Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend Of the Bond ❯ Berries, kisses, and Introductions. ( Chapter 9 )

Vegeta walked down the empty corridor of the palace, his usually handsome countenance stony with concentration and displeasure. It was almost night-time and soon he would be off to see his bonded; the only thing nowadays that gave him any pleasure besides his training and fighting. But all too soon, those pleasurable nights would be coming to end, if only temporarily.

Vegeta had just gotten word from his father that Freeza had finished taking care of some pressing distraction that had arisen and would be arriving in six months to personally pick him up, but for what reason, Freeza did not say. As if that wasn’t enough bad news, his father announced that he was going to speed up the wedding plans between his son and Yasai, so that they would be married right after the prince returned from whatever assignment Freeza had in store for him, instead of waiting until after his coronation ceremony. Prince Vegeta had been beyond infuriated when he became informed of these unwanted arrangements. Now that he had and wanted his bonded, he could not even fathom being married to that whorish creature who called herself a Saiya-jin Elite. Even after six months with his bonded, Bulma still did not know who he truly was, and it seemed to him the time spent in her company was never long enough.

Vegeta first needed to change out of his royal armor and cape. If he ever went to see Bulma in what he was wearing now, she would probably attack him, and he might, if there were others around, have to kill her. He quickly pushed those thoughts aside, and thought of her training…and her wonderfully sexy body under that form-fitting suit she wore.

“My, my, what have we here? Is my prince lost in thought?” A tall shadowed figure stepped out from around the corner ahead of Vegeta.

Vegeta instantly recognized that voice, so masculine, but eerily feminine. “Yasai, what do you want?”

Haughty and confident in her actions, Yasai walked seductively closer to her prince, causing him to stop in his tracks. “Why, I’ve just come to celebrate our upcoming nuptials, of course.” She was much taller than him, but she didn’t care. She was in love with his power, money, and possessions and luring him into her bed would secure her place within the powerful royal family that much sooner. She slid beside him, running a finger around his shoulder armor.

“Unhand me, witch, or I will do it for you,” he growled through clenched teeth.

“Temper, temper, my soon-to-be husband. You don’t want a maimed wife, now do you?” Regardless of his implied threat, she retracted her finger, and was now standing behind him, licking her lips.

“You will never be my wife. You are unworthy of even the air you breathe.”

“Oh, but the king doesn’t believe you and you know why I do it…” she smirked. “If you would only call on me at night…”

Vegeta blocked out her words of enticement and began thinking of his bonded, Bulma. Ironically, here he was, the Prince of the Saiya-jins, the mightiest warrior in the universe, seeking acceptance, from a slave with hardly any ki. But, Bulma, for all of her weaknesses, was more worthy of him than this creature before him now, trying to get him to accept her.

“I will never accept you, Yasai, and you will never be my queen. The lowliest slave on Vegeta-sei is far more worthy of that title than you could ever be. I suggest that you watch your back from here on out.” With that, he continued towards his chambers, leaving Yasai angered and insulted, but rooted in place. What she believed to be an insult, though, Vegeta had said in utmost truth, for he was thinking at that precise moment of Bulma…and how she would be a much better queen than Yasai.

**********

Bulma ran as fast as she could towards her garden – in her mind, the garden she carefully tended was always her garden. It was already night and she was late for her meeting with her friend with no name. She wondered if he would still be there as she was almost over an hour late. She was breathing hard and could hardly run at all though, and it was taking her too much time to get to the spot where they would meet. Fresh from a beating from Chili, she was bleeding and very tired. Today, she had been given four extra assignments and had taken too long on the last one, causing Chili to be enraged. One of the slaps he had given her had cut her cheek, but most of the damage was on her body. Hopefully, her training suit would hide those injuries from her friend. Because she was running late she had not taken the time to apply her healing balm, which she had gotten from Seripa, on her wounds, even though she was still bleeding, she didn’t care; the only thing that mattered in her life now was seeing him. She had to get to him; he had to be there…

Breathing hard, Bulma arrived at the spot she would meet her Saiya-jin friend – her only friend. And there, in front of her, with his back turned, was the man that made her life worth living. She slumped in relief, grateful at that moment that he waited. She would make it up to him…somehow.

“You’re late,” he said tonelessly, still not facing her, but he could tell something was wrong.

“Sorry, I had extra assignments,” she said panting, as she leaned over and placed her hands on her knees, holding herself up.

