章節 27: Chapter 26
PICCOLO
Everyone was startled by the sudden departure of the mysterious boy, and we rushed towards Goku.
"Daddy!!!" Gohan was the first to reach him.
"What did you talk about?!" asked Lettie. "Tell us, man!"
"Oh..." Goku waved his hand dismissively. "It was no big deal."
"Say it at once," I replied. "It's important that they know as well."
"Huh, Piccolo?!" Goku turned to me, distressed. "Did you hear everything??"
"Of course. Did you forget that I have super hearing?"
"Spit it out!!!" asked Bulma, and the others followed her.
"W-W-W-Well..." Goku scratched his head. "I-I-I… I…"
"If it's hard for you, I'll tell them," I interrupted him.
"B-B-But!!!" stuttered Goku.
"Don't worry," I replied. "I won't say anything compromising. But it's not fair that we're killed just because we didn't train enough."
"What do you mean, Piccolo?!" Lettie's eyes widened. "About someone killing us?"
At last, I told everyone a summary of the conversation between Goku and Trunks. I did my best to be succinct and not open up any questions, especially coming from Lettie. In general, I just informed them that the boy came from the future to warn us that in three years from now, our world would be threatened by two powerful Androids, and we would need to train as much as possible to not die. When asked about the identity and name of the mysterious boy, I said that he preferred to remain anonymous and that perhaps he would return in the future to help us in the fight.
As expected, everyone was astonished, but Yamcha and Bulma didn't believe me when I finished my story, finding everything absurd, especially the part about the time machine.
For me, they could act as they wanted, but I wouldn't allow my Enemy to win due to my negligence. If they didn't want to train and prepare for the Androids' arrival, that was their problem. I had Lettie, Naíma and Gohan to protect.
"Do you believe me?" I asked Lettie while the others argued.
She frowned and crossed her arms. "Look, after I was kidnapped by Raditz, discovered that I'm an alien, that there's a wish-granting dragon out there and that there are still dinosaurs on Earth, I put any skepticism aside a long time ago."
We exchanged a little smile of mutual complicity, as we always did, and I knew I could count on her in this new endeavor. However, I didn't need to give any more arguments in my favor to the others, as a sharp noise reached us and we looked up, attentive. Floating in the skies, Trunks was inside a small transparent oval ship with yellow legs and turbines. It was his time machine! I was sure!
Bulma and Yamcha gasped as their doubts fell to the ground when, in the blink of an eye, Trunks and his time machine emitted a flash and disappeared into thin air.
Nobody said anything for a whole minute.
"I-I..." Tenshinhan broke the silence, his voice trembling. "I think I'm going to train a lot."
Yamcha finally showed belief and added that he too would train, followed by Krillin. After that, Vegeta asked Goku to explain how the heck had he managed to save himself from Namek's explosion. Goku then said that, at the last minute, he found a space pod in the midst of all the lava and fire that consumed the planet and managed to escape, leaving Frieza behind. After turning on the space pod, he ended up on a strange planet called Yardrat and was taken care of by its inhabitants.
For a change, Vegeta started to get nervous, claiming that Goku would never go to a planet like that and return empty-handed, and ordered him to show if he had learned a new technique, which in fact happened, as Goku reported to Trunks in his private conversation.
Goku then showed off his new technique, Instant Transmission, by placing two fingers on his forehead and disappearing completely. Five seconds later, he returned wearing Master Roshi's sunglasses, which left everyone stunned, as his island was ten thousand kilometers from our location. Vegeta was furious. Finally, I informed the place where the Androids would appear in three years.
"Listen, anyone who doesn't have confidence in themselves, don't even show up in the battle," I advised. "These adversaries will be more terrible than anything we have ever faced. It won't be convenient for someone to come to only get in our way."
"Well said!" Yamcha puffed out his chest.
"Oh, don't make me laugh, Piccolo!" Vegeta turned to me with a mocking smile. "You say these things, but you're the one with the least self-confidence in this group."
"Do you want to find out, then??" I replied.
Both Lettie and Goku tried to appease the conflict; Lettie touching my chest to calm me down and Goku placing himself in front of Vegeta. Bulma also tried to ease the situation by saying, "Hey, hey, guys! Listen to me! Why don't we ask Shenron to destroy these Androids, and thus avoid all this trouble?"
Everyone looked at her, pondering the suggestion. A little calmed by Lettie's touch (but still keeping an eye on stupid Vegeta), I explained to Bulma how the mysterious boy reported that they tried to do that in their timeline, but were unsuccessful, as the event was canon and would need to happen. The only thing we could change in the future would be the outcome of the fight against the Androids.
