Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.
Chapter Two
"GOKUUUUU!!!" Birds cheeped in surprise as they frantically flapped away from the tremendous screech. Son Chichi fumed, banging pots and pans in a fit of anger.
"That Goku! Always running off, never telling where he went, and then to come back home all filthy, still smiling like nothing is wrong! I swear by Kami, that man drives me nuts! Why can't he- ACK!!" Chichi exclaimed in the midst of her tirade as she spotted her husband trudging through their family room.
Goku was indeed as Chichi predicted in a dirty mess, gi dripping with mud water, face and arms scratched up, clothes ripped nearly beyond repair. What the black haired woman would have noticed had she not been so surprised and angry was the blood soaked into his wristbands.
"Goku! Get off that carpet, I just bought it yesterday! Nonono, don't put your clothes there, it'll ruin the couch! NO, GET OFF THAT RIGHT NOW AND TAKE A SHOWER FIRST!"
Without a word, the world's strongest warrior slowly floated up the stairs, his wife yelling at his retreating back. "And when you're back, you can explain to me where you've been!"
Not given a response, Chichi huffed and resumed cooking. Despite all her yelling and scolding, she was beginning to worry for her husband. He rarely talked to her anymore, and began to act more and more sullen than she felt was comfortable. He disappeared more often with the excuse of a spar with Vegeta, but from what Bulma said, he would only spar for a few hours. Not the whole day, as was his absence. What concerned her most, however, was his odd need to hide this behavior from everyone else. At first he hid it from her, but living in the same house together kind of allowed her to catch on rather quickly.
'He'll get over it.' Chichi said to herself. It sounded as believable as saying Vegeta would willingly wear a pink tutu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Vegeta, what the hell is your problem!?" Bulma cried out in exasperation, chucking her still wet toothbrush straight at him. The blue haired scientist suppressed a giggle as the toiletrie (is that a word?) landed in her husband's mass of hair, stuck there by the thick gravity-defying strands.
"Laugh at me will you?" Came the expected growl.
"Well, you can explain to me why exactly you blew up on our son like that, when all he wanted was to ask you a question. Not to mention yelling at Goten too, when he did nothing at all."
"The brats were interrupting my training!" Vegeta answered indignantly.
"Vegeta, you weren't training in there! I saw you, you were just staring at the wall like some half-wit baka."
Vegeta glared, feeling put off that one of his own insults was being thrown back at him.
"Okay, so I was meditating, so what?"
"I know you wouldn't meditate in that position."
"Okay, FINE! I was thinking, is that a crime?!"
Bulma crossed her arms, frowning. "No, but you still didn't answer my question. Mind telling me what was so important you nearly blasted Trunks and Goten 'into the next universe'? And in the house, might I add?"
"Alright, alright. I was thinking about Kakarot."
Bulma raised an eyebrow, sitting next to Vegeta on the family couch.
"How to defeat him again?"
"That too. But more of his strange behavior. Surely your miniscule brain has noticed that, woman."
Bulma scowled. "Excuse me, but this 'miniscule brain' happens to be the best on the planet!" Refusing to continue the banter, she decided to let that comment slide after that small retort. "So is that all?"
"Hn."
"Well, I've noticed it too." Bulma fiddled with her worn bathrobe, sky blue eyes gleaming in thought. "He's. . .well, not as *happy*. Maybe this little period of depression would be normal for the average person, but Goku isn't really average personality wise. Neither are you, but that's besides the point."
Ignoring the possibly insulting comment about his character, Vegeta probed his wife to continue. "So?"
"Why do you care?" Bulma suddenly turned to her Saiyan companion, an expression of suspicion replacing the thoughtful look.
Taken aback by the sudden inquiry, Vegeta leaned back and shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "Curiosity." 'Or maybe something more. . .'
While Vegeta tried to fathom exactly why he thought that, Bulma nodded in understanding, assuming this sudden interest in his rival was just one of Vegeta's odd tactics to find a weakness in her best friend.
"Well, whatever your reasons are, I'm worried. I want you to find out what's wrong with him."
"What?" Was the woman insane? "Why me? What if this depression of his *is* normal? This is *Kakarot* we're talking about! And you expect me to try and comfort that low class baka when all he might need is time? I'll look like a fool!"
