A/N: *fends off the big watcha-hebbiby-fungo monster* Arigatou reviewers! *meekly* Um, er, uh...well I have no decent excuse for the lateness on this chapter...but...does sorry help? I've been sick, that's about all I can say. *gets bitten by the big watcha-hebbiby-fungo monster* OW!!!
Disclaimer: I own you, I own your family, and I own Akron, Ohio, but I don't own DBZ.
"The Search"
"Don't! No! Don't go, Daddy!"
"I'm tired of this Goku!" Chi-Chi screamed, tears cascading in two set canals down her rosy cheeks.
The tall saiya-jin raised his hands in defense. "Ah, come on Chi--"
"No! No more excuses Son!" The woman's voice rose in pitch. "Just...just...just get OUT!"
Goku frowned. "Now, Chi, I have a--"
She shook her head. "GET OUT!" With narrowed eyes, Goku turned on his heel and walked out of the kitchen. The doorway seemed to be bathed in a bright white light. It swallowed Goten's father as he walked out...
"Don't! No! Don't go, Daddy!" Goten cried out in his sleep. Suddenly, he woke with a start, sweat pouring down his face, mixing with frightened tears. He took deep breaths to calm himself. "I-it was just a dream," he reminded himself.
Feeling his heart start to calm, he deftly wiped away the moisture on his face. Son Goten sighed at the dream, realizing instantly that part of it was more than just a figment of his subconscious. It was a memory. He shook at the thought of that day and all of the days like it. His father always seemed like such a good man, always helping people and training just to do that, but...he always seemed to be hurting his mommy.
Now Goten wasn't sure of what to think of his father. He looked toward the sky to his right. Son Goku was there. Training, the boy assumed darkly. Tiredly, he lay back down on the grassy bed he had made. Goten estimated it must be around four in the morning. Faint hints of light were already threatening to show on the horizon.
After the boy had flown away from his best friend, he continued flying around aimlessly. All he wanted was to be alone, far away from his family and friends. Goten had come to rest in a small clearing an hour or so after his departure. Deciding he didn't want to go home, he had hunkered down for the night and had made a makeshift bed from the softest foliage he could find. Then on, he'd just been sitting there, too distraught to even think of food or to think at all even. He just wanted to drown himself in a feeling of apathy. It hadn't been long after sunset when the demi-human had fallen asleep.
Sighing, Goten pulled his knees to his chest, thinking about Trunks. He had been kind of mean to him...No. No, Trunks deserved to be miserable! He was supposed to be Goten's best friend and he'd lied to him about something...something so extreme! The boy could hardly believe he'd never known. It struck something deep inside of him. It...it just hurt. "I hate being lied to..." Goten muttered as an unruly tear slithered down his cheek. He sniffled a bit, wondering if everything he had to put up with would work out...kind of like it had with Trunks.
Chi-Chi sat stiffly at the kitchen table. She had called everyone she could think of. They were all there and Trunks had explained what he known. Chi-Chi didn't hesitate to scold him harshly for letting Goten run off like that and not telling her. Gohan was out fetching his father and Piccolo, and no one could sense Goten's ki.
A delicate hand on her shoulder shook her from her thoughts. "Chi...it's going to be alright. We'll find him," Bulma soothed. "The others have just left to go look for him." The mother mutely nodded. "I'm going to go out," Capsule Corporation's head began again, "in a jet plane. Do you want to come with me?"
Chi-Chi turned to look at her longtime friend, her ebony eyes glassy with unshed tears. "Yes, thank you."
Goku flew about, looking for his son. He hadn't even had time to see Chi-Chi before everyone had taken off in search of him. Two things were bothering him. The first was that his son was missing and he wasn't sure why, and the other was Trunks. It had taken him a while to find the courage to tell everyone what he had said to Goten. Surely, it must have been hard for him.
The saiya-jin hated when things happened to his family and friends. How many times had he wished that everyone would just be able to live in peace? True, he loved fighting, but he was starting to realize that the cost of these constant menaces was just too much. Sighing, he continued looking for his missing little boy.
"Mmm...hungry..." Goten muttered, rubbing his grumbling stomach. He looked toward the sky, noting that it must have been around nine in the morning. Definitely breakfast time!
Floating up from his little hiding place, Goten started flying toward a river he had seen earlier on his flight. He eagerly hoped it would have many a fish from him to eat. Mmm...fish....
Too wrapped up in his daydreams of eating fish, he didn't notice all of the ki signatures that flew about the area in search of him. Particularly his father's who had picked up his ki signature and was headed in his direction. Of course, Goten was oblivious to it all. Hunger seemed to have that effect on the Son family, or at least, Goku's side.
He reached the river soon enough and began stripping to his boxers. Immediately he stopped when he heard someone land behind him. Spinning around, he gasped at the sight of his father.
"What are you doing here?" he asked darkly, the scene from his dream still burning in his mind.
Goku looked surprised at his tone. "I came lookin' for you, kiddo!"
"Why?"
A question so blunt and so raw again caught the saiya-jin off guard. "Because we're all worried about you. Your mom especially."
Goten turned around. "So why do you care?"
"Because you're my son," Goku said firmly with a frown. What was wrong with him?
Again, Goten spun around, fire in his eyes. "So?! That never stopped you from not being there before!" he screamed loudly, salty tears already forming in his livid orbs. Goku took a step back, his head whirling from the outburst. "Why don't you just go back to training? It's all you ever do anyway!" The tears flowed freely now, and Goten shook with sobs. He stood there, looking tired and broken.
Goku's gaze softened as he started forward. "Son, I train so that I'll be strong enough for when an enemy comes. The Earth needs me."
"I need you too, Dad, but that never mattered before!" Goten screamed, the innocence lost from his demeanor. All that was left was a being full of rage. Bottom lip quivering, he powered up. The water behind him quickly became choppy and waves blew wildly away from Goten. They rippled across the entire river. The verdant grass swayed from his power as if they bowed to presence. The boy, on the verge of going super saiya-jin, grabbed his shed garments. And, like Trunks did years before, he picked himself off of the ground and flew away from his bewildered parent.
************
Rae George: *taps foot on floor* Don't make me get a vacuum cleaner.
