His aura dying off but still assumed in his transformed state, the youngster then glanced over his shoulder when he sensed a familiar presence appear behind him. He'd been so caught up in his own little world of meditation and thought that he didn't even notice he had company.
"Glad to see you're taking your training seriously, brat. I'm impressed," the rough, gravelly voice of Vegeta spoke as he floated a few yards behind the boy. Adorned in a black vest, grey sports pants and training shoes, the last, full-blooded Saiyan left alive stared his fellow compatriot down with an air of confidence and satisfaction. "That's good. A true Saiyan warrior should take every opportunity they have to improve their skills, no matter how small or grueling the task may be."
Gohan smiled back at his father's number one rival, "Heh. Thanks, Vegeta. That means a lot coming from you."
The man grunted, "Consider it a 'best wishes' gift in honor of the occasion. I suggest you savor this moment, runt, since I'm not very charitable when it comes to complimenting people who are beneath me in stature."
This had the youngster chuckle, "I'll be sure to remember that."
As he drifted over to float alongside the kid, Vegeta allowed a sense of amusement to tug across his lips, "So you decided to come up here and shoot a few rocks out of the sky to work off some stress?"
"That and more. I'm… actually learning how to fight in this kind of field; a place without gravity or air," the demi-Saiyan replied while looking ahead of him again. "You know… there have been many times in the past I've wondered how far we could actually push our bodies, not just against really strong opponents, but in places we wouldn't normally end up fighting. When Piccolo, Krillin and I fought Dr. Wheelo in the planet's thermosphere many years ago, I came up with this theory that people with strong, durable bodies and effective control over their ki could actually fight in an environment that would otherwise be impossible for ordinary people to breathe in. It was only after my fight with Kana that my suspicions were confirmed."
Vegeta nodded, knowing exactly where Gohan was going with this, "Saiyans have naturally adaptable bodies and can survive in even the harshest of conditions; this includes the vacuum of space. While there are some who can only travel about as far as the stratosphere of a planet, there are others like you and me that can push that boundary. As long as we're shrouded by our energy, we can travel through a vacuum for as long as is needed. Your father and the others have just been grounded on this planet for so long that they've never taken the time to get used to this kind of setting."
Like his father. Years ago, had he not been able to find a ship off of Namek, prolonged exposure to the vacuum of space on top of the planet's explosion would've surely killed him.
However, through training and heavy doses of entry to this sort of setting had allowed them to circumvent the need for breathable air and an atmosphere, and build up resilience to the stifling void of the cosmos. The natural bio-field that shrouded their bodies allowed them to create their own personal form of circular breathing, in which their ki replenished and continuously enriched the oxygen necessary for them to survive.
"Exactly," Gohan said with a determined smile and a clenched fist. "When I took on Kana in the thermosphere and came back down to earth, I felt really lightheaded and dizzy… a drawback from fighting at such a distance from the earth's atmosphere. That means I need to continue practicing in places like this till I can fight in them without needing to concentrate." He then allowed his Super Saiyan form to fade and turned to face the Saiyan prince, man to man.
Getting a good look at the kid in the zero-gravity milieu, Vegeta could see just how much he was growing and feel how strong he was becoming. Giving a frustrated click of the tongue, the prince could still pick up the noticeable gap between him and the youngster's power. Despite having pushed himself to the brink of snapping in two in Capsule Corp's gravity room, this kid was still miles ahead of him and the fact that he was progressing as equally fast as he was ticked him off to an insane degree.
However, despite his own inner turmoil, Vegeta also felt a singe of pride, knowing that a person with Saiyan lineage had been able to become so strong. Of course, it still annoyed the full-blooded hothead to no end that it'd been someone else, a half-breed no less, and not him.
The influx of feelings were complicated, but at the same time perfectly within reason.
"You have the eyes of a dead fish," Vegeta remarked, pointing out the bags under Gohan's eyes.
Taking notice of his appearance too, since he could practically feel the fatigue, the demi-Saiyan chuckled and shrugged, "Oh? Do I look that rich in omega-3s?"
"I'm being serious, runt," the prince replied, at the same time frowning at the adolescent fighter. "You haven't been sleeping well, have you?"
"Mm. I guess. But only for the past several days," Gohan replied, breathing out a heavy sigh and placing his hands on his hips. "Mum hasn't been able to move around a lot and has been asking me to do some extra stuff for her around the house. I guess… having a little passenger on board has really taken it out of her."
It had been a really trying and turbulent period for Chi-Chi. The Son mother had placed a lot of the responsibilities she normally would have done herself on her son, and on top of his work and training, that was just mentally exhausting for him.
