Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Prince and Princess Diaries ❯ Koofuko ( Chapter 14 )

Author's Note: Sorry everyone! It took me a while to get this one out because it was so hard to write. I don't know why, but it just seems boring to me, and I needed to get it out of the way. Sorry if you guys don't like it, but like I said, I needed to get it out of the way. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy it still, and the next chapter a LOT of stuff happens. You'll love it! READ AND REVIEW!!!!!!

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Chapter Fourteen: Koofuko (Happiness)

Vegeta-sei

City of Versai

One month later

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"Oh Yamcha. How I have missed you these past few months."

Bulma rushed into his open arms, noticing how haggard and tired he looked as he embraced her back tentatively. Had something happened these past few months since they had been separated that had affected him this badly?

Yamcha cupped her precious face with his gloved hands and looked at her carefully. "Bulma, I have missed you more than anything since I have been gone. So much has happened, I do not even know where to begin-"

Bulma shook her head as she took his hands in between her own. "Yamcha, do not worry about that right now. Let us go to my sitting parlor where we can have some privacy," she said, glancing around at the soldiers standing at attention in the courtyard. She could tell they were watching, and she did not want any rumors spread around about her and Yamcha.

He nodded quickly, and she nearly dragged him up the curving staircase and to her suite, where she had her own sitting parlor for her privacy. It gave her the freedom to do whatever she wished without worrying about being watched in more public sitting rooms.

As soon as she had closed the door and locked it, she embraced him and squeezed him as hard as she could. "Oh Yamcha, everything is a mess. The queen is dying, Chichi has married and left me...I have no one anymore. I have missed your friendship more than you will ever know."

Yamcha squeezed her back and pushed her away to get a good look at her. He just had to laugh. "My dear, you look worse than me. Tell me everything," he said, moving her over to the two chairs sitting in front of the nearly banked fire. He sat her down and let her talk as he built up the fire, and as soon as the flames were roaring in the hearth, he pulled his chair closer to hers and held her hands while she talked.

She told him about everything; how she felt about the plague, her mother-in-law's upcoming death, Vegeta not coming home, Chichi leaving her to begin her own life. Yamcha listened to every word, soothed her when she cried, hugged her when she needed it, laughed with her when they could not help it. There was nothing else to do.

Bulma sighed when she was done talking, and then she cocked her head to the side as she looked at the handsome man next to her. "So my lord, what has happened since you have been gone? Anything good?"

Yamcha looked away for a minute, and Bulma could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes. Concerned, she reached for his hand and squeezed it. "Yamcha...?"

He drew in a ragged breath, and then turned back to her with tears threatening to spill, but not daring to do so. He squeezed her hand back.

"Do you remember how I almost missed your eighteenth birthday celebration?"

She nodded, wondering where this was leading to.

He took a deep breath again. "I mentioned something about my mother being ill, do you remember?"

Bulma felt herself grow pale as realization dawned on her. She felt tears pool in her eyes, and as she looked at him and saw his own tears fall, she threw herself into his arms and sobbed. "Oh Yamcha, I am so, so sorry. I never had any idea...I never even thought about your mother having the same sickness as the queen. I am so sorry, Yamcha. I wish I could have been there for you."

He nodded, his face buried in the sweet-smelling crook of her neck. He inhaled deeply, wishing that he could just bury himself in her, take away all his pains and fears inside of her body, but he knew that would never happen. And he knew that he would never dare to make an advance on something so beautiful and innocent. He would love her forever, but he would never tell her.

She pulled away after a few minutes, drying her face with the back of her hand in an un-lady like fashion. He did the same, and both of them laughed at how red their faces were from crying. It was only a moment however, until they grew serious once more.

"Bulma...it was so awful. When my mother died, I was there with her. I will never forget for the rest of my life how horrifying it was to watch someone I love die like that. She suffered until her last breath...and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Our local doctor had no clue what to do, and I could not request any proficient or qualified doctors from anywhere else because they are dealing with the same problem everywhere else. I know that it would not have mattered anyhow, for the queen has the most qualified physicians from all over the universe and still no one has found a cure." He looked at her closely, and held on to her hands tightly. He did not let his eyes leave hers.

