Three weeks passed with little further excitement. The weather warmed as summer slowly started to overtake spring. Keeping Gohan's focus on his textbooks and lessons proved more difficult in the face of the increasing heat. Even Hana found her mind drifting in and out in spite of her best efforts.

Gohan put the book down in his lap and sighed. "It's too hot in here to read," he said. He stood and went to the window, closing his eyes and letting the breeze ruffle his newly-trimmed bangs. Watching him gave Hana an idea.

"Why don't we read outside, then?"

Gohan turned to her with a grin. "Can we really?"

They took some books and a picnic blanket from the hall closet and found a shady spot beneath a peach tree on a little hill beside the house. Gohan spread out on his stomach as Hana rested against the trunk. "What a beautiful day," she said. "It doesn't seem right to continue with 1984 with this weather, does it? Why don't we pick Walden back up? Do you remember where we were? I think we were almost finished."

Gohan flipped through the novel and stopped on a page. "The beginning of chapter seventeen."

They read to each other, trading off paragraphs and stopping every once in a while to discuss what was written. Hana listened intently when Gohan read, making sure to help with a few of the more difficult words. ("Try to break it up and sound it out that way. Phe-no-me-na. Yeah, you got it.") It still amazed her that he was only six and already read better than she had as a teenager. And his comprehension was unreal.

Gohan was nearly done with a paragraph when he stopped suddenly and swiveled his head around, searching the area.

"What is it?" Hana asked.

"I feel Mr. Piccolo's ki, but I don't see him anywhere."

Hana laughed softly. "Haven't you noticed that he's been avoiding me? He barely says two words to me when I pass you off to him."

"How come? Are you guys mad at each other or something?"

"I'm not," she said. "Who knows what his deal is."

Piccolo stepped out from behind the peach tree. "I'm not avoiding you." It was hot enough outside to keep him from wearing his heavy cape and turban. His neck and chest glistened with sweat as if he'd been training by himself moments before. Hana wanted not to stare…but stare she did.

"Come sit with us," she offered. "We're just finishing Walden."

"What?"

"It's a book. By Thoreau."

"Throw?"

"Thoreau."

Piccolo grumbled and eased down onto the corner of the blanket. "That's what I said." Gohan snickered and earned himself a dirty look from his teacher.

Hana took over where Gohan left off in the book. Between sentences she peered in Piccolo's direction just to see if he was following the narrative, but he appeared to be meditating instead. The wind was strong enough to sometimes flutter the antennae on his forehead, and she held back her giggles to keep from disturbing him. He already seemed in a foul mood. She had no desire to piss him off further.

"A single gentle rain makes the grass many shades greener," she read after Gohan completed another paragraph. "So our prospects brighten on the influx of better thoughts."

The wind blew harder and whipped her hair into her eyes. She sputtered, her place in the book briefly lost. She wrangled her unruly mane and draped it down over one shoulder and, as she continued to read, went to work braiding it into something more manageable.

"We should be blessed if we live in the present always, and took advantage of every accident that befell us, like the grass which confesses the influence of the slightest dew that falls on it; and did not spend our time in atoning for the neglect of past opportunities, which we call doing our duty." Hana noticed out the corner of her eye the way Piccolo was staring at her now. She made one last twist in her hair as he followed the movement of her fingers. Her eyes snapped back to the page. "We…we loiter in winter when it is already spring."

Piccolo made a slight sound of irritation. "What is this dreck?"

"It's a story of living out in nature. Living simply and honestly."

"I bet you'd like it if you read it," Gohan chimed in.

Piccolo hissed and wrenched his head stubbornly to the side. "Just finish the damn thing already."

After another chapter the book ended and Hana stretched her legs out nice and long on the blanket. Gohan looked like he wanted to take a nap. Piccolo had returned to meditation some time ago, though Hana wondered if that wasn't just a cover for falling asleep.

