In The Eyes of a Hunter
Written by Jennifer and Mandy
Chapter 13 - Reminiscence
Disclaimer - We do not own any of the DBZ characters. Yet, any new characters that we have made to fit the story are ours, and part of In the Eyes of a Hunter. Thank you!
The last traces of gold from the sunset vanished over the horizon. The beginnings of a light storm cloud could be seen in the distance, showing off its gray linings.
Trunks fell over onto the couch, letting out a sigh. "It's all just a little overwhelming. I mean, everything has just happened so fast." He said quietly to himself.
Goku stood in front of the couch with his arms folded, looking down at the floor in thought. He then looked up at Trunks seriously. "We need to get some more information about this from Vegeta, but." he trailed off, glancing out the window to where Vegeta still stood in the yard, staring at the ground, then looked back down to the floor.
Trunks sighed again and leaned back. "I know."
After a few moments of silence, Trunks and Goku heard the front door open.
Goku looked up and unfolded his arms, watching Vegeta as he slowly walked inside.
Trunks sat up a little more and leaned forward, looking at his father, as well.
Vegeta stepped in the doorway with his hand still resting on the door, staring at the floor before closing the door behind him. He walked into the room, passing Goku and Trunks, to the far wall and leaned against it. He folded his arms loosely, never making eye contact with the others.
Trunks and Goku watched his every move as he came into the area. An awkward silence filled the room as the two watched Vegeta intently, who was staring down at the floor in front of him, silently, as if in deep thought.
Goku cleared his throat. "Uh, Vegeta.?" he started, hesitantly.
"Don't bother, Kakarott." Vegeta said, cutting him off. "I don't remember much from back then, but I will tell you what I do remember." He turned his head to look out the window next to him, with a sigh, as he started talking.
Bulma lay in bed with one arm behind her head, playing with the ring Vegeta had given her by lazily twirling it around her fingers up in front of her face. She had awoken from her stressful sleep not too long ago. After a while, she got out of the bed, slipping the ring back safely onto her finger. She left the room and walked down the hallway towards the stairs. As she walked down the stairs, she began hearing Vegeta's voice from the next room, talking about something she couldn't exactly make out. She peeked around the corner and saw Goku and Trunks eagerly listening to Vegeta as he continued, staring out into the darkening sky. She happened to hear the last part of what he was saying. "I know this doesn't change anything now," he paused a minute and sighed slightly. "but I do regret a lot of things I did in the past." Bulma's eyes widened a bit in surprise at what he had said. As long as she'd known him, regret was never something that was very commonly linked to his personality. She brought a hand up to her mouth and sat down on the stairs. Vegeta. She quietly leaned against the wall, out of sight, and continued listening to him on the other side of the room.
"Things happened a bit differently from my point of view." Vegeta continued, still staring outside. "Yes, Altair and I were friends when we were young. Then one day, he started telling me about the situation with his father.
**Flashback**
Vegeta and Altair both sat on one of the many large rocks in the area surrounded by trees. Vegeta had his right leg pulled up to him and his left leg hanging off the side of the rock. Altair was positioned next to him, sitting Indian-style, with his elbows resting on his knees, staring at the ground below them.
Vegeta gnawed ravenously on a large chicken leg, making smacking and loud chewing noises occasionally.
Altair stared at Vegeta incredulously, producing a sweatdrop. After a few more seconds of staring blankly, he faced forward again and spoke hesitantly. "So. how have you been the last few days? With the wars and everything, I'm sure you and your father have been pretty busy.
Vegeta just shrugged and grunted in reply.
Altair looked back down at the ground again. "Things haven't been going too well with my father, lately."
"What do you mean?" Vegeta asked, looked over at him out of the corner of his eye.
He sighed and straightened up, keeping his hands in his lap. "Well, for the past several days, all he's been saying is how Kantar and I never do anything useful and how we're getting weak and.. and stuff like that."
Vegeta tossed the bone, he was holding, to the ground and lowered his arm to his lap, turning his head a bit more to look at Altair. "Well, are you?"
"Of course not! We train every day, Vegeta. And we're always doing whatever he asks us to do! Altair lowered his voice, talking quieter. "He's been like this before, but it just seems to be getting worse recently."
**End Flashback**
It had started to rain. The sound of beads of water, lightly pelting against the glass of the window, could be heard behind Vegeta's words. "Altair always felt that he could confide in me, for some reason." He said with a shrug. "He told me everything that happened."
