______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________
______________________________________CHAPTER FOUR: Victim Number Two
Bulma went to school the next day quite composed, even though beneath the cool demeaner she felt like a bomb ready to explode. She wore no jewels that day, because they reminded her of Vejita, but rather one of her most casual ensembles--a faded pair of jeans with a brown belt, a three-quarter length sleeved turtleneck, and a ski vest. She was always ready to smile at a passing aquaintence, and she was even pretty pleasant to Chichi and Goku, who had so irked her the day before. It was then that Chichi, who had known Bulma for so long, began to suspect something.
"What's wrong?" she pried at lunch that day. "You seem so...uplifted."
"And what's wrong with that?" Bulma asked, offering another tight, fake smile. "Am I usually depressed or something?"
"Well..." Chichi trailed off. "Sometimes. But WE understand, so it isn't so bad."
Bulma set down her pop and regarded Chichi seriously. "WHAT do you understand?"
Goku put a hand on her arm before Chichi could reply. "Its okay, Bulma, I don't think she's trying to imply anything. By the way, have you seen Vejita today? I need to talk to him about the game tonight."
Bulma's eyes went involuntarily to his usual table, and found him watching her with an odd gleam in his eyes. A cold chill went down her spine, and she was forced to look away. She could not seem to shake the image of him pushing that poor kid off of the edge of the quarry pool out of her mind--God knew she had dreamed of it enough last night. "No, I haven't. He's probably over where he usually is, laughing at the general predictability of the student population."
At that tense moment Yamcha and Krillen came back to the table, carrying their food. Bulma did not miss the longing glance Yamcha shot in her direction, nor did she miss his sliding down closer to where she and Chichi were sitting. It was at moments like these that she just couldn't understand what she had ever seen in such an annoying guy. And he played BASKETBALL, for God's sake! Wasn't it an unspoken rule that the head cheerleader dated a football player? Shaking her head at her past judgement, she turned away from him and rested her chin on her hands.
She becoming more and more edgy and nervous about the night's upcoming football game, for whatever reason. Perhaps it was because of the fact that Vejita would be there, or maybe it was because she hadn't gotten very much sleep the night before. But even though she had only dismissed it as bad intuition, the feeling proved to be correct when, later that afternoon, after school, she met Vejita's eyes when the players were jogging past the area where she was leading Chichi and her fellow cheerleaders through a cheer. They held that horrible, mischevious look they had that day at the mall, and it was then that she knew that somebody's social fate was about to be decided. But Bulma, determined not to let the others see her moment of weakness, pushed them on doggedly, demanding more than she knew that they could give, but she didn't care. She just wanted to wipe that suspicious look off of Chichi's face.
_______________ ~*~*~*~
The night's game was going quite smoothly up until halftime, when Vejita slipped away from under the nose of his coaches and approached Bulma as she fixed her ponytail, unsuspecting. At his dark glare, the other girls scattered like leaves in the wind, leaving them alone. Well, kind of. The crowd bustled about behind them, hurrying to get a warm drink before the game resumed again. Neither of the two paid them any attention.
"What do you want?" Bulma asked coldly, gazing into her compact mirror as if every cell in her body wasn't acutely aware of Vejita's presence. "I have to hurry up and get ready for the second half, and so do you."
She nearly dropped her mirror when she felt Vejita's hands on her shoulders. She took a deep breath and tried to shake away, but was unsuccessful. "What do you want?!" she snapped, not liking him standing behind her, where she couldn't read his face.
"Poor little Bulma, clamming up at the first signs of trouble," Vejita said quietly, so only Bulma, and not the passing crowd, could hear. "You act as if I'm going to suggest murdering somebody."
"It wouldn't surprise me," Bulma retorted, turning around to face him. "Is that why you came over here, to order me around like your little pet?"
"More or less," Vejita admitted, smirking. "But don't think for a second that I'm going to miss out on all the fun. I have an idea, and I think that even you will like it."
Bulma grimaced. "I wouldn't bet on it."
"Shut up, woman," Vejita said, growing irritated with her resistance. "What happened to the girl who was so eager to participate at the mall?"
"Jesus Christ, Vejita!" Bulma exclaimed, chucking her mirror into the half-full bleachers angrily, ignoring the shouts of protest as it shattered near somebody's feet. "How can you expect me to act normally after you show up at my house and confess something like...that!"
"I can expect whatever the hell I want from you," he answered, crossing his arms. He nodded towards the crowd and the other cheerleaders, who were beginning to creep back timidly. "You don't want them to witness a struggle, do you? What would they make of that, do you think?"
