Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters
Notes: Someone said that the eclipse reminded them of a Sailor Moon movie. Just to clarify, I never saw any SM movies, so I didn't steal anything from it or anything... and someone else asked why Vegeta couldn't move in the last chapter. Well, what kind of terrible nightmare would it be if he were able to fight back?? Also, some seem to be wondering whose side Relena is on anyway... well, you'll have to wait and see! ^_^
Oh, and I don't know if they celebrate April Fool's Day in Japan, but since DBZ is supposed to be in a completely different universe anyway, I say they do. Don't expect this chapter to be very humorous though.
Chapter Five: Disturbing Behavior
"Even your father isn't immune from bad nightmares." - Bulma
April 1, Sunday à 10 days until the eclipse
Bra and Trunks sat on an old, creaky wooden bench in Satan City Park. Both were pretty irritated after a seeming endless April Fool's Day.
Bra and Relena had gone to the mall with a whole group of Bra's friends. Of course, a majority of the group, mostly boys, seemed to love April first. All they did was play stupid tricks on each other, Bra and Relena, and even innocent strangers trying to shop. Bra and Relena decided to leave when one of the boys bought a water gun and used them as his prime targets.
Despite the fact that it was a Sunday, Trunks had to go to work to sign some important papers. Some employees were there too, working overtime, but all they did was play pranks. So many complaints were filed that Trunks nearly fired everyone, especially after about five dozen prank calls.
They weren't tired just because of April Fool's Day, though. Both children had been suffering from sleep deprivation.
Three nights ago, a scream rang throughout the Brief household. The echo was tinged with such indescribable terror, both Trunks and Bra had been jerked awake. The siblings took it upon themselves to investigate. They concluded that it had originated from their parent's bedroom and, of course, knocked to see if everything was all right. Expecting their otousan to answer and tell them their mother had had a nightmare, they were surprised when it was their okaasan that came to the door.
"'Kaasan," Bra had asked, "did you have a bad dream?"
Bulma shook her head.
"Then why did you yell?"
"I didn't."
Bra was confused, but Trunks immediately understood.
"That was a man's scream," Trunks muttered.
Bulma nodded.
Bra tried to glance into the room, but Bulma purposely blocked her view. "He sounded so... so..."
"Frightened," Trunks finished.
"B- Bulma..." a trembling voice whispered from within the bedroom.
Bulma looked at her children. "Even your otousan isn't immune from bad nightmares," she had whispered. "Go back to bed."
So they did.
Only to be awakened twice more. Only to have gotten up twice more. Only to have been informed twice more that it was only a nightmare. Only to see their okaasan twice as worried each time.
The second and third nights, Trunks and Bra hadn't bothered to get up, but still had difficulty in returning to their peaceful slumbers. Each night the screams got worse and more frequent. Their okaasan wouldn't tell them anything, knowing her husband wouldn't want her talking about it. And talking to their otousan was useless. He never spoke about his feelings.
Ever since the first night of the nightmares, their otousan had barely left the house. Even more odd, he hadn't done any sort of training either. He would just sit in a chair and stare blankly out the window or at a wall. He was becoming severely distant, barely listening to anything that was said to him, not even making bitter or sarcastic remarks. The rest of the family was very anxious about this disturbing behavior.
"Hey! Your shoes are untied!"
Bra and Trunks both looked at their feet, saw that their laces were tied, and looked up to see Goten approaching them with his usual grin.
"April fools!" Goten laughed. "I can't believe you guys fell for that one! It's the oldest one in the book." He noticed their sagging expressions and stopped chuckling. "Hey, what's with you two?"
"Crappy day," Bra responded.
"April Fool's Day bites," Trunks agreed bitterly.
"No more jokes, okay?" Bra said to Goten.
"Alright," Goten said. "If you've really had such a bad day, I guess I'll have to cut it out until next week."
"Did you walk here?" Trunks asked.
"Yeah, so I'm gonna need a ride back to your house."
"Huh?" Trunks and Bra grunted.
"'Kaasan and 'Tousan took me along when they went to visit your parents. Your mom asked me to look for you guys since you hadn't come home yet."
"Well," Trunks said, getting up, "you found us, so let's go."
"I wasn't really going to pull anymore pranks anyway," Goten said while they walked to Trunks's car. "'Kaasan didn't want me pissing off Vegeta. She gave 'Tousan and me this whole lecture on the drive over."
"Good," Trunks and Bra replied in unison.
Goten ignored their comment. "What's with your 'tousan anyway? He was, like, really spaced out. He was sitting in a chair staring out the window."
All he got for a reply was the two siblings exchanging glances.
Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Goku all stared at Vegeta, completely shocked. Vegeta didn't seem to care, or even notice, as he stared at his faint reflection in the living room window.
"Uh, excuse me, Bulma," Goku began, "but did he just say he doesn't feel like fighting today?"
"Did he hit his head?" Chi-Chi blurted out. "Or is this some April Fool's thing?"
Bulma glance worriedly at her vacant husband. "He's been like this for days. He won't tell me what's wrong."
Goku stared at his sparring partner. "Uh, Vegeta? You alright?"
Vegeta didn't answer.
"Vegeta?"
Still no response.
"VEGETA!"
"Huh? What?" Vegeta started, then looked at Goku.
"Are you feeling well?"
"I'm fine. Just tired, that's all." He resumed staring out the window.
Now Goku was really concerned. Very un-Vegeta-like behavior. He didn't even glare at him for yelling like that. He didn't even look at him with his usual expression of contempt.
What the heck was going on with him?
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The next chapter will be posted soon! And it will be more interesting than this one -_-; The real point of this little note, however, is just to say that I didn't mean to insinuate that Vegeta screams like a girl ^_^; The way I see it, Trunks and Bra just woke up and all, and they didn't really notice that it was a guy's scream and not a girl's until they got to Veggie and Bulma's room.
Of course, if you don't like Vegeta and prefer the idea of him screaming like a girl, you're welcome to your own opinion.