Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Persuading the Enemy ❯ Persuasions of a Different Kind ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Prompt: "Intimated".

Disclaimer: I do NOT own DBZ or any of the characters. They belong to Akira Toriyama.

Bulma sat at the kitchen table, drumming her fingers on the plastic surface as she waited on the alien to put some clothes on. She didn’t really care what he wore, as long as his bottom half was covered! She closed her eyes for a brief second as she thought about what he would choose; if he would pick something that would only further the problem or cover his body completely.

Vegeta entered the kitchen, finding the girl sitting at the table, her head was resting on her hands as a small smile twisted her lips upwards. A heavy breath escaped through his nose as he went to her, his eyes waiting for her turn to him but she never did. He slid into the chair across from her, and she finally opened her eyes.

Her eyes scanned his still naked torso before dipping lower to see that at least some scrap of fabric was covering his lower half. “Find something suitable.” The smile stuck on her lips as she took in his stoic features.

His hands rested and folded in front of him on top of the table. “I’m no longer nude, so get on with what you want to say.”

Her hands dropped down, folding into her lap as she sat back against her chair. “I think it’s your time to talk. I’ve told you about what I have to offer to you.” Her hands raised back up onto the table, mimicking his pose. “So tell me what you have to offer.”

Vegeta easily picked up on her distress. She may have been calm and collected on the outside, but little things were giving away her true emotions. The slight flickering of her dismal ki, the way she kept fidgeting with her posture, and the small amount of fear that laced her scent. He closed his eyes for the barest of seconds as he sought out her thoughts, hoping to pick up on something--just where the fuck was she hiding that damn Dragonball! He opened his eyes as he connected with her mind.

‘What the fuck is he doing now?!’ her voice screeched inside her own head. ‘Why is he just sitting there staring at me? Does he think I’m gonna crack under that stupid look of his?! Although I have to admit there is something about him.’

He pushed passed the muddled thoughts at the forefront of her mind, only to greet more static. The few words he could pick up had no significant meaning without being able to pick up on the rest of the sentence. Vegeta shook his head, breaking the useless connection. ‘Stupid ass woman.’ His face remained neutral as he cursed her scattered brain. “Your precious Earth.” He watched as she perked up a bit, her back straightening against the chair again as her hands remained on the table.

“And? What does that have to do with this?” she questioned, keeping her own guard up.

“Frieza’s crew….My job was to not only clear the planets, but to find a buyer for them as well. Did you think we just raided random planets for the hell of it?” he asked with a smirk as her face gave away her inner turmoil. “We may take the supplies and technology off other planets, but it usually doesn’t turn a big profit. So, the inhabitable planets we find get sold off for a much bigger profit.”

Bulma swallowed, her mind processing this new information. Her planet was to sold to another species? For what? Why?

“I know who is to buy it.” He made sure she was focusing on him again, his dark eyes boring into her lighter ones. “Which means I can put a stop to your planet’s destruction.”

“If this Frieza guy wins,” Bulma muttered.

His hands tightened their grip on each other. “Well then use the Dragonballs to make me more powerful than Frieza.” His face remained neutral as he silently seethed.

Bulma shook her head. “I can’t do that.”

“And why not?” Venom seeped into his words as his patience was losing out. He had given her a good enough reason--in his mind--to make him worthy of getting his wish granted.

“Because the Dragonballs’ wish cannot exceed the creator’s power. If they could, you and your partner would’ve never made it to Earth.” She watched the man’s reaction--which wasn’t much of a change--until he started smirking again.

“I thought you humans didn’t like to kill.”

Bulma turned her head to the side, nose sticking in the air, and glanced back at the man. “I didn’t make that wish.” Although she hadn’t been against the Dragon killing off the Saiyan’s had the wish actually went through.

Vegeta snorted lightly. “So, if these Dragonballs can’t kill off strong opponents or make someone else stronger, how can they can grant immortality and resurrect people?”

Bulma gave a short shrug. “I don’t know for sure, but they seem to be able to grant spiritual things: bringing people back to life and immortality.” She waved a hand in the air in his direction at the mention of immortality. “They just can’t grant physical things or a wish that requires a certain amount of ki to be done.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Then the only possible solution to defeating Frieza is to make me immortal.”

“And why does it have to be you?” she all but shouted, her head straightening and body leaning forward over the table. “Why can’t we wish for Gohan to be immortal?” As the words left her mouth, she knew it was stupid, but she still wasn’t ready to believe the only option they had was to make Vegeta immortal. In the long run, giving Vegeta that type of power may be worse then letting Frieza live….or was it? She just didn’t know any more.

