Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Gohan's Legacy ❯ We have to stop meeting like this ( Chapter 2 )

CHAPTER TWO

***

No less profound in the events that shaped the life of a woman named Lime, was the second time she encountered Son Gohan. Two and a half years after the first, and again under circumstances that suggested they were not entirely the masters of their own destinies.

Her grandfather hadn't been feeling well, and was unable to make the long trip down the mountain to Peartree Village to trade. It was the closest town to them now that Apple Town was nothing more than a collection of blackened timbers no one cared to rebuild. With no vehicle, Lime made the two-day roundtrip down the mountain on horseback. She didn't want to leave Ojiisan while he was ill, he was the only family she had left in the world, but they needed supplies and medicine or they wouldn't survive the coming winter. In the dark of the night, she often wondered how many more winters her ailing grandfather would see. How much longer before she was truly alone in the world.

She shook her head to clear it; she refused to be melancholy and dwell on those things she had little control over. She chose instead to look at the beauty that was still around her in the crisp fall day, it was the way she stayed sane in a world that seemed to have gone otherwise. They had been fortunate that after the Jinzouningen's first attack they had not returned to the mountains; the region was remarkably untouched other than the skeletal hulk of Apple Town. Which was exactly why Lime had her rifle strapped to her back. It was absolutely useless against the Jinzouningen; but there were other menaces that plagued a world torn asunder by the Androids. Those who took advantage of the chaos they had created. Still, as she rode through the meadow on Otis' strong back, urging the old horse into a grudging lope, she could almost close her eyes and pretend the world wasn't a desperate and terrible place.

It had been a good trip, and she was pleased they had gotten such a good price for this year's apple crop. She was able to refill every capsule she'd brought down the mountain with the staples she and her grandfather would need to augment their diet when winter came. She'd even ended up with enough extra to afford the rare delicacy of a bag of hard candy. Refined sugar was extremely rare nowadays, but so was fresh fruit, and Lime had definitely gotten the better end of the deal. She permitted herself a momentary indulgence of feeling like the child she'd never gotten the chance to be; giving Otis a piece of the candy; and then taking one for herself, before tucking the rest of the treats away for her Ojiisan, who had a terrible sweet tooth.

She pushed her heavy russet hair out of her face as she rode along, reins lax, just letting Otis meander his way home through the foothills toward the base of the mountain; her rifle bumping comfortingly against her back. There were pro's and con's to living so far away from what civilization remained. They were relatively safe from Jinzouningen attacks, but the trips to Peartree Village were time consuming with no vehicle, and her grandfather's health was progressively deteriorating. She was starting to think perhaps she should move him down from the mountain, closer to town. She chuckled softly to herself; her grandfather was born on that mountain, and fully intended to die there as well. Trying to get him to leave it would be like trying to appeal to the Jinzouningen's sense of right or wrong; you could try, but you would fail…

Suddenly, the jet engine sound of flight cut through her reverie; the thunderous sound spooking Otis thoroughly, causing the old horse to bolt. Regaining control, she pulled Otis up short, the horse shying and dancing nervously at the sounds reverberating off of the mountains. Sounds she hadn't heard in over two years - the cracks and booms of a battle. And battle could mean only one thing, Jinzouningen.

She soothed the horse in a low murmur and tried to determine the direction the sounds were coming from. A sudden flash of light caught her eye, as a blast of energy impacted a ridgeline to the west, carving a livid wound in the rock face. Lime fumbled in her saddlebag for her binoculars and scanned the sky, looking for the Jinzouningen and without a doubt the cause of the fight: Son Gohan. She hadn't seen her rescuer in nearly three years, but she still thought of him often, smiling secretly to herself when she caught the odd rumor of the young man who single-handedly fought the Jinzouningen. An object falling from the sky sharply caught her attention, and she cringed as whatever it was collided with a cliff face several kilometers away. She hoped it wasn't Gohan because the impact sounded painful.

