Chapter 3
"SAY WHAAAAAT?!"
Bulma Brief screamed at the top of her lungs, eyes opened widely in shock. Her school bag dropped to the ground as her arms flopped, losing all the strength. She had just arrived home, only to find two police officers at the doorstep, talking to her mother. It wasn't a surprise, due to what had happened in the morning. But when the girl came into the living room, she was caught off guard by the presence of that weirdo again. That boy with the rock star hairdo and a tail was just chilling on her family's sofa, talking to her father. Though, it was when her parents had announced the news did she screamed in horror.
"Mom! Dad! You two can't be serious!" The teenage girl continued, throwing her arms around in frustration. "He wrecked our house and now you want to ADOPT him? I'm sorry, but ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS?"
"Calm down dear, sit down first." Dr. Brief told her daughter, patting the empty arm chair.
She stood, breathing angrily, for a while then reluctantly dropped herself onto the chair, crossing her arm. Her fiery eyes never left the boy. What had he done to her parents that made them think it was a good idea?
Panchy also joined them soon after with a tray of lemonade. She sat down beside her husband and started telling her everything. Bulma listened to it, her stare softened a little but she still showed no sign of being convinced. The boy didn't even seem to be paying attention to the conversation. He was more interested in the juice, taking a sip and winced, sticking his tongue out.
"Since he had lost all of his relatives, and has nowhere to go, we decided to take him in." Mrs. Brief finished up her story.
"Honey, I know this is too sudden for you, and he didn't make a good first impression, but wouldn't it be good to have a brother? Seeing your sister is away?" Dr. Brief followed up with his own persuasion.
"But… if what you said were true, that he was a part of an alien race that like to go around blowing things up and killing people," Bulma argued. "Then he is a murderer! You are keeping a dangerous person in our home!"
"He hadn't killed anyone here had he? He told us he wanted to change his life." Dr. Brief lit another cigarette. "Besides, I'd like to know more about where he came from."
"What makes you think he won't start killing again? And you said he ran away from two other worse murderers. They could be arriving here any minute and doomed us all."
"It'll take them a while." The boy suddenly spoke. He was poking the slice of lemon with the straw. "I destroyed their space-pods. It would take months for them to be rescued, and even more so to search through thousands of planet. Unless they are so lucky they got here on their first try."
They watched as he picked up the piece of lemon and put it in his mouth, only to spat it out in an instant. "Erk! Sour!"
"SO. There you go, honey. Nothing to worry about." Dr. Brief turned to his daughter and smiled.
"We already made an appointment with our lawyer to legally adopt him!" Panchy chimed in.
Bulma realized how happy and excited her mom was. She sighed. Having had two daughters, her mother had always wanted a son. They were her parents after all so she had no real power in the matter anyway. Eventually, she stood up. "Fine. Do what you want. But don't you dare let him near my room!" She snatched her bag and stomped upstairs. The couple stared, listening to the sound of her footsteps. Then they heard the door opened and…
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Raditz set the glass of strange yellowish drink on the table. It tasted horrible. But after a moment, he picked it up again and took another sip. It still tasted the same, but he couldn't stop. He kept taking small sips every few minutes, waiting for the parents to finish talking to their daughter. He then found fascination in the slice of fruit floating inside and was studying it. Though he glanced up when the girl made her argument.
He had to admit she made more sense than the couple, noticing the fact he wasn't someone such kind people like them should be around. But he had made his decision, that he was going to live with them to repay for their nice treatment to him. Therefore, it was self-compulsed of him to say something to reassure the family. Even though he said there was no worry about Vegeta and Nappa finding him soon, the saiyan still felt the fear in his gut. That one day, the two saiyans would arrive, or worse… He didn't want to think of the worst. And thankfully, the girl's screaming did make him stop thinking.
"MOM! WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED TO MY BEDROOM?"
The girl came running downstairs, now looking more like the crazy side that he knew.
"Why it's gone dear." Panchy replied casually.
"B… But why?" Bulma looked at her mother, then her father, then her eyes rested on him. Suddenly, he could feel a dark aura coming from the girl. It was a murderous rage. Raditz knew what it felt like. He had seen it far too many times before. He sunked into the chair, his tail trembled and warped itself around him for comfort.
"You." She moved closer, pointing her finger at his nose. "IT WAS YOU WASN'T IT?"
