One-Shots - Dragon Ball

I have a bunch of these and tend to write them when I have no inspiration for anything else, so yeah.
Lot of these are kinda old, so they're a tad bit different than more recent ones.

Long one first, nya~ (Title is different, didn't like the length of the old one)
-----

The Meeting

“Ah, there was something you wanted, dad?” Gohan asked, yawning as he stretched his arms, stumbling into the kitchen before taking a seat. He scratched at his short spiky black hair before fixing his orange Gi that his father had given him. The full-blooded Saiyan had his eyebrows furrowed in concentration before finally noticing his son sitting at the kitchen table and grinned, his eyebrows lifting.

“Oi! Good morning Gohan!”

“…Why’d ya wake me up?” Gohan asked again, yawning.

“Oh! About that. Ya see, Dende just contacted me about something. I dunno why, but he wants me to head to the Lookout. I want you to come with me!”

“Why me? Couldn’t you ask Goten to go?” Gohan complained, leaning back in his chair as he let out a heavy and rather loud sigh. Goku walked up to Gohan has the Halfling leaned forward and patted him on the back.

“Of course not! You are my first son! Plus, Goten still has school. You graduated last year, remember?”

“…Right. Can we just go?” Gohan moaned, looking up at his father tiredly. He stood and grabbed Goku’s shoulder as the Saiyan put his fingers to his forehead. Soon enough they disappeared, leaving behind a fuming Chi-Chi, who had been listening in to the whole conversation.

-----

“I’ve heard a lot about you from King Yemma,” Dende said, sipping at his tea as his visitor glanced at him from the shadows, onyx eyes burrowing into the young Namekian as he tried to make conversation. He chuckled nervously, unable to see the full figure of his company, but able to see most of his outline, save the hair. “He says you were a great warrior and that you tried to save your planet…”

“Most of that is true,” the dark figure grunted.

“I also heard that you were sent to Hell…,” the young Namekian said, trailing off as he took to drinking his tea. The visitor’s eyes were cold, nearly like ice, and Dende couldn’t help but shiver under their gaze. Such ferocity. It was hard to believe that this man was the father of anyone.

“I asked to be.”

“Huh?” Dende said, blinking back utter confusion.

“I said I asked to be,” the visitor said gruffly. “I refused to go to Heaven. All my comrades were sent to Hell. I would rather have died a second time than be separated from them for the rest of eternity.”

“Oh, I see…I suppose Goku-san would feel the same way if he was in your position,” Dende said, laughing weakly as he sat down his cup. “I would do the same thing if my friends had been sent down there…”

“Dende! Where’s the food!” A voice yelled, indicating the arrival of Goku.

The visitor’s eyes narrowed as he unfolded his arms and, walking in the shadows, left to confront the new arrival. Dende quickly stood up, stumbling slightly before running after his visitor. As he caught up to the man, he could finally see that his hair was spiky and wavy. Dende closed his mouth and decided to keep quiet about the matter. He instead decided to take the lead and was outside far before his visitor. Spotting Goku with his son, Gohan, Dende smiled and walked up to him, smiling.

“Yo Dende! I came just like you asked me to,” Goku said happily. “Well, I brought Gohan along, if you don’t care.”

“Oh, no, it’s quite fine!” Dende said quickly, nodding to Gohan, who smiled at the Namekian. “In fact, I think he’ll enjoy this surprise as much as you, Goku-san.”

“Hmm…? Surprise?” Goku asked, folding his arms in thought before glancing at Dende again. “What kind of surprise?”

“Well, you see,” Dende said, before hearing someone clear their throat in the Lookout. He turned around and chuckled nervously. “Could you wait a little bit?” He asked.

“Fine, but don’t take long,” a rough voice responded, obviously annoyed.

Dende turned back towards Goku, whose eyes were narrowed as he peered into the shadowed doorway, knowing someone he didn’t know was in there.

That power…is that of a Saiyan’s!

