EPIC Side Story: Dragon Ball

Chapter 43: Concerns : Longing

Returning to the Godhand Pavilion with Broly riding his shoulders, Vahn was marginally surprised to sense that his room was empty. He had half-expected Bulma, Sarina, and potentially even Cheelai to convince Tights to sneak into his room.

It wasn't exactly a secret that the petite blonde had been pining for him during her stay. â??â??

Sensing that everyone except Cheelai was already asleep, Vahn decided he may as well spend the rest of the evening with Broly. His job had prevented him from spending as much time as he would have liked with the young Saiyan. Thus, after a hearty midnight snack, he replaced the sheets on his bed before laying the quicky growing youth to rest in the master bedroom…

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With the rest of the evening passing uneventfully, Vahn was the second to arrive in the kitchen after Cheelai. She was unable to sleep due to her concern for Broly, so, while she was normally one of the last to enter the dining room, Vahn found her nursing a cup of coffee with a listless look on her face and her legs tucked up atop her chair.

While Cheelai was a bit late to react, Baa, the furry green hoodie she was wearing, intoned a low, rumbling, "Baa…" the moment Vahn entered the dining room. This would have startled the past Cheelai, but, after spending upwards of eighteen hours a day wearing the amorphous creature to stay warm, she had gradually become accustomed to it.

"Hmm? Ah, Vahn. Good morning. Where's Broly…?"

Shaking his head, Vahn answered, "We played around a bit too much last night so he's still asleep. He should be up within two-to-three hours."

Though she was tempted to go and check up on him, Cheelai eventually decided against it. Instead, a faint smile developed across her face as she asked, "So? How was it? He might not talk about his feelings but I know Broly was looking forward to seeing his father again."

Since it was currently the period before Sarina and Chi-Chi would begin their morning training, Vahn didn't have much to do at the present moment. If he hadn't sensed Cheelai sitting in the dining room, he would have continued lounging about for another fifteen, maybe even twenty minutes. He had specifically come out to speak with Cheelai, so, in response to her question, he manifested a plate of freshly baked cookies before explaining everything that had transpired the previous night.

After hanging on to each and every one of Vahn's words for the better part of ten minutes, a relieved sigh emanated from Cheelai's throat. She had been a little anxious when she first learned about Paragus's imposed amnesia. The notion that Vahn could simply erase someone's memories at his leisure wasn't exactly a comforting thought.

Fortunately, while it was apparently a very simple feat to perform, Vahn only used his Amnesiac Fist in very specific circumstances. He had also promised to never tweak or mess with her memories, so, while she couldn't help fearing Vahn's unfathomable power, Cheelai trusted that he would never do anything to harm her or Broly.

"Sounds like Broly might have a younger brother or sister in the near future…"

As Vahn had made it a point to mention the crush Paragus's caregiver had developed towards him, Cheelai could easily imagine things developing towards marriage and family planning. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but, thinking about how it might affect Broly to see his father happy with a family unrelated to him, a slight frown developed across the green-skinned beauty's face.

Sneaking a peek into the future, Vahn confirmed that Paragus's future wife would, in fact, give birth to two sons and a daughter. Unlike Cheelai, however, he wasn't even remotely concerned regarding Broly's response. The young Saiyan was remarkably mature for his age. More importantly, he had an unfettered, seemingly infinite capacity for kindness.

While others might react negatively to seeing the person who mistreated them living a serene and peaceful existence, Broly would undoubtedly be happy his father had finally found peace. Even now, he had never once resented Paragus for the years of abuse he had been forced to suffer. Instead, he was just happy to see the gruff, formerly tyrannical man moving forward.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you've witnessed it for yourself but Broly is an amazing kid. I would be more concerned about the sky falling than the possibility of Broly growing to resent his half-siblings just because they were living happily."

As she had never once seen Broly rampage, a radiant smile developed across Cheelai's face when she heard Vahn's words. She also couldn't imagine the young Saiyan hurting or resenting anyone, so, after a moment of deliberation, she nodded her head and said, "Yeah, I know what you mean. I honestly can't believe such a kind-hearted kid is actually a pure-blooded Saiyan. Even now, years after the destruction of Planet Vegeta, Saiyans are notorious as a warrior race that indiscriminately slaughters all who cross their path."

Though he was tempted to tell her about the inherently kind Saiyans of Universe 6, Vahn ultimately just nodded in response to Cheelai's words. It was a little too soon to start wantonly discussing the existence of other Universes. He also wasn't sure how Sarina would choose to deal with Nappa and Vegeta, so, for the time being, letting matters lay was for the best.

With that in mind, Vahn emptied the contents of his cup before setting it on the table and saying, "I need to go wake the girls. Can you take care of the dishes?"

As the person who had gone out of her way to ask for more responsibilities, Cheelai nodded her head before snatching Vahn's cup and placing it atop the now emptied tray of sweets. Instead of immediately darting off towards the kitchen, however, she said, "I'll be joining in on the morning training. I don't really have an interest in combat but I've seen the results it's had on Sarina's and Chi-Chi's bodies. I'll at least join you for some stretching."

"Sure thing. Just make sure to remove Baa before you start. Don't want you overheating like you did last time."