Bulma glowered and crossed her arms in a no-nonsense manner. "Why don't *you* talk instead of that ego of yours. Besides, Vegeta, this isn't just on a whim. I have a feeling this isn't something we should let slide."
"And tell me why I should care." Vegeta muttered.
"I'm serious! When Goku visited us yesterday to spar with you, I noticed something I hadn't seen since he was just a boy."
Curiosity peaked even more, Vegeta kept silent and allowed his wife to continue.
"You know as well as I do how happy Goku is. He's just that way naturally, always viewing life with optimism. So even if he's angry or sad, you can tell that it's just a one time thing. But yesterday was different."
"Different?"
Bulma nodded gravely. "Yes, different. Maybe you wouldn't be able to tell, not knowing Goku for most of his life since he was fourteen. But when I saw his face, I knew something was wrong. For one thing, he didn't say a word to me. If this were just his ontime bout of sadness or anger, he would still be polite and at least give me a 'hi' or a wave. But what really mattered was his face. It was too close to what you usually are, Vegeta."
"And what am I?" 'This better not be an insult, with all the attention I'm giving her.' Vegeta thought wrathfully.
"He looked indifferent. Almost uncaring, even. I-I couldn't tell for sure what he was feeling at the moment. At all, no idea. Goku is a very expressive individual, Vegeta. You of all people must know that. So even if he were depressed, I should have seen it on his face. But I didn't. Good Kami, I didn't! It scared me, Vegeta because I'd only seen him this way once before. And the results weren't good at all. Dangerous, even."
Now Vegeta was hooked. He long ago had shed his look of apathy and was leaning forward in anxiety to hear this new bit of information about his rival.
"I didn't know all about Goku like I do now, but I knew him well enough to tell if something was seriously wrong. It happened at a small tournament, the one with Master Roshi's sister fortuneteller Baba to find a dragonball."
"So why did you first see Kakarot this way?"
Bulma closed her eyes, relieving an unpleasant memory long forgotten.
"Because his dead grandfather had come back to life."
~~~~~~~~~~~
Cliffy, ne? Sorta. Review, please!
Chapter Two
"GOKUUUUU!!!" Birds cheeped in surprise as they frantically flapped away from the tremendous screech. Son Chichi fumed, banging pots and pans in a fit of anger.
"That Goku! Always running off, never telling where he went, and then to come back home all filthy, still smiling like nothing is wrong! I swear by Kami, that man drives me nuts! Why can't he- ACK!!" Chichi exclaimed in the midst of her tirade as she spotted her husband trudging through their family room.
Goku was indeed as Chichi predicted in a dirty mess, gi dripping with mud water, face and arms scratched up, clothes ripped nearly beyond repair. What the black haired woman would have noticed had she not been so surprised and angry was the blood soaked into his wristbands.
"Goku! Get off that carpet, I just bought it yesterday! Nonono, don't put your clothes there, it'll ruin the couch! NO, GET OFF THAT RIGHT NOW AND TAKE A SHOWER FIRST!"
Without a word, the world's strongest warrior slowly floated up the stairs, his wife yelling at his retreating back. "And when you're back, you can explain to me where you've been!"
Not given a response, Chichi huffed and resumed cooking. Despite all her yelling and scolding, she was beginning to worry for her husband. He rarely talked to her anymore, and began to act more and more sullen than she felt was comfortable. He disappeared more often with the excuse of a spar with Vegeta, but from what Bulma said, he would only spar for a few hours. Not the whole day, as was his absence. What concerned her most, however, was his odd need to hide this behavior from everyone else. At first he hid it from her, but living in the same house together kind of allowed her to catch on rather quickly.
'He'll get over it.' Chichi said to herself. It sounded as believable as saying Vegeta would willingly wear a pink tutu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Vegeta, what the hell is your problem!?" Bulma cried out in exasperation, chucking her still wet toothbrush straight at him. The blue haired scientist suppressed a giggle as the toiletrie (is that a word?) landed in her husband's mass of hair, stuck there by the thick gravity-defying strands.
"Laugh at me will you?" Came the expected growl.
"Well, you can explain to me why exactly you blew up on our son like that, when all he wanted was to ask you a question. Not to mention yelling at Goten too, when he did nothing at all."
