Growing more curious by the second, Kana rose from her seat and moved in to get a closer look at the woman in front of her. After a moment of personal inspection, the Seirei's holographic scanner then popped up over her eye and began analyzing both fighters. Shifting between her crush and Hanasia, with the numbers on her device beeping loudly between the two figures, the girl then balked and deactivated her readout. "Damn. She's right. The two of you are related to each other." She then looked down at Gohan. "Blood type and DNA sampling aside, looking past the human characteristics, your hair styles, irises and cheek bones are almost exactly identical."
"Yeah. Not to mention both of us have the same, wicked right hook and a head as hard as a cannon ball," the teen remarked, taking a moment to look the woman over once more. After analyzing the individual aspects of her exterior, Gohan then reached a rather interesting conclusion of his own. "Now that you mention it… she sort of does bear a striking resemblance to my uncle Raditz."
"Ah yes… little weakling Raditz; a man whose name has become synonymous with the lowest form of currency on several different planets across the Northern Quadrant," Hanasia chuckled before smiling across at her grandson. "How is my oldest boy doing? I'm guessing since you know his name that he must have dropped by the earth at some point over the last few years to pay his brother a visit."
Cringing a little at her question, Gohan then frowned at the woman in an anxious and notably upset manner, "I don't know how to tell you this, but… he's dead."
Hanasia's smile quickly vanished. "Dead?"
"Yeah. You see, when Raditz came by to collect my father after the mission he was sent to perform as a child, he found out that not only was the entire population of the earth still alive, but his brother had forgotten everything about his mission and his race's heritage, on account of him hitting his head when he was still a baby. Raditz got pissed, kidnapped me, and then ended up getting into a fight with my father… after which he wound up killed." Gohan then shrugged at the end. "That's the short version, anyway."
At first the woman didn't say anything, leading the demi-Saiyan to believe she was going to blow a gasket. However, it then came as a puzzle to him when he heard the female murmur and look away with a thoughtful frown. "Raditz died, huh? Guess I shouldn't be surprised. Bardock and Gine always spoiled him rotten when he was a child, instead of pushing him into developing his fighting skills like I told them to. He was also too arrogant for his own good… a little trait he probably picked up from me." She then snorted and looked up at the teen with a half-smile. "Good thing I'd learned some humility over the past couple of decades. So it was Kakarot who did him in, huh?"
A hesitant look met the woman's question, "Well… dad and his then rival, now close friend, Piccolo. Both of them had to work together to take him down."
"Ah," Hanasia replied with an understanding nod. "That makes sense. With the genes he inherited from me and Bardock, if he'd had enough time, Kakarot would've been able to give even the most powerful warriors of our race a hard time. But since the earth has less pull on the Saiyan body in terms of gravity and hosts a primarily non-violent culture, exposure to its environment and its population probably softened him up and slowed his progress."
Gohan responded to her assessment with a pleasant smile. "Dad didn't start out powerful at first. But after Raditz came around and attacked his friends, he started training even harder to become even more powerful… to the point he could take on Vegeta head to head, and win." It was this brief recount that put a wide grin on the older Saiyan's face. Upon which the teen then waved a hand towards Hanasia in labored, circular motions. "It's a… bit of a long story."
"Well… I'm sure I'll be happy to hear all about it," Hanasia remarked, stepping forward to stand before the young man at attention. "But… that's going to have to wait for another day. With the amount of shots I've taken to the head back in that club, I doubt I'll be able to keep my attention for very long before I pass out. Plus…" She then grinned down at the Seirei standing next to her grandson, "I think you two would rather get back to your date rather than spend the rest of the night talking to me and hanging out in these Kai-forsaken streets."
"Uhh… okay," Gohan hesitantly replied, looking back at his glowing friend to see the girl look away and blush fiercely. It was with the sudden coloration to her cheeks that Kana's body started to radiate more brightly in kind, something that her companion inadvertently overlooked when he turned his gaze back to his elder. "If that's the case, then… I look forward to seeing you again." He then reached into his belt and began rummaging for something to write with. "Do you… want me to give you my home address?"
