PLAYTIME

Disclaimer: I don't own db/z/gt


PLAYTIME


Chapter Six

Three weeks after their last encounter, Vegeta hadn't made any other attempt to meet the younger saiyan. Goku didn't know whether to be relief or upset. As time went by, the younger saiyan felt an increasing need to see the prince, to feel him close. Besides, he had some doubts that only Vegeta could resolve.

He didn't understand what was the meaning of the heat. Just to hump like rabbits for days to satiate their appetites? But Vegeta had said it was dangerous to resist those impulses , it didn't make sense. He had wanted to asked Vegeta about it when they last talked. But the prince had refused to respond. From the beginning, he had suspected that Vegeta had not been completely sincere, but why to be so secretive about it. It had to be something extremely serious if Vegeta wasn't ready to reveal all the implications.

And he had some other doubts about the changes he was going through. Because he was feeling as if his body was betraying him. The first days after his last encounter with Vegeta, Goku spent the time trainig, doing exercise, swimming in the lake. All this activity served as a distraction from his problems.

But after a week, he had to stop with his training, because his physical strentgh was gradually decreasing. He was weary all the time. And those terrible migraines, and the lack of concentration. He supposed it was because he couldn't sleep at night. In his dreams, well they weren't exactly dreams, but visions of people and places strangely familiar, from a long forgotten past. He could even hear their voices and smell their scents. But these images were blurry and didn't last long. After those episodes, he was very agitated and couldn't sleep again.

Vegeta had said that he was going to experience some changes, but he didn't know if it was supposed to be that way. And why was all this happening now? It had been half and a month since everything had started, but before his last encounter with the prince, he had felt nothing extraordinary, except his sudden need of questioning his life and his views about people and the world around him.

But now, everything was going wrong, and the worst of all was that his ki had started to fluctuate two days ago, his power level had diminished and he didn't know how much longer he could resist without been in danger.

He knew that, sooner or later, he would have to confront Vegeta. But he was postposing the inevitable. He wasn't mad at the prince anymore. He knew he had overreacted. But the real reason to avoid the man was that he was scared to lost his temper again. It seemed to happen every time he met the older saiyan. And he didn't want to be that way, so agressive. And besides, he had the feeling that it was the place of the prince to give that step.

When he couldn't train anymore he had tried to meditate, maybe that would help him to be more relaxed and he could sleep better. But it was useless, he could only focus on Vegeta. The man was haunting him, not that he minded to think about the prince but it was starting to affect seriously his health.

He needed a distraction. So he decided to visit Chichi and his sons. And besides, he wanted to recover Chichi's friendship, though if only for their son's sake. All of this changes, the things he was starting to feel...It seemed that he was going to start a new phase of his life. And he had the need to sort things out, to amend his mistakes and let his past behind without regrets.

And he hadn't seen his sons for the last six weeks. He had been isolated from everybody and that wasn't typical of him. He had always needed the company of other people, the warmth and security that closeness provided. He had been lone, sulking and moping around his empty house for too long , it was time to find a remedy for that. He would go to see his family and his friends.

Chichi and the kids had settled in a big apartment in Satan City. She had always prefered the bustling city life. One of Chichi's merits was that she had agreed to live in the middle of nowhere because his husband had wanted to, and she never had complained.

But the main reason to move into the city was that she thought it was better for the kids. There, they were near the school and college, and they had the oportunity to meet other people and live as any other ordinary child, instead of spending the whole time in the woods like wild animals. She had freaked out when she knew that Goku was an alien and she had put a great effort to make her sons act more like earthlings. The kids, more specifically Goten, had not taken well to live in the city. Goten was like his father, he liked nature and he was more saiyan, he enjoyed immensely fighting. Goku had been so proud when he knew that his youngest had ascended at the age of seven.

But Goku understood, just partly, why Chichi wanted to supress their saiyan side and to make them study. After all, they had to live in this planet. They had their lives, their friends. One day they would have their own families. So they couldn't grow as he did. He had always been a wild child. He had to learn to live alone since his grandfather died and nobody else was there to look after him. Before his grandad died, he only was taught how to read and write, and the martial arts. Besides, he was a full-blooded saiyan and he was made to live adventures and to look for new challenges. But things were different for his sons. Although he still thought that Chichi was too strict and should let them some more freedom.