Goku had sat down on one of the chairs adjacent to Trunks, both still listening carefully.
After standing back up, Bulma quietly crept back up the stairs towards her lab, as she had decided to work on one of her many projects in hopes of keeping her mind off the worry and stress from the recent events.
"But then one day it occurred to me that things needed to change." Vegeta went on.
**Flashback**
Prince Vegeta walked down the hallway of the palace, not really going anywhere particular at the moment. He stopped outside of the conference room, hearing his father's voice inside. He stared down at the floor, listening to what he was saying to the High Officials in the room. He heard King Vegeta talking about increasing the average amount of work they do and the need to get faster at concurring planets. The young Prince knew that they had been falling a bit behind and that this was the meeting his father always held when there was an important matter to be taken care of. "Hmm." He raised his head and continued down the hallway.
**End Flashback**
"Father always took care of things as soon as they happened. That's how we always stayed so powerful." Vegeta explained, a little surprised at how easily the memories were coming back to him now. "He never let anything get out of his control. And that's when I became aware that my friendship with Altair had been keeping me away from my duties as a Prince. I finally realized that I had to put an end to our friendship." He sighed irritably. "And that's when things got so complicated."
**Flashback**
Altair was sitting on a branch in a tree, casually swinging his legs back and forth. Vegeta stood on the ground, leaning up against the trunk of the tree, with his arms folded in a relaxed position and one foot crossed over the other.
"You know, Vegeta. I've been thinking." Altair said, suddenly breaking the comfortable silence.
"Hmm?" he responded.
"The situation with my father has been getting a lot worse lately." He began. "Kantar and I have been doing everything we can to try to change his mind about us, but he just won't listen. So, I got an idea, and I was hoping you would help me out with it."
"Well, what is it?" Vegeta broke in.
"Kantar and I were talking about it too, and we decided that there was only one way to show our father that he is wrong about us." He took a breath before continuing. "If you could get us the Jilkion Stone.."
Vegeta raised his eyebrows.
"Then we could train with it and finally be able to prove to our father that we're not as weak and helpless as he keeps saying we are.
Vegeta blinked in surprise at the idea and lowered his head to look at the ground, staying quiet for a moment. After a few moments of silence, he said, "You know that only members of the Royal Family are allowed to even touch that stone, Altair."
The young boy jumped off the branch and landed in front of Vegeta, frowning.
Vegeta looked up at him with a bit of surprise.
"Of course I know that, Vegeta! But you HAVE to do it! I need your help with this or else neither my brother nor me will ever get the approval of our father!"
Vegeta just glared back at him very seriously, without saying a word.
It took a second before Altair realized what he'd just said. He gasped quietly and took a step back, lowering his head to look at the ground. His eyes twitched slightly as he spoke a little quieter. "Please."
**End Flashback**
The rain had withdrawn to a drizzle, and the bright moonlight began to break through the thinning clouds. Vegeta's face was now hidden in shadow as he spoke. "Yet, things couldn't work out the way he wanted them to. I agreed to get him the Jilkion Stone simply because it was the only way I could think of to sever the connection between Altair and me and get back to what was really important at the time. All I meant to do was scare him. I never meant to hurt him or his brother! I never even counted on Kantar being there in the first place! Altair obviously doesn't understand this now, but if his infernal brother hadn't jumped in the way, my blast would have gone right by him!" he growled out in increasing anger and frustration, tensing his muscles. "I didn't have any intention on killing either of them that night," he repeated, "but after I saw what happened to Kantar, I knew I had no choice.. but the finish the job."
Trunks realized he'd been holding his breath for the last several seconds. After a moment of silence he took a breath and said, "So, this whole thing has been a big misunderstanding?"
Vegeta nodded once, gritting his teeth. He was getting so irritated as he realized more and more how stupid it was that such a terrible problem had been created all because of one little accident that happened when they were just kids.
Goku cleared his throat a little. "And so he took Bra.for revenge? How does he know about her, though? Where has he been all this time after the planet's destruction?"
Vegeta let out a growl and then sighed. "I don't know. I don't know anything yet." He admitted through clenched teeth and with a voice filled with anger and determination. "But I assure you, when I find out," he paused and turned to look at Trunks and Goku, the bright light of the full moon shining clear on him through the window. Dark, black shadows were thrown across portions of his face, the moonlight seeming to illuminate his eyes. Trunks and Goku both felt the intense pressure of his stare and leaned back a little. Vegeta finished with certainty, "I'll make him pay."
