Scars – Chapter 15
Goku was in a great mood. Despite his fight with Gohan that morning, things were looking better. The sky was beautiful to him, and the vision of his youngest son smiling and laughing as they played in the lake together made everything seem perfect for the moment. Goku scooped ten-year-old Goten out of the water and threw him up into the air, hearing him giggle in delight as he defied gravity, then came plummeting back to the Earth to be snatched safely out of harm's way by his father's strong arms.
"Gee Goten, you musta hit the clouds that time! Want me to throw you even higher?" Goku gave a devilish grin, getting ready to repeat the movement.
"Not again Dad... you almost dropped me that time! 'Sides, my tummy's grumbly... you think Mom's got dinner ready yet?"
"Hey, I'm hungry too..." Goku looked at the position of the sun, sighing internally when he realized that there were still a few hours before dinner. "but your mom won't have dinner ready for awhile yet. Hey Goten, your big brother's at home right now, why don't you go back there and see if he wants to play with you?"
Goten pulled himself free from Goku's arms and set his feet down on the sandy shore of the lake. "Aww... you don't wanna play with me anymore Dad?"
"Sure I do, but I have some other things to do... and besides, I'll bet Gohan's in a better mood now... and maybe ChiChi will give you a snack if you go back to the house."
"Really?! Cool! Thanks Dad but I gotta go... I'll see you at supper!!" Goten grabbed up his gi top, as he was only wearing the pants at the moment. He pulled it thoughtlessly over his head and jumped into the sky in the direction of home, thoughts of food circling his mind. There was a smile on his face that would put Goku's to shame.
Goku watched his son go, and looked over the lake. He loved his boy to death, but he did need a little time to think for himself every once in awhile. Goku pulled his own gi top into place, re-tying the belt around his waist. He could feel a slightly familiar energy signal working its way over the mountains and away from any civilization.
'Gee, I hadn't noticed that Trunks had come to this time... I wonder if there's something wrong?'
With this in mind, Goku placed two fingers to his forehead and disappeared from the lake. He reappeared in the air ahead of Trunks, who slammed to an unexpected halt just inches from Goku.
Trunks' eyes widened in surprise; he hadn't been expecting Goku to appear in front of him, obviously. "Goku!" Trunks exclaimed, catching his breath and blinking dumbly at the legendary warrior.
Goku stared back at Trunks with curiosity filling his warm dark eyes. "Hey Trunks... what's wrong? I felt your ki and I thought maybe you'd come to bring some more bad news..."
Trunks' eyes grew large as he realized his face was covered in tears. He didn't feel as much shame as he might of in front of his father, or Gohan, because he knew that Goku never really held anything against anybody. He'd only met Goku a few times when he'd traveled to the past to warn everybody from Cell, and when he was back to fight the monster, but his mother had told him heaps about her late best friend all his life. This gave Trunks a great respect for the saiyajin warrior.
He wiped his eyes fervently, blushing against his will. "You surprised me... sorry. Uhm... there isn't any bad news Goku... nothing you have to worry about, anyway. Sorry I worried you." Trunks moved to fly around Goku so he could continue his dash to nowhere, but Goku flew to block his path, cocking his head and giving Trunks a look of catlike curiosity.
"Are you in a hurry Trunks? Wow... you sure have grown... and your ki is strong too... even stronger than Vegeta's! Gee, you musta been doing a lot of training in your time, wow! Do you want to spar with me?"
Goku smiled excitedly at the young man before him, hoping for a good spar now that he saw all the potential stockpiled inside the half-saiyajin. Trunks, however, didn't seem to think that was such a good idea.
"I... uhm... no, I don't. I don't mean to be rude, I'm just not having a very good day... but maybe tomorrow.. or another time, ok?"
"Oh, I see, ok. Well, then do you want to tell me what's wrong? You're crying, I can tell. Did Vegeta yell at you or something?"
Trunks wanted to hug the man for his endearing naivety. He shook his head, smiling at Goku. "No, well yes, of course he yelled, but he always does, its not about that. I said something bad to Gohan... and I haven't seen him since right after he beat Cell. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings, but he... it just happened. Maybe whenever you go home tonight you could tell him I'm sorry?"
Goku's face took on a look that Trunks had rarely seen displayed there –Goku appeared to be sad. "Well I would, but Gohan and I don't get along so well. Maybe I can tell him anyway though. He worries about everything... I wish he'd relax."
Trunks was again surprised by Goku. "You guys are fighting?"
"Something like that... I'm not sure we should talk about this. I don't think Gohan likes it very much when people talk about him behind his back. But if you need to talk, I can listen... I'm good at that." Goku smiled again, looking at Trunks. "Hey... something's different about you..."