"Bulma, when the queen's time comes, if it ever does, I do not want you to be in there with her." At Bulma's appalled gasp, he continued. "My sweet, you do not understand. This plague makes the person go through horrific things until the moment you die. I have heard some people die immediately, some people last a very long time. It took a long time for my mother to die, and to watch her suffer like that...Bulma, just please, promise me. Promise me you will not go in there and be with her in the last few moments of her life. I know this is hard, but it will make you different. It will make you change, Bulma. I do not want you to change, my dearest. I want you to stay the same innocent beautiful woman you are. No one like you should have to see death at its worst hour."

Bulma stared at the man across from her. He was dead serious. He was gripping onto her hands so hard that it almost hurt. His eyes bored deeply into hers, and she could not look away.

"Yamcha...I do not know if I can promise you something like that. The queen means more than anything to me, even my own husband. She is the most wonderful woman in the world, and I will not leave her side in the last moments of her life. She might not know I am even there, but it will comfort me to know that she might know, and I want to be there for her. Please...understand. It might change me, it might make me different, but even if it does, even if I go insane, I still must be there for her, even if it is just in spirit."

Yamcha nodded and looked away, whether in disappointment or understanding she did not know. A moment later her looked back at her, only to see her eyes pleading to him. He smiled and stood, bringing her with him. He brought her into his arms and hugged her gently, saying, "I understand, Bulma. If you must be there for her, then do it. I would not have left my mother's side either, even if I had known what I would witness firsthand."

Bulma smiled up at him, and just for a second, Yamcha remembered the happiness he had once felt.

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"Oh my...father?!"

Bulma ran a top speed, nearly tripping herself over her long and cumbersome skirts to get to her long-awaited parent. Her father turned at the sound of her voice, and with a surprised look on his aging face, opened his arms to gather his daughter against him. She collided against his chest, nearly knocking the older man over with the impact, but he just laughed as he squeezed his child against him for the first time in over four years.

"Oh my dearest child, how I have missed you! You are so grown up and look at you...you are absolutely stunning to look upon! I never imagined that my own daughter would grow up to look like the goddess of beauty herself."

Bulma blushed a bright pink with his fatherly praise. She knew she could not be that beautiful, so she just shrugged it off at the pure happiness she felt at seeing her long-missed father. She squeezed him again and pulled back, noticing that he did not look much different except for a few extra worry lines here and there. She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"You look great yourself, father. I have so much to tell you, but that can all wait. We need you in the science labs right away...."

He nodded in understanding. He had already been briefed by the king himself, who had talked to him via the communicating screen on his ship. He had already known that Vegeta-sei, his daughter's planet, was being plagued by a so-far incurable pestilence that killed off its women. He had come immediately upon the message delivered to him through interstellar communications, and had readied his prototype space ship for immediate travel. The ship had gotten him here in little less than a month, as compared to the original three or more months needed to travel to Vegeta-sei from Anausia-sei. He hoped that he had come soon enough to help save some lives.

Bulma ordered some footmen to bring his things to his room, which was to be right next to hers. He might be a guest, but he was also the king of Anausia-sei and her father, and she needed him to be close to her while he was here.

After giving out the orders, Bulma took her father's arm and hurried with him toward the secret science labs in the west wing, the wing opposite the Royal Family suites. After scurrying into a plain looking room for guests, she moved over to an armoire and pushed a button behind it. There was a small squeak, and then the armoire slid open, as if it was a door and not what it was supposed to be. Her father smiled and wondered briefly why there was such a need for secrecy. Bulma answered his question without him even having to ask.

"We use such precautions because even though Vegeta-sei is highly protected and has a huge army, there are still people out there that want us all dead because of who we are. If the wrong person knew where this place was, they could destroy it and ruin all of our chances for saving Vegeta-sei's women. We have not had any problems, and we probably will not, but we still will not take the chance."

The king of Anausia-sei, or Dr. Briefs as he liked to call himself, nodded with understanding. They hurried down a flight of steps to end up in front of another door, at which Bulma entered a code, pressed her hand against a screen, and let a laser scan her eyes. She told him that she would have him quickly coded so he would have access as well.

