Chapter Seven: The Ceremony
Bulma woke up the next morning with one thing on her mind… food. She got out of her bed and made her way to the kitchen. Vegeta coming the previous day had been a bit of a hassle. At first he tried to leave again because Chichi was complaining about how dirty he was. Then he met Goku and claimed that his stupidity was "annihilating his good judgment," and he had tried to leave again. Overall, the entire day was one big disaster. One moment Vegeta was fine, the next he was trying to get to the door so he could leave without Bulma noticing. She had stopped him every time until he finally gave up. Actually, it was more of a bribe than anything. She had offered him the food in the kitchen after hearing his stomach growl. Maron, one of Bulma's other housemaids, had run into the room thinking there was an earthquake because of the unnaturally loud noise.
Bulma looked in the refrigerator, but found that her so called "guardian angel" was trying to starve her. She checked the cabinets and yet still found nothing for breakfast. She grumpily went back the way she came. On her way past the gravity room, which Vegeta had requested as his specific living quarters, she peered inside through the small window on the door. He wasn't in there. She wondered where he had gone this early in the morning. He was probably so hungry that he went hunting, she thought, laughing to herself.
"What's so funny?" Vegeta asked, surprising her from behind.
"Oh, nothing," she laughed, making him scowl at her and continue walking to wherever he was going in the first place.
"This place is stupid," he stated, "You don't have any food. Your so called 'maids' are still asleep. Shouldn't they be out getting more food. There's nothing in the kitchen. You have plenty of money for it, as you've demonstrated very well," he growled, waving his hand around, indicating the mansion Bulma called her home. "And where is your supervision? Shouldn't you have guards with you?"
"Goku, Nappa and Tien are still sleeping, and if you hadn't eaten everything yesterday then we would still have something to eat in this house for this morning. And, if you have a problem with Chichi or Maron, complain to yourself because I don't want to hear it. They're my best friends and I won't stand for you telling me that they aren't doing a good enough job for you. They've worked for me since we were all children, and I love them like my own family."
"Speaking of your family," Vegeta yawned, ignoring her previous statement, "When do they get back?"
"Why do you care!"
"Don't be upset because you're hungry, woman. If you really want something to eat then go buy something."
Bulma's jaw almost hit the floor. "You were the one who just complained that my house wasn't good enough for you! I'm not the one who wants food so badly! You're the one who has an attitude problem! Not me!"
Vegeta rolled his eyes and continued walking away from her, down the hallway, leaving her to cool down in silence.
After about a minute of thinking how much of a jerk Vegeta had been, her stomach growled, interrupting her thoughts. She decided that she would take his advice and go get some food. It would piss him off because she would go alone, as he had instructed her not to do ever since he decided to stay at Capsule Corporation, so she would kill two birds with one stone that way. She went back to her room and changed her clothes. She grabbed some money, shoved it in her jacket pocket and raced out the door. She threw a capsule into the air and it became her ride: a baby blue car her mother usually used. It wasn't stylish, but that was good because she wouldn't want to call any attention to herself. Oh, crap, she thought, I forgot money! Smart Bulma Briefs, very smart. Genius prodigy goes to supermarket without any money. I can see it now. She raced back inside, grabbed the first wad of cash she saw and ran back out to the car. She opened the door to the driver's seat and shut it behind her, sighing heavily. She looked up and jumped when she saw movement in the back seat through the front mirror.
"Vegeta!" she fumed, "Get out of my car!"
"You know I won't do that, woman."
"Your job's over, Vegeta. Freiza isn't controlling you anymore. I'm no longer your charge. You're not my bodyguard. I have my own here."
"Well, they're too stupid to know when their charge is in danger," he stated, reminding Bulma of the previous day, "So I guess I'll just have to replace them and their incompetent behavior with a better and more consistent babysitter." He said the last word with a bit of anger. Bulma wondered if it was directed at her or her 'incompetent' guards. She did have to admit, though, that it was a hell of a lot easier to sneak around Goku and the others than Vegeta.
"Why are you so persistent. Don't you have a life or something?"
He looked down at the carpeting in the car. "My life is none of your concern, woman. Yours, on the other hand, is your concern, as well as mine."
"My life isn't your concern. I can take care of myself."
