Chapter Four: A Date

Bulma Briefs sat in her plush armchair, staring aimlessly out her tarnished window. Her apartment complex was large and had five rooms. There were two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a dining room, which also served as the living room. The view out of the tarnished window was gorgeous. Bulma lived at the top of a hill in Lillanthia, so she could see the entire City of Angels with just one glance. She could see the market down by the square, and she could see all the people and children, walking around the thin roads of their city.

Lillanthia held the largest population of Angels in the world. Bulma was very lucky to live in such a safe and protected place. Many Angels who didn't live in such an environment were caught by the Hunters, and everyone knew what happened when an Angel was captured. No one liked to talk about it, but everyone knew. And Bulma knew more than most Angels. Her parents had been captured and killed by a group of Angel Hunters when she was young. She didn't remember them very well because of how young she had been, but she figured that it was better that way.

Bulma Briefs was only nineteen years old, which was extremely young, seeing as Angels are immortal creatures. When an Angel reaches the age of twenty, they grow their wings, and the Angel could possibly gain a magic ability. But it was rare, and even if an Angel did receive such a gift, it was usually very limited. When she was young, Bulma and the other young female Angels would joke about getting an ability to help them find a man who would care for them and defeat their husbands-to-be in a fight for their women.

Most of the female Angels were given a designated partner when they were born, and it was decided by the Angel's parents and the male counterpart's family. Bulma had been chosen to marry Yamcha, and it was something she absolutely dreaded. Yamcha had been her friend since she could remember, and when they got the news that they were to be married, he began acting differently around her. She remembered when they used to roll a ball back and forth along the carpet, their parents watching them play, and she thought that it was probably just to get them acquainted so they wouldn't have to marry a stranger. But Yamcha acted as if she was his property, and she didn't appreciate it at all. Plus, Yamcha was a coward. Everyone in Lillanthia knew that he shook in his boots at competition and difficulties. She guessed that he was confident around her because there was no competition. Her parents were dead, so there was no one who could change her marriage plans but Yamcha's parents, and she knew that wasn't going to happen.

Chichi, Bulma's best friend, was one of the lucky ones. It wasn't just her flawless features, or her glossy black hair. And it wasn't even the fact that her parents bought her the best and most fashionable clothes in the city. It was her designated partner, Goku. Goku was the complete opposite of Yamcha. He was drop-dead gorgeous, and it was an insult not to think so. He was also known as a hero, someone who would put their life on the line for the people who he cared about. He once saved two young Angels from a house fire. He was every girl's dream man, but he was all for Chichi. And Bulma hated to admit it, but she was jealous of what her best friend had. She could tell that Goku and Chichi were in love with each other. Their marriage wasn't set for another few months, but Bulma's was approaching fast. She already had her silky white gown laid out on her bed. She was going to be wedded to her childhood friend the very next day. The thought made her shiver uncontrollably.

Bulma leaned back in her armchair. There was nothing she could do. She didn't know why she thought about it so much. All it did was make her feel even worse about her situation. She and Yamcha had never even kissed each other before. She didn't even know what to do if the ever did anything more than that.

The thought of running away had crossed her mind quite a few times, but that wouldn't get her anywhere. She knew that she would only be digging her own grave if she left Lillanthia. It was either a life here, with Yamcha, for eternity, or it was out on her own, fighting for her survival and running from the Hunters.

The Angel Hunters were everywhere. Stories were told to young Angels about how if you were found, there was no hope for escape. Stories were told about how the human race found out about the Angels and created the Hunters, a special breed of killers, made for the sole purpose of tracking down and capturing Angels. They were the worst type of humans on the planet. The job of a Hunter was reserved for the most cruel and heartless of the species. Bulma thought of her parents, learning firsthand how cruel the Hunters could be.

There was one elder in the city, and his name was Piccolo, who was the only Angel known to have escaped from the Hunters. He was prone to sharing his tales of how the Hunters tortured him and stuck needles into his skin. Parents usually tried to avoid him when their children were around. They didn't want the young Angels to hear such things. The stories of monsters scared them enough. They didn't need to hear Piccolo's tales of terror and pain.