The ground started shaking as the two Jinzouningen fired repeatedly into the cliff, trying to incinerate the opponent they could no longer see. Otis reared, screaming and rolling his eyes. Lime dropped her binoculars as she grabbed the reins, bringing the frightened horse under control. She waited until she saw the two Jinzouningen leave, satisfied they had beaten their opponent thoroughly this round, before wheeling Otis around and spurring the horse toward the rubble that had been a cliff minutes before. As quick as she was, she still arrived at the site after a pair of scavenging Kuma-jin, who had already pulled the boulders off of an unconscious Gohan and were pawing him looking for valuables.

She shouldered her rifle and slid off Otis' back in one fluid motion, training the muzzle on the bigger of the two Bear people.

"Get away from him!" She ordered fearlessly, even though the Kuma-jin were easily four times her size. "I don't want to shoot you so don't make me."

"We found him first." The leader snarled, baring his teeth at her to intimidate her, but Lime wasn't backing down. She bared her teeth back and lowered the muzzle of the rifle until it was pointed at the crotch of the Kuma-jin's worn and well-patched blue jeans.

"He's MY kind, so I claim him…if you don't want another hole in your pants, I suggest you leave." She threatened, as the other Kuma-jin - most likely the first one's mate tugged on his arm, growling softly.

"Have him then…he'll probably die before dawn anyway, foolish girl." The Kuma-jin told her and dropping to all fours, he and his mate loped away back toward the valley. Lime waited until they were out of sight, wondering why they had given up so easily, before lowering her rifle and resettling it on her back. She hurried to Gohan's side; he had a huge tender lump on his head, and a broken leg, along with other minor cuts and gashes. He moaned softly as Lime probed at him, looking for other broken bones - she suspected he might have broken some ribs as well.

"We have to stop meeting like this, Gohan." She murmured, stroking his bloody cheek a moment, as she let her eyes drink him in. He looked different than the last time she had seen him, he was bigger with more muscle mass and seemed taller as well. His hair had changed too; it was shorter with only a few spikes falling forward onto his forehead. Even unconscious, she saw the furrows between his eyebrows that had threatened to take up permanent residence on his face the first time she met him, had indeed carried out that threat.

To be fair, she had changed a fair amount herself in the intervening years. Gone thankfully was the skinny, coltish, girl with braids and freckles…she had definitely filled out in all the right places, and lost the braids as well, preferring instead to keep her hair in loose waves that fell below her shoulders. But try as she might, there was absolutely nothing she could do about the freckles.

She ran over to Otis and drew her machete from its scabbard on her saddle. Hacking down two branches from a nearby tree that were slightly thicker than her wrist, she made quick splints out of them. When she got him home she could set and cast up his leg properly, but if she left him out here he'd surely die of exposure or worse if the Jinzouningen came back. She splinted Gohan's leg, ripping the fabric of that leg of his gi pants into strips she used to tie the splint on. She should really make a travois for him and drag him along behind Otis, but she had nothing to use to suspend between the two poles. She was debating what to do to get him up the mountain when Gohan started to come around.

"P-Piccolo…" He muttered weakly. She patted his cheek gently until he seemed to focus on her a little better.

"Gohan, do you remember me?" His brow furrowed a moment, then smoothed out as he nodded.

"Lime…" He sighed as his eyes slipped closed. Lime shook him again to rouse him, he may have a concussion - she wanted him awake.

"Gohan! You have to try to stay awake…you're hurt. I'm going to take you home where I can help you, but I need you to help me first. Do you think you can ride?" She asked, helping him to a sitting position. Gohan shook his head foggily trying to clear it.

"Senzou." He said and fumbled at his waist, eyes widening.

"They're gone." Gohan said unsteadily. "I had a bag…" She frowned, until she remembered him eating something from a small brown bag the time he made his miraculous recovery in Apple Town that last time.

"What was in the bag Gohan? Was it medicine?"

"Senzou beans…they'll heal me…" He muttered and leaned on her heavily.

