fate1

The sound of the crashing of the rock avalanche echoed throughout the small valley. Gohan winced as the sound penetrated his sensitive ears. Although Gohan’s navy blue gi was torn in many places and his body covered in dust, Gohan still managed to look intimidating as he shot his sparring partner a look.

"Vegeta, be careful with your ki blasts!" Gohan yelled as the two sparred. Vegeta growled and balled up one of his fists.

"Well, maybe if you didn’t move around so fast, my attacks would actually hit you and not the scenery!" The two golden-haired warriors just glared at each other, waiting for the other to back away from the staring contest first. Gohan was the one to break the gaze.

"Fine," a teenage Gohan growled, "Just forget about it. Let’s continue sparring." The two resumed their battle, moving so fast that the spectators of the fight could only guess where they were at any moment.

"Of course not. None of you have Saiya-jin blood in you. While you may be strong, you are still just humans." The three sighed in disappointment and understanding.

"Thanks for letting us know, Piccolo," Krillin grumbled. Piccolo gave a small smirk from where he was sitting, watching the battle as well.

"No way," said an equally young Trunks, "My dad is prince of the Saiya-jins. There’s no way that Gohan could beat my dad."

"Oh yeah?" Goten asked, "We’ll just see about that." With that remark, Goten stuck out his tongue at Trunks, who did the same back. Although the 7 year old son of Vegeta and the 6 year old son of Goku were best friends, they could never agree on who was stronger: Vegeta or Gohan, though the whole world (well, at least the Z-senshi) knew that Gohan was stronger. In fact, without Goku alive and on earth, Gohan was the strongest person on the planet.

Still in a different part of the valley sat Bulma, Chi-Chi, and #18, who were watching the scene from afar while setting up for a picnic...a rather large picnic seeing as how they were feeding 4 Saiya-jins and three incredibly strong humans. As Bulma and Chi-Chi did most of the work, #18 watched longingly.

"Well, I would," #18 said, "But I’m not wearing the right clothes. I really don’t think that I could fight in a dress, now do you?" Chi-Chi added her input.

"Well, fighting in a dress isn’t easy, but not impossible. I should know, I used to fight when I was younger and sometimes would be forced to fighting in a dress," Chi-Chi stated. Bulma smiled at one of her best friends and changed the subject.

"I take it since you’re paying attention to us instead of the preparation of the food that lunch is ready. Am I right?" Chi-Chi nodded.

"LUNCH TIME!!!" the three women yelled at the top of their lungs. Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Goten, and Trunks rushed right over and Gohan and Vegeta stopped in mid-air.

"Yeah. We’ll spar again another time. But now, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat." Vegeta and Gohan made short time in rushing over to the source of the food, helping themselves to all the different varieties, as was everyone else, except for Piccolo who was meditating a bit away from where the rest of the group was collected under a tree.

Gohan sighed contently as he ate one of his mother’s roast chickens. The battle he just had with Vegeta had fueled his already large appetite and Gohan felt like he could eat enough food to feed a small city. "Goff mom, thiff if reawee got," Gohan said with food in his mouth. Chi-Chi glared at her son’s bad manners.

"Gohan," Chi-Chi reprimanded, "Don’t talk with food in your mouth." Gohan gulped down his food and shot his mother a sheepish look.

"Sorry," Gohan said, "I said that this is really good. You’re cooking is excellent. One day, when I get married, I’m going to have you come to my house every day to cook." Krillin gave a little chuckle.

"That is, IF you get married, Gohan. I mean, come on. You don’t know any boys your age, let alone any girls." Gohan’s face fell as Krillin’s words sunk in.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Gohan mumbled. He longed to know kids his age, have friends, go to parties, have a girlfriend, but he didn’t go to school and he lived out in the middle of nowhere; having friends his age was nearly impossible.

Seeing the disappointed look on her son’s face, Chi-Chi decided it was time to tell Gohan his surprise. With a small smile on her face, Chi-Chi began to speak.

"Gohan, I have decided something." Gohan looked up at his mother through his eyelashes, a dejected expression on his face.

"I have decided, after much consideration, that I’m going to send you to school for the rest of your junior and senior year of high school." Gohan’s eyes lit up like Christmas lights at the news.

