Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.
"Telepathy"
"Talking"
"Thoughts"
Life of a Saiyan Hybrid
Chapter 7
There was a resounding BOOM as the three Z fighters met. There was a very slight pause as they all stared at each other, blocking each other's attacks. In that split second, Yamcha met Piccolo's eyes and the Namekian smirked at him. Smirking in response, Yamcha broke free and jumped back with Piccolo doing the same a second later.
Gohan's eyes narrowed as he watched the two before his eyes widened and he was ducking and dodging around a green fist and a tan fist. "So, is that the way it's going to be?" He asked as he grabbed Yamcha's wrist as he dodged his fist and twisted around, taking Yamcha with him before tossing the baseball player into Piccolo's kick.
A groan came from Yamcha as he went flying back over Gohan's head. He twisted around in the air and landed on his hand and did a backwards hand flip to get back on his feet.
Gohan now stood between Piccolo and Yamcha, keeping an eye on Piccolo, but letting his senses take over to watch Yamcha.
*Fighters Waiting Room*
"Are they doing a two vs one with Gohan?" Krillin asked surprised as he stared at Piccolo and Yamcha while Gohan stood between them.
"They probably want to try to throw Gohan out so he can't win this." Goku said amused. "Since we all know if he transforms, it's going to be next to impossible for them to win."
Tien smirked as he crossed his arms. "Unless Gohan forgets the rules. He's never been in a tournament before so he might forget the rules about staying in the arena."
"You have a point there." Trunks replied. "I should keep that in mind as well for the next round."
Krillin grinned. "Oh right, Gohan isn't the only one new to tournaments. There's you and Vegeta as well."
Vegeta scoffed and leaned against a wall. He wasn't going to mess up with the rules and lose this tournament. After being forced to fight a bunch of weaklings in the first round, there was no way he was going to lose because he forgot the stupid rules.
Krillin turned his attention back to the match to see Gohan fending off Yamcha's and Piccolo's attacks, but while he defended, he never threw a punch in retaliation.
"Hmm," Goku hummed with a frown.
"Is something wrong?" Trunks asked when he heard Goku.
Without taking his eyes off the fight, Goku shook his head in reply to Trunks's question. "No, it's just seeing Gohan fight multiple opponents like this is telling me that he struggles with it." His eyes narrowed as he watched Gohan jump over a kick from Yamcha so it hit Piccolo instead. Still in the air, Gohan twisted around and swung his leg out to kick Yamcha in the neck. The former bandit went flying to the side while Piccolo skidded backwards. And Gohan landed peacefully back on the platform.
"Really?" Trunks said. "He seems to be doing fine to me. And I recall him fighting those Cell Juniors. He did amazing by himself."
"He had a huge edge over them so that was easy for him." Goku replied with a frown. "But when the opponents are at his level and there's more than one opponent, he struggles a lot. I noticed it when he was training with Piccolo, Vegeta, and me. I also noticed it yesterday in the GR when you were training with us, Trunks."
Trunks thought back to their training yesterday with a frown. Yesterday had been a battle royal type training between the four saiyans and it had stayed that way, but he did recall Gohan was having a hard time. Then there was what his mom told him and Gohan mentioned in passing about how he is always beaten or knocked out when he trains with Vegeta and Goku. If he just went to the second level, he was sure Gohan would be fine, but even then, he shouldn't struggle as much as he does at his current level. But maybe he was biased. The Gohan from his time fought alone for a long time and was able to handle the two androids really well at times and Trunks learned to be able to do that after Gohan died and he had to take on 17 and 18 alone.
"I guess I can see what you mean." Trunks said slowly. "But he is still young and without much experience like us. I'm sure with you, Piccolo, and my father training him, he'll learn to handle those situations with more ease."
"Even so, I think Gohan can handle this just fine." Krillin said confidentially. "Yamcha is nowhere near Gohan's level so if he can take Yamcha out, then he just has to deal with Piccolo."
*Arena five*
Yamcha picked himself up from the ground, rubbing his sore neck as he did. His eyes narrowed in on the half-saiyan in the middle of the arena, who was staring at Piccolo and leaving his back open to Yamcha.
He already knew he didn't have much of a chance in this tournament with Gohan, Goku, Vegeta, Trunks, and Piccolo in it, but that didn't mean he was just going to give up. If Gohan or Piccolo wanted to make it to the next round, then they would have to make it through him.
He launched himself at Gohan's open back and just as he reached the nine year old and was preparing to attack, Gohan half spun around while kicking his leg out and hit Yamcha right in the side, sending him flying back again. But before he got too far, Gohan grabbed his leg in his hands and spun him around and around.