She was quite upset with my answer, however, Krillin said, "Think about it this way, Bulma: everyone here were enemies in the past. Even I didn't like Goku when we met. But whenever a strong enemy shows up, our only solution is to join forces, no matter where we come from or who we are. As a result, without realizing it, we ended up becoming friends. This doesn't happen every day."
Krillin's words hit me harder than I imagined. Lettie and I looked at each other, probably thinking the same thing: when we met on Master Roshi's island, we shared a deep dislike for each other. However, when we were forced to join forces to face a common enemy, the Saiyans, all that aversion, in one way or another, dissipated.
Today, Lettie was the person I loved most.
I also couldn't help but exchange a kind look with Gohan. Who would've thought that the boy, who I said I didn't care what happened to him when he was kidnapped by Raditz, would today be like a son to me?
"SAY THAT FOR YOURSELF!" shouted Vegeta. "Don't expect to find any friendship or partnership from me! Do whatever you want, BUT DON'T HINDER MY TRAINING!!! Kakarot, don't forget that I am the most powerful Saiyan!" And he shot up through the sky, bringing a strong gale with him.
"Bye, Vegeta!" Goku waved like a happy fool. "See you in three years!"
Soon, everyone said goodbye, and it was just me, Lettie, Gohan and Goku in that desert landscape.
"DADDY!!!" Gohan suddenly jumped into Goku's arms. "I can finally hug you!!!"
I observed Lettie watch, teary-eyed, that father-son reunion. It must also be a lot of emotion for her to see Goku after so long. Come to think of it, they never had time together as siblings since they discovered they shared the same blood.
"Can I get a hug too?" She opened her arms to Goku. "The first and last time you hugged me was on Master Roshi's island, remember?"
Lettie let the tears fall as Goku gave her a bear hug, swaying her back and forth with great happiness and enthusiasm. Gohan was also crying with emotion next to me, and I had to contain myself a lot to maintain my tough-guy pose.
"Wow, sis!" Goku held her by the shoulders, analyzing her from top to bottom in the blue uniform I made for her. "You're sooooo much stronger than when we first met! I'm impressed!"
"It's because I was trained by a good Master. He's grumpy and very bad-tempered, but can be tolerated." Lettie gave me a playful wink and my cheeks burned.
"I imagine it was challenging being trained by Piccolo." Goku placed his hands on his hips and then looked from Lettie to me and vice versa for a few seconds, thoughtfully. "Hey! You guys really match!"
"Huh?" Lettie frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
GOKU, YOU GOSSIP IDIOT!!!
"N-N-N-Nothing! Your brother is tired from the journey, aren't you?!?!" I slapped him on the back (he let out a loud "OUCH!"). "Why don't we go back to your house at once? Chi-chi must be looking forward to seeing you!"
"Yeah, I think it's a good idea..." Goku grimaced in pain. "We have a lot to catch up on, and I want to meet my new niece soon! Naila is her name, right?"
"It's 'Naíma', Daddy!" Gohan corrected him.
"Hey, how do you know I have a daughter, Goku?"
I swear I almost slapped him again for not holding back his tongue, but he managed to get away with it by saying that the mysterious boy mentioned that his sister had adopted a baby around this time period. Lettie didn't really believe his excuse, but replied that Naíma would certainly be happy to meet Uncle Goku.
And, indeed, she was. Naíma really liked him when we returned to his house, and Chi-chi burst into tears after finally meeting her husband again and hugging him for countless minutes.
In celebration, Chi-chi and Lettie prepared a nice dinner. For a moment, with everyone sitting around the table, enjoying the many dishes and delicacies, everything seemed strangely… normal.
During those minutes of peace and contentment, my Enemy's voice fell silent, and it seemed that me, Lettie and Naíma were just an ordinary family in the company of Goku, his wife and son.
Before my eyes, another part of my dream came true: a warm meal between our families, as if nothing bad threatened the safety of our world.
After dark, we said goodbye and I accompanied Lettie and Naíma to our—I mean, their house. Naíma was already sleeping in the baby sling, holding onto her mother's uniform, when we climbed up the wooden porch. After turning on the outside lights, standing at the door, Lettie turned to me, "Come on, Piccolo. Spit it out." She curved her lips in a bold smile. "I know you're hiding something from me about that boy. What did he say that's making you so nervous?"
I swallowed hard. Was I so easy for her to read?! And I was the one who had the skills to read feelings!