"H-how can you be so sure?" Raditz felt himself sunk lower. He pointed out the window tremblingly, overwhelmed by her sudden scariness. "C… could have been those two guys that were here earlier."
"Oh, I'm sure it was you. You already have a record of private-property damage. You're going to die furball! Nothing those bastards in space ever done can compare to what I'M about to do you!"
"G-go ahead, see if you can even lay a hand on me!"
"Graahhhh!" Bulma threw a punch at the saiyan, but in a blink of an eye, he was already behind the sofa.
"Told ya." He smirked provokingly.
While Dr. Brief and his wife watched in amusement, the girl jumped over the couch but the saiyan dodged again. He casually jumped into the air while Bulma landed on the floor with a thud. She quickly got back up and continued pursuing him. Raditz playfully let her got close to him then flew up at the last second. After a full five minutes, Bulma stood hopelessly, glaring at the saiyan lazily floating near the ceiling.
"GET BACK HERE! TAKE RESPONSIBILITY LIKE A MAN!" She screamed in frustration.
"Give it up, sister." Teased Raditz.
"It's alright, hon. It will be fixed in no time." The scientist patted his daughter on the shoulder. Then he noticed something was missing.
"Hm? Where's my little Tama? Usually he comes to greet me when I'm home." He wondered.
The Briefs were then distracted by a loud sneeze. They looked up curiously.
Raditz was still in the air, but for some reason, he was sneezing and coughing uncontrollably. He dropped to the floor.
"What- in the name of Oozar-?" The saiyan couldn't finish his sentence, as he started wheezing. It eyes watered and he felt like he couldn't breathe anymore. He fell on to his side, struggling to stay conscious. The Briefs had gotten over their moment of shock and ran over to check on him. It looked as if he was asthmatic.
"Quick, Panchy. Get the Epinephrine." Dr. Brief ordered his wife while he tried to find out the cause. Then, Bulma found the culprit.
There, buried within the boy's massive hair, was one of their family cats. Tama was a pure black housecat his father brought home last year. He especially adored the cute little animal and would walk around with Tama on his shoulder. The poor thing was terrified, being trapped in the hair. She took the small cat out and gasped in realization.
"Dad! It's the cat. He's allergic!" She alerted her parents.
"Fascinating, so aliens can still get cat allergy." The old man was distracted for a brief moment. Panchy soon came back with the nasal spray.
With the help of his adopted family, Raditz could finally breathe again. They had put him on the sofa so he could get more comfy. He laid on his back, now breathing fine, but probably needed more time to readjust.
"He's getting better." Panchy sighed in relief. "I should go see if we still have any Antihistamines." with that, she headed out of the room.
Mr. Brief took the cat from Bulma and put him on his shoulder. Tama meowed, licking his face. "I'm glad it didn't get any more severe. We better let him rest for awhile." The doorbell rang just then. He turned to Bulma. "That must be the constructors. Could you watch him for me, hon? I'll be back soon."
"O… okay." The blue haired girl nodded. She watched her father go, then looked down at the alien boy. His eyes were still closed, but he seemed much calmer. Now she felt a little pity seeing him in such a state. Sure he did ruined her house, especially her bedroom, but he nearly died there and in that moment she forgot all about it. Bulma sat down on the floor in front of him and rested her cheek on one hand. He looked too battered for someone his age… As a matter of fact, she had no idea how old he was. He could be 50 but still looked like a teenager, seeing she knew nothing about his alien race's biology and all. Then she took notice of the outfit he was wearing. She hadn't had time to really look at it before. It looked like a battle armor.
"Seems about right." She thought, remembering how her parents said he was a space warrior, or something.
However, she also noticed how flexible it looked for an armor. She touched the nearest shoulder blade and bent it with ease. It was as if he was just wearing a shirt. Yet when she knocked on it, the surface felt hard.
"M...Mm…" The boy stirred, startling Bulma. She retrieved her hand quickly. His eyebrows furrowed, and sweats started showing on his face. She stood up, thinking of calling her mother, but then she realized. He was just dreaming. It seemed like a bad dream. The teenage alien stirred some more. As his movements became more intense, she felt like all the furniture were shaking.
"An earthquake?" She thought, a bit scared. Another burst of energy from the boy went through her and she understood what was going on. She had got to wake him up before he bring the rest of her house down with him.
"H-hey! Wake up!" The blue haired girl called, to no avail. "Um...um… What was his name? Erm…." She mumbled, slapping her hand on her forehead."Oh!"
