I wasn't going to post this chapter today, but I had to, because today, 8th of March 2024, was a day that shook the entire Dragon Ball fandom: we lost Akira Toriyama.
This was my favorite chapter to write so far, and I think you'll see why when you read it.
For this, I prepared a different bonus. Today, you will have a musical experience. I kindly ask you to play the song "Dreammaker" by composer Thomas Bergersen while you read this chapter. You can leave it on loop.
Akira, thank you for creating such a beautiful story full of teachings. I hope that, one day, we will meet again there in Eternal Glory and, who knows, you can read this fanfiction that I am writing with so much love ♥
***
People say our limits are tested when we step out of our comfort zone.
Well... Being in the presence of Lettie and Gohan was not comfortable for me at all. That's why I meditated so much. To deal with the anxiety they caused me.
We started, or rather, restarted the Training the day after Gohan's transformation, and I think it's safe to say that, from that night on when I took them to the Camp after Lettie's insistence, I was the one who suffered the biggest transformation.
I can't say for sure how this transformation came about; whether it was something sudden or gradual that I didn't notice changing within me.
But it came. In such a way that it was impossible to contain it; relentlessly consuming me from inside out, with a force I could not control.
However, I was obstinate and stubborn, and, for a long time, I fought against it.
It was ridiculous; I was Piccolo Junior, the strongest man on Earth, son of the powerful Piccolo Daimaoh, future Conqueror and Dominator of the World, and now, I was subjugated by something that I didn't even know where it was coming from.
But deep down, I did know what the root of my transformation was, and their names were Lettie and Gohan.
They did it. They broke my pride into a thousand little pieces.
I can say, in all words, that I tested their limits, and I was the one who paid the price for it all.
Indeed I had no mercy regarding that Training. My discipline and order were like an executioner towards the sister and son of my rival, Goku.
It's safe to say that the first two months of the Training were the most intense of their lives. After her asking for a ride to get to the Camp with my help, do not think I allowed that to happen again. My rule was that they wouldn't eat anymore until they had learned how to climb down and up that rock formation at least once.
Well then, they didn't eat for two days, and when they finally spent hours watching a squirrel climb the formation with such ease and tried to imitate it, Lettie stepped wrongly on a rock and fell from a height of four meters, not breaking an arm just due to her hidden power, which overtook her before reaching the ground and it prevented an open fracture. Gohan, on the other hand, fell from a height of six meters, but was saved thanks to his aunt, who caught him down there in tears, and they hugged each other for at least ten minutes until they recovered from the shock.
In the end, they did it. They climbed up and down the rock formation without killing themselves in the process, and when I announced that they could finally eat, they exchanged bold smiles and asked me to wait.
They climbed up and down three more times in a row, just to prove their success. I undoubtedly was not expecting such action.
But their happiness didn't last long. Over the next few days, I began an intensive training that not even the greatest military on Earth would be able to complete.
The first ability I tested on them was their body resistance and Ki control. I made them run for hours on end under the scorching sun of that region, interspersing the run with push-ups and squats. Detail: no water. I only allowed them to drink it when one of them fell to the ground after fainting from exhaustion or heatstroke.
I also made them lift stones and massive logs, and I increased the weight of their uniforms while they did a series of sit-ups, squats, push-ups and other exercises.
I taught them breathing techniques, immersing their heads in the river until they struggled in despair as they could no longer hold their breaths. Besides, I would always catch one of them by surprise and fly off to exorbitant heights, so they would learn not to faint in the thin air, which often failed, and I would return to the ground with an unconscious body in my arms.
Other than that, I would also wake them up suddenly in the middle of the night, shouting and throwing cold water at them inside the tent, and they would stumble out of it, shivering from the cold and in a numb confusion, just to do sequences of physical exercises and stretches so intense that they screamed in pain due to their distended and fatigued muscles.
All of that along with my teachings on how to learn to feel and control their Ki in such a way that they were able to approach me in simulations without me noticing their presence.
