Honor
By: Neko-chan
A/N: ~For Songwind~ This idea has actually been bouncing around in my head for the past month or so. I've been wanting to write it and see how people react, so... *cracks knuckles* Anyway, this takes place while Trunks is five and Goten is four. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Neko-chan is not Akira Toriyama. Furthermore, Neko-chan isn't even Japanese. P
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"Vegeta-san?"
The Saiya-jin Prince paused and looked down at the black-haired boy with a prideful sneer. "What, Brat?" he snapped before he quickly went back to the stretches he had been doing before the Son child had come into his gravity room. He waited for a moment, but Goten didn't continue. "What??"
Goten paused for a moment longer, chewing on his lower lip. His eyes looked troubled and his demeanor seemed unusually solemn, something that would worry most people... especially when Goten acted so _much_ like his dead father. "I... I have a question for you, Vegeta-san."
Vegeta stopped his stretches for a quick second to give Goten an incredulous look. "You came and interrupted my training session because you have a _question_ for me? Go away, Brat; I'm busy."
"No, please!"
The small man shot the young child another look and snorted and then once again resumed his training exercises, blatantly ignoring the child of his dead opponent while the child still continued to look troubled.
"Vegeta-san... I... I want to know about my 'Tousan!"
The Saiya-jin Prince paused, his muscle-corded arms just barely holding him up above the tiled floor. The pause continued on for a long while until Vegeta snorted derisively and continued on with the push-up. "Your Otousan? He was a fool--and that's all you need to know about him."
Goten looked down at the ground, his slippered feet slowly scuffling the dirt and dust that Vegeta's power had managed to raise up. Still silent, he crouched down, resting his weight on his thighs and twining his arms around his knees. "No one will tell me about my 'Tousan, Vegeta-san. 'Kaasan starts crying whenever I ask her; Gohan turns pale and looks away. Piccolo won't say anything. None of the others will say anything. They... They just look at me, their eyes sad and trying to hide that emotion--and they won't speak."
Once again, a pause in the training routine. Vegeta's breath was harsh in the prominent silence that followed. He waited, allowing the Son child to continue. And Goten did so, eyes still glued to the floor, index finger idly making patterns in the dust.
"All I want... is to know my 'Tousan. I just want to know _about_ him. I've never met him, I don't know what he even looks like. Please, Vegeta-san... I just want to know what type of person my 'Tousan was. I promise that I'll leave you alone for as long as you want if you tell me. I--If you tell me about him."
Minutes slowly lazed on by, and the Saiya-jin Prince did not speak. When he finally realized that Goten would not move until the Prince answered his question, Vegeta heaved a great sigh and sat up, allowing his muscles to relax and cool while he spoke.
"First and foremost, Brat, your Otousan was a fool." Goten blinked and looked up, shock spreading across his face. Vegeta ignored this and continued on: "He was always obsessed with doing what was _right_. He believed that right would always prevail. He believed that people could change--if given second chances."
Lost in memory, Vegeta growled and ran a hand through stiff, spiky locks. "Kakarotto was naive. He never expected the worst of people--and was so unbelievably shocked _every damn time_ he was betrayed. And yet... that still never managed to shake his foundation and faith in others. An utter fool."
Goten said nothing--just continued to watch Vegeta with unblinking, avid eyes. He would say nothing, would not interrupt Vegeta, until the Saiya-jin Prince was finally finished. Here--here was all of the answers he had been looking for. No, he would _not_ speak.
Vegeta once again ran strong, capable hands through his hair, staring off at the closest wall, his black eyes distant. The Prince was lost deep within his memories. "Kakarotto was strong. So damn strong. He didn't care about fighting, about how strong he was--it never seemed to matter to him. The one thing that he cared about was defeating the things that stood before him. Things that threatened his home, his friends, his family, his way of life. He never truly fought for himself--he fought so that the universe could live on. He fought for everyone who couldn't fight for themselves.