As for children, all married couples were expected to have one child or none at all. One was clearly preferred, but no more. Of course, there were exceptions, and the second-born child was never harmed, but the couple who bared the extra Angel was usually looked down upon. This single child regulation was put in place from as far back as Bulma could remember. It was created when the Angel Hunters were born out of the humans' desire for power. Since Angels become immortal after only a short amount of time of their lives, it became difficult for them to hide. Angel children wouldn't replace their parents' existence in the world, such as the human species does, but instead only add to the population to reproduce once more. But when the Hunters arrived and began taking some of the Angels away, their numbers decreased for the first time in their existence in the world. They rarely had deaths, and they were in cases such as murders, and the occasional suicide, when the Angels lived among humans before the Hunters, but they were scarce and irrelevant to the overall population count.

When the Hunters began capturing Angels, killing them, the eldest members of the city decided to go into hiding, which was how Lillanthia was formed. Many soon followed suit, seeing as it was the safest and most probable way to survive. But there were so many Angels back then, hundreds of years ago, and it was easier to be caught under such circumstances. Their numbers were cut in half, and then cut into fourths, until there were so few of them, that now, the one child that every couple has, truly does replace their parents' existences. Deaths are many during this time in the world. And that was something no Angel had never ceased to forget.

Lillanthia wasn't a big city, really. It housed about two hundred and fifty Angels. Maybe a hundred and fifty more lived outside of Lillanthia, scattered all around the world, still waiting for the day when they would no longer have to hide. It was saddening to Bulma that there were so few of them left in the world.

It was all the fault of the Angel Hunters. There was no other reason that Bulma and her species should have to go into hiding and fear being caught all their lives. It just wasn't fair.

One reason for the sick game that the Hunters developed was because of biblical teachings in the time period. Many men who committed great sins held the belief that bedding an Angel against their will could resolve them of their sins. Another belief was that, if you could have an Angel bed you willingly, you could pass through purgatory and be accepted into Heaven by God himself, his arms spread wide for your arrival. And just because the species were known as Angels, that didn't mean that they come from God. In fact, no one even knew if there was a God. But that was one of the horrible reasons that the Angel Hunters were still alive and well. But many Hunters had their own reasons for hunting Angels, and the special blood that the humans injected into their veins wasn't always the primary treasure. So torture wasn't the only thing a captured Angel had to worry about. Games and twisted competitions were sometimes the only things those horrible Hunters had on their minds.

The blood of an Angel, when combined with a human's blood in a human's body created a kind of augment. And when the human's learned that they could either create or become this enhanced being, the Angels Hunters were created to hunt down and extract the blood from any Angel that they could find. After a few years, they became more proficient at their job. Certain rules were put in place, such as the amount of blood that could be drained at one time, so the Angel wouldn't be killed right away, and more blood could be extracted later on. The Hunters experimented so much that they learned that, eventually, an Angel's blood loses its potency, and when combined with human blood, no longer produced the desired effects. Piccolo discovered that this was when the Angel was murdered. The torture took place while the Angel was in captivity, and it was mostly for the entertainment and pleasure of the Hunter who had captured the poor creature.

Now that the population was so small, there were fewer deaths, but they weren't rare. Bulma heard that it was a realistic fear that was spreading that the Angels would soon become extinct. She didn't doubt that she was already a member of an endangered species, what with the majority of the population living in Lillanthia.

The only thing keeping them truly safe was the Outer Wall that lined Lillanthia. The elders had gathered their rare magic and created a barrier that blocked the city from view from the outside. Magic was the only defense that the Angels had against their predators, and it rarely was enough. But in this case, Lillanthia was a black hole to anyone on the outside. It would make any Hunters feel like they were walking in circles. The only disadvantage was that any Angel would accidentally stepped outside the Outer Wall would have to find their way back inside without being able to see where they were going. It had never happened before, because no Angel dared get near the Outer Wall, but the warning was known to everyone who lived in the city.

A sudden knock at the door made Bulma jump up from her plush armchair. She turned her head to look at the door and roll her eyes at whoever had decided to bother her. It could be practically anyone, seeing as her wedding was tomorrow, and everyone was invited, as was the situation with every wedding.

She stood and walked over to the door. She grabbed the doorknob, twisted it, and pulled open the thin, wooden door to find none other than Yamcha, standing in front of her with a large smile on his face. He raised his eyebrows at her and lifted his hands. Bulma noticed that he was holding a bouquet of red roses, her favorite, and jumped at the realization that she was being rude to the man she would have to spend the rest of her immortal life with.

