There was always a period in the evening, where the sun would dip behind Mount Pouzu, and the last rays of the deep gold sun would disappear along with it. In this five to six minutes without the sun, the valley was entirely dark; but, the moon always came right after, illuminating it in a pale blue. The moon always provided just enough light to give the impression that the world outside was just asleep and was not a wasteland of darkness.
At least, that's what Gohan always thought.
He gazed outside the huts little window and only saw darkness. No moon in this time, but surely, the world outside sleeps just the same.
He laid back on his mat across the hut from his father. As always, Goku was asleep in an instant but Gohan always stayed up at least an hour later. He reached over to the dresser and pulled out his satchel which he opened carefully and silently. He pulled out his little notebook that he had been writing in for the past few months and opened it. He flipped through the maps he'd drawn of different parts of the world, parts, that in the dead of night, he had combed through for Gero's hidden base. He was displeased by how little of the globe he had covered in three years, he felt like he should have done more, but, at least the time he spent with his father was worth his lack of progress.
He flipped through more pages until he got to his diary section which he just recently began to fill and, despite having his pencil ready, he lost the will to write anything. He flipped a few pages back and took one last look at the maps before closing the notebook and stuffing the satchel back into the dresser. He silently scooched back to his mat and laid under the covers that went comfortably up to his chin. Resting his head on his pillow, he knew he wasn't tired yet, luckily he had the crickets and the occasional owl to accompany him.
He thought about these past three years and how much they meant to him. In some odd way, he felt whole again. Gohan still blamed himself for his father's death but his more minor insecurities seemed to lessen and even disappear as the years passed on. Even his nightmares were gone; although, they were replaced by dreams of his mother.
He missed her deeply, even though he felt she lost her love for him after his father's death. He missed her sugary sweet tone that she always used to address him with, but above all else, he missed her constant random acts of affection that always made him feel special.
Most of his other dreams were about training, math, and occasionally Piccolo. Somehow those were always the dreams his father took note of, and it didn't take long until he had the name 'Piccolo' memorized. Gohan couldn't remember exactly when the two first met, but he hoped he wouldn't be around for it. He hoped he would be able to find Gero's base sometime soon and get back to the present, but as for right now, he just wanted to get through the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament.
He shifted himself under the covers and got comfortable once more and thought on the tournament, which he sadly didn't know much about. His father never really spoke much about it.
The morning came and the two packed their things for the journey to Papaya island which Gohan calculated should only take them a couple of hours.
"Okay..." Goku said. "I've got my power pole, the dragon radar, and a couple of bananas. You ready Jack?"
Gohan sifted through his satchel. "Hmm... Yep. I've got the Zeni and the four-star ball."
"Oh hey, Jack?" Goku said. "Could I hold onto that for now?"
"Of course, Goku," Gohan said, holding out the real orb for his father. As it was taken from his hands he breathed a silent sigh of relief, there were a couple of close calls with the fake one that Shenron had given him but luckily, he no longer had any use for it and disposed of it months ago.
Goku placed the ball in his gi before excitedly saying, "All right! Let's get a move on. I've been waiting a whole three years for my rematch with Mister Chun and I can hardly wait!"
The pair began to walk southwest, traveling through the thick woods of Mount Pouzu, parts that had no beaten path and were rife with thick bamboo and ropey vines.
"Hey Jack, you're sitting this one out, aren't you?" Goku asked as he stepped over a fallen tree.
"I think so Goku. You know how I feel about hurting people and I don't think I'm up for it. I still feel bad for knocking out Nam the last time."
"Hey, that's okay! Remember the last time Bulma stopped by she said she was getting front row seats this tournament? You'll be able to see great from there."
Gohan smiled, "Yeah, but they probably won't be as good as right next to the stage entrance. That was really the way to watch."
Goku looked out into the forest ahead of them. "Hey Jack, do you want to pick up the pace? See who can get to the ocean the fastest?"
Gohan giggled, "You want to race, Goku?"
"Only if you're up to it, and if you think you can beat me." He replied slyly.
