Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Wish For The Past ❯ Burnt Fish ( Chapter 52 )

Awareness slowly dawned on Bardock in the form of a low grumbling in his stomach. Not so loud as to wake the boys, but it was insistent enough to drag the warrior out of the land of dreams and into reality. Blinking his eyes open to greet the darkness that surrounded him, he realized that the sun hadn't risen yet, though judging by the faint light that was coming from the window, it wouldn't be dark for long. Despite his stomach's protests, Bardock didn't really want to get up just yet. The vision from last night was still haunting him, images of his sons' broken bodies flashing through his mind, so he was feeling rather protective of the children in his arms and didn't want to let them go. Even if Goku was drooling on his chest.

As another picture of Goku's mangled corpse flashed before his mind's eyes, Bardock suddenly realized that it wasn't necessarily his son's body that he was seeing. Goku and Goten looked so much alike that it would be impossible to tell them apart merely by looking, despite the slight age difference, especially considering how badly the boy in the dream had been butchered. Even though the impression he received in the visions was that the dead boy was Goku, it could just as easily be his grandson lying on the rocky ground in a pool of blood. Neither possibility was a pleasant one, and he shivered with apprehension even as he squeezed the two chibis gently, as though he could avert the dark future he'd seen simply by clutching these two a little more tightly.

Eventually, though, Bardock's stomach began to override his other inclinations, darkly promising that if he did not do something to appease his hunger, it would make enough noise to disturb the sleeping children. Sighing reluctantly, the Saiyan warrior let go of the look-alikes and slipped out of the bed as carefully as possible so as not to wake his son or his grandson. Bardock rubbed one hand over his bare chest where his youngest son had drooled on him, then wiped his hand on one of the sheets before pulling them back up over the blissfully sleeping boys.

With a stifled yawn, Bardock grabbed a loose fitting pair of black pants, the now-clean weighted black under shirt, a sea green over shirt, and the weighted wrist bands and boots that he had set aside before going to bed, quickly pulling them on before leaving the room. Feeling more awake with each step, he eagerly walked down the hall towards the kitchen, thoughts of food crowding his other concerns to the back of his mind. After all, there wasn't much he could do about them now, and there was something he could do about his hunger!

As he rummaged through the capsules of food, he picked one that held mostly fish and popped it open. Figuring that he had plenty of time before any of the others woke up, he decided to put his mediocre cooking skills to use in making breakfast. He hadn't actually made a meal since he and Goten had eaten in his apartment a couple weeks ago, so he was a little rusty, but it wasn't anything to be concerned about. After all, he wasn't trying to make anything complex, just a little - well, a lot- - of fried fish. A frown darkened his features a little as he suddenly realized that they really only had various kinds of meat stored in the capsules, no vegetables or fruits. He'd have to speak with the others about that when they came in for breakfast.

The smells of cooking fish quickly drew the presence of Radditz, who appeared to have already been awake for a while, since he was dressed in a solid maroon gi belted at the waist with a black sash, though he was currently barefoot. Bardock wasn't certain, but he thought he caught a flicker of relief in his son's eyes as the boy unconsciously ran a hand over the comfortable material. No doubt glad to be back in 'normal' clothing, Bardock mused to himself, a faint smile tugging at the corner of one lip. Can't blame him, though. I'm rather happy to be wearing something besides those blue jeans, myself. Too tight, too restricting, and they chaffed.

"Good morning, Radditz," Bardock commented, curious to see if his son had forgiven him yet for abandoning him with Bulma. He scraped an almost-burnt fish off the frying pan and onto the growing pile of cooked fish and quickly laid another raw fish on the pan before glancing at the teen to see his reaction to the greeting. Apparently, Radditz still wasn't speaking to his father, because he simply sat down at the table and waited silently, though every once in a while casting a furtive look of anticipation at the food his father was preparing. Shaking his head in amusement, Bardock turned back to his cooking.

A rumbling from the direction of the kitchen table drew the warrior's attention, and, chuckling, he turned to face the younger Saiyan. Smirking broadly, Bardock waved the spatula at the fifteen year old. "Well, at least your stomach's still on speaking terms with me," he chortled irreverently, grinning as he saw the faint flush of embarrassment spread across Radditz's cheeks.

"You're one to talk," Radditz grumbled irritably. "From the way your gut's been talking all morning, you'd think it was trying to set off a small earth quake." Realizing he'd just broken his vow of silence towards his father, he quickly snapped his jaws shut and glared at the older man.

"True," Bardock laughed cheerfully, inwardly pleased in his victory in tricking the boy into saying something to him. "You know, there's probably enough fish ready to start feeding everyone. Why don't you wake Bulma and the boys up, so we can all eat together?"

The words were hardly out of Bardock's mouth before Radditz was out of his chair and darting through the kitchen door towards the bedrooms. The moment his son's back disappeared through the door, the cheerful facade fell from the warrior's face and he simply stood there for a moment, staring with somber eyes at the spot where his son had been sitting moments before. His memory called up images of Radditz's body lying alongside his little brother's - if, indeed, the boy was Goku - and he couldn't help but wonder how much time lay between now and that terrible future he kept seeing.