“You want to give that fucking brat immortality?!” His hands tightened again at the thought of his dreams slipping through his fingers when he was close to it. “And what exactly could he do against Frieza, huh? He can’t fight to save his own life and has absolutely no experience on how to deal with an enemy like Frieza! He’s fucking useless, as is the bald one.” He calmed himself, he had to deal with this woman rationally if he wanted to get that Dragonball from her and get his damn wish. “Besides, isn’t that why you came to me in the first place? Because those two are so incompetent?”

Bulma grumbled to herself about the stupid Saiyan being right.

“So who else is there? Hm? Since I recall all the other greatest warriors from your planet are no longer living.” His face set in smug satisfaction at having proven his point.

Her arms crossed against her breasts as she huffed. “Believe me, I know!” she said a little too defensively at being reminded of Yamcha’s death. She felt her heart drop just a bit, but it quickly picked back up at the thought of another. “Goku!” A smile brightened her face.

“Kakarot?!” Vegeta couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped.

Bulma’s demeanor changed back over to defensive at his obvious lack of approval towards her best friend. “Goku is….”

Vegeta’s chuckle turned into harsh laughter. His head tilted back as his eyes closed.

“What’s so funny?!” she seethed, not even trying to talk to him while his laughing fit continued.

His laughter ceased as he felt rage roll off of her in waves. “What good is Kakarot to you now? All of his bones were broken, and just what kind of medical treatment do you have on that backwater planet of yours?” His eyes settled back on her, her face flushing red with anger. “I didn’t realize how cruel your species could really be. At least I let Nappa die with some dignity.”

Bulma felt her anger multiply quickly and out of control. “What kind of fucked up dignified death is it to be blown up by your partner?! You’re a real sick bastard to think that doing something like that is humane compared to actually trying to save his life and let him heal! But with your talk about Earth being so underdeveloped surely you could’ve easily saved that poor man’s life!” She continued to blindly throw insult after insult towards the alien man, until her throat constricted and her intake of air was cut off.

Vegeta stood, tiring of the girl’s attitude and lack of respect. A hand raised, his ki flowing from the appendage and effectively cutting off her words. The neutral face he had been wearing shifted a shade darker as he watched her hands move to her neck. Her eyes widened and finally caught the look on his face. “I’ve lost my patience, girl.” His voice was even deeper and more menacing than before.

“Vege….” she started to choke out, but the constricting tightened for a few seconds.

“I grow tired of your insolence. You grow more and more distressed as we continue this debacle of a plan and truce. So let me tell you what I think about you, since you so kindly spouted off all the things that are wrong with me.” He loosened the hold around her neck again, and waited to see if she would begin to protest or not. When the girl didn’t open her mouth again, he continued, “You seem very distrustful of your teammates. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but in this case it is very bad.” A smirk covered his dark features as her eyes stayed trained on his. “Which in turn means that you wouldn’t have left that Dragonball behind for your so-called friends to find, right? So, I’m going to take an educated guess and say that you brought it with you.”

She began to open her mouth again, but was immediately stopped from doing so.

Vegeta shook his head. “And just where exactly would you be able to hide something like that? Especially for me not to have noticed it yet?” he asked sarcastically. “Perhaps it’s in one of the those capsule devices you oh-so-conveniently showed me how to use earlier. So tell me why I need you, again?”

Bulma choked, coughing a little as the pressure of his invisible ki gripped her throat more harshly than before. “I,” she coughed out, pulling at the thin strands that were cutting off her breathing. “Know.” The pressure lifted just enough so that her mind didn’t feel quite as dizzy, but she still struggled against the hold. “I know…how to use…the Dragonballs.” Her breath was short and choppy, but she had at least managed to catch his attention as the hold on her neck lessened even further.

“What?” he growled. There was a trick to using these damn things? How fucking opportune it was for her that she would once again hold some unforeseen key he needed. “Explain quickly, girl,” he barked out, his hold neither lessening or tightening around her neck.

“Just having them all assembled in the same place won’t work, asshole,” she spit, her body trembling slightly. Her veins were on fire with the anger and adrenaline coursing through them. If the bastard was going to kill her, then what was the point of trying to be nice with him?

