Dragon Ball © Toriyama Akira, Shuheisha, Inc.
Chapter 9: Two Little Birds
Goku became a father the first time nine years ago. No matter how forgetful he might be, he clearly recalled that Chichi's belly wasn't that on her first pregnancy. His wife didn't allow him to go with her during her check-up at one point and somewhat being secretive about her pregnancy. Her pregnancy was thirty-five weeks old, but she still didn't let him know the gender of their baby.
Not that he cared because he already knew anyway.
However, he was worried every time she insisted on doing the house chores with the size of her belly. Both he and Ox King had told her to stop cooking and cleaning since months ago, but her motherly instinct still kicked in. Not to mentioned, her horrible mood swings. She was always right, and he survived doomsdays many times because he adjusted himself to that one single rule.
However, the fear he had throughout numerous battles he had before would never be able to match the fear he had that day.
"Chichi, stop doing the dishes and get some rest. Just let me and Gohan do it." He rubbed her back.
"And let you two broke the plates again because you can't handle your power?" she sarcastically said.
"I'll be careful so I won't break them. Please, Chichi," he insisted.
"Okay, let me do this batch and I'll be done," she said, then pointing to the vegetables she had cleaned prior to the dishes. "Can you put these into the fridge, Goku?"
"I'll do it." Goku brought the vegetables and organized them in the fridge. Suddenly, the ground was shaking. Goku had to hold the fridge to prevent it from falling. However, it occurred to him that it wasn't the fridge that was in danger. The sound of shattered plates stopped his heart from beating. He quickly whipped his head to see Chichi on the floor, trapped below the old cupboard while holding her big belly while writhing in pain.
"Urgh…"
"Chichi! Are you okay?!" Goku quickly threw the cupboard off from his wife and widened his eyes in horror when he noticed some of the shattered glass on her belly. He wasted no time to take the Senzu bean he saved for emergency and gave them to Chichi. But even though it did a miracle to her injury, she still writhed in pain.
"G-Goku-sa…" she writhed. "I-is Gohan okay? W-where is he?"
"He's fine! You should worry about yourself, Chichi!"
"Okaa-san! Are you okay?" Gohan panted as he showed up near the kitchen. He rushed his way into his mother's spot the moment he felt the ground shaking, but what he saw had drained the colour of his face. "O-Okaa-san…"
"Gohan, I'm going to bring your mother to the hospital now! Pack our things and I'll pick you up later!" Goku held Chichi and placed two fingers on his forehead without waiting for Gohan's answer, instantly teleported them to the Emergency unit in the hospital.
The sight of their small hut zapped into the white interior of the hospital down the mountain. Though he could see the hinted confusion in the medical staffs' expression, he didn't need to say anything the moment their eyes laid on Chichi. They hurriedly pushed the bed so he could lay Chichi down and pushed her into the emergency unit. He told the nurses about her accident, in which the nurses decided to call their doctor to assist them. Goku followed by the bedside, all the while holding his wife's hand.
"G-Goku-sa… I'm s-sorry…" Chichi was in pain, but she was more into the regret of not being careful enough to let her foot slip and had to be in labour earlier than what they expected. "This is all my fault… I should've listened to you… Please don't let anything happen to our children, Goku-sa… Please…" She broke into tears.
"Ssh… It's okay. Our baby is going to be fine. She's a Saiyan after all." Goku gently smiled at his wife, keeping the assurance still even though she startled when he mentioned 'she'.
"S-she? But how do you…"
"I just know," he stroked her hand with his thumb."I can't wait to meet our baby girl, so you have to stay strong for her, okay?"
Chichi smiled a little and held his hand tighter. "Actually, I want to surprise you but—"she abruptly stopped as she screamed in pain.
"Chichi! Hey, are you okay?! Chichi!" Goku turned his head around as soon as a doctor came and checked his wife. The doctor deeply sighed and creased his forehead in a way Goku didn't like. He commanded the staff to bring her to the surgery room before approaching Goku.