“As I was going to say,” Dende began, clearing his throat to gain Goku’s attention, “I received a message from King Yemma last night. He told me that he would be sending someone to Earth, someone who earned the right to live again due to what he had been doing during the afterlife. He had been keeping others in check where he had gone, and became a sort of peace-protector, or guardian. King Yemma informed me that this man was rather cold at times, but was an overall nice man and that I should treat him as one would a very important guest. So, the man appeared last night here at the Lookout, and he stayed here the whole night so he could meet you, Goku-san.”

“Now?” The voice grunted. Dende shook his head.

“Goku-san, Gohan-san, please come inside with me. This’ll be a while,” the young Namekian said before turning around. Goku and Gohan looked at each other seriously before following their ‘orders’ and heading into the Lookout after Dende.

It was then that Goku passed the visitor and paused, able to see the man’s eyes, which were narrowed as he looked down at the other Saiyan, as if displeased with him. Goku glared back at him as Gohan and Dende paused, the latter of the two becoming rather nervous.

“Bardock-san!” Dende shouted before covering up his mouth as the two Saiyans looked at him, the fore-mentioned more or less glaring. Gohan looked at Dende somewhat confused.

“Bardock? Who’s that?” Goku asked, before yelping as the other Saiyan grabbed his arm. Well, if it was a fight that this guy wanted, Goku was going to give him one.

Before Goku could finish all the thoughts going through his head, the visitor stepped forward into the light and wrapped his arms around the rather surprised and confused Goku. Bardock squeezed tightly, and Goku yelped, flailing his arms before looking up at the man.

“Hu-- wha-- the-- who-- when-- how the?!”

“Heh…I did say it was a surprise…” Dende said, rubbing the back of his head. Bardock lessened his grip on Goku and then fully let go, placing his hands on the slightly shorter Saiyan’s shoulders.

“Son,” Bardock said, a grin appearing on his face.

“D-dad?” Goku said, before pulling away from Bardock, looking at the other Saiyan in confusion. “No way. This can’t be happening. I think I finally went insane…”

“…This is how you act when you finally get to meet your damn father?” Bardock snapped. “This is disgraceful! I finally get to see my son again, after being blown to bits by Frieza, and being tortured in Hell for so many damn decades, and he’s not even happy to see me!”

“Dad, I’m gonna go,” Gohan said, walking past Goku to the door before pausing. “It is a pleasure to meet you, grandfather,” he said, nodding his head to Bardock, who smirked, finally happy for some recognition. Gohan then left, flying off as Goku looked at Bardock.

“…B-but, I mean, you died…There’s no way you could be here, Yemma has never given anyone besides my friends and I second chances, because we’re the only heroes, and--”

“KAKAROT!” Bardock said angerily, growling as his son. “Do you know how long I’ve been busting my damn ass in Hell, trying to earn a chance at redemption, to live again? Ever since I told Yemma I WANTED to be in Hell, I’ve been doing my best to try and act like a ‘good boy’, all to see you. I left my damn best friends back there!”

“Wait, what?” Goku said, stepping backwards as he raised his hands defensively.

“Bardock-san, please calm down,” Dende said. “I know it’s your first day alive again, but you must contain yourself. Your son couldn’t have known all that you’ve done.”

“…Shit, you’re right,” Bardock grumbled. “Whatever. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

“…This’ll take a while,” Goku chuckled, grinning from ear to ear. “So, let’s get a bite to eat!”

-----

“I had heard about that. I had even saw a vision of you fighting against Frieza…But to think you had faced him in his transformed state…I could hardly keep up with him after all the training in Hell, but I was in my base state…”

“Base state? Are you implying something?”

“Huh? Oh, right…I’ve been training with some of my old friends, and even Raditz, though he’s a lazy bum now. Never wants to do anything but sit and mope. Frieza used to beat on Raditz all the time when boredom would set in. I got tired of it.”

