RATING: PG-13

PART: part 3/unkown chapters

PAIRING: Krillen and #18, Bulma and Vegeta, and Vegeta and #18

CHAPTER WARNING: Profanity

DISCLAIMER: All Dragonball GT characters belong to Akira Toriyama and the producers of Dragonball GT. I do not own any of the characters, or anything to do with the characters. Blah, blah, blah...You get the point.

Note: Once again, Juuhachi= #18. Lyrics and song title is from Brian McKnight's "Kiss Your Love Good-bye". ^_^ And no, with the hand on the shirt thingy, she is not hitting on Vegeta...

-_-; Not yet, anyway.





"Stooooooooop!" she cried, the horrified words gushing from her open mouth. The pain, the blood, the broken nose...Clenching her eyelids shut as tight as her muscles would able, Juuhachi could already feel his lead- like fist connecting with her face. She could hear the splintering, taste the red liquid dribbling down her face and into her lips. The image of her cracked expression, redness covering its frightened surface, flashed once yet clearly, as the oncoming shadow fell over her trembling body.

She was powerful, but her strength compared to not even a fraction of Vegeta's. He was going to kill her...

Kill her!

THUUUUNK!

Juuhachi's shaking body arched against the tree in one swift movement as the sound echoed through her being. A soft cry escaped her lips, the pungent taste of fear on her tongue along with it.

He...He...

Vegeta exhaled in one swift breath and his own eyes closed in sudden disgust. Teeth were clenched rock hard in rage, alike his powerful fists.

He...

"Bitch..." he whispered. "You fat, ugly bitch..."

Her eyes shot open as the air suddenly rushed into her lungs.

"Don't you ever...ever..."

"Vegeta..." His name left her lips without her realizing it was her own voice that emerged. She simply stared into his glinting green eyes, her fingernails digging into the bark against her back. He was but centimeters from her with his breath tickling her pale cheeks like ants upon her skin.

And his fist...

His fist was not even millimeters away from her skull. Juuhachi could feel the aura licking at her ear with a lust like no other, feeling its intense heat slightly burn. The bark beneath his fist splintered up around her limp hair, still groaning from the impact with tiny woes of pain.

He had missed.

Missed?...

"Vegeta..." she murmured again, so softly. He did not move. Still he glared fire into her eyes, so close that with the slightest movement, their lips could have touched. So close that she swore she could see the end to the scalding pits of his nearly bottomless pupils, the end to the emptiness.

So close...

His face slowly grimaced into a fierce scowl, a cold opposite to the fire in his eyes. Lips moved, searching to speak, to lash its whips at the expectant android.

He had so wanted to kill her.

Before she could utter his name in question yet another time, his fist dislodged from the thick skin of the blossom tree. It was more than shocking that even the tree remained intact, only its surface barely imploded from the force. He had had the chance to knock it clear over...

And he had missed.

"Don't you ever piss me off..." he sneered as he had never sneered before. "Don't you ever..." He pulled back slowly.

Her back remained pressed to the bark. Juuhachi could feel the tremble -unknown to be relief, remaining fear, or shock- welling up within her muscles. It shook her hands until they rattled against her sides silently. Her molars chattered against one another in an undignified chorus, her jaw clamping down to still them.

The bastard...

"You...you!" she finally managed, pushing off of the bark with still shaking knees. "You could have crushed me! You could have killed me! Who the fuck do you think you are!?"

He stopped his turn away from the android and peered back to regard her sullenly. Her now, strangely glimmering, beautiful blue eyes danced as the anger welled up within her female frame. His very hand could have imploded her skull if he had meant to, could have shattered her bones until her head was nothing but a blond mess of dust.

HE COULD HAVE KILLED HER!

(Weakness, weakness...a tiny frail mind in a tiny frail body.)

The feeling of helplessness, the shame of weakness...

(Run.)

She tried to stop her self; her insides screamed with the urge not to do what she was about to do.

(Run back to your little family and be.)

However, someone like her could not heed. She was rebellious by nature...rebellious to her very core. Thus, she grabbed his tank top by the shoulder and yanked him back.

(Just let it be!)