"I'm afraid a couple of Kuma-jin found you first Gohan…they must have taken your little bag." She told him as she supported him. No wonder they had given up so quickly. "Can you sit up enough to ride?" He nodded vaguely. Lime was a lot stronger than her slight build implied, but she still had a hell of a time getting Gohan up onto the horse without injuring him further, even with his help. She held Otis' reins and flopped on the grass sweating and gasping for breath. Gohan guiltily looked down on her from the saddle, hanging on the horn to keep his balance.

"Kami-sama you're heavy!" She said when she could catch her breath.

"Gomen." He said as Lime got to her feet and shook him off, waving a hand, as she started leading Otis back toward the mountain.

"Don't worry about it. We have a long way to go and probably won't be there before morning, and that's if we walk all night. So do me a favor Gohan…"

"What's that?" He asked, and she gave him a crooked grin over her shoulder.

"Don't fall off…I don't think I could get you back up there again."

***

She gravely underestimated their arrival time, as they didn't come stumbling up to the cabin she lived in with her grandfather until nearly dusk the following day. Lime was running on sheer will alone at that point, having walked the entire way, leading the heavily burdened horse up the winding mountain paths. She took a longer, yet gentler, route up the mountain out of consideration for Gohan's injuries. He never complained, but Lime knew the constant swaying motion of the horse was undoubtedly making his injured ribs grate painfully, so she made them take frequent breaks under the guise of resting the horse.

Her grandfather was waiting outside the cabin when they appeared in the clearing. Gohan was looking a little gray and out of it from the pain and effort to remain conscious, but was no worse than when they started. Lime on the other hand, looked and felt about two steps away from dropping like a stone. Her grandfather rushed forward concerned catching her around the waist and supporting her as she explained what had happened. Between the three of them they managed to get Gohan off the poor horse without causing him further harm and into the small cabin, where he was swiftly installed in Lime's room, her bed being on a platform making it easier to care for him.

Lime went out to take care of the horse and bring in the supplies while her grandfather, who was more knowledgeable than she, tended to Gohan's injuries. She leaned her forehead against Otis' flank inhaling the comforting smell of horse, as she groomed him and gave him another helping of precious oats for his valiant effort in getting their injured guest up the mountain. When her grandfather allowed her back inside she found Gohan asleep, all bandaged and cleaned up - the sheet pulled up to his shoulders. The large lump on his lower leg told her that her grandfather had put the cast on his leg as well. Lime nodded her thanks to him for saving her the trouble. She noticed the pallet made up on the floor next to the bed and looked questioningly at her grandfather.

"You know the rules. You found him, you're taking care of him." He said gruffly and closed the door behind him as he left. Lime went and leaned over the sleeping Gohan brushing the black spikes off his forehead as he lay so still, almost like he wasn't breathing, until she rested her hand on his chest a moment and felt the gentle rise and fall of his breath. She kissed his forehead gently, remembering the last time she had kissed him - the first time they met. He'd saved her life that day and she would do all she could to return the favor. She'd thought he was some kind of angel who had come to rescue her from the Jinzouningen, despite his protests to the contrary. He'd certainly looked like one, he still did.

"Kimi ga tenshi, Gohan-kun." She whispered.

Exhausted, she fell fully clothed onto her pallet and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

***

In a truly Saiyajin fashion, Gohan was a horrible patient, but since Lime had no idea yet what a Saiyajin was - she was just finding Gohan to be absolutely impossible. After being unconscious for nearly four days she caught him out of bed, holding the bed sheet around his lean hips as he looked around helplessly for his clothes, balancing on one foot.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked him from the doorway. Gohan turned guiltily, losing the sheet as he tried to balance on his cast and started to pitch forward. He still looked a little disoriented from his head injury and would have impacted face first with the floor when Lime caught him and helped him back down into bed, tucking the sheet around him briskly as Gohan blushed. Lime grinned at him a sparkle in her gray eyes.

"Don't be embarrassed, I've seen it all already." She chuckled and Gohan blushed even brighter.

"Wh-What do you mean…seen it all?" Gohan croaked out. Lime sat on the edge of the bed next to him and laughed brightly at his consternation. He was definitely cute.

