(Meanwhile)
(Mount Paozu)
The living room of the Son household also became filled with the sounds of explosions and battle. However, in contrast to the actual war sounds that was often heard outside on the fields, these ones were toned down somewhat due to the limits of the volume control.
All these noises of course were being generated by the television set, where Goten and his friends Trunks and Paprika were sitting in front of the screen with video game remotes in hand. While the oldest of the three sat in the center and provided balance for the trio's arrangement, the entire group was currently mashing buttons with intense looks on their faces as they attempted to beat their opponents in the free-for-all Master Brawlers game they were now playing. From the way they were squirming about and focusing intently on the screen, it was clear that their personal war with one another was really beginning to heat up.
"Come on, Artemis! Get him!" Goten shouted, moving his control to the left and vigorously tapping the attack button. "Yes! Yes! Go! Go!"
"No! No! No-no-no! No!" Trunks shouted back, quickly changing tactics to get out of the pincer movement he was forced into. "Counter! Counter! Counter! YES!"
"No! How the heck did you do that?"
"It's called the 'B' button, Goten. Start using it," the lavender haired boy replied childishly while grinning excitedly.
Grunting as she tried maneuvering her avatar around with the sticks, Paprika cursed when she found herself stuck in a corner, "Stupid controls! They're not working! All my character is doing is crouching repeatedly!" On the screen, her fighting character Sagitta was currently performing a continuous series of squats and rotations on a platform away from where Goten and Trunks' avatars were having it out. The white haired girl shouted when her character then started blocking uselessly, disobeying her commands and simply refusing to budge. "I order you to fight them, damn it!"
Stopping the battle for a moment, Trunks glanced across at the Makyan fuming over her inability to use the controls properly. "Yelling at the screen won't get him to move how you want him to. That's not how the game works."
"Then it is a stupid game!" Paprika shouted, trying to get her character to navigate the field but ended up walking her off of the edge of the cliff. When she fell, she exploded, adding another minus one to her score. The result had her growl, rise to her feet, and point at the screen. "A THOUSAND AND ONE DEATHS UPON THIS INFERNAL ACTIVITY!"
Trunks sweat-dropped when he saw the teenager huff angrily. "It's just a game, man. Chill out. I didn't know a chick could get so worked up over a video game." He then turned back to his character and began chasing after Goten's. "At least you're doing a hell of a lot better than dad did when I got him to play with me."
His old man wasn't as gentle when it came to handling this game. After he ended up losing for the fifth time, Vegeta snapped the control in half and went to blow off some steam in the gravity room.
That was a very dark day at Capsule Corp… for all of the members of the Briefs family.
In the end the rest of the match became a two-legged race between Goten and Trunks, in which the pair of them battled each other to decide the victor. In the end, the latter won the round by unanimous decision and threw his arms into the air victoriously. During which time his cheerful friend from Mount Paozu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled across at his best mate.
"Good one, Trunks. You sure showed us."
The lavender haired boy smirked and pointed back at the spiky haired youngster in response, "I may not be able to transform into a Super Saiyan yet, but I'm still better than you at other stuff." He then formed a tight fist and waved it confidently. "Just you wait. I'll catch up to you sooner or later." As usual, that was his father's side talking.
The pride of a Saiyan was a force to be reckoned with, as was their desire to combat any challenge that they encountered.
Paprika on the other hand had her own drives and expectations to live up to, which she was more than happy to share with her adversaries. "This is unacceptable! I demand a rematch!"
Her declaration easily drew the duo's attention up to her, particularly Goten's. "You still want to play with us, Paprika?"
"Even though you got creamed in the last fifteen rounds?" True, she'd gotten second place once or twice. Considering she wasn't technologically gifted or cared much for electronics, she was doing quite well for her first time.
The Makyan stuck her chest out proudly, "Of course. After all, a great warrior like me refuses to throw in the towel so readily." She then brandished her control declaratively. "I don't care how long it takes me. I'll get this game right eventually."
