Chap. 7
"Are you ready this time?" Vegeta called from across the ring.
"Yes, finally," Trunks answered. Vegeta brought one hand up and made his palm face Trunks. Then he began to concentrate his energy into his hand. His power level skyrocketed. Little bits of debris began to float up into the air, and the wind began to blow away from his body. People, even humans, began to notice that their hair was blowing backwards.
Oh, no…he's going to use…Trunks realized what his father was trying to do. Then he jumped up into the air so that his father's blast would not harm the people behind him. Vegeta moved his hand so that it was facing Trunks.
"Hey, Dad, I'm up here!" he shouted. A blue light began to form around Vegeta, which was especially concentrated as his upraised hand.
He's almost done, Trunks thought. Then Vegeta's power stopped rising.
"BIG BANG ATTACK!" he screamed. A huge blue blast rose into the air at Trunks.
[pic]
Then Trunks mimicked his father, facing his palm toward the coming ki shot.
"HELL'S FLASH!" he shouted. A blue blast shot back and both shots collided in midair. They exploded with an overwhelming force. Trunks shielded his eyes with both is arms. In the seemingly far distance he thought he heard some screaming. When the explosion had finally stopped. Trunks looked down. Vegeta was smiling evilly.
Uh oh.
"Not bad," Vegeta shouted, laughing for some reason. "It's good to see that you retain some memory of how to shoot an enemy!"
He's just trying to bait you, so that you won't think rationally when you fight, he's just trying to bait you…
"Gee, thanks, Dad, I wish I could say the same for you," he called back good-naturedly. Vegeta's eyes narrowed dangerously, although the grin he wore on his face did not disappear.
I'm assuming that that was the wrong thing to say…Uh oh…
"Are we starting to get cocky?" Vegeta asked in a dangerously soft voice. Trunks gulped. "Well, let's just see how cocky you can be after this."
Eep! Trunks squeaked in his mind. I should learn to keep my big mouth shut sometimes. His father was definitely going to make this lesson stick, like he did whenever he felt that Trunks blundered. The few/many times that his father had punished him with a physical lesson rather than leaving him alone stood out vividly in Trunks' mind. Especially the time he…well, let's not get into details. Let's just say that he had to stay in the hospital for about a month to heal. The Committee for Abuse of Children had visited their home, but Bulma had somehow convinced them that Trunks had simply had an accident in the gravity room. Trunks suspected that their wallets ended up a lot fuller than when they had first walked into the house. After that, Vegeta did not spar with Trunks so severely unless he was sure that Trunks wasn't going to end up in the hospital. Plus, he had borrowed/stolen some sensou beans from Korrin tower, so they always had some handy. This was all probably due to the fact that Bulma had threatened Vegeta with something like "no food for a month", or "I'll make you stay at Goku's house for a year. Just you and his family."
"Hel-LO!! Trunks, I don't like being ignored," Vegeta snapping his gloved fingers right in front of the boy's face brought Trunks back from his little flashback. Trunks blinked, then looked down. Both of them were up in the air. "Are you subnormally intelligent? What is wrong with you today?" He looked into his father's night black eyes. They looked angry. Very angry. In fact, furious. Trunks began to sweat.
"Uh, nothing," Trunks tried to sound offhand. The crease between his father's eyebrows seemed to deepen, if that was possible.
"Oh, really?" Vegeta asked somewhat sarcastically. Okay, okay…very sarcastically.
The boy must be losing it, Vegeta thought to himself, sounding very worried, I've never seen him look this vacant. What did he do this weekend, anyway? Please tell me he didn't meet another girl! Inwardly, he groaned at the thought. Trunks probably had more girlfriends in his years from middle school until now than Vegeta had killed before. And that was a lot. Well, he should probably be proud that his genes had attracted so many people. He should.
"Hey, uh, Dad?" Trunks asked. Vegeta looked at him. "I think I'm ready now. You can back off." Vegeta frowned some more, then floated backwards and prepared himself for an attack. Then Trunks took off. He was coming at an incredible speed at Vegeta. Vegeta put himself on defense. Trunks lifted his left leg and aimed a kick at Vegeta's head. A kick that never connected. Vegeta quickly moved his head aside. Then Trunks levitated himself a few inches so that he was above his dad. This gave him a slight advantage. Then he aimed a barrage of punches at his dad. His dad ducked down, right and left, according to where the punches were aimed.
