Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Senses ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Two

That voice.

"Vegeta, can you hear me?"

So familiar, and yet so strange. It wasn't his native language, although he recognized the tone before deciphering the words. Someone was worried. Worried about him.

"Vegeta, please answer me."

Vegeta couldn't remember anyone being worried about him before. Just as he had never worried about anyone else. Any emotions that showed weakness had either been bred or beaten out of him long ago. And he had taken great pride in it. Emotions were just extra baggage that could affect a warrior's efficiency.

"Vegeta?"

The voice was becoming clearer, but he hesitated to answer it. Maybe it was just a memory of a voice from long ago. If he answered it, he might drive the memory away. That was the last thing he wanted to do. He liked the sound of that voice.

"Oh, Vegeta."

The voice, now laced with the threat of tears, was female. Of that, Vegeta was now positive. Yet he had known so few females in his lifetime of killing. He concentrated harder, now noticing a dull ache in his head, trying to put a face to the sound. Only momentary flashes of images flitted across the darkness, too quick to see clearly.

"Come on, Vegeta, please open your eyes."

As the pain in his head grew more pronounced, so did his understanding of the words. His eyes were closed. That explained why it was so dark. So if he just opened them, he would be able to see who was speaking. See who was so worried about him. And why.

"Vegeta."

The voice was now so familiar that Vegeta could almost picture its owner in the back of his mind. Each time the image started to clear, the increasing pain would erase it. He attempted to open his eyes, but the effort cost him a sharp stab to the middle of his forehead. He tried to move his arms, legs, neck. . .anything. . .but nothing would respond. He couldn't even smell anything. Like something was covering part of his face.

"Can you hear me?"

He could hear, but couldn't move. It seemed like his limbs were set in solid rock. Even his eyelids refused to cooperate. Tentatively, he moved his tongue, relieved when it responded immediately. He tried to swallow, but his throat seemed so dry that it could have been coated with desert sand.

"Please don't die."

Die? He wouldn't die. The memory of the gravity chamber explosion came suddenly to the foreground of Vegeta's mind. It had happened so fast, and he had been so tired from training, that there was no escape from the blast. That was the reason he was in so much pain. He cursed himself for being so weak.

"Vegeta!"

The pleading scream assaulted his now alert ears. Now he recognized the voice! The fact that he had never heard her worry over him before must have been the reason he didn't recognize it at first. It sounded much better than the usual demanding tone she used whenever she was near him. It almost sounded. . .nice. Having someone worry about him was a new experience, but one he could definitely get used to.

"Vegeta, answer me, dammit!" Bulma shouted.

"Shut up, woman! You're giving me a headache!" Vegeta croaked from behind the oxygen mask.