All around the world the Z fighters prepared themselves for the upcoming tournament. Piccolo meditated high on Dende's Lookout, Krillen trained alongside the beach with his wife and kid watching, Vegeta and Trunks trained superfluously in the gravity chamber, and Goten and Gohan ran through the mountains in the early morning air to find the perfect spot for their morning exercises.
Gohan skidded to a stop as he lost sight of his little brother. The rocky mountain area a perfectly secluded spot, but lacked his little responsibility. "Goten! Where'd you go?" Rubbing the back of his head, Gohan wondered if he went too fast for the little guy. He knew Vegeta trained with him and all but he hadn't seen just how far he and Trunks were along. After all, normally when they were out playing he was inside studying.
He heard the laughter first, his little brother's belly full and his voice loud. "Goten!"
"Over here Gohan!" He managed between giggles. "I'm being attacked by a wild dinosaur." When Gohan peeked his head behind the large boulder he spotted Goten on the ground with a baby dinosaur licking his face. "Come meet my new friend. He reminds me of Icarus."
Icarus... now that was a name he hadn't heard of in awhile. While his mother was lost in space he had met a new friend, a large purple flying dinosaur that loved mischief and play. His old friend had migrated a few years ago in order to raise his own little family.
"Help! Gohan it tickles!" Gohan laughed as Goten's new friend practically pinned him down now licking his face like a lollypop. The wild burst of laughter coming from his brother reminded him a lot of their mother. She found many things to laugh about, and according to Chichi had been a lot like Goten as a girl.
"Hey Goten, I'm gonna get started. I'll see you in a little bit!"
The morning practices didn't go as smoothly as he had hoped. His little brother was cute and he didn't really mind him, but he always managed to get distracted by the simplest things. Deciding that it was best to keep him occupied he let Goten help him on a little exercise.
"You want me to hit you with the rocks?"
"If you can, but you can't cross this line." Gohan made a line in the dirt with his foot. "This is a great exercise. It helps sharpens your reflexes, and teaches you how to react when you don't have time to think."
Goten picked up a stone studied the weight in his hand then looked at his brother. "Aren't I a little too close?"
"Nah, it's fine. In fact it may be a little far back."
"You must be really fast. Wowie." Goten tossed the rock up and down then grinned. "Okay I'm gonna throw as hard as I can."
"That a way. Do it." Gohan bent down readying himself, but nothing could have prepared him for the speeding bullet that zipped past his head barely missing him. The mountain behind him had a hole zipping all the way to the other side. Well hot damn! Even in super saiyan form Gohan had barely gotten clobbered by his brother's pitch.
"Wow, you really are fast." Goten laughed and started picking up more stones. "Let's do it again!"
"Whoa! No, no, no hold on a second Goten." Actually afraid of his life Gohan moved the line back a few more feet and stared at his little brother. "That's quite an arm you've got there."
"Okay whatever you say." After getting into position Goten let the stones fly. Gohan zipped and dodged feeling his body move naturally. Fighting had always come as a second language to him, something instinctive more than a study like his books. He loved it, and had missed it a great deal.
"You can move in closer now!" Gohan said while still dodging. The rocks stopped and he looked up to see his brother studying him closely. "What a matter Goten?"
