Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Wish For The Past ❯ Wounded Souls ( Chapter 46 )

Brenda: NO! NOOOOOOO!!!! Vegeta! Don't Final Flash my reviewers! I NEED them!

Vegeta: Onna, you said that if anyone reviewed, I could ki-blast them to the next dimension!

Brenda: Darn it, Vegeta! I wasn't serious! I wanted them to review! Grrrrr.... now you've gone and killed them and I won't get any more reviews! DAMN IT! *grabs Chi-Chi's frying pan and starts whacking the Saiya-jin no Ouji*

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. The only thing I can think of right now that I own is a little birdy who keeps calling himself "pretty bird!" in the mirror. Maybe if I give him one of the brussel sprouts (eeeew) from dinner, he'll shut up long enough for me to finish typing the chapter. ^_^

When Bardock took off towards the capsule house, he searched for the kis of Vegeta, Trunks, and Goten to use as a kind of beacon to guide him. Vegeta's ki was there, but for some reason, he couldn't sense either Trunks's or Goten's ki. However, knowing their love of the game Hide and Seek, he supposed that they might be in the middle of a game and had suppressed their energy. Who knows? Perhaps they had even included Vegeta in the game. It didn't really matter, since the prince didn't have his energy hidden. The older Saiyan focused on the ten year old's ki and followed it until he could see the house with his eyes and no longer needed a guide.

Landing in front of the domed building, he quickly stepped through the broken door and immediately headed towards the room where his son slept, anxious to check on his condition. Realizing that he would probably need fresh bandages, he made a brief detour to the bathroom where the supplies were kept and grabbed the entire first aid kit, too keen on getting back to Goku's side to pause long enough to extract the specific items he would need and put the rest away. With the kit in hand, he continued on his way to his son's room.

The sight that greeted him upon entering the room was not what he expected, to say the least. Lying in the chair next to the bed was the young Prince Vegeta, arms crossed and his head resting on the arm of the chair, fast asleep. A thin trickle of drool escaped the boy's open mouth, and he had his legs sprawled over the other arm of the chair while his tail dangled over the edge of the seat. Bardock gaped in surprise, jumping slightly when the young Saiyan snored softly and muttered something in his sleep, the perpetual scowl relaxing just a little bit into a slightly softer expression.

Bardock stared at Vegeta for a moment, then shifted his gaze back to Goku, who lay in his bed in exactly the same position he'd left him in, except for the fact that the sheets seemed to be tucked in just a little snugger around him. He looked back at the sleeping Vegeta. Vegeta... fell asleep watching my son? He was stunned. Even though the prince's earlier words had seemed to indicate remorse for his actions the night before, he hadn't expected this! Am I reading too much into this? Is it just an accident that you were sitting in that chair long enough to fall asleep? Or is it... something more? His own face softening a little, he leaned over and gently picked the boy up, careful not to wake him. He had never seemed so... child-like... before. Bardock suddenly realized that he had been thinking of the young prince as an adult, and not as the young boy he really was. He supposed it had something to do with how Vegeta seemed to carry himself with an instinctive dignity, all the while doing his best to speak and act in a way becoming of the Saiya-jin no Ouji, remaining aloof from the others. How much of your cold exterior is a facade, a mask to hide your true self? And just what is that inner self like?

Carrying Vegeta in his arms, he walked to another room in the capsule house and laid the boy on the bed. As he pulled the sheets over his prince's small form, he couldn't help but smile. If Vegeta knew that I saw him asleep in that room, and that I'd tucked him into bed, he'd probably blow a fuse. Don't worry, boy, I won't tell if you won't. In an amused moment of self mockery, he added, Far be it from me to show any tenderness towards the Prince of all Saiyans, and the boy who nearly got my son killed!

With a rueful shake of his head, Bardock slipped quietly out of the room and headed back to his son's side. He picked up the first aid kit from where he'd left it next to the chair and set it down on top of the bed, then pulled the covers back to reveal Goku's injured body. He had been right in his guess that the child's bandages needed to be changed. Blood had seeped through the gauze and into the sheets and mattress, though he could tell that the amount of bleeding had diminished from last night. Bardock gently removed the bandage from the wound in Goku's side and dropped it on the floor, to be dealt with later. The hole was no longer quite so raw and gaping, but it still had a ragged look to it, and sticky red blood smeared the skin around it. Thankfully, though, there was no sign of infection, causing Bardock to breathe a sigh of relief. He swiftly cleaned this side of the hole, then carefully turned the boy over so he could repeat the process on the other side, then rebandage both parts of the injury.

