Just one thing before I start the chapter. I'm gonna try and put a character's thoughts in single quotes from now on in order to help avoid confusion with actual spoken words.

On Kami's lookout high above the clouds, Piccolo growled. Recent events with Gohan's mother had bothered him greatly, knowing that even now Tien, Yamcha, Krillin and even Vegeta were hunting the boy down to try to convince him to return home. Of course, if it was Vegeta that found him the boy would probably end up unconscious, but from what he'd heard while spying on them from outside the capsule corp, Chichi didn't care how Gohan came back. He growled again.

"That foolish woman! Doesn't she ever think about what Gohan wants?"

"Isn't she just doing what she thinks is best for Gohan, sir?"

"Yes Dende, that's exactly what she thinks she's doing. What she needs to realize however is that Gohan must be allowed to make his own choices. He is not a defenseless baby anymore." Piccolo strode over to the edge of the lookout and peered down at the earth through a nearly cloudless sky. "She isn't just doing what she thinks is best for him though. I can tell every time I see her look at him that deep down, even though she loves him, she hates what he is. That's why she forces him to study all the time. She's afraid he'll end up like Vegeta or one of the other Saiya-jins that came before. It's pathetic really, that she has so little faith in the boy..." Piccolo made a sudden sharp intake of breath and whirled around to face Dende with wide, horrified eyes. "Gohan..." Dende quickly grew concerned. Piccolo rarely showed so much emotion, and when he did it was almost never a good thing.

"Piccolo? What's wrong? Did something happen to Gohan?" Piccolo collected himself and he took on a more serious look.

"Gohan's been attacked and is in a coma." It was now Dende's turn to widen his eyes in horror.

"How can that be? Nobody on Earth has that kind of power! We would've sensed a power big enough to hurt Gohan!" Piccolo shook his head.

"It wasn't a physical attack, it was a mental attack." Piccolo sat on the ground, crossed his legs and relaxed.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to try to contact him through our bond. Hopefully I can help him out of whatever trouble he's in." Piccolo cleared his mind and focused on Gohan. Soon, he could feel that he'd linked the boy's mind with his own. He was intrigued to find that he was now in a familiar rocky area with a familiar group of warriors. To his left stood Goku who, upon close inspection, seemed to be almost panicking.

"Gohan! Finish him off now! Don't play around with him!." Gohan, who was busy beating on a six and a half foot tall grasshopper looking creature that could only be Cell, looked in their direction.

"No. I want to make him suffer a little." Gohan then returned his attention to Cell.

"Now, where were we?" That's when Piccolo heard it or rather, him.

"No, wait! Just kill him! Stop!!! He'll kill Dad!!!!!" Piccolo had to strain to see him, but watching the fight from the opposite side of himself and the others, was a transparent Gohan. Piccolo levitated off the ground and floated over to the ghostly Gohan.

"Gohan?" Surprised, Gohan jumped a bit and looked up at Piccolo.

"Piccolo? You can see me?" The Namek only nodded.

"How?"

"Because I'm no more a part of this memory than you are. What's happened to you Gohan?"

"What...happened?" Gohan's face scrunched up as he tried to force himself to remember how he'd gotten to where he was.

"Oh! I met up with a couple of fighters and one of them said he'd teach me a new technique, but when I was in our hotel room with Naruto, his student, some guy named Itachi showed up and tried to kidnap him. We had a short fight and then this guy named Sasuke showed up and tried fighting Itachi. He was losing pretty bad so I tried to step in but when I looked into Itachi's eyes I ended up here. He said this place was called Tsukiyomi and that he controlled time, space and the mass of objects here and then he said that I'd spend 24 hours repeating this day."

"What? He did this to you just by looking you in the eyes? He must be pretty powerful to get through your mental defenses that easily."

"I...didn't have time to react. One second everything was okay and the next I was here." Piccolo put his hands out towards Gohan.

"Take my hands and clear your mind." Gohan did as he was told. He took Piccolo's hands in his own and closed his eyes, concentrating on completely erasing all thoughts.

"Good. Now, I want you to focus on your body. Think of returning to your body. Don't think of anything else but getting back control of your body." Gohan nodded and before long he began to flicker in and out of his mindscape. He flickered faster and faster and after about five minutes disappeared altogether, leaving Piccolo alone with bad memories.

"Hmph! Living through that once was enough. It's time for me to get out of here." The next second, Piccolo was gone.

