All Mixed Up AG

Chapter 13

“Wahooo!” Gohan yelled as he spiraled through another bank of clouds. He had forgotten how cool these long distance flights could be. It felt like he could forget that he had ever walked on two feet. After all, why walk when you can leap? And why leap when you can fly?

“GOHAN!!!” Akane shouted. “COULD YOU STOP DOING THAT!!!”

The half-Saiya-Jin colored a bit and came back to even flight. Akane was at his side with her arms clamped around his torso. His arm was around her so there was no fear of her falling, she just didn’t quite know what to think about flying right now.

The trip back from Kami’s lookout had been subdued and nervous. It wasn’t that they were uncomfortable about being around each other, quite the opposite in fact. It was just that they had revealed to one another their true feelings and they really didn’t know where to go to from there.

When they arrived at home they found that Ukyou was gone without so much of a goodbye. Gohan suspected that Kasumi had told her the truth about his feelings. It wasn’t that he minded, it just tugged at his sense of honor that he hadn’t done it himself.

They decided to wait a week to get everything settled so they could take a little break from school. Gohan had grown increasingly nervous as the day approached. Would Chichi approve of Akane? Would Akane throw a fit if she didn’t? Would Akane try to cook? Would he have to choose between his mother and Akane? Most likely not, but the questions still tortured him.

The day had finally arrived without much fanfare aside from Soun’s tears about his baby growing up too fast. Akane took a small pack of clothes while Gohan didn’t gather anything. He had several outfits at home so a few days shouldn’t be a problem.

Akane had wanted to take a train and some buses, but Gohan wouldn’t hear any of it. The Tendo’s budget was strained as it was without Nabiki around, and besides, flying was more fun. He had finally won the argument by pointing out that she had better get used to flying before she did it herself. So without any further ado, they were off.

“So is there anything else I should know about your mother before I meet her.” Akane asked after she had calmed down.

Gohan smirked. “Just don’t insult her and you should be fine.”

“Do you think she’ll like me?” Akane’s voice was nervous.

“I’m sure she’ll love you. Nothing could possibly go wrong.” Gohan wished he could convince himself about that.

In due course, they came down on a peaceful mountainside in the middle of what looked like wilderness to Akane. There was a simple two-story domed house with a chimney on one side with an adjoining house that looked like an old shrine. Gohan explained that the smaller building had been his adopted grandfather’s home (whom, incidentally, Gohan had been named after) and the larger domed house had been built as an add-on shortly after his parents were married.

After they set down, Akane looked at the scenery and a sense of peace fell over her. It was so calm and peaceful she felt she could stay here forever. A flicker of movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She looked over and got the shock of her life as a little boy in a dirty orange gi was dragging a fish twice his size behind him. The boy looked like a miniature Gohan, though his hair was spiky in a different way. She didn’t know whether she should be shocked more at the size of the fish or the strength of the boy.

The boy spied them and his face lit up like it was Christmas time. “GOHAN!!!” He yelled in a innocently happy voice. All thoughts of the fish were lost as the little ball of energy charged the older half-Saiya-Jin. He jumped from twenty feet away to hug his brother who caught him easily and returned the affectionate embrace.

Gohan sat the boy down and introduced Akane. “Akane this is my brother Goten. Goten, this is Akane.”

“Gohan’s got a girl-friend!” The boy spoke in a teasing singsong voice.

The older pair blushed a bit, but no denials were forthcoming.

An older woman walked out the front door of the house, wiping her hands on an apron. “Goten, where is that fish? I want to finish supper…GOHAN!!!” Her eyes went wide and she charged across the lawn at a pace that put her youngest son to shame. She pulled Gohan in for a big hug and kiss and then held him at arm’s length. She looked the boy up and down with a critical eye. “You seem to be all right.” She raised his hands and inspected them closely. “These seem to be okay. SO WHY COULDN’T YOU CALL ME!!!”

Akane tensed as she felt the sense of peace run in terror.

Gohan chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “Well, mom I…uh, that is to say…school and stuff…I’ve been busy.”

Chichi released him, turned to Akane, and crossed her arms. “This is how it always happens! A son finds a girl and forgets about his poor mother. It’s enough to make me cry.”

“I didn’t mean it, mom, really! I just got caught up in a lot of stuff! Nerima is a crazy place!” Gohan tried to recover the situation.

“Nerima? Nerima. NERIMA!!! You were supposed to be in SATAN CITY!!!” Chichi turned back to him and yelled.

“I got some bad directions, but I’m still in school! I should have no problems graduating from there! I’ll still go to a university and everything!” He was doing a really poor job of recovering.

