My Secret- 11. The Unexpected Visitor
Goten looked over his father's shoulder. "Dad, is he okay?"
"I think so. Maybe he just passed out from exhaustion. It looks like he went though a lot."
Gohan studied the boy carefully, and his sharp eyes caught something. "Dad! Quick, we have to get him inside."
"Huh? Why?"
Without answering, Gohan picked the unconscious body and very delicately, laid him on the family room floor. Goten and Goku hovered near, watching curiously.
"What's the matter?"
"His ankle."
Goku and Goten shifted their eyes to the boy's ankle, which was beginning to darken.
"He might have sprained it."
Suddenly, as if he was trying to answer, the boy stirred and coughed up some blood, then fell back into unconsciousness.
"Eww, that's disgus-" Goten was sharply cut off by a yell from the front door.
"Goku!" The sound of groceries dropping and fruits rolling about the wooden floor spoke by themselves.
Both pair of eyes went to their father. Gohan was busy tending to the boy to look up. "Dad, I think you better go explain to Mom-"
"No need! I'm here." Chichi glanced at her sons sitting on the floor, and then shot a killing look to Goku.
"GOKU!" She yanked his shirt collar. "What is this?! I come home, and the front door is wide open! The refrigerator isn't closed! And what do I see here instead of dinner?! Do you have any idea what time it is? It's past six o'clock!"
"Chichi, we were just doing that. And we got a visitor-"
"I SAID NO VISITORS!!"
"I know, but... but the boy was hurt. See," Chichi's narrow slits of eyes darted to the ground, and it softened immediately.
"Oh my goodness, is he alright? What happened?" She knelt besides Gohan and felt his forehead.
"We don't know Mom. He just near collapsed on our doorstep. From the looks of it though, he has at least a sprained ankle and maybe something more."
Chichi quickly took control, and drove everyone out of the room. Goku and Goten was only happy to oblige, knowing they can have their dinner if nothing else, but Gohan lingered in the doorway, unsure whether to eat or stay and help tend the wounds.
Chichi looked over at Gohan, and spoke softly. "Go on. I'll be fine."
He nodded lightly and went back into the kitchen.
---
Bulma glared at her. "Who are you?"
The girl just smiled, the mysterious kind usually reserved for teasing, except there was no humor now. Silently, her long pale fingers reached for the tsukemono. Gently caressing the surface, she sighed and let it hung loose again. When she looked up, Bulma's intense gaze met hers, and she smiled meekly.
"My name is Rye. I'm... someone from Vegeta's past. I guess you've already figured out most of it by now. You're so smart." There was no bitterness embedded within those words. She stated them as if surrendering.
"Well, there's still some things I don't understand, but I think I figured out most of it. You came to Earth, hoping to reunite with Vegeta again, but you realized he already has me. You were jealous, but I can tell you aren't the type to act blindly, so you decided to investigate some more by pretending to be Vegeta. When you got all the information you needed, you kidnapped me, trying to use me as your bait to get to Vegeta. But I'm going to tell you one thing, Rye. Vegeta isn't the kind to care about me like that. He protects me, but that's about all he does. He's not going to care that I go disappearing as long as there's food in the refrigerator. Most likely he's training right now, oblivious to all of this."
Now it was Rye's turn to gape. "How could you?" She asked, softly, almost silently, with astonishment. Then, her face flushed angrily, she snapped. "HOW COULD YOU? How DARE you think of Vegeta like that! You know nothing about him!"
Bulma sneered. "So your plan backfired. You should have known him better than that."
Rye moved closer, her face twisted in fury, just inches away from Bulma's. With an icy whisper, she said, "You're right. I do know him better than that. And I thought you were smart. Bulma, do you see this?" She shoved the diamond necklace in her face. "Can you still look at this and say he doesn't care about you?"
Bulma stared back, stone faced.
There was high tension for a while, and then Rye smiled. "Oh I see. You were just trying to get me mad, weren't you? Clever little thing. You were hoping to stall me to give Vegeta more time. Is that it?"
Bulma's face revealed nothing, but her silence answered all.
"I guess your plan backfired. After all, I'm not one of those brainless girls. Won't you expect me to know Vegeta'll be close behind if I lay my hands on you, hmm? I'm counting on him to come here. That was the only way to lure him away from all the others."
"That's where you're wrong. Vegeta won't be the only one sensing my ki."
"Now you have underestimated me again. I know all about sensing ki's. That's why I took the liberty of masking your weak one with my own. Apparently your friend Goku can't sense my energy signal because I don't have any physical strength. You see, my strength lies in my mental abilities." She smiled proudly.
"Then... then your plan doesn't work. If Goku can't sense my energy, then Vegeta certainly won't."
