Hey, this story has some cover art! It was drawn by me, per usual.
The next morning, Chi-Chi was busy finishing up the laundry from yesterday, hanging them out on the line to dry. Gohan was inside, working on his beginner's trigonometry. She was happy that all of that time out training hadn't been a detriment on his learning.
The more she thought about last night, the angrier she got. She knew that she didn't see eye-to-eye with Goku and Piccolo on those matters, but she had thought they wouldn't break their promise. It wasn't even them training Gohan that made her upset. It was the fact that they went behind her back to do it. She would have preferred they just openly defied her and trained Gohan anyways. At least that was straight forward. But this sneaking around thing… she thought she could trust them more than that.
A piece of fabric ripped. When she looked down, she saw she had ripped the seams of one of her dresses. She screamed and threw it on the ground. She dug her hands into her hair. She hated being so upset towards two men she cared so much about, but how could she not be? They hurt her, whether they meant to or not. Maybe kicking them out wasn't the best choice, but she would have been even more upset if they were around. She needed a break. Maybe tonight, she'd find them and talk it out. But right now, she just wasn't in the mood.
"Mom, what are you doing?"
She looked up. Gohan was standing on the back porch.
She stood up and straightened out her clothes. "It's nothing, Gohan. Just go back inside and study." She quickly picked up the dress she tore. "I'll come join you!"
Chi-Chi grabbed her sewing kit and began mending the dress, while Gohan kept working on his schoolwork. The radio was turned onto an oldies station, turned down low as they worked.
"Mom?"
She didn't look up from her work. "Yes, Gohan?"
"Where are dad and Mr. Piccolo?"
She pressed her mouth together and shook her head. No, she wasn't going to get upset over her son asking a question. It was natural that he wanted to know. "I sent them out for the day. I needed to just have a few moments away from them."
Gohan hopped down from his desk and walked over to his mother. "Mom, are you mad about me training?"
She sighed, and put her sewing down. She toussled his hair. "No, Gohan. I'm not mad at you."
His eyebrows furrowed. "What about dad and Mr. Piccolo?"
She glanced to the side. She shouldn't have been surprised that he'd pick up on that. "Yes, I am a little mad about that. But that's not something you need to worry yourself over. Leave that to us grown ups."
"Will they be gone forever?"
She blinked. "Of course not. They're just out for today. Mommy will go talk to them later." She kissed the top of his head. "You don't have to worry about it, sweetheart. How about you go get one of your books and I'll read to you."
A large smile formed on his face. "Okay!" He ran out of the parlor and back into his room.
Chi-Chi smiled and laughed to herself. That little boy was kinder and more empathetic than she ever thought anyone could be. She was so proud of her son. They all did right by him.
As she started putting her needles and pins away, she thought back to what Goku said yesterday: how they trained Gohan so he could learn some self defense. If that threat was as bad as they thought it was, maybe it was for the best that he trained. Even if it wasn't what she wanted. Besides, he was still ontop of his studies. It wasn't like he had fallen behind. She only wished that they hadn't gone behind her back. Then again, she knew she could be a little stuck in her ways, at times.
She shook her head. The only way they were going to solve this was if they talked it out. Hopefully, they'd return soon enough to do so.
That same day, Bulma was sitting in her room, lying in bed as she had been all day. She hadn't even stepped out of her room, since her father gave her that ultimatum. She was acting childish, but she didn't care. If she was being treated like a child, she might as well act like it, too. She was still so mad that she might have cried.
Everything was just happening at once. An attack on the Saiyans, being a target, being away from Vegeta, a baby, and the Earth being cut off. It was too much. Her father forbidding her from helping was just another problem to add to the pile. It made her feel even more helpless and worthless than she already was. It was bad enough that she couldn't stop the split - now, she couldn't even help the cause.
She turned over on her side and stared at the wall. As selfish as it might have been, she was also thinking about her and Vegeta. What if something happened all the way out here, and she couldn't tell him? What if the distance was enough to make him lose interest in her?What if he never got to meet their child?
She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in her pillow. What was even the point of coming? She should have never let anyone talk her into it. Maybe she'd be in more danger, but at least she wouldn't be so alone.
There was a knock at her door. "Go away," she yelled into the pillow. She wasn't in the mood.
The door opened slowly. Raditz poked his head through the doorway.
She sighed and rolled over, turning her back to him. "What do you want?"
"Well… you've been in here all day, and I want to make sure you're okay." He paused. "Sooooo… are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Raditz. Now leave me alone."
He sighed. "Look, Little Blue, I get that you're upset over not being able to help and all, but… your dad kind of had a point."
