Bulma stood above the Dragon Balls and took a deep breath. *You can do this, okay? Don't be such a wuss about it.* She called forth Shenron. The dragon loomed above her in the darkened sky.
"What is your first wish?"
"Shenron, I wish to have safe passage to and from King Yemma's."
"It will be done. Your second wish?"
"I wish for Vegeta to have his tail back."
"It is done. What is your final wish?"
She steeled herself. "When I'm done speaking with King Yemma, I wish to not to remember what happened here."
"It will be done."
Bulma was suddenly surrounded by bright light and dropped in front of Yemma's desk. "Ouch, that really hurt."
He looked up in surprise. "You're not supposed to be here. What are you doing here?"
She stood up and squared her shoulders. "King Yemma, I want to make a deal with you."
"A deal? What could you possibly want?"
Pink tinted her cheeks. "I want to trade places with Vegeta."
The silence was deafening. After a moment, he asked, "Do you understand what you're asking? There is no reason you should be condemned to Hell on-"
"This isn't something I've just decided. I made up my mind to find the Dragon Balls and it's been six months. There's nothing that can change my mind. I've had so much good…why can't I suffer instead?" Tears ran down her flushed cheeks. "I just want to do this one thing…"
"Hm…" He consulted some papers, scribbled a few things down, and then looked up at her. "This will be a binding copy of our agreement and will be acted on when the first of you dies. Sign if you agree to the terms."
Bulma glanced over the paper and noticed the line: *The agreement will be subject to a test when both parties have died.* However, being her father's daughter she knew that stipulations were put in for a reason and knew this one wasn't worth fighting over. "Here. Thank you for agreeing to this."
"Well this isn't typically how things are done, but I know that you have had a great deal to do with helping Goku and the others in their heroics. Now, if you die first I will allow you to rethink this contract."
"I appreciate the offer, but I'll always want this."
"Then you can go." She bowed slightly and disappeared from Yemma's office. Then things suddenly went dark.
Bulma woke up with a fuzzy head and tried to sit up. When she looked she found Trunks holding her tightly. She ran a hand through his silky hair. It had nearly lulled her to sleep when the door banged open. Vegeta entered the room and extracted Bulma from the boy's arms. For once she did fight against as he carried her away. When he finally stopped she opened her eyes. "Tail," she said softly and reached out to touch it.
"So you did do this. What were you thinking going off like that?"
"I just needed time to think and-hey!" He dropped her on the bed in the Gravity room, tail whipping wildly. "Why are you so mad?"
"Just…shut up." Vegeta's face was pink as he looked away. "For once just listen and do as I say." He pushed her flat on her back, kissing her a few times before whispering in her ear. He smirked when she blushed.
Thirty-five years later…
He waited impatiently in King Yemma's office just moments after his death. Vegeta had done this dance before and felt no need to wait to be told he was going to Hell. "What is taking so long?"
The ogre that had been looking through the files started and began to sweat. "There seems to be a problem with your file. King Yemma-"
"How many times do I have to die before I can just go to Hell? There's no need for all this!" As his irritation grew sparks of energy flew off him and began damaging the room.
Yemma walked in and yelled, "Calm down! This will all be settled in a moment."
The sparks suddenly came to a stop when another person was unceremoniously dropped at the foot of the giant desk. *What is going on here?* Vegeta thought, noticing that the figure was covered in scratches and blood. *Why would anyone else be here?*
As she stripped of the coveralls, she yelled, "What the hell is going on? I was almost at the top this time and I get pulled in here?"
Vegeta immediately recognized her voice. "Bulma?"
"Eh?" She stiffened and then turned face him. "How long has it been, Vegeta?"
"Five years." Yet despite the minor injuries she had she looked as she did when Trunks was a baby, including the outfit. Then a thought occurred to him. "Where have you been?"
"That's why we're here," King Yemma interrupted. "As stipulated in our contract, you will be subject to a test to determine which one of you goes to Heaven and which to Hell."
"I'm going to Hell," they yelled in unison. "No, I am!" They began quarreling, disregarding the time place.
"Silence!" They were startled into silence and Yemma cleared his throat. He snapped his fingers. A light shone around her right and his left hand to form a set of cuffs. They looked at each other, dumbfounded. "Now, the two of you are going to take a little walk and decide who is going where. This will only be decided only when you reach the end of Snake Way."
