Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Wish For The Past ❯ Pink Shirt ( Chapter 41 )

Disclaimer: *stands on a soap box on the corner of the street* Hear ye, hear ye! I don't own DBZ! Hey, that rhymed! Wow! I'm a poet! *dances around giddily*

Trunks: Brenda, get down from there before you make a fool out of yourself!

Gohan: Uhh.. Trunks? *sweatdrops* Too late...

Brenda: *giggles insanely*

The morning sun had already risen halfway through the sky, burning away the last vestiges of the clouds that remained after the storm of the previous night, before Bardock began to stir. Not that he was ready to be awake, of course, but the brilliant sunshine that filtered in through the room's sole window fell directly on his face, convincing him that if he wanted to sleep any longer, he would have to move to another location or suffer the consequences. He cracked his eyes open just wide enough to survey the room in search of a shadier location where he could still keep an eye on his sleeping son and was surprised to find that he was not alone.

Standing next to the bed was the young prince Vegeta, sunlight glinting off his flame-shaped black hair, giving him faint brown highlights. Vegeta apparently was not aware that Bardock was awake, as all he did was stare at the sleeping Goku with an odd expression on his face. Feigning unconsciousness, Bardock frowned internally, trying to interpret what he was seeing on the ten year old boy's face. It certainly wasn't what he was expecting from the arrogant, insensitive brat who had broken Goku's heart the night before with his callousness, nor was it something he would have matched with the mischievous boy who had helped Goten and Trunks play pranks on him during the trip to Earth. In fact, it would have been out of place even for the child who had run away, however temporarily, from the kingship of his people.

Was it... remorse? Regret?

..... concern?

If Bardock had previously had any thoughts of anger towards the prince because of his behavior last night, the look on Vegeta's face caused him to forget them. Instead, all he felt was an itching curiosity to know why Vegeta had that look on his face. Opening his eyes completely, he asked in a carefully neutral voice, "Vegeta?"

Vegeta nearly jumped out of his skin in surprise, whirling around to face the older Saiyan as though he'd been caught in the act of doing something unforgivable. His face became a blank mask, all trace of his earlier emotions completely wiped off as though they had never been, and he glared almost threateningly at Bardock, silently daring him to say something about what he had just witnessed. "What?" he growled angrily.

Their gazes locked, each searching the other's eyes for some hint of what the other was thinking, and Bardock took a deep breath before asking, point blank, "What are you doing here, Vegeta?"

The prince's shoulder's stiffened at the question and the older warrior could tell from the way that Vegeta's jaw muscles clenched that he was undergoing some internal conflict of some kind. Breaking eye contact, Vegeta stared moodily at some point beyond Bardock's shoulder. "As the Prince of all Saiyans, it is my job to be aware of the condition of my subjects," he responded woodenly, jutting his chin out defiantly. "I was merely examining your baka son to see if he would be a hindrance in completing this silly quest." Their eyes met again, and Bardock was surprised to find that he didn't believe a word of what Vegeta had said.

"Why did you tell him the truth about his grandfather's death?" Bardock asked softly, his eyes narrowing slightly. A spark of anger rekindled itself in his heart as he remembered just how insensitive and cruel the boy before him had been the night before, as well as all the trouble and pain his words had caused. His son had nearly died last night, and all because of this Saiya-jin boy who stood before him.

The strange look Bardock had noted earlier flickered momentarily in Vegeta's eyes before quickly being squashed. What was it? Shame? Sorrow? Surely not... Vegeta snapped his head to one side, glaring down at Goku as he tried to sort through his mind to come up with the answer to Bardock's question without meeting the other Saiyan's soul-searching gaze. "We all do things we shouldn't," he said at last, a cryptic tone to his words. "And it is up to us to take responsibility for what we have done." With that, the ten year old Saiya-jin no Ouji padded out of the room, not looking back at either of the two occupants.

Bardock stared at the boy's receding form, a thoughtful and somewhat surprised look on his face. Surprise because of the remarkable insight Vegeta had shown for his age. Thoughtfulness because...

Who was Vegeta really talking about?

Bardock was still deep in thought, trying to unravel the mystery of Vegeta's words, when Bulma, Goten, and Trunks walked into the room. Looking up from his contemplation, the warrior watched as Goten and Trunks levitated up far enough to get a clear look at Goku, grateful that the blanket covering Goku was thick and dark enough to hide the blood that had no doubt soaked through his son's bandages and probably into the sheets. The two boys didn't need to be any more alarmed than they no doubt already were. Bulma smiled and brushed a lock of the chibi Saiyan's hair out of his face, then looked back up at Bardock.

