Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Price You Pay ❯ Chapter Eighteen ( Chapter 18 )

Insert standard disclaimer here.

The Price You Pay: Chapter Eighteen

"I have already explained the consequences of an unprepared coupling to you, so I'm not going over any of that again."

Bulma nodded her head.

"There have been certain things going on; certain reactions that have been taking place between our bodies that are beyond our control." He paused again.

Bulma smiled to herself and touched him ever so lightly on the arm. Vegeta turned, unaware of her intentions. He wished she would stop touching him all the time.

What seemed like in slow motion, Bulma leaned her head in and lightly brushed her lips against Vegeta's. It had to be the most sensual thing Vegeta had ever experienced. The hair on his tail bristled.

What is she doing?

Vegeta could feel himself tense up.

"Calm down," Bulma whispered in his ear and then kissed the Saiya-jin no Ouji's neck. "I don't bite, at least not hard." Vegeta grunted and the onna backed away. If that was her method of calming him down, she was sadly mistaken. Bulma smiled. "Now, what is it that you have to tell me?"

“I'm not waiting to postpone the rituals any longer," he said, staring at her with dilated eyes. "And while there's still have some time left before the end of the Khon'daia na, we're only delaying the inevitable." Vegeta let fatalism sink into his voice.

Bulma furrowed her eyebrows. If being attached to her was so disagreeable, why not just wait? She was tired of his half-assed resistance. She wasn't happy about this either.

"Alright," she replied. The statement was simple and free of connotation. "So where do we go from here?" Bulma raised her eyebrows.

"First off, both participants have to be going through the Khon'daia na in order for the rituals to work." Vegeta turned and cast his gaze back on the lowering sun.

"But I'm not a Saiya-jin so I can't—"

"You can, and you are going through it. You woke up yesterday morning feeling nauseous. Today you felt like the room couldn't be cold enough and then it couldn't be hot enough. You've been running a dangerously high fever for a Chikyuu-jin. You felt tired. You couldn't focus your attention..." The list continued as Vegeta stood, still looking on at the sun.

"How did you...?"

"On extremely rare occasions, mates of other species have been known to become subject to Saiya-jin mating customs after a large exchange of energy has occurred. The fact that you're going through the Khon'daia na, is what I believe to be, one such occasion."

"Well, I suppose that explains a lot," said Bulma as she looked away from Vegeta. She had no idea what to say. Guess that explained her acute and overpowering attraction to the Saiya-jin warrior.

~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~

"Really, onna. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. The Khon'daia na taxes the will power of all who experience it." He still wasn't facing her.

'Taxes the will'. Ha. Hadn't he been the one making all the weird passes at her over the last few days? She knew he was right though. There really was nothing to be embarrassed about. But she just didn't like knowing that Vegeta understood how much she wanted him, how much she needed him.

Bulma tightened the collar to her robe in an attempt to calm her nerves. The suit she was wearing went half way up her neck.

"We really must begin. The ceremony must commence before the sun sets."

So that's why he woke me up...

Vegeta moved from his post on the railing and Bulma looked up at him, noticing the tension in his face. It reminded her of the way he looked after he'd gone Super Saiya-jin.

He was a good six inches taller than she was. If he'd stood before her in this manner only a few days ago, she was sure she would have found herself intimidated. But it wasn't a few days ago, Bulma reminded herself, and let her worries slip away.

Then Vegeta did the one thing Bulma never thought he would. With that blinding speed she'd seen him use only during training, he grabbed her and put his arms around her. His embrace was rock hard, yet surprisingly gentle. His heart was pounding rapidly.

He must be as nervous about this as I am. If that's even possible.

The Saiya-jin no Ouji rested his forehead on Bulma's. There was certainly a connection there. Vegeta blinked as if he wondered where the action had come from, and pulled himself away.

~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~

`Can't you feel it?'

Her words echoed through his head. He could feel it. He could feel it so strongly it was giving him a headache. The more he tried to figure things out, the more elusive the answer became.

Embracing her was something he hadn't expected. He felt like he was constantly having out of body experiences, unsure of where his actions were coming from. But with her words constantly echoing through his head, the Khon'daia na was getting the better of him. He'd always been better with the physical. Even if that meant breaching his usual, more Saiya-jin, methods and customs.

Fuck, the woman was beautiful. He stared at her. Well, if he was going to be trapped with her forever, at least she wasn't terrible to look at.

Her eyes were glowing silver and somewhere beneath it, blue. That was one of the things he liked about her. She had layers of mystery and complexity. She wasn't two dimensional like all the other vacuous barbies that pranced around on this confusing planet. She was a whole different animal. She was like him.

Bulma broke out into a smile and Vegeta smiled back, something he rarely did.

Ye gods, I'm turning into one of them, he thought. Barely a year on this planet and I'm already smiling at one of the natives like that idiot Kakkarot.

"Shall we begin?" he asked in a soft whisper.

"We shall." Bulma was still smiling even though some part of her brain was screaming that she be concerned.

The requirements were not many, but essential in the performance of the rituals, Vegeta explained as they made their way back into his quarters. He motioned to the bed and Bulma sat down.

The Saiya-jin no Ouji turned and looked at the Earth female. She was looking at him inquisitively, trying to calculate his next move.

"The steps of the Saiya-jin bonding rituals are meant to promote unity. The rituals themselves help build that unity, and join two individuals... permanently." He hesitated on the last word and paused. "With all that said, do you still wish to continue?"

