*Author's Notes: I'm sorry this chapter is short, but I guess I wanted to
get another chapter out because it's been a while. I'll make chapter
eleven longer (and hopefully I'll do a good job of the fight scences which
aren't my forte...), so I hope you won't feel that you're cheated. Please
enjoy and bare with me--I plan to conclude this fic in about five more
chapters or so. ^_^
Chapter Ten
Gokuu couldn't say that he was scared; there had only been a few times in his life where he could have truly said that he had experienced fear. However, he could imagine someone being scared when witnessing the Vegita Kingdom at night. It was eerie, to say the least, and certainty less inviting than it was in the day. The trees seemed to be dark enemies waiting in the shadows to pull him into the forest at any moment, and even the occasional nocturnal animal scampering about the grass seemed ominous; it was as if they were guardian beasts of the Saiyajin kingdom and barred any intruders from infiltrating the area. Still, as frightening as the place seemed to be, Gokuu was intrigued by the graveyard that he now stopped at. In the back of his mind he realized that he needed to see Bulma as quickly as possible, but something else made him dismount his horse and secure it to the iron gate. He had to admit that Vegita was more advanced than he had heard (rumors were that it was similar to Stone Age civilization), but the fact that Saiyajins actually buried their dead was still surprising. It seemed they wouldn't be the type of people who mourned over their dead, or even acknowledged death at all. Saiyajins had that "I'm immortal" sort of attitude that was easy to pick up on.
Gokuu pushed forward the doors and entered the small area reserved for the dead. It didn't look much different from a regular cemetery, except that each tombstone was exactly identical. That wasn't too surprising, nor the fact that none of the graves had any flowers next to them. The place seemed as though it hadn't been visited in several years, but the number of graves present suggested otherwise. Gokuu guessed that people simply placed the dead there and never thought twice of them. However, it puzzled him that there were so few graves and the Saiyajins were many. Surely more of them had died; he hadn't seen any old Saiyajins hobbling around, if Saiyajins ever did get old. Gokuu wasn't exactly sure…
A sign before the first row of graves caught Gokuu's eyes. He stepped forward and bent down so he could read the small print. His brows raised as he viewed the words: "Burial Ground of Those Who Died Honorably in Battle." He stood straight again and understood why there were so little of the Saiyajins buried there. Gokuu scratched his head and wondered why more Saiyajins weren't killed in battle if they were in constant battle all their lives. If anything, he would figure that would be their only means of death. Gokuu would have stood there to ponder that longer if a figure in the far corner of the cemetery hadn't grabbed his attention. Someone was actually visiting the cemetery. Gokuu, being a highly curious fellow, headed in the direction of the unknown person.
As Gokuu drew closer, he glanced at the white tombstones he passed, most having the name, date of death, and battle of death of the Saiyajin. It didn't mention anything about the date of birth, Gokuu guessing that Saiyajins didn't care too much about one's age. The figure began to become clearer, even with the lack of light in the area. Gokuu frowned as he tried to see the face better; he could see it was a man, but his identity was hard to tell. It wasn't as if Gokuu thought he'd recognize him; he just wanted to see the face of a Saiyajin who actually cared to visit a grave.
The Saiyajin began to move and Gokuu stood still as if the man might try to attack him. However, as he saw the flame from the match the person was holding, Gokuu settled for a second. His eyes grew wide as he realized who was now glaring at him.
"Ba…Bardaku!!" Gokuu took a step back in shock and if he didn't know better, a kind of feeling like he was a child caught by his father.
"Kakarotto! What the hell are you doing here??" Bardaku took a step towards him with match in hand.
"I…I…" Gokuu shook his head. Why couldn't he answer him? Then Gokuu suddenly realized what his father was doing there. "Are you visiting my mother's grave?"
Bardaku threw the match to the ground and stomped it out. "Get the hell out of here…" he said in a quiet tone laced with fury.
"Demo, I--"
"Didn't you hear what I said?" Bardaku asked in the same tone before he lost his temper. "Get out or I will kill you!! Don't think for a second I won't hesitate to!!"
Gokuu swallowed and nodded, slowly turning away. Perhaps it was Bardaku's shouting in such a deadly quiet place, or it was the seriousness of his tone that caused Gokuu to do as he was told. Of course, he was still curious; he wouldn't be? However, he wasn't about to fight his own father just to get information about his mother. After all, Bardaku had said that he would tell him if he survived the tournament. He could wait until then, even though the cemetery could give him a clue as to at least what his mother's name was. It was frustrating to not even have that information; what harm could that do? Gokuu thought about this as he exited the graveyard.
"Okashii na…" Gokuu said, taking a final look behind him. He could still see Bardaku standing in the corner of the graveyard and though it were impossible for him to see, he felt that he was glaring murderously at him even then. Gokuu quickly faced forward and dissolved his interest in the matter.
Gokuu mounted on his horse again and headed east for the Vegita castle. "Mou ii," he muttered to himself. He flicked the reins to indicate his horse go faster. "I'm shirking my duties as a knight; Bulma needs me more than I need my information…"
***
A light beeping noise went off and Vegita slowly opened his eyes. He extended a hand to the controls of the regen pool and shut the thing off. The Prince rose and looked down into the pool, examining Bulma, distorted by the water. He frowned and went back to the controls, pressing a button. The water began to drain out of the pool, and in a minute Bulma was the only thing left in the pool. Vegita folded his arms, waiting for Bulma to come back to her senses. At first she leaned against the wall, still partially in a wonderful dream she had been having while in the regen pool. A smile was even upon her face, but the Prince couldn't see it with her mask still covering her mouth. Bulma sighed as began to wake, flashes of her dream passing before her. She had been safe in the dream world--she had had been happy and loved. The man, though always shadowed in her dream, was the one that had given her all these things and much more. Bulma felt at peace once; she didn't have to worry about the heavy task of being royalty. She was free to be selfish enough to worry about herself and indulge in things that mattered to her. The romance she had so long waited for was given to her. And the best part was that she remembered nothing of the Saiyajin kingdom, nor the Saiyajins period…
Bulma saw white--a blurred white at that. She rubbed her eyes and stood shakily on the wet floor. It took her a few minutes to recognize where she was and exactly what reality was again. She yawned as if planning to return to sleep, but wasn't too drowsy to remember that the Saiyajin no Ouji was near. She turned around to meet his impatient gaze, but was too sleepy to care whether he was annoyed or not.
