Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.
The Perfect Flaw
Chapter VI
Cautiously Bulma made her way along the busy street, barely able to contain her excitement. Her hungry eyes fed off the automobiles that sped by in a rapid blur; off the crowds of Earthlings that jostled her as they passed her in a hurry; off the slick, white buildings that towered over her like a Saiyan in transformed state.
She had to locate her parents. Her father was in charge of Capsule Corp; that much she was awareof. But they had never informed her of the address in any of their letters. Well why would they have? It's not like they were expecting me to escape.
But she was confident she'd find them. She was Bulma Briefs after all.
She supposed she could find a library first; they were bound to have computers, right? Being pushed suddenly by a woman in a business suit, Bulma reeled on the fellow human, grabbing her roughly by the shoulder. The woman turned, startled by Bulma action. It was then that Bulma noticed the small phoneticdevice embedded in the woman's ear. "Um—e-excuse me?" Bulma asked politely, raising her voice over the crowd. "Could you direct me to the nearest library?"
The woman mouthed something, pointing repeatedly to the contraption in her ear as if Bulma couldn't see it. She then shook her self from her grip, turning to continue on her way. Bulma stomped her foot on the asphalt in frustration. No one was paying attention to her!
"Hey!" came a masculine voice. "You lookin' fer the library?"
Quickly Bulma spun to search out the accented voice, finding a stout, rundown looking man leaning against a building wall. Not wanting to lose him she forced her way through the crowd, ignoring the indignant glares.
"If ya wanna get to the library," he said loudly, tilting his head in the correct direction, "then it'll be a couple of blocks down that away."
Bulma's lips broke out in a grateful smile. "Thank you! Thank you!"
A sudden thought crossed her mind: why go through all the trouble? Maybe this guy knew where Capsule Corp was, too. It was supposed to be famous after all. "Hey, would you happen to know where Capsule Corp is?"
He was taken aback by the question, either because he wondered why she'd need to go there, or was surprised she didn't know its location. "Uh— yeah. Er— that's a little farther. It's gonna be a couple blocks from the librarywhich is a couple blocks from here."
It was Bulma's turn to be surprised. Wow, what were the odds of her having landing in the exact city that held the world-known Capsule Corp? It was almost eerie.
"I dunno what the street name is exactly," the man continued, scratching his neck fiercely. "But uh— you can't really miss it."
He gave a dry laugh. "I mean, it says 'Capsule Corp' in plain sight on it. Only a blind man would walk right past it."
Bulma forced a fake laugh before shaking the man's hand. She noted absently how filthy his palm felt against her own. "Well— uh— thank you very much for your help. You really have no idea how much it means to me. I wish there was something I could give you in return."
At this, a sly smile formed on the man's face, revealing a row of tinted, crooked teeth. "Well then," he began, pulling Bulma closer to his grime, "how 'bout havin' dinner with a poor man like me?" His free hand settled on her bottom.
Her eyes grew wide as she took in what he'd just suggested, before narrowing again with disdain. No words were needed as her hand flew quick and hard across the lecher's face.
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"Destination: Sector 7, Earth; Arrival Time: 13 hours and 32 minutes."
It was turning out to be a long trip for the bored Prince. He'd sat sullenly in the ship's chair for the last hour, drumming his fingers to a tuneless, rhythm less song.
He was particularly impatient on this trip as his mind continued to fantasize about finding the Dragon Balls; obtaining ultimate and limitless power. He just hoped he'd be able to detect them with his scouter. If not, he'd have to have Kitser whip something up to track them down. But he'd think that with their amazing power, the scouter would be able to pick them up, right?
They had to be real. He had that gut feeling that churned and twisted in his stomach. Why else would Frieze have sent his men to search for them, and to report their findings? Well he'd make sure he got to them before that putrid lizard did; if Frieza were to wish upon them, no telling what he'd do to the Saiyan Empire that nearly stretched across half the universe.
But along with these thoughts, Vegeta couldn't help but let his mind drift to life in general as well. Before he could prevent it, he found himself thinking back to his childhood. He'd spent every day as a child training until his body would no longer move, wanting nothing more than to be as good a King as his father when the time came. He'd wanted so badly to make him proud, to have him look down on him with pride. But somewhere along the line, it had changed. Vegeta had decided to take his own route, to stop trying so hard to please his father whom he'd found out wasn't such a great King after all.
He remembered it as though it'd happened yesterday. He remembered seeing his father kneel before Frieza, saying something he couldn't hear. He hadn't been able to stand it, seeing his father, the King of Saiyans, bow to such an ugly, despicable creature. Frieza had tensed suddenly, leaving his throne to tower over his father's kneeling form. Vegeta had watched with wide eyes as Frieza then sent a powerful blow to the King's stomach, and his father not doing anything in return, not even as defense! He hadn't been able to accept it, the fact that his own flesh and blood, the one who he had believed to be the strongest and bravest of all Saiyans, was letting himself be degraded by such a dishonorable tyrant; the same creature that was now buying their slaves just to store in his own personal Harem! He and his father came from the strongest bloodline, he'd told him. They, and only they, were supposed to be the mightiest in the universe, not backing down from any challenge, not taking crap from anybody, no matter who they were.