"Yes, I do," Chi-Chi nodded. The 17-year old boy stood up and rushed over to his mother, pulling her up into a big bear hug, a big smile on his face.

"Just as long as you’re happy," Chi-Chi said with smile that was just as big as Gohan’s was. Gohan spun his mother around, chanting, "Thank you," over and over again.

Yamcha, who was smiling as well, said, "Oh, Vegeta, be quiet and allow Gohan to celebrate his news. Not everybody has to be a stick in the mud like you." Everyone snickered as Vegeta’s face turned bright red with anger.

"Why, you little..." Vegeta started, but was cut off by Bulma, who pulled the prince of the Saiya-jins into a kiss. Bulma shot Vegeta a look after she pulled away and Vegeta looked like he was going to start defending himself, but Bulma’s look just got more severe and Vegeta relaxed, turning back to his food with a slight scowl on his face, looking more hurt than anything else. To the people who were watching, it looked like the two had had a conversation without words.

< Fools, they don’t know about the bond my mate and I share so they don’t know about our mind link. As if they would be able to understand the Saiya-jin mating habits, > Vegeta said to himself, thinking about his bond with Bulma. He never thought it possible; the ability to bond had been eradicated from the noble line for centuries for the weakness it caused in warriors, but somehow or another, it resurfaced in Vegeta. Vegeta slipped an arm around his mate’s waist, pulling her closer to him.

::What does it look like? I’m getting closer to you. Shouldn’t I want to be close to my mate?:: Vegeta said, moving a hand up her left arm, over her shoulder, and to the crook of her neck, where his teeth marks were, marking her as his forever.

::I guess you have a point, Vegeta,:: Bulma said softly, fingering the mark she made on Vegeta as well. She could scarcely believe that her teeth had been sharp enough to penetrate his skin, but they were.

"What are they doing?" Krillin asked Gohan, who was now sitting back down. Gohan shrugged as he looked over at the two acting like newlyweds.

"Just don’t say that to Vegeta or else you’ll find yourself dead faster than you can say ‘Kamehameha’," Gohan whispered. Krillin laughed slightly before turning back to his food.

"Now, Gohan," Chi-Chi said, "Since I’m allowing you to go to school, you’re going to have to buy new clothes. I won’t have you going to school in the ratty clothes that litter your closet now."

"Yeah, whatever mom," Gohan said, not paying attention as he delved into his food with full force, eating enough to rival his father.

"No," Chi-Chi said simply, "You didn’t have to pass an exam. I sent them copies of the work you’ve done at home and they were so excited and impressed at what you’ve accomplished that they let you in immediately. Isn’t that wonderful, Gohan?"

"That’s cool! I don’t have to take their stupid entrance exam. Lucky me," Gohan said, a smile on his face. He had never taken an actual test before and didn’t want to experience one before he entered high school.

"I know you will Gohan. And maybe you’ll make some friends your own age at school. Just don’t let them get in the way of your studies."

< Besides, the homework that the school assigns probably doesn’t even compare to the work that mom made me do everyday for the last 6 years; I was lucky that she allowed me to go to Capsule Corp. everyday to spar with Vegeta. It was the only break I got and if not for that, I would have lost all of my training. Kids in school at least get summer vacation. I never got a vacation. But, I suffered through it to make mom happy. With dad gone, she’s counting on me to be all I can be. I can’t let her down, > Gohan thought to himself as he munched on his food.

"Well, then it’s settled," Chi-Chi said, "On Monday, you start high school, Gohan." Gohan smiled at his mother as he continued to eat his food.

Gohan whimpered slightly as Chi-Chi dragged him and Goten through the men’s section in Satan City’s department store the next day.

"Mom, come on, I think we have enough clothes. Can’t we just go home?" Gohan asked with a tone of desperation and exhaustion; he never knew that shopping with one’s mother could be so tiring.

"Tough," Chi-Chi said, "Gohan needs clothes. I will not have my oldest son go off to school looking like a street rat when I can have him looking like a distinguished scholar."

< Mom, the whole point is for me to make friends by fitting in, not for me to look like a nerd and alienate myself, > Gohan thought; he would never tell her, though, or risk getting an earful from his mother. Gohan looked on in disgust and horror as Chi-Chi picked out a pair of bright red pants.