Good, he's still very fast, Vegeta thought proudly. Trunks lowered himself slightly and once again began to bombard his father with blows right and left, most of which Vegeta simply dodged. One punch happened to hit the side of Vegeta's jaw.
"HA!" Vegeta shouted, and then delivered a well-placed punch to Trunks' face. Trunks was immediately flung backwards.
"Ow," he muttered, rubbing his sore face.
"I think you're losing your touch!" Vegeta cried as he aimed another punch at Trunks.
"Whoa!" Trunks barely managed to slip away. He once again tried to kick his father. His father blocked with his arm, then attempted to hit Trunks in the chest and hopefully knock the breath out of him. Trunks blocked with his elbow. They traded blows for a long time. Bulma was down on the ground, wringing her hands in worry.
Kami, I hope they don't kill each other, she thought to herself in worry. Behind her, Chi-Chi patted her fellow wife on the back, hopefully reassuringly.
"Don't worry, Vegeta won't kill his own son," Chi-Chi said. Then she frowned. "At least, I don't think he will." Bulma looked at Chi-Chi.
"You're not helping, Chi-Chi," she muttered. Chi-Chi shrugged.
"Come on, Mr. Vegeta, come on, Trunks, come on, Mr. Vegeta, come on, Trunks," Goten shouted to one then another. Then he shook his head. "Kami, I'm getting confused. Who am I cheering for?" Gohan looked at him and sighed.
This could go on forever, Vegeta thought to himself as he fought with his son. What's a good way to end this quickly? Vegeta's mind played with several stupid ideas before finally coming on definitely the most stupid idea that probably wouldn't work in a million years, but it was worth a try. Vegeta let a small smile play at his lips. Trunks' brows furrowed in response.
Aw, man, he's up to something again! Trunks had learned the signs of his father's scheming mind well. Then his father's smile disappeared. Wait a minute, that's not supposed to happen! What's he doing?
He's planning, you dolt.
I realize…hey! I thought I told you to get lost!
Fat chance I'm going to listen to you! Trunks finally gave up trying to get him to go away and continued to attempt to block and kick his father. Finally, Trunks clamped his hands on his father's hands, which had been coming for his chest. The two were locked in a power struggle, a contest of will and muscle. When it seemed as though Trunks was starting to win over Vegeta, Vegeta would suddenly give an extra boost to his muscles and pushed Trunks back a little bit. Trunks would be forced to back up to prevent Vegeta from gaining anymore. After what felt like an extraordinarily long time to both Trunks and Vegeta, Vegeta looked over Trunks' shoulder. Trunks saw his father's eyebrows shoot up.
"Kakarot! What are you doing here?" Vegeta snarled.
"Huh?" Trunks whipped his head around. Sure enough, there was…nothing! Clouds and blue sky met Trunks' expecting eyes.
Waitaminute!
"I don't see--" Trunks started to say, turning back around, but stopped when he realized that his father wasn't there.
"Pathetic," Vegeta's voice was heard above his head. Trunks looked up in time to see Vegeta's hands coming down together. CRACK! Trunks was sure he heard his head break before he was swept away by blackness. For a moment when everyone held their breath, Trunks hovered as he rocked back and forth slightly. Then gravity claimed him as a friend. He landed with a dull thud outside of the ring. The many girls in the crowd screamed what seemed like one loud, high-pitched scream that made Vegeta and anybody else within a ten-mile radius wince. Bulma was, incredibly, able to control her own urge to join the girls, but it was a close thing. Her own son was unconscious, knocked out by her husband. Then Trunks stirred to life. With a groan, he extracted himself from the small crater that he himself had made just by falling. Bulma let out the breath she had been holding.
My BONES! Trunks massaged his aching head while trying to ignore everything else that hurt. Vegeta landed quietly in front of him.
"I win," he said in a calm, serious voice. Then he broke into a lopsided grin. "I still can't believe that you fell for that trick!" Trunks began to mutter under his breath.
"Congratulations," Ticco said, walking up to them as they went back inside the house for some food. Vegeta heard a knocking sound. He turned around. There Mr. Sinter stood, his knees knocking, as he chewed on his fingernails. Vegeta walked up to him and put a hand on the quaking man's shoulder.
"Don't worry," he said pleasantly, if not with a small hint of evil. "I won't hurt you that bad." Then he walked away. Mr. Sinter collapsed.