Luckily, Chichi kept him from digging his hole even deeper. “Oh well. What’s done is done. It really shouldn’t matter just as long as you aren’t distracted from your studies.” She shot a baleful look at Akane.

Gohan realized that an important introduction hadn’t been made. “Akane this is my mom, Son Chichi. Mom this is Tendo Akane…my girlfriend.”

Chichi threw up her hands and rolled her eyes. “Of course she’s your girlfriend. Why else would you bring a strange woman all the way out here in the woods!” She turned back to the smaller girl. “Pleased to meet you Akane.” The look in her eyes indicated that the ‘pleased’ portion was in serious debate.

“Pleased to meet you as well.” Akane bowed and tried her best to look harmless.

Chichi crossed her arms and raised herself to her full height. Akane could feel the power in this woman’s aura, and, while it was exponentially lower than Gohan’s, it was still substantially greater than her own. The youngest Tendo started have serious doubts about the wisdom of this excursion.

The older woman cleared her throat and spoke with a tone that was highly intolerant of nonsense. “So why should I let you marry my Gohan?”

“MARRY!” Gohan shouted. He quickly composed himself and stared down at the ground pressing the tips of his index fingers together. “We haven’t really got that far. I mean, we still have to finish high school…”

Chichi rolled her eyes. “Gohan why don’t you and your brother take that fish to the kitchen and head out and spend some time together.”

“Yes, ma’am!” The two boys leapt at the sound of her voice and went to the all-but-forgotten fish.

Great time to leave! Akane silently scolded the retreating Gohan. She turned back to Chichi who hadn’t changed her posture one iota. In fact she was tapping her foot impatiently.

“You still haven’t answered my question young lady.”

Akane swallowed and tried to come up with the reasons that a mother would want to hear. “I come from a very good family. We aren’t rich, but we do own and operate our own dojo practicing the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts.” She looked for any change in the older woman’s demeanor, but there was none. Gulping nervously she continued on. “I’m the same age as Gohan and we have a lot of similar interests.” The rated a small frown. “Uh, I’ve been an ‘A-B’ student for the past several years in school.” No change. “Uhm…And…” She was at a loss for words. Under the scrutinizing gaze of the Son family matriarch she couldn’t think of anything else to say. She just decided to lay it out on the line. “And…I love him.”

That earned her a brilliant smile from Chichi. The older woman walked over and embraced the smaller girl. “That’s all you had to say. Although I wouldn’t mind my Gohan marrying a rich, well-established genius, I just want to make sure that he marries someone who loves him. I can tell he cares for you a lot so I think that things will work out after all.”

At the words of acceptance Akane eagerly returned the hug. “Thank you. I promise I’ll take good care of him.”

Chichi smiled and then held the girl out at arms length. “So when can I speak with your mother. We have much to discuss.”

Akane’s insides tightened up and she bowed her head. “My mother died a long time ago.”

The older woman quickly reasserted the hug. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize! You poor thing! I’m so sorry!”

Akane gladly accepted the sympathy, but was slightly taken aback by the wide range of emotions that this woman swung through in the short minutes since Gohan had left. “It’s all right. You didn’t know.” She realized how much she missed her mother right now. If she had been around, she probably would have been able to give plenty of good advice that could have helped her solidify her relationship with Gohan long ago.

Chichi broke the embrace and smiled down at the shorter girl. “How would you like to help me fix dinner?”

“I’d like that.” Akane smiled back.

The older woman turned and started walking toward the house, the younger matched stride beside her. “In the meantime I can give you the finer points in dealing with a Saiya-Jin husband. The first rule is to ALWAYS have plenty of food in the pantry…”

Akane froze with a strange look on her face. “A what husband?”

Chichi blinked at her for a moment before turning her attention back to preparing the fish. “Hmm? Didn’t Gohan tell you?” A contemplative look came over her face as she continued. “That’s not too surprising, I guess. Gohan never really has liked talking about himself. His father’s a Saiya-Jin, an alien. You wouldn’t know it to look at them, unless they see a full moon and turn into a giant ape. Not that that’s much of an issue since their tails were cut off.” Chichi shrugged lightly and kept working on the fish. “I’m sorry, I’m rambling. I hope you don’t mind.” When some time passed and she heard nothing from Akane she looked over at her potential daughter-in-law.

Akane’s eyes were so huge that Chichi was convinced that they were going to pop out of her head.

“Oh, dear…” The sometimes-kindly woman placed a gentle hand on the younger girl’s shoulder. “It’s a long story.”

Several hundred yards from the house, Gohan and Goten were running at top speeds through the forest surrounding the Son home. They weaved in out of trees, crisscrossing each other’s path, and generally enjoying the great outdoors. Gohan had changed clothes into his blue gi for a pleasant afternoon of horsing around.

