Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ When It Rains ❯ When It Rains 03 ( Chapter 3 )

No warnings to speak of but any anime characters referenced in this story belong to their respective owner…not me.

When it Rains

By: Kaineko

Chapter 03

Chichi had made it back in record time with the determination that this would be the day she finally put an end to their charade of a marriage. She was tired of taking second place to everything and everyone else…being left alone while he did god knows what. Just recently she'd started getting out more while Goku was off sparring with that arrogant bastard of a prince. She'd actually met quite a few people and made some new friends that were interested in the same things that she was interested in, such as art, literature, and music. It wasn't until then that she realized what she'd been missing all these years while playing wife to a man that was too inconsiderate to even stick around. In her mind, he'd become the most thoughtless, impulsive, irresponsible man; constantly running off, leaving his family for some asinine reason or another.

She was utterly miserable in her marriage, but she'd never even had the inclination that it was time to cut her husband loose and start living for herself. At least not until one of her new friends opened her eyes and told her that she didn't have to settle for being second and didn't deserve to be put through the misery and loneliness that he subjected her to. She knew it to be true, and had been saying for years how they never appreciated the sacrifices that she made for them. During those years she'd performed a balancing act while walking the thin line that's said to lie between love and hate. Once she'd loved Goku, but over the years the love she'd held for him had slowly changed to resentment…the type that leaves a lingering acrid taste in your mouth. She didn't really know what she felt for him now; but she knew that the amorous feelings she'd once harbored were now twisted and replaced by something akin to hate, if not hate itself. Through all of her introspection she continued musing over the failed relationship, haphazardly packing more stuff into the suitcases. She was almost finished when she heard the backdoor creak open then slam shut.

'Damn!' she thought stilling her breath. 'That can't be Goku at this time of day.' But even as she thought it, she knew it wouldn't be anyone but him.

"Hey Chi! I'm back!" She heard her husband call out from downstairs. 'Of all the times I wanted him to come home early and he didn't, he picks today to start.'

She quickly encapped the things she had packed so far, and slid the small case into her purse. She'd already packed up the most important stuff. The rest, she reasoned, she could do without. She wasn't taking any of the furniture or other big things...Just her clothes and a few odds and ends that held some kind of sentimental value.

Chichi had known that eventually she'd have to face him, but she'd really been hoping that it could be later rather than sooner. She contemplated just telling him she had to go to the store and hoping he'd buy it long enough for her to leave without a confrontation. It would probably work, but after she didn't show back up, he'd definitely track her ki and come looking for her. 'Damned warrior senses.' She thought.

Her intention had been to leave him a note, not wanting to do this face to face. By the time he discovered she was missing, she'd already be in her new home. It wasn't that she was a coward; it was just that she didn't know if her determination would remain solid in the face of his reaction or if she'd relent on her decision. She had after all been married to him for many decades. But this is something she felt compelled to do. Steeling her resolve, she left the bedroom and descended the stairs into the kitchen.

***

Goku watched as his wife walked slowly and deliberately down the stairs. It was apparent that she was in one of her moods, and he wondered what he could've done to anger her this time. Quickly he did a mental check, he hadn't left his dirty clothes on the bathroom floor, or left the bed unmade when he got up this morning, or left a mess in the kitchen before he went to spar. He couldn't think of what he had done, but the look on her face told him that some serious shit was about to hit the fan. The slight twinge of dread that he'd suppressed earlier was now back with a vengeance. Add to that the fact that he was still feeling a bit queasy from the confusing episode at Capsule Corp, and it didn't make for a pleasant feeling. A bit unsteady on his feet, he pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. He greeted his wife as cheerfully as he could, considering the feeling of trepidation looming over him like ominous rain clouds threatening a family picnic.

"Hey Chi. Where'd you go this morning?"

She didn't greet him or answer his question, instead remaining somber. If he had done something wrong, it had to be bad because she wasn't even screeching at him. He fidgeted a little, watching his wife for any signs that she was about to explode with anger. This anxiety was an unfamiliar feeling to the normally optimistic warrior, but his wife's uncharacteristic quiet demeanor was unnerving.

Chichi stared at him for a long moment, not uttering a word. In her head she kept repeating words of encouragement. She had to do this. She could no longer pretend she was happy as his wife and continue living in constant frustration. Since she hadn't had any time to prepare for this confrontation, she tried to think of the best way to broach the subject. She could try to sugarcoat it, or beat around the bush, but Goku was so inept that he'd probably completely misunderstand what she was saying. With the clueless warrior it was best to just come right out and say it. She inhaled deeply, trying to calm her raging emotions before finally speaking.