Turning around to look at her, Vegeta immediately he saw the oozing cut on her cheek. A new emotion crept into his heart. All anger at her tardiness forgotten, a wave of protectiveness washed over him. He took a couple large strides over to her, grabbed her arm, and roughly pulled her upright. As he laced his fingers around her arm, she cried out softly in pain. Bulma did want to appear weak in front of this man, so she held back on screaming. Vegeta cupped her chin, forcing her to face him, then ran his finger over her lacerated cheek, wiping at the blood that was trickling down her face. He narrowed his eyes; his anger was not directed at her, but at the fool who would do something like this to her.

“Who did this to you?”

“Don’t you know? I told you before. Chili beats me when he feels like it.”

“And he does this to you? He is going against the prince’s decree.”

“He has done worse.”

Then Vegeta remembered that fateful day when she took a horrible beating for breaking a vase, which he ordered to be stopped. He could do nothing directly to Chili without raising suspicion. Chili was a Slave Master and, under law, he had every right to beat any of his slaves as he saw fit, even Bulma. He had to keep that in mind. Then he looked down and saw that her hand was covered in blood, causing his outrage to return. He took his hand and roughly pulled her training suit down below her shoulders, just above her breasts. She gasped and quickly turned red with fury.

“Hey! What do you think your doing, PERVERT?!”

“SHUT UP!” he yelled as he studied the extent of her bruises and injuries. She quickly shut her mouth and looked at him, clearly confused by his actions.

Vegeta took note that, not only was she bleeding, but she reeked of sweat, trash, and other smells, probably picked up from the animals she tended. He hated when she smelled like a slave. “You should go back to your quarters to rest. Your weakened body cannot handle training in this condition. Plus you stink. I will not train a weakling who smells like garbage.”

Bulma huffed. “That’s not my fault, I thought I told you –”

“Do you have something to help you heal?” Vegeta said, cutting her off her argument.

“Yes, but I had no time to apply it. I didn’t want to be any later then I already was.”

“Fine, but we will take care of this now; down at the rock pool, near the river.” With that, Vegeta picked her up and flung her over his shoulder.

“I can walk, you know! Put me down!” Bulma protests went unheard as Vegeta walked towards the river.

Once they arrived, Vegeta set Bulma down in a way so as not to cause her injuries to become any worse, but not too gently, either. He didn’t want her to think that he’d somehow grown soft.

They were standing together at the bank of the rock pool and he wanted her to be healed as fast as possible. Bulma looked around to make sure no one was around then stepped closer to the water. “Where are you hurt?” he asked.

She turned to face him. He was only a few steps ahead her, looking at her intensely. “Mostly my back, but I have some injuries on my chest, shoulders, and arms. But nothing on my legs, thank goodness.”

“Then remove your training suit so I can stop your bleeding and seal the wounds. You said you had something for it, right?”

“J-just hold on…” she said nervously. She had been forced to strip in front of Chili, but to do so in front of this man, her friend and the man she loved, made her feel oddly too shy for her liking.

“If you have qualms about undressing in front of me, then turn around and only undress halfway. We don’t have time to waste on your unnecessary modesty.”

“Wait, I have to use my capsule to get the balm…”

“Hurry, then undress and get into the water.”

Just before Bulma threw her robes to the side and unhooked her belt, she got her capsule out of her pocket, clicked the button and threw it onto the riverbank. While she was doing that, Vegeta took off his cape and hood, as well as his boots and gloves. When he took off his top, he looked at Bulma. She was standing there, going through the metal box, searching for her medical supplies, but she looked worn and the thought disturbed him. He had never seen her look this way. Over the last six months when she told him of her beatings, he had never seen the damage and she told him that she hardly bled anymore from them. Today, she must have been beaten badly and he could sense that it had taken a heavy toll on her spirit – and he hated it. He looked at her sternly then looked away; he would not let his emotions take over him.

When Bulma found the balm, she clenched it in her fist. This amazing medicine had helped to heal the cuts and bruises on her face from that awful incident two years ago and now there were no scars left to mar her pretty skin. When she turned to face her friend, she was taken aback at his appearance. He stood, clad only in his tight training pants and nothing else, looking directly into the pool, fierce concentration written on his face. All the time they’d spent together, she’d hardly seen his face without the hood covering part of it. His black, flame-like hair stood up stiffly over his head and hardly seemed to be effected by the wind. She slowly walked towards him, taking in the sight, noticing the scars littered across his muscular arms, chest, stomach, and shoulders.