Stop that, he told himself firmly, turning back to the frying pan before the fish in it could burn too badly. You don't know if that future will even happen. After all, there is that second set of contradicting visions, the one showing Goku and his friends growing up happily. Bardock's movements slowed as a thoughtful look crossed his face. Scooping the partially burned fish out of the pan and on top of the other fish, his mind barely paid attention to what he was doing, focusing instead on the idea that had sparked to life. "What if I'm seeing two possible futures?" he murmured to himself, absentmindedly throwing another one of the raw Earth creatures into his sizzling frying pan. "Yes, I know that all my other visions have shown certain futures, but I haven't really had this curse all that long. I don't know if single, unchangeable futures are all that I can see. What if... what if there is a decision or an event coming up that, depending on the outcome, could result in one or the other of these futures? That would mean..." Hope danced inside him and he suddenly had the urge to grin insanely. That would mean that my sons don't necessarily die! Or me, or any of the other people on this planet! He wanted to dance giddily with relief and joy, but a more serious thought wiped that impulse away.

But what is the choice, and how will I know which way to decide? Will I even realize when that choice is laid before me, or whoever it is who has to make the decision?

The smell of burning fish drew his attention back to the pan, and with no small amount of chagrin, he pushed his troubled and hopeful speculations aside so he could concentrate on salvaging what was left of the charred flesh in the pan. "Idiot," he berated himself. "Never think while you're trying to cook. You only get bad cooking, and you have to eat bad cooking!" Uttering a few more choice curses in reference to himself and his intelligence, he chiseled the burnt fish onto a separate plate. His motto had always been 'You burn it, you eat it,' figuring that if he had to deal with the consequences of irresponsibility in regards to food, he might actually learn his lesson and remember not to let it happen again. With a growl of annoyance, he placed another fish in the pan, determined to pay attention this time.

When Radditz poked his head into his little brother's room, he was mildly surprised to find that the boy was not in there, though the rumpled sheets attested to the fact that Goku must have slept in the room at some point. Not really concerned, Radditz shrugged his shoulders and went on to Goten's room, only to find that his nephew's bed was also empty. Feeling slightly puzzled, the teenager poked his head into the next room - Bardock's room - and walked in when he found both spiky haired boys curled up next to each other and snoring softly. The only way he could tell which was which was the difference in their shirts, both of which had been bought for Bardock by Bulma. A little smile lifted the corners of Radditz's mouth as he watched the two for a moment, thinking about the sparring match he'd had with little Goku not too long ago. Despite how relatively weak the boy was right now, he definitely had potential, and Radditz felt it was his brotherly duty to help him realize that potential. Maybe I can spar with you again after breakfast, see if nearly dying made you any stronger. I bet I could teach you some neat tricks, too, little brother. Recalling the look of admiration Goku had had in his eyes after being defeated by Radditz, the teenager chuckled and hesitantly ruffled his brother's hair, determining that he would find time today to train the boy.

Shifting his glance to his brother's look-alike son, Radditz could only shake his head ruefully. Goten looked so much like Goku, and yet their strength was so drastically different that it was hard to believe that he could be Goku's son from the future. Radditz didn't really know how to behave towards the boy. On the one hand, he was family, and younger than the teenager, which would ordinarily entitle Radditz with a higher 'rank' in terms of how he treated Goten. But on the other hand, Goten was so incredibly strong that the older boy found it difficult to imagine even teasing him. So far he'd been avoiding the child as much as possible so he wouldn't have to deal with the dilemma, but he knew he would eventually have to decide how he would interact with his nephew.

A low growl from his stomach suddenly reminded Radditz of his priorities. Laying a hand on either boy's shoulder, he briskly shook them as he smiled mischievously and yelled, "Wake up, you two! Father's cooking breakfast!"

Both boys' eyes shot open simultaneously, twin looks of eager anticipation on their faces as they bolted upright. "Breakfast?! Where?!" Goku was already crawling out of bed, looking this way and that for the promised food, while Goten rubbed his eyes and grinned broadly.

"Yay! Food!" the older chibi cheered, jumping up and down on the bed in his excitement. With a final bounce, he leapt off the bed and landed next to Goku. Both boys looked expectantly at Radditz to see if he had anything else to tell them.

"Go on, get out of here," the teenager said in a tone of mock-gruffness. "I still have to wake the others up."

Not needing to be told twice, the look-alikes raced out the door, not bothering to change out of their night shirts in their haste to get to the table before the food had a chance to disappear. Even if they don't act Saiya-jin most of the time, they still have Saiya-jin appetites, at least! Radditz smirked to himself and walked out of his father's bedroom, intending on waking Prince Vegeta up next.

