Universe 21

Baby Sister

     Several months later...

     Two boys sat in the lobby of the hospital, playing Rock-Paper-Scissors.

     "Rock—paper—scissors, shoot!"

     "No fair! That's the fifth time in a row!" An eight-year-old Goten protested, dropping his hands in defeat. Trunks smirked and folded his arms. "You just have bad luck," he replied smugly.
     Just then, Trunks' mother came around. She paced somewhat, watching the clock on the opposite wall. "How's Mom, Ms. Bulma? Is she okay?" Goten looked up at the bluenette. "She's fine Goten," said another voice. Gohan came by, Videl behind him. "Just another hour," he assured his little brother. "This is taking sooo long," Trunks complained, "can't we go to the park or something Mom?" He pinched his lips together impatiently. "We must stay to support your father and Chi-Chi, Trunks," Videl spoke up in an assuring voice. "The hour will pass by fast, Trunks. Just be patient," agreed the boy's mother.
      "And don't you wanna see our baby sister or brother?" Goten inquired. "Yeah, duh... it's just taking longer than I thought," Trunks admitted with guilty eyes.
Over the next hour, the boys entertained themselves with jokes and more Rock-Paper-Scissors. Vegito had to leave the room and also had to wait in the lobby.
     The boys were in the middle of a game when a nurse came out of the room. Both of them looked up as their father and brother walked over. "So?" Vegito spoke up, impatiently.
     The nurse smiled brightly. "Congratulations! You have a beautiful baby girl. She has beautiful dark chocolate hair and brown eyes like her father!"
"A sister? I've always wanted a baby sister!" Goten bounced to his feet. "So she looks like Dad... thought she'd have black hair like Mom does," Gohan muttered curiously. "When can we see her?" Trunks spoke up.
"It's not too long now, sweetheart. But her father can come." The nurse gestured for Vegito to follow. "Follow me."
     Vegito did so, entering the delivery room. He found Chi-Chi holding and speaking softly to his newborn daughter. He could hear the baby cooing away, wrapped up like a little burrito. "Oh, Vegito!" Chi-Chi looked up, a smile on her face. It was a tired smile, clearly from the stress of delivering. "Do you want to hold her?" She asked. "I... yeah, why not." He walked over to her side.
     His daughter cooed away as his wife gently passed her into his arms. She stared at her father with curious brown eyes, then broke into a smile and giggled at him. "She's... cute," Vegito said. He had never held any of his children... so he was at a loss for words. "She's beautiful, isn't she?" Chi-Chi remarked with a soft smile. She could almost read his thoughts.

     "It's your first time holding any of your children, isn't it, honey?"

     The fusion looked up, his flustering face telling her plenty. He dropped his eyes to his daughter, fussing over the blanket with one finger. "...I guess it is," he answered, his voice quieter than before.
     Chi-Chi giggled. The baby yawned at that moment, and closed her eyes. "Oh...!" The woman's countenance lifted, the scene warming her heart.
      "I guess you should take her now," Vegito said, offering the baby to his wife. But the raven shook her head. "You can hold her for a bit longer... she's already grown attached to you." Vegito looked back down at his sleeping child. A smile softened his usually serious face. He didn't want to let go, anyway.
     "Would you like to name her?" The raven went on. Vegito looked up at his wife, surprised. "I... I'm no good with names," he admitted, looking down at the baby. "I don't believe that. You gave Gohan his name, didn't you?" Chi-Chi asked, recalling the very memory years ago. The fusion tilted his head thoughtfully. "I suppose... but I just named him after Grandpa Gohan," he remembered.
Chi-Chi frowned. It was clear he was uncomfortable discussing the topic. And he had grown sure that his wife would come up with a better name. But after a minute or so, he spoke up and said:
"I want her name to mean something. Maybe... Nikko. No, perhaps... Hosha."
The baby giggled, attracting her parents' attention. "I think she likes it," Chi-Chi said, a warm smile melting her tired demeanor. Vegito poked his finger at her, and one of the baby's tiny hands rose from the blanket and took hold of it. The fusion's face broke into a smile.

