(Two Days Later)
Making sure to leave a note on the fridge telling his mother that he was 'going to Videl's place for a visit', Gohan quickly gathered up the money he would need for the day and headed off. Adorned in his father's signature orange and blue gi and a big smile on his face, the youngster took flight into the still dark morning sky and immediately headed straight in the direction of the island where the World Martial Arts Tournament was being held. He left his home full of glee and vigor, but just as he was soaring over the forests of his homeland towards the coastline, he suddenly felt a shadow latch onto him.
"So… where's the bad little boy sneaking out to this time?"
Looking over his shoulder in surprise, Gohan saw Zangya flying close behind him, her arms folded over her chest and an amused grin on her face. The look she threw him was one of mischief; one that reflected the underhanded nature of this little escapade of his.
"Oh. Good morning, Zangya."
The instant she was addressed the orange haired woman casually pulled up alongside the teen and set a comfortable pace next to him, the wind rushing past them and waving their hair about. "Normally you would be out on the grasslands, bench pressing mountains and kicking the shit out of yourself already, but… if I didn't know any better… I'd say you were bailing on today's session." A sly smile formed on her face. "Giving up already?"
Gohan chuckled, "What? Of course not. What in the world gave you that idea?"
"Well, the fact that you're a hundred miles away from home and still moving at jet speed kind of tells me that you're either abandoning your morning training routine or you've got something else fun planned," Zangya replied with a shrug. "Either way I'm interested."
"Let's just say I've got some family business to take care of."
"Is it of the boring variety or the fun variety?"
"B. Fun variety."
"Goodie."
The demi-Saiyan setting the speed gave her a roguish grin of his own, "Are you sure you don't want to be hanging around at my place looking after my baby brother?"
"Your mother is fine taking care of the brat on her own. Believe me, I know. I've seen how she operates," Zangya said, flashbacks of watching the woman dice up an entire tuna the size of a living room with only a carving knife, while at the same time blindly hanging washing on the line with the basket strapped to her back appearing in her head. "She's a super mum. I highly doubt she needs somebody like me, a former space pirate, shadowing her and throwing her off her game."
"If you say so. Still, if you ever feel like turning around…"
"Not a chance. So… where are we going today, dad?" Zangya asked in a playful-slash-mocking tone of voice.
"We're going to an event that my father competed in many times while he was still a kid; the World Martial Arts Tournament on the South-East islands."
"Is this anything like that Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament that you and your companions entered a year ago?"
"Yeah. Only this one is tamer and focuses more on the fighting than the 'fun-house' the event is set in. Think of it as a giant kickboxing tournament where there are no ropes," Gohan replied, trying to describe the scenario for her as best as he could.
"Sounds fun. Is there any particular reason why you're entering this thing now and why you haven't invited your mum to it?" Zangya asked, rolling over so that she was flying on her back and looking across at the boy at the same time. "Is it because you're looking to blow off some steam? Or is it something else?" She then took on a momentary look of surprise and then grinned cheekily. "Or are you using this as an excuse to go on a date with Videl?" The name rolled off of her tongue in a very serpent like way.
The question caused Gohan to balk so badly in shock that he actually lost control of his flight and literally spun out of the sky. When he eventually course corrected and flew back to the altitude the laughing Zangya was gliding at, the blushing demi-Saiyan looked across at her in dismay. "WHAT? A d-date?"
"Hey, there's no shame in admitting it. You're a young, tough guy with an alien heritage who's growing up fast and… let's be honest here, she's a pretty strong runt herself with a spunky character and a mean kick. You two are perfect for each other."
Scowling slightly, the boy huffed and looked ahead of him again with a glare, "I'm telling you, it's not like that. We're just… friends." Zangya picked up the moment of hesitation and spotted the blush on his face. Shaking his head, Gohan quickly regained his bearings, "Besides… I'm participating in the event for other reasons. My mum needs the money to raise Goten and, even though I'm working, looking after two Saiyan children will be really hard for her. So I'm going to participate in the Junior Division and win first place to get the prize money."
"Junior Division?" Zangya murmured, finding it strange that the strongest boy in the universe would be signing up to play in such a minor league.
