Vegeta kept his eyes on the isolated road ahead of him, using all his will power not to keep side glancing at the beautiful woman sleeping soundly next to him. They had most definitely had an awkward morning, earlier that day, for the previous night they had...rattled the bedframes, to say the least. Yesterday night had been the most lustful and passionate experience he had ever had. He had wanted her so badly, for the past two years, and his yearn had only grown with time. To finally have her be his, even if only for one night, was euphoric. However, the next morning when they awoke, his arms were completely wrapped around her small waist, holding her as tightly to him as possible. She had quietly cleared her throat, waking him and had asked him to move so that she could prepare for their journey to Mount Fuji. Vegeta did not understand how his body could do that to him. He did not cuddle. Cuddling was for the weak and the needy. He couldn't let himself need the woman. When you need someone, when you're dependent on someone, it makes you vulnerable, and there's nothing worse than that. He figured he'd have about an hour and a half left on his drive to figure out how to abandon his feelings for the woman. It shouldn't be that hard, he concluded. Just distract yourself with try mission ahead.

He figured when they got to the base of Mount Fuji, they would use Bulma's radar to track the Dragon Ball to about a five meter radius, and after that, it shouldn't be that hard to find them. Could really no one else be looking for them? Although they were a myth, so to speak, a substantial amount of evidence showed that the Dragon Balls did indeed exist. He and the woman could not be the only people on earth with enough brain and hope to try and find them, the odds of that were basically impossible. Then, he realized that the other people who were searching, if they existed, would probably be a danger to him. He would certainly be a danger to anyone who tried to cross his path. He allowed himself one more glance at Bulma, and then it occurred to him that whoever was also on the Dragon Ball trail would be a danger to not only him but her, as well. He couldn't let that happen. He had caused her too much pain in her life and she had helped him too many times for him to let her get hurt, on his watch at least. While helping him, yet again, when she had every reason to slam the door in his face. That would be the only reason I can't let her get hurt though, he agreed with himself. If it weren't my fault she's in this situation, I could care less what happened to her, he deluded himself into thinking.

The car went over a slightly large bump in the road, causing Bulma to wake up. "Oh, hi. Sorry I must've dozed off."

"Yes, your snoring clued me in on that," he retorted, not looking at her for he knew he would smile or show some emotion if he did. She looked quite spectacular whenever she had just woken up; there was always so much wonder in her eyes, as though she were seeing the world for the first time.

"Whatever, bud," she said, laughing to herself. She loved bothering Vegeta, he was so easy to annoy.

"We should be arriving in about an hour and fifteen minutes, so I hope you fall asleep again so we don't have to chat or something. That would be the worst."

"Really? Would that be the worst? You didn't seem to find my company that terrible last night," she teased, taking his hand and squeezing it. He flinched and yanked it away from her.

"That was a mistake."

Bulma's eyes shot to the ground. How could he say that it was a mistake? He had completely initiated it himself and seemed so passionate and loving towards her in every moment. Even after they were finished, after the forth time they were finished, she reminded herself and snorted, he had held her tightly to him and kissed her softly. And, earlier that day he had said that dating her had been the best decision of his life. How could he possibly say that it had been a mistake? She didn't want to believe him, but something in the way he looked so stone coldly at the road and the way he had avoided her like the plague the following morning made her believe that, to him at least, the events of the previous night had indeed been a mistake. She couldn't hold it in any longer, she had to know.

"Is that really how you feel?" She asked sadly, trying to conceal her emotion but failing.

"Yes, woman. It meant nothing, it was stupid and reckless. I guess I was just horny. Do you not share my sentiments?"

"Well, I mean...I guess you're right. It was a mistake. We shouldn't be involved that way, I've really gotta stop deluding myself into thinking you could ever care about me again," she laughed pitifully at herself, wondering why she was being so pathetic. She shook her head, telling herself that she was Bulma Briefs, heiress to Capsule Corporation, genius. No one used her without having good intentions. She would not allow it. "You know what, Vegeta? I loved being with you last night. I loved every fucking minute of it, and I'm not ashamed to admit that. Unlike you, I am confident enough to admit that I LIKE YOU. I FUCKING LIKE YOU. AND, I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT I DO. AND, I'M NOT GONNA RUN FROM MY FEELINGS, SO THAT'S WHY I'M TELLING YOU." She calmed down slightly before continuing, all the while, Vegeta kept his eyes glued on the road. "That doesn't mean I want a relationship with you, that doesn't mean I ever want to have sex with you again, but you are special to me in a way that no one else could ever be. But, nobody, I repeat, nobody treats me like shit and gets away with it. I don't care if you don't have feelings for me, but don't lie to my fucking face and tell me that last night was a mistake and that it meant nothing to you. If you can't admit that, then I'm just gonna go. Because I'd be an idiot if I stayed here thinking that you're worth one more second of my time."

