Author's Note: I usually don't write author's notes so this is a rarity
for me although it may become something I regularly do. Thank you all so
much for reading my story and a very big thank you to those that review.
While I don't create a story specifically for reviews, I love to receive
them and appreciate every single one. I wanted to say a few things about
this story. I figure if you've come this far, you hopefully like it and
will want to continue. I just wanted to make clear my choice to use
"Lunch" instead of "Launch." It simply comes down to a personal preference
for the original translation instead of the FUNimation interpretation. On
the other hand, I thought "Kushami" was a far better name than "Sneeze."
As for the plotline, I thought it might be fun to involve Lunch and what
would happen if Bulma decided to try her hand at matchmaking and meddling
in Vegeta's love life. The actual story is still evolving in my head, and
I'm always open to suggestions.
Thanks to mushi-azn for setting my head spinning in the direction of also making this a Tien/Lunch romance. Thanks to Android18 for understanding what I'm trying to portray in terms of their relationship. I hope you like where I'm taking this. :) Thanks to Chuquita, Mia, serendy4evr, Vegeta's Dark Fairy, Samantha, and Nekita for their kind words. And thanks to Shigasu, an author I'm just now discovering, who along with Rhapsody, I stand in awe.
***
Convinced
Chapter 4
"You!" Kushami spit out coldly, never letting the gun waver even the slightest bit from her intended target's skull. Her finger squeezed the trigger just enough to prevent it from actually firing.
Vegeta calculated that if she should fire he had a pretty good chance of phasing out of the way and killing her before the bullet entered his brain. But, he wasn't one hundred percent sure of that, so his next best option was to stay put and keep quiet. A little ways away, Goku's grin started to fade as he realized that Vegeta might actually be in a bit of trouble. Piccolo looked on uninterested.
"Uh, Kushami? Hey, whatcha doing there, huh?" Goku tried and failed to laugh and lighten the mood.
"I'm going to kill this son-of-a-bitch," Kushami said matter-of-factly.
Goku's smile faded altogether. "Why would you want to do that?"
There was a pause, then with a voice full of pain and hatred, Kushami said, "Because he was the boss of that bastard that killed Tien. I don't know if he ordered it or not, but he sure as hell stood by and let it happen."
Before Goku had a chance to respond, Piccolo surprisingly said, "Nappa is dead."
Kushami cocked her head to the side. "So his name was Nappa, was it? Too bad someone whacked him before I had a chance to do it. I would have really enjoyed killing that fucker myself. So which one of you had the honors?"
"I did." Vegeta declared, turning his head boldly to look Kushami in the eye. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. "Nappa was weak, a trait I do not tolerate in my subordinates."
Kushami's eyes glittered with a deep rage. "Nappa," she enunciated, "killed Tien, and Tien was NOT a weak fighter."
Vegeta smirked. "He was that day."
Kushami bit back an outraged cry and started to pull the trigger fully when Goku's shout stopped her. Suddenly, he was standing next to her and had moved so fast, Vegeta knew he must have used his instantaneous transportation trick. Goku placed a finger on the barrel and gently lowered it away from Vegeta.
"Kushami-chan, we need Vegeta to fight the androids," he said in a gentle voice and moved to stand between Vegeta and the terribly upset girl whose eyes glistened with unshed tears.
Kushami nodded slowly, then quickly turned about face and walked a few feet away while looking up at the sky. Goku had the feeling she needed a moment of privacy in order to collect herself and wisely let her be. Behind him, Vegeta growled, "I don't need you fighting my battles, Kakkarot. Get out of my way."
Goku turned around, smiling and scratching his head. "Battles? With Kushami? Aw, come on, she's not really your enemy."
Vegeta shrugged. "She held a gun to my head."
"Wah," Piccolo flatly said. "Enough of this already. Are you here to spar, Vegeta? Or just waste our time?"
Vegeta smirked and let his ki flare in response. "You want some of this, you green freak?"
Piccolo tossed his cape back off his shoulders and bared his teeth. "Anytime. Unless you weren't finished with the woman there?"
Vegeta turned to glance back at Kushami who still had her back turned to them. "Hmpf. That Tien guy was worthless anyway. Still is."
