Season 2: Ch 4- Passage of the Year

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z except my own characters

Chemistry-Deaf: I'm so happy that I got one of my ideas in!

Saxophone explained to Chi-Chi what he planned to do with Gohan and ease her fears. Chi-Chi already told him that she did not want Gohan to learn how to fight, and Saxophone respect her wishes. Instead, he would have three different parts for Gohan: exercise, manipulating ki, and meditation. The first two typically would be combined within fighting, but Chi-Chi wouldn't like or allow it.

Exercise would be composed to running, using weights, and general activities that Chi-Chi would be satisfied with. Manipulating ki would have Gohan learn how to control ki into different ways such as flying, creating beam shots, and firing large quantities. Meditation would be last to help cool the body from exertion, keep the mind sharp, and retain information. Once Saxophone got Chi-Chi comfortable with the idea, both of them compromised the schedule for Gohan and Saxophone.

Gohan had first complained the length of the run at the start. Saxophone made it clear that he does not accept quitters only exhaustion. Gohan collapsed after 2 miles which Saxophone accepted. Each time they run, he tried to coax Gohan to reach or beat the last day's mark. After that, Saxophone carry him to the training site and allow him a break before working on ki manipulation. Saxophone started off with understanding it before using it. He went with crating simple ki balls and floating. Meditating wasn't Gohan's favorite part of training, but he behaved.

The beginning of the month was a little crazy with creating the house, getting Gohan used to Saxophone's teaching method, and Chi-Chi trying to get everything together. As the month moved on, some flexibility was created. The first one was when Piccolo came back. Piccolo wished to spar around the same time Saxophone would usually get Gohan outdoors. Saxophone told Piccolo to wait while he notified Chi-Chi. He knocked on the door and waited for her to answer.

"Coming!" she called from the inside. She opened the door some seconds later. "Ah, Saxophone. Figured it would be you. Listen, Gohan have a lot of studying to do, so he can't come out today."

"That's okay," Saxophone replied looking relieved. "Piccolo just came today and wanted to spar, so I was going to let you know I couldn't take Gohan out. Glad everything worked out! I'll come back next time." Saxophone smiled and left. Chi-Chi could see Piccolo barely hiding in the shadows as Saxophone walked to him. She was starting to worry about Piccolo being part of this.

The next day, Gohan went to study school as Chi-Chi took first shift of her job instead of second. It worked out well strangely with one of her coworker willing to switch time and the boss allowed it. The day went well as Chi-Chi got Gohan from school, had him do his homework, and work on the house. When Saxophone showed up, she looked around for a hint of a figure of Piccolo.

"What are you looking for?" he asked when he saw her looking.

"To see if Piccolo is around."

"Oh, that. Piccolo is at the waterfall working on things."

"That's nice to know. Once the house is finished, is Piccolo going to move in?"

"Yes if he wants to."

"I would rather not to have him on my property."

"Are you saying that because his father attempted to kill your husband? I'm sure it's a nice reminder that I'm stronger than he is. Plus, we talked about this."

"Yes, we talked, but I don't like it!"

"I'm not making you to! If you're so worried, you can join us while Piccolo is around."

Chi-Chi thought about it and replied, "Looks like I'm joining today." Saxophone noticed the stubborn look.

"Whatever makes you happy. Call Gohan down, and you might want to wear something comfortable and not minding a bit of dirt."

"Dirt? Why?"

"If you're joining us, you're running with us." This was the first day Chi-Chi joined them. They ran together nearly 5 miles. Gohan had already learned not to complain as much. By the end, Chi-Chi was the only one breathing harder than Gohan. She noticed Saxophone hadn't lost his breath.

"H-how ca-n you be fi-ine?" she asked while still out of breath.

"Piccolo and I are used to a more rigorous type of run. We already did that this morning. I figured you wouldn't like Gohan waking up early for a run, so I choose late afternoon."

"How fast?"

Saxophone thought about it and glance back. "I'll show you. I will run back to the house and back. Count roughly how many seconds." Saxophone waited for them to catch their breath before counting down. Gohan was amazed by the speed Saxophone took off while Chi-Chi kept count.

When Saxophone arrived back, she told him, "Around 1800 seconds."

"Wow! That's like," Gohan tried to do math division in his head, "180 seconds per mile!"

"Three minutes? Sounds about right."

"But, aren't you wearing weights?" Gohan asked.

"I am. Why?"

"I was wondering how fast you can run without those."

