The Prince and the Princess

by Michi G

A/U. Bulma is a princess from the Capsule Kingdom, and Vegita is the prince of a self-titled kingdom. What do these two have in common? Something neither of them particularly like. And how is Gokuu involved?? Ch.13 is up! *insane laughter* Finally!

12. Chapter 12

*Author's Notes: Sorry I took so long to update. I was very encouraged by the reviews (especially since one person decided to paste the same review several times *sweat-drop*), and I decided to complete the fanfic on fanfiction.net. Currently I am still thinking of a sequel, so I might start on that when I finish this fic. I hope no one thinks I'm dragging this fic along because I had originally intended to start the tournament (I mean, really start it) in this chapter. It didn't happen within the page limit I set for my chapters, so I decided to wait until thirteen to have the actually tournament begin. It should also end in one chapter because I'm horrible at fighting scences and there is no possible way I could thoroughly describe this tournament for several chapters. Anyway, thank you so much for all those who reviewed. Once again, I'm sorry that I took so long, but I was depressed for a long time that discouraged me from writing. Well, enjoy and review if you have the desire to do so! ^_^

Chapter Twelve

Bulma had treated her last night as she had when she had went through her first "last night." She took as bath as if it mattered whether or not she was clean when she died and settled herself down for a nice rest in her bed. It would have made her journey into dream world more pleasurable if she had been able to see Gokuu, but even as much as she hoped for it, she knew it would never be. Vegita gave her the impression that he trusted him less than he had before. Bulma didn't know what Gokuu did to make Vegita so suspicious, but it seemed as if he cared if Gokuu was a threat to her. Bulma could wish all night to see him, but she knew she wouldn't be able to see him until the tournament. This, and all of Vegita's other strange behavior, was enough to keep her from falling directly asleep. She lied on her bed for a long time, contemplating about Vegita and of course, what would happen to her friend in the morning.

"Maybe if I pray for Son-kun, somehow he'll survive," Bulma said as she looked up at the ceiling. She sighed and turned on her side. "Maybe if I do, God will somehow make sure that tournament never happens…"

Bulma closed her eyes, prepared to let sleep overcome her. However, she soon found out that her desire was not to be fulfilled. The door to her room rudely opened and Bulma heard the familiar steps of her two "favorite" guards, Sukuwa and Pikaru. At first Bulma figured she would pretend to be asleep and cause them to quickly leave the room, but it seemed as though they weren't there to simply check on her. Bulma's eyelids jerked open as one of them began shaking her. She discovered it was Sukuwa as she sat up and glared at the two Saiyajins. As usual, they gave her condescending stares as if she were a servant being treated better than one should.

"Get up, woman," Sukuwa commanded.

"Why?" Bulma asked, frowning that she had been denied one of the few things that brought her joy in the past couple of days, sleep.

"Don't question us!" Pikaru snapped. He grabbed her arm and pulled her off the bed and onto her feet. "We're following the Prince's orders--we don't have to answer your questions!"

"Come on," Sukuwa said, pushing her forward, though Pikaru was already dragging her out the door.

"Okay, okay!" Bulma said, her annoyance overshadowing the anxiety she knew she should be having. She guessed since she seriously considered it her last day that she should have at least been granted the pleasure of being left in peace for one night.

Bulma, though having escaped a few times to travel around the castle, had no clue where the two guards were taking her. It didn't seem to be a dungeon or anything of the like because each hall they entered was fancier than the last and most dungeons were underground and they had traveled up two flights of stairs. More tapestries with the royal Saiyajin crest adorned the walls and the carpet began to resemble that of the carpet rolled out for royalty. Bulma shortly realized that she must be on her way to Vegita's quarters, knowing that in the Capsule Castle, the decorations became more elaborate upon nearing the royal quarters. However, Bulma was more frightened by the prospect than curious. Why would Vegita send for her to his quarters and at this hour? Bulma's mind reeled and all mental pictures she had of the possible scenarios made her drag her feet. Before, she had simply tried to keep up with Pikaru pulling her along, while at the same time trying to prevent Sukuwa from pushing her forward from behind. Now she was just letting her legs go limp.

"Quit your stalling, woman!" Sukuwa said as he shoved Bulma again. "I'm not letting Ouji-sama chew me out for your reluctance!"

"What does Vegita…Ouji…want?" Bulma demanded. She didn't notice she had been breathing hard until she had finished asking her question.

"How the hell should we know?" Pikaru said. Though Bulma's actions weren't slowing him down much, they were annoying because he had to take precaution not to actually harm someone so weak by Saiyajin standards.

"Oi, maybe Vegita-Ouji wants to actually put the woman to some good use before she dies," Sukuwa suggested. "You think?"

His comment didn't help Bulma's anxiety, nor did Pikaru's additional statement of, "Probably."

Okay, Bulma, Bulma thought, Don't let these two moron's ramblings make your imagination wander. I'm sure Vegita has a logical reason for calling you out so late at night. I know he can't be thinking of killing me--he definitely wants to let me watch Son-kun die… What in the world does he want me for?? He can barely stand me!

Bulma continued to try to invent a theory that was reasonable for Vegita's desire to see her so late at night. The few nights she had been at the castle, Vegita had only visited her to verbally or physically abuse her. The only time this hadn't been true was earlier that day when Vegita had barged in her room like a madman. At that time, Bulma almost felt as though Vegita was a human being, not unlike herself, who was worried about the welfare of his people. At least Bulma hoped that his interest in the recent bombing was protecting the Saiyajins from another attack, not finding a way to produce the bombs again. Bulma, forgetting that she was supposed to be thinking a reason why Vegita had summoned her, tried to picture Vegita planting bombs in his enemies' kingdoms. However, she had the distinct feeling that Saiyajins (so arrogant about their strength and concerned about fighting hand-to-hand combat) would want to use such tactics.

"Stop dragging your feet!" Sukuwa commanded, reminding Bulma of what she really should be thinking about. "I'm sure Vegita-Ouji will be very angry to know you were reluctant to follow his orders."

"You'd be better off to do as he commands before you find out just how terrifying our Prince can be," Pikaru added.

I'm well aware, thank you, Bulma thought, frowning at them. She began to panic again, somehow sensing that they were even nearer to Vegita's quarters. She didn't have a plausible idea why Vegita wanted her, so her thoughts were overwhelmed by the suggestions Sukuwa and Pikaru had given. It was bad enough that she was going to die without having to be defiled by someone that hated her ten times as much as she hated him. True, Bulma could say her hatred of Vegita was the greatest she had ever experienced, but as great as it was, she couldn't say that she wanted him dead. Bulma couldn't even think of having him beaten nearly to death. Vegita needed a good swift punch to the face and maybe a kick in the rear, but beating him to a pulp (however tempting) would give her no great joy. Vegita, on the other hand, wanted her to suffer and wanted her dead. Surely his hatred of Bulma was much larger than the hatred she had for him. Maybe Bulma didn't even have to call her feelings toward Vegita "hate"--she figured a hatred would want her to have him severely harmed or killed. Bulma guessed she would have to call her feelings toward Vegita a great dislike, bordering on hatred.

Bulma gasped as they stopped at a large set of double doors, knowing that Vegita was behind them. She cursed herself for letting her mind wander away from thoughts of what was really bothering her, especially when she desperately needed to calm herself. Now she was trembling and digging her feet into the floor, staring at the doors as if they doors leading into Hell. If Bulma was there for what she hoped she wasn't, then the doors truly would be an entrance to Hell. Pikaru and Sukuwa were getting more annoyed with her actions, but they weren't threatening enough to make her ignore her present fear. Bulma knew they could easily throw her inside the room, but reason too wasn't enough to make her obey anything except her fear. Her fear instructed her to imitate a statue and refuse to be moved without force.

"Woman, it is a good thing you won't be the Prince's mate!" Sukuwa said. He lifted Bulma up by her arm, holding her up about a foot in the air for a few seconds, before lowering her forcefully down on her feet so that she had to stand on her feet to prevent herself from falling over. "Your intense cowardliness has a great possibly to taint even a Saiyajin child."

That almost makes me happy to die, Bulma thought, rubbing her ankles. The force that Sukuwa had dropped her was nearly equivalent to jumping out of a high window and landing on one's feet. If I'm dead, I won't have to be responsible for another horrible Saiyajin being born…and another "Vegita" as well.