"Here Gohan, go try these on along with this white shirt." Gohan eyes the clothes suspiciously, but took them from his mother’s hands and walked to the dressing room with Chi-Chi and Goten in tow. A few moments later, Gohan emerged from the dressing room in the blinding outfit.

"Oh, Gohan, you look wonderful. Doesn’t he, Goten?" Goten looked at his older brother with a look of disgust and suspicion. Gohan caught the disapproving look and rolled his eyes slightly, showing Goten that he agreed.

"It looks...nice," Goten said, knowing that the wrong response from him would send him home without dinner. Chi-Chi smiled.

"I agree. Now, let’s go pay for these," Chi-Chi commanded. Gohan walked back into the dressing room with Goten following him. Gohan looked down as he felt a tug on his pant leg.

"Me too, Goten. Me too." With that, Gohan disappeared into one of the stalls and began undressing. Once the offending outfit was off, he folded up the clothes and slid them under the door of the stall.

"Sure thing Gohan," Goten said, smiling at Gohan’s nickname for him. Once Goten was out of the dressing room, Gohan began getting dressed again.

Looking at himself in the mirror as he dressed, he noticed the size of his muscles and immediately came up with a concern. < Oh shit, > Gohan thought to himself, < I can’t go to school wearing snug-fitting clothes. I mean, I’ve been training my body for so many years that physically, I have the body of a 25-year old, not a 17-year old. If they see how strong I am, the kids in my class are going to freak! I should just wear baggy clothing, but the clothes my mother bought for me are anything but. I wish she’d let me go to school in my regular clothes. Then I wouldn’t be having this problem. >

Suddenly, an idea hit Gohan. < I know! I’ll dress in one of the outfits that mom bought me and then halfway to school, I’ll change into a set of clothes that I’ll have hidden in my bag. Yeah, that’s a great idea! Mom’ll never know if I change halfway to school and halfway home! > Gohan thought happily as he buttoned up his shirt. He left the dressing room with a smile on his face.

He quickly found his mother by sensing her ki. < For a human, my mother sure has a high ki. There aren’t many humans that I know with her power level except for Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien, > Gohan said to himself. He walked up to his mother still with the huge smile on his face.

Chi-Chi, when she caught sight of Gohan’s grinning face, smiled as well. < My son is so happy. I knew letting him go to school was the right idea. I’ve never seen him look so happy before, > Chi-Chi thought contently.

"Yes, Gohan, I have. Are you ready to go home and relax? You have a big day tomorrow and need all the energy you can get."

"Good, then take these bags and let’s go home." Gohan moved to pick up several full shopping bags in each hand, which presented no problem to him considering his strength.

"Yea!! Finally, we can get out of here!" Goten exclaimed. Chi-Chi didn’t even reprimand Goten for his outburst; she was too happy over Gohan’s new cheerful attitude.


