I had some major trouble figuring out a way to write this chapter. I had some loss of ideas, for my previous schedule had what you can call a 'hole' in plans right here. I had to think about these chapters afterwards. Well, that 'afterwards' is right now. And I hope that by the time I got this chapter up and functioning something good would've gone out of all the thinking I did. I hope you enjoy the following lines.
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Inevitability
Chapter Thirteen: Dragon Ball
"Princess Bulma!" A villager exclaimed in a foreign to Vegeta dialect as they neared the closest house to the hill they were previously located on. Bulma's smile alerted her companion that she most certainly knew this man from some other visit she had paid previous years to her subjects. And by the looks of it, the people loved her, as well as she did them.
"Balto!" She exclaimed back, releasing Vegeta's wrist from her grip lunging on the taller blonde man who seemed around Saiya-jin's age. Though, the human had more manly features due to the Saiya-jin's specific genes that made him look younger than he was. It was a blessing and a curse at the same time. Well, more of a curse to anyone who dared to insult the prince's height, features or most of all his title. Even though the Prince could care less about this girl and her past and all he was concerned about was getting back to his purging missions on Frieza's ship, he couldn't help but try to choke this rising feeling of foreign anger that threatened to take over his expression as well as he observed how the unknown man hugged the young princess back.
"I haven't seen you in a long time, your highness." The villager bowed and Bulma burst into laughter. After all those years she had known Balto and his family, he was still trying to put up this look of utter respect for her title rather than her persona. Or at least that was what it looked like when he bowed. She didn't need him to do that. She was just fine with him being her friend when she most needed him these few years ago.
"Yes, and I'm sorry about it. I have been really... busy this few years." She smiled apologetically and the man took the hint not to ask her further about it. He was so happy to meet her again. She had grown into a beautiful young woman and he could not help but let the prideful look take over his features. Then he caught her acquaintance's angry snort and sharp turn of his head away from the pathetic sight that he claimed these two earthlings to be.
"I see our young ruler is already looking forward to finding marriage happiness and finding herself a King for when she would be coronated as a Queen." He grinned widely at the lavender haired girl's blushing expression. On the other hand, Vegeta was not even listening their 'pathetic little conservation'. He considered it below him not doing so.
"Don't be ridiculous, Balto!" She snapped angrily and detached herself from her long-time friend. "He's just a bodyguard my dad got me stuck with. Again." She snorted.
"Oh? So this is the young man that your maid's mother have talked to me about?" Bulma's eyes budged out. She thought she had told ChiChi's mother not to mention anyone about the things they have been talking about in the little princess' room. Obviously, the woman could have not resisted the urge to share her knowledge with someone like Balto. She didn't really mind the maid sharing things about the princess. But she minded about one thing and that certain thing her ex-maid had given out. Before she could stop him from doing so, Balto had already approached the Saiya-jin no Ouji.
"It's nice to meet you, your highness." Vegeta's eyebrow arched. "Princess Marron had spread rumors that the mighty Saiya-jin Prince is a guest at the Royal castle." The youth's eyebrow was still in its place. "Considering her words and seeing the tail which proves them, I am highly honored to be in your presence." The man bowed lowly with his head having an earned snort. So, this Princess Marron was up for telling the whole goddamn planet who he was? Well, he was fine with that. As long as he and Bulma didn't have to cross the whole planet over. These weaklings were not the ones he wanted to earn the respect of.
When he received not even a word as a retort from the proud Prince, Balto gave up his tries to start a conservation with the other young man. He was just as Kiya (ChiChi's mother) had told him the heiress as a child claimed him to be: stubborn and ignorant of anything that doesn't concern him directly.
"I see the prince is damaged. And I assume that you have not just come by to visit us like any other time, my lady." He nodded at the bag Bulma had over her shoulders. She nodded and so did the villager. "Follow me, I'll take you to the healers' tents." The sapphire-eyed girl just smiled brightly at her friend's back as she latched onto her bodyguard's arm.
"Shouldn't you be at least more polite when someone tries the same to you?!" She snapped in a hoarse whisper so Balto would hopefully not hear their little argument that was to come. Vegeta frowned and still stood in his place.
"Why should I be polite to humans with rank far lower than my own?" The female on his arms growled in an unladylike manner. It was hilarious how horribly alike to him she looked when doing so. At least the demeanor was the same. What did he say now?! Everything that had left his mouth right then and there was the pure simple truth. Although, when it was about him, the truth was rarely pure and never simple.
"At least pretend to be nice." She hissed venomously, still insisting on the issue.