She rolled her eyes. Of course he'd stick up for him.
"I mean, with all of the bad stuff you could have gotten into, and with you being pregnant, maybe doing all of that hardcore investigation isn't a good idea. What if I hadn't been there, when we got caught in that trap? You could have been killed. And if you think these Red Ribbon guys are out there… what if they found out you were sneaking around?"
Bulma groaned, and sat up to glare at him. "Are you just here to lecture me?! Is that the real reason you checked up on me?!"
He held his hands up, shaking his head. "No, I didn't! I just… I just don't want anything to happen to you, like this." He paused. His expression grew more somber. His hands fell by his side and he sighed. "I… I don't want to go through it with someone else."
Her brows furrowed. "Someone else? What are you talking about?"
He shifted in place, before breaking the silence. "My mother, when she was pregnant with my brother… she was sick and she wasn't very strong. She hadn't regained her old strength, from before she had me. And when Kakarot was born…" His voice trailed off, getting emotional with every word.
Bulma's heart sank. Everytime Raditz had talked about his family, he never really mentioned his mother. She now knew why. He didn't need to finish: the implication was clear.
He pressed his lips together, as he swallowed a lump in his throat. He walked up to her bedside and held her hands. "Bulma," he said in a slightly shaky voice, "more than just someone I'm supposed to look after and keep safe, you're my friend. I love you like you're my family, and… I don't want what happened to my mother to happen to you."
His words hit her deeply. She had never even considered how other people might feel, if she had gotten into trouble. Maybe her dad was right. Maybe she did need to be more careful. Not just because she was about to be a mother, but for the sake of her loved ones. At such a stressful and uncertain time, she didn't want to be another reason to get upset.
She held onto his hands, as she slowly nodded. "Alright. I see what you mean. I'm sorry that I got so mad at you." She looked down. "And I'm sorry for making you worry about me."
Without missing a beat, he got down onto his knees and hugged her. "Oh, it's alright. And you don't need to apologize - I understand why you were so mad."
Bulma smiled, as she hugged him tighter. Raditz was such a good friend. Sometimes, she didn't think she deserved it.
Goku and Piccolo managed to settle in a cave out in the Spinach Wastes. The area was only inhabited by a few farmers and flocks of birds. Perfect place to go out and train.
Only problem was that they didn't feel like training.
For most of the day, they sat around doing nothing. When they tried to train, they quickly called it quits. Their hearts just weren't in it, today. A rarity, especially for them.
They both knew it was because of what Chi-Chi had told them last night. As hesitant as they were to admit it out loud, what she said had cut them deep. She had gotten mad at them before, but disappointment was an entirely different beast. They didn't think she'd be actually hurt over what they had done.
Piccolo thought, as he quietly meditated. Did he regret training Gohan? Hardly. It was the right thing to do, and he would have done it again. But maybe they could have found a better way to get there. Maybe putting up with a few arguments would have gotten them their way. Chi-Chi wasn't an idiot - she just had trouble seeing things from outside of her perspective. Maybe they could have just shown that somehow.
He shook his head and huffed. Mulling over the possibilities wasn't going to solve this any sooner. What was done was done, and they couldn't undo it. Now, they had to figure out how to solve it.
"Hey, Piccolo," Goku asked, sitting with his legs and arms crossed.
"Hmm?"
"Do you think we shouldn't have trained Gohan?"
"Considering that is pointless. We did, and now we're here."
"I guess you're right." He paused. "But what do we do about Chi-Chi? I don't like that we made her so mad."
He glanced back at him. "Your ideas are as good as mine." He closed his eyes and went back to his meditation. Truthfully, he didn't want to think about that at the moment. He wasn't in the mood.
"How about we just go up and say we're sorry?"
Piccolo looked over his shoulders to glare at him, wearing an 'are you serious' expression on his face.
"What? I do feel sorry for hurting her feelings." His shoulders slumped, as he spoke. "Maybe admitting that will get her to stop being so mad at us."
Leave it to Goku to come up with such a simple-sounding solution. After how hurt she was, 'sorry' probably wouldn't cut it. Though, as he racked his brain, Piccolo couldn't come up with anything better. Anything that popped into his mind was quickly torn to shreds by his overthinking.
He sighed. Maybe the simplest answer was the right one. Though he had been with them for a while, Goku did know Chi-Chi better than he did. He always seemed to know just what to say to calm her down. With no other solutions in sight, they had no choice but to take a shot at his idea.
Piccolo stood up. "Alright."
Goku looked up at him. "Alright? What do you mean?"
He rolled his eyes. "Let's go back and 'say sorry', like you said."
