Disclaimer: Me own nothing but mah perfict gramma and spellin skillz! ...Yeah, those people annoy me, too.
Quick Thank you's: *does a happy dance* Arigatou Babyshiro! At least one person listens to the author! And arigatou Quatres Baby and Rae George (fourteen's not THAT bad)! :)
Quick answer to a question: *snicker* NO! Trunks did not fly off butt naked! He was still in his training clothes when he ran away in the beginning so he had pants on! Lol I said he just took off his shoes, socks, and shirt. :P
Quick rant about this fic for no other purpose than to take up space(?):
This is also gonna be the first of my multi-chapter fics that I've finished! ^!^ If I get a few more reviews, this will also be my fic with the most reviews! :P It's like a breakthrough fic for me... ^^; Erm, does this fic use too much cursing to be PG??? Oh well, I don't want to bump it up to PG-13 'cause I mean...that seems a lil harsh, doesn't it? *shrugs* I dunno...
UGH! I am getting so incredibly annoyed! I've been kicked off of the computer ten times (make that eleven) when trying to write this chapter! Hopefully, my father will let me WRITE this thing now...
Suicide in the Night
"I-I can't...believe you're gone...my son."
Bulma sat alone on the beach with the foamy water lapping lazily at her feet. She was staring out at the ocean as if she were in a trance, not caring that salty tears were streaming down her face. Please, Vegeta...bring him back to me...
She hugged her knees tightly, praying that her love would bring their son home alive.
What has gotten into that boy? Vegeta wondered as he flew after his son.
Trunks had gotten an extra long head start with that sand storm he had kicked up. Even as a Super Saiya-jin, Vegeta was behind, but he could see the fading ki trail up ahead. As he picked up his pace, he vaguely wondered why he was pursuing the little Saiya-jin the way he was.
Suddenly, he stopped. Why WAS he going after Trunks? Why did HE care if the boy killed himself? The child should not be HIS responsibility. He was a prince after all...
His shoulders sagged as the reality of the situation finally sunk in. Trunks was also a prince...because of him. He had settled down on the pitiful mud ball of a planet and had even taken a native woman as his own. He also had a son...which made Trunks Vegeta's responsibility whether he liked it or not. The Chikyuu-jin have rubbed of you, you fool! You're just as gentle as the next human! Pathetic!
He realized now that he had a family, and he was beginning to love them.
Trunks could feel his father's ki stop following his own. He glanced over his shoulder, just to make sure it was true. Sure enough, there was no Vegeta behind him. Fine! That's just fine! I'll kill myself then!
He continued to fly, and his mind battled itself. The rational thought he had left, mixed with his fear, told him to not kill himself. But, of course, there was that side that was telling him to. There were so many pros and cons to each side, that to Trunks, it all balanced out. He pondered life for another moment. He had had it pretty good for a while...or was it merely his deluded thinking? In truth, he was more confused than ever, but in the end, the darker of the sides won. And so, he landed in a forest that he happened to be flying over.
He looked at his surroundings. It was night, and no one seemed to be around. The dark, foreboding forest made cold shivers trail down his spine, but being the strong one he always was, he shrugged it off. The presence of the stars brought a thought to his mind. I really flew around all that time? Err...maybe I flew into a new time zone or somethin'. Doesn't matter though...
Tears of anguish began to sting at his eyes again. They had been previously halted when he was flying away, but as surely as your problems follow you, they returned. Trunks took a deep breath and contemplated how to end it. Leave a note? No...they don't deserve one...
He found that it was a hard choice to make. He wanted to be gone quickly so the pains of everything would be gone that much quicker. The part that had been mentioned of another dimension had all but been suppressed so that did not pull at his thoughts any longer. But how? He didn't have a knife, nor did he possess an electrical appliance and water.
With a sigh, he plopped down on a newly fallen tree trunk. As he sat, he realized with embarrassment that he had flown off without anything but his pants on! Oh well, my shirt won't help me figure this out. Ugh, this sucks.
"Huh?" Trunks suddenly looked up. He could have sworn that he heard a noise. No, not a noise, but a voice. A low, soft voice whispering "ki blast" into the wind...
A weary grin spread across his little face. A ki blast! That'd do it!
He tapped his index finger against his chin in thought. Hmmm, how does one kill himself with a ki blast? He wasn't skilled enough to bring a blast around in full swing, but maybe he could send one out...divert it upwards, and use his super speed to get in front of it...?
