Chapter 2 - Open Treasure Chest

She was still in panic. How did everything turn upside down in a blink? WHY did I have to be so damn impulsive? The air was a frozen lace on her exposed face and hands, delicate and cold, like winter waves on sallow sand. The silence echoing in her ears was the constant white noise that never shut up. She spun around, taking in the station she was in.

There was not much to take in. A poorly lit area, with a 24-hour connivence store to her right. 'Mancrogate Town', a sign further ahead read. She walked in it's direction up to the center of the station, catching sight of some benches lined up as the murmer of a woman's voice crescendoed into thunderous yelling.

"Even a blind person would be able to see me! Curse that girl! She's destroyed my tomatoes! God knows where they're all scattered! This is what this stupid generation has to offer!"

And just then, as if on cue, the culprit of this whole mess appeared from the side in her peripheral vision. Not wasting any time, she turned and marched to him, her face thunderous as she yelled to his face, "You bloody weirdo! What world are you in? Because of you I missed my train! All my stuff, my damn strawberry basket! I've lost everything and now here I am in my pjs and slippers on some weird Macro station, god knows what that even is! And now what am I to do huh?"

His expression was incredulous, arms crossed to his chest as he spoke "Did I ask you to board off the train? You couldn't simply mind your own business?"

"Oh! So it's my fault?! Have you no shame? I was helping you and instead of thanking me you're giving me attitude?", she said, her volume not dropping.

"Okay. Thank you. Now would you leave me alone?", he said flatly.

"Leave you alone? Oh! It won't be that easy, mister! Because of you I missed my train and now you will drop me to my house in Estehaven and that also with all my luggage are we clear?", she said without any gaps between her own words, her anger not tamed. "I'm not leaving you mister, have no doubts about that", she finished.

He stared at her for a mere few seconds, before seemingly making a run for it, rushing off down the stairs on the side.

"He's running off! Somebody get him!", she was on his heels as she screamed to no one in particular.

Down the stairs she sprinted after him into the basement of the station. The rubber sole of her furry slippers was mute against the tiled floor in comparison to the tick-tacking sound of his boots. A security guard round the corner up ahead seemed to notice the screams, getting up from apparent sleep as Brooding pushed him aside to continue his run.

"What a pathetic guard you are! Seriously slumbering during night duty?", she scolded as she passed the bewildered man to get to her prey.

Turning round the corner, she looked around, losing sight of him at first. Then her eyes caught the unmissable flame-shaped hair on top of a white shirt. He was standing in front of a small blue car, on the other side of the glass sliding doors. The car looked like an old model of some sort, and she could see him conversing with the driver, his back turned to her. She squinted her eyes in confusion, until she saw the well-lit 'TAXI' sign above the car. He turned around and signaled her to come. "Hurry up", she could make out from the movement of his lips.

Realization kicked in and she rushed out the door, relief finally finding its way to her.

Grinning, she sat herself in the back seat of the tiny car, the interior of which was just as 'impressive' as the exterior. Seat belts were neglected like food in the back of the fridge as she started tapping the front seats, "Let's go, let's go!". Her face was almost in between the two men up front due to her excitement and impatience.

But they didn't go. The driver on the front seat had other things on his mind it seemed. He had his palms raised up, eyes shut, his lips in slight movement. Her eyes bulged in confusion. Then she saw tiny statues on the dashboard, along with some kind of doll hanging from the rear view mirror at the top. The driver then lifted a small bell, ringing it. She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Yes yes, the lord heard you now let's gooo"

Without a word, the driver started the engine and got his hands on the steering, the car beginning to move. No, 'move' was putting it nicely. The ride was as stable as a person panting, and as slow as a lazy snail. Bewildered and on the verge of getting properly irritated, she looked at the driver to her right. His facial expression was something between stoic and sleepy, as if he were in his own dreamland.

Her eyes bulged even more before she looked to her left. Brooding didn't seem bothered, casually looking out the windshield, the only view being more trees lined up on the sides of the road in the darkness. Oh as if anything would bother this man, she rolled her eyes and looked to her right again. "What are you doing? How are we going to reach at this speed?", she said to the driver, her voice impatient with a hint of concern.

"You'll catch the train. Ratlegate Town, the next station. One hundred kilometers", the drivers voice came, almost as low as mumble. They probably would've missed it if it weren't for the tiny structure of the car pushing them all together. He then smiled and started singing in his barely audible voice, "What do you knooowwwwwwwww life has for youuu oh youuuu... oooo"

She felt like her eyes would tear out of their sockets any minute at her shock. She looked to Brooding again, "He's mad, this guy's lost it!", she said, still shook.