"Enjoy your little nap?" Vegita said, edgily. He received a dull look from Bulma, but he took her ability to stand as an affirmative answer. "Well, I wasted enough of my precious time; hurry up and get out of the pool."
Bulma moved similar to a puppet controlled by strings. Her movements were slow and unnatural, but eventually she was close enough so that Vegita was able to pull her out. Noticing that she at least looked better (no bruise on her forehead), he let out a sigh. Immediately after doing so, he scowled at himself. What in the world was he sighing for? He growled at his unusual behavior.
Had Bulma been perceptive at that moment, she might have noticed his strange actions or remembered the fact that she was almost completely naked. She yawned again and stared at Vegita listlessly, while he glared back at her. He wondered if the regen pool had done more harm than good.
"How weak can you be?" Vegita said, watching her yawn for the third time. As much as he hated to admit it, her actions made her uneasy. "That regen pool was supposed to make you better, but you look as if you're about to fall off your feet."
*I…I just feel tired…* Bulma mouthed. It wasn't as if she remembered that she wanted Vegita to think her voice was still gone; she just wasn't thinking coherently enough to let her voice come with the motions of her mouth. *I'm not in pain any more…*
"Hmph, you better not be, for all I had to do," Vegita muttered. "Saa, let's get you back to your room before that idiot knight of yours begins to act even more foolish than he already has."
Bulma nodded, too tired to argue or comment on anything Vegita had said. He frowned at her dummy-like movements and watched her damp feet slide on the tile floor. As Bulma began to fall forward, Vegita was surprised that the next moment he was holding her in his arms to prevent her from falling flat on her face. Just as he was about to get over from his shock and replace that with anger, he noticed that Bulma had went back to sleep again. He growled at the sleeping woman, but figured that her sleeping was better than her awake and bitching.
Vegita bent down to the floor and attempted to dress Bulma again, although she were still wet from the pool. A towel would have been helpful, but he hadn't really thought of bringing Bulma until the last minute. Knowing that she was likely to catch a cold (being such a weak woman and all), he put her dress back on. He smirked a little at how her the material of her dress clung to her as well did her azure strands of hair to her forehead. If he had first seen her as she was now, he would have never guessed her for a princess. Vegita would have thought she were some kind of slave or something or the sort. He supposed she were somewhat that in the sense that he owned her and she was confined to the room he had given her.
The Prince ceased these useless thoughts and proceeded to carry Bulma out of the room. It was a much different feeling than when he had first carried her, however; she wasn't awake and she wasn't shaking uncontrollably. The only movements Vegita could feel from her were the even rising and falling of her chest as she breathed. He thought that he wasn't paying attention to the fact that he was transporting a rather peaceful Bulma, but obviously that wasn't true when he noticed that he was smiling. Vegita, fed up with his unusual behavior, didn't attempt to rid himself of the smile. He simply attributed the smile to the fact he was glad that now his plan was finally in order once again.
*Those fools at her door…* Vegita thought as he neared Bulma's room. *They might be incompetent enough to let the woman escape from her room, but they are the two that witnessed the most of my strange behavior, and I can't risk any rumors about me, especially since Nappa and Sukuwa are known to associate with each other. That's probably why Tousama knew about the damn woman escaping in the first place.*
"…of Kakarotto?" Vegita heard Pikaru say as he turned into the hall Bulma's room was located.
"I guess it's hard to tell." Sukuwa's voice was heard next. "All I know is he will die a painful death one way or another."
"To think a Saiyajin could be so weak," Pikaru said, finally coming into Vegita's view. The Saiyajin shook his head disgustedly. "It makes me sick."
"I hear ya," Sukuwa said, leaning against the wall. He caught sight of Vegita approaching and stood straight again. "Vegita-Ouji."
Pikaru stood at attention upon the mention of the Prince. To them, and any other Saiyajin for that matter, letting the Prince catch you idling around at your post was a foolish thing, if you valued your well-being. Neither tried to express any kind of wonderment of why the Prince was returning the Capsule Princess wet and passed out. Vegita stopped between them, glaring at their obvious attempts to hide their question about what was going on. For a moment he considered telling them something (not the truth, but something that would satisfy their curiosity), but then he finally decided to tell them nothing. Explaining himself would only make him seem suspicious. Besides, there was little that one could reason he was doing. He doubted they would figure out he had taken her to the regen pool.
Pikaru glanced at Sukuwa as Vegita entered Bulma's room and shut the door behind him. "What do you think of that?" he asked lowly as so not to be heard through the door.
"I think I have an idea," Sukuwa said, tone low as well.
"Nani sore (what's that)?"
"I think Vegita-Ouji was trying to drown the woman."
"Would he really do something like that?" Pikaru said, raising a brow. "He could just as easily snap her in half."
Sukuwa shrugged. "That why I said trying," he said. "He might have wanted to scare the woman so he made her think he was going to drown her until she passed out underwater."
