Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball, Dragonball Z, or Dragonball GT. Those and the characters were created by Akira Toriyama, so please do not sue.
Chapter 8 - The Aftermath
"…Do you think it will work?" Chi-Chi's soft voice rang in an air of uneasiness.
"I sincerely hope it does…" replied Bulma. She honestly did not know if the senzu bean would work on someone like Sashima. As far as she knew, she was not a native to Bulma's dimension.
"Look!" The abrupt cry issued from Gohan broke Bulma free from her musings. "She's waking up!"
And indeed she was. Slowly but surely, first Sashima's fingers, then hands began to stir. Muscles in her pale, yet bloodstained face contracted this way and that, fighting amongst themselves. Her eyes still closed, they struggled to gain control. Eventually the eyelids fluttered open, revealing cat-like red eyes, which blinked rapidly, taking in the scene around them.
"Damn headache…" were the first things out of Sashima's mouth as she placed a hand to the back of her ruffled hair and sat up. "What happened?" Glancing around at the four people who even now encircled her, she looked from one to the other, waiting for someone to speak.
Bulma was the first to come to her senses. Blinking quickly to fight back tears, she wrapped her arms around Sashima, ignoring the fact that she was still drenched in blood. "Oh Sashima, I'm so glad that you're alive! I thought that you had died in that explosion!"
Her face became solemn as she remembered the moments before the hospital had erupted into a million shards. "I thought I was a goner too…for awhile…"
"What happened?" This was the first time that Goku had spoken ever since the senzu bean had been administered to Sashima.
In truth, Goku was genuinely at a lost of ideas. As soon as Sashima had regained consciousness, Goku immediately took a ki reading on her. He knew that the senzu beans would restore any health lost, and unless Sashima knew how to hide her ki readings, the measure he took on her would be fairly accurate. He doubted though, that she would have tried anything of the like--she had seemed fazed enough that it was unlikely the first thing that came to mind was to hide her ki.
The readings that were received by Goku had severely startled him. Although by no means was she a threat to himself or any of his friends, her power level hovered around a solid 500, about a hundred times stronger than the average human. Judging from the power level, it would have not been any difficulty if Sashima had wanted to do a normal human any harm.
"…Who are you?" The look on Sashima's face was indescribable as Bulma, Chi-Chi, Goku, and Gohan all sweat dropped.
"Oh hehe I should explain…" Bulma chuckled sheepishly as she regained composure. She started off by nodding at Chi-Chi. "This is my friend Chi-Chi." Chi-Chi gave a warm smile in the direction of Sashima. "This is my friend Goku, who's also Chi-Chi's husband."
"Hi!" replied the cheery Goku. His kid-like manners had obviously returned to him once the brunt of the situation at the hospital had worn off.
"And this is their son, Gohan. He's the one who found you, Sashima."
"It's nice to meet all of you, and I sincerely thank you for all the help you gave me. I'm sure that we'll all become good friends in the near future." Every word that came out of Sashima's mouth, she had honesty and truly meant them. She didn't know what might've happened to her if they hadn't found her and did whatever they did to revive her.
"It was no big deal. If your Bulma's friend, then you're our friend, too." Goku grinned his usual goofy grin though laid a land to his stomach, which had growled incessantly. "Wow…I forgot that we haven't had dinner yet…"
His comment was returned with a slap on the shoulder by Chi-Chi. "Do you never stop thinking about eating?? Don't you see that Bulma needs us here and--"
"No it's okay Chi-Chi, things are under control--you can all go home and have a nice dinner."
"But--"
"But Mom, even Bulma says that she doesn't need us here anymore. Besides, Dad's right, I'm getting a little hungry, too…" Timidly Gohan looked up at the towering form of his mother.
Chi-Chi sighed, slumping her shoulders and finally admitting defeat. "This is what happens when you live with two Saiyans who consumes a mountain of food three times a day…" she muttered to herself. Straightening up, she turned to Bulma. "Well Bulma…if you don't need us here anymore…"
"No it's alright Chi-Chi, you all go home and relax for the rest of the night. I truly appreciate all the work you have done for me and Capsule Corporation tonight…I don't know what I would've done without Goku, Gohan, and your help, Chi-Chi."
"Since you put it that way, and there's nothing more to be done, I guess we should go back home now and feed these two Saiyans of mine. But if anything comes up, contact us okay Bulma?"
