The Good Father

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The Good Father (悟空と御殿は一緒に出かける。 行くぞ! Goku and Goten Go Out Together Let's Go!) is a short special set within the Dragon Ball universe. It follows an exploit with Goku and Goten on a casual dog day during the summer.
==Preview==
"Again, Dad?" Goten asked with just enough fatigue in his voice. "The last time we did that, we destroyed part of the house.
“We’ll just fly away from the house so it can’t get hit,” Goku replied quite aptly. He didn’t pick up his son’s hint, however.
==Story==
It was a warm, summer day. The sky was bright and shining, birds were chirping, and the gentle wind breezed through the trees like a soft song you could fall asleep to.
Outside of the Son family residence, Chi-Chi revved up the Messerschmitt KR and said to Goku and Goten who were outside of the vehicle, “Hey, promise me you won’t do anything reckless while I’m gone.”
Goku simply laughed which was the incorrect response to give so his wife got into his face and repeated, “PROMISE ME! The last time you two knuckleheads were left alone the roof was destroyed!”
Both now terrified, Goku and Goten nodded their heads in agreement.
“Good,” Chi-Chi said in a happy manner. “I’ll see you two later.” The vehicle soon jet off with Chi-Chi in the distance saying, “LOVE YOU!”
“Love you too, Mom!” Goten yelled back.
“Bye, Chi-Chi!” a waving Goku exclaimed.
With Chi-Chi gone for her get-together with Bulma and Gohan away doing something with Videl, Goku and Goten were alone together once again.
“Sheesh, she didn’t have to get into my face like that,” Goku said still looking off in Chi-Chi’s direction.
“Well, we did do a lot of damage to the house which cost us like—like a lot of money,” Goten replied.
Goku looked back at his son while briefly scratching his head. “I guess you’re right.” The father and son walked together toward the open, rural land that was their backyard. Goku tried thinking of an activity he and Goten could have a bucket-load of fun with; something different. But alas, Goku fell back on the same ol’ schtick.
“Hey!” Goku suddenly conjured, “why don’t we train together? It’ll be so much fun.”
“Again Dad?” Goten asked with just enough fatigue in his voice. “The last time we did that we destroyed part of the house.”
“We’ll just fly away from the house so it can’t get hit,” Goku replied quite aptly. He didn’t pick up his son’s hint, however.
“Training is boring,” Goten nearly grunted.
“Boring!? I thought it was your dream to become as strong of a fighter as your brother and I. I’m not going to be here forever. Don’t you want to be able to take on the next Majin Buu or worse?”
“Yeah, of course I do! But I don't want to train every single day. It gets boring after awhile.”
Outside of the aspect of protecting the people that he loves, Goten really did not see the appeal of constant day-to-day training like his father did. Weekly training sounded much better. Goten was already much stronger than Frieza was at his best. Cell too—well, maybe not at Perfect Cell’s level but definitely close. The half-Saiyan reasoned that rigorous training was not necessary at all. If he needed a giant power-boost, then there’s always Gotenks.
And just like that, Goten felt a sharp hit right on his cheek. It took a second for the pain to set in and then he realized that the training session had begun. Goten waited for another strike to come his way and he was able to block another attempt on his face. However, Goku was able to land another hit a split-second later.
“Sense where the Ki is coming from and focus on it, Goten,” Goku intermittently said as he traveled around the young warrior at light speed. “Then and only then will you be able to track my movements consistently.”
Goten tried following the advice and was somewhat successful in doing so. He blocked about 55% of the attacks launched at him but the other 45% were a different story. While the hits were painful, they weren’t damaging. Nonetheless, they were very annoying and Goten eventually got fed up with it and transformed into a Super Saiyan; taking Goku by surprise.
The little Saiyan took advantage of the element and socked Goku right in the kisser. And Goten wasn’t holding back nearly as much as his father was. If Goku didn’t have a nose of steel, then not only would it have gotten broken, it would’ve also just gotten obliterated. The punch did trigger a nosebleed, but even with that, Goten did not relent his onslaught.
Goku, still not transformed, went on the defense as Goten mercilessly laid into him. The young warrior then shot a Ki Blast to which Goku swiftly dodged. Unfortunately, the Ki Blast’s trajectory was aimed right for the roof of their house and you can guess what happened next…
“Oh no!” Goten exclaimed, transforming out of Super Saiyan. “What are we going to tell Mom!?”
“What are you going to tell Chi-Chi?” Goku asked out of panic. “You blew up the roof this time!”
“What!? It was your idea to train in the first place!”
“I know,” Goku said as he folded his hands behind his head in reprehension. “What a pissy situation we got ourselves into.”
