Kakarotto sat patiently, staring at the door. He had been taken into an interview room and made to sit at the small table that stood in the centre. His hands were handcuffed together behind his back, his feet locked in chains. There were four guards staring at him from each corner of the room, watching his every move. Judging him. He leaned back into his chair casually, determined to undermine their authority. He moved his eyes up to the door as he heard it open. He smirked at the woman that entered the room, closely followed by another guard.
"Bulma –" before he could say another word he felt her hand smack into his face at high speed, as hard as she could. Her guard ran over to him, pushing her back.
"Ma'am!" he scolded. "You can't do that, okay? I'll have to ask you to leave –"
"Don't worry about it." Kakarotto said, turning head to Bulma. "I've had worse." He looked at her, smirking calmly as she sat down opposite him. The guard grabbed his chin, closely examining his cheek for signs of bruising. Kakarotto pulled his head away sharply. "Get the hell off me!" he snarled, bearing his teeth at the guard. The guard lingered around him for a few seconds then retreated to the door. He stood in front of it, his eyes fixed on Kakarotto. Kakarotto ignored him. He moved his eyes to Bulma, his cheek still stinging slightly from the slap. The force of her attack had impressed him. "It's good to see you too, Princess." He smirked. "I've never had such a warm welcome."
"Really, it's the least I can do." Bulma growled. "Why are you calling me Princess?"
"You're married to the prince…" Kakarotto replied. "Go figure. I thought you were smart."
"That matters to you?" Bulma looked at him, her tough exterior weakening in seconds. She knew she couldn't hold it for long. So did he, but he respected her for trying. "… You killed Yamcha."
Kakarotto looked at her for a moment, calculating his reply.
"You're upset about that?" he said. "I thought you were happy with Prince Vegeta. Yamcha's kind of a downgrade, don't you think?"
"That's not why I'm mad!" Bulma snapped. "Yamcha…" Kakarotto watched her as she crumbled in front of him. "Yamcha didn't deserve to die…" her voice was quiet, shaky. "Neither did Chichi."
"Huh…" Kakarotto mumbled. "You should've said, Princess. If I'd known you still had feelings for him I would have let you see him first."
"Shut up!" Bulma slammed her hands on the table, leaning close to him. The guards stood on edge, watching her. Kakarotto could feel their eyes. He smirked.
"What are you gonna do, kill me?" he locked his eyes onto hers, staring at into her. His ki darkened around them, his deadly gaze grew stronger. He wanted to scare her just like he had scared the others… but she didn't move. She held his gaze strongly, fighting against him. She was determined to not let him win.
Bulma leaned closer to him, her eyes still not moving from his. She spoke calmly, coldly. "Kakarotto… I know you're trying to scare me, but it's not going to work."
"Really?" Kakarotto looked at her, his eyebrow raised. "I just don't think I'm trying hard enough."
"No, you're not." Bulma replied. "I've spent the last nine years learning how to handle a big-headed loud-mouthed saiyan, do you really think I can't handle you?" Kakarotto laughed at her response, genuinely charmed.
"Right…" he smirked, relaxing a little. "Bulma… I guess I underestimated you." He looked at her, his eye a little softened. She froze at the glimpse of gentleness she found in them.
"Goku…?"
"Nah, still me." Kakarotto replied. "Goku's been asleep all morning."
"…" Bulma sat down, confused. This man had brutally murdered Chichi, frightened the soul out of Krillin and killed Yamcha without even a second's thought… but somehow, right at this moment he seemed… human.
"Why did you come here?" Kakarotto asked. "If you've got a death wish I'm sorry I can't grant it. Prince Vegeta obviously wants to keep you alive; I'd be an idiot and a traitor to lay a finger on you."
"Really." Bulma said. "So I can do whatever you want to you?"
"Oh, please do." Kakarotto smirked jokingly. "I won't tell your husband."
"I guess you're not that loyal after all, then." Bulma shrugged. Kakarotto smirked. He knew she was testing him. It impressed him how little he was afraid. So far he'd made men much stronger than her waste away in fear just by looking at them, and they'd even stood a chance of surviving in a fight against him. This one, though… she was completely powerless. She knew he could snap her neck in half just using his fingertips and she wasn't afraid of him at all. In fact, she was arguing with him. She even had the nerve to attack! Somehow it soothed him to be in her presence.
Kakarotto leaned back into his chair, looking calmly at her.
"How's Trunks?"
"You want to know?" Bulma raised her eyebrows, surprised.
"Just making conversation." Kakarotto brushed. "But I do want to know how my boy is doing."
"Which one?" Bulma asked.
"Mine." He looked at her. "Goten."
"Gohan isn't yours?"
"No." Kakarotto spat, disgusted at the thought. "That's Goku's kid. Can't you tell? Fucking nerd… When your husband finally gives me the A-Okay to start this thing, Gohan's going to die first."
"To start what?" Bulma looked at him. "Destroy the earth?"