“Really? Who knew that Frieza would attack Raditz…”

“Yeah…Anyways, I trained for quite a while. I had already figured out how to transform into a Super Saiyan when Frieza first arrived. Problem was, I didn’t have a motive, until he started attack Tora for no reason…”

“Tora? Who’s that? Sounds kinda like a guy’s name…”

“It is. Tora is a very old friend of mine. You see, we first met when I was a young man. I was naive, brash, but most importantly, stupid…”

----------

Bardock walked along the halls before smirking. Finally, after proving to that stupid Nappa that he was worth something, he had been assigned to a team. Too bad that it was a low-class team. Bardock’s strength rivaled that of many strong Saiyans, even as a teenager. With how many life-or-death situations Bardock had been in in his short life, he had already become stronger. Not only that, he constantly trained.

He entered the meeting room before clearing his throat. Four others looked up at him, three males and one female. Bardock snorted, trying to keep his disgust to himself as he walked up to Nappa’s desk, folding his arms.

“Bardock, about time you arrived,” Nappa said, agitated. “Well, I suppose late is better than never.”

“You’re lucky I decided to come at all,” Bardock said, earning a snort from the female, who he glared at.

“If you start fighting already I’ll kill all of you,” Nappa said, before tossing Bardock a folder. Bardock caught it and held it up before taking a glance inside.

“You’re kidding me. A low-life planet with weak fighters? The hell is this ‘Planet Sauze’ anyways?” Bardock demanded. “I’m not some kid who plays around, Nappa. I’m not going to take such a dumbass mission.”

“You will or you’ll be forced to have a ‘meeting’ with our dear King Vegeta,” Nappa said, narrowing his eyes.

“Tch, whatever. When I get back, your ass is mine,” Bardock said, flipping Nappa off as he marched out of the room. The other four Saiyans, who were silent the whole time, looked at Nappa.

“That jackass is our leader?” A male with short spiky hair questioned, folding his arms.

“Can’t be helped. You were the only team with four, and no one else wanted him. Tough luck,” Nappa said, before looking at the Saiyan again. “Tora, tell him I’m tried of his retarded threats. When he gets back, I’m going to pound his face into a wall.”

Tora muttered something under his breath before walking out of the room, the other three Saiyans following him.

-----

“You didn’t get along very well with anyone, did you?”

“Not at the time…I wasn’t respected, and as such I had an anger problem and constantly got into fights. My name was one that was cursed at the time. Heh, and to think that one day I would try to save all of them. Anyways, Nappa and I would always get into arguments. Neither of us threw a punch. I respected him…sort of, and the feeling was mutual. We had a…friendly rivalry.”

“Kinda like me and Vegeta.”

“…You’ll have to tell me about that later. Back to the story…”

----------

Tora plucked his Scouter from the table and stuck it on, adjusting it before glancing at Fasha, the female of the group. Both of them were late, as they were always to any of their missions even before Bardock had arrived, but it didn’t matter. As they walked into the room, Bardock stood there, arms folded as he growled at the two agitatedly.

“Where the hell have you been?”

Tora ignored him and went to walk past the irritated Saiyan, but Bardock grabbed him by the arm and shoved him to the ground with hardly any effort. Tora narrowed his eyes at Bardock before watching as the slightly older Saiyan let go of him and spun around on his heels, marching off. He paused, looking back at Tora and Fasha, the former of the two already standing. They followed Bardock, even though they didn’t want to.

When they arrived, their other two teammates had already climbed into their pods. Bardock climbed into his before smirking.

“You’d better not mess this up,” Tora said, glaring at Bardock, then climbing into his pod. Bardock chuckled, resting his cheek on his fist.

“You should be telling that to yourself, weakling,” Bardock said through his Scouter.

“Bastard,” Tora muttered under his breath, earning a short laugh from the other Saiyan.

It didn’t take long for them to be blasted off into space. It was over a day later that they landed on Planet Sauze, and the first to step out was Bardock, who grinned, popping his knuckles. Fasha and Tora stepped out next, and the other two males, Shugesh and Borgos, exited their pods last, looking at each other. Shugesh was shorter than most Saiyans, though he was taller than Fasha, and very plump. Borgos was the tallest of the group, towering over even Bardock. His skin was somewhat grey, and the top of his head was bald, with hair around the circumference of his head instead.