"Ah, sou ka," Pikaru said, grinning. "He must still be getting her back for escaping from her room again." The two shared a brief laugh. "I can't wait to see what he does to Kakarotto…"
***
Vegita let out a sigh as he stood next to Bulma's bed, watching her sleep as if he expected her to wake up at any moment. How much time had he wasted today just because of her? This wasn't how his day was supposed to go; Kakarotto was to arrive, he'd make the woman worry herself to death, and the rest would have been relatively calm. No, the stupid woman had to escape from her room, cause him to throw her against a wall, and then he had to lower himself to actually heal the woman. When Vegita thought of it, she had been the first person he had ever healed. His hand went to his forehead; the Saiyajin no Ouji healing someone. If anyone ever found out that, he'd never hear the end of it. He was relieved that Bulma's voice was still gone because that might have allowed Kakarotto to discover that bit of information. Vegita made a small grin. He didn't have to worry about anything now. The woman couldn't cause him any more trouble, no one was going to find out he had helped someone, and Kakarotto was going to die. And of course, the woman was going to die. Sometimes, he had to admit, anticipating to kill Kakarotto made him forget his true reason for killing her.
"I'll be doing the world a favor by disposing of her…" Vegita said. Bulma shifted in her bed, causing him to wonder if she heard his words. *Hmph, as if I should care or not,* he thought. *She can't do anything to me…well, except make me look like an ass which she has been doing pretty damn well.*
Vegita was just about to turn and leave when he saw Bulma's lips begin to move. For a moment he thought she was waking up, but her lips simply moved over and over again in the same manner. It didn't take Vegita long to understand what she was mouthing in her sleep.
"Son-kun?" The Prince raised a brow, trying to determine who or what that was. "Why does that seems so familiar? Son…"
*…my friend, Son Gokuu…* Vegita recalled Bulma saying.
Vegita narrowed his eyes, becoming increasingly angrier each time he saw her silently call him. Why was she calling for that fool? It wasn't as if he could help her in any way--Kakarotto was the one that needed help. The woman was relatively safe until Kakarotto lost his life. Vegita stepped closer to the left side of the bed where Bulma slept. He was surprised he was easily able to repress his desire to grab her lips and force them to stay closed. Usually his anger would overpower his reason or at least his hand would have moved a little in the direction before he regained his senses. This strange occurrence distracted himself from Bulma's strange actions for only a second; he glared at her hopeless expression while she continued calling for her pathetic knight. Vegita balled up a fist, wanting it to make contact with something--most likely the Bulma's bed. Aware that could wake up the Princess, Vegita quickly turned and let his fist hit the empty air. Immediately his other fist followed the same motion and his breathing was more noticeable.
"For some reason…" Vegita said, not caring that his actions were odd, "I really…really hate Kakarotto right now…"
***
Gokuu finally stopped running in the halls of the castle once he was aware that the other Saiyajins present were staring at him. He slowed, nearly at Bulma's room, taking in a deep breath. Previously he had a great fear that something was terribly wrong with his princess, but now he felt that she wasn't in any danger. It calmed him enough that he didn't act worried, but in the back of his mind he had a feeling that Bulma's safe state wasn't always as it was. Gokuu was determined to find out whether he was paranoid or not as he viewed Pikaru and Sukuwa.
"Masaka!" Pikaru laughed. "When did that happen?"
"Only last week," Sukuwa said, grinning. "You can ask Nichu. He was there."
"I'm surprised someone like him was there. Hell, I'm surprised you were there."
"You're not the only one."
Gokuu blinked at the two laughing about something he had no idea was about. He cleared his throat, noticing they stiffened and seemed a great deal more unfriendly than they had when they were just talking among themselves. Gokuu decided that it was nothing personal, except for the fact that he wasn't a typical Saiyajin. He forced a smile and pointed to the door they were stationed at.
"I just wanted to check up on Bulma," Gokuu said.
"I don't think so, Kakarotto," Sukuwa said, his grin slowly coming back.
"Naze?" Gokuu glanced at Pikaru who too was grinning. "Isn't she in there?"
"Sou," Pikaru said.
"So why can't I go in?"
Sukuwa and Pikaru exchanged glances and then turned their gaze back upon the younger Saiyajin. "Are you sure you want to go in?" Sukuwa asked.
"Yeah, Kakarotto," Pikaru said. "Maybe 'Bulma' doesn't want to be disturbed." He and Sukuwa began to laugh and Gokuu began to get annoyed.
"Listen, will you let me through or not?" Gokuu's frown was enough to make the two stop laughing, but their smirks remained.
"All right," Sukuwa said. He and Pikaru stepped aside. "Koujin ni (As you wish)."
*What's with them?* Gokuu wondered as he opened the door. As he entered he was still pondering this, not realizing who was in the room.
Once Gokuu shut the door behind him the two guards exchanged glances. "You think Ouji-sama will be angry will let that fool in?" Pikaru asked.
"I hope so," Sukuwa said, chuckling. "Besides, we'll just tell him that we let him in to pacify him. The Prince doesn't want the idiot getting upset before he can publicly kill him."
"Sou da." The two would have laughed harder if they weren't worried they would be heard through the door.
Vegita turned around slowly, having been distracted by his anger to notice that the door had opened a minute ago. He almost thought he was seeing things when he saw Gokuu standing next to the door, glaring at it as if he had some kind of problem with it. Vegita shook his head to make sure he wasn't having an illusion in fury. Finding that Gokuu remained in his sight, he concluded that the fool was in fact in the room with him. Needless to say, Vegita's anger only increased.
"Kakarotto!" Vegita said, surprisingly in a low tone. He was too perturbed to worry about his reasons for considering that the woman was asleep.
Gokuu did a sort of jump as he turned. "Vegita!" Gokuu said with little consideration Bulma was sleeping. "What are you doing in here?"
Vegita decided that his increase in his anger for Gokuu then was because he had once again addressed him informally, not because Gokuu didn't bother to also lower his voice. "What the hell do you mean by me??" he demanded. "I own this room! I can come and go as I please!! How dare you question my actions!"
"Demo…" Gokuu said, scratching his head. He blinked and noticed that Bulma was sleeping. "Hmm? Bulma's already asleep…"
"Grr!" Vegita approached him, Gokuu's taller stature adding to the Prince's annoyance. "Temee! I asked you a question! What the hell are you doing here??"