"The brats were interrupting my training!" Vegeta answered indignantly.
"Vegeta, you weren't training in there! I saw you, you were just staring at the wall like some half-wit baka."
Vegeta glared, feeling put off that one of his own insults was being thrown back at him.
"Okay, so I was meditating, so what?"
"I know you wouldn't meditate in that position."
"Okay, FINE! I was thinking, is that a crime?!"
Bulma crossed her arms, frowning. "No, but you still didn't answer my question. Mind telling me what was so important you nearly blasted Trunks and Goten 'into the next universe'? And in the house, might I add?"
"Alright, alright. I was thinking about Kakarot."
Bulma raised an eyebrow, sitting next to Vegeta on the family couch.
"How to defeat him again?"
"That too. But more of his strange behavior. Surely your miniscule brain has noticed that, woman."
Bulma scowled. "Excuse me, but this 'miniscule brain' happens to be the best on the planet!" Refusing to continue the banter, she decided to let that comment slide after that small retort. "So is that all?"
"Hn."
"Well, I've noticed it too." Bulma fiddled with her worn bathrobe, sky blue eyes gleaming in thought. "He's. . .well, not as *happy*. Maybe this little period of depression would be normal for the average person, but Goku isn't really average personality wise. Neither are you, but that's besides the point."
Ignoring the possibly insulting comment about his character, Vegeta probed his wife to continue. "So?"
"Why do you care?" Bulma suddenly turned to her Saiyan companion, an expression of suspicion replacing the thoughtful look.
Taken aback by the sudden inquiry, Vegeta leaned back and shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "Curiosity." 'Or maybe something more. . .'
While Vegeta tried to fathom exactly why he thought that, Bulma nodded in understanding, assuming this sudden interest in his rival was just one of Vegeta's odd tactics to find a weakness in her best friend.
"Well, whatever your reasons are, I'm worried. I want you to find out what's wrong with him."
"What?" Was the woman insane? "Why me? What if this depression of his *is* normal? This is *Kakarot* we're talking about! And you expect me to try and comfort that low class baka when all he might need is time? I'll look like a fool!"
Bulma glowered and crossed her arms in a no-nonsense manner. "Why don't *you* talk instead of that ego of yours. Besides, Vegeta, this isn't just on a whim. I have a feeling this isn't something we should let slide."
"And tell me why I should care." Vegeta muttered.
"I'm serious! When Goku visited us yesterday to spar with you, I noticed something I hadn't seen since he was just a boy."
Curiosity peaked even more, Vegeta kept silent and allowed his wife to continue.
"You know as well as I do how happy Goku is. He's just that way naturally, always viewing life with optimism. So even if he's angry or sad, you can tell that it's just a one time thing. But yesterday was different."
"Different?"
Bulma nodded gravely. "Yes, different. Maybe you wouldn't be able to tell, not knowing Goku for most of his life since he was fourteen. But when I saw his face, I knew something was wrong. For one thing, he didn't say a word to me. If this were just his ontime bout of sadness or anger, he would still be polite and at least give me a 'hi' or a wave. But what really mattered was his face. It was too close to what you usually are, Vegeta."
"And what am I?" 'This better not be an insult, with all the attention I'm giving her.' Vegeta thought wrathfully.
"He looked indifferent. Almost uncaring, even. I-I couldn't tell for sure what he was feeling at the moment. At all, no idea. Goku is a very expressive individual, Vegeta. You of all people must know that. So even if he were depressed, I should have seen it on his face. But I didn't. Good Kami, I didn't! It scared me, Vegeta because I'd only seen him this way once before. And the results weren't good at all. Dangerous, even."
Now Vegeta was hooked. He long ago had shed his look of apathy and was leaning forward in anxiety to hear this new bit of information about his rival.
"I didn't know all about Goku like I do now, but I knew him well enough to tell if something was seriously wrong. It happened at a small tournament, the one with Master Roshi's sister fortuneteller Baba to find a dragonball."
"So why did you first see Kakarot this way?"
Bulma closed her eyes, relieving an unpleasant memory long forgotten.
"Because his dead grandfather had come back to life."
~~~~~~~~~~~
Cliffy, ne? Sorta. Review, please!