"Sir… I'm very sorry to tell you that your wife is suffering placental abruption. Both the mother and the baby are in danger. We will have to perform surgery to save them but… there's a risk…" The doctor took a deep breath. "Either one of them or… both couldn't make it. According to our policy, the mother is our priority but if it comes to the worst… I will have to leave the decision in your hand, Sir."
When someone asked him about how prepared he was to become a father again, he never prepared for that question. His family was in danger and when it come to worst, he had to choose who he wanted to save.
Suddenly, his meeting with his future daughter flashed in his head. The joy of meeting her rushed into him that it was harder for him to choose his wife. He wondered if the future change, or did something like this did happen when she was born.
"No, my baby will make it out alive. Both her and my wife would make it," Goku said.
"As I said, Sir… If it comes to the worst…"
"…Please don't let anything happen to our children, Goku-sa… Please…"
"Sir?" the doctor called him again.
"I…"
He still remembered the day when he anxiously waited for Gohan's birth nine years ago. If it wasn't him simultaneously walking back and forth in front of the labour's room, then it would be Ox King. They were anxious, but it was different this time.
Gohan was on the verge of tears but craned his head up every time to swallow it back. Ox King's eyes were red. He was already tearing up since he broke the news and he just stood there silently while watching the 'Operation' light was still on.
He had gone to God's Palace, asking God if he was able to revive them if the situation got worst but…
"I'm sorry, Goku. But the death that occurs during child's labour is considered 'natural' and can't be revived by the Dragon Balls."
"Not even the baby…?" Goku asked again.
God shut his eyes and slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry…"
Goku used to believe that nothing was impossible with the Dragon Balls, but now here he was in a situation where his power—the power that used to save the Earth, could do nothing to save his little family. He was down there with her, helping her do the chores. But the slightest second he looked away…he made Chichi fight a battle where no miracle like the Dragon Balls could save her.
Master Roshi was right after all. The brand of the strongest warrior on Earth should be given to Chichi, not him.
He quickly craned his head up when the 'Operation' light was off, then rose to his feet when the doctor made his way to him, still wearing the surgery uniform.
"Son-san?"
"Yes?" His heart was beating like it was struggling to get out from his rib cage.
"We've done our best, Son-san. Your wife has passed her critical time and still in the recovery room, but she will be okay. I prioritised her safety, just like what you requested," the doctor said with a small smile. Though the news had lifted half of the burden Goku felt on his shoulder, the smile had indicated something else.
"And the baby is…" Goku trailed off. The doctor went silent for a moment, brushing his moustache, beard, then looking down to the floor.
"Congratulations, Son-san. You have twin babies," the doctor said.
"Uh, sorry… I have what?" Goku blinked his eyes.
"Twin babies. You have a baby boy and a baby girl."
"What?! I thought it's only a girl!" he screamed. Ox King and Gohan had danced with joy behind him. He had the excitement building within him, but he didn't know why he couldn't. Especially from the way the doctor stoically telling him the news.
"That was what I want to tell you but…" the doctor shook his head.
"But what?" Goku asked again with hinted impetuosity. He started to hate the way the doctor told him the news one by one, not altogether.
"The baby boy is well and healthy but… the baby girl," he gulped,"…she didn't make it." The doctor bit his bottom lip before bowing to Goku. "My deepest condolences, Son-san…"
A deafening silence fell into the room as if he had lost his hearing senses. Something was hurling within his stomach, tossing its content all around that he had to tighten his fists to ease the feeling. When Gohan was crying on Ox King's lap, he gave a pat on Gohan's shoulder, muttering encouraging words he couldn't even remember. Goku couldn't even hear what his father-in-law was telling him that very moment.
The doctor had shown his son in the baby box, wearing a blue crochet baby. He was sleeping but his hands were tossing around, so did his brown tail as if he was searching for something. He was moving so much that he was breaking free from the knitted blanket they wrapped around him before. His son was a spitting image of him and Gohan when they were babies. No matter how happy he was to see his son, he still couldn't get the uncomfortable feeling out from his chest.