Yamcha felt his eyes start to spin as Gohan spun him around more and more. Was the kid trying to make him sick to his stomach?
Suddenly he felt the grip around his ankle disappear and a kick being delivered into his stomach as he was sent flying away. He opened his eyes to see him being sent flying right towards Piccolo.
The Namekian jumped into the air to avoid being hit by Yamcha. Piccolo's eyes narrowed as Gohan chased after Yamcha's flying body. As he caught up, he delivered a swift kick to Yamcha's back and sent him flying right towards the edge of the arena.
At that point, Gohan stopped and landed on the arena and looked up at Piccolo as he came back down from his jump.
Piccolo looked at the young saiyan with a frown. A few kicks to Yamcha and he suddenly just stops, all confident as he stares up at him. But when Piccolo hears the splash from the water, he knows Gohan has every reason to be confident. Piccolo would have to be careful against him. Gohan was not an easy opponent. Even against him, Goku, and Vegeta, Gohan was growing stronger and more capable at fighting multiple opponents of the same level each time they fought.
Gohan easily slid into a fighting stance in front of Piccolo, eyes narrowed in concentration.
Smirking, Piccolo fell into his own stance. It was good to not see the hesitance that Gohan usually had in his eyes when he fought. He was now completely focused on the task at hand. "You better give me a good fight, Gohan."
A smirk formed on Gohan's lips.
Down in the sea, Yamcha's head broke the surface of the water, which gave him the chance to cough up all the water he just swallowed. "Damn," He choked out as he rubbed his aching ribs. "Gohan is definitely no pushover." He winced as he felt his ribs. "Or merciful. Since when does he not have mercy?"
*DBZ*
"Gohan vs Piccolo." Goku said cheerfully. "I wonder which one will come out on top."
"If Gohan transforms, I think he will win easily." Trunks replied confidentially.
Vegeta scoffed. "The brat should be able to win without transforming. If he can't even do that, then all the training he's been doing recently has been a complete waste."
Krillin leaned against the railing, smirking as he watched Gohan and Piccolo fight. Neither were fighting at full strength, but at a level where he could see them with ease. "Be careful, Vegeta. It actually sounded like you cared there for a moment."
"As if I would ever care about that evil little brat." Vegeta growled. "I just don't want him disgracing his saiyan heritage."
Krillin quietly snorted as he turned to look at Tien, who just shook his head in amusement. That was a reply so like Vegeta who was so proud of his saiyan heritage. Despite the fact that he could be considered a Z fighter now, Vegeta would probably never admit to liking any of them or being 'friends.' Instead he would see them as pathetic or as rivals. Krillin had to wonder if he had respect for any of them. If he did, it would most likely be for Goku or Gohan, though he doubted that even if he did have such respect that he would ever admit it. That was just the kind of overly proud saiyan Vegeta was.
*DBZ*
"Beat him, Gohan! You can do it! Teach that green monster a lesson he won't soon forget!" Chi Chi shouted from the audience while Bulma just stared at her in surprise.
Bulma bounced Trunks on her lap a bit to keep him calm. She hoped that being in a big audience like this and at a martial arts tournament wouldn't upset him. "You want Gohan to win that much? What ever happened to you being so against Gohan performing martial arts? I know Goku talked to you, but he never said what about to get you to let Gohan continue."
Chi Chi looked away from the arena where Gohan and Piccolo were to look at her friend in surprise. "He never told you?" She asked annoyed. "He should have discussed this with you since you were part of the agreement to get Gohan to continue practicing martial arts."
The scientist stared at her in surprise. "Why is that?"
"Goku said you could help privately tutor Gohan in his studies a few hours during the week and I agreed if you could help advance his studies by helping him, I would let Gohan continue to train." Chi Chi explained.
Bulma blinked a few times in surprise. Goku wanted her help in pacifying Chi Chi by tutoring Gohan? She certainly hadn't been expecting that from Goku. She looked back at the arena to see Gohan and Piccolo had disappeared, but she could still hear the sounds of their fighting. Honestly, tutoring Gohan a bit during the week would not be a problem for her. He was a very smart boy so she was sure that he could help her in the lab which would help advance his studies and she was sure if Gohan was constantly over, he could spend some more time training with Vegeta or Goku would come with him and train Vegeta.
"Bulma?"
Smiling, Bulma looked back at Chi Chi. "I wouldn't have a problem with Gohan coming by, Chi Chi."
Chi Chi smiled back and looked back at the arena, though with how fast the fighters were moving, she couldn't see anything. She sighed a bit as she wanted to watch the fight, but she was also proud. She may not approve of Gohan fighting, but she was just so proud of how far he has come in just a few years. His strength was incredible. He really was Goku's son.
