Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Dark Heart ❯ An Old Friend ( Chapter 15 )

Bulma opened her eyes gradually, rapidly covering her face with her hands as the morning sunrays bothered her. She lazily sat on the bed, blinking sluggishly, her head heavy and her eyes swollen from crying.

Three days.

It had been three days since her first encounter with Vegeta, and she hadn't been allowed to leave her bedroom from that moment. After she'd heard the Prince give orders to keep her protected and safe at all times, a spark of hope had awoken inside of her, making her believe that he truly cared for her, but now she wasn't so sure anymore…

What if he simply wanted to get rid of her and he didn't quite know how to do it without having to kill her?

The heiress looked around her in despair. She felt like a prisoner, a prisoner trapped in a beautiful golden cage, but a prisoner after all. She'd been brought fresh food and water daily, three times a day, and she always left it untouched, preferring to eat and drink from the supplies she'd encapsulated back on Earth.

The woman briefly debated whether she should get up and take a shower or simply stay in bed. Finally, she exhaled in frustration and she opted for the second option, laying down on the bed, her blue eyes staring at the ceiling. She soon realized she was still clutching a tiny red capsule in her right hand. That little object had been the only thing that still kept her going…

She thought of Yamcha and Krillin, and how she hadn't heard from them ever since they'd said their goodbyes the first day they'd arrived on the planet. Would they be OK? What about Vegeta? Their last conversation had been repeating itself inside her head obsessively over and over again during these past three days. He'd been cruel to her, but she'd caught glimpses of humanity in him, and she knew that he'd simply been trying to drive her away; maybe he even believed she'd be happier without him.

Bulma felt the tears come back again.

What a mess this whole trip had turned out to be! If only she'd been able to deal with the Saiyan warrior back on Earth, perhaps things would have been less complicated. Here, in this frozen palace, she felt like an outsider, completely out of her element, and she knew that Vegeta didn't belong in this place either.

She covered her eyes with one of her arms, letting the tears fall again, ashamed of her own weakness even though no one could see her cry…

“Bulma?”

Her breath hitched and she uncovered her eyes, quickly sitting up as if she'd been hit by a thunderbolt.

“Hey! Bulma! Can you hear me?”

Holy crap! Could she hear voices now? Was she finally going insane? And yet, she knew that voice…

“It's me! Goku!” The masculine voice repeated.

“Go-Goku?” The woman asked in shock.

“Yes! I'm so glad you can hear me!” He cheerfully said.

“Dende…” Bulma whispered, almost to herself. “Is… Is that really you? How…?”

“King Kai! It's thanks to him that I'm talking to you!”

The woman just sat there on the bed, clutching her sheets.

“Unbelievable…” She murmured.

“Yeah… Anyway, I was talking to Gohan, you know, because King Kai lets me do that sometimes, and he told me about your trip. Kai tells me things aren't going too well right now… Are… Are you alright, Bulma?”

“Oh, Goku…”

The heiress could barely talk, too overwhelmed from hearing her best friend's voice. It was surreal, wasn't it? And yet, there was something so comforting about him, perhaps due to the fact that the man she'd known for so many years now, and who she thought of almost as a baby brother, had always managed to keep that spark of innocence about him alive, and his cheerful spirit was certainly contagious.

“I'm fine, I guess… I just… You know… Vegeta is not being very easy to deal with right now…” She finally replied.

“I see… Well, he's really something, uh? But don't worry; I just wanted to talk to you because Kai was telling me that you'd been alone for a few days… Just hang in there, Bulma. I know you can do it! I know you can bring him back to Earth with you, you know?”

He laughed. A friendly, honest to God laugh, and Bulma couldn't help but smile a little.

“You damn Saiyans are too much trouble, did you know that?” She playfully said, half joking half serious as she was suddenly reminded of Goku's wife, pregnant with a second child that would be born without a father by his side.

“Yeah… I guess…” He laughed again, and she could imagine him scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment like he always used to.

“I know he's not an easy man, but you're even more stubborn than he is!”

“Hey!” She said, not knowing whether to take that as a compliment or an offence.

He giggled once more.