"Hahaha! I guess it's been a while since we really raced. Okay, you're on!"
Goku rubbed his hands together and looked ahead of him. "Then we'll go on the count of three," He said. "One. Two. Three!"
The two began speeding through the forest, kicking up dirt as they sprinted. It only took a couple of minutes before the two reached the ocean and although Gohan intentionally lost by a little bit, he was impressed by how much his father had improved.
Goku, a little out of breath, walked up to him and said, "Great job Jack, I'd say we're just about as equal as always." He laid a hand on Gohan's shoulder "But I don't think I would have gotten as strong as I am now without you. Thank you, Jack."
Gohan blushed slightly as he smiled back, he loved his father's compliments. "Thank you, Goku."
Goku thought for a moment, about what Gohan meant to him. Were they really friends at all? To him, Gohan felt like family, like the brother he never had. He wondered if Gohan felt the same. "Hey Jack, would you call us brothers? Even though we aren't really?"
"Yeah Goku, I'd say we are." Gohan said with a caring smile.
"I've always wanted a brother." Goku said as he stared out into the ocean. Remembering that the two still had to cross it, he asked, "Oh hey, which direction do we go next, Jack?"
"I'm pretty sure we still have to head southwest Goku. Papaya Island is really out there."
Goku tightened the strings on his power pole before stepping into the water. "Well, I guess we better start."
Gohan followed him into the water and the two began the tedious task of swimming to the island which was just about 400 miles away.
It was hard work, and it took them the better half of the morning, but eventually, they saw the city's skyline far in the distance which encouraged them to quicken their pace. When they finally arrived upon the shore, it was high noon, and one of the most humid days either had ever experienced. It was so hot that as soon as their clothes dried they began to sweat profusely and miss the cold embrace of the ocean
"Jack, do you think Master Roshi and the others are already at the Martial Arts Tournament?" Goku asked as he climbed up the beach and onto the city sidewalk.
Gohan looked around to get a feel for exactly where they were. "I don't know. Bulma was supposed to tell us the last time she visited but didn't get the chance to before her father called and asked for her help in the lab again."
"Should we go to the airport?"
"Nah, if we head to the tournament grounds then we'll meet with them eventually. Besides, you may be right, they may already be there." Gohan said as he led the way. "It might take us a little while to get there. From what I remember, the tournament and the hotel is way on the other end of the island."
"We're sure getting our workout in today. I mean normally this stuff isn't too hard but it's really, really hot out..." Goku said shielding his eyes from the sun. "And I'm kind of hungry. Those bananas did not fill me up."
Gohan smiled and patted his father on the back. "Well, it's a good thing the preliminaries aren't until tomorrow because you fighting when you're hungry just doesn't work. Remember last August when you tried Chun's fasting technique?"
"I remember it being awful. I wonder how Mister Chun does that." Goku said.
Neither of them noticed, but they had already passed through the city and were now heading up the trail to the tournament grounds which were located on the more elevated side of the island, leaving them walking up an incline.
"I've been looking forward to fighting him again Jack. Back then punching him felt like punching a brick wall, and my ribs felt terrible for the next couple days. I can't wait to show him how much I've grown."
Gohan could see that determined and hopeful look in his father's eye. He knew that this tournament would probably the most meaningful thing he would experience in this part of his life. All Gohan wanted to do was make sure it went right and he was thankful he could ensure that by staying on the sidelines.
"You'll do great Goku, I know it." Gohan said.
The two began to hear voices up ahead of them and once they reached the top of the hill they'd been climbing, they saw the hotel and tournament grounds, both packed to the brim with people.
Gohan glossed over the crowd, seeing if he could spot any of their friends. He hardly expected to be shoved to the ground from behind.
"Out of my way" a cold voice commanded.
Gohan sat up on the pavement and couldn't believe that it was Tien who'd just pushed him down. "Ow, Tien, why'd you do that?!" he asked.
Tien stopped and looked annoyedly at the boy he'd just shoved. "Hm, you know me?"
Gohan averted his eyes as he realized he actually hadn't met Tien yet in this time. "S-sorry, sir. I-"
"I asked you a question," Tien stated angrily. "How do you know me?"