She took a deep breath and looked away. It was up to him now.

"Last night did not mean nothing to me," he said finally, in a defeated voice. "Are you satisfied?"

She turned back to him and stared blankly, nodding and knowing she couldn't ask for anything more. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to help him, so she figured she'd just have to deal with his attitude and bite down on her feelings. She learned her head against the window, hoping the drive would lull her into sleep again.

When Bulma awoke, her eyes opened to yet another unfamiliar ceiling. She sat up immediately and was disappointed to not find Vegeta in the room. She assumed they were in a hotel or something and scanned the room for her purse. She spotted it on the dresser and walked over to check her phone, hoping Vegeta had left her some information regarding his whereabouts.

VEGETA: Got the radar, looking for the first one, call me if your lazy ass ever wakes up.

She rolled her eyes and clicked on his name to call him.

"Woman, we have a little bit of a problem," Vegeta stated immediately, picking up on the first ring.

"What happened?! You know what, where are you? I'll come meet you," she replied, running her fingers through her colorful hair. She quickly grabbed her bag and rummaged around for a jacket, it was considerably colder in the more mountainous areas.

"I'm in the town square. Just walk out of the hotel, turn right, and keep going for five minutes or so. You won't miss me." He hung up before she could say another word.

Bulma exited the small hotel they were staying in and noted to herself that it was very cute and bed and breakfast-esque. She smiled to herself when she realized Vegeta must have carried her in the room from the car and started laughing at the thought of how stupid he must've looked holding a fully grown woman in his arms as he spoke with the concierge. Night had fallen at this point, so Bulma squinted as she made her way toward the town square, for the town was poorly lit. It seemed to be a quiet place with only a few restaurants and shops. She liked quaint places sometimes, not to live in but to visit. They were quite humbling.

She finally saw Vegeta leaning against a street lamp with a worried expression as he stared off into the night. She wondered what the problem could be, as she walked up to him.

Chi-Chi rang the doorbell and felt waves of nervousness undulate inside her. She was over at Goku's as he had promised that he would cook her dinner. She had no idea what was going to happen that night, all she knew was that she had hoped for a date with Goku Son since she was about eight or nine years old, and she couldn't believe he had finally noticed her. She adjusted the apple pie in her hands and tried to look cute for when he opened the door.

"Chi-Chi! Hey!" Goku said as he opened the door. He smiled at the pie in her hands, and his stomach grumbled hungrily. She stepped inside his house and smiled at all the picture of baby Goku on the walls.

"So...I tried to make dinner, and it kind of burned..." He scratched the back of his head in the oh so Goku way and grinned at her apologetically.

"Oh, Goku," Chi-Chi said, chuckling. She placed the apple pie on a table, which also supported a burnt chicken and some seriously over cooked noodles. "We could just eat the pie, if you want."

"Yeah! That'd be great!"

He cut a slice for the both of them and walked into the living room, leaving the plates on the coffee table and sitting down on a couch. He padded the cushion next to him, and Chi-Chi sat down, blushing as usual.

"Tell me about you," he offered.

"Okay...What do you wanna know?"

"Something weird. Like, something that no one else knows."

"Uh...Hmmm...No one's ever asked me that before, haha. You go first, I can't think of anything," she replied.

Goku thought to himself for a few moments. Something no one else knew..."Vegeta's my best friend."

Chi-Chi looked at him with wide eyes. She hadn't been expecting that one. "Really? Well, I mean, I knew that. Everyone knows that!"

Goku looked down and shrugged. "Yeah, but no one really knows. Like...He's my best friend. He's always there for me. I know he doesn't seem like the nicest guy or whatever. Well, he's not. But, he's the best guy I know. He'll always been around to challenge me, make me better, make me grow. He's my best friend."

"Bulma's my best friend."

"Haha, why? Not that she's isn't great, but like, from your perspective, why?"

"She's so fiercely loyal. I've never seen someone so ready to yell at anyone who crosses me. It's really...comforting to know she's in my life. Like, I just know I'm never alone. I really trust that she'll always be by my side, if I need her."

