Forbidden Love

Chapter 2: The Glint

AN: Have no idea where exactly this story is going to end up but I do know kinda where I'm heading with it. Oh well, I'll just wing it I guess, but if you have any ideas where you'd like this to end feel free to give me your ideas. Hope you enjoy this next installment of Forbidden Love.

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of its related characters.

Last time on Forbidden Love:

Bulma found herself obsessed with the identity of a mysterious "glint" she saw whilst reading by the shore of her local lake. Not wanting anyone to think she was crazy, she decided to keep her discovery to herself. Let's join her now as she begins her investigation into the identity of the "glint".

Bulma throws her binoculars around her neck and stares out at the lake, hoping to once again get a glimpse of the glint she saw. As she stares out at the lake she several times thinks she catches a glimpse of the glint, but it turns out to be nothing but the sun's reflection.

'Is that what I saw? The sun?' she thinks. She tries to push these kinds of thoughts from her mind. Several hours of frustration go by, but still no sign of the mysterious glint she saw earlier.

'It must have been my imagination,' she concedes. She lowers the binoculars from her eyes. Just as she is about to turn in for the night, a strange glint unlike that of the sun's reflection catches her eye. Unfortunately it's gone before she can bring the binoculars up to her eyes.

'That was it and I didn't even get a closer look at it. Damn,' she thinks. Knowing now that she mustn't be crazy, she intensifies her search. Another hour goes by before she gives up and goes to eat dinner. After dinner is eaten and put away, she returns to her search. Two hours pass but still nothing. The sun begins its slow descent turning the sky a rainbow of colors. She turns her attention to the sky for a minute. For a few minutes she marvels at the sky's beauty before once more Bulma turns her attention to the lake. Just as she is about to say forget it, her binoculars pick up on a strange sight.

It rises from the lake's surface like a dolphin. The sun reflects off the slick surface and produces a brilliant light. Two frail looking wisps of membranes branch out from either side of the slick surface. Silver scales reflect the sun's fading light and turn the slick surface a myriad of colors before it slips back under the water's surface.

'A tail? A fishtail? But that's impossible. I've never seen a fish that big before. Unless…unless it's….' she thinks as she tries to get her thoughts together. She dashes into the house and tears into her room. She tosses her binoculars onto her bed and makes a break for her computer. With a furious flurry of clicks and taps, Bulma searches the internet for merpeople.

'There's no other explanation for it. There must be mermaids living in the lake. It does seem kinda hard to believe, though,' she thinks as she searches. She sinks back into her plush desk chair.

'Get a hold of yourself, Bulma. Merpeople don't exist. This must be your imagination getting the best of you,' she reasons to herself. She puts her head in her hands.

'What was I thinking? Merpeople. Sheesh, I must be losing my mind,' she thinks. She spends several more minutes thinking about what the mysterious tailfin could belong to but soon comes to the conclusion that she might never figure it out. She sighs as she once again sinks back into her chair.

'I'll never figure this out. I mean, come on Bulma. Merpeople? In Lake Pend Orielle? I don't think so. But then what could it have been from? I don't believe in giant fish or sea monsters. Maybe it was a dolphin that just got lost on its way from the ocean. Yeah that's it! It must be it! I'll go down to the lake first thing tomorrow and see if I can't help the poor creature return to the sea where it belongs,' she thinks. Satisfied with her reasoning, Bulma finally turns in for the night.

The Next Day:

Bulma wakes bright and early and heads off to her favorite spot on the lake. This time around she doesn't have her book, only herself. She takes off her shirt to reveal the top of a brightly colored flower two-piece bikini. She then removes her sandals and shorts and hides them away behind an area of the shore riddled with a number of bushes so thick her clothes are well hidden from view of the street or passer-bys. Taking a calming breathe of the fresh mountain air, she dives head first into the crystal clear water.

'Now, when I first saw the tail it was over there somewhere,' she mentally notes. She swims over to where she first saw the strange fish tail.