"It's time for your training, Gohan," said Piccolo a moment later as he got to his feet.

"Oh, all right." Gohan pushed himself up and cracked his knuckles.

"Have a quick snack first before you do," said Hana. She got up and reached for one of the peaches in the tree, but the branches were just out of reach. Piccolo effortlessly plucked two fat peaches from their stems and handed one to her and one to his student, both of whom thanked him. She sunk her teeth into the soft flesh and looked up at him. "Oh, are you not having one?"

"My kind consumes only liquid," said Piccolo. "Mostly water." He pulled a leather flask from inside his gi and sipped from it.

"May I have a drink of your water, sir?" Gohan asked. Piccolo handed him the flask. When Gohan passed it back, Piccolo offered it to Hana.

"You don't mind?" she asked.

He only shoved it further towards her until she took it and brought it to her lips. The water inside was cool and crisp. Much more delicious than any bottled variety she'd ever drank. She gulped down a few mouthfuls, brushing stray droplets from her chin.

"Thank you, Piccolo."

He snatched the flask from her and fumbled to re-cork it. "S-sure. C'mon, Gohan. Let's get some meditation and sparring in before it gets dark."

.

.

"We'll concentrate on physical attacks this afternoon," Piccolo said after they completed their meditation session. He'd been trying to hone Gohan's mental prowess lately. The boy could always stand to have more focus—this was Goku's son, after all. As for himself, he welcomed the momentary peace. Now he sunk into his personal fighting stance, twisting his body and putting his left shoulder forward and his weight in his back leg.

Gohan mirrored the pose. "Shouldn't we move further away from the house? We seem kinda close."

"This'll be fine for what we're doing today."

They were awful close, though—perhaps only a hundred meters from the tree where Hana was currently napping.

With her car's innards in ruins and no expendable money to fix them, she'd been taking the evening bus home. The nearest bus stop, unfortunately, was two miles down the road, and it only stopped there once a night. The whole thing was terribly inconvenient, but Hana seemed to take it all in stride and spent her extra time at the Son house cooking with Chi-Chi or planning the next day's lessons. And sometimes, like today, she napped.

Gohan dodged Piccolo's first strike. He swiped his elbow around but there was nothing there to hit. Piccolo was above him now. A flurry of fists drove at his face, his throat, his chest, but he bent his arms into defensive positions around himself and pushed back.

Piccolo didn't let up. As soon as he realized Gohan was defending with his arms, he kicked the boy's legs out from underneath. Gohan crashed hard into the ground and gazed up at his teacher.

Piccolo narrowed his eyes. "On your feet. Again."

They locked up, grappling for the upper hand. Gohan was small, yes, but he was strong. He grinned at his instructor. "So, you haven't told me what you think yet."

"About what?" Piccolo wrestled him into a headlock.

"Nng—Miss Hana, of course." Gohan mashed his heels into Piccolo's guts and tumbled to freedom.

Piccolo rubbed his belly with an aggravated grumble. "What about her?"

"Do you like her?"

The tops of his pointed ears purpled. "What does that have to do with anything?" He flew at Gohan again, slamming into him shoulder-first and sending him backwards into the dirt.

"I mean—" Gohan flinched as Piccolo pounded a fist deep into the gravel by his head. "—do you think she's a good teacher? Do you think she's nice?"

"Yes." Piccolo retracted his fist and pulled his student up by the collar of his gi. "And…yes. Your mother could've picked a hell of a lot worse."

A toothy smile spread across Gohan's face. "I knew you liked her!"

Piccolo snorted. "I don't like her. I hardly know her. Now shut up and surprise me with something 'cause I'm tired of knocking you on your ass."

"Fine, just lemme go pee real quick."

"Any foe you're facing won't let you take a bathroom break, Gohan."

But Gohan just shrugged. "Then I'll pee on whoever I'm fighting. I don't care."

