Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Entity ❯ Princess Buruma ( Chapter 3 )

I'm in a REALLY good mood, so expect this chapter to be a little longer…

Mizu = Bulma, Kachi =Vegeta, Kaze= Goku, and Chikanji= Chichi

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`The woman has grown more foolish than I had imagined,' Kachi thought. He was pacing the floor of his home deep within the Earth's core.

`How could this have happened?'

Vegeta became angry with himself. He knew it was partly his fault that Bulma was acting this way. With a groan, Kachi's fingers found their way to his hair, pulling at it in frustration. Every thought of Mizu made him want to scream. This wasn't the good-natured girl he had loved. She was an ice queen.

Then Vegeta remembered when he had first met her…

~*~*~ (I'll take this back about 900 years or so.)

24-year-old Vegeta rode swiftly to the palace of the royal family. He wasn't sure why he had been summoned. Usually, his father, general of Japan's most elite forces, would be called in for meetings to discus the safety of the people. Recently, though, Vegeta's father had caught a sickness that left him bed-ridden. So, Vegeta was going to the king on his behalf.

"Commander Vegeta, sir!"

Vegeta slowed his horse and turned to growl at whoever had called him.

"What is it Kakarrot?"

The soldier became uncomfortable under the intense glare.

"I was sent to direct you to the palace, sir, but I see you have found your way quite well."

Vegeta rolled his eyes at the younger warrior. It was hard to believe that this moron was one of his family's most trusted friends.

"Why are you really here?"

Kakarrot groaned.

"Your mother threatened to kill me with my own sword if I didn't go."

Vegeta responded with an angry grunt.

"My mother seems to forget that I am an adult now."

Kakarrot cringed slightly.

"Don't kill me- I'm only the messenger."

"Go home, Kakarrot. It is not your place to come. The king is only expecting me."

With a word of protest, Kakarrot went away, not wanting to be there anyways. Vegeta just sighed and gently nudged his horse in the ribs. The creature whined and started to gallop.

In a few minutes, Vegeta had reached the entrance to the palace. Several guards eyed him warily, but let him pass into the dimly lit home. He was anxious to get this over with. Whatever the king wanted him for, it could not be too good.

"I see you have come just on time, Vegeta." The frail aging king was perched on an elegant throne-like chair. A few female servants waved large fans and the young queen sat below on his right. Her hair was a strange bright yellow, and she was said to be from a country to the Far East. The king's gray-streaked hair was even more unusual. In the candle lit room, Vegeta could see wispy strands of lavender falling into the older man's eyes.

"Your majesty, I am at your service."

Vegeta bowed graciously kneeling down to one knee. His eyes never left the king's gaze.

"The reason I have summoned you into my presence is to ask of your services."

Vegeta's eyebrow twitched. Services?

"All my family is heavily guarded as you already know. Yet, there seems to be no one who can offer full responsibility for my youngest daughter, Buruma. She is in need of protection since she is always venturing off palace grounds, and so I figured `who better to do the job than the son of the great General Vegeta.' You are to be at her side at all times and your duty is to protect her with your life. I hope you will accept the position as her personal bodyguard."

Vegeta was about to fall over in shock. He had been called here to baby-sit some child for the rest of his life! Not only that- this kid was the princess and is said to have a major attitude problem. `No matter,' Vegeta thought. `This should be of no challenge.'

"Yes, I accept, sire."

"Very well. You are dismissed."

Vegeta left the palace in a hurry, feeling a little queasy. Such a responsibility was unnerving.

"Lets go to the springs, old girl."

The horse neighed in response to Vegeta's suggestion, and they moved in huge galloping strides until thick brush forced them to slow to a fast walk. When the air became foggier, Vegeta knew just how close he was to his destination. There was no other place for him to relax. Besides, he'd heard that the little princess was often spotted frolicking somewhere around there.

"Whoa, girl."

