Sorry it took so long, especially if you are reading "Barbarous Bulma" as well. I know I really left you hanging there. I am pretty sure the ki concept has been mentioned in other stories, but it is impossible not to include. We know he can sense ki. Thank you for being patient. As always, I would love to hear from you! Both positive and negative reviews are welcome.
Disclaimer: I do not own some of these characters.
Scents and Signatures
Stepping from the small pod, Bulma took a deep breath of the clean air the beautiful planet provided. The lush green grass swayed in a gentle breeze which caused leaves in the nearby trees rustle. The difference between Verda and planet 432 was astounding. She had come to call this place her second home, and the human survivors who now inhabited the once deserted planet had come to call it Gia. Unfortunately, the Andraste was her home now and living a simple life like that of the surviving humans was impossible. She missed her home planet, but she had to accept that Earth was gone. She looked down at her short, colorless nails paying special attention to the small cracks which had developed on her cuticles. That life is gone, she told herself slowly. Her planet-side companion, Tein, could now be heard approaching from behind her and she turned to him and said, "I never get over how like earth it is."
He nodded in agreement and pulled out a shortwave communication device. Bulma ignored him as he talked into the device, and she turned around capsulating the three pods. Sticking them safely in her pocket, she walked forward into the meadow before her. The breeze picked up her hair and the weight being lifted from her shoulders felt like the weight of a world. Facing the man behind her, she said, "I'm gonna go on my own. See you in town." With that said, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a hot pink capsule. After throwing it to the ground, a similarly colored hover bike popped onto the scene with a little puff of smoke. Before Tein could respond, she was on the bike, revving the engine and speeding out of sight. Tein shoke his head at her spontaneous behavior, and watching the cloud of dust behind her, he thought to himself, I suppose she deserves a little fun.
Stepping out of his pod, he crushed something green underneath his bleach white boots and the potent smell of trampled grass rose to his nose. He looked around the planet and discovered an area completely contrary to what the reports presented. So, this is where they are hiding, he thought to himself about the remaining humans. He stepped through the disgustingly lush foliage cursing the branches as they attempted to whip him as if they disapproved of his presence. Once entering an opening, Vegeta scanned the horizon. A utopia of sorts met his eyes; the world reminded him of the small planet on which he was trapped a few years ago. He grimaced at the shameful memory of his previous acceptance of inhabiting the now annihilated planet. He brought a finger to the side of his face to tap the sole button on the scouter. The green tinted lens presented a plethora of small signals emitting from the north and two separated signals to the east. He reached out with his mind and felt a sickeningly alluring and familiar signature. Baring his teeth, he lowered his own ki signature and flew low to the ground in the direction of east. During his journey, memories whipped around him like the cold hard sting of air he propelled himself against.
Prior to Earth's Destruction
He sat in his bed staring blankly at the perfectly clean, white ceiling above him. In the eve of a new day, the moonless night caused the room to be pitch-black, but he could still clearly see the smooth walls around him. He compared the soft plaster to the hard, shinny walls of the ships where he had grown up. How unfamiliar his life had become. He swung his legs around in disgust and accepted that his night would once again be sleepless. He tossed the starch white sheet to the floor and slammed his bare feet against them as he stood up and walked to the adjoining bathroom. He turned the sparkling silver handle and ice cold water slivered through his fingers. He grabbed the flowing water with his large cupped hands and splashed the daggers of freezing wetness onto his heated face. The water immediately trickled down his neck onto his uncovered chest, and he let out a burst of energy, vaporizing the water instantly. With an intense grip he secured his hands around the porcelain sink and took a deep breath of angry hot air. Looking down at the pooling water, he saw his own garbled reflection and shook his head in shame. The Prince of Saiyan's and I'm placated on this disgustingly supple mud ball; thoughts ran through his head, but he forced them down with brutish diligence.