“Damn it! Hurry up! We don’t have all night.”

She nodded and quickened her steps. “Alright, okay…here,” she said, holding out the balm container. He looked down at it with disappointment.

“Is this all you have?”

“I’m a slave…remember?”

Vegeta mentally cursed himself. He had done it again, forgetting her status. Lately, he hadn’t been able to think of her as a slave, one among many other slaves of Vegeta-sei – because, to him, she was so much more. “Then this will have to do. Undress and get into the water.”

Bulma blushed then quickly waded into the water without undressing. Vegeta watched her for a moment more before following behind her with the balm in his hand. He didn’t care that the water was cold, or that he could hardly see. All he wanted to do was apply the healing balm onto her injuries as soon as possible and then leave. Knowing she would soon be half-naked and he would be touching her skin made his mind swirl with lust. It was tortuous, knowing that he could not have what he so desperately wanted.

When Bulma was waist deep in water, with her back towards Vegeta, she pulled her training suit down to her hips. He was grateful for the darkness that hid her exposed breasts from his sight. The night sky held no moon tonight for it only came out once a year, but the stars were thick and bright, providing sufficient light. When that small amount of light shone on her bared her back, his ki rose slightly with anger. The pale skin on her back was crisscrossed with numerous scars, physical reminders of beatings with electro-whips and knuckled fists. Since she could neither reach nor see those areas, she hadn’t been able to use the balm on them. Vegeta clenched his teeth, silently vowing himself that when he got her out of this mess, he would see her back restored.

Bulma carefully covered her breasts with her arms and twisted her head around to see him jab his fingers into the balm. “Why are you angry?” she asked.

“I do not like the fact you are beaten without my permission,” he said without thinking.

“Without your permission? I’m not your slave, remember?! And I’m not your property, either!”

Ignoring her objections, he commanded, “Kneel.”

With her back still towards him, Bulma kneeled down into the cold, clear water until she was submerged up to her shoulders. She could feel the blood being washed away, along with her pain. Soon, her wounds would be treated by her friend’s touch and the balm Seripa had given her. After a few minutes, she stood up, letting the droplets of water flow down her skin. Bulma stiffened for a second when he started rubbing the medicine on her injuries. But his touch felt hot and comforting, so she relaxed and closed her eyes, letting the painful events of the day slip from her mind. The man she loved was helping her in such a special way. Then she felt his touch go away and she opened her eyes. Without saying a word, he handed her the balm over her shoulder and she took it from him, so that she could treat her chest injuries. The chill night air passing over her wet body wasn’t the only reason she shivered.

She thought back to the many occasions when she had to treat herself after a beating. Those times had been very difficult for her. Fearful of Chili’s wrath, none of the other slaves would help her. Eventually, Bulma believed that everyone hated her, that she would never have friends. Certainly, Goku didn’t hate her and Seripa didn’t hate her, but they were different, they had chosen not to get too close to her, not like the man behind her. His comforting touch, his concern, was worth all her hardships. She wasn’t alone when she had him.

The night winds passed into stillness and once Bulma finished applying the balm, she carefully eased up her wet training suit to cover herself. While she was doing that, Vegeta had dressed as well. All he had seen was her bare back, and he was thankful for he did not know what his reaction might have been if he had seen the breasts of the woman he desired. His yearning and anxiety for her only increased when his thoughts suddenly turned to his upcoming departure in six months and return into Freeza’s service.

In that moment, Vegeta knew, absolutely, that he cared for his bonded; Bulma, the one who was most worthy for him, the one destined for him. He regretted destroying Chikyuu, her home planet, but, at the time, it was necessary. But he did not regret taking those 100 slaves, either, for if he had not, he would have lost the woman in front of him as well. Life without Bulma in it didn’t seem right to him anymore. He was already dreading the day when, in six months, he would have to leave her here alone. Perhaps he could free her before he left or perhaps…he could love her before he left.

Bulma’s heart felt different about the man she knew as her friend, but she still did not know his name. What was he hiding? She didn’t care anymore. Her heart only knew that after this night, her feelings for him had grown into something very deep. That thought caused her great pleasure and great pain at the same time, because she knew, as a slave, love would be denied to her.