"Boy, I sure get asked that a lot…" Gokuu said, staring up at the ceiling.
It was a real trial for Vegita not to thrash Gokuu to a pulp right then and there. "Oi!!" Vegita grabbed him the collar, forcing them to be eye-level with each other. "If you ignore me one more time, you son of a-- !"
The bed make a slightly loud sound as Bulma turned onto her other side. Vegita glanced over at her, muttering a light curse before glaring back at Gokuu. Gokuu blinked at him as if he had no clue what was going on. Vegita's hands began to shake in repression of his desired actions (killing Gokuu on the spot).
"I'll ask you again--what are you doing here??"
"Checking up on Bulma, of course," Gokuu answered. He raised a brow at Vegita. "Demo, I don't understand why you're in here watching Bulma sleep."
"None of your damn business!" Vegita threw him back, almost making Gokuu fall off his feet. The Prince was slightly disappointed he didn't fall.
"Okashii na…" Gokuu said, putting a hand to his chin as if pondering it. Then he shrugged and smiled. "Well, whatever. I guess I'll stick around for while and make sure Bulma's all right."
"Not only is that unnecessary," Vegita snapped, "but you will do no such thing! I want you out of this room immediately!"
"I'm Bulma's knight--"
"First of all, Kakarotto," Vegita interrupted, unable to stand Gokuu's lack of respect, "you will address me as Ouji-sama, Your Majesty, or the like--is that understood?"
"Ee?" Gokuu blinked as if he wasn't aware he was being so rude. "Uh, sure…"
"And," Vegita went on as if he hadn't stopped, "you will stop addressing this woman as… 'Bulma….'"
"Naze?" Gokuu asked. "Don't you call her 'Bulma?'"
"What I call her is none of your business!" Vegita said. He pointed to the door. "Get out!"
Gokuu's eyes narrowed. "Iie."
Vegita slowly lowered his hand, incredulous that someone (besides the loud-mouthed woman) had dared to refuse his order. "What did you say?" he asked, brows lowering.
"You're giving me a bad feeling about leaving Bulma alone with you," Gokuu said, unaffected by Vegita's steady glare. "In fact, I have a feeling that I've already made a huge mistake leaving Bulma alone in your care as long as I have."
"Kakarotto, are you challenging me?" Vegita said. He might have been intrigued by the fool's brass if it weren't for his continual refusal to follow his orders. "Because if you are…"
"If have to fight you to protect Bulma, I will," Gokuu said, glaring right back at Vegita. "It doesn't matter to me if I have little chance of winning."
"Hmph, you don't," Vegita promised. He folded his arms over his chest to prevent himself from choking Gokuu to death. "You're willing to throw away your life for this pathetic woman. That's pitiful!"
"Bulma's life is worth several more times than my own," Gokuu said.
*I'm going to rip off Kakarotto's head!* he thought. *Why the hell is he so protective of her?? I can't stand it--it drives me insane!*
"I never thought you'd be this crazy, Kakarotto," Vegita said, barely able to talk intelligibly. "However, if you want me to show you how little chance you have of beating me, then I will!"
"Nani?" Gokuu tensed, expecting Vegita to hit him at any moment.
Vegita grinned, remembering that he was the one with all the power. *I don't need to get uptight,* he reminded himself. *It'll be child's play to kill Kakarotto, but I think I'll give him a taste of his death. Then maybe he'll stop calling that woman "Bulma" and claiming he'll protect her. …Protect her…onore…*
"I'll allow you to spar with me tomorrow," Vegita said, his anger slowly fading away and being replaced with smugness. "Not many get the honor of sparing with me."
"Spar?" Gokuu's face lifted from its dead set determination.
"Sou." Vegita smirked. "You're not afraid to spar with me, are you?"
"Masaka!" Gokuu said, grinning. "It sounds fun!"
"Hmph," Vegita said. He chuckled softly to himself. *Good Kakarotto,* he thought. *Just wait until I show you how "fun" it will be.*
Gokuu rubbed the back of his head. *I guess I have to listen to Vegita for now,* he thought. *It's probably not a good idea to fight him here. He's got guards every where and if I get locked up, I can't protect Bulma…*
"I guess I'll just say goodnight to Bul… I mean, the Princess," Gokuu said, more complacently. He walked over to her bed while Vegita watched him with mild surprise.
*I didn't expect that,* Vegita said, staring at Gokuu. *He's done a complete 360 again. Sounds like the rumors I heard about his mother…*
"Night, Your Majesty," Gokuu whispered, smiling at Bulma. "Sleep tight." He pulled the covers closer to her neck and tried not to show wonderment of why her hair was wet. He rubbed her shoulder before he left her bedside and Bulma smiled in her sleep.
*Son-kun…* Bulma mouthed in her sleep again.
*I'll definitely make him pay for that,* Vegita thought as Gokuu walked back toward the door. *I'll make sure he has a permanent scar for touching that woman in that manner! No one touches her but me!*
Gokuu made a short bow. "I guess I'll go to my room now, Vegita…Ouji," he said.
"Hmph, we'll spar bright and early, so be prepared," Vegita growled. He didn't want to seem like he was furious, but Gokuu's actions and comments toward Bulma made him so angry he had little control over it.
"Hai," Gokuu left the room with a smile, while Vegita began to curse him as soon as he was gone.
"Damn Kakarotto--I hate him!" Vegita snarled. "After tomorrow, he'll be dreading that tournament."
Vegita, now exhausted from dealing with the woman all day and finally Kakarotto, decided to get a little rest before he put Kakarotto back into his place. Before he left he glanced back at Bulma and noticed the peaceful smile on her face. Minutes ago she was begging for her stupid knight in her sleep and now it seemed as if she could tell he was there with her even in unconsciousness. Vegita narrowed his eyes and grasped the doorknob as if he intended to rip it off. He vowed that Kakarotto would never comfort Bulma again…or he discover a new horrible way to kill Kakarotto the next time he did.