He snapped from his revere after hearing a car door slam outside the house. He heard the juvenile giggling of two imbeciles as they struggled to open the front door. The door slammed downstairs, keys dropped and furniture could be heard moving in the hallway. His eyebrows drew together as he concentrated on the two invaders: the woman and her mate. He had learned to identify her ki from quite a distance as he often had to uncover her whereabouts for progress updates on his gravity room. He kept track of her position around the house throughout the day. It had become a challenge for him; her signature was so feeble only the most distinguished sensitivity could locate her. But now that unparalleled ability haunted him as he could sense tiny fluctuations in her ki. He heard a deep muffled moan, followed by a higher pitched short sigh and then a soft voice saying, "Let's go upstairs."
Feet shuffled through the hallway, up the stairs and down another hallway until he could hear their breathing outside his door. He kept his position in his bathroom, his hands still grasping the sink. More giggling, the door shutting, rustling of clothes, and then the light bouncing of her bed springs invaded his ears. He closed his eyes tight and tried to divide his concentration, but it was inevitably brought back to her teasing, irregular ki. It made the hair on his arms stand on end. Her excitement poured over him as he could sense every shudder of pleasure she received. He growled slightly and pushed his body off of the sink. He exited his room to put distance between himself and her bedroom. As he entered the hallway, he could hear soft noises of gratification emitting from her room. His eyes uncontrollably turned into slits of hatred and he cursed the occupants of the room for reasons he did not understand. Once safely in the kitchen, he retrieved some food and forcibly turned his mind away from her. He tore open a square plastic container and not caring what was inside, he shoved the morsels into his dissatisfied mouth.
He glared out the window at his nearly completed training facility and images from the day before flashed though his mind. The memory of her delicate body and supple curves egged his mind forward and combined provocatively with the excitable and tingling air her ki signature created. He felt his entire body tensing and warm blood rushing through his veins. He had rarely allowed himself to indulge in such feelings, and he did not intend to start now. He slammed his fist into the counter and released a deep, guttural growl. I have no interest in that weakling, he affirmed to himself but he still tracked the electric signature coming from upstairs until it finally dwindled away from excitement. He looked down at his tightly balled fist on the counter to find a large indentation formed around it. He was definitely affected by the woman. He turned around in anger, grabbed a chair and threw it across the room. Pieces of wood shattered around the room as he huffed in fury blind to the destruction and racket he had caused. Attempting to calm his ragged nerves, he closed his eyes and took slow breaths forcing his body to relax. He repeated to himself methodically, Control yourself. After a few minutes, he felt his face attain its usual stoic features and his pulse slowing from its rapid pace. As he opened his eyes again, he saw the worried face of the infernal woman in front of him.
Taking a tentative step forward she softly questioned, "Vegeta, Are you OK?" She tightened the silk robe around her slim body and looked at the destroyed chairs beside them. He looked at her disheveled hair and flushed face, then allowed his gaze to sink and linger on her pert breast. They strained against the barely noticeable fabric and their firm shape could be detected from being chilled. As she took long even breaths, Vegeta was mesmerized by the steady rising and falling of her chest. He breathed in her inviting scent which caused both disgust and arousal to stir within him. His eyes snapped to hers as she turned to look from the chair to him. Hate surged out of his dark impenetrable eyes, and his lips tightened in revulsion. But concern had overcome her, and she pulled her plump bottom lip inside her mouth in anxiety. "Um," she said in discomfort and tugging a piece of loose hair behind her ear, she continued, "What happened to the chair?" He looked away from her to the wall three feet to her right and ignored her completely. She took another step forward and reached her arm towards him. He jumped back like a coiled spring, and a low defensive rumble emitted from his chest. On the contrary from usually being unable to read any emotion from her houseguest, Bulma detected a slight amount of fear from him. The fear one senses from a wild animal back into a corner. She looked on in surprise, unsure how to react to his display. Hoping to lighten his mood, she glanced quickly behind him to the back lawn and said, "The gravity room should be finished tomorrow." Vegeta 'humphed' in response and stiffly exited the room. He swore to himself he would never allow the woman to affect him again.
