Chapter Nine: Possessive

Bulma woke up the next morning thinking that the previous day had been worse than what she would feel when she woke up the next morning. But, holy shit, was she off. Her headache had increased in magnitude and she felt as if the whole universe was spinning around her. She felt nauseas as hell and the dizziness wasn't helping in the slightest. She remembered when she was attacked and when she called out for Vegeta. She remembered the intense feeling of joy when he saved her, and she enjoyed having him be the last thing she saw before her eyes involuntarily shut. The only thing left was to be able to see him when she woke up. Looking around as best she could without throwing up on herself, she realized that Vegeta wouldn't let her have everything she wanted. She mentally laughed, for fear that laughing out loud would bring on a whole new wave of nausea. She didn't want to sit up either. In fact, she was almost afraid to move at all.

"Vegeta?" she called.

"What!" he demanded, apparently directly behind her.

"…Thank you."

"Yeah, whatever."

Bulma closed her eyes again, the dizziness becoming too extreme for her liking. "What are we going to do now?" she asked softly.

Vegeta paused before answering because, well, he didn't have an answer. What were they going to do now? He had just reprimanded himself for the past twelve hours about how he didn't want to be controlled anymore by whatever grip the female had on him, and he was already beginning to feel those past twelve hours slip away, as if they hadn't meant anything at all. He didn't want to be around the female and the strange effects she had on him. He hated them because they were unpredictable. It was like an enemy he couldn't see, touch, smell, hear, taste… but it all seemed so real because he could see the female when he looked at her. He could touch her because she was right there. He could smell her because of her unique scent. He could hear her, as much as he didn't want to sometimes. And he could taste her… but that wasn't what the effect were and for some idiotic reason, his mind would constantly relate the two. Almost as if he couldn't tell the difference… was there even a difference?

Anyway, the twelve hours of telling himself not to be controlled all melted away when he heard the female's voice. She had taken his hours and hours of thinking and turned them into something that he now thought was absurd. How could he not protect her? What did she ever do to him that would make it okay for him to just let her die? How could he order her around? She would never listen to him if he barked orders at her… And how could he ever think of hurting her? Although he didn't like the effects she had on him, they were… enjoyable… to a degree. Overall, he couldn't understand why he had thought the things he had. They didn't make any sense and they went against everything his instincts told him. And he didn't want to turn on his own instincts. They were the only thing inside of him that kept him from… Why was he thinking about this now, of all times. His planet was gone. His father was gone. He was controlled by the person who destroyed his future. He had nothing to live for… so why live at all? His instincts told him that he had a few things to live for and he wondered if this female had something to do with it…

So, before answering the question he was presented with, he calmed himself down for a couple seconds and lowered his voice. "We just need to keep moving. If we stop then we're more likely to be found. I don't think Freiza has sent anyone after us yet. That homosexual lizard is probably too lazy to give the order immediately."

"I have the Dragon Radar."

"I know. I packed your bag, remember?"

"We could go looking for all seven. My parents said that the Eternal Dragon will grant one perfect wish to anyone who can find the Dragon Balls."

"First of all, I think making a wish could be helpful if what they told you is accurate. Second, we only need to find six."

"What? Why?"

"That creature that attacked you ate one of them," he stated, placing the small, orange ball in Bulma's left hand, seeing as her eyes were still closed. She jumped and threw it a few feet away. "What did you do that for!" Vegeta yelled, walking over to pick it up.

"That means it was inside that thing!" Bulma screeched. "I don't want to touch it!"

Vegeta rolled his eyes and placed the Dragon Ball in Bulma's backpack, taking out the Radar before he zipped it shut. He swung it over his shoulder and knelt down next to her. "Don't jump. I'm going to lift you up. I have most of my energy back from my… experience on the other planet, so I can fly. It'll be faster finding those balls that way." He pulled the female into his arms and she rested her head against his chest. Putting her hands on her stomach, she could feel the piece of skin where the huge gash was through his shirt when he jumped into the air. It reminded her once again of the pain he endured because of her stupidity. She was glad her eyes had to be closed. She didn't want him to see her looking at his face to see if he was in any sort of pain.

"How are you feeling?" Vegeta asked after about fifteen minutes had gone by. They were almost to the next Dragon Ball, according to the Radar. Vegeta had noted how the pink in the female's cheeks had slowly disappeared as he flew through the woods, not wanting to go any higher than the trees for fear of being seen. Not just by people sent by Freiza, but by the inhabitants of this planet. Vegeta knew they couldn't fly, so why bother making them watch someone who can? For many different reasons. One was because Vegeta and the aqua-haired female would be rumored about and people would be able to recognize them and create an easy trail for someone who was looking for them. Keeping a low profile was beyond important. A second reason was that Vegeta didn't want anyone to be jealous. And a third, which was by far the most important to the Saiyan Prince, was that if the female was going to throw up, it was not going to be all over him!

