My Secret- 2. What Trunks Knew
The growl from Goku's stomach could be heard over the mountains by the time he reached home.
"Goku! Oh my goodness, look at you!"
Goku knew he didn't look half as bad as the other times he fought Vegeta. She said the same thing every time he came home from a sparring session against him.
Other than the streak of blood dribbling down the corner of his mouth and the swollen eye, there weren't any serious injuries. In the past, Vegeta has managed to crush his rib cage, break his arm, and twist his leg in a way Chichi refused to look at, but insisted that he go to a doctor.
After a through inspection, with Chichi fussing over every rough spot, she ordered him to call the boys.
"Goten! Gohan! Dinner!" His voice bellowed through the deep crevices of Mt. Paozu, and despite how far away they were, the two brothers came into view almost instantly.
"Daddy! I won against Gohan!"
"That's great, Goten. Now go wash up."
"Father," the dumbfounded Gohan stopped short. "I thought you were taking a nap. How did you get those wounds?"
"Uh... heheh. Vegeta stopped by."
Gohan raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Interesting."
"Eh?" But Gohan said nothing more, as he went inside to wash his hands.
"Goku, what are you doing? Aren't you going to eat your dinner?" Chichi came out, wiping her hands on her apron.
"Huh? What? Oh, sure. Coming."
"Is something the matter?"
"No, nothing's wrong."
Chichi watched her husband walk into the bathroom. What's on his mind?
---
The humidity in the room was worse than New Jersey in July. Sweat just lingered in the air, attaching itself to anything that came within contact. Heavy breathing could be heard, and an even heavier breathing was drowning out the gravity machine's generator.
Trunks stood upside down on his right pinky, working out his arm muscles by bending it up and down. He was debating with himself whether to tell his father or not.
At last, he said, "Dad, did you notice Mom this morning?"
Vegeta, who's been punching continuously in the heavy air before, finally looked at his son. "What are you getting at?"
"I'm just asking. Did you notice her mood when you woke up?"
"No."
Trunks stared at his father.
"I didn't see her this morning."
"Oh."
"Was there somewhere you wanted to go with that?"
"Well... she's... not happy."
Vegeta remained silent.
"And... she's mad."
"That's pretty normal."
"She went over to Chichi's house today... to complain to her, I think."
"That's normal, too."
"I think... she's mad at you."
Vegeta froze.
"Mom... she's mad at you."
"Why?"
"I dunno. I just got the feeling."
Vegeta narrowed his eyes.
"When she came to wake me up this morning, she was all preoccupied and swearing under her breath."
"Really. She must have waked up on the wrong side of the bed."
"No... I think... I think..."
"Yeah? Just say it."
Trunks mumbled something under his breath so quietly; even Vegeta couldn't hear it through his strained ear.
---
Meanwhile, safely back in the Capsule Corp kitchen was Bulma, setting the table for dinner.
"Dear, would you call Vegeta and Trunks? Dinner is almost ready."
"Sure, Mom."
Bulma rushed out to the back, and was about to pound on the door when she realized there was no sound coming from inside.
She turned the knob quietly, and opened the door just a crack. Putting her eye in the opening, she saw a very unusual sight indeed. Vegeta was standing in the middle of the room, hand still frozen in the air, one extended and the other one bent, looking behind him. She couldn't see behind him, but she guessed he was looking at Trunks. They didn't even notice the gravity shutting off automatically.
Bulma swung the door full. "Trunks, Vegeta, dinner's ready."
Her voice made them both flinch. Bulma blinked at her husband and son. As long as she knew them, they never flinched at ANYTHING.
"Dinner's ready...?" She repeated uncertainly.
Trunks was first to come to his senses. "Oh right, Mom. Boy, I'm starving! It's about time." And he rushed off to the house.
Bulma turned back to Vegeta and forced a smile. "Aren't you hungry?"
He said nothing in return, but walked away silently, studying her when he walked past her.
Bulma was left closing the Gravity Room door, and she was the last one at the table.
Not a word was exchanged during the meal. When the Saiyans were done, they rushed off to the Gravity Room again, and Dr. Briefs went back to work in the lab, leaving the women to clean up after them.