However, nothing destroyed them more than my hand to hand combat lessons.
Every day, without exception, we trained fighting rounds; sometimes me with one of them or sometimes the three of us together, with Lettie and Gohan against me, focusing on coordination, agility, and resistance techniques. And every day, I defeated them with the greatest ease. Not even when they attacked me together, were they a match for me.
They were beaten until they passed out.
And, when we finished another day of Training and before going up to the Camp, I would order them to go to the river and take a bath in that cold water, while I went out to provide food for dinner, because, after all, I was not obliged to enduring the smell of sweat and tears.
Then, when they finally climbed the rock formation at dusk, they would find the same vegetables, to eat the same soup, day, after day, after day, and after day. If they wanted to eat something different or meat, they would have to look for food in the region, by hunting or fishing in the river on their own.
However, it was in the midst of all my impiety and disdain that I finally realized that I was losing them.
You see, Lettie and Gohan had a personality type that they would rather have peace than be right. Despite being Saiyans by nature, they had a spirit that avoided conflict. If there were ever two beings so similar, it was them. It will never be necessary to carry out a DNA test to prove that they shared the same blood, for this attribute was crystal clear.
Because of that, throughout that period, they would simply follow my orders, with silence and submission. But, an odd aura surrounded us, little by little getting into our circle of coexistence.
Gohan became a quite depressed boy. Even though he showed all the intensity of his power and strength during the exercises and the fighting rounds, in the hours when he stopped to eat and sleep along with his aunt, I would see his face transform completely, with a deep dejection that would fall over him. And when our eyes met, I could see how much, deep down, he still thought I was a monster.
Lettie was a bit worse. All that gleaming in her eyes, full of vivacity and excitement that she showed upon knowing she would gain a Master to train her, had vanished. Instead, a closed, quiet, and apathetic woman showed up before me every day for Training. She would speak to me only the necessary and, many times, I heard her crying in secret somewhere, when isolated herself at night after putting her nephew to sleep.
Unlike Gohan, she never looked me in the eyes and never touched me.
And these situations only got worse.
The more aggressive, rigid, or stupid I was towards them, the more they distanced themselves from me and the less efficient they were in Training. There were days when it felt like I was back to square one.
This angered me to exorbitant levels, which only increased my harshness and rudeness towards them. However, worse than that was the realization that their behavior was slowly causing me a strange feeling of… embarrassment.
And then, at the end of the second month of our Training, the reckoning of what I put them to go through finally came.
It was a cloudy afternoon, and Lettie and I were doing a hand to hand round combat in an open area, far from the Camp. Gohan was watching us, sitting on the ground, with a black and swollen eye from a blow he got from me in the previous round. We were practicing kicks and, in front of me, Lettie positioned herself in defense for my strike.
But there was something wrong with her.
I noticed her look was more empty and apathetic than usual, even a little dozy. Her breathing was shaky, her legs were wobbly, and I also noticed that she was cringing forward, blinking several times to hide a grimace of pain.
As always, that made me furious.
"WHAT KIND OF CRAP DEFENSE IS THAT?!" I snapped, kicking her in her head's height, which she blocked with unusual difficulty, only making my mood worse.
"Master..." Lettie staggered back. "C-Can we take a break, please?"
"A break?!" I retorted, giving her another blow, this time at her arms' height, and blocked at the last second by her. "Do you think the Saiyans will give you a break if you ask them politely?!"
"Mr. Piccolo..." I heard an apprehensive Gohan say from a distance. "I think Aunt Lettie is not feeling well... Isn't it better to take a break?"
"SHUT UP!" I turned to Lettie with a fierce expression. "Adjust your posture and fight straight!"
I only had time to see her eyes widen in terror before I raised my right knee, twisted my body, and kicked her hard in the stomach.
As if in slow motion, she fell to the ground, curled up, with her hair covering her face and shaking all over.
