Chapter 51: Passive Rebellion

Bulma diligently continued her training with Vegita, and she continued to make steady progress. As the months wore on, she realized that there was just no getting used to the soreness and fatigue that built up in one's limbs during a hard day of training in the gravity room. Vegita hadn't been kidding. The day that he'd let her train in eighty g's had been a walk in the park compared to what was to come afterwards. Things just kept getting harsher and harsher after that. Bulma was having considerable difficulty adjusting to the increased levels every week. Despite all Vegita's - and her - determined efforts to keep her improving at a steady pace, it was easy for Bulma to see that she was drawing ever closer to the point where her human limitations would kick in. As harsh and unwilling as Vegita always was to give her any excuses for weakness, even he must have been noticing it too. Despite all this, she was still making fair progress anyway, even if it was hard-won, and she never once let him hear her complain, no matter how traitorous the rest of her body may have been on the matter.

Four months had come and gone, and Bulma was entering her second week of 140g training. After she'd finished her first week of 120, Vegita had decided - with much scowling and glares of disapproval on his part - that he'd graciously allow her two weeks at each level now instead of one. Still, she failed to see how this would give her much undue comfort in the gravity room; she didn't know why he'd thought he had so much to scowl about. She had laughed at him just the same, telling him that he was getting soft, and that if he didn't watch it, he might just turn into a human! At this his face had all but turned an indignant shade of purple.

"How dare you suggest such a thing?!" he had demanded in an explosion of indignant rage. "I've killed for less than that, you ungrateful wench! There'll be harsher exercises today for that! Just be glad I'm in no mood to put up with your whining, or else I'd most definitely give you the day-long pounding you deserve!"

Bulma only shot him a grin and made a face at him. It seemed that more and more nowadays she loved getting him all worked up about silly things, even if it did usually mean a heavier workout in the end. That was one effect of a far greater change in Bulma's life than the increase in her strength. However incredible it was, it went totally unnoticed by Bulma. She just continued training, and she paid little attention to the fact that she was laughing and playing around a lot more with Vegita these days. True, he didn't really joke and fool around the way she did to him, but that didn't mean that he didn't egg her on. The truth was that he enjoyed pushing her buttons almost as much as she enjoyed pushing his - much as he made it appear that he was only being scornful and insulting.

In a weird sort of way, Bulma had discovered that she actually enjoyed his company. Sure, he was rude and obnoxious - not to mention unduly abrasive most of the time - but Bulma realized that training with Vegita was actually much more fun than training by herself. Truth be told, her past few months with him had greatly improved her disposition toward the gruff Saiyan man - even more than she realized. Her mother could see the true magnitude of the change that was taking place in Bulma's personality though, and although she didn't mention a word of it to anyone, leastwise to her daughter, she could frequently be seen smiling happily as she heard Bulma trotting eagerly out to the gravity room each morning.

Yamucha had noticed a change in Bulma too, but he hadn't put two and two together in the same way Mrs. Briefs had. All he could see was that Bulma seemed a lot happier these days, and although he still didn't altogether trust Vegita to behave himself, even he had to admit by now that this training of his was for real. It was producing such astounding results in Bulma, in fact, that at first, he honestly didn't believe her when she'd proudly announced one day that she had finally broken 100 g's. It wasn't until he snuck after her to the gravity room the next morning that he finally realized that she wasn't kidding. He turned on the one-way camera on the outside controls so he could sneak a peek at them, and his mouth dropped open in surprise at what he saw. They had the machine on at a whopping 105! True, Bulma wasn't moving too quickly in there, but it was easy to see that she really was in training.

A surge of guilt had overwhelmed him once he'd seen it for himself, but it was for a less honorable reason than doubting his best friend's word. It was instead because of the fact that he had only progressed to 55g's himself. That was barely more than half of what she was training at, and it made him feel so low that he spent the whole next day training furiously in his own gravity room, collapsing when he could do no more exercises, and causing both Bulma and her mother to worry a good deal about him. Even his guilt didn't last long, however. There was a definite reason why he hadn't improved as rapidly as Bulma, and it wasn't because Vegita wasn't training him, either. Rather, it was a psychological block that he had erected, much like the one that Bulma'd had in the beginning.