**********

After that night, both Vegeta and Bulma grew closer. Their bond seemed stronger; their will to live seemed stronger as well. Vegeta carried out his duties as the leader of the rebellion with zeal and Bulma performed her slave duties with less resentment. Five months remained before Vegeta’s life would change and he wasn’t looking forward to it. He did not want to forego his nights with Bulma, but he knew that he would have to. When he returned, he would be able to see her again, but as long as she was still a slave, they had no real future together. Sooner or later he would have to permanently forego these nights, unless he found a way to free her. Either they would be separated by that, by Freeza, or by the fact she was an alien. It would happen one day, no matter what. Vegeta inwardly carried the hope that, if somehow he was able to free her, he could love her freely and without any restrictions.

The days became mere preludes to the nights and still they had not shared a kiss. Bulma’s training sessions grew shorter and shorter and the times they spent in idleness increased. They would sit, close together, or lay and gaze at the stars. If they happened to touch each other, either for comfort, for training or for simple actions like wiping dirt from the others face, they kept the contacts as casual as possible. They continued their friendship, knowing that the passion they would create if they did give in to their yearnings would not be easily contained within the simple garden. Bulma’s position as a slave held her back and Vegeta’s reluctance kept him at a distance.

A month had passed since he’d helped treat her wounds. That particular night was no different than the ones they’d shared. Bulma’s training was cut short and now they sat on the grass. The air between them was peaceful, and very calm. Vegeta was silent while Bulma sat next to him, busily tinkering with one of her inventions. They had not said much, but they could feel each other through their bond and it was enough for the time being. Suddenly, a thought came to Bulma.

“What’s your favorite food?” she said, as though she was simply expressing a passing thought.

“Leg meat.”

“Oh…I really like strawberries…I haven’t seen anything like berries here. I would give the world to have some.”

“There are red berries on Vegeta-sei, but only royalty may eat them since they are rare.”

“Oh.” Bulma turned her attention back to her invention for several more quiet minutes until another thought came to mind. “You know,” she started, “I don’t know the simplest things about you and I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind answering some questions…you don’t have to, of course,” she paused then glanced at him hopefully. “My questions are rather silly, though. Would you mind?”

“Fine, ask them.”

“What is your favorite color?”

“Dark blue.”

“Mine is pink, if you’re wondering. How about your favorite past time?”

“Training.”

“Job?”

R 20;I’m a Super-Elite; I lead.”

She frowned at this answer. It was too vague to understand, but she let it slide. “So, you know the prince?”

“Yes.”

“Oh…” Bulma went silent for a moment then resumed her questions. “Do you live close by?”

“Doesn’t matter, my speed allows me to go anywhere on this planet in little to no time.”

“Do you have a family?”

“I have a father; that is all.”

“Have you ever been in love with…a woman before?”

Vegeta was caught off-guard with this question and immediately grew uncomfortable. “That will be quite enough with your foolish questions…you are starting to annoy me.”

“I just wanted to know you better…that’s all. We never talk about these simple things,” she sighed. “Can I ask just one more question?”

“Fine,” he grunted. “No more after that.”

“Are there any dresses on Vegeta-sei? I never see anyone wearing anything but training suits and armor.”

“For Saiya-jins, that is our attire of choice. But some of our paid servants wear such clothing. We have an alien marketplace near the Royal City and I believe that those items are available for purchase there.”

“Paid servants?”

“Yes, servants that are paid for their services, but they cannot leave Vegeta-sei without permission.”

“I never heard of them.”

“They can be found in or near the Royal City, and we are far away from there.”

“I see,” she said. “Why I couldn’t have landed there, instead of here, after I was captured? Just my luck, darnit.”

“You were misplaced,” he said, a little too quickly.

Puzzled, Bulma frowned and said, “What?”

Vegeta cleared this throat. “It isn’t your concern. I have already planned to deal with the little problem that caused your misplacement.” Until just that moment, Vegeta had forgotten about Nappa. He would have to deal with that traitor before he left.

“If I was ‘misplaced’, how do you know about it and how dare they misplace me, a lady? Does anybody know what I’ve been through because of their mistake?”

“He doesn’t care.”

Her frown deepened. “Who doesn’t care?”

“Nappa,” Vegeta answered. “He misplaced you, on purpose.”