*DBZ*
Gohan's and Piccolo's fists met as both warriors came to a stop and stared at each other with smirks. "I hope that's not your best." Gohan taunted, eyes alit with the most joy that Piccolo has ever seen in them while fighting. Is this what Gohan was like when he was fighting for enjoyment?
"Kid, I'm only getting warmed up." Piccolo replied before he was suddenly throwing his leg forward, catching the kid in the stomach and sending him flying backwards. The Namekian followed this up by chasing after Gohan's flying body. He passed him and stopped a little ahead of where Gohan was heading.
Gohan, whose head was tilted back from the kick, opened his eyes and stared challenging at Piccolo. As his body approached Piccolo, he saw his friend getting ready to attack and his eyes narrowed as he focused intently on him.
The moment the two were close enough, Piccolo swung his arm out to hit Gohan, and at the same time, the half-saiyan threw his hands down onto the arena floor and twisted around so he was doing a handstand and dodging the attack. Once he made it passed the attack, he slammed his feet into Piccolo's stomach with enough force to send him flying backwards. Gohan then flipped back onto his feet and pushed hard against the ground to launch himself at Piccolo.
When he was over Piccolo, he had to block a green fist before returning with a punch himself. His punch was blocked by a punch from Piccolo, and after that, a flurry of punches and kicks were being exchanged as they both flew across the arena with each trying to gain the upper hand.
Gohan threw a punch at Piccolo, but this time instead of blocking it, the Namekian caught the wrist and then used his other hand to grab Gohan's shirt. He slammed his feet onto the floor than twisted himself up and brought the half-saiyan with him as he flipped him and threw him across the arena.
Gohan flipped in the air and landed in a crouch far away from Piccolo. His narrowed eyes stayed trained on his first master. It was time. He could feel it deep within his very being. It was time for him to defeat Piccolo for the first time ever. The pupil was going to surpass his first master completely by defeating him here. He was already declared the strongest fighter, but now he had to live up to that title and win.
Piccolo didn't waste a single second and was already flying towards Gohan, who took a single step back before propelling forward to meet Piccolo in the center of the arena. As he rushed forward, the sound of the wind whipping around his ears mixed with the sounds of the cheers coming from the audience hit his eardrums, but he barely took note of any of that. His training told him to focus on the opponent in front of him while keeping his senses spread out for a sneak attack from another enemy. Though his training told him that, he wasn't worried about a sneak attack since Piccolo was the last opponent left in the ring.
As they met in the center of the ring, Gohan swung his fist forward, but when Piccolo dodged it like he was expecting, he followed it up by dropping down to the ground. This helped him to avoid a punch and gave him the chance to sweep Piccolo's legs out from under him, which sent the Namekian toppling as he lost his balance. Gohan than threw his hands down on the ground for balance as he swung his leg up in an arc to hit Piccolo in the side. He didn't pull his leg away fast enough as Piccolo grabbed it and threw him high into the air. So as Piccolo hit the arena, Gohan flew into the air, twisting his body around to get a good look at Piccolo down there. He cupped his hands at his side with a smirk as Piccolo rose to his feet and put two fingers to his forehead.
"Ka…Me…" Gohan started to chant as his ki began to gather up in his hands.
"Special." Piccolo said, gathering his own ki in his fingers.
*DBZ*
"They're not seriously going to have a ki battle here, are they?" Yamcha said as he sat down on the rail where his friends were. He pushed his wet hair out of his face with a scowl.
Tien shot him a smirk. "Have a nice swim, Yamcha?"
Yamcha humphed. "That kid has no mercy."
"I think he has plenty. I mean, he could have knocked you out." Krillin pointed out.
"Ha…Me…"
"Beam…"
Goku grinned as he watched his son prepare to perform the KaMeHaMeHa wave. "Those two are really going at it."
"Of course." Krillin said with a grin. "Piccolo is Gohan's first master. We've already declared Gohan to be the strongest in the world, but like with all pupils and masters, the pupil won't be satisfied until he has defeated his master. To Gohan, this is his fight to defeat Piccolo and surpass him officially." He shot his best friend a smirk. "And then he is coming for his second master."
Goku laughed, but looked back at his son with a determined smirk. If Krillin was right and Gohan would come after him to defeat him, he would give all he had. He would not make it easy for Gohan to defeat and surpass him. That was the way of the warriors.
"HA!"
"CANNON!"
Two ki beams, one blue and one yellow and purple, flew through the air towards one another until they collided right in the middle between Piccolo and Gohan. The resulting shockwave of the collision sent powerful winds in all directions that left the audience hanging onto their seats or holding onto their neighbors to keep from being blown back. The only ones not affected with the Z fighters who calmly watched the power struggle between Piccolo and Gohan.