	LOVES TRIALS 1 The sound of the crashing of the rock avalanche echoed throughout the small valley. Gohan winced as the sound penetrated his sensitive ears. Although Gohan’s navy blue gi was torn in many places and his body covered in dust, Gohan still managed to look intimidating as he shot his sparring partner a look. "Vegeta, be careful with your ki blasts!" Gohan yelled as the two sparred. Vegeta growled and balled up one of his fists. "Well, maybe if you didn’t move around so fast, my attacks would actually hit you and not the scenery!" The two golden-haired warriors just glared at each other, waiting for the other to back away from the staring contest first. Gohan was the one to break the gaze. "Fine," a teenage Gohan growled, "Just forget about it. Let’s continue sparring." The two resumed their battle, moving so fast that the spectators of the fight could only guess where they were at any moment. "Wow," Krillin said in awe, "Those two move really fast." "Yeah, I could never hope to move that fast," Yamcha muttered. "Or be as strong," Tien added. A gruff voice chimed in. "Of course not. None of you have Saiya-jin blood in you. While you may be strong, you are still just humans." The three sighed in disappointment and understanding. "Thanks for letting us know, Piccolo," Krillin grumbled. Piccolo gave a small smirk from where he was sitting, watching the battle as well. "No problem," Piccolo responded. From another part of the small valley, the voices of two little boys could be heard. "My brother’s stronger than your daddy," a young Goten taunted. "No way," said an equally young Trunks, "My dad is prince of the Saiya-jins. There’s no way that Gohan could beat my dad." "Oh yeah?" Goten asked, "We’ll just see about that." With that remark, Goten stuck out his tongue at Trunks, who did the same back. Although the 7 year old son of Vegeta and the 6 year old son of Goku were best friends, they could never agree on who was stronger: Vegeta or Gohan, though the whole world (well, at least the Z-senshi) knew that Gohan was stronger. In fact, without Goku alive and on earth, Gohan was the strongest person on the planet. Still in a different part of the valley sat Bulma, Chi-Chi, and #18, who were watching the scene from afar while setting up for a picnic...a rather large picnic seeing as how they were feeding 4 Saiya-jins and three incredibly strong humans. As Bulma and Chi-Chi did most of the work, #18 watched longingly. "I wish I could join in on the sparring," #18 sighed. Bulma lifted her head and looked at the blonde woman. "Then why don’t you?" Bulma asked, her nose crinkled in confusion. "Well, I would," #18 said, "But I’m not wearing the right clothes. I really don’t think that I could fight in a dress, now do you?" Chi-Chi added her input. "Well, fighting in a dress isn’t easy, but not impossible. I should know, I used to fight when I was younger and sometimes would be forced to fighting in a dress," Chi-Chi stated. Bulma smiled at one of her best friends and changed the subject. "I take it since you’re paying attention to us instead of the preparation of the food that lunch is ready. Am I right?" Chi-Chi nodded. "That you are. Now, all we need to do is get everyone’s attention." "Well," Bulma said, "That shouldn’t be that hard. All we need to do is call out that there’s food here." "Yeah. On the count of three, we yell ‘lunch time’, ok?" #18 asked. The other two women nodded. "Alright," #18 said seriously, "1...2...3..." "LUNCH TIME!!!" the three women yelled at the top of their lungs. Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Goten, and Trunks rushed right over and Gohan and Vegeta stopped in mid-air. "Well, I guess our match is over for the day," Vegeta said with a twinge of disappointment. "Yeah. We’ll spar again another time. But now, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat." Vegeta and Gohan made short time in rushing over to the source of the food, helping themselves to all the different varieties, as was everyone else, except for Piccolo who was meditating a bit away from where the rest of the group was collected under a tree. Gohan sighed contently as he ate one of his mother’s roast chickens. The battle he just had with Vegeta had fueled his already large appetite and Gohan felt like he could eat enough food to feed a small city. "Goff mom, thiff if reawee got," Gohan said with food in his mouth. Chi-Chi glared at her son’s bad manners. "Gohan," Chi-Chi reprimanded, "Don’t talk with food in your mouth." Gohan gulped down his food and shot his mother a sheepish look. "Sorry," Gohan said, "I said that this is really good. You’re cooking is excellent. One day, when I get married, I’m going to have you come to my house every day to cook." Krillin gave a little chuckle. "That is, IF you get married, Gohan. I mean, come on. You don’t know any boys your age, let alone any girls." Gohan’s face fell as Krillin’s words sunk in. