Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Dark Heart ❯ An Unexpected Visitor ( Chapter 4 )

4. An Unexpected Visitor

Bulma rubbed her tired eyes as she tried, hopelessly, to solve the equation her father had given her three days ago. Three days, and the solution still evaded her. She would have started to feel ridiculously stupid if it weren't for the fact that she knew the reason behind her exhaustion.

Vegeta.

Ever since the warrior had abandoned the planet, she'd been incapable of getting enough sleep to be able to function properly. It didn't help that her parents, and even her friends, had noticed the difference in her behavior and they couldn't seem to be able to hide the pity in their eyes when they were around her.

And of course, there was her rambunctious little boy, who was getting stronger and more active by the day and it was driving her insane. He crawled all over the place, up and down the stairs, in the gardens… Everywhere! She'd been spending as much time with him as possible, especially considering how busy her schedule at the lab had been lately. When she was at work, her parents would take turns taking care of him, playing with their grandchild, trying to exhaust him. They'd even built a bigger swimming pool in hopes of teaching him how to swim so that the little demi-Saiyan would find yet another way to release his energy.

Nothing seemed to work.

The scientist had even called Chichi, whom she'd been really trying to avoid for a while, looking for some answers. After all, Goku's wife had already raised Gohan.

To her disappointment, her friend had confessed never having had the same problem with her son in the past. Apparently, Goku's kid had always been really calm and quiet, even as a toddler. This information filled Bulma with despair, and she hung up her phone, not before promising Chichi a visit in the near future.

A loud sound startled her and she run towards the living room. There, sitting sloppily on the floor, the purple haired boy was crying as he held a broken toy in his chubby little hand.

Ah yes, this was another one. Trunks' toys didn't seem to last much due to the unusual strength of the child. Bulma had even experimented with making some herself, trying to use stronger materials than the ones found in regular children's toys but she hadn't been very successful so far. The scientist looked down and she saw her baby boy stretching his arms towards her, silently asking to be held by his mother.

“Aww sweetie,” she cooed, “It's alright. Come here…”

She held Trunks in her arms and she gently started to rock him as she hummed his favorite song. This seemed to sooth the child. Soon he was looking sleepy, his thumb stuck in his mouth, sucking on it softly. Bulma lovingly wiped the few stray tears from his eyes and she walked into the kitchen thinking that perhaps some warm milk would do her baby some good. She snickered, her little boy was half Saiyan after all, and he had the appetite to prove it.

Just as she was entering the kitchen, she heard a familiar voice.

“Well, there you are dear! I was just about to come get you! Isn't this a lovely coincidence?”

Bulma looked at her mother, wondering how was it possible for a person to be that damn cheery and happy all the time, especially considering that they were now officially living at a home where little Trunks was being raised without a father. She shook her head, trying to forget the gloomy thoughts that seemed to follow her wherever she went these days and she replied.

“What's the matter mom?”

“Oh Bulma, always so distracted! Don't you see we have a visitor?”

Her mother pointed out her finger towards the garden and Bulma quickly noticed who their visitor was.

“Piccolo?” she whispered.

“Yes! It's that lovely young man! I asked him if he wanted to come in but he refused. He must be really shy…”

Bulma softly chuckled. She wouldn't say that Piccolo was shy, it was more like he was the quiet broody type of warrior, just like Vegeta was…

“Well, let me go outside to try to find out what is it that he wants. Mom, would you take care of Trunks for a minute?”

“Of course I will! How could I not want to hold my favorite grandson?”

Bulma nodded her head and smiled sadly. Bunny's favorite grandchild? More like the only one she'd probably ever have… Her mother extended her arms and Bulma tried to pass the baby to her, but Trunks wasn't having it. He was practically asleep by this point and he was clutching his mother's shirt tightly, as if he were afraid she'd disappear.

Bulma sighed and looked around her.

“Can you pass me that blanket please?”

“This one?” Bunny pointed at a baby blue blanket that was resting on one of the kitchen chairs.

“Yes,” Bulma replied tiredly.

Her mother gave her the blanket and she carefully wrapped her son with it, grateful that he hadn't stirred too much. Baby Trunks had been very fussy lately and Bulma was really growing to appreciate every single moment of peace she could get.

Once she'd made sure her child was cozily wrapped, she exited the kitchen and she walked towards the garden, where Piccolo was already waiting for her.

“Hi Piccolo,” Bulma said in a tone that was somewhat shy. For some reason, even after all these years, she still didn't feel completely comfortable around the green warrior. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she found him extremely hard to read, and that always made her a bit nervous.

“Bulma,” Piccolo nodded politely.

“Did I keep you waiting for long? My mom said you didn't want to enter”.

“It's fine, don't worry about it”.

Bulma nodded.

“Well, may I ask what brings you here? Did something happen to Gohan or Chichi?”, she asked worriedly.

“They're alright. Everything's fine at the Son house,” he replied courteously.

“Ah, that's good to know… Um… Then to what do I owe this visit?”

“Dende wants to talk to you”

Bulma frowned slightly. Dende? The new Guardian of Earth wanted to talk to her? Why? What was going on here? Before she had time to ask any questions, Piccolo simply said to her “I think I have an idea of what he wants to talk to you about, but it isn't my place to discuss it. Especially here.”

The blue haired woman nodded timidly in understanding.

“Does this mean that he wants me to go to The Lookout?”, she finally asked.

“Yes”, he said.

He looked at the child in her arms and he continued, “You can bring him with you if you want to, he seems to want to be close to you right now…”

The woman nodded again.

“Alright then, I'll get my plane and I'll go there right now. You don't have to wait for me if you don't want to.”

The green warrior nodded in understanding and he made a move to leave.

“Piccolo?”, she asked again.

He turned towards her and he looked at her expectantly.

Bulma seemed to hesitate for a minute before finally asking, “Will you be there too?”

Piccolo nodded.

“I will. I'll probably want to have a word with you too, if you don't mind”.

“Oh, um… sure. I guess…”

“Then I'll see you there”, and before she had time to say anything else, the warrior took off and left her, dumbfounded, standing in the middle of the garden.

`What the hell was that all about?', she thought…

After a couple of minutes, the scientist walked back into the kitchen, where Bunny Briefs was busy humming and in the process of baking something.

“Oh, there you are again sweetie! How did it go?”

Bulma sighed. She really was exhausted.

“Actually, I'm not sure mom.”

“Oh? And why is that, dear?”, Bunny chirped as she proceeded to beat some eggs in a large bowl.

Bulma stood there, lost in thought for a minute, until she finally said, “Look mom, I have to go somewhere. I'll see you later, OK?”

“Oh, OK! You two have fun! I'll have chocolate cupcakes waiting for you when you come back!”

She walked upstairs into her room and she picked up her case of capsules. Before she left the house, she took a quick look into the mirror and she frowned at what she saw: her eyes were swollen from crying all night. The redness had passed but she still looked like crap. Bulma sighed again. `Oh well…' she thought. `I guess one of the perks of being a single mother is not having to put taking care of your appearance first anymore…'

Bulma walked into the garden, she threw the capsule at a safe distance and she got inside the plane, carefully holding her sleeping child in her arms. He was sound asleep now, and she thought that would allow her to put him in his little chair. But again, her baby refused to let go of her, so she sat on the pilot's seat and she turned on the autopilot.

As the plane took off into the sky, Bulma tenderly kissed Trunks' soft hair. The baby smiled and her heart fluttered.

Maybe everything would be alright in the end…