"Thanks Chi-Chi, I'll remember to."
Making their way carefully down the rubble, the Son family descended back down to the grassy lawns of Capsule Corporation, their dark silhouettes casting eerily onto the spots illuminated from the bright lights the police had set up a couple of hours before. From her skirt pocket Chi-Chi took out the capsule containing the Son's car, pressing the miniature button at the top. With a poof, the compact car appeared and the three Sons stepped inside.
Goku was still deep in thought. His mind was not on the scrumptious food that Chi-Chi would be cooking up very presently, but still a nagging feeling in his stomach told him that Sashima had been avoiding his last question. She had never answered how she managed to survive, and he was pretty certain that no one beside himself would have bothered to ask. 'Oh well, at least if she tries anything, she'll be easy to stop,' Goku thought to himself.
"Bye Bulma! Bye Sashima!" Chi-Chi waved as she started the engine with a roar. "Don't forget to call if you need us!" With that, she reversed the car, wheels spinning. Zooming onto the cement pathway, she speed out the main entrance of Capsule Corporation and into the summer night.
"Bye!" Bulma called after her. When the car was no longer in view, she turned to look down on Sashima, who had not spoken for some time. Her eyes were gazing fixedly into the forests on the edges of Capsule Corporation, as if attempting to decipher the hidden secrets of what lay within them.
"Um Sashima…" Bulma began, slowly waving a hand in front of her almost glazed eyes.
"Oh what?" Snapping out of her temporary state of mind, she swerved her head to face Bulma. "Sorry, I was just thinking about things…"
Bulma smiled despite that night's events. "That's very understandable, seeing what you've…been through today. But don't you want to get off this spot? I mean we are kind of in a dangerous place…and you still have all that blood over you…"
Turning her head to glance back down at her torn and rattled clothes, Sashima let out a smothered gasp at the scarlet blood which had dried and crusted to her jeans and shirt, a layer of red over the skin on her body. Long since dried, blood coated every inch of her face, a ghastly sight to be viewed indeed.
"Ugh, you're right," replied Sashima, looking from one blood-covered hand to the next. "I've got to get cleaned up." Pushing herself from the wreckage, she had not felt so free in her life. As if a jagged collar had been removed from her neck, Sashima's spirits soared higher than ever, above the pure crystal-clear clouds to the heavens beyond; in her brief gloom of the previous hours, she had forgotten what it felt like before, when her energy had not slipped though cracks and became lost to her.
"Bulma?"
Bulma's thoughts were interrupted as the red-haired woman walking in step with her called out from her side. They had made their way until they were once again on the solid Capsule Corporation grounds. Their destination: Bulma's massive house on the edge of the corporation grounds.
"What is it?"
"Are those police officers hiding behind those bushes staring at us?"
"Huh? What officers?"
Wheeling around, Bulma caught sight of the three officers who had been with them on top of the wreckage, cowering behind the branches and leaves that partially screened them from view. In the middle of the three was the one who was apparently their leader, the one who Bulma herself had gotten into an argument earlier. It seemed they were trying their best to stay clear of anyone's suspecting view, yet the progress towards this goal seemed an immense distance off.
'They're too afraid of Sashima in the condition that she's in--they must think she's some sort of person brought back from the dead!' The voice in Bulma's head sniggered sinisterly as she feigned a smile at the three officers, who tried all the most furiously to conceal themselves. To Sashima, she replied, "Oh THOSE officers…don't worry about them, I'll explain everything to you later."
* * * * *
"So THAT'S how I came to be…" Sashima mused, pausing to reflect on Bulma's explanation of the senzu beans. "So you're saying you gave me one of those magic beans and they just completely healed me? That's why no scars or anything have been left?"
"That's right." Bulma took another sip from her glass of lemonade and delicately placed it on her antique coffee table, handed down to her after many generations of the Briefs' family line. "Our friend Karin the cat grows them in his home on Korin Tower, and believe me, these beans have come in quite handy on many occasions."
"Yeah, I can see why they are so demanding…"
"Err…Sashima…the thing about senzu beans…not many people know about them and all…" began Bulma, trying to find the right words to explain what was on her mind.