“Awe, Bulma… Don't take it like that! You know what I mean… You know? I was just thinking about when Mirai Trunks told me about you two getting together, and even though I was kind of surprised at first, I soon realized that it made sense… You two are meant to be together, you'll see! I…”

There was a pause.

“Goku? A-Are you still there?” Bulma asked worriedly.

“I gotta go, B.! They're coming for you! Good luck!”

“W-What? Who?”

Silence.

“Who's coming? Goku?” The blue haired woman frantically asked.

He was gone.

“What the hell?” She mumbled in confusion.

All of a sudden, a loud knock at the door startled her.

“Bulma? Are you in there?”

`No way' Bulma thought, quickly identifying that voice.

“Yamcha?”

“Yes! It's me! Well, uh, it's us, actually! Open the door, B.!” He replied with noticeable joy in his voice.

With a quick jump, Bulma literally run to the door, opening it wide open and discovering her friends waiting for her in the luxurious hallway. Without a second thought, she threw herself into her ex-boyfriend's arms, holding him tightly.

“Oh, Gods! Yamcha!” she said against his neck, experiencing a relief she hadn't felt for a long time. The man held her back, glad to see that she was alright, and softly caressing her blue tresses. They remained that way for a moment until they heard Krillin clear his throat awkwardly.

“Guys, I don't think you should do this in here, you know?” He whispered cautiously.

Bulma turned towards him, still holding Yamcha, she realized her bald friend was subtly pointing to his side and, when Bulma looked around her, she noticed Dodonne, the pink warrior, observing the scene from afar with clear interest, scowling fiercely.

“Sure. Guys, let's go inside my room” the heiress whispered back, letting go of Yamcha's neck.

The three friends entered Bulma's bedroom, closing the door behind them. She guided them to the corner, by the large window, where there was a small coffee table and four large chairs. They all sat down as the two men looked around them with curiosity.

“Wow, Bulma! This room is amazing! It's at least five times larger than the one they've given us!” Krillin finally said in awe.

“Really?” The scientist replied disinterestedly. To be honest, after having spent three days literally locked up inside the room, she'd grown to hate it with a vengeance. “It's alright, I guess…” she sighed melancholically.

“How have you been doing? Did you talk to Vegeta?” Yamcha asked.

“Yeah, I did…”

“And?”

“It was… You know… It was intense, guys…” Bulma said almost shyly, staring at the floor.

“It didn't go well, uh?” Krillin said.

“Not really… I mean, it's like… It's like he was trying to be an asshole to me…”

Yamcha chuckled before he said “He was an asshole? So basically, he's just being himself, right?”

Bulma shook her head dejectedly.

“Not at all… He's never really been that way with me, at least not when it's just the two of us…”

There was a silence in the room, and it was evident that the men didn't exactly feel comfortable discussing Bulma's relationship with the Saiyan Prince which, as usual, remained a mystery to them.

“Anyway…” The heiress continued, trying to move past the awkwardness surrounding her. “How did you two manage to get out of your rooms? Did they keep you locked up as well all this time?”    

“Room” Krillin corrected her.

“What?”

“It's room, not rooms; they've kept us together in the same place. It was OK I guess, but nothing like yours though… I see Vegeta has really given you special treatment. That's a good sign, right?” The bald man said, sensing his friend's depressed state and attempting to cheer her up.

“I suppose... Ugh! This whole thing is so frustrating!”

Yamcha held her hand, squeezing gently.

“It's gonna be fine Bulma, we saw Vegeta this morning and he was actually quite nice to us. Well, nice for him, if you know what I mean…”

“You saw him this morning?” Bulma asked in shock. “Why didn't you tell me sooner? What did he say?”

She was panicky now, and Yamcha tried to calm her down a bit.

“He came to see us today, it was really early, just before dawn… Right, Krillin?”

“Yep. He knocked at our door… He was quite polite, like Yamcha said… Anyway, he said that from now on we're free to walk around, but he also said we wouldn't be allowed to leave the planet… Not without you, anyway…”

“D-Did he suggest that we should leave?”

“No, no! Nothing like that! I guess he just didn't want us to take off without you if we chose to leave…”

“We're not going anywhere, B., so don't worry about it, OK?” Yamcha said.

“Right… Did… Did he say something else? Anything?”