“Grrr, I hate that man! I knew he had something to do with it!” Furious, Bulma slammed the tool she was using into the ground. All her pain and all her struggles, all because of Nappa, the man that killed her father – and that damned prince! She would always hate those two. That she was here, mistakenly, caused her rage to boil under her skin. Her mind raced, her emotions seemed to grow uncontrollable…

But then she felt a gentle hand rest on her tensed shoulder. She swung her head around and looked at her friend. His face didn’t hold any emotion, but his gesture, his touch calmed her.
The tension left her body and the night became quiet and still once again, Bulma let out a huge sigh and grew silent as she contemplated the information that had been just given to her. With his hand still touching her shoulder, Vegeta concentrated on their bond, using it to calm her emotions. As he continued to reach out to her through their connection, he felt calmed in return – accepted and welcome.

**********

A disgusted Nappa was making his way through the third-class soldier barracks. To have to even breathe the same air as these pathetic third-class grunts made him want to vomit. He was an Elite and one of the prince’s aides, and never before did he think that he’d have to lower himself to visit such a place as this.

Six years ago, he thought he had taken care of a certain blue-haired brat when he sent her to serve under Slave Master Chili. But somehow she survived and hadn’t died quickly like he believed she would. He remembered telling Chili to make sure she was broken, beaten, and killed within weeks. Now, the useless Slave Master had called upon him, an Elite, regarding that very bitch who had somehow made it to adulthood. Many of her fellow Chikyuu-jins had died already; there were about a dozen or so left on Vegeta-sei, maybe a little more then that. Truly, they were dying off, but to Nappa, a Saiya-jin, it wasn’t his race that was doomed for extinction, so he couldn’t care less. Since the prince didn’t know she was here, Nappa concluded he would have to kill her himself.

When he finally entered the Slave Master’s chamber, he was quite displeased. In response to the orange, four-eyed freak’s bow, Nappa merely growled. Like the prince, he hated pleasantries; they were showy and fake and a waste of time.

“What is it, slave? Couldn’t handle one little girl?” Nappa saw the anger flaring in all four of Chili’s eyes at that insult.

“Unfortunately for both of us, I believe she has attained some kind of power. Or luck, perhaps, or…allies.”

“She is Chikyuu-jin,” said Nappa, dismissing that suggestion with an impatient wave. “They are nothing special, as we all found out. It is most likely dumb luck.”

“Lord Nappa, I have failed you in your request.”

“I know, you useless fuck, but since you have always done a good job before for me, I’ll let this one slide,” he added with a sneer.

“I have some additional news about her, Lord Nappa.”

Nappa’s dark mustache twitched in annoyance. “What news?”

“I believe she has been stealing form the engineering department here.”

“Is that so?” he said, his eyebrows were now raised in interest.

“Yes, although I do not know what she does with these items,” said Chili. “And I have recently found out she has been slipping out of the barracks at night only to return before dawn.”

Nappa began to think back to the time of her capture on Chikyuu. Then he remembered he had taken her from a father that looked like a scientist. “I suspect that she might be creating a means of escape. I will take care of her tonight.”

Chili got down on his knees and hands and bowed deeply to Nappa, not out of respect, but gratitude. “Thank you, Great Lord Nappa! That one has been the bane of my existence; the only slave I have never broken. Every breath she takes reminds me of my failure to you.”

“Always remember it, useless Tabe-jin. Next time, I’ll find a way to rip off your cock and feed it to you should you ever fail me again…” With that, he whipped around and left Chili on the floor, trembling. Nappa was not one to be disappointed by any subordinate and Chili knew that. He could never fail again, or the Saiya-jin Elite would make things a lot worse for him; far beyond losing just his manhood.

As angry as he was at Chili’s failures, Nappa was silently elated that he would be the one to finally crush the blue-haired Chikyuu-jin bitch.

**********

That dark clouds that night were jealously hiding the stars behind them as though they were unwilling to share their beauty. After he landed a distance away, Vegeta walked the rest of the way to the garden, carrying a small box with him. A few hours earlier, while taking his evening meal in his suite at the palace, his servants happened to serve him a bowl of red berries as a side dish. As he ate lavishly, but with manners begetting a prince, his mind had wandered to the conversation with his bonded the night before. She had mentioned that her favorite food was something called strawberries. Though he had no idea what those particular berries looked like, the red berries sitting in the bowl kept reminding him of what she had said. Right then he decided to give them to her; besides, he didn’t care for them much anyway. That thoughts of her were even invading his mealtimes finalized the truth for him. He wasn’t an idiot; he knew this strong emotion he felt for her had to be…affection, even love.