“There’s five settlements,” Bardock said, chuckling. “We’ll each take one. Whoever gets a scratch is a weakling.”

“Challenge accepted, jackass,” Tora said, before flying off to the west. Fasha went eastward, Shugesh to the south, and Borgos to the southeast, leaving Bardock with the north settlement. He jumped into the air, stretched slightly, and then flew off.

Bardock landed just outside of the settlement in only a few minutes before noticing his Scouter beeping loudly. It read a high power level, but according to the report, all the inhabitants here were weak.

“The hell? This thing must be broken,” he said, pressing it. He walked forward into the settlement and then stopped when he was in the center, placing his hands on his hips.

“Everybody listen up! Frieza wants this planet, so either you give up easily, or I’ll kill you all!” Bardock announced loudly. A woman stepped out, and Bardock looked her over, getting the gist of what the people of this planet looked like. They were feline-like, with cat like features, but overall, they were humanoid. This particular woman had dark blue hair that was let down and messy, reaching her shoulders. She wore simple black garbs.

“Who do you think you are?” The woman demanded. “We will give up our planet to no one!”

“…Is that so?” Bardock said, before noticing her disappear. His Scouter beeped, and he spun around, his eyes widening at the speed of this woman. She kicked him in the face, sending him flying into the air. He crashed into the ground before jumping to his feet and landing quietly. The woman lunged, punching him in the stomach as he growled. In return, he delivered a hard kick to her face and then grabbed her by the head. Then, his Saiyan instinct took over as he slammed her head into the ground several times, laughing loudly.

“Die!” He yelled.

Something hit him in the back, and he stumbled forward, letting go of the woman. He spun around, shooting a Ki blast at a male, who dodged and punched Bardock in the face. The Saiyan stumbled backwards before grabbing his Scouter as it began to buzz.

^ *Zzzt* Can…a…one hear…! Co…in! Is anyone th…? ^

“Tora?” Bardock said, putting the Scouter back on. There was no reply, when suddenly a yell of pain came from his Scouter, which sounded like Fasha.

“Weaklings!” Bardock hissed under his breath before dodging a kick from the male and grabbing him by the face. Bardock charged up a Ki blast and then instantly killed the inhabitant, tossing his body to the side.

“Bastard!” The woman growled, before punching Bardock in the face. He cried out as she began to kick him several times in the stomach, and coughed up blood as he stumbled backwards, collapsing to the ground.

^ …dock! Bardock! Come in! ^

“…Urgh…,” Bardock grunted, before coughing up more blood. Over his Scouter, he could hear two of his companions talking.

^ …Fasha, Bardock’s in trouble! ^

^ I’m too busy to save his ass right now! ^

“I…don’t…need help,” Bardock grumbled into his Scouter. Suddenly a foot connected with his chin, and he flipped through the air and slammed into the ground, banging his head against a boulder. He cried out in pain as the woman stomped his stomach as hard as she could. He shot a Ki blast at her, and she stumbled backwards, giving Bardock enough time to scramble to his feet.

“Shit…” Bardock laughed, placing a hand on the boulder to support himself before powering up as much as possible.

^ Whoa! Is that Bardock? ^

^ Tora, go help him! I can take your place since I’ve finished up! ^

“I…don’t…need…HELP!” Bardock screamed, energy bursting from him. The woman he was facing looked mildly surprised, and Bardock lunged, his instincts taking over again as he began an onslaught of punches. Most of them were blocked, but he connected with her shoulder then grabbed her arm, kicking her in the side as hard as he could. She kicked him in the side of the face, causing him to slam into the ground. Sprawled across the ground, Bardock closed his eyes as blood dripped from his mouth, groaning.

“Bardock!”

He opened his eyes before having his face stomped in by the woman, who charged up a Ki blast as she took her foot off. Bardock rolled out of the way in time, but had his left cheek cut jaggedly by it.

“Bardock!” Tora yelled, before tackling the woman. He wrestled with her before kicking her in the stomach and, with a highly charged beam, shot her through the left side of her chest, killing her. He turned to Bardock and knelt beside the beaten and broken Saiyan, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him up. Bardock nearly collapsed again, but Tora placed the other Saiyan’s arm around his shoulders.