"I do not pretend. And I do not obey orders coming from someone less stronger and younger than me." He ended with a smirk, having an earned hit over the wounded shoulder by the furious princess as she stormed forward of him, not in the mood to hear any more of his bullshit right then. She was far too much in a good mood for this. Strangely how something she was doing for him could make her happy all of a sudden. When did that happen anyway? Oh well, she would deal with her nagging thoughts some time later. Now she had to get some directions from the villagers since they were the only ones that knew the forest near by so well.
Meanwhile, Vegeta was too busy with chuckling over the princess' interesting behavior since they left the Palace. She had even bigger mood swings once she was out of the huge halls that the Royal Palace was filled with. One would think that fresh air had bad influence on her.
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When they arrived where Balto had taken them, most of the villagers began cheering and launching to hug the princess while the leader of their little group took Vegeta for some bandaging.
"I'm sorry to say this, friends, but I'm not here on a visit. I want you to give me some directions about the nearby forest." The heiress explain emitting some gasps and worried whispers among the crowd that was created in a circle around her. The leader mentioned with his hand for the others to shut up and miraculously they did.
"My princess, it is dangerous to enter the Forest Gora when it's dark." He reasoned making the female's delicate eyebrow quirk up in question at his words.
"It's only afternoon." She all but mocked. The old man shook his head.
"Yes, but you are not going to make it out until it's dark. We do not want anything bad to happen to our generous princess and heiress to the royal throne." His words were sincere and worry was evident in his eyes. However, Bulma was determined to do what she wanted. And she was not going to let some trees get in her way of triumph.
"I am deeply touched by your concern... However I do not wish to be advised what I should and should not do. All I'm asking for is the directions of a lake in the midst of the forest. I do not want that much, do I?" She expected the old man to continue arguing about her safety just like her old man did. She giggled mentally at the thought and decided not to share it with anyone. Or she might get scolded. But despite his wishes to keep the young future Queen away from the dangerous place, the elder was sure he would not manage to change her mind. So he did the only thing that might help her get out of the forest on time before sun down. He told her how to get to the lake.
"It wasn't that difficult, now was it chief?" Bulma asked happily, taking a grip on her bag as well, taking out the strange gadget she had been looking at for the whole day. Just about that moment, Vegeta got out of the healers' tent with a covered in lint shoulder and just in his Saiya-jin armor.
"What happened to the top of your training suit?" Bulma asked interestedly. This suit was something he seemed never to part with and now miraculously it was gone. Strange, isn't it?
"It was thorn and I had to throw it away." Came the stern firm reply she had originally expected. "What is this anyway?" He asked his eyebrow twitching violently at the blinking of a dot on the surface of the thing that made an annoying noise that struck a nerve in the Saiya-jin Prince's head and eardrums.
"I'll tell you some time later." She informed and walked forwards. "Now we have to hurry before it's dark. I've heard that Forest Gora has awful night creatures that I wish anything but encounter in the midst of the jungle this forest represents." The female snorted and her companion chuckled. That would be a sight, he thought.
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They had been walking for what seemed like hours to Bulma and they still couldn't see what they have been looking for. At least Bulma couldn't since she was the only one that knew what they were actually in the forest for. Strange enough, she was far more than just astonished to see that the dots on the surface on this circular thing she had been holding have multiplied. Now there was a doubled annoying noise and two blinking dots. One was really near them while they were walking around the area in circles and yet they could not see where the thing was.
It was beginning to get dark. The night birds had now activated from their daily sleep and were up for a hunt. What Bulma was scared of mostly was that she might be considered some of these animals' prey. But she still would not give up until she got what she wanted. And she would certainly not give up when they were so goddamn close to it.
"How long exactly do you plan on keeping this idiotic search up that I don't even have the slightest hint about what we're looking for?" Vegeta snapped blasting some plants out of his way. He was getting quite frustrated about this whole situation. "I hate going outside and I hate getting distracted from my fucking training." He blasted some more plans to add some effect to his mini-speech.
"Your job is to protect me. I am the one who says what we're doing. And I say-"
But she did not finish her sentence, odd as it is for someone with mouth as big as hers. But when she froze in her place as she did so Vegeta could not sustain his chuckle.
"Oh? The almighty princess does not know what to say? Now that's a laugh." He mocked only to have her finger poking the air on her front, mentioning for him to turn around to see for himself what was that caught her off-guard like that. When his head snapped in the direction the girl was pointing the prince's face twisted in a smirk. There was a huge wolf-like animal, almost half his own height, probably weighing more though. It resembled a wolf really much, though was too big to be one. Bulma swallowed hard as she stared at its long white bared teeth that she painfully imagined digging into her skin.
