Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Red Window ❯ Debris ( Chapter 7 )

“I think the first thing you need to learn,” Goku started, pacing across the room, “is how to sense ki. That's really the most important.”

 

She raised an eyebrow dubiously. “I seem to have gotten along without.” But her eyes snapped wide open as the hairs on the back of her neck stood to touch Goku's hand, millimeters away.

 

“Yeah?” he whispered from behind her. “Dunno, I'd say you're a dead man. Er…woman…you know…”

 

Vejata exhaled heavily, shakily. No one had ever come so close to ending her so quickly. And of all people, it's a Saiyajin with a goddamn conscience.

 

“If you'd've known how to sense ki, you'd've seen it coming,” he stated matter-of-factly. “You would have felt me right behind you with enough time to react. Well,” he winked, “that time. I did it nice and slow for you.”

 

She growled at his condescension, but noticed that he didn't seem to find anything wrong with what he'd said, meant no malice by it.

 

“I mean,” he chattered on, “I could do it super fast and you wouldn't have a chance. Not right now. `Course you're a skilled fighter, so you'd expect something like that anyway.” He paused. “Hm. Yeah, and with slower opponents you can nearly feel them coming before they even move. It's really pretty handy. Here, let me show you. C'mon, gimme your best! If you can touch anything but my finger, you win.”

 

She furrowed her brows, partly in confusion, partly in determination. What does he mean? Vejata charged, furtively but quickly moving her body from one side to the other. With her speed would seem nearly invisible to most opponents she'd encountered, but Goku was not most, and she knew it, so she faked to her left before actually diving to the left. Her punch was met by Goku's index finger, and he grinned. “Too easy. C'mon, you're smart.” He wiggled his finger teasingly.

 

Vejata returned to the other side of the room, moving from spot to spot in a chaotic pattern, and this time appeared behind him, sweeping her foot along the ground, level with Goku's ankles. But before her foot made contact, there was the man's ridiculous grin as he leaned over backwards, his forefinger resting comfortably against her arch. “That was tons better,” Goku nodded. “But I could feel you coming even though my eyes couldn't track you so well.”

 

“So? Are you going to tell me how to do it?”

 

“Hmm,” Goku brought his hand to his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. “There's really no telling how to do it. You just kind of have to pick up on it. Vegeta taught himself how to do it once he learned that we could do it.”

 

“Are you sure you want to teach me?” she asked, more seriously.

 

“Why not?”

 

“It will be another skill in my arsenal, which I will use to kill you when we do reach New Vegeta.”

 

“We've got a few more days, haven't we?”

 

She grinned. “What, you think you can talk me out of it in that time? Think again. I've slaughtered both the people who are the closest thing I ever could have had to family. What are you in comparison?”

 

“Even if I can't talk you out of it,” Goku answered confidently, “I'll be on guard.” His smirk turned into an almost crazed grin. “I am the only who will decide when I die. I have never been taken against my will.”

 

Vejata raised her eyebrows, and unconsciously moved her arms to a defensive position at witnessing his expression. “And how many times have you died?”

 

“Twice.”

 

“And you chose to, both times?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Shit,” she narrowed her eyes. “What are you people? These dragon balls have made you monsters.”

 

“You're one to talk.” It was hard to tell whether Goku had returned to his usual jovial mood, or was simply preparing to go mad.

 

“I fear death,” she growled. “And that is what makes us different: I am sane.”

 

Goku laughed, his sounds genuinely delighted but tinged with darkness. “Don't think any of my friends woulda ever called me sane in the first place.” He tilted his head. “Figured maybe it was a Saiyajin thing, huh?”

 

“I doubt Prince Vegeta could have afforded such insanity.”

 

“Mm,” Goku glanced up thoughtfully. “He was always pretty reckless. Especially,” and his eyes met with hers, “once he came to care about people.”

 

“That was his mistake.”

 

Goku shrugged and noted in an innocent voice, “Doubt you'd know, huh?” Her eyes narrowed. “Anyway! You want to learn how to do it, don't you? To sense ki, I mean.”

 

She seemed reluctant to answer, so Goku proceeded. “Arright, goal's still to hit me. Anywhere this time. I won't defend myself.” The corner of Vejata's mouth turned down as she waited for further explanation. “It won't be as easy as it sounds,” he winked. And at that, his body seemed to split into two, four, eight—she stopped counting. Endless images of Goku danced around the perimeter of the gravity room, shoulder to shoulder. Her eyes darted from one to the other, trying to discern some difference.

 

“Close your eyes,” Goku's voice rang through the room. “Looking will only confuse you.”

 

“I know how to find you without closing my eyes,” she asserted.

 

“Yeah? Then I'll just dodge. Shut your eyes. C'mon, play along or you won't learn a thing.”