"Well here… let me help you," Goten chirped, quickly shuffling over so that he was sitting alongside his scarf wearing companion. As soon as he was in range, he then began pointing out buttons on her remote and comparing it to his. "These toggles direct and move your character around either left, right, up or down. You can press 'X' to jump and 'B' to throw long range attacks…" It was a pretty straightforward lecture, one that Paprika acknowledged with her utmost attention.
By the end of the day, the white haired fighter was able to walk away from the Son house with at least one victory under her belt and a big smile on her face.
OOO
(Several days later)
It was the beginning of a new season and Gohan had decided to commemorate the start to this new period by inviting all of his city friends over to spend some time over at his place. To mix things up a little, the demi-Saiyan had all of them bring nets and plastic boxes with them so that they could partake in a little planned activity of his out in the countryside. At first all of them were a little bit confused as to why they were bringing this stuff with them, but when the demi-Saiyan explained to them the reason why, they were all soon onboard with his idea.
On this particular day, the skies were clear and beautiful, and the weather was nice and warm; probably the warmest Mount Paozu had been in for a while. This was ideal for what the young warrior wanted to do with his soon-to-be-classmates.
That morning, when all of his friends eventually came by his place, they all went out into the valleys and forests to catch bugs. The sounds of the little critters could be heard echoing all around them, from crickets, to frogs and even cicadas. It was the latter that would become the main focus of the team's little expedition out here and Gohan couldn't wait to get started.
Standing in the middle of the grasslands surrounding the Son household, Gohan, Videl, Lime, Erasa and Touya were all dressed in their summer gear, with insect catchers slung over their shoulders and butterfly nets held firmly in hand. While Gohan was wearing a brown top with brown pants and Erasa was dressed in her typical color scheme consisting of a green singlet and blue jean shorts, Lime was adorned in a red, checkered gingham top tied at the front exposing her stomach with white shorts, Touya a blue shirt and khaki pants, and Videl an oversized red shirt with a black hanya mask on its chest and grey, figure hugging spandex pants.
Formed into a circle, all five of them were looking around the area and listening to the insects' calls.
"The cicadas sound happy," Erasa chirped, beaming towards the nearby trees with a smile on her face.
"Yeah. Listen to all that noise they're making," Touya said, grinning widely as he too admired the untouched wilderness surrounding him. "What a beautiful chorus."
"They sure are loud though," Videl added, smiling across at Gohan to see the teen look right back at her. "We don't get many of them out in the city. They occasionally fly in from the countryside when they're in season, but that's about it. The rest of the time it's just traffic noise."
"You should see them when they're all coming out of the ground at the same time," Gohan said, smiling brightly as he shifted his net further onto his shoulder. "There are millions… billions of cicadas appearing in the one area. The largest migration on the face of the planet and it only happens once every seventeen years, depending on the species. Heck, there are so many of them that the amount of noise they make can be heard for miles around."
"Wow. That's a lot of noise," Erasa remarked, turning her gaze towards the demi-Saiyan.
Lime, also finding interest in the spiky haired warrior's comments, then glanced at her blonde haired friend with a smile. "It's true, you know. We sometimes get cicadas in our village after the rainy season, but most of them pop up around here, maybe because the area is so rich and fertile. We can hear them from the other side of the mountain."
"Imagine standing in the middle of all of that," Touya said, shaking his head as he contemplated the idea. "I bet you wouldn't be able to hear yourself think."
After listening to the songs of the mountains for a little while longer, the members of the group then turned to their host. The demi-Saiyan stood there with his net over his shoulder and a big smile on his face, obviously pleased to see how impressed his friends were and how all of them were admiring their location.
Since a couple of them hadn't been out there that often, it was obvious why those two in particular were in such awe of their surroundings.
"So, Gohan," Erasa began with a mischievous glint in her eye as she leered across at the young warrior, "What's the plan for today?"
