Time Chamber (Part One-Fears Of The Heart)
Bulma watched as the door behind them vanished, the sound of battle going with it. It left her with a terrified feeling, not knowing what was happening out there, but she had to trust that the green man knew what he was talking about. Looking around, keeping in mind his warning, she found that building had a room, a king size bed, a kitchen, a large bath, and plenty of food to sustain them. Making her way over to the kitchen sink, she reached for a medical kit and opened it, sighing in relief when she saw some bandages and disinfectant.
Grabbing a pillow from the bed, she placed it under his head and got to work on removing his shirt and pants, flinching when she saw how bad some of his burns were. Even his tail had some singed hair, and she couldn't help but pick it up. Other than her text books, she hadn't been aware that human males had a tail, but then again, she didn't know that the Guardian of Earth was an alien either. Was Kakarot human? He could fly, fire energy blasts from his hands, and he was built like an ox.
The last several days had left her in a state of shock, and until now she hadn't had a moment to think about how terrified she was, about her family, if they were still alive. She wasn't an idiot... After hearing Kami and Bardock talking, she knew West City had come under attack. Taking the dragon balls hadn't made a difference, and she felt the first tears she had shed since leaving the library slide down her face.
Strong fingers touched her face, a thumb trying to wipe them away; more replacing them as she tried to pull away and retreat to a quiet place. Kakarot was badly injured, and it was selfish to cry. She was scared and hungry. A foot kicked at her feet, and as she started to fall, a strong arm caught her around the waist and tugged her as tight as he could safely get her without aggravating his more painful injuries. "Just close your eyes and worry about it later..."
"But..."
He started to pur... It was probably taking all the energy he had, but he wanted her to stop crying and she settled down, her hand sliding across the only non-burnt part of his chest. As her eyes opened and close, she thought she felt his fingers sliding through her hair, the motion soothing her to sleep, calming her. The next morning, she tried to finish the task of tending to his injuries, but she lacked the strength to turn him over... that and she wasn't going to remove his boxers.
Instead, she focused on the parts of him she could get to. She had started to wipe away the stains on his thighs and legs when he stopped her, his tail snapping around her wrists and locking them in place. "I'll take care of it," he growled.
"But..."
"It makes me feel weird; just stop."
"I was just trying to help," she protested.
"Bulma... I'm not going to hide this from you... I'm not human; I don't think or behave like one, and I need you to keep that in mind if you're going to keep trailing your fingers against my skin the way you are!"
He looked human, but she knew he wasn't when he forced himself into a sitting position, curling his black tail around his waist, and looked at the room they were in. "Is this the Time Chamber?"
"I don't know. Kami said to stay in here until they came to get us. The door is gone and he gave a harsh warning not to step outside of this building."
"Dad mentioned it once... He liked to come in here and train, but said that I couldn't until I was older. Can you cook?"
"Does burnt water count?"
He scowled... "How does the smartest human in the world not know how to cook?"
"Do I look like housewife material to you?" She shouted, throwing the rag she had been using in his face. There was a flicker in his eyes and she decided that she should probably watch her temper around him. While he might have agreed to help her, she didn't know him and he was drawing firm boundaries between them that she was too frightened to cross.
"I need to get back out there," he grunted, staggering back to his feet.
"Kami said to stay in here."
"He wants you to stay in here, Bulma. I'm not the one the Army is after and I'm not going to hide in here while everyone I love and care about is fighting a war."
"And what am I supposed to do while everyone is out there?! If you die... if they die! How will I know when and if I can go out? I didn't ask for this! If you were going to just lock me way in an empty and silent room, you should have just left me at the library!"
Kakarot whirled on her, grabbing her wrists and slamming her against the wall. "Pepper risked her life to save yours and I was a damn idiot to fall for it! Don't ever say that you would prefer to die when she's standing between them and you! She's the last female of our kind and I'm going to be the reason she dies! I'm the one that told her that I didn't want to kill anyone and she's out there... while we're... in here... I HATE THIS!"
Bulma was beyond terrified. He wasn't hurting her, but the look in his eyes hinted at a predator that was close to snapping, like a cornered animal that was trapped, wounded, and needing to find a way to fight rather than die to what was threatening and scaring him. Kakarot screamed, an aura surrounding him as the entire room started to shake.
She wanted to curl in a tiny ball and hide, but when she heard his wounded cry, the rage and despair that was consuming him, she understood it. Didn't she feel the same while she hid away in here, unaware of what was happening outside? With trembling hands, she curled them around his neck and hugged him. Kakarot started to jerk away... She hugged him tighter, a snarl vibrating against her throat. Was this what it was like to help an injured animal? They were dangerous... And yet she couldn't stop from reaching out and giving him the comfort that he'd need to calm down and rest. Blood dripped to the floor, and he got weaker and weaker as he eventually collapsed, his body bringing them to the floor.