Bulma smothered the angry tears that had dared to form in her clear eyes. "You asshole."
"Now, let's not get testy," Vejita said playfully. "This isn't going to be as hard as you think."
_______________ ~*~*~*~
Well, Vejita was wrong. Bulma gritted her teeth and slammed her gym bag down onto the bleachers where Chichi, who had decided to sit this game out, was residing. Once she was certain that nobody had detected her presence, Bulma settled down next to her bag to wait for Vejita, who was going to sneak out of the locker room. Bulma wrapped her bare arms around herself and shivered, waiting for her partner in crime to arrive.
"Boo."
Bulma jumped about a couple feet into the air at this quiet statement. She whirled around to face a grinning Vejita, who had seemed to materialize out of the shadows.
"Very funny," Bulma snapped. "Let's just hurry up and get this done before somebody finds us."
"That won't happen," Vejita assured her. "Not even the bravest pothead would smoke under where that annoying bitch is sitting."
"You got the stuff?" Bulma asked, digging her lighter out of her gym bag.
Vejita smirked and pulled a few packages of fireworks out of the pocket of his sweater. "You underestimate me. Now let's get this little party started, shall we?"
Bulma had to admit to herself that she rather enjoyed the thrill of setting up their latest prank, especially since she knew how much this would startle her unsuspecting friend. And the more she listened, the more Vejita's continuous coaxing and suggesting seemed to make sense. What WOULD happen if one of them ratted on her? Shaking her head in renewed fury, she went about her work with determination. As Vejita had predicted, they finished in plenty of time to get back before the second half.
The team had just scored a spectacular touchdown, orchestrated by none other than Vejita, of course, and Bulma had just gotten around to becoming somewhat relaxed again when the fireworks went off. People in the bleachers scattered in every direction, throwing themselves out of range of the multi-colored sparks and lights. Bulma watched in horror as Chichi's uniform and hair went up in flames, and the shocked girl nearly threw herself off of the bleachers trying to extinguish them. It was an awesome performance, and Bulma knew that people would be talking about it for months.
It wasn't until five minutes later that an ambulance arrived, and the fires started on Chichi had long been extinguished, but she suffered from many burns, a ruined uniform, and loss of about five inches of her precious glossy black hair. Bulma was right beside her as they lifted her into the ambulance, and felt like bursting into tears at the knowledge that this, at least partly, had been her fault. She silently racked up her score of victims to two. But when she felt the strong presence of Vejita behind her, she pulled away and let Goku travel to the hospital with her. Ironically, a few fireworks were still going off.
"Damn," Vejita breathed. "That went off better than I thought it would."
Bulma wiped away a tear and stalked away from him, desperately wishing that she were safe in her car, on her way home and away from all of this. "I'm glad that at least you enjoyed it."
Vejita followed her to her car. She didn't notice him until he opened her door for her and offered a half-grin. "Your limo awaits, Your Majesty."
"Bite me, Vejita," Bulma growled, attempting to shut the door. She could not get the image of Chichi's tortured screams as she tried to smother the flames consuming her clothing and hair. But Vejita's strong grip prevented her from escaping so easily. "Leave me alone! I don't want to do this anymore!"
"Its too late." Vejita's voice was low and dangerous. "You've already started, and you can't stop now." He daringly reached out and grabbed her chin, lifting it towards him. Stubborn tears streamed down her young face. "We're an undefeatable team, woman, even you can't deny that." After another long, intense look, he shut her door and backed away, holding her eyes until her car pulled away.
_______________ ~*~*~*~
Late that night, Bulma shot up in her bed. Her red-rimmed eyes widened in sudden realization. Her list of victims had increased far more than she had thought. Chichi was not her most recent victim. Thinking back to the parking lot, where she had once again succumbed to Vejita's pryings, she added a third person to the list. The most affected person yet.
Herself.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
(A/N): Yes, I know this is a painfully short chapter. The shortest yet, I think, but I just had to get something posted before the holidays, just to make up for the long vactation that I'll be taking from the 27th to the 4th of next year. I hope that you have enjoyed this most recent turn of events, and that you'll reward the early present with a present of your own--a review! LOL I'm hopeless, I know, but its how I survive. Without your support, I would quite honestly be nowhere, so indulge me one more time. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah (Sorry if thats misspelled, I'm not Jewish!), Happy Kwanzaa, whatever! Ja ne! Rhapsody~*
___________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________
______________________________________CHAPTER FOUR: Victim Number Two
Bulma went to school the next day quite composed, even though beneath the cool demeaner she felt like a bomb ready to explode. She wore no jewels that day, because they reminded her of Vejita, but rather one of her most casual ensembles--a faded pair of jeans with a brown belt, a three-quarter length sleeved turtleneck, and a ski vest. She was always ready to smile at a passing aquaintence, and she was even pretty pleasant to Chichi and Goku, who had so irked her the day before. It was then that Chichi, who had known Bulma for so long, began to suspect something.