"Man," Yamcha said with a grin. "This brings back memories of watching Gohan's KaMeHaMeHa power struggle with Cell."
*DBZ*
Gohan felt Piccolo's power pushing against his and smirked. It had only been a few months since the Cell Games, but he could tell that Piccolo was already stronger than he was before. But Gohan wasn't worried. He was still far stronger than Piccolo, not that he was bragging about it. It was just a fact.
He was stronger and he wasn't going to hesitate anymore. Back when he was five and Vegeta and Nappa arrived on Earth, he was scared and hesitated to fight. Krillin and Piccolo were relying on him back then, but he hesitated, and he always hated himself for it. Hesitation was how mistakes were made and people died. After Piccolo died back then and his dad arrived to save him and then send him away from the battlefield, he realized it. He didn't want to sit back and wait. His dad sent him away from the battlefield so he could handle Vegeta without worrying about him, but he hated it. He hated the very idea of going home to wait with his mom while his dad stayed behind and fought alone.
It was why he turned back around then and went back to the battlefield. He went back to fight and ever since then, he has found his courage to fight. The courage was protecting his family and friends. They were his reason to fight.
That led him to Namek to help get the Dragon Balls to wish back their friends. While on Namek, he found the inner strength to always get up. No matter how much pain he was in or any fear he felt, every time his enemy knocked him down, he got right back up again to fight, despite knowing how futile it was. That was the drive he got from Namek. He learned to always get up, to never give up a fight until he was dead.
But despite having that courage to fight and to never give up, he still hesitated all the time. He never fought at full strength. All the time, he held back. He put up chains on his hidden power. He remembered Piccolo telling him about them when he was four and his dad mentioning his inner strength to him, but as a child those moments of using it were always a blank to him. As he started to train, he recalled those bursts of power he got from his hidden power that broke out of the chains he put up when he was angry. He remembered them, but it felt like his anger was controlling the power so he had no control of what he was doing then. And because he knew more of how it worked, he put up even more chains and in his battles, he worked so hard to control his anger so his power didn't come raging out. The hidden power was chained up and he forgot about it. As he trained with Piccolo and his dad, his mental strength grew stronger and stronger which helped his control over his emotions to an extent so he didn't have to worry about losing control again.
And so he forgot about his power and when he needed it against Cell, he didn't know what to do to get it to come out. He hesitated to fight Cell. He hesitated to bring his power out. He was scared back then, but no more.
That hidden power he was so scared to use because he felt that he lost control with it had been mastered. It was no longer chained away and his dad was helping him to master it. His power was being mastered so he would not hesitate anymore. Hesitation only brought despair so he would not do it anymore. He would fight!
Gohan's power skyrocketed as he jumped into super saiyan with complete ease. His teal eyes narrowed as he pushed more of his power into his attack.
Down on the arena, Piccolo was pushing as much power as he could into his attack. He was surprised with Gohan transformed into a super saiyan, but he would not let that destroy him. He could fight a super saiyan with more ease than the human Z fighters.
Piccolo's eyes narrowed as he felt Gohan's power behind his attack lessening until he felt no resistance and his attack pushed the KaMeHaMeHa wave into outer space. He didn't get a chance to ponder it as not even a second after he felt Gohan's resistance in their power struggle fade, he was being kicked in the side and sent flying towards the edge of the arena.
Piccolo flipped himself over and landed on his feet, but still went skidding back a bit more. His eyes caught sight of Gohan chasing after him and he threw a fist in front of him, but Gohan disappeared right before it hit him, then the half-saiyan appeared right at his side and slammed his leg into his arm. Despite the pain spreading through his arm and shoulder from that kick, Piccolo twisted his arm around and caught Gohan's ankle. He gave a sharp pull on it and pulled Gohan closer to him and slammed his fist down on his head just as he let go of him, which sent him slamming down onto the floor.
Gohan rolled over on the ground just in time to block a kick from Piccolo with his arm. He slammed his free hand on the ground and spun his body on the ground to kick his legs out to knock Piccolo's leg out from under him.
The Namekian threw his hand out behind him to catch himself on the ground, but he didn't realize how close they were to the edge so his hand caught no floor, just open air. With a smirk at the falling Piccolo, Gohan charged a ki blast up in his hand and sent the yellow ki flying right at his mentor. With the blast of ki hitting him, Piccolo went toppling completely over the edge of the arena.
Not that it did much to stop Piccolo who immediately pushed his ki out so he was flying. He flew back up over the arena and straight at the awaiting Gohan. Gohan jumped backwards to put some distance between him and Piccolo. It didn't last long as Piccolo was moving fast, but gave Gohan the one second he needed to prepare to block a punch then retaliate with his own attacks. The two Z fighters started trading punches and kicks at a high pace that took them higher and higher into the air.
