Crossroads

Chapter 24

Vegeta had tried to contact Dr. Buro, his father, and his brother over the course of the morning, but he was unable to get through on either his scouter or his phone. He could understand why his father might not answer, he is fairly angry with him right now and unusually busy, but Tarble and Geredi? That didn't make any sense.

His mind went back to what Kakarot had said yesterday about trying to contact Raditz, and he couldn't help but wonder why this would be happening. Surely his equipment wasn't faulty. If Kakarot hadn't mentioned anything then he might have believed that it could have been damaged through his travels, but there was no reason for both of their communications to be down, unless something else was going on.

He really wanted to discuss it with Kakarot, to see if maybe he had heard back from Raditz by chance, but seeing him alone was completely out of the question, and he didn't want to draw the unwanted attention of anyone else by asking about him. Besides, he was already off the premises from what the rest of the guard had mentioned, and there was no way of searching him out without it looking suspicious. Or at least, that's how he felt about it. What the guards thought or knew he couldn't say, but it wasn't worth the risk.

He pulled out his phone more than once with the intention of texting the other man, but his pride wouldn't let him do it.

Eventually he asked the four men he'd brought with him if they were having the same issues, and he asked Bulma's guard to try and contact someone from Planet Vegeta as well. No such luck on any account. His irritation grew exponentially, but he had to cast any doubts aside and focus on the purpose of his trip, which was to see Bulma and his son. He didn't bring it up to her for the time being, and instead they discussed many other things that seemed more important to her. He supposed that they were important, after all, and let himself be distracted by her for a little while.

Upon getting some alone time together with his wife the next day, however, nothing had changed and Vegeta's agitation was clear enough to Bulma for her to outright ask him what was wrong. She'd been watching him pacing as he held their son, and she was sure that if Trunks weren't asleep at the moment, he'd probably be affected by his father's foul mood. She certainly was.

"Vegeta, you're gonna put a hole in the floor if you keep on like that. What's wrong?" She asked, looking up from her computer.

"Hn," he grunted, and stopped in his tracks for a moment, turning to face her, as he lied, "Nothing."

She sighed, clearly annoyed, but then said, "Are you sure? Because it looks to me like you're about ready to destroy something. Why don't you go train in the Gravity Machine for a little while? My gosh. And try to calm down before you come back to see the baby. I don't need him getting fussy when he wakes up."

Vegeta grunted in reply but took her at her offer, setting the baby down in his crib, gratifyingly, before going to exit the room.

Before he could leave, though, Bulma added, "Why don't you invite Goku to join you? Unless he's already gone off to Chi Chi's for the day."

Vegeta snipped, "And why should I invite him to join me?" curious at her insistence on the two of them "catching up" and wondering at just how much time he spends away from his duties to the Royal House. An afterthought made him question if he'd left to avoid him, but he tossed that thought aside.

She shrugged as she typed away, "I heard the two of you were close, from the way the women talk about your relationship with him. Aren't you? I mean, it seems like you two have a lot in common, anyways, and I thought you'd want a little more time together than the thirty minutes you spent alone yesterday. I know you were probably rushing that reunion because of me, but you don't seem to have a close relationship with anyone else here and I'm just trying to make sure you have a good time while you are here. This is your home, too, you know, and I can't entertain you the wholetime, every time you come to visit. Besides, if I had known you were coming, I would have been able to clear my schedule, but I didn't, and as much as I love the surprise visit, I have a lot of work to do."