Chapter 6


When Bulma awoke the next morning, it felt so much like every other morning that at first, she didn’t even remember what had happened last night. Yawning, she stretched and climbed out of bed, and it was then that she noticed that she was still wearing her gi and boots. Suddenly all the events of the previous night came flooding back to her, and she looked about frantically, trying to remember how she had come to be here. Why was she in her room? And what had happened to Vegita? She couldn’t remember anything beyond that last punch she landed on Vegita at the end. Dazed and very much confused, she went and took a shower in the bathroom down the hall before dressing in clean clothes and walking downstairs to the kitchen. Her stomach was growling heartily, and she decided she’d take care of some breakfast before going out to investigate.

“Good morning, Bulma dear!” Mrs. Briefs cried as Bulma walked into the kitchen. “You sure slept in late this morning!”

“Yeah,” Bulma said shrugging. “I guess I wore myself out training last night.”

“That’s what Vegita said too,” Mrs. Briefs agreed, putting some coffee on.

“Huh?” Bulma said, her head darting up. “What was that about Vegita? And when was this?”

Mrs. Briefs laughed. “I’m not surprised you don’t remember,” she chuckled. “You were out cold! Anyway, Vegita brought you in at a quarter to ten last night. He said you two had been sparring and that you had gone a little too far. It was really sweet, Bulma. He carried you all the way up to your room and put you right to bed! I really like that Vegita. He’s such a sweet boy. Don’t you think so?”

Bulma was shaking from her own astonishment. “Er… yeah. Sweet.” She mumbled, forcing herself to smile. “I’ll have to thank him later.” Oh, she’d thank him all right!

“Oh, I hope you do!” Mrs. Briefs giggled. “I wish a big strong man like that would come and carry ME up to bed!”

“MOM!” Bulma screeched, turning every shade of red and quickly rising from her chair.

Mrs. Briefs laughed. “Oh come on,” she giggled. “A girl can dream, can’t she? Your father would never be able to do that. He’s sore for a month every time I make him lift anything heavier than a chair!” Laughing, Mrs. Briefs left the room, leaving Bulma to herself and her thoughts. Suddenly she didn’t feel all that hungry anymore. She didn’t even want to begin to figure out why Vegita had done what he had. Sighing, she got up and went out the door. Maybe she should go for a walk to clear her mind.

As she walked past Yamucha’s Capsule house, she paused. Should she tell him what had happened last night? It wasn’t really as if Vegita had DONE anything to her, after all. But of course, Yamucha wouldn’t see it that way. He’d probably start talking about kicking Vegita out again, and even though Bulma was thoroughly upset with Vegita, not to mention disturbed by last night’s course of events, common sense told her that he really could have hurt her if he’d wanted, so maybe she should just let it go. Oh well. She sighed and shook her head as she moved on. Maybe a long, tiring workout would help her to vent her frustrations.

When she got to her gravity building it felt like déjà vu. Vegita had locked himself inside, once again without her permission! Bulma groaned loudly and gave the door a harsh kick. It looked like she’d lost her gravity room. But suddenly, her face brightened as an idea hit her. Why not build him one of his own? Then everyone would be happy, and he even might disappear entirely in his training! What a great idea! Bulma grinned. Of course, she’d have to ask him about his preferences, but after that, it would only be a matter of putting the thing together and getting him situated right away. It would probably take her a week to get the thing built, assuming her dad would help her, that is. But once she moved him in there, he’d be out of her hair for good!

Bulma skipped merrily back to the house for a nice big breakfast. Vegita ought to be in there all day, so she was certain she had plenty of time to waste before she proposed the idea to him. She loved being a genius!

Bulma spent most of the day drawing up the blueprints for Vegita’s gravity chamber. She figured he’d want a higher tolerance level, since he was going through the g’s so rapidly, so she configured it to withstand two hundred-fifty. That ought to be more than enough, but she knew better than to rely on common sense on this one. Knowing that egomaniac, he’d probably want more. She was going to have to ask him about it.