"That's how I feel about Vegeta!" Goku began laughing. "He can be a real dick sometimes, believe me I know, but he always has my back, no matter how stupid I'm being."

Chi-Chi looked at the black haired boy, and her heart hurt. She had never encountered anyone with so much compassion and selflessness. They continued talking about everything: their favorite TV shows, their favorite bands, favorite foods, what they liked to do in their spare time, where they wanted to go to college.

"You can make molten chocolate cake? I might have to marry you, Chi," Goku said, looking the beautiful girl in her wide eyes and suddenly blushing at his own words. She giggled and turned away, suddenly finding a thread on her skirt very interesting. Goku touched her chin gently and slowly rotated her head so that she faced him again.

"You're amazing," he said quietly before leaning in to kiss her. She felt all the weight and nervousness she had felt from earlier suddenly lift away, and then it was just them together. As though no one else were in the world. It was a perfect moment, and Chi-Chi made sure it didn't go to waste.

"So, you think it's is in there?" Bulma pointed to a dimly lit bar about ten feet away from them.

Vegeta nodded. "I was worried this would happen."

"What?"

"That we wouldn't be the only people looking."

Bulma nodded her head understandingly. She rose from the bench she had been occupying for the past twenty minutes or so and motioned that they should enter the bar, to see if Vegeta's speculations were true. "Maybe they don't know what it is, maybe they'll just give it to us or we pay them, or something. We could at least try."

Vegeta thought it over. The woman had a point. Perhaps, whoever had found it, had just thought that the Dragon Ball was beautiful and wanted to keep it for decoration purposes. There was no reason for them to understand the actual power. "Okay, we'll go in, if we see it, you comment all girly-like and say something about how beautiful it is, don't shut up about how nice you think it is and how you want it, I'll finally give in and say something to the owner regarding if I can buy it from them, I'll say you're my girlfriend or something, and we'll see where it goes from there. Do you understand, woman? I can't have you messing this up for me."

"This was my idea, bud. Shut up, and let's go." Bulma began trudging over to the entrance to the bar, taking a deep breath in order to keep her cool.

As they entered the warm establishment, her cerulean eyes immediately began scanning the room for something that resembled all her research's take on the appearance of a Dragon Ball. Sort of an orange orb...perhaps with stars on it...She looked at each of the tables, thinking it could be a center piece. She scanned across the bar tables, maybe it could be there. Her eyes shot wide open when she saw it. It was in the center of the giant liquor cabinet, on a pedestal. It was about the size of a softball, it was orange, just as her books had said, and there were two stars on it. She tapped Vegeta's shoulder and pointed with her chin to the orange orb nestled behind the bar counter. He raised his thick eyebrows for a moment, just a split second, and then began walking over to the counter.

He sat down on a stool and pulled out another for Bulma. "Two beers, your local brand will do," he barked at the bartender gruffly. He pinched Bulma's side as if to tell her to start her part of the act. She began looking all over the the liquor cabinet, as though just examining because had nothing better to do and then widened her gaze when her eyes fell on the Dragon Ball. She turned to Vegeta and pointed at it, as the oblivious bartender placed their drinks before them.

"It's so beautiful! What is that, babe?" She snickered to herself as she called Vegeta 'babe'. He might look like a babe, but she was pretty sure if anyone else called him that, he would give them a one way ticket to the Other World.

"Not sure. It is very pretty, though," he replied nonchalantly, taking a gulp of his beer.

"It's so pretty, though. I want it!" Bulma whined in her best spoiled-child voice.

"Babe," Vegeta retorted, trying to conceal his laughter, "you can't. It's not ours to have."

Bulma looked at his and curled her lip to exhibit her sadness. "Please! I think it'd look so beautiful in our home."

Vegeta rolled his eyes and turned to the bartender. "Hey, you don't think you could sell that to us, could you?" He pointed at the Dragon Ball, and the bartender looked at him funnily.

"Um, no idea. I can go get the manager, if you want..." he replied, hoping that these two strange people would not push the topic. To his annoyance, they nodded eagerly.

The manager, Bulma and Vegeta assumed, came out of the back and walked towards the pair. "What can I do for you two?"

"Hi! I'm Bulma, I was just looking at that beautiful sculpture over there," she jerked her head in the direction of the Dragon Ball, "and I was wondering if I could buy it from you. It's striking! I think it would look great in my dining room." Bulma laughed nervously as the expression on the manager's face did not change from being completely placid.

