When the two demi-Saiyans and the human martial artist had their food served to them, on his end of the table Piccolo received a rather pleasant surprise when a glass of ice water was set down in front of him along with a full jug. When he looked up, he saw Chi-Chi give him a smile and a nod, before quickly moving back to deal out the rest of her sides.
The Namekian raised a brow, before glancing down at the glass of refreshing aqua in front of him. "She's in a surprisingly good mood." Not wanting to question the kindness of her gesture, the man accepted the serving gladly.
When Trunks made himself comfortable, he too found a dish of rice and sides sitting in front of him, and beamed across at the woman that'd gone out of her way to cook for all of them. "Thanks so much, Chi-Chi."
"You're welcome, Trunks," the mother replied with a beaming expression as she took up another bowl for herself. "It's always a pleasure to have you and the rest of the family over… well… most of them anyway."
Getting what the woman was saying, the lavender haired Saiyan chuckled, "Yeah. I admit my dad can be a bit overbearing and impatient sometimes, but I know he's still a great guy deep down." It was a remark that had Piccolo pause and stare for a few seconds. "I wouldn't trade him for anyone else in the world."
"Well… that's good," Chi-Chi replied with a nod. "I'm glad to see that you care about him a lot. If I'm being completely honest, I think Vegeta really cares about you as well. He's just too proud and stuck up to admit it."
Smiling at the woman for her kind words, Trunks collected up his chopsticks and prepared to dig in. When all of the boys and girls around the table clapped their hands together and said their thanks to the spirits, they then dug in all at once. The Son mother, Videl and their lavender haired companion ate at a languid pace, pulling up their bowls and putting whatever they wanted onto the dishes in front of them. Their pace was matched by the one set by Piccolo, who quietly drank his water through his straw, which he slowly consumed and savored every drop.
Of course, in stark contrast to the speed the majority of the troop had set, there was one exception to the above who'd decided to make this meal his next conquest.
Just like his father, Gohan speedily fished for several more sides from the center of the table and popped them into his bowl. Upon which he then began inhaling the food at his usual rate of speed shoveling, a sight that had Videl stare and giggle when the boy pulled away with his lips covered in rice.
"You Saiyans really love your food, huh?" the raven haired martial artist asked, drawing the boy's gaze over.
"Yeah. We sure do. But I think it's because of mum's cooking that me and dad eat so much more than we're supposed to," Gohan replied, at the same time sparing his mum a thousand megawatt smile. "We've gone out to tons of restaurants over the years, but out of every single one of them there hasn't been a single chef that's been able to match mum's cooking skills. She's the best in the world."
Chi-Chi's expression warmed at her son's compliments, "Why thank you, Gohan."
Videl leaned over to smile at the home owner as well, "Yeah. Your food is really amazing, Chi-Chi. Thank you so much."
The woman's eyes twinkled, "You're welcome too, Videl." She then gave an inward squeal at the prospect of grandchildren, a twitch in her expression that didn't go amiss by the ever observant Piccolo.
As the group continued to feast and Gohan had gone through two more servings, the half-Saiyan then had his attention pulled over to the house. It was there he saw Zangya standing against the wall with her arms folded and a neutral gaze set upon the group.
After looking at her and back towards the table a couple of times, the demi-Saiyan smiled in her direction and shuffled over, "Hey, Zangya. Why don't you come join us?"
His call catching her by surprise, the previously aggravated blue-skinned fighter blinked, "Huh? You want me to sit with you guys?" They had a pretty full table already. However, looking across at Gohan, she saw the youngster make a space beside him and gesture to it gleefully.
"Yeah. Mum made us plenty of food. Why don't you come and have some with us," the young warrior continued, his exclamations drawing gazes from Piccolo and Trunks, before they too turned to the woman standing across the way.
Appearing hesitant at first, Zangya looked away, "I… don't know if I should." She was aware of their history. After everything she'd done, she wasn't so sure if she would be welcomed or not.
Gohan beamed warmly at her, "I can't eat knowing that you're standing over there all by yourself while the rest of us are here. Even Piccolo is sitting with us and having a drink." He gestured to the Namekian, who merely gave a grunt and turned back to his water. "If he can sit with us without being bothered, then I'm sure you can eat with us too."
Giving the boy a long stare of surprise, the Hera regarded his proposition with a few more moments of thought. Once a full minute ticked by and the woman passed the happily smiling child a couple more tentative glances, Zangya eventually conceded and slowly made her way over. Giving a bow to the woman of the house who gave one in return, the orange haired fighter sat down next to Gohan.
She then had a bowl of rice held out in front of her and looked across at the young Saiyan to see him still smiling.
"Here. You must be pretty hungry," the boy spoke.