"I'm okay… Could you fly a little lower… And less movement, please?"

Vegeta huffed and landed on the soft ground below. Bulma opened one eye and then the other checking to see if the dizziness would go away. Her nausea was gone for now, but her headache were about the same and she still felt dizzy, thanks to her guard flying so fast. She wondered why he wasn't putting her down. He just stood there, holding her until… she didn't know. Maybe tell him it was okay to fly again. Well, he was going to be standing there for a while if that was what he was waiting for.

Bulma, a sharp pain hitting her right temple, quietly yelped and pushed the side of her head into Vegeta's chest. He jerked back at her unexpected movement and put her down. She wrapped her arms around him and whined into his shirt. Vegeta just sat there frozen until she let him go, but she didn't. The pain made her want to bang her head against a wall. That would have been less painful than the sharp pains that kept hitting her right temple. And it refused to let up, even for a fraction of a second.

Vegeta felt water soaking into his shirt and heard the female crying out for something. He couldn't understand her because her face was pressed into his chest, so he gently pulled her face away from him. Tears were cascading down her face like rapids in a river.

"Help me! Please!" she cried and Vegeta froze again. He didn't know what to do. There was nothing he could do. "Please! Make it stop!" she screamed. Vegeta, doing to only thing he could think of to 'make it stop,' and hit her in the side of the head, knocking her out cold. He knew it probably wasn't the best idea he'd ever had, but the feeling of panic that ran through him when he couldn't do anything for her had been the most horrible thing he had ever felt in his entire life. Like he was useless to someone who he… did he?

Picking the female back up into his arms and checking the Radar, he jumped into the air and continued along their previous path. The female having this concussion was starting to be a huge burden. She would be useless for the entire… what was it?... How long was this going to happen? Vegeta knew little about concussions because most of the people who he had known who had gotten one had been murdered by Freiza or one of his henchmen. If a person got a concussion, they were considered worthless and weak in Freiza's eyes. Real warriors didn't get concussions…

The next Dragon Ball was exactly where the Radar indicated it would be. It was hidden under a large thorn bush in a pile of leaves. Vegeta set the female down and crawled under the bush. He grabbed the Ball, getting a couple scratches on his way out. He stood back up and brushed himself off. Then, he blasted the bush for drawing blood. He grabbed the female and brought her a few yards away to a pine tree with shelter underneath it. The next Dragon Ball was at least a couple hours flying distance away and the sun was already hiding behind the mountains. The aqua-haired female had been out for most of the day, so their precious daylight hours had been wasted. He found sturdy branch in the tree and leaned back when he climbed it and it didn't snap off. Then he closed his eyes and let much needed sleep come to him in a rush.

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Vegeta woke up to the weak sound of his name being called. He looked below to find that the female was awake and looking around for him.

"Up here, woman," he said, in a bored tone.

The sun wasn't yet up and Vegeta could still feel that his body wanted more rest than what he had given it so far. He wondered if he would even be able to fall asleep again, what with the female up now.

Bulma turned her gaze to the branches above and smiled at the Saiyan Prince in a very apologetic way. Vegeta could tell that she remembered what she had done the previous day and what he had done to make her pain go away. Thankfully, she didn't seem to mind that he hit her over the head to knock her out. He wasn't in the mood to be yelled at.

Vegeta squinted his eyes to look around but the darkness was too thick to see through. The only thing he cold "see" was the aqua-haired female below him. He couldn't sense anyone else around. Not even an animal was close by. They were completely alone, save for a few bugs on the ground and below the fertile soil of the pine tree. He jumped down to land next to the female. She looked up at him and Vegeta could sense that her face had gotten a bit warmer than usual. He smirked to himself. He was beginning to think that she wasn't the only one who could give the other strange effects, and he was enjoying this new piece of information.

"What are you doing?" Bulma asked.

"It's a little cold up there," he replied, pointing up at the branch he had been sleeping on. He knew she couldn't see his movement in the dark, but he guessed she could relate "up there" with the branch. "Do you mind if I sleep down here?" Vegeta was trying his best not to let out a chuckle, but after asking that, he did it anyway.

"Why are you laughing?" Bulma asked defiantly, although her voice began to falter when she felt him lay down next to her. His hot breath tickled her skin, and, no thanks to the dress, a lot of skin was going unprotected. Oh, yes. Vegeta was enjoying his new piece of information very much.