Present Day
After a short amount of time driving around the countryside, Bulma reached a beautiful multilevel waterfall overlooking tremendous bluff. She stopped her bike, dismounted and trotted to the crystal clear water. She could see the bottom of the pooling water where smooth fist sized rocks swayed rhythmically from the onslaught of water. It looked incredibly inviting. She touched the water and felt the crisp, cool sensation. Removing her shoes, she sank her tired feet into the invigorating water and leaning back onto the ground, she closed her eyes in intense relaxation. It had been longer than she could remember since she felt so relaxed. The rush of water and the whispering of the wind lulled her into deserving peace. A satisfied sigh escaped her parted lips as she raised her arms above her head, and she allowed herself to fall into a pleasant nap.
A large crashing sound jarred the sleeping woman and she announced, "What the hell." She leaped to her feet and looked around for the source of the noise. Nothing; not a single thing was out of place. Confused, she stepped closer to the bluff and finally noticed the absent place her bike had once been. She had parked the bike at least ten feet from the cliff. There's no way, she thought to herself in dismay. Peering hopefully down the thirty foot drop, she saw her fears confirmed. Her pink beautiful bike lay on the bottom of the cliff in a mangled collection of metal. "Shit!" she screamed into the wind that whipped around the bluff. She had only brought one vehicle, and her prize bike was definitely beyond repair. She stomped back to the waterfall, grabbed her shoes, and forced her still wet feet into them. Reaching into her pockets she checked her capsules for a vehicle that she may have forgotten and came up lacking. "I'll have to radio for help," she said out loud to herself. She moved her hand to her left hip to pull the radio from its clip, but found nothing there. She looked at her hip in surprise, gapping at the empty clip. She began to feel a small twinge of fear develop in her gut, but she ignored the feeling. Throwing down her 'emergency' capsule, a puff of smoke revealed a metal utility box. She searched to box for another radio, but once again came up lacking and encapsulated the box. "Okay, get down to the bike and survey the damage." She talked to herself calmly in a business-like tone.
Walking to the ledge, she looked down and knew scaling it would be impossible. She began to walk, hoping to find an area where that would be possible. The bare rock looked loose and jagged, but eventually she would find a path. After a short amount of time, she found a less steep ridge which she felt she could get down. Bulma crouched down and grabbing a firmly implanted rock, she slowly lowered one leg to a small flat stop below her. Gusts of wind pushed and pulled her towards and away from the rocks to which she clung. She held her breath and forced every muscle to tense as she stretched one arm to a lower rock, gave a test tug and gripped it with all the strength her fingers would allow. The rough, sharp rocks made minuscule wounds on her hand which felt like paper cuts all along her palms. The dust stuck to her skin like make-up and imprinted itself into her cuts. She was frightened and as a result, sweat started to leak from her pores. It dripped into her eyes, simultaneously stinging and partly blinding her.
But she held to her plan. Repeating this process several times, she began to feel more confident in her climbing ability. About six feet from the bottom, she grabbed hold of a large rock and lowered her leg as she had done before. Just before she could firmly place her foot in the secure spot, she heard a small shifting noise above her. She whipped her head around to look at the rock her fingers were wrapped around, and she saw the tan colored object shifting in small increments from the wall. She gulped and felt herself begin to fall in a slow reality just after the rock pulled itself entirely from its spot.
