******DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN EITHER DBZ, IT'S CHARACTERS OR
ANYTHING ELSE RELATED. I ALSO DO NOT OWN THE GOO GOO DOLLS OR THE
SONG "LONG WAY DOWN" I AM NOT MAKING ANY MONEY FROM THIS FIC, SO
DON'T SUE ME. THANX******
***Okay, this chapter is kinda a long one. My whole deal with including the song is
because I think music can give off the strongest emotion of any art form out there. Therefore, if
any of you have access to the song Long Way Down by the Goo Goo Dolls, I suggest you listen
to it as you read the fic. Anyhow, enough of my inane chatter, here is chapter 5!***
"Ohhhh." Bulma groaned as she forced her eyes open. Sun was streaming in through her
window, causing great pain in her head. Trying to sit up, nausea overtook her and she fell back
against her pillows. Slamming her fist repeatedly into the sheets that laid in a crumpled heap
beside her, she cursed herself. Why did she ever have to dip into tequila, of all things? Her head
was pounding, and her gut felt as if was trying to escape from her body. As another wave of
nausea hit her, she rushed to the bathroom, praying that she would make it on time.
"Oh, thank Kami." She thought to herself as she leaned over the toilet bowl. She stayed
in the bathroom for several minutes, making sure that the nausea was gone before she emerged.
She brushed her teeth vigorously, and gargled with the strongest mouth wash she could find.
"Curtains. Shut." Bulma said as she walked back into her sun soaked room. Her eyes
adjusted to the darkened room as the automated curtains swung shut.
"The perks of being a super genius." Bulma sighed under her breath. Sitting at her vanity,
she stared into the mirror, which had been shattered days ago by her flying alarm clock. Running
a brush through her fine blue hair, Bulma sighed again. What had she been thinking when she just
took off like that? She must have totally freaked out her parents (even though at her age, it really
was none of their business if she wanted to go on a three day bender), it wasn't like her to run off
though, from her friends, from work, from...from Vegeta.
"Right." She said to herself in the mirror. She vaguely remembered yesterday, but she
knew that he had shown concern for her. She suddenly remembered the little rat man that she
picked up at the bar. Thank Kami that Vegeta scared him off! If not, she would probably be
laying in the rat's arms right now.
"Ewwww." She couldn't help but shiver in disgust.
"I hope Vegeta doesn't think that I'll slept with anything on two legs." She caught
herself. "What the hell do I care what he thinks?" Looking back at her image in the mirror, her
eyes fell onto the bed behind her. There, in the tangle of the sheets was Vegeta's emerald green
pillow, a solid reminder of the night that they had spent together. Sighing, she stood up and
walked over to the bed. Picking up the pillow she hugged it close to her body. She finally
admitted it. She had fallen for the arrogant bastard. She wanted him, and not just for his
amazingly hot body, and she didn't know why. She began to run through the pros and cons in her
mind.
"For starters, he's arrogant, pigheaded, conniving, ruthless, cruel, and mean spirited." She
told herself. She smiled as she began to run through the endless string of fights that they always
seemed to get into. She was one of the only people, ever, who was able to get into a shouting
match with the arrogant Saiyan without being killed instantly. And Vegeta? He was probably the
only man who had a quick enough wit and a sharp enough tongue to hold his own without
resorting to pathetic name calling. Like Yamcha. His best comeback was 'shut-up.' In an
instant, she realized what, besides physical attraction, had attracted her to the arrogant Saiyan.
He understood her. No matter what was happening in her life at the moment, it was
Vegeta who managed to understand what she was feeling, or why she was acting the way she was
acting. Not that he seemed to care. It was just that he always knew what buttons to push at any
certain time to get the best rise out of her. It was at those frustrating moments that he seemed the
most alive. Smiling to herself, Bulma knew that she would have to talk to Vegeta about this, she
had to know what he thought about it. About her. About them.
Standing up, Bulma felt as if she was ten years older than she actually was. Her body was
stiff and sore from riding and drinking, and she felt absolutely disgusted with herself.
"Stupid woman." She grinned to herself as she said the familiar words. Pulling a zippered
hoodie from her drawer, along with a pair of shorts and a tanktop, Bulma hastily changed into the
clothing. She needed to go and move, to work out the stiffness in her joints and muscles.
Slipping her headphones over her ears, she clipped her mini discman to the elastic waist on her
shorts and pulled on her running shoes. She really didn't feel like chatting with Vegeta right now,
she wanted to be alert, and not still hung over, so she could match his tirade.
Running down the stairs into the kitchen, she filled up her water bottle and ran out the
front door. Glancing over at the gravity machine, she was surprised to see that it was empty.