"Planet 4032-877, just off the Andromeda Pathway," Hanasia said, a knowing smile slowly forming on her face. "Your residential details won't be necessary. All I have to do is search for the strongest energy signatures on the planet and follow them back to their sources. It shouldn't be too difficult." At that, the woman's head then perked up and she stepped forward, "Speaking of which, since I'm guessing you're half-blood on account of you being earth born, what happened to your tail?"
"Oh… well…" Chuckling a little and rubbing the back of his head, the demi-Saiyan smiled, "After transforming into a Giant Ape on a number of occasions and putting my friends' lives in danger, I had to have it… uhh… cut off." He then grinned sheepishly at the woman. "My dad, Goten, Trunks and Vegeta had their tails removed too, so that they wouldn't put the rest of their friends in danger."
Hearing that there were actually more Saiyans out there had the woman recoil momentarily. After which she then shook her head. "I'm sure I'll be able to hear more about this later. But… first things first…" She then stepped around and looked down at the teenager with a notable scowl. "The tail of a Saiyan isn't just a trait that defines us as a race; it is also one of the most important organs on a Saiyan's body. It increases our sensitivity to our surroundings, stimulates our nervous system and reproductive organs, provides us extra leverage during stressful situations, and helps control energy flow through the primary nodes. Cutting a Saiyan's tail off is equivalent to cutting off one of our arms… or being castrated." Gesturing for the boy to stand, which he did without question, Hanasia then took his arm in one hand and began prodding the muscles with her thumb and finger, slowly running her digits up his limb. "We Saiyans are depended on our body's natural qualities to survive in the harsh wilderness of the universe. It's been a defining element of our people since the dawn of creation."
Blinking a little, Gohan then glanced across at Kana when he heard the beautiful Seirei speak. "She's right, you know. Your race was one of the first alien species to be born in the cosmos."
Turning back to Hanasia, the young man spoke, "If I knew it was so important… then I probably would've worked on growing it back a long time ago." He then raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. "I wonder why Vegeta never mentioned any of this before."
The Saiyan female inspecting his muscles grunted. "That pompous little upstart never even finished his basic studies. I should know, since I helped tutor the brat while he was growing up. He got it in his head that power was the only thing important for a Saiyan to survive and completely neglected all of the other important aspects of his education. All of the stuff he learned was all for the purpose of pursuing his own, selfish gains. The rest he must have picked up from that dunderhead of a General Nappa or learned it on the fly." She then peered up at the young hybrid with a smirk. "A Saiyan isn't complete without his or her tail. By having it cut off, a Saiyan can only ever fight at eighty percent their full capacity… at most eighty five."
When the woman said this, Gohan's eyes widened in shock, "Are you serious?"
"Uh-huh," Hanasia informed, before stopping her thumb at the boy's bicep and glancing at it. "And that's only one of the consequences a Saiyan suffers from losing a tail." The female then threw him a smirk. "Luckily for you, I've had plenty of time to touch up on our race's biology and know how you can get it back."
The demi-Saiyan raised an eyebrow as he and an equally surprised Kana stared at her. "Really?" They both asked in unison.
Rolling her eyes, Hanasia then instructed for Gohan to turn around, which he did. She then began running her fingers down his back. The way she did it though almost seemed like she was counting each of the individual vertebrae in his spine, which had her experimental patient glancing back at her curiously. "Normally when a Saiyan has their tail cut off, they're able to grow it back if the host body experiences sudden and intense bursts of adrenaline in response to danger, which often generates severe anxiety or stress. This in turn stimulates the nerves in the thoracic and lumbar portions of the spine, which then triggers protein and calcium deposits in the lower back. This then allows the tail to grow back in an instant. The more common cases often happen in young Saiyan children, as they have larger protein deposits that give them more energy to grow. It also raises hell for the adults tasked with looking after them. But as Saiyans grow older, it becomes harder and harder for them to re-grow their tails, due to their growing bodies and natural resistance." When she looked up to see Gohan looking back at her and listening to every word she had to say, the woman then got an evil glint in her eye. It was her change of expression that had her patient gulp nervously. "However, there is an easy way for adult Saiyans to get their tails back. You see, if I apply a little pressure to the number five and six thoracic vertebrae…"
Without warning, the woman suddenly pressed down on the middle juncture of Gohan's back, causing a loud 'click' to ring out. This was shortly followed by the sound of pants ripping and the demi-Saiyan giving a yell of surprise when his tail shot straight out of his pants and waved through the air erratically. Leaping forward, the boy gripped his lower back in shock and danced about in astonishment. It was a sight that put amused grins on both Hanasia's and Kana's faces.