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Gohan mumbled. He longed to know kids his age, have friends, go to parties, have a girlfriend, but he didn’t go to school and he lived out in the middle of nowhere; having friends his age was nearly impossible. Seeing the disappointed look on her son’s face, Chi-Chi decided it was time to tell Gohan his surprise. With a small smile on her face, Chi-Chi began to speak. "Gohan, I have decided something." Gohan looked up at his mother through his eyelashes, a dejected expression on his face. "What mom?" he sighed. "I have decided, after much consideration, that I’m going to send you to school for the rest of your junior and senior year of high school." Gohan’s eyes lit up like Christmas lights at the news. "Mom? Do you mean it?" Gohan asked hopefully. "Yes, I do," Chi-Chi nodded. The 17-year old boy stood up and rushed over to his mother, pulling her up into a big bear hug, a big smile on his face. "Oh, mom, thank you. Thank you so much. You don’t know how much that means to me." "Just as long as you’re happy," Chi-Chi said with smile that was just as big as Gohan’s was. Gohan spun his mother around, chanting, "Thank you," over and over again. "Will you pipe down, brat? Some people are trying to eat their lunch in peace!" Vegeta yelled. Yamcha, who was smiling as well, said, "Oh, Vegeta, be quiet and allow Gohan to celebrate his news. Not everybody has to be a stick in the mud like you." Everyone snickered as Vegeta’s face turned bright red with anger. "Why, you little..." Vegeta started, but was cut off by Bulma, who pulled the prince of the Saiya-jins into a kiss. Bulma shot Vegeta a look after she pulled away and Vegeta looked like he was going to start defending himself, but Bulma’s look just got more severe and Vegeta relaxed, turning back to his food with a slight scowl on his face, looking more hurt than anything else. To the people who were watching, it looked like the two had had a conversation without words. < Fools, they don’t know about the bond my mate and I share so they don’t know about our mind link. As if they would be able to understand the Saiya-jin mating habits, > Vegeta said to himself, thinking about his bond with Bulma. He never thought it possible; the ability to bond had been eradicated from the noble line for centuries for the weakness it caused in warriors, but somehow or another, it resurfaced in Vegeta. Vegeta slipped an arm around his mate’s waist, pulling her closer to him. ::Vegeta,:: Bulma said, ::What are you doing?:: ::What does it look like? I’m getting closer to you. Shouldn’t I want to be close to my mate?:: Vegeta said, moving a hand up her left arm, over her shoulder, and to the crook of her neck, where his teeth marks were, marking her as his forever. ::I guess you have a point, Vegeta,:: Bulma said softly, fingering the mark she made on Vegeta as well. She could scarcely believe that her teeth had been sharp enough to penetrate his skin, but they were. ::Of course I have a point Bulma,:: Vegeta said in an uncharacteristically gentle tone. Krillin looked over at the two bondmates with slight disgust. "What are they doing?" Krillin asked Gohan, who was now sitting back down. Gohan shrugged as he looked over at the two acting like newlyweds. "Snuggling, I guess," Gohan said. Krillin shuddered slightly. "Well," Krillin said, "The thought of them two acting all cuddly is a little sickening to me." "Just don’t say that to Vegeta or else you’ll find yourself dead faster than you can say ‘Kamehameha’," Gohan whispered. Krillin laughed slightly before turning back to his food. "Now, Gohan," Chi-Chi said, "Since I’m allowing you to go to school, you’re going to have to buy new clothes. I won’t have you going to school in the ratty clothes that litter your closet now." "Yeah, whatever mom," Gohan said, not paying attention as he delved into his food with full force, eating enough to rival his father. "So, tomorrow, we’ll go shopping for new school clothes, how about that?" "Ok mom," Gohan agreed. Then something dawned on him. "Hey mom, when do I start school?" "Oh, I forgot to tell you that part, didn’t I? Well, Gohan, you start on Monday." "And, don’t I have to pass an entrance exam or something to get in?" Gohan asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. "No," Chi-Chi said simply, "You didn’t have to pass an exam. I sent them copies of the work you’ve done at home and they were so excited and impressed at what you’ve accomplished that they let you in immediately. Isn’t that wonderful, Gohan?" "That’s cool! I don’t have to take their stupid entrance exam. Lucky me," Gohan said, a smile on his face. He had never taken an actual test before and didn’t want to experience one before he entered high school. "This is going to be so cool, mom. I’m going to make you proud of me at my new school," Gohan said triumphantly. "I know you will Gohan. And maybe you’ll make some friends your own age at school. Just don’t let them get in the way of your studies." "I won’t," Gohan exclaimed. < Besides, the homework that the school assigns probably doesn’t even compare to the work that mom made me do everyday for the last 6 years; I