He quickly scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping over himself. "Do you think it'll work?"
"It's worth a shot, at least."
Goku put his hand on Piccolo's shoulder. "Hey, you don't need to worry. We'll do it together. It'll be okay: just you wait and see."
It was times like this that Piccolo wished he had Goku's optimism. With that thought, they took off into the sky back to Mt. Paozu. They didn't say a word to each other for the entire flight, and by the time the sun set, they were back home.
As soon as they stepped foot onto the lawn, Chi-Chi was coming out the door to see them. She didn't say anything, yet. She simply crossed her arms and looked at them.
Goku approached her first. "Chi-Chi," he said as he took her hand. "We're really sorry for training Gohan. We shouldn't have done it. We understand why you got so upset, and we're sorry."
She shook her head. She looked over at Piccolo and motioned for him to come closer. He stepped up, standing next to Goku. "Goku, Piccolo, it wasn't the training that got me upset. It was you going behind my back to do it. I had trusted that you wouldn't keep anything from me. And I thought you would trust me and not keep secrets. That hurt a lot."
"We didn't think we had time," Piccolo said. "We thought that the sooner Gohan learned to defend himself, the better. Especially with the androids coming. I can see now that it was a mistake to keep it from you."
"I understand why you did." She paused and put her hands behind her back. "I've been thinking, and… maybe you two were right. If there are going to be a bunch of delinquents running around, then maybe Gohan could learn how to," she sighed, "train. A little."
Goku and Piccolo were shocked. "Really," Goku exclaimed.
"As long as he stays ontop of his studies, then he can train with you two." Before they could reply, she held her hand up to stop them. "And you need to promise me something else. No more secrets. If something is wrong, I want you to tell me. We'll figure it out together."
Goku grinned. "Just like we always do. Right, Piccolo?"
"Right," he said as he nodded.
"Well," Chi-Chi said, with a smile back on her face, "you should come back inside. I think we have some food waiting on the table."
Goku's stomach rumbled loudly. He laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Man, I'm hungrier than I thought!"
Piccolo started laughing, surprising all three of them. Something about the serious conversation punctuated with Goku's usual self was humorous to him. Goku and Chi-Chi quickly joined him. As strange as it was to admit, Piccolo didn't know that talking things out would feel… good. He didn't think reconciliation would be as simple as Goku said it was. But their issues were solved. Just like that.
This family still found a way to surprise him.
After talking to Raditz, Bulma went to speak with her father. He was down in the parlor, playing with Tama. He was moving a string on a stick, while the cat tried to catch it.
"Dad," she said, standing on the staircase.
Her father looked up. "Ah, Bulma. I was wondering where you were." He grabbed Tama and put him onto his shoulder. "What brings you down here?"
She sighed, as she stepped down the stairs. "Look, dad… I'm sorry for how I acted yesterday. For getting so mad and upset at you."
"Oh, it's no big deal. I was kind of expecting it, knowing you as well as I do. You don't need to apologize for that."
"No, but," she paused, trying to find the right words. "I was thinking about everything you said. About me needing to be more careful and responsible. And… you were right. I guess I was so occupied by everything that's been going on that I just couldn't see it."
He put his hand on her shoulder. "Bulma, it's like I said: it's not a big deal. You got upset, and now that you've calmed down, you're seeing things clearer. It happens to the best of us."
Bulma smiled. Her dad just never seemed to let anything upset him. That's what she always loved about him. He was so relaxed and any problems he had were no skin off his back. "Thanks, dad. Also," she paused. Deep down, she didn't want to stop looking. Another breakthrough might have been right around the corner. But her logical mind knew that this was the right thing to do. At least, for the time. She finally continued. "If you don't want me to look into the Red Ribbon army anymore, I won't."
He looked surprised. "Really? To be honest, I was beginning to think I was a little naive to try and control your curiosity. What brought this on?"
She shrugged. "Just thinking about everything, and everyone else. I hadn't realized how selfish I had been, in just mindlessly pursuing research." It wasn't her place to tell her parents about Raditz's family issues, so she kept that to herself.
Her father hugged her. "Oh, Bulma, it isn't your fault. These are dire times: I can see why you wanted to help out. But you won't be able to if you get hurt. Maybe in the future, when there's less to worry about, you can help again. But for now, I think it'll be for the best if you rest."
"I understand," she said as she hugged him back. She sighed. "I'll take a break."
"Good. It'll give you time to recharge and focus on what's important." He patted her back as he stepped away. "Your mother's working on dinner. Go relax for a little bit, before then."
She nodded with a smile on her face. "I will." Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all.