--Sorry once again, but the next part is going to take a lot of work on part, so I thought I'd at least get this much out already. Sorry for the third time for those who aren't satisfied...
Chapter Ten
Gokuu couldn't say that he was scared; there had only been a few times in his life where he could have truly said that he had experienced fear. However, he could imagine someone being scared when witnessing the Vegita Kingdom at night. It was eerie, to say the least, and certainty less inviting than it was in the day. The trees seemed to be dark enemies waiting in the shadows to pull him into the forest at any moment, and even the occasional nocturnal animal scampering about the grass seemed ominous; it was as if they were guardian beasts of the Saiyajin kingdom and barred any intruders from infiltrating the area. Still, as frightening as the place seemed to be, Gokuu was intrigued by the graveyard that he now stopped at. In the back of his mind he realized that he needed to see Bulma as quickly as possible, but something else made him dismount his horse and secure it to the iron gate. He had to admit that Vegita was more advanced than he had heard (rumors were that it was similar to Stone Age civilization), but the fact that Saiyajins actually buried their dead was still surprising. It seemed they wouldn't be the type of people who mourned over their dead, or even acknowledged death at all. Saiyajins had that "I'm immortal" sort of attitude that was easy to pick up on.
Gokuu pushed forward the doors and entered the small area reserved for the dead. It didn't look much different from a regular cemetery, except that each tombstone was exactly identical. That wasn't too surprising, nor the fact that none of the graves had any flowers next to them. The place seemed as though it hadn't been visited in several years, but the number of graves present suggested otherwise. Gokuu guessed that people simply placed the dead there and never thought twice of them. However, it puzzled him that there were so few graves and the Saiyajins were many. Surely more of them had died; he hadn't seen any old Saiyajins hobbling around, if Saiyajins ever did get old. Gokuu wasn't exactly sure…
A sign before the first row of graves caught Gokuu's eyes. He stepped forward and bent down so he could read the small print. His brows raised as he viewed the words: "Burial Ground of Those Who Died Honorably in Battle." He stood straight again and understood why there were so little of the Saiyajins buried there. Gokuu scratched his head and wondered why more Saiyajins weren't killed in battle if they were in constant battle all their lives. If anything, he would figure that would be their only means of death. Gokuu would have stood there to ponder that longer if a figure in the far corner of the cemetery hadn't grabbed his attention. Someone was actually visiting the cemetery. Gokuu, being a highly curious fellow, headed in the direction of the unknown person.
As Gokuu drew closer, he glanced at the white tombstones he passed, most having the name, date of death, and battle of death of the Saiyajin. It didn't mention anything about the date of birth, Gokuu guessing that Saiyajins didn't care too much about one's age. The figure began to become clearer, even with the lack of light in the area. Gokuu frowned as he tried to see the face better; he could see it was a man, but his identity was hard to tell. It wasn't as if Gokuu thought he'd recognize him; he just wanted to see the face of a Saiyajin who actually cared to visit a grave.
The Saiyajin began to move and Gokuu stood still as if the man might try to attack him. However, as he saw the flame from the match the person was holding, Gokuu settled for a second. His eyes grew wide as he realized who was now glaring at him.
"Ba…Bardaku!!" Gokuu took a step back in shock and if he didn't know better, a kind of feeling like he was a child caught by his father.
"Kakarotto! What the hell are you doing here??" Bardaku took a step towards him with match in hand.
"I…I…" Gokuu shook his head. Why couldn't he answer him? Then Gokuu suddenly realized what his father was doing there. "Are you visiting my mother's grave?"
Bardaku threw the match to the ground and stomped it out. "Get the hell out of here…" he said in a quiet tone laced with fury.
"Demo, I--"
"Didn't you hear what I said?" Bardaku asked in the same tone before he lost his temper. "Get out or I will kill you!! Don't think for a second I won't hesitate to!!"
Gokuu swallowed and nodded, slowly turning away. Perhaps it was Bardaku's shouting in such a deadly quiet place, or it was the seriousness of his tone that caused Gokuu to do as he was told. Of course, he was still curious; he wouldn't be? However, he wasn't about to fight his own father just to get information about his mother. After all, Bardaku had said that he would tell him if he survived the tournament. He could wait until then, even though the cemetery could give him a clue as to at least what his mother's name was. It was frustrating to not even have that information; what harm could that do? Gokuu thought about this as he exited the graveyard.
"Okashii na…" Gokuu said, taking a final look behind him. He could still see Bardaku standing in the corner of the graveyard and though it were impossible for him to see, he felt that he was glaring murderously at him even then. Gokuu quickly faced forward and dissolved his interest in the matter.
Gokuu mounted on his horse again and headed east for the Vegita castle. "Mou ii," he muttered to himself. He flicked the reins to indicate his horse go faster. "I'm shirking my duties as a knight; Bulma needs me more than I need my information…"
***
A light beeping noise went off and Vegita slowly opened his eyes. He extended a hand to the controls of the regen pool and shut the thing off. The Prince rose and looked down into the pool, examining Bulma, distorted by the water. He frowned and went back to the controls, pressing a button. The water began to drain out of the pool, and in a minute Bulma was the only thing left in the pool. Vegita folded his arms, waiting for Bulma to come back to her senses. At first she leaned against the wall, still partially in a wonderful dream she had been having while in the regen pool. A smile was even upon her face, but the Prince couldn't see it with her mask still covering her mouth. Bulma sighed as began to wake, flashes of her dream passing before her. She had been safe in the dream world--she had had been happy and loved. The man, though always shadowed in her dream, was the one that had given her all these things and much more. Bulma felt at peace once; she didn't have to worry about the heavy task of being royalty. She was free to be selfish enough to worry about herself and indulge in things that mattered to her. The romance she had so long waited for was given to her. And the best part was that she remembered nothing of the Saiyajin kingdom, nor the Saiyajins period…
Bulma saw white--a blurred white at that. She rubbed her eyes and stood shakily on the wet floor. It took her a few minutes to recognize where she was and exactly what reality was again. She yawned as if planning to return to sleep, but wasn't too drowsy to remember that the Saiyajin no Ouji was near. She turned around to meet his impatient gaze, but was too sleepy to care whether he was annoyed or not.