"Nuh uh ah." Rye held the tsukemono by its string and dangled it in front of Bulma. "You see this? I'm afraid I forgot few minor details last night. Not only does it form a shield, it also acts as a locator for Vegeta. All he has to do is follow his instinct and his subconscious would lead him straight to you."
"And what are you planning to do to him once he gets here?"
A smile tugged at one corner of her mouth and she tauntingly whispered, "I think that's between Vegeta and me, don't you think?"
Then, back to her normal self, she added, "I'm not here to destroy what's between you and Vegeta. I'm just here to claim what I rightfully deserve: an explanation. That's why I had to do use you." Rye gave a sheepish grin. "I actually wasn't planning to put my plan into action until tomorrow, but I made fatal mistake. I told you about the tsukemono. I knew, with Vegeta's suspicions that I couldn't wait. And then, while watching your dream, I got an idea. Didn't it ever occurred to you as odd that you had to drive on a deserted road?"
"You mean you were the one who made the phone call? To tell me I had to drive over to Papaya Island personally instead of asking for a delivery?"
Rye's grin deepened.
"But why?"
"That's exactly what I wanted to know myself. I had to find out, Bulma. I don't care about what happened, but I need to know why. Why he left me."
"Because," a familiar voice sharply sliced through the rocks," I thought you were dead."
---
You might think this mystery's going a bit slow, but I wanted to reveal it little by little. Last chapter, you learned the identity, now you know the motive. Next, we'll see what happens once Rye finally meets Vegeta, face to face. Notice, there's still one mystery I haven't touched yet. As I promised, all the mystery will be solved by the time I finish, so you can expect it to show up soon. Ah, if you have no clue what I'm talking about, keep reading.
Let's see⦠I'm grateful for all the reviews, but I have a favor to ask all of you. When you tell me that you're confused, it'll help me a lot to tell me EXACTLY where you're confused. Or am I just asking for too much here? Sometimes, I put out the results first and then explain how it happened later, and if that's what confuses you, then that's okay because you're SUPPOSE to be confused, but if I write a dialogue, and you can't figure out who said it, then that's my fault. Yet I won't know that unless you tell me so. Does this paragraph make sense at all? I hope so. ^_^
I think many of you are exasperated with my update rate. Now that school's over, I'll try to have one chapter at least once every week. I WILL finish this before July. Did I write that clear enough? This story will be completed by June 30. At least, that's my goal.
Goten looked over his father's shoulder. "Dad, is he okay?"
"I think so. Maybe he just passed out from exhaustion. It looks like he went though a lot."
Gohan studied the boy carefully, and his sharp eyes caught something. "Dad! Quick, we have to get him inside."
"Huh? Why?"
Without answering, Gohan picked the unconscious body and very delicately, laid him on the family room floor. Goten and Goku hovered near, watching curiously.
"What's the matter?"
"His ankle."
Goku and Goten shifted their eyes to the boy's ankle, which was beginning to darken.
"He might have sprained it."
Suddenly, as if he was trying to answer, the boy stirred and coughed up some blood, then fell back into unconsciousness.
"Eww, that's disgus-" Goten was sharply cut off by a yell from the front door.
"Goku!" The sound of groceries dropping and fruits rolling about the wooden floor spoke by themselves.
Both pair of eyes went to their father. Gohan was busy tending to the boy to look up. "Dad, I think you better go explain to Mom-"
"No need! I'm here." Chichi glanced at her sons sitting on the floor, and then shot a killing look to Goku.
"GOKU!" She yanked his shirt collar. "What is this?! I come home, and the front door is wide open! The refrigerator isn't closed! And what do I see here instead of dinner?! Do you have any idea what time it is? It's past six o'clock!"
"Chichi, we were just doing that. And we got a visitor-"
"I SAID NO VISITORS!!"
"I know, but... but the boy was hurt. See," Chichi's narrow slits of eyes darted to the ground, and it softened immediately.
"Oh my goodness, is he alright? What happened?" She knelt besides Gohan and felt his forehead.
"We don't know Mom. He just near collapsed on our doorstep. From the looks of it though, he has at least a sprained ankle and maybe something more."
Chichi quickly took control, and drove everyone out of the room. Goku and Goten was only happy to oblige, knowing they can have their dinner if nothing else, but Gohan lingered in the doorway, unsure whether to eat or stay and help tend the wounds.
Chichi looked over at Gohan, and spoke softly. "Go on. I'll be fine."
He nodded lightly and went back into the kitchen.
---
Bulma glared at her. "Who are you?"
The girl just smiled, the mysterious kind usually reserved for teasing, except there was no humor now. Silently, her long pale fingers reached for the tsukemono. Gently caressing the surface, she sighed and let it hung loose again. When she looked up, Bulma's intense gaze met hers, and she smiled meekly.