He felt that if these jinzouningen he'd heard so much about really were more powerful than that boy from the future - more powerful than Freeza even - how on Earth could he hope to stand up to such a threat after any length of time? He wasn't a Saiyan or a Namek, for Kami's sake! He was a human - a dwarf in the wake of giants like Goku, Vegita, Piccolo, or even Gohan, and now even his former pupil had surpassed him so much that he didn't have any more hope of catching up to her. She wasn't going to survive an attack from these monsters, no matter how much she trained. He knew that, although she was really good, there was no way she'd get any better than Vegita, and even that kid had said that Vegita hadn't been a match for the jinzouningen.

How could he himself be expected to do something that even Bulma wouldn't be able to do? It just didn't make sense for him to kill himself with training if it wouldn't even make any difference in the end. Rather than put himself through the extremes that Bulma chose to endure, he simply trained at a fairly comfortable pace. He wasn't lazy or anything, but he saw no point in running himself into the ground, either. Despite the twinge of guilt he felt each time he noticed how quickly Bulma was outstripping him, he made no effort to speed things up.

All things considered, peace had once again made its home at Capsule Corporation. Bulma, Vegita, and Yamucha were tied up in their training; Dr. Briefs was busy running his corporation; and Mrs. Briefs had a heck of a time seeing to it that she, her husband, and three ravenous young fighters had enough food prepared at mealtimes to keep themselves satisfied. Each person had his or her own job to do, and each one pressed on without much complaint.

By the end of four months, however, Bulma was beginning to get tired. It wasn't the usual "dead-on-your-feet, nearly comatose, worn out after a training session" tired, however. This sort of weariness went a little deeper than that kind. This kind of lethargy was the result of an unchanging cycle of eating, sleeping, and training day in, day out, and seven days a week. Bulma knew that if she didn't take a break from this mind-numbing schedule soon, she was going to go nuts.

She also knew that Vegita was far worse off than she was, although one would never have known without being around the guy every day. He certainly wouldn't admit it, either to himself or to her, but she wasn't stupid. She could see all the same signs of deep weariness that she had found in herself. They both needed a break, and she was determined to see to it that they got one.

One morning, she set out for Vegita's gravity room with a resolute but rather troubled look on her face. She had the plan all worked out in her mind; she had made exceptions for all the contingencies, and she felt that she was ready for any possible obstacle she might find herself up against. She knew nonetheless that she was about to undertake a very difficult task. It had to be done though, whether Vegita would choose to agree with her or not.

She entered the gravity building when he opened the door for her, her jaw set, and her eyes level with his. She had spent enough time with Vegita by now to know pretty much how he was going to react to all of this, and she was prepared for anything her imagination could cook up. Still, Vegita was a rather unpredictable character sometimes, and she was pretty sure that she was going to have to resort to drastic means to bring about the desired results. This would make him very angry with her; she was sure. It had to be done, though, so when he turned around to go turn the machine on, she gritted her teeth, reached forward, and lightly grabbed onto his arm to get his attention.

"Vegita, we need to talk," she said when he turned around to glare at her in surprise.

Vegita looked first at the determined expression on her face, and then at the hand still holding firmly onto his arm. Scowling, he looked back up at her face. "You'd better have a good reason for stalling me, woman," he said in a threatening tone of voice.

Bulma had been around Vegita so long now that she no longer felt all that threatened when he used this tone of voice around her. He usually reserved it for expressions of mild annoyance or displeasure, which, all things considered, made up about three fourths of his vocabulary with her. Besides, this first part was going to be a cakewalk compared to what was to come; that much she knew.

"Vegita," she began, letting go of his arm and stepping back a little. "We've been at this for four months straight now – five to seven hours a day for me, twelve for you (not counting your time with me) for seven days a week every week since we began. I say it's time for a break."

Vegita didn't answer her immediately. He eyed her for a few moments, his stern expression insufferably unreadable. Finally, after studying her for a few moments longer, he gave her his reply. "Just how long of a break did you have in mind?" he asked with a scowl.