"Don't worry about it Bulma, I won't mention it to anyone, and besides, I probably won't be staying in Satan City for long, anyways…"
"You're not? You know a way to go back to your dimension?"
"I can always try, but not anytime soon. I need to make sure of some things before I…experiment a little…" A mysterious air enveloped the words of Sashima, shrouding their meanings and leaving Bulma in perplexity. Sashima herself must not have thought much of her peculiar meanings, for she stood up and looked around Bulma's sitting room, an almost confused look about her.
"Um Bulma…not meaning to sound stupid or anything…since you have such a big house and all…where's the bathroom again?" Sheepishly she chuckled at herself.
Bulma, too, laughed along with her. "I don't blame you, Sashima. When I was a little girl, I used to get confused where everything was the entire time! One time, when I was two, I went looking for my room on the west side of the house when it was directly on the other side!"
Gales of laughter could be heard from the two women. After directing her to one of the bathrooms on the main floor, Bulma sat back in her armchair, arms resting peacefully and at ease behind her head. Her eyes began to wander out the patio doors, out onto the Capsule Corporation grounds down below. On the far edges of her property the sight of the wreckage sent an ice-cold chill down the length of her spine, despite the warm summer night's air that arrived into the house through the many open windows and doors. A cricket chirped its song somewhere close at range, and far off, the sound of moving traffic busied themselves through Satan City's many highways. The vague outlines of the mountains stretched near the horizons, and strained her ears, Bulma thought she heard the howl of a lone coyote calling to the nearly full moon which hung in the sky, stars waiting on it as if it was a mighty king, and they his servants.
A slight breeze entered the sitting room, rustling the drapes ever so lightly. Bulma sighed, and flipped the channel on her big screen t.v, getting tired of the soap that had been playing on the previous channel. Gradually her thoughts returned to the day's events. Upon returning to her home, Bulma had insisted that Sashima borrow some of her clothes and take a shower to rinse out the caked blood.
Meeting in the sitting room, Bulma had been deeply astonished at how Sashima had truly looked, after all the blood, dirt, and grime had washed off, clad in a fresh pair of drawstring sweats and a blue sleeveless shirt. Her ruby colored hair, still damp from the shower, hung in long strands down to mid-back, the locks accentuating her slightly round face. Clear peach skin made her crimson eyes yet the brighter, seemingly sharper at the edges. Bulma had also noticed the firm skin on Sashima's arms, noting that she had enough muscle in them to do quite a bit of harm to any normal person.
"Thank you for joining us tonight as we bring you the latest coverage of Satan City's double tragedies. Good evening, I'm Rotsue Mizumi. I'm Sakura Rinasoko, in for Emomata Sakyuso…"
"And the reporters are going to mess up all the facts about Capsule Corporation…" grumbled Bulma, much relieved that her father wasn't there. Last time there had been a story about C.C., Dr. Briefs had almost blew his top and had smashed the t.v. when the facts reported had been highly inaccurate. But that was not going to happen this time. Earlier, Bulma's mother had phoned in saying that Dr. Briefs had wanted to stay at the hospital with his assistants and workers who had been injured. She had told Bulma not to worry, and that they would be staying at the hospital overnight.
"What do you mean by messing up the facts?" Bulma was half startled to find that Sashima had returned so quietly without her knowing. Taking a seat at the sofa, Sashima picked up her cold dinner and continued to devour the food hungrily.
"Oh it's nothing…just that the Satan City reporters rely mainly on gossip and don't do a thorough enough of a job." Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Bulma recalled the times when they had actually done worse than that. She turned her attention back to the reporter on the screen, who was standing somewhere in the heart of downtown Satan City.
"We have late-breaking details on that plane that crashed this afternoon in the heart of Satan City. The pilot has just informed us that before the crash, he had been experiencing engine problems with his craft, and aviation specialists have determined that foul play was not involved…"
"So it wasn't Vegeta's fault after all…" Bulma whispered to herself, the pangs of guilt striking her one by one. "I was wrong to go after him…"
"What do you mean Bulma? Who's this Vegeta person?" Sashima inquired.
