Author's Note: Alright, I know, it's been more than a month since the last chapter. I'm really sorry about the lack of chapters, but I've been really busy with school and I've got a bunch of exams coming soon, so I can't exactly pump out chapters, but I'm still doing my best to work on this in my spare time. With that aside, I'm really glad that some of you like this story, and I appreciate all the feedback I've gotten, good or bad. Now without further ado, here's the next chapter.

Chapter 4

As the wind brushed Gohan's hair back, his heart was beating rapidly and he had this odd knot in his chest. It's not like he hadn't been kissed on the forehead before. Bulma, Chichi and Mrs. Briefs did it all the time, but for some reason, when Lime did it, he freaked out. Maybe it was because she was a girl his age. Gohan scratched his head and flew closer and closer to home.

When he finally arrived home he was greeted by his mother's interrogation on why Gohan was out so late. She wielded a +2 frying pan in one hand and an enchanted spatula in the other, crafted specifically for smacking some sense into her saiyan children.

Gohan, being the honest and pure boy that he is, told the truth but conveniently left out his stargazing with Lime.

"So, who's this Lime girl? Your girlfriend? Gohan! We've been over this, you're not allowed to date until after college. It'll distract you from your studies."

"Mom, she's not my girlfriend, she's just a friend. She lives in Chazke village and she knows about my power."

"She does?! How?"

"Well, I met her seven years ago during the Cell Games. Oh yea, her grandpa is Mr. Lao and apparently Dad's friends with him."

"Mr. Lao? How is he? I haven't heard about him in years."

"You know him too?"

"Of course, he was a famous martial artist long before you were born. He used to run a school called the Chin-Star school. In the Wonton kingdom, he was regarded as the master of martial arts. Last I heard, his son, Shoken took over the school and Mr. Lao retired to the countryside. So he has a granddaughter, how nice! Is she a martial artist too?"

"Yea, she's strong, I think."

"Like father like daughter I suppose. Anyways, are you hungry hun? I'll go warm it up for you okay?"

"Oh, thanks mom, you're the best."

"You're welcome."

Gohan sat down at the dinner table where he waited for dinner. As he sat there, he couldn't help but find his mind drifting to Lime. The image of her lying down in the grass as her smile sparkled in the moonlight was etched into his mind. In that moment, she seemed almost ethereal, like an autumn flower that blooms in the moonlight. He kept replaying the night's events over and over in his mind and as he did, that knot in his chest only tightened. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable, like an itch he couldn't scratch.

"Gohan!"

With his mother's shrill call, Gohan snapped out of his stupor and noticed the huge bowl of rice his mother had just placed on the table. He quickly clasped his hands together, and said, "itadakimasu."

He picked up his duck spoon and began to dig in.

Meanwhile his mother was standing by the kitchen wondering what was wrong with Gohan. Normally he would've eaten his dinner the second it was on the table, but he didn't even notice when she put it down. She sighed and quietly muttered, "Oh, Gohan, you silly goose."

After Gohan finished his dinner, he dropped off the bowl in the sink and headed upstairs to go hang out with Goten, who was currently doing some basic math practice in their room.

"Hey squirt."

"Hey big bro."

"What's up? Mom making you do some worksheets?"

"Yea, she said it's time I start my education."

"Yep, I've been there, she can get kind of crazy when it comes to education. Luckily, she's loosened up on you. If you need any help, I'd be glad to help you out."

"Thanks, Gohan, ummm, can you help me with this entire page?"

Gohan chuckled to himself and agreed.

As the sun rose on Saturday he heard a few rings on his cellphone. He groggily picked it up and took a look at the new messages. When he saw that the sender was Lime, he sprung up and slouched over the phone, reading each message with the utmost attention.

"Good Morning (^ - ^)"

"I don't know if you're awake yet, but I realized that you never got to see my grandpa, so if you want to, you could come over and say hi."

"Well just if you want to that is."

Gohan quickly typed out, "Of course! I'd love to come over."

