A/N: This is the last chapter I have written (though the ideas are kinda running around in my head). So hopefully will get the next one posted soon.
Disclaimer: As per the usual, I do not own Dragon Ball (any of the incarnations).
Chapter 8 – Invisible
Her recuperation took weeks. Her muscles and bones had been pushed almost to the breaking point, leaving the young woman with a world of pain. Thankfully, with her mother and a wide array of medical equipment and drugs at her disposal, the convalescence took much shorter than she had originally feared.
In all of that time not a single sign of the Saiyan was to be seen. He neither stopped by to check on her (as if he ever would) nor even bothered her about the gravity room. As soon as she was recovered, she expected him to be looming over her, demanding she fix the machine every time it broke.
But even this did not materialize, at least not like the genius thought it would.
Bulma had no idea what his problem was. For well over a month the Saiyan managed to either avoid or ignore her presence entirely. Even when she was around him fixing something, he said not a word to her, beyond a few yes or no grunts.
And what was worse, was that she found his actions so irritating. She shouldn't care that he wasn't around, or paying attention to her. He was a major jerk, someone who every day tried to eat them out of house and home.
She counted out on her fingers all of his many major faults. 'Egotistical, check. Arrogant ass, check. Lightning-fast temper, double check.'
None of these and the many more defects Bulma could think of seemed in the least bit desirable for companionship. So then, in the end, why was she feeling the loss of his presence, his conversations, so completely?
After all, there were other things she should be focusing more on. Her relationship with Yamcha was hitting an all-time low. The last two dates they'd taken to restaurants felt flat and lifeless. Neither seemed to know how to cross the chasm that seemed to be forming between them.
At this point Bulma wasn't even sure if she wanted to try. So that left her with very little social life, and a lot of time to sit and brood. Even with the many experiments needing to be conducted, her focus simply wasn't there.
A small beep went off next to her. By now she knew that sound by heart. Looking askance, she watched the screen light up again on the wristwatch she'd set aside earlier. The item tended to get in the way when she was working on her projects.
With a slow motion, she reached out and grasped the watch as it lit up once more. Bulma already knew what it meant, but she still looked at the message scrolling across the screen anyway.
Warning: Equipment Overload. Auto-shutdown engaged
She was sorely tempted to ignore the side effects to come, mainly in the form of an enraged Saiyan prince coming to bother her to fix the gravity room. With a sigh, she rose, grabbing her tool kit in the process. Might as well get this over with. He was simply going to ignore her again, which would end up pissing her off and ruining her mood even more.
Still, the young genius wasn't the type to ignore her duty, even when it was most unpleasant. She was surprised to see that darkness had fallen outside. Bulma had no idea that the hour was so late. That would probably explain why her stomach was complaining in the form of regular growls.
But there was a job to be done, and it wouldn't be the first time she went without a supper. The lights were blazing from the capsule. She was surprised that the alien wasn't standing in the doorway, hands on his hips while he impatiently waited for her to show up.
Surprisingly the door was closed. She stepped up the ramp and pressed the button, momentarily blinded as the lights from within hit her eyes. Stepping forward, she aimed straight for the control panel, not even bothering to see if Vegeta was even still around.
Setting down the bag, she got right to work running a diagnostic on the machinery. A small shuffle came from the side. With a glance, she saw the man in question leaning against a nearby wall, arms crossed over his chest.
She got right back to work again, when it was evident he wasn't going to say a word to her. Typical attitude at this time. That couldn't stop her anger from rising. Fuming, muttering curses under her breath, she furiously went back to work.
Besides the clicking of her fingers on the panel, there was not a sound in the room. The continual silence wore on her already frayed nerves. Not only that, but the computer wasn't cooperating. The usual commands weren't working like they should. Finally, the frustration and prolonged tension between them became too much.
Bulma was nothing if not forthright. She faced everything in life head-on, and this was no different. Slamming the monitoring equipment down, she turned to the current problem facing her. Unreadable black eyes stared back. His face didn't so much twitch as she marched up to him.
With one finger, she pushed against the marble of muscle that made up his chest.
"Okay, mister. I've had enough of this silent treatment. I won't have you treating me like a lowly servant at your beck and call."
She took a few steps back, hands on her hips. "Actually, I'm not going to move one more finger to fix this thing until you tell me why you aren't talking to me."
He stared back quietly, as still as stone.
Belatedly Bulma remembered their deal that she would fix the GR whenever there was a brake down. "Look, it's not like I'm not going to fix it. But can't you at least explain why you're being even more uncommunicative than usual?"
His eyes slid to the side, which she took for him to mean that he wasn't going to speak.
"I might as well be talking to the walls..." she grumbled.
Turning her back to him, she angrily pulled her equipment off the control panel, shoving them right back into her bag. This time taking all precautions, she initiated a full shut-down of the system. When that was completed she went one step farther. On the wall by the door was the main power switch that connected the capsule to the house. With a flick that too was turned off.
Automatically the room went black. A few seconds later the emergency lights kicked in and there was a faint red glow in the room. Now there was no way she could get shocked. Not this time. The generator only sent power to the lights and the door to get out.
Kneeling down, she chose to take the direct approach with this repair. Four screws later and the metal hiding the brain of the computer was out of the way.
Sliding down to her stomach, she inched her way forward, surrounding herself with wires. At least they weren't able to annoy her like a certain Saiyan. A few minutes later and she stood corrected. Like the panel, they weren't cooperating either.