“Didn’t you say that anyone who got a scratch was a weakling?” Tora asked, only to receive no answer. He looked at Bardock before grunting. “I knew he’d mess this mission up.” He grabbed Bardock’s broken Scouter and tossed it to the side, blasting it before looking down at his comrade. He could’ve swore that Bardock looked up at him, but shook it off.  That cut on his cheek would be one nasty scar.

Holding Bardock carefully, Tora jumped into the air and was flying through the air in no time, though he was forced to go slower when suddenly the other Saiyan yelled in pain. Halfway to the pods, Fasha intercepted them, looking at Bardock in shock. Shugesh and Borgos arrived soon afterwards.

“He got the worst of it,” Tora grunted. “Strongest fighter on this planet had a power level of nearly three and a half thousand.”

“…Three and a half? Damn, that’s stronger than any of us,” Fasha said. Shugesh chuckled, sneering as he looked at Bardock.

“Damned bastard deserved it for acting so tough.”

“You didn’t see how high his power level went,” Tora said, glaring at Shugesh. “I don’t care if Bardock is a jackass; he’s our leader.”

“His power level was impressive for a low-class Saiyan,” Fasha said. “Something tells me that we’re gonna be stuck with him…”

“Let’s get him back before he dies,” Tora grumbled. “I’d rather not be anymore bloody than I already am. Since our dear leader is out of commission, I’m taking charge. We’re abandoning this mission. We were no where near finished.”

“You’re telling me. I couldn’t keep up with those damn cat-people,” Shugesh said, landing beside his pod. “Damn people were like cockroaches scuttling around.”

Tora landed infront of Bardock’s pod and was about to place the Saiyan inside when he was shoved to the side. Bardock fell to the ground before puling himself into his pod and sitting down, leaning backwards as he glanced at Tora, who looked at him, surprised.

“Heh, sorry…for being…an ass…”

“…Bardock?” Tora said. Suddenly the other Saiyan closed his eyes and his head lolled to the side, and Tora quickly stood and rushed over to Bardock’s pod, setting the coordinates. He paused as he began to walk towards his pod. By then, Shugesh and Borgos had already departed, and Fasha’s pod was about to leave when she noticed Tora turn away from his pod.

“What are you doing?” She asked through her scouter.

“Finishing the mission. There’s only the settlements that Shugesh and Bardock went to that are left,” Tora answered.

“But Tora, you could--”

“Fasha,” Tora said, looking up as her pod began to hiss, indicating lift off, “make sure he gets home safe.” He reached up and shut off his scouter as Fasha pounded the inside of her pod. Hers and Bardock’s lifted off, leaving Tora behind.

“TORA!!!” Fasha screamed, pounding her pod one last time. She her a soft laugh through her Scouter that sounded like Bardock.

“And…he…called me…a jackass…”

-----

“Did he finish the mission? I mean, sounds like he hated you, then he risked his life to save you…”

“…Will you stop interrupting? If you just listen, then you’ll find out, won’t you?”

“Sorry, I’m just curious! That’s all!”

“How in the hell did I…Nevermind.”

----------

Bardock coughed, bubbles floating upwards before he thrashed, his head jerking upwards and his breathing mask falling off. A female doctor rushed in and gasped before running over to the control panel, draining it so that the Saiyan warrior wouldn’t drown. He gagged before collapsing to the bottom of the healing chamber, weakly looking up. It opened just as Fasha ran in, and as she saw Bardock conscious, let out a sigh of relief before storming up to him. He curled up in a ball, coughing in pain.

“Here’s a towel,” the doctor said, handing it to Fasha, who tossed it on Bardock’s bare behind. He shivered before sitting up and wrapping the towel around his waist, and then stood, stepping out of the chamber with help from Fasha. As soon as he was steady on his feet, she slapped him, glaring angerily at him.

“Because of your stupidity, Tora stayed behind!”