"Enjoy your little nap?" Vegita said, edgily. He received a dull look from Bulma, but he took her ability to stand as an affirmative answer. "Well, I wasted enough of my precious time; hurry up and get out of the pool."
Bulma moved similar to a puppet controlled by strings. Her movements were slow and unnatural, but eventually she was close enough so that Vegita was able to pull her out. Noticing that she at least looked better (no bruise on her forehead), he let out a sigh. Immediately after doing so, he scowled at himself. What in the world was he sighing for? He growled at his unusual behavior.
Had Bulma been perceptive at that moment, she might have noticed his strange actions or remembered the fact that she was almost completely naked. She yawned again and stared at Vegita listlessly, while he glared back at her. He wondered if the regen pool had done more harm than good.
"How weak can you be?" Vegita said, watching her yawn for the third time. As much as he hated to admit it, her actions made her uneasy. "That regen pool was supposed to make you better, but you look as if you're about to fall off your feet."
*I…I just feel tired…* Bulma mouthed. It wasn't as if she remembered that she wanted Vegita to think her voice was still gone; she just wasn't thinking coherently enough to let her voice come with the motions of her mouth. *I'm not in pain any more…*
"Hmph, you better not be, for all I had to do," Vegita muttered. "Saa, let's get you back to your room before that idiot knight of yours begins to act even more foolish than he already has."
Bulma nodded, too tired to argue or comment on anything Vegita had said. He frowned at her dummy-like movements and watched her damp feet slide on the tile floor. As Bulma began to fall forward, Vegita was surprised that the next moment he was holding her in his arms to prevent her from falling flat on her face. Just as he was about to get over from his shock and replace that with anger, he noticed that Bulma had went back to sleep again. He growled at the sleeping woman, but figured that her sleeping was better than her awake and bitching.
Vegita bent down to the floor and attempted to dress Bulma again, although she were still wet from the pool. A towel would have been helpful, but he hadn't really thought of bringing Bulma until the last minute. Knowing that she was likely to catch a cold (being such a weak woman and all), he put her dress back on. He smirked a little at how her the material of her dress clung to her as well did her azure strands of hair to her forehead. If he had first seen her as she was now, he would have never guessed her for a princess. Vegita would have thought she were some kind of slave or something or the sort. He supposed she were somewhat that in the sense that he owned her and she was confined to the room he had given her.
The Prince ceased these useless thoughts and proceeded to carry Bulma out of the room. It was a much different feeling than when he had first carried her, however; she wasn't awake and she wasn't shaking uncontrollably. The only movements Vegita could feel from her were the even rising and falling of her chest as she breathed. He thought that he wasn't paying attention to the fact that he was transporting a rather peaceful Bulma, but obviously that wasn't true when he noticed that he was smiling. Vegita, fed up with his unusual behavior, didn't attempt to rid himself of the smile. He simply attributed the smile to the fact he was glad that now his plan was finally in order once again.
*Those fools at her door…* Vegita thought as he neared Bulma's room. *They might be incompetent enough to let the woman escape from her room, but they are the two that witnessed the most of my strange behavior, and I can't risk any rumors about me, especially since Nappa and Sukuwa are known to associate with each other. That's probably why Tousama knew about the damn woman escaping in the first place.*
"…of Kakarotto?" Vegita heard Pikaru say as he turned into the hall Bulma's room was located.
"I guess it's hard to tell." Sukuwa's voice was heard next. "All I know is he will die a painful death one way or another."
"To think a Saiyajin could be so weak," Pikaru said, finally coming into Vegita's view. The Saiyajin shook his head disgustedly. "It makes me sick."
"I hear ya," Sukuwa said, leaning against the wall. He caught sight of Vegita approaching and stood straight again. "Vegita-Ouji."
Pikaru stood at attention upon the mention of the Prince. To them, and any other Saiyajin for that matter, letting the Prince catch you idling around at your post was a foolish thing, if you valued your well-being. Neither tried to express any kind of wonderment of why the Prince was returning the Capsule Princess wet and passed out. Vegita stopped between them, glaring at their obvious attempts to hide their question about what was going on. For a moment he considered telling them something (not the truth, but something that would satisfy their curiosity), but then he finally decided to tell them nothing. Explaining himself would only make him seem suspicious. Besides, there was little that one could reason he was doing. He doubted they would figure out he had taken her to the regen pool.
Pikaru glanced at Sukuwa as Vegita entered Bulma's room and shut the door behind him. "What do you think of that?" he asked lowly as so not to be heard through the door.
"I think I have an idea," Sukuwa said, tone low as well.
"Nani sore (what's that)?"
"I think Vegita-Ouji was trying to drown the woman."
"Would he really do something like that?" Pikaru said, raising a brow. "He could just as easily snap her in half."
Sukuwa shrugged. "That why I said trying," he said. "He might have wanted to scare the woman so he made her think he was going to drown her until she passed out underwater."
"Ah, sou ka," Pikaru said, grinning. "He must still be getting her back for escaping from her room again." The two shared a brief laugh. "I can't wait to see what he does to Kakarotto…"
***
Vegita let out a sigh as he stood next to Bulma's bed, watching her sleep as if he expected her to wake up at any moment. How much time had he wasted today just because of her? This wasn't how his day was supposed to go; Kakarotto was to arrive, he'd make the woman worry herself to death, and the rest would have been relatively calm. No, the stupid woman had to escape from her room, cause him to throw her against a wall, and then he had to lower himself to actually heal the woman. When Vegita thought of it, she had been the first person he had ever healed. His hand went to his forehead; the Saiyajin no Ouji healing someone. If anyone ever found out that, he'd never hear the end of it. He was relieved that Bulma's voice was still gone because that might have allowed Kakarotto to discover that bit of information. Vegita made a small grin. He didn't have to worry about anything now. The woman couldn't cause him any more trouble, no one was going to find out he had helped someone, and Kakarotto was going to die. And of course, the woman was going to die. Sometimes, he had to admit, anticipating to kill Kakarotto made him forget his true reason for killing her.