 

She positioned her limbs carefully, tail poised in the air behind her defensively, so that every angle was covered. Reluctantly, she let her lids slide over her eyes. “It's not helping one damn bit.”

 

“Patience!”

 

“If we weren't in this room, I could hear where you are,” she spoke through clenched teeth. “Damn acoustics.”

 

“But we are in this room. And you're looking for my ki, not my voice. I can move a lot faster than it can, remember?”

 

She swore inwardly to herself for seeming such a fool. “All right.” Several moments of silence ensued, and she did everything she could to find him. She felt the delicate play of the air currents across the hairs on her arms, and felt that this must have been related, somehow, to what she was supposed to be doing. Beneath the pulls of the air currents, she felt a different tingling, electric, magnetic. But it wasn't enough.

 

Goku saw the hint of a smirk appear on her face, and spoke quietly. “You've almost got it. Let me help you out.” He unbridled his energy and let it soar until he was nearly drawn up to Super Saiyajin.

 

WHAM.

 

He licked the blood from the corner of his mouth. “You learn quick, huh?”

 

She massaged her knuckles, leaping back from Goku carefully and opening her eyes. “Gotta. Learn or die.”

 

“I made it easy that time. Let's try it again.”

 

 

---

 

 

“Dende!” Bulma called out. “Wow, you're taller every time I see you.”

 

He blushed, and then glanced over to Trunks and Goten. “What brings you all here? Wait…” the little green god grew somber. “I think I know.”

 

“Do you know what happened to Vegeta?”

 

“Yes…”

 

But they were distracted by the whoosh of a white cape nearby as Piccolo alit. He nodded to Bulma and eyed Trunks and Goten with suspicion. They always looked like they had been up to something. Probably were, he decided. Somehow, he felt his position as a mentor renewed when they were nearby—maybe, at least, a need to be a good role model for the troublemaking duo. “What's going on?” he questioned.

 

Bulma crossed her arms, frowning. “Damn Saiyajin don't believe in answering the phone, that's what.”

 

Dende opened his mouth, but Trunks spoke out, “You shoulda heard her swearing at the com-screen!” he grinned. “It was hilarious.”

 

But Piccolo's eyes were focused on Dende, who seemed to be searching in vain for some moisture in his dry mouth. “Need a glass of water, kid?” he asked. When no one laughed, he frowned. I thought it was pretty funny…

 

Bulma seemed to be following his track of mind and rolled her eyes. Namek humor…

 

Finally, Dende piped up, his voice desperate. “This isn't a time for jokes!” Immediately all eyes were on him. “Vegeta is dead. A-and if what I sensed was right…that female newcomer is the one who killed him.”

 

 

---

 

 

“You're very close,” Goku grinned. “For how little time we've spent on it, you're already pretty good.”

 

Vejata spat off to the side at the consolation compliment. “I need some rest,” she admitted.

 

“Me too,” Goku decided. “You throw some pretty solid punches, you know?” he motioned to one she had landed across his cheek, now beginning to bruise. “You're awfully mean about it, too.” He rubbed the bruise, flinching.

 

This time she smirked. That was a compliment. “How long do you think it will take me to ascend?”

 

“Well,” Goku frowned, crossing his arms. “Perfecting your ability to focus on ki is a big part of it, and a pretty big hurdle since you didn't know it already. Guess a bit longer than I thought before. There's another trick you need, too, that you're not ready for, yet.”

 

Vejata raised an eyebrow, waiting.

 

“It won't do either of us any good for me to tell you more.” He paused. “But tell me one thing. You can form ki blasts, right? Like this?” he lit up a benevolently glowing yellow sphere on his palm.

 

“Yes, of course,” and a purple orb flickered into her own hand.

 

“Good,” Goku nodded. “That helps. Hey…” he leaned in closer. “Is that Vegeta's Gyarikku-Ho? It's the same purple…”

 

“Is that what he calls it? Standard issue technique passed down the Vegeta line, to those who can learn it. I never thought to name it. What is that?” she motioned toward Goku's sphere.

 

“Ah, nothing, really,” he shrugged.

 

“Nothing? You don't name your technique?”

 

“It's not a technique. Just a ball of ki.”

 

“But surely you have an attack…”

 

“'Course. You wanna see?” She nodded. “Okay. Think you can block it?” Vejata stood up, nodding once more. “This'll be good practice. Hey! I'll fire my attack, you counter it with the Gyarikku-Ho, all right?”

 

“Can that be done?”

 

“Of course it can! Yeesh, and they say I grew up in the sticks!”

 

She grumbled, preparing her stance. Silently, she lit up the purple ball of ki, letting it charge in her hands.

 

“Ready? Ka…me…ha…me…” he grinned as the cyan orb gained power, and finally launched his arms forward to release it, “HA!”