Written by Jennifer and Mandy
Chapter 13 - Reminiscence
Disclaimer - We do not own any of the DBZ characters. Yet, any new characters that we have made to fit the story are ours, and part of In the Eyes of a Hunter. Thank you!
The last traces of gold from the sunset vanished over the horizon. The beginnings of a light storm cloud could be seen in the distance, showing off its gray linings.
Trunks fell over onto the couch, letting out a sigh. "It's all just a little overwhelming. I mean, everything has just happened so fast." He said quietly to himself.
Goku stood in front of the couch with his arms folded, looking down at the floor in thought. He then looked up at Trunks seriously. "We need to get some more information about this from Vegeta, but." he trailed off, glancing out the window to where Vegeta still stood in the yard, staring at the ground, then looked back down to the floor.
Trunks sighed again and leaned back. "I know."
After a few moments of silence, Trunks and Goku heard the front door open.
Goku looked up and unfolded his arms, watching Vegeta as he slowly walked inside.
Trunks sat up a little more and leaned forward, looking at his father, as well.
Vegeta stepped in the doorway with his hand still resting on the door, staring at the floor before closing the door behind him. He walked into the room, passing Goku and Trunks, to the far wall and leaned against it. He folded his arms loosely, never making eye contact with the others.
Trunks and Goku watched his every move as he came into the area. An awkward silence filled the room as the two watched Vegeta intently, who was staring down at the floor in front of him, silently, as if in deep thought.
Goku cleared his throat. "Uh, Vegeta.?" he started, hesitantly.
"Don't bother, Kakarott." Vegeta said, cutting him off. "I don't remember much from back then, but I will tell you what I do remember." He turned his head to look out the window next to him, with a sigh, as he started talking.
Bulma lay in bed with one arm behind her head, playing with the ring Vegeta had given her by lazily twirling it around her fingers up in front of her face. She had awoken from her stressful sleep not too long ago. After a while, she got out of the bed, slipping the ring back safely onto her finger. She left the room and walked down the hallway towards the stairs. As she walked down the stairs, she began hearing Vegeta's voice from the next room, talking about something she couldn't exactly make out. She peeked around the corner and saw Goku and Trunks eagerly listening to Vegeta as he continued, staring out into the darkening sky. She happened to hear the last part of what he was saying. "I know this doesn't change anything now," he paused a minute and sighed slightly. "but I do regret a lot of things I did in the past." Bulma's eyes widened a bit in surprise at what he had said. As long as she'd known him, regret was never something that was very commonly linked to his personality. She brought a hand up to her mouth and sat down on the stairs. Vegeta. She quietly leaned against the wall, out of sight, and continued listening to him on the other side of the room.
"Things happened a bit differently from my point of view." Vegeta continued, still staring outside. "Yes, Altair and I were friends when we were young. Then one day, he started telling me about the situation with his father.
**Flashback**
Vegeta and Altair both sat on one of the many large rocks in the area surrounded by trees. Vegeta had his right leg pulled up to him and his left leg hanging off the side of the rock. Altair was positioned next to him, sitting Indian-style, with his elbows resting on his knees, staring at the ground below them.
Vegeta gnawed ravenously on a large chicken leg, making smacking and loud chewing noises occasionally.
Altair stared at Vegeta incredulously, producing a sweatdrop. After a few more seconds of staring blankly, he faced forward again and spoke hesitantly. "So. how have you been the last few days? With the wars and everything, I'm sure you and your father have been pretty busy.
Vegeta just shrugged and grunted in reply.
Altair looked back down at the ground again. "Things haven't been going too well with my father, lately."
"What do you mean?" Vegeta asked, looked over at him out of the corner of his eye.
He sighed and straightened up, keeping his hands in his lap. "Well, for the past several days, all he's been saying is how Kantar and I never do anything useful and how we're getting weak and.. and stuff like that."
Vegeta tossed the bone, he was holding, to the ground and lowered his arm to his lap, turning his head a bit more to look at Altair. "Well, are you?"
"Of course not! We train every day, Vegeta. And we're always doing whatever he asks us to do! Altair lowered his voice, talking quieter. "He's been like this before, but it just seems to be getting worse recently."
**End Flashback**
It had started to rain. The sound of beads of water, lightly pelting against the glass of the window, could be heard behind Vegeta's words. "Altair always felt that he could confide in me, for some reason." He said with a shrug. "He told me everything that happened."
