*Sniffles* Oh! All the nice reviews! Just what I've been longing for! You all are so good to me! Well, my surgery is over. Now I can't eat, or talk, and it sucks. But, what can I say? Can't change that now. Oh, I keep forgetting to warn you all, this is going to be a very, extremely long fic. I mean, I have about...12 chapters written up in a notebook under my bed. Each one is about ten pages long. I'm not even half way done with this fic. So anyway add that, to the time it takes me to type up a chap and...needless to say, you'll be reading on this one for a while. But that's a good thing, ne? And the chapters to this fic are so much longer when compared to any of my others. =)

Anyway, enough rambling...

Disclaimer: *Kit walks out onto a giant stage and mumbles something. Because her mouth is wired shut, no one can understand her. Sighing, she pulls out a giant sign and writes on it* I own nothing but a sword and my honor....and a couple bottles of juice that will be all that will keep me from starving for the next three or four weeks...

(Jeez, I sure am laying on the pity party, ne? LOL)



Bring on the Rain

Chapter four



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"It looks like someone's been purposefully torturing her for years!" Bulma murmured as she came down the stairs after seeing to the small, strange girl's wounds.

"Years?" Vegeta scoffed, haughtily crossing his arms.

"And she survived..." Goku mumbled in awe. "I'm impressed! Especially for someone as small as her!" He said enthusiastically.

Vegeta grunted something rude.

"Can I go see her, Mom?" Chibi Trunks asked anxiously. Bulma frowned as she looked down at her eight-year-old son.

"Why do you care, Trunks?"

"Why...? Mom! She's a tenshi!"

"Not a real one, Trunks. She may not be exactly human, but she's not a tenshi." The blue haired woman answered firmly, a little jealous that her son was so worried over the strange newcomer. "I swear, I don't understand how you-"

"Don't you feel that there's something about her?" Shin asked, his quiet voice interrupting her not-so-quiet one. "I think everyone's a little worried about her." He continued. "Her mother was a...very powerful, very beautiful megami. All her subjects loved her. I never met Usagi before now, but I've heard plenty about her. It was expected that she would be an even greater queen than her mother.

"But the destruction of her kingdom came first. I don't think she's aware of it, but the few people who survived that battle took their own lives when they heard that she had died. She's just the kind of person that everyone comes to love. Some even wanted her to become the ruler and guardian of the entire Cosmos, but obviously she's rejected that idea."

Bulma tossed Usagi's fuku into a garbage bag, scrunching up her face.

"Well, princess or no, that girl certainly needs new clothes! Sorry Vegeta, but I had to lend her some of yours. None of my shirts would fit."

"That's because you dress like a common prostitute." The Saiyan prince mumbled.

"What was that?"

Vegeta grunted and began to walk away. "I'm going to train." He declared.

He was stopped by a small hand grasping his own.

"Can you take me to see her, dad?" Trunks pleaded uncharacteristically. Slowly, reluctantly, Vegeta nodded. He'd never seen his son act like this before, and didn't know how else to handle it.

They went up the stairs to one of Capsule Corp's many guest bedrooms. The window in the room was open wide, letting in sunshine and a soft breeze. As Vegeta had secretly suspected, Usagi's hair-now clean and flowing all around her on the bed-was like pure spun gold. She looked tiny in the large bed, and even tinier in Vegeta's pink badman shirt,

He snorted when he saw that. Of course Bulma would have given the girl his favorite shirt.

"Don't be long, Trunks." He ordered, although his voice didn't sound as harsh as it usually did.

"You understand, don't you dad?" Trunks asked.

Vegeta didn't answer, just pushed his son forward. "Hurry." He growled.

Chibi Trunks carefully sat down on the edge of the bed, trying not to disturb Usagi. "I know she's not a real tenshi, dad, but still..." his voice trailed off. Vegeta actually thought he did understand. The girl was...magnetic.

His eyes trailed over her sleeping form, taking in her numerous scars. As a warrior, he actually thought of her scars as attractive. They attested to great endurance and strength. His gaze fell on her face and stayed there, admiring how a stray strand of golden hair fell forward onto her cheek. He wanted to brush it away. His fingers itched to, but he wouldn't let them move.

In the form in which he had first seen her in she had been, he had to admit, stunningly beautiful. However, now the Saiyan prince found her absolutely gorgeous. It was easy to believe that she was half megami.

Vegeta froze his train of thought and reprimanded himself. He hadn't let himself feel attracted to anyone since Bulma. Could a Saiyan move on after his mate betrayed him? Was such a thing even possible?

