Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Devil Within ❯ Prologue

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

AN: Yes, another new fic. I can’t help it, once I get an idea, I need to write it down and I couldn’t resist this one… This story will NOT be uploaded onto FF because this story is going to be very dark and the rating will be high.

It will also be updated on my blog before I update it on MM, so please, subscribe to it!

DISCLAIMER: Nope… Don’t own them.

…And onto the story…
How many times had this happened? How many times would she wake up in the middle of the night to find her entire bedroom illuminated with a blue light, a light that was emitting from the hands of the form that lay unconscious next to her. She gazed down at him sadly, her arms wrapped around her knees as she watched him struggle in his sleep. Sweat covered his entire body, his face was scrunched with what seemed like pain, and the occasionally grunts and moans could be heard from deep within his chest.

This wasn’t anything new and that’s what scared her.

Bulma knew Vegeta was plagued by nightmares of his past, but after nearly a month of peace, she had thought he had finally rid himself of any of those dreadful dreams. Yet, here she sat, awake at two in the morning while she watched her husband toss and turn in his sleep, the light that was currently surrounding his fisted hands glowing brighter and brighter. She bit her lip, the urge to wake him and end his suffering powerful, yet his previous warning stopped her from doing such a thing.

She could remember the very first time she had awoken to such a sight and a shiver ran down her spine at the memory.

It was during the time of their affair, before Trunks. After a rather lusty night together between the sheets, the two fell into a deep sleep, something uncommon to them both. They never before shared a bed—normally one of the two would immediately leave the room after their lusty bouts—and when Bulma awoke later that night to find the room glowing with his blue ki caused her to panic. She had sat up and turned over to find him in the midst of a nightmare, just from the look of his twisted face and decided to wake him up. Yet, if she knew how he would’ve reacted, she would’ve left him asleep, got up from the bed, and left the room for her own safety.

She had reached down and shook him, her hands gentle on his shoulders, yet her shaking was urgent. It didn’t take long and Bulma jumped in surprised when Vegeta’s eyes sprang open, the hand closest to her shooting out to grasp her around her throat, squeezing tightly, while the other lifted to hover above her head, glowing dangerously, threateningly, and Bulma screamed his name in horror and fear.

And it was that very scream that saved her life. He was panting heavily, his eyes were unfocused, and his arms and hands were trembling severely, but soon, the foggy haze in his eyes began to clear and he realized who he held in his deadly grasp. He had dropped her and yanked himself back as if she was a disease, while she rubbed at her sore neck and coughed as sweet air filled her lungs. They sat there, staring at one another and neither of them said anything, both for entirely different reason.

She had taken several minutes to gather her wits while he sat there on the bed, gazing down at his hands with an unreadable look. Finally, after time passed, Bulma asked hoarsely, “Are you okay?”

He lifted his head in surprise and blinked at her question. Was he okay? She was the one that was strangled and nearly killed and she was asking him if he was okay?

Without answering her, Vegeta had gotten up from the bed, leaning over to grab his spandex shorts and pulled them on. Then, he walked out of the room, and Bulma watched, her brows furrowing at his departure. She waited there on the bed for several moments, a part of her expecting him to return, but she knew he had left for the rest of the night. Sighing, she stood and gathered her scattered clothes and threw them on haphazardly, before chasing after the prince, the curious scientist in her winning over the logically scared human.

She ran outside, expecting to find him in the simulator, only to be disappointed when she saw the chamber was empty. She then searched the yard and sighed when there wasn’t a sign of his presence. When she turned to walk back to the compound, a movement from above caught her eye and she looked up just in time to see the legs of the Prince swinging over the ledge and disappearing from her sight.

Bulma smirked and ran back inside. He wasn’t the only one who could get on top of the roof. She threw open the door to her room, before she ran out onto her balcony, and began to climb over the railing to the piping alongside the wall of the compound. She grabbed onto it and began to climb, making sure of her footing as she shimmied up the wall of the compound. After a good minute of climbing, Bulma lifted herself onto the roof quietly and made her way over to where the Prince was currently laying.

His form was tense as she approached him and she sat beside him silently, her arms encircling her knees in a protective gesture. She waited for him to acknowledge her presence and when he didn’t, she bit her lip when she broke the tense silence between them.

“You didn’t hurt me,” she whispered reassuringly.

He scoffed as he stared up at the night sky. “You really think I care whether or not I hurt you?”

“Yes,” she said confidently, her eyes now on his face. “I know you care, Vegeta. You don’t have to say it.”

“You’re a fool, onna.”

Instead of responding to his insult, she went straight to the point. “How long have you been having nightmares?”

Vegeta’s jaw twitched, his eyes meeting hers briefly in a harsh glare, before he returned to gaze at the sky.

“I do not have nightmares,” he stated as if it were a simple fact.

Bulma frowned disbelieving. “Then what was that?”

“It is none of your concern, onna. Now leave me in peace, you annoying wench!” The next thing he knew, Bulma was straddling him, her face blocking his view of the star-lit sky, causing him to glower at her forward behavior. They may be fucking, but that didn’t mean she had the right to be so upfront with him.

Bulma met his gaze equally, her frown deepening at his response, and she placed her hands on his shoulders in a sad attempt to keep him laying there. “Don’t you think I deserve an explanation? I wake up to find the whole fucking room lit up with your ki and when I try to wake you, you nearly kill me! So, please, tell me that’s normal for you and I’ll leave you be,” she exclaimed defiantly, knowing from his shocked expression that she had him. When he continued to remain silent, she took her hands off his shoulders and sat up straight. “We both know that’s not normal for you. I know I get on your nerves, but no matter how angry I’ve made you, you never raised your hand at me… not like that.”