"Isn't it obvious?" the spiky haired teen asked, holding out his bin so that they could all see it, "I called you all out here so that we could hang out and have a little bit of fun. More to the point, we're going to have a little competition with each other."
Everyone was immediately intrigued by his declaration, particularly Lime, "Competition?"
Gohan responded with a nod, "Yep. The name of the game today is bug hunting. Whoever catches the most cicadas wins." He then gestured out across the grasslands, directing the group's attention to all the insects they could already see buzzing or fluttering around. "Since we've got so much space around here, I figured we may as well put it to good use."
"Ooh. Sounds like fun," Erasa sung, rolling her shoulders and brandishing her net like it was a rifle. A couple of the others reacted in a similar, energetic manner. "This'll be great for my cardio."
"Whatever you say, girl," Videl chuckled, watching her friend bounce on her toes eagerly. Taking note of the girl's stance, the short haired tomboy then gestured to the fields behind her. "Just try not to stray too far. We wouldn't want you getting stuck anywhere or running into anything unpleasant."
"Uh… what do you mean by 'unpleasant'?" Touya asked, looking questioningly across at the Champ's daughter before the glasses wearing teen with the short hair shot a look towards the farm girl nearby.
The pig-tailed Lime beamed, "He means any dinosaurs or large reptiles." She grinned at the teen when his expression turned nervous. "Don't worry. There aren't any big creatures around here for miles. If there were, Gohan and Videl will be able to take care of them. No sweat."
Erasa, grinning from ear to ear, stepped towards the demi-Saiyan and elbowed him in the side, "These two are the toughest guys I know. Plus I'm sure tall, dark and handsome here will be able to protect us… right?"
Giving a good-natured laugh at the girl's compliment, Gohan then spun his net around and pointed it towards the center, "Alright then, fellas. Let's have some fun. The only rule is; there are no rules. Catch as many cicadas as you can. We'll meet back here at lunch time." Bringing his staff back around, the teen then assumed a fighting stance. When he saw the others mimic his actions, the boy grinned, "Ready and… GO!"
Almost immediately after the whistle was blown, Lime and Touya took off into the fields, both of whom were soon followed by Erasa, who ended up tripping over her own feet. When she picked herself up moments later, the city girl was back in the game and running towards the trees, quickly finding herself a lovely patch to start with. Upon seeing their friends take off, Gohan and Videl stepped towards one another, deciding to share a few words before going off on their own hunt.
"Great idea inviting all of us for a sleepover, Gohan," the raven haired girl commented, watching as the trio got right down to hunting. While her blonde school friend appeared a little bit lost, Lime had thrown herself right into the activity and Touya was starting his run off by kicking at a bush to try and scare a few animals out. "I think you're really starting to get the hang of organizing group get-togethers."
The demi-Saiyan nodded, "It's still a bit of a work in progress. But as long as they're having fun, then my job here is done."
Videl giggled at his answer, "Not quite yet. You're still going to have to catch more cicadas then the rest of us." She then playfully swatted him with the end of her net. "Remember; no super speed, energy blasts and no flying. If we're going to do this, then we're going to do this right. Deal?"
A fond grin quickly appeared on the hybrid's face as he fixed his gaze upon his best friend. "Deal." He then nodded across the flats, "Come on. Let's go have some fun."
With that said the two split up and went off in search of their elusive prey.
While making his way into the woods, Gohan quickly spotted Erasa over by a clearing with her net held high and her eyes fixed firmly upon the ground. Stopping when he saw her dive forward with a swing, he then smiled as he watched her reel her stick back in.
"What's that? You catch one?"
Beaming happily, the blonde haired girl reached into her transparent bag and pulled out the creature she'd ended up catching. "Hey there, cutie. Wow… you're a big one," the teenager chirped while holding the enormous, golden shelled bug with the big horns between her hands.
Hell, it was so big she could barely curl her fingers around it.