"I'll be doing the world a favor by disposing of her…" Vegita said. Bulma shifted in her bed, causing him to wonder if she heard his words. *Hmph, as if I should care or not,* he thought. *She can't do anything to me…well, except make me look like an ass which she has been doing pretty damn well.*
Vegita was just about to turn and leave when he saw Bulma's lips begin to move. For a moment he thought she was waking up, but her lips simply moved over and over again in the same manner. It didn't take Vegita long to understand what she was mouthing in her sleep.
"Son-kun?" The Prince raised a brow, trying to determine who or what that was. "Why does that seems so familiar? Son…"
*…my friend, Son Gokuu…* Vegita recalled Bulma saying.
Vegita narrowed his eyes, becoming increasingly angrier each time he saw her silently call him. Why was she calling for that fool? It wasn't as if he could help her in any way--Kakarotto was the one that needed help. The woman was relatively safe until Kakarotto lost his life. Vegita stepped closer to the left side of the bed where Bulma slept. He was surprised he was easily able to repress his desire to grab her lips and force them to stay closed. Usually his anger would overpower his reason or at least his hand would have moved a little in the direction before he regained his senses. This strange occurrence distracted himself from Bulma's strange actions for only a second; he glared at her hopeless expression while she continued calling for her pathetic knight. Vegita balled up a fist, wanting it to make contact with something--most likely the Bulma's bed. Aware that could wake up the Princess, Vegita quickly turned and let his fist hit the empty air. Immediately his other fist followed the same motion and his breathing was more noticeable.
"For some reason…" Vegita said, not caring that his actions were odd, "I really…really hate Kakarotto right now…"
***
Gokuu finally stopped running in the halls of the castle once he was aware that the other Saiyajins present were staring at him. He slowed, nearly at Bulma's room, taking in a deep breath. Previously he had a great fear that something was terribly wrong with his princess, but now he felt that she wasn't in any danger. It calmed him enough that he didn't act worried, but in the back of his mind he had a feeling that Bulma's safe state wasn't always as it was. Gokuu was determined to find out whether he was paranoid or not as he viewed Pikaru and Sukuwa.
"Masaka!" Pikaru laughed. "When did that happen?"
"Only last week," Sukuwa said, grinning. "You can ask Nichu. He was there."
"I'm surprised someone like him was there. Hell, I'm surprised you were there."
"You're not the only one."
Gokuu blinked at the two laughing about something he had no idea was about. He cleared his throat, noticing they stiffened and seemed a great deal more unfriendly than they had when they were just talking among themselves. Gokuu decided that it was nothing personal, except for the fact that he wasn't a typical Saiyajin. He forced a smile and pointed to the door they were stationed at.
"I just wanted to check up on Bulma," Gokuu said.
"I don't think so, Kakarotto," Sukuwa said, his grin slowly coming back.
"Naze?" Gokuu glanced at Pikaru who too was grinning. "Isn't she in there?"
"Sou," Pikaru said.
"So why can't I go in?"
Sukuwa and Pikaru exchanged glances and then turned their gaze back upon the younger Saiyajin. "Are you sure you want to go in?" Sukuwa asked.
"Yeah, Kakarotto," Pikaru said. "Maybe 'Bulma' doesn't want to be disturbed." He and Sukuwa began to laugh and Gokuu began to get annoyed.
"Listen, will you let me through or not?" Gokuu's frown was enough to make the two stop laughing, but their smirks remained.
"All right," Sukuwa said. He and Pikaru stepped aside. "Koujin ni (As you wish)."
*What's with them?* Gokuu wondered as he opened the door. As he entered he was still pondering this, not realizing who was in the room.
Once Gokuu shut the door behind him the two guards exchanged glances. "You think Ouji-sama will be angry will let that fool in?" Pikaru asked.
"I hope so," Sukuwa said, chuckling. "Besides, we'll just tell him that we let him in to pacify him. The Prince doesn't want the idiot getting upset before he can publicly kill him."
"Sou da." The two would have laughed harder if they weren't worried they would be heard through the door.
Vegita turned around slowly, having been distracted by his anger to notice that the door had opened a minute ago. He almost thought he was seeing things when he saw Gokuu standing next to the door, glaring at it as if he had some kind of problem with it. Vegita shook his head to make sure he wasn't having an illusion in fury. Finding that Gokuu remained in his sight, he concluded that the fool was in fact in the room with him. Needless to say, Vegita's anger only increased.
"Kakarotto!" Vegita said, surprisingly in a low tone. He was too perturbed to worry about his reasons for considering that the woman was asleep.
Gokuu did a sort of jump as he turned. "Vegita!" Gokuu said with little consideration Bulma was sleeping. "What are you doing in here?"
Vegita decided that his increase in his anger for Gokuu then was because he had once again addressed him informally, not because Gokuu didn't bother to also lower his voice. "What the hell do you mean by me??" he demanded. "I own this room! I can come and go as I please!! How dare you question my actions!"
"Demo…" Gokuu said, scratching his head. He blinked and noticed that Bulma was sleeping. "Hmm? Bulma's already asleep…"
"Grr!" Vegita approached him, Gokuu's taller stature adding to the Prince's annoyance. "Temee! I asked you a question! What the hell are you doing here??"
"Boy, I sure get asked that a lot…" Gokuu said, staring up at the ceiling.
