The Vow: Broken Promises

Chapter Seven: Of Saiyan Brats and Kakarots

Last time, on The Vow: Broken Promises:

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"You're right, I am." She said with a sigh, before casting a look toward him. "Would you catch me, Vegeta? Would you catch me if I fall?"

"No." He replied simply, before giving a smirk. Bulma looked away, but only for a moment. That was all the time she had. Suddenly, though the process never registered in her mind, she found herself pulled tightly against Vegeta's chest, his hot breath literally burning her ear when he spoke, ever so quietly.

"No, little one, I wouldn't catch you." And then he took off, leaving Bulma a crumpled mess on the ground, tears flowing angrily down her cheeks.

"I'd never let you fall..." The slight whisper in her mind only made her tears fall harder.

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The Saiyan Prince stood atop a cliff overlooking the ocean.

Those of you who have been here since the beginning know this cliff all too well.

Vegeta, and Bulma have both brought us here before.

Though never intentionally.

The cliff I speak of, of course, is the same one that Bulma had tried to plummet from before, only to have Vegeta stop her.

Only to have Vegeta finally swallow his pride.

And tonight, he came here again.

And why?

Why had he come to such a haunting place again?

To run away like a sniveling coward..

To admit defeat when it came to something as simple as showing how much he...cared... for his little blue haired earthling.

To lose the battle, and unless something changed soon, his family, over something that should have been so trivial.

Tonight was the closest he'd ever come to confessing just how he felt.

Seeing her so distraught, so in pain, and at the same time so strong and so beautiful.. she was like an elixir.

She was his immortality.

It was all he could do not to fall over in exasperation.

Had he REALLY just called her that?

His.. immortality.

Though, in a way, it made sense. He was on a quest for the dragon balls when they met. He wanted the dragon balls for immortality.

Instead, he'd gotten her.

So, inadvertently, it only made sense that she should be called the very thing that she'd replaced.

It was then that he remembered Yamcha.

Maybe it wasn't always a good thing to be called what you replaced.

Especially if the thing you replaced was a sniveling ex boyfriend, with an extreme case of bipolar disorder.

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Bulma was still lying in the same position he'd left her in, over four hours ago.

All of her remaining strength was gone.

It had washed away in her tears, and onto the hard concrete of the balcony.

The thought of standing up and attempting the fall again never crossed her mind. If she tried, Vegeta would know. Of that much she was certain. Even now, hours after he'd gone, she could still feel him in her mind, doing one hell of a lot more than just making his presence known.

He was searching for something.

For what, she wasn't sure. But he was searching none the less.

And she had neither the strength or the knowledge to block him out.

All she had was sleep.

That, and the knowledge that she was going to have one hell of a headache in the morning.

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Vegeta was searching for himself.

Or rather, Bulma's feelings about himself.

And to make matters worse, she knew he was there.

He could feel her confusion, however. So at least she didn't know what he was looking for. But eventually, she'd have to figure it out.

It was then that the Saiyan Prince smirked.

So.. THAT'S what she'd thought about him on Namek, eh?

My my my.. so many feelings.. so little time.

Love, friendship, comfort, longing, pain, loss, suffering...

What had started out as an extreme ego trip for Vegeta, had quickly turned into much more.. It had turned into something more like a stunning realization.

Had he really made her so miserable?

Either intentionally or not, it seemed he had.

But scarily.. most of the pain he had inflicted had been intentional. Intentional and with great pride.

Because he'd never allowed her close enough to hurt him.

Regardless of the fact that he'd broken every dream she'd ,pever had into more than a million pieces.

It was then that the Saiyan Prince stopped searching. He'd found all he needed to see. If all he had ever done was make her miserable, then there was no point in returning at all.

It would be better this way.

Better for everyone.

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Early the next morning, before the sun was even fully awake, laying atop the same cliff that he'd been perched upon previously, is where we find Vegeta, still sleeping, his face scrunched up in what might appear to be anger.