With that, he and Goku started back towards the practice field when someone tapped his shoulder. As he turned around, he was cold cocked across the temple with the butt of a revolver and fell to the ground. "That's for Tien, you arrogant fuck," Kushami screamed.
***
Bulma sipped on her tea politely as Chi-Chi related yet another fascinating tale about Gohan's academic prowess. The motion of the hands on the clock mounted above Chi-Chi's head threatened to hypnotize Bulma who kept nodding off and violently jerking back awake. Yamcha was with Gohan checking his room out.
As Bulma violently spasmed awake for the fourth time, Chi-Chi said with much concern, "Bulma-chan, I never noticed you had such a pronounced twitching problem. Is something wrong?"
Bulma yawned and stretched. "Nothing that a little caffeine won't fix." And a ball gag, she grumpily thought.
As Chi-Chi got up to get Bulma another cup of tea from the kitchen, Bulma seized the opportunity and jumped up instead. "No, no, Chi-Chi-chan. Don't be silly; I'll get it."
"Well, alright," Chi-Chi hesitatingly began, not quite comfortable with someone waiting on her in her own house, a thing that rarely happened. "I think you know where everything is."
Bulma took their cups to the kitchen and began to pour the tea. As she did so, she looked out the window onto the beautiful view of the practice field outside. What she saw made her drop the teapot and cup, which shattered on the floor.
"Great Kami! What was that?!" Chi-Chi came running into the kitchen, but Bulma was already out the back door and running for all she was worth through the brilliant green grass.
***
Vegeta staggered to his feet and tried to comprehend what had just happened. He heard shouting which did nothing to ease the tremendous pain emanating from the side of his head. Without thinking, he powered up his ki and prepared to send someone to the next dimension. If no target could be found, Kakkarot would do nicely.
His vision blurred for a brief moment then locked in on the blonde girl who had been Lunch and now called herself Kushami. Vegeta's head hurt too much to puzzle it out just then. She was struggling with all of her might in Kakkarot's strong grip while he desperately tried to calm her down and shield her from the angry Saiyan's wrath. Truth be told, he was more surprised by the whole thing than angry. All would have been forgotten given her tragic circumstances and non-existent ki except that his pride had been injured. He still wasn't ready to admit that a worthless human female had knocked him down. Just as he created a ki ball powerful enough to wipe her existence from the face of the planet even considering Kakkarot's weak attempt to protect her, the sight of a certain blue-haired woman racing towards him and screaming momentarily distracted him
"VEGETA! DON'T YOU DO IT! YOU HEAR ME, YOU POINTY-HAIRED BABOON?!" Bulma yelled at the top of her lungs. As she skidded to a halt next to him, she had to put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. She briefly thought she should have won a medal for that Olympic-paced sprint. In between mouthfuls of air, she gasped, "If you kill her, I'm blowing up the Gravity Room. And I'm not rebuilding it."
Vegeta turned back to Kushami and pointed a finger with a glowing ball of ki emerging from the tip. "Then that means the Earth loses two totally worthless females today. I maybe end up a hero yet."
Goku pushed the still thrashing Kushami behind his back and held her there with one hand. "Hey, Vegeta. Come on. I'm sure she didn't mean it. Hey, let's not go crazy here."
"I sure as hell did mean it, Goku! And next time, I'm not just gonna cold cock the stupid mother-" Kushami started, but was interrupted by Goku squeezing her tighter and muffling her voice against his broad shoulder blades.
Vegeta aimed right at Goku's chest directly where Kushami's head lay buried behind him and fired. "HEY, VEGETA!" Goku cried, barely deflecting the blast. "Watch it!"
Vegeta sneered and replied, "I was."
As he raised his hand again to unleash an even bigger blast, Bulma bravely stepped directly in front of his hand. She was so close, the tip of his finger brushed the collar of her blouse. Dead seriously, she said, "No more, Vegeta. Just back off."
Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "Don't meddle, woman."
"It's my middle name," she deadpanned, never taking her eyes from his. The tension in the air was so thick, even Piccolo was starting to be affected.