The demi-Saiyan watching her from a distance spotted the beetle she'd managed to grab and smiled at how cheerful she was about her success, "Well done, Erasa. But… that's not a cicada."
His remark immediately drew the blonde's gaze over to him, "Really?" When she saw him nod his head, she looked back at the beetle sadly. "Oh. Okay. Sorry, little guy." She then opened her hand up and let the critter rest in her palm.
When Gohan saw exactly what it was the teen had caught when she held it out, his jaw dropped when he recognized the familiar shape and size of the insect. Its unique horn structure, armored build and golden abdomen were easily distinguishable from a distance, and when it opened up its wings and took flight, the demi-Saiyan couldn't help but gawk after it.
"A Hercules Beetle?" He and Erasa watched it fly off, disappearing into the forest moments later. "Those things live high up in the mountains. We rarely get those down here."
His friend from the city giggled after seeing the look on his face, "Well… it's a good thing I let him go. Now he can go back to be with his family." The blonde then waved after the insect, even though it was long gone.
And so the day's main event was officially underway.
The bug hunt started off great. As expected, those who were the most athletically competent of the group threw themselves right into the game; rushing across the fields and swinging their nets around like there was no tomorrow. Lime was really enthusiastic about the whole thing, jumping through the air and swinging her net around to try and catch the cicadas flying through the air. Touya was also surprisingly determined, crawling along the ground to sneak up on his targets. This approach worked out most of the time, but when he made too much noise he ended up scaring the critters away.
Cautious as ever, Videl went after her quarry with all the grace and finesse of a fighter. However, she did end up making one or two mistakes along the way. The poor girl wound up running headlong into a spider web and got a face full of silk, as well as an unwanted visitor that she swatted off of her while screaming bloody murder.
Gohan meanwhile had to contend with his own problems. Restricted from using his powers, the teenager had to run around dodging trees and jumping over bushes to catch his quarry. But as long as he kept his abilities on a low, he was able to play this game by the rules and not end up destroying the countryside in the process.
Despite all of this, the most important thing was that they were having fun. That's what really counted.
While tiptoeing through the woods with her net in hand and plastic box hanging comfortably from her shoulder, Erasa continued searching for cicadas in the woods surrounding Son Gohan's fields. Having successfully managed to bag and grab a few cicadas, along with a couple other insects that weren't exactly on the registry, she soon restarted her search for another handful of creatures to add to her collection. She did so under the impression that she would receive a compliment from her handsome host and a reward of some sort, one that had her all giddy on the inside.
Spotting a cicada hanging off of a nearby oak, Erasa snuck up on it with her net held tightly at her side. Taking aim and biting her bottom lip excitedly, the blonde advanced step by step before, with great speed and accuracy, launched herself at the bug.
"GOT YAH!" the blonde shouted, laughing triumphantly when her net effortlessly enveloped her target. Her eyes shone with delight, only to widen in horror and her face to pale a split second later when she saw what else she'd managed to catch. "EEEEEEEEK!"
What she saw staring back at her from underneath her butterfly net was what she immediately mistook for a green demon wearing a white turban.
When Gohan and Videl rushed over to see what'd happened, both of them blinked in surprise when they saw it was Piccolo standing there, with Erasa's net covering his head like a bag, a cicada buzzing around inside it, and the poor teen shivering under his shadow.
Bug smacking against his face repeatedly, the Namekian flinched over and over again, while the insect's mating call screamed loudly in his ear. Considering how loud cicadas could be, the sounds it was making was probably unbearable to the cape-wearing warrior.
Every time the critter flew around and smacked into the side of Piccolo's cheek inside the net, the man announced his throbbing pain again and again, "Ow… ow… ow… ow…"
"I-I-I'm so sorry," Erasa stammered, grinning nervously up at the towering man in front of her. "I didn't see you there, sir. I-It was an accident…"
Cicada still buzzing around near his ear, the Namekian groaned. "Please… get… this… thing… off of… me…"
Watching from a distance, Videl had to stifle a laugh, while Gohan snickered and rested his hand on his waistline. "Erasa. What are you doing to Mr. Piccolo?"