Piccolo opened his eyes to see the familiar background of the lookout. He stood up and saw that Dende was staring at him anxiously.

"Gohan's going to be fine. I'm worried though. He said he just looked into his attacker's eyes and that's all it took. Someone with those kinds of abilities should not be taken lightly." Dende nodded solemnly and headed into the palace. He had some paperwork to do for King Yemma.

Gohan opened his eyes and saw white. Lots and lots of white. He looked around and saw that he was in what appeared to be some sort of hospital room. He sat up quickly but regretted it when he was rewarded with a pounding headache.

"Oh, you're awake?" Gohan looked to his immediate right and saw a pink haired girl sitting in a chair next to his bed. He looked at her oddly. Not only did he not know this girl but he'd never seen anyone with pink hair before. Before Gohan could ask who she was, the girl introduced herself.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. What is your name?"

"I'm Son Gohan." There was a brief moment where neither one of them said anything, but Gohan was the first to break the silence.

"Not that I mind having company, but why are you here? I don't even know you." Sakura graced him with a friendly smile.

"Because you saved Sasuke-kun and I wanted to thank you. I also wanted to apologize for what you had to go through to do it." Gohan just chuckled a bit, amused that she would apologize for such a thing.

"It's okay. It's not the first time I've been hospitalized after a fight. Anyways, how is Sasuke doing? Last time I saw him he was pretty beat up."

"He'll be okay. He's just gotta stay in the hospital for a few weeks to let his broken bones heal and then he can go back to his normal routine." Gohan smiled and laid his head back down on his pillow.

"I'm glad. He isn't too mad though is he? I mean, he didn't like the fact that I got between him and that Itachi guy." Sakura grimaced as she remembered a nurse having to sedate Sasuke as he literally tried to crawl out the door so he could find and kill the guy who'd stopped his revenge. The nurse had tried to take him back peacefully, but after being thrown to the floor a couple times she just ended up injecting him with a tranquilizer.

"Well, let's just say it would probably be in your best interest to avoid being around him for a while." Gohan put his arm behind his head and grinned nervously.

"He's that mad huh? Well, Once he's healed I'll have to fight him and let him get it out of his system." Gohan uncovered himself to find that he was wearing a hospital gown instead of his purple gi and weighted cape. "Uhhhh...where are my clothes?"

"You can't leave yet. Someone's gotta check on you to make sure there wasn't any permanent damage to your mind. That was a very powerful psychological attack you went through." Gohan shook his head fervently. The last thing he needed was someone examining his mind. There were just too many things he didn't want people to know. Sakura put her hands on her hips and gave Gohan a determined look. No way in hell was this guy leaving before the medics declared him ready.

"This isn't debatable Son Gohan! You're going to stay here until the medics say you can even if I have to tie you to the bed, and don't think that I wouldn't!" Gohan took a good look around the room and saw a closet on his left that was right by the entrance to the room. He smirked and before Sakura could even blink he'd disappeared and then reappeared in front of the closet. Sakura moved to stop him but he just pointed his fingers at her and a few rings of energy flew out of his fingertips and knocked her into the wall, pinning her arms and legs to said wall. She gasped in surprise and struggled against her bonds only to find that they would neither break or budge.

"Hey, let me go!" Gohan chuckled at her predicament.

"Don't worry, I'll let you out once I'm far away enough that you won't be able to drag me back here. I've got too many things that I can't just let people know about me, so letting someone scan my mind is out of the question." Gohan turned around and rummaged through the closet looking for his clothes. He found them and grabbed them and his backpack as he scanned the hallway for anyone that might be out there to catch him. Once he was certain it was safe, he opened the door and walked out into the hall to find a bathroom to change in. He sensed someone about to walk out into the hallway so he hurriedly snuck into the nearest room. This room proved to be an exact copy of his with a closet to his right and the bed at the back of the room with a couple of chairs for guests and a window above and behind the head of the bed. This room was occupied by an unconscious man with silver colored hair. Gohan walked over to him and noticed that he wore a mask over his mouth and his hitai-ate covered his left eye. His energy was fluctuating wildly, leaving Gohan to surmise that either he was having a bad dream or he'd suffered an attack on his mind as well. Hearing voices outside the door caused Gohan to tense, listening for the voices to approach and hopefully walk past the door. No such luck. The voices stopped at the door and someone grabbed the knob and began to turn it. Panicking, Gohan crossed his forearms over his head and leapt through the window, allowing the ki bonds he'd placed on Sakura to dissipate as he fell. An unfamiliar male voice called out to him as he hit the ground running, but he didn't stop until he was in the midst of a crowd of people walking the streets of whatever town he was in. Not wanting to draw too much attention, but already having received many stares due to his hospital garb forced Gohan to frantically search for a place to change into his normal clothes. He found a space wide enough for one person in between two buildings and decided that was the best he could do. Gohan looked around to make sure nobody was following him and ran across the busy street and ducked into the space.