Once he had finished checking over Goku's leg, along with the various other minor wounds, and changing the dressings on them, he put away the medical supplies he had used and picked up the first aid kit and soiled bandages. He went back to the bathroom to replace the kit where he had found it, then tossed the bandages in a basket next to the clothes washer. Since he didn't know how to operate it, he would let Bulma deal with that when she came back with Radditz.

Returning to the room, he pulled the chair away from the wall to face the bed, then sat down in it so he could watch over his peacefully sleeping son. Goku's cheeks seemed to have lost some of their pallor, and his breaths came in a slow, regular cycle. A soft smile spread across the older warrior's face and he reached a hand out to smooth his child's unruly hair, hair that looked so much like his own. Just looking at the boy made something stir inside him, a feeling he had never felt before that warmed him and tugged at his heart. He wasn't certain if he liked the strange emotion, but he decided he would deal with it later. Right now, the only thing on his mind was his youngest son.

As Bardock's fingers drew away from the spikes of Goku's hair, he tenderly caressed his son's warm cheek, wiping a stray speck of dirt away with his thumb. In response, Goku's eyelids fluttered briefly, then slowly opened to reveal his coal black eyes. Bardock blinked in surprise, not expecting Goku to wake up for at least another day, but he smiled broadly as his son's eyes focused on the warrior's features.

"Daddy?" The chibi Saiyan's voice was soft, sleepy, but fully aware. His eyes opened a little further but remained firmly fixed on his father's face.

"Yeah. It's me. How are you feeling?" Bardock really wasn't certain what to say in this situation, but the words seemed right. His hand continued to cup Goku's cheek, forgotten by its owner, who kept smiling gently down at his son.

"I'm hungry..." Goku murmured, blinking the sleep from his eyes. Bardock couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped from his lips. Just like a true Saiyan. Waking up for the first time after nearly dying and the first thing he says is 'I'm hungry.' The boy wriggled a little to find a more comfortable position, then winced in pain. "And my side hurts, too."

That sobered the older Saiyan up. Pulling his hand away from Goku's cheek, he ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. "That's probably because you had a big stick poking through it when I found you."

Goku's brow furrowed in confusion and his eyes became lost in thought as he tried to remember what happened. After a few moments, the blank look faded and was replaced by one of grief and misery. Tears welled up in his eyes as he recalled the events and revelations of the night before, a small sob shaking the child's body. "Daddy, I killed my grandpa," Goku whispered raggedly, eyes unblinking and filled with pain. The tears that formed began to spill down his cheeks in small, glistening streams.

Upon opening his mouth, Bardock found that he couldn't think of what to say. There were a million things he could say, but all of them sounded empty and meaningless to him. Reaching out with both arms, he carefully and gently gathered his son's small frame in his arms, lifting him out of bed and resting him in his lap. With one arm cradling the boy's head against his chest and the other supporting Goku's back, he decided that a simple, comforting hug would be best. Goku sobbed again and buried his face in his father's shirt, tears flowing freely to soak into the green cloth.

After sitting like this for several minutes, words finally came into Bardock's mind on their own. "It wasn't your fault, you know," he murmured softly, rubbing Goku's back in a soothing manner. "You had no control over your oozaru transformation. You were too young, and you had no one to teach you." He flinched inwardly at these words, a pang of guilt wrenching at his heart. You had no one to teach you because I abandoned you. It's not your fault, Goku. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine.

"B-but I looked at the m-moon, even though g-grandpa told me not to!" Goku sobbed brokenly, his voice muffled from speaking through Bardock's shirt. "If-if I hadn't looked at th-the moon, grandp-pa would still b-be alive!"

Bardock's heart literally ached for the grief and anguish his son was going through and he found himself wishing he could take the pain away and bring back the cheerful little boy he had met only a few days ago. Hesitantly wrapping his tail around Goku's waist, being careful not to aggravate the wound, he let the fuzzy brown tip stroke the seven year old's tail. The gesture was meant to be comforting, generally only used by close friends and relatives, and was seldom practiced simply because Saiya-jin rarely allowed themselves to show such emotions. In the instances it was used most often, there was usually death involved. More specifically, the death of someone loved more deeply than was normal. A twin, a mate - in some cases, a parent, a child, or a sibling.

It seemed to Bardock that now was an appropriate time for this gesture.

"You didn't know, Goku," he said softly, his tail continuing to stroke Goku's soothingly. "You didn't know what would happen. You couldn't have known that you were the creature your grandpa told you about. It's not your fault." In response to either his words or the embrace, Goku stopped trembling and relaxed a little, though he still cried, hiccuping every now and again. "Accidents happen, and I'm sure your grandfather knows you didn't mean to kill him. He still loves you, and he knows you love him. That's all that matters."