Checking the watch on her wrist, she saw that it was already 11:00 am, past Vegeta's morning
training session. Stopping at her poor Suzuki that still sat in the driveway, she frowned. There
were several fresh scratches on the gas tank, and the seat was torn. She had never treated
anything she owned this badly before.
"Sorry, baby." She whispered as she put her finger to her lips and then to the gas tank.
"I'll fix you later. Promise." She said to the inanimate machine. Feeling the gravel crunch under
her shoes, Bulma ran down her driveway and past the gate, onto the deserted public road.
Turning her discman on, she could feel her heart rate increase, and she kept her speed at a
comfortable level. She still had her disc of American music in the discman, and soon she was
keeping pace with the loud lyrics of Nine Inch Nails, Perfect Drug. Quickening her pace, she felt
the remnants of her hang over slipping away as she broke a sweat. Soon, the song changed as she
ran, and she began to concentrate on the lyrics, ignoring everything else around her.
"Oh, here you are, there's nothing left to say.
You're not 'supposed to be that way
Did they push you out, did they throw you 'way
Touch me now and I don't care,
When you take me I'm not there,
Almost human but I'll never be the same."
Bulma smiled as the Goo Goo Dolls filled her head. "How fitting."
* * *
Standing in his shower, Vegeta turned the hot water on as far as it would go. His skin
was turning a deep red from the heat, but he could barely feel it. Finally feeling clean and
refreshed, Vegeta obeyed his growling stomach and headed down to the kitchen. As he walked
down the stairs he heard the front door slam. Searching out Bulma's ki, he knew that it was her
who had just left the house.
"Stupid female. She better not be drunk again." Vegeta growled to himself. He didn't
want to have to keep tossing her in the shower every night to sober her up, however, he really
didn't mind the view he had last night. Shaking his head, he noted that her ki was leaving Capsule
Corp property, but at an incredible slow rate. He smiled inwardly as he noted that the woman
was probably out jogging, something that she usually did in the mornings. Maybe things were
getting back to normal. Leaning over the fridge, Vegeta started rummaging through it, on a
search for food.
* * *
She was already at least two kilometers from her house, and her heart and lungs felt like
they were just warming up. She was surprised, by now she should be turning back toward the
house because she would be running out of breath. Not that she's in bad shape, it's just that
running at this speed usually takes more out of her. Smiling, she pushed herself harder, her
ponytail bobbed with the rhythm of the music in her ears.
"Long way down,
I don't think I'll make it on my own.
Long way down,
I don't wanna live in here alone.
Long way down,
I don't think I'll make it on my own."
She concentrated hard on the music, allowing it to fill her head. It surprised her that the
lyrics seemed to say exactly what she felt. She knew that she didn't want to be alone. Never in
her life had she ever been alone.
"Damn that Saiyan. Life got so damned complicated after he showed up." She growled
to herself. Setting her jaw she kept on running, while an old pick-up truck rambled over the
horizon in front of her.
* * *
Vegeta growled as he accidently turned the lid to the glass jar of mustard too hard. The
jar shattered as he twisted the lid, splattering mustard all over him. Sneering, he swore at the
remains of the jar that he was holding and promptly raised his ki level, disintegrating the offending
object. Grumbling to himself, he pulled a towel from the rack and wiped the mustard from his
face and arms. Sitting down at the table, Vegeta allowed his thoughts to drift to Bulma, whose ki
he was easily tracking. Downing his food, unknown words begin to spring into his mind. Words
that he could have sworn he had heard before.
"I never pushed you down,
I never pushed you 'way...
What the hell? Why would these words just spring into his head? What the hell do they
mean? As he concentrated harder on the words that seemed trapped in his mind, his hold on
Bulma's ki slipped. As soon as the thought of her left his mind, so did the strange words.
"Shit." Vegeta growled to himself. He lost the words that were in his head only seconds
ago. Bored out of his Saiyan mind, he stepped outside, preparing for his afternoon training
session. The sun bathed his skin in warmth, and he stretched out his left shoulder. Rotating his
arm a couple times, Vegeta frowned. He knew that he had strained his arm while training in the
morning, but he didn't think that it would still be such a bother. He considered taking the
afternoon off, knowing that the woman would scream her head off if she caught wind of the
injury. Shaking his head, he rolled his eyes.
"What the hell do I care if she wants to yell her fool head off? Stupid woman." Vegeta
said to himself as his eyes fell on the running form in the distance. As soon as he felt her ki again,
those familiar words filled his mind.
"I never pushed you down,
I never pushed you 'way.
You're not 'supposed to be that way.
I'm anything you want,
there's nothing left to say.
Is it pain that makes you real,
Cut me off before it kills me."