 

Vejata let loose her attack at the same time, and for a few moments, they struggled—but only a few. Goku's beam overpowered hers and she was sent tumbling against the opposite wall. “I was tired,” she mumbled, and Goku laughed good-naturedly.

 

“Sure, I know. Not half bad for half-asleep.” He clapped his hand against her shoulder as he made his way out, and she shrunk away as if the feeling burned. “Let's get some rest.”

 

Vejata glanced at the screen as she walked past the control center. Only a few more days. If that. Her eyes drifted over to Goku's already-sleeping form slung across the captain's chair. I think I can go that long without killing him. She closed her eyes, seeking out his ki signature, to see if she could. As he slept, it was less controlled, and she nearly caught it before it disappeared from her grasp once more. Rest. Then try again.

 

 

---

 

 

“D-dead?” Bulma nearly fainted. But she recovered quickly, and upon seeing the fire in her eyes, the other occupants of her vicinity backed away. “Goddamn…fucking…” she rolled her sleeves up and raised her head to the sky. “You bitch! Dammit! How dare you!” She turned to her son and his friend. “Trunks! Goten! The second Goku gets back you tell him to bring you to her and then you kill her for me!” She stomped over a few paces and screamed to the sky again, “Assuming that asshole doesn't kill Goku too!”

 

“B-Bulma,” Dende's eyes were wide.

 

“She speaks like that when she's angry; get used to it,” Piccolo answered, his eyes closed as he tried to block out her bellowing and wailing.

 

“A force to be reckoned with,” the god muttered, and Piccolo nodded.

 

“Don't worry, we can bring Dad back!” Trunks did his best to comfort his mother while maintaining ten feet between them. “We can just go get that other set of dragon balls, can't we?”

 

“Maybe that's what my dad was doing,” Goten suggested. “You said he went away, right?”

 

“Can you tell where he is?” Bulma pleaded to Piccolo.

 

“Hm,” the Namekian thought for a moment. “He's still out there, but I can't find exactly where. It is in the same general direction as New Namek,” he offered.

 

“Good,” Bulma huffed. “If he doesn't make everything better and that chick is with him when he drags his sorry ass back, we're going to have some words!”

 

Dende leaned in to whisper to Piccolo. “Is this the human grieving process?”

 

Piccolo frowned a bit. “It's her grieving process.” He shrugged.

 

 

---

 

 

Vejata padded quietly across the floor, trying hard not to wake Goku. She knew little about suppressing her ki, but at least she could silence her movements and breathing. She held her eyes on his face, so thoroughly gentle as he slept. No matter how many encounters they'd had, how many hours she'd spent on the ship with him, she couldn't read him. One moment, he was carefree, in good spirits; the next, he seemed likely to make some wildly violent, unpredictable move. In between, she noticed occasionally baffled, always wanting looks. Vejata couldn't tell if they were directed toward her—am I the first female Saiyajin he's met? It must be so—or if all he could see in her was Vegeta.

 

Each time the prince was mentioned, it was with utmost fondness, some sort of reverence or holy camaraderie. Did Vegeta return these sentiments? He had seemed so resentful. But then, that had to be his nature. Well, perhaps she would find out for certain when—

 

She shook the thought from her head. No, I won't let that happen. Her mouth twitched as her eyes refocused on Goku. He seemed nice enough, but each time he challenged her in the gravity room, he was a hungry warrior. He's training me just to fight me, she remembered. Bizarre. Vegeta had treated him as if he were of a fairly low class; was this how all the low-class Saiyajin acted? None had been saved from Planet Vegeta's destruction; she had no way to know from experience and had never asked anyone else.

 

Even as Goku dozed, power rippled from his form. Could he really be lower class? And so strong? It would explain Vegeta's apparent bitterness, perhaps. He must have been rather weak at birth, if his first mission was but to destroy the humans. If so…he's grown…unbelievably… Goku's breaths were deep, the air nearly echoing through the space in his lungs. Without warning, her gut stung as if a hot iron had been dropped into it, and she turned away lest he wake to see her weakness. It was sickness, hatred, lined in glass, lithe and living lizards, dammit, push it back, lust, precipitously placed, spiked, stupid…

 

“Vegeta? You don't look well…” Goku mumbled. “Vegeta?”

 

Vejata glanced back, but swiveled her head away quickly. “Kakarrot,” she hissed through clenched teeth.

 

“Damn, you sound weird, Vegeta. C'mere.” In his sleepiness, his voice was deeper than usual.

 

“Shut up, Kakarrotto!” she spat, whipping back around to face him.

 

“Y're goin' nuts,” he answered, apparently believing this to be reassuring. He swung his legs to the ground. “Y'haven't let your ki spin `round like that since Babidi possessed you.”

