Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ He Means Business ❯ 09 ( Chapter 9 )

Bulma was unrelenting in her fury. She bared her teeth and growled in a way that Vegeta thought only Saiyajin women could—mostly in a way that reminded him of what little he saw of his mother in his youth.

 

"Trunks," he muttered gravely, "Take care of your mother."

 

His son's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open, but before he could respond, Vegeta was out the door.

 

 

...

 

 

"What do you think, Kakarrot?" Raditsu nodded toward the pile of berries.

 

"Hm," the man considered them. "What are you putting it in, again?"

 

"Muffins."

 

"Oh," Goku licked his lips, and Raditsu shrunk away in fear that the saliva that pooled at the corners of his brother's mouth might drop onto him. "I think..." he sniffed at a few of the berries. "This one."

 

"And it's not poisonous?" Raditsu took it, frowning in disgust as Goku turned quickly to look over his shoulder at an employee who carried a tray of fresh pound cake; a drip of his saliva sailed through the air and landed upon Raditsu's apron. His lips curled downward and he snatched a nearby paper towel.

 

"Nope," Goku answered absently, still staring at the pound cake. "Chi puts them in pancakes all the time."

 

"Pancakes?"

 

"Hey, we should make pancakes! Yeah!" Goku grinned, returning his attention to the remaining berries that he held in his hand and gobbling them down. "Whaddaya think, Raditsu?"

 

"We'll discuss that after I get our minions going on these muffins," he turned away, wiping Goku's saliva away with one hand and keeping a careful hold of the berry in the other.

 

"Guess we didn't need Vegeta's help after all," Goku muttered to himself with a smile, leaning over and grabbing a cookie as a tray was pulled from the oven. "Though I do wonder why Bulma didn't let me talk to Vegeta..."

 

"Daddy!" Goten burst in the door. He paused to bow to the customer he'd almost bumped into, and hopped over the counter. "Can I have a chocolate-chip muffin?" At the nod and smile of one of the employees, he took one and continued toward his father.

 

Raditsu strode back into the main area. "Our top lackey Mark was impressed with your choice, Kakarrot," he clapped his brother on the shoulder, but seemed to regret it as he noticed the crumbs that littered his brother's clothing. "He has never seen such a combination."

 

Goku grinned. "I'm good at food!"

 

"Uncle Raditsu!" Goten burst into a grin. "I think you owe me extra pastries for this!"

 

"Really?" the man raised an eyebrow, switching to the voice that seemed to be reserved specifically for the little boy. "What is it?"

 

Goten yanked something from behind his back and slapped it into Raditsu's open palm. "I think it's important! Trunks' mom was working on it a lot yesterday and she kept saying we couldn't bother her. Then she gave something just like it to a guy in a nice suit!"

 

Raditsu unrolled the booklet. "Can you read it?"

 

Goten bit his lip. "There's a lot of big words...she said to the guy that it was for next week's, um...apple spice mint?"

 

"Hm," Raditsu narrowed his eyes. "I doubt that's it, but what a fine idea for a cake—don't you think, Kakarrot?"

 

"Oh, yeah," Goku grinned. "But hey—look at that book again, there's pictures!"

 

Raditsu flipped through the pages. "So there are."

 

"It's pictures of food!" Goten piped up. "Maybe Trunks' mom is gonna sell food too!"

 

"Maybe she is," a new voice answered smoothly from the entrance to the shop.

 

"Vegeta!" Goku beamed. "Oh yeah, I don't think we need more advice after all, 'cause—"

 

"Oh," Vegeta knit his brows. "Don't even get me started, Kakarrot," he warned. "I don't know what you were thinking—"

 

"What's going on?" Raditsu crossed his arms, handing the booklet back to Goten. "What's this about more advice, Kakarrot?"

 

"Um," Goku glanced toward his toes, "I sorta...called Vegeta...but..."

 

"Shit," Raditsu grumbled. "Really?"

 

"Bulma answered," Vegeta finished, "and the rest is history."

 

"That does explain why your clothes look so rumpled—for a prince," Raditsu chortled.

 

"Slept in a tree last night," Vegeta grumbled. "And thanks, Kakarrot, for ensuring that I don't get any for the next three months."

 

"Any what?" Goku blinked, but seemed to become distracted, turning around. When he turned back, Raditsu was snickering and Vegeta had stuffed his hands in his pockets indignantly. "Want a muffin?"

