Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Satan Video ❯ Therapeutic ( Chapter 21 )

Hello everyone! I didn't keep you waiting as long this time. ^_^ Now don't be angry with me for the cliffhanger please. I did not do it for dramatic effect or to be mean. To be honest, I was stuck. I couldn't decide which way to go with it. I wanted to update because it was WAY overdue so I posted as is. Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, a bit THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, even that other one. I do appreciate it greatly. It keeps me motivated, which is not an easy task! Here's chapter 20! Who the hell ever thought it would get this far? I certainly didn't.

Warning: More of my sad attempts at humor and some senseless violence. This is kind of a pointless chapter, but it ties the last one into the next one. Sorry if it sucks!

Chapter 20: Therapeutic

"Woman, you're insatiable," he chuckled as he shook his head.

"I know, and that's why you love me," she said as she fed him a chip. She rolled onto her back and began watching the clouds, still clutching the pilfered snacks, oblivious to the impact of her words. Vegeta watched her as he mulled over the words. 'Does she really believe that I love her? Feh, she's insane if she does. It's probably just another one of her stupid expressions.' His thoughts were broken when she glanced back up at him and smiled. She must have noticed the perplexed look on his face because her head tilted in curiosity.

"What's wrong?" He didn't answer; he just sat there staring into her eyes as he appeared to still be deep in thought. 'What's up with him?' she wondered. 'Was it something I said?' She tried to remember what they were joking about. 'I said I'd hold him to spanking me, and he laughed. I said that's what he loved about me. Could that be what this is all about?'

'What's wrong?' his mind repeated to itself. Gazing into her blue eyes, he knew the answer, and it shocked the hell out of him. He never got the chance to answer, though, because Bulma's sharp intellect was quick to rectify the source of his discomfort.

"Vegeta, it's just a figure of speech," she reassured him as she tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. He continued to look at her.

'Another saying. Even they don't put any real value behind these ideas they throw around.' He nodded and redirected his vision back to the waves breaking in front of them. Bulma was unnerved by his silence. It's not like he wasn't usually quiet, but damn, what she wouldn't give to know what he was thinking right then! She chewed on her lip as she watched him stare out at the water. The uncomfortable silence lingered several minutes until Vegeta sighed and turned back to her.

"I need to be getting back. I have to wash some clothes before I go to work," he said. Bulma nodded as they got up. He threw away the trash while Bulma shook as much sand out of the blanket as possible before throwing it in the trunk of her car. He was already waiting in the car when she got in. She hung her feet out the door and hit them together a few times to knock most of the sand off before finally pulling them inside.

The uncomfortable silence continued throughout the ride to his apartment. The radio provided some distraction, but it did nothing to help the mood. He spent the entire time staring out the window but not really seeing the blur of the passing scenery. When they finally got there, they made eye contact at last.

"I'll uh call you tomorrow, okay?" she asked before kissing him on the cheek.

"Alright," he answered with a slight grin. Vegeta got out of the car and walked toward his apartment. As he got to the steps leading up to his place, he spotted Bryan sitting out on the balcony. He had his arms crossed on the railing as he leaned over the edge and stared off into space. His eyes were red and glassy, at least the tiny portion that was visible considering they were barely open.

"Hey Vegeta! How's it goin', man?" the neighbor asked as he pushed away from the metal railing and stumbled backward a few steps before regaining his bearings. Vegeta just raised an eyebrow at the him.

"Why do you do that all the time? Once in a while is one thing, but…."

"Do what, man?"

"Smoke that shit. It makes you completely worthless. You can't even open your eyes," he remarked in disgust. Bryan just started laughing, and Vegeta rolled his eyes. When he was finally able to overcome his giggles, he waved for him to come closer.

"You know what?" He paused, waiting for him to comment, and Vegeta sighed.

"What?!" he growled in irritation.