"Leave him alone!" Goku said protectively, stepping in between Gohan and Tien. "Don't talk to people that way you big bully!"
Tien hunched forward, staring at Goku angrily. "Don't involve yourself in this. He talked to me firs-"
"C'mon Tien, we've got to sign up before they close." Chiaotzu interrupted. "And Master Crane is already waiting for us."
"Right, right," Tien grumbled as he turned away from the two boys. "Thank you, Chiaotzu."
The pair watched the odd students dressed in green walked away from them. Goku only stopped to help Gohan up off the floor once the two disappeared into the crowd gathering near the tournament's entrance.
"You okay Jack? he shoved you really hard"
Gohan looked at his elbow which sustained a pretty nasty scrape; he hadn't been expecting a fight that day and left his ki levels rather low. It was a mistake he hadn't made in years but that wasn't anywhere near as shocking as how cold and abusive Tien was. Gohan knew he was never the very emotional type, but he would never do something like that. Even his ki felt unfamiliar, not evil like Gero's twisted mannequin, but hurt and confused.
"I'm fine, just a little scrape." Gohan said.
"You sure? You're bleeding."
Gohan reached into his satchel and retrieved a bandage. One of many he brought with him, just in case. "Yeah, just need to cover it is all."
"Did you know him? He seemed really upset that you said his name." Goku asked.
"I- I think I saw him on the registration at the last tournament." Gohan said nervously, pretending to busy bandaging himself.
"Really? Well, he's probably just mad that he didn't get into the semi-finals last time. He must really hate losing."
Another voice came from the road behind them. "Well, I'll be. You two actually beat us here. We had the earliest plane tickets we could get and you two actually beat us here."
Goku heard that old familiar voice and instantly knew it was Master Roshi. He turned and darted towards the old man, hugging him as soon as he reached him.
"Master Roshi! It's so good to see you!" he said as he squeezed the old man.
"Oh dear, Goku, your grip is definitely stronger than I remember!" Roshi said.
Goku backed away from his master and stood straight. "You think so? Jack and I did exactly what you said we should! We trained as hard as possible each day and made sure to have loads of fun too!"
Roshi was surprised Gohan was mentioned, he peered around Goku and raised his eyebrows as Gohan stood quietly a few feet away from them, still as well mannered as ever. "I bet you have." He said, slightly distracted. "Say, Goku, Krillin, and the others should be coming up the hill any second now, would you go greet them? I have a question I need to ask Jack."
Goku laughed excitedly, "Sure, Master!" he said before running down the hill.
The old man tipped the front part of his fedora lower, trying to block the sun as he mosied over to Gohan. "So, I take it the dragon refused your wish?"
"Shenron said I'd need to get rid of everything Gero created here in the past, including his new lab."
"Have you located it?"
"Well I know it's not in the north and for the past two years I've been clearing out parts of the world trying to pin down where it is. Sadly, I don't think I've made much progress."
"And what are the reasons for that?" the old man asked expectantly.
Gohan fidgeted with his hands anxiously. "W-well, it's probably really well hidden in a remote area and-."
"Sure there aren't any other reasons, Gohan?"
"Master Roshi, please don't-"
"No, Gohan, you have been here for far too long. You need to let him go. You need to go home."
"I-I'm sorry," Gohan said with a growing lump in his throat. "It's just so hard."
The old man sighed, he was never the type to be emotionally unreceptive to anyone, let alone his friends. "Don't cry my boy, it's all right." He said as he ruffled Gohan's hair. "This was probably not the best time for me to discuss this with you anyway. How about we forget about this and go sign up for the tournament along with all of our friends?"
Gohan wiped his face and cleared his throat "I-I'm just watching this time Master Roshi."
"That's okay, you'll be good company for Bulma. Did you know she nearly broke Oolong's snout at the last tournament? He 'accidentally' grabbed her and she whopped him right in the face. For the next three weeks, there was a very loud whistle every time he breathed. Hehehe, little fiend, got more than he bargained for. He should have left that kind of maneuver to the professionals. Like me!"