“He WHAT?!” Bardock snapped, before grabbing his clothes. He changed as the doctor walked out and Fasha turned away, and once he had on his armor, Fasha looked back at him. He ran out of the room, Fasha hot on his trail.

“How long ago?”

“What do you think? A day and a half ago,” Fasha said. “He hasn’t reported back either.”

“Shit.”

Bardock ran to where the pods were managed and grabbed one of the worker’s by their armor, holding up the defenseless alien.

“WHERE IS TORA?”

“H-he’s coming back! He’s nearly here!”

“When does he land?” Bardock demanded, raising a fist.

“In a few minutes!” The alien said. Bardock dropped him and stormed off to the landing. Almost as soon as he reached it a pod landed, and the hatch opened, and Tora groggily stepped out, rubbing his arm. Fasha grinned upon seeing Tora, who spotted Fasha and Bardock. The latter of the two groaned in pain and nearly fell, clutching his stomach in pain.

“Damn….stupid…healing…doesn’t…work!”

Tora rushed over to Bardock and kneeled infront of him, raising an eyebrow in concern before having a fist connect to his face. He slid across the ground and then sat up, rubbing his right cheek as Bardock growled. He stood, storming up to Tora.

“You stupid dumbass! You don’t do a mission on your own, you do it with your damn team!”

Tora pushed himself to his feet and looked at Bardock calmly before snorting.

“Since when do you give a crap about your team?!” Tora said. Bardock grabbed him by his broken armor and glared at him, snarling.

“Since you didn’t listen to me back on Sauze and saved my ass,” Bardock said, shoving Tora before turning sharply and stomping out of the room. He turned in a deep breath to calm himself and then proceeded to go back to his home when a sharp pain ran through his stomach again. He leaned against the wall, grabbing his stomach before nearly jumping out of his skin when someone touched his shoulder.

“Congrats on being an ass,” Tora said, patting his shoulder. Bardock snorted and looked at Tora before shaking his head. He offered the other Saiyan his hand.

“Thanks.”

“No problem,” Tora said, grabbing Bardock’s hand.

-----

“I guess you were pretty tight after he saved you.”

“Meh, you could say that. We argued a lot though. We constantly had to be separated.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. There was one time when Tora got pissed at me….”

----------

“Go to hell, you damned bastard!” Tora snapped, punching Bardock in the face.

The latter of the two stumbled backwards and slammed into the wall, only to be punched again by the enraged Tora. He continued to beat Bardock, who made no movement to fight back. Borgos grabbed Tora to try and stop the shorter Saiyan, only to be punched in the nose. Borgos stepped away from Tora, grabbing his bleeding nose.

Tora went back to punching Bardock, who grunted, but held steady against the onslaught.

“Tora, quit, dumbass!” Fasha yelled, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him backwards. He struggled against her hold before kicking Bardock in the stomach hard enough to cause the victim of the beating to cough.

“Heh…I can…take whatever…you can dish out.”

“Shut the hell up!” Tora screamed, freeing his arm from Fasha’s grip and punching Bardock in the stomach so hard that he coughed up blood. Bardock slid to the floor, breathing heavily as he laughed, holding his stomach.

“You’re drunk!” Fasha shouted, pulling Tora backwards.

“I don’t care!” Tora yelled. “He insulted me!”

“Borgos, get Bardock to the medical wing!” Fasha ordered, shoving Tora down roughly into a seat. Borgos nodded and hefted Bardock to his feet, helping the injured Saiyan to walk out of the bar.

Half an hour later, Bardock lay in his bed, bandaged up and half-asleep. Tora stepped into the room and leaned against the doorway. Bardock sleepily looked up, but apparently thought he was dreaming, as a confused look crossed his face. His head gently hit the pillow as he fell to sleep, and  Tora left silently.

-----

“He came to check up on you?”

“Yeah…He sobered up slightly, from what Fasha told me, and realized what he had done. Apparently he wasn’t all that sorry, but he did feel guilty.”

“That was nice of him though. I mean, checking up on you.”

“…I suppose it was.”