It was a song! One of that foolish woman's songs, to be exact. Vegeta scowled again as
he squinted his eyes, watching Bulma from at least two kilometers away. Shaking his head, he
walked toward his gravity machine, trying to push the music out of his head.
* * *
"HEY! BABY! WOOOOOO!" Bulma could hear the fools yell from the passing truck.
She ignored them as the three men hooted and hollered as they sped by her.
"Losers." She growled. Concentrating on the music that played in her ears, she kept
jogging, her white sneakers kicking up the dirt on the side of the road. Behind her, the old halfton
skidded to a halt, it's back end swinging around. The men inside the cab grinned at each other,
this would almost be too easy. The woman was by herself, jogging on a deserted stretch of road.
Revving the old truck's engine in anticipation, they quickly past Bulma again and swung the truck
sideways, blocking her path. She stopped dead in her tracks.
Her heart began to beat wildly as the three men climbed out of the truck. All were bigger
than her. Searching her pockets, she cursed herself. She had left her capsules at home. Spinning
on her heel, she sprinted away from them as fast as she could. Her music still pounded in her ears
as she heard the tires squeal on the pavement. They were coming for her.
* * *
Standing at the door to the gravity machine, Vegeta's scowl deepened. No matter how he
tried, he couldn't get the song out of his head. He swore, if he ever met the band that sang this
song, he would torch them, oh so slowly. (Note: this is in no way a threat to the Goo Goo Dolls.
I love you guys, really!) If anything, the song was becoming more intense. Growling, he
powered up, trying to concentrate on the power that flowed through his veins, instead of the
words that were trapped in his mind.
* * *
Cutting through the ditch, Bulma jumped the fence that lined the road. She gritted her
teeth as the wire sank into her leg. She ran on, trying to move as fast as she could as she side-
stepped and leapt over the rough terrain.
* * *
Vegeta's leg twitched, it felt as if something had just cut into it. Bending down, he saw no
mark on his flesh, but he could still feel the sting of it.
"I never pushed you down,
I never pushed you 'way.
The Saiyan prince growled as the words poured into his head, now followed by the
instrumental.
"WHAT THE FU...!?!" Vegeta stopped suddenly as the rest of the lyrics spilled into his
head.
"Take another piece of me,
give my mind a new disease,
And the black and white will
never fade to grey."
He finally realized what was happening as a wave of panic flooded his mind. Fire burnt in
Vegeta's eyes as he realized that the woman was relaying this song to him. The music that she
was listening to was being repeated in his mind! And the panic that he was feeling? It was her!
"Stupid woman." He growled as he jumped into the air, focusing on her ki. It was raised
slightly, her adrenaline was taking over.
* * *
Checking over her shoulder, she knew that the truck was easily gaining on her. A man
was standing in the box of the truck, hanging onto the rollbar as the truck bounced and jolted
over the rough ground. As soon as they caught up to her, the man in the box leapt for Bulma,
catching her from behind and slamming her into the ground. Her discman skipped, and the song
in her ears was suddenly cut off. Coughing, Bulma spit the dirt from her mouth as she tried to
fight off the man that had her pinned. He grinned at her, with gaping holes in his teeth. Noticing
the way that he pinned her, she sneered back, bringing her knee up sharply. The man on top of
her inhaled sharply and rolled to the side, groaning as he curled into the fetal position. Leaping to
her feet, Bulma slowly backed away from the men who were getting out of the truck, both
laughing their heads off at their fallen comrade.
Bulma fell back into a fighting stance, mimicking Vegeta to a tee. She even allowed her
face to take on his patronizing sneer. The men in front of her stopped for a second, trying to
gauge her ability. Groaning, the man on the ground forced himself to stand, joining his friends.
Grinning, they knew that they should be able to handle this woman, even if she was trained to
fight.
"C'mon girlie. Y'know that ya can't win. There's three of us, an' one a' you. We just
wanted ta ask ya out on a date, sweetie. Didn't we fellas?" The largest of the three grinned as he
nudged his buddies in the side.
"Oh yeah. Just a date." The driver of the truck agreed. His gaze was locked on Bulma.
She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the guy that she had kneed in the groin. He pulled a blade
from his boot and began a steady march toward her.
"Not me, bitch. I'm gonna cut you for that one." He growled at her. Keeping her stance,
she knew that intimidation wasn't going to work.
"Oh God. Kami. Please." Her prayers took on a desperate tone. They were going to kill
her.
Shifting her weight, she kept her stance, waiting for the bastard to lunge at her. She had
learnt some moves from growing up alongside the most powerful beings on Earth, but probably
not enough to save her. Her heart beat wildly, she knew that she was going to die. Painfully.
***No worries people, the final chapter is on the way! Please be kind, rewind! Oh, crap!
I mean review! Review!***