"Oh, thank you!" she exclaimed, forcing a smile and taking the bouquet from him. "It's so wonderful to see you, Yamcha. Is there anything I can do for you?" She hated faking for his benefit, but what would be the use of telling him how much she despised having to marry him? She could at least make him happy, even if she was going to be miserable.

"I was just wondering if you would like to go out for dinner tonight," he said, showing his teeth as he smiled again. It made the scar on the left side of his face scrunch up. He claimed that it came from a fight when he was younger, but Bulma guessed that it was probably from some time when he tripped and fell on his face. There was just no way that he got into an actual fight. If he had, that scar would have been the only wound inflicted. It would have been the shortest and most pathetic fight in history.

"Well, I'm busy preparing for tomorrow. I don't know if I have the time right now."

"Oh, don't be shy, Bulma. We're getting married tomorrow. You'll have plenty of time to blow me off." He laughed, as if that wasn't what she was trying to do. "I'd like to take my fiancée out for dinner one last time, for the record."

"For the record?" Bulma asked, lifting an eyebrow, but when he didn't reply, she pursed her lips. "Let me get changed and brush my hair. I'll be right out, okay?"

"Bulma, you look fine. Let's just go. You look lovely. The clothes you have on suit you beautifully. And you're hair is beautiful, too. Come on. Let's go. I'm starving."

Bulma frowned, but nodded anyway. Her hair was an ugly shade of blue. It was far from being lovely. She hated her awful hair. She always had and she always would. And she knew that Yamcha thought so as well. Before they were set to be married, they would make fun of how different her hair was.

She stepped under the doorway of her large apartment and shut the door behind her. She didn't like how close Yamcha stayed to her as she locked her door. When she turned around, he was almost on top of her.

"And you smell beautiful, too," he purred, placing a hand on the wall behind her, but Bulma just coughed out a laugh and stepped past him.

"So, where are we going?" she asked, faking another smile, but avoiding eye contact. The last thing she felt like eating was pizza from the pizzeria down the street.

"To the only diner in the city, silly," he said, smirking and lightly touching his fingers to hers as they began to walk down the hall way, towards the door. "What better place for a couple getting married to eat together?"

When Bulma didn't take his hand and they stepped out onto the street, the sunset lighting up the city shades of blue and pink, he grabbed her hand and interlocked their fingers, swinging their arms gently as they walked along the streets to the diner.

"Did you want to go somewhere else?" Yamcha asked suddenly, after about a minute of walking in silence, Yamcha's sweaty hand making his grip on her slippery and wet. "We could go to the deli or something if you wanted to eat somewhere… less public."

"The diner's fine," Bulma shrugged, not sure what he was getting at. And he must have not cared that much, because he began walking again, pulling on her hand until they reached the diner and the sunset was at its most colorful, turning the sky into a rainbow in itself.

He released her hand and opened the door, and Bulma began walking towards it, but he must have forgotten chivalry, because he stepped inside and she had to catch the door for herself before she stepped inside.

The lighting was dim and it was dinnertime, so there were a lot of people. Yamcha spoke with the woman in the front of the diner, and she pulled out two menus, shot Yamcha a more-than-friendly smile, and led the two of them to their table.

The first thing Bulma noticed when she sat down was the two people in the corner booth of the restaurant. It was none other than Goku and Chichi. And as Yamcha made some comment at the waitress before she left, Bulma found herself staring, very impolitely, at her best friend and her fiancée. Goku was laughing at something Chichi had said, and she was looking at him with those big eyes of hers. She always looked that way at him, as if she was watching her own dreams come to life.

"Bulma?" Yamcha asked, and Bulma blinked a few times.

"What?"

"I asked what you were going to get to eat," he said, his tone a bit aggravated. Bulma looked down in disappointment. What a jerk she was being to him, and he was taking her out to dinner, nonetheless. Why couldn't she act like Chichi? Maybe then Yamcha would be happier around her tonight. The last thing she wanted to do was make him upset, or sorry that he asked her out to dinner.

"I think I'll have a salad," she said quickly.

"You didn't even look at the menu, Bulma."

"I've been here before. I know what's on it, and I've had the salads before, so I already know that I like them." She forced a small smile and tried to make her eyes look like Chichi's. She imagined watching Yamcha was like watching her dreams come to life, but as his face hardened, her eyes began to look like a reprimanded puppy's.