"I guess a minute and 30 seconds per mile?" Saxophone got amused by the blatant shock of his companions, and Chi-Chi looked like she might faint from it.

"T-th-that's-!" Gohan was having trouble multiplying.

"I ran ten miles, that's 900 seconds. Piccolo hadn't breached the 4 minutes and 30 seconds with 500 lbs on per mile yet."

"H-how much do you run each day?" Chi-Chi asked.

"Um, 25 to 30 miles for a light day and 40 to 50 miles for a serious day." Saxophone decided that this was enough information about their strength and had Chi-Chi carry Gohan to the training site. Saxophone didn't need to tell Gohan what to do because he already knows what to work on. Instead of observing him, Saxophone decided to teach Chi-Chi about her ki.

It was getting dark when Chi-Chi was getting the hang of floating. Saxophone heard a sound where they couldn't hear. "Chi-Chi," he said.

"What is it Sax?"

"Piccolo's coming. Before you start shouting, he's more likely want to see me. I'm going to greet him, so stay here near Gohan. Neither of you should come to me. I will come to you." Saxophone took a light jog down the path to intersect Piccolo. Chi-Chi soon heard the sound of fast running which was quickly replaced by sounds of fighting. It was over before it could continue. She then saw both of them coming up and noticed Piccolo looking slightly tired and out of breath.

"You're getting better with the afterimages, Piccolo," Saxophone's complements were heard as they came closer.

"You nearly got me!" Piccolo retorted.

"You shouldn't tell me that. The point of the afterimage is to fool the other person no matter how close your real body is to the afterimage." Piccolo grumbled as a response. "Gohan!" Saxophone called to get his young student's attention. "We're done for the day." Gohan was working on rapid fire with fist size ki balls when he stopped. He noticed Piccolo when he came.

"Is Piccolo joining us, mommy?" he asked her. Chi-Chi was about to say no and saw Gohan's puppy eyes. Gohan was already aware that Chi-Chi would say no, but he can try.

"Fine," she snapped after debating with herself. Gohan's face lit up with joy while Saxophone looked surprised and Piccolo was perplexed. She turned to them and said, "You two wash up then come to the house."

"Yes, Chi-Chi," Saxophone responded. Chi-Chi and Gohan went to their house. Gohan was sent off to wash up before dinner. Saxophone and Piccolo found a nice stream to clean themselves. They arrived with their normal clothes and turbans and minimal weights. Piccolo's weighted cape was not with him. Chi-Chi wasn't done with dinner and had them wait in the living room. Saxophone decided that this was a good time to review what Chi-Chi taught him about writing English.

Most of the time, Saxophone arrive early. Chi-Chi took this opportunity to teach him English. Piccolo noticed and couldn't understand what he was looking at. Saxophone took advantage of this by teaching him what he knows. When Chi-Chi came back, she saw them arguing over something. Once she came closer, she understood that they were trying to figure out several words. They looked up when she was close. Piccolo was shocked that he was caught while Saxophone asked, "Yes?"

"Dinner is ready."

"Ah! Thank you. Piccolo," Saxophone nudged him. "Say thank you."

"Thank you," Piccolo said quietly while avoiding eye contact with Chi-Chi. They stood up and walked to the kitchen while Chi-Chi called for Gohan. Piccolo chose a seat and noticed Saxophone helping Chi-Chi out with setting the food. Gohan came down and was very happy. He sat right next to Piccolo. Saxophone sat on his other side and Chi-Chi took one across from him. Dinner was quiet and less awkward compared the first dinner all four had.

Gradually, Chi-Chi got used to Piccolo being there that she didn't minded as much. The only times she does freak out was when she saw only Gohan and Piccolo together. She doesn't know how often those two were together and was secretly supported by Saxophone. It started after Piccolo and Saxophone made the new house their home.

The first time Piccolo entered Gohan's room was during a particularly loud fight between Saxophone and Chi-Chi. Piccolo was in the living room reading an easy book when loud shouting was heard outside. The window from the kitchen was open, and Piccolo didn't want to suffer the noise to shut it. He put a finger to his book and close it and used both hands to cover his ears. He walked up the stairs and was passing an open door.

Gohan was studying with the door open when his Saiyan ears caught the shouting match. It was interrupting his studies, so he got out of his chair and was going to close it when Piccolo stepped in view. They locked eyes. "Do you want to come in?" Gohan asked him. Piccolo stared at him. "You don't have to." Gohan's eyes dropped down in disappointment.