She bent down to shake his shoulder. "Radish! Hey! Wake up!"
The name worked its magic. The saiyan's eyes snapped open and he sat up into a defensive reaction, one hand aiming at her face. Their eyes locked on each other, and she could see a dangerous glint in his eyes. Then his expression softened. Raditz lowered his hand and dropped back on the sofa, eyes closed again.
"It's just you…" He muttered, putting one arm over his forehead. Bulma sighed in relief.
"… What happened… to me?" The saiyan breathed slowly.
"You were… Well. You had an allergic reaction. Turns out you are allergic to our family cat… We gave you some Epinephrine to help you breathe…"
The boy stayed quiet, still breathing with some slight difficulty, one arm covering his eyes. Just then, Mrs. Brief came back to check on them. She asked Bulma about his condition and was happy to know he had awaken. She didn't mention anything about the mini-earthquake though, which made Bulma wondered if it was only happening within the room they were in.
"You gave us quite a scare." Panchy went over to put a hand on his head. "How are you feeling, dear?"
"Better." Replied the saiyan boy. He turned himself to sit back up.
"It's alright, if you're still tired you don't have to." Said the blonde woman.
"I've been worse." Raditz, now sitting up, cleared his dry throat, his voice still hoarse from the experience. He reached a hand for the drink on the table but then Panchy stopped him.
"Oh no, no, don't drink this. I'll get you some water." She hurried into the kitchen.
The saiyan leaned on the couch, with his head up to the ceiling. He still felt a bit lightheaded but overall fine. It was the first time he had experienced an allergy. He had thought being a saiyan made him invincible to such things. While horrible, it was quite a learning experience.
He then noticed that the girl with blue hair hadn't left. She was still standing there, watching him.
"Bulma right?" He glanced at her.
"Huh?" The girl seemed surprised by his sudden words.
"Thank you." The next two words that came out of his mouth felt weird. He couldn't recall the last time he had used those words.
Bulma seemed even more confused. "For what?"
"Waking me up." Replied Raditz, now looking away.
"Oh… I guess you're welcome then?"
The boy didn't reply. He remained thoughtful and silent until Panchy came back with a jug of water. She poured some into a new glass and handed it to him. "Here, drink up, hon. "
He took the glass and gulped it down. Then, still not satisfied, he just took the jug and finished it too.
"Careful, you might choke." Mrs. Brief warned, getting ready to help him if needed.
The saiyan set the jug down and leaned back. He seemed more lively now that he had had some water. They all turned when Mr. Brief came back into the living room. He looked at Raditz and gave him a smile.
"Ah, thank goodness you're alright. I'm sorry, sonnie, little Tama likes warm places. I think he thought your hair looked comfy. Though, we had no idea you were allergic."
"Neither did I." Raditz sniffed. His nose was getting runny again. "Looks like I won't be able to live here after all."
"What are you saying?" Panchy gasped. "Don't worry. If you take these allergy pills regularly, you'll be fine." She took out a bottle of Antihistamines from her apron pocket.
"Allergy pills?" Asked the saiyan curiously. He looked the bottle over.
"Yes, my boy. It won't cure your allergy but at least your body won't give such a serious reaction like before." Explained Mr. Brief.
"And when it gets so serious that you cannot breathe, use this one." Panchy gave him the nasal spray. "Just spray it into your nose."
"Oh…" He blinked. Then looked down at his feet. "T… Thank you… Mrs. Brief…"
"Don't be so formal. Tomorrow we'll officially be family." The scientist laughed.
"You can just call us mommy and daddy." Nodded his wife.
Raditz shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The fact that he was now calling some people he had just met his mother and father was strange, and somehow seemed wrong. "Thank you… Mommy…" Eventually he managed to say it.
"That's more like it." His adopted father patted him on the back. "I'll be in the lab if anyone needs me. I still need to study that space-pod. The material seemed extraordinary."
"If you're feeling better, Bulma," Mrs. Brief turned to her daughter. "How about you two go to the mall for some new clothes while I prepare your new bedrooms?"
"Well, seeing someone blew up my wardrobe, it's unavoidable…" Bulma sent him a glance, telling him she still hadn't forgiven him for that.
Raditz looked away, pretending to be busy studying the carpet.
"But he's not going with me looking like THAT."
That made him look up. "Like what?"
"Like a caveman."
"Be nice to your brother, dear." Scolded Panchy.