Brooding switched his gaze from the view outside to the driver, "Stop the car", he calmly said in his raspy voice.

"Huh?", came the reply

"I said stop the car", he simply repeated.

The driver did so, looking a bit perplexed himself. It was the first form of emotion she'd seen on the man's face. She soon joined him in sharing that emotion when Brooding casually walked out the door. "What happened?! Oh god, couldn't you have waited just a bit?", she called out after him.

What happened next was further more perplexing, as Brooding casually made his way to the driver's side, opening the door. "Move to the side", he instructed the driver.

The driver's expression resembled that of horror as he refused to move. "What do you mean?", he resisted but Brooding pushed him aside onto the next seat with mild force. She was still processing this when Brooding took the wheel and raced the car into the distance. The driver began his protest full of whimpers as soon as the engine kicked in, "What in the name of Holy Lord Kazamba are you doing? Please stop, don't hurt my poor car"

She wasn't feeling any of that, her excitement having found its way back. "Oh stop distracting him, you'll get us in an accident", she said ecstatically to the driver who was in utter panic, begging the car to stop.

The ride was still as bumpy as before but moving on seemingly maximum speed was a major improvement, and if nothing else, it was thrilling in its own way. She couldn't help the massive grin spreading across her face. Things were finally starting to look better! It felt like she was in a Need For Speed movie, in a speeding car headed to the big climax. "Oh stop shitting on this amazing moment dude, listen to me, this man right here is not an ordinary man, I mean aren't you enjoying the riiidee?", she said to the still troubled driver as the car took a turn, making her giggle all the more and stretching her words. "Oh fret not my dude, this man is responsible for making me miss my train, and he'll just have to pay for the car if he destroys it, or don't worry even I'll pay for it", she laughed.

The car did take a climactic final turn to the taxi entrance of the station in the basement. Or well, as climactic as it could get with the bumpy car. She immediately got out and rushed inside the station. Mr. Brooding tossed some cash inside the open car window before following her, as the driver screamed out, "Hey! I'll charge double for this assault!"

They rushed upstairs, the negligence of taking lifts making them slightly out of breath. "... then please make your way to Platform B", the automated voice of a woman filled their ears as they stopped out in the open next to another 24-hour convenience store. Near the 'Ratlegate Town' sign was her train, at a stop.

"Your train, go. And listen, I'm fine on my own, do not follow me anymore", Brooding said to her, after he caught his breath.

Still breathing hard, she nodded. "Water! Need water! Give me some cash, I'll pay you back in the train", she said. The trains generally waited for at least a good couple of minutes, she knew from past experience, and right now she needed something for her dry throat.

Mr. Brooding got out his wallet as the rattled driver rushed into them, insisting he deserved double the fare. Just like everything else, it didn't seem to bother him an inch as he gave a handful of cash to both parties. That's as much as she saw before walking inside the store.

They seriously have air conditioners blasting during this season?, she shook her head as she entered. She looked through the row of water bottles lined up near the cashier, before picking up a lukewarm bottle titled Bamba Waters. "How much?", she asked the cashier as she placed the bottle on the counter.

"That would be fourty zenis, ma'am", a very nasally voice said. The man had a black fringe covering the side of his face as he smiled. Quite a creepy smile at that, she thought.

"Fourty zenis? Do you take me for a fool? Water bottles are thirty zenis freaking everywhere!", she couldn't help herself blurt out. Mr. Brooding had given her a whole hundred-zeni note but that wasn't the point.

"Those are the railway store rates, ma'am. It's only a matter of ten zenis", he had the audacity to continue smiling.

"No, it's not a matter of ten zenis, it's a matter of you robbing innocent customers", she accused. "What about the people who hardly have fifty zenis to spare huh? Should they buy your mighty fourty-zeni water and be left with a mere ten zenis? Ten zenis to get themselves candies? Or perhaps those are also twenty zenis here", she said bitterly. She didn't know what it was, but something about this cashier really irked her beyond words. She couldn't help herself from teaching him a lesson.

"Alright then. It'll be thirty zenis for you ma'am", he said, his smile still refusing to leave.

"For me? It should be thirty for everyone", she said, placing her note on the counter.

"Sure. Thirty for everyone it is", he said, giving her change of seventy zenis.