---
What did Trunks said?! I promise, it will be revealed in the later chapters, although it may not be directly. Remember, this fic is supposed to have unanswered questions and confusing details. That's the beauty of mystery, isn't it? Of course, that doesn't give it an excuse for poorly written details. They are just not clear... yet. *smile slyly*
Note to reviewers: Thank you very much for all your flattering reviews. Hopefully I won't get too overconfident. After reading them all, I feel the need to address some questions. First of all, I know a lot of writers describing the setting before going into the story. I have done that in the past only if the setting was an A/U. This time, however, I wanted to challenge myself to let the reader figure out by themselves, as done in most published books. I guess people got a little impatient. ^^;; I feared they will get distracted in trying to hunt for the setting, that they won't have time to concentrate on what I want them to think about. I'll just have to practice more, don't I? For now, I'll just tell you that this story takes place between the end of Kid Buu, and the beginning of the last World Martial Arts Tournament shown on Z. There will be more details later on as the plot unfolds.
And yes, I do feel honored to be reviewed at all. I know I'm still a rookie in the FFnet community. I guess asking for reviews gives it all away, huh? I can understand your concern, though, because I read a lot of other people's stories, but when they say they'll post again after getting a certain number of reviews, I have the impression that that person (no offense to anyone) knows he/she isn't very good, but desperate for praise. Then that makes me feel like I'm just wasting my time reading it. Not to be selfish or anything, I read for my own benefit, to improve my writing and increase my vocabulary which is so pathetically low, not to critique others. I feel like I'm still not good enough to rate other people's writing ability, especially criticizing them, because I know for one, that fanfiction isn't the only type of writing, and they may be better at another form, and two, I'm not J.K. Rowling or Caroline Cooney.
Wow, I guess my footnotes made up for the shortness of this chapter. Trust me when I tell you I didn't write them because I ran out of ideas. I just didn't want to start the next part, or else it's going to get too long. I develop the plotline at night, and then write them down the next day, which means I know the approximate length of each part (scene, I guess you can call them).
The growl from Goku's stomach could be heard over the mountains by the time he reached home.
"Goku! Oh my goodness, look at you!"
Goku knew he didn't look half as bad as the other times he fought Vegeta. She said the same thing every time he came home from a sparring session against him.
Other than the streak of blood dribbling down the corner of his mouth and the swollen eye, there weren't any serious injuries. In the past, Vegeta has managed to crush his rib cage, break his arm, and twist his leg in a way Chichi refused to look at, but insisted that he go to a doctor.
After a through inspection, with Chichi fussing over every rough spot, she ordered him to call the boys.
"Goten! Gohan! Dinner!" His voice bellowed through the deep crevices of Mt. Paozu, and despite how far away they were, the two brothers came into view almost instantly.
"Daddy! I won against Gohan!"
"That's great, Goten. Now go wash up."
"Father," the dumbfounded Gohan stopped short. "I thought you were taking a nap. How did you get those wounds?"
"Uh... heheh. Vegeta stopped by."
Gohan raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Interesting."
"Eh?" But Gohan said nothing more, as he went inside to wash his hands.
"Goku, what are you doing? Aren't you going to eat your dinner?" Chichi came out, wiping her hands on her apron.
"Huh? What? Oh, sure. Coming."
"Is something the matter?"
"No, nothing's wrong."
Chichi watched her husband walk into the bathroom. What's on his mind?
---
The humidity in the room was worse than New Jersey in July. Sweat just lingered in the air, attaching itself to anything that came within contact. Heavy breathing could be heard, and an even heavier breathing was drowning out the gravity machine's generator.
Trunks stood upside down on his right pinky, working out his arm muscles by bending it up and down. He was debating with himself whether to tell his father or not.
At last, he said, "Dad, did you notice Mom this morning?"
Vegeta, who's been punching continuously in the heavy air before, finally looked at his son. "What are you getting at?"
"I'm just asking. Did you notice her mood when you woke up?"
"No."
Trunks stared at his father.
"I didn't see her this morning."
"Oh."
