Chapter 4 - Payment
He was running in a big sphere, a never ending sphere as he pushed the walls. Pushing only helped it roll, the black and purple striped interior rolling as he stayed intact, bare feet planted to the bottom as the background around him moved. It reminded him of a lollipop's design. Though he would never get one of these revolting colours.
The taste of blood was on his tongue, he noticed. As he brought a hand up to his face, his knuckles were bruised and bleeding, his right eye sore, yet he couldn't recall the fight.
"Mm-hmmm Vegeta", a voice filled his ears.
Then his disgusting pale face was in the center of the striped background. "You still can't best Zarbon!", he pouted his slimy painted lips petulantly with a wine glass in hand, as if he'd just lost a bet.
"You have disappointed me!", another voice came, as he spun around to see the other face. It was his father. "I apologize Lord Frieza, he will improve"
He started pushing the walls again, trying to get out of this spherical maze. As he looked up, he saw none other than Zarbon's face, laughing. It was unusual to see this wannabe posh prick laughing abundantly. Laughing at him.
No, I will not forgive you! I will see my fist crack your bones!
Suddenly, his eyes shot open as the bus hit the brake. As realization kicked in, he brushed his forehead with the back of his hand, finding cold sweat present.
Looking around, he found that he was on a bus, a packed one. An overweight man hidden in multiple layers of clothing was sat beside him, snoring in abundance. It made Vegeta grunt in annoyance. Looking to his right, he saw a blur of green and white as the bus was in motion. The windows were beaded as he heard rain beat on the roof of the bus like a crazy drummer. He caught sight of the digital board at the front reading 'Kelsingate Town', indicating they had not yet reached the first stop.
He looked to his left again and caught sight of the blue woman behind the man's circular belly, still asleep, her legs covering the seat beside her as she lay against the window. Then he tried to remember the chain of events of last night.
Why was I with her at a hotel?
That's right, she ambushed his walk! He was minding his own business, plotting revenge and then she showed up. Finding a hotel out there was a miracle itself, except a bed was just not in his luck after all. He needed to get out of here! Why did he even think wandering around was a better idea than getting to the task of revenge! He didn't have any leads, nor his phone, but he had to start somewhere. He decided he'd ring Raditz as soon as he got out of this bus to get a phone. He hadn't seen him at work yesterday, and knew that rascal would have some ears around for Icejin gossip.
For now, he was just waiting for this irksome ride to finally stop. Then him and this blue woman would get into their respective cabs and be off. Why'd she follow him anyway? He didn't recall showing any signs of looking for company, why'd she even approach him on the train? Well, he was in her seat, he reasoned. But that didn't mean she had to get off after him. This woman was nuts. But somehow he found himself not hating her. He glanced in her direction upon that thought.
No, she hadn't harmed him, he thought as he switched his gaze back to the window. Her chatter, he found highly irritating at first but as the night went on, he found it wasn't so bad. After all, considering he'd been hearing nonstop monotonous business chatter for the past four years, this was slight improvement in comparison. Chatter about regular things like movies was better than hearing constantly about this technology and that technology, this algorithm pattern and that. It made him feel like a kid again, before his father forced him to Frieza. When he could just... be human.
He would've never thought flushing away a mere photo away could give him satisfaction, something he would've otherwise thought utterly childish and foolish. And why'd he even do it? Why listen to her? Was he only paying heed to her because she was a pretty girl? He grunted at the thought. No, he did it because he wanted to flush Icejin away! Or perhaps he was curious weather she was all talk or if her movie inspired methods could actually work. He concluded he might give that Brandon Krackhead person's movies a go. After he actually flushes away all of what's remaining of Icejin, he smirked at that thought.
The sound of the artificial bell blaring jostled Bulma awake. She looked around, momentarily lost. Then she caught sight of the digital board upfront blinking, it's background switching from orange to black. 'Kelsingate Town', it read in alternating orange and black. They were almost at the stop, the bus taking the final turn. With a sign of relief, she got herself up, and was met with the view of Vegeta's back, who was already up, eager to get off too she guessed. As the doors opened, they lead themselves out, accompanied by a total of what seemed to be a few short of ten people.
The day was illuminated with that special cold pale light only winters sun could give, the rain from earlier making everything glow. Their ride had stopped on a bus stop in the middle of a street. The incessant honking of vehicles filled their ears, just before Bulma's stomach did the honours of murmuring them with a loud noise of it's own. Oops.
"I can't be the only one who's hungry, let's stop for a bite somewhere! I can't function without breakfast anyway", she said, as the noise had grabbed even Vegeta's attention.
