Living in the Past

Weeks had gone by without a sign of Mirai. Vegeta and Goku couldn’t lock onto his chi within a few thousand miles. And as much as Vegeta hated to admit it, he was starting to become concerned about the welfare of his adopted son. Goku was having his own mental battle. Convinced that he wasn’t strong enough to help his friend, Goku trained everyday and kept his mind searching for the lavender traveler.

***

Sitting in a tub of warm water, Mirai counted the ceiling tiles again and again.

“You really should get that checked out.” 17 said from the toilet. “I mean, how long do you plan to sit there?”

Mirai refused to speak to the apparition disturbing his peace. Well not so much peace as it was ‘down time.’ It wasn’t the first time some person from his past would manifest itself and bother what would otherwise be a happy little home.

“I think he’s ignoring you 17.” 18 deducted moving to the bath and proceeded to place herself over Mirai’s naked body. “This is how you get his attention.” She grinned inches from Trunks’ face.

Mirai sat up and made his way for the door leaving the two androids in his wake. It was one thing to see things that aren’t there, it is something else entirely to humor them and talk back.

He couldn’t help but jump back when Majin Boo’s laughing face jumped out of the closet and disappeared as it passed through his fragile body. “Damn it.” Trunks cursed grabbing whatever he could find and donning it on.

“Someone’s going crazy…” Vegeta sung from the bed.

“Shut Up!” Mirai snapped.

“Ouch,” Vegeta mocked, “that hurts you know.”

“Oh, I see” 17 interrupted. “He’ll talk to you but not to us. How rude.”

Trunks mentally berated himself as he retreated towards his favorite couch. ‘Don’t acknowledge them. Ignore them and they will go away.’

“You know we won’t.” Goku explained in a caring voice.

Of all the weird people that decided to pop out of Mirai’s head, Goku seemed to be the only one who didn’t tear into him.

Mirai shook his head trying to clear the voices. Today was a particularly bad day. Anyone and everyone was milling around the little capsule home and causing him grief. Except for Goku. With a shaky hand, Mirai fished through his bag of wonders searching for his release. Anything to keep the ghosts at bay.

So 5 pills and a half a bottle of Jack later and their bodies began to disappear, the voices drifted off into space, and Trunks was left in silence again.

***

Vegeta walked away from the gravity chamber scowling. It was hard enough to fight in the high gravity, especially when your mind refuses to focus. ‘I’m going to get nothing done this way.’ Vegeta thought. Just as he reached the door a familiar chi touched his mind. “Mirai?” He said looking over to the origin. It had been months now since any sign of the time traveler was discernable and there, out of the blue was his chi. If only for a moment, but still enough to figure out where he was.

Vegeta dropped his towel and took to the sky. The Sayjins’ mind was filled with questions, ideas, and thoughts of what to say to the time traveler. ‘Obviously I am going to rip him a new one,’ Vegeta mused reaching his destination. Trunks hadn’t gone far but it was a very good hiding place. A little capsule home between the trees in a heavily wooded area is the perfect place to disappear.

Vegeta stormed to the door trying in vane to calm himself before the storm hit. But it seemed there was already an argument going on. Mirai was yelling at someone and boy was he pissed. Vegeta opened the door to find the worst sight he’d seen in years.

Garbage littered the floor with clothes strew about creating quite the interesting smell. Any flat surface above the ground had ashtrays, empty bottles, half eaten food, and many other odd discarded items of little value. But it was the youth that made Vegeta’s heart sink. Mirai was screaming at the top of his lungs at no one. Waving his arms as if to attack an invisible the prince noticed many crisscrosses from wrist to elbow where the black sweat shirt sleeves were pulled up to. His hair was dirty and hung heavily off his head. It was when Mirai chocked and coughed from over exerting his vocal chords did Vegeta have the opportunity to interject on the one sided conversation.

Taking a step forward onto an empty chip bag, Vegeta watched as his son’s head snapped around to face him. Anger bled to fear in the youth’s face as he stared into the coal eyes of his father. Not a figment of his imagination. Vegeta cleared his throat to speak as he took another step only to find Trunks cower back. A half a second later Mirai bolted for the bedroom door and out of Vegeta’s sight.

Vegeta moved in quick order making sure that the kid wasn’t getting away again. Entering the room, he found his son trembling in the corner between the bed and the wall muttering something indiscernible to himself. Vegeta knelt down and waited. Trunks wasn’t going anywhere and he would wait till the boy was calm enough to have a civil conversation before the ever looming questions were asked. Till then, Vegeta sat and watched quietly as Mirai tried to hide his face in his arms and spoke a little quieter to no one in particular.

***

Bulma sat on the hospital bed next to her son gently stroking the hair away from his face. When Vegeta had brought the unconscious youth back a few hours ago in his arms, Bulma feared for the worst. Perhaps the worst would have been better than this. The doctors had decided that keeping Mirai restrained would be best considering his situation. Mirai would soon go through withdrawals and medication was the only way to keep him alive. His body was almost completely dependant on a various amount of substances and with his weaken state, unconscious would be best for recovery.