"OW-WOW-IEEEE-YOW!" Gohan hollered, his cries of alarm drawing the attention of several aliens in the street, as they all turned to see the man in the orange and blue gi skipping on the spot. Once he was done running circles, the stunned teenager looked over his shoulder to see his brown, furry appendage wagging behind him. As soon as he got feeling back into it and forced his fifth limb to a stop, the teen exhaled deeply and looked across at the women with wide eyes. "Man… I so did not expect that. What a rush." Grinning happily, he then reached over and pointed at his newly grown friend. "Hey. Check it out, Kana. I got my tail back. Isn't that great?"
When both women looked at where he was pointing, they then noticed something else out of the ordinary that had their eyes fix on him for several moments. It was after processing the sight around his pelvic area that caused a bright shade of scarlet to appear in Kana's cheeks and had Hanasia cough into her hand. Seeing the odd responses from the pair quickly had Gohan stare at them strangely. That was until the Saiyan female pointed towards the issue in question.
"Yo kid, is that a second tail in your pocket… or are you just happy to see me?"
Puzzled, Gohan then looked down. It was a split second afterwards that the boy's face flashed red and his hands slapped over the front of his pants, upon which he quickly turned away to hide his big… umm… problem.
Apparently re-growing his tail had had a rather interesting and hopefully temporary side effect. He would hate to think he would have to go through the rest of his school life with a ready-made flag pole on his front twenty-four seven.
Laughing at the teenager's embarrassment, Hanasia stepped forward. "Don't worry. That only lasts for about a few minutes. My recommendation: enjoy it while it lasts." She then pointed back at the blushing Seirei standing behind her and smirked. "Besides… you have this hot young thing here to help you out. Why waste it?" When she stopped in front of her estranged grandson, the raven haired woman looked him square in the eye and finished off her wisdom with a few more pieces of sound advice. "Remember… an untrained tail can be a very detrimental asset to a Saiyan, so be sure to train it well. A strong tail equals a stronger body. This way you will be able to remove the paralyzing effects of having it grabbed from behind by an enemy and transform it into your most trusted weapon. Secondly, you have to learn to control the Oozaru state should you happen to glance at a full moon. With your stronger body and mastery over your Super Saiyan transformations, this should not be a problem for you at all." When she saw the embarrassed teenager smile and nod in understanding of this information, the woman then grinned and, raising her good arm, jabbed him in the shoulder. "Good luck, kiddo. I'll be in touch." With that said and done, she then turned and walked away.
Standing up to full height as he watched Hanasia leave, the previously flushed half-Saiyan smiled and waved after the woman's retreating form. When she finally disappeared down the street, the teen felt his Seirei companion saddle up next to him and looked over to see the glowing girl beaming in the direction of their newfound friend. Gohan then turned his eyes back to his tail, which he gave a few testing swings before wrapping it securely around his waist.
"Well… this turned out to be a very interesting excursion. Thanks so much for bringing me out here, Kana."
The glowing girl giggled and turned to gaze up at the Saiyan. "It was my pleasure, Gohan-kun. And thank you for accepting my invitation."