"Was there somewhere you wanted to go with that?"
"Well... she's... not happy."
Vegeta remained silent.
"And... she's mad."
"That's pretty normal."
"She went over to Chichi's house today... to complain to her, I think."
"That's normal, too."
"I think... she's mad at you."
Vegeta froze.
"Mom... she's mad at you."
"Why?"
"I dunno. I just got the feeling."
Vegeta narrowed his eyes.
"When she came to wake me up this morning, she was all preoccupied and swearing under her breath."
"Really. She must have waked up on the wrong side of the bed."
"No... I think... I think..."
"Yeah? Just say it."
Trunks mumbled something under his breath so quietly; even Vegeta couldn't hear it through his strained ear.
---
Meanwhile, safely back in the Capsule Corp kitchen was Bulma, setting the table for dinner.
"Dear, would you call Vegeta and Trunks? Dinner is almost ready."
"Sure, Mom."
Bulma rushed out to the back, and was about to pound on the door when she realized there was no sound coming from inside.
She turned the knob quietly, and opened the door just a crack. Putting her eye in the opening, she saw a very unusual sight indeed. Vegeta was standing in the middle of the room, hand still frozen in the air, one extended and the other one bent, looking behind him. She couldn't see behind him, but she guessed he was looking at Trunks. They didn't even notice the gravity shutting off automatically.
Bulma swung the door full. "Trunks, Vegeta, dinner's ready."
Her voice made them both flinch. Bulma blinked at her husband and son. As long as she knew them, they never flinched at ANYTHING.
"Dinner's ready...?" She repeated uncertainly.
Trunks was first to come to his senses. "Oh right, Mom. Boy, I'm starving! It's about time." And he rushed off to the house.
Bulma turned back to Vegeta and forced a smile. "Aren't you hungry?"
He said nothing in return, but walked away silently, studying her when he walked past her.
Bulma was left closing the Gravity Room door, and she was the last one at the table.
Not a word was exchanged during the meal. When the Saiyans were done, they rushed off to the Gravity Room again, and Dr. Briefs went back to work in the lab, leaving the women to clean up after them.
---
What did Trunks said?! I promise, it will be revealed in the later chapters, although it may not be directly. Remember, this fic is supposed to have unanswered questions and confusing details. That's the beauty of mystery, isn't it? Of course, that doesn't give it an excuse for poorly written details. They are just not clear... yet. *smile slyly*
Note to reviewers: Thank you very much for all your flattering reviews. Hopefully I won't get too overconfident. After reading them all, I feel the need to address some questions. First of all, I know a lot of writers describing the setting before going into the story. I have done that in the past only if the setting was an A/U. This time, however, I wanted to challenge myself to let the reader figure out by themselves, as done in most published books. I guess people got a little impatient. ^^;; I feared they will get distracted in trying to hunt for the setting, that they won't have time to concentrate on what I want them to think about. I'll just have to practice more, don't I? For now, I'll just tell you that this story takes place between the end of Kid Buu, and the beginning of the last World Martial Arts Tournament shown on Z. There will be more details later on as the plot unfolds.
And yes, I do feel honored to be reviewed at all. I know I'm still a rookie in the FFnet community. I guess asking for reviews gives it all away, huh? I can understand your concern, though, because I read a lot of other people's stories, but when they say they'll post again after getting a certain number of reviews, I have the impression that that person (no offense to anyone) knows he/she isn't very good, but desperate for praise. Then that makes me feel like I'm just wasting my time reading it. Not to be selfish or anything, I read for my own benefit, to improve my writing and increase my vocabulary which is so pathetically low, not to critique others. I feel like I'm still not good enough to rate other people's writing ability, especially criticizing them, because I know for one, that fanfiction isn't the only type of writing, and they may be better at another form, and two, I'm not J.K. Rowling or Caroline Cooney.
Wow, I guess my footnotes made up for the shortness of this chapter. Trust me when I tell you I didn't write them because I ran out of ideas. I just didn't want to start the next part, or else it's going to get too long. I develop the plotline at night, and then write them down the next day, which means I know the approximate length of each part (scene, I guess you can call them).