Pikaru pounded on the great doors while Bulma continued to tend to her aching lower legs. However, when she heard the clear sounds of Vegita's approval for them to enter the room, her pain was suddenly cured. Sukuwa must have been sensing her thoughts because he made sure he was standing behind her in a way that allowed her little escape. Seeing Pikaru glaring at her as he pushed opened the doors made her guess that Sukuwa had the same expression behind her. Bulma let out a sigh and pretended to be brave. Hesitating nor fighting was going to change her fate; she would have to face Vegita before the tournament, whether she liked it or not. Bulma guessed it was just as well because she didn't want to give Vegita the satisfaction of knowing she was afraid.

Vegita seemed perturbed when Bulma walked into the preliminary room where he was seated at what looked like a conference table. The room was large enough to be a room for a meeting, but Bulma had a good feeling it was rarely used for such purposes. Drawing her own conclusion from Vegita's pompous attitude, she assumed the room was only large to make Vegita seem more important.

"What took so long?" Vegita asked, rising from the head of the table's seat. He slowly approached Bulma and stopped five feet from her. Bulma did a decent job of hiding her apprehension, noticing that Vegita's scowl appeared to be targeted on Pikaru and Sukuwa.

"It…It wasn't us, Your Majesty," Pikaru said, unable to prevent a bead of sweat from rolling down the side of his face. "The woman was uncooperative."

"Ye…Yes," Sukuwa agreed. Bulma couldn't see them as she was standing in front of them, but she could imagine them pointing fingers at her like little children, though both were solidly standing with a salute.

"Hmph, I see," Vegita said. He was smiling now, which didn't help Bulma become at ease, but did ease the two Saiyajin guards. "You two are dismissed to your posts. I will bring the woman back there when I am done with her."

Bulma swallowed as Pikaru and Sukuwa gave a response of understanding and left. She didn't quite like Vegita's wording, nor the fact that she had to be so far away from her room to be left alone with Vegita. It seemed more frightening than before since it was his own private room where he had more freedom to do as he pleased (though Vegita treated Bulma's room more like his own than as if it belonged to her). Bulma guessed with Pikaru and Sukuwa almost always guarding her door, Vegita had to be careful he didn't make them wonder what he was doing with her inside. Bulma knew she was showing her fear visibly, but at that point she didn't care. All she could do was think that those two guards probably knew more about what they were talking about than Bulma gave them credit for.

"What's with you, woman?" Vegita asked. His voice sounded cross because he believed she was still tense around him because of his slip up the other day. Bulma didn't respond and he decided to let it go for the sake of his plans. "Come on--I don't intend to waste time standing here."

"Uh…" Bulma said as he started to the door on the left wall. She followed him silently against her will, her fear keeping her from asking him what his intentions were.

"My bedroom is at the center of my quarters, so it should be efficient for privacy," Vegita said, just before they arrived at said room.

Oh, my God! Bulma thought, freezing at the doorway. She wondered if she could outrun Vegita, but she doubted it remembering that his speed to strike her was incredible. He must really be going to--

"Oi!" Vegita snapped, standing next to his bed while he glared at her. "I thought I told you I didn't want to waste any time!"

"For…Forget it!" Bulma said. She held onto her shoulders as if she needed to cover or protect herself.

"Forget what??" Vegita asked. It was hard for him to be too vexed by her actions. He was sure she had no clue what he wanted her for.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Bulma said. She inched away from the door. "Just because you're going to kill me doesn't mean you can do what you please with me!"

"Stupid woman," Vegita said. He quickly moved over to her before she could inch away any more, pulled her into the room, and closed the door behind her. "I can do whatever I please with you and not just because you're going to die, either."

Bulma was too frightened to respond to his rather possessive remark and chose to foolishly continue to inch backwards. Vegita didn't even approach her and only watched her, his arms folded, as she inched all the way onto his bed and fell back upon it. If he had more time to amuse himself, he might have taken the time to laugh at how bizarre she was acting. Sometimes he was amazed at how odd she could be at times.

"Are you through wasting my time?" Vegita said after she quickly hopped off his bed and stood as if ready withstand any kind of attack toward her. "This can be done rather quickly if you cooperate."

"I won't!" Bulma said, more shrilly than she had intended. She backed into a dresser this time.

"The hell you won't!" Vegita snarled. He walked up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "I suppose that blow to your head has made you forget that I am the one in control here! I give commands and you follow them!"

Bulma swallowed again, having slight flashes of being thrown and shivering involuntarily. I don't want to cause him to hurt me again by making him frustrated, she thought, but I doubt want him to…touch me either! I wish Son-kun was with me now! If he had been in my room when those guards came I'm sure he would have never let them take me here!

"Now stop acting foolish and have a seat on the bed," Vegita ordered. He had felt her vibrate from her shuddering and decided he had established his power well enough. Vegita also, though would never consciously acknowledge it, didn't want to cause Bulma to show any more signs that she was reminded of what he did to her. He knew it caused her to shiver as she had because he had yet to see her do so until after that unpleasant incident. The Prince, desiring to never let his unconscious feelings arise, liked to think that her new response to him was a good thing.

Bulma did as she was told, still shivering all over. She watched Vegita go into a sort of cabinet and pull some things out. Fearing it was something to bond her or sedate her, she squeezed her eyes shut and clasped her hands together to pray that Gokuu would somehow come to rescue her.

Vegita stood in front of her and raised a brow at her. "What the hell are you doing??" he said. "I'm not planning to hurt you…unless you make me lose my temper."

"Don't touch me!" Bulma said, refusing to open her eyes. "I won't let you take advantage of me!"

"What the hell are you babbling about woman??" Bulma felt the bed shake as Vegita sat down beside her and laid something on the bed.

"Hu…Huh?" Bulma slowly opened one eye and saw that Vegita had laid a cloth on the bed along with the remains of what seemed to be the bombs he had been talking about earlier. She blinked after opening the other eye, glanced at him sitting beside her with his usual frown, and then turned red.

"You brought me here…to show me…this?" she asked, gradually stopping her body from shaking.

"Yes, and I didn't want anyone to find out about this," Vegita said. "I decided that we Saiyajins don't need to risk having any more outsiders coming into our kingdom and we can't trust the majority that are already here. So, since you seem to know a little something, I thought it would be more prudent to let you examine this."

"I…I see…" Bulma said. She fanned herself with her hand, smiling at her wild assumption.

"Hmph, obviously you thought I had brought you here for a different reason," Vegita said, noticing that she seemed to be relieved now. He narrowed his eyes at her. "What was going on in that little mind of yours?"

"Nothing, nothing," Bulma said way too quickly to make her voice sound casual.

Vegita slowly began to grin as he realized what she had been thinking. At first he was able to prevent himself from laughing, but soon his laughter filled the room, much to Bulma's discontent. She halfway hoped he had no clue what she had been thinking, embarrassed the thought had even crossed her mind. However, seeing how wide Vegita's grin was when he finished laughing, Bulma knew that he had obviously figured it out.

"So, that's why you were acting so strangely," Vegita said. He nodded his head and put a hand to his chin.

"Whatever you're thinking, you're wrong," Bulma said. She avoided his glance to prevent herself from further giving away her obvious false front.

"Oh, am I?" Vegita asked. He leaned closer to her. "I believe you thought I was going to--"

"What does it matter what I thought??" Bulma interrupted, not wanting him to say it aloud. She pointed to the cloth with the pieces of the bomb. "You brought me here to look at this, right? Didn't you say before that you didn't want me to waste your time??"

Hearing Vegita laugh at her again only made Bulma flustered and reminded of how much she hated the sound of his laughter. It had been a while since she had heard it, but she would have preferred that the while had been longer. His annoying chuckles were on the top of the list of things that she disliked about Vegita.

"You know doing that wouldn't be a waste a time," Vegita said, grinning but sounding as if he was serious. "Sounds like a better idea than what I initially intended you to come here for."

"Stop joking around!" Bulma said, scooting to the edge of the bed so that she could be as far away from Vegita as possible. Despite her words, she didn't think for a second Vegita was actually joking.

"You should spend each of your last hours wisely," Vegita said. He lessened the distance between them that she had created to make her even less comfortable.

He's doing this on purpose, Bulma realized, trying to frown away her nervousness. "So you're telling me rather than attempt to let me help you, you'd rather…do that??" she returned. She kept still to prevent Vegita from making her even less at ease.