He found himself simultaneously wishing she'd say 'yes' and 'no'.

Bulma nodded her consent and Vegeta stared at her, waiting.

"Yes." She finally conceded when Vegeta made it obvious that a verbal answer was needed.

"Alright. The first thing I need you to do is take off that robe and those slippers." Bulma hesitated. "I already know about the uniform you're wearing. In fact, I couldn't have picked a better item for you to wear myself. These rituals are supposed to take place between two warriors."

Bulma stepped off the bed and took off her outer layer of clothing.

Vegeta gave her the once over. She looked uncharacteristically nervous. Not that she had anything to be nervous about. Her body was perfect. How could she be comfortable running around in mini skirts and bikinis and yet feel completely exposed wearing a Saiya-jin body suit? Chikyuu-jins had a strange sense of modesty.

"Right," said Bulma as she rejoined him.

"I won't lie to you, onna. Parts of these rituals will be painful to you. Maybe even unbearably so, but you have to trust me."

"You know I trust you with my life," said Bulma honestly. He wasn't sure how to respond to that.

At least someone trusts me, he thought with a sneer. He didn't even trust him. Not after the stupid things he'd done over the past few days.

Vegeta got onto the bed and knelt facing Bulma. "You're going to have to sit the way I am, onna, for this to work." Bulma unwrapped her legs from their Indian-style position and knelt the way Vegeta had, resting her bottom on her calves and feet. "The first stage will be a mental bond."

Well, might as well get this over with.

"Close your eyes. Focus all of your energy before you and onto me." Bulma obediently closed her eyes. This would be the tricky part. While Vegeta had years of experience training with ki and mental energies, Bulma had none. Getting her power to focus directly on him would be difficult, but hopefully not impossible.

Vegeta closed his own eyes and focused all of his energy on Bulma. He didn't like the idea of putting too much weight on her shoulders. She was only a novice at these things. He didn't want to end up a smear on the walls of the room because she didn't know what she was doing.

"Now, I need you to pick up both of your hands and position the palms vertically, facing me. I'm going to do the same as well. There's going to be a strong pull between them, but our hands cannot touch. Understand?" Bulma muttered a soft `yes' and Vegeta placed his palms up, facing hers. He felt out with his ki as not to touch her.

He was starting to feel the weight of Bulma's own energy on his shoulders, but made sure to keep his eyes closed. Neither of them were supposed to look at the other during this initial process. If their eyes were open, the trance would be broken.

"Now, this is the challenging part. I want you to completely detach yourself from your body. Mentally separate yourself." Vegeta followed his own directions and pulled himself away from consciousness, letting his mental walls disintegrate.

Unbeknownst to them, a blue aura began to glow and surround their bodies. Bulma's hair raised over her head and gently swayed in a breeze created by their own energies.

Vegeta began to feel the tug at his mind and let go of all his reserves. Unexpectedly, and in a jolt, Bulma's hands touched his. A powerful shock warped through Vegeta's body.

Vegeta...? came a timid voice. It was Bulma. Their minds must have melded.

I'm here, he spoke out into the never-ending darkness. Bulma appeared before him.

`Can't you feel it...?' There were echoes throughout the darkness. Vegeta turned around in circles, searching for the owner of the voice. Where was Bulma?

`Can't you feel it...?' It echoed again. Vegeta faced the direction the voice was coming from. The whisper was elusive.

Feel what? he called out into the darkness. He was tired of thinking about it. Bulma suddenly appeared.

Vegeta, thank Kami. What—? Where—? It was odd, thought Vegeta, he should have been able to sense her before she was upon him. He must not have been able to access his full powers in this place.

Our minds have been transferred into a place where they can be brought together. We are in a place that exists, yet does not exist at the same time. I am in your mind and you are in mine, Vegeta stated cryptically. How was he supposed to tell her where they were when he didn't know himself?

So what happens next? asked Bulma.

I'm not quite sure.

Oh.

Vegeta wasn't comfortable leading Bulma into things that he hadn't quite figured out himself yet, but in this case, it was unavoidable. Bulma reached out and took Vegeta's hand in hers. She smiled.

If he could just understand those words...

I'm here for you, Bulma said to him after noticing the worried look on his face.

I know. He grunted. As if she could be any help. She was the one who'd gotten them into this mess in the first place. If he hadn't decided to say on Earth, none of this would have happened.

The whispers silenced.

There was a bright flash of light and Vegeta could feel himself starting to slip, starting to lose control. It was natural, but completely disconcerting. Vegeta tightened his jaw as a sharp wave of pain rolled him.

The Saiya-jin no Ouji tingled all over. There was a presence looming in the back of his mind that he assumed was Bulma. Vegeta fought back the bile that was rising in his throat.

Bulma opened her eyes. They were crystal clear and glowing even brighter than before.

~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~

Don't be frightened.

Bulma was looking right at Vegeta as he spoke the words to her mentally.

"I'm not frightened,” she retored. Even if it had been the most painful thing she ever experienced. Not that she was about to admit that.

Vegeta reached out his hand and wiped the remnants of the tear off of Bulma's face.

"That was..." Bulma trailed off.

"Only the beginning," Vegeta finished for her.

"You felt it too?" asked Bulma nearly in shock.

"Does it surprise you so much that I'm capable of feeling pain, Bulma?" asked Vegeta in a soft voice. She wasn't sure what to make of his use of her name. He usually only did that when she'd done something particularly frustrating.

"I suppose not."