"Don't worry, we're not touching you." Kakarotto replied. "You and Trunks are safe at least. If Prince Vegeta wanted you dead he would've done it by now."
"… You really think he's going to do this?" Bulma shook her head. "You don't know your prince as well as you think. He's not been like that for a long time."
"He's not had any support." Kakarotto met her eyes. "Anytime he tried to rise Goku would've stopped him, of course he stopped trying." He smirked. "But now that I'm here… Goku isn't a problem anymore."
"So that's it?" Bulma glared at him, angry. "You're just going to team up with Vegeta and expect him to help you destroy the earth? What are you even going to do with an empty planet?"
"Sell it, of course. Make our names in the universe, the good old fashioned way." Kakarotto winked. "That's what we saiyans are all about. Maybe I'll even use the dragonballs to bring back Nappa and Raditz."
"No chance!" Bulma snapped. "We're using them to bring back Yamcha and Chichi!"
"Princess, by the time you can gather them you'll have the entire planet to wish back." He looked at her. "I used the dragonballs already, it'll be a year before anyone can be revived – and by that time I'll have cleared away every living thing on this earth."
"You… used them?" Bulma choked.
"Forward planning." Kakarotto winked. "I'm smarter than Goku."
"… On what?"
"Something minor." Kakarotto shrugged. "I wished for Chichi to make ramen noodles for dinner."
"What?"
"They're my favourite kind!"
"You idiot!" Bulma jumped up again, her face red with anger. "You wasted our wish!"
"Of course!" Kakarotto protested. "I couldn't have you bringing back Chichi, could I –"
"Why?" Bulma hissed. She glared at him. "Why couldn't you? What, were you afraid of what she would say? Did you think you couldn't look her in the eye –"
"No, of course not!" Kakarotto growled. "Don't be ridiculous, why would I kill her in the first place if I couldn't handle it?"
"I don't know. You tell me."
Kakarotto looked at her. She was sitting perfectly still, staring at him. Watching him. Trying to read him.
"I know Chichi meant something to you."
"Oh yeah?" Kakarotto growled. "So why would I kill her?"
"Jealousy." Bulma shrugged. "Because you didn't mean anything to her."
"Hey, shut the hell up!" Kakarotto snarled. "You don't know what you're talking about. She was Goku's wife, not mine."
"So why did you have a son with her?" Bulma asked. Kakarotto shrugged casually.
"Something to do, right? You get kind of bored being in the darkness all the time."
"Really…" Bulma raised her eyebrow, challenging him. "I think you hated the fact that Goku saw her first."
"Well for starters you're wrong there, we saw her at the same time. It's just that he spoke to her." Kakarotto replied. He laughed a little. "But either way you're talking crap. She was always too soft for me. She and Goku were a perfect match; I would have killed her anyway eventually. It just so happened that killing her now was the best way to weaken him."
"In that case…" Bulma said calmly. "You must have known Chichi meant a lot to him."
"Tch." Kakarotto grunted. "He didn't give a rat's ass about her… he didn't care that she died, he just felt guilty as hell that I was the one that killed her. As far as he's concerned it's his fault she's dead. He lost control of me, that's all that matters to him."
"You don't think Goku loved Chichi?"
"Sweetheart, I know he didn't." Kakarotto said flatly. "She was wasting her life with him. I was the only one that could ever make her happy – not that she knew the difference. It's a shame for her that she wasn't wearing my ring. She always had a much better time when she was with me."
"You would have married her?" Bulma narrowed her eyes at him, testing him. She had seen something in his eyes before that she couldn't forget about, something that might even resemble compassion…
"Well…" Kakarotto smirked arrogantly. "She was pretty cute."
"Don't pretend that's all." Bulma hissed. Kakarotto shrugged.
"Sorry, but it was. Chichi was a pain in the ass. The only thing she was good for was being naked –"
"Stop it!" Bulma snapped. She breathed heavily, her blood boiling as she watched the man in front of her. He was sitting so casually, arrogantly. His lips were turned into a smirk, his dark eyes twinkling mockingly. She hated herself for thinking she could ever reason with him, disgusted by the way he was talking about Chichi. She couldn't even bear to listen to it; the sight of Chichi's bruised lifeless body was still burned deep into her mind and surfaced every time he talked about her. Her stomach twisted into a knot. "We're done here." She growled, standing up to walk away.
"Fine." Kakarotto decided to let her go. He felt sorry for her. He watched her as she walked towards her guard. "Hey… Bulma." She stopped in front of the door, turning to face him.
"What?"
"Just for the record, as long as you're my princess you're safe with me…" he said. He met her eyes. "But off the record… I wouldn't kill you no matter what you are."
"… You like me?" Bulma looked at him. He winked.
"Always did."
"… You know Vegeta isn't going to help you. If you want to take over the earth you're on your own." She watched him again. He just smirked.
"We'll see."
"Yeah, we will." Kakarotto never took his eyes off her as the guard escorted her out of the room. "Goku…" he mumbled inwardly. "You've got some pretty good friends."