Bulma sat outside Vegeta's house drumming her fingers on her steering wheel. What could he want? She didn't want to seem melodramatic, but she was genuinely confused as to what would make him speak to her again. He was the most proud person she had ever met in her 17 years and the Vegeta she had known would never be the first to back down from a fight. She thought of his sharp features and evil smile and deep eyes that gave her a glimpse into a man she could never fully understand. Despite the outcome of their relationship, Bulma could never stand it when people claimed that Vegeta was just a wannabe complex jerk, like some of her friends said. She rarely disagreed outloud, for not many people understood Vegeta and Bulma's relationship, but occasionally, she could not help herself.

After a few moments of sitting in silence, she gathered her belongings and her confidence and opened her car door. She made her way to the front door of Vegeta's huge home and swallowed hard on a lump in her throat. Vegeta made her so nervous, but she'd never admit that to anyone, especially him. While ringing the doorbell, she reflected on the good moments she had spent with him before everything went bad and wondered how she could possibly have feelings for someone like Yamcha. Yamcha was shallow and easy to understand after only meeting him once. Not that he wasn't sweet and caring. Vegeta was so complicated and had so many unresolved feelings and problems. Bulma wondered if it were worth it to get involved in that mess again, but she knew she had answered that question the moment she left Chi-Chi's bedroom earlier than morning.

She rung the doorbell. It opened. "Bulma?" Haruki, Vegeta's older brother, exclaimed with a confused expression on his angular face. Bulma smiled weakly; she always had a soft spot for Haruki.

"Hey, Haruki...How've you been?" She shifted her weight to her left foot awkwardly and looked at the ground. It had been a long while since she had last visted the Ryuu residence (assuming Vegeta's family name is Ryuu), but she still remembered it almost as well as her own home back at Capsule Corp.

He smiled warmly. Same Haruki as always. "I've been great. I've really missed you, Bulma. We all have..." he trailed off and examined her beautiful face. He couldn't even look into her eyes without blushing. He had too always had a thing for Bulma, with her wondering, spectacular cerulean eyes and smart, red lipped smile.

"I've missed you guys too!" Bulma tried to be cheery but her insides were in a knot thinking of Vegeta. As if in sync with her thoughts, she heard the pitter patter of her old friend coming down the stairs.

"Woman," Vegeta nodded at her curtly. Haruki stepped aside, waved at Bulma, and headed into the kitchen where his father, Takumi, was fixing breakfast. Bulma felt uneasy when she recalled that, of course, Vegeta's father would be here. They had had their differences in the past, just as she had differences with his son, and she did not really care to revisit those issues.

"Hey, Vegeta." She smiled at him and he looked exasperatedly at her, as though her kindness pained him. Why did the woman have to be this way with him? Even after all that had happened between them, she still smiled at him in the hallways, held the door for him, sent him a present on his birthday, wished him happy holidays... She would never fail to amaze him. With her actions and her appearance. Embarrassingly enough, Bulma still made Vegeta go weak at the knees, with her beautiful hair, flawless body, and unmatchable intelligence. He couldn't deny that her being a genius was more than a turn on. He would never admit any of this to her, however, or anyone else for that matter.

"Upstairs." He turned away from her before she could sense any emotion within him. Bulma ignored his rude tone, for the time being, and followed him to the stairs leading up to his bedroom. As she passed the kitchen, she uncomfortably smiled at Vegeta's father who merely glanced at her and went back to his cooking.

Bulma sat on Vegeta's bed as he rummaged around on his desk for something. She looked around the room; she hadn't been in there for so long. She looked at all his posters and how they had changed from characters of video games to now posters of his favorite bands and a few posters of inspirational quotes. One really stuck out to her: "We are just puppets trapped by the grip of our own weaknesses." She wondered when Vegeta got so deep and chuckled to herself.

Unbeknownst to her, at the sound of Bulma's chuckle, Vegeta rolled his eyes. He had no time for this woman's strange sense of humor, he needed her help...He hoped she would help him. He had no one else to turn to, there was no one else who would listen to him. He turned from his desk finally, holding a mountain of papers and books, then dumped them on his bed, making a "thunk" noise next to Bulma. She flinched.

Bulma glanced over the papers and books and immediately snapped, "What?! Do you need help with your homework or something? You really called me over here at seven o'clock in the fucking morning, might I add, after not speaking for over two years, because you WANTED HELP WITH YOUR HOMEWORK? ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE VEGETA RYUU?!" She didn't quite know where her rage was coming from, but she noticed it struck a nerve in Vegeta who instantaneously grabbed a bedside lamp and threw it past her. It shattered against the wall.

She took a deep breath, realizing that she had stepped out of line. She knew Vegeta would never call her for such a minuscule problem as homework. To be perfectly honest, she never really imagined Vegeta would call her for help with any problem, no matter the size. He had way too much pride.

"Woman," he said through gritted teeth. "If you talk to me one more time like that, I will rip you. Limb. From. Limb." He gazed at her with the utmost loathing, but instantly regretted his words. Had he just threatened Bulma? He could never speak to his woman that way. Not his woman, he reminded himself. A woman. Who had been there for him at times in the past, therefore did not deserve this behavior, he tried to justify for himself. "I didn't mean that..." he trailed off, looking into her wide eyes. "Just, it's not homework, woman, don't be so stupid as to assume that I'd call you with that. You're not that smart, don't flatter yourself." He added for good measure. She rolled her eyes and looked more closely at the papers and books before her and gasped.

"Vegeta..." She studied his face and noticed his more serious than usual eyes. She gulped. "What is it that you are trying to tell me?"

Vegeta swallowed hard on his pride. He had to confide in her this. She was the only one who would understand and more importantly, the only one with enough brain in her head to help him get what he wanted. "I was doing a research paper on the old legends of Japan for Mr. Whatever His Name Is, you know our History teacher?"

She nodded.

"Well, whatever, I was researching for that paper, and I found a passage in an old book," his eyes motioned to the top book on the stack, "that talked about some mystical objects that could grant...wishes. That could make things happen. That could bring people...back." He looked at her before continuing to see if she maybe knew where he was going with this.

Bulma realized what he was trying to say. It all made sense now. Why he had to come to her with this, why he was so nervous and uncomfortable bringing it up, why he had put so much thought into the researching... "You found out about the Dragon Balls, didn't you?"

He nodded his head. She sighed. "Vegeta...I'm so sorry. Well, I'm sure you should know this, but the Dragon Balls are not real. They're a myth, just some fake, bullshit idea that was created to restore hope to the Japanese people, long ago. You know, like a Greek myth. Please don't tell me you believe it..."

"Woman, I need you to listen to me. At first, I agreed with what you just said. I mean, stupid Dragon Balls, obviously they didn't exist. But I read more, it was interesting, whatever. I do what I want, you know that. And it made sense. This book," he pointed to another one in the pile, "talks about all these incidents when things that...couldn't be explained in logical terms happened and it all made sense to me." He paused to assure that she was still following him. "Don't you see what this MEANS, Woman?"

She knew what it meant. She knew all too well what he was trying to say. She saw the hope in his eyes, and it killed her.

"It means you want to try and bring her back, doesn't it?"

Hi, guys! Sorry took so long to update this. Also, sorry this chapter is kind of short, but I'm just trying to get you into the story before going all out. Please keep reviewing and let me know if I should change/correct anything or if you don't like anything about the story!

Next time: Who is SHE? Who does Vegeta want to bring back? And how can Bulma help him?

Thanks guys :)