Eager to finally get the water inside her system, she opened it and took a massive gulp before exhaling. Colas are all great, but there's nothing like water to quench your thirst, she mused, looking around the store. It was a regular store really, stacks of snacks here and there, some coffee machines at the corner. She couldnt believe that stations would just rob people of an extra ten zenis. Moving in a circle, her gaze then wandered outside the glass door of the store, catching something moving, something red. Red. Dread washed down her face as she took in the scene before her. No! No!

Forgetting all else, she dropped her bottle and pushed her way out the door, sprinting like a maniac for the second.. no, third time that day. This can not be happening. Not again. "Somebody stop the train! Please! Don't leave me again", she called after the train as she finally reached its vicinity, but it was already almost gone. She didn't stop her run though, still screaming madly "Somebody help! Stop the train!". Once again, the trains final quarter disappeared into the dark. Once again, she was left panting on her own.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! How does this keep happening? No, how do I keep letting this happen?! Missing it once was a mistake, missing it twice is simple carelessness! She slowly crouched down, hands on her head. What am I gonna do? How could this be? This is strike two of being impulsive. Who cares about bloody station-robbers anyway?

She lowered her hands as another thought struck her. Where's Mr. Brooding? She suddenly got up, making her way back to the center of the station, hoping somehow he was waiting on her for his hundred zenis. Seems unlikely, but one can hope right?

The layout of the station was pretty much exactly matched to the Macro-what-so-ever station she was at before. She was growing tired of seeing the same picture over and over again, being in the same situation over and over again. Even the gate-town names were starting to get on her nerves. When will this cursed night come to an end?

There was no sign of him. No brooding man with spiky hair, no well-dressed man amidst the three-four locals around the station, busy in on their phones. The only sound accompanying her was the chirping of crickets as she walked back to the line of benches on the side path of the station, away from the dim lights.

I wish I had Goku or Krillin with me.

She could do with Goku's cheer right now, promising her somehow it was all going to be okay. And Krillin, she snorted at the thought of him being stuck with her at a train station. He'd probably be more panicked than I am, she chuckled. She missed them. She'd kill to have them with her right now. Right now, she'd even kill to have good ol' Mr. Brooding with her. He was almost as good as a mute man, but he had somehow agreed to help her get her train again. If only I hadn't blown that up, she sighed. She'd be lying if she said she didn't find him attractive. Gahh Bulma, stop your thinking about irrelevant things and get on with the task at hand dammit!

Just then, she heard footsteps and whispering voices behind her. A new rush of fear washed through her. Refusing to look behind and trying her best to ignore them, she picked up the pace of her walk, and noticed a kind of entrance at the end of the benches.

As she came closer to it, she found it was a staircase heading up. She thanked her luck and immediately rushed upstairs, entering the first door she saw; a glass door to her left.

"Can you help me, I've missed my train on this stop with all my luggage inside it", she blurted out as soon as she got in. The man behind the desk moved his head and eyes up from the paper in front of him, his pen still in his grip. He seemed to be something between the age of fourty to fifty, his face accompanied by wrinkles and a pair of glasses. He was dressed in a proper button-up shirt and tie, which lead her to assume he must be some official working at the station.

The room, or his office she guessed, was not the biggest she had seen, but she was pleased to see it was oddly full of colourful paintings on all three walls in front of her. Who would've thought old men liked colour this much? The scent of coconut shampoo was heavy in the air as the man got typing on his computer after she'd provided him with details.

"Kelsingate Town is the next station. I'll give the station master a call, they'll detain your luggage", he spoke in his slightly nasally voice.

She sensed some movement behind her, and as soon as she glanced back at the glass door, the persons pulled themselves behind the corner of the wall, away from view as if to hide themselves.

"That's all we can do at this point", the old man continued, bringing her attention back to him.

"But how will I get there?", she said as her hand came up to her head, her mind full of regret. Damn it, why'd I care about the water anyway?

"Well who told you to get off the train? You should've been alert. Now what will you do? The zest of youth. You don't understand, do you?", the old man said as she narrowed her eyes at him in surprise. "Look, life is a railway track; one bend of an inch, and a distance of many miles! Your small mistake can ruin your life, do you know?", he rested back on his seat. "Yes, I too had missed many trains in my days. But in those days I was a man! I mean, I still am a man, but you are a girl! A lone girl is an open treasure chest, do you even know what all can happen to you? Let me tell you, see-"

"Excuse me, I was wondering, do you charge for this education or does it come free?", she cut him short, her voice mockingly polite.

