Dragon Ball Multiverse: The Student

Chapter Four

When he arrived, a young girl around his age opened the door. "Hi! Are you here to see my dad?"

Niko looked wildly confused. "Um, hi. Um, is your dad Gohan?" He had no idea who the girl was.

"Yep! My name is Pan!" she greeted, letting Niko inside.

Niko gave her a small smile. "Oh. Hi, Pan. That's a nice name. My name is Niko." He began to walk towards Gohan's study room.

"Nice to meet you! So why are you here?" Pan asked curiously.

"Pan, leave him alone. He's doing school work with Gohan," Videl said stepping out of a room.

"Hah, that's boring," Pan laughed.

Niko shrugged. "It depends what you study that makes it boring."

Pan just shrugged and ran off.

"Hey, Niko. You ready for today?" Gohan said stepping out of his office. "Wow, you look tired. What did Mae do to you?"

Niko rubbed his sore back. "Um. Yeah, it was hard today... But, hey, I got to Super Saiyan Two!" he grinned.

"Wow, that's awesome!" Gohan beamed at him. "You know that tomorrow is probably going to be even harder. What form is she trying to get you to?"

Niko thought for a moment. "I think she said the God form like my mom." He sighed softly, "So, yeah, I think it's going to be even harder tomorrow..." He was exhausted but excited for his new levels of strength.

"Well, if she goes too far you can call Jiren or myself, and we can get her to stop," Gohan laughed.

Niko shook his head. "No, I'll be okay. I'm never gonna get stronger if I take it easy all the time!" he crossed his arms with a frown.

"Fair enough," Gohan nodded. "Tell Mae to have you train with Piccolo as well. He might help with your fighting skills in general."

Niko didn't quite remember who was Piccolo when he met the gang five years ago when he time traveled with Niya and Trunks. He nodded anyways, "Okay." He looked down at his notebook, then looked up at Gohan. "So, what animals are you gonna show me today?"

"Let's go back out to that mountain side and see what animals we can see and how they interact," Gohan told him. "Sound good?"

"Yeah, okay," the boy smiled. He wondered if he would see the animals he saw with his father when they went camping together. The memory made his heart feel heavy, and his smile faltered.

"What's wrong?" Gohan asked. "Would you rather go to the island 17 runs?"

Niko flinched. "W-What? What does dad do?" His heart began to beat loudly in his ears, and his stomach felt sick.

"He's a park ranger," Gohan said. "He's got a cruiser to help with the animals, too."

Niko held the notebook tighter to calm himself down. "Oh, that's cool. Um... Does he..." He almost couldn't say the next words. "Does he have a... a family?"

"Mae mentioned once that he has a wife and kids," Gohan nodded. "I've never met them though."

Niko felt like his eyes were on fire. "Oh, um," his voice began to tremble. "Let's just go to the mountain from yesterday," he quickly replied, trying to hide his face with his hair. He began to walk out.

"Hey, Niko, talk to me," Gohan said calmly. "I'm here to help you. Or do you want me to go get Mae? It's okay to feel whatever you are feeling."

Niko shook his head, still walking. "I just need to go outside," he simply replied.