"Well remember this afternoon, when you saved me in my helicopter? Well I was going after this person…Vegeta's his name…he lives here with my family…I saw him flying from that other plane and I was being a foolish person again…I decided to go after him because I thought he had damaged that plane, but now…it turns out that it wasn't even his fault! If I hadn't just assumed it was him, then I wouldn't have gone after him, and then you wouldn't have had to risk your own neck for me and--"
"Bulma, calm down." Moving over to where Bulma sat, Sashima patted the other woman's quivering shoulders. "It's not your fault…and besides, I was injured already before I met you…"
"But if you hadn't had to save me, then--"
"Just forget about it Bulma."
She sighed, knowing the younger woman had a point that Bulma herself could not override. Silently, they faced the t.v. again, which flashed the story on the events of Capsule Corporation.
"…And here behind me is the vast quantities of damage done by both the fire and the explosion to this hospital. Sources tell us that the damage is estimated at one billion dollars. So far, there has been a total of fifty-nine reported deaths, and over sixty people have been injured, twenty-six of them critically. They have all been transported to Satan City General Hospital, and police have told me that there are fifteen people still missing. We are trying to get an interview through to Dr. Briefs, the CEO of Capsule Corporation, yet he has not responded. We will stay here overnight to bring you the latest information on the Capsule Corporation Hospital disaster…"
"Hey Sashima?" The question had never occurred to Bulma until now, when the report had came on. "How DID the explosion happen? Do you know?"
A shadow seemed to pass over the fairness of her face. "Well, I remember I was in the kitchen and I was trying to get a window open because I didn't have enough energy left to teleport or do anything else to get out of there…and the flames just surrounded the entire place and I had nowhere else to go…I was trapped in the kitchen. Then all those gas stoves lined up against the walls…" she trailed off, leaving the obvious detail unsaid. Changing the subject she said, "It must be nice to own such a wealthy company…"
"There are the bad things about it. Like the responsibilities and such. And when so many people in the world know your name, you can't get much privacy. I'm just glad I have such good friends that I can count on, to keep me company. I might've gone crazy without them heh."
"So you've known Goku and Chi-Chi for a long time?"
"Yeah I guess you can say that…I met Goku when I was a teen, during my summer break. He was only a little kid then, and really cute I must say. He accompanied me throughout my travels and along the way we met many people, who became our friends and enemies. He eventually went to train with the Turtle Master, Muten Roshi, and he became a great martial artist. He competed in many tournaments, and I was there all along, supporting him. A while later he met Chi-Chi and they got married, and soon Chi-Chi and I became friends as well. And since then, Goku and his friends have endured many hardships, many challenges, and faced many enemies who had wanted to do the Earth harm…"
"Enemies who wanted to do the Earth harm?" echoed Sashima. "You…you mean these people were aliens?" She had never heard of such things, and the thought appeared thoroughly unrealistic to her.
"I guess you can call them aliens…and I guess you can call Goku and everyone else the "Earth's Defenders," yet no one realizes, so I suppose this is a good thing. Besides, the Earth is safe…for now."
"Wow…I would like to meet some of your other friends someday…" Sashima's mind did some quick thinking. She had never seen any of Bulma's friends in action, and seeing them "fight" would definitely be a worthwhile experience. 'No,' another part of her brain intervened, 'you don't go around picking fights, Sashima…'
"So you live here with just your mother and father?"
"No…I have another "guest" in my house. I mentioned him earlier--Vegeta. He usually goes out somewhere to train and comes back only for meals and sleep. The reason I left so quickly this afternoon was because he was causing some trouble on the grounds."
"Oh! So HE was the person who caused all those blasts. I knew I saw someone out the window…"
"Yeah that was him, causing damage around Capsule Corporation, scaring the people out of their wits. Scared the shit out of me too when I sorta err…provoked him. Actually, I thought he was going to kill me, but all he did was bang these shoulders and they still hurt like hell. Damnass Vegeta," Bulma scowled, "I'll get him someday. I'm willing to bet that he had something to do with that fire at the hospital today--"
SLAM! Sashima jumped at the sudden sound, yet Bulma had become accustomed to it in the past few months. She got up from her armchair and stood, a look of pure determination on her face.
"What was that?" Sashima's eyes darted across the well-lit room and into the darkened corridors beyond, her senses on alert.
"The back door. Vegeta has returned."
_____________________________________________________________________________________
AN: Wow…long chapter…about 1,000 words longer than usual…and I really need to start thinking about the details and how to write the other events of the story. I have the beginning, that's done. I know the ending. All I need now is a good solid middle…and I hate to admit it, but I'm sort of at a shortage of ideas.