"Yes, the younger me decided to give me a haircut this morning before I woke up. I guess it'll grow back eventually. Uhm... maybe I would like to talk a bit... do you want to go sit on that cliff there?" Trunks pointed to a point far below them, a cliff that jutted out of the otherwise unbroken landscape and caught the sunlight nicely. There was a river snaking artfully below it, and in the distance the mountains, covered in various trees, sloped gently upwards and down.
+++++++++++++
Goku sat beside the man from the future, both of them with their legs hanging over the edge of the cliff, leaning back on their palms to watch the sky and the setting sun. They'd been talking about all sorts of things for at least an hour, and the day was starting to turn itself in for twilight. A few stars were peeking out from the top of the sky, which was brushed pink and orange behind the dark line of the mountains.
"And that's why I didn't show Father I could ascend in our spar this morning..." Trunks finished softly, thinking back to his musings at that time. Goku had been living up to his claim of being a good listener for the whole of their conversation. The only sounds other than Trunks' voice were the distant rushing ripples of the river rapids far below, and Goku's slow, gentle breathing beside him.
Goku leaned forwards so that he could catch Trunks' eyes. "Trunks, if you try to predict Vegeta, you'll make yourself crazy... he'll love you a lot better if you be yourself and let him do the thinking."
Trunks gave Goku a strange look, as if he was thinking very hard about the large warrior's words, and smiling at the same time. "Maybe... but I've always been better at thinking than anything else... guess I try to think through everything."
"You must be a lot like Gohan then... he does that too."
Silence fell between them, and the sun fell below the mountaintops, turning the sky a darker muddle of pink and orange. Violet was creeping in around the edges of the fading sunset.
"I miss him..."
"Gohan?"
"Yes."
Trunks shifted his legs, working his toes in his boots. "I can't ever get him back... I know that. I'm more afraid that I'll forget him... and everyone else... but especially him. If I stay here... I mean. I don't want my new friendships and experiences to cover up the ones I left behind, even though a lot of things in the other time were bad. Gohan... he... I..." Trunks fell silent, unable to form words out of the confusing blend of memories he was picturing. His eyes were wide open, but he wasn't really looking at anything in front of him.
Goku felt like he was supposed to say something sweet and touching here... something to make things better for Trunks, but he was completely at a loss for words. Instead he put a hand on one of Trunks' hands and soothingly rubbed the scar-lined flesh with his palm.
Trunks closed his eyes at the touch, inhaling sharply to keep himself form crying.
Darkness overtook the orange lingering in the sky, and the stars became more visible against the dark visage presented by the mountains. Behind the warriors, the moon began to rise and come into view; it was a waxing half- round that burned yellow.
Trunks pulled his hand free from Goku's and turned to envelop the other man in a hug. He hid his face in Goku's chest and squeezed him tightly, thinking about Gohan and silently letting tears roll over his cheeks.
Goku looked down at the young man against him and sat up so his arms were free to wrap around Trunks. He felt the figure in his arms shuddering, though he barely heard a whisper of a sob from him. Goku was alright with this, it was easier to help Trunks this way than by talking to him. He pulled Trunks close and rubbed his back, raising his energy slightly in hopes that Trunks would be soothed by it.
The moment stretched into minutes, until Trunks finally calmed and his shuddering stopped, though he made no move to free himself from Goku's arms. He let his head lay over the strong chest and he listened to Goku's heart slowly pumping blood through his body. It was especially soothing to him that Goku was such a calm man, perhaps that was one of the reasons he'd ended up spilling so many secret fears and worries to him this evening. He relaxed his arms and pulled himself free, sitting up and looking at Goku in the moonlight.
"Thank you Goku..."
Goku smiled and shook his head. "Well you were sad... I don't like being sad either. But what I don't like even more is being hungry, and I'm starving! I think I might have missed dinner! Hey, do you want to come over and eat with me and ChiChi and everyone? Maybe you can fix things with Gohan too, wouldn't that be great?"
Goku smiled hopefully as he rubbed his stomach with one hand.
"Thank you Goku, but I would rather not... I'll talk to Gohan in my own time, I should spend some time with my family. Besides, I think maybe if you do the same with your son, he'll feel a bit better too."
"Oh... well, ok. I hope you're feeling better Trunks, you can come talk to me again if you want to... I've always got lotsa extra time."
"Ok."
Both men stood up, stretching their limbs, which were stiff from sitting in one place for so long. Goku gave another smile and Instant Transmissioned out of sight, leaving Trunks by himself.
Trunks looked around, telling himself to remember this place, so he could come back to it at a later date. He jumped off the cliff and let himself freefall for a few moments before picking himself up with his ki and flying off in the direction of West City, and Capsule Corporation.