Vegeta took a step closer and painfully pressed his finger into her collarbone. He could kill her now, and there was no one, not even Kakkarot, who could save her. "Why should I spare her life, woman?"
Bulma didn't flinch, knowing that if she did, Kushami and Lunch were dead. "Because I'm asking you to."
Vegeta smirked and relaxed. "Fine. Now, you owe me. I expect the Gravity Room to exceed 350 by this time tomorrow."
"WHAT?!" Bulma cried. "THAT WILL TAKE ME ALL NIGHT! Yamcha and I have plans later!"
Vegeta crossed his arms. "All right. Make it 400 then."
Goku sighed as one who deeply loves and regrets having wildcats for close friends. He spent the next ten minutes trying to keep both women from clawing the Saiyan Prince's eyes out as he and Piccolo went off to spar. Luckily, Yamcha arrived and took over at which point Goku happily turned Super Saiyan and went off to play with the others.
***
The ride back to the Capsule Corporation compound could be described as anything but fun. Yamcha sat in the back nursing a black eye from his struggles with either Kushami or Bulma, he couldn't tell which. Kushami sat in moody silence after uttering only seven profound words the entire rest of the afternoon, and those happened to be aimed at Vegeta. They were "stay the fuck away from me, asshole." Vegeta was furious that even after all his intense training, Kakkarot's ki level and prowess still far exceeded him. If anything, the gap between them had grown wider. And Bulma was still stewing that her plans tonight included spending all her precious "alone" time tangled up in the Gravity Room's wires and circuit boards instead of with Yamcha.
Vegeta again came up front to sit beside her in the passenger seat. "Damn it, woman! Make this piece of crap fly faster!"
Bulma stared straight ahead with white knuckles gripping the steering wheel painfully.
Vegeta opened his mouth to say something else when Bulma snapped her head towards him. "Shut it, Vegetable Brains! Not another word! Do you hear me?! Not a single god damned word!"
He looked over at her and shrugged. Opening the passenger door, he muttered something about "not needing all this bullshit" and flew off ahead of them. Bulma blasted the horn after him and floored the bus as if she could overtake him and run him down. The bus lurched forward and gained a little momentum, but by then, Vegeta was just a tiny speck on the horizon. As Bulma downshifted the engines to try and conserve some of the fuel she'd just wasted, she heard a fit of sneezing from the passenger compartment behind her. A few moments later, Lunch appeared. "Are we going home already?"
"Yeah," Bulma mumbled through clenched teeth.
Lunch sat down next to her and smiled. "Well, did we have a good time?"
Thanks to mushi-azn for setting my head spinning in the direction of also making this a Tien/Lunch romance. Thanks to Android18 for understanding what I'm trying to portray in terms of their relationship. I hope you like where I'm taking this. :) Thanks to Chuquita, Mia, serendy4evr, Vegeta's Dark Fairy, Samantha, and Nekita for their kind words. And thanks to Shigasu, an author I'm just now discovering, who along with Rhapsody, I stand in awe.
***
Convinced
Chapter 4
"You!" Kushami spit out coldly, never letting the gun waver even the slightest bit from her intended target's skull. Her finger squeezed the trigger just enough to prevent it from actually firing.
Vegeta calculated that if she should fire he had a pretty good chance of phasing out of the way and killing her before the bullet entered his brain. But, he wasn't one hundred percent sure of that, so his next best option was to stay put and keep quiet. A little ways away, Goku's grin started to fade as he realized that Vegeta might actually be in a bit of trouble. Piccolo looked on uninterested.
"Uh, Kushami? Hey, whatcha doing there, huh?" Goku tried and failed to laugh and lighten the mood.
"I'm going to kill this son-of-a-bitch," Kushami said matter-of-factly.
Goku's smile faded altogether. "Why would you want to do that?"
There was a pause, then with a voice full of pain and hatred, Kushami said, "Because he was the boss of that bastard that killed Tien. I don't know if he ordered it or not, but he sure as hell stood by and let it happen."
Before Goku had a chance to respond, Piccolo surprisingly said, "Nappa is dead."
Kushami cocked her head to the side. "So his name was Nappa, was it? Too bad someone whacked him before I had a chance to do it. I would have really enjoyed killing that fucker myself. So which one of you had the honors?"