"I haven't even smoked any today. This buzz is left over from last night." He seemed to think about it. "Or it could've been this morning. Anyway, it was some really good shit! My buddy got some chronic, and we busted out the orgy bong. Man, it rocked." Vegeta just sat there with his arms crossed over his chest as he tried to figure out what the hell this idiot was talking about. "Dude! We still got some left. You and Goku should come over later. We'll have a party. I know these chics, man. Hot! Oh wait. You've already got one. Hey bring her, too." The prince cringed as he remembered that his strange neighbor had overhead them the last time she came over. The image of the stoned man crouching by his front door giggling insanely as he and Bulma…. He shook his head desperately trying to will the thought away, but it wasn't going anywhere and this made him even angrier. He grabbed Bryan by the front of his shirt.

"Listen up you freak. If I see you anywhere near her, I will rip each one of your limbs off before shoving them up your ass. Understand?"

"Dude, it's cool. Calm down," he exclaimed while waving his hands up in surrender. Vegeta let go but gave him a little shove, and he fell on his ass. "Damn, you really should smoke with me sometime. It'll help you lighten up."

Vegeta just stared for a moment before shaking his head and going into his apartment. "What an idiot," he mumbled as he walked into the living room.

"Who's an idiot?" Goku asked from the kitchen.

"Our stupid ass neighbor. He invited us to over to smoke that crap with him later." Laughter greeted the two Saiyajin as the bathroom door opened.

"I take it you won't be going over there," Krillin commented as he sat down across from Vegeta. The prince just glared at him. "Why is it you don't like him? He seems nice enough?" This time the eyebrow came up. "Oh yeah, I forgot. You hate everyone. My bad," the bald man answered. He chuckled as a thought entered his head. "I guess I shouldn't say everyone. You and Bulma seem to be getting along well enough," he remarked with a grin as he quirked his eyebrows a couple of times. Goku laughed as he sat down on the couch next to Vegeta.

"He does have a point there. So how are things going with her?"

"I believe we've had this discussion before. Do you forget or just ignore the fact that I would like to be left alone on this matter?" Vegeta spat, and Goku nodded in acknowledgement.

"Fighting again," he informed their human companion. Vegeta's jaw dropped slightly as his brow wrinkled. "Oh come on Vegeta. I may not be a genius, but I am your roommate. I'd be blind not to have noticed the pattern of your mood swings. And don't worry. I'm not going to ask what the fight was over, because I know you won't tell me, anyway." Vegeta just crossed his arms over his chest and focused on an imaginary point on the wall.

"So when are we leaving?" Krillin asked.

"I don't know. It depends on where all we decide to go," Goku answered with a shrug. Vegeta turned back to them half interested.

"What are you two idiots scheming?"

"Scheming? Not all of us are constantly causing chaos," Krillin answered with a sly grin.

"Whatever."

"We're gonna go clubbin'. It's been a while since we've gone out to do anything. Yep, have some drinks, maybe pick up some women," Goku commented as he started bobbing his head and gyrating his hips to imaginary music. Vegeta snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Right. Be sure to tell me how that goes," the Saiyajin no Ouji retorted sarcastically.

"Hey!" the taller Saiyajin protested. "You think you're the only one the ladies find sexy. You haven't seen me in action, my friend." Krillin and Vegeta both sweat dropped.

"Uh huh. Well I have to go wash some clothes. Don't call me if you two end up in jail, 'cause you know I'll leave your asses there," Vegeta said with a smirk before disappearing into his bedroom.

"Well, that was weird. I think your little act actually put him in a better mood," Krillin said, and Goku looked confused.

"What act?"

***

Bulma drove slowly back to her place as she tried to decipher her mess of emotions. 'What is wrong with me? So he's not in love with me, I don't expect him to be. Ugh, then why is it bothering me so much? It's not like I'm in love with him. I admit that I'm attracted to him. Okay, so there's a little more to it than that, but I wouldn't call it love. I definitely enjoy being with him.' She laughed out loud at that thought. "Yes I do enjoy that. The man is a freakin' sex god." She then made a weird voice. "Make your offering to Ouji-sama, and you shall climax until you die!" She broke off into hysterical laughter, but slowly the depression set back in. She blew her bangs out of her eyes. "Damn it, Vegeta! What is going on with us?"