He grunted. She was stranded in her pajamas, had she no hurry to retrieve her luggage and be home? He'd never understand this woman. But then again, he knew his own stomach would join hers if he didn't fill it soon.
He knew he'd planned to grab separate cabs the second the bus dropped them off, but the woman was right, he himself couldn't function without bloody breakfast. Neither did he see much wrong in her accompanying him, she was free to leave at her will after all. "Breakfast it is", he decided at last.
It turned out they didn't have to walk that far to see the stores lined up, and amidst them, a cafe.
As they walked in, they were greeted by the view of an old woman behind the counter, piling up donuts on a plate. In front of the counter were bar stools lined up, only two of the eight occupied. There were three tables to the left of the entrance beside the window, and a pleasant breathable gap between them and the bar. Bulma found herself quite liking it. It was far from luxurious but it seemed lively and cozy in its own way. She immediately took a seat on the table closest to them, the aroma of croissants, toast and hash browns making her impatient.
As they quickly ordered, the short-haired old lady smiled at them before making her way behind the counter. She noticed there was a screen in front of her view, up on the wall above Vegeta's head, to the right side of the entrance. It featured families enjoying themselves on luges, further improving Bulma's impression of this Kelsingate Town. Much better than Ratlegate.
Looking at the man in front of her, she caught him brooding again. "Another day another murder to plan?", she joked.
"Something like that", he replied.
Just then, their food was placed on the table. A range of variety was present; bacon, eggs, sandwiches, tacos, croissants, salads, pancakes to mention a few. She was genuinely surprised at how much he'd ordered, and the fact that he wasted no time in digging in. "You know, you don't look like you eat this much on a daily basis", she said as she took a bite of her salad.
"I do", he finally said after gulping the last of the pancakes, before getting his hands on the tacos.
After the tacos came the croissants and the list went on, he ate one after the other as if his stomach had no maximum capacity.
"Hey come to think of it, I only recall you introducing yourself as Vegeta, are you too cool to have a last name?", she asked curiously after he finished the last of his bacon, long after she'd finished her much-smaller-in-comparison breakfast.
"Vegeta Prince", he said.
"Prince?", she said in disbelief as her eyes bulged. "It was your dad who passed away last week?", she blurted out before covering her mouth. "I'm so sorry, that's how they word it in the papers, I'm truly sorry to hear that"
"No need. He didn't mean much to me", he said simply.
"Uhh..", Bulma wasn't sure what she could reply to that. "So that's why you've been like this these days, all upset", she unwittingly thought out loud.
He grunted. "No, I have other reasons to be!"
"Really?", she asked, eyes still bulged.
"Yes, I knew his murderer", he didn't know why he said that.
"You what?"
"Frieza", he said, apparently not even hearing her.
"You mean the big underworld guy? Isn't he dead? Wait, why in the world would you be involved with him?"
"This is not storytime, woman! We both have things to do. Now if you're finished, let's get the bill and be on our ways"
"Hey, we're not heading 'our ways' yet, I owe you quite some money. The hotel fare which went to waste, not to mention the breakfast. I wasn't just enjoying spending your money, I intended to pay you back after retrieving my luggage", she chuckled.
"There is no such need", he said matter-of-factly.
"Oh come on, rich businessman won't accept payment?", she teased him. "Well alright, if you really don't wanna take my money, we can still do someone else", she said as a smirk crossed her face.
"What are you thinking, woman?"
Following her gaze, he turned his head behind to see what she was looking at. "What is this silliness?", he said. There on the screen were people riding an absurd black, flat.. thing, they were sat on it with their legs slightly bent on either side of the handles popping out at the front. There were no peddles, the wheels must've been at the bottom he guessed. "What of this?", he asked, turning back to face her. She best not be suggesting they try out this child's play.
"Well?", she looked at him expectantly, as if his reaction could possibly have been different. "If you won't accept cash, you've gotta accept payment in the form of fun! Just so happens that I'd be enjoying this too", she giggled.
Had she really lost it? Why on earth would he be riding that thing instead of heading back to Crystal Town. He indeed hated the idea of returning, but she didn't know that. "Are you still possessed? I will do no such thing", he declared, looking almost petulant in his adamance. "Your proposal hardly makes sense"
"Of course it does! Didn't you read below? It's free for this entire month, not only that but it's basically on the next street! You wouldn't share the whole story with me, being you, but I know some unpleasant times have hit you, so why not let loose for a day?", she said as her eyes glinted with excitement.
"I have no such needs to let loose, woman"
"Hmmm, I get it, you're afraid to let loose", she smirked, knowing this was sure to get a reaction.