"As with every injured stray I've ever brought home in my life, Ojiisan insists that I take care of you myself…although I have to admit this is the first time I've brought home a man. The last stray I took care of was a saber tooth cub…very little difference there though." She said tapping her chin and looking thoughtful.

Gohan turned such an unusual shade of red that she peered at him curiously to see if his head was going to explode. At long last Gohan managed to get control of his discomfiture and form words.

"I really appreciate you taking care of me Lime…but I'd feel a lot more comfortable if I could at least have my underwear back." He said in a near whisper. Lime snorted, for such a fearsome warrior he was being awfully shy. But she respected his wishes and fetched him his boxer shorts. He looked at her steadily until she finally rolled her eyes and turned her back so he could struggle into them under the sheet, getting himself all tangled as he tried to pull them over his cast until Lime finally spoke up.

"Need help?" She asked peeking over her shoulder as Gohan yanked his boxers the final few inches over his cast with a ripping sound. She sighed and shook her head. "That's why I didn't put any on you…you'll never get them back off over the cast without ruining them. But as long as you're more comfortable…" She said smiling. Gohan looked chagrined for a moment before nodding.

"How long was I out?" He asked as Lime leaned over him and put an extra pillow under his head. She glanced down at him and noticed that whether he'd intended to or not, he was currently looking right down the front of her blouse, blushing again. She straightened up quickly feeling the heat come to her face now, unconsciously holding her blouse closed at the neck. It was one thing if she saw him naked, she'd helped her grandfather care for many of the sick and injured after the Apple Town incident, and she'd seen naked people before. It was no big deal to care for a patient's personal needs; but the look on his face as he looked at her made her belly do strange things. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that, she barely knew him. Demo, she didn't think she'd mind too much if he looked at her that way again. She realized he was still waiting for an answer and hadn't seemed to notice her discomfort.

"Four days." She told him. Gohan's eyes widened and he tried to get up again.

"I have to go! I have to stop the Jinzouningen, who knows how many they'll have killed, and my mother…she'll be worried sick." By the time Lime got him to lie back down and be still, she was nearly sitting on his stomach, holding him down with both hands on his shoulders. He obviously wasn't fighting her very hard because she knew how strong he was, if he wanted her off him he could throw her through the roof.

"How many more will die if you go off and get yourself killed? Where does your mother live? Maybe we can get a message to her?" Lime offered. Gohan shook his head.

"I live in the East District, Mt. Paozu." He told her and Lime's face fell. That was many hundreds of kilometers away, if she had an aircar she might be able to do it, but all she had was Otis and a trip like that would take many days. He still looked distressed at the thought of his mother worrying over him. Lime sat on the edge of the bed again and patted the hands he had folded on his broad bandaged chest.

"There's nothing you can do about it right now, so just rest and get well and you'll be up and as good as new in no time. Are you hungry?" She asked and blinked as Gohan's eyes lit up and his face again transformed from its stern countenance to that of a more light-hearted young man.

"I'm starving…" Gohan told her with feeling as his stomach loudly echoed the sentiment.

***

Even without his 'magic beans' as Lime eventually came to think of them, Gohan made a remarkably speedy recovery. So much so that Lime was even more suspicious than before that there was something more to him than he let on, he just wasn't…normal.

How could a normal man, even a strong martial artist, take the abuse the Jinzouningen were constantly dishing out on him and not be killed? She would be vaporized if she tried to take even one of them on, yet Gohan for all the radio reports and what he'd let on as she visited his bedside, challenged them over and over. By all rights Gohan should be dead many times over, and yet he kept getting right back up. She wondered if the secret was what was in the little bag he'd lost, but even without it he seemed to be healing and getting stronger before her very eyes. A week after regaining consciousness from the pummeling he received at the Jinzouningen's hands; he was here, hobbling after her through the orchard on his cast and the crutch her grandfather made for him. He kept up pretty well too, carrying the heavy baskets of apples for her like they were feathers. No, he was definitely not normal.

