Scars – Chapter 13
Mirai Trunks shared a hearty lunch with Vegeta, who was quietly smug the entire time. His younger self sat beside him as before, and when their father exited the room to do whatever it is that he did when the Gravity Chamber was broken, he turned to the older man with an excited look.
"Wow Trunks you're really strong! I never thought I could be such a good fighter like that! Do you think I can too, even though I don't have evil stomping androids smashing stuff up like in that movie where those robots blew stuff up and stuff? Hey wanna come see my secret lab and my room now? You eat fucking slow... hurry up Trunks!"
Mirai Trunks was overwhelmed by all the hyperactive questions that the boy fired at him. He ate the rest of his meal, thinking about his fight with Vegeta, and the ascended level that he had decided not to demonstrate to the grumpy man. Guilt swelled inside of him, and the need to tell somebody was clawing at his insides, but the little boy on his right didn't seem like the right candidate for that. He wondered if he could talk to his mother. He knew her to be trustworthy and good at giving advice, only she tended to talk a lot and anything she knew she seemed to share with everyone else.
Trunks knew that he'd told the other him he wanted to see his lab. After all, who else did the younger Trunks have to show things to besides 'Goten,' whom the man had never actually met. His brows drew together and the younger boy turned quiet.
Little Trunks was really, really hoping that he could get a new friend and something of a big brother out of his older self. But that awful upset look on his face wasn't something that he wanted to deal with. He mirrored the look, crossing his arms like Vegeta. He felt a need to 'impress' this Trunks with his maturity.
"Hey... what're you glowering about? Don't wanna see my lab? Fine... dummy. But I thought you'd be smart like me and think my inventions and things were cool... hmph. See if I care."
With this perceptive assumption voiced, young Trunks got up from his chair and made to stomp off. He was halted by his counterpart's soft voice.
"Its not like that Trunks. I have a lot on my mind... I'm sorry if I'm upsetting you."
Young Trunks turned around, his arms still crossed, one eyebrow cocked accusingly. "Why don't you get a psychiatrist if you've got so many problems? Mom has one. And she tried to make Dad go to one but he wouldn't, obviously. I bet she's gonna make me go to but Dad already said if she did I should blast him or her to the next dimension."
"Psychiatrists are there to help you Trunks... in case there's something you need to talk about that you feel like you can't tell anybody who's already part of your life. You can't go around just blasting people you know... it isn't right."
"Yes it is, Dad said I could if they pissed me off. He does it."
Mirai Trunks felt his frustration growing, but he kept a firm hold over it, knowing himself and knowing that the other Trunks was like to himself. "He wasn't raised on Earth with humans... you know as well as anybody else that Father is very focused on preserving what remains of saiyajin culture. And whether he realizes it or not, he is not always right."
"Man and to think I was thinking he might get to like you better. If you don't show any more respect to Dad than that he'll hate you as much as he hates Goku. Good luck with that whole psychiatrist thing, since you seem to think they're so great. Stay outta my lab. You're not allowed in."
"But I thought-
"You thought wrong. I wish Dad wouldda heard how you talk about him behind his back. He should kick your ass, wait... he already did." Laughing at his little joke, Trunks walked out of the room, not looking back. Mirai Trunks felt cold inside, and more than ever he knew he needed to talk badly with somebody. Maybe a doctor would be the best answer to his problems?
He pushed his fingers into his hair, looking down at the lacquered and flawless tabletop with a sigh. 'They're my family... but they're wrong too... like everything else here.'
Trunks got up to take a shower, laying naked on the large comfortable bed after he dried himself off and locked the door. His face pushed into the soft sheets and he inhaled their fresh scent, feeling marginally calmer when he did. He got back to his feet and dressed himself in clean clothes. Again, the black pants and black muscle shirt were worn from much love, but they were his and he hoped they would last a little while longer before being shredded or singed into ashes. He ran a hand over the scars on his arms and shrugged, realizing that he didn't have to comb his hair anymore. This also saddened him, leaving Trunks very upset overall, and pushing him into tears.