It was a real trial for Vegita not to thrash Gokuu to a pulp right then and there. "Oi!!" Vegita grabbed him the collar, forcing them to be eye-level with each other. "If you ignore me one more time, you son of a-- !"
The bed make a slightly loud sound as Bulma turned onto her other side. Vegita glanced over at her, muttering a light curse before glaring back at Gokuu. Gokuu blinked at him as if he had no clue what was going on. Vegita's hands began to shake in repression of his desired actions (killing Gokuu on the spot).
"I'll ask you again--what are you doing here??"
"Checking up on Bulma, of course," Gokuu answered. He raised a brow at Vegita. "Demo, I don't understand why you're in here watching Bulma sleep."
"None of your damn business!" Vegita threw him back, almost making Gokuu fall off his feet. The Prince was slightly disappointed he didn't fall.
"Okashii na…" Gokuu said, putting a hand to his chin as if pondering it. Then he shrugged and smiled. "Well, whatever. I guess I'll stick around for while and make sure Bulma's all right."
"Not only is that unnecessary," Vegita snapped, "but you will do no such thing! I want you out of this room immediately!"
"I'm Bulma's knight--"
"First of all, Kakarotto," Vegita interrupted, unable to stand Gokuu's lack of respect, "you will address me as Ouji-sama, Your Majesty, or the like--is that understood?"
"Ee?" Gokuu blinked as if he wasn't aware he was being so rude. "Uh, sure…"
"And," Vegita went on as if he hadn't stopped, "you will stop addressing this woman as… 'Bulma….'"
"Naze?" Gokuu asked. "Don't you call her 'Bulma?'"
"What I call her is none of your business!" Vegita said. He pointed to the door. "Get out!"
Gokuu's eyes narrowed. "Iie."
Vegita slowly lowered his hand, incredulous that someone (besides the loud-mouthed woman) had dared to refuse his order. "What did you say?" he asked, brows lowering.
"You're giving me a bad feeling about leaving Bulma alone with you," Gokuu said, unaffected by Vegita's steady glare. "In fact, I have a feeling that I've already made a huge mistake leaving Bulma alone in your care as long as I have."
"Kakarotto, are you challenging me?" Vegita said. He might have been intrigued by the fool's brass if it weren't for his continual refusal to follow his orders. "Because if you are…"
"If have to fight you to protect Bulma, I will," Gokuu said, glaring right back at Vegita. "It doesn't matter to me if I have little chance of winning."
"Hmph, you don't," Vegita promised. He folded his arms over his chest to prevent himself from choking Gokuu to death. "You're willing to throw away your life for this pathetic woman. That's pitiful!"
"Bulma's life is worth several more times than my own," Gokuu said.
*I'm going to rip off Kakarotto's head!* he thought. *Why the hell is he so protective of her?? I can't stand it--it drives me insane!*
"I never thought you'd be this crazy, Kakarotto," Vegita said, barely able to talk intelligibly. "However, if you want me to show you how little chance you have of beating me, then I will!"
"Nani?" Gokuu tensed, expecting Vegita to hit him at any moment.
Vegita grinned, remembering that he was the one with all the power. *I don't need to get uptight,* he reminded himself. *It'll be child's play to kill Kakarotto, but I think I'll give him a taste of his death. Then maybe he'll stop calling that woman "Bulma" and claiming he'll protect her. …Protect her…onore…*
"I'll allow you to spar with me tomorrow," Vegita said, his anger slowly fading away and being replaced with smugness. "Not many get the honor of sparing with me."
"Spar?" Gokuu's face lifted from its dead set determination.
"Sou." Vegita smirked. "You're not afraid to spar with me, are you?"
"Masaka!" Gokuu said, grinning. "It sounds fun!"
"Hmph," Vegita said. He chuckled softly to himself. *Good Kakarotto,* he thought. *Just wait until I show you how "fun" it will be.*
Gokuu rubbed the back of his head. *I guess I have to listen to Vegita for now,* he thought. *It's probably not a good idea to fight him here. He's got guards every where and if I get locked up, I can't protect Bulma…*
"I guess I'll just say goodnight to Bul… I mean, the Princess," Gokuu said, more complacently. He walked over to her bed while Vegita watched him with mild surprise.
*I didn't expect that,* Vegita said, staring at Gokuu. *He's done a complete 360 again. Sounds like the rumors I heard about his mother…*
"Night, Your Majesty," Gokuu whispered, smiling at Bulma. "Sleep tight." He pulled the covers closer to her neck and tried not to show wonderment of why her hair was wet. He rubbed her shoulder before he left her bedside and Bulma smiled in her sleep.
*Son-kun…* Bulma mouthed in her sleep again.
*I'll definitely make him pay for that,* Vegita thought as Gokuu walked back toward the door. *I'll make sure he has a permanent scar for touching that woman in that manner! No one touches her but me!*
Gokuu made a short bow. "I guess I'll go to my room now, Vegita…Ouji," he said.
"Hmph, we'll spar bright and early, so be prepared," Vegita growled. He didn't want to seem like he was furious, but Gokuu's actions and comments toward Bulma made him so angry he had little control over it.
"Hai," Gokuu left the room with a smile, while Vegita began to curse him as soon as he was gone.
"Damn Kakarotto--I hate him!" Vegita snarled. "After tomorrow, he'll be dreading that tournament."
Vegita, now exhausted from dealing with the woman all day and finally Kakarotto, decided to get a little rest before he put Kakarotto back into his place. Before he left he glanced back at Bulma and noticed the peaceful smile on her face. Minutes ago she was begging for her stupid knight in her sleep and now it seemed as if she could tell he was there with her even in unconsciousness. Vegita narrowed his eyes and grasped the doorknob as if he intended to rip it off. He vowed that Kakarotto would never comfort Bulma again…or he discover a new horrible way to kill Kakarotto the next time he did.
--Sorry once again, but the next part is going to take a lot of work on part, so I thought I'd at least get this much out already. Sorry for the third time for those who aren't satisfied...