Bulma's POV

I tensed up and felt frightened.

I replayed his question in my head: "your running away." No, it wasn't a question; it was a statement.

Even with the hood covering his face I saw him smirk and I silently cursed. My mother once told me I was an open book, and she was right; everything seemed to show on my face.

What do I do? This man is a stranger, why should I tell him anything?

But….why did it matter if I told him? After all, it's not like he could do much with my story.

I curtly nodded and his smirk grew. I glared at him. Arrogent bastard.

"Tell you what." I said, trying to sound professional. "You buy me a drink, I'll tell you my story."

He nodded.

"Oh, by the way. What's your name?" I asked.

He was silent for a moment, like he had to think about it. "Geta." He said finally.

"Nice to meet you, Geta." I said, extending my hand. Of course, I knew that wasn't his real name. I'll find that out later.

He shook my hand, that damn smirk never leaving his face. "Nice to meet you as well, Bulma."

With introductions out of the way, we walked into a pub. What was it like? Let's just say if mother knew I was here, she'd probably have a nosebleed.

It was full of drunken men and slutty women throwing themselves at every man not passed out.

I swiftly pulled my hood over my head; I'm not getting caught up in that.

But somehow, Geta found a table not surrounded by drunks. After ordering the drinks, he sat down. "Talk."

"Not until the drinks get here." I said lightly. "I have to make sure you keep your word."

He smirked and I resisted the urge to slap him.

A woman set down the drinks on our table. I grabbed the one nearest to me and took a sip. I resisted the urge to spit it out; it was easily the most disgusting thing I'd ever tasted.

"You've got your drink." He said, taking a small sip of his. "Now talk."

I sighed. I did make a deal.

"Fine." I said, keeping my eyes on the table. "It started a few days ago…"

"WHAT?" I yelled, slamming my hand on the table.

"Bulma!" Mother scolded. "A lady doesn't hit the table, especially during tea."

I took a quick sip of tea and shot a death glare at mother. "How could you do this to me? How could you engage me to someone WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?"

"Bulma, dear." Mother said quietly. "Don't you get it? You and Yamcha are the perfect pair! You both come from families with good status and wealth and now you can have kids!"

I frowned. I wasn't happy about this.

"But mother!" I persisted. "Why can't I marry a man I love?"

"Because I will not allow you to marry a commoner!" Mother snapped. "It is up to you to make sure the Brief's family stays successful and marrying Yamcha guarantees success!"

I didn't say a word after that.

"So you ran away, just because you found out you were engaged?" Geta asked. "That's a foolish decision."

"You wouldn't like it either if you found out you were being forced to marry someone." I muttered.

"I suppose." He said thoughtfully.

"Well anyway, I considered my options for a few days. It was today that I decided to run away. I couldn't see another way out of it."

"You know they'll search for you, right?"

"I know." I said seriously. "That's why I have to keep running."

Geta was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke. "Woman." He said slowly. "Are you….good at anything?"

"First off, my name is Bulma. And yes….I can swim and run and I'm a good climber. Why?"

"Well, if you're that set on running away, you can join my crew."

I shot him a confused look. "Crew? What are you, some kind of pirate?"

"Good guess." He said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "But I'm not just any pirate."

He removed his hood, revealing black flame-like hair and cold onyx eyes.

"I'm Vegeta Oji."

The secrets out! But how will Bulma react? We shall find out next chapter! Alright, time to answer reviews:

FireStorm1991- You thought it was intense? That wasn't my intention, but I'm glad you like it all the same.

the-writing-vampire- Glad you like it! Yeah, I actually do plan to involve Goku, just not in the way you'd think. *smiles mysteriously*

Lilly Moonlight- Thanks! I think it's gonna turn out pretty good, but since I'm the author, my opinion doesn't really count.

WithoutWingsX- Wow. That's a lot of more! Hope this chapter was enough!

Remember to review!