CRAAAAACK!

And Vegeta fell to the ground in a muddle of surprise. His cheek burned slightly with an invisible sting, the hit not strong enough to even cause redness. His golden aura flickered light, then bright, burning out in his shock. Juuhachi loomed above him, her hand still cocked from the connection. Aqua eyes continued to rock back and forth in their bed of white, suddenly bouncing from Vegeta's fallen body, to her stinging hand, and back to the speechless prince. It was as if the comprehension of her actions still hadn't surfaced in her shallow mind. Vegeta himself couldn't believe she'd done what she'd just done.

Beaten down by so many women in just one day...a cruel fate for a male.

"Wench..." He peered up at the woman.

"Shut up." Juuhachi's bite was strong from her lips. "Just shut up! How dare you...HOW-DARE-YOU!? You need to get a reality check you bastard, because you've stepped on my toes for the last time! I don't know how your wife can 'stand' you! You...YOU!..."

"Fuck you."

"BAKA YAROU!"

Vegeta stood with a masculine grace, running knuckled fingers through his unruly raven hair. Their eyes battled each other, grasping their pride like swords to defend falling honor. Slowly, a cruel grin trailed across his chiseled features and he turned to walk away again.

"You slap like a girl, Blondie."

"You asshole!"

A chuckle breezed out of the prince. Strong muscles defined themselves beneath the fabric of his tank top with every step he took.

Juuhachi was furious. No...More than furious, she was about to explode with white-hot rage. Every single time...Every single time, the idiot never changed! The android watched him striding away, feeling the slight burn on the palm of her hand.

"Fine. Leave," she exhaled. "Leave! And don't let me see your ugly face again! I've had enough horrors for one day!"

"You're starting to sound like that idiot Onna..." Vegeta called over his shoulder.

"Good! Then maybe I'll beat some humility into you like she did! Now get out of my site!"

The saiyan no Ouji rounded a thick clump of trees, giving a short snort before he disappeared. Juuhachi growled after him, plopping back down on the ground in a heap.

"Stupid monkey..."

A shuddering cough abruptly erupted from behind the cherry blossom trees. Juuhachi blinked silently towards the sound, her lips freezing around the words.

Everything was suddenly silent, such an awkward quiet in the midst of nature. At first, her instincts furrowed almost automatically at the sudden emptiness. But, as she realized the prince was still in hearing distance, a tiny grin melted across her face like chocolate as her mouth began to move again.

"Stupid...monkey..."

Another growl. Before she manage another blink, Vegeta swerved around the trees and stomped straight up to the sitting blond, his eyes shaking in anger.

"Shut up already!"

"Ha! Over-sensitive beast!"

"NRGGHH..."

"Feh! Talk about being daft. Didn't I tell you to get lost already!?"

"Try keeping your big mouth shut and maybe I will!"

"Gah!" Arms crossed in one rage-filled flail. Her upper torso swerved in a pout, turning her away from the saiyan.

"Besides, ever heard of a free country, witch? I can be where I prefer, 'when' I prefer."

Her teeth clenched tightly against each other. "I was here first!"

"For Dende's sake!"

"Go!"

"RAARGH!" Vegeta cried, thumping down to the grass covered floor almost painfully. He crossed his own arms in defiance, keeping his eye-line away from the android. She simply stared at him, mouth a-gape.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

Nothing.

"Hello? Speak to me!"

"Shut. Up."

"Leave me alone!"

"For the last friggin' time, and listen closely: I, Vegeta, prince of all saiyans, will sit wherever he chooses! And no tramp of a blonde is going to say or do otherwise! You have a problem with it, then YOU leave!"

"No! I WAS HERE FIRST!!!"

"So immature..."

Juuhachi's hands slapped the ground with weak force, her head bobbing down as the fury overtook. This was unbelievable..."You...You...!" The anger was so immense that her nerves had wound themselves into one massive knot. All thoughts were jumbled, wrapped in the horribly scalding heat that bound them.

"M-me? Childish? You're only doing the exact opposite of what I tell you to do just to Piss. Me. Off! You call that mature?"

No reply.