"Hey… any time. If you have somewhere you want to go or something you want to do, I would be more than happy to tag along. All you have to do is ask." Feeling his spirit lift somewhat and after making sure his issue had subsided, Gohan then massaged the side of his face where he'd received the hardest hits of that night. Feeling the bruises and swelling were still there, especially since he couldn't see out of one eye, the young man breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention to the girl who'd brought him here. When he did, he saw that Kana was gazing up at him with the fondest of looks, her eyes sparkling, her cheeks glowing, and an expression of longing and affection fixated squarely upon him. "You're one of my closest and dearest friends, Kana… and I know that my life would never have been as amazing as it is today if I'd never met y-"
In the blink of an eye, Kana suddenly leapt forward, threw her arms around the boy's shoulders, and planted a firm kiss upon the teenager's lips. The act of doing so was almost like the young woman had tripped, resulting in a seemingly clumsy embrace in the middle of the street. It was here the glowing girl deepened her show of affection and the male recipient blinked in surprise, his mind quickly recovering from the unexpected maneuver. Seconds later, the searing kiss ended, and the Seirei fell back to the floor with her enchanting stare fixed upon the bewildered demi-Saiyan's mug.
"The feelings are mutual," Kana whispered, beaming at the boy as she watched his mind slowly recover from her brilliant sneak attack.
Recoiling back into reality, the warrior from earth chuckled, "Huh… I guess… this kind of thing runs in the family." Clearly referencing his late grandfather and his love experiences, the teen then gave a wide grin and looked back at the dazed alien girl nervously. "This kind of puts me on the spot, doesn't it?"
"Kind of," Kana shook her head, "But you don't need to stress yourself trying to figure this out. No matter what your decision is… no matter who you choose to be with, I will always be there for you, my hero from earth." She then stepped back and allowed her hands to glide down his shoulders and chest, where she then took a moment to admire him up close. "I know, without a doubt, that I'd never consider being with anybody else." Her hands then fell…
Only to be caught up in Gohan's when he reached up to intercept them. Looking up with a start, the Seirei saw the Z-fighter was beaming brilliantly down at her, with a warm glow in his cheeks and a sincere expression that spoke nothing but complete fondness for the girl. "Damn it… you girls are making it so difficult for me," he then laughed a little when he saw the Seirei smile in response. "I don't think I'd ever be able to choose… at least not without getting my teeth kicked in and my ears blown out for a solid hour. Even it if takes me a life time… I'll… do my best to try and make this work."
A laugh from Kana was his immediate response, "I can work with that." She then leaned forward and playfully bit him on the neck, earning a startled jolt from the teen that ended in the two of them laughing on the sidewalk. After resting against the boy and feeling his arms wrap around her lithe form for about a minute, the glowing girl then got a mischievous twinkle and leered up at the hybrid curiously. "So… want to take your relative's advice and… go try your hand at breeding?"
Swallowing his tongue at her incredibly forward offer, Gohan made a few nervous sounds as he saw the beautiful girl in front of him bite her bottom lip and begin running her hands up and down his chest. Exhibiting clear signs of yearning for the half-Saiyan warrior and his affections, all the innocent teenager could do was curl his tail up a little tighter, try to ignore her leg rubbing against his thigh, and acknowledge her veracious mood with the most diplomatic answer he could muster.
"Maybe we should wait a little bit longer," the Saiyan reasoned, before nodding towards the obviously excited girl. "It's been a really long night and, considering the kind of planet we're on, I don't think this is really the most appropriate place to procreate. Plus I'm still having trouble discerning different colors and shapes from one another, which might throw me off my game a little." He then acknowledged this by prodding his swollen eye and wincing. "After the beatings we'd taken, I doubt either of us will be able to enjoy an attempted first dance."
Though hearing his reasons had Kana deflate a little, as she was really hoping he'd use that moment to jump her, the girl eventually saw his point and smiled warmly. This in turn caused her hair to flare in approval and a grin to form across her lips. "Alright. But just so you know, at the rate this is going, I doubt I'll be able to keep myself under control for much longer. If you ever want to have some fun… the door to my ship is always open." She then winked, eliciting a warm look from the young male.
"I'll try not to keep you waiting."
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