"Aunt Lettie!" Gohan ran towards us.
"Argh!" I grumbled and also walked steadily towards her. As I bent down, I grabbed her shoulder. "YOU USELESS, STOP WHINING RIGHT NOW AND–
For the first time in a long period, our eyes met, and I froze, because, the silent tear Lettie shed as she looked pleadingly at me, hit me like the strongest of blows.
The words disappeared from my mouth, and I felt a chill down my spine, letting go of her shoulder as if I had touched fire.
Gohan reached us. "Aunt Lettie! Are you okay?" Just like she did to him when he was injured, Gohan inspected her from top to bottom and gasped in dismay when he looked at her legs. "Oh, no!"
"What is it?!" I also started inspecting that area and my eyes widened when I saw it.
A large stain of blood near her intimate area.
I stared at Lettie, livid. She curled up more on the ground, still shaking in pain.
"Wh-What happened?" I was surprised as I realized how low and soft my voice came out, and I touched her shoulder again, but this time, carefully.
Lettie looked away, hugging herself and chattering her teeth as a sudden chill took over her, her lips dry and cracked.
"I-I think that... due to the... i-intensive Training... My period didn't come last month..." She swallowed saliva. "And now... it came all at once..." She then looked at me once more, with her eyes full of tears and showing a painful expression. "I-I'm sorry..."
It was as if a merciless lightning had struck me. Without even realizing it, I shook my head, in disbelief that she still had the courage to apologize for something she had no control over. I may be a lonely hermit, but I do know how the menstrual cycle works and, based on Lettie's condition, she must be having severe cramps and body aches.
But what the... What the heck, Piccolo!
To make things worse, Gohan, stroking his aunt's back in distress, turned to me with his black eye and asked in a choked voice, "Why did you do that, Mr. Piccolo? You saw she was not feeling well and you still kept striking her!"
For the second time, I was speechless, just staring at him, blinking nonstop. Why had I done that? Why didn't I stop when she asked? Why was I so… insensitive?
And, man!, now that I realize it. Why didn't I go to another market to get those stupid overnight pads for Lettie, so I wouldn't see her blushing due to her embarrassment about her blood staining her clothes?!
With tension running through all my muscles, I pressed my lips together and shook my head. I've gotta do something; take some action.
I took Lettie in my arms as if she were a helpless little child. She instantly stiffened, probably in disgust at being so close to me, and I swallowed hard as I felt her tremble in pain against my body. I asked Gohan to hang on my back and don't let go, and I flew off.
At first, I thought about taking her to the river near our Camp to bathe, but, as I've already said it, the water was pretty cold, which would only worsen her discomfort.
No. She needed hot water, and I knew the perfect place for it.
I flew for a few minutes, carrying both of them. Clinging to me, Gohan peered over my shoulder at his aunt, letting out a soft cry that got into my ears like a knife. Not because it hurt my sensitive eardrums, but because it hurt my chest. Lettie, on the other hand, was quite pale, and cringed, biting her lip, as a severe cramp hit her.
I flew faster. Minutes later, we arrived where I wanted.
As I landed on the ground covered in soft grass, I caught a glimpse of the landscape around us. Several natural pools with hot springs spread across that region, one next to the other, in chains. Hot steam came out of the waters, clear and azure blue. Green vegetation surrounded the entire area and, in the center, a small lake with a waterfall in the background delicately bathed the smaller pools.
Slowly, I put Lettie on her feet, while Gohan jumped off my back, mouth agape as he was taken by the beauty of that place.
"Wow..." I heard Lettie whisper as she contemplated the waters, the trees, the heat, the atmosphere, and the aesthetic of that scenario that seemed like something out of a fantasy dream. She then gave a little, tired smile, and I felt relief by seeing that I'd brought her to the right place.
But I still shouldn't be so relieved.
"Go, you need to clean yourself up." I indicated the lake. "Don't worry about your clothes. I'll make a new one."