Gohan bent halfway backwards to dodge a kick before throwing his leg up to kick Piccolo who only flew higher in the air to avoid it. With Piccolo gone for a moment, Gohan stretched out his spine and looked up at his first mentor.
Piccolo looked down at Gohan with a smirk. "Very impressive, Gohan. I remember a time when I could beat you within thirty seconds. What happened to those times?"
Gohan smirked in reply. "Don't ever expect such an easy fight again, Piccolo. I'm not the same little kid as I was back then." At least, that was what his dad told him when he was struggling in that KaMeHaMeHa battle with Cell. His dad was convinced he had changed so much, and maybe he was right. "So what do you say we pick it up?"
With those words, Gohan disappeared and reappeared right in front of Piccolo with his fist embedded in his stomach, leaving the Namekian gasping for air. But Gohan didn't waste any time as he pulled his fist back and slammed it upwards into his chin. This left the Namekian feeling a bit dazed, but he quickly got his bearings back and dodged Gohan's next punch by moving to the side before he kicked his leg out at Gohan, but the half-saiyan caught the leg. With his hands wrapped around Piccolo's ankle, he started to spin in the air, taking the Namekian with him.
They spun faster and faster with each rotation. Gohan kept it up until he felt Piccolo's energy began to rise. This caused him to notice that Piccolo was forming ki blasts in his hands so he quickly flung Piccolo away and raised his hands above his head, one over the other, to start to gather his own ki.
"Masenko-HA!" Gohan screamed as he threw his hands out in front of him and send the yellow beam of ki flying at Piccolo.
A very dizzy Piccolo noticed the attack coming and threw his hands together and let his two balls of ki form into one before he blasted it out of his hands at the incoming Masenko. The two opposing attacks met and a brief struggle between them ensured, but it soon became obvious that Gohan didn't waste any time when he powered up his attack earlier because his didn't take long to overpower Piccolo's.
The attack swallowed up Piccolo's ki and overtook the Namekian, engulfing him completely as it sent him flying back even farther until he hit the arena below the one they were fighting on. He hit it so hard and from the continued force of Gohan's attack, he was pushed into the crater he created.
*DBZ*
Goku whistled. "Impressive strength." He said as he shielded his eyes from the bright light from Gohan's ki. "Even if Piccolo managed to remain conscious from that, Gohan still wins since he is out of their ring."
As the attack died down and the smoke creating from the destruction of the ring blew away, Piccolo beaten up body was seen, but it seemed he was still conscious, but just barely.
"Out!" The referee shouted.
"And after an amazing fight between Piccolo and Gohan, the tournament's youngest competitor advances to the quarterfinals!" The announcer shouted. "And with that, we have our eight quarter finalists: Trunks Brief, Naulhi, Krillin, Goku Son, Gohan Son, Vegeta, Tien Shinhan, and Udo!"
"THAT'S MY BOY!" Chi Chi screamed from the stands, much to Gohan's embarrassment.
Shaking off his blush, Gohan jumped from his arena and down to the one his dad was fighting on earlier to get to Piccolo. "Hey, Mr. Piccolo." He said with a grin as he crouched next to the crater his friend was lying in. "Still in one piece?"
Piccolo grunted and cracked an eye open to look at Gohan, giving him a proud smile. "Congrats, kid. You have officially surpassed me." He grunted as he pushed himself up in a sitting position while Gohan's grin just grew even larger in happiness at his mentor's words. He rubbed his neck. "Guess I'll have to do some training before our next match."
Gohan laughed, but agreed as he pushed himself back up to standing. "Will you be alright? We don't have any sensu beans, I'm afraid."
"Please, kid, you didn't injure me that much." Piccolo retorted as he stood up.
Gohan took in all the cuts and bruises covering his mentor and raised a brow, but didn't argue with him, instead just choosing to shrug in reply.
*DBZ*
"Awesome fight, little buddy." Krillin complimented as he held his fist out.
Grinning, Gohan bumped it with his own fist. "Thanks." He looked over at his dad, who was giving him a proud smile.
"So you surpassed Piccolo. Am I next, Gohan?" Goku asked amused.
"Maybe." Gohan replied as he casually crossed his arms behind his head as he leaned against a wall. He looked around the fighters' waiting area. They were significantly less people in here now since the first round was over. Only the eight quarterfinalists were around as Yamcha and Piccolo left after the first round ended. He was sure they were still around somewhere to watch the rest of the tournament though.
Laughing, Goku ruffled his son's hair. "Then I'll be sure to watch my back."