Vegeta’s right eye began to twitch uncontrollably as she continued to talk. He didn’t want to admit that she was right. He had never raised his hand to her before. Whenever he felt he was going to lose control of his temper, he would leave the room, and her, behind. He wasn’t sure what it was about her, but he couldn’t bring himself to hurt her like that… no matter his past discretions. And when he felt he was close enough to do damage, he would storm out and fly off to a place she couldn’t follow.

Finally, when her ranting trailed off, Vegeta slowly sat up, placing his hands almost gently on her hips to lift her off him. She obliged and sat beside him, watching as he brought his knee up to rest his arm on top of it, his eyes distant as he stared off into space. He felt he didn’t owe her an explanation, but her insistence was getting to him.

“You can talk to me, ya know? I’ll listen…”

Her offer shocked him and he turned his head to gaze at her questioningly. Should he tell her? Should he really tell her what his nightmare was about, give the explicit and gory details of the torment he endured in his dream that was very much a reality for him?

He thought about it long and hard, but his decision was made when she gazed at him with a gentle, innocent look. No. He wouldn’t tell her. He couldn’t understand why, but the thought of tainting the innocence of her soul with the foul impurity of his past wasn’t something he could bring himself to do.

Instead, he said this, “If we’re to continue this,” he gestured with his head between the two of them, a knowing look on his face, “then, you need to know something.”

Bulma nodded and inched forward, prepared to hear whatever it was he was willing to tell her.

“If that happens again... Do not wake me up.”

She blinked in surprise, not expecting that. “O-okay…”

Vegeta growled, his eyes narrowing. “I’m serious, onna. If you value your life, you will not wake me up if that happens again.”

“But… I can’t just let you go through something like that—” she began to say, but when he snarled, she immediately shut her mouth.

“Promise me this, Bulma!”

At that, she could only nod and mutter an “I promise, Vegeta,” to him. It wasn’t like him to ever use her name and the seriousness of the situation settled heavy on her shoulders. If it was what he wished, then she would do it for his sake… and her own.

She couldn’t help, though, to feel a bit of warmth at his obvious concern for her safety.

Ever since then, whenever they stayed together at night, she never woke him up, no matter how much she wanted to, just to end his suffering. She never knew what it was he dreamt of, but she knew it was bad. She constantly wondered what he saw behind his closed eyelids, but he would never indulge her in his nightmares. And it bothered her to no end.

So, instead of giving into her urge, she just sat there, watching as his head tossed back and forth while he muttered in his sleep. Occasionally, she could hear the name Frieza pop out of his mouth in a hateful spat, but anything else he muttered was nearly inaudible, so after awhile, she gave up trying to understand.

Bulma wasn’t sure how long she sat there watching her husband suffer at the hands of a nightmare, but soon, the blue light that emitted from his hands began to fade and eventually, his tossing and turning calmed. She sighed with relief as she watched his tense form relax, his heavy panting evening out and finally she lay back down next to her husband and cuddled close to him. It wouldn’t be long before he woke up and in times like that she wanted to pretend she was asleep so he wouldn’t flee at knowing she had witnessed his display of weakness.

When she felt him stir, Bulma closed her eyes and feigned sleep, her head nearly resting on the same pillow as his, her hand slithering underneath the pillow to make it look like she had simply just turned over for comfort. Several moments later, she could feel him sit up, the bed dipping as he moved to sit on the edge of the mattress and then, she didn’t feel anything.

Peeking an eye open, she saw his scarred back facing her, his head lowered and his arms resting atop his knees and the sight nearly broke her heart. He sat there, his hands running along his face as he woke up and he flinched when he felt her hands rest against his back. He shifted when those hands slid around his waist and she hugged him from behind, her bare breasts pressing against his heated back as she embraced him.

“Why don’t you tell me about your nightmares?” Bulma whispered to him, her chin resting on his shoulder.

“Onna…” Vegeta began only to trail off when he had nothing to really say.

“I hate seeing you suffer. You don’t get any rest. You toss and turn, you’re ki flares up, and you sweat like you’re in the battle of your life. Talk to me, tell me, please,” she pleaded as she nuzzled him beneath his ear.

Vegeta sighed and closed his eyes, allowing him this one moment to bask in his mates embrace, her warm breath caressing his ear as she pleaded with him to open up to her.

“I can’t, Bulma…”

“Vegeta—”

“I said no!” He exclaimed before he pulled himself from his mate’s embrace, his scarred back disappearing into the bathroom. It wasn’t long before Bulma could hear the shower running and she sighed sadly. Again, he would escape to the simulator and again, she would have to dress his self-inflicted wounds.

What more could she do? If he refused to say anything to her, then she couldn’t help him.

Minutes later, the water turned off and shortly after, Vegeta emerged from the bathroom, dressed in his spandex shorts. He never spared her a glance as he made his way towards the bedroom door, but he halted when she spoke.

“Please, Vegeta… I hate it when you do this…” she murmured. “I’m only trying to help you.”

He stood there, his shoulder’s tense, but at her words, they drooped a bit, his head dipping forward as he let out a long breath. When he turned around to speak, again, his mate cut him off.

“You don’t have to tell me now, if you don’t want to. I understand. But, please… don’t keep it in forever.”

Vegeta stared at her for a long moment before he nodded once, turned, and left the room. He knew she would find out one day. Maybe not from his mouth directly, possibly from his dreams, but he knew…

It was only a matter of time…

…TBC…


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