'Mommy I miss you...' Trunks thought, taking pity on himself and curling up on the bed with a pillow crushed to his chest. He spent a few minutes mourning and finally forced himself into stopping his tears. He dried his eyes and closed them, still clutching the pillow. Trunks searched out the ki's of Vegeta, the other Trunks and his mother. Then he moved on, looking for Goku's ki, as he knew Goku to be rather good at listening... probably because he didn't quite understand most of what he heard. Goku's energy was side-by-side with another, similar, but smaller power. Trunks thought it was Gohan, but he found Gohan's ki to be at another location, and much stronger than this other energy.
'Goten?' He wondered, making the assumption.
'Gohan's alone... I miss him... I wonder if he'll look just like my Gohan? I wonder if he's married... or busy... or... or... I wonder if he'd like to talk to me?'
Trunks felt his mind sending a million discouraging messages at him from left and right, but in the end he overcame his own worries with his desire to see his long-dead Master. Trunks opened the window and launched himself in the direction of Gohan's energy, worry and hope bubbling in his guts.
+++++++++++++
It took only a few long and thoughtful moments for Trunks to fly to the Son house, which was well-hidden, deep in the 439 mountain range. Of course his ability to sense Gohan's energy made it easy to find, but when he came over the small house, nervous tension filled him. This wasn't his Gohan, his Master and teacher. Just like Trunks' younger double in this timeline, Gohan would be a completely different person. The last time Mirai Trunks had seen this version of Gohan, the boy had beaten the monster Cell, and lost his father, all in one day. What might have happened in Gohan's life since then?
Trunks was overcome with worries. He felt as though he'd knock at the door and Gohan would, for some completely unreasonable reason, not wish to speak to him. Expecting exactly this, Trunks flew down to the Son's front door and knocked at it shyly.
"Coming!" he heard ChiChi shout from just inside the cozy kitchen that he remembered from his own time. Even with androids destroying everything, the Son home had remained cheery, up until the time that Gohan had died, at which point ChiChi had simply lost hope, and stopped caring about everything. It was something of a pleasure to see the house and yard looking up kept and fresh.
The door opened and ChiChi stepped into view. She blinked at Trunks, taking a second to register his identity. "Are you... Trunks from the future?" She asked after a pause of consideration.
"Yes... I'm sorry to bother your family ChiChi, I was wondering if I could talk to Gohan?"
"Oh, no bother, come in Trunks... gee you've cut your hair, I didn't recognize you for a second, its been so long... come in!" ChiChi stepped aside, and Trunks entered the little house, looking all around at the clean, bright kitchen.
"Gohan's in his room, he said he had a headache, but I bet he'd be happy to see you. Wait... you aren't here with more bad news, are you? Because my baby isn't going to be fighting anymore monsters! Not a chance!"
Trunks held his hands up in a gesture of harmlessness. "No... no androids or anything... I... I came here just to talk. I'm staying in this time... mine... well I thought I might stay here in this time instead of in mine."
"Oh.... Wonderful! Maybe you can teach that little brat who's your younger self some manners... you're so polite Trunks... go right upstairs... remember he has a bit of a headache... normally I wouldn't want him having visitors, but I suppose he would like to see you."
"Is Gohan... sick?"
Worry filled Trunks' blue eyes as he focused on ChiChi and searched her face for an answer to his question. He hoped nothing was wrong with his friend, that was the last thing he wanted to happen.
"Oh nothing like that... he said he's been getting headaches latterly... maybe he's been studying too hard."
"Well... sometimes people get headaches from a vision problem... maybe you should get his eyes checked?"
"Nonsense... he's half saiyajin! My boy doesn't have any silly vision problem!"
"Uhm... in my time Gohan did... they are genetically identical...."
ChiChi frowned and pointed to the stairs, heading off to make an appointment with an optometrist, even through she didn't believe that could be the problem with Gohan's headaches. She'd never even heard him complain about something like that before.
As ChiChi forgot about him, Trunks headed up the stairs towards Gohan's energy. His heart was beating a million miles an hour, anticipation and worry and even fear filling him completely.