Gohan huffed. "I wouldn't attack you from behind. You'll know when I am coming for you."
"That sounds dangerous," Krillin said with a laugh, nudging his friend in the side. "You better be extra careful, Goku. You don't want taken surprise by the strongest warrior in the universe."
"I told you, I wouldn't attack him from behind." Gohan grumbled.
Krillin shot him a look that said he was lying. "You've changed since the Cell Games! You attack me from behind all the time!"
The half-saiyan blinked in confusion and tilted his head to the side. "I do? How? I haven't sparred with you since before the Cell Games."
"Don't try to act all innocent on me!" Krillin shouted, pointing a finger in Gohan's face, causing the half-saiyan to just blink in surprise. "You are going around all over the place and saying that I am in love with 18."
"I said you were dating her." Gohan corrected with a smirk.
"What?!" Trunks and Tien shouted, both turning their shocked expression to their shorter friend.
"When were you going to tell me this?" Goku asked baffled. "How long have you two been together?"
Krillin slowly turned his glare to the very satisfied looking Gohan. "I thought you told everyone?"
"Nope," Gohan said, popping 'p' as he said it, and then in a sing-song voice, "You shouldn't assume things." He smirked. "I only told Yamcha because I knew he would bring it up to you cause I know you guys were training together for the tournament."
"How did you know that?" Krillin asked confused. He was pretty sure he never mentioned it to Gohan. The half-saiyan had been grounded so he didn't see him for a while and then after that, he was doing his own preparation for the tournament.
"I was bored studying all the time while I was grounded so I sometimes searched for everyone's ki and found you and Yamcha and by your raised kis just figured you two were training together." Gohan explained.
"You did not plan this whole thing to get me to admit I'm in love with 18, did you?" Krillin growled.
Gohan gave an innocent smile. "Krillin, I'm not so smart that I could plan this perfectly just to get that."
Krillin gave him a deadpanned look. "And somehow, I am finding it impossible to believe you."
"He is devious." Trunks pointed out. "I remember the Gohan from my time. He was always teasing me. And was pretty harsh now that I think about it. He kicked me off a cliff one and sent me into the ocean below where there was a whirlpool." He scowled. "I almost drowned from that, and when I asked for his help, he just told me how to swim and laughed."
Gohan laughed. "Piccolo did the same thing to me when I was four and training under him!"
Trunks sighed. "I see. You learned your Spartan training techniques from him."
"Which brings up an interesting topic." Krillin said, turning to the future Z fighter. "I know the rest of us died at the androids hands shortly after you were born, but you knew Gohan well in your time. What was he like?"
Trunks thought for a moment before chuckling. "Now that I know you guys more, the easiest way to say it is that he was like a mix of Goku and Piccolo. My mom at times compared him greatly to Goku. Despite living in a world terrorized by androids, he did his best to be happy and live each day, and was quite calm with a joking attitude. At the same time, he was a great warrior. He could be very serious at times and he was lot more aggressive than you, Gohan." He glanced over at Gohan, who was now standing up straight and looking at Trunks with a very interested look, but he also looked sad as he listened to this.
Gohan nodded his head. "If the androids in your time were as bad as you say they were, I'm not surprised that I became aggressive when dealing with them."
"Gohan was also very stressed. Dealing with the androids alone for thirteen years did that, I guess." Trunks continued. "But he did a very good job of hiding that stress. If it wasn't for the situation we were in, I probably would have not known about how stressed he was and there were times when his façade slipped and his stress and pain was clearly shown."
Goku leaned against the window sill and glanced over at his young son. His nine year old boy. The androids in Trunks's time appeared when Gohan was around this age and he soon became the only Z fighter left at this age. From nine years old, his son fought by himself with no friends to back him up. It must have been so hard for him to get through that by himself. Being alone on the battlefield and feeling as helpless as he did against the androids since he couldn't beat them, the stress that got to Future Gohan was natural. He hoped that such a thing never happened to his son. He didn't want him to have to suffer like that.
"He was like an older brother to me. He always called me 'little brother.' In the desolate world we lived in, we didn't have much and spent so much time together." Trunks said as he crossed his arms and looked over at the nine year old. "You were training me to become a super saiyan, but though I kept getting close, I could not get it."