Bulma finally pulled into the parking lot of her apartments and slowly made her way to her home. She went inside and tossed her keys on the kitchen table before sitting down. She beat her head on the table a few times and eventually rested her forehead on the cool, wooden surface. "Why can't I just forget about it? Or at least ignore it," she groaned as she lifted her head up and wiped off the streaks of fog left behind by her breath. It was then that she noticed the light blinking on her answering machine and got up to check it out.

"Bulma, get your lazy ass outta bed!!! Ha ha. Well, girl I'm calling to make sure you were still coming to the club tonight. A promise is a promise. Call me."

A smile crept across her face as Chi Chi's message ended. 'This is perfect. It's just what I need to keep from tormenting myself over Vegeta.' She picked up the phone.

Vegeta had just walked out the door when the phone rang, and Goku grabbed it. "Son Goku, sex machine for hire." Krillin wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or be scared.

"Ahem, well I hate to pull you away from the very profitable business of man whoring, but I was hoping to talk to you for a bit."

"Oh hey, Bulma. How's it going?"

"Alright. I was calling to see what you're doing tonight, but it appears you'll be busy," she joked.

"Very funny. Why, you want to go do something?"

"A friend of mine just started working at that new club, and I promised her I'd check it out. I wanted to see if you'd come with me," she stated. Goku glanced over at Krillin with a smile.

"Sure, but I hope you don't mind that I'll have to drag Krillin with me. We were already planning on going out tonight." The bald man grabbed a cushion from the couch and threw it at him.

"Oh, that's even better. I haven't got to hang out with you guys in a while without the drama of our more eccentric friends," she said excitedly. Goku just laughed.

"Okay so you want us to pick you up later?"

"Sure."

***

Vegeta wandered across the complex to the washateria with his laundry basket held by one hand, a drink in the other. Luckily the only two people were in there: a woman slightly older than him, he guessed, and a young girl. He chunked his clothes in a washer on the other end of the fairly small room before sitting down with his drink. He stared out the window as unwanted thoughts began filling his head.

'When did everything go so wrong? I should be at home right now, ruling my people. Instead, I'm stuck on this back woods planet, doing these menial tasks, adhering to their stupid rules of education just so I can get a less degrading job, but for what? So I can assume the life of a human? Go to work, buy me a house, maybe find a woman to take as my life-mate, have half a dozen half-breed mongrels?' He shuddered.

'This is ridiculous. I don't know why I bother. It's not like I'll ever be content here. Maybe I should take over the planet and declare myself emperor.' He laughed at the thought, but then frowned.

'No, even that wouldn't be any fun without someone to share the glory with. Radditz and Nappa are dead, and Kakarotto is basically human so he wouldn't appreciate it. Hell, he'd even try to stop me, I bet.' He sighed.

'If someone had told me five years ago that this is where I'd be right now, I would've pissed myself from laughing so hard. Then I'd have blasted them to bits. And to top off this completely fucked up situation, throw Bulma into the mix. I truly am pathetic if my only value to an inferior human is that of a fun pastime.'

"Hey mister," a young voice interrupted, "What's wrong? You look sad." Vegeta turned away from the window to look at the small child in front of him. He watched her for a moment without speaking, just gazing into her big, brown eyes. The intensity of his stare was enough to make anyone squirm under his scrutiny, but not her. She just looked back at him expectantly as she waited for the answer to her question. After a few seconds, though, she became impatient. She tilted her head slightly and asked again. "What's wrong?" Then she smiled, and it seemed to break the trance. His eyebrow crept upward slightly as he leaned forward a little, resting his forearms on his thighs.

"Why do you think something's wrong?" he asked.

"Because you have that same look on your face that mommy has when I ask about daddy," the girl responded as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Her mother was shocked and embarrassed.

"Kayla! He does not want to hear about those things," she scolded. The girl's head bowed slightly, but just as quickly, she made eye contact with him again.

"Guess what? I'm 5." She held up her hand with all fingers extended to emphasize her point. "And I got this for my birthday." She held up the doll in her other hand.

"Really," he said with mock interest before finishing off his drink and tossing the can in the trash.

"Yeah. Here, you can hold her," she said as she shoved the doll in his lap. He quickly pushed it back toward her.

"No thanks."

"Oh, I forgot. Boys don't like to play with dolls, do they?" she asked, and he chuckled.