Growling in anguish, Juuhachi threw herself back against the thick trunk, giving a haughty pout of defeat. A good distance still separated her and the saiyan, a near two meters between them.

From the corner of her eye, she stared at the back of his unruly hair. Neither spoke, the familiar silence welcomed this time. Yet, in the distance of the silence, Juuhachi's ears could pick up the faintest sounds. The rest of the others...their laughter picked up over the grass and the trees along with the laughter of so many other families. The image of Vegeta blurred in her vision as tears began to trickle. She turned away.

"I hate you."

"That's good."

"No really, I 'hate' you."

"...?"

"You just can't leave me be, can you..?"

Vegeta let his gaze travel towards the woman slowly. Her body had regained its depressive hunch and she now hid her face to her crossed legs, her palms pressed against her cheeks.

"I just wanted to be alone...Is that so horrible?"

The prince was still as stone. A breeze whispered through his ebony hair from where he sat, ruffling his clothes along his body. Juuhachi brushed back a few strands of her hair that danced down into her face.

Her shoulders shuddered in deep remorse.

"This isn't just because of Krillen...is it...?"

Juuhachi blinked back shimmering tears to give Vegeta a brief glance. Her eyes were unhidden to him for only a second, but a second enough for him to see all the pain welling up inside.

"Maybe..."

"Hn."

She sighed. "Yes..."

"Such a complicated beast you are."

She blinked. "It's not Krillen's fault at all. It's...It's mine."

"Exactly what are you at fault 'for'?" The prince raised a questioning eyebrow. His features nearly gave him the expression of amusement in the midst of his frown.

Juuhachi opened her mouth to answer, but found herself to be at a complete blank. Lips closed and opened again, her mind searching, but...

She didn't really know.

"I hurt him," she finally whispered. Vegeta barely heard, slightly disturbed with the slumped android.

"I was horrible."

Raising her gaze again, Juuhachi drew an arm across her face to wipe away the tears that glistened on her skin. When she lowered the limb, Vegeta still sat there, staring reluctantly at her glistening face. Neither blinked and neither turned their gaze this time.

"Do you think I'm horrible, Vegeta?" she suddenly asked. Vegeta flustered in the moment, flipping around to clutch himself in embarrassment.

"Of course."

"Well I think you're horrible too." It was peculiar how she said those words. So soft, so calm that Vegeta had to carefully turn and look her in the eye again with wonder.

"What?"

"You must feel like this sometimes too."

A blush crept across his skin. "I've never. I don't feel guilt for my actions."

"No...Not just guilt." Juuhachi raised her head, giving the tiniest smile. "Feeling..." She placed a hand on the fabric of her shirt, right over her beating heart. Looking back up, Vegeta's features had grown calm.

"Feeling...this."

(The pain of love. The pain of silent love...)

His mouth lingered. It was more wonder than shock that held his attention. Juuhachi was being so...remorseful. His eyes drifted to her placed hand, still in deep thought.

Feel this?

"No." He mouthed deliberately and with definition. "That seems to be something only you're bothered with."

Her face fell.

"Now if you don't mind," he muttered, standing quickly, "I'm growing bored with this dull conversation. Find someone else to drone to."

"I thought you said you had right to wherever you wished..."

"And I do," he stated, giving her a last glare. "But, I've decided I'd rather sit alone than listen to your mindless speech. I'm a saiyan, not your psychiatrist.

Juuhachi pursed her lips in rage. She wasn't deliberately spouting to him it...just came out. Kami, how horribly rude. She had only wanted to get a little off her chest...and...And he was the one that had sat near her! It wasn't her fault that she was feeling open today.

"You'll never change," she spat. "Go rot somewhere else then."

"I think I will."

She crossed her arms again, giving into the welcoming pout. Vegeta brushed himself off and picked the grass off the bottom of his pants. His back remained turned to the android as he struggled to keep a hold of his expression. Bits of understanding and sadness flowed through the tiny cracks in his mask, seeping like blood. He did feel...No, it wasn't something forlorn to him. But, he had an image to present. He had a mask of pride and honor to cover his pain. Thus, he mended the cracks as best he could and stepped away.