Goku flew to Chichi's house. He knew the adress but he had never been there before, his sons went always to visit him at Mont Pazou. It was farther than he thought and soon he started to feel tired. Great, he couldn't even fly long distances. He stopped in middair and call Kintou, his magic cloud.

Wen he arrived, he noticed that the place was very nice, all seemed so new and neat. But the thought of living in that hideous boxes, surrounded by concrete and asphalt and all that disgusting noise, wasn't very appealing. It was a pity that his sons couldn't live like before, outside, breathing unpolluted air and enjoying the soothing effect of the nature.

Chichi gasped when she opened the door. Goku was the last person she would expect to see.

“Hi, Chichi.” Goku greeted, grinning . Finally she got out of her astonishment.

“Go...Goku, What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to talk to you. Can I come in? I'm a little tired and I need to sit down, please.” Chichi blinked, but motioned him to follow her.
The house was tidy and clean. Chichi had always been the perfect housewife. All in the room seemed very comfortable and it was decorated with taste, though too feminine, to Goku's liking.

“Nice house”

“Thank you. Sit over there.” She said, pointing to a huge couch.
Goku smiled. “Well, how's everything?”

“Oh, fine. I'm very bussy with the kids, as always. But I have made some new friends with the same interests I have, and we spend a great time together”

“I'm so glad for you, Chichi”
Then she seemed to remember something “Oh, my. What terrible manners, sorry Goku. Do you want something to eat?”

“No, I have no appetite” Chichi stared at him in disbelief.

“Goku, are you right?” Goku laughed nervously.

“Sure, don't worry, Chichi”

“Don't lie to me. I know you're hiding something”

“No, Chichi. Why do you think that?”

“Well, you haven't come to see me or called me since the divorce, and suddenly you're here to talk to me. You say that you're tired and you don't want to eat. That's not the Goku I know.” She asked crossing her arms over her chest. Then she said, narrowing her eyes. “This is rather suspicious”
Goku shifted on the couch “No, Chichi. I...”

Then, she seemed to have a sudden revelation and started to tremble.
“Oh, my god! Goku, dear! I understand.” And she started to sob uncontrollably.

“What?” Goku squeaked

“You came here to say goodbye, didn't you. Oh, poor, poor Goku. Are you suffering much?”

“Chichi, I don't know what are you talking about. Can you calm down, please”.
He was starting to find the situation very bizarre.

“You don't have to pretend anymore, dear. You can tell me everything. I know you're dying. But I want you to know that I'm here whenever you need me” And she started to cry hysterically.
Goku had forgotten how exasperating the woman could be, always the queen of drama.

“Chichi, I'm fine. Stop it, please.”
The woman didn't seem to hear him. So Goku had to scream so loud that the walls trembled.

“CHICHIIIII! Shut Up!”
Chichi stopped her crying and stared at him, confusion evident on her face. She had never seen Goku so upset before.

“I'm here cause I wanted to talk about us. So drop the act, ok?”
She nodded. And then, as if nothing had happened, she said smiling.

“Well, first I will go to make some tea.”.

“Ok” Goku said weakly. His sudden outburst have drained him of energy.
When the woman got out, he leaned against the couch. All that screeching was something he could never get used to, he didn't know how he could stand so many years living with her. Well, having been dead most of the time had helped a lot.

He started daydreaming. What different from the profound, masculine voice of his prince, so smooth and seductive... Goku stopped , not wanting to go further with this kind of thougths.
Chichi came back with two cups of tea and offered one to Goku. Then she sat on an armchair across Goku. They remained in silence for a while, savouring the aromatic beverage.
Finally Chichi broke the silence.

”Well, Goku what do you want to talk about?. She asked, staring intensely at her ex husband. Goku finally decided to open his heart.

“Chichi, I've been thinking lately about the time we were married. I realized that I've been an irresponsible, I didn't take care of you and our children as you deserve. I didn't mean it. I just think that, at the moment, I was doing the right thing. And I wanted to apologize for being a bad husband and a bad father”
Chichi look at him, eyes shining with unshed tears.