That earned a rare chuckle from Piccolo, who nodded at the house and said, "All right, go on. I'll wait." He watched his pupil make a mad dash across the field and disappear through the back door.

A minute passed. Two minutes. Piccolo sighed and crossed his arms. Just what was that kid doing, anyway? Another minute. The wind picked up, rattling leaves and branches, and suddenly his attentions were swept up to the peach tree on the little hill.

Hana slept with Walden still in her lap. Some of her loose unbraided hair and the lace hem of her sundress fluttered in the breeze.

"What are you even doing, Piccolo." He scolded himself and kicked a rock by his foot. It wasn't like him to dwell on something like this. He'd never seen the point before. Why now?

His mind occupied by faraway thoughts, he never heard Gohan return. Never heard the boy cry, "Masenkō!" Never saw the blast as it rushed at his head.

.

.

A sharp, piercing explosion woke Hana with a start. The book fell from her lap as she scrambled to her feet and searched frantically for the origin of the terrible sound. She didn't have to search for long.

Gohan was screaming out to her from the field some distance away. And beside him…

"Piccolo!" Hana bolted down the hill, through the tall grasses, and went down on her knees in the gravel. "What happened? Is he okay?"

Piccolo lay prone on his back, bleeding from his right ear and various cuts and scrapes on the side of his face and arm.

"I don't know," Gohan said, tremors in his voice. "I hit him with a masenkō. I-I didn't use a lot of power, but I don't think he tried to defend at all. I-I think he was distracted. I didn't think for a second th-that he wouldn't dodge it. I can never sneak up on him. N-never."

Hana gave the boy's hair a reassuring pat. "It was a mistake. It happens. It's all right, Gohan. Can you go and find his canteen for me?" With Gohan occupied, she focused now on Piccolo, examining his wounds. She was careful not to move him too much for fear of hurting him further in case any bones were broken. Did he even have bones? She thought for a moment. He must have bones. Unless he was built like a shark. Or worse, a sea cucumber…

Gohan brought the canteen and dumped half the contents over Piccolo's face.

Piccolo's brow creased as his eyes cracked open. "Mmn…ohh. Did I…fall asleep while you were reading?" he asked. The words seemed take great effort. Gohan and Hana shared a look of concern.

"No," said Hana, "that was over an hour ago."

"Wh-what?"

"It's all right, it's all right. You just got hurt." She cradled his head gently in her hands, checking his pupils for anything strange. "Can you move at all? Can you move your legs?"

Piccolo bent his legs at the knees. "Yeah."

"Oh good, good. We should get you inside. Gohan, can you give me a hand?"

Between her height and Gohan's strength, they were able to help Piccolo onto his feet. Hana slung a heavy green arm across her shoulders and Gohan, hovering, took the other arm. When they got him inside the house they put towels at the head of the sofa and eased Piccolo down. "I'm fine," he continued to insist, though the words had begun to slur.

Gohan fetched a first aid kit and Hana set to work cleaning the blood from Piccolo's face. "I guess I'm a tutor and a nurse today," she said, trying to lighten the mood with zero effect.

She pressed an alcohol pad against the injured skin and Piccolo winced. "I don't need a…a nurse," he growled. "Just lemme…lemme…" He seemed to lose his train of thought and get frustrated at himself.

Hana gave his chest a reassuring pat. "Hey, don't force anything. Just take it easy for now, okay? We'll take care of you."

She thought, for a moment, that she heard him whimper.

"Is Mr. Piccolo gonna be okay?" Gohan stood bravely by his master's side, though there were tears clinging to his lashes.

"It's a concussion for sure," she said. "But if he relaxes for a couple days he should get better."

Gohan allowed himself to cry a little. "Thank goodness."

Hana took care in bandaging the deep abrasions at Piccolo's temple and then they let him sleep a while. She was a bit surprised that, as big as he was, he didn't snore. In fact he barely made any noises at all, and she woke him a couple times just to make sure he was still capable of being roused.