----------

Bardock sat down in the space pod and took off his Scouter, leaning back in the seat as he breathed heavily, wiping the blood from his hands off on his pants.

Tora’s blood.

Shit.

^ Bardock, is Tora back in his pod? ^

“Yeah, but he’s not holding up well,” Bardock answered, placing his Scouter back on. “That wound on the right side of his chest is bleeding badly.”

^ Put his destination for Planet Vegeta, please, and come back. I need your help. Borgos and Shugesh are tied up. ^

“I’m just resting for a moment. I’ll be there soon,” Bardock said. He climbed out of his pod and walked over to Tora’s, looking down at him as he laughed at the irony.

“You’re in the same situation as I was,” he muttered, before inputting the commands. He patted Tora on his left shoulder and then stood, turning away from his friend as the pod hatch closed, the pod shooting off. Bardock blasted through the air before spotting Fasha. He sailed downwards and kicked the enemy in the face. These creatures were raptor-like humanoids, and highly annoying.

With a Ki blast, half of Fasha’s opponents were decimated.

“Quit showing off, boss,” Fasha said, before punching another enemy in the face. She jumped into the air along with Bardock, and the two of them blasted the town, destroying everyone in it. From the readings on Bardock’s Scouter, he could tell that Borgos and Shugesh had finished as well.

The foursome met at their pods, disheartened that yet again a member of their team had gotten hurt.

“Boss,” Borgos grunted, talking for once, “Tora will be fine.”

“I know. I can’t help but feel like I’m to blame though,” Bardock said, sighing as he sat down inside his pod. It didn’t take long for them to be heading towards home.

-----

“So, he saved your life once, and you returned the favor, right?”

“Actually, I had saved him quite a few times…Along with the others as well.”

“Wow, you sounded like a great leader.”

“Ha. I had been. Then I was stupid and let them go to Planet Meat alone and they got killed by Dodoria’s men.”

“Huh? They did?”

“Let’s ignore that for now.”

-----

“Shit shit shit!” Bardock cursed, punching the wall before storming out. Fasha looked towards where Tora floated in the rejuvenation tank before running after Bardock.

She caught up with him by the time he was outside, and he punched a boulder with such strength that it instantly shattered. His anger was obvious. Tora’s wound was persistent and wouldn’t heal, much to the dismay of the team, but Bardock was the one who took it the hardest. It was difficult to tell what was going through his head most of the time, but Fasha knew that he blamed himself. Those stupid aliens had stabbed Tora through the chest from behind.

Bardock grabbed his bleeding hand and rubbed his thumb over his knuckles, smearing the crimson liquid. Fasha walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking away as he glanced at her.

“Why won’t it heal?”

“They…said it was because of poison,” Fasha answered, folding her arms as she looked up at the noon sky. “They’re treating it the best they can. There’s not much they can do…”

“Shut your damn mouth,” Bardock snapped. “I don’t care what it takes, even if I have to drag Tora back from hell itself, he’s going to live.”

“Bardock…Well, there’s no way we can help lounging around out here. Come back inside later when you feel like it,” Fasha said, walking off. After a few minutes, Bardock took a deep breath and walked back inside to confront his injured friend.

When he entered, the others were already gone, and he was the only one. Fasha reentered after him and watched as he looked away from his friend, growling in anger.

“They said that he’ll be better in a few days,” Fasha said.

“And?”

“…If he…makes it through the night.”

Bardock snorted and left.

-----

“Wow, you seemed pretty worried about him.”

“I was. I had been fighting alongside him and didn’t even see the enemy until he was stabbed.”

“…Well, I’ve had friends killed because of something similar.”

“…I’m not sure that it’s the same thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s…hard to explain. I guess it’s more or less something that happens when you’re friends with other Saiyans. I was with them for over a decade. We…were best friends, in truth. I never admitted it openly to them, but I don’t know what I would have done without them…”

“That reminds me a lot of my friends. I’ve been in heaps of trouble before and they’ve been the ones to help me. Most of the time, without them, I wouldn‘t have been able to defeat all the enemies.”