Chapter 8 - The Aftermath
"…Do you think it will work?" Chi-Chi's soft voice rang in an air of uneasiness.
"I sincerely hope it does…" replied Bulma. She honestly did not know if the senzu bean would work on someone like Sashima. As far as she knew, she was not a native to Bulma's dimension.
"Look!" The abrupt cry issued from Gohan broke Bulma free from her musings. "She's waking up!"
And indeed she was. Slowly but surely, first Sashima's fingers, then hands began to stir. Muscles in her pale, yet bloodstained face contracted this way and that, fighting amongst themselves. Her eyes still closed, they struggled to gain control. Eventually the eyelids fluttered open, revealing cat-like red eyes, which blinked rapidly, taking in the scene around them.
"Damn headache…" were the first things out of Sashima's mouth as she placed a hand to the back of her ruffled hair and sat up. "What happened?" Glancing around at the four people who even now encircled her, she looked from one to the other, waiting for someone to speak.
Bulma was the first to come to her senses. Blinking quickly to fight back tears, she wrapped her arms around Sashima, ignoring the fact that she was still drenched in blood. "Oh Sashima, I'm so glad that you're alive! I thought that you had died in that explosion!"
Her face became solemn as she remembered the moments before the hospital had erupted into a million shards. "I thought I was a goner too…for awhile…"
"What happened?" This was the first time that Goku had spoken ever since the senzu bean had been administered to Sashima.
In truth, Goku was genuinely at a lost of ideas. As soon as Sashima had regained consciousness, Goku immediately took a ki reading on her. He knew that the senzu beans would restore any health lost, and unless Sashima knew how to hide her ki readings, the measure he took on her would be fairly accurate. He doubted though, that she would have tried anything of the like--she had seemed fazed enough that it was unlikely the first thing that came to mind was to hide her ki.
The readings that were received by Goku had severely startled him. Although by no means was she a threat to himself or any of his friends, her power level hovered around a solid 500, about a hundred times stronger than the average human. Judging from the power level, it would have not been any difficulty if Sashima had wanted to do a normal human any harm.
"…Who are you?" The look on Sashima's face was indescribable as Bulma, Chi-Chi, Goku, and Gohan all sweat dropped.
"Oh hehe I should explain…" Bulma chuckled sheepishly as she regained composure. She started off by nodding at Chi-Chi. "This is my friend Chi-Chi." Chi-Chi gave a warm smile in the direction of Sashima. "This is my friend Goku, who's also Chi-Chi's husband."
"Hi!" replied the cheery Goku. His kid-like manners had obviously returned to him once the brunt of the situation at the hospital had worn off.
"And this is their son, Gohan. He's the one who found you, Sashima."
"It's nice to meet all of you, and I sincerely thank you for all the help you gave me. I'm sure that we'll all become good friends in the near future." Every word that came out of Sashima's mouth, she had honesty and truly meant them. She didn't know what might've happened to her if they hadn't found her and did whatever they did to revive her.
"It was no big deal. If your Bulma's friend, then you're our friend, too." Goku grinned his usual goofy grin though laid a land to his stomach, which had growled incessantly. "Wow…I forgot that we haven't had dinner yet…"
His comment was returned with a slap on the shoulder by Chi-Chi. "Do you never stop thinking about eating?? Don't you see that Bulma needs us here and--"
"No it's okay Chi-Chi, things are under control--you can all go home and have a nice dinner."
"But--"
"But Mom, even Bulma says that she doesn't need us here anymore. Besides, Dad's right, I'm getting a little hungry, too…" Timidly Gohan looked up at the towering form of his mother.
Chi-Chi sighed, slumping her shoulders and finally admitting defeat. "This is what happens when you live with two Saiyans who consumes a mountain of food three times a day…" she muttered to herself. Straightening up, she turned to Bulma. "Well Bulma…if you don't need us here anymore…"
"No it's alright Chi-Chi, you all go home and relax for the rest of the night. I truly appreciate all the work you have done for me and Capsule Corporation tonight…I don't know what I would've done without Goku, Gohan, and your help, Chi-Chi."
"Since you put it that way, and there's nothing more to be done, I guess we should go back home now and feed these two Saiyans of mine. But if anything comes up, contact us okay Bulma?"