When the sun had gone down completely below the horizon, Bulma tucked her plans under her arm and trotted out to the gravity building. She was brimming with excitement and fervor. She had the perfect plan, and she was dying to set it in motion. All she needed was the go-ahead from the jerk, and she could take the idea to her father.

She flew up to the roof of her gravity building – after making sure Vegita was still in there – and she sat down to wait. Sure enough, in one of the late hours of the evening, Vegita emerged from the gravity machine. He was tired but he was alert. He could sense Bulma up there behind him, and he wasn’t entirely certain that she wasn’t going to try to attack him again. Although, truth be told, part of him hoped she would. He’d get a kick out of humiliating her a second time.

Instead of tackling him, though, Bulma hopped silently over and in front of him, her plans in tow. Clearing her throat, she began her proposal.

“I have a proposition for you, Vegita,” she said, grinning confidently at him. “One that I’m sure will leave us both satisfied. Now, you seem to have taken a liking to gravity training. Well, so have I. This is my machine, and I want you away from it. So instead of fighting with you about it, I’ve decided to build you one of your own. Interested?”

“Go on,” Vegita said, smirking and folding his arms. He had to admit, he liked the way this was going.

Bulma smiled triumphantly. “All I need to begin construction is for you to tell me how high you want the machine to go. I’ll need that information when I design the building itself, so I can be sure to make it strong enough to withstand the pressure. Mine only goes to one hundred, you know. Goku mastered that level in less than a week, and I figured you’d probably go beyond that not too far in the future, considering how rapidly you’re improving.”

Vegita nodded, scowling slightly. “I want three times as much,” he said coolly. “If Kakarrot could do one hundred in a week, then I can do three hundred in two.”

Bulma gaped at him in disbelief for a few moments, but then she laughed nervously. “Three hundred g’s in two weeks. Sure you could,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Okay then. I’ll design this thing for a maximum of three hundred-fifty, just in case, all right? But I’m not going to be held responsible if you get squished flat!” And with that, she flew off for the workshop to draw in the alterations she’d need. Vegita chuckled. Maybe this dust ball wasn’t such a bad place after all.

The next day, Bulma enlisted the help of her father in her quest to rid herself of Vegita. Of course, Dr. Briefs was rather short with her for asking him for a whole new gravity room, but then again, he was a multi-billionaire, and such a building was by no means beyond his capability. But he complained nonetheless.

“You’re being frivolous, dear!” He exclaimed when she proposed the idea to him. “Why should we build another one when the one you have works splendidly?”

“Because,” she said in exasperation, “I don’t want Vegita using mine anymore. He ties it up for the whole day, and he’s way to harsh on the equipment. Besides, he’s already reached seventy-five g’s, and he’s still going strong! He wants his to run at least up to three hundred, and I’m all for giving it to him. At the very least it’ll keep him out of trouble,” she said, frowning and crossing her arms. “If he has something to concentrate on, he’ll spend less time causing problems around here.”

Dr. Briefs shrugged. “Oh, all right,” he sighed angrily. “But you’d better be willing to share yours with Yamucha, because I’m not building him one. Two is more than enough for you hyperactive kids!”

Bulma giggled and hugged him around the neck. “Thanks Daddy,” she said, laughing as she saw him practically melt with fatherly love. “You’re the best!”

“And don’t you ever forget it!” He laughed back, tousling her hair. “Now show me those plans you’ve drawn up. This one’s going to be a little more difficult than the last one, I can guarantee it!”

Soon after, they had finished all the necessary modifications for the plans Bulma had drawn up, and within hours they were ready to begin construction. When Bulma informed Yamucha of her plan to occupy Vegita’s time, he was all for it, and even offered to help.

“Shoot yeah!” He exclaimed when she told him. “This is a great idea! He might even destroy himself in gravity like that!”

“Don’t be silly!” Bulma laughed. “I don’t want him dead, Yamucha. I just want him out of my gravity room and out of my life. That guy’s just gotten too creepy to handle.”