"The tournament is only about six hours away. I think we can do both," Vegita said. In one swift motion he deleted all space between them. He smirked as Bulma cried out and tipped off the bed, obviously forgetting that she was already on the edge.

After falling on the floor and knowing that Vegita was probably laughing at her on the inside, Bulma was significantly more angry than worried about Vegita taking any lewd actions. She stood, meeting his smirk with her eyes narrowed and her lips tightly rolled in. Bulma could tell her expression made him more amused, which made her even less amused. She blamed him wholeheartedly for causing her to fall of the bed.

"If you want me to cooperate with you, I suggest you stop making such comments," Bulma said when she finally decided to unroll her lips.

"Hmph, you're such a stubborn woman," Vegita said, but his pleased look remained. He turned so that he was facing the items on his bed. "All right, show me if your intelligence isn't just a façade, woman."

If only he were a great deal weaker, Bulma thought, desiring to give him the swift kick he was in dire need of. She drew in a breath and sat down on the side of the bed perpendicular to that Vegita was sitting. At that point Bulma didn't care if Vegita found that amusing; she figured the best thing for her to do was to examine the bits of the bombs and allow Vegita's thoughts to drift away from his dirty ones. As soon as her fingers touched the pieces set before her, it was increasingly easier to forget all the reasons spending time with Vegita was especially unsettling. The scientific aspect of her mind, which was hardly utilized while she was in the Saiyajin Kingdom, was ignited by the task of analyzing the bomb remains. Once she got started, she was so absorbed into her work that she spoke to Vegita as if he were a regular human being (which he was far from being). Vegita also contributed to her temporary amnesia of her past experiences in Vegita; he sat and listened to her speak with an uncharacteristic calm and almost patient manner. He still had the firm frown in his features (which Bulma was sure was something he was unable to remove), but he didn't seem to be irritated when he didn't understand what Bulma was talking about. She guessed if he showed signs of frustration, then he would prove that Bulma was more intelligent than he was. If he kept his cool, asked questions when he wasn't clear, and tried to understand what she was saying, it seemed as though there was no difference in their intellect. Bulma probably would have found this funny if she wasn't more concerned about the construction of the bomb.

"Do you have any soil samples?" Bulma said, finally lying the pieces back on the cloth.

"What for?" Vegita asked, his arms folding over his chest.

"With just these pieces, I can't tell what substances were used to cause the bomb to explode," Bulma said. Her brows lowered as she thought of her past experiences with bombs. "There's actually only a few compounds powerful enough to make such an explosion, and they originate from specific countries. If you know what was used--"

"Then I may be able to determine what fools were stupid enough to go against the Saiyajin Kingdom," Vegita guessed.

"Well, another country may have asked the other country to aid them," Bulma added. She raised a brow at him, believing he would rather get rid of the aid than the actual culprit.

"Hmph, if some kingdom has the ingredients for such a cowardly weapon, then it sounds like a good idea to rid the world of such a nuisance."

Bulma let out a breath and shook her head. The same could be said about the Vegita Kingdom… she thought. She decided to keep her silence, not desiring to debate reason with a Saiyajin. That was about as useful as trying to convince people that breathing was bad for their health. Vegita, as the Saiyajin no Ouji, was the worst person to argue with about needing to think things through.

Vegita stared at Bulma during her silence, contemplating not what she would have wanted him to be pondering about, but whether or not he could or should trust Bulma. He didn't really think he had anything to fear from her, but he also knew that Bulma wasn't exactly his biggest fan. He wasn't quite sure if Bulma was given the chance again that she wouldn't try to escape. At this time, it would be even more likely that Bulma would want to get away, having little to lose, but Vegita doubted that after that unpleasant incident that Bulma would want to risk making Vegita furious again. If he made sure that he reminded her of the danger of crossing him, Vegita would have a better chance of obtaining a plan of action against the recent bombing without adding Bulma to his list of problems.

"Yoshi (All right)," Vegita said. He stood, causing Bulma to blink at him. "I can take you to the village."

"Huh?"

"You said you were knowledgeable of explosive substances, didn't you?"

"Well, yes, but--"

"Good. We're going." Vegita extended his hand to her. "However, take in consideration that under no circumstance will I allow you to slip through my fingers like my moronic guards."

"As if I'd run away at this point," Bulma muttered. As she walked over to him and took his hand, she concentrated on her words rather than her trembling hand. "I wouldn't dare leave Son-kun alone in this crazy kingdom of Saiyajins."

Vegita narrowed his eyes at her and tensed his grip on her hand. "You're just lucky that 'Son-kun' is still alive at this point," he grumbled. He began leading her out of the room with little heed that Bulma might have a bit of trouble keeping up with his hasty pace. "Ever since he told me that he was out to kill you, I've had a group of guards watching his every move and making sure that he doesn't even enter the hall your room is on."

"Na…nani?" Bulma drew in a quick breath as Vegita pulled her into a door that led them into a dark corridor. She could tell that it wasn't a straight hallway from the way she was drawn to lean forward as if the path was going at a downward slant. For the moment she would ignore the details about Gokuu and focus on the matter at hand. "I thought you said we were going to the village!"

"Woman, why don't you just keep quiet and not worry about our route??" Vegita snapped.

I guess I have no choice but to trust him, Bulma thought, ignoring their dark path. "Well, if I'm going to be traveling in the dark, I'd rather be talking," she said. Her thoughts quickly returned to Gokuu. "You just said that you're having Son-kun monitored. I thought I made it clear to you that Son-kun has no intentions to harm me."

Vegita made a disdainful sound. "Kakarotto is a danger. He's either a hopeless idiot or one of the most intelligent Saiyajins I've ever met. Either way, he needs to be eliminated and since I have no plans to kill him at the moment, I want him to be kept under close watch until the tournament."

"That's ridiculous!" Bulma said. She let out a silent sigh of relief as they somehow managed to be outside of the castle. It was then she realized that Vegita, like so many other royalty, had a secret exit in his room that few knew about. "Son-kun would never hurt me--never in a billion years."

"I'm not taking the chance." Vegita stopped for a moment, scanning the area for anyone before continuing on his way. He did this periodically as he walked about the outside of the castle, occasionally having to wait for the opportunity to dodge some of the guards marching around the perimeter. Bulma was surprised that they hadn't been spotted yet, as it seemed the more they moved around the castle, the more they encountered the Saiyajin guards. Vegita was quick enough on his own, but having to pull Bulma with him and at the same time not go too fast that she would fall was making the risk of being caught greater and greater. Vegita cursed as they ducked behind a bush to avoid being seen by a group of ten soldiers. Bulma almost thought it would be better that Vegita simply walk up to them and tell them to get lost, but she guessed since he sent her to his bedroom to prevent anyone from finding out he was seeking her help, he wouldn't let his men find out he was traveling around with her at night.

"This isn't going to work this way," Vegita said quietly. "You're not agile enough to keep up with me."

"Sorry I'm nothing but heavy luggage," Bulma muttered.

"I guess I have no choice," Vegita said as if he hadn't even heard her. His eyes were rapidly moving back in forth in sync with the marching of the soldiers. "You're going to have to get on my back."

"Na…nani??" Bulma swallowed, thinking it was bad enough she had to touch his hand. The last thing she wanted to do was get onto his back and be practically hugging him from behind. She shuddered and shook her head. "I won't."

Vegita's hand was instantly clenching her collar and drawing her face closer to his. "Right now you have two options:" he hissed, "you either do what I want or I do something you don't want."

Bulma swallowed again, thinking at this point there was only one thing she didn't want Vegita to do with her, and that involved taking a trip back to his bedroom. "All…All right…" she conceded. "Just don't…don't try anything funny."

"Who the hell do you think you are talking to?" Vegita said, letting go of her collar. He turned his back to her, already couched down, and waited for her to get on. "I'll do what I want whether you like it or not."