The forest gave way to rocky ground as they entered the steppes below the surrounding mountains. Goten leapt up, somersaults three times in the air and landed on top of a prominent rock above their path. He turn around and announced, “Beat you!” He blinked his eyes when he didn’t see Gohan.

“I’m telling you half-pint, you’re going to half to do better than that to beat me.” Came Gohan’s voice over his shoulder.

Goten jumped and spun around. “How do you keep doing that?”

Gohan smiled and mussed up his brothers’ hair. “Maybe I’ll tell you when you get older.”

“Hey Gohan! Wanna spar?” The younger Half-Saiya-Jin asked.

“Who taught you how to spar?”

“Momma did! She’s shown me a lot of neat stuff!” Goten beamed at his older brother.

Gohan had a thoughtful look on his face. Mom certainly has changed since dad died. I guess she just wanted one of us to be educated. Of course I keep forgetting that she fought in the Tenkaichi Budoukai. “Okay kid, you talked me into it.”

“Yea!” Goten cheered as he charged forward with his fist extended.

Gohan easily dodged the attack and followed up with one of his own. The began fighting one another across the rocky terrain. Goten giving it all he had, and Gohan smiling at his brother’s efforts to try to beat the boy who had defeated Cell.

Goten began to press Gohan until he did a free-standing leap and landed a feet steps behind his little brother. Goten disappeared from sight, and, an instant later, Gohan disappeared and Goten appeared in his place, leg extended. Gohan tagged the smaller boy in the side with an elbow crash and sent him flying. Goten landed on his back and rolled with the momentum to regain his feet.

Goten looked a little confused at his brother. He was wondering how he could beat his older brother. Then an idea came to him. He looked over each of his shoulder and smirked. He clenched his fists to his side and began to yell.

Gohan watched his brother power up and chuckled. He though it was quaint how his brother was powering up. It almost looked like he was trying to go Super Saiya-Jin, but that’s impossible for a seven-year-old.

Imagine Gohan’s surprise when the little boy’s eyes shifted to green and his hair turned golden. Gohan had enough time to utter, “What the?” Before Goten slammed into his stomach. The older boy flew over the landscape crashing through a mountain. He brought himself under control and flew back to where Goten was waiting in a defensive stance. He pulled up short and held up his hands. “Hold on, squirt! How long have you been able to do that?”

The smaller boy scratched his head. “I’ve been able to do for a while.”

“Does mom know?”

“Yeah, she knows…” Goten quickly rehashed his encounter where he was sparring with his mother, and he shifted into Super Saiya-Jin. She had been very upset and called him a monster.

“Well, mom never liked blondes.” Gohan tried to cover for his mother’s outburst. He knew that Goten was a replica of his father when he was younger, and that this must have really made her relive the loss of her husband. He had to do something to cheer his little brother up. He snapped his fingers. “Hey! Now that you can go Super Saiya-Jin, I don’t have to hold back!” With a burst of power, he transformed and the fight was back on.

Again they danced across the landscape, trading punches and kicks. They appeared and disappeared from time to time, moving so fast they faded from eyesight. The two battled until their movements led them up a hill. Goten pressed his attack as Gohan gave ground to his little brother. They reached the top of the peak, and Gohan kept going, but Goten just stayed at the top.

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Goten complained.

Gohan looked confused. “Why not?”

“Because I can’t fly!” Goten stuck out his bottom lip.

“Can’t fly, but he can go Super Saiya-Jin?” He asked no one in particular. “I think you got the buggy in front of the horse little bro.”

Goten put his fists on his hips. “It’s not FAIR!!!”

Gohan put out his hands in a placating gesture. “Don’t get mad! I’ll teach you! I’m here to teach Akane anyway, I’ll teach you too!”

“Really?” Goten’s face brightened.

“Sure.” He looked off toward the west. “First thing tomorrow. Right now I think it’s getting close to dinnertime.

“Yeah!” Goten cheered as he thrust a fist in the air.

The pair made their way back to the Son home. Gohan chuckled a little as he strolled towards his house. Suddenly there was an earth-shaking explosion. Tearing off in the direction it came from, he was greeted by a horrific sight.

Before him were the remains of the kitchen strewn all over the field in front of his house. He charged up and flew into the opening in the wall. “Akane?” He looked over and saw the youngest Tendo standing there with an unidentified shaker of seasoning, singed, but none the worse for wear. “Where’s mom?” He looked around and the answer was lying just outside the wall under the dining room table. He quickly threw the table away and cradled her head in the crook of his arm. He tried fanning air into her face with his free hand. “Are you all right, mom?”

Chichi had a stunned look on her face. “Boom.”

“What?”