"How is he?" the human girl asked.

On cue, Goten chirped, "Is he gonna be okay, grandpa?" Trunks didn't say anything, but he also gave the older warrior a worried look.

"He'll be ok," Bardock assured them as he stood up, stretching muscles that had cramped up from a night of sleeping in a chair. In doing so, he noticed that the pink shirt he was still wearing had stiffened from dried mud and blood, as had his tattered black pants. He frowned down at his clothing. "I really need to get some new clothes," he muttered to himself as he pulled the soiled shirt off, not really aware he was speaking out loud.

Bulma's eyes lit up at these words and she began to stare at Bardock critically as though she were measuring him in her mind. "Clothes, huh?" she said, a broad grin spreading across her face. "Well, I happen to know for a fact that there's a city nearby, Orange Star City, to be precise, and they have loads of malls and department stores. It'd be no problem at all to find some new clothes for you! And since I just happen to be the daughter of one of the richest men in the world, money won't be a problem for you either. Since you're not exactly from Earth, I seriously doubt you have any of the local currency on you. Here, give me that," she said, snatching the once-pink shirt from his hands. "I'll need this so I can get an idea of what size you are. After, of course," she added, wrinkling her nose in disgust, "I get this cleaned. It's absolutely filthy! So are you, for that matter. You really should take a bath!"

Off to the side, Trunks began to snigger as he watched his mom enter into her bossy mode, feeling a twinge of sympathy for the poor Saiyan man who had no idea what he was about to get himself into. No matter what age she was, it looked like the blue haired scientist took delight in ruling the lives of males of all species. It was all the lilac haired boy could do to keep from rolling on the floor laughing as Bulma grabbed Bardock's hand and dragged him off to the bathroom, assuring him that she, Trunks, and Goten would keep an eye on Goku while he cleaned up. Meanwhile, she would do what she could to salvage his clothing so that he would be as presentable as possible when they went shopping in Orange Star City. Admittedly, that probably wouldn't be up to Bulma's standards, but Bardock couldn't help the fact that he had only one set of clothing. Well, she would soon remedy that little detail!

"You know," she said thoughtfully to herself as she took Bardock's shirt and pants off to the laundry machine. "I've noticed that Radditz doesn't have any other clothes, too. Hmmm...." With a cheerful smile on her face, the human girl tossed the clothes into a washer and added some soap that had been designed by a branch of Capsule Corp. specifically to deal with stains of all kinds. It was something she never left home without because she never knew when she might need to salvage a particular outfit at any given time. "I guess that means I'll have to take him shopping with Bardock and me!" Giving a delighted laugh, Bulma sauntered off to find her crush and inform him of his impending journey.

"Hey, Trunks?" Goten hopped up into the chair that his grandfather had just vacated, swinging his legs over the edge as he looked at his best friend. He self consciously tugged at the orange gi his chibi father had given him, something that had become a permanent trade after the first day. Thinking of Goku, Goten glanced back at the sleeping boy in concern.

"Yeah, Goten?" Trunks was sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed, his chin resting in the palm of one hand as he, too, stared at the seven year old. Goku slept on, oblivious to the conversations that had been going on in the same room all morning. He didn't appear to be in any pain, but Goten's sensitive ears picked up a faint whimper every now and again, especially audible now that there was less noise being made.

"I'm worried," the spiky black haired chibi stated. "About Goku, I mean." For some reason, it seemed awkward to call Goku 'dad' when he was even younger than Goten was. "I asked Bulma how bad he got hurt, an' she wouldn't say. Whenever someone doesn't want to tell us bad new, they always try to hide it."

"I know what you mean," the purple haired boy snorted. "They say it's because they 'don't want to scare us', but they don't seem to realize that not knowing is worse than knowing. Imagination makes things ten times worse." With a sigh, the older demi-Saiyan moved his chin to rest on his other hand.

"Trunks, what if Goku's dying?!" Goten asked in sudden alarm. "What if there's something really wrong with him an' that's why Bulma wouldn't tell us what happened?!" Leaping to his feet in an agitated manner, the boy floated over to peer at the unconscious occupant of the bed in search of any sign that his guess might be accurate. Before Trunks could protest, Goten had pulled back the sheets and quilt covering his look-alike to completely reveal Goku's unclothed form.