After that, the thick steel door moved open, and they were both revealed to a huge science lab with hundreds of men and women of all kinds of races walking and moving around. It was so large and wonderful Dr. Briefs almost swooned at the all the complicated and scientific things surrounding him. He walked away at something he saw that was intensely interesting, and Bulma let him have a minute to explore before she dragged him off.

"Hello, Princess."

Bulma nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned to see the head scientist, Keiro Kanzaka standing there with a smile on his old wrinkled face. He was the oldest man she had ever met, but he was also one of the smartest, which surely he had acquired from being alive for so many years.

Keiro Kanzaka, or Dr. Kanzaka as he liked to be called, had been working on this project since the plague had started. He went out and got new blood samples every day, from advanced patients and new ones. He was awake nearly all day and slept just enough hours to sustain health. He had progressed very far, but not far enough. That was why her father was here.

"Hello, doctor. It is nice to see you today," Bulma said, letting him take her hand and kiss it. They had become fast friends ever since the queen had become sick, and Bulma enjoyed being in his presence. He was smart, funny, and was always happy, no matter what. He had a positive outlook on life, and Bulma appreciated that very much.

He smiled at her with fatherly concern. "You look better today than you have in a while, my dear. Did you get some extra sleep?"

She beamed. "Actually, yes I did. As well as some much needed relaxing time. It helped a lot. I am ready to take this day on headfirst."

The doctor laughed and led her to his workstation. "You won't believe what I have discovered, my dear," he said, sitting in front of his microscope and fine turning it for a moment before letting her have a look. "If you watch the virus and its activities for a while, then you begin to notice a pattern."

Bulma took his seat as he stood up and looked into the microscope. She had been allowed very few times, for women were forbidden to do such a thing. She knew that if she ever became queen she would change the system of restricting women from certain things. It seemed wrong to her.

She looked into the instrument and watched for a few minutes. After a while she noticed that the virus, which was in a blob shape, would stalk its prey and then devour it quickly and efficiently, almost so fast that you did not notice it. She felt her eyes go wide and she jumped up.

"This is incredible! The virus is eating its environment, or in other words, cells, organs, and body parts. That is why every woman has something wrong with her. The virus attacks whatever part of the body is most vulnerable, and you slowly die as the virus eats you. The virus is killing the women from eating them alive!!"

The doctor nodded. "You see, we already had the feeling it was doing that. It takes a while to sit there and watch the virus and what it is doing. You can not just watch all of them, you have to watch one. It is hard to follow just one of them, but after a while you notice them eating things and reproducing. It is really quite fascinating, but you did not hear that from me."

Bulma smiled, but then got a thoughtful look on her face. "So then why is it only attacking women? Why not men?"

He shrugged. "On that part I have no clue, and neither does anyone else. We have heard rumors of men with the virus, but we do not know if that is true or not. When we see for ourselves that there are men being attacked as well, we will know that the virus has evolved and moved onto men."

Bulma nodded and was about to ask another question when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see her father, who looked beyond happy to be in a science lab.

"Hello, father. I would like to introduce you to Dr. Keiro Kanzaka, the head scientist. Dr. Kanzaka, I would like you to meet my father, the king of Anausia-sei and, as he likes to be called, Dr. Briefs."

The two men shook hands eagerly and began chatting as if they had known each other forever. They started getting into technical terms that Bulma had never heard before, and soon her head was spinning and she was lost. The princess quickly bowed out and left them and the bustling science lab. She would let them do their own thing, while she did hers. She still needed to visit the queen today, and after that, it would be her personal time. She actually smirked, for she could not wait to get her hands on her most favorite thing.

Her sword.

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Author's Note: YAY, it's over with. I'm sorry if that was tedious for you guys to read, but like I've said probably five times, I needed to get her father out of the way, and plus Yamcha needed to be in there somewhere out of necessity. Anyhow, the next chapter is where it should all happen! Lots and lots of goodies, so make sure you're there whenever I post it! I can't wait to write it! YAY, review!!!!!!!!!