"What's wrong?" she pried at lunch that day. "You seem so...uplifted."
"And what's wrong with that?" Bulma asked, offering another tight, fake smile. "Am I usually depressed or something?"
"Well..." Chichi trailed off. "Sometimes. But WE understand, so it isn't so bad."
Bulma set down her pop and regarded Chichi seriously. "WHAT do you understand?"
Goku put a hand on her arm before Chichi could reply. "Its okay, Bulma, I don't think she's trying to imply anything. By the way, have you seen Vejita today? I need to talk to him about the game tonight."
Bulma's eyes went involuntarily to his usual table, and found him watching her with an odd gleam in his eyes. A cold chill went down her spine, and she was forced to look away. She could not seem to shake the image of him pushing that poor kid off of the edge of the quarry pool out of her mind--God knew she had dreamed of it enough last night. "No, I haven't. He's probably over where he usually is, laughing at the general predictability of the student population."
At that tense moment Yamcha and Krillen came back to the table, carrying their food. Bulma did not miss the longing glance Yamcha shot in her direction, nor did she miss his sliding down closer to where she and Chichi were sitting. It was at moments like these that she just couldn't understand what she had ever seen in such an annoying guy. And he played BASKETBALL, for God's sake! Wasn't it an unspoken rule that the head cheerleader dated a football player? Shaking her head at her past judgement, she turned away from him and rested her chin on her hands.
She becoming more and more edgy and nervous about the night's upcoming football game, for whatever reason. Perhaps it was because of the fact that Vejita would be there, or maybe it was because she hadn't gotten very much sleep the night before. But even though she had only dismissed it as bad intuition, the feeling proved to be correct when, later that afternoon, after school, she met Vejita's eyes when the players were jogging past the area where she was leading Chichi and her fellow cheerleaders through a cheer. They held that horrible, mischevious look they had that day at the mall, and it was then that she knew that somebody's social fate was about to be decided. But Bulma, determined not to let the others see her moment of weakness, pushed them on doggedly, demanding more than she knew that they could give, but she didn't care. She just wanted to wipe that suspicious look off of Chichi's face.
_______________ ~*~*~*~
The night's game was going quite smoothly up until halftime, when Vejita slipped away from under the nose of his coaches and approached Bulma as she fixed her ponytail, unsuspecting. At his dark glare, the other girls scattered like leaves in the wind, leaving them alone. Well, kind of. The crowd bustled about behind them, hurrying to get a warm drink before the game resumed again. Neither of the two paid them any attention.
"What do you want?" Bulma asked coldly, gazing into her compact mirror as if every cell in her body wasn't acutely aware of Vejita's presence. "I have to hurry up and get ready for the second half, and so do you."
She nearly dropped her mirror when she felt Vejita's hands on her shoulders. She took a deep breath and tried to shake away, but was unsuccessful. "What do you want?!" she snapped, not liking him standing behind her, where she couldn't read his face.
"Poor little Bulma, clamming up at the first signs of trouble," Vejita said quietly, so only Bulma, and not the passing crowd, could hear. "You act as if I'm going to suggest murdering somebody."
"It wouldn't surprise me," Bulma retorted, turning around to face him. "Is that why you came over here, to order me around like your little pet?"
"More or less," Vejita admitted, smirking. "But don't think for a second that I'm going to miss out on all the fun. I have an idea, and I think that even you will like it."
Bulma grimaced. "I wouldn't bet on it."
"Shut up, woman," Vejita said, growing irritated with her resistance. "What happened to the girl who was so eager to participate at the mall?"
"Jesus Christ, Vejita!" Bulma exclaimed, chucking her mirror into the half-full bleachers angrily, ignoring the shouts of protest as it shattered near somebody's feet. "How can you expect me to act normally after you show up at my house and confess something like...that!"
"I can expect whatever the hell I want from you," he answered, crossing his arms. He nodded towards the crowd and the other cheerleaders, who were beginning to creep back timidly. "You don't want them to witness a struggle, do you? What would they make of that, do you think?"