Both boys gasped in shock as they took in the bloodstained condition of the sheets and bandages. Tears pricked at the corners of Goten's eyes which he furiously scrubbed away with the back of his hand as he knelt down on top of the bed next to his father's past self. "Trunks, I was right! He's bleeding and he's gonna die! I don't want him to die, Trunks!" Goten pulled his wounded friend into a protective hug and cried, nearly hysterical with grief at the thought of losing Goku.

Realizing that his friend might be right, Trunks gnawed his lower lip worriedly. "If only we had a senzu bean," he muttered, fingering the interior of his pockets where he had once had two of the precious beans. Unfortunately, both beans had been used long ago, one to save Bardock's life, and one to heal Goten after his fight with King Cold. Then it dawned on him. "That's it, Goten! We can go to Karin's tower and get some more senzu beans. Then Goku won't die after all!" Suddenly, his stomach started grumbling loudly, and he added sheepishly, "But let's wait until after breakfast, okay?"

Goten brightened at the prospect of being able to do something to save Goku's life. His own belly grumbled a complaint and he nodded in agreement with Trunks's plan. "Right! After breakfast, we can go get some senzu beans!"

Together, the two boys raced out of the room, leaving Goku alone. In their excitement, the two had accidentally forgotten to pull the covers back up over the naked, injured child and Goku shivered, though he did not wake up.

By the time Goten and Trunks got to the kitchen, Bulma, Radditz, Vegeta, and Bardock were all seated around the table, finishing up their meal at their own respective paces. Bardock grinned at their plaintive faces and tossed a food capsule to the older of the two boys. Catching it easily, Trunks quickly popped it open and he and his black haired counterpart eagerly attacked the meal.

"Bulma, Radditz, and I are going to go to a city to get some clothes," Bardock said. Indicating his freshly washed but still tattered clothing, he added, "It'd be nice to have something besides this pink shirt of yours, Trunks." An amused smile crossed his face as he saw Vegeta's disgusted look at the mention of the shirt. After all, the shirt actually belonged to his future self, much to his chagrin.

"You know, funny thing about that shirt," Bulma commented as she rooted through her purse, making sure she had everything she'd need for the shopping trip. "I think my dad has one just like it in his closet. Identical, right down the the BADMAN on the back. I always loved that shirt. Too bad he never wears it anymore. Maybe he'll give it to me, and when I have a husband, he can wear it..." A small smile played on Bulma's lips as she envisioned Radditz in the pink BADMAN shirt. He'd look really cute in that shirt!

Hearing Bulma talk about the pink shirt, Bardock glanced at her nervously to see if she had realized that the shirts weren't just identical, they were the same. That is, if he was correct in his assumption that Bulma and Vegeta were the eventual parents of Trunks, which he didn't doubt for a minute that he was. Too many coincidences and too many similarities pointed accusing fingers that all agreed with the idea, however odd and disturbing it might be, that the human girl and the prince of the Saiyan race would one day become close enough to each other to at least have a child. Bardock noticed that Trunks and Vegeta were also trying not to react to Bulma's words about the infamous pink shirt.

Vegeta suddenly frowned as he noticed the odd coincidence of Bulma owning a shirt exactly like the one his future mate was supposed to own, but the ten year old's mind never even came close to considering the true connotations that Bulma owning a pink BADMAN shirt might imply. It was never a possiblity in the Saiya-jin no Ouji's mind that this might be more than mere coincidence. After all, if he acknowledged that it might not be coincidence, he'd have to deal with the idea of mating with the blue haired witch. That was simply an impossibility.

With a hastily suppressed chuckle, Bardock turned back to Goten and Trunks. "Anyway, we'll be leaving you two and Vegeta here to look after Goku while we're gone." Meaning, we're leaving you two to look after both Vegeta and Goku. "If anything goes wrong, flare your ki to battle levels and we'll come back as quickly as we can."

Both boys nodded their comprehension of the instructions, though they had only listened with half an ear, their minds concentrating on their own little errand. "Good luck!" Trunks cheerfully wished the two Saiyans as they rose into the air after Bulma's car. He smirked. "You'll need it." Oh, yes, would they need it. Shopping with Bulma was not a task to be undertaken lightly under any circumstances. Something that Goten and Trunks had conveniently forgotten to mention to either Bardock or Radditz before they left.

As soon as the trio was out of sight, Goten and Trunks grabbed a Dragon Radar - hey, they never knew if there would be a dragonball on the way! - and blasted off into the sky at top speed, completely forgetting that they were leaving Vegeta to watch over Goku on his own.

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