"Vegeta! What the hell are you doing?"

He swung around, first glaring at Juuhachi, then -after noticing the innocent expression upon her face- turned to look into the trees.

Bulma shook a fist at the saiyan. "I leave you alone for ten minutes and you're already bothering Juuhachi? What the hell is wrong with you?" She turned to the android. "Did he do anything? Say anything?"

Juuhachi opened her mouth, but promptly closed it again. Bulma swung back around to Vegeta.

"I thought you went home at first! Instead, you decide to take your problems out on Juuhachi!"

"No, Bulma, really...he-." Bulma held up a hand to silence her friend.

"It's O.K, Juuhachi; I know you're not feeling well. I'll deal with this."

"No, Bulma, I-!"

"Get-lost, Vegeta," Bulma sneered. "No body wants you around right now, so get lost! How many times do you have to be told?!"

Vegeta choked in the back of his throat, though he kept his composure up front.

She was in his face with one step, jutting her finger in demand. "I am so tired of you, you hear me? I am so friggin'-"

"Bulma!" Juuhachi screamed. Her hands placed on the woman's chest, she shoved the blue haired Onna back from the prince. The android suddenly found herself standing in between the prince and his wife, Bulma holding back profound surprise.

"J-Juu-chan?"

"Bulma, gomen!" she gushed. "It...He...Vegeta wasn't bothering me! Don't get mad at him, please! We did have a bit of a fight at first, but Vegeta didn't do anything wrong. He actually..." She looked over her shoulder encouragingly. "He was being a big help. I needed someone to talk to and...he stepped up." Juuhachi looked back to the woman, concern resurfacing. "Really...he didn't do anything wrong."

Bulma gaped openly. Vegeta? Helping?

Ha!

Nevertheless, Bulma did not want to argue with Juuhachi, especially not in the condition the android seemed to be in. If she said that Vegeta was being of help...then Bulma would believe her. Bulma nodded in compliance, looking over her friend's shoulder at the surprised prince.

"A-All right. If you say so..."

They all stared at each other, or rather, Bulma and Vegeta stared at each other. Juuhachi stared at the ground, a blush creeping across her cheeks. She couldn't believe she'd just said that...

Neither could Vegeta. His brain, for the first time, had come to an abrupt stop. Nothing in the world could make him fathom why he'd just been rescued by...by...

By her!

"We're heading to the festival down the hill," Bulma said softly. Both Juuhachi and Vegeta blinked back, not registering the words. "That's why I came over here...so that you wouldn't get left behind or anything." Obviously, the woman was talking to Juuhachi, rejecting the saiyan prince's presence. Vegeta frowned.

"Do you want to come? O-or you could stay here, that's fine. Rest and all..." Bulma looked at her feet, suddenly ashamed. However, Juuhachi managed a smile, nodding to the woman.

"Sure. But, in a bit. I'll catch up...later." She looked at the saiyan no Ouji again. He blinked back.

Bulma nodded in return. Giving the prince a hidden scowl, she turned and walked away. They waited until her footsteps disappeared before they acknowledged each other.

"I don't need you to defend me," Vegeta stated simply.

"I know," she sputtered. "At least be grateful that I did anything at all."

"I told you, I don't need you to defend me."

She turned fully around and looked him straight in the eye. "You never learn...Vegeta, you don't deserve a single good thing life hands to you. A bastard at heart." His frown deepened.

Juuhachi walked around him with a huff. "Excuse me, I think I'm going to head down to the festival. At least it'll be better than sitting up here. Maybe I'll even get a chance to play a game or two."

"I..."

"Obviously better than being here with you."

"Arigato."

She froze, eyes wide. One foot, stuck mid-step, slowly touched the ground as she turned with shock.

"Nani?!"

Vegeta's eyes swept to the ground, noting the flat spots in the grass where he and Juuhachi had sat. His mouth flexed into a thin line and his arms crossed angrily.

"Forget it."

Juuhachi didn't move, suspended in disbelief. She began to speak, to mock the embarrassed prince. But his expression displayed was one that made her heart melt right where it was in her chest. She smiled another weak smile and gave him a little nod.