It doesn't take a genius to tell that his dreams are restless ones. But, he never moves, and he never makes a sound.

The visitor he had that sat beside his still sleeping form couldn't help but admire his resolve. He had obviously had a traumatic life.. It obviously still haunted him.

Gohan gave a sigh.

And that slight exhalation of breath was all it took to shake the Saiyan Prince awake. He was suddenly so aware and alert that anyone who didn't know any better would have sworn that he had never been sleeping at all.

His eyes narrowed a bit at the sight of his rival's eldest son, but he never said a word. After all, the boy must've had SOME reason for seeking him out.

Vegeta seriously doubted it was because he wanted to become the president of the Prince of Saiyans fan club.

The silence continued for a moment, before Gohan finally climbed to his feet, his stony glare never leaving the other man's. "I got a message from my father today."

"Your point being?" Vegeta asked, his smirk still in place, though the news of a message from Goku had obviously piqued his curiosity.

"My point is that he's coming back for the tournament. And he wants you to be ready for that grudge match he owes you." Gohan replied with a grin. It was actually quite simple to tell that he knew something Vegeta didn't.

And Vegeta realized that. He never made a move to question him, however. The brat was as stupid and stubborn as his father. If he had a mind to tell, he would tell, if he didn't, then Vegeta would be damned before he ever asked.

Obviously Gohan had decided to divulge his interesting tidbit of information. "I told him about Bulma."

Vegeta's smirk actually faltered for a moment, before being replaced again by his emotionless mask. "And again, I ask, your point being?"

"He actually wasn't surprised.. He said he already knew, that he watches us all from time to time. But he knows what you felt too, so he says I should just leave you to deal with yourself."

"And you think that's amusing?" Vegeta asked incredulously. Kakarot had been dropped on his head as a brat.. What in Kami's name was THIS kid's excuse?

"Nah, I just think it's funny. My dad doesn't usually strike people are too smart.. but he catches on to things pretty quickly sometimes. He told me to look at the humorous side, the almighty Saiyan Prince, getting his panties all in a bunch over a certain blue haired girl." Gohan replied, before taking quickly to the air upon noticing the murderous glares he was currently receiving from Vegeta.

He briefly considered giving chase to the annoying black haired teen, but quickly decided that there were other more important things to think over right now.

The most obvious being that the fool, Kakarot would be returning. For one day, only, of course.. But it was all the opportunity he would need.

Though, that in itself presented a problem.

He had decided last night that he wouldn't return to Capsule Corp.

But as all that know Vegeta are more than well aware of, his Ego is sometimes bigger than his head. (Which was actually saying quite a bit sometimes.)

He had decided that it wouldn't be too hard to stick with the choice he had made, especially if he took one of the spaceships one night and just left the planet entirely.

But now, there wasn't much of a choice left. In order to beat Kakarot, he would have to both be ON the planet, and train. To get any type of training that would be worth the time, he would need the gravity chamber.

The Gravity chamber currently resided at.. Yep, you guessed it, Capsule Corp.

It was then that Vegeta decided that Kami either had a fairly twisted sense of humor, or he was a sadistic bastard.

The latter seemed more likely.

With a defeated sigh, and a simple shake of his head, he took to the sky, hoping to get in at least SOME training before Bulma awoke. If she never knew he was there, then there would probably be nothing to worry about.

Because if she never knew he was there, then he'd never have to face her.

And, admit it or not, the Saiyan Prince really wasn't sure if that was something he could do.

Not now, and quite possibly never again.

It was all Vegeta could do not to slap himself.

He sounded more like a whining little girl that SHE did.. and that was saying a lot. It was then that he remembered why, exactly, he had never let his emotions get in the way in the first place.

Because emotions led to soft spots.

Soft spots led to insane things like children, and bonds, and being doomed to spend eternity with someone that you couldn't live with, but would die if you had to live without.

This time, he did slap himself. It was going to be a long three weeks.

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Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed it!

Lovies!

~*VP*~