Still pale and hunched over, Lettie just nodded, heading to the edge of the lake, and began to take off her kimono with Gohan's help. However, she stopped and looked at me with her face flushed with shyness.
"I don't mind seeing you naked, if that's your concern." I grimaced impatiently and crossed my arms, while her nephew helped her take off her heavy boots.
"You can leave it on me, sweetheart," she murmured with a smile at him. "I can do it. Go rest there near Mr. Piccolo."
Gohan walked sadly to my side and sat down on the ground, letting out a long tired sigh and emitting soft sobs from the tears he was trying to contain. I decided to sit with him, however, the moment I bent to do it, I had my second paralysis as I saw Lettie's body, her back to us on the edge of the lake.
I will never forget such a sight. It haunts me to this day.
From her neck, down her back, thighs, and calves, purple, red, and greenish bruises covered her body. In addition to cuts in the healing process popping up here and there. The entire length of her spine was marked by reddish spots caused by the impact of some exercise, and at the end of it, I saw a large scar on what I assumed was once her tail. To complete that terrible picture, several streams of blood ran down her legs until they stained the grass beneath her feet.
Wait... All those bruises and injuries... were caused... by me? It wasn't by Gohan, that was sure. He still wasn't strong enough to do such damage.
As I stared at Lettie's practically destroyed body and then at Gohan, sitting next to me with his black and swollen eye, shedding silent tears as he also contemplated his aunt's morbid state, it was as if scales had fallen from my eyes, and I could see the atrocity of what I did.
A deep Voice full of authority rebuked my heart and, for the first time in my life, I felt a genuine and haunting fear, and a cloak laden with the most aggressive guilt fell over me, a thousand times heavier than the big shoulder pads of my cape.
I came to a terrifying conclusion: I hadn't spent two months training two Saiyan apprentices to the limit of their strength. I had spent two months beating out and mistreating a woman and a child.
WHAT THE HECK, PICCOLO!!!
Lettie was already knee-deep in the lake and then stopped, hugging herself and curling up.
A large clot of blood ran down her leg until it fell into the water and spread; the red color standing out in the bluish tone.
My heart troubled so much that, unconsciously, I grabbed my clothes around my chest.
Lettie seemed bashful and tense for being in that position in front of her Master, avoiding my gaze at all costs, and soon immersed her entire body in the lake, leaving only her nose, eyes, and the top of her head out; with her short hair floating above the waters.
She remained there, immersed in that same position. When I least realized it, I was shaking my head nonstop, in a complete state of denial, scared of myself as all those feelings and sensations hit me with a painful grip that came from my core.
What have I done?
A while later, Lettie came out of the lake, red from the hot water or from the shame she felt, still hugging herself to cover her breasts, and shivered again as a cold breeze hit her. The next thing I knew, I had taken off my shoulder pads and ripped the white fabric of my cape, and dashed over to cover her.
"You both wait here." And I flew off. Not even for fighting against Raditz had I flown as fast as I did to return to the Camp and get a new sanitary pad for Lettie. In five minutes, I was back at the Hot Springs, where she was finishing to dry herself with my cape, with Gohan supporting her. I handed her the pad. "Here. Now, stay still, and I'll make you a new outfit."
Slowly, she balled up the cloak and placed it on the grass, and stood in front of me in the same shy posture, avoiding any eye contact.
I took a deep breath, raised my hands in the air and, in the next second, a pair of gray sweatshirt pajamas, of the most comfortable and warm model I could imagine, covered her injured body.
For about three seconds, Lettie looked at me with a hint of surprise, but then she lowered her head, nodding lightly in gratitude.
"Excuse me." She retreated behind a bush to put on the pad, leaving me standing there uneasily and in the company of a still haggard Gohan. When she walked back to us, massaging her belly, she went to her nephew and took him by the hand.
"Let's go back to the Camp. I'll prepare your soup."
Did I hear it right?
"Hey!" I reached out my hand towards them, confused. "The Camp is dozens of kilometers from here."