Neither was the alarming amount of food he consumed, she would never begrudge helping him, she owed him her life, but if he stayed with them much longer they would have nothing left to eat when winter came. A point her Ojiisan had made on several occasions in the last few days, thankfully out of Gohan's earshot. Truthfully, Lime didn't want him to go. Superhuman strength and appetite or not, she liked Gohan. She liked his company as they talked late into the night before sleeping - she liked the sound of his voice as it drifted down to where she lay on her pallet on the floor. His was a good voice to fall asleep to.

He'd told her about his friends; those who had died like Piccolo and Kuririn, and those who remained like Bulma and her son Trunks. The way he spoke of them made her feel like she knew them, but she still felt there was a lot about himself he kept hidden.

"You're awfully quiet today." Gohan called up to her from the ground pulling her out of her reverie. She had climbed one of the big apple trees near the river with a basket and was in the process of filling it. She smiled at him lest he think she was being melancholy over him - even if she was.

"Just thinking." She called down as gave the tree a quick scan to see if she missed any. She tied a rope to the handle of the basket and lowered it to Gohan, before carefully climbing down. She didn't need to do something foolish and break her leg, or they would both be up a creek.

"Why do you pick so many?" Gohan asked thoughtfully, as he looked at the overflowing baskets. Lime looked over her shoulder at him from where she was already climbing the next big apple tree. "You don't just eat apples all winter do you?" Gohan speculated as he polished one on the front of the borrowed sweater he was wearing before eating it.

"We have before. A lot of areas still can't get fresh fruit thanks to you know who, so our apples are fairly valuable trade. I'll have to take them down the mountain before they go bad if we're going to trade for more rice and flour before the first snowfall. But if we don't make it - we eat apples." Lime told him as she pulled her empty basket up to the branch she was sitting on. "Besides there's no sense letting all of them rot on the ground when they could feed someone."

She picked the apples quickly with a practiced motion, keeping one eye on Gohan as he leaned casually against the tree next to the one she was in, eating his apple contemplatively and watching her.

"Nani ka?" She smiled at him calmly, even as her heart was pumping nervously to be caught in his gaze. He was such an enigma…she could never tell what was going on behind those black eyes of his.

"I was wondering how you do it." Gohan told her when he finished his apple, tossing the core away.

"Oh, it's easy…you just grab the apple like this and give it a little twist. See? Nothing to it." She tried repressing a smile as she demonstrated apple picking for him, knowing full well it wasn't what he meant.

"Sou da, I meant how can you stay so cheerful and optimistic when the Jinzouningen are destroying everything. I wish I knew your secret." He shook his head. "I just keep thinking about all the innocent people they will have hurt and killed while I can't do anything to stop them." He said, viciously gesturing at his cast, before stuffing his hands in his pockets. She stopped her picking at that.

"Do you see any way that torturing yourself about it is going to change it? I'm angry, plenty angry, about what they've done to the world - and if I had abilities like yours Gohan, I'd be right out there with you trying to stop them." She sighed and tucked a stray piece of hair from her ponytail behind her ear. "But I don't. If I dwelt on every horrible thing the Jinzouningen have done, I would have killed myself the day they murdered my parents. Instead, all I can do is survive and help those I can, in the only way I know how. You can fight them, and maybe one day you'll stop them. I can pick apples; take care of Ojiisan; and make sure you'll live to fight another day." She finished, shrugging, before resuming her picking.

"I never have thanked you for all you've done for me Lime. I know I'm a burden."

"What ever gave you that idea?" She didn't look down at him, afraid of what he might read on her face if she did.

"I heard your Ojiisan, you might not have enough food this winter because of me."

She sighed again as she lowered another basket of apples down to the ground. Despite the gentleness she frequently saw in him, there was so much anger too, he acted as though the Jinzouningen's attacks were his fault, that he had somehow personally failed everyone those two had killed. It was as if he shouldered the responsibility for the entire planet. She couldn't imagine what an awesome burden that must be, or why he felt he needed bear it.