Vegeta was ready to charge a blast at the animal when she hit him over the head with her bag. He snapped his gaze back at her direction.
"What the hell was that for?!" He complained on the verge of choking her to death instead of letting her be a dinner for the hungry animal.
"Don't kill it! It might have a family that it's being protective of!" She screamed at him making the wolf jump at her only to be kicked back in the ribs while it was in the midst of its jump by the angered Saiya-jin prince.
"Don't be stupid, woman! It should've thought about its family before it tried to attack me." He snapped charging the blast again when the creature collapsed by the roots of a tree from the kick that had sent it flying backwards. From the nearby bush a little animal, obviously the same species, came out and licked the bigger one's muzzle. It growled, alarming the smaller to go back but it just kept on nagging at the bigger one.
"You don't have to kill them. We're here for something else!"
"Then what are we here for, hmmm?!?" The angered Saiya-jin mocked waiting for a reply when the princess shrieked. She was more like a pesty little kid rather than a full-grown, just turned into an adult heiress to a throne of the most advanced races in the entire Universe. He turned around, expecting to see her being munched on by some type of an owl or other vicious animal like the one in front of him, but instead he saw Bulma with a hand clamped over her mouth pointing at the couple of creatures on her front.
"There it is!!!!" She screamed as she observed how another little wolf was pushing an orange orb almost its own size. When the obvious mother or father of the little ones saw Bulma pointing at one of its precious offspring, it jumped on its feet ready for another attack. Vegeta growled and was about to finally blast the remaining part of this oh-so-dangerous forest off along with this annoying creatures when his charge jumped forward to the animals. Her fiend also launched at her, but she ducked her head letting it pass over her. She landed on her hands and pushed herself up, turning over in the air (A/N: I forgot how this is called in English and the fucking dictionary doesn't have it -.-), landing by the two little wolves that growled at her and took fighting stances as well. She just smiled at the two cute little animals and took the ball.
She was about to walk off triumphantly when she saw the wolf jumping towards the face. And it was an inch away from doing so when it fell limp on the ground, revealing the scowling Vegeta behind it.
"It's not dead." He stated before she could begin the argument while she opened her mouth. She smiled.
"I wasn't going to say that." The girl's beautiful sapphire eyes locked onto the little creatures that neared the big one, licking it and pushing it so it would wake up to guard them.
"Then what were you going to say?" He asked walking around his fallen prey to something that pretty much resembled a glade to him. Bulma followed him only to reveal a nice clearing. She smiled inwardly and slumped on the grass staring up at the crescent moon. Vegeta dropped by her, his hand over his bent knee.
"I was going to thank you." She informed, putting the orb in front of her eyes in the light of the moon. It's four red stars glinted strangely in the faint lightening and she could see her twisted reflection in the orange glassy surface of the ball. Vegeta watched expressionlessly at the object in the princess' almost deadly white hand. However, even when the sapphire orbs of the girl locked with the Saiya-jin's midnight ones, he did not as much as glance at her. He was taken aback by the pretty little globe.
"Is this what we were looking for?" He asked in an annoyed tone, yet he failed to hide the amusement shining in his dark eyes from Bulma. She smiled.
"Nope. That's one of them. We have another six to go." She grinned while flipping the orb between her fingers.
"So... This is a Dragon Ball?" Vegeta asked almost dumb folded. Almost being the key word. Bulma nodded her lavender haired head. When he kept staring at it she stood up and dropped it in his lap as she walked over to the highest point of the glade checking at the gadget again.
"Yep. It's a Dragon Ball."
"It's... beautiful...." He mumbled examining the ball by himself.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." He muttered back and threw the item back at her, lying back on the grass. He should get some sleep before the headache this woman was causing him got the better of him. He fell asleep almost instantly as his lids closed over his eyes.
Bulma sighed and placed the Dragon Ball, today's successful hunt, and the Dragon radar in her bag. She should get some rest too, she deduced. After all, tomorrow they would have more work. The princess snuggled against the grass with her back to the sleeping prince. She sighed and relaxed her closed eyes and set her mind to a rest for the night. She would think again tomorrow.
Little did she know that when the chilling wind of the forest began making her shiver a certain companion of hers' warmth drew her right next to him...
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Hm, the last wasn't a very bright one, but whatever. :P I hope you liked it. Hope it was not too stupid of a chapter... -grins apologetically- Thanks for all your wonderful, wonderful reviews! -grin becomes even wider, if possible- I'm back in the business and I'm in a vacation! Mwahahaha! -grin becomes sly one- Anyway, -grin turns into a smile- please tell me what you think again. Hope you enjoyed the ride!