"No, I guess not," he answered as he leaned back into his chair. She climbed into the seat next to him and mimicked the way he was sitting.

"Kayla, please stop bothering him." Her bottom lip stuck out, and she crossed her arms.

"Okay," she whined. Her mother resumed pulling their clothes out of the dryer. The girl's silence lasted a whole minute at the most before turning back to her new best friend. "You have big muscles. I have muscles, too, because I drink milk. See," she said as she flexed her bicep. "I don't think mine will get as big as yours, though." Vegeta couldn't help but smile at her. Kayla's mother walked over to them with her basket of clothes.

"Let's hope not. Little girls look pretty funny with huge muscles. We're done, so let's go," the woman said as she went to the door. Kayla hopped out of her seat.

"Bye mister. I'm glad you're not sad anymore," she said as she skipped outside after her mother.

"I don't know who's stranger on this planet, the adults or the children," he said with a laugh as he watched the two walk down the sidewalk.

An hour and a half later, Vegeta made it back to his apartment with his clean clothes to find that Goku and Krillin had left. "Good riddance." He dropped his basket of clothes in the floor and went to grab a snack. Three hamburgers and a whole bag of chips later, he glanced at the clock. 'Damn, I need to get ready.' After dumping his laundry onto his bed, he dug out what he was going to wear and left the rest there. He could always put them up later.

Vegeta landed next to the parking lot crater that had yet to be fixed and went inside. Popo was there complaining about how Piccolo was never on time and how he was going to buy him a watch and set it 20 minutes early. Vegeta just went to his computer and started checking out customers, ignoring the plump being. It was five minutes later when the Namekseijin arrived, much to Popo's surprise.

"You're early, considering how late you usually are," he remarked. Piccolo just growled at him and started putting up tapes.

Well, most of the evening went by without anything eventful happening. Once Popo finished his routine tasks at shift change, he got stuck checking out the customers. Vegeta and Piccolo took it upon themselves to put up returns and do anything other tasks that kept them away from the customers. Who was Popo to argue? Well, technically the boss, but arguing with either of those two was not something he was willing to embark upon at that point. They took turns helping Popo out when the line would get a little long, but other than that, the two stayed out of sight.

This was how most of the night went until about 8. Vegeta happened to be the one that had come up to the front when Popo decided to take a break.

"I need you to watch the front for a little while. I'm starving," the genie look-a-like said. Vegeta nodded and went to his computer. There were only a few people in the store thankfully, so he grabbed the remote to the satellite receiver and began searching for something interesting to watch.

"Hello? Are you working here?" a tall man with three eyes snapped. Vegeta rolled his eyes.

"Yeah," he said as he motioned for the man to come up to the counter. The man placed his items on the counter. "You have your card?"

"No. I think I lost it."

"Name?" Vegeta asked unable to hide his irritation.

"Tenshinhan."

"Address?"

"It's the only one in there," the customer said.

"That's nice, now what's your address?" Vegeta asked. The man glanced around the front of the store and noticed the other customers behind him.

"I'm not comfortable giving out that information?"

"I've already got it in the computer, but I'm supposed to have some kind of proof that it's you, not that knowing an address is really proof." Vegeta decided not to worry about it and pulled up the only account under that name. "Well, Tenshinhan, you have some late fees," he chuckled. His face turned red as his irritation with the employee rose.

"I do not have late fees," he stated firmly, and Vegeta rolled his eyes again.

"Yes, you do. See for yourself," he answered as he pointed to the computer screen.

"That's a bunch of shit. I know I returned those on time." Vegeta pulled up the screen saying exactly when they were checked out and when they were returned.

"Okay, you rented them on Wednesday. They were due back Friday. You returned them Saturday."

"No, that's not right," the customer complained. Vegeta was really getting annoyed.

"They were checked in at the exact same time Saturday afternoon which means they were either pulled from the drop box or handed to someone personally. If they were put in the drop, they wouldn't have sat there a whole day before someone checked them in. So yes, these are your late fees."

"No, this happens every time I come in here. I know when I returned them, and I demand that you take off those charges!"