Tick, tick, tick, now it was only a matter of time before Chi-Chi would come back home and find the place in an incredible wreck again. Dreadful waters. They were out of excuses and nearly out of funds. However, there was one immediate option for a cover-up story.
“Why don’t we say that a dinosaur came in and wrecked the place?” Goten posited. “It happens.”
“That’s not the integrous thing to do, though,” Goku said.
“Integrous? Sounds like one of those words I hear Gohan use.”
“Yeah, he probably could define the word better than I could,” Goku said as he and Goten went over and sat down under a tree with blissful shade. The day was getting hotter. A brown and white-feathed bird flew down from the tree and accompanied the two while foraging for seeds.
“What does it mean again?” Goten asked with the utmost curiosity.
“Hmm, how should I put it?” Goku remarked. “Being integrous or having integrity is when you give others a chance at a fair fight and making sure that you don’t lie to the ones you love the most. Having integrity is what separates you from being a fighter with honor and a monster.
“Guys like Frieza, Cell, and Evil Buu, all wanted to become the strongest beings known to the universe but didn’t care who they hurt, lied to, or killed along the way to get there. Lying to your friends and family should never happen, even if the consequences seem terrible at first for telling the truth.”
“Even if Mom gets really, really mad?”
Goku chuckled and replied, “Yep. We’ll survive.” The bird trodden over to one of Goku’s legs and he picked up the innocent bird with a finger.
“You and Gohan aren’t nearly as passionate about martial arts as I am, but one thing we all have in common is that we never back down from a fight to protect family. I’m just saying that to say sorry if I’m pushing you too much with training. Is there anything else you’d like to do that’s fun in your eyes?” The bird flew up and away back into its nest atop the tree.
The question hit Goten with an effort. The usual things that he and Goku did together were either train or pig out with a large selection of food. The idea of going to a buffet did sound particularly enticing to him at this moment, but that’s still considered something that they always did. It was time to try something new and different. Then the thought came to him.
The kid looked at his dad and said, “Ice skating.”
“Ice skating?” Goku repeated with bewilderment.
“Yeah! Trunks’ Mom and Dad have gone out with him a couple times to ice skate not too long ago and I want to try it with you. It would be so much fun.” Goten had the brightest smile on his face.
Goku recalled going out with Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong, and Puar, to an ice skating rink once way back when he was a kid. He could barely figure out how to stay standing on the ice, but once he got a handle on the mechanics of skating, he became a pro. Everyone was shocked by it including himself to a certain extent. Perhaps, acrobatic intuitiveness from previous martial arts experience had a role to play in it?
Whether the answer to the question is yes or no is irrelevant now, in any case, since he’s not a child anymore. His power level and skill set has greatly changed since then and now he is more than likely going to have to exercise some substantial restraint in his movements. But so long as Goten was having fun, then that was alright.
“Alright, ice skating it is!” Goku declared as he put his fingers to his forehead to prepare for Instant Transmission. “Uh—where do I go?”
“Satan City,” Goten responded as he held onto his father. “I’ll show you where to go next after that.”
Goku nodded and the two were gone from rural pastures to the urban city.
Once Goku and Goten entered the Satan Ice Skating Rink building, they were beholden to a sight neither of them were prepared for.
Gohan and Videl were sitting at a table waiting for some pizza and ice cream and were making out in the meantime. Goku looked on in utter confusion while Goten couldn’t help but laugh out loudly.
“What the—?” Gohan said pulling away from Videl. “What are you guys doing here!?”
==Epilogue==
A couple hours later at sunset back at the Son residence, Chi-Chi returned home with Bulma in the passenger seat. She didn’t scream, lash out in anger, or so much as throw a tantrum. Chi-Chi just sighed.
“We knew what we were getting ourselves into when we married them,” Bulma professed. “Guys will be guys.”
“Thank you for the capsules, Bulma. You really saved us in a pinch.”
“Don’t mention it. By the way, congratulations. Gohan finally got around to kissing that girlfriend of his.”
“Wait, what!?”
Bulma’s mouth twitched a smirk as Chi-Chi yelled out, “I MISSED MY SON’S FIRST KISS FOR HIS FUTURE WIFE!!!???”
Cue the tantrum.
==Trivia==
*This story takes place not too long after the Majin Buu Saga and quite a while before the events of the Beerus Saga.
*The ice rink callback when Goku was a kid occured sometime during the Red Ribbon Army Saga.
Category:Completed articles
Category:Stories
Category:Short Stories
Category:TV
Category:Fan Fiction
Category:Dragon Ball (series)