"I did." Vegeta declared, turning his head boldly to look Kushami in the eye. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. "Nappa was weak, a trait I do not tolerate in my subordinates."
Kushami's eyes glittered with a deep rage. "Nappa," she enunciated, "killed Tien, and Tien was NOT a weak fighter."
Vegeta smirked. "He was that day."
Kushami bit back an outraged cry and started to pull the trigger fully when Goku's shout stopped her. Suddenly, he was standing next to her and had moved so fast, Vegeta knew he must have used his instantaneous transportation trick. Goku placed a finger on the barrel and gently lowered it away from Vegeta.
"Kushami-chan, we need Vegeta to fight the androids," he said in a gentle voice and moved to stand between Vegeta and the terribly upset girl whose eyes glistened with unshed tears.
Kushami nodded slowly, then quickly turned about face and walked a few feet away while looking up at the sky. Goku had the feeling she needed a moment of privacy in order to collect herself and wisely let her be. Behind him, Vegeta growled, "I don't need you fighting my battles, Kakkarot. Get out of my way."
Goku turned around, smiling and scratching his head. "Battles? With Kushami? Aw, come on, she's not really your enemy."
Vegeta shrugged. "She held a gun to my head."
"Wah," Piccolo flatly said. "Enough of this already. Are you here to spar, Vegeta? Or just waste our time?"
Vegeta smirked and let his ki flare in response. "You want some of this, you green freak?"
Piccolo tossed his cape back off his shoulders and bared his teeth. "Anytime. Unless you weren't finished with the woman there?"
Vegeta turned to glance back at Kushami who still had her back turned to them. "Hmpf. That Tien guy was worthless anyway. Still is."
With that, he and Goku started back towards the practice field when someone tapped his shoulder. As he turned around, he was cold cocked across the temple with the butt of a revolver and fell to the ground. "That's for Tien, you arrogant fuck," Kushami screamed.
***
Bulma sipped on her tea politely as Chi-Chi related yet another fascinating tale about Gohan's academic prowess. The motion of the hands on the clock mounted above Chi-Chi's head threatened to hypnotize Bulma who kept nodding off and violently jerking back awake. Yamcha was with Gohan checking his room out.
As Bulma violently spasmed awake for the fourth time, Chi-Chi said with much concern, "Bulma-chan, I never noticed you had such a pronounced twitching problem. Is something wrong?"
Bulma yawned and stretched. "Nothing that a little caffeine won't fix." And a ball gag, she grumpily thought.
As Chi-Chi got up to get Bulma another cup of tea from the kitchen, Bulma seized the opportunity and jumped up instead. "No, no, Chi-Chi-chan. Don't be silly; I'll get it."
"Well, alright," Chi-Chi hesitatingly began, not quite comfortable with someone waiting on her in her own house, a thing that rarely happened. "I think you know where everything is."
Bulma took their cups to the kitchen and began to pour the tea. As she did so, she looked out the window onto the beautiful view of the practice field outside. What she saw made her drop the teapot and cup, which shattered on the floor.
"Great Kami! What was that?!" Chi-Chi came running into the kitchen, but Bulma was already out the back door and running for all she was worth through the brilliant green grass.
***
Vegeta staggered to his feet and tried to comprehend what had just happened. He heard shouting which did nothing to ease the tremendous pain emanating from the side of his head. Without thinking, he powered up his ki and prepared to send someone to the next dimension. If no target could be found, Kakkarot would do nicely.
His vision blurred for a brief moment then locked in on the blonde girl who had been Lunch and now called herself Kushami. Vegeta's head hurt too much to puzzle it out just then. She was struggling with all of her might in Kakkarot's strong grip while he desperately tried to calm her down and shield her from the angry Saiyan's wrath. Truth be told, he was more surprised by the whole thing than angry. All would have been forgotten given her tragic circumstances and non-existent ki except that his pride had been injured. He still wasn't ready to admit that a worthless human female had knocked him down. Just as he created a ki ball powerful enough to wipe her existence from the face of the planet even considering Kakkarot's weak attempt to protect her, the sight of a certain blue-haired woman racing towards him and screaming momentarily distracted him
"VEGETA! DON'T YOU DO IT! YOU HEAR ME, YOU POINTY-HAIRED BABOON?!" Bulma yelled at the top of her lungs. As she skidded to a halt next to him, she had to put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. She briefly thought she should have won a medal for that Olympic-paced sprint. In between mouthfuls of air, she gasped, "If you kill her, I'm blowing up the Gravity Room. And I'm not rebuilding it."