Gohan glanced at his dad then over at Trunks. "I remember you saying before that I died eventually, and from watching my dad transform the first time, I know it happened because Krillin was killed in front of him….Did my death trigger it?...if we were as close as you say we were…"
"The androids attacked and you refused to let me go with you, but I argued with you about helping. You agreed to let me come, but when I wasn't looking, you knocked me out and left to go by yourself. When I woke up and went to the city, I found your body. I was so filled with rage and anguish that I managed to transform." Trunks explained, looking away from the Z fighters and choosing to stare outside at the sky instead. Though he was looking at the sky, all he could see was that destroyed town with rain falling down and Gohan's lifeless body. His hands curled into fists at his sides. "I continued to go after the androids by myself after that, which led to a lot of arguments between Mom and me. After what happened to you, she didn't want me to fight them anymore and instead wanted me to come to the past to warn you guys. I would always scream at her that I didn't want to because I didn't need Goku's help. It was a selfish desire of mine to end them by myself and get revenge for all the destruction they caused and for taking my best friend from me. It wasn't until I was almost killed that I agreed it was a good idea to come here."
"That just sounds reckless." Gohan abolished. "You shouldn't have been charging recklessly into battles like that."
Trunks laughed. "I could say the same of you. You were always charging into fights with the androids."
"Tch," Krillin scoffed. "That is nothing new. I remember when we were on Namek. He kept charging into battles then too, despite me telling him not to! I swear, I think I saw my life flash before me multiple times!"
"But you did die on Namek. And it had absolutely nothing to do with me or my supposed recklessness." Gohan pointed out.
"There is nothing supposed about that recklessness. I recall some battles in the past, like that one with Turles. You were ordered to stay home, but somehow you came to be on the battlefield anyway." Tien said amused.
"…I saved Chiaotzu's life." Gohan mumbled.
"And for that, I am eternally grateful, Gohan." Tien replied with an amused smile at the half-saiyan.
Goku laughed. "And I remember times when you've snuck out of the house to join us on the battlefield or disobeyed my orders about leaving a battlefield."
Gohan whistled innocently and looked away.
"Heh, a true saiyan." Vegeta said with a smirk from where he was standing a bit away from the group. "Not able to stay away from the battlefield."
Gohan smirked at Vegeta in reply. Though to be honest, he always appeared on those battlefields because he wanted to help his friends and dad. He wanted to help to make sure they didn't die, but he guessed that wasn't the whole reason. It was the primary reason, but his saiyan blood rushing through him said that he also always jumped into the battlefield because after he got a taste for it from battling Vegeta and Nappa and his adventure on Namek, he realized he loved adventures and he enjoyed the thrill of danger and battle. He would never admit that to anyone, but his saiyan blood screamed for him to jump into those battles.
"Contestants!"
The Z fighters ended their conversation as they turned to see the announcer come into the room with the referees for the fights. One of the referees was holding a box. "Congratulations on making it through the first round! The quarterfinals will consist of four matches. The four winners of each match will go onto the semifinals. The rules will be slightly different. You will not be confined to one arena for your match. You can go to any of the arenas, but if you are knocked out of the rings or knocked unconscious, you will lose."
"This will certainly make things more exciting." Goku said with a grin.
"For us, at least." Krillin pointed out. "For normal fighters it would be harder for them."
Vegeta scoffed. "I better get to fight Kakarot. I don't want to deal with any more of those weak humans." He glared at Tien and Krillin.
Tien glared back at Vegeta with a scowl. Vegeta's pride and arrogance always got on his nerves when the saiyan prince always looked down on the humans. He, Krillin, and Yamcha were strong humans, yet Vegeta didn't see that because he was such a strong saiyan.
"When I call your name, come up here and draw a number." The announcer told them. "Krillin."
Krillin walked forward, giving the referee a grin before his hand dived into the box. His hand searched around the box a bit before it wrapped around a little green ball which he pulled up. He looked at the number on it before holding it up to the referee. "Number three."
Another referee wrote it down. "That puts you in the second fight."
Krillin made his way back over to his friends. He desperately hoped he didn't have to fight any of the saiyans. He wanted to have somewhat of a chance to win this tournament.
"Trunks."
Trunks made his way forward.
"Number two."
"Then that puts you in the first fight." The referee said as he marked it down on the tournament match-up sheet.
"Naulhi."
The average size fighter walked forward and drew out a ball. "Number four."
Krillin grinned as Naulhi retreated from the box. That gave him an easy fight then. It would have been more enjoyable to fight one of the Z fighters, but at least this way he knew he would go to the semifinals. But he had to feel bad for the normal human fighters. They really had no chance in this tournament with all the Z fighters here.
"That puts you in fight two against Krillin." The referee stated. "Next is Vegeta."
Vegeta marched forward. His hand dived into the box and was immediately withdrawn. He glanced at it and smirked as he found himself in a match that didn't have an opponent yet. He better get Kakarot as his opponent. "Number six."
As he was finished, Vegeta tossed the ball to a referee and walked back over to the wall he was leaning against before. "I better get a worthy opponent or I might just have to destroy something."
