XXXTITANIA SCARLETXXX: Here are some answers! Also, sorry for the wait!
Chapter 29: From the Distant Past
Goten never wanted to go for a walk with Drew. The older boy scared him in more ways than one; despite this, his mother had urged him to go along with the other boy.
"Could Goten and I go for a quick walk?" Drew asked earlier that day while Chi-Chi was preparing dinner. Gohan wasn't home since he was at school, so for the past few hours Goten had been entertaining himself with some of the toys Trunks had given him.
"Sure I don't see why not," his mother answered, giving both of them a glance without stopping what she was doing, "it is such a nice day out, after all."
Goten felt the butterflies flittering around in his stomach again as the older boy started to walk towards him. He wished Gohan was home, then things would be better.
"I-" Goten started to say, giving his mother a glance while trying to find some why out of the trouble that was sure to follow. Drew's eyes narrowed slightly at the hesitation in his voice, making him stop his sentence.
"What is it, Goten?" his mother asked, worry starting to inch its way into her voice. She stopped stirring the pot of soup on the stove and looked at him, waiting patiently for an answer.
"I'll go change," Goten decided quickly as he ran into his room, locking the door behind him. He knew he would have to go on the walk, but he would rather wait in his room until Gohan came home.
His stalling didn't last long, Drew made sure of that, and soon they were out the door.
Goten winced at the tugging on his arm and looked up to see the cause of his pain: Drew. The older boy was pulling him through the forest that surrounded their home, but the younger boy had no idea where they were going.
They had left the house a few hours ago, or at least that was what it felt like. Goten's stomach rumbled a bit, causing the older boy to look down at him.
"Can we go home now?" Goten asked, trying to make sure he didn't anger the older boy. Drew was scary when he was angry.
"No," the older boy replied harshly, looking around them for a moment before continuing to tug Goten in another direction. Drew's face suddenly lit up with a smile, but one that Goten didn't like, "we're going to play a game."
"What sort of game?" the younger boy asked, his curiosity peeking through the fear he felt. If it was a fun game, then that would make the time worthwhile.
"Sort of like hide and seek," Drew answered, glancing down at him, "let's see how long it takes for big brother to find us."
"Goten!" Gohan called for his little brother as he walked through the forest. So far, his brother had yet to appear, and he still couldn't sense either Drew nor Goten's Kis.
Where are you? He silently pleaded, wishing that he could find them already. The sun was setting early and the chances of finding his little brother dwindled with the daylight; especially when I can't sense his Ki.
Gohan stopped walked for a moment, taking time to catch his breath. The whole day had felt highly unusual, and he knew this was the worst time if he was coming down with something.
"Just one of the disadvantages of going to one of the most highly populated schools," he muttered, feeling slightly irritated. He couldn't afford to get sick, not when Goten could be in trouble.
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts as he searched for any Kis within range again. It seemed futile, but he didn't want to take any chances of missing anything.
He felt something faint coming from the furthest reaches of the forest, near the edge where a high precipice dropped to the river below. Goten would be in danger there, considering the high drop and the fact that his brother didn't know how to concentrate his Ki to fly yet.
Another thing to add to my ever-growing checklist, he thought as he ran off towards the Ki. Flying would attract too much attention, and if someone was going to hurt Goten, then that would alert whoever had him; and Drew. Whoever has him and my little brother.
The Ki suddenly disappeared, leaving no trace of whether it was still in the area. He frowned, understanding some of the pieces of the puzzle.
"If you want to play that way, then I can too," he whispered, concealing his Ki so that whoever was sensing him wouldn't know where he was. As far as Gohan knew, his little brother didn't know how to sense Ki either, so he wondered why he had left his Ki unconcealed in the first place.
I keep making too many mistakes, and sooner or later someone is going to end up hurt because of me.
The Ki signal kept flaring on and off for a while, almost leading him in a trail. He hoped not; that would seem like the most likely sign of a trap. But if Goten is there…
Gohan eventually came to the precipice and was relieved to find that his little brother was there. Drew was standing at the edge of the cliff with his hand holding Goten's wrist. Something didn't feel right again, but he decided that he could sort it out later.
"Goten, you shouldn't have wandered so far out here," Gohan looked at his brother, trying to ignore the other boy standing a few inches away, "we were all really worried."
"Sorry," Goten apologized in a near whisper, looking towards the ground. Gohan didn't want to be harsh with his brother, but the sudden disappearance from the house had gotten him nervous.
"We were just going for a walk," Drew's statement made him let out a sigh; he had already been told that and the information wasn't helping.
"Let's just get back to the house," he turned to leave and saw Goten start to take a step forward, but Drew's hold on his brother's wrist tightened, not letting the younger boy move. Gohan noticed this and stopped, feeling something start to wash over him.
Something is different, even more so than when he first came to the house, he thought, staring at the blonde haired boy with some suspicion.
"Aren't you coming?" Gohan asked, waiting for the other boy's grip on Goten's wrist to slacken. It only grew tighter, however, as a smile appeared on the boy's face.
"I think you do deserve a reward; after all, you won the game," Drew's words made him confused. What game?
"You wouldn't harm your little brother now, would you?"
"What do you-?" he started to ask, but Drew cut him off as the boy took a step backwards, bringing Goten closer to the precipice's edge. His younger brother's feet were up against the edge and wobbling a bit, making him freeze.
"Do you want me to let go of him? Would you like to see him plummet into the river? I don't think he can swim," as Drew said this, he loosed his grip on Goten's wrist a bit, causing the younger boy to whimper a bit as his feet teetered closer to falling off the edge.
"What do you want?" Gohan asked, staying where he was. He could tell Drew wasn't joking around, and one wrong move could send Goten over the edge of the cliff.
"I would think that you would already know," Drew's smile became wider, his words trying to jog something in Gohan's memory, "think back to all those years ago, if you can remember. Then again, humans aren't very reliable."
At this, Drew suddenly jerked Goten's wrist forward, sending the younger boy crashing towards Gohan. He ran forward and caught his brother just before he hit the ground. Goten was shaking against him, obviously trying to recover from such a scare.
"Are you alright?" Gohan whispered, standing up and bringing his brother with him. Goten nodded, and he knew what he had to do in order to keep Goten out of trouble; "Goten, I need you to run home. Get on the phone and call Kame house. If they don't answer, call Bulma."
Goten ran off as soon as he finished speaking, leading to one of the rare moments when his brother didn't ask why. Gohan turned to face Drew, feeling the other boy's Ki start to flare.
Why should I know what he wants? What does he mean? He wondered, knowing that the answer might not come easily. Drew had mentioned for him to remember what had happened years ago, but how long ago did he mean?
Little sparks ran through Drew's now white, visible Ki. As much as Gohan hated it, he knew that this wouldn't end with a conversation.
"You're going to pay for what you have done," Drew rushed towards him, confirming Gohan's fears.
Sorry this chapter was a bit later than I expected it to be. Either way, I hope this might have got your thoughts churning. Please tell me what you thought in a review!
-AnimeWolfGirl9