After pressing send, he bounced out of bed, brushed his teeth and rushed down to eat breakfast. His mother had already gotten up and had cooked a big breakfast for her family.

"It looks great mom! Thanks. Itadakimasu"

As he picked up his chopsticks, his mother smacked the top of his head with her enchanted spatula and said,"Gohan! Where are your manners? Go and get your brother, we have to eat as a family."

"Huh? Oh right, I forgot."

He went up the stairs and went to wake his brother. As he was doing this, Chichi was standing there rubbing her chin, Gohan usually never forgot that they always ate as a family, and it's a Saturday, is he in a rush or something?

After Gohan returned with his brother, they began to eat and as soon as Gohan finished, he opened the door and prepared to take off.

"*ahem* and where do you think you're going young man?"

"Me? I'm . . . going to see a friend."

"Is it that Lime girl?"

". . . Yes."

"Gohan! I've told you a million times already, you have to focus on your studies, how can you even think about getting a girlfriend!"

"Mom, she's not my girlfriend and I don't like her like that. She's just a friend, besides I'm just going to pay Mr. Lao a visit."

Now Gohan wasn't the type of person to lie and as such when he said those words he suddenly felt a sense of guilt wash over him.

He leapt up into the air and yelled out, "I'll be home for dinner!"

"Gohan! Get back here!"

Gohan pretended not to hear her and flew away. Thus leaving a steaming Chichi at the door.

Gohan touched down in Chazke Village and he could feel his heart beating rapidly. He felt cold sweat down his back as he approached the Lao grocery store. He stood outside the store in the autumn wind and braced himself to see Lime again.

After a couple minutes he walked into the store and was greeted with the smell of rich oak and the sight of preserves lined up in pretty rows, arranged by color on the wall. On the wall opposite lay a counter and behind that counter was an elderly Mr. Lao. Mr. Lao was wearing a humble brown set of Chinese style clothes and his hair was still white as snow. He was hunched over, wiping down the counter.

When the bell on the door rang, Mr. Lao looked up and was greeted with a seemingly meek young man with spiky black hair. However, under that meek disposition, Mr. Lao could feel a monstrous power that could shake the heavens and shatter the earth. Mr. Lao smiled as he recognized the young man.

"Well hello there son, it's been a long while hasn't it? What brings you here? Are you here to see Lime? She's upstairs right now eating breakfast. Go on up."

"Oh, I umm, thanks."

Gohan meekly opened up the counter and followed Mr. Lao's up the stairs.

"Lime, Gohan's here to see you."

Lime was sitting at a small table and eating a bowl of cereal with a glass of apple juice. When noticed Gohan standing there, Lime nearly spit out her cereal. She was wearing her polka dotted pajamas and glasses and her auburn hair was up in a messy bun. Even though she was in pajamas, Gohan still felt something stirring in his chest, he found it charming.

"Gohan! . . . Hi! umm, give me a second."

She rushed into the bathroom and quickly changed into something nicer. Mr. Lao chuckled and patted Gohan on the shoulder. "Thank you for bringing Lime back home. She was telling me all about you and her friends yesterday. I'm really glad she has friends like you in the city, I was worried sick about her. We both know she has a bit of a silver tongue."

"I don't know what you're talking about Mr .Lao, Lime is delightful."

Suddenly the bell downstairs rang and Mr. Lao proceeded to go down the stairs and tend to the store. Gohan stood awkwardly in the room as he waited for Lime to finish changing.

He looked out the windows and admired a couple of doves sitting in a tree building a nest together. They were picking up twigs and interlacing them. Slowly but surely, the outline of a nest began to emerge.

Lime opened the bathroom door and came out wearing a green and grey sweater and blue jeans. Her hair was combed and she had taken her glasses off.

"Gohan, hey. What's up?"

"Oh, umm, you texted me and I decided to come over."

"Oh! Right. Well, do you want to hang out?"

"Sure! What do you want to do?"

"Hmm. . . I've got an idea, let's go visit the old shelter."

"The shelter? The one ran?"