“Oh, my sweet Goku. I knew you couldn't live without me.”

“What?” Goku started to panic as he saw Chichi standing up to latch onto him, her arms around his neck.

“It doesn't matter, dear. I forgive you and I accept to go back to our home. I will try my best to make things work this time. I'm so happy, my love”.

Trust Chichi to be delusional. She lived in her own fantasy world.
As she started to kiss him all over his face, Goku stiffened, eyes twitching, unable to react. But finally he started to struggle to disentangle himself from the crazy woman.

“Chichi, stop please. I didn't mean that.”
Chichi frozed and glanced at him.

“What?” She yelled.

“Chichi, you just misunderstood my words. I just came to apologize because I felt I owed you that. And I want you to be my friend again. That's all.”.
Chichi stood up, her fists clenched, her face reddened.

“You..you...stupid monkey. How could you? After all I've done for you. I gave you my best years, and what I have got in return? A worthless husband that never was at home. “
Goku got close to Chichi to try to comfort her.

“Chichi, please dont be this way. I didn't come here to have another fight with you. I just wanted to fix things between us, I just thought that if we could be friends things would better for our sons.”
She paid no attention to Goku's words and slapped him . “Get out of here. You, retarded, bad excuse for a man”

He stood still for a while, touching his red cheek. “I hope some day you stop being so mean, so you can be in peace.” Then he sighed and left the house

Goku sat on the floor, near the door and waited for his sons. He was starting to have a migraine, too much yelling, too much stress. He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes trying to relax. Suddenly he was startled by his sons, they screamed and latched onto him.

“Yay, daddy. You're here. Cool!”

Goku frozed. He hadn't felt when his sons got closed, he can't even feel their ki now that they were with him. He tried to concentrate on other ki signatures, Piccolo, Krillin, Yamcha, but he can't feel anything. 'What the hell was going on?'

He tried again, this time with Vegeta. He felt something, but it was different, he had touched Vegeta's ki. But he hadn't had to search for him , it was like a constant presence in the back of his mind, he could feel the prince there always with him. That was strange, definitively he had to speak with Vegeta.

He was torn from his thoughts by the chirping voice of Goten, the kid had been babbling all that time and he hadn't pay any attention. Now he just wanted to forget all his worries and spend some time with his sons.

They went to the lake and spent a great afternoon. The kids shrieked when they saw Goku's tail. After the initial shock, Goku had a hard time trying to get Gotten away from the tail, the kid had been running after him screaming “I want one, I want one”, and Gohan didn't help much rolling on the ground laughing. When finally, the youngest kid got tired of chasing the damned furry thing, all of them swamm, enjoying the fresh water. But Goku soon went to lay on the grass as the kids played inside the lake.

Later, when the boys got tired of his games, they decided to catch some fishes. Once they have eaten and the kids were less hyper, Goku thought it was the perfect moment to have their attention.

“Look kids, there's something very important I want to tell you.” The boys nodded and sat in silence listening carefully at his father.

“ I wanted to apologize for being a bad father”

“But, dad...” Goten started to say. Goku shook his head.

“No, let me finish please. It's true. I have never been around when you needed me most. I prefered to stay in Otherworld pursuing absurds challenges, instead of taking care of my family. Gohan, I made you fight when you really didn't like it and I put on your shoulders the responsability to save the planet, I stole your childhood forcing you to be a warrior. And then I let you alone with the unbearable guilt. Yes, I've always known that you felt guilty because of my death, but you shouldn't. I took my own decision and I should have come back to save you such pain.”
Goku patted his youngest on the head

“And Gotten, you had to grow without knowing what was to have a father. I have inflicted both of you so much pain and I'll never be able to repair all my mistakes. But I want you to know that I love you more than anything and I'm very proud of you.”
The two boys hugged his father tightly. And Gohan spoke up, trying to keep back his tears.

“No, dad, don't say those things. You have always been our hero and we are very proud to be your sons. You taught me not only to fight, but to be self-confident and to believe in my own power. You trusted me to fight Cell and that was a honour to me. You have saved our lives many times, always willing to sacrifice yourself for others without asking anything in return. We love you, dad.”

“Yes, dad. You're the best father ever” Goten mumbled sobbing.