"No, sorry, can't help you there. Enjoy your night," he replied, turning to walk back to his office.

"Sir, I will pay you for it. As much as you want," Vegeta argued, causing the manager to turn back around.

The man squinted his eyes at the two. This was quite odd behavior. Why were they so keen on acquiring his grandpa's last present to him? He had always said that the artifact was special in someway, but the manager had just figured it was total bogus. It was a glass ball, for crying out loud. But, then these two were so adamant in buying it from him, and he pondered if his grandpa had perhaps been right.

"Look, I don't know what your deal is, but you're not buying that from. Now, get out," he said angrily, all of a sudden. He better get rid of them before they could take it without him noticing.

Vegeta opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it and grabbed Bulma's arm, pulling her out of the bar. Once outside, he looked up at the sky, which was full of stars that night, and sighed. They had been so close to really getting somewhere. It was only natural that it would of course all come crashing down. He wouldn't give up though, he would be back the next day, and the next day; he would do whatever it took to get the Dragon Ball from that man. He hoped he would not have get into any physical trouble, for he had gotten in enough trouble with the law, what with his frequent fights with strangers and such.

Bulma stroked his arm kindly, and he shrugged her off. He didn't need the woman right now, she was just a nuisance. All she was going to be on their journey was something he'd be forced to protect and keep an eye on. He didn't know why he didn't let her leave earlier, it would make everything so much easier.

"Woman, I don't think you should be here. Go home," he said monotonously. He knew at heart he didn't want to be without her, but it was the only way he knew how to keep her safe.

"I'm not going anywhere. I know what you're trying to do. Don't bother. I'm here, and you can't get rid of me, so stop trying."

He spun her around so that she was facing him. They were the only people in the town square at that point, yet he'd never felt less alone in his life. He truly believed every word she had said, and it comforted him significantly. He gently lowered his head and kissed her soft lips, and he wrapped his arms around her waist for a brief moment, squeezing her, letting her know through his body that he appreciated her.

When he pulled away, he looked into her eyes and spoke, "That was the last time. I just wanted to say thank you." And, he turned away and sped off into the hotel, once again leaving a confused Bulma alone.

Vegeta lay on the bed, fast asleep. He had had a long day of driving and arguing, finally coming so close to what he so desperately wanted and being turned away. Bulma knew he was going to try again tomorrow, but something about the way the manager had looked at them so suspiciously made her fear that he would make their search considerably harder. She sat down on the bed next to him and slowly traced his cheekbone with her finger, hoping his dreams were sound. She knew what she had to do. She grabbed her coat and headed out the door.

When she reached the bar's entrance, she noticed it was closed. "It's 12:30, in what world does a bar close at 12:30?" She mumbled to herself, reaching into her pockets hoping she could find something to pick the lock with. Thankfully, she found a bobby pin in the depths of jeans' pocket and fumbled with it to open the door. It worked, and she stepped inside the now dark establishment.

Instead of turning on the light and drawing attention to herself, Bulma used her phone as a light to try and find the Dragon Ball. She beamed it onto the liquor cabinet first but was not surprised when she found that it was gone. She reached into her purse to extract the radar, in order to see if its location had drastically changed, but to her surprise, it still said that the Dragon Ball was in the bar, somewhere.

She then remembered how when the manager had come to speak with them, he had come from a back room or office or something and decided to check there. Once inside, she tiptoed around, checking all the drawers and closets, but there was no sign of it. She sat in his desk chair defeatedly and rested her elbow on the desk, thinking about any other place it could be. Then, to her alarm, when she applied pressure to the desk at a specific point, it popped open, revealing a secret compartment, which inside nestled the Dragon Ball. Bulma almost squealed with joy but caught herself before anyone else caught her. She quickly snatched the Dragon Ball, placed it in her purse, and closed the compartment, readying herself to leave. She thought it would be best to wake Vegeta the minute she returned to the hotel, so that they could get out of there and avoid any uncomfortable confrontation with the owner of the bar.

To her horror, she heard someone speak from behind her before she got a chance to leave. "Where do you think you're going?"

Ooooooo, what a rough ending! Sorry I've been taking so long with the chapters. School is staring soon :(. Next time: what is Bulma's fate! And, will they get Dragon Ball number one? Also, sorry if this chap. was kind of boring, I promise I'm building you up for something big!

Also, please keep reviewing, so I know you guys still want to hear the story!

Thanks, lots of love :)