"I'm leaving." She said in a flat, monotone voice that belied her true feelings.

Goku sighed a bit. Was that all? "Yeah, I saw the car uncapped outside. Where are you going?"

Chichi rolled her eyes, not believing that Goku had misunderstood even the direct approach.

"I mean I'm leaving here…for good. I'm not coming back anymore. I want a divorce."

Goku was taken aback by his wife's startling declaration. She had to be kidding…right. Looking in her eyes he knew instantly that she wasn't joking. He tried to process her words, but his mind was once again swimming with the ramifications of her statement. "What do you mean…divorce?!" He said almost too shocked to form words.

She crossed her arms across her chest, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Damn Goku. How much clearer can I spell it out? I'm moving out. I don't want to be married to you anymore. Our marriage was a joke and it's over." She said condescendingly.

His heart clenched painfully in his chest and he shook his head as if his denial would make her words not be true. He stood up abruptly knocking over his chair in the process. He seemed to be making a habit of doing that lately.

"Why? Whatever I did wrong I'm sorry. Let me fix it." He blurted out in a frantic tone.

She shook her head. "I'm not happy here with you anymore. I don't think I ever have been happy. I've wasted too much of my life with you…and I don't plan on doing it any longer."

He opened his mouth to make another plea but was immediately silenced as she cut him off.

"My decision is made. There's nothing you can say to change my mind." She said, voice hard as steel.

Ignoring her words he pleaded with her. "Please Chichi. We can talk about this. Give me another chance." He said, his voice cracking slightly under the strain of his emotions.

That was it for Chichi. She had tried so hard to keep herself from becoming angry, but his words had sent her over the edge. Her eye was twitching slightly and her small fists were clenched in anger.

"Talk!" She screeched causing Goku to flinch at the volume of her voice. "Now you want to talk! After all these years of me trying to communicate with you on a husband/wife level and never being able to hold your attention for more than two seconds. Now you want to talk…Ha!" She said in a sadistically amused tone that almost made Goku question her sanity.

"You'll never change Goku. You only react when your way of life is threatened. As for another chance…it seems I've given you more chances than you deserve." She said remembering all the times he'd left her without warning and all the times she was there waiting for him when he decided to return. "I'm sick of giving you second and third and tenth chances. No more Goku. You'll get no more chances from me."

Goku was at a loss for words. He knew that what she was saying was true and he couldn't defend himself against her accusations. He had left her more times than he could count and she'd finally had enough.

The raven haired woman looked pointedly at her husband while mentally recounting all the things he'd done over the years. She couldn't figure out why she hadn't left his sorry Saiyan ass years ago. 'Probably because he never stayed alive long enough for me to leave him.' For that matter she couldn't figure out why she'd married him in the first place. "I should've known you weren't marriage material when you ran off at our first wedding."

Goku's eyes widened at her comment. He remembered the incident when they were kids. In his perpetual naiveté he hadn't known what the word marriage meant and at their first wedding he'd left in pursuit of the dragonballs. "Come on Chi. We were kids then, and I didn't understand what you wanted from me. Later when you explained it to me, I was more than willing to give it to you."

"Apparently my explanation wasn't plain enough even for you. You never gave me what I wanted…what I needed! You were never husband material to begin with."

Goku purposely ignored her derisive comment about his intelligence. "Please, tell me…what is it that you want from me? I've tried to do the best I could by you. Why isn't it good enough?" He asked with an almost pleading tone to his voice. He felt as if this was one battle that he was losing miserably.

Chichi looked at her husband disdainfully noting his dirty, torn clothes and his faintly bruised skin that was already beginning to heal. "I needed a husband that put my needs before some idiotic obsession with fighting, and you've never done that. My place has always been after your true love. Well I refuse to just sit back and allow you to keep being unfaithful to me."

Goku froze at his wife's words. Unfaithful?! He had never cheated on her. "What?! That's ridiculous…I've never cheated on you."

"I didn't say cheated, I said unfaithful. Every time you put something or someone before me, you were unfaithful…disloyal…untrue to the vows that you made to me. Our entire marriage was a lie. You never intended to be a husband to me. If I'd had more sense, I would have left you so damned long ago." She said; regret that she hadn't done so shone clearly on her face.

"I fight to protect the things I love…namely you and our family. How can you fault me for that?"