After that she kept a safe distance from him, working out a sleeping routine so that they could both have the bed without being in it at the same time. While she chose not to go out into the white void, Kakarot quickly figured out what the Time Chamber was designed for. While he hated the fact that he couldn't rejoin anyone outside of it, he could use the time to recover and train.
They kept to that routine for a long time, neither talking to the other. She knew it couldn't last... eventually she would have to say something to her inhuman companion, but she had no idea what to say to him. Kakarot wasn't often in a listening mood... when he was awake, he was outside training. He sometimes even slept out there, not even bothering to come inside at all. Bulma sighed, throwing down her book. She had no idea how long they had been trapped inside the Time Chamber. Every second and minute felt like the same. She couldn't even use the fridge as a basis. After one of them was done using and eating the food inside, it would automatically replenish.
"Are you always this quiet?" Kakarot finally asked, staring at her from the bathroom. His hair was damp, and there was a towel wrapped around his waist as he dried. "You were quite vocal when I tried to leave here." Bulma watched him approach, and she scuffled back like a skiddish cat, too afraid of the new owner she was living with.
Kakarot paused, studying her for a moment before taking another step. She jumped from the bed, keeping it between them. "Are you afraid of me, Bulma?"
Taking a step one way or another had her switching sides, and with a growl, he jumped over and quickly closed the gap between them, his hands on the dresser she was pressed against. "What do you want?" she whispered.
"An answer to my question," he demanded.
"Yes... yes I am afraid of you! I have no idea what kind of mood you'll be in! You're mostly angry and while I have no problems telling off another human... I don't know what I can say or do that won't end up with you acting like a savage!"
"That's because I feel things around you that I don't understand! Why does your hair smell like that?"
Bulma tried to shove him back, but she wasn't strong or fast enough to avoid him sniffing her hair or neck. "I'm not a dog, Kakarot!"
"I'm quite aware of what you're not, Bulma. You're soft for a human... You cry a lot..."
"Do I look like I want to fight or train twenty-four seven?! Not everyone is a barbaric savage like you! Why aren't you training like you always do? If I'm so damn annoying; then go away!"
The dresser cracked... She knew she had pushed him to far and he got closer, part of his towel sliding off. "Damn, why am I getting so worked up around you!" he snarled, smashing the dresser into tiny splinters. Storming away, he quickly dressed and went back outside.
An explosion had her falling out of bed. When she looked around, she noticed that Kakarot hadn't come inside. She thought about going back to sleep, but when she counted how many meals she had had since he had gone outside, she knew it had been awhile. Glancing out the door, she paled... He was several yards away, lying face down, his body worse than when they had first come into the Time Chamber.
She acted without thinking, running to him when she felt her body slam into the marble floor. It hurt. Her bones felt like they were cracking, but she forced herself to crawl, her fingers reaching, clutching at his sleeve... She had to get to him... He was moody... temperamental, but she still had a feeling he was like that because of how helpless he felt.
The guardian had said this place was dangerous. "Kakarot... get up!" When he didn't move, she forced herself to sit up, some invisible force pressing against her shoulders, trying to pin her back down. "I refuse to let you die you temperamental bastard! We came in here together, and we're going to leave together! What about that friend of yours?!" Inch-by-inch, she scooted her way back towards the building. "And he says that I'm soft... as if! I'll drag his ass back in there just to tell him that he's a stereotypical jerk like all the other guys!"
As soon as her bottom hit the edge of the building, the force lifted and she sobbed in relief. Falling back, she tried to make herself stop... She hated that he was right... She was a big cry baby. "Really? You're crying again?" Kakarot groaned, rolling over to see Bulma crying in the doorway. "How-?"
He had been further away... There was no way he would have been able to crawl back here as injured as he had been. He still hurt, but the pressure of the room was off of him, and he held his side. Kakarot wouldn't doubt that he might have bruised a rib or two. Suddenly he felt a book slam against the top of his head. "Does that make you feel better?" Bulma yelled. "You yell at me for wanting to die and you go out there and try to self-destruct! Maybe if I hit you a few more times I'll knock some sense into you! Do you have any idea how heavy you are?!"
"If you don't stop doing that..." Kakarot knocked the offending object out of her hand and shoved her back towards the bed. Bulma was livid... She wanted to go home, and the idiot she was trapped in a room with was trying to commit suicide. She threw book after book at him hysterical and hurting. Her muscles were screaming in protest, strained and pulled from over exerting them. Suddenly her arms and legs were being pinned down. Instead of calming her down, she got crazier, almost biting down on his wrist. Flipping her over, Kakarot settled his weight on top of her. "I said to stop," he growled, his breath tickling her ear.