He grunted in annoyance, "I am not afraid of this stupid ride! I have better things to do"
"Mm-hmm, totally", she taunted.
"Fine!", he found himself blurting out. He knew well she was trying to get her way, he wasn't even sure why he agreed. Was he really finding excuses to distance himself from Crystal Town? He had to go back eventually. And eventually he will. A single ride would hardly take up much time.
Vegeta was right, this thing had wheels hidden underneath. He was irritated about the fact that he had to wear a helmet, pfft, as if this would require head protection.
"So that's pretty much it, guys! Pull and release the handles to get the luge started. And pulling them again would result in braking. Do not worry if you get stuck, remember; just pull and release", the overly friendly instructor called out to them. Vegeta was surprised to see this whole luge ride-thing had its own enormous track, built specifically for this stupid activity. He looked to his left and caught sight of the blue woman, her excitement visible to him even as her head was covered in the helmet. "Annndddd, lets goo guys!", the instructor's voice called out again.
He did as instructed, pull and release. Just like that, his luge was on the move, and it was surprisingly fast. The blue woman was ahead of him, screaming excitedly, "They need to bring this to Estehaven!"
For such a small thing, it sure was speedy. He found himself liking it. The track was not straight, he found out. It featured many curves, some small, others wide. It heightened the thrill even more, taking massive turns at such high speed. And just then, as the track straightened a bit, his luge hit Bulma's. Except it wasn't her who suffered, her luge getting even faster as she laughed, "Oooo Vegeta, you're not knocking me out today!"
His luge on the other hand, dropped its speed until it became completely stationary. What the hell? He pulled the handles again and again, to no avail. What did the idiot say? Pull and release, as I'm doing! Some other passerbys crossed him, a man and a woman laughing in their own conversation as they raced on. Bulma had sped away too, how come hers didn't stop?
He tried pulling the handle again, this time letting it go forward slowly as he released. To his relief, the luge started moving again. Ok, I'm getting the hang of it now! The more he let the handle go forward, the faster his luge got. Pulling meant brake, he remembered. A smirk found its way to his face as the sound of wheels on the track filled his ears, the green around him becoming a mere blur as he sped on.
Taking yet another massive turn, he caught sight of a blue ponytail ahead of him, further widening his smirk. He made an attempt to get even faster, careful not to let the handle go far enough to stop the luge. As their luges collided loudly, she stared back in utter shock. "Vegeta? I thought you were.."
He simply smirked as he overtook her, catching sight of her shook face turning into a mischievous smile itself.
"Oh it's on, mister!", he heard her call out from behind him. He was not slowing down, that was for sure. He hadn't gotten the chance to experience this rush of thrill, utter enjoyment in quite a while. It was as if his problems were all put on pause for a minute, the cool air brushing his face adding a refreshing feeling to the thrill of speed.
He found himself frowning as he saw the track coming to an end, a man waiting in the shade at the end of the track in front of him. He didn't notice the blue woman's luge whooshing through, crossing the end line a second or two earlier than him. "What?", he said in disbelief as his own luge came to a stop.
"Great job guys! You enjoy yourselves?", the official awaiting them asked.
"Of course we did! Especially since I beat you", she winked his way as she got out of the luge.
He grunted. "That wasn't fair! I require a rematch!", he found himself saying, his competitive side really kicking in.
"Oh sure, you guys totally could. Just make your way back to Ryan, where you guys started. It's all free this month", the official cheerfully said.
Getting out of their luges, they made their ways back to Ryan, though it wasn't on foot. They had to take the skyride in order to get back to the start, something which made Vegeta quite irritated. She didn't see why, it was just a bench up in the air. "Hey, at least this way it'd take us a much shorter time to get back, didn't you noticed how long the track was?", Bulma said in response to his irritation, earning herself a signature grunt in return. "Who knew Mr. Brooding was all competitive huh?", she teased him.
"That is not my name, woman"
"Uh huh, just as 'woman' isn't mine", she said, as their skyride came to an end. It was even shorter than she'd expected. Well, good thing it was as she couldn't wait to beat Vegeta again, she smirked at the thought.
This time when their luges started, Vegeta was ahead. It didn't faze Bulma though, considering she'd come back from behind earlier.
She was going considerably fast but still not quite catching up to him. Well, at least her luge hadn't got stuck like the little angry girl she saw to her right. Even with Vegeta ahead of her, she found herself enjoying nonetheless. What was far more surprising was how Vegeta was enjoying. She hadn't missed the smirk on his face as he'd whooshed past her. Had she really gotten him to enjoy? Well, she was glad if she did. She hadn't heard much about this underworld crazyhead Freezer-person, except that he was a crazyhead of course. What could Vegeta possibly be involved with him for? Whatever it was, he didn't seem happy about it. If anything, it looked like he wanted to murder Freezer himself. Oh well, it wasn't like Vegeta was likely to spill anything more to her.