His son was lively. But on the contrary, his baby girl was lying in the separate baby box… lifeless. The nurse had bathed her, putting a cute pink crochet hat with bear ears, and covered her with a white-knitted baby blanket. Even without all of that, she was still the most beautiful thing he ever saw. Goku took her in his arms, cradling her as if she was alive.
"Hey there, little bird," he called her with a small smile. "I've been looking forward to this meeting ever since I met the future you. But…" He stroked her cheek very carefully, afraid that his strength might be breaking something so precious as his daughter. She felt lighter than a feather, but that was the contrary of what he felt at that moment. The fact that she was dead made her heavier than she appeared to be. "I never expected that… it has to be like this…"
Goku squeezed his eyes shut as he sensed something burning behind his eyes and throat. "You're well and alive back then…" He held the baby closer to his chest. "You've told me that you never get to meet me in the past, so here I am but… why are you leaving us so soon?" Tears finally broke and he didn't care if someone happened to see him in that state. "Has the future change? What have I done wrong? Why do you have to die?!"
His baby boy's cry startled him. Goku smiled as he approached his son, stroking his chubby cheek. The baby boy was stretching his arms towards his twin, crying louder when no one complied with what he wanted.
"Do you want to hold your sister? Okay, there you go…" Goku carefully placed her on the right side of the baby box and felt his heart crunched when he placed his arm around her and finally calmed down.
"Do you feel that, little bird? Your brother loves you. We all love you. We wish to see you grow up, so please…" Goku placed his hand on top of the little hand that wrapped around his sister. If he could share his Ki, his life, or anything else to bring her back, he would do it without a second thought. "Please come back to us, little bird…"
Suddenly, he sensed something warm pooling around the palm that was holding his son's hand, widening his eyes when his supposedly-dead daughter cried. Goku quickly took her into his arms, resulting in the baby boy crying so he took them both in his arms.
Everything happened so quickly, from the moment he screamed for Gohan and Ox King to come, also for the doctor to check her condition. The doctor was shocked to see her crying, quickly checked the baby, and finally congratulated Goku for having two well and healthy babies.
When the doctor asked him what happened, Goku only scratched his head while shaking his head. He glanced at his palm, then his baby boy, then his baby girl, pondering what was exactly happened before she was back to life.
However, he didn't want to think about it too much.
All that matter was his little bird had returned to him.
And he couldn't be more proud to hold the two in his arms.
"I'll always protect you two, my little birds. I'll protect you until you're able to spread your wings and soar to the sky… I promise you this…"
"Oh, Goku-sa… Look at them! Aren't they beautiful?" Chichi asked with watery eyes as she held them both. Goku gave her Senzu bean a moment after she regained her consciousness and had all of her wounds healed.
"Yeah, they're perfect…" Goku gently stroked his baby boy's head then had his eyes flitted to his baby girl. He was glad that she managed to get back to life before Chichi regained her consciousness because Chichi would be devastated if she saw her baby died.
They were over the moon upon the arrival of the babies. But that moment only last until Ox King dropped the question.
"So Goku, have you prepared any names for them?"
"Uh… I didn't know that I have twins until now?"
"So, is that mean you've prepared the name for the girl?" Chichi excitedly asked him.
"Uh, no?" Goku grinned, earning a frown from Chichi. "I'm sorry… I totally forgot."
"Are you going to leave our children nameless again?! That's okay though. I've already come up with good names!"
"Oh, really? What are they?" Ox King asked.
"I'll grant them scholars' names so they will become scholars someday! The boy will be Newton and the girl will be Marie!" Chichi announced. Both of the babies were suddenly crying as if they were responding to her idea.
"Chichi, it appears that they dislike the names…" said Ox King.
"Or maybe we should name them something like Gomen? You know, Gohan and Gomen have a nice rhyme!"
Goku cringed at her suggestion. "Are you kidding? You're going to make everyone saying 'sorry' instead of calling their name!"
"Then how about you try to name your children, Goku-sa?!"