Gohan emerged two minutes later once again sporting his purple gi, weighted cape and backpack. He smiled at finally being out of those hospital clothes and having escaped without causing too much of a ruckus. The same male voice from the hospital called out to him again, though this time it was joined by Sakura's voice. Gohan groaned inwardly. If he didn't lose these people they'd try to force him back to the hospital and he just didn't think they'd understand or react too well to the idea of evil aliens and planet trades or the fact that he was one of those aliens, despite not being evil. Rather than run though, he decided it would be best to try and reason with Sakura and whoever was with her first as he didn't want to seem too suspicious. He waited about five minutes and finally they caught up with him, Sakura glaring and the man, dressed in an odd green jump suit just gave him a look of concern. Sakura stepped forward and slapped him across the face, turning his head to the side not out of any display of great strength but more because the action surprised him. Even though it didn't really hurt, he brought his hand up to the offended cheek and looked at her, confusion etched into his features.

"What was that for?"

"For sticking me to the wall and recklessly running away! What if there's something wrong with your mind?" Gohan shook his head.

"I've been trained to know mental attacks and their potential affects on a victim. I'd know if something were wrong with me."

"And what if the enemy implanted something into your mind to make you attack Konoha?" Gohan blinked in surprise. So he was in Naruto's village eh? He took a look around and that's when he saw the damage. The village was a disaster area, with most of the buildings he could see having sustained various levels of damage, from missing roof tiles to being completely caved in. Most of the people he could see milling about were either carrying food or some kind of building materials.

"What happened here?" Sakura had been about to yell at Gohan for not answering her but her face quickly took on a look of sadness.

"We were recently attacked by two enemy villages, the sand and the sound. We managed to drive them away but in the end they killed the Hokage among many others. That's why we need to be cautious and need to make sure the enemy didn't set you up to attack us. Konoha can't survive another attack."

"I'm sorry, but I just can't. If you guys found out the wrong things about me you could get the wrong idea and try to kill me. It's just best if my mind isn't tampered with any more than it already has been." Sakura's male companion took on a sneaky grin as an idea came to him.

"How about a little competition, Son Gohan? If I can beat you in a sparring match then you will go back and take the examination. However If you win you may go free and I will do ten laps around Konoha!" Gohan gave the man an odd look when he said the last part. From the looks of the village it was really big, and most people wouldn't be able to make one lap around it let alone ten. Sakura just rolled her eyes at the man's antics. Then something occurred to Gohan.

"Uhhhhh sir? How do you know my name?" The man just stared at him for a moment but then laughed.

"That's right, you were unconscious. I am the one that brought you and Sasuke-kun back to Konoha. I am Maito Gai, Konoha's Green Beast!" He gave a thumbs up and a toothy grin that was so shiny it nearly blinded everybody around them. After his eyes recovered, Gohan took a step back from Gai. The man was just a little too creepy for his tastes.

"Well, alright. As long as it's just a spar." Gai grinned at him.

"Alright then, just follow me." Gai took off at a run with Gohan and Sakura trailing behind him. After several minutes of running, they arrived at a training area that reached to the edge of a large wooded area. Gohan took a look around, noticing the woods and a few posts in the ground and a large lake, making for a peaceful setting.

"Where are we?" Gohan asked, in awe of the surrounding beauty.

"This is one of Konoha's many training grounds. This is where we will fight. Are you ready Son Gohan?" Gohan nodded and smirked in anticipation of the match. "Don't hold back, come at me with everything." Gai stood with one hand out, the back of his hand facing Gohan. "You may attack at any time." Gohan dropped into his own fighting stance and took a few moments to observe Gai before leaping towards him in a spinning kick. Gai ducked under it and dropped to his hands which he used to support himself as he kicked up at Gohan, hoping to catch him in the chin. Gohan saw it coming though and tucked his arms and legs in, effectively shielding himself. He didn't bother to stop his flight or descent and allowed himself to land on his back. He rolled over and pushed himself back up and smirked at Gai. He ran at him again, but this time instead of attacking stopped when they were only a few feet apart. Gohan began running in a circle around Gai, gradually speeding up until it seemed that there were several copies of Gohan surrounding him. Gai just studied the afterimages for a moment, trying to determine the best spot to attack.