Bulma crossed her arms and unwaveringly returned his stare. "A week at least," she said fearlessly, "although I daresay two wouldn't hurt."

Vegita snorted almost immediately. "And I suppose you think you've earned such leisure," he said with a disdainful sneer.

"I do," she said solemnly, her eyes never breaking contact with his. This was going well enough so far, she thought to herself. Of course, she hadn't expected the real explosion to come yet anyway.

Vegita stared back at her, almost giving away the surprise that came to him. He really hadn't expected her to reply so frankly. Instead, he had fully expected her to lose her temper and blow up at him in self-righteous fury. Perhaps it was her unusually rational civility that caused him to give in to her so easily. Whatever the reason, he didn't take a long amount of time to make up his mind.

"Well, all right then," he grunted, raising his nose derisively at her. "Take as much time as you see fit, but be warned that I won't be dropping your level. When you do decide to return, we'll take up exactly where we left off."

"Agreed," Bulma replied, closing her eyes and nodding in grave concurrence.

"Now get the hell out of here," Vegita snorted, glaring impatiently at her. "Just because you've chosen to go the lazy route doesn't mean that I have."

Bulma drew in a deep breath and looked unwaveringly up at him again. Now began the difficult part. "No," she said firmly.

"What?" Vegita said, arching an eyebrow in pure surprise. "What did you just say to me?"

"I said no," Bulma replied calmly, her gaze still unwavering. "I'm not leaving – not yet. Not until you do."

Vegita had momentarily been struck speechless. It had not escaped his scrutiny that Bulma had gradually nursed an obnoxious habit of blowing off his authority over the past few months, but she had never openly opposed him in the gravity room before - never, that is, until now.

"You'd better explain yourself, and I mean right now, woman," he said, his voice icily quiet. He crossed his arms and glared at her. He was graciously giving her a chance to explain herself before he knocked her silly - something he wouldn't usually do. "I won't allow anyone - absolutely anyone - in the way of my training!"

Bulma didn't have to see the expression on his face to know that Vegita was deadly serious. She had known anyway that there were bound to be limits to what he'd let her get away with. Still, after looking closely at his menacing, angry expression, she reaffirmed herself of the severity of Vegita's situation. There were unmistakable signs there on the face she'd grown so accustomed to in the past few months - signs of a fatigue which she recognized all too well. She was experiencing it herself, but she knew that Vegita had a far more dangerous case of it than she did. She wasn't about to let it get the better of him - not if she could help it. She wasn't about to back off now.

"When I said that I believed I'd earned a break," she began, matching his stare once again, "I wasn't being entirely accurate. It's true that I've earned a break, but that's not why I've asked for one. More to the point is the fact that I need one. Training with you is anything but monotony, Vegita, but it's easier than you might think for someone to do damage to himself if all he does is train. I believe the mind requires more to occupy it than the same routine day in and day out, and if periods of rest and recuperation aren't taken from time to time, then just as much harm could be done to that person as any kind of serious physical injury."

Vegita looked very much like he was about to lose whatever minuscule degree of patience he had left. "I already said you could take your little vacation, didn't I?" he snapped, making no effort to hide his displeasure at being hindered thus. "You could have saved that ridiculous lecture! What the hell does it have to do with this tripe about making me leave my own gravity room?"

Bulma acknowledged his angry question by continuing with the rest of her well-rehearsed speech. "The training I've undergone is nothing compared to yours, Vegita," she replied, gazing fixedly and sternly at him. "I need a break, but not nearly as badly as you do. I'm not leaving - not until you agree to do the same, for an entire week at least."

To say that Vegita felt outraged was putting things lightly. "How dare you!" he hissed, balling his hands into fists and glowering at her. "I am a Saiyan! To imply that training of any duration could do to me any of that swill you just spouted is an insult I would never allow to go unpunished! Furthermore, you didn't even imply it; you said it outright!" He then sent her such a glare of fury that for the briefest of moments, she felt her resolve falter - but it was only for a moment.

"Try to understand," she chided gently, giving it one more shot. "You're incredibly powerful, Vegita - more so than anyone of my level of ability could ever dream to be. Still, even you aren't indestructible. You've already proven that you have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to self control and your training. You nearly killed yourself last time. Do you want to go all the way this time?"