Vegeta turned back to Kushami and pointed a finger with a glowing ball of ki emerging from the tip. "Then that means the Earth loses two totally worthless females today. I maybe end up a hero yet."
Goku pushed the still thrashing Kushami behind his back and held her there with one hand. "Hey, Vegeta. Come on. I'm sure she didn't mean it. Hey, let's not go crazy here."
"I sure as hell did mean it, Goku! And next time, I'm not just gonna cold cock the stupid mother-" Kushami started, but was interrupted by Goku squeezing her tighter and muffling her voice against his broad shoulder blades.
Vegeta aimed right at Goku's chest directly where Kushami's head lay buried behind him and fired. "HEY, VEGETA!" Goku cried, barely deflecting the blast. "Watch it!"
Vegeta sneered and replied, "I was."
As he raised his hand again to unleash an even bigger blast, Bulma bravely stepped directly in front of his hand. She was so close, the tip of his finger brushed the collar of her blouse. Dead seriously, she said, "No more, Vegeta. Just back off."
Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "Don't meddle, woman."
"It's my middle name," she deadpanned, never taking her eyes from his. The tension in the air was so thick, even Piccolo was starting to be affected.
Vegeta took a step closer and painfully pressed his finger into her collarbone. He could kill her now, and there was no one, not even Kakkarot, who could save her. "Why should I spare her life, woman?"
Bulma didn't flinch, knowing that if she did, Kushami and Lunch were dead. "Because I'm asking you to."
Vegeta smirked and relaxed. "Fine. Now, you owe me. I expect the Gravity Room to exceed 350 by this time tomorrow."
"WHAT?!" Bulma cried. "THAT WILL TAKE ME ALL NIGHT! Yamcha and I have plans later!"
Vegeta crossed his arms. "All right. Make it 400 then."
Goku sighed as one who deeply loves and regrets having wildcats for close friends. He spent the next ten minutes trying to keep both women from clawing the Saiyan Prince's eyes out as he and Piccolo went off to spar. Luckily, Yamcha arrived and took over at which point Goku happily turned Super Saiyan and went off to play with the others.
***
The ride back to the Capsule Corporation compound could be described as anything but fun. Yamcha sat in the back nursing a black eye from his struggles with either Kushami or Bulma, he couldn't tell which. Kushami sat in moody silence after uttering only seven profound words the entire rest of the afternoon, and those happened to be aimed at Vegeta. They were "stay the fuck away from me, asshole." Vegeta was furious that even after all his intense training, Kakkarot's ki level and prowess still far exceeded him. If anything, the gap between them had grown wider. And Bulma was still stewing that her plans tonight included spending all her precious "alone" time tangled up in the Gravity Room's wires and circuit boards instead of with Yamcha.
Vegeta again came up front to sit beside her in the passenger seat. "Damn it, woman! Make this piece of crap fly faster!"
Bulma stared straight ahead with white knuckles gripping the steering wheel painfully.
Vegeta opened his mouth to say something else when Bulma snapped her head towards him. "Shut it, Vegetable Brains! Not another word! Do you hear me?! Not a single god damned word!"
He looked over at her and shrugged. Opening the passenger door, he muttered something about "not needing all this bullshit" and flew off ahead of them. Bulma blasted the horn after him and floored the bus as if she could overtake him and run him down. The bus lurched forward and gained a little momentum, but by then, Vegeta was just a tiny speck on the horizon. As Bulma downshifted the engines to try and conserve some of the fuel she'd just wasted, she heard a fit of sneezing from the passenger compartment behind her. A few moments later, Lunch appeared. "Are we going home already?"
"Yeah," Bulma mumbled through clenched teeth.
Lunch sat down next to her and smiled. "Well, did we have a good time?"