"But…"
"This is outrageous! There is no need to-"
"Arguing will get you nowhere. Now get going NOW!"
"Eep!" She grabbed Vegeta's hand and pulled him along awkwardly. When she stopped to catch her breath, she finally looked at him and saw that he looked younger as well. "Vegeta?"
"What were you thinking, woman? Going to Hell is no little day in the park. There's no reason for you have done this."
"Oh, but I was…it doesn't matter anyway. Besides, most people would be grateful to have someone care enough to do this!" She crossed her arms, roughly pulling Vegeta against her.
"Cut that out! I want to get this over with as soon as possible." He pulled her along, disregarding her protests. Soon they were walking side by side in silence for a long time.
Earth…
She was surprised to see her brother at the gravesite so soon after the funeral. After giving him a moment, Bulla touched his shoulder. "Trunks, are you all right?"
"Yeah. It just seems so strange."
She nodded. "I know. They were both so lively…then they were gone. I just hope that they can be together."
Trunks sighed. "I'm not even sure that's possible, but if they are I'm sure that they're causing trouble for everyone."
"Hm, I guess you're right. Still, it would be nice."
"Yeah."
Snake Way…
"Vegeta, please stop! I'm tired and my feet hurt!"
"Quit complaining. You've done nothing else since we started," he said angrily. "Besides, it is all your fault we have to do this."
"Fine!" She sat down in the middle of the road. He tried to pull her along, but her stubbornness and training in Hell helped her greatly. Bulma smirked when he finally stopped.
"You are impossible." Vegeta slung her over his shoulder and began moving again.
"Hey, that's not fair! Put me down, you big jerk! Stop touching my butt!" Bulma let herself go limp before her pinched her again. *What a pervert…*As she mumbled to herself she noticed he still had his tail. *Heh…really?* Bulma reached down and began stroking it.
He began walking a little unsteadily, then stopped completely. "Stop it!"
"Oh, you don't like it? Well I don't like being treated like a bag of clothes either. Now just-" He dropped her suddenly and she saw the look on his face. *Uh-oh.*
He kissed her roughly and pushed her to the ground. "You shouldn't start things you don't intend to finish." It startled him a little when she put her arms around him. *I missed you too.*
"Vegeta-kun…please."
He let her sleep for a while when they had finished. Vegeta carefully redressed and prepared himself for next day's journey. She awoke not much later and Bulma didn't fight against him when he demanded they get started. They walked in silence for a long time.
"Why'd you do it?" he asked suddenly.
"Eh? Well, I wanted to."
"You wanted to go to Hell?" Vegeta scowled and thought, *She's still confusing.*
"No, not really. Didn't you ever want to go to Heaven once in your life? Didn't you ever think that maybe you deserved it? I just wanted you to see that."
"I don't intend for you to take on my punishment. No one deserves that but me." He dropped her hand and sped up. Though she struggled to keep up with his pace she didn't complain. By the time he decided to stop they were a quarter of the way done.
After a short sleep, Vegeta continued onward with his wife on his back. He needed time to think and with her asleep it was easier. She had been right about his curiosity towards the place called Heaven. However, he knew he couldn't enjoy such a place knowing she was in Hell.
*What was she thinking doing this? Of all the wishes she could have had granted, why this one? Does she really expect to be happy like this?* He sighed, causing her to stir. *Sleep a little longer.* When she finally did wake up, they continued in uncomfortable silence again.
As they walked along, Bulma thought of another time they were like this. The quiet and unresolved problems between them weighed heavily on her spirit. She concentrated on that time to recall the resolution.
The past…
She lay alone in her bed, stroking her rounding stomach. Today was the beginning of her second trimester and she was afraid she'd lose the baby soon. After the business with Cell, Bulma had tried to get pregnant again before too much time had passed. There had only been once she had felt she might be pregnant again, but nothing came of it. Now she was nine years older than she had been and felt just as alone.
She'd told Vegeta about this pregnancy and he had been avoiding her ever since. Things were going good between them, she'd thought. He even seemed to have changed his eating habits to stop seeing her. "It's all right, baby. You will be loved just as much as your brother. He'll be happy to see you as well."
"You're talking nonsense, woman."