“…Hahaha.”

“…Did I miss the joke or something…?”

“Don’t mind me, I’m just thinking back to the past again.”

“…Um, okay?”

“Excuse me, are you two about finished? It’s the afternoon already…,” Dende said, poking his head into the room where Bardock and Goku sat at a table, munching on snacks.

“Wow, it’s been that long already?” Goku asked, laughing as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Sorry for wasting your time,” Bardock said, standing as he pushed his chair out with the back of his leg. Goku quickly jumped to his feet, dashing infront of Bardock.

“Don’t be so gloomy! Anyways, how about you come home and stay with me and Chi-Chi? I’m sure the kids will be happy to finally meet my dad!”

“…Are you sure  your wife wouldn’t mind it?” Bardock asked, grunting. Goku grinned, shrugging.

“I do this kind of stuff all the time. She won’t mind!”

“…Fine,” Bardock grumbled under his breath, before grunting as Goku wrapped his arms around his father, squeezing nearly as tightly as he could. Bardock’s eye twitched as he placed his hands on his son’s shoulders and roughly pushed him off.

“Sorry! Let’s get going!” Goku said, hopping from one foot to the other. Bardock stood still for a moment before shaking his head at how excited his son was. “Okay! Put your hand on my shoulder!”

Bardock did so, and Goku put his fingers to his forehead. The two disappeared, leaving Dende to clean up the dishes.

“How do Saiyans eat and talk so long?”

-----

Goku and Bardock suddenly arrived infront of their house as Gohan was stepping out, scaring the Halfling as causing him to fall backwards, landing inside the house. Goku noticed this and hurriedly helped his son up, laughing sheepishly. Gohan grumbled something under his breath before noticing Bardock and bowing his head to the Saiyan.

“Quit that.”

“Ah, that’s just the way Gohan is,” Goku said, patting his son on the head, earning an annoyed look. “He’s a really good kid, and a really good fighter! I’m proud of him!”

“Dad, don’t pat me like a dog,” Gohan said, swatting away Goku’s hand before looking down at his watch. “Oh no! I’ll be late for my date with Videl! I’m sorry father, grandfather, but I need to get going!” With that he rushed past the two and was flying through the air in no time.

“Hehe, always in a rush,” Goku said, before motioning with his head for Bardock to walk inside the house. Bardock folded his arms and walked inside, glancing around before leaning against the wall as Goku entered.

“Chi-Chi, I’m home, and I brought a guest!”

“What?! Goku, we don’t have enough food for a guest at dinner!”

“Aw, but Chi-Chi, he’s a really special guest!” Goku said, frowning heavily. Chi-Chi appeared in the doorway to the living room before spotting Bardock, and then began to stutter, stepping backwards in shock.

“Who is that, Goku?!”

“…Glad to see I still cause surprise in people,” Bardock said, chuckling at Chi-Chi’s reaction. Goku placed a hand on Bardock’s shoulder and grinned widely.

“This is my dad, and he’ll be staying with us!”

“Wha…?” Chi-Chi said, before falling backwards. Goku’s eyes widened, and he rushed up to Chi-Chi, holding her head up. She blinked before glaring at Goku. “So, you think it’s a good idea to bring another Saiyan into the house?!”

“…But Chi-Chi, my dad needs a place to stay!”

“Can’t he stay at Capsule Corp.?!”

“I don’t think he and Vegeta would get along very well!”

“So? They have more money!”

“But Chi-Chi!!!”

Bardock sighed, stood up, and walked out of the door. “I won’t stay if you don’t want me to, daughter-in-law,” he said, raising his hand slightly.

“Oh--uh,” Chi-Chi stuttered, standing up with the help of Goku. “I didn’t think--I thought that…you’d act a lot more like your son…”

“You thought wrong,” Bardock responded, pausing as he glanced back at Chi-Chi, who cleared her throat.

“Well, since you’re such a gentleman, it’d be a pleasure to have you here,” she said, placing her hands on her hips. Bardock folded his arms and snorted, walking back in.

“Yes! I can’t wait to tell the others!”