Vegita glared at her, his eyes burning holes in hers. "I will not be told by anyone that I am ever not in control of myself! I am the most powerful Saiyan who has ever lived! I have no 'blind spot' in anything I do, least of which being my training! I alone know what's best for me - not Kakarrot, not those asinine friends of yours, and certainly not an ungrateful, idiotic weakling like you. Now get out of my gravity room, and don't you ever contradict me again!"

Bulma sighed angrily. "Shall I take this to mean that you refuse to take a break?" she asked him, her expression calm but very stern.

"Not only do I refuse," Vegita snarled, "but I give you my word that if the idea is even suggested to me again, I will make you very sorry that it was."

"I thought so," Bulma sighed, shaking her head angrily and walking past him toward the gravity machine. "I had really hoped I wouldn't have to resort to this, Vegita. Honestly, do you always have to do things the hard way?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Vegita roared, spinning around and glaring at her with only barely suppressed fury.

Bulma ignored him. She walked over to one of the side panels of the gravity machine, gritted her teeth, and punched through the metal panel. When she withdrew her closed hand, dozens of wire pieces emerged from the panel with it, clenched amongst her fingers. Dropping them dismissively on the gravity room floor, she made a rather stiff walk past Vegita and opened the door.

"Here it comes," she thought with a wince.

When Bulma had punched into the metal panel, Vegita's face had turned red. By the time she'd stood up and walked past him, it had changed to dark purple. It didn't take him long to relocate his voice after that.

"Don't move a muscle!" he bellowed, whirling around.

Bulma stopped in the doorway. She exhaled, and then she turned around slowly. She crossed her arms and looked directly into Vegita's eyes, patiently awaiting the impending eruption.

"You'd better be able to fix that!" he said in a dangerously soft, rumbling voice, taking a menacing step towards her.

"I've rendered the machine inoperable," Bulma said coldly, standing her ground. "It'll be easy enough to fix, Vegita, but I give you my word that I won't fix it until I'm satisfied that you've had enough time away from it. You can tantrum all you want to; just be aware that nothing you can say or do is going to change my mind."

Vegita looked like he was about to pop a vessel. "Wrong!" he roared, his chi flaring impressively. "You're going to fix that machine right now, or I swear I'll…"

"Or you'll what?" Bulma interrupted him, her voice harsh and angry, stomping up to him until she was right in his face. "Go ahead and say it, you self-absorbed cretin! Just what are you going to do, Vegita? Kill me? Is that it?"

Vegita nearly stepped back; her abrupt advance had surprised him so. He glared into her infuriated eyes, and to his surprise, he found no trace of retreat in them. She was more determined about this than he had initially given her credit for.

"Well?" she demanded impatiently. "Say it! Finish your sentence!"

Vegita had lost his patience again. "You seem to have forgotten just who you're talking to," he growled angrily at her. "Don't think that I'll hold anything back on you, because when it comes to this, I won't! I'm a hair's breadth away from losing my temper with you, woman!"

If Bulma hadn't allowed herself to get so angry with him, she might have seen this as her chance to wrap the whole thing up. Unfortunately, she pretty much blew her golden opportunity with her next choice of words.

"Now you're the one making idle threats," she laughed snidely. "I thought you might have had an inclination to blow me to smithereens or something. At the very least I thought you'd give me a good pounding, but lose your temper? Tch! You really are getting soft, Vegita."

That had done it. As she turned to walk out the door, his arm shot out like a serpent, and it snatched her arm, wrenching it from her side and pulling the rest of her along for the ride. Bulma should have anticipated something of this nature, but she hadn't, thanks to her anger's clouding her judgment. It didn't take her long to realize that she'd made a boo-boo, though, when Vegita yanked her back around until her eyes were level with his again.

"I'm what?" he said, his voice icily low.

"Y-you heard me," Bulma replied, suddenly rather unsure of herself. Vegita was gripping her arm so tightly that she couldn't help wincing a bit, and she hadn't seen this kind of anger in his eyes for a good while. Perhaps she'd gone a little too far.