Baka. Vegeta thought. It's never happened before. A Saiyan would never betray his mate! The only time a mated couple would separate would be when one died. And then...sometimes the surviving Saiyan would find a new mate; one he loved more deeply than the old. That had been the only form of destiny the Saiyan race had believed in.

Only the hand of fate could cause a Saiyan to love another.

Vegeta shook his head to clear it. Sheer lunacy. he thought in disgust as he walked out the door, deciding to wait for his son in the hallway. Once outside the room, the Saiyan prince felt chilly; as if he had just left a great source of warmth.

Lunacy. he repeated in his head, swearing to himself that hew would not go back in there.

Trunks waited until his father was out of the room before he reached over and took one of Usagi's hands in his own. "I knew you'd come." He whispered. "Every night I'd wish that a tenshi would come. I know you're not a real one, but I think you're better than a real one anyway. Real tenshi..they don't feel like other people do, do they?"

Full Saiyan hearing is better than half Saiyan hearing. Vegeta unconsciously moved closer to the door.

"My Mom and dad, well, they're not together you know. Mom wants to marry Yamcha. I can see though, how much she hurt dad by that. It was like his heart crumpled when she told him. He didn't even flinch when he heard, but I knew. I think it's because I'm half Saiyan. Anyway, " he put her limp hand against his cheek. "I've been wishing for you since before that. I don't want my dad to be lonely anymore. He already likes you. Do you see why I don't want you to die?"

His pleading, childlike yet heartfelt, surprised Vegeta more than he'd thought possible. Of course with his Saiyan blood the eight-year-old probably could sense the importance of a lifelong mate. Without even realizing it, Vegeta decided not to let his son know he'd heard anything.

"Anyway," Trunks sighed, "I better go. I have to go train. I'll visit you tomorrow though, I promise." Trunks dropped Usagi's hand and kissed her cheek before jumping off the bed and bounding into the hallway.

Vegeta pretended he hadn't heard a thing.

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"She's not unconscious, just asleep." Bulma insisted over dinner that night. Yamcha shook his head, disagreeing.

"She's gotta be unconscious, Bulma. You should set up a monitor to make sure she doesn't die or fall into a coma or something." He insisted without thinking. The moment it was out of his mouth he cast a guilty look at Trunks. The eight-year-old had grown very pale.

"She's asleep." He said quietly, then began to yell. Yamcha wasn't exactly his favorite person int he world anyway. "You baka! Kusoyaro! You don't know! You don't know!" He knocked over his chair as he stood and drew back his arm to punch the man.

"Trunks!" Bulma snapped, stopping him mid-punch. "That's enough! Go to your room!"

Grumbling, the half Saiyan child walked away.

Vegeta smirked.

Bulma glared at him. "Of course you would think that's funny. I swear, sometimes he's just like you. It's infuriating!"

Vegeta stood proudly, pushing away his plates. "The boy has Saiyan blood running through his veins, onna. It is to be expected that he would act like one. You think Kakarott is the perfect example of a true Saiyan? You think that's how we all acted? No. I am a true Saiyan, and so is my son." He began to walk away, proud of his little speech.

"And where do you think you're going?" Bulma demanded.

"To train."

Vegeta knew that no on would check the gravity room for him this late at night. Instead of going t train, he went up to the guest bedroom Usagi was in. Not surprisingly, Trunks was already there.

"Please wake up." The boy begged. "I know I'm right about you. Please!" he held her hand up against his cheek.

"Trunks."

The lavender haired boy looked up. "You know, dad, right?"

Vegeta allowed a small nod. "If your mother catches you up here you won't be training for weeks." He said, as if that were all he was concerned about.

Trunks nodded and slipped past his father. "I just wanted to see if maybe I could get her to wake up. I bet she's real nice. Don't tell Mom I was here." With a burst of super Saiyan speed he was down the hall and in his room.

Vegeta was now completely alone in the hallway. Not quite knowing what he was doing, he walked into the room.

For a moment, Vegeta stared down at the girl. Usagi. he reminded himself with amusement. It really was a strange name for such a girl. She would have made a wonderful Saiyan.

Vegeta was surprised when he caught himself memorizing her sweet, delicate features. He couldn't remember ever meeting someone who looked so perfect.

He had to admit that he admired her.

Without hesitation she had stood up to him, even presumed to order him around. He had, to his surprise, liked it.

Usagi stirred slightly, thrashed a little, and a frown creased her face. Without taking time to think, Vegeta reached out and touched her cheek. The frown instantly disappeared and she calmed. Vegeta smirked to himself and left the room.

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For the first time in a long time, Usagi felt warm. And relaxed. She stretched out under thick blankets, smiling to herself. It was only after she was almost completely back to sleep that she realized two things.

