Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Yin and Yang ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z/GT, FUNimation, TOEI Animation, Tokira Ariyama, and Bird StudioShuiesha own those rights.

AN: hi!!!! I'm back, hope you guys haven't given up on my fic. And Marron enters the picture again, I'm sure some of you guys (Susan) was/were wondering where she went to.

Chapter 2

Vegeta was sitting in the bathroom, cradling his head in his hands, trying to prevent the pervading smell bleach from invading his sensitive nose. Kathy had suggested that he try the look when she spotted an actor on a movie poster with haunting good looks, very similar to Vegeta's, with the minor exception of the blonde hair, and emerald eyes. She had also hinted that there might be a slight pay raise if he did go about the look. Even though Vegeta's current payroll certainly wasn't low, he definitely took the chance of more money. So, now, shower cap on his head, new colored contacts sitting on the sink's edge, Vegeta sat impatiently waiting the hours to tick by before he could shower and rid himself of the disgusting peroxide. Besides, it totally changed him, he was almost positive that if Kakarot, or the woman, or any of their little groupies were to walk right by him, they wouldn't have noticed him at all. Vegeta had also gone to the hairdresser and cut his normally thick, upright locks to a shorter length (think GT haircut here!!).

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Bulma woke up groggily from her king-sized bed in her suite. "Ugh…" she murmured. "Where am I?" looking around the still-blurry room, she was aware of the distinct blobs, and they didn't belong to her room. Then it all came back in a hurried flash. Plaza Hotel, Manhattan, US…Vegeta… Bulma crawled reluctantly out of bed, due to time-zone difference, she had barely gotten a wink of sleep last night, and when she finally closed her eyes, her alarm had blared off.

7:00 AM, way to early for her tastes. But now that she was awake, it seemed impossible to go back to sleep, so she crankily got up, grabbed a terry cloth robe laid out on an armchair, and stalked out to the luxurious bathroom.

Bulma emerged, nearly two hours later, feeling a tad bit more refreshed, after a long, hot shower, and an even longer soak after that. She had watched the sun slowly reach to glorious tops of the majestic Empire State Building, and it was now glinting mildly in the sky. "Might as well get this crappy day off to a start," Bulma muttered, almost mutinously. Despite the beautiful weather, her mood was horrible. She was going to punch something soon. Stalking over to her huge, uncapsulized closet, she quickly picked out what she was going to wear. No 'tourist' clothing for her. Chic black slacks, and a pale blue short-sleeved top. Black heels completed the outfit.

~*~*~*~

"Look," she hissed, eyes peering out from her sunglasses. "Just tell me how to get to the Columbia University campus."

"But, madam…that's what I've been trying to explain to you. We've called a limousine for you. It should be arriving any moment now." The manager deciphered patiently.

"Oh, well then…" Bulma sulked, slightly embarassed at her little outburst. Thankfully, one of the doorman's took that particular moment to snap to the manager.

"Oh, Ms. Briefs…your carriage awaits," the manager bowed slightly, leading her by the arm to the door, and to her car. Bulma rolled her eyes underneath her cat-eye sunglasses and slipped into the cool interior of the black vehicle.

"Now, where is it you desire to go, ma'am?" the chaffeur asked smoothly, peering at the woman from the partition.

"Columbia University," Bulma snapped peevishly, tired of all the fawning behavior. Hey! She's tired, cranky as hell, and has gotten enough crap like this to last her a lifetime.

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Vegeta smiled to himself as he walked down the streets, proudly boasting his new look. Many women, and some men (lol ^__^), cast him extremely interested glances. He practically oozed suaveness and prestige. Women almost tripped over their feet to just approach him, and a few braver ones questioned him about his identity. Vegeta coldly rejected them, insisting that he was not who they thought he was. He pushed his Oakley mirrored sunglasses up his aristocratically chiseled nose, and stalked down the streets, casting that smugly superior smirk and nearly causing the small group of teenage girls to swoon.

His ego puffing up even more then humanly possible, Vegeta strutted down the street, smirked before he disappeared into a coffee shop at the junction where the streets met.

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Bulma was exhausted, she hadn't gotten any breakfast, and was lasting on a quickly-diminishing cup of black coffee. Not to mention the aggravation of the time-zone change. Spotting a small coffee shop, there was a Starbucks at every corner, she told the driver to stop, and Bulma hopped out, anticipating a warm, fragrant mocha cappucino and a yummy, crumbly blueberry muffin. Walking into the coffee shop, she got in line behind a very handsome man with spiky blonde locks. Slightly disoriented, Bulma lost her footing and tripped over a small crack in the worn floorboard. She leaned forward and pressed a hand on the unknown stranger in front of her, and murmured a soft, "Sorry," in apology as she straightened. The blonde cutie turned around, and his mouth opened a fraction, and he quickly spun around to face the harried cashier.