"Here!" He lashed out with a fist only to have Gohan grab it and use it to swing himself into a kick which Gai barely managed to dodge, allowing Gohan to sail over him. Gohan hit the ground running and quickly spun around and came back at Gai only to have the man drop to his hands and spin around, nicking him on the face and sending him spiraling to the ground. Wasting not a second, Gohan jumped back to his feet and pointed an open palm at Gai. With a shout Gai let out a loud oomph as though he'd been punched in the gut and was blown onto his back. Gohan ran at him and jumped into the air to bring a leg down on him but he'd rolled out of the way so that Gohan only hit dirt, leaving a slight imprint of his leg. Gai suddenly became ecstatic.

"What an attack! You are truly a great example of the burning passion of youth! Now, let us sweat the sweat of our youths as we face each other in true combat! No more playing around, what do you say?" Gohan grinned. This guy was going to provide a good fight.

"Sounds good to me." Gohan cracked his knuckles and then his neck before going into some stretching exercises he'd been taught by his father. "Ready. Before we really start though, let me get rid of something." He took his backpack off, lifted his cape over his head and tossed them to a nearby Sakura, who'd been watching the fight with interest. Sakura tried to catch both but almost fell over from the weight of the cape so she dropped it, resulting in the cape slightly embedding itself in the ground. She stared at it with wide eyes. Gai's interest was piqued by the apparently weighted cape.

"So I see you use weights. An excellent way to train your body." Gohan nodded in agreement.

"My sensei wears the same thing except he wears a weighted turban as well, and my dad used to wear weighted clothes too."

"I see. Well, let's see how much your speed has improved." Gohan smirked and was suddenly at Gai's side, smashing a fist into his ribcage. Well, at least that's what would've happened had Gai not spun out of the way in an attempt to sweep Gohan's feet out from under him. Gohan's eyes widened in surprise and he jumped back. He hadn't expected Gai to be able to see his movements much less counter them. He didn't waste time thinking it over though and overlapped his hands on his forehead.

"Masenko-ha!" He shouted and thrust his palms in front of him. A large yellow wave of energy shot forth from his hands and slammed into Gai's chest, knocking him over. Gohan shot off to the left and faced Gai so that he was facing towards the lake, leaving his back to the forest. Gai was already on his feet and this time he was running at Gohan. He leapt into the air and repeated Gohan's first attack of a flying spinning kick, but Gohan brought up a forearm and blocked it. The force of the blow actually forcing him to take a step to the side to avoid being knocked over from Gai's momentum. Both fighters were shocked.

'How was he able to block it and stay on his feet? This boy is something else.'

'That hurt! How strong is he? I'm gonna have to try harder if I want to beat him!' Gohan jumped back several feet and crouched low, bring his arms to his sides.

"Well Gai, this has been fun but I guess I'm gonna have to bring out more power if I want to win. I've got to hand it to you, you're pretty strong. Yelling in concentration, Gohan reached deep into the well of power that resided within him, bringing it forth. He could feel it flowing through his veins, into every muscle and giving him strength. A slight breeze picked up as Gohan brought more and more power to the surface, though determined to limit how much he would use. Sakura and Gai were more than a little shocked when they could feel Gohan's chakra begin to spike. They could tell he had a lot before but this...this was just crazy! They could hear Gohan sigh as he finished his power up and observed Gai with a predatory grin. A split second later a fist hit him right below the ribcage and an open palm connected with the center of his chest, knocking him flat on his back. Gai didn't have time to react before Gohan had his fingers pointed at his throat like a knife edge. He gave Gai a pleasant smile. Gai smiled back at him. The boy may have bested him, but he'd been holding back. He'd wanted to test the boy's fighting skills and could see that his hand to hand combat technique was no less than superb. He'd allow Gohan this victory, but he could already imagine him wearing green spandex and orange leg warmers as he sparred with an energetic Lee. The fantasy brought tears to the eccentric jounin's eyes. This taijutsu genius should be his new pupil!

"So, do you yield?"

Well there we go, another day another chapter. I hope this was enjoyable, though I'm not too sure about the fight scene. Perhaps I made it a little too short? Ah well, just tell me what you think.