But what was he going to do? He had thought for many hours, even during training, of ways to have her as anything but a slave. If he simply declared “I wish to free this slave” it would raise too many questions and could jeopardize his rebellion. If he took her for a pleasure slave, she would hate him for it, not only because he knew she hated the idea, but because she would eventually find out that he was the prince, the person she hated most. If he helped her escape and if anyone saw her again, she would be killed on the spot. She was a slave of the lowest class, and for him to promote her or openly admire her in anyway would again raise too many questions. No one could find out that he loved this woman, not yet. He had too many enemies who might try to harm or use her against him. He had to protect her. Though he was confident he could kill any who tried, she was too weak and might not survive…and, in a way she was weakness to him, something he could not admit. But Bulma gave him strength, too. For now, he had to focus on his current situation and wait for an opportunity to present itself to him.

Vegeta smirked. He had come late on purpose, just to agitate Bulma, who had been late that night a month ago. He entered the clearing, watching as his bonded did sit-ups. She was being as diligent as always. He noted that she had her light invention out, to help her see in this dark night. She was sweating and she had not noticed his arrival yet again. When he stepped closer, with his hood down, he stopped and smirked again. Just being here felt right to him. At that moment, Bulma stopped exercising and looked at him, anger and relief in her eyes.

“So you’re late tonight. Does this mean I don’t have to pay you back anymore for being late that night?”

“I wouldn’t count on it, Bulma. You still owe me.”

“So does that mean you owe me now as well?”

“I do not owe anyone anything.”

“I’ll never understand Saiya-jin ways. Or is it just your way to be so arrogant?”

Vegeta smirked. “I thought that after six years here you knew all about Saiya-jin ways.”

“I do, I just don’t understand them.” The look on her face was sour. She had missed him greatly, and right now his arrogance was both pleasing to her and very frustrating. She stood up and suddenly gave him her best smile. She was just glad he was finally here.

“So, shall we start?”

“No.”

“Why not? Aren’t you going to train me anymore?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions, woman!” Vegeta said with a scowl. He hated it when she played dumb. He found his usual spot on the grass and sat down. Bulma followed him a moment later. Once she sat down, she pulled her knees to her chest. He shifted uncomfortably for a moment, feeling nervous for some reason, which caused her to be nervous as well. Then he held the box out to her.

“Oh, I guess that’s why…” Bulma commented as she looked at the box, but didn’t take it right away, which angered the prince.

“Take it!”

“Gees! Okay, okay! It’s not like I’ve gotten a gift from anyone in like, six years!”

Bulma tried to make her voice sound annoyed and angry, but she was far from it. She hadn’t expected the box to be a gift from him and the idea made her heart feel light and happy. She breathed a sigh a relief and took the box. Once it was out of his hands, Vegeta eased back fully onto his back and put his hands behind his head, just staring at the blackened sky. Bulma gasped as she opened the box and her eyes widened when she saw the red berries inside. To anyone else, it would’ve been a trivial gesture, but the fact that he had remembered meant so much to her. Tears formed in her eyes and she wiped them away as fast as she could. She turned to look at him, but he didn’t look at her. He kept his eyes to the sky.

“Oh, thank you…thank you so much!”

“Eat them before thanking me.”

Bulma didn’t want to waste time arguing, so she immediately selected a berry from the box and bit into it. The berries were weirdly shaped, long and thin like sticks, but red, very red. The seeds in the core were soft and easily chewable. Memories of Chikyuu flooded her mind as the juices burst through in her mouth. Though the berries tasted too sweet to be any type of berry from Chikyuu, the sensation felt the same. She couldn’t control her delighted smile. It felt like she was in heaven right then and there. It was the best thing she had eaten in six years. What made it all the sweeter was that the man next to her remembered her ranting from the night before and brought these berries to please her. Then a thought occurred to her from their previous night’s discussion.

“I thought only royalty ate these?” she asked, after swallowing her fifth berry.

“I thought I told you, I’m Super-Elite. Don’t concern yourself with how I obtained them.”

“I hope you won’t get into any trouble for this.”

“I won’t. Don’t concern yourself with me either; no one can harm me.”

She moved closer, still eating the berries. “But I can’t help it. I’m worried about you.”

“I do not need your worry. It’s unnecessary and annoying.”

Bulma sighed and held out the last berry. “Want some?”

“Of course not; if I had wanted I would have eaten them myself.”

After shrugging her shoulders, she popped the berry into her mouth. “Alright, it’s your loss,” she said, savoring the last, lingering sweetness until it was gone.