Piccolo was aware of Chi-Chi's opinion and wouldn't like her wrath thrown at him. At this point, he doesn't care. "Wait-" A loud scream shocked them, and Piccolo hurried inside. Gohan closed the door once Piccolo fully entered. He stood awkwardly in the room since he had no idea what to do next. Gohan made this easy for him.

"You can sit on my bed. It's comfortable, so you can finish reading that." Gohan had noticed the book Piccolo was reading. Gohan then gestured to the bed. Piccolo has no idea what a "bed" was even when pointed out to him. The purpose of a "bed" was strange to him. He did know humans sleep on them, but he doesn't sleep, he meditate. He approached it carefully.

Gohan already walked back to his chair and find Piccolo's curiosity of his bed more interesting and amusing than his studies. Piccolo stopped inches before the bed. Either Gohan or Chi-Chi made the bed every morning. He looked at the patterned cloth covered most of the bed. The top part was folded back along with two other sheets. In front of the folded cloth was two rectangular fabric puffed up. He slowly reached out and touched the patterned cloth.

"That's a quilt." Piccolo reacted like the cloth-quilt had burned him. He quickly looked over to the kid that spoke. He was seated in a way that his mother wouldn't be proud of, but he wanted to see Piccolo without moving his chair. His head was resting on the back rest over his arm. Piccolo growled softly to himself as a faint blush of embarrassment threatened to cover his cheeks. Since the kid gave him permission to sit, he took the suggestion.

He faced away from the bed and slowly sat at the edge. It was weird. Awkward even, particularly with that kid staring. If he doesn't scoot back, he may fall off. Being new, he experiment the best way to go back without messing up or tearing the quilt. He could have floated over, but that slipped out of his mind at that moment. Then, his knees hit the edge.

He debated going into lotus style there or go back more. Uncomfortable with the idea of sitting (more like unused to) so close to the edge, he scoot back more. His back hit the wall. He didn't hit it hard enough to dent, but the bump surprised him. He sat in a lotus position and shifted to make himself more comfortable on the bed. He took the book he set down on the bed to read. The kid must be bored of watching him by now, isn't he? Piccolo can see him over the book he's reading but made no attempts to show that. When the kid is sure that Piccolo was comfortable, he went back to his studies.

Saxophone had entered the room late evening. Piccolo had finished reading and was quietly meditating. "Ah, this is where you were."

Piccolo opened his eyes and looked at him. "Yes, father. Is there something you need?"

"No, Chi-Chi is almost done with dinner. I was surprised that she was against a larger garden."

"A garden?"

"Yes, so we can have some vegetables she don't have to buy for us."

"Do I have to help out?"

"Oh, yes." Saxophone smirked at the death glare Piccolo sent his way. Piccolo sighed in defeat.

Gohan enjoyed the quiet moments with Piccolo when he wasn't outside doing his regular routine, helping Saxophone out with the garden, or with him during his training. He tend to ramble as Piccolo either ignored him or listened, but there were some times where Gohan asked him about himself. At first, Gohan couldn't get Piccolo to say more than necessary. When they got comfortable with each other, Piccolo started to talk more.

Goku arrived the Check-In Station with Kami. Kami knew about King Kai and figured Goku would gain a lot from training under him. After explaining it to King Yanma, Goku was granted passage to King Kai. Before he got on Snake Way, he told an ogre to tell his friends not to wish him back until the year was almost up. Then, he started running down Snake Way.

When his friends heard about his wish, they weren't too happy about that. Gohan was most upset, but he managed to find two Dragon Balls. He was willing to wait a year for him and the balls were stored in Kame House. As the year approaches to a close, they made the wish. Gohan along with Chi-Chi, Piccolo, Saxophone, Launch (forced to stay at the Kame House a week prior), Bluma, Krillin, and the residence of Kame House watched the dragon rose out of the seven orange balls into the dark sky.

The wish was granted, but Goku was nowhere to be seen. He had to run back Snake Way which will take him a day or two. Gohan was disappointed, but he can wait.

The next morning, Piccolo was panicking. Chi-Chi didn't have work that day because it was the weekend. She was doing some paper work when Piccolo slammed open the door and marched in. Gohan was sleeping in when the noise woke him. Chi-Chi was going to yell at him for his rude entrance when his expression stopped her. "My father is missing."

A/N: I'm going to give up trying to convince you readers to review, except my faithful reviewer so far. I'm going to eventually get the rest of the chapters typed, just slower. College and all...