Goku was in a great mood. Despite his fight with Gohan that morning, things were looking better. The sky was beautiful to him, and the vision of his youngest son smiling and laughing as they played in the lake together made everything seem perfect for the moment. Goku scooped ten-year-old Goten out of the water and threw him up into the air, hearing him giggle in delight as he defied gravity, then came plummeting back to the Earth to be snatched safely out of harm's way by his father's strong arms.
"Gee Goten, you musta hit the clouds that time! Want me to throw you even higher?" Goku gave a devilish grin, getting ready to repeat the movement.
"Not again Dad... you almost dropped me that time! 'Sides, my tummy's grumbly... you think Mom's got dinner ready yet?"
"Hey, I'm hungry too..." Goku looked at the position of the sun, sighing internally when he realized that there were still a few hours before dinner. "but your mom won't have dinner ready for awhile yet. Hey Goten, your big brother's at home right now, why don't you go back there and see if he wants to play with you?"
Goten pulled himself free from Goku's arms and set his feet down on the sandy shore of the lake. "Aww... you don't wanna play with me anymore Dad?"
"Sure I do, but I have some other things to do... and besides, I'll bet Gohan's in a better mood now... and maybe ChiChi will give you a snack if you go back to the house."
"Really?! Cool! Thanks Dad but I gotta go... I'll see you at supper!!" Goten grabbed up his gi top, as he was only wearing the pants at the moment. He pulled it thoughtlessly over his head and jumped into the sky in the direction of home, thoughts of food circling his mind. There was a smile on his face that would put Goku's to shame.
Goku watched his son go, and looked over the lake. He loved his boy to death, but he did need a little time to think for himself every once in awhile. Goku pulled his own gi top into place, re-tying the belt around his waist. He could feel a slightly familiar energy signal working its way over the mountains and away from any civilization.
'Gee, I hadn't noticed that Trunks had come to this time... I wonder if there's something wrong?'
With this in mind, Goku placed two fingers to his forehead and disappeared from the lake. He reappeared in the air ahead of Trunks, who slammed to an unexpected halt just inches from Goku.
Trunks' eyes widened in surprise; he hadn't been expecting Goku to appear in front of him, obviously. "Goku!" Trunks exclaimed, catching his breath and blinking dumbly at the legendary warrior.
Goku stared back at Trunks with curiosity filling his warm dark eyes. "Hey Trunks... what's wrong? I felt your ki and I thought maybe you'd come to bring some more bad news..."
Trunks' eyes grew large as he realized his face was covered in tears. He didn't feel as much shame as he might of in front of his father, or Gohan, because he knew that Goku never really held anything against anybody. He'd only met Goku a few times when he'd traveled to the past to warn everybody from Cell, and when he was back to fight the monster, but his mother had told him heaps about her late best friend all his life. This gave Trunks a great respect for the saiyajin warrior.
He wiped his eyes fervently, blushing against his will. "You surprised me... sorry. Uhm... there isn't any bad news Goku... nothing you have to worry about, anyway. Sorry I worried you." Trunks moved to fly around Goku so he could continue his dash to nowhere, but Goku flew to block his path, cocking his head and giving Trunks a look of catlike curiosity.
"Are you in a hurry Trunks? Wow... you sure have grown... and your ki is strong too... even stronger than Vegeta's! Gee, you musta been doing a lot of training in your time, wow! Do you want to spar with me?"
Goku smiled excitedly at the young man before him, hoping for a good spar now that he saw all the potential stockpiled inside the half-saiyajin. Trunks, however, didn't seem to think that was such a good idea.
"I... uhm... no, I don't. I don't mean to be rude, I'm just not having a very good day... but maybe tomorrow.. or another time, ok?"
"Oh, I see, ok. Well, then do you want to tell me what's wrong? You're crying, I can tell. Did Vegeta yell at you or something?"
Trunks wanted to hug the man for his endearing naivety. He shook his head, smiling at Goku. "No, well yes, of course he yelled, but he always does, its not about that. I said something bad to Gohan... and I haven't seen him since right after he beat Cell. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings, but he... it just happened. Maybe whenever you go home tonight you could tell him I'm sorry?"
Goku's face took on a look that Trunks had rarely seen displayed there –Goku appeared to be sad. "Well I would, but Gohan and I don't get along so well. Maybe I can tell him anyway though. He worries about everything... I wish he'd relax."
Trunks was again surprised by Goku. "You guys are fighting?"
"Something like that... I'm not sure we should talk about this. I don't think Gohan likes it very much when people talk about him behind his back. But if you need to talk, I can listen... I'm good at that." Goku smiled again, looking at Trunks. "Hey... something's different about you..."