"You're in no position to demand anything!" Vegeta snapped. "I don't have time for this shit. Either pay your fees or get out."

"This is bullshit. I want to talk to the manager."

"Well, he's not here, so I guess you're stuck with me," he said with a smirk.

"I am not paying those," he declared again as he slammed his fist on the counter. Vegeta just laughed. "You won't think it's funny when I beat the hell out of you." He quit laughing as anger took hold of him.

'This could be fun,' the prince thought as a smile resurfaced. "Alright moron. How about this? If you can beat me, I will take off your stupid late fees," Vegeta stated with a smug smile. Tenshinhan grinned.

"You're dead," he chuckled. With that, the two took off to the parking lot despite the protests from the line of customers. Piccolo heard a bunch of noise from the front of the store and went to see what was going on. He found five people waiting in line but no Vegeta.

"Where'd he go?" he asked the next person as she put her game on the counter.

"He's outside about to fight with that other guy."

"He's WHAT??!!" He quickly turned around to look out the front window, and sure enough Vegeta was standing in the parking lot staring at some three-eyed man. Piccolo shook his head as he turned back to his customer.

The two stood in the parking lot as they silently assessed each other and their surroundings. All the cars were parked next to the store, so they wouldn't get in the way. There was the crater, but it didn't appear to be a problem either.

"Well, are you going to start or not? I'm not going to wait all night," Vegeta chuckled. He barely spoke the words when Tenshinhan launched himself toward the Saiyajin. His fist flew past the alien's cheek, only missing it by a couple of inches. 'Hm, I guess I'll have to be a bit more serious with this guy.' The customer halted his momentum and lifted his knee toward the shorter man's stomach, but he missed again as Vegeta jumped backward.

"Ooh, I almost felt the wind off that one," he taunted. Tenshinhan attacked him with a flurry of punches, kicks, and combos, none of which landed. "I thought the point was to actually hit the opponent." Well, now he was pissed.

"I'm done playing. Now it's real," the human declared as he pulled both hands up to either side of his face.

'What the hell is he doing?'

"Taiyo ken!" he yelled and a great flash of light lit up the parking lot and half the surrounding neighborhoods as well. Vegeta's hands shot up to his eyes once he realized what was happening. Unfortunately he was too late. He rubbed his eyes as a sad attempt to help restore his vision. He opened his eyes but could only see a thick haze covered in streaks, and a blow to the gut sent him flying. He crashed into the side of the store, but not hard enough to do any damage. As he pulled himself up off the ground, his sight returned enough that he could at least see his opponent even though it was still blurry.

"You're mine!" he growled as he took off toward the three-eyed human. He fazed out and reappeared directly in front of him as he dealt an upper cup to his chin. Tenshinhan was sent flying into the air where an angry Saiyajin was already waiting for him. Vegeta clasped both his fists together and slammed them into the middle of the customer's back. He crashed into the parking lot and was knocked unconscious. The prince slowly descended and landed next to the fallen opponent.

"That was definitely not as fun as I thought it would be. Weakling," he complained as he kicked the man in the side, knocking him into the huge metal pole that supported the store sign. Vegeta turned back to go inside when a strange sound caught his attention. He glanced back to see the backlit plastic sign and its three story high pole start to fall.

"Shit!" He watched as the sign went right through the roof of the store, and the pole tore through the brickwork causing part of the wall to collapse. Debris flew everywhere as the customers fled the store. It finally stopped about halfway down the side wall of the store when the edge of the sign hit the floor. He stood there in shock over the damage he had unintentionally inflicted on the video store and suddenly remembered Tenshinhan.

'Idiot was probably crushed by that thing.' He walked over to the base of the sign and was relieved to find that the pole had bent just above the three foot high, thick concrete base that the customer was lying next to. Vegeta pulled the unharmed human, at least unharmed by the wreckage, away from the sign and laid him down in the middle of the parking lot.

"Bulma's going to be so pissed."

That's it for this one. I've already got 4 pgs of the next chapter done, so I should have it up in the next few days. I plan to anyway. I can't guarantee anything lately! Sorry this chapter was so crappy. Review if you want.

Next time: Bulma gets some unexpected advice that helps her put things into perspective.