"Father," Trunks abolished with a frown.
"Oh, don't worry about it, Trunks. We accidentally destroy stuff all the time, don't we, Gohan?" Goku said, glancing at his son with a grin.
Gohan blinked. "Maybe you might, but I don't!"
"You destroyed the Lookout when you six. It was in pieces by the time you were done." Krillin pointed with a smirk.
Gohan sweat dropped. "That was hardly my fault!" He shouted as the others looked at him. "Krillin and Piccolo had a part in that too. As did Garlic Jr. and his minions. It was more their fault then mine. In fact, it was more Piccolo's fault too! I mean, he was the one attacking me and punching and kicking me through walls!"
Goku laughed. He remembered hearing about that incident with Garlic Jr. returning. He was a bit surprised at Piccolo and Krillin attacking Gohan as part of a plan, but it was a smart move. He wasn't surprised that Garlic Jr. hated Gohan that much. Still, he was very proud of his son for being able to handle that with Piccolo and Krillin. It gave him great happiness to know that if he was ever dead or off planet that Gohan was here to protect the Earth and he would be able to handle it.
"Will Goku come forward?" The referee called.
"That's me!" An excited Goku said as he jumped forward and walked across the room to get to the referee holding the box. "Let's see, let's see." His hand mixed up the balls inside the box.
The Z fighters all watched in anticipation. They were praying that Goku didn't get matched up with Vegeta. That was the last thing they needed right now. A saiyan battle.
"Number eight!" Goku declared as he pulled the ball out. He tossed it to the referee before turning to Vegeta. "Sorry, Vegeta. Seems our battle is not destined to be today!"
Krillin breathed a sigh of relief. "No saiyan battle. Good."
"Uh…there are three matches left open and a saiyan is in each one of those and Gohan hasn't been matched up yet." Trunks pointed out slowly.
All the present Z fighters slowly turned to look at the grinning Gohan.
"Cool, I get to fight a saiyan!" Gohan said excitedly.
"I would love a chance to fight you, Gohan." Trunks told him. "I only ever trained with your future counterpart. From what I saw of your fight with Cell and during training, I notice a lot of differences between yours and his fighting styles. I want to test myself out with it."
"That sounds fun." Gohan replied. "Even if we don't get to fight in this tournament, we should have one before you leave."
"Tien."
Unlike Goku, Tien calmly walked forward. He quickly withdrew a ball and tossed it at the referee after looking at it quickly. "Sorry, Trunks." He said as he walked back towards his friends. "It seems I am your opponent."
Trunks laughed. "Well, that's okay. Give me a good fight, Tien."
Tien smiled and nodded. "Sure. Let's be sure to give the audience a good show."
"Gohan."
Gohan pushed off the wall he was leaning against and made his way forward. "Alright," He said excitedly. So who would it be? Would it be his dad or Vegeta that he fought? Either way, he was sure it would be a good fight. Not an easily won fight, but it would be fun. "And my opponent will be…" His hand withdrew from the box and he held up the little green ball with a five on it. "Vegeta!"
A very scary smirk forms on Vegeta's face. "Even better than Kakarot."
"Annnddd now I feel scared." Gohan muttered.
Trunks had to agree with Gohan there. He felt scared too just seeing his father smirking like that. He was glad it wasn't him facing whatever his father had planned behind that evil smirk. "I feel as if we should be scared of that matchup."
"We should be scared whenever two saiyans are matched up to fight." Krillin mumbled.
"And that leaves Udo to fight Goku." The announcer said. "So here are the matches: match 1: Tien vs Trunks, match 2: Krillin vs Naulhi, match 3: Gohan vs Vegeta, and match 4: Udo vs Goku."
"Udo?" Goku said as he looked over at the big fighter with narrowed eyes.
"Oh no." Tien replied as he recognized the fighter. "Nothing good can come from this."
Gohan laughed. "You act like my dad is a horrible person." He looked over at Udo and measured his power level. "Dad can take him out with one hit."
Krillin snorted and nudged Gohan's side. "Yeah, but he was picking on Goku's precious little boy earlier."
A blush spread across Gohan's face as he shot a glare at Krillin. "Shut it, Krillin." His dad let him on battlefields, but off the battlefield, he just had to show a protective dad streak. It was so embarrassing when he could take care of himself.
The monk stared in surprise before laughing and moving over to Tien to whisper, "Gohan got embarrassed that I called him Goku's precious little boy. Do you think he is going to be heading to that phase soon where he doesn't want names like that because he thinks they are embarrassing?"
Tien chuckled. "Gohan's a good kid. I'm sure he won't reach any crazy teenage stages."
A/N: Please Review!