“Kitchen go boom. Boom! No kitchen! Why kitchen go boom?”

Gohan realized that Akane must have done something. He decided he didn’t want to be around when his mother came to her senses. He figured her temper wouldn’t be too far behind it. “Goten, come over here and take care of mom. Uh, Akane? Maybe we should go… train…”

Goten smirked. “Yer gonna go do mushy stuff, aincha?”

Gohan rolled his eyes. “Just take mom to her room.”

The smaller half-breed nodded his head and picked up his mother. Gohan grabbed a still slightly stunned Akane and flew off toward to woods. They arrived at clearing where Gohan sat Akane down. He brushed away some of the soot from her face, and she started to show signs of coherence. “What happened?”

She shook her head to finish clearing out the cobwebs. “I don’t know. I was just trying to help out by putting some pepper on the food.” She held up the canister of seasoning that she had tried to put in the pot.

He studied the label. “What is mom doing with a can of gunpowder in the kitchen?”

“Gunpowder?” Akane took the can and read the label. “Oh no.” She buried her face in her hands.

Gohan quickly hugged her. “Hey! It was an honest mistake! She shouldn’t have had it in the kitchen!”

Akane shook her head. “No Gohan. I’m a terrible cook.”

“That’s not true! I love your cooking! It has the most…interesting flavors.” He stumbled trying to describe her cooking.

She sighed. “You’re the only one that can stomach my food. Everyone else thinks it’s toxic. Your mom will probably hate me…”

“Hey, the walls get blown out all the time!” Gohan tried to cheer her up. “Me and Goten will have it fixed in no time! We’ll have you back in the kitchen in no time!”

“If your mom will let me…”

Gohan squeezed her shoulders slightly. “I’m sure she will. Come on, let’s get back and start cleaning.”

They strolled back (Gohan was in no hurry) to the homestead to see Chichi sitting in the remains of the dining room while Goten was bandaging her arm.

Akane’s expression dropped. She quickly bowed and started apologizing.

Chichi looked at the girl and sighed. “It’s okay. I understand that you didn’t have a mother to teach you how to cook properly. I was just unprepared for the degree of your lack of ability.” She shooed off Goten and walked over to lift up Akane’s head. “Just know this. You’re not leaving this place until you can prepare one good meal on your own, do you understand me young lady?”

Akane smiled. “Yes ma’am!”

The next morning, Gohan took Akane and Goten out to the place where he and his brother went sparring the day before. He set his girlfriend and brother in a line to watch him as he stood in front of them. “Okay, today I’m going to instruct you in the art of Buku Jyutsu, or flight. It’s really just a matter ki manipulation.” He gave a brief demonstration by lifted a few feet off the ground. “Any questions?”

Akane just gazed at him with a look of befuddlement. “Yes. How did you do that?”

“Like this!” Goten was floating, somewhat shakily, about three feet off the ground beside her.

“How?” Akane’s eyebrow started to twitch.

Gohan strode up and put an arm on her shoulder. “Don’t worry about Goten’s progress Akane, he’s been using his all his life. You just work at your own pace.”

“But how do you do it? How do you fly?” She asked.

Gohan scratched his head and thought before he spoke. “Think about using your ki to pull yourself up like a crane.”

“But what is the other end of the power attach to?”

“Just think about sending your power outward and allowing it to pull you up.” He demonstrated the technique once more. “Just try this.” She closed her eyes and tried to will the power to work like she wanted. When she started grunting with effort and frustration, Gohan put a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s start a little simpler. You can’t force these techniques, you have to relax. Have a seat.” He sat down cross-legged and motioned for her to do the same. When she had joined him on the ground, he held his hands out in front of himself. “Okay, just like I showed you in the dojo, relax and find your center.”

Akane took several deep breaths and put her hands together in front of her. “Okay, now what?”

“Now bring out your ki, make it visible.” He spoke with a gentle, calm voice. A white glow shone around her. “Now imagine that you are as light as a feather and then pull yourself up with your power.”

Akane’s hair lifted up and waved like there was a breeze blowing up from under her. At last she started to lift off the ground. She hovered about a foot off the ground, and suddenly her arms went flailing as she fell on her rump.

Gohan chuckled until she glared at him. He cleared his throat and helped her up. “That was pretty good. Now we’ll work on it some more tomorrow.”

“Why tomorrow?” Akane asked as she brushed the dirt off her clothes.

“Because right now we need to repair a wall so mom can fix supper.”

“Oh.”

And so, they spent the evening repairing the kitchen wall (Gohan had to redo most of Akane’s work and eventually told her to help his mom get ingredients). Akane spent the next couple of weeks learning how to fly and cook. Eventually, she learned how to make boiled rice and Chichi decided to let her go with that…for now…