The old man chuckled nervously, "No no, this is free"

"Good, because I don't have small change!", said said, nothing short of a yell, catching the man off guard. "Look old man, stop your blabbering and do your work! Pick up the phone and make the calls to Kelsingate, the rest is my problem I'll handle it!", she pointed a finger to the landline in front of the man. "Make the calls, quick!", she said again, glaring at him with her enormous eyes as he picked up the phone.

Fuming, she pushed her way out the door, the sound of footsteps still following her though going unnoticed as her mind was preoccupied. She made her way down the stairs, taking a seat on the first bench in her way, and crossed her arms. First that slimy cashier and now this old man! What kind of weirdos does this town have?! Another 'Ratlegate Town' sign was beside her, making her snort as she noticed it. Yeah. Ratlegate. More like rat-town.

She was pulled out of her thoughts as someone took a seat on the other corner of her bench. She glanced to her side before noticing it was the bloody cashier from earlier. What on god's green earth is this freak doing here?

He placed a bottle of water in the space between them. "Your water. You dropped the bottle when you rushed off to catch your train. See, I'm not a thief", he said, his familiar creepy smile plastered on his fringed-face as if chasing customers were the most regular thing in the world. "It's really sad what happened to you", he continued, just as a blonde man appeared by his side, apparently out of nowhere.

"Huh? What happened, Maximo? Is this poor girl okay?", the blonde said.

She was this close to losing her cool. Do these idiots pull this bullshit infront of every lone girl they see? Morons. In the battle between fear and irritability going on in her head, irritability was severely overpowering fear.

"She missed her train, and there's no more trains till the morning!", fringe-man Maximo said.

"Oh no! Is she alone?"

"Yeah"

Some tsk-tsk-tsking could be heard. "What is she gonna do?"

"That's what I'm thinking, Bruno. You know what they say; a lone girl is an open treasure chest-"

"Listen buddy, drop this bullshit act! Who do you think you're fooling? Leave the fuck right now!", she yelled out, a finger pointed to his moronic face. She had definitely lost her cool.

"What? We're just trying to help you", Maximo nervously said, taken aback by her outburst. "Try to understand ma'am, before someone tries to take undue advantage, we thought we'd help you"

"It's past midnight. Don't let her stay alone like this Maximo. It'd be tough for you to arrange but, take her somewhere"

"Yeah definitely, there's like no other option-"

"Don't try to act oversmart, you moronic piece of shit! Leave me alone right now or I'll whack you in your stupid face!"

"Wow, really? This is how kindness is payed in this world?", the blonde said, trying his best to sound innocent.

"We're trying to help you by taking you to a safer place, and you're-"

"Shut up!", she hollered. "I'll whack you if you blabber on!"

The blonde came up closer to his friend's shoulder. "Let her, bro... at least that way she'll touch you", she could hear him whisper before they both giggled in unison.

"Alright, if that is what would please you ma'am", Maximo turned his face to offer his cheek. "Do fulfill your wish"

She glared at him for a good few seconds. She wanted to whack him so bloody hard his teeth would fall out. But he was asking for it himself. She tried her hardest to force her temper down, before storming off, ignoring the pleading voices of the men behind her.

"Huh? You can't leave without giving us a whack, ma'am", she could hear as their giggles punctuated the air.

She ended up going past the station and onto a sidewalk beside the main road. Her breath rose in visible puffs to join the darkened clouded night sky. At a taxi stand on a corner up ahead, she was surprised beyond words to catch sight of the same blue taxi as before, occupied by the very same driver. His hands were up in the air, making the perfect picture of deja vu. She rushed the bunch of steps there as he slowly dropped his hands and opened his eyes. She begun waving her arms vigorously, trying to catch the mans attention.

As soon as their eyes locked, his went huge, before he hurriedly grabbed hold of the steering and drove off straight, that also in surprisingly fast speed. Huh? What the hell! Stupid coward! At least he's learnt to drive fast now, she signed.

A taxi stand was a good sign, except she only had seventy zenis with her. She wasn't sure about this place but back at Estehaven, one would need at least a hundred to get to a mere five-minute distance. It all started with that cursed bottle of water!, she mentally whined to herself. Dejected, she decided to walk into the street to her left.

The streetlights were lit up as she walked her way forward on the sidewalk. Her pajamas were pretty comfortable, the chill was also bearable in it, she thought to herself. But she still felt stupid. Stupid girl. Walking in the middle of the night alone dressed like this. And for what? For helping that brooding asshole? He did help me catch the train but why couldn't he wait for me? He simply had to wander off?