Goku rolled his eyes to the window and saw two little birds near the window. They were playing with each other before jumped and flew to the sky, soaring their little wings until they disappeared from his sight. It somewhat reminded him of the day when he saw his daughter came and brought the news from the future in the hope of changing the future for them.
Sky…
Goku widened his eyes when the word crossed his mind. He glanced at his twin babies and grinned upon the realisation of how fitting the name would be to them.
"Sky… 'Ten'…" He glanced at Chichi. "I want 'Ten' on their names, Chichi. How about Goten for the boy and Tenten for the girl? I want the boy to carry the 'Go' from mine and Gohan's name and 'Tenten' to make it rhymes with your name. Chichi and Tenten—they sound like a good mother-daughter's names."
From the way Chichi smiled, he knew that she agreed with him.
"Goten and Tenten… Yes, I love them…" She nodded. "They're beautiful, Goku-sa! How did you come up with those names?"
"Simply because they're my little birds," he kissed both babies on their foreheads, "and I want them to soar to the limitless sky. I want them to grasp any possible future they could achieve…" he said as his mind strayed to his future daughter.
"Wow… This is the first time I ever heard you talking like a scholar," Chichi said with hidden amazement. "Anyway, you haven't told me how did you know that we're going to have a baby girl—though you didn't expect they're going to be twins, did you?"
"Yeah, I've met her years ago." Goku blurted without too much thinking because he was too distracted by his daughter. However, the deafening silence got him realised that. "Uh… No, I meant that—"
"Hold on, Otou-san! Do you mean that future girl was my sister?! No wonder she looked exactly like Okaa-san!" Gohan screamed.
"Wait?! What do you mean by 'future girl'?!" Chichi widened her eyes. "She came from the future and you didn't let me—her mother—to see her?!"
"I can't, Chichi! She brought important information from her timeline and she had to be very cautious because it might be affecting our future."
"Then tell me everything you know! Don't let any single detail out!"
And so he did, even though Goku still excluded the information about Trunks.
"Oh, my baby… I can't believe you have to endure such a dire situation yourself…" Chichi held the baby tightly to her chest.
"Actually, she wasn't alone back then. She had a boy companion. They were the only two warriors left in her timeline," Goku said while handing Goten to Gohan who wanted to get a better look at his brother.
"A boy?! Do you know who that boy might be?! Is he rich? I don't care if he's strong as long as he rich!"
"I don't… know?" Goku goofily smiled, hiding the fact that the boy was the son of the richest scientist on the planet.
The door to their room was creaked open, revealing the nurses who wanted to take the babies because both Goku and Chichi requested the hospital to cut their tails because they weren't necessary.
"There, there, little one! We're done!" said the doctor after he cut Goten's tail. "Okay, we're done with the boy! Give him proper treatment! Hurry up! Don't let him get an infection!" he commanded the nurse as he passed baby Goten to the nurse.
"Now, now, little angel. This will be hurt a little but uncle promise you that this will be temporary, okay?" The doctor made funny faces to distract the baby. However, he was surprised when he unwrapped the bundle.
"Oh, she has no tail?"
AN: I really have a hard time finding the right name for the OC since the naming way in the Dragon Ball universe wasl very unique. I really want to give her a name that resembles the way Goku and Chichi's way of naming. So, I hope you're okay with my choice~ I originally intended to name her Chacha, because Gohan's name taken from 'Rice', so I think Cha from 'Tea" will be a good name for her. But then, I wanted to make some connection between Goku and her name.
In Mandarin, the sky is called 'tian kong'('tenku' in Japanese) [天空]. Goku's name [悟空], the空 has the meaning of space or sky. Since Goten's name [悟天] has the 天 that also means the sky, I decided to use this character for her name. XD
Please follow me, vote for my story, and add the book to your reading list!
For new readers in Fanfiction, follows, favorites, and reviews are loved.
Please note that I only upload my story in Fanfiction and Wattpad. If you happen to see my story on other sites, please kindly tell me.