Yamucha sent her a quizzical look, but when she didn’t elaborate, he just shrugged and offered to help. So Bulma put him to work lifting and holding in place the large metal and cement panels they used to line the outer shell of the building, while she and her father riveted, welded, and cemented them in place. It was hard work that would have taken months and required the services of a whole slough of contractors – not to mention an army of cranes – but with Yamucha lifting, and Bulma helping him occasionally, they got it done in a small fraction of the time and at a miniscule fraction of the cost. They were a remarkable team, those three. Dr. Briefs had the brains, Yamucha had the muscle, and Bulma had her fair share of both. At any rate, they were done at the end of the week – only six days after construction had begun. It had everything Bulma’s gravity room had and much more of it. It was at least three times the size of hers, with a much stronger internal structure to contain the massive energy output of the gravity machine, not to mention Vegita’s explosive ki outbursts. And Bulma had even personally installed a “Bulma-proof” vid-cam terminal so she could yell at him should necessity ever call for it.

As soon as they were completely finished, Bulma ran straight out to her own gravity room, determined to get him settled right away. She’d already told him that morning that they’d be finished today, and that she was going to drop by to let him know when it was done. She grinned. She was going to kick him out of there once and for all!

“Vegita!” She hollered, pounding her fist on the window of the door when he didn’t see her right away. “Open up! Your new building’s complete!”

At first she didn’t think he’d heard her, because he made no move to stop his training exercises. Nor did he look up at her. But it only took a few seconds for her to notice the sly grin that was playing on his lips. He was pretending to ignore her!

“Vegita!” She screamed, her ki flaring fiercely. “Open this door right now, you ingrate! I went to all the trouble of building you that gravity room, and you’re damn well going to go use it!”

This time Vegita did pause, but only briefly. He hesitated between punches, shot her a taunting sneer, and then continued with his exercises. He was definitely not making any moves to leave her gravity building; that was for sure!

Bulma screamed again, but this time, it wasn’t really for the purpose of yelling at Vegita. It was more to vent off the incredible surge of fury that was building up inside her. Grumbling fiercely, she stomped off toward her house, her anger building with every step. Just who did he think he was, anyway? This was her house, and he had no business being so rude to her. She slammed the kitchen door behind her as she went in the house, and stomped up the stairs toward her room. Vegita was an asshole, plain and simple, and it was quite clear that the only reason he’d refused to come out of there was just so he could make her angry. Well it had worked. She was tired of his teasing her and acting like she was as harmless as a kitten. One of these days he was going to learn that she was a lot more dangerous than he made her out to be!

Bulma suddenly realized that she had made it up to her room and was already changing into her fighting gi. It was as if that was her main impulse at the moment – to fight. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She was being stupid. Taking Vegita on again wasn’t going to accomplish anything. He’d already proven that. But she did so want to make him pay for the way he had treated her just now! She felt so indignant and insulted. She sat down on the bed and thought for a moment. Maybe she should try to attack him by some alternate means. Direct combat had already proven ineffective. But if she could come up with a way of fighting him indirectly…

She stared wistfully out the window as she tried to come up with something. Suddenly, something her father had told her a long time ago popped into her head. It was from back when she was a little kid, just entering her first science fair at school, and she was trying to come up with a winning idea. She had begged her father for help, but he wasn’t giving her any clues. Win or lose, he’d wanted his daughter to do it on her own. “Use what you know, Bulma honey,” he’d said. Bulma could still remember the calm, cheerful way he’d said it. Although it hadn’t given her any specific ideas, it did eventually point her in the right direction. “Use what you know.” Hmmm…

Suddenly it came to her. Vegita was much more powerful than she was, that was true. But that was only in the physical sense. Mentally, she was his superior by a very large margin. And all she had to do was use her mind instead of her body to get at him. Of course! That was it! She just had to outsmart him! But still, this only got her part of the way. She still had to figure out just what it was she was going to DO to him. She wasn’t going to be able to just challenge him to a thinking contest. She had to think up a plan that was going to leave him defeated, both mentally and physically. She wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less.

Bulma began to pace back and forth alongside her bed as she thought hard about what she should do. She had to think of some way to outsmart him. And she wanted him to know he’d been defeated by her. She couldn’t just sneak something past him and let him chalk it up to bad luck. Oh no, she wanted him to KNOW who’d made him look like a fool. And that was another thing. She wanted to hit Vegita where it would hurt him the most. She wanted to humiliate him.