That was seriously cutting his skills down the sides.
Gohan rolled his eyes, "New rules of the tournament. They put that in the same time Hercule Satan stepped into the ring for the first time. Apparently it was a decision made by the board in response to the public growing sour at the idea of kids participating in the same league as adults. While that's all well and good, frankly I think that's a little bit unfair. My dad and Krillin were fighting in that tournament ever since they were my age and nobody had any problems with it back then."
"Hey. Times change," Zangya said, looking up towards the sky with a frown while continued to fly on her back. "In my experience, I've always had the ability to force change whenever something I didn't like happened. Bojack really had his heart set on that kind of movement; a universe where his dreams could become reality and he could claim whatever he wanted. But after years of pursuing that ideal and being stuck inside of a star with nobody but those four idiots to talk too, I started having second thoughts about my life."
The half-Saiyan scoffed, "Destroying worlds and conquering civilizations fell out of taste for you?"
"Yeah," Zangya murmured, glaring down her body as the pair flew along. She didn't even falter when she sensed the boy's eyes on her. "I'd take it all back if I could… all of it… but I can't. Bojack was an asshole and a monster. If we didn't do what he said or if we didn't live up to his insane expectations, then he would have killed all of us right there on the spot."
Hearing this reminded Gohan of another particular tyrant who killed people as a kindness and viewed everyone beneath him as trash. The thought of the pale-skinned alien sent a chill through his spine and immediately had the boy try to rid his mind of those memories, "You did everything you could in order to survive."
"Mmm," Zangya nodded, before then looking across at the half-Saiyan and taking notice of the sun starting to rise over the distant mountains behind him, which were now slowly transforming into lowlands. "I'm grateful he's gone. The others too. They were willing to follow that bastard to the ends of the universe and burn every single planet in their way to get there, but me… even though I believed that I'd gotten swept up in their power-hungry madness to the point of blindly following his orders, all I was really searching for was a way out. A chance to escape." The woman then spared the boy next to her a smile and nodded. "You gave me that chance… and I… I'm really grateful to you for sparing my life, Gohan. Thank you."
Gohan, feeling his heart thump at the woman's sincere sounding words, smiled across at her. "You're welcome, Zangya." Seeing her right herself so that she was flying normally with her arms at her sides, the half-Saiyan looked ahead of him and focused on their destination. "My father always believed in giving people a second chance and that having compassion could be a big strength in our line of work."
"Your father sounds like a good man," Zangya chuckled, also looking ahead of her thoughtfully.
Grinning, the youngster glanced at his companion once again, "I plan on becoming as strong a fighter and as great a man as he was. I will do everything I can to live up to his legacy." Seeing her eyes focus on him, Gohan continued to speak. "You know… you remind me a lot of some of the other members of our group who used to be our enemies. They were pretty hardcore bad guys too. But after so many years of knowing them and fighting alongside them, they became some of our closest friends."
"Really?"
The demi-Saiyan nodded. "It would be really awesome if… you became our friend as well." His eyes shone with a clear sign of hope. "I really enjoy spending time with you, Zangya."
The blue-skinned woman beamed at his statement, "You know what… I think I will… if you'll permit me of course."
Gohan nodded, "Sure. No problem."
Feeling a lot lighter than before, the Hera-seijin sped up enthusiastically and once more turned to gaze at the approaching horizon. "I'll do my best to fit in and make up for all the trouble I've caused you. Kami knows I've made my share of mistakes in my life. But don't expect much from me too soon. I'm… still trying to get used to all the goody-two-shoe-ness of this planet."
"Don't worry too much about it," Gohan chuckled, shaking his head at the same time, "Vegeta's been with us even longer than you and he's still trying to adjust. By contrast, you've made much more progress in eight months than he has in five years. He finds fitting in a lot more bothersome than anything else."
By this point in time, the two had passed the coast and were now traveling over wide expanses of sea and islands. As the wind whipped at their hair and the pair continued covering the distance between them and their final destination, both Gohan and Zangya was allowed a comfortable moment of silence until the Hera decided to speak up again.
"I think your friends might take a little while longer to warm up to me."
"Give them some time. I'm sure they'll come around sooner or later."
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