"Yea, that sleazebag. The shelter's been abandoned since then and because of that, it's really cool inside. The facilities are all dilapidated and there's ivy growing everywhere. It's really cool."

"That reminds me, after we visit the shelter, we can go flying around and visit some of the temples."

"Temples?"

"Yea, didn't you know? The Chazke mountains are home to a ton of temples and monasteries."

"What!? I didn't know that, that's super cool."

"Right? My dad used to take me to the temples all the time."

"Used to?"

"Oh . . . my dad died fighting Cell during the Cell Games."

"He did?"

"Yea, if you watched the Cell Games broadcast, he was the one with blond hair and an orange and blue gi. If you ask me, the one who really saved the world was him, not me."

"Ohhhhhh, that's why you wanted your superhero costume to be orange and blue."

"Ehehe, yea. I've always looked up to my dad and if I could wear his colors, that'd mean a lot to me. . . Well, with that aside, you mentioned something about going to the shelter?"

"Oh yea! It's past through the woods. Near the river where we met."

"The river where we met? Wow, that brings back memories."

"Memories hmm? You perv. Are you remembering the time you copped a feel?"

"I've already told you! I didn't mean to!"

Lime laughed and punched Gohan on the arm and said, "I know, I know. Relax. I'm just joking. Alright, let's go."

They ran out the back doorstep and told Mr. Lao that they'd be home before dinner. They ran through the earthy orange woods and crossed the raging river where they first met. Gohan picked Lime up and flew over the river instead of taking the bridge. Once over the river, they kept walking along the dirt trodden path and soon found the old shelter which was in a complete state of disrepair.

There was ivy and wild flowers growing in abundance in the shelter. Half of the roof was blown off and there were huge chunks of collapsed rubble inside. This was of course, the result of Gohan's energy blast that destroyed the shelter when Gohan was here last time.

Lime took Gohan's hand and brought him into the shelter. The doorway had long collapsed and the shelter was covered in shadows. There were a few wild animals in there, they loved the rubble and wild flora which made the shelter an ideal place to live.

Lime had brought her camera with her and was taking picturesque photos that looked like they belonged in National Geographic. They walked around the shelter, observing the various deer and rabbits that lived in between the rubble. The sunlight that streamed through the cracks in the ceilings lit up the room and allowed Gohan and Lime to see the green expanse with of wild grasses that had sprouted since Gohan was last here.

Lime found a sun washed slab that was bathing in gentle sunlight. She hopped up onto the slab and laid down. The sunlight made her emerald green eyes sparkle and with the wild grass surrounding her, she looked like a sleeping nymph that came out of nature.

Gohan took Lime's camera and quickly snapped a picture of her. She stayed on the slab and nonchalantly asked, "hmm? What's wrong? Am I so pretty that you just had to take a picture."

"T-that sounds about right."

". . . Is that so? That's pretty creepy Gohan, you know what they call people who take pictures of girls without their permission? Perverts."

"Ack! No, it wasn't like that!"

"Right . . . I believe you," she said with obvious sarcasm.

Lime lay there for a few minutes as she calmed down. Her face was slightly flushed after Gohan gave her such a point blank response. She was looking at Gohan, who was sitting down with a squirrel. Gohan's pure and innocent smile as he played with the squirrel stirred up some fuzzy feelings in Lime's heart.

She took the camera from Gohan's hands and told Gohan to smile for the camera next to the squirrel. Gohan stuck out his hand and the squirrel leapt into his palm and with that, he turned towards the camera and gave it a wide grin.

Lime snapped the picture and after taking a look at it, smiled. Gohan quickly stood up and let the squirrel jump into Lime's shoulder. Lime nearly squirmed away but quickly caught herself and let the squirrel sit on her shoulder. The squirrel was holding an acorn in its little arms and was inquisitively sniffing Lime's hair. Lime laughed at the sight of the squirrel's little nose poking around in her hair. After a few minutes, she cupped her hands around the squirrel and gently set him on the floor. The squirrel quickly ran away and left Gohan and Lime laughing together.