Goku had sat down on one of the chairs adjacent to Trunks, both still listening carefully.
After standing back up, Bulma quietly crept back up the stairs towards her lab, as she had decided to work on one of her many projects in hopes of keeping her mind off the worry and stress from the recent events.
"But then one day it occurred to me that things needed to change." Vegeta went on.
**Flashback**
Prince Vegeta walked down the hallway of the palace, not really going anywhere particular at the moment. He stopped outside of the conference room, hearing his father's voice inside. He stared down at the floor, listening to what he was saying to the High Officials in the room. He heard King Vegeta talking about increasing the average amount of work they do and the need to get faster at concurring planets. The young Prince knew that they had been falling a bit behind and that this was the meeting his father always held when there was an important matter to be taken care of. "Hmm." He raised his head and continued down the hallway.
**End Flashback**
"Father always took care of things as soon as they happened. That's how we always stayed so powerful." Vegeta explained, a little surprised at how easily the memories were coming back to him now. "He never let anything get out of his control. And that's when I became aware that my friendship with Altair had been keeping me away from my duties as a Prince. I finally realized that I had to put an end to our friendship." He sighed irritably. "And that's when things got so complicated."
**Flashback**
Altair was sitting on a branch in a tree, casually swinging his legs back and forth. Vegeta stood on the ground, leaning up against the trunk of the tree, with his arms folded in a relaxed position and one foot crossed over the other.
"You know, Vegeta. I've been thinking." Altair said, suddenly breaking the comfortable silence.
"Hmm?" he responded.
"The situation with my father has been getting a lot worse lately." He began. "Kantar and I have been doing everything we can to try to change his mind about us, but he just won't listen. So, I got an idea, and I was hoping you would help me out with it."
"Well, what is it?" Vegeta broke in.
"Kantar and I were talking about it too, and we decided that there was only one way to show our father that he is wrong about us." He took a breath before continuing. "If you could get us the Jilkion Stone.."
Vegeta raised his eyebrows.
"Then we could train with it and finally be able to prove to our father that we're not as weak and helpless as he keeps saying we are.
Vegeta blinked in surprise at the idea and lowered his head to look at the ground, staying quiet for a moment. After a few moments of silence, he said, "You know that only members of the Royal Family are allowed to even touch that stone, Altair."
The young boy jumped off the branch and landed in front of Vegeta, frowning.
Vegeta looked up at him with a bit of surprise.
"Of course I know that, Vegeta! But you HAVE to do it! I need your help with this or else neither my brother nor me will ever get the approval of our father!"
Vegeta just glared back at him very seriously, without saying a word.
It took a second before Altair realized what he'd just said. He gasped quietly and took a step back, lowering his head to look at the ground. His eyes twitched slightly as he spoke a little quieter. "Please."
**End Flashback**
The rain had withdrawn to a drizzle, and the bright moonlight began to break through the thinning clouds. Vegeta's face was now hidden in shadow as he spoke. "Yet, things couldn't work out the way he wanted them to. I agreed to get him the Jilkion Stone simply because it was the only way I could think of to sever the connection between Altair and me and get back to what was really important at the time. All I meant to do was scare him. I never meant to hurt him or his brother! I never even counted on Kantar being there in the first place! Altair obviously doesn't understand this now, but if his infernal brother hadn't jumped in the way, my blast would have gone right by him!" he growled out in increasing anger and frustration, tensing his muscles. "I didn't have any intention on killing either of them that night," he repeated, "but after I saw what happened to Kantar, I knew I had no choice.. but the finish the job."
Trunks realized he'd been holding his breath for the last several seconds. After a moment of silence he took a breath and said, "So, this whole thing has been a big misunderstanding?"
Vegeta nodded once, gritting his teeth. He was getting so irritated as he realized more and more how stupid it was that such a terrible problem had been created all because of one little accident that happened when they were just kids.
Goku cleared his throat a little. "And so he took Bra.for revenge? How does he know about her, though? Where has he been all this time after the planet's destruction?"
Vegeta let out a growl and then sighed. "I don't know. I don't know anything yet." He admitted through clenched teeth and with a voice filled with anger and determination. "But I assure you, when I find out," he paused and turned to look at Trunks and Goku, the bright light of the full moon shining clear on him through the window. Dark, black shadows were thrown across portions of his face, the moonlight seeming to illuminate his eyes. Trunks and Goku both felt the intense pressure of his stare and leaned back a little. Vegeta finished with certainty, "I'll make him pay."