She was surprised those weirdos hadn't attempted to follow her. Perhaps waiting for an easier target, she guessed. After all, she wasn't about to let them have any upper hand, she had called their bluff straight up, she thought to herself proudly. Yep, nobody messes with me. They'd do well to remember that!, she couldn't stop the smirk from spreading on her face. Even in the middle of the night in just her pajamas, she wasn't any kind of open treasure chest, as those fools called it. In fact, this was quite a tale she couldn't wait to tell everyone when she got home. Bulma the hero.

As she walked on, the powerful scent of rosemary perfume became stronger and stronger, making her nose itch in irritation. Yes, she liked soft lotion and shampoo scents, but flowery perfumes on the other hand weren't her cup of tea. The cool air became punctuated with giggles and murmers of voices, making her turn her gaze to the opposite side. She was surprised to see quite a number of people there. People! She needed those!

She hurriedly crossed the empty road, the perfume scent getting all the more strong, several other flowery scents joining in. She was met with the view of no-less-than-ten girls busily talking amongst themselves. Why were they standing in the middle of sidewalk at this hour?

Her eyes locked with a brunette, her face covered in heavy makeup. She was dressed in a tight red dress with black stockings and a leather jacket, much like most the girls here she noticed. The girl brought a cigarette up to her lips, before exhaling and looking away from her.

Before she could begin asking for help, a man on a motorbike came to a stop beside the swarm of women. Her attention must've been elsewhere as she didn't notice him come in. The motorbike then came closer to her, the man looking at her expectantly. "Hey, come", he said, nodding his head up.

She was at the height of confusion right now. What in the world? She didn't recall making a call for an Uber-bike. She looked aside to the other girls, one giving her a bitchy look, she'd say. The others were still engrossed in their own chatter. "... I know, right? I've had enough of Maximo. If he wants it, he needs to make the cash first! Or like, go Mancrogate where you can afford them", she heard one of the girls boast, in between the murmers of different conversations taking place, the name Maximo catching her attention. Oh. She finally realized.

"Come on. Just one man. Whole night", the motorbike-man continued.

She suddenly felt a wave of shyness. They sure aren't shy about the wording. "Uhm.. I'm not that"

"That what?", the man said, confusion on his face.

She was sure her face must've been properly pink now. "That", she simply replied, knowing it wasn't of much help.

"What are you saying?", said the man, not appearing to catch any hint.

Not knowing what to do next, she made a run for it, rushing off straight ahead. She took the first turn she saw, one to her right, leading the way into a dark street. Why is he asking me when there's so many other chicks ready to go? I mean I know I'm gorgeous but what the hell?

"Oh come on", the man on the motorbike whined, easily catching up to her. "If you wanna charge more, we can make that work. Come on stop playing hard to get, I need relief after this shitty dayyy", he continued to whine, his words stretched as the bike followed her lazily. He sounded nothing short of drunk.

She thought to seize the opportunity and sprint faster as the dark consumed her frail form. The street wasn't one bit busy, being the utter picture of emptiness covered in mist. She could see something pointy up ahead. As she got closer, she couldn't believe her luck at what she saw.

There in the darkness, covered in a layer of mist from her angle, was a figure walking forward with his back to her, hands in his pocket. His pointy hair became a clear picture of a spiky flame as she inched closer, sprinting so fast she ended up running into him.

He immediately grunted in irritation at the collision, stepping away and turning around to face her. His face looked like he'd seen a spider-headed alien. "You again?", he asked in utter disbelief.

Losing her breath after all that sprinting, she nodded and a chuckle came out of her, almost involuntarily. Who would've thought? Maybe my luck hadn't run out after all!

"Don't tell me. You missed the train again? Are you twelve?", she said, his expressions still astound. The motorbike lazily made it's way to them. As the man took sight of them together, he made a pained noise before taking a u-turn. "And who is this clown on the bike?", he asked.

Catching her breath, she exhaled sharply before stretching out her hand to him, "Hi! I'm Bulma Briefs. I don't believe we've been properly introduced!"

He looked at her, his expression somewhere between disgust and confusion. Taking a few seconds, he reluctantly reached out his hand, shaking hers, his grip firm as she'd expect. "Vegeta", the raspy voice said.

Authors note: Noo, they didn't find an actual open treasure chest :(