"Thanks Chi-Chi, I'll remember to."
Making their way carefully down the rubble, the Son family descended back down to the grassy lawns of Capsule Corporation, their dark silhouettes casting eerily onto the spots illuminated from the bright lights the police had set up a couple of hours before. From her skirt pocket Chi-Chi took out the capsule containing the Son's car, pressing the miniature button at the top. With a poof, the compact car appeared and the three Sons stepped inside.
Goku was still deep in thought. His mind was not on the scrumptious food that Chi-Chi would be cooking up very presently, but still a nagging feeling in his stomach told him that Sashima had been avoiding his last question. She had never answered how she managed to survive, and he was pretty certain that no one beside himself would have bothered to ask. 'Oh well, at least if she tries anything, she'll be easy to stop,' Goku thought to himself.
"Bye Bulma! Bye Sashima!" Chi-Chi waved as she started the engine with a roar. "Don't forget to call if you need us!" With that, she reversed the car, wheels spinning. Zooming onto the cement pathway, she speed out the main entrance of Capsule Corporation and into the summer night.
"Bye!" Bulma called after her. When the car was no longer in view, she turned to look down on Sashima, who had not spoken for some time. Her eyes were gazing fixedly into the forests on the edges of Capsule Corporation, as if attempting to decipher the hidden secrets of what lay within them.
"Um Sashima…" Bulma began, slowly waving a hand in front of her almost glazed eyes.
"Oh what?" Snapping out of her temporary state of mind, she swerved her head to face Bulma. "Sorry, I was just thinking about things…"
Bulma smiled despite that night's events. "That's very understandable, seeing what you've…been through today. But don't you want to get off this spot? I mean we are kind of in a dangerous place…and you still have all that blood over you…"
Turning her head to glance back down at her torn and rattled clothes, Sashima let out a smothered gasp at the scarlet blood which had dried and crusted to her jeans and shirt, a layer of red over the skin on her body. Long since dried, blood coated every inch of her face, a ghastly sight to be viewed indeed.
"Ugh, you're right," replied Sashima, looking from one blood-covered hand to the next. "I've got to get cleaned up." Pushing herself from the wreckage, she had not felt so free in her life. As if a jagged collar had been removed from her neck, Sashima's spirits soared higher than ever, above the pure crystal-clear clouds to the heavens beyond; in her brief gloom of the previous hours, she had forgotten what it felt like before, when her energy had not slipped though cracks and became lost to her.
"Bulma?"
Bulma's thoughts were interrupted as the red-haired woman walking in step with her called out from her side. They had made their way until they were once again on the solid Capsule Corporation grounds. Their destination: Bulma's massive house on the edge of the corporation grounds.
"What is it?"
"Are those police officers hiding behind those bushes staring at us?"
"Huh? What officers?"
Wheeling around, Bulma caught sight of the three officers who had been with them on top of the wreckage, cowering behind the branches and leaves that partially screened them from view. In the middle of the three was the one who was apparently their leader, the one who Bulma herself had gotten into an argument earlier. It seemed they were trying their best to stay clear of anyone's suspecting view, yet the progress towards this goal seemed an immense distance off.
'They're too afraid of Sashima in the condition that she's in--they must think she's some sort of person brought back from the dead!' The voice in Bulma's head sniggered sinisterly as she feigned a smile at the three officers, who tried all the most furiously to conceal themselves. To Sashima, she replied, "Oh THOSE officers…don't worry about them, I'll explain everything to you later."
* * * * *
"So THAT'S how I came to be…" Sashima mused, pausing to reflect on Bulma's explanation of the senzu beans. "So you're saying you gave me one of those magic beans and they just completely healed me? That's why no scars or anything have been left?"
"That's right." Bulma took another sip from her glass of lemonade and delicately placed it on her antique coffee table, handed down to her after many generations of the Briefs' family line. "Our friend Karin the cat grows them in his home on Korin Tower, and believe me, these beans have come in quite handy on many occasions."
"Yeah, I can see why they are so demanding…"
"Err…Sashima…the thing about senzu beans…not many people know about them and all…" began Bulma, trying to find the right words to explain what was on her mind.
"Don't worry about it Bulma, I won't mention it to anyone, and besides, I probably won't be staying in Satan City for long, anyways…"
"You're not? You know a way to go back to your dimension?"