At that instant, he realized how foolish the whole scenario sounded. I'm seven, and I have--oh, who cares? Dende knows my parents don't...but mom...seemed...no. No, no, no! His mind churned over all possibilities for what seemed like the hundredth time in that godforsaken night. By the way the young lad was acting, it were as if he had two personalities. The one that wanted to live and know more about his whole life from his parents, and then the sickening one that wanted to just be gone. As many times before that day, the side that matched the night's hue, won. His whole thought pattern seemed to be getting quite nauseatingly repetitive.
"Might as well get it over with then," he mumbled out. He took one last look around the forest. A chuckle almost escaped the boy as realized how fitting that the setting of his demise would be that of a dark, lonely wood. Oh yes, it matched his persona exactly. With his mind firmly set, he powered up and levitated into the air.
The Saiya-jin no Ouji had lost his son's ki during his momentary lapse of reality. If there had been a rock, or some other form of hard structure, Vegeta would have destroyed it in rage of his 'stupidity'. He growled out, "I get distracted for one minute and the boy disappears! This is just great!" Obviously at a loss for what to do, the livid man flew in the direction he had last seen his child fly.
After flying in what he believed to be a beeline for roughly fifteen minutes and coming up with not even a hint of his son's ki, Vegeta stopped. Useless, this is just useless! If I can't even keep track of a mere child, how can I consider my senses to be sharp enough for when an enemy attacks? Vegeta berated himself, putting his worry into childish excuses. He didn't want to admit that he was concerned (however slight) about Trunks' well-being. Just as the ouji was about to give up hope, he felt a large ki spring up suddenly about fifteen miles north of his position. Taking his cue, Vegeta sped off in that direction.
"...I'm pregnant," a young woman quietly stated to the man in front of her. A look of shock spread across his normally stoic features. The short male quickly recovered from his shock induced stupor and put up the normal hostile mask he always wore. The woman, who was about three inches taller than her 'spouse', bit her bottom lip, anxiously awaiting his reaction.
"Pregnant?" came the cold question. A look of hurt clouded her usually effervescent blue eyes. She could only cross her arms and look helplessly at the floor.
"Yeah. Obviously, you know...you're the father." Her words were meek and surprisingly enigmatic in the sense of how she felt about it. A curt nod was the only reply before he turned his back on her and strode towards the door.
Bulma stood with her mouth agape. Her surprise instantly turned to venom and anger bubbled dangerously below her pale skin. "You-you bastard!" she screamed as tears began to form in her eyes. "You cold hearted bastard! I tell you I'm pregnant...pregnant with YOUR child, and you have the nerve to WALK AWAY from me?! If that's how you'll be, I'm sure this child's better off without you as a father!"
Vegeta winced at her tone. "What do you expect from me?"
"To be here, you jerk! For me! For your son or daughter!" she cried out to him. A sigh escaped him as his shoulders sagged. This was the first time that the heiress had seen the Saiya-jin look defeated. Her own sigh hung in the air as she moved towards him. Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, she turned her short lover gently towards her.
"I-I know...I know that this is different for you, Vegeta," she began, "but it's different for me, too. I never thought I'd be a mom. I mean, God, I'm one of the most irresponsible people on the planet! Heh...Yeah, it's really gonna be different," she concluded softly. Vegeta's eyes were cast towards the floor, and he remained silent.
Not knowing what else to do, Bulma placed a hand on his cheek and brought his eyes to meet hers. And suddenly...she smirked. A look of confusion crossed Vegeta's features. "You're a cold hearted killer, Vegeta, and for some ungodly reason...I wouldn't want anyone else to be the father of my child. So, before you revert back to jerk mode, at least promise that you won't leave, or get killed off by the androids 'cause I sure as hell am not traveling to Namek in an attempt to wish ANOTHER lover back."
A mischievous smirk played across his lips. "The only thing I'll promise you is that I'll destroy those androids with my bare hands." Bulma rolled her eyes. Yeah, that was the ego she knew and...loved. For a fleeting moment, she wondered what she was getting herself into with Vegeta...Oh, well.
"Now, get out of here. Go do your little Super Saiya-jin thing and hurry back! Fuel for those ships costs a lot of money! I bet you're going to smash it to pieces, too!" She crossed her arms, looking slightly frazzled. Vegeta couldn't help but to let out a genuine laugh. Bulma had swiftly drying tears on her face, and her mascara was running down her cheeks. "What?" she inquired with a perplexed look.
The prince merely shook his head. "Nothing, Wo--Bulma." With nothing more needed to be said, he lazily ran his hand across her stomach and strode off in the opposite direction of his woman...and his child.
Bulma's vision was blurry from the amount of tears she had shed that night, while waiting for Trunks and Vegeta. However, the memory of when she told Vegeta that she was pregnant managed to cheer her tormented heart up, just a bit. If somebody were watching the exchange like they would watch a television show, they might think that it wasn't a very fond memory at all. But to Bulma, it was one of the happiest she could ever remember. And now, she only prayed that she could have more happy memories, just like those, with Vegeta and Trunks.
