up like a sponge. That said she hadn't actually sent him to school to learn. She wanted him to meet people his own age.

Up until just before the Cell Games the only friends he had were through Goku. All of whom were obviously much older than Gohan. Lime is the only teenager other than the Trunks from the future that he has been acquainted with up till now. "Well? Tell me about them."

Over the past week the changes in Gohan were impossible to miss. He had a spark that had been missing for a long time. Chi-Chi watched her son, who had seen far too much death and destruction by the time he was eleven, with an arched eyebrow as he tried to decide where to begin. She could already tell he was happier now.

That alone made having to get used to him not being around so much entirely worth it.


Word Count: Approx. 395