"Are you ready this time?" Vegeta called from across the ring.
"Yes, finally," Trunks answered. Vegeta brought one hand up and made his palm face Trunks. Then he began to concentrate his energy into his hand. His power level skyrocketed. Little bits of debris began to float up into the air, and the wind began to blow away from his body. People, even humans, began to notice that their hair was blowing backwards.
Oh, no…he's going to use…Trunks realized what his father was trying to do. Then he jumped up into the air so that his father's blast would not harm the people behind him. Vegeta moved his hand so that it was facing Trunks.
"Hey, Dad, I'm up here!" he shouted. A blue light began to form around Vegeta, which was especially concentrated as his upraised hand.
He's almost done, Trunks thought. Then Vegeta's power stopped rising.
"BIG BANG ATTACK!" he screamed. A huge blue blast rose into the air at Trunks.
[pic]
Then Trunks mimicked his father, facing his palm toward the coming ki shot.
"HELL'S FLASH!" he shouted. A blue blast shot back and both shots collided in midair. They exploded with an overwhelming force. Trunks shielded his eyes with both is arms. In the seemingly far distance he thought he heard some screaming. When the explosion had finally stopped. Trunks looked down. Vegeta was smiling evilly.
Uh oh.
"Not bad," Vegeta shouted, laughing for some reason. "It's good to see that you retain some memory of how to shoot an enemy!"
He's just trying to bait you, so that you won't think rationally when you fight, he's just trying to bait you…
"Gee, thanks, Dad, I wish I could say the same for you," he called back good-naturedly. Vegeta's eyes narrowed dangerously, although the grin he wore on his face did not disappear.
I'm assuming that that was the wrong thing to say…Uh oh…
"Are we starting to get cocky?" Vegeta asked in a dangerously soft voice. Trunks gulped. "Well, let's just see how cocky you can be after this."
Eep! Trunks squeaked in his mind. I should learn to keep my big mouth shut sometimes. His father was definitely going to make this lesson stick, like he did whenever he felt that Trunks blundered. The few/many times that his father had punished him with a physical lesson rather than leaving him alone stood out vividly in Trunks' mind. Especially the time he…well, let's not get into details. Let's just say that he had to stay in the hospital for about a month to heal. The Committee for Abuse of Children had visited their home, but Bulma had somehow convinced them that Trunks had simply had an accident in the gravity room. Trunks suspected that their wallets ended up a lot fuller than when they had first walked into the house. After that, Vegeta did not spar with Trunks so severely unless he was sure that Trunks wasn't going to end up in the hospital. Plus, he had borrowed/stolen some sensou beans from Korrin tower, so they always had some handy. This was all probably due to the fact that Bulma had threatened Vegeta with something like "no food for a month", or "I'll make you stay at Goku's house for a year. Just you and his family."
"Hel-LO!! Trunks, I don't like being ignored," Vegeta snapping his gloved fingers right in front of the boy's face brought Trunks back from his little flashback. Trunks blinked, then looked down. Both of them were up in the air. "Are you subnormally intelligent? What is wrong with you today?" He looked into his father's night black eyes. They looked angry. Very angry. In fact, furious. Trunks began to sweat.
"Uh, nothing," Trunks tried to sound offhand. The crease between his father's eyebrows seemed to deepen, if that was possible.
"Oh, really?" Vegeta asked somewhat sarcastically. Okay, okay…very sarcastically.
The boy must be losing it, Vegeta thought to himself, sounding very worried, I've never seen him look this vacant. What did he do this weekend, anyway? Please tell me he didn't meet another girl! Inwardly, he groaned at the thought. Trunks probably had more girlfriends in his years from middle school until now than Vegeta had killed before. And that was a lot. Well, he should probably be proud that his genes had attracted so many people. He should.
"Hey, uh, Dad?" Trunks asked. Vegeta looked at him. "I think I'm ready now. You can back off." Vegeta frowned some more, then floated backwards and prepared himself for an attack. Then Trunks took off. He was coming at an incredible speed at Vegeta. Vegeta put himself on defense. Trunks lifted his left leg and aimed a kick at Vegeta's head. A kick that never connected. Vegeta quickly moved his head aside. Then Trunks levitated himself a few inches so that he was above his dad. This gave him a slight advantage. Then he aimed a barrage of punches at his dad. His dad ducked down, right and left, according to where the punches were aimed.