But what could she possibly do to humiliate him? He was indifferent to most things – looks, diet, manners. All he really cared about was beating Goku, and training hard all the time. Feh. That jerk. He had the machine on at eighty today. He was going through the g’s as if they were nothing at all. Going through the g’s…

Bulma’s brain suddenly offered her a lovely image of Vegita’s gravity machine malfunctioning and propelling the hapless Saiyan into a level way to high for him to handle. She imagined him getting squished flatter than an omelette. Heheh. A Vegita pancake.

“That’s it!” She suddenly cried, smacking her forehead with her hand. “Of course! I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier! I’m such an idiot!” Laughing gleefully, she bounded down the hall and down the stairs at top speed. She flew out the door and sped toward the workshop, a devious grin plastered on her face. So that creep wanted to play power games, did he? Well, he’d better be prepared to face another participant!

“Whoa!” Yamucha cried, as Bulma raced past the living room and flew out the door. He, Mrs. Briefs, and the Nameks were just sitting down to a movie, and Bulma’s sudden departure had startled him into rising out of his chair. “What’s up with her?!” “Oh, don’t mind her, dear,” Mrs. Briefs laughed, motioning for him to sit back down. “She does this all the time. I think she’s made a discovery of some kind. She and her father both get that way when a new idea takes hold of them. Don’t worry; just let her get the idea worked out in the shop, and she’ll be back to herself in a day or two.”

“Oh,” Yamucha said, hesitantly sitting back down. He wasn’t really sure that he should believe her. Bulma looked a little angry about something to him. But he was sure she had a good head on her shoulders, and he rather doubted she was on her way to do something stupid. If he had known what was on Bulma’s mind, however, he would never make such a hasty assumption about her again.

Bulma raced out to the workshop and grabbed her toolcase capsule off her desk. Her dad was in there, just like usual, except today he had his face buried in a hentai magazine. But Bulma was too focused on her plan to notice. She shot back out of the workshop and made a beeline for Vegita’s new gravity room.

A large whoosh of air raced through the workshop a couple of seconds after she had already gone, blowing papers and blueprints off Mr. Briefs’ already cluttered desk and all over the shop. The little black cat on his shoulder yowled in fright as it was nearly blown off its perch.

“Hi Bulma,” Dr. Briefs said mechanically, not really caring that she was no longer there. He sipped his coffee, stroked the nervous little cat’s fur, and turned a page in his magazine.

Bulma dashed into Vegita’s gravity room and went right to the gravity machine control panel. She popped open her capsule tool case and went to work.

“So he thinks he’s so big and important just because he can handle a few g’s, huh?” She said, having opened up the control panel and exposed the circuitry underneath. “Well, maybe he won’t be so sure of himself if he has a couple hundred g’s to deal with!”

Bulma was fuming. It really wasn’t the fact that Vegita was getting tremendously strong, tremendously fast that bothered her. It wasn’t even that he was using her gravity room. What really had her so worked up was the fact that he was deliberately antagonizing her, and that he was taking such great pleasure in it! She just couldn’t stand it. She didn’t know why it bothered her so, but quite frankly, she didn’t care why; she just knew that she couldn’t stand to be the source of his comical amusement any longer.

“There!” She said finally, stepping back to inspect her work, her eyes ablaze with fury. “That oughta take the wind out of the S. S. Pain-in-the-ass’ sails!” She had tweaked the gravity machine to disregard all commands below two hundred g’s, and to instead jump right up to that number. Of course, if he punched in anything higher, it would go higher, but that didn’t matter. He’d only recently gotten to eighty. She very much doubted he’d try anything higher than a hundred. She grinned. Even Vegita wouldn’t be able to handle two hundred g’s for very long! She laughed as the final act to her grand masterpiece took shape in her mind. She was going to hit Vegita where it would hurt him the most, all right! If only for a brief but glorious moment, she was going to rob him of that insufferable pride that he treasured so dearly!