Before they knew it, a few hours had already passed by. Lime suggested that they start visiting the temples. Gohan agreed and they soon left the shelter behind them.

Similar to how they did it last time, Lime got on Gohan's back and they took off. While in the air Lime was able to sit on Gohan's back and with her camera she snapped some gorgeous pictures of the clouds and the Chazke mountains that surrounded them. The snow tipped peaks and the flourish of browning flora were breathtaking.

A few temples were located on the tops of the mountains and housed monks who had abandoned civilization to free themselves of limitations. These were men that Goku admired and had brought his son to visit them countless times so Gohan knew all the temples that were around and he always tried to visit them as much as possible because he knew the monks there were only human. Living a life devoid of human contact is rough and he tried to help them out and talk to them every now and again.

"Hey look it's the Nakarin Temple. You wanna pay the abbot a visit?"

"The Nakarin Temple? Sure! I love seeing new places."

"Great! You're gonna love him, he's such a sweet old man."

Gohan honed in on the nearby temple and landed softly outside the main entrance.

"Abbot Ziwei! I've come to visit! It's Son Gohan!"

Gohan politely knocked me on the door and waited for the abbot to open the door. After a few moments, the door slid open and a decrepit bald old man with a long white wispy beard greeted them. He was dressed in an humble and raggedy orange robe with prayer beads in his hand and around his neck.

"Oh Gohan, how are you?"

"Abbot Ziwei, I'm well, I've recently started school at Satan city. Oh! This is my friend Lime from school."

Lime bowed her head and said, "It's very nice to meet you."

"Oh my, what a polite young woman. Come in come in. I'll prepare some tea."

They walked into the small temple and were greeted with the sight of a large stone Buddha carved out of granite. It was in the main hall of the temple and had a small meditation mat set out in front of it. There were small plates of offerings before the Buddha and a small ash pot with three sticks of incense burning inside of it.

Gohan and Lime took off their shoes at the doorstep and Gohan quickly pulled out six sticks of incense from the little can at the side of the altar. Using his index finger, he sparked a small ball of ki and lit the incense. He handed Lime three of them and went over to the front of the Buddha.

"Just do what I do," he said.

Gohan kneeled down in front the statue and bowed three times before sticking the incense into the ash pot.

Lime followed what Gohan did and sat down with him at the small tea table on the side of the room when she finished. Lime looked around and was awed at how humble the entire temple was. Unlike the Orin temple, the Nakarin temple was absolutely bare. The walls were boring and uncolorful, the floors were not ornately made, but simple stone, the pillars were made of old logs and the roof tiles were cracked and worn out. Abbot Ziwei was the only one living here and he spent most of his time cleaning the place up and in meditation.

When Abbot Ziwei returned with the tea, he sat down with them at the tea table and poured out three small cups.

"Please try it, it's the new tea plants I've been cultivating in the back garden."

Lime and Gohan each took a sip and found that the tea had a delicate sweetness that melded with the bitterness perfectly.

"Wow! This is really good," Lime said.

"Thank you, I've been working on that tea for the past few years. It's one of the ways I meditate."

"So do you live here all by yourself?"

"Yes, there used to be another monk who lived here with me but he returned to society a long time ago."

". . . Doesn't it . . . I don't know, get lonely?"

"Well, that's one of the downsides of living like this, but it's not that bad. When I'm up here I can feel the pulse of nature, the ki that flows all around us, and the inner peace that it all brings."

"A-are you a martial artist?" Lime hesitantly asked. She had learned from her grandfather that for many true martial artists, it was considered rude to ask this question. When Gohan heard Lime's question his facial expression tightened and he nervously darted his eyes between Abbot Ziwei and Lime.

"I don't consider myself a martial artist but I suppose if push came to shove I could defend myself, but remember, it is one of the Buddhist virtues to avoid violence at all costs," Abbot Ziwei said with a smile.

"I see. Do you mind if I take some pictures of your temple?"

"I don't see a problem with that, just make sure not to take any pictures of the altar, okay?"

"Got it."

