Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Pre-Teen Life Of Son Gohan ❯ Chapter 2 Shadows In A Dream ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 2 - Shadows In A Dream

“…..and that's the whole story, mom,” Gohan lowered his head in shame . His heart was thumping uncontrollably as he was sure that his mother would blame him for her husband's death .

It's all my fault, mom . I deserve to be blamed . The young boy braced himself and waited patiently for his mother's response . But to Gohan's surprise , Chi Chi placed her warm hands on his shoulders .

“Y-you aren't mad with me, mom?” asked the eleven-year-old shakily .

“It isn't your fault , Gohan , ” Chi Chi answered with a half-hearted smile . Judging from her facial expression , Gohan could obviously tell that his she was trying her best to act tough in order not to make him feel bad .

“I'm truly sorry, mom,” he apologized even his mother did not ask him to do so.

“That's not like you , honey. Besides , it was Goku's decision to sacrifice himself and stay in the Otherworld . Just try not to think too much over it and just go ahead to relax yourself , okay? ” the elderly woman tried to cheer her son up .

“I will . Thanks , mom! I feel much better now .” Gohan replied with the famous Son grin.

“That's my Gohan ! Quick , come it and get changed out of that gi before you catch a cold . After that , you can go out to play ,” Gohan's mother suggested . The hero nodded and both of them entered the house .

Gohan made his way up the solid stairs and walked straight into his room. Once there, he could hear soft cries coming from kitchen which was located just below his room .

Please forgive me , mom . I'll train extra hard so that none of us will have to lose each other ever again . It's a promise !

Sighing , the young boy looked through his wardrobe . After searching for a while , he made up his mind to wear the white, Chinese-styled shirt along with a pair of black pants which he had worn during the ten days before the Cell Games . Gently , the youngster removed the torn up gi from his body and put on the nice , fresh clothes . Even though the gi was already ripped beyond repair , Gohan decided to keep it as a remembrance to remind him about his huge mistake during his battle with Cell . When he was done , he looked at the alarm clock on his desk which showed 1.07 pm.

It's still early . Maybe I can use the remaining time to train instead of daydreaming . Before leaving his room , young Gohan put a capsule containing training equipments into a pocket at the side of his pants .

With silent steps , he tiptoed down the stairs and peeped into the kitchen . Chi Chi was still seen weeping to herself over the sudden loss of her beloved husband .

Maybe mom needs some time to be alone. In order not to disturb his mother , Gohan wrote a message on a piece of `self-stick' paper saying that he would be back before dinner. He placed it on a table in the living room where he always left his messages .Putting on his sport shoes , the boy slowly walked out of his house through the front door which Chi Chi had forgotten to close when they enter the house.

Gohan flew around the peaceful Mount Paozu and landed on a grassy area with several apple trees which was quite far away from his house in order not to let his mother find out about his training . Ripe , red apples were seen hanging on the trees , waiting for any passerby to pluck them off .

“Burp…….!” Gohan's saiyan stomach growled . The preteen could not help but laugh at himself .

Well, guess that's what happen if I forget to entertain my `little pal' ! He approached the largest apple tree he could find in the area . Cautiously , he unbuttoned and took off his white shirt . Holding the fabric in the form of a sheet on one of his hands , Gohan placed the palm of his other hand on the trunk of the tree .

“Ha !” exclaimed the boy as he poured a little amount of his energy into the tree. Within a few seconds , it began to shake gently causing the ripe fruit to fall off from their respective branches . Swiftly , Gohan used his shirt as a basket to collect the dropping apples . After collecting every single one of them , he placed his `collection' on the soft turf .

“Time to eat!” Gohan told himself . He began helping himself by devouring the mountain of crunchy , juicy apples like a hungry lion . It only took half a minute for him to clear the large pile of fruit ! Feeling satisfied , Gohan grabbed his shirt and deposited it in the capsule because he feared that it would be torn to bits in his training .

The preteen stood up steadily and stretched his arms . He later took the capsule and withdrew two pairs of metallic bands labeled `2 tonnes' which dropped onto the ground with a loud thud . Taking a deep breath , Gohan lifted the bands with his powerful arms and tightened them on both his forearms and shins . With a determined look , he declared , "Let's get started !"

Positioning his little body on the grassy earth , the Earth's savior began to do some push-ups .

“1……2…..3…..4……5 230;…6…” counted Gohan as he did the exercise . He stopped after performing approximately 500 consecutive push-ups as his `little' warm-up .He continued by throwing a flurry of punches and kicks into the air . The heavy metals on the child's body began to 'suck' his strength away from him but his determination made him to push his endurance to the highest limit . Gohan increased his speed after each strike , causing the still air around him to transform into hot breezes which fluttered about his body .

The hero's whole body was already drenched in his own sweat when he decided to call it a day . Wearily , he removed the metal bands from his limbs and kept them inside the capsule he brought along with him . Done with that , the exhausted warrior sprawled his limp and sweaty body on the cool grass .

It has been a long day . Gohan closed both his eyes and allowed the tiredness to conquer his mind . In his slumber , the boy dreamed .

In Gohan's dream

“ Arghhh…….” Gohan forced himself to open his eyes . At that exact moment , he was greeted by two mysterious , shadowy figures in front of him…….

Well , the second chapter is up ! The suspense finally starts with Gohan's first meeting with the `shadow beings' . Who or what are the `shadow beings' and what do they want with the eleven-year-old? Stay tuned and find out in the next chapter !