Bulma faced him again and her thoughts merged into chaos. What she felt and what he had done for her, made her heart want to cry out. She wouldn’t last too long anyway, if she didn’t escape soon… But she loved him, this man with no name. Her life would be meaningless now without him. The last seven months spent with him during the nights, were the only times she had felt truly alive. Deep in thought, her eyes drifted away from him. If she had to, then she would continue to live out the better part of the her rest of her life at night – a slave during the day, but not at night – in the company with the man with no name. And at night, she was free to love…

Bulma lay down next to him, positioning herself until her chest was on top of him. Vegeta didn’t move or speak, but his dark eyes turned to meet her blue ones, full of love and longing. For a long moment, she studied his face. His features were handsome but rough, though his lips looked soft enough. He lifted his hand and gently held the side of her neck, letting his fingers slide to the base of her skull, and pulled her closer till her face was inches away from his. Heat from their bodies surrounded their bodies like an aura. No words or sound escaped from them.

Bulma leaned forward, letting him puller her closer and they both closed their eyes as their lips met. At first it was soft and slow, but as the newness faded away and passion took over, the kiss became deep and quick. Neither of them wanted to hold back any longer. Vegeta wrapped his arms around her as his tail relaxed, uncoiling from around his waist. But before his hands could wander further or before they could catch their breath, allowing the warmth of the moment to fill their hearts, they heard…

“WHERE ARE YOU, YOU LITTLE BITCH?” said an unwelcome voice from not too far away. That taunting, masculine voice was familiar to both of them. They both broke off the kiss and sat up, their hearts pounding like mad.

“Nappa!” they both said in unison.

Bulma immediately shot up to her feet then held out her hands to prevent her friend from standing as well. “I don’t want you to get in trouble! Stay where you are and the bushes will cover you! Please,” she begged, “let me handle him!”

Vegeta didn’t like being told what to do. “Oh, you think you can handle him?”

“Please!” Her eyes held a desperation he hadn’t seen before, so he stood and made no other move. For the time being, he would stay where he was, but he would also watch and to see what she would do.

“He’s all yours. Tch, he will kill you before you can blink.” Again, Vegeta allowed himself to forget his vow to take care of the traitor, but he would do so tonight, no matter what.

She looked at him with a forced smile. “Thank you, again.”

Her tone seemed like an absolution. She wouldn’t dare! His bonded wouldn’t – couldn’t kill herself to protect him! He swore that he would step in to stop either her or Nappa, if one of them tried.

Taking a deep breath, Bulma jumped through a nearby bush and landed right in front of Nappa, startling him. Vegeta peered through the darkness and greenery, hating the thought that she might be giving her life to protect him. Silly woman. She growled and stood ready in a fighting stance. Nappa’s lips curled in disgust as he placed his fists on either side of his waist and glared at her. Her fear of him was evident in her visible shivers but her stance was firm and unmoving. As Nappa looked at her, his moustache slowly curled into a smirk. He had her now, and he was taking pleasure in her obvious fear; it would make her death all the more enjoyable.

“There you are, you little thief.”

“I’m not a thief, you ass.”

“Then why are you wearing a Saiya-jin training suit? They don’t give those to trash like you.”

“It was a gift,” she said coldly.

Nappa thought of what Chili had mentioned. ‘Unfortunately for both of us, I believe she has attained some kind of power. Or luck, perhaps, or…allies.’ “It doesn’t matter, I say you are thief for accepting them and you are a worthless slave who doesn’t deserve to wear them. As it is, tonight, you will die in them.”

“I won’t be an easy kill. I’m stronger than I appear.”

Smirking confidently, Nappa reached up and clicked his scouter on his ear; her power level read 50. “I don’t think so. You’re as weak as a pup.”

“We’ll see.” Bulma’s heart felt like it was going to explode. Here was the man who killed her father and dragged her to this awful planet. Even if she died tonight – although she really didn’t want to – she would do what she had to in order to avenge her father and protect her friend. With a flick of her wrist, a new invention covered the tips of her fingers on her right hand. This device was similar to the earlier ki disrupter that Pota had destroyed, but it was much more powerful, as well as stronger and lighter. Now she was ready. At least she could go to her death happy, with the content knowledge that she had finally shared a kiss with the man she loved.

Vegeta was hanging back, keeping still, but his eyebrows silently arched up when he saw her produce the device in her hand.

“Before I rip your pretty little head off your filthy shoulders, I demand that you tell me what you did with the stuff you stole from the Engineering Department!”

