CHAPTER 25 – Lets Get Out Of Here!
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z!
Vegeta battled with his thoughts.
'Should I follow her? Or just leave her be?' he growled lightly, this whole thing was throwing him into an area in which he had no form of expertise. No one had ever expected this much from him before, but she knew little of his bloody and gruesome past 'what did she expect from me? A gushing declaration of… 'Love'?' he shuddered at the image of himself all doe eyed and emotional.
"Foolish woman" he muttered to himself as he stormed out of the house.
'I'm not looking for her' he told his pride 'I'm just getting out to clear my head and if I happen to bump into her then so be it' but he already knew where he was heading, and he already knew she'd be there.
Seconds later Kami materialized in the living room of the house. Confusion crossed his face, as he saw no Bulma eagerly awaiting his arrival
'Strange' he thought 'perhaps she's feeling more relaxed about the whole thing now that the gang are on Namek and proceeding well.'
He wandered into the kitchen, and then the bathroom, and then up to the bedroom, but was perturbed to find still there was no evidence of Bulma.
"Hello?" he called doubtfully through the house. No answer.
He sighed heavily as he sat down on the living room sofa.
'This does not bode well' he thought as he prepared himself for a long wait.
It was morning on Namek, and the brave explorers where off to gather the natives willing to help them in their hunt. Yajarobe, having decided that the green men posed no threat, had decided to join his shipmates.
"how much further till we get to the Namek's hide out?" he whined
"not long now Yajarobe, just around this bend" Goku replied excitably
seconds later the grassy mound of a hill under which the Nameks dwelt came into view and Krillin and Goku shared a smile of anticipation. They couldn't deny that as kids, the dragon ball hunts often supplied some real adventures, 'stories to tell the grandkids' as Krillin would put it.
Before they could even ponder how to find the hidden entrance, a crowd of Nameks filed out, all obviously as excited as Goku.
"what are those freaks so happy about this morning?" Yajarobe grumbled, he wasn't planning for anyone to hear, but Muuri quickly responded with a hearty laugh
"on this planet, the dragon ball hunt is an old and sacred tradition, reserved for those with virtuous intent. In the olden days it would bring about great benefits for the whole of Namek kind!" he smiled
"wow, sounds like Christmas!" Krillin laughed
Goku nodded his agreement, while the Namek party stared at him blankly
"let us continue with the search!" Muuri broke the awkward silence.
Everyone cheered in agreement, and Goku produced the dragon radar from the folds of his GI, pressing the button on top twice to zoom in on the closest ball.
"that way!" He pointed in its general direction
Krillin nodded and rose into the air, glancing back uncertainly to be sure that their alien companions could fly, sighing in relief when they solemnly rose into the air with him.
"hey wait a minute!" Yajarobe called to the figures flying off into the air "What am I supposed to do?"
Goku looked back and shrugged
"don't you have a hover car or something? You don't usually leave home without one!"
"no!" Yajarobe sulked "I left it at the ship"
Goku sighed
"well, maybe you could get dinner ready while we're gone eh? That would be useful, dragon ball hunting is hard work! I'm going to have one hell of an appetite when I get back!" He grinned amiably
"whatever" Yajarobe continued to sulk as the party continued their flight.
The flight for the first dragon ball wasn't exactly a thrilling one. Much of the landscape was only just restoring itself after the barbaric treatment it received at the hands of Frieza. Much of the land was now regaining its soft covering of blue grass, however it was evident every so often that they where passing a crater that used to be a village. Goku struggled to keep from getting angry. It was pointless after all, Vegeta had to be the one to rid the universe of Frieza, or the natural path of time would never be restored.
On the up side, he couldn't imagine having much trouble finding the dragon balls on such a relatively baron planet. He had seen no wildlife, no other alien races, he was pretty certain that they where the only ones interested in finding the balls. How hard could it be with no opposition?