"Coffee. Black. And a biscotto." The mystery guy said gruffly to the employee…something about his tone of voice was familiar…

"For here, or to go?" the worker asked wearily.

"Here."

"Right," he turned back to the 'kitchen', "Coffe, black and a biscotti, pronto! Next!" he called, Bulma stepped up, as the guy walked up to cash register and paid for his snack.

"Um yeah…I'd like a mocha cappucino, and a blueberry muffin. For here, please." Bulma said, her eyes scanning the crowded diner for a sign of her mystery man. He had sat down at an empty table by the door. There were two chairs, one was vacated. Perfect Bulma smiled. Her heart may be set on Vegeta, but something about this guy drew her to him. With any luck, he could end up being her next best friend, or at least show her the sights of this exciting city. Bulma quickly whipped out her wallet and paid in cash, murmuring a soft, "Keep the change." Picking up a plastic stirrer, she made her way over to the door. "Hi!" she gave him a smile that melted millions, "Anyone sitting here? Everywhere else's full, I'm afraid." When the man didn't say anything, the heiress sat down. "So, you native to this city?" Bulma asked brightly, stabbing lightly at a chance for conversation after a few moments. The blonde didn't answer. He looked at his watch, and nodded once. Picking up the now-empty coffee mug, he walked over to the dirty-dish conveyor belt and deposited his cup. He breezed out the door without a backward glance at the gorgeous blue-haired virago that was gazing at him expectantly.

"How does he maintain a social life?" Bulma muttered, irritated at being blown off. No one ever ignored her. It was enough to make her scream. Bulma sighed gently, and drained the last of her drink. For some reason, her appetite disappeared, and she dumped the half-eaten muffin in the garbage can on her way out. Bulma walked out of the shop, and gazed down the street, left and right, to try to glimpse the male. Didn't see him, she sighed, and pulled out her cell phone, and called the driver to come pick her up. It was time to hunt for Vegeta.

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A few blocks away from the street, Vegeta turned into a somewhat-dark alleyway and took a deep breath. He had seen Bulma. She was here, in the city. He had eaten breakfast with her, for Pete's sake. And what the hell was she doing in America? Was she-? No, Vegeta didn't even want to think about that option. Thank god for small favors. At least he had the sense to change his look when he did, any later, and he might've been dragged home…that was the last thing he'd ever do.

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Bulma impatiently stalked out of her limousine when she approached the massive campus of Columbia University. Calling upon her charm, wit, and just flat-out acting skills; she set out to find the admission's building and discover exactly where Vegeta was hiding.

"Hello!" Bulma smiled brightly, while inwardly gritting her teeth madly. "Could any of you care to show me where the admission's building is?" being the independent spirit she was, Bulma had wandered around the campus aimlessly for about 20 minutes, and came nowhere near finding her goal. Irritated enough as it was, she quickly set about to pounce on the next person she saw…which happened to be a group of chattering French foreign exchange students on the French Language program.

"Non, non," one shook her head, "Ah…Je regrette. Nous ne parlons pas anglais. Parlez-vous francais, s'il te plait?"

"Um…sorry," Bulma murmured, her pale face flushing red with embarassment. Her annoyance growing climbing even higher when she found out that she had looped around to the entrance of the school again. Pinching the bridge of her nose, and visibly trying to calm down, Bulma stalked over to a group of chattering students that had just left the entrance hall.

"Hello?" Bulma ventured, when it was assured that the language they were speaking was English. "Could any of you guys direct me to the admission's building?"

"Yea," One of the guys wearing a fisherman's hat said slowly. "It's right behind the dining hall, and to the left." He pointed. Bulma flashed him a grateful smile, and walked off in the direction he indicated.

"To the left," Bulma uttered in a bright, strained voice. "I just had to go 'right' instead."

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Vegeta paced through his room, still distracted at Bulma's sudden appearance. Unnerved, he pulled out one of his old college books. Philosophy. Most students sold their books after they were done using them, for some extra cash. Vegeta had done that with most of his books, but for some reason couldn't do it to his philosophy text. This book was something that could easily distract you, and was really helpful in thinking about things. Made for good waiting-room reading.

Anxiously flipping through the pages, but staring vacantly at the blank TV screen, Vegeta rose from his position on the couch and walked to the kitchen for a snack. He came back 15 minutes later with a huge bag of potato chips, a foot-long hoagie, and an icy Coke. He glanced at his book, skimming through the page that the book opened naturally too. He did a double take, and nearly choked on an ice cube. At the top of the page was a very significant quote

"If you have made mistakes…there is always another chance for you…you may have a fresh start at any moment you choose, for this thing we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down."