Chi-Chi came home with groceries as it started to get dark. The sight of Piccolo sprawled over her lovely sofa almost caused her to drop the bags. "What's going on?!"

"I injured him during training, mom," Gohan said, eyes downcast. "He's gotta rest."

Chi-Chi looked to Hana, who nodded. "Well, I guess that's fine then. For now. But he's not sleeping over here. He can go to the Lookout if he needs to. Let Kami deal with him dirtying up his nice furniture."

Halfway through dinner there came the dull clap of far-off thunder. Hana popped a dumpling into her mouth and went to the window. "Oh, those're some nasty-looking clouds headed over here." She frowned at her watch. "Hour and a half until I need to be at the bus stop. I don't suppose I could borrow an umbrella?"

Chi-Chi seemed scandalized. "You'll borrow no such thing! If a storm's rolling in, I can't very well send you out there into who knows what. You can absolutely stay here tonight. I'll even make up the guest bedroom."

Hana put her hands up in front of her. "Oh gosh, no, I can't put you out like that."

"Nonsense, I insist."

"I'll take her home," came a low voice from the darkened living room.

Gohan choked on his juice. "Mr. Piccolo!"

Piccolo pushed himself up from the couch. He leaned in the kitchen doorframe, his skin ashen and beaded with sweat. "If I'm going to Kami's tonight anyway, I might as well just drop her off."

Hana brought him a glass of ice water. "You can't overexert yourself right now."

"You think flying will overexert me? You think I'm that frail?"

"Well, no, but—"

"But nothing. Finish your food and let's go before it starts pouring on us."

Hana crammed another dumpling between her teeth and went to gather up her books and papers. When she returned to the living room the lamps were on and Piccolo was dressed in his turban and cape again. Gohan gave her a hug and tried to give Piccolo one as well but was brushed off as usual. She watched Piccolo as he shifted his weight from one foot to the next. Was he having balance issues or was it only her imagination?

He noticed her eyeing him and bristled. "I'm fine. Do you have your things?"

Hana jiggled her backpack. "Yep."

"Where am I taking you?"

"Like the street address?" she asked.

"No, just describe it."

"Oh. Down by the coast about twenty-five miles south. There's a neighborhood just below a big white windmill."

"I know the place," he said.

"Really? Um, I'm the one-story blue house on the west edge."

"Not a problem."

Chi-Chi opened the front door for them, but once Piccolo walked through she took hold of Hana's wrist and kept her back. "Is this really what you want? You can still stay the night."

"It's cool," Hana said. "I trust him. Thank you, though, Miss Chi-Chi."

After some hesitation Chi-Chi let her go, said goodbye, and closed the door.

The rain was already starting to come down in cold little pinpricks. Moonlight caught on each drop as it fell from the sky. Hana wished she could stay outside and watch what would surely be a gorgeous rainstorm, but her skin was breaking out in goosebumps and she shivered in her sundress. Piccolo, made even more menacing by the approaching lightning, turned his back to her and swept his cape aside.

"Grab on."

"To…your back? Are you sure?"

"You want to stay dry, don't you?"

Hana approached him and curled nervous arms around his middle. The act felt strangely…intimate. Immediately she could feel his ribs expand and contact as he heaved a sigh. His body was so warm, the fabric between her fingers so soft. When he covered her in his cape she let her eyes fall closed. It was like a cocoon, snuggly and quiet and safe from the cold. She buried her burning cheeks against his back, hoping he couldn't read minds.

He spoke and his voice was a tremor across her skin. "Hang on."

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You have my continued thanks for reading! Expect the next chapter towards the end of this week. It's currently Spring Break and my work schedule is a little hectic, so I hope I'll have some time at least in the evenings to write. I appreciate all the reviews and kind words - I actually wasn't expecting much since I've really only been writing this for myself, so I assumed only I would care about it. But I'm pleasantly surprised!