Gohan smiled and rolled his eyes at the old man, then the pair walked over to the others who were already waiting in the crude line to sign up.
"Wow, Goku, have you gotten taller?" Yamcha asked.
"Um...I don't know. Maybe an inch or two."
"Yeah well, maybe you can spare a couple for Krillin!" Yamcha barely managed to say before breaking out into laughter.
"Oh, haha Yamcha," Krillin said. "Look at Jack, he hasn't grown since the last tournament either. He's still wearing that same gi Goku gave him three years ago! You ever think that maybe we just take a bit more time to grow than everyone else?"
While wheezing from laughter Yamcha said, "Well... at least... he's not... as short as you! Hahaha!"
Oh, just you wait until the tournament Yamcha. We'll see who's laughing then. Krillin thought.
"All right, that's enough Yamcha, knock it off," Bulma said commandingly. "We've got, like, three hours of time left in this line and I don't need you two knuckleheads punching each other before you're even signed up for the tournament!"
Yamcha caught his breath and immediately began trying to salvage the situation; Bulma was clearly in an irritable mood since the flight, most likely because of their very cramped seats and long time in the terminal. "Sorry Bulma, I'm done I promise."
"Good." Bulma said.
Feeling rather overwhelmed, Gohan slid out from the side of the group and tightened the satchel strap around his shoulder.
"Still keeping that around Jack?" Bulma asked."It is real leather and looks pretty stylish so I get it, but if you don't mind me asking, why do you carry it with you?"
"I don't know...maybe because it's a gift from Upa? I think I'd feel bad if I didn't have it. Plus it's super good for carrying stuff although I mainly use it to hold our money."
"You're telling me you haven't used up the 30,000 Zeni I gave you guys?"
"Well, we've used most of it, mainly on ice cream, bandages, pencils, and paper, but those are really cheap so it's lasted a while."
Bulma waved her hand in dismissal "Ha! I would have blown through that in a day! You're really frugal aren't you?"
"Mount Pouzu has a lot of-"
Gohan was interrupted as Tien, Chiaotzu and the Crane hermit step out from the crowd.
"Ah, the great Master Roshi," Crane exclaimed, "With his predictably unimpressive students."
Gohan saw Tien's eyes narrow a little, it seemed he had formed a grudge on Goku in the little time the two knew each other. His father stood by his side and stared back at Tien, not angrily, but very determined to protect his friend.
"Hmhm, coming from you Crane that means nothing. You wouldn't know true power even if you had your rear handed to you in the street. You bloated oaf."
"Well, at least I don't look like I've been bathing in spray-on tan you disgusting island dweller." Crane snorted at his own awful insult. "Anyway, I just came to tell you that we'll finally be able to settle our little rivalry in the next coming days. The whole world will finally see just how much better the crane is than the turtle"
"You know, for all the years I've known you Crane I figured that, maybe one day, you'd come around. Bridge the gap between us and settle this with a discussion over some lemonade at my beach house. But no, you're still the same impudent, shameful student that you were all those years ago. Master Mutaito would be so disappointed in you."
It was clear that Roshi had cut Crane deep, his wrinkled face turned a slight pink and he clenched his fist in silent fury. "You'll get yours, Roshi. I can personally promise you that."
Roshi waited and watched as Crane turned away and ushered his students along with him before relaxing again. "Now you see... wherever we eat tonight, we should definitely avoid them. I don't trust him not to throw his food at me." Roshi quipped.
Goku's eyes lit up "We get to go out to eat! Really?!"
Roshi smiled. "Yep, nothin' but the best for my students. Tomorrow is a big day and you all need your strength when you get through those preliminaries. As for the seating arrangements..."
"Don't even," Bulma said. "Wherever you sit old man, I'm sitting at the other end. Besides, I'll already be sitting by Yamcha."
"Wherever we go can we make sure they have a lot of food!" Goku interrupted.
Roshi nervously dabbed his suit's handkerchief over his sweaty forehead, still receiving a mighty stare down from Bulma. "W-well, Bulma I was referring to Launch but your denial is duly noted. As for you Goku I'm pretty sure that no matter where we go, there'll always be a risk they won't fill you up."