Upon leaving the bedroom, though, he blinked in surprise when he found that both Vegeta and Trunks were standing in the hall in the over sized shirts they'd gotten from Bardock's newly acquired clothing, talking quietly to each other until they caught sight of Radditz. At Radditz's appearance, Vegeta looked almost... guilty, and he abruptly turned on heel and retreated towards the kitchen. Trunks cast an annoyed glance in Radditz's direction before following his chibi father, quickening his pace so he could catch up to him before they reached their destination.

What was that all about? the fifteen year old boy puzzled, staring after the two as they disappeared around a corner. After only a moment of contemplation, he gave that line of thought up as a lost cause and headed for his final destination. The one that he really would rather not go to at all. Bulma's room. Cursing softly to himself at his misfortune, Radditz determinedly walked up to the little onna's door with the look of one facing certain death.

Quickly catching up to Vegeta, Trunks turned his head to give the older boy a serious look. "Come on, Vegeta, I mean it! You said you didn't want to be alone anymore, right?"

"I did, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to... to degrade myself like that!" Vegeta bristled, slowing to a halt so they could finish the conversation before reaching the kitchen. Folding his arms across his chest, he scowled at the lavender haired boy and continued his protests. "Besides, I don't see why I'd have to say any such thing!"

"Because it's kinda your fault Goku got hurt in the first place!" Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Trunks folded his arms in an unconscious mirror of his father. "And it's not like you'd have to say it in front of everyone. Just Goku. And you know Goku, he wouldn't rub it in or anything. Anyway, you can't be friends with someone you've hurt like that and not apologize for what you did."

"And who says I want to be friends with that third-class?" the black haired boy muttered angrily, glaring at the floor so he wouldn't have to meet Trunks's piercing blue eyes.

"Vegeta, you don't have much choice if you want to have a friend at all! After Goten and I leave, just how many Saiyan kids are you going to be able to play with? And how many of them would treat you like a playmate, and not the Saiya-jin no Ouji? If you don't apologize to Goku and make friends with him, as soon as Goten and I go home, you're going to be alone again!"

Unable to refute Trunks's insight about his prospects for friendship, Vegeta silently fumed for a few moments, looking anywhere except at the demi-Saiyan in front of him. "I still don't see why I have to apologize to him," he grumbled at last.

"That's the way friendship is, Vegeta. You have to make amends for your actions if you ever want to really be friends. If you don't apologize to him, neither of you will be able to put it behind you. And, yes," Trunks added before Vegeta could open his mouth to say something, "even if it is Goku we're talking about, you still need to apologize. Goku might forgive you even if you don't, but he'll still remember that you didn't, and, trust me, that'll hurt him more in the long run than telling him that he killed his grandpa."

Vegeta appeared to think this over for a few moments before sighing and dropping his arms to his sides. Shrugging uncomfortably, he shook his head. "I'm not promising to do it, but I'll think about it, okay?" Not waiting for Trunks to reply, he started walking again, not wanting to continue the conversation anymore.

Radditz stared blankly at the red-faced girl in front of him, confusion etched clearly into his own features. He just didn't get the problem - all he'd done was come in to wake her up, so why was she so mad? He would have thought she'd be glad to be informed that it was breakfast time, especially since she had to vie with six Saiya-jin males for food. After all, if he'd let her stay in bed until she came out on her own, there probably wouldn't be any food left at all.

His train of thought was interrupted by Bulma's enraged screams and a thrown shoe that he narrowly dodged. "I'm naked, you idiot! Don't you have any decency?! You don't just waltz into a girl's room without knocking!!"

"What?" Radditz asked, even more confused now than before. "But you're not naked," he said, pointing at Bulma's under wear and bra, which made Bulma flush a bright shade of crimson and hastily yank on a pink T-shirt, "and why would it matter if I see you naked, anyway? I mean, you're only a little girl."

Whatever threats or angry protests Bulma had been prepared to launch died in her open mouth, tears of hurt and betrayal threatening to spill from her eyes. No longer seeming to care about her state of semi-undress, the eleven year old sank to her bed, staring dumbfoundedly at her crush for several long moments as what he had just said sank in. A lone tear trickled from one periwinkle eye, and suddenly her face became furious.

"GET OUT! GET OUT!! GET OUT!" she shrieked, grabbing the other shoe and hurling it with all her might at the teenager's head. "GET OUT OR, DAMN IT TO HELL, I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

Yelping as the second shoe whizzed, followed closely by a hair brush and bottle of nail polish, Radditz hastily fled the room, still confused by Bulma's reaction, but knowing better than to stick around and ask. He didn't understand what exactly he'd done to deserve any of that, but, he mused, shaking his head in defeat, he figured that he would never really understand that crazy little onna.

In the mean time, though, there was always breakfast! Realizing that he had accomplished his duty in waking everyone up, the hungry teenage Saiyan hurried back towards the kitchen and the source of the smell of cooked fish. The prospect of food was enough to brighten any situation!

Pl-mmmph!!! *suddenly finds a sock in her mouth* Mmphffth!!

Chibi Vegeta: Oh, shut up! No one wants to hear you beg for reviews!

Brenda: *glowers at Chibi Veggie*