Bulma smothered the angry tears that had dared to form in her clear eyes. "You asshole."
"Now, let's not get testy," Vejita said playfully. "This isn't going to be as hard as you think."
_______________ ~*~*~*~
Well, Vejita was wrong. Bulma gritted her teeth and slammed her gym bag down onto the bleachers where Chichi, who had decided to sit this game out, was residing. Once she was certain that nobody had detected her presence, Bulma settled down next to her bag to wait for Vejita, who was going to sneak out of the locker room. Bulma wrapped her bare arms around herself and shivered, waiting for her partner in crime to arrive.
"Boo."
Bulma jumped about a couple feet into the air at this quiet statement. She whirled around to face a grinning Vejita, who had seemed to materialize out of the shadows.
"Very funny," Bulma snapped. "Let's just hurry up and get this done before somebody finds us."
"That won't happen," Vejita assured her. "Not even the bravest pothead would smoke under where that annoying bitch is sitting."
"You got the stuff?" Bulma asked, digging her lighter out of her gym bag.
Vejita smirked and pulled a few packages of fireworks out of the pocket of his sweater. "You underestimate me. Now let's get this little party started, shall we?"
Bulma had to admit to herself that she rather enjoyed the thrill of setting up their latest prank, especially since she knew how much this would startle her unsuspecting friend. And the more she listened, the more Vejita's continuous coaxing and suggesting seemed to make sense. What WOULD happen if one of them ratted on her? Shaking her head in renewed fury, she went about her work with determination. As Vejita had predicted, they finished in plenty of time to get back before the second half.
The team had just scored a spectacular touchdown, orchestrated by none other than Vejita, of course, and Bulma had just gotten around to becoming somewhat relaxed again when the fireworks went off. People in the bleachers scattered in every direction, throwing themselves out of range of the multi-colored sparks and lights. Bulma watched in horror as Chichi's uniform and hair went up in flames, and the shocked girl nearly threw herself off of the bleachers trying to extinguish them. It was an awesome performance, and Bulma knew that people would be talking about it for months.
It wasn't until five minutes later that an ambulance arrived, and the fires started on Chichi had long been extinguished, but she suffered from many burns, a ruined uniform, and loss of about five inches of her precious glossy black hair. Bulma was right beside her as they lifted her into the ambulance, and felt like bursting into tears at the knowledge that this, at least partly, had been her fault. She silently racked up her score of victims to two. But when she felt the strong presence of Vejita behind her, she pulled away and let Goku travel to the hospital with her. Ironically, a few fireworks were still going off.
"Damn," Vejita breathed. "That went off better than I thought it would."
Bulma wiped away a tear and stalked away from him, desperately wishing that she were safe in her car, on her way home and away from all of this. "I'm glad that at least you enjoyed it."
Vejita followed her to her car. She didn't notice him until he opened her door for her and offered a half-grin. "Your limo awaits, Your Majesty."
"Bite me, Vejita," Bulma growled, attempting to shut the door. She could not get the image of Chichi's tortured screams as she tried to smother the flames consuming her clothing and hair. But Vejita's strong grip prevented her from escaping so easily. "Leave me alone! I don't want to do this anymore!"
"Its too late." Vejita's voice was low and dangerous. "You've already started, and you can't stop now." He daringly reached out and grabbed her chin, lifting it towards him. Stubborn tears streamed down her young face. "We're an undefeatable team, woman, even you can't deny that." After another long, intense look, he shut her door and backed away, holding her eyes until her car pulled away.
_______________ ~*~*~*~
Late that night, Bulma shot up in her bed. Her red-rimmed eyes widened in sudden realization. Her list of victims had increased far more than she had thought. Chichi was not her most recent victim. Thinking back to the parking lot, where she had once again succumbed to Vejita's pryings, she added a third person to the list. The most affected person yet.
Herself.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
(A/N): Yes, I know this is a painfully short chapter. The shortest yet, I think, but I just had to get something posted before the holidays, just to make up for the long vactation that I'll be taking from the 27th to the 4th of next year. I hope that you have enjoyed this most recent turn of events, and that you'll reward the early present with a present of your own--a review! LOL I'm hopeless, I know, but its how I survive. Without your support, I would quite honestly be nowhere, so indulge me one more time. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah (Sorry if thats misspelled, I'm not Jewish!), Happy Kwanzaa, whatever! Ja ne! Rhapsody~*
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