"Get out! I wasn't talking to you anyway." She pulled the blanket over her head in a childish gesture. He quickly yanked it away. "Why are you doing this to me? I thought you could be happy about your child."
"Hmph." He lifted her up and carried her outside. "You worry too much."
She tried to free herself, but when that failed she began hitting him. "You don't understand anything! I don't want to-" He kissed her roughly, cutting of her tirade. When he stopped for breath she said, "Just stop, okay? I'm tired of fighting, of us like this. So just stop."
"We'll always fight. We're too much alike."
"Dammit, I know that." He set her down and held her from behind, his hands cupping her belly. "Stop it."
"Do you want it? Do you think things would be better if it were gone? Answer me, Bulma."
She whipped her head from side to side. "Why would you say that?"
"I want the truth. You're not always honest about things like this." After gently rubbing her belly he released her. "The baby is strong and healthy. There's no need to worry further about it."
"Do you want to see the picture?"
Snake Way…
"Why are you so quiet?"
She looked at him blankly as she was snapped out of her thoughts. *That's right…we're too much alike, too stubborn for either of us to back down. Things will always end up as a draw, but this can't. We have to decide together.* Bulma shook her head. "I was just thinking."
"Don't worry yourself about this. Our paths were decided long ago."
"You're a fool if you believe that." She took his hand and began walking faster. *I want us both to be happy…*
"You don't have a choice anymore. You don't belong in Hell and I won't leave you there again."
"Why won't you let me do this for you?"
"You shouldn't have done it. It was a waste of a wish since we ended up doing this."
"At least I got to see you again. I did miss you all this time." She kissed him gently and wrapped her arms around him. *This feels so good. I want to stay like this for a while.*
"Bulma?"
"Just let me stay this way a little longer, okay? We'll be at the end soon, so just stay quiet." He wrapped his free arm around her. She buried her face in his chest, breathing in his scent and listening to his heartbeat. Though she truly wanted to do this for him Bulma knew that she wouldn't win this fight. So she did her best to burn everything she loved and hated about him into her memories. "Okay."
They walked on, getting ever closer to the end of Snake Way. Though they hadn't discussed it they both had chosen that he would return to Hell when they arrived. Bulma thought she even felt the cuff around her wrist begin to loosen. "Ah! I think I see the end."
"Yes." He let her hand go. "Don't do anything foolish."
"I won't." However, when they were a few feet from the drop off, she began to run.
It wasn't until that moment that he realized that the cuffs were gone. "Bulma, wait!" Vegeta caught her wrist as she jumped, falling to the ground. The sharp edges of Snake Way dug into his arm as he attempted to pull her up. "Stop struggling and give me your other hand."
"I can't. Just let me go and do this for you."
"Quit being so stubborn." Her hand slid out of his. "Bulma!"
She closed her eyes as she fell and hugged herself tightly. *I'm sorry I lied.* Just then she felt his arms around her and Bulma opened her eyes. "Vegeta? What are you doing? I-"
"I told you not to do anything foolish." He kissed her deeply, adding breathlessly, "We're in this together." Their descent halted unexpectedly and bright light surrounded them. They disappeared just as quickly.
Sixteen years later…
Misty Hashihito, a fifteen-year-old junior at the Star Academy, stood waiting for a transfer student. Her eyes were pale grey and a startling contrast to the deep violet hair that framed her face. Red tinted her cheeks as the warning bell rang. "That's it! You can find your own way around!" She walked away in a huff, straight into a tall, blonde-haired man in a long leather jacket. "Ah! You need to watch where you're going!"
"You ran into me, girl."
"Well, what are you doing slinking around here? Aren't you kind of old for a student?"
"I'm only sixteen," he said angrily and shoved her aside.
"Hey, wait! You wouldn't be Kevin Watanabe, would you?"
He looked at her a bit stunned. "How did you know that?"
"I'm supposed to show you around and we're going to be late!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him along. However, he pulled her into an isolated alley. "What are you-" He kissed her deeply, pressing her against the wall as their bodies touched. A wave of familiarity rushed over her and she wrapped her arms around him. "I remember you," Misty whispered.
"I remember you too."
"Let's go somewhere else. They won't miss us for just one day." Kevin took her hand and they began to run. As they did one could almost see the reflections of who they had been.