Vegita saw the insecurity and nervousness flicker in Bulma's eyes, and he pounced on it. "What I heard," he said quietly, squeezing her arm even harder, "was that you think I'm getting soft. I'd hate for you to form such a misguided opinion. I can see that you need to be reminded just what a dangerous man I can be when I'm your enemy."

Bulma wasn't sure how he did it. All she knew was that at one moment she'd been standing next to him in the gravity room, and at the next, she was sailing backwards out the door, with him flying out after her.

"Woah!" she cried, slapping her hands and feet onto the ground and launching herself off to the side in an effort to dodge an energy blast as he flung it at her. "Vegita, stop!" She did a quick somersault and dropped to her feet. The chi blast he had thrown exploded harmlessly on the ground where she'd jumped away, but that made no difference to Bulma.

"What's the big idea?!" she spat at him as he landed a few yards away from her. "Firing off chi blasts in the middle of the compound! You might have hurt someone, Vegita!"

Vegita curled his lips into a cruel sneer. "You're right," he said evilly. "I very well might have, mightn't I? The day is young. Give me some time." With lightning speed, he darted forward and landed a vicious kick to her stomach. He jumped back as Bulma hunched over and then fell to her knees, gasping and clutching her middle in pain.

"Why… why y-you…!" she gasped, her head reeling from the pain, but her mind quickly beginning to boil with anger. This wasn't anything like the kind of blows he dealt her in the gravity room. This was much worse. She must have seriously pissed him off.

"Get up!" Vegita ordered, scowling fiercely at her. "You're the one who chose to disable the machine, so you're the one who I'll use to train myself with. You've dug yourself a hole you can't climb out of this time, woman."

Bulma looked up at him in astonishment. She hadn't expected this; that was for sure. Vegita was threatening to beat her up - to seriously beat the holy snot out of her - unless she agreed to fix his machine. She was sure that's what he was driving at, and she had only to see the look on his face to tell that he was serious. She wondered if she was willing to take a severe beating over this. Principles or not, the prospect of getting pummeled into unconsciousness didn't appeal to her in the slightest, and she knew that Vegita wasn't going to stop until she gave in.

She glared angrily at him, and as she looked at his eyes again, she once again found the telltale signs of fatigue and overexertion there. Damn it all... he was going to run himself into the ground, and if she didn't stop him, she might one day soon lose her sensei to his own stupidity. She had no choice; she had to do this.

Whether he liked the idea or not, Vegita needed to take a break, and if she had to beat him at his own game to make him do it, then so be it. She only hoped she'd last long enough. After gritting her teeth and trying to ignore the pain, she got back up onto her feet. This was one time when Vegita wasn't going to get his way.

Staring hard at Vegita, Bulma straightened up, but she did not assume a defensive stance. She allowed her arms to lie still at her sides. She wasn't going to give in, but she wasn't going to fight him, either; that would go against everything she was trying to get through to him.

Grinning at what he perceived to be her doubting his seriousness, Vegita leapt at her while her guard was down, and he dealt her a solid blow to the jaw which sent her sprawling backwards.

"I caught you napping," he jeered, laughing cruelly at her.

Bulma didn't answer him. Instead, she shook the dizziness away, and slowly and painfully, she returned to her feet. Once again, she let her arms fall passively to her sides.

Now, it just so happened that everyone at Capsule Corporation who wasn't deaf had heard the small explosion that had accompanied Vegita's blast. Yamucha, being the fleetest of foot, was the first to arrive on the scene. He arrived just in time to see Vegita send Bulma sprawling backward with that punch. Aghast, he watched Bulma get to her feet and look up at Vegita, who only laughed in her face.

"Bulma!" he cried angrily, dashing toward her. "Don't worry! I'm coming!"

Bulma didn't openly acknowledge him. She didn't even look in his direction. Instead, she raised her arm and shot a chi blast toward him. It exploded a short distance in front of him, and he had to skid to a stop to keep from being hit by it.

"B-Bulma!" he cried in confusion.

"Stay away, Yamucha," she said coldly, without removing her gaze from Vegita. "This is between Vegita and me. You don't have a place in this at all."

