Fledgling Deity

Chapter 1: Secret Training

Disclaimer: Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball GT, and Dragonball Super are all the property of people who are not me. I don't make any money off this, I'm just writing for fun.

The sun beat heavily on the shoulders of the boy sitting cross-legged on a cliff. It overlooked a calm forest nestled within the valley below. He was miles from home, relaxing; at least that's what he told his mother. It had taken him long enough to convince her that an occasional break to wind down would be beneficial to his studies. So he did what he had to to maintain the fiction.

In reality, he was meditating; despite what you might think, it can be pretty strenuous. Gohan, a Half-Saiyan, the son of a saiyan and a human, was training. Not for any particular reason; there was no threat to the Earth (currently). He just felt this was something he should do, what with the Earth being a magnet for super-powerful, super-destructive beings. His power might be needed to protect the Earth at any time.

"I wish mom could understand that," He thought. "What good is being a scholar if the planet is annihilated because I neglected my training?"

He remembered his first and only attempt to convince his mother to let him continue training…

The Son household was quiet; the Cell Games had taken place three days ago. Cell was vanquished, the world saved, an alleged Hero emerged, the people rejoiced, and one family quietly mourned the loss of a husband and father. Gohan and Chichi were eating breakfast slowly; something unusual for Gohan as he usually ate as if his food was about to sprout legs and run away. Gohan stopped picking at his food and looked up at Chichi.

"Mom? I need to talk to you," Goku's wife hadn't stopped eating. She didn't seem to notice him speaking.

"She really is taking Dad's death hard. Was she like this the first time he died?" After his father had died the first time, Gohan was immediately whisked away by Piccolo for training to repel the next Saiyan invasion, so he wasn't around to see how she had handled it.

Gohan felt the guilt wash over him again. Everyone told him it wasn't his fault. Hell, even his dad hadn't blamed him. However, he couldn't help but think it was his fault; a result of his arrogance and inexperience. The power of an ascended Super Saiyan, a Super Saiyan 2, was so immense and intoxicating. He grew arrogant, and decided that he would use his new power to punish cell for his transgressions.

"As if I had a right to punish him!" Gohan berated himself, "I should have destroyed him immediately, so he couldn't cause any more damage. He would suffer plenty for his actions in Hell, just like every other villain."

Chichi finally looked over at him, realizing that he had said something.

"I'm sorry Gohan, what was that? I must have been daydreaming." Chichi tried to smile for her son, but it came out as a grimace. She had lost so much, and he was about to make her upset again. But it had to be done. It was necessary, Gohan knew that. He needed to be stronger, so the next threat couldn't hurt anyone. So he wouldn't have to lose anyone else.

"I- I want to continue my trai-"

"NO!" Chichi interjected in a loud voice, her face stony enough to crack. Gohan could see her tremble slightly before calming down. "There's no reason for that. What's more you need to concentrate on your studies, you've fallen so far behind it will take years to get to the level you should be right now."

"Mom, you know I'm ahead of most people my age. I only need to study for a few hours a day, and I'll use the rest for training. I need to be strong enough to protect everyone." Gohan pleaded, willing her to see things his way. Chichi stood up and gathered her son into her arms.

"I just lost my husband to a monster, I will not lose my son too!" she said tearfully. Gohan didn't know how to react to her tears; he had always been somewhat inept at handling these kinds of situations. He hugged her back and tried to think of what he should say next.

"No matter what, I can't see her agreeing. Continuing will probably only worsen the situation, so maybe I should let it drop… for now, at least." Mr. Piccolo always stressed the importance of choosing your battles, and it seemed a good time to apply that advice.

"I understand, Mom, if you want me to stop training then I will," Gohan said, trying to keep a straight face. This was the first time he had ever deliberately deceived his mother, and he knew he was bad at lying. Thankfully, with her face over his shoulder she couldn't see his face, and accepted his lie as the truth.

"Thank you so much, sweetie," Chichi said as she pulled away, tears in her eyes, "Now hurry up and finish eating, you've got studying to do." Gohan nodded and started eating like he usually did, ferociously. Chichi was satisfied that she no longer had to worry about Gohan training. Gohan was such an honest boy; if he promised not to train then he wouldn't.

Gohan shook himself out of his recollection. Not long after that, he showed enough progress with his studies to convince her to give him more free time. She thought he was out playing with Icarus, his friend/pet dragon. it was true that Icarus was nearby, so Gohan felt less guilty about deceiving his mother, after all he had said 'I'm going to spend some time with Icarus' and, technically, he was.

On the other hand, his training was going well. His mastery of the Super Saiyan transformation seemed to have reached it's limit. There weren't any noticeable benefits from training in this form, so he had been practicing the kata that Piccolo and his dad had taught him in his base form. But, really, he was just putting off what he had been meaning to do.

Master his Ascended Super Saiyan form.

He had planned to master it the same way he and his dad had mastered their first transformation; by staying in that form for an extended period and becoming accustomed to the increased strength and strain on his body. But he hadn't started yet. In fact, he hadn't performed that transformation even once since the day of the cell games. He could think of a number of reasons for that, but only one was real. He was afraid. The last time he had ascended, his father died. What if he transformed and someone else died?

"I should go talk to Piccolo about this." Gohan decided. Piccolo always knew what to do in situations like these. Gohan couldn't have asked for a better mentor. He expanded his senses to look for Piccolo's ki signature. He felt it off to his left; calm, collected, determined… Piccolo's ki always felt like that when he meditated. He was ready to take off towards the Lookout when…

"GOHAN, DINNER IS READY," Chichi's shout echoed impressively through the mountains.

"Well, I can always go tomorrow," He said, smiling and rubbing the back of his head. Then, in a burst of white ki, he blasted off towards home.

A/N: I did some proofreading, fixed a few errors, and changed some phrasing. Hopefully it reads a little better.