"If you go back out there, I refuse to drag your ass back in here again!"
Kakarot didn't want to believe it; Bulma had a battle power that was weaker than a kitten or puppy. Did she really drag him back into the building? Her body was trembling in pain, and keeping her in place, he eased up enough to start rubbing her back and arms. "Kakarot, what are you-?"
"Stop moving, woman! If I don't massage the muscles in your arms and legs, they'll start to cramp up! You've probably never worked out a day in your life... How crazy can you get?" She struggled only a while longer before her energy gave out, and she whimpered, no longer resisting as his hands found each muscle. "And you wanted to take on the Red Ribbon Army? What a joke?"
"I never said anything about fighting them!"
"Woman, if you start moving again, I'll tie you down." Bulma paled, but not for the reason Kakarot thought. He just assumed she was still afraid of him... If he saw the images that had popped in her head.
"I'm fine..." she whispered.
"No...you're not. If you try to walk or move after what you just did... You'll cause serious damage."
Bulma tried to hide her face as his fingers glided across her back and shoulders. There was no way that she was going to let him know that this was effecting her. His hands moved lower, and when she tried to jerk away from him, he applied pressure against her neck. "I have all day, Bulma..." Biting into the sheets beneath her, she struggled not to moan... This was insane. How could he simply sit on top of her and act as if what he was doing didn't phase him like it was doing to her? "Am I hurting you?" He finally asked, softening his touch.
"No," she whimpered, her fingers clawing at the sheets.
"Look... you don't have to lie to me. I'm a lot stronger than you, and it's hard not to crush you when I do this."
"Are you really this clueless? Didn't they teach you anything in biology class?"
"Biology... that's a science class in middle and high school? If one wishes to become a scientist or doctor, they might go into further studies at a university level."
"You say that as if you read that out of a text book or dictionary," Bulma hissed, feeling a particular sharp pain when he got to her calf muscles. If he rubbed the inside of her thigh muscles again, she was going to lose her mind.
"I'm not human, Bulma. While I can read and study from the books I find in libraries, I've had no formal type of education." She heard a hint of sadness in his voice...
"Did you want to?"
"Doesn't matter what I want."
"I can tutor you?" Kakarot froze, staring at Bulma as if she had fried a circuit or something. Maybe she had, but she couldn't concentrate anymore, as his fingers slid along the muscles on her thigh, she moaned, unable to hold back anymore. Kakarot stopped, pulling away from her as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Don't move around... I might have to do that again later."
"I'm good!" She gasped, burying her head beneath a pillow.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Kakarot asked, touching the back of her neck. "You're burning up." Bulma really needed to get out of here. If she stayed around Kakarot any longer, she was going to do something that might violate the boundaries he was so determined to maintain. Despite how bad it hurt, she rolled over and grabbed his hand, gasping, panic in her eyes. "Are you still afraid of me?" he demanded.
"No!"
"Then why are you shaking so hard?"
Handing him her biology book... "I refuse to explain what's wrong with me... just read it."
"Whatever," he sighed, snatching it from her hands.
Bulma flipped through one of her novels, enjoying the peace and quiet when it was suddenly snatched from her hands. "Hey!"
"I've been trying to talk to you," Kakarot growled. "You said if I had a question about that book to come and ask you! What has you so distracted?"
"Oh my god... Don't you dare read that!" She tried to take it back, but the problem with him being so tall was that he could hold it just out of his reach, and to make it more unfair is that he could use his tail as he flipped through the pages. Ever since she had pulled him out of that white stuff, he had calmed down around her, but he still tended to keep her at a physical distance. "Didn't you say you had a question?"
"Oh yeah." She took the chance to grab her book, her face turning several shades of red. Now that they were on talking terms, he seemed to have a lot of questions, and most of them were extremely embarrassing to answer. Turning to the page in the biology book that he wanted to talk about, she paled... "No... I am not talking about this stuff with you. Can't you ask your brother or father?"
"That's the problem! Any time I start to read about this kind of stuff, they insist that I train until I can't think about it anymore. I realize my race treated females badly in the past, but I've never once considered hurting them. They've even restricted all the male Saiya-jins from seeing Pepper... She's like a sister to me; I'd never hurt her like that."
"Like what?" Bulma asked. Kakarot was really upset... Was this the real reason why he had been so hostile towards her in the beginning? Taking his hand, she waited for him to calm down. "Fine... I'll talk about it, but I want you to first answer why they won't let you near other women."