Vegita sneered at her. "Maybe you ought to ask him for help," he taunted her with a wicked smile. "You're certainly going to need it."

Bulma didn't answer him. She simply watched him and allowed her guard to subside entirely. There was a slight trace of sadness to her expression, but not even a hint of hesitation or submission.

Vegita flew at her again, and this time it was a kick to her left side. Bulma landed with a grunt on the ground a few yards away, and she didn't get back up immediately. She groaned a bit, and after rubbing her side where he had kicked her, she slowly picked herself up off the ground. She stared at Vegita again, and although he could easily see the occasional wince of pain, she again showed him no sign of breaking down – only the faint sadness that had been there before.

At about this time, Dr. and Mrs. Briefs came running up. They stopped when they came even with Yamucha, and they shared his look of confusion when they saw Vegita, angry and poised to fight, and then Bulma, scuffed up and facing off against him, but leaving herself wide open.

By now, Vegita had finally realized that Bulma wasn't fighting back, or even making an effort to defend herself from his blows, for that matter. He didn't know for certain why she was acting so strangely, but he had a sneaking suspicion that it was her way of trying to defy him. Naturally, the thought only served to make him angrier. "All right," he thought savagely, charging up his chi for another blast. "I'll up the stakes, then. Let's see how much longer she can keep up this inane little act! I'll be damned if she doesn't get the point from this!" He shot a rather potent chi blast directly at her. It was a considerably powerful one, but nothing she couldn't have handled if she really focused. Still, Vegita had made the assumption that she was finally going to take him seriously and block it. He was to have no such luck.

Bulma lost a little color when she saw what was coming, especially when she sensed how powerful this blast was. Vegita was starting to get serious indeed. Still, she neither flinched nor blocked the oncoming blast. Instead, she took the thing head-on, utterly surprising Vegita and eliciting gasps of horror from Yamucha and her parents. Vegita's attack exploded as it hit her, and she flew backward quite a few yards before crouching into a ball and rolling as she landed. She had spared herself a good deal of damage from her landing, but it had done nothing to help the damage she had sustained from the blast itself.

Bulma didn't get up right away this time, either. There were several places where she had sustained rather painful burns, and the blast had fairly well knocked her breathless. It had been a long time since she'd taken a chi blast head-on, without the slightest effort to block it. She hadn't remembered it hurting like this. He'd left her with no alternative, though. She had known that she'd had only two options: cancel the blast out with her own chi power, and risk it exploding and hurting her parents; or take it head-on and absorb the damage herself. Given the circumstances, there really had been no thinking necessary to make the decision. Unfortunately, the obvious choice was also the more painful one on her part.

"This won't do," she thought with a soft groan, and she pushed herself slowly and painfully back onto her feet. She looked at Vegita. He certainly had gotten over his initial surprise quickly. In fact, he looked like he was about to explode from his own anger. This wasn't good. "It can't be helped," she thought resolutely, her eyes darting briefly to her stunned parents and friend. "I'm just going to have to teleport us away from here. I can't run the risk of letting them get hurt by any of this."

Vegita was advancing upon her again, but he was stomping forward furiously - not the usual advance he used for attacking someone. Just the same, if she was going to do this, she was going to have to do it now.

She stopped time just before he reached her, and after grabbing one of his arms, she flew up into the air, pulling him along behind her. His blows had weakened her somewhat, but she had ample strength to fly him – and herself – to someplace more secluded. If Vegita was intent on using chi blasts, Bulma wanted them both as far away from other people as they could be.

After a good hour's flight, Bulma settled on a grassy field about 100 miles past the eastern borders of the city. This would be adequate, she decided. Breathing a little heavily from her efforts, she set Vegita down on his feet and backed off a few yards. Then, after taking a few long, calming deep breaths, she let time flow again.

Vegita nearly tripped when he came back into motion. Staring wildly at the abrupt change of scenery, he tensely balled his hands into fists and glared at Bulma as he struck a more guarded pose. "Finally," he thought, "she's trying something."

"I'm sorry, Vegita," Bulma said, still panting a little. "It was becoming too dangerous to remain where we were. Yamucha might be able to dodge a stray chi blast, but my parents can't."