Bulma strolled casually out to her gravity building, recapsulating her toolbox and stuffing the capsule down her boot as she went. It was already dusk, and she knew that the little ingrate would be emerging sometime this evening. All she had to do was wait.

So that’s exactly what she did. She planted herself a good twenty feet away from the door, facing it head on. She just stood there, standing solidly with her arms folded, determined to meet his icy stare with her own when he walked out that door.

Surprisingly, she didn’t have long to wait. Only fifteen minutes or so later, Vegita opened the door and casually stepped out. He had a towel draped around his neck, and he was mopping his face with one end of it. He didn’t seem at all concerned by Bulma’s standing there and glaring at him, but he wasn’t altogether ignoring her, either, because his eyes never left hers. He’d locked on to them as soon as he stepped outside.

Bulma decided to make the first move. “You’ve had a grueling workout, I see,” she said somewhat coolly. “I guess testing your new gravity building out tonight is out of the question.”

“Humph,” Vegita snorted, grinning and leaning casually against her gravity building. “Eager to show off your newest little toy, I see.”

Bulma didn’t even smile. “I wouldn’t call it a toy, Vegita,” she said coldly. “This machine’s a lot stronger than mine is. You might have some difficulty adjusting to it.”

“You earthlings are too obvious with your challenges,” he said in a bored tone, nearly causing Bulma to flinch. “The true shame is that you never have any real challenges to offer. But okay. I’ve got a few minutes to kill. I guess I can indulge you just this once.”

Bulma grit her teeth. Damn, he was cocky! She was so going to enjoy this!

She flew with him over to the other side of the Capsule Corporation compound, where the new gravity building was located. She landed with him just outside the door, and stayed back as he opened it and stepped inside.

“You’re not coming in to explain it to me, huh?” He asked disinterestedly.

Bulma shrugged. “The controls work the same way,” she said, frowning, “and you obviously didn’t need my help with the old ones. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Besides,” she added, scowling at the foul taste of the words that she was about to say, “I doubt I could handle the level you intend to begin with. You’ve already more than doubled the level I’m training in.”

Vegita smirked at her. “That’s the first intelligent thing I’ve ever heard you say,” he said in smug approval. He then turned and walked inside the chamber, shutting the door behind him.

Grinning, Bulma raced around to the vid-cam terminal, and she switched on the one-way channel so she could watch Vegita eat his words. Sure enough, when Vegita turned the machine on and set it to eighty, the program tweak kicked in, and the machine reset itself at two hundred. Vegita abruptly dropped to his hands and knees, gasping in surprise.

“What the hell?!” He exclaimed. That was her cue. Bulma switched on the two-way channel, and the vidscreen inside the chamber popped open on the wall in front of Vegita.

“Hello Vegita,” she said politely. “You seem to be experiencing discomfort of some kind. Why, whatever is the matter?”

“Bitch!” Vegita spat at the screen. “What the hell did you do?!”

Bulma’s expression hardened. “I’ve proven that I’m not as harmless as you’d like to think I am,” she said coldly. “I’m sick of your regarding me as nothing more than a weak, stupid little girl for you to tease and make sport of. I’ve got news for you, Vegita. I may not be your match in physical strength, but I am by no means weak!”

“Damn you!” Vegita yelled, obviously in terrible pain by now. He was having a hard time keeping himself from falling flat to the floor.

“What’s the matter, Vegita?” Bulma cooed sweetly. “Can’t turn the machine off? Well, I can deactivate it for you from here if you ask me nicely! Would you like that, Vegita?”

Vegita jerkily raised his head until he was able to look right at the screen. “Go to Hell!” He cried vehemently. Bulma grinned. He was stubborn; she’d give him that. He must have found the concept of admitting defeat to her a bit hard to swallow. Well, that was all right. She could wait a lot longer than he could!