Goku was right, the first ball was simply lying at the bottom of a crater, waiting to be taken, the second they found in a tree, the third was a little tricky. It turned out the planet did have some wildlife left, underwater. The third dragon ball had been swallowed by the mother of all whales, and the Namekians doubted even the super strong earthlings could take it on. But sure enough, Goku lifted the whale out of the water without too much difficulty, allowing Krillin to enter through its mouth and find the precious cargo its stomach contained. It was all over it seconds and the whale was literally thrown back to the depths, soaking the Namekians and causing Goku to offer a sheepish "sorry" before they all decided to retire for the day.
Goku and Krillin returned satisfied that the dragon balls where safe with the Namekians and that the next day they may even conclude their hunt. However, as they sank down in their beds, had they taken a last look at the night sky, they may have seen two shooting stars fall to earth near the horizon, a signal that this hunt was about to get a little more complicated.
Vegeta floated above the treetops, staring down at the flash of blue hair he could barely see through the canapé. He rolled his eyes at his own softness, but began to descend towards her all the same. Once he got closer he could hear her talking angrily to herself
"… why do I bother? Yamcha ogles other women and I can't even keep Vegeta's attention when there aren't any other women around!" Vegeta was angered and perhaps even a little hurt by the comparison, not that he'd allow himself to register the pain. "I mean" she continued "why oh why couldn't he have just said that we were together? its not like I wanted or expected a flowery emotional speech, I just wanted the facts plain and simple, but apparently telling the truth is a weakness now as well! I mean, an explanation for why we've been living under the same roof for over a year and still don't share a bed would also be nice…" Vegeta decided to cut her off there.
"If you want to provide night time entertainment for the green man and whoever else happens to be watching us then that's up to you, but personally I like to keep my private life PRIVATE!" he snorted, and smirked as Bulma's back tensed and she nearly fell out of her tree 'again' he thought in amusement.
"h-how long have you been listening to me?" she said in a small voice
"long enough to hear me compared to a human weakling" he hissed
"that long huh?" she smiled slightly despite herself "don't take it personally Vegeta, I was just angry"
"humph"
she paused…
"so, you've heard my side of this, but I've only begun to hear yours, that's not very fair" she said in a playful voice, deciding that the heavy emotional approach hadn't been terribly successful the first time.
"Bulma…" he began but wasn't sure how to finish "as I have already stated, I know that we are being watched for some reason. Think about it, they wouldn't just simply move someone as dangerous as me out of hell and not keep an eye on me now would they?"
Bulma thought briefly, he had a point
"so, will things change when we're alive again?"
"after a time, yes I expect so" he replied
"what do you mean 'after a time'?" she turned to eye him suspiciously
"I have to become super saiya jin and kill Frieza before I can think about such things" he stated blankly
she resisted the urge to shout and thought about this
"I guess I can accept that" she sighed, and then privately congratulated herself on her new maturity.
"you will have to" he grunted "but if you must have reassurance then know this, I will return when he is dead and I imagine that I shall make a home on earth… with you." he sighed at the idea of him making a home anywhere, but couldn't resist the strange comfort it brought.
She smiled up at him
"that's all I needed to hear"
he smirked and lifted her from the branch of their tree, taking her back to the house in his arms.
When they finally reached home, they found Kami in a state of deep meditation on their sofa.
"oh no! I completely forgot!" she whispered to Vegeta "should I wake him?" Vegeta nodded and stalked toward the kitchen.
She shook the guardian of earth slightly
"Kami?"
his eyes blinked open and he smiled briefly
"I bring good news my child" he beamed
"what? What is it?"
"well, not only have the team on Namek gathered three of the balls already, but you and Vegeta now have permission to come and live on my lookout until you are… back to normal"
Bulma blinked, taking the news in, then leapt into the air taking the Guardian with her
"well? What are you waiting for let's get out of here!!!"
there, no cliffhanger, all tied up nicely… for now!