Vegita growled at her. "Why didn't you just knock it away, then?" he demanded. "You could have handled that pathetic little fireburst easily, you little fool! Why aren't you fighting back?!" With an infuriated yell, he lunged at her, his fist drawn back for a punch.

Bulma didn't move. She just remained standing where she was, staring calmly but resolutely into his eyes as he raced forward.

When Vegita reached her, he snapped his fist forward, right for her face. Oddly though, he brought it to a full stop within a millimeter of her nose. He glared furiously at her. She hadn't moved. She hadn't even blinked. She just stood there, staring at him.

Vegita let out an infuriated groan. "God dammit, woman!" he thundered. "What the hell is wrong with you? Fight, dammit!"

Bulma smiled a gentle smile at him. "No," she said simply.

"No?!" he yelled. "No?! What the hell do you mean no?!"

Bulma's expression became more serious. "I will not fight you," she replied quietly.

"I demand to know why!" he roared at her, his chi flaring so violently that she was buffeted by the fierce winds it created, and her hair whipped all around her face in response.

"Because," she replied, closing her eyes and folding her arms, "if I fight you, I'll lose."

"You don't have to tell me," he growled. "Is that it, then? You're afraid of losing to me? I'd have thought you'd be used to it by now."

"If I lose to you," Bulma said, continuing as if he hadn't interrupted her, "I'll have to fix your gravity machine, and I'm not going to do that."

Vegita looked like he was about to explode again. "You most certainly will!" he yelled, seizing her by her shoulders and giving her a shake. He was beginning to look more than slightly flustered. "You'll do it right now, you infernal female!"

Bulma smiled at him again. "No," she repeated.

If it were possible for a Saiyan to spontaneously combust out of anger, there would have been a bright pillar of flame standing there in front of Bulma at that moment. Vegita tried three times to say something, but each time the words got stuck in his throat and his face got slightly redder. Finally, the words came, explosively and violently right in her face.

"Why in the blazes not?!" he screamed, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head.

If Bulma hadn't been so earnest in her efforts, she might have giggled at Vegita's frustration, but she didn't. Instead, she took a deep breath and answered his question.

"Because," she said, smiling at him. "Strange as this may sound, Vegita, it would upset me if I happened to lose you, especially for something as stupid as overexerting yourself. If you won't take proper care of yourself, then I guess I'll just have to do it for you." It was time for the finishing move. If this didn't beat him, she knew that there would be no way for her to win.

What she did next shocked all of the anger right out of Vegita. She wrapped her arms around behind him and pulled herself toward him into a soft, warm hug. She laid her head on his shoulder and spoke her quiet, earnest words. "Don't be so hardheaded, Vegita," she said. "I promise I'll fix your machine after you've rested up for a week. It's only one week, after all. Will that really be so horrible?" She leaned back away from him and smiled at his bewildered expression, giving herself an internal pat on the back as she knew with certainty that she had gotten through to him at last. It had taken a very bold and admittedly quite embarrassing maneuver to do it, but she could see the unmistakable signs of defeat in his face. She had won.

Vegita stared back into her face, now slightly flushed in her embarrassment, but decidedly firm in her resolve, and he let out an angry sigh. "Damn it all," he said finally, shaking his head. He released his painful grip on her shoulders, and Bulma let go of him and stepped back. He shook his head again and frowned at her. "You should have just put it like this in the beginning," he growled. "You didn't have to let me knock you around so much, you little fool."

"Oh come on, Vegita!" Bulma laughed. "You can't stand there and tell me with a straight face that you were in any mood to actually listen to anything I had to say, now can you?" She laughed again, and Vegita scowled. He knew full well that she was right, but he wasn't about to feel sorry for anything. It was her fault he'd gotten so angry, after all.

Bulma could tell what was on his mind, and she grinned. He couldn't help being the way that he was, she decided. She really didn't care much about receiving an apology from him, anyway. She was just so relieved that he was going to do what she asked, and that he'd get the rest he so desperately needed. He hadn't hurt her all that badly, anyway. It was just a few scrapes, scratches, and burns, and she considered it a worthwhile payment for her peace of mind. She smiled at him.