"No Gohan, we might not have enough food this winter because of the Jinzouningen, and that would happen whether you were here or not. Don't listen to Ojiisan…you're no burden. Well, getting you up on the horse - then you were a burden, but not now." She joked. He didn't laugh and she looked down and saw he was frowning.

"If only I still had those senzou beans. If only I were stronger. I have to get stronger! I have to defeat them! I'm the only one who can." His hands were fisted and he was gritting his teeth in anger. She climbed down the tree to plant herself in front of him.

"Don't do this to yourself Gohan! Don't you put all this on yourself. It isn't fair."

"You don't understand." Gohan ground out. "You don't understand what I am."

"Gohan…" She said reaching a hand out, but he was no longer listening to her. He was in whatever private hell he'd built for himself, as he stood in the orchard in her late father's borrowed clothes, shaking with rage. She started feeling the strangest sensation on her skin, like a burning tingle even through her sweater and jeans and she backed a step away from Gohan confused. Suddenly, with a tearing cry Gohan…changed. His ebony hair snapped into gold spikes that stood up from his head like flames, his eyes changed from fathomless black to a brilliant teal and he was surrounded by a golden glow that pushed her back several steps.

Her mouth dropped open, she remembered this now…this is what she had seen when he saved her from Juunana-gou that time in Apple Town. She thought she had just imagined it. Just as quickly as it appeared the glow faded and his golden hair returned to black. He fell to his hands and knees awkwardly, because of his broken leg, and hung his head breathing heavily. She stood there rooted in place, her brain trying to process what she had just seen.

"Wh-Who… WHAT are you, Gohan?" She stammered, her voice sounding squeaky to her own ears. Gohan raised his head and his black eyes held hers as he tried to stand. He was still shaky and she automatically went to his side to steady him.

"I guess I'm not as healed as I thought I was." He told her with a rueful grin leaning heavily on her again. She helped him sit before he passed out, because he looked like it was a distinct possibility and she certainly didn't need him to keel over on top of her. He was a big boy and heavy. She sat in front of him and waited for him to explain, sliding one of the apple baskets within his reach when his stomach spoke up first.

"I suppose I should start by telling you about my father-" Gohan began slowly after eating several more apples. "He wasn't human… He was a Saiyajin."

Lime listened overwhelmed as Gohan explained about himself, about the Saiyajin. It explained a lot about him and filled in some of those holes she had been wondering about. Half-alien… Super Saiyajin… He was right, she hadn't understood what he was - she still wasn't one hundred percent on it. One thing was becoming clearer to her now, why Gohan felt the need to fight these futile battles. His father had been a protector of the earth; it was no wonder Gohan felt such a responsibility. He had some pretty big shoes to fill. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to be him, to be a vessel for such power. And for such a power to be fueled by anger, it hardly seemed possible for such a gentle man. She wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't just seen it for herself.

She realized he'd stopped speaking and was watching her intently…waiting for her to say something.

"Wow."

Gohan gave her a small grin and ate another apple. She blushed slightly; it probably wasn't the response he'd been looking for, but it was all she could think to say.

"So in the whole universe you're the last person with Saiyajin blood?" She asked. Gohan nodded.

"And Trunks…he's half Saiyajin too."

"Why doesn't he fight with you? It might even the odds up a little." She asked and took a bite of apple, chewing thoughtfully. If there were two with that alien blood, and incredible power, they might have a chance against the Jinzouningen, who from what Gohan told her, never fought alone.

"He's only twelve. He's not ready, not nearly strong enough." Gohan said shaking his head. "Besides, every time I fight them I get stronger. It's only a matter of time before I defeat them." Gohan said confidently.

Or they kill you…

She shuddered for even thinking it, but as strong as he was he wasn't infallible, look at what had happened to him this last time. She looked up from his cast to his face and was again met with that enigmatic stare, which seemed to see right through her. She looked away first, sliding her eyes toward the baskets of apples waiting to be carried back.

"I hope you're right, Gohan."

***