“Thank you, sons. You don't know how much this means to me” Goku said, feeling lightheaded and full of joy.

When his sons went back home, Goku decided to visit his old friend Krillin. Fortunately, he found his chilhood friend alone, by the seashore. Maybe Krillin could give him some advice.
After the greetings, Goku sat beside his friend.

“Where have you been all this time, Goku?. It's been ages since the last time we met”
Goku grinned and scratched the back of his head.

”He, he. Sorry, Krillin, you know how I am. Hey, how are Eighteen and Marron?”

“They're great. They went to the city mall; women and their shoppings, you know”
Goku nodded, then yawned and laid on the sand, feeling very lazy under the evening sun.

“Haven't you noticed anything wrong with me?” Goku asked, all of a sudden.
Krillin stared at his friend. Immediately, the swaying of a furry appendage caught his attention. His eyes were wide open.

“Hey, you have your tail back.” He said.
Goku rolled his eyes. “I didn't mean that.”
Krillin got closed and stared at his friend more carefully.

“Well, man, now that you say it. You look terible”

“Thank you” Goku snarled.

“What I mean is that you are very pale and had bags under your eyes. And you are thinner. Are you sick, Goku?”

“No. It's just that I don't sleep well and I've lost my appetite, I vomit every day. But it's a saiyan thing. Vegeta said that I just reached maturity and I was gonna suffer some changes.”
The bald man started to laugh. Goku frowned, getting angry by the lack of empathy of the one he considered his best friend.

“This is ridiculous, Goku. How old are you? So you're saying, that ,all this time, you've been a teenager.”

“Stop laughing Krillin, this is serious. And it's got nothing to do with my age. It seems that when all of you decided to cut my tail, that refrained my proper development.”
Krillin was surprised, he had never seen Goku so angry, at least not out of battle.

“Well, Goku. Why do you believe what Vegeta had said? You know that he's just an arrogant bastard.”
Goku couldn't supress a growl. “You have no right to say those things about Vegeta.”

“Goku, it's Vegeta we are talking about. Don't you remember he tried to kill us? And he had always despised all of us.”

“I can't believe this. After all this years, he had always been our ally in all our battles, and he had saved our lives in countless occasions, he even died to protect earth. What else must a man do to redeem himself, to prove that he had changed and become a better person? Vegeta is the most honorable man I've ever known, because Vegeta the villain died the day he let behind his past and fight by my side against my enemy.” Goku exclaimed, clenching his fists.

“Take it easy, man. Being so agitated can't make you any good”
Goku breath deeply, trying to regain his control.

“Alright , Goku. According to Vegeta, you're going through a delicate state.” Krillin rubbed his chin with his right hand, thinking about his friend's dilemma.

”Maybe all these changes make your body vulnerable to things you used to be immune and you have caught a virus or something”

Goku pondered this idea for a while. ”Man, you may be right”
Krillin suddenly started to think that there was something strange.”Hey, Goku. If Vegeta knows what's happening to you, why don't you go to ask him, he will be more helpful.”

Goku stiffen and said nervously. ”Well, it's ... I don't want to see him now”

“Did he do someting to you? What happened?”

“Uh? There's nothing you should worry about. It's something private between Vegeta and me, alright?”

“Ok. Why don't you go to a hospital, then?”
Goku went paler and Krillin laughed.

“Sorry man, I just couldn't help it. I just was kidding, alright?”
Seeing that his usually cheerful friend wasn't exactly amused, Krillin stopped laughing . “Maybe you should go to Dende”

The expression on Goku's face suddenly changed, he beamed. “Oh, that's a great idea Krillin. I'll go right now”
Goku called Kintoun. When he was ready to go, Krillin blinked, surprised because Goku hadn't ridden on Kintoun for years.

”Goku, why are you using your cloud?”

“I can't use instant transmission and I'm too weak to fly to the lookout.”

“Is it so serious?” Krillin asked, now really concerned about his friend.
Goku hung his head, he hated to be so vulnerable. He had always relied on his strength and now he was pathetic.

“My power level is at minimum and I can't feel ki signatures.”

“Oh man, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed before. Let me go with you. And don't worry, Dende will heal you.”