Rolling her amethyst purple eyes, Cheelai elected to ignore Vahn's comment as she made her way towards the kitchen. This wouldn't be the first time she had elected to participate in the morning training. In fact, even Bulma and Tights had participated on a handful of occasions, so, while she could appreciate Vahn's concern, a small part of her wanted to tell him off for looking down on her. Instead, she focused on cleaning the dishes. After all, while his words were ultimately unnecessary, it was also an undeniable truth that she had previously passed out after failing to heed his advice…

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Knocking on the door to Tights's room, Vahn was unsurprised when Chi-Chi, with a veritable nest of hair atop her head, promptly opened the door. She had made it a habit to always wake up precisely a half-hour before he usually departed his room. This was yet another habit she had picked up from one of her books, as, according to 'The Life and Struggles of the Ideal Housewife', the most capable wives woke up before and went to sleep after everyone else.

With little more than a transparent pink negligee covering her body, a beaming smile developed across Chi-Chi's face as she crossed her hands over her lap and offered a polite bow, saying, "Good morning, Master." in a respectful tone.

Taking advantage of the fact she had presented her head directly to him, Vahn smoothed out Chi-Chi's hair as he replied, "Good morning, Chi-Chi. Did you enjoy being able to spend time with the others…?"

Waiting until Vahn had retracted his hand, Chi-Chi straightened her back before adopting an even wider smile as she answered, "Of course. Sarina and Bulma taught me a lot about what it means to be an ideal wife and a perfect fiancee. I'm looking forward to being able to go on dates once I turn fourteen."

Though he felt fourteen was a little too early for her, Vahn just nodded his head in response to Chi-Chi's words. She sincerely believed that a couple's first time should be during their honeymoon, so, even if he took her out on a date, he didn't have to worry about her being too daring until she had graduated. Since he hadn't specified whether she needed to graduate from Senior High or College, he had at least four years before the surprisingly intelligent Princess turned aggressive…

"Right…for now, how about you run off to your room to get ready? We'll be running and stretching a lot this morning so make sure you wear something comfortable but not too revealing…"

Recalling the time when Chi-Chi had shown up wearing little more than transparent purple yoga shorts and a sports bra, Vahn made sure to remind her to wear something more modest. If it came down to it, he would rather she wear her original, bikini-themed armor than see her trying to show off her flexibility in skin-tight shorts that left nothing to the imagination.

Cupping her blushing cheeks, Chi-Chi averted her eyes as she replied, "How embarrassing…" before turning her eyes up at him in a bashful yet ostensibly tantalizing manner.

Shaking his head, Vahn ruffled Chi-Chi's hair, adding, "Run along now…" before following the petite Princess's departure with his eyes. He knew she would look back to see if he was watching, so, prior to entering Tights's room, Vahn waited for Chi-Chi to pause at her own before offering a smile and a relaxed wave…

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Having awoken as a result of Vahn's and Chi-Chi's interplay, Tights had a nervous expression on her face as she resisted the urge to activate her [REquip] System and change clothes.

After seeing how fearlessly Cheelai sported her Baa-formed onesie, Tights had been inspired to don koala-themed pajamas. She had always admired people who could confidently wear whatever they wanted, so, while Bulma snored loudly at her side, Tights looked towards the entrance of her room with a forced smile and a giant teddy bear obscuring her outfit.

*tok* *tok* *tok*

Swallowing hard, Tights replied with a meek, "It's open…" before tightly squeezing the astronaut-themed bear in her arms. In response, Vahn promptly entered the room, a relaxed smile on his face as he said, "Good morning." before following it up with a casual, "Did you sleep well…?"

Observing no obvious changes in Vahn's expression of behavior, Tights released the stranglehold she had on her stuffed bear before responding with an awkward, "Yeah…the beds here are really comfortable…"

Raising his brows, an amused smile developed across Vahn's face as he softly mused, "That's good to hear. If you'd like, I can prepare a duplicate for your room on Dr. Omori's island."

Understanding that Vahn's reaction was due to her behavior rather than her outfit, a relieved sigh escaped Tights's throat as she scooted out of her bed and said, "Thanks, but no thanks. If I had a bed this comfortable back on the island, I would never get any work done. This thing is basically a trap with how comfortable it is."

Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn proferred a cup of tea before saying, "Cheelai said she is going to join in on the morning exercises. Do you want to join…?"

Accepting the cup of tea with a soft expression of gratitude, Tights emptied the entire glass before answering, "I may as well. Though I intend to start exercising once I return to the island, there's no guarantee I'll be able to keep it up. May as well get some gains in while I have a God watching over me…"

Returning the cup to Vahn's hands, Tights briefly met his gaze before promptly averting her dark, grey-blue eyes. The truth of the matter was that Sarina and Bulma had both attempted to goad her into night crawling, but, fearing Vahn would reject her, she ultimately decided against it. Now, even though Vahn was less than an arm's length away from her, she felt as though he was suddenly far beyond her reach…

Noticing the muted colors spreading through Tights's aura, a wry smile developed across Vahn's face before immediately being replaced by a far more tenderhearted expression. He didn't know exactly what she was thinking, but, having accumulated a tremendous amount of experience with an ever-growing number of women, it wasn't difficult to grasp the basics. Thus, even though there had been no major developments in their relationship, he didn't hesitate to guide her eyes back to him, his hand gently caressing her cheek as he said, "I will always be watching over you…whenever you feel sad or lonely, you need only call my name and I'll come running…"

Blushing redder than a tomato, Tights's first instinct was to break away from Vahn's hand and bury her face into her veritable mountain of pillows. Instead, she stared directly into his breathtakingly beautiful green eyes, a thin layer of moisture developing across her own as she muttered, "Vahn…"

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(A/N: And then they f**ked ( ͡° Í?Ê? ͡°)…)