Suddenly Vegita began to push himself upright again. Bulma could sense his ki skyrocketing in there as, inch-by-inch, he pushed himself up off the floor. She watched in awe as he slowly pushed himself upright, screaming with the effort of the last few inches. Finally, with his ki flaring spectacularly, he stood completely erect, with his arms and shoulders drooping straight down from the enormity of their own weight. Slowly and jerkily, Vegita raised his head until his smoldering gaze fell on Bulma. His teeth were bared, either from the strain of his efforts, his anger, or both. Bulma just stared, transfixed, into his angry face. What was this guy made of, anyway? No one could handle two hundred g’s so quickly!

But this incredible display of power was short-lived. Vegita’s eyes suddenly rolled back into their sockets, and with a loud groan, he fell forward and slammed down flat on the floor. After that, he was completely still.

“Vegita?” Bulma cried into the intercom. “Vegita! Say something!” She began to panic. What on Earth had she done? She turned off the machine and shut off the power to the door locks. Then she raced around to the other side of the building and flung open the door. She rushed in and ran up to Vegita, who was still lying prone on the floor.

“Vegita!” She cried, shaking his limp body. “Vegita, wake up!”

Vegita didn’t even make a sound. His blank facial expression hadn’t changed either. Now Bulma really began to panic. “Hang on, Vegita! I’m going to get a doctor!” She shrieked frantically. She quickly rose to her feet and was about to run to the phone to call the hospital when her feet were suddenly knocked out from under her. With a yelp of surprise, she landed flat on her back, and in a flash, Vegita had jumped on top of her and pinned her to the floor.

“Vegita!” She shrieked, half of her relieved that he was okay, and the other half terrified of what he was about to do to her. His cheeks were flushed, and he was looking at her strangely. It looked almost as if something in his mind had snapped.

“You… you brought me to my knees,” he panted, his grip around her shoulders tightening. “You might’ve killed me. No woman has ever done such a thing to me…” He towered over her without comment for a few more seconds, his heavy breathing the only audible sound. His cheeks were deep crimson by now, and he was staring with a strange, fierce intensity at the terrified woman he had trapped beneath him.

Bulma’s face, on the other hand, was paler than white paper. She wouldn’t have been able to move, even if Vegita had let go of her. She was frozen in terror. Vegita was going to kill her for this. She was sure of it.

Vegita seemed to take notice of the pallor of Bulma’s complexion, and the stiffness of her body, and he scowled. “But I’m not dead, am I?” He growled. “It seems your little plan failed, didn’t it, you conniving little bitch?!”

Bulma was too petrified to reply. She just shook her head from side to side, trying to call on her failing faculties of speech.

“Did you think it was funny to do that?” He roared angrily. “Did you really think you would get away with it?! Did you?!”

Vegita was furious. Bulma just remained frozen in place, too petrified to even shake her head this time. She’d really done it now.

“I ought to kill you for this!” Vegita snarled.

Bulma finally managed to find her voice again, but it was a lot squeakier and shakier than usual. “Y- you wouldn’t dare!” She cried, her eyes wide with fear.

“Oh no?” Vegita laughed loudly. “You really don’t think the temptation is great enough?” He continued through gritted teeth. “Well, you have no idea how much trouble you’re in, woman!”

Bulma was ready to scream now. As her whole body began to tremble from her terror, she swore to herself that if by some miracle she managed to survive this disaster, she’d never allow her temper to override her good judgment ever again.

“Please,” she said, now pale as a ghost. “I would never have let you get hurt. I just wanted to scare you.”

Vegita laughed. “You wanted to scare ME?!” He laughed in a frighteningly loud, high-pitched voice. “Well, I guess your little plan didn’t work, did it, Miss genius? Because I’m not scared. I’m angry! Angry enough to tear you limb from limb!”

Bulma did scream then – she screamed so loud that she actually made Vegita flinch. And it just so happened that Yamucha, having sensed the terrible increase in Vegita’s ki, had left the movie early to find out what was going on. He heard Bulma’s scream just now, and instantly headed toward the sound as fast as his legs would carry him. Something was happening to Bulma, and his instincts told him she needed his help NOW!

“Stop your squalling!” Vegita roared in Bulma’s face. “Do you think that’s going to scare me too?”

Bulma was wailing fairly consistently now, too overcome with fear to control herself. She turned her head away at his harsh words, but continued crying nonetheless. She couldn’t help it. She didn’t want to die again. The first time was bad enough.