Hosha. My Little Star.

•••

     After Chi-Chi was released from the hospital, a celebration was held at Capsule Corporation. Bulma had insisted on throwing the party. "It's the least I can do, Chi-Chi," the scientist told her friend, "Hosha is just the cutest thing... after Trunks when he was born, of course," she added with a teasing smile.
The former wife of Goku decided that one party wouldn't hurt. So a week later, the Son family flew over to Capsule Corporation's huge backyard. Food booths, tables, and chairs were set up; the yard itself was decorated with lights and colorful streamers. Krillin, 18, Tien, Chiaozu, Gohan, and Videl were already there, chatting amongst themselves when Chi-Chi arrived with Goten. The Goku look-alike met up with Trunks and Marron as his mother greeted the other adults and her oldest son.
"Glad you made it, Chi-Chi," Bulma greeted with a bright smile. "Hm? Where's Hosha?" She noticed the baby wasn't with her. "Don't tell me you lost her!" The bluenette added with rising panic. Chi-Chi giggled. "Of course not, Bulma. Her father wanted to bring her when he arrived," she assured her friend. "Huh." Bulma leaned back and set her hands on her hips, "Vegito's really clung to her—and she's barely a month old now... right?" The raven nodded. "Yes... I'm so happy he's bonding with Goten and our little girl," she said with relief in her voice.
"He'll surely tighten the bond when she's old enough to be trained," Bulma remarked with a laugh. "No. Oh no. He's not turning my little Hosha into a fighter!" Chi-Chi replied fiercely, arms crossed. The bluenette smiled. "If you say so," she agreed, though felt certain that Chi-Chi's stubborn plan would backfire—since it had failed for both of her sons.
"Hey, Mom." Chi-Chi looked over her shoulder as her eldest son approached them. "Do you know when Dad is arriving? He's bringing Hosha with him, right?" The woman nodded. "He'll be here. Or else I'm not cooking for him for a week," she said firmly, nose in the air. Gohan's face broke out with sweat. That's always how she beats Dad. With food.
     A shadow suddenly came descending from the sky. "Are we late?" spoke a familiar voice. Everyone looked up to see Vegito floating down, his daughter in his arms. The fusion touched down in front of them.
     "Right on time. Glad you made it." Bulma addressed him first. "Hey Dad," Gohan greeted next. "Hey everyone!" Vegito said, portraying the smile of Goku, "Hey Bulma, is the food out yet? I'm starving."
     Chi-Chi marched up to him and snatched up her baby. "Food's all you think about," she grumbled at the Saiyan. "Hosha's probably hungry, too."
     Gohan and Bulma snickered from behind. "Oh yeah, of course," her husband realized, forgetting about his daughter for a second. "I guess my stomach made me forget." Chi-Chi groaned. "Fine then, go eat. I'll be right back, everyone."
The party kicked off, with everyone talking and laughing. The kids ran around with a ball, shouting at one another. Vegito stuffed his face, which wasn't unusual. The others had grown used to Goku behaving similarly.
     A yell from the bathroom made the others turn to see Chi-Chi running toward them. "What's wrong Mom?" Gohan ran over to her. "It's Hosha—she's... she's flying!"

     "What?!"

"But she's barely a month old!"

Distant giggles were heard from afar. Everyone looked up—there she was. Baby Hosha floated by, straight into the arms of her oldest brother. "This is new... not even Goten or Trunks started flying at this age," Vegito spoke up, standing from where he'd been eating. Gohan glanced at his father, then back at his sister. She smiled wide, unaware of what was happening. It's probably from the fact she has both Dad's and Vegeta's genes, the scholar thought, though it was only a theory.
Vegito scooped up his daughter from Gohan, grinning wide and holding her up. "This is great! She won't struggle with learning how to fly!" Clearly, his Goku side showed dominance over Vegeta's logical side at that moment. Gohan sighed. He figured as much. Chi-Chi's shoulders sagged, and she groaned and held her forehead.

"Not another one..."