Bulma felt the urge to find a rock and bash it against Vegita's head while his back was turned. However, she had a feeling that if she did so, his thick skull would cause the rock to shatter into dust, having no effect on him. She merely frowned and slowly climbed onto Vegita's back. As soon as she rested against him, she was reminded of the time Vegita had carried her in his arms to the regen pool. Oddly enough, she realized her fear of being so close to him was nothing like that time. It wasn't that she thought Vegita would never do anything to hurt her again, but someone how after mistaking Vegita's reason for taking her to his bedroom, she was reminded that Vegita was dangerous for more than his violent tendencies. She couldn't keep herself composed--her hands lying on top of his shoulder were shaking (as well as her whole body) and she was breathing as if she had been running for a long period of time. To make matters worse, Bulma could feel the warmth of his body, causing her own body to become warm from her complete flush.

Vegita was halfway concentrating on making his move past the guards and halfway concentrated on the Princess on his back. As much as he wanted to believe he had little interest Bulma was on his back, he couldn't help but smile at the feeling of Bulma's chest against his back. Considering how obstinate Bulma was, Vegita figured it was the closest he could get to touching that area of her body without having to use force or scare tactics. It didn't really matter that she was showing signs of fear; it only convinced him that she would be too frightened to try to attempt escape.

"Are you…are you going to…go…or n-n-not?" Bulma finally asked. She would feel a degree better if Vegita were moving toward their destination, lessening the time she would have to spend so close to Vegita.

"Hmph," Vegita said, forgetting what was making him smile for the moment. "Loud-mouthed woman." He waited just a moment for the guards to get into position before he sped from behind the bush and began to move past the guards. Though Bulma was sure under different circumstances she would be, she was glad Vegita held firmly onto her ankles as he ran. His moments were so quick, she wasn't even sure how he moved past all the guards. She was most worried about falling off his back. Still Bulma was thoroughly surprised, expecting him to be more sluggish with her on his back (mainly because their height difference made her temporarily forget how strong he was), since he hadn't been terribly fast simply pulling her along. Bulma had for some reason pressed her face into his back for safety, unconscious of how she wanted to have the minimum contact possible with Vegita. By the time she had came to her senses and lifted her head, she noticed that they were approaching a fenced area with a few horses detained within. Bulma almost thought it were silly that he didn't want to go on foot the whole way to the village, but then she remembered that it was much better for her who almost wished she would fall off Vegita's back if only to prevent further contact.

Bulma didn't care if Vegita heard her sigh in relief as he allowed her to climb off his back again. She stood in a couched manner trying to get herself back to normal. Now she wasn't just only shook up from being on Vegita's back, but was her wobbly knees were due in part to how fast Vegita had been going. Judging by how fast he moved, she could only assume how fast he'd ride a horse.

"Come on, woman," Vegita said. He had led a horse from the fence during the time she tried to collect her and had closed the fence back. "Unless you'd like to stand here all night and see which of my guards finds you out here by yourself."

Bulma glared at him as he got up into the horse with ease and then extended his hand again to help her up. She wished for a minute that she could actually try to flee, but even if by some miracle Vegita didn't catch her (and Gokuu wasn't left behind in such a horrible place), she'd have to manage to find her way out of the Saiyajin Kingdom without running into thousands of Saiyajins in the process. Bulma placed the most dignified expression on her face and carefully stepped up onto the horse, seating herself behind Vegita. She were more comfortable with this position than she were lying against his back, for she only needed to hold onto his back for security. However, the first jerk Bulma experienced as Vegita started off proved that Bulma needed to wrap her arms tightly around his waist whether she liked it or not. Even then Bulma was cringing at the thought of falling off and weakly asking Vegita not to go so fast. Vegita pretended to not hear her, but Bulma was sure he was grinning at her actions. The worst part of knowing that, in Bulma's opinion, was being in no position to change the way things were.

******

Vegita couldn't help but wonder, as he sat on the edge of the crater Bulma was standing in, how anyone, especially a woman, could wholeheartedly keep interest in something as trivial as dirt. Had her little examination, of course, had no use to Vegita, he would have definitely ended the boring matter at once. Then again, Vegita didn't find Bulma's process completely boring; the Saiyajin no Ouji was a bit intrigued by Bulma herself. This was the second time he actually witnessed her concentrating so hard. Most of his experience with Bulma had been purposely making her exasperated and hearing her shoot of her insolent mouth. This was something she could do quietly and without looking foolish, which made Vegita consider if she was really foolish or not. As much he didn't want to admit a woman (particularly a woman like Bulma) could be superior to him in some way, Vegita knew that Bulma was totally aware of what she was doing. He doubted she could fake her knowledge or even try to do that, for doing so had few advantages. Deep within his royal Saiyajin mind Vegita knew that he should resent her more, but the more he allowed her display her intelligent side, the more he couldn't. Watching her work, especially with the nearly full moonlight upon her, was interesting for a reason Vegita didn't bother to consider.

"Hmm…" Bulma said, rubbing the soil between her fingers. She casually put one of her fingers into her mouth and tasted what remained on it.

Vegita raised a brow, amused by her action. "Is this whole thing making you hungry?" he asked. "You needn't be so desperate that you have to resort to eating dirt."

Bulma spit out what she could out of her mouth. "I'm not eating the dirt," she said, "I'm just tasting it."

"Tasting it?"

"Judging by the gray color the reactants' product is, I'm sure it can only be three such compounds. Luckily they are distinct in taste, for someone as familiar with their tastes as I am, and only harmful to humans if in bomb form, not if consumed."

"For your sake, I hope you're right," Vegita said. Bulma didn't miss the teasing hint in his voice and she gave him a facial indication that he wasn't very funny. Vegita grinned at her and reclined back, resting his hands on the ground to support him. "So? What's your analysis, little scientist woman?"

I never thought the plain old "woman" would sound better than something else, Bulma thought, sourly ignoring the new title he had given her. "The compound used in this bomb is Volcano's Shower," she said. She dusted off her hands and then wiped them on her pants.

"Volcano's Shower?" Vegita repeated. He really started to wonder if she was making up things now.

"This compound was invented by a small but technologically advanced kingdom named Ribbon," Bulma went on. She put her hands on her hips as she tried to remember all the facts. "Apparently one of the scientists there wanted to create a compound whose combing power was so great that it rivaled the explosion caused when a volcano erupts, thus gaining its name. Demo, I've heard Ribbon has been conquered by some big empire, so it's possible that empire is the reason these bombs were planted here."

"Nani??" Vegita nearly rolled forward into the crater. A bead of sweat roll down the side of his face. "Woman, are you positive about this??"

"Ye…Yes…" Bulma said, hoping he wouldn't hop down into the crater and shake her.

Vegita clenched his fists and rose to his feet. "I would have never thought of it, but it shouldn't surprise me," he said. He took no heed of Bulma's quizzical look. "Still, if he thinks we Saiyajins have no clue of what is going on, we'll have the advantage to attack without him expecting it."

"Who are you talking about?" Bulma asked. "Do you know the leader of this empire or something?"

"I do, but it is of no concern to you," Vegita said. He scowled out into space. "Kuso (Shit)…"

Bulma yawned, noticing for the first time that she was tired. Aware of this fact now, she decided it was wiser not to bother with her curiosity when she was in need of sleep. She began to take steps forward to climb out of the crater, but her weariness came much faster than she expected. Before she realized it, she had sat down on the ground and was fighting to keep her eyes open. Angry that she was getting so sleepy, Bulma managed to come to the conclusion that her tiredness resulted from the late hour, using her brain power more than usual (at home she constantly exercised her mind, but her few days in Vegita made her mind out of shape), and the sheer exhaustion of dealing with Saiyajins for any period of time.

Vegita finally made his decision on what he was going to do with the information Bulma gave him, taking his attention back to Bulma whom he now realized had been a little too quiet. He didn't know whether to be annoyed the woman seemed to be sleeping or simply just be haughty about the fact the woman was displaying her weakness. Vegita chose the latter and jumped down into the crater. Bulma, eyes halfway closed, moved a little as if she were trying to get on her feet before he tried to move her. Vegita waited a minute to see if she actually would, but each yawn she took seemed to make her less willing to get on her feet. Vegita's frown deepened and he firmly but gently grabbed Bulma by her shoulders and stood her on her feet. She glared at him, though it wasn't very effective with her drowsy look, but did stay on her feet at least.

"I always knew you were a weak woman," Vegita said. He watched her closely, expecting her to quit standing and fall back down any moment. "How the hell can anyone become tired so quickly?"

"Who the hell is up at such ungodly hours?" Bulma muttered. She was too tired to take heed of her words.