'It's probably underwater,' she figures as she prepares herself for the underwater voyage. She takes a deep breath and is just about to dive under when a head pops out of the water. Bulma screams and attempts to push herself away from the person, completely forgetting that she's in the water and not on land. She falls backwards and into the water. Just when she thinks that she's done for, her head once again breaks the surface. She gasps at the air she was momentarily deprived of and doesn't even notice her savior is swimming right in front of her.

After a few more deep breaths, she lifts her head to look at her savior. Her eyes are immediately drawn to her savior's black colored locks that rise into a flame-like shape. Her eyes travel downward until she's staring into her savior's intense pools of onyx.

"You okay, Blue?" her savior asks. The voice sends shivers up and down Bulma's spine.

'I never knew that someone who looks so young could have a voice that husky or that deep,' she thinks as she tries to grasp hold of the whole situation. By now she's at least been able to determine her savior's gender.

'God, what will Yamcha think if I start talking to this guy? He's not into me associating myself with guys, even though I know that he does the same thing only with women. The damned hypocrite,' she thinks as she tries to figure out what she's going to say to this young man. Her savior tilts his head to look at her. His eyes betray nothing, but an upturned eyebrow hints at his confusion.

"You okay?" he asks again, his head never once turning back to its original position.

"Yeah, I'm fine. And the name is Bulma. I suggest you use it," she says with a huff.

"Bul…ma…" the young man says as he tries the name out on his tongue.

"Yeah, that's right. Bulma. You got a problem with that or are you mentally retarded?" she snaps, clearly annoyed at this man's antics.

"Your name's funny sounding," the young man says, his head still tilted nearly 90 degrees.

"It is not! I'll have you know that my name is rather unique. Far more unique than your name will ever be," Bulma protests, only it comes out sounding more like a whine.

"Is unique your way of saying stupid? Cause if it is, it certainly fits," the man asks. Bulma fumes at this.

'How dare he insult me like this! My name is lovely if I do say so myself,' she thinks.

"My name is not stupid, but I bet that your name is," she says.

"My name's not stupid," he says as he turns his head back to look at Bulma properly.

"By the way, what is your name?" she asks, suddenly curious.

"It's Vegeta," he says proudly. He raises his head high when he says this. Bulma tries to resist the temptation of laughing, but she can't help the chuckle that comes out.

"It's not funny! I'll have you know that my family name is very noble. Far more noble than your family name will ever be," Vegeta boasts, his head still raised high into the air.

"Yeah right! My family name just so happens to be Briefs. So take that!" she retorts.

"But I thought you said your name was Bulma," Vegeta says, confusion evident in his tone of voice. He tilts his head once again.

"My name is Bulma," she says.

"But you just said your family name is Briefs," Vegeta says, still confused.

"It is," she tells him.

"How can you have two names?" Vegeta asks as the confusion slowly enters into the dark orbs of his eyes.

"My first name is Bulma. My last name is Briefs. Don't you have a last name, Vegeta?" she says.

"No. What's a last name?" he asks, still stumped.

"A last name is your family name. Your first name identifies you as an individual. How could you not have learned all of this already?" Bulma explains, beginning to get confused herself.

"Where I come from there is no such thing as a last name. We only have our family names. Unless of course we are born female," he explains. He once again straightens his head to stare at Bulma.

"So, are you telling me that your dad has the same name as you?" Bulma asks, already knowing the answer but wanting to make sure of its validity.

"Yeah. Is that a problem?" he asks.

"No, Vegeta. It's not a problem," she says.

'God, here I was ready to rescue that dolphin from certain death, and now look at me, talking it up with some strange kid with no first name. What a day this has turned out to be,' Bulma reflects.

"So, Vegeta where do you come from anyways?" Bulma asks, curious to find out where in the world someone would not be given a first name.

AN: So, where exactly is Vegeta from? And what would he be doing in the lake in the first place? Find out next time on Forbidden Love.