Mirai Trunks shared a hearty lunch with Vegeta, who was quietly smug the entire time. His younger self sat beside him as before, and when their father exited the room to do whatever it is that he did when the Gravity Chamber was broken, he turned to the older man with an excited look.
"Wow Trunks you're really strong! I never thought I could be such a good fighter like that! Do you think I can too, even though I don't have evil stomping androids smashing stuff up like in that movie where those robots blew stuff up and stuff? Hey wanna come see my secret lab and my room now? You eat fucking slow... hurry up Trunks!"
Mirai Trunks was overwhelmed by all the hyperactive questions that the boy fired at him. He ate the rest of his meal, thinking about his fight with Vegeta, and the ascended level that he had decided not to demonstrate to the grumpy man. Guilt swelled inside of him, and the need to tell somebody was clawing at his insides, but the little boy on his right didn't seem like the right candidate for that. He wondered if he could talk to his mother. He knew her to be trustworthy and good at giving advice, only she tended to talk a lot and anything she knew she seemed to share with everyone else.
Trunks knew that he'd told the other him he wanted to see his lab. After all, who else did the younger Trunks have to show things to besides 'Goten,' whom the man had never actually met. His brows drew together and the younger boy turned quiet.
Little Trunks was really, really hoping that he could get a new friend and something of a big brother out of his older self. But that awful upset look on his face wasn't something that he wanted to deal with. He mirrored the look, crossing his arms like Vegeta. He felt a need to 'impress' this Trunks with his maturity.
"Hey... what're you glowering about? Don't wanna see my lab? Fine... dummy. But I thought you'd be smart like me and think my inventions and things were cool... hmph. See if I care."
With this perceptive assumption voiced, young Trunks got up from his chair and made to stomp off. He was halted by his counterpart's soft voice.
"Its not like that Trunks. I have a lot on my mind... I'm sorry if I'm upsetting you."
Young Trunks turned around, his arms still crossed, one eyebrow cocked accusingly. "Why don't you get a psychiatrist if you've got so many problems? Mom has one. And she tried to make Dad go to one but he wouldn't, obviously. I bet she's gonna make me go to but Dad already said if she did I should blast him or her to the next dimension."
"Psychiatrists are there to help you Trunks... in case there's something you need to talk about that you feel like you can't tell anybody who's already part of your life. You can't go around just blasting people you know... it isn't right."
"Yes it is, Dad said I could if they pissed me off. He does it."
Mirai Trunks felt his frustration growing, but he kept a firm hold over it, knowing himself and knowing that the other Trunks was like to himself. "He wasn't raised on Earth with humans... you know as well as anybody else that Father is very focused on preserving what remains of saiyajin culture. And whether he realizes it or not, he is not always right."
"Man and to think I was thinking he might get to like you better. If you don't show any more respect to Dad than that he'll hate you as much as he hates Goku. Good luck with that whole psychiatrist thing, since you seem to think they're so great. Stay outta my lab. You're not allowed in."
"But I thought-
"You thought wrong. I wish Dad wouldda heard how you talk about him behind his back. He should kick your ass, wait... he already did." Laughing at his little joke, Trunks walked out of the room, not looking back. Mirai Trunks felt cold inside, and more than ever he knew he needed to talk badly with somebody. Maybe a doctor would be the best answer to his problems?
He pushed his fingers into his hair, looking down at the lacquered and flawless tabletop with a sigh. 'They're my family... but they're wrong too... like everything else here.'
Trunks got up to take a shower, laying naked on the large comfortable bed after he dried himself off and locked the door. His face pushed into the soft sheets and he inhaled their fresh scent, feeling marginally calmer when he did. He got back to his feet and dressed himself in clean clothes. Again, the black pants and black muscle shirt were worn from much love, but they were his and he hoped they would last a little while longer before being shredded or singed into ashes. He ran a hand over the scars on his arms and shrugged, realizing that he didn't have to comb his hair anymore. This also saddened him, leaving Trunks very upset overall, and pushing him into tears.