I opened and closed my mouth several times, trying to find an alternative to the option of saying that, in Trunks' future, she and I admitted our feelings for each other, but we left our daughter an orphan when we died in the fight against the Androids.
It was then that another important topic that Trunks mentioned came to my mind. Yes... That would be shocking enough to distract her from the topic of the disaster in our family.
"Alright. You won. I'll tell you." I cleared my throat. "That boy who came from the future is called Trunks, and he's Bulma's son with Vegeta."
Lettie's eyes widened and she turned pale. There was silent. Then, in a low, frightened tone, she asked, "W-Was Bulma... D-Do you think she was...?" Her voice faded.
I felt deeply uncomfortable when I realized that Lettie, in fact, wanted to ask if Bulma had been raped by Vegeta in order to have a child with him. Damn... How much damage did that guy do to her mental health?
Calmly, I explained that no, Bulma was not forced to sleep with Vegeta to get pregnant. She did that of her own free will because she fell in love with him, seeing what a lonely man he was. Lettie expressed a deep dislike for my report, and honestly, I don't blame her.
"B-But…" she said. "This boy, this Trunks, seemed so gentle and kind when we talked. How, Piccolo, HOW can he be Vegeta's son?!"
"Listen, Lettie..." I pressed my lips together with melancholy. "As incredible as it may seem, a son can be born different from his father." I opened my arms and forced a little smile. "Just look at me."
She scrutinized me very carefully for long seconds and finally nodded with a tired sigh. "You're right, Piccolo. I can't blame Trunks for something he didn't do. It would be unfair. The poor boy already has enough problems to face in his timeline. I'm sorry."
"Please, don't mention this to anyone," I asked. "Otherwise, his existence could be threatened."
"Rest assured. I think it's unlikely that I'll see Bulma in the next three years, much less Vegeta." She paused for a moment and resumed, looking at me with concern, "But what now, Piccolo? What will we do?"
"All we can do is train hard for the next three years." I sighed. "Our adversaries will be very powerful."
Powerful enough to kill us all.
We were silent for a while. Deep in thought, Lettie stroked Naíma's back, sleeping in the baby sling. I could read the growing fear in her heart.
"Yeah… I guess I have no other choice…" she whispered.
"What do you mean?"
Our gazes held each other for a moment, then she said, "The time has come to put your idea into practice. I'm going to expand my School and hire a teacher to help me. Only then will I have free time to train for real. I won't stand by and watch killer Androids threaten my daughter's life three years from now." A gleam full of determination appeared in her eyes.
"And have you thought about who's gonna be your new teacher?" I asked. "Do you have someone in mind?"
"Yes, I do." She leaned against the door frame.
"Who is it?" I raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me it's Goku?"
"No, no." Lettie waved her hand and sighed. "I'm sure my sister-in-law would love it, but I think that, unfortunately, my brother would give me more trouble than my students. I feel that, despite being disciplined to train, he's not disciplined to work. And right now, I need someone I can count on to work with me."
"Yeah." I chuckled with a snort. "I'm afraid I agree with you, but... can I know the name of your new teacher or is it a secret?" I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, with a sudden uncomfortable nervousness at the thought of another man beginning to spend his days at Lettie's School.
"Of course. You know him very well." She smiled. "His name is Piccolo."
I froze in place.
"Wh-What did you say?"
Lettie then touched my arm, gazed up at me and said, "I want you to be the new teacher at my School. No one better than my former Master for this role. You're basically family, all my students know you and like you, especially after you made them all a new uniform. Besides, I already made this proposal to you a while ago, remember? We can reschedule the classes so that they all take place during the same period, and this way we both have time to train with Goku and Gohan in our free time between classes. I can pay Chi-chi to look after Naíma while we train, I'm sure she won't mind and will even appreciate the extra income. Oh, and I promise I'll pay you a decent salary too." Her smile grew. "What do you think?"
I could hardly believe it. There she was, the woman of my life, offering me the opportunity to spend every day in her company with our daughter, doing something I love and still having time to train with Gohan and Goku.
It seemed too good to be true...
But it was true! Alive and real, right there in front of me.
"If you do that, you'll be making a serious mistake!" threatened my Enemy.
"Piccolo?" called Lettie. "So?"
"I..."
No! Don't do that!
"I…"
DECLINE IT!!!
I straightened my posture, cleared my throat, and finally replied, "Alright, Lettie. I accept it. I'll be your new teacher."
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Nathalia_Croft
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