"Yes, the younger me decided to give me a haircut this morning before I woke up. I guess it'll grow back eventually. Uhm... maybe I would like to talk a bit... do you want to go sit on that cliff there?" Trunks pointed to a point far below them, a cliff that jutted out of the otherwise unbroken landscape and caught the sunlight nicely. There was a river snaking artfully below it, and in the distance the mountains, covered in various trees, sloped gently upwards and down.
+++++++++++++
Goku sat beside the man from the future, both of them with their legs hanging over the edge of the cliff, leaning back on their palms to watch the sky and the setting sun. They'd been talking about all sorts of things for at least an hour, and the day was starting to turn itself in for twilight. A few stars were peeking out from the top of the sky, which was brushed pink and orange behind the dark line of the mountains.
"And that's why I didn't show Father I could ascend in our spar this morning..." Trunks finished softly, thinking back to his musings at that time. Goku had been living up to his claim of being a good listener for the whole of their conversation. The only sounds other than Trunks' voice were the distant rushing ripples of the river rapids far below, and Goku's slow, gentle breathing beside him.
Goku leaned forwards so that he could catch Trunks' eyes. "Trunks, if you try to predict Vegeta, you'll make yourself crazy... he'll love you a lot better if you be yourself and let him do the thinking."
Trunks gave Goku a strange look, as if he was thinking very hard about the large warrior's words, and smiling at the same time. "Maybe... but I've always been better at thinking than anything else... guess I try to think through everything."
"You must be a lot like Gohan then... he does that too."
Silence fell between them, and the sun fell below the mountaintops, turning the sky a darker muddle of pink and orange. Violet was creeping in around the edges of the fading sunset.
"I miss him..."
"Gohan?"
"Yes."
Trunks shifted his legs, working his toes in his boots. "I can't ever get him back... I know that. I'm more afraid that I'll forget him... and everyone else... but especially him. If I stay here... I mean. I don't want my new friendships and experiences to cover up the ones I left behind, even though a lot of things in the other time were bad. Gohan... he... I..." Trunks fell silent, unable to form words out of the confusing blend of memories he was picturing. His eyes were wide open, but he wasn't really looking at anything in front of him.
Goku felt like he was supposed to say something sweet and touching here... something to make things better for Trunks, but he was completely at a loss for words. Instead he put a hand on one of Trunks' hands and soothingly rubbed the scar-lined flesh with his palm.
Trunks closed his eyes at the touch, inhaling sharply to keep himself form crying.
Darkness overtook the orange lingering in the sky, and the stars became more visible against the dark visage presented by the mountains. Behind the warriors, the moon began to rise and come into view; it was a waxing half- round that burned yellow.
Trunks pulled his hand free from Goku's and turned to envelop the other man in a hug. He hid his face in Goku's chest and squeezed him tightly, thinking about Gohan and silently letting tears roll over his cheeks.
Goku looked down at the young man against him and sat up so his arms were free to wrap around Trunks. He felt the figure in his arms shuddering, though he barely heard a whisper of a sob from him. Goku was alright with this, it was easier to help Trunks this way than by talking to him. He pulled Trunks close and rubbed his back, raising his energy slightly in hopes that Trunks would be soothed by it.
The moment stretched into minutes, until Trunks finally calmed and his shuddering stopped, though he made no move to free himself from Goku's arms. He let his head lay over the strong chest and he listened to Goku's heart slowly pumping blood through his body. It was especially soothing to him that Goku was such a calm man, perhaps that was one of the reasons he'd ended up spilling so many secret fears and worries to him this evening. He relaxed his arms and pulled himself free, sitting up and looking at Goku in the moonlight.
"Thank you Goku..."
Goku smiled and shook his head. "Well you were sad... I don't like being sad either. But what I don't like even more is being hungry, and I'm starving! I think I might have missed dinner! Hey, do you want to come over and eat with me and ChiChi and everyone? Maybe you can fix things with Gohan too, wouldn't that be great?"
Goku smiled hopefully as he rubbed his stomach with one hand.
"Thank you Goku, but I would rather not... I'll talk to Gohan in my own time, I should spend some time with my family. Besides, I think maybe if you do the same with your son, he'll feel a bit better too."
"Oh... well, ok. I hope you're feeling better Trunks, you can come talk to me again if you want to... I've always got lotsa extra time."
"Ok."
Both men stood up, stretching their limbs, which were stiff from sitting in one place for so long. Goku gave another smile and Instant Transmissioned out of sight, leaving Trunks by himself.
Trunks looked around, telling himself to remember this place, so he could come back to it at a later date. He jumped off the cliff and let himself freefall for a few moments before picking himself up with his ki and flying off in the direction of West City, and Capsule Corporation.