"But it hurts so much," Goku whispered hoarsely, tilting his head up to look at his father through eyes that shimmered with the tears that continued to fall from them in crystalline droplets.

"I know, Goku, I know. The pain never really goes away." Thinking back on the loss of Sereri, he shivered suddenly and clutched his son closer to his chest. Yes, he knew all too well what the pain of loss felt like. "But it fades, and it doesn't hurt as much. You just have to let time heal these kinds of wounds."

Pressing his face into his father's chest once more, Goku nodded even as he began to sob again. Bardock continued to hold him protectively as his tail curled loosely around Goku's small body. Eventually, the younger Saiyan's whimpers trailed off into quiet, steady breathing as sleep reclaimed him. Rather than setting him back down on the bed, Bardock just kept holding his small son in his arms, finding in the boy a measure of solace for his own pain. Both of them bore wounds in their souls deeper than the eye could see, but perhaps, together, they would be enough to heal each other's broken hearts.

Upon entering the house, Goten and Trunks suddenly realized just how hungry they were as their noses immediately picked up the appetizing scents that wafted through the air. With stomachs growling, the two friends followed their noses until they came to a room literally filled with food of every kind, piled high on the floor with only enough room at the edges for company to be seated. Despite how much food was there, though, that was not what caught their attention first. Sitting at one end of the food was a massive, bearded man wearing a helmet adorned with two ox horns. At his side was Chi-Chi, who was setting a final dish of dumplings down before she turned to greet the two demi-Saiyans.

"There you are! Papa, you already know Goku, and that's his friend, Trunks. I invited them to eat lunch with us!" The seven year old girl walked up to Goten, grabbed his arm, and pulled him down to sit next to her on one side of the food, placing him between her and the Ox King. "Trunks, this is my father, the Ox King."

"Well, hello there, Goku," the Ox King rumbled congenially. "It's nice to see you again. And I'm pleased to meet you, too, Trunks. Any friend of Goku's is a friend of mine! Please, be seated." Trunks nodded his head politely and sat between Goten and Ox King.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, too, sir."

Feeling very awkward about having his mom holding his arm like like she was, Goten reached up with his free hand and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "But I'm not Goku," he said as he tried to pull away from Chi-Chi. "I'm his so-ow!" Before Goten could finish his statement, Trunks bopped him lightly on the head to shut him up. Well, lightly for a Saiyan, anyway. "What'd you do that for, Trunks?!" Rubbing his sore head gingerly, the spiky haired boy glared at his best friend with a hurt look in his eyes.

"Hey, don't hit Goku!" Chi-Chi snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously. Then what 'Goku' had said sank in and she turned her gaze on the boy she thought was her future husband. "And what do you mean, you're not Goku? Who else would you be?"

Goten opened his mouth again to explain, but Trunks beat him to it. "That's Goten. He's Goku's twin brother. Right, Goten?" The lilac haired demi gave his friend a meaningful look. Just go with it, Goten. We don't need to have your mom find our you're her future son! It'd take too long to explain, and then she'd probably start acting like she does when she thinks about Gohan and Videl giving her grandchildren!

Fortunately for the both of them, Goten had enough sense to agree with Trunks, or was just in the habit of always following his friend's lead. "Uh huh! Goku's my twin brother." Flashing the girl with his best Son Grin (TM), he finally managed to extricate his arm and edged away from his chibi mother.

"Goku never mentioned that he had a twin brother," Chi-Chi said, eyeing Goten and Trunks suspiciously. "And you're carrying his staff on your back." Pointing at the end of the red pole that poked above the eight year old's shoulder, her face took on a triumphant expression. "How do you explain that, huh?"

"Oh, that's easy!" Goten laughed, glad that for once he had been asked something that he could answer without risking saying something compromising. "Goku and I traded clothes, and he lent me his nyoibo, so we could see if anyone could tell us apart. An' he didn't know about me until a few days ago, so that's why he didn't tell you."

The raven haired girl blinked in surprise as she mentally examined Goten's statements for any holes or lies. "But why wouldn't he know about you?"

"Goku got separated from his family when he was a baby," Trunks cut in, figuring that his friend wouldn't be able to explain this part without giving something away. "He was raised by his Grandpa Gohan, so he didn't know he had any other family until we met him a few days ago."

"Oooh." She nodded to herself as it suddenly all made sense, then smiled brightly at Trunks. "So then, are you related to my Goku, too? You have a tail just like him, and Goten, too!"