"No reason," he replied, closing his eyes. He could feel the female next to him shiver although it was a nice warm temperature under the pine tree. He smirked again. This was turning out to be a better 'adventure' than he thought it'd be when they started. "Do you feel any better?"

"Better than yesterday."

"That's not what I meant, woman."

Bulma turned her head to face him. Her eyes were slightly adjusting to seeing things close up, so she could almost see the outline of Vegeta face next to hers. She knew he was facing her because his breath was directly on her. She found herself holding her breath and was afraid to let it out when she knew she would soon need oxygen. Still, she didn't want to.

"Breath, woman," he ordered, feeling her face heat up even more. He knew it wasn't because of him when it became an unnatural temperature.

Bulma's breathing came out in short intervals, barely enough to satisfy her screaming lungs. Her breath hit Vegeta's face so lightly that only a Saiyan would be able to feel it. Realizing that she was being an idiot because of his position next to her, he sat up to let her even out her breathing. He could feel her pulse slowing and her heart lost its rapid tempo. He sighed and laid beck down after a couple minutes.

"Do that again and I'll have to sleep in the tree," he mocked.

"Like the monkey you are," Bulma smirked.

"W-What?" he stuttered. How did she know about that? Did Freiza tell her? Was that what she had been doing while he was being beat on by Dodoria? Listening to Freiza tell her about his race? What lies did she hear come out of that lizard's mouth? What did she know about him?

"Relax," she laughed, "I'm just joking. What do you think you're actually a monkey? If you ask me, I think you need to go back to sleep." She laughed again and Vegeta let out a fake laugh, trying to mimic hers. He stood back up and walked to the tree trunk, grabbing hold of the nearest sturdy branch to lift himself up. "What are you doing?" he heard the female ask from behind. "I was just joking, Vegeta. You're not a monkey, I swear." She giggled at her own statement. Vegeta guessed that she didn't know that much about him anyway, so why should this be any different? He figured she might become suspicious if he acted on what he had just heard.

He let go of the branch and walked back over to the female. He laid down beside her again and turned his head. If he was lucky, maybe this time she would hold her breath for even longer… as if ordered, the female's breathing slowed again until she was holding it in, just like last time.

"Woman, will you breathe!"

"S-Sorry," she said, letting out a breath into the side of his face. The heat made his skin want to jump off of his body. There was still barely any light, but he could see the female's face as his eyes adjusted a bit. After a few more minutes, the female was breathing normally again, each breath sending shock waves throughout Vegeta's system. At one point, he had found himself getting closer to the source of the sweet, warm air. He had forced himself back, but he kept finding that he wouldn't stop. And then, the female had started the same process. As annoying and immature as it was, Vegeta couldn't find the will to stop and the female wasn't helping.

As if giving in, although that wasn't what he would have liked to call it, he didn't stop himself when he and the female were tracking the sources of each other's breathing. This time, he wouldn't stop until he found the source. At least he knew what it felt like. It would be easier to… identify.

The female froze when she realized that it was happening all over again. Vegeta had pulled her closer as his mouth claimed hers in one swift movement. She didn't move in the beginning because of the shock. It was happening again. That was all her mind would register. Not that it was happening, but that it was happening again. He was being so gentle that it scared her. Vegeta was the most powerful being on this planet, currently, and he was holding her as if to say that he wouldn't hurt a fly. The gesture was so tender. The embrace was so gentle and his warmth was intoxicating… she couldn't resist him. Her arms made their way to the back of his neck to try to pull him closer to her. She knew it would be useless to try and move him, but he took the message and moved on his own, deepening the kiss as he tried to let her have at least a little control over his movements. He didn't want to have all the fun.

This action, however, didn't just make the kiss more passionate. The aqua-haired female's body was physically responding to his touch. It stirred something inside of her. Her finger tips ruffled his spiky hair as she tried to push the feeling away and just enjoy the kiss, but it wouldn't leave her alone. And when Vegeta's hands found their way to the small of her back and he pulled her middle closer to his, a wildfire began to spread. She felt him chuckle against her lips and her face turned red. He must have been able to sense what her physical body did as well. Her body temperature rose with that thought stuck in her mind. If he knew… then…

Vegeta flipped them both over so that he was on top and pulled one of his arms out from under her to cradle her head in his hand. He felt her soft hair against his face and breathed in her scent. That familiar scent that he loved… he put his free hand under her head to lift her up into him, but froze at what he felt. This was not going to turn out well if he continued. As a Saiyan, the Earthling female wouldn't be able to handle what he would do to her in her current state.