- Mary Pickford

Now, failure wasn't exactly a word that was in Vegeta's vocabulary, but for some uncomforting reason, it seemed that it was exactly what he was doing. Failing his 'friends', as much as he regretted referring to them as that; failing his father, not helping him through his crisis; but more or less, failing himself. Running away from his problems. Something he used to pride himself in not doing. Vegeta was always the confrontational type, at least until it came to emotions.

"No," Vegeta growled aloud. "There is no such thing as failure. There is only success, and those too weak to make it happen." Oh yeah, denial was a major factor in this equation also. Slamming the philosophy text shut, and cramming it out of sight, Vegeta clicked on the TV, and started watching a boxing match for some much needed distraction. While a small voice in the back of his head taunted You're running again…Vegeta…oh well, there's no point in postponing the inevitable, what will happen will happen, what isn't supposed to happen, won't…

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Meanwhile…back home…

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"GOKU!!!" a midnight-blue haired maiden banged on the door to Son-Kun's apartment. "I know you're in there, you'd better come answer the door!" a few moments later, a sheepish looking Goku opened the door.

"Hi Marron," he peeped out. "What's up?"

"Look Goku, where the hell is Vegeta? I need to tell him something, and his cell phone's turned off. Can I come in?"

"Um…sure," Goku threw open the door, and stepped aside. "So, what's up with Vegeta?" he said in a would-be casual voice.

"I need to tell him something…private…" she shot a warning glance at Goku, and Son-kun raised his hands in surrender.

"Hey! I wasn't about to object!"

"-and his cell phone isn't on. And he's gone completely AWOL on me."

"AWOL?"

"Well, yeah. Absent Without Leave. Like, he didn't even tell me that he was gone, he just packed up and left. I decided to go to his dorm to talk to the guy, and his RA told me that he's gone. And I even checked the now-empty room," she hissed, eyes narrowing. "The nerve of him! After I went through all that trouble to break him and Bulm-"

"What?!" Goku asked incredulously.

"Oops, my bad. Nothing, I didn't say anything. I didn't do anything you guys wouldn't have done." She said pointedly. "All I did was make Bulma aware of the bet-"

"-before it was over," Goku finished flatly. "Great. This is just great."

"Yeah, well if the bitch hadn't stole my man, then we wouldn't be in the mess, now would we?" she asked spitefully.

"Marron," Goku explained patiently. "Vegeta's his own guy. If he had wanted to hook up with you, I'm sure he would've done so already."

"Feh," she spat. "What do you know? Vegeta's my knight in shining armor…he just doesn't know it yet." She hissed. "You know what Goku? If you won't tell me where he is, I'll just have to find out myself. I know he's in America somewhere." At Goku's shocked look, "Oh, you haven't heard? It's the biggest thing on the grapevine. Our head captain of the football team, and world-record holder in track escaped to America. It's been all over the campus. But then again…you're too dense to even know what gossip is. Western University is where all the juiciest stuff is," Marron added casually, checking her lipstick in a compact. "Well, toodles. I'm off to go buy my plane ticket. Daddy just gave me a small present…namely for my debit account."

"Too late, Bulma's beat you to it," Goku said wearily, not able to take all that bullshit.

"Nani? Oh, she's already in America, now is she? Oh well, that's okay. I'm sure by now, Vegeta's realized that she really a devious, wicked bitch…and he's much better off without her; and that he's destined to be with me." Goku opened his mouth to say something. "Son Goku, don't you even start! I've been tarot reading last night, and I'm positive. Mysterious…exotic…sexy…and gorgeous. He's got to be the one for me." with one last dreamy look, she hopped out of the room, and slammed the heavy oak door behind her.

"Whew," Goku breathed, slumping down on his couch. That was way too much for a guy to handle. Two of his best friends, already missing in action, ChiChi still was unusually cold with him, even though she did move back in. And add a starstruck, delusional Marron…waaaay too much for his already-overloaded brain to handle.

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and that's a wrap!!! Ugh…I dunno why, but this chapter just definitely doesn't seem to be up to my usual standards…it's a 'work in progress' so chances are, I'll be fixing it up a lil bit soon to come. So keep your eyes peeled. Whatever the case may be…don't forget to review on what you think about this chapter, and the story in general. K?

Sure is lucky thirteen for a lot of our favorite characters…next chap: we find out how Bulma is doing in the search for Vegeta…at the university. 18 and Krillin have a talk…and Vegeta meets one of his new coworkers/roommates. Stay tuned, but 'til then, REVIEW!!!!!!!!! REVIEW!!!!! REVIEW!!!!!