A bead of sweat rolled down the back of Trunks's head and the boy rolled his eyes. First Goku, then Bulma, now Chi-Chi; it seemed like everyone was assuming that he was related to Goku because he had a tail. "No, I'm not related to Goku. I just happen to have a tail like him. Purely coincidence."

"Ahem," the deep voice of the Ox King interrupted before Chi-Chi could continue her interrogation. "Now that we've cleared up this little misunderstanding, could we eat? The food's getting cold, and I'm starving!" Not waiting to see if anyone had paid any attention to him, he reached out and grabbed a bowl of pork buns, promptly popping two into his mouth at the same time.

Only too happy to oblige, Goten and Trunks dove into the food with a will, eating with a speed and thoroughness that only Saiyans could pull off. A startled Ox King and Ox Princess openly gaped as the two blissfully stuffed their faces. "Oh... my..." the little girl murmured to herself, picking up a bowl of rice that seemed so measly in comparison to the proportions of food that her two guests were consuming. Each boy was easily out-eating the Ox King himself, despite the fact that he was probably ten times larger than either of them.

"What brings you boys around here, anyway?" the oversized sovereign asked between bites.

Goten and Trunks looked up from their food, their cheeks puffed out with food. Exchanging glances, they swallowed simultaneously. "We're looking for a dragonball-" Goten said.

"And the radar said there was a dragonball here-" Trunks added.

"And then we met Chi-Chi and she invited is in to lunch-" the spiky haired chibi continued.

"And we were hungry," the older boy carried on, "and since Goku's told us about your daughter, we wanted to meet her-"

"So now we're here," Goten finished. The two had spoken so quickly, one after the other, that the whole exchange had sounded like one long sentence. Both boys took a deep breath, then simultaneously reached for more food as Chi-Chi and her father blinked owlishly at their explanation.

"You're looking for a dragonball? You mean like the one your brother was after the last time I met him?" Ox King asked Goten, setting aside the pork buns in favor of a basket of buttered rolls. When Goten nodded in the affirmative, his mouth too full to even mumble a response, the giant turned towards his daughter. "Chi-Chi, didn't you say you found a little orange ball like that?"

"Uh huh! I found it out in the woods, and it made me think of Goku, so I kept it! I'll go get it for you!" The girl stood up and darted out of the room, returning after a few moments with a small orange-red ball in hand. She smiled happily as she handed it to Goten. "Here you go! You can have this if you promise to remind Goku that he said he'd marry me!"

Goten and Trunks sweatdropped in unison, and the black haired boy chuckled nervously even as he accepted the ball from his mother. Upon closer examination, he found that there was one star floating in the center of the sphere, winking faintly with reflected light. "Umm... thank you, Chi-Chi," Goten said, tucking the object into his gi so he wouldn't lose it. "I promise I'll tell my d-er.. my brother." It felt really odd to be talking to his mother this way, not to mention the fact that he had just vowed to remind his father to marry her!

Inwardly laughing at the whole situation, Trunks was struggling to maintain a straight face. "We really need to be going," he said, glancing out the window to see that the sun was well past the midway point and was on its way to the western horizon. "Goku got hurt, you see, and we need to get his medicine to him."

Chi-Chi clapped her hands to her mouth in horror. "Goku's hurt?! Oh how terrible!" In a change of moods faster than the eye could perceive, she scowled at the two older boys. "Well, what are you waiting for?! Goku needs that medicine! You have to go give it to him now! He still has to marry me, you know!" Grabbing each boy by a hand, she began to drag them out of the room and towards the door. "If I find out that he died because you two took too long to get his medicine-"

"Don't worry, Chi-Chi!" Trunks cut in, not exactly keen on hearing whatever threat the fiery tempered girl might have in mind should they fail in their mission. "We won't let anything like that happen! See? We're going right now!" Pulling away from the little girl, he immediately took to the air, pausing only long enough to wave goodbye.

"Thanks for the food, mom, it was really good!" Goten chirped as he blasted off after his friend. "Byeeee!!!"

It was a very stunned Chi-Chi who stood staring at the two rapidly diminishing specks in the sky. In the past two seconds, she'd just received two shocking revelations: Goten and Trunks could fly, and...

"Mom?" she whispered, her eyes wide. She blinked once. Twice. "Naaah. He must have made a mistake."

*stares sadly at the charred remains of a reviewer* Darn it all... I don't even know how many of you Vegeta blasted! Now no one will review my story. *sniffles* If any of you survived the wrath of Vegeta, lemme know (along with a normal review. ^_^)