"My name is Rye. I'm... someone from Vegeta's past. I guess you've already figured out most of it by now. You're so smart." There was no bitterness embedded within those words. She stated them as if surrendering.
"Well, there's still some things I don't understand, but I think I figured out most of it. You came to Earth, hoping to reunite with Vegeta again, but you realized he already has me. You were jealous, but I can tell you aren't the type to act blindly, so you decided to investigate some more by pretending to be Vegeta. When you got all the information you needed, you kidnapped me, trying to use me as your bait to get to Vegeta. But I'm going to tell you one thing, Rye. Vegeta isn't the kind to care about me like that. He protects me, but that's about all he does. He's not going to care that I go disappearing as long as there's food in the refrigerator. Most likely he's training right now, oblivious to all of this."
Now it was Rye's turn to gape. "How could you?" She asked, softly, almost silently, with astonishment. Then, her face flushed angrily, she snapped. "HOW COULD YOU? How DARE you think of Vegeta like that! You know nothing about him!"
Bulma sneered. "So your plan backfired. You should have known him better than that."
Rye moved closer, her face twisted in fury, just inches away from Bulma's. With an icy whisper, she said, "You're right. I do know him better than that. And I thought you were smart. Bulma, do you see this?" She shoved the diamond necklace in her face. "Can you still look at this and say he doesn't care about you?"
Bulma stared back, stone faced.
There was high tension for a while, and then Rye smiled. "Oh I see. You were just trying to get me mad, weren't you? Clever little thing. You were hoping to stall me to give Vegeta more time. Is that it?"
Bulma's face revealed nothing, but her silence answered all.
"I guess your plan backfired. After all, I'm not one of those brainless girls. Won't you expect me to know Vegeta'll be close behind if I lay my hands on you, hmm? I'm counting on him to come here. That was the only way to lure him away from all the others."
"That's where you're wrong. Vegeta won't be the only one sensing my ki."
"Now you have underestimated me again. I know all about sensing ki's. That's why I took the liberty of masking your weak one with my own. Apparently your friend Goku can't sense my energy signal because I don't have any physical strength. You see, my strength lies in my mental abilities." She smiled proudly.
"Then... then your plan doesn't work. If Goku can't sense my energy, then Vegeta certainly won't."
"Nuh uh ah." Rye held the tsukemono by its string and dangled it in front of Bulma. "You see this? I'm afraid I forgot few minor details last night. Not only does it form a shield, it also acts as a locator for Vegeta. All he has to do is follow his instinct and his subconscious would lead him straight to you."
"And what are you planning to do to him once he gets here?"
A smile tugged at one corner of her mouth and she tauntingly whispered, "I think that's between Vegeta and me, don't you think?"
Then, back to her normal self, she added, "I'm not here to destroy what's between you and Vegeta. I'm just here to claim what I rightfully deserve: an explanation. That's why I had to do use you." Rye gave a sheepish grin. "I actually wasn't planning to put my plan into action until tomorrow, but I made fatal mistake. I told you about the tsukemono. I knew, with Vegeta's suspicions that I couldn't wait. And then, while watching your dream, I got an idea. Didn't it ever occurred to you as odd that you had to drive on a deserted road?"
"You mean you were the one who made the phone call? To tell me I had to drive over to Papaya Island personally instead of asking for a delivery?"
Rye's grin deepened.
"But why?"
"That's exactly what I wanted to know myself. I had to find out, Bulma. I don't care about what happened, but I need to know why. Why he left me."
"Because," a familiar voice sharply sliced through the rocks," I thought you were dead."
---
You might think this mystery's going a bit slow, but I wanted to reveal it little by little. Last chapter, you learned the identity, now you know the motive. Next, we'll see what happens once Rye finally meets Vegeta, face to face. Notice, there's still one mystery I haven't touched yet. As I promised, all the mystery will be solved by the time I finish, so you can expect it to show up soon. Ah, if you have no clue what I'm talking about, keep reading.
Let's see⦠I'm grateful for all the reviews, but I have a favor to ask all of you. When you tell me that you're confused, it'll help me a lot to tell me EXACTLY where you're confused. Or am I just asking for too much here? Sometimes, I put out the results first and then explain how it happened later, and if that's what confuses you, then that's okay because you're SUPPOSE to be confused, but if I write a dialogue, and you can't figure out who said it, then that's my fault. Yet I won't know that unless you tell me so. Does this paragraph make sense at all? I hope so. ^_^
I think many of you are exasperated with my update rate. Now that school's over, I'll try to have one chapter at least once every week. I WILL finish this before July. Did I write that clear enough? This story will be completed by June 30. At least, that's my goal.
