Wow, another chapter so soon? Yeah, got a burst of inspiration and got this down with some editing and stuff. Since it is morning, Happy 4th of July! Unless you don't celebrate that holiday, where as you can simply have a good day :)
Also, WAAAAAAYYYY out of character! But this chapter is just something fun for me, and maybe you. (It's an AU, I do what I wha-starts coughing-)
"Well, Bulma? What's wrong?" Gohan had his arms crossed nervously over his chest, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he looked at the blue haired woman with a troubled expression. Bulma was shifting through her notes, looking a bit worried. Her pale blue eyes met Gohan's coal black ones, showing no signs of neither good news, nor bad news.
"Well, Piccolo is just fine. Healthy and everything." Gohan sighed, a little relieved "But from what I can tell, Piccolo has not only reverted to a young state physically, but mentally as well. Sort of, anyway, but it's only going to get worse from what I'm able to predict. Sorry."
At this, Gohan placed a hand over his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking frustrated. After a deep breath he looked over his shoulder at the small Piccolo, who was sitting on Bulma's desk and swinging his legs childishly, his hands on his knees. The little guy looked up, seeing his close friend staring at him, and stopped, quickly kicking his legs up in a lotus position and attempted to look like his usual, stoic self. It didn't work that well.
Chuckling inwardly, Gohan turned to face Bulma again. She offered a quick smile.
"Anyway, I think it would be best if Piccolo wasn't around Goku, maybe even Goten, in the mornings. That's when you said he was acting strange, yes?" Gohan nodded and Bulma continued "So maybe Piccolo should stay at my place, just for the morning hours, and then after he snaps out of it, he goes to your place?"
Gohan shrugged "I guess. But what if this only gets worse? Or what if it was a one time deal?"
"Well there's only one way to find out, right? Let's just try this for a day or two before confirming anything." Gohan agreed, looking back at Piccolo and finding him swinging his legs over the desk again.
...
"And this is gonna be your room tonight. It's right next to mine, so if you need anything, you can get me." Trunks explained as he showed Piccolo the spare bedroom that he'd be using. He had heard Bulma and Gohan's conversation earlier, and was a little unnerved by the news. Naturally, though, he didn't show it.
Vegeta wasn't happy about the namek being in the building, still fuming from their last encounter. Piccolo recalled the moment which took place not even five minutes prior.
"No! Hell no, he is NOT staying here!" Vegeta's face was red with anger, yet Bulma remained calm, her face stern.
"He has to Vegeta! It's too risky keeping him at the Son's house, you never know what he's actually capable of besides biting! What if he ends up setting the house on fire, or blowing something up?"
"Not my problem! Kakarot can be left homeless for all I care!" Vegeta's arms were raised over his head.
"What about the rest of the family? Goten, Chichi, Gohan?" Bulma growled and held up a remote when Vegeta tried to counter the argument. His eyes went wide and a smile made it's way on Bulma's face. "Don't make me blow that damn thing up, Vegeta. I won't repair it this time."
Piccolo bit back a snicker as he pushed the memory aside and entered the room that would be his for the night. He looked around as he closed the door behind him. The room was fairly spaced, with a bed at one side, a desk beside it, and a closet on the opposite wall from the bed.
Piccolo stared at the edge, feeling… off? He wasn't sure but... Piccolo shook his head and found himself at the foot of the bed, staring at the dark blue sheets.
Piccolo rushed towards the door, looked out into the hall, and glanced left and right before hastily closing the door again and rushing back to the bed. He placed his hands onto the soft fabric and put pressure onto the mattress. He smiled when there was hardly a creak to be heard.
Piccolo kicked his shoes off and placed his cap that Chichi made him wear (along with the yellow T-shirt and faded jeans) on the desk before climbing on the bed, a smile on his chubby face. He stood up, a little wobbly as the mattress dipped under his feet, and did a few small test bounces. Satisfied, and feeling a small rush of excitement, he jumped a little higher.
A giggle almost escaped passed Piccolo's lips as he jumped higher and higher still, ruffling the blue blankets and sending the fluffy pillow onto the carpeted floor.
