A/N: well, now that i'm on holidays perhaps i'll actually get a chance to write these fics....
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IS IT LOVE? :
LESSONS
~Finally! Finally I'm getting outa this hellhole!~ "C'mon, mum, where are you? Hurry up for crying out loud!" Bulma was waiting outside the hospital, impatient to escape after three months of doctors and pristine white walls. ~They're just as glad as me that I'm going. *evil grin* That's as it should be. If I have to spend the rest of my life in this Kami-damned chair then they should suffer a little too. Especially that baka of a nurse. Fuck I'm glad I'm leaving!~ Little did she know that the 'baka of a nurse' was standing a discreet distance from her just to make sure that she was really leaving. Bulma couldn't have scared the poor girl more if she had suddenly turned into a really pissed off Vegeta.
Ring! Ring! "Hello?"
"Mrs Briefs! It's Krillen here. Listen, we're not quite ready yet - can you buy us some time? Take her out for a milkshake or something, but we'll need at least another half hour. Goku just ate all the food."
(laughing) "Fine, I'll be there in half an hour. Oops! Gotta go, I'm here. See you."
"MUM! You can't believe how glad I am that you're here!" Her daughter's ecstatic cry brought tears to Mrs Brief's eyes, but she pulled herself together and beamed as she stepped out of the car. Bulma was struggling trying to transfer herself from wheelchair to car, almost falling in the attempt.
"Here, let me help you darling, let me just....." At the fire in Bulma's eyes her mother cut short her offer for help.
"I'm fine, mum," she said in a steely voice. "I can do this." ~I will do this, even if it kills me!~ "That's lovely, dear." Mrs Briefs didn't have a clue what to do with her daughter's temper, but knew from experience not to aggravate it. Well, at least not if she considered her life worth anything...
***
"Oi! Guys! They're here! Everybody QUIET!!!!" Roared Goku, and instantly all Bulma's friend hid behind chairs or, in Gohan's case, in a flower pot. (as you all know, he got some traits from his father...)
"Seriously, mum, they taught me how to do all this stuff. You don't need to help with anything. I'll be fine." Although she tried to say it casually, her mother picked up on the desperation in her voice.
"I'm just worried for you dear. Anyway, come on inside and I'll fix you some food."
"But mum, we just went for a - EEK!!!"
"SURPRISE!!!" The roar was deafening as the entire Z-gang popped out from behind her furniture, but although everybody she cared about and called friend was there, one face was noticeably absent. She tried not to let the pain show, but everybody knew who had caused her smile to falter. Then she burst out laughing as Gohan tried to disentangle himself from her indoor tree, ending up blasting the thing out of sheer frustration. As the smoke cleared and a slightly sooty, very leafy little warrior said an embarrassed "welcome home, Bulma", the tension eased and partying began.
"Hey Bulma!" Krillen, Goku and Tien were all striving for her attention, trying to show off their handy-work. "We did it ourselves," they reported proudly, displaying hand rails in the bathroom and beside her bed. "This way you can do everything yourself. Bulma? Why're you crying? Did we do something wrong?" Goku was at a loss and his helplessly goofy expression got a watery laugh from her.
"It - it's nothing. You're just all being so kind, it's nice to know I've got friends like you." Goku smiled and bent down on one knee before her.
"You'll always have us. Ask anything, anything at all, and I'll do it." He searched her face, silently asking, and at her hopeful smile he nodded. "Done."
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He sniffed the air and howled - his attacker was near. He dashed off deep into the forest, slinking on his belly to escape detection. He snuffled and snorted, feeling hunger burn him as he looked the fleshy creature over. He shouldn't eat this one, this one radiated power, but he was oh so hungry. What seemed like years ago he had devoured the last of the game left in this part of the forest and his mouth watered at the thought of warm blood dripping once again from his fangs. With a wild cry that was half scream and half growl he flung himself at the tall creature, sinking razor-sharp fangs into soft neck muscles. The thing cried out in pain, but instead of succumbing to his attack it retaliated, radiating power and throwing the Vegeta-wolf to the ground. He circled on all fours, panting with lust at the thought of a fight.
Goku just stared at the creature that once had been his friend. It was Vegeta no longer, trademark spiky hair messed and strewn with twigs, proud blue suit and armour tattered and torn so that only the barest coverings remained. His face, chest and hands were stained with old blood, but the worst was his eyes. They were more black holes devoid of all life or rational thought than they eyes of a man. They were the eyes of a soul tortured past bearing, tortured to the brink of madness and beyond. He was broken out of his little reverie as the wild thing attacked, fangs bared and ready for the kill.
Thoughts escaped him as he settled into the rhythm of the fight, not bothering to power up to SSJ but still taking it all very seriously. Although going wild had made Vegeta forget all his problems, it had also made him forget his training. What worked on deer and rabbits did nothing to a Saya-jin, except make him deeply concerned about his friend. Having had enough of it Goku sent a small chi blast to the Vegeta-wolf's head, knocking him unconscious.
When he woke, the creature had no recollection of what had happened to him. All that registered was that he was bound in a cage, and that was enough to make him really, really pissed off. He launched himself at the wooden bars, but they didn't budge. He set both teeth and claws on them yet still they held. He exhausted himself to the edge of consciousness and still he remained trapped. Warily he dropped panting to the floor as his captor - the tall thing with a mass of black hair on its head - approached. Goku knelt near to the cage, but out of reach , and started talking. He knew that his friend had forgotten everything about being human, but he was determined to fix that. He'd promised Bulma that he would bring him home, and bring him home he would.
***
".......and then, on a planet called Namek, you almost killed us all - that's Krillen, Gohan, Bulma and Deinde, only you had to join forces with us to stop Freeza from taking all the dragon balls...." Goku was certain that his constant talking was having some effect. The Vegeta-wolf had visibly quieted over the last week, and he seemed to show some recognition at certain names of people or places. It wasn't much, but it was something.
"...and then Bulma -" Suddenly the Vegeta-wolf gave one cry of sheer anguish and sat huddled in a corner of his cage. He sat - he didn't crouch, didn't squat, he sat with head in hands and wept.
"Vegeta?" It was a whisper, filled with a world of hope and fear at what would happen next. Slowly, ever so slowly, the bloodstained head rose, four months of dirt washed away by tears of pain and memory. He nodded.
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so, whatcha think?? i know it's a bit short, but more will be coming real soon, so don't worry.