As they were reaching the end once more, she let the luge go as fast as she could, colliding purposely with Vegeta's, making him grunt. His luge didn't stop though, nor did it pick up speed as they both ended up hitting the finish line at the same time.
"Woman, must you collide with my luge?", he said in mild annoyance.
"Just returning the favour", she replied smirking.
It was well past afternoon when they both came out of the luge center following their two rides. "Was that fun or what?", Bulma asked in her usual enthusiastic voice.
"It was", he said, talking his time after a few seconds ticked by.
"See, didn't I tell you? You should be taking my advice seriously", she narrowed her eyes at him playfully.
"Don't make he take back what I said", he replied calmly, almost smiling himself.
"Yeah yeah. Listen, you enjoyed this, you're sure to enjoy time at Capsule Corp! It's gonna be Christmas soon, you can't be wandering around plotting murder", she said.
"Of course I can"
"Yeah you can but come on!", her eyes bulged. "Look, all my friends are gonna be there, it's a fun time. Who's asking you to stay forever anyway? Just spend a day, and be on your way back if you hate it", she casually said. She wasn't sure why she was bothering anyway. Earlier when she'd mentioned it in the bus, she was half joking herself, and knew there was no way he'd take it seriously. But now she found herself actually asking it. Perhaps she really wanted to thank him properly? Or perhaps she'd grown to like his company? She didn't know what exactly it was, but she knew he'd have a fun time there, and it was December come on, the more the merrier.
"I have urgent matters at hand, woman"
"One; My name is Bulma! Two; You can plan your revenge there too, as long as you don't let anyone else know of course", she laughed. "Think of it as a change in scenery"
He hated to admit that that actually appealed to him. To plot his revenge, but not in Crystal Town. He wanted to agree, but he couldn't let on that he agreed. "Don't you have to retrieve your luggage? Or do you not grow sick of your pajamas?", he found himself saying instead.
She laughed, "You're right. Any idea where the station is?
After a kind passerby had given them directions to the railway station, they'd reached in a mere ten minutes. And there it was, the cursed scenery she'd had to witness for most of last night.
They made their way up the stairs to the station master where that weirdo had given the call. Upon entering the room, she was pleased to see there was a man in his thirties sat behind the desk instead of yet another irritating old man. Well she had yet to discover whether this man was irritating or not, though she wouldn't bet on it considering she was growing fond of Kelsingate by the minute.
"Hi, did you get a call from Ratlegate Town by any chance? Regarding luggage", she politely asked as Vegeta merely stood in typical fashion with his arms crossed. She wasn't entirely sure why he'd joined her here, what with his earlier plan of buggering off in separate cabs. Perhaps he was considering her proposal?
"Is it for seat J3-62?", the man eventually said after a quick typing session on his keyboard.
"Yep!"
"Alright then, yes we have it", the man replied politely before getting up from his seat and opening a closet pressed to the side of the wall. Out came her blue suitcase, her small handbag, her new pair of shoes, and her precious strawberry basket!
Then the big question hit her, "Wait, how're we gonna carry this out? We have no car", she said.
"It's easy, you just put all those things inside the suitcase and we grab a cab at the stand downstairs", Vegeta said as if was the most obvious thing on earth.
"Vegeta! My suitcase is all full duh"
He grunted before laying her suitcase flat on the ground, opening and fitting the shoes on the sides, her handbag on top before easily buckling down and zipping it close. "You were saying?"
"The basket?"
He handed it to her, "Can you not hold this?"
Of course she could! Her beloved strawberries, she had to dig in sooner or later anyway. Not her fault if she got too greedy to spare some for the others. She took the basket before lifting the purple cloth over it, enjoying a mouthful. "Let's go!", she said with a huge smile on her face.
"Aren't they the best?", Bulma told more than asked Vegeta, who was sat beside her on the back seat of the cab. This one was bigger in size, and not bumpy at all. It was crazy how Ratlegate and Kelsingate were next to each other when they were that much different. Perhaps her outing last night would've been sufferable were she in this town, she thought.
"Hmf, they are good. But I am not a fan of strawberries to begin with", came his reply.