Eventually Piccolo did find himself laughing as he leapt into the air, his arms spread as if he were a bird or plane, his eyes bright with the excitement of any young child. He took sharp turns to avoid crashing onto the floor and walls, attempting to do some front flips but always landing on his rear.
Piccolo gasped as he heard the door creak open, and he immediately froze, standing on the middle of the bed with his arms at his sides and his back stiff.
Trunks stood at the door frame, eyes wide as he took in the scene before him. The pillow was on the floor, the blanket half off the bed, the sheets crumpled, and Piccolo standing on the bed with a look of shock and embarrassment.
"I... I can explain?" Piccolo stuttered, his shoulders tense. Trunks only smiled.
"Are you seriously going to have fun without me? That's no fair!" Trunks laughed as Piccolo visibly relaxed, releasing a held breath. The purple haired saiyan closed the door and scurried onto the bed next to the small namekian, who began to grin.
...
Soon both boys were flat on their backs, breathing heavily but with big grins on their round faces. After catching his breath, Trunks sat up and looked at Piccolo.
"Hey Pic, do you normally act like this when nobody's around?" Piccolo shook his head and Trunks raised a brow "Really? Then why now?"
"I dunno." Piccolo shrugged as he picked at the 'cool kid' written on his yellow shirt with black, bold letters "It's weird. Maybe being turned into a kid has something to do with it? Because all the stupid stunts you brats always pull sounds like fun now, including the old 'steal the cookie jar' thing. Which reminds me, do you have a jar of goodies?"
Trunks grinned devilishly.
"I got a better idea."
...
"GO,GO,GO!" Trunks shouted as both he and Piccolo ran from a very angry Vegeta.
"GET BACK HERE YOU BRATS!" the short spiky haired saiyan screamed as he ran after the boys. His face was red with embarrassment and, naturally, rage. He and Bulma had just been caught having a makeout session when Trunks and Piccolo burst in with a camera and snapped a picture. Bulma was left behind with a bright red face, while Vegeta ran after the two trouble makers.
Problem was, Geets was closing in fast.
Piccolo, the one holding the camera, instinctively shot his arm out when he saw an air vent, and was surprised and happy when a small ki blast flew from his four fingered hand and onto the vent entrance (he could've sworn he lost his abilities!). Trunks high fived him and pushed him into the vent, climbing in after him.
"DAMN YOU BRATS! GET OUT HERE AND FACE YOUR PUNISHMENTS LIKE REAL WARRIORS!" Vegeta snarled when the two brats were just out of his grasp. He couldn't risk damaging the house, so he couldn't use his ki to threaten the boys out, and they knew that.
"Nyah, can't get us now, Loser!" Piccolo stuck his purple tongue out and waved his free hand next to his face, his thumb pressed against his cheek. Vegeta's eye twitched.
"When the hell did you start acting like this, namekian? I thought you were a warrior, not a child!" this caught the chibi off guard as he paused and looked down at the adult saiyan, his eyes wide.
Then he did something highly unexpected of the usual stoic namekian; he curled his fingers into a fist, leaving one finger straight, and flipped Vegeta off, shouting a nasty curse word in namekian.
By this point the angry adult saiyan was trembling with rage as Pic and Trunks shared a high five, laughing. Vegeta reached in, denting the wall at the same time with his head and shoulder, and grabbed the boys' ankles with one hand. Before anything came out of their mouths, they were pulled out into the hall and they banged their heads together with a yelp.
Vegeta ripped the camera from Piccolo's grasp and crushed it, earning childish whines from the two kids.
"Hey, not cool dad!" Trunks folded his arms in a pout and Piccolo mimicked the look, rather unintentionally. Vegeta sighed and tossed the ruined camera in the trash as he dragged the boys upstairs into their rooms.
"You two are gonna be more trouble than you're worth." he grumbled, rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache.
The boys were tossed into their rooms and told to go to bed, which they did after having used all their energy from running around the house and it was late.