Her back hit the ground hard and she felt her leg sear in pain. All the wind was stolen from her body, and she stared up at the blue cloudless sky in shock. She felt incapable of thinking clearly and her vision was doubled. As her mind and vision aligned, she craned her head to examine her body. She raised her hand to her face and tried to push herself up with her other hand. After a small struggle, she was sitting upright. Taking a deep, ragged breath she tenderly touched her leg. Pulling her hand back in front of her face, a thick red liquid met her gaze. She took in a quick breath through her teeth and built up the courage to look at her throbbing leg. Turning her knee inwards slightly, she saw a deep gash along her the front of her leg. "Shit," she said, not for the first or last time. She needed to stop the bleeding, and tearing a strip from her dusty shirt, she pushed the cloth against the cut on her thigh. Her stomach began to revolt inside of her and she swallowed the thick, dry spit that blanketed the back of her throat. She tried to think of a plan, but her pounding leg occupied much of her thinking ability.
I need shelter, she thought to herself and looked around for potential predators lying in wait. Seeing none, she squeezed her hand into her tight pocket trying not to aggravate her already excruciating pain. With difficultly she pulled a small damaged box from her pocket. Opening it, she found the one label 'house' and saw large gash down the length of it. "Shit," she said again out loud, "It's useless." She closed her eyes tightly, prayed to every god she had ever known and threw the capsule to the ground twenty feet away. Nothing happened. Cursing once again, she felt hot angry tears cloud her vision, lifted her head to the sky and screamed, "Can anything else go wrong!"
"If you would like." The deep voice was behind her and she swung her torso around violently causing her leg to respond in acute, mind numbing pain. She clenched her teeth, but tried to keep her face impassive. Vegeta stood behind her with his arms crossed and an amused expression plastered to his face. He wore a scouter over one eye, stark white boots, and a skin tight royal blue uniform underneath sleeveless armor. He looked at her grimacing face and then down to her slender legs. The dust beneath her right leg was absorbing an alarming amount of her deep red blood. The potent iron scent drifted to him in waves with the breeze.
It had been over a year since she had seen him, and she still had never forgotten the look she was now receiving. Rage boiled within her. She forgot to question how he had found the planet and forgot her leg was trying to relieve her body of essential blood. She looked at him defiantly and spit out, "I hate you!" She held his intense gaze to see him lift one eyebrow minutely. His eyes once again shifted to her leg and then back to her furious little face. He erased every sign of feeling from his face and retained his expertly practiced military stare. He took a step closer to her and she screamed, "Don't take a step closer," followed by a hysterical, "just leave me alone."
He narrowed his eyes and continued on his path to her injured body. He then matter-of-facty told her in a thick, deep voice, "You're in no position to give orders, woman." He saw her slightly stutter in response and then take a whimper of a breath into her weak body. Once reaching her body, he crouched down over her leg and examined the appendage detachedly. Out of the side of his vision, he looked at the blue haired woman.
She was trying to keep her eyes open, but with much difficulty as was apparent by her uninterrupted blinking. She was trying to keep the dangerous man hovering over her in focus, but he seemed to be eluding her. She found it hard to concentrate; she felt like she was devastatingly drunk, but she confusedly knew she was not. She focused on one of his dark eyes and softly slurred, "It's your fault." She then looked down at the vivid red below her and mumbled, "My home." Her eyes closed on their own accord, and she felt like she was falling down an endless pit.
He held his face in trained indifference as he heard her feebly accuse him for her home's demise. If he were capable, he might feel remorse but no definitive feeling surfaced inside him. Having nearly passed out from lack of blood before, he knew she was tottering on the edge. He prepared himself to catch her fall, and just as he began to move, her back gently slumped onto his arm. He lowered her to the ground and pulled his arm away. Looking at her helpless body, he felt a surge of conflicting emotions try to claw their way into his consciousness. You are here for a Gravity room, he told himself mechanically and effectively squashed any of his vying sentiments. Rising to a standing position, he straightened his back stiffly and reached in his armor. Grabbing a small white capsule, he threw it to the ground and a large white dome appeared on the field in front of them. He walked to her left side and knelt down beside her. Placing one arm behind her neck and the other behind her knees he lifted the woman from her pool of blood. She was limp in his arms just like so many of the helpless creatures he has chaperoned to death. One of her arms fell to her side and swung like a pendulum as he carried her into the capsule house.