"The Ice-jin Empire used to rule my kind... They forced us to rape our women, impregnate them... We didn't give a damn how bad we hurt them or not... and yet when I think about doing something like that... I can't... I won't... I don't understand, Bulma. It doesn't add up to what we did. I feel things around you, but I'm scared and, well... that's why I was such a jerk. I wanted you afraid of me and then that just made me angrier."
"Kakarot... even when I threw a bunch of books at you... you could have hurt me, but you didn't. I can't say you don't have a dominating side, but... I'm not exactly against that."
"Dominating side? What's that?"
"That's not a conversation we're going to have right now. Let's focus on the Ice-jins and Saiya-jins. You say that they forced you guys to do bad things, but why?"
"To add more Soldiers to their ranks. When the males turned a year old, Frieza's Soldiers took and trained them. We weren't allowed back into the Saiya-jin ranks until we were well into our adolescent years. Those that didn't meet the requirements they were looking for, were purged."
"And the females?"
"Raditz and Vegeta were too young... They don't know what happened to them... All they know is that we forced them to have children, and my father stays as far away from them as possible. While he tried to avoid hurting my mother, he still feels responsible for her death. She purposely gave live birth to me, knowing that as a Saiya-jin I'd drain all of her energy."
Bulma couldn't believe it... this proud fighter... he was smart... kind... and yet he was so afraid of what he could do that he was fighting the very instincts that defined a man and a woman. "Can I ask how you feel right now?"
"I don't know... I don't! I want something when I'm around you... I'm angry, but at the same time I don't want to hurt you! It's driving me insane! Please, Bulma. You're the smartest person on the planet... If you can't help me figure it out, then... then..."
"I'm going to try something... I don't care what instinct your feeling... Just go with it."
"Bulma? Wait..." Before he could get away from her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. It wasn't just a swipe or to see how she might like it; it was her mouth fully pressed against his, nipping at his lip until he gasped, giving her the opportunity to taste him. Bulma whimpered... his scent, his strength, and before she knew it, she was being pushed to the other side of the room. Kakarot's tail was bristling in fear and anger... "I told you... I'll just hurt you!"
"Kakarot."
"You just whimpered... I can't do this!" He bolted outside, climbing to the top of the roof, refusing to hear anything she had to say, his entire body curled in on itself as he trembled. He felt hot... insane... his eyes were a deep red, and he roared. Bulma flinched... maybe she was crazy... She knew next to nothing about Saiya-jin physiology, but she was almost certain that he had briefly responded to her advance. Bulma didn't see that many differences between them. Making up her mind, she was determined to teach Kakarot that he wasn't capable of hurting her, regardless of what he had been taught to believe. Something was wrong with that belief, but she couldn't research or put it all together until they got out of the Time Chamber.
It seemed she had no other choice. Stepping outside, she immediately felt the pressure, sinking to her knees. "Damn... This hurts... And here I said I wasn't going to come back out here again..." Taking step after step, she forced herself to turn around, tears in her eyes. If she didn't convince him, she was going to pass out. "Kakarot! I'm not afraid of you!"
Opening his eyes, he gaped. She wasn't strong enough to withstand the pressure in the Time Chamber. Why? Why was she outside the building? Without thinking, he quickly grabbed and carried her back inside, his tail curling around her. "You stupid, stupid, woman. Why would you do that?"
"Because..." she whispered. "I just proved that if you had wanted to hurt or kill me... You could have just left me there. I want you to look at your tail... Animals don't do that unless they like someone. It's instinctive to keep them from being grabbed or crushed. Please, stop trying to resist what you are. I won't break and I won't cry."
"But-?"
"If a woman whimpers, it doesn't mean they're in pain. Trust me, I wouldn't stop at a simple sound like that. I'm a big baby when I'm hurt."
"You're hurt right now!"
"Yeah well... I think I've been around you too long. I keep doing stupid stuff that's way out of character." Touching his face, she once again tried to kiss him. At first he didn't respond, and then she gasped. He nipped at her bottom lip, like she had done to him earlier. This time when she whimpered, he didn't stop. His hands sifted through her hair, pulling her head back, exposing her throat, and without thinking, he started scraping his teeth against her skin. "Please... follow your instincts. You have to trust that I know what I'm talking about." Pulling his head down, she did what he did, trying to encourage him to fight past the fear.
Some animals marked each other when they tried to mate, and she wouldn't have been surprised if that's what he was trying to do. Placing her teeth where she felt him doing it to her, she bit down, and with a roar, he finally gave in to the Oozuru and marked her. Closing her eyes, she finally let the exhaustion take over and slumped against him.