"You don't want to try anything new? This is a special night, you know. I'm taking you out for dinner, and it's the last time I can call you my fiancée, so I was thinking that you would at least think of it as a special day and try something new."

Bulma jumped and quickly opened her menu, making a show of going over her choices. After a few seconds passed by, she spoke, the lack of noise becoming unnerving. "Oh, wow. Butterflied chicken with mozzarella and roasted red peppers inside, coated with all these spices. This looks wonderful. You were right, Yamcha."

But he just sighed. "You know, if you didn't want to go out tonight, you should have just said so, Bulma. If I was interrupting you, or if you were tired, I don't know. Maybe you had a few things to do before tomorrow. But you should have just said so before walking all the way out here with me."

"Please don't think like that," Bulma said quickly. Hadn't that been almost her exact words to him before? "I'm enjoying this time with you. And even if I had things to do, I would have stopped them to go out with you tonight. And I was hungry anyway. You came at exactly the right time." She smiled at him, swiftly taking a cheating glance over at Chichi to make sure she was doing it right. Being in love looked easy enough. So why couldn't she manage it?

"Maybe we should just go. I can see that you don't want to be here with me."

"Yamcha, please!" she said, grabbing at his sleeve as he stood from his chair, waving over a waitress. It was the same woman that had escorted them to their table.

"Can I help you, Yamcha?" the woman asked, and Bulma wondered why the woman was lowering her voice like that, and how she knew his name. But then again, Bulma knew many people in the city because she had grown up with them.

"Yes, well, we just decided that we weren't as hungry as we originally thought we were, so our table is free for the next person."

"But I thought you had been reserving that table all day. Is something the matter? Anything I can help you with?"

Bulma's heart hammered like a drum. He had been reserving the table all day? What had she just done? Why did everything between them end up this way? Why—

"Bulma?" a voice called, and Bulma froze in fright, pleading voices in her head. "It is you! Chichi, look. Bulma and Yamcha are here, too. Come say hello."

Bulma took a deep breath, forced another smile and turned around, coming face-to-face with Goku, in all his glory, and flawless Chichi bounding up to stand next to him, completing the picture of the perfect couple.

"You two on a date?" Chichi asked, winking at her and Yamcha and smiling big. Bulma felt her eyes sting as Goku wrapped his arm over Chichi's shoulders. "Goku!" Chichi laughed, shrugging him off and smiling up at him. He smiled back.

"We were just leaving, actually," Yamcha said, grabbing at Bulma's hand and pulling her back. She noticed the waitress's hand slide off of his shoulder as he turned around and he pulled her towards the door.

"Oh," Goku said, sounding confused, probably because of their sudden departure.

"I'll see you later, then, Bulma," Chichi called after them, and Bulma pictured her waving goodbye, so she raised her hand above the crowd and waved back before Yamcha pulled her out the door and onto the street. They walked back to her apartment complex in silence. It was dark by the end of the walk. When they arrived at her door, Bulma's head hanging low, she felt the need to say something.

"Yamcha, I'm sorry about tonight. I'm so sorry."

"Bulma, please stop. It wasn't your fault. It was just the atmosphere of that place, and that waitress. I got the feeling that we weren't wanted there, you know?"

"But Chichi and Goku were there. We could have sat with them."

"I've been reserving that table for us all day, Bulma," he said, raising his voice a bit. Bulma lowered her head again. "You know what, maybe leaving had a little bit to do with you. Like I said before, if you didn't want to go, you should have just said so when I asked you. You don't have to feel like you have to do everything for me, you know. Next time, you should just stay home, okay?"

Bulma looked up at him. "But, Yamcha. You insisted. I didn't want to make you upset, and I really didn't mind going out because I was hungry anyway."

"Please stop, Bulma. I just want to go home now. I have things to do for our wedding tomorrow." And then he turned on his heel and started walking towards to exit.

"I can't wait!" Bulma called after him, trying not to leave things between them on a bad note before tomorrow.

Yamcha turned back around and smirked, walking back over to her. "Neither can I, my love," he said, and then he was on top of her again, like the last time. His face was dangerously close to hers and their lips were almost touching. Bulma, without giving her actions much of a thought, turned her head off to the side and felt Yamcha's lips press against her cheek, where they didn't linger for a second.

Yamcha stood up straight and pushed his shoulders back. He scowled down at her and turned back to the exit. "I can't believe you," he murmured before he headed down the hallway and slammed the door behind him.