Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z/GT or the characters.

A Family Like No Other

Prologue:

I look around me at the home that I grew up in. In all of the memories that I have of this place I cannot for the life of me remember my actual parents caring for me. Yesterday we buried the woman who brought me into this world. I did not know her, though I have seen her a few times. She went mad shortly after she had me, I'm told. My older niichan, I think his name was Gohan, died of a heart disease. He was barely 12, the age I am now. She probably could have recovered from that had her husband (hai, the man who helped give me life) been around. No one knows where he went. He just disappeared, and nine months later I was born. A month after that was when my niichan fell ill. I've heard that he struggled to live, but he lost in the end after only a week. And so I was taken to live with family friends.

The family that has raised me is unique to say the least, as am I myself. At age 12 I am already a warrior. I have fought many battles along side of my adopted family. Now I know what you're thinking, 'What battles can you fight at your age?'. Well, as human as I might look, I am not. You heard right, I'm not human, well at least not completely. In fact, from what my adopted Kaasan has found out, I am only about ten percent human, despite having a human Okaasan. What am I then? Well, I'll tell you. I'm a Sayjin, part of an alien race of warriors. Hai, there are other intelligent life-forms in the universe. And these other aliens (not Sayjin, because we are all but extinct and trying to protect this planet) are almost constantly trying to take over Earth, along with mad scientists and other insane humans.

So now you know how I am different, which leads me to how my adopted family is different as well. The man who has been like a tousan to me is the Sayjin no Ouji, Vegita. He is a hard man to get close to. A warrior from birth, he saw much more bloodshed in his childhood than I will see in my entire life. To those who do not know him, he seems like an arrogant asshole. We, his family, know different. It was he, I've been told, who brought me to live with him and his family. He taught me to control my strength, and how to fight. He taught me about my alien heritage, and let me keep my tail. Hai, my tail. This is not a fur belt that I'm wearing, but a tail. I told you I was different.

And let me not forget, I have a niichan as well. Hai, I know I have told you about one already, but this one is part of my adopted family. He is Vegita's son, and my best friend, too. Trunks Vegita Briefs got me into loads of trouble as we were growing up. He still does, though less often. He is also the only person that I can tell anything to. He looks like his tousan, though his coloring is that of his kaasan, not Sayjin-like in the least.

Let me explain that comment a bit better. Sayjins, at least pure-blooded ones, have black eyes and black or brownish red hair. Trunks, however, has bright blue eyes and light purple hair.

Kaasan, Bulma Briefs, is the one who brings us all together, and keeps our rather animalistic instincts in check. She is the brilliant scientist, inventor, and owner of Capsule Corp. How her and Tousan (Vegita) ever hooked up is beyond me. But Trunks and I can tell, even though they fight constantly, that they love each other very much. Expressions of love are rarely, if ever, voiced in this rather odd family of mine. It is too easy to lie with words. Eyes, however, rarely lie, and we can read each other's emotions quite well with a glimpse into the other's eyes. Kaasan (Bulma) is quite a blend, a warrior's spirit with an intelligence that is unmatched thus far. While she can't fight the villains the way we do, she plays her own part in the scheme of things. She can invent things at a moments notice that would make your mind spin. Her temper can instill fear into the hearts of us all. None of us wish to cross her. Yet she can be gentle and loving. We would all willingly die to protect her from harm. She is the only one of us that is one hundred percent human, yet that doesn't stop her from joining us at the frontline.

That is my family, the people for whom I would do anything. Yet yesterday I buried the one who gave birth to me. What am I supposed to feel? The last time I saw her alive, this woman cursed and cried, ranting about how my family stole me away from her. She voiced, quite loudly, her disapproval of my status as a warrior. She accused Tousan of turning me into a monster, simply because I wouldn't hug and kiss her. I did not know this woman. Why would I hug and kiss her? I rarely even hug Kaasan, and I never kiss her.

I do not regret the person I have become. I would not change the way Kaasan and Tousan have raised me. Never, did they treat me as if I was a possession, which was how I felt this woman viewed me. I was treated with the same regard as Trunks. We grew up together, sharing the attention of our parents equally. Yet this woman shouted about how unloved I must feel and how I must be jealous of Trunks. Why? I know that Kaasan and Tousan love me in their own ways. I know that they, along with Trunks, view me as a part of their family. Tousan even went so far as to say, "As heirs to the Sayjin throne, you brats should be more powerful than all others." Now, to me, that sounds like Tousan has forgotten that I am not his son by birth. Doesn't it?