 

Vegeta snatched it, still grumbling. "Thanks, Kakarrot," he mumbled.

 

Goku smiled. "Hey, just 'cause Bulma's mad at you doesn't mean I am. I'll give you a muffin anytime, Vegeta!" He grinned, even as Vegeta's face fell.

 

Goten's eyes lit up as his father's comment seemed to spark something. "Mister Vegeta! You can help us!" He turned to Raditsu. "Right, 'cause—'cause if Trunks is like my brother, then Vegeta is like my dad, right?"

 

"Oh god," Vegeta pressed his palm against his nose, hiding his eyes behind his fingers.

 

"What do you mean, if Trunks is like your brother?" Raditsu's eyebrow twitched.

 

"Then we're all like family!" Goten finished, ignoring his uncle's question. "So we can tell Vegeta the secret and he can help us!"

 

"Yeah!" Goku took the booklet from his son. "Vegeta, can you read this to us?" he proffered it to the prince.

 

"Absolutely n—" Vegeta started, but when he peeked through his fingers at the booklet, he took it immediately. "These are Bulma's advertisements for next week's Capsule Corp. catalogue!" he glanced them over. "I saw her working on them yesterday. She was damn excited about it, too..."

 

"Oh, I guess it wasn't apple spice mint," Goten admitted.

 

"Where'd you get this?" Vegeta brandished it.

 

"From her bag," Goten muttered under his glare, "when she left to go get somethin' from the kitchen."

 

Vegeta growled, folding his arms. "Well..."

 

"Well, what're you going to do?" Raditsu slid up to him. "Return it to her? Hm?"

 

"Oh, but Bulma's mad at him," Goku pointed out, and Raditsu elbowed his brother.

 

"Kakarrot has a point," Vegeta flipped through the pages, and his scowl slowly became a smirk. "And since that's not likely to change anytime soon..."

 

Raditsu held a hand out to Vegeta. "No need," Vegeta gave a toothy grin. "It's a deal."

 

 

...

 

 

King Vegeta nudged at Bardock, but the man did little more than twitch, moving his mouth every few moments.

 

Kakarrot listened carefully as the prince spoke, apparently straining to hear his quiet words. Eventually, Vegeta stopped speaking, and Kakarrot bit his lip, fiddling with his wristbands. Vegeta spoke a few more words, smirking smoothly, and Kakarrot grinned, nodding. When Raditsu paced up to them, the two sprung apart, speaking animatedly as they motioned to a nearby cake.

 

"—Duplicity!" Bardock blurted, head snapping back up.

 

"What?" King Vegeta blinked. "Duplicity?"

 

"What the hell kind of word is that?" Bardock grumbled, rubbing his forehead where it had slammed against the table.

 

"The one you just said!"

 

"Liar."

"Am not."

 

They froze at a rapid knocking on the door. "I know you're in there! Come on, I came over to visit!"

 

"Oh gods," King Vegeta whispered, eyes widening, a bead of sweat gathering at his brow.

 

"We...should...run."

 

 

...

 

 

"I cannot believe your father," Bulma fumed, shoveling spaghetti onto Trunks plate until it spilled over the sides, and then she kept going.

 

"Mom!" Trunks pulled his plate away. "It's okay."

 

"I'm only one person," she huffed. "Now Vegeta's probably going to go help Raditsu. Sure I'm amazing, but Vegeta wasn't half bad at this kind of thing..."

 

"I'll help," Trunks smirked. "I can go spy on them."

 

Bulma raised her eyebrows. "Well..."

 

"I know what you're thinking," the boy stood, pacing, as he spoke matter-of-factly. "It's not fair. But consider this!" he whirled around to face his mother. "They have a spy too! Goten!"

 

"Oh," Bulma narrowed her eyes, cracking her knuckles. "Is that so?"

 

Trunks nodded. "If you give me extra allowance, I'll return the favor and spy on them! I think they think I'm on Goten's side," he grinned slyly. "They'll never suspect a thing."

 

"Hm," Bulma smirked. "You drive a hard bargain, kiddo. All right. Maybe you can learn a thing or two for when you take over Capsule Corp."

 

"All right!" Trunks held his hand up for a high-five.

 

Bulma grabbed it and shook it. "Lesson one: the handshake."