Hah! And then there had been the dilemma in which the King had tried to talk Vegeta into finding a mate. This had been when he'd been just a boy too: around 1 moon ago. He'd been lectured repeatedly on how important it was to find a mate in order for there to be an heir when the time came. Vegeta had assured his father he'd find one when he was ready; this of course angering him. And to make things worse, he'd been young, and foolish. It had been the time when his hormones were raging. One afternoon King Vegeta had found out his son had been fooling around with a servant girl. The following conflict hadn't been pretty.
But now he was growing older; Vegeta had put off finding his mate and knew that he'd soon have to choose, whether he liked it or not. It was for the good of the Empire. The problem was, with his keen perception, he knew that having a spouse weakened one's mind and emotions.
And like a true warrior, he'd already successfully hardened his heart and did not want to risk it softening.
However, if he were to find the Dragon Balls and wish for immortality, then he would have no need for a mate, now would he?
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As Mrs. Briefs entered the bedroom, she stared down at her husband with deep sympathy, leaning down to make sure he could see her."How are you doing, sweetie? Do you need anything?"
He turned to her with slight difficulty, smacking his cracked lips together. "Actually, Bunny, could I have some water? Please, Dear?"
As if he needed to add the "please". He knew perfectly well that no matter what he asked of her, she'd act as quickly as possible, doing anything her soul-mate wished while in his state of pain. "Right away, honey," she said, turning to exit the room and make her way downstairs to the kitchen.
A knock on the front door caught Mrs. Brief's immediate attention as she strode through the living room. She stopped momentarily on her journey to fetch a glass of water, taking a detour to answer the door. As she opened it, she was met by a jubilant young woman with thin blue hair and bright blue eyes as blue as the sky. She blinked a few times, perplexed by who this stranger could be. "Are you a reporter?" she queried, her tone menacing. "Because we don't want reporters here. My husband is very ill: that's what you can write on the front page. Just let him be."
Bulma wrung her hands innocently, giving her head a vigorous shake. "Oh, no no no!" Bulma exclaimed. "I'm not a reporter!" She paused after that, as if waiting for her mother to finish what she was about to say. Instead she received the same, steady glare. "It's me! Your daughter: Bulma!"
As the words left her lips, Bunny drew back in disbelief. No . . . she was lying. She had to be lying. This was just some trick to get in and greedily jot down notes on her husband's poor condition. Her daughter was on a faraway planet, trapped there for the rest of her life.
Why wasn't she embracing her? Bulma didn't understand. She'd expected tears of joy and suffocating hugs. Silence. Did she not believe her? "It's really me; really Bulma!" she was near yelling now, her frustration building up in her chest. She needed proof. "I— y-you— not too long ago y-you sent me a makeup kit and an invisibility device! And not too long ago I was on Planet Vegeta! It's me: Bulma!"
That was all it took. In the blink of an eye Bulma found her mother's cream-colored arms wrapped tightly around her neck, banishing the air from her lungs. But she smiled nevertheless, happy to finally know the feel of a mother's embrace.
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"Honey! I have a surprise for you!" Bunny proclaimed in giggles, entering the dark and gloomy room. She hid Bulma behind her.
Without acknowledging his wife with a familiar glance, Dr. Briefs spoke softly from his helpless position on the bed. "Is it the water?"
Bulma bit her lip to control her excitement at hearing her father's voice.
Switching on the light, Mrs. Briefs brought a hand to her mouth in shame. "Oops!" she giggled lightly. "I sort of forgot about the water."
There was a zombie-like groan in response.
"Oh, but it's much better!" she assured, walking into the room while clutching Bulma's hand behind her. She couldn't wait to see the look on her husband's face; it seemed like so long since she'd seen him smile, it almost got her down as well. But there was no doubt he'd be ecstatic when he saw his one and only daughter, the person they'd both been dreaming of seeing their entire lives; maybe he'd even jump out of bed.
He turned his head sideways onto the pillow, regarding his wife with tired, glazed eyes. "What?"
His new position granted Bulma access to his face. His real face, not the imposter's in her locket. She peered over her mother's shoulder, studying the numerous, smile wrinkles on his smooth face; the way his gray mustache veiled his upper lip; the dark circles under his eyes.
He must have seen her.
His bushy brows furrowed suddenly in puzzlement as he spotted the stranger behind Bunny. "W-who is that?"
All was silent as Bunny stepped aside, allowing Bulma to move forward to the edge of the bed. He stared at her with his weary yet gentle eyes, struggling his best to recognize her. Bulma smiled weakly, the thought of seeing her father in such a poor condition tearing her apart. "Hi."
He remained silent.
She pressed on. "Do you know who I am?" Nothing. "It's me: Bulma."
His eyes widened as he took a sudden, sharp intake of breath. "B-bulma?"
She couldn't take it anymore. She had fought it all the way up to this point, and it was catching up with her. Slowly, two tears glided gracefully down her cheek as the lump in her throat grew. "I came to see you, Daddy," she strained in a soft whisper, not needing permission as she leaned down to wrap her arms loosely around his neck. She was really here; it wasn't a dream. She was in a room, with both her parents, even if it would soon be one. But that didn't matter; the important thing was that she'd made it there and had accomplished her goal: she'd seen and embraced her father for the first time.
"And don't worry. I'm here to stay."
A/N: Okay, people, a bit of bad karma: I probably won't be able to update till sometime next week. My gramma's really sick, and my family doesn't think she's going to make it much longer, so my mom and I are leaving Thursday to go see her for probably the last time. But don't worry, I'll take the laptop w/ me so I can work on the next chap. Thanx.
Anywho, PLEASE REVIEW!