Turning around to see her childhood friend laughing her ass off and the raven haired hunk smiling at her, the startled blonde grinned nervously and shrugged, "N-Nothing." Honestly, it was pretty hard saying it was nothing when she still had the green warrior's head trapped inside a butterfly net.
Acting as quickly and carefully as she could, the girl slowly removed the net free from Piccolo's head, allowing the cicada and the Z-fighter to go free.
The Namekian relaxed, eyes still locked onto the startled girl, "Thank you."
Apparently the tall fighter had decided to drop by to see what all the commotion around the Son residence was about and, by sheer bad luck and coincidence, had managed to walk right into it. But of course, once apologies had made and dues had been paid, everyone quickly got back to their task of hunting down the critters living in the area.
When lunchtime eventually pulled around sometime later, the teenagers quickly brought it back into the middle to show off their catches. Converging around the center field where it all started, Gohan made sure that everyone was present and accounted for. Upon inspecting the physical conditions of all of his friends, including Erasa and Touya, the latter of whom looked as though he'd spent a great portion of the day falling out of trees as opposed to successfully dismounting them, the man started off the count in a clockwise direction. All the while the team was watched on by the ever-present shadow of Piccolo from a distance.
"I've got eleven," Videl exclaimed, holding her box up proudly.
"Ten," Touya exclaimed, bringing his around to show off.
"I caught ten as well," Erasa announced, drawing the gazes of all of her friends and prompting Lime to lean over to look at her box more closely.
After having a glance around inside, the brown haired girl with pigtails giggled a little, "A few of those aren't even cicadas." She then raised a finger and pointed at each of them while the rest of the group took a closer look. "You have a couple of grasshoppers, a stick insect, two spiny leaf insects, a monarch butterfly and…" Her eyes then widened as she leaned in further, "Holy crap, you caught a yanbaru long-armed scarab! Where in the world did you find that?"
The blonde blinked at her friend's exclamation curiously, "Crawling up a tree." Taking note of the stunned faces of her friends, the innocent teenager then took on a timid expression. "He looked pretty, so I caught him."
A smile slowly appeared on Gohan's face, "An impressive catch, Erasa. Well done." The spiky haired warrior complimented, earning a warm gaze from the blonde before holding up his box, "I managed to catch ten as well."
Turning her attention to her neighbor's cheerful face and box of many cicadas, Lime grinned, "You're getting slack, Gohan-kun." The country girl then held her bin out and showed them all her glorious collection. "Ta-da! Thirteen!"
The demi-Saiyan nodded as the girl smiled and held her catch proudly above her head, "Looks like we have a winner. Good job everyone." After giving everyone a congratulatory smile, the raven haired warrior then brought his tin into view and popped open the top. "I think it's about time we let these little guys go. They've had a really long day."
"Agreed," Touya answered, opening the top of his bin as well and holding it out. "It's important to follow the spirit of catch and release with these guys." Just as he was peeling the lid back though, the boy then looked up and blinked a few times in surprise. "Huh. Something about what I just said felt very familiar."
On cue, all of the other members of the troop cracked open their cases and liberated the cicadas from their confines. While all those who'd actually caught the noise makers held their plastic boxes up and allowed the insects to fly off, Erasa had to hold hers close to the ground so that the ones she'd caught could crawl away. She also made sure to find a special place for the scarab at the bottom of her bin.
It was a fine haul today, and as the group stood back and watched their insects fly off into the horizon with the rest of their cicada brothers and sisters singing away in the woods, a smile formed on Lime's face as she glanced across at her group of friends.
"This was fun. We should definitely do this again sometime."
Videl nodded, before reaching over and tugging on Gohan's sleeve, "Come on. Let's go have lunch."
And they did.
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