"Oh of course you aren't", she chuckled. She wasn't known to keep a lock on her mouth and she found that she really couldn't keep quiet when she was that curious about what he'd said. "About what you said earlier, how could Freezer commit murder if he's already dead?", she asked. Only after it came out did she notice how blunt it sounded. "I mean, it didn't make any sense to me is all"
Hearing freezer made him cringe but he wasn't bothered to correct her, not when he dispised said freezer. "It is said he is dead. But who knows for sure? I wouldnt believe that piece of shit is dead until I see it with my own eyes. Even it wasn't him, it was someone from there, of that I am sure", he said looking out the window, taking full note of the drivers ears covered with headphones.
"From there where?"
"Icejin"
She had heard of that name being tossed around ever so rarely but thought it was fantasy cult thing, she didn't know it was an actual gang-thing. "What do you have to do with Icejin?", she asked
"I was in Icejin", he said simply. "Since I was fifteen". He'd revealed things to her earlier, he really didn't care at this point. What would she even do? Turn him in?
"So your gang leader took your dad out? Why would he do that?", she curiously asked.
"I don't know. Frieza doesn't always require reason", he said as he continued to stare out the window. He honestly didn't know. But he'd sure find out. And that reminded him, he completely forgot to purchase himself a new phone, or find a payphone. "Dammit, I was going to find out today but I forgot to get myself a phone", he found himself saying out loud in frustration.
"Hey no worries, plenty of spare phones around at Capsule Corp", she said, taking another strawberry in. He 'doesn't care' about his father but he wants to end his murderer, who also happens to be his... former employer? His life sure seemed complex to the maximum right now. It made her all the more glad she invited him over. He needed to learn how to have fun, especially since Christmas was coming.
"You really thought you'd beat me at luging didn't you", she smirked as she remembered the fun time they'd had.
"You sneaked up on me at the end! Besides, I don't recall you beating me the second time"
"Yepp, but that still makes one win", she winked at him, thoroughly enjoying teasing him and the grunting reactions she got in return. "So I take it you expected my offer? Tell me, did the mention of my blonde sister help the case?", she giggled.
As expected, he grunted and blushed. "No! I agreed with what you said. A change in scenery is much needed", he said.
Oh it'll be more than just a change in scenery, she thought to herself. No one came to Capsule Corp and remained brooding by the end of it, she smiled at the thought. Looking out her window, she saw they had indeed made it to Estehaven as evening approached. Like a wispy dress that had slipped off its hanger, the city fell in fantastic folds not held up by anything. The stores and buildings were covered mostly in white due to the snow and she couldn't wait till the Christmas decorations were up. When there'd be Christmas trees left and right, red and green decorations contrasting perfectly with the white.
As the car finally stopped in front of the yellow Capsule Corporation building, she eagerly made her way out after Vegeta had payed the driver. She made a mental note to pay him back for everything once her luggage was opened, she'd forgoten how much she'd make him spend.
Just as they were walking to the entrance, Bulma holding her basket while Vegeta dragged her suitcase, a loud thud hit their ears. Looking up, Bulma saw there was a crack in one of the second storey windows and a Christmas decoration-ball rolled near their feet. Just the next second, the door opened, her mother standing on the other end. "Oh my goodness! Bulma! Bulma's reached, everyone!", she joyfully screamed out to the entire building.
"Hey mom", she happily hugged her. "What just happened, the ball?"
"Oh Goku and Krillin we're playing handmade baseball with the Christmas ball and umbrella! It's so much fun if there's no accidents", she continued to grin. Then her gaze went sideways to the new guest. "Oh my! Bulma you didn't tell you were bringing a new handsome boyfriend!", she practically yelled with excitement. "Welcome sweety, I'm Bulma's mother, it's lovely to meet you!"
Vegeta was shook to his core, at a loss of how to respond. To his relief, Bulma took over.
"Mom! This is not my boyfriend! He's a friend I made on the train, he helped me get here", she whisper-yelled to her still grinning mother.
"Oh my! What's your name, handsome?"
He tried to get his aghast expression under control as he replied, "Vegeta"
"Oh Vegeta sweety, what a hero you are! You are most welcome here", she said to him, her eyes shut in her joy.
Authors note: I hear there's many types of different "luges" around, so thought I'd share a pic to clarify which one is mentioned here:
(( This site wont let me share photos. Simply google "luge sentosa" and you should have an idea ))
It's a popular tourist attraction here where I live, so I thought to make Veggie and Bulma give em a go hehe. The "pull and release" is so much harder to get your head around when you're stuck because believe me I ALWAYS get stuck in those things. So I picked Vegeta as my victim to suffer that in this chapter xD
I didn't purposely exaggerate the addition of the skyride, hope it didn't come off as such. That's actually the only way allowed to get back to point A.
And lastly, there's more to learn about Vegeta's past but I felt he'd realistically only share this much with Bulma at this point. We'll get to the emotions later ;)