“Mmm… Let me think…” Krillin replied, trying to fully recall the conversation with the Saiyan warrior. “Not much else, really… We asked him if he'd talked to you, and he said we should mind our own damn business…” He snickered. “Yeah… I believe those were his exact words… But he didn't mention your encounter at all…”

“He also asked if you'd fully repaired the ship he'd left for you back on that cold planet we visited before we got here…” The scarred faced man said. “We told him we thought you had, because you'd given it to Krillin in case something happened to the one we were travelling in, and then he asked for it.”

“He what?! Did you give it to him?!”

“Uh… Yes?” Yamcha said, rapidly realizing they were in trouble. He knew that tone in Bulma's voice all too well…

“What the hell, Yamcha? So, you just gave him the ship? Just like that? What if he leaves?” The heiress asked angrily.

“Bulma, I'm sure the guy has a million ships at his disposal. How do you think he got here? Don't you think if he wanted to leave he would have left already?”

“I don't think that's why he wanted it” Krillin said, joining the conversation again.

“Then, why? What…?” The woman seemed puzzled now.

“The Gravity Room” Yamcha continued. “I think he wanted to use it to be able to train. We've been tracking his ki ever since. It looks like he's still on the planet, but far away from here…”

Bulma didn't like the sound of that.

Not one bit.

“Dende! I need to see him!” She said, standing up decisively and walking towards her private bathroom. “I'm going to take a shower and then you guys will fly me wherever he is. I have to talk to him”.

“B-Bulma…” Yamcha doubtfully said. “Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean… You know what he's like when he's training! He'll probably get angry if we…”

“He couldn't possibly get any angrier than he was the last time I saw him!” she said, abruptly turning to her friends. “You should have seen him, guys… He was… He's not himself, alright?”

“I don't know… I'm with Yamcha on this one…” Krillin said timidly.

“Fine! Then I'll go find him myself. I'm assuming he's also given me permission to leave this fucking room too, right?”

“Uh… Yeah… That's why we came… But he also warned us to remain by your side at all times. I got the feeling he didn't trust the guys that live with him on this planet… Bulma…”

“Whatever…” The blue haired woman mumbled as she entered the bathroom and closed the door.

The two men stared at each other resignedly.

“You know we don't have a choice, right?” Krillin said.

“Oh, believe me, I know… I know what she's like when she gets like this. Once that woman makes a decision, there's no stopping her…” He replied, shaking his head.

“Boy… Those two were really made for each other, uh?” The bald man smiled a little. “I remember when I first saw her with the baby, the day the androids showed up... Man! I couldn't fucking believe it! But I guess it makes sense now… I wonder what the deal with Vegeta is anyway…”

“I don't know, pal… I get the feeling it has to do with Gohan being the one who beat Cell and with Goku dying. I guess he thought there was nothing else for him on Earth and he just decided to leave…”

“You think he doesn't care about Bulma and the kid?” Krillin asked in shock. “I mean, we saw what happened when Cell attacked Mirai Trunks. He lost it! And Bulma… Well, she wouldn't even be alive if he didn't give a shit, right?”

Yamcha remained quiet for a while, his mind running in a million different directions. He had to admit he'd never seen Bulma feel for him the way she felt for the Saiyan Prince, not even when they were two young silly teenagers in love…

Whatever those two had going, it run deep, that much was for sure. At first, he'd thought perhaps his ex had just been trying to play house with Vegeta, so that the boy could grow up with a father, unlike that poor kid from the future. But back on Earth, when she'd told him that she loved the warrior, he'd finally been forced to accept the truth, knowing full well that the scientist never messed around with the L word, and now here they were, in the middle of space, inside the creepiest palace he'd seen in his entire life.

“I'm sure he cares on some level… I doubt Bulma would have come all the way here because of some stupid fantasy…” He finally replied in a low voice. “Let's just take her with him and stay nearby in case anything goes wrong”.

“Yeah…” Krillin snorted. “Like we'd actually be able to do something if Vegeta loses his shit…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know… Don't remind me… You think it's easy for me to know I'm not strong enough to protect my best friend?”

Yamcha closed his eyes, laying his head back on the cushy chair and crossing his hands over his belly.

“Let's just stay cool and hope for the best…” He mumbled, listening to the almost soothing sounds of the running water behind the closed door.