"That's a pretty bold statement for a girl who almost got raped yesterday."
"I was not!"
"I was watching you, woman. Don't lie. Now, I have a question for you. Why were those people so eager to get you?"
"That's none of your concern."
"Wrong again, woman. Just answer my question."
"You can go to hell! Now get out of my car!"
"Whatever," he said, getting out, "Don't blame me if your cries for help fall on deaf ears."
As soon as Bulma saw the door to her home slam shut, she drove off. What a dickhead, she thought heatedly. He didn't have anything better to do than try to argue with her? Ugh, what a way to start her morning. She pulled into the parking lot for the supermarket and got out of the car. Maybe she should have let him come along. He could have carried her stuff for her.
She quickly picked out the most expensive meat and grabbed almost everything on the shelves. By the time she was finished she had the employees of the store carting around her eight carriages. So much for not attracting any attention. She really didn't care at this point. Someone could kill her for all she cared. They helped her put the things she bought in capsules and fit them into one shopping bag. She put the bag in the passenger's seat and drove off.
She stopped in front of her house to see that something was different. The lights in the top floor's rooms were on and everything was way too quiet for her liking. She grabbed her bag and took it with her to the doorstep. A loud, high-pitched scream came from inside and Bulma quickly opened the door. The sight she saw was not one she had been expecting. Her mother was crying on the floor as Vegeta held her father against the wall, the same way he had held the man who had been holding the knife the day before.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Vegeta asked, his expression threatening.
"Vegeta, stop!" Bulma called, "That's my father! Those are my parents!"
As if realization dawned on him, Vegeta slowly lowered Dr. Briefs back down to the floor, and placed him gently down, his eyes wider than usual. He let go of his neck and stood there, stagnant. Bulma's mother stood up and ran over, tears flying everywhere, to her husband and held him tightly.
"Father!" Bulma called, running over to hug him as well, "I'm so sorry. Vegeta didn't know who you were. I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry, Bulma. I'm fine," he replied, rubbing his neck.
"What are you doing back so soon? I thought you were supposed to be away for another week."
"Well, the man who was buying our projects gave us a good deal right off the bat! Isn't that great? Oh, and we've brought you back a surprise," he added pointing to her mother and himself.
"A present? What is it?"
"Well, first I'd like to know who this… strapping young man is."
"Oh. This is Vegeta. He's—"
"Oh, Bulma!" her mother cried, "We told you not to bring home any boys! The ceremony is in only a few hours. Don't make this any more complicated than it should be sweetheart. It's for the best. Trust your father and I. we've picked out only the best for our daughter," she smiled at the last part and Bulma noticed Vegeta lift an eyebrow in curiosity and Bulma mentally reprimanded herself for not remembering what day it was. The ceremony was today? That was a major setback. She thought it wasn't for at least another week or so…
"No, mom," Bulma said, "Vegeta isn't like that. This is the bodyguard Freiza assigned for my protection, not…"
"Oh, my mistake sweetheart! Sorry about that!" She turned to Vegeta and walked straight at him. Vegeta stiffened, but didn't expect her to wrap her arms around him in an embrace. He didn't move until she had backed off, and he continued staring dumbly at her until she addressed him. "Well, Vegeta, I hope you've been treated well. Thank you for taking care of my daughter while we were gone and we're honored to have you in our house."
"You know, Bulma, that your mother and I have given you a present, correct."
"Well, you haven't given it to me yet," she replied, smirking at her father.
"Well, we're also still paying Vegeta's Lord, Freiza, for this man's services, right?"
"Oh! Father there's something have to tell you about Freiza! He's trying to k—"
"Woman!"
"Huh?" Bulma looked over at Vegeta, who solemnly shook his head at her. She understood. There was nothing her parents would be able to do. It would only make them worry about her safety. As much as she cared about them, there was nothing she or they could do about this problem. The only person she believed would have any answer was Vegeta, and so if he thought it was best for her parents not to know, then she wouldn't tell them.
"Excuse me? What's he trying to do? I didn't quite hear you on that last part, sweetheart."
"Oh, umm. He's trying to do the best job he can of protecting me. That's why he asked Vegeta to be my guard. He's one of the best."
"I'm flattered," he mumbled, rolling his eyes at her.