"Hmph, your big mouth never fails," Vegita said. "Come on, I don't intend to stand here all night listening to you talk."

"As if I'd want to do that either," Bulma said. She tried to prove her point, but only made a horrible attempt to climb out of the crater. Her movements were much too sluggish to achieve her goal, making her slid back to the bottom. She frowned as she heard Vegita laugh at her, and she continued to do so when he moved next to her.

"For a woman that knows some much about science-related things, you sure act stupid," Vegita said. He kept his grin, seeing her frowning more. "You're obviously too tired to get out by yourself."

Bulma, though resentful of Vegita's comment, didn't fight Vegita as picked her up to carry her out of the crater. She wasn't thrilled she had to be carried by Vegita of all people, but she didn't really feel like doing more than sitting at the moment. It was already taking most of her energy to be annoyed at Vegita, without trying to exert her physical strength. Vegita was glad she was being docile for a change. She usually would be arguing with him before he had to threaten her to do as he wanted, at least. Vegita found it pleasant to be able to control Bulma with some ease.

"I guess I can spare a hour for sleeping before I prepare myself for the tournament," Vegita said, thinking out loud as he climbed onto the horse and placed Bulma in front of him this time. He doubted she would stay awake the way back to the castle.

"Why only an hour?" Bulma asked. It was easier this time to relax against Vegita while he rode them out of the village. She was sure she would have caused a fuss if she had the energy, but not having much, she could even say she was comfortable. Bulma, even in the state she was in, could never forget that she thought Vegita was a major pain in the behind, but she had to admit, he made a pretty good human pillow.

"I thought you were going to be silent for a change," Vegita said. He had actually thought she was already sleep at that point, so he was surprised she was listening and speaking to him.

"Just because I'm tired doesn't mean I become mute." Bulma closed her eyes, unconsciously breathing in accordance with the steady pace of the horses' hooves on the ground.

"Unfortunately." Although he had said this, Vegita felt as though he actually rather she spoke. He guessed it must have been the late hour or something because he rarely enjoyed speaking with the woman outside of trying to frustrate her.

"Will you answer my question or am I too lowly to be acknowledged?" Bulma asked, rather casually, lacking the sarcasm she obviously intended by her words.

"The answer to your second question is 'yes,' but I'm willing to give you an answer to the first since these are your final hours," Vegita said. "I still have plenty of things to do before I can take some leisure time to sleep. Besides, Saiyajins don't need to sleep as long as you weak people do. I've actually haven't slept more than ten minutes since you've arrived in my kingdom."

Bulma recognized that he was insinuating she was so distracting that he couldn't sleep, but she wasn't going to allow him to remove her from her relaxed state. "You Saiyajins are so strange," she said. She yawned and shifted her head against his chest. "People can't function under such little rest."

"We Saiyajins don't need a great deal of rest. That's why we're strong and you people are weak." Vegita might have put more superiority in his voice, but he was a bit distracted by her head moving against him. He found it curious she was comfortable enough, even with her fatigue, to be able to do that. Vegita had the impression after he had been "forced" to throw her against a wall that Bulma would always fear him, especially when he was close. He was amazed to the point that he focused more on this fact than their conversation.

"Well, I happen to like sleeping, so I'm glad I'm not a Saiyajin, even if it makes me a weak person," Bulma said.

"And you say we're strange." Vegita frowned, purposely turning his attention upon where they were going, not Bulma's calm manner with him. "If you like sleep so much, why don't you go ahead and sleep?"

Vegita thought for a moment that Bulma had taken his suggestion and went to sleep. Bulma was quiet after he had told her to go to sleep, but she hardly had been listening to Vegita. She actually was thinking that it very well might be her last night on earth, and if so she would have liked to have a pleasant memory before she had her final terrible one of the tournament in the morning. She couldn't say anything had been pleasant, being in Vegita, other than seeing Gokuu and spending time with Gokuu. However, Bulma recalled there was one thing that was enjoyable about Vegita that she had forgotten.

Bulma opened her eyes and sat up straight, so that she wasn't leaning against Vegita anymore. This action had surprised Vegita a little, but she wasn't aware of it. "Vegita, I want to see that garden one last time," she said.

Vegita's surprise was enough that he didn't bother to correct her for her informality. "Are you crazy?" he asked. "Not only do I have no desire to please you, but you would probably fall asleep by the time we got there."

Bulma turned her torso that she could gaze at him with her earnest and lively blue eyes. "You said I should spend each of my last hours wisely," she said. "I happen to think that garden is the one thing that keeps this kingdom from being completely horrible. I know that it isn't like a Saiyajin to show compassion or mercy, but it isn't as if anyone is going to know for once that you showed pity for someone. As far as anyone else knows, we're still in your room, right?"

"Hmph!" Vegita said. He couldn't continue to look into her eyes for some reason, so he shifted his gaze upon their path past her head. "I'm not going to waste my time for your sake!"

Bulma frowned and turned back to the front. "Well, then I certainly wouldn't beg you to fulfill my request," she said. "When I see my best friend die and I finally get my turn to end my life at this terrible place, I want to be able to still feel as though I have my pride. No use trying to persuade a Saiyajin to change his mind. I just hope that your unwillingness to think differently occasionally, doesn't turn out to be a problem when deciding what to do about the bombing in that village."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean??" Vegita was amazed at how fast she could change from being calm and sleepy to awake and irksome.

"I think I'll take your advice and go to sleep already," Bulma sighed. She closed her eyes again, but did not lean back as before. "The sooner I go to sleep, the sooner I will be close to ending all this."

This woman! Vegita thought, unable to come back with something at the moment. He knew soon he would be able to make her suffer and then finally shut her up for an eternity, but soon wasn't good enough for him. Vegita didn't want to go back to the castle and let the woman think for even a second she had won. Her manner of speech to him had been incredibly rude and he had been letting her off the hook far too much. Vegita then realized that he could have had a nice ride home if it hadn't been for the woman's desire to see the stupid garden. Suddenly he had the desire to travel to the garden, but not for Bulma's benefit; he wanted to destroy that garden and take away one extra thing that made her smile. Kakarotto would be the coup de grace, but the garden would be a nice start to her great end. Vegita smiled cruelly and slightly changed their course back to the castle.

"I suggest you hold back your sleep for just a few minutes," Vegita said, his composure back again. "I've decided that showing mercy may be entertaining, so I'm going to allow you to see the garden one last time."

Bulma's eyes opened in surprise. "What? Really?" she asked. She frowned as if he were just saying it to get her hopes up. "If you're only lying to--"

"I'm quite serious." Bulma found that as much as sleep beckoned her at that instant, she couldn't allow herself to sleep. She had little doubt that Vegita suddenly came to his senses after what she had said; the more likely event was that he was angry and planning to take her somewhere else that she wouldn't enjoy. Gradually during their trip, she became more and more awake from her thoughts of what Vegita was really up to. She imagined him taking her to one of the infamous Saiyajin dungeons where it had been rumored that even after their prisoners were dead, the Saiyajins displayed them about their dungeons in horrific ways. Bulma certainly didn't want to see any people suffering; she had seen enough during the times of Capsule's wars. Bulma began to regret that she hadn't simply kept quiet when Vegita denied her request.

Yet, Bulma was sure that if she hadn't said something after she was so rudely deprived of seeing the one thing that could give her a little joy before she had to go through hell in a few hours, she would have exploded later on. Still, Bulma wished she could just keep her mouth closed, at least on her last night. It wasn't as if she wasn't going to suffer enough in the morning. She was going to have to watch her friend die, and now she was going to have to endure something else before she would be able to sleep, if she would be able to after she was through with whatever Vegita had planned for her.

Bulma cursed to herself, but she temporarily pretended that she had no qualms about where Vegita was taking her. She was sure that if she looked back at Vegita she would see him wearing one of his characteristic devious smiles. If Bulma were to see that smile or any thing of the sort, she doubted she would be able to hide her reserves about Vegita's sudden generosity. Vegita had been quiet for a while, and Bulma wasn't sure if that was necessarily a good thing. Of course, the more Bulma began to recognize that they were nearing the castle, the more she felt as if her suffering was going to begin sooner than she preferred.