“VEGITA!” A VERY angry voice shouted from inside the doorway. Bulma and Vegita looked over to see Yamucha, his body ablaze with his own ki aura, glaring with utter hate at Vegita. Bulma was so shocked to see him that she stopped crying almost immediately. “If you don’t get your filthy self away from Bulma,” Yamucha yelled, balling his hands into fists, “then I’ll rip you to pieces!”

“No!” Bulma cried, suddenly filled with horror. “Yamucha, no! He’ll kill you!”

Vegita laughed evilly. “You be quiet,” he said, grinning fiendishly down at her. “It seems your friend has a death wish. And I’m in just the right mood to satisfy him!”

“No!” Bulma screamed as Vegita leapt away from her and lunged at Yamucha. What happened next was just a reaction. It didn’t even occur to her that there was no other course of action; it was just instinctive.

“Rapid Teleport!” She screamed. Breathing quickly, she scrambled to her feet. She gasped when she saw that Vegita had already landed the first punch, and that, while the Saiyan was still crouching in the doorway, Yamucha was already suspended in the air not less than twenty feet away.

“Oh God!” Bulma sobbed. “This is all my fault! I have to set things straight again! But first I have to get Vegita away from Yamucha!”

She flew up to Yamucha’s body, and she pulled him to the ground, laying him flat on his back. She then grabbed Vegita by one arm, and flew with him for the desert. If nothing else, she wanted him as far away from other people as she could get him.

She flew him out a good hundred miles or so before she stopped. She propped him up on his feet, trying to lessen the loss of balance he’d feel when she restarted time. The less she upset him now, the better.

Finally, after backing off a few feet, Bulma let time flow again. Vegita wobbled a bit, but regained his balance almost immediately.

“What the hell?” He cried, looking around wildly. But then he spied Bulma. “You!” He snarled viciously. “How dare you interfere?!”

“Yamucha wasn’t challenging you, Vegita!” She cried, her eyes stinging with tears. “He was trying to protect me! And I won’t let you kill him for that! I’m the one who screwed up! Not him! So if you have to kill someone to save your wounded pride, then let it be me, because Yamucha has nothing to do with this!”

Vegita sneered in disgust. “You’d be willing to throw your life away for that waste of skin and backboneless flesh? What is he, your current lover?”

Bulma was too angry and overcome with emotion to be embarrassed by his accusation. “Yamucha is my sensei,” she said, her voice choked with impending sobs, “and he’s my best friend. And if you think the fact that you’re angry with me gives you the right to kill him, then you’ve got another thing coming, you heartless monster!”

Vegita shot her a snide grin. “I should have known,” he said, chuckling harshly. “No wonder the fool tried to keep me away from you. You’re his mate, aren’t you?”

“I am nobody’s mate,” Bulma growled, her face drenched with tears, but her eyes hot as coals. “I love Yamucha dearly, but not in the way you oh-so-delicately put it. He’s no man I’d be willing to share that part of my life with. And I’ll thank you not to refer to me in such a vulgar manner. Despite what you may suspect about my love life, Vegita, it just so happens that the only man I’ve ever allowed even remotely close to me was Yamucha, and the most we ever did was kiss each other. Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not the kind of girl you’d like to think I am.”

Vegita was struck speechless. He just gaped at Bulma as if what she’d said was the most shocking thing he’d ever heard in his life. Finally, he managed to recover his ability to speak.

“You mean, you’ve never…?” He said, tripping over his own words.

“Is it really that hard to believe?” Bulma snapped angrily, her face turning every shade of red. The words had come out before she realized what she was saying, and there was no way to take them back now. But she wished there was. She couldn’t believe she’d just blurted such an intimate secret out to Vegita like that!

Finally, Vegita grinned. Chuckling, he relaxed a little bit. “Well, I must admit,” he said, his eyes sparkling at her, “it did come as a surprise!”

“Just shut the hell up about it!” Bulma exploded, her face still very crimson. “It’s none of your damn business, is it? And besides, it doesn’t even have anything to do with why we’re out here!”