"Aren't you coming?"

He looked up, that same surprise on his face.

"I said, are you coming?"

"I-I...W-Well..." Vegeta searched for the right words.

"Of course I'm coming! What kind of idiot are you? You don't just leave a prince behind."

Juuhachi smiled a little wider. Vegeta stepped up behind her, following through the trees.

"Good. Then we can see who's got the better arm."

Vegeta snorted with pride. "Yah, right..." Then he looked to her, no longer able to look down at her, sharing the same height. "Especially being ill like you are."

And Juuhachi stopped in her tracks. Looking back, Vegeta stopped as well, a slight confusion evident.

"It's gone," she whispered.

"Kami, you make no sense."

"N-no! It's..." Her voice fell into silence. "It-it doesn't matter right now."

"For Kami's sake, enough with the drivel before you make me promptly 'throw- up'. Either come on, or stand there like a fool."

She watched him begin to walk again, taking a moment before she followed. They walked side by side out of the trees, most of the families in the park gone and down the hill to the games. Bulma, Gokou and the rest were nowhere to be found.

"Damn it, he probably even ate what I had left on my plate," Vegeta snarled, still smelling the scent of chicken from the area. Juuhachi rolled her eyes.

"Saiyans and their food."

"Hey, I'm hungry!" he grunted, angrily. "And you didn't even eat 'anything'. No wonder you're so sick."

"I feel better, thank-you," she said, annoyance coming back. "Now if you don't mind, I told Bulma I was coming." She attempted to put distance between her and Vegeta, heading towards the sounds of laughter and music. The festival was loud with laughing people and games galore.

Vegeta stared after her. She did look a little better, the same slump and depression to her form less evident. She seemed to walk with a little bit more of that old pride, a spark of it left within her body.

He scowled for the hundredth time that day. He just couldn't understand females. One minute she was in tears, and then suddenly full of anger...Bah, for all he knew, it was that horrid time of month for her. It would be a good explanation for all of these mood-swings she seemed to be having. He shook the idea out of his head.

None of his business...none of his business. He 'really' didn't need to be thinking about that. Her emotions were her business. He didn't care to get involved, not even in the slightest. He'd already made that mistake with a certain blue haired raven. One woman on his case was more than enough.

//"No...Not just guilt." Juuhachi raised her head, giving the tiniest smile. "Feeling..." she placed a hand on the fabric of her shirt, right over her beating heart. Looking back up, Vegeta's features had grown calm. //

Vegeta shuddered, remembering. Kami, was she being morbid. So much depression for someone who wasn't even human...Opening a fist, he stared down at his palm and caressed the lines of his hand with a thumb.

Not like he could talk. He wasn't exactly human either.

//"Feeling...this."//

"Hmm..." His head shot up, eyes narrowed. Juuhachi had already headed down the hill, reaching the front entrance of the festival. A booth, only open for entrance donations, stood at the front.

"It's only a 50 yen entrance fee, ma'am," the man at the front smiled. "All money is donated to the local children's hospital right from the festival." Juuhachi nodded and reached into her pocket for the coins.

Suddenly a hand was in her view, a bill clutched as he placed it on the booth counter. At first, the man in the booth looked surprised, but ended smiling at Vegeta and then the woman, taking the money happily.

"Enjoy your stay," he chided. "And have a nice day."

Juuhachi looked to him in question. Nevertheless, Vegeta shrugged her look off and strode through the entrance, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets with a grunt. Juuhachi followed, trying to hide her own subtle smile.

"You know..." Vegeta began as the vision of the festival opened to the two of them. Games, vendors, and rides galore met their sight, the whole of it striking a sort of awe.

"What..." Juuhachi asked calmly.

"Sometimes being alone..." he whispered, "is not such a good thing." Then he stepped away, obviously expecting her to follow as they headed for the nearest snack area.

Juuhachi's face remained blank behind him. But, something lit up inside of her, forcing her to blush with a smile. She hurried up behind him, taking care to burn his words into her memory...Vegeta actually being kind.

"Yah..." she murmured, reaching into her pocket for money to pay for the food.

"I agree."