"Bullshit Goku! Save it for someone that's foolish enough to believe you. You fight because fighting's in your alien blood. It's the exhilaration that you get from fighting that you're addicted to. You forget…I was a warrior once. I know the thrill of battle. But my Kami Goku! That's all you've ever lived for. Well so be it." She said throwing up her hands as if she no longer could care less. "Sleep with your love of fighting…see if that keeps you warm at night, because I'm leaving." With that Chichi turned and stormed out through the back door. She was fuming and bitter and she wanted to leave before she really exploded.

Goku was still trying to process his wife's damning words. At first he was too stunned to move. But almost immediately he regained his bearings and ran after her. Before she made it to her car, he grabbed her arm with painful force, too emotional to control his strength, and turned her to face him. His heart was screaming at him that he couldn't lose his wife. His head was screaming at him for being a failure. He just couldn't accept this.

"I refuse to let you go. You can't just leave me like this. I don't deserve this." He said, unshed tears glistening in his dark eyes.

Chichi winced at the pain radiating through her upper arm, and tried to pull free, but his grip was unrelenting. She knew that he didn't realize he was holding her so tight, but she refused to appear weak and let him know that he was hurting her. "And I deserved all of your absences. I kept quiet when the boys were young, but they're men now and my responsibility to take care of them has been fulfilled. My responsibility to you has been nullified because you never fulfilled your obligation to me. So I suggest you let me go and let me leave." She declared in a tone that said she meant business. She knew that if Goku so chose, he could force her to stay. But she didn't believe that was even a possibility.

Goku held her in place for a few moments wracking his brain for something…anything to say to make her stay. But looking in her eyes, at her unshielded emotions, he knew that there was nothing more he could say. He suddenly realized the amount of force he was holding her with. Immediately he loosened his hold, and rubbed the bruising skin apologetically before reluctantly releasing his grip. The loss of contact seemed to shatter his already broken heart into a million pieces and the pain he felt was almost unbearable. "Please Chichi. I can change for you. Don't leave me." He said, choking back the sobs that threatened to come forth.

"Sorry Goku," she said, voice laced with anger, hostility, and pain, "but too little too late." With that she hopped in the car and sped off leaving a thick dust trail behind her.

