Goten and Trunks cruised through West City.
"Sorry about yesterday. We were supposed to hang out, and then Mom tells me out of the blue. She says, 'Trunks, today we're going to do administrative training!' " He said, mimicking Bulma. "You know what administrative training is code for? Sitting in conferences and tech meetings all day. (sarcastically) You can imagine how exciting that is!"
Trunks notice then that Goten was not listening and was more than a little preoccupied.
"Goten! Are you listening to me?" Trunks shouted.
Goten covered his ears.
"I was listening. You don't need to yell." Goten said. "I was just thinking about something."
"Well, there's a first time for everything." Trunks said, smirking.
"Screw you, Trunks." Goten replied.
"No thanks, buddy." Trunks said. "So what did you do yesterday?"
"Are you my secretary now?" Goten asked, sighing. "Hana and I hung out."
Trunks raised his eyebrows.
"It was not a date or anything!" Goten protested. "We just ... you know...hung out."
"Right..." Trunks said.
"Well, maybe it was a little more special than hanging out." Goten admitted.
"I thought so." Trunks said. "And relax. I'm happy for you. My father? ... Well, ...we'll see how happy he is that Hana is interested in (mimicking Vegeta ) a 'spawn of Kakarot' "
Goten just rolled his eyes. Trunks laughed.
At Capsule Corp, Hana sat on the livingroom couch reading a book Gohan had given her. He'd offered to tutor her and help her improve her language skills. Vegeta came in and handed her a stack of bound papers. She looked at them curiously.
"That's a literal translation of the diary you gave me." He said. "It confirms that your mother was my older sister and was sent to Arlia by father as a child. Apparently he was afraid Freeza would take her."
"That makes sense. But why didn't he send you with her?" Hana asked.
"My father was a proud man. He wouldn't have sent me." Vegeta said, sitting down. "In the diary, she says he hoped that someday I'd defeat Freeza, but believed she was a target because of her age."
"So he gambled that Freeza wouldn't take a cranky baby?" Hana guessed.
"Yes, exactly." Vegeta said. "There's a passage I found interesting. Right here."
Hana read it out loud:
'Papa left me then and had the guards escort me to my pod. They left me off to the techs there. I asked to go outside for a few minutes. They agreed, but watched me closely. A group of rowdy third-classes were outside, waiting for pods for a mission. I sat down and started to cry. I knew it showed weakness to do so, but leaving my small brother, Prince Vegeta, and Papa was hard.
One of the men came over and told me to stop crying because I was being loud. Then, he saw the crest of the royal family and immediately apologized. I wiped my tears. I told him it was okay. He didn't know I was a member of the royal family. He had hair in every direction and a scar on his cheek. The others laughed at him, saying how great he was with other people's children, but not his own. He just scowled. "You okay now kid?" He asked. I nodded. "Good." I asked how many children he had. "One." He said. I asked him their name. "Radditz." He replied. I asked who he was. "Not that a royal like you would care, but I'm Bardock." He walked away to the others and chewed them out for being stupid.'
"I don't see how that's important." Hana said, closing the book.
"Kakarot had a brother named Radditz." Vegeta said. "The man in the passage is..."
"Goku's father?" Hana said.
"Yes," Vegeta said. "Stop interrupting me."
Hana paused. She mustered up some courage.
"I can never forget that you destroyed my home planet. But now, I understand that you were at the mercy of a tyrant." She said. "I can forgive you for that now and for ... fighting and killing my father."
"Don't be naïve. Freeza was a tyrant, but I did not kill because of him." Vegeta said, frowning. "It was far more complicated than that. And although the wrong person is accepting forgiveness, I accept."
Vegeta got up to leave.
"By the way," he added. "I never fought any Arlians in hand-to-hand combat. Nappa and I just demolished the planet."
Hana stopped short. That was strange. She swore that a ki, perhaps a different ki, had been close to her father's, as if they were in combat. She just shrugged and agreed to figure it out later. For now, she had to go see Goku and show the passage to him. She searched for his ki and found him.
She transported herself right into the Son House. Goku was just about to sit on his couch when Hana appeared in front of him. Goku jumped back and on the couch, knocking it over.
"Geez, Hana, don't sneak up on me like that." He said.
"Now you know what it's like when you do that to other people." Chi-Chi said, coming into the room. "Look what you did to the couch, Goku! Pick it up."
"Okay, okay." Goku said, rubbing his head. "What's going on?"
"Vegeta translated a diary my mother kept while she was on Vegeta-sei." Hana explained. "Read this passage."
Goku took the pages and skimmed through the passage. He looked surprised.
"What is it, Goku?" Chi-Chi asked curiously. He handed the page to her.
"Is this man, Bardock, my ... father?" He asked.
"Yes." Hana said.
"Wow." Goku said.
"He wasn't very nice, harassing small children like that." Chi-Chi said.
"He was a full-blooded saiyan raised on his home planet." Hana said. "Being nice wasn't a thing they really worried about."
"Okay, I see your point." Chi-Chi said. "You were kind enough to bring the translation over. Want to stay for dinner?"
"Sure, I just have to call Bulma." Hana said.
"The phone's in the kitchen." Chi-Chi said.
Hana dialed the Brief's number, coiling the phone cord around her finger. She didn't know if the fact Vegeta didn't fight her father meant something deeper. All she knew is she didn't like it.
Another chapter's up. There will be more action and fighting in the next few chapters. That's all I can tell you for now. Much thanks to anyone who have been reviewing and reading the story!