******

Gokuu finally began to lift himself into a sitting position. He was breathing more like usual, and he had rested enough on the floor that he believed he could get up once again. It didn't matter to him that he was sweating profusely, hadn't had any sleep, or was even hungry--Gokuu knew that it was the utmost importance that he was aware of his situation. Vegita was planning to kill him and possibly Bulma as well, if Gokuu didn't play his cards right. Knowing this forced him to continue his last-minute training, in preparation of the tournament that would start in a few hours. The short preview of Vegita's skill had also motivated him.

Granted that Gokuu couldn't say that he wasn't worried about his success, but he still was going to try his best to come out on top. Gokuu had heard rumors that of all Saiyajins, the royal family was the strongest , but until today he hadn't seen any proof of that. Vegita had indeed assured Gokuu that this was not just a rumor but actually was the truth. True, he hadn't fought with any other Saiyajins, but he didn't believe that so many people motivated by fighting and strength would take orders from someone like Vegita unless he had some power to back up his authority.

Gokuu laughed and got onto his feet, thinking of how paranoid Vegita must be of his actions. He had only tried to leave the training hall once, and he wasn't surprised that they had been several guards waiting outside for him. They were quick to ask him where he was going and what he was planning to do. Gokuu didn't want them to be following him everywhere he went, so he decided not to leave. He supposed that maybe that would make the Saiyajins outside wonder what he was doing inside, but Gokuu thought it would be the one thing he could do that would seem the least suspicious. After all, Gokuu knew that everyone else was aware of Vegita's plan to kill him during the tournament. Of all things Gokuu should be doing, training was on the top of the list. Gokuu hoped that was the reason he hadn't been disturbed the whole time he had been in the training hall.

"Hmm…" Gokuu said, folding his arms over his chest. "I wonder how Bulma's doing. I know Vegita rushed to see her earlier… I doubt I'm going to be able to see her before the tournament starts. Vegita probably told those guards not to let me go anywhere near her." He laughed again, though his situation really wasn't that funny. It was amusing that Vegita pretended not to care about Bulma, but it was dangerous for Gokuu to have someone as powerful as Vegita thinking he was a threat to someone he cared about. Gokuu wasn't sure if he was going to tell Vegita the truth, or if he was going to continue telling his lie. Neither was a great choice; Gokuu doubted Vegita would believe him now, and he doubted continuing to tell Vegita he wanted to kill Bulma was going to help him any.

Gokuu sighed and leaned his head back. "I guess the best thing for me to do is to make sure I don't die during this tournament," he said. He straightened his neck again, unfolded his arms, and then grabbed the sword he had been using on the floor beside him. "Demo after that preview of what Vegita can do, it's really easier said than done…"

******

"Well, we're here," Vegita said, setting Bulma down in a bench in the garden. After he had put the horse back into the fenced area, he had put Bulma on his back once again.

"Do you really think I'm as stupid as you say I am?" Bulma said. She was thankful to be sitting at that moment, but she doubted that she would be soon able to get up again. However, she wasn't going to let her tiredness allow Vegita to fool her. "I know you haven't changed your mind. You want to do something unpleasant to me, to get me back for saying those rude comments from before."

Vegita didn't give a confirmation at that point that she was correct, but the grin on his face made it obvious what the truth was. "You know, I would have never thought to step foot into this garden again," he said, calming walking around as he spoke, "but why should I? This garden really has no use to me."

"Yes, I know that you don't care about something as 'trivial' as a garden," Bulma said. She wished she could see where he was going with everything, but it was difficult for her to think deeply. "I still don't believe that you brought me here for my own benefit."

"Or so I thought," Vegita went on as if Bulma had never spoken. He stood in front of a finely trimmed shrub in the shape of a bird that was clearly in Bulma's view. "There is a very good reason for me to come to this ridiculous place."

Bulma was just about to ask what the reason was before she saw him grab the end of the shrub and rip it out of the ground. Watching him throw it with no regard of how lovely it was or how much time had probably been put into to shaping it as it was, made Bulma's mouth drop wide open. If that wasn't bad enough, Vegita slid his booted foot over a row of indigo flowers outlining the front of the bushes, crushing each of the beautiful flowers in seconds. Bulma was so outraged by his crude actions that she felt just as awake as if someone had poured boiling hot water all over her body while she had been sleeping.

"Stop, you loutish fiend!" Bulma shouted before he could do any more damage. She got onto her feet to rush over to stop him (disregarding the fact that she had no power to physically stop him), but her haste caused the tip of her left foot to trip against a rather large rock pressed into the ground. Bulma fell quite badly--her left ankle twisted as she landed and her face slammed into the ground while her mouth had been open at the time. Though she was most concerned about the pain and humiliation from falling as she did, Bulma only turned her head to spit out some dirt and grass that had been forced in after she had fallen.

"Hmph, and you asked me if I really think you are as stupid as I say," Vegita said as he went over to her. He could only grin for a second or two before frowning at the expressions of pain he saw in her face. Though he was really having feelings akin to concern, he convinced himself that he was only annoyed that after taking the time to heal the woman, she was possibly injured again.

Vegita crouched down beside her and hesitated lifting her up. He didn't want to seem as if he cared if she lied on the ground as if she was hurt. Vegita wanted to be glad the woman fell after trying to stop him. It was silly for her to think she possibly could, and it should have been amusing that the woman went to all this trouble just because he began to destroy the garden that she had taken a shine to. Vegita then wondered for a second if she would do something to harm herself after she saw him trying to kill Kakarotto.

"Come on, it couldn't have been that bad," Vegita said. He began to get angrier, the more he felt as if he was worried about her well-being.

Bulma gradually rolled over to her back and sat up. "God…" she said, rubbing her ankle. "That really hurt." She wiped off her face, smearing a little dirt upon it.

"You were stupid to come after me anyway," Vegita said, his eyes on the ankle she kept rubbing. "You didn't sprain your weak ankle, did you?"

"Does it matter if I did or not?" Bulma asked. She sighed and glanced at the flowers Vegita had crushed. "I won't really need my leg for anything soon."

"Hmph." Vegita guessed if she wasn't complaining about it, it wasn't anything serious. However, he continued to watch her as if expecting her to show signs of real injury in the near future. "All this for some stupid garden."

"I'm not sure if Saiyajins have the ability to feel emotions like regular people," Bulma said, her eyes still on the flattened flowers, "but maybe one day, you'll know what it's like to be concerned about someone outside of yourself."

"Actually I do know, but I don't know how anyone can stand such a feeling," Vegita said, not thinking about what he was saying. He still really didn't realize even after Bulma stared at him as if he had lost his mind. "Nan da (What is it)??"

"You are concerned about someone besides yourself?" Bulma asked with a heavy doubt in her voice.

"Na…nani??" Vegita then went back and realized what he had said. He cursed and stood straight again. "Grr! I really can't stand being around you… I always end up saying strange things!"

"It has nothing to do with me," Bulma said, still giving him a look as if he was crazy. However, she decided if she tried to question him about what he said before, she would only make him angrier. Her little fall had taken away her burst of energy, and now she was feeling drowsy again. She lied back onto the ground, not caring if she was getting more dirty. "You Saiyajins bury the dead, right?"

"Nani?" Vegita swore the woman's mind could move from one thing to another, it was incredible.

"If you bury your dead, I wouldn't mind being buried here since no one's going to come here anyway," Bulma said softly. She was beginning to talk with less awareness, indicating to Vegita that she was falling asleep again. "Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't burn your dead."

"We only bury those who have died while fighting," Vegita said, wondering how she could appear to be so content to sleep on the ground.

"Even though it seems as though you only brought me here to ruin the garden for me," Bulma said, either not hearing Vegita or ignoring him, "I'm glad I got to see it one last time. It's even better than the ones I've been in at home. It's a pity it has to be here where it will be wasted…"

Vegita shook his head, noticing at that point she had truly gone to sleep. "I knew the little fool would fall asleep here," he muttered, watching her sleep. "I really did waste my time coming here…" He moved closer to her in order to pick her up and leave the place, but found at the moment he didn't really feel like leaving.