 

She hardly even registered the strange comment in her state. “Don't make me kill you early…shut…up…”

 

“'Geta. Settle down.” Goku stood, and then began lumbering across the room, eyes still half-closed. Vejata froze in place as he approached, her stomach tumbling, threatening to jump from her throat with every step he took. She had never been so disgusted with herself. “You're so tense, Vegeta. Shh,” he leaned close, sour nighttime breath stinging her nose. Still, she quivered at hearing her real name. His silence and warmth drew her up, standing on her toes, to reach him, and as she got closer, in pulses her gut threatened to explode from her mouth.

 

As they were about to brush together, Goku's eyes snapped open. “V…Vejata…?” he backed up, shaking. “Sorry…I was…asleep…I thought…”

 

She spun on her heel to dash to the washroom, clutching her hand over her mouth.

 

“I thought…Vegeta…” he murmured, now to himself. He trembled as he fell back into the chair. “D-don't…say anything…!” he called out weakly. Goku's ears picked up the sounds of her retching, and he knew she wouldn't speak a word of it. He drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

 

 

---

 

 

They entered the gravity room together, with strained silence between them. Goku had opened his mouth once or twice, but each time thought better of it and remained silent. Vejata held her gaze away. She wouldn't back down from this session—but the last thing she wanted to do was confront whatever feeling she had felt earlier. After years of icing herself over, she couldn't place it, couldn't even tell if it was hot or cold. She had felt burning before, but perhaps it was just so cold it felt hot…

 

Finally, Goku did speak. “Let's put that all behind us and have a good fight. Okay?” He began stretching out. “Last thing we want is to be distracted. Whatever's on your mind, just let it disappear.”

 

She closed her eyes, and genuinely wished she could do as he had asked. As she took deep breaths of the air in the room, the scent of her own burnt hair from Goku's attack the day before, it was easier to push it back. I'll be home…soon… Her eyes slowly slid open. “You're right. I'm ready.”

 

 

---

 

 

They sprung apart from each other, Vejata's breathing labored from effort. Concern played across Goku's facial features. “Don't you ever fight for pleasure?”

 

“What?” her eyes widened.

 

“Every move you've made since we've started, it's like you're trying to kill me as efficiently as you can, and you're only holding back `cause of our promise.”

 

“Why fight, if not to kill?”

 

Goku's brows furrowed in confusion. “For fun, of course! Don't you ever have fun while you're fighting?”

 

“Only when my opponent is seeing his end.”

 

“You don't like the challenge? That excitement running through your veins?”

 

This time, she was the one to narrow her eyes in confusion.

 

“Hell! I never thought I'd have to say this to anyone so like Vegeta, but for goodness' sakes, fight like a Saiyajin!”

 

“I…don't know what you're saying.”

 

“Come on, from what I understand all Saiyajin live for battle!” He paused. “For battle, not just to kill.”

 

“All Saiyajin kill. It is a rite of passage.”

 

“But don't tell me you just do it, y'know, just like that, without a fight? Don't you want a challenge?”

 

“I want to live. Obviously you can afford these games, and I cannot.”

 

“You can now. I'm not killing you.” He fell back into a fighting stance. “It's tough to fight someone who's not having fun!” His bare toes curled against the ground, gripping it, as he waited for her to come at him. “Vegeta learned it the hard way. I'm just trying to save you some time. You should fight for the joy of fighting.”

 

“Perhaps what you say is true,” her tail twitched. “Perhaps you are even more Saiyajin than Prince Vegeta or I.”

 

Goku grinned. “Maybe. Who knows.” He lifted his knee slightly and wiggled his toes. “Hey, maybe getting barefoot will help you loosen up.”

 

She frowned. “What a hick.”

 

The man shrugged, placing his foot back on the ground and resuming his stance. “Well? Let's go.”

 

 

---

 

 

Vejata sent Goku flying across the room with a kick, and paused. “What is it?” He let his guard down just like that.

 

“I think I hear something buzzing out front,” Goku motioned to his ears. “Like at the controls.”

 

She smirked. “We must be there.”

 

“Yeah!” Goku grinned. “Wow, I can't wait!” He leapt out of the room, leaving Vejata to dial down the gravity and shut off the lights. She exited the room with swagger, and found Goku blinking disbelievingly as he stared out the small, round window. “H-hey…Vejata…m-maybe you shouldn't…”

 

The woman strode up to stand next to him and observe what he could see. Her chest pounded, once, twice, and she felt her muscles seizing and twisting. “N-no.”

 

Goku turned to face her, his eyes consoling, and he reached for her shoulders. She shoved past him to clutch either side of the window's frame, clenching her teeth. Her eyes glazed over. “No…”

 

She felt Goku's hand on her shoulder, and he spoke softly. “Sorry…I'm sorry for your loss.”

 

Her forehead slammed against the window as she shut her eyes tightly to block out the vision.

 

Debris.

 

Her planet was gone.