Bulma remained perfectly still when her guard froze. What was wrong? Did she do something he didn't like? Was she not good enough in his eyes. She felt a tear coming on but held it in long enough for Vegeta to roll off of her and explain. He grabbed one of her hands and pushed it back so she could feel the scab on the back of her head… from where she had hit the wall during the ceremony… her concussion… she mentally laughed at herself for thinking that she would be rejected. Vegeta had obviously shown that he wouldn't reject her. She felt stupid… But that wasn't enough to stop a different tear from coming to her eye.

Vegeta quickly gathered the reigns to his breathing and pulled them to a solid halt until they were back to normal. He turned to the female to find her breaths coming in short intervals and tears cascading down her face… he guessed why they were there and pulled her towards him. He didn't want to deal with this right now, but when life gives you lemons, sometimes you just have to eat the fucking lemons.

Maybe it would have done the female some good if he taught her a few lessons like those. Looking down at her sobbing form (he mentally noted the fact that she had been doing that a lot since he first met her), he decided to save it for another time.

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The next morning came slowly, but at last, it finally came and Vegeta was faced with a feeling her had never had before. He didn't want the female going anywhere without him. The thought was utterly confusing to him. The entire time he'd known her, all he wanted was to be around her as little as possible, and now he felt as if she should never be going anywhere without him. Like he was… her guard for life. The thought was stupid and he knew it, but he felt it. And as he watched her sleeping form, he was reassured that he felt it. Every second of every minute of every day… Something was certainly wrong with him. Why was this simple Earthling changing him to the point where he no longer knew who he was. He doubted his entire reason for existence. He didn't know who he was anymore. He felt… possessive of the female. He could now identify the feeling he had at the ceremony. He had been so possessive of her that he didn't want anyone to touch her. More importantly, he had decided that he wouldn't let his woman pick another man to mate with. And, yes, that was what she was. His woman. And he knew that every other female that he had mated with in his previous days of life meant nothing to him. They were all forms of entertainment and pleasure for him. This female was different than all the others. If he was to mate with her those few hours ago, he wouldn't have just done it for those entertainment and pleasure purposes. He would have done it for something else. He didn't know what it was quite yet, but he was certainly going to figure it out.

One thing that puzzled him was the fact that he had stopped when he felt the bloody scab on the back of the aqua-haired female's head. He had felt guilty and worried at the same time. Those were two emotions he would have never felt for any of his past bedmates. If it had been any other female, he was certain that he wouldn't have stopped like that. He didn't know what that meant, but he was going to figure that out as well.

So, the Saiyan Prince had two questions that needed answers and he was intent on finding both of them. If anything, he'd just get that weird dragon to tell him when they collected all the Dragon Balls. A stupid thing to waste a wish on though, so he decided that he wanted to find it a different way.

He smirked, remembering the reactions the female had given him when he touched her the previous night. She had strong and passionate feelings for him and he couldn't blame her. He was the Saiyan Prince… but she didn't know that, did she? Oh, no. More questions. It was a simple fact that every bedmate he'd had knew of his background, thanks to Freiza. He felt that some mated with him because they pitied him… they had died, of course. But most mated with him because Freiza had told them that he was the Prince of a deceased race… that he was all alone, that he was the last of his kind, and stupid shit like that. Freiza had told them that he was experienced, that he had taken many to his bedchambers. He couldn't deny that fact, but those females mated with him because they were seduced by what they thought he could be. By what they thought he already was. The only problem was that Freiza had told them about him. He didn't recall every having an intelligent conversation with any of the females. They had always been open-use-dispose scenarios. He fucked them and then disposed of them. That's all it had been. That was all it had ever been…

But this female had listened to him, had helped him. Had accepted him for the Saiyan that she saw, not for the deceased race he was supposed to rule. Not for some lies she had heard from another. Not for what she wanted him to be. Not for what she hoped he would become. Not to influence him. Not to make him feel guilty. Not to see what she could get out of him… She didn't even know him and yet she still felt for him. She called his name when she was in trouble. She told him the truth over what her parents wanted her to do. She had confidently accepted that she was the cause of a few bad things that had happened to him. She had apologized… she had felt guilty. She didn't know he was the Prince of the dead Saiyan race. She didn't know that he was alone. She didn't know that he was the last of his kind. She didn't know how many females he had been with. She didn't know of all the unknown and forbidden pleasures he and no one else could bring to her in his bed. She didn't know… anything…

He looked down at the sleeping form of the aqua-haired female once again. His dark black eyes stared in to her flesh and buried themselves there, refusing to move. How could he not be possessive of such a creature as her, so vulnerable and innocent…?