Vegita scowled down at Bulma, once again fascinated by the sight of her sleeping. He knew it was basically a repeat of the time he had tried to kill her in sleep and had failed. Of course, at that time Bulma was sleeping in her bed after being thoroughly cleaned by her bath and had the moonlight shining on her face. Bulma was hardly as glamorous as she had been on that night, but Vegita felt just as mesmerized by her sleeping face, despite the dirt smudges on her cheek and forehead, her partially soiled strands of blue hair, and the blade of grass stuck to her tiny lips. After a minute or two, Vegita felt compelled to clean her face, this being the first time he had seen it so soiled. The woman had some strange desire to keep herself clean even if it was of no great importance with her life ending in a short amount of time. Vegita had always thought that Bulma wasn't bad to look at when her mouth was closed, and now he realized that he had always liked the fact that she maintained herself so well, regardless of how silly it was.

Vegita knew he was acting and thinking strangely, but he was a bit tired of trying to explain himself and knew that he hadn't effectively ever stopped himself from these abnormalities in his manner. Since he was far from the public eye and the woman herself was asleep, Vegita decided that he would temporarily humor these feelings and thus make them subside faster and easier. Struggling with them only seem to aggravate the strange things he did and felt. On some level he was relieved, but at the same time he felt as if some invisible person was controlling him. Regardless, Vegita's hand began to move toward Bulma's face.

He carefully ran his thumb across each of her cheeks, taking care not to wake her up. The last thing he needed was for her to wake up and wonder what he was doing or for him to hear her voice. Soon her cheeks were free of the dirt and his glove was a bit dusty. Vegita made a mental note to change his gloves when he returned to his room. Lastly, Vegita brushed the blade of grass off Bulma's delicate lips.

Vegita did try to stop himself from thinking of when he ridiculously was stroking her lips when she had been sleeping, but it was useless. Of course, when he couldn't help think of that incident, the urge rose once again. Vegita's scowl was becoming even more severe at that point, unable to prevent his finger from touching her lips. However, unlike the first time when he had became furious when he caught himself doing such a bizarre action, his scowl slowly melted away. Before he had been weak because he had been set on the task to kill Bulma and was instead admiring her face, but this time he had no such task to do. His thoughts then had been of killing Bulma, but Vegita's thoughts now were only of the reason Bulma thought Vegita had sent her to his room.

This was the reason Vegita had replaced his scowl with a wide grin. Her little misconception wasn't only amusing him, but was also putting thoughts into his head. He had stopped touching her lips, but hadn't stopped looking at them. Vegita wondered if he shouldn't have taken the opportunity to see if Bulma had something else that could benefit him before she died. Bulma was attractive enough--probably more so than any other woman in Vegita--yet he hadn't really taken advantage of that fact. He guessed it was due to the fact the woman was so irritating when she spoke and drove him crazy to the point that he didn't notice she had decent physical qualities. It also was a slight hindrance that Bulma would struggle with him even with full knowledge that Vegita was incredibly stronger in comparison. However, Bulma was asleep at the moment, eliminating both complications.

I wonder how deeply she's sleeping… Vegita thought, watching her even more carefully for signs of waking up. He tapped Bulma's forehead well enough to wake her up if she was lightly sleeping, but Bulma remained the same. Vegita supposed she was really tired and was in a deep sleep.

Vegita took a moment to clear his thoughts of Bulma's infuriating personality, which would discourage him from doing what he planned. Recalling some of the previous conversations they had had would inevitably make him too riled up. Vegita placed his hands on the ground, so that a hand was on either side of Bulma's head. He risked waking her up with what he intended to do, but he wouldn't have too much trouble explaining to her what was going on in his mind. Slowly Vegita began to drop his face toward Bulma's, keeping his eyes steady on her own closed ones and prepared to withdraw at the first sign she was waking up. He stopped when he felt that their lips were almost touching, giving Bulma the chance for a few seconds to wake up. Her eyes remained closed and Vegita felt her breath brushing against his lips in an even pattern. Thus, having thoroughly checked for Bulma's consciousness, Vegita gently covered Bulma's lips with his own.

Vegita had only meant to kiss Bulma for about five seconds, but the pleasurable sensation seemed to increase the longer he kept his lips firmly against hers. He had thought he would be soon distracted by knowing her face had been pressed into the ground, but that wasn't a factor at all. He liked the warmth of Bulma's lips and almost wished she would wake up, so that he wouldn't have to be so carefully kissing her. Then again, it was better she was asleep and silent than awake and screeching about what he was doing. Eventually he did end the kiss, but a few seconds later he embraced her lips once again, yet only for a small fraction of the time the first kiss had been. Vegita sat straight again and raised a brow at Bulma whose face twitched a few times.

"Vegita…" Bulma whispered in her sleep.

Vegita's eyes grew wide. Was the woman awake during that time? he wondered. He lifted up her hand and then released it, her hand limply falling back onto the ground. No, I suppose she is just dreaming… I hate to admit that I'm curious as to what she is dreaming about.

Vegita snorted and took Bulma into his arms. "I probably should have taken her to my bed instead of this garden," he commented as he started to carry her out of the garden. "At least it seems like she could have been the most useful there." Vegita wondered with a snicker if he could take the opportunity to do so before he killed her. The thought of kissing her still lingering in his mind, he didn't think it was such a horrible idea.

******

"Kakarotto!" The voice paused before becoming louder and less tolerant. "Kakarotto!!"

Gokuu's eyes slowly opened, giving him a view of the white floor. Still not completely awake, he panicked for a moment, believing he had become blind. During his alarm he leaned too hard against the sword his head had been rested upon and fell fall on his face.

"I don't know why Vegita-Ouji would let such an unbalanced person compete in the tournament," the Saiyajin voice said, "but then again, it's not as if you'll be living for much longer."

Gokuu sat up so that he was resting on his knees, rubbed his face for a moment, and then picked up the sword he had dropped. "How long was I sleeping like that?" he wondered. He smiled as he felt the imprint of the sword's handle in his forehead. Obviously he had used that for a pillow after he had fallen asleep in a kneeling position.

"Come on, Kakarotto," the guard said. "The tournament's starting soon and I'm responsible for bringing you to the arena."

"Only you?" Gokuu asked, his smile widening. He knew it was annoying the man, but Gokuu couldn't help it.

"Yes," the Saiyajin snapped. "All the other guards have gone to the arena already."

"Sou ka (I see)," Gokuu said. He stood and stretched. "Do I have time to change? As you can see I've ripped these clothes quite a bit, and I'd prefer not to look like something the cat dragged in."

"Hmph, do what you like," the Saiyajin said. He motioned toward the door. "You have ten minutes to be in the arena."

"Yoshi (All right)!" Gokuu was sure that he hadn't gotten more than thirty minutes of sleep, but he felt ready to go. He hated all the suspense that had been created and was eager to get the tournament started. He could only hope that his last minute training would benefit him enough to prevent his death.

******

Bulma supposed the only reason she didn't scream when the first thing she saw as she woke up was Pikaru's and Sukuwa's faces was that she was still partially asleep. To her it had seemed she had only been asleep for about a minute. She even wondered if it could be true; Vegita had kept her up for a quite a while last night and the tournament started early in the morning. Bulma yawned and rubbed her eyes, wishing that she could get just ten more minutes of sleep.

"Is it time already?" Bulma said, unable to remove the sleepy whine from her voice.

"Vegita-Ouji said that you wouldn't want to miss what he had in store for you today," Sukuwa said. He laughed, having complete knowledge of what Vegita was planning.

"Besides, we're competing in the tournament today," Pikaru added, "but we're higher-ranked, so we won't have to fight as soon as the others."

Bulma hopped off her bed, slightly annoyed they were talking about the tournament since she had just been woken up and slightly interested since Gokuu was going to participate in it. "What about Son-kun?" she asked. She yawned, taking no notice of their confusion.

"Who?" Pikaru said. He looked to Sukuwa who shrugged his shoulders.

Bulma sighed. "I mean, um…what do you people call him?" she said. She put a hand to head, trying to start her brain up. "Oh, yes--Kakarotto."

"Oh, you're talking about him," Sukuwa said. "Kakarotto will start competing during the first round. If he's lucky he might even make it to the second round. I mean, it shouldn't be that hard for him to compete with those closer to his rank."

Bulma stepped up to a basin of water that had been set upon her dresser. "What happens if he doesn't make it to the second round?" she asked, looking at her reflection in the water. She noticed how tired her face looked as well as worried.

"Nothing," Sukuwa said, shrugging. Bulma turned to look at him, seeing the poorly hidden smile.

"What happens to him??" Bulma asked again, but directed the question to Pikaru who also had the hardly veiled smile.