"I can always try, but not anytime soon. I need to make sure of some things before I…experiment a little…" A mysterious air enveloped the words of Sashima, shrouding their meanings and leaving Bulma in perplexity. Sashima herself must not have thought much of her peculiar meanings, for she stood up and looked around Bulma's sitting room, an almost confused look about her.
"Um Bulma…not meaning to sound stupid or anything…since you have such a big house and all…where's the bathroom again?" Sheepishly she chuckled at herself.
Bulma, too, laughed along with her. "I don't blame you, Sashima. When I was a little girl, I used to get confused where everything was the entire time! One time, when I was two, I went looking for my room on the west side of the house when it was directly on the other side!"
Gales of laughter could be heard from the two women. After directing her to one of the bathrooms on the main floor, Bulma sat back in her armchair, arms resting peacefully and at ease behind her head. Her eyes began to wander out the patio doors, out onto the Capsule Corporation grounds down below. On the far edges of her property the sight of the wreckage sent an ice-cold chill down the length of her spine, despite the warm summer night's air that arrived into the house through the many open windows and doors. A cricket chirped its song somewhere close at range, and far off, the sound of moving traffic busied themselves through Satan City's many highways. The vague outlines of the mountains stretched near the horizons, and strained her ears, Bulma thought she heard the howl of a lone coyote calling to the nearly full moon which hung in the sky, stars waiting on it as if it was a mighty king, and they his servants.
A slight breeze entered the sitting room, rustling the drapes ever so lightly. Bulma sighed, and flipped the channel on her big screen t.v, getting tired of the soap that had been playing on the previous channel. Gradually her thoughts returned to the day's events. Upon returning to her home, Bulma had insisted that Sashima borrow some of her clothes and take a shower to rinse out the caked blood.
Meeting in the sitting room, Bulma had been deeply astonished at how Sashima had truly looked, after all the blood, dirt, and grime had washed off, clad in a fresh pair of drawstring sweats and a blue sleeveless shirt. Her ruby colored hair, still damp from the shower, hung in long strands down to mid-back, the locks accentuating her slightly round face. Clear peach skin made her crimson eyes yet the brighter, seemingly sharper at the edges. Bulma had also noticed the firm skin on Sashima's arms, noting that she had enough muscle in them to do quite a bit of harm to any normal person.
"Thank you for joining us tonight as we bring you the latest coverage of Satan City's double tragedies. Good evening, I'm Rotsue Mizumi. I'm Sakura Rinasoko, in for Emomata Sakyuso…"
"And the reporters are going to mess up all the facts about Capsule Corporation…" grumbled Bulma, much relieved that her father wasn't there. Last time there had been a story about C.C., Dr. Briefs had almost blew his top and had smashed the t.v. when the facts reported had been highly inaccurate. But that was not going to happen this time. Earlier, Bulma's mother had phoned in saying that Dr. Briefs had wanted to stay at the hospital with his assistants and workers who had been injured. She had told Bulma not to worry, and that they would be staying at the hospital overnight.
"What do you mean by messing up the facts?" Bulma was half startled to find that Sashima had returned so quietly without her knowing. Taking a seat at the sofa, Sashima picked up her cold dinner and continued to devour the food hungrily.
"Oh it's nothing…just that the Satan City reporters rely mainly on gossip and don't do a thorough enough of a job." Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Bulma recalled the times when they had actually done worse than that. She turned her attention back to the reporter on the screen, who was standing somewhere in the heart of downtown Satan City.
"We have late-breaking details on that plane that crashed this afternoon in the heart of Satan City. The pilot has just informed us that before the crash, he had been experiencing engine problems with his craft, and aviation specialists have determined that foul play was not involved…"
"So it wasn't Vegeta's fault after all…" Bulma whispered to herself, the pangs of guilt striking her one by one. "I was wrong to go after him…"
"What do you mean Bulma? Who's this Vegeta person?" Sashima inquired.
"Well remember this afternoon, when you saved me in my helicopter? Well I was going after this person…Vegeta's his name…he lives here with my family…I saw him flying from that other plane and I was being a foolish person again…I decided to go after him because I thought he had damaged that plane, but now…it turns out that it wasn't even his fault! If I hadn't just assumed it was him, then I wouldn't have gone after him, and then you wouldn't have had to risk your own neck for me and--"
"Bulma, calm down." Moving over to where Bulma sat, Sashima patted the other woman's quivering shoulders. "It's not your fault…and besides, I was injured already before I met you…"
"But if you hadn't had to save me, then--"
"Just forget about it Bulma."