"So it's settled then?" she asked, as a slight spark of triumph flashed in her eyes. "You'll try to relax, won't you, Vegita?"

Vegita frowned. "You know you're just wasting my time with this, don't you?" he said, sounding more than a little annoyed.

Bulma's expression hardened slightly. "I suppose it's possible," she said with a reluctant nod, "but it's a risk I'm willing to take."

Scowling, Vegita crossed his arms and turned away slightly. "You just don't know how to mind your own damn business," he snapped.

"No, I guess I don't," she laughed, holding a hand behind her head and sticking her tongue out. "I guess you're just going to have to chalk it up to one of my many flaws you're always referring to, Vegita."

"Feh," Vegita snorted. "I don't know why I put up with an idiot like you."

Bulma laughed. "Maybe it's for the same reason that I put up with an arrogant bastard like you," she chuckled. "It's because you're just as flawed as I am."

Vegita bristled indignantly, and when Bulma began to laugh again, he took advantage of her lowered guard. He shot around behind her and had put her in a full nelson before she'd had any time to realize what he was doing.

"Hey!" Bulma laughed, sending a half-hearted kick back towards him. "Knock it off, you sore loser!"

"I'll give you only one chance to withdraw that foolhardy remark," Vegita breathed in her ear, nearly crushing her arms with the force of his hold.

"What, that you're flawed?" Bulma giggled. "No way! In fact, I think I'll just tell the whole world! Hey world!" she shouted, trying not to laugh. "Vegita's flawed! Sorry folks, but the mighty Saiyan prince we all know and worship is imperfect! I know there will be much mourning and wailing in the streets, but it's the awful, horrifying truth!"

"Are you through?" he asked her, his voice dangerously soft.

"Yeah, I guess so," Bulma replied with a grin. "Let me guess. I've just sealed my doom, haven't I?"

Although she couldn't see, his lips had curled into a wicked grin. "You have no idea," he said evilly.

"Then I think it's only fair to warn you," she said, stopping time, disentangling herself from him, and after backing off a good bit to give herself some distance, letting it pick up again. "That without high gravity on your side, Veggie-san, you're going to find me harder to hold onto." She grinned and crossed her arms defiantly.

Vegita, seemingly unsurprised, crossed his own arms and smirked back at her. "Don't forget that I'm faster than you are," he said bossily. "I'll admit, that trick of yours might come in handy at times, but your using it as a crutch is going to get you into trouble. I can knock you senseless long before you execute that move if I can see it coming. More often than not, I can. You're predictable enough."

Bulma groaned. "Save it, Vegita," she said, making a face at him. "I've heard this lecture at least a hundred times already, and besides, you're not supposed to be giving me a lesson today, remember? You agreed to take it easy for a while."

"I said no such thing," Vegita said, snorting at her with a scornful glare.

"You implied it," Bulma pointed out.

"Is it my fault you got the wrong idea?"

Bulma grinned evilly at him. "You're going to relax, even if I have to force you to," she said, with an audible note of challenge in her voice.

"Feh," Vegita grunted. "You couldn't force me to do anything."

"We'll see," Bulma replied mysteriously, "but since I know you're unaccustomed to the concept of taking things easy anyway, I already figured I was going to have to teach you. After all, there are some things that even you don't know, oh mighty prince of the Saiyans."

"Feh," Vegita snorted. "I only bother to learn things of importance. You can spare me whatever trivial fluff you might have in that vacuous head of yours, foolish woman."

"Well," Bulma retorted, grinning mischievously and rising into the air, "then I guess it must not be important enough to mention that I'm going to tell my mom not to cook you any more food if you won't try to relax."

"What?!" Vegita said, unfolding his arms. She'd captured his interest this time. About the only thing that rivaled Vegita's ego was his stomach. She grinned shamelessly at him.

Laughing tauntingly, Bulma took off like a bullet for Capsule Corporation, with a protesting Vegita not far behind. Happy that her "plan" had been a success, she began to think of what she should do with her free time, now that she wasn't going to be spending the entire day either sleeping or training. It was something she hadn't really tried in a while, and she was dying to get started!