'Mommy I miss you...' Trunks thought, taking pity on himself and curling up on the bed with a pillow crushed to his chest. He spent a few minutes mourning and finally forced himself into stopping his tears. He dried his eyes and closed them, still clutching the pillow. Trunks searched out the ki's of Vegeta, the other Trunks and his mother. Then he moved on, looking for Goku's ki, as he knew Goku to be rather good at listening... probably because he didn't quite understand most of what he heard. Goku's energy was side-by-side with another, similar, but smaller power. Trunks thought it was Gohan, but he found Gohan's ki to be at another location, and much stronger than this other energy.
'Goten?' He wondered, making the assumption.
'Gohan's alone... I miss him... I wonder if he'll look just like my Gohan? I wonder if he's married... or busy... or... or... I wonder if he'd like to talk to me?'
Trunks felt his mind sending a million discouraging messages at him from left and right, but in the end he overcame his own worries with his desire to see his long-dead Master. Trunks opened the window and launched himself in the direction of Gohan's energy, worry and hope bubbling in his guts.
+++++++++++++
It took only a few long and thoughtful moments for Trunks to fly to the Son house, which was well-hidden, deep in the 439 mountain range. Of course his ability to sense Gohan's energy made it easy to find, but when he came over the small house, nervous tension filled him. This wasn't his Gohan, his Master and teacher. Just like Trunks' younger double in this timeline, Gohan would be a completely different person. The last time Mirai Trunks had seen this version of Gohan, the boy had beaten the monster Cell, and lost his father, all in one day. What might have happened in Gohan's life since then?
Trunks was overcome with worries. He felt as though he'd knock at the door and Gohan would, for some completely unreasonable reason, not wish to speak to him. Expecting exactly this, Trunks flew down to the Son's front door and knocked at it shyly.
"Coming!" he heard ChiChi shout from just inside the cozy kitchen that he remembered from his own time. Even with androids destroying everything, the Son home had remained cheery, up until the time that Gohan had died, at which point ChiChi had simply lost hope, and stopped caring about everything. It was something of a pleasure to see the house and yard looking up kept and fresh.
The door opened and ChiChi stepped into view. She blinked at Trunks, taking a second to register his identity. "Are you... Trunks from the future?" She asked after a pause of consideration.
"Yes... I'm sorry to bother your family ChiChi, I was wondering if I could talk to Gohan?"
"Oh, no bother, come in Trunks... gee you've cut your hair, I didn't recognize you for a second, its been so long... come in!" ChiChi stepped aside, and Trunks entered the little house, looking all around at the clean, bright kitchen.
"Gohan's in his room, he said he had a headache, but I bet he'd be happy to see you. Wait... you aren't here with more bad news, are you? Because my baby isn't going to be fighting anymore monsters! Not a chance!"
Trunks held his hands up in a gesture of harmlessness. "No... no androids or anything... I... I came here just to talk. I'm staying in this time... mine... well I thought I might stay here in this time instead of in mine."
"Oh.... Wonderful! Maybe you can teach that little brat who's your younger self some manners... you're so polite Trunks... go right upstairs... remember he has a bit of a headache... normally I wouldn't want him having visitors, but I suppose he would like to see you."
"Is Gohan... sick?"
Worry filled Trunks' blue eyes as he focused on ChiChi and searched her face for an answer to his question. He hoped nothing was wrong with his friend, that was the last thing he wanted to happen.
"Oh nothing like that... he said he's been getting headaches latterly... maybe he's been studying too hard."
"Well... sometimes people get headaches from a vision problem... maybe you should get his eyes checked?"
"Nonsense... he's half saiyajin! My boy doesn't have any silly vision problem!"
"Uhm... in my time Gohan did... they are genetically identical...."
ChiChi frowned and pointed to the stairs, heading off to make an appointment with an optometrist, even through she didn't believe that could be the problem with Gohan's headaches. She'd never even heard him complain about something like that before.
As ChiChi forgot about him, Trunks headed up the stairs towards Gohan's energy. His heart was beating a million miles an hour, anticipation and worry and even fear filling him completely.