Bulma watched helplessly as his body shook and the monitors began to beep incessantly. Nurses and doctors surrounded Mirai as more drugs were pushed into the IV. Soon the beeping stopped and Mirai rested again. It wasn’t until a week and a half later did Mirai finally open his eyes.

“Doctors say it was your Sayjin blood that kept your ass alive.” Vegeta stated plainly to the tired looking warrior. “Your mother was here earlier but there was a crisis at Capsule Corp so she asked me to stay with you.” He finished getting up from the chair in the corner.

Mirai tried to turn himself away from his fathers face but found that his body was held in place. Panic began to take over as he struggled to find the chi enough to break the bonds.

“Calm yourself Boy.” Vegeta snapped placing a hand on Mirai’s chest to hold him still.

Trunks forced his breathing to slow but still refused to look at his father. ‘He hates you’ an eerie voice spoke in the back of his mind. “Gomen…” Trunks whispered.

Vegeta removed his hand from Mirai’s chest to his face gently turning it forcing Trunks to look at him. He was really starting to hate the fearful looks Mirai was giving him.

“Don’t be sorry,” Vegeta started. This was the one time he would allow himself to show such compassion for anyone. “You’ve done nothing wrong and we just want you to get better.”

Mirai looked distrusting at first. Was he dead? His father was never this nice in either time. ‘I must have completely lost my mind. I knew it would happen.’ Mirai thought but Vegeta was there. He could sense him. And he was awake; the pain in his chest was proof enough of that.

“Oh don’t worry boy,” Vegeta smirked. “You will be washing dishes and mowing the lawn for months when your mother gets to you. And boy are you Grounded.” He finished with a full smile now.

Mirai couldn’t help but to smile at the last comment. “I haven’t been grounded in years, Otousan.”

“Well it’s about freekin time you were.” Vegeta jokingly scolded. “Stealing and running away; and where the hell did you learn your housekeeping skills? That place smelled like ass!” Vegeta could only smile as he saw the young man under him laugh for the first time since he’d gotten back.

***

It had been a month since Mirai was discharged from Orange City Hospital and Bulma had kept to her word. The time traveler was royally grounded. Forced to help with all her inventions, meals, clothes, cleaning the house, and occasionally sparring with Vegeta and Goku was the normal day for the Demi Sayjin. That way someone was always around Mirai to keep him in good spirits and it was working.

Mirai, Goten, and Trunks would get into all sorts of mischief around the house and bug the crap out of Vegeta. Food was no longer a problem. And thanks to a certain 3rd class Sayjin that felt a time without Mirai wasn’t worth staying in, Mirai had a Goku all to himself.

‘That was an interesting day.’ Mirai mused rocking slightly on the porch seat next to Future Goku. ‘Goku had used the dragon balls to wish himself to this time to be with me.’

“Remember Vegeta’s face when I appeared out of nowhere and kissed you?” Goku interrupted.

The picture of a dumbfounded Vegeta crossed Mirai’s mind and he let out a hearty laugh. “Keep out of my head, Goku.” Trunks grinned.

“But I like your head.” He teased with a kiss.

“Really?” Mirai smiled against his lips.

“As well as other things.” Goku stated sliding his hand under Trunks’ blue shirt.

“OH MY GOD! Will you two lock the fucking door or something?!” Vegeta boomed embarrassed to have walked in on the two. Again. Mirai’s red face and Goku’s Cheshire cat smile made the whole scene complete. “Food’s done.” Vegeta grumbled walking out the door wanting to stab his eyes out at the current moment.

“Time to eat.” Goku said starting to get up only to be pulled back down into Mirai’s embrace.

“There will be leftovers later.” He protested as he began to remove the belt of Goku’s Gi.

Not needing any more of a hint; Goku picked Mirai up, slung him over his shoulder, brought him inside and plopped him down on the bed.

“Will you go get those two slackers Vegeta?” Bulma said sitting down to eat. “Their food is getting cold.”

“Mgdsff,” Was Vegeta’s answer as he stormed upstairs.

Bulma was sipping at her tea when a loud boom followed by Mirai’s shriek filled the house. Standing to make sure her anal husband hadn’t killed the time travelers she hit the floor laughing when she saw the three come down the hall.

The power of deduction plus a little imagination put the scene that just took place upstairs together. By Goku’s grin, he was getting some. By Mirai’s blush, he was less than dressed. And by Vegeta’s bewildered and angry face, he saw the whole thing.

“Perhaps you should knock next time dear.” Bulma laughed sitting back down to start eating. ‘What a strange family I have.’ Was her only thought through dinner.

***

Goku: ::Grins::
Mirai: Oh for fucks sake.
Vegeta: You need to die Blue
Bulma: ::Giggles::
Blue Ki: That’s all folks