“Like I said before, I’m not a thief, so I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sure, right. Tell the truth, girly, and I’ll give you a somewhat painless death.”

“Not in your life, you bald-assed monkey! Come and try to make me talk!” she said through a shaky, half-hearted smile. She was courting certain death and she knew it.

Beyond pissed at her defiance, Nappa face turned red and a sickening amount of veins popped up on his bald head. He clenched his fists tightly until they bleed before opening them slightly. He didn’t care about anything at this moment except her death. In a flash, he powered up, causing the garden around them to shake slightly.

“Fuck you, BITCH!” and in a blink of an eye, he raised his opened palm and shot a ki blast at her. Fully prepared to deal with him solely in hand-to-hand combat, she momentarily forgot that Saiya-jins could use their ki’s as weapons. She was dead now and she couldn’t do a thing but watch her death coming towards her in a shot of hot, bright light. But quicker than a heartbeat, a form placed itself in front of her, blocking the oncoming light. With hardly any effort, it raised an arm and flicked the deadly blast away, sending it flying away into the distant jungle. Bulma blinked at her savior in shocked surprise. She had felt the ever-nearing heat of the blast on her face and knew she had been a fraction of a second away from death.

Her rescuer twisted his head to look at her and smirked. “I told you, you wouldn’t have lasted.” Then he faced forward to turn his attention to the gawking Nappa. As he took a few steps forward, the larger Saiya-jin immediately fell to his knees and cried out:

“PRINCE VEGETA!”

Suddenly, Bulma’s face went slack, while every part of her body went cold. She stood, unmoving, as the name sunk into her benumbed mind. She watched with a sense of detached unreality, her attention now focused on Nappa groveling at his prince’s feet. Vegeta stood with his arms crossed, staring down in displeasure at Nappa.

“My Prince, she was…I didn’t know you were with her…she deserves to die…she’s only a slave.” His rambling explanation only caused Vegeta’s anger to rise. He pointed his opened palm down toward Nappa’s pleading upturned face.

“No one will harm my bonded,” Vegeta said under his breath, quietly enough so that only his subordinate could hear. Nappa’s confusion at that statement was cut short by a quick, intesnse blast that disintegrated his head. With one shot, Vegeta gave him the same death he had inflicted on Bulma’s father so many years ago, remembering the pain in her voice when she told him the story. Now, he avenged her father’s death.

“And this is how I deal with traitors,” Vegeta said to the headless carcass, while releasing a second blast and reducing it nothing but dust and ash. Pleased with himself and what he’d done for her, Vegeta waited a moment. But before he turned to face her, he felt a disturbing jolt come through their bond. When he met the cold blue in her hate-filled gaze, he knew something was very wrong.

“Stay away from me,” she said to him, her tone wary.

“Why?”

“Because you’re not the man I thought you were.”

“I am who I am,” he said as plainly as he could. “Now you know I am Prince Vegeta. Have these last seven months meant nothing to you?”

“I hate you,” she said numbly, never taking her eyes off of him. “You…it’s all you’re fault. If you hadn’t come to Chikyuu, I would still be with my family, my life…I wouldn’t have suffered so much.”

Vegeta’s ears heard the guards approaching in the distance. Obviously, all of the ki blasts had made too much noise. “I thought you said you would attack me once you saw me.” If the guards arrived and they witnessed her attacking him, he would have to kill her.

“I…can’t,” she said softly, the words catching in her throat.

“Why?”

Bulma could hear her heart break at that moment. “Because of these last seven months.”

“…then you do not accept me for who I am?”

Bulma remembered the whispers, begging, pleading with her… accept me… She didn’t know what was what anymore. Her mind was so scattered with a many unanswered questions that she didn’t understand her own thoughts at that moment. But how could she accept this man? Her aching heart felt like it was splitting in two inside her chest. The only coherent thoughts that came to mind at that moment was that she had to leave before the guards arrived. Any previous ones she had about the past seven months with her friend – no, not her friend anymore…he was Prince Vegeta – melted away…

“I never want to see you again!” she said through gritted teeth. “Leave before I do attack you!”

The emotions that Vegeta felt at that moment were harsh and painful, as though someone had just shot him through his protected chest with a direct ki blast. But he also felt anger…and a hot disappointment that tightly gripped at his heart.

Vegeta’s eyes narrowed as he said to her, “Fine then! I will leave and let you rot here for all eternity!” And with that, he took to the sky and was soon gone from sight.