"I'm sorry mom. But I can't be seen hanging out with this- this horrid fashion disaster!" The blue haired girl pointed at her new saiyan brother. "And when was the last time you took a shower? I can smell you from over here."
"Last year?" Answered Raditz, blinking in confusion as to why she was so upset.
"First, that was a rhetorical question. Second, ew!" The girl wrinkled her nose.
"Well, Raditz, dear. I have to agree with her on this." Panchy giggled. "Bulma, could you show your brother to the bathroom? I'll see if I can get him something to change into." And so, she left the two children deal with each other.
"Well?" Bulma raised an eyebrow at Raditz.
Raditz waved his hands in protest. "No. I'm fine the way I am."
"You heard mom, Raditz." Bulma snarled. She then tried to pull him from the sofa but the boy wouldn't move. "Get up."
"But I'm not going to wash my hair!"
"Why? That thing looks like it's haven't been washed for decades!" Bulma spoke louder.
"B… because It'll take forever to dry! And gets heavy when it's soaked!" Protested the saiyan. "Besides, I see no problem with the way I smell!"
"You have one more chance Raditz. Are you going to the bathroom or not?" The blue haired girl stood with her arms on her hips, glaring down at her soon-to-be brother.
"I am not." Confirmed Raditz.
"You brought this upon yourself!." Smirked the girl. That said, Bulma turned around and snatched the black little furball that had just snuck its way back into the room. The poor cat meowed in confusion.
"Is… is that the… c.. cat?" The saiyan gasped. He pressed himself into the sofa, trying to stay as far away from the little creature as possible. His little experience with the animal had traumatized him for life.
"Yes. So you had better get the hell up, or Tama here will kill you!" Bulma threatened, pretending to be sicking the cat on the saiyan.
"But… but…Aaaachoo!" Sneezed Raditz. He sniffed, his eyes began watering again. "G… get it away from me! Or I'll… Aa.. I'll… Aaa… achoo!"
"Then get up and start moving." Bulma demanded.
"Alright alright! Just keep that thing away!" The saiyan stood up against his will. He sneezed again and sniffed.
"Good. Now walk up the stairs! Don't try anything stupid, I still got the cat." She pushed him forward. Raditz complied, but still glancing back hoping for an opening.
Eventually, Raditz found himself standing stupidly in a large white room, with pristine clean tiles on all sides. On his left was a sink and mirror, and on the right was the toilet, a shelf full of clean towels, and a hamper. In the middle, of course, was a large bathtub, and a shower just a little further to its left. He turned to the door, then looked at the tub again. He hated baths… Maybe he could just blast through the damn wall and fly away. His fingers twitched, really considering it.
"No, stupid. You have broken enough of their stuff today…"
He sniffed, his nose still itching. And now the back of his neck also itched. He bet the cat had left its fur everywhere inside his hair and now he had gotten rashes. It looked like he really needed this bath after all…
But he never liked bath. His hair would suck in all the water and drag him down. That had happened the last time he had it washed. Well, more like Nappa had thrown him into a river on one of those planets under Vegeta's command. It had stayed wet for days, until Nappa had had enough with it dripping water everywhere and twisted all the water out in the most painful way possible. That was about four years ago and he had never washed his hair since. He wouldn't be surprised if there was a twig or two in there.
"Hey! What are you doing in there?" He heard the girl pounding on the door behind him. "I don't hear the water! You're not planning on running are you?"
"Hrrr, how annoying can she be?" Muttered the saiyan. He then shouted over the door. "FOR OOZAR'S SAKE CAN YOU JUST GIVE ME A MINUTE?"
"Hurry up then! There's a big sale going on at the mall and I'm not missing it! And make sure you used the shampoo on that stupid hair of yours!"
"GAH! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" He shouted back then ignored whatever she was saying next. He put the clothes Mrs. Brief had given him on the rack. The saiyan came to the tub and studied it. It would be hard to get out of it once his hair had gotten soaked. Then he looked at the shower. It looked like those shared bathroom they had on Frieza's spaceship, which he never used. It felt weird to shower with other guys, especially those he never liked to begin with. And also his never drying hair. He didn't want to walk around like a walking mop.
All things considered, the shower seemed to be the most reasonable option. He stretched his armor to get both of his arms out of the arm holes, then proceeded to push the armor down so he could step out of it. Unlike most who prefered to get it out from the top, Raditz had to go the opposite way for his hair's sake. He took his arm and leg rings off, tossing them next to the armor. And finally, off the rest of his undergarment.