"Yeah, I guess so." Goku said with a little giggle.
The group only had to wait about twenty more minutes before being able to sign up, it seemed whatever was halting the progress of the line head cleared. Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, and secretly Master Roshi, all signed up.
Roshi shifted his arm to reveal his wristwatch, it seemed it was already 5:30. "Okay, let's get a move on everybody. I haven't had anything to eat all day!"
The group wandered around the city for a while before coming across a nice-looking restaurant. The food was on the pricier side but the portions were massive which made it a little easier to feed Goku and Gohan, although it didn't help with the bill much, good thing Roshi had planned for that and saved for just such an occasion.
After dinner, everyone arrived at the hotel where the staff announced that they had special arrangements for them, considering the size of their party, and the fact that they secretly had the winner and runner up of the last tournament present with them: Bulma, Launch, and Puar were given a lovely suite, complete with three full-sized beds; Goku and Krillin received a moderate, but very well decorated suite, who's finer details sadly went unappreciated; Master Roshi and Oolong were directed to a luxury sweet with two king-sized beds and a large balcony. Arguably, Yamcha and Gohan received the 'worst' room which was rather tight but still had a nice dark wooden floor that creaked charmingly when stepped on. Neither minded as they prepared themselves for bed.
After taking a much-needed shower, Gohan slipped into his bed and pulled the covers over. It was very comfortable, cradling him as if it was a personal invitation to sleep, and yet he couldn't. He looked over at Yamcha who seemed to be having trouble himself.
"Yamcha?" Gohan asked.
"Yeah, Jack?"
"You can't sleep either?"
"No. I think I'm anxious, either that or excited. I guess it doesn't matter which because, man, I can't seem to go to bed."
"It seems like a little bit of light from the streetlamps is leaking in from the window. Would it be okay if I read a little?" Gohan asked as he unhinged the latches on his satchel.
Yamcha laughed at Gohan's polite request. "Of course you can, Jack. I think I'm gonna go for a run anyway, gotta' burn off some of this energy."
Yamcha threw the covers off of himself and dressed in his gi. He quickly remade his bed before leaving the room, shutting the door quietly behind him as to not bother Gohan.
Gohan sat in his bed for a moment and felt Yamcha and Krillin's energies move away from him and the hotel. He opened up his notebook and flipped to the diary section, specifically March of this year. He read through entries trying to comfort himself with a nice story, or a time where Goku impressed him, but it didn't help much. In fact, he felt even worse now that Yamcha was gone because now he was alone. He regretted even asking to read and stuffed his notebook back into the satchel which he laid on the floor beside him.
"Hey, Jack" Goku whispered as he opened the door. "You asleep?"
Surprised he didn't even notice his father's ki, Gohan stuttered a response. "No Goku...Not really."
Goku entered and closed the door behind him, dressed in some striped blue pajamas the hotel had given him. "Not tired?"
"I'm tired, but...it's tough sleeping without anyone else here." Gohan said, even though he was rather sure that his father was the only one he could sleep around.
"I'm sure Yamcha won't mind if I take his spot. I think he might even like the other room more."
"Goku you don't have to." Gohan protested. I'm sure they won't be gone too long."
"Too late!" Goku said as he hopped into Yamcha's bed. "Already here!"
Gohan saw Goku throw the covers over himself and snuggle his way into the bed, he felt more comfortable already but wondered why Goku came in the first place. "Goku?"
Goku stuck his head out from underneath the covers. "Yeah?"
"Did you come just to check up on me?" Gohan asked.
"Well, I know it's tough for you to sleep Jack, even at grampa's. And I figured me being here might help a little."
"Thank you, Goku," Gohan said wholeheartedly. "It does."
"Good. Sweet dreams, Jack"
Gohan loved that saying. There was always something endearing about wishing a sweet dream unto another person, especially when they meant it, and he loved that his father wished it to him because Gohan knew that he meant it. He always means what he says.
"Sweet dreams, Goku."