Vegeta's horse came to a stop as the sound of rushing water met their ears. Vegeta tied the animal's reins to a sturdy tree, and trudged through the thickness of pink and red sakura flowers. They had just begun to bloom only a few weeks ago, yet the trees and their buds had sprouted rapidly.

Vegeta had lain down and was just beginning to take in the soothing scent of the transformed forest. That was, before a high- pitched shriek disturbed the warrior from his peaceful moment. Startled, Vegeta bolted up, and drew his sword from its sheath. In a blur, he had found the source of the noisy wail but nearly lost control and laughed at the sight before him.

A girl was dangling from a thick branch at the top of a tree. She was screaming at the top of her lungs for no apparent reason, considering that she was only 15 feet from the ground.

"Woman, stop your screeching! Just climb down!"

"I can't! My kimono's stuck to the branches."

Vegeta found that she was indeed right. Her kimono was tangled awkwardly in a tangle of sharp limbs. If she attempted to retreat below, her clothing would tear or she'd be impaled, depending on which way she came down. So, Vegeta did the only thing he could do- he climbed up to retrieve her.

Getting to the woman was more difficult than Vegeta had expected. Some of the branches were too weak to support his weight, he had to hang on to the body of the tree and slide himself up. Then, there were all kinds of needlelike twigs to be aware of; one wrong move, and he'd have one heck of a splinter.

"How did you get stuck there anyways? You must be stupid or something!"

The girl growled at him.

"How dare you! For your information, I was trying to see that bird more easily."

Vegeta heard a chirp, and twisted slightly to find a nest lodged just above his head.

"You're stuck because of a bird? That's more absurd than I thought it would be. Hold on to me."

Now, Vegeta was close enough that he could hoist the girl over his shoulder, and head back down. She squealed, but Vegeta just ignored the protest- after all, he had rescued her.

As soon as they were on the ground, the young woman slid off Vegeta. He only grunted when she clasped his hand in hers.

"Thank you, my brave samurai. Now you shall be rewarded from the princess."

She planted a kiss on the startled soldier's cheek. Wait- had she just said princess? Vegeta pushed her away to look at her properly. Only now did he notice how well dressed she was. Her silk kimono nearly touched the grass, and her hair was pinned up in a complicated design. Glistening gems were planted in various areas of her sky-colored locks.

"Princess Buruma?"

"Just call me Bulma."

"Bulma," Vegeta repeated. "Your father, the king has commanded that I am to serve as your personal body guard."

With a curt nod, Bulma dusted herself off and tried to conjure up the little dignity she still had.

Vegeta stopped himself from gaping at Bulma's beauty. This was definitely no little girl. Her eyes and hair were strange for a royal of Japan, but it suited her. Perhaps this was why Bulma needed protection… being a beautiful woman and running about all alone was not considered wise.

Then Vegeta smirked.

"I thought climbing trees was considered improper to women."

Bulma only shrugged at him. Then she reached to her blue locks and began removing the golden pins from them. Vegeta seemed appalled.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking out my hair, silly."

"But, but-" Vegeta stuttered. What was with this princess? It was as if she had no sense at all! Vegeta admired the woman's insolence, though. He could get used to it…

"There." Bulma lightly shook her head, letting her long hair flow freely down her back. "I could hardly move with all that piled on my head." She tucked several golden ringlets into her girdle.

Now Vegeta had to support his jaw to keep it from hitting the ground. Beautiful was an understatement- exotically appealing was better suited.

"What?"

Vegeta turned away. His face was burning.

"Nothing."

~*~*~ (Back to the normal time)

Vegeta sat on his chair with a sigh and wished that he hadn't been so stupid to fall in love with the goddess.

~*~

I felt like giving you people a little peek into the past… Don't worry, everything will be explained sooner or later (probably later). I just have to find the time to type it all.

Review please!! You can either praise or criticize me. Honestly, I don't care what you do, but reviews would be nice either way. ^__________^