Goku watched his wife go with something akin to incredulity. "How am I supposed to make it Chichi? How will I survive without you?" He asked as if she could still hear him. He stood there for a long time just watching as the car turned into nothing more than a dot in the sky. He thought about following behind her and trying to reason with her, but he knew it would do no good. She had been furious with him before…many times, but never to the point that he thought that she was ready to leave. However now he was painfully aware just how infuriated she'd actually been. He felt like a lost and helpless child…all alone in the world. With a defeated slump to his shoulders, and an agonizing pain in his chest, Son Goku walked back inside the house that had once felt so quaint and homey, but now felt cold and lonely. He plopped down on the sofa, wiping at the silent tears that had begun streaming down his face making wet tracks on his smooth pale skin. He couldn't believe his wife of so many decades had just left him. The cold harsh feeling of abandonment and vulnerability washed over him, sending an artic chill down his spine. He was miserable and he honestly didn't believe he'd make it. He wondered if this was how Chichi had felt all those times he had left her. Maybe he deserved this pain. It was sort of poetic justice he surmised, to have the tables turned so completely. He lay down on the couch and pillowed his head on his folded arm, tears still flowing freely. The pain in his heart was so great that he didn't think it would ever stop. He lay there for what seemed an eternity, his mind awhirl with all the emotional turmoil he'd suffered in such a sort period of time. His sobs slowly faded to be replaced by intermittent sniffles and his red swollen eyes slid shut. The weight of the day finally took its toll on him and within minutes he had fallen into an exhausted sleep.

~~~

Goku stood silently on the hillside with his back against the warm gentle mountain wind. The area was shrouded under a canopy of dense foliage. What little of the dusky gray sky he could see through the branches told him that the day was transitioning from late afternoon, to early evening. He glanced around at his surroundings; taking in all the sights. "Where am I?" he asked himself aloud. Somehow everything looked strangely familiar, but he still had no clue of where he was or how he got there. He started to walk down the path, but something caught his leg and tripped him up. He landed with an ungraceful thud sending up a cloud of dust and leaves. Looking down to see what he tripped over, he gasped in shock when he saw that his tail had unknowingly regenerated and was wrapped around his ankle. ''When did that get there?' He thought, trying to remember its regeneration. When he couldn't figure it out he shrugged and decided he'd think about that later. Righting himself and dusting off his clothes, he ventured a little further down the well-beaten path he was standing on. It forked in many different directions, but somehow he felt like he was going the right way. But the right way to what he couldn't figure out.

He went over several small hills before he finally came upon a little house in a clearing. He immediately recognized it as his childhood home. That's when it clicked…he was back in the mountains of his youth. It was quite a distance away from where he lived now, and he hadn't been back in years. ''Why would I come here?' He thought as he stepped closer to the small building and went inside. The room was too dark for him to make out anything, which was odd given that he could usually still see a little even in total darkness. Not giving it a second thought, he held up his hand forming a glowing ball of ki that cast the room in soft eerie light. He gaped in open-mouthed shock. Everything was exactly the same as when he was a child. But how was that possible? He had taken most of the things with him when he and Chichi were married and moved to their current home. "How did all this stuff get here?" He said. "For that matter, how did I get here?"

Suddenly something collided with him from the back, knocking him to the ground and extinguishing the ki. He growled indignantly, picking himself up to his knees on the dusty floor. He raised his hand to form another ki ball to see what had hit him, but before he could form it, he found himself in a chokehold from behind. His back was pressed firmly against the front of his captor and he could feel the heat radiating off the unknown individual. He struggled to free himself from the tight hold, clawing at the arm that was cutting off his airway. The person holding him was too strong even for him. This was impossible. Even Vegeta couldn't have so thoroughly restrained him unless he was in Super Saiyan form. But the room was completely void of the luminescence that normally glowed from a Super Saiyan. So, who could this be?

Goku tried to power up, but was shocked to find that he couldn't summon his ki. He was frantic. Where was his power? He had just used it only moments before, so where could it have gone so suddenly? That's when he heard a vicious laugh and felt hot breath on his ear.

"Ah Ah Ah." The voice said admonishingly. "Your ki will do you no good now. It's useless to even try." He said.

The voice was strangely familiar, yet not so familiar at the same time. Goku couldn't believe that his power could just be gone so suddenly and he tried to power up again. The grip on his throat tightened, threatening to crush his fragile windpipe, and he almost passed out from lack of oxygen.

"I told you not to even try." The voice snarled.

Goku was feeling faint and woozy. He released his attempt to power up, instead letting out a surprisingly fierce growl through his constricted throat. The man chuckled darkly and relaxed his grip a little. Goku gasped, desperately trying to fill his air-starved lungs. Suddenly he smelled it…a sickly sweet aroma that turned his stomach and made him want to vomit. His mind was racing trying to figure out who this person was. He tried to sense their ki, but he couldn't feel anything from them.

"Who are you?" Goku managed to rasp out through his aching throat.

The man clicked his tongue in a disappointed way. "I'm hurt that you don't remember me. Well let me refresh your memory." Before Goku could say anything else a hand wrapped cruelly around his tail, crushing the fragile length in a painful grip, and pulled hard. A pain-filled scream escaped his raw throat as his mind faded into a sea of immense pain.

~~~

Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, Goku woke up to his own screams. His mind was hazy and disoriented. He blinked rapidly until his living room came into focus, and realized with a torrent of relief that he was in his own house. Quickly he felt around his lower back for his tail, only to find that it wasn't there. He sighed audibly with the realization that he'd only been dreaming. He could only remember disjointed fragments of the dream, but the fact that he'd awoken screaming was enough to unnerve him.

'What's going on? I never have nightmares.' He thought. He could remember Gohan having a few as a boy, and even Goten on occasion, but never himself. He'd always been a sound sleeper. He believed in training his body to be in top form, and that always left him so exhausted that he couldn't do anything but sleep. He'd also taught himself how to clear his mind and lower his naturally keen awareness while he slept otherwise he'd be constantly woken by trivial noises.

Sitting up on the soft worn sofa, he wiped the sweat from his brow and swallowed a few times to relieve the rawness in his throat. He rubbed his hands across his stiff neck to alleviate the tension.

"Why the heck did I fall asleep on the couch?" He mumbled. "Chichi should have surely awakened…" He trailed off abruptly. Everything was suddenly coming back to him. His wife had declared that she no longer wanted to be married to him. He remembered her angry scold…her damning words of resentment…her abandonment. A deep clenching in his chest seemed to vibrate pain to his very core. It felt like a gaping hole had been ripped in his chest, and his heart had been pulled through it, but regrettably he was left alive to suffer from his injury. He wanted to go find her…make everything right. But some force deep inside him held him firmly back.

