When Rose took up looking after the son of the self proclaimed Demon King after his demise at her hands, she honestly did not know how she would go about making sure the child did not become like his father. However, with her years of experience in raising Goku and mentoring Vegeta, she put together a simple four step plan to do so entitled: "Rose's Guide to Raising a Demon Child."

Step 1: Discipline

"OUCH!" she heard Vegeta cry. Rose immediately stopped what she was doing and ran around the corner of the temple to see what was going on. There she spotted her Saiyan ward glaring down at a tiny Namekian whose teeth and claws were firmly dug into the prince's leg. "Why you little!... he said. Vegeta then ripped the child from his leg and held him up by the back of his shirt. The Namekian did not stop his attack as he then tried to claw at him and squid out of his grip. "That's it!" Vegeta growled, a ball of ki energy forming in his free hand, "I'm going to teach you a less you're never going to forget!"

"Vegeta, stop!" Rose called. The Saiyan prince and the little Namekian both paused and looked in her direction. She stared at them sternly, arms folded over her chest. "Vegeta, I told you you're not allowed to hurt Piccolo," she said.

"But-" he protested.

"No buts. Now get back to your training and let me deal with him," she said.

Vegeta glared at her before extinguishing the ki energy and dropping the child. He then turned and stalked off, muttering and tail swishing back and forth angrily.

Rose then turned her attention to the little Namekian trying to get up. Once he had succeeded, she spoke to him. "Piccolo, you have to stop attacking Vegeta and Goku like that," she said frowning, "How would you feel if someone did something like that to you?"

The tiny Namekian puffed out his chest and grimaced the best he could at her. "I don't care!" he snapped, "I won't stop until I have avenged father's death and destroyed you all!"

Rose sighed inwardly. Looks like she'd have to bring out the big guns. "While I understand wanting to avenge those that you care for," she said stoically, "I hope you understand that little boys that kill people DON'T get bedtime stories!"

The tiny Namekian's eyes widened in horror as Rose inwardly smirked. She had him now. Although the little boy would never admit it, he absolutely adored bedtime stories, demanding at least three a night. "Not even one?" he whispered. Rose nodded sagely. "Y-you don't really mean that do you?" he asked hopefully.

"Oh, I mean it!" Rose responded with a look that said "Try me."

Piccolo looked down and scrunched his eyebrows together in thought as his little mind tried to calculate a way out of this situation. Finally he sighed and conceded. "Fine," he huffed, "I'll wait to take my vengeance."

Rose smiled at him. "Good," she said, "Now let's find something more productive for you to do instead, shall we?" She extended a hand out to him and he begrudgingly accepted it.

Step 2: Positive Reinforcement

To be honest, this was the hardest step for Rose, mostly because it was different for each person. With Goku, she gave him treats such as candy or particularly expensive snacks when he behaved. For Vegeta, she usually gave him greater freedom or a new martial arts set to work on. With Piccolo, things were different. His kind mostly survived off of water and he was too young to start training. However, she managed to find something that works.

Piccolo and Rose stood before the Mayor Buck Dewey. The little boy shuffled his feet as he clutched the megaphone, not making eye contact with the mayor. Rose nudged him slightly. "Go on," she said.

The little Namekian stepped forward and presented the object to him. "I'm sorry I took your thing," he grumbled, "I really wanted it, but stealing is wrong."

The mayor smiled as he bent down to pick it up. "Why thank you little boy," he said, leaning down to pick it up. "I appreciate your honesty," he said.

Piccolo nodded, still not making eye contact. "Good luck in your election," he grumbled.

Buck chuckled and patted the green child on the head. The boy's face scrunched up as he did so. When he stood back up, Rose spoke to him. "I'm sorry about his behavior earlier," she said, "He's still learning."

"Oh no, it's fine!" Buck said, "I know what it's like raising a little boy. It was difficult with just one, I can only imagine how much you must go through when you have to deal with three!" He chuckled and she smile warmly at him.

"It was good to speak with you Mr. Dewey," she said, "Have a nice day." She then nudged Piccolo again. "Say goodbye Piccolo," she said.

"...Goodbye…" he mumbled. With that, the two turned and began to walk away.

As they did so, Rose turned to look at the little boy. "Well done, Piccolo," she said, "You handled that very politely." The little Namekian huffed slightly. "Did you learn your lesson?" she asked.

"Yes…" he muttered.