She was still on the beach that Vegeta had left her at for what seemed like days. Of course, she didn't know how much time had passed, but the stars were shining down on her now. The diamonds that hung on the black velvet blanket would either tell of woe or contentment that fateful night. Right now, the woman wasn't sure which the sky would bring her. What if Vegeta couldn't find him? Or worse, what if he did and it was too late...?
"NO!" she unexpectedly screamed to the heavens. That would not be a possibility! She told herself that over, and over again throughout her stay on the deserted white-sanded land. A fresh round of tears spilled out with much more force than the ones just before them.
As she sobbed, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped up and shrieked in surprised. When she spun around, she found herself face to face with Vegeta. "Where's Trunks?" she asked, not hiding her frantic ambition.
There was no response. Bulma's body began to shake in panic. "Vegeta? Vegeta? Where is he?!" She shook his shoulders as she demanded response. "Where, where, where?!"
Vegeta moved his arms up and removed her hands from his shoulders. Soon after, he pivoted the left side of his body to left, revealing a small, unmoving heap on the sand. Bulma's form was shaken with sobs and emotional pain. She wanted to move, to run to what she knew was Trunks, but her feet wouldn't cooperate. Move! Move! Move! her mind screamed at her. With that mental boost, she sprinted over to inert figure on the sandy beach.
When she reached her son's prone body, she immediately flipped him over and hugged him to her. She was so far beyond reason, that she didn't bother to check for life signs. It was too much! It was just too much for her to take. And as she sobbed into his little shoulder, she noticed that he was wet. She speedily pulled back and looked at her hand. Squinting in the nearly nonexistent light, Bulma could just barely make out what was on her shaking fingers. Blood.
Choking on her sobs, she lay Trunks body out and turned towards Vegeta, who was still standing in the same spot, unmoving. "What happened, Vegeta? What happened to my little boy?" she asked in a barely audible whisper.
Vegeta didn't move from his position. His head was bowed in sadness as it had been when he landed. He looked like a man that had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and a father who had lost a son...
"...I-I...tried to get there when I felt his power level rise..." he shook his head, and didn't stop. Bulma realized then, that he shaking as well. Taking one last sorrowful look at her child, she stood on wobbly legs and stumbled over to her love. When she reached him, she pulled him into an embrace, which for once, he willingly accepted, never minding the more blood that stained his clothes.
"What happened?" she rasped out. Vegeta took a deep breath and began his tale...
He flew as fast as he possibly could. The despicable feeling of fear weighed heavy in the pit of his stomach. His son's ki was raised very high now, and made Vegeta wonder if he were a Super Saiya-jin.
He was almost there when he felt it...or rather, didn't feel it. His son's energy signal dropped suddenly and quickly dissolved into nothing. Instinctively his eyes widened in fear, and his speed increased to a level he often kept in reserve. Vegeta vaguely wondered if he would ever see his son alive again...
He hovered above a dark forest with a large variety of tall trees. Seeing a fading light, he moved above it and landed hastily. "...No..." the inaudible speech came quickly. The sight before him was a gruesome one. One that no parent, however good or however bad, should never have to witness.
A few small fires lighted the area, and in the middle of small clearing lay the small silhouette of a boy. This boy, which the ouji instantly recognized as Trunks, lay with his face in the dirt and in a growing puddle of is own blood. The smell...oh the smell was sickening. The air reeked with the pungent stench of burnt flesh and burning wood and plant life.
The fires, Vegeta assumed, were caused by an energy blast. And the way the light of their flame played upon the unmoving body disgusted him more than anything else he'd ever seen. He quickly put them out, and kneeled beside his son.
He looked dead. Everything about his body seemed to indicate death. Yet, he checked for life signs by checking his pulse points. All were slicked with crimson and with the pure shaking of his hand, he wasn't sure if he felt his son's heartbeat...or his own.
"I-I can't...believe you're gone...my son." A tear or two slipped from his saddened ebony eyes as he gently picked up his son's remains. He turned his head towards the direction he had left his wife and began the long, painful journey back to her.
After hearing the heart wrenching tale, Bulma's guilt tripled its maddening blame. "He killed himself, Vegeta! Our seven-year-old son committed suicide!" she wailed and buried her face into Vegeta's shoulder. He soon found himself with more weight on his left shoulder and realized that her legs had given way.