Oh, Gomen. I have gone and told you all of this and have yet to introduce myself. I am Goten, born of Goku (or Kakarott as Tousan calls him) and Chi-Chi. This is the story of my life thus far, and who knows, maybe it will continue on: to what my future holds.

Chapter 1: When It All Began

"Goku!" Chi-Chi screamed, walking out the door of their house. "It's time for dinner!"

When she didn't get a reply, she went back inside to phone her friend, Bulma. If Goku wasn't near the house at this time, it was most likely because he was sparring with Vegita at Capsule Corp.

"Moshi, moshi?"

"Moshi, moshi, Bulma." Chi-Chi replied. "Could you have Goku come home for dinner, please?"

"Nani?" Bulma asked, surprised. "Goku left here about an hour ago."

"Honto?" Chi-Chi sighed.

"Hai, he was hungry." Bulma explained. "So he headed home."

"Well, he's not here, Bulma." Chi-Chi assured her. "Would you ask Vegita if he could track him? It's not like Goku to miss out on food."

"No problem." Bulma agreed.

"Arigato." Chi-Chi expressed her thanks before hanging up the phone.

"Vegita!" Bulma called out for him.

"Nani, onna?" Vegita growled, walking in.

"Goku hasn't made it home yet." Bulma explained. "Chi-Chi is worried and would like for you to find him for her."

"I'm not going out to look for that baka Kakarott." he snarled sitting down at the table. "Where's my dinner?"

"You're not getting dinner until you go find Goku!" Bulma hollered, her temper getting the best of her.

"Fine, baka onna!" Vegita grumbled, heading outside.

Floating above Capsule Corp., Vegita stretched his senses out as far as he could. Usually, he and Kakarott could pin-point each other no matter where on the planet they were. Now, however, Vegita couldn't find a trace of his 'rival'.

Cursing, Vegita flew off to search the usual places Goku would go. There was always the possibility that something had happened, or Goku was suppressing his ki for a reason. Realizing this possibility, Vegita quickly brought his ki down as far as he could.

It was after midnight when Vegita finally returned to Capsule Corp. Finding Bulma asleep on the couch, he gently lifted her up and carried her to bed, in a rare display of tenderness. Confused by Goku's sudden disappearance, he checked on his infant son, Trunks, just to make sure that he hadn't disappeared too.

"Vegita?" Bulma called, stretching her arms to relieve cramped muscles.

"Nani, onna?" Vegita answered, irritably.

"Did you find Goku?" Bulma asked, yawning as she tried to force herself to wake up.

"No." he snapped, not liking the conversation's direction.

"Then why are you here?" Bulma shrieked, flinging her robe on.

"I looked everywhere." Vegita growled, barely keeping his temper. "Kakarott is not on Earth. Not even a trace of his ki is left."

Not wanting to talk about the subject any further, Vegita turned and walked out of the room, intent on training for the rest of the day.

Bulma dressed in a hurry and went to wake Trunks. After the two had their breakfast, Bulma popped one of her air cars and sped off towards Goku and Chi-Chi's house. Upon arriving there, Bulma found Chi-Chi hanging out the wash.

"Did Goku come home?" Bulma asked, tentatively.

"No." Chi-Chi sighed. "He's probably out training somewhere again with Piccolo or Krillin."

"Gomen, Chi-Chi." Bulma began, her tears barely held back. "Vegita couldn't find him anywhere. By ki or by sight."

Chi-Chi quietly sunk to her knees, tears coursing down her cheeks. Bulma quickly set Trunks down to play so that she could comfort her friend. While Chi-Chi wasn't a close friend, Bulma knew some of what she felt. Bulma felt it too, though to a less extent. Goku was one of her best friends, and his disappearance tore at her heart.

"Why don't you and Gohan come and have dinner with us tonight?" Bulma offered, hoping that Chi-Chi would accept.

"Hai." Chi-Chi whispered absently, not comprehending what she had just agreed to.

Chapter 2: Reasons To Go On Coming soon...

A/N: Just in case you didn't catch it in the prologue, Goten refers to Bulma as Kaasan and Vegita as Tousan. Chi-Chi is Okaasan (which is a more formal way to say mother). Please review so that I know whether or not you want to see more of this story. Otherwise I'll just write it and put it on my personal web site, and not take up space here. Arigato! - Mahi-chan.