"Good," she said, "Then I have a surprise for you!" The little namekian looked up in confusion as she began pulling something from a bag she had been carrying. His eyes lit up and his antennae twitched as he saw what it was: a purple, sugar-free juice pouch. He snatched it from her as soon as she reached down to give it to him, and began to drink it greedily. Rose smiled at him as they continued on their way back to the temple.

Step 3: A Little bit of Magic

The two treked up the hill in the dying evening light. Crickets chirping in the distance as they did so. "How much longer?" tiny Namekian complained.

Rose turned to him, smiling in amusement as she saw only his head sticking out of the tall grass. She hummed before saying, "Not that far now. Are you sure you don't want me to carry you?" Piccolo nodded adamantly, determined to go one without help. "Are you sure? The grass is only going to get taller," she explained. This made the child think for a second before relenting and nodding, raising his hands up to be lifted into the air. Rose picked him up and began carrying him to the river bank.

She sat them down among the reeds as they gazed out over the water. A few minutes passed in silence as the light faded. Piccolo began to squirm as he sat on her lap. "I'm bored!" he said, "I want to go home."

Rose smiled and held a finger to her lips. "Just wait," she said, "You're going to see something amazing." Piccolo huffed and puffed out his cheeks as he gave up his squirming. He gazed lazily over the water. Then something caught his eye. He turned and saw a little flash of yellow light dance over the water. His eyes grew wide as he saw another and another and another!

He grabbed her arm to get her attention. "Look!" he said, pointing to the strange lights. There were hundreds now around them. "What are they?" he demanded.

"They're called fireflies," she explained with a smile. She stretched her hands up and gently caught one, bringing it down to show the child. She opened her hands up and let it crawl into Piccolo's. It flashed a few times in his hands. His eyes were filled with wonder as he observed it. "Aren't they beautiful?" she asked.

The little boy said nothing but nodded. Then, the bug opened it's wing case and flew away. "No!" he cried, "Make it come back! I want it!" He tried to reach up and grab for it.

"I think you should let it be," she said, "It wants to be with its friends."

"But I WANT it!" Piccolo insisted. He then saw another one floating in front of his face. A look of determination crossed his face as he reached his tiny hands out and clapped them together around it. He smiled as he brought his hands to his face to see prize, but frowned when he opened his hands. His antenna wilted in confusion as he was met with the sight of a squished bug and a horrible odor. "What happened?" he said, "Why won't it glow?"

"Because you squished it," Rose explained sadly, "When you try to control or conceal beauty and keep it for yourself, you smother it out and it becomes ruined and ugly."

"...Oh…" he said quietly, still looking at the crushed insect in his hands, "How do I fix it?"

Rose bit her lip. "I'm afraid you can't," she said, "Once something is gone, it's gone. You can't get it back. That's why we appreciate beauty while we can, because we may never get another chance to."

Piccolo nodded sadly as he look up at the sky full of fireflies. "I think I get it," he said.

Step 4: Lots of Affection (the most important of all)

The tumble of rocks could be heard in the background.

THUMP!

"OOF!"

Rose sat up straight at the noise. She turned from seat on the beach to see Piccolo at the base of the rock ledge gripping his leg. "Piccolo!" she cried, running up to him, her eyes wide with worry. As she approached she could see him scrunching his face in pain, holding back tears. "Are you alright?" she said kneeling down infront of him, "let me see."

the little boy hesitated before lifting up his robe to show her a badly skinned shin. He sniffled slightly, trying to hide his face. "Oh dear," she sighed, getting a closer look at it. She bit her lip as she noticed there was some sand in the wound mixed with the purple blood. She heard him sniffle and whine as she tried to brush a little away. "Oh there, there," she cooed, sooping him up, "It's ok. It's ok. No need to cry. I'm here." She kissed the top of his forehead as she lifted him from the ground.

Piccolo rubbed his eyes before frowning again. "I wasn't crying," he mumbled.

Rose smiled at him and adjusted him in her arms. "Of course," she said, "Now let's go get you cleaned up." The little Namekian nestled himself against her shoulder and wrapped his arm around her own. Rose felt a wet spot form on said shoulder. She reached up with her free hand and stroked his back gently as she carried him back to the temple, humming gently and rocking him as she did so.

Well...This was another one that was a long time coming. I do hope you guys enjoyed it. Btw, Special thanks to picklesqueenwrites (or shirewulf here on ) for giving me motivation. To write this chapter through their adorable fic Son of Hell. To all my followers, look it up on tumblr. You won't regret it. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Have a good day!