“No it doesn’t,” Vegita laughed, “but it certainly makes for some very interesting conversation!”

“Ooooh!” Bulma shrieked through gritted teeth. “Damn, I hate you! I wish I were a Saiyan! Maybe then I’d be able to give you the beating you deserve!”

Vegita laughed even harder. “YOU?!” He hooted. “A Saiyan?! Forget Freeza! My race would never have survived a woman like you!”

Bulma just grit her teeth. He was making fun of her again, but at least he was in a better mood. She supposed she’d just have to put up with it, because she just wouldn’t be able to handle it if he blew up at her again. Vegita scared the life out of her, pure and simple, and she did not want to have to fight him. She knew what would happen if she did. Finally she just sighed, feeling very much defeated.

“Here’s the deal,” she said dully, not even looking at him. “I’ll fix the gravity machine and leave you alone, but only on the condition that you keep from harming my family or friends. I don’t trust you at all, Vegita, but since there’s nothing I can do to stop you, I’m going to hope that your word counts for something.” She looked up at him then, scowling angrily. She hated having to give in to this creep.

Vegita smiled coyly. “That’s fine with me,” he said, his lip curling up into a sneer, “but if you think that leaves us even, then you’re sadly mistaken. I still have to pay you back for your insolent behavior!”

“Why, of all the..!” Bulma exclaimed, her eyes flashing with anger. But she paused when she remembered why she was giving in in the first place. “Fine,” she said quietly. “If you still need to satisfy your carnal instincts, then be my guest. Just keep in mind that I’ll need the use of my arms to fix your damn gravity machine.”

Vegita strolled casually over to her and put his hand around the back of her neck. Then he pulled her closer to him.

Bulma gasped. “What are you doing?” She cried, trembling slightly. This was entirely different from the reaction she’d expected from him.

Vegita’s face was right up in front of hers. “I’m curious,” he said quietly. “Just why are you being so submissive all of the sudden? It doesn’t seem like you at all.”

Bulma’s breathing quickened. He was scaring the hell out of her. “I… I just want to see to it that you leave my friends alone,” she whispered, trying nervously to step back away from him. “I don’t want you to hurt them, Vegita.”

Vegita’s grip didn’t allow for any form of retreat. His piercing gaze was really beginning to get to her. Bulma stared back at him imploringly. She was beginning to feel a little lightheaded.

But Vegita didn’t let her go. He simply remained where he was, studying her with those terrifying eyes, which held hers in an inescapable lock.

“Please,” she pleaded, her voice barely a whisper. “You’re frightening me half to death, Vegita.”

Vegita didn’t answer her, but instead, stared directly into her eyes, his enigmatic gaze more penetrating and unbearable than before. Bulma could feel her pulse quickening steadily, and her breathing was starting to become somewhat irregular. She wished she knew what he was going to do. He was scaring the life out of her.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Vegita released her and stepped back. Bulma backed away almost immediately, one hand on her chest, which was heaving from her harsh, quickened breathing. She stared apprehensively at him, not daring to make another move.

“Very well then,” he said finally, still staring into Bulma’s pale, trembling face. “I agree to your arrangement. But if any of your acquaintances happens to make the mistake of challenging me, all bets are off, and it will be the last mistake they’ll ever make.” And without another word, he shot up into the sky and flew off in the direction opposite of Capsule Corporation.

Bulma sank to her knees. She was partly relieved that he hadn’t hurt her, but mostly still reeling from what he HAD done. She hadn’t been able to read anything from his expression, but it had filled her with a chilling kind of fear nonetheless. She didn’t know what he could possibly be thinking, but she did know one thing for certain: he truly frightened her. He filled her with a strange, inexplicable sense of dread that she’d never felt before, and it was almost too frightening for her to bear.

Sighing, Bulma stood up on wobbly legs and began her flight home. There was only one thing to do. She was going to fix Vegita’s gravity machine and pray to Kami-sama that he would spend all his waking hours either in there or off the compound. Because Bulma had resolved that from now on, she was going to avoid Vegita at all costs.



On To Chapter 7 ~~~>