Nodding gratefully, Zangya took the bowl and chopsticks. Picking at a slice of pork, she then brought it to her lips and nibbled on it. Giving a few testing bites of the rest, a small smile quickly formed on her face, "Mm… it's delicious." She glanced across at the group, whom she saw was eyeing her intently. Looking from one face to the next, the blue-skinned woman then became slightly nerve rattled and looked away, frowning stubbornly. "Th-Thanks." She then started to eat at a livelier pace and remained quiet for the rest of the evening.
Smiling when he saw the woman get more comfortable, Gohan switched to his own meal and continued to devour it, at the same time sharing small talk with both Videl and Trunks.
As tea time rolled on, things seemed to file out nicely for the group outside the Son household. Against the backdrop of Mount Paozu and the sun setting gently over the horizon, the serene scene around the table was nothing short of perfect. Eventually, once most of the food had been put away and Gohan and Zangya were in the process of finishing off their last servings, the lavender haired Saiyan accompanying them looked down at his empty plate anxiously. After which he then addressed the company with the announcement he'd shared with the other members of their party.
"I'll be leaving in two days," Mirai said, drawing everyone's attention over to him in an instant. "Now that I know everything is going to be okay, I believe that my work here is done."
"You're going back to your own time?" Gohan asked.
"Yep." A sad smile pulled across the half-Saiyan's lips, "Since this'll probably be the last time we'll ever get to see each other again, I'm visiting everyone from here to Kame House and letting them know that I'll be going this Saturday. My mum's probably worried sick about me back home, so I don't want to keep her waiting anymore than I already have."
Processing his words quickly, Chi-Chi nodded in understanding, "Since you two are the only ones left, I'm not surprised." The raven haired woman straightened up in her seat and, reaching over, patted the young man on the shoulder. "Be sure to take good care of her, okay?"
"I will. And I'll be sure to visit the rest of you when I get back as well," the young man replied, giving the Son mother a warm smile, "Thank you, Chi-Chi."
"We'll be there to see you off on the day, kid," Piccolo also spoke up from his end of the table, earning a grateful nod from the time traveling hero. "Count on it."
"I appreciate that. Thanks."
While the group beamed at the lavender haired warrior, who they feel had become just as much a part of their family as all the other friends they'd made, Gohan then realized a very important fact. Grinning at the demi-Saiyan who was his student and friend in the future, the energetic, orange-wearing fighter then stood out of his seat and threw the man a competitive glare.
"Hey Trunks." When everyone turned to the young warrior, they saw him back away from the table and instantly transform into a Super Saiyan. The explosion of golden energy around him kicked up a wind that ruffled everyone's hair and clothing, and brought a round of surprised looks to the people sitting at the table. "You and I never had a chance to fight during the Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament. How about you and I have one for the road… just to wish you luck and give you something to remember us by?"
The glimmer in Gohan's eyes gave Trunks all the confidence he needed to make a quick decision.
Smirking, the lavender haired Saiyan nodded back at his counterpart, "Sure. Why not?" It would be awesome to spar with his old master one last time, even though the ages had been reversed. While the kid was unquestionably stronger than him, even as a first level Super Saiyan, Trunks was positive he would be able to get a lot out of this.
Pleased at the man's answer, Gohan looked down at Videl and smiled. "Want to see how a pair of Super Saiyans fight?"
The raven haired girl nodded eagerly, "Yeah."
Though she didn't want to admit it, even Zangya was interested to see how the two half-Saiyan males fought. Sitting at the table with her bowl of rice in hand, the orange haired woman focused all her attention on them and watched as they prepped themselves for battle.
Chi-Chi gave her eldest boy a proud look, "Be careful out there, son." She then winked in is direction. "Don't hurt your friend too badly."
Grinning, the transformed youngster then saw Trunks leap out of his chair and rush out into the fields surrounding their home, where he immediately jumped to his Super Saiyan 2nd Grade level and sprang into the air. With Gohan joining him in the sky, the two fighters then secured a position several stories above the ground safely out of reach of the spectators. Once there, the warriors faced each other down in their glowing forms and began to circle, the sound of their auras echoing across the wide open prairies.
"Let's make this one count," Gohan said, his teal eyes shimmering with excitement.
Trunks grinned back at the boy with equal enthusiasm, "Don't worry. I won't disappoint you."
Then, with Piccolo, Videl, Zangya and Chi-Chi watching from the table below, the pair rocketed towards one another and began clashing in an explosive display of speed, skill, and strength.
The sound of thunderclaps ringing out across the plains, the audience looked on with warm expressions in play as the two companions from different eras traded blows for what would be their first and last time.
From one point of view, the spar was just a rival match between two incredibly powerful warriors.
From another… it was a fond farewell between two friends.
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