The usual gloves she wore weren't helping, either. They made it harder for her to grasp the smaller pieces. With a frustrated growl she tore them off, tossing them to the ground nearby. The wires were hot to the touch, which should have been her first warning that something was seriously wrong.
Instead, she ignored the obvious and, grasping two separate wires, immediately felt a charge run through her body. The shock was intense, her mouth opened wordlessly in a silent scream. In her lifetime, Bulma had been hurt by electricity several dozens of time. You didn't deal with mechanical equipment without getting a charge every now and then.
This time, though, was very different. This energy, while painful, also had the added effect of giving her a boost of energy. This would usually have given her scientific mind a great deal of excitement, but not now.
Instead, it caused her muscles to contract tighter around the wires. Gritting her teeth, she tried to ride the pain, hoping the electrical would short out. Suddenly a pair of strong hands wrapped around her ankles and pulled. Her body slid along the tile floor and the grasp on the electrical equipment was broken.
Her limbs trembled as they settled back down after the jolt to their system. Vegeta stood over her, arms at his sides. She stared blankly up at him. Closing her eyes, she let the cool floor seep into her as she calmed down. Opening them again, her gaze settled on her benefactor.
There was simply no reason for the wires to have any jolt to them whatsoever. Everything mechanical was completely off. That meant something else must have been going on to cause such a charge to run through the cables.
Rather than words of thanks, Bulma chose to let her anger free reign. Her voice was breathless. "What were you doing in here?"
"Training. What else, idiot."
Anger had her adrenaline rising, giving her an added energy boost. Stumbling to her feet, she used the central panel to support herself. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."
"Tch." An upturn of the lips framed his displeasure accurately. "I was experimenting with ki."
Ki? Oh yes, that power Goku and everyone used to generate their attacks. Being at Master Roshi's so often she'd heard enough to know a bit about how the Z Fighters were able to battle. But never would she have guessed that the energy traveled through electronics, especially with the time lapse between his training and her having touched the wires.
Her curious brain wouldn't let her leave him alone without a few questions. Besides, in her mind she always imagined Vegeta doing punches and kicks, not acting the scientist. "Exactly what kind of experiments?"
Watching her out of the corners of his eyes, Vegeta was given the sight of Bulma's blue eyes twinkling in her excitement, cheeks still red from her shock.
Very grudgingly the male was forced to admit that the human could be passably pretty at times, with her exotic blue coloring. Her temper, while annoying, was also mildly amusing. She could be set off by the smallest, most insignificant things.
Sometimes he would do something just to see how she would react. But right now he wanted to get back to his training. When there was nothing better to do he would goad her once more.
Feigning more anger than he felt, he gave another quick answer. "Working with various ki lengths." He huffed. "Now leave me be, woman."
His stance was unyielding, and Bulma was experienced enough with the Saiyan to know when he was willing to talk and when he wasn't. This wasn't one of his more sociable moods. Shrugging, giving up the conversation as a lost cause, she got back down on all fours in front of the open panel.
"What are you doing?"
Kneeling on her knees, she gave him an answer in the same curt tone he had used. "I'm fixing this machine so I can get back to my real work."
"Tch. Are you planning on getting injured even more? This time I won't help you."
Fisting her hands on her hips, she huffed. "Good. I won't need it this time." A smug smile grew on her face. "Unlike some people, I learn from my mistakes. I don't fight losing battles."
It was an obvious hit against the many battles Vegeta had lost since first coming to Earth.
That set him off. Unfolding his arms, he took a few threatening steps toward her. "If you weren't useful, human, I would kill you right now."
This wasn't the first time the Saiyan had said such words. Bulma wasn't able to take him terribly seriously. She wasn't naive enough to doubt the man was capable, but for some reason she didn't really think him willing, whether she was useful or not.
Reaching up a hand, she messaged her temple, where a headache was beginning to form. Attempting to be the sensible one, she offered a compromise. "Look. How about we just drop it and I get this done? That way we can get out of each others hair."
"Hurry it up." He folded his arms once more, head turning to stare at some unknown point at the far wall.
Taking that as acquiescence, she knelt down once more. This time she put her gloves on and kept them on. The current of ki running through the circuitry obviously wasn't strong enough to get through rubber gloves. In the future she would have to think of a way to make all of the machinery resistant to ki, if that was possible.
A few minutes of silence later and she was done. Sliding back out, she stretched her cramped muscles. Only a quick test to make sure everything was in working order and she could get back to all of the other experiments waiting for her in her lab.
Standing, she first walked over and reengaged the power to the large pod. Next came the central panel and with a flick everything came back on. Taking out her diagnostic equipment once more, she ran a few simulated tests, everything come back ready to go.
"That should do it," she said cheerfully, putting away her gear.
Picking up the bag, she gave him a stern glare. "But try not to break it again too quickly. I have a lot of work to do."
He snorted. "Like I care what you do. Just be around to fix this machine." The Saiyan gave her his back, a clear dismissal.
A sweat drop formed as she stared incredulously at his broad shoulders. Rubbing the bridge of her eyes, she decided she wasn't up for this shit. At this point an argument would only waste her time when it could be better spent elsewhere.
Without another word she existed the gravity room, the door swooshing back into place behind her. Making her way across the lawn, the human mused that at least he was no longer ignoring her.