One was that she wasn't dead.

The other was that she was really hungry.

Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and surveyed the room she was in. Those people must have brought me here. She thought to herself. I wonder where I am? This place looks a lot like Earth, but no one back home could just fly like those people did. And I don't think we have anything like Dragon Balls. Hmm, maybe this is an alternate dimension...

She halted her thoughts as the door began to squeak open. Usagi sat up just as a young eight-year-old boy with lavender hair slipped into the room followed by a seven-year-old with spiky black hair. Both froze when they saw her.

"You're awake!" Trunks exclaimed, a wide smile on his face. He jumped up onto he foot of the bed.

Usagi laughed a little. "So I am." She answered quietly. "Can you tell me how long I've been asleep?" She patted a spot near her, motioning for Goten to join them.

"A whole week's what Bulma said." Goten volunteered, climbing up beside her and his best friend. "You musta been really tired."

"Oh, I was."

"That's ok, cause it means you're still alive." Trunks said.

A look crossed Goten's face. "If you were asleep for a week, then you must be really hungry now, huh? You don't eat kids, do you?"

Trunks hit him. "Baka! Of course she doesn't!" He went pale and looked at Usagi. "Right?" he asked fearfully in a small voice.

"Right." She laughed. The boys joined her in relief.

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"Woman!" Vegeta stormed into Bulma's office, taking pleasure in the fact that he had interrupted a make-out session between his former mate and Yamcha. "The gravity is out in the gravity room again!"

"Well, if you would quit breaking it, then it would quit going out!"

"I didn't break it!"

Bulma's eye twitched as she tried to control her temper. "You aren't even supposed to be using it today, you're supposed to be watching the boys spar!"

"So now I'm Kakarott's baby-sitter?!?"

"Where are the boys, anyway?" Yamcha suddenly asked. "They usually make more noise when they spar."

Bulma's eyes flashed and she stood. "Those boys! They probably think it's cool to bother someone who's in a coma!" She put her hands on her hips and angrily began making her way toward the stairs.

"Woman! Worry about them later! You must fix the gravity room!"

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Not now, Vegeta." She shouted, taking the stairs two at a time to Usagi's room. Yamcha and Vegeta followed. They weren't surprised to find the boys int he room, but they were surprised to find them standing on either side of Usagi, helping her as she tried to keep from falling over.

Her shining, golden hair was free from all restraints and cascaded all around her, almost to the floor. Her crystal blue eyes were filled with laughter as she tried to stay standing. She was wearing a pair of Bulma's old blue jeans with holes int he knees, and Vegeta's pink badman shirt.

All in all, she was adorable.

"Look Mom, she woke up!" Trunks exclaimed when he noticed everyone standing there. He had been laughing, too. Otherwise, he would have been fearing his mother's wrath. Thankfully, she was too shocked that the girl was standing to yell.

"We have to hurry and get her to the kitchen!" Goten said, eyes as wide a saucers. "Because she hasn't eaten in a long time!"

"Goten no baka!" Trunks shot back. "She said she doesn't eat kids!"

"But when I get hungry, anything looks like food!" The youngest Son child exclaimed, waving his hands in the air for emphasis.

A loud grumbling was heard and Usagi blushed and looked down. "The boys are right, I am hungry." She mumbled in her usual, quiet voice. She began to wobble a little, and fell strait into Vegeta's arms. (Lucky her...)

His growled protest was cut short by the feel of her so close, and being able to see her scars. She still smelled like roses, and her skin, despite the scars, was the softest thing imaginable.

Vegeta came to his senses before anyone noticed the momentarily soft look in his eyes.

"What do you think you're doing, onna?" He demanded.

"Gomen nasai." She said, smiling up at him. "I'm still a little weak I guess. It'll take a while before I'm completely steady again."

He snorted. "You seemed strong enough when you destroyed Majin Buu."

"Yeah well, that transformation is painful, if you didn't notice." She spat, smile gone. "Forgive me, but I think I've been through enough of that kind of stuff." She tried to push out of his arms but Vegeta discreetly refused to let her go.

"Vegeta, if you agree to be Usagi's elevator, and carry her up and down the stairs whenever she needs it, I'll always keep the gravity room in perfect order." Bulma bribed, seeing the opportunity of getting someone else to do work for a change.

What could he do?

Vegeta agreed.

It wouldn't be very bad, anyway. The small, beautiful girl purely fascinated Vegeta. And he loved it when she got angry. Something about a girl her size challenging him was just amusing.

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To be continued

Well? How was this chap? More soon, I promise. I tried not to leave a bad cliffie. Just remember, the more reviews I get, the more disposed I am to writing more.

=)

-Kit