Lime finished off her cup of tea and began to walk around the small temple, taking pictures of the snowy terrain and the temple that blended in with the rocky mountains around it. A strong gust of wind blew some snow off the temple's roof caused a flurry of snow, hiding the temple to within it. As the snow blew around her she began to laugh as the snow blew into her face and the wind tossed her hair around.

Gohan stepped out and saw Lime laughing with glee. Gohan laughed and jumped into the storm with her. Lime scooped up a snow ball and chucked it righit at him. It smacked Gohan in the face and Gohan lightly threw some snowballs back at her. After a while, they bid Abbot Ziwei goodbye and flew back to Chazke village.

When they landed back in Chazke village,they went back to the Lao general store. Lime went upstairs and changed clothes while Gohan powered up outside, causing his wet clothes to dry off instantly.

Mr. Lao smiled and asked Gohan,"Hey, Gohan, how's your father doing?"

Gohan's smile instantly dampened and quietly told Mr. Lao, "He passed away fighting Cell seven years ago."

". . . I see. . . I'm sorry to hear that. Why doesn't he come back with the Dragon Balls?"

"He said he's off training in the otherworld because he keeps causing trouble for the Earth. Which isn't true at all!"

"Is that so? I think that's a splendid thing. I think your father's quite happy up there, training to his heart's content. He was always training, even when he was a young kid."

"When dad was a young kid . . . Oh yea, you first met my dad when he was a kid right?"

"Yes, even back then he was a powerful one. Here follow me."

Mr. Lao walked into the basement and opened up a dusty old photo album. He flipped through a few pages before he finally found what he was looking for. A picture of a young Mr. Lao and Soken standing next to Goku and the rest of the Chin-Star school.

"I remember that day 20 years ago. When Goku fought for my school in the royal martial arts tournament. He took the victory and helped Shoken become the man he is today. I'm forever grateful to him for all he did for me."

He removed the photograph from its sleeve and handed the old yellowed photo to Gohan, "Here, as his son, I want you to have this."

Gohan graciously took the photo, immediately noticing how similar Goten and young Goku looked. Gohan bowed deeply and thanked Mr. Lao for the photograph.

Lime opened the door to the basement and exclaimed, "Oh there you two are, I was looking for you."

"Oh! I'll make some lunch for you two, you must be hungry after spending all day out there. Don't worry Gohan I'll make more than enough food for you."

"Oh, no, don't worry, I can eat a normal amount too, please don't burden yourself like that, I don't mean to impose."

"Ah it's fine, make yourself at home."

With that, Mr. Lao went into the kitchen and began to make lunch. Lime and Gohan sat down behind the counter of the general store and waited for lunch to be served. After a short while, a customer walked in.

She was a regular and immediately recognized Lime. She turned over and saw a spiky haired teenager standing next to her and the cogs in her head instantly began to turn.

"Oh my Lime, is this your boyfriend?"

Gohan and Lime both sputtered our in surprise at the comment. "N-No no, w-we're just friends, that's all."

"Aww, and you even speak in sync!"

Gohan and Lime's faces flushed red and Line began to sink down beneath the counter in embarrassment.

"Well if our lovely little Lime is dating someone, I just have to know their name," she turned towards Gohan and asked, "what's your name young man?"

"G-Gohan, ma'am, and like we said, we're just friends."

"Right," she then air quoted,"just friends."

Lime sighed and asked, "and how can I help you Mrs. Tsukemo."

"Oh yes, I needed to get some groceries. I specifically needed some matcha to make more green tea. I'm running low on it and most of our customers at the inn order Chazuke, so if I don't get some more, I'll be in big trouble, and while you're at it I think I'll take a couple pickles."

"No problem Mrs. Tsukemo, how much matcha do you need?"

"About a kilogram would be nice."

"Right away ma'am."

Lime opened the door to the backroom and began rummaging through the storage to find the matcha supply. After a couple minutes, she returned with a large bag of matcha. Mrs. Tsukemono was gleefully examining the pickled products on the wall.

"Oh, Gohan dear, you're not from Chazke village right? You really must try out our Chazuke. It's what my inn is most well known for."