He sighed dejectedly before standing and stretching his sore cramped muscles. Being well over 6 feet tall and sleeping curled on a couch that was considerably shorter had certainly taken a toll on him. His bitterly empty stomach growled fiercely which wasn't surprising. He hadn't really eaten well that morning and he'd unfortunately thrown up all his lunch. He moved into the kitchen, picking up the chair he'd knocked over earlier before going to the pantry. He rummaged through the cabinets, not even bothering to turn on the lights, and searched for something to eat. Of course, he didn't find much…only what he hadn't devoured that morning. Chichi hadn't been kind enough to restock the comestibles before she took off. The only things in the cabinet were a box of saltine crackers, a half-eaten jar of peanut butter, and a box of Healthy-O's cereal, which no one liked. 'Ah well…' he thought. He was Saiyan therefore anything he ate would be consumed so fast that he wouldn't taste it anyway. He set the food down at the table and began eating his humble meal in silence.

***

The Capsule Corp. building was one of the most technologically advanced buildings in the world. It was outfitted with state of the art…well everything. So why couldn't they do something as simple as regulate the temperature in the damned building, Vegeta thought. Even though the weather outside was mildly warm, it was freezing inside the air-conditioned structure. He hated being cold with a passion. It was probably a by-product of all the time he'd spent in that cold-hearted bastard's company. The tyrant never kept his throne room or the ship halls above freezing, and it was always extremely difficult to concentrate on anything when your balls were going numb and you could see your breath every time you exhaled. Vegeta pulled the towel off his waist and padded over to his dresser. He rummaged through the bottom of one of his drawers and pulled out what appeared to be several plastic shopping bags stuffed inside one another to hide the contents. Inside was a pair of navy and black checked flannel pajamas that he'd bought during the winter. He pulled them out and quickly slid them over his shivering frame, thankful of having his own room. He'd be damned if anyone knew that he sometimes…only when really cold…slept in flannel pajamas. He'd have to remember to berate the onna about the poor climate in the morning. It was really late and he was exhausted. Turning out the light he padded across the room and slipped under the covers of the warm, comfortable bed. At least the woman bought good mattresses.

Long moments passed, as he lay still staring up through the darkened room at the intricately molded ceiling above him. He could still make out the repeating diamond pattern through the shadowy room and he sometimes counted each one before falling asleep. His mind was awhirl with all his memories of the day. He thought about his earlier spar with Kakarrot. It had been truly enjoyable, as always, but far too short for the Ouji's liking. He'd been really looking forward to continuing their spar after lunch. Too bad the baka had gotten ill. He frowned slightly in thought. What exactly had that been about? Vegeta's senses were extremely keen. Saiyans as a race had highly acute senses. But strangely whatever odor caused Kakarrot to be sick, had completely unaffected the prince. He couldn't get that out of his mind. When Bulma came back home that evening he'd purposely met her at the door before she had a chance to shower. She didn't smell any different than normal, except for the slight odors of the ningens she'd been around that day. But that wasn't so unusual. She worked around a lot of people, so naturally their scent would faintly rub off on her, especially those she touched or was around for a prolonged period of time. He wouldn't normally have even paid any attention to it since her own natural scent dominated those in-contact scents. It was only because he had been purposely cognizant of her smell, that he took notice this time.

Vegeta rolled over on his side, curling up trying to maintain his body heat. He wasn't really concerned with what Bulma had been working around that day. He was more concerned with the way Kakarrot had reacted to it. 'Wait…concerned…no not concerned, just curious' he told himself. He didn't care about what was wrong with the overgrown baka! 'Then why did you go sniffing on Bulma like a dog before she could even get in the house good?' a mocking little voice chanted in the back of his mind. He growled under his breath and flopped agitatedly onto his other side.

"I was just curious." He told himself aloud as if the other voice had manifested into another person that he could converse with. 'Who do you think you're fooling? Not even yourself because that's me and I'm not falling for it.' The little voice taunted.

The ouji put the pillow over his head, trying to block out the derisive little voice, but as he expected it did no good. Vegeta wished he could just shut off his thoughts, but since they were internal, he couldn't banish them. He grumbled again, rolling around restlessly. He just wanted to get some sleep, not debate with himself over someone he could care less about. He spent a few more minutes arguing with himself before he had an ideal of how to shut the voice up. He did know one way to turn off his thoughts. Lying completely still he began to clear his thoughts in preparation for meditation. After several frustrating restarts, and a bit of calculated concentration, his mind was crystal clear and he meditated himself to sleep.

***

End 4/?

A/N: Again thanks for all the reviews…they're keeping me going. Things are starting to come along…just be patient and continue to review.

Zani: I got your email but when I tried to respond it kept bouncing back stating that you couldn't be reached. Please email me again so I can contact you.

kaineko@hotmail.com

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