“And what exactly do I need to do?” he questioned, his expression turning from dark, to curious, to neutral. His eyes watching her ki flow, his nostrils flared to pick up her scent, determining whether or not she was just trying to make excuses to keep him from destroying her pathetic life force.

“And I’m going to tell you so you can kill me?!” she spat again, her hands still resting at her neck.

He growled again, and diminished his hold on her. He folded his arms across his chest as he watched her gulp down air and feel her neck. He rolled his eyes. ‘Pathetic, weak creature.’ He continued to observe her, waiting for her to laugh or make some sort of move to attack him, but it never happened. “This better not be another trick, girl. If it is, I won’t hesitate to kill you the next time.”

His threatening voice caught her attention. Her hands lowered to cross against her chest again, almost mirroring his posture while sitting down. “Remember me saying how I was there when it was wished that you and your partner were killed before reaching Earth?”

“That means shit to me, since I wasn’t there as well. If you’re just trying to save your skin, you better start talking. I’ve already told you that my patience is low.”

“Then perhaps I should just pack up and take my chances that things somehow work out okay.” She saw his eyes narrow. “I mean, if I’m gonna die either way.” She gave a short shrug. “Since you’ll most likely kill me once you get the information out of me, or if this Frieza guy gets his hands on the wish we’ll all be doomed as well.”

Vegeta silently began to seethe again. He was tempted to demand that she pack her shit and get the fuck out of his sight if that’s the way she was going to play. He didn’t need this shit! Perhaps he could just kill her and take the Dragonball and figure the damn things out by himself. It couldn’t be too hard, could it? He could feel his energy unconsciously growing higher, preparing for his attack.

“If you would just give me something to work with, I’d gladly stay and help you, though,” she said, not even aware of the tension that was building in the alien man’s body.

The building energy receded slightly at her calm yet desperate tone. “And what exactly do you think I have to assist you?”

“I don’t know.” She uncrossed her arms and put a hand under her chin. “Don’t you have some kind of…like super weapon or something?”

Vegeta snorted. “If I had something like that, don’t you think I would’ve used it, hence, not needing the Dragonballs’ wish? The only thing I have to offer you is my battle knowledge and strength. I know what Frieza is like. So all I need is to be immortal and I can take the bastard down!”

Bulma shook her head, the hand that had been resting under her chin fell to the table. “I just can’t, not in good conscience. I can’t give you immortality. The only promises I have from you is that you can ‘save’ Earth--which who is to say after you destroy Frieza that you’ll keep that promise? How am I to know that you won’t be just as bad as Frieza? And with you being immortal?” Her mind ran through all the possible problems she could think of, some of the thoughts making her grow more nervous and wondering just what the hell she had been thinking when making the decision to come here. She gave a human growl and pounded a fist on the table. “You’re more useless than I could’ve ever imagined!” the words flew from her lips as she attempted to see a bright side to her jumbled thoughts.

A ki blast destroyed the table she had pounded her fists against just a few seconds ago, singeing the bottom of her fists that had been resting on the now disintegrated piece of furniture. She gasped, quickly jumping from her chair and running to the sink to cool the heated flesh.

“I am NOT useless,” his voice a deep rumble as he watched the female dart across the small room. “I’ve told you what I have to offer, and if you can’t make it work then get the fuck out of my sight.”

Bulma felt tears prick the back of her eyes at just how horrible this meeting was turning. After rinsing the slight burn, she reached down to get the first-aid kit under the sink. “Vegeta,” she started calmly, feeling the temperature rising around her. Not sure if it was the combination of all the stress and rushing she had just done, or if it was from the surly Saiyan standing not too far behind her.

He was tired, making him all the more irritable. The girl’s constant bickering and nagging had not helped keep his temper in-check, either. Of course, she had it coming. Dangling his prize right in front of his face, only to pull it back at the last possible second. He felt a low growl creep up his chest as he watched her back. “What’s it going to be, girl?”

Bulma dressed her burns, putting a bit of salve on the sore spots. What was she going to do? There really wasn’t much she could do, was there? Her temper sub-sided as she began to rationalize her thoughts. This was nothing like what she was used to, back when she would go hunting Dragonballs with Goku. This was a real life-or-death situation, this wasn’t just about trying to get some asinine wish. After taking care of her burns, she gently massaged her forehead.

“GIRL!”

Bulma spun around, facing the Saiyan. She saw that his face was set in his usual expressionless mask, even though his hand was clenching and unclenching at his side. “You desperately need that Dragonball, don’t you?” she asked quietly.