She sighed, knowing the younger woman had a point that Bulma herself could not override. Silently, they faced the t.v. again, which flashed the story on the events of Capsule Corporation.
"…And here behind me is the vast quantities of damage done by both the fire and the explosion to this hospital. Sources tell us that the damage is estimated at one billion dollars. So far, there has been a total of fifty-nine reported deaths, and over sixty people have been injured, twenty-six of them critically. They have all been transported to Satan City General Hospital, and police have told me that there are fifteen people still missing. We are trying to get an interview through to Dr. Briefs, the CEO of Capsule Corporation, yet he has not responded. We will stay here overnight to bring you the latest information on the Capsule Corporation Hospital disaster…"
"Hey Sashima?" The question had never occurred to Bulma until now, when the report had came on. "How DID the explosion happen? Do you know?"
A shadow seemed to pass over the fairness of her face. "Well, I remember I was in the kitchen and I was trying to get a window open because I didn't have enough energy left to teleport or do anything else to get out of there…and the flames just surrounded the entire place and I had nowhere else to go…I was trapped in the kitchen. Then all those gas stoves lined up against the walls…" she trailed off, leaving the obvious detail unsaid. Changing the subject she said, "It must be nice to own such a wealthy company…"
"There are the bad things about it. Like the responsibilities and such. And when so many people in the world know your name, you can't get much privacy. I'm just glad I have such good friends that I can count on, to keep me company. I might've gone crazy without them heh."
"So you've known Goku and Chi-Chi for a long time?"
"Yeah I guess you can say that…I met Goku when I was a teen, during my summer break. He was only a little kid then, and really cute I must say. He accompanied me throughout my travels and along the way we met many people, who became our friends and enemies. He eventually went to train with the Turtle Master, Muten Roshi, and he became a great martial artist. He competed in many tournaments, and I was there all along, supporting him. A while later he met Chi-Chi and they got married, and soon Chi-Chi and I became friends as well. And since then, Goku and his friends have endured many hardships, many challenges, and faced many enemies who had wanted to do the Earth harm…"
"Enemies who wanted to do the Earth harm?" echoed Sashima. "You…you mean these people were aliens?" She had never heard of such things, and the thought appeared thoroughly unrealistic to her.
"I guess you can call them aliens…and I guess you can call Goku and everyone else the "Earth's Defenders," yet no one realizes, so I suppose this is a good thing. Besides, the Earth is safe…for now."
"Wow…I would like to meet some of your other friends someday…" Sashima's mind did some quick thinking. She had never seen any of Bulma's friends in action, and seeing them "fight" would definitely be a worthwhile experience. 'No,' another part of her brain intervened, 'you don't go around picking fights, Sashima…'
"So you live here with just your mother and father?"
"No…I have another "guest" in my house. I mentioned him earlier--Vegeta. He usually goes out somewhere to train and comes back only for meals and sleep. The reason I left so quickly this afternoon was because he was causing some trouble on the grounds."
"Oh! So HE was the person who caused all those blasts. I knew I saw someone out the window…"
"Yeah that was him, causing damage around Capsule Corporation, scaring the people out of their wits. Scared the shit out of me too when I sorta err…provoked him. Actually, I thought he was going to kill me, but all he did was bang these shoulders and they still hurt like hell. Damnass Vegeta," Bulma scowled, "I'll get him someday. I'm willing to bet that he had something to do with that fire at the hospital today--"
SLAM! Sashima jumped at the sudden sound, yet Bulma had become accustomed to it in the past few months. She got up from her armchair and stood, a look of pure determination on her face.
"What was that?" Sashima's eyes darted across the well-lit room and into the darkened corridors beyond, her senses on alert.
"The back door. Vegeta has returned."
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AN: Wow…long chapter…about 1,000 words longer than usual…and I really need to start thinking about the details and how to write the other events of the story. I have the beginning, that's done. I know the ending. All I need now is a good solid middle…and I hate to admit it, but I'm sort of at a shortage of ideas.