"I'll be sure to try it some time."

"Alrighty then, I'll be off then, see you around Lime dear."

With that, Mrs. Tsukemono left the store. After the bell rang, Lime took a deep sigh and took a quick peek at Gohan, whose face was tinged with red. Lime covered her face in her auburn hair and put her head on the counter.

Gohan leaned over and asked if Lime was alright. To which she angrily insisted that she was fine.

"Are you sure? You don't seem that fine."

"Yes I'm sure!"

After that, Gohan shut up and sat down at a stool by the counter.

Soon, Mr. Lao finished preparing lunch and they are a nice hearty homemade lunch. They had a homemade chazuke with plenty of pickled vegetables, assorted beans and pork cutlets on the side.

Lime and Gohan spent the rest of the day flying around the area admiring the scenery and allowing Lime to take plenty of pictures.

Soon, the sun began to set and Gohan dropped off Lime at her home. She thanked him for the ride and asked him to teach her how to fly. Gohan readily agreed and with that, Gohan set off for home.

Contrary to expectations, Chichi wasn't furious. Instead she was eager to hear about how Mr. Lao and Lime were doing, so much so that the Ox King had actually stopped by. The Ox King and Mr. Lao had been good friends and as fellow martial artists they had sparred countless times. During Ox King's warrior's pilgrimage, he found a young Mr. Lao who was also embarking on a warrior's pilgrimage, after a prolonged fight that lasted days, they became steadfast friends and journeyed the world together. Throughout their time together, Ox King and Mr. Lao formed a friendship made of steel that would last a lifetime. As such, when Chichi told her father about Mr. Lao and Lime, he immediately hurried over.

As so, Gohan returned home to find Ox King, Goten and Chichi sitting on the couch waiting for him. Ox King immediately leaped up and grabbed Gohan by the shoulders.

"Gohan! Is it true? You're dating Mr. Lao's granddaughter?"

Gohan's face turned beet red as he vehemently denied dating Lime. He insisted that they were just friends and that they went to school together.

"Either way, do you know where Mr. Lao is? After we went our separate ways at Korin Tower, I haven't seen him since. I had heard that he became the grandmaster if martial arts in the Wonton Kingdom but I never had the time to go see him. But now I'm retired, and have plenty of time, so I've been trying to track him down. When I asked his son, he wouldn't tell me where he is, saying that he wanted to respect his father's wishes to leave the world of martial arts behind and retire to the countryside in peace."

"Oh, I guess that's a fair reason. umm if you want I can take you to see him now. Mr. Lao and Lime "

"You can? Attaboy Gohan!" Ox King exclaimed as he unleashed a bellowing laugh.

Chichi suddenly interrupted saying that no one was going anywhere until they had some dinner first. Ox King agreed and said that it could wait until tomorrow.

It was later that night when Gohan heard some heavy breathing and cracks in the air outside the house. He peered through the window and saw Ox King furiously practicing in the backyard. With each punch, a quick crack could be heard and Gohan heard a distinct rumble in the ground every time Ox King switched stances. Gohan quietly left his room and made his way outside, silently watching the elderly giant practice in the midnight hours. Underneath Ox King's feet was a puddle of sweat that had accumulated over the past few hours.

Gohan had always loved martial arts, ever since Piccolo kidnapped him as a child, he found that martial arts were absolutely intriguing. Although Gohan was undoubtedly one of the strongest fighters in the universe, and a master of fighting, he always considered traditional martial arts like the ones his father and the other Z-fighters used, fascinating. Watching Ox King practice his Ox Slayer form was very fun for Gohan, who sat in a tree observing for a few hours.

Before he knew it, the sun had risen and Ox King was still practicing his form. At this point, the puddle had grown into a tiny lake and it wasn't until the birds began their songs that Ox King left to rinse off in the river.

Oof, this is all I can muster for now. I'll be sure to update this story again soon though. Get ready for more high school romance. I'll do my best to make it juicy. Please review if you liked it or if you didn't like it, I'm open to criticism.