The saiyan walked to the shower, slid the glass door open and looked inside. As expected, there was a showerhead, faucets and all that. He got inside and looked at the two faucets. He turned the one with the blue label, assuming it was for the cool water. However, miscalculating his strength, he torn the poor thing right off. His face went pale blue, looking at the broken faucet handle in his hand. He threw it aside, annoyed by how weak the material was, and how they had no easy preset buttons for the water like on Frieza's ship.
With only one option left, he turned the other one, trying his best to not break it like the previous. Thankfully, it didn't. But another problem arose. The saiyan jumped the moment water came out of the showerhead. It was boiling hot! He grunted in frustration. How was he going to cool it off without the cold water? He looked at the water pipes running from on the wall and snapped his fingers. He reached to one of the pipes and torn it off the wall. The cool water came spurting out, mixing with the heated water.
He let the water rain on his face. He had to admit, it was refreshing. Now… The girl did say use the shampoo… Whatever that was… He looked around and saw a small shelf full of many different colorful bottles. He picked one up and realized he couldn't read the language on the label. Frowning, he thought of asking her, but then his pride prevented that from happening.
"Maybe they're ALL shampoo." He shrugged, then proceeded to pour half of each bottle on his massive hair. It was already getting heavy and he started having trouble keeping his head up. The saiyan begun clawing and mauling his hair to remove all the dirts. Occasionally, he tossed a leaf, or a twig aside.
"Oh… so this is where it was…" He took an unopened compacted-food bar out from somewhere amidst the hair. He remembered Nappa and Vegeta were fighting over who had eaten the last one since none of them could find it. They knew he wouldn't dare to and thus he was safe from extermination that one time.
Shrugging, Raditz unwrapped it and took a bite. Still good.
"What is that moron doing?" Bulma stood leaning on the wall outside the bathroom, tapping her foot. She looked at her watch then at the door impatiently. "It's been an hour."
Suddenly, the door swung open. Raditz came out in Dr. Brief's old vacation shirt and brown pants, looking much less wild and seemed older than his age thanks to the clothes. The only problem was…
"Geez, your hair's still dripping everywhere!" She commented, leaning to look at it closer.
"I did warn you." The saiyan shrugged. "I already used up all those towels."
"That can't be helped then… I'll get you the hairdryer…" She then paused, and sniffed his hair. "Wait a second, this smell like…" She looked up. "Which bottle did you use?"
"For the shampoo thing?"
"Yes."
"I used them all."
"YOU WHAT?!"
"You told me to"
"Just use one!"
"Well how am I supposed to know which one is the shampoo?"
"Just read the damn label you idiot!"
"I did" Raditz folded his arms. "and I didn't understand a damned thing. I can't read your stupid written language!'"
Bulma rubbed her temples. "Fine then… Come with me, and I'll see if I can dry your hair…"
"By the way," The saiyan held out the broken faucet. "Tell your father to fix this too."
Bulma gasped. "You- you hairy monkey! Haven't you broken enough things?"
"Hey, it's not that easy keeping my strength in check." The saiyan rolled his eyes.
"But wait, if it's broken, how did you get the cold water?"
"I managed." Said the saiyan, proud of himself.
Bulma stared at him with one eyebrow raised in confusion. She ran into the bathroom to check and yelped in horror when she saw it. Aside from the faucet handle being broken, the water pipes had been torn off the wall and snapped. But even more amazing was how the water had stopped. Something had blocked the water from coming out. Curiously, she poked a finger at what looked like a black clot of-
"KYAAA!" She screamed when she realized what it was.
Raditz came up behind her, still super proud of his problem solving ability. "Couldn't get the water to stop though. The towel didn't work... So I had to use my last resort. Since my hair was blocking the drain, I figured if I stuff them in the pipe it'll stop spilling-"
"EWW! YOU DISGUSTING-MORON!" Bulma yelled, jumping to the sink to wash her hands with the soap.
"I fixed it." Shrugged Raditz in confusion. Why didn't she praise his intelligence? He thought it was pretty neat.
"NO YOU MAKE IT WORSE!" Cried his adopted sister. "WHY KAMI? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?"
"Who's Kami?" asked Raditz, squeezing some more water out of his hair.
Bulma didn't answer. She was taking deep breaths and reciting her happy thoughts. Eventually, she turned to him. "Just… shut up and follow me…"