Goku nodded and they flew to the lookout. When they arrived, Piccolo was there as usually, sitting indian style floating in the air, meditating.

“Long time to see you, Goku.” Soon the namekian noticed that something was wrong with his friend.

“Are you alright? I can sense that your ki is too low and there's some kind of energy, very weak, that I can't recognize. What happened to you?”.

Goku looked rather confused at the green being. “What do you mean, Piccolo. I don't feel anything.”
Krillin was shocked too.

“Well, I haven't felt anything either but if it's as weak as Piccolo say it's possible that it's true, Goku. Remember that you can't feel ki” Goku nodded knowing that his friend was right.

Now it was Piccolo who was surprised. “Did you just tell that Goku cannot feel ki?” .
Goku just sighed. The namek, very affected now by the state of Goku, said: “Then, you have come to see Dende, haven't you?. Wait here. I'll go to call the brat”

When Piccolo had told him that Goku was there, Dende run eager to meet his friend. “Hi, Goku. I'm so glad to see you” Dende said with a big grin on his face.

“Hi, Dende”

“How is Gohan? It's been ages since the last time I saw him. I miss him”

“Well, he's a little bussy now with the University and his girlfriend. But don't worry, I'll make sure he'll come to see you every now and then.”

“Oh, that would be great! Thanks, Goku”

Piccolo was starting to lose his patience.
“Enough of this useless chatt. Goku needs your help. You should check him to know what's wrong with him.”

“Oh, I'm sorry Goku.” And the boy proceeded to send his scanning waves all over Goku's body.

“You have no desease Goku, you're completely healthy.”

Piccolo snarled.
“Then why is his ki so low. And what about that strange energy?. It seems that you're losing your faculties, kid.”

“Oh sorry, I just looked for some kind of physical disease. You should have explained this before, Piccolo. You know I must focus on a particular aspect every time I use my powers. I was focusing my energy solely on Goku's vital signs.”
Piccolo rolled his eyes but said nothing. He didn't want to argüe when he was so worried about his friend.

Dende scanned again Goku's body, this time trying to detect that strange energy. After a while, he gasped.
“There's something in there, some kind of power interfering with my scanning waves. It's tiny, but strong enough to be detected.”

“What do you mean” Krillin asked, he now was really intrigued by all this new revelations. But before the younger namekian could reply, an unexpected visitor started to response.

“What he means is that Kakarot...”
Before he could finish, Goku interrupted him.

“Vegeta, what are you doing here?” Goku asked anxiously.
Vegeta sighed and look at the younger saiyan with a mix of resignation and tenderness.

“I sensed that there was something wrong with you. Sorry, Kakarot. I must apologize. There are some things I should have told you. I have wanted to see you many times during the last weeks but I couldn't find the courage to do it.”

“How could you feel that Goku was here” Piccolo asked with his eyes narrowed. He didn't trust the prince.”His ki is so low that is almost undetectable”

“I could know where Kakarot is in every moment, and how he feels, even if he would have no ki at all. You don't need to know how or why. That's something I must tell to Kakarot in private.” Vegeta replied, without keeping his eyes apart from the younger saiyan.

“Hey Vegeta” Goku was rather curious about what Vegeta had just said.

“Is it got something to do with a strange sensation I had before, when I found out that I couldn't feel ki? Yet, I could sense your presence, but I didn't feel it outside like the others, it was in my mind, Vegeta.”

“Yes Kakarot. But we will discuse that later at home.”
Vegeta went closer to the younger saiyan, put a hand over Goku's abdomen and started to send some waves of ki through Goku's skin.
Piccolo, afraid that Vegeta could take advantage of the weak state of Goku to hurt him, started an attack against the prince. But Goku asked him to stop. Piccolo complied, sighing. He could never understand the blind faith Goku had in the older saiyan.

When Vegeta considered that the amount of ki he had supplied to Goku was enough, he stopped and asked: ”Are you better?”

The younger saiyan grinned ”Yes. Am I already cured?”

Vegeta smirked. “Silly, I just fed you with my ki to restore part of your energy. “

“But you know what's wrong with me, Don't you?”
Everybody awaited anxiously the response of the prince.

“Yes Kakarot...You're pregnant”