"So, Dad? What's that present? And what does it have to do with Vegeta?"
"Look," her mother instructed pulling out some kind of machine from her purse. "It's called the Dragon Radar. Do you know the legend of the eternal dragon, Shenlong?"
"Of course. He grants one perfect wish to anyone who can gather all seven dragon balls and summon him… wait, are you trying to tell me that this machine can lead me to the seven magic dragon balls?" she asked in shock.
"Way to go, genius of the planet," Vegeta murmured under his breath, causing Bulma to throw a tissue box at him from the coffee table. "What does all this nonsense have to do with me?" he asked.
"It's not nonsense, young man," Dr. Briefs scolded, "And it involves you because you're my daughter's guard. I thought she'd have to wait to go look for the dragon balls, but now that you're here, and we're still paying Freiza for your wonderful services…"
Vegeta instantly came up with a list of remarks that got longer and longer every second that he didn't use one of them. He kept his mouth shut though. If he tried to get out of this pointless job, the two old Earthlings would know that something was wrong and that he wasn't exactly in charge of their daughter anymore. If he had to explain why, then there would be trouble… lots of trouble.
"Well, sweetheart, you can go on this new adventure right after the ceremony. You should go prepare for it. We only have about twenty, so it'll go by quickly. I promise."
Bulma's parents knew very well that she hated this ceremony. She thought it was insane and barbaric and she shouldn't have to do it like the idiots of the past. The only example her parents could give her was themselves, and they always told her, 'Look how we came out. We love each other and we love out family.' Yeah, well, Bulma's idea of love wasn't picking one man out of twenty to be her future husband. Her parents called it her duty, but duty was just another word for slavery. It was just in nicer terms.
She headed for her room with Vegeta on her heels.
"What's this ceremony?" he asked in his usual, 'I'm better than everyone and there's nothing they can do about it' tone.
"You'll just have to wait and find out," Bulma replied bitterly.
"I'm guessing from that response that you still haven't eaten anything," he said and Bulma whipped around to face him. She had wanted to startle him, but he just stood there, smirking devilishly at her without faltering, or even blinking for that matter. She noticed again his handsome features so she whipped back around to stop herself from looking, and continued down the corridor to her bedroom.
"Stop following me," she growled, after hearing his footsteps behind her once again. She thought that her last retort was enough for him to get the message. She guessed he probably got it anyway and was just following her to annoy her further.
"You heard your old man. He said that he's still paying my Lord," he spat when he mentioned the lizard's title, "So I might as well continue my job, don't you think?"
"Well your services aren't currently needed, so go away."
"That's not for you to decide when I'm the one who's in charge of your safety."
"Please just go away. I have to change my clothes and prepare. You can't be in there when I'm changing. Just go somewhere else. I left the food I bought in the bag in the living room. Put them away and you can have as much as you want."
"I don't think so, woman. I'm not going anywhere."
"Well," Bulma said, coming to her bedroom, "You have to stay out here. Guard the hallway from spray paint or something. I'm sure that's more likely than me being attacked in my own house."
He didn't respond to her statement, but he grunted and leaned against the wall next to the door. Bulma sighed and entered her room, closing the door behind her. Before doing anything, she went to her bed to lay down and relax her tensed muscles. She always seemed to tighten up whenever Vegeta was around. But, before she knew it, she was sound asleep.
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"Woman! What do you think you're doing in there?!" Vegeta's loud call woke her up from her rest. He was banging relentlessly on her door. "I've been out here for almost an hour and you haven't made a single noise in there! What are you doing? Dying! Your parents said you have to be back in that room in one hour, and you have five minutes! Woman! Are you even listening to me?"
"What?" Bulma asked sluggishly, opening her eyes, "Five what?"
"You have five minutes to get your lazy ass out here or I'm coming in!"
"Five minutes?! Oh my gosh! I've been out. How stupid of me." She rushed to her closet and grabbed a light blue dress with satin lining and threw it on. She quickly brushed through her hair and put on a light coating of make-up. She grabbed her eyeliner and mascara and ran to the mirror behind her door. After about five minutes, she was finally finished. It wasn't an excellent job, but it looked almost perfect for having only five minutes to do it.