"Sorry about yesterday. We were supposed to hang out, and then Mom tells me out of the blue. She says, 'Trunks, today we're going to do administrative training!' " He said, mimicking Bulma. "You know what administrative training is code for? Sitting in conferences and tech meetings all day. (sarcastically) You can imagine how exciting that is!"
Trunks notice then that Goten was not listening and was more than a little preoccupied.
"Goten! Are you listening to me?" Trunks shouted.
Goten covered his ears.
"I was listening. You don't need to yell." Goten said. "I was just thinking about something."
"Well, there's a first time for everything." Trunks said, smirking.
"Screw you, Trunks." Goten replied.
"No thanks, buddy." Trunks said. "So what did you do yesterday?"
"Are you my secretary now?" Goten asked, sighing. "Hana and I hung out."
Trunks raised his eyebrows.
"It was not a date or anything!" Goten protested. "We just ... you know...hung out."
"Right..." Trunks said.
"Well, maybe it was a little more special than hanging out." Goten admitted.
"I thought so." Trunks said. "And relax. I'm happy for you. My father? ... Well, ...we'll see how happy he is that Hana is interested in (mimicking Vegeta ) a 'spawn of Kakarot' "
Goten just rolled his eyes. Trunks laughed.
At Capsule Corp, Hana sat on the livingroom couch reading a book Gohan had given her. He'd offered to tutor her and help her improve her language skills. Vegeta came in and handed her a stack of bound papers. She looked at them curiously.
"That's a literal translation of the diary you gave me." He said. "It confirms that your mother was my older sister and was sent to Arlia by father as a child. Apparently he was afraid Freeza would take her."
"That makes sense. But why didn't he send you with her?" Hana asked.
"My father was a proud man. He wouldn't have sent me." Vegeta said, sitting down. "In the diary, she says he hoped that someday I'd defeat Freeza, but believed she was a target because of her age."
"So he gambled that Freeza wouldn't take a cranky baby?" Hana guessed.
"Yes, exactly." Vegeta said. "There's a passage I found interesting. Right here."
Hana read it out loud:
'Papa left me then and had the guards escort me to my pod. They left me off to the techs there. I asked to go outside for a few minutes. They agreed, but watched me closely. A group of rowdy third-classes were outside, waiting for pods for a mission. I sat down and started to cry. I knew it showed weakness to do so, but leaving my small brother, Prince Vegeta, and Papa was hard.
One of the men came over and told me to stop crying because I was being loud. Then, he saw the crest of the royal family and immediately apologized. I wiped my tears. I told him it was okay. He didn't know I was a member of the royal family. He had hair in every direction and a scar on his cheek. The others laughed at him, saying how great he was with other people's children, but not his own. He just scowled. "You okay now kid?" He asked. I nodded. "Good." I asked how many children he had. "One." He said. I asked him their name. "Radditz." He replied. I asked who he was. "Not that a royal like you would care, but I'm Bardock." He walked away to the others and chewed them out for being stupid.'
"I don't see how that's important." Hana said, closing the book.
"Kakarot had a brother named Radditz." Vegeta said. "The man in the passage is..."
"Goku's father?" Hana said.
"Yes," Vegeta said. "Stop interrupting me."
Hana paused. She mustered up some courage.
"I can never forget that you destroyed my home planet. But now, I understand that you were at the mercy of a tyrant." She said. "I can forgive you for that now and for ... fighting and killing my father."
"Don't be naïve. Freeza was a tyrant, but I did not kill because of him." Vegeta said, frowning. "It was far more complicated than that. And although the wrong person is accepting forgiveness, I accept."
Vegeta got up to leave.
"By the way," he added. "I never fought any Arlians in hand-to-hand combat. Nappa and I just demolished the planet."
Hana stopped short. That was strange. She swore that a ki, perhaps a different ki, had been close to her father's, as if they were in combat. She just shrugged and agreed to figure it out later. For now, she had to go see Goku and show the passage to him. She searched for his ki and found him.
She transported herself right into the Son House. Goku was just about to sit on his couch when Hana appeared in front of him. Goku jumped back and on the couch, knocking it over.
"Geez, Hana, don't sneak up on me like that." He said.
"Now you know what it's like when you do that to other people." Chi-Chi said, coming into the room. "Look what you did to the couch, Goku! Pick it up."
"Okay, okay." Goku said, rubbing his head. "What's going on?"
"Vegeta translated a diary my mother kept while she was on Vegeta-sei." Hana explained. "Read this passage."
Goku took the pages and skimmed through the passage. He looked surprised.
"What is it, Goku?" Chi-Chi asked curiously. He handed the page to her.
"Is this man, Bardock, my ... father?" He asked.
"Yes." Hana said.
"Wow." Goku said.
"He wasn't very nice, harassing small children like that." Chi-Chi said.
"He was a full-blooded saiyan raised on his home planet." Hana said. "Being nice wasn't a thing they really worried about."
"Okay, I see your point." Chi-Chi said. "You were kind enough to bring the translation over. Want to stay for dinner?"
"Sure, I just have to call Bulma." Hana said.
"The phone's in the kitchen." Chi-Chi said.
Hana dialed the Brief's number, coiling the phone cord around her finger. She didn't know if the fact Vegeta didn't fight her father meant something deeper. All she knew is she didn't like it.
Another chapter's up. There will be more action and fighting in the next few chapters. That's all I can tell you for now. Much thanks to anyone who have been reviewing and reading the story!