was lucky that she allowed me to go to Capsule Corp. everyday to spar with Vegeta. It was the only break I got and if not for that, I would have lost all of my training. Kids in school at least get summer vacation. I never got a vacation. But, I suffered through it to make mom happy. With dad gone, she’s counting on me to be all I can be. I can’t let her down, > Gohan thought to himself as he munched on his food. "Well, then it’s settled," Chi-Chi said, "On Monday, you start high school, Gohan." Gohan smiled at his mother as he continued to eat his food. *** Gohan whimpered slightly as Chi-Chi dragged him and Goten through the men’s section in Satan City’s department store the next day. "Mom, come on, I think we have enough clothes. Can’t we just go home?" Gohan asked with a tone of desperation and exhaustion; he never knew that shopping with one’s mother could be so tiring. "No," Chi-Chi said flatly. "Why not?" Goten asked, "I wanna go home. I don’t like it here." "Tough," Chi-Chi said, "Gohan needs clothes. I will not have my oldest son go off to school looking like a street rat when I can have him looking like a distinguished scholar." < Mom, the whole point is for me to make friends by fitting in, not for me to look like a nerd and alienate myself, > Gohan thought; he would never tell her, though, or risk getting an earful from his mother. Gohan looked on in disgust and horror as Chi-Chi picked out a pair of bright red pants. "Here Gohan, go try these on along with this white shirt." Gohan eyes the clothes suspiciously, but took them from his mother’s hands and walked to the dressing room with Chi-Chi and Goten in tow. A few moments later, Gohan emerged from the dressing room in the blinding outfit. Chi-Chi’s eyes widened with pride and love. "Oh, Gohan, you look wonderful. Doesn’t he, Goten?" Goten looked at his older brother with a look of disgust and suspicion. Gohan caught the disapproving look and rolled his eyes slightly, showing Goten that he agreed. Chi-Chi looked at Goten, her temper starting to flare. "Well?" she growled at Goten and he jumped. "It looks...nice," Goten said, knowing that the wrong response from him would send him home without dinner. Chi-Chi smiled. "I agree. Now, let’s go pay for these," Chi-Chi commanded. Gohan walked back into the dressing room with Goten following him. Gohan looked down as he felt a tug on his pant leg. "I lied out there, Gohan. I think the outfit looks stupid," Goten whispered. "Me too, Goten. Me too." With that, Gohan disappeared into one of the stalls and began undressing. Once the offending outfit was off, he folded up the clothes and slid them under the door of the stall. "Hey Squirt," Gohan said, "Will you take those clothes out to mom?" "Sure thing Gohan," Goten said, smiling at Gohan’s nickname for him. Once Goten was out of the dressing room, Gohan began getting dressed again. Looking at himself in the mirror as he dressed, he noticed the size of his muscles and immediately came up with a concern. < Oh shit, > Gohan thought to himself, < I can’t go to school wearing snug-fitting clothes. I mean, I’ve been training my body for so many years that physically, I have the body of a 25-year old, not a 17-year old. If they see how strong I am, the kids in my class are going to freak! I should just wear baggy clothing, but the clothes my mother bought for me are anything but. I wish she’d let me go to school in my regular clothes. Then I wouldn’t be having this problem. > Suddenly, an idea hit Gohan. < I know! I’ll dress in one of the outfits that mom bought me and then halfway to school, I’ll change into a set of clothes that I’ll have hidden in my bag. Yeah, that’s a great idea! Mom’ll never know if I change halfway to school and halfway home! > Gohan thought happily as he buttoned up his shirt. He left the dressing room with a smile on his face. He quickly found his mother by sensing her ki. < For a human, my mother sure has a high ki. There aren’t many humans that I know with her power level except for Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien, > Gohan said to himself. He walked up to his mother still with the huge smile on his face. Chi-Chi, when she caught sight of Gohan’s grinning face, smiled as well. < My son is so happy. I knew letting him go to school was the right idea. I’ve never seen him look so happy before, > Chi-Chi thought contently. "So mom," Gohan said, still with a smile, "Have you paid for the clothes yet?" "Yes, Gohan, I have. Are you ready to go home and relax? You have a big day tomorrow and need all the energy you can get." "Yes mom," Gohan said, ready to agree with anything his mother said. "Good, then take these bags and let’s go home." Gohan moved to pick up several full shopping bags in each hand, which presented no problem to him considering his strength. "Right mom, let’s go home," Gohan said. Goten cheered. "Yea!! Finally, we can get out of here!" Goten exclaimed. Chi-Chi didn’t even reprimand Goten for his outburst; she was too happy over Gohan’s new cheerful attitude. Next chapter