"That's it," Vegeta called, "I'm coming in in three… two… one—"
"I'm here!" Bulma said, opening the door, breathing heavy. She bent over to put her hands on her knees for a second before standing up straight to face him. "How do I look?" she breathed.
Vegeta's heart almost skipped a beat. If he didn't know any better he would have said that this god-like creature wasn't the fragile woman he had known for the past few days. Her aqua-hair fell delicately over her shoulders, matching her eyes and her dress. Her light cerulean eyes were deeply looking directly into his dark black ones and he had to force himself from getting lost in them. Seeing the top of the light blue dress, filled with her firm and plentiful breasts, caused a blazing fire to erupt between his legs. He quickly broke the lock between their eyes and looked her up and down. The dress complimented every curve on her body. Her cheeks had a beautiful luscious blush to them and her lips were full with a natural pink tint. He was so close to them. If he moved only slightly, he could touch them…
"You look like you did the last time I saw you, woman! Will you just hurry up! I don't want to be blamed for your being late!" He grabbed her arm and dragged her along until they made it back to the room. Her parents were waiting for them there.
"Oh, honey!" her mother said holding out her arms. Vegeta rolled his eyes as she came over to her daughter and hugged her tightly. "You look wonderful! Every single man at this ceremony will be fawning over you, sweetheart. Make sure you choose wisely. Talk to some of them. Get to know them for their personalities, not just the way they look, okay?"
"I know, mom," Bulma said, taking a glance at Vegeta. He raised his eyebrows at her, catching on to what the ceremony was for.
When her mother had finally let her go, they all walked sown to the dining hall, which could easily fit well over one hundred people. So, naturally, Bulma was surprised to see it packed when she opened the gigantic double doors. As soon as everyone saw her, the room got quiet. Nappa and Goku ran to her side and bowed forward. Tien walked to her next and reached out his hand to indicate the angelic figure Vegeta still couldn't believe was that annoying pest he had known before.
"I give you the heir to Capsule Corporation… Bulma Briefs!"
The room erupted in cheer and Bulma's face went red with embarrassment. Her father took her hand and led her to the front of the table to sit down. Mrs. Briefs took Vegeta's hand, which he at first didn't agree with and pulled away, but she insisted, so he angrily complied. He was seated next to Bulma, with Goku on the opposite side. Dr. Briefs seated himself at the other end of the long dinner table, his wife sitting by his side. Nappa remained standing by the door, and Tien made his way around the crowds of people to stand next to a large window with his hands behind his back.
Side doors opened on every side of the room and lines of waiters and waitresses poured into the room, making it even more compacted. People shuffle around to get a good look at Bulma and her family. She looked back occasionally, but mostly kept her eyes on the plate below her on the table. Waiters were constantly filling it up, so she lost interest in trying to eat anything. The fun of eating for her was the empty plate and the feeling of satisfaction when she was finished.
After everyone had finished eating and the waiters and waitresses were finished cleaning up the messes, her father waved his hand, signaling for silence. The room was quiet in a matter of seconds.
"We will now hold the ceremony in the adjacent room to my left," he said, waving a hand to the left, "Will the bachelors please be escorted by their immediate families to that room. Everyone else, please remain out here. We will return when the first part of the ceremony is completed."
Bulma stood and walked to her father. Goku and Vegeta followed them into the next room. Bulma couldn't believe it, but she found herself trying not to cry. This was supposed to be one of the greatest moments of her life, and she hadn't realized how much it was going to affect her until now. There was nothing she could do to prevent this. Whomever she picked would instantly tell their family members, and it would soon spread throughout the entire city like a wildfire. She glanced to her right to find Vegeta walking next to her, looking at her.
"What are you going to have to do in this stupid family ritual anyway? I get the part where you have to choose someone, but do you have to… mate with them?"
"…Eventually," she said. She had tried to sound confident, but her voice broke and Vegeta caught it.
"You don't want to?"
"I don't want to talk about it right now."
"I could get you out of it for a while if you want," he said, smiling at whatever plan was entering his mind.
"No. I don't have a choice. I'll have to do it eventually. I can't get out of it forever. A little more freedom isn't worth the trouble."
Vegeta fell back as they entered the new room. A large chair in the front was positioned at the end of a long blue rug, which was rolled out like a red carpet down the entire room. Bulma understood why her father had asked some people to stay behind. This room was even smaller than the dining hall. There was no possible way to fit more than fifty people in this room.