Going out, training, or just meditating in general has really helped the demi-Saiyan in keeping it all together. It was what he'd been doing moments before deciding to have some target practice with some rocks drifting through the void.
Speaking of which.
"Hey. Wanna see who can shoot down the most asteroids? First one to reach thirty wins?" Gohan asked, grinning across at the prince in a way that would be impossible for the man to resist the challenge.
Considering the boy's teasing smile and suggestion for competition, Vegeta then, with great hesitation, shook his head and looked back at him seriously, "Maybe next time, kid. Right now, the blue haired woman has sent me up here to fetch you for something that's supposedly more important than that."
At first appearing confused, a light then returned to the demi-Saiyan's eyes that reflected a patent sense of surprise, "Y-You mean?"
Vegeta nodded and turned side on, gesturing him towards the planet.
Without needing to be told twice, the young Super Saiyan powered up and shot towards the globe suspended in the distance, his form disappearing in a streak of golden light. The prince lingered back for several minutes longer, watching the boy vanish before slowly deciding to follow after him at his own pace.
Descending through the atmosphere and easily cooling off upon reentry, Gohan set a course straight for Satan City hospital. In a matter of moments he was on the institute's roof, powered down, and sprinting through the corridors, ducking and dodging patients and nurses along the way. Honing in on his mother's ki signature, he soon found himself outside her room with Bulma waiting expectantly for him at the entrance.
Gohan gulped when he saw the blue haired scientist beaming at him, "I-Is she…?"
The woman nodded affirmatively, "She's okay, Gohan. Just tired. The doctor said you can go in and see her now if you like." She was lucky she made room for the boy when she did because the second she stepped aside, the demi-Saiyan barreled right past her.
Arriving at his mother's bed, Gohan stood by the railings looking across at the exhausted, raven haired woman lying underneath the sheet. Not only taking note of the tired rings under her eyes and her drained expression, the boy also noticed the bundle she was now cradling in her arms. Biting his teeth together nervously, the young Saiyan perked up when he saw her quietly glance his way.
"Mum?"
Chi-Chi, giving her boy a warm smile, moved over slightly and adjusted her position on the bed. When Gohan finally got a good look at the towel she was cradling, he saw that she was holding a newborn baby, a sight that had his eyes widen in amazement.
"Say hello to your little brother," the mother said weakly.
Awed at the sight of the infant in her arms, Gohan leaned over to have a better look. When he reached out to brush some of the material out of the way, he suddenly felt his finger grabbed by a tiny hand and saw the newborn child beaming brightly at him. The sight of her surprised older son had Chi-Chi shake with pained giggles.
"I think someone else wants to say hello too."
Seeing the baby coo and wiggle about in the bundle in his mother's arms, the half-Saiyan smiled and waved at him. "H-Hey there." Hearing the baby giggle at his greeting, the half-Saiyan then reached over and moved some of the towel out of the way, where he then saw the irrefutable proof of the boy's Saiyan lineage curled up beside him. Paying the furry tail little mind, the eldest son smiled even wider. "I'm Gohan, your big brother." He then looked over at his mother, whom he could see was still looked absolutely drained. "Have you thought of a name for him?"
Chi-Chi shook her head, "No… not yet. I was hoping maybe … you would have an idea."
Pondering on it for several moments, the spiky haired Saiyan gave his baby brother a considerate look and tugged at the bundle of cloth, earning another playful laugh from him, "I was thinking maybe… Goten."
"Goten?"
"Yeah, since it's just like my name and dad's name," Gohan continued, chuckling when he saw the youngster squirm about once again. "Heh… and I think it suits him too. With those eyes and that nose, he looks so much like him." He then nervously glanced up at his mother once more. "W-What do you think?"
Chi-Chi, taking her eldest son's words into consideration, gave him an approving stare and nodded, before then holding her baby son closer to her. "It's a lovely name. Goten…" A happy gleam appeared across her face as she gently cuddled her newborn, "My little Goten."
Looking between his mother and baby brother, and seeing the latter yawn as he prepared to drift off into sleep, Gohan's eyes started to shimmer as he regarded the newest member of the family for the longest time. Then, while watching his mother tenderly caress her new son, and feeling the eyes of the medical staff, Bulma, and a newly arrived Vegeta resting on him, the Saiyan's mind began to form words he knew he had every intention of living up to.
"I'll look after you, Goten. I promise."
Somewhere up above them, a certain spiky haired father could be seen lying flat out on the grass of the Grand Kai's planet, resting from a long day of rigorous training, and smiling down at his family.