Settling In
It felt good to be home. Not that Bardock could truly enjoy it. Only a few days after their homecoming Bardock had awoke from a bleary and vague vision to find that Raditz and Turles had snuck off somewhere and his granddaughter had been left behind. Parzni could eat mashed food now, or at least Chi-Chi insisted on mashing it, the small girl could do some damage with the few teeth she possessed.
Parzni was upset her bearer was not around and little distracted her from it for long. After a few hours Bardock snuck away, leaving the kids to Chi-Chi's care.
He found himself on the plain where the Cell Games had taken place, the place where Kakarot had died. The area took away his will to be angry at Raditz or Turles. They were warriors and they were alive he couldn't expect them to remain cooped up with, in Raditz's case, a small child. He'd certainly hadn't, he'd been away on a mission Kakarot's entire first week of life and he spent most of Raditz's childhood ignoring him, often forgetting his name, looking to the next mission, the next fight.
Bardock settled down to meditate. He searched within himself for the remnants of the Kanassan soldier he'd killed so long ago, but the Kanassan seemed to elude him. Maybe he was hanging out in the back of Bardock's head laughing at him.
He wasn't really sure he wanted to master this power but giving it up would be foolish. The Kanassan people had been famous for the ability to see into the past and the present as easily as they saw the current events in front of them among many other psychic gifts. Seeing into the future was tricky business, he could end up like the Kanassans themselves knowing the end was coming and not being able to stop it. Seeing into the past was the most dangerous though, he could become so lost in years past, in the friends and loved ones he'd lost, that he'd lose any desire to live in the present.
All of that was just speculation though, in the end he just wanted to control the visions and dreams. He wanted to know for sure when a dream really was just a dream or a glimpse of what would come to pass. He wanted the thrice damned remnant of the know-it-all, dead Kanassan out of his head. He'd have no choice but to eventually journey to Kanassa.
He certainly wasn't going now though. That was a long journey; he just got back from a long trip. He didn't know what became of Kanassa after they'd cleared it for Freeza but he was going to ask around, after the whole mess with Horit going into anything blind was just unappealing.
Standing up for his useless meditation Bardock decided to train for a while. It would certainly be a lot less stress inducing. He hoped those two idiots weren't getting into anything more reckless than a bar fight. Turles would probably try to drag Raditz to Kopoli, he was fond of the lawless outpost. Bardock wasn't really worried about the whole taking their money thing but hopefully Raditz would talk him out it.
Bardock trained until well after the sun had fallen and once destroyed half-full moon was high in the sky. He was tired and hungry when he finished but considering Chi-Chi's mood when he left he was certain there was no cold dinner waiting at home for him. He hunted and brought down a huge flying dinosaur to eat, he hoped it wasn't one of many Gohan was friends with. He consumed it the way he used to in the field, just barely seared by the fire. It was disgusting, he had become spoiled. He traveled home, wary of the reception he would receive from his daughter-in-law but reasonably confident it would be put off until morning. As he landed outside the door to his own house he attuned his hear to the one next door. It was quiet all around, a distinct an welcome change from when he left with all Parzni's crying.
He stepped into the small white capsule house he'd come to know as home. It was small, with only two bedrooms since initially it was just him and Raditz. It was made even smaller by the sprawling mountains of toys to be found in each room. Bardock brought new toys or books for each of his grandkids every time he went off world or even if he was just going into one of the bigger cities. Parzni's toy collection vastly eclipsed Goten's though since Chi-Chi knew when it was time to get rid of a few and since Turles would come back from a trip with anywhere from five to fifteen toys all for Parzni. They piled up everywhere even in Bardock's room.
Bardock cursed this fact when he stepped on one with his first step into the front door. It was a noisemaker so loud that the first time Parzni set off its sirens Gohan had come flying back the lake in a panic. So Bardock wasn't really surprised, horrified maybe, but not surprised when he heard "BARDOCK!" yelled out from next door over the screeching of the two now wailing toddlers.
He could hear Chi-Chi stomping down the stairs, and from the moving sounds she had Goten and Parni in tow. He was going to get it, he would run but that would just piss her off more. Parzni had better get the crying out her system now because he was going to go to her toy collection with a dump truck in tow come the morning time, if he survived that long.
Chi-Chi appeared in a sleeping gown, her hair hanging down loosely in a way that made her look much younger than her normal bun. Bardock knew that flattery would get him nowhere, in fact looking at the angry scowl on his daughter-in-law's face he was about to answer for the abandoning ways of both his sons, because of course it was all his fault.
"Bardock-," started Chi-Chi. He cut her off it was late after all. "I'm sorry Chi-Chi. I should've stayed to help with the kids instead of running off to train. Raditz shouldn't have just left like that either. You do way too much for us all and we just keep dumping things on you,"
She looked slightly mollified; she must have been too tired to argue.
"I shouldn't be mad at you, Raditz is the one off who knows where with Turles. Here take Parzni she and Goten have been kicking at each other more than sleeping. You tell Raditz we are going to have a serious talk about things when he gets back.
"I will," said Bardock breathing an internal sigh of relief as he accepted the whimpering toddler. He watched Chi-Chi and Goten reenter the house before heading in himself. He took Parzni upstairs and laid her in his own bed, knowing there was no point in trying to make her sleep in her crib, he wished Chi-Chi had waited until after he showered but he'd just have to clean up in the morning.
"Goodnight, Parzni" he whispered as the girl nuzzled into his chest.
"Ni-Ni," she whispered back.