Good, he's still very fast, Vegeta thought proudly. Trunks lowered himself slightly and once again began to bombard his father with blows right and left, most of which Vegeta simply dodged. One punch happened to hit the side of Vegeta's jaw.
"HA!" Vegeta shouted, and then delivered a well-placed punch to Trunks' face. Trunks was immediately flung backwards.
"Ow," he muttered, rubbing his sore face.
"I think you're losing your touch!" Vegeta cried as he aimed another punch at Trunks.
"Whoa!" Trunks barely managed to slip away. He once again tried to kick his father. His father blocked with his arm, then attempted to hit Trunks in the chest and hopefully knock the breath out of him. Trunks blocked with his elbow. They traded blows for a long time. Bulma was down on the ground, wringing her hands in worry.
Kami, I hope they don't kill each other, she thought to herself in worry. Behind her, Chi-Chi patted her fellow wife on the back, hopefully reassuringly.
"Don't worry, Vegeta won't kill his own son," Chi-Chi said. Then she frowned. "At least, I don't think he will." Bulma looked at Chi-Chi.
"You're not helping, Chi-Chi," she muttered. Chi-Chi shrugged.
"Come on, Mr. Vegeta, come on, Trunks, come on, Mr. Vegeta, come on, Trunks," Goten shouted to one then another. Then he shook his head. "Kami, I'm getting confused. Who am I cheering for?" Gohan looked at him and sighed.
This could go on forever, Vegeta thought to himself as he fought with his son. What's a good way to end this quickly? Vegeta's mind played with several stupid ideas before finally coming on definitely the most stupid idea that probably wouldn't work in a million years, but it was worth a try. Vegeta let a small smile play at his lips. Trunks' brows furrowed in response.
Aw, man, he's up to something again! Trunks had learned the signs of his father's scheming mind well. Then his father's smile disappeared. Wait a minute, that's not supposed to happen! What's he doing?
He's planning, you dolt.
I realize…hey! I thought I told you to get lost!
Fat chance I'm going to listen to you! Trunks finally gave up trying to get him to go away and continued to attempt to block and kick his father. Finally, Trunks clamped his hands on his father's hands, which had been coming for his chest. The two were locked in a power struggle, a contest of will and muscle. When it seemed as though Trunks was starting to win over Vegeta, Vegeta would suddenly give an extra boost to his muscles and pushed Trunks back a little bit. Trunks would be forced to back up to prevent Vegeta from gaining anymore. After what felt like an extraordinarily long time to both Trunks and Vegeta, Vegeta looked over Trunks' shoulder. Trunks saw his father's eyebrows shoot up.
"Kakarot! What are you doing here?" Vegeta snarled.
"Huh?" Trunks whipped his head around. Sure enough, there was…nothing! Clouds and blue sky met Trunks' expecting eyes.
Waitaminute!
"I don't see--" Trunks started to say, turning back around, but stopped when he realized that his father wasn't there.
"Pathetic," Vegeta's voice was heard above his head. Trunks looked up in time to see Vegeta's hands coming down together. CRACK! Trunks was sure he heard his head break before he was swept away by blackness. For a moment when everyone held their breath, Trunks hovered as he rocked back and forth slightly. Then gravity claimed him as a friend. He landed with a dull thud outside of the ring. The many girls in the crowd screamed what seemed like one loud, high-pitched scream that made Vegeta and anybody else within a ten-mile radius wince. Bulma was, incredibly, able to control her own urge to join the girls, but it was a close thing. Her own son was unconscious, knocked out by her husband. Then Trunks stirred to life. With a groan, he extracted himself from the small crater that he himself had made just by falling. Bulma let out the breath she had been holding.
My BONES! Trunks massaged his aching head while trying to ignore everything else that hurt. Vegeta landed quietly in front of him.
"I win," he said in a calm, serious voice. Then he broke into a lopsided grin. "I still can't believe that you fell for that trick!" Trunks began to mutter under his breath.
"Congratulations," Ticco said, walking up to them as they went back inside the house for some food. Vegeta heard a knocking sound. He turned around. There Mr. Sinter stood, his knees knocking, as he chewed on his fingernails. Vegeta walked up to him and put a hand on the quaking man's shoulder.
"Don't worry," he said pleasantly, if not with a small hint of evil. "I won't hurt you that bad." Then he walked away. Mr. Sinter collapsed.