“Of course not….” The first response of denial, of not needing help, came out, but he quickly closed his mouth as she continued to stare at him. He hated to admit it, but he did need it. He needed that wish! He needed that edge against Frieza! Now he would need to gain her fucking trust. He mentally sighed at the thought of regrouping himself after his outburst. She was sure to be on-edge around him now, and she certainly wasn’t going to believe his word of trust if he were to give it to her. “So,” he started, holding back the anger in both vocal and body language. “What can I do to gain your trust?” he articulated.

She caught his eyes, watching the fire burning in their dark depths. She smiled lightly. “Well, first of all, I’d like an apology.” One hand dropped to her hip as the other continued to massage the side of her head where her headache was worst.

Another ki blast readied itself, the air heating as the waves rolled off his body. “You can forget that.”

“Hmm, fine,” she sighed out. Her hand that was massaging came down to tap a finger against her lips. “Well, then.” Her eyes scanned his form, finally noting that he had put on a pair of black boxer-briefs. Her eyes lingering just a little longer than intended on what she knew the underwear was concealing from her view.

Vegeta grit his teeth, ready for whatever the girl was going to request he do, especially if she was thinking this thoroughly about what she wanted. He mentally sighed, ‘It couldn’t be any worse than what Frieza had put him through.’ He was pretty damn sure it couldn’t come anywhere near that!

He was about to bark at her for taking too long when he noticed where her eyes were looking. He smirked slightly, watching as her eyes finally lowered down his legs before running back up his form. He knew she wasn’t necessarily offended by his lack of clothing, and that a lot of her hostility was most likely due to his nature and the fact that he was still an enemy to her team. Yet here she was checking him out, getting an eyeful of him, just as he had done to her earlier.

Her eyes roved back up his body, landing back on his masked face. She was quite surprised that he hadn’t demanded she get on with her request, but she was glad to have time to think about what humiliating act she wanted him to perform. “Dance for me,” she suddenly requested. The words coming out a little more sultry than she had actually intended, but after the intake of his body who wouldn’t be a little…affected by it?

The smirk crept back onto the Saiyan’s face at her words and the little hint of lust that coated them. His bare feet moved across the cool tiled floor, his hips swayed back and forth with each step he took. His sinewy form moving cat-like as his eyes set upon her T-shirt covered body. “Now I’m a little confused,” the words coming out smooth, the anger no longer deepening his voice. “You ran away from me when this opportunity presented itself in the bedroom.”

Bulma leaned back against the counter as she took in the graceful way the muscled man moved towards her. “Again, I’m not asking for sex,” she stated confidently, despite the blush on her face. “Or is dancing and sex the same to space men?”

Vegeta stopped a few paces from her, the smirk still evident on his face although it had diminished a notch. “And if it is?” he challenged the blue-haired girl.

Bulma felt her resolve die a little at his challenge. ‘What of her friends? What about Yamcha?’ She reached out, ignoring the nagging little thoughts at the back of her brain, pushing away from the counter top. Her fingertips touched bare skin.

Vegeta moved a step closer, letting her hand fully rest against his chest. His eyes and mind staying focused on her reactions to his challenge and any threats she might pose.

The heat his body radiated was amazing. It was like being next to a warm fire on a cold day--so very comforting. Her hand slid over his abs, feeling the muscles flex beneath his skin. After a few seconds, the appendage ran up his chest--between his pecs--to his neck. Her eyes flicked up to meet his as she felt a low rumble vibrate his vocal cords.

A loud buzzer sounded a few rooms away, yet the annoying sound was loud enough to make Bulma jump and pull her hand away from the heated flesh.

Vegeta blinked at the sound, his eyes turning in the direction from which the noise had come. “What’s that?”

“The washer.” Bulma stepped to the side so she could make her exit, and hopefully stave off the awkward feeling that was crawling through her body. “I need to go throw the clothes in the dryer now.” It was suffice to say that she had forgotten about their clothes being in the wash.

“And how much longer will that be?” His eyes landed back on the girl that was slowly making her escape.

Bulma continued to slip from the room, taking small steady steps so as not to seem too anxious to get away from the situation she had gotten herself into. “I’ll be right back, okay?” she answered, completely ignoring the question at hand.

Vegeta watched as she finally turned heel and exited the room. He huffed and followed shortly after, curious as to what she was going to be doing while out of his sight, and perhaps getting some further insight as to where the Dragonball was hidden.