Lettie slowly turned to face me with a cold gaze. "You've already made us walk dozens of kilometers before, and we didn't die."
I stiffened as I felt a sudden nausea. "B-But," I stuttered, "you don't even know where you are."
"Just point us where is the Camp's direction," she replied. "We'll get there somehow." And she turned her back on me, walking again with her nephew with weary, tired steps. Gohan gave me a quick sad look, but then turned to follow his aunt.
I stood there, alone, with my spirit in a completely opposite state to the calmness of the nature that surrounded me.
Wait, wait, wait! Did Lettie really want to walk all the way back to the Camp and still make dinner?!
Not over my dead body!
Without thinking twice, I startled them as I took them in my arms to take them to the Camp myself. Lettie accepted my help in silence and didn't say a word for the entire way back.
When we arrived at the Camp, I placed them both on the ground.
"Come, you need to lay down." I guided Lettie by the waist and arm to the tent. Gohan supported her by holding her hand and looking at her with concern and anxiety.
"I have to..." she mumbled as she felt another cramp. "I have to prepare the soup..."
"Leave it on me. Your task now is to sleep."
Lettie grimaced, but I couldn't tell if it was of pain or not, and bent down to get into the tent. Then she lay down on the mattress and covered herself.
"Try to rest, okay?" I watched her from the tent's entrance, and she didn't answer me. One out of two; either she had already fallen asleep from extreme exhaustion, or she didn't want to talk to me. Both options were unpleasant and, in the end, I just closed the tent and left her alone.
A great silence suddenly took over that cloudy and gray afternoon at the Camp.
"Mr. Piccolo," called Gohan, softly, "will Aunt Lettie be alright?"
I swallowed hard. "I hope so. I'll make sure she will."
"Okay..." He sniffed. "Are we going to continue the Twaining today?"
"No, Gohan, you can rest too."
"Phew, that's good..." And he walked with his shoulders slumped towards the unlit fire, sitting on the ground and playing with the stones with a blank expression, but soon showing pain by rubbing the back of his hand on his face, all filthy with sweat and tears, and accidentally hitting his black eye.
When I directed my gaze to Gohan, my heart tightened even more as a deep melancholy took me. When I scrutinized him there, all by himself and playing listlessly with the stones, I saw him for what he truly was: a child. A four-year-old child. Even his mannerisms, the way he walked and the fact that he also changed some letters revealed that he was still a tiny being in his early childhood. My, he still sucked his thumb when he slept!
And there he was; beaten by me, a grown man.
My face darkened and I headed to him. "Come on, Gohan." I picked him up. "You also need a bath."
Bathing him did nothing to improve my emotional state. In fact, it got worse when I saw that, when I undressed him there in the Hot Springs, he had the same bruises and injuries as Lettie.
What have I done?
And the answer came, punishing my soul harshly and painfully: I had left a woman and a child not only with a black eye, but with their entire body bruised, and the only conclusion I came to was that, perhaps, I was, indeed, a monster.
Gohan was drowsy and wanted to stay in my arms while I bathed him in one of the natural pools. At one point, he laid his head on my shoulder, grabbing my clothes, and said, softly, "Mr. Piccolo, don't be mean to me and Aunt Lettie..."
A big lump formed in my throat. Gohan was so small, so tiny; smaller than the length of my arm.
Suddenly, I remembered the words Lettie said to me on the first day of our Training, when I was about to throw Gohan against the rocky wall to see his hidden power, "Master, please! Don't do anything you'll regret later!"
So that was what regret felt like? A double-edged sword tearing my heart apart, paying with the same pain that I afflicted them?
What now? How did I make that pain go away?
It was so, so merciless and overwhelming…
That's when, without thinking, I hugged Gohan.
I don't know why I did that, but I hugged him, and I don't know how long I stayed there with him, half submerged in that pool, surrounded by a heat that didn't come from the waters, but that came from Gohan.