"When I first met the damn fool, I wondered how he could have possibly become as strong as he had. What was the force that drove him? _HOW_ could a third-rate Saiya-jin become as strong as the Prince himself? _HOW_ could a third-rate Saiya-jin become _stronger_ than the Prince of all Saiya-jins?? It kept on running through my mind, over and over again. It wasn't until we fought against Cell that I finally realized what formed his strength. Little revelations had come to me beforehand, but I ignored them all. It was when Kakarotto fought against Cell, sacrificing himself so that your... brother... could live; _that_ was when the answer finally came to me."
"What was the answer?" Goten softly breathed.
"Kakarotto, your Otousan, gained his strength from the ones that he loved. The universe favored him and made him as strong as he was because he fought to preserve it. Kakarotto fought to save others; he fought on the side of life."
The small black-haired child was silent for a long moment. Finally, he replied: "No one has ever told me this much about 'Tousan. No one. What... what else was he like, Vegeta-san? Tell me? Please?"
Vegeta sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, eyes aching fiercely. But still--he continued on. "I hated your 'Tousan for a very, very long time, Brat. Sometimes I think to myself that I still _do_ hate him. He was always stronger than me, always better me; in many cases, he was also _smarter_ than me. Who would have known that the mind of a fighting genius hid behind that stupid smile of his?"
He shook his head wryly, sneering at the memories that came to him.
"In a lot of ways... he was a lot like you, Brat." A smirk. "But I think that he was at least a little bit smarter than you. He looked like you, fought like you, acted like you. You two even share the same dopey, 'I'm-so-happy!' grin. Bah."
Goten blinked several times and looked up, staring at Vegeta with surprised eyes.
The Prince's smirk deepened. "And the two of you share the same blank, 'no one's home' look, too. But... as much as I would like to deny it--and you have no idea how much it pains me to say this, Brat--Kakarotto was a good man. He was a decent man. Forgetful and stupid and naive and _always_ foolish, looking for the smallest kernel of good in others--but he had respect for others. Respect for life."
Vegeta heaved a weary sigh and rubbed his face tiredly.
"Like I said, Brat. Even after all of these years, I still don't know if I hate your Otousan or not. Everything always gets so... _complicated_... when he gets involved. He used to always try so hard to change things, tried to make them better for everyone. So foolish... Did you know that from day one he tried to become my friend? He always tried so hard; he never gave up, no matter what I said to him. Kakarotto believed that I could change and that I could become a better person. He believed that, deep down inside, I _was_ a good person. Kakarotto wanted to show me that. I never really understood why he was so determined to prove that he was right... I still don't understand his motives, even after so many years."
The Prince gave another wearied sigh, still rubbing his face. Goten remained silent, waiting for his best friend's father to continue on. It almost seemed against his nature, but Goten was prepared to wait as long as necessary for Vegeta to finish.
And so he did: "Brat, trying to describe your Otousan is like trying to explain the most impossible of things. He was like that. Impossible to understand and just as nearly impossible for me to get along with. I guess, in the end, the only real thing that I can possibly say about Kakarotto is that he lived to protect others; it was a responsibility that he donned with humility, something that he accepted with humbleness and without question. He had... a sort of inner strength, something that radiated from deep within him. Kindness and compassion. Faith in honor and doing what was right and good. Belief in the fact that good will always triumph over evil--the sole reason why he always fought: So that good _could_ always triumph over evil. Kakarotto... Kakarotto _was_ a good man."
Silence.
"My... 'Tousan was an honorable man, Vegeta-san?"
...
"Yes, your Otousan was an honorable man, Brat."
And Goten smiled.
~Owari~
::End::
A/N: Hmmm... *eyes fic* ... It's somewhat okay, but... Meh. -_-;; I think I wrote Goten AND Vegeta out of character. *eyes fic again* I'm not particularly happy with ficu, but I hope that you liked it, Songgie-dono. =^^= ... Ja~!