She walked to her place on the upper stage and sat down in the chair. Vegeta and Goku once again stationed on either side of her. Then, the ceremony begun. One at a time, twenty men came forward and introduced themselves to her, bowing when necessary. Some were polite, others were conceited, as if they expected her to just jump up and say, "That one!" because they had a gravitational aura of some other shit like that. She rested her head in her hand and dealt with every type of person she could think of. She felt even more uncomfortable because of Vegeta's persistent glace in her direction every time some man gave their name and occupation to her. A few times she though she saw him hold in a laugh. She felt a little angry that he found her distress amusing. This was her future and he had the nerve to laugh at her, the jerk.
After the idiot show was over, Bulma was allowed to leave her chair. Everyone began piling back into the dining hall, following Bulma and her two guards, then her parents, holding each other's hand for show purposes.
"Now what?" Vegeta asked her, walking up to her again.
"Nothing, she sighed in defeat, "I talk to a couple people and then I have to pick one of them."
"That's disgusting."
"What?"
"Having someone pick your mate for you. That didn't even happen on my planet and we were mostly savages… unless the woman got raped of course."
Bulma wanted to ask why he was talking in past tense about his home planet, but didn't get the chance to before a man came running up to her.
"Hello, Ms. Briefs," he said, bowing his head, "My name is Yamcha and I just wanted to introduce myself."
"You did that before," Bulma stated, not in the mood for an idiot's senseless babbling. She really didn't want to hear any long life stories, childhood memories, problems with their families and how much they want a better life, how they could please her and make her happy, how good they were in bed, what they planned on naming their children, what they wanted from her if she chose them, and all that stupid, useless shit. It was all pointless. She didn't even care anymore. If her selection was out of the twenty she was just shown, then the best she would get was this man who was talking to her right now. He seemed honest and polite compared to the others, but he just wasn't her type of guy. Sure, he was attractive, but that wasn't good enough for the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with. The man who she was going to have to have children with and raise them with. This wasn't what she wanted.
"I'd like to be alone right now, Yamcha," Bulma said, as politely as she could make it sound.
"But, Ms. Briefs," he said, grabbing for her shoulder when she turned away from him. A yelp made her turn back. Vegeta had knocked him over and even Goku was surprised at his bold action.
"She said she wants to be alone. That means without you," he said, looking down at Yamcha on the floor. Bulma noticed that he was shaking, but she turned to walk away from the crowd anyway. She saw her mother out of the corner of her eye whisper something to her father and point at Vegeta. She hoped he hadn't gotten himself in trouble. He had already claimed the attention of half the people in the room. Bulma guessed they had been expecting a fight, but she knew that if one of the contestants was Vegeta, it wouldn't be much of a fight at all.
She made her way to the edge of the room, away from all the people. She leaned against the wall and looked at the ground. Vegeta came up to her after scaring Goku away and he leaned on the wall to her left.
"So…," he asked, "Pick anyone yet?"
Bulma looked at him with a disbelieving look. "Are you enjoying this?" she asked.
"Don't play with me, woman. I'm not in the mood."
"I just don't want to do this. I told you already. Why would you ask if I had picked one of them yet if you knew that?"
"I could fix all this if you want."
"Don't bother. There's nothing you can do."
"Well, there is one thing…"
"What?"
Vegeta pushed himself off the wall and stood directly in front of her. There was barely a half of a foot between them. He leaned forward and put his mouth next to her ear. She could feel his warm breath on her neck.
"Do you want to pick one or not?"
Bulma couldn't find the will to move, much less respond to Vegeta's question. She looked over his shoulder to see a few people looking over at them. Her parents were included.
Vegeta chuckled and shivers raced down Bulma's spine. She shifted against him, feeling uncomfortable. Yet, it felt almost… right, being that close to him.
"Maybe it's better that you don't answer that." Bulma stiffened. What was that supposed to mean? He pulled his head back to look her in the eyes. Those light cerulean eyes that he had been afraid to lose himself in not an hour before... Now he wanted to.
"Vegeta, what are you—" But she couldn't finish her question before the Saiyan Prince closed the gap between their lips.