When I looked at him, lying on my chest, he had fallen asleep. I also dressed him in the same comfortable and warm pajamas and got back to the Camp. In silence, I placed him carefully next to Lettie in the tent.
I watched them sleep for several minutes, my mind in a whirl as I recalled the last two months, and a hot, heavy, accusing tear ran down my face.
The same questions I had earlier surrounded me: why had I treated them that way? Why was I so aggressive, rigid, or stupid? Why did I think that showing harsh treatment towards them was the only and best way to train them for the threat of the Saiyans?
Where did so much bitterness, rage, anger, and harsh words come from inside me?
Where did so much... evil come from?
Maybe I knew where it came from and whom I inherited it from, but I refused to admit it.
"Piccolo, what are you doing?" I whispered to myself.
How did I have the audacity to put a woman and a child to fight against such powerful warriors ten months from now? Despite being Saiyans, the reality was this and nothing more: Lettie and Gohan were, with no doubt, a woman and a child with no previous efficient training other than the one I was applying now, and which also had proved to be ridiculously unsatisfactory and, above all, dangerous.
What madness was that? How far would we get if we continued that way?
No. It had to change. But what could we do against such a strong threat approaching our planet?
I only had one option left: cling to the hope that Lettie and Gohan would make it; they would complete the Training. But, some changes would have to be made. There was no chance of continuing the way we were, otherwise, my teaching methods would end their lives before the Saiyans did that themselves.
Besides, I could count on both Master Roshi and Kami-sama coming up with a plan or applying some training to the other warriors — Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu.
Apart from what would perhaps be our best chance: Goku. Something inside me told me that, wherever he was, he was preparing himself for that inevitable battle.
We would certainly not be alone in this endeavor to defend the Earth.
Yes. That's what we would do. Me, Lettie, and Gohan would do our best, in the most efficient and, above all, safe way possible. As for the others, it was up to each of them to do their part.
After that reflection, I started making dinner. While the vegetables were cooking in the broth, I took some of Lettie's money and flew to a pharmacy to buy some painkillers and a hot water bottle. When I returned, I finished the soup, put it in two bowls, and took everything to them in the tent, crouching in the opening.
When I called their names to wake them up, they both got up with a start and with a frightened expression, muttering phrases like "Yes, Master!" or "Yes, Mr. Piccolo!", wanting to get up from the mattress, but not being able to due to so much pain they felt in their bodies.
I got terribly dejected. So that was their first reaction when they heard me call them? Fear?
I calmed them down, assuring them that I was there to feed them, and not to make them pay for the five hundred push-ups I had asked for on the first day of Training. Lettie was surprised when I handed her the painkillers along with the hot water bottle and a bowl of soup for her, and another for Gohan.
"Thank you..." she murmured, still without looking me in the eye, and took the medicine, put the water bottle under her clothes and picked up her bowl.
The three of us stayed there, in a heavy and awkward silence, while they ate their soup. Gohan glanced at me sideways from time to time, hiding under his black eye. Lettie, on the other hand, hid under her disheveled bangs.
I opened and closed my mouth several times, trying to say something, but I failed in every single one of them. Until I finally stopped, took a grip of myself with a deep breath, and swallowed my pride.
Since we met, I had noticed that Lettie liked to touch people to show her emotions and feelings, so I touched her shin over the blanket. She tensed for a moment, stopping eating the soup and staring at my hand. However, when she saw that I was touching her in a delicate way, she relaxed a little, but was still alert.
"Lettie," I said, "look at me."
She did so. Her eyes were red and swollen.
My chest trembled, but I wasn't going to stop now. Then, I gazed deeply at her and said something that I never, ever in my life imagined I would say to anyone, "I was wrong. Please, forgive me. Both of you."
Lettie stared at me, stunned, for long, harrowing, and painful seconds.
Until she finally answered me; not with words, but with that gleaming full of life that had once lived in her eyes, and which, once again, illuminated them.