He allowed them both to sink down to the sand. Not wanting to look at Trunks' corpse, he buried his face in her silky, aqua hair and tried his very best to be strong when he really wanted to break down. Out of all of the trials and all of the turmoil he had witnessed and been through, this somehow made them all seem insignificant. This was not like the Cell Games...he couldn't simply wish his son back. For one thing, he wasn't sure if the dragon could bring someone back if they were killed by their own hands...and the other thing...Trunks would probably do the same thing again. There would be no point to wish him back to life, and Bulma realized the same thing, too.
The couple sat together for a few moments, using the fact that the other was there as a slight comfort. Just as Vegeta was about to pick them both off of the sand and take Bulma and Trunks back...there came a faint sound. It...was almost like a cough. Yes, yes a cough!
The instincts of a mother, that Bulma inherited the day Trunks was conceived, forced her away from Vegeta. She rushed over to Trunks, urging silently for a sign that the beautiful, beautiful sound had come from him. As sure as the sun rises each blessed morning, another cough came from Trunks. Instantly, both parents' eyes brightened at the revelation.
Bulma reached down her blood sodden dress and pulled out a capsule. She received a funny look from Vegeta, considering that she had just pulled a capsule of all things from her bra. But, when you have no pockets and no time to grab a purse when a flying alien is your lift, you become inventive. As she opened the tiny device she cast a scornful look at Vegeta for his doubtful glance.
There were many things scattered about in the mess that she decompressed, but after a frenzied search, the blue-haired heiress found her prize. A flashlight and small pouch. Quickly, she shoved the flashlight into Vegeta's awaiting hands and opened the leather pouch. She dumped its contents into her hand and sent Vegeta a knowing wink. While holding the now lit light, he asked, "How the hell did you get one of those?"
"Dende was apparently watching our little scenario and sent a message to Korin. Yajirobe brought me a couple beans while I was waiting on the beach," she informed him.
"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Vegeta questioned, but Bulma merely shrugged and tended to her son. As gently as she could, she lifted his head and pressed the small item into his mouth.
"Chew!" she urged him. When she got no response, she tilted his head to the side and moved his jaw in a mock chewing fashion. Naturally, ones body is inclined to swallow when a substance is in its mouth--especially when the item is a chewed up senzu bean.
Bulma put his head back on the sand and waited with Vegeta for the bean to take effect. In a matter of only seconds, Trunks began to stir. A pair of sapphire eyes opened to meet the faces of two hopeful parents. "You-you're alive!" Trunks' mother shouted with glee and quickly embraced her son.
Trunks didn't gripe about not being dead, but instead, he suddenly started crying and returned his mother's hug. Without warning, the young boy began to babble about the events that took place that night. "I didn't mean to!" Trunks began. "I was gonna outrun a ki blast, and...I did, but-but--" he was forced to pause because of the sobs that seemed to be attacking him.
"Calm down," came a soothing command from, not Bulma, but Vegeta. Trunks could only nod and take a deep breath.
"I saw that ki blast comin' at me an-and I...I...got sc..." The last thing Trunks wanted to do was admit he was scared in front of his parents.
"You got scared," Bulma stated for him. "We got scared, too, Trunks. We thought that you were gone..."
He bit his bottom lip and said meekly, "Sorry."
"It's okay...but go on," Bulma cooed in a way that only a mother could manage in such a situation.
Trunks took another deep breath and continued. "I got really...scared...and thought that it was really stupid...what I was doing, I mean...but-but...I couldn't get out of the way, an-and I got hit..." Trunks decided it would be best to just cry for once, instead of talking.
Suddenly, Bulma pulled Trunks back and looked into eyes that mirrored her own. "Trunks, you were never an accident. Never! And I'm--we're sorry that you thought that because it was never true!" The young boy looked towards his father for reassurance and he received a confirming nod. That may not seem to be all that significant, but to Bulma and Trunks, it meant all the world and that much more. "One more thing," Bulma started in a serious tone, "you'll NEVER try that again. Will you?"
"Never!" Trunks shouted in horror at the thought of repeating those terrible events. "But...umm...I haven't eaten all day, it seems..." As if on cue, Vegeta and Trunks' stomachs began to rumble quite loudly. Bulma laughed in spite of herself.
"Trunks, you are your father's son," she stated, and shook her head.
******
A/N: Okay, I asked for 50 reviews, and I got 49; I'm happy. Whew! It's 1:30 in the morning, and I've been typing this since 12! I only hope that this chapter lives up to your standards, almighty readers! The importance of the flashback to when Bulma told Vegeta about being pregnant is to show that Trunks wasn't an accident. :P But you all knew that, didn't you? Sorry I dragged out Trunks decision to kill himself so much, but gosh, it took me a while to build up the will to actually make him attempt it! -_-' Almighty readers, have mercy on a poor fanfic author, and review. *bows*