"Kakarotto will be honored with a spar with His Majesty," Pikaru said after a few seconds of continuing the secrecy. His eyes twinkled with ill things to come. "Then, of course…"

Bulma frowned at their obvious delight of Vegita's sick little plan. "So, once Son-kun loses, Vegita will kill him," she said.

"I'm sure that event is the only thing the Prince is looking forward to," Sukuwa said. "Originally, he was only going to fight whoever managed to make it to the final round. Now he gets to do that and give everyone a nice show before he does."

Saiyajins are so sickening! Bulma thought, turning back to the basin of water. "Will I get to see Vegita…Ouji…before the tournament?" she asked.

"Iie, but you will be sitting with the King, an honor much too great for a woman like you, I say," Sukuwa said, now the one frowning.

Bulma's eyes widened. "Vegita-Ou??" she said. The entire time she had been in Vegita she had yet to see him. Bulma had thought Vegita didn't think she was important enough to allow her to see his father.

"Yes, woman," Pikaru confirmed. He looked at her impatiently. "Apparently he is eager to meet you, so I suggest you hurry up."

"I…" Bulma couldn't help but think that Vegita's father had to be much worse than Vegita was, for it was King Vegita who raised the short terror. Vegita-Ou was the King of the Saiyajins who even Vegita took orders from. She didn't want to leave her only impression to King Vegita that she dressed as if she was a commoner. "I want to wash my face and change my clothes if I may."

"Fine," Pikaru said, getting a nod from Sukuwa. "We'll wait outside for ten minutes, and we will come back in if you're not out by then."

"Thank you ever so much," Bulma muttered as they two left her room. She sighed and stared at her reflection again, finally noticing that her face didn't look as dirty as she had thought it was. Bulma knew she had tried to wipe the dirt off her face, but she also sensed that the dirt had only smeared. If Bulma didn't know better, she would have thought someone wiped her face with a cloth or something.

Bulma shook her head and smiled, dismissing that thought. The only person she could see doing that was Gokuu, and she was sure he had been no where near her last night. Bulma cupped water into her hands and splashed it over her face, gently rubbing her wet hands against her skin. Eventually Bulma stopped bring the water to her face and simply brought her face into the water, scrubbing her face and hair as while they were submerged. She paid special attention to her mouth which had had a more intimate meeting with the ground than the rest of her face.

Bulma drew in a large breath as she brought her head out of the water, wrung out her hair so that it was no longer dripping, and dried her face. She smiled, feeling a little more awake and clean, and then she began to get a strange, but pleasant feeling that she had dreamt something important last night. The feeling was quite intense, causing Bulma to try hard to think of what it was while she dabbed the cloth over her face. Her movements began to slow as she tried her best to remember the details of the dream, and bits and pieces of the dream slowly came back to her. Bulma could remember being in the room and being embraced by someone whose face was not quite clear to her yet.

"Who is the world was--" Bulma began before she wiped her lips with the cloth. Suddenly her she saw a large segment of her dream--Vegita and she were joined together in a passionate kiss. Bulma dropped the cloth in her hands and backed away from the basin as if the water and the cloth had suddenly burst into flames. The water and the cloth may have not, but Bulma felt as if her entire body had.

Before Bulma could attempt to erase that image from her mind, the entire dream came back to her. She had been sitting quietly on the edge of her bed, as she often did while locked up in her room before Vegita stormed in as usual. However, the instant Vegita entered, Bulma sensed that his visit wasn't as usual; the expression on his face was resolute as if he had finally made up his mind about something, and he walked toward her with a slow pace as if he were trying to sneak up on something he planned to kill. Bulma could hear herself asking Vegita what he wanted and after getting no answer, seeing herself rise from the bed and slowly backing into a wall in response to Vegita's slow but steady approach toward her. Bulma could remember that she had wanted to run, but her body wouldn't respond to her commands. Vegita advanced toward her so that his body was almost resting against hers. Bulma had asked him a final time what he had wanted before Vegita held her face firmly in his hands and then drew her face towards his, so that their lips solidly pressed together.

Bulma was more anxious about recalling the whole dream because she now knew that before the dream had ended, she recalled that not only did she begin to enjoy the kiss Vegita had forced upon her, but Bulma also wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed Vegita back. Bulma wanted to be disgusted and screaming her head off, but all she could do was stare into space and continue to blush. She couldn't come up with one good excuse as to why she had the dream. Bulma hadn't ever had one single feeling of attraction toward Vegita--she certainly never had any feelings of liking him either. Of all the things Bulma could dream about, she dreamt about the one person who caused her the most suffering and in a manner that she hadn't ever dreamt about any real person. Bulma dropped to her knees and covered her rather warm face.

"Why did I dream about him like that??" Bulma quietly asked herself. "The last time I thought he was going to kill me, I dreamt of him killing me. So why is it this time I dream about him kissing me??"

Bulma jumped as she heard someone pound on her door. "I hope you're almost done, woman," Pikaru said from the other side of the door. "We'll expect you out of your room in three minutes."

Bulma held her hand over her heart, noticing that it was beating rapidly. She needed to calm herself down, especially if she was going to be seeing King Vegita shortly. Sukuwa and Pikaru were also possibilities of being witnesses of her uneasy manner, if she didn't get her act together. Quickly Bulma splashed some more water on her face, dried off once again, pinned her damp hair into a bun, and changed into one of her regular dresses. For the moment, she attributed her dream to her first thoughts of why Vegita had brought her to his room. It was the only excuse she could think of at such short notice, and it was easier to believe if she tried. By the time she exited her room and stood with Sukuwa and Pikaru, Bulma at least appeared as if she was herself. Neither of the guards detected anything unusual, both muttering about how lucky she was to meet their King.

Good thing I'm dying soon, Bulma thought, doing her best not to fall behind as Sukuwa and Pikaru led the way to the arena. I think this place has finally made really crazy.

******

Vegita didn't know where his father was looking at, the royal seat being a private balcony above the other seats in the arena, but the Saiyajin no Ouji continued to stare up at the older Vegita for the time being. The tournament was going to start in a few minutes and he had yet to see Bulma where he had wanted her. She was to take the seat he would have been sitting in if Vegita wasn't going to participate in the fighting. Vegita had taken the precaution an hour before to tell his father not to try anything funny. Vegita-Ou had a habit of saying more than what was needed or at least more than what Vegita liked. If the view from up there wasn't so good, he would have kept Bulma from ever having to meet his father. Vegita had decided on a comprise: Bulma would get a first-class view of Kakarotto dying, but she would also be exposed to his father. It was basically an even trade, though Vegita wasn't sure Vegita-Ou would behave. Vegita swore that he would kill his father if he said anything strange to Bulma that made her have strange thoughts about Vegita. Vegita-Ou was just the type to discredit Vegita like that.

"Grr…" Vegita mumbled, wishing he could have a telepathic connection with his father for only the length of the tournament. "That old fool is definitely going to say something I won't like. Luckily, the tournament should be interesting enough that he'll do more watching and less talking."

"Welcome, everyone, to the 234th tournament in the Vegita Arena!" an announcer said who was clearly not Saiyajin. His voice was too pleasant for him to be associated with the Saiyajin race. "It seems that all the competitors have arrived, so we will be starting shortly! Before we do, though, I'd like to take this time to announce how the tournament will be conducted! First of all, the competitors were selected by…"

Vegita adverted his attention from his father, aware that the tournament was now beginning. He frowned, but took the seat he had arranged for himself just outside the battling square. From there he would have the best view of the fights, but would also risk having the competitors who were thrown from the ring crashing into him. It was a good possibility, but Vegita would easily knock anyone like that away from him if such a thing occurred. Vegita crossed his hands over his chest and waited for the announcer, one of the few foreigners that hadn't been ejected from or imprisoned in his kingdom. The audience, though mostly the Saiyajins who weren't lucky enough to compete, had the remainder of the other foreigners that had been allowed to stay in Vegita and had been permitted to watch the tournament.

Vegita grinned as he caught sight of Gokuu, poking his head from the area where the competitors entered the square. "Soon all my preparations will have paid off," Vegita said to himself. He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. "That square before you is going to be soaking with your blood, Kakarotto."

To be continued...

--Once again the whole bomb thing... just kind pretend it all makes sense and all. It's all part of me leading up to the end of the fic as well as hinting at a possible sequel. Ja ne!